Marriott Hotel International Total Quality Management

Brief introduction of Marriott Hotel International Marriott hotel international is one of the largest lodging companies globally. This company has maneuvered in more than 68 countries under the leadership of Mr. Marriott who is the chairperson and the chief executive officer.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marriott Hotel International Total Quality Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The leadership of Marriott is considered as a success of this company as it started as a family restaurant to a global lodging business. As the leader of the company, the chairperson says that, the company’s main vision is lead in offering lodging services in the world. The vision of this company is grounded on several issues like taking good care of the guests, possession of wide operating knowledge, making use of skilled and diverse workforce, and finally offering one of the best lodging services. Under the leaders hip of Marriott, the company has for several years continued to enjoy a strong customer base, and an improving growth of profitability. The origin and development of Total Quality Management The total quality management is a theory applied in most of organizations in efforts of improving quality and performance to meet or exceed customers’ needs. The only way through which the company can achieve this, is through application of quality functions and services in the entire company (Mukherjee, 2006). The total quality management incorporates the general quality actions taken by a company such as quality development, quality control, and above all ensuring there is quality assurance in the services offered by the company. The total quality management involves all levels of management as well as all the company employees. The origin of total quality management is believed to be quality assurance methods that existed during the First World War. The development of total quality man agement was made possible by the large-scale production that emerged after the war. This large production was associated with poor quality of the products services. To minimize the chances of producing poor quality services and products, some quality officers were appointed to ensure the entire production was of quality.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More After the First World War, it was a common exercise in almost all manufacturing companies to inspect the quality of goods and services produced. The emergence of statistical quality control, gave an assurance of testing the quality of sample pieces, as it was not possible to inspect every commodity. By mid 1950s, the quality control exercise was crucial especially in Japanese industries, whereby all the employees could adopt the system within the company . By the late 1970s, the total quality exercise was widely used mostly b y the large companies, and was used by all employees starting from the top management to casual laborers. When other nations discovered how products manufactured in Japan were of good quality, they also started adopting the exercise of quality control. Application of TQM techniques in improving efficiency and effectiveness of business When companies make use of total quality management, there is a high probability of improving efficiency and effectiveness of the entire organization. For instance, Marriott hotel international have applied several techniques of TQM to ensure a positive outcome (Mukherjee, 2006). Through the assistance of the executive management, employees are trained on the concepts of offering good quality services to the customers. The main techniques that the management team of Marriott hotel international is employing qualified staffs, who gives a positive approach to those sensitive areas like the check in point, serving customers within the shortest time possib le, offering a friendly approach, and solving customers problems. Cleanliness of the rooms and wonderful housekeeping services may make all other wrongs to be forgiven by any guest. One aspect that constitutes to the good reputation of this company is the cleanliness especially the admirable housekeeping services that are offered. Moreover, to make their total quality management systems more effective, Marriott is providing an extensive training to all area managers as soon as they are hired. The major reason of doing this is to ensure that the leaders of the company are enlightened on how to offer quality services . Without a good leadership, it can be very challenging for any organization to offer best services and to attain its overall objectives.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marriott Hotel International Total Quality Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Once a manager is employed in this company, before offering services, they are booked into a one-week training program, where they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to enable them serve the customers well. After undergoing this training, they are responsible of teaching other members of staff on how to offer quality services to customers. According to various researches done by several analysts, the outcomes of poor quality services in any business are very costly. Most of the time, the experience of poor quality services in an organization occur due to having employees who are not empowered fully to solve quality shortcomings, or presence of employees who are not willing to give adequate results. In our day-to-day lives, we have also experienced inadequate services in various organizations whereby, once served you feel like never coming back for more services. These negative experiences occur especially because of having a team of staff who never care about what they deliver, as they are never held respons ible for their mistakes (Mukherjee, 2006). To some extent, the management of the company is the source of this poor service delivery, because of failure to acknowledge employees that every person would be held responsible for his or her deeds. Once a company start trending in such manner, the likely consequence is loosing customers and creation of a good opportunity for the competitors to take over and serve the customers. Approaches towards improving customer care Currently the company has managed to come up with 18 different lodging brands that include limited service and full service that have a variety of services to serve the needs of any traveler. The company is currently managing and contracting various hotels and resorts under the Marriott. The work coverage of the company has widened with time due to expansion of its services. This expansion on the other hand has resulted to increment of the customers globally. Starting from the financial base of the company to its customer network, the company has a good record of expansion for the period it has existed in the market. It is an obligation of every company whether a non-profit or profit making to ensure that its customers are served satisfactorily with the best products or services. For the company to succeed in its operations, be it manufacturing or any other kind of business, the customer should be treated well through provision of quality services.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Marriott being one of the biggest hotels internationally, with good reputation of its quality services, it has adapted a holistic system of formal Total Quality Management. This system is meant to ensure that the increasing customer coverage is offered with the best services of high quality. The hotel has made some extra efforts to ensure that every section of the hotel is equipped with quality services that are customer driven. The Marriott hotel international is under the category of service industry, and so its mandate to achieve its goals and objectives is to ensure its customers are happy. It is the nature of customers to share their experiences with others whether they are satisfied or not satisfied. For the company to ensure that their customers share a positive experience, the company should concentrate in making customers happy through admirable services. The reputation of the hotel and that of the brand depends mainly by the reactions of the customers. Customer satisfactio n is achieved easily through the application of Total Quality Management. Due to the wide acquired experience by the management of Marriott hotel international for the long period they have been in the market, they have pointed out the two main areas that are likely to be criticized by guests. The rooms and the check-ins are the most sensitive areas that require high quality services especially the front office. In Marriott hotel international these areas are well catered for by highly qualified staffs. Both the first contact and impression that guests receive in a service industry is very crucial, as he may keep coming back or may never desire such an experience again. How Total Quality Management contributes to Improving Quality, Efficiency Effectiveness Successful businesses like Marriott hotel international have a management system that understands the likely effect of offering quality services to the customers. Due to such realization, the most competitive businesses, keeps on regularly improving their quality standards. Regularly, through the business News we hear of most famous companies declaring that their priority is to make the dreams of their customers come true through offering quality services that would satisfy the customers and keep them coming back for more products and services. For instance, we heard of Ford Motor Company and Honda Motor Company announcing their first priority of satisfying their customers through wonderful and long lasting products that are friendly to the customer’s finances and to the environment (Clarke, 2007). Despite the fact that these companies are among the leaders globally, they still insist in improving the quality of their products to keep their customers happy. Even if the company have been in the market for a long duration of time, and have acquired many customers, the journey should not end there, as the customers’ needs are as dynamic as the products or the services in the market. The tastes an d preferences of the customers keep on changing with the advancement of the technology and the whole globalization. This calls for the companies to keep working harder to be in a position to handle the dynamic changes in the market especially the customer’s needs (Clarke, 2007). Although Marriott has been in the market for quite a long period, they have continually embraced the current total quality management systems to be in a position to handle the challenges during the tough economic periods. Just like other successful companies, Marriott hotel international has for several years tried to apply the total quality management system to handle and ensure a long-term survival and success through customer satisfaction . Several policies have been put in place to ensure this holistic system they adopted works out well. Due to their improved customer coverage, the productivity of the company also increased, and this is achieved by making all the employees in the company to partic ipate and feel as part of the entire company. The employees are encouraged by this system to assist in improving the various processes found in the company, services, and making the culture of the company a long lasting one. Quality leaders such as Joseph Juran have contributed much in interpreting what such a system should entail to ensure a productivity results. The total quality management system comes up with practices that when utilized well the company benefits much from offering good quality services and an increased productivity. Some of the practices that Marriott hotel international has incorporated in their operations include putting every employee busy to work to accomplish the transformation (Mukherjee, 2006). During the working hours, employees are ever busy with everyone taking a close inspection to his or her duties. Idleness of the employees is something unheard of in Marriott hotel international. During the time of relaxing, the employees are engaged in some talks meant to improve the services of the company. Another practice that has made this holistic system a success is through the provision of education programs to improve the efficiency of every employee. As technology advances, the demands of customers in the business also keep on changing and that is why these education programs are so important to the employees to keep them updated. Another aspect is by all means breaking barriers among staff working areas, if an employee discovers that there is something not attended to, if the person responsible is not available, he or she should attend to that duty first. Incase of any problem or a challenge employees are given a break through of reporting such issues as quick as possible to the right people for the problem to be fixed on time (Clarke, 2007). For a long duration of time, the Marriott and other successful companies they have been able to utilize the practices of total quality management for positive impacts in their companies. The a pplication of this complex system requires committed leaders and other team of staffs to work together through supporting one another to ensure the company improves its productivity. However, not in all cases that the application of total quality management ends up successful. Severally, some companies have reported failure of total quality management approach (Mukherjee, 2006). For instance, if a company had a weak culture from the beginning it would always be hard for this system to change that culture within a short time. A bad company culture remains in the minds of the company’s stakeholders, for a very long period. Even if the company may change, the stakeholders do not admit the change as they believe in what they experienced in the past. Another aspect that may result to a failure is lack of support and commitment from the leaders. It would be hard for the employees to bring change through this system without the help of the top management. The practices of total qual ity management require the contribution of every individual in the company. When a company is offering poor quality services, there is a great cost of customer dissatisfaction and loss of business . When on the other hand is fighting to achieve good quality services there is a cost to be incurred like prevention costs. These are the costs that Marriott and other companies have incurred in the process of preventing the occurrence of poor quality services in the company. These processes include maintaining records and data, as well as the cost of training the employees when setting them ready to handle the challenges. Another type of cost is appraisal costs that are incurred by the company in its efforts of uncovering defects. Another type of cost is internal failure cost, a cost that incurs within the premises, and is realized before the service or the product reaches the customer . All these costs are associated with the efforts of the company to avoid offering poor quality services or products. These costs are considered less expensive than the cost of offering poor quality services or products. Marriott hotel international has made efforts to incur such costs, than to allow poor quality services that would limit its continuity in the market. Through this, this company has continued pleasing its customers through quality services. Criticism of Total Quality Management approaches to tourism As much as total quality management is useful to various organizations, it faces several criticisms. To begin with, the total quality system is not directly related to the general organizational strategy. The decisions that are made by the organization concerning total quality management are not connected to finances or other marketing approaches (Mukherjee, 2006). It is argued that quality issues should be part of functional side, and should not be treated as a separate entity. Another important factor that total quality management lacks is a clear planning for its impleme ntation, which should indicate the goals and objectives, and how they should be achieved. Moreover, the TQM consists of unrealistic goals due to lack of managerial skills because of failure to train employees about the total quality management philosophy. The employees should be fully equipped with knowledge of TQM philosophy. Conclusion In conclusion, the Marriott hotel international has benefitted much from the application of total quality management. Just like any other hospitality industry, total quality management is important due to the competition of the customers . There is an increased number of hotels offering hospitality services globally, thus for a hotel to retain its customers and attract more should offer quality services. The shortcomings of this system are outweighed by its advantages, and so its application to any organization is of benefit. The teamwork of the management team and all levels of employers can work best for this system. For the employees to adhere to the system, they require much support from the top management. Bibliography Bank, J, (2002), Essence of Management series, New York, Prentice Hall. Books LIc, (2010), Marriott International: Islamabad Marriott Hotel International, New York, General Books LLC. Clarke, A, (2007), International hospitality management: concepts and cases, London, Butterworth-Heinemann. Hakes, C, (2004), Total quality management: the key to business improvement,  Michigan, Springer. Mukherjee, PN, (2006), Total Quality Management, New York, PHI Learning Pvt, Ltd. This report on Marriott Hotel International Total Quality Management was written and submitted by user Quinn I. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Colleges that Require the ACT Writing Test

