Shared Talking Styles Essay Example for Free

Shared Talking Styles Essay Talking styles plays an important part of the communication in our everyday lives. These styles can both hinder and help communication. It is especially true in close relationships with others. This essay will discuss the article â€Å"Shared Talking Styles Herald New and Lasting Romance† as well as discussing the accuracy of a language style matching program and whether or not the language style matching is a comprehensive way to predict quality in an interpersonal relationship. Therefore, according to the article â€Å"sharing Talking Styles Herald New and Lasting Romance,† â€Å"a subtle, surprisingly ordinary type of playful and teasing lies at the heart of romance. Love flames get fanned when a man and women similarly employ words such as, I, it, but, and under in everyday conversation† (Bower, 2010). These words seem so little however, mean so much when used romantically. Nevertheless, the article also discusses different aspects on how those that truly hate each other can show a high amount of language style. That means those who are fighting tend to talk in similar ways. If two people like and understand each other, they will use similar wording regardless of the different nouns and verbs that they may use to communicate with each other. One way of testing this kind of communication, is a website, which will provide results of language style matching. I took a few emails that my significant other and I shared between each other while he was in Mexico working. From those emails, we only matched at 48 percent. Given the information, I feel that the results were inaccurate. I do believe that this program may present accurate results when there is enough information in the emails or text messages that are input into the program. The emails did not present much information as with our conversation we had on the telephone. I believe that this program can show a lot of good information when there is enough text for the program to do an appropriate result. This kind of can improve the aspect of how people see their relationships. I also believe that the language style matching can be a comprehensive way for the quality of interpersonal relationships to be predicted. This is not something that is needed for relationships to work; however, it is a tool that can help a couple to see at what percentage they are similar in how they speak. This can be a good tool for those that have trouble understanding each other as it will tell them what their language match percentage is. I do not suggest that you should base your relationship on the score; however, this can open each other’s eyes and how they can focus on a better way of and work on their communication style. Interpersonal relationships require a level of understanding. This is especially true in a romantic relationship. Talking styles can also be effected by self-esteem. â€Å"It is desirable to have high self-esteem. However, some individuals have such a high opinion of their self-worth that they believe they are better, more deserving, or more special than others do. An inflated self-image or extremely high self-esteem can negatively affect your friendships, work relationships, and romantic relationships† (Sole, 2011, Sec 3. ). Nevertheless, it does not matter the talking style, the self-esteem can have an adverse effect on the understanding or what you want those around you to understand. This essay discussed factors of talking styles. It described the article â€Å"Shared Talking Styles Herald New and Lasting Romance† as well as discussing accuracy in a language style-matching program. Talking styles are very important aspect in the communication that we use in our lives. Talking styles change the way that our communication is understood.

