American History X Essay

American History X is a film that centered on two brothers and how their lives changed when their father died. The story revolved around discrimination and racism. But most importantly, the movie emphasized the capability of an individual to change. The main character, Derek Vinyard, transformed into a racist when his father died â€Å"in the line of duty by a minority† and when he killed two black men who tried to rob him. Before he entered prison, Derek had already a preconceived notion that Blacks were menace to the society and that the Whites were the superior race. However, inside the penal complex, he found out that â€Å"there is good and bad in every race. † So to prevent his younger brother, Danny, from committing the same mistakes, Derek encouraged him to be open-minded and disregard all the things that were inculcated to him when they were members of the Neo-Nazi group (IMDb). This movie was able to show three sociological concepts namely: differential association, racism and social inequality. Differential association is a learning theory which focused on the processes by which individuals come to commit criminal acts (Hamlin). In the film, this was shown when Derek joined the neo-Nazi group; he started to adapt a more delinquent lifestyle like thrashing the local grocery store. Meanwhile, racism is defined as the idea that race sets the difference in the personality or competency of an individual which results to some race being better than the others (Eckert). This concept was portrayed when Seth and Danny were having a conversation. Seth asked Danny who he hated and Danny replied, â€Å"I hate anyone that isn’t white Protestant. They’re a burden to the advancement of the white race† (Kaye). Lastly would be social inequality which refers to the â€Å"ways in which socially-defined categories of persons (according to characteristics such as gender, age, ‘class’ and ethnicity) are differentially positioned with regard to access to a variety of social ‘goods’ like education† (Centre for East European Language-Based Area Studies). In the movie, this was represented when two Black guys were trying to steal Derek’s truck. This shows how some races are well off than the others because they have better jobs, houses and benefits. I think American History X is an eye-opening film about the presence of discrimination, prejudice and hatred in the society due to difference in race. More so, the movie tried to relay the message that delinquency is learned and it can be unlearned if an individual is put in a better environment. When Derek went to prison, he realized that race was not a major issue that separated one individual from another; it was more on how a person presented himself/herself to a group. In the end, it would always be every man for himself in this dog eat dog world. Works Cited â€Å"American History X. † 2009. IMDb. 28 May 2009 American History X. Dir. Tony Kaye. New Line Cinema, 1999. â€Å"New Dimensions of Social Inequality? † n. d. Centre for East European Language-Based Area Studies. 28 May 2009 Eckert, Susan. â€Å"What is Racism, Prejudice, Discrimination, Bias, and Xenophobia? 7 December 2007. Suite101. com. 28 May 2009 Hamlin, John. â€Å"Differential Association Theory. † March 2006. University of Minnesota Duluth. 28 May 2009

