The Creation of a Trust Which Depicts the Formalities That Are Essay

The Creation of a Trust Which Depicts the Formalities That Are Required In the Dissemination of the Deceased Properties to the Beneficiaries - Essay Example In the paper, John drafts a will and appoints Tessa and Vincent as the trustees of his widow Susan and the two children.   On the death of John Susan accuses the trustees of breaching their mandates, therefore the following advice is going to be very important to determine whether Susan will be able to win the case and granted trust of the properties. It is notable will contained no express power; it simply stated that Tessa and Vincent were to hold the said properties until the opportune moment for them to grant them to the right beneficiaries who are the family. According to Target Holdings Ltd v Redferns, the right of the beneficiary is to have the trust administered in the best way it was intended in conformity with the general law and the trust instruments. Thus, according to law, the beneficiary will always be granted access to the will or deed and the accounts which are linked to the trust. Proper justifications are to be given to any shortcomings which may be pinpointed; ho wever, in this case, it is apparent that the trustees never informed the beneficiaries on the investments they had made. Thus, there is a breach of contract which makes them liable for the loss and any abnormalities which come about. It is evident that the trustees misapplied the money in their hands for their personal use. None of the beneficiaries is really aware of what is going on until when they make the claim and want to have the money for their own use. According to the case of Wallersteiner v Moir, the trustees are liable for any unnecessary delays and circumstantial impacts they may cause the beneficiaries. Susan is thus in the right position to sue the trustees and claim their authority inappropriate in managing the properties and accounts. There is a falsification impression which is created in the whole process. It is sufficient that the trustee is liable to a want of ordinary prudence. By the trustees delegating their duties to the Best Finance Company, they defied thei r obligations entirely. Besides that, there is no clear motive for them to surrender managerial roles of the will to this company which has questionable characters and performances.

Competition in Design School Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Competition in Design School - Case Study Example Some feel competition helps each person to hone their creative skills. For students who study in design schools, the nurturing of individual creativity is important because they must continually innovate. When competition is involved, students take risks they might not otherwise take to create something unique enough to be noteworthy. It means students summon their most creative talent. Many students like Elizabeth Young, a former student of the University of California, argue that students learn more about their natural talent in competitive environment. It is considered as the "whetstone of talent." Competition also helps the students to work as teams and learn to create success together. However, talented advisers such as Michelle Fabio believe that even though competition undeniably helps elevate the standard by which we measure performance, too much competition could negatively impact less capable students. Therefore, even if some believe that competition is the best way to hone creative skills, it is not without its disadvantages. One disadvantage of competition is that it may cause students to lose sight of their main objective. Educator Mary Pat Lynch shares that in excessive competition, winning becomes the focus, instead of learning. This has been supported by interviews regarding competition conducted by Bergins and Cooks in which forty-one academically talented students conveyed that they focused on grade point average as opposed to learning for the sake of knowledge. No mention was made about any desire for competence by augmenting their knowledge and skills. This means that in a competitive environment, students' center of attention has shifted to the grade, rather than on the main goal of education which is to make students actually understand the ideas being imparted. Among designers, this will cause many to focus on finishing only those ideas that will probably help them win while hardly attempting to bring artistic life to their creations. As such, students compromise quality of life if they think they always need to perform better than others instead of letting natural talent flow. Competition also affects the general welfare of a person and the society in several undesirable ways. First, competition, by nature, requires only a single or a very small number of people to win while the rest of the competitors will lose. If a person ends up losing most of the time, it could undermine their own self-confidence, foster feelings of weakness and finally lead to depression. In fact, nearly ten percent of adolescents in the U.S. suffer from depression. Since the height of depression and low self-esteem in young people often coincide with times characterized by an increase in academic stress, the overly competitive environment increases the probability of poor quality of life for many students. Unfortunately depression is parcel of a cycle that negatively impacts many people. Depressed people are likely to feel left out and become social outcasts because no one will gladly relate themselves with people who see themselves as losers. As they lose their self-esteem, they st op trying to improve themselves. For this reason, they never realize their true talent and rarely contribute anything meaningful to society. Competition can bring out the

