There are many paradigms on the origins of strategy

There are many paradigms on the origins of strategy. Critically evaluate the various schools of thought existing in both the prescriptive and emergent schools. Use each of the schools as ‘Lens' to analyse organisation known to you. A strategy is a statement of intent, defining where an organisation wants to be in the long term. It is about understanding what processes are involved and how to avoid difficulties to help plan successful strategies. Strategy was once defined as â€Å"the art of planning and directing large military movements and the operations of war.† However, from an organisation point of view it is about mapping out the company's future and setting out which of its products or services they will tackle to which market and how this will be done. When an organisation has a strategy it enables them to ensure that decisions made on a day-to-day basis fit in with its long term interests. Strategies are also important as any decisions an organisation makes today can have a negative impact on its future results. A strategy will also help encourage employees, departments etc to work together to achieve common goals There are many beliefs on the origins of strategy and many authors have written about this. In 1996, Michael Porter wrote an article that appeared in the Harvard Business Review in which he argued that competitive strategy is was about being different. He also stated, â€Å"It means deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value† Porter (1996) Porter believed that strategy was about having a competitive advantage, distinguishing your products and services in the eyes of your customers, and about adding value through a mix of activities different from your competitors. According to Benjamin Tregoe and John Zimmerman of Kepner-Tregoe, Inc defined strategy in their book â€Å"Top Management Strategy† as â€Å"the framework which guides those choices that determine the nature and direction of the organisation† They believed that an organisation should select products or services to offer and the market to offer them in. However, Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel (1998) brought together elements of existing prescriptive and emergent schools of strategic thought into ten separate schools. The first three schools are grouped under the heading ‘Prescriptive Schools' which consisted of the design, planning and positioning schools. These schools believed in how strategies should be formulated rather than how they necessarily do form. The next six schools are grouped under the heading 'emergent schools'. These schools consist of the entrepreneurial, cognitive, learning, power, cultural and environmental schools. These schools concentrate less with prescribing ideal strategic behaviour, but more with describing how strategies are in fact made. Finally, the final school to be mentioned is the configuration school, which combines the methods and beliefs from all the previous schools mentioned. By describing each school in turn, we can critically evaluating each of these schools, then we can then go onto to use each of the schools as a ‘lens' to analyse different organisations. The first of the prescriptive schools is the ‘Design school' and this approach regards strategy formation as a process of conception, matching the internal state of the organisation to the external state of the environment. The origins of this school can be traced back to two writers Philip Selznick who in 1957 discussed the need to bring organisations internal state with its external opportunity whilst writer Alfred Chandler in (1962) recognised the design schools idea of business strategy and its connection to structure. The philosophy of this strategy formation is that it seeks to establish a fit between internal potential and external possibilities. The managing director, Dr Surendra, founded Rasmi electronics in 1974. They have grown to become one of the world's major filter manufacturers as well as being a major supplier of low voltage lighting transformers, energy lighting etc The strategy precedes structure in this type of organisation. Within the company they still adopt a hierarchal structure in which all decisions from marketing to production is made by the MD. They continually look for new market opportunities, which are a high priority within the company, by analysing the global market on a global basis and the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis is a common tool that is used. However, in 2002, Rasmi Electronics designed a series of filters in which they distributed via a company called OmronYaskawa. They did not successfully analysed their market in Spain and this lead to another rival company producing a similar product. Fortnuatley due to the relationship Rasmi Electronics had with the customer this manage to keep the contract. This type of strategy formation places a great importance upon the ability to forecast the future external environment otherwise the strategy will be unsuccessful. According to Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel (1998) the advantage of this type of school is that it forces consideration of external factors and will be more appropriate in organisation that needs re-orientation. Around the same time as the design school, the planning school also originated. The main influence was by a writer H. Igor in his book ‘Corporate Strategy' published in 1965. Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel (1998) classified this strategy formation as a ‘Formal Process'. It follows a precise set of steps from analysis of the situation to the development and exploration of various alternative scenarios. â€Å"If we examine these principles closely, we find that the classical theorists were in effect designing the organisation exactly like they were designing a machine† (Morgan 1997) This type of strategy is normally developed by a team of specialists who specifically trained in the science of developing strategies. An example of this was seen in a company called Oldelft. Oldelft is a small high tech company whom operates in a global market. They specialise in products requiring advances knowledge of optics, electronics, electron optics etc. Their products normally have a short product life cycle and competition was both global and fierce. In 1975, the company saw a decline in their fortune therefore the executive board at the time pointed towards a cost reduction drive as a urgent step towards retrieving some of its profit back. However, at the time Oldelft had no adequate staff available that were trained or had the knowledge to do an overhead analysis they therefore decided to recruit a policy advisory council ‘Beleids Advies Radd) (BAR). This was the first of many different groups that Oldelft recruited between 1975 and 1981 all reporting to the executive board. The different groups, which were set up saw the process become more important than the product and according to Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel (1998) this type of process can lead to no place for creativity. Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel (1998) advised that it was important that an organisation had a formal strategic planning department within the organisation. In 1981, Oldelft saw its first successful strategic planning school come into operation and is was lead by a man called Ab Baas. Ab Bass made it compulsive for managers to contribute towards the planning cycle and by contributing information about the business segments within the organisation and the external factors. In this school of thought, the method in which strategy development occurs is by thorough strategic planning methodologies and scenario analysis. The company compiled a completed situation analysis, which was made up with an analysis of the industry maturity and the weighing up of the business segments competitive positions. Eventually this lead to Oldelft to recover its former profitability and even saw an increase in R&D expenditure. The final school of the prescriptive is the positioning school in which Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel state it is the strategy formation as an analytical process. This approach is very much influenced by Michael Porter. His works looks at placing organisations within the context of the industry in which they are. It also looks at how the organisation improves competitively within that industry. In 1995 Easyjet airlines a low fair airline introduced low cost flights within the European market. Haji Ioannou the owner of Easyjet believed that by reducing prices will lead to more people flying. He also believed that positioning is company was concerned with establishing the company in the mind of the customer, in a position relative to other airlines in the market The formation of this strategy is a mixture of defensive and offensive moves. Easyjet regularly uses the ‘Guerrilla promotional approach' to advertising by using distinguishing attacks on the airline establishment and in a serious of PR stunts. The principle is that the structure of industry drives strategic positions, which then drives the structure of an organisation. In the summer, 2002 Easyjet faced its first problem in the fact it was growing to fast within its market. This meant there was a difficulty in recruiting and training pilots and flights crew, which influenced the consumers, has believed this would affect the safety on the flights etc. Easyjet admitted that they should have looked at the various elements that depend on each other and how they change over time. By doing a SWOT analysis, this would have given an insight of the internal resources and the main features of the competitive landscape in which it operates. Some of the tools and methods used within this company are Michael Porter's Generic Strategies and the ‘Profit Impact of Market Strategies' (PIMS). In addition, according to Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel (1998) is that the advantage of this school is that it emphasis on the analysis and calculation of the previous mentioned tools can be very strong support to the process of developing the strategy however; it should not become the process. The fourth school Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel go onto to discuss is the ‘Entrepreneurial School' in which is the first of the group under the ‘Emergent Schools'. This approach regards strategy formation as a visionary process, taking place within the mind of the charismatic founder or leader of an organisation. An organisation that forms strategy as a visionary process, is the company called ‘Fortnum and Mason'. Fortnum and mason is an established food hall for over 300 years and is family owned. The chairperson is currently ‘Jana Khayat' whom took over after her father who stepped down in 2000. â€Å"To choose direction, a leader must first have developed a mental image of a possible and desirable future state of the organization† (De Wit, 1998) The company is now in the process of going international and are intending to open their first shop in Tokyo later on this year. However, going international has cost the company a drop in profits of 40% due to their reshuffling of their distribution channels to make going international possible. Mintzberg, Ashland and Lampel (1998) advise that this school of thought does not really use any tools or methods for strategy development as it is normally in the mind of the visionary. Even though going international is a big risk for the company, they do feel however, the vision, which has been imposed from many generations of the ‘Khayat' family, is what will get them through this. Jana Khayat feels strongly about her vision and brand, which she has printed in her new book. She stated in a recent interview with the Sunday Times â€Å"It's a mission of intent: where we should be. It is very easy for a store like Fortnum and Mason to become a pastiche of itself† (Khayat, 2004) The advantage of this school of thought is that it does acknowledge the tremendous input that a visionary genius can make to the organisation. However, problems can occur, as other employees of the organisation will not have an understanding on how the vision is created as this is normally done in the mind of the leader. There is also no real ability for the organisation to carry on after the visionary has left the company. The next of the emergent schools is the ‘Cognitive School' which strategy formation is seen as a mental process. The viewpoint of this school of thought is that strategy development is an act of cognition. It is about understanding how the mind works and processes information is the key to understanding strategy development. Cambridge broadband started in 2000 as a group of experienced individuals with a collective aim to deliver the worlds leading broadband fixed wireless access system. The group consists of the best engineers, academics, and commercial management in the industry. Cambridge broadband attracts these people, as they believe that it is an ideal