Product Life Cycle Essay Example

Product Life Cycle Paper 1. Introduction It has been well established that Product Life Cycle (PLC) concept has a significant impact upon business strategy and corporate performance. Since the term was first used by Levitt (1965 ) in an Harvard Business Review article â€Å"Exploit the Product Life Cycle† the concept has been widely accepted and applied by marketing practitioners all over the world. The product life cycle concept is one of the most quoted and most frequently taught elements of marketing theory. According to Mercer (1993: 269) the influence of the product life cycle can be seen in other theories, from new product development, positioning differentiation and portfolio analysis. Since its adoption by marketing, the product life cycle (PLC) has achieved universal acceptance because of its appeal and wide application. According to Weber (1976: 12) the product life cycle concept provides an intuitively appealing and readily understandable framework of analysis for considering future growth opportunities and pitfalls. As time passes sales increase slowly at first (introduction phase), then more quickly (growth phase), then once again more slowly (maturity and saturation phases), and finally decrease (decline phase). This assignment discusses the importance of repositioning and differentiating for an organization’s products or services using the concept of Product Life Cycle (PLC). It also critically analyses the actual practice an organization undertakes to repositioning or differentiating it products. Based on the critical analysis a set of recommendations are provided for the selected organization to improve its overall positioning differentiating efforts during the various stages of PLC. Within this context, the organization that is selected is Bahrain International Retail Development Centre (BIRD) which is one of the leading corporate training providers in Bahrain. 2. Discussion 2. 1 Description of the selected organization- BIRD Bahrain International Retail Development Centre (BIRD) is a sister concern of Bahrain Duty Free. It is a joint venture between Bahrain Duty Free Air Rainta International, set up since 2001. We will write a custom essay sample on Product Life Cycle specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Product Life Cycle specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Product Life Cycle specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It is one of the leading corporate training providers and broadly caters to Management Development, Retail, Customer Service/Sales, Purchasing Supply Management Business English training areas or categories. Within each of these training areas or categories it provides a range of courses that are tailor made training programme to assist the participants in their professional development right from entry to higher levels. In addition to customized training programmes, it also designs delivers a range of open programmes workshops on relevant topics/ areas on a regular basis. BIRD in the last seven years approximately has successfully conducted a range of such effective training programmes for leading organizations in Bahrain such as Bahrain Duty Free, Batelco, Bin Hindi, Y K Almoayyed Sons, Al Hawaj, Jashanmals, National Motors, Al Rashid Group, Garmco and many such leading reputed organizations in Bahrain. 2. 2 Key issues facing BIRD BIRD has positioned itself as a quality training provider with emphasis of satisfying the client training needs through innovative training programmes that have quality in every aspect right from design to delivery. However though it is able to meet its client needs satisfactorily it be profitable it faces key competition from other training providers. Further BIRD operates in a price sensitive training market. The entire training market is fragmented with many competitors trying to capture each other market share purely on price. However what needs to be established that whether the training market is mature or BIRD’s products are mature. There are few companies which are actually quality conscious but they are not enough to justify the revenue generated by BIRD. Majority of the clients or companies want new training at reasonable prices. In addition they are looking for value addition, such that the training is not a cost, but an investment in human resources for their staff. This value addition can be through quality accredited globally recognized training programmes, training needs analysis at no cost or any other consultancy services required by the client. Further the clients or companies are not able to differentiate BIRD’s training solutions or products from others specifically on the basis of quality. In other words, ‘BIRD’ needs to reexamine and reassess the following issues related to its training programmes 1. It needs to critically analyze its current positioning differentiating strategies for each of its broad training programmes or categories specifically which if they are in maturity stage. This should also to be done for the company as whole that is what brand image BIRD has and how do clients perceive it. 2 based on the analysis it needs to explore various repositioning differentiation strategies for its range of training programmes to make it more effective in the long run. . It needs to establish whether the training market is mature or BIRD’s products are mature. 2. 3 Understanding Positioning Differentiation Positioning is the aspect of the product or brand actively communicated to the target audience, specifically, its competitive advantage, values and imagery. It is strongly related to the perception and image of the product. When devising a positioning strategy for a product, marketers must establish a unique and distinctive image of that product in the mind of the consumer. This will differentiate a company’s product from its competitors. Kotler, 1998) Similarly Kotler and Keller(2006) define positioning as the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the target market whereas repositioning can be defined as the changing/modifying the existing positioning to occupy a distinctive place in the target market. Differentiating is the deliberate marketing decision by organizations to differentiate their products on the basis of various dimensions such as product features, benefits, performance, conformance, durability etc. or even its service dimensions such as ordering ease, durability, installation, maintenance repair etc. Kotler,1998) Whatever dimensions a company selects to differentiate its product it then decides to effectively position it in consumer’s m ind. 2. 4 What is Product Life Cycle Concept (PLC)? PLC includes the different stages an organization’s product goes through right from the day it introduced in the market to the day it is withdrawn or declines from its market. It includes four stages- Introduction, Growth, Maturity Decline. (Kotler, 1998) This PLC Concept is usually for a product category (training), a product form (retail training) or product/brand (City Guilds retail training qualifications). Typically the product life cycle is a bell shaped curve as seen in figure 1 ,but their can be variations such as growth slump maturity pattern, cycle – recycle pattern and scalloped pattern (Swan Pinl 1982; Tellis Crawford, 1981) Figure 1 – Typical bell shaped curve of PLC During each of the stages the product sales, profits, level of competition and number of customers vary and go through different changes, thus pose different marketing challenges, opportunities, and problems to the organization (Kotler Keller, 2006) The pattern of sales, profits, number of customers level of competition are summarized below 1. Market introduction stage o high costs osales volume low olow or no profits due to high developmental costs ono/little competition competitive manufacturers watch for acceptance/segment growth losses odemand has to be created ocustomers have to be prompted to try the product 2. Growth stage ocosts reduced due to economies of scale osales volume increases significantly oprofitability opublic awareness competition begins to increase with a few new players in establishing market oprices to maximize market share 3. Maturity stage ocosts are high to maintain market share sales volume peaks oincrease in competitive offerings oprices tend to drop due to the proliferation of competing products obrand differentiation, feature diversification, as each player seeks to differentiate from competition with how much product is offered osales are high but profits are low 4. Decline or Stability stage o costs become counter-optimal osales volume decline or stabilize oprices, profitability diminish profit becomes more a challenge of production/distribution efficiency than increased sales. (Kotler,1998;Kotler Keller,2006) 2. 