Evaluation of an Employment Development Plan of Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia The WritePass Journal

Evaluation of an Employment Development Plan of Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia Introduction Evaluation of an Employment Development Plan of Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia ). The diverse workforce present in the organization needs to be managed in an efficient and effective manner. The dissertation will try to identify the importance of ‘employees development plan’, investigate the current practices of the company’s employees development plan, evaluate its effectiveness, and identify common obstacles for employees development plan at the company. The dissertation will also propose some recommendations based on its findings for creating a viable employees development program. The dissertation will be divided into five chapters. The first chapter will be comprised of the introduction, overview of the research, background, and research objectives. The second chapter will detail the research methodology. The third chapter will present a literature review and theoretical background of the research. Fourth chapter will present the findings and analyze the data. Finally, chapter five will present the results and conclusions of the research. Research Objectives Investigate to what extent does the company care for its employees through its employees development plan Identify the significance of employees development plan Investigate practices of employees development plan Evaluate the effectiveness of employees development Identify most common barriers for employees development plan Research Questions What is the employees’ attitude towards the company regarding its employees’ development plan? How employees’ development plan benefits the objectives and goals of the company? What is the significance of employees’ development plan for both the company and its employees? To what extent do the employees consider the employees’ development plan at the company efficient? What are the common barriers associated with the employees’ development plan at the company? Literature Review Definition of employee development plan Employee development plan has been defined as a set of planned efforts by an organization which facilitates the learning and acquaintance of knowledge, specific skills and behaviors for its employees; all of which are essential for them to be successful in their current jobs (Goldstein, 1993). Dotta (2009) defines it as a â€Å"sequence of concurrent activities, initiatives and programs that an organization is involved with to maintain, improve and enhance the skills, capabilities and performance levels of its workforce and other staff members. Employee development plan encapsulates various individual development plans. According to Department of Defense of USA (2006), an individual employee development plan is a tailored written plan developed by the supervisor and employee outlining the employee’s developmental objectives and the developmental activity for achieving these objectives.   The purpose of an employee development plan is to increase the current proficiency, dev elopment, and progression of the employee through a systematic development plan. Based on aforementioned definitions, several important points can be stated: Employees’ development plan is aimed at enhancing the capabilities and competencies of an organization’s workforce. Employees’ development plan is designed according to training and development need analysis and employee-supervisor negotiation; both of which are governed by organizational goals and objectives. Employees’ development plan is also crucial for the progression of a career path. Indeed employees development plan and career path complement each other. Although it is not necessary that an employee development plan is linked to specific positions; it is common for organizations to train and develop their employees to occupy critical positions in future. Employees’ development plan first identifies the developmental objectives of an organization’s workforce. These objectives form the basis of several developmental activities designed to achieve these objectives. It identifies why, what and how to enhance the capabilities and competencies of employees. Significance of employee development plan In today’s business environment, which is characterized as multi-faced, highly complex, extremely competitive, and dynamic, organizations are required to be very flexible and adaptable in order to survive and succeed. Employee development, a practice that seeks to assist organisations in meeting their business goals through continuous learning and development (Harisson, 2009) is a critical element for achieving that flexibility and adaptability. So much that often human resource development personnel are qualified as ‘agents of change’ (Harisson, 2009). It is only through continuous, effective learning and development of employees that modern day organizations can acquire the essential competencies to adapt to a new conjuncture. Best Practices in Employee Development Plan Numerous studies have recommended several successful approaches towards employee development programs. There is a general consensus among researchers regarding the foremost need for an organization to conduct an analysis of its existing needs and requirements (Jacobs and Jones, 1995; Clegg et al, 2005). According to Jacobs, (1995) an employee development can be rendered meaningless if it does not respond to the organizational needs. Existing needs and requirements can be identified through an effective market analysis, analysis of existing and future labor trends. (Clegg et al, 2005). Apart from the needs’ assessment, several best practices have been identified by human resource practitioners and researchers. A survey of best practices of 71 companies practicing employee development activities identified three underlying factors important for an effective employee development plan. These are: (1) individual development plans should be developed for key and high potential employees (2) the individual development plans and practices should be strictly aligned with organizational strategies and goals, and (3) the entire workforce should be facilitated for its progression through the developmental process (Reynolds, 2005). Another study prepared by LSA Global (2008) reveals that an effective employee development plan should share the following characteristics: (1) Strategy driven: employee development plans should be linked with business strategy (2) Positive cost/benefit ratio: return on investment of employee development plan should be ensured (3) Employee development plan should be supported by key strategies, systems, structures, policies, and practices. (4) It should be driven through various channels apart from formal training. (5) Employees’ abilities should be maximized through shared ownership of development plans (7) Learning by doing: real tasks and on-the-job projects within training environment should be offered (8) Knowledge and skills acquired should be transferred back to the job: (9) Development plan should be linked to other people-related programs (for instance they should be conducted by line managers). (10) Continuous learning process Rationale for the Current Research Although there is a large array of literature on human resource development, practitioners often come under criticism for doing very little to evaluate the learning and development solutions that have been designed to deliver whereby significant and often scarce resources are allocated blindly in development plans that are considered to be effective (Harisson, 2005). When undergoing financial stress, organizations often downsize human resource development budgets. Human resource development personnel undergo tight scrutiny in justifying their expenditures and are required to prove the effectiveness of their employee development plans. Thus evaluation of employee development plan is a viable solution. The importance of evaluation in further signified as the learning and development theory and practices in the modern day is undergoing a considerable change in order to keep up with new circumstantial requirements. In fact, one of the major changes occurring nowadays and in the upcoming years is the organizational changes driven by ‘higher integration between coaching, organisational development (OD) and performance management’ (CIPD survey, 2010: pg.6). Similarly, Sloman (2007) made several important propositions regarding the ongoing change in the employee development practices and approaches (see appendix 1). The shift in the learning and development approach and employee development practices signifies the importance of evaluating the current practices of an organization to see whether they are abreast with