Assessment in Special Education Essay

Abstract Sometimes the general education program alone is not able to meet the needs of a child with disabilities, and he/she may be able to receive special education services. The evaluation process can be a very difficult task when trying to identify if the child qualifies for special education, schools often have a pre-referral intervention process. The most prominent approached used today is the â€Å"response-to-Intervention† or RTI. Special Education teachers face many challenges when trying to meet the needs of special needs students in their classrooms. Methods of evaluation are a big concern and challenge for educators of special needs students today. In addition, meeting everyone’s needs is a difficult task to accomplish because of students’ diverse abilities in the classroom. This research paper will explore the different methods of assessment in special education programs and the best practices to help this children achieve their potential in an appropriate setting. Testing and assessment is an ongoing process with children in special education programs. Some of these assessments include, developmental assessments, screening tests, individual intelligence tests, individual academic achievement tests, adaptive behavior scales, behavior rating scales, curriculum-based assessments, end-of-grade, end-of-course, and alternate assessments. Comprehensive assessment of individual students requires the use of multiple data sources. These sources may also include standardized tests, informal measures, observations, student self-reports, parent reports, and progress monitoring data from response-to-intervention (RTI) approaches (NJCLD, 2005). The main purpose of a comprehensive assessment in the special education field is to accurately identify the strengths and needs of the students to help them be successful during their school years and there after. Legislation has played a big role in the shift towards functional assessment. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is also known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act has played a big role in this matter. The IDEA legislation â€Å"needed to assure that students with disabilities receive free appropriate public education (FAPE) and the related services and support the need to achieve† (Jeffords 1). IDEA was created to make sure that disabled children are receiving fair and equal education and support. This act has several parts to it which include providing grants, funds early intervention services, and supports research and professional development programs. The No Child Left Behind Act: Impact on the Assessment of Special Education Student. After the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) moved into our schools there is a great deal of controversy that questions whether the act implemented by President George W. Bush is helping or hurting an already suffering school system. There are many dimensions of the NCLB act that have been questioned over the past decade; the fair assessment of students with disabilities is one of them. As the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (NCFOT) reported, the public relations aspect of this act is strong. Prior to the Individuals with Disability Education Act of 1997 (IDEA) students in special education were exempt from participating in the statewide testing. However, the IDEA advocated that all students including those with special learning difficulties should be able to participate in testing. (Cahalan, 2003). Legislative Overview of Laws Protecting Special Education Students On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the NCLB act. In this act the federal government was for the first time in the history of the Department of Education putting an act into effect that would penalize schools that failed to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP). The AYP is a measuring system in which the federal government will look at the progress of the local government and school systems to decide whether or not that school, along with its teachers and students, has progressed and provided a high-quality education (Goldhaber, 2002). Through the NCLB act schools are held accountable for failing test scores and failure to improve their class average from one year to the next. The longer the school fails to meet required scores, the more the school will be held accountable, and the greater the consequence. For instance, a school that is unable to make their desired AYP and has not improved a significant amount within five years will then be subject to reconstruction. This reconstruction could include the government completely taking over the school and hiring new teachers and  teacher staff, leaving many teachers and staff unemployed (Goldhaber, 2002). Teachers and students in the special education department do have some laws however that helps them make testing less stressful. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 required that accommodations must be made for students with learning disabilities in order to be able to participate in the assessment (Cahalan, 2003). However, this leaves the question of what can be used as accommodations. Accommodations could include things such as test schedules and setting of the test, along with the format of the presentation. Also used to help the special education students and teachers is the individualized education plan (IEP). The Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) of 1991 would set into effect the idea of an IEP. An IEP is a plan that is set by a group of individuals that work closely with the student to design the educational format that is most appropriate for him/her (Cahalan, 2003). This does not take into account the type of disorder the student has but simply the student themselves. The individualized attention that is given with this plan provides the student with the correct instruction needed to be successful in education. These groups of individuals include the teacher, parent, school psychologist and anyone else that is closely related to the education of this student. The IEP members are, in most states, responsible in deciding which accommodations are important for each individual student (Cahalan, 2003). They, however, are not a part of deciding what accommodations will be provided for each student during the NCLB assessment. The laws described here were all implemented with the same goal in mind; to protect special education students and be sure their quality of education is the same as all other students. However some of these laws, including the NCLB, must be altered in order to truly give special needs students the education and assessment they deserve. Best Practices in Assessment of Special Education Students Students in special education programs should be included in the statewide assessments, as the IDEA of 1997 states. The IDEA also states that accommodations should be made to be sure that the student is able to fully understand the materials they are asked (Cahalan, 2003). There are four categories of test accommodations, presentation, response, timing, and  setting (Cahalan, 2003). Presentation is simply visual aids that help the student fully understand the context. These do not alter the questions of the test; they simply make it accessible for the students. Presentation accommodations include Braille, large-print, sign language interpreter, or reducing the number of questions per page (Cahalan, 2003). These simple accommodations make test taking less stressful, and therefore the material is better understandable by the student. However, no state has reported using them in their statewide assessments since the inception of the NCLB. In a study of over one thousand students it was found that using a video presentation to help understand the test showed a significant increase in their achievement (Cahalan, 2003). So why is the educational department not using these modifications that help so much? Another form of accommodation used in special education testing is response. It may be as simple as giving an oral response instead of a written one or it may mean that the test is dictated to the student by a recorder. These accommodations in no way alters the response that is given or received, it is still the same question being asked. Results have shown that by providing a reader special education students showed a significant improvement in their test score (Cahalan, 2003). The last two accommodations are setting and timing. The timing could include any extra time needed, breaks during the exam, or spreading the testing out through a few days instead of taking it all in one day. And the final accommodation is setting, which could include special furniture, lighting, or an individualized testing area (Cahalan, 2003). Even though there was no evidence to prove that setting and timing are important accommodations, it is well known that many special education students are tested in private rooms with more time. These accommodations should be accessible for special education students that need them to better their test taking skills. However, many states do not allow such accommodations to be made due to the misconceived conception that they change the contents of the test when in actuality they do not in any way alter the questions asked. BEST PRACTICES IN ASSESSMENT HANDOUT †¢Create a shared mission and goals statement that reflects an emphasis on student learning. †¢Focus on collaboration and teamwork. Faculty members must agree on assessment goals for planning to be meaningful. They may have to rise to a higher level of collaboration than may have been traditionally practiced in most departments. Collaboration within the department, across departments, and with higher administration will facilitate the best outcomes from assessment planning. All constituents must recognize that assessment skills must be developed and that colleagues can assist each other by sharing practices and strategies. †¢Clarify the purpose of assessment. Assessment can serve dual purposes: Assessment can promote student learning or provide evidence for accountability requirements through an evaluation of strengths and weaknesses. Wherever possible, students should experience a direct, positive benefit from their participation in assessment activities. †¢Identify clear, measurable, and developmental student learning †¢OUTCOMES. Explicit identification of learning expectations facilitates the department’s coherence about their GOALS. Sharing those expectations explicitly with students can provide an effective learning scaffold on which students can build their experiences and render effective performance. †¢Use multiple MEASURES and sources consistent with resources. Effective assessment planning can only occur when properly supported with appropriate time, money, and recognition for good work. The expansiveness of the assessment plan will depend on those resources. As resources permit, additional MEASURES can be added to planning. These MEASURES address variations in learning style, differences in types of learning, and interests from varied stakeholders. †¢Implement continuous assessment with clear, manageable timelines. Better assessment practice involves spreading out assessment activity throughout the year and across years rather than conducting a marathon short-term assessment effort in a single year. Projecting a schedule of regular formal reviews can facilitate appropriate interim activity. †¢Help students succeed on assessment tasks. Students will fare best in assessment activities when faculty make expectations explicit, provide detailed instructions, and offer samples or models of successful performance. They will benefit most with opportunities to practice prior to assessment and when given detailed feedback about the quality of their performance. †¢Interpret and use assessment results appropriately. Assessment should be a stimulus for growth, renewal, and improvement, not an action that generates data to ensure positive outcomes. Linking funding to assessment outcomes may encourage artificial results. Assessment data should not be used for personnel decisions. If cross-institution comparisons are inevitable, care should be taken to ensure comparisons across