Strategy

Strategy Strategy Definition of: A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. The word strategy has military connotations, because it derives from the Greek word for general. Strategy is the mean or the tool by which objectives are consciously and systematically pursued and obtained over time. A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. Strategy is different from method. In military terms, tactic is concerned with the conduct of an engagement while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked. In other words, how a battle is fought is a matter of tactics: the terms that it is fought on and whether it should be fought at all is a matter of strategy. Q.1 Strategic and operating causes morita realized the importance of the american market during his trip thats where he decided the stategy for his compamny to devlope company market outside japan to capture the most important market in the world. Objective of stretegy objective was to capture the most important market in the world to gain more reputation in out side market,first he decided to change companys name from ttkkk to sony which became barnd name later on. first objective was to increse the globalisation to capture the important markets in the world and be more localised. sony appointed the mangement team that was well and truely capable in thier work. sony open their first office in 1960 to control the export and distribution of its product to get more control and hold in the target market and from the export of radios, magnetic tapes they received more then 50 % of their revenues. sony invested in r d to keep the balance between production and sales that they can produce the right amount of product according to demand. sony opened their first manufacturing plant in 1970 which started producing colour television which gave them a significant rise in sales beacuse everything was avilable to customres lacally in america during 1970 soony had been able to grow and profit as a manufaturerer of small consumer electronic goods compare to other companies its invenstment was modest in areas out side of consumer products,such as semiconductor and computers. (ref: http://www.sony.net/fun/sh/1-36/h1.html) - Q.2 Sony to Sustain in Current operational period. Have to increase its RD and bring new innovation because first mover may gain advantages in building distribution channel, in typing up spesilaized suppliers or in gaining the attention of customer. SONY needs to have more specialized forienger management team with the hope that the outsider will assist. SONY should implement more efficient and effective strategies to gain more strength in the market. open more distribution channels in the world specailly in europe and america. SONY to sustain in the market should advertize its product more to the general masses. SONY should maintain its quality standard. SONY to sustain in the market should cope with new technology and start proucing the product according to the trends of the markets. Q.3(a) A Company strategy and A Business strategy A Company strategy:- In Simple term, It is company aims in general and the way its hopes to achive them. The direction of an organization takes with the objective of achiving business success in the long term. The formulation of company startegy involes establishing the purpose and the scope of the organization activities and the nature of the business it is in taking the enviorment in which it operate its position in market palce and competetion it faces tion corporate palnnig and busiiness plan are use to implement company strategy. A Business Strategy: Long-term approach to implementing a firms business plans to achieve its business objectives. OR A course of action, including the specification of resources required, to achieve a specific objective. Business strtegy is a term used in business plannig that imples a careful selection and appilication of resource to obtain a copetative futre events or trends. Business strategy is concern more with how a business complete successfully in a particular market it concern strategic decesion about choice of product meeting needs of customers, gaing advanteges over competetors expoliting or creating new oppourtunitiesetc. The simplest is by developing slightly different offerings, perhaps to target slightly different markets from those it serves at the moment or to meet more precisely the needs a sub-segment of existing customers examples include: 1.Mcdonalds introduction of the bigger Big Mac, targeted at existing customers with above average appetites in order to increase their spend at McDonalds . 2. Sonys induction of a range of LCD TVs. Q.3 (b) Global strategy: Global strategy as defined in business terms is an organizations strategic guide to globalization. A sound global strategy should address these questions: what must be (versus what is) the extent of market presence in the worlds major markets? How to build the necessary global presence? What must be (versus what is) the optimal locations around the world for the various value chain activities? How to run global presence into global competitive advantage? A global strategy may be appropriate in industries where firms are faced with strong pressures for cost reduction but with weak pressures for local responsiveness. Therefore, it allows these firms to sell a standardized product worldwide. However, fixed costs (capital equipment) are substantial. Nevertheless, these firms are able to take advantage of scale economies and experience curve effects, because it is able to mass-produce a standard product which can be exported (providing that demand is greater than the costs involved). Global strategies require firms to tightly coordinate their product and pricing strategies across international markets and locations, and therefore firms that pursue a global strategy are typically highly centralized Characteristics of sony global stratege Morita co-founder of sony wants to make his copmany successful all around the global for that.he use a global strategy and its charecteics are as follows. when he went to usa he found that the american market is the better target market than the japanes market for electronic conusemers.so he decided to implement the strategy than can give him a significant. sony not only target american market but also keep note of the importance of the other markets in the world. sony status making it item locally so that it can achieve a balance in sales and production. sony makes item that are local to that market.sony starts his RD local so that sony can achive a better result in that part of local market,because differnet part of world got different consumeres and got different needs and satisfaction point. sony has given such innovation and quality in their product that customers can be satisfied.this strategy was adopted all over the world by sony. Q.4: Corporate planning and strategic planning Corporate Panning Is concerned with an organizations basic direction for the future: its purpose,its ambitions, its resources and how it interacts with the world in which it operates Involves decisions about the organization as whole. defines the activities of the organization and structure. The process of drawing up detailed action plans to achieve an organizations goals and objectives, taking into account the resources of the organization and the environment within which it operates. Corporate planning represents a formal, structured approach to achieving objectives and to implementing the corporate strategy of an organization. It has traditionally been seen as the responsibility of senior management. The use of the term became predominant during the 1960s but has now been largely superseded by the concept of strategic management. Strategic Planning. A fundamental pattern of present and planned objectives, resource deployments and interactions of an organization with markets, competitors, and other environmental factors. Strategic Planning process. Mission Objectives. Environment Scanning. Strategy Formulation. Strategy Implementation. Evaluation Control. Strategic planning is an organizations process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. Various business analysis techniques can be used in strategic planning, including SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ) and PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis) or STEER analysis (Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors) and EPISTEL (Environment, Political, Informatic, Social, Technological, Economic and Legal). Corporate planing consist of objectives, aims and strategies of any organization on the other hand Strategic planning will give us direction how to take the right decisions at the right time to achieve these aims, objectives and strategies. Example of Corporate planning. Corporate Planning of IBM. For decades IBMs corporate, bussiness, and marketing strategies were all very successful. By the mid 1990s, however, several of IBMs traditional businesses were in trouble.The companys share of the worldwide PC market fell to about 8 percent in 1990, third behind Dell and Compaq. Worse, the firms Pc business was projected to lose $400 million, on top of a $1 billion loss in 1998. A New Corproate Strategy. when Lou Gerstner took over as IBMs chief executive in 1994, he and a task force of other executives, including many from the marketing and sales ranks, reexamined all the firms businesses, customer segments, competitors, and potential competitors. Thier Conclusion : the internet would change everything. They foresaw that The real leadership in the [ information technolgy] industry was moving away from the creartion of technology to the application of the technology, says Gerstner. The explosive growth is in service. Further We concluded that this[the internet] was not an information superhighway. This was all about business, doing transaction, not looking up information. consequenty, IBMs top excutives began to refocus the corporate mission,de-emphasising the development and manufacture of high-tech hardware while increasing the emphasis on providing customers with e-business engineering,software, and outsourcing services.to leverage the firms existing competencies and its long-term relationships with its traditional customers, many of the new services the firm developed concentrate on helping large, brick- and mortar firms (1) hook old corporate databases (often on mainframes)into new online systems, (2) integrate web technology into their internal business processes to improve efficiency, and (3) develop and run company websites.for instance, lego, the danish toy manufacturer, pays IBM to run its entire Web operation, including contracting with the danish post office to handle shipping. but the corporation has also expanded the scope of both its new service and old hard-ware businesses to embrace smaller customers. for example, in 2002 the firm released scaled-down version of its database,email, and network management software that are easier to maintain and up to 80 per cent cheaper than its standard versions. IBM also announced a partnership with J.D edwards co. in which the provider of tech services to midsized companies will base its entire software menu on IBM programs.

