Higher Education and Poverty Reduction Among the Youth

HIGHER EDUCATION AND POVERTY REDUCTION AMONG THE YOUTH BY OKUNOLA, PHILIP OLAYIDE (Ph. D), ONYENE. V. E(Ph. D. )([email  protected] com) SUBAR, S. TAYO. ASHIRU, AL-MAHROOF OLASEEWO ([email  protected] ca) PAPER PRESENTED AT THE 8TH REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH POLICY NETWORK VENUE: INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURE (IITA), IBADAN AUGUST, 2008 ABSTRACTEducation in Nigeria and higher education in particular, are fundamental to the construction of a knowledge economy and worthwhile society in any nation hence, from a global perspective, economic, political, technological and social developments are increasingly driven by the advancement and application of knowledge, skills and socialization acquired in the process of this education. This paper presents an empirical study of higher education and poverty reduction among the youth using the University of Lagos, Nigeria. A total of 330 youth population comprised the sample drawn from the eight facultie s on campus.Three hypotheses were formulated and tested using chi-square statistical tool at 0. 05 level of significance. The major findings are that higher education is significant in exposing the youth to talent discovery, physical and intellectual development among the youth and has high potency reduction for poverty reduction among the youth. Introduction The dawn of the 21st century has brought profound and fundamental changes to economics, technology, politics, culture, morals, social values and ethics. Globalization is the driving force in all these changes.While globalization has induced the collapse of time and space, it has also expanded opportunities and challenges for individuals and for nations and has sidelined the weak and unprepared. Anya (2002). The task of the university education will then be to empower the youths to be able to cope with the dynamics of globalization. Consequently the university must have an organic linkage with the industrial and economic environ ment to contribute to economic growth of the nation. Education has for long been recognized and accepted as a panacea for Nigeria’s ills and woes. Particularly so is the case of higher education.Stupendous amount of money and other resources, even though inadequate are expended on the universities annually. Unarguably al stakeholders look up to the universities as the nation’s beacon of hope, light and civilization. For this reason, besides over 50 public universities are springing up all over the nooks and crannies of the country (Ejiogu and Onyene, 2006). Nigeria ‘s philosophy of education is aimed at education that foster the worth and development of the individual, for each individuals sake, and for the general development of the society there is need for empowerment so as to break the chains of poverty for necessary liberation.Are the Nigerian youths hopeful? Do they see the light? Are they civilized? The quest and agitation for the empowerment of the youth and their liberation through higher education is fast becoming almost hysterical given the often reported cases of incessant strike actions by lecturers, lack or inadequate infrastructures in the universities, brain drain, and so on, within the university system. Instance abound when university graduates are not employable in the labour market.The situation becomes worrisome and intriguing with the jet-speed rate of opening up of new universities with its attendant alleged unemployment of â€Å"unqualified† staff, and stragglers from older universities. The Concept of Higher Education and Poverty Higher education means different things to many people, but the purpose is perceived to be the same. It is the type of education that focuses on professionalization, by empowering the partaker of this level of education with skills that are not necessarily the function of formal educational process.This type of skills emanates from students’ interaction with their peers, teach ers and other members of their academic community. Though these experiences that culminate into skills makes students sojourn in their academic environment a complete one, which necessitates the saying â€Å" passing through the school without the school passing through the student† The proponents of this statement are of the opinion that students who passed through the school without the school passing through them have learnt only partially regardless of their grades at the end of their academic pursuit in the university, thereby limiting their opportunities.This is corroborated by Gay 2005, who opined that poverty can only be eliminated if the students to whom implicit promises are being by urging them to attend school actually receive some tangible benefit for their years spent in school. Higher education includes teaching, research and social service activities of universities, and within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education and the graduate school). Higher education generally involves work towards a degree level or foundation for degree qualification.In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enters higher education is therefore every important to national economy, both as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy. Schofield, K. 1999. Higher education is based on theoretical expertise. It might be contrasted with higher vocational education, which concentrates on both practice and theory. Deciding to further education and attain a degree tends to improve many aspects of life.People with college degrees tend to earn more money and salary increases over the years are more substantial than for those that do not have a college degree or university degree. Additionally, people that have a college degree are less likely to go through long bouts of unemployment. However attaining certifications and/or degrees related t o your field can yield better jobs and ongoing opportunities (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). University qualifications need to match employers’ and labour market requirements as closely as possible.Mass unemployment of university graduates is the result where university programmes and the labour market are at variance. The issue of relevance, utilitarian criteria based on prospects of income generation at completion of a programme should be uppermost in the programmes provided by universities. The idea of pursuing knowledge for its own sake or of the sake of engaging in a programme of study given a passion for learning in a particular subject area will seem acquaint if it is remembered at all. (Roberts, 1999).Youth (in the developed world): like all identities, is a culturally relative manifestation whose meanings and applications are specific to certain times and manifestation whose meaning and applications are specific to certain times and locales. For those living in p resent-day western cultures, the term youth refers to persons who are no longer children and not yet adults. In a strictly legal sense, the term is typically applied to a person from the time of their early teens until a point between 16 and 21, after which the person is legally an adult. As an adult they are endowed priviledges such as the right to vote and consume alcohol e. c. used colloquially, however, the term generally refers to a broader, more ambiguous field of reference – from physically adolescent to those in their late 20s, the United Nations, for example, defines youth as people between the ages of 15 and 24 years inclusive (United Nations Education and Scientific Children Organisation, 2002b). Poverty refers to a situation and process of serious deprivation or lack of resources and material necessary for living within a minimum standard conducive to human dignity and well being (NEST, 1991). Poverty connotes deprivation of the means of subsistence. The manifesta tion of poverty, i. inadequate distribution of resources, access to basic social services like education and health, food scarcity, low life expectancy, and lack of participation in decision making processes (Braun, 1999, Carrey 1999;World Bank 1999; Web et al 1992;Ravnborg, 1996). For the purpose of this paper poverty is viewed as deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life, which include food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, and may also include the deprivation of opportunities to learn, to obtain better employment to escape poverty and/or to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens.This can be measured in terms of absolute or relative poverty. Absolute poverty refers to a set standard which is consistent in over time between countries. An example of an absolute measurement would be the percentage of the population eating less food than is required to sustain the human body, which may lead to extreme poverty. United Nations 2002 report defines extre me poverty as â€Å"poverty that kills†, depriving individuals of the means to stay alive in the face of hunger, disease and environmental hazards.This is further substantiated by Moore (2007) in his report for the World Bank, that extreme poverty implies living on less than 1 dollar per day, and moderate poverty as less than $2 a day. The proportion of the developing world’s population living in extreme economic poverty fell from 28 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2001. Looking at the period 1981 – 2001, the percentage of the world’s population living on less than $1 per day has halved.Analysis of social aspects of poverty links conditions of scarcity to aspects of the distribution of resources and power in a society and recognizes that poverty may be a function of the diminished â€Å"capability† of people to live the kinds of lives they value. The social aspects of poverty may include lack of access to information, education, health care, or po litical power. Poverty may also be understood as an aspect of unequal social status and inequitable social relationships, experienced as exclusion, dependency, and diminished capacity to participate, or to develop meaningful connections with other people in society.Statement of the Problem The growth and development of this country will to a large extent be determined by quality, in character and in learning, of the products of our universities. UNESCO policy (1997) posited that basic education for all should incorporate: literacy, income generation, health care, child care, family planning, food management, union education, labour laws, civil and voting rights, peace education, environmental management, HIV/AIDS and drug awareness (UNESCO 2002). The questions are what is the hope of Nigerian youth in universities? Do they really discover their potentials having gone through the university?What then can we say are the contributions of Nigeria universities to poverty reduction among the Nigerian youth? It becomes imperative, therefore, to ascertain the potency of Nigerian higher education for poverty reduction among the youth and to proffer measures for enhancement and sustainability of youth empowerment. Methodology The study was carried out using the descriptive survey research design. The youths in University of Lagos constituted the study which comprises 500 respondents. They were diploma and 100-300 level students, from the eight faculties of the University of Lagos, Akoka campus, Lagos, Nigeria.Higher Education Potency for Poverty Reduction Questionnaire (HEPPRQ) designed by the researchers was the data-gathering instrument. It measure sure such poverty reduction potencies as talent discovery, facilitation of mind development in the youth, good leadership skills, enabling intellectual development, development of social ethics through positive interaction, exposure to entrepreneurial activities, provision of mindset for creative ideas, preparation for rend ering payable service (income generation), inculcation of technological ideas for product development, self esteem mong peers, position of youth for global alignment with contemporaries in the western world and realization of the academic inclination (discipline). Colleagues affirmed the face validity and reliability of the instrument The researchers personally distributed the questionnaire to 500 respondents across the 8 faculties on campus on different occasions; some of the respondents returned the questionnaire immediately while others returned theirs the following day. Of the 500 copies of the questionnaire distributed, 330 (66%) usable copies were returned.However, the analysis was done using both descriptive and inferential statistics. To be precise, simple percentage and chi-square statistical tools were used. Findings Total response of the respondents was done by finding the percentages. The analysis is presented in table1. Table 1: Frequency count of responses and percenta ge ratings. |S/N |POTENCY INDICES |ALWAYS |OFTEN |SOMETIMES |NEVER |TOTAL | |1 |University environment and talent |200(60. 60%) |20(6. 06%) |110(33. 3%) | – |330 | | |discovery | | | | | | |2 |Higher education development and e |160(48. 48%) |90(27. 27%) |30(9. 09%) |50(15. 15%) |330 | | |youth’s minds | | | | | | |3 |Higher education and good leadership|190(57. 57%) |50(15. 15%) |50(15. 15%) |40(12. 12%) |330 | |4 |Higher education and intellectual |200(60. 60%) |50(15. 5%) |70(21. 21%) |10(3. 03%) |330 | | |development | | | | | | |5 |Social ethics through the university|170(51. 51%) |70(21. 21%) |80(24. 24%) |10(3. 03%) |330 | |6 |Higher education, parliamentary and |120(36. 36%) |110(33. 33%) |90(27. 27%) |10(3. 03%) |330 | | |governance process | | | | | | |7 |Entrepreneurial activities at school|110 |120(36. 6%) |80(24. 24%) |20(6. 06%) |330 | | | |(33. 33%) | | | | | |8 |University environment and mindset |170 |100(30. 30%) |50(15. 15%) |10(3. 03%) |330 | | |for creative ideas |(51. 51%) | | | | | |9 |Rendering payable service (income | 170 | 80 |40(12. 12%) |40(12. 2%) |330 | | |generation) |(51. 51%) |(24. 24%) | | | | |10 |University education and | 180 | 70 | 70 | 10 |330 | | |technological ideas |(54. 54%) |(21. 21%) |(21. 21%) |(3. 03%) | | |11 |Employment with related industries | 70 | 80 | 150 | 30 |330 | | | |(21. 1%) |(24. 24%) |(45. 45%) |(9. 09%) | | |12 |Sustenance in the face of job |110 | 90 | 110 | 20 |330 | | |scarcity |(33. 33%) |(27. 27%) |(33. 33%) |(6. 06%) | | |13 |Apart from certification, university| 190 | 120 | 20 | – |330 | | |environment and self esteem |(57. 