Economic cooperation Essay Example for Free

Economic cooperation Essay Talks on economic cooperation between China and the US ended with a â€Å"broad agreement on separate strategies† to help their economies recover. The US agreed on inducing fiscal discipline from the personal until the federal level and China, to bolster domestic spending. The talks also resolved to cooperate in combating climate change by shifting to low-carbon economies as they progress and reinforce their current economic standing. The talks will make the political process focus on the economic strain and fiscal constraints as a new strategy to revive the economy for the US, and increasing government spending and relying less on foreign demand for China. Of course, these strategies could go under fire from some political opposition and criticism, but the backing of a foreign agreement could bolster support for both agreed positions for economic recovery both from the government and the grassroots. Policies and ordinances could be prompted to be enacted to follow through with the agreement with China and vice versa. Campaigns on the tightening of belts from the organizational to the individual level can be expected from the government. NGOs and other organizations can strongly advocate for these policies or criticize them either way. This agreement can make the government and the citizens work hand in hand to create a political environment where cooperation is paramount to dig the countries out of their financial pothole. The general direction of the talks, however is geared more toward the affirmation that a change in spending habits by the government, by the individual and by the organization should be limited and focus more on saving. Many would go toward this direction as the difficulties of the economic meltdown touch many people, forcing them to go for bargains if they can’t afford not to spend. China, on the other hand can be seen to use the same approach the US used during the financial difficulties in the 1950’s. http://edition. cnn. com/2009/POLITICS/07/28/china. stimulus/index. html? iref=newssearch U. S. , China agree on economic strategies [July 29, 2009 Updated 1017 GMT (1817 HKT)]

Professional Development For Strategical Managers

Professional Development For Strategical Managers According to Guskey (2000) as a consultant of AB management consultant if I want to do my best and if I want to expand my organization consistently I have both skills personal and professional because as per my point of view both skills are complimentary and which can help my organization and I will achieve my organizational goal. With the help of these skills I can contribute to the development of my employees. In this assignment I want to evaluate both professional and personal skills required to meet both organizational and own goals and objectives and also I want to take action on implementation of my goal and objective. I want to determine short, medium and long term goals and also analyse strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore I have to analyze which skill is helpful for our organization: Professional or Personal skill. Lucey (2005) mentions that Personal and Professional Skills form part of Human Resource Management, which is the most important and vital aspect in an organization. The globalization of the business world has caused organizations to compete against one another for their survival. In this regards, the management in terms of strategy, planning and policies play a tremendous and crucial role. Moreover I have to analyze which skill is helpful for our organization: Professional or Personal. According to Mullins (2002), to be a good consultant a person must develop strong personal skills so as to maintain a proper balance between work and pleasure. Professional skills are those skills that help a person manage his/her professional or work life in a more apt way. Professional skills are those skills on how to set and achieve objectives of the business, negotiate conflicts, maintain ethics at workplace and program planning. TASK-1 BE ABLE TO ASSESS PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE STRATEGIC GOALS 1.1:- USE APPROPRIATE METHODS TO EVALUATE PERSONAL SKILLS REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE STRATEGIC GOALS There are some methods to evaluate personal skills required to achieve strategic goals in personal and professional life for example: Hard work/ Dedication: According to Guest (2000) hard work and dedication are two traits of managers. The people who find success become managers and are the ones who are looked to for help. If I want to become a successful consultant of AB Management then I have to put myself out to help other people. Finding success is easier if a distributor is able to find a manager who is willing to take the time and effort to help him do well in the business until he can become a leader in the company. According to Lucey (2005) regardless of whether or not a manager is found to help, however, the distributor himself must be willing to work hard and have the dedication to keep trying until the dream is fulfilled. Every employer wants an employee who is hard worker and they expect form employee to keep it at it until they solve the problem and get the job done. Stress Management: According to stress Guest D (2000) this is very crucial management skill because mentally stress is really not good for any human being or any manager in organization. According to stress management also play big role when we are on managerial level. for example in AB management there are many employees and they have different kind of problems in their life so as a manager I have to sort it out everything and dont have to depress that I got big problem what can I do? I have to sort it out problem and give its solution in particular manner. Stress is a nervous system reaction of our body towards certain stimulus. Guest D (2000) mention that this nervous system reaction could be easily viewed as an unconscious preparation of the body for a certain activity, like for instance releasing adrenaline chemicals onto our muscles whenever we feel alarmed, for example triggering auto response duck and adrenaline rush quickness on the muscles as we hear and process a gunfire shot; or else shutti ng down some of our pain receptors while were in a fight. The problem with stress response is that it also triggers psychologically. Anxiety of approaching deadlines, nervousness over the outcome of a completing project, surmounting unpaid bills, or the nervous anticipation of any event, any situation thats going to happen in the near future may trigger stress response. Over time, these repeated stress experiences can severely deplete energy which could be used for other health functions like