the prevailing best practices. Additionally, employee development approaches and practices of the oil and gas rich Middle Eastern countries and the Gulf Nations is an under-researched area in HRM literature. Moreover, the available literature regarding employee development practices generalizes the Middle East and the Arab World rather than addressing individual countries or companies (Harry, 2007). The existing gap in the literature pays way for the current proposed study to evaluate the employee development plan at Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia. Research Methods and Approach Research Philosophy Identifying a research philosophy is imperative for designing a viable research method as it determines the manner in which information regarding a research problem/question is collected, evaluated and applied. Researcher have identified mainly three research philosophies namely positivist and interpretivist and realist (Galliers, 1991). A positivist research philosophy perceives reality as a constant phenomenon; something that can be perceived objectively (Levin, 1988). It is a stance of a natural scientist. According to Hirschheim (1985 p.33), â€Å"positivism has a long and rich historical tradition. It is so embedded in our society that knowledge claims not grounded in positivist thoughts are simply dismissed as ascientific and therefore invalid†. Interpretivism, on the other hand, seeks to understand reality from a subjective perception in order to make sense of motives, actions and intentions of those that they study. They emphasize the social construct of the reality (Husserl, 1965). Interpretivists contend that reality and its perceptions can be better understood by placing people in their social contexts (Hussey and Hussey, 1997).   Realists believe that the existence of reality is independent of human thoughts, emotions and beliefs. The research philosophy underpinning the proposed research is interpretivism. The research aims to evaluate the employee development plan of Maersk Oil through the perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of its employees, managers, and executives; thus it aims to gain subjective insights for evaluation. Research Approach and Strategy   A research approach can be either deductive or inductive. The premise of a deductive approach is to test a hypothesis, explain casual relationships and enable generalization of a theory. On the other hand, inductive approach focuses upon building a theory by understanding a phenomenon or seeking an answer for a question. The approach adopted for the proposed research is inductive, as this study will look to identify the weaknesses or strengths or the current employee development plan at Saudi Aramco, and answer several proposed questions pertaining to its evaluation. The research strategy for this study will be exploratory as it will aim at providing insights and understanding of the nature of the phenomenon under study in new light. Within the exploratory approach, this study will utilize both qualitative and quantitative data. On one hand, statistical analysis will carried out for the survey responses which will be distributed among the employees of a company, whilst interviews will be conducted with some senior officials and employees in order to gain insights regarding the evaluation of the employee development program. It will complement the understanding gained through the data analysis results. Data Collection According to Yin (1994), there are five ways of collecting data; these are â€Å"experimental, surveys, archival analysis, history, and case studies†. This research will utilize a survey strategy. According to Kelley et. al, (2003) â€Å"the survey strategy refers to the selection of a relatively large sample of people from a pre-determined population, followed by the collection of data from those individuals. The researcher therefore uses information from a sample of individuals to make some inference about the wider population. For the purpose of evaluating the employee development plan, a questionnaire will be prepared, reviewed, and distributed to a random sample of Saudi Aramco employees. Survey strategy will allow the researcher to collect a large amount of data within in short time with minimum costs and efforts (Naresh et.al, 2003).   Interviews, the qualitative form of collecting data within survey method, will be used concurrently. Semi-structured interviews will be designed and conducted of several senior officials at the company. References CIPD (2010), ‘Annual Survey Report : Learning and Talent Development’, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, {online} cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/BC060DD1-EEA7-4929-9142-1AD7333F95E7/0/5215_Learning_talent_development_survey_report.pdf (cited on 13th September, 2012) Clegg ,S. et all, 2005: Managing Organizations: An introduction to Theory and Practice. Sage Cohen N., 2002Pressure on AP Moller to Be Open, Australasian Business Intelligence, April 23, Department of Defense of USA (2006) The individual development. {online} usuhs.mil/chr/idp.pdf (cited on 13th September, 2012) Dotta, P.(2009) ‘What Is an Employee Development Plan?’ {online}: ehow.com/about_5161579_employee-development-plan.html (cited on 13th September, 2012) Goldstein I. L., 1993 â€Å"Training in Organizations† (3rd Ed.) Pacific Grove, California: Books Cole Harrison, R. (2005) Learning and development. 4th ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Harrison, R. (2009) Learning and development. 5th ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Harry. W (2007) Employment Creation and Localization. The crucial human resource issue for GCC. Int Journal of Human Resource Management. Vol. 18, no.1, pp 132-146. Husserl, E. (1965), Phenomenology and the crisis of philosophy, New York: Harper Torchbooks. Hussey, J. Hussey, R. (1997), Business Research: A practical guide for undergraduate and post-graduate students, London: MacMillan Press Ltd Jacob, R L and Jones, M J. (1995) Structures on Job Training- Unleashing Expertise in the Work Place. San Francisco. Berrett Koehler. Kelley, K., Clark, B., Brown, V., and Sitzia, J (2003) Good practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research. Int. Journal for Quality in Health Care. Volume 15,  Issue 3 Pp.  261-266. Levin, D. M. (1988).   The opening of vision: Nihilism and the postmodern situation. London: Routledge. LSA Global (2008) ‘Top 10 training best practices for effective learning and development programs’. {online} http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?docid=375846 (cited on 13th September, 2012) Naresh,M. et.al.,(2003) Methodological issues in cross-cultural marketing research. International Marketing Review. 13 (5) 7-43 Reynolds, S.(2005) Training and development managers share best practices and courseware through LearnShare. Toledo Business Journal. 5(2) 155-163. Saudi Aramco (2012) ‘About Us’ {online} saudiaramco.com/en/home.html (cited on 17th September, 2012). Sloman, M. (2007) ‘The changing world of the trainer: emerging good practice’, Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Yin, R. K. (1994) Case Study Research. Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

Environment, Resources, and Competition Report Essay

Environment, Resources, and Competition Report - Essay Example Such conditions provide for the specific survival mechanisms for the creatures found in this biome, especially as concerns the plant kingdom (see below). However, annual changes in average temperatures are not so great so as to warrant great differences between the life forms active in different seasons. With respect to precipitation, its levels range between the extremities of 75 and 125 cm/yr, accordingly. The precipitation is often distributed unevenly, with some years seeing the majority of rains falling in spring and early summer, while sometimes late summer and autumn are characterized by the relative lack of precipitation. Nevertheless, this correlation is now always true, as sometimes the early fall becomes a true time of rains. On the other hand, winter is rather mild and dry here, with little snow falls of any importance being registered in the area. This is directly caused by the lack of prolonged below zero periods (see above). Finally, the impact of close proximity of ri vers and lakes should be noted, as they both provide a foundation for the biome’s nutrition and alter the functioning of some climate effects. For instance, the presence of Lake Erie causes the first fall frost in the area to be delayed for some time. The impact of this phenomenon on the surrounding eco-system is significant in itself, with the habitats around the lake being subject to its influence. Superficially, the adaptive mechanisms of the species living in the area are less developed than those of the more extreme climates. Nevertheless, the species under consideration are rather well prepared to tackle the challenges of their habitats. The change in seasons entails the respective alterations in the ecological dynamics of the forests, as the warm seasons are accompanied with the great increase of productivity of plant life – while the cold seasons are characterized by the mass drop-off of the trees’ leaves and their subsequent decomposition, which prepare s the ground (both literally and causally) for the next flowering of plants in spring. This cycle of growth and decomposition may be less intense than those observed in the tropical forests, but it is still remarkable for its vigor and profound role for the maintenance of the eco-system. As to the animal kingdom in this biome, the latter is divided into several functional groups that play different roles in the eco-system’s life. The invertebrates dwelling in the decayed leaves provide the source of nutrition for numerous terrestrial amphibians, small mammals, etc., while these latter form the main food resources for the predator populations. 