A Review Of Leadership Management Essay

A Review Of Leadership Management Essay The term leadership means different things to different people. Although no ultimate definition of leadership exists (Yukl, 2002), the majority of definitions of leadership reflect some basic elements, including group influence and goal (Bryman, 1992). Leadership is one of the rare and precious human capitals. Without leaders to guide and shape decisions society would become stagnant. Within the arena of leadership there are good leaders, bad leaders, and effective leaders. All three coexist simultaneously in a world of followers. A good leader is someone who can motivate and excite people about a specific subject. They are the one who possesses many qualities. First and most important a good leader is to possess the ability to recognize whats fair, good, and honest. A good leader always sets a good example of integrity, morals, and will lead his followers in accordance with these qualities. In addition to being just a good leader must be a strong thinker. Good leader inspire workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things a leader must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills. Bad leaders have a tendency to turn a good organization around and burn it to the ground. They make rash decisions without discussing it with the team, for one. They dont want to share the glory with anyone at all. They want to do everything and take the credit all by themselves.This is probably one of the biggest reasons that leaders lose the respect of their team. In an organization and in a team, leader has to work or need to communicate with the team. An Effective leader is someone who manages to get people to do what they want.   It could be defined as one who exerts influence to get others to achieve the leaders objectives. An effective leader is a person with a passion for a cause that is larger than they are. The essential needs for the effective leaders are good communication, knowledge and understanding, team work, recognition and encouragement, vision, risk and innovation, ethics, flexibility with leadership styles and commitment. 2. Theories behind leadership Leadership theories in management have evolved over time into various types, with their own lines of thought. Each theory provides a model of effectively steering an organization. Adding to Kurt Lewins (1945) observation that there is nothing so practical as a good theory, Whetten (2002) suggests that only a good theory is practical. Hence, we have two successive goals: (1) we should understand the components that comprise theory; and (2) we should incorporate this knowledge into the theory of leadership. There isnt one right definition of leadership. There are various leadership theories out there, and when you limit leadership to one definition, you also limit the value of true leadership. Leadership can be something very difficult to describe or explain. It is abstract. There isnt a certain shape that it takes, or there isnt one specific direction. Depending on the leadership theory that you are talking about, one person could be considered successful and the other a failure. Leadership theories are founded on a persons opinion. Many theorists have put forward their own views and formulated their own theories regarding leaders and leadership. The author will explore some of the theories on the subject of leadership. 2.1 Great Man Theory The Great Man Theory is associated most often with 19th-century commentator and historian Thomas Carlyle. This theory assumes that leaders are born and not made. Leaders usually were members from the aristocracy since they only got a chance to lead; hence, it was considered that good breeding contributed in making great leaders. The concept of a Great Woman was not explored and andocentric bias was never realized. In addition, the theory also states that when there is a great need, then a great leader arises, like Buddha, Jesus, Churchill and Eisenhower. 2.2 The Trait Theory This theory assumes that human beings are born with inherited traits and the right combination of traits makes them a leader. Hence, leadership was a matter of traits whether inherited or acquired otherwise. Stogdill (1974) identified certain traits like adaptability, socially aware, achievement oriented, decisive, dominant, energetic, cooperative, assertive, self-confident, persistent, responsible, and capacity to tolerate stress. McCall and Lombardo (1983) identified four basic traits, namely, emotional composure and stability, intellectual breadth, highly developed interpersonal skills, and the capacity to admit errors. Although leadership trait theories are popular, it is viewed by many as very simplistic. There are those that argue that trait theories attribute the success of leadership solely to his or her personality and physical traits or characteristics without regard to the situational context. The trait approach is considered too simplistic as an explanation of the complex leadership phenomenon. 2.3 Participative Leadership Theory This theory assumes that the conclusion of many minds makes a better decision than the judgment of a single mind. Hence, the leader invites participation from the persons responsible for carrying out the work, since it makes them less competitive and more collaborative, thereby increasing their level of commitment. Participants may be subordinates, peers, superiors, or stakeholders. The extent of participation may vary. The leader may outline the objectives or goals and allow the team to decide how it can be achieved or the leader may allow a joint decision to be taken with respect to objectives and its method of achievement or the team may propose but the final decision is always of the leader. Many varieties exist, like consultation, democratic leadership, Management By Objectives (MBO), power-sharing, empowerment, and joint decision-making. The negative side of this theory is that when a leader asks for opinions and does not find them suitable, then it leads to cynicism, feelings of betrayal, reduced motivation and decreased level of commitment. 2.4 Lewins Theories Kurt Lewin along with others conducted experiments in 1939 and came up with three styles of participative leaderships, namely autocratic, democratic, and Laissez-faire. In the autocratic style, the leader took the decisions without consulting others. In the democratic style, the leader took the decisions after consulting others or let the majority decide on what is to be done. In the Laissez-faire style, the leader lets others decide on the decisions to be taken. Lewin et al. discovered that the autocratic style led to revolution, the Laissez-faire style lacked enthusiasm and coordination, while the democratic style proved to be the most effective. Since these experiments were done on children, they still required further study and research. 