environment to explore their diverse and highly developed talents. The collegiate atmosphere brings an informality that encourages creativity, According to Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel (1998) this strategy formation is a cognitive process that takes place in the mind of the strategist. The CEO, Peter Wharton believes that Cambridge Broadband will become world leader in their industry by using the knowledge and expertise of its team to provide up to date technology and to increase its customer base. Many of the ideas they have come up with have been from using tools such as cognition maps, frames, and Schemata, which are terms used about the mental representation of events and situations. They are data structures for representing both generic and specific concepts about the outside world. The advantage of this school is that is shows great promise even though the school of thought is that it is still relatively underdeveloped. However, the focus to date has been upon strategy formulation as an individual rather than a collective process, which can be more difficult to understand and manage. The learning school is the sixth school Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel go on to discuss. This school of thought regards strategy formation as an emergent process, where the management of the organisation pays close attention to what works and doesn't work over a period of time, and includes these ‘lessons learned' into their overall plan of action.. â€Å"†¦most organisations seem to have severe learning disabilities; most â€Å"die† before the age of forty† (Morgan, 1997) The Kao Corporation is a company, which has a strong learning culture. Dr Yoshio Maruta president of Kao Corporation believed that an organisation is not only learned but also learned how to learn. He stated â€Å"An educational institution in which everyone is a potential teacher' (Dr Maruta, 1990) He believed that the success to his company at the end of the eighties what the ability to integrate and enhance their effective marketing and information systems through learning. This resulted in them producing new products ahead of their Japanese and foreign companies becoming the largest branded and packaged group in Japan by 1990. Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel (1998) argued that the paradigm is that strategy in an organisation emerges because of trial and error from learning within the organisation. This was evident when Kao operation decided to become international. They were potentially a significant competitor therefore, decided that product division developed its own strategy for international expansion. However, the company's business portfolio and strategic infrastructure varied from market to market It is important that the organisation is familiar in that the strategy must be consonant with the patterns of behaviour and responses that are inbuilt within the organisation. In addition, it is important to be aware that strategy changes and evolves over time. There is however a danger that a lack of urgency or a lack of discipline may predominate and nothing significantly changes within the organisation. Hence, the decision to become international was not successful. Kao operation blamed this on the lack of international experience, fewer human resources assets, especially in top management and had far less accumulated international knowledge than their western competitors had. The have since invested into 10 day training schemes which all managers need to attend to develop a broader and international outlook and advised they did not have enough talented people especially at management level . The next school to be discussed is the Power School which this school of thought regards strategy formation as a process of negotiation. The development of this strategy is the process of negotiation between the power holders of an organisation or sometimes it can be between the organisation and the stakeholders. An example of this strategy formation can be seen within the University of Durham, in which negotiations take place within the micro power elements such as the individuals and groups within the organisation and negotiation is often done by political analysis and collective bargaining. This commonly seen within the University when negotiations about pay rise, policies etc are done with the trade union representatives. The interdependence the University of Durham has with its external environment is called ‘Macro power', which is when negotiations take place with the stakeholders etc. The university as part of their mission and strategy is to serve the international, national, and regional communities by understanding and engaging with the needs of its stakeholders. Power is clearly a building block in the development of strategy within this school of thought. This type of strategy would benefit large or mature organisations where power structures are well established. However, there is a tendency for organisation who adopts this type of strategy to have a narrow view in that all strategies are about power struggle or as a power exchange. The eighth school to be discussed by Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel, is the Cultural School this approach look at strategy formation as a collective process, which involves different groups and departments within an organisation. The reflection of the strategy, which is developed, is of the corporate culture of the organisation. The origin of culture was discovered by management in the 1980's, coming over from Japan. â€Å"†¦is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes ine group or category of people from another† (De Wit, 1998) A company with a strong culture is Argos, which is one of the UK's largest non-food retail chains, with annual sales exceeding à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3bn. After the takeover, Terry Duddy became Managing Director with the challenge of improving the firm's performance. He has done this by strengthening the brand, the quality of customer service, and the corporate culture The development of this strategy is the process of social relations, which take place within the beliefs and understandings shared by the employees of an organisation. He stated that it was challenging yet essential that the organisation reflected its strategy and focus on the customer. A key element of the new approach has been the corporate culture at Argos and the building of an environment, which is normative and cohesive. The commitment of Argos employees to these values seems extremely high in its 2003 ‘Speak Out' employee survey; the company found that among its employees 82% believe the company wants to beat its competitors whilst 74% believe strong teamwork is a major contributor to the Argos performance. The concepts for this strategy development come from the values, beliefs, and corporate culture etc within the organisation. The organisation needs to be aware that the corporate culture however vague and ill defined, is a very significant variable that can affect the culture of the organisation. However, this school of thought does tend to favour the consistency and continuation of the existing culture within the organisation and this may discourage necessary change. Argos also continues to work at building what it calls its 'employer brand' – a clear set of values representing the attitudes and beliefs of its employees. In 2003, after consultations with staff, these values were stated as change makes us better and more successful The Environmental School is the ninth school and here strategy formation is seen to be a reactive process. The organisation needs to respond to the forces of its environment otherwise it may be become extinct. A company who are well known in responding to their environment are the company ‘Rolls-Royce', which was first, established in 1984 and is now operating within four global markets. The success of the company is due to the rapid and substantial gains in the market share. They believe they have built a strong business by growing organically and through successful acquisitions. In the beginning of 2003, the aero engine division of Rolls-Royce introduced ‘Grid computing' to help reduce airline flight delays and achieve cuts in the cost of engine Maintaince. Due to a successful university research project on ‘Grid Computing' it has now became a major part of Rolls Royce's future I.T. Strategy. According to Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel (19998) traditionally the contingency theory was used within this school of thought however more recently organisations have ended up in cluster's within distinct ecological – type niches, in which they tend to remain until they die out. Similar to the positioning school the environment school is aware of the importance of environment as context, although it does recognise that the death of the business entities or indeed the entire industry is a natural or even expected fact. Rolls-Royce believes that the knowledge they will learn from the research into ‘Grid Computing' will enable then to understand a utility-based computing systems and how they can make money from it. However, the definition of the environment is often so complex that companies like Rolls-Royce will find it difficult to usefully analysis. In addition, it accords too much control to the environment therefore; two different organisations that are competing within the same industry can have vastly different strategies. The final school Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel discuss is the configuration school, which is often seen as the school, which unites all of the previous mentioned schools together. This strategy formation is seen as a process of transforming the organization from one state of decision-making structure into another. Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel (1998) stated the key to this strategy if for the organisation to recognise the need for the transformation, however to be able to do this without damaging the organisation. In 1992, Serge Kampf executive chairperson of Cap Gemini Sogeti (CGS) decided for the company to continue to compete successfully it was important that CGS and the large number of acquired firms should be moulded into a coherent transnational company. Some of the problems CGS would face were the creation of a new organisational structure into a dual organisation, improving service to clients and reduce reporting levels. Serge Kampf believed that all parts of the company needed to work the same way to function as a transnational organisation. This would inevitable force major changes within the organisation. Between 1992 and 1993 even though changes were being made CGS saw there worse year in 1992 when competition mauled the company and they had to lay off 600 employees for the first time in 25 years. This is when 81 managers throughout the organisation made a decision to launch a full-scale transformation of the entire company. The team of 81 managers were responsible for transforming working habits and implement new tools such as the sales funnel throughout the organisation. They also launched a 7-axis development plan to help restore CGS profitability. These changes was not appreciated by the competitors and shareholders as the process of transformation of an organisation with 20,000 employees would not be done short term. However, CGS did succeed it the transformational of their company, as they have succeeded in remaining profitable in 2003 in what was an extremely difficult market, implementing restructuring measures, which significantly reduced operating costs and prepared it to enter 2004 in the best possible condition. Since 1965, the amount of publication and attention within strategic management has varied within the different schools mentioned above. Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel (1998) illustrated how the schools take their place around and within the formation of strategy. In each of the schools of thought that have mentioned, the process of strategy formulation is regarded as something of a ‘Black Box'. However, the cognitive school did come close. None clearly describes how an individual or an organisation is able to leap from the collection and analysis of information to the conceptualisation of alternative courses of action. However, overall by looking at the schools together you can see why an organisation may favour one school from another. Overall, each of the schools offers some useful concepts, and some strong points to aid understanding, but has its disadvantages as well. â€Å"Strategy formation is judgemental designing, intuitive visioning, and emergent learning; it is about transformation well as perpetuation; it must involve individual cognition and social interaction, cooperation as well as conflict; it has to include analyzing before and programming after as well as negotiating during; and all of this must be in response to what can be a demanding environment† (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel, 1998)

