Family Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Family Communication - Assignment Example Honesty is a virtue that my parents have cultivated in our house. My mother tells us that the truth will always set us free so we try as much as possible to be honest. As a family we are sincere, clear and specific with what we want to achieve. We also realize that we have our own weaknesses that we must inform each other so as to get support. My sister Linet is a sickling type and we are always there to help her whenever she cannot accomplish some of her tasks. The rules in the house are flexible and are subject to change depending on conditions. For example, we have a diet that must be followed in order to maintain our health. However, once in a while the diet is omitted to accommodate some people’s feelings and desires and this creates a sense of fulfillment in the house. We also relate well with the community around and with other family members. We have been accepted with the society and my parents play a major role in the community. My mother is a professional counselor who offers free counseling services when our estate is celebrating certain ceremonies. My dad on the other hand heads the regular cleaning services in the estate and he is also head of the security. This is an indication that our family links with the society is open and hopeful Satir 1988, pg

Controls for Information Technology and Reporting and Evaluation Essay

Controls for Information Technology and Reporting and Evaluation - Essay Example ove-mentioned company implements real-time compliance tools to obtain company-wide data through one and only one source of information, which is its database. These tools notify the management about any compliance problems, and tend to provide accurate and timely information, making the company more open to the varying business requirements. These tools also help the management to prepare reliable financial statements. Apart from the real-time compliance tools, my company implements all the five components of internal control: control environment, risk assessment, information and communication systems, control activities, and monitoring. To evaluate the internal controls, it is first important to understand the definition of internal control; organize a project team to conduct the evaluation; evaluate internal control at the entity level; understand and evaluate internal control at the process, transaction, or application level; and, evaluate overall effectiveness, identify matters for improvement, and establish monitoring system. The criteria against which the internal controls of my company are to be evaluated is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which requires that the management must include an internal control reporting assessment with its annual report. My company uses AICPA/CICA Trust Services framework in their IT-based work, as an information systems auditor, to evaluate internal controls over information technology. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires that I, as a manager of internal controls, should include a statement of my responsibility for implementing and maintaining proper internal controls, along with a report that should summarize how effective these internal controls have been through the year, in the company’s annual report. The Act also requires me to submit a report that summarizes the framework that I use to evaluate the internal controls, along with a statement or report that states that an external auditor has issued

Marketing research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing research - Essay Example The primary advantage of using internet as a means to reach target audience is that it is widely accessible; it is very quick in registering responses; it can catch response from a large number of audiences and last but not the least it has reduced the cost of carrying out research (Sekaran, 2006). These primary benefits of using internet as a tool for carrying out research are augmented by facts like: internet has inculcated in small and medium enterprises the habit of conducting or reverting to research when encountering an operational issue; internet has allowed students at various levels to extract information from previous researches and use that information in their own assignments; internet has also allowed researchers to seek responses from individuals who were reluctant to participate in focused group survey. Like these benefits there are other benefits as well of using internet as a means to conduct a research and gather responses. Internet technology has made it possible f or researchers to reach geographically dispersed respondents. It has supporting technologies like video conferencing and instant chant rooms which allows researchers of a field to gather at a place simultaneously, without incurring any cost. This type of research is carried out by means of group ware technology and this method is known as Delphi method. Internet has freed sponsored respondents from the tedious process of registering their responses to the posted mail, containing the questionnaire. Now they simply can go online to fill out the questionnaire in a hassle free manner. However, as mentioned earlier there are some negative aspects of internet, encountered when conducting quantitative or qualitative researches. The most troubling negative aspect of internet research is that it is totally callous when it comes to respecting respondents’ private time, when they do not feel like answering to research question. This is not the only facet of this issue; sometimes online research agencies send questionnaires to respondents without their consent to participate in this research, which leads to respondent’s annoyance. If this scenario is removed from the picture, even then there are a number of problems which can come up, for instance the online questionnaire might not open on the browser used by the respondents. This further leads to respondent’s agitation. Other problems with this form of surveys is that there are chances that the expected respondents of this survey do not fill these questionnaires, while respondents who are not fit to form the sample population of the survey might go on to fill in these form leading to corrupt data being collected and presented during the research findings. The research findings based on this malign data will not be authentic and if published will lead to a spread of knowledge that is wrong. And if by chance this finding gets implemented that it may result in heavy losses for the party implementing it (Nancarrow, Pallister and Brace, 2001). Other issues of conducting research over the internet are that sometimes customers might feel agitated by a questionnaire in their inbox, they might think of it as an invasion to their privacy or as something having a malign content in it that might threaten the integrity of their personal computer. Also there are strict guidelines set by major research agencies and associations as to what questions can be asked from a particular

PEST Analysis of Starbuck in China Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

