Stereotyping in the Film the Birdcage (1996) free essay sample

With the exception of academics and serious students in film or cultural studies, most movie-goers regard the viewing of films (with the exception – sometimes – of documentaries) as simply an entertainment activity when, very often, central to the experience is the swallowing of messages that the creators of the film wish to advance. Since films are often very expensive to produce, the films that find financial backing must also meet with the approval of a society’s elite, moneyed class. It is most often the case, then, that subtle messages and affirmations about the political, social and personal norms the dominant class wishes to endorse and inculcate are embedded in films that reach a wide segment of the population. Richard Dyer, Professor of Film Studies at Kings College London, in his essay Stereotyping (1), argues that one of the most common methods by which the dominant economic class attempts to reinforce the worldview it wishes to have embraced by the people, is the employment of stereotypes, which are often one-dimensional, static characterizations of people in various social roles or members of classes of people. We will write a custom essay sample on Stereotyping in the Film the Birdcage (1996) or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These stereotypes range from the flattering depiction of Hero or Faithful Servant, for example, to the cartoonish, demonic or depraved portraits of a â€Å"typical† member of a group of people whose behavior or values the dominant class finds antithetical to their interests. Dyer argues that learning to recognize the use of stereotypes in films is provides some self-defense against being oblivious to the attempt to influence one’s thinking and opinions. One such group which has long been the target of such propaganda via stereotyping in films is the homosexual community. It was with the rise of capitalism that homosexuality began to be seen as leading to lifestyles that were not conducive to the provision of good, stable, obedient workers. One of the most influential frameworks for analysis of human relations and the evolution of social norms and political structures from the late 19th century through the present has been Marxist analysis, based on the works of Karl Marx (1818-1883). Dyer employs Marxist analysis, with a nod to sociological terminology (role, individual, type, member) to illustrate that stereotyping in film can occur through the use of iconography â€Å"Iconography is a kind of short-hand—it places a character quickly and economically. P. 32), structurally (â€Å"†¦. by the function of the character in the film’s structure {whether these be static structures, such as the way the film’s world is shown to be organized, materially and ideologically, or dynamic ones, such as plot. P. 33}, and through typing – the opposite of individuation of characters, instead ascribing of attributes to a person based on the idea they are a certain â€Å"type,† and we can understand all we need to know about them by being familiar with that type. While we, generally, think of stereotyping in a negative light, one consideration clearly of great importance to Dyer is the idea that some aspect of typing –insofar as the typing reflects the positive attributes of gay people – should not be discarded entirely, since the recognition for the audience, of some level of commonality in the experience of being gay will serve to illuminate for viewers the struggles faced and the oppression experienced, hopefully leading to more support in the larger society for improved status and equal civil rights for gay people. In analyzing the use of stereotypes in The Birdcage (Mike Nichols, 1996), I will argue that, while the use of stereotypes by the filmmakers was clearly done with the intention of exposing the stupidity of so many of society’s prejudices, the film does not entirely succeed in leaving the audience with anything close to real motivation for re-thinking approval for the established social idea that gays are somehow â€Å"other† and, at best, sympathetic clowns. The audience simply gets its laughs and goes home. A remake of the French film La Cage aux Folles (Jean Poiret and Francis Veber, 1978), Birdcage is set in drag club called The Birdcage in South Beach, Florida. We learn very early in the movie that Armand Goldman, played by Robin Williams, owns the club and his partner, Albert, played by Nathan Lane, appears regularly as Starina, the shows star drag queen. The plot of the movie develops when Armand’s son Val becomes engaged to Barbara Keeley, the daughter of the hypocritical, ultraconservative Republican Ohio Senator Kevin Keeley, who is seeking re-election as the co-founder of the Coalition for Moral Order. In light of the engagement, the young couple decides that it is finally time for the two families to meet. However, Val requests that Armand and Albert must conceal their homosexuality for this meeting. Stereotyping is not just employed in presenting the characters in Birdcage; the sets also are highly stereotyped and function almost as additional characters. The film open s with the camera panning around from the outside the club, and the viewer gets a quick look at the outside environment. They see bright lights in the night, palm trees, and pedestrians milling about the streets or waiting in line, all in scantily clad outfits and bathing suits. Sequences similar to this occur numerous times throughout the movie when showing the outside environment. Whether they’re at the beach or in the streets, day or night, the surrounding people are dressed in skimpy clothing, small bikinis, or Speedos. This aspect of the environment is emphasized when the senator and his family are stuck in traffic right outside of the club, approximately seventy-five minutes into the film. While all the cars are stuck in traffic, people are chaotically climbing in and out of open-roofed cars or roller-skating by. Women and men in skimpy and brightly colored bikinis, thongs, and Speedos continuously pass the senator’s idled car while the family stares, aghast, and Mrs. Keely states, â€Å"This is less like Palm Beach than I imagined. † Despite the fact that no indication is given that there is any special occasion being celebrated in South Beach, the carnival-like atmosphere and setting depicts the gay generated environment in a one-dimensional, stereotyped manner. While the sexual orientations of the pedestrians is not defined, these sequences are stereotypical cues that the sultry, brightly colored, free-wheeling Florida locale surrounding the drag club, an environment where all the citizens present themselves flamboyantly and provocatively through their dress is to be seen as the typical environment for such a club, a â€Å"gay paradise. † The home of Armand and Albert, located above The Birdcage, is abundantly decorated with stereotypically gay ornamentation. Every available surface is purposefully adorned with lit candles, decadent glass sculptures, flouncy lamps, poufed pillows and homoerotic artwork. The walls are either bright yellow or covered in obnoxious, loud, jungle-themed wallpaper. The significance of the iconographically gay character of the setting is emphasized when Val makes clear that the decor poses as big a pitfall for the senator’s visit, as does the presence of drag queen, Albert. Approximately thirty-six minutes into the film, Val insists that they redecorate prior to the Keeley’s arrival. Armand does not understand what is wrong with the decor, and Val points out to a nude sculpture of Neptune, a portrait of a man in drag without his wig, numerous primitive sculptures depicting exaggerated male erections. At first, an offended Armand replies â€Å"But this is art! † and casually turns the erect sculptures around to face the wall, but eventually, out of love for his son, he gives in and clears his home of the many â€Å"gay signaling† items he possesses, completely redesigning it into a setting similar to a Catholic monastery (Armand is Jewish. ). The most ridiculously, screamingly stereotyped character in Birdcage of Armand’s spouse, the drag queen star, Albert. It is no accident that the character, Albert, is the embodiment, not only of the drag queen type, but also of the worst stereotyped version of a woman: shrill, melodramatic, self-absorbed, vain, overly emotional, and prone to hysterics, suspicion and jealousy. The viewer is introduced to him five minutes into the film while he is in a fit of hysterics. Albert, suddenly devastated by the recognition that he is no longer young and beautiful, and convinced Armand is losing interest in him, is extremely upset and refuses to prepare for his nightly stage performance. The audience immediately sees that Albert is overreacting by the melodramatic way he behaves in this scene. As Armand attempts to enter the dressing room, Albert, who was previously hiding under some sheets, wailing and lamenting his sorrows to the couple’s housekeeper Agador, squeals and barricades the door because he doesn’t want Armand to see him in his â€Å"hideous, hideous, fat and hideous† state. Even in the chaos of Armand trying to break into the room, Albert’s shrieks are completely audible over the ruckus. Once Armand enters the room, Albert begins to make melodramatic claim after melodramatic claim: â€Å"I’m in such pain! It’ll never pass! I hate my life. † â€Å"Never mind about me feelings. † â€Å"Don’t use that tone to me†¦that sarcastic, contemptuous tone that means you know everything because you are a man, and I know nothing because I was a woman†, â€Å"I was adorable once, young and full of hope and now look at me! I’m this short, fat, insecure middle-aged little thing! † Such behavior and sentiments are typically attributed to the stereotypical, emotionally unstable and utterly dependent woman, Albert’s character embodies the classically drawn stereotype of a melodramatic, overly emotional, ridiculous gay man who might as well be considered a woman. While Albert’s raging hysterics, melodramatic behavior and â€Å"prissiness† was on full display in this particular scene, his diva-like self-absorption and hysterical reactions are carried throughout the entire film, with the exceptional surprise when he rises to the occasion and â€Å"saves the day,† later in the film Fifty minutes into the film, in an attempt to win the favor of Barbara’s parents, Armand tries to teach Albert how to portray himself as a straight man. This attempt, however, is completely unsuccessful. No matter how hard he tries, Albert cannot walk without swishing his hips while holding out the palms of his hands, his posture is too upright, and the register of his voice is too high. The fact that Albert is incapable of pretending not to be a flamboyant, over-the-top, and extremely feminine person tells the viewer that his â€Å"gay-ness† is what completely defines his entire personality and every aspect of his behavior, and further sets the stereotype in stone. Structurally, the characterization of the relationship between Armand and Albert is reduced by its definition as reflecting a cartoonish parody of the stereotypical traditionally defined roles played by â€Å"husband and wife. † While it is clear that the Albert has a more feminine personality than Armand, the film also depicts Albert as the â€Å"mother† and caretaker of the household. For example, twenty minutes into the film, Armand is silently reading the newspaper and drinking coffee in the kitchen, Albert is feverishly folding the laundry, babbling about matters such as how ratty Val’s shirt is and how he got a pork roast for dinner instead of fillet minion. This scene and many others show how this movie depicts the roles of a gay relationship as being identical to the stereotypical gender roles of a heterosexual couple. There is no question that the creators of this film intentionally employed thoroughly stereotyped characters. There is little to no individual character development whatsoever. However, since these stereotypes are so over-the-top and blatant, there must have been a conscious effort on the part of the filmmakers to feed into such stereotypes. This film is merely a lighthearted nod towards the ridiculous stereotypes that much of society today believes to be completely realistic depictions of homosexuals. Therefore, such obvious stereotyping does not outweigh the comedy or the quality of the film, but rather define it.

