Implement Marketing Strategies and Tactics Essay Example for Free

Implement Marketing Strategies and Tactics Essay Briefing stakeholders- Persons involved directly or indirectly with the organisation or project. BBQfun will be the leading outdoor-lifestyle retailer, catering to the growing need for furnishing new and renovated dwellings in the greater Brisbane area. Board of directors- BBQfun’s board of directors need to approve the plan, customers specific needs, prepare a report of high population in Greater Brisbane area, new homes and renovated homes growing from a base of 50,000 per year, low employment. Human resources staff-Human resources staff may need to adjustment demographic factors like – * Male and female population * Age segment that makes up 50% of the Brisbane new and renovated house markets, according to the chamber of commerce * High percentage of young professionals who work in the central Business district. * An average household income of over $130,000. Services marketing- Marketing based on relationship and value. BBQfun will position as a broad assortment, quality, unique outdoor –lifestyle retailer. Brisbane customers appreciate high quality and uniqueness will recognise the value and unique offerings of BBQfun. Manager- BBQfun’s manager looking for security in purchasing and house proud factor in outdoor lifestyle purchasing. Marketing and non-marketing personnel- The success of any marketing activities is equally shared between both external and internal customers group. BBQfun’s basic market need is for quality, fashionable and unique outdoor –lifestyle items that caters to the house- proud needs of our market. The success of the marketing plan of BBQfun’s many aspects are responsible for this like- advertising personnel, manager, public relations personnel, sales manager, sales team, staff, and supervisors. Objectives of the plan- * Increase sales from $15 millon per year to $20 million per year in the next three years. * Increase our loyalty customers list from 10,000 to 16,000. * Establish brand recognition in Brisbane so that at least two in three people recognise our brand in a random survey taken in 12 months’ time. * Continue increase gross profit margins. Roles and responsibilities-BBQfun’s responsibility is to provide customers with the most extensive assortment of quality outdoor-lifestyle products available in the market. Second, easy to manage long term repayment plans make unique, imported and high quality outdoor-lifestyle affordable to all. Performance measures- it is very important to know the performance measures of the BBQfun’s. There are four main steps for measuring Customers- BBQfun’s excellent staff that is highly skilled and knowledgeable about outdoor lifestyles. High customer loyalty among repeat customers.BBQfun’s great retail space that is bright, functional and efficient. Customers can see the quality of the product as it is displayed in the store. Financial-BBQfun’s advertising budget is set at $250,000 for the year. Continue to finance the easy manage long term repayment. The imported products make up 33% of the assortment. Internal business process- BBQfun wants their products and service meet customer needs so BBQfun try to new dwelling population, shopping patterns requiring easy access and customer car parking counts. Learning and growth-BBQfun has created an outdoor- lifestyle range of retail products that are differentied and superior to competitors. BBQfun provide 3 year guarantee is unique in the market place. BBQfun want to grow their business in the commercial, suburban neighbourhood or urban retail district. BBQfun‘s will do direct mail and local advertising. BBQfun has 15-20 full time staff, plus casuals. Marketing strategies and the resources-A marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan; it integrates an organisation’s marketing objectives, goals, policies and actions.BBQfun’s 3 types of marketing strategies- Defensive strategies- BBQfun’s mission is to provide customers with the most extensive assortment of quality products available in the market. BBQfun continue to finance the easy manage long term repayment plan for customers. Developing strategies-BBQfun’s developing strategy is increase sales from $15 million per year to $20 million pe r year in the next 3 years, increase loyalty customers list from 10,000 to 16,000. Attacking strategies- BBQfun’s customers are mostly aged between 20 to 50, making up 50% of the new and renovated dwelling market. Outdoor lifestyle stores have been very successful in stand alone, extensive car park access, close to new housing estates being established. By offering a superior service in range and uniqueness, BBQfun will excel relative to the competition and achieve goals. Resources -Elements that are utilised to assist the process like- human, information and communication technology, financial and physical. * Human resources relates to the people. BBQfun’s marketing plan and strategy related to the people because this is a outdoor lifestyle retailer company. BBQfun’s customers are male and female and high percentage of young professionals. * Financial- BBQfun’s advertising budget is $250,000 for the year. BBQfun will try to get articles about BBQfun into the BrisNews magazine. BrisNews magazine has seen a dramatic increase of sales immediately after the article was published. * ICT – For advertising purpose BBQfun is using local letter box, radio, and magazines. BBQfun‘s will do direct mail and local advertising, with coupon inserts in the BrisNews magazine likely to be the most successful of the campaigns. Communication and team building strategies- Effective communication is essential in any workplace and is essential for building or improving business and work relationships. Team building strategies are also essential in effectively running an organisation or team. BBQfun’s objective is to create customer awareness regarding their services offered, develop that customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals. The message of BBQfun is easy access outdoor-lifestyle products in Brisbane. This message will be communicated through a variety of methods like- direct mail. BBQfun will also use ads and inserts in Brizzy magazine. The 5Cs of effective team building are- Clear expectations-If we want to implement successful team building strategy then clear expectation is very important. In a team every person knows the role they are expected to play as well as the roles of other team members. Each and every member of the team needs to understand how and where they fit in the organisational structure. Channels of communication- Team building strategy cannot achieve without open channels of communication. It involves everyone like directors, managers, team leaders and team members. It helps to create working atmosphere and encourage to employees to discuss the problems amongst themselves. Conflict resolution-When a group of people working together then differences emerge into the open. By communication they try to solve the differences. If they can’t resolve their problems without assistance then implement mediation with an impartial third party and organise a workshop on this subject. Consequences- Make sure each team member feels responsible and accountable for team achievements. Understand the individual contribution and give them appreciation if they are doing well. In this way it encourages them for individual creativity. Celebrating achievements as a team- Every employee or team member plays an important role in the success or failure of an organisation. So need to celebrate achievements as a team. Marketing mix- BBQfun’s marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion and customer service. Strategies for monitoring marketing activities- The marketing plan require the monitoring of all marketing activities in order to analyse their performance. Implementation strategies for effective and accurate monitoring processes need to be considered and implemented. BBQfun’s each aspect of marketing plan should be monitored and evaluate. These aspects are important to achieve goal- Timeline, Resource, Costs, sales, contacts made relationship. BBQfun‘s single objective to position BBQ as the premier outdoor –lifestyle store in the greater Brisbane area within 5 years. BBQfun wants to create customer awareness regarding their service and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals. The direct mail campaign will be away to communicate directly with the consumer in this way BBQfun create a good relationship with customers. It is envisaged that new products will be developed on a regular basis in line with changes in customer taste which is targeted at every 12 months. By getting feedback from these firms then changes is possible in the product. Feedback, decision making process of customers is very important aspect for the development of the product. Local business owners are often part of an informal fraternal organisation where they support each other’s business. BBQfun recently become a member of the outdoor Lifestyle Association. BBQfun’s marketing manager is responsible for marketing activities and has the authority and responsibilities over all company activities that affect customer’s satisfaction. .