World War Ii and Candidates

12 eP e ap . c rs om FOREWORD This booklet contains reports written by Examiners on the work of candidates in certain papers. Its contents are primarily for the information of the subject teachers concerned. 9697 History June 2005 HISTORY GCE Advanced Level and GCE Advanced Subsidiary Level Paper 9697/01 Paper 1 – Modern European History, 1789 – 1939 General comments The general standard of the scripts was satisfactory and all of the Examiners read some excellent work that was relevant, clearly argued and well supported by appropriate knowledge. Most candidates answered four questions as required and used their time effectively. The standard of the answers to Question 1, the Source-based question, was better and Examiners welcomed the improvement.Fewer candidates only summarised the sources and more gained credit by comparing and contrasting them and by assessing their relative value. They considered how reliable and useful the passages were. This could be done in sever al ways, including testing the reliability of what a source said against one’s own knowledge, testing the reliability of what a source said against what other sources indicated, examining the language and argument in a source to indicate its bias, and analysing a source’s language and argument in relation to the author’s purpose or audience. Sometimes candidates dismissed sources because they were biased.However, all sources might be biased in one way or another and the task of historians is to see through the bias and extract useful judgements or knowledge. When answering the essay questions (Questions 2 – 8), weaker candidates were usually unable to provide enough knowledge to support their explanations so that their answers tended to be assertions. On the other hand, good answers were able to balance arguments or explanations with accurate knowledge. This knowledge does not have to be detailed but candidates must provide support for their claims. This was particularly apparent in Questions 3 and 5.In Question 3, there were some acceptable arguments about the general social effects of the Industrial Revolution but the answers could not be given high credit when the claims were not supported by examples. This was the reason why candidates were required to refer to developments in two of Britain, France and Germany. In Question 5, many candidates were able to record accurately a variety of reasons for European imperial expansion but the better answers emerged when they illustrated policies by the use of examples. Less satisfactory answers tended to be vague about specific developments.A discriminating factor between good and less creditable answers was that the former paid attention to key words or phrases in the questions whereas the more moderate responses sometimes comprised general accounts of topics. The essay questions are given below with the key words or phrases in bold. Teachers might decide that it would be a useful exerci se to provide their candidates with exemplar essay questions and discuss which are the key words or phrases that need particular attention in answers. Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 How far was Napoleon Bonaparte an oppressive ruler in his domestic policies from 1799 to 1815?Discuss the claim that the middle classes gained most from the Industrial Revolution in Europe. Explain the growing support for nationalism in Germany and Italy from 1848 to 1871. Why were European governments more willing to support imperialist policies in the later years of the nineteenth century? (You should refer to developments in at least two of Britain, France and Germany in your answer. ) How far had Lenin achieved his aims by the time of his death in 1924? How accurate is the claim that the effects of World War I were the most important reason for the rise of totalitarian governments in Europe during the period to 1939? You should refer to at least two of Germany, Italy and Russia in your a nswer. ) Examine the claim that Marxism developed to 1914 as the result of industrialisation. Question 6 Question 7 Question 8 2 9697 History June 2005 Comments on specific questions Section A: The Origins of World War I, 1870 – 1914 Question 1 ‘Russia’s policies caused the outbreak of war in 1914’. Use Sources A-D to show how far the evidence confirms this statement. This Source-based question on The Origins of World War I asked candidates to use four Sources to consider whether Russia’s policies caused the outbreak of war in 1914.Candidates were given credit when they sorted the Sources into groups. Sources C and D confirmed the claim whilst Source B contradicted it. Source A was interpreted by most candidates as contradicting the claim but some candidates noted the strong hint in the last sentence that Russia would stand by Serbia, often interpreting this as a ‘blank cheque’ from Russia that equated with Germany’s ‘blank cheque’ to Austria-Hungary. Many candidates attempted to evaluate the extracts but some answers applied simplistic tests of reliability.For example, they stated that Source A was reliable because it was a personal telegram from the Tsar to the Kaiser, whilst Sources B, C and D were reliable because they were, in different forms, official documents. The most successful candidates used the internal evidence of what the sources contained to assess their reliability and value. For example, was Source A correct to claim that ‘Germany had used all her influence on Austria-Hungary in order to bring about an understanding with Russia’? Some candidates were given credit when they referred to Germany’s ‘blank cheque’ to deny this claim.There were creditable contrasts between the effects of German long-term planning and Russian mobilisation. The least successful answers sometimes spent too much time in summarising, or paraphrasing, the extracts. They la cked a conclusion whereas the best answers included a conclusion that provided an overall judgement. Section B Question 2 How far was Napoleon Bonaparte an oppressive ruler in his domestic policies from 1799 to 1815? The question asked candidates to examine how far Napoleon Bonaparte was an oppressive ruler in his domestic policies from 1799 to 1815.The overall standard of the answers was sound. The most successful candidates examined a range of issues but focused on domestic issues because these were specified in the question. Answers could not be given credit for discussions of foreign policy. Some answers devoted too much time to the rise of Napoleon to 1799. This could be used as a brief introduction but not as a major point in the argument. Credit was given when candidates considered some of the major policies and reforms introduced by Napoleon, such as the Code Napoleon and the Concordat. They also referred to the police system and censorship.Good answers examined the politica l structure of Napoleon’s rule; it was highly centralised and authoritarian. Some moderate and weak answers omitted this very important aspect of the question. Question 3 Discuss the claim that the middle classes gained most from the Industrial Revolution in Europe. The question was based on the claim that the middle classes gained most from the Industrial Revolution in Europe. The standard of the answers was variable. The most frequent reason why answers did not gain a high mark was that they devoted too much time to eneral descriptions of the processes of the Industrial Revolution and did not examine sufficiently the effects on social classes. There were some sound answers that explained the profits that were gained by the middle classes from investment in industries. Increasing wealth allowed them to play a more important political role. The same reason gave them advantages in society. The question allowed candidates to compare the middle classes with other social groups. Some weak answers only described the hardships of the lower orders and referred to the middle classes by implication but the better responses included a fuller comparison. 9697 History June 2005 Question 4 Explain the growing support for nationalism in Germany and Italy from 1848 to 1871. The key issue was the growing support for nationalism in Germany and Italy and the specified period was 1848 to 1871. Examiners read some very effective answers that were analytical and considered a variety of relevant points. Some referred to the legacies of the French Revolution and the Vienna Settlement. This was relevant as long as it was not given too much space. The most successful answers were balanced between Germany and Italy whereas some did not merit the highest credit because they were imbalanced.Some moderate answers wrote narrative accounts of political leaders such as Bismarck and Cavour. This approach was relevant but it sometimes omitted to link these leaders to nationalism. On the other hand, Examiners read some perceptive answers that argued that, whilst Bismarck and Cavour promoted unification, they were not essentially German or Italian nationalists. There were interesting assessments of the effects of the 1848-1849 revolutions and of the Zollverein in Germany. Question 5 Why were European governments more willing to support imperialist policies in the later years of the nineteenth century? You should refer to developments in at least two of Britain, France and Germany in your answer. ) A recurring quality of the best answers was their combination of argument and examples. Many candidates could explain a number of relevant factors that encouraged governments to support imperialist policies but their essays sometimes lacked examples so that the answers were too general for a high mark. The most successful answers combined explanations of factors such as political and economic interests with references to regions where these were implemented. Question 6 How far had Lenin achieved his aims by the time of his death in 1924?Examiners were pleased with the quality of most of the answers. Credit was given when candidates explained Lenin’s aims explicitly; these were assumed by some of the more moderate responses. The most successful answers considered both his successes and his failures and came to a considered balance of judgement. Answers in the middle and lower bands sometimes focused exclusively on successes. A few candidates devoted too much time to the rise of Lenin and Bolshevism to 1917; this was relevant but needed to be linked to the key issue of Lenin’s achievements by 1924.Among the successes that were explained was that Lenin took the Bolsheviks to power in 1917. He then led the new government to victory against the Whites in the civil war. The war with Germany was ended. He established a one-party state, defeating opponents, and he was unchallenged personally. On the other hand, possible failures might have incl uded the fact that Lenin’s economic measures, especially War Communism, almost led to collapse and had to be revised in the New Economic Policy. Survival was achieved at the cost of abandoning Marxist-communist principles.Terror became widely used. Question 7 How accurate is the claim that the effects of World War I were the most important reason for the rise of totalitarian governments in Europe during the period to 1939? (You should refer to at least two of Germany, Italy and Russia in your answer. ) The question asked candidates to consider whether the effects of World War I were the most important reason for the rise of totalitarian governments in Europe. They were required to refer to at least two countries out of Germany, Italy and Russia in their answers.The general quality of the essays was satisfactory and Examiners read some excellent answers. These assessed the impact of the war and compared it with other factors; their arguments were supported by appropriate knowl edge. Good candidates explained that the war had serious political and economic effects. For example, it destabilised an authoritarian regime in Russia and the post-war democratic governments in Germany and Italy because neither state was content with the outcome of the conflict (including Germany and the imposition of the Versailles settlement and Italy’s disillusionment with erritorial issues). Economic consequences were examined. In Germany and Italy, the war led to the growing appeal of ultra-nationalist groups whilst it confirmed communist leaders, Lenin and then Stalin, in power in Russia because the 1917 Revolution was a direct outcome of World War I, although it was not its only cause. With this basis, sound answers explored other factors in the rise of totalitarian governments, such as the personal appeal of leaders and their use both of propaganda and terror to enforce obedience. Democratic governments were weak. 4 9697 History June 2005Question 8 Examine the claim that Marxism developed to 1914 as the result of industrialisation. The key issue was the connection between Marxism and industrialisation. Candidates gained credit when they explained that Marx believed that there was such a link; he held that capitalist industrial states suppressed the wage earners or proletariat. The middle class or bourgeoisie were said to use industrialisation to exploit the lower classes. Sound answers explained that Marxism appealed most to those in industrial societies, especially in France and Germany.However, it did have less appeal in highly industrialised Britain. Some noted that Russia, the centre of the first Marxist revolution, was not an industrially-based country. Some weak answers were vague about Marxism and provided only general accounts of industrialisation. These did not deserve a high mark because they did not address the key issue in the question. Paper 9697/03 Paper 3 – International History, 1945 – 1991 General Comments The num ber of candidates taking this paper was slightly up on last year. The overall standard of the candidates was satisfactory.Most scripts demonstrated a reasonable level of knowledge and understanding. The paper produced answers which covered the entire range of marks with a pleasing number of candidates producing some high quality answers. An example of a high quality answer has been included below under Question 1. The most successful candidates used their knowledge and understanding of the topic to answer specifically the question on the examination paper. Knowledge was used to support and sustain an analytical argument which came to a specific conclusion.Many candidates underachieved because they tended to use their knowledge to write narrative and descriptive answers which contained only a limited amount of analysis. Each question on the examination paper focused on one of the topic areas contained within the syllabus. In Question 1, candidates were asked to assess the hypothesis that the UN Secretary-General was the most important factor in ending the Suez Conflict of 1956. The command instruction of ‘how far’ required candidates to offer an analytical answer ‘for’ and ‘against’ the proposition in the question, using source information and contextual knowledge to support their answers.The essay questions (Questions 2-8) were all framed in a similar way to enable candidates to engage in analysis. Command instructions such as ‘how important’, ‘assess’ and ‘discuss’ require candidates to produce a balanced analysis in direct response to the question. Given the limited time available in the examination, lengthy contextual sections which ‘set the scene’, unfortunately limit the time available for direct coverage of the issue in the question. Although it is useful to plan an answer, candidates should be aware that this exercise should take only a few minutes for each answer .Very few candidates failed to attempt four questions. However, although a number of candidates failed to finish their final answer, this was presumably due to pressure of time. Comments on specific questions Section A: The Development of the United Nations, 1945 – 1991 Question 1 How far do Sources A-E support the view that the work of Hammarskjold was the most important reason why the Suez conflict was brought to an end in November 1956? The question required candidates to study five sources on the UN and the Suez Crisis of 1956.They had to consider the view that the UN Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjold was the most important reason why the Suez Crisis was brought to an end in November 1956. In doing so, candidates should have considered information within each source, cross referenced information between sources and have analysed the attribution of the sources to decide whether or not the hypothesis in the question was correct. 