The Killing Of Mudeye Essays - Goldfinger, Free Essays, Term Papers

The Killing Of Mudeye Essays - Goldfinger, Free Essays, Term Papers The Killing Of Mudeye READING JOURNAL This novel is about the killing of a small adolescent troubled boy whom was labelled Mudeye because he was a real victim. I think that Ned is guilty because he has made Linton Begg even weaker because he refused to hand out a friendship to Mudeye. He did this because he was to good to be his friend and he didnt want to be payed out for hanging around with someone so low and not liked. Ned, Mudeye and Goldfinger have many things in common that include the desire to be popular, the lack of happiness, they all are smart, they are all rich, Goldfinger and Mudeye both have strengths such as Mudeye being smart at writing and Goldfinger needing to get a better mark. They are all good at their work and they all have problems with insecurity. I think Ned could have saved Linton Begg because he could have become his friend and helped him to be more secure. He also could have stopped people from hurting him mentally as well. Ned didnt help Linton because had his own insecurities and was too selfish to help. The killing of Mudeye is like a game in life and death where people are rewarded or punished. This is because there is a leader of the game, Goldfinger, and he rewards and punishes people. Goldfinger especially does this to Mudeye. He punishes him to excess. When he stole Mudeyes glasses he punished Mudeye by making him beg. He also rewarded him into their group by making him have a joint and getting him sick. The punishment to Mudeye was a reward to Goldfinger. He loved to see people weaker than him. He gained strength from watching them suffer. The novel is largely about jealousy. It is about Ned being jealous of Goldfinger because he is so good and has the best looking girl in the school and Goldfinger is followed by everyone. There is even jealousy of Mudeye from Goldfinger because Mudeye is such a good writer and Goldfinger gets jealous; he makes Mudeye do his work so he can get a better mark. Goldfinger is also jealous because Mudeye is liked more by one of the teachers then Go ldfinger is and so Goldfinger tries to get back at that teacher. He wants to punish them. When Linton Begg writes, I am only born to suffer he is really speaking the truth because his whole life was about suffering and being picked on and not liked by anyone. His life was a total suffering right up to where he hung himself. He had a problem, though it was Schizophrenia, where he heard voices and was always depressed. He was like this because of his parents as well because they didnt like him and didnt care about him. They didnt want him in their lives. Mudeye is killed by his mental disorder but also his insecurity. He really did get the mental disorder because he was so insecure and nobody wanted to know him not even his mother and father. He was alone and marginalised continually by everyone. The Killing of Mudeye is about reconciliation with the past and Ned does achieve it very well because he is really disturbed when he relives his whole school life. He decides to face where the killing of Mudeye is done and it makes him feel a lot better. His son had helped him to because he found a friend like Mudeye and didnt care and it made his father feel better. Linton Begg dies and a lot of the people in the book did get what they want even Ned who faces all his problems real well. Linton Begg also ends up happy because all his pain is gone and he is finally free. Bibliography the killing of Mudeye (book)

Just follow the instuctions below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Just follow the instuctions below - Essay Example However, the environmental impact, the melting of the arctic circle, the increase of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere cannot be denied and the Vice President has helped to bring this issue to wide attention around the world. Power Steer - Michael Pollan Mr. Pollan decided to conduct some very up close and personal research regarding the care, feeding and eventual slaughter of cattle. He did this by purchasing an eight month old calf and besides his research also intended to hopefully sell him at a profit at the end. A he states, â€Å" I wanted to find out how a modern, industrial steak is produced in America these days, from insemination to slaughter.† (Pollan 1) The beginning was a bucolic environment for the steer, idling and eating in green pastures besides it mother as it weaned from milk to grasses. Then as it is introduced to commercial feed as well as the accelerated growth hormones, the calf matures quickly. Pollen gives and overview of the industry but also person alizes it by visits to #534 (his steer) at the Pokey Feedlots. These feedlots help to restrict the animal’s movements toughening the muscle. ... cientists call the planet's â€Å"primary productivity.† (Manning 37) One of the first primary concentrated sources of the energy is agriculture and the most predominant plants that have been cultivated are rice, wheat, and corn. This domestication of plants and the concentration of their energy wealth is an important concept for human survival on a grand scale, and it is based on the richness of the soil. The mineral energy in the soil is what translates into this abundant plant energy and must be conserved. AS usable land ran out, the 1960’s brought the green revolution to the land concentrating more energy in the soil by irrigation and chemical methods, tripling production of crops. Of course this all came at a greater cost in the increase use of machines and fuel to run them. He ends this article buy â€Å"voting twice† once at the polls and then voting to take his energy usage into his own hands by, â€Å"†¦which was to rack a shell and drop one cow el k, my household's annual protein supply.† (Manning 45) Ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity: what urban economics leaves out - William E. Rees This article explores the limit and fundamental flaw in human technology that it cannot override our natural situation as a biological entity. Rees review the flow of energy and materials throughout the natural as well as the political environments of the planet. One of the basic flaws here is that the economic environment is usually separated from the actual ecosystem surrounding it creating untenable methods of production. Conventional political models often do not take into account the invisible confections between cities and the resources that may be quite distant and in different political and biological environments. Rees advises that we rethink the

Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Dance - Essay Example Revelations uses the idea of repetition very well since it has minimal basic information that gets expanded and decorated in several ways. The entire piece is also rhythmically soothing. In the entire span of the dance the opening theme of the dancers standing together with their arms rising and falling like swans gets repeated severally. This movement is then developed differently with each scene such as to create variation. In the first scene, the dancers start out together then all of them spread but still sticking to a similar routine. The second scene starts out similarly, but for its development, only three dancers remain on stage. The motions of the dancers are rhythmically soothing as they sway in a manner that makes one want to join in. Revelations soothing rhythm reminded me of water as it flows through a river. In some instances the water flows gently but in the course there are also rapids that break the easy flow with sharp, jerky movements. Dancing in the Rain is spread out and busy as there are several dancers each one of them following a unique pattern. In the entire course of the dance, variation is also widely used with no seeming restrictions as to what movements the dancer can incorporate or not. At one point in the dance, two male dancers are dancing concurrently but each one of them sticking to his routine. At another point in the dance, we see a dancer who focuses on moving his feet as he pulsates his chest. Immediately after him, there steps in another dancer who does a summersault effortlessly and synchronizes it into the rhythm of the dance. Dancing in the Rain reminds one of the workings of a well-oiled machine. Like any machine, different parts serve different functions but all work together seamlessly. It is in line with this that those movements though different, all are in harmony. A careful examination of both Dancing in the Rain and Revelations

Sub-human working conditions in Qatar Research Paper

Sub-human working conditions in Qatar - Research Paper Example The world cup is the most widely viewed sports event in the world and requires a lot of preparation by host countries to be in a position to stage the world cup owing to the high number of spectators, reporters, business people, and players who come to the host country for the world cup. Qatar has been making these preparations since 2010 when it was selected to host the 2022 world cup but there are rampant cases of inhuman working conditions for workers making preparations in stadia and other facilities in the country. It is from this understanding that this study aims at enumerating why FIFA and football associations should force Qatar to stop the "sub-human" working conditions. Workers involved in infrastructure development for the 2022 world cup are exposed to harsh working conditions including withheld payments, working in 122-degree heat for a long time with no provision of food or water, and their passports were confiscated to ensure they do not leave the country (Kwok & Wallis, 2008). Workers cannot be able to help their families and pay obligations for their jobs to recruitment agencies with 36% interest payment rates affecting their families and their person negatively (Manfred, 2014). For a country that will host the world cup, these conditions are unacceptable owing to the high benefits to be received by the country and the high following that the world cup has globally. This will taint the name of the world cup and FIFA, if the football associations and FIFA do not take the steps to correct the situation in Qatar in terms of working conditions. The intolerable working conditions in Qatar have led to the death of at least 1200 workers in different infrastructural development in preparation for the world cup with 400 of them from Nepal, 00 from India, and others from Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya, and other parts of the world. This is in accordance to a report by The International Trade Union Confederation (Manfred,

