Nelson Mandela Essay

In order to achieve something great, you must have desire, you must truly want it from the bottom of your heart. Born July 18, 1918, in a small town in South Africa, Nelson Mandela had the greatest passion to do anything to win his country’s independence. He fought for the rights of blacks in South Africa and for helpless people around the world. Motivated by his actions, the president of South Africa, P.W. Botha, imprisoned Mandela for twenty-seven years. When he was released in 1990, he immediately came back into the fight he had left for so long. He was elected president by the people of South Africa in 1994. His term in office ended in 1999, however, he still fought for racial equality and peace. Mandela died on December 5, 2013, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Although he has passed, his legacy still exists around the world today. Nelson Mandela should be the man of the century because he helped bring an end to apartheid in South Africa and his leadership not only affected the people of his country, but also people all around the world. According to Biography in Context, at the age of 24, Mandela joined the African National Congress which was a group who worked to establish social and political rights for blacks in South Africa. Mandela’s actions in the ANC caused him to be put in prison. Mandela stated that, â€Å"his organization only wanted equal rights for South Africans of all races, and added that the only way they would show their unhappiness was by nonviolent disruptive tactics† (Contemporary Black Biography 2). The ANC became illegal causing Mandela to form the Spear of the Nation which was a group that directed sabotage actions against government installations and other symbols of apartheid. These acts of violence resulted in life in prison for Mandela. Although he was cut-off from the entire world, he never lost hope, and the people never forgot this courageous leader. On February 11, 1990, one of the most prodigious events of the year, Mandela was free for the first time in twenty-seven yea rs. In 1993, the nation was moving closer to free and  fair elections. On Election Day, in the first-ever democratic election, Mandela had been victorious, and became the first ever black president of the Republic of South Africa. During his presidency, Mandela focused on issues such as, â€Å"health, housing, education, and the development of public utilities and economic stability. The government also introduced legislation requiring workplace safety, overtime pay, and minimum wages† (Contemporary Black Biography 5). Mandela improved his countries living just in the short years that he was in office. The words that once came out of young Mandela’s mouth, â€Å"I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die† (Contemporary Black Biography 3). These words show the power and passion behind the heart of Mandela. He was willing to die for the freedom of his people like Christ died for our sins. The love he had for his country was like the love a mother and father have for their children. His courage, strength, and dedication changed the world forever. Mandela’s actions were too tremendous to only affect the little country of South Africa. His actions affected many places around the world. He encouraged many people to stand up for their rights of freedom. Although people such as President Reagan, according to NBC News, said the ANC was a terrorist group and they should not be praised and represented around the world because it engaged in, â€Å"calculated terror†¦the mining of roads, the bombing of public places, designed to bring about further repression† (Robert Windrem). I, along with many other people, do not believe this is true. Mandela was only fighting for the freedom which his country deserved, fighting for the happiness of his people, and fighting for the generations to come. The actions that Mandela took were only caused by the first sight of violence from the British police. If you were being controlled, and forced to live your life the way certain people wanted, wouldn’t you do whatever you co uld to stop it? Nelson Mandela left a legacy that will last for hundreds of years. The  apartheid movement that he led in South Africa, not only affected South Africans, but also affected nations on the other side of the globe. He is a man who will stand out from any other in the past and upcoming centuries. I believe that Nelson Mandela is the man of the century because the world, today, would not be the same if he had never fought for the rights that we all deserve. Works Cited Contemporary Black Biography, . â€Å"Biography in Context.† Nelson Mandela. Contemporary Black Biography, 05 Dec 2013. Web. 13 Apr 2014. Windrem, Robert. â€Å"NBC News.† Nelson Mandela a terrorist until 2008. NBC News, 07 Dec 2013. Web. 13 Apr 2014.

Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive Statistics Question 1: The Dow Jones Travel Index reported what business travelers pay for hotel rooms per night in major U. S. cities (The Wall Street Journal, January 16,2004). The average hotel room rates for 20 cities are as follows Atlanta | $163| Minneapolis| $125| Boston | 177| New Orleans| 169| Chicago| 166| New York| 245| Cleveland| 126| Orlando| 146| Dallas| 123| Phoenix| 139| Denver| 120| Pittsburgh| 134| Detroit| 144| San Francisco| 167| Houston| 173| Seattle| 162| Los Angeles| 160| St. Louis| 145| Miami| 192| Washington D. C. | 207| a.What is the mean hotel room rate? b. What is the median hotel room rate? c. What is the mode? d. What is the first quartile? e. What is the third quartile? Question 2: The National Association of Collage and Employers compiled information about annual starting salaries for college graduates by major. The mean starting salary for business administration graduates was $39,850 (CNNM Money. com, February 15, 2006). Samples with annu al starting data for marketing majors and accounting majors follow (data are in thousands): Marketing Majors| 34. 2| 45| 39. 5| 28. | 37. 7| 35. 8| 30. 6| 35. 2| 34. 2| 42. 4| Accounting Majors| 33. 5| 57. 1| 49. 7| 40. 2| 44. 2| 45. 2| 47. 8| 38| 53. 9| 41. 1| 41. 7| 40. 8| 55. 5| 43. 5| 49. 1| 49. 9| a. Compute the mean, median, and mode of the annual starting salary for both majors. b. Compute the first and third quartiles for both majors. c. Business administration students with accounting majors generally obtain the highest annual salary after graduation. What do the sample data indicate about the difference between the annual starting salaries for marketing and accounting majors?Question 3: The American Association of Individual Investors conducted an annual survey of discount brokers (AAII Journal, January 2003). The commissions charged by 24 discount brokers for two types of trades, a broker-assisted trade of 100 shares at $50 per share and an online trade of 500 shares at $ 50 per share. a. Compute the mean, median, and mode for the commission charged on a broker-assisted trade of 100 shares at $50 per share. b. Compute the mean, media, and mode for the commission charged on an online trade of 500 shares at $50 per share. c.Which costs more, a broker-assisted trade of 100 shares at $50 per share or an online trade of 500 shares at $50 per share? d. Is the cost of a transaction related to the amount of the transaction? TABLE: COMMISSIONS CHARGED BY DISCOUNT BROKERS Question 4: A sample of 10 NCAA college basketball game scores provided the following data (USA Today, January 26, 2004) Winning Team| Points| Losing Team | Points | Winning Margin| Arizona | 90| Oregon | 66| 24| Duke| 85| Georgetown| 66| 19| Florida State| 75| Wake Forest| 70| 5| Kansas| 78| Colorado| 57| 21|Kentucky| 71| Notre Dame| 63| 8| Louisville| 65| Tennessee| 62| 3| Oklahoma State| 72| Texas| 66| 6| Purdue| 76| Michigan State| 70| 6| Stanford | 77| Southern Cal| 67| 10| Wisconsin | 7 6| Illinois | 56| 20| a. Compute the mean and standard deviation for the points scored by the winning team. b. Assume that the points by the winning teams for all NCAA games follow a bell-shaped distribution. Using the mean and standard deviation found in part (a), estimate the percentage of all NCAA games in which the winning team scores 84 or more points. Estimate the percentage ofNCAA games in which the winning team scores more than 90 points. c. Compute the mean and standard deviation for the winning margin. Question 5: Consumer Review posts reviews and rating of a variety of products on the Internet. The following is a sample of 20 speaker systems and their ratings (www. audioreview. com). The ratings are on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best. Speaker| Rating| Speaker| Rating | Infinity Kappa | 4. 00| ACI Sapphire III| 4. 67| Allison One| 4. 12| Bose 501 Series | 2. 14| Cambridge Ensemble II| 3. 82| DCM KX-212| 4. 09|Dynaudio Contour 1. 3| 4. 00| Eosone RSR1000| 4. 17| Hsu Rs ch. HRSW12V| 4. 56| Joseph Audio RM7si| 4. 88| Legacy Audio Focus| 4. 32| Martin Logan Aerius| 4. 26| Mission 73li| 4. 33| Omni Audio SA 12. 3| 2. 32| PSB 400i| 4. 50| Polk Audio RT12| 4. 50| Snell Acoustics DIV| 4. 64| Sunfire True Subwoofer| 4. 17| Thiel CS 1. 5| 4. 20| Yamaha NS-A636| 2. 17| a. Compute the mean and the median. b. Compute the first and third quartiles. c. Compute the standard deviation. d. The skewness of this data is – 1. 67. Comment on the shape of the distribution. Question 6:According to the 2003 Annual Consumer Spending Survey, the average monthly Bank of America Visa credit card charge was $1838 (U. S. Airways Attache Magazine, December 2003). A sample of monthly credit card charges provides the following data. 236| 1710| 1351| 825| 7450| 316| 4135| 1333| 1584| 387| 991| 3396| 170| 1428| 1688| a. Compute the mean and median. b. Compute the first and third quartiles. c. Compute the range and interquartile range. d. Compute the variance and standard dev iation. Question 7: Small business owners often look to payroll service companies to handle their employee payroll.Reasons are that small business owners face complicated tax regulations and penalties for employment tax errors are costly. According to the Internal Revenue Service, 26% of all small business employment tax returns contained errors that resulted in tax penalty to the owner (The Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2006). The tax penalty for a sample of 20 small business owners follows: 820| 270| 450| 1010| 890| 700| 1350| 350| 300| 1200| 390| 730| 2040| 230| 640| 350| 420| 270| 370| 620| a. What is the mean tax penalty for improperly filed employment tax returns? b.What is the standard deviation? c. Is the highest penalty, $2040, an outlier? d. What are some of the advantages of a small business owner hiring a payroll service company to handle employee payroll services, including the employment tax returns? Question 8: The National Association of Realtors reported the medi an home price in the United States and the increase in median home price over a five-year period (The Wall Street, Journal, January 16, 2006). Use the sample home prices shown here to answer the following questions. 995. 9| 48. 8| 175. 0| 263. 50| 298. 0| 218. 9| 209. | 628. 3| 111. 0| 212. 9| 92. 6| 2325. 0| 958. 0| 212. 5| a. What is the sample median home price? b. In January 2001, the National Association of Realtors reported a median home price of $139,300 in the United States. What was the percentage increase in the median home price over the five-year period? c. What are the first quartile and the third quartile for the sample data? d. Provide a five-number summary for the home prices. e. What is the mean home price for the sample? Why does the National Association of Realtors prefer to use the median home price in its reports?

