Group Working Positivity

Group Work Participating in Group Work Participating in group work is an important skill to develop as it is something you will do in your student life and in your working career. Job advertisements often highlight ‘good team worker’ as a crucial skill for potential recruits. These may involve a group presentation or a group report followed by a reflective piece of writing and/or an individual assignment. Take notes or record your lecturer’s assignment briefing. Module Handbooks usually includes the assessment criteria (see Appendix 1) so it is important that you work well together to achieve success.It will be quite obvious to your lecturer whether you have worked well as a team and whether you prepared your assignment as a group. Groups formed by students to discuss case studies or discuss an assignment can help improve your grades and make the task more manageable. Keep a journal and record your progress, hindrances, issues and successes, plus any pitfalls to a void next time! Working in a TEAM? Together Everyone Achieves More Successful group work will involve: †¢ Clear, shared goals. †¢ Good communication amongst members of the group. †¢ Agreed ways of working towards the group goals. Support and cooperation, rather than competitiveness. †¢ Listening to one another. †¢ Autonomous team working. †¢ Arrangements for monitoring progress and taking corrective action, if necessary. †¢ Keep to deadlines – it is unfair to let others down who are depending on you, in order for the whole group to succeed. †¢ High levels of motivation. †¢ Plan – do – review. Why work in groups? Team building is vital to any organisation and by working in groups you can: †¢ Share resources. †¢ Share ideas and information. †¢ Share abilities. †¢ Learn from and help each other. Stimulate creativity and innovation. †¢ Increase motivation. †¢ Solve complex problems. †¢ C an help you get better grades. You will need to identify your strengths, which you can contribute to the group. You will also identify your weaknesses, and ideally the group will support and help you work on turning these weaknesses into strengths. IH have some useful DVDs on group work that may be helpful to watch (Assert yourself: learning to be assertive; Building the perfect team: Belbin’s team-role theory in action; Does the team work? Improving effectiveness through teamwork; It’s a deal!Win-win negotiation deals; Team leading: how to become an effective team leader; The great communicator: communication skills for all). Getting started †¢ It is up to the members of the group to make the first contact with one another. Exchange telephone numbers and email addresses so the group can meet. †¢ An icebreaker task is a good way to make each member feel comfortable with others that s/he does not know (see Appendix 2). †¢ Ensure you understand the instruc tions in the assignment. Each group member should have read the assignment brief and prepare to discuss it at the first meeting. Break the assignment into practicable chunks. Agree deadlines to complete each part. †¢ The group needs to compile and agree set ground rules (see Appendix 3). These rules can be reviewed and renegotiated from time to time – keeping useful rules in practice, amending or creating new ones as solutions to unanticipated problems that arise. †¢ Set realistic aims and targets within a given timeframe that all members understand and agree with. †¢ Negotiate roles and tasks: Who will be the leader? Who will do what? When? With what resources?Allocate tasks according to the experience, expertise or strength of each member. However, task allocation can also be allocated to build on a student’s inexperience and areas of weakness. †¢ Establish a regular programme of meetings to review task progress and group process. The group should keep in regular contact so plan where you will meet. Will it be at the University, will you alternate between group members’ homes, will you set up a site in ‘Your Groups’ in StudyNet or a group in Facebook or any other social networking site? †¢ Agree to keep good records (Group Log of meetings etc. see Appendix 4). You might also want to keep a blog, for self reflection of group work. It is compulsory at Level 5 and Level 6 to keep records of group work. Each member of the group needs good personal management skills and good time management skills to complete their part of the task, including taking corrective action. This means being honest with the rest of the group – let them know if there is a problem, seek help from the group, share information with others. The group needs to make a contract based on the above points and stick to it so ground rules are obeyed.Establish Group Roles In order for the group to function successfully to achieve thei r goal and to maximise the group’s time in meetings, roles have to be taken on by each member of the group. Belbin (1981 & 1993, cited in Blundel, 2004) and others have identified numerous roles within a team, usually in keeping with individual personality and strengths. Many university student groups have five or six people, and their suggested roles are below. These roles may be rotated amongst members or a member holds onto his/her role for the duration of the assignment.Whatever the size of your group, ensure that someone carries out the following: |Team role |Contribution | |Project/team leader/ Chair |Organises rooms, agendas and chairs meetings, co-ordinates and keeps the group focused and