2. Having reviewed the data presented in the temperature and precipitation graphs, it is evident that the diversity of biomes is directly predicated on the differing levels of exposure to temperature and precipitation changes that occur in each of their types. For instance, while taiga biomes are characterized by the average temperature levels between -10 and 14Â °C, for a tropical rain forest the temperatures of 20 and 34Â °C are more typical. The same situation may be observed in the case of precipitation. Here the extremes are found in desert and tropical rain forest biomes. The former are characterized by barely present precipitation of between 0 and 25 cm/yr, and the latter may boast the average precipitation levels of 200 to 400 cm/yr. It is then understandable that the great differences in plant and animal

The Application of Information Technology in the Workplace Essay

The Application of Information Technology in the Workplace - Essay Example Also made possible with the availability of computer technology specifically with the development of IBM AS/400 computer and Microsoft's Windows NT which allowed software packages to become more and more user-friendly, ERP has developed to the point that it has become industry specific making it possible for ERP package to be designed to address one's specific industry idiosyncrasies. (Brown and Vessey, 2003) ERP is actually an improved version of Business Resource Planning (BRP) which came from Material Resource Planning II (MRPII) which is in turn a descendant of the Material Resource Planning (MRP). All of these are essentially computer-based approaches to scheduling and planning of material requirements and inventory. ERP has been regarded as the "answer" to the productivity and economic troubles of service and manufacturing enterprises. Due to its effectiveness, the use of ERP system as an enterprise management software tool has become widespread in spite of the presence and ava ilability of other products in the marketplace. There is but one daily practical problem that manufacturing organizations face in their operations whatever their products maybe and that is customers would always want products to be manufactured and delivered faster than one can actually make them. There will always be nearly impossible time frames and one is forced to comply if one is interested in surviving the competition. Plan manufacturing activities, delivery schedules and purchasing activities.

Characteristics Of Authentic Literacy Instruction Education Essay

Characteristics Of Authentic Literacy Instruction Education Essay Introduction When children come into the world, they come with the innate desire to explore their surrounding and this is seen in their daily interaction with the environment around them when it involves language development and more. They actively participate in their learning of spoken and written language from their parents and other people interactions (Teale Sulzby, 1986). They see print in the world through signs on shops, along the road and even the supermarket and begin to make associations when they explore printed material (i.e.paper and crayons, and story books). They develop their written experiences by trying out different things, experimenting and inventing their own literacies. As the activities begin to take on more meaning, they increase their knowledge of how written language is formed and how they function in the real world, depending on different situations (Goodman, 1986). As a result, the real world offers these children an entire environment that is literally rich with lan guage experiences that the children can learn and produce in a natural setting. These settings will also involve human relationships that affect how children may or may not use the literacy tools they encounter (Tharp Gallimore, 1988). Unlike the empty slate that some people believe children are born with, they are actually vital members of a dynamic system in which the environment influences (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). The more children use the resources available to them in the environment to expand on their knowledge and skills in relation to constructing more solid understanding of factors in the literary world, they are engaging in solving problems that utilizes cognitive skills and through their interaction with members of their environment. Therefore, childrens learning about literacy is integrally tied with practical action, resulting from their need to control, manipulate, and function in their environment. Without a doubt then, children cannot escape the realities of reading and writing, which are so much a part of their lives as there are so many relationships and contexts that are tied in with these realities (Teale Sulzby, 1986). Through participating in activities that require cognitive and communicative functions, children are drawn into the uses of these functions by their caregivers in ways that may nurture and develop them. Consequently, childrens earliest conceptions of literacy and strategies for reading and writing are likely to be formed through activities that are often socially instigated (Bruner, 1972). Therefore, the case for authenticity in literacy is a natural process. Authenticity refers to the real-life experiences an individual experiences when carrying out specific activities (Ableser, 2008). This involves life experiences that are naturally occurring in the lives of children and individuals. When a child argues with her parent on the merits of getting a dog, the points and arguments provided are a result of a natural and real reason for doing so. This authenticity is carried into the area of literacy in the classroom as the concept seems a logical progression of utilizing the innate curiosity and purpose of carrying out an activity as a part of the process of learning, into the classroom teachers goal of getting her students to learn and do academic related activities. The authentic activities that individuals typically exercise in day-to-day situations are replicated in the classroom. Unfortunately the ordinary practices of the culture-what people do in daily, weekly, and monthly cycles of activity do not seem academically sufficient to meet the educational standards set by the power that be. Such practices, for example, include shopping for the best bargain, figuring out the health hazards of microwaves or examining costs for a planned holiday are not translated adequately and therefore seem to be lacking in some way. Authentic literacy practices then seem to have failed in some way. Authentic Literacy Defined Yet, in spite of setback, the power of authenticity cannot be denied as when schools offer classrooms that are authentic-literacy-directed, its potential in offering learning experiences that are similar to how children learn in real life outside of the classroom is an exciting prospect (Newmann Wehlage, 1993). When students learn through real-life tasks, students are working to create meaning from their experiences and these experiences allow students to make meaningful connections (Snowball, 1992). Authentic literacy environments also require that students use communication in receiving and extending their learning experiences. Without communication, the development of authentic experiences will be hindered . Rhodes and Shanklin, (1993) call for authentic literacy experiences in the classroom, such as reading and writing, to hold the same communicative purposes as when students are outside of the classroom. When Schmoker (2007) defined authentic literacy, he explained that students who learn to read, write and think effectively (p.448) do so when they are given opportunities to engage in in-depth reading through higher-order questions