Colleges that Require the ACT Writing Test If youre trying to decide whether you should take the ACT with Writing or just the regular ACT, the list below can help. It includes all of the colleges and universities in the 50 United States that require the ACT writing section. Realize, however, that there are hundreds of colleges that recommend the ACT Plus Writing even if they dont require it. Unless you know that the schools to which you are applying dont care about the writing section, it may be wise to spend the extra half an hour and $16.00 to take the ACT Plus Writing. The schools that require the ACT Writing Test range from elite Ivy League schools to small unaccredited colleges that you probably havent heard of. Ive listed the schools by state. The schools on the list were identified using ACTs search tool. Colleges change their requirements frequently, so be sure to double-check with the schools for the most accurate and up-to-date information. You can click on a schools name to get more information including acceptance rates and typical ACT and SAT scores for admitted students. Note that the number of colleges requiring the ACT with Writing has gone done by a couple dozen schools after the SAT dropped the required writing section from its exam in March of 2016. Some schools had required the ACT Writing Test to put the SAT and ACT on equal footingstudents taking either exam would need to take the writing test. Now that writing is optional for the SAT, many schools have decided to make it optional for both exams. Alabama Auburn UniversityUniversity of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (Bama, UA, Alabama) Alaska None Arizona None Arkansas None California California Institute of TechnologyChapman UniversityClaremont McKenna CollegeGolden State Baptist CollegeHarvey Mudd CollegeOccidental CollegePatten UniversityScripps CollegeSoka University of AmericaStanford UniversityUniversity of California at Berkeley (Berkeley)University of California at Davis (UC Davis)University of California at Irvine (UC Irvine)University of California at Los Angelos (UCLA)University of California at Merced (UCM)University of California at Riverside (UCR)University of California at San Diego (UCSD)University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB)University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC)University of La VerneUniversity of San DiegoWestmont CollegeWhittier College Colorado None Connecticut Coast Guard Academy (USCGA)University of Connecticut at Storrs (UConn)Yale University Delaware Delaware State UniversityUniversity of Delaware (UD) District of Columbia Gallaudet University Florida Florida AM (FAMU)Florida Atlantic UniversityFlorida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)Florida International University (FIU)Florida State UniversityTrinity Baptist CollegeUniversity of Central Florida (UCF)University of MiamiUniversity of North FloridaUniversity of South Florida at TampaUniversity of West Florida Georgia Berry CollegeEmory UniversityGeorgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)Georgia Southern UniversityGeorgia State UniversityLife UniversityMorris Brown College Hawaii University of Hawaii at Manoa Idaho None Illinois Morthland CollegeNorthwestern UniversityPrincipia CollegeSt. Joseph College SeminaryVanderCook College of Music Indiana Fairhaven CollegeIndiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW)Indiana University EastUniversity of Evansville Iowa None Kansas None Kentucky Louisville Bible College Louisiana None Maine None Maryland Towson UniversityWashington Adventist University Massachusetts Atlantic Union CollegeBabson CollegeBoston CollegeBrandeis UniversityEmerson CollegeGordon CollegeHarvard UniversityNortheastern UniversityOlin College of EngineeringSpringfield CollegeSuffolk UniversityWellesley College (photo tour) Michigan College for Creative StudiesMichigan State UniversityUniversity of Michigan at Ann Arbor Minnesota Martin Luther CollegeUniversity of Minnesota, MorrisUniversity of Minnesota, Rochester Mississippi None Missouri College of the OzarksEvangel UniversityUrshan College Montana University of Montana-Western Nebraska None Nevada None New Hampshire Dartmouth CollegeUNH, University of New Hampshire (Durham) New Jersey Caldwell CollegePrinceton UniversitySeton Hall University New Mexico None New York Concordia CollegeFive Towns CollegeFordham UniversityJohn Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY)LIM CollegeList College (Jewish Theological Seminary of America)Maritime College (SUNY)Molloy CollegeOld Westbury (SUNY)Pratt InstituteSiena CollegeStony Brook University (SUNY)Syracuse UniversityUniversity at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo)Vassar CollegeWest Point (United States Military Academy) North Carolina Duke UniversityElizabeth City State UniversityElon UniversityFayetteville State UniversityMars Hill UniversityNorth Carolina Central University (NCCU)Queens University of CharlotteUniversity of North Carolina School of the ArtsUniversity of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA)University of North Carolina, GreensboroUniversity of North Carolina, Wilmington (UNCW)Western Carolina UniversityWinston-Salem State University North Dakota None Ohio Case Western Reserve UniversityGod’s Bible School and CollegeLake Erie CollegeUniversity of Toledo Oklahoma None Oregon Oregon State UniversityPortland State UniversityWestern Oregon University (WOU) Pennsylvania Arcadia UniversityDelaware Valley CollegeLafayette CollegeLehigh UniversityMuhlenberg CollegeUniversity of Pittsburgh (Pitt)University of Pittsburgh at GreensburgUniversity of the Sciences in PhiladelphiaVillanova UniversityYork College of Pennsylvania Rhode Island Brown UniversityRhode Island CollegeRhode Island School of Design (RISD) South Carolina Clemson UniversityUniversity of South Carolina at Columbia (USC)Wofford College South Dakota None Tennessee Vanderbilt University Texas Hardin-Simmons UniversityMidwestern State UniversityPaul Quinn CollegeSouthwest School of ArtSt. Edwards UniversityStephen F. Austin State UniversityTarleton State UniversityTexas AM at College StationTexas State UniversityUniversity of DallasUniversity of Mary Hardin-BaylorUniversity of St. ThomasUniversity of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at Dallas (UTD) Utah None Vermont Saint Michaels College Virginia University of Virginia at CharlottesvilleWashington and Lee University Washington University of Washington Tacoma West Virginia West Virginia University Institute of TechnologyWest Virginia University Wisconsin None Wyoming Wyoming Catholic College