digesting meals, functioning body defence system, and such. TIME MANAGEMENT: Evans (2008) claims that for effective management and leadership skill it is very important to manage time if any manger or employee fails to manage time they are never go ahead in their life. Source: http://reviews.in.88db.com/index.php/leisure/casual-entertainment This figure shows that how to use time effectively in this competitive world because time is very important. Time management there are two kinds of people first who have no time they are too busy with their life so they cannot change schedule for learn something which is useful for their organization and the other people in time management are those who have ability to take new challenges in market they get time from their busy schedule and attend workshop. What they got the knowledge from workshop or what they learnt from the trainer they directly implement those ideas and skill to the employees so it can be easy for employee to do their task. Prioritising Work Tasks: According to Mullins (2000) there is no question that all employers desire employee who will arrive at work every day on time and ready to work and who will take responsibility for their action. One thing is the fact that dependable, responsible, contributor committed to excellence and success. Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. A test is considered reliable if we get the same result repeatedly. For example, if a test is designed to measure a trait such as introversion, then each time the test is administered to a subject, the results should be approximately the same. Unfortunately, it is impossible to calculate reliability exactly, but there several different ways to estimate reliability. 1.2 APPLY TECHNIQUES TO ASSESS THE PROFESSIONAL SKILLS REQUIRED TO SUPPORT THE STRATEGIC DIRECTION OF ORGANISATION: Techniques to assess the professional skills which required to support the strategic direction of organisation is very necessary in this assignment. There are some techniques which are very important to assess the professional skills. Mentoring: Mentoring is also contributing in the achieving goal or objective of an organisation it is a way of overcoming many problems. According to Boxhall (2003) a mentor is someone who can advise and guide us in our carrier. He or she has a number of roles as an appraiser, a supporter, a communicator and a superior and his subordinates and if it is unlikely that a manager can carry these functions. A good mentor has coaching skills is trustworthy respected and is free from major distractions either within or outside the workplace, without a mentor reflection is also not also very productive experience. It can be a bit like looking for piglet. As a Consultant of AB management I can spend time thinking without arriving at a conclusion, it helps of course if I have structure to my thinking, in mentoring the questions are what is happening has happened? What brought this about? What went well and what did not go well? How can the situation be improved? What might we learn form the situation tha t might influence future action? Coaching: Guskey (2000) point out that all human beings are born with a dream, which are there goals in their life. Attaining a goal is not that easy and hence there is a need for a clear and correct path for the easy attaining the goals. This easy attaining of the path can be achieved with the help of a coach and coaching. And so it is said that coaching is the practice of giving sufficient direction, instruction and training to a person or a group people, so as to achieve some goals or even in developing specific skills. Though coaching is a system of providing training, the method of coaching differs from person to person, aim or goals to be attained, and the areas needed. Still there are some common methods in coaching. They are essential part of an effective coaching. Leadership: Guskey (2000) suggested leadership is a key skill, and its one that can make a huge difference to anyones career. At work, problems are at the centre of what many people do every day. As a consultant of AB management either solving a problem for a client internal or external, supporting those who are solving problems, or discovering new leadership skill. The problems we face can be large or small, simple or complex, and easy or difficult to solve. Regardless of the nature of the problems, a fundamental part of every managers role is finding ways to solve and lead them. So, being a confident leader is really important to our success. Much of that confidence comes from having a good process to use when approaching a problem lead. With one, we can solve problems quickly and effectively. Without one, our solutions may be ineffective, or well get stuck and do nothing, with sometimes painful consequences TASK-2 BE ABLE TO CONDUCT A SKILLS AUDIT TO IDENTIFY LEARNING SYTLE 2.1 CARRY OUT SKILLS TO EVALUATE THE STRATEGIC SKILLS NEEDED TO MEET CURRENT AND FUTURE LEADERSHIP USING PERSONAL SWOT ANALYSIS, PSYCHOMETRIC TEST AND SWAG ANALYSIS: There are few skills which evaluate the strategic skills needed to meet the current and future leadership. Communication Skill: According to Douglas (2005) Good verbal and written communication skills are one of the basic management skills. If we will notice some of the good leaders, we would realize that they all had good oratory or written skills. A leader always knows what he wants to say and when he should say it. So as a consultant of AB management I should have a great sense of timing along with communication skills. I should also know how to convey certain messages subtly so that the work is done in an expected and speculated manner. A manager should understand that he is a liaison between the staff and the higher authority and should be able to put the issues effectively in front of both the parties. In that case, he may need to have good diplomacy and negotiation skills that are extremely important. Decision Making: As a good consultant of AB management I also need to have good decision making judgment and ability. Douglas (2005) opined that only decision making power is not enough. A manager should know how to execute his powers for the betterment of the staff and the company. A manager has to go through many stressful situations that are full with moral and ethical dilemma and so he must possess good judgment and analytical ability. This would help him take the right decision. A manager should involve his staff taking major decisions. He must remember that imposing authority or decisions is not leadership in its true sense. APPENDIX B-Skills Audit and SWAG analysis Development Goals-Strengths, Weaknesses, Aspirations and Goals (SWAG) Strength: practical and realistic Like to learn new things, techniques Work autonomously By