Thursday, October 31, 2019

The American History Cookbook Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

The American History Cookbook - Research Paper Example Peanut butter is a favorite spread on bread. Peanuts are either fried or roasted. They help maintain healthy body weight, reduce the risk of heart disease and reduce diabetes risk. Peanuts reduce obesity through the provision of fiber and improvement of the digestive system. The absence of peanut would mean no peanut butter in snacks, a not so interesting though. Potatoes are a good source of starch. Chips are a favorite food for many of the Americans. Potatoes are fried, baked, boiled and fit in to make so many recipes ranging from potato soup to potato salad. They are a good source of potassium, helps regulate mineral balance and fluids, transmit nerve impulses and muscle contraction. Vitamin C, which also acts as an antioxidant is obtained from potatoes. They contain fiber that helps lower blood cholesterol. Vitamin B6, Obtained from potatoes, helps in the metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins. Iron, a major component of hemoglobin that carries oxygen to parts of the body can also be sourced from Potatoes (Mark 10). Tomatoes emanated from South America. Thinking of their goodness from their red color, the health implications from consumption of potatoes are many. The value behind the red color of tomatoes is the presence of lycopene that is an antioxidant and a contributor towards healthy bones. Tomatoes can be made into fresh tomato sa lad, grilled together with pizza or even used to make vegetarian sandwiches. Chili Peppers are a common ingredient in menu’s worldwide. Delicacies with Chilli Spice, are a favorite option as the stinging sensation left on the tongue is refreshing. Capsaicin is an ingredient found in pepper and boosts metabolism. It also suppressed appetite and may ultimately, after using it for some time result in weight loss.  

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Management of a Software Development Project Essay Example for Free

Management of a Software Development Project Essay Introduction Many years ago, general services offered by hotels like dinner reservations, room reservations and other services were done manually. Most hotels used books, ledgers and papers to record names of guests, their duration of stay and contact details. This required a lot of effort and time. Since the advent of the information age however, dynamic and interactive websites have been introduced which have more efficient and faster technological features and capabilities for the management of hotel services. For any business to remain competitive, it is necessary to maintain an online presence in order to reach out to customers all over the world and compete on a global platform. Reservations and payments are now done online to ensure that conduction of business is faster and more convenient for customers. Definition of Project Management A project is a temporary endeavor that is done to generate a unique product or service (Duncan 1996). Project Management is an activity that involves the overall supervision, management and co-ordination of all activities related to accomplishing a set activity. It always has a start and a finish date. According to Whitten, Project Management is a process that starts at the beginning of a project, is conducted throughout a project and doesn’t end until after the project is completed (2001).   According to Duncan (1996), Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to activities to fulfill stakeholders’ needs and expectations. It usually involves finding a balance among scope, time, cost, quality, and varying expectations of stakeholders. Another definition of Project Management is â€Å" the process of scoping, planning, staffing, conducting, directing, and managing the development of a system at an affordable cost within a specified time frame† (Whitten, Bentley Dittman 2001, p.124). Importance of Project Management According to Dr Malcolm Wheatley, â€Å"Project management as a management discipline, supports much economic activity.† In major industries like Information Technology, Software Development, Construction, Pharmaceuticals, and Aerospace, project management is fundamental. Project Management is also important in governments that have set goals and milestones which can only be achieved with effective management practices. Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Department of Commerce, estimated in 2001 that the US companies spend $2.3trn on projects every year (2000).   Project management is important in any economic activity because it ensures adequate planning, scheduling and successful execution of a project; it also helps to reduce possible risks associated with a project and ensure minimal hitches. Project Management is indeed important to every economy. Many projects fail because of poor knowledge of Project Management concepts. Its relevance cannot be over emphasized. Role of the Project Manager The project manager is in charge of daily management and supervision of the project. He manages the project to ensure that things go according to plan. He also communicates with all stakeholders and project team members to ensure that there’s a clear understanding of general requirements. The project manager confirms users’ requirements to make sure that these requirements are incorporated into the end-product. A project manager engages in scoping, planning, staffing, organizing, scheduling, directing, controlling and closing a project (Whitten 2001, p.127). Swot Analysis The Regency Hotels has several strengths that serve as advantages. It has the potential to expand its services to customers internationally due to the number of branches it has, internet availability and its unique services. It is also strategically located, can leverage on its positioning and has a wide customer base. Its two major weaknesses are: 1) it has a static website which cannot provide interactive functions like online payments, online reservations, message boards, fan clubs, and so on. 2) It does not have skilled IT staff in-house that can manage the online system when it is eventually deployed. There are however, opportunities for it to become one of the best hotels in the world by maintaining a consistent and interactive global presence.   Increased competition is the major threat to Regency Hotels. Most hotels today, have a strong online presence that offers customers various services that make their experiences with the hotel more memorable and convenient, like booking and paying online. Regency Hotels is yet to rise to the challenge. Development methodology The software development methodology to be adopted for the production of this system is the waterfall method. This is an approach to software development that specifies that a project should be grouped into phases and one phase must be completed before the next. The project is carried out in a logical manner through a pre-determined number of steps. This method is preferred because the duration of the project is only two weeks and the requirements are clear.   With the waterfall method, project reviews are conducted between stages, which represent milestones. This provides an organized scenario that ensures required documentation and quality management of the developed application is carried out (Sorensen 1995). Project Scope The project scope definition involves clarifying the boundaries of the project. Regency Hotels in addition to available technological features like retrieving customers’ information, billing, checking for room availability, desires a system with added capabilities of online booking and payment. This project involves building a system that can accept online booking and payment options by customers. A portal will be developed to include the following features: Online reservations, online payment, checking room availability, checking in, checking out, discussion group and general information on the hotel. Secure Socket Layer (SSL) will be added to the website to provide for added security when paying online; search functions will be provided on web pages to check for room availability and booking; e-mail and discussion group facilities will be included to facilitate communication between customers and the hotel; and other technological features from the available website will be incorporated into the new portal to ensure that a robust system that meets the expectations of Stakeholders at Regency Hotels is built. The final system will be deployed at the hotel and tested. Staff members that need to be trained will be identified and educated on how to use the system. The change management process will be made easier for staff of Regency Hotel by ensuring that they are adequately trained, resources are provide to assist them, and maintenance/ support plans are put in place. Result of using COCOMO model to estimate effort, duration and number of people required. The Constructive Cost Model, known as COCOMO was developed by Barry Boehm in 1981. It is based on the waterfall model and is used for estimating the number of person and months needed to develop software. It also estimates the development schedule in months. The development mode for this project is organic because it is a small and straight-forward one. A small team with sufficient experience work together to develop the portal system (Merlo-Schett 2002). COCOMO is defined in terms of three basic models: The Basic model, the Intermediate model and the detailed model. The KDSI is the size of the project in Kilo delivered source instructions. These are source lines that are created by the project team. Using the Intermediate COCOMO I, calculation is done as follows: Required: Portal system for online payment and booking Development Effort (MM) = a * KDSI b Effort and development Time (TDEV) =     2.5 * MM c With organic mode of development, a = 3.2, b = 1.05, c = 0.38 4 modules to implement: Data entry 0.5 KDSI Data update 0.3 KDSI Online Reservations 0.8 KDSI Online Payment 0.7 KDSI System SIZE 2.3 KDSI MM = 3.2 * 2.3 1.05   = 7.7 TDEV = 2.5 * MM c = 2.5* 7.7 0.38 = 5.4 (Project needs more than 5 months to complete) Number of people to be hired = MM/TDEV = 7.7/5.4 = 1.4 (This means that more than one team member is needed to execute the project). The major shortcoming of the above calculation is that value of the KDSI used is approximate (Merlo-Schett 2002). Hardware and Software Requirements At least four separate computers will be needed for building the portal, testing it and hosting it.   Softwares like Macromedia Dreamweaver, Java, PHP, SQL Server and Visual Basic .NET will be needed for building the portal. A central server for hosting and managing user connections to the portal will also be required.   Work Breakdown Structure Work Breakdown Structure shows the hierarchical decomposition of projects into phases, activities and tasks (Whitten 2001, p.135). SOFTWARE REQUIREMENT SPECIFICATION 1.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Identify sponsors and stakeholders 1.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Meet with sponsors and stakeholders to clarify system requirements 1.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Produce Software Requirements Specification Draft 1.4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sign-off on software requirements TECHNOLOGY SPECIFICATION 2.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Determine hardware and software needed for developing the system 2.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Procure hardware and software needed for system development 2.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Set-up hardware and software for use SCOPE MANAGEMENT 3.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Develop a written scope statement as a basis for future project decisions 3.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Verify Scope of the Project with sponsors 3.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perform Scope Change Control to prevent scope creep COST SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT 4.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Develop an estimate of project costs 4.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Schedule Meeting with Stakeholders to agree on cost and deadline 4.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Receive Payment from Stakeholders 4.4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Allocate cost estimates to individual work items 4.5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Evaluate actual versus projected schedule 4.6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Control changes to project budget to avoid going over the budget 4.7  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Compare actual and budgeted costs 4.8  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Schedule Development 4.9  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Schedule Control HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PHASE 5.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Identify Project Roles/Conduct Organizational Planning 5.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Determine Skills of People needed to develop system 5.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Determine number of people to work on the project 5.4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Recruit Project Team Members 5.5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Engage staff with appropriate skills 5.6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Develop individual and group skills to enhance project performance ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT PHASE 6.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Develop activity list for project team members 6.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sub-divide major project deliverables into smaller components 6.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Assign Team Members to tasks and deliverables 6.4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Supervise activities within the project team 6.5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Evaluate Performance and Productivity 6.6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Update activity list as necessary 6.7  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conduct meetings and review status reports on software development PROJECT OFFICE ADMINISTRATION 7.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Attend to daily activities or events concerning the project 7.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   General project supervision PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS 8.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Determine information and communication needs of stakeholders 8.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Provide information to stakeholders in a timely fashion 8.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Put contact details of all team members and stakeholders into the database 8.4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Performance reporting to stakeholders through status reports, progress measurement and forecasting 8.5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Set up meetings with project team members 8.6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Develop status reports for the project RISK MANAGEMENT 9.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Identify all possible risks within the project and effects on project 9.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Define steps for responding to threats 9.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Respond to changes in risks during the course of the project QUALITY MANAGEMENT 10.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Identify quality standards relevant to the project and how to satisfy them 10.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Evaluate overall project performance 10.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Define Quality Assurance Specifications 10.4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Code and check the system for compliance with quality standards 10.5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Test System to make sure it fits clients requirements Hand-Over of Project 11.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ensure adherence to client requirement 11.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conduct Customer Acceptance Tests 11.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Review Software User Manuals 11.4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sign off Certify Solution Development 11.5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Submit Project Close-out Report 11.6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Terminate Project Project scheduling (Please refer to attached Microsoft Project document for dependency between activities, network diagram, critical path and Gantt chart) A Project network diagram displays the logical relationships of project activities. A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that shows tasks against timelines. Each bar is equivalent to a project task. Gantt charts show, tasks that can be performed at the same time (Whitten 2001, p.128).Any tasks on the critical path cannot be delayed. Name of Activity  Ã‚      Duration Starting Date    Finishing Date    Software Requirement Specification 1 Day Wed 4/23/08 Wed 4/23/08 Technology Specification 1 Day Thu 4/24/08 Thu 4/24/08 Scope Management 10 Days    Wed 4/23/08 Tue 5/6/08 Cost Schedule Management 12 Days Wed 4/23/08 Thu 5/8/08 Human Resources Management Phase 8 Days Wed 4/23/08 Fri 5/2/08    Activity Management Phase 10 Days Wed 4/23/08 Tue 5/6/08 Project Office Administration 10 Days Wed 4/23/08 Tue 5/6/08 Project Communications 10 Days Wed 4/23/08 Tue 5/6/08 Risk Management 10 Days Wed 4/23/08 Tue 5/6/08 Quality Management 10 Days Wed 4/23/08 Tue 5/6/08 Hand-Over of Project 10 Days Wed 4/23/08 Tue 5/6/08 Possible risks related to the software development project Every project has its own share of risks. Risks associated with this project are outlined below: The period of time given for the execution of the project is short. The COCOMO model shows that a project of such magnitude requires at least 5 months for completion. There is a risk of the project exceeding the time frame allocated by the stakeholders. User requirements may change or expand during the duration of project. There is a risk of having to accommodate changes to the design of the portal. This is known as scope creep and may affect the schedule and budget (Whitten 2001). With the obvious need to procure softwares for the development of the portal system, resources like time and money may not be sufficient. There is a risk of taking short cuts around the system development methodology in order to meet the deadline and not exceed the budget. This might affect the quality of the final product. Another potential risk is that of feature creep. This refers to the uncontrolled addition of technical features to a system that is being developed without regard to schedule and budget (Whitten 2001, p.125). A portal system is a robust application that is designed to fulfill various needs of an organization. The temptation to add more features is always a prevalent risk There is the risk of a team member resigning from the project. This will cause a considerable loss of time. There is also the risk of insufficient communication within the project team which may lead to misunderstanding of customers’ requirements, and cause a deviation from the project plan, budget and schedule. Project Monitoring Project monitoring involves supervising the project throughout its lifecycle. This is important in order to know how things are going and to solve any problem that may arise during the course of the project. This can be done via meetings, emails, reports on progress and finances and also by observing project management best practices. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Applying the principles of Project Management to the development of the portal system at Regency Hotels will go a long way to ensure that the objectives are met on time, within budget and that the software product will be of the desired quality. Project Management is a crucial practice that should be encouraged in every sector of the economy. It ensures that money, energy and time are not wasted on failed projects. With sufficient project management practices in place, stakeholders and contractors can conduct businesses without bothering about the hitches involved with long-term projects. Regardless of the end product, which could be a new service, product or knowledge, project management ensures that a successful outcome is achieved within the available resources and time frame. References Whitten, JL, Bentley, LD, Dittman, KC 2001, Systems Analysis and Design Methods, 5th edn, Mc Graw-Hill, New York. Wheatley, M 2000, The Importance of Project Management, Project Smart. Available from: http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-importance-of-project-management.html [22 April 2008] Sorensen, R 1995, A comparison of Software Development Methodologies, Software Technology Support Centre. Available from: http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/crosstalk/1995/01/Comparis.asp [24 April 2008] Duncan, WR 1996, A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge, PMI Standards Committee. Available from: www.unipi.gr/akad_tmhm/biom_dioik_tech/files/pmbok.pdf [24 April 2008] Merlo-Schett, N 2002, COCOMO Constructive Cost Model, Proceedings of the seminar cost estimation W 2002/2003, pp. 1-24. Available from: www.ifi.unizh.ch/req/courses/seminar_ws02/reports/Slides_4.pdf [22 April 2008].