Various marketing strategies Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Various marketing strategies - Case Study Example This process starts with a Futuristic Environmental Scan and defines the ideal vision in terms of mission, values and end outcomes that the organization wishes to set for itself. Only after the statement of such Ideal Future a Current State assessment based on SWOT(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is taken up to identify the gaps and make marketing strategies to close the gap(s).As a result of subscriber clients adopting this model it was found that clients began developing competitive edge and the organization was much clearer on what their competitive "positioning" in market place was and found themselves moving positively in that direction, to the delight of their customers(Haines,2004).Thus this process leans directly into the process of competitive marketing strategy making as it includes environmental scan both-present and future and enables movement in the desired direction.Types of Competitive Marketing Strategies The generic competitive marketing strategies and their standard objectives have abounded in literature and often include the following: (a) Overall Low-Cost Leadership Marketing Strategy: Its primary object is to find a sustainable cost advantage over rivals, using lower-cost edge as a basis either to under-price rivals and reap market share gains or earn higher profit margin by selling at going price. (b) Broad Differentiation Marketing Strategy: Its primary objective is to incorporate differentiating features that cause buyers to prefer firm's product or service over rival brands. Looking on the obverse side it implies that an organization must..."The airline industry is, by its very nature, a service industry. In a free market, the success or failure of an individual airline is largely dictated by the quality of the service it provides" (Harvard Business School, 1989).Its differentiation strategy began with the immense popularity of The Singapore Girl marketing icon. This icon evoked an awareness of warm Asian hospitality and courtesy's backed this up with its very efficient service standards and already had a winning combination on hand. However it ventured into a fairly elaborate differentiation strategy to address the changed needs of new clientele. This differentiation took the form of: - the introduction of gourmet cuisine in-flight dining with vastly improved servings for economy class passengers as well, - hiring top of the line culinary experts' panel to train chefs and execute quality checks with a future vision to make its in-flight food an industry benchmark, - multi million dollar cabin revamp with first-class cabins coming with an ambience of a mini-suite in a luxurious hotel and details covering the entire distance from custom-built seats to cashmere blankets, - launch of its Frequent Flyer Programme(FFP), KrisFlyer, - as the bulk of SIA clientele are non-Singaporeans specific trainings were organized for SIA crews to enable them to be conversant with and make announcements in the languages of the countries to which they flew.

System engineering Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

System engineering - Coursework Example Sometimes change is usually unpredictable, coming at time that an organisation does not anticipate it. In such a scenario, the way an organisation handles the change determines the adaptability that determines the recovery of the organisation. Various recommendations have been given on how to manage change in systems engineering. To effectively deal with change in systems engineering, it is recommended to follow a simple guideline. First identify the areas that change is required in the processes and justify the need for change. Secondly, assess and evaluate the possibility of positive results from a change in terms of dealing with stakeholders needs or coming up with a better product. Thirdly, change managers should implement the change in a process that does not disrupt the whole system. When a change is finally in place, it should be practiced to replace the previous process and made the norm. This should then be followed by periodic monitoring of the change as it is being impleme nted and evaluation of the whole process (Habhouba, Cherkaoui, and Desrochers, p.

The Effect of Media Type on the Message of Pakistan and the United Essay

The Effect of Media Type on the Message of Pakistan and the United States - Essay Example The story has seen widespread coverage across both newspaper and television media. This report will examine one television presentation and two newspaper presentations of the story and analyze how these differ in the way that they portray the information, the impressions they give, their focus, and the effect of the medium itself on the content. The television report was aired on CBS news, titled Terrorist cell phones link Pakistan to attacks. The two newspaper treatments were by the New York Times and USA today titled Pakistan’s spy agency is tied to attack on U.S. Embassy, and Admiral accuses Pakistani agency of backing terrorists respectively. Neil Postman was an American critic as well as being an author and media theorist. He produced a number of books, with several concerning the idea of mass communication being used to share ideas, how this has declined and the role that television plays. Finally, the results will be compared to the claims of Neil Postman, who proposed that different media had the potential to shape the news that we see. He argues that the method in which news is communicated can substantially impact what is communicated, and that television news is not an effective method of providing information, as it does not provide a complete or informative picture of what is happening. The results from my comparison agree with this, with the television news producing a more sensationalized picture that left out some key information, while the newspaper reports went in to more detail about the causes and effects of the event. The Television Perspective The CBS broadcast of the story was titled Terrorist cell phones link Pakistan to attacks, however the cell phones were mentioned only at the start of the three minute report. The attack on the US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan was carried out by a group known as Haqqani, who have ties to the Taliban. While all those involved in the attack were killed, information from their cell phones, includi ng calls made and times, was able to be recovered. This led to the determination by US intelligence that both before and during the attack the cell phones were used to call Pakistani intelligence. This discovery has lead to Mike Mullen claiming that the Haqqani network acts is a ‘veritable arm’ for Pakistani intelligence As a consequence of this link, the US claims that all activities of the Haqqani network, which includes a string of high profile attacks, has been connected to the Pakistani intelligence, with them both protecting and funding the group. They claim that the Haqqani network, which has several thousand fighters, operates from within Pakistan, and is involved in raids that cross into Afghanistan. Furthermore, Pakistan uses the network to sell violence in an effort to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a stable and strong country. The CBS story also has a large focus on a truck bombing attack that occurred a few days prior. The truck was involved in the injur y of more than 70 American soldiers, and was known about prior to entering Afghanistan through an intercepted Haqqani transmission. The commander of US troops in Afghanistan General Allen called the commander of the Pakistani Army, General Kayani, asking him to head off the attack. Kayani promised to make a call, but the truck made