The Implementation Of Erp At Tektronix Information Technology Essay

The Implementation Of Erp At Tektronix Information Technology Essay The Tektronix Inc: Global case study is a classic example of a case where an iconic leader with his team of motivated leaders and sponsors manages change by empowering and guiding people. Even though the ERP project was not an easy task, clear focus, planning and the executive push from the top meant the project was executed on a priority and various challenges tackled at the right time. In addition, the accomplishment of an ERP normally considered as a biggest information system project ever completed by a corporation (Whitten et al., 2000, Ehie and Madsen, 2005, Vlachopoulou and Manthou, 2006, Hitt et al., 2002). This case study also highlights the crucial role that business processes and business process reengineering play in the success of a global organisation. Additionally what is remarkable is the successful international implementation and rollout across divisions and geographies. Lets look at the various aspects of the ERP rollout at Tektronix one by one. The biggest challenge for any such initiative or a project is the management of change and the associated people management for such a large transformation project. This is in line with Grabski and Leech (2007) view that implementation of an ERP and associated BPR is not unchallenging. However, Carl Neun seems to manage this change as a true leader who is experienced and aware of challenges of change management (Westerman et al., 1999). Change management is a planned approach to causing people to accept transitions to develop operations (Joyce, 2000). Lets look at the change aspect of the project first and how the transformation from a legacy system to new generation ERP was successfully run. I am using the framework based of Harvard Business Review on Leading through Change. In John P Kotters (1995) article on Why Transformations fail, he highlights the eight steps to successful transformation of a organization as: Establishing a sense of Urgency Neun being an experienced CFO and an able leader knew that in order for the project to succeed and to link up the organization with an ERP system and create an ecosystem where information was available needed a sense of urgency to be created. He understood that for Tektronix to move forward and to invest and divest in various businesses, it needed to be connected via an information system else the company was headed for disaster. As Grabski and Leech (2007) stated that one approach to overcome this issue is investing in advanced information system, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, to improve the business competitiveness. Moreover, the dwindling financial performance was a factor to create the sense of urgency required. The impetus from Roy Barkers goal to double the printer business and also the realisation that the printer business would be volume game created the urgency for Tektronix to be ready with an IT system that would support growth. Forming a powerful guiding coalition Neun and his senior management team were the powerful guiding coalition that was assembled by the CEO. In the case study it is mentioned that the CEO had given Neun the unlimited authority on implementation and the buck stopped with Neun with regards to the ERP implementation. Neun then selected his long time associate Bob Vance as the CIO. Along with the business justification from Roy Barker, the team become a powerful guiding coalition and the individuals worked together as a great a team. Creating a vision Carl Neun knew his end goal was to create an organisation where information was readily available and could be shared easily. He wanted to simplify the complexity and address change by removing archaic processes and systems. Neuns Frankfurt is Orlando analogy was the vision of the project. It highlighted that the business all over the world was similar barring language and certain local legal requirements. To support this, Bingi et al. (2002) believed that Integration through ERP systems allows organizations to share information in a standard format across its various divisions both in the headquarter and in its global offices, with no modifications for language and currency differences needed. Carl very clearly expanded his vision toward the implementation as with three components of a) separability of businesses b) leveraging shared services c) staying plain vanilla as possible, as alterations could lead to budget and time overruns, defective functionality (Sumner, 2000). Standardi sing the business processes was a key component of Carls vision and he was focussed to ensure that complex processes were simplified to the maximum possible extent. Communicating the vision The vision was communicated first by getting the business heads such as Barker to back the plan. Once he had raised the concerns other managers and senior managers joined in the cause. Carl and Vance took the lead to communicate the vision by first explaining their ideas of the simplified architecture of the transformed information system. They also took pain to simplify and push for standardisation. The idea of starting with implementation at CPID and then moving onto other divisions also gave the opportunity for the learnings at one place to be applied to the next one, as noted by Rogers (1995) that the adoption of a new system will follow an S curve by having innovator or early adopter organisations taking the lead, followed by early majority, late majority adopters, then at last laggards. This approach helped to teach the new behaviours as the guiding coalition was at the forefront of the change and were leading by example. Empowering others to act on the vision The key component for empowering others to change include a) Getting rid of obstacles to change b) Changing systems and structures that seriously undermine change c) Encouraging risk taking and non-traditional ideas, activities and actions. As identified by Ahadi (2006) as the change management effectiveness in the organisation. He asserts that the ability of the organisation to authorize employees, appraise performance, apply reward systems, conduct training and education and facilitate communication during the process of change is crucial. Carl Neun was empowered by the CEO to take the project through and the empowerment trickled down to the level of execution. This allowed the CIO and his team to put extra people, fire people who were acting as hindrance to the implementation. In addition the team structure put in place and the roles ensured that the projects in various geographies rolled up together very well in a coherent way. The key hindrance to success was lack of financial information and Carl Neun took the right steps to simplify the business processes and reduce disparities across the world and then put in the ERP system, which would enable the change. He shuffled the European organisation structure and chang ed it to commission basis as it would allow for the changes to be made swiftly and removal of the country managers helped the cause further. Planning for a creating Short Term wins The key to success of the Tektronix ERP implementation was the implementation of the project in waves. The concept of allowing the project to be implemented in waves did in turn create short-term wins where people and teams could see things were working. Not only did implementing the project in waves allowed for it to be implemented well but also allowed the learning from previous waves to be carried out into further projects. That is allowing what is known as windows of opportunity (Tyre and Orlikowski, 1994) to develop where the users would discover novel and better ways to carry out their daily work after implementation which could be fed back to the global group in other divisions. Consolidating improvements and producing still more change Once the first wave was successful the leadership team kept moving in to implement the changes across the organisation and across geographies. The credibility that came from implementing the first wave was used to push forward the further waves as the momentum picked up as things started to work. One very interesting aspect was the Neun and Vance decision to use consulting support for the implementation of the project. I think it was a great idea that saved the internal teams and people coordinating the project valuable time that would have been spent learning the nuances of Oracle ERP, as argued by Olsen and Saetre (2007) that the users of an ERP system may not fully be familiar with system and thus utilise it. It took the right call by allowing the firm that developed an interface between its manufacturing system and oracle to give it the rights to sell/license