Business improvement and creativity for PUMA company Essay

Business improvement and creativity for PUMA company - Essay Example The PUMA company owns the brands Tretorn, Cobra Golf and the brand PUMA. The company, which was incepted in 1948 distributes its services in over 120 countries, staffs more than 11000 workers and has headquarters in Hong Kong, Boston and Herzogenaurach in Germany. This paper applies Kotter’s 8 Stage Change Model approach to summarize business improvements of PUMA Company. A focused and informative analysis of the theory is done with the aid of a diagram analysis. The analysis of the theory is based on its weaknesses and strengths and case analysis of PUMA organization. Challenges, impact sustainability, resistance, current strategy, turnover, profit and audit are key points discussed in the paper in respect to PUMA’s case study. Finally, the paper provides recommendations in view of what the company should do to support sustained improvement and success. Focused and Informative Theory Analysis Kotter’s 8 Stage Change Model: Step one of this model stresses on the need to create urgency. In order for change to occur, in an organization, the entire management must embrace the change (Schacter, 2002). Developing a sense of urgency around the needed anticipated change helps in sparkling the motivation to have things done (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993). This step encompasses identifying potential threats and developing scenarios, which indicate what, is likely to happen in the future, examining opportunities to be exploited, requesting support from customers, and stakeholders and providing dynamics and reasons to get people thinking and talking. In order for the change to be effective, 75 percent of the management need buy into the idea. Therefore, significant energy and time is required for building urgency prior moving to the next stage. Stage two is the form of a powerful coalition, which involves convincing participants that change is necessary. This point requires visible and strong leadership from senior people within the organization. Tom (1 982) argues that to effect change, bringing together influential people or a coalition from various professions remains critical. After the formation of the coalition, it should operate as a team by continuing to build momentum and urgency around the need for change (Hersey and Blanchard, 1977). Step three demands creation of a vision necessary for change. Solutions and great ideas should be linked to an overall vision, which people can easily remember and understand (Madaza and Agere, 1999). A central vision helps members to understand the importance of their contribution (Deal and Kennedy, 1982). The leaders should therefore establish the values, which are crucial to the change, develop a summary, which captures the organization’s vision, practice the vision speech, create a strategy to implement the vision and ascertain the member fully comprehend the vision. Stage four is centered on communicating the vision. Communicating the vision frequently is indispensable at the sli ghtest opportunity that arises (Hammer and Stanton, 1995). The newly created vision should be applied daily to solve problems and when making decisions. This helps member to remember to the contents of the vision and apply in their departments. For the leaders, walking the talk is critical in demonstrating

Benefits of Reading Essay Example for Free

Benefits of Reading Essay Most of us have been exposed to reading since we were young but not many of us have the habit of reading for leisure. Most students read only because they have to study for their examinations but reading is not only limited to study materials. It is fun to read storybooks, novels, magazines, comics, newspapers and other reading material that is of interest to us. Reading is a good hobby. It is a form of pastime which brings many benefits. Reading trains our minds to be more imaginative. It also helps us to process new information faster and develop our ability to understand how other people think and feel. People who love to read are more open to new ideas. Thus, we can train our minds to think faster and more efficiently if we read more. We also can improve our awareness of the current events worldwide by reading newspaper. Besides improving our general knowledge, knowing what is going on around us, will also help us socialize with others by discussing the current issues with them. Nowadays, we need not solely rely to newspapers for news. We can also read real-time news online via the internet. Many news networks update the information on their websites every hour just to keep the readers updated with the latest events. Reading is important to help us to improve our language proficiency. By exposing ourselves to the proper use of language, we can improve our grammar and vocabulary. By reading, we would also enhance our understanding of world usage in different contexts. Therefore, we can eventually improve to our writing and speaking skills. The benefits of reading are numerous. It is also a cheap activity as we can go to the library to borrow books for free. We could also exchange books with our friends. This will help us save a lot of money. Some people prefer to buy their books so that they can keep them in their collection. As book are a source of knowledge, spending money to acquire them is not a waste, it is a form of investment.