Confessions of an Application Reader Essay

A HIGHLY qualified student, with a 3. 95 unweighted grade point average and 2300 on the SAT, was not among the top-ranked engineering applicants to the University of California, Berkeley. He had perfect 800s on his subject tests in math and chemistry, a score of 5 on five Advanced Placement exams, musical talent and, in one of two personal statements, had written a loving tribute to his parents, who had emigrated from India. Enlarge This Image Brian Cronin for The New York Times Related Go to Education Life  » Enlarge This Image Peg Skorpinski Sather Gate, a literal and symbolic portal on Berkeley’s campus. Readers’ Comments Readers shared their thoughts on this article. Read All Comments (250)  » Why was he not top-ranked by the â€Å"world’s premier public university,† as Berkeley calls itself? Perhaps others had perfect grades and scores? They did indeed. Were they ranked higher? Not necessarily. What kind of student was ranked higher? Every case is different. The reason our budding engineer was a 2 on a 1-to-5 scale (1 being highest) has to do with Berkeley’s holistic, or comprehensive, review, an admissions policy adopted by most selective colleges and universities. In holistic review, institutions look beyond grades and scores to determine academic potential, drive and leadership abilities. Apparently, our Indian-American student needed more extracurricular activities and engineering awards to be ranked a 1. Now consider a second engineering applicant, a Mexican-American student with a moving, well-written essay but a 3. 4 G. P. A. and SATs below 1800. His school offered no A. P. He competed in track when not at his after-school job, working the fields with his parents. His score? 2. 5. Both students were among â€Å"typical† applicants used as norms to train application readers like myself. And their different credentials yet remarkably close rankings illustrate the challenges, the ambiguities and the agenda of admissions at a major public research university in a post-affirmative-action world. WHILE teaching ethics at the University of San Francisco, I signed on as an â€Å"external reader† at Berkeley for the fall 2011 admissions cycle. I was one of about 70 outside readers — some high school counselors, some private admissions consultants — who helped rank the nearly 53,000 applications that year, giving each about eight minutes of attention. An applicant scoring a 4 or 5 was probably going to be disappointed; a 3 might be deferred to a January entry; students with a 1, 2 or 2. 5 went to the top of the pile, but that didn’t mean they were in. Berkeley might accept 21 percent of freshman applicants over all but only 12 percent in engineering. My job was to help sort the pool. We were to assess each piece of information — grades, courses, standardized test scores, activities, leadership potential and character — in an additive fashion, looking for ways to advance the student to the next level, as opposed to counting any factor as a negative. External readers are only the first read. Every one of our applications was scored by an experienced lead reader before being passed on to an inner committee of admissions officers for the selection phase. My new position required two days of intensive training at the Berkeley Alumni House as well as eight three-hour norming sessions. There, we practiced ranking under the supervision of lead readers and admissions officers to ensure our decisions conformed to the criteria outlined by the admissions office, with the intent of giving applicants as close to equal treatment as possible. The process, however, turned out very differently. In principle, a broader examination of candidates is a great idea; some might say it is an ethical imperative to look at the â€Å"bigger picture† of an applicant’s life, as our mission was described. Considering the bigger picture has aided Berkeley’s pursuit of diversity after Proposition 209, which in 1996 amended California’s constitution to prohibit consideration of race, ethnicity or gender in admissions to public institutions. In Fisher v.  the University of Texas, the Supreme Court, too, endorsed race-neutral processes aimed at promoting educational diversity and, on throwing the case back to lower courts, challenged public institutions to justify race as a factor in the holistic process. In practice, holistic admissions raises many questions about who gets selected, how and why. I could see the fundamental unevenness in this process both in the norming Webinars and when alone in a dark room at home with my Berkeley-issued netbook, reading assigned applications away from enormously curious family members. First and foremost, the process is confusingly subjective, despite all the objective criteria I was trained to examine. In norming sessions, I remember how lead readers would raise a candidate’s ranking because he or she â€Å"helped build the class. † I never quite grasped how to build a class of freshmen from California — the priority, it was explained in the first day’s pep talk — while seeming to prize the high-paying out-of-state students who are so attractive during times of a growing budget gap. (A special team handled international applications. ) In one norming session, puzzled readers questioned why a student who resembled a throng of applicants and had only a 3. 5 G. P. A. should rank so highly. Could it be because he was a nonresident and had wealthy parents? (He had taken one of the expensive volunteer trips to Africa that we were told should not impress us. ) Income, an optional item on the application, would appear on the very first screen we saw, along with applicant name, address and family information. We also saw the high school’s state performance ranking. All this can be revealing. Admissions officials were careful not to mention gender, ethnicity and race during our training sessions. Norming examples were our guide. Privately, I asked an officer point-blank: â€Å"What are we doing about race? † She nodded sympathetically at my confusion but warned that it would be illegal to consider: we’re looking at — again, that phrase — the â€Å"bigger picture† of the applicant’s life. After the next training session, when I asked about an Asian student who I thought was a 2 but had only received a 3, the officer noted: â€Å"Oh, you’ll get a lot of them. † She said the same when I asked why a low-income student with top grades and scores, and who had served in the Israeli army, was a 3. Which them? I had wondered. Did she mean I’d see a lot of 4. 0 G. P. A. ’s, or a lot of applicants whose bigger picture would fail to advance them, or a lot of Jewish and Asian applicants (Berkeley is 43 percent Asian, 11 percent Latino and 3 percent black)? The idea behind multiple readers is to prevent any single reader from making an outlier decision. And some of the rankings I gave actual applicants were overturned up the reading hierarchy. I received an e-mail from the assistant director suggesting I was not with the program: â€Å"You’ve got 15 outlier, which is quite a lot. Mainly you gave 4’s and the final scores were 2’s and 2. 5’s. † As I continued reading, I should keep an eye on the â€Å"percentile report on the e-viewer† and adjust my rankings accordingly. In a second e-mail, I was told I needed more 1’s and referrals. A referral is a flag that a student’s grades and scores do not make the cut but the application merits a special read because of â€Å"stressors† — socioeconomic disadvantages that admissions offices can use to increase diversity. Officially, like all readers, I was to exclude minority background from my consideration. I was simply to notice whether the student came from a non-English-speaking household. I was not told what to do with this information — except that it may be a stressor if the personal statement revealed the student was having trouble adjusting to coursework in English. In such a case, I could refer the applicant for a special read. Why did I hear so many times from the assistant director? I think I got lost in the unspoken directives. Some things can’t be spelled out, but they have to be known. Application readers must simply pick it up by osmosis, so that the process of detecting objective factors of disadvantage becomes tricky. It’s an extreme version of the American non-conversation about race. I scoured applications for stressors. To better understand stressors, I was trained to look for the â€Å"helpful† personal statement that elevates a candidate. Here I encountered through-the-looking-glass moments: an inspiring account of achievements may be less â€Å"helpful† than a report of the hardships that prevented the student from achieving better grades, test scores and honors. Should I value consistent excellence or better results at the end of a personal struggle? I applied both, depending on race. An underrepresented minority could be the phoenix, I decided. We were not to hold a lack of Advanced Placement courses against applicants. Highest attention was to be paid to the unweighted G. P. A. , as schools in low-income neighborhoods may not offer A. P. courses, which are given more weight in G. P. A. calculation. Yet readers also want to know if a student has taken challenging courses, and will consider A. P. ’s along with key college-prep subjects, known as a-g courses, required by the U. C. system. Even such objective information was open to interpretation. During training Webinars, we argued over transcripts. I scribbled this exchange in my notes: A reader ranks an applicant low because she sees an â€Å"overcount† in the student’s a-g courses. She thinks the courses were miscounted or perhaps counted higher than they should have been. Another reader sees an undercount and charges the first reader with â€Å"trying to cut this girl down. † The lead reader corrects: â€Å"We’re not here to cut down a student. † We’re here to find factors that advance the student to a higher ranking. Another reader thinks the student is â€Å"good† but we have so many of â€Å"these kids. † She doesn’t see any leadership beyond the student’s own projects. Listening to these conversations, I had to wonder exactly how elite institutions define leadership. I was supposed to find this major criterion holistically in the application. Some students took leadership courses. Most often, it was demonstrated in extracurricular activities.