comparable institutions (benchmarking). †¢Evaluate your assessment practices. Results from assessment activity should be evaluated to address their reliability, validity, and utility. Poor student performance can reflect limited learning or an ill-designed assessment process. Examining how effectively the assessment strategy meets departmental needs is a critical step in the evolution of the department plan. (Retrieved from www. caspercollege. edu/assessment/downloads/best_practices. pdf) The Effect of NCLB Assessments on Special Education Programs When the Department of Education was asked how they intend to insure that special education students will not be forced to take tests that are above their intelligence level under the NCLB act, they could not give a real solution. They simply said that there are accommodations available, and if the student’s disability is severe to the point that the accommodations will not help, there are alternate tests they can take (Education Week, 2003). However, the problem with this is that there is no clear definition as to who is able to receive these accommodations and who is able to receive the alternate assessment. Who decides this? And how handicapped must a student be in order to receive an alternate assessment? Even though special education students are not at the same intelligence level as their peers they are still placed in the same test group as them. The NCLB act does not include in its AYP percentage the failing percentage rate of special education students in each given population. Therefore, teachers and school administration are trying to make up for the percentage loss in special education departments. Some teachers are now, for the first time, being held accountable for failing test scores. This, in effect, causes teachers to alter their curriculum and teach to the test? (Goldhaber, 2002). By teaching to the test students are missing out on important curriculum information that may be overlooked completely or presented in short educational lecture in the middle of teaching test taking skills and other information that may be found on the assessments. Possible Improvement to the Assessment and Accountability. To improve the NCLB act we must first know what is wrong with the act. While the idea of leaving no child behind in education is a good plan, there are still a few loop holes that the president’s act needs to clear up. The students that are placed in the special education setting are usually there because they have a disability or are below average in their cognitive abilities. In order to be fair to these students the government must be sure that they have the same quality education as all other students, but the government must also realize that the curriculum of the material they are learning may in some cases be drastically different. With this knowledge, it must then be known that to accurately and fairly assess special education students the assessments must be built with the correct accommodations. In order for this to happen, those who design the tests must develop an exam that meets the needs of the student, and not the needs of the disorder. In other words, do not test a student as an autistic child but first look at their individual advantages and disadvantages according to each test taking skill. Some students may simply need more time, while others will need more time along with a person to read to them and interpret some larger word usage. It is all based on the student’s individual needs (Cahalan, 2003). In other words the decisions of the accommodations should be made by people that know the student on a personal level, and know what accommodations are present in their current education setting. As stated before, with some assessments the IEP will meet to determine what accommodations will be made for the students in that assessment, However, this is not the case in the NCLB assessments; but it should be. Those who are teaching and raising the child should be a part of the process of determining how the child is assessed and what accommodations are necessary (Washington, 2003). It is important for the education of future special education students that the Department of Education take into consideration the possible reforms that were suggested by many local government and teachers surrounding them. Improvements can be made to the assessment of special education, and should be made to be sure that all students are receiving a fair and adequate education. Disproportionate identification of minorities in some special education categories: When speaking of the learning disabled, minorities, one must consider some dimensions to the issue of assessment within a particularly specialized light. This special population reflects both the learning disabled (LD) and the minority that they belong to. This is largely the case within a practical context, although as the literature points out, pre-considerations must be afforded for minority students. To begin with, it is important to look at the many variables that exist within the aforementioned components. These components include English as a Second Language (ESL), socioeconomic level and finally the impact this has on teaching the learning disabled in a classroom setting and more specifically when employing the assistance of a translator. Curriculum-based assessment is hampered with some biases that can affect these students (Dolson, 1984). A child’s race and ethnicity significantly influence the child’s probability of being misidentified, misclassified, and inappropriately placed in special education programs. Research shows the relationship between race and ethnicity and other variables for students’ placement in special education classes. Variables such as language, poverty, assessment practices, systemic issues, and professional development opportunities for teachers have been cited as factors that play a role in disproportionate representation (emstac. org). Children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds should be able to receive an excellent and appropriate education. Some students are not included in special education programs, even though they have a disability that is affecting their ability to learn and they need special education help. Some CLD populations are also significantly under-represented in programs for the gifted and/or talented. In these instances, CLD groups are considered under-represented because the proportion of students from certain ethnic or racial groups who receive special services are significantly less than the number of these same students in the overall school population (U. S. Department of Education, 2004). Facts: †¢ Hispanics are under-identified within certain disability categories compared to their White peers (U. S. Department of Education, 2006). †¢ Asian/Pacific Islander students are actually less likely to be identified for special education services than other CLD populations (NABE, 2002). There are a number of possible action steps school personnel can take to ensure that individual assessments are conducted in a culturally responsive and nondiscriminatory manner (Klotz & Canter 2006). Recommendations include: †¢Allowing more time. Assessments of students from diverse backgrounds require more time to gather important background information and allow for alternative and flexible procedures. †¢Gathering extensive background information. To provide a context for the evaluation, conduct a review of all available background information including: school attendance, family structure, household changes and moves, and medical, developmental, and educational histories. †¢Utilizing student progress monitoring data from Response-to-Intervention (RtI) or problem-solving processes. Data generated from a process that determines if the child responds to scientific evidence-based interventions should be included in a comprehensive evaluation. The National Research Council on Minority Representation in Special Education recommended the use of data from a systematic problem-solving process measuring the student’s response to high quality interventions (National Research Council, 2002, pp. 7-8). †¢Addressing the role of language. Determining the need for and conducting dual language assessments are essential steps in an evaluation process. This includes determining the student’s language history (i. e. , ages that the student spoke and heard various languages), dominance (i. e. , greatest language proficiency), and preference (i. e. , the language the student prefers to speak). †¢ Using nonverbal and alternative assessment strategies. When assessing students from CLD backgrounds, use standardized nonverbal cognitive and translated tests (when available in the target language). Additional assessment techniques, including curriculum-based assessments, test-teach-test strategies and in-direct sources of data, such as teacher and parent reports, portfolios, work samples, teacher/student checklists, informal interviews and observations, and classroom test scores are also helpful in completing an accurate, comprehensive evaluation (NEA, 2007). Bibliography Bush, President George W. (December 3, 2004). Bipartisan Special Education Reform Bill. Retrieved from http://www. ed. gov/news/newsletters/extracredit/ 2004/12/1203. html Cahalan, C. & Morgan, D. L. (2003). Review of state policy for high stakes testing of students with disabilities on high school exit exams. Educational Testing Service. Department of Education. (2003). Title I ? Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged; Proposed Rule. (34 CFR Part 200). Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office. Dolson, David P. (1985). â€Å"The Effect of Spanish Home Language Use on the Scholastic Performance of Hispanic Pupils. † Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, V. 6, No. 2,50. Fair Test. (2005). The National Center for Fair & Open Testing. Retrieved from http://www. fairtest. org on October 12, 2011 Goldhaber, D. (2002). What might go wrong with the accountability measures of the? No Child Left Behind Act? The Urban Institute. IDEA Partnership. http://www. ideapartnership. org Klot z, M. B. & Canter, A. (2006). Culturally Competent Assessment and Consultation. Retrieved October 2011 from: http://www.naspcenter. org/principals/Culturally%20Competent%20Assessment%20and%20Consultation%20NASSP. pdf. Improving accountability for limited English proficient and special education students under the No Child Left Behind Act. (2003). Washington Area School Study Council. National Association of School Psychology. (2007). The Truth in Labeling: Disproportionality Special Education. Retrieved from www. nea. org/books on October 15, 2011. National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. (2001a). Issues in learning disabilities: Assessment and diagnosis. In Collective perspectives on issues affecting learning disabilities (2nd ed. , pp. 55–61). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. (Original work published 1987) National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. (2005). Responsiveness to intervention and learning disabilities. Available from www. ldonline. org/njcld. National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. (2007). The documentation disconnect for students with learning disabilities: Improving access to postsecondary disability services. Available from www. ldonline. org/njcld National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems. (Fall 2005). Cultural considerations and challenges in response-to-intervention models. An NCCRESt position statement. Retrieved October 2011 From http://www. nccrest. org/PDFs/rti. pdf? v_document_name=Culturally%20Responsive%20RTI. No educator left behind: Testing special education students. (2003). Retrieved October 15, 2011, from http://www. education-world. com/a_issues/NELB/NELB025. shtml Olson, L. (2004). Data show schools making progress on federal goals. Education Week, 24, 24-28. Retrieved from http://www. edweek. org Tomes, H. Ph. D. (2004). In public interest: Are we really leaving no child behind? American Psychologist, 35, 31-35. Retrieved from www. apa. org on October 15, 2011 U. S. Department of Education. (2004). Twenty-fourth annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author.