How To Improve Customer Service Marketing Essay

How To Improve Customer Service Marketing Essay In todays competitive, fast-paced and global economy, financial service has placed increasing emphasis on customer service as a means of gaining competitive advantage (Sarah Cook, 1995). The nature and number of competitors and the ability of retailers, banks, government deregulation and other financial service companies to offer similar products at similar prices has led to increasing emphasis being placed on personal service as a means of adding value to customers. Providing an exceptional customer service is no longer an added benefit, is a necessity, customer who are not satisfied with the way they are treated can easily take their business elsewhere, exceptional service is accomplished by positively interaction through effective communication and relationship building. Exceptional customer service will bring unexpected result, whether you give a good customer service or poor customer, the people will tell other how they are treated (Renee, 2005). Customer service is about consciously building customer centred organisation where employees are focused on serving their customers both internal and external for sustained, profitable growth, (Michael, 2003). How well you communicate and establish relationship with your customer is the meaning of customer service, the relationship may not be long the instant relationship is customer service, moving away from an intense focus on product development to lay much emphasis on relationship development (K aren and Keith, 2006). Customer service is the key issue to any organisation which involves the entire staff member of the company from the executive to the least staff of any organisation for not losing their ground to the competitors, customer is the foundation of any business we must delight our customer to keep the business in existence. Also, purpose of any organisation is to create a customer, why not give the exceptional service to them in order to achieve the purpose of the organisation (Ian Linton, 1994). Customer service should not be seen as a necessary attachment to financial service, but an integral part of business, especially at it deals with customers the real assets of companies operation in a fiercely competitive market (Bryan and Merlin, 2002). 1.1Background This section will give the background of the research since the customer is the key of any business, it gives the importance of customer service in financial services, reasons for developing customer service, benefits of customer service to financial service, how to improve customer service, the research questions will be answered in the literature review. In the banking sector the customer service involves diverse of relationship between the providers and their customers especially personnel are tools in creation and provision of services quality service, they need to take care of the customer by meeting their needs and well satisfy, we must put customer first, listen to them, by listening to your customers and providing them with the products and services they really want, you can gain and keep your share of the market, solve their problems, it make you retain the customers, provide products and services to meet their need and be friendly with them, it includes service to the customer, delivery, operations, employee and management. In meeting customer need, banking sectors must manage product and service, delivery system, environment and people so as to provide an efficient and caring service getting things done appropriately and maintaining standard. Customer care and good service must be the work of all the staff from management le vel to all staff which brings together executive, marketing, operations and human resources management. Reasons for developing customer service The reason for customer service is controlled by customers, employees and a changing business environment, customer can be individual, household, group or organisation are aware of competitors in financial services or provider organisation and also of rising standard of service they are willing to give compare to service they receive therefore, expectation of consumer rise and become faulty finding of the quality of service they receive and so organisation can be never be less concerned. Also knowledge of cost and benefit from the existing customer compare to attract new customer draws companies attention to good customer service to existing customer, meeting their needs and complaint, developing long-term relationship, companies must understand that good customer service does not disagree with profitability. Looking after employee is also a chance for an organisation not place a target amount for them to meet capital base to the bank because employee is an internal customer, as organisation become larger they may also become anonymous and bureaucratic which dissatisfy the employee. Communication may deteriorate any relationship between customer and customer contact personnel, between customer contact staff, between management may suffer. Also in a recessionary climate, cost-cutting exercise, re-organisation and redundancy can impart on staff morale, motivation and performance. In spite of this company should realise that commitment to employees bring companies rewards and more benefit it also encourage employee participation. Another reason for developing customer service is the business environment, this create need for customer services, the business environment is typical economic, legal and technology which is not stable, recent deregulation in financial service has increased competition between providers, which provides more choice for the consumer. In this business environment banking sectors must emphasize operations and financial efficiency and focused more on product and market strategy. Additionally, they can focus more on customer service (quality in the corporate and marketing strategies). Exceptional customer service must be seen as tool to achiever differentiation and a competitive advantage, so it has become integral direction and planning for BankPHB. Customer service is such an outstanding issue that no major financial service provider can overlook whilst other are improving the quality of service levels. Benefit of Customer Service In the absence of focus on customer service and quality financial service organisation will face challenges and complaints from both employees and customer, which will affect the sales and profitability of the organisation and associated financial and other costs. Also, a number of unsatisfied customers will complain and tell others, generating unfavourable word of mouth, publicity and some may move to competitors. However, with focus on customer service e and organisation can expect a number of benefits such as: Customer Loyalty: Taking good care of existing customer can cause repeat and increase business and lead to attract new customer from positive word of mouth to others by existing customer communication. Customer retention is more cost effective, loyalty to the company will make the customer to be an advocated that create a reputation for being a caring customer oriented company. Increased opportunities to sell: Understanding and complete product knowledge and sales techniques among employee together with develop interaction and rapport with customer enable staff to know customer needs and suggest appropriate product and service that will satisfy the customer. Employee satisfaction: When employee is taken care is increased job satisfaction, morale and commitment to the company good employer employee relationship and increased staff loyalty which contribute to reducing the rate of staff turnover and the associated costs of recruitment, selection and training activities. Happy commitment and competent employees will also make fewer mistakes and this lead to fewer complaints from customer and contribute to cost savings and increase the profitability of the organisation. Also good customer service improve the corporate quality image and provide protection form price competition, above all successful service leads to reduce costs such as mistakes, operating and advertising and promotions, and increase productivity and sales, market shares, profitability and business performance. HOW TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE Changing nature of customer service BankPHB needs to change or improve the traditional way they do business with their customer, using sales representative as the only means of increase their capital base is risky, is seen as public humiliating to the representative, telling the representative to get certain deposit to the bank or get fired what is needed for BankPHB and other financial service provider in Nigeria like other financial services in United Kingdom is to inject innovation to life-blood of the organisation so that it becomes part of its very being, such as telephone banking service, effective internet banking service this focus on speed, convenience, quality and service for the customer and less work for the employee. Also BankPHB needs to be more customer-focused than product focused. Creating customer-centric systems BankPHB must be willing to change the policies which has become blueprint that sales representative or marketer should bring deposit less than that they will be sacked the prospect of customer centric can be very great, this system may hurt initially, but is a good prospect. Business essential and top management involvement: BankPHB must understand that it is a clear that unless there is a business essential for customer retention and top management is fully committed to customer service there is little chance to success. Customer orientation need to accustom the organisation mission, vision, value and objectives it needs to be both executives and senior managers word and actions Service strategy and goals: To be successful in competitive market and a customer focused organisation, BankPHB must have a clear strategy and a set of specific and measurable goals for service improvements People development: Training and development is an essential in promoting customer service philosophy, there must be often training and development for the staff and customer which company can benefit because this will enhance their attitude towards the customer in a positive way their behaviour, knowledge and skill, and make the organisation more flexible, proactive and customer focused in the face of strong competitor, the quality of leadership in an organisation is an indicator to success. Communication: Communication is life-blood of an organisation to sustain and develop a service initiative, effective communication about customers, competitor and the best practice in customer service can create a positive change to BankPHB. The development of communication media to convey the service philosophy is a vital means of creating awareness of the organisation, communication can be verbal or written Reward and recognition: Organisation with best practice provides a motivating environment for their customers and employee b rewarding and recognising the employee and the customer for their contribution to achievement of the organisation and implores them to do more. Customer-driven process: BankPHB must do business with its customer in a way that matches the customers needs not its own. Changing customer expectation Because of the technology consumers expectation are high they want better service which will give them satisfaction, they want greater choice and will not be sold to or manipulated. Value for time BankPHB and all other banks in Nigeria must value the time of their customers by providing self service such as effective cash machine, where you can withdraw your money 24hours without long queue in the banking hall an effective internet banking sitting at home pay bills, check your account balance and telephone banking if customer has any issue to clarify is easy to do on telephone than going to the bank waiting for the Manager to call head office for clarification which can take two to four days it is time consuming, the process of value for time resulted to easy customer and employee satisfaction. Know your customer rights Customers know their rights they tend to be unsatisfied if is violated and complain, majority of BankPHB customers complain about loan promised to give them is their right, to get loan without security if they have good records, they likely to make their opinion known if they violate this right. BankPHB must keep to the right of customers. Technology One of the greatest changes that can improve customer service in BankPHB is technology, checking account balance on internet, pay bills, open account, debit and credit alert via phone the use of technology can potentially revolutionise BankPHB relationship with customer, bank representative can visit customer input data via computer and print out cheque, use technology to wish the customer wishes on their memorable days like wedding anniversary, birthday it gives customer existed. Technology gives customer self service. What is customer service? Ability to provide an exceptional service is a perquisite of both attracting new customers and retaining the existing customers, but customer service is the perception of the customer to the service given, and the perception is based on their expectation, if a customer receives service better than the expectation is excellent service, but if customer receives less than the expectation is bad service. To provide excellent service BankPHB must exceeds customer expectations under-promise, over deliver, keep to promise never guarantee what cannot be delivered, to win customer today BankPHB needs to delight and astound the customers with products and services that beyond their expectations. Customer experience The main concern of great service organisation today is on the total customer experience. The customer experience of the organisation based on the effective communication/marketing efforts its package and interaction with employees as well as its products or services. Financial service provider in United Kingdom Barclays Bank train their staff to help customer with all their needs such as loan even when you do not need it they will advise you also on insurance which can be of benefit to you and the entire family so that the ethnic of Barclays is brought to life by their staff as they know customer is the key of the business. Developing a relationship There must be mutual relationship between the customer and service provider and the way this relationship is managed is pivotal to achieving excellent services. Relationship has become more important in financial services even know your customer by their name. BankPHB customers must be seen as value important as part of the bank not seen as different account to the organisation. Theodore Levitt of the Harvard Business School relates giving good service with building a long-term relationship, or relationship marketing He says: ..the sale merely consummates the courtship, at which point the marriage begins. How good the marriage is, depends on how well the seller manages the relationship. The quality of the marriage, determines whether there will be continued and expanded business or troubles and divorce Embracing change One thing that constant in life is change a successful companies will sustain competitive advantage by transforming their businesses rather than maintaining the traditional way of doing business, that is finding a new way of doing things both for and with customers BankPHB must embrace change through technology by operating 24 hours banking service, getting feedback from customer to help them improve on their service and customer loyalty and satisfaction to the employee. Contact centres: Is a way of reaching to customer know their need meet their needs 24 hours such as email written as well as telephone request, ease of contact to the service provider, convenience and speed of service are the main benefit of contact centre for the customer. Some financial sectors are using contact centre policy as a marketing tool. The internet: Is another change to delight our customer if offer them greater speed and choice, 24 hours a day, it enables them to market more quickly and gather direct customer feedback to develop better products and customer loyalty, retailing on the internet is already giving customers a sense of being in control, accessing your balance, pay bills, this has made financial services rethink how they communicate with customers, what they understand markets to be, how they segment and how they plan and advertise their products and services as well as the level of service they provide. Nevertheless, BankPHB website needs to be integrated with the rest of the customer strategy in order to maintain brand synergy. Customer relationship management (CRM) The process of setting up a customer service infrastructure using contact centre and internet technology is good start to become customer focused than product focused, Customer relationship Management offers opportunity to manage their customers relationship, because the more information a company has about the customer better, CRM strategies is to identifying desirable customer segments, micro or individual on one to one basis and developing integrated programmed that maximize both value to the customer and lifetime value of customer to the financial services profit enhancing and customer retention. It can also assist to identify sales prospects from existing or potential customer this management serves as an intermediary between the service provider and the user with this management BankPHB can be a better financial service amongst its competitor and known globally. 1.2 Problem area discussion One of the major problems most financial services are facing is how to manage their customers is the formulation and delivery of their proposition to customers (Bryan and Merlin, 2002). In a customer service strategy for a company, there are often significant changes required in the corporate culture, employee training, technology infrastructure and measurement system, this changes is associated with investment of resources and personal commitment depend on the good leadership of the executive management. Excellent customer service will only be considered a critical success factor if senior management demonstrate their involvement in terms of time, money effort, commitment, persistence and visibility (Sarah, 1995). BankPHB customers (both internal and external) are not satisfy with the service provided lack of commitment from the senior management, employee such as marketers are left alone to get deposit into the bank which is quite frustrating for the employee due to this the expectation of the customer are not met, let us assume that the senior executive of the business understand the expectation and perceptions of the customer regarding service, which is based on personal experience with the staff or face to face discussions and a sense of perception issues that exist in the minds of target consumers and frontline, service delivery staff. Also, Executive manager have an intimate understanding of customer expectation and perceptions and have ensured that service standards are relevant and meaningful in marketplace, the culture of the organisation must aligned with the objectives. The company resources is not focused on service standards BankPHB promised customer if you domicile your salary account for three month you will be given loan, after three month the expectation is not met due to this the customers are dissatisfied and willing to take their account to another bank. This is misdirected marketing which creates both explicit and implicit promises in the mind of the customer, when these promises are not fulfilled, customer satisfaction will suffer (Bryan and Merlin 2002). 1.3overall research purpose Looking at the above discussion, how to help BankPHB engender and sustain customer focus, the purpose of this research is the importance of customer service in an increasingly competitive environment and how effective customer service can help BankPHB enter into global market and the implication of increasing customer expectation and changes in trading patterns exposed. To address this point above, two research questions are drawn to explain the reason for this research R Q 1 How can R Q 2 how did you rate the staff behaviour at BankPHB? 1.4 delimitation The distance between the researcher and case study financial service and time constraint, also the compilation of the questionnaires, the feedback from the staff may be characterized with similarities and prejudice because management might have influence on their feedback of the questionnaire. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Improve customer service by technology Technology can be used to improve the quality of customer service by making easier for service provider to respond to customers request and satisfy customers needs, also with right equipment, this technology provide customer with a 24 hours response service this maintain high level of customer loyalty. Technology can contribute immensely to customer service in this area. Reliable equipment operation Customer will be very satisfy if there is reliable operation of their equipment to maintain their competitive business performance; a rapid quality response to service request is vital, a bank cash-dispensing system must be constantly available, technology helps customer to operate on their own business effectively and deliver high standards of service to their customer. Better account control The financial service wants to improve account control, technological links not only provide the customer with higher standards of customer service, they help to strengthen relationships with the customer and prevent competitors from taking over. Service staffs rely on information The more an organisation know about its customers the better service it can deliver, customer databases can be invaluable in helping customer service staff quickly provide advice and guidance to customer quickly Consistent local service a large customer spread over a wide geographical territory and dealing with a financial service through a network of local branches expects a consistent standards of service, if the company does not have the resources to offer the same level of service in each branch it must find a way of centralising and allocating its resources so that customer can be offered that consistency and satisfy. THE ELEMENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE Customer care for the external customer requires an organisation to pay attention to its products/services, delivery systems, delivery environment technology and employees which are highly interdependent. Product/Service range: This includes both basis and augmented services Gronroos (1987), this is based on the basic or core financial service, may be a current account with associated services which are needed to facilitate consumption of the core services e.g. ATM and another service which are not required but facilitate the service and differentiate with other competitors. The greater service offering includes how the service is delivered and the relationship between a bank and its customers which can be the accessibility of the service, customer participation in the process e.g. use of ATMs and relationship between employees and customers, system and customers and the physical environment and customers. Delivery Systems:- Delivery systems and procedures must be operate effectively and efficiently, responsive and reliable in order to avoid queuing in the banking hall, Silverstro, Fitzgerald, Johnson and Voss, (1992) refer to three types of service delivery, professional services are described as few transactions, highly customised services a process orientation, relatively long contact time, mass service is example of many customer interaction limited contact time and customization, product orientation with value being added. The level of direct interactions with service providers and customers in delivery process in known as service Encounters or moments of truth. This service encounters may take different forms, a customer wishing to make an enquiry may chooses an interaction with ATM, or bank employee by telephone, by email, face-to-face contact whichever contact the customer chooses especially coming in contact with the bank and its employees, the employee must for an impression of the bank and its service encounter also have an impact on employees in relation to their motivation, performance and job satisfaction and their rewards. Recent perspectives and research relating to service encounter are reported by Bitner (1990), Bitner, Booms and Tetreault (1990) and Larsson (1990). Delivery Environment: The delivery environment is another elements of customer service, the environment includes physical design and access aspects and also emotional or atmospheric impact, this involve customer and employees, physical design such as layout, furnishing, noise and music, space for cars, lighting temperature and comfort, most of banks are redesign open-plant to eliminate the barriers between customers and the staff (Greenland, 1994). Access aspects includes hours, availability, convenience of location and security, physical environment research has been carried out by Bitner (1990, 1992) she introduces the concept of servicescapes which may involve customers only e.g. (self service), employee only (remote service) or customer-employee relationship which is common is service delivery, she said environment must be conducive for customer satisfaction and employee pleasurable, environment lead to positive customer evaluations of service and desire to spend more time and m oney, on the other hand, unpleasant environment lead to avoidance. Technology: Technology is part of the whole service product, it facilitates customer-company exchange and increase service level, it also increases speed, efficient and accuracy for the employee and better personal service for customer. Employee:- The function of employee in customer service cannot be overlook, their personal qualities, ability to understand and satisfy customer needs. Gronross (1984a) discussed the outcome of quality of service encounters, the way the service is delivered is done by employee of the financial services this will include attitude and behaviour, appearance and personality, service-mindedness, accessibility and approachability of customer contact personnel. Edvardsson, Gustavsson and Riddle (1989) present four aspects of quality which affects customers perceptions: Technical, Integrative, Functional and outcome, while LeBlanc and Nguyen (1988) suggests that corporate image, internal organisation physical support of the service producing system, staff-customer interaction and degree of customer satisfaction all are customer service/quality. Parasuraman Zeithaml and Berry (1985:1988) suggested that he criteria used by consumer that are important in moulding their expectations and perception in ten ways: Tangible i.e. physical evidence, reliability: honouring promise, Responsiveness: readiness to proved service, Communication: telling customer what they need to know, Credibility: Trustworthiness, Security: physical and financial, Competence: skill and knowledge, Courtesy: polite, Understanding: knowing your customer needs, Access: easy to contact. MEASUREMENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE Measurement of customer service can been seen as a different between consumer expectation and perception; Expectations are desires or wants, which people believe that service provider should give, Perceptions are consumer judgement about actual service performance or delivery, if there is shortcoming between predicted and perception there is service quality gap which the provider would like to close. Zeithaml and Parasuraman (1985) are influenced by four other shortcomings/gaps. Consumer expectation: (Management perceptions and consumer expectations) If customer expectation is low (both internal and external) the result might be in lower level of delivery service this is gap, gaps may be closed by market research and better communication between management and personnel. Management perceptions of Consumer expectations:- when customer needs are known, there may not appropriate service specification due to lack of resources, organisational constraints (such as promise to give loan) absence of management commitment to customer service. Service quality specifications: (actual service delivery) This gap is called service performance gap, when there is difference between management specification and service delivery due to variations in the performance of service personnel. The reason may be the employee is not willing to work or incompetence. Actual service delivery:- External communication about the service, this gap is when, what said about the service in external communication is different from the service deliver e.g. advertising therefore, it is important not to promise more than what can be deliver. 3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ANALYSIS OF THE QUESTION