Promotional Strategies in the Branded Denim Industry

Promotional Strategies in the Branded Denim Industry The global fashion apparel industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy in terms of investment, revenue, trade and employment generation all over the world. Apparel industry has short product life cycles, tremendous product variety, volatile and unpredictable demand, long and inflexible supply processes. The industry has been in a transition over the last 20 years. Some of the major contributors are: Significant consolidation in retail, Increasing use of electronic commerce in retail, and Wholesale trade Given below is a diagram of the types of markets for the fashion industry globally/ India as can be seen comes under Emerging Fashion market. viewer.png Figure: Global Fashion Market. The Indian Fashion Industry Fashion Industry growth in India is mainly driven by the growing exposure of domestic designers at international forums, but growth is also supported by other factors such as the launch of focused business education courses for emerging designers and the establishment of an industry association. The Indian fashion industry has gained international acclaim and recognition at several global forums. This has also helped attract a large number of international clients to the country Rising affluence has increased brand awareness among Indian consumers. According to theNielsen Global Luxury Brands Study, India is among the most brand conscious countries in the world, with 35% of Indian survey respondents reporting to buy designer brands India is considered an attractive market for luxury brands; about 50 premium and luxury brands, including Jimmy Choo, Gucci, Christian Dior, and Chanel, have opened stores in India in recent years. Consumer spending on fashion products has grown at 7.1% annually from 2002 through 2007 Denim Industry in India Denim Brands in India Jeans the working class garment has something about it which has fascinated the poor and the rich alike, and has survived fashion trends and technology changes for over a century. The jeanswear market in India is currently pegged at approximately Rs 6,000 crore the bulk of it in the unbranded market according to recent reports. However, the branded segment is believed to be growing at a faster pace, with brands giving tough competition to one another. According to industry sources, the total size of the jeans market in India is about 40-45 million pairs of denims out of which 44 million pairs are in the value segment(less than Rs 1,000). The Indian retail market size of jeans (men`s and women`s) in 2007 was Rs 3,080 crore with a healthy growth of 18 per cent over last year as per research conducted by Technopak. According to an Indian expert, denim production in India in 2006 was estimated to be at 400 million metres, of which 250 million metres was for domestic consumption and the rest for exports. The Indian denim market is still in the nascent stages but it`s definitely a growing market which is growing in the right direction. Brand-conscious market With changing lifestyles, the organised players are coming up with contemporary designs to target the youthful, stylish, trendy and fashionable consumers. Today`s consumer is educated and very well informed about different brands and knows what to buy and what not to buy. Indian consumers are no longer price conscious rather they are willing to spend money on high-end denim brands. Denims are not only restricted to jeans, shirts, jackets and skirts, but are also a popular choice for accessories like bags, belts and caps. In denims, low rise, slim fit and twisted fit are in vogue. Ripped, brushed, torn, bleached, laser finishes acid and ice-washed are enough to tempt the brand conscious customers. The organised denim players are not only catering to the premium class, but are also catering to the upper-middle and mid-segments as well. Today`s customer is definitely brand conscious and asking for brands. Consumers are looking at innovations rather than just a pair of jeans and T-shirt. The key to catching up with these changes is to innovate, as the Indian denim customer is more variety driven, says Shah. The brand has been quick to gauge that the young Indian consumers were getting bored with just a five pocket pair of jeans and hence Pepe Jeans today is a one-stop destination for the young premium segment customer with its exhaustive range of fashion wear, club wear, and evening wear along with the core jeans. India is an emerging nation and has a huge potential to harness the untapped market. The denim industry has registered impressive growth in the last five years. This growth has also changed the consumer preferences- he has become more discerning and fashion conscious. Major players in the denim market A number of players, both Indian and international, have entered the Indian market. The brands of both categories that were studied are listed below: Indian Players The Indian players include the following: Spykar has established itself as the Indian youth icon and the brand of the Generation Next in the Indian apparel industry, with a vast and staggering array of designer wear- from the first manufactures of Cargo in India unto the authentic five pocket Jeans to fashionable denims, fatigues, jackets, tees, shirts, etc. to trendy bags, belts, caps, wallets, socks and other accessories like shoes, deodorants, junk jewellery, eyewear. Having provided clothing for the last 15 years to the brand conscious youth, Spykar Lifestyle intends to now offer complete styling solutions to patrons through the Spykar Style Lab, with a reach to 3 million customers, influencing the youth culture across India. The brand Deal: was born in the year 2000 and is today an innovative international design company, manufacturing jeans and casual clothing as well as accessories. It is present in over 22 states with 400 points of sale. From the beginning, Deal jeans team turn their back on the style-dictator and consumer fore-casters of the fashion establishment and lead their own tastes lead them. It is for this reason that Deal became the leader in developing the styles, manufacturing methods, fabric and quality control and guaranteeing an outstanding quality product Levi Strauss (India) Pvt. Ltd (LSIL) is a Bengaluru based, wholly owned subsidiary of Levi Strauss Co. (LSCO.). The company markets the Levi`s ®, Dockers ® San Francisco Levi Strauss Signature ® brands in India. The company was established in 1994 and brought authentic American jeanswear to India by launching the iconic Levi`s ® brand. It has since built a strong retail and distribution network spanning more than 250 cities and 750 outlets backed by an equally strong sourcing base. The company, with strength of about 200, is headquartered in Bengaluru. International players The International players studied are the following: Pepe Jeans London: Pepe Jeans London originated from the fashionable Portobello area of London in 1973 as a result of the efforts of three NRI brothers. In a very short span, the brand became the best selling denim brand in England. The company entered the Indian market in 1989 and today is amongst the premium brands in India in this segment. Pepe Jeans is an absolute casual wear brand and sells everything one would associate with such as casual cotton shirts, denim shirts, lightweight jeans, T-shirts, shirts, jackets, cotton casual pants and accessories such as bags, caps, belts, wallets, wrist bands, etc. Lee Cooper: Founded in London in 1908, Lee Cooper offers a wide range of lifestyle jeans and products to men and women of all ages. In 2006, Lee Cooper International entered into an equal joint venture with India`s largest retailer, now known as Lee Cooper India Pvt. Ltd, under which the first franchisee store was opened. At present, the company has 31 exclusive brand outlets, 50 shop-in-shops and 250 selling points in India. By the end of this fiscal, it will double the selling points and add 24 new stores to its kitty. The company aims to grow to 100 stores within the next two years. An investment of about Rs 35-40 crore has been earmarked for retail expansion this year. The competitors at each segment are given below: Super Premium Segment (Rs. 2000+)- brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, AN Jeans, Rocky S Jeans Premium Segment (Rs. 1000-2000)- Pepe, Levis, Lee, Wrangler Middle Segment (Rs. 500-1000)-Most Indian brands cover both Middle and Premium categories Economy Segment (Rs. 300-500)-Ruf n Tuf, Newport, Impact, Thunder as well as in store labels like Westsides SRC and 2Fast4U that are priced between Rs. 375 to Rs. 600 Benefits of this study to the organizations: As compared to the booming international denim market, India is still emerging. Indian brands haven`t enjoyed much success. International brands, which are present in India, are doing extremely well. Competition is increasing with the presence of a number of denim brands in India. To stay ahead of competition, the players will have to raise their standards to international levels; only then will they be able to make a strong foothold in the country. Every company is coming up with aggressive marketing, promotional campaigns and constant publicity to make their brand popular. Various companies have been successful in the Indian market using different approaches and different strategies. For example Pepe Jeans London works on a 360 degrees approach on the marketing communications strategy, involving both above the line and below the line activities. Billboards print advertising in both national and regional newspapers and all lifestyle magazines constitute Pepe`s above the line strategy. The companies in the denim market have to ensure that they have strategies that are successful and make a positive impact on the target segment due to all the competition and the challenges that they face in this environment. With the Indian youth becoming increasingly fashion conscious and with spending power being consistently on the rise, making life easier for the fast-growing premium category of jeanswear brands. On the other hand, it has been tough times for other segments of the business one of the underperformers being a mass-market jeanswear brand. This study helps analyze the promotional strategies of five different popular denim brands in India. This study helps to recognize the success or failure of the brands through the perception that consumers have towards the brand. The study helps recognize the weak points in the strategies. Chapter 2 Research Design This chapter details the procedures that were used for obtaining the information needed to structure the marketing research. It provides details such as the Purpose, Aim of the study, and Scope of the study, Objective of the study, Research methodology and Data collection. Aim of the study: The aim of this study is to observe and evaluate the promotional strategies that are used by Levi Straus, lee and Pepe jeans, Spykar and Deal . Scope of the study: The study was aimed at understanding and analyzing the promotional strategies implemented by Levi Strauss, Lee, spykar, Deal, Pepe Jeans The research was conducted in the geographical area of 1 city- Bangalore North (Karnataka). Objectives: It will present the promotional activities used by the major players in Branded Denim industry. It will present the awareness of the promotional strategies that the consumers have. Further the study will generate some suggestions that could be implemented by the companies. Research methodology: An analytical study, descriptive and quantitative in nature was undertaken to study the promotional activities used in the Branded Denim industry. Based on the data and knowledge gathered thus, a tool in the form of a questionnaire was prepared to elicit primary data for the study. The customers of the company have been used as the respondents for the study. Questionnaire method was adopted to gather necessary primary data. Secondary data was gathered from previous other records, journals, papers and books. The data collected by the study is compiled, classified and tabulated for the purpose of analysis. Analysis was done using averages for data consolidation and interpretation. Methods of data collection: Survey- Through a closed and structured questionnaire administered to 50 respondents of Bangalore City in the area of New BEL Road (Bangalore North). Sources of Data collection: The study required data to be collected from both primary sources and secondary sources. * Primary research -also known as field research, which involves the conduction and compilation of research for the purpose it, was intended. Questionnaires were used to collect the primary data. * Secondary research -also referred to as desk research, is initially conducted for one purpose, but often used to support another purpose or end goal. Secondary research was collected from Internet sites, books, journals, magazines and research materials provided by other research. Sample design: This refers to a set of rules or procedures that specify how a sample is to be selected.   We have used simple random sample  which is a subset of  individuals  (a  sample) chosen from a larger set (a  population). Each individual is chosen  randomly  and entirely by chance, such that each individual has the same  probability  of being chosen at any stage during the sampling process Sample size: The number of elements in the obtained sample. The sample size for this study is 50 respondents. Sampling bias: This refers to the notion that those selected are not typical or representative of the larger populations that have been chosen from. Here we were limited to north Bangalore so it does not reflect the bigger side of the actual population. Limitations: The limitations of the study are as follows: Questionnaires are impersonal, so it is difficult to understand the answers given by the customers also there is a chance that the questions may be misinterpreted, rendering the answer useless to the study. Questionnaires also invite people to lie and answer the questions very vaguely which they would not do in an interview. Though a lot of effort was put in at designing the questionnaires, some peoples preferred answers may not have been included, and this also does not allow for much detail. The research was limited to the city of Bangalore (north Bangalore) The research did not include the infrequent customers of the company, so a lot of valuable input could have been lost Chapter 3 Analysis and Interpretation Q. No. of Male and Female Respondents. Gender No of Respondents Male 26 Female 24 Total 50 Interpretation: From the above chart it is quite evident the numbers of male respondents exceed female respondents. Q. Average age of Respondents. age No of Respondents Less than 20 1 20-30 42 30-40 6 40-50 0 Above50 1 total 50 Interpretation: From the above chat it can be interpreted that the highest range of respondents belongs to the age group of 20-30. Q. what are the different occupation of the respondents. occupation No of Respondents students 31 professional 17 businessman 2 unemployed 0 total 50 Interpretation: From the above chat it is clearly visible that the maximum numbers of respondents are students, followed by professionals. Q Salary of the respondents. salary No of Respondents Less than 2lakh 28 2-4 lakh 15 4-6 lakh 6 Above 6 1 total 50 Interpretation: Since the most respondents are students and are just employed the salary range is below 2 lakh and for professionals it is 2-4 lakhs. Q Do you buy anything of these brands (Levis, Lee, Spykar, Pepe jeans, Deal). Response No of Respondents yes 43 no 07 Total 50 Interpretation: It can be clearly interpreted that 43 out of 50 Respondents have tried one of the brand and rest have not. Break-up of the different brands bought by the sample group: Brand name No. of respondents Levi Lee Spykar Pepe Deal 16 15 6 12 1 Total 50 Q Other than the brand you purchase from, Are you aware of the promotional activities followed by other brands. Responses No of respondents Yes 40 No 10 total 50 Interpretation: From the above chart it can be understood that the people are aware about the promotional scheme of the other brands even if they do not purchase products from the other brand. Levi Q. Why did you buy this brand? Characteristics Number of Respondents Good Service Good Quality Price Design Brand Name Discount Schemes 1 3 10 2 Total 50 Interpretation: it is clearly visible from this chart that most of the people are going for Levis because of the brand name. Q. Would you like to purchase this brand again? Willingness to purchase Number of respondents Yes No 15 1 Total 16 Interpretation: It is clearly visible that all those who have purchased this brand want to go again for this brand. Q. Are you aware of the various promotional schemes available in this brand? Awareness Number of respondents Yes 16 No 0 Total 16 Interpretation: all the respondents are aware of the promotional schemes of Levis. Q. As per your knowledge what type of promotion activity is undertaken by the organisation characteristics responses Advertisement 3 Publicity 0 Personal selling 0 Social media networking 3 Sales promotion(discount offers, seasonal sales, loyalty programs) 10 Total 16 Interpretation: It is found that most consumers are aware of the promotional schemes that Levis has in the form of sales promotions. They also seem to be aware of promotions through advertising and social media networks. Q. If yes how were you made aware? Mode of Awareness No. of respondents Newspapers O Magazine Ads 6 Television Ads 0 E-Mailer from store 2 Word of mouth 9 Others 1 Total 16 Interpretation: it can be interpreted that people are aware of Levis promotional skills because of tools like newspapers and various emails that are being send from the store. 12. What according to you makes the brand more attractive than others? Characteristics Number of Respondents Quality 1 Price 0 More sizes 4 Better customer services 2 More designs 4 Brand Name 5 Brand Ambassador 0 Total 16 Interpretation: From this table we can see that consumers are attracted to the brand due to its brand name- the perception towards the brand is positive and also they feel that more designs are available in this brand Lee Q. Why did you buy this brand? Characteristics Number of Respondents Good Service Good Quality Price Design Brand Name Discount Schemes 1 2 1 3 8 0 Total 15 Interpretation: The graph shows that maximum people bought the jeans from this brand due to the brand name. Followed by the designs available, and no one bought the jeans due to the discount schemes available Q. Would you like to purchase this brand again? Willingness to purchase Number of respondents Yes No 13 2 Total 15 Interpretation: From the table it is obvious that a large number of the respondents would buy jeans from this brand maybe because they have a positive perception towards the brand Q. Are you aware of the various promotional schemes available in this brand? Awareness Number of respondents Yes 12 No 3 Total 15 Interpretation: From the table it can be seen that most consumers are aware of the promotional schemes available in this brand Q.As per your knowledge what type of promotion activity is undertaken by the organisation characteristics responses Advertisement 5 Publicity 0 Personal selling 0 Social media networking 4 Sales promotion(discount offers, seasonal sales, loyalty programs) 6 Total 15 Interpretation: Most of the consumers are aware of the sales promotion schemes like discount offers, seasonal sales, followed by advertising and social media networking. Q.. If yes how were you made aware? Mode of Awareness No. of respondents Newspapers O Magazine Ads 2 Television Ads 0 E-Mailer from store 2 Word of mouth 7 Others 1 Total 12 Interpretation: In this we can see that most consumers were made aware of the available promotional schemes through word of mouth followed by e-mailer from store as well as magazine ads. None were aware of the television ads of the brand. Q. What according to you makes the brand more attractive than others? Characteristics Number of Respondents Quality 1 Price 1 More sizes 2 Better customer services 2 More designs 4 Brand Name 5 Brand Ambassador 0 Total 15 Interpretation: As can be see, the brand is found to be attractive due to the brand name and the positioning of the brand, followed by the fact that consumers perceive that plenty of designs are available in this brand. Better customer service also seems to have made an impact on the consumer. Spykar Q. Why did you buy this brand? Characteristics Number of Respondents Good Service Good Quality Price Design Brand Name Discount Schemes 0 2 4 0 0 0 Total 6 Interpretation: The primary reason that the respondents seem to have bought the jeans was since they perceived the jeans to be cheaper than the other branded jeans. The next reason was since the jeans were perceived as good quality. Hence Spykar can be said to be a value for money brand. Q. Would you like to purchase this brand again? Willingness to purchase Number of respondents Yes No 3 3 Total 6 Interpretation: Only have the consumers who bought the product have the willingness to repurchase the product. The reasons could be that they were dissatisfied with the design, or with the service. Q. Are you aware of the various promotional schemes available in this brand? Awareness Number of respondents Yes 0 No 6 Total 6 Interpretation: Out of the six respondents who had purchased the jeans from this brand, none were aware of any promotional schemes that were conducted by the company. Q. As per your knowledge what type of promotion activity is undertaken by the organisation Since no one was aware of the promotional schemes, this table was Not Applicable Q. If yes how were you made aware? Since no one was aware of the promotional schemes, this table was Not Applicable Q. What according to you makes the brand more attractive than others? Characteristics Number of Respondents Quality 1 Price 3 More sizes 0 Better customer services 0 More designs 2 Brand Name 0 Brand Ambassador 0 Total 6 Interpretation: The main reason that people seem to go for this brand is the price since the jeans are more pocket friendly as compared to the other branded jeans. Pepe jeans Q. Why did you buy Pepe jeans? Characteristics No of respondents Good service 0 Good quality 2 Price 1 Design 8 Brand name 1 Discount Scheme 0 total 12 Interpretation: From the above graph it can be easily interpreted that more people are going for the design in pepe jeans than the other factors. Q Would you like to purchase goods and services from this store again? Responses No of respondents Yes 10 No 2 Total 12 Interpretation: From the above chart it is clearly seen that people are willing to purchase the goods and services as they are happy with their experience. Q. Are you aware of the various promotional schemes and offers available in the store? Responses No of respondents Yes 5 No 7 Total 12 Interpretation: From the above chart we can easily understand that people are not much aware of the promotional schemes carried out by Pepe jeans. Q. As per your knowledge what type of promotion activity is undertaken by the organisation characteristics Responses Advertisement 4 Publicity 0 Personal selling 0 Social media networking 3 Sales promotion(discount offers, seasonal sales, loyalty programs) 5 Total 12 Interpretation: Most of the consumers were aware of the sales promotion strategy followed by Pepe Jeans followed by Advertising. Q .If yes, how you were made aware? Characteristics No of respondents News paper 2 Magazine 1 Television advertisement 5 E-mail 0 Word of mouth 4 total 12 Interpretation: From the above chart its clear that tools like television ads and words of mouth plays a very important role in creating awareness for Pepe Jeans. Q. what according to you made the brand more attractive from the other leading brands of jeans? Characteristics No of respondents Quality 2 Price 1 More fashionable 1 Better customer services 0 More diverse design to choose from 2 More customized product 2 Brand name 4 Brand ambassador 0 total 12 Interpretation: From the above pie chart it can be concluded that the quality, more customized products and more diverse design to choose from are some of the features that makes this brand attractive as compared to others. Deal jeans Q. Why did you buy Deal jeans? Characteristics No of respondents Good service 0 Good quality 0 Price 1 Design 0 Brand name 0 Discount Scheme 0 total 1 Interpretation: Price is the only characteristics that pull the customers to stores. Q. Would you like to purchase goods and services from this store again? Responses No of respondents Yes 1 No 0 Total 1 Interpretation: The person who has bought the product is satisfied and is ready to try the product again. Q. Are you aware of the various promotional schemes and offers available in the store? Responses No of respondents Yes 1 No 0 Total 1 Interpretation: The person seems to know about the promotional schemes that are carried out by Deal jeans. QAs per your knowledge what type of promotion activity is undertaken by the organisation characteristics Responses Advertisement 1 Publicity 0 Personal selling 0 Social media networking 0 Sales promotion(discount offers, seasonal sales, loyalty programs) 0 Total 1 Q. If yes, how were u made aware? Characteristics No of respondents News paper 0 Magazine 0 Television advertisement 1 E-mail 0 Word of mouth 0 total 1 Interpretation: The person is aware of the product through the television ads. Q what according to you made the brand more attractive from the other leading brands of jeans? Characteristics No of respondents Quality 0 Price 1 More fashionable 0 Better customer services 0 More deserve design to choose from 0 More customized product 0 Brand name <