the interface. All these successful implementations of the one wave after another gave the momentum to keep pushing the change further and ensuring that the change agents were constantly at work on the key vision of Frankfurt is Orlando. The learning from every wave was useful and the managers were quick on their feet. They consolidated improvement to produce change and whatever was not working in a wave was changed and the successful behaviour then became a part of the next wave. For instance when the consulting firm called into help CPID was not helping, they quickly moved onto a combination of Aris, Oracle and other consultants to speed up the lost time. The project management team teamed up consultants with Tektronix staff who took the charge of business change while the consultants were given the responsibility to deal with system deals. The case clearly illustrates how the first wave was used to consolidate improvements and produce further change. While the implementation at CPID took a little longer than expected, it was considered successful. With this first domestic implementation, Tektronix was able to learn powerful lessons, build internal skills, and establish practices that helped with all of future implementation waves. Institutionalising new approaches The new business processes were thoroughly discussed before being implemented in different decisions and catered to the individual needs of each business unit. The senior team at each business unit understood the needs of the business unit and institutionalised the new approaches to doing business. Large scale project implementation and strategic alignment Tektronix managed a large-scale project very well despite lots of previous difficulties with regards to implementing other IT projects. However this one was a success because of the understanding and the vision of Neun and Vance to ensure that the business processes were simplified, as Hammer (1990) stated that the projects success involving companies investing in IT to develop their business, was usually not attained as the IT was only used to expedite existing processes. This process of alignment of the IT strategy and Business strategy is key to successful performance for any organisation as highlighted in the MIT90S (Scott Morton, 1991) and Strategic Alignment Models (SAM) (Henderson and Venkatraman, 1992). SAM suggests that for firms to be competitive, business and information strategies need to aligned (Avison et al., 2004). Henderson and Venkatraman (1992) have clearly demarcated the various domains in their strategic alignment model as shown below in the figure. They have highlighted the importance of internal and external perspectives and how the strategic fit between these aspects influences the competitiveness of firms. The key perspective that comes of the SAM is the straightforward relation between Business strategy and Business Infrastructure and IT strategy and IT infrastructure and processes. Also the cross dimensional alignment between Business Strategy and IT Infrastructure, IT strategy and Business Infrastructure and Processes is key to competitiveness. Fig 1: Strategic Alignment Model (Source: Henderson and Venkatraman, 1992) Looking at the case study it becomes apparent that Carl Neun understood the principle of a successful global organisation and his vision clearly brought together the functional integration as well as cross dimensional alignments. He knew that business processes needed to be reengineered first. As Skok and Legge (2002) acknowledged that the success of an ERP implementation is attained with preceding implementation of BPR. Accordingly, the business processes needed to be simplified and then the appropriate IT infrastructure and IT systems and processes to be put in place to get the benefits that Tektronix was seeking from the IT alignment. The strategy of implementing the project in waves was crucial to the success of the project and also the project team structure was the right structure for successful implementation of such a large project. Looking at the project management strategy, I feel that the team structure of Neun being the Project sponsor and Vance spending considerable time on the project in detail was very important. The local implementation was the guiding factor on how to move ahead with the implementation even though the global implementation had its own challenges as argued by Ross (1999), that overabundance of distinct and independent systems in different parts of the organisation impeding globalization. Program management and giving team members the authority and power to decide on the critical aspects that affected their business the most was a smart project management decision. I am particularly impressed by the structure at the local implementation where for each wave there were functional experts, change control team, Functional sub team and most importantly the test team. Each wave at the different business units had its peculiarity and different business processes depending on the structure and the need of the individual business units. If we look at the role of Functional experts who were allocated to each wave to ensure that all the essential knowledge and remained with the implementation teams till the final wave. As it has been highlighted that this led to postponement of some initiatives because other initiatives also depended on the availability of the most knowledgeable resources. I believe that this was the right strategy even though that led to delay of initiatives that were to be started; the waves that were on were implemented successfully. The project and program management of Neun and Vance must be commended, as they understood that they could not afford delays in projects. All project management is a delicate balance of the resources, time and cost as sides of a triangle. Affecting one has impact on the others. So when the projects were facing delays the management did not shy in putting in more consultants on the project. The team structure of leaving the system aspects to external consultants was a g ood decision as it freed up the business people and Tektronix experts to focus on the business processes and the knowledge aspect rather than having to understand the deep technical aspects or the architectural nuances of the ERP system. Software selection and extending the software functionality Tektronix has already seen the worse effects of the not invented here with regards to the software and infrastructure solutions. Neun made the right call with going for the Oracle ERP solution. Neun understood the outsourcing advantage and also the core competency of Tektronix was not at developing software solution. He left the development of the software and implementation to the right experts. Vance took the right decision with regards to the manufacturing ERP and leaving it in place. Had the manufacturing system been taken off and Oracle ERP components used, then it would have been a challenge as the people in manufacturing who had recently undergone a systems change would be swamped by the next change wave and would feel unsettled. I think this was the best decision taken to get an external company to do the interface between manufacturing ERP and the Oracle ERP. Vance and Neun also did not waste eons of time on deciding the alternatives and which ERP package to select. Such evaluation programs usually cost organisations lots of money and they highlight trivial differences between the best of the breed packages. The decision taken to go ahead with the oracle implementation, as the team was Neun and Vance had experience of working with Oracle and knew that the oracle solution would cater to the needs. The idea of using a small dedicated team that focussed on the capabilities of what Oracle could do and the time they spent upfront on ensuring that Oracle could do what was required for Tektronix shows the discipline and focus from top to bottom to get a solution working for the organisation. Another laudable aspect of the software implementation was the plain vanilla approach adopted by the Neun. His understanding that software adaptation and customisation not only costs money and time but also introduces other behaviours that need to regression tested showed a mature thinking with regards to software customisation and development . Instead he focussed on simplifying and adapting the business processes such that they could be realised in the plain vanilla implementation of the software. Only in special and rare cases was customisation allowed and then also where customisation was done, the teams were dedicated to rigorous testing and testing with full load scenarios to ensure that the customisation did not introduce any unintended errors and behaviours. Nevertheless, Markus et als (2000) studies of businesses implementing ERP observed that some adjustments to the system were unnecessary after the users began using it more effectively. The implementation move to using Aris and Oracle consultants once the Tektronix team were sure on what sort of consultants were useful showed the ability of the business and implementation leaders to take the best decisions for the business. They cut out the slack and unnecessary admin overheads related to evaluating consultants, interviewing and employing them. The idea to use consultants on a time and material basis was a smart idea on keeping the project on time. Use of low cost resources and contractors kept the project costs in rein and the putting of extra consultants on waves where a delay could occur, shows dedication and commitment to ensure roll outs happen in time and are successful for the projects. Replicating this success to the international level and using the waves methodology is commendable. The project team and execution structure for the international project was exemplary. The idea to do away with the country managers and keep a simple structure as the global structure was exemplary for the global project management. In fact selection of individuals who had long term ties and understanding of the global regions was the right approach taken by the program management team. Also the idea to create a central processing centre in Marlow was an excellent idea towards consolidation. Keeping English as the language of communication for the company was a sensible decision that fast tracked the implementation. Personally I feel that the brilliant job done at customisation for the printing of bills and local communication was hitting the nail on the head in terms of implementation. At the time when the project was implemented localisation was still picking up as a technology domain and would have taken much longer than expected. The consolidation of the infrastructure was another bold move which was taken by Vance; outsourcing the data centres completely freed the valuable resources and the company could focus on the core work of making the implementation a success. It was exemplary how they managed to pull off the whole thing together as a success. The results were satisfactory and when the people quoted that they spent 90% of their time just collecting data and only 10% analysing it. The whole situation changed after then implementation as people spent 90% of their time analysing information which was the core purpose of the implementation was to make information readily available and convert data into information. The Tektronix team did an excellent job. Conclusion I believe that the job was successful and what Tektronix needs to do for further implementations and such large programs is to keep the spirit and the learnings from the Oracle ERP implementation. One area that they need to pay a lot of attention would be the evolving business process framework and pay special attention to the management of Business processes. Going further in time with complex business needs and changing customer requirements and global environments would require Tektronix to adapt the business processes and if Tektronix paid special attention to keeping the business process framework up to date and then use it to drive the software changes it will keep things in control. The best way to do so would be to have process owners and process sponsors who are in charge of maintaining and consulting the stakeholders on process changes and then keep the process architecture of the organisation updated. This will ensure all further projects could experience similar success i f the right team structure and leaders are engaged.

The Breakdown of the Carbone family in A View From The Bridge :: A View from the Bridge, Arthur Miller

Trace the Breakdown of the Carbone family in A View From The Bridge New York in the 1940’s the United States welcomed immigrants from all over Europe but especially Italy, the only problem with these immigrants was, most where illegal. The Italians, starved from the depression of World War One fled their homes and sometimes families for a better life in America. This often worked because the areas where you went to live often contained more people of the same race and as they say ‘blood is thicker than water’ to these people so one person wouldn’t tell on another for hiding or being an illegal immigrant. One problem though, this being to get to America you had to be smuggled in by the Mafia, this happened to cost an arm and a leg which means your in debt to the Mafias, so when and if, you get to America most of the money you earned went to the Mafias, so it was a hard life but better than the one you had. This play is about two Italians that decide to take this risk, but what will happen as a cause of this†¦ Catherine Carbone is Eddie Carbone’ niece, she is a 17 year old girl and is strikingly good looking. On the other hand Eddie is a 40, husky, slightly overweight long shore man, one problem though he has a thing for Catherine, but Eddie knows he can’t have her, so because he can’t have here no one else can either, or you might say, Eddie Carbone ‘ wont settle for half ’, but a good looking 17 year old isn’t going to stay single for long, this creates a dilemma for Eddie. Catherine has spent pretty much all her life with Eddie so she has become very attached, for example, ‘you sit on the edge of the bathtub talking to him when he’s shaving’ in his underwear’, she thinks she is just talking to him, where as Eddie thinks that she is trying to say something and it’s not. So from an early age she has been manipulated by Eddie, making him seem the only one to trust and to believe every word he says, for example, ‘I wish there was one guy you couldn’t tell me things about!’ showing that if Eddie found a guy that Eddie didn’t now bad things about he would be a good guy to go out with but, Eddie isn’t going to find any won like. Beatrice is petrified of Eddie and he uses this to his advantage. Making Beatrice feel sorry for him when he’s being rude to her, ‘when

Archimedes Essay example -- Biographies Bio Biography

Archimedes was born in Syracuse, Sicily, in 287 B.C. His father was Philas, an aristocratic astronomer. He was educated in Alexandria, Egypt; where he met the Alexandrian scholars Conon of Samos and Eratosthenes of Cyrene. For much of his life, Archimedes kept a correspondence with these two scholars, updating them on his most recent discoveries and proofs. Archimedes spent the major part of his life in Sicily, in and around Syracuse. He did not hold any public office but devoted his entire lifetime to research and experiment. Archimedes is credited with the invention of the compound pulley, the hydraulic screw, the burning mirror, and vast improvements made on the catapult. He calculated the exact value of pi, proved that the volume of a sphere is 2/3 that of the circumscribed cylinder, and defined the law of the lever. Perhaps one of Archimedes’ most famous discoveries is the discovery of the hydrostatic principle now called the Archimedes principle. There are three different accounts of Archimedes’ death in 212 B.C. One of the most popular is that a Roman soldier came upon Archimedes while he was drawing diagrams in sand during the Roman siege of Syracuse during the Second Punic War. As legend has it, Archimedes, so involved in his calculations, had not noticed the commotion around him; he offended he intruder by saying, â€Å"Do not disturb my diagrams.† The soldier stabbed Archimedes through the chest, killing what historians call one the Three Greatest Mathematicians. Archimedes wrote many books containing his propositions and proofs before his death, but none were so famous as The Method Treating of Mechanical Problems, or more simply known as The Method. This work is also widely known as the Archimedes Palimpsest. ... ..., Archimedes provides a proposition as to the cause of this remarkable experiment. He sates that two solids of equal weight and equal size will, when immersed in water, will displace the same amount of liquid. He also states that the two solids will come to rest just beneath the surface of the water. Archimedes hypothesizes that any solid that is heavier than a fluid will sink to the bottom of the fluid, but will be lighter than the fluid displaced, if weighed in the fluid. Archimedes was, in conclusion, one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. Without his contributions, the branch of math known as the calculus would likely not be complete, nor would there likely be as many advances in the fields of science and mechanics as we have today. One can hardly imagine what great treasures will be unlocked in the Palimpsest, or where those discoveries might lead.