involved. Stops the group from | |person |going off at a tangent. Initiates, leads and drives the group towards achieving their task. | |Innovator &/or Evaluator |Creates novel ideas and solutions to support the task. | |Assesses ideas and proposals. | |Investigator/ Info. gatherer | Collects information and resources to support the task and the group takes up and develops his/her contributions. | |Team worker/ harmoniser |Encourages others, fosters team morale and reduces negativity. | |Record keeper |Keeps records, shares information. Provides facts, ideas, feedback, and/or alternative proposals to finish the task. | | |Summarises what has been done. Lists what else needs to be done to complete the task. |Completer |Keeps track on objectives meeting deadlines making sure the group is on target to complete the task and achieve the goals | | |set. Judging whether the task is being completed successfully and efficiently | Group dynamics All group work consists of both task and process elements. Attention is often focused on the task, i. e. a report or presentation, and the process is neglected (how you get the task done, i. e. working in groups), which can be a major reason for ineffective group working.Individuals need to focus on the group needs rather than the ir own personal needs. Encourage and support others and try to facilitate harmony. Self-seeking roles to avoid are: dominator, cynic, clown, aggressor, blocker, group humourist, recognition seeker, avoider, politician, etc. (based on Benne & Sheats, 1948 cited in Barker et al, 1991). Keep to the responsibilities you were given – do what you said you would do. Ensure there is co-operation between members, if the team is to succeed. Listen to one another and acknowledge one another’s ideas and suggestions. Listen actively and you will hear.Buzan (2000) states that listening is a top management skill. So improve your listening skills now and you’ll be more prepared for any job interview! Listen and DON’T: Pretend to pay attention – do so! Do other things at the same time. Decide it’s uninteresting. Have your mobile on in meetings. Hogg the conversation – be aware of others’ need to talk. Be distracted by someone’s way of sp eech or mannerism. Get over-involved and so lose the thread of conversation. Let emotion filled words arouse personal anger, antagonism, etc. Focus on distractions instead of what’s said.Take linear one colour notes (instead, use different coloured pens, draw diagrams, mind maps, lists, tables). Just listen for facts (also consider the speaker’s emotions, feelings, body language). Turn off when it is complex or difficult. Plan what you’re going to say next. All group members need to agree any changes, e. g. to meetings, content of the assignment, etc. if the group is to be successful. Keep to the deadlines given. If you cannot manage your time well, be aware that you are letting others down. Meet and keep in contact regularly, where progress and any changes are tracked.Cohesiveness, good communication, commitment and cooperation are essential. Misconduct, unethical behaviour, rule breaking, must be avoided. At times the group will be affected by pressures of dea dlines, absence of an influential member, a traumatic experience, or a new member joining. Disperse any cliques that may form. There should be no ‘outsiders’ involved in the group or have input in the group. Antagonistic or contentious individuals need to be dealt with by the group early on, so conflict is avoided. Consensus in decision making helps make all group members feel they have a say. Try the questionnaire ‘Are We a Team? in Appendix 5 to assess the extent to which your group is cohesive and how well you work together, at some stage in the second half of the process. Groups can access a small room for their meetings, by booking a study room. Virtual meetings may form part of your plan and if so, you need to make sure that everyone has suitable access. An agenda has to be agreed by the group for each meeting, otherwise the group may waste valuable time during the meeting by chatting or straying from discussing the issues. Decide how long you will spend dis cussing each item. Respect one another’s opinion – everyone is entitled to their say.A ‘talking stick’ could be used during meetings, where the person holding the stick gets to speak. Others must listen until another person gets to hold the stick, and has his/her say. Another useful idea for effective discussion at meetings is to follow de Bono’s Six Hats Model (1985). See Appendix 6 for the full details. The ‘6 Thinking Hats’ helps generate critical thinking, to brainstorm or reflect, as these six ‘hats’ are metaphors for thinking about different aspects of a task/experience, at different times. Break down your thinking into 6 areas; use all six hats, to explore effectively and thoroughly with less confusion.De Bono considers that the emphasis should be on designing a way forward all the time. The hats are directions of how to think and not descriptions of what has happened. He says this parallel thinking method allows the subject to be explored fully by considering one view at a time and accepting that they can be viewed as parallel, not necessary contradictory. It can be used constructively by all cultures. It allows you to find positive or constructive elements in negative or difficult situations and so helps to create a sense of perspective about it.A variant of this technique is to look at problems from