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Market analysis and business plan for a gym

Market analysis and business plan for a gym Stayfit gym is a privately owned business which is positioned at 15 Menai Road, Menai. The estimated opening date is August 2010. The establishing business, Stayfit gym is dedicated to provide the best personal fitness service. The mission is to offer the general public with the willpower to set reachable goals and to reach ultimate health and fitness level. The business will take a holistic approach to lifestyle, health and fitness management and work around the clock to provide the public with practical and innovative fitness programs that flexibly put together into busy lifestyles. Stayfit gym will include of 1-20 employees making it to be a small business. Stayfit gym will be registered as a sole trader ownership (Maroutcha Hadwan) meaning it is an incorporated business with one owner. The owner is responsible for all decisions made within the business and is able to retain all profits. Funding for the business is through the owners equity and money and money borrowed from financial institutions. An advantage of a sole trader is that all profits go to the one person; unlike a partnership the profits made are split evenly between all partners in the business. The risks in opening this business as a sole trader are that the owner of the business is personally responsible for the debt incurred by the business (unlimited liability). In the event that the business is unable to meet its financial obligations, the owner must take responsibility for finding funds to pay off all debts, the owners personal assets are all at risk of the business does not succeed. Purpose of Plan Planning is important to guide the business, the purpose of this business plan of that it gives clear direction for the future of Stayfit gym, it also increases awareness of opportunities arising in further future growth. It helps the business prevent failure and to achieve goals. Stayfit gym holds many different goals such as: personal, social, and financial which consist of the following goals: Personal Goals: Upholding a good image Being a sole trader (being their own boss) Satisfaction from your work Social Goals: Helping the general public improve their fitness To help children over come obesity Financial Goals: Gaining maximum wealth Making a great profit Situation Analysis SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis provides the business with an opportunity to examine the strengths and weaknesses Stayfit Gym must address. It also allows the business to examine the opportunities presented to Stayfit Gym as well as possible threats. Strengths Weakness Knowledgeable and friendly staff Top of the line equipment Flexible operating hours Complementary service Womens room Free parking for all gym members Childminding Newness Viable workers may leave the gym Membership fees High health care costs Poor brand image High staff turnover Opportunities Threats Opening more gyms in the future Growing population interested in fitness Buy out a competitor Growing economy Increasing high health conscious population New exercise trends New government health care regulations Decease in the number of competitors Declining economy Local competitors Change in government regulations Equipment shortage Decreasing local population Competitors Analysis The three main competitors for Stayfit Gym are: Fitness First Miranda Goodlife Gym Menai Contours Ilawong Fitness First As fitness first being a well known Gym nationwide, it then has the major influence on Stayfit Gym. As Fitness First being the main competitor because they can offer better prices and more services, product and have more capital behind them and are able to take more risks than a newly established Gym like Stayfit. An advantage for Stayfit Gym is that Fitness First doesnt not offer flexible contracts, like Stayfit Gym, as for example at Syatfit Gym we do not charge joining fees, as for fitness first do. Goodlife Gym Goodlife Gym is another competitor which also has an influence on Stayfit Gym for it being located nearby. It also influences Stayfit Gym as it is well known in the area, and has been open for a long period of time. This gives a reason why Stayfit Gym offers better and suitable pricing which will benefit those who are willing to lose weight for an affordable price. Contours Like any other competitor, Contours is also well known throughout Australia, as well as the local community. Unlike Fitness First, and Goodlife Gym, Contours is a circuit gym as well as an all ladies gym, this being one their weaknesses which benefits Stayfit Gym. Although, Contours offers those women who are not confident and comfortable working out in front of men the luxury and comfort to work out, this strength is a major disadvantage towards Stayfit Gym as the majority of women may prefer this environment. Market Analysis Stayfit offers everyone, no matter your age, anyone looking to loose weight; anyone looking to get fit, and anyone looking to stay fit! With Australia being the fattest nation on earth there is an ever more increasing need for easily accessible gyms with these facilities like Stayfit Gym who target and encourages people to exercise and get fit, as well as the opportunity to have fun. As the main aim of this business is to overcome obesity, Stayfit Gym mainly targets those who are overweight, obese, and morbidly obese. Statistics show that the main reason why Australias decided to join a gym and take over a healthy life style is to loose weight and this is shown in the table below. For further information visit the following website: http://www.executiveresults.com.au/health-and-fitness-statistics.cfm The Marketing Mix Product Price Stayfit Gym aims to provide top quality and safe equipment, which benefit members in weight loss. Stayfit Gym offers penetration and a discount pricing, as it is competing with other gyms who offer the same facilities and services as Stayfit Gym but for a better price. Discount pricing is offered for those who are students, and off-peak gym use, the prices reflect the quality of the equipment and service. Place Promotion The upcoming Gym will be located on 15 Menai Road, Menai. The population of this community has grown by 5% each year for the past three years, giving Stayfit Gym a better opportunity to gain more members of the public and customers to join and become apart of the Stayfit family. Stayfit Gym works to promote there services throughout advertising ads on local billboards, handing out flyers also by setting up stands in local centres. Stayfit also wishes to promote their gym through T.V commercials as well as radio broadcasting. Market Segmentation The market segmentations for Stayfit Gym customer consists of the following geographic, demographic and behavioural factors: Geographical The immediate target region of Stayfit Gym is Menai, Illawong, and Alfords Point. As the population of these areas continue to increase, this will have a positive impact towards Stayfit. Demographic Stayfit Gym targets both males and females from 15years and over. Income range of $35,000 $75,000. Behavioural Recognises that they need to improve their fitness Those who have recognised that they need to lose weight Those who are willing to enjoy extreme sport Marketing Strategies and Objectives Marketing Objective Marketing Strategy Overtake competitors Keep an update competitor profile Offer better pricing to the public (6months) Price level Maintain a price level lower than competitors as then it will be harder for the competitor (4months) Discounts Offer a range of discounts (9months) Online access to the gym To build up an online website of the gym which will be easy for the members to access and also helps promote the business. (2months) Equipment To provide the gym with more equipment, and to improve facilities(12months) Sales Force Employ telemarketing staff (13months) Product Analysis Stayfit Gym provides individuals with the opportunity to exceed their fitness expectations, which are delivered through expert coaching, high-quality equipment, convenient scheduling and great exercise programs. The equipment division of Stayfit Gym offer the largest range of quality fitness equipment from the worlds leading brands, including: Technogym Cybex Precor Zest Life Fitness Equipment Positives Negatives Cardio Treadmills Elliptical cross-trainers Exercise bikes Stair climbers Summit trainers Having a different range and variety of cardio equipment benefits Stayfit Gym, as having more facilities available for the public will then attract more people to join Stayfit. A negative of cardio equipment is that when equipment brakes or is miss used, also safety issues, for example: falling off equipment, this can give a bad reputation for Stayfit. Strength Chest press Biceps press Triceps press Shoulder press Bench press Lateral chest press Leg press Dumbbells Torso rotation Chin dip Iso glute Lateral chess press Vertical Ab trainer Rower Having a wide range of strengthening facilities will also have a great benefit on Stayfit as other Gyms may not have the same equipment available. A negative of strengthening facilities is that when one equipment brakes or is miss used, also safety issues, for example: falling off equipment, this can give a bad reputation for Stayfit. Objectives and strategies Stayfits primary goal is to create a community committed to best functional fitness. Objectives Strategies Our monthly objective is to generate at least 20 new members. This will be done through advertising Stayfit, also free weekly trials of the gym and Stayfit aims to open and run a facility at full capacity within the first year with 150-200 members. This will be carried out by providing new members better opportunities and pricing. Better membership deals by the second year of operations Offering on-peak and off-peak membership, this will be better for people who want to use the gym during hours when not busy. For example, during the day when school kids are at school. To franchise Stayfit in other areas towards the further future This will be done by upholding the right image and keep a good reputation for Stayfit. To make people fit and healthy! This will be done through providing the right exercises, staff and classes that will help the general public stay fit and healthy. To make profit and pay off all debts within 1st two years of opening This will be done by having more members entering the Gym, and with that money Stayfit will then be able to payoff debt More classes available by 6 months of operations (zumba, urban dance, and etc) By hiring staff that are able to carry out these classes. Provide the only fitness facility truly dedicated to solving the fitness needs of our customers This will be done through providing the highest quality equipment available, constantly keeping our staff up to date on certifications, providing a clean and crowd-free gym. Description of product/service At Stayfit Gym we provide you with comfortable surroundings, with the latest facilities and equipment to facilitate your training and exercise needs. Stayfit also aim ensure that the members receive a fantastic exercise experience. Stayfit aims to provide the following classes/sessions free weights, kickboxing, personal training, cardiovascular, and group cycling; we also offer professional instruction, well-balanced and enjoyable workouts which focus upon strength gain, aerobic conditioning, weight loss and increasing fitness levels. Stayfit Gym also provides a womens only room, including both cardio and strengthening equipment. Stayfit Gym also provides childminding, for those who have young children and want to achieve the ideal fitness levels. Our services are directed at maximizing your health and fitness levels in a safe, productive and exciting environment to give you a fantastic health and fitness experience. We also offer a range of drinks to freshen in between workouts, towels; also a wide range of protein shakes and supplements, Stayfit also offers free and convenient private parking for all members of the gym. Pricing NO joining fees or administration fees! Free weekly trial pass for new members! $590 12 Months up front $590 12 Months off peak $540 6 months $350 3mothns $220 1month $75 10 day gym pass $60 Casual Visit $10 10% Discount for students Under 18 years old Trading Hours Monday to Friday 5am 10pm Saturday 7am 7pm Sunday Public Holidays 8am 5pm Workout Timetable Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 6.00am Body Pump Body Balance Body Pump Fat Burner 7.00am Body Attack Body Combat Body Balance Spin 9.00am Spin 1.00pm Spin Body Combat Fat Burner Body Pump Body Attack 3.00pm Kick Boxing Kick Boxing 5.00pm Fat Burner Body Balance Body Attack 7.00pm Kick Boxing Body Pump Spin Session/Class timetable available for members and general public: Class Description Body Pump Non-impact class created to shape and tone the entire body, using weights and barbells. Body Attack High intensity strength, aerobics and stabilization exercises. Fat Burner Standard high energy aerobic exercise. Body Combat aerobics based on a variety of exercises, such as: Tai Chi, Karate, Boxing and Taekwondo. Spin Calorie and fat burner cycling exercise. Body Balance A class combining Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi. Kick Boxing Circuit kick boxing, using high energy boxing techniques and stations. For those who are members of Stayfit Gym all classes are free, and for those who wish to take part of these classes pay $5 per class. Staffing Requirements The manager, who will also be the owner of Stayfit Gym (Maroutcha Hadwan), will be qualified to hold the following certificates: Certificate in Fitness Certificate in Personal Training First Aid Certificate Diploma in Fitness It is preferred that the manager has prior experience in field, as Stayfit Gym is dedicated to provide a diverse range of programs suitable for all people. Job Title Quantity Skills, Qualifications and Experiences Receptionist 1 Computer skills Communication skills Social skills First Aid Certificate Child minding 2 At least 2 years experience prior too Certificate in child care Certificate in First Aid Personal trainers 7 First Aid Certificate Communication skills Certificate in fitness Certificate in Personal Training Specialized in karate Specialized in boxing Specialized in aerobics Specialized in cycling Specialized in body building Must have at least a year experience prior to working at Stayfit Gym, as we are dedicated to provide the public with the best of our ability. Dieticians 2 First Aid Certificate Must have at least 1-2 years experience Certificate in dietician Spotters 9 First Aid Certificate Specialized in Yoga Specialized in Pilates Specialized in Tai Chi Specialized in cycling Certificate in fitness Social skills Must have at least a year experience Financial Forecasts Revenue Statement for Stayfit Gym Pty Ltd For the period ending 01/08/2011 Cash Flow Statements Cash Flow Statement for Stayfit Gym Pty Ltd From period ended 01/08/2012 Opening Cash Balance $415,000.00 This projected cash flow statement shows that this upcoming business will be Surplus, as of the period ended 2012 whereas the closing chase balance was a greater amount of money than the opening cash balance. Critically Review of the Plan and Process Throughout this business task I managed to meet all deadlines and make sure everything was up to date. My weaknesses throughout this assignment was the Market Analysis and Financial Forecast, where as I was unsure how to complete both sections. In relation to Market Analysis, I feel that I havent covered all sections in this heading. For financial forecast I first started of with balance sheet, but i was unable to complete this section as my balance sheet was not balanced so I then chose to complete the cash flow statement and revenue statement, I also struggled to completed these two finical records. Overall my progress within this assignment was satisfactory, and I am happy with my overall work, as I never knew I was capable to completing this task meeting the criteria. Index Description of Business Ownership 2 Purpose of Plan 3 Situation Analysis 4-9 Swot Analysis 4 Competitor Analysis 5 Market Analysis 6 -8 Product Analysis 9 Objectives and Strategies 10 Description of Product/Service 10 -11 Pricing 11 Trading Hours 11 Class Timetable 12 Staffing Requirements 13 Financial Forecasts 14 15 Revenue Statement 14 Cash Flow Statement 15 Critically Review of Plan and Process 16