The Purpose Of Training And Development For Employees Management Essay

The Purpose Of Training And Development For Employees Management Essay Placing employees in job does not ensure there success. New employees are often uncertain about their role and responsibilities. Training and development both are needed for them, once employee have been trained and mastered their jobs, they may need further development to prepare for their further future responsibilities. And with ongoing trend towards greater work force diversity, flatter organizations and increased global competition, training and development efforts are very important. Steps of Training And Development : There are four steps Need Assessment. Lay down objectives. Program Contents. Learning Principle. Need Assessment : Need assessment diagnoses the current problem and future challenges. In this it is checked that an employee need the training or not. This can be find out through his supervisor, clients and employee him self inform us that he need training and development or not. There is an other source through which we come to know that employee need it or not, that is ACR ( annual confidential report ).Its all about employees performance. Lay down objectives. These are the objectives of training that for what object training is conducted. These objectives are decided on the bases of need assessment, that which type of training or development is required. Program Content : Program contents is also compulsory to come to know that in which sequence we have to run our plan of training and development, because sequence is compulsory in every thing/. 4- Learning Principle. Learning principle include five principles, as follow. Repetition. Participation. Relevance. Transfer. Feed Back. All the five principles are very important Types of Training and Development : There are 2 types ON-Job OFF-Job There are also 4 types of on-job training and development, and there are 5 types of off-job training and development. Training is one of the most important parts of an organizations overall Strategy. Before starting a particular venture or considering a potential acquisition, the first question arises that, whether there are required skills present in the organization or not. Typically all key skills required for efficient management of a company must be available in a company; however other non core activities can be outsourced. Need of training arises due to advancement in technology, need for improving performance or as part of professional development. Benefits of training are intangible and investing in training benefits both, organization and employees for a long period. Training enhances a worker level of skills. It provides sense of satisfaction, which is an intrinsic motivator. Training also provides organization multi skill employees. Training increases an employer commitment to their job and their organization. Better understanding of jobs reduces accidents. One of the most important benefits of training for an organization is that, it provides skills inside the organization which reduces overall cost of an organizations operations. Quality is one of the key features required for survival of an organization in long term. Total Quality Management (TQM) and other quality management techniques require staff training as an important requisite for its successful implementation. Customer satisfaction increases repeat business, which is a key to success. By training employees for promoting good customer relations will increase customer satisfaction and quality of service. Just-in time philosophy is one of the leading ideas in Japan. Better training will reduce waste and machine down time. A major portion of quality costs consists of supervision; by providing proper training this is reduced. Training increases productivity of employees and processes. High employee turnover may be a serious threat to an organization existence, major benefit of training is that it reduces staff turnover and help an organization to retain its staff. Better training can provide an organization competitive advantage over others in industry. In service industries the main source of an organization income is its staff expertise and skills, acquiring professional with high skills is comparatively expensive than training current employees to acquire those skills. Training is also a key requirement for new recruits; proper training helps them to understand the job, its requirements and responsibilities. Training also increases understanding of the organizational culture. Training programs increases communication between different levels of an organization. Any deficiency in processes and jobs are eliminated and those close to production processes become involve in the management. Staff empowerment is a recent trend in management; such empowerment will only be successful when proper training and development is provided to those empowered. Training is encompassing everything that is expected for the enhancement of organizational development and competencies. In order that the total performance may be improved, organizations need to have trained and experienced people. Sound organizations move along and administer training and development programs for the employees. These programs are purposive and meant to equip the employees with the necessary skills that are required for particular jobs. Besides, failing to reach an expected or required level of performance of the employees or declines in the productivity orchanges due to technological breakthroughs also necessitate training and development programs to be administered in the organizations. Also, the complexities of various jobs emerge the importance of training and development programs. Training is a process of learning as well as the application of acquired knowledge aiming at better performance of the employees, while development involves not only the related process but also helps the employees in building up their personalities, at the same time as, improving their progress towards the actualization of their full potentials. It is training and development programs that bring about tremendous change in terms of knowledge, attitudes and behavior of the employees. Owing to these programs, the employees are not only well acquainted with what is expected of them and how they need to enhance their skills and competencies but also it is a way to achieve overall organizational development, effectiveness and efficiency in a desired manner. Management appoints leaders, the managers, who influence the employees so that they can make goal directed efforts to produce the desired results. They inspire the employees for the accomplishment of organizational goals. They build up competencies and ethical standards. They direct the employees towards defined objectives of the organization while providing effective training and development programs. They enthuse and motivate them so that the tasks can be carried out effectively and efficiently. Before the training programs being implemented, the need of training is identified. It is ensured whether training can serve the purpose. Depending upon the needs of various jobs, different methods of training programs are conducted, such as, on-and-off the job methods, special lectures, conferences and seminars. The purpose of on-the-job method is to involve the employees in learning while they are at work, whereas through off-the-job training program, the employees need to leave the work place so as to spend the required duration in the learning process. Special lectures are meant to create the awareness of fundamental knowledge. By way of arranging conferences, various discussions are held on the points of common interest, in regard to the organization and various issues, ideas are collected and experience is shared in order to deal with the problems. With critical discussions, the participants of seminars study the various aspects and the complexities of particular jobs. The sole purpose of training and development programs is to build the necessary skills of the employees and to create positive feelings among them. Its a fact and apposed to the supposition that man can do things what he believes he can. Thus, a true leader is the most influential person to build self-confidence of the employees. He is a source of inspiration to his subordinates. He strives to instill the team spirit by making his members believe that they are capable of doing challenging tasks. This is how the employees learn many things and develop their personalities while improving organizational competence under the healthy environment of an organization. A trained and skilled employee is far better than those untrained and unskilled. He becomes competent and performs his assigned task independently. As an illustration, once an untrained employee asked his friend who was trained, After all what you learn by training program? I dont think its of any worth. He replied jokingly, We are trained even how to ask questions and the art of effective communication which you seem to be lacking. In fact, its funny instance but it reveals the fact as training is all encompassing it covers all necessary skills of the employees required in the workplace while motivating them to work in a desired and capable manner. The major benefits of training