Robert Frost Essay -- essays research papers

He thought he kept the universe alone,† to most people the thoughts of being alone are very frightening. It is human nature to search for companionship. In the poem â€Å"The Most of It,† Robert Frost uses a wealth of strong imagery to tell a story of a person who has lost his loved one to death and has to suffer the feeling of loneliness and emptiness created by it. Frost uses the setting of a lake surrounded by a forest to convey a feeling of peace and of being alone to the reader. A man is sitting on the edge of the lake, crying out for someone, his echo being his only company. After time, a buck swam across the lake and appeared on the shore and abruptly runs into the brush, away from sight. Although the man only caught a glimpse of the deer for a short moment, it was long enough for him to feel that he was no longer alone, but had something there, even though it was not tangible. The clues given to the reader that someone has passed on are the words â€Å"wakeâ₠¬  and three lines down, the word â€Å"morning.† A wake can be many things; one is that it is a vigil that is held in honor of a person who has recently died. â€Å"Morning† can be taken as â€Å"mourning† and be seen as Frost grieving for a loved one. One also develops the impression that Frost is mourning a great loss, such as a sould mate, because of the line, â€Å"He would cry out on life, that what it wants/ is not its own love back in copy speech/but counter-love.† That quote shows the reader that the man was alone, so alone, that he â€Å"c...

The Sweater

The hockey sweater, loyalty One of Quebec’s leading writers Roch Carrier, in his short story, â€Å"The hockey sweater†, tells of a boy’s loyalty to a Montreal Canadians hockey player Maurice Richards. Carrier’s idea is to deliver a theme of loyalty by establishing a sentimental tone in order to appeal similar feelings or experiences in his audience. Carrier begins by acknowledging the desire the young boy and his friends have to be exactly the same as there hockey idol.He writes â€Å"We all wore the same uniform as he, red, white and blue uniform of the Montreal Canadians, the best hockey team in the world; we all combed our hair in the same style as Maurice Richards† and â€Å"you’ll never put it in my head to wear a Toronto Maple leafs sweater†. Carrier describes the boys loyalty using everyday diction to allow for an array of audiences to be entertained. Shifting to Carriers outstanding use of punctuation he directs the readerâ₠¬â„¢s attention to the words that follow by using colons.For example â€Å"with tears in my eyes, I found the strength to say: I’ll never wear that uniform†. Carrier is able to support his them of loyalty with his use of complex-compound sentences like: â€Å"Wearing my Toronto maple leafs sweater i went to the church, where I prayed to God, I asked him to send, as quickly as possible, moths that would eat up my Toronto maple leafs sweater†. In conclusion, Carrier’s strategy of neutral diction, passionate tone, complex-compound sentences and punctuation, Carrier is able to support his them of loyalty throughout his short story.

Implications of Learning Theories in Modern World

Motivation Excerpted from Chapter 11 of Biehler/Snowman, PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED TO TEACHING, 8/e, Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Definition of Motivation (p. 399) Behavioral Views of Motivation (pp. 399-402) Cognitive Views of Motivation (pp. 402-406) The Humanistic View of Motivation (pp. 406-409) The Impact of Cooperative Learning on Motivation (pp. 416-417) Suggestions for Teaching in Your Classroom: Motivating Students to Learn (p. 422) Resources for Further Investigation (pp. 433-434) Definition of Motivation Motivation is typically defined as the forces that account for the arousal, selection, direction, and continuation of behavior.Nevertheless, many teachers have at least two major misconceptions about motivation that prevent them from using this concept with maximum effectiveness. One misconception is that some students are unmotivated. Strictly speaking, that is not an accurate statement. As long as a student chooses goals and expends a certain amount of effort to achieve them, he is, by definition, motivated. What teachers really mean is that students are not motivated to behave in the way teachers would like them to behave. The second misconception is that ne person can directly motivate another. This view is inaccurate because motivation comes from within a person. What you can do, with the help of the various motivation theories discussed in this chapter, is create the circumstances that influence students to do what you want them to do. Many factors determine whether the students in your classes will be motivated or not motivated to learn. You should not be surprised to discover that no single theoretical interpretation of motivation explains all aspects of student interest or lack of it.Different theoretical interpretations do, however, shed light on why some students in a given learning situation are more likely to want to learn than others. Furthermore, each theoretical interpretation can serve as the basis for the development of techniques for motivatin g students in the classroom. Several theoretical interpretations of motivation — some of which are derived from discussions of learning presented earlier — will now be summarized. Top Behavioral Views of Motivation Operant Conditioning and Social Learning TheoryThe Effect of Reinforcement In Chapter 8 we discussed Skinner's emphasis of the role of reinforcement in learning. After demonstrating that organisms tend to repeat actions that are reinforced and that behavior can be shaped by reinforcement, Skinner developed the technique of programmed instruction to make it possible for students to be reinforced for every correct response. According to Skinner, supplying the correct answer–and being informed by the program that it is the correct answer–motivates the student to go on to the next frame; and as the student works through the program, the desired terminal behavior is progressively shaped.Following Skinner's lead, many behavioral learning theorists de vised techniques of behavior modification on the assumption that students are motivated to complete a task by being promised a reward of some kind. Many times the reward takes the form of praise or a grade. Sometimes it is a token that can be traded in for some desired object; and at other times the reward may be the privilege of engaging in a self-selected activity. Operant conditioning interpretations of learning may help reveal why some students react avorably to particular subjects and dislike others. For instance, some students may enter a required math class with a feeling of delight, while others may feel that they have been sentenced to prison. Skinner suggests that such differences can be traced to past experiences. He would argue that the student who loves math has been shaped to respond that way by a series of positive experiences with math. The math hater, in contrast, may have suffered a series of negative experiences.The Power of Persuasive Models Social learning theor ists, such as Albert Bandura, call attention to the importance of observation, imitation, and vicarious reinforcement (expecting to receive the same reinforcer that we see someone else get for exhibiting a particular behavior). A student who identifies with and admires a teacher of a particular subject may work hard partly to please the admired individual and partly to try becoming like that individual.A student who observes an older brother