The Relationship between Education and Income

I TheRelationship between Educion and Income The basic aim of this study is to analyze the link between instruction and income degree. For this ground primary information of marketing staff of Engro Corporation was gathered. This research included 40 functionaries of Engro Corporation. We gave study paper or questionnaire to all of them and besides informed them the ground behind this study so they give right replies. Introduction Education is the chief pillar for any country’s economic sustainability. Education ever play a major function in promotion of any state. Education plays a cardinal function in heightening human values of any state. In many parts of the universe, instruction is good known as built-in portion of human rights. Now instruction is considered more of import than of all time because the universe is going a planetary small town so more and more competition is out at that place. Technology and new innovations are distributing by each passing twenty-four hours. Therefore to get by with this challenge of progress tech epoch states need to bring forth more and more educated and gifted population. As a consequence, poorness and favoritism eliminates itself. For all underdeveloped states it’s of import to transport out all possible attempts to educate their people. Resulting in better homo life criterions, better economic growing and more and more productiveness in all economic sectors. Pakistan as a developing state, it’s in country’s favour to increase literacy rate which automatically decrease poorness ratio in state and addition and prolong societal well-being. With each passing twenty-four hours, demand of skilled and educated workers is increasing in all parts of the universe. This demand proves that both instruction and income are built-in portion of each other. More educated people in state consequences more ratio of income per capita. As literacy rate in Pakistan is really low as comparison to SAARC states. In past few old ages Pakistan authorities seeking to diminish this illiteracy spread. To accomplish this end Government of Pakistan is increasing figure of schools and enrolling good experienced and skilled instructors in all states of Pakistan. More over authorities chief accent is on primary instruction, as primary instruction is the anchor of instruction construction. Due to all these attempts by the authorities, in recent old ages encouraging consequences are popped up. But still there is long long manner to travel. Besides one instruction system is the demand of clip so that every pupil get equal chance to acquire same criterion of instruction so there is no favoritism and stumbling among rich and hapless. Some other factors besides leave immense impact on degree of income. Training and experience despite of the instruction are besides really of import portion to increase or keep degree of income. The degree of demand that exists for the type of labour you are skilled/trained/educated to supply. How long you have been making that peculiar occupation, senior status societal networking and dependability are besides really of import portion. This study is based upon following aims:To detect the verifiable nexus between instruction and income degree.To detect link between the variables itself.To detect short tally relationship between variables.To detect the possibility of causality effects between the variables in Pakistan.Population The population is infinite for this research and all the marketing staff of Engro corporation of Pakistan is included in the population. Target population The population which is traveling to be studied here are the selling employees of Engro corporation of Pakistan Appropriate sampling Techniques A ) Simple Random Sampling The appropriate ground to utilize the simple random trying that, it allows each point in the population to be included in the sample with equal chance of being selected. B ) Stratified trying It is appropriate as the selling staff of Engro corporation of Pakistan can be divided into different groups on the footing of their appellation, inducements and some other similarities. After doing these groups any component from any group can be selected in the sample. C )Convenience Sampling As no planning is required for this sampling and the research worker can choose any sample which is most convenient for him or her so this sampling technique can besides be used. Adopted Sampling Technique Convenience sampling is adopted for this research The restriction involved in this sampling is that, any sort of biasness could go on during trying. For illustration, convenience sample can take to the under-representation or over-representation of peculiar groups within the sample. Sample Size for Current Study 40 selling forces are selected as a sample for this research Nature of Datas The nature of informations for this research is primary. Data aggregation tools/Sources As the nature of informations is primary for research so:The questionnaire was used for the aggregation of informations and it is given bellowGenderMale ( B ) Female2 ) What is your instruction degree? ( a ) Matriculation ( B ) Bachelors or below ( degree Celsius ) Maestro or above 3 ) What is your per month income? ( a ) Below 20,000 ( B ) 20,000 to 40,000 ( degree Celsius ) Above 40,000 2 ) The inquiries for this research are self created and these are selected for the questionnaire because they are relevant to our research. 3 ) Numerical graduated table is used for the above questionnaire because it is largely used for ordinal informations or where there is some interval in the information. Data disposal Procedure As the information under our consideration is primary so:The questionnaire were delivered to the respondents by manus.We told the respondents about our research intent so they were ready to give serious response.By manus the questionnaires were collected back from the respondentsSoftware for Data Analysis SPSS is used for the analysis for the information in this research. Calciferolata AnalysisDescriptive StatisticssNitrogenMeanStd. Deviationinstruction401.6250.74032income degree402.0000.78446Valid N ( list wise )40income degreeFrequencyPercentageValid PercentageAccumulative Percentagebelow 200001230.030.030.020000 to 400001640.040.070.0above 400001230.030.0100.0Entire40100.0100.0The information shows In the sample of 40 selling forces ofEngrOCorporation of Pakistanthere are 12 employees whose income is below the 20000 and 16 employees holding income in between 20000 to 40000 and there are merely 12 employees who are holding the income above 40000.EducationFrequencyPercentageValid PercentageAccumulative Percentagematriculation2152.552.552.5unmarried mans or below1332.532.585.0Masterss or above615.015.0100.0Entire40100.0100.0The information shows In the sample of 40 selling forces ofEngrOCorporation of Pakistanthere are 21 employees holding matriculation grade and 13 are unmarried mans and merely 6 holding the maestro grades.genderFrequency%Valid %Accu mulative %male3382.582.582.5female717.517.5100.0Entire40100.0100.0The information shows In the sample of 40 selling forces ofEngro Corporation of Pakistanthere are 33 employees are male and merely 7 are females. Education degree ( Variable ) N=40 Mean=1.6250 Standard Deviation=0.74032 Income degree ( Variable ) N=40 Mean=2 Standard Deviation=0.78446 . SecondtatisticalHypothesiss The best manner to find whether a statistical hypothesis is true would be to see the whole population. Since that is frequently impractical, research workers use a random sample from the population. There are two types of statistical hypotheses.Null hypothesis. The void hypothesis, denoted by H0, is normally the hypothesis that sample observations result strictly from opportunity.Alternate hypothesis. The alternate hypothesis, denoted by H1or Ha, is the hypothesis that sample observations are influenced by some non-random cause.Study HypothesisThe hypothesis for this research is( H1 ) Income degree is dependent of instruction.( Ho ) Income degree is independent of instructionAppropriate AnalysisIn our research we are seeking to happen out the independency of income degree with regard to the instruction so the trial of independency ( Chi-square ) will be used for the analysis of the above said subject.Chi-Square Trial EducationObserved NExpected NResidualMatriculation2113.37.7unmarried mans or below1313.3-.3Masterss or above613.3-7.3Entire40Chi Square trial give us the undermentioned tabular arraies in it the Observed Frequency of matriculation employees are 21 and Expected Frequencies 13.3 the remainders are 7 and 13 ascertained frequences of unmarried mans and remainders are -3 and in Masterss 1303 are observed and -7.3 remainders mean the informations are non explicating them.Income degreeObserved NExpected NResidualbelow 200001213.3-1.320000 to 400001613.32.7above 400001213.3-1.3Entire40Trial Statisticssinstructionincome degreeChi-Square8.450a.800aDf22Asymp. Sig..015.670a. 0 cells ( .0 % ) have expected frequences less than 5. The lower limit expected cell frequence is 13.3.The Chi Square expression is X2 = ( O – Tocopherol ) 2/E where O is the Ascertained Frequency. Tocopherol is the Expected Frequency in the corresponding class is  ­sum of df is the â€Å" grade of freedom † ( n-1 ) X2 is Chi Square. As the value of chi-square for instruction is greater than 0.5 so it is concluded that the income degree is dependent of instruction so void hypothesis is rejected for this research†¦ Hydrogenistogram A histogram is a graphical representation of the data..the informations should be quantitative veriables. It is foremost introduced by Karl Pearson. The figure shows the information is usually distributed and histogram is symmetric or normal. In the instance of Education the figure shows the histogram is right skewed and more educated employees holding more income and less educated employees holding low income. Calciferoliscussion andConclusion We get a Equation as Simple Equation: More Education = More Income The findings indicate that instruction factors play a important function in doing income.there is direct relation ship between income and instruction as the income addition instruction besides addition. Besides suggest that giving more to instruction is to cut down the degree of income inequality within a country..As state can construct a strong foundation for economic success by puting in instruction. States can increase the strength of their economic systems and their ability to turn and derive high-wage employers by puting in instruction and bettering figure of knowing employees. Investing in instruction is besides best for province s in the long tally, since workers with higher incomes make portion more through revenue enhancements over the class of their life-times. So in Pakistan there is demand to increase Govt budget for instruction so everyone can acquire instruction.As largely people have low income either by ain ego or parents so they don’t continue their surveies so literacy rate is up and frailty versa income degree low.in our state as instruction disbursals is really high a adult male holding low income cann ot continue the ducation and cant participate in growing of economic system of their state. Calciferolirections for future Research 1.Future research should see some other veriables like accomplishments, experience, competency, diligence, fortune, 2.It should be addressed to increase the apprehension. 3.This survey was merely on corporate sector of Pakistan, but it should be conducted in other sectorsof state. 4.In this stresearch information was primary holding few variables ; if this restriction can be increase in the hereafter so consequences will be moreaccurate. 5. Future research should be done into different Sectors so as to detect the consequence of income on instruction at international degree.

Juicy Couture Advertising Analysis.

