Elevator Speech Draft

Elevator Speech Audience: Diana Gale Purpose: To outline strategies for developing a publicly supported wasteland augment policy â€Å"Seattle Waste utility faces a challenging new mission: not only is the agency t asked with its previous responsibility of delivering waste management services, it is now task ked with developing waste management policy. With the approaching deadline to Rene w the contract with the King County landfill, the utility is faced with an opportunity to recon mend a new longer waste management policy.You have already accomplished a great deal by building SSW into an organize Zion that can be effective in developing policy, but local organizations, politicians and meme beers of the public have strong, competing perspectives about waste management in Seat tale. In addition, confidence in Saw's ability to recommend a policy is low. Under these conditions, it is best if SSW does not make a recommendation a bout a longer waste management policy alone. Instead, yo u should engage key organization s and individuals whose support could strengthen Saw's legitimacy.TO determine a longer asset disposal policy, we recommend that you pursue one of two participator decommissioning processes: the first includes the the public, along with local p Laotians and administrators. If time constraints allow, we feel that this is your best bet to in crease Saw's legitimacy and gain support and cooperation for the policy. The second excels vilely includes local politicians and administrators. This second process would increase the u utility legitimacy on a more limited level, but may be preferable if time constraints prevent you from pursuing the more inclusive process. †

Biology on Drug Abuse and Addiction Essay

Abstract This paper will discuss what drug abuse and addiction is. It also will discuss what effects that alcohol, marijuana, and heroin have on the body. Over the past couple decades drug abuse and addiction is a growing epidemic in the United States. As the years go by more and more people are leaning on drugs to make them forget what’s going on, for fun, or just for personal satisfaction. People never seem to only worry about the feeling they get from using them, but what about the long term effects? What about the body, the brain, your health? Well people like me want to know the effects, so I will be discussing these things throughout this paper. There are many different types of drugs and they all have different effects depending on how often they’re used. I will be going through a list of drugs and what type of effects they have on your body and brain. This isn’t just a simple outline of them, this is more than that I hope you’re prepared. Drug abuse is a repetition of usage of addictive or illegal drugs. Addiction is being abnormally dependent on a habit. Today drugs seem to become the newest trend. Most of it is tried just for fun out of curiosity. Otherwise it used for more psychological problems such as: stress, anxiety, or depression. This doesn’t automatically make it abuse and there is no direct notice of level of drug usage to determine the movement from casual to problematic. When talking about drug abuse and addiction it isn’t about consumption but more on consequences. If your drug addiction starts to affect your everyday life you most likely you’re a drug abuser or you have an addiction problem. Drug abuse and addiction can have many effects on the brain. These repeated usages of drugs can cause the way your brain’s appearance and function. From taking drugs it can cause large amounts of dopamine can be released into your brain. Dopamine triggers feelings of pleasure, which your brain remembers and wants them to reoccur. If you become addicted to any drug it can start to take place of normal healthy things such as eating and drinking (non-alcoholic beverages). When addicted changes in your brain begin to interfere with your ability to clearly think, exercise good judgment, control your behavior, and feel normal without drugs. Your addiction is bad when the urge is so extremely strong that your mind starts to find a way to deny or rationalize the addiction. Let’s start with alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant it slows down reaction time and thinking and other activity with the brain. Alcohol rapidly enters the bloodstream and circulates to all parts of the body within a few minutes. When it reaches the brain it knocks out control centers, causing intoxication. (Hanley Center, 2012, â€Å"Get the Facts about Drugs and Alcohol,† para. 1). The addiction to alcohol is called alcoholism. Alcoholism is genetic. With consumption of alcohol it can cause many psychological effects such as to drink to escape problems, feelings, insecurity, etc. Little do they know that doesn’t solve them that only make those problems worse. Alcoholism can cause malnutrition, shakes, tremors, brain damage, mouth cancer, cancer in the esophagus, cancer in the stomach, heart disease, liver damage, ulcers, and gastritis. There are also many mental effects such as: Erratic behavior, impaired thinking/judgment, slower reactions, loss of self-control, moodiness, slurred speech, double vision, impaired memory, and depression. Alcohol can cause amnesia, because believe it or not the brain cells are not killed from alcohol; They are blocked by steroids that are created by the neurons in the hippocampus when large amounts of alcohol are consume which blocks memory formation. Marijuana is a preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant, usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria. When marijuana is consumed it enters the bloodstream and immediately attacks the brain and nervous system. Marijuana isn’t a stimulant, depressant, nor hallucinogen, however it a mixture of all three. It also can be determined on how the person who consumes it reacts from the effects. Marijuana is a mind-altering drug it distorts the users mind. When marijuana is used the chemicals can be located in the brain from three to six weeks and can be detected while getting a drug screen. When marijuana usage is gradually increasing by someone they may start becoming dependent on it because they like the feeling. However when becoming more dependent on it when they go days without they may suffer from withdrawal. With withdrawal they may experience effects like sleeping difficulties, nervousness, and mood swings. Now to get more specific we’ll start with women and pregnancy. According to research it can cause infertility. Infertility is being unable to become conceive children. Smoking marijuana while pregnant can also cause premature birth and birth defects on the unborn child. Now moving on to the men, did you know that marijuana has been linked to testicular cancer? According to the American Cancer Society they found the germ sub-type tumor non-seminoma in men twice as much in men that consume marijuana than in men who didn’t. This type of tumor is more difficult to treat and is more likely to be found in men in the late teens and early thirties. On to the mental problems, marijuana can cause short term memory, mood swings, impaired reaction time, high irritability, insomnia, anxiety, depression, paranoia, frustration, and confusion. Heroin is a highly addictive analgesic drug derived from morphine, often used illicitly as a narcotic producing euphoria. When heroin is injected into the body it reaches the brain anywhere between seven and eight seconds. Heroin can take immediate effects on your body even after small amounts of intake. Heroin is a depressant. Heroin depresses the part of the brain that controls the â€Å"survive† functions. Some functions are breathing and coughing. The thing that heroin does to the body is that it tricks it to release hormones that stop pains, and ones that cause pleasure. The person who is taking the drug experiences euphoria or extreme happiness. More effects of this drug are difficulties to urinate, retracted pupils, and decreased breathing and heart rate. As heroin becomes more of a habit for people it becomes very much expensive. Once addicted to heroin the user has to use this drug every eight to twelve hours or they can undergo a serious of side effects. The effects that happen when the user doesn’t get what their dosage is called withdrawal. When going through withdrawal the user experiences fever, chills, nausea, diarrhea, and muscle spasms. The symptoms usually last anywhere between five to seven days. Also when experiencing withdrawal it can lead to feelings of anxiety, severe pain throughout the body. Since the body becomes so attached to the drug that when they go without they can potentially die, so it is important for an addict to go detox clinic or hospital to get doses of methadone for a while so they can wean themselves from heroin. Not only does heroin affect you internally, it effects externally as well. Some physical effects are: Sleepiness, skin sores, bleeding, slow breathing, and collapsed veins, heart damage, malnutrition, AIDS, anemia, death. It always seems to be the people who’ve never experienced drug addiction and abuse that are quick to make myths and rumors about it. The first myth is â€Å"Overcoming addiction is simply a matter of willpower. You can stop using drugs if you really wanted to.† That isn’t true. When you use drugs for so long the brain is changed so much that it makes it difficult for the user to quit. The second myth is â€Å"Addiction is a disease: there’s nothing you can do about it† although this is considered to be a disease it doesn’t mean you’re incurable that’s why there are rehabilitation centers and substitutes to help wean you off the drug you are on. My three is â€Å"Addicts have to hit rock bottom before they can get better.† Actually you can start recovering from an addiction at any time, and the earlier the better. Myth four is â€Å"You can’t force someone into treatment: they have to want help.† People don’t have to be your own choice to be done. In most cases the ones who are pushed by their families are most likely to go through with it. Last but not least â€Å"Treatment didn’t work before, so there’s no point trying again. â€Å"Recovery is a lengthy recovery sometimes there are setbacks but relapse doesn’t make it unsuccessful it just gives them reason to do better. Some signs and symptoms of drug abuse are when you begin to neglect responsibilities, when using drugs under bad conditions or taking risk while under influence, when the drugs you use are getting you into trouble, and when the drugs are causing relationship problems. Some signs and symptoms of drug abuse are if you have gained a drug tolerance, you take drugs to relieve withdrawal, you have no control on your drug usage, your life is slowly starting to revolve around drugs, you start to abandon activities you used to enjoy, and the continuance of drugs even after you found out what they do to you. References Robinson, L., Smith, M., M. A. (2012) – Drug Abuse and Addiction. Signs, Symptoms, and Help for Drug Problems and Substance Abuse, Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/drug_substance_abuse_addiction_signs_effects_treatment.htm Wade, C., Tavris, C. (2010) . Psychology. California: Prentice Hall