Changing Business Environment Globalisation

This study has highlighted the function and the approaches of Bharti Airtel. In this connection, this study has described the comparison between the approaches of Bharti Airtel with the other European telecom MNEs. This would be helpful to understand the European MNEs system. On the other hand, this study has provided and described the unique model, what is used by Bharti Airtel to emerge in the European MNEs. According to Botha, Kourie & Snyman (2014), it can be mentioned that Bahrti Airtel is a leading global telecommunications organisations. It operates in 20 countries of Asia and Africa. Bharti Airtel has collaboration with 16 global telecom organisations. As per the statement of Pettigrew (2013), it can be mentioned that recently Bharti Airtel has announced to launch the Europe India Gateway (EIG) cable system. This will be helpful to make a greater connection between two countries such as India and Europe. In addition, it can be added that Bharti Airtel has invested approximately $700 million. In this purpose, it can be mentioned that the EIG connection is very powerful and has a capacity of 3.84 terabits per second. Craig & Campbell (2012) mentioned that EIG stretches from Mumbai, India to London, United Kingdom. The EIG connection passes through the countries like UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt, Monaco, Gibraltar and then Portugal. Therefore, it will be highly benefitted to the Indian and the British to communicate with these countries. Hamilton & Webster (2015) mentioned that the cable connection has spreaded approximately by 15000 km. On the other hand, Wetherly & Otter (2014) argued that other European telecom organisations has aimed to develop a synchronized regulatory framework for the purpose of electronic communications network as well as electronic services through the entire European Union. Therefore, it can be clearly mentioned that European telecom organisations have tried to focus to the development of their services. In this purpose, they tried to improve their quality of signal and networks (Airtel.in.2016) Although, Bharati Airtel has also aimed to improve their connectivity, this telecom organisation is willing to launch new and attractive service, so that the consumers get attracted with their services. As per the statement of Babatunde & Adebisi (2012), Bharti Airtel is the third largest mobile telecommunication within the world. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the business strategies of this telecom organisation. Base on the modern research, it can be noticed that people are looking for greater connectivity in turn of affordable prices. Moreover, the consumers are also willing to get attractive offers from the telecommunication. Therefore, it can be stated that if the telecom organisation offer the customers lucrative offers in turn of affordable prices, the revenue earning by the organisation would be increased. In this connection, Savrul, Incekara & Sener (2014) opined that Bharti Airtel has aimed to increase the market share profitability. This would accelerate the non mobile businesses. The vision of this telecom organisation is to enhance the lives of the consumers. This would effectively win the consumers preferences through exceptional experience. This study is helpful to discuss how Bharti Airtel can achieve their business objectives and make the business successful. Achieve through go-to-market excellence  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Increase the data penetration with intuitive pricing and innovation. Achieve through brilliant network experience  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the words of Botha, Kourie & Snyman (2014), it can be mentioned that the consumer frustration can be eliminated by increasing the quality of the service.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, consumer satisfaction level can be improved by increasing the granular planning communication.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bharti Airtel aimed to reduce the per unit cost MB by leveraging multiple technologies. Achieve with the valuable consumers  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Develop the technology by encouraging the consumption and up gradation  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Accelerate the business to business communication by improving the experience  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reduce the entire cost structure of the call rates and other data packs. The organisation has been suffering from low call drops.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bharti Airtel has focused to the network redesigning  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the point of Pettigrew (2013), it can be stated that the organisational culture of this telecom organisation is greater.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The management of the organisation always supervise the performance of the employees. This would be benefitted to increase the productivity of the organisation. Therefore, the customers will be satisfied. In this section, this study has tried to highlight the impact of the rise of emerging economy of Bharti Airtel for globalisation. According to Craig & Campbell (2012), it can be mentioned that Bharti Airtel acquired Zain Africa BV for $10.7 billion. Zain Africa is one of the top leading telecommunication organisations in Africa. In the year of 2010, the acquisition of Bharti Airtel was rules by the 70% stake in the Bangladesh’s Warid Telecom International. Secondly, Bharti Airtel has a significant global presence on the board of directors from 1997. In this connection, it can be added that British telecom has approximately 44% stake in the account of Bharti Airtel. This had effectively increased the collaboration between these two mentioned telecom organisations. Hamilton & Webster (2015) opined that globalisation had a positive impact on the business. Lastly, it can be added that SingTel holds a greater amount of stake in the account of Bharti Airtel. SingTel has invested app roximately US$ 292 million in Bharti Airtel. Therefore, it can be inferred that the financial performance would be increased. This also proved that globalisation could positively increase the organisation’s financial statement. This study is important to understand the business strategy of Bharti Airtel. This study has provided the comparison between the Bharti Airtel’s approach and the other European MNEs. On the other hand, this study has discussed the model, what Bharti Airtel has used in their business process. Moreover, the impact of this business approach for globalisation has also mentioned in this context. About Bharti Airtel - Strategy, Financial Snapshot, Structure, Awards. (2016).  Airtel.in. Retrieved 20 December 2016, from https://www.airtel.in/about-bharti/equity/ Babatunde, B. O., & Adebisi, A. O. (2012). Strategic environmental scanning and organization performance in a competitive business environment.  Economic Insights-Trends & Challenges,  64(1), 24-34. Botha, A., Kourie, D., & Snyman, R. (2014).  Coping with continuous change in the business environment: knowledge management and knowledge management technology. Elsevier. Craig, T., & Campbell, D. (2012).  Organisations and the business environment. Hamilton, L., & Webster, P. (2015).  The international business environment. Oxford University Press, USA. Pettigrew, A. (2013).  The Awakening Giant (Routledge Revivals): Continuity and Change in Imperial Chemical Industries. Routledge. Popescu, G. H. (2013). Macroeconomics, Effective Leadership, and the Global Business Environment.  Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice, (2), 170-176. Savrul, M., Incekara, A., & Sener, S. (2014). The Potential of E-commerce for SMEs in a Globalizing Business Environment.  Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,  150, 35-45. Wetherly, P., & Otter, D. (2014).  The business environment: themes and issues in a globalizing world. Oxford University Press. .com strives towards providing exceptional essay help at an affordable price. Students, from various parts of Australia, prefer our servicers because we provide high-quality essay assistance at a pocket-friendly price. We receive numerous requests 'help me do my essay ' or 'can someone write my essay' from students every day. We efficiently fulfill those requests and provide students needed essay writing help art an affordable price.    Explain why firms’ marginal cost curves become upward sloping after a certain level of output has been reached. test While for the margina... Question: Discuss about the professional developers comprehend software?    Answer: I have been working in the USA Technologies for nine months now, and it ... Question: Describe about the Rethinking Oil Nationalism?    Answer: 1. The engineering discipline that I have chosen is Mechanical Engineering and I have se... Question: Explain about the Advertising for An integrated marketing communication perspective?    Answer: Introduction: Social media has become the part of... You are required to write a researched argument essay that convinces persuades the reader of your position / stance. 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Illegal Immigrants in United States Research Paper

Illegal Immigrants in United States - Research Paper Example According to statistics from 2006, immigrants originate mostly from North America, with a few exceptions, such as the 12% from Asia and 8% from South America (Colton-Sonnenberg, pp.4). The topic of illegal immigration, however, is more complex than it appears to be, since there is misinformation, opposing views as well as lack of information about certain matters (Haines & Rosenblum, pp.1). Furthermore, the legal, moral, and economic aspects add controversy to this topic, resulting in its frequent debate in the matter of politics. Not everyone sees it as a terrible crime however. Some consider it a harmless situation, since illegal immigration provides cheap labor to the US citizens. However, since these immigrants often end up draining the fiscal resources of the country, their presence is not favorable, making those people suffer, who have a lower socio economic standing in society (APRA, 2006). Although immigration brings prosperity to the country in terms of contribution of skilled individuals, as well as enriched cultural diversity, however, illegal immigration has been causing economic, social, and cultural losses to the country. In this regard, the paper will look at different aspects of illegal immigration to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the issue. In particular, illegal immigrants are those people who enter a country undocumented, live there without any formal documentation and authorization, or are living there longer than the authorization. Such immigration occurs in every country, though not with the same high frequency as in the United States. These immigrants are usually from developing countries such as the Philippines, India, and Korea. They perform arranged marriages solely to get a green card, not caring about having a compatible spouse to live with. In addition, after settling down, they create several problems for the US government by engaging in several crimes such as drug trafficking, violent acts and robberies (Edmonston, pp. 45-50). Some illegal immigrants, however, are simply those people who entered the country through legal means, for example as a student, tourist, or businessperson, and then outstayed their allowed time, thus becoming illegal immigrants. They only make up around 1.5 percent of the US populat ion, as research shows. However, their presence in the US has a significant effect on the economy. In addition, since the country often requires specific skills and knowledge from different parts of the world, they are high in demand. In fact, the highly developed lifestyle, economy, and environment of the US often tempt these immigrants into wanting to stay in the country despite their expired visas. Thus, they succumb to becoming illegal citizens (Srivastava, pp-18). The table below divides these immigrants according to the states in which they illegally reside: Names of the State Number of Immigrants California New York Texas Florida New jersey Arizona Georgia Virginia Washington North Carolina Michigan 343,693 159,126 134,597 122,430 60,361 28,918 28,376 28,340 27,301 26,903 24215 (Hansen, pp-64) These results show how the illegal

Responding to GASB request for the Public Comment Research Paper

Responding to GASB request for the Public Comment - Research Paper Example It is also a very good avenue for a person to exercise his/her rights as the law demands that the exposure drafts be availed to them. Another benefit of providing public comment is for the practicality of the changes recommended to be assessed by the general public and experts alike. The critical elements of the draft are that a sole or agent employer should on its basic financial statement show a net pension liability that is a result of the pension liability less the value of net assets available to pay for pension benefits and also that the calculation of the pension liability should be made in accordance with the individual level-percent-of-pay entry age normal funding method (Buck Research, 2011). These elements are not present in the current standards and allow pension information or any other supplementary information that may be required to be presented in notes. They also allow for the use of a number of funding methods to be used when doing accounting disclosures which was not permitted in the previous standards. Government agencies usually have component units that are considered as legally separate organizations although these agencies include them in their financial statements. However, the new standards proposed in the exposure drafts will require those government agencies and the component units deemed as being fiscally dependent have a financial or burden relationship. The proposed standards will determine how those organizations that do not meet financial accountability concepts will be handled if the government deems it to be misleading to exclude them. The way that component units initially went about their reporting will also be amended to make sure that their reporting is done as if they were part of the government. Management of the government agencies will have an operational responsibility towards these component units in addition to the benefit/burden