setting goals, I always try to accomplish it by hard work Like to take chance in experimentation Always come up with new ideas. Weaknesses: Not involved in basic speculation or philosophy Sometimes Impatient Take action without caution Do the tasks without any people Aspirations: Utilization of college services like live campus, technological equipment and library facilities etc. Preparation of time logs during workshops Practical knowledge about meeting, presentation in lecture Group activities in class Goals: Problem solving. Satisfaction. Independent in my work. 2.2 APPLY APPROPRIATE TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY PREFERRED LEARNING STYLE: In this assignment it is very important to prefer learning style which is really very important. According Peter Honey and Alan Mumford (2010) also identified another type of learning style preference. They maintained that by identifying preferred style, we could try and apply it to learning new things. Most of us have elements of more than one learning style, so we should think about our strongest and our weakest style to identify how we learn. If we are able to use our natural style, we are likely to find learning much easier and quicker. The four categories Honey and Mumford identified are, Activists, reflector, theorist and pragmatists. According to Neil and Morgan (2003) activists like to be involved in new experiences s as a consultant of AB management I have tend to be open minded and enthusiastic about new ideas but get bored with actual implementation. However, enjoy getting their sleeves rolled up and doing things. It can be impulsive, tending to act first and consider the consequences afterwards. Activists enjoy working in terms but do tend to control the attention. Activists learn most when Involved in new experiences, problems and opportunities Interacting with others in business games, team tasks, role playing Thrown in at the deep end with a difficult task Chairing meetings, leading discussions Activists learn least when Simply listening to lectures or long explanations Reading, writing or thinking by themselves Absorbing and understanding data Precisely following detail instructions The VARK model is a sensory model that is an extension of the earlier neurolingusistic model. The acronym VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read or write and Kineststhetic. Fleming defines learning style as an individuals characteristics and preferred ways of gathering, organizing and thinking about information. VARK is in the category of instructional preference because it deals with perceptual molds, or senses. It does not address are test and smell. The VARK inventory provides metrics in each of the four perceptual modes, with individuals having preferences for anywhere from one to all four. There are also differences in learning approaches for the four VARK Learning Styles. Visual learners prefer maps, charts, graphs, diagrams, brochures, flow charts, highlighters, different colors, pictures, word pictures, and different spatial arrangements. Aural learners like to explain new ideas to others, discuss topics with other students and their teachers, use a tape recorder, attend lectures and discussion groups, and use stories and jokes. Read/Write learners prefer lists, essays, reports, textbooks, definitions, printed handouts, readings, manuals, Web pages, and taking notes. Kinesthetic learners like field trips, trial and error, doing things to understand them, laboratories, recipes and solutions to problems, hands-on approaches, using their senses, and collections of samples. TASK-3 BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 3.1 CONSTRUCT A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN USING SMART OBJECTIVES THAT MEETS LEAERSHIP DEVELOPMENT REQUIRED SKILLS AUDIT: Specific:- In this objective my task has to be specific according my skills which satisfaction levels in the learning resources provided by the department. Reduce the amount of time it takes to respond to academic departmental requests for information. Specific means that the objective is concrete, detailed, focused and well defined. The program states a specific outcome, or a precise objective to be accomplished. The outcome is stated in numbers, percentages, frequency, reach, scientific outcome, etc. Measurable:- In each and every task planning should be measurable and achievable. If the objective is measurable, it means that the measurement source is identified and we are able to track the actions as we progress towards the objective. Measurement is the standard used for comparison. For example, what financial independence means to me may be totally different compared to what is means for you. As its so often said if you cant measure it, you cant manage it! Its important to have measures that will encourage and motivate you on the way as you see the change occurring, this may require interim measures. Measurements go a long way to help us to know when we have achieved our objective. Aims:- In this objective to improve personal development skills for leadership in every task aims should be clear and understandable. If you have an aim which is not achievable according the situation and circumstances for that you are not able to use a particular smart objective. Realistic:- Objectives must be realistic Objectives that are achievable, may not be realistic. However, realistic does not mean easy. Realistic means that you have the resources to get it done. The achievement of an objective requires resources, such as, skills, money, equipment, etc. to the task required to achieve the objective. Timed:- Time-bound means setting deadlines for the achievement of the objective. Deadlines need to be both achievable and realistic. If you dont set a time you will reduce the motivation and urgency required to execute the tasks. Timeframes create the necessary urgency and prompts action. Furthermore when I talk about the personal development plan, according to Boxall Purcell (2001) I have to think about myself that what are my weaknesses? What are my strengths? In which area I have to develop? Which can I do best for my organization? For example when we discuss about weaknesses if I have lack of confidence or if I am short-tempered then I have to improve on these areas. In strength aspect if according to Boxall Purcell (2001) if I have good communication power that its good for my personal development. I have to also think about what is my long and short term goal for my organization. For example nowadays consultancy sectors are very competitive in a market so how can I get good profit from all these challenges. Appendix D- Individual Development Plan Name:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Departmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Period