57%) |(36. 36%) |(6. 6%) | | | |14 |Global alignment with my | 190 | 100 | 30 | 10 |330 | | |contemporaries in the western world |(57. 57%) |(30. 30%) |(9. 09%) |(3. 03%) | | |15 |Relevance of their academic | 150 | 120 | 60 | 30 |330 | | |inclination (discipline) outside |(45. 45%) |(36. 36%) |(18. 18%) |(9. 9%) | | | |their myopic perception | | | | | | Hypothesis 1 There will be no significant influence of higher education exposure on youth talent discovery. To test this hypothesis, the chi-square statistical tool was employed and tested at 0. 05 level of significance. The results are presented in table 2 below. Table 2: higher education and talent discovery. |S/N |Items |Always |Often |Sometimes |Never |Total | | |1. 200(60. 60%) |20(6. 06%) |110(33. 33%) |- |330 | | |2. |160(48. 48%) |90(27. 27%) |30(9. 09%) |50(15. 15%) |330 | | |3. |190(57. 57%) |50(15. 15%) |50(15. 15%) |40(12. 12%) |330 | | |4. |200(60. 60%) |50(15. 15%) |70(21. 21%) |10(3. 03%) |330 | | |5. |170(51. 51%) |70(21. 21%) |80(24. 24%) |10(3. 3%) |330 | | |Column Total |920 |280 |140 |110 |1650 | | |Average Total |460(55. 75%) |140(16. 96%) |70(20. 60%) |55(6. 66%) |825 | Chi-square observed value = 52. 63 Degree of freedom = 12 Level of significance = 0. 05 Critical Value = 21. 03 The result revealed that the observed value (52. 63) is greater than the crit ical table value (21. 03) given 12 degree of freedom at 0. 5 level of significance. The result is therefore significant, thus giving a basis for rejection of the null hypothesis. It can then be inferred that higher education has significant influence on the exposure of youth to talent discovery. Hypothesis 2 Higher education will have no significant influence on the physical and intellectual development of the youth. To test this hypothesis, the chi-square statistical tool was employed and tested at 0. 05 level of significance. The results are presented in table 3 below. Table 3: Higher education, Physical and Intellectual Development S/N |Items |Always |Often |Sometimes |Never |Total | | |6 |120(36. 36%) |110(33. 33%) |90(27. 27%) |10(3. 03%) |330 | | |7 |110(33. 33%) |120(36. 36%) |80(24. 24%) |20(6. 06%) |330 | | |8 |170(51. 51%) |100(30. 30%) |50(15. 15%) |10(3. 03%) |330 | | |9 |170(51. 1%) |80(24. 24%) |40(12. 12%) |40(12. 12%) |330 | | |10 |180(54. 54%) |70(21. 21%) |70(21. 2 1%) |10(3. 03%) |330 | | |Column Total |750 |480 |330 |90 |1650 | | |Average Total |375(45. 45%) |240(29. 09%) |165(20%) |45(5. 45%) |825 | From the responses of the participants in the table, it is realized that the observed chi-square (49. 6) is greater than the critical value (21. 03) at 12 degree of freedom and at 0. 05 level of significance. The result is therefore significant, thus higher education will have significant influence on physical and intellectual development of the youth. Hypothesis 3 Higher education will make significant provision of resources and materials for youths’ adequate living. To test this hypothesis, the chi-square statistical tool was employed and tested at 0. 05 level of significance. The results are presented in table 4 below. Table 4: Higher Education and Youth Adequate Living. S/N |Items |Always |Often |Sometimes |Never |Total | | |11 |70(21. 21%) |80(24. 24%) |150(45. 45%) |30(9. 09%) |330 | | |12 |110(33. 33%) |110(33. 33%) |110(33. 33%) | 20(6. 06%) |330 | | |13 |190(57. 57%) |20(6. 06%) |20(6. 06%) |- |330 | | |14 |190(57. 57%) |30(9. 09%) |30(9. 9%) |10(3. 03%) |330 | | |15 |150(45. 45%) |120(36. 36%) |60(18. 18%) |30(9. 09%) |330 | | |Column Total |710 |510 |370 |60 |1650 | | |Average Total |355(43. 03%) |255(30. 90%) |185(22. 42%) |30(3. 63%) |825 | Chi-square observed = 195. 41 Degree of freedom = 12 Significance level = 0. 05 Critical value = 21. 03The table above reflects that the chi-square calculated (195. 41) exceed the critical value (21. 03) at 12 degree of freedom and 0. 05 level of significance. Thus higher education provides resources and materials for youths adequate living. Results and Discussion Analysis revealed that the study population consisted of 330 participants, 210(63. 63%) were males and 120 (36. 365) females whose age ranges from 15 to 30 years. 300(90. 90%) were single and 30 (9. 09%) were married. 40 (12. 12%) were in diploma 1, 10 (3. 03%) in diploma 2, 90 (27. 27%) in 100 level, 40 (12 . 12%) in 200 level and 150 (45. 45%) in 300 level respectively.Table shows the item-by-item analysis of the perception of the youth towards the potency indices of higher education concerning poverty reduction. Majority of the youth (60. 60%) who participated in the study were of the opinion that university environment enables the youth to discover their talents and higher education poses challenges that enables intellectual development in the youth. 57. 57% of the respondents were in tune with the fact that higher education inculcates good leadership skills in the youth, apart from certification, being in the university environment gives them self esteem among their contemporaries in the western world.Also 51. 51% of the respondents who are in the majority opined that they gain social ethics through positive interaction with their peers while in the university. University environment provides the youth with the mindset for creative ideas and talents developed in the university prep are them to render payable service (income generation). 48. 48% of the participants who were in the majority believed that higher education facilitates the development of youths’ mind, 45. 45% were in tune with the fact that higher education make the youth realize the relevance of their academic inclination (discipline) outside their myopic perception.Majority of the respondents (54. 54%) admit that university education inculcates technological ideas that can facilitate product development. However, 45. 45% of the respondents felt that youth only sometimes get employment with industries related to their discipline before graduation, but 21. 21% and 24. 24% of them believe that youth with university experience are always able to sustain themselves in the face of job scarcity, equal percentage the participants contends that it happens only sometimes. The findings in this study showed that: †¢ Higher education is significant in exposing the youth to talent iscovery. †¢ Higher education has significant influence on physical and intellectual development of the youth. †¢ Higher education makes significant provision of resources and materials for youths’ adequate living. The significance of higher education in exposing the youth to talent discovery is corroborated by UNESCO policy 1997, which stipulates that basic education for all should incorporate: literacy, income generation, health care, child care family planning, food management, union education, labour laws, civil and voting rights, peace education, environmental management, HIV/AIDS and drug awareness.Also the finding relating to higher education having significant influence on physical and intellectual development of youth, is justified by Subar and Ashiru 2007, they opined that the students (youth) are the core input into our educational institutions and the quality of the output (students) depends largely on the provision of infrastructures capable of directly or indirectly su pporting, facilitating, influencing and encouraging the development of their potentials.Therefore, the knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes students (youth) acquire for life can make them fit into the cultural, social, economic and political contexts of the society in which they live, and to work and employment.The finding that education makes significant provision of resources and materials for youth’s adequate living, emanates from the fact that youth get employment with industries related to their discipline even before graduation, youths with university experience are mostly able to sustain themselves in the face of job scarcity, apart from certification, being in the university environment gives the youth self esteem among their peers, higher education positions youth for global alignment with their contemporaries in the western world and education makes the youth realize the relevance of the relevance of their academic inclination (discipline) utside their myopi c perception. Conclusion ? From the foregoing, it is permissible to justify the above stated with the statement of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, â€Å"there have been steady increases in college job placement†. This means that not only are college graduates more likely to find good jobs, but they progress after college.Ashiru and Owodiong 2008 declared that the absolute position of the university graduate is declining as more educated workers are displacing less educated workers in the same job, this shows that the Nigerian youth should advance academically, this challenge to the youth is evidenced by the continuous increases in entry point requirement for jobs, for instance a degree certificate is required to teach in a secondary school, while doctoral degree is required to lecture in the university. The dawn of the 21st century has brought profound and fundamental changes to economics, technology, politics, culture, morals, social values and ethics thr ough globalization. This globalization has induced the collapse of time and space; it has also expanded opportunities and challenges for the individual and for the nations and has sidelined the weak and the unprepared. Recommendations Government and university authorities should ensure that university programmes and labour market are not at variance on the issue of relevance, utilitarian criteria based on prospects of income generation should be uppermost in the programmmes provided by the universities. ? Universities must have an organic linkage with the industrial and economic environment to contribute to economic growth. ? Acquisition of higher education should be encouraged among the youth, through scholarship awards for those who lack the resources in continuing heir education. ? Government should encourage enrollment expansion in tertiary institutions, which will avail more people the opportunity to higher education, hence empowerment through skill acquisition and enhanced int ellectuality and human capital development that will necessitate innovative ideas for job creation, employment and economic advancement. ? University authorities should integrate entrepreneurial skills into academic programmes of students for rounded preparation for the world of work. Entrepreneurial Development Programme (EDP) should be provided in all faculties to enable undergraduates develop and market products and services relevant to their areas of study. REFERENCES Anya, A. O. (2002), â€Å"Science, Oil and the Future of Nigeria Economy†, The Guardian (Lagos), Wednesday, March 13, p. 16. Ashiru, A. O. and Owodiong-Idemeko, N. L. (2008). Higher Education and the Millennium Development Goals. Lagos: Unpublished M. Ed. Thesis. Braun, J. V. ,Teklu, T. and Webb P. (1999). Famine in Africa: Causes, Responses, andPreventions. IFPRI Food Policy Statement No. 28: Washington, D. C. Carney, D. (1999) ‘Approaches to Sustainable Livelihoods for the Rural Poor’. ODI Pov erty Briefing, 2, January 1999. London: Overseas Development Institute. Carney, D. (1998) Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: What contributions can we make? Department for International Development, London. David, E. B. , David C. and Kevin C (2006). Higher Education and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Havard:Havard School of Public Health. David, M. (2007) (ed. ): The World Bank: Development, Poverty, and Hegemony.University of Kwazulu: National Press. Ejiogu, A. and Onyene V. E. (2006). Deepening Corporate Integrity in the University System, Lagos El-Khawas, Elaine. (2001). Today’s universities: responsive, resilient, or rigid? Higher Education Policy, 14, 241-248. Hartnett, Teresa. (2000). Financing trends and expenditure patterns in Nigerian federal universities: an update. Unpublished report. Washington, D. C. : The World Bank. 85 pages. John, Gay. (2005): Higher Education in Europe. Vol. 30, Nos 3-4. Jerry D. S. (March 6, 2005). The End of Poverty Time. Retrieved August 7, 2 007. ww. wikipedia. org. James, A. (2003) (ed. ): Highly Affected Rarely Considered: The International Youth Parliament Commission’s Report on the Impact of Globalization on the Young People: Oxfam Community Abroad. Krebs, W. A. (1994). Australian English Dictionary, Australia: Harper Collins Publishers Moore, K. A. , Jekielek, S. M. , Hair, E. C. & Scarupa, H. J. (2007). Mentoring: A Promising Strategy for Youth Development. Child Trends Research Brief. Retrieved May 4, 2008 from: http://www. childtrends. org/Files//Child_Trends-2002_02_01_RB_Mentoring. df Moore McBride, A. , Benitez, C. , Sherraden, M. (2003a) The forms and nature of civic service: A global assessment, research report. St. Louis: Centre for Social Development, Washington University. Ross, D. and P. Roberts. (1999). Income and Child Well-Being: A New Perspective on the Poverty Debate. Ottawa: Canadian Council on Social Development. Saint, Hartnett, and Strassner (2004). Higher Education in Nigeria: A Status Report, U. S. A. : World Education News and Reviews. Volume 17, Issue 13. Retrieved from htt//:www. wes. rg/Ewnr/04 Sept/feature. htm Subar S. T. and Ashiru A. O. (2007): Technology Education and National Development: The Place of Infrastructure, a Paper Presented at NAEAP International Conference 2007,University of Lagos, Nigeria. UNESCO(1997): 50 Years for Education. France. Paris: UNESCO UNESCO. (2000). World Education Report 2000. Paris: UNESCO. 178 pp. UNESCO. (2002b). Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Paris: UNESCO,1,(7-59). World Bank. (1996). Nigeria: Poverty in the midst of plenty. Washington, D. C. The World Bank. World Bank. 1999). World development report: knowledge for development. Washington, D. C. : The World Bank. 251 pages. World Bank. (2002a). World development indicators. Washington, D. C. : The World Bank. 212 pages. World Bank. (2002b). Constructing knowledge societies: new challenges for tertiary education. Washington, D. C. : The World Bank. 164 pag es. Webb, P. , von Braun, J. and Yohannes, Y. 1992. Famine in Ethiopia: Policy Implications of coping failure at national and household levels. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D. C.

