Write a response to the article Alone on a Hilltop Essay

Write a response to the article Alone on a Hilltop - Essay Example What exactly hit me about this reading was the relationship between the boy and different symbols of his religion. I have learned a couple of things from this article. First, a person is nothing without a religion because it is the religion, which protects us and guides us to the right direction. Second, every religion has a different set of perspectives, rituals, and beliefs that inspire its followers. This article reminds me of the day of my first school exam when I was feeling really scared. It was totally a new feeling for me and I was feeling very confused. I did not know how the exam would go and what it would be like. At that time, I recalled what my mother had said to me to do if I feel scared during exams. She had told me to close my eyes right before the exams for some seconds, think that God is with you, and feel that you are in the arms of your mother. She said that by doing this all my fear would go away. I did exactly this on the day of exams and surprisingly all my fea r went away and I became ready to do my best in the paper. Summing it up, my personal experience and that of the boy in this article show that the relationship between a person and his/her beliefs and religion is strong enough to get the person out of every difficult

Career Paper ( Preschool Teacher) Essay Example for Free

Career Paper ( Preschool Teacher) Essay History Preschool is something very important for toddlers. Preschools were established in Europe around the late 1800s. They were later introduced to the United States in the 1920s. According to the Encyclopedia of careers and vocational guidance 9th edition preschools expanded rapidly in the united states during the 1960s. Job Description Preschool teachers usually instruct children usually until they reach the age of five. They conduct activities designed to develop social, physical, and intellectual skills needed for primary school. During an interview I was told many things on the subject. You need a lot of patience said Esther Rodriguez a preschool teacher. There are many tasks needed to be done. While researching I came across plenty of information on the internet, Echoices says that some typical tasks are planning individual and group activities, and monitor activities to prevent accidents and conflicts between children. Nature of Work Preschool teachers play a very important role in the development of children. In the Encyclopedia of careers and vocational guidance 9th edition states that a preschool teachers primary responsibility in the social development and health of each child. Preschool teachers design activities that build on the childrens native abilities and help them develop skills and characteristics that will help them grow. What children learn and experience during their early years can shape their views of themselves and the world. Preschool teachers introduce children to math, language arts, science, and social studies. These subjects are taught using games, music, artwork, films, books, computers, and other tools to teach basic skills. The majority of children need adjusting when they first go to preschool it being their first time away from home and their parents. Because young children look up to adults and learn through examples, its important that the teachers are good role models. Education, training, qualifications, and work experience Licensing requirements for preschool teachers vary by state. Some states require a bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education and others require certification by a nationally recognized authority. The child development associate (CDA) credential which is the most common type of certification. It requires a mix of classroom training and experience working with children. This comes along with an independent of an individuals competence. The Encyclopedia of careers and vocational guidance 11th edition shares some requirements. In high school you should take child development, home economics, and other classes that involve you with child care. It also says youll also need a fundamental understanding of the general subjects youll be introducing to preschool students, so take English, science, and math. Dont forget art, music, and drama for creative skills. Florida Earnings 2003 Statewide average annual earnings $20,405 Statewide average hourly earnings $9. 81 Statewide entry level annual earnings $14,560 Statewide entry level hourly earnings $7. 00 Statewide experienced level annual earnings $22,090 Statewide experienced level hourly earnings $10. 62 Miami Earnings 2003 Average annual earnings $23,150 /hourly $11. 13 Entry level annual earnings $14,435 / hourly $6. 94 Experienced level annual earnings $27,414/ hourly $13. 18.

Motivation And Vocabulary Learning

Motivation And Vocabulary Learning In current time the demand of learning English is rising tremendously due to lingua franca nature of this language in EFL context which refers to student who study English in non-English language society and ESL who study English in an environment that their mother tongue is English; therefore, so many attention has been given to this field because of economical and educational purposes. Back in the days, during methods era and especially in learning-centered methods the lack of explicit focus on grammar cause the vocabulary to gain an important role. They believe that vocabulary cause better comprehension and with this achievement there will be a language development (Kumaravadivelu, 2008). Although with death of method, this component of language is not dead yet, and it still has an important role in current classes with different styles of teaching. In Richards and Renandya (2002) the importance of this fact has been expressed as in the past , vocabulary teaching and learning were often given little priority in second language programs, but recently there has been a renewed interest in the nature of vocabulary and its role in learning and teaching (p.255). 1. a. the problems that students have in different tasks Many linguists define language as a sign system (Hudson, 2000), which consist of lexicon and grammar. According to Hudson, lexicon refers to mental dictionary. And we have different approaches on vocabulary learning that we will study them in detail on following sections. One of them is Lexical approach, in this approach the focus and emphasis is not on the grammar, syntax and structure but on the lexis or word and word combinations (Richards Rodgers, 2006). Most of these approaches and methods isolating words from the context and teach them explicitly as a single unit or compound (prefabricated) unit, but the problem will come up when the learner wants to use it; they can not place it appropriately in correct situations. For example the word reticent means quiet but the place and the context of using this word is not in the supermarket rather it is in the academic places such as university and college; an English learner will memorize this word and use it when she/he wants to talk to a native sales person or in imaginary role play activity with out awareness of authentic use of it that will cause low motivation. Because when the native speakers feel the lack of language competency they will avoid continuing the conversation. Other problems that can be find in the realm of vocabulary learning / teaching is the use of complicated words by the teacher in the classes which are not appropriate for the students in basic or intermediate levels. According to my own experience and observation, so many EFL classes experience this atmosphere which makes the learners anxious. One of the main reasons for that is the practice of teachers themselves, when a teacher with good general knowledge of English teaches an intermediate students for a year he /she will lose some of