5 Positioning PLC The maturity stage tends to be longer than the previous stages and poses big challenges to marketers. This is the stage the marketers need to mange the most otherwise the product will move into decline stage which is not desirable. According to Kotler Keller (2006) the organization has various options- 1) Market modification by working out two factors that make up sales volume Volume= number of product/brand users x usage rate per hour This can be done by expanding the number of brand/product users by connecting nonusers or by entering new market segments and winning competition’s customers. Volume can also be increased by convincing current users to increase their product or brand usage. 2) Product modification: Sales are also stimulated by modifying the products characteristics through quality, feature or style improvement. This may also involve repositioning the existing product with improved/ modified changes and then to be communicating this repositioning successfully to the target market ) Other marketing mix modification This includes changing the other marketing mix such as prices, distribution, advertising, sales promotion etc Thus maturity stage is the most challenging stage that needs to be managed effectively so that the product does not loose it market share or enter decline stage. According to Kotler and Keller (2006) the company’s overall positioning and differentiating strategy must c hange over the various stages of PLC. When products reach maturity they are well known. However, as competing products enter the market; mature products can begin to look old and tired. Action must then be taken to refresh the product’s image or repositioning. This repositioning can create new appeal for existing consumers or attract new consumers. Business 200 Case Study (http://www. business2000. ie/cases/cases_9th/case7. htm) 2. 6 Critical analysis of BIRD’s product in terms of PLC stage positioning strategies 2. 6. 1Applying the PLC concept majority of all BIRD’s training programmes are in mature stage, other than the Purchasing Supply training programmes. These Purchasing Supply training programmes which are offered in association with Chartered Institute of Purchasing Supply (CIPS) were introduced this year (2008) and are thus are in introductory stage but if considered from overall training market, these training progranmmes are already existing in the market, being offered by many competitors. Thus the market for these programmes is mature highly competitive. 2. 6. 2 The retail training programmes which are the main revenue generator are two fold –globally accredited City Guilds training programmes and company specific customized training programmes. Both the kinds of programmes are in maturity stage and they drastically need to be re assessed in terms of being repositioned to consolidate its position in the market. The overall market for these is also some what late growth stage transiting into mature stage. 2. 6. 3Other training programmes such as Management development Customer service / sales are more or less in similar stages as retail training but probably more competitive. 2. 6. 4 Business English training programmes is in maturity stage and the overall market for these products is also in maturity stage. 2. 6. The overall image or positioning of The BIRD as a quality training provider is well accepted in the market palace but it can be enhanced further and communicated and understood clearly by its clients. 2. 7 Recommendations Based on the above critical analysis following recommendations have been provided for BIRD- 2. 7. 1 Product modification As regards its Purchasing Supply training programmes, since it is in intro duction stage it needs to create more awareness about its programmes and position them on the basis of quality such as qualified trainers, suitable class timings, quality infrastructure- class room, pantry etc. nd other issues related to training. Every thing related to training programmes specifically all the elements of marketing mix should spell out quality so that the positioning is clearly communicated and understood by its target market. Regarding its retail training programmes specifically for City Guilds it should continue to position it as quality programmes with clear emphasis on its accreditation from City Guilds. Regarding the customized training programmes it should emphasize on BIRD’s experience expertise in delivering these programmes. For its management development, customer service / sales Business English courses it needs to reposition and make them value added without compromising on quality. This value addition can be providing detailed pre course and post course evaluation, training needs analysis( TNA ) if cist allows and any other elements of training that the client value. This repositioning with changes in the product need to be communicated effectively to the target market is able to understand and appreciate this repositioning. . 7. 2 Market expansion modification As regards the overall positioning of BIRD as one stop training solution provider for its client which means they should consider BIRD for all their training requirements in all areas. This will increase the market share of BIRD and also the raise the bar of BIRD as quality training provider in all areas. This will also provide market expansion and modification increasing the number of clients and their volume of business as well. 3. Summary This assignment established that an organization products go through different stages and each stage needs to handled differently as regards its positioning | differentiating strategies. Maturity stage is the most crucial stage and thus is the most challenging for an organization. The critical analysis of BIRD’s products established that most of its products are in mature stages operating in more or less mature markets. As a result a set of recommendations were provided to effectively improve the overall positioning as well as individual positioning of broad categories of training programmes References †¢Levitt, T. (1965) Exploit the Product life cycle: Harvard Business Review: Vol. 43: Nov- Dec:pp 81 -94 †¢Kotler, P. , (1998), Marketing Management analysis planning implementation and control, (9th ed. ), Prentice Hall, Australia †¢Kotler, P. Keller, K . L. (2006) Marketing Management: 12th eds:Pearson Education Limited: Upper Saddle river: New Jersey †¢Business 2000 case study: Extending the product life cycle through repositioning (http://www. business2000. ie/cases/cases_9th/case7. tm) †¢Weber, J. A. (1976) Planning Corporate Growth with inverted product lifecycle: Long range planning: Oct: 12 -29 †¢Mercer, D. (1993) A Two decade test of Product life cycle theory: British Journal of Management: Vol4: Issue 4: Dec: 269 – 274 †¢Swan, J. E. David, R. R. (1982) Fitting Marketing Strategy into varying product life cycles: Business Horizons: 72 – 76 †¢Gerald, J. Tellis Crawford, C. M. (1981) An evolutionary approach to Product growth theory: Journal of Marketing: Fall: 125 134