Presidential Theory Essays -- essays research papers fc

I disagree with Stephen Hess’ contention that modern President’s are woefully miscast in the role of manager of the Executive Branch. The Office of The President in its infancy acted strictly as a Chief Executive, by enforcing Congressional legislation that had been passed into law. As the government continued to develop, The President took on more responsibility acting in the capacity as Chief Administrator; by initiating legislation through a top-down process. Today, the President has developed into a combination of the aforementioned roles. The President manages his White House staff, as well as the nation, in order to attain a less hectic, more structured, effective leadership. Constitutional empowerment, presidential character, and public expectations have always and will continue to shape the fundamental managerial role of President of The United States. The blueprint of the Office of The Presidency can be traced back to1777, when the state of New York passed their Constitution. The Constitution of the state of New York gave only the â€Å"Governor† ultimate executive power, stressed the importance of a strong chief executive, granted reprieves and pardons, as well as the establishment of the State of the Union address. The Final aspect of the NY Constitution found in the Constitution today, which clearly is a managerial task, is the power of the Presidential veto. By exercising this power, the President is clearly managing Congress, for if not in the best interest of the nation, it is the President’s responsibility to block the legislation, and give constructive feedback to Congress, with hopes of seeing a revised edition before him as soon as possible. All of the aforementioned aspects of the New York state Constitution can be found in Article II of the Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitution is the building block for the President’s role as Chief Executive. Through the vesting clause of Article II- paragraph one- executive power is placed exclusively in the President’s hands. Article II-Section III authorizes the President â€Å"†¦ to give Congress information of the State of The Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient†, known commonly as the annual The State of the Union address. Through the State of the Union address the President demonstrates another important aspect of h... ...uing Executive Orders that are backed by the force of said laws. The President still supervises the implementation of laws by directing administrative agencies, such as the Department of Interior and the Department of Defense. The President’s responsibilities have remained the same since 1788, yet they have been added to with every newly elected President. Although the evolution of the Presidency is an interesting subject and I respect Professor Hess’ opinion, it is clear to me that The Office of The President of The United States of America, has since its infancy, and will continue to be in the future, a strong, decisive, informed, position, in which only the most brilliant, motivated, and disciplined are able to manage. Works Cited 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The American Presidency Origins and Development. Sidney M. Milkis & Michael Nelson, Congressional Quarterly 1994. pages 82, 263, 293. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Organizing the Presidency, Stephen Hess. Brookings Institute 2002. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  www.encarta.com 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Power of the Modern Presidency, Erwin C. Hargrove. Alfred A. Knopf, INC 1974, pg. 304.