Analysis of Edgar Allan Poes The Black Cat :: Poe The Black Cat Essays

Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat      Edgar Allan Poe wrote that the single effect was the most important aspect of a short story, which everything must contribute to this effect. Poe’s gothic tale â€Å"The Black Cat† was written trying to achieve an effect of shocking insanity. In this first person narrative the narrator tells of his decline from sanity to madness, all because of an obsession with two (or possibly one) black cats. These ebony creatures finally drive him to take the life his wife, whose death he unsuccessfully tries to conceal.   This short story easily achieved the effect that Poe was looking for through the use of description of setting, symbolism, plot development, diverse word choice, and detailed character development. In most cases, the setting is usually indelible to a story, but â€Å"The Black Cat† relies little on this element. This tale could have occurred anywhere and can be placed in any era. This makes the setting the weakest element of â€Å"The Black Cat.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Next, symbolism is always an integral part of any Poe story. The most obvious of symbolic references in this story is the cat’s name, Pluto. This is the Roman god of the underworld. Pluto contributes to a strong sense of hell and may even symbolize the devil himself. Another immensely symbolic part of â€Å"The Black Cat† is the title itself, since onyx cats have long connoted bad luck and misfortune. The most amazing thing about the symbolism in this story or in any other of Poe’s is that there are probably many symbols that only Poe himself ever knew were in his writings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, Poe’s plot development added much of the effect of shocking insanity to â€Å"The Black Cat.† To dream up such an intricate plot of perverseness, alcoholism, murders, fire, revival, and punishment is quite amazing. This story has almost any plot element you can imagine a horror story containing. Who could have guessed, at the beginning of the story, that narrator had killed his wife? The course of events in â€Å"The Black Cat’s† plot is shockingly insane by itself! Moreover, the words in â€Å"The Black Cat† were precisely chosen to contribute to Poe’s effect of shocking insanity. As the narrator pens these he creates a splendidly morbid picture of the plot. Perfectly selected, sometimes rare, and often dark, his words create just the atmosphere that he desired in the story.

Is ADHAD Over-Diagnosed? Essay examples -- Diseases, Disorders

There has been an ongoing debate about whether the mental disorder ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is over-diagnosed. ADHD is commonly diagnosed in people, more specifically children, who lack the ability to pay attention, are often disruptive, are hyperactive, and impulsive. A medical personnel or a psychologist diagnoses the children using a list of criteria. It is only in recent years that doctors have begun researching better and more effective ways to diagnosis patients using brain scans. It is because of this, that ADHD is over-diagnosed for several reasons: the different personalities that children can exhibit; parents not taking responsibility as parents; and the lack of proper ways to identify ADHD. Each child is specifically unique in his or her own way. As a result, each child learns and acts differently. When a child is hyperactive or does not pay attention, parents are often worried that their child may have ADHD. However, that child may be a highly active child by nature and in need of exercise and a way to burn of all of that energy. In addition, various research has been done on the effects of the child’s age upon entering the classroom. To research the effect age could potentially have on children, a study was done in British Columbia that focused on 930,000 children between the ages of 6 to 12, from the years 1997 to 2008. They found that those born in December, typically some of the youngest in the class, â€Å"were 30 percent more likely to be diagnosed and 41 percent more likely to be treated with ADHD medication that boys born in January† (Dotinga). The research also showed similar results for girls. Although, the article claims that the findings, â€Å"†¦don’t prove definitively that any kids are... ...ot. Works Cited "Attention Deficit Disorder." - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment by Medicalook. Medicalook. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. Dotinga, Randy. "Youngest Kids in Class More Apt to Get ADHD Diagnosis: Study." HealthDay Consumer News Service 05 Mar. 2012: Consumer Health Complete - EBSCOhost. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. Kanarek, Robin B. "Artificial Food Dyes And Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder." Nutrition Reviews 69.7 (2011): 385-391. Consumer Health Complete - EBSCOhost. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. Kirkpatrick, LaVonne. "ADHD Treatment And Medication: What Do You Need To Know As An Educator?." Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin 72.1 (2005): 19-29. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 26 Mar. 2012. Peacock, Judith. "Chapter Three: How Is ADHD Diagnosed?." ADD & ADHD. 19. Capstone Press, 2002. Consumer Health Complete - EBSCOhost. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.