Friday, October 25, 2019

Shakespeares As You Like It - The Transformation of Rosalind :: Shakespeare As You Like It Essays

As You Like It: The Transformation of Rosalind Many characters undergo a change in William Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It. Duke Senior goes from being a member of a court to being a member of a forest. Orlando changes from a bitter younger brother to a love-sick young man. But the most obvious transformation undergone, is done by Rosalind. Her change from woman to man, not only alters her mood, candor, and gender, but allows her to be the master of ceremonies. Celia and Rosalind are fairly happy in the court of Celia’s father, Duke Frederick. However, much to her surprise, the Duke banishes Rosalind from his court. Celia, not allowing her beloved cousin to "go it alone", decides to accompany her to where ever she may roam. They decide to search out Rosalind’s father, Duke Senior, in the forest of Arden. Before they depart, Rosalind decides that for both her and Celia’s safety, she will dress herself as a man, saying, "Were it not better, Because that I am more than common tall, That I did suit me all points like a man? A gallant curtal ax upon my thigh, A boar spear in my hand, and- in my hear Lie there what hidden woman’s fear there will- We’ll have a swashing and a martial outside, As many other mannish cowards have That do outface it with their semblances. (1:3 ll. 112-120) At first glance, this transformation is a mere change of clothes and the addition of weapons, but it goes much deeper. To Rosalind, the taking on of a man’s appearance requires certain things. She believes that while dressed as a man, she cannot bring shame to the image of a man. A good example of this is in Act 2, Scene 4, where she says, "I could find in my heart to disgrace my man’s/ apparel and to cry like a woman; but I must comfort/ the weaker

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Understanding the US Homeland Security

On June 2002, President George Bush proposed to create the Department of Homeland Security – a move considered to be the most significant transformation of the US government whereby a single department has been tasked to protect America’s homeland from terrorist attacks. As noted in the Department’s website, the vision of the organization is to preserve the freedom of the United States and its homeland. Its mission is to lead the unified national effort to secure America. It has aimed to prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats and hazards to the US. Furthermore, the organization has vowed, as part of its mission, to safe and secure borders, welcome lawful immigrants and visitors, and to promote the free flow of commerce. (US Department of Homeland Security website, 2002) The organizational structure of the Department of Homeland Security has several components which involve resources within Federal, state and local governments. The following are the directorates and their components: Directorate for Preparedness, Directorate for Science and Technology, Directorate for Management, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Office of Operations Coordination, Directorate for Policy, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. The Directorate for Preparedness works with state, local, and private sector partners to identify threats, determine vulnerabilities, and target resources where risk is greatest, thereby safeguarding our borders, seaports, bridges and highways, and critical information systems. The Office of the Directorate for Science and Technology is the primary research and development arm of the Department. Â  It provides Federal, state and local officials with the technology and capabilities to protect the homeland. The Directorate for Management is responsible for Department budgets and appropriations, expenditure of funds, accounting and finance, procurement; human resources, information technology systems, facilities and equipment, and the identification and tracking of performance measurements. Finally, the Directorate for Policy works to enhance the nuclear detection efforts of Federal, State, territorial, tribal, and local governments, and the private sector and to ensure a coordinated response to such threats. (US Department of Homeland Security website, 2002) Aside from the Offices of the Directorates, the US Homeland Department also has independent organizations including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Customs and Borders Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Citizenship and Immigration Services, the US Coast Guard, and the US Secret Service. The functions and main responsibilities of these agencies are as follows: FEMA prepares the nation for hazards, manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident, and administers the National Flood Insurance Program. TSA protects the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce. Customs and Borders Protection is responsible for protecting America’s borders in order to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States, while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. ICE is responsible for identifying and shutting down vulnerabilities in the nation’s border, economic, transportation and infrastructure security. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center provides career-long training to law enforcement professionals to help them fulfill their responsibilities safely and proficiently. Citizenship and Immigration Services is responsible for the administration of immigration and naturalization adjudication functions and establishing immigration services policies and priorities. The US Coast Guard protects the public, the environment, and U.S. economic interests—in the nation’s ports and waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region as required to support national security. (US Department of Homeland Security website, 2002) Conclusion and analysis The aftermath of 9/11 has made America more conscious of its homeland security. And rightfully, it is so. The loss of innocent lives and the repercussions it made to the economy of the United States will serve as a reminder that we have to be on vigilant on the evil motives of some countries. The current structure of the US Department of Homeland Security has so far proven itself effective in carrying out its primary task of protecting America and its citizens against any threat to the nation’s freedom and independence. After carefully identifying and studying the organization chart of the Department of Homeland Security, I am of the opinion that everything has been placed exactly where they should be. Obviously, the move to cluster all agencies related to security and the protection of America’s homeland was carefully thought out. So far, the issue on security and preparedness in terms of calamities, whether natural or otherwise, has been properly addressed by this Department. Since America has not yet experienced another 9/11, it would seem to me that the Department of Homeland Security has been doing its job perfectly. References: The US Department of Homeland Security [online] Available at: http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/ Cited on: April 30, 2006 The White House [online] Available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/homeland/index.html Cited on: April 30, 2006 ;

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Implementation Of Performance Management System Education Essay