Typical high fashion advertisements consist of a beautiful female model, wearing the most expensive clothing, looking classy and elegant. Somewhere there is usually a toned gorgeous man looking at her in awe, also wearing incredibly fashionable clothing. These ads, however effective on the minds of the masses, are not the same approach the infamous Juicy Couture brand takes. Bought by all types of women, from mothers to teenage girls, everyone wants to be part of the Juicy phenomenon. Juicy Couture’s image isn’t the stereotypical wealthy, high fashion kind of depiction.They show a more mainstream glamour and luxurious wealth. Their bedazzled track suits and terrier crowned logo shows their abnormal high end fashion. However, the brand is still very fabulous and expensive being â€Å"Made in Glamorous USA† (â€Å"JuicyDeals†). The advertisements of Juicy Couture try to show this same kind of image. The usual Juicy advertisements are displays of a picturesqu e suspended girl universe, by reflecting a modern, girlish, avant-garde display with a whimsical kind of spirit (Brown et al). Interesting and bizarre, they never fail to catch the eyes of women and girls of every age and race.Juicy couture has a different and outrageous kind of style that never fails to tap into the needs and desires of girls all over. According to their ads, with Juicy couture women can be prominent, can dominate, and can definitely get anything they want. In 2009, Juicy ran an ad campaign titled â€Å"Do the Dont’s. † Each ad depicted models breaking the rules, being rebellious, and going against what is expected by society. One of the ads shows a women dressed in business-like attire, pale skin, and hair done up in a boy-like style. She is leaning against a man dressed in complete contrast to her.He’s tan and dressed in a more feminine fashion with long shaggy hair, a tulle skirt, and carrying a purse. He stands causally like a female with h is hip cocked out to the side. In the background you see a pink mansion like house, with beautiful plants and magnificent windows. Above them it says â€Å"Do the Dont’s. † Below that in light blue, the phrase â€Å"You can always get what you want† is written in messy-like handwriting. The items being advertised is everything from clothes, purses, jewelry, and perfumes. The purse and the fur coat, the socks, and the black dress are all Juicy Couture.Below their feet is the unmistakable â€Å"Juicy Couture† logo. In big, bold, fancy lettering, outlined in white. The overall name for the campaign is a striking small simple phrase that catches the eyes and can hook audiences in. On the ad it’s in black block lettering, at the top of the picture in a small type of font. To say do what is unexpected of you is something Juicy already does however, for this campaign, they are saying if girls want to be a part of this fun, superficial, girly, unrealistic world, you have to be different. When the line first came out it was different kind of high fashion that no one had seen before.They then incorporated that into their whole theme of their ads by showing a more unrealistic view of the wealthy with a forward-thinking view of fashion The house is a girly fantasy, being that it is pink, but it also shows how the pair are probably rich, and the rest of the house is just as wonderfully exotic as the two in front of them. It’s like they are a part of this beautiful world that only a few are able to see and to be like those in the picture it is necessary to be just as unrealistic as them. â€Å"You can always get what you want† is the main concept of the advertisement.In a bright blue color and it look as if it was hastily written on top with a paint brush, it is the first thing to notice. The phrase is big, bright, and takes up most of the page making it truly stand out. The two phrases correspond with each other. If you â₠¬Å"do the dont’s† â€Å"you can always get what you want. † Or â€Å"you can always get what you want† by doing the â€Å"dont’s. † The phrase implies that with juicy couture you can get whatever you want. The models in the background give the message even more of a meaning with how they look. They give off the air that they truly can and do have whatever they want.It is even written like the person who wrote it, didn’t care about what people think. Who wouldn’t want to have everything? Jib Fowles in an article wrote about how advertising use different types of appeals in advertising. Fowles says as a â€Å"need for dominance† and a â€Å"need for prominence† is one of the ways that advertisers pull people in. This advertisement feeds the desire for women â€Å"enjoy prestige and high social status† (65). Women aspire to control and want to be admired. These appeals are shown in just the catchphrase of the a dvertisement, never mind the photo behind them.Although the writing may be the first thing seen behind it is an abstract photo Juicy is famous for. The female model is in control, and strongly dominates the photo. Her direct gaze toward the camera is confrontational showing she is unafraid of power, her smirk saying she already knows she’s got it all. She stands in a firm yet casual pose showing she’s comfortable with her status, even though to some people it could be unsettling. She’s happy and at ease with her life and wouldn’t change a thing. These aspects make her more of a conformist which is opposite of what a women in fashion should look like.She causally has her arm on his shoulder further showing her dominance. He is like her pet, or maybe her play toy (Brown et al). She is prime example as to what Fowles says about prominence and dominance. This model obviously shows both with her strong contrast to her male counterpart emphasizes this fact even more. Dressed casually like a girl the male model’s chest is bare showing to the audience that he’s not trying to be a girl but he’s not afraid feminine side (Brown et al). They differences between our very strange couple also leads into the â€Å"Do the Dont’s† aspect of the campaign.A man dressing like a woman is definitely going against the grain. In most advertisements men are shown as the strong leader of the person who dominates, but here it is quite clear that he couldn’t care less about being in control or anything. He is perfectly happy with his life and how he is dresses. This isn’t what is expected of a man today, not in the least. The point of the ad is to sell the viewer not a single commodity but to convince the consumer that wearing their clothing will lead them to a new lifestyle (Fowles 62).The ads instruct them to do whatever it takes to get the glamorous life they want, doing the â€Å"dont’s† and â⠂¬Å"making a mess. † However, it also emphasizes the fact that Juicy Couture is â€Å"Doing the dont’s† with their actually clothing line. With outlandish fashion rules they are trying to get audiences to remember fashion doesn’t have rules, and Juicy took that idea to the next level with their own set of rules. Women don’t have to listen to the conventional rules about life or about what they wear. The ad plays on feminine desires to be better looking than everyone else, to be different and in control.It’s an effective ad campaign, using certain techniques’ to make it fun and smart, and has a message that women all over the world are willing to listen to. Work Cited Brown, AnnaLisse, Perry Esing , and Talia Tiffany . Do the Dont's Juicy Couture  n. pag. academic. reed. edu. Web. 3 Oct 2012. Fowles, Jib. â€Å"Advertising's Fifteen Appeals. †Ã‚  Common Culture. Ed. Micheal Petracca and Ed. Madeliene Sorpure. Seventh Edition. N ew Jersay : Pearson, 2012. 54-72. Print. â€Å"Juicy Couture History and Information. †Ã‚  JuicyDeals. Juicy Couture Deals, 2009. Web. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. ;http://juicycouturedeals. com/juicy-couture-history-and-information/;.

Social enterprise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social enterprise - Essay Example The enterprises must ensure collaboration and implement competitive strategies that will ensure sustainability in providing high quality products and services to their stakeholders. The enterprises must remain committed to their strategies bottom lines of improving social and environmental welfare of the society. In addition, national government agencies must support their activities through favorable regulatory framework. Social enterprises aim at attaining both commercial and social goals. In this case, a social enterprise whether for-profit or non-profit organization will strive to attain social, cultural, economic and environmental outcomes through redirecting the surplus towards the pursuit of environmental and social goals (Paton 2003). The businesses range from credit unions, community centers, and companies that engage in solving societal problems such as producing renewable energy (Doherty 2008). Social enterprises can take the form of community interest company (CIC) whereby the social mission of the organisation is regulated or industrial and provident society (IPS) which is co-operative that is democratically controlled by the members for the benefit of the society (Ridley-Duff and Bull 2011). Another form is the companies limited by shares or guarantee whereby the memorandum of association outlines how the profits will be channeled towards social causes. The fourth is the group structures that have charitable status whereby companies engage in charitable activities in order to enjoy tax benefits (Doherty 2008). Unlike commercial enterprises that focus on profit maximisation, the social enterprises have limited access for debt financing and attain most of their financing from grants such as trusts and foundations (Doherty 2008). Other sources of financing include community finance from credit unions, equity finance from the

Choose one of the questions Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Choose one of the questions - Personal Statement Example The action reaction phenomenon in physics is also particularly true for decisions on  reasonable  action.  It is an expectation by people that each and every  activity  they partake in is beneficial to them.  The fact that a lot of people are  willingly  participating in this class exercise, therefore, directly correlates to the fact that they must be obtaining mutual  benefit  from this action. This may be in terms of  material  benefit,  benefit  in  knowledge  or even in terms of  emotional  benefit. This factor, combined with the fact that we are  selfless  in nature, provides an excellent  ground  that is strong enough to  inspire  benefit  expectations from participation in the class exercise (Skinner 71). It proved that one only stands to benefit from participation or anything else they  partake  if they are to  perceive  them so. The agreement to  give  the  class  a chance with no  promise  of benefiting in itself shows the  optimism  in the exercise.  Any person that is willing to  see  the  best  of a situation will  keep  an open mind, and  survey  all the prospects so that they are  sure  to  find  positive benefits of their choices.  Attending this  class  with the  notion  that I will  benefit  one way or the other gives me an  edge  over others on benefiting. My mind would be  set  on finding maximum possible benefits from the exercise, and as a result, would be  keen  to  locate  them. This  way  of having an open mind would ensure I  benefit  maximally from what the  exercise  has to offer (Skinner 79). Again, it would ensure that I  am not disappointed  by over expecting or exp ecting benefits from the exercise. It is true that the things that other people do  have  effect  on what others do, and vice versa. This is a  natural  trait in humans and  mostly  bases on the fact that we are all  selfless  and  jealous  beings  inside  (Skinner

THE CHALLENGES FOR NURSES WHO PROVIDE PALLIATIVE CARE TO DAYING Essay

THE CHALLENGES FOR NURSES WHO PROVIDE PALLIATIVE CARE TO DAYING PATIENTS - Essay Example This holistic care services may be carried out in most clinical setting, including patient's home. Role of Nurses in Palliative Care Issues of death and caring for dying patients are certainly emotional human experiences that demands for a compassionate care. ICN reiterates that nurses should reduce suffering and help improve the quality of a dying patient's life, so with the family members. Nurses are expected create and maintain a relationship with the client who is therapeutic; working with them in a peaceful environment conducive for mitigating pain. As health care providers, they must be effective as clinical managers, supervisors, coordinating services, able to set priorities, monitor care outcomes, conducting health teachings to patient and the families, managing resources and efficient in providing nursing leadership in caring for dying patients. Issues and Challenges in Nursing Palliative Care In line with their work, several nurses experienced moral and ethical dilemmas. In January 2004 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association (2004, 11), authors who conducted survey about the end-of-life experiences of people who passed away shared that, majority of people preferred to die at home. Regardless of the setting, respondents shared that, the care given by the staff were inadequate: dyspnea (22%), pain (24%), and emotional needs (50%). There was higher patients' satisfaction with hospice care than the care provided by nursing homes, hospitals, and home care providers. Undoubtedly, the goals of care and care itself are interdisciplinary.On the contrary, The Institute of Medicine (IOM) elaborated that, in nursing homes, there is insufficient knowledge regarding the experience... This report approves that The health care team with the family must do advance planning so that, during the course of decision making, patient’s preferences are ensured. The patient needs to be guarded against any aggressive and inappropriate care near death. The team also has to make the time spent by the dying and the family precious. Despite declining physical health, the patient’s quality of life must be ensured. The financial burden of the family must be minimized; patient and the family should be educated in terms of insurance which cover treatment of the illness and help the family with bereavement should be given. All these are important and health care providers should be educated of the said principles. This essay makes a cocnlusion that good health is a responsibility of everyone. The overall health outcomes of a patient greatly depends on the collaborative efforts of the patient and family, health care providers and institution, insurance companies, and all the more, the government. When health care costs are rising, insurers must see to it that they address properly the patient’s needs. The public and policy making bodies must adopt the prolonging-life-at-any-cost approach in order to upgrade the existing quality health care system. Nurses should not only predict the moment of patient’s death but should anticipate the risks and difficulties patient experience, rather discuss dying, support patient and family by informing them about appropriate treatment decisions.