Amazon Case study

Question 1In what ways does Bezos’s decision to develop and deliver the Kindle and Kindle Fire show systematic and intuitive thinking?I think that Bezo’s decision to develop and to deliver the Kindle show systematic and intuitive thinking through competitive strategy to assure the success of the company. Competitive strategy refers to a strategy that is designed to create value for customers by providing lower prices or unique features not offered by rival organizations. This is proven based on Amazon’s quarterly filing ending March 31,2010 when their net sales had increased to 45% in the electronics category. Jeff Bezo, CEO of Amazon.com says â€Å" as we continue to offer increased selection, lower prices and additional product lines within our electronics and other general merchandise category, we expect to see the relative mix of sales from this category increase!†Another reason would be seeing an opportunity only Amazon.com can give long form reading to be digitalized. They have analyzed their strengths and capacities that helped them develop a new innovation in the market. From there, they were able to produce a refined product called Kindle that has the ability to review and remember more what a person reads follow people of interest and allows one to see their Public notes and manage his books, highlights, and notes.Question 2How do you describe the competitive risk in Amazon’s environment as Wal-Mart, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers strengthen their online offerings?Having the most of the services that Amazon provides myself it is my go to place for every time I am trying to make a purchase. In my opinion, since Amazon has established a great amount of customers and being the one of the most organized and friendly online place where you can purchase practically anything, it will be hard for other competitors to achieve such results. Also the greatest benefit to some people is not paying taxes on the products tha t they purchase which is currently being disused by the Government to have amazon costumers to pay a tax.Question 3Amazon is continuously looking for new markets to exploit. As CEO Bezos addresses the strategic opportunity of delivering streaming video, he calls on you for advice. Amazon’s presence and technology are already established in this market. But what decision error and traps might cause him to make the wrong decisions regarding Amazon’s future moves, and why? What can he do to best avoid these mistakes?Question 4What are the latest initiatives coming out of Amazon? How do they stack up in relation to actual or potential competition? How has the decision to produce the Fire turned out? Is Bezos making the right decisions as he guides the firm through today’s many business challenges?Latest initiatives that are coming out, is Prime membership.The benefits include:FREE Two-Day Shipping on eligible items. Note: If the item you're ordering is out of stock or unavailable to ship, we'll get it to you two days after it's back in stock. Remember to check the cut-off time shown on the detail page. Items are delivered every day but Sunday, and orders over $1300 may require a signature.FREE Standard Shipping on eligible items. FREE No-Rush Delivery (typical delivery one week after placing an order). Note: You may receive promotional credit for selecting No-Rush Shipping. Credit will be automatically applied to your Amazon.com account once the first package from a No-Rush Shipping-eligible order ships. You'll receive an e-mail as soon as the credit is available. You may select No-Rush Shipping as many times as it's offered to you, but you won't be eligible for the credit if you cancel your No-Rush Shipping order or return items from it.Shipping Upgrades to expedite delivery. Free Prime Instant Video access for paid or free trial members in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Note: Instant Video isn't available to customers receiving free Amazon Prime shipping benefits through Amazon Student, Amazon Mom, or as guests of another membership.Kindle Owners' Lending Library access to members in the U.S. For more information, go to Kindle Owners' Lending Library. Note: Customers in a paid membership, free trial or receiving a free month of Prime benefits with a Kindle Fire activation are eligible. The Kindle device must be associated with the Prime account that's eligible for the benefit.Early access for members in the U.S. to download a new book for free every month from the Kindle First picks. For more information, go to Kindle First.An estimated 200 million fire tablets have been shipped worldwide since 2009 and another 1 billion are predicted to ship over the next five years. Market intelligence firm ABI Research estimates that 22% of the U.S. tablet users spend $50 or more per month and 9% spend $100 or more – much higher than the spending levels observed for smartphone users. The growing popularity of Amazon’s Kindl e Fire range could mean that a major share of this spending will be re-directed to Amazon’s online storefronts. Since Kindle devices are optimized to run on Amazon’s services, we expect them to drive greater adoption of Amazon’s services. We believe that the content business comprising eBooks and movie/music streaming will be the biggest gainer from the trend.In my opinion he is defiantly making the right moves especially in todays business world.

Manufacturing proposals for gearbox and square Screw Research Proposal

Manufacturing proposals for gearbox and square Screw - Research Proposal Example In every research work there is a motivation behind it. The major motivation towards undertaking any research work is to find a solution to some unique and unanswered question. Addressing such question requires both explicit and implicit engagement into the field of study in order to elicit information that would in the end lead to the answer of that subject in question. Therefore the question this project is intended to answer is to develop a design of gearbox and square screw that can be used in the manufacture of pneumatic cowl actuator. The significance of this project is that it helps in developing a gearbox and a screw at a little cheaper and economically viable cost. This project will act as a partial fulfillment of my degree course requirements and also help towards improvements in the engineering industry and technology as a whole. The project is also meant to help in improving the aviation industry by helping produce cheaper and affordable aircraft parts. Several goals and set objectives are the driving force behind this research work. This is because there cannot be a journey without destination. The goals and objectives of this project is therefore, to the development of a square screw and gearbox, manufacture a cost-effective square screw and gearbox, to make a device that will make, to explore the field of engineering and aviation especially in the line of engine manufacturing, to assess the economic implications of developing an aircraft engine, to investigate the composition of an aircraft engine and to explore and understand the composition and components of a gearbox and square screw. Engineering and aviation industries have undergone several evolutionary developments since the invention of an aircraft several years ago. Operating the pneumatic cowl doors had been an uphill task due to lack of proper modernized ways of cowl actuation. This prompted the discovery of a control system that is electronic. The actuator is an embodiment that

Tourism and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tourism and Development - Essay Example Regrettably, many environmentalists seem unaware of this fact. This once again points to the necessity, for policy makers, managers, and scholars alike, to subscribe to an integrated systemic approach. Within this integrated approach to the development system are the three critically important and interdependent subsystems: economy, environment (conservation), and culture (including society). Taken together, the expanded system illuminates and in practical terms largely equates with the total environment, the total ecosystem, or more precisely the human environment, as an operational system (Gartner 1999, 117; Smith & Eadington 1992, 92). To think narrowly of the human world order in terms such as the "natural environment perturbed by human agencies" omits so much, is unrealistic and artificial, destroys an integrated approach, and by its restrictiveness all but denies sustainability in its non-fundamentalist new sense (West 2004, 307). At the other extreme, to think narrowly in terms of tourist management concerned only with tourism supply, demand, infrastructure, and consumers, in other words "the industry," is to sadly misinterpret today's realities. To view development in the matrix of the development system does not dilute attention to the economy or natural environment; rather, it adds significantly by acknowledging previously missing elements. Under contemporary circumstances, the natural environment is being looked at much more seriously than before, but in a considerably wider context. In developing countries1, it is understood that long term survival means the conservation and enhancement of the resource base in a closely knit milieu of cultural needs and economic aspirations. I term this element in this context "conservation," but conservation in its widest sense. Poverty is considered a major element in environmental degradation in some countries (for precision in the use of the term "degradation," see Butcher, 2002, 80). Attempts to prevent poverty in some places, and in others to prevent degradation from other sources and to restore degraded landscape while maintaining acceptable living conditions, require both development and redevelopment to take new and more benign directions. Large numbers of the elements of more conventional development may remain, but they may not be extended as far as previously and they might now explore new directions while others are being reassessed (Butcher 2002, 45). The removal of negative externalities where serious environmental and social impacts exist would normally become an expected cost of production, and higher consumer costs would be a tradeoff for a nondeteriorating, overall human environment (Farrell 1992, 27). The use of higher priced, chemical-free meat and vegetables, perceived by numbers of tourists as already worthwhile, or higher room rates associated with lower tourist densities on environmentally sensitive land would be examples. But for the tourism operator, all would not be lost by any means. What might appear a setback in one area can be an unexpected surprise in another. Interesting tradeoffs may arise, such as specialized eco-tourism (Mowforth & Munt 2003, 112). Other examples include tourism protecting or reinforcing the protection of wildlife in Kenya, gorillas and chimpanzees in Zaire (World Wildlife Fund-Conservation Foundation 1988 cited in Smith 2003, 33), harp seals in Labrador, wetlands in