2.5 Likerts Theories Rensis Likert (1967) theorized four styles, namely, exploitive authoritative, benevolent authoritative, consultative, and participative. In the exploitive authoritative style, the leader uses methods as threats, coercion, and other fear-based methods to enforce conformance. It is always a top-down approach and the views, feelings, of others are given no value. In the benevolent authoritative style, the leader becomes a benevolent dictator and uses rewards to motivate performance. The leader listens to rose-tinted views from the subordinates as they tell only what the leader likes to hear in the hope of gaining rewards. Trivial delegation of decision is done, however important decisions are always made centrally. In the consultative style, the leader seeks consultations, however, most upward flow of information is still rose-tinted and the decision is almost taken centrally. In the participative style, the leader invites participation across all levels, including the shop floor worker , and attempts to make the employees psychologically closer are made. Dissensions, arguments, feelings of betrayal all take place in this style. The leader becomes a father figure and a cult head, whose saying ultimately becomes the final decision. 2.6 The Charismatic Leader Theory This theory assumes that leaders gather followers simply by their charm, grace, and personality. If a leader is not a natural charismatic leader then that individual takes a lot of trouble in maintaining the image and developing requisite skills. They are usually very persuasive and use their body language very effectively. In a theatrical sense, charisma is played out as exhibited by politicians, religious and cult leaders. Conger Kanungo (1998) have elucidated five characteristics of charismatic leaders, namely, clear vision and its lucid articulation, sensitivity to the environment, sensitivity to the needs of the members, ability to take personal risks to support their viewpoints, and ability to perform unconventional behavior. Musser (1987) noted that charismatic leaders wanted their followers to commit to absolute devotion to themselves. The charismatic leader may not want to change anything or transform anything unlike the transformational leader. If the charismatic leader is well-intentioned then they can contribute significantly to the growth of the entire group, however, if they are Machiavellian and selfish, then by the creation of cults, they can effectively rape the minds and bodies of their followers. Their own self-belief can lead them into psychotic narcissism and their self-absorption is so high, that their irreplaceability, intentional or otherwise, can guarantee no successors and thus they make a permanent mark in history. 2.7 The Transformational Leader Theory The concept of transformational leadership was initially introduced by leadership expert and presidential biographer James MacGregor Burns.1 According to Burns, transformational leadership can be seen when leaders and followers make each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation. Through the strength of their vision and personality, transformational leaders are able to inspire followers to change expectations, perceptions and motivations to work towards common goals. Later, researcher Bernard M. Bass expanded upon Burns original ideas to develop what is today referred to as Bass Transformational Leadership Theory.2 According to Bass, transformational leadership can be defined based on the impact that it has on followers. Transformational leaders, Bass suggested, garner trust, respect and admiration from their followers. This theory assumes that a leader with vision and passion can achieve great things by inspiring, injecting enthusiasm and energy, and thereby transform the individual or the group towards the attainment of individual or group goals. Transformational leadership is concerned with the performance of followers and developing them to their fullest potential. Tesco is considered as the most successful retail company in the United Kingdom. The success of Tesco was heralded by the appointment of Terry Leahy as the Chief Executive Officer. Leahy is considered as a visionary and transformational leader who led the company into a series of organizational changes that aimed for the company to become more customer-focused and to develop the companys workforce. Terry Leahy is revered as an excellent leader. Leahy was reported to say that he believes that the success of a leader depends upon maintaining a happy workforce. According to him, there are four things that a leader must provide to his workers and followers to satisfy and motivate them. These are: A job that is interesting to do A chance to get on in life To be treated with respect A boss who is some help and not their biggest problem 2.8 The Transactional Leadership Theory This theory states that people work for reward and punishment. A clear chain of command with loyalty as the primary focus works best in social systems. The subordinate should only do what the leader tells to do without trying to find out the justification for it. The leader creates clear structures and the subordinates are required to follow. For successful completion of the work, they are rewarded whereas for unsuccessful completion, they are punished. The leader uses management by exception, that is, once the operation has defined performance expectations then it does not need much attention. Exceeding expectations gets praise whereas not fulfilling expectations gets corrective actions. The limitation of this approach is that it is assumed that the individual is a rational man (a person who is largely motivated by money and hence whose behavior is predictable), which he may not be due to emotional and social factors. In such a situation, other approaches may prove to be more effect ive. 2.9 The Situational Leadership Theory This theory assumes that the action of a leader depends on a number of situational factors, like motivation and capability of followers, relationship between the leader and the followers, stress, mood, etc. Yukl (1989) has identified six situational factors namely, subordinate effort, subordinate ability and role clarity, organization of the work, cooperation and cohesiveness, resources and support, and external coordination. 3. Cross Culture Differences in Global Organisation Leadership style is a part of cultural distinctiveness. The international business faces different challenges and obstacles in geographical, financial, legal, political and cultural environments. Culture presents challenges that make human interactions difficult. Cultural differences are found in areas such as language, values, and behaviors. The cultural environment in which an international business operates in has an enormous impact on the organization. Cultural differences according to Graham (2001) are often not obvious and associated problems are neither easily diagnosed nor corrected. Cultural differences have a huge impact on the efficiency of the international enterprise, and particularly on the management of people. Every country has a different culture that sets it apart from the rest. Every country has a different history, government and laws. The more countries with which a firm interacts, the more complex and difficult conducting business becomes. According to Briscoe et al (2004) the primary cause of this complexity and high level of difficulty has to do with the importance and critical nature of the differences between various countries cultures. Dutch business professor Geert Hofstede (2005) has described culture as a pattern of thoughts, feelings and actions that every individual carries within them, a pattern which is developed and learned through out ones lifetime. He also conducted what is considered as the most influential work on business cultures. Hofstede identified five cultural dimensions that affect international businesses. These dimensions are: Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism vs. Collectivism, Masculinity vs. Femininity and Short-term vs. Long-term Orientation. 