Counting Crows essays

Counting Crows essays I love music. It opens up a world to me unlike any other. The lyrics music contains seems to talk to me in a very different way, allowing me to walk into another individuals world of emotions. I believe song lyrics can give you not only a sense of feeling for how an individual views issues in their lives, but what their true feelings on the situations are. You can learn, by listening to the words and the phrases, what exactly it is the individual is trying to tell you. Many times on our listserv, various Counting Crows song lyrics have been discussed at some point or another by us all. It seems everybody on this list spends so much time talking about what it is this lyric means, and how beautiful various phrases are. Well, have we ever taken time to stop and think about where these lyrics come from? What has always seemed so odd to me is the fact that we all put so much thought into how lovely their song lyrics are, yet so little into the thoughts and emotions behind them. I believe the music performed by the Counting Crows contains many interesting lyrics. Issues such as love, loss, and life issues in general, seem to just jump out of their lyrics. Because of the connection I perceive from the Counting Crows music, I have recently came under the impression that their music contains more personal experience than some may think. Often in our culture poppy, upbeat tunes are created with catchy lyrics to lure us in. These songs contain lyrics which draw us into believing that how they think a certain situation would be is how a certain situation should be played out, or how it should feel. I believe that the lyrics contained in the Counting Crows music make us feel and connect the way they do due to the fact that they are all real feeling and events. One of the band members must have felt these situations described in the songs for otherwise how is it their lyrics come across so meaningful and realistic? After playing thei...

On current news Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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General Electric (GE) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

General Electric (GE) - Assignment Example There are numerous core competencies and capabilities of the company which act as the major drivers of success and sustainability of the business in the global corporate segment. The success of General Electric has been rooted to the use of effective corporate and strategic management systems in the business. The company has also been revitalised from time to time through the induction of adopting and self-confidence tools like Change Acceleration Process (CAP) to different types of business units in the various industries of operation for the segments of the conglomerate (Chaffee, 2005). General Electric was the first ever company in the global frontier which systematically applied multiple strategic and corporate management concepts and strategies simultaneously within the business verticals. The success and strong performance of GE has also been driven by other factors like strong corporate portfolio management functions, management of talent and movement of ideas (Cameron, 2012). The adoption of three key companywide performed and growth initiatives including Six Sigma Quality, services and globalization have enabled GE to integrate higher levels of sustainability in the business. Another core capability of the company is that many of the large business segments of the business are able to differentiate their outputs with the production of high quality goods and services while at the same time controlling the costs of operations incurred for per unit of the produced goods.

Groups in Organisations Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Groups in Organisations - Coursework Example communication skills, planning and management skills etc. Bruce W Tuckman has suggested a model of group development based on four stages. Here, I shall evaluate the process of group development at Sok-Fitness Center where I am a member of the marketing team. Sok-Fitness makes partners in the workforce, so I have a female colleague Sarah with whom I work. She makes the schedules, and I go and discuss the matters with the clients. The first stage of group development is of formation. This is basically the stage of understanding the need to form a group and integrating into it. People form groups in order to have a better understanding of who performs what in the course of achievement of the organizational objective. â€Å"†¦individuals are also gathering information and impressions - about each other, and about the scope of the task and how to approach it† (Chimaera Consulting Limited, 2001). Formation of a group unites people on one platform and they are able to avoid con flicts. Our group was formed by our manager, and the two of us were assigned our respective duties by him, so there were no misunderstandings. The second stage of group development is storming. This is the stage when people feel the need to conflict over issues of mutual interest or concern. Some people enter minor confrontations while others enter into severe kinds of conflicts. The level to which the conflicts storm up varies from one organization to another depending upon the culture and policies of an organization, yet it is never entirely inevitable. People look for rules to guide them on different matters. Sarah was a new employee and needed a bit of training before making the schedules. So in the start, she and I had had some misunderstandings. She referred me to various clients haphazardly. This was causing trouble. We consulted the manager. He told us that I can schedule for myself unless Sarah is sufficiently trained. The company organized one week’s training sessio n for Sarah after which she got skilled in making schedules. The third stage of group development is norming. This is the stage when the rules of engagement are developed. These rules help the people have a better understanding of their respective roles and responsibilities in the group. Once that is achieved, people perceive one another better and can appreciate one another’s skills and differences. However, after this stage, employees may become resistant to change because of their fear that the change might distort the group. We saw this stage after Sarah was trained. We did not have troubles thereafter. The manager asked us if we would like to exchange our roles, but neither of us opted for it. Performing is the fourth stage of group development and is rare to occur. This is a stage whereby every member of the group can emotionally connect with others and change the roles and responsibilities as per the need of the hour. This is a stage in which, the members entire effort is directed towards the achievement of the goal. We were fortunate enough to reach this stage. Q. 2 Some of the most common characteristics of a successful team are mission, empowerment, involvement, willingness to take risk, unity and change (Business Advantage International, 2008). Factors that can negatively affect the team include group think and dysfunctional conflicts. Several personality traits of individuals that make part of a team also have many positive and