The Oak Tree: A Symbol For America :: essays research papers

America, our great country, is strong, powerful, and influential. Americans exemplify positive values, selflessness, hospitality, and the American way of life. The mighty oak tree that stands taller, bigger, and older than all others best represents this grand country. Each part of the tree illustrates a facet of our nation. Shapely emerald leaves covering the tree symbolize the values many Americans hold concerning themselves, others, and their nation. Leaves help the tree grow and flourish just as our value of caring for our neighbors help us to unite and become more successful as a whole. The beautiful shade and distinct shape of these leaves make the tree more attractive and unique. Our values often differ from values of other countries due to cultural contrasts such as with religious, racial, and education issues. We give much more freedom than many other countries do to those of different races and religions. Also, he hold education in a much higher regard than other countries. It is these differences which sometimes make our country seem more appealing to those of foreign lands. Without leaves in the spring, the mighty oak would have no means of nourishment and would die. Our common American values bind us together as one unit just as all the leaves work together to benefit the oak. Without them we would be millions of separate bodies aimlessly wondering about a common ground, and our country would fall to pieces. Thus, there would be no country as there would be no tree. The lonely oak's long, gnarled limbs seem to reach out as far as they can just to touch another tree. One limb reaches far to the east until it finds a maple. Our brave troops fought in the east to fend off the Czechoslovakians and Serbians from nearly defenseless Bosnia. Another limb bends down and softly touches the fresh buds of a young sapling. Many Americans give years of their lives in South Africa to the Peace Corps to touch the lives and hearts of many villagers. Yet another limb seems to branch out in all directions with its twigs reaching both up and down and side to side. Every year, many Americans donate money to the Christian Children's Fund where it is then used to heal, feed, and educate poverty-stricken children all over the world. Just as our branches stretch out, so do our American arms to help those less fortunate.