4. The Impact of Culture on Human Resource Management Perhaps one of the area in the international business that is most affected by culture is Human Resource Management (HRM). According to Sims (2002) culture is essential to International Human Resource Management. The research conducted by Hofstede (1980) revealed that culture has huge implications for Multinational Corporations. According to Hofstede differences in culture may significantly affect HRM practices. Organizations that plan to establish businesses outside their home countries must realize that employing people with different culture and orientations might cause difficulties and collision between the organizations business practices and the culture of the host country. In principle, it is believed that a large contradiction between the multinational companys HRM practices and the host countrys culture is a main ingredient in failure. Wide-ranging cultural differences from country to country require corresponding differences in HRM practices among a companys foreign subsidiaries. The mix of cultures in the subsidiaries of a multinational company and the level of cultural differences among the subsidiaries will restrict the IHRM approach taken by an organization (Sims 2002). International Human Resource Management is the process of procuring, allocating and affectively utilizing human resources in a multinational corporation.   HMM managers in multinational corporations need to achieve two somewhat conflicting goals. First, they must integrate HRM policies and practices across a number of subsidiaries in different countries so that overall corporate objectives can be achieved. At the same time, the approach to HRM must be sufficiently flexible to a llow for significant differences in the types of HRM policies and practices that are most effective in different business and cultural settings (Sims 2002). 5. Nestle UK and Nestle India cross culture case The existence or presence of the Nestle Corporation in different countries around the world provides realization of the incidence of cross-cultures and cultural diversity in a particular business. The prevalence and practice of a specific culture in a specific company provides significant changes and differences in its approach in terms of production, operations, sales and market share. Thus, in this regard, organizational culture serves to be one of the major factors that affect the performance and communication in the entire organization, most especially in terms of operating and maintaining an international organization, such as Nestle. Henri Nestle founded the company in 1867 in Switzerland, as a manufacturer of infant cereals. Nestle corporate culture is extended to all branches and locations of the company around the world.   Ã‚   One of the most successful branches of Nestle Company in Asia is Nestle India Limited. The mother company set up its operations in India in 1912 as a trading company, and began as a manufacturing company in 1961 at the Moga factory. All manufacturing and marketing plants in India are in charge of the different brands produced in India, namely, milk and infant dietetics, culinary products, cereals, beverages and instant drinks, chocolate products and confectioneries, and chilled dairy products (2004). It employs over 3000 employees, and is regarded as one of the Most Respected Companies and amongst the Top Wealth Creators of India (2004). On the other hand is Nestle UK, which started as a sales office in London in 1868. By 1901, Nestle opened its first factory in the United Kingdom, and by 1905 it merged with Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. Currently, it produces and manufactures brands such as Nescafe, Kit Kat, Polo, Smarties, Aero, and Black Magic (2007). From this information, the different cultures that exist in both organizations and branches of the Nestle Corporation can be assumed. It has been reported that Nestle India has been strictly adhering to the business objectives of its mother company. The business objective of the company is to manufacture and market products that would sustain and create value for the consumers, stockholders, employees, business partners, and the economy of India over a long and significant period of time. In this regard, Nestle India is conscious of the fact that its success is the reflection of the professionalism, conduct and ethical values of the entire management and employees of the company. As such, the company aims to make sure that the companys operations and processes would be characterized with the highest standards of ethical and responsible conduct. In addition, the significant and distinct characteristic of Nestle India can be observed through its Corporate Business Principles and Management and Leadership Principles (2007). Based on Nestle Indias Business Principles, it can be perceived that the business practices of the company, particularly in terms of their respective decisions are characterized by typical Asian traditions, beliefs, and practices. It has been reported that one of the most successful departments or divisions of Nestle India is its chocolate and confectionery division. Being typically Asian, Indian workers in the company work altogether and collectively. Indians, like the rest of the other Asian nations tend to increase their interactions with one another, as with any other Asians, collectivism and group participation is an important aspect of work and interaction. On the other hand, being Western, the culture in the chocolate division of Nestle UK may not be as similar as the culture of Nestle India. This is because British employees, in general, are individualistic, independent, frank, and very open-minded individuals. Unlike the Indian employees, British employees may be somewhat more individual and more independent, thus, require less interaction from co-workers and other colleagues. British employees are performance-driven and goal-oriented, thus, chatting during working hours are not their required form of interaction in the working environment. This is further strengthened by the fact that Nestle UK is one of the dominating chocolate manufacturers in the United Kingdom, being part of the 3.6 billion Euros revenue of the UK chocolate market in 2004 (2005).   Another distinct data or characteristics that can be differentiated between the two branches of Nestle are the differences between their languages, religions, cultural beliefs, economy, politics, and social status. The major language of India is Hindi, while the major language spoken by the British citizens is English. The major religion of India is Hindu, while majority of the British citizens are Christians. In terms of cultural beliefs, Indian beliefs are rooted from their religion, Hindu, thus, their practices and values as well. This is also similar with the British, whos beliefs and cultural practices stem from Celtic and Christian beliefs. In terms of social, economic, and political status, India is considered a developing country, given its population and way of life, while the United Kingdom is regarded as one of the most powerful developed countries in the world. As such, in incidence of cross-cultural communication, discrimination, conflict, misunderstanding, and cultu ral ethnocentrism may exist.   