Loving the Living Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Loving the Living - Essay Example However, one has to understand that the way people view work is different from one generation to another. In Marjorie Ford’s book â€Å"The Changing World of Work†, the author explores several aspects of work such as the reasons for working, sense of fulfillment, workplace discrimination, work ethics, values, and environment. It is an insightful look at factors behind the consistently changing importance and meaning of work. These factors --- changing social values and culture --- will continuously shape how people and society view what they want and need in work (Ford 14-15). As stated above, viewpoints regarding work differ from one individual to another. However, work-related terms such as job, career, and calling are used interchangeably. This should not be the case as these three terms are vastly different from each other. Of the three terms, calling is the most profound. It has something to do with the sense of fulfillment one feels with what he or she does for a living. It gives meaning and difference to the work that one does. Career, on the other hand, is a line of work. One can have a career in medicine or banking, but could still have a different calling. Additionally, one can have different careers at different times in their lives. Compared to job, career is more long-term as it is a pursuit of achievements and developments in one’s profession, business, or public life. ... According to the Dalai Lama, having a higher purpose in work is similar as a calling. For example, being a cleaning lady may not really be a vocation or a calling, but finding a higher purpose in such job, such as supporting the family, may result in having the person love his or her job. The concept here is that in any work, there is always a purpose and impact to the society in general, thus one should always be happy and proud with his or her work. What is ultimately necessary is finding that purpose and knowing its worth. Hooks’ opinion on happiness in one’s work is albeit similar. Hooks states that people can be happy with their job if one has a positive outlook towards it (Ford 22). In her personal anecdote, Hooks states that she felt more fulfilled when she left her previous career and began following her heart’s desire. She said that life seems more enjoyable when she started doing her first love, which is writing. Therefore, this could mean that finding a purpose in one’s work can ultimately lead one to love it, thus enjoy doing it as if it is a calling. Hooks also mentioned the right livelihood several times. It has somewhat a deeper context that is rooted in the societal attitude towards work expectations. Discrimination in class, gender, and race still exist in some workplaces, and several individuals end up in jobs they do not want, yet have to do in order to earn money and survive. Hooks implied that through the concept of right livelihood, the blacks’ standpoint on work changed in time. How do these concepts from these readings explain the changing work value and meaning? One has to understand that all these have consolidated impact on work. Let us begin with the concept of right livelihood. For example, decades ago, blacks are forced to

Systems Development and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Systems Development and Management - Essay Example As Sveiby advises the "difference between learning organization theory and KM in [my] interpretation of it is the fact that KM includes the outer world, the customer, and how to approach the customer, which learning organization theory does not" (p 2). The interview touches on another important point about KM called the transfer of tacit knowledge with respect to computers and Sveiby makes an important point that the "challenge is to create tools that help us be more creative, for instance, thinking tools, more educational tools like simulations" (p 2). This type of change in KM forms the tools for other large corporations to take note of how effectual KM is in within the framework of each organization. At IBM, technologies are being developed for "technologies that can be applied to knowledge management and to assess their actual or potential contribution to the basic processes of knowledge creation and sharing within organizations" (Marwick, 2001) and such look

Perceptions of Online Learning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Perceptions of Online Learning - Research Paper Example ople who were interviewed fall between 17 and 25 years, and many of them are single.2 Since the majority of the students are -usually single and under the age bracket of 17-25, I conclude that the representativeness of the sample is fair since the majority of the surveyed students falls under these demographic characteristics. As shown in Table 2 (a), if the students were to take a fully online unit, the largest number of them agrees that email communication with the lecture would be the most helpful, while many of them disagree with the argument that online unit would be better for learning than class discussions. The extent to which students find different situations helpful are as ranked in table 2(a), starting with the least helpful to the most helpful (this is based on the mean). The standard deviation for the helpfulness of chat rooms if the highest, meaning that students strongly differ on this issues, while many of them share common opinion regarding the usefulness of power point slides (STD: 1.13657>0. 79434). As shown in Table 2 (b), the biggest number of students agrees that fully online units require reliable internet. On the other hand, the least number of the students declare that they are very interested to take fully online units, which is evidence that many students do not value/like online learning. Based on the standard deviation, very many students have divergent views regarding the fact that fully online learning leads to better visibility of course outline and study materials. However, many students share common view on the fact that many students may be unprepared by the overwhelming commitments required study fully online units (Std. Deviation is smallest at .81784). As shown in figure 3, the histogram is corn shaped due to lower standard deviation. Table 2(c) shows that the largest number of students agree that good support by lectures is very important when they are taking a fully online unit, while very few of them agree that guest

Capstone Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Capstone - Term Paper Example As described by American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (2009), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) in the United States were awarded with an anesthesia bachelor’s degree, diploma or certificates. These Degree programs commenced as early as 1976 as drafted by the Council of Accreditation. In 1990, master’s degree programs were rolled out scheduled for a duration of eight years (1990-1998) in the Kaiser Permanente California State University. However, modifications have ever since been made to enhance the educational and experience parameters. According to the current obligations spelt out in USA, nurse anesthetists are first required to go through a complete bachelor’s degree course in Nursing or related field. This is then followed by a registration as a nurse after having served as a full-time nurse in an acute care setting to gain adequate nursing experiences. In the third place, any nurse anesthetist has to pass the state certification examinations to attain Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) qualification. Lastly, continuous assessments to earn educational credits and re-certification are conducted. This is a strategy meant for all nurse anesthetists to continuously and regularly earn educational credits at an interval of every two years throughout their professional practice as nurses. As research works provide (Dackiewicz N. et al. 2012), there are varied challenges and issues that have raised concerns over the professional roles of nurse anesthesia. Such issues and challenges range from cultural, spiritual, educational, legal, professional and economical intricacies. In the first instance, healthcare policies have propagated increased healthcare spending (economical challenge). For instance, the US has reported an outrageous 14% of their gross domestic products as being spent on health care activities. The 14% rate is very

Scientific Writing Essay Example for Free

Scientific Writing Essay Scientific writing -is a form of technical writing that reports scientific observations and results in a manner governed by specific conventions. Examples and Observations (Definition #1): Sustaining a dead body until its organs can be harvested is a tricky process requiring the latest in medical technology. But its also a distinct anachronism in an era when medicine is becoming less and less invasive. Fixing blocked coronary arteries, which not long ago required prying a patients chest open with a saw and spreader, can now be accomplished with a tiny stent delivered to the heart on a slender wire threaded up the leg. Exploratory surgery has given way to robot cameras and high-resolution imaging. Already, we are eyeing the tantalizing summit of gene therapy, where diseases are cured even before they do damage. Compared with such micro scale cures, transplantswhich consist of salvaging entire organs from a heart-beating cadaver and sewing them into a different bodyseem crudely mechanical, even medieval. (Jennifer Kahn Stripped for Parts. Wired, March 2003. Reprinted in the Best American Science Writing 2004, edited by Dava Sobel. HarperCollins, 2004) On Explaining Science 1. The question is not should you explain a concept or process, but how can you do so in a way that is clear and so readable that it is simply part of the story? 2. Use explanatory strategies such as . . . Active-voice verbs Use the Active Voice . . . Most of the Time When a verb is in the active voice, the subject of the sentence is also the doer of the action. Active Voice- John picked up the bag It is in the active voice because the subject, John, is also the thing or person doing the action of picking up. Passive Voice -The bag was picked up by John The subject of the sentence, bag, is the passive receiver of the action. . . . Analogies and metaphors Analogies- comparison between two things that are similar in some way, often used to explain something or make it easier to understand. Metaphors- the use to describe somebody or something of a word or phrase that is  not meant literally but by means of vivid comparison expresses something about him, her or it  ex. Saying that somebody is a snake. Backing into an explanation, that is, explaining before labeling Selecting critical features of a process and being willing to set aside the others, as too much explanatory detail will hurt rather than help. 3. People who study what makes an explanation successful have found that while giving examples is helpful, giving nonexamples is even better.  Nonexamples are examples of what something is not. Often, that kind of example will help clarify what the thing is. If you were trying to explain groundwater, for instance, you might say that, while the term seems to suggest an actual body of water, such as a lake or an underground river, that would be an inaccurate image. Groundwater is not a body of water in the traditional sense; rather, as Katherine Rowan, communications professor, points out, it is water moving slowly but relentlessly through cracks and crevices in the ground below us. . . . 4.Be acutely aware of your readers beliefs. You might write that chance is the best explanation of a disease cluster; but this could be counterproductive if your readers reject chance as an explanation for anything. If you are aware that readers beliefs may collide with an explanation you give, you may be able to write in a way that doesnt cause these readers to block their minds to the science you explain.

