Critical Thinking Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Thinking Analysis - Assignment Example They have used nutritious attractive palatable words to our ears that if not verified using high definition quality glasses then the society may consequently end up with skewed information. These vindications should be filtered in the screens of truth with voices of reasons to come up with authentic information rather than assertions without evidences (Bowers & Ramalho, 2010). It is prudent to understand that as much as the graduate programs should be aligned to skills that develop human person holistically, authentic leadership is a vital ingredient to any form of leadership. It spices leadership to unimaginable heights. To inculcate authentic leadership, one needs to examine his or her internal compass (George, Sims & Gergen, 2013).Those intuitions that drive an individual to determine what is wrong and right and despite influence from the external surrounding they stand firm and unshaken in terms their values. True self evaluation pulls individual towards leadership. Furthermore, those who are driven by the desire to propagate the above inclination have always believed that their generation was much better than the succeeding generations. For this reason, they don’t factor in the changes and dynamics of evolution that have taken place from there generations. The climates of trends that are emerging every minute in our society today are clear man ifestation that changes are eminent. Understandable the most startling thing in life is change. They have failed to acknowledge change as time flies at incredible speed (Houser & Oman, 2011). Signature pedagogy is described in the articles as one of the daunting challenges to professional education where if inculcated then one can think with them. As much this is real, it should be noted that this signature deludes professionals who are not welcome to diversity and dynamics of societal issues. They are normally unable to

Why has the Palestinian-Israeli conflict been so difficult to resolve Essay

Why has the Palestinian-Israeli conflict been so difficult to resolve - Essay Example This is one reason why the problem has not been resolved. Another reason due to which the conflict has failed to be solved is that both sides are claiming that they own the entire region and are not ready to restrict themselves to their side only (Caplan, 2011). Due to this a religious conflict has taken place. The people in these regions fear that if the other side controls the entire region then their freedom to practice their religion will be taken away from them and due to this each side wants their religion to prevail and want to freely practice their religions. Another issue that is not solving the problem is the ineffectiveness of the United Nations which has developed policies that can solve the problem but has failed to enforce it (Harris, 2013). The failure to enforce such policies is due to the division of the Arab world and the Western world on the conflict. The Arab world supports the Palestinian view and on the other hand the western world, such as the United States sup ports the Israeli view. Harris, D. (2013). Why Israeli-Palestinian Peace Is So Difficult to Reach. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-harris/why-israelipalestinian-pe_b_2895228.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2014]. Yehoshua, A. (2011). Why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict refuses to be resolved. [online] Haaretz.com. Available at: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/why-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict-refuses-to-be-resolved-1.358095 [Accessed 11 Dec.

Strategic Management For Fly Dubai

Strategic Management For Fly Dubai This paper explores the existing aviation company Fly Dubai in a manner that analyzes and evaluates their current operations and efforts in a manner relative to strategic management. Further to this, the paper suggests that Fly Dubai is still relatively young in the market and requires a significantly more amount of experience before it can be labelled as competitive with other companies in the industry- namely, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airlines and Air Arabia, SAMA, NAS in Saudi Arabia. The first part of the paper comprehensively analyzes the aviation industry at the present, and this serves purpose to gain knowledge about the competition and the market before a constructive and logical analysis can be made about Fly Dubai. Therefore, important factors such as the external environment, internal environment and Porters Five Forces are discussed. The second part of the paper is directly relative to Fly Dubai as well as their chief competitors in the industry. Here, certain Generic strategies are analyzed and proposed to indefinitely help the company gain a competitive advantage. Another important framework we used is the Product Growth Matrix, which analyzes the situation that they are facing, and we have proposed that they use Market Development. Ultimately, the paper ends with a conclusion and recommendations, which we believe would best, support Fly Dubai. Part 1- Industry Analysis Introduction This paper is focused on developing Strategic Management for a major public aviation company and their expansion into the industry with a new strategy to give them a competitive advantage against their competition. Unlike a business plan, a strategic management focuses on the two major factors that surround scheme of business development for the related industry, and the company. Since the core value of a business is generating acceptable returns, this paper concentrates on the methods that they particularly went through in order to achieve it. Although strategic management is increasingly important for the success of products, it is also important to establish that the industry is swiftly ascending with fresh ideas continually making a consumers life relatively easier and more pleasurable. A service-based business is extensively labour-intensive, and to sell the service requires an excellent business development team and therefore, it is also necessary to productively market your employees and their skills in order to gain more business. Therefore, in this paper, we will be studying the public aviation business based in Dubai that only concentrates on chartering passengers through the use of their Low cost carriers. This company is known as Fly Dubai. Our Strategic Management analysis will conclude theories and frameworks commonly used in the corporate world today such as PEST Analysis, Competitor Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Porters Five Forces, Porters Generic Strategies and many