that is later used to argue and support an interpretation from one or more texts (p.490) in their extended writing. The classroom discussions that are generated from both authentic reading and writing experiences are also authentic experiences. Purcell-Gates, Duke and Martineau (2007) added to this by specifically mentioning authentic reading materials such as those that involve written genres like novels, newspaper articles, memos, technical procedures and even greeting cards. Characteristics of Authentic Literacy Instruction What would authentic literacy instruction look like in the classroom? As mentioned previously, the level of authenticity can be influenced by the type of reading and writing materials that the teacher uses such as tradebooks instead of the traditional use of text books, which are heavily written for specific school-related goals. For students to experience authentic literacy encounters, there should be purposeful but also meaningful experiences where the literacy event is not the end goal of the activity but rather integrated into the real-life target purpose. Authentic literacy resources include texts normally found within a childs environment, such as trade books, bus schedules, maps, and diaries. People are also valued resources, as they can offer firsthand accounts and personal knowledge to the process of inquiry. When students have access to multiple resources, activities can become more authentic, students can more clearly communicate their message, and be more fully engaged in authentic literacy events (Wortman, 1993). Rhodes and Shanklin (1993) suggest that a classroom that purports to be authentic should allow students to make choices and have a say in their learning experiences. This choice empowers students in classroom interactions and decision-making actions (Wortman, 1993). Snowball (1992) shares this thought that when students are given a choice to plan, explore and share their ideas, there is more purpose to the activities. In fact, Pachtman and Wilson (2006), in one of his studies highlights student choices in increasing motivation. Pachtman and Wilson (2006) emphasized on authentic reading and investigated students opinions on what they found to be meaningful and engaging reading practices. Students who were offered greater choice and say in their learning experiences were more engaged and took responsibility for their learning due to their vested interest from the decision-making. Students preferred to make their own choice of the books they were going to read and the success of those authentic materials in motivating the students was a clear indication that teachers should take note that choice allows authenticity and teachers can make use of this information to plan their lessons (Pachtman and Wilson, 2006). Aside from books, authentic experiences are defined through the individuals choice to create and share meaningful and purposeful text for a self-selected audience (Wortman, 1993, p. 1). This would mean that in areas such as writing, students instead of carrying out the task of writing a letter to someone, whom the teacher had decided beforehand, students can make decisions on who their letters can be directed to. A classroom that is focused on authentic literacy must be relevant to the lives of the students. As much as choice and the type of materials can help create an authentic literacy environment. Teachers and students have curriculum demands put on them and if any authenticity is involved, it remains superficial. The teacher can meet the needs of the curriculum and remain authentic, even relevant to the students. For example, in a unit on wildlife, the teacher may create an activity where students research on specific leatherback turtles. This activity meets the requirements of the curriculum, however is still irrelevant to the students. To meet relevance in an authentic literacy classroom, the teacher could allow students to research on an animal that the students decide on their own which has relevance to their respective lives. Some students may want to research on penguins they saw at the zoo or the cheetah, someone has compared them with. The students will reference from multiple so urces such as the Internet, magazines, and expert sources. The students will decide what they want to do with the information they have gathered, whether it is to write to someone in the government, produce a presentation to source for funds to fund a specific wildlife preservation fund or even come up with a wildlife newsletter to be shared with their classmates. This activity will meet the requirements of authentic resources, choice and relevance; and still meet curriculum demands. Relevant activities allow students to work on skills in a genuine literacy event and helps students make connections between the curriculum and their lives outside of the curriculum. Students will be able to draw conclusions and extend knowledge through their exploration of authentic activities. Authentic Literacy Instruction vs Explicit Literacy Instruction There is clear indication that as children move up the education system the learning and literacy activities seem more focused on meeting standards and curriculum demands. With the addition of high-stakes testing, teachers seem to be pushed against the wall to ensure that the activities their students do in the classroom are more classroom-related instead of mirroring the social and contextual situations of the real world (Bruner, Olver, Greenfield, 1966). Children begin their literacy journey in the formal world of education with typically learning concepts of print, decoding print and eventually figuring out meaning to aid comprehension of the uncountable texts students will face in their literacy-related classes. These classes, more often than not are conducted explicitly, are directed towards helping students gain literacy skills that will be beneficial to them in their later lives after school. These skills are taught so that students can master them and retrieve them when need ed (Powell and Davidson, 2005). There is no denying the role of explicit instruction in students learning. However, when teachers get caught in a cycle of explicit teaching, followed by continuous and repetitious assigning of worksheets, book reports and essays, students lose out on the richness of an authentic literacy approach. Many teachers due to time constraints prefer to use a classroom literacy curriculum that tries to generally fit the needs of all the students in their respective classrooms. However, in reality we know that literacy classrooms are not made up of only one type of students. Teachers will not be able to meet individual students and, diversity would be considered a disadvantage instead of an advantage. Such classrooms do not reflect real-life needs and goals of the students and does an injustice to these students by not enabling them to bridge between their life goals to academic goals (Eckert Bell, 2004). Scribner and Cole (1973) also concur in their classic article comparing formal and informal instruction, such educational practices can do the opposite as these learning activities are so far removed from real-life learning situations and practices that students face a disconnect. Many researchers like Schmoker (2007) believe that the best way to improve reading scores and improve students literacy skills and strategies is by providing direct literacy instruction using authentic materials. He explained that the instruction should move away from meaningless drill-like activities but instead should be focused in getting students to read a variety of texts available in the real world that provide them fodder to explore their comprehension, hone and revise on their interpretation of text-content, as well as improve their arguments of the subject read (Schmoker, 2007; VanDeWeghe, 2008). This will help students have longer-lasting retention of knowledge learned. In fact, Powell and Davidson (2005) believe that authentic literacy can be equivalent to situated literacy where literacy is embedded within real-world events [and] as a medium for genuine communication (p.249). The classroom that has literacy goals embedded within the classroom lesson plan can be brought ab out when a teacher gets her students to make connections between a particular topic and their own thoughts and beliefs. VanDeWeghe (2008) mention that students here are able to express their opinions, share it with their classmates and explore the various interpretations in a social and personal context. These students are learning in an authentic literacy environment because their learning is directly connected to real-life situations and purposes. However, Purcell-Gates et al. (2007) noticed that there can be no direct cause and effect seen from the use of direct instruction in an authentic environment unless further