Individual Learner Difference In Second Language Acquisition Education Essay

Individual Learner Difference In Second Language Acquisition Education Essay SLA (Second language acquisition) is a process through which an individual learns a second language as an additional language after having learned a native language already. SLA involves broad research and is considered a branch of applied linguistics. The concept is also related to education, neuroscience sociolinguistics, and psychology. Learning a second language is not an easy task, this is a practice that involves commitment, study, dedication, patient as well as time in order to develop. People who learn a second language do not do it because is just a compulsory subject at school, but because they feel encouraged to learn it , considering factors such us, communication with foreigners, academic studies and better opportunities to find a good job. Research has shown that there are differences among second language learners that significantly affect language learning success. As a result, the study of individual differences (IDs) especially in language learning motivation and language aptitude has been attributed to researches on L2 studies dating back to the 1960s. Motivation is what guides people to accomplish and be successful in all areas of life. Regarding the classroom environment, this term is the basis of how enthusiastic or unwilling students are to learn and the guidance force to maintain the extensive and sometimes tiresome learning process. Both the degree of motivation and educational success frequently seem to go hand in hand, which can be clearly observed throughout the teaching practice. This essay seeks to explore and discuss in detail one individual learner difference in second language acquisition, which is motivation. Apart from defining the term, regarding different authors, the essay will also include the analysis of the various types of motivation, as well as, the role motivation plays in second language classrooms. And finally, ways of fostering motivation will be proposed. The term Motivation in SLA One of the individual learner differences in SLA is motivation, which is a term difficult to define, since its meaning could depend on the individuals and their cultures. DÃ ¶rnyei (2002: 1) says that motivation is best seen as a broad umbrella term that covers a variety of meanings, but simultaneously this author also describes motivation as the factor in charge of determining why individuals decide to carry out an action, the amount of effort people invest in the tasks as well as the rate of perseverance people put when completing various activities. Alike DÃ ¶rnyei, Passer and Smith (2004: 327) perceive motivation as a process that influences the direction, persistence and vigour of goal-directed behaviour. According to Gardner (1985), motivation is what makes people to act towards a given situation. Taking into consideration all these definitions which state what the term of motivation is, it can be deduced that the concept refer to some type of energy that guides individuals t o undertake a task in their lives. The motivated language learner Lightbown and Spada (2002) point out that motivation is a factor that plays an important role in language learning success. In the context of language learning is what pushes a pupil to gain knowledge of the English language. The importance of motivation in relation to achieving the goals of learning English as a Second Language according to Naiman et al, (1978) is that it gives the learner the ability to tolerate ambiguity; a need for achievement; a positive orientation towards the task; high aspirations; ego involvement; perseverance and goal orientation. Therefore, a motivated language student is a person who has positive attitudes towards the target language. These attitudes are shown when the second language learner makes efforts to acquire the language and has a consistent desire of studying and discovering new and additional material. Moreover, looking for opportunities and ways where he or she will be able to put in practice the target language. An additional way of defining a motivated learner is when learning the second language is a comfortable situation for the apprentice, taking pleasure in the tasks involved. Furthermore, a pupil that experience a high level of motivation will doubtless feel pleased about learning the language. Researchers have arisen several explanations of what encourages learners to study a foreign language; they have found that motivational factors are fundamental at the time of speaking about second language success. Types of motivation As it was mentioned before, there are diverse meanings for motivation in SLA, regardless of the words they basically refer to the same notion. Also, there are different factors which somewhat vary depending on the authors points of view. I will refer in this essay to the different types of motivation, taking into consideration different authors. Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation: The words extrinsic and intrinsic are to some extent complicated, given that both terms do not seem to have a clear definition in the field of second language acquisition. Passer and Smith (2004) cite extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, even though Noels (2002) uses the terms extrinsic and intrinsic orientations. For these authors, Passer and Smith and Noel, extrinsic signifies that people carry out an action to accomplish an external goal or evade punishment, while by intrinsic motivation the authors altogether mean that students do activities, due to the satisfaction they get from the tasks themselves. Activities that motivate students intrinsically are likened to enjoyable activities, fun, or things that students do out of their own choice. Some of the conducted studies assert that intrinsically motivating activities lead to improved learning by the students. The difference between Passer Smith (2004) and Noels (2002) is just the notion motivation and orientations, in view of the fact that both terms involved different approaches of motivation. The initial term proposes that the motivation itself comes from outside or within; while the term orientation suggests that it is rather the different triggers of motivation that comes from outside or within. Although, Glasser (1996) does not use the terms intrinsic and extrinsic, he provides a third route to see where motivation comes from. He states that motivation is produced trying to satisfied the essential desires which all human beings own. For instance, the need of entertainment. He points out that even if a person is influenced by the environment, all motivation still comes from inside the individual, because it is he or she who really choose whether or not and how to carry out an activity. Though I concur with Glasser that just the individuals are the ones who make their own decisions, I think that what motivates people, are factors which can be both external and internal. Alternatively, Garden and Lambet (1972) coined the following terms to classify motivation. Integrative Motivation Garden and Lambet (1972) describe this term as the desire that the learners have to familiarize themselves with the culture of the ethnic group that speaks the language they intend to learn. Gardner (2002) himself perceives Integrativeness as one of the factors that conduct to motivation for second language learning, and by this he suggests that whether learners have the hope to come nearer the L2 community they will have real desire in learning and studying the second language. Besides, the term also refers to the degree at which the learner desires to understand the target community. Essentially, integrative motivation refers to a learners desire to expand their association with the community that they are targeting. Saville Troike, (2005) affirm that the main triggers of this type of motivation are emotions or affective factors. For instance, a Chilean boy who come to live in London for a time, meet an English girl and fall in love with her. He will have the desire and motivation to learn English in order to communicate with his girlfriend and integrate into the new culture and become part of the community. As Chile is mainly a monocultural society, chances to utilize the second language in daily conversations are fairly limited. Therefore, learners do not feel motivated to learn the second language to become part of the community, since they just need their first language to interact. It can be discussed that integrative motivation is an intrinsic factor, because it implies that learning a second language is more a final aim itself rather than a mean to accomplish a final goal, due to the authentic desire on the learning tasks (Noels (2002). Instrumental Motivation: One more term that Gardner and Lambert made up is instrumental motivation which Lightbown Spada (2002: 56) introduce as language learning for more immediate or practical goals. Very similar to integrative motivation, instrumental motivation also sees language learning as an instrument to accomplish a goal rather than the satisfaction in the action itself. However, what distinguishes both terms is the final aim, which in integrative motivation is the interaction in the L2 community while in instrumental motivation the ultimate goal is more practical, for instance, obtaining a better job, career developmental or passing exams. For most Chilean learners of English instrumental motivation is the key element at the time to learn English as a second language. For Lightbown Spada (2002) both types of motivation are important , they say that whether the students feel the necessity to interact in the second language in various social situations or to accomplish academic and professional aspirations, the communicative value of the foreign language will be perceived and therefore, they will feel encouraged to get proficiency in the language. I agree with the authors that both types of motivation are important to acquire a second language, However for Chilean people integrative motivation is far to be seen as a reason to study the second language due to the fact that Chile , as I mentioned earlier, is a monocultural and monolingual society. Classroom Learning Motivation vs. Language Learning Motivation When considering second language acquisition and motivation, it is important to put two motivational constructs into consideration. Research has shown that there are two categories of motivation that should be put into account when discussing SLA. This mainly deals with the difference that exists between classroom learning motivation and language learning motivation. Language learning motivation refers to the desire to learn a second language. Language learning motivation includes evaluated second language acquisition, socio-educational representation (Gardner, 1985), the preparedness to converse model (Clement, Dornyei, MacIntyre Noels, 1998) among others. It is the universal type of motivation that applies to any context of learning a language. The universal attributes of the learner relate to the need to learn the language. Clements (1980) social context model, Gardners (1985) SLA social-education model among others, agree that the motivation or desire to learn a second language is a characteristic that has considerable effects on the individual although they are different when it comes to assessment, correlates and antecedents. The other type of motivation is the learning motivation in a classroom. According to Heckhausen and Kuhl (1985), classroom-learning motivation is the general educational psychology as described by Dornyeis model of post-actional, actional, and pre-actional motivation model. Although it is seen to be an important part to motivation as a whole, the SLA socio-educational model by Gardner, (1985), characterizes it. The main focus is the persons view on the mission to be achieved and to a large extent, it is state oriented. This means that a number of issues that are related to the language class will affect the individuals perception. As a result, the atmosphere in the class, the teacher, the contents of the course, facilities and materials combined with the students personal attributes will affect the persons motivation when it comes to classroom learning. It is hard to differentiate between the two categories of motivation because they control the individual at any particular time. Therefore, it is important to consider both classes of motivation operative. Just as hard as it is to define motivation, it is equally difficult to give an explanation to the meaning of learning a second language. According to Gardner, the motivational strength can only be estimated from questionnaires based on an individuals attitude and is considered to be a hidden psychometric characteristic. Other educational practices have applied the use of indicators that have been observed from individuals behavior in response to a given task. This depends on the persons selection of tasks, which is determined by the level of difficulty, the persistency of the learner to tackle the problem at hand, the extent at which an individual participates in a group or class activities, the span of attention and focus, or the qualitative information available on spoken reports of self-regulation and self-monitoring. The new research program by Crookes and Schmidt (1991) includes the advancements made in the universal educational, which has narrowed to the field of language learning motivation. This directs its focus on individuals, the approaches that the learner might implement in the learning process, the learning contexts, and the observable conduct of class members. Following the inception of the new outline, the areas of interest have shifted to the learner as an individual. In Covingtons self-worthy theory (1998), the importance of the learners ideas were emphasized, their own beliefs, the strategy they use, and the level of their desire to deal with the task at hand. The self- efficacy concept by Bandura (1997) is a very important related characteristic which assesses the level at which learners gauge their potential and their own management. Individuals who have this ability come up with an efficient motivational thinking strategy and are able to reduce the risk of failure and increase t heir chances of success while depending less on outside obligatory measures and strategies. Motivation: Individual Learner Difference in Chilean Culture Clement and Noels (1996) indicate that the cultural settings present different language learning and individual learner differences. In the Chilean cultural setting, the motivation to learn the English language offer some challenges to the learners due to most of the students who attend Chilean public schools are in social risk. In addition, many of the learners may be discouraged to put personal effort in learning the language because of the fact that they may not find the language useful outside the educational setting. Others may be of the opinion that their chances of travelling to a country where English is spoken as a native language are rather minimal. Furthermore, challenges that come with teaching a class that has many students may affect the effectiveness of the teachers and the quality of the lesson. This together with the little interest towards learning the English language may influence negatively the motivation to teach as well as the motivation to learn. Fostering Motivation The best ways to foster motivation is to create a good environment, which is beneficial for second language learning. This can be done by reducing the number of students per class to ensure that the instruction given by the English teachers is of good quality. The teachers should also come up with plans that apply to both slow learners and fast learners so as to ensure that those who do not grasp quickly are not left far behind because this may demotivate them to continue learning. The schools may consider initiating exchange programs with schools where English is the native language. This would give students the feeling that studying English is not an effort in vain but a step in the right direction since it would help them in securing jobs and touring other parts of the world. Moreover, teachers should come up with a timetable that gives us enough time to prepare for our classes by getting the necessary materials as well as reflecting on the success of the program. This would help us in coming up with a better plan to teach hence improving our teaching methodology. It would also help teachers find ways of motivating their own students. With the relevant authorities ensuring that, schools are well equipped to teach English as a second language, students will be motivated to learn and teachers will be motivated to teach. Conclusion The above discussion has provided an analysis of motivation as an individual learner difference. There have been numerous research studies exploring individual learner differences, which have indicated that the main reason why many L2 students fail while others succeed effortlessly is the presence of different student characteristics such as language aptitude, motivation, or personality traits. The motivation of the student is very important in the learning process and is regarded as the key factor that contributes to the success of SLA. Research has revealed that intrinsic motivation is more successful than external or extrinsic motivation over the long term. Some students learning rate is higher as compared to others. Some learners are able to grasp quickly and they go on to the level of reaching near-native competence while slow learners experience difficulties in the early stages of the learning process. Recently conducted research has shown that this disparity is caused by the p articular strategy adopted by the learner, motivation, anxiety, personality, as well as societal and social influences. Research has clearly shown that the intensity of the students motivation to its highest level, including the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components are the most important aspects towards success in SLA. Since the integrative motive incorporates the aspect of being open to cultural identification as part of the process, it tries to imply that integration may be more connected to achieving highest level of achievement as compared to other types of motivation that do not have this component. Classroom learning motivation seems to be a system that encourages individuals to acquire specific language elements but for the students to be masters of the language, more is needed. In my opinion, the integrative motivation provides the students with a better platform for SLA. A teachers role in the process of learning a second language is rather complicated but very important. It surpasses the provision of reward since the whole experience is dependent on the self-efficacy of the student. The teachers role entails providing challenging yet supportive environment to allow the students to learn and explore their potential. The teachers are also supposed to help their students to develop their own motivational thinking by discovering their original orientation. The most challenging aspect in all of this is trying to avoid anything that may de-motivate the students. Although it is very much possible to imagine other forms of motivation, the type of motivation does not matter very much. The difference that emerges between instrumental and integrative motivation, or between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation does very little in helping us to understand the role that motivation plays in second language acquisition.