more. Ultimately, we will establish a number of results and based on it we will provide several recommendations and a conclusion. Industry Trends The Aviation industry in the UAE developed in 1985 when Emirates Airlines was founded after Gulf Air reduced their flight services to Dubai. This is when Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum took action and started the company in order for citizens in the UAE to be able to travel more frequently. In October 1985, the company flew their first routes from two leased planes. Nowadays, many other airlines have emerged in the UAE to compete with Emirates including Etihad Airways, Air Arabia and Fly Dubai. (AFP, 2009). Not with standing the increased success in commercial airlines appearing in the UAE, Fly Dubai differs largely due to the fact that it is a cost effective airline. According to Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of GCAA said: Air operations in UAE so significant growth in the first quarter of 2010 (n/a, 2010). The Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) has confirmed that the number of business jets in Middle East region have grown to about 500 aircraft in the past few years showing a growth of approximately 30-40%. Further to this report, the Aviation industry is expected to grow at 15-20% annually over the next four years to become a multi-billion dollar industry. It also assumes that from the year 2012-2018 the MENA region will receive 20-25% of the new business amounting to about  £300 billion. (n/a, 2009). PEST Analysis The first general method, which is commonly used in the analysis of the external environment, is through the PEST Analysis. It is increasingly important to understand the nature of external surroundings as they inevitably play a major role in effecting the companys operations. Fly Dubais PEST projections can be seen on the next page. Factor Description Implications on the Aviation Industry Political Low government intervention Supports foreign direct investments which leads to political stability In regards to locally owned companies, the government does not intervene and actually supports their operations Investments help increase the countrys GDP which is favorable for the government Economic Inflation over the past few years has led to more costs Stable interest rates and no taxes Rise in GDP and disposable income GCC unemployment rate had decreased from 12.4% to 10.5% (McGinley, 2010) Inflation has led to higher labor and operating costs, but also shows the expansion in the UAE This has led the business being able to borrow more without the fret of taxation and increased cost The countrys growth in GDP and disposable income mean that consumers have more money to spend on Aviation services This gives a positive sign to increase liquidity in the market. Socio-cultural Growing social trend in the Aviation industry Young workforce Low cost appeal (n/a, 2010). Increased number of tourism More people are using chartered services which indicates an overall industry growth A younger workforce will reduce costs for pensions Because of the recession, people have decreased their spending by allocating cheaper airlines Tourism will increase by 40% in next 3 years. (n/a, 2008) Technological New plane models available in the market Better operational technology Online booking These models which companies have ordered make them more competitive as their service is more desirable by having modern technology Business operations can run smoother as technology helps them reduce costs and improve quality of the service LCC dont focus on sales offices for lowering their costs ,so they focus on their website and make it more efficient for them and clinets. Strategic Group Map As we can see from the graph above, the two measurements we have chosen for our strategic group map is product quality and price. The graph above shows us that Emirates airlines and Ettihad airways have the biggest market share and they are competing against each other. As Emirates Airlines announced in their website, that they aim to increase their market share to 70% by 2010 without compromising their reputation for quality. (Emirates, 2010). Although they dont start from the same point, but Ettihad Airlines are trying their best to compete with Emirates by giving better offers and prices to same destinations, so people got attracted and didnt mind the 45 minutes drive to Abu Dhabi for the same kind of quality and cheaper prices. Now these two companies are indirect competitors for Fly Dubai. The major competitor for Fly Dubai is Air Arabia, where they launched in Sharjah Int. Airport before Fly Dubai was established. So, people were aware of Air Arabia and tried the experience of flying on a low cost carrier. Thats their major competitor, and they have other competitors but from different countries such as, Al jazeera airlines where they are based in Kuwait, and Fly Nas and Sama airlines where they are based in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Five Forces Analysis Michael Porter, the man behind the theory of differentiation states that a business needs to spend more money on creating these values added products or services in order to make it relatively obvious that the product or service is different. (Cordle, 2008). Michael Porter developed the Five Forces Analysis, which primarily helps companies in dealing with internal and external competition from customers and suppliers as well as from other competitors. It also establishes the risk of the current product or service offered. This is all incorporated into a diagram, which is illustrated below: Threat of new entrants Product differentiation: Medium as the aviation industry has been quite innovative on product development and has used all the ideas available- however; they have also proven to be strong competition and adapted similar features as well as their own unique features. Capital requirements: High as the technology used is constantly changing, developing and growing which would justify the need for high capital technological assets and new aircraft models Cost advantages independent of size: High as costs generally vary depending on how large the establishment is, how many staff members are employed, and the amount of customers that use the services or buy the products Access to distribution channels: High as the airline companies can acquire customers through different means such as the internet, travel agencies, sales calls and from their own offices After this analysis we can see that the threat of new entrants is low because the industry is hard to enter. Bargaining power of buyers Concentration of purchases: High as the amount of purchases is decided by the buyer and ultimately determines sales revenue