or sister reaping benefits from earning high grades may strive to do the same with the expectation of experiencing the same or similar benefits. A student who notices that a classmate receives praise from the teacher after acting in a certain way may decide to imitate such behavior to win similar rewards. As we pointed out in Chapter 8, both vicarious reinforcement and direct reinforcement can raise an individual's sense of self-efficacy for a particular task, which, in turn, leads to higher levels of motivation.Top Cognitive Views of Motivation Cognitive views stress that human behavior is influenced by the way people think about themselves and their environment. The direction that behavior takes can be explained by four influences: the inherent need to construct an organized and logically consistent knowledge base, one's expectations for successfully completing a task, the factors that one believes account for success and failure, and one's beliefs about the nature of cognitive ability. The Impact of Cognitive DevelopmentThis view is based on Jean Piaget's principles of equilibration, assimilation, accommodation, and schema formation. Piaget proposes that children possess an inherent desire to maintain a sense of organization and balance in their conception of the world (equilibration). A sense of equilibration may be experienced if a child assimilates a new experience by relating it to an existing scheme, or the child may accommodate by modifying an existing scheme if the new experience is too different. In addition, in dividuals will repeatedly use new schemes because of an inherent desire to master their environment.This explains why young children can, with no loss of enthusiasm, sing the same song, tell the same story, and play the same game over and over and why they repeatedly open and shut doors to rooms and cupboards with no seeming purpose. It also explains why older children take great delight in collecting and organizing almost everything they can get their hands on and why adolescents who have begun to attain formal operational thinking will argue incessantly about all the unfairness in the world and how it can be eliminated (Stipek, 1993).Top The Need for Achievement Have you ever decided to take on a moderately difficult task (like take a course on astronomy even though you are a history major and have only a limited background in science) and then found that you had somewhat conflicting feelings about it? On the one hand, you felt eager to start the course, confident that you would b e pleased with your performance. But on the other hand, you also felt a bit of anxiety because of the small possibility of failure. Now try to imagine the opposite situation.In reaction to a suggestion to take a course outside your major, you flat out refuse because the probability of failure seems great, while the probability of success seems quite small. In the early 1960s John Atkinson (1964) proposed that such differences in achievement behavior are due to differences in something called the need for achievement. Atkinson described this need as a global, generalized desire to attain goals that require some degree of competence. He saw this need as being partly innate and partly the result of experience.Individuals with a high need for achievement have a stronger expectation of success than they do a fear of failure for most tasks and therefore anticipate a feeling of pride in accomplishment. When given a choice, high-need achievers seek out moderately challenging tasks because t hey offer an optimal balance between challenge and expected success. By contrast, individuals with a low need for achievement avoid such tasks because their fear of failure greatly outweighs their expectation of success, and they therefore anticipate feelings of shame.When faced with a choice, they typically opt either for relatively easy tasks because the probability of success is high or rather difficult tasks because there is no shame in failing to achieve a lofty goal. Atkinson's point about taking fear of failure into account in arranging learning experiences has been made more recently by William Glasser in Control Theory in the Classroom (1986) and The Quality School (1990). Glasser argues that for people to succeed at life in general, they must first experience success in one important aspect of their lives.For most children, that one important part should be school. But the traditional approach to evaluating learning, which emphasizes comparative grading (commonly called â €Å"grading on the curve†), allows only a minority of students to achieve A's and B's and feel successful. The self-worth of the remaining students (who may be quite capable) suffers, which depresses their motivation to achieve on subsequent classroom tasks (Covington, 1985). Top The Humanistic View of Motivation Abraham Maslow earned his Ph. D. in a psychology department that supported the behaviorist position.After he graduated, however, he came into contact with Gestalt psychologists (a group of German psychologists whose work during the 1920s and 1930s laid the foundation for the cognitive theories of the 1960s and 1970s), prepared for a career as a psychoanalyst, and became interested in anthropology. As a result of these various influences, he came to the conclusion that American psychologists who endorsed the behaviorist position had become so preoccupied with overt behavior and objectivity that they were ignoring other important aspects of human existence (hence the t erm humanistic to describe his views).When Maslow observed the behavior of especially well-adjusted persons–or self-actualizers, as he called them–he concluded that healthy individuals are motivated to seek fulfilling experiences. Maslow's Theory of Growth Motivation Maslow describes seventeen propositions, discussed in Chapter 1 of Motivation and Personality (3d ed. , 1987), that he believes would have to be incorporated into any sound theory of growth motivation (or need gratification) to meet them.Referring to need gratification as the most important single principle underlying all development, he adds that â€Å"the single, holistic principle that binds together the multiplicity of human motives is the tendency for a new and higher need to emerge as the lower need fulfills itself by being sufficiently gratified† (1968, p. 55). He elaborates on this basic principle by proposing a five-level hierarchy of needs. Physiological needs are at the bottom of the hier archy, followed in ascending order by safety, belongingness and love, esteem, and self-actualization needs.This order reflects differences in the relative strength of each need. The lower a need is in the hierarchy, the greater is its strength because when a lower-level need is activated (as in the case of extreme hunger or fear for one's physical safety), people will stop trying to satisfy a higher-level need (such as esteem or self-actualization) and focus on satisfying the currently active lower-level need (Maslow, 1987). The first four needs (physiological, safety, belongingness and love, and esteem) are often referred to as deficiency needs because they motivate people to act only when they are unmet to some degree.Self-actualization, by contrast, is often called a growth need because people constantly strive to satisfy it. Basically, self-actualization refers to the need for self-fulfillment — the need to develop all of one's potential talents and capabilities. For exam ple, an individual who felt she had the capability to write novels, teach, practice medicine, and raise children would not feel self-actualized until all of these goals had been accomplished