Censorship of the Internet :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Censorship of the Internet The censorship of the Internet is a big argument today in the world of computer technology. The government is trying to control something that is to many people an extension of the First Amendment Right, Freedom of Speech. Just this one point should be a slap in the face of every American anywhere, because the government is trying to take something away that has no right to be taken away. The Bill of Rights is the foundation that our country is based and built on and now the government that was created to protect that Bill of Rights, that piece that declares our rights and freedoms, is trying to change one of those twelve rights to make some conservative people more happy about how our country is and how it is run. The world is so concerned today with the petty things that are being done that they do not look to the larger picture of what is actually happening. The government is trying to censor something that they created over thirty years ago to possible send information much more harmful to humanity than pornographic materials or information on how to create bombs that do not work. The Internet was created over thirty years ago by the military for a alternative means of communications other than telephones communications in case of a nuclear strike by the Russians that rendered our great country basically helpless, this previous Internet went under such names as ARPANET, MILNET, and other acronyms similar to these. This great idea by scholars was next adopted by very well known colleges of the United States to provide a quick means of communications and data transfer, such as research information transfer or transcript transfer, between the students and college professors of diff erent city and state colleges. Some of the first colleges that took that great step into this new unknown frontier were CALTECH, MIT, Harvard, and other great prestigious colleges of the United States. During this time period of the Internet the government had no problem at all with what was happening. The colleges were putting large amounts of information on the Internet so other scholars could observe and comment on ongoing experiments, and the government was happy with the large computer network they created for their own personal dastardly deeds.

Leadership characteristics of a successful entrepreneur Essay

Successful entrepreneurs are specialized types of leaders that have a definite set of leadership characteristics that make them good at what they do–motivate people. Successful entrepreneurs are usually very focused in their vision and are immersed in making their venture successful. A good entrepreneur uses a dynamic and charismatic approach to motivate their employees to feel the same sort of feelings of success that he or she feels towards the ultimate success of the business. Howard Shultz, the founder of Starbucks Corporation, uses a dynamic leadership style, charismatic personality and vision to propel Starbucks as the premiere specialty coffee house in America, and is well on the way to becoming the global name for specialty coffee houses. Entrepreneurs, by the very nature of the definition, are self-starters that are highly motivated to make their business successful. Most people that start their own business do so because they have the personal drive to put their own ideas into a business venture. It takes a very motivated individual with personal convictions to make a business become a profitable and successful business. Obviously, if a person has enough gumption to take the steps to start their own business, then they are, by nature, very motivated individuals that want to make their project succeed. People who are not highly motivated will not become entrepreneurs or will more than likely fail if they try to make a half-hearted attempt to start their own business. To make a business succeed requires a vision of where the company should be after a specific time period. All entrepreneurs know in their mind what they would like their business to be in one year or five years or ten years. Successful entrepreneurs have a focused vision of what steps need to be taken to make their business succeed. The very best entrepreneurs are not only motivated themselves, but are able to spread their motivation to others through a charismatic leadership approach. People that become successful entrepreneurs have the ability to make those around them get excited about the business, just like they are. If the people that work in a company are motivated to work towards making the company a success, then the company has a much better chance of becoming successful. All entrepreneurs are excited about their own business, but not  all of them can get the people that work for them just as excited. A dynamic entrepreneur is able to motivate others to want to produce a better product or service because they provide the employees with motivation and direction. Motivation is probably the single most important factor that an entrepreneur can provide to their employees, but creating a shared vision for all to work for is almost equally important. People will work harder for a company that has ideals and principles that they also believe in and share. Successful entrepreneurs are able to create a vision for the company; they provide a goal or ideal that employees and the public in general can relate to. By having a vision or ideal that the company is striving for, each employee feels that they are performing a vital function that eventually leads to the final goal. Employees will work hard to achieve a goal if they feel that a goal is worthwhile or somehow makes the world a better place. Companies usually state these in mission statements, with variations for whatever the company holds as an ideal, such as environmentalism or community service. Howard Shultz, founder of Starbucks, is a very motivated individual that has a vision of what he would like Starbucks to become. The fact that Shultz coordinated 150 new Starbucks openings between 1987 and 1992 shows that he was very motivated to make Starbucks a national and eventually international success. Shultz’s vision for Starbucks has facilitated the opening of over 3,300 stores worldwide and Starbucks continues to grow at an extremely rapid pace. Along with charisma and motivation, Howard Shultz possesses many leadership attributes, which make him a very successful leader and motivator. Shultz knows how to make people feel like they are doing something important. Selling coffee is not a vital function that is needed for life, but Shultz has made selling coffee seem important to those that work for Starbucks. Shultz created a policy that Starbucks will only purchase organically grown coffee beans. This one policy makes Starbucks seem like they are performing a service to the world by creating a market for coffee beans that aren’t responsible for damaging the environment. Environmentalists and even non-environmentalists agree that this is a good thing–even noble. The  people that sell the Starbucks product feel a sense of pride for doing something for the environment. Starbucks also does other things that have the same effect, but on different populations. Starbucks has a program that builds schools, community centers, etc, in the communities that Starbucks buys its coffee beans from. This type of activity appeals especially to socially conscious people that get reward from knowing that Starbucks is ‘giving something back to the community’ from which the coffee beans are taken. Another program, called the Urban Coffee Opportunities, offers inner city entrepreneurs an opportunity to bring a Starbucks to an inner city neighborhood in the hopes that a Starbucks business can spark financial growth and future business opportunities for inner city areas. This program also appeals to the socially conscious and creates a sense that Starbucks really cares about people and their communities. These programs are definitely good ideas and greatly enrich the lives of the people that they touch, but also serve as a basis to motivate employees as well as customers of Starbucks, which creates a better product and more sales for Starbucks. References http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/customer_stories/starbucks.html; Accessed 10 Feb. 2004 http://www.starbucks.com/; Accessed 10 Feb. 2004