Compare and contrast the concepts of ‘alienation’ and ‘anomie’ Essay

Karl Marx first outlined his theory of alienation in The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts (1844) and refers to a define set of social relationships that were first formed in feudal societies which then became disrupted by modern industrial society. Marx himself said when discussing the topic of alienation â€Å"The worker becomes poorer the more wealth he produces and the more his production increases in power and extent. The worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more goods he creates. The devaluation of the human world increases in direct relation to the increase in value of the world of things. Labour does not only create goods; it also produces itself and the worker as a commodity, and indeed in the same proportion as it produces goods†. Anomie however, is defined by Emile Durkheim as a change in â€Å"normalness† and a breakdown of social regulations. Durkheim became interested in the social condition characterised by a breakdown of ‘norms’ governing social interactions. â€Å"The state of anomie is impossible wherever organs solidly linked to one another are in sufficient contact, and in sufficiently lengthy contact. Indeed, being adjacent to one another, they are easily alerted in every situation to the need for one another and consequently they experience a keen, continuous feeling of their mutual dependence.† (Durkheim, E: 1893). Durkheim went on to develop his interest of anomie further when he began his research into ‘Suicide’, where he suggested that when a person’s ‘norms’ and rules that regulate their lifestyle become week, this can lead to a form of suicide which he called ‘Anomic Suicide’. Marx believed that there were four degrees of alienation that break down the fundamental link that human beings have to their self defining qualities. Firstly there is ‘product alienation’ which Marx believed was alienating to the worker because the products that they produce do not reflect their creative energies and are merely objects produced by the command of the employer (Ransome, P: 2010). Which he argues was present in industrialised society but not in feudal societies as a result of capitalism and its economic gain fuelled society. (Morrison, K: 2006). Secondly, Marx said that alienation could come from ‘act of production’. This, according to Marx is linked to ‘product alienation’ as the product of labour is alienating then  so is the act of production. So in capitalist societies people have no choice but to work and feel alienated to meet their basic needs. Marx’s work stated that â€Å"The worker feels himself only when he is not working; when he is working he does not feel himself†¦ his labour is therefore not voluntary but forced† (Marx, K: 1844). Thirdly, Marx suggested that there was alienation due to ‘common purpose’. He outlined that this happened when a worker’s social relationships become debased and they are taken from a cooperative social dimension, for example on factory lines and in open offices. Finally the fourth alienation type that Marx wrote about was ‘alienation from humanity’. Marx believed that this happened when a person worked long hour days -as Marx wrote in the Victorian society this was extremely common- and to gether with the three other forms of alienation; a person lost their sense of humanity and became alienated from their own inner self (Ransome, P: 2010). That influenced suicide (Giddens, A: 2009). He argued that there were four types of suicide: Altruistic, Anomic, Egoistic and Fatalistic (Pope, W: 1976). Altruistic suicide being too much social integration, for example suicide bombers give up their life for the needs of their social group (Giddens, A: 2009). Egoistic suicide, in Durkheim’s terms was due to insufficient regulation. This can be seen in societies such as religious groups; Durkheim found that suicide was higher in the Protestant religion than it was in Catholic religious groups. He believed that this was due to the Catholic religion having a more strict regulations, so therefore people believed that it was ‘against god’ to commit suicide and also with the Catholic society being greater regulated, he believed that this closer connected society made the people have a greater sense of community and moral values so did not feel the need to commit suicide (Ransome, P: 2010). Durkheim related the low suicide rates during World War 1 to this as he believed the face of an external enemy brought about social integration (Giddens, A: 2009). Fatalistic suicide for Durkheim was due to excess regulation. This can be seen in contemporary society in prisons as people feel that they have no sense of future or self worth. However Durkheim felt that this type of suicide was of little importance in modern society but it was of specific historical interest. Historically, this is evident in the  slave communities in America during the civil war (Morrison, K: 2006). Durkheim argued that Anomic suicide occurs when rules and ‘norms’ that govern a person’s lifestyle become unstable and break down. He looked at this subject of suicide by researching the suicide rates of industrial society during periods of economic crisis created by financial recession and periods of economic change. Between 1845 and 1869 in Europe, Durkheim identified that there was a rapid rise in suicide rates, which he linked to the economic state at the time as there was repeated economic crisis, which resulted in a dramatic decline in the business cycle and severe bankruptcies. He also acknowledged that there was a specific pattern of the suicide rates during this time across Europe; he found that there was a rise in the rates of suicide as the state of the economy decreased, and when the crisis deteriorated the rates fell. However as the economy worsened again, the suicides increased (Morrison, K: 2006). When taking into account Durkheim’s theory of ‘Anomic Suicide’ and Marx’s four types of alienation, it could be argued that there are several similarities between the two social theories. ‘Alienation’ in basic terms defines the relationship that a worker -mainly- has with their productive role and their self being within society. ‘Anomie’ can be suggested to relate to this similarly as it seems that it defines a person’s self being within society and themselves. However, critiques have suggested that the theory of anomie for Durkheim was not in fact in relation to a person but it refers to society, although there are definite implications of a person’s state of mind in his works (Robinson, J; Shaver P and Wrightsman, L: 1991). When referring to the subject of anomie, social thoughts of other sociologists must be taken into account. Robert Mereton extended Durkheim’s thoughts on anomie and emphasised that an individual intensifies their anomie when they chose to discard their ‘norms’ to acquire to their intricate desires and thus anomie and deviant behaviour draw from a disjunction between a culturally prescribed aspiration of a society and socially constructed avenues for creating those aspirations (Giddens, A: 2009). Durkheim’s theory of anomie can be seen as similar to both Mereton’s interpretation of anomie and Marx’s theory of alienation in terms of isolation and disorientation. However clearly it can be seen that there is a  significant difference in retrospect to money being the source of the proletarian’s lifestyle and the theory that it keeps the ruling class on top and the rest of the population down in terms of Marx’s thought of alienation, where as Durkheim dealt with the themes of attitudes and expectations of the society within his theory of anomie and people resisting and having the choice of their lifestyle rather than being forced into lifestyles alike in alienation (Perry, R: 2007). Looking for examples of OUR work? Click here to see our Essay Writing Examples > Want to know more about our services? Take a look at our Writing & Marking Service Index > Although Marx and Durkheim’s definitions are clearly the classical concepts of these theories, it has been suggested that contemporary society has obscured these definitions. It can be said that ‘Alienation for Marx and Anomie for Durkheim were metaphors for a radical attack on the dominant institutions and values of industrial society’. From this they take on similar issues, but in different perspectives; Marx took on the conception of the relationship between man and society and the ‘value of freedom from constraint’ through the interest of power and change. Durkheim however, was interested in the ‘transcendental value and moral constraint’ through problems with maintenance of order. When taking into account Marx and Durkheim’s research however there are critiques that need to be considered. Many people argued that Durkheim’s research on anomie and suicide could not be one hundred percent accurate; this was because it was apparent that Durkheim used other people’s research and did not conduct his own. Durkheim used suicide statistics in Germany, however these statistics were taken by Durkheim at face value and not critiqued. Also it could be argued that Durkheim’s interdependence theory may not have been completely free from his own background assumptions and laden judgement. The main article that needs to be considered when studying suicide is â€Å"How do some deaths get categorised as suicides?† according to Atkinson, J (1978). When taking into account this question it makes one consider whether the initial research and  also Durkheim’s assumptions were one hundred percent because the research was conducted across Germany, with statistics from many different coroners, who each would arguably have had their own laden judgement as to what constitutes as suicide. So it is argued that Durkheim was taking what the coroner constituted as suicide so therefore the suicide categories are not objective facts but interpretations and meanings given to a particular event. Therefore to have done his research more accurately and to allow no criticisms Durkheim should have conducted his own research. He could have arguably done this by talking to people that have themselves attempted to commit and families of those who have, to find the different reasons behind the attempted or actual suicide (Atkinson, J: 1978). One could initially argue that Capitalism is the main cause of both alienation and anomie. In anomie, Durkheim saw a number of indications relating to anomie in the late nineteenth century such as industrial conflict and marital breakup; which he believed was related to the industrial society and the growth of capitalism (Durkheim, E: 1893). However, Marx believed that alienation was aided by capitalism. He believed this as there was a fiercely competitive nature of capitalism that forced industries such as factories to step up their means of production and productivity, to gain economic status and power (Marx, K: 1844). In conclusion, Alienation in retrospect means people becoming isolated from society as a result from industry and Anomie in retrospect is a change in normalness of their social status. It is clear from this that one could argue that alienation and anomie could both mean isolation to a person but however in different forms. So therefore it could be argued that alienation is isolation of a person from their economic status quo, and anomie is isolation of a human being from their social status quo and personal norms. However from the information throughout the essay it can also be suggested that the differences between alienation an anomie comes from the status of the concepts, as alienation is said to be relate and revolve to a person singularly, where as anomie is said to describe a social group rather than one person alone. To conclude, it can be argued that there alienation and anomie have both similar and unique concepts. This is evident from the  sources used throughout the essay, however it cannot be regarded completely as research or information that is