Mentorship in Professional Practice

Mentorship in Professional Practice The following assignment will critically analyse the mentors role in facilitating learning within the practice setting. It is of importance to define the following terms: mentors role, facilitating learning, accountability, and supporting students who are failing in practice setting. The importance of establishing effective working relationships, an analysis of the learners’ needs, promote effective assessment and the evaluation of learning will be analysed. Finally, the conclusion will be drawn from the analysis of this assignment. A mentor is a clinical practitioner who supports, guides, supervises and facilitates student learning during a clinical practice Stuart (2007). Mentors are seen as a fundamental influence to students in a learning environment where students utilise their theoretical knowledge in to practical, learn key skills and achieve the required competence for registration. Ali et al (2008) also states that mentoring is an important that every nurse has to assume, formally or informally, sooner or later. Historically the concept of mentor dates back from the Greek mythology. Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who left his wife Penelope and son Telemachus, whilst he went to war. Odysseus asked his friend to guide and support his son therefore being his mentor (Pellat, 2006). The author agrees with the above authors as she is an experienced nurse who guides junior nurses, through reflection and feedback in their duty of care. Nursing and midwifery council [NMC] (2008) recommends that prior to the commencement of placement, mentors are to ensure that all students are allocated a mentor one week before to let the student and mentor prepare for the experience. A mentor does not only advise and guide students, but he or she is a role model to junior nurses. According to Morton and Palmer (2002) cited in Ali et al (2008) by being a role model , the mentor provides an observable image of imitation, demonstrating skills and qualities for the student to emulate. NMC (2006) notes that the role of a mentor in a clinical setting is fundamentally focused on the NMC competencies. Chandan and Watts (2012) noted â€Å"that mentor’s role goes beyond teaching knowledge and skills as they alleviate anxieties and supports students with acceptance and socialisation into both the higher education and clinical contexts†. Mentors establish effective working relationship by demonstrating their competence in building adequate skills to support learning for students who will becoming part of the team within the clinical settings. The key role of a mentor is to a help the student integrate into their designated practice setting. Royal College of Nursing [RCN] (2007) suggests that the relationship between a student and a mentor can be achieved by welcoming, orientating inducting and integrating the student into the multi-disciplinary team within the first 24 hours of entering learning environment. Learning can be facilitated by a positive relationship between mentors and students. This can create a mutual relationship built on understanding and empathy facilitating students to maximise their potentials within the clinical setting (Zellers et al, 2008). This relationship between student and mentor can be enhanced by working 40% of direct and indirectly of their time and also alongside the mentors shift patt ern. A mentor supervises the students assigned to her within a practice setting. Taylor cited in Stuart and Sundeen (1997) define supervision as an intensive interpersonally focused, one to one relationship in which one person is designated to facilitate the development of therapeutic competence in the other person. However, Ironbar and Hooper (1989) suggested that the supervisor should be someone with extensive clinical experience and training, who can provide expert support and guidance with well-planned learning opportunities, the provision of support and coaching for students in order to facilitate learning According to Johansson et al, (2010) the relationship between the student and mentor is the most factor contributing to clinical learning experience. Students attain direct knowledge and skills resulting in becoming aware of their roles. Willis report (2012) mentions that â€Å"Effective understanding of collaboration and inter-professional working is a key component of pre- regis tration nursing education†. A well collaborated learning contract can enable the mentor to facilitate learning with a clinical setting. According to (Worrall, 2007) an effective orientation to a clinical placement can help the student to feel relaxed and encourages motivation for learning through early identification of learning objectives. To have the opportunity of being a member of the multi-professional team, the mentor must ensure that the student is fully integrated into the team and working alongside professionals so that he or she can gradually become competent in most clinical of skills. Learning within a clinical setting can be facilitated through the use of a variety of approaches by mentors and staff who have the right skills. Mentors facilitate learning to students by applying reflective learning as a learning technique that reinforces the mixing of theoretical and realistic learning into practice. According to (Pritchard and Gidman, 2012; Carr, Heggarty and Carr, 2010) â€Å"Reflective learning i s an effective tool in supporting mentorship, allowing students the opportunity to reflect on past experiences and to learn from them before moving forward†. (Pritchard and Gidman, 2012) elaborated further that by adopting new teaching approaches, mentors can address students past experiences enabling the students to have some confidence to reflect on what they have learning outcomes. NMC standards support learning and assessment (2008) outlined certain principles to be achieved in order to become a mentor. Mentors’ should be able to create an environment that can facilitate learning by supporting students, encouraging learning activities, off ward learning experiences, assessments, supervision, professional vision and applying evidence based practice within the clinical settings. It is a requirement that all registered nurses are to convey professional knowledge and competence to student nurses by regularly taking part in the learning and development of students through teaching, activities, supervision and assessments NMC (2010). NMC (2008) requirements recommends day to day support for the students’ by their allocated mentors in order to enable student learning experiences and assess practice learning outcomes. This can create a conducive learning environment within a clinical setting by teaching or providing learning opportunities for students an d colleagues through planning, reflective practice and evaluating learning activities. Mentorsare influential in helping the student reach theiraims and objectives. They carry out assessments to ascertain the students level of theoretical knowledge, practical clinical skills and also taking into account the learners previous experiences can aide mentors to facilitate learning. Sharing knowledge and experience with students assist the mentor to identify the student’s individual learning style Ali et al (2008). Therefore a mentor can facilitate a students learning by keeping his or her knowledge and skills up to date by researching into current trends and annual mentorship update. The role of a mentor is to ensure that there is readily available of learning resources, precise