Communication in the customer service role Essay

Section 1 – Understand methods of communication with customers 1a) Use the table below to outline at least two different customer service situations and the different methods of communication that would be needed in these situations. Situation Methods of communication 1. IT department was doing a project over summer to upgrade some older PC’s in around different departments. When Staff came back to work after break there was some complaints of no printers being connected and also lost documents The best methods of communication are in person and trying to rectify the problems straight away with written reporting to helpdesk software to avoid issues reoccurring. 2. Customer has bought an item from catalogue or internet. But when it arrives He is not happy with the quality of the item. Because he can not find returns procedure, he needs to contact the store. The customer has a choice to either write an email or call the store. Find out the returns procedure and get RMA number, also to agree how much money would be refunded. 1b) Based on the information you have provided in the table above, outline why the different situations need different methods of communication. Different situations need different methods of communication to make sure your customer knows that you care and to show empathy to the current situation and customers problems if any. You need to plan the form of communication in relation to the context, and consider different audience and purpose. 2. In relation to your current organisation (or one that you know well), complete the table below by listing at least three different examples of customer interaction and identify the most suitable communication method for each one. Customer interaction Communication method 1. Customer calls to report a problem. Because he is already on the phone, the best is to deal with the situation straight away, ask politely can customer log a job on helpdesk while you look at the issue, than call back customer with the fix. 2. Customer Logs a job on Helpdesk. Prioritise jobs on urgency, and fix them one by one, even if you can not  contact the customer make sure you update comments on each job so if customer go back to check, he can straight away know the progress. 3. Customer comes in with the problem to your office. The best is to listen to customer, tell him you will log a job together and after that go and have a look at the issue. If customer has to go back to his work in the mean time, Ring them back with un update. 3. Complete the table below by identifying at least two advantages and at least two disadvantages of each communication method. Communication method Advantages Disadvantages Face to face 1. Seen body language 2. You can demonstrate the fix 1.You can be interrupted 2. if customer decides to escalate an issue it can be humiliating In writing 1. Written communication can be kept 2. Facts can be passed on without personal adjustments 1.Letters are slower methods of communication than spoken 2. there is no guarantee customer received it Via telephone 1. Instance Response 2. No special tools required 1.you can’t see customer facial expressions 2. You may still have to write to customer afterwards 4. When responding to a customer query in writing, outline the content that could be included in a standard letter. When responding to a letter of complaint you should address all of the areas raised by the customer in their letter. As an organization you need to show the concern, and let the customer know about the commitment to good customer service. Other thing are providing the detail if what do you need to resolve the situation (information details about the complaint) You should also tell them what action has been or will be taken by the organization to resolve the situation. Let customer know that competent person will deal with the matter personally, with job title detail at the end of the letter. 5a) Explain what is meant by the term ‘active listening’. Active listening is about engaging  with the person speaking, in order to understand them. Making sure that we do not disturb in any way the person speaking, but also we appear to be listening and not do anything else in the mean time. Also we keep an Eye contact with other person, nodding or agreeing with person at appropriate moments. 5b) Why is active listening important when dealing with customers? Active listening is important when dealing with customers because it helps you to: Make sure customers feel good after they leave the conversation. Check that you’ve got all the facts, and correct any errors. Encourage further sales opportunities. Properly communicate any message. Remain calm, friendly and polite with the customer. Stay motivated to communicate with that customer in the future. Support organisational effectiveness and customer relations. 6. Use the table below to describe the standard greetings of three different organisations and how these greetings impact on customers. Organisation Standard greeting Impact on customers Charity Shop, coffee shop Face to Face What you wear has an impact – are you required to wear a uniform or badge? How you sound has an impact – it’s important to be polite. Your facial expression has an impact – do you look sullen or approachable? Do you look tidy and presentable? How’s your body language? Is it negative with folded arms, or is it positive with an open posture? Smiles and acknowledgements meet guests’ needs for attention. Call centre Telephone How you sound has a make-or-break impact! If you sound tired or disengaged, the customer will pick up on this. If you sound enthusiastic and pleasant, the customer is likely to feel more at ease. Smiling as you pick up the phone may improve how you sound. It’s important to be polite.Your appearance is not as important but your manners are – offer assistance and listen and respond where appropriate. Supermarkets Boards Impersonal, some people might not notice is. Good when there are a lot  of customers. Customers feel welcomed without being disturbed. Section 2 – Understand how to handle customer service information 1. Explain what information may be held about customers by an organisation. Organisation can hold different types of data to provide an improved personalised service. WHO – essential info like name, gender email address and telephone number, also sometimes customers address, date of birth and ethnic background. HISTORY – Information concerning a customer’s transaction history with the organisation may include when and how they bought products or used services in the past. For example, did they buy products online, by phone or in person? PREFERENCES – Information about customer likes and needs and sometimes interests is essential to an organisation trying to understand exactly why customers buy or use the product or service on offer. 2. Outline at least two examples of ways in which customer information can be kept secure and confidential. COMPUTER SECURITY – One of the ways which organisation can implement to keep customer information secure and confidential. To implement computer security organisation needs to: Implement a firewall Install Antivirus, anti spyware and anti malware Keep your software up to date with latest patches Implement folder security with access to files by job description Implement IT usage policies Implement password policies Implement Backup and secure storage for it Secure format all drives before disposing OFFICE SECURITY – Steps needed to take to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer information in the office: Ensure physical security to the building Implement Data protection policies with Data protection officer Make sure all confidential documents are shredded When sending information to outside recipients double check it going to right people 3. In relation to your current organisation (or one that you are familiar with): Give at least two examples of information about the organisation that  should not be disclosed to customers. 1. Any details of and pending investigations and proceedings against college. 2. Personal data of staff and students. Explain why this information should not be disclosed to customers and the implications on the organisation if it is. 1. It could impair the effective conduct of public affairs, it could ruined the public image. 2. Personal data should never be disclosed to other customers or the general public because it’s protected by the Data Protection Act 1998. The implication is of course ICO enforcement and financial penalties. Section 3 – Understand how to work as part of a team to provide effective customer service 1. In relation to your current customer service role (or one that you are interested in doing in the future), what are the limits of this role when delivering customer service (e.g. what are you able to deal with as part of this role and what situations would you be unable to handle without assistance from others)? I am IT Services engineer, product specialist. My Job role is to develop good working network for apple hardware, but also work with other engineers to maintain current systems. Answer customer queries and fix problems. If customer hardware is broken beyond repair, the only thing I can do is tell customer to request replacement, I can not promise that we will be able to do it. If repair is out of my hands I help customer to log/ update job on helpdesk and make sure the right engineer knows its been booked for him. That helps keep customer expectations at the level we can satisfy them. 2. If you were faced with a customer query outside of your individual responsibility, what sources of help would be available to you? Identify them below. Other engineers (specialities)

American sitcoms Essays

American sitcoms Essays American sitcoms Paper American sitcoms Paper It has been argued that living in the suburbs and having a family was patriotic. In the 1950s the United States had just entered an economic boom following World War II. Anything that had to do with bettering the United States was considered patriotic. For example, buying U. S. -made goods such as cars, refrigerators and televisions was considered helping the country by keeping Americans employed in factories, and therefore considered patriotic. Owning a house and having a family were ideals of the time. One of the most important features of the 1950s sitcom family were gender roles. Every family featured a mother, father and various children. The mother stayed in the home, cooking and cleaning, and the father spent his day at work. Boys and girls were taught to value and excel at different things. For example, if a couple had boys, the boys were urged to concentrate on academics and sports, and if a couple had girls, the girls were groomed to take care of a home and family. In the twentieth century, womens opportunities and rights expanded. More women entered the workforce, for example, however, women were still largely responsible for keeping a tidy home. The topic of women in the workforce was not discussed in American sitcoms of the 1950s. The only working women that were shown were single white women as teachers of African-American women as housekeepers. It has been argued that the dominant beliefs and concerns about gender pertained only to the middle-class white woman. African-American women felt that their needs, experiences and perceptions were largely ignored while the world revolved around white society. In the 1950s this was a sad reality. Leave It to Beaver was the only show of its kind to tell its stories from the point of view of a child. (Linehan, 115) Life in the 1950s, through a childs eyes, was sweet and simple. When problems came up, they were always resolved with wise advice and a gently-learned lesson. Ward and June were completely supportive, no one ever really fought, and at the end of the day, everyone was smiling. In the Cleaver household, it seemed that June was low on the list of priorities. She was a housewife and mother who always looked her best and always had a kind word to say. She seemed genuinely happy to play the role in the home that she did. She also had some input on Wally and Beaver were disciplined. Ward and June talked over what Wally and Beavers punishments should be, but ultimately, it was Wards decision, and June nodded and smiled, accepting whatever her husband said. She also never concerned herself with financial matters, and left that area of the household to Ward. Sitcoms were an exit for society. They presented humorous situations that always found a happy ending. These comedic situations often mirrored the real worries of the time. Any person watching sitcoms could enjoy the humor while relieving the stress of their everyday lives. The Cleavers were the quintessential American family who lived the traditional American dream. Gender roles and the family dynamic were clearly defined; the woman was a housewife and mother while the man was a working husband and father, and together they had happy children and lead quiet, happy lives. This is what every American wants – happiness. Television is supposed to be an escape from reality; people could leave their possibly bleak lives for a moment and enter a world where everything works out to a happy ending. This is what Leave It to Beaver provided for its audience – simple happiness. Pop Culture Explodes in a Decade of Conformity in Pendergast, Sara and Tom, Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Detroit, U*X*L, 2002. Finkelstein, Norman H. The Way Things Never Were: The Truth About the â€Å"Good Old Days†. New York, Atheneum Books, 1999. Gourley, Catherine. Gidgets and Women Warriors: Perceptions of Women in the 1950s and 1960s. Minneapolis, MN, Twenty-First Century Books, 2008. Hausman, Bernice L. Gender and Gender Roles in Kutler, Stanley I. , Dictionary of American History. New York, Charles Scribners Sons, 2003. Horsley, Edith. The 1950s. London, Bison Books Limited, 1978. Linehan, Joyce. Leave It to Beaver in Pendergast, Sara and Tom, St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Detroit, St. James Press, 2000. Passing Parade: A History of Popular Culture in the Twentieth Century. Edited by Richard Maltby. London, Oxford University Press, 1989. Suburbia in Tompkins, Vincent, American Decades. Detroit, Gale, 2001. The 1950s Arts and Entertainment: Overview in Pendergast, Sara and Tom, U*X*L American Decades. Detroit, U*X*L, 2003.