Greenwich Printmakers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Greenwich Printmakers - Essay Example It serves as the home of a number of significant artists in a national level, promoter of several art clubs, developer of new commercial galleries and annual exhibitions and center for a major art training facility. Majority of its tourist attractions can be found in Central London while one may also find them outside the city centre. The city of London serves as home to St. Paul's Cathedral, where one can find just outside its official boundary the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. Visitors are brought to the City of Westminster to the west with the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey, and the Buckingham Palace, which possesses several of London's top museums and galleries. Amongst its attractions are the British Museum, the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, Madame Tussaud's, and the Tate Britain. Tourist attractions and heritage sites such as palaces remain popular for both visitors and the local people. Often, tourists take some poses with the amazing Horse Guards Parade for a ceremonial photo opportunity, whilst the nearby Downing Street serves as home to the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown who replaced Britain's former, Tony Blair. Meanwhile, the London Borough of Camden, situated at the north of the City of Westminster, features the famous London zoo and the northern end of Regent's park, which are both located inside Central London. Camten Town is located just outside it, serving as a home to the well-known market, which serves as a north attractor. Further to the west are the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where one may find the museum district of South Kensington, which serves as home to the Kensington Palace, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, and Victorian and Albert Museum. Many hotels are also mounted in this area, ready to take in a visitor who wants to take a rest from a day's visit of London. The regeneration of South Bank and Bankside areas across the river from the City and Westminster was witnessed by the recent years. In these areas, one may contemplate visiting the Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern, the London Eye, and the London Aquarium. In West London, in the other side of the city, the London Borough of Richmond, featuring Kew Gardens, and Richmond are situated. The Hampton Court Palace may be found on the other side of the river in the southwestern edge of the borough. Also outside the center, in the eastern area of South London, is the Greenwich, a popular tourist destination with the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum, and the Cutty Sark. It is common for many of London's museums to offer free entry while cultural or historic attractions charge an entry fee of anything between '5 to '20 per adult like the St. Paul Cathedral, the Globe Theatre, and the Tower of London. The London Sightseeing Pass offers entry with one ticket to several London Tourist Attractions, which one has to purchase in advance. The Greenwich

Impressionism Paintings Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Impressionism Paintings - Research Paper Example The essay "Impressionism Paintings" explores paintings of impressionism. Impressionism defines a painting movement that originated in France in the 19th Century. Impressionism was predominantly an art movement that dealt with painting at the time it was established, but later extended its scope and integrated music into its practices and artworks. The major activities of the movement became most popular towards the end of the 19th Century and at the beginning of the 20th Century. During this period, France chiefly ran the activities that comprised what the movement was engaged in. The years 1867 and 1886 were the core of expressionist painting, and the artworks produced within this period were more or less associated with artists who shared similar or almost similar mindsets. The approaches and/or techniques that artists in the impressionism movement employed in developing their work were shared amongst themselves, thereby establishing strong ties and relations among the involved par ties. One of the most outstanding factors in impressionism is the accurate and objective visual representation of reality through manipulating light and color effects. The approaches and/or techniques that impressionist painters used uniquely captured reality in variant ways, all of which were unique to individual painters and confined within impressionism. Although there were many impressionist painters in this movement, there are a number of painters that shaped and influenced the entire movement.

Critique globalization (the super story) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critique globalization (the super story) - Essay Example Due to the emergence of digital applications and the internet in globalization, I also expected that he would touch on the topic of the application of the internet in moving globalization towards the right direction and route. It was therefore not surprising to find that he touched on the areas of supermarkets and the creation of the global financial centers. In explaining the manner in which nations are interconnected especially after the cold war, Friedman captured the role of the United States as the superpower that has remained. He however failed to provide a description of the post-cold war era especially the knowledge on how it affected the economic powers of the people and how it influenced growth. In Friedman, the process through markets integrates and develops uniform transportation and communication systems for doing business across the world is globalization, a process that has never been seen in history. Through this process, corporations spread across the world have been enabled to move the products from one point to the other with haste, efficiency and precision than was witnessed before. Through this definition, the author has clearly captured the business systems that exist today especially capturing the post and pre-cold war eras that witnessed world integration and formation of economic powerhouses. Though looking simple, the definition has captured the fact that markets across the world have been interconnected and brought together through web connectivity, a process that can allow companies as separate and far apart as North America to do business with Asia (Friedman 474). Before the eyes of Friedman, globalization is a force multiplier that gives nations, global markets and individuals at different levels of incorporation are empowered to communicate and us the available resources. According to Friedman, globalization is tool that leads to the distribution

Subject political science in 1989 some observers claimed that marxism Essay

Subject political science in 1989 some observers claimed that marxism was obsolete. What if any analytical insights can marxist political economy still provi - Essay Example A Roman citizen often owned slaves who worked his land growing wheat; a feudal lord would seize the surplus wheat grown by the serf on the lands; the early capitalist farmers began to employ landless labourers to do their manual work for a wage that was less than the total value f the product that they created. In each case, wheat is grown on land by the labour f men and women, but the social arrangements are totally different. There are totally different class relationships, leading to totally different forms f society: ancient, feudal, and capitalist. The one thing that unites these three arrangements is that in each case a minority class rules and takes the surplus away from the producers. Each society, says Marx, embodies class exploitation based on the relationships f production, or rather, the modes f production. The key to understanding a given society is to discover which is the dominant mode f production within it. The basic pattern f social and political relationships can t hen be known. Since Marx concentrates his attention on the class structure f capita... While Marx recognizes that there are other classes, the fundamental class division is between this pairing f the exploiter and the exploited. The bourgeoisie derive their class position from the fact that they own productive wealth. It is not their high income that makes them capitalists, but the fact that they own the means f production. For example, the inputs necessary for production - factories, machines, etc. The ability f workers to work (labour power) is in itself a marketable commodity bought for the least cost to be used at will by the capitalist. In addition, the capitalist owns the product and will always pocket the difference between the value f the labour and the value f the product - referred to by Marx as 'surplus value' - purely by virtue f his ownership. His property rights also allow the capitalist the control f the process f production and the labour he buys. The proletariat in contrast, owns no means f production. Because f this exploitation, Marx viewed the bourg eoisie and the proletariat as locked in deep and unavoidable conflict. The criminal justice system, in the words or Marx, is used against, rather than for the people. Under capitalism, the system f law and punishment is inherently unjust, designed not to control crime for the good f the society but to subjugate the population. For instance, imprisonment is imposed less as a direct punishment for convicted felons than as a way to siphon off surplus labour from the population. Since a long cycle f growth and depression is inherent in capitalism, there will be times when there are too many workers that the economy cannot absorb. These surplus workers are a threat to capitalists, since they could organize into a revolutionary movement. Therefore, the theory

Constantine the Great Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Constantine the Great - Term Paper Example In 284, the Empire was ruled by General Diocletian and co-Emperor Maximian; Caesares were appointed by leaders, one of them being Constantius. A system known as tetrarchy was implemented which divided the Empire into four territories with one officer assigned to defend each territory. This system became much more efficient in putting the end to the civil wars and the Empire was able to successfully defend against Persian and German raids. The tax system was reformed and the increased revenue allowed the construction of walls and other defenses; by the fourth century the Empire was considered stable. Christians were a minority population and refused to recognize the Roman Empire as a divine entity and would not submit to taxation, sacrifices or imperial service. In 303, Christians were pronounced enemies of the State. Christians were prosecuted in an attempt to force them into loyalty. It was during the campaigns of Diocletian that Constantine gained experience and military training. Constantius died in 306 and the common people declared Constantine as successor though this support and decision was unpopular and not favored by others in the tetrarchy. Constantine married the daughter of Maximian, who was granted shelter at Constantine’s court when he later became enemies with Maxentius. A conference in 308 insisted upon Constantine relinquishing his title of Augustus and return to being only a Caesar but Constantine refused. Maximian made an attempt to gain power and Constantine, upon learning this, immediately marched into Gaul. Maximian either committed suicide or was executed in 310 (â€Å"Emperor Constantine†). Constantine had an amazing vision in which he claimed to see the symbol of Christ shining above the sun, he imagined this to be a divine vision and had his soldiers paint the symbol on their shields. It seemed Constantine’s conversion was genuine and

Strategic Management Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Management Accounting - Assignment Example Strategic management helps the management to align the financial strategies of the company with other strategies namely the marketing strategies, operational strategies and human resource strategies (Bonaccorsi and Daraio, 2009). Financial management cannot connect with the external and internal requirements of the business, thus it is used only as a fact finding method. Whereas, strategic management helps to integrate the external impact on the business together with the internal strength and weakness of the organization and create new set of strategies. The paper presents a critical analysis between the use of return on investment and economic value added as means of measuring the performance. Both the techniques are used only for short term periods and not for achieving long term goals (Chrol, 2011). The discussion pertains to how the two different kinds of technique can be used for achieving long goals. Apart from that, the advantages and disadvantages of four different pricing t echniques are discussed namely, market based transfer pricing, full cost transfer pricing, cost plus mark-up transfer prices and negotiated transfer prices. Part A Critical evaluation of the statement â€Å"Both Return on Investment (ROI) and Economic Value Added (EVA), when used as performance measures in an organisation, encourage managers to be short-term in their focus and decision making† Both ROI and EVA are used for performance evaluation but only for the short term purpose. The managers face problems if these two kinds of techniques are applied for evaluating the performance of the company for the long term purpose. In order to discuss how the two different types of techniques can be used for the long term purpose, both the techniques need to be discussed separately and in depth (Clark and Mathur, 2011). In order to understand how ROI can be modified to use for taking long term decision it is imperative to note that ROI actually consist of two different parts. One is the return on sales and the other one is the asset turnover. Returns on sales indicate the profit per sales dollar which measures the ability of the manager to control expenses and at same time increase the profitability by increasing the revenue. The other one is the asset turnover, which indicates the amount of dollar received for each dollar invested. It measures the capability of the manager to increase the rate of revenue generation with the increase in the rate of investment. If ROI is going to be used for taking long term decisions then the focus should be on the asset turnover value. If control is gained over the value of the asset turnover then the ROI can be used for long term decision purposes (Das, Quelch and Swartz, 2000). In order to gain better control over the asset turnover the depreciation policy and the capitalization policy need to be modified. The determination of the useful life of asset and depreciation method used has an effect on both the income and investme nt aspects. This in turn affects the ROI. It is seen that if the depreciation charges are kept unusually high then the ROI is reduced to larger extent. In computation of the return on investment, sales factor is the only constant value, whereas both income and investment are variables. By making the right adjustment in the depreciation policy the depreciation