coveredà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Objectives/SMART Goals What do I want to be able to do by the end of the period? What do I want/need to learn What will I do to achieve this? What will my success criteria be? Target dates for completion Personal or organisational What do I want/need to learn What will I do to achieve this? What will my success criteria be? Target dates for completion Personal or organisational 3.2 USE SUITABLE METHODS TO ASSESS THE OUTCOMES OF A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AGAINST PERSONAL WORK OBJECTIVES: According to Guest (2000) in the process, staff members also set personal developmental goals that will increase their ability to contribute to the success of AB Management. The accomplishment of these goals also provides a foundation for career success whether in AB Management or elsewhere, so they ought to be motivated and excited about achieving these goals. Neil and Morgan (2003) point out that performance Management, with the professional development plan process for goal setting and communication, will ensure that we are developing a superior workforce. The only factor that constrains our growth is our ability to hire a superior workforce. Why not grow that talent from within my organization as well? Set some realistic goals for myself. According to these goals must be Kotler, P and Armstrong, G (2001) something we truly wish to experience. Something that will motivate us if we do not set motivating goals then the chances of we are not being able to overcome obstacles when we encounter them increases. Take action. Kotler and Armstrong (2001) mention that once we set our motivating goals, now it is time to begin to take action to move closer to them. Without action we cannot expect to achieve anything different in our life. Be open to opportunities. as we begin to set our goals we will begin to notice opportunities that come our way. According to Lucey (2005) after all what we give our attention to will continue to grow. Always be open to the opportunities; and do not be afraid to take action. When we do take action if do not be afraid to change our course if something does not work out the way we expect it to. Sometimes we must be willing to take detours to reach our destinations. Celebrate our success. We all require acknowledgment for our successes. Foot, M. Hook C., (2006) mention that if we do not receive acknowledgment; we can become discouraged and quit working towards our goals. So we must learn how to celebrate every little success. Even if we are the only one who notices it. Start a success journal. Mullins J. (2002) mentions that one of the things I was taught when I began my personal development journey. One of the most important things to do is to begin writing down all our successes throughout the day. 3.3. EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF OWN LEARNING AGAINST THE ACHIEVEMENT OF STRATEGIC GOALS It is very important to evaluate the impact of own learning against the achievement of strategic goals because Strategic goals are statements of what we wish to achieve over the period of the strategic plan e.g. over the next year, five years, ten years. They reflect the analysis we do that starts with creating a vision, a role statement and a mission statement, and then analysis of our environment, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Leadership Skill: As a consultant of AB Management leadership skill is very necessary when I play a role of consultant. When a consultant has not this kind of leadership skill then he or she is not able to control or handle their employees. So leadership skill is very important in large or small organisation. Neil and Morgan believe that it is a critical management skill, is the ability to motivate a group of people towards a common goal. A leader is like a man who handle whole the team or we can say he handle group of people all have same goal. Guskey T. (2000), Its not easy task because a leader should so many right to do and he must have capability to follow whole group for common goal. A leader some time by born or some time he become leader with experience and with work. According to as a leader in my company I have to do leadership and lead all my staff for a common goal and its a good, excellent customer service. As a consultant I need to have proper management styles in managing different oper ations. My management styles should be autocratic and democratic so I can make my all decisions perfect and in time which is useful to my organization. Professional Skill: Professional skill is as important same like Personal skill. According to Docstoc (2010) in professional skill counselling and mentoring to support staff with their own learning and development requirement, coaching skills, multitasking, leadership skills, theories of leadership, management styles, continuing self-development meet requirements for industry sector professional bodies, leading and meeting, delivering effective presentations. If a consultant have only personal skill but not a professional skill then it is very tough to survive in a market. So a consultant must have both skills personal as well as professional skill. This skill is very important in this assignment because this assignment is about advanced professional development and if a person plays a role of consultant in AB Management he or she must have this skill. Self Development: In self development If anyone works as a consultant they must have good knowledge of market that can be helpful to expand my organization because if I have to data of other companies and I do whatever organization is running its not good for me and my organization. As a consultant have leading and chairing meetings. If as a consultant if I have no leadership power then he cant achieve his goal. So he has to arrange monthly meeting and discuss about what we are what we got what we want to achieve everything he has to manage in this task. Foot and Hook (1999) as a consultant he must have effective presentation skill because a consultant has to give monthly assignment to their employee for example as a consultant of AB Management I have to give monthly assignment to my employee that what they have done last month what are criteria that we have to improve ourselves. How much the budget provided by our employer and what we have already achieved, So employee get the knowledge of their perf ormance and next time they dont made same mistake what they made before. CONCLUSION: This assignment is about the personal and professional skills which is required in personal and professional life. In this assignment I also mentioned the techniques to assess the professional skills required to support the organisation. I also carry out the skill audit evaluate the