Alternatives and substitutes: High as there are a large amount of carriers that consumers can choose from and all have access to Price or cost sensitivity: High as consumers would generally select a business that offers a fair otherwise cheaper price for the same products Importance of quality: High as consumers have adapted to a certain taste and they constantly assess product quality and customer service to determine their buy Amount of money saved by consumer: High especially during the financial crisis where savings and survival is has grown to be extremely important. (n/a, 2009). Here the bargaining power of buyers is high. Threat of substitute products Price limitations: Medium as this affects the highest amount they are able to charge to consumers and ultimately demonstrates the amount of revenue they will make Ability to upgrade: High due to the rapid advancement of technology and the introduction to newer models of aircrafts from different companies Costs in production: Medium as technology can enable cheaper production but they still employ a large amount of staff in the region Price of substitute: High as this can negatively affect each companies sales growth if another company gains customers due to cheaper prices- this ultimately seems to benefit Fly Dubai more due to their cheaper prices Performance and quality: Low as Low cost carriers are new companies that only started up a few years ago and their scope in the business is low. That is, they do not fly to many destinations and they do not have a wide customer base at the moment. It is high for companies such as Emirates as they have experience, and their high quality brand name and services is difficult to match Here the threat of substitute products is Moderate. Bargaining power of suppliers Low cost carriers purchase their complete air fleet from suppliers such as Boeing and Airbus. They then hand this to third party companies to input entertainment systems and furnish the interior for the different classes, which ultimately create value-added amenities by using this method. Here we can see that the bargaining power of suppliers is Moderate Rivalry among competing firms Numerous competitors: High rivalry as each company is trying to capture the same target market and therefore use their advertising, marketing and promotion techniques Industry growth: High-the market has shown that this industry has grown significantly over the years and more people are gaining access to travelling Differentiation: Medium as there is only a limit to the innovation that can be done on an airplane. However, Low cost carriers have incorporated many other components on their plane such as entertainment, shopping and many more. Amount of fixed costs: This can be determined by factors such as rent, wages and capital expenditure. From this, we can say that it is high. Height of exit barriers: Low for Low cost carriers as they control a relatively small market share, but it is high for Emirates and Etihad who have a vast number of customers which they cater to. Here we can see that the Rivalry among competing firms is Moderate/high. In conclusion, we see after analyzing the five forces, we can say that the market is moderate to high, which is hard to get in because of the difficulties, high starting cost and the experience needed to enter to airline industry. Core Competencies/Key Success Factors A core competency is defined as a companys basic business and area of greatest expertise that provides consumer benefits, not easy for competitors to imitate and can be leveraged widely too many products and markets. (Campbell Luchs, 1997) Essentially, a core competency should accomplish three things: Concrete on the popular destinations to expanded their market. Significantly improve the following attributes. Availability / Scheduling Terminal / Ground Services Price Reputation Prove to be challenging for competitors to imitate their cost leadership strategy. Based on this, airlines would have three major competencies to gain a competitive advantage over each other in the region. The first core competency that low cost carriers will have is related to their prices, which is significantly cheaper compared to other airlines in the region. To accomplish this, they will need to identify and analyze their operations and costs thoroughly to see where they can minimize their costs so that their low fares will not disrupt their ability to generate profit. This will give them a competitive advantage, as customers would prefer low cost airlines, and retain their loyalty to the brand. The second core competency they will offering additional services to customers. Generally, people associate a low-cost airline with no service- but Low cost carriers will differentiate them here and offer a special service by adding additional costs for the service. The last core competency will be the vast variety of destinations they travel to. Although the companies are still relatively small now- they will eventually expand and fly to a large number of countries in the different regions which will attract more people to use their service for less cheaper price from the other airlines. Industry Environmental Scan External Opportunities and Threats Opportunities Lack of price competition in the UAE market: Since most of the airline carriers are relatively high in costs compared to others in the world, local air carriers do not engage as actively in price competition. Fly Dubai however has started with this. Potential to attract clients from the entire region: Since the other airline companies in the GCC do not often fly internationally to popular destinations, the local air carriers in the UAE can attract them as they do fly to these areas. Expansion into international markets: Due to their value added services and state of the art planes, they appeal more to customers and therefore if airline companies in the UAE situate themselves more internationally, they can gain more customers. Contract to corporations and executives: The airline companies can further increase the amount of frequent flyers and gain more revenue by targeting companies that are situated around the GCC. In particular, multinational companies are ones that have executives that need to constantly travel, and therefore they can take advantage of this situation. Threats Increasing costs in the aviation industry: Due to the increase in technology and the value added services they provide, costs have become increasingly expensive for the aviation industry. Furthermore, the costs of labor are also quite high which adds to their total expenses. Shortage of skilled labor: In some areas, the aviation companies here lack skilled labor to perform certain tasks such as aircraft engineering