Personal Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Journal - Assignment Example , I read more textbook concepts of entrepreneurship that made me realize how my idea would be a combination of both the lifestyle firm and entrepreneurial firm in the 21st century. Whereas the restaurant aspect has and provides value for the customers, the customer interaction aspect will allow people the opportunity to live out their fantasies or try something they cannot do on their own without the risk. On sixth of January 2014, I watched the Shark Tank program, after which I became very passionate about entrepreneurship, getting many insights on how to launch successful upstarts in the highly competitive business environment today. I also read a fantastic article in the November issue of INC. Magazine, concerning how to build the right organizational culture within an entrepreneurial firm; I would definitely apply some of these principles in my business since a positive workplace culture promotes business performance while enhancing value for customers accordingly. In addition to that, I also read an interesting article in November about the Fast Company that implemented the â€Å"iPourIt† self-service draft beer system with the RFID wristband that keeps track of pours. This system is a brilliant idea of saving in bars by getting rid of ‘over-pours’ that often arise due to bartenders tipping beer out of heady glasses while allowing customers to self-serve. The saved â€Å"over-pours† could amount to great saves in revenue per year thereby promoting business by adding profits; such a phenomenon system would greatly boost my entrepreneurial idea of business since it also does adopt the self-service concept. I am interested in working for myself and being independent financially without having to depend on upkeep from my parents or on employment by working for others; I am passionate about social networking because it enables me to make connections with my old contacts to establish new ones through the friends I already have. Social networking enables me to

Philosophy of managing people in higher educational settings Essay Example for Free

Philosophy of managing people in higher educational settings Essay Capability to manage a team effectively is one of the main qualities which any professional seeking success needs to possess. However, the position of a leader requires many outstanding skills, and it may be very challenging at times. According to Sun Tzu, Chinese General who lived in the 5th century B. C. , â€Å"when one has all 5 virtues together: intelligence, trustworthiness, humanness, courage, sternness, each appropriate to its function, then one can be a leader† (Deal, Kennedy, 1988). Leadership means the ability to influence other people and guide them to the success. During many centuries it has been believed that the key to success in a team lies in the skills of the manager. No company can remain on top unless it has an outstanding manager who guides it into the right direction. Management of people in higher educational settings is a very challenging task due to the complexity of the field of education. Some of the general principles of management can be applied efficiently, but at the same time additional attention needs to be devoted to characteristic features which are common only for educational sphere. The task of the leader in higher educational settings is to manage the staff in such a way that all the skills which the members of the staff possess turn out applied at their maximum. This task is very complicated because â€Å"building the winning team requires more than just hiring a bunch of talented people. It means hiring people who will work well together. It means developing a shared vision and commitment. It means physically bringing people together in formal group meetings for open discussion of broad-based issues. It means encouraging positive, informal interactions between group members. It means instilling a â€Å"winning attitude throughout the organization. It means watching for and quickly trying to reverse team-building problems such as jealousy, cynicism, and defensive behavior. † (Building a winning team. Retrieved on November 14, from source: www. businesstown. com). The most important issue in managing the team in higher educational settings is choosing the right form of motivation for them. Since all people in the staff are different, all of them need different forms of motivation. For some staff members, only money works, and they do not get motivated by any other benefits. For others, there is nothing more important than social recognition of their efforts. Other staff members will care about the possibilities of future promotion in case of their successful performance. Therefore, in order to manage the staff effectively, the first task to do is to define where the needs of employees fall in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. After some communication with the members of the team it is easy to discover what staff members are very ambitious. They have a very high need of esteem. They need to be praised for the work they do, get recognition from senior-level management, be aware about the possibilities of their future promotion, and fulfill tasks which require lots of responsibility. These staff members are very experienced, they have already made large contributions into the university’s success, and therefore they can be motivated only through getting more and more complicated tasks to fulfill. Other staff members will not be as success-oriented, and not as experienced. They can be rather knowledgeable in the field of education but they do not seek promotion because they are quite happy with their present work. Therefore, they can be motivated by money awards and praise for their work because their needs fall into the category of belonginess and love. The next step of successful staff management in higher education setting is defining relationships between staff members, and making a sociogram which identifies the types of interactions within the social network. Without the knowledge of interactions between the staff members, there is no way to manage the team effectively. In order to manage the members of the team, it is useful at times to apply the approach of influencing some members of the team through other members. It is necessary to identify the member of the team who has the strongest influence on other members because teams are usually aligned to such staff members. It is also necessary to keep up â€Å"healthy culture† in the educational setting. â€Å"A healthy culture can promote identification (who we are), legitimation (why we need to do) communication (with whom we talk), coordination (with whom we work) and development (what are the dominant perspectives and tasks)†. (Davies, 1997, p. 135). The last step of managing the team is choosing the leadership style. Such styles include â€Å"considerate, structuring, autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire and the like† (Bjerke, 1999, p. 57). Some authors determine supporting, directive, coercive, transformational leadership styles. The most efficient styles in the majority of establishments of higher education are democratic and supportive styles, but for some types of situations autocratic and directive styles might be appropriate. For example, when the faculty leader wants to set direct goals for the staff members and make them increase their performance, it can be appropriate to use directive style. The choice of the style mainly depends on the environment in the organization and the goals which it needs to achieve. Autocratic and directive styles can sometimes represent some danger of faculty leaders becoming power-oriented. When managers care only about their own power, they tend to choose those 2 styles of leadership. It is well-known that leadership styles can be oriented on the performance of the team or on the concern about staff members. The analysis of these theories is particularly important for managing staff members in educational settings. Blake and Mouton (1964) have introduced a grid in which they identified the main styles of leadership according to those 2 characteristics. Orientation on the performance of the team means that the manager is very concerned about the results which they are going to have in the end of the period, the extent to which goals will be met. Orientation on people means that the leader will pay lots of attention to maintaining trust in the company, establishing warm relations with all the employees, giving them only appropriate tasks and motivating them. Blake and Mouton have come up with several types of managers based in their grid. â€Å"Under the style referred to as impoverished management, managers concern themselves very little with either people or results and have minimum involvement in their jobs. † (Bjerke, 1999, p. 59). Such managers usually do not achieve good results because they show minimum concern about the activity of the company. â€Å"Team leaders†, on the contrary, manage to combine both concern about people and achieve great performance of the company. This type of managers cannot be accepted in education settings because it prevents the faculty staff from making large contributions to the development of the educational establishment. â€Å"Another style is management called country club management, in which managers have little or no concern for results but are concerned only for people. † (Bjerke, 1999, p. 59). Such companies might not have great results because employees will not be working to the fullest. â€Å"Autocratic task managers are concerned only with developing an efficient operation, who have little or no concern for people and who are quite autocratic in their style of leadership. † (Bjerke, 1999, p. 59). This type of manager is more favorable than the previous one, but it is also inefficient in the educational setting. In order to make the staff work efficiently, the faculty leader needs to choose the style combining both concern about staff members and concern about the performance of the team. It is very difficult to make the faculty function effectively, but this task can be achieved through the right choices of staff members’ motivation and leadership style. The field of education requires a leader with good communication skills, able to provide success-oriented policy, capable of solving all the possible problems which may arise in the team. Bibliography. 1. Alison, H. Managing people Managing Universities and Colleges Guides to Good Pratice Open University Press McGraw Hill. 2003. 2. Bjerke Bjorn. Business Leadership and Culture: National Management Styles in the Global Economy. Edward Elgar. 1999. 3. Blake, R. R. and J. S. Mouton. The Managerial Grid, Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Company. 1964. 4. Building a winning team. Retrieved on November 14, from source: www. businesstown. com. 5. Davies, J. The evolution of university responses to financial reduction. Higher Education Management, 9(1), 127-140. 1997. 6. Deal, T. and A. Kennedy. Corporate Cultures, London: Penguin Books. 1988. 7. Garvin, David A. What makes for an authentic learning organization? Management Update: Newsletter from Harvard Business School 2, no. 6 (July 1): 7-9. 1993.

