Gull Products Incorporated Essay

Gull Products INC. is a small business in Moose Jaw that supplies commercial products to other regional business. A big multinational corporation, Delnex, has moved into their area and could possibly represent one of Gull’s biggest customers. Phil, the sales supervisor and the key decision maker, leads the discussion on how to acquire Delnex as a customer. The sales team has four member; Bob, John, Cindy and Joe. Bob has the most experiences, John is a hard worker, Cindy is the newest member but has ties to Delnex from her old position, and Joe is their highest seller. Issues Elements of this case that are relevant to the course concepts are the; Team effectiveness Model, 5’s of Team Member Competency, Stages of Team Development. Issues and problems are that Phil is more focused on getting to play a round of golf. He doesn’t consider any other alternatives, which could result in Gull Inc. potentially resulting in not acquiring Delnex as a customer. Cindy’s idea is completely ignored and she is barely given a chance to speak. On top of that Phil called Cindy’s approach a ‘feminist’ way. External & Internal Factors External factors are the threat of other merchants approaching Delnex. Another factor is Delnex might not be interested in doing business. Internal factors are Gull Inc. culture and values from the top down, the competency of the sales reps. Another internal factor is equality; Phil should dismiss Cindy’s response in a feminist way. Analysis My first alternative is to take Cindy’s approach of an informative soft sell. Pros of this are their reputation and relationship with Delnex. A con of this approach is Cindy’s team members don’t value her opinion and not support her. Secondly they could take Joe’s approach and have an informal meeting on the golf course with Phil. A pro is they could be impressed by the private club and its ameniti.es and be swayed to do business with them. A con of this is there is no teamwork and Cindy is feeling invaluable and the feeling that none of her working companions respect her. Lastly, Gull Inc. could host Delnex with an informative presentation and a formal contract. This approach would require team collaboration from all members and improve teamwork and communication. This will make a good reputation with Delnex and build a solid relationship with Delnex leading to increased profits. Recommendation My recommendation is for Gull Inc. to host Delnex and have all the sales reps to communicate and collaborate their ideas into an informative presentation. This will impress Delnex and create a solid working relationship going forward and hopefully lead to increased profits. This will cause the greatest good for Gull Inc. and be the best way to acquire a contract with Delnex. Implementation Plan Phil needs to integrate the team and have them work together to create a presentation and formal contract as soon as possible to Delnex as soon as possible. Gull Inc. will host this presentation at one of their offices and have them sign a contractual obligation before they leave.

Our Children and the Avalanche of Crud

In the essay â€Å"Buried Alive: Our Children and the Avalanche of Crud†, David Denby argues that pop culture is distinctive and damaging to children in the United States today. Pop culture is damaging because media has changed to become three- dimensional, inescapable, omnivorous, and self-referring. Media, according to Denby is everywhere; you cannot step away from the system of it. It has been known to be a commercialized aggression that puts parents on defense. Children now days have become commoditized towards television because they are being sold.Children are being treated as objects because of how television is influencing them. Television is teaching a child that is it cool to be vulgar. Denby suggest that vulgarity is a concept children do not understand because the makers of commercial cultures teach them not too. Denby argues that the old dream that parents and teachers would nurture the development of a child is now lost. Media has taken over the parental role bec ause it is teaching children negative concepts and parents do not have control over this.Irony plays a part in this aspect because this is a form of commodity. Media does not only influence children through television but also through the products that you can buy in store or online. I agree with Denby because television shows have taught children to become vulgar and stereotypical. Television shows have become increasingly influential towards children because it has been teaching children about vulgarity and stereotypes in a negative way. In the article, â€Å"Why Greek Girls are Tired of ‘Big Bang' Bullshit,† Kristy Pirone analyzes the elevision show The Big Bang Theory.The Big Bang Theory according to Pirone is a sexist and stereotypical television show that portrays men to hold a higher archery towards women. Pirone identifies this show by being sexist because â€Å"†¦ Lit] accepts the idea that only men can be â€Å"geeks† with open arms. † Chuck Lorre created The Big Bang Theory, the same man who created Two and a Half Men. Lorre is known to create shows with perpetuating stereotypes that could be insulting to men as well as women. These shows are constantly reducing women to nothing more than sex- providers and men to predatory creeps.

Professional Practice in Critical Care - Critical Incident Analysis Essay

Professional Practice in Critical Care - Critical Incident Analysis - Essay Example The process of withdrawal of ventilatory support was also explained to the parents. However they did not want the ventilatory support to be withdrawn till the patient’s sister had arrived from Canada in 48 hrs. Despite further explanations regarding the concept of brain stem death, the family threatened legal action for withdrawal of ventilatory support . The following day a senior consultant and senior nurse in the ICU came into the unit and were informed of the situation and intervened. After lengthy discussions with the parents, ventilatory support was withdrawn. The heart stopped beating shortly after. The reason for examining these features in the case study is to gain an insight into the errors in the system and clarify human error in the cause of such incidents. This is a key characteristic of critical incident reporting (Buckley, Short, Rowbottom & Oh, 1997). A review of these features helps in highlighting the problems and paves the way for quality assurance through implementation of preventative measures to control such incidents. By analysing these key features, the critical incident analysis assists in identifying areas of improvement within the ICU. Brain stem death has been accepted as death of the individual in the United Kingdom since 1976, when the royal colleges published criteria for making a diagnosis of what was then called brain death (Royal Colleges, 1976). With advances in life support, the line between who is alive and who is dead has become blurred (Capron ,1995).Life support technologies introduced in the 20th century have produced a new kind of patient - one whose brain does not function, but whose heart and lungs continue to work (Center for Bio Ethics, 2005). Trachtman (2003) states that â€Å"technological advances in sustaining life might increase the difficulty in making the diagnosis of death†. And, while medicine diagnoses brain stem death as death, it may still be difficult for family to accept the death while the

Housing for Aboriginal Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Housing for Aboriginal Australia - Essay Example Indigenous architecture necessarily identifies with the otherwise inexplicable participatory and consultative design methodologies (Memmott, 2008). Such methodologies or techniques are presumed to be not-so-well calculated or inarticulate though. Australian aboriginals have been known for their indefatigable behavioral tendencies in relation to habitat building efforts (Glascott, 1985). Despite their indigenous qualitative outcomes, a series of deficiencies too has been noted by analysts. The following dimensional analysis of the Australian aboriginals' abode building experience illustrates the whole process of community house building efforts of an indigenous community and their related outcomes (Vulker, 1990). The impact of indigenous culture on the design and construction processes of abodes or dwellings has received much wider attention, especially with emphasis on indigenous people's gregarious behavioral tendency. The community feeling or congregational behavior in indigenous communities such as aboriginals has been investigated with reference to many other aspects though it has very little been studied with reference to their effort to build structures for living (Trewin and ABS, 2006). Indigenous culture of Australian aboriginals has been necessarily associated with their community living experience that presupposes societal interaction at each and every level of social transformation. For instance the aboriginal houses built at Broken Hills in Mutawintji have communal living rooms, bigger cooking areas for preparation of hunted animals, dormitory-like bedrooms and huge compounds (www.heritage.nsw.gov.au, see Appendix).For instance despite the larger impact of migration on these cul tures, still these indigenous populations have managed to remain relatively uninfluenced by exogenous forces of change. However the dichotomy between the traditional culture and the contemporary culture being absorbed by them cannot be emphasized too much. Under exceptional circumstances this dichotomy can be taken to identify a clash of sorts, viz. the contemporary culture might seek to influence the traditional culture to such an extent that societal transformation of the indigenous populations would acquire a heterogeneous element of identity (Flood, 2007). Thus Australian aboriginals have recognized the all too important dichotomy to be a phase just preceding the fluid situation (Burke, 2004). In fact Australian aboriginals have seen how their own culture in housing design and construction has been influenced by the contemporary culture of the heterogeneous diversity. This is an inevitable influence on structure, design and materials. (2). Indigenous design dimensionIndigenous populations like the Australian aboriginals have particularly been able to develop their own design parameters and above all the participatory and consultative paradigms that have been essentially associated with such design processes occupy a still more significant place. Australian aboriginals have been noted for their exotic structural design perspectives in housing (Read, 2000). While autochthonous design traits persist to a greater extent there are also some exogenous characteristics that permeate through the design and construction process. For instance desp

Working with and Leading People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Working with and Leading People - Essay Example Since we worked as a team, the activities and assessments seemed to be much easier. The learning experience of working in a team is highly commendable because students have the opportunity to share ideas and to benefit from collaborative learning, assertions supported by Gallegos and Peeters (2011, p. 33). This paper will present an in-depth reflection on my experience of working in a team. From my experience, working in a team is highly beneficial as it promotes higher levels of efficiency because several individuals work on a task together and have the opportunity to combine their efforts. As identified by Hansen (2006, p. 16), the level of efficiency attained when working in a group is much higher than the efficiency resulting from a single individual. For example, we worked on a series of activities as a team, a factor that registered higher levels of efficiency. For example, we were able to complete the activities in a shorter time span compared to an individual working on the activities alone. Since the team members were willing to cooperate, we completed most of the activities in record time (Volkov & Volkov 2015, p. 269). I noted the difference in the quality of work produced, a factor, which is related to efficiency. Therefore, working in a team promotes efficiency in two different aspects. According to the skills identified by Hughes and Jones (2011, p. 60), a team can produce a higher quantity of work, which meets the expected quality. In terms of speed, the activities were completed in a short time because the group designated different roles and responsibilities for all the members of the team. Working in a team allowed students with different capacities and talents to work together. Therefore, it was possible to undertake a collaborative learning because we share ideas. The sharing of ideas between different members of the team was highly beneficial because each member learned new ideas. As

