Thursday, October 31, 2019

Conceptualizing a Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Conceptualizing a Business - Essay Example This is because the food is cheap, but it has many calories that pose health risks to citizens. Therefore, this aspect brings the writer to the choice of opening up a restaurant that has nutrient facts and serves healthy food at affordable prices. The restaurant will offer varied types of products, which will be served on different occasions. For instance, it will serve healthy products and services to customers such as colorful fruits and vegetables, which are rich in vitamins. It will also serve whole grains, and low-fat dairy product and other products, which have rich carbohydrates. Other products include fish, groundnuts, starchy, lean poultry and unsaturated oils like olive oil and canola that have low calories, hence reducing increased risks for diseases. These are beneficial because they have low calories; hence, they will help customers to have sufficient energy; thus living a healthy lifestyle (McLaughlin pr.8). Therefore, the restaurant will target all categories of customers including students, civil servants and even tourists from varied parts of the globe. The mission of the restaurant is to offer customers nutritious products and services at affordable prices. This mission is significant because it will improve the health living standards of many people; thus maintaining a healthy nation. The vision of the restaurant is to be the health-oriented competitive restaurant by delivering quality and health services at the lowest possible price while striving to meet the needs of all customers effectively. The organization will strive to achieve this in the future through ensuring that customers consume healthy products. Therefore, they will train employees to serve customers health products in order to enable the restaurant to become competitive in the future. The company will employ effective business strategies that will enable it to achieve a competitive advantage in the competitive business environment.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Catholic University for independent thinkers Essay Example for Free

Catholic University for independent thinkers Essay Through the intensive research conducted by myself on finding the most optimal university, I noted that University of Dallas fulfils such aim. A University that is known as â€Å"the Catholic University for independent thinkers†, which was ranked as one of the top ten politically conservative schools. It has been highly accredited for its scholarly excellence, lecture delivery and character building. Above all it is graded as one of the best private school bargains in the nation. All the aforementioned positive features induce me to enrol in courses provided by such University to enhance my studies, because I am searching for the best education one can attain in order to make a difference in my future through the vast knowledge acquired from such educational institution. Reference: The Princeton Review. University of Dallas (on line). Available from: http://www. princetonreview. com/college/research/profiles/schoolsaysmore. asp? category=1listing=1022535LTID=1intbucketid= (Accessed 2nd April 2007).

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Risk Management in Business: A Case Study

Risk Management in Business: A Case Study INTRODUCTION SITUATION Every day, there is the chance that some sort of business interruption, crisis, disaster, or emergency will occur. Anything that prevents access to key processes and activities can be defined as a disaster. Companies can experience many different threats to their mission critical systems such as fires, floods, lightning storms and humidity to disgruntled employees, hackers, human error, power failures and viruses. A disaster can happen at any time and it is vital to be prepared in the event that one occurs. NEED To be prepared for a business interruption, the organization must have a carefully crafted and comprehensive plan that describes risks, impacts, and step-by-step recovery strategies for critical business processes in various disaster and emergency scenarios. Without a plan, the team will be flying blind when an interruption occurs. The plan provides the necessary tools to mitigate interruptions and resume operations as quickly as possible, greatly facilitating decision-making and taking action when there is scant time and stress levels are elevated. CHALLENGE Using the information in the risk assessment to create effective recovery strategies for critical processes in all departments, incorporating these strategies into a comprehensive business continuity plan, and encouraging ownership of the plan across the organization, and ultimately, achieving the highest resiliency possible with limited resources. SOLUTION Create the recovery strategies department-by-department, process-by-process. This allows each department to focus on strategies specifically relevant to their critical processes without extraneous information from other departments. Do the same for your business continuity plan, writing smaller plans by department. Also, use a template to document your recovery strategies to ensure process consistency across the organization. Finally, have plans reviewed and approved by department heads and distributed to all employees to encourage ownership and pride in the plan. RESULT Each department in the organization will have a comprehensive action plan for business continuity outlining the steps to take to recover vital processes in various emergency scenarios. All employees will have their own copy of the plan, ready to use immediately when a disruption occurs. Employees will take ownership of the organizations business continuity effort and this effort will be further ingrained in the organizations corporate culture. CHOCOLATE MANUFACTURING COMPANY AN OVERVIEW The Chocolate Company since inception in 1990 has been largely responsible for satisfying the countrys demand for Chocolates and Sugar Confectionery. Situated at Rusayl Industrial Estates in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, the plant has various lines producing a wide range of confectionery like Éclairs, Toffees, Fudges, Caramels, Hard Boiled Candy and Enrobed Chocolates. These products are available in attractive packaging and premium Gift Boxes making them ideal for gifting as well as for own consumption. Most of the packaging in the Gift Pack segment has been carefully selected to ensure its enduring utility, thereby giving our valued customers an added benefit. The confectionery is produced by