Airbags :: Car accidents

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Crash! Your car just smashed into the car right in front of you at a speed of 35 mph. The whole front of your car is smashed but luckily your head isn’t, thanks to the airbag deploying. This scenario happened over 2.9 million times through August, 1998. Airbags significantly reduce the risk of being killed in a crash. The risk of being killed, if you have your seatbelt on, is reduced by 26% and 32% if you don’t have a belt on and the airbag goes off. Airbags also reduce the risk of serious head injuries by 75% if used with a shoulder and lap belt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yes, airbags save lives, but they have also been known to seriously hurt or kill people, especially children. Since 1990, about 113 deaths have been caused by airbags inflating in not serious accidents. 51 of these deaths were children, most of whom were not using a seat belt. Small children and airbags don’t mix. Children shouldn’t be in the front seat because the force of the airbag is usually too much for them. Never put a rear facing child seat in the front seat of the car. If the airbag goes off, the seat will be pushed forward and the child may get squeezed between the back of the seat and the airbag. Children are less likely to be killed in a crash if they are in the back seat.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If someone must put a child in the front seat, they may want to have an on/off switch for the airbag installed on the passenger side. On/off switches are used to prevent the airbag from going off in an accident, but they aren’t recommended for most people. You only need an airbag switch on the driver’s side if your legs are too short to reach the pedals and have your torso 10 inches away from the steering wheel. Passenger side switches should only be used if you always have to have a small child or infant sit in the front seat because they have a medical problem and need to be watched constantly. Airbag switches can be used incorrectly. You can forget to turn the airbag back on and jeopardize the safety of yourself (the driver) or the passenger.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most people won’t need an on/off switch because there is a proper and improper way to sit when you are driving. You should always sit 10 or more inches away from the steering wheel.

The Metamorphosis: Use Of Comedy And Irony Essay -- essays research pa

To what extent did Kafka use comedy/irony to develop his tragic, cynical view of society and family?Gregor Samsa, a young traveling salesman who lives with and financially supports his parents and younger sister, Grete, wakes up one morning to find "himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin" or insect. At first, to my surprise, he is preoccupied with practical, everyday concerns: How to get out of bed and walk with his numerous legs? Can he still make it to the office on time? Most persons would be devastated to find themselves in such a position as Gregor, but he did not seem to care much about himself, but only about his obligations, instead of panicking, he starts cursing his job : "If I did not hold back for my parents’ sake, I would have quit long ago, I would have marched up to the boss and spoken my piece from the bottom of my heart", " Well, I have not given up hope completely; once I’ve gotten the money together to pay off my parents’ debt to him, I’m going to make the big break. But for the time being, I better get up, since my train leaves at five." This is a sort of dry humour; a person in a tragic situation does not seem to notice the predicament he is in.He tries to get out of bed, but his new form does not enable him to do the things he used to do so easily. The way he describes it, can already be seen as comical : "First he tried to get out of bed with the lower part of his body, but this lower part- which by the ...

World View and Citizenship Essay -- Citizenship

The Preamble to the United States Constitution states: â€Å"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America† (U.S. Const. pmbl.). While the United States Constitution was created in order to form a more perfect union, it is up to us, as citizens of the United States, to uphold all that has been established within this union. In order to do that, we all must fulfill our responsibilities as citizens. For me, citizenship is an entitlement that everyone is obliged to uphold; therefore, I try to follow through on my responsibilities as a citizen of my community, country, and world. Being a citizen of the United States has many responsibilities, and it is my duty to follow through with these responsibilities. In order to do this, I must employ my rights and act dutifully. To fulfill my responsibilities as a citizen, there are many things that I do. First, I exercise my right to vote. This right to vote is one that requires me to pay attention to my government, for a citizen’s time and attention to the government is necessary in order for a democracy to function properly. Furthermore, I make sure to obey the laws that the government has created. These laws play an important role in upholding the ideals that were stated in the Preamble of the United States Constitution. Finally, another important responsibility that I oblige to as a United States citizen is paying my taxes. Taxes allow this country to function successfully; therefore, it is important for me to fulf... ... a good citizen, to do more than your share under it is noble† (â€Å"Betterworld.net†). In order for me to enjoy the privileges that I have been given through citizenship, I must honor my contract with society by putting citizenship first. If I continue to take part in community service and to treat others in the same manner that I desire to be treated, I can continue to honor my contract with society while remaining a good citizen of my community, country, and world. Works Cited "Better World Quotes - Citizenship." BetterWorld.net - The BetterWorld Factory. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. . Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Dover Publications, 1996. Print. Palmer, Parker J. Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000. Print.

