Complexity of Cross Cultural Management

Question: Discuss about the Complexity of Cross Cultural Management. Answer: Introduction International Human Resource Management is a complex concept than that of domestic HRM policy. The complexity of International Human Resource Management occurs due to the presence of cross-cultural population outside the local market (Schuler, 2011). Hence, it is important for any organisation to consider the factors of cross-cultural organisation and implement different strategies to seek growth in the international market. Any firm expanding its business in the international market needs to implement international staffing policies. The international staffing policies of an organisation depend on upon the ability of the organisation to attract right candidates, constraints placed by the host country and general staffing policy of the company (Swierczek, 2014). Therefore, it is important for any organisation to alter the staffing policy to seek better human resource positioning in the new market. The paper has been developed to present a report on international staffing for Blundstone Footwear that has planned to expand its business in the UAE market. In order to develop a good positioning in the UAE market, the company needs to consider various challenges of international human resource management in the new target market. The foremost challenge of global staffing is the cross-cultural workforce that must be maintained to have a competitive advantage in the new market. Hence, the report presents the approaches to international staffing that can be used by Blundstone Footwear to start its operations in the UAE market. Furthermore, the study has suggested various strategic changes that are required to meet the needs of international staffing. Target location Analysis Being a Muslim state, the people of UAE are more conservative. Currently, the presence of a vast number of expats has changed the cultural scenario of the region. But, it is important for HR management of Blundstone to respect the cultural practices and beliefs of UAE people to have a better workforce. It can be seen that people of UAE believe in wearing their ethnic dress (Staber, 2016). Therefore, the company needs to allow its employees to carry on their cultural practices. Furthermore, the communication gap can be a major problem for the company. Hence, it is important to employ local staffs capable of communicating with the customers and provide the business with positive outcomes. Challenges for international HRM In the contemporary business scenario, staffing policy can be identified as one of the primary challenges for international human resource management (IHRM). Through the identification of the most efficient hiring practices, global multinational organisations can recruit the most suitable talents for business purpose (Vance and Paik, 2016). Therefore, recruitment strategy of IHRM can create significant difficulties for the efficient business set up on the global platform. On the other side, management styles must be upgraded according to the foreign culture so that the designed strategy can create a positive influence on the organisational human resources (Burke, 2010). Evidently, IHRM policies dedicated to staffing plans to retain the best in the business will be considered as another momentous challenge for IHRM. Moreover, there are expatriation, compensation and repatriation issues attached to IHRM to manage the workforce in overseas territory. Internal Environment In international human resource management (IHRM), the internal environmental factors have played some crucial roles to manage the issues and unpredictable business events. Moreover, the internal environmental factors are relatively easier to control in compared to external environmental factors. Herein, four identified internal environmental factors have been analysed to draw further argument on the topic of IHRM. Management changes: In IHRM, significant changes in management must be positioned to connect the performance of the human resources towards the organisational goals. In the overseas market, through the identification of effective business model, organisational structure can be developed to improve the productivity of the management contributing towards regulatory efficiency (Brunetto, Farr-Wharton and Shacklock, 2011). Culture changes: The international platform can include internal culture, work ethics and social dignity within the organisational culture. Hence, the organisational management must adopt the changes so that the human resources can participate in the corporate success directed by contemporary business culture (Rees, Edwards and Edwards, 2011). Such effective workplace environment can produce maximum efficiency from the human resources. Employee morale: In the modern business model, organisations operating at the international platform need to improve the morale of the organisational employees (Delbridge and Lowe, 2007). By conducting efficient training and development programmes, the techniques and cultural knowledge of the staffs can be enhanced. On the other side, such effective management moves can mitigate the cultural differences among the staffs to bring sustainable work culture. Financial issues and changes: Last but not the least; the financial issues and changes can significantly contribute to managing health IHRM. Through the understanding of the financial structure of the firm, employees must be given reward and benefits for their additional contribution towards the growth model of the firm at the international platform (Cavusgil, Knight and Riesenberger, 2012). Such initiatives can increase the performance and productivity of the human resources at the highest business standards. External Environment It is important for Blundstone to analyse the external environment of the UAE market while planning its international staffing policy. The external environmental challenges have been discussed herein below: Changes to the economy: Management of Blundstone must consider the changes in the economic policy of the UAE. It is important to consider the employment policies and minimum wage rate of the host government while recruiting staffs in the new market (Fish, 2014). Cross-cultural practices: Cross-cultural practices and believes of the local people in the UAE must be considered while planning the international staffing policy and employment practices (Mankelow, 2008). Along with that, the organisation needs to take care of the cross cultural workforce to maintain harmony at workplace. Demographic Factor: UAE is a Muslim state that carries on conservative practices. Women are not allowed to work and believe to be the home-maker of the family (Liao, 2010). Along with that, the presence of a huge number of expats in the region makes the company consider other cultures to have an effective workforce. Communication gap: Communication gap will be the major challenge in the new market. It is important to understand the practices of local people and match up with their culture to seek success in the UAE market. Approach to international staffing Based on theoretical concepts, there are three significant types of staffing approaches related to IHRM such as ethnocentric staffing, polycentric staffing and geocentric staffing. In the current scenario, Blundstone Footwear must utilise both the identified staffing policies to manage the human resources in IHRM. Ethnocentric Staffing: By following such staffing policies, the organisation can designate the top ranking human resources of the home country to the most efficient positions in case of operations management in the UAE (Michael and Chris, 2010). For instance, in the UAE office, the executive positions have been designated to the high ranked Australian employees of Blundstone Footwear. Through such staffing policy, the organisation can ensure that the management of the IHRM will be in the hands of experienced Australian staffs in the host country. Polycentric Staffing: On the other hand, polycentric staffing policy has assigned the local experienced and talented human resources at the top positions to identify the local culture and operational tactics of the market competitors (Vecchi and Brennan, 2009). Blundstone Footwear can also utilise the staffing policy at some position after the workforce has been settled in the host country. Geocentric Staffing: Last but not the least; geocentric staffing policy recruits the most suitable employees for a given position irrespective of the background of the human resources. Such effective strategic policy can be highly advantages as the relocation cost of the employees and workplace diversity management cost can be saved simultaneously (McMahan, Bell and Virick, 2008). Moreover, such staffing policy can provide more management strength to Blundstone Footwear in the UAE market. Recommendation Through the identification of the issues attached to IHRM of Blundstone Footwear, some of the standard recommendations have been suggested for the organisation to achieve sustainable management. Identify best recruitment policy: By considering the organisational approach in the UAE market, the organisation must ensure to identify the best recruitment policy to select the top most ranked officials and select the most efficient human resources in the host country. Use selection tests: Through significant selection tests, the organisational management can recruit best in the business. Also, the selection tests can provide a detailed analysis of the performance standards required to be fulfilled. Minimise indirect cost: In case of unnecessary expatriate operations, the organisation can hire local executives using polycentric staffing policy to save associated relocation expenses and other indirect costs. Conclusion It can be seen through the above analysis that Blundstone needs to implement international staffing policy after considering the constraints of the internal and external environment in the UAE market. There is a need to consider the cross cultural practices to seek success in the international market. Along with that, the organisation needs to minimise indirect cost, implement international recruitment policies and use different selection tests to employ best talents in the UAE market. Hence, international staffing policy is required to expand business over the global market. References Brunetto, Y., Farr-Wharton, R. and Shacklock, K. (2011). Using the Harvard HRM model to conceptualise the impact of changes to supervision upon HRM outcomes for different types of Australian public sector employees.The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(3), pp.553-573. Burke, R. (2010).Cross cultural management. Bingley, UK: Emerald. Cavusgil, S., Knight, G. and Riesenberger, J. (2012).International business. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall/Pearson. Delbridge, R. and Lowe, J. (2007). Managing human resources for business success: a review of the issues.The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(6), pp.857-873. Fish, A. (2014). The Importance and Relevance of Crossà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ cultural Management.Cross Cultural Management, 1(1), pp.35-38. Liao, P. (2010). Optimal staffing policy for queueing systems with cyclic demands.International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 7(3), p.317. Mankelow, G. (2008). Social responsibility paradox of small business human resource management practices.The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(12), pp.2171-2181. McMahan, G., Bell, M. and Virick, M. (2008). Strategic human resource management: Employee involvement, diversity, and international issues.Human Resource Management Review, 8(3), pp.193-214. Michael, B. and Chris, (2010). Human resource management and the emergent strategy of small to medium-sized business units.The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1(3), pp.233-250. Rees, C., Edwards, T. and Edwards, T. (2011).International human resource management. Harlow, England: FT Prentice Hall. Schuler, R. (2011). Human resource issues and activities in international joint ventures.The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12(1), pp.1-52. Staber, U. (2016). Social Capital Processes in Cross Cultural Management.International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 6(2), pp.189-203. Swierczek, F. (2014). The Praxis of Crossà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ cultural Management.Cross Cultural Management, 1(1), pp.14-19. Vance, C. and Paik, Y. (2016).Managing a global workforce. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. Vecchi, A. and Brennan, L. (2009). Quality management: a crossà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ cultural perspective.Cross Cultural Management, 16(2), pp.149-164.