Report (not essay) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Report (not ) - Essay Example In the same vein, Chancellor Gordon Brown made a promise that Britain would be a leader in tackling the issue on an international level. Emission of CO2 from various industries and motor vehicles is choking the environment and leading to the greenhouse effect or trapping of large amounts of heat that leads to an increase in the earth’s temperature. During the last century, it is believed that the surface of the earth has warmed up by 0.75 degrees C. Other than CO2 , gases like methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour also contribute to this hazard. The following chart shows the sector wise distribution of global emissions: The UNFCCC defines climate change as â€Å" a change of climate that is attributed to directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comaprable time periods.†[Gleneagles G8 Summit] Some analysts however feel that the noise created around global warming might be the handiwork of some individuals for gaining their own interests. The situation is not really as bad as it is projected and in case reports about global warming are believed, we might be going back to pre-industrialization era.. Richard Courtney [1999] feels that people advocating the global warming theory are some researchers who are in need of research grants and some organisations working in the field of environment and need donations. He is of the opinion that they are promoting an imaginary fear of a man-made phenomenon. By promoting fear, they are selling their goods and ideas to the government and general public. It is clear that industries that cater to a clean and pollution-free environment will benefit from the commotion created around global warming and climate change. As such, industries that would discourage the use of fossil fuels, conventional methods of

Themes of War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Themes of War - Essay Example The theme of the author is able to display how war affects every level of society while holding the wrong intent that negatively impacts those directly and indirectly involved without good reason. This is displayed through the monologue and the way that the author describes the specific situation. The first way in which the author describes the problem is with the individuals that are fighting in Iraq and what this has caused to their personal lives. This occurs specifically with Cheo’s brother who is fighting in the war. The conditions which are described show how his brother is suffering not from the fighting but, instead, from the lack of care which is received while being in Iraq. â€Å"He sat in a tank in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert. Wrote six, seven, eight hours a day. These brilliant letters of fear† (Rivera, 346). The fear is then described with the brother waiting to die while there is nothing to do but wait. This problem is one which continuously ar ises in the main theme, specifically in how it has affected his brother by creating fear and causing him to believe only in death. The conditions of the war and the treatment of the soldiers further show that the Iraqi war is one which is not worth fighting and is only leading to misery and loss of life. The individuals that are affected then move into the familial relationships that have connections to those that are in the war. Cheo, as the main character, is first shown with the effects that he has had toward the war because of him missing his brother and of the pain which he knows he is in. This is followed by his confusion over the rights and beliefs which he knows he should have and which cause a division of whether to believe in the war or not. The problem which arises is first seen with Cheo’s observations of his brother and how he changes from saying that he loves others to fighting them and no longer having this characteristic. The reflection continues with Cheo cha nging his belief in wanting blood and bombs and waiting every day for Iraq to be bombed so his brother can come home (347). The change in the character of Cheo shows how the relationships of the family and those that are waiting for the war to be over affect the situation even more, as well as the attitudes of those that are placed in the war. The problems noted with the family then turn to the dialogue becoming one of a national and societal problem. This creates a connection that moves from the family and into the political and social impact that is created. â€Å"And this billboard went up in my town showing Stalin, Hitler, and Hussein, saying we stopped him twice before we have to stop him again! This billboard was put up by a local newspaper!† (348). The attitude created in society is one which shows the same violence that is taking place in the war, despite the lack of knowledge or understanding of what is occurring in the war as well as why it is being fought. The them e of violence and how this takes over at every level is displayed through this dialogue and by showing that there is a sense of the war spreading because of attitudes, changing beliefs and the position of being involved in the war. The war, then, becomes one that is based on growing attitudes of violence over nothing that is occurring within society except for a desire to have money and oil. The theme continues with noting that the war is based not only on problems

Fundamentals of finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fundamentals of finance - Essay Example ITV broadcasting operates a group of channels which include ITV1 and also delivers content across a number of platforms like ITV player and itv.com. Its studios produce and sell formats and programmes both in UK and globally. WPP Plc operates a communications services group. The operations of the company encompass media, information and consultancy, public affairs, public relations, identity services, branding, investment management and advertising. WPP is a global leader in the marketing of communication services, and it comprises of public relation and public affairs companies, advertising companies and promotion and relationship marketing companies. The history of WPP dates back in 1985 when Martin Sorrel builds a worldwide marketing services company after a search on public entity. 2. Company strengths and weaknesses Analysis of the financial performance of each company WPP Plc Current ratio The current ratio for WPP Plc in 2011 was 0.94:1. Current ratio measures the ability of a firm to cater for its short term obligations using its short term assets. The current ratio is lower than 1, and this means that WPP Plc was not in a better financial position to cater for its obligations. Gearing ratios 1. Debt to equity ratio The debt to equity ratio for WPP Plc during the 2011 financial year was 2.67. This ratio is obtained by dividing total liabilities by shareholders equity and this ratio means that the total liabilities are more than the shareholders equity. This high ratio is an indication of how aggressive WPP plc has been when it comes to using debts to finance its growth. A lot of debt was used to finance the 2011 growth and this ahs led to increased operations and hence the company was able to generate increased earnings using this financing than it would have done without these finances. 2. Debt ratio The debt ratio for WPP plc in 2011 was 0.72. The debt ratio is less than 1, and this indicates that the company has less debts than assets or has more ass ets that the debts. As a result, the company faces fewer risks when it comes to debt loads. Profitability ratios 1. Profit margin Profit margin for WPP plc in the 2011 financial years was 9.14%. This ratio measures how much a company generates from each dollar of sales (Bull 2007). This means that the company keeps $0.914 of each dollar of revenue collected. The profit margin ratio for the company in 2011 was low which indicates a high risk that any decline in sales will erase or do way with the profit and lead to a net loss. 2. Return on assets WPP plc return on assets ratio for the 2011 financial year was 3.7%. The low ratio is an indicator of how inefficient the company was in managing its assets in order to generate income. In simple terms, the ratio shows how less profitable the company was relative to its total assets. 3. Return on equity The return on equity for WPP for the 2011 was 13.6%. This low percentage is an indication the company did not generate much profit from the shareholders funds invested in the company. Dividend payout ratio Dividend payout ratio for WPP plc was 33% during the 2011 financial year. The high dividend ratio for the company is an indication the earnings of the company highly support the payment of

Remote surgery, the challenges and opportunities Essay

Remote surgery, the challenges and opportunities - Essay Example Despite the new discoveries in the future there are many challenges and opportunities of technology in the field of healthcare. The following essay will discuss the challenges and opportunies of remote surgery (Lee 56) In remote cancer care, there have been challenges and opportunities experienced in healthcare. Cancer is associated with decreased productivity, death, physical and social problems in cancer patients and their household. Thus, cancer prevention, screening and making treatment in time is essential. Robot surgery has affected the cancer treatment arena.Computerrised and robotic devices can offer enhanced slightly by tremor abolishment, motion scaling, high quality pictures and visions for surgeons, decreased blood that is lost during invasive procedures, great reduction in narcotic use and reducing the number of days patients stay in hospital. All the same there are some challenges such as inadequate of surgical community support, high costs incurred during treatment, an absence of tactual and tactile response. In prostatectomy surgery challenges include inadequate data showing functional results compared to a single port laparoscopy or an open surgery .it has now been found that there are no clear corresponding clinical trials that prove the robotic surgery to be better than the other surgical practices. The other challenge is the licensing of robotic surgeons, this is because it is a critical area of surgery and the surgeons are expected to renew their license in order to show that they are competent in the skills required to fly the plane. The advantages in robotic surgery during prostatectomy include distinct cosmetics benefits and reduced blood loss. The idea that a small incision can be made done in the stomach compared to a big incision during the invasive procedures is quite interesting but this should be done after considering the expenses in terms of time and equipments if there is no