and development programs are that the employees who are trained need lesser supervision than those who are not. Purpose and Importance Of Training and Development For Employees and Organization : As I discuss above that training and development in every field of life is very important to stay with time. Utilization of Human Resources become Optimized: Training and Development helps in optimizing the utilization of human resource that further helps the employee to achieve the organizational goals as well as their individual goals. Development of Human Resources Training and Development helps to provide an opportunity and broad structure for the development of human resources technical and behavioral skills in an organization. It also helps the employees in attaining personal growth. Development of skills of employees Training and Development helps in increasing the job knowledge and skills of employees at each level. It helps to expand the horizons of human intellect and an overall personality of the employees. Productivity Training and Development helps in increasing the productivity of the employees that helps the organization further to achieve its long-term goal. Team spirit Training and Development helps in inculcating the sense of team work, team spirit, and inter-team collaborations. It helps in inculcating the zeal to learn within the employees. Organization Culture Training and Development helps to develop and improve the organizational health culture and effectiveness. It helps in creating the learning culture within the organization. Organization Climate Training and Development helps building the positive perception and feeling about the organization. The employees get these feelings from leaders, subordinates, and peers. Quality Training and Development helps in improving upon the quality of work and work-life. Healthy work-environment Training and Development helps in creating the healthy working environment. It helps to build good employee, relationship so that individual goals aligns with organizational goal. Health and Safety Training and Development helps in improving the health and safety of the organization thus preventing obsolescence. Image Training and Development helps in creating a better corporate image. Profitability Training and Development leads to improved profitability and more positive attitudes towards profit orientation. Training and Development aids in organizational development i.e. Organization gets more effective decision making and problem solving. It helps in understanding and carrying out organizational policies Training and Development helps in developing leadership skills, motivation, loyalty, better attitudes, and other aspects that successful workers and managers usually display. Training and Development demonstrates a commitment to keeping employees on the cutting edge of knowledge and practice. Although training helps employees do their current jobs, the benefits of training may extend throughout the person career and help develop that person for future responsibilities. Development, by contrast , help the individual to handle the future responsibilities with little concern for current job duties. Lets take an example of Banking sector and other industries. Example # 1 In banking single person performing different kind of duties in different days, thats why he can easily handle the stress of work and Varity of work, basically bank giving him on-job training during his duty by assigning him different seats to perform different work and due to this, it give benefits of bank, and also employee become polished. Example #2 Similarly if we see in other industries or in defense forces (air force, military, navy) company / organizations send abroad his employees or send to other training and development institutions for future benefits for both organization and employee. And in the end employees pay back for this to organization in shape of benefits and profits. Its biggest example is SAMSUNG. Example # 3 Now if we see the training and development of MacDonalds, a normal person can say that there is no need of training and development for its employees, because they are already well trained, but they continuously doing the process of training and development for their staff. The reason behind this is that they want to get maximum profit day by day and that want to stay in market, and the other important reason is this that they want to up-to-date their knowledge about innovations, coming circumstances, new dishes and etc. Thats why they are able to stay stand with its competitors. Typical Reasons for Employee Training and Development Training and development can be initiated for a variety of reasons for an employee or group of employees, e.g.,: When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed . To benchmark the status of improvement so far in a performance improvement effort. As part of an overall professional development program . As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned change in role in the organization . To train about a specific topic (see below) . Typical Topics of Employee Training Communications: The increasing diversity of todays workforce brings a wide variety of languages and customs. Computer skills: Computer skills are becoming a necessity for conducting administrative and office tasks. Customer service: Increased competition in todays global marketplace makes it critical that employees understand and meet the needs of customers. Diversity: Diversity training usually includes explanation about how people have different perspectives and views, and includes techniques to value diversity Ethics: Todays society has increasing expectations about corporate social responsibility. Also, todays diverse workforce brings a wide variety of values and morals to the workplace. Human relations: The increased stresses of todays workplace can include misunderstandings and conflict. Training can people to get along in the workplace. Quality initiatives: Initiatives such as Total Quality Management, Quality Circles, benchmarking, etc., require basic training about quality concepts, guidelines and standards for quality, etc. Safety: Safety training is critical where working with heavy equipment , hazardous chemicals, repetitive activities, etc., but can also be useful with practical advice for avoiding assaults, etc. Sexual harassment: Sexual harassment training usually includes careful description of the organizations policies about sexual harassment, especially about what are inappropriate behaviors. General Benefits from Employee Training and Development There are numerous sources of online information about training and development. Several of these sites suggest reasons for supervisors to conduct training among employees. These reasons include: Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees Increased employee motivation Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods Increased innovation in strategies and products Reduced employee turnover Enhanced company image, e.g., conducting ethics training (not a good reason for ethics training!) Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity training. How Training benefits the organization : Leads to improve profitability and more positive attitude towards profit orientation. Improve the job knowledge and skills at all levels og organization. Improve the moral of the work force. Help people to identify the organization goals. Help to create a better corporate image. Fosters authenticity openness and trust. Improve the re3lationship between boss and subordinates. Aids in org developments. Learns from trainees. Aids in understanding and carring out organizational policies. Provide information for further need in all area of organization. Organization get more effective decision making and problem solving. Help in developing leadership skills, motivation, loyalty, and better attitude. Increase the productivity and quality of work. Helps in keep cost down in many areas. Develop the scene of responsibility to the organization for being competent and knowledgable. Improve labor-management relations. Reduce outside consulting cost by utilizing internal competent sources. Eliminates suboptimal behavior. Create appropriate climate for better growth and communication. Aids in handling conflicts, there by halping to prevent stress and tension. Benefits to the Individuals which in turn Ultimately should benefit the Organization : Helps the individuals in making better decisions. Through training and development, motivational variables of recognition, achievement, growth and advancement are internalized. Aids in encouraging and achieving self development and self-confidence. Helps a person to handle stress, frustration and conflicts. Increase job satisfaction. Helps in eliminate fear in performing new tasks. In the ending I personally want to say that with the other things Training and Development is very important and compulsory for the success of any business. Where finance is the oxygen for the business, training and development is like the back bone of the business. Because development is needed with the passage of time, if you make no training and development programs and unable to train your employees, you become bored for your stake holders, and you will loss the race.