Comprehensive Proposal for the Development of an Early Childhood Education Program Essay

Do you realize how important the first few years of your child’s life are? We at Lighthouse Learning Academy understand how important these years are. The early years are when the foundation for your child’s life is being implemented. That is why at Lighthouse Learning Academy we provide programs from ages 6 weeks through 12 years old. Our Early Care program services infants from 6 weeks through 24 months. This program is designed to make sure that each child’s physical and developmental needs are met. Daily schedules are adjusted to meet each child’s sleeping and eating patterns. At the appropriate time, toddlers are introduced to different concepts and skills that will help them as they prepare to move to the next program. Our Preschool program serves children from the age of 2 through 5 years of age. Each age group will be divided into classrooms. Once the child is 4 years of age (by September 1st), he/she will enter our stated funded Pre-K program. Each class will use a theme based curriculum designed to introduce concepts and skills based on each child’s age and development. Daily schedules will be designed with a balance of teacher-directed and child-directed activities. Lighthouse Learning Academy understands that we serve a community that works various and long hours. We gladly provide before and after school care for families that require assistance. During the after school program we provide various activities and projects to enhance life skills as well as, an established time for children to do homework and tutoring is also available if your child needs help. Transportation services are available to and from local elementary schools. Lighthouse Learning Academy hopes to make getting to and from work less strenuous for working parents by providing the operating hours of 5:30 am to 6:30 pm. Being that we set out to service our community, the vision of Lighthouse Learning Academy is to make it possible for all children, youth, and families to reach their potential in a safe, nurturing, and affordable environment. Our mission at Lighthouse Learning Academy is to afford children with the premier quality early care and education, to serve as an accommodating system and source for families, strengthening the communities that we serve, and to work interchangeable with other networks and services to make certain that high quality preschool education remains safe and affordable for all families. We believe that from infancy, and through the school years, we are helping to chart a successful outcome for our children. We work with parents from pregnancy to make sure that their children are placed in a compassionate, encouraging, and nurturing environment. We offer a curriculum that focuses on all of the developmental domains, and an age specific method that helps children move forward from one milestone to the next in a way that has been confirmed to establish a strong basis for lifelong learning. We believe that there is a vital link between these values and the ongoing commitment of our staff. Therefore, our staff is encouraged and supported as they further their educational understanding of early childhood education. Lighthouse Learning Academy staff members serve as coaches and mentors to each other; enabling them to share ideas, experiences, and up to the minute knowledge of new research, policies and best practices. In addition, we provide on going skill set training for staff through meetings, newsletters, and state specified trainings. We do our best to provide parents with resources pertaining to high quality health and dental care, as well as nutrition, cognitively stimulating home environments, access to services, strong social connections, and safety precautions for children. New parents, or parents that are new to our neighborhoods, can rely on us for information and support during life’s transitions. Lighthouse Learning Academy is one of the strongest advocates for children and families in the area that we serve. We are aware of the responsibilities that we have to our families and children to be a voice for affordable, high quality preschool services. We take pride in working with local support agencies, legislatures, and school systems to provide safe, strong, and constant services for children from birth through the school years. We take pride in our parents, our staff, and the valuable chance that we have to be a part of your child’s development. The influence that we can have as partners for children is beyond measure. At Lighthouse Learning Academy we think that all children have a right to respect, in spite of their skill levels. We provide an environment that is safe yet thought-provoking, and a curriculum that challenges them through creativity and learning through play. Consequently, our program supports the following philosophy about children and their growth: 1. Each child has a unique learning style, learns at a different pace, by different methods and at different ages of maturation. 2. A positive attitude develops in children, who can fulfill their goals, complete tasks on their own, and work with others and receive positive feelings from others. 3. Children learn self-discipline through understanding, commitment, and reinforcement. 4. Children gain their independence by being allowed to do things for themselves as they are capable of, but keeping in mind new skills. In a safe, caring, respectful environment, children have the greatest chance to grow and develop. Such a setting should be the basis of all childcare programs. We, as educators, should do our best to create an environment that is rewarding, inspiring and supporting of all possible learning and growing opportunities. An encouraging learning environment is provided through a well design physical environment, the instructional materials, equipment, relationships established between everyone, and daily routines. It is in this environment that each child’s growth takes place. The basis for creating learning environments that promotes growth comes from the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC’s) philosophy of child development and learning that contains developmentally appropriate practice. A developmentally appropriate learning environment: (1) Provides learning centers that encourage mixing of multiple content areas, the library should contain a variety of books such as big books, picture books, books with words for teacher to read, books covering a wide range of topics, headsets with audiotapes; in blocks there will be large unit blocks, hollow blocks, different types of vehicles, pencil, paper and books related to construction. (2) Provides both active and quiet activities, the library should be an area for children wanting to read alone or quietly listen to a book read by the teacher or enjoy music through head sets; while the block area promotes lots of movement to complete projects. (3) Provides materials that encourage awareness and knowledge of diversity through books about different cultures, as well as dolls of different races, and musical instruments from a variety of cultures. (4) Ensures that children have easy access to materials. (5) Makes sure that there are plenty of materials available. (6) Offers children the chances for isolated and group play in view of an adult. (7) Makes sure that there is adequate space for individual, small- and large-group experiences, both inside and outside. (8) Displays classroom materials and children’s art at children’s eye level. (9) Promotes literacy in the environment through a variety of sources for print and audio. The infant room through the 4 year old room will be comprised of teachers that are highly qualified. This program employs qualified persons who are 18 years of age or older, who have been taught in Early Childhood Education, and who show the personal characteristics for working with children†¦. Employees working with school-age children have been trained in early childhood, child development, or a related field. The amount of schooling will vary depending on the level of responsibility of the position. Employees of a large group of children should have at least a CDA or an associate degree in Early Childhood Education. The Pre-K classrooms will have a Lead Teacher and an Assistant Teacher. The Lead Teacher will be required to possess a two- or four-year degree in the early childhood field. All assistant teachers must possess at least a CDA. Teaching is full of many responsibilities, roles, and challenges. As an early childhood educator, you will be required to wear many hats. As a teacher, you should be prepared to be flexible. It is important to remember that your job description may change if you are needed in other areas to fill in. Early childhood teachers assist learning by providing activities and materials that children find appealing. By supplying a developmentally appropriate environment, interesting materials, and time to explore, and play, children find learning easy and fun! Teachers have to communicate with many people throughout the day, ranging from parents to administrators, as well as the children. Early childhood teachers must be ready to communicate with all of these people. You should feel at ease opening up, asking questions, and sharing your experiences. Paperwork, lesson planning, preparing materials and the environment, require teachers to have strong management skills. Managing a classroom requires organizational skills, and commitment. There are many balloons floating in the air and it is your task to keep them up! Discipline is the guidance, encouragement, and support that adults use to influence children. Appropriate discipline helps children learn how to interact and develop self-control. The staff at Lighthouse Learning Academy understands these concepts and uses the following discipline strategies: First and most importantly, the staff creates a positive and safe environment in which all competencies can be fostered and where there is little opportunity for misbehavior. Secondly, teachers always model appropriate behavior, both verbal and non-verbal, including body language. Teachers set limits, which reflect realistic expectations for the age and development of each child. When there is conflict between children, teachers will utilize Dan Gartrell’s Five Finger Formula. The five finger formula involves five steps. The first step is to cool everyone down. No one can negotiate when they are upset. The second step involves having everyone involved to agree what the conflict is about. Thirdly, you would want to involve everyone in coming up with possible solutions to the problem. Fourth, you would want every to agree on the solution. And finally, you must try out the solution that everyone agreed upon. This technique teaches children how to solve problems on their own. If these strategies are not successful, a child may be removed from the group and guided to a quite area with an independent activity. If your child continues to have problems, we will contact you. We will do our best to work with you to correct the behavior issues. If there is still no change in the behavior, a short suspension may be used at the judgment of the director. If a child is not adapting or benefiting from our program, we reserve the right to disenroll the child from the program, also at the discretion of the programs director. Communication between the parent and the caregiver is important to having a successful child care arrangement. After an adjustment period, your child should be able to make the move from home to child care fairly easily. The staff will be providing support to you by discussing your child’s progress and will recognize the parent as the primary caregiver. A tour of the center is a vital part of the orientation process. It is at this time when you will meet the staff members that will be responsible for educating your child as well as view the classroom environment. We suggest that you bring your child along so that, he/she can become familiar with the teacher and the classroom. A tour can be arranged at anytime, just call to set up a scheduled time or just drop in. Our staff welcomes you with open arms. Lighthouse Learning Academy will distribute monthly newsletters so that you will be aware of what is happening with our program. The newsletter will inform you of the themes that will be introduced to your child each month. It will also detail ways in which you can assist the program, as well as upcoming events. Teachers may opt to send home either weekly or a monthly newsletter, keeping you aware of the happenings in the classroom. Through newsletters we are able to keep you updated of the programs effort to make sure that your child’s light shines. Assessment is the method of collecting data about children in order to determine where they are developmentally and to make decisions about their education. Teachers obtain useful data about children’s skills, and progress by observing, documenting, and reviewing children’s work over time. Ongoing assessment that happens in the context of classroom activities can provide an accurate and fair picture of the children’s abilities and progress. The purposes for assessment in programs for young children are: instructional planning and communicating with parents. This helps to determine, what are the child’s strengths, needs, and learning processes, as well as how is this child doing, and how will this child’s instruction and guidance be planned? Another purpose is identification of children with special needs. This allows for assessing whether the child’s needs can be met in the program and if not, how does this program need to be adapted, or what program is required? The third purpose is program evaluation and accountability. This assessment allows for assessing whether the program, as now implemented, is meeting its goals and objectives? One of the assessment techniques that we use is the student portfolio. The portfolio is a system for the collection of the child’s work. Work samples are products of children’s work that mirrors situations in the learning environment, rather than manufactured instructional situations. The collection of work samples along with the recorded observations of children’s interactions and comments shows the child’s progress over time and in a variety of settings. The key to the use of information collected through this approach is the teacher’s knowledge of child development and skill as an observer. Parent conferences will provide you with the opportunity to discuss and learn about your child’s portfolio and how it is used in assessing your child’s development. Observations will also be used as an assessment tool. Observations can be an assessment tool used while a child is playing usually in his/her natural environment. The observer is able to see the interactions between the children as well as noting speech and language, and motor skills. Lighthouse Learning Academy wants to make sure that your child will receive the individualized attention that they deserve, so we have established groupings of children for care which comply with the following staff ratios for every age group. For infants to one and a half year olds, the teacher-child ratio will be 3 to 6 infants for 1 teacher. There is a maximum of twelve infants in one room. If there are more than six infants, another teacher will be placed in the classroom. For one year olds that are walking, the ratio will be 1 teacher to 8 children, with a limit not to exceed sixteen children. For two year olds, the ratio will be 1 teacher to every ten toddlers, with no more than twenty in the classroom. For the three year old classroom, the ratio will be 1 teacher for every 15 children, with no more than thirty. And in the four year old room as well as the pre-k program, the ratio is 1 teacher to eighteen children. In the pre-k program there are always two teachers. Children may be mixed in age groups only during early morning arrivals and late afternoon times of departure. When mixing age groups, you must go by the staff: child ratio and group size based upon the age of the youngest child in the group. During rest time the staff: child ratio may be doubled the number of children as long as there is one staff member in the classroom. Lighthouse Learning Academy prides itself on providing a safe learning environment for your child. But we know that accidents and injuries will occur. If an accident occurs at our center, we will follow the following guidelines depending on the severity of the injury. First and foremost, our staff and teachers are trained to apply first aid to minor injuries such as cuts, scrapes, and bruises. The director will report to you at the end of the day or during the day based on the nature of the injury. If your child is seriously injured and it requires medical attention, you will be notified immediately and emergency personnel will be contacted. In cases where you child has to be taken to the emergency room, we require you to sign an authorization form so that we may act during your absence. This form is provided in your enrollment package. References Decker, C. A. , Decker, J. R. , Freeman, N. K. , & Knopf, H. T. (2009). Planning and administering early childhood programs (9th ed. ). Columbus: Pearson. Gartrell, Dan. Guidance Matters. March 2006, retrieved on October 16, 2010 from http://www. naeyc. org/files/yc/file/200603/GuidanceBTJ. pdf.