his knowledge according to lack of practice then they will bring that practice into their classes. The supervisor of that institute was happy and when the question has been asked about this problem he mentioned Krashens i + 1 hypothesis, but he didnt bring into consideration the level of 1 is not determined yet and how harmful it can be for learners. The mentioned problems make the learners overwhelmed and bewildered on how, when and where to use the words. Should they use the writing words (the words that are usually used in writing) in the speaking tasks or use the speaking words in the writing tasks? This will cause debilitative anxiety and low self-efficacy which refers to external factors. The word self-efficacy is defined in Williams and Burden (1997) as students beliefs about their capabilities to apply effectively the knowledge and skills they already possess and thereby learn new cognitive skill (p.129). When the learners are confused and can not recognize which word to select or when to use the special word, they will refer it to task difficulty (Williams Burden, 1997).This low self-efficacy will cause low motivation (which will be studied in detail in the Body of this paper), and when the learners are not motivated they give up practicing and they think that the task is hard but in reality the absence of practice which is due to low motivation caused that. And when this happen, it not only influence their vocabulary knowledge but also it plays a significant role on other four skills, because when the knowledge of vocabulary is low, the comprehension will be low so the pr oduction. Richards and Renandya (2002) express vocabulary is core component of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, read and write (p.255). Also in their book they mentioned with out the good knowledge of vocabulary and strategies for learning new vocabulary, learners can not progress in the way that their capabilities are and this will cause low motivation then they wont participate in learning opportunities around them such as listening to news, watching movies, listening to the native speaker and using the language in different context(Richards and Renandya ,2002). 1. b. passive and active vocabulary learning There are generally two types of vocabulary in mind, passive and active (Heaton, 1990). By passive vocabulary he refers to reading and listening words (comprehensive). Hunt and Beglar in the book of Richards Renandya (2002) classify it as incidental learning in the long run, most words in both first and second languages are probably learned incidentally, through extensive reading and listening (p.259). We may read so many articles, books, newspapers and texts included different classes of words but it is not possible to use those words in our speaking and writing (production). The emphasis is on speaking because during the utterance we have less time for processing the new words and the speaker tries to use safe words which have been proved before. The other group is active vocabulary. In this group we have writing and speaking words (productive) that refers to the word we use in our speaking and writing so the classification is listening: passive/spoken, reading: passive/written, speaking: active/spoken and writing: active/written(Heaton , 1990, P.51). It is worth mentioning that the amount of words that we comprehended is much larger than the words that we produced.in the research of Oxford Crookall (1990) declared that spoken vocabulary is often smaller than written vocabulary, which is in turn generally smaller than receptive vocabulary (p.23).from that statement they conclude that proficiency in speaking is more difficult for the student to achieve than writing and writing is harder than reading and listening ( Oxford Crookall, 1990). According to my own experience, one of my classes memorized and practiced the 504 essential words but they hardly used those words in their production. The ideal goal for the learners is shifting from passive knowledge of vocabulary to active knowledge of vocabulary and create an atmosphere for better fluency with the activated vocabulary .for the fluency Richards renandya (2002) suggest that fluency is partly depends on developing sight vocabulary through extensive reading and studying high-frequency vocabulary(p.262) and also they expressed that fluency is cyclic use of already known words so the students can produce an utterance without hesitation(Richards and renandya,2002). To achieve these goal different variables should be taken into consideration such as time, books, methods of teaching, students back ground knowledge and so on. Mentioned variables will effect the learners motivation. For example in that class if the time and duration had been extended the result would have been different. Students could use those words so they didnt think about the hardness of the task (external, task difficulty) and they could have higher self- efficacy and better motivation. And they could realize that vocabulary learning is a formidable and complex life-long task (Stahl Nagy, 2006). There is a mutual relationship between motivation and vocabulary learning so when the learners are motivated they will learn more vocabulary and when they learn more vocabulary they will be more motivated, like a cycle. 1. C. absence of enough review of related literature About the title of this paper there are only very few information, studies and review of related literature. the reason for that is scholars and researchers usually consider vocabulary as part of reading skill , Deng (2010) declare motivation for vocabulary learning is different from motivation for reading , so the motivation of vocabulary should be studied separately (p.4). 2. Body There are six categories in the dimensions of vocabulary learning: help-seeking, morphology, context, dictionary use, spelling and phonology (Deng, 2010). The help-seeking is very important in the process of vocabulary learning among EFL students. When the learners dont t know the meaning of the word they will ask for it from the other peer or authority such as teachers or parents (this will be analyzed in detail in the vocabulary learning strategies). Research on this field show that students usually use this strategy rather than checking dictionary because it is easier and to the point, but it has down side too, using dictionary is a skill and when they get use to it they are exposed to more vocabulary learning and authentic pronunciation. In Richards renandya (2002) the importance of dictionary is declared through bilingual dictionaries have been found to result in vocabulary learning (p.263); they also proposed the advantages of bilingual dictionaries over monolingual one. .help-seeking shows that the students are concern about their studies so they have facilitative anxiety. When they realize the meaning, they will be more motiva ted due to understanding the concept of the text. The second category for vocabulary learning is morphology. Hudson (2000) defines morphology as concern the classes of morphemes, and their occurrence in sentences and combination as words (p.8). We can study morphemes in two ways, based on meaning and based on the form with in two subparts, grammatical and lexical morphemes (Hudson, 2000). Study has shown that the student awareness on this division and the characteristic of each grammatical and lexical morpheme such as concreteness, frequency, open-set membership will help them to overcome the difficulty of the task .as an example, when the learners can distinguish between stem, root, suffix and prefix they not only will realize the meaning and function of that word but also they can use this technique to overcome some other hard and complicated task in the realm of vocabulary learning. In this situation learners become more self- actualized in result they will consider themselves as part of the process and they