strategic skills needed to meet the current and future requirements using persona swot analysis. This assignment I have to develop myself as a professional consultant so I used many techniques and methods to improve the personal and professional development plan. personal skill not professional skill or in the other hand if I have only professional skill and not personal skill then it is not good combination of management I must have these both skill. Personal and professional skill includes numerous benefits with an underlying philosophy that emphasizes the achievement of competitive advantage through the efforts of people. I conclude in this assignment that each and every organization they must have kno wledge of personal and professional skill which is really very useful personally and professionally. Every organization has some particular goal and the most common goal of any commercial firm or organization is profit. In this assignment first of all I have to manage myself as a manager because if I am not manage myself then I cannot manage entire organization, it means I have to find out what are my strength what are my weaknesses

Motivation to study a Masters degree

Motivation to study a Masters degree I basically belong to India from where I received my secondary education, later on I went on pursue my graduation in the commerce field from Cambridge College, Commercial University, Mumbai. I have done my Masters in Marketing Management from the same University. I have had considerable amount of work experience at prominent organizations. I worked as the Sales Advisor for Marks Spencers for almost two years and moved on to work at Reebok as the Retail Sales Coordinator for an year. Honestly, I believe, studying abroad for an international MBA degree is a greatly satisfying rewarding as someone interested in business of Sales and Marketing. Choosing Bangor University was a choice made on the basis of lot of information and research. My educational advisors helped me choose Bangor as a truly international destination for study purposes, which provides an atmosphere conducive for studying and remarkable living place. As a resourceful, creative and solution-oriented individual I found travelling abroad for my MBA will serve my challenge taking nature. I have been working effectively as a team member with well-known companies and have also acted as team leader as and when opportunity arose. I believe my eight long years of experience in the field of Sales and Marketing with a brief exposure to working in US in the Macys apparel department as the Sales Executive. I have also travelled to Melbourne, Australia to work as a freelancer merchandiser. Coming to UK is not rocket science. After been to US and Australia, UK was an obvious choice to continue with my professional qualification. I strongly believe this venture will be a life-changing experience for I will get to learn the European ways of business and will get an opportunity to interact with local people and people from around the world. Motivation to study in UK is also associated with the reputational factors attached with UKs education system. Most of the countries like US and Australia offer mostly two years rigorous MBA curriculum, whereas UK allowed me with the one year MBA, which was obviously a better choice if I consider my professional experience and life. I could not commit to a two-year program, thus a one-year program was an added advantage for me and one of the strongest reasons to choose UK. While researching about the universities in UK, Bangor University was highly advised by my counsellors back home and I was told it to be one the best educational institutes with a rich history in education. After coming here, I can say they were quite right. With stimulating lectures and vibrant life I can call it a perfect place to live and study. I view the world with a whole new perspective and my thinking about business and culture has been affected profoundly. I am out of my educational comfort zone and am being continuously challenged every day to develop my views and think in new ways. While earlier also I have been in stimulating environments, studying for a postgraduate qualification in UK is an altogether different endeavour. At Bangor University, I will develop my self-reliance and independence and will leverage on my previous professional experience and will mature academically and brighten my career prospects. MBA at Bangor means enrichment on every level. According to a survey by the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES), when asked about personal growth, 98% students agreed that education abroad increased their self-confidence and facilitated maturit y and 97% students revealed it had a lifelong impact on their world view (The London School of Economics and Political Science/LSE). I am here to seek friendship on a greater diversity level. Studying MBA will also enable me to build enduring friendships and developing relationships with people from various countries. I will remain in contact with them even after my education here is completed. Bangor University will provide me with academic benefits through excellent courses and lectures, unavailable at my home country. It will enhance the value of my degree by allowing me to study the subjects with more depth. Studying in UK will make me more aware culturally and I will be able to appreciate the differences in different cultures I have been in. I will be able to understand different people in better ways, thus becoming a part of world that is increasingly becoming more diverse. With this international exposure, I will be able to appraise the different points of view. MBA from Bangor University will definitely be advantageous to my future career as a manager in corporate world. In todays time more and more employ ers are placing great emphasis on the value of adaptability and flexibility. They also seek people who understand different cultures and can effectively communicate with people. It will prove to be of great help while the employers analyse my compatibility for a job as I will be able to demonstrate such skills to the employers. Interpersonal skills are the single most important attribute that the employers consider and I will gain on this front for having both academic and professional experience abroad. Undeniably I sought the international education and experience because they exhibit my own capability and confidence to carry on with it. Bangor University provides very challenging experience; academically, culturally, and socially and is naturally going to provide me an edge over others and help me stand out in the crowd. All the faculty members are internationally oriented and the academic quality is rich. Besides these reasons, the cost of tuition fee and cost