World Wide Flu Epidemic Kills 20 Millions. 1918 Essay

World Wide Flu Epidemic Kills 20 Millions. 1918 - Essay Example The fort was an outpost in Kansas where new soldiers were trained before being sent off to Europe for World War I. A company cook apparently came down with the symptoms of the flu which appeared similar to the symptoms of a bad cold. He was isolated immediately; however, within the next hour, several soldiers were also admitted to the infirmary for the same symptoms as the cook (Rosenberg, 2010). Despite their best attempts to contain the symptoms, the flu spread quickly to the Fort Riley population and after several weeks, about a thousand of them were infected by the flu; towards the end, 46 of them died (Rosenberg, 2010). Similar incidents were soon reported in different military camps in the US and this spread on board transport ships and inadvertently this disease reached Europe via infected soldiers. When the epidemic reached Spain, the Spanish government immediately made the epidemic public; and since most people first heard the attack from the Spanish broadcast, the flu was n amed the Spanish flu (Rosenberg, 2010). It later also infected Russia, India, China, and Africa; but by the end of 1918, the first wave of the disease gradually tapered out. The second wave of the flu was however more deadly. It struck three port cities all at the same time (Boston, US; Brest in France; and Freetown in Sierra Leone) (Rosenberg, 2010). Hospitals were overwhelmed by the second wave as the patient population overflowed and depleted their supplies. The flu had a major impact on victims as within a few hours, symptoms of extreme fatigue, fever, and headache, already started showing up (Rosenberg, 2010). Patients were also subjected to powerful bouts of coughing which most often tore their abdominal muscles. Blood was often seen from the mouths, nostrils, and from their ears. Other patients also vomited (Rosenberg, 2010). This disease sometimes killed patients within a matter of hours from the first symptom manifesting and others within a day or two of the

The Euro Crises Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

The Euro Crises - Dissertation Example The availability of easy credit fuelled into the households and the financial sector. The Central bank of Europe managed the cross border lending. The bill of welfare took the upward rising curve when the level of unemployment deepened. Some of the countries had to launch upon in order to find money for their banks. The new expenses had to be borne by the state. The tax receipts collapsed as well. The rates of interest surged. It was assumed by the investors that no government of the Euro zone will default on account of debt before the crisis. Even some of the investors were asked to get rewarded for taking the extra risk while others walked away as they were unwilling to pay for credit crunch. All this led to bond prices to fall which weakened the banks and slowed down growth. The countries of Euro zone were following the unsustainable current account deficits from before the crisis. The domestic spending took the leap as the interest rate was low and wages and the goods got inflate d. This resulted in exports being costly while the imports being cheaper. Germany was recycling the surpluses that were produced by the export machines and financed their consumption. It was anticipated that restoring the continent to its health will take few years because the troubled countries required to control the deficits of the government and reestablish the current accounts so that to improve the competitiveness. A research on the topic will help to analyze the effects of the crisis and the required steps from the countries in order to avoid the crisis. The decreases in output as well as in employment were dampened by the fiscal policies during the periods of... This report stresses that the dent crisis points to a gap between the legal and political thinking in the euro area. The tension between the sovereignty and solidarity has been revealed by the crisis. The government of France acted defend claims regarding the fiscal sovereignty. It also acted to confine the management of the crisis to the intergovernmental rather than Community method. As a result the governments have sidelined the European parliament and decided to favor the European Council. The lessons that the crisis taught is if two folds. The intergovernmental method is not suited to the requirements of the decisive actions during the crisis and there is a mismatch between the speeds in decision making between the council and the markets. This type of problem is regarded as the problem of inter temporal inconsistency. The crisis brought the power realities of the emerging continent. This essay makes a conclusion that the negotiating power of UK also got limited because of the crisis in the Euro zone. The crisis raised the stakes of the European integration to new levels, as well as provided the incentives to move ahead by following the policies of differentiated integration in the reform process of tax and economic governance. The crisis also calls for political populism. The crisis highlighted the economic situation and the financial situation of UK relative to the core Euro countries like Germany. At the time of the establishment the Economic and Monetary Union was less economic than political project. The debt crisis cannot be attributed just as the crisis belonging to the peripheral countries of Europe. The rapid recapitalization of the banking sector of the continent will not be the solution of the crisis.

Desperately Seeking susan by Susan Seidelman Movie Review

Desperately Seeking susan by Susan Seidelman - Movie Review Example The film, â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan† might captivate many socio-cultural themes, but at the outset it is a full length comedy drama set to entertain audiences watching the film. The film does not contain any serious material apparently then a general inquisition occurs as to what actually is captivated within the short running span of 104 minutes drama that has allured, enchanted and glued the audiences to their seats while watching the film. The romance of the film is definitely inherent within its fanciful plot, extreme comedic actions of the characters, costumes and settings. However, no one can undermine the presence of the two powerful divas on the screen chasing and running after each other and last but not the least chasing madly behind recovering their pair of Egyptian ear ring which they think has been stolen. Director Susan Seidelman employs many devices that were improvised from the Elizabethan comedies in a Shakespearean hue, the devices of mistaken identity, amnesia and farce are employed to build the plot of the comedy â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan† which make the film totally laughter generating. It has been truly observed and remarked that once you get to watch the film, â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan† an individual has no option but to unleash his/her intellectual faculty, stop exercising their grey matters and gobble the jewellery clad divas Rosanna Arquette and Madonna. The film stars Robert Joy, Laurie Metcalf and Aidan Quinn as well. As regards to the plot of the film, it happens to be the weakest part. A bored housewife played by Rosanna sees the classified ad where she views that a place and time has been sought by Susan who wants to fix a rendezvous with a person who is interested to meet her. Getting highly attracted by the ad, Rosanna fixes a meeting with Susan played by Madonna and gets so seriously involved into this meeting and the act of seeking people by Susan that she becomes Susan for a while. The plot of the film is genuinely unpredictable and its ending is the most unprecedented one. Thus, such kind of unprecedented occurrence creates a sense of perplexity amid the viewing audience which in turn can create disengagement. However, there are much more strong appeals and facets of the film which make it worth watching. The film captivates the audience with varied enchanting scenarios presented within the plot which act as a glue for the audience. The in and around of New York city as captivated by the camera of Seidelman is the remarkable thing to watch in the film. The film has moments and those moments are created by a volley of good actors like Aidan Quinn and Robert Joy. Thus, there is no wonder that the appeal of the two ladies Rosanna and Madonna, their exuberant and loud costumes along with voluptuous presence make the film more alluring. A true mark of entertaining cinema is imbibed within the screenplay of â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan† manifested by the screenplay of Leora Barish. When I look towards the phenomena involving the true success of the film, â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan†, it really feels great to acknowledge the use of all the actors even the supporting actors within the film so elaborately that it provides the film a different dimension altogether. The small roles

Idealism as an approach in international politics is simply naivety, Essay

Idealism as an approach in international politics is simply naivety, do you agree - Essay Example The synchronization of the local and international policies can lead to improved success and ease of integration. Idealism is based on personal values are integrated into social values (Connelly & Panagakou, 2010, p. 56). In spite of having the best values and approach in domestic issues, idealism has failed to the replicated in the global arena because of the difficulty in transforming the values. The concept of idealism has not been effective in handling the global conflicts based on several issues affecting countries. The capitalistic nature of countries has made the challenge extremely difficult. Countries currently focus on what will benefit them and not on idealistic values. The creation of allegiance between countries is based on country’s interest and not values (Tomuschat, 2010, p. 45). For instance, the continual negativity and difference in stance between Russia and America is a product of interests and not values. These interests affect the development of values an d principles guiding the countries. Since the development of the concept of idealism, several issues affected the society that in turn influenced the social values. Failure of idealism The failure of idealism can be linked with the events after the First World War because it failed to capture the issues affecting society. In fact, the postwar issues were not addressed by the idealism present by the international policy. The failure to address the relationship status of the countries affected the nature of international development, which in turn affects the countries around the world. Idealism is dependent on personal and state values and policies which depended on the interest of the nation (Podany, 2010, p. 136). During the First World War, it is estimated that over sixty million civilian and military causalities which led to the development of a new political theory. According to idealist theory, a lasting peace is constructed around the elimination of war. The argument of the id ealist is that the war was caused by defects in the process of real politics. The result of the ideology is the creation of the new organization called The League of nations. The League of Nations was an international organization focusing on control and moderation of the individual states’ actions against each other. The approach was supported by the initiation of international treaties (Perkins, 2013, p. 113). The aim of the international government was to limit weapons while maintaining collective security and renouncing the use of war as a national policy. The League of Nations did not achieve success because after the First World War, the Second World War occurred and the development of other inter-nation aggression and war. The failure indicated the non-relevance of the idealist approach employed after the First World War. Human reason as a basis of idealism Idealism relies on human reason as the foundation of its development. The philosophical basis of the Wilsonâ€⠄¢s peace law was borrowed from Bentham’s idea, which was developed a century earlier. The placement of faith in the power of reason, public opinion, individual liberty and social openness as the key values to the idealistic principles led to failure. The concept rejected secret negotiations and alliances which is a prevalent feature in the current international relations. The main principle was the reliance on the human reason (Tomuschat, 2010, p. 13). Human reason allows an