The Primary Purpose of a High School in the US

U. S. high schools are not properly preparing kids for the college experience. The primary purpose of a high school in the United States is to get kids into college. The courses taught in U. S. high schools are way too lenient in their grading policies and offer students much leeway. High school courses are too lenient because high school teachers make them that way. One good example that proves just how much leeway secondary education offers students is that on average,professors at the high school level accept late papers. Of course late papers are marked down,but this policy voids the purpose to having deadlines. Most universities, both public and private set strict guidelines on these matters and openly encourage their professors to do the same. I turned in papers a week late in high school and still received a grade of 70 % on them. This is coming back to hunt me in college because I now have a big problem meeting deadlines. Although I do not like to admit it, if high school had been stricter in this respect I might not be going through these many difficulties right now. Most public high school teachers are astoundingly underpaid and overworked with sometimes over fifty students in a single classroom. In the last ten years the average class size doubled according to a Time magazine study published in 1995 stating that throughout the whole nation classes have doubled in size. The article mentions that this problem has occurred and will worsen due to illegal immigration, a population expansion, and people migration to cities and urban sites. Some students that can afford a private tutor or the cost of private education follow that path. This is not fair to the majority that can't afford this. Again, the lack of individual and private interaction between professor ends up resulting in that the student gets half of the education. For some reason I don't know, the student ends up always paying the price of an inadequate and inefficient public high school system. These statistics offer little incentive and motivation to get teachers to take action and lobby for change. Governmental cutbacks have forced many schools to close vital advanced placement and other college preparatory courses which are vital for the student aspiring for a college education. Public high schools around the nation should establish and â€Å"enforce† stricter college preparatory curriculums because over 50% of high school students that participated in a Time magazine poll conducted in 1996 said they are interested in pursuing a 4-year college education. The article stated that fifty years ago this would not have been the case. If over half the students attending U. S. high schools wish to pursue university education then public schools should tailor their programs to meet the needs and demands of the majority. It is important to know that there is a small percentage of the nation that don't even go to high school as the October 22, 1990 Time Magazine article, â€Å"Schooling Kids At Home,† points out. Parents send their kids to school confident that the school will prepare them well for the future, but overlook that essential programs like SAT preparation and study skills courses are not offered. How must a school system expect that one study efficiently for exams if they don't show how Clearly people have been studying for many years and there is no set way to study,but it helps to know what are the most time efficient ways to review for exams. I feels thats â€Å"study skills† class should be offered in every public high school around the nation. It this implies a great cost then study skills should be incorporated in the daily urriculum or at least taught once a week during class. The fact is that some time should be set aside for this essential class for which there is great need for. The same concept applies for S. A. T. preparation. Again I propose the conundrum, how must one be expected to pass the S. A. T if schools don't show us how to pass it. Many students are left to figure out how to prepare for the exam itself, assuming they even know how too study. I personally had to pay a costly S. A. T. preparation course that boosted my grade 100 points. The fact that I can pay for the course clearly offers me an unfair advantage. High school courses also lack in encouraging class discussions and debate that are an important aspect of college life as far as I have experienced. â€Å"Getting by† with just doing the work is not enough in college. Class participation motivates analytical thinking and class participation. It is a proven scientific fact that when one applies what one learns and actively participates in the learning process, logically one will assimilate and absorb more information and retain it for longer periods of time because one is forced to actively become part of the learning process and contribute to the learning environment. Many incoming freshmen receive a large shock when faced with such a wide gap that slowly opens up more with the passage of time. As a result of this, many colleges place these freshman in summer courses to polish them up and tie up the loose ends aside from providing a one credit class called Freshman Experience that teaches them such valuable skills as study skills, note-taking, teaching styles, critical thinking, listening and memory skills, test-taking strategies and most important of all, preparing for finals. The fact stands out that if this class were not absolutely necessary, many universities would not require there to take it. Even those people with high S. A. T. scores and a strong academic background must eventually sign up for it because universities know high schools unfortunately don't teach these things, or do not teach them well. Courses like this one are in immediate demand. Originally, all the universities I applied to required this course which pretty much justifies that it is in immediate demand. I personally never had a class so comprehensive as to include theses skills vital for college success. Some high schools produce graduates that cannot read or have extremely poor reading and writing skills. If our high schools were efficient and did look out for the student's best interests, people would not graduate without these basic skill that most people agree must me present for the college experience. Colleges should not be teaching basic, elementary skills such as reading and elementary writing. College is not meant to be a grueling and terrible time for a person, but over the years, U. S. high schools have lost their focus and misplaced their priorities; producing students that cannot independently develop themselves successfully. In some extreme cases, kids are committing suicide in college early on because they can't handle the stress produced by their classes and many of the students that quit or do poorly have poor college survival skills. Finally, U. S. igh schools are not adequately preparing kids for the college life. These high schools are too lenient, complacent, financially unstable, overcrowded, and simply inefficient. The curriculum must set higher standards and make the transition a smoother one. If these changes were implemented,the gap between high school and college education may one day be a thing of the past and once again the college years will truly be fulfilling and rewarding ones and not arduous or frustrating.

Personal writing – David’s Table

Danielle's heart stopped the moment He stepped through the doorway. Although He was the reason that she came to this particular cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ at this precise time, she wasn't certain about her vague information. Go to Isabella's at quarter past four. He orders a cappuccino and a biscuit. He sits outside under the green umbrella at a wooden table and drinks his coffee, giving his biscuit to the birds. Sure enough, Danielle's man was given a polystyrene cup and white paper bag. She watched from her dark corner as He went outside. When she left, she noticed crumbs surrounding Him. The next day, Danielle couldn't curtail her thoughts. Whenever she looked at the clock she wondered what He was doing at that moment. At last, the bell rang and her body tensed in anticipation, but she had to wait until the end of roll call to grab her bag and make her way to Isabella's. Sitting at the same corner table, Danielle again ordered a cappuccino. Danielle hated coffee but it made her feel closer to Him. Today, she listened to His order at the counter. â€Å"Cappuccino to go and one of those cornflake biscuits, thanks.† Danielle smiled when the owner of the cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ laughed and took His money. â€Å"David, mate, you've been coming here for months and its always the same thing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Danielle knew this was Him. â€Å"†¦And you only have different biscuits because you take whatever's there.† David grinned and took his order. â€Å"Well don't expect me tomorrow Bruce, I'm going back to Melbourne.† Danielle froze mid-pretend sip. Melbourne? â€Å"Melbourne?† echoed Bruce aloud. â€Å"Yeah, I have unfinished business there †¦Ã¢â‚¬  David looked away. â€Å"Ah, I see.† Bruce shut the till, smiled and turned to the next customer. David walked out onto the terrace. Inside, Danielle lost interest in her pretence. He was going away before she had a chance to talk to him. She picked up her coat and left, crossing the terrace just as He looked up and saw her walking away. School came second to Danielle's thoughts. However, this time her mind was firmly in the distant past on the day that had been the hardest of her life. Even thinking about it made her want to bawl into her notebooks. Mercifully, Danielle had on Thursdays she didn't have to say much, just sit there and look busy, so no one noticed. Neither Danielle nor David went to Isabella's on Thursday. David didn't want to go to Melbourne as he had only been in Adelaide for five months. However, since his mother died six weeks previously and he had been in Melbourne for the funeral, the pull became too strong. David knew that to start over again in Adelaide, he needed closure in Melbourne. A month sounded long, but there was a lot he had to do. Thankfully, he and Cassie didn't have any children; apparently they made divorce harder. David left for Melbourne on Thursday at six-thirty pm. After the weekend, Danielle returned to Isabella's. She wasn't sure whether to be upset that had was gone or relieved. Bruce noticed that she no longer sat in the corner with an untouched cappuccino; now Danielle sat outside on David's table with hot chocolate and cake. She ate the icing but crumbled the cake for the birds. Bruce considered getting a new cook, but instead, befriended her. Soon a month was up. Once, David wondered why some married couples had separate bank accounts. Wasn't marriage for life? Now he wished he had their foresight. Neither he nor Cassie wanted to sell everything but they couldn't do things fairly, too many emotions in the way. David was returning to Adelaide with money from the sale of his old life to purchase his new. His only concern was that his parents, his past, was buried in Melbourne. An indiscernible smell wafted down the aisle and punched David fair in the nose. Old shoes? Rotten eggs? It was too early for David to recognise the stench. â€Å"Would you like breakfast sir?† David smiled wanly as the flight attendant plonked a tray in front of him. The smell became stronger when he lifted the foil: overcooked omelette. Quarter to six he boarded the plane and now at seven-thirty it was too early for offal disguised as breakfast. David leant back in his chair and closed his eyes. He felt guilty about betraying his parents by leaving, by putting his childhood and young adult life in a neat box labelled â€Å"Melbourne† and moving on. But it was more; his motives for moving to Adelaide went against his parents' wishes and it was only after they had both died that he could defy them. At 32, David was still a naughty little boy. Danielle gazed at the attentive but blank faces in her chemistry class. Sometimes she wondered why she bothered. Most of these girls would go on to be nurses, secretaries or teachers. However it was a precious few who wanted more that made it all worthwhile. When Danielle was fifteen, she had been a precious one. She was to be a doctor in a time when girls were trained to be wives. Danielle was going somewhere until†¦ â€Å"Miss Everard, isn't there a two minus charge on the oxygen molecule?† Danielle shook herself from her reverie and looked at what she had written on the board. â€Å"Ah, yes, thankyou Catherine.† Catherine was a lucky one, going on to be what Danielle dreamed of. The siren went and the students began to pack up. â€Å"Miss Everard, is there any homework?† But Danielle had already left. David decided to go to Isabella's at four, as he wasn't back working yet. Bruce was pleased to see him. â€Å"David, I'm sorry but you can't have your table today. Why not try the table with the red umbrella?† David shrugged and sat down, glancing at the woman sitting at â€Å"his† table. She was slowly eating the icing from the top of her cake in between sips from her mug. He watched, captivated, as she picked at her cake and let bits fall from her fingers to the sparrows on the ground. He realised it, as his own cappuccino cooled beside him. Danielle, not noticing her company, was fully engrossed in the sparrows that flitted and darted around her. She found peace beyond her forty-eight years, something she hadn't felt for almost thirty-three years. David felt his thirst be slaked as he watched her, after twenty years of drought. This woman surrounded by birds mitigated the dryness started when he was told he was adopted. Bruce saw the young man approach the middle-aged woman and smiled. Knowing both sides, he had figured the whole story out long ago. With the strong sunlight slanting under the umbrella, Bruce could see that the resemblance between mother and son was uncanny.