Childhood vs Adult Learning

————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- Childhood Versus Adulthood Learning ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- Tricia Barnes ————————————————- COM/156 ———â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- January 19, 2012 ————————————————- John Likides ———————————————— There is no question about it, children and adults learn in different ways. The argument can be made about which one is better, and they are numerous schools of thought on the theories for each, but the bottom line is that there is a clear variation between how a child learns and how an adult learns. There is a vast importance for learning at both the childhood and adulthood levels. As a child, one must learn on more of a basic, survival mindset in order to overcome the challenges that are present in the first few years. Although, as an adult, the skills and cognitive abilities that were discovered as a child must be expanded and improved in order to meet the tasks appropriate for each growing age level. As a child, becoming familiar with different facts and ideas sets the groundwork for the knowledge that we hope to achieve as an adult. By establishing a good foundation, the process for learning as an adult can be adapted and improved upon to meet the progressing needs. The four main childhood learning heories are Maturationism, Environmentalism, Constructivist, and Stage-based Teaching. The four main adulthood learning theories are Life Experiences, Speck’s theory, Andragogy theory, and Jarvis’s learning process. Each one of these theories attempts to exemplify the processes and skill sets that each deems important to the learning process. One of the pertinent childhood learning theories, Maturationism, deals with the idea that the process by which we learn for the first couple of yea rs is based on markers in our DNA (Hunt, 1969). Most people in this school of thought believe that education and environmental factors merely plays a supportive role to child development, while certain instincts imbedded in our genes actually govern around what age we learn thing like how to talk or walk. These factors can be manipulated and intensified by outside factors, but the main governing fact behind early childhood development is based around a Darwin like evolutionary instinct. Many advocates of Maturationism believe that holding a child back or starting a child a year late for school may be more beneficial in the long run, because they child is not at the proper developmental maturity to be able to handle that level of information, exemplifying the idea that a mind can only handle the information that it is developed to receive (DeCos, 1997). Environmentalism is another theory at the forefront of child development. Environmentalism is in fact the contrast to Maturationism theory in that it supports the idea that a child’s development and learning is shaped by their environment and outside factors. The environmentalist theory enforces the idea of recitation and repeating, according to this theory, this is how children learn. By incorporating the outside experiences and storing them, they are able to build upon those ideas and improve upon them to learn (Skinner, 1938). It is deemed essential, and if a child is deprived of these factors, will not be as well educated or able to cope with higher learning as well as a child that was introduced to this Some argue that this is why children who come from enriched lifestyles are less likely to succeed in school as those who prepare better in infancy and young ages. Another key theory is that of Constructivistism. This theory provides that children are active learners in their education, and a child’s development is based on their motivation and abilities to seek out information (Atherton, 2010). In practice, this theory implements an active learning setting, allowing students to become involved in the learning, introducing toys such as puzzles or blocks that stimulate active interactions, thereby allowing the child to take a more participant attitude in their learning. Should a child encounter problems in their learning, this theory supports the idea of channeling the process into a one on one, and more individual learning secession in order to improve on those weaknesses. One big supporter of this theory is Jean Paiget, a very well noted child psychologist Paiget has provided countless studies and supports the fact that most of what a child learns at young ages is what they deem pertinent and important to them. In contrast to learning theories established for children, there are equally as many important to that of studying the learning process of adults. A major theory that is easily identifiable is that of the Life Experiences. Children display this theory to a degree, however, the lasting effects ten to be greater in adults. On an evolutionary basis, children use life experiences to know that falling down hurts, or to stay away from a dish once they realize it’s hot. These process are more involved on a cognitive level, and don’t play particular attention to an overall learning process. When you are a child and someone takes your toy or pushes you down, you don’t tend to be as upset or concerned, and it’s usually something that can be easily forgotten. As adults, the value of the lessons learned from life experiences tend to be much more significant, and therefore there is more emphasis on the learning applications of said methods (Lieb, 1991). For example, for most people it takes only getting robbed once to start locking up their belongings. In that sense, adults are not only able to draw from their own life experiences, but also of that