experienced personnel under stringent quality control and hygiene standards. State-of-the-art manufacturing facilities ensure products of international quality. The company in its relentless pursuit of quality obtained HACCP Certification in April, 2004. The Company, through its uncompromising stand on quality and competitive pricing, has successfully penetrated countries all over the Gulf, the African continent, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, USA and the UK. The principal business processes involved are Procurement of raw materials and consumables. Production and Quality control. Distribution and marketing. Inventory Management. Pricing and cost control. Feedback from consumers and redressal systems. Publicity and promotional activities. Recruitment and HR. Finance Administration. Corporate communications and public relations. Legal and secretarial matters. Investor relations. Maintenance of equipment and other assets. Capital expenditure for equipment and other purposes. IT systems and telecommunications. Transportation and Logistics. Today, manufacturing sector companies like chocolate manufacturing operates in increasingly complex, competitive and global markets. The ability to manage risks across geographies, products, assets, customer segments and functional departments is of paramount importance. The inability to manage these risks can cause irreparable damages. Chocolate company will always face the likelihood of being impacted by uncertain or adverse future events. These uncertainties will have an impact on a companys ability to generate capital and shareholders returns. The company Board expects that management will not only look at where the company may be exposed to risk, but also how these risks can be managed to influence favorable business outcomes. RISK AND RISK MANAGEMENT Risk Management Methodology followed by the chocolate company The risk management methodology at the chocolate company encompass the scope of risks to be managed, the process/systems and procedures to manage risk and the roles and responsibilities of individuals involved in risk management. The framework is comprehensive enough to capture all risks that the company is exposed to and have flexibility to accommodate any change in business activities. The chocolate companys effective risk management methodology includes Risk Policy framework. Identification of risks. Measurement and Impact Assessment. Management of the risks. Monitoring Reporting and Control. A. Risk Policy Framework The following fundamental principles should be considered by the company to develop and implement a proactive risk management program and help them to identify any potential areas of concern: Acceptance of a risk management framework: A formal risk management framework is needed at this company, to guide the integration of risk management into the companys day to day operations. Corporate governance and risk: At this company,corporate governance is the prime responsibility of the Board of Directors and the General Manager. It combines legal duties with responsibilities to improve and monitor the performance of the company. Establish the risk response strategy: Following the agreement on the risk assessment rankings in all functional departments, management action will need to be taken to reduce the risk levels where they have been deemed unacceptably high or alternatively remove constraints where they are preventing the business from pursuing opportunities. Assigning responsibility for risk management change process: It is important for the company to ensure that the daily operation of the business supports this strategy and that the staff understands the proposed changes. Re-sourcing: Risk management is the responsibility of all levels of management. Communication and training: Implementing a communication and training program is important to introduce the concept of risk management. Monitoring of risk management process: To ensure that risk responses gaps are filled and that the risk responses continue to operate effectively and remain appropriate in light of changing conditions. B. Identification of Various Risks of The Company While drafting this Risk management Policy, the primary risk exposures at the company X that are identified is provided below, which are inclusive but not exhaustive and it will be the responsibility of the Risk Management Committee to review these on a periodic basis. I. Market Risks It is the risk that the value of the company will be adversely affected by movements in market rates or prices, foreign exchange rates, national global fluctuations, credit spreads and/or commodity prices resulting in a loss to earnings and capital. The market risks identified at this chocolate company are as follows Government Policy risks Product Risks Environmental risks Volatility of export orders Price Competition in the local export market Currency fluctuation for export orders II. Operational Risks The operational risks identified at chocolate company are as follows Fire Allied Risks Machinery breakdown/ obsolescence Volatility of Raw material Packing material prices Quality/ Ageing risks of Raw material/ Packing material Delivery risk of Suppliers Loss of data information- IT security Manpower Availability risks Accidents Inventory carrying risk III. Reputation Risks These are risks arising from negative public opinion resulting from failures of process, strategy or corporate governance. The Reputation risks identified at this company are as follows Contamination-hygiene Product expiry/Shelf life Corporate Governance IV. Credit Risks Non receipt of receivables or delay in receipts is the credit risks attributable to the company. These may be identified as Payment risk from customers-local Payment risk from Customers- export Security from customers Advance to Suppliers V. Liquidity Risks The possibility is that the company will be unable to fund present and future financial obligations. These may be identified as Cash flow working capital management CAPEX decisions Cost overruns VI. Strategic Risks Risk those are arising from adverse business decisions or the improper implementation of such decisions. These may be identified as follows Business Plan forecasts. Attrition of key people. C. Risk Prioritizing and Impact Assessment Risk Prioritizing To adequately capture institutions risk exposure, risk measurement should represent aggregate exposure of the company to both risk type and business line and encompass short run as well as long run impact on it. To the maximum possible extent the company should establish systems / models that quantify their risk