Environmental analysis Essay Example for Free

Environmental analysis Essay Rivalry Competition in the US video rental industry is fierce. There are actually several different segments of players within the industry, like rentals who establish physical store locations and rentals who serve mail-orders, but these different segments are competing to gain the same market share. Blockbuster reveled that the business actually has a small profit margin, due to the high cost of building and equipment maintenance. Furthermore, the movie rental industry has a stagnant market condition, or in simple words, the market does not reveal any meaningful growth within the years. This means the only way to grow is by taking away a piece of competitors’ market share. Thus, competition is s serious issue for Blockbuster because in one hand, the company cannot afford to loose more market share due to its minimum profit margin, and in the other hand, Blockbuster would also need to experience some kind of revenue growth. Ironically, competitors of Blockbuster also possess the same obsession. As a result, price war is the only way to determine which player would lead the market. Unfortunately, most of the players in the industry has already sustain heavy operational and maintenance that they cannot afford to reduce rental prices. In addition, most of these players have also minimum promotion budget because of the small profit margin. Today, competition industry enters a stage where all the players are stagnant in most of its departments (Brem, 2002). Not all movie rental industry can survive in a long term, especially if the industry is online. With the recent tightening in the market, some executive and investor are challenging Blockbuster.com to show some results: higher revenues, more customers, perhaps even a profit. This is should become tough news for Blockbuster. com who have spent most of their money on expensive advertisements, PR campaigns, or websites that look attractive. The full integration of Blockbuster. com online and in-store programs planned for next year will enable them to provide their customers, young and old, with unmatched convenience, service, selection and value. If a customer is in their store and wants to return a movie they rented online, Blockbuster.com will be able to accommodate them. If a member rents primarily in-store, but wants a hard-to-find title Blockbuster. com does not typically carry in store, they will be able to go online and get it. It is a matter of maximizing convenience and choice (â€Å"About Blockbuster. com†, 2006). Blockbuster has not been watching these developments lazily. It has launched its own online rental service in response to the competition, despite the set-up costs and the fact that it could take revenue away from its retail operation. It has also introduced a number of initiatives, such as a part-exchange deal on VHS tapes, and is currently exploring offering an in-store download service. †¢ Buyer Power Due to the stagnant market and the need for huge economies of scale to reach profit, buyers of the video rental industry has quite an influential power. In a nutshell, by choosing to go to which rentals, buyers will determine which one will reach profit within the financial period and which one will fall below targets. The increasing use of Internet becomes the power of buyers that soon force Blockbuster to provide online services. To change itself from a zone of movie rental store into an â€Å"anywhere-anytime† entertainment destination that eventually will enable customers to rent, buy or trade movies and games, new or used, in-store and online, Blockbuster initiatives to continues their accomplishment as the online rental service company (â€Å"Blockbuster goes broadband, streams movies to TV†, 2001). Blockbuster. com becomes the business through information technology (I. T. ) marketing. Because of the online marketing Blockbuster can live and breathe. They can get more competitive, lower their costs, and provide better service through continuous improvement of the I. T. marketing (â€Å"BBI: Profile for BLOCKBUSTER INC. †, 2006). However, as online retail, marketing efforts of Blockbuster. com could be even more effective if they asked the consumer for a dash of personal information. So far, businesses were hoping that personalization technology would serve as the equivalent of a best friend who just happened to have all the same tastes in products and services. More consumers are choosing to rent online, which has no late fees and have the movies mailed to them. It makes Blockbuster. com has increased their membership (â€Å"Blockbuster goes broadband, streams movies to TV†, 2001). The only way for movie-rental stores to continue operations is to rise to the challenge and shift their business model to stay practical. To develop a substantial share of the online rental business by the end of next year, Blockbuster. com is providing rental plan and their practical understanding marketing. It should help Blockbuster. com to be more successful in the next period. Movie distributors and the large chains, such as Blockbuster, Inc.directly negotiate revenue-sharing agreements covering most titles distributed by the upstream (â€Å"BBI: Profile for BLOCKBUSTER INC. †, 2006). Personalization and community features are very important. Blockbuster. com should allow film fans to rate films and write reviews to help inform other users. In addition, Blockbuster. com need to have a management team with bags of expertise, which they believe differentiates us from the competition. †¢ Supplier Power Suppliers of the industry generally have little power over the Blockbuster. The prices of inputs are nearly identical for most suppliers and there is no price discrimination because of the widely available substitutes. †¢ Threats of Substitutes The video rental industry is actually facing quite significant threats from various substitutes. Examples of substitutes are: pay-per-view, video-on-demand, streaming on-line videos, etc. All of these alternatives are delivering the same product in a quite similar quality, which means that they contribute notably to the tension within the video rental industry (‘Videotape Rental’, 2004). Barriers of EntryAnalysis of the industry indicated that Blockbuster is actually enjoying significant level of entry barriers. First, as mentioned earlier, the industry generally has a small profit margin, which means that a huge economic of scale is required to create a profitable business. This is caused by the high operational and maintenance costs, profit sharing agreement with studios, etc. Second, Blockbuster enjoyed a positive image due to its long-time presence and its popularity within the US market. Both of these factors ensured the triumph of Blockbuster against any newcomer. Most of these conditions however, are now becoming obsolete. This is true partly due to the presence of internet. As internet shopping becomes more popular, mail-order rentals like Netflix gain notable attention from the market. In addition, Blockbuster made the mistake of not providing enough copies of popular and recent movies, which ultimately get customers to think of going to alternative rentals. Another factor that reduces the entry barrier is the popularity of DCDs over the old VHS which no longer require negotiating revenue gain agreements with studios (Brem, 2002; Wagner, 2003).

Factors Influencing Career Transition in Middle Adulthood

Factors Influencing Career Transition in Middle Adulthood Introduction The article aims to deliver a theoretical model highlighting the factors influencing career transition (CT) of the middle adulthood population on an individual level and challenges faced by them. The factors include personality, job satisfaction, motivation and lifelong employability mindset. This essay will discuss the theoretical perspectives that are crucial to the study and highlights how factors in theoretical model affect and conflict one another. Strengths and weaknesses will be identified followed by assessing the reliability sources cited. Lastly, assumptions will be highlighted with recommendations for future research. Theoretical Perspectives The model was constructed based on the individual level of analysis thus all factors are internal. â€Å"Networking† was highlighted as key factor in successful CT. However, it was not included and according to (Leskinen.R,2009), networking played a pivotal role in successful CT. I would suggest networking to be included linking to motivation. Applying (TPB), intentions capture motivational factors and indicate how hard people are willing to perform the behaviour (Ajzen,1991).Thus, a person knowing the benefits of networking will motivate him to engage in it. However, the author’s exclusion of networking can be explained by the information processing model, selective processing when one intentionally focuses on factors that are most relevant to the situation. Excluding networking may be optimal to the author because to be consistent with the individual level of analysis. The factors in the model are linked because they are interdependent. Motivation triggers one to search for job which requires skills and the job allows the individual to build new networks (DeFillippiArthur,1996). Contrastingly, personality and lifelong employability contradicts therefore it explains why lifelong employability is not directly linked to personality. An individual with low adaptability may not have lifelong employability mindset due to low openness to changes (Fugate Kinicki,2008). Finally,all factors contribute to successful CT thus the arrows are pointing towards it. Quality of Supporting Data CT consists of voluntary or involuntary, inter or intra-organisational (NadyaA.Fouad; J.Bynner,2008;Ashforth,2001,p.7) however, the interviewees only went through inter-organisation involuntary CT. The sample of similar demographics leads to a biased sample because job dissatisfaction differs among gender and educational level (Gesthuizen,2008). Also, semi-structured questions may limit the range of information shared in the open-ended portions. One recommendation would be to use mixed approach for an accurate result (K.Niglas,2004). Portions of this article contradict one another for example, it was mentioned that the focus was to study challenges faced by mature workers who inherited lifelong employability mindset however, lifelong employability is just one of the factors and not the focus. The factors includes resilience and planning is true and evident from Morrissey (1992) as he identified one behavior that contributes to resilience of CT is preparation. Individuals should have career strategic plans so they know what to do if they are laid off. The author’s use of Subjective and Objective approach as indicators of successful CT is accurate. However, adopting merely Objective approach and its claimed successfulness seem doubtful. The individual perception is most crucial thus subjective approach is more important (Endler Magnusson,1976). The reason is objective characteristics may differ depending on the individual’s perception. (EndlerMagnusson,1976). Key assumptions This research generalises the characteristics of mid-life population based on the small sample thus not accurate. The information gathered is assumed to be true however they were verbal therefore may be exaggerated. For example, Lim’s account of his difficulties faced in his workplace may be biased due to his displeasure with his boss. Therefore statements have to be verified before taking them into account for the model. Trends in other countries such as job change and motivational mechanism are assumed to be similar to Singapore. However, trends in America may differ from Singapore due to the difference in culture. In the Chinese culture, individuals attribute to CT externally while in America, it is internally (Chudzikowski,2009). Motivational mechanisms also differ in culture (Harvey et al,2000;PemginiBagozzi,2001;Schwartz,1990;1994a Hofstede,1984) as motivation drive personal goals in Individualistic cultures however, countries with high collectivism is motivated in groups. Mid-lifers are assumed to face difficulties and lack training opportunities. This is not true because it is found that there are many cases of successful CT among mid-lifers and they are extremely resilient and versatile (RosenPaul,1999). According to a study by MOM in 1999, it says that companies would benefit more from sending older workers for training as they can integrate what they have learnt in their work better. Implications and Conclusion The existing model is supported by numerous evidences as found in this critique. However, there are limitations to the above findings and they will be discussed below. Firstly, the mixed approach would face a possibility of conflicting results due to technical and theoretical content (Niglas.K,2004). If the mixed approach is chosen, the reason and benefits it gives to the research has to be stated. (Miller,2003:450). Also, the ability of the researcher is crucial due to the difficulty of the method. Secondly, the research is limited to the individual factors thus not fulfilling a holistic perspective of CT. I would suggest the model to include group and organisational level of analysis such as social support including family or organisational culture as these factors may add pressure to the individual (Schlossberg,1984). Thirdly, with many uncovered areas of CT, future research may investigate intra-organisational and voluntary CT with a larger sample of 40. An in-depth investigation on how different gender and educational level contributes to CT can be also done. Fourthly, although it is found that subjective approach is more optimal, there are limitations. Since the model attempts to provide a holistic perspective, it should not restrict its approach to either approach because the relationship between Objective and Subjective is important (Ashforth, 2001;Hall,2002;Hall 23 Chandler,2005). Lastly, CT has an increasing emphasis in other countries with similar studies such as (Kim,2004) done recently in Korea. Despite that, their accuracy is limited due to the different cultural context. This study will open up a new research field in Singapore and provide a new theoretical perspective benefitting HR officers planning to lay-off employees. Career counselling can use this to know more of the broader changes that take place in society (Herr,2001). Finally, students in this field now have new data that can deepen their understanding of successful CT.