IntroductionGlobalization together with a competitory universe environment and developments in engineering have made it imperative for all sectors in the economic system to supply better services to their clients and secondary schools are no exclusion. The Government of Mauritius realized that human capital is an of import resource with which Mauritius has been endowed, and that optimal usage demands to be made of this resource in all sectors and the instruction sector was no exclusion. Being cognizant that public officers working in schools ( both primary and secondary ) need to be dynamic, proactive, vivacious, frontward looking, advanced, effectual, executing and consequences oriented, it became imperative to set in topographic point a system which would let non merely to measure the public presentation of Educators working in these schools but besides to analyse their preparation demands. In 1976, the authorities introduced free secondary instruction for one and all and in 2005, made instruction compulsory for all kids up to the age of 16 old ages. Since so, it has become the duty of the Educators working in secondary schools to bring forth citizens with the needed accomplishments and competences needed by the economic system. Bearing in head that the one-year budget for Performance Management for secondary instruction is Rs.1.2 million, it becomes imperative that authorities ensures that public financess are being decently used in order to run into the outlooks of the citizens. The vision of the Ministry of Education is ‘to provide Quality Education to All ‘ . To accomplish this vision it is of import that those who deliver the service in the instruction system execute to the best of their ability. Thus it becomes necessary non merely to measure the forces working in our secondary schools, but besides to look into their preparation demands. The PMS can let to function this double intent which was non being achieved through the present Performance Appraisal system i.e. the Confidential Reporting System in the Civil Service in Mauritius which dates back to colonial times. Confidential Reporting has been in topographic point since 1963 and amended twice since so in 1973 and 1979. However, as ment ioned above it is no longer functioning its intent due to its legion failings viz. , it is a cosmopolitan one tantrum system for all public officers, there is no engagement of the appraised and he is non made aware of his strengths and failings, therefore doing the system unjust and inconsistent, it has no yardstick to mensurate the grade of public presentation of assorted facets of the occupation as there are no fit professional criterions, all standards are assigned the same evaluation, thereby doing no difference between most of import and least of import standards, subjectiveness, prejudice and bias are ineluctable in this system of describing as it does non follow a scientific attack and the system is used merely for publicity and does non place the preparation demands of the officers in the visible radiation of ascertained public presentation. The restrictions of the Confidential Reporting System gave rise to the demand for better system whereby both valuator and appraisee would be taken on board. An effort was made to present a new public presentation assessment strategy in the mid-1990s but it failed likely due to its bad selling, which led to resistance from both Trade Unions and Public officers. Against this background, a Task Force on Performance Management was set up which created a Framework for all Departments/Ministries to follow corporate strategic planning and step accomplishment of organisational aims and divisional work marks against established public presentation indexs. The Draft Performance Management Framework stipulated that the assessment of employees should get down with a public presentation understanding based on a preset work program, continued with regular reappraisals and completed with a general reappraisal of public presentation, appraisal of development demands and acknowledgment of public presentation. In line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Performance Management, the Pay Research Bureau ( PRB ) study 2008 recommended inter alia that all Ministries/Departments should measure and reexamine sporadically their public presentation in relation to established marks ; they should follow and implement a Performance Review Scheme as an built-in portion of Performance Management on a uninterrupted footing ; and the Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reforms should move as a coordinating Ministry, responsible to spearhead the debut of the Performance Management System and instill a Performance orientated civilization in the Public Service. Furthermore, the PRB 2008 in its study recommends that as from fiscal twelvemonth 2011-2012: ( I ) increases may be granted three months before for employees who perform beyond the acceptable criterions systematically for a period of one twelvemonth and nine months ; and ( two ) more than one increase may be granted at a spell, say two increases, for uninterrupted outstanding public presentation for three back-to-back old ages. The PMS is still in its babyhood in State Secondary Schools being introduced in the educational system merely in 2008. Mauritius is divided into four educational zones and the navigation in secondary schools was done in all schools of educational zone 3 during the twelvemonth 2009 and in this current twelvemonth they are in their 2nd PMS rhythm whereas the secondary schools of the other 3 educational zones ( 1, 2 and 4 ) are in their first PMS rhythm. It is hence of import to analyze whether all stakeholders have the necessary cognition and apprehension of the Performance Management System, the nature of the current Performance Management agreements, the Performance Management Process, the Performance Measures in order to mensurate its effectivity in State Secondary Schools in Mauritius.1.1 Knowledge and apprehension of PMSThere are legion definitions of Performance Management, from the general position, as a agency for an organisation to recognize its aspiration ( IDeA, 2001 ) to th e more specific one, aiming at single employees, directing and heightening their public presentation, therefore bettering organisational effectivity ( Williams, 2002 ) . However, the common characteristic of all definitions lies in the accomplishment of the organisations ‘s ends or aims: It is the procedure of bettering the quality and measure of work done and conveying all activity in line with an administration ‘s aims ( Bruno walters, 1995 ) . Harmonizing to the Local Government Improvement and Development, UK public presentation direction is ; taking action in response to existent public presentations to do results for users and the populace better than they would otherwise be. All these definitions merely give the intents of the Performance Management system. ( Armstrong and Baron, 2004 ) have stressed that public presentation direction is a tool to guarantee that directors manage efficaciously ; that they guarantee the people or squads they manage know and understa nd what is expected of them, have the accomplishments and ability to present on these outlooks, are supported by the organisation to develop the capacity to run into these outlooks, are given feedback on their public presentation and have the chance to discourse and lend to single and squad purposes and aims. It is besides approximately guaranting that directors themselves are cognizant of the impact of their ain behaviour on the people they manage and are encouraged to place and exhibit positive behavior. Execution of a Performance Management System will assist to obtain better consequences from persons, squads and the organisation as a whole as both valuator and appraisee understand and manage public presentation as per an agreed model for planned ends, aims, criterions and competences. This appears to be a more comprehensive definition of Performance Management as it gives all the of import phases in public presentation direction but does non speak on placing public presentation spreads and supplying the necessary professional development. ( Armstrong, 1999 ) identifies the chief extra characteristics of public presentation direction as: the engagement of all members within the organisation as spouses in the procedure, concern with inputs ( competencies and accomplishments ) every bit good as end products, based upon understandings refering answerability and duty, concern with squad public presentation every bit good as single public presentation, uninterrupted procedure and non reliant on an one-year reappraisal, personal reappraisals focus on constructive patterned advance, betterment and development, recognizes the demand for preparation and dressed ores on ‘self managed ‘ larning ‘ , feedback is every bit much spontaneous as possible and non reliant on luxuriant signifiers. ( Engelmann & A ; Roesch 1996 ) identified negative effects of ill designed and ill administered strategies as: hapless motive and ego regard because employees receive unequal feedback on their work public presentation, small o r no focussed communicating about public presentation between directors and employees ; inefficient usage of directors ‘ clip and judicial proceeding over alleged prejudiced actions.The Performance Management Procedure:Performance direction means a shared committedness to high public presentation. It helps to concentrate attending on more effectual instruction and monitoring to raise the quality of learning and to profit students, instructors and the school. It means supplying appropriate and effectual personal preparation and development to guarantee occupation satisfaction, a high degree of expertness and patterned advance of staff in their chosen profession1. Performance Management is an on-going, synergistic procedure between an employee and his/her supervisor. It involves the undermentioned phases: Pre-appraisal – Planning and holding on Performance: The valuator discusses and records precedences and aims with each of the instructors in his/her squad and discusses how advancement will be monitored through a two manner communicating between valuator and appraisee. A work program is developed and agreed upon by both parties. Mid-appraisal – Pull offing Performance: At mid term of the stage, the appraisee is called upon to transport out a self rating of the accomplishments and public presentation spreads as per the work program, following which the valuator conducts a formal interview with the appraisee to reexamine and enter advancement made on the public presentation understanding and to inform him of the countries that need betterment. Final Appraisal – Reviewing Performance. At the terminal of the one twelvemonth rhythm, the valuator reappraisal, evaluates and paperss the public presentation of the appraisee during the appraisal period. The appraisee is called upon to one time once more self evaluate his/her public presentation against the work program agreed upon during the pre-appraisal phase. The valuator carries out a concluding interview to give the appraisee specific public presentation information in respect to good public presentation and to 1. [ Online ] available at hypertext transfer protocol: //www.burford.oxon.sch.uk/policy/performancemanagementpolicy.htm [ Accessed on 13 November 2010 ] supply any pertinent suggestions for betterment, and action programs are developed in audience with both parties for lacking countries. This type of communicating and certification allows chance for an appraisede to adhere to the expected consequences for the station during the following appraisal twelvemonth.1.3 Nature of current Performance Management SystemEffective public presentation direction requires consistently determinant and pass oning what needs to be done ( purposes, aims, precedences and marks ) , a program for guaranting that it happens ( betterment, action or service programs ) , some agencies of measuring if this has been achieved ( public presentation steps ) and information making the right people at the right clip ( public presentation coverage ) so determinations are made and actions taken2. The PMS ‘s function can be classified into three chief classs: ( a ) Strategic: consist the functions of pull offing scheme execution and ambitious premises ; ( B ) Com munication: comprises the function of cheque place, following with the non negotiable parametric quantities, pass oning way, supplying feedback and benchmarking ; ( three ) Motivational: comprises the function of measuring and honoring behaviour and encouraging betterment and acquisition 1.3.1. Performance Management System in United Kingdom: Findingss of ( Andrew Brown, 2005 ) in ‘Implementing public presentation direction in England ‘s primary schools ‘ showed that considerable fluctuation exists among primary schools as to how they are implementing public presentation direction. This was due to confusion and uncertainness on the portion of all stakeholders refering the significance and intent of public presentation direction. He concludes that factors that influence the effectivity of public presentation direction in any one primary school are the extent to which: ( a ) the caput, instructors, governors and public presentation direction advisor have a common apprehension refering the significance of public presentation direction and the intents of presenting the enterprise into schools ; ( B ) all relevant stakeholder groups are suitably and sufficiently good trained to implement the enterprise ; ( degree Celsius ) the school ‘s organisational civilization is such that the determination to present a system of public presentation 2. [ Online ] available at hypertext transfer protocol: //www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do? pageId=4405770 [ Accessed on 13 November 2010 ] direction is perceived by the school ‘s caput, instructors and governors to be an appropriate and worthwhile one ; ( vitamin D ) the public presentation direction aims which the caput and instructors receive are sufficiently specific, mensurable, relevant and ambitious ; ( vitamin E ) the methods and indexs adopted to mensurate the public presentation direction aims of the caput and instructors are considered to be sufficiently varied and just ; ( degree Fahrenheit ) the construct of â€Å" overall public presentation † is sufficiently good defined, mensurable and accepted by both the valuators and appraisee ; ( g ) sufficient resources are available to implement instructors ‘ single professional development programs ; ( H ) the associated wage and wages systems are perceived to be both just and feasible. In short, England has a good established Performance system including Performance Thresholds, nevertheless, there is no consensus on whether fiscal inducements wo uld actuate instructors in advancing good instruction ( Croxson,2001 ) . 