In the event that a British national works in the Nestle India manufacturing plant, and vice versa, it can be assumed that problems and issues can be encountered, due to differences of approaches, culture, and language involved. In this regard, it can be assumed that changes in cross cultures may entirely affect business practices of an organization, even despite the influence and guidance of its mother company. This is because the approach of each Nestle company is customer-oriented, and based on the needs, preferences, and tastes of its consumers. In this regard, the sweetness, packaging, and taste of a particular chocolate confectionery in India, may be significantly different from the products in the United Kingdom. In addition, some products in the United Kingdom may not be present or available in India. 6. International Leadership Leadership style is a part of cultural distinctiveness. Among the western nations, American leadership style has been developed in the United States and the German leadership style embraced in Germany. France has it independent style. Likewise, in Asia a variety is present, and, Japan has promoted its independent distinctive style. Corporate leadership continues to be a quintessence of every nations old cultural legacy. UK follows a practical style of leadership. British leaders customarily stress upon social skills and practicality. Their courtesy, openness, self-discipline, and willpower are cultural assets. This guides them to be involved with interpersonal proficiency and advice. British leaders are more characteristic compared to their Portuguese or Spanish equivalents. Leaders are quite job-oriented and, reticent and courteous, thereby creating impersonal and proper settings for business dealings. In addition, British leaders possess a shorter-term viewpoint for their business development compared to the Swiss, Japanese and Germans. The leadership style of Italy, in contrast, has increased levels of autocracy with stress on the hierarchical pattern. Decision competencies are more focused on the top leadership, who is concerned with every facets of the business. 7. Case study of McDonalds operation in Europe The McDonalds Corporation is the largest food service operation in the world in terms of system-wide sales. At the beginning of 2000, it was operating more than 25,000 restaurants in 116 countries. A modest estimate of its current worldwide workforce would be around 1.5 million people, and 10 million people are estimated to have worked for the corporation since it was formed. More than one in ten Americans are considered to have got their first job at McDonalds, and it has now taken over from the US Army as having Americas largest job-training programme (Vidal, 1997 cited in Royle 2000, p. 16). It is an incredibly successful multinational and is expanding at a breath-taking rate. It plans to open between 2,500 and 3,200. In order to deal with different environmental factors in different countries, McDonalds has established a head office in every country where it operates. The head office in the United States still plays an important part in the decision-making. The U. S. head office regularly monitors the activities of its overseas operations. It has an international division, and its US consultants sometimes take part in European meetings. Meetings frequently take place between various European heads to discuss matters of cross-national importance (Royle, 2000). The structure of restaurant operation and administration in each country tends to follow similar pattern, but in some countries it appears to be more complicated than others. In some countries, some restaurants are operated as joint ventures or through holding companies. In most of the larger countries such as Germany and the UK, operations are usually split into several regions and are administered through regional offices in the major cities Royle, 2000). The heads of departments for each functional area are usually situated in the head offices (for example London and Munich), these functional areas being the executive, marketing, finance, personnel, purchasing, real estate, technical appliances and administration. Although there is a high level of central control, operations are normally administered directly from the regional offices. McDonalds system is very flexible in overcoming cultural, political and economic differences and obstacles in different societies (Royle, 2000). Fr anchise restaurants are local in the sense that they understand local issues, local culture and the kind of obstacles likely to confront the McDonalds system. Industrial relations, and specifically the relationship between the worker, the union, and the employer, vary dramatically from country to country. In Germany, for instance, codetermination is the rule. Here, employees have the legal right to a voice in setting company policies (Sims, 2002). The ability of trade unions to organize and gain recognition for collective bargaining at McDonalds varies considerably in different European countries.   In the case we see that culture has a tremendous impact on the operation of a multinational company McDonalds. The company operates worldwide. Although decision-making is still influenced by the head quarter in the United States, every country has a head office that deals with different issues particularly in the area of culture. We also see that the employees from different countries exhibit different values, attitudes and behaviours. These are derived from their culture. We see that McDonalds has become successful by implementing a localized strategy. The culture of the host country is taken into consideration. 8. Conclusion To conclude this leaders generally do not follow a single approach and they mix and match as per their needs and requirements. In critical situations, they are more dictatorial in nature as they face the prospect of failure. Leaders generally exhibit integrity, dedication (spending whatever time and energy that is required to get the job done, rather than giving it the available time), humility, openness (ability to understand new thoughts and ideas), and creativity . In order for business to be conducted smoothly, leaders need to aware of international cross cultural and need to adapt flexibly. Successful business leaders must shape their organizations to be more nimble and flexible, less hierarchical, and more networked. The fate of future business rests, in part, on how well business leaders can anticipate change, demonstrate authentic leadership, maximize the power of their talent, and embrace social responsibility. Todays leaders are already facing challenges and changes that are rapidly transforming where, how, and with whom they do business. Leaders who are adapting their strategies are merely keeping pace with change. A more strategic view of agility is about leaders anticipating trends and proactively defining innovative strategies.

Drama Evaluation †Curious Incident Essay