profile. However, in some risk categories, quantification is quite difficult and complex. Wherever it is not possible to quantify risks, qualitative measures should be adopted to capture those risks. The company should utilize a Risk Matrix to evaluate the level of risks which are identified in the Company. The Risk Matrix is formed by assessing the probability of the risk, the severity of the risk, and the quality of control that exists specific to those risks. Scoring is attributed for each the three parameters namely probability, severity and Internal control. The aggregate score is computed and ranking of the risks is ascertained. The probability of the impact occurring is arranged ranging from low to high. Scores assigned as 4 for High, 2 for medium and 1 for low. Severity of the Risk is assessed as High, Medium and low based on the experience and normal prudence. Scores assigned as 4 for High, 2 for medium and 1 for low. Quality of Internal control is also similarly categorized as high, medium and low. The scores assigned in the reverse order since the better the existing control the lower is the impact and vice-versa. So scores here can be assigned as 4 for Low, 2 for Medium and 1 for High. Aggregate Score was thereafter computed after adding the individual scores for each parameter. Companys Risk Matrix using the above method is shown in Annexure I ii. Impact Assessment The company being a medium scale manufacturing unit should focus on the manageable risks like Operational risks, Liquidity risks and Strategic risks. Market risks, Credit risks and Reputation risks though an integral part of risk management may not need detailed impact assessment at this stage unless the probability of such factors seem to be out of proportions in time to come. Impact assessment of the Operational risks, liquidity risks and strategic risks at the company termed herein as Manageable risks, can be assessed as follows Risk associated with any event has two components, loss severity and loss probability. Loss, in itself consists of expected and unexpected components. The unexpected loss component could be severe or catastrophic. Usually, expected losses are adjusted for in pricing or in reserve allocation. Unexpected losses require capital allocation. Given that operational risk, liquidity and strategic risk events are most often subject to internal control, any manageable risk system that passively measures these risks would clearly be inadequate. Once risk factors are identified as likely causes of the Risk losses, mitigating steps need to be initiated. While quantification would indicate risk magnitude and capital charges, it may not by itself suggest mitigating steps. This makes it advisable for the company to combine qualitative and quantitative approaches to manageable Risk. The broad steps involved here would be: determine the types of operational losses that could occur identify the causal risk factors estimate the size and likelihood of losses Mitigate associated risks Qualitative Approaches Qualitative approaches involve Audits, Self-assessments Expert / collective judgment. Critical Self-Assessment: (CSA): This is one of the common qualitative bottom-up approaches where line managers of the company can critically analyze their business processes given specific scenarios to identify potential risks and gaps in their risk management processes. Tools like questionnaires, checklists and workshops are used to help the managers analyze the risk profile of their business units. The key idea behind this method is that businesses managers of this company are in the best position identify and manage the Operational Risks pertaining to their business units. Risk Audit Employing the services of external (or internal) auditors to review the business processes of a business unit is another approach. This process not only helps identify risks but also helps put in place the oversight organization for the manageable risks. Key Risk Indicators (KRI) Using the KRI approach the company can blend the qualitative and quantitative aspects of Operational Risk management. Factors that have predictive value and that can be easily measured with minimum time lag can serve as risk indicators. Some risk indicators inherently carry risk related information, for instance, indicators like sales volumes, order size, etc. Others are indirect indicators, for instance, production budgets, production lifecycle, performance appraisal etc. Key indicators are identified from several potential factors and are tracked over time. The predictive capabilities of the indicators are tested through regression analysis on historical loss data and indicator measurements. Based on such analysis, the set of indicators of the company being tracked can be modified suitably. Over time, as the model gets refined, the set of indicators can provide early warning signals for operational losses. D. Management of the risks Managing Market Risks: The chocolate company may be exposed to Market Risk in variety of ways as described earlier such as environmental issues, export orders, future contracts, Price competition, customer profile and marine transportation risks. Besides, market risk may also arise from activities categorized as off-balance sheet item. Government Policy Risks: Change in government policies, tax rates, introduction of new tax regimes, reduction or abolition of incentives etc carry risk to any entity in terms of its costing and pricing. In the short and medium term the company does not perceive any major risk in this segment, however the management has to be aware of any forthcoming changes that the government might envisage. Should there be any drastic change in Government policies that would affect its profitability especially in case of exports; the Company has contingency plans for producing at an alternative location outside Oman. Product Risks: Since the product is that of food item the company has to be 100% careful to maintain the product quality, product specification, pack sizes, contents in each pack etc. Producing lesser or poor quality products and not as per specification is a risk which company X needs to constantly be aware off. To mitigate such risks the company X should develop a well defined production policy develop a well defined Quality control and checks policy develop a well defined storage and Distribution policy Environmental risks: The company does not use and generate hazardous substances in its manufacturing operations. Hence the chances that the company may in future are subject to liabilities relating to the investigation and clean-up of contaminated areas is negligible. However