Classroom Speech Personal Narrative Essay Example For Students

Classroom Speech Personal Narrative Essay Every man has been influenced by somebody or something at one time or another. Most everybody aspires to make something of themselves, whether they decide to act on it or not, and at some point along the way it takes a little nudge from inspiration to keep moving in the right direction. A man is only as good as his role models, the people he looks up to and respects; the people he learns from. This, in my personal opinion, is one of the main platforms of our personal psychologies. And of course my statement is in some way supported by the fact that I acquired this belief from one of my own role models: my dad. You can already begin to see how the power of influence works and I haven’t even got into my story yet! But rather than stop here and spare you the trouble of reading a whole narrative filled with dry humor, I’m going to tell it anyways. Instead of telling you a boring story about myself, I’m going to tell you how a came to be myself; because without this story, there would be no stories about me (and because there is nothing exciting enough about my life to tell). One of the biggest reasons that I am who I am is my dad. And the reason he is who he is, and was able to influence me the way he has, is the circumstances he came up in and the people who were around to be there for him. And now that I am becoming a man myself, I’m beginning to understand how blessed I am for this. In a strange way, I’m lucky that my parents were not as fortunate as I have been in my youth. Growing up in Johnson County, an area where fortune is fairly common, being raised by parents who have been thrown out into the big bad world and come out alive has given me somewhat of an advantage, not only in perspective, but also in understanding what it takes to be a man not to be cocky or anything. Now that I’ve lulled you to near sleep with my lecturing, I’m on to the story of my dad. James McLaughlin Jr. was the second child of Kathy and James Sr. , born in southern California. The first child, my Aunt Kelly, came when my grandma was only 17. After just a few short years of my dad’s life, Jim Sr. walked out on my grandma, leaving her with two children and little else. I have only met him a couple times in my life and to be honest I don’t really care to get to know him. The only good part about knowing him is the occasional â€Å"sorry I walked out on your dad† gift of $100 that he sends on Christmas. But God bless my grandma Kathy, the toughest woman I know. My grandma worked as many jobs as she could, digging ditches just to bring home a sack of potatoes for dinner. But Kathy was not going to live like this forever, she decided that she was going to do something about her situation; she was going to go to college and become a nurse. And so the next chapter of my dad’s life began, and he was off to the one horse town that is Lamoni, Iowa so that Kathy could study to be a nurse at Graceland University. Coincidentally, Lamoni is where my mom lived, but Jim and Brenda never met while he was there. However there are some other important characters to the story that come in here, Doc and Arla Nelson. .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 , .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 .postImageUrl , .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 , .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2:hover , .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2:visited , .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2:active { border:0!important; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2:active , .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2 .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u79ef53ca95c443a42badebc5588c8db2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Alexander the Great4 EssayThese are the people who made it possible for my grandma to claw her way out of a life where eating dinner every night wasn’t a guarantee. If it wasn’t for Doc and Arla, I probably wouldn’t be alive right now. While my grandma worked her butt off at becoming a nurse, the Nelson’s took care of my dad. Because of them, my family was given a chance. Till this day my dad has not forgotten what they did. After my grandma graduated nursing school and met my grandpa Ed, the gang was off to Saint Paul. In Saint Paul, my dad moved in with four new step-siblings and his step-dad Ed. Just to tell you a little about Ed, he was born with a permanent limp and can’t use his right hand, but he still ended up playing baseball in college. My dad grew close to my grandpa Ed and he became a father figure to him growing up. Even though my genetic grandpa isn’t around, Ed has been there for me and my brother. He even moved down from Nebraska for a year to be around my family more. But Saint Paul did a lot more for my dad than just introduce a father figure into his life. Saint Paul was the setting to most of my dad’s childhood. This is where I get my love for wrestling, hockey, and most importantly the Minnesota Vikings (who are suffering as of late). Although my dad refers to his old home as in the â€Å"hood†, it wasn’t necessarily the ghetto, but rather a blue-collar area in the inner city so it was pretty much borderline ghetto. It wasn’t exactly the greatest of circumstances, but it was a giant step up from the breadline. A lot of good stories came out of it too; my dad and all of his friends would wait up for my grandma before going to school to hear the dirty joke of the day, which she heard working the midnight shift in the ER at an inner city hospital. It was in Saint Paul that my dad also discovered wrestling, which more than anything shaped him into the man his today. As a wrestler myself, I can tell you that I would not be the same person if I had not wrestled. The sport demands discipline and teaches many important qualities that it takes to become a successful man, and my dad did just that. He went from standing in a breadline to being a Johnson County dad picking up Starbucks on his way to work. The circumstances that my dad lived as a child turned him into the man he is today. Because of everything he has been through, he has become a good role model to me as a father. The most important part of my dad’s story to me is that even though the world can be a mean place, there are good people out there. If it wasn’t for my grandma being tough as nails, or Doc and Arla being so welcoming to my family, or Ed being there when my dad didn’t have a father, I wouldn’t be here to tell this story.