5 9697 History June 2005 The vast majority of candidates were able to use source information to construct an answer which both supported and challenged the hypothesis in the question.However, although most candidates used information within the sources, fewer were able to cross reference information between sources or evaluate the sources as examples of historical evidence on the issue. In providing source devaluation, many candidates did not go beyond referring to specific sources as ‘biased’ or ‘fairly reliable’, without explaining precisely why this assessment was made. For candidates to receive adequate reward for source evaluation, an explanation of why sources might be ‘biased’ or ‘unreliable’ is required.Some candidates wrote extensive answers to this question which created time problems in answering the essay questions later in the examination. The following is an answer to this question; although it did not receive full marks, it does illustrate a very high standar d of answer. The claim that Hammarskjold was the most important reason why the Suez Conflict came to an end is debateable. Source A supports the hypothesis by almost making it seem that UNEF would not have been possible without him. ‘Hammarskjold found himself acting as much in the diplomatic as in the administrative field. This was because he had to persuade Egypt to be the host country for the UNEF. This source gives one the sense that the Secretary-General was an effective leader in a time of pressure and was willing to take up the challenging role. For instance ‘The Assembly asked the Secretary-General†¦ to produce a plan for a UN force within 48 hours’. Hammarskjold took up the challenge and organised the force. This gives the impression that the UN General Assembly would have been helpless without Hammarskjold’s involvement. This source has been written by a British journalist six years after the end of the conflict.Although not a key player in t he conflict the journalist provides credible evidence as to the role of the Secretary-General. Source B also supports the hypothesis. It looks more at the diplomatic side of the conflict by stating that ‘Hammarskjold†¦succeeded in establishing a basis for co-operation between the UN and Egypt upon which the UNEF operated smoothly’. The source only focuses on this fact of how Hammarskjold was able to persuade Nasser. This point is also mentioned in Source A. One has also to note the author of the source. Brian Urquhart was a key player concerning the UN presence in the conflict.As it is explained in source C Urquhart was part of Hammarskjold’s ‘admirable staff’. Therefore, this source provides more effective information because Urquhart was involved in the UN at the time and therefore knew precisely what was happening. The source, in that sense, can be said to be reliable. However, as a member of Hammarskjold’s team it may be likely to sup port the role of the Secretary-General. This source comes from a biography of Hammarskjold and does not offer any critical comments on the Secretary-General’s role in the Suez Conflict. Therefore, source B may not be wholly reliable as evidence.Source C partially challenges the hypothesis, unlike the first two sources. It points out that ‘the idea (for the UNEF) came from Lester Pearson’. Therefore, Hammarskjold cannot be said to be the most important reason for the ending of the Suez Conflict. The author of this source concentrates more on the role of the General Assembly. It states, ‘the Suez crisis was†¦ the finest hour of the General Assembly’. The author gives credit to Hammarskjold ‘and his admirable staff’. One can see that Hammarskjold is not praised as he is in Source A and furthermore, this view can be seen in Source D which also partially challenges the hypothesis.The General Assembly gets more attention when the Security Council would not do anything following the veto by Britain and France. Hammarskjold is shown in a different light compared to sources A and B. Hammarskjold is said to have ‘had serious doubts at first about’ Pearson’s idea. In sources A and B Hammarskjold seems to have jumped at the challenge without having second thoughts. On the other hand, one should take note that the source was written in 1995 and would have had a better overview of what happened. This would explain the playing down of Hammarskjold’s role.Source C is written by a diplomat and source D is written by a journalist neither of which were key players in the conflict. The sources are both from books which attempt to place the Suez Conflict in wider international context. The sources cannot be said to be wholly reliable but they do offer an objective view. Source E partially supports the hypothesis. Yet, like sources C and D states that there were different key people. The source states â⠂¬Ëœthe key person, in addition to Hammarskjold himself, was Lester Pearson’. Lester Person is actually labelled as a key erson rather than just being mentioned as the person who came up with the idea of the UNEF. But this source does not play down Hammarskjold’s role and also mentions that he ‘quickly provided a preliminary plan’ about the crisis. This is similar to source A. 6 9697 History June 2005 In conclusion, source A and B fully support the hypothesis while source partially supports it. Sources C and D partially challenge the hypothesis. Sources C, D and E all have the advantage of having a better overview of the Suez Crisis, being written some time after the event.However, these sources are not written by key players and they cannot be considered wholly reliable. Source A is not written by a key player but was written soon after the event. Source B, on the other hand, is written by a key player but cannot be said to be wholly reliable because one would not expect a person to openly criticise his own organisation. The hypothesis claims that the Suez conflict was brought to an end because of Hammarskjold’s work. Yet, most of the sources have pointed out that other key players, the General Assembly, Pearson and Nasser, also helped to end the conflict.I would suggest that the hypothesis should be modified to ‘How far do sources A-E support the view that the work of Hammarskjold, in carrying out the idea of Lester Pearson, was an important reason why the Suez conflict was brought to an end in November 1956? ’ Section B Question 2 Which of the following has the best claim to mark the start of the Cold War: Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech, 1946; the Truman Doctrine, 1947; the Berlin Blockade, 1948-1949? Explain your answer. This was by far the most popular of the optional essay questions.However, some candidates did not differentiate effectively between the ‘cause(s)’ and ‘start’ of the Cold War. In many of these answers a significant amount of time was used to provide detailed contextual material going back to the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The vast majority of candidates displayed a detailed knowledge of the1945 to 1949 period of the Cold War in Europe. The best answers were able to use this information to answer the question directly. Those candidates who achieved high marks were able to explain directly which of the three developments had the best claim to starting the Cold War.Knowledge was then deployed to support and sustain the case made. A number of candidates took the view that none of the three incidents constituted the start of the Cold War. The best of these answers were able to explain which of the three developments did not constitute the start of the Cold War as well as pointing out why another incident deserved the title. The Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe, 1945-48 and the Marshall Plan were offered as alternatives to the three develo pments offered in the question. Question 3 Who or what was responsible for the globalisation of the Cold War?This was also a very popular question. Many of the better answers were able to give a definition of the term ‘globalisation’. They also made specific reference to the two command instructions in the question, ‘why’ and ‘what’. Most of the candidates were able to mention the Korean War as a possible starting point in the globalisation of the Cold War. Other events such as the Vietnam War, Cuba and the Arab-Israeli conflict were mentioned. Some candidates mentioned the collapse of the European overseas empires in the 1950s and 1960s which resulted in the involvement of the two superpowers.In determining responsibility, the vast majority of candidates chose either the USA or the USSR or both as the prime culprits in globalising the Cold War. However, a small number of candidates also laid blame on the ambitions of the People’s Republ ic of China. Question 4 Assess the relative contribution of America and the Soviet Union to the outcome of the war in Vietnam? This was not a popular question. A clear majority of candidates chose Question 3 over Question 4. Many answers adopted a narrative-chronological or narrative description of the Vietnam War.Very few candidates were able to assess the ‘relative’ contribution of either the USA or the USSR. In many cases, the US contribution was seen in providing troops and leading the conduct of the war from 1965 to 1972. The Soviet contribution was seen in terms of providing military equipment to North Vietnam. Very few candidates were able to link the term ‘relative contribution’ to the ‘outcome’ of the Vietnam War. As a result, diplomatic aspects of the contribution of both the USA and USSR were ignored. 7 9697 History June 2005 Question 5 How important was the West in the collapse of the USSR in 1991?This proved to be a very popular qu estion. It was clear that the majority of the candidates had a clear understanding of why the USSR collapsed in 1991. Those candidates who underachieved tended to ignore the role of the West and instead, concentrated on the internal factors which resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Most of this type of response mentioned Gorbachev’s attempted reforms (Glasnost and Perestroika) and their subsequent failure. Fewer candidates referred to the impact of nationalism (The Baltic States and the Caucasus region) on the weakening of the USSR.Only a small number of candidates referred to the events of August 1991 which led directly to the USSR’s collapse. Unfortunately, those candidates who displayed detailed knowledge of internal factors without mentioning the importance of the West, did not score highly. Of those candidates who referred directly to the role of the West, the vast majority referred to the role of the USA. The Second Cold War was regarded as a major dest abilising factor for the USSR. The cost of matching the USA in both conventional and nuclear armaments was cited as an important cause of the Soviet Union’s collapse.A small number of candidates mentioned the broader role of the West. The disparity of lifestyles and wealth which were picked up via TV and radio in East Germany or by radio across the Soviet Bloc were given as examples of this phenomenon. Question 6 How successful were attempts to control the nuclear arms race between the superpowers in the period 1960 to 1980? Examiners noted that the majority of answers to this question adopted a narrative and narrative-chronological approach, with only very limited analysis of the issue of ‘success’, which was mentioned in the question.The vast majority of answers referred to the Test Ban Treaty of 1963, the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 and the two SALT treaties of the 1970s. Unfortunately, a significant minority of candidates did not limit their coverage to the period ending in 1980. As a result, considerable time was spent describing and explaining the role of START, SDI (The Strategic Defence Initiative or Star Wars) and the INF (Intermediate Nuclear Forces) treaty. Considerable detailed knowledge was displayed on the treaties of the 1960s and 1970s mentioned above.However, this knowledge was not always used to its full effect. In many cases knowledge was deployed to describe events and the terms of treaties, rather than used to explain the degree to which attempts were successful. Question 7 ‘By the 1980s, the American dominance of the international economy had almost disappeared’. Discuss. Examiners noted that this was not a popular question. Many responses showed only a limited knowledge of the international economy between 1945 and the 1980s. Many candidates accepted the assertion in the question at face value.They mentioned the rise of West Germany and Japan as potential economic rivals to the USA in the internation al economy by the 1970s. They also mentioned the rise of the Asian Tiger economies in a similar vein. Some candidates mentioned the collapse of the Bretton Woods system by 1972, with the abandonment of the Fixed Exchange Rate system. However, only a few candidates offered a balanced approach which mentioned that although the USA’s overwhelmingly dominant position in the international economy after the Second World War had been eroded, it had not disappeared.US dominance in I. T. related industries as shown by the NASDAQ index of companies (e. g. Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Apple etc. ), and its dominant role at the WTO and with the World Bank, were cited as examples of continued dominance. 8 9697 History June 2005 Question 8 Why did Africa experience serious problems of famine in the 1980s? Although not a popular question it, nevertheless, produced some very good quality answers. It was clear that some Centres had taught this topic extremely well.Candidates were able to menti on social, climatic, political and economic factors which resulted in large areas of Africa experiencing famine in the 1980s. The best answers gave specific examples of the areas of famine. The most regularly mentioned were Ethiopia and Somalia. However, in several cases candidates interpreted the question somewhat differently. Many candidates displayed sound knowledge of Africa in the 1980s but used this knowledge to explain why Africa was relatively poor compared to the rest of the world, rather than the specific issue of famine.Paper 9697/05 Paper 5 – History of USA c. 1840 – 1968 General comments There was a considerable increase in the number of candidates compared with June 2004. The overall standard was sound, but certain common weaknesses were evident, resulting in lower outcomes. The most common was failing to answer four questions, or alternatively only offering a few lines as answers. There were also a number of completely irrelevant answers which scored Ban d 7 (0-7 marks).However, the best scripts were a pleasure to read, being consistently relevant, well structured, analytical or explanatory, with good supporting evidence appropriately used. These scored Bands 1 and 2 (18-25 marks). One script even attained the exceptionally high mark of 96. The compulsory source based question, Question 1, was answered indifferently. To simply repeat and recycle the words of the sources with a few general remarks at the beginning and/or end of the response could at best only result in Level 3 (10-14 marks), and this is what most candidates did.To achieve the higher bands it was essential to use the sources as evidence, i. e. to interpret and evaluate them in their historical context. The most common failings in the essay questions (2-8) were over reliance on narrative and descriptive responses and a reluctance to engage in relevant analysis of the problems posed in the questions, backed up by good evidence in a coherent structure. Comments on specif ic questions Section A: The Road to Secession and Civil War, 1846-61 Question 1 ‘It was the complete breakdown in trust between North and South that made compromise impossible. Using Sources A – E, discuss how far the evidence supports this assertion. Only a minority of candidates evaluated the sources as evidence in their historical context, but those who did scored higher marks in Levels 5-6 (19-25 marks). A common failing was to put the case for or against the contention, whereas it is important to show the evidence for and against it and then to come to a conclusion as to which, in the candidate’s view, is better or more reliable.Few candidates noted that the sources came into three groups, A being two years before Lincoln’s election in November 1860, B and C being an immediate reaction to his victory and D and E, after the secession of the lower south had occurred. Few candidates pointed out that Douglas was a Presidential candidate in 1860 and only s ome explained what his doctrine of Popular Sovereignty involved and how it had proved unworkable in Kansas. Most candidates saw the significance of Stephens being later Vice President of the Confederacy, but few gave evidence of his strong pro-Union views until his home state of Georgia seceded.The best approach was for candidates to give the evidence for the contention; this would be Sources B, D and E in their historical context and then to give the evidence against the contention; this would be Sources A and C in their historical context. Finally, the candidate should state his or her conclusion, or at the highest level, why sources point to a different hypothesis to that stated in the question, or alternatively, why the hypothesis should be modified in the light of the evidence. 9 9697 History June 2005 Section B Question 2 ‘Mexico will poison us. United States? How accurate was this prediction of the effects of the Mexican War on the This was a very popular question with the great majority of candidates answering it. A significant number simply ignored Whitman’s quotation and gave a descriptive account of the origins and course of the war. The majority of candidates went beyond this to point out that as a consequence of the huge annexation of territory the slavery question flared up violently with sectional tensions getting steadily worse and leading to secession and civil war.The best responses went beyond this to point out that the ultimate result was not only a transcontinental nation from Pacific to Atlantic but that the Union victory led to the elimination of the Southern veto in the Senate and that America became the most aggressively capitalist and individualist nation in the world. It could be argued that the modern American nation took shape as a result of the territorial annexations from Mexico. Question 3 ‘I claim not to have controlled events but confess plainly that events have controlled me. ’ (Abraham Lincoln, spee ch in 1864). Do you agree with Lincoln’s assessment of his Presidency?A very popular question but few really good responses; most candidates played it safe by giving a descriptive account of Lincoln’s Presidency, in some cases going back long before he became President. The point of the question was not that Lincoln simply reacted to events but that many of the key events facing him were beyond his control. Obvious examples would be the acute sectional crisis of the 1850s, the whole slavery issue and the decision of the Lower South to secede and form the C. S. A. Relatively few pointed out that Lincoln was decisive and active when needed.Good examples would be his skill in keeping Kentucky and Maryland from seceding, the Emancipation Proclamation, his flat refusal to negotiate terms with the Confederacy when this appeared to be the only way to end the war, as in the early half of 1864. He also assumed to himself almost dictatorial powers in suspending, in effect, the B ill of Rights, introducing censorship and suspending Habeas Corpus. He also appointed and retained Grant amid much criticism and towards the end of his Presidency had a Reconstruction programme which, if implemented, might have reconciled the defeated South.Question 4 Explain why the United States became the world’s leading industrial nation in the period 1865-1900. A minority choice but reasonably well answered. The role of technological inventions was well handled and nearly all candidates discussed the endless supply of cheap and motivated labour by immigration. Relatively few mentioned cheap land or the fact that the US had a political and legal framework in this period which was extremely favourable to business and hostile to any degree of government in economic matters, with the partial exception of the railroads.There was an almost total lack of data – for example, that by 1900 the US produced 30% of the world’s industrial goods. 