empirical studies come forth. There are too many unanswered questions of how students best learn language forms, its discourse and the related genres. After all, different students learn language differently. They bring into their learning experiences a host of other social and cultural experiences outside the classroom. In spite of all the explicit instruction to various literacy goals, teacher are generally keen to provide more authentic literacy activities. They are progressively moving away from traditional methods and moving towards more authenticity such as when teachers include inquiry-based learning that allow students to investigate real-life problems. This method of learning allows the bridging of what students need to learn in the classroom and the validity of their real-world tasks. Authentic tasks take the form of projects and activities that allow students to reach outside of the classroom and form ties with the community at large. This is a far cry from the demands of the textbooks. Why is authentic literacy important? Authentic focusses on literacy activities that revolve around real-world tasks, applications and contexts. Therefore, it is able to introduce to students the idea that there is a purpose to learning. This purpose is not related to what the textbooks or what standardized tests say they should learn but is purposeful learning that is relevant to the students real lives. Purcell-Gates et. al (2007) conducted a research project that revealed increased ability to understand comprehension of informational texts and write better when students were allowed to engage in authentic informational texts compared to those that were only offered classroom-based typed of texts and activities. Authentic literacy activities can help students retain more of the information they learn as when students were offered authentic texts and writing tasks, there was more active participation and less frustration as students were able to evaluate and better discuss on material that had meaningful purpose and relevance to themselves. These students took care in getting as accurate the information they could get by going to various resources. There was clearly more meaningful learning taking place (Edelsky and Smith, 1984). When students are given a standard worksheet or task to complete, there is less engagement as students do not see how these activities are relevant to their lives (Rhodes Shanklin, 1993). Furthermore, authentic literacy allows students to develop higher order thinking skills that is sadly lacking as teacher try to meet the needs of struggling learners by simplifying real-life texts which then causes the authenticity to be lost (Allington, 2001). There is an acute need for students to be able to read and write materials that require them to evaluate and synthesize information from various sources. Students will not be able to do that if the materials they encounter in the classroom are not authentic and have been simplified. Schmoker (2006) laments the lack of substantive reading, writing and talking (p.54) which are available from authentic texts. Teachers instead of providing easier texts could instead look into getting students to familiarize themselves with authentic texts that have higher-order language so that they can work towards obtaining the language of the educated and not be penalized for the lack of it. To Silvers, Shorey and Crafton (2010), authentic literacy is important as it takes into account student diversity by providing a safe environment for students to evaluate on their world views, question and find answers to the assumptions and beliefs they bring into the classroom and evolve or reinforce identities. Authentic literacy allows students to become empowered democratic citizens as they engage in real-life literacy and making meaning of their learning (Powell Davidson, 2005). What does Authentic literacy instruction look like? Despite teacher reservations about implementing authentic literacy in the classroom, due to time, score accountability, data driven administrations and a heavily weighed content curriculum, authentic literacy is doable. However, for authentic literacy to take place efficiently, teachers should consider the environment from which authentic literacy is to take place in. Students need to feel a sense of security for them to be able to move beyond their comfort zone especially when they are asked by their teachers to take risks in the way they think and process thoughts and ideas. They must feel safe and know that they will be respected for their sharing and collaborating between them and their teacher, and their peers (Powell, Diamond Burchinal, 2010). Students, especially from diverse backgrounds need to know that their cultural knowledge that they bring into the classroom is a valued asset in an authentic literacy classroom. They are allowed to be active participants in their learning and are expected to have differing opinions and reactions to interpreting content, materials and activities offered in the classroom. They can offer unique perspectives and that the classroom environment supports those differences (Powell Davidson, 2005). There is a strong sense of self-worth when students know that their diversity is accepted and respected in an authentic literacy classroom. In fact Barnitz (1994) explains that students can achieve success when they use authentic talk linked to their home life. When the right classroom environment has been set up, teachers can then begin to include the various authentic elements that reflect an authentic literacy classroom. The teachers is able to get students involved and engaged in activities that are allow students to have control of their learning, just like in the real world. They will feel empowered and competent in carrying out these activities. There are a lot of student-centered activities such as conducting experiments, testing out hypothesis, real-life problem solving task and inquiry-based learning. These types of activities allow students to be motivated and provide ample opportunities for them to think, revisit, revise, build connections and develop their critical thinking skills (Ablesser, 2008; Barnitz, 1994). Literary activities that involve real-life audiences such as putting up plays, poetry slams and an actual book reading of a piece of personal piece of writing offers deeper connections for students and the texts they come into contact with. This according to Purcell-Gates et al (2007) supports an important part of authentic literacy which is the use of curriculum-required materials in a more meaningful manner as students are personally involved with the material used compared to the usual, read-a-text-and-answer-questions approach. When students are exposed to a variety of authentic literature that covers a whole range of popular multicultural content, they are able to make visual and mental connections between the texts and their immediate lives and that of their families and various relationships they have outside of the classroom. Discussions on the similarities and differences of cultures and lifestyles simulate real-life situations, which is an aspect of authentic literacy. Vasquez (2003) believes that the use of multicultural literature promotes respect, empathy and acceptance of each other (p. 88). An authentic literacy classroom includes methods of teaching that involves incidence where students can see real-life reading and writing taking place. The inclusion of writing workshops and dialogue journals are good ways to promote this. Collaborating with peers and making personal connections with the topic of their choice as well as the process of receiving and providing feedback increases relevance and purpose to the writing that students do. The students know that whatever writing piece they are working on will be read and reflected and commented on by real people aka their classmates or teachers. There is genuine interest and discussion, which on their own are authentic elements of an authentic literacy classroom. Of course a big part of an authentic literacy classroom is one that uses real-world texts. This when compared to the text book materials can be highly motivating. Authentic texts do not necessarily have to be limited to print form but can be in the form of newspaper or magazine articles, YouTube videos or even MTV music or parts of popular sitcoms or movie excerpts. Real-life materials can be used on their own or as supporting material to an actual text-book material. Whatever the case, including real-world materials allows students to see that there is more to their learning then the text book or school-related documents. This also reminds students that when people read and write texts outside of the classroom, they have specific purposes, such as wanting to get information or to communicate an idea they may