Organizational Culture and Performance Essay

The concept of organizational culture has drawn attention to the long-neglected, subjective or ‘soft’ side of organizational life. However, many aspects of organizational culture have not received much attention. Instead, emphasis has been placed primarily on the cultural and symbolic aspects that are relevant in an instrumental/pragmatic context. The technical cognitive interest prevails. Culture then is treated as an object of management action. In this regard, Ouchi and Wilkins (1985: 462) note that ‘the contemporary student of organizational culture often takes the organization not as a natural solution to deep and universal forces but rather as a rational instrument designed by top management to shape the behavior of the employees in purposive ways’. Accordingly, much research on corporate culture and organizational symbolism is dominated by a preoccupation with a limited set of meanings, symbols, values, and ideas presumed to be manageable and directly related to effectiveness and performance. This is in many ways understandable, but there are two major problems following from this emphasis. One is that many aspects of organizational culture are simply disregarded. It seems strange that the (major part of the) literature should generally disregard such values as bureaucratic-‘meritocratic’ hierarchy, unequal distribution of privileges and rewards, a mixture of individualism and conformity, male domination, emphasis on money, economic growth, consumerism, advanced technology, exploitation of nature, and the equation of economic criteria with rationality. Instrumental reason dominates; quantifiable values and the optimization of means for the attainment of pre-given ends define rationality (Horkheimer and Adorno, 1947; Marcuse, 1964). Mainstream organizational culture thinking – in organizations but also in academia – tend to take this for granted. The values and ideas to which organizational culture research pays attention are primarily connected with the means and operations employed to achieve pre-defined and unquestioned goals. A second problem is that subordinating organizational culture thinking to narrowly defined instrumental concerns also reduces the potential of culture to aid managerial action. Organizational culture calls for considerations that break with some of the assumptions characterizing technical thinking, i.e. the idea that a particular input leads to a predictable effect. This chapter thus shows some problems associated with the use of the term culture that does not take the idea of culture seriously enough and presses the concept into a limited version of the technical cognitive interest. It argues for a ‘softer’ version of this interest as well as for thinking following the other two cognitive interests (as sketched in Chapter 1). A basic problem in much management thinking and writing is an impatience in showing the great potential of organizational culture. Associated with this is a bias for a premature distinction between the good and the bad values and ideas, trivialization of culture, overstressing the role of management and the employment of causal thinking. Premature normativity: the idea of good culture Associated with the technical interest of optimizing means for accomplishment of goals is an underdeveloped capacity to reflect upon normative matters. Viewing cultures as means leads to evaluations of them as more or less ‘good’, i.e. as useful, without consideration whether this goodness is the same as usefulness or if usefulness may be very multidimensional. The more popular literature argues that ‘good’ or ‘valuable’ cultures – often equated with ‘strong’ cultures – are characterized by norms beneficial to the company, to customers, and to mankind and by ‘good’ performance in general: Good cultures are characterized by norms and values supportive of excellence, teamwork, profitability, honesty, a customer service orientation, pride in one’s work, and commitment to the organization. Most of all, they are supportive of adaptability – the capacity to thrive over the long run despite new competition, new regulations, new technological developments, and the strains of growth. (Baker, 1980: 10) Good cultures are, according to this author, cultures that incorporate all good things in peaceful co-existence. Also many other authors eager to appeal to practitioners focus on highly positive-sounding virtues, attitudes, and behaviour claimed to be useful to the achievement of corporate goals as defined by management (e.g. Deal and Kennedy, 1982; Trice and Beyer, 1985). They are largely instrumental in character, without considering any ambiguity of the virtue of culture or what it supposedly accomplished in terms of goal realization. The assumption that culture can be simply evaluated in terms of right and wrong come through in embarrassing statements such as that ‘the wrong values make the culture a major liability’ (Wiener, 1988: 536) has already been mentioned. Similarly, Kilmann et al. (1985: 4) argue that ‘a culture has a positive impact on an organization when it points behavior in the right direction†¦. Alternatively, a culture has negative impact when it points behavior in the wrong direction’. According to Wilkins and Patterson (1985: 272): ‘The ideal culture †¦ is characterized by a clear assumption of equity †¦ a clear sense of collective competence †¦ and an ability to continually apply the collective competence to new situations as well as to alter it when necessary.’ Kanter (1983) talks about ‘cultures of pride’, which are good, and ‘cultures of inferiority’, which any sane person will avoid. This type of functionalist, normative, and instrumentally biased thinking is also found in Schein’s (1985) book, in which culture is seen as a pattern of basic assumptions that has ‘proved’ to be valid for a group coping with problems of external adaptation and internal integration. Basically, culture in this literature is instrumental in relation to the formal goals of an organization and to the management objectives or tasks associated with these goals (i.e. external and internal effectiveness). It is assumed to exist because it works – or at least used to work. Of course, changed circumstances can make a culture dysfunctional – calling for planned, intentional change – but the approach assumes that culture is or can be ‘good’ for some worthwhile purpose. As will be shown later ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are not, however, self-evident, especially when it comes to complex phenomena such as culture. A bias towards the ‘positive’ functions of culture and its close relation to issues such as harmony, consensus, clarity, and meaningfulness is also implicit in many of these studies (see Martin and Meyerson, 1988). Symbols and cultural aspects are often seen as functional (or dysfunctional) for the organization in terms of goal attainment, meeting the emotional-expressive needs of members, reducing tension in communication, and so on. Instrumental/functional dimensions are often emphasized, for instance, in studies of rites and ceremonies (e.g. Dandridge, 1986; Trice and Beyer, 1984). The typical research focus is on social integration (Alvesson, 1987). Culture is understood as (usually or potentially) useful – and those aspects of culture that are not easily or directly seen as useful remain out of sight, e.g. on gender and ethics. The most common ideas guiding organizational analysis draw upon such metaphors for culture as tool, social glue, need satisfier, or regulator of social relations. Problems include the premature use of moral judgement, in a way hidden behind technical understanding in which culture is viewed as a tool and presumably as easy to evaluate in terms of its goodness as a hammer. But few issues are simply good or bad, functional or dysfunctional. Some things that may be seen as good may be less positive from another angle. A ‘clear sense of collective competence’ – to connect to the citation above – does in itself sound positive and is good for self-esteem and commitment, but a high level of self-confidence may be a mixed blessing as it easily forms a part of, or leads to, fantasies of omnipotence, and may obstruct openness, reflection, willingness to listen to critique and take new external ideas seriously (Brown and Starkey, 2000). Cultural themes thus call for careful consideration, where normative judgement should be applied with great caution. Normative talk easily prevents more nuanced interpretation. Trivialization of culture As argued above, the consequence of the functionalist/pragmatic approach is that culture tends to be reduced to those limited aspects of this complex phenomenon that are perceived to be directly related to organizational efficiency and competitive advantage (see, e.g. Barney, 1986; Kilmann et al., 1985). This means a rather selected interest in organizational culture. But much worse is a tendency to emphasize mainly the superficial aspects of these selected parts of organizational culture. These superficial aspects have the advantage that they are compatible with technical thinking, presumably accessible to managerial interventions. Culture may even be equated with certain behavioural norms viewed as ‘an excellent vehicle for helping people understand and manage the cultural aspects of organizational life’ (Allen, 1985: 334). In marketing, market-oriented culture is frequently defined as the key to strong performances (Harris and Ogbonna, 1999), culture here implying certain behaviours. The problem, of course, is that norms are not the best vehicle for understanding culture. Whereas norms tell people how to behave, culture has a much broader and more complex influence on thinking, feeling, and sense-making (Schneider, 1976). Again, Barney (1986), Pfeffer (1994) and others argue that to serve as a source of sustained competitive advantage culture must be ‘valuable, rare, and imperfectly imitable’. If this statement is to make any sense at all, culture must be interpreted as highly normative, accessible to evaluation in terms of frequency (i.e. quantifiable), and capable of being copied a t will. This conception deprives culture of the richness that is normally seen as its strength. At the same time, any culture may be seen as vital for competitive advantage (or as disadvantage), as it is arguably, highly significant and not easy to imitate. As Pfeffer (1994), among others, notes, many of the earlier identified sources of competitive advantage, such as economies of scale, products or process technology, access to financial resources and protected or regulated markets, become of diminishing significance as a consequence of more fragmented markets with an increasing need for flexibility in production, shorter product life cycle, internationalizations and de-regulations. A company’s competence and ability to manage people – to a considerable degree overlapping organizational culture – are not easy to imitate. Even to describe and analyse culture is difficult, as indicated by all the management texts providing only superficial and trivial descriptions of culture, such as norms about ‘market-oriented’ behaviour. The trivialization of organizational culture is not, however, solely restricted to writings promising the quick fix. Despite an effort to define organizational culture on a deeper level, emphasizing basic assumptions, Schein (1985) in most of his empirical examples tends to address the more superficial aspects. One example concerns the acquisition of a franchised business: The lack of understanding of the cultural risks of buying a franchised business was brought out even more clearly in another case, where a very stuffy, traditional, moralistic company whose management prided itself on its high ethical standards bought a chain of fast-food restaurants that were locally franchised around the country. The company’s managers discovered, much to their chagrin, that one of the biggest of these restaurants in a nearby state had become the local brothel. The activities of the town were so well integrated around this restaurant that the alternative of closing it down posed the risk of drawing precisely the kind of attention this company wanted at all costs to avoid. The managers asked themselves, after the fact, ‘Should we have known what our acquisition involved on this more subtle level? Should we have understood our own value system better, to ensure compatibility?’ (Schein, 1985: 34–5) Here the problem seems to be lack of knowledge on a very specific point – what the company was buying – rather than lack of understanding of the company’s own value system. Most ordinary, ‘respectable’ corporations, whatever their organizational culture, would probably wish to avoid becoming owners of brothels. Prostitution is broadly seen as illegitimate, not only by those who Schein views as ‘very stuffy, traditional, moralistic’ people. Apart from the moral issue, there is of course the risk that bad publicity would follow and harm the company. Managerialization of culture Another aspect of adapting culture to technical concerns, and the reduction of complexity and depth contingent upon such concerns, is the confusion of organizational culture with the firm’s management ideology. Frequently what is referred to as organizational or corporate culture really stands for the ideals and visions prescribed by top management (Alvesson, 1987; Westley and Jaeger, 1985). It is sometimes held that the best way to investigate ‘corporate culture’ is through interviews with top managers, but the outcome of this approach tends to be a description of the espoused ideology of those managers that ‘only skim the culture that surrounds the top executives’ (Czarniawska-Joerges, 1992: 174). Denison (1984) in a survey claiming to study corporate culture, for example asked one manager per company in a large number of companies to fill in a questionnaire. Organizational culture and managerial ideology are in most cases not the same, partly due to the lack of depth of ideology compared to culture, partly due to variation within organizations and discrepancies between top management and other groups. To differentiate between corporate culture as prescribed and manager-led and organizational culture as ‘real culture’ and more or less emergent from below is one possibility (Anthony, 1994). However, management ideology is not necessarily very different from organizational culture – there are cases where management ideology powerfully impregnates cultural patterns (Alvesson, 1995; Kunda, 1992). But this needs to be empirically investigated and shown, and cannot be assumed. Management ideology is but one of several expressions of organizational culture. In most discussions of the relationship between culture and performance, authors focus on values espoused by senior managers, to a higher or lower degree shared by larger groups, while the complexity and variety of culture is neglected.1 From a management point of view, the managerialization of organizational culture immediately appears appealing; but arguably deeper, less conscious aspects of cultural patterns than those managers are already aware of and promote are more valuable, at least in the long run, to focus on. Rather than smoothing over differences and variations in meanings, ideas and values within organizations, highlighting the latter is significant as a basis of informed management thinking and action. Loosening the grip of premature practicality The three weaknesses of much organizational culture thinking reviewed above are related to the wish to make culture appear as of immediate interest to practitioners, and to fit into a predominantly technical cognitive interest in which culture is reduced to a tool. Cultural studies should be permitted to develop unrestricted by, or at least more loosely connected to, concerns for practicality. It is important here is to recognize the contradiction between sophisticated thinking and easily applicable practical concerns: The more rigorously (anthropologically) the term (culture) is applied, the more the concept of organizational culture gains in theoretical interpretative power and the more it loses in practicality. In the effort to overcome this contradiction the danger is that theoretical rigour will be lost in the interest of practicality. (Westley and Jaeger, 1985: 15) Even if one wants to contribute to practicality, rather than to anthropology, this still calls for another kind of intellectual approach than most of the authors cited above exemplify. Oversimplification and promises of ‘quick fixes’ do not necessarily serve narrow pragmatic interests, neither those of managers nor of others. Making things look clear-cut and simple may mislead. Practitioners might benefit much more from the pro-managerial and pragmatic organizational culture literature if it stopped promising recipes for how to manage and control culture and instead discussed other phenomena which managers might, with luck and skill, be able to influence – for example, specific cultural manifestations, workplace spirit and behavioural norms. Learning to ‘think culturally’ about organizational reality might inspire enlightened managerial everyday action rather than unrealistic programmes for culture change or bending patterns of meaning, ideas and valu es to managerial will. Before assuming that culture is functional or good for organizational or managerial purposes, it makes sense to distinguish among possible consequences and to recognize that they may conflict. Critical reflection and learning may be a good thing, consensus facilitating control and coordinated action another, and reduction of anxiety a third; but not all these good things may be attainable at the same time and they may contradict each other. Perhaps more important, contradictory interests – those of professions, divisions, classes, consumers, environmentalists, the state, owners, top management, etc. – may produce different views on what is good, important, and appropriate. Also within complex organizations, corporate goal-attainment may presuppose considerable variation in cultural orientations. Most aspects of culture are difficult to designate as clearly good or bad. To simplify these relationships runs the risk of producing misleading pictures of cultural manifestati ons. Instead, the focus must become the tensions between the creative and destructive possibilities of culture formation (Jeffcutt, 1993). Approaches to the cultureÂâ€"performance relationship There are different ideas regarding to what extent organizational culture can be used as a managerial tool. I will point at and discuss three versions of how managers can work with culture. These represent the relative significance of management versus culture: can management control culture or must management adapt to culture? Cultural engineering: corporate culture as managerial design In the most instrumentally oriented of these formulations, culture is conceived as a building block in organizational design – a subsystem, well-demarcated from other parts of the organization, which includes norms, values, beliefs, and behavioural styles of employees. Even though it may be difficult to master, it is in principle no different from other parts of the organization in terms of management and control. The term ‘cultural engineering’ captures the spirit of this position, which is sometimes called the ‘corporate-culture school’ (Alvesson and Berg, 1992). Kilmann (1985: 354) recognizes that there is considerable disagreement about what culture is but concludes that ‘it is still important to consider what makes a culture good or bad, adaptive or dysfunctional’. He describes culture almost as a physical force: ‘Culture provides meaning, direction, and mobilization – it is the social energy that moves the corporation into allocation †¦ the energy that flows from shared commitments among group members’ (p. 352) and ‘the force controlling behaviour at every level in the organization’ (p. 358). He believes that every firm has a distinctive culture that can develop and change quickly and must be managed and controlled: ‘If left alone, a culture eventually becomes dysfunctional’ (p. 354). The underlying metaphor then clearly comes from technical science. The crucial dimension of culture, according to Kilmann, is norms; it is here that culture is ‘most easily controlled’. More precisely, it is the norms that guide the behaviour and attitudes of the people in the company that are of greatest interest and significance, because they have a powerful effect on the requirements for its success – quality, efficiency, product reliability, customer service, innovation, hard work, loyalty, etc. This is the core of most (American) texts on corporate culture (e.g. Deal and Kennedy, 1982; Peters and Waterman, 1982; Sathe, 1985; Wiener, 1988). There are many difficulties with this model. Norms refer to a too superficial and behaviour-near aspect to really capture culture, at least as defined in this book. Norms and behaviours are affected by many dimensions other than culture. Within a culture there are a number of norms related to the enormous variety of different behaviours. The point with culture is that it indicates the meaning dimension, i.e. what is behind and informs norms. A related problem with this behaviour-near view on culture is the tendency to see culture as more or less forcefully affecting behaviour. For example, Sathe (1985: 236) argues that ‘the strength of a culture influences the intensity of behavior’, and the ‘strength’ of a culture is determined by ‘how many important shared assumptions there are’, how widely they are shared, and how clearly they are ranked. A ‘strong’ culture is thus characterized by homogeneity, simplicity, and clearly ordered assumptions. In a ‘complex’ culture – by definition any culture – assumptions will probably be very difficult to identify and rank, and it can even be argued that such a measurement approach distorts the phenomena it is supposed to study. As Fitzgerald (1988: 9–10) has put it: Values do not exist as isolated, independent, or incremental entities. Beliefs and assumptions, tastes and inclinations, hopes and purposes, values and principles are not modular packages stored on warehouse shelves, waiting for inventory. They have no separate existence, as do spark plugs in an engine; they cannot be examined one at a time and replaced when burned out†¦. They have their own inner dynamic: Patriotism, dignity, order, progress, equality, security – each implies other values, as well as their opposites. Patriotism implies homeland, duty, and honor, but also takes its strength from its contrast to disloyalty; dignity requires the possibility of humiliation and sham e.