Internet Marketing College Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Internet Marketing College - Article Example The Internet is a global network for many networks connecting millions and millions of computers together. Today, the internet has become an integral part of business, of our environment, and even of our personal life. The article speaks about marketing in the internet environment and ways to improve internet marketing during peak seasons of sales in a world of competitive environment where everybody would want to lead the race. As this is the festive season, most of the shopping for the season has already started and consumers would like to order gifts online due to the ease of shopping and at the same lack of time to go out and do shopping in the real world. In such a scenario, most of the online shopping website owners would start dressing up their web pages in the most attractive way to attract the maximum number of customers. Internet marketing, if properly exploited can be an effective marketing tool. Strategies which suit the e-business environment need to be framed and implemented. As stated in the article, in order to increase web traffic online marketers need to change the presentation of their website on par with other competitors. Instead of using the traditional methods of designing the home page of the website, they need to innovative in their approach. They also need to introduce special offers like free shipping, combo products, bog off sales etc. Such attempts will definitely help increase we traffic. E-business can create value for organizations if they continuously use new technology to improve their marketing system and if customer expectations are continuously met. The Internet can be used to build long-term relationships with customers. With the evolution of the Internet, the customer today has become more knowledgeable. Companies must recognize the fact that most consumers can compare prices of products from various companies within minutes on the Internet. Therefore, the companies can either compete on price or convince the user of superior quality, but under all circumstances, they must aim to deliver what they promise. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of the website is the first thing that is to be done in order to get more traffic to the website. It is not a kind of rocket science to advance search engine optimization. However, it is not something which can be achieved just by repeating key words or key phrases constantly. An optimum balance is required in order to achieve the optimization. A major advantage of free or paid submission of websites to search engines is available these days. Websites or blogs can be submitted to search engines. Marking the presence into as many possible search engines is always better. This helps to get noticed by the maximum number of visitors as possible in various search engines. The higher one gets noticed, the higher is the scope of increased traffic. Taking advantage of the social media websites is another method of attracting customers which in turn may lead to increased sales. With the advent of Information Technology over the recent past, the way online business is developing has drastically changed. Currently, many internet marketers have started using social media as one of their important marketing tools in order to promote their online businesses in competition with other players in the e-market. The efforts of online marketing not only influence the service quality and the quality of the product but

Communicable Disease Medical Definition Assignment - 73

Communicable Disease Medical Definition - Assignment Example It spreads from person to person when a mosquito feeds on human blood (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). According to Stanhope and Lancaster, Malaria affects the liver and Erythrocytes, and it is characterized by high fever and other symptoms resembling those of flu. It mostly affects pregnant mothers and children under the age of five (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). It is one of the key contributors to infant mortality, especially in African countries, where it is responsible for over a million deaths annually. This disease was earlier considered as a tropical disease, but with the advent of global travel, the disease can affect anybody and anywhere as long as they have been to a Malaria prone region (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). Malaria infections in the United States occur to those people who have traveled to areas that are prone to the insect carrying the parasite. The government’s efforts in curbing malaria include medical screening at all points of entry, into the country, to e nsure that those who are infected get immediate treatment regimen to prevent further spread of the infection. It has embarked on public sensitization programs to deal with pest control and how to identify the first signs of Malaria. The use of mosquito nets, repellents, and protective clothing has also been encouraged in a number of counties where there are high mosquito populations like Louisiana and Florida. The challenges that are encountered in the prevention and treatment of Malaria are usually people related. The belief that Malaria is a tropical disease makes people and even some doctors misdiagnose the disease as a bad form of flu since most of its symptoms are flu-like. The government is also making efforts to develop a vaccine that can be given to people traveling out of the country. Â  

The Case against Tipping Essay Example for Free

The Case against Tipping Essay Pros -Promoting businesses locally or globally. -Tipping helps employees with low hourly rate positions. -Tipping is complimentary -Personal good deed Cons -Already added into gratuity -Mandatory instead of Complimentary -Expected instead of being thankful -No choice People used to be polite, and thankful especially in the act of tipping where it is common place instead of a good deed. This creates problems because what if Im low on funds this particular night. For low paying positions such as waitress or valet parking is fine but it should ultimately be the patron’s choice. If a taxi cab driver expects lump sums of tips and I believe taxi cab drivers make a good living he better not shout at me alongside a curb driving slowly for two block shouting obscenities. People should be more humble and less expectant of a choice based upon the individual I am not obligated to tip or get tipped if someone does tip me God Bless them. The consequences of Carnage as Entertainment Pros Educational programs Comedy sitcoms/TV shows and movies Recreational programs Helps visible learners Cons Less communication Strain on eyes Child exposure to violent and sexual programs Behavioral problems Television is probably one of the most used inventions of the world as far as using your eyes and ears producing emotions and such. Today there is most likely more than one television set in one household. You can find television any and everywhere from bars, restaurants, Laundromats, barber shop etc. and the list goes on. However there is a down side as entertaining and consuming it may be. We have a generation of kids who refuse or simply don’t know how to communicate through dialogue. Furthermore that leads to obese and inactive lifestyle instead of going for a jog or attend a social gathering we are too busy with our mouths and eyes open in front of the television set.