dont rely on external factors (luck, difficulty of the task) so they will have a higher motivation. Williams Burden (1997) declare that the greater the value that individuals attached to the accomplishment or involvement in an activity the more highly motivated they will be both to engage in it initially and later to put sustained effort into succeeding in the activity(p.125). In fact, many examinations have been taken in the morphology and motivation realm, Deng (2010) examined the motivation of morphological knowledge by measuring students motivation to notice and manipulate word parts that contribute to word meanings (p.11). The result of this study shows the significant relationship between motivation and morphological awareness. Another factor which causes lack of motivation is accessibility to morphemes in our lexicon. Lexicon is mental dictionary of the morphemes and signs (Hudson, 2000). Access to morpheme in our lexicon occurs by rhyme, initial sound, and synonym, rough opposite, semantic features, context of occurrence, part of speech and spelling( Hudson, 2000, p.74). Another way for Vocabulary learning is learning the word with in text itself. Contextualization occurs when the unknown meaning of the word is guessed by the reader according to other words and phrases. Contextual use refers to understanding word meanings by scrutinizing surrounding context, including preceding or succeeding phrases and sentences that provide syntactic and semantic cues (Deng, 2010, P.11), it is worth mentioning that this technique is more suitable for advanced learners because vocabulary learning includes learning collocations, associations, and related morphological as well as grammatical patterns ; considering all these elements for guessing the meaning is not possible for basic learners(Richards renandya, 2003). This is very useful technique for the learners to enhance their self-efficacy as well. When they realize that they do not need to know the meaning of all the words to overcome the test or task difficulty, they will see an open window of opportunity for l earning. On the other hand Kelly (1990) declared that unless the context is very constrained, which is relatively rare occurrence or unless there is a relationship with the known word identifiable on the basis of form and supported by context, there is little chance of guessing the correct meaning (p.203). We can learn and access the vocabulary in lexicon with phonology and phonological process. In phonological process the learner can keep the word in the mind by the sound of it and also can have an access to the lexicon by the same application. The Other type is spelling, Deng (2010) presents that spelling is specified as sub category of students motivation in vocabulary learning because spelling helps to learn new vocabulary (p.11). Spelling influences conceptualizations of vocabulary learning (Ehri Wilce, 1986). Through the spelling vocabulary l the image of the words can be established in the mind better than when the spelling is not known and this gives the learner stronger self -esteem. Richards Renandya (2002) express that language -focused instruction includes focusing on the pronunciation and spelling of words; deliberately learning the meaning of a word; memorizing collocations, phrases or sentences containing a word and being corrected for incorrect use of words(p.270). 2. a. types of motivation and vocabulary learning So far we realized that how motivation is related to the vocabulary learning. In this section, we consider types of motivation and the relationship with vocabulary learning. Motivation refers to goal-directed behavior (Masgoret and Gardner, 2003, p.128). It has been studied in different psychological schools of thought such as behaviorist view, cognitivist view and social constructivist view. In behaviorist point of view the concept of motivation is tied to rewards and external factors. Although the behaviorist point of view has been rejected but it can not be fully rejected; some times it plays an important role in vocabulary leaning. The external feedback that learners get will motivate them to continue the vocabulary learning tasks. Some scholars emphasis on the effect of feedback the effort students put into their work outside of class needs to be acknowledged with sufficient feedback to make them feel that the effort was worthwhile in moving them toward their goal (capturing and directing, 1997, p.4 ).so by giving them immediate feedback they will be more motivated in expansion of vocabulary learning. And, William and Burden (1997) declared that behavioral psychologist were the first to recognize the power of feedback as a motivating influence (p. 134). Other perspectives such as achievement motivation can be helpful in vocabulary learning. But it has two phases, one when the learner is highly motivated to accomplish the vocabulary task for external factors such as achieving the first place in the class or for their parents satisfaction. The second phase which is debilitative refers to the situations when the learner avoids participating in the task due to stressful nature of that activity. In result, we can see that the early psychologist approaches toward motivation is simple and deficient. Although there are not enough review of literature in the area of vocabulary learning and motivation but it can be studied in the Gardners integrative and instrumenta l orientation. Masgoret and Gardner (2003) Define integrative orientation as integration refers to an openness to identify, at least in part, with another language community (p.126). In integrative orientation the EFL learners want to be part of the English language community, and they want to integrate themselves with the English culture. This type of orientation is highly related to vocabulary learning. When learners want to be part of the community and they are highly motivated, they should speak or write in the manner that native speaker does. This will cause the learner to focus on expansion of vocabulary, besides using the words in appropriate place as mentioned on the introduction part of this paper. Also Masgoret and Gardener emphasis the adaption of word sounds, pronunciations, word orders, and other behavioral and cognitive features (Masgoret and Gardner, 2003). There are six variables included in the measure of integrative motivation which the main component, consists of attitude, interests and integrative orientation (William Burden, 1997). Attitudes toward the learning situation refer to the individuals reaction to anything associated with the immediate context in which the language is taught (Masgoret and Gardner, 2003, p.127).also Deng which is one of the main references of this paper, investigates motivation particularly attitude in vocabulary learning and defines it as evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor (Deng, 2010, p.8). Sometimes the students are not interested in the target language group but they can be open to all groups (Masgort and Gardner, 2003); in the case of interest, they make themselves involved in vocabulary learning and participate in different tasks which cause further learning. The other type is instrumental orientation; which has less effect on the vocabulary learning compare to integrative orientation. When the learners want to overcome the difficulty of the text, task or exam for achieving a passing mark, financial rewards, furthering a career or gaining promotion they usually have instrumental orientation (William Burden, 1997). This kind of motivation is applicable to vocabulary learning too. When the learners want to get passing mark on an English test they should study appropriate vocabulary for achieving that goal and it is only and only for that purpose. The other approaches toward motivation are cognitive and social constructivist. In cognitive psychologist approach, the most important part is the choice that learners have on their actions (William and Burden, 1997). And in the social constructivist perspectives , the motivation is because of social factors so when one person is motivated, he/she will continue to achieve the goal and the way they are satisfied is different from person to person( William Burden, 1997). There are other perspectives to motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. In the researches on the vocabulary learning both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations play an important role. But intrinsic motivation which in William and Burden (1997) book has been defined as experience of doing something that generates interest and enjoyment, and the reason for performing the activity lies within the activity itself (p.123) is very important for the vocabulary learning. Because the learners are interested in the task or vocabular y learning, so they try more to get their goals, and they wont give up easily. 