Battle of King Mountain in the American Revolution

Battle of King Mountain in the American Revolution The Battle of Kings Mountain was fought October 7, 1780, during the American Revolution (1775-1783). Having shifted their focus south, the British achieved a decisive victory in May 1780 when they captured Charleston, SC. As the British pushed inland, the Americans suffered a string of defeats which allowed  Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis to secure much of South Carolina. As Cornwallis moved north, he dispatched Major Patrick Ferguson west with a force of Loyalists to protect his flank and supply lines from local militias. Fergusons command was engaged by an American militia force at Kings Mountain on October 7 and destroyed. The victory provided a badly needed boost to American morale and forced Cornwallis to abandon his advance into North Carolina. Background Following their defeat at Saratoga in late 1777 and the French entry into the war, British forces in North America began pursuing a southern strategy for ending the rebellion. Believing that Loyalist support was higher in the South, successful efforts were made to capture Savannah in 1778, followed by General Sir Henry Clintons siege and taking of Charleston in 1780. In the wake of the citys fall, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton crushed an American force at Waxhaws in May 1780. The battle became infamous in the region as Tarletons men killed numerous Americans as they attempted to surrender. American fortunes in the region continued to decline that August when the victor of Saratoga, Major General Horatio Gates, was routed at the Battle of Camden by Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis. Believing that Georgia and South Carolina had effectively been subjugated, Cornwallis began planning for a campaign into North Carolina. While organized resistance from the Continental Army had been swept aside, numerous local militias, particularly those from over the Appalachian Mountains, continued to cause problems for the British. Skirmishes in the West In the weeks prior to Camden, Colonels Isaac Shelby, Elijah Clarke, and Charles McDowell struck Loyalist strongholds at Thicketty Fort, Fair Forest Creek, and Musgrove Mill. This last engagement saw the militia raid a Loyalist camp that guarded a ford over the Enoree River. In the fighting, the Americans killed 63 Tories while capturing another 70. The victory led to the colonels discussing a march against Ninety-Six, SC, but they aborted this plan upon learning of Gates defeat. Concerned that these militias could attack his supply lines and undermine his future efforts, Cornwallis dispatched a strong flanking column to secure the western counties as he moved north. Command of this unit was given to Major Patrick Ferguson. A promising young officer, Ferguson had earlier developed an effective breech-loading rifle which possessed a greater rate of fire than the traditional Brown Bess musket and could be loaded while prone. In 1777, he led an experimental rifle corps equipped with the weapon until being wounded at the Battle of Brandywine. Ferguson Acts A believer that militia could be trained to be as effective as regulars, Fergusons command was composed of 1,000 Loyalists from the region. Appointed Inspector of Militia on May 22, 1780, he relentlessly trained and drilled his men. The result was a highly-disciplined unit that possessed strong morale. This force quickly moved against the western militias after the Battle of Musgrove Mill but was unable to catch them before they withdrew back over the mountains into the territory of the Watauga Association. While Cornwallis started moving north, Ferguson established himself at Gilbert Town, NC on September 7. Dispatching a paroled American into the mountains with a message, he issued a stark challenge to the mountain militias. Ordering them to cease their attacks, he stated that if they did not desist from their opposition to the British arms, and take protection under his standard, he would march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay their country waste with fire and sword. Commanders Armies: Americans Colonel John SevierColonel William CampbellColonel Isaac ShelbyColonel James JohnstonColonel Benjamin ClevelandColonel Joseph WinstonColonel James WilliamsColonel Charles McDowellLieutenant Colonel Frederick Hambright900 men British Major Patrick Ferguson1,000 men The Militia Reacts Rather than intimidate, Fergusons words sparked outrage in the western settlements. In response, Shelby, Colonel John Sevier, and others gathered around 1,100 militia at Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga River. This force included around 400 Virginians led by Colonel William Campbell. This rendezvous was facilitated by the fact that Joseph Martin had cultivated positive relations with the neighboring Cherokees. Known as Overmountain Men because they had settled on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains, the combined militia force made plans to cross Roan Mountain into North Carolina. On September 26, they began moving east to engage Ferguson. Four days later they joined Colonels Benjamin Cleveland and Joseph Winston near Quaker Meadows, NC and increased the size of their force to around 1,400. Alerted to the American advance by two deserters, Ferguson began withdrawing east towards Cornwallis and was no longer at Gilbert Town when the militias arrived. He also sent a dispatch to Cornwallis requesting reinforcements. Uniting Forces Appointing Campbell as their nominal overall commander, but with the five colonels agreeing to act in council, the militia moved south to Cowpens where they were joined by 400 South Carolinians under Colonel James Williams on October 6. Learning that Ferguson was camped at Kings Mountain, thirty miles to the east and eager to catch him before he could rejoin Cornwallis, Williams selected 900 picked men and horses. Departing, this force rode east through constant rain and reached Kings Mountain the following afternoon. Ferguson had chosen the position because he believed that it would force any attacker to show themselves as they moved from woods on the slopes to the open summit. Due to the difficult terrain, he elected not to fortify his camp.   Ferguson Trapped Shaped like a footprint, Kings Mountains highest point was at the heel in the southwest and it broadened and flattened towards the toes in the northeast. Approaching, Campbells colonels met to discuss strategy. Rather than simply defeat Ferguson, they sought to destroy his command. Moving through the woods in four columns, the militia slipped around the mountain and surrounded Fergusons position on the heights. While Sevier and Campbells men attacked the heel the remainder of the militia moved forward against the rest of the mountain.  Attacking around 3:00 PM, the Americans opened fire from behind cover with their rifles and caught Fergusons men by surprise (Map). Advancing in deliberate fashion, using rocks and trees for cover, the Americans were able to pick off Fergusons men on the exposed heights. Conversely, the Loyalists position on the high ground led them to frequently overshoot their targets. Given the wooded and rough terrain, each militia detachment effectively fought on its own once the battle commenced. In a precarious position with men falling around him, Ferguson ordered a bayonet attack to drive back Campbell and Seviers men. This was successful, as the enemy lacked bayonets and withdrew down the slope. Rallying at the base of the mountain, the militia began ascending a second time. Several more bayonet attacks were ordered with similar results. Each time, the Americans allowed the charge to expend itself then resumed their attack, picking off more and more Loyalists. The British Destroyed Moving around the heights, Ferguson worked tirelessly to rally his men. After an hour or so of fighting, Shelby, Sevier, and Campbells men were able to gain footholds on the heights. With his own men dropping at an increasing rate, Ferguson attempted to organize a break out. Leading a group of men forward, Ferguson was struck and dragged into the militia lines by his horse. Confronted by an American officer, Ferguson fired and killed him before being shot multiple times by surrounding militiamen. With their leader gone, the Loyalists began attempting to surrender. Shouting Remember Waxhaws and Tarletons Quarter, many in the militia continued to fire, striking down surrendering Loyalists until their colonels could regain control of the situation. Aftermath While casualty numbers for the Battle of Kings Mountain vary from source to source, the Americans lost around 28 killed and 68 wounded. British losses numbered around 225 killed, 163 wounded, and 600 captured. Among the British dead was Ferguson. A promising young officer, his breech-loading rifle was never adopted as it challenged the preferred British method of warfare. Had his men at Kings Mountain been equipped with his rifle, it may have made a difference. In the wake of the victory, Joseph Greer was dispatched on a 600-mile trek from Sycamore Shoals to inform the Continental Congress of the action. For Cornwallis, the defeat signaled stronger than anticipated resistance from the populace. As a result, he abandoned his march into North Carolina and returned south.