the company should have a laid down policy of disposal of waste at pre-designed disposal points mainly for the rejected, expired and damaged items of raw materials, finished products and packing materials. Volatility of export orders: Some customers and sectors served by the company are directly dependent on general economic development, competition and frequent fluctuations in demand for their products. The prices for these products are, in part, dependent on the prevailing relationship between supply and demand. Possible price fluctuations are therefore apt to have a direct influence on each customers working capital management decisions, with subsequent influence on the customers Order Intake. This may lead to volatility in the development of Order Intake of the company. The company has a policy of geographically diversifying its customer base, as also expanding the customer base in each export market, so that transfer to less volatile locations can be made in short notice. Price Competition in the local export market: The Company does business in very competitive local and export markets. In spite of the competition the company has a 70% market share in the local market and its export business is expanding.Both these local and export markets in which it competes are highly fragmented, with a few large, international manufacturers competing against each other and against a high number of smaller, local companies. Sometimes new entrants or existing players suddenly lower their prices to get rid of the companys products. This has, in some cases, adversely impacted sales margins realized by certain of companys products. To mitigate this risk the company has taken the following steps: Maintaining complete information of its Competitors with respect to their latest technological developments, market strategies, new investments, management changes etc. Has developed emergency alternative plans to introduce different product ranges with minimal structural changes with similar or lower prices. Currency fluctuation for export orders:The Company exports its products to a large number of countries like Canada, USA, Australia, African countries, and the Middle East. Almost all export orders of the company are fixed in US dollars. Since Omani Rail is pegged with US Dollars, the fluctuation of the currencies in would have negligible impact on the export realizations at company X. Company X has a policy of booking export orders in terms of US dollars to avoid the risk of currency fluctuations. Managing Operational Risks: Being a chocolate manufacturing company, it deals with the retail market. The most important risks are those of Operational risks. Operational risk is associated with human error, system failures and inadequate procedures and controls. It is the risk of loss arising from the potential that inadequate information system; technology failures, breaches in internal controls, fraud, unforeseen catastrophes, or other operational problems may result in unexpected losses or reputation problems. Fire Allied risks: These are general risks applicable to almost all establishments. This includes Material damage to the companys property due to Fire lightning, Earthquake, Third party impact, Accidental damage, explosion, riot strike, storm tempest, burst pipes, Own Vehicle impact, malicious damage, and theft. The company should take necessary steps in mitigating such risks by taking â€Å"Property All Risks Insurance Policy† â€Å"Loss of profit insurance cover† Machinery breakdown/ obsolescence: This risk identified is a major risk element as the company has been established two decades earlier by using imported refurbished Plant and machinery. Though most of the machinery is in running condition as of now the chances of spare part obsolescence is quite high in a majority of such machines. The physical status and the possible mitigation for major machinery can be shown in ANNEXTURE II Volatility of Raw Material/ Packing Material prices: The Company faces a medium level risk in its Raw material Packing material prices. The main raw materials at are Sugar, Glucose, Milk Powder, vegetable fat, coconut, coco whey powders. The packing material required is Wrappers, Bags, Gift boxes, Gift Tins and cartoons. Other than a few packing materials almost all of the raw materials and packing materials are imported as shown below Quality risk Raw material Packing material: This is a medium sized risk and the company should take reasonable care to mitigate such risks. Since the majority of the raw materials and packing materials are imported by the company, the purchase committee should implementing a stringent policy of Should have a multiple suppliers from the same country or region. Should have proper Quality checks for each Consignment while receiving delivery. Should have a stringent penalty clause on variation of specifications in the agreements with suppliers. Delivery risk of Suppliers: This is major risk element at the company because of the fact that in most cases purchases are imported and made through Letter of Credits. Non Delivery or delayed delivery in such purchases may affect the performance of the company. The company is implementing proper penalty clauses in the purchase agreement for delayed and/ or non-delivery of the ordered items. Transporting risks: In case of local sales, the company transports the products mostly through its own personnel. The company therefore, takes a general Transit Insurance policy covering accidents and theft. Inventory carrying risk: Inventory Carrying risks are of three types: Storage risk Overstocking under stocking risk Expiry risk Storage risk The storage policies currently are The company can keeps the entire inventory in closed warehouses. Over-stocking Under-stocking: The company can maintain a good optimized production planning system in correlation with its sales plan so that it can have a optimum stocking policy. The current production plan is quite satisfactory and hence the risk is low to medium. But the company is mostly dependent on Export market, the volatility of export orders may lead to overstocking or under-stocking of inventory. Expiry risks: This risk is low to medium. Expiry risks of inventory can be mitigated by proper planning of Sales, Purchase, Production and Distribution. The Storekeeper needs to maintain up-to-date records. A system is being implemented to provide on-line information about the stock position i.e. the quantity in stock, Re-order period, Ordering level and the Expiry dates of each of the Raw material, packing material and finished stocks to the Sales, Production and Purchase department so