2. b. the complexity of words Some times the complexity of words may cause lack of motivation and because there is a mutual relationship between them, it may cause the student to give up the learning. According to Nagy and Scott there are five aspects of vocabulary complexity the first one is incremental- knowing which Deng (2010) defines it as knowing a word is not a matter of all- or- nothing, but incremental process based on small scales (p.9). So it means that the vocabulary knowledge is additive. The learner shouldnt be overwhelmed and unmotivated due to complex nature of vocabulary learning; when they see that they can add to their base knowledge. The second one is multidimensionality-word that consists of grammar, conceptual meaning and morphology which has been explained in the previous sections. Polysemy -words that Yule (1985) defines it as two or more words with the same form and related meanings (p.107). Also yule gives a good example of run that can relate to person or water. When the learner face t his complexity he/she can be bewildered, to avoid this ambiguity different strategies are needed that will be discussed in the following section. The other type is interrelatedness words that Deng explain it with the example of understanding the word bread which is related to understanding of other related words such as powder and wheat (Deng, 2010). And the last one is heterogeneity-word that refers to word class. For example some words are abstract like love and some words are concrete like chair, understanding these two level words are different and the abstract words may cause anxiety among EFL learner and especially between younger ages. Another perspective to words is the division of word knowledge to receptive and productive. Richards Renandya (2002) define the receptive knowledge as one of the aspects of knowledge through reading and listening, and productive knowledge means being able to use in speaking and writing (p.261). The concept of word knowledge is closely related to the passive and active vocabulary. Zhong in his research explain the concept of receptive-productive word as the mastery level of vocabulary knowledge reflected in the learners comprehension and production abilities (p.118) and also in the same paper he demonstrate progressive process of learning a word. The reason that I brought these parts of word and vocabulary learning in to this paper is that in conclusion part we will see there is a mutual relation between learning vocabulary and motivation. According to Zhong the first dimension is partial -precise dimension, it shows the knowledge moves from recognition to vague understanding of the meaning and later to the mastery of precise comprehension (p.118). The second is depth dimension which is the quality of knowing word and the last dimension is receptive and productive dimension. 2. c. vocabulary learning strategies In order to simplify the complexity of the word and vocabulary learning that has a significant role on student anxiety and motivation, some strategies are needed. When the learners are motivated they will seek some ways for better understanding of the text or making use of these strategies for longer retention of words. For this purpose in Richards and Renandya there is a great emphasis on these strategies for inferring words from context as well as those which can help learner retain the meaning (RichardsRenandya,2002). There are different categorizations for vocabulary learning strategies according to different researchers. Oxford Crookall divided the techniques for vocabulary learning in to four categories decontextualizing technique that extract the word from the context completely which help the learners remember how the word is used as a part of language; semi- contextualizing in this technique the new word is related to the learners already known word but still they are not part of the context; the third one is contextualizing technique that the word will be studied in communicative context; and the last one is adaptable that reinforce other techniques (Oxford Crookall , 1990). Decontextualizing technique consists of word lists that are divided into unpaired list and paired list, flashcards and conventional dictionary use; semi contextualizing which is consisted of words grouping ,visual imaginary ,key word ,physical sensation and semantic mapping; contextualizing technique that is processed with in the four skills in general English proficiency; and the last one , adaptable technique which they use structured reviewing (Oxford Crookall, 1990). In the Asgaris research, the division is based on Schmitt classification, and he divides it in discovery strategies and consolidation strategies with five sub- categories consists of determination, social, memory ,cognitive and metacognitive strategies ( Asgari,2010). In the research that has been done by Asgari, she tries to related the learning strategies to vocabulary learning ,although it is acceptable but more specification is needed , because a specific classification for vocabulary learning strategies has been given. Other strategies which are related to learning in general term, can be associated to vocabulary learning as well , such as circumlocution when we describe the unknown word for the listener ; using prefabricated pattern , word coinage , approximation and so on (William Burden, 1997).the mentioned techniques are part of the compensatory strategy, which is crucial for learner productive vocabulary knowledge. When they use this type of strategy they will continue the production and this will cause low anxiety and high degree of motivation. 3. Conclusion So far different aspects of motivation and vocabulary learning have been investigated, the problems that EFL learners have in the classes and generally as the process of learning the second or foreign language beside the kinds of motivation and kinds of words. Also different strategies have been mentioned to compensate the above problems. The reason for this division is first there is not enough literature on this specific subject and second from my own understanding there are mutual relationship between vocabulary learning and motivation. By that I mean when the learners are motivated they will learn vocabulary better and when they learn a word they will be more motivated. So the reason for bringing all the above problems, kinds and strategies is that they are like a chain and they are related to each other. Deng in his research found no difference between male and female in motivation for vocabulary learning and he found a significant relationship between vocabulary learning and mo tivation (Deng, 2010).and also Fernandez Terrazas (2012) in their research found that there is a significant positive relationship between the level of motivation and receptive vocabulary tests grade (p.49). so by considering the level of motivation we can improve vocabulary learning among the EFL learners.