By using the hot seating and role play work to the best of my advantage, I discovered that Siobhan, my character, feels very strongly about Chris and she cares deeply about him because at the beginning, when being asked if she knew him well, Siobhan continuously repeated ‘oh yes, he’s a lovely boy’. The constant repetition also suggested to me that she feels quite protective over him. Her motivation of sticking up for Chris hitting a police officer seems self-explanatory after realising how deeply she cares for him, as I have explained above. She seemed adamant on getting the fact that Chris wouldn’t have done it with bad intentions because she just doesn’t like to be touched. I expect the reason why she feels so close to Chris is because in some ways, she is the closest Chris has to a mum. She also told the police officer about Chris’ family situations because I interpreted her as a worrier. It was brought to my attention how much Siobhan fears about Chris’ future because when answering the police officer’s question of ‘Do you worry what will happen to Chris? , she said ‘yes because whilst he’s at an already mature age, he still doesn’t understand many things that are so simple yet are so confusing to him due to his Asperger’s syndrome’. I found that Siobhan has an optimistic personality because she kept on stating clearly with confidence ‘Chris will be fine’. This obviously suggests that she hopes for the best for Chris. She also cam e across as the complete opposite of Chris as she is bubbly, likes a joke and is very chatty whereas I am aware that Chris does not simply like to chat. The hot seating and role play work proved to me that Siobhan faces the dilemma of knowing that she should let Chris figure out things for himself but she feels so strongly with care for him that she feels bad for even thinking about leaving him to it and only guiding him when absolutely necessary. Using explorative strategies helped me by giving me an insight into how Siobhan won’t get on with someone if they are negative towards Chris. This happened in my role-play when the police officer said ‘He’s obviously a very stupid boy for doing what he did’. Siobhan replied with a nasty tone, called the police officer ‘stupid’ as well and became less responsive to what she was like at the beginning. Maybe her defensiveness is too strong sometimes†¦ Both strategies put together definitely changed my view on the theme of disability because now, I feel prejudice can be a key factor in how disabled people are treated. The strategies made it clear that because of Chris’ problem, people act differently. It’s why Siobhan cares so much and a reason for why Ed feels so stressed. Loyalty seems important too because Siobhan stood up for Chris even though he did do something bad and Ed was betrayed by his wife. I know the betrayal took its toll on Ed because my partner’s role play included him talking about it and revealed how crushed he was by it. From the still image work, I have learnt that Ed, Katy’s character, feels immense pressure on him due to the hardship of caring for a boy with special needs without having the reliance of a wife. I know this because of one non-naturalistic still image we created. It portrayed the rest of the group and I standing on chairs so we were taller than Ed and pushing down on him with our hands. By doing this, it helped me understand how Ed feels under massive amounts of pressure and stress to care for Chris, to cope without a wife and to have to live with the fact that he killed Wellington. In another still image, Ed was seen scrunched up into a corner and this infers to the audience that he feels alone and may feel that he doesn’t have anyone to go to talk about his struggles with, especially now that he and Mrs. Shears are not on talking terms. The still image containing the police officer pointing at Chris with a stern expression was effective in explaining how frustrated he was with Chris. Whilst the police officer was pointing at Chris, Chris showed an expression of confusion which is visually powerful because it proves that Chris didn’t mean any harm and that, in certain terms, he is innocent. My group and I chose to create multiple pieces of thought tracking for particular powerful moments to express how characters really felt at that stage in the story. I noticed that at some points, a character’s facial expression didn’t match their real thoughts. For example, Siobhan before the thought tracking showed pity for Chris yet when she spoke, she expressed anger towards Ed. I feel that the strategy gave me an insight into how Siobhan really disagreed with the choices Ed made regarding Chris. During our section, when Ed tells Chris a lie about his mum being in hospital, I am now aware of how that lie may badly affect Chris later on and how it may not have been the best decision. The thought tracking definitely change my feelings about Ed because beforehand, I didn’t think he was that unsure of himself. I had always got the impression that he knew he was in control, due to the numerous times he shouted at Chris and told him what to do. It also provided me with new-found sympathy for Siobhan because even though she seems to know what is best for Chris, she hasn’t got the confidence to tell Ed. As a result of our exploration, I feel that I can empathize with Chris more because when he did his thought tracking, he focused on how he didn’t understand what his dad was saying. Sometimes I don’t get what adults say and as much as I try to tell them what I don’t understand, sometimes they don’t get it because what may be so simple to them isn’t so simple to someone younger. When we staged our section, although our transitions were slightly limited, I feel we made up for it in the use of physical theatre because there was never one time that any of my group didn’t have a part. For instance, when performing the scene where Chris comes home from school, Katy took the part of a flower pot which actually helped and made sense to our section; Chris had to retrieve the secret key, and using Katy as the flower pot added to the feeling that even when Chris was alone he felt like he was being watched. When I was speaking about how Chris had to figure out who ‘had done it’ by doing detecting, as a group, we mimed the actions to what I was saying in unison to make it look more visually interesting and to show how seriously Chris was taking it. I feel that we used levels particularly well when acting out the police station scene because Peggy, the police officer, stood tall, confident and intimidating, towering over Chris to increase her superiority. This made her come across as a confident authority figure that was in her most comfortable environment whereas Chris was not. I portrayed my role as Siobhan by becoming more facially anxious with frowns and tension etched on my forehead yet bubbly when speaking. When Chris came home from school, I spoke faster and moved around quicker, too, to suggest she is a lively, but rather agitated person. However, I made sure that I was always fiddling with my thumbs to tell the audience that beneath her excitement, there was a subtext of uncertainty. I feel that out of all the characters in my section, I empathised most with Chris most due to the reason that I have mentioned above. Also, mainly because he is the closest to my age so even though I do not have his problem, I can relate to how he thinks a little bit. The play as a whole made me appreciate the hardship of parenting regardless of whether you have a child with a disability or not. I have also learnt that in the play, trust is what people want yet very rarely get. For instance, Ed didn’t tell Chris the truth about his mum when he does have a right to know. Out of all the people, I feel Ed should have been there for Chris to show trust and loyalty during the hardest times.