PEST Analysis of Starbuck in China - Coursework Example The object of analysis for the purpose of this assignment is Starbucks, an American coffee company which is operating in many countries worldwide. It has the title of being the largest coffeehouse company with around 25,000 stores. It is renowned for providing hot as well as cold beverages, pastries as well as snacks. It was founded in the year 1971 and has since then, opened up stores in around 62 stores. It was opened by three students who were inclined to sell high quality coffee beans as well as coffee equipment. In 1996, Starbucks opened its first location outside North America in Tokyo, Japan. People`s republic of China is the most populous country of the world and is located in the East Asian region. With around 1.35 billion people in the country, China is now being considered as the fastest growing economy of the world. It has become the second largest economy in terms of nominal GDP and purchasing power parity, after the United States of America. The first Starbucks in china opened in Taiwan in March 1998. The increase in consumer interests and appreciation of coffee resulted in the opening up of new stores in Beijing, Hong Kong as well as Macau. In all, Starbucks has around 1000 stores in China. PEST analysis includes political, economic, social as well as technological factors which have a direct impact on the operations of a firm. Political factors involve the intervention of the government in the economy in terms of tax policies, policies of export as well as other environmental and legal laws. Overall, it also includes other influences which the government can have on an organization`s operations. With regards to the political factors in Hongkong, it has been under the rule of mainland China but it has been allowed to implement its own business laws in the economy. This has made it easier for Starbucks to operate in China. However, Starbucks is required to comply with all the laws and regulations of the country. The Chinese government has introduc ed positive policies to encourage FDI by protecting the interests as well as the legal rights of foreign companies. China also has a consistent political environment as well as lower labor costs which attract foreign companies to start operations in the country. The local government policies including free trade zones and loans have encouraged Starbucks and other multinational to start operations as well as expand its business in China (Business Environment In China: Economic, Political, And Cultural Factors 2013). Another important factor is that these favorable governmental polices do not change with changes in the governments. This makes it easier for the foreign companies to operate. However, it has been observed that these policies and laws are not implemented in the country which affects the sustainability of Chinese economy. Furthermore, the company has lower and inefficient transportation, communication as well as energy resources. The city of Hong Kong, for example, is know n as the most tax-friendly economies of the world because of its low tax system as well as direct taxes only on profits, salaries and properties. The tax rates have remained constant showing the political stability in China, especially in Hong Kong (Starbucks in China, 2013; China Business News-Starbucks soars in China 2013). Economic factors: Economic factors include the inflation rate, interest rates, economic growth and exchange rates which have an impact on business operations. The factor of exchange rates, for example, has an impact on the costs and prices of exports and imports. Interest rates affect the cost of capital of firms which is further related to the growth and expansion of companies. Economic factors i

The Use of Scientific Games in Teaching Science Essay Example for Free

The Use of Scientific Games in Teaching Science Essay The study of science is essential. Science is the study of the world around us. Everything around us concerns science. Without it, it is impossible to get into medicine, engineering, architecture and other fields requiring technical expertise. Every sector recognizes an increasing contribution of the discipline to the progress of the modern world as well as its traditional standing as an element of humanistic and scientific education. Its importance as the key subject is common knowledge. Science has been recognized as a patent means of sharpening our competitive edge. Thus, science holds a dominating place in the curriculum. As mandated in the Philippine Constitution, it is the duty of the schools to develop scientific and technology efficiency among the pupils and the students. Thus, it is necessary to evolve a strong science program in all levels. So, the teaching of science should be effectively earned out so as to satisfy the National Development Goals. Science is a multifaceted subject, limitless in extent and depth, vital for science and technology, and rich in the cultural import. It offers a lot of challenges to an individual. In school, however, some students find the subject dull and difficult. More so, science in general, is even considered by many as uninteresting or boring subject if not difficult or not applicable into their daily lives. The performance of the pupils depends largely on quality of the teaching competencies of their teacher. A competent teacher learns to build effective learning situation and to select teaching methods/strategies to guarantee maximum retention and application of the earning that are achieved. According to Wikipedia, strategy refers to all techniques by which the teachers structure the learning environment so that the students are led to discover what they are supposed to discover. Teachers use a wide variety of techniques to elicit information from the students. In view of this, the teacher must determine effective strategies that would suit to the interest, abilities and needs of the students. The researcher believes that the games could be an effective strategy in teaching science in elementary schools. Statement of the Problem The study aims to find out the effectiveness of using games in teaching selected topics in Science to Grade VI pupils of Matanao Central Elementary School for the incoming School Year 2012-2013. Moreover, it seeks to answer the following research questions: 1.) Is there a significant difference on the pre-test scores of the control group and the experimental group? 2.) Is there a significant difference on the post-test scores of the control group and the experimental group? 3.) Is there a difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of pupils in both control and experimental group? Hypotheses Null Hypothesis 1.) There is no significant difference on the pre-test scores of the control group and the experimental group. 2.) There is no significant difference on the post-test scores of the control group and the experimental group. 3.) There is no significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of pupils in both control and experimental group. Alternative Hypothesis 1.) There is a significant difference on the pre-test scores of the control group and the experimental group. 2.) There is a significant difference on the post-test scores of the control group and the experimental group. 3.) There is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of pupils in both control and experimental group. Significance of the Study This study would like to help elementary grade pupils to develop better understanding of the abstract concepts and ideas in science as they prepare for higher learning in science. The findings of this study may likewise motivate and challenge science teachers in their determination to help majority of the grade VI pupils who experience learning block in science primarily due to less effective in teaching science concepts, with the use of various learning strategies, students may develop a deeper understanding of the concepts and process to science that will consequently lead to higher achievement. Lastly for educators, the useful and relevant information acquired from this study may provide insights on how they can promote higher academic achievement using effective strategy in teaching abstract concepts and ideas in science. Moreover, this study would like to help them achieve their long sought goal of development of effective understanding of the science processes and concepts. Limitations of the Study This research will be limited and will be conducted only at Matanao Central Elementary School for the incoming School Year 2012-2013. The respondents of the study will be the Grade VI pilot class. The instrument which is going to be used will be an achievement test which will serve both as a pre-test and a post-test. This will be used to classify the pupils’ performance and learning outcomes. Different scientific games will be used to motivate and arouse the interests and attention of each pupil. The class will be divided into two groups, namely, the control group and the experimental group. The experimental group will be subjected to scientific games used as motivation in teaching science, while the control group will be exposed to the traditional method. Broadly speaking, the social scientific approach has concerned itself with the question of â€Å"What do games do to students?