Parkinsons Disease Essay -- Health

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a striatal dopamine deficiency disorder as a consequence of neuronal loss in the substania nigra. It is named after James Parkinson, a British apothecary, who first fully documented its physical signs in 1817. Since then, significant advances have been made in our understanding of characteristic pathophysiology as well as in the medical treatment of different stages of PD. An overview of condition features in terms of epidemiology, manifestations, diagnosis and disease management will be discussed in this paper. I. Epidemiology Parkinson’s disease is a common form of Parkinsonism, affecting as many as one out of every hundred people aged 65 years and over. The disease prevalence increases with age, with approximately 2% of those older than 80 years having PD. It is estimated that the number of patients diagnosed with PD is around 110,000 in the UK. No significant gender predominance has been recognised in most epidemiological studies although some evidence implies that men are more likely to develop PD than their counterparts. Owning to population aging, the incidence of PD is anticipated to rise dramatically in the coming decades. Despite being the second most common neurodegenerative illness after Alzheimer’s disease, the cause of PD remains elusive. To date, a considerable amount of literature has suggested that the disorder may be precipitated by either or both genetic and environmental factors (e.g. ingestion or inhalation of a neurotoxin called MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro pyridine). II. Manifestations Parkinson’s disease is classically characterised by the tetrad of clinical features, as follows: bradykinesia or slowness of movement, rest tremor (usually described as pil... ...W, Poewe W, Stocchi F, et al. Rasagiline as an adjunct to levodopa in patients with Parkinson’s disease and motor fluctuations (LARGO, Lasting effect in Adjunct therapy with Rasagiline Given Once daily, study): a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group trial. The Lancet. 12;365(9463):947–54. 10. Rabey JM, Sagi I, Huberman M, Melamed E, Korczyn A, Giladi N, et al. Rasagiline mesylate, a new MAO-B inhibitor for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease: a double-blind study as adjunctive therapy to levodopa. Clin Neuropharmacol. 2000 Dec;23(6):324–30. 11. Oldfield V, Keating GM, Perry CM. Rasagiline: a review of its use in the management of Parkinson’s disease. Drugs. 2007;67(12):1725–47. 12. Chen JJ, Ly A-V. Rasagiline: A second-generation monoamine oxidase type-B inhibitor for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2006 May 15;63(10):915–28.

Life Define Leadership Essay

What is the leadership? I often ask myself. Leadership is a very abstract concepts, some people don’t have a way to go to real life define leadership, even if he is now running a large company even leadership a country. Because of its category is too big. Through a few weeks of classroom study, I gradually with the own leadership definition, began to try to explore what is leadership. Before work experience, also have to lead a team, but have no real system to learn what the leadership is. Below the article I will explain the leadership in my heart. Leadership is a process of getting things done through people, in the textbook, we begin to contact the Leadership of the theory of knowledge, also in class, through a few small games, such as Marshmallow tower, practice Leadership. The textbook says the three types of leadership, democratic, authoritarian, laissez faire, I think, real leadership is difficult to directly will these separate, and they will fusion these types. In different times and different situation, displays the different style, this is the true leaders. If simple to put a person’s leadership types are classified it is very one-sided. We can only say they are more inclined to what kind. For example, I will talk about my personal experience. When I was a universities’ student in China, I opened an e-commerce company, it called Universities’ cell phone union of China and seven people went into business together for the company, they were students too, I was in them as leader. At first, everyone has great enthusiasm, is with a passion of the cavity work, also rely on my personal charm, because we were both have no money, no experience. Many companies have to work things, such as do website, hair handbill, wait a tired of live. But the work is not ideal, the company does not have profit, after period of time, they began to lose patience, lose passion. They all wanted to give up. Someone suggested, just gave it up, and then strive on useless. And this time, as a team leader, you must stand up, with authoritarian way hold on, in the spirit up motivate them, use the positive spirit to inspire them. Let them think we are a team and never give up. To hold on, we will be successful. This is a very often in the startup problem, if the team leader without certain perseverance and decision making, it is difficult to spend the difficulty. Fortunately, we pass the difficulties, the website has begun to have customers, and someone is looking for us to buy cell phones, gradually have profit. But problems also began, the team started seven of the site’s planning the divergence web site is primarily sell mobile phone, but on the web site are beginning to target customers later, they want to sell other things on the site, and cell phone extraneous matter. This time is to do or do all fine. It is hard to the choice. This time, I had a meeting, and let people talk of the company, through the very democratic way to listen to their views, summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of each, weigh the advantages and disadvantages and website decided to continue to sell mobile phone, the industry bigger, which is conducive to the next development. Through three years of operation, we market distribution in 20 provinces, under the small team have 300 university student, have the same administrative headquarters, we formed a good few department, the finance department, the Marketing Department, human resources department, technology department, administration department. Form a comparison of the regulation of the company. I can say, the company exercise great leadership skills. Also in the actual experience accumulated a lot of experience for leadership. Leadership means responsibility. It’s adventure and often fun, but it always means responsibility. The leader is the guy the others look to get the job done How to use the leadership knowledge . There are many leadership case analysis, or Project, and emphasizes the grasp of the business world now, after the study of the leadership course, we can easily see clear a enterprise under the surface of the actual operation of the means, the enterprise strategy, culture, capital, etc. Of course these to personal future career will not have a direct function, but it is an indispensable exercise. The future of my leadership From the leadership class let me from thinking came out, let me know a completely different world, let me made clear the idea of starting my own business. I believe the leadership value, also hope to have more students, no matter whether have the class and have joined the innovative team . let us together to do some different things, and not waste their own intelligence and one cavity warm blood. You are not a finished leader. No one ever is, not even a president or prime minister. But you are an explorer of the human mind because now you are going to try to learn how to get things done through people. This is one of the keys to leadership. So I will change my style and try different kinds of leadership style in the classroom. Constantly to experience feel, this is advantageous to the development of future better. I have enjoyed this class that can let me know some different things. The teacher has many ways to help the student know some leadership knowledge like the small games. And you are very easy to master this theory, also easy to define. You can use knowledge be applied to real life. Thank you for the teacher.