that immediate action can be taken by the respective departments. Manpower Availability risks: There is a shortage of skilled manpower in Oman. This is however met with the expatriate staff employed mainly from the sub-continent. The company therefore faces a medium risk in terms of availability of skilled manpower. The company can met unskilled manpower availability with the local Omani population and also from expatriate staff. The gap of skilled labor availability is likely to increase and therefore the costs also increase. To mitigate such risks, the company can develop long term strategy to invest in higher capacity production machines so that the requirement of manpower is kept low. Accidents: The Company can face a chance of accidents at the factory, however the accident risks at the company is low, as it does not deal with hazardous material and the production processes are not complex. However the company may face risks from mechanical or electrical installations which cant be entirely ruled out. So the company needs to take the following steps: By providing ELCB (Electric Leakage Circuit Breakers) in all electrical circuits and ACBs for the main transformers By providing Hot masks to the manpower Having a good machinery breakdown policy Constant monitoring of the gas line leakages The company needs have a Manpower Accidents and Injury Policy to cover the possibility of injury or death of manpower within the factory premises. Managing Reputation Risks Reputation of the company may also get hamper in various situations some of which are Contamination-hygiene: Being in the Food sector the company should take utmost precaution to avoid any sort of contamination in its products which will reach to the general mass. The company should take precaution for the quality of the raw material and packing material that is required for the entire production process and the stocking procedure. The company can follow the following policy: Stringent Quality control checks of Raw materials and packing materials Stringent Quality checks of the entire production process Maintaining Hygiene standards of the Government of Oman both in production and stocking. Sample testing at each stage Have a third Party damage policy insurance coverage owing to contamination Product expiry/Shelf life risks: This is again a very vital risk to the company as it is in the Food sector. The Government of Oman is very stringent in its laws to avoid expired products to be sold to the general public. So the company should take utmost care to avoid this risk by providing a stringent Distribution policy of its finished products Checks and controls before distribution of products. Monitoring distributed products on a daily basis Attributing Responsibility to a Senior Personnel for the management Corporate Governance: Corporate Governance Policies and Procedures manual are already in place at the company. Hence the risk associated with it is low. The management has to ensure proper compliance of the policies already undertaken to avoid any risk of reputation arising out of non-compliance of corporate governance. Managing Credit Risks: Credibility Risk of Customers: The Company should develop a credit policy based on regions, volume and credibility ranking of the parties. Export: The Company exports to a wide range of countries. The contacts of customers are mainly through visits and through mail. It is initially very difficult to assess the credibility of the customers abroad. The risk element is therefore medium and high. The company should mitigate this risk in the following manner: The company should back up the export orders by Letter of Credit from the parties. In case L/C mode is not practicable, the company can ask for advance payments or Security deposit, or post dated cheques which will cover the entire order taken prior to effecting delivery of the goods. The company currently did not enter into any distribution agreement with any export party and deals with parties on a case to case basis The Company can set up a network of distributors for handling exports sales as far as practicable. The company can also set up more than one distributor; in each region/country, so that price advantage can be achieved through minimal risk. The company should select distributors with proven track record, and the distributorship agreement should be through a internationally binding legal contract. Local: Local sales are affected by the company mainly to retail customers like supermarkets and hypermarkets, small shops and to two distributors in the interior. The company should take the following steps: Sale to all hypermarkets and supermarkets where the volumes are above a certain limit are, as far as possible, affected by means of an annual contract with all modalities and terms and conditions clearly laid out. For single shop outlets, the company may face the risk of shop closing down and non-payment or delayed payment. To counter this company should maintain small stocks with such shops and should have a regular but frequent collection system. In case of distributors the company should have legally binding distribution agreements. Limit setting: An important element of credit risk management is to establish exposure limits for each single customer and distributors. The compan

Friday, October 25, 2019

Usefullness of Mathematics in Everyday Life Essay -- Math Mathematics

Usefullness of Mathematics in Everyday Life G H Hardy once said that "Very little of mathematics is useful practically, and that little is comparatively dull". This statement is blatantly incorrect. Mathematics appears in virtually all fields in some form or another, and it is the only truly universal language. Even fields considered the opposite of mathematics, such as literature, are filled with different forms of math. Music is based very heavily on numbers, and even religions hold different numbers as sacred. Of course one could say that all these examples are merely basic arithmetic. What about higher mathematics? Can we really use algebra, probability, calculus or any other higher form of math in today's society? The answer to that question is a resounding "Yes!" Even higher mathematics has been and is still used in all sorts of fields, and it is the purpose of this paper to show just a few ways in which higher math has been applied to life. First of all, no discussion about the uses of higher mathematics in the real world would be complete without mentioning something that happened over sixty years ago. On September 3, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany in response to their invasion of Poland. To combat their new enemies, Germany quickly sent a land army to overrun France, and then prepared to take on England. Hitler's plan to defeat this small island was to stop all resources from getting through to them, effectively starving them into surrender. The Nazi army had a very effective weapon with which they could challenge the British supremacy of the waves, the U-boat. The German submarines wreaked havoc on the British supply routes, and Churchill knew that if a way couldn't be found to stop the German s... ...they owe the government and how to pay the least. Nearly all people on earth are affected by math everyday. Without mathematics, it is very possible that the Allies would have lost WW2 and we'd all be speaking German right now. Countless buisnesses would be alterred or totally gone if mathematics was not around. A world without math would certainly be a very different world to live in. Works Cited: [1] Davis, Donald M. The nature and power of mathematics. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c.1993. [2] Prabhu, N. U. Stochastic storage processes : queues, insurance risk, dams, and data communication. New York : Springer, c.1998. [3] Stewart, James. Calculus: Early Trancendentals. Thomson Learning. Stanford, CT. 2001. [4] PBS Online c.1996-2001 WGBH Educational Foundation. Update Nov. 2000. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ <October 11, 2001>

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Identifying Gifted And Talented Children Education Essay

The term gifted and talented is surrounded with a great trade of contention, and is presently under reappraisal by the Coalition Government. A huge sum of research has been undertaken over the last 10 old ages, into the long-run, emotional effects of labelling a kid, and the practician ‘s function in placing a kid and distinguishing the course of study. Directgov ( 2010 ) , presently defines ‘gifted ‘ as one who excels in academic topics such as maths and English, and ‘talented ‘ as those who possess accomplishments in practical countries such as athletics and music. Pound ( 2008 ) , discusses how Gardner ‘s theory revolves about eight intelligences. Gardner believes that each person possesses his or her ain alone combination of intelligences, which he calls ‘multiple intelligences ‘ , which can be enhanced and enriched in an environment which provides stimulating and ambitious activities. Teaching, through Gardner ‘s theory enables the practician to convey out a talented and talented kid ‘s advanced natural endowments, in a ambitious manner. ( Conklin 2007 ) Gardner ‘s ‘multiple intelligence ‘ theory and the Early Years Foundation Stage ( EYFS ) , are reciprocally supportive. Both emphasise individualism and singularity. The DCSF ( 2008 ) , asserts that every country of development is every bit of import, and that no kid should confront favoritism. The DCSF ( 2008 ) besides explains that the early acquisition ends give practicians scope to place and be after for all kids across the developmental continuum. It follows that practicians must place kids ‘s demands and construct on their strengths. Freeman ( 1991 ) advocates that the kid who is every bit ‘bright as a button ‘ , and maintains their enthusiasm for acquisition is more likely to do a positive part to society. The EYFS has been condemned by the Open Eye Campaign ( 2007 ) who claim that it is ‘overly normative and potentially harmful to development, ‘ and that many of its ends are ‘developmentally inappropriate ‘ . In comparing to the EYFS the Key Stage One is more academically biased. The Office for Standards in Education ( Ofsted ) ( 2007 ) , reported that two tierces of Year One instructors did non utilize the information gained from the EYFS to inform pattern and planning. Consequently, many ‘talented ‘ kids may be over looked. Palaiologou ( 2010 ) , discusses Gardner ‘s position that instruction should be less academically driven and his ‘five heads ‘ theory. This focuses on an person ‘s ability to screen utile and relevant information in any given state of affairs, how to believe ‘outside of the box ‘ , and to understand diverseness, citizenship and community relationships in both the immediate and broad environment. He referred to these as ‘modern ‘ twenty-four hours endowments. It is the function of the practician to place and distinguish the course of study to develop talented and gifted persons. Failing to make this could hold a negative impact on the kid. A kid may easy lose involvement and misconduct when presented with unchallenging undertakings. Freeman ( 2009 ) , inquiries how a response category instructor headers with a kid who is working at a higher degree than their equals. She writes that kids should non be left to wait while others ‘catch up ‘ , and believes that this is where ennui begins, this can ensue in a kid withdrawing from larning. Quart ( 2006 ) agrees with this fact and believes that there should be more support available to develop practicians in the appraisal of and learning techniques for gifted and talented students. Freeman ( 2010a ) states that successful and happy kids need consistent. Freeman ‘s research revealed that discovered that kids who were identified as talented and talented in one school would in fac t be below norm in another. Often practitioners erroneously identified a kid as talented and talented. She subsequently states that through analysis of collected information she discovered that labelling kids as gifted and talented makes a negative ‘difference ‘ to their sense of ego, ensuing in low self-pride. Childs who were labelled by parents suffered more emotional jobs than their every bit gifted but unlabeled equals. James ( 2007 ) , draws our attending to the fact that many parents may be commanding and demanding, claiming that the kid becomes fixated with carry throughing parental ends in an effort to understate struggle. He explains that high accomplishment is frequently a effect of over parental pressurisation in childhood that frequently leads to self-criticism and depression in ulterior old ages. Quart ( 2006 ) , supports this position and concludes that parents and pedagogues should forbear from forcing kids to win. She issues a prophylactic warning that the force per unit area placed on the gifted and talented can take to emotional declinations of being deprived of a childhood. For some who were placed on, a ‘pedestal ‘ signifier an early age range maturity and realize they are no longer rather so particular. Freeman ( 2010b ) , leads us to believe that the media is merely interested when things go incorrect, and in fact many gifted and gifted kids go on