the point of view of different professionals, or roles, or customers. Evaluate your progress as you go and keep a record of the meetings, which will be useful later when you have to carry out reflective writing based on the group work. If a group member is going to be absent (with good reason), let the group know beforehand. Ask questions of the other group members in order for you to proceed with your task or to clarify an issue. Be honest with peers – if you do not know something, say so or if you are not on target with your work, tell the group.The group will not function if everyone is not working openly, together towards the same goal. Behaviours serving task needs: †¢ Clarifying objectives †¢ Seeking information from group members †¢ Giving relevant information †¢ Proposing ideas and building on ideas or proposals contributed by others †¢ Summarising progress so far †¢ Evaluating progress against group objectives †¢ Time keeping †¢ Identifying a group member to take responsibility to ensure agreed actions are taken †¢ Setting up a way of reviewing progress after the meeting Behaviours serving group needs: Encourage members to contribute and value all contributions. †¢ Check that you have understood a point by summarising that understanding, before giving reasons for disagreeing †¢ Help to resolve conflict without making others feel rejected †¢ Change your view in light of arguments or information given by others †¢ Help to control those who talk too much †¢ Praising group progress towards obj ectives †¢ Dissuading group members from negative behaviour Behaviours interfering with task or group needs: †¢ Not preparing for the meeting/not doing your job Talking too much and/or focusing your attention on yourself †¢ Reacting emotionally to points made †¢ Attacking others points by ridicule or unreasoned comments †¢ Not listening to others †¢ Interrupting others and/or talking at the same time as them †¢ Introducing a completely different point of view while productive discussion of something else is taking place †¢ Chatting to others privately during the meeting †¢ Using humour to excess †¢ Withdrawing from the group and/or refusing to participate †¢ Being late for meetings/not turning up at all/leaving early Cameron (2005) BrainstormingBrainstorming is a useful way of generating ideas as well as problem-solving. A ‘facilitator’ needs to be appointed for the session. S/he will write everyone’s ideas d own and encourage all members to participate. Then, collect ideas from all members of the group. Ideas or opinions should not be criticised or rejected at this stage. Acknowledge and record all ideas and suggestions. Once the brainstorming has been exhausted, move on to link ideas and themes, and synthesise them. The group should then agree on which ideas should remain and which should be discarded. Using Post-its and Flip ChartsPutting things down on paper is an essential part of keeping the group going. †¢ Brainstorming session: one member of the group puts ideas on the flipchart OR individuals note their ideas on post-its and these are collected and examined. Ideas are easily prioritised using post-its as they are easily re-arranged. †¢ Resolve conflict: each member notes their opinion on a post-it and posts it on the board. The group can examine and consider the points made by the group. †¢ Equal opportunities: all members have a ‘say’ by writing down their ideas and suggestions, rather than a dominant vocal member ‘taking over’ the session.Virtual Group Work It is not always easy for groups to meet regularly; however, an arrangement must be made to keep in regular contact. There is no excuse if students cannot meet face-to-face, because they can meet virtually. There are a number of ways they can do this: You could chose email updates, a which anyone can set up through ‘Your Groups’ in the top black menu. For instructions to set up a group discussion forum, see Appendix 7. The wiki facility in ‘Your Groups’ could be a useful way of developing your work in such a way that all members have access to it.See YouTube – Wikis in Plain English for a quick demonstration of a wiki in use for a collaborative group task. Or you could all agree to use a social networking site, such as Facebook, to work on. Lecturers sometimes monitor and assess the level of communication that occurs in these gr oups. E-mails can be sent to group members, with files attached to share your part of the task with the other group members. Note: Virtual group work should NOT replace regular face-to-face meetings; rather it should be used in addition to it and as a way of keeping in contact between meetings to support one another.Group Diversity Be aware that some people initiate ideas, motivate, co-ordinate, maintain standards, seek opinions, and keep the group working towards their goal. Personality clashes, cross-cultural differences, discrimination, bullying and blocking people out can be issues that arise in groups. Difficult team members can be aggressive, try to be the centre of attention, waste time joking around, compete with other members, reject ideas without good reason, be ‘hard done by’. Cross-cultural differences can sometimes cause conflict.Hofstede (1991) and Morrison et al, (1994, cited in Levin, 2005: 89-91) identify cultural traits that may cause conflict: |Indivi dualism Vs Collectivism | |People brought up in individualist cultures see themselves as individuals, taking it for granted that they can say what they