Why Do You Want to Work Here Sample Essay?

Why Do You Want to Work Here Sample Essay?A sample essay writing for interview may seem like an easy task, but in reality, it is a different thing. Many students have to find out if they really want to work here sample essay for the first time, so do not be too hard on yourself if this happens. So, how can you get your bearings and find out why you should hire these people? Read on and I'll explain.When you are interviewing, you will be given a piece of paper and told to write a sample essay for an employee for work here sample. Before the interview, you will be sent this, a sample essay that you must write. It is better if you think about this as if it is going to be your interview. In this case, you must prepare yourself to give your best answer possible.Your sample essay is a compilation of questions asked by the hiring manager to the potential employee. This could be about various subjects such as motivation, motivation through good grades, and motivation through hard work. You w ill be expected to list answers and reasons for each answer in a very short way. You should not hesitate to give any reason that you think that will help you in the job.The interview part of this test is not the essay itself. It is the reason behind it. This is one of the important points to be taken note of. You may be asked a question, and there are going to be lots of things that could be the reason behind your answer. The more you think about it, the more clear you will be on why you are giving an answer that you are.In addition to that, there are many websites that will be answering these sample essays for you. They have some sample essays for you to read, but in most cases, they will just be a test that you take. On the other hand, some employers will be looking for opinions from those who have experience in a certain field.Also, you can find on these websites some sample essays that you can read and decide if you have the quality needed to work here. This is an advantage, sin ce you can start working right away. However, the decision to give your opinion is going to be done by you.If you are going to write your own sample essay for why do you want to work here, this is another matter. It is not that easy to write a good one. You may not think that it is because you are not really experienced in writing something like this. But, if you are going to give your opinion, this is the one thing that you must remember.If you want to go back to the sample essay, there is a saying that you should not be ashamed to write about a subject that you know very well. In other words, you should not be ashamed about stating your real opinion. This is also a good reason to think about this, because you do not have to just be afraid to share your thoughts with the company, if you think it is going to benefit them and you as well.