have. Therefore students in an authentic literacy classroom also go through the same reasons when they read and write too. When discussing authentic literacy classrooms, there is no avoiding the role of technology in it. Online materials and websites are transforming the way students are now accessing information and knowledge. They are developing critical thinking by having live discussions with an author of a blog or making meaning from the many related links of a certain website. Students are accessing the Internet to find solutions to the everyday problems they come across and an authentic literacy classroom will also reflect this technological tendency. Wikis, Facebook and Twitter introduces a new element into the world of literacy. It is a genre on its own that is an authentic mode of communication. It would go amiss if in reflecting on what an authentic literacy classroom looks like that assessment is left out. The concept of assessment is to help students improve whatever they have been learning about. Unfortunately, in a traditional classroom, test-taking has been elevated into an art, where focus on grades and how well students perform in standardized tests take precedence over what exactly students are learning and performing in. Assessment in an authentic literacy classroom should again reflect on real-world demands. These assessments should be able to provide students with concise feedback on their abilities and whether they are able to transfer their learning effectively into the real world. The assessments are not the product of learning but serve to further educate students about how they can go about improving on their learning. Newmann and colleagues (2001) showed in their research that authentic performance-based literacy assessments helps students further increase achievement, especially in terms of the quality of responses in writing and mathematics. When students were required to apply what they had learned and come up with original uses for what they have learnt, there was value placed in the assessment. Conclusion There is a clear need for individuals who practice lifelong learning and are able to critically read, think and write to come forth from the academic institutions of today. They must be able to compete and come up with novel ideas that meet the novel dilemmas faced by todays society. The call for authentic literacy in classrooms seems to be a good one. While policy-makers, administrators, parents, teachers and to some extent, students want to improve test scores, there is sound reasoning as to why authentic literacy can help improve scores as well as benefit students in their learning. When student read from authentic materials, have authentic purposes, carry out authentic tasks, discussions and collaboration, seek authentic resources to meet authentic demands, they are able to explore, argue, refine and strengthen their thought and learning processes because all that they use to learn and are learning about makes sense due to their relevance in the students lives. Teachers need to be quick in harnessing the advantages of authentic literacy to meet students learning needs and goals. Each student is an individual that is different from his or her classmate. They have different learning goals and they come from different backgrounds and opinions. As problem solvers, these students can meet their goals more effectively if their learning activities are supported by the teachers authentic literacy instruction. Our end goal as teachers is to support students towards becoming more independent thinkers who are able to utilize what they have learned in the school to meet the challenges they face after school, and as citizens of a global society. Integrating authentic literacy learning can be a strong start towards that end goal (Ablesser, 2008; VanDeWeghe, 2008). Maybe Meier (2002) best sums up what authentic literacy is and why it is important for todays classroom when she writes: Children should be inventors or their own theories, critics of other peoples ideas, analyzers of evidence, and makers of their own personal marks on this most complex world (p. 4)

Essay --

McKenzie Bumgarner Mrs. McGillivary 8th Science 18 December 2013 Today floating is important. Boats float in the ocean, boats can be used for fun and also for delivering things over sea. There are many factors that contribute to floating. Such as density, buoyancy, solution, solvent, solute and many other things. Density is â€Å"Is a measure of mass per unit of volume. Density is what helps make things float, anything that has a density less than one it floats. The more density the object has, the higher the mass per volume. For example, take a sponge, most of the artificial ones are made out of foamed plastic. Therefore sponges hold or contain a lot of density. If you were to take a sponge and melt it into a plastic soup without the bubbles, it will stay one pound but it will become much denser. Density is probably the most important thing thats needed in order for an object float.1,000.00 kg/m ³ is the equation for the density of water.(chemforkids.com) Buoyancy is the ability to float. â€Å"Buoyancy is first and foremost, a force.† buoyancy moves things in an upward movement....

Boost Juice Essay

Background Boost Juice Bars (Boost, 2014) is an Australian food and beverage brand, which was formed in 2000 with the first store located in the capital city in the South part of Australia- Adelaide. This food and beverage business has been done well since the business has been expanded globally in Asia, Europe, and Russia and even in Middle East. Unfortunately, Boost Juice Bars stopped part of business in New Zealand in 2006 after the franchiser due to liquidation. The stores in New Zealand are sold to Tank Juice. After a year reflection, Boost Juice Bars signed an agreement to re-start the brand in the UK. Nestlà © began a range of fruit smoothies in co-operating with Boost Juice Bars since 2008 as so to expand internationally. From this time onward until July 2009, there have been stores operating in Australia, and some places in Asia. The Franchising contracts have been confirmed in Asia and Europe as part of a global expansion plan. Following by the next  four years, Boost Juice got into a franchise agreement for providing the major supply to the whole India. By the end of 2013, the company had expanded into South America and some places in Asia. Literature Review The marketing strategy (Lusch, 1987) is collected from market research and product mix, in order to maximize the largest profit and maintain the stability of the business. The marketing strategy is basic cornerstone of a marketing plan. The marketing plan (Lusch, 1987) focuses on the idea of innovation by using brand new marketing mix to target the potential customers in the market. Most competitors are vending alike products. Between Competitors have strong competitions. One of the key competences is the innovative idea about new juice. The image of Boost Juice is the design of creating fresh, juvenile and healthy theme, so as to tempt more young people. Competitor may duplicate Boost Juice Bar’s goods and plan; however, the royalty of brand is important. Even if Boost Juice Bar is glad with its present marketing campaign to hold its customers for instance the Vibe club program which the purchaser could obtain a cup of free of charge drink on their birthday. It is intelligent to make sure if customers have less interest in Boost Juice or their awareness regarding to the weak brand image. The life cycle in different stage or timeline is necessary to estimate the correct marketing mix to strengthen some customer’s insight. It is necessary to ensure to stay in customer’s mind. Boost Juice Bar has a youthful and health picture, the market segment set on the young generation. Unfortunately, it is prudent to go back over its market segments. Inspecting the possibility on attraction from people age 18 until 25 is the most significant, as this group of people far more concerned their health and nutrition, in order to have a longer life expectancy. Young people sometimes are fascinated because of Boost cup’s design and even Vibe club Program (Boost Juice, 2014). Yet, fully grown customers tend to consider more on royalty of products whether benefits can be gained. Fresh and nutrition can offer vital benefit for body. Executive Summary The advertising and promotion are fundamental with product differentiation. Modernization is a key strategy that Boost Juice should across into its cup’s design and marketing promotion. Boost utilized a brand new method to connect fresh squeezed juice and nutrition together for the young generation. For the young people, they prefer to try new and special product; boost Juice has done excellence. Luckily until now, Boost has been using the same type of marketing tools more than five years, including publicity, media coverage and interactive website to represent the brand. One of the potential troubles of Boost Juice Bar may be facing is its old marketing message to its target audience or customers. This is the main issue if customers still have strong tackiness to stick the old message to Boost Juice Bar’s brand. Hence, Boost Juice Bar re-think about its goal customers. Boost also re-plans its marketing tools to the objective customers. However now, Boost is necessary to pay more attentions by using a popular marketing method, known as E- Marketing, such as Facebook and Twitters. The social media have been acting a considerable function in many companies, including small and large firms. The marketing mix is now very useful for understanding Boost Juice’s target customer, young generations. Product Range According to the survey I collected in a store at Macquarie Shopping Centre, the products of Boost Juice Bar mainly focus on health and nutrition. The following categories are the product range. 