10 9697 History June 2005 Question 5 How was it possible, in spite of constitutional protection, for the Southern States to deny basic civil rights to African-Americans from 1895 to 1964? A very popular question, though not very well handled, with little discussion of the roles of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson in granting full civil rights. In theory the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth Amendments had granted full legal and civic equality to the Freedmen.The basic problem, which few candidates mentioned, was that the whites had lost interest in the fate of the African-Americans; the latter were a small minority in the nation and even in the former slave states they were a majority in only two states in 1900. As a result, the southern states were able by a variety of means, which were quite well described, to circumvent the plain intention of the Amendments by reducing blacks to the status of permanently second class citizens, denied the right to vote and access to the same level of education as the whi te majority.Most candidates mentioned the effect of the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v Ferguson. The role of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s was probably overstated and few mentioned FDR’s juggling act in keeping the Solid South as part of his victorious coalition, while successfully wooing Northern blacks into voting for him. Most Presidents in this period were indifferent to black aspirations. Candidates correctly dwelt on Martin Luther King’s inspiring and intelligent leadership in the civil disobedience campaign from the 1950s onwards.Few mentioned his building up of alliances with Democratic politicians in the North, in particular Kennedy. The effect of the Brown case was dealt with well and better responses highlighted the effect of the Cold War on putting pressure on the American political establishment to grant civil rights. None pointed to the irony of the Texan career politician Lyndon Johnson pushing through the major civil rights legislation when his more high minded predecessors had been unable, or unwilling, to do so. Question 6 How different were the policies adopted by Hoover and Roosevelt to deal with the Great Depression?A popular question but candidates paid little attention to Hoover. Unlike Roosevelt, Hoover believed firmly that it was quite wrong for the Federal Government to engage in the regulation of, and interference in, the economy. No one mentioned that Hoover tried very hard to commit FDR to a continuation of his own policies even up to the day before FDR’s Inauguration in March 1933. Hoover was, of course, regarded as one of the great humanitarians of the twentieth century for his outstanding work in famine relief in Russia in 1919 and 1920 and it is quite wrong to portray him as indifferent to suffering.His policies were, however, ineffective and from 1929 to 1933 unemployment, business failures and falling stock market prices grew steadily worse until it seemed that the whole financial system of the US was on the very edge of total collapse. While candidates were correct to portray FDR as both different from and more effective than Hoover, few made much sense of the famous New Deal. It was not a coherent, logical programme and at times it was not easy to see precisely what FDR was trying to do; this was not helped by his persistent deviousness.However, he managed to infuse all around him with his unfailing cheerfulness and optimism (in contrast to Hoover) and he was clearly an activist ready to try any policy, however unorthodox, to beat the slump. As a result the popular mood shifted and disaster was averted. Some candidates correctly pointed out that unemployment figures were still very high up to 1939. Question 7 ‘Gradually and rather reluctantly, the United States became an imperial power and a military presence on a global scale. ’ Is this a fair assessment of American foreign policy, 1890-1919?This question required skill in organisation as it covered two wars, but most candidates relied on a descriptive, rather than an analytical answer, and as a result the treatment of the 1914 to 1919 period was frequently hurried with, too often, the Versailles Peace Conference being ignored. Few were prepared to tackle the assertion contained in the question. The war with Spain was brutal and pitiless, resulting in de facto control of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and in effect Cuba. There was certainly nothing accidental or hesitant about it. It did make the US a global, and in effect, imperial power.No candidate mentioned Theodore Roosevelt’s successful mediation in the Russo-Japanese war which resulted ironically in the Nobel Peace prize being awarded to one of the most aggressive and warlike US Presidents. Many candidates discussed Roosevelt’s acquisition of the Panama Canal and the creation of both the US Canal Zone, with sovereign powers, and the creation of the state of Panama being hived off from Columbia. The first World War was ha ndled better, with most candidates being correct in describing President Wilson’s determination to stay out of conflict.It is arguable that the US was slowly dragged into conflict once Russia had withdrawn in 1917, leading to the strong likelihood of German victory which financial considerations, among other factors, made unacceptable to the US. No candidate mentioned the famous Zimmerman telegram and its effect on US public opinion. In 1918 and 1919 Wilson seemed to develop illusions of grandeur in attempting to force his own internationalist ideals on reluctant Allies. 11 9697 History June 2005 Question 8 How far was increasing national prosperity from 1945 to 1968 shared by all Americans?Very few candidates answered this question and none did particularly well. The main focus of responses was on the exceptions to the national prosperity, usually African-Americans, but the other pockets of poverty such as the rural poor, declining mining areas and Hispanic migrant workers, were usually ignored. One would have preferred to have seen much more discussion on why and how Americans became so prosperous in the post war period. Alone among major powers, it gained enormously in wealth from the war and dominated the world economic scene during the whole period.The US was a major beneficiary of the long economic boom from post war reconstruction and the huge armaments industry benefited greatly from the Korean War and the Cold War with the Soviet Union. These factors were ignored. Paper 9697/06 Paper 6 – Caribbean History, 1794 – 1900 General comments In the main candidates attempted the required four questions, although there were a few who obviously spent too much time on Question 1 and either could not finish a fourth question or, in some cases, had failed to tackle a fourth question.As far as possible, candidates should give equal shares of the time available to each question as a truncated or missing final answer will affect the examination r esult. Among the ways of avoiding the most serious consequences of failing to complete four full answers would be to plan responses to the questions so that, if need be, a firm outline of an answer could be given when time is running out, rather than writing two or three paragraphs which only represent a fraction of the material a candidate may have available.Question 1 was always answered. Many candidates were able to consider critically the material in the sources and the reasons why they were written. Some answers only made use of the sources for their content and at face value. A number of candidates did not write a conclusion to their response and so failed to link what they had written to the statement in the hypothesis. Of the other questions, Question 4 was the most commonly answered followed by Questions 3, 2, 6 and 5 in the order of frequency.Though many candidates did use examples for their answers from across the whole Caribbean area, some answers were written in very ge neral terms and, often, with the experience of the British Caribbean (or Jamaica only) in mind. Question 4 was an example of this, but answers to other questions sometimes had a similar appearance. In Question 2, abolition in the British colonies often took up more than half of an answer which should have given prominence to French and Spanish experiences too. Detailed comments on the answers to all the questions follow later in the report.There were some examples of candidates embarking upon answering questions without sufficient thought or planning. Examples included Question 2, in which there were long accounts of how the slave trade in the British Empire was ended, which might have provided a single point about abolition but where a page and a half of detail represented a wasted opportunity to deal with the question more directly. Candidates probably needed to take some time to collect their ideas about Question 5 and to plan to cover both societies and economies. In general, sc ripts were well presented, though some candidates’ handwriting was difficult to read.A few candidates failed to arrange their scripts in proper page order and some did not number their questions. 12 9697 History June 2005 Comments on specific questions Section A: Emancipation and its Consequences Question 1 ‘As the nineteenth century progressed, it became clear that there was no future for the Caribbean sugar industry’. How far does the evidence of Sources A-E support this statement? The Level description for candidates to receive at least two-thirds of marks is that a candidate ‘by interpreting/evaluating sources in context finds evidence to challenge and support the hypothesis’. Evidence is a key word.Candidates should use all the sources, use them as more than a source of information and relate them to the hypothesis in order to gain a high mark. Responses to this question varied widely. Many considered at least some of the sources critically. Som e answers were unnecessarily long. Sources A and B described the introduction of machinery to the processing of the cane and gave a hopeful impression of the future of parts of the sugar industry in the early 1850s. Candidates raised questions about the possible attitude of the Governor of British Guiana in Source A and possible journalistic and pro-planter bias in Source B.Other points about the wide time scale of the sources and their limited geographical scope were made in order to assess the sources. Many missed the chance to use Source D (about the problems of the sugar industry in the British Caribbean, 1876-77) and Source E (on Cuban sugar production in the 1890s) to compare the seemingly dire situation in one part of the area at one time (Source D), with a more buoyant one a little later (Source E). In Cuba, sugar production recovered rapidly after the disasters of war, presumably because of the underlying strengths of the industry there.In addition, both could be related to the hypothesis and used to suggest that the situation of sugar production was not hopeless in every area and also to question whether Source D really indicated that there was no future for British West Indian sugar. Both Sources C and E were occasionally misunderstood when candidates did not read the extracts through to the end. Many candidates seemed to assume that each of the sources would be directly for or against the hypothesis where, in fact, it could be suggested that none is as clear cut as that.Section B Question 2 Discuss the factors which account for the abolition of slavery in British, French and Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. A strong point about many answers was that a number of factors, humanitarian activity, resistance of the enslaved, political and economic circumstances, were outlined in the introduction. These themes were then continued through the essays with comparisons of all three sets of experiences together or sometimes with British and French situation s compared, followed by a section on Spain. The dominant element was often material about British colonies.Individual factors sometimes were sketched in and there were examples where description replaced the discussion and weighting of the various factors. Treatment of economic and political factors was often slight in comparison with humanitarian activities and slave resistance. Dealing with France, only Victor Schoelcher’s influence tended to attract much attention and some candidates wrote little about Spain. Less successful answers took each country’s experiences separately and sometimes went back into the eighteenth century anti-slave trade movement in Britain in great detail.This led to over long essays which failed to deal adequately with the question. Question 3 Compare apprenticeship in the British Caribbean with the patronato in Cuba and assess their respective results. The comparison element in this question was usually well done and many candidates were wel l informed on the Spanish experience. Normally there was a reasonable attempt to compare the two schemes in terms of planter control, punishments, wages, manumission and judicial supervision. The premature ending of each was explained and many candidates judged the Spanish experience to be more humane and more successful than the British.There was a minority of candidates who gave great detail on the emancipation legislation but did not look at the working of the systems in much detail. 13 9697 History June 2005 Question 4 Assess the reasons why freed people left the estates where they had been slaves. This was the most widely attempted question in Section B. There was a tendency for candidates to present a series of possible explanations without any assessment or illustration to show the complexity of the situation or the time scale involved.In general, answers were restricted to the British Caribbean and mostly attempted to cover the push and pull factors. The most successful answ ers reflected an awareness of the debate among historians about the reasons why freed people left the estates, emphasising opportunities which freed people saw and exploited. Only a few answers dealt only with the rejection of plantation life and the consequent ‘flight from the plantations’. Some candidates used the development of the peasantry to 1860 as an illustration.Others made good use of the theme that emancipation widened the expectations of freed people. Question 5 To what extent were societies and economies of Caribbean colonies affected by emancipation up to 1900? Explain your answer. Many answers concentrated on economic change and did not reach the date 1900. Some largely reproduced material which was appropriate to Question 4. More effectively, a large number of answers concentrated on the creation of the peasantry and its social and economic results, including the impact on plantation labour and the knock on effect of immigration schemes.Some candidates w rote about the diversification of crops and the export trade, using Jamaica as an example. Also mentioned were issues about the quality of life (family and education) and social development (village communities and financial cooperatives). Developments in education and health care were mentioned in some essays. There were some sound and well organised answers. Question 6 How far was there a labour crisis in the Caribbean sugar industry in the second half of the nineteenth century? This was a good question for those who were prepared to plan the answer on the extent of the crisis.Very few candidates did this. Most candidates discussed labour problems in general and the introduction of immigrant labour. Reference to a labour crisis was either non-existent or very brief, possibly a statement that from the landowners’ point of view, there was no longer an adequate or dependable labour force or, with reference to Trinidad and British Guiana, that even in the slave period there was an insufficient supply of labour. Because of the tendency to deal with the ‘labour issue’ rather than the ‘labour crisis’, most answers lacked emphasis in relation to the question.One plan could have been to deal with: †¢ †¢ †¢ the idea of a crisis, ‘a crisis for whom’ areas of ‘crisis’ where there was no crisis (Cuba, Barbados). Question 7 How significant was discrimination based on gender in Caribbean societies after emancipation? Explain your answer. Answers tended to centre on examples of male dominance, though in any one answer few were mentioned. The main point made in relation to the ‘How significant’ element in the question was that gender discrimination was one among a number of forms of discrimination in Caribbean societies.Most answers were short and limited in scope. Question 8 Explain how Haiti achieved and consolidated its independence. This question was based on the final section (VII) of the syllabus. Unfortunately, most candidates who attempted to answer it used material which was appropriate to the first two content sections. In consequence, few of the answers covered independence or the period which followed. Many answers dealt only with Toussaint, or even with earlier

Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” Appearance vs. Reality Essay

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the theme of appearance versus reality is recurrent. Austen seeks to prove that often one’s appearance hides one’s true character. This thematic concept is clearly evident in the case of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham and how they appear to Elizabeth Bennett. From her first impressions of both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham, Elizabeth comes to misguided conclusions about their true character. Elizabeth spends most of the novel reevaluating her stance regarding both of these characters. She later comes to realize that her respective judgements of Mr.Darcy and Mr. Wickham are profoundly inaccurate and incorrect. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Austen demonstrates that reality of an individual’s true character can often be hidden by appearances. Elizabeth’s first impressions of Mr. Darcy are based on an appearance of his character rather that a realistic assessment of his decorum, background, and history. The very first time Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy she becomes prejudiced toward him. Elizabeth is introduced to Darcy at the Meryton Assembly and although the general impression is that he is quite handsome, her opinion suddenly changes to an unfavorable disposition towards him. She perceives his behavior as cold and uninterested in her friends and family. Along with the rest of the people in Hertfordshire, she decides that he is † the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world† (41). His air of superiority does not impress Elizabeth and she observes that he does not converse with anyone who is outside his party. She grows particularity hostile towards Darcy when she overhears him say,† She [Elizabeth] is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me† (42). Elizabeth comes into contact yet agai n with Mr. Darcy when Jane Bennett becomes ill while visiting Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth goes to stay with her at Netherfield. Elizabeth’s dislike of Darcy’s stoic and unfriendly manner increases; while spending time with the Bingley party. Elizabeth believes every single move of Darcy to have ill intentions. She notices Darcy frequently gazing at her and concludes â€Å"she drew his notice because there was something about her more wrong and reprehensible, according to his ideas of right† (86). Elizabeth is blinded of Darcy’s true character, which is hidden by his appearance. She is unable to sense Darcy’s real feelings because his introverted demeanor does not allow him to express them. Elizabeth’s  blindness is blatantly obvious when Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance and she denies by saying: â€Å"You wanted me, I know, to say ‘yes,’ that you might have the pleasure of despising my taste; but I always delight in overthrowing the kind of scheme, and cheating a person of their premeditated contempt. I have, therefore, made up my mind to tell you, that I do not want to dance a reel at all- now despise me if you dare (86). At this point in the novel, any contact Darcy attempts to make with Elizabeth is brutally rebuffed because of her strong prejudice towards him. Contrary of Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth’s first impressions of Mr.Wickham are favorable. Mr.Wickham differs from Mr.Darcy in many ways. When Elizabeth first takes notice of Wickham at her Aunt Phillips’ house, she believes him to be â€Å"far beyond† the other officers in the militia † in person, countenance, air, and walk† (115). Wickham is outgoing, lively, and eager to fall into conversation. Wickham’s outgoing and polite mannerisms are quite the opposite of Darcy’s, and Elizabeth takes an immediate interest to him. Compared to Darcy, Wickham appears to Elizabeth as one of England’s finest gentlemen. A further example of how Elizabeth is blind to reality is her firm belief in Mr. Wickham’s claims against Mr. Darcy. Wickham’s appearance as a stately gentleman and Elizabeth’s prejudice towards Darcy cause her to believe Mr. Wickham’s slander against Darcy even though she knows nothing of Darcy’s past. She regards Mr. Darcy as a proud, pompous brute, so she is willing and eager to find fault in him. Wickham provides this fault and justifies her already hostile feeling towards Darcy. This aggressively hostile behavior of Elizabeth toward Darcy is intensified at the Netherfield Ball. Elizabeth feels anger towards Darcy because she believes him to be the cause of Wickham’s absence. Elizabeth’s predisposition to favor Wickham is noted by Mrs. Gardiner who warns Elizabeth that she has heard rumors of Wickham’s greedy character and to be careful of placing too much trust in him. At this point in the novel Elizabeth regards Wickham as a friendly and resourceful man who confirms her bitter feelings towards Darcy. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth is perhaps the grandest example of how  Elizabeth is blinded by appearances. When Darcy proclaims his love for Elizabeth, he opens up his heart the only way he knows how, only to see Elizabeth take offense to his offers and turns him down. Elizabeth is unaware of Darcy’s history and doesn’t understand his particular social status. She thinks his reasons for debating over marrying her are inconsequential. She also does not understand what sort of shame he is risking in seeking her as his wife and takes offense to Darcy’s words about her family. Elizabeth is unaware of the outside forces, such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Miss Bingley, acting upon Darcy. His statement â€Å"In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed† (236) appears rude to Elizabeth, when in actuality it is admirable and valiant. Elizabeth sees the proposal as an insult when in actuality it is Darcy sacrificing his pri de and proclaiming his utmost devotion to her. The turning point in the novel in which reality begins to override appearance occurs when Elizabeth reads Darcy’s letter. In this letter Darcy tells his side of the story regarding his relationship with Wickham and provides verifiable information to substantiate his character. Not only does he prove that he did not act maliciously towards Mr. Wickham, but he also explains that he never had any intent to hurt Elizabeth’s sister Jane. He explained that he was not confident that Jane truly loved Mr. Bingley and was only looking out for a good friend. After reading and rereading this letter, Elizabeth reevaluates her previous feelings of both Darcy and Wickham and her opinion of both men gradually changes. With the crucial knowledge she gained from the letter, she pieces the puzzle together. Elizabeth now begins to admire Darcy when she visits his exquisite home and takes notice of Darcy’s affection when she meets him at Pemberly. Wickham is proven to be fraudulent and Elizabeth sees now that his intentions were dishonorable and his actions not proper when telling her lies about Mr. Darcy. She sees now that Wickham is a greedy and ungrateful man who has repeatedly taken advantage of Darcy financially. His deceitful character is only confirmed by his scandalous affair with Lydia Bennett. By the end of the novel, the true character of these gentlemen is evident to all. Elizabeth Bennett regrets ever having admired Wickham, and embraces Darcy as her true love. It is clear to Elizabeth that Wickham’s smooth manners and outward style conceals a shallow, superficial, and greedy soul, while Darcy’s awkward behavior hides a generous, caring heart. Elizabeth learns many lessons from her interaction with these two men. She learns the possible dangers of jumping to a conclusion based on an individual’s character and looks that may be deceiving. Through Elizabeth’s realizations, Jane Austen offers a universal theme that can be related to any society in that premature judgements are more often than not a misconception of someone’s true personality. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen effectively exhibits that reality can often be hidden by appearance.

Applying economic analysis ( Cost Effectiveness Analysis) to Alzheimer Essay

Applying economic analysis ( Cost Effectiveness Analysis) to Alzheimer bills and to school lunch program - Essay Example In CEA the relative costs and the outcomes are evaluated for two or more itineraries of action. This kind of analysis is divergent from cost-benefit analysis, which dispenses financial value to the appraise of effect. Normally the CEA is articulated in requisites of a proportion where the denominator is a put on in health from an evaluation and the numerator is the outlay allied with the health put on. The chiefly used upshot evaluate is quality-adjustment life years. The theory of cost effectiveness is practical in organization and preparation of many of sort of prearranged activity. It applicable to many aspects of life. In Alzheimer’s tab, for instance, that was ascertained by the secretary of health and human services (National Alzheimer’s project) to generate and sustain an integrated national plan to surmount Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The policies stipulated in the bill was intended at cutting down on the health care cost to the citizens of the federal state. The early diagnosis and acceleration of preventive procedures was found to be a little bit cost-effective compared to the treatment actions (Clyne, 2002 p 17). Cost-minimization is functional when evaluate drugs of equal acceptability and effectiveness. Therapeutic similarity must be oriented by the instigator carrying out the study preceding the cost-minimization exertion. As equal efficiency and equal acceptability is already established, there is no necessity finding a universal effectiveness denominator as study on cost-effectiveness would have demanded. All costs have to be measured when conducting a cost-minimization study together with resource expenses intrinsic to the liberation of the therapeutic intrusions and that are germane to the pharmacoeconomic perception. In the Alzheimer’s bill, for instance, the costs of alternative therapies can be compared to the Alzheimer’s disease treatments and

Analysis of tables and recomendstion _graphs_ mean _varaince _ST Essay

Analysis of tables and recomendstion _graphs_ mean _varaince _ST - Essay Example report, therefore, recommends that the municipality should focus its resources on the lands and housing sector, free toll and helpdesk channels and its improving trend. Al Ain municipality is a local authority in Al Ain city whose roles includes provision of public utility services to the city’s community through its call centre. Application of descriptive statistics is therefore essential in understanding the municipality’s operations (Abu Dhabi 1; Mimmack, Manas and Meyer, 3-27). The descriptive statistics for reported cases, by channel, identifies an increment in report from a mean of 282.75 of the first half of the year to a mean of 332.43 in the second half, an indication of increased activity in the call center in the second period. The trend is associated with increase in standard deviation. The sector analysis, on the other hand, shows that most of the reported cases in the year 2011 were complaints with inquiries forming the least of reported cases. The pie chart for the number of cases reported between January and July identifies free toll and helpdesk as the majorly used channels. The same trend is observed in the second half of the year. Distribution of cases by sector, on the other hand, identifies housing and lands with the highest number of cases with information cases forming the highest correspondents. The charts for distribution of cases by sectors per month also identify information as the major contributor to the municipal reported cases. While the average response duration decreases with time, the average number of assigned cases increases with time across the year 2011. Analysis of the data shows that the municipal is effective in pursuing its role that includes provision of support to development initiatives. Lands, and housing sector, free toll, and help desk channels are the most active sections. The descriptive statistics also shows higher reported cases in the second half of the year than in the first half. The charts further

Organizational analysis YOUR EXPERIENCE Coursework

Organizational analysis YOUR EXPERIENCE - Coursework Example As seen in the work of Niebrà ³j & KosiÅ„ska (2003) present day must be focused on the patient as opposed to the nurses. This refers to the general well-being of the patient. The nurse leader I worked with was the team leader and ensured that we all worked as a team regardless of the situation at hand. This ensured that the patients accessed quality healthcare at the required time. The authors also continue to argue that team work can simply be realized if there is a leader present to propagate the same (Niebrà ³j & KosiÅ„ska, 2003). This leads to efficient nursing especially if the leadership style is of good quality. The nurse leader I worked with was a good communicator and made sure that we were always conversant with our roles whilst on duty at all times. Since the patient is the main reason behind the existence of medical care, it is important that the nurse leader facilitates easy access of medical care at all times by the patients. This relates to the autonomy princip le proposed by Niebrà ³j & KosiÅ„ska (2003). Question2-Briefly describe the types of leadership/management experiences or events that you observed or in which you participated. Relate your observations to your leader’s management position and leadership styles. Provide rationale to support your responses. The types of leadership/management experiences or events that I observed from the nurse leader include her desire to lead our team and come up with strategies for attaining the team’s visions. This relates to the work of Frankel  (2008) who relates these factors to effective leadership. At many instances, the nurse leader was quick to solve problems that arose from the team members. This, she did, so as to cultivate group dynamics within the group through problem solving. The leader was also very inspirational especially when our team lacked the morale to move forward especially in the case of targets set. Her passion and love for her job motivated us