Hannah Webster Fosters The Coquette Essay -- Hannah Webster Foster Th

Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette Eliza Wharton has sinned. She has also seduced, deceived, loved, and been had. With The Coquette Hannah Webster Foster uses Eliza as an allegory, the archetype of a woman gone wrong. To a twentieth century reader Eliza's fate seems over-dramatized, pathetic, perhaps even silly. She loved a man but circumstance dissuaded their marriage and forced them to establish a guilt-laden, whirlwind of a tryst that destroyed both of their lives. A twentieth century reader may have championed Sanford's divorce, she may have championed the affair, she may have championed Eliza's acceptance of Boyer's proposal. She may have thrown the book angrily at the floor, disgraced by the picture of ineffectual, trapped, female characters. We might see similar reactions when placing Foster's novel in an eighteenth century context. But would they be the reactions that Foster anticipated? Were eighteenth century female readers to see The Coquette as an instructional text, or were they supposed to enjoy it without applying it to their own lives? Did she aim to teach her female audience about proper conduct, and to warn about the dangers of the licentious seducer? The book was a best seller; why would this type of text have been so popular? Writing a journal from the perspective of a fictional eighteenth century reader, a mother whose daughter is the age of Eliza's friends, will allow me to employ reader-response criticism to help answer these questions and to decipher the possible social influences and/or meanings of the novel. Though reader-response criticism varies from critic to critic, it relies largely on the idea that the reader herself is a valid critic, that her critique is influenced by time and place,... ...ontagu." [http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/montagu.html#Introductions]. June 1996. 2. Davidson, Cathy. Revoultion and the Word, The Rise of the Novel in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. 3. Foster, Hannah Webster. The Coquette. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. 4. Jauss, Hans Robert. Toward an Aesthetic of Reception. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1982. 5. Moi, Toril. Sexual Textual Politics. London: Routledge, 1985. 6. Murfin, Ross C. "What is Reader-Response Criticism?" in The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Boston: Bedford, 1991. 7. Rabinowitz, Peter J. "Johns Hopkins Guide to LIterary Theory" [http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/hopkins_guide_to_literary_theory/entries/reader-esponse_theory_and_criticism.html]. 1997. 8. Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. New York: Penguin, 1992.

The American Dream and a Lost Eden in The Tenants Essay -- Interplay b

The Tenants is one of the most accomplished novels from a writer Malamud who is one of the finest post-war American novelists. The novel describes the confrontation of two writers – one Jewish, the other African-American and probes into the nature of the art of writing. His novels exhibit an interlacing of fantasy and reality with equal importance on moral obligation. The setting of the novel at issue is New York City, where the theme of self exploration is gradually developed through the contrast between two writers, one Jewish and the other black, struggling to survive in an urban ghetto. Their confrontation about artistic standards bring out the essential theme of how race informs cultural identity, the purpose of literature, and the conflict between art and life. Malamud blends gritty realism, absurd comedy and fantasy to deal with social issue as well as nature of creative writing process. The Tenants tells the story of a writer labouring to complete a novel which he has been struggling over for the past ten years. He stays in a dilapidated building in Manhattan of which he is the sole tenant. He stays there much to the chagrin of its troubled owner who is eager to demolish it. The situation gets worse as an aspiring black writer sneaks into the building and starts his literary pursuit. Though the two characters Harry and Willie are polarized and stereotyped, their relationship is defined with a significant amount of psychological accuracy. The surrealistic quality of the novel suggests the way in which art in the form of romance conveys the actual essence of human experience. The urban renewal process is rendered with a certain nightmarish quality that depicts a kind of waste land. The following description is parti... ...lection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1975. ---, Eds. Bernard Malamud and the Critics. New York: New York University Press, 1971. Howard, Leon. Literature and the American Tradition. Garden City: Doubleday, 1960. Levine, George. â€Å"Realism Reconsidered.† The Theory of the Novel, ed. John Halperin. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. Malamud, Bernard. The Assistant. 1957; rpt. New York: Dell, 1971. ---. The Tenants. 1971; rpt. New York: Pocket Books, 1972. Olderman, Raymond M. Beyond the Waste Land: The American Novel in the Nineteen- Sixties. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973. Pinsker, Sanford. The Schlemiel as Metaphor: Studies in the Yiddish and American Jewish Novel. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1971. Roth, Philip. Reading Myself and Others. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1975.