Future for fisheries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Future for fisheries - Essay Example Fishes are one of them. According to WWF, ‘two thirds of the worlds fish stocks are either fished at their limit or over fished’ (WWF, 2002). However, there are also other reasons for the depletion of fisheries that the writer has failed to mention or elaborate upon. One of the most glaring one is the contamination of water by industrial waste. Also not much attention is being given to these fisheries and many are being depleted as a result of neglect. The depletion or alteration of fresh water is further exacerbating the problem. Despite this, the short essay was a pleasant read and opens up the reader’s mind to the importance of the course. I agree that fisheries management is a very insightful course. Fishery management is a neglected topic and making such a course allows us as consumers to understand how we are contributing to the problem. I also agree that fish data analysis and other practical applications of the course would have been quite helpful in increasing our knowledge and interest in the subject. Overall, the writer has introduced many concepts in the short essay. His positive attitude towards the course was very pleasing to

Art Critique (-) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art Critique (-) - Research Paper Example d in pale green and with a colorful African scarf draped around her neck, holds a white cracked ceramic mask in her hands and rests one arm on the table in front of her. On the table are three tarot cards representing lynchings with the Hanged Man card, Civil Rights with the Justice card and perseverance with the Strength card. The strength of the composition rests in the line of sight of the characters which both freeze the eye within the frame and refuse to engage with the viewer personally. Color also contributes to the painting’s effectiveness as the limited color on the tarot cards continuously direct the eye to the center of the image where the colorful dress and scarf of the woman stand in sharp contrast to the white of the man’s T-shirt without blending into the muted tans of the background. These pastel-like shades provide a muted feel to the work which helps to highlight the emotions of the people depicted, both of whom feel it necessary to maintain a hold on the white mask that enables them to move in mainstream society. The symbolism apparent in the piece is clear to those with knowledge or curiosity to examine the cards on the table and to understand the condition of people of color within a majority white society. The chasm in the background communicates a vast hurdle to overcom e before the prediction of justice found in the cards on the table comes to pass. However, the strength depicted in these characters and the cracks in the mask suggest this is not a condition that can last long nor is it one that will break the spirits of these people. By examining a series of artworks created by Valerie Winslow, it becomes clear that the artist has a very strong introspective approach to her work. This is revealed in the very detailed depictions of human anatomy she has created as well as in the brooding attitudes of the characters in her more imaginative paintings. Her inclusion of a number of symbols within her paintings further indicates a strong

Self Reflection Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self Reflection Letter - Essay Example It is worth to note that writing of academic paper is not an easy task as I thought before taking this class. With the help of the friendly professor I have learned to conduct a thorough research using library resources and online search engines. Now I am able to produce a well-researched paper on any topic. In addition, I realized that writing of the research paper requires intensive investments of time and efforts - it is not enough to locate several articles and summarize them - it is necessary to review the major points as well as pay close attention to the details. Thinking logically and reasoning critically are two of the skills that have helped me to put information from different sources into one flowing essay. While being in this class, my perception of world issues and of American culture has much enlarged. I have spent three years in United States already, but I cannot claim confidently that I have enough knowledge of culture to understand it. Numerous discussions in class have helped me to make one step towards fuller understanding of the American culture.

To what extend does Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation Essay - 1

To what extend does Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation standards improves healthcare facilities(2) - Essay Example Scientific enquiry or research involves a series of steps that begins with defining the problems through proper investigations using a scientific approach and devise methods to reach a suitable solution. Experts have divided this process of scientific research under eight sub-divisions. The first characteristic is purpose, which implies that every researcher should have a specific purpose for undertaking the research. This is the initial step that would enable the researcher to find suitable answers and methods to solve the problem. The next important requirement is rigor by which researchers need to be attentive and scrupulous during the research process in order to avoid any errors or bias that may affect the end results. The next requirement is testability by which a hypothesis should be subjected to proper testing processes after collection of the required data. Following the testing process the researcher should also ensure that the results obtained are replicable every time the research is conducted under similar conditions as this will ensure that the hypothesis is reproducible. The next requirement for any research is precision and confidence. Precision ensures that the results obtained from the research are relevant to the hypothesis made and the confidence levels reveal the extent to which the results are correct. In addition to the above factors, every researcher should be objective in their research by which any subjective or emotional bias should be eliminated and the study interpretation should be based on the data alone. Another important requirement is generalization of the study by which the study could be applied to any setting. Finally the study should also be simple to perform and understand rather than complex.(Sekaran, 2003). The following chapter begins with the definition of the research problem and then describes the purpose of this study, following which the study objectives are detailed and in turn the study setting is described. The research methodology that includes the sampling methods is explained and the types of data to be used, data collection and analysis are then explored. The contribution of the study is described finally. The method employed in the study is telephonic interview and use of an executive staff questionnaire with the IMC staff members. The IMC has entered into an agreement with the JCI, which has made it the first hospital in Gulf to be involved with the acclaimed organization right from the inception of a project. 3.2 Research problem Following the implementation of the JCI standards within the TQM department, several manufacturing industries have shown marked improvement in quality in different sectors across the country. Given this increase in quality improvement, the service industry, especially the healthcare industry has shown interest in implementing this concept within its purview. The Saudi health sector, both public and private, faces a variety of general challenges such as reso urce allocation and other challenges related to its nature such as the quality of services provided, cost containment and medical errors. Considering the

Nursing Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Nursing Decision Making - Essay Example The advancement of technology has fueled various practices even in the nursing profession that has in turn caused a revolution in the way that nurses make decisions. Nursing embraces technology especially since there has been tremendous revamp as a consequence of its incorporation in the nursing profession (Hardy, Garbett, Titchen, Manley, 2002, p.200). There are conditions where nurses have to make sober and most feasible decisions when it comes to patients suffering acute conditions. These patients have to be accorded precise care in order to ensure their comfortable recovery in health institutions. Many patients have faced situations where they do not recover out of their illnesses since nurses do not have ample reasoning skills (Del Bueno, 2005, p.202). This is a result of nurses not making correct assessment of the patients they have in their centers, where they are supposed to evaluate the most ill patients and offer them the help they need. This papers purports to evaluate the importance of critical thinking for nurses in their provision of healthcare to patients. The situation in health facilities is that ‘at risk’ patients are fitted with a device that notices complex fatal situations such as cardiac arrests and warns the health administration in order to offer them quick response (Ebright, Urden, Patterson, Chalko, 2003, p.635). Quite often though, the nurses in all over the world do not possess the right planning skills when offering administration of health care to patients. While the degree of complexity in diseases is increasing indefinitely, nursing profession has adopted the information and technology empowerment to offer their patients the best kind of healthcare. However, this has not been totally comprehensive in offering healthcare and it calls for additional endeavors to coach nurses. The profession management found it fit to complement nurses with teaching in critical thinking skills in an effort to reduce poor clinical reason ing. Research conducted by an Australian institution for instance, showed that the level of ‘unsafe’ nurses in the United States stands at 70%. This translates to the high number of fatalities of patients under healthcare and in retaliation critical thinking education scheme has been boosted to allow for better service provision. Critical Reasoning It is defined as the clinical way that nurses and other healthcare providers perceive the situations that face them in providing their services to patients. It may also be called problem solving, critical thinking, clinical judgment or decision making. Clinical judgment is assessing the problem a patient is facing. Nurses therefore need to be well equipped to make a distinction between symptoms, collecting evidence of illness, understanding them, evaluating the possible solutions to ease illness and implement the best possible solution. The process of clinical reasoning is the ability of a nurse to assess the situation of the patients in terms of their symptoms, understand them, evaluate possible solutions, implement the best solution, know the outcomes possible for the patient and to internalize the processes (Thompson & Dowding, 2002, p.50). There is not really a certain way that nurses have to make sober clinical reasoning solutions. The basic process however involves ?collection, description and understanding’. The reason why nurses should learn from these situations is because precedence is also a form of clinical reasoning. When for instance, a nurse encounters a problem in a patient they are best placed to make a decision if they had encountered identical problems in other patients and therefore make decisions based on

The North Wind and the Sun Essay Example for Free

The North Wind and the Sun Essay The North Wind and the Sun is about two different personalities and how they operate to get things done. The North Wind is very arrogant and has a personality that is very strong. He is also very impatient, he wants things done immediately and he wants it done his way.   He is the type who intimidates people and could very well be the type to instil fear in his subordinates.   This type of â€Å"shotgun-in-your-face† approach will work against some people until you come across individuals who have a mind of their own.    Some people make it a point to resist very strong individuals and this could pose a problem especially when North Winds are leaders.   When that happens, it is the personality of the Sun which can win them over.   Personalities like the Sun do not impose their wants and needs.   Personalities like the Sun do not make demands nor put pressure on people.   They have realized that a better approach to getting what they want is to be subtle.   They have mastered the art of manipulating individuals into doing what they (the Sun) wants by making them (the individuals) think that they decide and act for themselves.   It is this subtlety that makes people like the Sun more effective leaders. The human in this story, like in most stories of Greek and Roman mythology, is the plaything of the Sun and the North Wind.   He is at the mercy of their whims.   So when these two entities decide to test their strength through a competition, this hapless man becomes their focus.   They were quite smart because in order to settle their dispute, they did not ask for the man’s opinion.   They did not come down from the heavens to ask â€Å"who is stronger?†Ã‚   Instead they decided to settle their quarrel by watching the human’s reaction to the force they exerted.   He, in essence, acted as a fair and impartial judge in a contest he did not know he was mediating.