†. Using tools and methods such as surveys and controlled laboratory experiments, researchers have investigated both the positive and negative impact that using games in teaching could have on students learning. Among the possible effects of game play, perhaps the one most commonly raised by media and general public has to do with violence in games. What are the possible effects that playing videogames, in particular those that feature aggressive or violent elements might have on children and youth? Social learning theory (Bandura,1986) suggests that playing aggressive videogames would stimulate aggressive behaviour in players in particular because the player is an active participant (as opposed to passive observer as the case of aggression in film and television). On the other hand, catharsis theory ( Feshback and Singer, 1971) implies that playing aggressive videogames would have the opposite effect by channelling latent aggression resulting in positive effects on players. Numerous reviews of existing literature have been written and there is not a clear picture of the effects of playing violent videogames might have (Griffiths, 1999; Sherry, 2001). As for positive effects, educators and learning scientists sed as motivation have also debated how to leverage the motivation students had for playing games as well as exploring th e medium of videogames for educational and pedagogical purposes. Malone explored the intrinsically motivating qualities that games have and how they might be useful in designing educational games (Malone, 1980; Malone 1981) while Kafai utilized the design of games by schoolchildren as the context for them to learn computer programming concepts and mathematics (Kafai, 1995; Kafai 1996). Similarly, Squire has explored the use of commercial games as means for engaging disenfranchised students in school (Squire,2005). In addition to their motivational factors, Gee and Shaffer have argued that certain qualities present in the medium of videogames provide valuable opportunities for learning (Gee, 2003; Shaffer, 2006). In her book, Life on the Screen, Sherry Turkle explored how people that participated in online multiplayer games such as MUDs used their experiences with the game to explore personal issues of identity (Turkle, 1995). In her book Play Between Worlds, T.L. Taylor recounts her experiences playing the massively multiplayer online game Everquest. In doing so, she seek to understand â€Å"the nuanced border relationship that exists between MMOG players and the worlds they inhabit† (Taylor, 2006). Swiss educator Johannes Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827) agree with the view that a school should be adapted in an atmosphere of general permissive where physical experience, play activities and nature study walk should be part of the learning experiences against the dullness deadening memorization and recitation. German educator and philosopher, Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) also a naturalist, believes that the teacher must become an active instructor instead a taskmaster and hearer of active recitations. He introduced the school for early childhood education, the kindergarten or child garden that emphasized games, play, songs and crafts. He urged teachers to look back of their childhood days that could help them understand the needs of the child. Other significant studies that relate the games to improved achievement is in the hand of biology (Bleitan, 1989) and in Genetics concepts (Garcia, 1993). Nueva Espana et al (1990) stated that our country depends on Science and Technology. A great number of its problem can be solved by developing its greatest resource: people. Our people must develop skills in Science and Technology. Sufficiency in scientific and technological expertise is a characteristic of countries that have become progressive and rich no matter how small they are. Our country still has a long, long way to become self-sustaining. Knowledge of Science and the efficient use of its principle can help a lot toward making our society self-sufficient in turn making us masters of our own science and technology and not servants of society. (Philippine Graphics, May 19, 1997 p.8). Senator Ernesto Maceda made alarming news about the results of our students performance in mathematics and science competence in the elementary, high school and even college levels that the Philippines is in the bottom ranked 37 out of 39 countries in Asia. He said that we have to respond to the t ruth which tells us with greater sense of urgency to help our students in several dimensions of the educational process: retraining our teachers, lengthening classroom work, improving classroom facilities, reviewing the textbooks now in use and supplementing the resources available in our school libraries. Allan C. Ornstein (Strategies for Effective Teaching, New York: Harper-Collins publishers 1990 p.213) said that â€Å"to understand why and how to use instructional objectives result should be obtained in more effective teaching and testing. The use of instructional objectives helps the teachers focus on what students know at the end of the lesson. Likewise, it helps students know what is expected of them. On the international scene, a number of educational research projects have investigated science teachers’ classroom practices. One of the established projects is the large scale National: The Survey of science and Mathematics Education, conducted in the USA over a number of years to gauge the status of science and mathematics education in the USA. Reports from these studies written by Weiss (1987, 1988, 1994), Weiss, Banilower, McMahon, Kelly Smith (2001) and Weiss, Pasley, Smith, Banilower Heck (2003) have attempted to answer the following questions using data from questionnaires distributed to stratified random samples of teachers from all states in the USA : 1) How well prepared re science and mathematics teachers in terms of both content and pedagogy? 2) What are teachers trying to accomplish in their science and mathematics instruction, and what activities do they use to meet these objectives? 3) To what extent do teachers support reform notions embodied in the National Research Council’s National Education Standards and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Principles and Standards for School Mathematics ? And 4) What are the barriers to effective and equitable science and mathematics education? It is worth noting that no classroom observations were conducted in these studies and all data sources were based on teachers’ self-reports. Analysis of the trends between 1993 and 2000 in the above studies showed that science teachers’ classroom practices have seen some changes. These changes include the reduction in the amount of time spent on reading about science during class and doing textbook/worksheet problems. Approximately 50% of teachers at all grade levels reported in 2000 that their students completed textbook/worksheet problems in the most recent lesson, representing a small decrease from 1993. Moreover, while there was some increase in the use of hands-on activities at the Grade 1-4 level (from 41% to 50% of classes), the percentage of classes in which hands-on and laboratory activities took place have remained stable and amounted to approximately two thirds of the classes. There does not seem to be a change in the percentage of classes in which computers were used: teachers reported that 10% or fewer science lessons included students using