as a society. For instance, there are many people who have never had a car accident, but barring laws, many would still choose to wear a seat belt, just due to the fact that is has been proven by other life experiences to be useful for saving lives and preventing injury In 1996, educational specialist Marsha Speck designed what is known as Speck’s Theory of adult education. This theory is a minor variation of the Constructivism learning theory more or less with the addition of ego in adult learners. The theory offers that an adult will only pursue learning that is significant to them in one way or another, but they should rely on peer support and not be fearful of judgment (Speck, 1996). As adult learners, they must also be shown the effect of their knowledge in an applicable setting, in most cases. Most children follow after ideas and concepts that make them happy, however adults often times cannot maintain that luxury. Therefore, to gain the knowledge necessary, an adult learner must be shown the impact. In the military, for example, often times there are many by gone traditions and customs that many are unable to identify with until they learn the importance and usefulness of the given information. The Andragogy theory is another theory that is relevant and in practice with the study of adult learning and professional development. In this theory, the main concern is process not product. It is stated that adults tend to value the experience and methodology over the actual content that they are left with at the end. By this process, emphasis is put on real world learning and role playing situation (Knowles, 1984). The idea of getting a student out of a classroom and into a situation where they can actually learn as they go along is said to have a better and more powerful impact then taking notes or reading the process from a book. For instance, most students in trade career fields in particular tend to exemplify this philosophy in the method of applying more hands on and internship training into their curriculum. Vocational-Technical schools demonstrate how, even at a learning level, students are able to grasp enough of a trade to be able to iron out their abilities through hands on applications. Another good illustration of this theory is in the military, whereby the majority of the training a given individual achieves comes not from their book based learning, but from real world on the job training. In this sense, the student is able to get immediate gratification and can see the importance of the concepts learned immediately. Both childhood learning theories and adulthood learning theories are important to every aspect. Depending on the subject being taught should govern the method behind which theory should be applied. To learn second languages, many adults approach this with a mindset very difficult to breakdown, and therefore many find it very difficult. Children, on the other hand, are able to grasp a second language far easier. The argument purposed by Maturationists would be that children have a predetermined timeline for how learning occurs, and therefore children searching for a way to communicate their thoughts are able to pick up on more than one language at time, as their minds are ripe for that form of knowledge (Hunt, 1969). The largest problem for adult learning is ego and close-mindedness. Most adults are just unable to get out of their own way in order to understand new topics. There are also differences in certain areas where adults are able to learn certain things at a much faster rate than children, and the most representation of this is in the life experiences theory. Children are able to learn simple concepts, but things like guilt, jealousy, and love are not things that children are able to grasp. These abstract emotions can’t be taught, even at a childhood level; instead they must be learned on an individual level, as the knowledge is not necessarily universal, but more individual. Overall, there are a number of different theories and concepts behind each level of development in an individual. By classifying them, it can be noted what works best and what can be altered. In this way, the living organism that is the education system is dynamically and constantly changing. By dissecting how children learn, it is possible to improve on how adults can pick up on aspects like learning a foreign language, and children are able to learn thing like team dynamics. The open-mindedness and new age looks at education have shown how many different ways there are to teach, no matter what your age or learning style. References DeCos, P. L. (1997, December). Readiness for kindergarten: What does it mean? Sacramento, CA: California Research Bureau, California State Library Atherton, J. S (2010) Piaget. Learning and Teaching; Piaget’s developmental theory. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from http://www. learningandteaching. info/learning/piaget. htm Hunt, J. M. (1969). The impact and limitations of the giant of developmental psychology. In D. Elkind & J. Flavell (Eds. ), Studies in cognitive development: Essays in honor of Jean Piaget. New York: Oxford University Press. Knowles, M. (1984). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species (3rd Ed. ). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing. Lieb, Stephen. (1991, Fall). Principles of adult learning. Vision. Retrieved July 28, 2010, from http://www. economist. com/china Skinner B F. (1938) The behavior of organisms: an experimental analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Speck, M. (1996, Spring). Best practice in professional development for sustained educational change. ERS Spectrum, 33-41.