TerraCog

Terracotta management failed to respond to competition in its market. Although competitor introduced a new GAPS with satellite imagery to the market, Terracotta team dismissed the threat and decided not to take a responsive action. However, quickly the new GAPS succeed and gained a significant market share. Eventually, Terracotta president decided to pursue a development of a directly competing product, and named the project Aerial. Unfortunately, the projected high costs of this project questioned its profitability and doubt its wisdom.The key managers of the company were not able to decide whether to execute the project or not, and Emma Richardson, the new executive vice-president, needed to push the group toward a decision. The analysis we have done indicates that Terracotta case is an outcome of two major problems. The first problem is the existence of a poor decision making process, and the second is the lack of departmental cooperation and harmony. Alternative Courses of Action : We believe that Richardson should postpone the launch of Aerial, and focus on creating a more efficient decision making process and increasing departmental cooperation.Since time is crucial in this case, we see a need to decrease the time of decision making process and re-defining communication channels between the departments. We also argue that the size of this team as well as the fact that the teammates came from four different departments created complex communication channels that slowed down decision making. In this case, small groups can undertake better the urgent tasks. Hence, we think that Richardson should break the complex process of launching a new product into micro-processes.We believe that by brainstorming with the heads of every department separately, defining criteria and performance tankards, and listening to each team's requirements and reservations, Richardson will be able to clarify for the teams their importance to the company and motivate them to act toward the company's goal. Commitment to a common goal is more easily achieved if the number of team members is small (Essentials for an Effective Team, To keep the work on track and to increase departmental cooperation, 2006).Richardson should conduct update meetings every other week with all the departments' heads. The agenda of these wide department meetings should be clear and exclude decisions making. The different decisions should be made within smaller groups that include only the relevant teams. To increase harmony among the departments, Richardson can open department wide meetings with a short speech about similar past experiences of the company to remind the teams how they worked well together and performed successfully when they cooperated.Recalling past experiences may increase sense of belonging and help to put the big picture in mind before discussing current issues. Moreover, Richardson can invite the teams' mangers to have lunch together before department wide meetings. So cializing with each other right before getting to business can cool things down, ease the tension, and increase departmental cooperation. We believe that if the heads of the different departments will understand the importance and the needs of other departments, working together will become easier and more efficient.Another way to increase departmental cooperation is by sharing information on the processes each department went through. For example, while discussing the price of a new product, Tony could provide specific details regarding production's costs to explain why further lowering of costs is impossible. While this alternative might be time consuming, sharing information can help the teams to understand better the different points of view of the different departments. Recommended Course of Action: We believe that a combination of the alternatives above would be the best way to address the situation in this case.First, we recommend postponing the launch of the current prototyp e. Launching Aerial on its current form will damage the company's reputation and can lead the company to a big loss. We assume that if Aerial wont provide its users a significant advantage, customers wouldn't pay more than the Bird's price to buy it. Second, in order to accelerate the decision making process, Richardson should redesign the current communication channels in the company. Decisions need to be made in smaller teams, and wide department meetings need to be designated for updates only.Third, to increase departmental cooperation and harmony, Richardson should establish a process of sharing information between the departments. Furthermore, structuring time for socializing can ease the stress and increase harmony among the departments. We believe that this alternative course of action will lead to minimum damage in Terracotta position, ND allow the company to improve its productivity and ability to respond faster to competition in the future. Implementation: First, Richardso n should invite all the people who were present in the last two meetings to announce her decision.This meeting should be friendly and short, and most important, clear and motivating. Richardson should open the meeting with demonstrating an appreciation for the hard work done by all the departments. Then, the announcement of her decision to postpone the launch of Aerial should be followed by a short explanation about the upcoming changes: From now on, once a week, every department should email a rife description of the progress they made at the past week to the entire company.This weekly update emails will enable an efficient way to share information between the departments. In addition, wide department meetings will take place every other week, and once a month these meetings will include a friendly lunch prior to the meeting. After the meeting, Richardson should meet with the heads of design and development department. In this meeting, they need to agree and define the requirements to develop a product that is superior to the Birds, on minimum costs and time, and draw a realistic schedule to move forward.Now, when the new product is in its first stages of creation, and there is a general idea of what specifications and characteristics it will have, as well as an expected time for launching, Richardson should meet with the UP of Sales, to create marketing plan for the new product. The production team will work alone on costs estimating for the new product, and the sales team in consultation with finance department will determine a pricing and develop a â€Å"go- to market† plan. Moreover, Richardson should set clear limits to the continuance of commitment to the project for every department.Determining what criteria and performance standards Justify continued investment in the project can help the team avoid escalation of commitment (Team Decision Making Pitfalls and Solutions, n. D). Whenever disagreements on to what level the teams should commit to a specific task will arose, they could refer to the performance's standards and make a decision accordingly. The process will be managed by Richardson from the top, and the heads of every department will make decisions that are relevant to their departments' areas of knowledge and responsibility, and report to Richardson, who ill manage the whole process. TerraCog Terracotta management failed to respond to competition in its market. Although competitor introduced a new GAPS with satellite imagery to the market, Terracotta team dismissed the threat and decided not to take a responsive action. However, quickly the new GAPS succeed and gained a significant market share. Eventually, Terracotta president decided to pursue a development of a directly competing product, and named the project Aerial. Unfortunately, the projected high costs of this project questioned its profitability and doubt its wisdom.The key managers of the company were not able to decide whether to execute the project or not, and Emma Richardson, the new executive vice-president, needed to push the group toward a decision. The analysis we have done indicates that Terracotta case is an outcome of two major problems. The first problem is the existence of a poor decision making process, and the second is the lack of departmental cooperation and harmony. Alternative Courses of Action : We believe that Richardson should postpone the launch of Aerial, and focus on creating a more efficient decision making process and increasing departmental cooperation.Since time is crucial in this case, we see a need to decrease the time of decision making process and re-defining communication channels between the departments. We also argue that the size of this team as well as the fact that the teammates came from four different departments created complex communication channels that slowed down decision making. In this case, small groups can undertake better the urgent tasks. Hence, we think that Richardson should break the complex process of launching a new product into micro-processes.We believe that by brainstorming with the heads of every department separately, defining criteria and performance tankards, and listening to each team's requirements and reservations, Richardson will be able to clarify for the teams their importance to the company and motivate them to act toward the company's goal. Commitment to a common goal is more easily achieved if the number of team members is small (Essentials for an Effective Team, To keep the work on track and to increase departmental cooperation, 2006).Richardson should conduct update meetings every other week with all the departments' heads. The agenda of these wide department meetings should be clear and exclude decisions making. The different decisions should be made within smaller groups that include only the relevant teams. To increase harmony among the departments, Richardson can open department wide meetings with a short speech about similar past experiences of the company to remind the teams how they worked well together and performed successfully when they cooperated.Recalling past experiences may increase sense of belonging and help to put the big picture in mind before discussing current issues. Moreover, Richardson can invite the teams' mangers to have lunch together before department wide meetings. So cializing with each other right before getting to business can cool things down, ease the tension, and increase departmental cooperation. We believe that if the heads of the different departments will understand the importance and the needs of other departments, working together will become easier and more efficient.Another way to increase departmental cooperation is by sharing information on the processes each department went through. For example, while discussing the price of a new product, Tony could provide specific details regarding production's costs to explain why further lowering of costs is impossible. While this alternative might be time consuming, sharing information can help the teams to understand better the different points of view of the different departments. Recommended Course of Action: We believe that a combination of the alternatives above would be the best way to address the situation in this case.First, we recommend postponing the launch of the current prototyp e. Launching Aerial on its current form will damage the company's reputation and can lead the company to a big loss. We assume that if Aerial wont provide its users a significant advantage, customers wouldn't pay more than the Bird's price to buy it. Second, in order to accelerate the decision making process, Richardson should redesign the current communication channels in the company. Decisions need to be made in smaller teams, and wide department meetings need to be designated for updates only.Third, to increase departmental cooperation and harmony, Richardson should establish a process of sharing information between the departments. Furthermore, structuring time for socializing can ease the stress and increase harmony among the departments. We believe that this alternative course of action will lead to minimum damage in Terracotta position, ND allow the company to improve its productivity and ability to respond faster to competition in the future. Implementation: First, Richardso n should invite all the people who were present in the last two meetings to announce her decision.This meeting should be friendly and short, and most important, clear and motivating. Richardson should open the meeting with demonstrating an appreciation for the hard work done by all the departments. Then, the announcement of her decision to postpone the launch of Aerial should be followed by a short explanation about the upcoming changes: From now on, once a week, every department should email a rife description of the progress they made at the past week to the entire company.This weekly update emails will enable an efficient way to share information between the departments. In addition, wide department meetings will take place every other week, and once a month these meetings will include a friendly lunch prior to the meeting. After the meeting, Richardson should meet with the heads of design and development department. In this meeting, they need to agree and define the requirements to develop a product that is superior to the Birds, on minimum costs and time, and draw a realistic schedule to move forward.Now, when the new product is in its first stages of creation, and there is a general idea of what specifications and characteristics it will have, as well as an expected time for launching, Richardson should meet with the UP of Sales, to create marketing plan for the new product. The production team will work alone on costs estimating for the new product, and the sales team in consultation with finance department will determine a pricing and develop a â€Å"go- to market† plan. Moreover, Richardson should set clear limits to the continuance of commitment to the project for every department.Determining what criteria and performance standards Justify continued investment in the project can help the team avoid escalation of commitment (Team Decision Making Pitfalls and Solutions, n. D). Whenever disagreements on to what level the teams should commit to a specific task will arose, they could refer to the performance's standards and make a decision accordingly. The process will be managed by Richardson from the top, and the heads of every department will make decisions that are relevant to their departments' areas of knowledge and responsibility, and report to Richardson, who ill manage the whole process.