Merger Management of Kraft and Cadbury

Merger Management of Kraft and Cadbury Nowadays, organisations must actively develop and adapt appropriate changes that fit the dynamic environment. This highlights the importance of change management in judging how flexible and responsive an organisation is. As more companies expand and diversify, it is inevitable that smaller organisations are now looking into merger with bigger organisations to boost their share of their market. Bigger organisations are also attracted by the opportunities of entering untapped emerging markets. Therefore, the nature of change that we will be investigating in this report is merger and acquisition (MA). We will relate this change to USs Kraft Foods Incorporated, as the company recently acquired UKs Cadbury. The issues we have selected to focus on are in the following order: leadership and communication, cultural change, and staff resistance. Leadership is chosen because leadership is critical to determine the success of an acquisition. Firstly, due to the huge number of employees involved, the choice of an appropriate leadership style is vital to ensure integration in both companies is a smooth process. Next, an effective leadership will improve the productivity of both companies through the efficient allocation of resources to achieve the organizational strategic goals. Communication is chosen because the acquisition will raise doubts among Cadburys employees on their roles in the new company and its vision and goals. The feeling of uncertainty about their future could lead to a dip in their morale and low productivity at work. Thus, it is essential for Kraft to use an appropriate communication strategy to increase the awareness of the employees of any impending change initiatives. Culture is chosen because of the diverse cultures between Kraft and Cadbury. Cadbury was founded on Quaker ethics to build a socially benign business. This philosophy helped Cadbury to build a world-class brand that is close to the hearts of the British people. In contrast, Kraft is more of a performance driven company with decades of profit driven mergers and demergers. Thus, it is essential for Kraft to identify and value the cultural differences as sources of synergy and efficiency in order to manage the acquisition process effectively. Staff resistance is chosen because management and employees made up the core structure of the organisation. The policies undertaken by these personnel and behaviour exhibited can have an immediate and vital impact on determining how organisation functions. In the horizontal acquisition of Cadbury, Kraft must also be able to seek equilibrium for integrating the staff from both sets of organisation. Conflicts at management levels, diverse working styles and even motivational approaches are some situations that may hinder and pose challenges. Before implementing any change initiatives, we recommend Kraft to conduct diagnosis of the three issues mentioned above. 2.0 Leadership and Communication 2.1 Definition of Leadership Koontz and ODonnell (1955, pg 17) the activity of persuading people to cooperate in the achievement of a common objective 2.1.1 Adairs Action Centred Leadership Duberly (2010) Adairs Action Centred Leadership model points out that a leader can only be successful when he is able to meet all three areas of needs task, individual and team maintenance needs- by helping his followers achieve the objectives of the common tasks, generate team dynamics and cater to the individuals needs. 2.1.2 Case-Study Rebecca Johnson (2008) The case study of Refresh Yourself illustrates Britvics use of Adairs action centred leadership to revive their company. For meeting task needs, the use of the balanced scorecard system with job descriptions provided their employees with a clearer understanding of their duties and responsibilities. With that, it helped to set the direction for employees to achieve their objectives. For meeting individual needs, the use of a performance management system with a core set of behaviours allows the employees to know how effectively they are performing relative to expectations. With a performance-based rewards system, Britvic motivated their employees by rewarding them accordingly as a form of recognition. For meeting team maintenance needs, a workshop session was conducted for the leaders of Britvic to reflect on their leadership. The insights gained proved to be very beneficial to them in their role as a leader as survey results showed that the employee engagement increased from 55% to 70% and employees confidence in leadership leapt to 72%. 2.1.3 Recommendations For meeting task needs, Kraft needs to provide a detailed road map which includes specific and clear goals, a detailed approach for achieving these goals, and a list of resources and time required to reach these goals. With that, Kraft and Cadbury can identify common goals so that the employees from both companies can work together on common projects in order for a smooth integration to occur. In the case of Kraft, the closure of Cadburys Somerdale plant led to a loss of 400 jobs. This caused the Cadburys employees morale to decline as they were fearful of further jobs losses. More importantly, this caused a loss of trust in the leadership of the organisation. Thus, Kraft should make a pledge to them that there will be no further job losses and factory closures to assure them of their job security. This form of assurance will restore their morale and bring about greater productivity within the team to meet the team maintenance needs. For meeting individual needs, Kraft should acknowledge employees achievements by offering rewards to keep them motivated. The rewards can be offered in the form of the cafeteria rewards system which offers employees the ability to choose a combination of benefits that best suit their needs. 2.1.4 Transformational Leadership Bass, B. M. (1990) There are four factors which make up a transformational leader, namely, charisma, inspiration, intellectual stimulation and individualized attention. Firstly, a transformational leader exudes charisma and instils pride in employees within the organisation. He creates vision to guide his followers and as engines of change within the organisation. They are deemed as role models. Secondly, a transformational leader communicates optimism about future goals to inspire his followers. Thirdly, he uses intellectual stimulation which encourages innovation and creativity in approaches towards identifying and solving problems. Lastly, he shows individualized attention by addressing his followers concerns and providing them with training for self-development. 2.1.5 Case-Study Catherine Monthienvichienchai (2007) The case study of Korea Ladder illustrates how Jonathan Cormack took on the role of a transformational leader. He united the two organisations behind a shared vision to inspire his employees. They were placed in groups for a discussion to help them realise the shared vision. He also fostered workplace creativity by conducting workshop sessions which were not a common practice in a Korean workforce. It was used as a form of intellectual stimulation to instil a sense of belonging in the employees. The positive feedback received from the employees proved that it was a success. He showed individualized consideration for the staff when he convinced the union that the foreign executives should not be removed as their experience and strengths possessed were essential to bring the bank to the next level. 2.1.6 Recommendations As the acquirer, Kraft needs to unite the two companies under one vision by offering communication programs that support the shared vision. The programs can be in the form of workshop sessions which creates a participative environment to foster a sense of belonging and involvement among employees. This environment would enable Kraft and the employees to work out a mutually satisfying outcome (i.e. a win-win situation). Next, Kraft must work at gaining the trust and respect of Cadburys employees to prevent the defection of talented people. Kraft can do so by bringing talents from both organisations together to work jointly on projects. This will encourage employees to focus on their similarities rather than their differences.The organisations various departments need to be restructured and processes must be redesigned to align with Krafts vision. 2.2. Communication 2.2.1 Definition of Communication Newman Summer (1977, pg 12) Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons. Communication Process Duberly (2010) Communication begins when the transmitter encodes a message to convey an idea, the receiver then decodes the message to achieve understanding. The context of a message refers to the non verbal cues conveyed by the transmitter to the receiver. The perceptual filter actually influences the way the message is transmitted. It ends with the receiver providing feedback to the transmitter to evaluate the effectiveness of the message. For effective communication on change, we will focus on three communication strategies. Firstly, spray and pray is used when employees are showered with a wide variety of information, and managers pray that staff will pick up what is needed to be done. Secondly, tell and sell is used when management attempts to both inform employees on changes and sell them on why they are required to the passive employees. Lastly, underscore and explore is used when management engages employees in a dialogue about the change process and seeks to identify obstacles and the misunderstandings that need to be addressed. Lastly, withhold and uphold is used when information is withheld until it is absolutely necessary to release it. 2.2.2 Case-Study Sarah Butcher (2005) The case city of Recovery plan illustrated the use of tell and sell as a communication strategy to persuade the bankers at Citigroup to be receptive to the new performance appraisal and compensation system. With regards to the revised compensation system, Citigroup need to sell to their bankers the idea that bonus payout will not be solely based on reaching financial targets but also dependent upon comprehensible understanding of the shared responsibilities. Another communication strategy adopted by Citigroup was spray and pray in educating their employees on the ethics and the banks code of conduct. It is a top down and one way communicating approach as the responsibility of communicating the acquired knowledge to the rest of the employees falls on the shoulder of 3000 senior employees at Citigroup. 2.2.3 Recommendations For effective communication, Kraft can adopt the underscore and explore method whereby they conduct a transparent and truthful dialogue with the employees to address the differences in culture and to identify any constraints for the change to be implemented. Kraft can also go beyond reassuring the Cadbury employees of their motive regarding the closure of the Somerdale plant. Since this is a two-way communicating process, the feedback generated from the active employees will be useful in resolving misunderstandings and build consensus on key issues. Kraft has to be cautious especially when dealing with redundancies. The communications, compensations, and benefits for redundant workers need to be clear and direct so as to build trust and commitment. In addition, they should also take a closer look at the effects of survivors (remaining workers) who suffered from low morale and decreasing commitment, trust and loyalty towards the organisation after the merger. Kraft can being by educating and persuading survivors of their good intentions by accounting personally for their action. On the other hand, the survivors need to be informed of their specific job roles and entitlements. Unless companies try to deal with this survivor syndrome by demonstrating to the remaining employees that the process for determining redundancies was transparent and professional, and those made redundant were treated fairly and lawfully, the general productivity and morale are less likely to be affected adversely. 3.0 Cultural change 3.1 Definition of Culture Drennan (1992) defined organisational culture as, Culture is how things are done around here. It is what is typical of the organisation, the habits, the prevailing attitudes, the grown-up pattern of accepted and expected behaviour. And as aptly phrased, culture is the key factor for making or breaking a merger and acquisition dealÂÂ ­. (Accenture, 2000) 3.1.1 Understanding Organisational Culture To better understand organisational culture, different methods are used, one being the Onion skin (Duberley 2010, modified from Schein 1992, 2004) Schein suggests three levels to organisational ÂÂ ­ structure: artefacts (e.g. language, environment, rituals), espoused values (organisations strategies, goals, philosophies) and basic underlying assumptions level (subconscious perceptions, thoughts and feelings that are the ultimate source of values and actions). Onion Skin (modified from Schein) 3.1.2 Sources of Organisational Culture The founder, organisational history, industry and size of the organisation impact its culture. (Duberley, 2010) Organisational culture is also reflected by national cultures and professional subcultures. (Hofstede, 1981) 3.1.3 Influence of National Culture The difference in various elements of a country such as languages, laws, values and attitudes will lead to one nations culture diverging significantly from another (Hofstede, 1980; Tayeb, 1989; Wilson, 1992) As an example of national culture, Adler (1997) describes Americans strong individualistic tendencies evidenced in their language such as trounced the opposition, and their human resource management based on individual knowledge and skills. (Calori and De Woot, 1994; Hemel Hempstead: A European Management Model Beyond Diversity), we understand that though organisational culture in the United Kingdom has similarities with the United States, certain significant differences include the adversarial relationships with labour, the tradition of the manager as a gifted amateur (as opposed to the professionalism of US managers) and the influence of class differences in the firm. 3.1.4 Cadburys and Krafts Culture Cadburys culture stems from its founder of Quaker origins: a paternalistic and philanthropic culture, which also focuses on the well being of groups rather than the individual. This translates to the idea that the leader knowing what is best for the organisation and its followers: (i.e. leaders as expert father figures). Cadburys culture of principled capitalism is what makes Cadbury great and it has successfully built a socially benign business. Cadbury has a loyal workforce that consists of staff and managers who have been in the organisation for a long period. Cadbury has a long tradition of high quality production and most of its factories make use of its local community, thereby ensuring that the brand itself is close to the hearts of locals. What this translates to is a family orientated and communal working atmosphere where staff takes strong pride in their work. Krafts culture is more performance oriented and is more focused on the meeting of sales and performance goals. Kraft is the quintessential traditional multinational business firm. There is a mercenary culture present; most staff and managers perform in relation to the rewards they get. Most rewards they expect are material and on an individual basis. Furthermore, Kraft is very much interested in destroying competition and seeks many alternatives and ways to ensure they are always ahead of competitors. Krafts culture is less communal and the working atmosphere is unlike a family atmosphere, in that people view each other as merely working colleagues and do not share deep friendships with one another. Staff and managers in Kraft are productive and focused in their work and most of them have a passion for business. 