Tefl Teaching English to Young Learners

Teaching English to Young Learners with GO TEFL Result: 81% Assignment Answer the following questions based on your course readings for this module. (100 marks) Part 1: This section covers multiple choice type questions. Choose the correct answer from the possible answers provided. 1. What is one of the main differences between children and adult EFL students? (1) 1. Children are more likely to be forced to attend the classes. 2. Games are effective for children but not effective for adults. 3. It is more important to create the need to learn in adults than in children. .Which of the following is true? (1) 1. Teaching children should be based on improvisation. 2. Children should be taught only through games. 3. It is essential to plan your lessons thoroughly when teaching children. 3. What is important to do in the first class where you teach the letter ‘o'? (1) 1. to associate it with one sound and a word, for example ‘orange', through the use of flash cards 2. to associ ate it with at least two sounds and at least two words, such as ‘orange' and ‘open', through the use of flash cards 3. o teach the name of the letter ‘O' in the alphabet and get the students to repeat a word with ‘o' after you, for example ‘orange' 4. Which of the following is a phonic: (1) 1. the sound  as in ‘jet’; 2. the letter ‘j’; 3. ‘jay’ Choose one answer. 1. a. both 1 and 3 2. only 1 3. only 2 5. You are introducing the letter ‘i’. You have just drilled the word ‘lip’.When will you drill the word ‘bike’? (1) 1. immediately 2. later in the same class 3. in a later class 6. You have just finished teaching single-letter vowel sounds to your students. Which of these sounds is a suitable choice to focus on in your next lesson? 1) 1. ‘ea’ as in ‘eagle’ 2. ‘th’ as in ‘thing’ 3. ‘s’ as in ‘sand’ 7. What is the double-letter sound in the word ‘headline’? (1) 1. he 2. ea 3. in 8. When is the best time to introduce the plural form of nouns? (1) 1. together with the singular form 2. in students’ second year of studying English 3. together with numerals 9. What is the best way of teaching children to pronounce the word ‘road'? (1) 1. first drill ‘r-r-r’, then ‘o-o-o’, then ‘a-a-a’, then ‘oa-oa-oa’, then ‘d-d-d’, finally drill the sounds together ‘road-road-road’ 2. irst drill ‘r-r-r’, then ‘oa-oa-oa’, then ‘d-d-d’, then drill the sounds together ‘road-road-road’   3. first drill the letters ‘ar-ar-ar’, then ‘ou-ou-ou’, then ‘ei-ei-ei’, then ‘dee-dee-dee’, then drill the word ‘road-road-road’. 10. Francis has asked her colleagues some advice on how to teach writi ng to her young students. Here is the advice three of them gave: (1)Fenton: â€Å"Get them to imagine that the whiteboard is a page from their exercise-books and demonstrate to them on the board where to begin writing letters/words and how to write them. Deon: â€Å"Teach them two ways of writing each letter but not at the same time – first teach all the letters in upper case, then all the letters in lower case. † Kate: â€Å"Show them how some letters fit between two lines while others reach the higher line or the lower line. † Whose advice is incorrect? 1. Fenton’s 2. Deon’s 3. Kate’s 11. You are a little frustrated because your students speak too much native language in class. They know that you understand their language, so you realise they do not feel motivated enough to speak English.How can you encourage them to speak only English in class? 1) 1. introduce a punishment for using the native language 2. do drilling for most of the less on; as they repeat after you, they won’t get an opportunity to use their native language 3. introduce a puppet to them, tell the students that the puppet can only speak and understand English and use the puppet throughout the lesson   12. It will probably be impossible for you to keep young learners enthusiastic about learning English if you: (1) 1. don’t give them any praise. 2. don’t let them use their native language. 3. don’t use any gap-fill activities. 3. If you have a student who repeatedly misbehaves and disrupts lessons, which of the following courses of action could be reasonable and effective? (1) 1. discourage the other students from associating with him/her both during and after classes 2. talk loudly and angrily to the child 3. meet with the child’s parents 14. Annette has selected these three structures to teach 5 year-old children in their first year of learning English: (1) 1. ‘Which do you like better, †¦ or †¦? ‘ 2. The past simple of regular and irregular verbs 3. ‘Have you ever been to†¦'Are all those structures suitable for learners of that level? 1. Yes, they are. 2. Structures 1 and 3 are suitable but structure 2 is not. 3. None of the structures are suitable as they are above the students’ level. 15. What is the recommended duration of each activity in a lesson with young learners? (1) 1. 2 minutes 2. 5 minutes 3. 10 minutes Part 2: In this section, questions are generally more open-ended and require a lot of thought. In your responses, particularly those requiring extended writing, please feel free to write more than is required. 1.Think of a game or activity which could help young learners develop their speaking skills (do not use those already mentioned in the module) and describe, step by step, how you would play it with your class. Note: in this game/activity the learners should talk to each other using sentences rather than single words. (Write about 100 words. ) (15) Circular group talking with a ball The young learners get into a circle of four in order to pass the ball to each other. Everyone gets a turn to communicate their name, age, favorite animal†¦ a) Sarah says Hello, What’s your name? b) Patrick says; â€Å"Hello, My name is Patrick! passes the ball to Emma, â€Å"What’s your name? † Emma replies; â€Å"My name is Emma! † c) â€Å"Sarah, How old are you? † Sarah replies; â€Å"I am six years old! † d) (If there is time and depending on the level of English)â€Å"Mary, What’s your favorite farm animal? † Patrick says â€Å"My favorite farm animal is the cow moo, moo! Emma, What’s your favorite farm animal? † Emma replies; â€Å"Me, I like dogs â€Å"woof, woof† This activity gets all the young learners actively involved. They practically sing the sentences to each other (drilling). 2. Describe, step by step, how you would teach the followin g structures.Include any visual aids you would use, what drilling (repetition) you would do and what your instructions would be. You don’t have to write a full lesson plan or activities. Write about 100 words for each structure. 1. Structure 1: Where is it? It’s on/in/under†¦ (15) By using Realia For example: playing hide and seek with a ball while simultaneously using the appropriate phrases and demonstrating their meaning. a) (Teacher hides the ball under the table) â€Å"Where is the ball? It‘s on the chair, in the bag or under the table†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Students reply; â€Å"The ball is under the table, Teacher† ) The young learners repeat the phrases and then take turns hiding the ball. c) Patrick (hides the ball); â€Å"Where is the ball? † Sarah replies, â€Å"It’s in the bag†. d) Sarah (hinds the ball) and asks â€Å"Mary, Where is the ball? † Mary replies, â€Å"it’s on Patrick’s chair†. By playi ng hide and seek (repetitiion/drilling) this enables the children to have fun while learning. 2. Structure 2: How many†¦ are there? There are†¦ (15) a) Again with Realia, I start by demonstrating with sweets (amusing item for sweet tooths) â€Å"How many sweets are there in my hand? Students reply â€Å"There are three sweets in your hand teacher†.Repeating these actions until they become familiar with the phrases. b) And then, I send a bag of sweets around the class so each young learner gets a turn (to correct themselves). c) Every student offers some sweets from the bag to his/her classmate. Each student takes a handful of sweets and counts them. Then asks his/her classmate: â€Å"How many sweets are there in my hand, Sarah? † â€Å"There are two sweets in your hand Patrick. .† d) And so on around the classroom until all the students are comfortable (drilled) with these expressions. 3. Structure 3: Can you†¦? Yes, I can/No I can’t. 15) a) First of all, I give the class an example-context: Realia with a cell phone as children enjoy imitating adults on the phone. â€Å"Hello Mary, It’s Sarah, Can you come to the Cinema on Saturday? † â€Å"Yes I can come to the cinema on Saturday Sarah† Or â€Å"No I can’t Sarah† . b) I ask the students to repeat these phrases a couple of times-drilling. c) And then, I ask them to get into small groups of 3/4 d) And ask them to use other examples of what they like to do on Saturdays: play tennis, football etc. â€Å"Can you come to football on Saturday? †Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yes, I can come to play football on Saturday† No, I can’t. † e) Then back within the whole group, I check the comprehension with more questions around the class to make sure everyone can say and understand (drilled) these phrases. Teacher says; â€Å"Brendan can you ask Sarah can she come to class tomorrow? † â€Å"Sarah replies, yes I can come to class tomo rrow, Brendan! † 3. Read the section (2. Planning an interesting lesson) at the end of the module and imagine you are giving the next lesson to the same class. Your aim is to teach the following set of new double letter sounds: (25) ai as   in sail ay as in tray ir as in girl a as in boat Write a lesson plan according to the same model. The time and level are the same and your aims will be to teach a new set of double letter sounds. Please use as much as you can from the different parts of this module and include a varied range of activities. Total  [100 marks] Using Presentation Practice Production (PPP) as my teaching model. IntroductionStagePresentationSetting the context| First of all, I briefly revise and verify that the students have understood the previously learnt single letter sounds to get them into the context for today’s lesson.In order to set the context (double letter sounds), I show the students a set of flashcards –the students are given the t ime to name the noun (teamwork) and learn new vocabulary. ai – sail ay – tray ir – girl oa – boat Demonstrating these nouns with flashcards allows me to keep my Teacher Talk Time (TTT) low and can prompt the students when they do not know the pronounciation of the double letter sounds. This way I can identify the level of the different students. | Eliciting the target| I send the flashcards around the class so each member gets a chance to attempt to say the words. Sail†, â€Å"tray†, â€Å"girl†, â€Å"boat†The students become more confident when they repeat the nouns individually. This will help them realize that they are capable of pronouncing double letter sounds and encourage them to learn new vocabulary. And then as a whole class we repeat together once again. I encourage the students to feel free to communicate within the group and participate in each others learning. | Concept checking| Once the double letter sounds have been drilled, I ask Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) to make sure that the students have understood the targeted word meaning.I continue to incorporate drilling during this stage. Examples:Is Sarah a boy or a â€Å"girl†? What does a sailorman do? â€Å"Sails a boat† In a restaurant we serve with a â€Å" tray†| Drilling and furtherconcept checking| Using different interactions and teamwork with the aid of the flashcards Examples: All the boys please : â€Å"Sail† All the girls please: â€Å" boat†All the boys, what is the girl holding? â€Å"the girl is holding a tray†All the girls please, What does a Sailorman do? â€Å"Sails a boat†Ã¢â‚¬Å" All the students beside the window please? boat â€Å"etcThis enables me to check the level of the pronunciation that the students use so that they can use them in the following activities. | Board work| The students are invited up to the board in groups of four to form the words. The double le tters are in red: ai, ay, ir, oa and they must find the other letters (previously learnt) from the alphabet to build the spelling of the words sail, girl, tray and boat. We all correct the board work together as a class and then, I add the phonetic script next to the noun on the board. PracticePractice Activity (1)| Now that the class feels comfortable with these double letter sounds, the students can work in small groups. I randomly ask members of the class that need more practice to fill in the gaps. Pictures from a book shown to the class, randomly the teacher asks questions like â€Å"What is the girl holding student replies (with help from another classmate if needed): â€Å"the girl is holding a tray†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Can you describe the image you see here? †Reply: â€Å"The boat is sailing in the sea†I make sure to praise the students that make efforts to communicate.I then give each person a page from the book and individually ask them to describe the image with t he nouns they have just learnt. | Practice Activity (2)| First, I explain that they are going to get into groups of three and think of a song with the nouns. I double check that the students understand the activity. I give them three minutes to complete the task. Using Realia: each group are given an objet: boat, Barbie doll girl, boat with a sail, a kitchen tray and they must try and think of a song with the item (noun) they have chosen:boat, girl, sail, tray I stay available to help each group if they need more motivation or ideas.When time is up, I ask one person out of each group if they want to be a team leader and present briefly their ideas of their song with the noun. The feedback involves the students reading out the answers. And then I use self and peer correction to drill the words that the students had problems with during the task. | Language Review| In order to continue drilling the double letter sounds and revise the songs they just imagined. The children then listen and sing along to the following songs on a CD player.This allows them to revise their pronunciation and the meaning of the nouns that they have just learnt. â€Å"The big ship sails on the ally ally oh†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’m a Barbie Girl†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Little Gingerbread Men (lying on a tray)†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Row, Row, Row Your Boat†(If time and the young learners are still quite energetic they can line up sitting behind one and other on the floor and demonstrate â€Å"the row, row, row your boat† while singing the song)- drillingAn enjoyable ending to the class! |

The Future of Beverage Industry Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9750 words