Defending the Budget Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Defending the Budget - Essay Example As at September 2011, the department had 88 firefighters, 42 officers, 6 engines and 2 ladders (Fire-Rescue 2012). Recently, there has been a study stating that the department is inactive and slow at responding to emergency calls. This claim has driven the city manager to propose a reduction of the department’s budget due to the cited inactivity in this fire department. As the fire chief in this institution, I would like to express that this assumption is not true. This is because my department has carried out all its responsibilities and emergency responses with required efficiency. The department has not only attended to many calls in the time of my service to the station but also successfully managed to put out major fires and rescue many people, property and pets from burning houses and buildings. However, contrary to the viewpoint of the city manager, the Medford fire department does not involve itself with fire emergencies only. There are several other activities that we are actively involved in every other day. They include, examining buildings for hazards, evaluating new constructions, setting up car seats for children, offering fire prevention services, heavy rescue, and providing fire station tours. For instance, in the month of March this year, there were regular inspections carried out by officials of the department on fire and life safety division (FLSD) where 92 hazards were noted and immediate action was taken to rectify the situation (Fire-Rescue, 2012). The current amount in the budget is sufficient to cater for the emergency responses and other off-emergency activities the department is responsible for. Currently, my department receives and attends an average of two incidents every week. We have always ensured that the emergencies are attended to in the shortest time possible as saving lives is our first priority. These responses also include fire scares where our department always solves the crisis restoring confidence in people. The f irefighters are very co operative and will attend to their duties at any time of day or night. Their motivation and enthusiasm in their work has helped save lives. This kind of vigilance has been met with proper remuneration extended to all employees and supervisors of the department. In certain occasions, budgeted monetary rewards are also extended to firefighters who have performed best in their obligations. Therefore, in order to uphold the same levels of salaries and rewards, it is important to maintain the budget. Otherwise, a cut may demotivate the employees leading to underperformance. This would put many individuals and buildings in the danger of being consumed by fire. To successfully fight fire, collaboration between the general public and the fire fighters is essential. This collaboration can only be enabled by an effective communication process. The communication devices used by Medford fire fighters are up to date and are effective in accomplishing the objective of pass ing on information to its users. This has helped avoid many deaths that might have occurred during fire incidents. The firefighting team is always ready to take the emergency calls and attend to the fire rescues at any time of day. The maintenance of this efficient communication lines requires funds. Therefore,

Discussion Question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Discussion Question - Assignment Example If the company will just rely on company-owned stores, it will not be able to achieve the international exposure that it needs. One believes that franchising is the key to increasing the company’s market share worldwide. It will not be financially draining for the company unlike if company-owned stores are established. Another major organizational change which one proposes is for the company to require their store managers to conduct weekly meetings with the sales staff. This is being suggested because one believes that the sales staffs are the people who would know exactly what the customers want. At present, the sales staffs are not consulted about the scents or products that the customers prefer. One believes that management should give importance to the sales staff by asking feedback from them. This could be done through the weekly meetings. Furthermore, this will motivate the sales people more because they will realize that their opinions are important to the company. The organizational changes proposed above will hopefully help the company improve its profitability and at the same time lead them to the road towards global success. The implementation of the suggested changes may take some time but it will definitely benefit the company in the long

The Distinction Between Leadership and Management Assignment

The Distinction Between Leadership and Management - Assignment Example Leadership inspires while management directs people and manages work (Marquis, 2012). Leadership is also focused on vision while management is set achieving an articulated objectives (Kotterman, 2006). Leaders and managers also differ in their behaviors. A leader relies more on his or her charisma to have followers. Managers on the other hand relies more on formal authority. A leader is also transformational in his or her approach meaning his or her leadership makes followers better. Managers on the other hand are transactional which means that they rely on reward system to motivate their subordinates (Denehy, 2008). Both qualities however are needed in an organization to realize its objectives. Leadership provides the vision, the animated spirit that makes an organization thrive. Management on the other hand translates leadership into concrete objectives that should be achieved in quantifiable terms. Both qualities are needed for an organization to be successful. Merely relying on leadership or management alone is inadequate. They are however not mutually exclusive and both qualities and behavior can be had and practiced by an individual. Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2012). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams &

After Visiting Local Museum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

After Visiting Local Museum - Essay Example Visiting the museum, I had two agendas, one was an academic agenda, while the other was having a good time in the place and getting to know more about different things about the Native Americans. What caught my attention most was the atmosphere of the museum. The outside of the museum was serene and extremely quiet. The compound was dotted with different types of trees and shrubs that gave the compound an anaesthetic look and feeling. Its paved walkways gave the museum a decent feeling and look, which was captivating to the visitors. There were different species of flowers planted in close intervals, with the well-trimmed glass surrounding its compound. The first instance, the place looked less of a museum, with the neat compound with the extra efforts extended towards making it a beautiful place to captivate the attention of the people and the visitors. The outside walls of the one storey building housing the museum were red, with large windows that let in adequate light into the interior of the museum. The architectural design of the museum was very similar to that of a learning institution. Its interior walls were coloured bright, making it brightly lit from the inside. The arrangement of the collection was appealing. The arrangement of the collection pieces were in accordance to their respective categories. The professionalism used in the arrangement and the labelling of the artefacts as well as cultural pieces was amazing. Not a single piece appeared mistakenly placed, as their descriptions matched with the categories placed in.

Alternative energy source Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Alternative energy source - Research Paper Example Hydroelectric power technology is currently the least expensive source of electrical power. Moreover, it is much cleaner as opposed to the power that is generated using fossil fuels. Water that is flowing, and falling has potential energy whereby hydropower is generated by converting energy into the flowing water using a waterwheel or via a turbine into practicable mechanical energy (International Renewable Energy Agency, 7). Water potential energy could be used directly without converting it because of the different in elevation-diverted water through pipelines to supply the water in the day-to-day usage. The research paper is focused on first examining a brief background overview of hydropower technology in the world and how the technology has evolved over time. Then it will be followed by discussing the history overview of the technology. The description of the technology will briefly be discussed while examining the current state of the technology. Hydropower technology is the most flexible and coherent renewable energy resource, which is capable of meeting primary load electricity necessities. In addition, with pumped storage technology, it is capable of meeting peak and unexpected demand because of the shortage or the use of sporadic power sources. According to Gatte and Kadhim, researchers have conservatively estimated that only one-third of the total world’s capacity of the hydroelectricity power has been developed, with most of this growth and development been seen occurring in Europe (96). Hydropower is produced from water that is moving in the hydrological cycle that is driven by solar radiation. The potential energy embedded in this cycle is thus enormous; however, only a very limited amount can be technically developed. It is the water flow in rivers, which can be used in generating hydropower, or more specific, the energy of water, which is moving from

Moby Dick Narrative Essay Example for Free

Moby Dick Narrative Essay 1.In this video, we immediately learn of an obsessed captain who wants revenge. Why does he want revenge and against whom or what? The captain wants revenge because he lost his leg to Moby Dick. 2.Who is the narrator of Moby Dick and what is the first line of the novel? The first line of the novel is â€Å"Call me Ishmael† and the narrator is Ishmael. 3.There are two significant Biblical allusions mentioned in the film. To whom do these allusions reference? How are the names significant? The two significant Biblical allusions are Captain Ahab which is the King Ahab in the Bible and the whale, which is a symbol of God or the Devil. See more: how to start a narrative essay for college 4.The narrator states that Moby Dick symbolizes three different meanings for three different characters. List the characters and the meaning which Moby Dick symbolizes for each of them. Captain Ahab sees Moby Dick as the devil. Starbuck sees Moby Dick as just a fish and Ishmael accepts both of them. 5.Why did Melville choose to write about whaling? Why was the industry significant? At that time whale oil was very popular and it made the whale industry a hit, therefore; Melville wrote about whales. 6.What did Melville do when he was 21? He set sail towards the South Pacific, but after four years he returned and wrote about his visit with everyone on the island 7.What established writer did Melville befriend while he was writing Moby Dick? While he wrote Moby Dick he befriended Nathaniel Hawthorne. 8.Comment on the four harpooners of the Pequod; politically, why were they significant? The four harpooners were of different races and represented different cultures. 9.What happens to the Pequod towards the end of the book? Ahab? Ishmael? They were out at sea, and noticed that deep in the ocean a whale was giving birth, but that all of it was terrorized because of other whalers that set in. Ahab is killed and Ishmael is the only survivor of Pequod. 10.What were the final years of Melville like? Melvilles final years were filled with personal tragedies and failure. 1.Ahab, do you think if you killed Moby Dick, your life would be better? 2.Ahab, do you want revenge because of the loss of your leg or because he took something more than your leg, like your pride? 3.Ahab, what would you have done if the whale didnt bite your leg? 4.Ahab, why dont you every mention your wife or son? Is a whale more important than them? 5.Ahab, how do feel about yourself knowing that you let people die for your obsession with Moby Dick?