Performance Management Activities

Performance Management Activities PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on performance of the organization, a department, processes to build a product or service, employees, etc. Information in this topic will give you some sense of the overall activities involved in performance management. Then you might enhance your understanding by reviewing closely related library topics referenced from the sidebar. IMPORTANCE OF PERFORMANCE MANGEMENT SYSTEM Setting up a good performance management system doesnt happen overnight or by accident. You need to consider its design and carefully plan how it will work before managers begin using it to evaluate employees. Benefits Managing employee or system performance facilitates the effective delivery of strategic and operational goals. There is a clear and immediate correlation between using performance management programs or software and improved business and organizational results. A performance management system should provide employees with these four basic benefits: A clear understanding of job expectations Regular feedback about performance Advice and steps for improving performance Rewards for good performance 4 Key Benefits of Performance Management system 1. PM focuses on results, rather than behaviors and activities A common misconception among supervisors is that behaviors and activities are the same as results. Thus, an employee may appear extremely busy, but not be contributing at all toward the goals of the organization. An example is the employee who manually reviews completion of every form and procedure, rather than supporting automation of the review. The supervisor may conclude the employee is very committed to the organization and works very hard, thus, deserving a very high performance rating. 2. Aligns organizational activities and processes to the goals of the organization PM identifies organizational goals, results needed to achieve those goals, measures of effectiveness or efficiency (outcomes) toward the goals, and means (drivers) to achieve the goals. This chain of measurements is examined to ensure alignment with overall results of the organization. 3. Cultivates a system-wide, long-term view of the organization. Richard A. Swanson, inPerformance Improvement Theory and Practice(Advances in Developing Human Resources, 1, 1999), explains an effective performance improvement process must follow a systems-based approach while looking at outcomes and drivers. Otherwise, the effort produces a flawed picture. For example, laying off people will likely produce short-term profits. However, the organization may eventually experience reduced productivity, resulting in long-term profit loss. 4. Produces meaningful measurements These measurements have a wide variety of useful applications. They are useful in benchmarking, or setting standards for comparison with best practices in other organizations. They provide consistent basis for comparison during internal change efforts. They indicate results during improvement efforts, such as employee training, management development, quality programs, etc. They help ensure equitable and fair treatment to employees based on performance PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM A Performance Management System enables a business to sustain profitability and performance by linking the employees pay to competency and contribution. It provides opportunities for concerted personal development and career growth. It brings all the employees under a single strategic umbrella. Most importantly, it gives supervisors and subordinates an equal opportunity to express themselves under structured conditions. Managing this process effectively isnt easy. It calls for a high level of co-ordination, channeled information flow, and timely review. Whether employees are at a single place, or spread across multiple locations, the use of technology can help simplify the complete process for more effective information management. Customize Performance Management to Fit Global Cultures Experts say companies often impose an American style of performance management on employees based in other countries, even when such a system conflicts with local cultural norms. A better approach, they say, is to adapt the system to fit the culture. U.S. firms pick up their existing performance management program philosophy, intent, forms, everything and try to force-fit them into non-U.S. cultures, forgetting that the nature of the employer/employee relationship varies widely from place to place, But this is a mistake. What works in Dallas might not work so well in Dalian or Dubrovnik. In some cultures you simply cannot transpose culturally offensive management styles. The 360-degree approach is a good example of this. It requires a fundamentally egalitarian mindset and value system in order to be effective. Its a rather Western concept to evaluate performance management scientifically and with a process that is valid and reliable and rational company. The management and assessment of performance has always been done [around the world], but its been done more intuitively and organically, and not in a rational, organized process. In the West that people will say things clearly, that are problems, and thats not the case in many other cultures around the world. However, because the American business model is accepted and admired, many companies outside the United States will simply accept the American way of doing business rather than expecting to have practices adapted to fit their culture, said A good performance appraisal process is an integral part of the performance management system and it works seamlessly with the other components. This article takes a holistic approach to performance management and gives an overview of the components. A performance management system has the following components and interfaces: goal-setting, regular reviews, annual appraisal, development process and linkages to other systems. Goal-setting This process is the foundation for a good performance management system. It brings in the clarity required to deliver the required results. The organizations expectations are set in the form of â€Å"key result areas† (KRAs), along with strong indicators of the required standards (also termed â€Å"measures of performance†). The benefits of giving clear directions are many. It helps increase productivity by enabling people to focus on the requirement; it minimizes frustration and enables employee satisfaction. Regular reviews Reviews are a critical component of the system. Reviews give timely feedback to the individual. It is important to schedule formal reviews during the course of the year. These can be half-yearly or quarterly depending on the need. Structured mid-term reviews enable the organisation to take stock of the performance during the given period. It gives the individual an opportunity to discuss his/her achievements during the given period and to look at areas of improvement. In a dynamic environment, it is important to keep abreast of market situations. Reviews can be utilised to make midcourse correction in the KRAs. It is possible that the macro environment has changed and that some of the objectives have to be reviewed. For example, certain sectors in the economy may be doing extremely well and the organisation may see a need to review sales numbers based on these indicators. Reviews need to be structured on a regular basis to ensure that there are no surprises in the annual appraisal. Regular and structured reviews are a critical component of the performance management system and this is essential to ensure that the performance management system is not the same as the annual performance appraisal. As a part of this sub-system, we have processes such as coaching, mentoring, performance improvement plans, etc. Annual appraisal A typical appraisal system could be designed on one of the following Confidential report: The report is written by the supervisor and is, typically, not shown to the individual. Decisions, such as promotions and changes in compensation are made, based on this report. Report by supervisor that is shown/given to the individual and discussed. Self-appraisal by the individual, value-added comments by the supervisor and a discussion: In this system, the individual writes a self-appraisal vis-à  -vis KRAs set at the start of the year. The manager adds his or her comments. Organisations follow one of the following methods of ratings-(a) rating given by the manager or (b) the individual and the manager give ratings and the organisation has a mechanism to deal with differences between the two. There is an opportunity for the individual and the manager to discuss the contents of the appraisal. People working in the software industry or in a project environment may raise a question about the relevance of the annual appraisal. Then there are also professionals who work with different project teams during the course of the year. In this case we could have reviews signed-off at the end of each project. These could be collated at the end of the year to look at overall performance and linkages to other systems. Development plan This pertains to the training and development sub-system. A part of the development plan stems out of the annual appraisal. This is the result of the areas of improvement that emerge from the appraisal and competencies required for new roles, if relevant. A good training and development process will also take the necessary inputs from the organisations business plan. This is required if the organisation is investing into new business or entering new markets. Linkage to rewards system Linkages to processes such as compensation, rewards, progression and successionplanning-the performance appraisal system, in many organisations, has a link to the rewards system. Individuals judge the performance management system and the culture of the organisation based on the message sent by the rewards system. If the rewards system recognises individual contribution and ignores contributions made to team objectives, the people in the organisation start focusing on individual tasks. Therefore, linkage to many of these systems need to be contemplated upon, articulated to the people and implemented with consistency. MEANING OF PERFORMANCE APPARISAL Performance appraisal system has been defined in many ways. The simplest way to Understand the meaning of performance appraisal is as follows: â€Å"A regular and continuous evaluation of the quality, quantity and style of the Performance along with the assessment of the factors influencing the Performance and behavior of an individual is called as performance Appraisal.† Performance appraisal also means an appraisal of the growth potential of an Employee, with a view to providing information to the organization leading to positive Action and enabling feed-back to the individual aimed at his performance Improvement, personal growth and job-satisfaction. In short, we can say that Performance appraisal is expected to result in an assessment of: Growth potential of the employees; Corresponding training needs for the employees; Capabilities for their placement in higher posts, Conduct and discipline of the employees; and The need of the organization to evolve a control mechanism OBJECTIVES OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL The main objective of the system of performance appraisal is to reward those who are Working efficiently and honestly in the organization. At the same time, it also aims at eliminating those who are inefficient and unfit to carry out their responsibilities. It has to be done almost continuously, so that no injustice is done to a deserving individual. It is, therefore, necessary to clearly define the organizational objectives, targets and priorities. It is further necessary to define clearly the rote and responsibilities of the persons involved in the functioning of the organisation. Performance appraisal also aims at helping the management in carrying out their tasks more effectively. A sound system of performance appraisal results in framing: A sound selection ?policy. An effective promotion and placement policy; An improved system of career and manpower planning; A realistic training programme; A good reward and punishment system; and An effective system of control and discipline in the organization. These elements are essential for any modern management system. No country can neglect them for long. We can thus say that the main objectives of performance appraisal are as follows: To carry out a fair and impartial assessment of the quality, quantity and stvle 01 the work performance of the individuals working in the organisation. To assess the extent of the various factors which influence the performance of the individuals. To reward the capable and efficient employees. To provide opportunity for improvement of their potentialities to those who are less capable and efficient. To make optimum utilisation of the available human resources for the fulfilment of the organisational goals. To help management in evolving and framing sound policies and programmes relating to selection, placement, promotion, training, discipline, control and man Global Trends in Performance Appraisal Program The performance appraisal process has become the heart of the human resource management systemin the organizations. Performance appraisal defines and measures the performance of the employees and the organization as a whole. It is a tool for accessing the performance of the organization. The important issues and points concerning performance appraisal in the present world are: The focus of theperformance appraisalsis turning towards career development relying on the dialogues and discussions with the superiors. Performance measuring, rating and review systems have become more detailed, structured and person specific than before. Performance related pay is being incorporated in the strategies used by the organizations. Trend towards a360-degree feedbacksystem The problems in the implementation of the performance appraisal processes are being anticipated and efforts are being made to overcome them. In India, the performance appraisal processes are faced with a lot of obstacles, the most prominent being the lack of quantifiable indicators of the performance. GLOBAL TRENDS The emergence of following concepts and the following trends related toappraisal can be seen in the global scenario: 360 Degree Appraisal 360 degree feedback, also known as ‘multi-rater feedback, is the most comprehensive appraisal where the feedback about the employees performance comes from all the sources that come in contact with the employee on his job. Organisations are increasingly using feedback from various sources such as peer input, customer feedback, and input from superiors. Different forms with different formats are being used to obtain the information regarding the employee performance. Team Performance Appraisal According to a wall street journal headline, â€Å"Teams have become commonplace in U.S. Companies†. Most of theperformance appraisal techniquesare formulated with individuals in mind i.e. to measure and rate the performance of the individual employee. Therefore, with the number of teams increasing in the organizations, it becomes difficult to measure and appraise the performance of the team. The question is how to separate the performance of the team from theperformance of the employees. A solution to this problem that is being adopted by the companies is to measure both the individual and the team performance. Sometimes, team based objectives are also included in the individual performance plans. Rank and Yank Strategy Also known as theâ€Å"Up or out policy†, the rank and yank strategy refers to the performance appraisal model in which best-to-worst ranking methods are used to identify and separate the poor performers from the good performers. Then the action plans and the improvement opportunities of the poor performers are discussed and they are given to improve their performance in a given time period, after which the appropriate HR decisions are taken. Some of the organisations following this strategy are Ford, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. Global Variations In the United States it is common for each employees performance over the previous six months or year to be documented and followed by a one-on-one meeting between the employee and their supervisor, at which time the employee will receive their rating and discuss expectations for the next rating cycle. In some cases employees are expected to complete a self-appraisal, which might be factored into their review, while in other cases feedback from peers and customers might be included as part of a 360-degree assessment of an individuals performance. Though far from perfect, and often dreaded, the American performance appraisal process suits the American culture, which is regarded as highly individualistic and egalitarian. For example, in the Unites States the performance rating is often used to determine pay. The basic belief in the acceptability, the rightness, the virtue of pay for performance. â€Å"Those who contribute the most should get the greatest rewards.