Mission Statement Essay Vision Statement Essay

Mission Statement Essay Vision Statement Essay Mission Statements Vision Statements Vision Statements and Mission Statements are the inspiring words chosen by successful leaders to clearly and concisely convey the direction of the organization. By crafting a clear mission statement and vision statement, you can powerfully communicate your intentions and motivate your team or organization to realize an attractive and inspiring common vision of the future. â€Å"Mission Statements† and â€Å"Vision Statements† do two distinctly different jobs. A Mission Statement defines the organizations purpose and primary objectives. Its prime function is internal to define the key measure or measures of the organizations success and its prime audience is the leadership team and stockholders. Vision Statements also define the organizations purpose, but this time they do so in terms of the organizations values rather than bottom line measures (values are guiding beliefs about how things should be done.) The vision statement communicates both the purpose and values of the organization. For employees, it gives direction about how they are expected to behave and inspires them to give their best. Shared with customers, it shapes customers understanding of why they should work with the organization Vision Statements are difficult to write they should short, clear, vivid, inspiring and concise without using jargon, complicated words or concepts. Successful Statements are memorable and engaging. A combination of both a companys mission and a companys vision of the future may be included in a Mission Statement. No wonder there is so much confusion between Vision Statements and Mission Statements! Sample Vision Statements Definition of a Vision A Vision is defined as An Image of the future we seek to create. Definition of a Mission A Mission is defined as Purpose, reason for being. Defined simply Who we are and what we do. What is the difference between Mission Statements and Vision Statements? A good definition for a Mission Statement is a sentence or short paragraph which is written by a company or business which reflects its core purpose, identity, values and principle business aims. The definition for Vision Statements is a sentence or short paragraph providing a broad, aspirational image of the future. Mission Statements therefore contain important information about a company in a nutshell. This should include the the company mission ( what the company does, its products, its services and its customers). These types of Statements focus on today Vision Statements therefore contain details of the companys future its vision ( the future plans with aims and objectives )These types of Statements focus on tomorrow. An organizational mission is an organizations reason for existence. It often reflects the values and beliefs of top managers in an organization. A mission statement is the broad definition of the organizational mission. It is sometimes referred to as a creed, purpose, or statement of corporate philosophy and values. A good mission statement inspires employees and provides a focus and direction for setting lower level objectives. It should guide employees in making decisions and establish what the organization does. Mission statements are crucial for organizations to prosper and grow. While studies suggest that they have a positive impact on profitability and can increase shareholder equity, they also support that almost 40 percent of employees do not know or understand their companys mission. Not only large corporations benefit from creating mission statements but small businesses as well. Entrepreneurial businesses are driven by vision and high aspirations. Developing a mission statement will help the small business realize their vision. Its primary purpose is to guide the entrepreneur and assist in refining the planning process. By developing a strategic plan that incorporates the mission statement, entrepreneurs are more likely to be successful and stay focused on what is important. The mission statement encourages managers and small business owners alike to consider the nature and scope of the business. Business Week attributes 30 percent higher return on several key financial measure for companies with well-crafted mission statements. COMMON ELEMENTS While mission statements vary from organization to organization and represent the distinctness of each one, they all share similar components. Most statements include descriptions of the organizations target market, the geographic domain, their concern for survival, growth and profitability, the company philosophy, and the organizations desired public image. For example: Our mission is to become the favorite family dining restaurant in every neighborhood in which we operate. This will be accomplished by serving a variety of delicious tasting and generously portioned foods at moderate prices. Our restaurants will be clean, fun, and casual. Our guests will be served by friendly, knowledgeable people that are dedicated to providing excellent customer service. This mission statement describes the target market, which are families and the geographic domain of neighborhoods. It clearly states how it expects to be profitable by offering excellent customer service by friendly, knowledgeable people. When defining the mission statement it is important to take into account external influences such as the competition, labor conditions, economic conditions, and possible government regulation. It is important to remember however, that mission statements that try to be everything to everybody end up being nothing to anybody. Companies should have mission statements that clearly define expected shareholder returns and they should regularly measure performance in terms of those expected returns. If the major reason for a businesss existence is to make a profit then it stands to reason that expectations of profit should be included in the organizations mission. This means that management should reach a consensus about which aspects of the companys profit performance should be measured. These might include margin growth, product quality, market share changes, competitive cost position, and capital structure efficiency. A mission statement sets the boundaries for how resources should be allocated and what strategic and operational goals should be set. The mission statement should acknowledge the companys strengths and then inform employees where to direct their efforts in order to take advantage of those strengths. Before writing a mission statement organizations should take a look at how they are different from the competition, whether it is in technology, image and name brand, or employees. It can often be thought of as a recipe for success because it not only defines the organizations accomplishments but it also provides employees with directions to help them develop plans and look for opportunities for improvement. The organization defines what is acceptable behavior through the mission statement. Values and beliefs are the core of a strong mission statement. For example: Quality and values will secure our success. We will live by our values, have fun, and take pride in what we do. Our values are to maintain a work environment where people enjoy coming to work, to serve our guests and exceed their expectations, and to be profitable and result oriented. This mission statement is simple and straightforward. It does not, however, specify the products or target market. The mission statement also provides meaning to the organization by stating not only what goals the company wants to achieve but also why it wants to achieve these goals. It is not effective unless it is challenging and forces workers to establish goals and means to measure the achievement of those goals. A mission statement should inspire employees and get them involved in the organization. It has been called the glue that holds the organization together through shared values and standards of behavior. A mission statement should be relevant to the history, culture, and values of the company. Many statements refer to the social responsibility of the organization. For example, a company can show their concern for the community in the following: To be involved as good corporate citizens wherever we are around the world. We will treat customers and distributors with honesty, courtesy, and respect. We will respect and preserve the environment. Through all of this we will prove to be the worldwide leader in industry trade. One important issue in organizations today is the concern with diversity. While it is not a traditional point included in mission statements, more and more companies are including it because of the globalization of the economy and the increased diversity of the workforce. Before writing a mission statement, leaders in the organization must have an idea of what is in store for the future. This vision is the foundation for the mission statement. The vision provides a strategic direction, which is the springboard for the mission and its related goals. A vision statement differs from a mission statement. Vision statements are a view of what an organization is striving to become. For example: To bring back to neighborhoods all over America the importance of family unity. We will view ourselves as a family so these attributes will be carried over into our service. They guide an organization into the future while mission statements are a reflection of the present. Because vision statements are a glimpse into the future, they are often not realized for several years. Organizations go through many changes and can face times of confusion and uncertainty. Changes are not always expected or easy, so a well thought out vision statement will help everyone stay focused and meet the organizations goals. Some examples of well-known companies mission statements: Wal-Mart: To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people. 3M: To solve unsolved problems innovatively. Walt Disney: To make people happy. Historically, these may have seemed arrogant. But consider the outcome of the following mission statements from each companys early days: Ford Motor Company: Ford will democratize the automobile. Sony: Become the company most know for changing the world-wide poor-quality image of Japanese products. Wal-Mart: Become a $125 billion company by the year 2000. WRITING A MISSION STATEMENT When creating a mission statement there are a few simple guidelines that can be followed. It is important to remember the basics so the mission statement stays simple and straight to the point. Some researchers agree that it should be kept to between 30 and 60 words, while others believe it does not necessarily have to be that brief. Some organizations have mission statements that are only one sentence, while others are a paragraph. An example of a mission statement that is limited to one sentence is Our business is selling houses and our mission is total customer satisfaction. At a minimum, each mission statement should answer the following three questions: (1) What are the opportunities or needs the organization addresses? (2) What does the organization do to address those needs? and (3) What principles and values guide the organization? In other words, defining the organizations purpose, business and values. Avoiding jargon and buzzwords will keep the mission statement clear and easy to understand. It should be universal and simple to comprehend for all employees in the organization. It should be unique and identify the organization. A mission statement is often what sets one company apart from the competition. It should outline the organizations competitive advantages and differentiate it from everyone else. Specific products/services offered as well as markets or customers should be included. Also a general business definition, behavioral standards, and desired competitive position can be added to a strong mission statement. EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT It is often helpful to allow company-wide input when creating a mission statement. This bottom up approach results in greater commitment to the organization and a better understanding of the organization. Employees from throughout the organization can help identify the core values of the company. In order to encourage employee participation, many companies have created competitions inviting employees to submit suggestions. Cash prizes are sometimes provided as an incentive for creative and inspirational statements. Some companies find it useful to invite customers to assist in writing a mission statement because they can provide an honest perspective. Another option is to review mission statements from other companies. This can help provide ideas as the writing process begins. It is important to keep in mind that there will be a draft process involved in creating the mission statement. Employees can often provide invaluable insight on how to improve on each draft. In the end, the mission statement should reflect the personality of the organization. Thus, each company should be creative and unique in developing its own statement. Creating a mission committee that consists of members of management, frontline employees, and customers is another way to begin writing a mission statement. The major benefit of this strategy is the inclusion of all areas of the organization to ensure that everyone is represented. Another benefit is that employees will be more willing to work toward accomplishing the mission if they know they had a voice in its creation. A top down approach can be effective in smaller organizations or even sole proprietorships. There is less time involved in creating a mission statement when it comes from the top. Also, many times frontline employees and lower level managers lack the insight necessary to see the big picture. They may not be able to conceptualize the entire organization and therefore miss important aspects of the business. Participation may not always be a good option for small businesses. In small businesses that are started by entrepreneurs the mission statement is generally a vision of an individual and therefore may not be negotiable. When the mission statement comes from upper management, employees are more assured of the organizations commitment to the statement. A word of caution should be noted when deciding whether to adopt a top down approach or a bottom up approach. If the mission statement is to be created with a wide variety of input from both employees and customers then it will take longer than a top down approach. There must be a sharing of views and ideas with compromises made. A consensus should be developed without the problems associated with groupthink. There is always the possibility that too much compromise will distort the mission statement and the end result is something different from the original intent. The top down approach is not always effective because it rarely consults employees when making important decisions. Therefore, although it is the fastest route to take it isnt always the most effective. While the mission statement should be able to change with the times it is also understood to have a certain degree of permanence. As new businesses begin to grow and hire more employees the mission statement should provide a strong sense of stability and a clear definition of the culture. A mission statement is worthless unless it has the support of the employees in the organization. It will only be successful if each employee commits to its success and internalizes it. Once the statement is completed it is extremely important that the organization not put it on the shelf