Collective Strategy Development Essay

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John Wiley ; Sons is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Strategic Management Journal. http://www. jstor. org Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 9, 375-385 (1988) AND COMPETITIVE MATCHING COLLECTIVE RUDIK. F. BRESSER Baruch College, The City University of New York,New York,New York,U. S. A. This paper discusses possibilities for combining collective and competitive strategies. Combinations can be problematic if competitive intentions are disclosed through the information links resultingfrom collective strategies. After describing how different collective strategies may lead to an uncontrolled disclosure of strategic information, a typology evaluating the feasibility of strategy combinations is developed. The typology’s implications for research and managerial practice are discussed. A recent development in the business policy literature is a concern with strategic planning at a collective level. Collective strategies are attempts by sets of organizations to manage their mutural interdependence and the system dynamics of their interorganizational environments (Astley and Fombrun, 1983a; Bresser and Harl, 1986; Thorelli, 1986). In managing interdependent and dynamic environments, collective strategies can be reactive by absorbing movement within an environment, or they can be proactive by forestalling the unpredictable behavior of other organizations. Firms can use collective strategies in combination with competitive strategies. This paper discusses the extent to which such combinations are feasible. MANAGING INTERDEPENDENCE Organizational interdependence exists whenever one organization does not entirely control all the conditions necessary for achieving a desired action or outcome (Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978). In addition to environmental movement, interdependence can cause problems of decision-making uncertainty for focal organizations. This occurs because the success of activities chosen by any interdependent organization depends on the activities selected by other organizations. Consequently, an interdependent organization may need to consider other organizations’ actions, and it faces decision-making uncertainty if it is aware of its interdependence and has difficulties in controlling the activities of other organizations. Decision-making uncertainty is most likely to be perceived among horizontally interdependent organizations operating in oligopolistic markets. Under these conditions all organizations are aware of their mutual interdependence and have considerable difficulties in controlling each other’s behaviors as they compete with one another for market share (Fombrun and Astley, 1982; Pennings, 1981). Business firms can use both competitive and collective strategies to manage their interdependencies. The literature distinguishes three major dimensions of competitive strategies: price, promotional, and product competition strategies (Khandwalla, 1981). Competitive strategies manage interdependence successfully if they result in advantageous competitive positions, thus forestalling interdependence and reducing decisionmaking uncertainty (Pennings, 1981). For Received 20 October 1986 Revised 21 July 1987 ? 0143-2095/88/040375-11$05. 50 1988 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 376 R. K. F. Bresser Table 1. Coordination mechanisms for collective strategies Coordination mechanism Regulative legislation Contracting Mergers Joint ventures Interlocking directorates Trade associations Collusion and industry leadership Degree of formalization High High High High Moderate Moderate Low instance, product differentiation can create a protected domain for a focal organization with boundaries hard to penetrate by other competitors. However, in complex business environments interdependencies often are obscured from focal organizations so that individually coping with the dynamics of these environments becomes problematic (Emery and Trist, 1965). In these situations, collective strategies can supplement competitive strategies as a means of coping with the variation of interdependent environments (Astley and Fombrun, 1983a). CONCEPTIONS STRATEGY OF COLLECTIVE CONFLICTS BETWEEN COMPETITIVE AND COLLECTIVE STRATEGIES Bresser and Harl (1986) described the dynamic relationship between competitive and collective strategies as being composed of two strategic perspectives that are dialectically related to one another. For instance, when competitive strategies prevail within a market the resulting turbulence and decision-making uncertainty eventually will encourage organizations to use more collective forms of strategizing. However, when collective strategies prevail and create dysfunctions (such as reductions in strategic flexibility, amplified impacts of external disturbances, and attraction of innovative outsiders) which also cause environmental movement and decision-making uncertainty, competitive strategies may again be considered the more attractive methods for coping with interdependence. The dialectical relationship between competitive and collective strategies implies that organizations should remain alert to potential dysfunctions developing from their operating strategies, and that they should maintain a capacity to alternate between more collective and more competitive forms of strategizing (Bresser and Harl, 1986). However, some conflicts between competitive and collective strategies can be anticipated and should be considered before a particular strategy mix is adopted. This paper evaluates combinations between competitive and collective strategies in light of a potential conflict arising from the need to both share and conceal strategic information. Whenever organizations attempt to use both types of strategies simultaneously, i. e. competitive The term ‘collective strategy’ has been defined in two different ways (Astley and Fombrun, 1983a; Bresser and Harl, 1986). On the one hand a collective strategy is defined as a larger interorganizational network which emerges unintendedly. As individual organizational actions aggregate into interorganizational networks an unintended collective strategy emerges that none of the participating organizations could have foreseen. Developments in the telecommunications industry exemplify the emergence of an unintended collective strategy (Astley and Fombrun, 1983b). On the other hand a collective strategy can also be voluntary and intended. Such a collective strategy results from the purposive collaboration of organizations attempting to manage their mutual interdependence. This paper focuses on voluntary collective strategies, developed by oligopolists to manage their horizontal interdependence. Voluntary collective strategies can be based on different coordination mechanisms. Table 1 presents these mechanisms using degree of formalization as the distinguishing criterion (Bresser and Harl, 1986; Fombrun and Astley, 1983). Regulative legislation (resulting from collective lobbying) and contracting represent coordination forms with high levels of formality. Collective strategies based on interlocking directorates or trade associations are characterized by moderate levels of formality, and collusion as well as industry leadership can be classified as informal coordination mechanisms. Matching Collective and Competitive Strategies strategies in one business area and collective strategies in others, a potential for contradictory activities or conflicts arises, because the major advantage of a collective strategy is a major disadvantage from a competitive point of view. With regard to managing interdependence the major advantage of a collective strategy is that it establishes linkages and communication channels through which information about other interdependent organizations can be obtained. Through this information the behavior of other organizations becomes predictable. This makes an environment more stable and less threatening for a focal organization, and thus reduces decision-making uncertainty (Fombrun and Astley, 1983; Pennings, 1981). Precisely this advantage of a collective strategy (stability through predictability) is a disadvantage if organizations wish to use competitive strategies to further their growth goals. Successful competitive strategies require that organizations maintain the secrecy of their strategic plans to forestall imitation (Starbuck and Nystrom, 1981). However, this need for secrecy is jeopardized if interorganizational linkages and communication channels resulting from a collective strategy allow organizations to predict and anticipate one another’s moves in areas where they wish to compete. Thus, organizations face a risk of uncontrolled information disclosure when using collective and competitive strategies side by side. Risk of uncontrolled information disclosure is defined as the likelihood that a disclosure of strategically sensitive information will occur, where the process of disclosue is uncontrolled from a focal organization’s point of view and damaging to its competitive plans. The potential damage resulting from an uncontrolled disclosure of information is particularly salient in oligopolies (the dominant US market structure) because in such markets ompetitors typically are in a position to use sensitive information to exert control over each other’s fates (Pennings, 1981; Scherer, 1980). Evaluating the risk of uncontrolled information disclosure emanating from collective strategies is important for two reasons. On the one hand, such information disclosure tends to render competitive strategic intentions ineffective. On the other hand uncontrolle d information disclosure tends to aggravate problems of strategic inflexibility. Bresser (1984) and Bresser and 377 Harl (1986) argued that organizations adopting collective strategies limit their strategic flexibility because, by agreeing to abstain from certain types of competitive behaviors such as price competition, they curtail their repertoire of available strategic tools. When considering the problem of uncontrolled information disclosure, losses in strategic flexibility resulting from a collective strategy may be even more encompassing. If the managements of organizations realize that the communication links provided by a collective strategy allow for an uncontrolled disclosure of strategic plans, they may be reluctant to pursue competitive strategies even in those business areas that are not subject to a collective agreement. PROCESSES IMPAIRING SECRECY Since potential combinations between competitive and collective strategies face the risk of uncontrolled information disclosure resulting from collective strategy links, they raise the issue of strategic fit (Venkatraman and Camillus, 1984). In order to minimize problems of uncontrolled information disclosure it is necessary to obtain some degree of compatability among possible strategy combinations. Attaining a fit between competitive and collective strategies requires first of all an appreciation of the processes that may impair an organization’s desire to maintain the secrecy of its strategic plans. Table 2 summarizes for each type of collective strategy the particular processes that may lead to an impairment of secrecy, and it assesses the risk of uncontrolled disclosure of information. If collective lobbying leads to protective regulation the activities of regulators may impede competition (Pennings, 1981). Regulators often collect and disseminate a wealth of information about regulated industries. Through these information flows, regulators can allow competitors to forecast each other’s moves even in areas that are not subject to regulatory control. For example, Litwak and Rothman (1970) suggested that the Federal Communications Commission had provided the broadcasting networks with so much information about the broadcasting industry that the networks were able to anticipate their competitors’ behavior and, as a result, effective competition was not possible. The autonomy of 378 R. K. F. Bresser Table 2. Processes impairing secrecy and risk of uncontrolled disclosure by type of collective strategy Type of collective strategy Impairment of secrecy Risk of uncontrolled information disclosure Regulative legislation Contracting Mergers Joint ventures Interlocking directorates Trade associations Collusion and industry leadership Regulators collecting and disseminating information Contracts contingent on information Dissatisfied employees (defectors) Mediation of information Passing on of information due to multiple and indirect communication links Distribution of trade statistics Informal communication High Low Low Intermediate High Intermediate Low regulatory agencies in their information-gathering activities results in high risk of uncontrolled disclosure. Contracting refers to the negotiation of formal agreements among organizations (Thompson, 1967). In general, the information exchanged as a result of contractual negotiations will be focused, avoiding the disclosure of sensitive competitive aspects. However, some contracts such as bank loans may require that focal organizations provide extensive information about their competitive plans. This raises the possibility that information leaks within the information-seeking institution will be exploited by a focal organization’s competitors. Since he disclosure of sensitive information in the context of contractual negotiations is not very common, the risk of uncontrolled disclosure can be considered low. Mergers and joint ventures are two special forms of contracting. Mergers, with the exception of hostile takeovers, are contracts through which two or more organizations comneunder common control. Joint ventures can be viewed as partial mergers which preserve the autonomy of the org anizations involved. Often mergers are accompanied by a host of administrative problems (Lubatkin, 1983). For example, departments and operations must be consolidated and initial inequities in compensation have to be resolved. If such administrative problems remain unresolved, inefficiencies will result, as well as employee dissatisfaction and turnover. The merger between Kennecott Corp. and Carborundum Co. is a case in point (Business Week, 1983). The two companies’ managements quarreled over administrative problems and, after a short period of infighting, most Carborundum executives jumped ship. There is danger that defecting executives may disclose strategically sensitive information concerning the merging firms when they join other organizations within the same industry. However, the risk of uncontrolled disclosure resulting from a merger is considered low. This is because senior executives leaving merging firms often receive generous severance compensation for which they promise continued confidentiality. Additionally, since merging firms often develop new strategic concepts, the information available to departing executives is likely to be quickly obsolete. If a collective strategy is based on a joint venture the risk of uncontrolled disclosure is considered to be at intermediate levels. Although the cooperation provided by a joint venture is restricted to specific, mutual business problems, the regularity and longevity of interactions typical of a joint venture may allow participating firms to improve their intelligence about each other’s competitive strategies. For example, firm representatives engaged in joint ventures can develop friendship ties where they feel free to discuss more general strategic issues. During such discussions sensitive information may be disclosed inadvertently. Interlocking directorates result from organizational co-optation activities whereby organizations appoint external representatives to their Matching Collective and Comnpetitive Strategies boards of directors. Since many directors sit on the boards of two or more companies (Bunting and Barbour, 1971), interlocking directorates emerge which can be used as instruments for managing interdependence and uncertainty by encouiraging cooperation and the formation of collective strategies (Aldrich, 1979; Pennings, 1980, 1981). However, the risk of uncontrolled disclosure is high because the scope and the intensity of intra-industry communication facilitated by direct and indirect interlocks is beyond the control of individual organizations. Therefore, it is very difficult for individual organizations to conceal their competitive strategies when their directors have membership in a network of interlocking directorates. Trade associations provide member organizations with special services at low costs. For instance, they may distribute trade statistics, provide credit references on customers, offer legal and technical advice, or help collect bills (Olson, 1965). In addition, associations can aid in removing decision-making uncertainty resulting from interdependence. Since trade statistics generally include prices quoted in recent sales transactions as well as cost developments, member organizations have the opportunity to coordinate their market behavior and thus implement a collective strategy (Scherer, 1980). The dissemination of statistical information provided by trade associations may impair the desire of focal organizations to maintain secrecy their competitive strategies. While firms regiarding are often in favor of price and cost reporting activities, they run the risk that other sensitive information concerning their competitive strategies may also be disclosed. Trade associations sometimes analyze industry trends regarding product development or marketing strategies, and thus allow competitors to anticipate each others’ moves. A focal organization may have little control over the kind of information being disseminated because trade associations are often dominated by a few powerful organizations. Olson (1965) described the National Association of Manufacturers as largely financed and controlled by a few big corporations, although the association had several thousand members. There is the possibility that such domination leads to activities favoring a handful of member organizations rather than the majority. In addition, the selective services provided by 379 ssociations function as subtle forms of coercion restricting a firm’s flexibility. The exclusivity and low costs of legal, financial or other services operate as strong incentives for joining or remaining within an association even if a focal organization disagrees with some association activities. Thus, when using trade association activities to enforce a collective strategy, a moderate risk of uncontrolled information disclosure is likely. The term collusion denotes express agreements, open or secret, that have the purpose of restricting competition. Most collusive agreements are outlawed in the United States because they encourage monopolistic pricing behavior. Nevertheless, collusive practices are widespread and often effective means of managing interdependence. Their attraction is associated with their high degree of informality which makes it difficult for outsiders to detect conspiratorial agreements (Khandwalla, 1981). Industry leadership is a tacit version of collusion based on imitation. It describes a situation where a specific firm is the acknowledged leader in setting prices, and other firms follow. As opposed to collusive agreements, industry leadership has the advantage of not being contrary to the antitrust laws. It is considered legal as long as it is grounded on voluntary imitation rather than explicit communication (White, 1981). Since collective strategies mediated by collusive agreements are based on informal communication and, in the case of industry leadership, on imitation, the risk of uncontrolled disclosure is low. Colluding firms will share information only in areas where they wish to cooperate while maintaining the secrecy of their competitive plans. The above risk assessments imply that uncontrolled information disclosure is always damaging for the success of a focal organization’s competitive plans. While the dynamics of oligopolistic markets would tend to support this assumption (Scherer, 1980), the degree of damage resulting from uncontrolled disclosure can be viewed as contingent upon several situational variables. Specifically, four situational variables appear important: breadth of information disclosure, quality of information disclosure, asymmetry in interdependence, and event control. These situational variables can facilitate the combination of a ‘high-risk’ collective strategy with competitive strategies, and they can make the adoption of a 380 Matching Collective and Competitive Strategies dimensions. This is relevant for evaluating strategy combinations because an uncontrolled disclosure of information is less troublesome if competitors are unable to capitalize on the information due to their inability to respond rapidly to a focal organization’s competitive moves. Table 3 presents a typology of possible combinations between competitive and collective strategies, and evaluates their feasibility from the perspective of individual firms. Generally, a strategy combination is considered feasible if (1) the risk of uncontrolled information disclosure is low. Feasibility evaluations also take into account (2) the degree of competitor responsiveness typical for a competitive dimension, and (3) typical characteristics of specific collective strategies, namely the number of participants involved and the stability of an agreement. Considering typical characteristics of collective strategies is important because such characteristics can modify feasibility ratings that are based on assessments of the risk of uncontrolled information disclosure and the level of competitor responsiveness. Situational variables, described above, may mediate the damage resulting from uncontrolled information disclosure but do not lend themselves to generalizations and therefore are excluded from considerations leading to the typology shown in