computers in 1993 and 2000. However, many more teachers reported using other instructional technologies such as CD-ROMs in 2000 than in 1993. Another international project that has investigated science and mathematics teachers classroom practices in science and mathematics is the TIMSS 1999 video study, the science result of which were released in 2006 ( Roth, Druker, Garnier, Lemmens, Chen,Kawanaka, Okamoto, Rasmussen, Trubacova, Warvi, Gonzales, Stigler, Gallimore,2006). This study examined patterns of science and mathematics teaching practices in 439 videotapes of eighth grade science lessons in five countries: Australia, the Czech Republic, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States. Results of the study showed that there were variations across the five countries in the organization of science lessons, development of science content for students, and student involvement in doing science. For example, the study results showed that students in Czech Republic were required to master challenging and theoretical science content and that classes were mostly focused on talking about science in whole class settings. In Japan, the focus was on presenting science in conceptually coherent ways while stressing the identification of patterns, making connections among ideas, and the interplay between evidence and ideas in an inquiry-oriented approach to teaching. Australian students were mostly involved in making connections between ideas, evidence, and real-life situations using inquiry approaches to teaching similar to those used in Japan. Students in the Netherlands were held accountable for independent learning of science content with emphasis on homework and independent seatwork. Finally, in the United States, students experienced variety in instructional approaches, organizational structures, content, and activities with less emphasis on developing coherent science ideas and content. The focus of the activities was on engaging and motivating students rather than on developing challenging content knowledge. As evident from the above, there is important research on classroom practices being conducted worldwide; research that has the potential to provide useful recommendations for improving science teaching and learning. In the Philippines, a related study on the use of games as learning in mathematics was conducted by Aragon (1991). She discovered the greater attention of students to the lesson and there is interest where enhanced. She also found the strategy as a very effective motivational learning material that makes recreational and learning objectives easily attainable. Letting the study of grade V, Aragon agreed that the games are useful in assisting the learning process by providing opportunity to see familiar materials in new setting; that makes them excellent motivation tools in acquiring new skills that breaks the classroom routine in a pleasant way, making uninterested students become a part of the chase in permanent learning. Aragon also found that games enables students to appreciate the value of sportsmanship, fair play, how to follow rules, team work, cooperation, respect for authorities and selflessness, sharing of skills for the success of the group. Salandahan G.G. (1985), The Teaching of Science, Quezon City Phoenix Publishing House. Many science educators recognize the positive outcomes of inquiry teaching despite the limited experimental evidence as to its effectiveness in leading children to acquire a deeper understanding of science knowledge, encouraging children to learn by such a method insures the attainment of one of the most s ignificant outcomes of science developing a scientific mind as well as desirable social values. Cognitive Development and Achievement in Science Through Traditional and Inquiry Approaches Of Teaching General Chemistry by Rosalinda T. Agton (1991). Most of the students in today’s colleges and universities have to be exposed to a method of teaching which is best described as exposition, or the formal, or the commonly called traditional method in which the teacher tells the students what they are expected to know. The assumption is made by curriculum planners that if the student are to learn the concepts from the content, they have to rely on printed materials. Traditional procedures in the classroom are those that used to present in a logical sequence, facts, principle, and data needed thoroughly to expose the students to concepts. The other various classroom procedures that could be used in the traditional method are oral explanation sessions, demonstrations, motion picture and film strips, textbooks, supervised studies or boardworks.

Over View Of Implementing Benchmarking Program In Company Marketing Essay

Over View Of Implementing Benchmarking Program In Company Marketing Essay Benchmarking is one aspect of performance management that is used to check and analysis the activities and elements of any organization. It is used to search for best practices of any activity that organizations needs to develop. Moreover, it is not an independent technique as it is considered to be a natural progression from the implementation of total quality management. Successful organizations assess themselves against the best in their category and benchmarking is used as tool for doing that. Benchmarking Implementation: In order to implement performance management system in an organization it is important to do a benchmarking. As a senior manager in a telecommunication company (Etisalat) I was requested to by the CEO to do a benchmarking program to improve the performance of the company as it is fallen below target. The performance point that I was requested to check is the customer satisfaction that was fallen below the expected target that was set by the companys management based on the latest survey done on the market and decrease in number of subscribers, who moved their service to the other market competitor. The benchmarking process does not vary significantly with the three categories of partners selected: internal organisations, direct competitors, or non-competitors. Therefore I am going to compare the customer satisfaction in the telecom company with Emirates Airlines. The reason why I choose Emirates Airlines is that it is a very large multi-destination flight company with a very large number of passengers. Etisalat was established in 1976 with a low number of landline subscribers and increased to 100 million subscribers in the world. Emirates Airlines established in 1985 with 260,000 passengers that year. The number of passengers increased dramatically to 27 million till March 2010 and 108 world destinations. That shows how customers with the service provided by Emirates Airlines in a short period and while other big airlines are going bankrupt during the world financial crises. The reason why we should go for benchmarking is to improve methodologies that result in high productivity and lower costs. Benchmarking is particularly helpful in validating proposals for change. Moreover, it often results in creative imitation and the adoption of new practices that overcome previous industry barriers. Furthermore, this search for diversity and for innovative breakthroughs applied. There are eight steps in order to do a benchmarking are: Select the subject. Forming the team and the project road map. Performance indicators and drivers. Selecting partner. Data collection. Analysis. Integration and action. Benchmarking process: Select the subject Based on the point highlighted by Etisalats CEO, there is a problem in the customers satisfaction that was targeted this year. Customer satisfaction is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet customer expectation Based on the market survey and problem investigation, we found that problem is due to the following: Quality of service. Customer support. Incident handling. Productivity. Pricing. After investigation and looking at the problem from another angle, we found the reason beyond losing customers