Achieving Competitive Advantage In The Biotechnology Sector Commerce Essay

Achieving Competitive Advantage In The Biotechnology Sector Commerce Essay Biotechnology can be generally defined as the use of living things to create products or to do tasks for human beings. Biotechnology or biotech is used in industry, medicine and agriculture to produce foods, medicine, and test for diseases and remove wastes. (Biotechnologyonline, n.d) As such, there are different types of biotech such as green technology, red technology, and white technology and Bio fuels. In this report, we will have an insight into each of these branches of biotech and use various analytical tools to evaluate how knowledge management is playing a role in creating competitive advantage for companies in the sector. In so doing, we shall look at the Green biotech, Red biotech, White biotech and bio fuel respectively. Green Biotechnology Green technology, otherwise known as plant or agricultural technology is a branch of biotechnology (biotech) which involves the introduction of foreign genes into economically important species, resulting in crop improvement and the production of novel products in plants. (123biotech, n.d.). To better understand the role of knowledge management in harnessing a competitive advantage in this branch of biotechnology, we will take Monsanto as case example. Monsanto is the worlds leading green technology company ahead of rival such as DuPont. (SmartMoney, 2009). The company specialises in breeding (improving the genetic base through technology of crops thus increase yield and genetic engineering (by enhancing generic traits in crops such as insect resistance, herbicide tolerance and drought-tolerance). (SmartMoney, 2009 and Monsanto, n.d.) As with its sister braches such as bioinformatics, white technology(industrial biotechnology), red technology(pharmaceuticals) as well as biofuels, green technology and companies associated with it like Monsanto, are not left unscathed by critics. For instance, Monsanto and its counterpatrs , through its use of plant technology has been criticised of endangering human, the environment and socio-economic.( Friends of the earth, 2006). Significance of Green Technology However, the following advantages are beign celebrated by its supporters: Protection of Crops: for instance, the AT-DBF2 gene from Arabidopsis Thaliana crop injected into plants to enable them withstands Osmotic stress such as drought, salt and stress. (PNAS, n.d.) Increase Crop yield: during the teething years of biotechnology in term of Genetically Modified Food, there has been a widespread criticism of GMO claiming that GM Crops do not increase crop yield, that on the contrary it, reduces it. (Truth about Trade and Technology, 2009). These claims were dismissed by the then USA president Jimmy Carter who stated that, responsible biotechnology is not the enemy; starvation is. (Biotechnology Industry Organisation, n.d.)His favourable stance towards green biotechnology because of organisms like the Bacillus Thuringiensis used to produce the BT-corn. Introduces in 1996, the Bt corn has the potential to simplify management and effectively control corn borers throughout the season thus increasing its yield. (College of Agriculture, n.d.) Improved Food Quality: an example of this was the invention of the Golden Rice by Prof Potrykus and Prof. Beyer of ETH-Zurich and University of Freiburg respectively. The Golden rice is believed to alleviate Vitamin A deficiency in young people especially in the developing world. (Golden Rice, n.d.) Another example is the Maltogenic Amylase used for Retardation of staling in baked food, such as bread and cakes. (Food and Agriculture Organisation, 1997) Having had an insight about how green technology functions, its pros and cons, it is now essential to discover how companies like Monsanto use knowledge management in harnessing and safeguarding innovation in order to create a sustainable competitive advantage against rivals like DuPont. Knowledge Management as a competitive advantage vehicle. To understand the role knowledge management in achieving competitive advantage for biotech companies such as Monsanto, lets apply the Resource-Based View of strategy coined by Grant (1991citied in Henry, 2008). This analysis seeks to analyse how a company exploits its resources to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage against its rivals in the industry. (Henry, 2008) A resource-based view of strategy analysis Consumer Confidence, First Mover Advantage, Tap blue Oceans, CAPABILITY Fund expensive RD, New Product Development RESOURCES Finances, Experts, Human Capital COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Knowledge power, Experience curve STRATEGY Differentiation (Grant 1991 cited in Henry 2008) Step 1: Resources: Biotech industries such as Monsanto go beyond the ordinary in Identifying and attaining young talent; because technology can easily be rendered obsolete, there is always the never-ending necessity to pool talent and innovate. Thus, biotech companies like Monsanto are in collaboration with renowned sciences universities like Truman State University to recruit outstanding students with sound sciences background. (Monsanto, n.d.).Furthermore, with their immense finance capability, they are able to fund and exploit these talents. Step 2: Capability: with their finance abilities, these biotech companies are able to fund rigorous Research and Development: Monsanto reported spend $2.6m dollars a day in research and development on how breeding and genetic engineering could develop corn, cotton and soybean seeds that yield more bountiful and nutritious crops and protect against bugs and weeds. (SmartMoney, 2009)This paids off has the company as been able to develop leading brands such as Acceleron, Roundup Ready,Asgrow and Yieldgard for plant resistance to osmotic stress as well as De Ruiter Seeds,Dekalb and Deltapine(Monsanto, n.d.) Step 3: Competitive Advantage: consequently, Monsanto is able to acquire a sustainable competitive advantage due to its ability to create Knowledge power and experience curve on producing competitive and fast selling products like its renowend leading brands like , Acceleron and Roundup Ready Step 4: Strategy: as a result, Monsanto adopt a differentiation strategy. This diferentiation strategy is typical of biotech companies with exception to biofuel companies as they end result; fuel, once drilled and refined is standard worldwide. Step 5: Bridging any resources Gaps: this calls for proactiveness from the part of the company as it involves identifying where the company is weak and formulating adequate strategy to address such weaknesses or resource deficeincies. For instance, tapping blue oceans or untouched markets to increase the companys economies of scale (Henry, 2008) Knowledge Protection in Biotech Use of copyright and licensing: to safeguard knowledge and innovation the company licenses seed germplasm or biotechnology traits to approximately 200 seed partners in the United States. (Monsanto, 2009) In summary, it can be argued that because of the level of technological innovation that occurs in the biotechnology such as green technology, its both a key and critical success factor for company to effectively and efficiently management knowledge by harnessing and protecting its knowledge thus maintain a competitive edge. This we have evaluated using the resourced-based view of strategy analysis coined by Grant (1991 citied in Henry 2008). Red Technology Introduction: The term biopharmaceutical means that developing medicines from using living cells, proteins and nucleic acids. None of the two biopharmaceuticals can be same. Over the past decade world has seen enormous development in this sector. Part 2. The Value Chain Procurement Technology Development Human Resource Management Firm Infrastructure Post Sales Service Inbound Logistics RD Production Marketing Sales MARGIN MARGIN Adopted from Micheal E. Porter Competitive Advantage: Creating and sustaining Superior Performance. (1985 p.37) A lot of researchers like Porter (1985, p36) Henry (2008, p103) have emphasized the importance and application of Value chain analysis. We can assess the strength and weaknesses of any biotechnology company by looking at its resources. It expresses important information about strategy and focus of a particular company. By identifying key focus areas, companies can concentrate in achieving competitive advantages. Biotech companies tend to elongate their value chains by getting into alliance with the business partners; this can either be done by incorporating the concept of upstream or downstream value. Henry (2008, p103) depicts the importance and benefits of adopting this strategy. By exploiting the resources of partners, a biotech company can maximize operational efficiency. This operational efficiency leads to achieve competitive advantage. Each industry sector is unique in terms of function. Biotechnology industry, mostly being a manufacturing industry always works differently as compared to a service industry because of the fact that primary and support activities vary from industry to industry. Porter (1985, 38-40) also supports this fact. Like most of other industries, knowledge management plays a vital role in biotechnology sector and is considered to be a primary activity. Prusak as cited in Young (2008, p5) states that knowledge management is all about the information that is in the brain of individuals as an asset and how it is used to leverage into corporate asset. In biotechnology, explicitly it can be transformed into a corporate knowledge paradigm. This idea is also supported by Gorelick, April and Milton. (2004). In biotechnology sector, even if you look at any sub-sector of biotechnology, industry innovation is the foremost weapon to achieve competitive advantage. Cooke and Mayes (1996, p.13-15) also established relationship of innovation and competition. This mean that by innovation biotech companies achieve competitive advantage and in turns get increased market shares with higher growth rates. The innovation is leading to new effective products thus enabling biotech companies to achieve competitive advantage. By looking at the value chain analysis of biotech industry we come to know that the most valued activity is innovation and knowledge management. That is why biotech companies invest heavily in research and development (RD). For biotech industry RD part of value chain is much more focused and valued. In biofuel, biofood and bioagri the value chain is more or the less same, but when we look at biopharmaceutical and bioinformatics, the value chain tends to alter itself a little bit. The activity that also affects biophrmaceuical is that the phase of clinical trial demands a lot of time, capital and management. Procurement Technology Development Human Resource Management Firm Infrastructure Post Sales Service Inbound Logistics RD Production Marketing Sales MARGIN MARGIN Clinical Trials A typical value chain for biopharmaceutical company. Knowledge is a scarce resource and that is why there are very few biotechnology companies in the market. Adopted from Tzokas, N. and Saren, M. By looking at the above figure it is clear that knowledge management is difficult to achieve. Companies transform their knowledge-based and skills-based information with equipment-based knowledge to create competitive advantage. Theses factors build an organizational culture of innovation and the stake holders like employee and customers force company to come up with new ideas We need to investigate about the potential contribution of each stakeholder-based knowledge pool to the strategic investments, plots and projections undertaken by the biotech firms. The long term development effort needs trust relationship from stockholders that the deliverable of RD can result in to a competitive advantage. This can be done by making multidimensional plans linking knowledge requirements and knowledge pools, thus evolving a knowledge space in which the strategic issues of the firm and its stakeholders can be positioned. As such knowledge space and associated distances can be used as navigational instruments for knowledge utilization. White Technology Biotechnology is now used as a very wide term, but we can say that in general term that it the use of organisms by human . In recent years and past also researchers all over the world got new techniques and ideas to develop biotechnology and changing the future. the most known invention of biotechnology is cloning of animal as well as of name. This amazing technology works at visual as well as molecular level. INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY Industrial biotechnology is recognized everywhere in the world weather to prepare consumer goods, material, chemical.( www.liebertpub.com,12:04) Industrial Biotechnology is the premier forum for this critical field and the only publication bridging biotechnology RD with later-stage commercialization for all industrial and environmental applications . it include fooding items ,textiles, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and body care products and many other products which we use in our daily life. The growing companies in many countries are taking help of biotechnology. By this companies make promise to the public to deliver new and improved products to their customers. Industrial biotechnology is of two types red and white. Red technology is now ignored by the companies and very less companies are dedicated with white biotechnology. PEST ANALYSIS POLITICAL FACTORS The first and the foremost factor to go through in pest analysis is the political factor. Researchers has emphasizes a lot on this factor. One such researcher is Jobber (2007, p79) who is of the opinion that Political and Legal issues can influence marketing decisions by setting the rules by which business can be conducted. Union Laws, Collusion, Abuse of market dominance, acquisitions and mergers, state aid and national laws are few of the political factors that reshape the companies. This factor includes all the political effects which affect the company or an organization. In some business political issues are much higher than any other companies but in case of industrial biotechnology government supports it and make policies to amend it or to improve it so that the future of a country can get improved and standard of living can be increased. All those organizations which do experiments on different methods of industrial biotechnology, government gives rebate from taxes pass legislations and create new departments to look at their working procedures. Strong legislation makes the Through legislation biotech companies are getting their products and processes patented. The biotech companies usually invest heavily in RD and come up with innovative products; these deliverables are end result of knowledge management. By getting the patent biotech companies make sure that their intellectual property right is secured and hence they achieve competitive advantage as no other company can imitate that. In the case of biopharmaceutical, the main governing body is FDA (Foods and Drugs Administration, USA). FDA ECONOMIC FACTOR Economic environment is the second most important factor in PEST analysis. Factors that affect consumer buying power and spending patterns Kotler et al (1999, p158) As evident from the various researchers, monetary policy, interests and exchange rates, income distribution, change in purchasing power, change in spending patterns, availability and rising cost of energy, labor and raw material has lead to significant changing in business world. World economy is in recession, so is the case of UKs. Unemployment ratio has gone up; peoples purchasing power is going down with a less savings. People are naturally focused more on spending towards necessities. Incomes are low. In this case consumer will move toward those products which saves their money and bio-products are one of those products which are cheap and reusable without damaging the envoirment and causing pollution. Envoirment issues are to be considered when it comes to shopping point of view and traveling. Legislation Banerjee, (1998) as cited in Charter and Polonsky (1999, p31), states that The threat of tougher legislation and the rising costs of complying with environmental regulations are possible motivating factors for firms to incorporate environmental concerns in their strategies. Tougher legislation can affect a firm in two ways: first the cost of compliance becomes prohibitive, second, legislation can require substantial changes in product or package design or distribution channels. (Taking back used thing) Public Concern Another important reason for firms to develop an international orientation and strategy is the rise in public concern for the environment. There are literally hundreds of opinion polls on the environment conducted in Europe, Asia and USA. Charter and Polonsky (1999, p32) The need to maintain a good public image and respond to public concerns can lead to firms adopting corporate environmentalism. Charter and Polonsky (1999, p33) Need for competitive advantage There are numerous cases where the installation of new environmentally friendly technologies has reduced costs for firms Charter and Polonsky (1999, p35) Social factors Social / cultural factors include Demographics forces, World Population growth, Age distribution, household structures and social factors. According to Kotler et al (1999, p153) the European and American societies are evidencing huge demographic shifts. Technological Factors Kotler et al. (1999, p165) Forces that create new technologies, creating new product and market opportunities. Those companies which have good knowledge about the new products can develop those and can attract new and existing customers. By this method apart from new technology awareness among public will also able to increase. Companies with better knowledge will develop new products in order to spread awarness among all sectors of consumers. Bibliography? Biofuels Introduction Biotechnology Biotechnology is the use of biological processes, organisms, or systems to manufacture products intended to improve the quality of human life. Biotechnology is an important innovative tool to attain The target the various levels example Bio fuels Bio informative, Bio medics, agriculture Biotechnology proficiency can serve to increase biomass yield, improve crop quality, and convert agriculture waste into bio fuels. (whatistechtarget n.d) Bio fuel It is also knows as agro fuel, these fuels are mainly derived from Biomass or Bio waste. Its often derived from plants and animals. Bio fuel is used faster growing modern technology for transporting sector. Liquid form of fuel is required for most vehicles is this convenient for storage and delivery, hence the bio mass is converted to liquid form. Bio fuel plays a virtual role in modern fuel manufacturing as they are renewable source of energy. Ethanol is the most commonly used Bio fuel in the world particularly in Brazils and largest exporters Asia, Europe and America are the some major producer of bio gases Lleading fuel companies like Bps and Shells company they involved in research and development in bio fuels. (biofuel,n.d) Generic strategies Porters alter the system by reducing its down to three best strategies. Overall Cost leadership Differentiation strategies Focus strategy strategies Overall cost leadership: A firm produced standard product by low cost and also take responsibility of economic scale and experience curve effect. market share is advantage. Differentiation strategies: A company is aimed at broad market. the product must some special feature like advance technology, brand image, etc Focus strategies: In this focus strategies a firm concentrated in market and particular group of consumer. (Reference) Overall cost leadership ? Bio fuel are the cheapest form of fuel you can ever get they dont need big investment in new distribution system but just the basic establishing plant is enough to produce them bio fuel mostly involves in long term investment. Hence Initial investment is very crucial. Its been assessed that share holders all over the world show keen interest in investing huge amount of money in this upcoming promising sector. Differentiation strategies? Bio fuel is renewable source of energy unlike others fuels they have less emission of air pollutants. Hence they are environment friendly; they are very low cost so they can match all the price of leading fuels. The impact of Hybrid cars and green cars with play a massive role in decreasing global warming. Focus strategies? Bio fuel industry will create a big employment opportunities all over the world and helps the countrys economy to develop as well. They provide jobs at all levels even form farmers to scientists. This industry has been welcomed by all countries and they are trying to be innovative to improve this sector all over the world. Most government offer discount and tax reduction on green cars thus encouraging people to buy them. This difference makes the bio fuel market to be more competitive in the fuel market. In forward planning about the global warming all nation now concentrate on bio fuel as they play a vital role in helping to control the pollution. APPLICATION OF PORTERS THEORY TO BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY Biotech industry has a varied range of applications like in agriculture, molecular biology, health care, pharma sector, chemical industry, environment related and so on. Porters five forces theory helps us to understand and interpret the business processes. This knowledge can be translated to gain a competitive edge over the competitors. This theory is also used to assess the profits that can be generated in the proposed business scenario or the services or products. According to this theory, the five forces that decide the competitive power of the firm in the industry are as follows, Threat of new entrants In the biotech industry, intellectual property is the most important asset. The firms in this industry are heavily dependent on funding to sustain the research and development activities. And very negligible revenue is generated by the firm till the product is developed. So finance is one of the major barrier that keeps away new entrants from the industry. Another barrier that deters the new entrants is the want of specialized knowledge in the area of research or development. Patent rights and proprietary rights also act as barriers to some extent. In some cases where knowledge and patent rights are easily overcome, many small players come into the picture. Although entry is easy for smaller companies, sustenance would be very difficult in this industry. Suppliers As discussed earlier, intellectual property is the most important asset in this industry. The biotech firms usually do not heavily rely on the suppliers. The tools, kits, equipment, chemicals and all other requirements are highly specialized. However small companies who either fail to explore new channels of distribution or who cannot afford the traditional channels of distribution, are at a loss, as they are compelled to enter into marketing alliances. Buyers The power of buyers is not uniform throughout the biotech arena. Earlier, the pharma companies were not affected by the buyers as the customers did not have or had a very little say about the product. The pharma companies had marketing alliances with the hospitals, pharmacists and agents. So the buyer power was less. In case of firms where the major purchasers are the governments or the hospitals, the buyers are strong. But now the health care companies, insurance companies and common man have entered the arena. The increasing price sensitivity of this new group of buyers is forcing the biotech companies to cut the prices and therefore the profit margin is becoming less. In addition to this, governments in some developing countries are pressurizing the biotech companies to take some social responsibility. ( as in the case of providing vaccines for epidemics at an economical price.) So there is a clear shift and the buyers power is increasing. Substitutes The availability of substitutes also depends on the kind of bitech firm/product. If the knowledge and patent rights are not properly protected, the investment in Research and Development (R D) cannot be recovered. If the patent can be easily overcome, some other company can simply copy the formula/application to offer the product at a much cheaper price. So the formulae/knowledge are to be carefully guarded through patenting and Intellectual Property (IP) rights. In some cases, cheaper chemical product alternatives may be available to the sophisticated and more accurate biotech products. Rivalry The competition rivalry is too intense in the biotech industry. Market analysis shows that only 1% of the biotech firms manage to make a profit. Biotech industry is largely dominated by few large firms although there are hundreds of smaller companies. All the firms are struggling to translate their RD efforts into a breakthrough innovation/product. This innovation could potentially change the fate of the firm overnight. So the Intellectual Property is carefully guarded and the rivalry is extremely high in this industry. For example, In U.S, 82 % of biotech firms make 0 % profit, 76 % of firms have less than 50 employees and only 30 companies have more than 300 employees. Porters five forces theory certainly helps in understanding the pros and cons, the opportunities and threats in the business situation. This theory definitely aids in evolving a business strategy. but this theory may not be of great help in assessing the degree of ease or difficulty or profitability in dealing with the business situation. In this context, this theory does not consider the following strategic influences like, Industry merges and acquisitions have become the norm of the day and the consequences of such deals cannot be assessed and is not taken into consideration. Research and innovation has the potential to dramatically change the face of the industry. As new discoveries/innovations occur, many new threats/opportunities spring up. This makes the biotech industry a highly vulnerable one. This aspect is left out by the theory.