3.1.5 Potential of Post-Acquisition Culture Clash The acquisition will damage Cadburys current culture as the striking differences between Cadbury and Krafts culture may damage Cadbury existing successful culture of principled capitalism. This would bring about lower morale and performance and de-motivated staff. Krafts competitive and goal orientated culture might cause staff burn out amongst the Cadbury employees as they may feel insecure and uncertain. Krafts mercenary culture may create a lack of trust, which will weaken Cadbury staffs strong loyalty. By joining an American company, Cadbury risks losing UK benefits schemes to American procedures. Also, consumers may feel betrayed by the loss of its original organisational goals, resulting in a weakened brand. However, one advantage is that Cadburys shareholders will profit through the acquisition with the worlds second largest food manufacturing company. 3.1.6 Case-Study (Quote your Reference)SCB (an America-originated company) acquired and merged with KFB. SCB was successful with the merging of cultures due to effective communication, the understanding of the differences in cultures and the understanding that If you dont stretch things at all then nothing will change, but if you stretch things too far or too fast youll leave people behind. The approaches SCB used were the Conciliative, Educative and Corrosive approach, evidenced in the heavy use of consultation, training and use of networking. With this, they successfully overcame problems of national culture and cultural change such as: over-enthusiastic labour unions and differences in management styles, to name a few. What Kraft and Cadbury can learn from this is the importance of communication and flexibility in the use of approaches. 3.1.7 Recommendations Because culture is an essential element in an organisation, culture analysis should play a major role in an acquisition. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis exists in corporate culture: visual artefacts or manifestations of the organisation, the espoused values and basic assumptions (The Onion skin model) of the organisation have to be properly evaluated. This is essential to better understand the Krafts inner-workings and most importantly, its employees and their feelings toward the acquistion. The difference in national cultures of a UK in comparison to US organisation also impacts organisations greatly. Thus, Kraft should exercise patience and understanding to ensure that culture change is implemented and not resisted. (Whittle et al (1991:3) We understand that culture change is not a single event but an ongoing sequence of changes. Flexibility is important, as different stages of the change program may require appropriate approaches. 4.0 Resistance and Resentment Felt by Cadbury Employees 4.1 Definition of Individual and Change We will be illustrating the definition using case-study of the acquisition of Cadbury by Kraft. The process involves organisation undergoing a transformative change. This is so as the nature of change is large-scale and fundamental. At the same time, the effect is permanent and can be observed in the long-run. This issue raises the question of uncertainty which in turn, brought about greater anxiety. According to Schein E. et al. elaboration on Kurt Lewins(1951) Three-Step Model, anxiety can be broken down to two major forms survival and learned anxiety. The former pushes for change while the latter obstructs change. In order to integrate the change, Scheins theories suggest an inclination towards minimizing the learning anxieties. Generally, there are three areas we will be investigating with regards to the case-study. Firstly, the consideration of parochial self-interest which will need us to look into how the various groups in organisation will react upon their immediate interests in the company. With a likely shift in management, Cadbury staff will be reassigned to new job roles and positions in Kraft Inc. this may affect the individuals and probably also management. A possible reshuffling of manpower by HR will see the Cadbury staff go through a series of re-employment tests to allocate them to suitable tasks. This means that potential loss of authority and power especially for the executives and leaders of Cadbury relevant to their positions resulting in a conflict between their self-interests and the organizations interests. Therefore, the move to quit by the staff may be explained by this clash of interests. Next, the misunderstanding may be another consideration since the top management could be inconsistent in conveying their messages while middle-level managers could have failed to communicate clearly and on a constant basis to employees. They may put off the delivery of what they deemed as negative news. At the same time, employees are interpreted to be in denial and avoid the truth. They are sceptical of success and are unwilling to move out of their comfort zone to embrace change. Lastly, the tolerance for change is low as the former Cadbury staff may take huge pride in how they go about doing their work. Kraft personnel think otherwise and what they thought to be desirable for the organisation could be in contradiction with the new staff. The former Cadbury staff may reject changes while Kraft personnel likewise will stick to their ways of carrying out tasks. We will look into the Model of Stages of Psychological Reaction by Hayes and Hyde (1996) adapted from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross(1969) and see how it affects the individual change of Cadbury worker. Model of Stages of Psychological Reaction When Kraft Inc. based in the America announces the acquisition of UKs Cadbury on February 2010, there was first, feelings of shock among the stakeholders and also the employees of both companies as the ongoing speculation has been realized. Upon the acquisition of Cadbury, subsequently Kraft drew up plans to smooth the process of integration of the UK-based competitor into the confectioner family. However, at this stage the general sentiments among the people involved are denial. The employees may find it difficult to come out of this particular stage. Implementation of the changes to the different levels of organisation as Kraft begins to incorporate and find a fit for the new employees, new teams and new managers. At this stage, employees may experience depression and letting go but the main idea is that most personnel will not be able to come out of the previous stage so they will have regress or stay put in the previous phase. Thus, not all will complete this cycle. Some may progress beyond and enter the acceptance and testing stage which we believe to consist of majority to be the lower level of staff and employees while the senior management figures most probably regress or stay in the denial stage or even move on to another company highly likely for the case according to the article 120 of 165 Cadbury Staff Leave Since Krafts Takeover on webpage http://www.foodanddrinkdigital.com/sectors/food-manufacturing/120-165-cadbury-staff-leave-kraft-takeover. Case Study (Quote your reference) In January 2005, Gillette was acquired by PG. The merger resulted in around 6000 job cuts which was equal to 4% of the combined workforce of the two companies. The process of post-merger integration of these two companies faced an inevitable resistance. A number of people were told that they had joined what they thought was a long-term employer with sufficient size and famous brand. They felt that Gillette was a leader in the industry on many fronts. Not only were some Gillette staff personally unprepared for the takeover, because they often felt that their company was the better one, they also did not believe in the tremendous opportunities that were promised by top management from PG. Gillette employees had to face the unpleasant dilemma of whether moving to PG (and coming to terms with the changes) or leaving the company. PG and Gillette essentially had two different corporate cultures. Employees of Gillette hoped that Gillette, because they had been so large and successful, would be able to influence PG post-acquisition. But hoping for that was a complete utopia, as one former employee said. Gillette was absorbed into PG and very little from its culture was left, another said. Rather than change, employees voluntarily but reluctantly left the jobs they thought they would have until retirement. (Quote your Reference) In a joint press release at the time of their merger in 1997, the president of Daimler-Benz, JÃ ¼rgen Schrempp, and the president of Chrysler, Robert Eaton, declared that there will be no plant closures or layoffs as a result of the merger. However in 2000, the company announced there would be between 20000 and 40000 job cuts in the North American Chrysler division. Schrempp, by then the DaimlerChrysler president, claimed that the company was overstaffed by at least 6%. Announcing redundancies two or three years after the initial deal can cause even greater stress to the employees who thought that they were survivors. Employees are better prepared to handle the bad news straight after the transaction than two years later, after the newly merged culture has started to take shape when they thought they could rely on managements assurances regarding the merger, often accompanied, as in the Daimler/Chrysler example, with promises of no future redundancies. 4.1.2 Recommendations The negotiation and agreement approach would be much recommended. The resistance stems from Krafts inability to walk the talk of retaining the Somerdale plant in operation. On top of walking the talk, they are expected to keep behaviour consistent with messages, keep commitments and promises, and demonstrate some energy and enthusiasm regarding the change. Only then will team members feel they can take the next step of commitment. Kraft has to deploy the soft power to facilitate integration between the two cultures. The soft power provides an effective mean for Kraft to reach out to employees at a personal level. This promotes the establishment of a long-term positive relationship as empathy and communicating at employees level builds trust and strengthens their commitment to the organisation. 5.0 Conclusion In view of the acquisition of Cadbury, it is critical for Kraft to establish an effective leadership team to pave the way for a change programme. Kraft can adopt Adairs action leadership to have an overview of the three areas of need and ensure that they are met adequately. The success of the acquisition is also influenced by how well Kraft communicates to their employees on the change. Thus, Kraft should use the underscore and explore method to address the possible challenges and problems caused by culture differences. Due to the diverse cultures of Kraft and Cadbury, onion skin method can help Kraft identify the differences to prevent culture clash. With this in mind, Kraft can set directions for the management and employees to realign their styles of working to fit the companys vision. This will pave the way for Kraft to achieve their objectives and develop a strong standing corporate culture at the same time. Effective HR management may be a viable solution but in the long-run, in order to foster a harmonious relationship and spirit of unity among the management and employees. It is necessary to inculcate positive employee attitudes and promote willingness to learn with the acceptance of changes. Eventually, the organization can help staff to align their interests with those of the company so as to keep motivation high level across all departments. 6.0 Appendices 6.1 List of References References for Leadership Communication Type of Source Reference List Reference Books Bernard M. Bass, Ruth Bass (2008), Concepts of Leadership, The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial Applications (4thedn), pg 17, Simon Schuster M V Rodriques(2000), The Meaning and Process of Communications, Perspectives of Communication and Communicative Competence, (1st edn), pg 12, Concept Publishing Company Bass, B. M. (1990), Organizational Dynamics, From Transactional to Transformational Leadership: Learning to Share the Vision, pg 22, Winter Case Studies Rebecca Johnson (2008), Refresh yourself, People Management Magazine, pg 32 Catherine Monthienvichienchai (2007), Climbing the Korea ladder, People Management Magazine, pg 30 Sarah Butcher (2005), Recovery plan, People Management Magazine, pg 34 Lecture Notes Duberly (2010), Change Management Lecture Notes References for Staff Resistance Type of Source Reference List Reference Books Esther Cameron Mike Green (2004,2009), Making Sense Of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change (2ndEdition) various Chapters Moeller S., (2009), Surviving MA: Make the Most of Your Company Being Acquired, John Wiley Sons Ltd Adolph G., Pettit J. and Sisk M., (2009), Merge Ahead: Mastering the Five Enduring Trends of Artful MA), Booz Company Inc Maginn M. D., (2007), Managing in time of change, McGraw-Hill Case Studies Gillette and Daimler Online Articles 120 of 165 Cadbury Staff Leave Since Kraft Takeover by Chris Farnell on July 29,2010 accessed on Saturday August 28, 2010 Kraft Gets Boost from Cadbury Thursday August 5, 2010 taken from The Wall Street Journal Earnings accessed on Saturday August 28, 2010 Kraft Criticised over Cadbury Factory Pledge May 26,2010 taken from BBC News Business accessed on Saturday August 28, 2010 Lecture Notes Duberly (2010), Change Management Lecture Notes Session 5 The Individual and Change Quotes Esther Cameron Mike Green (2004,2009), Making Sense Of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change (2ndEdition) What gets in the way of change: resistance to changeSchein E. Page 57, Kogan Page Limited, London UK