Zara: It for Fast Fashion

Zara: IT for Fast Fashion Identification of issues: The case study, Zara: IT for Fast Fashion, focuses on the retail giant, Inditex, and how its largest retail chain, Zara, has been so successful with their business model of high fashion, product variation, low cost, speed, and flexibility. Several issues are identified in this case study. One glaring issue that is apparent relates to the fact that a long term Information Technology (IT) strategy does not exist. There is no formal system in place to plan and predict for their future needs, including operational and capital expenses.Another issue consists of the retailer not having a centralized distribution system in place, their stores do not share inventory counts, and the managers do not have a system in place to look up their inventory balances in their stores or other stores, (they accomplish this by canvassing the stores). Another significant current issue relates to the fact that their current IT system is unsustainable, as th e equipment is obsolete and unsupported by Microsoft. Their IT system is not wireless, their screens are small, they are using styluses, which can be cumbersome, and older technology such as floppy disks and modems.The last issue involves a lack of shared knowledge of the current system in place; one person is relied upon and depended for knowledge of the systems functionality. Being so dependant upon one person places the whole system at risk. Importance of the key issue: The key issue in this case study involves whether or not Inditex should upgrade the retailer’s information technology infrastructure and capabilities or whether they should continue using their current system. The problem that Zara faces now is that their current system, P-O-S (Point of Sales terminals), runs on DOS, which Microsoft does not support any longer.Any hardware change in the POS terminal would not be compatible with their current POS software. Without an upgrade, they risk that their current sup plier could no longer support them. Investing in IT infrastructure is inevitable as Microsoft DOS is obsolete technology and there is no guarantee that their POS vendor will continue supplying the same terminal without changes to their hardware. Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s) are currently used in all Zara stores, POS terminals are not connected with Zara’s headquarters or with other stores. here is no system in place to link employees’ daily sales, causing employees to copy this information onto a floppy disk. Zara’s success and main business strategy is dependent upon their ability to respond very quickly to the demands of their customers. By upgrading their current system, they could add functionality and capabilities that could resolve other issues they face, such as sharing inventory, and being proficient at matching supply and demand. They can comfortably meet their mission by keeping current with fashion.Without the infrastructure to support i t, it would be impossible to accomplish, as they would not have the security controls, and back up systems in place. This issue is more important than any other issue to resolve, as Zara’s mission, success and future depends on technology reliability and accuracy. If this issue is not resolved, it is impossible to address all of the other issues identified above. Key Stakeholders: There are numerous stakeholders who are affected by the key issue of whether or not they should upgrade their IT Zara’s customers system want the latest fashions in stock, in their size and color, in a timey fashion.By having an upgraded, efficient IT system, Zara’s customers could experience better inventory controls to meet their needs. This in turn develops customer loyalty which equates to a higher volume of sales. Another key stakeholder is Zara’s employees. Employees want job security. A well defined, upgraded, efficient IT system can assist in sales volume, which turns in to profit for the company. Employees also want to reduce their workload and redundancy. Their current system does not take advantage of functional automation and communication, which can increase their work load.Another stakeholder, Zara’s IT vendor, certainly wants to maintain their business relationship with them, but may find it difficult to continue conducting business with a company who uses such an obsolete, unsupported, vulnerable system. Zara’s managers are also important stakeholders in the decision to upgrade. Their managers want the current POS system to do more, such as look up inventory balances in stores. This basic functionality is lacking. They want to be in a position to negotiate pricing and keep up with their competitors.Zara’s shareholders are interested in maintaining the financial success that Zara has experienced. They want a system in place to assure that their current fashion demands are met, that a system is in place to account for and share merchandise. They want to be able to invest wisely and innovate themselves to stay fresh in the apparel industry. Another stakeholder, Zara’s suppliers wants a functional IT system to provide better lead time for orders and materials, and to be able to communicate in a timely, seamless manner. Causes of the issue:There are many causes that contribute to the situation that Zara faces at the moment. Having a mission and vision without having a strategic plan to get there is a contributing factor. Having a decentralized decision making system in place can also be a root cause. Having equipment that is obsolescence is a result of the above factors. Not having staff and systems in place to effectively plan for the future, leads to antiquated equipment and manual, cumbersome, inaccurate, processes. Other factors responsible for the lack of strategic IT planning at Zara include their current business model and leadership complacency.Alternative solutions: There are three alter native solutions. The first would be to purchase the current POS terminals from their vendors so they can support their needs in case the vendor changes their machine to new technology, and continue functioning the way they have been. The second solution involves hire a consulting firm to review their situation and conduct a strategic financial analysis of their options. The third solution to the key issue identified is to proceed in upgrading their current IT system and add functional capabilities to meet the needs of their organization.Recommendations: I recommend the third solution, that Zara purchase and implementing a new POS networking system. This recommendation would create a robust system that is more responsive to Inditex’s supply chain network. It also removes the risk of the system becoming obsolete and non- compatible with the vendor’s machine upgrade. It decreases their exposure for system failures, helps to maintain and improve efficiency of decentraliza tion because information flow can be improved between stores, distribution chains and vendors.The most important aspect of Zara’s approach to information technology includes the ability to meet the needs of their customers, whether that involves accuracy, timeliness, marketing, demand, or communication. Their original business model involved linking demand to manufacturing, and linking manufacturing to distribution, this involves a reliable, compatible IT system. Upgrading the POS applications to include additional functionality, such as networking capability, and the ability to share inventory with other stores, only makes their corporation more productive and efficient.The use of larger screens, and keyboards, vs. smaller screens and styluses would also be beneficial to the employees and customers. There are however pitfalls to this recommendation. Above and beyond the obvious capital expense of the equipment and software, implementing the recommended solution in the short term may require restructuring the IT department to include a Chief Information Officer (CIO). The CIO would also be responsible to conduct a comprehensive review of current industry technologies and determine which IT capabilities and functionalities will best support the company’s strategic mission.This person would also be responsible to initiate