Increase of wages and market performance in Chinese factories Essay

Increase of wages and market performance in Chinese factories - Essay Example The level of wages is usually considered as a criterion for evaluating the potential of a market to face local and global pressures. Indeed, in economies where economic instability is continuous, the decrease in wages is often used for controlling inflation. It is derived that increased wages denote the strength of an economy and its future prospects. Lipsey and Chrystal (2007) note that the increase of wages is feasible only in markets that are characterized by long relationships, meaning those markets where employees tend ‘to work for the same firm for many years’ (Lipsey and Chrystal 2007, p.576). In other words, the increase of wages reveals the market stability as it is reflected in the establishment of long-term employment contracts. The increase of wages has been often criticized as negatively affecting the performance of firms or industries involved. However, in practice, no such issue seems to exist. According to Trivedi (2002) the claim that the increase of wag es can lead to a series of problems for industrial relations and industrial performance should be rejected (p.640). It is explained that it is not the increase of wages that results to such phenomena but the decrease in performance (Trivedi 2002, p.640). It is also noted that the increase of wages can boost organizational performance since it can lead to the increase of employee satisfaction, i.e. to the increase also of employee performance which has a critical impact on organizational performance (Trivedi 2002, p.640).... In other words, the increase of wages reveals the market stability as it is reflected in the establishment of long-term employment contracts. The increase of wages has been often criticized as negatively affecting the performance of firms or industries involved. However, in practice no such issue seems to exist. According to Trivedi (2002) the claim that the increase of wages can lead to a series of problems for industrial relations and industrial performance should be rejected (p.640). It is explained that it is not the increase of wages that results to such phenomena but the decrease in performance (Trivedi 2002, p.640). It is also noted that the increase of wages can boost organizational performance since it can lead to the increase of employee satisfaction, i.e. to the increase also of employee performance which has a critical impact on organizational performance (Trivedi 2002, p.640). According to Taylor and Weerapana (2011) the decisions of countries in regard to the prices of the products imported can highly affect the potentials of the firms operating in the industry involved to keep the prices of their products at standard levels (Taylor and Weerapana 2011, p.58). Reference is made to the case of USA that ‘decided in 2002 to introduce trade restrictions related to the steel’ (Taylor and Weerapana 2011, p.58). This decision led to the increase of the price of steel as a material used in production. As a result, manufacturing firms producing goods based on steel had to increase the prices of their products, not being able ‘to produce the same number of products at the same price’ (Taylor and Weerapana 2011, p.58). The prices of goods based on steel had to be increased since the cost of the

Othellos origin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Othellos origin - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that some critics believe that Othello is dominantly a play about race and color. Shakespeare uses the symbol to show the worth of white and prove the discrimination against black. It will be unwise, however, to claim that it is solely with reference to the character of Othello because of Iago, despite his color, had a black heart.   Othello was a ‘Moor’, which applied to Arab and Berber people of North Africa who inhabit medieval Spain. There is a possibility that Othello belonged to the tribe of Moors who remained in Spain after the fall of Granada in 1492. Later, they were expelled in 1609. He could also be connected with the people of Barbary in North Africa. In the play, Iago calls him a ‘barbary horse’ with reference to the famous horses of Arab but also playing a pun on the word calling him a barbarian and a savage. There is a likelihood that he did not belong to any of the categories and was simply a blac k African. This paper will trace Othello’s origin to show that he was not a native of Venice. Bradley, in his book on Shakespeare’s Tragedies, states that the evidence about Othello’s origins is â€Å"indecisive†. Features in Shakespeare’s portrayal of Othello seem to have been strained from all of the blacks who may have been in England during his time. To the Elizabethan mind, black was the color of the skin which depicted the Otherness of a person who had the satanic predisposition and sexual pervasion.  ... lock was chosen to fulfill the need in the dramatic structure of The Merchant of Venice, similarly Othello’s color â€Å"seems to derive from a specific dramaturgical requirement†. Hence, Othello was given black skin and thick lips to clearly distinguish from the native inhabitants of Venice. His problem is not with the community and the government at large. He has the respect of all the people around him. His only enemy is Iago. It can be believed that the dislike of Iago and Roderigo for Othello may be due to his color. In Elizabethan England, people with black skin were called wanderers. Othello is depicted as one of them (Braxton 1990). Recalling from the play when the ensign indirectly calls himself a spider, plotting against Cassio and Desdemona: With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio (II.i) Thus, Othello’s black skin is identical to the color of the spider’s most recurrent victim, the fly. The spider is not necessarily punished for this crime because the fly is the food it preys on. The play could have easily lost its charm, therefore, without the racial prejudice that exists for Othello. The relationship of Iago and Othello is not a bilateral one. Othello trusted Iago and Iago took advantage of this trust. â€Å"It is remarkable how many chief's sons there are in London today. And here is Shakespeare, knowing his audience, using this native English snobbery for his own purpose three and a half centuries ago. And my own feeling is that he takes more trouble to establish sympathy with Othello than he would if Othello were European and if Shakespeare did not expect prejudice.† (Mason 1962) Mason, a critic who writes about race prejudice in Othello rightfully states in the above lines, a mastermind like Shakespeare who knew his

Classical Economists and Their Philosophy Literature review

Classical Economists and Their Philosophy - Literature review Example All the terms are part of the business strategy which is actually and play a decisive role in constructing marketing tactics (Stigler, 1957). The classical economists had always talked about business tactics. The idea of growth and competitor business strategy is part of their explanation. Here are some who described economics and behavioural finance in all different perspective: Among major terminologies of economics, the classical economists have given much importance to the term â€Å"Competition†. Competition is something that surrounds the basic business environment, in which there are competitors, consumers and the market. Entrepreneurs call it a â€Å"business constraint†, as it changes for the success or failure of business at the same time. The economists have provided several teachings in understanding the term â€Å"competition†. This is for the business strategists and those who seek technical strength for competing in the market. In the late 19th cen tury just after World War II ended, the term â€Å"competition† was felt in different occasions of the business culture. The business strategists discussed it on all intense occasions of the business and tried to fit it in different situations like in a situation of a â€Å"perfect market† or a situation of â€Å"business equilibrium† (balance of supply and demand). ... According to Smith, one is excessive supply tactics where the prices get automatically high for competition, while the other is fewer supply tactics where the prices increase and set a demand. This is how competition floats in the market, and the rivals plan according to the same effective strategy (Stigler, 1957). Adam Smith emphasized on following five conditions which set a competitive advantage of one entrepreneur to another: The competitors should work independently instead of working collectively. A competitor should attain an advantage by minimizing the advantage for the next competitor. The competitor should attain full knowledge of the market to attain a parallel advantage. The competitors are free to work on such knowledge. Resources should be vitally utilized in order to stabilize the presence in the market. The following above statements worked in the agriculture sector where there is no such â€Å"monopoly â€Å"according to modern economists. However, the idea of comp etition is quite clear in a general way as everyone knew how to race in an environment where the competition is simply to bid one another. This is the definition of â€Å"business environment† which modern economists summarize in their literature work (Stigler, 1957). John Elliott Cairnes and â€Å"Industrial Competition† J.E.Cairnes a pioneer of classical economist got labelled in Industrial competition. He described competition as a condition where there is an exchange of capital and labour between the Industrial partners. He focused on the environment of non-competing Industrial groups. In case of capital, his ideology got successfully applied as capital is easy to transfer and sacrifice, but in the labour, it gets hard because the workmen are solely dedicated to their specialized field and cannot compromise their profession in terms of extra remuneration or wage.     

Education and Society Essay Example for Free

Education and Society Essay Education in the United States has become a crucial part of every Americans life. Completing high school opens doors for individual achievement and is directly linked to economic success. But equally important to the completion of high school is a rich and positive experience in the learning process. Educators are skilled in creating great learning experiences and to enhancing the curriculum, while parents are even more influential. Parents are the positive influence for many children who would otherwise be drastically falling behind, failing, or even dropping out of school. The child’s family background, combined with passed down values and experiences will determine the students high school education. The role of technology in early childhood education is an effective tool for students, so the lack of technology in a child’s upbringing can affect their educational career. For example, students who do not begin using various types of technology from kindergarten can fall behind. Studies found that students who are less likely to access technology at home can be at an academic disadvantage. This shows how vital technology is in a childs education, however there is a challenge in making it available to everyone. Particularly low-income or minority college students could have trouble in succeeding in a technology-saturated environment. Some parents dont parents dont understand the importance of Internet access, since in their generation, the Internet was a luxury, not a necessity. However, the bigger issue seems to be the gap between Whites who have access to the Internet and minorities. Studies found that â€Å"56% of Latino adults and 60% of African American can use the Internet,compared to 71% of White adults. The same organization finds that while 42% of white families and 41% of Latino 2 families 666subscribe to broadband access,only 31% of African American households have such access. Even if lower income schools computer labs students need to build their skills at home as well. Early childhood reading for children can bring a positive outcome to a child’s life. What a child learns in their early years are things that will continue to helps them along in their future in school and in the real world. When a child is introduced to early childhood education, they can get many benefits from it. Benefits include learning to interact in new situations, use critical thinking and basic speech skills before kindergarten. According to Maryanne Wolf, â€Å"In most underprivileged communities, no children’s books were found in homes; in the low come to middle income community there were, on average three books; and in the affluent community there were around 200. † Parents need to create an atmosphere where reading takes place in order to show the importance of reading, but low-income families are falling behind. Parents from affluent communities are able to gain access to understanding the importance of reading while parents from lower income don’t have the resources. Its unclear why low income families dont have as many books in the home, but the issue might be attributed to a poor school library, lack of understanding for the importance of books, or the obvious issue with low financial resources to buy books. Parents from different language background and parents who arent literate in English, will likely raise children who have to play catch-up once they enter kindergarten. Reading can’t just happen over night it needs to be developed over time. If books are limited, discussions and thoughts arent spoken out loud, and this can result in problems. Catherine snow of Harvard and her colleagues found that in addition to literacy materials,one of the major contributors to later reading was simply the amount of time for â€Å"talk around dinner† The 3 importance of simply being talked to, read to, and listened to is what much of early development is about†. In a low-income, busy and hard-working parents may not have time to have these simple talks, or even the financial resources to purchase books for there children. These are two important ingredients for a strong educational upbringing that many low-income family parents can not afford. Even though socioeconomic status and the access to technology are key a family’s behavioral and cultural backgrounds have an equal influence on a student. A child is instinctively drawn toward the background of their parents and social settings to learn what is deemed from right to wrong. According to David Brooks â€Å"Educated parents not only pass down resources to their children, they pass down expectations, habits, knowledge and cognitive abilities. Pretty soon you end up with a hereditary meritocratic class that reinforces itself generation after generation†. What David Brooks is saying is that even though the United States has universal access to higher education such as community college but some students may not be â€Å"physiologically prepared and culturally prepared for college†. Children are reaching their parents expectations and are just continuing a cycle. If parents arent showing their support in a educational and motivational sense, kids won’t feel the need to fulfill higher education. The time to instill values of education is not when a child becomes a senior in high school; rather the time to start discussing educational values to a child, is the onset of school, preschool. Education provides an individual their path to a successful future, but only through hard work, dedication and determination is this achievable. Education requires a parent to mold a child into an individual that is capable of contributing effectively to society. The drive to learn must be aroused in children and started at an early age.