learning opportunities and a plan on how the student can achieve the planned learning objectives. Mentors must possess qualities such as a being an educator, good effective communication skills, acting as an advocate and good leadership qualities to institute an effective working environment for student nurses. However this can develop students’ in understand what is expected of them in the near future. Accountability is part of the mentors’ role in facilitating learning in a clinical setting through professional judgments on students’ performance. Mentors are accountable for confirming students who have met their NMC competencies in practice. Learning can be facilitated through appropriate support and supervision in carrying out summative assessment of the student‘s competence when carrying out clinical skills during teaching sessions. Mentors are accountable for every decision and action they make on the care provided by students (NMC 2010). They have the duty to facilitate learning and support failing students by giving constructive feedback and effective teaching sessions. However Duffy (2004) recommends mentors to fail students who are not able to meet the required level of practice because it is the mentor’s responsibility to make the final assessment and to be aware that they are accountable for passing or failing the student NMC, (2006). Keeping su fficient and evidence based records can help mentors to support their decisions. Rodgers (1969) defines facilitation as a style of teaching that assist mentors in understanding students’ effective style of learning that includes student focused learning, none commanded, self-directed reflective whilst involving them in the learning process. Mentors are regarded as effective facilitators in both skills and art because they engage everyone in the learning experience. By acting as an advocate, mentors can facilitate student growth and development resulting in students being able to solve problems simultaneously. Within the clinical setting mentors’ critical reflection as a method for teaching and learning can create an even pathway for the students to pursue their learning journey. According to the NMC code of practice (2008b, p: 5) have the duty to share their knowledge and skills to facilitate students’ and their colleagues development by teaching new skills for example depot injection techniques and completing risk assessment documents. Mento rs can facilitate learning by using physical resources such as teaching aids to enhance learning for students and colleagues within their clinical settings. It is essential for the mentor to facilitate learning to students by encouraging them to attend on and off ward learning activities for example, meetings, practice sessions, student forums and other health departments in order to acquire expertise clinical skills and knowledge and for further development. Mentors must ensure that there is a vast range of potential learning opportunities available to learners in order to facilitate learning and meeting specific students’ learning needs. At the same time the mentor needs to be mindful of the quality of the learning experience and consider how they can further develop the learning environment to enhance the students’s experience. The role of a mentor within a clinical setting is to develop the student clinical skills through teaching and explaining the clinical procedures and to provide the appropriate knowledge base for nursing interventions. Learning can be facilitated by equipping the clinical setting with all useful and adequate resources for carrying out the teaching sessions. Mentors can also obtain new knowledge and skills through their guidance and support of students (Klasen, 2002). Their contribution to a supportive learning environment and quality learning outcomes for students can be brought about by being approachable, supportive and being aware of the student’s style of learning. Mentors plays a significant role in the assessment of student’s level of capability assesses your level of capability student gains the optimum experience from the clinical learning environment. It is also important when embarking on the mentorship course and in house training for other qualified staff to assist students translate theory into practice. Mentors needs additional skills through structured learning activities and teaching sessions to utilise in an environment settings designed for this purpose, Gopee (2011) . Quinn (2000) commented that mentors can enhance students’ skills performance and development in a methodical and acute way by providing the students with feedback and reinforcement. Communication is the most important tool that a mentor can utilise to facilitate learning for students within a clinical setting. As a skilled communicator a mentor needs to establish additional communication skills for the management of students’ complex issues arising within the clinical setting. Components of communication are essential in a clinical setting because mentors are able to exchange information and establish an effective working relationship. Ali and Panther (2008) commented that mentors should use effective communication and facilitation of skills to develop a personal and professional relationship with the students allocated to them. Learning can be facilitated by carrying out the initial, intermediate and final interviews thus allowing the mentor to find out about the student’s previous learning experiences, identifying the individual’s strengths and weaknesses and their level of participation, Doel and Shardlow (2005). Interaction between stude nts and Mentors enables more flexible and individualised learning process using a one to one effective approach within a structured learning environment (Warren, 2010). Enhancing learning through assessment can assist the mentor’s ability to research and prepare an appropriate environment, which is conducive with learning, teaching and assessment. The provision of teaching and learning activities facilitate learning within a clinical setting as it enables the students to achieve the intended outcomes during their placement by relating theory to practice while developing critically reflective skills in order to facilitate learning NMC (2008). Mentors can facilitate learning by providing inter-professional learning opportunities for example integrated skills teaching model. By utilising the Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle mentors can integrate of theory into practice and the art of and science of nursing by using the four stages of learning namely Activist, Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist. Mentors can facilitate student leaning by having a well-structured teaching session that includes style and space, providing feedback and identifying future learning needs. Learning styles promotes better student integration into clinical settings. Frankel, (2009) states that nurses learning styles promote better integration of theory i nto practice. The ability to critically analyse and evaluate the strengths and limitations of learning, teaching and assessment within their practice area is one of the mentors’ roles. However, through the knowledge the mentor possesses they can develop and present innovative approaches to enhance students’ learning. By carrying out student assessment a mentor can facilitate learning to a student by observing the student during a teaching session where by the mentor is bale to know the student’s learning style for example visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning.