The Effects of Human Mobility :: Traveling Mobility Technology Essays

The Effects of Human Mobility The effect of human travel has been twofold on the course of human history. It has served to transfer technologies, and it has also served to facilitate the spread diseases. There are examples of how technology travels from one culture to another all over the place, from the readings and movies we watch to things that we surround ourselves with everyday. Most of these technologies serve to make the lives of humans easier or more fun, but there are some inventions that have served to only destroy or make others lives worse. In some cases the technology’s originally intended usage was preserved, but in others the technology is used in different manners. An example from one of the first readings from this class is the Chinese invention of gunpowder. Originally it was used for religious purposes, but once the technology spread west through human travel, Europeans used the gunpowder and invented guns and ammunition. Once guns were invented, though, their use has not been altered. T hough there are many different models, and types of guns, they all operate under the same principles and for the same purpose. As I was trying to think of other examples of transfer of human technology through travel the movie â€Å"The Gods Must Be Crazy† came to mind. I know that this movie doesn’t represent real life, and might not be based on a true story, but it shows an example of how technology from one culture can influence and change another. The basic premise of the movie is that a pilot is flying his plane over the African bush lands, and drops his Coke bottle out the window. The bottle falls into the hands of a tribe of bushmen who still live a relatively primitive lifestyle. The Coke bottle serves many different uses for them. This glass bottle is harder than most things that they had access to, and its mouth and base are circular. Eventually everyone in the tribe wanted to use the bottle for their own purposes. The drawback was that there was only one bottle, so everyone in the tribe begins to fight over it. The rest of the plot is irrelevant, but what I have retold so far serves to illustrate how human travel influences the spread of technology. It also illustrates that the use of one culture’s technology in another culture may not be the originally intended purpose.

Technology and the Brave New World :: Brave New World

Technology and the Brave New World   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although the book Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, was written long ago, its subject   has become more popular since most of the   technologies described in the book have, at least, partially, become a reality.   Huxley's community of Utopia is a futuristic society designed by genetic engineering, and controlled by neural conditioning with mind-altering drugs and   a manipulative media system.   Yet, despite the similarities, the reader also finds   many contrasts between the two societies.   Perhaps the most salient contrast between Huxley’s Utopia and our modern society, deals with the issue of procreation. The majority of babies born in our society today, are still the result of intercourse between a man and a woman.   In many cases the birth of a child is a memorable and joyous event for the woman. In Utopia, however, if a woman is caught bearing offspring, she will be punished by exile. Offspring not produced the society’s way is a threat to the society’s existence, in the eyes of the leaders.   As today, pregnancy, in Utopia, could be prevented using a variety of methods.   Where our society uses male and female birth control methods, Utopia has pregnancy substitute (a procedure   in which Utopian woman are given all the psychological benefits of childbirth   without undergoing   it) and malthusian drill (similar to today’s birth control pills).   However, modern society and Huxley’s Utopia both explore the advantages of artificial reproduction, although Utopia has taken it to the extreme: The   Bokanovsky Process, is a method whereby a human egg’s normal development   is arrested, then buds, producing many identical eggs.   â€Å"My good   boy!†...†Bokanovsky’s Process is one of the major instruments of social stability!†Ã‚   (Huxley, 7).  Ã‚   Not only did this method create millions of â€Å"robot like† citizens for Utopia,   but the leaders have supreme control over any threat of overpopulation. Utopian predestinators   decide the future function of each embryo, essentially   assigning   class status.  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this way, the leaders of Utopia are also able to   keep the social classes balanced in the way they felt benefited everyone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although the reader sees some dissipation of social classes in modern society, in Utopia, the class distinctions were palpable. A five-tiered caste system is maintained which ranks Alphas and Betas on top followed by   Gammas, Deltas, and the semi-moronic, ubiquitous Epsilons. The motto   "Community, Identity, Stability" frames the Utopian social structure.