satisfaction is concentrating on the development projects and reducing the operational costs in order not to lower down the impact of the world financial crises and compete with the competitor (du) from productivity point of view. In order to solve the problem of losing customer satisfaction, a movement has to be done in order to provide more qualitative after sale service and that can be done by spending more on developing the operational processes and spending more on operations as well as the employees as employees satisfaction is the key towards customers satisfaction. Moreover I am going to concentrate on Etisalat customers satisfaction in the UAE only. Forming the team and the project road map A team needs to be formed and a project road map developed. These are integral activities in the subject selection step. The team that I created includes 5 members are experts and represent the various functions affected by the project. The teams composed of staff personnel who are capable of setting recommendations that meet significant resistance during implementation. Each team member will work on studying the each of the below causes, visit the related sections, highlight the drawbacks and set recommendations for: Quality of service. Customer support. Incident handling. Productivity. Pricing. And I am going to follow-up and manage this project as a team leader. Performance indicators and drivers This part begins with the documentation of processes and practices associated with the subject. The primary goal is to identify the vital few performance indicators that confirm superior performance and to identify those processes and practices that drive performance. This search for cause and effect will be followed by the identification and documentation of internal process variables and attributes. That is a major part that each of the team members will have to take an ownership in order to study each of the processes practices and complete its documentations. Selecting partner The selection of partners often involves the use of external data and information sources. Partners fall into two general categories: other internal units and external organisations. External organisations may include direct competitors; Industry peers that serve a different market; Companies that serve the same market in a related but different industry; Organisations outside my industry that performs similar functions. As I mentioned above, I decided to choose Emirates Airlines, an organization outside telecom industry and serve the same market. Moreover, Emirates has great initiatives to develop its services that are provided to the passengers. Therefore, Emirates Airlines is almost receiving a yearly awards for its services such as best airline from Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2009, Best In-flight Entertainment from Skytrax Airline Excellence Awards 2009, Outstanding Food Service by a Carrier Middle East 2009 from Pax International Magazine Readership Awards, etc. Data collection Data collection can be the most difficult step in the Benchmarking process. The primary objective is to gather information and data to confirm superior performance and to uncover best practices without burdening the partners with long, time-consuming data collection methods. Although data and information are collected in establishing baseline measures and in selecting partners, the majority of the data for most projects are collected in this step. The following table shows a summarized comparison between the points that lower down the customers satisfaction of Etisalat and compare it with Emirates Airlines. Etisalat Emirates Airlines Quality of service Medium High Customer support Low High Incident handling Low High Productivity High High with value added services Pricing Average High Advertisement High for newly released products High Promotions On going On sessions Loyalty program Available Available CRM Low Medium Analysis The objective of the analysis step is to identify the best performing organisation and to determine the reasons for the superior performance. The performance indicators define the benchmark standard and the gaps in performance for each participant. The processes and practices of the best organisation are the benchmark performance drivers that each partner will try to creatively imitate. Identifying this cause and effect relationship between performance drivers and the resultant measures is the most challenging part of benchmarking. When we look at the above comparison table in the data collection part, we can find that there are some differences in the services provided by the two organizations. If we start with the quality of service, we can find that Etisalat is providing medium quality of service. For example, for the old and stable services like mobile service and internet the quality is very good, but if we look at latest services like eLife the quality is very low. While in Emirates Airlines, it is always high even for new destinations. Customers support and incident handling in Etisalat is very low as the customers whenever they want to raise a complaint or have inquiry, mostly they will be forwarded from a section to another or from a call centre number to another without having a single point of contact. Moreover, whenever you dial the call center, you have to wait on the phone for more than 10 minutes till someone pick the phone and register your complaint that if it is required advance troubleshooting, the case will not be solved in less than one day and may continue for a month. On the other hand, Emirates Airlines representatives will answer your inquiries clearly and are very helpful to handle your complaints with ownership. The productivity in Etisalat is very high, however due shortage in advertisement and products information sharing for all the products, most of the products are messed by the customers and even the employees. Moreover, the advertisement done by Etisalat is only for the newly released products. However for Emirates Airlines, it is high as the customers is always loyal to the airline and may keep it as the first choice for travel anywhere and he is always expected to have more value added services in flight entertainment. The prices of Etisalat product are average compared to the quality of service provided to the customers, but the customers will always see it high as the after sale services are low. The prices of Emirates Airlines are high, but the service the passenger is receiving before, during and after the flight is high. The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Etisalat is very low and only done by sending updates to all customers through email and SMS for the new products. On the other, Emirates Airlines are send a monthly newsletter to all their customers by email, normal postage, to keep them updated with all the changes, offers and new destinations. Sometimes, they are requested to provide a quick feedback on a questionnaire. Integration and action The objectives of the integration and action steps are to obtain organisation buy-in, initiate projects to close gaps and implement plans developed in these projects. So based on the analyses done above the organization has to rectify the problems that leads to losing customers satisfaction. Some of the recommended suggestions are: 1. Encourage Face-to-Face Dealings 2. Respond to Messages Promptly Keep Your Clients Informed 3. Be Friendly and Approachable 4. Have a Clearly Defined Customer Service Policy 5. Attention to Detail 6. Anticipate Your Clients Needs 7. Honor your Promises To be effective, Benchmarking works best in an environment in which teamwork and management support is evident. Teams need to focus on results as measured by performance indicators, but the organisation must change the performance drivers to achieve benchmark standards. Target setting alone, without changes in the organisation culture, other structural factors, processes, and practices, can only bring temporary relief.