of living are also important factors considered for choosing Bangor University. The place is rated extremely safe across the UK. Thus Bangor is my choice for both the teaching reasons and non-teaching reasons, bending towards the quality of faculty and cost of living as the most important reasons. Studying in an international setting at Bangor University with students from around the world will surely provide me with the opportunity to develop my communication skills with individuals from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds. The companies I have previously worked for are multinational companies with offices in various countries of world. This will prepare me for an international work. Considering my past ventures in US and Australia, I possess the experience of dealing with various cultures and this will only foster my value as an individual and an employee. Q. 2. What is your approach to learning? Q.3. What issues do you anticipate in the group work? In higher education, the inclusion of group work has become increasingly important, prominently due to greater significance assumed by skill development, lifelong learning and potential of students as future employees. Group work has wide reached consequences if not carried out with proper execution. It is a widely argued topic in the realm of higher education research literature by the likes of Webb, 1994 and Boud et al., 1999 (Mellor, A. 2009). There are three types of group works as identified by Davis (1993). They are formal learning groups, informal learning groups and study groups. Formal groups are created for accomplishing a particular task which is to be completed within a given period of time is given to them, such as preparing a report on the organizational behaviour and its elements in an MNC. Informal groups (random groups of individuals) are easily identifiable in a class where students discuss various academic (and non-academic) issues and the study groups are formed t o assist the group members during a projects progress. According to Webb, 1994; Gledhill and Smith, 1996, group work is extremely complex and has effects on the students learning mechanism. Before formation of a group, it is important to consider issues such as the right size of group, diversity in a group, balancing the load on different members of a group, preparing students to effectively participate in group work. Knight (2004) has argued that the students prefer being assessed individually rather than in groups. Group work can become more disliked by students in our groups if it involves peer assessment. As argued by Maguire and Edmonson (2001) it can lead to issues such as lack of rational judgement and prejudices. The most common issues that I can anticipate in the group work are trying to control the group or some members, coercing them to support them in every discussion. Mills (2003) also said that the thing students dislike most are poor group dynamics and personality cla shes. There can be an issue of some students who act as obligate parasites by deriving all the advantage without putting any efforts on their own. It discourages other members who actively contribute towards the success of group working. Such students have been called as passengers by Bourner et al. (2001) and Parsons (2002). Whereas, Hand (2001) coined the term freeloader for such students. An effective solution to this problem can be keeping the group size as minimum possible so that the scope of free riding can be minimized. Davis (1993) advised the perfect group size to be between 3 to 4 and no more than 6 to 7. Glebhill and Smith (1996) have discussed the issue of age, gender and qualification difference as the factors affecting the group dynamics, for example a more mature person will think quite differently than a young individual. There can also be a situation where a particular student is undermined by other members, this can seriously hamper his emotional confidence and th is sort of rejection can lead to bigger problems such as group conflict (Chang, 1999). In any group there can be some people who like to be followed and some who just follow without considering the bigger picture. While Thorley and Gregory (1994) believe that groups selected by teachers can be more effective answer to the task or situation, however there is a natural inclination among the students to form self-selected groups on basis such as friendship, ethnic or cultural proximity. This can become problematic in our case, as there are students from around the world. It is not necessary that every individual has made enough friends. Also, if some members are unable to form a group of their choice, they might feel hostile in a group of unknown people. It is not necessary that they will easily adjust in any group. It can not only hamper their participation but can also hurt their emotional well-being (Mellor and Entwistle, 2008). Q.4. How will you attempt to address these? Conclusion I, as an MBA student am looking forward to a rich academic and cultural exposure at Bangor University classrooms. Learning is certainly going to be an area of focus while also looking into the areas that need improvement. Developing personality to a better level will definitely be on top of the list. I am also looking forward to working in groups composed of diverse students. During the one year I have at Bangor, I will ensure I develop my transferrable skills and enhance my employability through the way of developing my leadership, negotiation abilities, decision making and increasing adaptability by fitting myself in different roles as the course progresses.

Humor and Tragedy in Virginia Woolfs Orlando Essay -- Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolfe's "Orlando" uses both humor and tragedy to observe humanity's often absurd and eccentric superficial constructions, both of class and gender. Woolfe creates the distinctions between male and female but continuously shatters them to reveal the illusions we create about gender. As George Meredith suggests, comedy is created when "The comic poet dares to show us men and women coming to this mutual likeness" (15). Woolfe, however, goes beyond simply bringing men and women together as equals; she blends them together as one androgynous individual, the effect of which causes us to laugh at the artificial way in which society attempts to define gender. After Orlando's matter-of-fact reaction to discovering he is a woman, the narrator with tongue-in-cheek explains how reasonable such a transformation is despite people's desire to define it as abnormal: "Many people, taking this into account, and holding that such a change of sex is against nature, have been at great pains to prove (1) that Orlando has always been a woman, (2) that Orlando is at this moment a man. Let b...