to some minimal degree. Because it is at the top of the hierarchy and addresses the potential of the whole person, self-actualization is discussed more frequently than the other needs.Maslow originally felt that self-actualization needs would automatically be activated as soon as esteem needs were met, but he changed his mind when he encountered individuals whose behavior did not fit this pattern. He concluded that individuals whose self-actualization needs became activated held in high regard such values as truth, goodness, beauty, justice, autonomy, and humor (Feist, 1990). In addition to the five basic needs that compose the hierarchy, Maslow describes cognitive needs (such as the needs to know and to understand) and aesthetic needs (such as the needs for order, symmetry, or harmony).While no t part of the basic hierarchy, these two classes of needs play a critical role in the satisfaction of basic needs. Maslow maintains that such conditions as the freedom to investigate and learn, fairness, honesty, and orderliness in interpersonal relationships are critical because their absence makes satisfaction of the five basic needs impossible. (Imagine, for example, trying to satisfy your belongingness and love needs or your esteem needs in an atmosphere characterized by dishonesty, unfair punishment, and restrictions on freedom of speech. ) Top The Impact of Cooperative Learning on MotivationClassroom tasks can be structured so that students are forced to compete with one another, work individually, or cooperate with one another to obtain the rewards that teachers make available for successfully completing these tasks. Traditionally, competitive arrangements have been assumed to be superior to the other two in increasing motivation and learning. But reviews of the research lite rature by David Johnson and Roger Johnson (Johnson ; Johnson, 1995; Johnson, Johnson, ; Smith, 1995) found cooperative arrangements to be far superior in producing these benefits.In this section we will describe cooperative-, competitive, and individual learning arrangements (sometimes called goal structures or reward structures), identify the elements that make up the major approaches to cooperative learning, and examine the effect of cooperative learning on motivation, achievement, and interpersonal relationships. Types of Classroom Reward Structures Competitive goal structures are typically norm referenced. (If you can't recall our discussion of the normal curve in Chapter 5, now might be a good time for a quick review. This traditional practice of grading on the curve predetermines the percentage of A, B, C, D, and F grades regardless of the actual distribution of test scores. Because only a small percentage of students in any group can achieve the highest rewards and because th is accomplishment must come at some other students' expense, competitive goal structures are characterized by negative interdependence. Students try to outdo one another, view classmates' failures as an advantage, and come to believe that the winners deserve their rewards because they are inherently better (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1994; Johnson et al. 1995). Some researchers have argued that competitive reward structures lead students to focus on ability as the primary basis for motivation. This orientation is reflected in the question â€Å"Am I smart enough to accomplish this task? † When ability is the basis for motivation, competing successfully in the classroom may be seen as relevant to self-esteem (since nobody loves a loser), difficult to accomplish (since only a few can succeed), and uncertain (success depends on how everyone else does).These perceptions may cause some students to avoid challenging subjects or tasks, to give up in the face of difficulty, to rewa rd themselves only if they win a competition, and to believe that their own successes are due to ability, whereas the successes of others are due to luck (Ames & Ames, 1984; Dweck, 1986). Individualistic goal structures are characterized by students working alone and earning rewards solely on the quality of their own efforts. The success or failure of other students is irrelevant.All that matters is whether the student meets the standards for a particular task (Johnson et al. , 1994; Johnson et al. , 1995). Thirty students working by themselves at computer terminals are functioning in an individual reward structure. According to Carole Ames and Russell Ames (1984), individual structures lead students to focus on task effort as the primary basis for motivation (as in â€Å"I can do this if I try†). Whether a student perceives a task as difficult depends on how successful she has been with that type of task in the past.Cooperative goal structures are characterized by students w orking together to accomplish shared goals. What is beneficial for the other students in the group is beneficial for the individual and vice versa. Because students in cooperative groups can obtain a desired reward (such as a high grade or a feeling of satisfaction for a job well done) only if the other students in the group also obtain the same reward, cooperative goal structures are characterized by positive interdependence. Also, all groups may receive the same rewards, provided they meet the teacher's criteria for mastery.For example, a teacher might present a lesson on map reading, then give each group its own map and a question-answering exercise. Students then work with each other to ensure that all know how to interpret maps. Each student then takes a quiz on map reading. All teams whose average quiz scores meet a preset standard receive special recognition (Johnson et al. , 1994; Johnson et al. , 1995; Slavin, 1995). Cooperative structures lead students to focus on effort a nd cooperation as the primary basis of motivation.This orientation is reflected in the statement â€Å"We can do this if we try hard and work together. † In a cooperative atmosphere, students are motivated out of a sense of obligation: one ought to try, contribute, and help satisfy group norms (Ames ; Ames, 1984). William Glasser, whose ideas we mentioned earlier, is a fan of cooperative learning. He points out that student motivation and performance tend to be highest for such activities as band, drama club, athletics, the school newspaper, and the yearbook, all of which require a team effort (Gough, 1987).We would also like to point out that cooperative-learning and reward structures are consistent with the constructivist approach discussed in Chapters 1, 2, and 10 since they encourage inquiry, perspective sharing, and conflict resolution. Top Suggestions for Teaching in Your Classroom: Motivating Students to Learn 1. Use behavioral techniques to help students exert themsel ves and work toward remote goals. 2. Make sure that students know what they are to do, how to proceed, and how to determine when they have achieved goals. 3. Do everything possible to satisfy deficiency needs — physiological, safety, belongingness, and esteem. . Accommodate the instructional program to the physiological needs of your students. b. Make your room physically and psychologically safe. c. Show your students that you take an interest in them and that they belong in your classroom. d. Arrange learning experiences so that all students can gain at least a degree of esteem. 4. Enhance the attractions and minimize the dangers of growth choices. 5. Direct learning experiences toward feelings of success in an effort to encourage an orientation toward achievement, a positive self-concept, and a strong sense of self-efficacy. . Make use of objectives that are challenging but attainable and, when appropriate, that involve student input. b. Provide knowledge of results by emp hasizing the positive. 