The African Continent

The African Continent Introduction As the African continent gained its independence, countries hoped for booming growth and expected rapid changes. This however did not happen. So after the independence, economists, journalists and researchers started examining the causes of those failures. They have been doing so for over four decades and the situation on the continent does not seem to be much better than it was. Since it is a complex and definitely the most urgent issue of the region, I consider this paper as an opportunity to analyze and discuss possibilities for improvement. In order to limit my scope to a reasonable size, I would like to focus on one particular country Zambia, as the country was a subject to similar, but much briefer analysis I have done and therefore I already have some background information. Since the country is generally underdeveloped, this condition affects all areas of life. That is why it is necessary to work on social, economic, political, environmental and other policies to foster development. Even though these fields are interconnected, I would like to focus on Zambian local governance system in this paper. According to my topic, I assume that the state may be having troubles to fulfill its role since its institutions and ways of governing were created from the elites downward; its system should be adjusted to find more links between itself and its citizens. The hypothesis is that Zambian local governance institutions are not effective as they could be, it would be favorable to use their potential better. My goal is to find out improvements or adjustments for the present system into a more efficient scheme, more suitable to the society and its customs. For this I will start with examining how the society used to regulate its own members, predominantly in small units, throughout the centuries, how it evolved and what were the contributing factors that shaped its present form. For this I would like to start as early as possible in the pre-colonial period. It may seem just too long ago, but that was the longest period with fewest outer influences building foundations that last until now. Later it is indispensable to see how the western civilization attempted to shape the people to the western image, what marks it left and how the states coped with these two ways of life for the last few decades to bring about growth and stability. If there is any viable way of the traditional type of governance I would like to use it as a building brick. In this part, I will rely mostly on Alex Thomsons Introduction to African Politics. Subsequently I will have to come up with a way to incorporate those traditional elements into the present network. To be particular, I would like to focus mainly on the issue of local chiefs and the incorporation of their authorities into administrative system. Resources supporting my conclusions and helping me understand the African reality better are among others blog platforms Zambian Economist, House of Chiefs, and Fareed Zakarias book Future of Freedom. I. Traits of the society Present African society is a blend of two different realities a traditional way of life that had been evolving throughout the centuries of its pre-colonial existence and a modern way of life brought first by the colonization and impacting the continent from the outside more intensely as driven by the globalization process. It is not only a melting pot of different entities, but it is a place where two different lifestyles mix and to some extent clash. Therefore to understand the structure and traits of this society we need to know those two currents that form its foundations. Pre-colonial period The continent has ever been diverse just as it is right now, but there are some general characteristics that applied to the most of the region. Africa had been spotted with so-called non-hegemonic states. Their nature was fundamentally different from that time Europe. Pre-colonial African states were not led by all-powerful governments that administered a part of delineated territory. The abundance of land allowed people to move away, further from the unfavorable authority, splitting, merging, and creating new polities. This type of governance is also way different from todays perception of a state that has, after all, evolved from a European model. As Alex Thomson notes in the Introduction to African Politics that is one of the explanations, why some of the African states did not succeed in building a governing state authority (Thomson: 10). Other trait he mentions is the importance of lineage groups. An individual is always a member of a larger community (e.g. extended family) and as this member adopts the scheme of customs and rules that determine his or her life. Identity of a person is therefore determined as identity of the group. In return this scheme provides welfare and security to its members (Thomson: 10). With these rules, the chief has a significant deal of power over his clan, because the individuals will generally behave as they are expected to. Clans or extended families are able of self-containment. These facts add up to the conclusion that this is a model of society that is able to manage itself well in small units. Colonial Period The above mentioned structures were something different from the European perception of a state and state power. Therefore with the colonization, the Europeans were trying to civilize the African people. In their meaning it was to categorize them into some predefined and clear categories so they became nations just like the European ones were. Repeatedly criticized arbitrary boundaries have split nations apart and left various different nations closed in one state. This division put barriers to earlier loose transition of an individual from one community to another and lay foundations of hostility towards each other. The impact of modernity As the decolonization process has brought the independence to the continent, the new countries and their leaders attempted to catch up with the developed world within few decades (or a single one). The simplest way of doing that was to adopt modern ways of governing the state. Longing for the developed state, the countries wanted to hurry up, so what got adopted the quickest were the most visible signs of the modern world, without adjusting them to the African society. Constitutions, parliaments, voting rights, all of that was included without having people understand them, or without having even the leaders understand the principles of these systems. There was industrialization without considering economic capabilities. George Ayittey calls that development by imitation (Ayittey: 87). Nowadays Africa is a melting pot of clans, families, tribes, and nations that fully realize their identity. Compared to the pre-colonial period however, the changes and overlaps are not as loose anymore. Needless to count how many times in Africa has the group solidarity been abused as a means to escalate a conflict. It is very easy to divide people on the basis of something that does not really impact their everyday life such as race or ethnicity. Current conditions In the previous parts of this work I have described the pre-colonial inheritance of the society. Extended families (or other entities) in which individuals