a formal IT budgeting process that is part of the broader capital budget, and create a formal process for selecting and prioritizing IT projects that includes both financial and non-financial metrics (Porter, M, 2001). In the medium term, Zara may consider an outside team to initiate this IT change. It is questionable if Zara currently has the time and internal talent to effect the change. An outsourced professional team may accomplish this task, while allowing personnel to focus on their day to day operations.Zara can cross train a few IT personnel to work closely with the implementation team, to assure a seamless transition. A à ¢â‚¬Å"train the trainer† may be beneficial. This may mean that they may have to hire replacement personnel on a temporary basis. In the long term Zara should develop a â€Å"long-term IT renewal plan† as recommended by Feld and Stoddard, 2004, to develop a plan to maintain and sustain their new system; this requires time, money and talent. Incorporating the three principles in executing IT effectively: A long termIT renewal plan linked to corporate strategy, a simplified unifying corporate technology platform and a highly functional, performance-oriented IT organization would benefit Zara (Feld and Stoddard, 2004). Keeping up with technology allows Zara to focus on future fashion trends, with effective IT they will be able to stay ahead of the curve and keep their leadership. They will sustain their business model based on short deadlines, decrease quantities, and updated styles and fashion.If Zara anticipates opening up new stores in the future, they would need to upgr ade their system anyway. If they opened up new stores with new technology, their current technology would not be compatible and the stores could not communicate effectively with one another and share information. The second solution mentioned above, which involves hiring a consulting firm to review their situation and conduct a strategic financial analysis of their options is not in the best interest of the corporation.Hiring consultants takes time and energy and are expensive. They are not familiar with the organizations structure, strengths, weaknesses or capabilities. Financial resources would be better spent on the purchase of new upgraded equipment vs. putting off the inevitable. The first solution described above, purchasing the current POS terminals from their vendors so they can support their needs in case the vendor changes their machine to new technology and continuing to function they way they have been is not an option, if they want to remain viable.Change is unavoidable , as this profitable, highly reputable company cannot continue to function with obsolete equipment. Obsolete equipment sets them up for failure in the event the equipment fails or needs repair. It does not allow them to implement a systematic plan to move the organization forward, instead it stagnates their capabilities. The likely outcomes of my recommendation would be an efficient, accurate, timely IT infrastructure that communicates well with all stores, accurately accounts for all inventory, allowing manual processes to dissolve.This creates greater efficiencies on the part of the staff. Changing and upgrading their IT system would compensate for their internal communication weaknesses. Upgrading the POS terminals to modern inventory management software, would allow orders to be made on a daily basis instead of twice a week. This would allow the demand and supply to be matched more accurately, making the production process leaner. Inventory management software would lso allow de signers to follow the sales of garments more closely, instead of relying on manual orders from store managers. Store managers could send new fashion or fabric ideas over the internet to headquarters. This constant monitoring and updating can give designers an advantage over the competition in developing new styles and keeping up with the latest fashions. Updating their communication and IT system sooner, rather than later would overall sustain viability of the corporation and enhance their business success. Zara: It for Fast Fashion Zara: IT for Fast Fashion Identification of issues: The case study, Zara: IT for Fast Fashion, focuses on the retail giant, Inditex, and how its largest retail chain, Zara, has been so successful with their business model of high fashion, product variation, low cost, speed, and flexibility. Several issues are identified in this case study. One glaring issue that is apparent relates to the fact that a long term Information Technology (IT) strategy does not exist. There is no formal system in place to plan and predict for their future needs, including operational and capital expenses.Another issue consists of the retailer not having a centralized distribution system in place, their stores do not share inventory counts, and the managers do not have a system in place to look up their inventory balances in their stores or other stores, (they accomplish this by canvassing the stores). Another significant current issue relates to the fact that their current IT system is unsustainable, as th e equipment is obsolete and unsupported by Microsoft. Their IT system is not wireless, their screens are small, they are using styluses, which can be cumbersome, and older technology such as floppy disks and modems.The last issue involves a lack of shared knowledge of the current system in place; one person is relied upon and depended for knowledge of the systems functionality. Being so dependant upon one person places the whole system at risk. Importance of the key issue: The key issue in this case study involves whether or not Inditex should upgrade the retailer’s information technology infrastructure and capabilities or whether they should continue using their current system. The problem that Zara faces now is that their current system, P-O-S (Point of Sales terminals), runs on DOS, which Microsoft does not support any longer.Any hardware change in the POS terminal would not be compatible with their current POS software. Without an upgrade, they risk that their current sup plier could no longer support them. Investing in IT infrastructure is inevitable as Microsoft DOS is obsolete technology and there is no guarantee that their POS vendor will continue supplying the same terminal without changes to their hardware. Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s) are currently used in all Zara stores, POS terminals are not connected with Zara’s headquarters or with other stores. here is no system in place to link employees’ daily sales, causing employees to copy this information onto a floppy disk. Zara’s success and main business strategy is dependent upon their ability to respond very quickly to the demands of their customers. By upgrading their current system, they could add functionality and capabilities that could resolve other issues they face, such as sharing inventory, and being proficient at matching supply and demand. They can comfortably meet their mission by keeping current with fashion.Without the infrastructure to support i t, it would be impossible to accomplish, as they would not have the security controls, and back up systems in place. This issue is more important than any other issue to resolve, as Zara’s mission, success and future depends on technology reliability and accuracy. If this issue is not resolved, it is impossible to address all of the other issues identified above. Key Stakeholders: There are numerous stakeholders who are affected by the key issue of whether or not they should upgrade their IT Zara’s customers system want the latest fashions in stock, in their size and color, in a timey fashion.By having an upgraded, efficient IT system, Zara’s customers could experience better inventory controls to meet their needs. This in turn develops customer loyalty which equates to a higher volume of sales. Another key stakeholder is Zara’s employees. Employees want job security. A well defined, upgraded, efficient IT system can assist in sales volume, which turns in to profit for the company. Employees also want to reduce their workload and redundancy. Their current system does not take advantage of functional automation