Learning Relationships And Communication

Learning Relationships And Communication In this essay I will explain and discuss how motivation is one of the most important factors that influence learning, relationships and communication in the classroom. The responsibility for creating a positive learning atmosphere lies almost entirely with the teacher and motivated students make this process a lot easier. Motivation also plays a critical role in developing relationships in the classroom, both teacher and student motivation. I will also discuss in greater detail later of the importance of involving the parent or carer in building these relationships and how this enhances these relationships. The ability of the teacher to communicate both verbally and non-verbally with their students is hugely important and is the cornerstone on which effective learning is built. Motivation again is a hugely significant factor in this communication process, as a motivated teacher communicates well with their students and a motivated teacher leads to the development of motivated student s. A positive learning environment is one of the most basic requirements in order for meaningful learning to occur in a classroom (Kyriacou, 2009). A positive learning atmosphere is one where the students are comfortable, hold confidence in their teacher, and feel a sense of trust and respect for one another. In order to enhance learning lessons must be organised and the teacher must plan for the use teaching methods that encourage students to become actively involved in learning. This can be done by also varying the curriculum and finding out what our students interests are, giving them motivation to learn. Teachers need to challenge themselves to use different teaching methods to stimulate pleasure in learning and consequently tackle boredom. The introduction of new educational approaches such as projects and investigative work will allow time for pupils to report back on what they learnt and support this process. A study by Kaplan et al. (2002) found that the level of disruptive beha viour by pupils tended to be higher in those classrooms where the pupils felt that the demonstration of ability and doing better than others was the dominant value compared with classrooms where the pupils felt that the dominant values were learning, understanding and improving ones own performance. Kyriacou (2007) suggests the teacher needs to be relaxed, warm, caring, enthusiastic, patient, and supportive and possess a sense of humor. To create this atmosphere, the teacher must engage the students as soon as the class commences. The classroom climate established by the teacher can have a major impact on pupils motivation levels and attitudes towards learning. Remind students at the start of every lesson that the type of attitude they bring into the classroom will have a huge influence on the learning that takes place during that class (Cullinford, 2003). Motivation plays a huge role in creating this positive learning atmosphere. According to Erickson (1978) the majority of students respond positively to a well-organized course taught by a motivated and motivating teacher that has a caring genuine interest in what they learn. Erickson (1978) further suggests whatever level of motivation your students bring to the classroom will influence the level of learning. As teachers we need to ask ourselves the question are our students motivated to learn, or are they just encaged in learning and what have we done as teachers to contribute to this? Cluck and Hess (2003) explains that in order to help and motivate learners we need to help them develop their own learning strategies. We can do this by teaching them to how to use their own learning styles, implementing cooperative learning, encourage pupil to choose how they learn, and use techniques informed by multiple intelligences. When this is done pupils showed increased motivation in class wo rk, improved assignment completion, class participation, and engagement in learning. Thus, Cluck and Hess (2003) feel these teaching strategies are positive in improving the students attitudes towards learning. They also suggest that the use of extrinsic rewards such as goals, grades, assessment and tangible rewards would be less productive in developing motivation. Building relationships has lifelong lasting effects for the students and will motivate them to become involved in their learning. If we can build good relationships with our students it will also help them to build good relationships outside of school and when they leave school. There are a number of things that are very important when we are trying to build relationships with our pupils, such as calling the pupils by their first name, try and find out what common interest you hold and make it your business before each class to have a friendly conversation on the topic. According to Regan Morrissey (2012) how the educator creates a positive learning atmosphere is of critical importance in building relationships and encouraging students. Something that contributes to this is the teachers manner, their verbal and nonverbal communication and how they move around the classroom. Creating a positive classroom climate shows how much effort you as a teacher feel is worthwhile putting into th e lesson. A teacher needs to feel relaxed and confident in their own ability to generate a genuine interest in the lesson. Parents are crucial to building relationships with students and once these relationships are formed we need to be able to maintain them and use them to our advantage. We should use parent/teacher meetings to gain knowledge of our students parent and as PE teachers, the parents interests especially in the sporting world. This can provide a foundation we can use to entice these parents to become involved in extracurricular activities. Kyricau (2007) explains the importance of the role of parents and carers and the need for teachers to be able to communicate effectively with parents and carers and to recognise and respect the role that parents and carers can make to the development of pupils well-being and to raising pupils levels of attainment. Maintaining relationships with the parents also has a massive knock on effect to their siblings as it establishes a relat ionship for those who may be entering the school in future (Duck and Pittman, 1994). Communication according to Tubbs et al (2011)) is broadly defined as the sharing of experience with as much as 75% of our entire conscious day being spent engaged in communication. The communication model developed by ibid (2011) suggests communication is a sensitive area and messages between two people can easily be misunderstood as channels and elements of interference can send mixed messages. As communication is such an important part of learning an essential ingredient to becoming a successful and competent teacher is to be an effective communicator. Communication is closely associated with self-identity and Hattie Timperley (2007) believe it is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement. Teachers must be aware of their verbal and non-verbal methods of communication with students in order to create an open, productive and honest learning environment. Marzano (2007) believes that communication is the single most critically important issue a teacher has to con sider. A PE teacher needs to be aware of how to communicate both verbally and non-verbally in a high quality manner to maximize the learning of the students. Teachers need to learn how to use such things as eye contact, facial expressions, hand gestures and body language as tools for communication in the classroom. The use of eye contact and facial expressions reduces the amount of verbal communication the teacher has to use in a class and is very useful in such a loud environment as the PE class. The use hand signals can be adopted to relay positive encouragement to students who are doing something well. An example of this is thumbs up or a clap to acknowledge something that a student has done well. To communicate with students we need to be sensitive to their need and listen critically to what they have to say, not thinking of answers until the student has finished the question. A teacher must be able to communicate to their students in order to help them to become independent learners de velop their ability to grow and develop responsibly. Im a firm believer that communicating encouragement, verbally and non-verbally to the students is the best form of motivation. I am conscious on my Monday placements of creating a positive classroom climate by communicating in this manner. I constantly scan the gym, forever interacting, motivating the students, constantly praising and encouraging but with total honest and respect. Respect towards the students is everything and it is almost guaranteed that any student teacher who respects their students will see the students develop a healthy level of respect towards the teacher. Wragg and Wood (1984) suggest that studies have proved how important positive communication is in the first few lessons with a new class. It is crucial to establishing a positive learning environment which has already been discussed as a key factor in developing student motivation. Listening according to Tubbs et al (2011) is a complex process involving hearing, attention, understanding, and remembering. Gamble and Gamble (1994) further suggest that becoming a competent teacher means we must teach our students to listen stating that Listening is more than a philosophy, its vital for our future. To become an effective teacher we must develop and display strong listening skills to portray to our pupils the importance we place on the process. Listening can be something we take for granted, however listening is an intricate skill and requires training. We in the teaching profession must encourage and provide opportunities for students to practice listening activities and spend more time on this ever important communication skill. A motivated teacher enhances the listening skills of their students and allows students the time and opportunity to develop these listening skills. The question needs to be addressed why we often hear of poor listening as a problem. The pr imary reasons are a lack of motivation and the appropriate listening skills (Tubbs et al 2011), who state that of the four communication skills reading writing, speaking, and listening, listening has received the least attention from educators. To become a component, caring teacher I must acquire excellent listening skills. From the readings and from my life experiences I am able to relate to my own personal listening skills especially on the Monday placements. I must pay attention to what the students are saying and not to focus on having an answer before listening to the rest of the question. I must stop answering the questions if the students dont know the answer, and take time to listen display some aerobic listening and think of CARE, (Concentrate Acknowledge, Respect and Empathize). We as teachers must keep asking questions to our students, and when they speak out, give them the respect to provide your 100% attention. In order to enhance our listening skills we as student teachers are in favorable position on our Monday placement to practice focusing on the message sender and refraining from giving an opinion too quickly. I must respect that listening is a complex process and has to be trained and practiced similar to any skill. I need be patient with the learning process to enable me to pass on the skill of the ability to listen to my students. Aristotle once said that we have two ears and but one tongue so that we may listen more than we speak. This is something that I will always try to remember in my role as a teacher.