Hayes and Wheelwright Strategic Model Essay

In their four-stage model, Hayes and Wheelwright (1984) categorize different types of organizations based on their attitude towards their operations. The four stage model is underpinned by their belief that an organization’s operations can provide a source of competitive advantage. It can only do this if the operations function is managed strategically. A stage 1 organization finds it impossible to manage its operations strategically, as its operations performance objectives are continually changing between low cost, increased flexibility, improved quality, etc. Because operations managers never have the time to focus on a consistent set of objectives, a stage 1 organization is characterized by a reactive approach to operations management. In such an organization, operations can never provide a source of competitive advantage. A stage 2 organization manages its operations by seeking to emulate those of its competitors. It is likely to copy the prevailing best practices of its industry, such as JIT (just-in-time), TQM (total quality management), BPO (business process outsourcing) etc. However, as they always adopt these techniques in the wake of industry leaders, they are never likely to have developed the same level of expertise in their application. The best that such an approach can achieve is to match the operations performance of its competitors. Although the combination of operations practices adopted by a stage 2 organization may be considered by some as amounting to an operations strategy in that they are consistent, they will not be overtly linked to business strategy. Indeed, it may be that such an operations strategy is inappropriate for the organization’s business strategy. In any event, a stage 2 organization’s operations cannot provide the basis for competitive advantage. A stage 3 organization has an operations strategy that is linked to and derived from its business strategy. This means that its operations performance objectives are aligned with, and supportive of, its business objectives, offering the possibility that operations can provide the means of achieving a competitive advantage. The chances of achieving competitive advantage will be considerably increased if the organization has adopted industry best practice in its operations. A stage 4 organization is radically different to one at any of the other stages. It uses its operations excellence as the basis for its business strategy – an   perations-based strategy. The operations of a stage 4 organization are at the forefront of developments in best practice in that they set industry standards in ways that delight customers. Thus, the organization’s operations enable it to retain its existing customers and attract new ones. For an operations-based competitive advantage to be sustainable, the organization must continually develop its operations, as any source of advantage is liable to be imitated by competitors. To remain at stage 4, an organization needs to learn how to make the most of its existing resources and competences to learn how to develop new capabilities. Recent advances in the understanding of organizational performance have emphasized the importance of path dependency (i.e. how organizations got to their present position), the dynamic nature of the capabilities on which organizational success ultimately depends and the role of organizational learning.