Blending of Past, Present, and Future in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman :: Death Salesman essays

Blending of Past, Present, and Future in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman      Ã‚  Ã‚   The most significant and challenging aspect to Death of a Salesman is its structure. In reading and watching the play it may appear at first that Miller is relying on the tried but true "flashback" technique in dramatizing the events of the play. In reality, Miller is actually attempting something much different. He is actually trying to fuse the past, present, and future into, what David Biele has aptly termed, a "constant state of NOW." It's not too unlike the Buddhist notion of living in the "eternal present" - meaning, whether we are conscious of it or not, everything that happens, happens now. If you are remember something in the past you are remembering it now. If you are dreaming of something in the future you are doing in now. Miller describes that state as this: I've never been able to make time real for myself. I can't remember whether something happened two weeks ago or three years ago. Or when I was in England the last time. The calendar doesn't seem to exist in my head. It all melts together. It always has. It's probably a form of insanity. I thought I would try to write that way - simply melt the days, the months and the years, because I really do believe that we move through the world carrying the past and that it's always alive in the back of our head. We are making constant references between what we see now and what we saw then, between what we hear now and what we heard then ... one asks a policeman for directions: as one listens, the hairs sticking out of his nose become important, reminding one of a father, brother, son with the same feature, and one's conflict with him or one's friendship come to mind, and this all over a period of seconds while objectively taking note of how to get to where one wants to go. The play then becomes an attempt to dramatize the way, to Miller at least, that the mind actually works. In fact, he originally thought of calling the play, "The Inside of His Head." He wanted the resulting form to "carry the whole freight of a man's life," moving the play forward not chronologically, in a "narrow discreet line, but as a phalanx, all of its elements moving together simultaneously.

Professional Resume and Cover Letter Essay

Create a professional resume and cover letter for a position within your selected industry, and attach a copy to this discussion forum. Respond to at least three of your classmates’ posts by Day 7, providing both positive and constructive feedback. If you do not have a resume or cover letter, you may access helpful resources by logging into your Ashford University Student Portal. From the Student Portal homepage, locate Career and Alumni Services (look for the blue â€Å"Career† word cluster image) and click on the link to My Career: Career and Professional Development Center to review resume and cover letter resources. If you would like additional assistance, Career Services is available to critique your resume and/or cover letter. You may contact Career Services directly at careerservices@ashford.edu, or call the appointment line at 1.866.711.1700, ext. 1876. Please allow adequate time (2-3 business days) for a Career Services Specialist to respond to your request. Ashford 3: – Week 2 – Assignment Critiquing Internet Sources Today, the Internet provides an unprecedented amount of information by way of blogs, videos, and podcasts. Conduct a critique of one blog, one video, and one podcast, which provide information that addresses the topic of your Final Research Paper. Assess the authors’ use of bias, validity, and applicability of information. Examine the influence of web-based information on global citizenship and multicultural understanding. Then, compile a list of three factors you believe should be considered when evaluating Internet sources for use in researching information. The paper must be three to four pages in length (excluding the title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style. In addition to the three multimedia sources you are analyzing, support your points with at  least two scholarly sources. One of the scholarly sources must be from the Ashford Online Library. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference page. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.

Making a standard solution Essay Example

Making a standard solution Essay Example Making a standard solution Paper Making a standard solution Paper To find the molarity of the unknown acid, first we had to create a standard solution, the solution we created was Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH). We wanted a 0. 1 molar solution of sodium hydroxide so to get this we had to dissolve 4g of NaOH into 1000cm? of water, but we didn’t want 1000cm? we wanted 250cm? so to work out how much sodium hydroxide would be needed you need to do the same equation to the number of grams (g) than with the volume of water, so to get 1000cm? down to 250cm? You divide it by 4, so you divide 4 by 4 which gives you 1, so one gram of NaOH is needed to make a 0. 1 molar solution in 250cm? of water. Next is making the solution, the equipment needed to make this standard solution is: a balance, beaker, volumetric flask, glass rod, wash bottle. And the ingredients for the solution are NaOH and distilled water. To make NaOH solution is to measure out 1g of sodium hydroxide and place on a scrap piece of paper which is on the balance, it isn’t essential that you get exactly 1g just approximately 1g. Then put some distilled water into a beaker enough to dissolve the sodium hydroxide, transfer the sodium hydroxide from the paper to the beaker and dissolve by swirling and stirring. Once dissolved transfer this solution to a volumetric flask, and wash out the beaker and glass rod which was used to stir the solid NaOH into the water, now add distilled water to the volumetric flask, up until the bottom of the meniscus is on the 250cm?line and shake and mix it up a little, then you have made your solution. In my solution it wasn’t 1g, I weighed 0. 99g. The next stage is to calculate the molarity of your solution. To work out the moles it is moles= grams ? relative molecular mass (RMM) so for my solution it will be 0. 99? 40 (40 is the RMM of sodium hydroxide, this is calculated by adding the mass of each atom in the compound together, so for NaOH it is Na=23 O=16 and H=1. 23+16+1=40 this is where the 40 comes from.) 0. 99 ? 40= 0. 02475 rounded to 4 decimal places is 0. 0248 that is the molarity of the 250cm? but molarity is always measured in 1000cm? so now you have to times 0. 0248 by 4, 0. 0248 x 4= 0. 992, and that is the final molarity of your solution so my molarity is 0. 992M. Now is to titrate you solution with the unknown acid, to do this you need: a clamp, a beaker for acid, a beaker for your standard solution and another beaker for waste, a conical flask, 50ml burette, 25ml pipette. Once all the equipment has been set up you now need to add your unknown solution into the burette and leave the tap open and put the waste beaker under it to make sure there is no air bubbles in the burette, turn the tap off and fill the burette up, now take the pipette filler and fill up your pipette with your standard solution and put that in the conical flask, add a colour indicator to the conical flask and put the conical flask under the burette open the tap, and you are looking for the first colour change that lasts for approximately 10 seconds, repeat the titration until you have 3 results within . 1 of each other. In my titrations I did 4, the first result was 22. 6ml used, the second was 23. 1ml, third was 22. 7ml and the final one was 22. 8ml. Now the calculation for the molarity of the acid can be solved. The first step in working out the concentration of the unknown acid is balancing the equation. The equation for our experiment is: NaOH + HCl i NaCl + H2O and this equation is already balanced because there is 1 atom of Na on each side, 1 atom of O on each side, 2 atoms of H on either side and 1 atom of Cl on each side. So this reaction is a 1:1 reaction. The reasons this is a 1:1 reaction can be found in the periodic table, the RMM of each side of the equation has to be the same and to work this out you need the atomic mass, Na=23, O=16, H=1 (x2) and Cl=35. The atomic mass is the larger of the two numbers on the periodic table found with an element. The total of these atomic masses is 76. And it is exactly the same on the other side it is just that the compounds are different, this is due to the groups on the periodic table that they are in and that determines the bonds between atoms. The equation to work out the concentration of the unknown acid is: moles x 1000 ? average titration. The average titration is all the titration results added together and divided by 4, but we are going to discard the 23. 1ml result because it isn’t close enough to the other three so is recognised as an anomaly, so (22. 6 + 22. 7 +22. 8)? 3 = 22. 7cm? so now using the equation you can work out the concentration of the acid. (0. 0248 x 1000)? 22. 7 = 0. 1093, the actual concentration of the acid was 0. 0984. My predicted concentration is 0. 0109 above the actual concentration this could be due to inaccuracies with the measuring of the mass of NaOH to begin with also wrongly measuring the amount of my standard solution was used to titrate the acid.