Appropriate Future Strategy For A Given Organization Commerce Essay

Appropriate Future Strategy For A Given Organization Commerce Essay One of the first things that you will need to do when you start up a new business is to create your business strategy. The strategy that you decide up will be incredibly important for the future of your business since it will influence many of your future decisions and shape the nature of your university business. It is, therefore, its essential to take the time to make sure that you choose the right strategy for you and your new business. Making the right choice now will affect the chances of your university business becoming a success. When you choose your business strategy, you will need to make sure that it is one with which you will feel comfortable, but you will also need to ensure that your strategy is compatible with the type of business you want to run and the industry in which you will be working. You need to choose the strategy that will be right for your particular business. Your business strategy will be the overall strategy that you use to shape and run your business. It may incorporate a number of smaller missions, plans or goals that set out what you want to achieve with your business. These may relate to your business focus, the differentiation of your business from its competitors, or the other factors that will determine what makes your business a success. A pioneer business is one that is creating a new product, or developing something new, and, which is therefore based upon innovation. If you want to follow this type of strategy, then you will need to continue creating new products and offering new services in Leeds University, so you will need to make sure that you have the necessary resources for this kind of innovation. If your business strategy will be to set up a business as a follower rather than a pioneer, you will be entering into a field that has already been established by other businesses. This will offer certain advantages since you will be able to exploit services which have already been created and proven successful. However, it will mean that you will need to be ready to take on the competition. In order to increase your chances of success as you enter an established market as a follower, you may want to focus your business strategy on a particular niche. You can choose to offer a broad range of products or services, although this will open you up to a large number of different competitors and it is likely to require more resources. Alternatively, you can focus on a particular, specialized niche or area of business, such as the sale of a particular service. Another important consideration when you are choosing your business strategy is the type of market which you would like to target. The types of products and services that you want to offer and the customers you will need to appeal to may vary a great deal in value, from high end to low end products. You should decide which end of the market you want to target, taking into consideration your skills, experience and resources as well as the characteristics of each type of market. In order to make the right choice of business strategy, you will need to consider a number of different factors, such as the resources that you have available, the opportunities that are available in the market and the types of skills and experience that you are able to take advantage of, both in yourself and in your employees. When you are choosing your business strategy, you should consider the future of your business as well as your current resources and situation. You may want to think about the long-term potential of your business strategy and how it may develop and change as your business grows. Your business strategy can change over time, but it is still important to ensure that you choose the right strategy for the present, in order to ensure that you achieve the success you need now before you can think about growth and expansion into new areas of the market. 4.1 Compare the Roles and responsibilities for strategy implementation? Task: Evaluate the function and the day-to-day job for plan execution of Leeds University. The key to a successful execution is alignment. Strategy, people, and day to day work processes need to be effectively linked. The strategic plan must be understood by the entire organization, the right people need to be in the right jobs to allow for maximum work performance, and action plans must be developed, implemented, and reviewed. A common issue is that individuals within the various departments in an organization may view the goals and objectives of the company very differently. Where a communication vacuum exists, Sales, Manufacturing and Finance may view a singular priority very differently. This miscommunication between functional silos can be very counterproductive. To effectively align strategy, people, and the tactical action plans that lead to a successful execution, a lot of hard work and diligent communication must happen. We cannot communicate too much guiding an entire organization to the same place takes consistent repetition for the message to stick permanently in the minds and hearts of employees. Another critical point is that plan execution is a process, not a specific step. There is no discrete beginning or end. Markets and competitors are ever-changing. Although the broad strategy and direction should not waver, what things get done, and in what order, will evolve due to changing conditions in the world around us. Then we evaluate and adapt and to gain traction and ground on the competition. As the world changes, communication, once again, is very important to minimize any confusion within the ranks. The bottom line is that effective execution is difficult. There are formidable roadblocks, hurtles, and changing dynamics that get in the way and can injure the implementation of a good strategy. But well run businesses do this all the time, although there is no singular process to manage the execution of a business plan, there are basic processes and fundamentals to be followed. 1) Once the broad Mission, Vision and strategy for the organization has been established, focusing on its core competencies, specific quantifiable goals to support the strategy must be formulated. 2) The organization must be evaluated. Do you have the right people with the right skills in the right jobs? Should human resources be reallocated? Do you have the right number of employees in the appropriate departments? 3) Identify the key initiatives and broad actions that must be accomplished to achieve this strategy. Identify the transitional issues, or the gaps, between where you are today and where you plan to be. Push the initiatives throughout the organization. They must be consistently understood in all functional departments. Every employee needs to understand their individual role in accomplishing some aspect of the plan. 4) Develop a budget to support the plan. This may be an iterative process until the right combination of strategy, tactics, and financial prudence is achieved. 5) Communicate! Get the message out to the entire organization. Develop compensation and reward systems to support the future Vision of the organization. Create decision filters that help guide the organization through a thought process for those times when the organization wrestles with a concept that may stray from its strategy. 6) Establish a review process. As the markets, customers, competitors, government regulations, economy, etc. evolve, some priorities, and possibly some goals, may change. Go back to the beginning, review each step, and determine if further changes are necessary. 4.2 Evaluate resource requirements to implement a new strategy for a given organization? Task: Assess what type of resource requirements are needed to implement a new strategy for the Leeds For Leeds University which have a plan in place, wasting time and energy on the planning process and then not implementing the plan is very discouraging.   Although the topic of implementation may not be the most exciting thing to talk about, its a fundamental business practice thats critical for any strategy to take hold. The strategic plan addresses the what and why of activities, but implementation addresses the who, where, when, and how. The fact is that both are critical to success. In fact, companies can gain competitive advantage through implementation if done effectively.   In the following sections, you discover how to get support for your complete implementation plan. All components must be in place in order to move from creating the plan to activating the plan. People The first stage of implementing your plan is to make sure to have the right people on board. The right people include those folks with required competencies and skills that are needed to support the plan. In the months following the planning process, expand employee skills through training, recruitment, or new hires to include new competencies required by the strategic plan. Resources You need to have sufficient funds and enough time to support implementation.   Often, true costs are underestimated or not identified. True costs can include a realistic time commitment from staff to achieve a goal, a clear identification of expenses associated with a tactic, or unexpected cost overruns by a vendor. Additionally, employees must have enough time to implement what may be additional activities that they arent currently performing. Structure Set your structure of management and appropriate lines of authority, and have clear, open lines of communication with your employees. A plan owner and regular strategy meetings are the two easiest ways to put a structure in place. Meetings to review the progress should be scheduled monthly or quarterly, depending on the level of activity and time frame of the plan. Systems Both management and technology systems help track the progress of the plan and make it faster to adapt to changes. As part of the system, build milestones into the plan that must be achieved within a specific time frame. A scorecard is one tool used by many organizations that incorporates progress tracking and milestones. Culture Create an environment that connects employees to the organizations mission and that makes them feel comfortable. To reinforce the importance of focusing on strategy and vision, reward success. Develop some creative positive and negative consequences for achieving or not achieving the strategy.   The rewards may be big or small, as long as they lift the strategy above the day-to-day so people make it a priority. 4.3 Discuss targets and timescales for achievement in a given organization to monitor a given strategy? Task: Discuss the targets and timescale needed for the University of Leeds to achieve its vision of securing a place in the top 50 universities of the World by implementing the above strategy. A key strategic objective for the University of Leeds is to secure a place among the top 50 universities in the world by 2015. To achieve this, the University will have to develope a number of initiatives to support the further development of core activities such as research, learning, teaching and knowledge transfer. Supporting each of these core activities are university staff and resource, whose further development is critical to enabling the Universitys primary objective can be achieved effectively. According to Leeds university official website, The University has engaged in a wave of modern expansion since 2008, and has invested more than  £300  million in transforming its campus over the coming years, resulting in new state-of-the-art educational, research, residential and leisure facilities with a further  £80  million being spent to improve current assets. The programme of this expansion being one of the biggest capital investment projects in British higher education. Its overarching vision is to provide staff and students with a world-class campus which is integral to the universitys ambition and vision of securing a place among the worlds top 50 universities The University of Leeds, having selected Jadu Content Management following an extensive formal tendering process, are currently implementing enterprise web content management across the Universitys faculties. The Jadu CMS system, which has been integrated with the Universitys LUMINIS student portal system and Google Search Appliance (GSA), will form the basis of all online publishing at the University over the next 10 years. Scenario: A manager might want to speed up the process of team development to the performing stage. Given the uncertainties and conflict of the storming stage, it might also seem apparent that team spirit and solidarity should be developed as soon as possible. So how do you build a team? Question 5: (Covers some elements of assessment criteria 4.1 and getting merit M2)) Read the following statements and decide to which category they belong (forming, storming, norming, performing, doming and justify your answer with reasons. -Two of the group arguing as to whose idea is best. Storming Storming is characterized by competition and conflict within the team as members learn to bend and mold their feelings, ideas, attitudes, and beliefs to suit the team organization. Although conflicts may or may not surface as group issues, they do exist. Questions about who is responsible for what, what the rules are, what the reward system is, and what the evaluation criteria are arising. These questions reflect conflicts over leadership, structure, power, and authority. Because of the discomfort generated during this stage, some members may remain completely silent, while others attempt to dominate. Members have an increased desire for structural clarification and commitment. In order to progress to the next stage, team members must move from a testing-and-proving mentality to a problem-solving mentality. Listening is the most helpful action team members and the team leader can take to resolve these issues. -Progress becomes static performing The performing stage is not reached by all teams. Those teams that do reach this stage not only enjoy team members who work independently but also support those who can come back together and work interdependently to solve problems. A team is at its most productive during this stage. Team members are both highly task-oriented and highly people-oriented during this stage. The team is unified: Team identity is complete, team morale is high, and team loyalty is intense. The task function becomes genuine problem solving, leading to optimal solutions and optimum team development. There is support for experimentation in solving problems, and an emphasis on achievement. The overall goal is productivity through problem solving and work -Desired outputs being achieved. Norming When the team moves into the norming stage, they are beginning to work more effectively as a team. They are no longer focused on their individual goals, but rather are focused on developing a way of working together (processes and procedures). They respect each others opinions and value their differences. They begin to see the value in those differences on the team. Working together as a team seems more natural. In this stage, the team has agreed on their team rules for working together, how they will share information and resolve team conflict, and what tools and processes they will use to get the job done. The team members begin to trust each other and actively seek each other out for assistance and input. Rather than compete against each other, they are now helping each other to work toward a common goal. The team members also start to make significant progress on the project as they begin working together more effectively. -Shy member of group not participating. Forming The forming stage takes place when the team first meets each other. In this first meeting, team members are introduced to each. They share information about their backgrounds, interests and experience and form first impressions of each other. They learn about the project they will be working on, discuss the projects objectives/goals and start to think about what role they will play on the project team. They are not yet working on the project. They are, effectively, feeling each other out and finding their way around how they might work together. During this initial stage of team growth, it is important for the team leader to be very clear about team goals and provide clear direction regarding the project. The team leader should ensure that all of the members are involved in determining team roles and responsibilities and should work with the team to help them establish how they will work together (team norms.) The team is dependent on the team leader to guide them. -Activities being allocated. Forming During the forming stage, team members not only get to know each other but also familiarize themselves with their task and with other individuals interested in the project, such as supervisors. At the end of the forming stage, team members should know the following: The projects overall mission The main phases of the mission The resources at their disposal A rough project schedule Each members project responsibilities A basic set of team rules Scenario: The Griswold cutlery Company is an old established firm, selling high quality stainless steel cutlery to markets in the UK, France and Germany. It is based in Sheffield. The managing director, Mr. Paul Griswold, great grandson of the firms founder, has just taken over from his father, Matthew Griswold. Matthew Griswold was a manager of the old school. As the boss, he liked to exert power and employees were afraid to disagree with him. He encouraged strict conformance to company procedures: rules are rules, they are there to be followed, and I dont like changing them. Question: 6 (Covers some elements of assessment criteria 4.2 and getting merit D1)) Paul Griswold wants to introduce MBO. Do you think this will be an easy task? Justify your answer with reasons. I will give my opinion at the end of the answers but first the Definition of MBO: MBO is one of the rational school of managements successful products.                                                                                                       