behave according to customs and their social status, gives the entities ability to rule themselves effectively. This creates an informal structure and makes the unit of family or a similar community a suitable building brick for the wider structure and allows for a bottom-up strategy. In spite of some conditions that formed African society and left a mark on it until the present times, certain conditions have changed. What has changed has not only been people and their minds (as a result of colonial rule or modernization), but there have been changes also in the outer conditions. What has once been a continent with abundant land and low population density is now a bit different. The number of people inhabiting the continent has multiplied over the past few decades. The land has shrunk relatively; with growing density of population the land is becoming more important. Apart from the higher density there are now rigid borders that do not allow people to move freely wherever they want. Boundaries that are known to be artificial and illogical have existed for about half a century so nowadays they are starting to work. Despite any border conflicts, irredentist movements and spillovers they cannot be adjusted or removed. II. Zambia overview This landlocked country in the south of the African continent is not much of an exception from other African countries considering its GDP, HDI (or respectively HPI) rates. It is one of the poorest countries in the world; ranking 164th out of total 182 included in the UN HDI statistics.[1] Political system: It is a presidential republic (the president is both head of state and head of government). The cabinet is chosen from the members of the National Assembly and is appointed by president. Tthat gives the president quite strong power over the country. Ethnicity: Major ethnic groups include Bemba, Tonga, Chewa, Lozi, Nsenga, Tumbuka, Ngoni, Lala, Kaonde and Lunda.[2] Nine largest groups add up to approximately 90 percent of the population. Apart from these, many people, predominantly in towns and cities see themselves as Zambians.[3] Speaking of ethnicity, the country has avoided serious ethnic conflict issues yet. Administration: The country is divided into 9 administrative provinces. Further there areis 72 local authorities which will be described in the next chapter. III. Proposals As I have mentioned before, people in remote rural areas do not identify themselves with the administrative system and have maintained a parallel system of managing their communities. To advocate the importance of traditional authorities, it is necessary to gain the inside look. Since it is hard to acquire from the Czech Republic, I would like to use the words of Chola Mukanga, a Zambian economist, posted on his blog. As he writes about majority of people living in rural areas where they do not rely on the government system maintaining social order, he describes the role of the customary governance: The chieftaincy therefore serves a critical function in promoting economic development, when it fills this critical gap in maintaining social order. Although he admits a weakness: Equally the chieftaincy may be seen to stand in the way of economic development where its system of administration appears to restrict the expansion of stronger reforms of social order e.g. expansion of formal s tate structures with greater accountability, all things being equal.[4] The biggest challenge therefore is to make one system out of the two of them. If the existing system is perceived as an alien element it is a reason why it should be abolished. Administrative System Western way of governance counts on clearly delineated boundaries. Border inviolability and territorial integrity are two of the conditions that define a sovereign state nowadays. The same principle is projected inward to the country, since it is subdivided into the smaller units. To have the administrative system working properly, it is necessary to ensure the balance of the geographical division. There are three factors that might influence balance among administrative units: ethnicity not to repeat the disaster of African boundaries, ethnic conflicts and subsequent civil wars population density and its demographic estimate to the future to keep the system viable and balanced in long term resources, wealth and overall economic level to prevent conflicts emerging from regional disparities However, for any adjustments of the administrative division, it is necessary to have thorough statistical information. For any successful plan that is to be implemented, it is necessary to know the starting conditions perfectly. The trouble with creating a picture of a Sub-Saharan country is a dismal state of any statistical data to base plans and proposals on. There is either lack of information or the researchers warn against inaccurate and misleading data that often poorly reflects reality. Apart from the geographical adjustments, there is more that can be changed in the division of power and overall structure. Bornwell Chikulo offers a comprehensive description of the present system and the following analysis is based on his review: [5] There are 72 local authorities countrywide: 4 are designated as City Councils 12 are Municipal Councils 56 are District Councils (comprised of smaller rural-based local authorities). The composition of councils is as follows: All elected councillors in the district All members of parliament in the district Two representatives appointed by all chiefs in the district as a means of involving traditional rulers in local governance. The weakness in this scheme is lack of participation of the locals the councilors that are elected to hold quite large powers, moreover they are not responsible to any of the local powers, but solely to the government. Two chief representatives that are members of the council representing something like voice of the people however cannot be chiefs themselves, as chiefs are prohibited by constitution to hold any public office. Moreover, the evidence shows, the way they are able to discuss and solve the local issues is to talk and cooperate with their members of parliament. This is exactly where the problem is, either the chiefs or their representatives have troubles cooperating with the MPs. Chieftaincy The issue of chieftaincy is lively discussed in Zambia, also in the wider regional level, since the situation in surrounding countries is similar. Although the traditional center of local power National Authorities were bequeathed soon after the independence, president Mwanawasa brought these authorities back in 1996 when the House of Chiefs was established. It consists of local chiefs that are respected within certain areas, some of them called kingdoms. By the constitution they are forbidden to hold any elected office while holding their functions as chiefs. The main issue can be comprised into the question: To what extent should the chiefs be considered and subsequently incorporated as political authorities? It is important to add that Zambian Chola Mukanga sees chiefs as not only a tradition that has prevailed until now, but as an element that is demanded: It goes without saying that the existence of traditional authorities is essentially a function of history and current demand for their services. That chiefs exist is clearly because their existence is demanded. But it was in the area of court administration where significant problems emerged which has continued to fuel significant demand for customary justice as mediated through traditional courts. This demand has principally emerged from two critical sources: insufficient capacity by central government to provide appropriate court capacity and necessarily expertise to adjudicate cases. This is despite the fact that traditional courts (and customary laws) have no formal status and exist parallel to the formal legal system.