to collect dust. It should be shared with the entire company. The introduction of the mission statement should come directly from top management in order to set the example. Organizations should be creative in making employees aware of the mission statement. Placing it strategically in locations where employees gather will increase awareness and remind them of the goals of the organization. Videos outlining the details of the new mission statement are often useful; however, it is critical that employees have the opportunity to discuss the statement with members of management. Setting up meetings with members of management and frontline employees can often help uncover areas where the company does not meet the standards set by the mission statement. Communicating the mission statement to customers will make them feel valued and important. It can be sent to customers in a mass mailing or posted on signs in areas those customers frequent. It sets forth the goals of the organization so customers know what to expect when doing business with the company. SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that helps an organization match its internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis is important and useful in creating and executing the organizations mission statement. Often the best strategies for accomplishing the organizations mission are revealed through the SWOT analysis. The best strategies are those that take advantage of strengths and opportunities, offset threats, and improve weaknesses. Organizations should first begin by reviewing internal strengths and weaknesses. When analyzing an organizations strengths it is important to identify distinctive competencies or strengths possessed by only a few competing firms. These distinctive competencies often become the competitive advantages that are included in the mission statement. Distinctive competencies can be found in financial resources, quality products and services, proprietary technology, or cost advantages. Organizational weaknesses are skills and capabilities that prevent an organization from implementing strategies that achieve its mission. They can be problems with facilities, lack of a clear strategic direction, internal operating problems, too narrow a product line, weak market image, or the inability to finance changes. The next step is to identify external opportunities and threats. Organizational opportunities are circumstances in an organizations environment that if capitalized on will result in above normal increases in economic performance. Examples of opportunities are related to the possibility of adding a new product line, increasing market growth, or diversifying into related products. Threats are viewed as circumstances that give rise to normal or below normal economic performance. They can be found in the ease of entry of competitors, increased sales of substituted products, demographic changes, slowed market growth, or increased competition. EVALUATION Evaluation of the mission statement is necessary to ensure the organization is meeting its goals. If needed, new goals may have to be created in order to accommodate changes in the organization. It may be time to reevaluate what the organization is doing or where it is headed. This is a good time to think about entering into new areas or to begin doing things differently by rewriting part or all of the mission and vision statements. In evaluating an organizations performance, management must look at several different aspects of the organization. First, managers need to determine if the organizations plans are clearly linked to its mission statement and related goals. Plans should be developed for both the short run and long run. Secondly, assigning jobs that are directly related to the achievement of organizational goals will help ensure they are attained. The goals should be communicated clearly so employees understand what tasks need to be carried out and what the rewards will be. Finally, when evaluating individual performance, the information gathered should be recent and compared to established standards. Mission statements are often difficult to evaluate because they are written in a somewhat abstract form. They are, many times, not directly measurable and vaguely worded. 1 presents an example of how mission statements can be measured from the top of the organization to the bottom. Strategic goals are directly tied to the organizations mission statement and apply to the organization as a whole. Tactical goals are departmental goals that support the strategic goals. Finally, operational goals are written at the individual level. Each one of these makes it possible to measure the organizations mission statements. An organizations likelihood of accomplishing its mission is increased as it creates strong and measurable goals at each level. It is not necessary that the mission statement be measured in quantifiable terms. It may also be measured qualitatively. For example, We will answer all of our customers questions and if we dont know the answer, we will find out. While this is not a quantitative statement it can be measured by monitoring customer service calls and setting operational goals for employees that revolve around follow up and thoroughness. Mission and vision statements give organizations a focus and a strategy for the future. According to Bart and Tabone, they have become the cornerstones of organizations. They contribute to organizations success and can lead to increases in productivity and performance. They do not have to be reserved for the entire organization—each department or division can benefit from developing a mission statement, as long as they are not in contradiction to the companys overall mission. Preferably, an individual departments mission links it to the fulfillment of the overall company mission. Mission statements for functional departments provide the same benefits as they do for the entire organization. In conclusion, mission statements provide a sense of direction and purpose. In times of change and growth they can be an anchor and a guide in decision making. The benefits far outweigh the disadvantages and challenges when looking at the potential for increases in profitability and returns. Defining an organization by what it produces and who it satisfies are major steps towards creating a sound and stable mission statement. Setting a company apart from the competition is probably one of the biggest advantages. Whats the benefit of a mission or vision statement? What is a mission statement? According to Bain Company, mission statements are one of the most frequently used management tools. Organizations spend thousands of hours and dollars developing mission statements and then more resources again on public relations to unfold them to their stakeholders. This is not surprising when you review the often-stated benefits of mission statements: To communicate the direction of the organization. To help make day-to-day operating decisions. To keep the organization focused. To motivate employees. Many authors have a variety of beliefs of what should be included in a mission statement. Ireland and Hill (1992) state that the mission statement should include the organizations goals, purpose, product and market scope and philosophical views. Davies and Glaister (1997) believe that it should include the organizations statement of purpose and inspirational view for the future. While Jamieson and Justice (1999) state that the framework for the development of a mission statement should begin with the organizations primary purpose, target market, core products or services, critical values and measures of success. One of the better practical definitions has been provided by Bartkus, Glassman and McAfee (2000) who basically state a mission statement is a statement to communicate a description of the firm to its current and prospective stakeholders to determine if they want to be involved with it. The reality is, there is no one agreed definition of what should and should not be included in a mission statement. We believe a mission statement is a simple, short statement that clearly communicates the purpose of the organization to its stakeholders. Nothing more, nothing less. For practical purposes, many of the other aspects of mission statements cited above are actually found in other sections of an organizations planning documents. What is a vision statement? The delineation between vision and mission statements is far from clear. This is understandable when many of the benefits attributed to mission statements are also attributed to vision statements. Like mission statements, there are many definitions for vision statements. Warren Bennis describes a vision as something youll never forget. Tom Peters, in his book Thriving on Chaos, describes a vision statement as inspiring, clear and challenging, makes sense to the marketplace, stable but challenged, a beacon and control, empowering, prepares for the future, honors the past and is lived in the details. Both are useful definitions. We like to describe a vision statement as a picture of the future. While a mission statement talks about the organizations purpose, (i.e. direction), a vision statement talks about what the organization would like to be. The easiest and most practical way of simply delineating between a mission and vision is to describe the mission as the journey and the vision as the destination. How useful are these definitions? Although we have found these definitions to be simple and practical, there are two points to remember when discussing mission and vision statements during your strategic planning process: 1. There is no one accepted definition. 2. Agreement on the definition you use is more important than the definition itself. Do you really need a mission and vision statement? It depends. What you do need is to ensure that the organization has a direction and goal(s), that your key stakeholders support that direction and goal(s), and that your structure, resources and skills are aligned to facilitate moving in that direction and maximize your opportunity to achieve those goals. If you believe you need a mission and/or vision statement, then you probably do. However, just having a mission and/or vision statement, even if they are included in a planning document, posted on a plaque on the wall or provided to employees on business cards certainly does not, unto itself, ensure success. Mission and vision statements are management tools that if used appropriately, have the potential to help improve your organizations probability of success. However, its important to keep in mind, that these are only two of the many tools available to your organization in the development of your strategy. Many small business owners never take the time out to explore their reasons for being in business. They are so caught up in day-to-day activities they fail to see the big picture. So what are the benefits of having an articulated Vision, Mission and Objectives for your business? Actually, it all starts one step removed from this. It really starts with establishing your core values. Lots of people in their middle years instinctively know what their core values are but they cannot tell you what they are when questioned about it. Core values are what get you up out of bed in the morning; a strong work ethic; a desire to contribute; the need to support your family; respect for your fellow workers or subordinates. They are the driving force in your life. They are immutable and do not change over time. Once you have gleaned what your core values are, then you can move on to establish what your Vision is. Your Vision is your long term goal. It can embrace your business and your personal life. It may be something like building your business into a $10 million asset that you can sell aged 60 and retire to a beach house in Florida. It could be to create something of value that you can pass on to your children. It might even be to create something that offers benefits to your community that will outlive you. It can be deeply personal. Your Mission flows from your Vision. Your Mission is a written statement that provides a clear sense of direction to all of the stakeholders in your business. It embraces the commitment of the company to staff, customers, and the community at large. It may articulate the company ethos, core beliefs of the owners, service levels, quality, excellence, training and commitment. It should be a shared set of standards and beliefs that all of your staff buy into and live every day. Setting objectives is the next stage of the process. It is all about how you deliver on the promises made by your Mission. If you have clarity in both your Vision and Mission, it is easy to decide on the objectives. Objectives may be set for each key area of your business along with a time-line for completion. They may be corporate, product, market, sales, financial, operations, or staff related or any combination of these. As you can see, this is a trickle down system with higher level aspirations that flow down to every level of the business and become the glue that holds everything together. The benefits are clear and unambiguous. It is a team building exercise that creates focus and commitment that can drive a business forward. Every step you take is in pursuit of your articulated end game. In just over a decade, CN Rail has gone from money-losing crown corporation to one of the top railroads in North America. Employees follow a strong company culture incorporating five values that revolve around customer service, balancing service with cost control, and the safety and development of its employees. Not surprisingly, corporate culture starts with president and CEO Hunter Harrison and works its way down through the companys 22,000 employees. In the 2006 Canadian Corporate Culture Study conducted by executive search firm Waterstone Human Capital, 92% of executives defined corporate culture as the behaviours of people and the values of the organization. The leaders of these major Canadian corporations almost universally agreed that a healthy corporate culture is critical to success and that culture has an impact on organizational health and financial performance. In our last article we wrote about the three-stage process of defining that corporate culture. In this weeks article well look at the importance of aligning your corporate culture with your business strategy and how to communicate that throughout your entire organization. At CN, values are a core part of the companys corporate culture. These values, along with behaviours such as passion and integrity, run throughout the organization and CN regularly communicates them to all its employees. One way Harrison did this was by publishing How We Work and Why, a hardcover distributed to all employees two years ago. The railroad also regularly runs three-day motivational retreats for executives called Hunter Camps. Led by Harrison and Les Dakens, SVP people, the Hunter Camps not only teach leadership skills and reward managers for a job well done, but they also serve to reinforce the companys values and employee behaviour. The goal, says Dakens, is to have 2,000 employees go through these camps by the end of 2008. In addition, CN last year introduced performance scorecards for all its employees. The performance appraisal recognized and evaluated employees against the companys values. A lot of these people have never had this formal kind of written recognition that they do a good job, says Dakens. According to the Corporate Culture study, 51% of organizations surveyed use everything from company events and town hall meetings to intranets and informal gather