Purpose Of The Structure Of The Services Social Work Essay Example

Purpose Of The Structure Of The Services Social Work Essay Example Purpose Of The Structure Of The Services Social Work Essay Purpose Of The Structure Of The Services Social Work Essay In this assignment, I will explicate the intent of the construction of Social Services and explicate the consequence of the direction construction on these services. I will besides look at the different services available from the chief sectors explain the operation of one Social Work puting every bit good as analyse the Impact of Social Work on a peculiar client or group. I will explicate the intent of the construction of Social Services At the start of the 20th century in the United Kingdom, money, encouragement and advice were given to households in demand through the Charity Organisation Society. Magistrates called upon the aid of police tribunal missionaries to assist wrongdoers in problem and voluntary administrations made it their concern to assist orphans, pregnant misss and impoverished adult females. The beginnings of societal work go back to the 19th century. The services that were provided merely concerned the hapless and workhouses were the lone proviso of public assistance ran by the authorities for the destitute under the Poor Law Act 1834. Aid was besides given in the signifier of affluent ladies sing the hapless to offer services that were given in a really condescending and patronizing manner. Another of import development came approximately in the 20th century when infirmaries started using medical social workers ( Social Workers ) , whose initial function was to measure whether patients needed or deserved free intervention. The extent of their functions was shortly widened and the Institute of Almoners was set up in 1920 which provided preparation classs. At the start of the public assistance province, local governments started supplying public assistance services for some groups of people. The National Health Service Act 1946 made local governments responsible for supplying Maternity and Baby Welfare, supplying after attention for the mentally sick every bit good as place services for the aged and some other groups of people. The Children s Department was set up in 1948 to supply services to kids deprived from a normal place life. The National Assistance Act 1948 required that local governments to supply adjustment and other services to aged and disabled people every bit good as stateless households. These divided services and duties were non organised in a logical manner and it frequently caused confusion over duty of run intoing the demands of those involved. The authorities so set up the Seebohm Committee to look into the societal services provided by local governments. The commission so published a study in 1968 urging that a incorporate and household orientated service be established. In the study, it was in support of a new local authorization section, supplying a community based and household orientated service, which will be available to all. This new section will, we believe, will make far beyond the find and deliverance of societal causalities ; it will enable the greatest figure of persons to move in return giving and having service for the wellbeing of the whole community. Following the study of 1968, the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 came into topographic point and it incorporated the proposals of the Seebohm Committee. Under the act of 1970, it required local governments to name a Director of Social Services and put up Social Services Committees. Under the new Social Services sections, they would be responsible for all subdivisions of public assistance proviso in the community. This was the beginning of generic societal work, whereby societal workers dealt with a wider scope of people and jobs, alternatively of specializing in a peculiar country such as mentally sick and disadvantaged kids. The Central Council of Education and Training in Social Work ( CCETSW ) so became responsible for the proviso of preparation for the new generic Social Workers in 1971. explicate the consequence of the direction construction on these services and the Different Services Available from the Main Sectors The overall control of societal attention is provided under local governments, through a societal attention / wellness and societal attention budget. Information from Cerebra ( online ) states that ; at the top of the administration, there is an Area Director of Social Services and under this are Area Managers. One of these directors will hold duty for additional demands , with a squad for kids. Increasingly, all kids s services are being brought together. Under this strategy, there is a Chief Executive ( Director of Children s Services ) , which includes societal attention services, instruction, youth piquing, services for passage to maturity ( e.g. the Connexions service ) , and Sure Start services for immature kids, each subdivision holding its ain manager / director. In some countries, there are Keyworkers to ease entree to the different services for households with handicapped kids. A Keyworker is normally one of the professionals who is involved with the household anyhow, who may be working in any of the services including Health. They should assist to cut down the work that parents frequently have to make to turn up services, make communications drum sander, and do the system work better for the kid. Social Services besides provide grownup services, and carry out carers appraisals for parents and others involved with the attention of a child in demand ( because of disablement or some other ground ) . This can be done at the same clip as a community attention appraisal for the kid and siblings, taking to entree to services such as respite interruptions / carers / assistants and reding ( or Direct Payments for these ) . In add-on they run local Child Protection Registers for kids whose exposure may take to a demand for alternate attention. This besides involves appraisals and meetings. The organizational construction within the societal services hierarchyA authorization construction has changed over the past few old ages to enable newA functions which had been made compulsory by a new statute law. Due to thisA alteration, many sections have had to alter their staffingA construction in order to accommodate the new maps. It now means that thereA is more accent on for the societal services geting the attention, A instead to the suppliers of the attention. This new alteration will meanA that the societal services can now measure the demand for attention. To achieveA this, the societal services divide into different groups to supply forA specific groups, such as aged, kids and households etc. This has now meant that a clear division between the suppliers and purchases ofA attention has been created, and because of this societal services have beenA able to go more efficient by the splitting into the assorted groupsA to supply for them. Sourced from Mastering Social Welfare ( Pat Young ) , Social workers covers a diverse country of work that largely concentrates on jobs with the aged, handicapped, mentally sick, low income, juvenile tribunals and household relationships ; peculiarly with kids. With the different client groups there are statutory duties of the societal services administrations concerned. For illustration, they are obligated to step in when kids are concerned, as they may be in problem with the constabulary or for kids whose parents are thought to be unable to supply unequal attention. In these cases, societal services would supply residential adjustment, organise surrogate parents and supply supervising in the place for kids populating with their parents. The construction of service proviso varies with authorities construction. One being a Comprehensive field coverage, A This is the degree of policy-making and planning, making a model of services to run into a scope of demands. This degree is sometimes losing where coverage is done through programmes and ad hoc services instead than by authorities. Another being a Comprehensive service proviso which is the administration and way of a service or programme, like a lodging section or societal services section. A 3rd being Systematic service provisionA , where it is responsible for executing peculiar maps within a service, such as in schools, residential attention places or the units within a infirmary. A 4th proviso trades with jobs as state of affairs, A which is by and large the degree at which professionals such as Doctors, societal workers, wellness visitants, country lodging directors and constabularies officers work. Covering with jobs as demands.A This is a reactive attack, where service is provided in response to a specific demand ; the response made is prescribed for the individual who makes it. Receptionists or societal security clerical officers are illustrations. [ 4 ] Explain The Functioning of One Social Work Puting Analyse the Impact of Social Work on a Particular Client or Group Baer, B. and Frederico, R. ( 2008 ) . DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WORK ( online ) . Available from: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.wright.edu/cola/Dept/social_work/sw_definition.htm gt ; ( accessed 27 December 2010 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cerebra.org.uk/parent_support/information_and_advice/cp_information/who_does_what/structure_of_statutory_services/social_care_structure