Causes Of War And Threats To Peace Essays - Futurology,

Causes Of War And Threats To Peace War or Peace Causes of War and Threats to Peace War is one of the responses by which one society tries to reduce the capacity of another society to obtain its objectives, when one or several of these are conflicting with those of the first society. By this response, society A tries to get the society B to do what is not convenient for B, but of convenience to A. In other words, A tries to get B to do something unnatural, namely NOT to try to reach its own objectives. This is in direct contradiction with the definition of an intelligent system of a human being, and resisted by B. Societies, since they are intelligent systems (IS), always act as best they see fit to reach their objectives. When there is a conflict, the first thing they do is to appeal to a super society. If such a super society does not exist, it is inevitable that the societies do what they consider best to reach their objectives. Sometimes this will be a war. A society, by waging war, takes a natural response, namely trying to reach its objectives. We see that it is no wonder that two societies with conflicting objectives go to war. In a nation, the governing sub society makes the decision to attack or cooperate according to how it sees the best way to reach its objectives. Once it has taken the decision, the general population acts according to the emotions evoked by the governing subsociety and according to existing habits and regulations for civilians and the military forces. The governing subsociety will present the adversary as cruel, greedy, barbarian, and nasty. It will appeal to patriotism and ideals. For all this it will use existing communications media that appeal to emotions and preexisting mental inclinations. Below we mention subjective causes for war that have their root in human nature and the present culture: ? Belief by the governing subsociety that, in the long run, the war will be beneficial to itself or its society. ? Errors of appreciation of the political, economical and social situation of its own society and of the adversary. ? Accidents, where a critical situation gets out of hand, against the wishes of the governing subsociety. ? A fight over resources. ? Emotions and attitudes that cause wars: Greed, trying to increase prestige or power, the wish to participate in a heroic undertaking, the aggressive impulse, frustrations, insecurity. ? All these are often given a helpful hand by the producers of military material. We have to take into account that in a war nearly always someone gains: some nation, a social class, an enterprise or a political society; even if most of the involved IS's lose . WAR IS NATURAL Theories (Theories of natural causes of war) Wars have natural causes, reasons. These causes are built-in human and/or social nature. Causes are indestructible, thus wars are unavoidable. HUMAN NATURE as a main cause of war. In-born, instinctive aggressiveness in an individual is an unavoidable parameter of human nature. War is biologically approved. It is a continutation and a development of a struggle of species for survival' from a biological world to a social world. (Freudism, neo-Freudism, etology, Social-Darwinism, sociobiology, etc.) SOCIAL NATURE is a main cause of war. Structure of social relations, group contradictions, division and sub-division of humankind into ethnic entities, nation-states, alliances and empires presuppose wars as one of natural and functional ways of social interaction between them. Some wars are more justified and functional, some less, but as a whole wars are a dialectical way of resolving contradictions. Progress and social development sometime occurs in the form of wars. Wars could be modified, controlled, but could not and even should not be eliminated as a social phenomenon. (Hegelianism, Marxism, Leninism, Trotskyism, national liberation ideologies. Modern structural-functionalism and system theories in political science) TECHNICAL (MAN-MADE) NATURE is a main cause of modern and future wars. Scientific and technological progress, industrialization and post-industrial development created, firstly, great demand for resources and redistribution of them, and secondly, huge arsenals of modern means of destruction and fantastic abilities of a modern man to influence through technology (weaponry, computers, communication & propaganda) other men and

When to Consider Planting a Flowering Dogwood Tree

When to Consider Planting a Flowering Dogwood Tree Flowering dogwood is the state tree of Virginia and Missouri and the state flower of North Carolina. It is an extremely popular flowering tree in American landscapes, is beautiful in every season and  a sturdy tree  that can be grown in most yards. Flowering dogwood opens white flowers in April, usually before the leaf display, and will show off and enhance any spring  landscape. If planted on a hospitable site and under a canopy of larger trees, the tree grows fast, sleek and slim but it  will be  less sleek and more husky when grown in open sun. Unfortunately, the tree is  too often planted on dry, sunny and alkaline soils and the grower misses its full potential. Habit and Planting Dogwood grows readily from seed but is not easy to transplant. You  will do best by buying a potted  tree at your garden center or bare-root tree at  a nursery.  You can buy bulk bare-root stock at very reasonable prices from the Arbor Day Foundation if you are a member. Always move dogwood with a complete root ball in the early spring and place the transplant a little high in the planting hole. Understory dogwood is a medium tree of about 40 feet with wispy stems. The dogwood occupies a large eastern north-south range in North America from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The tree is not very hardy if planted beyond its genetic home region so pick a local variety. Strong Cultivars There are white, red and blended versions of flowering dogwood.  Some of the most popular  dogwood cultivars are Cherokee Chief, Cherokee Princess, First Lady, Rubra, New Hampshire, and  Appalachian Spring. Many of these can only be found in local nurseries in the region  where the cultivar does best. Flowering dogwood is hardy through zone 5.