1. Smooth – Low fat smoothies. 2. Juice – squeeze from fresh fruit. 3. Complementary Product – healthy snacks (Fresh yoghurt and muesli bar). 4. Product in supermarket – juice, frozen yoghurt, and ready- to- eat snack (such as Low fat crunchy) Situation Analysis International Environment Analysis The main purpose of Boost doing this analysis is to figure out the flaw and and strength. Boost Juice Bar has established a questionnaire on its website to find out the acumen and insight factors, in order to maximise the profit. Marketing Situation When started the investment of Boost Juice Bar (Boost Juice, 2014), the founder and Managing Director Janine Allis targets an innovative way of offering juice in the Australian market. The new kind of juice bars have to be unlike from the long-established grocery store style juice, as well as the idea of juice bars in the US existed for more than 15 years. Earlier than Boost Juice existed, there were over 2000 juice bars in the US. Janine had an insight to believe that Boost Juice would have the capacity to have more than 500 branches. According to an interview with one of the store managers of Macquarie Shopping, since 2000, Boost Juice Bar was the only one brand that had the most and biggest expansion in Australia. Boost has had around 90 stores in 2004. At the same year they qualified the number 2 leading brand VIV A Juice, which means keeping the fresh and good quality fruits. After the combination in 2000, Boost had total about 124 stores. Nowadays, Boost Juice Bar has further 300 stores worldwide. Boost Juice Bar is successful on its inventive concepts with healthy and good taste. The fruits are squeezed into juice and smoothie for being a particular product. The original and normal styles of red and green colour give customer the thought of the product which is good for health. This is very strong brand recognition. Positive and energetic staffs serve the juice with bright smile; even speak out customer’s name loudly. These can force Boost to be particular with the other competitors. The product and sales are vastly generated to form a young and create active mood to attract younger. Aside from the customer’s royalty program (Boost Juice, 2104), Vibe Club card can keep hold as many as customers Boost can, for instance the members of Vibe club card could get a cup of unpaid drink on their birthdays. Management Situation Before the development of Boost Juice, Janine Allis was a Journalist; the work experience offered precious acquaintance on business practice, in particular management. Moreover, her husband, Jeff Allis worked in a radio station that a platform enables Janine to have better understanding on Boost’s target audiences. The background of Jeff has in radio industry enables them to use marketing tools for promotion (WR,1956). Boost Juice acquired VIV A Juice Bar in 2004, they employed VIVA Juice Bar’s creator Simon McNamarra being CEO, from another juice industry (Boost Juice, 2014). An extra factor could not be uncared is franchise system for expanding its stores. The franchising system allowed Boost to enlarge at a relative small cost whereas franchisees had to invest for installation for each shop. Actually, this helped Boost with the economic stress; meanwhile the joint fee of each shop has to shell out to the head office each year so that Boost has earnings by supply the material and charge shops from administration fees. This is a steady capital from the head office that could pay out on the promotion and advertising. Branding Branding position The theme of Boost Juice Bar was healthy and nutrition food (Boost Juice, 2014), provided to customers. Boost has to deliver this message to people that health is very important now. The mainly focus is not only taste and healthy drink, but also forms an active and fresh image. By various campaign, included off-lines or even online through the entire year, Boost Juice received strong attentiveness in the public such as Poster and advertisement on TV. External Environment Analysis In fact, the old juice industry has been at the maturity stage, since many juice shops had to convent into grocery stores for stay alive. Even though Boost created innovative idea of healthy juice drinks, happened from its first shop in south side of Australia- Adelaide, the smoothies juice bar are about to arrive at the stage of maturity. The external situation analysis concerned the external opportunity and threats that might influence the juice business. The threats included changing in society, demography and culture, change in economy and technology, competitor’s activities, and rule and regulatory. For the time being, the direct competitors of Boost have less action against to its market share. Actually, competitors could duplicate any of Boost’s products, but they are not enough to handle Boost Juice’s branding positioning. The problems may be arisen from the main location in the business areas that the district of Boost Juice’s retail shop could not attain. This provides an opportunity for the small competitors. For the change influence in cultural and society, people are far more anxiety on their health, they care about the amount of nutrition. SWOT Analysis Strengths: 1. Product’s development. 2. Strong spotlight on promotion (advertising campaign) 3. High customer royalty 4. Innovations 5. well-built ability to link with customers Weaknesses: 1. Heavy concentrate on promotional activities lead to high marketing cost 2. Sales decline obviously in winter time 3. Lack of further development in product in recent year Opportunity: 1. Without robust competitors directly 2. Health conscious Threats: 1. Many roundabout competitors started selling smoothies products. 2. Customers may have less interest over the time changed. Marketing Segmentation According to the survey I collected from Macquarie Shopping Centre store, there are some possibilities of target customers of Boost Juice, including regular households market, young, teenager, and healthy diet eaters. Boost need to analyse and develop products to meet the stratification from various customers’s needs and wants. Housewives in regular household market purchase juice for their families weekly or monthly. The juice product is necessary to be healthy, high in vitamin and fresh for the family. For the young people with age approximately between from 18 until 25, some of them prefer good-looking packaging to meet their idea that â€Å"perfect and exciting eat†. Some of them would begin to think of relatively healthy way, which is supportive to their bodies. The cup’s design of Boost is completely fit for those two above types of people. For teenager with age between 15 and 18, they expected the juice drink not just tasty but also fun and attractive. They are likely to buy the prestige other than the actual product. The good taste smoothies drink and nice-looking package of product is the important keys to this group of customers. For healthy diet eaters, they would look  deeply to the ingredients of products. They will look at the quality of product more than the design and appearance of the product. Marketing Objectives The marketing objectives are integrating marketing communication campaign, the marketing objectives of Boost Juice Bars could are target customers with aged between 25 and 35, which has higher ability of income to consume better quality products, as well as engage with new customer and retain the current ones by the social network. Strategies The marketing schedule of Boost consisted promotion and advertising, braining new ideas regularly, and seeking new customers through interactive program to connect with customers. Marketing Mix Marketing Mix is about what to use unlike marketing tools to meet the goal (WR, 1956). Normally, Marketing Mix is the mix of 4Ps (Lee, 2009). 