Racial themes in the film To Kill A Mockingbird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Racial themes in the film To Kill A Mockingbird Racial categories are created in the film To Kill A Mockingbird through a complex societal hierarchy founded in difference. Although all of Macon county lives in poverty, the town does not unite on the basis of this shared experience, but instead focuses on their differences, both real and imagined, to segregate themselves. The town operates under a general assumption that wealthier whites hold the most power and prestige, followed by poorer whites, while all blacks, regardless of financial station, are considered to be the lowest citizens. General depictions of black men and women in the film are of household servants and ignorant, docile farm workers. The only slight indication that there were any educated blacks in Macon comes from the appearance of the preacher at Tom Robinson’s trial. Held on charges of raping and beating a poor, white woman, Mr. Robinson is portrayed as a meek and nearly helpless man. The fact that he can barely speak in his own defense, relays both the idea that black men were uneducated, as well as the idea that blacks were afraid to step over the boundaries of their society. Attics Finch, a kind and fair white lawyer, is the only person to speak up for Mr. Robinson. This demonstrates the idea that the lowly black man needs a benevolent white man to â€Å"save† him and direct his life along the right path. Black men and women in the film are unable to make their own decisions. Clearly, there were obvious lines drawn in Macon, delegating specific roles to the various groups of citi zens. The dark pigment of Mr. Robinson’s skin placed him on the bottom rung of society, forcing him into a subservient position. It is difficult to discern whether the film is attempting to garner sympathy for the oppressed black community, or reinforce stereotypes of ignorant and complacent black men and women. While the initial depictions of the black community center around the Finch’s maid, Calpurnia, the respect with which the family treats her is far from the norm. Ranging from the callous indifference of several of the white law-enforcement officers, to the blatant racism of the group of country farmers, much meaning is assumed from difference. The racism of Macon seems to stem from the Southern history of slavery.