1.3.2 Performance Management System in New Zealand: Effective public presentation direction involves sharing an apprehension of what needs to be achieved and so pull offing and developing people in a manner that enables such shared aims to be achieved ( Dransfield, 2000 ) . In New Zealand, since 1997 public presentation assessment is compulsory for all instructors who are appraised against nine Professional Standards which include: professional cognition, professional development, learning techniques, pupil direction, motive of pupils, publicity of Te Reo Maori linguistic communication, effectual communicating, support for and cooperation with co-workers and part to wider school activities. These professional criterions aid to guarantee that employer and direction outlooks are clear and consistent across each school. Based on these criterions public presentation indexs are developed which require the school to place cardinal facets of public presentation ( that can be verified ) , fi nd what information is needed to measure public presentation against each of the professional criterions, make up one's mind how public presentation is to be assessed ( the appraisal method/s ) , design methods for roll uping the public presentation information. Performance indexs are reviewed from clip to clip to guarantee they are still relevant and appropriate. The public presentation assessment is carried out which focuses on the nine professional criterions and leads to a written appraisal study for treatment and audience with the instructor. This public presentation assessment includes readying of a statement of aims which are discussed and agreed upon at the beginning of the public presentation direction rhythm. Then there is an interim assessment, the intent of which is to supervise advancement against professional criterions and to foreground success and turn to any concerns. It besides provides an chance to discourse and enter any alteration to the agreed public presentati on outlooks. The reappraisal may affect observation of instruction, an interview and readying of an interim study. The following phase is the Final Appraisal whereby the valuator and appraisee meet to discourse the instructor ‘s public presentation over the twelvemonth based on professional criterions and indexs. The valuator informs the appraisee of the accomplishments and discusses what needs to be addressed in the undermentioned twelvemonth in footings of farther professional development. Teacher public presentation may besides include equal assessment, parent feedback, pupil feedback, pupils ‘ public presentation consequences and documental grounds such as lesson programs, appraisal records and resources used. Once instructors have met the appropriate degree of professional criterions they entree the 2nd tranche of salary rates ( Ozga, 2003 ) . Principals may postpone patterned advance for instructors who have non met the professional criterions at the appropriate de gree during the assessment period but so they must set in topographic point a plan for support and development to help the instructor to run into the criterions. If a instructor disagrees with the recess of the salary increase the instructor may, within 14 working yearss of being notified of the deferral seek a review3. However, ( Carol Cardno, 1999 ) states that in New Zealand the public presentation direction system has non good started and has non improved the public presentation of instructors and pupils. The New Zealand policy resembles closely our Mauritanian system, whereby the primary intent is to supply a model for bettering quality of learning. There the school board is responsible for seting in topographic point an assessment procedure with appropriate professional development orientation ( Cardno, 1999 ) . ( Rohento, 1992 ) found that instructors supported the debut of pecuniary inducements, and believed that a performance-related wage strategy would increase their attempt and have a positive consequence on student attainment. Harmonizing to some caputs, although the public presentation direction was non used to penalize hapless executing instructors, it was a utile agencies of placing and turn toing countries of failings with instructors ( Burgess et al, 2001 ) . 3.Draft National Guidelines for Performance Management in Schools, Ministry of Education, 1995.1.3.3 Performance Management System in Malaysia and CanadaMalaysia has adopted a Result-based Management Approach ( RBM ) , which focuses on systematic and structured public presentation direction, whereby, the Intergrated Performance Management Framework ( IPMF ) helps in being results-oriented in plan planning and delivery4. Canada is in its early phase on public presentation direction which has replaced the â€Å" Supporting Teaching Excellence † which was the instructor public presentation assessment policy. The policy model for pull offing people is effectual as of July 2010. It applies to the nucleus public disposal and is said to necessitate sustained leading and investing of clip and money5.1.3.4 Performance Management System in MauritiusIn the Mauritian context small research has been done as the PMS is still in its early phase. The lone research on the effectivity of Performance Management System has been carried out by ( Chittoo and Ramphul, 2006 ) in the Health Sector where they claim that Performance Management in the instance of Mauritanian infirmaries is still a implausible thought because irrespective of how good a technique it is, there is a fright to implement it due to swerve deficit of s taff who still have to fulfill the clients to the ‘extent possible ‘ . The execution of public presentation direction may do affairs worse in the present state of affairs. The failings and prejudices that can do the PMS to neglect include absence of engagement, organisation civilization, low dignity, high outlooks and inaccurate evaluations ( Lukheenarain, ( 2009 ) . Published in a imperativeness article, caput instructors and school principals are said to be kicking about an overload of paperwork. Performance Management is seen as a good thing where instructors can hold their say in their public presentation assessment, nevertheless, tonss of administrative work coming with the system, can be a hurdle6. 4.http: //www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx? id=14226 5.http: //www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/Schools/SchoolOperations/EmploymentConditionsAndEvaluation/PerformanceManagementSystems/PMS 6.Kot Zot Mauritius Portal Mauritius Newspaper Syndicating Mauritanian News.Effectiveness and Efficiency( Anthony and Young, 1994 ) argue that efficiency and effectivity are the two key standards for judging public presentation. Effectiveness is seen as the relationship between an organisation ‘s end product and its aims ( results or consequences ) and efficiency as the ratio of end products to inputs ( e.g. disbursals ) , or the sum of end product per unit of input. In add-on, ‘Economy ‘ ( i.e. inputs ) is frequently added to finish what is normally referred to as the ‘Three Es ‘ of public presentation measuring ( Hyndman & A ; Anderson, 1997, Boland and Fowler, 2000 ) . To enable the rating of economic system, efficiency and effectivity, it is necessary to mensurate inputs, end products and results ( or consequences ) . However, in public sector organisations which frequently have multiple, long term non-financial aims focused on social impact, it can turn out hard to mensurate the ‘three Es ‘ and hence hard to measure public presentation ( Hyndman & A ; Anderson, 1997 ) . ( Neely, Kennerley and Martinez, 2004 ) reported that there has been much prescription sing the design of PMS but really small consideration of whether such systems really work ( Neely et all, 2004 ; France & A ; Bourne, 2003 ) . It is deserving observing that Speckbacher et Al ( 2003 ) have reported that 8 % of 174 German talking states decided non to implement a Performance Measurement System because they could non see the advantages or ‘positive impact ‘ particularly given the attempt required to implement such systems. The above literature reappraisal raises a figure of inquiries that are relevant to this survey. In peculiar whether public presentation direction in schools leads to improved public presentation or merely answerability. It is merely through a farther research on the effectivity of public presentation direction for pedagogues in State Secondary that it would be possible to convey out the strengths and failings of the system and aid to do recommendations to the governments on how to better the system so every bit to carry through the vision of the Ministry of Education of ‘Quality instruction for All ‘ and besides do it sustainable in all province secondary schools in the hereafter.HypothesisThe Performance Management System for Educators in State Secondary Schools, if decently understood and implemented will assist to better School Effectiveness in footings of both pupil and instructor public presentation.Methodology2.1 Purpose of the surveyThe research paper has assorted aims. First given the increased accent on public presentation direction in Mauritius following the defects of the Confidential Reporting system, the paper examines the extent to which both Educators and Curates have a cognition and apprehension of the Performance Management System. Second it provides an overview of how the current public presentation direction system is being implemented in secondary schools in Education Zone 3 in Mauritius. Third it looks into how assorted standards used in the measuring of single public presentation in schools are related to teacher attitudes and perceptual experiences. It probes into the strengths and weaknesses/problems and troubles being encountered both by valuator and appraisee in the execution of the system. Last it makes an attempt to measure the effectivity of the Performance Management System as it is presently implemented in province secondary schools and do an effort at explicating recommendations to policy shapers on the betterments ne eded to do this system sustainable in secondary schools in the hereafter. The usage of multiple methods in a survey secures in-depth apprehension of the phenomenon in inquiry because it adds energy, comprehensiveness and deepness to the probe ( Cresswell, 1994:174 ; Denzin & A ; Lincoln, 1998:163 ; Salomon, 1991: 10 ) . Therefore, both quantitative and qualitative informations aggregation techniques were used. Research Design: The research documented in this paper relied on informations obtained from both primary and secondary beginnings. Survey Questionnaire: The quantitative attack involved a questionnaire study, because it helps to garner informations at a peculiar clip with the purpose of depicting the nature of bing conditions ( Cohen & A ; Manion, 1995:83 ) . Questionnaires were used for both Educators and Rectors and included chiefly closed inquiries and three unfastened ended inquiries. For the closed inquiries the Likert graduated table was used. The questionnaire foremost asked for demographic informations such as age, gender, station held and old ages of experience in the station. Then respondents were asked inquiries on their cognition and apprehension of the Performance Management System. Next, respondents were asked their positions on the nature of the current Performance Management System agreements at their school, the Performance Management procedure and the standards used in the measuring of single public presentation. Open ended inquiries related to the strengths and failings of the current Performa nce Management System at their school and the betterments they would wish to see in the present system. The questionnaires were designed in a logical and specific mode to accomplish the necessary consequences. The subsequent stairss were pursued in the undermentioned order: Shaping ends and aims, planing the methodological analysis, finding feasibleness, developing the instruments, choosing a sample, carry oning a pilot trial, revising the instruments, carry oning the research, analysing the information and devising recommendations. Questions for both classs were dispensed on a pilot footing in one school and necessary amendments were made. Interviews: In add-on to questionnaires, qualitative information was collected through semi structured interviews with Curates and the Zone Director in order to acknowledge their perceptual experiences on the effectivity of the Performance Management System in Secondary Schools in Zone 3 and notes were taken. The notes consisted of statements and remarks made by the interviewees which were identified as being important and of import. Triangulation: While questionnaires and interviews were the primary methods of informations aggregation, the secondary methods of informations aggregation included survey of statistics from the Ministry of Education and other relevant paperss such as the Performance Management Guide by the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs, the Pay Research Bureau Report 2008 and the Confidential Reporting system.2.3 ParticipantsIn Mauritius, there are 3439 Educators ( appraisee ) and 63 Curates ( valuators ) in State Secondary Schools over the island. For the intent of this research the mark population consisted of 660 Educators ( appraised ) and 12 Curates ( Appraisers ) working in State Secondary Schools in Zone 3 as they are the lone secondary schools which are finishing their 2nd PMS rhythm, the first one holding been completed on a pilot footing in 2009. Zones 1, 2 and 4 have non yet completed a full Performance Management rhythm. Questionnaires were administered to 280 Educators and Curates fr om 8 province secondary schools, who formed the sample population. 245 Educators and all 8 Curates responded favorably. Semi-structured interviews were held with the 8 Curates and the Zone Director who is by and large responsible for the overall direction of different schools in this Zone.2.4 Analysis TechniquesChi square trial, Pearson correlativity and Factor analysis are carried. The consequences are used to mensurate the cognition and apprehension of both Educators and Rectors of the current Performance Management System, its procedure, the importance of its different standards in the measuring of the public presentation of persons, respondents ‘ attitudes and perceptual experiences on the public presentation steps, the strengths and failings of present Performance Management System and the betterments they deemed necessary. These findings are so related to the literature findings. They are analyzed in order to judge the efficiency of the present system so as to explicate necessary recommendations for policy shapers to do it more effectual and sustainable as a agency of mensurating public presentation of all Educators in Secondary schools in Mauritius.Datas AnalysisQuestionnaire informations were computerized utilizing SPSS package. Open ended inquiries were categorized harmonizing to the response. For the structured interviews, qualitative informations, forms and classs were identified and described. Validity was ensured through triangulation whereby study informations from pedagogues were verified with study informations from curates and farther supplemented by the interviews of the Rectors and the Zone Director.3. FindingssThe perceptual experiences of the effectivity of the execution of PMS in our State Secondary schools are discussed and linked with the literature harmonizing to the undermentioned classs: cognition and apprehension of PMS ; nature of current PMS agreements ; Performance Management Process ; public presentation steps ; and PMS from an administrative point of position. Educators who responded to the questionnaire have a average age of 36.4 ( SD=0.889 ) , an mean old ages of 8.2 ( SD=1.48 ) old ages of learning experience, 58.5 % of whom were female and 18.3 % held place of duty as caput of section. They were all appraised by their curate.3.1 Knowledge and apprehension of PMSFigure 1. Knowledge and apprehension of PMS Questions were framed harmonizing to literature findings as referred to in Figure 1. The survey has revealed that more than 50 % of pedagogues believe in the importance of PMS for set uping a high public presentation civilization, concentrating on end product and procedures of accomplishing consequences and bettering the procedure of instruction and acquisition. As Walter ( 1995 ) stated, PMS is the procedure of bettering the quality and measure of work done and conveying all activity in line with an administration ‘s aims.3.2 Nature of current PMS agreementsAn analysis of the public presentation direction procedures and activities in the school provides an apprehension of the execution of PMS. 74.5 % of pedagogues believe that PMS is a good planned procedure. One of the purposes of PMS in to better public presentation of schools. Harmonizing to Jenny Ozga ( 2003 ) , the nucleus premises of public presentation direction are that public presentation degrees in the public sector can be raised, that is to do the schools on Scotland more efficient and effectual than in Finland. Reliance on mark scene and monitoring as a cardinal component of the direction of instructors rises concern about the