6. Try to encourage the development of need achievement, self-confidence, and self-direction in students who need these qualities. a. Use achievement-motivation training techniques. b. Use cooperative-learning methods. 7. Try to make learning interesting by emphasizing activity, investigation, adventure, social interaction, and usefulness. Top Resources for Further InvestigationSurveys of Motivational Theories In a basic survey text, Motivation to Learn: From Theory to Practice (2d ed. , 1993), Deborah Stipek discusses reinforcement theory, social cognitive theory, intrinsic motivation, need for achievement theory, attribution theory, and perceptions of ability. In Appendix 2-A, she presents a rating form and scoring procedure with which teachers can identify students who may have motivation problems. Appendix 3-A is a self-rating form that teachers can use to keep track of how often they provide rewards and punishments.A useful summary of motivation theories and techniques can be found in the Worcester Polytechnic University's WWW site for teacher development, at http://www. wpi. edu/~isg_501/motivation. html. Top Motivational Techniques for the Classroom Motivation and Teaching: A Practical Guide (1978), by Raymond Wlodkowski, and Eager to Learn (1990), by Raymond Wlodkowski and Judith Jaynes, are a good source of classroom application ideas. Motivating Students to Learn: Overcoming Barriers to High Achievement (1993), edited by Tommy Tomlinson, devotes four chapters to elementary school and four chapters to high school motivation issues.Two sources of information on motivation techniques and suggestions for teaching are found at Columbia University's Institute for Learning Technologies, which contains documents, papers, and unusual projects and activities that could be used to increase student motivation; and at Northwestern University's Institute for Learning Sciences Engines for Education on-line program, which allows educators to p ursue a number of questions about students, learning environments, and successful teaching through a hyperlinked database.The Institute for Learning Technologies is found at http://www. ilt. columbia. edu/ilt/. The Institute for Learning Sciences is found at http://www. ils. nwu. edu/. This was excerpted from Chapter 11 of Biehler/Snowman, PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED TO TEACHING, 8/e, Houghton Mifflin, 1997. For more information on â€Å"Motivation† in Gage/Berliner, EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, 6/e, Houghton Mifflin Co. 1998, see Chapter 8, â€Å"Motivation and Learning† For more information on â€Å"Motivation† in the Grabes' INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY FOR MEANINGFUL LEARNING, 2/e, Houghton Mifflin Co. , 1998 see page 97 for â€Å"the role of motivation in drill and practice,† pages 51-55 for â€Å"the role of motivation in meaningful learning†, page 163 for â€Å"the role of motivativation in writing,† and pages 398-99 for â€Å"learning styles and social and motivational preferences. † Teaching Implications of Learning Theories The best college teachers] have generally cobbled together from their own experiences working with students conceptions of human learning that are remarkably similar to some ideas that have emerged in the research and theoretical literature on cognition, motivation, and human development (from Ken Bain’s book, What the Best College Teachers Do). Theories of learning, whether explicit or tacit, informed by study or intuition, well-considered or not, play a role in the choices instructors make concerning their teaching.The major trend   in understanding how students learn has been a movement away from the behaviorist model to a cognitive view of learning (see Svinicki (below) for an overview of learning theories). Implications for teaching practice of some key ideas from   learning theories 1. Learning is a process of active construction. Learning is the interaction between what students know, the new information they encounter, and the activities they engage in as they learn. Students construct their own understanding through experience, interactions with content and others, and reflection. Teaching ImplicationProvide opportunities for students to connect with your content in a variety of meaningful ways by using cooperative learning, interactive lectures, engaging assignments, hands-on lab/field experiences, and other active learning strategies. 2. Students’ prior knowledge is an important determinant of what they will learn. Students do not come to your class as a blank slate. They use what they already know about a topic to interpret new information. When students cannot relate new material to what they already know, they tend to memorize—learning for the test—rather than developing any real understanding of the content.Teaching Implication Learn about your students’ experiences, preconceptions, or misconceptions by using pre-tests, backgr ound knowledge probes, and written or oral activities designed to reveal students’ thinking about the topic. 3. Organizing information into a conceptual framework helps students remember and use knowledge. Students must learn factual information, understand these facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application in order to develop competence in a new topic. Teaching ImplicationSupport students by using concept maps, flowcharts, outlines, comparison tables, etc. , to make the structure of the knowledge clear. 4. Learning is a social phenomenon. Students learn with greater understanding when they share ideas through conversation, debate, and negotiation. Explaining a concept to one’s peers puts knowledge to a public test where it can be examined, reshaped, and clarified. Teaching Implication Use Cooperative learning strategies, long-term group projects, class discussions, and group activiti es to support the social side of learning. . Learning is context-specific. It is often difficult for students to use what they learn in class in new contexts (i. e. , other classes, the workplace, or their personal lives). Teaching Implication Use problem-based learning, simulations or cases, and service learning to create learning environments similar to the real world. 6. Students’ metacognitive skills (thinking about thinking) are important to their learning. Many students utilize few learning strategies and have a limited awareness of their thinking processes.Teaching Implication Help students become more metacognitively aware by modeling your thinking as you solve a problem, develop an argument, or analyze written work in front of the class. Teach metacognitive strategies, such as setting goals, making predictions, and checking for consistency. Focus attention on metacognition by having students write in a learning journal or develop explanations of their problem-solving processes. Resources on Learning Theories Bransford, J. D. , Brown, A. L. , ; Cocking, R. R. (Eds. ) (1999).How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington DC: National Academy Press. Donovan, M. S. , Bransford, J. D. , ; Pelegrino, J. W. (Eds. ) (1999). How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice. Washington DC: National Academy Press. Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2008, May). Index of Learning Theories and Models at Learning-Theories. com. Svinicki, M. D. (1999). New directions in learning and motivations. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 80 (Winter), 5-27. http://cte. illinois. edu/resources/topics/theories. html