think, take decisions on | |their own and confront others with their view. | |People brought up in a collectivist culture view themselves as members of a family and/or wider group.To them, the preservation of harmony within the | |group is very important. Decisions are made by consensus within the group and confrontation is avoided. | |Tolerance of Uncertainty | |In some cultures there are authority figures to whom everyone else defers, everyone knows their place and rote learning is the method of education. | |People from this culture would feel uncomfortable in situations of uncertainty, or when they do not know where their place is and what the rules and | |regulations are, and where there is no ‘right answer’. |On the other hand, there are cultures where authority comes under challenge, and independent and critical thinking are encouraged. People do not have a| |clearly defined place in society, rules and expectations of a ‘right answer’ are absent but this is seen as an opportunity and a challenge. | |Issues of Embarrassment and ‘loss of face’ | |Embarrassment and loss of face are to be found in all cultures.However, the reasons for embarrassment vary. People from some cultures may find it hard| |to admit they are unable to perform a particular task whereas a person from another culture would not be embarrassed by this. Revealing emotion may be | |unnatural; to express disagreement; to refuse something; to be able to understand something said to you more than once; to be discovered to have lied; | |and/or to renegotiate an agreement in the hope of getting a better deal. |In some cultures losing face happens when you feel challenged, when your contribution to a discussion is not acknowledged, if someone makes a joke at | |your expense or if you suffer a public-let-do wn. What one person feels as teasing, another might feel it as insulting. | |Gender Issues | |In every culture roles and places are assigned to men and women. People from different cultures have different assumptions, expectations and habits | |towards men and women.Some men may find it difficult to deal with assertive women and some women may find it difficult to be assertive. Often people | |feel more comfortable in same gender groups where they can say what they think and feel. | |Codes of Behaviour | |There are codes of behaviour in all cultures. Certain behaviour is seen as acceptable in one culture but unacceptable behaviour in another and is | |viewed as rude, immodest, lacking respect, etc.Some examples are: | |Standing very close to someone you are talking to | |Gesturing a lot when talking (moving your hands and head) | |Expressing impatience | |Confrontational behaviour, especially outright disagreement | |Interrupting someone who is speaking | |Boasting | |Silence during a conversation. Failure to respond immediately may cause discomfort or may imply agreement or disagreement. | |Failure to make eye contact with someone who is speaking or listening. This could be mistaken for insincerity or lack of attentiveness, whereas it is | |intended to show deference. |Lack of punctuality | Other differences may be how a person is treated according to their age, social status, occupation and/or educational background. Working with people of other cultures and ethnic backgrounds is a great opportunity to learn about others, and indeed learn about yourself. Make ‘understanding group members’ backgrounds and points of view’ an explicit group objective. Care will have to be taken with group rules (ways of operating) where less assertive students will have their say, and regular checks on how members feel about other members’ responses to their contributions. Addressing ConflictDue to groups involving people of different personal ities, cultures, gender, etc. it is quite common for conflict to occur. Problems should be discussed in the group, i. e. a group member not working, non-attending group member, etc. and decisions on how to proceed should be considered in light of the ground rules set in the first meeting. This needs to be resolved without creating bad feeling amongst group members. Resolution is achieved by addressing the issues through discussion amongst the whole group. Do not leave problems to fester and grow. It is important that the group tries to address this conflict themselves before involving a third party, i. e. your lecturer or an ASU adviser.Here are some steps to try to resolve the conflict within the group, before seeking a negotiator: †¢ Set a rule of how disagreement will be resolved, i. e. if someone is not participating, if someone misses meetings, if there is a personality clash, etc. †¢ Encourage an environment of openness and honesty – say if you are unhappy/wri te it in the group site. Be honest about where you are at with your task. †¢ Agree for all members to participate fully – always put your view forward. Consider other members’ feelings. †¢ Agree to put group needs before personal needs. Others are depending on you to provide your input and complete your task. †¢ You do not have to like people to work with them – however, you have to learn to work with them in the group.This will help you to develop good interpersonal skills. †¢ Develop and practice listening skills – everyone deserves to be heard, even if you disagree with their point-of-view. †¢ Keep to deadlines – others are depending on you. †¢ Keep track of progress, so things do not fall behind and thus putting the group under pressure. †¢ Establish