possible distorting effects of marks on relationship between instructors and directors, and on instructors ‘ definition of their nucleus undertaking. Teachers and caputs experience under force per unit area to show good public presentation. This position was besides reflected in our survey, the sentiment of pedagogues on effectivity of PMS in their school and whether current PMS agreement leads to betterment in public presentation of school have been analysed utilizing cross tabular matter and Chi-square ( I†¡2 ) trial to happen out if there is an association between these two variables. The formulated hypothesis is H0, there is no association between sentiment on effectivity of PMS and PMS really taking the betterment in public presentation and H1, there is an association between sentiment on effectivity of PMS and PMS really taking the betterment in public presentation. Table 1 shows that bulk of pedagogues do non hold that PMS leads to betterment ( 33.1 % ) and are decrepit linked to school effectivity ( 40 % ) . I†¡2 50.248 with grades of freedom 8. Probability ( 0 ) is 5 % . Therefore at 5 % degree of signifigance H0 is rejected and we accept H1. Cramer ‘s V value being 0.320 shows weak relationship between the two.Table 1. PMS arrangement – betterment in school public presentation * Opinion of PMS as appraisee CrosstabulationOpinion of PMS as appraisee Entire Not effectual Reasonably uneffective Neither effectual nor uneffective Reasonably effectual really effectual Disagree Count 11 11 26 11 1 60 Expected Count 5.9 5.9 19.8 24.2 4.2 60.0 Neither agree nor disagree Count 12 12 33 44 3 104 Expected Count 10.2 10.2 34.4 42.0 7.2 104.0 Agree Count 1 1 22 44 13 81 Expected Count 7.9 7.9 26.8 32.7 5.6 81.0 Entire Count 24 24 81 99 17 245 Expected Count 24.0 24.0 81.0 99.0 17.0 245.0 In the survey on â€Å" Implementing public presentation direction in England † s primary school † , ( Brown, 2005 ) , 24 out of 30 headteachers considered the public presentation direction preparation which they have received as unsatisfactory and most of the instructors stated that there was no formal preparation in public presentation direction. Merely 20 % of curates ( 8 in all ) and 25 % of pedagogues ( 247 in all ) agree that sufficient preparation was given before execution of PMS, and they believe that the preparation was non effectual and excessively brief ( based to open ended inquiries and interview ) . Training on PMS is believed to be deficient, there has been no farther preparation or follow up and new recruits are non offered any signifier of preparation or briefing. PMS, so far, has non helped to better school effectivity or pupil public presentation. They are non confident about the success and sustainability of PMS. Once the PMS rhythm is over, there is no coverage and follow up and pedagogues are non offered developing harmonizing to their demands. The biggest job they are confronting is clip restraint, to follow single pedagogue and transport out one to one interview. Interviews carried out with curates gave farther penetrations into the execution of PMS. All curates believe that PMS is an of import tool for estimating public presentation and guaranting answerability. PMS is seen as really much adapted to the new direction paradigm, quality confidence and undertaking based budgeting ( PBB ) . It is being implemented without major jobs, all staff are join forcesing, there is no job with the work program, midterm assessment and terminal of twelvemonth assessment. Everything is being done satisfactorily and curates find PMS better than the â€Å" confidential study † . They view PMS as bettering collegiality and believe that with clip it will further better. However, it is done automatically because they all know that they have to follow.3.3 Performance Management ProcessHarmonizing the survey on ‘Teacher perceptual experience of the effectivity of instructor assessment in Botswana ‘ ( Monyatsi, 2006 ) , bulk of respondents ( 44.7 % ) agreed that assessment procedure in Botswana motivates instructors. However, in our survey on the province secondary schools in zone 3 merely 20 % of pedagogues find PMS utile and the bulk ( 66 % ) are apathetic to public presentation direction but go through the gestures. 52 % of the respondents agree that the valuator invites self-appraisal and uses congratulations to actuate pedagogues. Confidentiality and trust issues, particularly in relation to appraisal coverage and who has entree to the information was one on the participants concern, ( Cardno, 1999 ) . 57.2 % of the pedagogues responded positively when asked whether they trust PMS procedure in their school and 75 % feel that confidentiality is maintained throughout the PMS procedure. This shows that confidentiality and trust is non an issue in our schools. An analysis of discrepancy ( ANOVA ) is used to compare current PMS taking to betterment in public presentation of pedagogues to the existent assessment procedure is given in table 2 below. As the homogeneousness of discrepancy trial ( .000, .001, .019 ) is & lt ; .05, the ANOVA tabular array was constructed as shown in table 2. The significance value being & lt ; 0.05, we reject the void hypothesis and accept that there is a difference between the current PMS agreements taking to betterment in public presentation of pedagogue and the assessment mechanism carried out by the curate as promoting for pedagogues.Table 2. ANOVA to compare current PMS taking to betterment in pedagogue public presentation and the existent assessment mechanism by utilizing congratulations, discuss public presentation and non personality and encourages self-appraisal.Sum of Squares ( combined ) df Mean Square F Sig. Curates use congratulations to do motivate pedagogues 46.599 2 23.300 19.481 .000 Curates discuss public presentation non personality 35.246 2 17.623 15.834 .000 Rector invites self assessment 45.989 2 22.995 24.768 .000 Brown ( 2005 ) besides investigated how PMS would assist to better professional development of instructors. The positions of both caputs and instructors were assorted. On the positive side, some instructors felt that a formal one-year reappraisal, to reflect on assorted facets of their public presentation enabled them and their leader to jointly explicate a extremely individualized development program. However, it was reported that even though an appropriate program had been formulated, it had non been implemented due to shortage of clip and resources. One of the premier importance of PMS is staff development. Khim Ong Kelly et Al ( 2007 ) stated that there are important challenges in efficaciously measuring the aptitude of instructors for different calling paths and in measuring what constitutes good public presentation. In England primary schools, ( Brown,2005 ) , the positions of both caputs and instructors about public presentation direction assisting to better professional devel opment of instructors are assorted. The boxplot ( Figure 2 ) show a normal unskewed distribution with 32 % response as impersonal, same applies for public presentation reappraisal being a preparation program for each pedagogue. This shows that the same uncertainness applies to our system.Table 3. Rotated Component MatrixComponent 1 Problem work outing accomplishments .787 Duty .756 Versatilty .755 Leadership .739 Planing .730 Strategic thought .710 Technical cognition .703 1 Strongly disagree-15 % 2 somewhat disagree-14 % 3 neither agree nor disagree34 % 4 somewhat agree-32 % 5 strongly agree-4 %3.4 Performance stepsOne ground for replacing the confidential study is because it has no yardstick to mensurate the grade of public presentation of assorted facets of the occupation as there are no fit professional criterions. Furthermore, there is general consensus from all the research conducted that the ends of public presentation direction system or assessment are to better quality and answerability. In their survey, Chittoo and Ramphul ( 2006 ) , referred to the systems attack with the 3e ‘s – economic system, efficiency and effectivity. However, the extent to which this mark is achieved remains blurred due to restraints such as clip, fiscal resources and staff. The great bulk ( around 80 % ) of respondents agree that the standards in the measuring of single public presentation ( student focal point, competency, attending and promptness, communicating accomplishments and others ) are of import or critical. Factor analysis was carried out to happ en out which PMS measures pedagogues see to be more of import. The 26 PMS steps rated by the respondents were considered in this trial which is applicable as the determiner ( 1.11 ) is greater than 1A-10-5. Table 3 shows the revolved constituent matrix with some PMS steps in footings of precedence as seen by the pedagogues. It is interesting to observe that the first three steps are related to personality traits and accomplishments. However, 60-70 % pedagogues believe that PMS is undependable to mensurate public presentation, is drawn-out and clip consuming, with excessively much paper work and that there has non been follow up for the preparation demands identified during assessments. These findings are confirmed utilizing bivariate correlativity trial. At 1 % degree of significance ( two-tailed ) , there is a weak but negative correlativity ( Pearson Coefficient ( R ) is -0.002 ) between the standards to be assessed and the manner of appraisal in PMS.3.5 PMS from an Administrative point of positionThis survey confirms information published in local imperativeness article, that is PMS is seen as a good thing but tonss of administrative work coming with the system can be a hurdle. The Zone Director monitors the execution of PMS in the schools. She confirmed that all schools in zone 3 are implementing PMS as instructed. Curates do kick about PMS being clip devouring but they all managed to finish the procedure. However, she is non satisfied with the execution of PMS, accent is laid on measure, guaranting that PMS is implemented in all schools, but there is no quality, no clip for analysis of public presentation, rating and proper coverage. The Ministry is concerned with the completion and entry of the PMS, but there is no construction for follow up and developing. As Lukheenarain ( 2009 ) stated, certain failings and prejudices can do PMS to neglect, some of them as revealed by our survey are: no analysis, no follow up and deficiency of support from higher gove rnments, no clear guidelines of what to make after one PMS rhythm, deficiency of forces and clip restraints. The strength of PMS is that pedagogues and curates are cognizant of what that are supposed to make harmonizing to their work program, they hence make the necessary attempt to accomplish their cardinal consequence countries by executing the cardinal undertakings. The Zone Director is unable to state if some schools are making better than others because of PMS as there is no analysis done, but she believes that if done decently with an appropriate mechanism for analysis, preparation and coverage, PMS is traveling to be fruitful. The whole PMS needs reappraisal, harmonizing to her it has to be seamster made for instruction sector and should be user friendly and attractive for both valuator and appraisee. To do PMS sustainable, at the terminal of each rhythm there should be a mechanism for coverage, analysis and forming preparation Sessionss to make full in the public presentatio n spreads identified. Furthermore, some pedagogues proposed the debut of wage related public presentation in order to actuate and promote them to follow the system. We would wish to thank Mrs R. Koomar for her valuable aid and back up throughout this research paper.CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.The intent of this paper, as stated at the beginning, has been to look at the effectivity of the execution of public presentation direction system for pedagogues in province secondary schools of educational zone 3. All schools in Zone 3 are implementing PMS as instructed by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources. The bulk of pedagogues believe that execution of PMS can be good as it will set up a high public presentation civilization in the instruction system. However, the bulk of pedagogues in Zone 3 are apathetic to PMS but merely follow with another bureaucratic standard. Analysis has shown that execution of PMS is non linked to effectiveness in the sector. This survey shows that all those involved should possess the cognition and apprehension of its intents, procedures and step, if the whole procedure is to be effectual. There is a deficit of work force to work on public presentation direction system in schools and therefore it is seen as an extra undertaking. Curates and pedagogues likewise in Zone 3 believe that execution of public presentation direction system has resulted in more paper work instead than concrete action. There is no proper staff development follow up in topographic point and as a consequence pedagogues and curates feel PMS has non produced the coveted results. Allotment of financess and proper preparation are non in topographic point to run into the demands of pedagogues and curates likewise. Emphasis is laid on completion of the public presentation direction rhythm and the results are kept in shortss and no proper actions taken to rectify any failings or reward those who are executing to the satisfaction of the top direction. Bearing in head the benefits which the public presentation direction system can convey to bettering the effectivity of services in province secondary schools, the undermentioned steps should be looked at and set in topographic point. Curates and pedagogues should be given more appropriate preparation on public presentation direction system which is tailored to the demands of instruction. It should be related to pay ; extrinsic wages can assist to better pedagogues ‘ public presentation. Educators who are executing outstandingly should be rewarded with another increase on the wage spinal column that is the pedagogue can leap two graduated tables on the wage ladder. There should be more committedness from the top degree of disposal ; the Ministry of Education should be committed non merely to measure ( figure of schools who have completed the rhythm ) but besides to quality of the results. It will add drift and motivate staff to take public presentation direction more earnestly. The Ministry should look into geting more financess for formal and on-going preparation. Professional development of the staff should be given due consideration so that pedagogues can profit from it and happen the exercising of public presentation direction system fruitful. Protected clip should be given to the valuator and appraise likewise so that they both can give due consideration PMS. Regular update should be held at regular intervals during the twelvemonth so that all freshly recruited pedagogues and curates are acquainted with the system. PMS should be reviewed, updated at sensible periods so as to aline it with the vision of the Ministry of Education of â€Å" Quality instruction for All ‘ . Further research on the topic should be encouraged by the Mauritius Research Council, the University of Mauritius, the University of Technology, Mauritius and other third establishments through the Student Research Grant Scheme as proposed in the Budget for 2011 and recommendatio ns made should be studied and implemented where executable. Professional Standards for Educators should be worked out in coaction with this cell because it is good known in direction that if the person/s who are traveling to be affected by policy determinations are taken on board in the treatment phase, they feel a committedness to the determination and will seek to stay by them and make the ends set. Those non making the set marks should non be regarded as ‘ failures ‘ , instead they should be given in service and professional development classs to assist make full the public presentation spreads identified during the execution phase. Use of engineering can be of aid in cut downing the excess paperwork.