The Concept Of Computer Assisted Instruction Education Essay

IntroductionBACKGROUND OF THE STUDYIn recent old ages, due to promotion of computing machine engineering, the construct of Computer Assisted Instruction is now more prevailing, and has become a tendency ( Yang & A ; Wang, 2001 ) . Electronic larning popularly referred to as e-learning is progressively going acceptable in third establishments all over the universe. This is as a consequence of the chance provided by higher establishments and more pupils taking portion in it ( OECD, 2005 ) . Digital acquisition is fundamentally the usage of information and communicating engineerings ( ICTs ) to heighten and back up larning learning and research ( Eteng & A ; Ntui, 2009 ) . With digital acquisition, there is a displacement from the traditional attack of teacher-directed didactic to modern methods where computing machine engineering plays an important function, thereby bettering the quality, efficiency and effectivity of instruction, larning, research and educational direction. Its method s including the integrating of the World Wide Web, multimedia, information hunt, electronic libraries, and remote acquisition. In this digital age, instructors must cover with the challenge and developmental chances of how to suitably utilize information engineering and how to incorporate assorted educational stuffs into class design and learning methods ( Rosenberg, 2001 ) . The features of digital acquisition is different from the features of traditional schoolroom environment acquisition, and can better upon some larning jobs of pupils who are physically or mentally challenged, assisting them to larn more efficaciously ( Chen, 2003 ) . It provides stimulation from different channels such as words, images, sounds, life, and images, and can often assist pupils utilize larning maps of different centripetal variety meats, and achieve the larning marks of diverse wisdom ( Li, 1998 ) . In planing digital acquisition, bookmans emphasize that larning ideals instead than computing machine engineering should take the design of a computerized acquisition environment ( Chiou & A ; Chong, 1993 ; Yang & A ; Wang, 2001 ) . The demand for digital acquisition has now become of import more than of all time before as the aim of university instruction in Nigeria as defined in the National Policy on instruction ( 2000 ) includes the proviso of high degree work force for national development and this is to be achieved through its programme of instruction, larning and research. Digital acquisition can assist grownups in developing their literacy and innumeracy accomplishments, while besides constructing Information Communication and Technology accomplishments for life and work ( CILIP, 2005 ) . In malice of the bright chance of digital acquisition in the state, it is so unreassuring that there are some hurdlings militating against the effectual usage of the educational engineering in Nigeria. Folorunso, Ogunseye, & A ; Sharma ( 2006 ) and Resnick ( 2002 ) indicates that mass unknowingness, low computing machine literacy degree and cost were identified as critical factors impacting the acceptableness of digital acquisition by pupils and lectors of Nigerian universities. Sharma, Ekundayo, & A ; Ngige ( 2009 ) points out that digital larning topographic point high demand on scholars who have to be more proactive and disciplined than in traditional face-to-face instruction whereas this proactiveness and subject is missing. Assorted barriers to ICT usage in Africa schools have been identified to include: hapless substructure, epileptic power supply, deficiency of electricity, deficiency of trained forces, poorness, unequal support and limited or no internet entree ( Aladejana, 2 007 ; Jegede, 2005 ) .STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMWhile there had been a elephantine effort at incorporating digital acquisition into direction in other advanced states, Nigeria is non yet fascinated by the potency of engineering to heighten instruction and acquisition. Many of our schools are dawdling behind in incorporating engineering into direction. Teachers are discerning about bettering and modifying direction by integrating the new engineerings ( Huckle, 1997 ) . Harmonizing to Salomon ( 1989 ) , there are clear indicants from many developing states like Nigeria that the supply of relevant and appropriate package is a major constriction blockading wider application and use of digital acquisition in Nigeria third establishments. Schulmeister ( 2006 ) states that experience proved that the benefits of digital acquisition could non be to the full taken advantage of, outlooks could non be met and that engineering frequently was used to merely reenforce antique attacks to larning. Res nick ( 2002 ) criticizes that even though Information Communication Technology is applied in instruction, the attacks to learning and larning remain mostly unchanged. There is therefore non-availability of internet entree in some third establishments because of the recurrent cost of bandwidth. Inequality of entree to engineering is the challenge of digital divide bing among the pupil in Nigeria third establishment ( Omofaye, 2007 ) . Thus, some of them are unable to afford computing machines due to the comparative cost to the mean income of workers in the state ( Ajadi, Salawu, & A ; Adeoye, 2008 ) . The cost of accessing the cyberspace in Nigeria is still on the high side, some pupils find it a challenge to afford ( Arikpo, Osofisan, & A ; Usoro, 2009 )PurposeBased on the aforementioned research background and the statement of the job, the intent of this survey is to research the use and consequence of digital acquisition on pupils in Lagos province Tertiary Institutions.RESEARCH Q UESTIONSThe undermentioned inquiries will steer this survey What is the degree of consciousness of pupils on the handiness of Digital acquisition in Nigeria third establishment? What is the position of the use of digital acquisition? What are the challenges faced in the use of Digital larning on pupils?Significance OF THE STUDYThe survey is important in that it will supply information about the current position of use of modern engineering in Nigerian secondary schools. It will besides supply baseline informations for future policy sing engineering preparation and the development of strategic programs aimed at promoting technology-based invention in teacher instruction plans. It is besides hoped that this survey will trip off more research surveies that will inform/encourage execution of new engineering in teacher instruction. This survey will be utile to inform instructors on how use digital acquisition to learn pupils which will turn to the demands of pupils with different larning manners and motive. It will offer great possible to transform and better pupil acquisition, battle and keeping and support pupil success which will assist institutional ends with possible benefits including improved keeping and clip n est eggs for teachers. Average instructors will profit as digital acquisition will assist make their first-class equals and take complex undertakings off their to-do lists, enabling them to concentrate on the parts of instruction at which they can stand out. Through engineering, they can besides obtain real-time informations and advice about how to assist each of their pupils win, salvaging clip and bettering public presentation. It will do it easy for instructors to personalise direction, which many mean instructors find hard or impossible to accomplish with whole schoolrooms of pupils with a broad array of demands. Besides instructors will progressively be able to learn more pupils in individual as digital acquisition replaces parts of direction in an individualised manner and provides time-saving pupil informations ; range pupils remotely via engineering ; and gaining control and portion their public presentations and methods widely through picture and