Sales and Tesco Essay

Sales and Tesco Essay Sales and Tesco Essay Aims Diversify product portfolio- Tesco is aiming to diversify their product portfolio in order to reach and target more customers. By offering a better product range Tesco can attempt to make more income and more profits since customers will have more option to buy products and services with them. Maintain number one supermarket position in the UK- This refers to uphold their position as the number one retailer company within the UK market. Despite all its competitors, Tesco is aiming to retain and increase their market share. Growth of social media Describe change- The internet and other technologies are developing at a very quick pace. Social media has been one of the new technologies that have contributed the most to connect the whole world together. The usage of website such as Youtube, Facebook and twitter has increased; this means that are more and more users using this social media networks in order to communicate and stay connected to the rest of the world. Impact on business – The change in the social media can bring positive benefits to Tesco. Social media is often used by customers to express their feelings and needs regarding purchases and businesses they usually use i.e. customers who use social media to talk products or services Which Tesco does not provide. This enables Tesco to identify customer needs and demands by collecting this sort of feedback from social media. As a result Tesco can start providing these products and services to customers and widen their product range. Consequently, there will be more customers thus be able to do more and profits. This contributes for them to maintain their position as the number one supermarket in the UK. E.g. A customer who tweets that Tesco does not sell swimming clothes. Tesco can identify these needs and start selling these sorts of products. This will help them to increase their product range and increase their sales. As a result it helps them to maintain their position as the number one supermarket in the UK. Another way that Tesco can benefit from social media is that it allows them to communicate with customers i.e. if a customer tweets complaining about the lack of shopping carts within Tesco’s stores. Tesco can simply answer these customers using social media and explain the reason for such situation; this makes the whole process to be quicker and therefore save precious time to both company and customers. This way Tesco can improve their relation with customers and make them loyal to the business. As a result customers will spend more contributing to maintain Tesco the number one supermarket in the UK. Costs/risks created- Tesco will have to assume small costs to create a social media account, since they represent an official organisation. Also, they will have to maintain those accounts regularly updated since the content within the page is visible at all the time. Social media can also oppose threats to Tesco. The reason for this is that it becomes easier or customers to make complaints and state their opinions to the world i.e. if a customer complaints about Tesco’s customer service on a social media network, it would be visible to the whole world. As a result other customer can have a negative impression of Tesco and therefore stop using their business. When customers stop shopping with Tesco it makes them loose market share since these will prefer to shop with other competitors. For example a number of customers who have not been satisfied with Tesco Mobile’s as its network is not reliable. These customers can eventually use social media to express their frustrati on and as a result impact other customers’ opinion about Tesco. This means that a retail company by expanding their product range, but not being able to satisfy its customers can impact all other sections of the business. This means that customer’s complaints through social media about Tesco Mobile can make other customers to stop shopping with Tesco supermarkets and other services,

French Pronunciation of Vowels (Voyelles Française)

French Pronunciation of Vowels (Voyelles Franà §aise) A vowel is a sound that is pronounced through the mouth (and, in the case of nasal vowels, the nose) with no obstruction of the lips, tongue, or throat. There are a few general guidelines to keep in mind when pronouncing French vowels: Most French vowels are pronounced further forward in the mouth than their English counterparts.The tongue must remain tensed throughout the pronunciation of the vowel.French vowels do not diphthong. In English, vowels tend to be followed by a y sound (after a, e, or i) or a w sound (after o or u). In French, this is not the case - the vowel sound remains constant: it does not change into a y or w sound. Thus the French vowel is a purer sound than the English vowel. Hard and Soft Vowels A, O, and U are sometimes called hard vowels and E and I are soft vowels, because certain consonants (C, G, S) have a hard and a soft pronunciation, depending on which vowel follows. Nasal Vowels Vowels followed by M or N are usually nasal. Nasal pronunciation can be very different from the normal pronunciation of each vowel. Accents Accents may change the pronunciation of vowels. They are required in French.

Aristotle's Concept of Happiness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aristotle's Concept of Happiness - Essay Example Aristotle uses Nicomachean Ethics in his theory of happiness to defend the view he takes on happiness. He begins by creating a big illusion that all things aim at some good. By saying that all things aim at some good, Aristotle means that everything has some aim or end to be achieved and the restricted good which every activity intends to achieve actuates the nature of that activity. Aristotle gives an example of health and the practice of medicine, the main aim of medical science is to attain health for everyone and health is in itself a good. Therefore the aim of medical science is good. Activities carried out in the real world achieve something desirable otherwise they would not be practiced. According to Aristotle, activities are hierarchically related to other activities and ends to ends (Broadie 11). Some ends are therefore subordinate to others. Hedonists and non-hedonists would disagree on what is subordinate to what between virtue and pleasure. Aristotle’s approach fo cuses on subordination-relations to cover individuals with different ethical attitudes. Subordination-relations are apparent to all who appreciate how diverse activities in a society are organized and the fact that all these activities aim at some common good. Aristotle argues that some end is ultimate for an activity and concludes that the ultimate is the good and the best but some activities may lead to others or each to various ultimate ends. Broadie states that â€Å"what is ultimate is not uniquely supreme, but it seems logically and ethically harmless, there could be conflict not resoluble by argument since it might not always be possible to act for the sake of one end without passing up an opportunity to act for the sake of another† (14). Since realistic people can avoid having different ends becoming adversaries’, anarchy or imposition of unreasonable decisions can also be avoided. Aristotle argues that knowing if there is a best should come before deciding wha t is the best. For him identifying a knowledge or skill first cultivates a good identification of the object or end. As far as ethics is concerned, the good is happiness. Despite the fact that everyone is mainly concerned for his own happiness, Nicomachean ethics does not ascertain or presume that a person can or should seek only his own good. It rather concentrates on activities and crafts in general. Aristotle argues that to form good decisions and carry them out, individuals need to understand impulse and not just apply philosophical ethics. â€Å"Lectures on ethics cannot act up for moral discipline.† (Broadie 20). It is not just enough to believe in theory; practicing things believed is a sure way of making progress. There is need to desire and act in congruence to reason. Reason does not just refer to philosophical light gained through studying ethics but rather to a progressive pursuit of the good life. According to Broadie, the pursuit is realistic not just for being established from an understanding of principles but because a good life is the kind of good that can only be achieved if individuals place some desires as secondary to others (21). This gives an individual a sound mind to choose what to do and discard what he may have felt like doing. In

Managerial Report on the Real Estate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Managerial Report on the Real Estate - Essay Example This, they accomplish by collecting on site data, monitoring information relative to the sale and purchase of condominiums. The number of days it takes for each condominium to be sold is also taken into account and recorded for analysis and reference. The Gulf Real Estate Properties has classified the condominiums by separating those present on the areas of the Gulf from those present elsewhere such as on the bay or a golf course. The data relative to the recent sales of Condominiums both on and off Gulf, which is in thousands of dollars, has been selected. Statistical analysis of the acclaimed data would reveal facts which would be accommodated within a managerial report. The data comprise of three variables namely list price, sale price and days to sell for both the categories of condominiums that are â€Å"Gulf View† and â€Å"No Gulf View†. The sample size for former is 40 while for the latter it is 18. The price values are given in thousands of dollars. The data is acquired from condominium sales reported in the Naples MLS (Coldwell Banker, June 2000). The data is appended below as Table 1.1 under Appendix A. The subscripts that are used to indicate the statistical figures of both the â€Å"Gulf View† and â€Å"No Gulf View† categories in this report are 1 and 2 respectively. The descriptive statistics regarding each of the three variables for the 40 â€Å"Gulf View Condominiums† and for the 18 â€Å"No Gulf View Condominiums† is presented in Table 1.0 below. The descriptive statistics highlight multiple factors that would assist a real estate agent comprehend the real estate market. The sample mean of days to sell variable for Gulf View Condominiums (= 106 days) is comparatively lesser than the sample mean of No Gulf View Condominiums (= 135 days).

Read the case, and answer the question Case Study

Read the , and answer the question - Case Study Example The good point showcasing about being socially responsible in the given case is the idea that Vermont Teddy Bear was trying to consider their customers as partners, which is tantamount to the the actual formation of relationship with its customers. In doing so, they only are not going to earn long-standing trust, but above all, the ability on the part of the customers to distinguish the kind of service they provide. Vermont Teddy Bear therefore knew the key to a long-lasting penetration and operation in the market and that is to create a meaningful relationship with their customers, an act that one could potentially consider as socially responsible. Here is another important point how Vermont Teddy Bear has become socially responsible. It was able to support charitable causes (LHMVTB Case). Supporting charitable causes is an indication that the company is trying to involve and consider itself as integral part of the community. It does not stand alone by itself, but has considerable o bligations for the people and the community as a whole. In addition, Vermont Teddy Bear strongly adhered to understanding customers’ needs. Criticism concerning its insensitivity was not directly coming from the customers, but from a national agency trying to be closely critical about its products. Vermont Teddy Bear has remarkable point not to listen to this criticism because for them there was a positive approval and response from the customers concerning their product offerings (LHMVTB Case). It is clear that through this incident, Vermont Teddy Bear must be a customer-centric organization that would be willing to understand customers’ needs and create decisions based on these requirements. The case therefore has remarkably shown the level of Vermont Teddy Bear’s socially receptive response by highlighting their ability to directly listen to the customers’ needs and build their critical decision on these patterns. 2. Discuss the external environmental factors that impact VTB overall. Additionally, discuss the external environmental factors that impacted this particular situation/controversy. Explain specifically how the external environmental factor(s) impacts VTB overall and this particular situation. In general, Vermont Teddy Bear’s actual business growth were influenced by seasons of the year and technological advancement associated with sharing marketing information such as the presence of internet and other relevant media (LHMVTB Case). In fact, the remarkable controversy against Vermont Teddy Bear occurred in February which is the month of the year noted for the celebration of Valentines day. Moreover, the ability of the company to generate sales and income was due to the easy implementation of direct marketing via phone calls and its website. In other words, social activities and advancement of communication technology have evidently paved a way for Vermont Teddy Bear to spread its influence to its market industry. However, the socio-political response could have a significant impact on Vermont Teddy Bear as its criticism against the company’s product offerings could create a negative marketing advantage over the actual product involved in the controversy. The national agency was reacting badly against the very controversial one product of Vermont Teddy Bear which is an indication that there is a great deal of issue that needs settlement on the part of the company. In addition, this issue or controversy could also be a damaging factor

Educational infosystems Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Educational infosystems - Research Paper Example However, my school district is not ready to meet its responsibilities to comply with the new data reporting demands from both the state and No Child Behind Legislation. It is essential for adult educators to examine the course developments of secondary or high education, in order to identify problems or qualities that are typical of young adults and people. The establishment of adult and youth education can do this by looking at possibilities like, situations, process, and experiences. The software publishers that supply educational systems in the district claim that their products are compliant with SIF (OR SIS), the district has already established that it is not ready to meet its responsibilities to abide by new data reporting demands from NO Child Left Behind legislation. The information student system that exists need replacement and therefore, there is need to evaluate the market software publishers who claims that their products comply with SIF (SIF stands for Schools Interoperability Framework). It is an industry that is concerned with developing an open specification in order to ensure that administrative and instructional applications sof tware works effectively and together. It is not a product but an industry that is supported by K-12 blueprint supported technical software which enables a diverse application to share and interact with data effortlessly, every day and in the future (U. S. Department of Education, 2007). Therefore, in order to determine if the software publishers that supplies educational systems are compliant with SIF, their softwares should be able to define and determine common data formats, as well as high-level rules of architecture and interaction, and not linked with a particular platform or operating system. According to Infed (2007), when educational systems are compliant with SIF, then the information will be transferred, stored, accessed, and updated, thus reducing