Table 3. However, in using the typology, situational variables will have to be taken into account, as is shown in the implications section. In Table 3 the competitive dimensions pricing, advertising and promotion, and product innovation are distinguished for each of the seven collective strategies summarized in Tables 1 and 2. Within each of these competitive dimensions, organizations can relate to each other by using either competitive or collective strategies. Thus, six strategy combinations are possible for each type of collective strategy,’ leading to a total of 42 combinations presented in Table 3. I Since only two values are possible within each competitive dimension, and since the extreme cases (competitive or collective strategies across all competitive dimensions) are irrelevant as they do not represent combinations of collective and competitive strategies, the total number of strategy combinations C for each type of collective strategy can be calculated by collective strategy with low or moderate risks of uncontrolled disclosure problematic. For example, the potential damage resulting from uncontrolled disclosure may be considered low, and thus can facilitate the adoption of a collective strategy where the risk of uncontrolled disclosure is high, when the competitive information that could be disclosed is not very encompassing (breadth of information disclosure), or of questionable quality regarding its reliability and/or timeliness (Adams, 1976; Smart and Vertinsky, 1977). Similarly, if interdependence is asymmetric, with some organizations being in a relatively powerful competitive position (e. . due to their size), uncontrolled information disclosure may not be very troublesome for these powerful organizations because they know that other competitors lack the resources to exploit the disclosed information (Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978). Likewise, damage may be low and containable, if organizations can rapidly and effectively counteract events leading to uncontrolled information disclosure, for example, by changing perso nnel or the content of a collective strategy (Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978). Implications for evaluating the feasibility of strategy combinations resulting from the role of situational variables are discussed below. COMBINATIONS OF COMPETITIVE AND COLLECTIVE STRATEGIES Apart from an understanding of how collective strategies can lead to uncontrolled information disclosure, an assessment of what types of combinations between competitive and collective strategies are feasible requires that different competitive strategies also be distinguished. Three distinguishing dimensions of competitive strategies are pricing, advertising and promotion, and product innovation (Khandwalla, 1981). These dimensions can be classified according to their degree of ‘competitor responsiveness’ (Ansoff, 1984). The term competitor responsiveness refers to the speed with which competitors can respond to variations in competitive conditions. While price cuts usually can be matched instantly, it takes much longer to organize retaliations to a heavy advertising campaign, and even longer to respond to product innovations (Khandwalla, 1981; Scherer, 1980). Thus competitor responsiveness decreases along these three competitive C = (2†³1- 2) where d is the number of competitive dimensions considered. For d=-3 dimensions the number of possible strategy combinations is C=6. R. K. F. Bresser Table 3. Combinations of competitive and collective strategies and their feasibility Dimensions of competition Types of strategy Pricing combinations 1. 1 1. 2 1. 3 1. 4 1. 5 1. 6 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 2. 4 2. 5 2. 6 3. 1 3. 2 3. 3 3. 4 3. 5 3. 6 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 4. 4 4. 5 4. 6 5. 1 5. 2 5. 3 5. 4 5. 5 5. 6 6. 1 6. 2 6. 3 6. 4 6. 5 6. 6 7. 1 7. 2 7. 3 7. 4 7. 5 7. IL Competition Regulation Regulation Competition Regulation Competition Competition Contracting Contracting Competition Contracting Competition Competition Merger Merger Competition Merger Competition Competition Joint Venture Joint Venture Competition Joint Venture Competition Competition Interlocks Interlocks Competition Interlocks Competition Competition Trade Association Trade Association Competition Trade Association Competition Competition Collusion/IL Collusio n/IL Competition Collusion/IL Competition Advertising and promotion Regulation Competition Regulation Competition Competition Regulation Contracting Competition Contracting Competition Competition Contracting Merger Competition Merger Competition Competition Merger Joint Venture Competition Joint Venture Competition Competition Joint Venture Interlocks Competition Interlocks Competition Competition Interlocks Trade Association Competition Trade Association Competition Competition Trade Association Collusion/IL Competition Collusion/IL Competition Competition Collusion/IL 381 Product innovation Regulation Regulation Competition Regulation Competition Competition Contracting Contracting Competition Contracting Competition Competition Merger Merger Competition Merger Competition Competition Joint Venture Joint Venture Competition Joint Venture Competition Competition Interlocks Interlocks Competition Interlocks Competition Competition Trade Association Trade Association Competition Trade Association Competition Competition Collusion/IL Collusion/IL Competition Collusion/IL Competition Competition Feasibility of strategy combination Low Low Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate High High High High High High High High High High High Intermediate Intermediate High High High High Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Industryleadership The first group of (six) strategy combinations uses competition in one or two competitive dimensions in conjunction with regulation as the basis for enforcing a collective strategy. The feasibility of all six combinations is rated either at low or intermediate levels. The first two combinations (1. 1 and 1. 2) have a low feasibility rating. If organizations use regulation to harmonize their promotional and product innovation activities, and have competitive flexibility in the area of pricing (combination 1. 1), their chances of competing successfully are slim. This is because 382 R. K. F. Bresser an industry may remain intense. In fact, often firms merge to obtain strategic advantages in the areas of price competition, promotion or product innovation wlhich may increase rather than decrease competitive interactions. When joint ventures serve as mechanisms to enforce collective strategies, feasibility ratings for strategy combinations are similarly favorable. This form of collective strategizing also tends to involve only a few organizations, allowing for competition within a particular area in spite of joint venture activity. fHowever, joint ventures carry a higher risk of uncontrolled information disclosure than contracting or mergers. Thus cautious feasibility evaluations seem appropriate when a focal organization engages in joint ventures in more than one comnpetitivearea, and when the only competitive dimension not subject to collective coordination is characterized by relatively high levels of competitor responsiveness (combinations 4. 1 and 4. 2). In these situations the relatively high number of information links among firms participating in several joint ventures multiplies the risk and potential damage of uncontrolled disclosure. If organizations choose interlocking directorates to coordinate intra-industry activity, they constantly run a high risk of uncontrolled information disclosure. Co-opted directors may intentionally or inadvertently, directly or indirectly, pass on sensitive information to a focal organization’s competitors. Thus, relying on interlocks to enforce collective strategies while simultaneously attempting to maintain some competitive flexibility does not appear feasible. The predominant feasibility rating assigned to the group of strategy combinations using trade associations as a means to develop collective strategies is ‘intermediate’. Although experience demonstrates that the coordination provided by trade associations mostly does not go beyond price and cost reporting (Scherer, 1980), the possibility of trade associations collecting and reporting other sensitive information is always acute. Often individual organizations cannot oppose such uncontrolled reporting of industry developments, especially if the association is dominated by a few powerful corporations. If trade associations do not engage in price reporting, but are used to develop collective strategies in the areas of advertising and promotion, and product innovation (combination 6. 1), a low uick competitor responsiveness can be expected with respect to the pricing dimension, and regulators are likely to disclose sensitive information concerning advertising and innovations. A similar argument applies to combination 1. 2, where competitive conditions exist only with regard to advertising and promotion, a dimension characterized by intermediate levels of competitor responsiveness. Since competitors usually need considerable time to respond to product innovations, combination 1. 3 (with regulation in the other two dimensions) is not quite as problematic as the first two combinations. However, the distinct possibility of uncontrolled information disclosure through regulator activities makes combination 1. 3 feasible only at an intermediate level. Combinations 1. 4 through 1. allow for competition in at least two dimensions. While these combinations provide organizations with a larger arsenal of competitive tools than the first three combinations, they also are considered feasible only at intermediate levels because of the risk of uncontrolled disclosure through regulators. The feasibility of strategy combinations involving contracting as a form of collect ive strategizing generally is considered high because the risk of uncontrolled information disclosure tends to be low. In addition, often (and in contrast to regulation) only few organizations participate in a particular contractual agreement, thus limiting the extent to which competition is constrained. If, within an industry of say eight oligopolists, three contract to standardize product designs, competition with the remaining five oligopolists in the area of product innovations is still possible and likely. The only strategy combination where a less favorable (intermediate) feasibility rating is assigned is combination 2. 1. If extensive contracting in the areas of advertising/promotion and product innovation has considerably lowered the participating firms’ strategic flexibility, relying on price competition as the sole competitive tool does not appear sensible. Price competition is likely to face a high degree of competitor responsiveness. The third group of strategy combinations, using merger activity to realize collective strategies, has high feasibility ratings throughout. The risk of uncontrolled information disclosure is low, and the number of firms involved in a merger is usually quite small, so that competition within Matching Collective and Competitive Strategies feasibility rating seems appropriate. Again, in this situation firms would maintain competition only in an area where high competitor responsiveness is likely. Combinations of competitive and collective strategies using the various forms of collusion and industry leadership are not as problem-free as the risk evaluation in Table 2 might suggest. Although collusive agreements are not burdened with the problem of uncontrolled information disclosure, their combination with competitive strategies appears feasible at an intermediate level at best. Since collusive agreements are informal and difficult to enforce, individual firmns have a strong incentive to chisel-that is to increase their profits by secretly deviating from the agreement (Stigler, 1964). Secret deviations cannot be concealed for long periods of time, and frequently result in collusive conspiracies breaking down and touching off bitter rivalries such as price wars (Scherer, 1980; Weiss, 1961). It is likely that the tendency of collusive agreements towards breakdown will be aggravated if colluding organizations decide to compete in some competitive areas rather than displaying ‘gentlemanly’, non-competitive behavior across all competitive dimensions. A firm’s successful competitive behavior in one area will encourage less successful firms to chisel in other areas that are subject to collusive coordination. Thus combinations of competitive and collective strategies can be expected to be volatile when collusion serves as a means for enforcing collective strategies. This volatility results from the particular characteristics of collusive agreements, and exists regardless of the risk for uncontrolled information disclosure or the level of competitor responsiveness. 383 SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS This paper extends the literature advocating the development of voluntary collective strategies as means to manage environmental turbulence and interdependence (Astley and Fombrun, 1983a; Bresser and Harl, 1986). It assesses the possibilities of combining competitive with collective strategies from the perspective of individual organizations. Such combinations may be problematic because an organization’s ability to maintain the secrecy of competitive strategic plans may be jeopardized by information links established through different forms of collective strategy (Fornbrun and Astley, 1983a; Starbuck and Nystrom, 1981). After discussing how collective strategies may lead to an uncontrolled disclosure of strategically sensitive information, combinations of competitive and collective strategies are classified according to their varying degrees of feasibility. A comparison of the ratings presented in Tables 2 and 3 makes apparent that the feasibility of strategy combination tends to be inversely related to the risk of uncontrolled information disclosure. If the risk and the feasibility ratings are expressed numerically with the values of ‘low’ equaling 1, ‘intermediate’ equaling 2, and ‘high’ equaling 3, a correlation coefficient can be calculated on the basis of all 42 strategy combinations. The resulting coefficient is r = -0. 70, indicating that within the present classification scheme about 50 percent of the variance in feasibility evaluations is accounted for by the risk of uncontrolled information disclosure. However, high risks of uncontrolled disclosure do not generally lead to low feasibility ratings, and low risks do not necessarily imply high feasibility scores , as is demonstrated by the combinations involving collective strategies based on regulation and collusion respectively. The unexplained variation in feasibility ratings suggests additional factors are important in assessing the feasibility of strategy combinations, notably the degree of competitor responsiveness and the particular characteristics of the type of collective strategy employed. Further variation in feasibility ratings can be expected when situational variables such as breadth and quality of information disclosure, asymmetry in interdependence, and event control are considered (Adams, 1976; Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978; Smart and Vertinsky, 1977). This is so because these situational variables can contain or amplify the potential damage resulting from uncontrolled infornmationdisclosure. While situational variables were not considered in the development of this paper’s typology of strategy combinations, they have implications both for research and managerial decision-making that can originate from the typological classification given in Table 3. The existence of situational variables highlights a feature common to all typologies or organi- 384 R. K. F. Bresser information disclosure is of little relevance? 7. How rapidly and effectively can events of uncontrolled information disclosure be counteracted? Answers to these and similar questions can help executives to apply the information provided by Table 3 situationally before adopting a specific combination of collective and competitive strategies. From this process the selection of compatible strategies should result. This paper’s discussion has concentrated on oligopolistic markets because, typically, in such markets competitors are aware of their mutual interdependence, have incomplete control of each other’s moves, and yet the success of each oligopolist’s strategic intentions depends considerably on the activities chosen by other competitors (Pennings, 1981). Obviously, within such a context, the damage resulting from an uncontrolled disclosure of sensitive information is potentially high. While the theory of oligopoly has been developed mainly for domestic, nondiversified enterprise (Stigler, 1964), the issues and ideas discussed in this paper can also be of relevance to multinational and diversified corporations. Due to the dominance of oligopolies, both multinational and diversified firms will often find themselves operating in different national or regional oligopolies. Additionally, managing a match between collective and competitive strategies may be more difficult in interindustry and international arenas than in intraindustry environments because the number of interdependent segments representing a particular coporation’s domain is larger and more complex (Bresser and Harl, 1986; Hawkins and Walter, 1981). Thus, anticipating factors such as the risk of uncontrolled information disclosure and the potential damage resulting from such disclosure may be even more important for multinational and diversified firms than for domestic oligopolists. zational phenomena. Classifications of the type developed in Table 3 are ideal types, based on generalizations derived from common knowledge and common sense (Blau and Scott, 1962; Pugh, Hickson and Hinings, 1969). However, the strategy combinations distinguished represent 42 separate hypotheses regarding the opportunities and risks organizations might encounter when utilizing competitive and collective strategies side by side. The accuracy of any particular feasibility evaluation is an empirical question open to resolution through historical research, where the mediating role of situational variables has to be included in the research design. From a managerial point of view a typology of strategy combinations with varying levels of feasibility can aid in strategic decision-making. The strategic options evaluated in Table 3 can serve as a guide to managers considering a particular strategy combination. In attempting to extrapolate easibility evaluations, decisionmakers would have to assess whether the variables leading to the feasibility ratings shown in Table 3 are of the assumed magnitude, and to what extent deviations would lead to different feasibility assessments. In addition, decision-mak ers would have to evaluate the extent to which situational variables require changes in feasibility ratings. For example, a firm intending to implement a strategy mix similar to combination 4. 3 would have to consider the following questions before deciding whether the feasibility of such a combination is high: 1. Is the risk of uncontrolled information disclosure resulting from the planned joint venture activity really at moderate levels, and how can it be contained? 2. Is there really a low degree of competitor responsiveness to product innovations within this industry? 3. Is competitive flexibility in pricing and promotional strategies maintained in spite of joint venture activity within these competitive dimensions? 4. How encompassing is the information that could get disclosed? 5. How reliable and timely is the information that competitors could obtain? 6. Does asymmetrical interdependence typical for this industry favor our firm so that REFERENCES Adams, J. S. ‘The structure and dynamics of behavior in organizational boundary roles’. In Dunette, M. (ed. ), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1175-1199. Rand McNally, Chicago, 1976, pp. Matching Collective and Competitive Strategies Aldrich, H. E. Organizations and Environment, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1979. Ansoff, H. I. Implanting Strategic Management, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1984. Astley, W. G. and C. J. Fombrun. ‘Collective strategy: social ecology of organizational environments’, Academy of Management Review, 8, 1983a, pp. 576-587. Astley, W. G. and C. J. Fombrun. ‘Technological innovation and industrial structure: the case of telecommunications. In Lamb, R. (ed. ), Advances in Strategic Management, vol. 1, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, 1983b, pp. 205-229. Blau, P. M. and W. R. Scott. Formal Organizations, Chandler, San Francisco, 1962. 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Starbuck (eds), Handbook of Organizational Design, vol. 1, Oxford University Press, New York, 1981, pp. 253-267. Khandwalla, P. N. ‘Properties of competing organizations’. In Nystrom, P. C. and W. H. Starbuck (eds), Handbook of Organizational Design, vol. 1, Oxford University Press, New York, 1981, pp. 409-432. Litwak, E. and J. Rothman. ‘Towards the theory and practice of coordination between formal organizations’. In Rosengren, W. R. and M. Lefton (eds), Organizations and Clients: Essays in the Sociology 385 of Service, Merrill, Columbus, OH, 1970, pp. 137-186. Lubatkin, M. ‘Mergers and the performance of the acquiring firms’, Academy of Management Review, 8, 1983, pp. 218-225. Olson, M. The Logic of Collective Action, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1965. Pennings, J. M. Interlocking Directorates, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1980. Pennings, J. M. ‘Strategically interdependent organizations’. In Nystrom, P. C. and W. H. 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Ethical Dilemma in Hiv Counselling Cases Essay