and maintenance, marketing and other activities. Emirates is the only company who has skilled employees in these departments whereas others are not as efficient. Damaging impacts on the environment: The emission of carbon and greenhouse gases from the aircraft fuel has proven to be detrimental to the environment and therefore companies need to be aware of this and somehow prevent it. Falling prices: In certain industries such as real estate, prices have fallen drastically, and this leaves corporations with less money to spend on services. As a result, companies have cut back their traveling costs. Competitors increasing: Due to the increasing amount of free zones in the UAE, multinational companies have found it convenient to start their developments in the region as it is low in cost. As a result, there is an increase in competition from other airlines internationally. Industry Internal Scan Internal Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths Support and patronage from government: The UAE government owns and controls all of their airlines and therefore they all gain financial support. Diversified and state of the art planes: The planes, which they own, are newer and significantly better than many other airline companies around the world. Popular and growing companies: The aviation industry consists of the few primary companies offering flights and since their services are relatively good, this improves their brand image to the population. Value added services provided to all customers: The service incorporated in the UAE airline companies are significantly better than others around the world Memberships: They all have memberships in prominent establishments such as Middle East Business Aviation Association which improves their trustworthiness Weaknesses Based mostly in UAE which limits their intake of customers from abroad and around the region: Most of the aircraft companies focus solely on chartering customers in the UAE which limits the potential business they could be making High employee turnover due to low morale: Labor laws are constantly being refined in the UAE, as it is still a developing country. Further to this, they require more experience human resources staff in order to motivate employees to enjoy their job and stay at the company as well as performing highly Business opportunities such as cargo transporting are not always taken advantage of and are expensive: The UAE is a business hub and many companies around the world are establishing themselves. However, most of these companies have restrictions so they cannot produce many products and local companies only produce products for the UAE- the rest is imported. This greatly increases the amount of costs as exported goods are expensive, and they do not partake in exporting their own products, which could potentially earn them more revenue. Part 2- Company Strategy Analysis Mission Statement A mission statement may be identified as the purpose behind a companys existence. The aim is to create an internal image towards employees and an external image towards the public indicating their intentions of operating the business, as well as what they wish to accomplish. Fly Dubai does not have a mission statement on their websites, but from the words of the chairman (Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum), he mentioned the following: Our mission is to bring some two billion regional inhabitants affordable, efficient and flexible travel options to and from Dubai. Nine Essential Components of a Mission Statement Customers Services Markets Technology Concern for Survival, Growth and Profitability Philosophy Self-Concept Concern for Public Image Concern for Employees Judging by the various essential components of a mission statement, it is clear that Fly Dubai still needs to work on developing theirs more. (FARNBOROUGH, 2008). Fly Dubai Generic Strategy Essentially, a company that excels in the industry with exceptional performance that yield significantly larger profits than their rivals, they are said to possess a competitive advantage. There are two common strategies that allow a company to reach this goal, and this can be identified as: Cost Strategy Niche Differentiation Strategy (CAPA, 2009). Cost Strategy In order for a company such as Fly Dubai to implement a Cost Strategy, they need to be able to deliver the same benefits as competing airlines, but should operate under a lower cost. In the research studies on Strategic Management, the resource-based view is a well-established principal that helps a business gain competitive advantage by working on their Value Chain and implementing value-added principals. In the next section, I will describe Fly Dubais value chain, which will allow us to see how they gain a competitive advantage. The Value Chain The value chain comprises of a number of activities that are commonly found in business operations, and is identified as important in gaining a competitive advantage and developing and sustaining shareholder value. The diagram below best represents the value chain and the significant inputs that are analyzed: Primary Activities Inbound Logistics: This refers to how Fly Dubai receives their aviation products and services before distributing it. Operations: This refers to how Fly Dubai uses their resources and change it into a service. Their resources are primarily their fleet of planes, which are docked at several international terminals, and in this method they pick up and drop off passengers. Outbound Logistics: This refers to the channels of distribution Fly Dubai uses to effectively sell their flights to customers. They mostly use online booking, travel agencies, and contact customers directly, or customers can contact them via their office. Marketing and Sales: This refers to the identification of target markets, which bring Fly Dubai sales revenue. Fly Dubai carries out extensive market research to reach their customers who are interested in low fairs. Also, they have to create brand awareness among their customers since they just launched. This step is important to expand their market share. Also, through out their marketing research, they can develop new attractive packages as part of their promotions. It will be difficult to develop large marketing campaign because most of their money will be as operational expenses. Moreover, sales are more cost effective when they make it through Internet. However, consumers in Middle East region are not used to buy from Internet. Service: This refers to the post-purchase activities that ensure customer satisfaction. Fly Dubai issues a questionnaire, which they can follow up with customers on the quality of their products and customer service. Also, they added additional services to