Assumption of Mary Essays

Assumption of Mary Essays Assumption of Mary Essay Assumption of Mary Essay Giving Voice to Our Values the thought experiment Fundamental premise of many Eastern philosophies and martial arts is to move with ones momentum and energy, rather than fight against them. The approach to voicing and acting on our values described in these pages a attempts to build on that same principle. Rather than taking a preaching stance wherein we might try to count- term temptations with all the moral reasons why we should behave ethically, or taking a persuasive stance wherein we might counter those same temptations with all the Para- tactical arguments for ethical behavior, the approach here is to take an enabling stance. We try to identify both the times when we already want to act in accordance with our highest moral values and also the reasons why we feel that way, and then we focus on building the iconic- dance and skills and the scripts that enable us to do so effectively and with the least amount of angst. Rather than pushing or pulling ourselves into values-based AC- Zion, we try to grease the skids that might carry us there. One way that we try to work with personal omen- Tums, rather than fight against it, is by framing our disc- 1 Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values cushion here as a thought experiment. We are invited to consider how we might voice and act on our values if we were going to do so. In this way, we sidestep all the pre- emotive arguments and rationalizations that pop up naturally, about how difficult or even impossible it may be to do so. We create a safe and enabling space, if you will, for experimentation and creative thinking. In the service of creating that safe space, we try to be explicit about as many of the working assumptions that underlie this approach to enabling values-based AC- Zion as possible. These assumptions are intended as the foundation for an exploratory rather than coercive stance. This explicit naming of our assumptions allows for a kind of informed consent at best, or at least for a Provo- signal consent as we embark upon this experiment. Even if we are not entirely certain that we accept all of the as- assumptions, this provisional consent provides room for us to act as if we did, and to see where they might take us, thereby freeing us up to create scripts and implemental- Zion plans for values-driven actions that we might never otherwise develop. Then when we are faced with the AC- tall excision to act on our values, we will at least have a well-developed strategy to consider. In this way, the De- fault of non-action, or of Just going along with the course of least resistance, will have a worthy counter position. So in the service of this informed or provisional consent, lets consider the starting assumptions for Give- inning Voice to Values. These are twelve assumptions, or give- Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 3 ens, that form the story line behind this approach to values-driven action. Assumption One: I want to voice and act upon my values. As discussed in the Introduction, the fundamental as- assumption is that most of us want to find ways to voice and act on our values in the workplace, and to do so fee- get stuck on the idea that even if we want to act ethically, we assume that many others do not. Therefore we conclude that our efforts will be for naught and, whats more, that we will likely pay a price for trying. But why do we always focus on the folks who do not want to behave ethically? If we start instead from the premise that most of us would like to behave in accordance with our values, then it becomes less important whether everyone does so. Instead we only need Just enough folks to share this position; it becomes simply a matter of critical mass. It is a glass-half- empty or half-full kind of issue. By starting from the assumption that most folks do want to voice and act on their best values, we begin to create that very possibility, because we eliminate one of the conclusions that prevent us from Joining this group. (We are putting aside for a moment the question of Copyrighted Material 4 Giving Voice to Our Values which values we, or others, want to voice and act upon. That question is addressed in Chapter 2. Another objection to this first assumption may be the protestation: But I might not want to act on my highest values in all situations! However, Just because an idea may not always be true does not mean it is never true. For the purpose of this thought experiment, we suppose that there are many times when we would in- deed like to voice and act on our values, and by enabling that choice and learning to do so effectively, we are likely to expand the frequency of this choice. It becomes a gene- nine and even a realistic option for us. Assumption Two: I have voiced my values , at some points in my past. Even though research and our own experiences reveal many individual and organizational inhibitors, most Poe- pile have in fact chosen to voice and act on their values on some occasions. In conversations and interviews with managers at all levels of organizations and in the class- rooms where this approach has been discussed, we have yet to find anyone who cannot think of times both when they have and when they have not done so. Typically this realization leads to a conclusion that no one is truly teeth- cal. What if, as part of our thought experiment, we turned this around and concluded that no one is truly unethical? This conclusion can then be the foundation for building Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 5 the muscle for more frequent and more effective values- driven actions. Assumption Three: I can voice my values more often and more effectively. We have the potential to expand our capacity, our effect- tipsiness, and our likelihood to voice and act on our vale- uses by acknowledging that we have such a choice, and by practicing what we would say and do if we made that choice. The working metaphor for the Giving Voice to Vale- uses approach to values conflicts is that of an individual learning a new hysterical skill or sport. Not being an tat- Leticia type myself, I did once take a class in self-defense a number of years ago. The course was called Model Mug- king, and the idea was that instead of simply learning the basic self-defense moves (fist to bridge of nose, heel to instep, knee to groin, and so on), we would also have the opportunity to experience the feel of a full-on blow did- erected at an instructor who was dressed in an entirely padded suit, like the Michelin Man. In this way, the stub- dents could practice delivering the various self-defensive moves full force, rather than simply alkali about what action was called for or miming the moves in the air without the in a support- Eve environment, we would have a chance to practice AP- Copyrighted Material 6 Giving Voice to Our Values plying them during a simulated full-speed attack as well, with the same padded instructor. The thinking and research behind this several-stage approach was that muscle memory is linked to both the experience of full-force contact as well as the heightened emotional state of the simulated engagement, and there- fore, even if our brains are frozen or reacting slowly, our bodies would remember how to respond if e encounter- tired that same emotional state again in an actual real- time situation. There are several interesting aspects to this AP- approach. Before engaging in the simulated attack, we first had to master the actual physical movements by breaking them down into their components and practicing them repeatedly, with full-force impact and with encourage- meet and feedback on our form. This is similar to the way a student of tennis or golf or any other sport might learn and practice the different strokes and positions and build the requisite muscle groups, as preparation or put- ting them together in actual play, or the way a musician practices playing or singing scales before attempting a complex musical composition. Switch,thepremiseisthatvalues-transcripts and actions are a competency that can be learned, and that it is learned by both breaking it down into its com- opponent parts and by practicing the application of those componentsscripts and action plansin cooperative and lower-stress situations. Both the cognitive aspects of the processanalyzing the arguments and creating fee- Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 7 active scriptsas well as the experiential aspectsactually saying the words in concert with peers who stand in as prop- sees for eventual workplace colleaguesare essential. In this way, we build the muscle and the muscle memory so that the approach will come more naturally and skillfully when we encounter actual values conflicts in real time. Some might argue that this is simply an example of traditional role playing in the service of learning. On the contrary, although there is a value in the use of role playing, if we are immediately placed in a situation where we must ice our values in the face of an adversary who is primed to argue vehemently against our position, we may find ourselves unintentionally reinforcing those same anxieties and that same pessimism about our chances at success that we are trying to counter. For example, too often participants in a role play of a values conflict will demonstrate their political astuteness, their savvy, and their experience with the so- called real world of business by assuming a skeptical, if not cynical, stance, pointing out all the reasons why a defense of ethical values is not realistic or practical. Such ole plays tend to send the signal that values-based actions are naive, at best. However, if instead of adversarial role plays, we Cree- ate opportunities to practice our arguments in front of peers who assume the role of coaches, we can work co- operatively and constructively to simultaneously rein- force the best of our arguments, to revise the weakest of our arguments, and to experience the physical and memo- action act of voicing these arguments in public. Copyrighted Material 8 Giving Voice to Our Values unintended negative rein- forewomen of our own best intentions, they would be used only after we have first taken the time to craft and actually practice speaking our positions in a collaborator- dive context. Assumption Four: It is easier for me to voice my values in some contexts than others. Developing the muscle for voicing our values does not diminish the importance of selecting and developing or- generational cultures and policies and incentives that en- courage such choices. In fact, our effort to promote the development of such cultures, policies, and incentives is, in itself, an instance of voicing values. And the more such organizational enablers are in place, he more likely it is that individuals will choose to voice their values. It is a kind of virtuous circle. This is an important part of the puzzle, for there is much research that examines the impact for good or ill of organizational contexts that enable or disable dissent and that focus on narrowly defined versus broadly De- fined performance goals. We will discuss examples of this in subsequent chapters, but the important point here is to recognize that although the emphasis of the GO AP- approach is on the individual and his or her abilities and choices, the organization and its impact are not over- Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 9 looked. Although GO is an individual strategy, individual- LULAS operate within organizations that can limit or en- hence the options available to address values conflicts. Focusing on organizational pressures and norms is, again, not a reason to avoid voicing our values but rather another opportunity to airframe our choices and act on our values, this time by actually addressing the organize- action context itself. As we will see, sometimes individual- alas can more effectively address values conflicts in the workplace by talking about what discourages ethical AC- Zion and engaging leagues in addressing those factors than by tackling the issue head-on. This becomes a kind of Jujitsu move, where colleagues are engaged in fixing the organization in such a fashion that, by the way, ad- dresses the values conflict itself. An example of this is when individuals focus on changing financial incentives and reporting systems that may not only enable, but also encourage, distortions in an organizations internal AU- dining. Looking for ways to fix the system in the service of more accurate planning and forecasting, along the way, addresses the distortions in reporting integrity. Assumption Five: I am more likely to voice my values if I have practiced how to respond to frequently encountered conflicts. There are certain frequently heard reasons and rational- actions for not voicing and acting on our values. But Copyrighted Material 10 Giving Voice to Our Values there are also possible responses or reframing that we can use to counter these reasons and rationalizations. If we familiarize ourselves with these responses in advance, we are more likely to be able to access them when needed and potentially shift a conversation or change a mind. This is especially true when we begin to see hat the types of reasons that we hearand even offer ourselvesfor not voicing our values tend to fall into a set of recognize- able and limited categories, and therefore the levers for responding to them, or entirely recasting them, are Simi- Larry recognizable and consequently learnable. Prior reflection on responses to values given decision situation. That is, if we be- come fluent in ways to address the defenses of less than ethical behaviors, we will find ourselves more easily and more automatically doing so. Rather than experiencing that deer-in-headlights feeling hen we confront values conflicts, our muscle memory can kick in and the memo- seasonality of the moment is reduced. I learned this lesson firsthand a number of years ago. While teaching at the Harvard Business School, I launched a research and course development project on Managing Diversity in the mid-sass. There was no other course on the subject at the school then, but I had both an intellectual as well as a personal interest in purr- suing this work. For a variety of reasons having to do with my own experiences and those of people I knew, I had always experienced significant discomfort when I Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 11 witnessed unfairness or undeserved bias toward school or professional colleagues. Rather than anger toward the offender, however, I would tend to feel guilty and angry at myself for not being confident enough or skillful enough to counter the situation. At some level, I believe I felt that the experience of researching, constructing, and teaching a course on diversity might enable me to learn how to handle such situations myself, even as I was try- inning to teach others. Although teaching the course was a very positive experience for me, at the end of the two years I felt that, sadly, I as no closer to that elusive sense of bulletproof confidence and skill that I believed I needed to be able to speak up when I witnessed unfairness in my professional life. I moved on to other projects. Less than a year later, however, while working as a consultant, I was led to areas- sees the impact of the diversity research