I have a client whom I know to be HIV positive. I also know that he is sexually active and has not told any of his partners about this. Isn’t it my ethical responsibility to inform someone that he is, in effect, dangerous to others? Even if I am not a counselor, I would not be able to live with the fact that I have such an information and am putting some other life at risk. As a medical doctor, I was also bound by my Hippocrates oath to serve and bring no harm to others, â€Å"I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice. (Edelstein,1967) By law I must abide by the rules set by the act and by the counseling board. There are 4 matters that I may need to breach (ACA , 1995) : 1. homicidal thoughts 2. abuse cases/ minor 3. suicide cases 4. court order What is ethics? Ethics is a process of considering right and wrong, in which a choice of behaviour is shaped. I would also imply it as Moral for a common place term and is sometimes contrasted with ethics which is considered an academic discussion of ideals. (Herlihy & Corey ,1996. But I will avoid the term â€Å"moral† because it carries the connotation of â€Å"moralism† which many people think as an imposition on ones values or one another. I would rather discuss the process of ethical discernment; the choosing of action, consequences of choices the values of he or she ants to embody in the action. I see this big part of my future as a counselor. Will I be able to live up to the ethical choices made which will not disturb me morally yet it will also cause no detrimental actions to my clients? Based on the Malaysian Counselling Code of Ethics, (1994), as a counsellor I m bound by this code to be responsible to my client. Based on this I will be able to deliberate my choices in whether I will disclose the matter or not. Clause 2 Kaunselor hendaklah menghormati privasi klien dan merahsiakan segala maklumat yang diperolehi semasa kaunseling melainkan jikalau maklumat itu akan membahayakan klien atau orang-orang dipersekitarannya. (Counselors shall respect client privacy and confidentiality of all information obtained during counseling except if the information would harm the client or persons in the immediate. Clause 11 Dalam kes di mana jelas terbukti bahawa klien, mengikut pertimbangan kaunselor menunjukkan dengan jelas, diri klien atau orang Iain berada dalarn keadaan bahaya, kaunselor hendaklah menggunakan budi bicaranya mengambil tindakan wajar untuk menjaga kepentingan klien dan orang lain yang terlibat. (In cases where it is evident that the client, at the discretion of the counselor shows clearly, themselves or the people Iain client is in danger, the counselor should exercise its discretion to take appropriate action to protect the interests of clients and other people involved. By the above clauses, I am morally bound to do the right thing. But I will also analyze further the fear or reservations my client has in this matter. My client is my main focus here. Even though he or her behaviour or disease will be hazardous to the public, but I will need to know why this matter is an issue to be brought up by them. Encouraging HIV-positive patients to disclose their status, especially to their sexual partners was an important challenge faced by the participants. They mentioned that despite the improvement in their counselling skills due to the trainings received and from their work experience, they still faced difficulties convincing some patients to voluntarily inform their partners about their HIV status. The major reason cited was fear of marital problems which included blame, verbal or physical assault, and even divorce. (Mueller . R. , 2007). Based on the above statement, I would see the the refusal to notify the sexual partners being common because these clients were more likely to have been promiscuous prior to their diagnosis. They further had experienced that patients who disclosed their status were more likely to engage in safer sex, had better treatment compliance, and outcomes compared to those who concealed their status. In contrast if the patient still insists on not telling the partner on their situation, even though I am going to still make the report but I will also try to make efforts to educate the client to notify the partners. There would be ways to strategies to encourage and ensure the patient to willingly notify their partner. Part of my strategy would be to; i) couple counselling, even if there is some reluctance to continue. , ii) educating them on the benefits of disclosure, iii) seeking consent from the patients to directly inform their partners in the patients’ presence in scenarios where patients lacked the courage to do so personally, and iv) I would try to contact the people involved in this situation that they are in the possibility of exposure to HIV without releasing the identity of my client (Njozing et al. 2011)