their customers such choosing seats when purchasing tickets. Those extra services will add more value to Fly Dubai image. In addition, those services will generate a good publicity for the company through word of mouth. Support Activities Firm infrastructure: Fly Dubais firm infrastructure ensures that certain policies and procedures are followed to support the primary activities. Fly Dubai operates from Dubai International Airport, Terminal 2. Dubai Government developed high infrastructure for Dubai Airport to provide excellent services to passengers. Since Fly Dubai fully owned by Dubai Government, they have all the necessary facilities under their control. Human resource management: Fly Dubai uses extensive human resources practices to recruit the best employees, and effectively trains them, develops them in certain company positions and finally gives them compensation for their hard work through salaries, benefits, bonuses and motivation. However, lack of experience is major issue in this new company. So, they supported by Emirates Group to overcome this weakness. According to Arabian Business that Fly Dubai has received more than 11,500 applications from flight and cabin crew. (Sambidge, 2009). This shows the huge amount of applicants who want to work with this company because they believe that it has bright future because of the reputation gained from its mother company Emirates Group. Technology development: Fly Dubai uses technology to lower their cost by selling tickets through their website www.FlyDubai.com. Adding more features to help customers to print their boarding pass and to choose their seat location by extra fees. Analyzing customer surveys to help with the general support of the company. Their technology is also developed to monitor sales and create functional reports. Differentiation Strategy The differentiation strategy is when a company can successfully thrive in the market while charging premium prices to their consumers for products or services. Essentially, leveraging either a better standard of service quality towards consumers, or having a better product performance does this. Fly Dubai can be differentiated from other competitors by adding flights to popular destinations that have great demand from their target market. Since their market is fragmented, differentiation is important to attract more customers and to expand their market share. There are several different ways in which Fly Dubai gain a competitive advantage in this way. It is renowned that they offer a great airline service along with the most state-of-the-art amenities and technology for all classes, and people gather such information when a company expresses their differentiation. The company does this in a number of ways, and this includes: Brand Awareness Fly Dubai can use extensive advertising techniques in order to penetrate the aviation market and create a higher demand for their services. Firstly, it is important to note that Dubai is one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world. Their rapid expansion in major industries has led them to dominate the tourism market. Business Operations Another method, which Fly Dubai can use to gain a competitive advantage through differentiation, is by offering cargo services, freight and logistics, engineering services, and plenty of other subsidiaries which associate these services with the company. Therefore, this reflects positively on the brand name. Service Quality Fly Dubai has won recognition for their high service quality. They spend extensive amounts of their budget on the development of human resources, which ultimately leads to a better service quality, and this improves customer satisfaction. Value Added Features Fly Dubai has a number of value added features, which basically offers them more for the money they spend when flying with them. Firstly, they have a service staff, which is guaranteed to delight every customer they serve. These features contribute to customer satisfaction and improve loyalty in the long run. Marketing Mix One of the prime theories of analysis for a business includes analyzing the market in several terms that would help them identify ways in which they can improve, but more importantly creates a structure in which a company can base their product lines on. This is known as the marketing mix or the 4 Ps as it generally covers the following four factors- products, price, promotion and place. Product: The product entails analyzing the services that Fly Dubai currently offers to their customers and how it meets their demands. They are a public aviation charter service that flies a target market of consumers to a number of countries. Price: The type of services that Fly Dubai offers generally have a high cost margin as they are using modern technology along with the most knowledgeable staff to carry out their operations. Therefore, we can establish that Fly Dubai uses a cost-plus pricing approach where they charge the cost of the operation plus a mark-up for their services. Promotion: Currently, Fly Dubai uses many major forms of promotion, and they generally rely on loyal customers and repeat business to make their profits. They consider various forms of advertising through media sources such as television, radio, newspaper, magazines, cinemas, and Internet. Place: Their operations are run from their primary location, which is in Dubai, UAE. Although they are currently quite profitable and the industry has witnessed a large amount of growth, they have room for expansion in the UAE and other GCC countries as a start. Dubai is quickly being recognized as a business hub and Fly Dubai can exploit that market to be competitive and increase their overall profitability. Competitor Analysis When developing a Strategic Marketing strategy, it is always important to identify the main competitors and find out information about their services and how much of a threat they are to your company in the market. The most efficient way to do this is to compare their marketing mix with Fly Dubai, which is seen below: Emirates Airlines (Indirect) Etihad Airlines (indirect) Air Arabia (direct) Product They offer a range of flights to various different destinations and have a luxurious brand to speak of. They also have cargo transportation that is widely used by corporations. This company offers similar services to Emirates but they do not focus on luxury and are limited to flights. Etihad has cargo services but the division is relatively small They offer similar services to Fly Dubai in terms that it is cheaper- but they are still more expensive. Furthermore, Fly Dubai has better planes. Price Emirates has the most expensive prices in the region but they justify it due to the high value services that are offered They offer slightly lower prices than Emirates but their aircraft fleet is very limited and their services are less desirable Their prices are comparable to Fly Dubai, but their services are not as good Promotion Emirates advertises extensively and has many marketing promotions which is seen throughout the media They