The Future of Beverage Industry - Dissertation Example While the beverage industry is evolving at a rapid pace, it is putting pressure on the traditional soft drink companies that are losing their market share to drinks such as sports drinks and juices. As consumers are getting awareness regarding the health implications of soft drinks, they are quickly adopting safer alternatives. Certain schools have banned the selling of carbonated drinks in their premises due to health risks and the increased hyperactivity in the children. This has impacted the sales of carbonated drinks considerably since teenagers are the biggest market for carbonated drinks. These drinks are been replaced by fruit juices, bottled water and other healthy drinks. This quick replacement to other drinks also suggests that the beverage industry has become very saturated as all kinds of drinks are being introduced by the competitors and consumers can quickly change from one to the other. Thus, a time has come where the need of the soft drink company is to evolve itself. For the purpose of this research, Coca-Cola Company has been selected since it is a market leader but is still facing issues with respect to the changing consumer preferences. 1.2 Significance of the Study This Study would aim to analyze the beverage industry and its implication on soft drink companies. The beverage industry provides great potential for the business man of today even while it is putting pressure on the traditional soft drink companies. This study would serve as a guide for beverage industry to improve upon their operations to better cope up with the changing scenario. 1.3. Objectives of the Study Can soft drink companies hope to survive by just tapping the soft drink consumers in this age of market saturation and changing consumer needs? 1.4. Research objectives 1. What changes have been seen

Organizational Promotion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizational Promotion - Assignment Example Selection of staff for promotion is about selecting the right person for a higher job and it's a two-way process of companies to invite knowledgeable and talent applicant to enjoy higher designation within the firm. Before the actual interview process, short-listing is used for filtering for the right candidates to be promoted to higher positions. Then the suitable candidates can be selected through these techniques. Some of the more popular selection techniques are the interviews, tests, and assessment centre. By far interviewing is the most commonly used as a promotional selection tool. There are two structured interview techniques are behavioural and situational interview. During interview, the candidate can demonstrate their ability and present their expertise to the interviewers. The interviewers can make assessment by comparing the performance of each interviewee and promote the suitable candidate for particular position. The selection process at different stages of the enterprise is different; therefore, during the interview, the interviews can setup the assessment criteria to meet their need based on the requirements. Internal promotion process may generate a large number of applicants for vacant higher positions, especially when an open rather than a closed recruitment system is used. Initial assessment methods are used to screen out internal applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications needed to become a candidate for a position. Types of Initial assessment methods are skills inventory, which uses existing data on employee skills that may be found in organizational files. Peer assessments, which are used to evaluate the promotabilitiy of an internal applicant. Self-assessment is when job incumbents can be asked to evaluate their own skills as the basis for determining promo ability. Managerial sponsorship involves senior management identifying and developing the profiles of those individuals at lower levels in the organization. The last type of initial assessment is informal discussion/recommendations, which is when not all promotion decisions are made on the basis of formal HR policy, and procedures, which can be questioned in terms of their relevance to actual job performance. Substantive Assessments Substantive assessments are used to narrow the internal applicant pool down to finalists. Some types of substantive methods include seniority and experience, which are among the most prevalent methods of internal selection. Job knowledge tests which measure one's mastery of the concepts needed to perform certain work which is usually measured with a paper and pencil test that is based on the job content. Performance appraisals, which capture both ability and motivation, which offers a complete, look at a person's job qualifications. Promotional Rating Promotability Ratings may be done at the same time as performance appraisals are useful for both recruiting and selection activities discussing what is needed to be promoted during performance appraisals can encourage employee development of new skills. Assessment Centres, which is a collection of predictors, used to forecast

Healthcare Service in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthcare Service in America - Essay Example The American Association for Labor Legislation (AALL) of 1915 was one of the legislative attempts prior to WWII that sought to get the government intervening in healthcare provision but it failed due to opposition from different quarters. The limited government involvement in healthcare provision prior to WWII is an important factor why the average American of that time was serviced poorly than American of today. This is because limited government involvement in healthcare provision Americans vulnerable to unscrupulous healthcare service providers who charged unreasonably high prices for treatment. Today, the government is deeply involved in healthcare service provision at different points of healthcare providers seeking to safeguard better service to the average American. The government regulates the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, procurement, and administration. It also monitors and regulates the provision of healthcare insurance (Dranove, 2002). The clash between interest group s The average American who lived prior to WWII was serviced poorly than today’s average American because of a clash between different interest groups. Organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and National Physician Committee (NPC) had influence enough to oppose attempts of protecting the average American. For example, in 1932 when Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated legislation for universal health care linking it to the Social Security Act, AMA and NPC successfully opposed it.

Difference - A platform to better understand human beings today Research Paper

Difference - A platform to better understand human beings today - Research Paper Example Looking back at world history, the Holocaust was one of the worst disasters the world has ever seen; under the orders of Hitler, millions of Jews were killed for no reason at all1, only because he believed that the world would be a better place without Jews living in it. This was a very conservative opinion which led to hatred and contempt among people and for a long time, these emotions persisted among the people. Even today, it is hard for many people to accept each other belonging to different nations, religions and castes; however such segregation and discrimination is condemned today by international laws of human rights. The Holocaust was carried out in various stages; concentration camps were set up where Jews were thrown in and treated worse than anything else on the planet, however it must be noted that Hitler wanted to display his hatred towards other groups of people like homosexuals, disabled people, political and religious opponents, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Prisoners of War from the Soviet, Polish and Soviet civilians etc. People belonging to all these categories, excluding Jews, were made to suffer in the concentration camps at Auschwitz where they were used as slaves or menial labourers following which most of them died of diseases and starvation. Those that survived such laborious work were ultimately thrown into gas chambers were they were finally killed. Women and children were also made to suffer along with men in these camps and many a times were even used to conduct medical experiments on2. Doctors and psychologists that took up such work were extremely cruel and heartless and tested out life threatening experiments on these people, using them as mere guinea pigs. This entire episode was extremely traumatising and shocking for people all over the world that heard about the news; the mention of Hitler’s name would send a chill down people’s spines. It was further decided, with the Nuremberg Laws that there needed to be a ce rtain code of conduct for people to follow and that those who violated the rules of human rights would have to pay for the consequences. At that time, there were very few men brave enough to stand up against the Reichs and tell the Nazi soldiers regarding the injustice that they were practising because of the fear that had been put in their minds against Adolf Hitler. Thus, people faced a harsh challenge of not being able to survive with cultural differences and practice civic responsibility. The punishment today for treating another human being in a cruel manner is extremely harsh and even imminent death. With the help of this shocking incident during Hitler’s reign, people today are able to understand that it is alright to have different kinds of people living in the world alongside each other. It is quite a normal and natural phenomenon to live in a community filled with people belonging to different religions, races and gender orientations. As opposed to the past, today, people have become increasingly efficient and do understand where their responsibilities lie with respect to treating other people in their vicinity. It is important to understand the philosophy of being able to deal with a community of different people in a fair and transparent manner. Governments all over the world

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Essay - 3

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts - Essay Example Employees or members behave in a particular manner with the knowledge that the employer or leader has control and their processes must be followed to remain with the organization or receive payment. Theory Y is based on models that explain individual motivations as driving behavior in a group or organization. Such models are based on individual need for recognition, self satisfaction and sense of belonging within the organization. It is often thought that such characteristics more accurately explain organizational behavior, as many members perform even when benefit is reduced. In my organization, recognition and self satisfaction are at high levels, though compensation is low. This has caused many workers to seek employment elsewhere, as they still need to support their families and meet basic needs. Recognition without proper financial reward sends mixed messages to employees.Nearly all organizations operate on more than one model, based on the type of leadership and organizational goals that have been established. Cultures within an organization are made up of individuals who contribute to a set of shared values and standards. The set of shared standards or values is known as Organizational culture. Organizational culture varies from one company to another based on the type of work or tasks required, the nature of business conducted and many other contributing factors.

Interviewing the Sales Manager of Coke Company Essay

Interviewing the Sales Manager of Coke Company - Essay Example Interviewing the Sales Manager of Coke Company The drink then began selling at a lower price at Jacobs’ pharmacy. However, Asa G. Candler, a famous personality, transformed the invention into a real business when he started to give away coupons to people to taste Coke. Since then, the Coke drink has evolved tremendously to become the largest soft drink company in the world retailing in over two hundred countries globally. Similarly, it has taken steps in rebranding and protecting their brand from the unique bottles that the soft drink comes in. Additionally, loyal customers who compare it with no other similar product have globally appreciated the drink. Interviewer: Thank you for that very comprehensive response. The next question I would like to ask you is what product or service does your organization manufacture or offer. Sales Manager: The Coke Company deals with nonalcoholic drinks as their sole business. It has over 3,500 brands of drinks available in the market. Similarly, they have segmented their market to provid e a brand the suits each segment. The company deals with a range of drinks from fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and soya based drinks. Additionally,the company has greatly diversified enhancing its capacity to meet consumer needs thus maintaining the topmost position at a global level. ... However, the market is incredibly dynamic; something pleasant can be meaningless in the immediate future. For this reason, the Coke Company has significantly invested in engineering their drinks to meet the current needs of the market. Additionally, market diversity in terms of culture, gender, age, race and religion have also played a major role in defining the available types of markets hence even making the Company to go far much deeper to satisfy the needs of these markets without interfering or going against these differences. Interviewer: What is the company’s mission statement? Sales Manager: The Coke Company has assessed the current trend globally and has considered several factors, in coming up with a meaningful vision, mission and core values. This is because they have to ensure that the corporation will be operational in future and retain relevancy. Additionally, the visualization, mission and core value act as a road map for the company hence will provide them with a competitive edge against its rivals. The mission of Coke declares the purpose and provides standards of which actions and decisions are measured. For this reason, the mission is to refresh the world, bring happiness and inspire people to be positive. Additionally, it also brings a difference and adds value. Interviewer: Could you please explain the Social responsibility and ethical policies of the company briefly. Sales Manager: Coke has greatly promoted communal responsibility; for instance, it has sponsored many youth events and organized many tournaments including football and other talent searches. Similarly, the company has also played a significant part in sponsoring the Olympics and

Environmental Factors Leading to Civilization Along the Nile Essay Example for Free