Macbeth: Not All Men Are Heroic :: essays research papers

Macbeth: Not All Men Are Heroic Macbeth was written while when Scotland lacked a good Leader to defend it from a Norwasian invasion. During this dangerous situation, Macbeth stood out as the most commanding figure by defeating the rebel army. His thrill towards the witches' prophecies all confirmed his hopes of becoming the King and replacing King Duncan, who lacked the power and courage to save his country from this invasion. In this essay, I will discuss Macbeth during the many experiences that he had faced and come across and I will show how these experiences and pressures that he faced helped with the conclusion and theme of the play which yet has to be understood. The first signs that tell us of Macbeth's thoughts of becoming King were found when the King proclaimed his son, Malcolm, the heir to the Scottish throne, and Macbeth considered murder to overcome this obstacle that would prevent him from becoming the King. The prince of Cumberland! That is a step On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be, Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. (Act 1:Scene 4:ln.55) When Lady Macbeth heard of her husband's success and read the letter, we almost immediately feel that a new source of power had appared in the drama. Her words reflected a great knowledge of her husband and her practical approach to problems as seen in the following two verses. Glacis thou art, and Cowdor, and shalt be What thou are promised. Yet do I fear thy nature. It is too full o' the milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great; Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it. What though wouldst highly, That wouldst though holily;wouldst not play false And yet wouldst wrongly win. Thou'ldst have, great Glacis That which cries"Thus though must do,"if though have it; And that which rather thou dost fear to do Than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crowned withal. (Act 1:Scene 5:ln.14 O, never Shall sun that morrow see! Your face, my thane, is a book where men May read strange matters. To beguile the time, Look like the time;bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue, look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under't.