† In the U.S. employees tend to rate themselves and others very highly, such as a 4 or a 5 on a 5-point scale-using an â€Å"everyone gets a prize†. In many European cultures the highest rating might be a 3, and in Asian cultures they wouldnt rate themselves. A pay-for-performance system is inappropriate in cultures that focus on interpersonal relations and collectivism. In Japan compensation is not based on performance. In fact, its hard to identify the individual performance, because the focus is the team. â€Å"If an individual were identified as performing so well that they got compensation in return for it, it would be anathema to the groups collaborative ethos.† In some countries, such as Korea and Germany, use performance management processes that closely parallel those used in the United States. The same is true for France, though he noted that there is less of a connection between performance and pay in that nation. However, the Japanese and American processes have â€Å"diverged significantly† over the years. The Japanese system is frequently, and even intentionally and openly, used as a means of discriminating against ‘undesirable employees, a practice that is prohibited under U.S. civil rights laws. And although the performance appraisal process involves filling out the appraisal form and discussing it with the employee, In Japan the appraisal process often involves only the completion of the form without the discussion between boss and subordinate of the results of assessment. Those who work in the U.S. often put a great deal of value on the information that comes from 360- degree feedback, according to. But in a country like India-which tends to be more collective than individualistic and which embraces a high-power distance, or inequality of power, there is less value placed on the opinions of others and it would be seen as inappropriate culturally to ask employees to fill out a questionnaire on their boss. Similarly it would be difficult to implement a system that includes self-appraisal in cultures that are defined as collaborative, consultative and consensus oriented. People simply dont speak in the capital I and are very uncomfortable doing so. â€Å"In a culture like China or Japan, asking a person to speak about themselves in a way that is honest and direct and that will be appraised by their superiors is a waste of time.† And in some cultures, a face-to-face performance meeting never takes place. In severely hierarchical cultures where the boss is expected to just tell you what they think, there may not be a direct conversation. â€Å"They may communicate through a mediator to help save face.† Filipino managers engage in a practice called â€Å"smooth interpersonal relations.† If a boss has a problem with one of his subordinates, he wont talk directly to the subordinate about it, hell instead tell his wife because he knows his wifes cousins hairdresser is related to the problem employee. In other cultures, managers and employees go out for a drink periodically and chat informally about problems at work. The end result is that the manager knows and has a good sense of the performance of the individual, but if you ask them to assess the employee on a scale of one to 10 they cant do so. â€Å"There is a dependent relationship in Asian cultures. Employees depend on leaders to help them solve work-related problems. â€Å"Thats at odds with Western cultures where staff members solve things on their own.† In some cultures the relationship between the manager and subordinate is so close and ongoing that its sort of like a parent/child relationship. Managers know how employees are performing and give them feedback on a regular basis. A Look at India The business culture in India varies depending on whether it is a family-held business, an Indian company or a Western or American multinational organization, and that affects the nature of the performance management process, according to Nirmala Menon of Interweave Consulting Pvt. Ltd., a diversity consulting firm in Bangalore, India. â€Å"As most Indians are socialized to be hierarchy oriented, this often tends to spill over into the workplace,† Menon told SHRM Online. â€Å"In family-owned or the more traditionally-run organizations, the boss or manager often takes the position of the father in the family.† Organizations rely heavily on informal feedback from the senior person, which might be given indirectly and which is absorbed by the one for whom it is meant and others, Menon added. Menon says this means that the employees career growth is the bosss responsibility. â€Å"The expectation then is that â€Å"Father knows best† and what is conveyed is accepted even if they are in disagreement,† she said. â€Å"Evaluations are therefore often influenced in such situations by the deference shown to the boss and the level of loyalty exhibited; compliance more important than performance.† But Menon said that modern Indian organizations and multinational corporations, particularly IT and telecommunications firms, generally adapt to the global value systems of their companies. As a result, evaluations tend to be more structured and include face-to-face meetings, she said, followed by a written document signed by employee and manager and which typically incorporates input from peers and customers to substantiate the rating. â€Å"While indirect feedback also exists in these organizations, given the heightened awareness of a fair and professional environment, there is more acceptance and expectation of a documented communication, keeping in mind the objectives for the period under review,† Menon added. Annual Performance Appraisal and Evaluation in Indonesia Early in the 20th century, the biggest job as a managers is to teach a newly hired employee to fail intelligently to experiment over and over again and to keep on trying and failing until learns what will work. As we begin 2004, many companies are struggling with the issue of employee appraisal and evaluation. While generally adopted in most western-based business cultures, such employee review and appraisal in Indonesia can be fraught with misunderstandings as to purpose and methodology, be filled with accusations of impartiality, and be slowed by hesitation to formally criticize a subordinate. This issue comes up in easily 95 percent of my cross-cultural training programs. American companies normally wish to establish some sort of review procedure but once they begin addressing how to actually institute the process and decide what direct benefits they wish to see, they often become bogged down. The threshold question then is whether a foreign company should even try to implement such a system. There are several cultural barriers to such a system here. Among them is the difficulty with direct communication with employees and also the ‘saving up of problem areas until a later time. Direct communication is difficult for most Indonesians. Indonesians generally adopt an indirect approach to problem solving to avoid the possibility of confrontation and the disruption of office harmony. The preservation of such office harmony being a prime Indonesian business value, of course, and one often having priority over work performance. Also in Indonesia an erring employee or other problem situation is addressed as soon as possible, albeit in an indirect and non-blame pointing way, and then forgotten. To bring the subject up again at some review several months later is going to be considered inappropriate. For these two reasons, individual performance appraisals tend to have the following pattern: An employee comes in to the meeting with some misunderstandings or perhaps anxiety about what will be discussed and how it will affect their career. The supervisor can go over the ‘good qualities of the employee without difficulty. However, when the supervisor begins discussing areas that ‘may need improvement there is normally an attitude change on the part of the employee with him or her becoming either defensive or submissive. In other words, the employee may either disagree with the supervisors assessment or else may ask something like â€Å"Why are you doing this to me? I thought that we had a good working relationship. I did not realize that I was letting you down so badly. Do you want me to resign?† The supervisor then is in the position once again of explaining the purpose and objective of the assessment process. In general, annual performance evaluations and reviews tend to be disruptive to the Indonesian office. In my opinion, companies should focus on immediate feedback and reprimand, if needed, and not use the annual approach. Another difficulty is the cultural reluctance for some Indonesian managers to formally and in writing criticize their own subordinates. I often hear the example of the expatriate manager who has had one of his direct reports complain often about the performance of his own subordinates. However, when it comes time for the annual review, the direct report submits an outstanding report on that same subordinate. The decision to have annual performance evaluations and reviews may not be up to the Indonesian subsidiary of a multi-national company. Home office may dictate such a policy and the local companys only choice is how to implement. There seem to be three basic approaches to this situation. First is to just go through the motions, telling your employees that ‘this is a Western thing. It will not affect your salary or career, which basically voids the process. Second, you can use the information to provide training and education of the employees turning the evaluation process into a kind of reward system. Third and most difficult, is the attempt to fully implement and effectively use this Western evaluation tool. It can and has been successfully implemented by a number of American companies operating in Indonesia, but it does need the directed will of the top management along with allocated resources and training to be successful. At the very least, there must be a significant training period to help your employees understand what the process is and, more importantly, how it will affect them. Year one should involve a formal introduction to the process with written, quantifiable criteria for the evaluation. Year two should include mock appraisals that do not have any effect on the career of the employee. Year three could see the first recorded appraisals. Once the process is institutionalized, new employees will be told by their colleagues about this strange and foreign system and what to expect. It then becomes part of your ‘third corporate culture. Any attempts to speed up the process are often seen as arbitrary and unfair. Further, you should definitely expect such accusations of being arbitrary and unfair if you take the next step after the evaluation process and tie the appraisal into bonuses or salary increases. Such performance-based bonuses or salary increases are pretty much in direct opposition to the Indonesian business values of the group working together and maintaining office harmony. Traditionally, the ideal Indonesian employee is one who is loyal to the boss for a long time. In other words, loyalty and seniority are the prime attributes, and by loyalty, I mean personal allegiance to the boss, not to the corporate entity. Pointing out a specific employee and emphasizing the fact that he is superior to and a better employee than those he or she works with on a daily basis is going to be disruptive to the office and embarrassing to the individual. For instance, if you have an annual office party or awards dinner for your staff and you say something like: â€Å"Now here is Budi who outperformed everyone else in our office and we are giving him a new TV.† The polite clapping of his co-workers is going to be overshadowed by thoughts of ‘traitor and plots for revenge against the award winner. If you bring up another employee and say ‘Now here is Bambang who has worked for our company for 10 years and we are giving him a new TV, Bambang will bask in the limelight and his co-workers will no doubt truly admire his accomplishment. The difference being that Bambang was rewarded for seniority, while Budi was rewarded for violating basic Indonesian business values. One should not expect the same confidentiality of salary information in Indonesia that one might expect in the home country. We joke that on the day performance bonuses are given, the employees exchange pay stubs in the canteen. Even if the situation is not that extreme, you can be sure that most people in your office know what each other has received, and those employees with more seniority may soon be in your office asking for a bigger bonus or larger salary increase. You may then once again be explaining the companys policy on performance appraisals and evaluation but this time be met with defensive and even hostile disagreement as to whom was the better worker. Allegations that the companys criteria for awarding bonuses or salary increases is unfair and arbitrary and lacks understanding of the situation in Indonesia may be made. Employees have certainly used the conflict resolution strategy of ‘appeal to authority to resolve these disagreements going to the country manager complaining that their supervisor is acting improperly. There have also been cases of employees going to Indonesian government departments like Manpower or Immigration complaining about their expatriate supervisor. With the current priorities in these departments, such complains have resulted in the early repatriation of expatriate supervisors. The process of annual performance appraisal and evaluation of Indonesian employees is not one that foreign companies should enter into lightly. The implementation of this very Western-based management tool should be well thought out and supported by top management. Alternatives exist that may be better suited to your companys long-term success in Indonesia. Encouraging employee performance and addressing areas of weakness remain a good m