Environmental Factors Leading to Civilization Along the Nile Essay A. ) The two most significant environmental or physical geographic factors that contributed to the development and expansion of the United states had to be the Gold Rush, and the Irish Potato Famine. The Irish potato famine was devistating to Ireland and laid waste to its population, but ended up spurring Irish immigration to the United States, leading to both growth and expansion. The gold rush that took hold in the United States was one of the biggest factors that pushed people west and lead to a greater settlement of the west coast and all areas between. These two major events helped to shape the country that we know today. The Irish Potato Famine was one of the most significant environmental factors that helped develope and expand the United States because it not only lead to a population swell, but contrubuted to our work force due to the large number of immigrants that came to the U. S. as a result of it. Before the famine, the Catholic Irish peasents lived a very poor lifestyle and were constantly under fear of being evicted by their land lords as their farms were downsized and their rents were raised. They grew potato crops in the fertile Irish soil and used those crops to pay their rents and feed their families. This was many families sole source of income and nutrition. When the potato famine began in September of 1845, the potato crops failed universaly in Ireland, something that had never happened before. The poor Irish had been acustomed to a bad crop in a spot or two and they always had adjusted to circumstances before, and there was little loss of life over this previously. From 1845 and for the next 4 years, the crops would fail repeatedly and this caused wide-spread death, from both starvation and opportunistic infections such as typhus, that mowed people down by the thousands in their hunger weakend condition. There were many theories about just why the crops failed, both superstitious and religious, but we know now that it was the fault of a fungus, carried on the winds from England where it had been brough over by the North American ships. This fungus, phytophthora infestans, florished in the damp cool climate of Ireland and consistently ruined the potato crops. By 1847, two years into the Irish Potato Famine, people began to seek greener pastures either as a result of eviction, or the promise of a new and better life in the United States. There had been Irish imigration prior to this, but 1847 was really the first year where major waves of Irish families began to come to the United States. This lead to a population explosion on the eastern coast of the United States and the Irish immigrants who lived through the voyage found little welcome, often being taken advantage of and stolen from. The Irish immigrants brough with them new ideas about culture and religion and provided laborers for road work and other tasks that helped expand the United States. The Civil War is another event in wich the Irish took part. The immigrants joined the Union Army in droves and some atribute the northern victory in that war to the seemingly endless supply of Union troops, composed largely of the immigrant population flooding into the United States at that time. How different would our country be had the famine not happened and the immigrants not come? The other major event that contributed to the expansion and developement of the United States was the California Gold Rush. The Gold Rush was an exciting time in the history of the United States. It lead to a huge amount of expansion and settlement of the western-most poritions of the United States that were largely under-explored wilderness at that time. In May of 1848 gold was found along the banks of the American River near Sacramento, California. By August of that same year the New York Herald published an article about these findings, and so the Gold Rush was born! Men flocked to California to seek their fortunes in the hopes of a better life for themselves and thier families. They left their wives and children and came over land and by sea via Panama. Prospectors seeking to strike it rich brought with them their American ideals and values, and are a big part of the reason that California became a state in 1850. The California gold fields were an exciting and dangerous place to be, with few laws and really no way to inforce those that they had. Prostitution and drunken brawls and shootings were common place and many-a-fortune was won and lost in gambeling at camp. Most prospectors did not, in fact, strike it rich and left disallusioned to either go back to their families, or to settle the area around San Francisco. As a result of the Gold Rush, Californias population swelled from just 25,000 people to well over 220,000, when all was said and done. The population increase helped to settle the area and made San Fransico a major trade port for the Western United States as well as a gateway of sorts for travel and immigration. The influx of interest and travel in the west also paved the way for industries such as mining for silver in Nevada and the building of a transcontinental railroad to the west. The Gold Rush played a huge part in the expansion and development of the United States in that it had such an impact on California and the west. California and the west coast as a whole just wouldnt be what they are today had the Gold Rush not taken place. B. ) The most significant environmental or physical geographic factor that contributed to the development of Egyptian society was the Nile river. The area in question is made up of harsh, sandy desert and mountains. The river Nile flows down through this area and, due to the run-off from melting snow in the mountains each spring, carries with it rich, fertile soil that is really the only soil in the area suitable for crop production. The people in the area could use this fertile soil to plant crops and, based this new-found dependability, begin to settle and build permanent dwellings and villages. Since the villagers could count on two harvests per year, in most years, this would create and excess of product that could then be used for trade. The area near the Nile river is the only area that is very suitable for a sustainable way of life. That is why civilization grew up there due to the ability to grow crops, domesticate animals, and build permanent dwellings. People no longer had to be nomadic and search out food, they could grow and raise their own! The Nile also had a big impact on the religion of the time. Egyptian religion was ploytheistic and Egyptians worshiped many gods, usually based on nature. They had a sun god, a water god, an earth god, and so-forth. Each year when the Nile river flooded, this encouraged the belief in such gods and their devine will. The destruction that the flooding could cause was thought of as punishment for wrong doing and people created rituals to ward off the anger of their gods. A good crop grown from the soil brought down by the flooding was considered a sign of the gods pleasure with their people. The Niles influence could also be felt in its natural ability to be a trade route for Egypt. The arid desert climate makes it anything but an ideal area to travel through, and many found the river was a swift and cool route over wich to do business. The waters brought not only fertile soil for farming, but a measure of wealth and prosperity that contributed hugely to the growth and developement of the civilization. B1. One example of cultural diffusion is the relationship between Egypt and Rome. After being defeated by Rome, Egypt prospered as a province and was the main residence of Augustus Ceaser. This had a huge cultural impact on Egypt because Augustus began to rule the city under Roman laws and this was a whole new way of doing things. There are also the effects on Rome to look at. Egypt was a boon to the Roman Empire due to the trade routes through the desert, the abundant desert minerals that could be mined and later used to make statues and ornaments, and the glass that could be found in Egypt as well. One would have to wonder how different Grecian art would have been without the natural contributions that were made by Egypt. There was a natural diffusion that took place simply by co-existence with people of a different culture and background. The depictions of Egyptian people and gods began to look more Roman in dress and features and, likewise, the Egyptian architecture such as Obelisks became popular in Roman art and architecture.

Sole Proprietorship Essay Example for Free

Sole Proprietorship Essay The sole proprietor is an unincorporated business with one owner who pays personal income tax on profits from the business. With little government regulation, they are the simplest business to set up or take apart, making them popular among individual self-contractors or business owners. Many sole proprietors do business under their own names because creating a separate business or trade name isnt necessary. Sole proprietorship is also known as proprietorship. There is no separate legal entity created by a sole proprietorship, unlike corporations and limited partnerships. Consequently, the sole proprietor is not safe from liabilities incurred by the entity. The debts of the sole proprietorship are also the debts of the owner. However, all profits flow directly to the owner of a sole proprietorship. The benefit of the sole proprietorship is the tax advantage. The disadvantage of a sole proprietorship is obtaining capital funding, specifically through established channels, such as equity (selling shares) and obtaining bank loans or lines of credit. As a business grows it often transitions to a limited liability company (LLC) or S Corporation. Ease of Formation Prospective business owners need not file any special forms with state, local or federal agencies to start a sole proprietorship. When registering the new business, as is necessary for all new businesses, the owner must state that he plans to run a sole proprietorship. This requires no special fees. Some states require the owner register a DBAdoing business asdocument with the office of secretary of state. Control Sole proprietors have full discretionary control over operations and business decisions. They decide when to hire employees, what to pay them about minimum wage and when to let them go. The business owner controls all financial decisions associated with the business and receives all of the business profit. He decides how or if to save or reinvest the money. The owner can choose to close, sell or transfer ownership at any time. Taxes Sole proprietorships owners file a one or two page form with the Internal Revenue Service called a Schedule C along with their personal income tax return. This schedule requires a simple listing of revenues and expenses. The owner may deduct automobile, office and other expenses from his income tax return under the supervision of a certified tax professional. Personal Responsibility for Business Debts Creditors can hold owners of sole proprietorships legally responsible for debts associated with the business. In addition, business related debts incurred by employees become the responsibility of the owner. Creditors may seize the owner’s home or other personal possessions as remedy for a defaulted loan. Those planning on starting a high- to medium-risk business may want to opt for a limited liability corporation or partnership structure. With this structure, business owners keep their personal property separate and it cannot be seized in the event of a business failure.