Dance and Movement Teaspoon of Light Project

â€Å"Keep your eye on the arrow not on the target† (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, 2011b) Dance is expressive movement with intent, purpose, and form. It exists in many forms and styles and is practised in all cultures, taking place in a range of contexts for various purposes. Drama is the expression of ideas, feelings and human experience through movement, sound, visual image and the realisation of role. Both Drama and Dance is essential in children’s education and has many benefits however also portrays challenges for teachers.In this essay I have explored three learning out comes linked to Drama and Dance that were evident in the ‘Teaspoon of Light’ project coordinated by Dr Peter O’Conner in Christchurch, New Zealand which was aimed to use drama and dance education to support children and teachers during the aftermath of the 2011 major earthquake. I have discussed benefits and challenges that may occur by incorporating the followi ng learning outcomes into the primary school curriculum; Imagining and Creating New Works, Using Skills, Techniques and Processes and Making Aesthetic Choices.The first learning outcome is Imagining and Creative New Works. It is a dimension of drama and dance that focuses on exploring and experimenting with movement to express ideas and feelings (Tasmanian Curriculum, 2007). It includes discovering and creating movement solutions that emerge from a range of starting points and stimuli. There are benefits and challenges the occur from Imagining and Creating New Works. A benefit to this learning outcome is that through stimuli for guidance, students can interpret their own ideas and this work encourages social sensitivity and group cooperation during collaborative work.The Tasmanian Curriculum (2007), states that the ultimate expression of movement is recognised in performance. During ‘A Teaspoon of Light’, O’Connor told the students of a stimulus; the first line o f a story: â€Å"There was a girl who, when she got out of bed, tripped, and tore her cloth of dreams. † (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, 2011a). A discussion then emerged about the story. The seven- and eight- year-olds told O’Conner that if you tear a dream cloth, your dreams disappear.The students then solemnly said that it is the saddest thing that can happen to anyone. O’Conner asks the students to show him what the girl from the story might look like when she tore her cloth of dreams. Cornett (2011) states the dance is beneficial to the primary school curriculum as it develops creative problem solving. It is stated that power is put to use to solve problems in every subject matter, including the subject of life (Parrish, 2007 cited in Cornett, 2011).Through the learning outcome of Imagining and Creative New Works the student’s demonstrated key components such as representing ideas and making choices, reinforcing the benefit-stimulus en courages students to explore and experiment with movement to express their personal ideas and feelings. A challenge that Imagining and Creative New Works portrays is the planning component from Drama. This component suggests that the creators of a lesson need to be very immediate- working in the here and now (Tasmanian Curriculum, 2007). The challenge is for teachers to be flexible in their sessions.Teachers need to know how and when to change direction in a lesson when a new lead appears that is worth proceeding. During ‘A Teaspoon of Light’ the students involved were continuously participating in whole class imaginary worlds, i. e. dream makers, re-creating Sarah’s cloth of dreams, using magic rubbers and shaking the dreams with magic spells (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, 2011a). O’Conner (2011) believes that the imaginary world that was created during the sessions was â€Å"the joy of the work† (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, b).He states that as teachers, the session ended up in different ‘places’ because they were prepared to let it. O’Conner mentions a quote from Dorothy Heathcote related to working on classrooms â€Å"keep your eye on the arrow not the target† (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, 2011b). Wright (2003) describes this challenge in that teachers must be able to communicate expectations, needs and difficulties in a direct and sensitive manner and be able to accept the same level of directness from the children. The teacher needs to watch, listen and fell what the children need and want to express (Wright, 2003).O’Conner (2011) reflects on his session in ‘A Teaspoon of Light’ as constantly changing. He believed that deciding in the moment was an important challenge for the teachers and directors. The second learning outcome is Using Skills, Techniques and Processes in drama and dance. It is movement based as students mani pulate a medium by reorganising, reinterpreting and assimilating movement and design element in new contexts or for a new purpose. The process involves working collaboratively to experiment with dramatic techniques in constructing, rehearsing and refining the performance (Tasmanian Curriculum, 2007).There are benefits and challenges for the teachers and students when exploring this outcome. The Tasmanian Curriculum (2007) states that a benefit for Using Skills, Techniques and Processes is the developing of awareness, relationships and appropriate behaviours in dance and drama, leads to an increase in self-esteem and confidence. During ‘A Teaspoon of Light’ it was shown that the students gained confidence throughout the sessions. Ginny Thorner, a Christchurch artist showed the students a role-play, demonstrating practical dance skills and drama elements.The students observed Thorner’s demonstration first before shortly having the opportunity to create their own re sponse to create a whole class experience of ‘moving dreams’ (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, 2011b). O’Conner stated that very few of the students had danced before, but through the use of teacher modelling it enabled them to develop their own short dance phrases, and therefore gaining huge amounts of confidence enhancing their opportunity to learn key concepts such as kinaesthetic awareness, performance skills, interaction and planning.It was evident in the clip that as the development of these skills increased, the students’ self-esteem and confidence increased also, hence being a benefit in the primary school curriculum A challenge that Using Skills, Techniques and Processes may reveal is the call for teacher’s awareness of and sensitivity to other people’s ideas, physical boundaries, background and experience. The Tasmanian Curriculum (2007), states in order to manipulate the medium successfully in the classroom context, th ere are a set of behaviours that should be expected and encouraged during the session, such as respect and empathy.In addition, Cornett (2011) writes that students value the surprising ways peers express ideas through movement; no one body shape or locomotor movement is right or wrong. In ‘A Teaspoon of Light’ activities were used where students created their own dance sequence based on what they felt were expressive movements. The students were also given the task to mirror a partners movement (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, 2011a). There is evidence of the students working in their personal space, and developing awareness of what their body can do.The clip shows students dancing uniquely to how they felt dreams may be brought to life. Students come to delight in the artistry of fellow classmates as they witness the inventiveness of peers (Cornett, 2011). This is a time where teachers and students must be sensitive to other people’s designs. Oâ₠¬â„¢Conner believed this was a time during the sessions that delivered â€Å"rich, good theatre† (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, 2011b). While exploring this learning outcome, teacher’s awareness of and sensitivity to other student’s perceptions is critical.The third learning outcome is Making Aesthetic Choices. A sense of aesthetics is deeply personal and students use their knowledge of aesthetic choice to make meaning and to critically appraise the works of others. In drama and dance, aesthetic choices are used to bring out the intention of the performance (Tasmanian Curriculum, 2007). There are both benefits and challenges that array from this learning outcome. A benefit to Making Aesthetic Choices in drama and dance is to deepen sensory awareness and learn to express themselves through the artistic use of pantomime, dialogue and improvisation (Cornett, 2011).Maslow places aesthetic understandings at the top of his motivation pyramid (Cited in Cornett, 2011). Aesthetic Choices are demonstrated in ‘A Tea Spoon of Light’ when the students wrote a recipe of the things they would use in order to repair the torn cloth of dreams (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, 2011a). Initially the list consisted of their own wants, needs and likes; bed, to be asleep, pyjamas and lights off. The second list mentioned after some Aesthetic Choices were made, demonstrated a deeper understanding of the purpose.The second list consisted of 1 tsp of light in the darkest tunnel, 10 cups of love, 2 tsp of belief, 1/2 cup of adventure, 3/4 cup of hope. The list created by the students produced the rich Stendhal effect, the â€Å"ah† experience of being touched or moved (Lushington 2003, cited in Cornett, 2011). A challenge for successfully in cooperating Making Aesthetic Choices into the primary school curriculum is to be conscientious planning teachers who are knowledgeable about drama strategies and willing to adapt them for specific student needs (Cornett, 2011).In ‘The Teaspoon of Light’ one occasion demonstrating Aesthetic Choices was the ‘cloud bowl’ activity. The students decided that they needed an imaginary ‘cloud bowl’ to mix all the ingredients together to create the new ‘cloth of dreams’. The students were able to explore and experiment with different types of movement spontaneously and in response to O’Conner’s requests (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, 2011a). The students chose what, how, who, when and even what colour when they were putting their ingredients into the cloud bowl. O’Conner asked questions to deepen their aesthetic understanding. Is 2 tsp. of belief light or heavy? What colour might it be? † And with each description, the element went into the bowl (Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, 2011a). The lesson was successful, but due to the fact that O’Conner was kno wledgeable enough to create a safety net while guiding the students through the activity. He used strategies that enhance students’ ability to look, discuss, view, review, select, reflect and refine (Tasmanian Curriculum, 2007). Cornett (2011), states that the dance literacy level needed by teachers is contingent upon what their students are expected to know and do.Reason can answer questions but imagination has to ask them (Albert Einstein, cited in Cornett, 2011). Learning through drama and dance develops the ability to appreciate and value on dramatic works. Drama develops the courage and persistence to ‘have a go’. The ‘Teaspoon of Light’ project coordinated by Dr Peter O’Conner in Christchurch demonstrates the learning outcomes of Imagining and Creating New Works, Using Skills, Techniques and Processes and Making Aesthetic Choices which in turn, have both benefits and challenges whilst being in cooperated into the primary school curriculu m.References Cornett, C. (2011). Integrating dance and creative movement. In Creating Meaning Through Literature and the Arts (4th ed. ), pp. 255-281. Allyn & Bacon, Boston, USA Faculty of Education, University of Auckland [foedauck]. (2011a, April 14). Earthquake: a teaspoon of light. . Retrieved from http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=jznOhFrSvJY Faculty of Education, University of Auckland [foedauck]. (2011b, September 4). Earthquake: a teaspoon of light (2). .Retrieved from http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=ZoMpzIzJrFM The Tasmanian Curriculum. (2007). Dance. Retrieved from https://www. education. tas. gov. au/documentcentre/Documents/Tas-Curriculum-K-10-Arts-Syllabus-and-Support. pdf Wright, S. (2003). Dance. In The Arts, Young Children and Learning. (1st ed. ) pp. -230-255. Boston, USA: Allyn & Bacon. Wright, S. (2012). Dance-moving beyond steps to ideas. In Children meaning-Making in the Arts (2nd ed. ), pp. 85-114. Sydney Australia, Peason Education Australia.