[6] This view clearly indicates that two representatives for the districts are just not enough. It is not about the number, but also about their power. Even if they are respected by the people and often serve as the judiciary system, they cannot promote much development in their district. It is always the parliament members that vote for the budget and decide on the amount and structure of the transfer money they receive from the government. The MPs also vote on the legislation and their vote is not subjected to any feedback from the chiefs (or currently their representatives) other than a friendly discussion. If the MPs do not reflect the local demands for the love of the people, the chiefs have practically no ability to change it. Appointing special chief representatives is another factor that hinders the process of change and development. Not only it means extra costs, but it also is an extra element in the chain of decisions. The decisions travel from the people to the chief from the chief to the chief representative from the representative to the MP and finally to the parliament. This contains too many members and therefore leaves gaps for possible conflicts. If the structure existed in order to provide, what can be called checks and balances, than it would have an advantage of being stable. However, the power is not distributed evenly among all the agents, but it is still concentrated in the top the parliament and centralized. From Chikulos review as well as from other articles it seems that even though local council exist, they lack decision-making autonomy and are dependent on the central budget. Some opinions indicate that often the politicians from the central apparatus are corrupt and therefore afraid of the power the chiefs have. That is why the politicians want to prevent them from the official power.[7] So even if the traditional ways of governance prevail in the society and are popular it should be clear that it is favorable to use it as a means to make the administrative system more effective and comprehensive. It would be the act of bringing the power closer to the people, just like the motto of the reforms that had been done in the early years of independence. With this act the motto would finally apply. However, the problem does not lie in the obsolete or primitive structure of the society, but in the unwillingness of those that have the power and the means of changing it. Conclusions This paper definitely discusses a complex topic. Although I lack direct experience as I have never been to Africa, I wanted to gain a deeper look into the problems of the Sub-Saharan countries. My conclusions might omit some important factors that otherwise are a part of the reality in Africa. Having read some amount of literature, attempting to present Sub-Saharan Africa however precisely and accurately, still does not make up for the real experience from the region. Therefore I stress that any of the presumptions I have made are based solely on someone elses observations. For people that are not familiar with the topic the root of all the problems often seems very simple. It is easy to put all the blame either on the colonialists for having exploited their colonies during their rule, or the present political leaders for exploiting their countries now, or even the people of those countries for their supposedly insufficient education, inertia, intolerance, or anything else. Even though that my work criticizes few elements of the state and its governance, I hope I have stayed away from prejudices in my work. I have found out that a fair deal of promoting development depends on few people. It might be a challenge for those that have that power to change the system which is beneficial for themselves. American political scientist Fareed Zakaria concludes, in a very general, but very point-blank way Africa needs good governance more urgently than democracy (Zakaria: 120). I have whatsoever no sympathy for any autocratic governments and I have no intention of taking democracy away from the countries that have it. My point is that no one has found a system of government with perfect balance of powers that does not leave a slightest gap for corrupt intentions. Until Zambia gets closer to this model, at least on track to catch up with the western world, it needs a leadership that will not abuse its power; a leadership that will take responsibility for its actions done on purpose as well as those unintended and one that will be able to face the consequences; a leadership that will show every cit izen that the things just work smoother when everyone plays by rules. But these wishes are perhaps utopian for most of the developed countries as well. References AYITTEY, George: Africa Unchained, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, Chapter 3, The Postcolonial Elite Development Model CHIKULO, Bornwell: Local Government Reforms in Zambia, 2009, retrieved: Dec 18, 2009, http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ComJlLocGov/2009/7.html THOMSON, Alex: An Introduction to African Politics, Abingdon, Oxon, Routledge, 2004, Chapter 2 History ZAKARIA, Fareed: Budoucnost svobody, Prague, Academia, 2004, 1st edition CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html MWANANGOMBE Lewis: ZAMBIA: Let our Chiefs Govern, Lusaka, published Dec 21, 2009, retrieved: Jan 12, 2010, http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49771 MUKANGA, Chola: Zambian Economist, http://www.zambian-economist.com/2010/01/chiefs-and-economy-economic-institution.html, published Jan 3, 2010, retrieved Jan 12, 2010 United Nations: Human Development Reports: retrieved on Jan 14, 2010, http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/ CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html KVà CA, Vladimà ­r: Africa in International Relations, class handout MUKANGA, Chola: Zambian Economist blog, retrieved: Jan 12, 2010, http://www.zambian-economist.com/2010/01/chiefs-and-economy-economic-institution.html CHIKULO, Bornwell: Local Government Reforms in Zambia, 2009, retrieved: Dec 18, 2009, http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ComJlLocGov/2009/7.html MUKANGA, Chola: Zambian Economist blog, retrieved: Jan 12, 2010, http://www.zambian-economist.com/2010/01/chiefs-and-economy-economic-institution.html The complaints are not difficult to find in the internet. Web platforms like Zambian House of Chiefs (http://www.houseofchiefs.com/) or Zambian Economist (http://www.zambian-economist.com/2010/01/chiefs-and-economy-economic-institution.html) contain a number of articles discussing this problem. African Inter Press Agency brings related articles every once in a while as well. Recent publishing dates indicate that similar complaints are quite frequent.