Compare and contrast images of heroism in these two poems

Heroism is a trait that we seem to have no problem identifying, yet when asked to define what a hero is a myriad of answers emerge. This phenomenon is not unique to today's society; the definition of a hero is something that is constantly under revision and debate. An example of this can be seen in two older pieces of English literature: Beowulf, written circa 750-900, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written circa 1375-1400. These stories both have a main character that possesses heroic qualities, many of which are very similar. Gawain's identity as a hero is not clearly demonstrated, but when compared with Beowulf, who is demonstrated to be a hero, hiss merits earn him that title as well. Exactly what defines a heroic act, or a hero for that matter? Often times we dismiss the question due to its complex nature. But when confronted with an individual with heroic qualities we readily identify them as a hero. So what set of traits makes up this amorphous definition that we call hero? I would agree that the very definition is one that is dependent upon the time and society in which its context is being used. A person who shot someone to save the life of another may be viewed as a hero under the scrutiny of one culture, but in a different time or location the very opposite may be true. Nevertheless, heroes exist and posses these ever changing heroic qualities. Beowulf is clearly demonstrated to be a hero, and we can observe the qualities he possesses to enable him to have that title. While Sir Gawain's heroic accomplishments are a little more debatable, I would argue that he deserves the same title; he exudes qualities which can be considered heroic in the context of Arthurian Legend as well as today. Although we can attribute no authorship to Beowulf or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, we can see that Beowulf was meant to be a hero and if nothing else, Gawain was portrayed as the story's protagonist. One such way this was done was by having neither of the main characters as all powerful rulers; in fact each Beowulf and Gawain served some sort of higher authority. Beowulf, throughout approximately 2/3 of the story serves Hrothgar. Similarly, Gawain was not ruler of his domain but served King Arthur. It is important to note that while both served other men, they were not themselves servants. Beowulf traveled from his land to assist in the destruction of Grendel, and Gawain chose to be a knight of the Round Table and indeed viewed his service to Arthur and his kingdom as an honor. By the construct of having both main characters serve others, the author has created more capacity for heroism to become apparent. If the President of the United States were to prevent nuclear war, the people would obviously be relieved and grateful that he fulfilled his duty. If a soldier on the field accomplished the same task, he would be regarded as a true hero. Transcending one's traditional role and going above and beyond is a characteristic which helps to set heroes apart from other people. Sir Gawain goes above and beyond his role when declaring his intention to battle the Green Knight. â€Å"I would come to your counsel before your court noble. /For I find it not fit, as in faith it is known, /When such a boon is begged before all these knights, /Though you be tempted thereto, to take it on yourself† (lines 347-350) King Arthur at this point had already accepted the challenge, yet Gawain decided to take his place because he was aware of the danger and risk involved in letting the King fight. He admits just a few lines later that â€Å"I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; /And the loss of my life would be least of any;† (lines 354-355) This indication that is ability to fight is low makes his decision to fight that much more heroic, and this is all done in the name of Arthur. Beowulf, on the other hand, does not have an issue of inferior strength, but quite the opposite- he seems to posses a sort of superhuman strength. Even so, his level of self restraint and wisdom prevents him from overthrowing Hrothgar despite his superior abilities. This amount of loyalty and service is a trait that helps develop his character even further as a hero. Both Gawain and Beowulf having been in similar instances serving a higher authority have shown heroic qualities although they may have differed. While the two main characters in discussion are being portrayed as heroes, they are still human and have fallibilities. It is the dynamic experience, the rise and fall of these characters which makes them real and human, that shows what they are truly made of. This insight may prove to be disappointing or disheartening for many, I find the revelation to be comforting as it reasserts that a hero isn't an idyllic state but a condition which can be humanly attained. Beowulf's rise and fall is demonstrated rather clearly throughout the progression of the story. At his peak, he kills Grendel with his bare hands. In the second encounter with Grendel's mother he is victorious, but requires the use of armor and the sword Hrunting. As time passes, he becomes king. He helps to slay the dragon that is terrorizing the land with the assistance of Wiglaf and his men, but at the cost of his life. This failure of his strength is foreshadowed earlier by Hrothgar, â€Å"Choose dear Beowulf, the better part, /eternal rewards. Don't give way to pride. /For a brief while your strength is in bloom/ but it fades quickly† (lines 1759-1762). Beowulf's wisdom, which he relies on throughout the story even diminishes as he faces the dragon, as shown when he elects to strike first by himself with full knowledge that his strength is not as great as it used to be. Another interesting point is that while in the service is Hrothgar is heroic qualities shown through but when he became leader, he was still a hero but many of the qualities such as his wisdom and strength in this instance have decreased. Likewise to Beowulf, Gawain experiences a rise and fall. His circumstance is slightly different than Beowulf's however. Gawain's worthiness to even be named a hero is often put into question, and his final deeds tend to overshadow the previous ones when that consideration is made. This is an unfair judgment as no one would rescind Beowulf's status as a hero because of his pride blinding his judgment towards the end of his life, but would still consider him a hero because of his previous heroic actions. The same is true of Sir Gawain. Near the end of the story when he thinks he will die and flinches when the ax is coming down on his neck, he's viewed as a coward. I'll concede that it was a cowardly thing to do, but then I'm forced to ask the rhetorical question, â€Å"What would you do? † Moments later, Gawain recomposes himself, doesn't flinch and gets nicked. Of course, one could argue that Gawain is a coward disguised as a hero because of his protest to the Green Knight claiming his debt is paid, and that he decided to use the green girdle. First of all, Gawain spends the rest of his days lamenting his decision to use the girdle, so he isn't ignorant of what he as done. Secondly, there is absolutely nothing heroic about dying without a cause, which is what would have been the case had the Green Knight carried out his threat. I see no harm done in preparing oneself for an encounter such as the one he went through. We often laude heroes for their cunning in wisdom, so why should those same traits in Gawain be looked upon negatively? While there are many more facets to declaring someone a hero, these are a few that both Beowulf and Gawain share. Beowulf demonstrates that its namesake is a man who is supposed to be regarded as a hero. This same intent is not made in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but when the two are compared with each other, Sir Gawain is shown to be a hero, not a simple coward that he may initially appear to be.

‘A Bridge to Wiseman’s Cove’ by James Moloney Essay

Carl Matt is a 15 year old boy who has had to deal with some pretty unfair situations, but he is definitely not the only one in the novel to face life changing events. Whilst Carls life takes the most noticeable turn in the novel, many of his fellow characters lives also change after his arrival. On arrival in Wattle Beach, Carls journey leads him to the character, Skip Duncan. Skip has also been dealt with unfair life challenges. The fact that Carl is a Matt creates many challenges for Skip. Skips daughter, Maddie also changes during the time Carl spends in Wattle Beach. Many characters change throughout the novel but Carl is definitely the most predominant. Carl Matt changes throughout the novel. Carl Matt is just a shy, sad character at the beginning of the book. In the start Carl was a pushover he just let people keep walking all over him. For example Carl sees Sarah (his sister) planning a holiday for herself, But Carl knew that she wouldnt come back, and he did not say anything. He just left for Aunt Beryls and made himself think that he was just going away for a holiday. When Carl reaches Wattle Beach he feels like an outcast. He stood up too suddenly and the chair toppled over backward. Faces turned to enjoy the comedy as he righted the chair, his skin reddened with fierce embarrassment.(Quote pg28). This quote shows that Carl is not a part of a group; he is just a new kid that no one knows or likes. But after a few weeks a Wattle Beach Carl gets a job, which makes him feel as if he is needed. Carl is constantly evolving in this book, in the beginning Carl wouldnt even dream of talking to Maddie but at the end of the novel Maddie is one of Carls best friends. Carl comes out of his shell at the end and shows Wattle Beach and Wisemans Cove residents who he really is My name is Carl Matt M-A-T-T (Quote pg 231). But Carl defiantly isnt the only one who changes throughout the novel. Carls employer Skip Duncan also changes and in a big way. When we are introduced to Skip Duncan, we meet a temperamental and gruff man. In the beginning Skip Duncan hates all Matts but Carl Matt is the one who changes his mind. At the start Carl asks Skip for a job but when Skip finds out his last name Skip explodes Matt, the word exploded. Skip turned again  to Joy is this some kind of joke? You bring a Matt onto my barge, let him come her asking me for a job! He was shouting by the time he reached the last word, indignation bulging in his face. Get off my barge, he yelled at the boy. (Quote pg 66). Skip explodes at poor Car, when he does not even know what kind of a person Carl is. This leads us to believe that Skip is very judgemental person. Even though in the beginning Skip is very, judgemental he evolves throughout the duration of the novel. By becoming less judgemental and more interested in meeting the person not the last name He stretched out his arm, hand open and Carl took it, a freezing slippery grip lasting not even a second. (Quote pg 133), this handshake even though it may be short shows that Skip has overcome the fact that Carl is a Matt and has accepted him for being CARL Matt. Skinny, tanned, blonde, Maddie Duncan is the girl that everyone wants to be or be with. But along with being pretty she also has a very bad attitude, but that changes throughout the novel. When we first meet Maddie Duncan we meet a spoilt brat. She has a bad attitude and thinks that everyone loves her. But Carl, Justine and Joy help to change her into a person that people really do like. Thats one advantage Carl and I have over you said Justine Youre lucky then was Maddies reply (Quote pg 150), this quote shows us that Maddie was spoilt and stroppy but after this little episode Joy talks to Maddie and her attitude changes. She was too helpless with laughter and exhaustion to challenge him for the pizza now(Quote pg 181)This quote shows that she has changed into a person that people really do like, she has ditched her attitude and dumped the extra baggage (Nathan Trelfo). This means she is a freer person and is comfortable within herself, which at the beginning of the novel she wasnt. Maddie also learns to stand up for herself, as she doesnt let Nathan push her around. Shows youre a better judge that me. Maddie laughed He said some terrible stuff about your brother and Aunt (quote pg 154). This shows that Maddie is sick of Nathan and is ready to dump him which she does later in the novel. Maddie Duncan is constantly changing through the story, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst. But the most important thing is that her and the people around her are happy. Carl Matt experiences many life altering changes throughout the novel. However he is not the only one. Skip Duncan grows from being judgemental to being understanding. Maddie develops from a spoilt brat to a loving friend. So even though Carl Matts life takes a massive turn in the story, Skip and his daughter Maddie also have alterations made to their lives.