to take happy ordinary lives. She states that parents should back up and steer kids without forcing them to win and love should be unconditioned and non reliant on accomplishment. To reason, Gardner ‘s theories offer practitioners a theoretical account for supplying a rich and ambitious environment for all kids, including those who are gifted and talented. Practitioners need comprehensive preparation to guarantee that be aftering for larning provides challenges to vouch kids are challenged and stretched, non, bored and pushed. It besides Emotional troubles are more likely to happen when a kid is labelled talented and talented. Therefore, parents and educational practicians should take to guarantee that an identified gifted and talented kid grows into a happy, all-around grownup. More coaction is needed between Foundation and Key Stage One. In fact, it would be good to kids if the EYFS were continued in Year One. Through this research, a greater penetration into the term gifted and talented has been obtained. It offered differing positions on the topic, and the decision reached was that there is really a topographic point in society for the talented and t alented, nevertheless, designation and instruction should be undertaken with attention and sensitiveness. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, Hide non your endowments. They for usage were made. What ‘s a sundial in the shadiness? Franklin ( 1706 – 1790 )

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Republic Day (India) Essay

Parades, distribution of sweets in schools and cultural dances In India, Republic Day honors the date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India on 26 January 1950.[1] The date of 26 January was chosen to honour the declaration of independence of 1930. It is one of the three national holidays in India. While the main parade takes place in the national capital, New Delhi, at the Rajpath before the President of India (currently Pranab Mukherjee, the anniversary is also celebrated with varying degrees of formality in state capitals and other centres. India achieved independence from British rule on 15 August 1947 following the Indian independence movement noted for largely peaceful nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience led[citation needed] by the Indian National Congress. The independence came through the Indian Independence Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo 6 c. 30), an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent Dominions of the British Commonwealth (later Commonwealth of Nations): India and Pakistan. [2] India obtained its independence on 15 August 1947 as a constitutional monarchy with George VI as head of state and the Earl Mountbatten as governor-general. The country, though, did not yet have a permanent constitution; instead its laws were based on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935. On 28 August 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed to draft a permanent constitution, with Dr.B. R. Ambedkar as chairman. While India’s Independence Day celebrates its freedom from British Rule, the Republic Day celebrates the coming into force of its constitution. A draft constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 November 1947. The Assembly met, in sessions open to public, for 166 days, spread over a period  of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution. After many deliberations and some modifications, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on 24 January 1950. Two days later, it came into effect throughout the nation. Celebrations See also: Delhi Republic Day parade The main celebration is held in the capital New Delhi. Celebrations are also held in state capitals, where the Governor of the state unfurls the national flag. If the Governor of the state is unwell, or is unavailable for some reason, the Chief Minister of the state assumes the honour of unfurling the National Flag of India. On this day 26 January Indian flag is hoist by the Presidents of India and after that national anthem is sung by the all groups in the standing postion. India Will Celebrate Its Republic Day With Pride And A Faint Hope For The Mighty Lokpal Dr. Bikkar Singh Lalli On January 26, The Republic of India, world’s largest liberal democracy, rich in ethnic diversity, with over 1.3 billion people speaking hundreds of languages, will be celebrating its secular birth. Perhaps there is no better day than Jan. 26 to reflect on the opening words of the Indian Constitution, the document that enshrines the foundation of the world’s largest democracy begins with ‘We the People of India†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hopefully, on that day of joyous celebrations, caste, creed or religion for people of India, will not matter at all. It was January 26 of 1950 when the constitution of India came into force and India attained a sovereign status. The Preamble of the constitution seeks to establish what Mahatma Gandhi described as â€Å"The India of my dream: – —.woman will enjoy the same rights as man†. India will celebrate its 63rd Republic Day on Jan.26. Its supercharged economy has been the envy of the world. The dreams of Mahatma pay fi tting tribute to the people of a nation who, from all corners of the planet, are fuelling the spectacular growth of their homeland. During 2010-2011 alone India received $58 billion from Indian Diaspora. â€Å"The people of India, whether they live in India or elsewhere, are the engine of India.† For 2012 however, the economic forecast appears to be a bit gloomy mostly due to the turmoil in the global economy, especially in the Euro-zone Problems in the global economy and the  government’s inability to control corruption at home, will affect the government’s revenue-raising capacity in 2012. In fact, the Central excise collection fell by 6.5 per cent in November. That shortfall will affect the investment on infrastructure: like proper roads, power supply and railways that gives better opportunities to the poor to earn more. Thousands of villages remain with little or no power supply. Significantly, core sector industries (power, steel, coal, petroleum refining, electricity, cement, natural gas and oil) grew extremely slowly at 0.1 per cent in October 2011. The slowdown in the EU is also affecting Indian exports which grew only by 4.2 per cent in November 2011. Inflation, which is close to double digit again, will hit the poor hard unless food prices are brought down drastically. This economic melt-down will affect the poor most. Over 800 million Indians are living below the poverty line, and this year about 22 