The Economist Management by objectives (MBO) is a systematic and organized approach that allows management to focus on achievable goals and to attain the best possible results from available resources. It aims to increase organizational performance by aligning goals and subordinate objectives throughout the organization. Ideally, employees get strong input to identify their objectives, time lines for completion, etc. MBO includes ongoing tracking and feedback in the process to reach objectives. Management by Objectives (MBO) was first outlined by Peter Drucker in 1954 in his book The Practice of Management. In the 90s, Peter Drucker himself decreased the significance of this organization management method, when he said: Its just another tool. It is not the great cure for management inefficiency. Features of MBO: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Management by Objectives is a philosophy or a system, and not merely technique. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  It emphasizes participative goal setting. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  It clearly defines each individual responsibility in terms of results. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  If focuses attention on what must be accomplished (goals0 rather than on how it is to be accomplished. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  It converts objective needs into personal goals at every level in the organization. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  It establishes standards or yardsticks (goals) as operation guides and also as basis of performance evaluation. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is a system intentionally directed toward effective and efficient attainment of organizational and personal goals. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  MBO process (or management by Objective cycle or key elements of management by Objectives or minimum requirements     of        management by objectives. Steps in MBO: What are the steps involved in the process of MBO? The basic steps that are common in all the processes of management by objective (MBO) are:- 1. Central goal setting: defining and verifying organizational objectives is the first step in MBO process. Generally these objectives are set by central management of the organization but it does so after consulting other managers. Before setting of these objectives, an extensive assessment of the available resources is made by the central management. It also conducts market service and research along with making a forecast. Through this elaborate analysis, the desired long run and short run objectives of the organization are highlighted. The central management tries to make these objectives realistic and specific. After setting these goals it is the responsibility of the management that these are known to all members and are also under stood by them. 2. Development and individual goal setting: After organization objectives are established by the central management, the next step is to establish the department goals. The top management needs to discuss these objectives with the heads of the departments so that mutually agreed upon objectives are established. Long range and short range goals are set by each department in consultation with the top management. After the department goals are established, the employees work with their managers to establish their own individual goals which relate with the organization goals. These participative goals are very important because it has been seen that employees become highly motivated to achieve the objectives established by them. These objectives for individuals should be specific and short range. These should indicate the capability of the unit of the individual. Through this process all the members of the organization become involved in the process of goal setting. 3. Revision of job description: In the process of MBO resetting individual goals involves a revision of job description of different positions in the organization which in turn requires the revision of the entire structure of the organization. The organization manuals and charts may also have to be modified to portray the changes that have been introduced by the process of MBO. The job description has to define the objectives, authority and responsibility of different jobs. The connection of one job with all other jobs of the organization also needs to be established clearly. 4. Matching goals: The establishment of objectives cannot be fruitful unless the resources and means required to achieve these objectives are provided. Therefore the subordinates should be provided required tools and materials which enable them to achieve the objectives efficiently and effectively. Resource requirements can be measured precisely if the goals are set precisely. This makes the process of resource allocation relatively easy. Resource allocation should be made after consulting the subordinates. 5. Freedom implementation: The task team of manager and his subordinates should be given freedom in deciding the way to utilize their resources and the way to achieve their objectives. There should be very little or no interference by the seniors as long as the team is working within the framework of organization policies. 6. Establishing check points: The process of MBO requires regularly meetings between the managers and their subordinates to discuss the progress achieve in the accomplishment of the objective established for the subordinates. For this purpose the mangers need to establish the standards of performance or check points to evaluate the progress of their subordinates. These standards need to be specified as for as possible quantitatively and it should also be ensured that these are completely understood by the subordinates. This practices needs to be followed by all managers and these should lead to an analysis of key results has the targets are represented in terms of the results. The analysis of key results should be recorded in writing and it generally contains information regarding : (I) the overall objectives related with the job of subordinates. (ii) The key results which must be achieved by the subordinate to fulfil his objectives. (iii) The long term and short term priorities, a subordinate needs to adhere to. (iv.) The extent and scope of assistance expected by a subordinate from his superior and other departmental managers and also the assistance, the subordinates is required to extend to other departments of his organizations. (v.) Nature of information and the reports receive by the subordinate to carry out self evaluation. (vi.) The standards use to evaluate the performance of the subordinate. 7. Performance appraisal: An informal performance appraisal is generally conducted in routine by the manager; a periodic review of performance of the subordinates should also be conducted. Periodic reviews are required as the priorities and conditions change constantly and need to be monitored constantly. These reviews help the mangers as well as the subordinates to modify the objectives or the methods whenever require. This significantly increases the chances of achieving the goals and also ensures that no surprises are found at the time of final appraisal. Periodic performance appraisal needs to be based on measurable and fair standards so that these are completely understood by the subordinates and there are also aware of the degree of performance required at each step. 8. Counselling: Periodic performance review helps the subordinates in improving his future performance. Advantages of MBO: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MBO programs continually emphasize what should be done in an organization to achieve organizational goals. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MBO process secures employee commitment to attaining organizational goals. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Motivation Involving employees in the whole process of goal setting and increasing employee empowerment increases employee job satisfaction and commitment. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Better communication and Coordination Frequent reviews and interactions between superiors and subordinates helps to maintain harmonious relationships within the enterprise and also solve many problems faced during the period. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Clarity of goals With MBO, came the concept of SMART goals i.e. goals that are: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Specific 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Measurable 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Achievable 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Relevant, and 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Time bound. The goals thus set are clear, motivating and there is a linkage between organizational goals and performance targets of the employees. Disadvantages of MBO: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It over-emphasizes the setting of goals over the working of a plan as a driver of outcomes. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It underemphasizes the importance of the environment or context in which the goals are set. That context includes everything from the availability and quality of resources, to relative buy-in by leadership and stake-holders à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Companies evaluated their employees by comparing them with the ideal employee. Trait appraisal only looks at what employees should be, not at what they should do. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It did not address the importance of successfully responding to obstacles and constraints as essential to reaching a goal. Conclusion: The use of MBO needs to be carefully aligned with the culture of the organization. While MBO is not as fashionable as it was before the empowerment fad, it still has its place in management today. Because in mbo the objectives are discussed and agreed, based upon a more strategic picture being available to employees. Engagement of employees in the objective setting process is seen as a strategic advantage by many. So in my opinion its very different process from how The Griswold cutlery Company used to be managed and I dont think I will be an easy task, but if achieved it will be very rewarding Scenario: Hall Faull Downes Ltd has been in business for 25 years, during which time profits have risen by an average of 3% per annum, although there have been peaks and troughs in profitability due to the ups and downs of trade in the customers industry. The increase in profits until five years ago was the result of increasing sales in a buoyant market, but more recently, the total market has become somewhat smaller and Hall Faull Downes has only increased sales and profits as a result of improving its market share. The company produces components for manufacturers in the engineering industry. In recent years, the company has developed many new products and currently has 40 items in its range compared to 24 only five years ago. Over the same five year period, the number of customers has fallen from twenty to nine, two of whom together account for 60% of the companys sales. Question: 7 A. (Covers some elements of assessment criteria 2.1 and getting merit D2)) Give your appraisal of the companys future, My personal opinion of Hall Faull Downes future is the we will see: #1 a decrease in profit over the next few years which will lead to the lowering the average of 3% growth per annum #2 the company will lose of its customer base over time therefore It will lose even more substantial market share #3 the company is in risk if both or one of the two customers that account for 60% of their business sales decided to pull out from trading with hall Faull Downes #4 the number of clients may continue to drop and we might see the business offer even more products in its range which could mean that the business may become non-specialized, finally the company could branch out from producing just components in the engineering industry. And if the business doesnt make some changes, it might run into major financial problems, which in this economy state could mean bankruptcy for Hall Faull Downed And suggest what it is probably doing wrong #1 the decreasing market share, Market share is the number one health indicator for your company. If it is flat or worse yet falling, you have a serious problem on your hands. So you need to develop techniques that can help you reverse this problem and ensure that this trend does not surprise your company again. #2 the increase in the range of products the company produce, While carrying a wide range of products may at first sound like a great idea because your business may appeal to a variety of customers, chances are this will backfire unless you have a business model that is designed to carry lots of products (think variety stores or stores such as Wal-Mart or Target). Most companies have specific business models when they are launched and if your business isnt designed or marketed to be non-specialized, carrying a wide range of products is likely going to have the opposite desired effect and put your business at a huge disadvantage. A business that attempts to sell a plethora of products is going to need a strategic plan to support the rationale for carrying a wide range of products. Most of the time, this reason doesnt exist. The reason for this is because by offering too large a variety of products, you eliminate the specialization factor and this is usually one of the best strategies to increase business and grow your customer base. A business that tries to gra