Investment Analysis for Jewellery Business

Investment Analysis for Jewellery Business Executive Summary Babushka’s Baubles is a company producing jewellery at the budget end of the market and has seen a sharp decline in its financial position, in 2008. Despite this, sale levels are consistently high and gross profit margins are healthy. This report has uncovered potential problems in the costs attached to inventory such as administration and also in the way that the working capital is managed. However, the investors are confident that the company has a positive future and is, therefore, maintaining an earnings-to-price ratio which is far higher than the industry average. Introduction This report aims to give a summary of the position of Babushka’s Baubles as reflected in the accounts of the company, year ending September 2008, with reference to the accounts for the previous year. The aim of the report is to provide investors with a snapshot of the current financial position of the company and to draw conclusions in relation to the previous period. The report will also draw comparisons with a similar company in the same market sector (Benny’s Bling plc), in an attempt to explain the key factors influencing the company. (In doing so, the different strategies in terms of marketing position will also be identified and taken into consideration). As well as analysing the accounts for the benefit of the investors, other potential users of the accounts will be considered. This will enable the company to identify areas of potential improvement for the company for the future[1]. The report will first ask which groups are likely to be the key users of the accounts and what they would hope to achieve from reading and analysing the accounts, or the summary contained in this report. The report will then move on to consider the main body of the analysis, looking at the key ratios and what these tell the readers about the position of the company. Finally, conclusions will be drawn as to the current position of the company and the suggested improvements that could be made for the future of the company. User Groups Accounts are used by a multitude of people and for a wide range of purposes. It is important to recognise this when it comes to reporting the financial status, so that these accounts can be geared towards ensuring the appropriate information is given to the correct people. The primary users of any set of financial accounts are the investors. Looking at the figures and the trends of the company will allow investors to decide whether they should buy shares or sell the shares they own and what sort of return they should expect from investing in the company. As well as the investors, lenders will be keen to look at the financial status of the company so that they know the safety of the loans which they have forwarded to the company and also to make judgments if they are considering forwarding more loans to the company[2]. Managers primarily use the set of management accounts to give them the necessary information to make decisions in relation to the running of the company. However, they will also use the financial ratios and accounts to help establish where they are in relation to the sector, as a whole, and in comparison to specific competitors. For example, in this case, the managers can consider their ratios in comparison to those of Benny’s Bling in order to ascertain their competitive position and how potentially they could improve their own position in the future. Other users will include customers identifying how likely the company is to be able to continue to supply them for the future. Employees may also be interested in relation to their job security and career prospects. Financial Ratios Financial ratios are used as a way of presenting the financial position of the company and to provide greater analysis of the underlying financial accounts. Trends can be identified and they are particularly useful when it comes to drawing comparisons with other companies in a similar sector. In some circumstances, financial ratios can even assist in order to predict bankruptcy while it is still possible. Although ratios can be useful, there are also some limitations inherent in their use which can reduce their usefulness from the point of view of comparison with other companies. Each company is likely to follow slightly different accounting policies and standards, each of which will have an impact on the way that the ratios are displayed and may make the comparisons less useful than they could be. The ratios will only be as useful and as accurate as the financial information upon which they are based. Where the ratios are based on summary accounts, this may not give a truly accurate view of the underlying position and more investigation may be necessary in order to obtain a full impression of the company’s position[3]. Financial statements are historic and in some cases can be substantially out of date. This means that that the ratios, based on these statements, may no longer be relevant as they have already been superseded, prior to the analysis being undertaken. Furthermore, comparison across different accounting periods can be misleading as it does not take account of any inflationary effects. As the ratios will be compared with a competing company, caution should be exercised due to the naturally different structures and approaches being taken by the two companies. Different companies will inevitably have different approaches and comparing ratios directly may not take this into account. Babushka’s Baubles – Financial Ratio Analysis A detailed analysis of the ratios in relation to the company has been undertaken and, at relevant points, these have been compared with Benny’s Bling in order to try and obtain a rounded view of the company’s position, both in relation to the previous period and to one of its main competitors. Caution should be used as the two different companies have different market positions, with Benny’s Bling aiming for the upper end of the market in terms of both price and quality and Babushka’s Baubles focussing more on the budget end of the market, which is likely to lead to slightly different accounts. Profitability The gross profit figure simply shows how much is made on sales related to the cost of those sales; it does not include any reference to costs such as general administration or selling costs. The more complete figure is that of the net profit margin which shows the amount of money that is made once all cost of the sales have been taken into account. On a wider note, the return on capital employed shows how much is made for every  £1 of capital that is invested in the company[4]. In all cases, the performance of Babushka’s Baubles has weakened between 2007 and 2008. There has been a huge reduction in the net profit margin and also in the return on capital employed, with not such a large reduction in the gross profit margin. This indicates that non-direct costs such as administrative and selling costs have increased dramatically, but sales have not increased in proportion. The gross profit margin in Benny’s Bling has dropped from 26% to 25% in the last year which, although it reflects a reduction, is still considerably higher than the profit margins of Babushka’s Baubles. Liquidity Both tests for liquidity, the current asset and the quick ratio, are considered absolutely vital for all businesses. They reveal how readily the company can meet its liabilities with the cash that it has available. Cash is, of course, vital to the day to day running of the company and any weakness in this area could reveal imminent troubles for the company in terms of cash flow. This is one of the first indications of bankruptcy and should be taken seriously[5]. The current ratio shows how easily the company can meet all current liabilities with the current assets available. A company should aim to have a ratio of at least 1 in relation to this ratio. Although it has reduced form 1.85 to 1.80, it is still well above the recommended minimum of 1. The quick ratio, on the other hand, considers the current ratio, but taking out the inventory element of the current assets as these cannot be easily converted into cash and, therefore, may not be relied upon to meet current liabilities. In this case, Babushka’s Baubles has a ratio of 0.42 (up from 0.41 in 2007). This is considerably below the desired minimum of 1. Moreover, it indicates that the company has insufficient cash and too much in the way of inventory. Benny’s Bling shows a similar trend, but its quick ratio is 0.8 which is much closer to 1 and indicates a much better inventory management policy[6]. Efficiency Efficiency is the next area that we are going to consider, as this may give a clearer view of how inventory is being managed. Inventory has been identified as a potential problem and, therefore, this area should be carefully considered. These figures indicate how many days it takes from the point of the inventory entering the business to the point that the inventory leaves the business. Other figures indicate how long it takes for the company to pay debtors and how long it takes for the company to receive money from creditors. The inventory period has become slightly longer, 32.23 days (up from 31.51 in 2007), which shows that the company takes around a month to produce the jewellery for sale. Benny’s Bling, on the other hand, takes just 22 days. It takes the company 29.98 days, on average, to pay its suppliers. This is up slightly from 2007, showing that cash is staying in the business longer. This in itself is a reasonably healthy figure, but when compared with the 75.26 day period that the company takes to get money in from customers, it is clear to see that work needs to be done on getting cash into the business more quickly after the products have been sold. Benny’s Bling, conversely, takes an average of 46 days to pay suppliers, yet receives payments in 26 days, showing a much better control over cash flow. Gearing Gearing simply shows the value of loans the company has in relation to shareholders’ equity. Ideally, the amount of shareholders’ equity should be higher than loans, as this indicates that the company has fewer obligations in terms of interest payments and is, therefore, considered to be in a better position financially. The lower the gearing figure the better. The ratio has remained reasonably consistent at 7.7% (down from 7.8% in 2007). This is healthy and indicates a low level of long term loans. Benny’s Bling has a gearing ratio of 50%, which is considerably higher and indicates a much larger amount of long term loans within the company[7]. Investments ‘Earnings per share’ is a basic measure of how much money is earned in the business for every share. In the case of the company, it is expected that this will be lower than in Benny’s Bling, due to the large levels of shares and the relatively low dependence on long term debts[8]. Price per share shows whether the purchase price of the share relates to the actual earnings the share is bringing in. If this figure is high relative to other companies in the sector, it indicates that the market is generally positive about the future of the company and is expecting an increase in performance in future periods. A low figure indicates a pessimistic view. The company has earnings per share of 0.21, which is down considerably from 2007 at 0.35; this is due entirely to the substantial drop in net profits between 2007 and 2008. The price / earnings ration is 18.10, considerably higher than the sector average of 9, indicating that the market is generally positive about the future of the company. Conclusions The company is in a generally positive position, with a good gearing position and solid sales. However, the company has potential difficulties in the way that it manages its efficiency and liquidity. Issues such as receiving money from customers and inventory management could have a dramatic impact on the short term ability of the company to meet its short term cash requirements[9]. If the company could deal with the inventory and cash issues it would have a long term profitable future, a view shared by the investors in the earnings / price ratio. Bibliography Atrill, Peter, Financial Management for Decision Makers, Pearson Education, 2005 Britton, Anne, Waterston, Christopher, Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2005. Chadwick, Leslie, Comparing financial performance: Ratio analysis and retail management, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 12, 2, 1984. Drury, J.C., A Study of Industry Financial Ratios, Management Decision, 19, 1, 1981. Gillespie, Ian, Lewis, Richard, Hamilton, Kay, Principles of Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2004. Lewis, Richard, Pendrill, David, Advanced Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2003. Peterson, Pamela P., Fabozzi, Frank J., Analysis of Financial Statements, John Wiley and Sons, 1999. Siegel, Joel G., Shim, Jae K., Accounting Handbook, Barrons Educational Series, 2006. Stickney, Clyde P., Weil, Roman L., Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods, and Uses, Thomson South-Western, 2004. Appendix – Financial Ratios Profitability Liquidity Efficiency Gearing Investors Footnotes [1] Gillespie, Ian, Lewis, Richard, Hamilton, Kay, Principles of Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2004 [2] Siegel, Joel G., Shim, Jae K., Accounting Handbook, Barrons Educational Series, 2006 [3]Peterson, Pamela P., Fabozzi, Frank J., Analysis of Financial Statements, John Wiley and Sons, 1999 [4] Stickney, Clyde P., Weil, Roman L., Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods, and Uses, Thomson South-Western, 2004 [5] Chadwick, Leslie, Comparing financial performance: Ratio analysis and retail management, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management; 12, 2, 1984 [6] Britton, Anne, Waterston, Christopher, Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2005 [7] Lewis, Richard, Pendrill, David, Advanced Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2003 [8] Atrill, Peter, Financial Management for Decision Makers, Pearson Education, 2005 [9] Drury, J.C., A Study of Industry Financial Ratios, Management Decision; 19, 1, 1981

Lookin at the Law :: essays research papers

Looking at the Law: Drug Courts With the Hon. Paul F. Chaiet   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Drug Courts are new to the Monmouth county area but not new to the United States. The first Drug court was established in Miami, Florida in 1989. There is at least one Drug court in each of the 50 states. Camden, Essex, Passaic, Mercer and Union were the first five counties in the New Jersey to start the Drug courts in the states. The Hon. Paul Chaiet after being assistant persecutor for Monmouth County for 14 years, he was appointed the Judge of the Drug Court.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Drug team for Monmouth County consists of the Judge; Hon. Chaiet, Drug court coordinator; Noreen Carmoday, Assistant Prosecutor; Carol McConnell, Asst. Public Defender; John Brown Jr., Substance Abuse Evaluator; Adri Lieb, and Probation Officer; Sara Felle. All these people are trying help the people who have a substance abuse problem rather then just send them to jail. Not everyone is eligible for the Drug court program. They must fill out an application, they will be interview, they must want to be in the program, and must live in Monmouth county. Also no previous violence, no more than three offenses, must be a first-degree offense and no sex crimes. This program is for offenders who might have to serve jail time so this is an option rather than prison. One of the major reasons as to why they developed this program was to reduce the jail population. Since 1980 there has been a 467% increase in jail population and most of them are from drug cases. It cost $3 5,000 per prisoner in jail for one year and $17,000 per patient in treatment. So not only are they trying to reduce the jail population but trying to say the government money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Offenders shouldn’t just go into to the program to get out jail. It’s very hard. They must serve at least 6 months in the patient part of the program. They send the offenders to inpatient houses. There are eight inpatient programs in our state. The whole program is 5-6 years long from beginning to end. Once they are out of the first part of the program, the next year is the intensive part and they are assigned to a probation officer. There is one probation officer for every 50 kids, so the probation officer can keep a closer eye on the participants.