Definition and Examples of Deep Reading

Definition and Examples of Deep Reading Deep reading is the active process of thoughtful and deliberate reading carried out to enhance ones comprehension and enjoyment of a text. Contrast with skimming or superficial reading. Also called slow reading. The term deep reading was coined by Sven Birkerts in The Gutenberg Elegies (1994): Reading, because we control it, is adaptable to our needs and rhythms. We are free to indulge our subjective associative impulse; the term I coin for this is deep reading: the slow and meditative possession of a book. We dont just read the words, we dream our lives in their vicinity. Deep Reading Skills By deep reading, we mean the array of sophisticated processes that propel comprehension and that include inferential and deductive reasoning, analogical skills, critical analysis, reflection, and insight. The expert reader needs milliseconds to execute these processes; the young brain needs years to develop them. Both of these pivotal dimensions of time are potentially endangered by the digital cultures pervasive emphases on immediacy, information loading, and a media-driven cognitive set that embraces speed and can discourage deliberation in both our reading and our thinking.(Maryanne Wolf and Mirit Barzillai, The Importance of Deep Reading. Challenging the Whole Child: Reflections on Best Practices in Learning, Teaching, and Leadership, ed. by Marge Scherer. ASCD, 2009) [D]eep reading requires human beings to call upon and develop attentional skills, to be thoughtful and fully aware. . . .Unlike watching television or engaging in the other illusions of entertainment and pseudo-events, deep reading is not an escape, but a discovery. Deep reading provides a way of discovering how we are all connected to the world and to our own evolving stories. Reading deeply, we find our own plots and stories unfolding through the language and voice of others.(Robert P. Waxler and Maureen P. Hall, Transforming Literacy: Changing Lives Through Reading and Writing. Emerald Group, 2011) Writing and Deep Reading Why is marking up a book indispensable to reading? First, it keeps you awake. (And I dont mean merely conscious; I mean  awake.) In the second place, reading, if it is active, is thinking, and thinking tends to express itself in words, spoken or written. The marked book is usually the thought-through book. Finally, writing helps you remember the thoughts you had, or the thoughts the author expressed.(Mortimer J. Adler and  Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book. Rpt. by Touchstone, 2014) Deep Reading Strategies [Judith] Roberts and [Keith] Roberts [2008] rightly identify students desire to avoid the deep reading process, which involves substantial time-on-task. When experts read difficult texts, they read slowly and reread often. They struggle with the text to make it comprehensible. They hold confusing passages in mental suspension, having faith that later parts of the text may clarify earlier parts. They nutshell passages as they proceed, often writing gist statements in the margins. They read a difficult text a second and a third time, considering first readings as approximations or rough drafts. They interact with the text by asking questions, expressing disagreements, linking the text with other readings or with personal experience.But resistance to deep reading may involve more than an unwillingness to spend the time. Students may actually misunderstand the reading process. They may believe that experts are speed readers who dont need to struggle. Therefore students assume that their own reading difficulties must stem from their lack of expertise, which makes the text too hard for them. Consequently, they dont allot the study time needed to read a text deeply.(John C. Bean, Engaging Ideas: The Professors Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom, 2nd ed. Jossey-Bass, 2011 Deep Reading and the Brain In one fascinating study, conducted at Washington Universitys Dynamic Cognition Laboratory and published in the journal Psychological Science in 2009, researchers used brain scans to examine what happens inside peoples heads as they read fiction. They found that readers mentally simulate each new situation encountered in a narrative. Details about actions and sensation are captured from the text and integrated with personal knowledge from past experiences. The brain regions that are activated often mirror those involved when people perform, imagine, or observe similar real-world activities. Deep reading, says the studys lead researcher, Nicole Speer, is by no means a passive exercise. The reader becomes the book.(Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. W.W. Norton, 2010 [Nicholas] Carrs charge [in the article Is Google Making Us Stupid? The Atlantic, July 2008] that superficiality bleeds over into other activities such as deep reading and analysis is a serious one for scholarship, which is almost entirely constituted of such activity. In this view engagement with technology is not just a distraction, or another pressure on an overloaded academic, but is positively dangerous. It becomes something akin to a virus, infecting the key critical engagement skills required for scholarship to function. . . .What is . . . not clear is if people are engaging in new types of activity that replace the function of deep reading.(Martin Weller, The Digital Scholar: How Technology is Transforming Scholarly Practice. Bloomsbury Academic, 2011)

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Influences of Advertising to Consumer Attitude Towards Buying a Product Essays