Eli Whitney Essay -- essays research papers

By 1790 slavery was on the decline in America. Apart from tobacco, rice, and a special strain of cotton that could be grown only in very few places, the South really had no money crop to export. Tobacco was a land waster, depleting the soil within very few years. Land was so cheap that tobacco planters never bothered to reclaim the soil by crop rotation -- they simply found new land farther west. The other crops -- rice, indigo, corn, and some wheat -- made for no great wealth. Slaves cost something, not only to buy but to maintain, and some Southern planters thought that conditions had reached a point where a slave's labor no longer paid for his care. Eli Whitney came to the south in 1793, conveniently enough, during the time when Southern planters were in their most desperate days. In a little over a week, he started the biggest avalanche of production that any economy had ever experienced. The South would never be the same again. Eli Whitney was born on December 8, 1765 in Westboro, Massachusetts. The tall, heavy-shouldered boy worked as a blacksmith. He had an almost natural understanding of mechanisms. On a machine made at home, he made nails, and at one time he was the only maker of ladies' hatpins in the country. In his early twenties, Whitney became determined to attend Yale College. Since Yale was mostly a school for law or theology, his parents objected. How could Yale College help enhance his mechanical talents? Finally, at the age of twenty-three, Whitney became a student at Yale. By this time, he seemed almost middle-aged to his classmates. After he graduated with his degree in 1792, he found that no jobs were available to a man with his talents. He eventually settled for teaching, and accepted a job as a tutor in South Carolina, his salary was promised to be one hundred guineas a year. He sailed on a small coasting packet with only a few passengers, among whom was the widow of the Revolutionary general, Nathanael Greene. The Greenes had settled in Savannah after the war. When Whitney arrived in South Carolina, he found that the promised salary was going to be halved. He not only refused to take the position, but decided to give up teaching all together. Coming to his aid, Mrs. Greene invited him to her plantation where he could read law, and also help out the plantation manager, Phineas Miller. Miller, a few years older than Whitney, wa... ...housand dollars in bonds from his friends in New Haven, and he personally borrowed ten thousand dollars from the New Haven bank. The sum involved in this big order, $134,000, was the biggest single transaction in the country at that time. By then end of the first year, Whitney was just getting into production, a big accomplishment for those times, but instead of the four thousand muskets he had promised, there were only five hundred produced. When news of this got to Whitney's financial backers, they became doubtful. All in all, it took Whitney almost eight years to fill the entire order. There were still many gaps in his system. There were endless bugs to be worked out, however, most of the ten thousand muskets were produced in the last two years. In 1811, Whitney took another order, this time for fifteen thousand. These were all produced in only two years. Whitney continued on with his development of the factory until his death on January 8, 1825. Unfortunately, Whitney has been all but forgotten. He is mostly remembered as "the cotton man," and nothing else. However, without the ingenuity and dedication of this individual, who knows where the world might be today. Eli Whitney Essay -- essays research papers By 1790 slavery was on the decline in America. Apart from tobacco, rice, and a special strain of cotton that could be grown only in very few places, the South really had no money crop to export. Tobacco was a land waster, depleting the soil within very few years. Land was so cheap that tobacco planters never bothered to reclaim the soil by crop rotation -- they simply found new land farther west. The other crops -- rice, indigo, corn, and some wheat -- made for no great wealth. Slaves cost something, not only to buy but to maintain, and some Southern planters thought that conditions had reached a point where a slave's labor no longer paid for his care. Eli Whitney came to the south in 1793, conveniently enough, during the time when Southern planters were in their most desperate days. In a little over a week, he started the biggest avalanche of production that any economy had ever experienced. The South would never be the same again. Eli Whitney was born on December 8, 1765 in Westboro, Massachusetts. The tall, heavy-shouldered boy worked as a blacksmith. He had an almost natural understanding of mechanisms. On a machine made at home, he made nails, and at one time he was the only maker of ladies' hatpins in the country. In his early twenties, Whitney became determined to attend Yale College. Since Yale was mostly a school for law or theology, his parents objected. How could Yale College help enhance his mechanical talents? Finally, at the age of twenty-three, Whitney became a student at Yale. By this time, he seemed almost middle-aged to his classmates. After he graduated with his degree in 1792, he found that no jobs were available to a man with his talents. He eventually settled for teaching, and accepted a job as a tutor in South Carolina, his salary was promised to be one hundred guineas a year. He sailed on a small coasting packet with only a few passengers, among whom was the widow of the Revolutionary general, Nathanael Greene. The Greenes had settled in Savannah after the war. When Whitney arrived in South Carolina, he found that the promised salary was going to be halved. He not only refused to take the position, but decided to give up teaching all together. Coming to his aid, Mrs. Greene invited him to her plantation where he could read law, and also help out the plantation manager, Phineas Miller. Miller, a few years older than Whitney, wa... ...housand dollars in bonds from his friends in New Haven, and he personally borrowed ten thousand dollars from the New Haven bank. The sum involved in this big order, $134,000, was the biggest single transaction in the country at that time. By then end of the first year, Whitney was just getting into production, a big accomplishment for those times, but instead of the four thousand muskets he had promised, there were only five hundred produced. When news of this got to Whitney's financial backers, they became doubtful. All in all, it took Whitney almost eight years to fill the entire order. There were still many gaps in his system. There were endless bugs to be worked out, however, most of the ten thousand muskets were produced in the last two years. In 1811, Whitney took another order, this time for fifteen thousand. These were all produced in only two years. Whitney continued on with his development of the factory until his death on January 8, 1825. Unfortunately, Whitney has been all but forgotten. He is mostly remembered as "the cotton man," and nothing else. However, without the ingenuity and dedication of this individual, who knows where the world might be today.

A Rebuttal of Brother, Don’t Spare a Dime :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

A Rebuttal of â€Å"Brother, Don’t Spare a Dime† In â€Å"Brother, Don’t Spare a Dime,† L. Christopher Awalt says that homeless people are homeless on their own accord. He believes â€Å"many of them seem to have chosen the lifestyles they lead† (Awalt))).. This article states that most homeless people would prefer to escape responsibility rather than fix their social and economic problems. Awalt uses an example of a man who had been on the streets for about 10 years. He provided this man with resources to improve his life and within four months he was making progress. By the sixth month the man had checked himself out of the hospital and was back on the streets drunk again. Awalt does show a few people are the victims of tragic circumstances and will bounce back in a short period of time. Awalt believes homeless people have become dangerous to the public, and they do not deserve our money to help them out of their predicament. We do not agree with Awalt’s assumption that the majority of the homeless people in the United States are there because of their lack of responsibility. There are many causes of homelessness that cannot be avoided, and the majority of the people that become homeless will not be on the streets for long. Awalt states that for every person who is temporarily homeless, there are many who are chronically homeless (Awalt). Yet, according to the National Resource Center (NRC) on Homelessness and Mental Illness, 80% of the homeless population is off of the streets within 2 to 3 weeks. The NRC is the only national center specifically focused on the effective organization and delivery of services to the homeless and the mentally ill. It is important to note that the NRC reports 10% of people are homeless for 2 months and only 10% are chronically homeless. This fact shows that many people want to get back to ordinary lives and will work hard to do so, in spite of Awalt’s claims. One reason why people become homeless could be due to the decline of housing units affordable to extremely low income households (National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness).