Natural disasters are often not natural Essay

Natural disasters are often not natural disasters, but are in fact human disasters. Discuss this statement in relation to seismic events. The word ‘natural’ indicates that humans have not caused the disaster. However, human activity can certainly interfere with nature, which in turn may either cause a natural disaster or make its effects much worse. Earthquakes can affect people in many different ways in countries all over the world. They are a product of intense seismic activity where plates are interacting, at a destructive of transform faults, particularly leading to a build up of tension below the Earths surface. When this tension is released the buildings, bridges, pipes etc which lie in the line of the seismic waves can often not withstand the force and strain of the earthquakes and can potentially harm people. However is it the people’s fault that the earthquake occurred in the first place? Earthquakes induced by human activity have been documented in a few locations in the YSA, Japan and Canada. The cause was injection of fluids into deep wells for waste disposal and secondary recovery of oil, and the use of reservoirs for water supplies. Most of these earthquakes however were minor. The largest and most widely known resulted from fluid injection at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver, Colorado. For decades scientists have been researching induced seismicity, or how human activity can cause earthquakes. Such a link gained attention in the early 1960s when hundreds of quakes were recorded in Colorado after the Army began injecting fluid into a disposal well. There are many ways human activity can trigger earthquakes. In the 1930s for example, the construction of Hoover Dam in Arizona unleashed a burst of seismic activity in the vicinity that reached a magnitude of 5 on the Richter scale. Geothermal- energy projects have been known to make the ground shake. This process involves pumping pressurised water a mile into the Earth, then sucking up the heated liquid to make steam and drive turbines to generate electricity. A dam cannot cause an earthquake by itself. The risk factors, specifically unstable fault lines, have to be there already. With the right conditions in place, though, a dam can trigger the event earlier than would have happened naturally, and perhaps even increase its magnitude. ‘Human engineering has been triggering earthquakes for more than half a century’ says Leonardo Seeber, professor at Lamont-  Doherty Earth Observatory, and manmade quakes may be more common than acknowledged. However Dr. Seeber says that ‘distinguishing natural from triggered earthquakes is generally difficult’ he said ‘Agents triggering the earthquake often refuse to admit responsibility and make it difficult to obtain the data that could prove it’. Even a smell stress increase can cause a fault to fail, Dr Seeber said: humans tend to do it in two ways. One is by changing the load on the crust, typically with artificial lakes, which increase the load, and with quarries and oil fields, which decrease the load. The other ways is increasing the pressure of the interstitial fluid. This isn’t to say that all earthquakes are caused by humans. They are typically natural occurrences. They’re most often caused by the shifting of plates of rock under the surface od the earth. These plates move along fault lines, which are places where the otherwise solid rock of Earth’s crust has cracked. When the plates slide against each other, or away from each other, the Earth vibrates violently. Less often, earthquakes are caused by natural occurrences like volcanic eruptions. But vibrations felt at the surface of the Earth can also result from Earth-shaking, manmade events like underground bomb testing and mine collapses. In conclusion, my view is for the most part, the accumulating stress that creates the stress build up until it’s great enough to overcome that friction, at which point seismic energy is released violently as the blocks catch up on decade’s worth of motion in just a few seconds is much too large for human activities to make a difference. We can, however, affect the friction that locks up the fault. Hydraulic fracturing, where fluids are pumped into the ground at extremely high pressures to crack rocks that release natural gas and oil, has been shown to do just that in certain situations. Increasing the fluid pressure inside the fault partially de-stabilises the friction-lock, lowering the stress threshold necessary to trigger an earthquake just enough for one to occur. Despite the obvious negative effects that humans have on prematurely causing an earthquake, the natural factors of the earthquake are fundamentally the reason they occur because without these then the earthquake wouldn’t happen. Human impacts speed up and may make the earthquake worse however they are in fact natural disasters with human elements thrown into the equation.  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­

Analytical Essay Sample on All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque

Analytical Essay Sample on All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Remarque tells what happens to a group of German teenagers during World War I. Paul Baumer is the protagonist in the novel who changes from an innocent, inexperienced young man to a hardened disillusioned soldier. It is through his narration that the reader lives through what they experienced. Chapter one introduces each character, theme, and tone for the entire novel and sets up the intent: to illustrate how a generation of men, who though they survived the war physically, were destroyed by it mentally. At the outset, chapter one opens with the narrator, Paul Baumer, returning from the front lines of World War I. The seriousness of war is evident immediately when Baumer relates that out 150 men only eighty return. But on the last day an astonishing number of English heavies opened up on us with high-explosives, drumming ceaselessly on our position, so that we suffered severely and came back only eighty strong (page 2). From this point in the chapter, Paul Baumer introduces the other characters, giving brief descriptions that connect the reader with each individual. This is important because it allows the reader to empathize with what these men went through, to feel their suffering and the horrific experiences of war. Through the narration Kantorek, the schoolmaster and fiercely patriotic man, is recalled. He is the person that inspires Paul Baumer and his band of fellow classmates to enlist. Kantorek, once an idolized man, is now despised because of the erroneous picture he painted for them of going off to war to fight for their country. This realization is presented when Baumer relates, The first bombardment showed us our mistake, and under it the world as they had taught it to us broke in pieces (page 13). The other characters, Leer, Muller, Kropp, Tjaden, Haie Westhus, Detering and Katczinsky are also introduced in this chapter through the story telling of Paul Baumer. The last sentence of chapter one illustrates that each individual, though young numerically, has lost their youth forever. We are none of us more than twenty years old. But young? Youth? That is long ago. We are old folk (page 18). The loss of youth, while still young summarizes the meaning of the lost generation of World War I. The introduction and development of the characters is so intriguing to the reader, that you desire to know what happens to them and are inspired to read on in order to find out. Each person is different, with characteristics that everyone can relate to. The young men entered as patriotic citizens fighting for their homeland, full of dreams and youth, only to have their innocence lost. The opening chapter is key in explaining, through the voice of Baumer, a major theme in All Quiet on the Western Front: the horror of war and its effect on the ordinary soldier. Paul and his fellow classmates were caught between rhetoric from ignorant orators about their responsibility to their country and the reality of a bloody battlefield. Even ones parents were ready with the word Ð ¡coward; no one had the vaguest idea what we were in for (page 11). Trusted individuals were encouraging these young men to volunteer for service. Parents, teachers and leaders of the communities were all instrumental in this band of friends enlisting only to be shattered permanently by the reality of war. Kantorek, their respected and trusted teacher was one in particular who was instrumental in the entire class enlisting. During drill-time Kantorek gave us long lectu res until the whole of our class went, under his shepherding, to the District Commandant and volunteered (page 11). The first chapter emphasizes the unheroic, unglamorous, horrifying life of a soldier. The reality versus the glamorization by authority figures is relayed completely during that time period. The reality of blood and death, represented by the death of Joseph Behm and the impending death of Kemmerich destroys any ideals that war is glamorous. The death of these two comrades being in the first chapter is significant because it illustrates the brutality and raw truth of war. The lengthy description of using the general latrines further describes how dehumanizing their lives were. It is also an example of the true reality that they lived with each day and demonstrated how unaware Kantorek was. Everything conveys that it is a new sort of war novel; one that reflects exactly what being at war was like. The tone of this novel is one of struggling with the fear of death, struggling to survive, and dealing with the death of their comrades and others around them. The routine way that Paul describes events that happen set a tone of someone that is detached and retelling a nightmare. This detachment from reality must take over in order to get through it. The fact that half of his company was killed is related in a way that is very casual. Almost, a look on the bright side, we get more food. Then for once well have enough (page 4). When Paul and his fellow soldiers go to see Kemmerich they discuss what is going to happen to his boots because they know that he is not going to live. Muller even matches them to his shoe size. He matches their soles against his own clumsy boots (page 16). Kemmerich has had one leg amputated, is dying, and will have no need for them any longer. It is a serious novel and it is expressed at the outset. The author states in the forward, This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. A great deal of the setting of the novel takes place on the battlefield or in the trenches. Paul and his fellow soldiers live day-to-day dodging bullets and trying to stay alive. All Quiet on the Western Front is a serious novel, not for entertainment, but through the characters that Remarque introduces, the tragedies and realities of war are learned. All Quiet on the Western Front shows the change in attitudes of men before and after the war. The novel portrays the effects that war has on the individual. Each aspect of the novel is addressed in the opening chapter of the book. The introduction of the characters is presented in such a way as to connect the reader to the personalities of this group of young men who volunteered as innocent people and turn into soldiers who struggle each day to survive. The horrifying truths of war are related in this novel and presented right away to the reader, along with the seriousness of battle in the opening chapter. The author attacks those individuals who rally around country and patriotism with their words, but do not have to engage in the war that these young men experienced first hand. The significance of the opening chapter is apparent through the narration of Paul Baumer as he sets the tone, and lays out the theme intended by the author Erich Remarque.