The Traditional Media Industries in Transition Essay

The Traditional Media Industries in Transition - Essay Example In addition, digital era has led to the emergence of the Internet, which has made it possible for people to shop online without necessarily travelling to the shop. These are just but a few things that digital convergence has brought in the world today. This paper will explore the impacts of digital convergence and new media on the traditional NBC television network company. The paper will also analyze how NBC is changing the way it produces, distribute and exhibit its media products and re-inventing themselves to the media audience. Certainly, the rise of digital media platform in the recent past has put the traditional media industries in turmoil. This is because of the impacts that digital convergence and new media have had on the traditional media industry. The changes brought about by the digital convergence have caused a lot of unrest within the media sector, which has had to change their strategies in order to remain relevant in the industry. The major competing media sectors i nclude newspaper publishers, radio, and TV broadcast, film, and video industries (Miralles, 2009). Traditional television broadcast companies are among the worst affected in this digital era (Dandawate, 2010). This is because digital convergence has changed a lot in the television sectors. ... This is because digital signals portray quality pictures that can be seen with clarity, unlike the analogue signals that are not very clear (Zerdick et al., 2000). As a result, NBC had to change to the digital signal in order to attract more audiences to the channel. Digital signals also eliminated the use of external aerials, which were being used to tap signals, something that many audiences have lauded about the digital signal. One of the major contributions of the digital convergence that affects traditional television industries is the emergence of Digital Video Recorders (DVR). Reports indicate that the DVR usage in the U.S. is growing very fast. In this regard, a study shows that about 38.1% of U.S. home currently has the DVR (von Rimscha, 2007). However, its impact on the Television industries has been worrying. This is because traditional television companies like NBC used to depend heavily on TV advertising as a source of revenue (von Rimscha, 2007). Nevertheless, with the emergence of DVR kit, a majority of DVR users are skipping TV commercials. This is because the garget allows them users to follow commercial adverts on the garget. The reduction in the number of commercial viewers is thus reducing the value of TV commercials thereby reducing revenue. For instance, NBC reports that many of its commercial TV advertisers have reduced significantly since the emergence of DVR kit. The digital revolution has also contributed to the emergence of the Internet, which is today been used by many as a communication channel (Dandawate, 2010). In fact, report indicates that many Americans today have access to the interment either through their Internet-enabled phones

Module 4 - Assessing Competences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Module 4 - Assessing Competences - Essay Example The reason is that student’s use the same tools as specialists do. The shift in teaching methods from teacher centered to student centered is widely acknowledged as students play an active role in their learning process. Traditional learning was teacher centered, and most of the time the teacher played an active role of lecturing while students took a passive role of watching and listening (Afflerbach, 2007). Cooperative learning entails students working in teams on projects and problems under conditions that guarantee positive interactions and personal responsibility. Active learning is when students answer questions, debate, ask questions and brainstorm during class time. Inductive learning entails presenting challenges to students, who then learn the course materials in the milieu of addressing the challenges presented. Some inductive learning methods include just in time teaching, discovery learning, case studies inquiry based learning, and project based learning. Student centered assessments include essays, group progress reports, presentations, outlines, instructor student meetings, reflections, problem solutions and essays. The main assessment strategies to assess knowledge, competencies and skills are feedback, the class structure, the syllabus and the assignments. Class structure The structure of the class is another strategy to assess learners’ skills and competencies. In order to assess knowledge and skills, the tutor employs the case content to cover learning skills and to foster student’s self awareness for learning. The tutor also uses short activities from time to time to teach students on how to use supplementary materials, learn how to read and summarize texts (Heritage, 2007). Under the class structure, the tutor helps students to form small groups, which the students use in learning groups and team skills. The small groups can be for learning inside or outside classroom. Usually, learners do not have the skills and compet encies to work effectively in groups. Facilitating small groups prompts students to be familiar with problems that can happen when working in groups. Facilitating small student groups also helps students to have ideas on how to address group conflicts (Ensino, nd). Small groups are essentially noteworthy in helping students to prepare for the work environment as they will work in teams in an organizational setting. Assignments Assignments are a core factor used to assess learners’ skills and competencies. Well designed assignments engage students in authentic learning tasks. Assignments may be in different forms such as paperless assignments, written assignments, practical assignments where students pursuing technical courses like music may participate in live singing and concerts. Assignments build up study initiatives in students. Assignments also create a sense of responsibility related to completing their homework (Ensino, nd). Assignments also help students to develop sk ills of time management. The assignments are designed for a specific period of time and students must comply with the assignment deadline. As students learn to do things on their own, they learn how to utilize time effectively, which encourages self discipline and autonomy (Heritage, 2007). Feedback Feedback is the key area to influence the degree to which evaluation practices are developmental, rather than exclusively judgmental. Feedback is at the centre of the