the nature of the disagreement. Do members perceive facts differently? Do they disagree about ways of working? Are members operating with different values? By exp loring the cause of the disagreement, the group may be able to come to a better understanding of the task and its context. Solutions can then be suggested by the group.In dealing with conflict you need to use your talking, listening, assertiveness and interpersonal skills to reach a resolution. Try not to give up until you have resolved the issue(s) as a group. If you are unable to resolve the conflict, then you MUST speak to your lecturer about it. Do NOT put it off until your report is due in or until the day of presentation. Group Presentations It is important that the group present themselves as a team. This can be done in the following way: †¢ Prepare the slides using the same format and ensure the presentation is well structured. The team will need to meet regularly to ensure this occurs. †¢ Practice the presentation together so you can ensure your presentation is completed within the time limit.By practicing regularly as a group, the presentation should be coherent, polished and well executed on the day. †¢ Have a back up plan incase one of the group is absent on the day; is unable to present their section or takes too long presenting their section of the talk. †¢ The first presenter should introduce the whole group and say what they will talk about. †¢ Be supportive to other students in your group while they are presenting by looking interested; using positive non-verbal communication, i. e. nod; help with using visual aids. You should not sit down after your section has been done. †¢ At the hand-over stage, the current speaker must introduce the next presenter and what they will say.The next person to speak should thank the previous speaker before beginning his/her part of the presentation. Group Reports †¢ Advice given above on group roles, meetings, etc. applies when preparing your report. †¢ You need to meet regularly to assess progress and to put the tasks together. †¢ The report must be compiled as one piece of work, rather than having obvious separate parts of different font styles and writing style. At the end†¦ Ensure the group meet before presenting/submitting their work to check that the work is well structured, clear and coherent and shows that you worked closely as a group. Submit on time. Reflection on Group WorkYou may be asked to reflect on what happened, your role within the group, what you have learned from it and what you need to work on in the future. Ensure you have clarified with the lecturer what is expected of you and what the assessment criteria is. Complete the reflection by considering the following questions: †¢ What went well? Why? †¢ What went wrong? Why? †¢ How did you solve it? †¢ What would you do differently next time? †¢ What contribution did you make? †¢ What did you learn from others? †¢ What did the other members learn from you? †¢ What strengths did you identify? Did the group utilise your strengths? â € ¢ What weaknesses did you identify? How did you and the group address them? Did you improve on your weaknesses to turn them into strengths? †¢ What do you plan to do about the weaknesses you have identified? †¢ How does this link to the theories on successful group work? Who did what, when, problems or difficulties encountered, etc. Analyse the group activities: (What was the group trying to achieve? What were the different views? Who said what? What was left unsaid? How were decisions made? How did you feel about this? How did the others feel? What was the energy levels and motivation like? Did anything unexpected happen? ). Action planning: Identify what you contributed to the group, difficulties you experienced, and from this assess your strengths, weaknesses and action points.Focus on critical incidences – which were turning points for the group or which demonstrate particular difficulties / successes. Use the checklist in Appendix 9 at the end of each meeti ng to reflect on strengths and weaknesses. Avoid Academic Misconduct When participating in group work, you must avoid any academic misconduct, i. e. you must not plagiarise (use another’s work as your own by not acknowledging it by making reference to the author’s work in your assignment) or you are not accused of collusion (you work it not your own individual work but rather it has been undertaken jointly with another students, where you shared ideas or your material with another student and their work (or any part of it) is a replica of yours).Academic misconduct is identified when your coursework is passed a software programme that detects and identifies cheating. Such misconduct can occur when you ‘share’ your work with another student, where you may send him/her an electronic version of your work, share materials or you do your write-up together. References Barker, L. , Wahlers, K. , Watson, K. & Kibler, R. (1991) Groups in Process. 4th edn. New Jerse y: Prentice Hall. Belbin, R. M. (1993) Team Roles at Work. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Belbin, R. M. (1981) Management Teams: why they succeed or fail. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Benne, K. D. & Sheats, P. (1948) ‘Functional Roles of group Members. ’ Journal of Social Issues. 4. pp. 41-49. Blundel, R. 2004) Effective Organisational Communication. 2nd edn. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Buzan, T (2000) Use Your Head. London: BBC Active Cameron, S. (2005) The Business Student’s Handbook. 