million more will be added to that number with the 2.8 per cent growth in population. For people in dire straight, republic day or for that matter any historical event has no real significance. Anna Hazare’s campaign against corruption is laudable. But, is it possible to cleanse the polluted polity and change the greedy mindset with the passage of a Lokpal Bill? You cannot legislate social change. The democracy, the super-watchdog which should deliver all-round accountability, has become extremely weak and wasteful in India. Election to five States has been announced. To curb irregularities, to fight corruption, the commission has announced steps to reduce the role of black money in elections The politicians accepting funds, for fighting an election, know that a quid pro quo (pay-back) is involved. There are also wealthy fighting elections using their own unaccounted funds. They pay off the party leadership to get nominations. For the elimination of corruption and other maladies afflicting Indian polity, what matters most is the moral and social climate of a country. If this climate is healthy, dry and dirty bushes would not come about. â€Å"The soil would support greener pastures which would throw up upright and earnest people who in turn would choose upright and earnest leaders. One would reinforce the virtues of the other. And the nation would move from clean to cleaner public life, from strength and stability to greater strength and stability.† Every party in power has played havoc with watchdog institutions so as to control them for its narrow ends. Democracy ought to have ensured accountability of institutions. Votes  should have weeded out corrupt but the opposite has been happening – the honest rarely win elections. There is a need for political movements that can change the national consciousness; a task being addressed by movement against corruption and for a Lokepal Unfortunately, no one in our national leadership is applying his or her mind to bring about this change. As log as an elected official is not answerable to the electorate in his/her constituency, corruption cannot be eradicated. In his address to the nation the Dr. Manmohan Singh, a man of impeccable integrity and vision, will give a very hopeful message to the nation, regarding the health of the nation’s economy. He has already announced his decision to allow qualified foreign investors (QFIs) to directly invest in the Indian equity marke t. In his address at the 99th Annual Session of the Indian Science Congress in Bhubaneswar (Orissa) on Jan.3, he said that: â€Å"As we head into the Twelfth Plan, there are some objectives we must try to achieve in the Science and Technology sector. First, we must ensure a major increase in investment in R&D, including by industry and strategic sectors. Second, we must ensure the creation of a new innovation ecosystem. Third, we must achieve greater alignment of the Science and Technology sector with the inclusive development needs of our nation. Fourth, we must expand basic science infrastructure. Fifth, we must encourage greater research collaboration among universities and national laboratories.† In order to compete with China, India has to do much more that what PM is aiming at. India has been seriously lagging behind in education. By 2012, it aims to educate as many as seven crore learners out of which six crore will be women. With more than 400 universities and over 20,000 colleges, the student enrolment in India has crossed 12.9 million in 2007 – 2008. Millions of children go to school every day. But for 10 million street children there, 50,000 in the streets of Delhi alone, there is no schooling and no home. They are either rag pickers or engaged in other hazardous jobs, and for them the word ‘secular democracy’ is â€Å"hopelessly meaningless† and redundant. It is estimated that there are 80-100 million children out of schools and are trapped in endless cycle of exploitation. Moreover, India has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of child workers in the world. They need protection, loving homes and good education. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Jan.10, described child malnutrition as â€Å"national shame† and said health, education  and sanitation sectors must collaborate to shape national response to the problem. â€Å"These sectors can no longer work in isolation. Health professionals cannot solely concentrate on curative care. Drinking water providers cannot be oblivious to the externality of their actions. School teachers need to be aware of the nutritional needs of adolescent girls,† he said after releasing a new research by Hyderabad-based Naandi Foundation on the status child malnutrition in India. According to that research 59 per cent kids are stunted and 42 percent are underweight. Solving malnutrition is in India’s self-interest with a huge economic return on investment. It is estimated that malnutrition costs the economy $29 billion per year in India. – as of reduced productivity and earning and increased health costs. Today, more than one third of the world’s undernourished children reside in India. A country where 79 per cent of the milk samples tested (Jan. 10, 2012, Delhi fared worst), were found to be either contaminated or diluted, cannot expect their toddlers to be in excellent health. Even with the most modern technology and access to medical facilities in most parts of the country, over four lakh newborn babies still die within 24 hours of their life in India, and 2 million children die before they turn the age of five. Most of these children die because of diarrhea, pneumonia, measles and post-natal; complications. According to India’s third National Family Health Survey of 2005-06, 70 per cent of children between six months and 59 months are anemic. Every day 1379 unborn babies are being killed. This is happening in a land where 33 crore gods and goddesses are being worshipped. As a fast emerging world power under the stewardship of a pragmatic academic and realistic visionary, India has started playing a very constructive role on the world stage. However, it has to tackle some very serious problems like extreme poverty, child labour, chronic corruption, infanticide, dowry murders, unacceptable inequality and fast growing population. These problems cannot be tackled without a collective resolve by Indian leadership. Let us congratulate the people of India on that momentous day. Let us all recall the quote from Tagore: â€Å"Where the mind is without fear and the head held high. Where knowledge is free and the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls†¦. let my country awake†.