4Ps are about the features of products; Price is how to set up the price strategy; promotion, such as advertising and public relationship; and place such as locations which is very critical in retail business. Product differentiation was very significant (WR, 1956), so innovative needs can be frequently carried out. Those factors were fraction of a general scheme of competitiveness. Being the most accepted smoothies in the market for over 11 years, customers who love trying new things; innovation could hold customers. In order to create a centre of attention of the new age level of customers from 24-35, TV commercial is significant to make awareness to people. The alternative factor is social Network, such as Facebook. None of people deny such social media became the most popular marketing tool for companies to interact with their target audien ces. Boost Juice should post more posts on Facebook and uploading up the â€Å"Today’s specials† on Twitter account. By not only utilizing those as a stage to keep contact with customers, but Boost also update customer’s needs for improvement. Boost’s target market are chiefly young people within 15 and 25, the rate of using social media is extremely high. The cost should be demonstrated effectively by using free media source, such as Facebook’s Page and writing blog. One of  the 4Ps – place, this can also be location. As mention before, Boosts are mostly residing in the high quantity of customers in business areas. These absolutely make attention more on customers; however, the cost of problem is very high. Hence, this do not fulfill as many customer’s wishes as possible. The potential approach in the place is special designon public transport, such as mini bus and taxi, which is like concept to Munch Lunch Van. Customers have to give a call for service in advance. The mobile van can go to the place where shop is not nearby. Doing the juice business, Boost should treat each product’s price as a standard. A price cut may cause low quality for ensuring the quality of product offered. On the other hand, the cause of Boost Juice has pretty high proportion of marketing expenditure and leasing cost. Hence, Boost tried to provide more benefits to customers. For example, free drink to allocate on street for promotion. The price discount could be offered in the alterative way. Something like buy 2 gets 1 free or jumbo size can enlarge the sales for profit margin. Product Differentiation and the Product Life Cycle In a market, there are many companies are all making related products; product differentiation is a real approach to analyse (WR, 1956). Refer to an academic journal (GS, 1981), extensive reference have been made; Armstrong, Brown and Adam had pointed out references detailed points. The product life cycle illustrates the alteration of a product from development and popularity, follow by maturity and even decline (GS, 1981). Boost illustrates the outlook of its business through product life cycle, in order to keep the position in the market and maximise the profit. The 4Ps comprise (Internal Marketing, 2004) the Product to understand product’s special and exclusive features, Price is referring to pricing plan), Promotion is about how to let people know the product, such as advertising and public relation, and Place is about distribution that the quality product allocated to different branches. The branch with more customers should have more sources to produce more products. Measures of Success According to an interview with a brand manager, the marketing research company called ACNielsen, which has been working in the area of media, entertainment, finance, and hospitality, revealed Boost Juice operated  several countries and served variety of industries, adjust Boost’s needs to measure its marketing outcome. The professional research of companies provided definite view of what is going to be happened. It has a leading of role in sharing of information in TV commercial. The methods of collecting data consisted retail forecast, consumer panels, and marketing investigate. Also common work included merchandising in goods, modeling and analytics, decision marking, and merchandising goods. Recommendation Social media is now being a new marketing tool to hold with customers preferably. Boost Juice maintain innovation as the main type of competence. A qualitative study is necessary to move toward with Boost Juice that the audience is necessary to recognize the right view. Conclusion For being successful, Boost Juice can not be described as lucky. When it comes to the founder Janine Allis’ passion in providing healthy and nutritious drink to this country, she is smart to target on the brand positioning to the right target customers by using the correct marketing tools. In overall, Boost is still having large room for growing, unfortunately, over the time passed by, the external environment, such as target customers are changing. Parts of fans have already become mature. Boost Juice Bar have to be more innovative deal with the problem of market change to preserve existing customers and attract more new customers. Reference Boost Juice, 2014, < http://www.boostjuice.com.au/> GS Day, 1981, â€Å"The product life cycle: analysis and applications issues.† The Journal of Marketing, vol.45, no.4 Internal Marketing website, 2004, Lee Goi, Chai, 2009, â€Å"A Review of Marketing Mix: 4Ps or More?† International Journal of Marketing Studies, vol.1, no.1 Lusch, R.F., and V.N. Lusch, 1987, Principles of Marketing, Kent Publishing Company, Boston, Massachusetts WR Smith, 1956, â€Å"Product differentiation and market segmentation as alternative marketing strategies.† The Journal of Marketing, vol.21, no.1

The Jackson Learning Style Profiler Model - 1077 Words

1.0 Introduction In the recent years, with businesses continue to grow; companies are not just looking for people with good academic but also good intrapersonal skills. Hence, in this portfolio, I would be reviewing on my own intrapersonal strengths as well as weaknesses. In addition, I will be using the Jackson Learning Style Profiler model. Last but not least, I will set goals along the way for my professional development, which I need to undertake in order to be more mentally and physically prepared in my career path as a Financial Controller. 2.0 Intrapersonal Effectiveness Intrapersonal Effectiveness is defined as, understanding yourself in terms of your strengths, weaknesses, goals, style, biases and improving self-management†¦show more content†¦Conscientious Achiever is my highest scoring attribute amongst the 5 in the LSP test. From the result, it basically described myself, which is being reliable, organized, responsible, trustworthy and determined (Costa McCrae, 1992). These personality traits are consistent to my future career as a financial controller, who must be responsible in obtaining profitable results through the sales and accounts team by developing the team. Having said that, there are times where the both teams will have to rely on me in motivating them and giving proper training in widening their experience and skills. In addition, as a high conscientiousness achiever, it indicates that I tend to not rush into decisions before having a good thought of what are the consequences from the decision made (Jackson, 2009). As a Fin ancial Controller, it is essential to analyze the previous financial report before setting another goal for the team. 2.4 Emotional Intelligent Achiever Secondly, Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to identify, assess and control the emotions of oneself and the ability to read the emotions of people around you (Goleman, 1995). Based on the table above, a score of 11th percentiles which is the lowest amongstShow MoreRelatedBSB124 Portfolio2241 Words   |  9 Pagesother hand, Learning Style Profiler , my team management style and networking mentoring will be focused in each different section. BODY INFORMATION _INTRAPERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS_ Intrapersonal effectiveness can be defined as understanding yourself and your goals, strengths, weaknesses, style, biases and improving self-management skills, such as time management and stress management (De Janasz, Wood, Gottschalk, Dowd and Schneider, 2006, p. 3). In this section, my Learning Style Profiler will beRead MoreHuman Resources Management150900 Words   |  604 Pagesyears later about one-fourth of all managers and executives are women. Similar attention also was focused on other diverse groups of employees. So that all employees were given opportunities to grow and learn, the Bank of Montreal’s Institute of Learning was established at a cost exceeding $50 million. The goal of providing five days of training and education to every employee each year has been met for several years. To focus on performance, each department and every employee have HR managers