and teaching I had done. Two situations in particular caught me up short. In the first instance, my team was presenting a new piece of work to a potential client. The representative from the clients firm was making small talk at the start of our meeting, and he engaged to make several Joking but disparaging comments based on ethnic and class stereotypes. Although the comments were not specific- calla directed at me or any of my team memberswho were racially diverse and included my boss as well as seven- real more Junior managersI was concerned about the tone that we set for our ongoing working relationship. I Copyrighted Material 12 Giving Voice to Our Values didnt really think about it but I Just heard myself sue- getting, with calm but pointed good humor, that perhaps we should turn to topics about which we all were more informed. There was a palpable sense of relief among my colleagues, especially the more Junior ones, and the CLC- .NET, unfounded, good-naturally turned to a more AP- appropriate topic. I was relieved, both because I did not want to lose the client but also because I did not want to bond with him on the basis of discriminatory humor. In the second instance, I recognized that the senior member of my consulting team had made some incorrect and negative assumptions about the writing ability of the sole African-American Junior member of our group. I dont believe this manager was intentionally biased, but his unconscious conclusion was barring the Junior cool- league from a plum assignment. I found myself in a car with this senior manager, and when the subject came up, I simply explained how impressed I was with the result, the Junior consultant received an attractive writing project, and I had the opportunity to work closely with him and benefit personally and profess- signally from the association. I mention these two examples neither because I be- live I handled them flawlessly nor to argue that I always counter bias when I see it. I still struggle tit my desire to avoid conflict and with a certain natural reticence. However, I did manage to shift the behaviors and IM- pacts on my peers in these two situations (not that I have Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 13 any illusions that I actually changed the attitudes of the client in the first example). And I did so with a mini- mum of stress and hand-wringing on my own part. In fact, in both instances, I heard myself making comments that I would never have made prior to my diversity course. In fact, in the past, I would have felt horrible about both situations but would have likely remained tongue-tied. I have concluded that the experience of researching and talking about the many ways that discrimination and bias can occur in professional contexts, and especially the identification of the many arguments against this type of bias and the many ways of responding to these situations, had had a profound impact on me. Not only had I seen how common such situations are, but I had also Para- diced, unwittingly, all the ways that one might respond. I was not shaken or put off my game when the circus- stances arose. I was able to react calmly, thereby without signaling to my audiences that this was a difficult situ- action or that they were somehow bad people. The re- sponges were fact-based, good-natured, and appropriate to the context. Had I been taken off guard or less pre- pared, I would likely have telegraphed more stress, memo- Zion, and blame. But the funny part was, I had not known that I was so prepared until I was in these situations! So I revisited my assessment of the value of my research and discussions of diversity. I believe it was more effect- dive than I had recognized. It was, in fact, a kind of pre- scripting. Copyrighted Material 14 Giving Voice to Our Values Assumption Six: My example is powerful. Just as we ourselves would like to be able to voice and act on our values, we can assume that many of our colleagues would as well. If we can demonstrate credible responses to frequently heard reasons for not voicing and acting on our values, we may encourage and empower others to Join us. An undergraduate business student I interviewed was working in a plum internship doing research for a consulting firm. When her boss told her to lie about who she was to gain intelligence from a competitor, she ex- planned that she didnt want to do so but that she would work to gather comparable information in other ways. Her boss, unconvinced by her ethical arguments, never- toeless indulged her alternative plan, and through hard work, the intern was able to generate a credible report without misrepresenting herself. It might be argued that she had had a very limited impact on the firm; after all, her boss was not likely to change his behavior going for- ward. However, the intern reported that later she was surprised and pleased to see that other interns began coming to her, asking how she managed to complete her task without deception because they, too, wanted to take that road. Whether the organization was changed example. Additionally, rather than walking away from this internship with only a sense of distill- sentiment at what she had learned about how this rep- Copyrighted Giving Voice to Our Values 15 table firm did business, she gained a sense of efficacy and greater confidence in her own options. In fact, she was offered an ongoing position with the firm. Assumption Seven: Although mastering and delivering responses to frequently heard rationalizations can empower others who share my views to act, I cannot assume I know who those folks will be. The responses we develop and practice to frequently eared reasons and rationalizations for unethical behave- IRS are intended to strengthen our own confidence in voicing and acting on our values. Additionally, this Para- twice can influence others who share our values conflict but are unable to find a way to explain their reluctance. However, we cannot assume we know who feels the con- flick and who does not simply by observing their behave- ROR because, as we have already acknowledged, we all have chosen to suppress these felt conflicts at some points in our past. Thus, in the example above, the business student intern might eve thought she had failed if her goal had been only to change her bosss behavior. However, Unix- affectedly and without her conscious intention, her be- having was noticed by some of her peers and they were influenced by her. This is important because often we can become discouraged from trying to voice our values 16 Giving Voice to Our Values because we are not certain of our ability to influence our intended audience. The thing is, we will experience more satisfaction from our efforts to voice our values if we re- main open to the possibility of unintended positive IM- pacts. This is not to say hat we do not design our scripts and action plans with a careful eye to having a hoped-for impact on a particular audience; rather it is simply to acknowledge and value the additional or alternative POS- dive impacts we may have. The only real and ultimate control we have is over ourselves, which leads us directly to the importance of the next assumption. Assumption Eight: The better I know myself, the more I can prepare to play to my strengths and, when necessary, protect myself from my weaknesses. The greater our self-knowledge, the more likely we are to be able to anticipate and manage our responses to values conflicts. Prior reflection on our own personalities and behavioral tendencies under pressure enables us to play to our strengths: that is, to frame the challenge we face in such a way that it draws on the skills and arguments with which we feel most adept and confident. Rather than AC- accepting the challenge as it is put before us, we can take an active role in reshaping it. This kind of self-assessment is not your typical values- Giving Voice to Our Values 17 clarification process. It is not about figuring out what is important to us; the Giving Voice to Values approach starts from the moment our values kick in. Instead this self- assessment is based on the observation that people who do act on their values often have found ways to describe the situation that give them power rather than ways as a prepare- Zion and trigger to consciously put mechanisms in place to protect us from our own weaknesses. However, re- search tells us that often these mechanisms need to go beyond mere self-knowledge and become external tools (incentives, deterrents, automatic review processes, transparency requirements, practicalities networks of sounding boards, et cetera). Our own internal awareness of our biases and tendencies is important but not enough to prevent us from falling ere to them: we need to go beyond awareness to active preparation for values- based decision making, a preparation that includes the script- inning and action planning that GO encourages. Assumption Nine: I am not alone. When we encounter values conflicts in the workplace, often we feel isolated and personally at risk. We may assume that our peers will not share our concern, or that to raise the issue will polarize our colleagues or expose us to greater pressure and vulnerability. This may actually be true. How- Copyrighted Material 18 Giving Voice to Our Values ever, interviews with individuals who have voiced their vale- uses in such situations veal that, in most cases, they did find and rely upon some form of external support system. The challenge is to identify whom to speak with and for which purposes. There are many different sources of support, both inside and outside organizations, and there are many ways of gathering support, some more direct than others. We can utilize our personal support networks (family, friends outside the organization) as sounding boards; we can reach out to our colleagues in the firm to build a coalition of allies or to gather sup- porting information; and we can engage in strategic use of the managerial hierarchy. However, we must consider carefully which approach is most appropriate in a par- testicular situation, keeping in mind the implications not only for ourselves and the challenge we face, but also for the individuals we engage. The examples discussed here show different ways that individuals countered the ten- Denny to feel isolated. Assumption Ten: Although I may not always succeed, voicing and acting on my values is worth doing. When pursuing our values, Just as with any other man- serial action, we do not always succeed at what we set out to achieve, et that does not necessarily prevent us and others from taking action. There are no guarantees or Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 19 reckless action plans, around voicing values or anything else, and GO does not claim that there are. Rather than backing off from our values because we cant muster the words or the strategies in the moment, and rather than rashly voicing values in ways that belie the management sophistication and interpersonal insight we would exhibit in a less charged situation, GO is about providing the pop- opportunity to hone and reactive our approach, such that we feel greater confidence and can behave more skillfully. In this way, the goal is to increase the likelihood of success. Additionally, we are more likely to voice our values if we have decided that the costs of not doing so, and the benefits of trying, are important enough to us that we would pursue them even though we cannot be certain of success in advance. In order to get to this place of clarity, we need to spend some serious time thinking about our own identity, our personal and professional purpose, and our definition of success and failure. We will fleet clear-eyed upon the risks associated with voicing our values, so that we can be prepared to handle the possible implications. Assumption Eleven: Voicing my values leads to better decisions. It is often difficult to be certain that a specific course of action is right or wrong, but we are more likely to Copyrighted Material 20 Giving Voice to Our Values come to the best decision if we feel empowered to voice our concerns about values conflicts and discuss them with others. In fact, one of the most common objections to the idea of voicing and acting on our values is the con- CERN that we may be wrong, hat our values might spring from a place of self-righteousness or incomplete under- standing. And of course, this is a valid concern. Unfortunately, too often this concern serves to is- lance us, preventing us from sharing our perspectives be- cause we assume that they are not valid. If, however, we learn to examine our values-based position in depth and from multiple perspectives, as the GO approach out- lines, we not only will become more adept at presenting our values-based position, but we will also be testing it against the views of others and supporting it with the necessary information. Our own position will become richer. In addition, even if in the end we conclude that our going-in position was incorrect, the process of analyzing and sharing our concerns can improve our organize- action decision-making process. In fact, one of the less- sons shared by the individuals interviewed for GO is that decisions are often improved if we do not assume that managerial directives are final and unquestionable, but rather view them as simply opening hypotheses. Take- inning this view can also help us to present our views with the calm confidence that comes room the belief that we are adding value by doing so. Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 21 Assumption Twelve: The more I believe its possible to voice and act on my values, the more likely I will be to do so. We are more likely to voice and act on our values when we believe it is possible to do so, and to do so effectively. If we pay attention to positive examples of such voice and action and spend time developing support Mecca- minims and practicing the development and delivery of responses to frequently heard reasons and rationalize- actions for unethical actions, we can expand our sense of whats possibleanother virtuous circle. On the other hand, if we focus most of our time and attention identifying and bemoaning all the ways in which we are discouraged from voicing our values, we will be reinforcing that process. This is not only common sense; increasingly it is a phenomenon supported by re- search in the fields of positive psychology as well as the cognitive neuroscience. L In fact, the GO approach described in these pages is more than a set of insights and tools that we can learn to apply; the very act of reading and reflecting upon all the ways that looks have voiced and can act on their vale- uses can change the way we experience reality. That is, rather than proving that we can act on our values, we are simply making it true. And we do this by reframing the question from whether to voice our values to how can we voice our values? Copyrighted Material 22 Giving Voice to Our Values Having now familiarized ourselves with the work- inning assumptions behind the GO thought experiment, it becomes important to ask: What are our reactions to these informed, or at least a Provo- signal, consent to the GO project, then it becomes IM- orator not only to name and define these underlying assumptions, but also to reflect on both our resonances with them as well as our reservations or objections to them. We might consider: A