The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence :: essays research papers

The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence Israel, slightly larger than Massachusetts, lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Egypt on the west, Syria and Jordan on the east, and Lebanon on the north. Its maritime plain is extremely fertile, but only 17% of the land is arable (Figure 1). The southern Negev region, which comprises almost half the total area, is largely a desert. The Jordan River flows from the north through Lake Hule and Lake Kinneret, finally entering the Dead Sea, 1,349 ft below sea level, the world's lowest land elevation.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a time of war, it is far too easy to get caught up in the violence, and forget that the true goal is peace. Hate, death, and pain make it difficult for the belligerent nations to think rationally and come up with a plan to end the violence. This is why a third party is necessary. A third party sees the situation from an outsider’s viewpoint. Therefore, they are able to offer better advice and solutions. This situation is applicable to the current Middle East Crisis. Palestine and Israel cannot come to a peaceful solution without the help of the international community. In order to help the feuding parties, the United States needs to be neutral, fair, and unbiased. The current leaders need to avoid the mistakes made by the historical leaders and nations that led to the escalation of the conflict, like McMahon-Hussein Correspondence did.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The McMahon-Hussein correspondence is essentially â€Å"a series of letters exchanged, in 1915, between Feisal Hussein, who was Sherif of Mecca at the time, and the British High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon (Khalidi 1980, 92).† The British were willing to negotiate with the Arabs because they needed military support during the First World War, and the Arabs could provide this support. In this correspondence, the British representative promised to Hussein that if the Arabs revolt against the Turks, the British government would grant them independence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main controversy in McMahon-Hussein correspondence and the question of Palestine at large lies in the certain areas, that McMahon claimed "cannot be said to be purely Arab" and should therefore "be excluded from the proposed limits and boundaries, of the Arab state (Khalidi 1980,117).† There is also an opinion that the correspondence at issue has no legal grounds, since it was never concluded in mutual agreement. The Arab community took the British promise seriously, and the events that took place only a couple of years after the series of letters were passed certainly infuriated the Arab population. The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence :: essays research papers The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence Israel, slightly larger than Massachusetts, lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Egypt on the west, Syria and Jordan on the east, and Lebanon on the north. Its maritime plain is extremely fertile, but only 17% of the land is arable (Figure 1). The southern Negev region, which comprises almost half the total area, is largely a desert. The Jordan River flows from the north through Lake Hule and Lake Kinneret, finally entering the Dead Sea, 1,349 ft below sea level, the world's lowest land elevation.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a time of war, it is far too easy to get caught up in the violence, and forget that the true goal is peace. Hate, death, and pain make it difficult for the belligerent nations to think rationally and come up with a plan to end the violence. This is why a third party is necessary. A third party sees the situation from an outsider’s viewpoint. Therefore, they are able to offer better advice and solutions. This situation is applicable to the current Middle East Crisis. Palestine and Israel cannot come to a peaceful solution without the help of the international community. In order to help the feuding parties, the United States needs to be neutral, fair, and unbiased. The current leaders need to avoid the mistakes made by the historical leaders and nations that led to the escalation of the conflict, like McMahon-Hussein Correspondence did.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The McMahon-Hussein correspondence is essentially â€Å"a series of letters exchanged, in 1915, between Feisal Hussein, who was Sherif of Mecca at the time, and the British High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon (Khalidi 1980, 92).† The British were willing to negotiate with the Arabs because they needed military support during the First World War, and the Arabs could provide this support. In this correspondence, the British representative promised to Hussein that if the Arabs revolt against the Turks, the British government would grant them independence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main controversy in McMahon-Hussein correspondence and the question of Palestine at large lies in the certain areas, that McMahon claimed "cannot be said to be purely Arab" and should therefore "be excluded from the proposed limits and boundaries, of the Arab state (Khalidi 1980,117).† There is also an opinion that the correspondence at issue has no legal grounds, since it was never concluded in mutual agreement. The Arab community took the British promise seriously, and the events that took place only a couple of years after the series of letters were passed certainly infuriated the Arab population.