and communication, which can increase their work load.Another stakeholder, Zara’s IT vendor, certainly wants to maintain their business relationship with them, but may find it difficult to continue conducting business with a company who uses such an obsolete, unsupported, vulnerable system. Zara’s managers are also important stakeholders in the decision to upgrade. Their managers want the current POS system to do more, such as look up inventory balances in stores. This basic functionality is lacking. They want to be in a position to negotiate pricing and keep up with their competitors.Zara’s shareholders are interested in maintaining the financial success that Zara has experienced. They want a system in place to assure that their current fashion demands are met, that a system is in place to account for and share merchandise. They want to be able to invest wisely and innovate themselves to stay fresh in the apparel industry. Another stakeholder, Zara’s suppliers wants a functional IT system to provide better lead time for orders and materials, and to be able to communicate in a timely, seamless manner. Causes of the issue:There are many causes that contribute to the situation that Zara faces at the moment. Having a mission and vision without having a strategic plan to get there is a contributing factor. Having a decentralized decision making system in place can also be a root cause. Having equipment that is obsolescence is a result of the above factors. Not having staff and systems in place to effectively plan for the future, leads to antiquated equipment and manual, cumbersome, inaccurate, processes. Other factors responsible for the lack of strategic IT planning at Zara include their current business model and leadership complacency.Alternative solutions: There are three alter native solutions. The first would be to purchase the current POS terminals from their vendors so they can support their needs in case the vendor changes their machine to new technology, and continue functioning the way they have been. The second solution involves hire a consulting firm to review their situation and conduct a strategic financial analysis of their options. The third solution to the key issue identified is to proceed in upgrading their current IT system and add functional capabilities to meet the needs of their organization.Recommendations: I recommend the third solution, that Zara purchase and implementing a new POS networking system. This recommendation would create a robust system that is more responsive to Inditex’s supply chain network. It also removes the risk of the system becoming obsolete and non- compatible with the vendor’s machine upgrade. It decreases their exposure for system failures, helps to maintain and improve efficiency of decentraliza tion because information flow can be improved between stores, distribution chains and vendors.The most important aspect of Zara’s approach to information technology includes the ability to meet the needs of their customers, whether that involves accuracy, timeliness, marketing, demand, or communication. Their original business model involved linking demand to manufacturing, and linking manufacturing to distribution, this involves a reliable, compatible IT system. Upgrading the POS applications to include additional functionality, such as networking capability, and the ability to share inventory with other stores, only makes their corporation more productive and efficient.The use of larger screens, and keyboards, vs. smaller screens and styluses would also be beneficial to the employees and customers. There are however pitfalls to this recommendation. Above and beyond the obvious capital expense of the equipment and software, implementing the recommended solution in the short term may require restructuring the IT department to include a Chief Information Officer (CIO). The CIO would also be responsible to conduct a comprehensive review of current industry technologies and determine which IT capabilities and functionalities will best support the company’s strategic mission.This person would also be responsible to initiate a formal IT budgeting process that is part of the broader capital budget, and create a formal process for selecting and prioritizing IT projects that includes both financial and non-financial metrics (Porter, M, 2001). In the medium term, Zara may consider an outside team to initiate this IT change. It is questionable if Zara currently has the time and internal talent to effect the change. An outsourced professional team may accomplish this task, while allowing personnel to focus on their day to day operations.Zara can cross train a few IT personnel to work closely with the implementation team, to assure a seamless transition. A à ¢â‚¬Å"train the trainer† may be beneficial. This may mean that they may have to hire replacement personnel on a temporary basis. In the long term Zara should develop a â€Å"long-term IT renewal plan† as recommended by Feld and Stoddard, 2004, to develop a plan to maintain and sustain their new system; this requires time, money and talent. Incorporating the three principles in executing IT effectively: A long termIT renewal plan linked to corporate strategy, a simplified unifying corporate technology platform and a highly functional, performance-oriented IT organization would benefit Zara (Feld and Stoddard, 2004). Keeping up with technology allows Zara to focus on future fashion trends, with effective IT they will be able to stay ahead of the curve and keep their leadership. They will sustain their business model based on short deadlines, decrease quantities, and updated styles and fashion.If Zara anticipates opening up new stores in the future, they would need to upgr ade their system anyway. If they opened up new stores with new technology, their current technology would not be compatible and the stores could not communicate effectively with one another and share information. The second solution mentioned above, which involves hiring a consulting firm to review their situation and conduct a strategic financial analysis of their options is not in the best interest of the corporation.Hiring consultants takes time and energy and are expensive. They are not familiar with the organizations structure, strengths, weaknesses or capabilities. Financial resources would be better spent on the purchase of new upgraded equipment vs. putting off the inevitable. The first solution described above, purchasing the current POS terminals from their vendors so they can support their needs in case the vendor changes their machine to new technology and continuing to function they way they have been is not an option, if they want to remain viable.Change is unavoidable , as this profitable, highly reputable company cannot continue to function with obsolete equipment. Obsolete equipment sets them up for failure in the event the equipment fails or needs repair. It does not allow them to implement a systematic plan to move the organization forward, instead it stagnates their capabilities. The likely outcomes of my recommendation would be an efficient, accurate, timely IT infrastructure that communicates well with all stores, accurately accounts for all inventory, allowing manual processes to dissolve.This creates greater efficiencies on the part of the staff. Changing and upgrading their IT system would compensate for their internal communication weaknesses. Upgrading the POS terminals to modern inventory management software, would allow orders to be made on a daily basis instead of twice a week. This would allow the demand and supply to be matched more accurately, making the production process leaner. Inventory management software would lso allow de signers to follow the sales of garments more closely, instead of relying on manual orders from store managers. Store managers could send new fashion or fabric ideas over the internet to headquarters. This constant monitoring and updating can give designers an advantage over the competition in developing new styles and keeping up with the latest fashions. Updating their communication and IT system sooner, rather than later would overall sustain viability of the corporation and enhance their business success.