Practical Life Exercises in Montessori and Development of Social Skills

â€Å"We can imagine an adult’s society organized as constructive society on the same lines as children’s that is on lines with this natural society of cohesion. Attachment to other people is the first stage which brings all men to work for a common ideal. It would be good for men if society could be constructed like this but we cannot command this. It must come from nature. If nature is the basis the construction will be superior, but without this basis there can only be an artificial construction which breaks down easily. † (The Child, Society and the World,  p 24, Chap III) Maria Montessori termed a child as a â€Å"Spiritual embryo†, which is in the embryonic stage of the future fully transformed adult. A society is a group of adults, while a group of children can be termed as an embryonic stage of the future society. A group of children is nothing but a school or a place where children spend time together. Hence, Montessori termed social development as possibly the most important element in her schools. Her emphasis on children being allowed the freedom to work alone and to develop concentration did not mean that she underestimated the importance of social development. Instead what she saw was that it was precisely because the children were allowed to work in such freedom that they then displayed their innate social cohesion. She saw that true discipline and harmony was something that came from within and was not something that could be enforced. â€Å"The children then are orderly and have a harmonious discipline. A discipline in which each has different interests. It is different from the discipline of a soldier, with his forced obedience, when we all have to do the same thing at the moment. This is a social discipline and it brings people into harmony with each other. † (The Child, Society and the World, p 24, Chap III) Dr. Montessori designed her environment as a miniature of the world outside. She provided social exposures in all angles to a child in her environment. â€Å"There is a great sense of community within the Montessori classroom, where children of differing ages work together in an atmosphere of cooperation rather than competitiveness. There is respect for the environment and for he individuals within it, which comes through experience of freedom within the community. † (The Essential Montessori: An Introduction to the Woman, the Writings, the Method, and the Movement, Elizibeth. G. Hainstock, Plume publishers-Penguin Group) A child when enters a Montessori environment, will be in a pre-normalized state, with fear, anxiety, confused and other not so well felt condition. Pre-normalized child can be brought to normalized state by giving him purpo seful work, through structured environment. What is this purposeful work and how is a structured environment defined? A child will have certain inner urge for certain kind of the work according to which, she will be prompted to focus her attention on certain elements in her environment, for a certain period of time. These periods are termed as sensitive period. There are six of these sensitive periods Sensitivity to Order: The Child shows the need for order in several ways like seeing things in accustomed places. Learning through their five senses: The child has a natural curiosity to explore things around him, feeling them with his five senses. Sensitivity to small objects:. The sensitivity to small details holds the child’s attention for an extended period, fostering the ability to focus. Sensitivity to language: The Absorbent Mind of the small child makes an intellectual achievement unconsciously under the guidance of a special â€Å"sensitivity† that enables it to select certain sounds from all the other phenomena in the environment. Sensitivity to co-ordination of movement: In this period, the child has an involuntary inclination to perform and repeat movement purely for the sake of gaining greater and more precise control. Sensitivity to social aspect of life: Children pay special attention to other children of their own age. The work of Sensitive period enables recognizable affections and friendships to develop. In this way, the child learns to be part of a group. Sensitive periods provide children a natural tendency to learn. The stages of learning exist for which there should be corresponding educational environments and appropriately trained teachers to â€Å"prepare the environment. † The child learns independently using the components of the environment and the teacher guides and observes the child who chooses his activities. The teacher is the link between the child and the environment. The learning environment cultivates individualization, freedom of choice, concentration, independence, problem solving abilities, social interaction, interdisciplinary breadth and competency in basic skills. The Montessori classroom is a â€Å"living room† for children. Children choose their activities from open shelves with self-correcting materials and work in distinct work areas – on tables or on the mats on the floor. Over a period of time, the children develop into a â€Å"normalized community† working with high concentration and few interruptions. An environment includes the following components: 1. Practical Life Exercises 2. Sensorial Education 3. Language Development 4. Arithmetic 5. Cultural Education Montessori Practical Life Exercises (PLE) is seen as the cornerstone of the Montessori method. These exercises provide the opportunity for purposeful work; assist young children in their development- physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally. PLE are designed to teach children life skills as these help children develop intelligent and be in responsible contact with their surroundings. These enhance the children's control over their movements, exercising the muscles of the whole body with understanding and willed purposes. The materials given will be familiar, tempting and is food for the sensitivity of the child. â€Å"An isolated individual cannot develop his individuality. He must put himself in relationship with his environment and within the reach of the events and the life of his times. † (http://www. montessori-namta. org/NAMTA/PDF%20files/Outcomes. pdf, Child’s Instinct to Work, Maria Montessori) A Montessori Practical Life Exercise area is prepared in such a way that, a bit of everything is put into it. This particular area is dynamic and varies from school to school and place to place. It depends on the interest and the creativity of the adult and also reflects the cultural practices of that particular place. â€Å"The objects which we use for practical life, have no scientific significance; they are the objects in use, where the child lives and which he sees being used in his home; they are made, however in sizes adapted to the little man. Montessori Maria, The Discovery of the child, Pg 108, 2006) Evidently, a Montessori environment is a miniature of the society outside, where a child is exposed to the similar things that he finds in the world outside. The way a child works with these material and with the other kids is nothing but a mini community created inside the Montessori environment. Practical life exercises are designed to teach children life skills. The practica l life area is of great importance in the Montessori classroom, yet it is the least standardized since almost all the materials are teacher made or assembled. The Practical Activities allow the child to try doing what adults all around may be seen doing each and everyday – for example, dressing one-self, cleaning then home, and greeting people. In addition to giving the child an opportunity for self-development, these activities provide an orientation to the customs of the child’s particular society. These precise contents of the Practical Activities should therefore differ from culture to culture. † (Getmann David, Basic Montessori: learning activities for under-five, St. Martin's Press, 1987) Principles of the Montessori Practical Life Materials †¢ Each material must have a definite purpose and be meaningful to the child †¢ The difficulty or the error that the child is to discover and understand must be isolated in a single piece material. †¢ The materials progress from simple to more complex in design and usage. †¢ The materials are designed to prepare the child indirectly for future learning. †¢ The materials begin as concrete expressions of an idea and gradually become more abstract. Montessori materials are designed for auto-educative and the control of error lies in the materials themselves rather than in the teacher. The control of error guides the child in the use of the materials and permits him to recognize his own mistakes. Addition to the above principle, the following points must be considered when preparing the practical life exercises. †¢ Materials are kept together in a small basket or on a tray. It should be grouped and kept together according to the level of development to which they correspond. They must be taken from and returned to its original place. †¢ Materials are kept within their reach. †¢ Materials must be of the right size, weight, clean and intact. †¢ Materials are identical among themselves with exception of the variable quality which they possess. †¢ Materials must be attractive in colour, brightness and proportion †¢ Materials should be limited in quantity. â€Å"Te teacher superintends, it is true: but it is things of various kinds, which call to children of various ages. Truly the brilliance, the colours, the beauty of gaily decorated objects are none other than voices, which call the attention of the child to themselves and urge him to do something. Those objects possess an eloquence which no mistress can ever attain to. â€Å"Take me† they say â€Å"See that I am not damaged, put me in my place. † And the action carried out at the instigation of things gives the child that lively satisfaction, that access of energy, which prepares him for the more difficult work of intellectual development. (Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child, pg 110) Practical Life Exercises are meant to resemble everyday activities and all materials will be familiar, real, breakable, and functional. The materials will also be related to the child’s time and culture. In order to allow the child to fully finish the exercise and to therefore finish the full cycle of the activity, the material will be complete. In the environment, the Directress may wan t to color code the materials as well as arrange the materials based on difficulties in order to facilitate the classification and arrangements of the work by the children. The attractiveness will also be at utmost importance as Montessori believed that the child must be offered what is most beautiful and pleasing to the eye so as to help the child enter into a â€Å"more refined and subtle world†. Activities: All the activities given will have certain Direct aims and certain Indirect aims. Direct aims are those, where the child learns to do the particular activity and the purpose of the activity is served. Where as indirect aims are those, where child learns many more things from the activity. There are four major categories in Practical Life Exercises. They are 1. Exercises that help in the development of Motor skills: 1. Rolling and unrolling: The child will be presented to roll and unroll different types of mats- this helps him in being independent and also social skill of winding up and completing a the full job is indirectly presented 2. Carrying: Activities like carrying the mat, chair, table and tray are presented to the child. The direct aims of these activities are, development of motor skills where as the indirect aims are, the child is made to learn social skills like carrying things without hurting others, without making much noise and with graceful movements. These social skills are indirectly presented to the children through these activities. 3. Spooning: Here, the child learns to transfer beans from one bowl to another, one bowl to two equal bowls, to two unequal bowls, to three equal bowls, to three unequal bowls and to another identical bowl with the indicator line. The child learns to transfer beans but the social skills like holding the spoon gracefully, transferring it without spilling much and without making much noise. This gives the child confidence to be independent in the school, at home and also at the social gatherings 4. Dry Pouring: Presentations given here are pouring the dry beans from one jug to another jug, bowls in the same manner as said above. Here the child learns the pouring of dry beans along with the social skills of holding a jug, carrying the jug with bowls, pouring things without making much noise and with minimum spilling. 5. Wet Pouring: Here again the child will be doing the same activities as above but with the liquid and funneling also will be introduced. Child will be presented with and apron to wear and a plastic mat to work on, which gives him an idea of difference between the dry and the wet activity. Wearing an apron and the responsibility of wiping the spilt liquid enhances his independence and an awareness of the environment this increases his confidence and also owning thre responsibility. 6. Transferring, Pegging and Folding: Child will be exposed to things like tweezers, tongs, chop sticks, etc, and also to sorting and differentiating. Pegging with paper clips, cloth clips and peg board are also introduced. The child’s social skills of using these objects in a graceful manner are enhanced. The child learns to unfold and fold the napkins in five different ways. The napkins are unfolded and folded with gentleness of touch and the evenness of pressure. This gives the child an exposure to the social skills like folding and unfolding the different variety of cloths. 2. Exercises for the care for the environment: The activities like Sweeping, Opening and closing of different types of bottles, boxes, unlocking and locking locks, latches etc, treading the bead, tearing and cutting papers, polishing, etc are presented. These activities help the child in dealing with the above mentioned things, so that his ability to be independent is enhanced. . Exercises for the care for self: The child is thought washing his hands, face etc, also the different dressing frames are given to work with so that he can be self dependent. He can be independent enough to tie his own bow, button his own shirt, tie his own lace and zip and unzip his bag by himself. 4. Exercises to develop social grace and courtesy: The child is thought to greet, interrupt, invite and offer a seat, a glass of water, scissors, pen, and other day to day useful items. Children are made to play silence game, where their love towards silence is discovered. Waling on the line enhances the balance and the grace in walking. Apart form these activities; any activity that the directress feels appropriate is also given. The activities and the materials thus help the child in the overall development also the way, child interacts with the other children and adult inside the environment is also favorable for his the social development. Kids in the Montessori environment are vertical grouped where children of different ages are put together. There will be no uniformity in their age-wise activities. This gives them an experience of diversification, but in a single environment. The purpose behind keeping only one set of each activity in a Montessori environment is also to make the children work as a social group. Any child, who wants to work with the material, will have to wait if it is being used by some other child. This builds a concept of co-existence. Dr. Montessori many times illustrated that, in her environment children work as a group rather as an individual. She gives an instance for this. Once in her environment, children heard the sound of some precession and rushed to the window to watch it. Only one boy who was working with some material could not wind up so fast and go with them. His eyes were filled with tears, seeing which all the other kids rushed to him and helped him in winding up and all of them enjoyed the show together. This shows that in a Montessori school even though the kids work individually, they exist as a group or a community and work together for the good of the whole. This is so evident that the child in a Montessori environment is a microcosm of the society. And the reality of this society lies in unity and coherence, respect and love. Children learn to use the knowledge they have gained in an appropriate way in an appropriate environment. Dr. Montessori says â€Å"One ought to each everything, one ought to connect everything with life, but there ought not to be suppressed, by directing them ourselves one y one, the action which children have learnt to carry out and to place in practical life. This assigning of their proper places to action is one of the most important things which the child has to do. † (Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child, Pg 120) Conclusion: The practical life exercises are the beginning activities which improve motor control, eye hand coordination and concentration. The practical life exercises include environment care, pouring, polishing, washing, and serving. Children love these Practical Life Exercises and are also taught good work habits by being encouraged to complete the whole task, see that all materials needed are arranged in order, and make sure the entire exercise is a vailable for use by the next child. Teaching the children to be thoughtful of the rights of other children, they are prepared for a successful citizenship and career. The practical life activities contribute invaluably to the development of the whole person with inner discipline, self direction and a high degree of concentration. † http://montessoriclc. net/education/practical-life/ Thus the Practical Life Exercises not only develops the child’s academic ability but also enhances the child’s social ability. The child in a Montessori environment is not isolated with the syllabus but he is prepared to face the society outside, exposed to the materials and the environment similar to what he finds out side the school. With these activities child is given the concept of hard work, self help and owning the responsibility and above all they will know how and when to apply what they have learnt. The children own their environment and take up the responsibility of setting it and cleaning it up. They get united with children of different age groups and through these activities and the concept of coherence, love and unity is established. â€Å"A society seems to be more united by the absorbent mind than does by the conscious mind. The manner of its construction is observable and may be compared to the work of the cells in the growth of an organism. It seems clear that society goes through an embryonic phase which we can follow among little children in the course of their development. It is interesting to see how, little by little, these become aware of forming a community which behaves as such. They come to feel part of a group to which their activity contributes. And not only do they begin to take an interest in this, but work on it profoundly, as one may say, in their hearts. Once they have reached this level, the children no longer at thoughtlessly, but put the group first and try to benefit for its benefit. This unity born among children, which is produced by a spontaneous need, directed by an unconscious power, and vitalized by a social spirit, is a phenomenon needing a name, and I call it ‘cohesion in the social unit’. † (Mari Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, Pg 240) Dr . Montessori always believed in a healthy society not only with intellectual richness but also with a lot of harmony, peace, unity and love. In her opinion, the first step in building a healthy society is building a harmonious and lovable environment in the schools. Thus she designed her environment as a miniature of the society and the child in the environment as a microcosm of the whole society who represents the community or the world he lives in, who co-exists with the people around, owns the responsibility of protecting the world he live in, who moves forward coherently and with a lot of love and respect to each other. Every man in a boat race rows his hardest for the boat, knowing the full well that this will bring him neither personal glory nor special reward. If this become the rule in every social undertaking, from these which embrace the whole country down to a smallest industrial console and if all were moved by the wish to bring honor to his group, rather than to himself, then the whole human family will be reborn. This integration of individual with his group must be cultivated in the schools† (Maria Montessori, The Absorbent mind, Pg 243) Bibliography |Sl. no |Name of the author |Name of the book |Publication and year | |1. |Montessori Maria |The Child Society and the World |Montessori- Pierson Publishing Company,| | | | |2008 | |2. Montessori Maria |The Absorbent Mind |Kalakshetra Publications, | | | | |1949 | |3. |Montessori Maria |The Discovery of the Child |Kalakshetra Publications, | | | | |1949 | |4. Hainstock. G. Elizibeth |The Essential Montessori: An Introduction to |Clio press, Oxford, England, 1989 | | | |the Woman, the Writings, the Method, and the | | | | |Movement | | |5. Getmann David |Basic Montessori: learning activities for |St. Martin's Press, 1987 | | | |under-five | | Websites (http://www. montessori-namta. org/NAMTA/PDF%20files/Outcomes. pdf, Child’s Instinct to Work, Maria Montessori) http://montessoriclc. net/education/practical-life/