Guide to performing a Job Evaluation

Guide to performing a Job Evaluation What are the main issues faced by the residents in Portugal? Click on the play button to watch the video. Highlight the issues and look for the solutions. Share your opinions in the LMS Forum. [MMP: Create video screen and embed video as shown in link] Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vKDyPJmQD0 Job evaluation is the process of determining the worth of jobs assigned to employees.The worth of a job is determined by the demand for it in relation to its job description, job specification and the expected outcomes from that job. In some cases, it is found that an employee who holds a similar position as his colleague may hold a different role, and have different responsibilities and accountability. In such cases, he/she should receive different pay. This chapter discusses the importance of job evaluation, basic job evaluation methods, the hay guide chart method, and inputs to refer to when pricing jobs. Job Evaluation and Its Importance Job evaluation is the process of determining the value of one job in comparison to the other jobs within the organisation so a fair salary system can be established. The job evaluation process is the most common method used to provide a rationale for a pay structure and to assign a job to a pay grade. Job evaluation can also be defined as a practical technique for trained and experienced employees to judge the size of one job relative to others. It does not directly determine the pay levels but establishes the basis for an internal ranking of jobs. Among other definitions are as follows: Job evaluation is concerned with assessing the relative demands of different jobs within the organisation. Its usual purpose is to provide a basis for relating differences in rates of pay to different in-job requirements. It is therefore a tool which can be used to help determine a pay structure. (Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), London 1984) A job evaluation system consists of compensable factors and a weighting scheme based on the importance of each compensable factor to the organisation. Compensable factors are the characteristics of jobs that an organisation values and chooses to pay for. These characteristics may include job complexity, working conditions, required education, required experience and responsibility. (Noe et. al. 2003) Job evaluation is a systematic procedure to determine the relative worth or value of jobs. Although there are several different approaches, each one considers the duties, responsibilities and working conditions of the job. The objective of job evaluation is to identify which jobs should be paid more than others. (Schwind et. al. 1999) The objectives of a job evaluation process in an organisation are as follows: Establishes the relative value or size of jobs, i.e. internal relatives. Produces the information required to design and maintain equitable and defensible grade and pay structures, critical in any organisation. Provides as a basis for grading jobs within a grade structure, thus enabling consistent decisions to be made about job grading. Ensures that the organisation meets ethical and legal equal pay for work of equal value obligtions. More recently the use of job evaluation is the hinge of most equal pay cases. Despite its popularity, it is often misunderstood. So, the following facts about job evaluation must be made clear: SELF-CHECK What is job evaluation and why is it important? What are the four facts about job evaluation? Job Evaluation Methods The human resource management is usually responsible for administering the job evaluation programme. However, actual job evaluation is typically done by a committee. The committee might include the human resource director as the chairperson and the finance, marketing and production heads. Job Evaluation Committee Chairperson (Human Resource Director) Head of Finance Head of Marketing Head of Production Figure 8.1: The job evaluation programme is typically performed by a committee within the organisation Small and medium sized organisations may elect to use outside consultants as they often lack job evaluation experience. When employing a qualified consultant, management should require the consultant to develop an internal job evaluation programme and train company employees to administer it correctly. This can be done by reviewing information obtained through job analysis regarding the duties, responsibilities and working conditions of the organisation. With this knowledge, the relative worth of jobs is determined and the consultant will be able to shape a job evaluation programme suitable to the company by selecting an appropriate job evaluation method. Figure 8.2: The 10 basic steps in conducting an effective job evaluation There are four basic job evaluation methods commonly used by organisations. They are job ranking, job classification (or job grading), factor comparison and the point system. Job ranking and job classification are categorised as non quantitative methods while factor comparison and the point system are classified as quantitative methods. A job evaluation committee or an outside consultant needs to choose one method and modify the method to suit the organisations particular need. Figure 8.3: Job evaluation methods Job Ranking Method In the ranking method, jobs are compared to each other and arranged in order according to their worth to the organisation. The worth of a job is usually based on judgements of skill, effort (physical and mental), responsibility (supervisory and fiscal), and working conditions. The steps involved in ranking jobs are Rank Jobs Make an overall comparison between jobs, by focusing on certain factors such as, responsibility, skills, effort, and working conditions. It is possible that elements of some jobs may be overlooked or weighed too heavily. Rank jobs from the highest to the lowest. The highest and lowest are ranked first, followed by the next highest to the next lowest, until all jobs are ranked. Conduct job analysis and write job descriptions. Pay scales are established based on the rankings, where more important jobs are paid more. However, as the ranking of jobs are subjective and lack precision, the pay levels may be inaccurate. The job ranking method is perhaps the simplest method of job evaluation but it is also known to be the least precise among the four evaluation methods. WEB-SITE Find out the ten worst jobs in the US of 2010. Go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/06/worst-jobs-2010-careercas_n_413511.html Job Classification Job classification is a form of evaluation that assigns jobs to an existing grade/category structure according to their relative worth to the organisation. First, job grades or categories are established and each is given a standard description, as shown in Table 8.1. Table 8.1: A Job Classification schedule for use with Job Grading Method Job Grade Standard Description I Work is simple and highly repetitive; done under close supervision; requires minimal training and little responsibility, or initiative. II Work is simple and repetitive; done under close supervision; requires some training or skill. Employee is only rarely expected to assume responsibility or exhibit initiative. III Work is simple, with little variation; done under general supervision; training or skill is required. Employee has minimum responsibility and must take some initiative to perform satisfactorily. IV Work is moderately complex, with some variation; done under general supervision; requires high level skills. Employee is responsible for equipment and safety, and must exhibit initiative regularly. V Work is complex and varied; done under general supervision; requires advanced level skills. Employee is responsible for equipment and safety, and must show a high degree of initiative. Next, the standard description that most nearly matches a job description determines the grade of that job. Job classification or job grading is slightly more sophisticated than job ranking, but it too is not very precise. Factor Comparison In the factor comparison method, each job is ranked according to a series of factors. This method includes five major steps. Under this method, instead of ranking complete jobs, each job is ranked according to a series of factors (as shown in Figure 8.3). Figure 8.4: The five universal job factors Job evaluators must then identify factors relevant and common in a broad range of jobs as shown in Table 8.2. A numerical point value is assigned to each job factor. The weights might be different for different job positions. Some organisations use different factors for managerial, professional, sales and other positions. Table 8.2: Factors relevant and common in a broad range of jobs Job Mental Skill Physical Responsibility Working Condition System Analyst 1 4 2 1 3 Data Entry Clerk 4 1 1 4 1 Programmer 2 3 3 2 4 Operator 3 2 4 3 2 Note: In the mental requirement, systems analyst ranked highest (1), followed by programmer (2), operator (3) and clerk (4). The evaluation allows the committee to determine the relative importance of each job. In this method, pay will be assigned by comparing the weights of the factors required for each job. This method of job evaluation is more systematic. Point System This method evaluates the critical factors of each job. But instead of using wages, as the factor comparison method does, it uses points. Under the point rating system, a number of factors such as skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions are identified as being common to all jobs being evaluated. Each factor is then given a weighting indicating its values relative to the others and for each factor there are varying degrees (as shown in Table 8.3). Table 8.3: Point system matrix No. Critical Factors Levels or Degrees Minimum I Low II Moderate III High IV 1 Responsibility Safety of others 25 50 75 100 Equipment and materials 20 40 60 80 Assisting trainees 5 20 60 50 Product/ Service Quality 20 40 60 80 2 Skill Experience 45 90 135 180 Education / Training 25 50 75 100 3 Effort Physical 25 50 75 100 Mental 25 70 105 150 4 Working Condition Unpleasant condition 20 20 60 80 Hazards 20 40 60 80 Total Points 100 A job description is prepared for each job and a committee then considers each description in turn, comparing it factor by factor, with the degree definitions. Points are allocated for each factor and the total point value determines the relative worth of each job. A point system is more precise than the factor comparison method because it can handle critical factors in more detail. This method is also used more than the other methods. Some 95% of the major corporations in the US are thought to use some variation of this method to evaluate jobs. Accountability Accuracy Analysis and judgment Complexity Contact and diplomacy Creativity Decision-making Dexterity (clever, skilful, neatness) Education Effects of errors Effort Initiative Judgment Know-how Knowledge and skill Mental effort Mental Fatigue Physical demands Physical skills Planning and coordination Problem-solving Responsibility for cash/material/confidential Information equipment, process, record and reports Social skills Supervision given/received Task completion Training and experience Work condition Work pressure Figure 8.5: A list of factors used most frequently in the point rating method as prepared by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) SELF-CHECK Describe how each of the four job evaluation methods below determine the worth of a job to an organisation. a) Job ranking b) Job classification c) Factor comparison d) Point system Hay Guide Chart The job evaluation process is enormously time consuming, complex and often a frustrating task as it is subjected to political pressures and biases that is natural among committee members who represent different functional areas. It has been proven that the job evaluation process is easier to do if the committee compares factors common to all jobs (compensable factors). For evaluating management jobs, the Hay Guide Chart Profile Method is the most popular method. This method provides a common language, an organised framework and the criteria to ensure that judgements applied can be tested and defended in an objective, consistent and equitable manner. This method is based on assessing three main factors, which are: know how problem solving accountability INPUT PROCESS CONTRIBUTION KNOW-HOW PROBLEM SOLVING ACCOUNTABILITY Figure 8.6: The Hay Guide Chart Method (a) Know How Knowledge, skills and experience needed for acceptable job performance. It consists of three dimensions which are: Scientific disciplines, specialised techniques, and practical procedures The depth and range of specialised knowledge required to perform the job. It requires a deep authoritative knowledge in areas of considerable significance to the organisation disciplines or general knowledge required to deal with strategic issues at the most senior level within the organisation. Managerial know-how Requirements needed in the job to plan, supervise, coordinate and integrate different activities, resources or parts of the organisation. Human relation skills Skills needed to communicate with and influence individuals and groups within and outside the organisation to achieve the necessary results. (b) Problem Solving The span, complexity and level of analytical, evaluative and innovative thought required in the job. The problem solving factor has two components. They are: Thinking environment The environment in which thinking takes place. Identifies and addresses problems that arise. Depends on the absence or presence of policy, procedure, supervision as well as other guidance. Thinking challenge Thinking done to assess the complexity of problems encountered, ranging from simple to complex situations. Also involves the extent of original thinking needed to arrive at conclusions. (c) Accountability Discretion given to the job holder to influence or determine the course of events and his/her answerability for the consequences of his/her decisions and actions. Accountability has three dimensions which are: Freedom to Act Assesses the degree of freedom of action given to a job by the organisation. Magnitude Gauges how much of the organisation is effected by the job holders accomplishment of the job. Job impact on end results Concerned with how directly the job affects end results in that area. SELF-CHECK Explain the three factors that the Hay Guide Chart method considers in evaluating the worth of a job to the organisation. Pricing Jobs Pricing jobs are divided into two activities: Establishing the appropriate pay level for each job. Grouping the different pay levels into a structure that can be managed effectively. It would not be unusual, for instance, for the personnel manager of Motorola to regularly share wage data on key positions. Firms in the community like Hewlett Packard identify job positions such as maintenance engineer, electrical engineer, key punch operators or clerk-typists and give comprehensive descriptions of these jobs. During the wage survey, various information can be requested (as shown in Figure 8.7). Figure 8.7: Information that can be requested when conducting a wage survey (a) Pay Level The appropriate pay level for any job reflects its relative and absolute worth. A jobs relative internal worth is determined by its ranking through the job evaluation process. The absolute worth of the job is controlled by what the labour market pays for similar jobs. Figure 8.8: Pay level Source: http://www.nursingtimes.net/whats-new-in-nursing/acute-care/pay-levels-confirm-lower-status-of-nurses/5008226.article (b) Scattergram In order to set the right pay level, the job evaluation ranking and the survey wage rates (the going rates in the industry) are combined through the use of a graph called the scattergram. [GD: Insert image of scattergram] Figure 8.9: Scattergram (c) Wage-trend line Through the dots that represent key jobs, a wage-trend line is drawn as close to as many points as possible (the line can be drawn freehand). Most importantly, this method can be used to identify jobs whose pay is out of the trend line. When a jobs pay rate is too high, it should be identified as a red circle rate. Undervalued rates (wage rate is too low) carry a green circle and attempts should be made to grant these jobs an average pay increase. Figure 8.10: Wage-trend line (d) Pay structure Jobs that are similar, in terms of class grades and points, are grouped together. For instance, pay grade 1 may cover 0-100 points, pay grade 2 from 1-200 points, and so on. The result is a hierarchy of wages. The more important jobs are paid more, and as individuals assume jobs of greater importance, they rise within the wages structure. Figure 8.11: Pay structure Source: http://skorcareer.com.my/images/salary-survey-asia.jpg Rate ranges are simply pay ranges for each job class. For example, the wage-trend line indicates that $8.00 is the average hourly rate for a particular job class. With a rate range of $1 for each class, a marginal performer is placed at a midpoint or $8.00. When performer appraisals indicate above-average performance, the employee may be given a merit rise of, say 25 cents per hour. Once the employee reaches the top of the wage range, no more wage increase will be forthcoming. Either a promotion or a general across-the-board pay raise needs to occur for this worker to exceed $8.50 an across-the-board increase moves the entire wage trend line upward. As new jobs are created, the wage and salary section of the personnel department performs a job evaluation. For this evaluation, the new job is assigned to an appropriate job class. If rate ranges are used, the new incumbent will start at the bottom of the range and receive raises, where appropriate, to the top of the rate range. SELF-CHECK What are the inputs that can be requested when conducting a wage survey to price jobs? Case Study The Thai Silk Company, Ltd. Source: http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/ThaiSilk.html (a) Thai Silk Industry The production of Thai silk involves a number of stages. The earliest fiber production, was carried out by approximately 500,000 individual peasant families primarily in the economically-depressed northern portion of the country. Several hundred family firms located in the larger provincial towns and in Bangkok undertook intermediate stages dyeing, spinning and weaving. The final stages printing, converting and retailing were dominated by fewer than 100 enterprises located in Bangkok. (b) Finishing and Converting Thai silk moved directly from weavers into retail channels to be sold as fabric. However, a portion was finished (e.g. printed with a design) and/or converted (e.g. made into a pillow case, garment, window drape, etc.) before reaching retail. There were seven finishing establishments in the country, all located in Bangkok. The largest of these was a 51%-owned joint venture of Thai Silk Company Ltd. (TSC). It contained 16 hand painting tables compared to only 10 by its next largest competitor. It was the only finisher in the country specialising in silk to own an automatic printing machine. (c) Proposed New Weaving Mill On top of these changes, an important new development is currently under consideration. It involves a proposed 51-owned weaving joint venture, the Thai Silk Handweaving Co. Ltd. (TSHC). The plant was to be located at Pakthongchai in Korat Province about 100 miles northeast of Bangkok. It would initially contain 120 hand looms of the tradiational variety with capacity to supply about 20% of TSCs fabric needs. Currently, there are plans for an increase in the number of looms to 600 over a 6 year period. TSCs share of initial capitalisation would amount to 2.4 million Baht. SELF-CHECK The silk production involves many processes and stages, from dyeing to printing and retailing. As the Human Resource manager, how would you price the pay for employees working in the different stages of the silk production? Summary This chapter introduced you to job evaluation, its methods, the hay guide chart method, and inputs to refer to when pricing jobs. We have learned that: Job evaluation is the process of determining the value of one job in comparison to the other jobs within the organisation so a fair salary system can be established. It is the most common method used to provide a rationale for a pay structure and to assign a job to a pay grade. Job evaluation is usually administered by the human resource manager. However, it is typically performed by either a committee within the organisation or by outside consultants. The four basic job evaluation methods commonly used by organisations are: Job ranking Job classification (or job grading) Factor comparison The point system The hay guide chart method of evaluating jobs assesses three main factors: Know-how Problem solving Accountability When performing a job survey to price jobs, the following information can be requested: Pay level Scattergram Wage-trend line Pay structure Glossary Terms Definition Factor comparison Each job is ranked according to a series of factors, namely mental requirement, skill, physical requirement, responsibilities and working conditions. Hay guide chart method A job evaluation method that considers know-how, problem solving and accountability. Job classification/Job grading A form of evaluation that assigns jobs to an existing grade/category structure according to their relative worth to the organisation. Job evaluation The process of determining the value of one job in comparison to the other jobs within the organisation so a fair salary system can be established. Job ranking Jobs are compared to each other and arranged in order according to their worth to the organisation. Pay level What the labour market pays for similar jobs. Pay structure Jobs that are similar, in terms of class grades and points, are grouped together. Point system method Evaluates the critical factors of each job. But instead of using wages, as the factor comparison method does, it uses points. Scattergram A graph that uses plotted points to represent a set of data. Wage-trend line A line drawn as closely as possible to as many points representing key jobs in a graph.