Landing at Inchon

Landing at Inchon: Foolish Risk or Calculated Gamble? Campaign Analysis: Operation CHROMITE The Ultimate Challenge for the Commander is deciding on where and when to commit forces to best leverage available combat power against the opponent. General Douglas MacArthur has been criticized for his decision, even though it succeeded, to make the invasion of Korea at the harbor of Inchon. This paper explores the legitimacy of that decision based on the principles of military power. A popular military aphorism is that victory has a thousand fathers, while defeat is an orphan.The American invasion of Inchon during the Korean War must certainly be the exception to this. General Douglas MacArthur, loved by some, hated by others, rightfully deserves all of the credit for such a bold and audacious decision. In retrospect, his decision deserves perhaps a bit more circumspection. If Inchon had failed, whether tactically or strategically, not only could the war’s outcome have been different , but most certainly MacArthur would have been lambasted in his own time, as well as our own by arm chair theorists and generals.Was his decision soundly based in military principles, balanced by ends to means? Or was it a gambler’s last toss of the dice? America’s war aims at the onset of the Korean War were simple: Drive the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) out of South Korea, back across the 38 th parallel and re-establish peace on American terms. These were the explicit aims. The strategic priorities will sound strikingly familiar to those familiar with strategic debate in this era of Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti and Operation Desert Storm: End the war as quickly as possible and keep U. S. casualties to a minimum.Even in the 1950s, there was a political drive to keep wars short and bloodless; to attain national ends without expending resources. Perhaps the national tendency to hope to attain something for nothing is a fundamental characteristic of America. For th e North Koreans, the opposite was true. Kim Il Sung’s aim was to reunify the two Koreas. Since he could not accomplish this politically, he resorted to military means to gain a political end. He had committed North Korea’s limited resources and manpower utterly and completely to the reunification of the Korean peninsula.Kim Il Sung may not have realized it, but he had two possible branches of strategic priorities. The first was to drive the Americans out of the Pusan Perimeter and back to Japan, thus allowing him time to consolidate his hold politically, socially and militarily on Korea. The second branch, far more subtle, would have been to keep the Americans bottled up at Pusan and continue to attrit American lives, while consolidating his hold and strengthening his long logistical tail. By killing Americans, North Korea could make victory appear extremely costly to the American government and perhaps wear down the political will to fight.The political will to fight would be backed up by how the American military would actually conduct the fight. American doctrine has historically been framed by the notion of preparing to fight the next war as the last one was fought. While this type of doctrinal thinking came back to haunt the U. S. in Vietnam; strangely enough, it was the correct approach for Korea. The American military had of course, only just finished fighting World War Two five years prior to North Korea’s invasion of South Korea. While the U. S. orce structure had been dramatically drawn down and was unprepared to fight the next war, its doctrinal approach to waging war had not changed. American doctrine during the previous war was offensively oriented, relying primarily on the infantry to hold key terrain once the enemy had been pushed off. The attrition of enemy forces was secondary to seizing and defending ground. Offensive action was used to envelop a foe’s flank, without resorting to frontal assaults. Armor’s ro le was to gain the initiative either with an envelopment or a penetration at a weak point in the enemy’s front.Tanks were regarded as the best weapon to kill another tank. The doctrinal use of artillery and close air support made great strides during World War Two. By the end of that war, the U. S. Army was very good at conducting offensive war, largely because they did not have to defend their own homeland as the German Army had been forced to do. However, American defensive doctrine was weaker. Reliance on fortified strongpoints made penetration of American lines easy, as the 1 st Armored Division discovered to its regret during the opening phase of the Kasserine Pass battles.A strongpoint defense with mobile armored counterattack forces might work against an attacking tank division, but it was ill-equipped to deal with an infiltrating infantry force which attacked at night, bypassing the strongpoint and raided logistical bases. On the whole, the experience of the previous World Wars had molded the American commanders’ methods of waging combat. General Douglas MacArthur had been a regimental commander during World War One and an Army commander during World War Two. During both of his previous experiences, he had relied on boldness, audacity and the offensive to gain and maintain the initiative over his opponents.MacArthur’s brilliant use of amphibious operations in the Pacific against the Japanese had already provided him with the experience necessary to decide on an amphibious landing at Inchon, far behind enemy lines, to cut off the North Korean logistical lines of communication and quickly recapture the capital of South Korea, Seoul. As the American doctrinal approach to the operation was the same as in the previous conflict, so essentially were the forces at MacArthur’s disposal The U. S. Army force structure was centered on the pre-eminence of the infantry divisions, with integrated armor support.An infantry division had thre e regiments, with three battalions each, and four infantry companies per battalion. The division also had one tank battalion, parceling one company of M-24s (outgunned in comparison to the Russian made T-34 which the North Koreans used) to each regiment. During the drawdown which followed World War Two, the number of infantry battalions per regiment was reduced by one. The infantrymen’s arsenal largely consisted of small arms, mortars and heavy machine guns. However, the infantry had no truly effective anti-tank weapon. The standard issue 2. 36 inch rocket was no match for the thick armor of the T-34.The three division artillery battalions (one per infantry regiment) had also suffered cutbacks, dropping from three batteries each to two. With this structure, the X Corps, commanded by Major General Almond, was established to conduct the amphibious assault at Inchon. X Corps consisted of the 1st Marine Division, plus one regiment withdrawn from the Pusan Perimeter in order to br ing that Division to a full wartime strength of three regiments, and the 7th Infantry Division. While X Corps was the assault force, overall command and joint support was under the umbrella control of Joint Task Force (JTF) 7, with seven subordinate task forces.JTF-7 was a true joint operational command, incorporating Navy, Army and Marine units in order to support the assault force. JTF-7 would strike the North Koreans at a weak, unprepared point, effecting surprise and mass before the North Koreans could react. North Korean military doctrine closely resembled the Chinese model. Mao Tse Tung’s approach was to avoid strong points and infiltrate an enemy’s lines to hit the weakly defended rear areas, in order to destroy vital logistical areas. The North Koreans were not as road bound as the American army was, which gave them more flexibility than the Americans.North Korean equipment was largely Russian and Chinese made, including the awesome Russian T-34. The North Kore an force structure closely resembled the Chinese and Soviet triangular formation. On the offense, the two up and one back method was used. On the defense, this formation was reversed. The infantry division’s main body was usually preceded by four tank battalions, whose objective was to punch through an opponents main defenses and continue on into the rear areas, leaving the infantry to mop up.While sorely lacking in air support with only nineteen outdated Soviet aircraft and almost no navy to speak of, the North Koreans did possess the T-34 tank and towed artillery. In the Inchon/Seoul area, the 3 d, 10 th and 13 th Divisions were astride the Seoul-Taejon-Taegu highway, within easy striking range of the landing areas. Some 400 soldiers of the 3 d Bn, 226 th Independent Marine Regiment and elements of the 918 th Artillery Regiment defended Wolmi-do Island, the invasion’s initial objective. North Korean shore artillery consisted of 75mm guns inside concrete revetments. O peration CHROMITE succeeded for several reasons.First, the U. S. (with British assistance) was able to establish and maintain air supremacy; strike aircraft were able to hit North Korean units during daylight hours and attrit units in the Seoul-Inchon area. Control of the skies permitted the isolation of the invasion area and prevented reinforcing units from reaching the invasion area. Control of the sea permitted the logistical support of the assault force without fear of interruption by enemy surface or submarine forces. The presence of a secure logistical base on Japan ensured a smooth flow of supplies, both to units at Inchon as well as Pusan.With naval gunfire support, the Americans also pounded defensive positions on Wolmi-do Island with high explosives and napalm, effectively neutralizing the North Koreans. Securing the island was absolutely critical to success of the operation, because without it, the North Koreans could enfilade the invading amphibious forces with artillery and small arms fire. The capture of key terrain at Inchon, specifically Cemetery and Observatory Hills was also crucial in ensuring that X Corps would have a secure beachhead. Seizing the high ground east of Inchon at Yongdungp’o and Sosa gave the American the advantage of holding key terrain rom which to continue their operations to the east. The capture of Kimpo airfield on the morning of 18 September facilitated the staging of Marine Corsairs flying Close Air Support missions for the Marines on the ground. Further, small unit actions, such as the capture of the causeway linking Wolmi-do with Inchon illustrate the value of highly trained, motivated, veteran soldiers as a combat multiplier. In retrospect, the preconditions for victory were already and in place and the outcome of foregone conclusion; the combination of U. S. naval and air supremacy seem to have guaranteed it.However, the most critical action was Douglas MacArthur’s single minded determination to land X Corps at Inchon instead of the location preferred by the Joint Chiefs, Kunsan, 100 air miles south of Inchon. MacArthur had other options, besides Kunsan, which all seemed more prudent, but he stuck to his guns. Indeed, if he had simply introduced more troops into the Pusan Perimeter, or had made the envelopment more shallow, he would not have ended up with the results he achieved: Namely, a complete disruption of the North Korean LOCs and the recapture of Seoul.Instead of simply pushing the North Koreans back or pushing from another side, CHROMITE was designed to completely unhinge the North Koreans and throw them off balance by hitting them from the rear. Only MacArthur’s decision ensured a quick victory without resorting to a slow, bloody series of battles back north up the Korean peninsula, which would have allowed the North Koreans to retreat along their supply lines. The smashing success of CHROMITE, followed by the recapture of Seoul, coupled with the breakout from t he Pusan Perimeter by the Eighth Army, helped the Americans accomplish their principle war aim.The North Koreans were unable to disengage from the American Eight Army units in front of them and reinforce the invasion area. As part of their force was held by Eighth Army, even while withdrawing, North Korean rear area support units were devastated by X Corps. MacArthur’s hammer and anvil technique ensured the virtual collapse of the North Korean army. While the Americans gained their goals, the North Koreans nearly lost everything. In their gamble, they had committed all of their resources, stretching themselves thinly, only to have their logistical tail cut behind them.They retreated rapidly back across the 38 th Parallel, closely pursued by American and ROK units. MacArthur’s decision to land at Inchon, instead of further to the south as the Joint Chiefs would have preferred, was not only in accordance with the classic fundamentals of war, but more subtly, closely adhe red to Clausewitz’s approach. MacArthur realized that he had to make a political statement as well as conduct a military operation. The psychological effect of quickly recapturing the South Korean national capital sent a very strong statement to the rest of the Pacific rim, including China and Russia.CHROMITE was shrewdly designed to signal that America stood by her allies and would come through in a crisis. MacArthur’s adherence to the principles of war is a model for future similar operations: OBJECTIVE: General MacArthur chose Inchon as the landing site for the amphibious operation primarily because of its proximity to Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Inchon, located on the west coast of the Korean peninsula, is eighteen miles west of Seoul. MacArthur saw the recapture of Seoul as vital for winning the support of the United Nations and for putting fire into the motivation of the Allied Asian countries.Inchon was thus not only a military objective but a political o ne. OFFENSIVE: MacArthur saw Operation CHROMITE as the means towards taking the initiative away from the North Koreans. CHROMITE would place the Allied forces on the offensive and gain the decisive momentum required to prevent the war from stagnating and becoming a long, drawn out war of attrition which MacArthur, a veteran of World War One was already familiar with. MASS: The invasion force, X Corps, consisted of 70,000 troops. Intelligence estimates put the NKPA strength in the Inchon-Seoul area at 8,000 soldiers, of whom 1,800-2,500 were garrisoned in the landing area.This was later confirmed by POWs who stated that the Inchon garrison numbered 2,000. The U. S. Eighth Army, in the Pusan perimeter, was occupying the attention of the NKPA in the south and would keep the North Koreans busy in that sector. ECONOMY OF FORCE: MacArthur ordered one Marine regiment out of the Pusan perimeter in order to beef up the 1 st Marine Division, X Corps. This was a great risk, but the 1 st Divisi on commander, Major General Oliver Smith, did not feel that he would be able to accomplish the landings without the regiment.When MacArthur reviewed the risk of pulling one regiment out of Pusan, he reasoned that once the landings were successful, the NKPA would withdraw north to counterattack, thus taking pressure off Eighth Army. MANEUVER: The Americans had the advantage of interior lines at the Pusan perimeter, but were free to exploit exterior lines because of the lack of an opposing naval force. The North Koreans were strung out all along the Korean peninsula with long LOCs. The NKPA was also at a disadvantage because of their terrain induced flanks: the Korean coastline.CHROMITE was designed to be a flank attack with the goal of attacking deep in the enemy's rear, disrupting his LOCs and cutting off the main force's avenue of retreat. UNITY OF COMMAND: General MacArthur activated X Corps, appointing his Chief of Staff, Major General Edward Almond, as the commander. This was mo re critical than it appears on the surface because of the very multi-service nature of the Corps. With one Marine Division and one Army Division, a lesser commander might have decided to let each Division commander have his own area, without a single unified command and staff structure.MacArthur’s creation of X Corps for a single mission ensured that he could pick a commander who would follow his guidance to the letter, ensuring mission success, without squabbling over seniority and interservice rivalries. X Corps' sole mission was the Inchon landings and the subsequent capture of Seoul. General Almond understood this, and also knew that once the landings were completed, he was to return to Japan and continue his duties as the Far East Command CofS. SECURITY: MacArthur realized that operational security of Operation CHROMITE was of primary importance to the success of the landings.Surprise could not be achieved unless the enemy was caught wholly unprepared. Under a cloak of s ecrecy, X Corps staged out of Yokohoma and Kobe Japan behind a perfect natural screen, Typhoon June and in front of another one, Typhoon Kezia. SURPRISE: This was achieved partly because of negligible North Korean air and naval capability to gather intelligence on American troop movements. Also, Inchon was not considered the best location for an amphibious assault, by anyone, North Korean or American. Inchon has no beaches, only mud flats. There is also a serious tide problem, with a tidal variance of -. feet at low tide and 32 feet at high tide. However, CHROMITE was a complete success. The assault troops encountered only spotty resistance and friendly casualties were much lighter than expected. Within 24 hours of the main landings, the 1 st Marine Division had secured the high ground six miles east of Inchon. SIMPLICITY: CHROMITE was designed to be a single envelopment. X Corps made the amphibious assault at Inchon while the Eighth Army broke out of the Pusan perimeter to tie down and hold the NKPA in place. This prevented the North Koreans from reinforcing their rear areas.The Eighth Army was then to drive north, pushing the logistically cut off NKPA back north, where the Americans would link up with the landing force at Seoul. CHRONOLOGY OF OPERATION CHROMITE: 4 July- Planning conference chaired by MacArthur, who proposes an amphibious assault designed to cut the North Korean Lines of Communication (LOC) at Seoul. 12 August- CINCFE Operation 100-B issued naming Inchon as the target area for the assault. 23 August- Planning conference in Washington, during which MacArthur convincingly presents his case for the assault at Inchon. 6 August- General Order 24 is issued activating X Corps, naming Major General Almond as the commander. 28 August- The Joint Chiefs concur in principle with MacArthur’s plan. 31 August- Lt. Eugene Clark begins his intelligence collection mission at Yonghung-do. 3 September- JTF 7 OPLAN 9-50 issued. 4 September- Air attacks beg in against North Korean forces in the Seoul-Inchon area. MacArthur places the 1 st Marine Brigade under X Corps. 6 September- MacArthur confirms earlier orders and announces that D-Day will be 15 September. 11 September- X Corps units, the 1 st Marine Division and 7 th Infantry Division depart from ports in Japan. 3-14 September- The U. S. Navy’s Gunfire Support group arrives off Inchon and begins the bombardment of Wolmi-do Island with air support provided by TF 77. 15 September- D-Day- X Corps arrives at Inchon. 0500: Air strikes hit Wolmi-do Island. 0630: High tide in Inchon harbor. 0633: 3 d Bn, 5 th Marines land at Wolmi-do Island. 0750: Wolmi-do is secured. 1730: High tide in Inchon harbor. 1732: 1 st Marine Regiment lands at Blue Beach, Inchon. 1733: 5 th Marine Regiment lands at Red Beach, Inchon. 16 September- D+1: 7 th Infantry Division begins arriving at Inchon harbor. 130: Initial D-Day objectives secured. 18-19 September: 7 th Infantry Division lands and moves so uth of Inchon into a blocking position to protect the beachhead from counterattacks from the south. BIBLIOGRAPHY Appleman, Roy E. South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu (June-November 1950). The U. S. Army in World War II. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1961. Doughty, Robert A. The Evolution of U. S. Army Tactical Doctrine, 1946-76. Leavenworth Papers No. 1. Ft. Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute, U. S. Army Command and General Staff College.