Teaching Philosophy Statement :: Education Educational Educating Essays

Teaching Philosophy Statement Teachers are key to the children’s future, what they teach students today will inevitably affect our tomorrow. I strongly want to be part in those children’s lives and decision making. I want to be a teacher because I feel it is important to ensure that children obtain a proper education. Teaching them daily will allow me the satisfaction in knowing that I personally have changed some child’s life. The environment of the classroom is very important for the education of children. If the atmosphere of the classroom is plain, it tends to express that education is boring and doesn’t produce any excitement. However, if the classroom has several bulletin boards and enticing educational pictures the children become interested and enthralled about leaning. I feel that the atmosphere is very important and I hope to have a classroom that is unique, with lots of interesting things on the walls of exiting places and remarkable people. I want children to not only hear what I’m talking about but to see and imagine the things I teach, this will help them to gain a better knowledge and understanding of the subject. The seating arrangement in the classroom is also very important. It is important that children not only interact with me but also with their peers. I want to place the student’s seats in small cluster of four; this will enable them to work together in small groups. This will also help the student’s to understand and comprehend the assignment better since they have partners there to help them and share their ideas. Since the students will be arranged into groups I will be able to walk around and give each of the group’s individual attention instead of observing the class as a whole. This group arrangement will benefit the children when we do projects, for example with reading they can take turns and share their personal views on the story with one another. When we assemble back together as a class the student’s will feel positive about their understanding and not be intimidated when they are called on to present their group views. This helps the children to feel confident about themselves and will help with their self-esteem as well. In my teaching style, I will be a mixture between traditional and facilitating. I will always be in complete control over my classroom, but I do not want to just lecture from the textbook all day. Teaching Philosophy Statement :: Education Educational Educating Essays Teaching Philosophy Statement Teachers are key to the children’s future, what they teach students today will inevitably affect our tomorrow. I strongly want to be part in those children’s lives and decision making. I want to be a teacher because I feel it is important to ensure that children obtain a proper education. Teaching them daily will allow me the satisfaction in knowing that I personally have changed some child’s life. The environment of the classroom is very important for the education of children. If the atmosphere of the classroom is plain, it tends to express that education is boring and doesn’t produce any excitement. However, if the classroom has several bulletin boards and enticing educational pictures the children become interested and enthralled about leaning. I feel that the atmosphere is very important and I hope to have a classroom that is unique, with lots of interesting things on the walls of exiting places and remarkable people. I want children to not only hear what I’m talking about but to see and imagine the things I teach, this will help them to gain a better knowledge and understanding of the subject. The seating arrangement in the classroom is also very important. It is important that children not only interact with me but also with their peers. I want to place the student’s seats in small cluster of four; this will enable them to work together in small groups. This will also help the student’s to understand and comprehend the assignment better since they have partners there to help them and share their ideas. Since the students will be arranged into groups I will be able to walk around and give each of the group’s individual attention instead of observing the class as a whole. This group arrangement will benefit the children when we do projects, for example with reading they can take turns and share their personal views on the story with one another. When we assemble back together as a class the student’s will feel positive about their understanding and not be intimidated when they are called on to present their group views. This helps the children to feel confident about themselves and will help with their self-esteem as well. In my teaching style, I will be a mixture between traditional and facilitating. I will always be in complete control over my classroom, but I do not want to just lecture from the textbook all day.

Harley-Davidson Inc. Essay -- Business Management Harley Davidson Essa

Harley-Davidson Inc. Celebrating their 100th anniversary next year, Harley-Davidson is a true American success story. From their modest beginnings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to one of the most recognized company names worldwide, they have been passionate about motorcycles. Harley offers an experience like none other with the one of a kind look, feel, and sound only available on a Harley. Besides their main business of building and selling motorcycles, they have began to offer financing and insurance through Harley-Davidson Financial Services, and they also offer a full line of accessories and apparel to make the Harley experience complete. Harley-Davidson, the corporation, has many things to brag about. On top of their financial success over the years, they have built a solid reputation as a fair, honest, and caring company. In January 2002, Forbes magazine named Harley-Davidson its â€Å"Company of the Year for 2001and in February, Fortune magazine selected them as one of the nation’s â€Å"Most Admired Companies.† Every employee at the company can be proud of these achievements because the corporate culture stresses the importance of all employees. While maintaining a level of success in these areas, they have managed to increase their revenues for the last sixteen years straight. Even in the economic downturn of the last year, Harley-Davidson posted record revenue and earnings. Harley-Davidson states their mission as â€Å"We fulfill dreams through the experiences of motorcycling by providing to motorcyclists and to the general public an expanding line of motorcycles, branded products and services in selected market segments.† They have performed wonderfully over the past hundred years, and have not forgotten their mission or where they came from. Over the years they have stuck with the things they know, and also expanded into related services and products. Out of the 151 motorcycle manufacturers, Harley-Davidson and Indian were the only two companies to survive the Great Depression. Harley-Davidson was the only one in America after Indian dropped out in 1953, but face Indian again now since they re-entered the market in 1999. Harley-Davidson owns a twenty percent market share followed closely by Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. One thing they have had to overcome in the marketplace is the stereotypical image associated with motorcycle owners. It seems the publ... ...Tot. Debt to Equity .27  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   .46  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amount Borrowed/ Equity Activity: Inventory Turnover  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12.98  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   7.87  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Move inventory quickly Asset Turnover  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1.20  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1.26  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Effective utilization of assets Receivables Turnover  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4.91  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6.71  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Collection of receivables / year Net Inc. / Employee  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  57,157  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  28,241  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Utilization of people Breakeven Analysis: Assumptions: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Total Variable Costs are 60% of Total Costs; While the other 40% are from fixed costs. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All units cost the same to produce and sell for the same price. Breakeven Point: Total Revenue (TR) = $3,363414000 Total Variable Cost (TVC) = $1,310,045,400 Total Fixed Costs (TFC) = $873,363,600 Total Cost (TC) = $2,183,409,000 Average Variable Cost (AVC) = $5,587.48 per unit Quantity Produced (Q) = 234,461 Profit (ï  ) = 1,180,005,000 Price (P) = $14,345.30 per unit 99,723.83 = 99,724 units Required Profit Analysis: Assume required profit is equal to selling, general and administrative expenses so after expenses they will breakeven. Required profit = $578,777,000 165,810.74 = 165,811 units

Free College Essays - The Strength of the Characters in A Raisin in the Sun :: A Raisin in the Sun