Numeracy in primary schools Essay -- Economics

Numeracy in primary schools Numeracy is very important in primary schools today, with mental calculations being a central part of the mathematics curriculum. These mental methods of calculation should be encouraged from an early age, mathematics is used in our everyday lives without many of us realising; checking our change at the shops and leaving the house in order to arrive at school on time. It is advised that Numeracy lessons start with a 5-10 minute starter of oral or mental calculation work, working as a whole class to rehearse, sharpen and develop the children’s skills. Various ways can be used to sharpen these skills including counting in steps of different sizes, practising mental calculations and the rapid recall of number facts; this can be done through playing interactive number games ‘a number one less than a multiple of 5’ etc. Mental calculations are introduced to children in the autumn term of year 1 at a basic level of addition and subtraction. In key stage 2 these mental calculations have become more complex; children include multiplication and division according to the National Numeracy Strategy. However, these mental calculation strategies are not as straight forward as just asking the class a question in order to get a response, individualisation or ‘over-differentiation’ in the teaching of mental mathematics has been hailed as a major barrier to the effective learning. It is clear from this statement from Professor David Reynolds that individualisation is indeed an obstacle: â€Å"We’re clear about what went wrong. Methods of teaching introduced in the 70’s and 80’s, had deleterious effects on maths in particular. All the research agrees that the one thing that badly affects p... ...physical development it is up to teachers to help and differentiate class work to coincide with the children’s development. However an alternative to Piaget's’ view of cognitive development was provided by the Russian literary critic and psychologist Vygotsky. He distinguished between lower functions of human psychology like recognizing and sensation, and higher functions like thinking and understanding. According to Vygotsky ‘What a child can do in cooperation today, he can do alone tomorrow’. He talks about the Zone of Proximal Development, which is their level of actual development of their level of potential development, what they can do with help of an instructor. The ZPD is an indicator of the teachability of the child. Vygotsky suggested it gave a better measure of a child’s capacity than any test of current ability, such as an intelligence test. Numeracy in primary schools Essay -- Economics Numeracy in primary schools Numeracy is very important in primary schools today, with mental calculations being a central part of the mathematics curriculum. These mental methods of calculation should be encouraged from an early age, mathematics is used in our everyday lives without many of us realising; checking our change at the shops and leaving the house in order to arrive at school on time. It is advised that Numeracy lessons start with a 5-10 minute starter of oral or mental calculation work, working as a whole class to rehearse, sharpen and develop the children’s skills. Various ways can be used to sharpen these skills including counting in steps of different sizes, practising mental calculations and the rapid recall of number facts; this can be done through playing interactive number games ‘a number one less than a multiple of 5’ etc. Mental calculations are introduced to children in the autumn term of year 1 at a basic level of addition and subtraction. In key stage 2 these mental calculations have become more complex; children include multiplication and division according to the National Numeracy Strategy. However, these mental calculation strategies are not as straight forward as just asking the class a question in order to get a response, individualisation or ‘over-differentiation’ in the teaching of mental mathematics has been hailed as a major barrier to the effective learning. It is clear from this statement from Professor David Reynolds that individualisation is indeed an obstacle: â€Å"We’re clear about what went wrong. Methods of teaching introduced in the 70’s and 80’s, had deleterious effects on maths in particular. All the research agrees that the one thing that badly affects p... ...physical development it is up to teachers to help and differentiate class work to coincide with the children’s development. However an alternative to Piaget's’ view of cognitive development was provided by the Russian literary critic and psychologist Vygotsky. He distinguished between lower functions of human psychology like recognizing and sensation, and higher functions like thinking and understanding. According to Vygotsky ‘What a child can do in cooperation today, he can do alone tomorrow’. He talks about the Zone of Proximal Development, which is their level of actual development of their level of potential development, what they can do with help of an instructor. The ZPD is an indicator of the teachability of the child. Vygotsky suggested it gave a better measure of a child’s capacity than any test of current ability, such as an intelligence test.