Self Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self Evaluation - Essay Example I am going to go a head and discuss a real life case study which I experienced myself while I was working as a house supervisor for Familia Group Home Inc. This business housed teens ranging from 14-22 with violent aggressive behaviors and drug addictions. The company just pretty much gave out applications for anyone who came by seeking employment and would send them to get a security background check if cleared they could be hired by the owner. There were 10 employees all together at that time. The company did not have any standard operating procedures and/or policies hence the problems occurring due to the absence of such policies are self explanatory. For example, the employees reporting to work on time had no incentive of doing so while the employees who were not punctual faced no embracement. My objective was to basically establish an effective and efficient human resource department comprising of at least one HR coordinator and one assistant. I could not have just hired one person because like Bazerman, Loewenstein, and White (1992) have also demonstrated that people exhibit less will power when they weigh choices separately rather than jointly. The purpose was to create a set of policies like, The challenge was to compare the cost of hiring a qualified and experienced HR person versus the cost of having un-organized and un-monitored employees leading to jeopardized care of the facility and compromised treatment of the children, which of course was against the aim of the organization. Therefore there were 2 options, The problem with hiring a new person for taking care of human resources was not only the cost of it being higher than the 2nd option but also the time. The time, which the new person will require to adjust and understand the situation, get trained and then work according to it. We decided to

Claim to Cancel the Legitimacy of Gambling Essay

Claim to Cancel the Legitimacy of Gambling - Essay Example The organization and development of my presentation were divided into three points. The first category was to clarify some misconceptions about gambling. For instance, people perceive gambling as a hobby. I persuaded them to understand that gambling is a serious business. In addition, I informed the audience that, as individuals, we cannot control chance or luck. The second point elaborated on the health risks associated with gambling. Here, I mentioned the serious disease associated with people addicted to gambling. The diseases were such as liver disease, high blood pressure, increased rates of heart diseases and angina. My final point was ideally to support my presentation goal. I was able to convince them to claim to cancel gambling indirectly via clearly showing the existing relationship between gambling and increased rate of crimes and drug business. As a matter of fact, I made an outline to my professor to make sure that my structure was easy to follow. I provided enough testi mony when I used the statistic. Throughout my presentation, I used transitions to navigate from one point to another. Unfortunately, my conclusion ended abruptly as my time was already out. Therefore, I was unable to conclude what I had prepared for my audience. My use of verbal communication was fine as everyone could get me clearly. This was evident from the various questions asked by the audience. However, I had some weakness in pronouncing some words but that did not stop me from continuing with my presentation. With nonverbal delivery, I tried my level best to maintain eye contact with my audience. This is because eye contact helps in establishing a relationship with the subjects in question. In addition, I tried to smile when appropriate to create a friendly environment.  

Self Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self Evaluation - Essay Example I am going to go a head and discuss a real life case study which I experienced myself while I was working as a house supervisor for Familia Group Home Inc. This business housed teens ranging from 14-22 with violent aggressive behaviors and drug addictions. The company just pretty much gave out applications for anyone who came by seeking employment and would send them to get a security background check if cleared they could be hired by the owner. There were 10 employees all together at that time. The company did not have any standard operating procedures and/or policies hence the problems occurring due to the absence of such policies are self explanatory. For example, the employees reporting to work on time had no incentive of doing so while the employees who were not punctual faced no embracement. My objective was to basically establish an effective and efficient human resource department comprising of at least one HR coordinator and one assistant. I could not have just hired one person because like Bazerman, Loewenstein, and White (1992) have also demonstrated that people exhibit less will power when they weigh choices separately rather than jointly. The purpose was to create a set of policies like, The challenge was to compare the cost of hiring a qualified and experienced HR person versus the cost of having un-organized and un-monitored employees leading to jeopardized care of the facility and compromised treatment of the children, which of course was against the aim of the organization. Therefore there were 2 options, The problem with hiring a new person for taking care of human resources was not only the cost of it being higher than the 2nd option but also the time. The time, which the new person will require to adjust and understand the situation, get trained and then work according to it. We decided to

This experiment is designed Essay Example for Free

This experiment is designed Essay This is experiment is designed to approximate i , the coefficient of friction, for two surfaces. We used a piece of rubber on the bottom of a wooden block on a wooden table. Assumptions To undertake this experiment, first I developed an equation allowing a straight line to be plotted from our results. This will test if Coulombs law is correct. The main assumptions made in this experiment are: 1. Acceleration is constant 2. The strings are light and inextensible, and the pulley is light and smooth 3. g, gravity is 9. 8 4. Coulombs law is correct 5. There is no air resistance 6. F=ma These assumptions have different weights in affecting our results. Some are more likely to affect our results, whilst others will only have a small effect. Assumption How strong the effect is on results Acceleration is constant This will have a moderate effect on the results. We can see that the acceleration is not constant. This is because friction does change slightly with velocity, and we are ignoring air resistance Light, inextensible strings In fact the strings do stretch slightly, and do have a small weight. This will affect the results as forces will not be constant during the experiment, and therefore produce irregular acceleration. Light, smooth pulley This will affect the results in the same way as above. We attempted to use the smoothest pulley available, but obviously it can never be perfectly smooth. That the pulley has mass does not affect our results, as we are not dependent on the pulleys mass for our results. Gravity is 9. 8 This will introduce a systematic error into our calculations, but as we will use this assumption for both the results and the model, it will not make a difference for our experiment. Coulombs law is correct This will make a big difference to our results. By assuming that , our calculations are fairly simple. However, this linear model is incorrect. This will affect our results considerably, and may results in a curve being plotted from our results instead of a straight line. No air resistance This will have a mild effect on the results. Because the block of wood and the weights are fairly small, the effects of air resistance are negligible. However there will be a small effect, which again may force the results into a curve rather than a straight line. This assumption will not impact our results very much at all. For macroscopic objects, such as we are dealing with, this law is a very good model. However if we were to repeat the experiment using single atoms for the objects, this would be a bad model. To help overcome these systematic errors, we insured that we had the smoothest pulley, and that the surfaces that we used were consistent. In other words, that the table was the same roughness all the way along it, and that the rubber was the same all over. Manipulating the model When m2 is released m1 accelerates. These two objects can be looked at separately. Using . (1) (2) (3) Using (Coulombs Law) (4) Substituting equation 4 into equation 1 Substituting into equation 3 (5) Assuming constant acceleration (see note above) As Substituting into equation 5 The two variables will be m1 and t. By putting , we can cancel m2 from the equation. Setting k to be 1022g (this is the lowest weight for which it will still move) . This is because otherwise m2 hits the floor. .. 1031. 8 should be 9. 8*1022 This allows us to plot a graph with m1 on the x-axis, and on the y-axis. Comparing the above equation with shows us that the gradient should be , and the y-intercept should be 0. 673. 6. 533333333333333333 Conducting the experiment Again, this diagram shows the layout of the experiment. m2 weighs more than m1. When m2 is released m1 accelerates. In my model I assumed that this acceleration is constant. However in reality this is not true. As mentioned previously, this will affect my results. The weight of m1 presses down on the table as the block accelerates. This causes frictional resistance between the block and the bottom of the table. The coefficient of friction between the rubber on the bottom of the block and the table is denoted by ?. By measuring the time taken to move over a specified distance, and by knowing the weight of the two masses it is possible to calculate ?. Following on from the assumptions above, it is possible to attempt to minimise the effects of these modelling approximations. For instance, if it were possible to ensure constant acceleration then doing this would reduce errors, and make the results more accurate. 1. Ensuring that the pulley was as smooth as possible. 2. Ensuring that the table was of equal roughness all the way along it. 3. Making sure that there is no wind or draughts on the block. 4. Making sure that the string is as inextensible as possible. Variation in experimental results As in every experiment, there is variation in the results. This is because in, real life, there are more than two variables changing. For example, random draughts, inaccuracy in timing, inaccuracy in measuring distance, inaccurate weights and differences in the table surface. The error bars on the graph show this error, with the central line showing an average. Comparison between experimental data and predictions of the model The predictions of the model give a line of the equation y = -1. 37x + 13. 8. This gives ? to be 1. 14. This is a lot bigger than our original estimate. In addition, 13. 8 is approximately twice as big as 6. 53. This shows that our experiment does not follow our original model. This is probably due to our assumption that Coulombs Law is true. This model will produce a straight line. Our results show a subtle curvature, implying a non-linear relationship between F and ? r. Although random variation could have created this curve, it seems that it is due to the inaccurate model of Coulombs Law. If the experiment had been based on a non-linear law then a different set of equations would have been derived which would result in a linear function being plotted. Revision of the process To improve the experiment, it would be better to use light gates to improve accuracy for timing. On the results that we collected, the higher speeds resulted in wider error bounds and thus less accuracy. This is because it was a lot harder to accurately measure these fast times. Measuring the distances we were moving over more accurately would also increase accuracy, as would more accurate measurement of mass. However, accuracy is not the main issue in this experiment. For this experiment, it seems that our model is incorrect, rather than the results. To improve this experiment, our assumptions need to be changed. Most assumptions are fine, but the assumption of Coulombs law is very inaccurate. This assumption of a linear relationship forced our results into a curve. To achieve a more meaningful analysis of these results, we need a better model on which to compare them. However, more accurate models for friction are much more complex and far less simple to use.