Survivor :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Survivor Africa has been entertaining to watch and will be interesting to see how the different episodes relate to the topics discussed throughout the course. It will be interesting to see how the different group dynamics within each tribe collaborates. You have a plethora of different personality types within each tribe. There are young and old members, gender differences, workers and slackers, introverts and extroverts, and racial differences. However, the first and most appropriate example that comes to mind that is directly related to the show and the course is the Robbers Cave Study. The study was able to show that whenever you are competing for limited resources, conflict is inevitable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first days most dramatic moments in the Boran tribe revolved around Diane and Clarence. I believe Diane started off on the wrong foot by taking control of the map and then leading the rest of the tribe in the wrong direction. She assumed a leadership role without earning it. When they finally arrived at their campsite they were lacking water, so they decide to open a can of cherries. They carefully passed the can around, with each member taking one. Well, each person except Clarence, who helped himself to two cherries. This was Clarence’s first mistake, this was not a brilliant move on Clarence’s part, especially after only the second day. As we learned in chapter four, first impressions are lasting, and people are slow to change their first impressions on the basis of new information. Later on that day, both teams had their first immunity-reward challenge that involved having a race. It was quite obvious that Diane did not do very well, she pret ty much passed out. Samburu ultimately won the challenge. When Boran returned to camp, Diane was still not feeling well, so Clarence decided to stay behind to help her while the other team members went to get water. While the other team members were away, Clarence decided to open a can of beans to feed to Diane thinking it might do her some good, What a guy! Well, Diane ate some and Clarence polished off the rest of them and then discarded the can. To make a long story short, this was Clarence’s second mistake. When the team returned, they realized what had occurred and all lashed out at him. Considering what just occurred, I must admit, Clarence handled himself extremely well.

Assessment for Learning Essay

â€Å"Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there†. Assessment Reform Group, 2002 The teacher has ultimate responsibility for setting schemes of work for the class with clear objectives (Formative assessment) and writing end of term and end of year reports drawing together the information gained through assessment for learning. (Summative Assessment) The learning objectives are delivered to the class by the teacher and it is the TA’s responsibility to be aware of: †¢ the learning objectives, †¢ the personalised learning goals for individual learners. †¢ the success criteria for the learning activities †¢ the assessment opportunities and strategies relevant to their own role in the learning activities While taking the children through the scheme of work the TA will support the children by discussing their individual objectives this can also be done with groups of children who are working at the same level with the same learning outcomes. This is done to check that the children understand what is expected of them. This needs to be reviewed throughout the lesson. It is the TA’s job to pace the session to the learning style and ability of the children. At the end of the session the TA needs to give positive, factual feedback to the children and the teacher. This will include your observations on how the pupils responded and the strategies that were useful. The discussion between the teacher and the TA will enable further objectives to be set for the next lesson. Both the teacher and the TA are fully involved in the assessment of learner’ achievement with the TA fully supporting the teacher. 1. 2 Summarise the difference between formative and summative assessment. In 2004, at a conference of Assessors, Professor Paul Black pointed out â€Å"An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information to be used as feedback, by teachers, and by their students, in assessing themselves and each other, to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. â€Å" Formative and Summative Assessment are the two main forms of assessment used by the teaching profession. Formative assessment (Assessment for Learning) is the type of assessment that takes place day to day during lesson time. It is the reviewing of progress and understanding of the pupil, against the learning objectives set by the teacher. This can be done in a variety of ways such as observation, open questioning of pupils, checking understanding and allowing the children to be involved in the reviewing process during and at the end of a lesson. It allows learners to self-assess and self-evaluate their learning experience hopefully enabling them to become responsible learners who understand what they have to improve to allow them to meet their goals. Formative Assessment: †¢ occurs during the learning †¢ done with learners †¢ processed focused †¢ to improve learning †¢ is personally referenced Summative Assessment (Assessment of Learning) is the pulling together of the learning outcomes of tests at the end of a scheme of work, formative assessment and professional judgements to provide an end of term report showing what the pupils have achieved, it could also take the form of a Key stage SATs. It is outcome focused, occurs after the learning has been taught and is a way of measuring and proving learning. Summative Assessment: †¢ occurs after the learning †¢ done to learners †¢ outcome focused †¢ to prove learning. †¢ externally referneced While the two forms of assessment are entirely different the resulting information from both types can be used to help with setting learning objectives. The two types of assessment are not necessarily to be used separately they should complement each other, as the use of Afl can help pupils perform better on summative assessment tasks and summative assessment can reflect the impact of Afl. 1. 