Definition and Discussion of Mental Grammar

Definition and Discussion of Mental Grammar Mental grammar is the  generative grammar stored in the brain that allows a speaker to produce language that other speakers can understand. It is also known as  competence grammar and linguistic competence. It contrasts with linguistic performance, which is the correctness of actual language use according to a languages prescribed rules.   The concept of mental grammar was popularized by American linguist Noam Chomsky in his groundbreaking work  Syntactic Structures (1957). Philippe  Binder and Kenny Smith noted in The Language Phenomenon how important Chomskys work was: This focus on grammar as a mental entity allowed enormous progress to be made in characterizing the structure of languages. Related to this work is  Universal Grammar, or the predisposition for the brain to learn complexities of grammar from an early age, without being implicitly taught all the rules. The study of how the brain actually does this is called neurolinguistics. One way to clarify  mental  or competence  grammar  is to ask a friend a question about a sentence, Pamela J. Sharpe writes in Barrons How to Prepare for the TOEFL IBT. Your friend probably wont know why  its correct, but that friend will know  if  its correct. So one of the features of mental or competence grammar is this incredible sense of correctness and the ability to hear something that sounds odd in a language. Its a subconscious or implicit knowledge of grammar, not learned by rote. In The Handbook of Educational Linguistics,  William C. Ritchie and Tej K. Bhatia note, A central aspect of the knowledge of a particular language variety consists in its grammar- that is, its  implicit  (or tacit or subconscious) knowledge of the rules of pronunciation (phonology), of word structure (morphology), of sentence structure (syntax), of certain aspects of meaning (semantics), and of a  lexicon  or vocabulary. Speakers of a given language variety are said to have an implicit  mental grammar  of that variety consisting of these rules and lexicon. It is this mental grammar that determines in large part the perception and production of speech  utterances. Since the mental grammar plays a role in actual language use, we must conclude that it is represented in the brain in some way.The detailed study of the language users mental grammar is generally regarded as the domain of the discipline of linguistics, whereas the study of the way in which the mental grammar is put to use in the actual comprehension and production of speech in linguistic performan ce has been a major concern of  psycholinguistics. (In Monolingual Language Use and Acquisition: An Introduction.) Prior to the early 20th century and previous to Chomsky, it wasnt really studied how humans acquire language or what exactly in ourselves makes us different from animals, which dont use language like we do. It was just classified abstractly that humans have reason, or a rational soul as Descartes put it, which really doesnt explain how we acquire language- especially as babies. Babies and toddlers dont really receive grammar instruction on how to put words together in a sentence, yet they learn their native tongue just by exposure to it. Chomsky worked on what it was that was special about human brains that enabled this learning.

Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Professional Development - Essay Example Systems’ thinking is a management paradigm, an organizational analysis tool, and holistic institutional management paradigm. From this perspective, its use contributes to the informed shortcomings in the education system and designs strategies in overcoming these shortcomings. The component also investigates the relationship of systems thinking with education, and professional and institutional development. In conclusion, this approach has the potential to overcome the gap between teachers - student development. To understand K - 12 educators’ professional development literature, terms relevant to the topic must be understood. Speck and Knipe (2001) suggest that the 1980’s saw the emergence of professional development as a term preferred for its emphasis on teaching as a profession. However, Fenstermacher and Berliner (1985) assert that staff development was the buzzword for that decade, and appears more burdened with traditional notions of teacher growth plus one-time workshop, whereas professional development resonate more with the contemporary notions connecting teaching to the professionalism. Others continue to use the terms staff development and professional development interchangeably (Richardson, 2003). Professional development is defined in many ways. Guskey (2000) defines it as processes and activities to enhance educators’ professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes, thus improving students’ learning (p. 16). In his earlier work, Guskey (1986) defined staff development as student learning improvement, a systematic attempt to bring about changes among teachers’ practice, beliefs, attitude, and learning outcome among students (p. 5), and lately, he proposed that professional development involves intentionally designed and systematic efforts to effect change. Evans (2002) contends that lack of concept clarity and literatures impoverished

University Application Recommendations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

University Application Recommendations - Essay Example His fascinations have naturally matured as responses to the built environment and playful investigations into sculpted forms. He is capable of both stylistic and naturalistic responses and the sketchbooks roll out thoughtful and coherent visual arguments. George’s observation, understanding and analytical skills are evident from his written work in economics George is also an enthusiastic analytic and has produced some impressive written work when writing in the light of a broader context, demonstrating his ability to pursue a broader understanding of the workings of a text in English. His current Personal Investigation will compare Brave New World, East of Eden, The Tempest and Paradise Lost IX and X. He is both intelligent and is sharply perceptive in terms of literature and the world around him. George understands the role of Mathematics in architecture and therefore worked hard to develop strong concepts of the subject. His hard work has paid off and is a good problem-solving strategist. In Mechanics he displayed good technical abilities – drawing precise technical diagrams and working effectively from them. In class he works with determination and care, and he often makes valuable contributions to class discussion. George is academically focussed and has earned high marks in Mathematics. However, George’s marks are not the real measurement of his diligence, hard work and potential. He is truly a gem of a student and grasps concepts easily. However his drawbacks have been attributed to the hearing problem which in no way could subdue his determination and spirit to excel in