Drama activities: teaching english in the esl classroom

Drama activities: teaching english in the esl classroom If even the greatest dramatist that has ever lived in this world believes that all humans are actors, who are we to disagree? I for one completely do not. As a language practitioner, I for one strongly believe that drama has the potential of making the learning experience fun for the students and even memorable because it is â€Å"real†. Let me tell you why. Students in schools today seem to have very little exposure to the English language. The only contact with the language comes from being taught using the traditional ‘chalk and talk method in the English language classroom. They have very little experience with real-life situations where the English language is used as a communication tool. It is not surprising then that the Communicative Approach has been introduced in the new ‘Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM) English Language program. The communicative syllabus will focus not only on the linguistic competence but also on the development of the communicative ability of the learner. Instead of being a passive participant, the learner is now encouraged to take a more active role in their own language learning process in the classroom. In line with the National Education Philosophy, classroom strategies devised by the English teacher should cater not only for efficient language but also provide opportunities for students personal development to produce students who are competent and confident language users (Compedium, 1989). Teachers who advocate the Communicative Approach are expected to develop strategies that would promote self-learning, group interactions in authentic situations and peer- teaching, instead of the traditionally teacher-dominated and teacher-directed classes. The activities would also require the learner to do things with the language such as making choices, evaluating, and bridging the information gap. Examples of such activities are drama, role-play, simulation games, improvisation and miming. For the purpose of this project paper, we shall look at drama activities as a communicative tool in the teaching and learning of English in the ESL classroom. Drama has always had a close relationship with the teaching of the English language. With its link to literature, drama is a powerful tool in developing the students communicative ability. Generally speaking, drama is student-centered because it puts the students in a position to do most of the communicating and interacting instead of the teacher. Therefore, the onus is now on the students to take control of their own learning. Psychologically, it is also very motivating for there are no wrong answers in drama, allowing success for each student. The flexibility and openness of drama also provides the students a greater degree of freedom as compared to when they are required to find a single acceptable answer in the conventional English language lesson. Students acquire fluency skills at a much faster rate as a result of promoting student student talk and reducing the teachers role to a necessary low level or almost non-existent in some cases. Looking at it from the teachers perspective, engaging in group activities, as in drama, allows students to feel more relaxed and in turn feel comfortable to express their feelings better; compared to when they are required to come up with individual responses. Used properly, drama allows both the teacher and learner to gauge how far the learners ability to communicate has developed and this in time can develop confidence and better social skills in the learner. Furthermore, it is emphasized that English should be taught to not only develop the basic means of communication, but to further encourage fluent and accurate expression, both oral and written. Once the students begin to master the language they should be able to overcome their self-consciousness and develop their confidence to express views openly and articulately. These students would then make English meaningful and relevant in the sense that now they can take it out of the classroom and use it in their everyday lives. It i s rather obvious to realize the common ground English and drama share. Drama should contribute significantly to the realization of all these aims. Statement of the Problem Students in schools today seem to find the learning of English irrelevant and to a certain extent, confusing. They do not need to use the English they have learnt in the classroom in their daily lives. English language moreover, is often described as â€Å"a strong second language† but is, in reality only treated as a foreign language in all primary and secondary schools (Compendium, 1989). This change in the status of English in the system has brought with it a lot of problems for both teachers and students. Students who are hesitant to communicate in English may view the use of the language orally as trivial and insignificant to language learning. To them, to be merely ‘competent in the language is sufficient, rather than to ‘perform them (Chomsky, 1965). In actual fact, students especially the shy and silent ones, are afraid of making bizarre mistakes or errors. Thus, many resort to the use of their mother tongues or their L1 in their daily discussions or daily convers ations. The launching of the Language Policy in 1971 adds to this restriction. Bahasa Melayu was made the sole medium of instruction in schools and other formal events. At the same time, students of all races and background seemed to be more comfortable communicating in Bahasa Melayu, and so the importance of English language has been gradually declining. One possible way of overcoming this problem is to supplement the conventional English teaching methods with suitable teaching techniques such as drama, which offer the students the chance to actually use the English they have learnt. Even though the students English may not be perfect, the activities would help them to improve verbal communication. Objective of the Study The main aim of this study is to give a broad introduction to drama and to show how such techniques can be useful in the teaching and learning of the English language, particularly in Malaysian schools. This exploratory study plans to achieve the following objectives: To determine the students extent of exposure to drama activities. To ascertain students motivation towards learning English. To assess students attitudes towards learning English. Research Questions Specifically, this study seeks answers for the following research questions: Have the students been exposed to drama activities in their language classroom? What are the students motivations in learning the English language? What are the students attitudes towards English? Significance of the Study There is fundamental need for learners to bring what they have learned in the four walls of the classroom out into the open and apply it in ‘real-life situations; and drama activities meet this need. This study therefore hopes to make teachers of English language aware and to have the conviction that drama activities can be an effective tool in language teaching. It is hoped that this study will be an ‘eye opener for teachers and students of ESL. It provides the necessary information for language teachers to make students inevitably participate in the English lesson and thereby gain self-confidence in using the language. Thus, the significance of this study is to make ESL teachers aware that rather than acting in plays or studying them, students are taught English using a technique derived from drama as a social process of development. This will obviously promote the use of drama in the teaching and learning of ESL and in its widest sense, is best seen as an alternative methodology to one based on the traditional ‘chalk and talk. As far as students are concerned, they will soon see the purpose of drama activities in their learning and how realistic and relevant they are when applied in their everyday lives. Since drama activities often portray the society from which the students come from, it can give the students an opportunity to feel what life is all about. Drama activities encourage the students to make practical and rational judgments when confronted by complex situations, which they may encounter later in life. This valuable experience would certainly hold them in good stead in their future. Thus, the significance of the study advocates the usage of drama activities in the ESL classroom. It is aspired that teachers would adopt this technique and adapt the activities to the relevance and needs of their students. Limitations of the Study On the basis of discussion on this project paper, the drama activities presented is targeted towards Form four students of intermediate proficiency level. The drama activities are some of the possibilities for social interactions that lie within classroom situations. However, some of its limitations were recognized, in particular: In situations outside the classroom, learners will need to satisfy a much wider variety of communicative needs arising from the events of everyday life. They will need to cope with greater variety of patterns of interactions. These may vary from the formal interview, with its tightly controlled structure, to the informal gathering where everybody competes on an equal basis for turns to speak. They will need to become involved in different kinds of social relationship, for which different forms of language will be needed. In order to prepare learners to cope with these wider functional and social needs, we must look for ways extending the possibilities for communicative interactions in the classroom (Littlewood, 1984). It is hoped that by using the drama activities, the apparent gaps can be bridged and in return the students language competency and performance can be enhanced. Definition of Terms Drama How do we, as teachers of English as a Second Language bring drama into todays classroom? Though some teachers have tried using drama in their classroom, they are still in a state of confusion. This is not because they do not know how to teach it, but simply because they are not sure of its purpose in education. The use of communicative activities is a technique to achieve one of the aims of the communicative approach, which is to obtain communicative competence. The important aspect of this approach is to communicate with another person in the classroom and in the long term, the society (Wan, 1990). Drama used in the classroom can be considered a communicative activity since it fosters communication between learners and provides opportunities to use the target language in various ‘make believe situations. Thus, drama is any activity, which asks the participant to portray himself in an imaginary situation; or to portray another person in an imaginary situation. Drama is concerned with the world of ‘pretense. It provides an opportunity for a person to express himself through verbal expressions and gestures using his imagination and memory. According to Wan (1990), drama takes what it shares with English, an emphasis on developing the means of communication and extends this means to include all the paralinguistic aids to meaning which takes communication beyond just writing to gestures and physical interaction. Drama activities draw on the natural ability of every person to imitate, mimic and express himself. The students are encouraged to draw on their natural capacity to live parts of his past experience that might otherwise never emerge. When students are brought together they bring along with them different life and different background into the classroom. According to the Oxford Dictionary (1995), drama is defined as a literary composition to be performed by actors; play or the art of acting, writing or producing plays. But for the purpose of this paper, drama refers more to informal (creative drama) as it is used in the language classroom and not on stage. Drama is doing. Drama is being. Drama is such a normal thing. It is something that we all engage in daily when faced with difficult situation. This is clearly illustrated by Tricia (1984) when she quotes, â€Å"Getting on with our day-to-day live requires a series of masks†. Generally, drama is considered as a type of activity in which the learners are given fairly controlled scenarios to interpret. But the term drama is often viewed with confusion because different people use it in different ways to suit different contexts. As such, it seems necessary to define the terms from the perspective of teaching and learning English as a Second Language (ESL). Drama takes into account the socio-psychological aspects of learning as it involves the whole person and his total response. For some students drama techniques can be an alternative means of learning the language and may produce far more positive results than normal classroom teaching (Mordecai, 1985). CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Introduction Drama is used in ESL classrooms to promote communication in its authentic form. The Communicative Approach advocates that learners need to learn how to use the target language in ‘real life situations and drama activities meet this need, for it allows natural learning. If examined carefully, we would find that, English teachers define English as one that encourages and develops communication skills, self-expression, imagination and creativity. These are the key terms, which would surface as aims of teaching in a language classroom. When similarly confronted, teachers of drama say the same thing. Thus, drama invariably and significantly contributes to the realization of all the aims in an ESL classroom. The Communicative Approach The term ‘approach refers to the theories about the nature of how language is learnt (Richards, 1986). It takes into account the basic units of language structure and the nature of language proficiency. It also considers the psycholinguistic and cognitive processes involved in language learning and the conditions that allow for effective learning to take place. The Communicative Approach thus refers to the belief that language learning is communicative competence (Richards, 1986). Communicative competence here refers not only to the knowledge of the grammatical rules of a language and how to form grammatical sentences but also to know when, where and to whom to use these sentences in a speech community (Richards, 1985 and Hymes, 1972). Communicative ‘Methodology on the other hand, refers to the different ways of teaching language using the communicative approach. Therefore, the term ‘techniques refers to different classroom activities (Wan, 1990). In this study they will be called communicative activities. In the Communicative Approach, language teaching and learning emphasized the use of language for the communication of meaning than learning the language structures, forms and vocabulary (Wilkins, 1976 and Widdowson, 1978). However, this does not imply that the grammatical and lexical aspects are neglected. In fact, they do have a place in the Communicative Method of language teaching. Therefore, the ‘how of language teaching and learning refers to the specific techniques and procedures used to unconsciously acquire and consciously learn a language through communication (Brumfit, 1984). The Nature of Communicative Activities Communicative activities refer to the techniques, which are employed in the communicative method in language teaching. Examples of such activities are games, simulation, miming, drama and role-play, which make use of the target language. The activities involve doing things with language and these language activities for communication is not restricted to conversation and may involve listening, speaking, reading and writing or an integration of two or more skills. Communicative activities have the following characteristics (Wan, 1990): They are purposeful. They are beyond strictly practicing particular structures. They are interactive. The activities are often conducted with others and often involve some form of discussion. Authentic materials are used. The situations in which the learners have to use language should be as realistic as possible. The language models given should be authentic. They are based on the information gap principle. Five guiding principles have been vividly outlined behind the use of communicative activities as language teaching and learning techniques (Morrow, 1981). They are as follows: 1. Know what you are doing. This principle gives relevance to the lesson, which the students would want to use in order to perform in the target language. For example in teaching speaking, the task could be asking for directions to a certain place.. The students here communicate with each other and there is no control over the exact language used but the situation is controlled. 