ETHICS AND VALUES PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ETHICS AND VALUES PAPER - Essay Example These differences can be controlled only if codes of ethics are used in the culture and structure of an organization. In US, National Association of Social Workers is considered as the primary standard of ethics by profession. This code of ethics is a set of principles, standards and core values. These things facilitate ethical decisions making. Social workers navigate in a community and they participate in interdisciplinary teams. This enables a manager to perform different set of services on the basis of different professional values; it leads to increase in ethical dilemma numbers too. Social workers have ethical responsibility towards clients, colleagues, professionals, social work professions and to the society as a whole. Social workers enhance social change and justice on behalf of clients. In this paper, concept of client is used in a broader sense, i.e. it includes individuals, families, organizations, groups and communities. They are sensitive to ethnic and cultural diversity. They enhance people capacity to identify their own needs. Social workers also seek to promote the responsiveness of organizations, communities and other social institutions to individuals needs and social problems. NASW code of ethics does not specify which principle, standards or values are important in dealing with human diversity. It gives ability to use any code in order to solve a dilemma. There are differences in persons on the basis of opinions and thinking. One should be able to handle diverse working conditions. In such situation ethical decision should be made and judgment should be formed in all individuals. Social workers should also judge peers and other colleagues so that professional standards should be appli ed. NASW code of ethics is a conceptual framework for professional behavior promotion. It helps to reduce the constraints of behavior and enables individuals to work with different people in society and organizations. Social workers professional

Explain the N.J. state court system entirely be sure to state and Essay

Explain the N.J. state court system entirely be sure to state and explain each court that comprises the sytem especially the 2 s - Essay Example They also hear decisions made by the State Division of taxation on matters of income tax, sales tax and business tax. The Superior court is the trial court where cases involving criminal, civil and family law are heard and decided. They decide all other cases that are not within the jurisdiction of the Municipal and Tax courts. The Appeals Court are divided into two, the Appellate Division of Superior Court and the New Jersey Supreme Court. In the Appellate Division, reviews and decides cases in division of at least two to three judges without trial or further evidence. It reviews and make sure that there were no mistakes or errors in the judgment and decisions of the Trial Courts, Tax Courts and State administrative agencies. The N.J. Supreme Court is the highest court in New Jersey and is the state’s court of last resort, ruling from the Appellate Division may be appealed here. The New Jersey Constitution limits its jurisdiction in cases involving a constitutional question, if a judge in the Appellate Division dissented, if capital punishment is used, or the court granted "certification," or if the case involves redistricting (Art VI). Its jurisdiction is limited in hearing appeals for legal issues and just like the Appellate Division, does not include trial of facts. 2000). Citation Van Dervort, T. R.