3 Explain the characteristics of Assessment For Learning. Assessment for learning encourages the learner to take responsibility for their own learning and achievements. This is done by providing them with the following information: Learning intentions A learning intention is simply a description of what you want your pupils to know, understand or be able to do by the end of a lesson. It tells pupils what the focus for learning is going to be. They can also be call â€Å"Learning Objectives†, â€Å"Learning Goals† or† Learning Aims† Making sure that he pupils are aware of their learning intentions before the lesson begins in language that the pupils will identify with, focuses their attention to the learning and how to achieve their intention rather than the activity they are undertaking. This can help keep the pupil focused on task for longer by increasing their motivation. The pupils should be reminded of the learning intentions throughout the lesson. Success Criteria This shows the learners what they need to achieve to meet the ‘Learning Intentions’ Success Criteria: †¢ are linked to the learning intention; †¢ are specific to an activity; †¢ are discussed and agreed with pupils prior to undertaking the activity; †¢ provide a scaffold and focus for pupils while engaged in the activity; and †¢ are used as the basis for feedback and peer-/self-assessment. Formative feedback About the quality of their work and what they can do to make it better; Giving pupils’ feedback and allowing them to feedback to the teacher how they feel their learning went. . Ambergate school regularly asked the children how they think they have done by giving a â€Å"thumbs up†, â€Å"thumbs down† or â€Å"thumbs sideways† to indicate how the children feel about what they have been taught. Sometimes the children will be asked what they know of the subject about to be taught and to mark themselves out of ten in their books. At the end of the lesson they then give themselves another mark out of ten and compare how they have fared. Effective Questioning To create a classroom climate where pupils come up with their own ideas, think aloud and explore their understanding. Questioning should take the form of open-ended questions to encourage the children putting their own ideas forward without being led by an adult. The adult can then ask the children’s peers what they think of another child’s idea to generate feedback. Generally in the lessons in Ambergate school the children are reminded when working to ask, who, what, when, why and how to ensure they get sufficient feedback to enable them with the tasks set. Peer and Self-Assessment and Evaluation. Peer and Self-Assessment enables learners to recognise success in their own and others’ work and to focus on how they are learning as well as what they are learning. Ambergate school regularly asked the children how they think they have done by giving a â€Å"thumbs up†, â€Å"thumbs down† or â€Å"thumbs sideways† to indicate how the children feel about what they have been taught. Sometimes the children will be asked what they know of the subject about to be taught and to mark themselves out of ten in their books. At the end of the lesson they then give themselves another mark out of ten and compare how they have fared. To summarise Assessment for learning meets individuals needs and maximises their full potential through continual monitoring. All staff are allowed to contribute to future planning by feeding their findings back to the teacher. 1. 4 Explain the importance and benefit of assessment for learning. Continuous assessment improves performance and behaviour, allows pupils to work more independently and it also improves motivation and risk taking. By increasing two way communications Assessment for Learning helps to strengthen the teacher pupil relations. From the teachers point of view AFl improves planning and delivery of the lessons while creating an opportunity to check the quality of the lessons and amend activities to ensure they meet the learning needs. For the child it tells them where they are with their learning in each subject, gives them ideas on how to further achieve to ultimately get success in the given goal. Assessment approaches need to promote learner engagement and ensure appropriate support so that all learners can achieve their aspirational goals and maximise their potential. It has been proven that children who do not feel part of the learner process quickly lose interest. Therefore, responses should be based on thoughtful questions, careful listening and reflective responses and effective feedback strategies. 1. 5 Explain how assessment can contribute to planning for future learning carried out by †¢ The Teacher Assessment for Learning helps the teacher to make well-founded judgements about pupil’s attainment while placing responsibility for managing learning on the child, with the goal of pupils being more actively involved with the learning process. As indicated above, the process involves explaining learning outcomes to pupils, providing them with feedback on their progress and enabling them to develop their self-assessment skills so that they are able to reflect on, and recognise, their own achievements. Knowing precisely what the pupil understands & then moving them on leads to effective learning. †¢ The Learners The process will keep the pupil informed of on-going process, giving them an insight into how they learn and which areas they need to improve to achieve the objectives set. This helps to increase their confidence, motivation and independence and also how to recognise when they need to ask for help. †¢ The Learning Support Practitioner. Assessment for learning will provide you with information of how each child learns and the knowledge they already have, which will help in how you further question the pupil. This can be tailored to suit the individual pupils pace and ability to learn. In a recent Maths lesson on Division techniques, on periodically checking the children’s understanding it became clear that they knew how to divide using the Chunking Method but the answers that some of the children were getting were incorrect. This caused the TA to check their work and come to the conclusion that the children’s knowledge in subtraction of 3 figure numbers was letting them down. On feeding back to the teacher she said she had noticed the same problem with the group of children that she was supporting. With this feedback, the TA and the Teacher implemented a refresher lesson on subtraction in the next Maths lesson to fill the gap in the children’s knowledge and allow the children to move forward with their knowledge and ultimate success with Division Techniques. Bibliography www. education. gov. uk Assessment for Learning for KS1 and KS2 Northern Ireland Supporting Teaching and Learning L3 – Louise Burnham.