The Strength of the Characters in A Raisin in the Sun In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry paints an impressive group portrait of the Youngers, a family composed of powerful characters who are yet in many ways typical in their dreams and frustrations. There is Lena, or Mama, the widowed mother; her daughter Beneatha, a medical student; Beneatha's brother Walter, a struggling chauffeur; and Walter's wife, Ruth, and their young son. Crammed together in an airless apartment, the family dreams of better days. The character Beneatha knows much about her African past. Mama is very proud of her African heritage and believing it's importance. During the stage directing of the play Lena has the "noble bearings of the women of the heroes of the Southwest Africa , but she totally ignores her African past and does not care much about it either" (Cheney 59). Asagai Beneatha's acquaintance talks allot about his African past and believes deeply in his culture and heritage. He is from Nigeria where there is a lot of poverty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A Raisin in the Sun is a quiet celebration of the black   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   family the importance of African roots, the equality of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   women, the vulnerability of marriage, the true value of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   money, the survival of the individual and the nature of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   mans dreams (Cheney 55). Africa is a great part of the play because it brings out good and humorous elements in the Younger family, such as Walter yelling out "Hot Damn!" "Flaming Spear!" as Beneatha walks out in her Nigerian robes (Cheney 60). Africa becomes a symbol of heritage and a troublesome but hopeful future (Cheney 56).   Ã‚  Ã‚   With the help of Paul Robeson, W.E.B Dubois and Frederick Douglass she created the play A Raisin in the Sun. Paul Robeson was a famous baritone singer. He inspired her to write A Raisin in the Sun. She loved his voice and the songs he sang. Hansberry learned from him "...the way that most blacks lived, and the dangers of being an artist" (Cheney 45-46). W.E.B Dubois was an original thinker and a sociologist. Hansberry "...gained admiration for black intellectual, socialism, and black leadership" (Cheney 40). Frederick Douglass was a another writer. Hansberry learned about slavery and its psychology. She also learned a "...invaluable lesson that the sufferings of a people may be presented truthfully in ways that rise above propaganda to the level of art" (Cheney 36-37). Free College Essays - The Strength of the Characters in A Raisin in the Sun :: A Raisin in the Sun The Strength of the Characters in A Raisin in the Sun In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry paints an impressive group portrait of the Youngers, a family composed of powerful characters who are yet in many ways typical in their dreams and frustrations. There is Lena, or Mama, the widowed mother; her daughter Beneatha, a medical student; Beneatha's brother Walter, a struggling chauffeur; and Walter's wife, Ruth, and their young son. Crammed together in an airless apartment, the family dreams of better days. The character Beneatha knows much about her African past. Mama is very proud of her African heritage and believing it's importance. During the stage directing of the play Lena has the "noble bearings of the women of the heroes of the Southwest Africa , but she totally ignores her African past and does not care much about it either" (Cheney 59). Asagai Beneatha's acquaintance talks allot about his African past and believes deeply in his culture and heritage. He is from Nigeria where there is a lot of poverty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A Raisin in the Sun is a quiet celebration of the black   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   family the importance of African roots, the equality of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   women, the vulnerability of marriage, the true value of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   money, the survival of the individual and the nature of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   mans dreams (Cheney 55). Africa is a great part of the play because it brings out good and humorous elements in the Younger family, such as Walter yelling out "Hot Damn!" "Flaming Spear!" as Beneatha walks out in her Nigerian robes (Cheney 60). Africa becomes a symbol of heritage and a troublesome but hopeful future (Cheney 56).   Ã‚  Ã‚   With the help of Paul Robeson, W.E.B Dubois and Frederick Douglass she created the play A Raisin in the Sun. Paul Robeson was a famous baritone singer. He inspired her to write A Raisin in the Sun. She loved his voice and the songs he sang. Hansberry learned from him "...the way that most blacks lived, and the dangers of being an artist" (Cheney 45-46). W.E.B Dubois was an original thinker and a sociologist. Hansberry "...gained admiration for black intellectual, socialism, and black leadership" (Cheney 40). Frederick Douglass was a another writer. Hansberry learned about slavery and its psychology. She also learned a "...invaluable lesson that the sufferings of a people may be presented truthfully in ways that rise above propaganda to the level of art" (Cheney 36-37).

Poetic Techniques in Kevin Gilbert’s “The New True Anthem” Essay

The poem â€Å"The New True Anthem† by Kevin Gilbert acknowledges the fact that there is more then a single opinion of what has happened to the lives of people both English and native aboriginal, also what has happened to the beautiful land once home to many native aboriginal tribes all over the continent of Australia. It also says that people of English descendent say that they do love Australia while in fact they don’t and are treating it as a land of their own as if nothing was there before the time of their arrival, as they are treating the native Australians without respect and are not treating them as the original owners of the land but rather as slaves. In the poem â€Å"The New True Anthem† by Kevin Gilbert the poet displayed all kinds of poetic technique but the one that stood out for me the most was imagery. In this poem there was a various use of personification which really made this poem more intriguing. Gilbert is displaying the hatred he has towards Australia and the white folk due to the way they have treated Aboriginals culture and their home land. Gilbert wrote this poem whilst he was suffering from poverty and was incarcerated in prison. Gilbert displayed his passionate feelings for Aboriginal rights and dignity through poems. Gilbert at the beginning of the poem stated about Mackellars’ poem â€Å"My Country† to state the differences on their point of view.

Childhood Cancer Clusters in California’s Central Valley

Childhood Cancer Clusters in California’s Central Valley Case report :Sakshi Arora March 22, 2012 This case study examines childhood cancers in agricultural communities of Mc Farland and Earlimart from 1978 to 1995. According to the local residents of these communities the main reason for cancer is contamination through pesticide in the agricultural farms which is the major source of employment for the residents of the community. McFarland is a small community in Kern County, with the population of about 6200, located at the southern end of California’s San Joaquin Valley.They are the main source of cotton and Almond in the area. Census Data of 1980 revealed that 40 percent of the population is less than 18 years of age. Main source of employment of the population is the farms with the annual income of merely $4300. Due to the limited source of income they were incapable of having health insurance of themselves and the kids. it has been observed that since1978 to 1990, 14 children in McFarland have childhood cancer which is four times the expected rate.The cancers were of many different types including liver, kidney, eye, adrenal glands, and bone. By 1992, five of the children had died. The families of Mcfarland were disturbed and are in pain due to increasing numbers of the victims. Earlimart is another small farming community located in southern Tulare County about 15 miles north of McFarland in the San Joaquin Valley. Child population of the area is one-third of the adult population. It is surrounded by vineyards.In 1989, the United Farm Workers union uncovered a second cluster of twelve childhood cancers in Earlimart among children of farm workers. Study of Dr. Marion Moses, a medical consultant for the union, revealed that the cancers occurred in area is 12 times higher than estimated numbers. All the victims were not of same kind. Some of them had leukemia where some died of lymphoma or kidney cancer. â€Å"In adults, when you get different types of cancer, then most of the time it is not a Cluster,† It as really shocking as Cancer is rare disease in children, the main thought of question arise about the increasing number ignoring the type of cancer. According to the residents, pesticides are the main cause of increasing number of child death rate in the area. Mcfarland and Earlimart are small communities who are not engaged in lot of activities. Victim’s parents have been examined and most of them reported it is caused by pesticides whereas some residents living have reported that no such incident has been observed in their families.Their main occupation is agriculture in the farms where pesticide is being used. They have reported contamination of water is also one of the reasons for the cancer. The case unfolds the number of cases which happened with the people throughout the period. They also reported that in spite of informing the harmful effect of the pesticides to their boss . To which no action has been taken instead their interference in such matter would a reason of them to be fired from the job.The figures of The California Department of Food and Agriculture revealed that there are more than 1,200 cases in California alone in 1986 based on worker compensation records. Nationwide, one estimate calculated as many as 313,000 pesticide-related illnesses among farm worker each year. Dr. Marion Moses, a San Francisco physician active with farm worker groups and a member of the pesticide advisory committee of the Environmental Protection Agency said the main reason for cancer deaths has direct relationship with the pesticides being used in given county.In 1984, after the discovery of the cancer cluster in McFarland, United Farm Workers, Began a boycott on five chemicals being used on the crop such as phosdrin, captan, dinoseb, methyl bromide, and parathion which were found the main reason for situation. Concerned citizen groups from McFarland asked Kern County officials to look i nto the cancer cluster in their community. Within the year the investigation took over of California department of health services. After five years of their investigation on the area they came up with the conclusion that pesticide is not the reason for the cancer deaths in the area affected. despite of all the researches they were unable to find the specific cause for the situation. on the other hand farmers were confident about the reason for the same. They felt abandoned by the government as they didn’t see and drop of hope. Numbers have been significantly increasing every year. After years of study on the area department of health services decided to stop their study as they didn’t determine the cause for the new cases of cancer every year. Proposition 65, officially known as the â€Å"Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act,†.It is based on the premise that the public and workers have a right to be informed about exposures to chemicals that are known to the state to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. According the proposition list of chemicals has been maintained with its effects to the people. According to the proposition it is the responsibility of the business to inform its employees, clearly about the effects of such materials used in the process. It should be reasonably defined.Also 20months after the pesticide is listed business must not knowingly discharge the waste material into soil or water. The State hazard communication program requires that, whenever employees are working in treated fields or handling pesticides, the employer must display Pesticide Safety Information Series (PSIS) leaflet A-9 (â€Å"Pesticide Safety Rules for Farmworkers â€Å"), PSIS A-8 (â€Å"Safety Rules for Pesticide Handlers on Farms), or PSIS N-8 (â€Å"Safety Rules for Pesticide Handlers in Non-Agricultural Settings â€Å") at the work site or at a central location where workers gather.The State hazard communicatio n program requires that, whenever employees are working in treated fields or handling pesticides, the employer must display Pesticide Safety Information Series (PSIS) leaflet A-9 (â€Å"Pesticide Safety Rules for Farmworkers â€Å"), PSIS A-8 (â€Å"Safety Rules for Pesticide Handlers on Farms), or PSIS N-8 (â€Å"Safety Rules for Pesticide Handlers in Non-Agricultural Settings â€Å") at the work site or at a central location where workers gather.As the information gathered from the case report workers have not been informed about any of the above hazards of health. Also it is strange to observe that pesticides being used in the farms also listed in the list of chemicals under prop 65 which were hazardous are not been informed to the farmers. Also investigations done by the agency didn’t reveal the fact that the pesticides the main cause for the cancer in the area. Under prop 65 list of chemical it is clearly stated pesticide phosdrin causes cancer. I don’t hink the research on the contamination water, air and soil was done properly as none of the facts mentioned under prop 65 has been revealed. Neither list of chemicals has been listed by the farm owners to inform to the workers about the hazardous pesticides in the farm nor the researches revealed the facts. All these researches have been done but victim parents did not got any justice. Since they are poor they got no choice but to live on those farms to earn their living and lost their family members just like that.From 1978to 1990 the people suffered, 28 died . California department of health services took samples for examination, tested soil and air but result were not noticeable. They were only be able to analyses the situation today but couldn’t do anything for the innocent people died in last 12 years. Question arises from this study in the mind as to why this facts were not being examined after years of research by the state and county officials? Were they biased in making a decision?Although lot of research took place in the area but nothing proved fruitful and the mystery remained unsolved by the health department. Since 1992 no case has been examined but the above time period mentioned couldn’t reveal the facts of the history. Sources: Case report retrieved from http://www. law. stanford. edu/publications/casestudies/case_abstracts/ Pesticide and proposition 65 retrieved from http://www. cdpr. ca. gov/docs/dept/factshts/prop65. htm