2. The whole is more important than the sum of the parts. In the communicative method, the natural language is dealt in real situations where it is necessary to work in the context of the whole. Communication is not learnt inductively as it cannot easily be analyzed into its various components without its nature being destroyed in the process. For example you may teach the component of various forms of greeting but it is no guarantee that the student will be able to choose the appropriate form when required in a real-life situation. 3. The processes are as important as the forms. The processes of communication such as information gap, choice and feedback, should be as much as possible replicated in trying to develop the ability of the students to communicate in the target language. The teacher must try to devise exercises where there is an information gap so that real meaningful communication can take place. The participants in a conversation also have a choice in what they say and how they say it. When undergoing these processes, there should be ample feedback during interaction between two speakers in order to gauge if the message has been successfully sent across. 4. To learn it, do it. Only by practicing communicative activities would students learn to communicate. Students must become responsible for their own learning. This is what student-centeredness entails and thus the role of the teacher consequently changes. He / she must learn to take a backseat and should no longer dominate the learning situation. The teacher is now a facilitator and should strive to provide all the help the student needs to play an active role in his own learning. 5. Mistakes are not always mistakes. As language practitioners we must able to make the distinction between ‘mistakes and ‘errors. There is the need for flexibility in deciding to treat ‘mistakes at different stages of the learning process towards communicative competence. We must not be hasty in wielding the axe on the students as ‘mistakes are evidence of learning taking place after all. The use of communicative activities is to achieve one of the aims of the communicative approach, which is communicative competence. The essence of this approach is to communicate with another person in the classroom and in long term the society. Hence, drama can be used in the classroom since it fosters communication between learners and provides opportunities to use the target language in various ‘make believe situations. Drama also allows participants the opportunity to act out roles and to use all the media of communication, the voice, gesture and movement. It thus takes what it shares with English, an emphasis on developing the means of communication, and extending these means to include all the paralinguistic aids to form meaning. This takes communication beyond the two dimensions, writing and talking, to involve the third dimension of gesture and physical interaction, thus encouraging active and discriminating observation and listening, which true communication always dem ands (Tricia, 1984). Drama Versus Theater Susan Holden (1981) defines drama as any activity which asks the participant to portray himself in an imaginary situation; or to portray another person in an imaginary situation. Drama is thus concerned with the world of lets pretend. It provides an opportunity for a person to express himself through verbal expressions and gestures using his imagination and memory. In this paper, drama refers more to dramatic activities as the setting is the language classroom rather than the stage. The participants in the drama activities are thus learners and not actors. To have a further understanding between Drama and Theater, a clear distinction has to be made between the two concepts. One way of accomplishing this is to look at Drama as process oriented and Theater as being product oriented. Through the examination of the fundamental features that lay behind both these concepts, ONeill (1995) came up with the following characteristics for each of them: 1. Drama as a Process The emphasis is placed on participants experiencing personal growth through an exploration of their understanding of the issues within dramatic experience. Student and teacher share equal places in the development, analysis and the carrying out of the drama activities. The drama is normally not performed for an audience. 2. Theater as a Product The students personal growth is measured through the learning of skills. The study is facilitated through a scripted work not of the students making. The teacher transfers her or his interpretation and analysis of the drama. The primary objective is formal play production. For the purpose of this paper, we will focus on Drama as a Process rather than Theater as a Product. As opposed to the traditional idea of theater, which results in an end performance, drama as a process is performed for the sake of the act of doing it, not for an audience, not for a production, and it doesnt need to be rehearsed. The audience can simply be the performers themselves. Drama as a process refers to a teaching method that involves children in imaginary, unscripted, and spontaneous scenes, in which the meaning is made from the engagement and transactions between the teacher and students (Schneider Jackson, 2000). The students and teachers work together to create an imaginary dramatic world within which issues are considered and problems can be solved. In this world they work together to explore problems and issues such as betrayal, truth and other ethical and moral issues. ONeill (1995) mentions that sometimes the work may begin as light-hearted, but the teacher always layers more dramatic tension and complexity into the work because the teacher may aim for a pedagogical outcome. In Drama as a Process, students learn to think beyond their own points of view and consider multiple perspectives on a topic through playing different roles. Playing a range of positions encourages them to be able to empathize with others and to consider life from their viewpoint. It allows them to walk on other peoples shoes, to walk the paths they tread and to see how the world looks from their eyes. Since the end product is not the focus, students work at every moment to produce to the best of their ability. In this way, drama can be seen as more meaningful, productive, and well-rounded. Drama thus, not only teaches students to be better communicators in a variety of authentic situations, but also compels them to use English in ways that differ from everyday classroom interactions, mimicking more authentic language use. Drama in the ESL Classroom Generally, drama involves being an imaginary person usually in an imaginary situation and sometimes a real one (Venugopal, 1986). The learners are given fairly controlled scenarios to interpret. Drama is defined by the scope of the task of problem-solving in order to achieve their goals. Students need to know of their ability to learn from each other as well as to learn independently. They should be aware that they are working towards a goal within a given time limit. This will sharpen their concentration and at the end of the lesson they should have satisfaction of having achieved that goal (Venugopal, 1986). Drama in education is a mode of learning. Through the pupils active identification with the imagined role and situations in drama, they can learn to explore issues, events and relationships (ONeil, 1994). In drama, students draw on their knowledge and experience of the real world in order to create their own experience they have as well as their knowledge, which they have gained from books, films or television. Although, these imaginary situations may at first seem superficial and only action oriented, through the teachers guidance and careful intervention it should be possible for the work to grow in depth. In creating a make believe world students can come to understand themselves and their real world in which they live. In order to engage in drama activities students do not need sophisticated theatre skills. However, they must be willing to (ONeil, 1997): Make believe with regard to objects, for example, a table-top can become a wagon or raft; a circle of chairs may represent a starship; cupped hands may contain a precious object. Make believe with regards to actions and situations, for example, creeping across the school hall may be means of escaping from the jail; a group sitting huddled on the floor may be passengers on an emigrant ship; stealing a bunch of keys may represent a test of stealth and cunning for the warriors. Adopt a role, for example, settlers who seek a new life in a foreign country; poor children living on the streets; teenagers who have left home. Maintain the make believe verbally, for example, describing the doorway in which they spent the night; presenting the facts about child labour to the committee for reform; discussing the problems to be faced on a voyage. Interact with the rest of the group, for example, agreeing to join the crew of the starship; choosing a leader for the community; teaching a skill to a friend; In drama activities, students are given the opportunities to draw together all the bits of language they have learnt and practice it in situations they are likely to encounter outside the classroom. In any drama activity, learners must create the interactions themselves on the basis of their roles rather than perform in ways that have been predetermined by the teacher (Littlewood, 1981). This freedom of choice offers the students the chance to use their English learnt to develop the character, therefore promoting spontaneity in activities similar to â€Å"real-communication†. Drama in a way helps students to improve oral and verbal communication despite gaps in their knowledge. However, the use of picture cards and other visual cues will narrow these gaps. Drama activities are essentially social activities and involve contact, communication and the negotiation of meaning. The nature of the work will impose certain pressures on the students but will also bring considerable rewards. Co-operative activities are very rare in the Malaysian schools. Too often students are trained to work as individuals and to be both competitive and possessive about their achievements. Drama on the other hand, works from the strength of the groups. Drama is an individuals spontaneous behavior reacting to others in a hypothetical situation. The essential core of the activity is understanding the situation of another person, and to do this well the ‘player needs to come to grip with the other participants roles, not just his own. In practice, this works when a ‘player is given the basic information about who he is, what he is like, and what he wants to do. He must interact with others and relate his situation to theirs and gain a greater understanding of the roles, the relationship and the language involved (Revell, 1979). Movements and Mime Mime involves the expressive use of the body. It is a non-verbal representation of an idea or story through gestures, bodily movements and expressions. It may seem strange that mime should be encouraged in language teaching, as it does not involve language. It must be borne in mind that though no language is used during the mime, it will act as a catalyst to generate language during the discussions before the mime is presented and also elicit language when there is need for explanations (Edwin, 1992). Mime is thus used to enrich verbal features rather than replace them. After a mime session, parallel exercises are carried out where appropriate words are added to the mime activities. In the English language classroom, unlike in theatres mime activities are not demanding and this makes mime activities suitable for poor and shy students who lack the necessary level of language proficiency. Mime activities can be incorporated into scenes from texts or improvisation of scenes from texts. Role Play Simulation and role play provide the opportunity to move away from the traditional role of teachers and also the classroom setting arrangements where the class is rearranged to reflect the situation that is being dramatized (Edwin, 1992). Role play can be used for students of different proficiency levels. However, the teacher will have to decide the degree of control over the scenario for the role play. For the very shy and low proficiency students, teachers could ask students to dramatize conversations and dialogues directly from the texts. For students with some English proficiency, teachers could provide a situation, which is relatively structured so that these students would feel confident and be more willing to participate. The more proficient students could be given less structured scenario and they should be encouraged to attempt to improvise the same text. In role play, a student is required to imagine that he is either himself or another person in a particular situation. He would be asked to behave exactly as he feels the person would. His portrayal of the character will help him understand the character and also provide an intimate experience with the literary text. There are many types of role play, for example, dramatic plays, story dramatization and socio-drama, seminar style presentation, debates and interviews. Simulations Simulations are drama activities that often mirror real life. They can however be imaginary. They are often problem solving activities and students bring their personality, knowledge and experience into these activities. Among the common forms of simulation is the mock trial. It is popular with students and court cases are quite easy to be developed from literary texts, often based on the conflicts faced by the characters in the story. Other forms of simulation can also be encouraged. For example, group work in the fo