Cost and Benefit Essay

A cost benefit analysis is done to determine how well, or how poorly, a planned action will turn out. Although a cost benefit analysis can be used for almost anything, it is most commonly done on financial questions. Since the cost benefit analysis relies on the addition of positive factors and the subtraction of negative ones to determine a net result, it is also known as running the numbers. A cost benefit analysis finds, quantifies, and adds all the positive factors. These are the benefits. Then it identifies, quantifies, and subtracts all the negatives, the costs. The difference between the two indicates whether the planned action is advisable. The real trick to doing a cost benefit analysis well is making sure you include all the costs and all the benefits and properly quantify them. Should we hire an additional sales person or assign overtime? Is it a good idea to purchase the new stamping machine? Will we be better off putting our free cash flow into securities rather than investing in additional capital equipment? Each of these questions can be answered by doing a proper cost benefit analysis. http://management.about.com/cs/money/a/CostBenefit.htm Cost-Benefit Analysis Jules Dupuit, a French engineer, first introduced the concept of Cost-Benefit Analysis in the 1930s. It became popular in the 1950s as a simple way of weighing up project costs and benefits, to determine whether to go ahead with a project. As its name suggests, Cost-Benefit Analysis involves adding up the benefits of a course of action, and then comparing these with the costs associated with it. The results of a cost-benefit analysis are often expressed as a payback period – this is the time it takes for benefits to repay costs. Many people who use Cost-Benefit Analysis look for payback in less than a specific period – for example, three years. You can use Cost-Benefit Analysis in a wide variety of situations. For example, when you are: .Deciding whether to hire new team members. .Evaluating a new project or change initiative. .Determining the feasibility of a capital purchase. However, bear in mind that Cost-Benefit Analysis is best for making quick and simple financial decisions. More robust approaches are commonly used for more complex, business-critical or high cost decisions. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_08.htm BCA attempts to capture all benefits and costs accruing to society from a project or course of action, regardless of which particular party realizes the benefits or costs, or the form these benefits and costs take. Used properly, BCA reveals the economically efficient investment alternative, i.e., the one that maximizes the net benefits to the public from an allocation of resources. BCA is not the same thing as financial analysis. Financial analysis is concerned with how to fund a project over its lifespan and measures the adequacy of current and future funds and revenues to cover the cost of building, operating, and maintaining the project. While financial analysis is an important part of project management, the economic merit of the project as measured by BCA is generally not affected by how the project is financed. Useful Applications of Benefit-Cost Analysis Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) considers the changes in benefits and costs that would be caused by a potential improvement to the status quo facility. In highway decision-making, BCA may be used to help determine the following: * Whether or not a project should be undertaken at all (i.e., whether the project’s life-cycle benefits will exceed its costs). * When a project should be undertaken. BCA may reveal that the project does not pass economic muster now, but would be worth pursuing 10 years from now due to projected regional traffic growth. If so, it would be prudent to take steps now to preserve the future project’s right-of-way. Which among many competing alternatives and projects should be funded given a limited budget. BCA can be used to select from among design alternatives that yield different benefits (e.g., reconstruct a roadway with additional lanes versus no additional lanes); unrelated highway projects (a widened road versus an interchange on another road); and unrelated transportation projects in different transportation modes. The Benefit-Cost Analysis Process In BCA, the analyst applies a discount rate to the benefits and costs incurred in each year of the project’s life cycle. This exercise yields one or more alternative measures of a project’s economic merit. The BCA process begins with the establishment of objectives for an improvement to a highway facility, such as reducing traffic congestion or improving safety. A clear statement of the objective(s) is essential to reduce the number of alternatives considered. The next step is to identify constraints (policy, legal, natural, or other) on potential agency options and specify assumptions about the future, such as expected regional traffic growth and vehicle mixes over the projected lifespan of the improvement. Having identified objectives and assumptions, the analyst (or analytical team) then develops a full set of reasonable improvement alternatives to meet the objectives. This process begins with the development of a â€Å"do minimal† option, known as the base case. The base case represents the continued operation of the current facility under good management practices but without major investments. Under these â€Å"do minimal† conditions, the condition and performance of the base case would be expected to decline over time. Reasonable improvement alternatives to the base case can include a range of options, from major rehabilitation of the existing facility to full-depth reconstruction to replacement by a higher volume facility. Such alternatives will often involve construction, but alternatives that improve highway operations (such as the use of intelligent transportation systems) or manage travel demand (such as incentives for off-peak travel) are suitable for consideration. Major Steps in the Benefit-Cost Analysis Process 1. Establish objectives 2. Identify constraints and specify assumptions 3. Define base case and identify alternatives 4. Set analysis period 5. Define level of effort for screening alternatives 6. Analyze traffic effects 7. Estimate benefits and costs relative to base case 8. Evaluate risk 9. Compare net benefits and rank alternatives 10. Make recommendations http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/asstmgmt/primer05.cfm The Public Spending Code D. Standard Analytical Procedures Guide to economic appraisal: Carrying out a cost benefit analysis http://publicspendingcode.per.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/D03-Guide-to-economic-appraisal-CBA-16-July.pdf