Cultivating Culturally Responsive Leaders Essay

The purpose of this study is to make school administrators aware and familiar with the challenges and obstacles ELL students encounter. With such a growing population of ELL students, teachers are having to become more and more aware of instructional strategies. Teachers are now being held accountable more than ever for their student’s performance and need to make sure every student makes learning gains. With South Florida’s increasing ELL population teachers are struggling to get these students, whose first language is not English, to speak, read, and write proficiently in English before they take the FCAT or by the end of the year to be able to show learning gains. This case study will take place at Winston Park K-8 School. Winston Park is located in a suburban, middle to lower class multiethnic community in the southwest section of Miami-Dade County. The student population is composed of eighty-six percent Hispanics, nine percent white, one percent black, and four percent other. Sixty percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, 46% are ELL, six percent are SWD, and four percent are gifted students. Average daily attendance is 98%. There is a total of 96 instructional staff members. Ninety-one percent of the instructional staff is highly qualified. Twenty-six percent of teachers have received advanced degrees. Parental involvement is high and growing. The student interviewed is an eight-year-old third grade student. Gabriela came from Cuba in March of 2012. Gabriela and her family came from Cuba in search of freedom and a better life. Gabriela came to the United States with her father and mother. Gabriela states that they lived in a poor neighborhood and struggled to get the little food that they did to put on the table. After school Gabriela would go to work with her mom at a farm to pick fruits, vegetables, and even milk cows. Gabriela has showed great growth in the one year that she has been in the Miami-Dade County Public school system. Although Gabriela has attended Winston Park from the beginning of this school year, this is the second school she’s attended in the district since arriving from Cuba. Gabriela’s mom informed that she was very unhappy at her previous school but that now Gabriela loved waking up in the morning to attend school. Even though both of her parents work they are very involved in her studies and will stop at nothing to make sure Gabriela gets a good education. Gabriela is not your average recently arrived ELL student. In the short time she has been here, Gabriela has learned to read, write and comprehend English just as well, if not at times better than many of her non-ELL classmates. Gabriela has made Honor Roll every nine-week grading period and was even referred to be tested for the gifted program. In this case study we will answer how do ELLs, their parents, teachers, and other stakeholder understand ELLs academic experiences in school and how can administrators work be informed by a case study that focuses on ELLs and their experiences in Florida schools. Literature Review In reviewing literature based on paired reading and fluency increase, I found several sources that supported my hypothesis that pairing low (ESOL) and high (Non-ESOL) students during reading is an effective intervention. These findings are particularly significant to those educators who are seeking ways to help students with reading fluency difficulty. Reading fluency is important for comprehension. When students read efficiently and accurately, then they can comprehend what they read more easily. In primary grades, students learn to read but in upper elementary grades students read to learn. What is fluency? According to the National Reading Panel (2000), fluency is the ability to read text aloud with speed, accuracy, and proper expression (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001; Meyer & Felton, 1991; Rasinkski, 2003). Fluent readers can recognize the majority of the words they read automatically without having to decode individual words; they are ble to dedicate their attention to the ultimate goal of reading: comprehension. Fluency is the bridge between word recognition and reading comprehension (Kuhn & Stahl, 2000; Nathan & Stanovich, 1991; Rasinksi & Padak, 2004). While studies have not determined the ideal number of times necessary to achieve reading fluency, researchers say the more times the better. A typical reader needs to read a passage four times to reach maximum fluency levels (National Reading Panel, 2000). Beginning readers and struggling older readers tend to read slowly, haltingly, and with little or no expression. Often as a result, text comprehension is affected, confidence levels are low, and they do not enjoy reading. Therefore, fluency is and should be a primary goal of literacy instruction. The oral reading fluency norms for grades 1-5 are: 1st 53-111, 2nd 89-142, 3rd 107-162, 4th 123-180, and 5th 139-194 (Hasbrouck & Tindal, 2006). While conducting my research, I found different types of reading interventions that can help increase an ESOL student’s fluency: Choral Reading, Duet Reading, Audio-Recorded Books, Echo Reading, and Paired Reading (Hudson et al. , 2005; The Partnership for Reading, 2001). In choral reading, a group of students read aloud from the same selection. The teacher can read along to set the pace and model targeted skills. Students can improve their fluency skills, including appropriate pausing and expression, by reading along with a group of readers or with a strong reader as a partner (Hudson, 2005). In duet reading, a stronger reader is paired with a less-fluent reader. The stronger reader sets the pace and provides visual tracking by moving his or her finger below each word as it is read in unison. In audio-recorded books, the student reads aloud with an audio-recorded version of a book. The purpose is to encourage the weaker reader to read along with the tape. In echo reading, the adult reads a short passage and then invites the child to â€Å"Say what I say† or â€Å"Copy me,† encouraging the child to repeat what the adult has read (Robertson & Davig, 2002). In this way, the adult models fluent reading and then provides the child with an opportunity for immediate practice. In paired reading, children who are struggling with reading fluency are paired up with a more capable reader. In this strategy, the fluent reader and reader take turns reading by lines or pages (Mathes, Fuchs, Fuchs, Henley, & Sanders, 1994). In evaluating the different types of reading interventions, I found that paired reading is the most commonly used to increase fluency. According to the report of The National Reading Panel (2000), guided repeated oral reading is the most effective procedure for developing reading fluency (Kuhn & Stahl, 2000; Rasinski & Hoffman, 2003). Paired reading was originally developed as a strategy for parents and children reading at home, but it is easily adapted for classroom use in intervention lessons (Morgan & Lyon, 1979; Topping, 1989). Paired reading requires the reading partners to read aloud. Reading aloud to elementary school students can have many beneficial effects; it improves their language skills, motivates them to read on their own, makes students familiar with books, and expands vocabulary (Saban, 1994). Research indicates that repeated paired reading leads not only to improving in reading the passage but also improvement in decoding, reading rate, expression, and comprehension of passages that the reader has not previously seen (Dowhower, 1994; Kuhn & Stahl, 2000; National Reading Panel, 2000). Rasinski and Fredericks (1991) reported on a paired reading project launched by the Akron, Ohio Public School System; the results of the project suggest that paired reading also helped improve reading performance but in addition helps improve reading motivation and child bonding. Studies on paired reading showed that students of all ages can make extraordinary reading gains. In one study of paired reading over a period of six to ten weeks, students made a gain of at least six months in reading (Limbrick, McNaughton, & Cameron, 1985). In another study, students made an average of three months’ gain for every month of paired reading. The less proficient readers were not the only ones who benefited; the student who served as the tutor also made substantial gains in their reading abilities (Topping, 1989). In summation, the characteristics of the paired reading instruction (positive one-to-one collaboration between skilled and less-skilled readers, reader engagement, practice, evidence of progress, and reader expression) support my hypothesis that pairing a low and high student during reading is an effective intervention for fluency increase. It may promote rapid turnaround in reader proficiency for less-skilled readers. Furthermore this finding is particularly significant to those educators who are seeking ways to help students with reading fluency difficulty. Method Three people participated in this study: Gabriela, an eight-year old student in third grade and an ESOL level one, her mom and the teacher, Mrs. Sanz. Everyone has given full consent and agreed to interview with us and give us information on Gabriela and their culture. Every person interviewed was cooperative and helpful throughout the interview. The teacher was a crucial part to our interview since she is the one who works directly with Gabriela on a daily basis and can best describes her strengths and weaknesses. During the interview, we asked Mrs. Sanz to please provide us with information and data about Gabriela. We explained to her teacher and mother that all of Gabriela’s information would be kept confidential and that her name would be changed for privacy purposes. Some of the data we collected was from the SAT (Stanford Achievement Test), FAIR (Florida Assessment in Instruction and Reading), and the CELLA (Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment). While the teacher pulled out useful pieces of data she gave us a synopses of how Gabriela is in class and how she is getting along with all the other students. Mrs. Sanz feels she’s a bright young girl (probably gifted) with lots of potential. She is self-directive and puts forth maximum effort. Mrs. Sanz also told us Gabriela enjoys helping the other students in class. Mrs. Sanz feels this may be due to the high level of importance her parents have instilled in her regarding school. Sandra, Brenda and Mrs. Sanz all discussed and analyzed the data and we identified all her strong areas as well as a few minor weak areas. Sandra Ramallo and Brenda Gomez conducted the study. Sandra and Brenda were both present at all interviews and had the opportunity to talk to each interviewee. Since the study was conducted by both Sandra and Brenda the work load was distributed amongst each other. Brenda worked on the introduction, method, findings, and consent forms. Sandra worked on the literature review, discussion, and the transcription of the interview.