smart package that individu alizes acquisition. Even among first-class instructors, assorted people will boom in different functions. By stressing the usage of simulation – games to learn mathematics, it is hoped that the survey will take to the betterment of mathematics learning and larning in our secondary schools. The general hapless public presentation of pupils in mathematics and their attitudes towards some facets of the topic are expected to be better. With this survey, the research worker aims at exposing the instructors and pupils to the importance of utilizing simulation – games to better the instruction and acquisition of mathematics. Technology and digital acquisition can increase the ability to run into the demands of single pupils. Whether through the handiness of timely informations or the ability to link pupils with the content and activities that meet their acquisition manners and demands, engineering and digital acquisition provide chances for instructors to personalise larning for more pupils at any given clip.HypothesisThere is no important difference between the challenges faced in the use of digital acquisition and pupils ‘ public presentation. There is no important difference between the degree consciousness of pupils and handiness of digital acquisition in third Nigeria establishments. There is no important difference between position and use of digital acquisition.SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDYThis survey will cover the instruction and acquisition activities in Lagos State Tertiary Institutions. The survey will restrict its work within Lagos State Tertiary Institutions because Chapter TWO LITERATURE REVIEW DIGITAL LEARNING RESOURCES In this survey, the term ‘digital learning resources ‘ refers to larning premises and platforms that include engineering enablers such as laptops, multimedia, CD-ROMs, and Internet resources. Digital learning resources can give pupils reliable every bit good as up-to-date information that is non needfully available in text edition. By and large, e-learning resources are utile as they represent a aggregation of cultural and scientific cognition accumulated over the old ages ( Yeo & A ; Tan, 2008 ) . Furthermore, this type of resource can be utile to pupils because it can further their acquisition and their critical thought, their ability to do connexions between different constructs, and bridge the spread between their theoretical and practical cognition ( Palmer, 2007 ) . Despite this, handiness of resources does non take to automatic acquisition betterment ; in fact, productive usage of resources can be hard to accomplish ( Bera & A ; Liu, 2006 ) .Technologies and Method s of TeachingThere are groundss back uping the debut and usage of new engineerings in direction. The World Bank ( 2004 ) opined that ICTs should be considered within instruction for the intent of reforming course of study, reenforcing teaching/learning and to better propensity. The UN Secretary of State ( 2005 ) talking on the function of engineering in instruction said we must guarantee that Information and Communication Technologies ( ICTs ) are used to assist unlock the doors of instruction. As a consequence, Millennium Development Goals ( MDG ‘s ) came up with this policy â€Å" to co-operate with the private sector, to do available the benefits of new engineerings, particularly ICTs to increase educational chances and unlock the door of instruction. As a consequence of this, new engineerings are being disseminated into educational establishments at a rapid rate. For the new engineerings to be efficaciously utilised, instructors at all degrees need non merely to be adept in the engineerings but must besides be good versed in its effectual integrating into their direction. The major country Nigeria could run into this outlook is the instructor ‘s readying in the methods category. It is in the methods category that the pupils can see their instructors patterning the usage or deficiency of usage of the engineering. The usage or deficiency of usage of the new engineerings may widely impact the pupils in future as respect whether to utilize them or non.CHALLENGES OF DIGITAL LEARNINGThe information on any topic which has been put on the web demand to be transformed to knowledge at some phase for it to be made utile. As suggested by Mehdi ( 2004 ) â€Å" it can be highly easy and speedy to reassign information from one topographic point to another, it is frequently really hard and decelerate to reassign cognition from one individual to another † .There have been devised several methods to ease the procedure of transition of information to know ledge, digital age has enabled fleet transportation of information and now strives to bring forth faster ways to change over it to knowledge. Teresa & A ; John ( 2007 ) talked about the assorted developments in digital acquisition like word-processing, interactive multimedia, Computer-mediated Communications, New Literacy Studies, Digital Archives and Information Literacy. The best effectual method for this transition ca n't be defined as larning ability differs from individual to individual and different tools produce different consequences in persons. We normally tend to split these groups based on age, state or proficient background. The assorted demands for way of development in the field of digital acquisition have been felt since a long clip. We ca n't anticipate every person to react in a similar mode to tools that are available for digital acquisition. Therefore different tools and learning methods are required for different groups of people which can be implemented with the aid of human computing machine interaction ( HCI ) as emphasized by Bee & A ; Laurel ( 2004 ) . Another issue is the consciousness to all new tools which can be helpful to a scholar which can besides be done with human computing machine interaction. Besides a affair of concern is that there still exists a little population who is wholly barren of digital larning even if they can afford it. This is mostly because of assorted myths and unknowingness. As marked by Guerra, Alfonzo, Suarez, Hernandez & A ; Milan ( 2007 ) learning AIDSs have moved from chalkboard to projector transparences and so to video projectors and PowerPoint. The instructors are normally non able to bring forth really effectual multimedia or other signifiers of digital acquisition. This is rather obvious as we ca n't anticipate every instructor to be a multimedia expert. The Development of assorted tools was done so as to enable the scholars to get he knowledge easy. Another issue is the capital required for the sp reading consciousness, carry oning workshops, supplying preparation and let go ofing new instruction tools and multimedia merchandises for acquisition. Percept ON DIGITAL LEARNING To successfully make digital learning plan, we need to guarantee that value truly is at that place and it is in concrete footings. That means we need to sell scholars on the true proposition that engagement will supply benefits worth the clip and attempt. The course of study needs to be the point of mention for making an effectual digital acquisition. Making so will excite critical motive and give the plan a opportunity to win ( Allen, 2003 ) . Bad digital larning perceptual experience may be due to miss of apprehension, deficiency of communicating, and deficiency of trust or conflicting dockets in appropriate usage engineering. Some end coaching and consciousness exercisings are likely needed to beef up people ‘s perceptual experience ( Allen, 2003 ) . It is of import to recognize that scholars are both emotional and rational ; and emotions have much consequence on people ‘s perceptual experience and what they do. In some digital acquisition surveies conducted in develop ing states, it was found that deficiency of vision and model in implementing digital larning lead to a failure of these digital acquisition undertakings ( Kizito & A ; Bijan, 2006 ; Pal, 2006 ) . Lack of both proficient and societal accomplishments required for execution contributes to the failure of some undertakings. If scholars can non utilize adaptative tools they might experience ashamed and this affects perceptual experience. When scholars feel ashamed and guilt it is because they are sent in environment in which they are non wholly pleased. The feeling will act upon their survey state of affairs, every bit good as the whole acquisition procedure and this consequence in negative feedback, which may cut down concentration and motive ( Ostlund, 2005 ) .Digital Learning A ModelsAHorn & A ; Staker ( 2011 ) A offers A this A drumhead A of A assorted A digital A larning A theoretical accounts: AA Face-A ­aˆ?to-A ­aˆ?Face A Driver AThis attack A retains A instructors to p resent A most A of their A course of study A in A a A traditional A brick-A ­aˆ?and-A ­aˆ?mortar A school puting. A The A instructor A deploys A online A larning A on A a case-A ­aˆ?by-A ­aˆ?case A footing A to A supplement A or A remediate, A frequently in the A back A of A the A schoolroom A or A in a engineering A lab. AARotation AThe common A characteristic A the A rotary motion A theoretical account A is A that A pupils A revolve A between A larning A on-line A in A a A one-A ­aˆ?to-A ­aˆ? one, self-A ­aˆ?paced A environment A and A in A a A traditional A schoolroom. A The A face-A ­aˆ?to-A ­aˆ?face A teacher A normally A oversees A the A online A work. AAFlex APlans with A a A flex A theoretical account A characteristic A an A online A platform A that A delivers A most A of A the A course of study. A Teachers A supply A on-A ­aˆ?site A support A on A a A flexible, A as-A ­aˆ?needed A footing A through A in-A ­ aˆ?person A tutoring A Sessionss A and A little A group A Sessionss. A Many A dropout-A ­aˆ?recovery A and A credit-A ­aˆ?recovery A blended A plans A fit A into A this A theoretical account. AAOnline A Lab AThe online A lab A theoretical account A relies A on A an A online A platform A to A deliver A the A full A class, A but A in A a A brick-A ­aˆ?and-A ­aˆ?mortar A lab A environment. A Normally A these A plans A provide A on-line A instructors. A Paraprofessionals A supervise, A but A offer A small A content A expertness. A Often, A pupils A who A take part A in A an A online A lab A plan A besides A take A traditional A classs. AASelf-A ­aˆ?Blend AThe A most A common A version A of A blended A larning A is A the A self-A ­aˆ?blend A theoretical account, A where A pupils A choose A to A take A one A or A more A classs A on-line A to A addendum A their A traditional A school ‘s A catalog. A The A online A acquisition A is A ever A remo te, A which A distinguishes A it A from A the A online A lab A theoretical account, A but A the A traditional A acquisition A is A in A a A brick and howitzer A school. A All A auxiliary A online A schools A that A offer A a A La A menu A classs A to A single A pupils A facilitate A self-A ­aˆ?blending. AAOnline Driver AThe online A driver A theoretical account A involves an A online A platform A and A teacher A that A present all A course of study. A Students A work A remotely A for A the A most A portion, A Face-A ­aˆ?to-A ­aˆ?face A check-A ­aˆ?ins A may A be A included. A Some A of A these A plans A offer A brick-A ­aˆ? and-A ­aˆ?mortar A constituents A as A good, A such A as extracurricular activities.THE NEED FOR DIGITAL LEARNING IN NIGERIA TERTIARY INSTITUTIONSThe universe is progressing at a rapid rate. Events have moved to the electronic phase with the computing machine at the Centre. This development has brought a batch of invention and revolution into learning and larning. The 3R ‘s ( reading, composing and arithmetic ) which forms the karyon of the old system of instruction has witnessed series of literacy reforms. The universe is now in the age of information engineering or computing machines age ; hence, there is a demand to maintain abreast of clip. One of the ways of accomplishing this is through the debut of computing machine instruction in our establishments of acquisition ( Ajibade, 2006 ) .

A Profile of my Unnamed Friend - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 705 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/06/24 Category Management Essay Level High school Tags: Profile Essay Did you like this example? Everyone has at least someone who largely impacts their life. You might not know it and think about it everyday but there still is someone who is beneficial in your life. It could be anyone from a parent youre close with to your best friend from way back in elementary school. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Profile of my Unnamed Friend" essay for you Create order You might not think about them everyday either. They could randomly think about that person while doing a common task, like washing your clothes. Or you could think about them as your talking with someone and they do something that makes you remember them. For me, the most influential person I met was a homeless man that I met at the mall. Almost a year ago, I had the pleasure of befriending someone who was homeless. However, I had no idea that he was. All I knew about him was that everyday, he ordered something from Starbucks and sat down for a few hours in the food court. He didnt have a phone and no one came to talk to him. He always wore layers of clothes even if it was hot outside and humid inside. I tended to notice him every time I was at the mall. When I started working there I noticed him even more. He always wore the same jacket which was zipped all the way up and smiled at everyone who would look at him. One day, we were both waiting in line at Starbucks. He was in front of me and I was behind him. While he was in line, he looked at me, smiled, and asked me what I was going to order. I told him and he responded with what he usually orders. When it is his turn to order, not only does he order his drink, but he orders mine as well. I offer to pay but by the time I had my money out, he had already paid for it and collected his receipt. I politely asked why he paid for my drink and he responded with a shug and said Sometimes its nice to make other people smile. When we got the coffee I decided to sit with him for a few minutes until my break was over. He asked basic questions about myself and I asked him basic questions back. It didnt feel awkward or uncomfortable in any way. It just felt like I was making a new friend and learning about his experiences. Finally, out of the blue, in the middle of a comfortable silence, he explains to me that he didnt have a home to go to when the mall closed. He also told me that he served in the U.S. Army for almost ten years. His wife could not handle him being away for so long and eventually divorced him. He came home to an empty house and after a few years of living on his own and trying to keep up with all of his bills, his house eventually foreclosed. He told be that he was homeless for almost two years. He later told me that the reason he comes to the mall so often was because his ex-wife used to loved to go to the mall and he feels that if he goes there everyday, there could be a chance that he coul d see her one more time. We had that conversation two years ago. That was the only time we had a deep conversation together. Now, if we do sit down and have a conversation, it is only for a few minutes and usually consists of him telling me about the people he sees in the mall or me briefly telling him about the day I had. I bought him new clothes for him to wear and occasionally he still buys both of us Starbucks. Even though times arent the best for him, he still takes the time out of his day to listen to someone elses problems as well as do good deeds for them. I still have yet to learn his name, not because I am afraid to ask but mostly because I feel like I have known him for so long that I dont feel the need to ask him for it.