Influences of Advertising to Consumer Attitude Towards Buying a Product Essays Influences of Advertising to Consumer Attitude Towards Buying a Product Paper Influences of Advertising to Consumer Attitude Towards Buying a Product Paper THESIS STATEMENT Advertisements are lifeline of companies. It persuades customers to buy their product. Everyone can use advertisements but they must obey the law. There are many types of advertisement that can influence consumer’s attitude to buy a product. The researchers think that TV ad is the most influential type of advertisement because most people watch TV and unlike other advertisements TV ad has the ability to convey your message with sight, sound, and motion. they more accurate to influence consumers because they can easily reach target audiences. I. Introduction Historical context, definition of advertisement and thesis statement II. History of Advertisement A. Definition of Advertisement B. people who first Advertisement C. Types of Advertisements D. New media and Advertising approach E. Future of Advertisements III. Problems Generated by Advertisements A. Alcohol and cigarettes B. Targeting Children C. Negative Influences IV. Benefits of Advertising A. Benefits to Companies 1. Help Increase Sales 2. Greatly Affect the companies lifeline B. Benefits to Consumers 1. Connect easily to the Company 2. Consumers can see the product form their houses than going to the store. V. Possible effects of Advertising A. To Children B. To teens C. To adult VI. Advertising and behavior A. Children underage of 4 maybe unable to distinguish advertising. B. Advertising increase consumption C. Public perception of the medium Conclusion TV advertisements are likely to be more influential to the public and greatly influence company’s lifeline to succeed. They are most likely to be use as a medium because they reach very large audiences. In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse is the first to include paid advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability. The formula is soon copied by all titles. Around 1840, Volney Palmer established a predecessor to advertising agencies in Boston. [7] Around the same time, in France, Charles-Louis Havas extended the services of his news agency, Havas to include advertisement brokerage, making it the first French group to organize. At first, agencies were brokers for advertisement space in newspapers. N. W. Ayer Son was the first full-service agency to assume responsibility for advertising content. N. W. Ayer opened in 1869, and was located in Philadelphia. A print advertisement for the 1913 issue of the Encyclopedia Britannica In the early 1920s the first radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers and retailers who offered programs in order to sell more radios to consumers. As time passed, many non-profit organizations followed suit in setting up their own radio stations, and included: schools, clubs and civic groups. [8] When the practice of sponsoring programs was popularized, each individual radio program was usually sponsored by a single business in exchange for a brief mention of the business name at the beginning and end of the sponsored shows. However, radio station owners soon realised they could earn more money by selling sponsorship rights in small time allocations to multiple businesses throughout their radio stations broadcasts, rather than selling the sponsorship rights to single businesses per show. This practice was carried over to television in the late 1940s and early 1950s. A fierce battle was fought between those seeking to commercialise the radio and people who argued that the radio spectrum should be considered a part of the commons – to be used only non-commercially and for the public good. The United Kingdom pursued a public funding model for the BBC, originally a private company but incorporated as a public body by Royal Charter in 1927. In Canada, advocates like Graham Spry were likewise able to persuade the federal government to adopt a public funding model. However, in the The 1960s saw advertising transform into a modern approach in which creativity was allowed to shine, producing unexpected messages that made advertisements more tempting to consumers eyes. The Volkswagen ad campaign- featuring such headlines as Think Small and Lemon (which were used to describe the appearance of the car)- ushered in the era of modern advertising by promoting a position or unique selling proposition designed to associate each brand with a specific idea in the reader or viewers mind. This period of American advertising is called the Creative Revolution and its poster boy was Bill Bernbach who helped create the revolutionary Volkswagen ads among others. Some of the most creative and long-standing American advertising dates to this incredibly creative period. Public advertising on Times Square, New York City. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of cable television and particularly MTV. Pioneering the concept of the music video, MTV ushered in a new type of advertising: the consumer tunes in for the advertising message, rather than it being a by-product or afterthought. As cable and satellite television became increasingly prevalent, specialty channels emerged, including channels entirely devoted to advertising, such as QVC, Home Shopping Network, and Shop T. V. Marketing through the Internet opened new frontiers for advertisers and contributed to the dot-com boom of the 1990s. Entire corporations operated solely on advertising revenue, offering everything from coupons to free Internet access. At the turn of the 21st century, a number of websites including the search engine Google, started a change in online advertising by emphasizing contextually relevant, unobtrusive ads intended to help, rather than inundate, users. This has led to a plethora of similar efforts and an increasing trend of interactive advertising. The share of advertising spending relative to GDP has changed little across large changes in media. For example, in the U. S. in 1925, the main advertising media were newspapers, magazines, signs on streetcars, and outdoor posters. Advertising spending as a share of GDP was about 2. 9 percent. By 1998, television and radio had become major advertising media. Nonetheless, advertising spending as a share of GDP was slightly lower- about 2. percent. [10] A recent advertising innovation is guerrilla promotions, which involve unusual approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of products such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive advertising where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising message. This reflects an increasing trend of interactive and embedded ads, such as via product placement, having consumers vote through text messages, and various innovations utilizing social networking sites. Circa 1950, television viewers were treated to commercial after commercial for the same product during their viewing time. Shows were sponsored by companies, giving us the Kraft hour, and soap operas named for sponsor Proctor and Gamble’s products. This was Lucille Ball’s inspiration for the classic spoof, Vitameatavegamin. The modern age hit full force, and Nielsen boxes all over the country allowed advertisers to target specific demographics. Soon, commercials for diapers and Depends flooded the airwaves, carefully orchestrated to the viewing audience. Product placement became hot, with Roseanne no longer drinking â€Å"Cola† but preferring â€Å"Pepsi†; Charlotte, Miranda and Carrie made â€Å"Jimmy Choos† a household word. Although it never really took off on broadcast shows, feature films soon were generating millions in extra revenue by having characters purchase specific brands. Films with titles like Harold and Kumar Go To Whitecastle were not far behind. Then, Tivo. Remember the phrase, â€Å"appointment TV†? Remember when George Clooney was on ER, and you made your book club move their meetings from Thursday night, because you were suddenly busy? That will never happen again. Now the audience can watch any show, any time. What’s corporate America to do, no longer able to hawk their wares to a captive audience? Commercial advertising media can include wall paintings, billboards, street furniture components, printed flyers and rack cards, radio, cinema and television ads, web banners, mobile telephone screens, shopping carts, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, human directional, magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses or airplanes (logojets), in-flight advertisements on seatback tray tables or overhead storage bins, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens, usical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers, stickers on apples in supermarkets, shopping cart handles, the opening section of streaming audio and video, posters, and the backs of event tickets and supermarket receipts. Any place an identified sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising. Covert advertising is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment and media. For example, in a film, the main character can use an item or other of a definite brand, as in the movie Minority Report, where Tom Cruises character John Anderton owns a phone with the Nokia logo clearly written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo. The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format, as is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events. The annual Super Bowl football game in the United States is known as the most prominent advertising event on television. The average cost of a single thirty-second TV spot during this game has reached $2. 7 million (as of 2007). There are two types of infomercials, described as long form and short form. Long form infomercials have a time length of 30 minutes. Short form infomercials are 30 seconds to 2 minutes long. Infomercials are also known as direct response television (DRTV) commercials. The main objective in an infomercial is to create an impulse purchase, so that the consumer sees the presentation and then immediately buys the product through the advertised toll-free telephone number or website. Infomercials describe, display, and often demonstrate products and their features, and commonly have testimonials from consumers and industry professionals. Increasingly, other media are overtaking television because of a shift towards consumers usage of the internet as well as devices such as TiVo. Advertising on the World Wide Web is a recent phenomenon. Prices of Web-based advertising space are dependent on the relevance of the surrounding web content and the traffic that the website receives. E-mail advertising is another recent phenomenon. Unsolicited bulk E-mail advertising is known as spam. Some companies have proposed to place messages or corporate logos on the side of booster rockets and the International Space Station. Controversy exists on the effectiveness of subliminal advertising (see mind control), and the pervasiveness of mass messages. Unpaid advertising (also called word of mouth advertising), can provide good exposure at minimal cost. Personal recommendations (bring a friend, sell it), spreading buzz, or achieving the feat of equating a brand with a common noun (in the United States, Xerox = photocopier, Kleenex = tissue, Vaseline = petroleum jelly, Hoover = vacuum cleaner, and Band-Aid = adhesive bandage) - these are the pinnacles of any advertising campaign. However, some companies oppose the use of their brand name to label an object. Equating a brand with a common noun also risks turning that brand into a genericized trademark turning it into a generic term which means that its legal protection as a trademark is lost. As the mobile phone became a new mass media in 1998 when the first paid downloadable content appeared on mobile phones in Finland, it was only a matter of time until mobile advertising followed, also first launched in Finland in 2000. By 2007 the value of mobile advertising had reached 2. 2 billion dollars and providers such as Ad mob delivered billions of mobile ads. More advanced mobile ads include banner ads, coupons, MMS picture and video messages, adver games and various engagement marketing campaigns. A particular feature driving mobile ads is the 2D Barcode, which replaces the need to do any typing of web addresses, and uses the camera feature of modern phones to gain immediate access to web content. 83 percent of Japanese mobile phone users already are active users of 2D barcodes. A new form of advertising that is growing rapidly is Social network advertising. It is Online Advertising with a focus on social networking sites. This is a relatively immature market, but it has shown a lot of promise as advertisers are able to take advantage of the demographic information the user has provided to the social networking site. The impact of advertising has been a matter of considerable debate and many different claims have been made in different contexts. During debates about the banning of cigarette advertising, a common claim from cigarette manufacturers was that cigarette advertising does not encourage people to smoke who would not otherwise. The (eventually successful) opponents of advertising, on the other hand, claim that advertising does in fact increase consumption. According to many sources, the past experience and state of mind of the person subjected to advertising may determine the impact that advertising has. Children under the age of four may be unable to distinguish advertising from other television programs, while the ability to determine the truthfulness of the message may not be developed until the age of 8. Over the past fifteen years a whole science of marketing analytics and marketing effectiveness has been developed to determine the impact of marketing actions on consumers, sales, profit and market share. Marketing Mix Modeling, direct response measurement and other techniques are included in this science. As advertising and marketing efforts become increasingly ubiquitous in modern Western societies, the industry has come under criticism of groups such as Adbusters via culture jamming which criticizes the media and consumerism using advertisings own techniques. The industry is accused of being one of the engines powering a convoluted economic mass production system which promotes consumption. Recognizing the social impact of advertising, Mediawatch-uk, a British special interest group, works to educate consumers about how they can register their concerns with advertisers and regulators. It has developed educational materials for use in schools. Public interest groups are increasingly suggesting that access to the mental space targeted by advertisers should be taxed[citation needed], in that at the present moment that space is being freely taken advantage of by advertisers with no compensation paid to the members of the public who are thus being intruded upon. This kind of tax would be a Pigovian tax in that it would act to reduce what is now increasingly seen as a public nuisance. Efforts to that end are gathering more momentum, with Arkansas and Maine considering bills to implement such a taxation. Florida enacted such a tax in 1987 but was forced to repeal it after six months, as a result of a concerted effort by national commercial interests, which withdrew planned conventions, causing major losses to the tourism industry, and canceled advertising, causing a loss of 12 million dollars to the broadcast industry alone. Advertising has gone through five major stages of development: domestic, export, international, multi-national, and global. For global advertisers, there are four, potentially competing, business objectives that must be balanced when developing worldwide advertising: building a brand while speaking with one voice, developing economies of scale in the creative process, maximising local effectiveness of ads, and increasing the company’s speed of implementation. Born from the evolutionary stages of global marketing are the three primary and fundamentally different approaches to the development of global advertising executions: exporting executions, producing local executions, and importing ideas that travel. Global marketing Management, 2004, pg 13-18) Advertising research is key to determining the success of an ad in any country or region. The ability to identify which elements and/or moments of an ad that contributes to its success is how economies of scale are maximised. Once one knows what works in an ad, that idea or ideas can be imported by any other market. Market research measures, such as Flow of Attention, Flow of Emotion and branding moments provide insight into what is working in an ad in any country or region because the measures are based on the visual, not verbal, elements of the ad. Young, p. 131) Hawk them to the audience when they are captive, of course. Make the advertisement an integral part of an important character’s dialogue, a feature of the plot, and they’re home free. A visit to GE’s Trivection website even includes a link to the network show. It might work for a show like â€Å"30 Rock†, which doesn’t take itself too seriously and where parody is expected. Would it work for Aaron Sorkin’s take on the same premise, â€Å"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip†? Probably not, but then again satire, comedy, and spoof are not words describe that show. Could this be the future of TV advertising? Will Evian become the bottled water of choice for Jack, Kate, and Sawyer? Perhaps NBC could provide tie-ins to boost other, less popular shows, giving us â€Å"Maury Povich† as the exclusive provider of paternity tests for the â€Å"Law Order† franchise. That frightening thought remains open for debate. Within minutes of the broadcast, backlash hit the Internet, with outraged viewers calling GE on the carpet for their perceived transgression. Days later, it’s still news on big entertainment blogs such as Defamer. com, and the debate continues to rage on message boards. Only time will tell if this bold strategy will work or backfire, but if you use the Trivection oven, time’s all we’ve got. What is Advertising: Advertising is the non personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media. (Bovee, 1992, p. 7) So much for academic doubletalk. Now lets take this statement apart and see what it means. First, advertising has, comparatively speaking, all the time in the world. Unlike personal selling, the sales message and its presentation does not have to be created n the spot with the customer watching. It can be created in as many ways as the writer can conceive, be rewritten, tested, modified, injected with every trick and appeal known to affect consumers. (Some of the latter is the content of this book. ) Second, although advertisers may not see the individual customer, nor be able to modify the sales message according to that individuals reactions at the time, it does have research about customers. The research can identify potential customers, find what message elements might influence them, and figure out how best to get that message to them. Although the research is meaningless when applied to any particular individual, it is effective when applied to large groups of customers. Third, and perhaps of most importance, advertising can be far cheaper per potential customer than personal selling. Personal selling is extremely labor-intensive, dealing with one customer at a time. Advertising deals with hundreds, thousands, or millions of customers at a time, reducing the cost per customer to mere pennies. In fact, advertising costs are determined in part using a formula to determine, not cost per potential customer, but cost per thousand potential customers. Thus, it appears that advertising is a good idea as a sales tool. For small ticket items, such as chewing gum and guitar picks, advertising is cost effective to do the entire selling job. For large ticket items, such as cars and computers, advertising can do a large part of the selling job, and personal selling is used to complete and close the sale. Advertising is non personal, but effective. Advertising blamed for food problems It is very important to protect our children from unhealthy food says the Consumer Council of Fiji. CCF chief executive officer Premila Kumar said past surveys had shown advertising and marketing of food and drink to children was dominated by unhealthy products. Manufacturers, suppliers and retailers of these foods are increasingly using integrated and sophisticated advertising and marketing strategies to promote their products directly and indirectly to children. Familiar examples are of such marketing including the use of collectable toys, games and contests, advertising and packaging cartoon characters, food shaped and coloured to be especially appealing to children and the use of catchy jingles, she said. CCF said unhealthy foods contained high levels of fat, sugar and salt and have a direct effect on the health of children. Children in Fiji have also been cited with related diseases of increasing obesity and type two diabetes, like other children in other parts of the world. These non-communicable diseases impose substantial economic costs on everyone. The Council is also concerned on the quality of food sold in school canteens despite the provision of a School Canteen Guideline put in place by the Ministry of Health. Ms Kumar said the council was also concerned of the absence of a guideline or standard on advertising of unhealthy food to children. Interim minister for Education, Filipe Bole said healthy fruits like snacks were scarce in the market and canteens could only buy them if they were available in the market. He called on people operating school canteens not to give junk foods to the students and stick to the Food Guideline given by the ministry of Health. World Consumer Day is celebrated on March 15 every year. This years theme is Junk Food Generation-Advertising and Marketing of Unhealthy Food to Children in Fiji. Television (TV) has its good side. It can be entertaining and educational, and can open up new worlds for kids, giving them a chance to travel the globe, learn about different cultures, and gain exposure to ideas they may never encounter in their own community. Programs with positive role models can influence people to change their behavior for the better. However, the reverse can also be true: Kids are likely to learn things from TV that parents dont want them to learn. TV can affect kids health and family life. Its worthwhile for parents to think about what role they want TV to play in their family. Consider: A great deal is known about children and television, because there have been thousands of studies on the subject. Researchers have studied how TV affects kids sleep, weight, grades, behavior, and more. its worth looking at what the research says when deciding how to manage television in your family. Spending time watching TV can take time away from healthy activities like active play outside with friends, eating dinner together as a family, or reading. TV time also takes away from participating in sports, music, art or other activities that require practice to become skillful. TV viewing starts earlier than other forms of media- often beginning before age two. In recent years, TV, video and DVD programs geared to babies and toddlers have come on the market- and now even a cable channel for babies. We dont know yet what effect TV-viewing by babies may have on their development. We do know that time spent watching TV replaces time spent interacting with caregivers and other children. Social interaction is critical to a babys healthy development. How big a presence is TV in kids lives? On average, kids spend nearly 4 hours a day watching television, DVDs and videos. 68% of 8- to 18-year-olds have a TV in their bedroom; 54% have a DVD/VCR player, 37% have cable/satellite TV, and 20% have premium channels. In 63% of households, the TV is usually on during meals. In 53% of households of 7th- to 12th-graders, there are no rules about TV watching. In 51% of households, the TV is on most of the time. Kids with a TV in their bedroom spend an average of almost 1. 5 hours more per day watching TV than kids without a TV in the bedroom. Many parents encourage tots to watch TV. Find out more about TV in the lives of children ages zero to six. As you can see, if your child is typical, TV is playing a very big role in their life. Here are some key research findings to keep in mind as you decide what kind of role you want TV to play in your family: TV viewing is probably replacing activities in your child s life that you would rather have them do (things like playing with friends [6] , being physically active, getting fresh air, reading, playing imaginatively, doing homework [7] , doing chores). Kids who spend more time watching TV (both with and without parent and siblings present) spend less time interacting with family members. [8] Excessive TV viewing can contribute to poor grades, sleep problems, behavior problems, obesity, and risky behavior. Most children s programming does not teach what parents say they want their children to learn; many shows are filled with stereotypes, violent solutions to problems, and mean behavior. Advertisers target kids, and on average, children see tens of thousands of TV commercials each year [9]. This includes many ads for unhealthy snack foods and drinks. Children and youth see, on average, about 2,000 beer and wine ads on TV each year [10]. Kids see favorite characters smoking, drinking, and involved in sexual situations and other risky behaviors in the shows and movies they watch on TV. More on how television viewing affects children. For more detailed information on these issues, read on. Does TV affect childrens brain development? With television programs- and even a cable channel- designed and marketed specifically for babies, whether kids under two years of age should be watching becomes an important question. While we are learning more all the time about early brain development, we do not have a clear idea how television may affect it. Some studies link early TV viewing with later attention problems, such as ADHD. However, other experts disagree with these results. One study found that TV viewing before age three slightly hurt several measures of later cognitive development, but that between ages three and five it slightly helped reading scores. The American Academy of Pediatrics takes a better-safe-than-sorry stance on TV for young children: Children of all ages are constantly learning new things. The first 2 years of life are especially important in the growth and development of your childs brain. During this time, children need good, positive interaction with other children and adults. Too much television can negatively affect early brain development. This is especially true at younger ages, when learning to talk and play with others is so important. Until more research is done about the effects of TV on very young children, the AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend television for children age 2 or younger. In addition, TV can discourage and replace reading. Reading requires much more thinking than television, and we know that reading fosters young peoples healthy brain development. Kids growing up in families in which the TV is on always or most of the time spend less time reading and being read to, and are less likely to be able to read. Much has been claimed about the contributions of advertising on the success of a company or a product while it is true that the impact of advertising is evident in our socio-economic system. Advertising is an aid to manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers in the process of marketing commodities to a greater number of customers. It touches and influences the live of practically every man, woman and child. Advertising is a powerful communication force and an important marketing tool to help sell goods mainly OTC drugs which is being emphasize here and even services and ideas through channels of information and persuasion. ( Kleppner, Otto. Advertising, 7th Ed. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc. , Englewood, 1990) Over-the-counter drugs are simply drugs that can be purchased without a doctors prescription. Many of these drugs are sold not only by drugstores but also by many wholesalers and retail establishments including supermarkets and sari-sari stores. The rationale for classifying certain drugs as OTC drugs is to make treatment of many common and simple diseases and symptoms more affordable and accessible. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of OTC drugs in its varied forms- TV, radio, magazines, newspaper is widely used throughout the Philippines. Direct-to-consumer advertising is a category of promotional information about specific drug treatments provided directly to consumers by or on behalf of drug companies. On the other hand, ads that are false or misleading do not advance and may even threaten the public health. It is important that a DTC advertisement contains accurate information and making sure that consumers are not misled or deceived by advertisements that violate the law. Work Cited wsu. edu/~taflinge/addefine. html, A Definition of Advertising by Richard F. Taflinger http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Advertising oppapers. com/essays/Tv-Its-Effects-Teens/152185 oppapers. com/essays/Impact-Advertisements-Consumer- Buying/94059