How Television Affects Society :: essays research papers

How Television Effects Society.â€Å"The only activities Americans spend more time doing than watching television are working and sleeping.† With this in mind, it is understood that television plays a major role in the statistical majority of most Americans. Society reflects what is shown on television in a multitude of various areas. Three of the major areas in which television affects us are in behavior, moral values, and social standards. All throughout life, youths have found some way to rebel against authority. In the 50’s, boys rode on motorcycles and greased their hair back. In the 60’s, they let their hair grow down to their â€Å"who-ha† as they denounced their government. In today’s day and age, we find our youth killing each other and denouncing God. A prime example of television’s responsibility for this matter would be the mass coverage of the Columbine shootings. In a personal individual survey I conducted, close to 100% of the people said that they had never before seen or heard of any school shootings before the Columbine incident. Now that the constant round the clock news coverage of Columbine has concluded, there is been well over seven more reported incidents of school shootings that will probably never reach the amount of coverage that Columbine got because school shootings are no longer a novelty. Do you wonder why these kids did what they did? It is because of the amount of violence that is now being shown all across the news. In one weeks worth of time of watching the ten o’clock news, I have seen blood drenched war victims give A.B.C news anchors their last words before slipping into a coma. Five days ago, a neighborhood gang interrupted a high school student’s routine walk home by beating him to within an inch of his life. When he was asked if he would reveal the names of the assaulters, guess who was bedside with a camera to capture the swollen faced expression of the student? Ne wscasters are overstepping their boundaries for the mere purpose of sensationalism, and death has lost its shock value. A technique used by many in the television business to assure mass audience attention is to just make everything brief. The deceit in this technique is that it provides constant stimulation through variety, novelty, and action. In this aspect, television has become a virtual narcotic drug. In this, we the viewers are the junkies.

Cold Sassy

Death is spread all throughout Cold Sassy Tree, a novel that begins with the passing of Mattie Lou and ends with the passing of Rocker Blakeley. While the book focuses on mainly on religion and the restrictions of the town Cold Sassy, the Grim Reaper seems to be floating around every corner. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. Is a book that revolves around death, and the main character Will Tweedy seems to know lust how to handle himself from the very start. Will Tweedy Is fourteen years old when his grandmother, Mattie Lou Toy Blakeley, dies three weeks before the novel begins.There Is no real explanation as to why she died, since the author did not specify her sickness, so It was most likely due to natural causes. This might have made It somewhat easier on Mattie Loll's family and the rest of Cold Sassy, who were very close to her, but It does not keep them all from grieving and mourning to Kingdom Come. They linger on her death and restrict themselves from doing anything they fin d pleasurable. This Is understandable as well as common in their time, seeing that they could be judged for coming out of mourning too quickly.However, young Will sees that there is something wrong with tying upset for such a long period of time: â€Å"l just didn't think I could stand anymore mourning. For three whole weeks†¦ They hadn't let me play baseball or go fishing or anything. † (Burns 14). This shows that Will is somewhat ahead of others when it comes to dealing with the demise of close friends and relatives, though he deals with it in a very different way from others. Will Is puzzled by the conformity that is offered from Cold Sassy.He does not see why it is wrong for his grandfather, Mr.. Blakeley, to love both his dead wife and his new wife, Miss Love. He knows that it is strange for his grandfather to be marrying a unsung milliner shortly after Mattie Lou dies, yet sees the positive side and recognizes the fact that his grandfather will need help around the house. If Mattie Lou is dead, how can she help Mr.. Blakeley? Will has also almost been killed by a train; this occurred not long after Mattie Loll's death.The event was very surreal to him, and he was extremely scared when he found that he could very well be dead: â€Å"And as knowledge of what could have happened hit me, I started shaking and crying. † (Burns 78). In addition to this, Will's friend Bluffed Jackson died the previous year due to cocoas. Will grieves for him during the camping trip with his friends, but he covers it up with humor. That is the revelation; Will deals with death through comedy so that he can deal with the emotions he does not understand.However, after he himself almost dies, Will begins to see that he should be more appreciative of life, and It makes him want to understand God and death more than ever. This brings us to Will's spiritual mentor, which would be his grandfather, Rocker Blakeley. Rocker helps Will mature In many ways through the nov el, never lecturing UT sharing his thoughts with young Tweedy. Rocker makes It clear that he Cold Sassy By mahogany seems to be floating around every corner. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. S a Will Tweedy is fourteen years old when his grandmother, Mattie Lou Toy Blakeley, dies three weeks before the novel begins. There is no real explanation as to why she died, since the author did not specify her sickness, so it was most likely due to natural causes. This might have made it somewhat easier on Mattie Loll's family and the rest of Cold Sassy, who were very close to her, but it does not keep them all from homeless from doing anything they find pleasurable.This is understandable as well as common in their time, seeing that they could be Judged for coming out of staying upset for such a long period of time: â€Å"l Just didn't think I could stand Will is puzzled by the conformity that is offered from Cold Sassy. He does not see almost dies, Will begins to see that he should be mo re appreciative of life, and it Blakeley. Rocker helps Will mature in many ways through the novel, never lecturing but sharing his thoughts with young Tweedy. Rocker makes it clear that he

Customer Needs and Expectations

Here at Travel Weekly one of the representatives at Virgin Atlantic have honoured us by writing an article about ‘A day as a representative' Lets see what Kaye Goodwin from Virgin Atlantic has to say! In a day of a representative at Virgin Atlantic I have to look at how these needs are identified and I must cover: Customer requests in writing Customer requests to representatives of organisations verbally (face to face or telephone) Recognition of unstated needs Customer type one: FamiliesIf a family was too put in a request in writing, because they may have young children, they could possibly write their requests to me in an email because of convenience and time. For example: a mother and father of two young children will not have time to come into the travel agents to sit down and tell me what type of holiday they would like. Therefore by sending me an email with the requests they would like, it would save a lot of time, and I can look up all of the information for them and re spond back to them via email.Customer type two: Couples If a young couple would like to go on a short break or a holiday, they would come into the travel agent and sit down with me too tell me where they would like to go and what type of holiday they would like. For example: a young couple from Central London would like to book a holiday for early December. They come into the travel agent and sit down with me and tell me what type of holiday they would like. After looking up and discussing different holidays, they would make a decision and hopefully book the holiday.If they would like more time to think about it, I would give them a few broachers to take home with them while they thought about it. Customer type two: Elderly couple An elderly couple are most likely to come into the travel agents and sit down with me to discuss the holiday they would like to go on. After discussing a few holidays, I would recommend a holiday. E. g. I would say ‘there is a lovely villa in Spain t hat is on offer at the moment that is about half a mile away from the beach. If one of the couples were to say that they have been to Spain before and it was too hot, or that their partner was not able to walk very far, that would be known as a recognition of unstated needs, meaning that they would like to go to a destination that is at a cooler climate or they would like to stay in accommodation closer to the beach. Customer type four: Disabled People that have a disability can communicate with me in any way, i. e. face to face, via email or on the telephone.If a customer was to call me and ask for information on different holidays but said that they were disabled, I would realise that this would mean they would be a unstated need, and they would need special assistance. For example if a lady who wanted to book a holiday and was blind or visually impaired, I would know that they would need maps or signs to be put up in Brail and raised floors so they know when they are too close to a swimming pool. Task 2b – explain how travel and recognition of their needs.Tourism organisations meet and exceed customer expectations using examples from companies in the travel and tourism industry that you have researched. When our company (VA) recognise customer needs, the customers can be face for face with one of our representatives, have an online chat with one of our representatives or write their requests too us. We meet customer needs by making sure that all of the flights operate on time, airline staff are always available for assistance and always make sure that customers are kept up to date with important information such as flight times, flight delays and check in times.The way that we meet these needs are by keeping staff updated with information, regular announcements for customers at the airports and making sure that landings/take off are planned properly to avoid delays if possible. Task 2c – analyse how travel and tourism organisations meet and ex ceed the customer needs and expectations through the recognition of their needs. You should expand the links between needs, identification of needs and being able to meet and exceed customers expectations. Here at Virgin Atlantic, we identify and meet customer needs through customer survey questionnaires/ comment cards and customer forums/focus groups.When the survey questionnaires or comment cards have been read by a member for our staff, usually the customer service manager, they then analyse all of the comments to find areas of improvement in order to meet customer needs. For example, if a number of customers have complained about staff not knowing obvious information i. e. directions around the airport, prices of products or check in times, that would tell us that our staff are unequipped to help our customers. From this, we will then need to realise and work our a way to get more information into our staff in order to meet the needs of our customers more efficiently.This can be done in many ways, however the most ideal one for this situation would be to hold regular morning/afternoon meetings to keep staff updated with information. When we exceed customer expectations, we like to go that extra mile by giving out customers more in-depth information. An example of this would be when a customer asks simply the time of their flight, we like to make sure that our staff will fully inform our customers of their flight time, boarding time, gate number and if there will be any delays.At the Martime Museum (NMM) they meet and exceed customers expectations by making sure that the company works like clock work. All of the staff are given a two day induction and then on-going training pro grammes are offered to all staff. All staff are fully trained and new members of staff are teamed up with an experienced team member to meet all of the customers needs. At NMM there are customer comment cards, customer surveys and focus groups to ensure that the organization knows wh at their customers want and if there are any complaints being made.For an example if the museum had a number of complaints about staff not having enough product knowledge/information i. e. background history of the area they were working in, that would tell the managers/owners that their staff are unequipped to help their customers. From this information, they work their way to getting more knowledge into their staff. This can be done in so many ways but the most effective way would be to give the staff more training and hold meetings regularly o make sure that they have acceptable knowledge to be working with the customers.