3rd edn. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. De Bono, E (1985) Six Thinking Hats. Harmondsworth: Viking Elluminate (2010) Window Descriptions. Available at: http://www. elluminate. com [Accessed: 18 October, 2010] Hofstede, G. (1991) Cultures and Organisations: Software of the Mind. London: McGrawHill. Levin, P. (2005) Successful Teamwork! London: Open University Press. Morrison, T. , Conaway, W. A. , Borden, G. A. (1994) Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands: How to do Business in Six ty Countries. Adams Media.Race, P. (2000) 500 Tips on Group Learning. London: Kogan Page. Stuart, R. , (1998) Team Developmental Games for Trainers. Gower Publishing Limited. In Levin, P. (2005) Successful Teamwork! London: Open University Press. Appendix 1 – Assessment of Group Work Group work is not always formally assessed. However, in some modules at the overall assessment of a group report or group presentation may include an assessment of the process of preparation. This may include the following considerations: †¢ Progress of preparation (e. g. meeting of milestones; numbers of meetings; progress of preparation) †¢ Relative inputs of members of the group (e. g. ocumentation of input; peer assessment of input) †¢ Roles of group members in preparation (e. g. project manager; reporter, etc) †¢ Resolution of conflict situations †¢ The level of team building Appendix 2 – Icebreakers The following icebreakers are a quick way of helping members of a group get to know one another a little better. †¢ What’s you name? Members of a group tell what their name is and provide the group with a little background of why they were given that name. †¢ What I like and what I hate – Members of the group introduce themselves and share a like and a dislike they have, i. e. I love coffee but I hate people who talk too much, I love jazz music but I hate queuing, etc. †¢ What’s your hidden secret?Each member of the group introduces themselves and tells the group one thing not many people know about them, i. e. I met Madonna, I play the piano, I dived in the Red Sea, I walked the Great Wall of China, I ate frogs legs once, etc. †¢ Triumphs, traumas and trivia* – Each member of the group identifies a triumph, a trauma and a trivia about themselves, which they will share with the group, i. e. I won a gold medal for running at school, I was in a car accident when I was 12, I do crosswords; I won ? 10 in the lotto last year, I lost my suitcases when I came to the UK, I tell terrible jokes; etc. *Note: Care needs to be taken with this activity as deep feelings can emerge about traumas suffered. Interview your neighbour* – Group splits into pairs and one member of each pair spends about three minutes listening to the other tell some of the above mentioned information, as well as the person’s background information. Notes should be taken. Swap roles for next three minutes. Then each person feeds back to the group some information about their neighbour. * Note: Care needs to be taken not to ask questions that may intrude on an individual’s privacy and the amount of information s/he wishes to divulge about themselves to the group. †¢ What do you already know about the topic? Members of the group jot down the most important thing they know about the topic on a Post-it and put it on a flipchart. Members can read what they know about the topic or the group c an read it from the flipchart. This is a useful starting point for the task.Adapted from: Race (2000:37-39) Appendix 3 – Ground Rules Here are some suggested rules to be set by a group – these are by no means the only rules a group can adopt. Honesty and truthfulness is fostered in the group. †¢ You do not have to like someone to work with them. Members have to work together despite their personal feelings about individuals in the group. Affirm collective responsibility. Once issues have been raised, aired, and solutions provided, the group lives with the decisions made by the group. †¢ Everyone listens while someone speaks and everyone has a say. Members are entitled to their opinions, which should not be ignored, put down or belittled by others. Full participation is required. All members need to participate in discussion, complete their tasks, etc. †¢ Fair share – everyone participates equally in the task. †¢ Meet deadlines. †¢ Agree and set up a regular programme of meetings. †¢ Keep records. Record progress and milestones reached, minutes, agendas, self reflective logs. †¢ Flexibility in meeting members’ needs. Sometimes a member’s personal needs may interfere with the group working – allowances must be made. Dealing with conflicts in the group. Appendix 4 – Group Work Log Module: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Assessment Aim: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Group Objectives set: 1. ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________________________ ____ 3. _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. _______ __________________________________________________________________________ The group should agree roles for each of the members at the beginning of the task and this group log should be complete by the end of the task. |Member’s Name |Role/s |Assigned Tasks |Deadline date |Deadline met |No of meetings attended |Individual comments | |1 | | |- | | | | | | | | |- | | | | | | | | |- | | | | | |2 | | |- | | | | | | | | |- | | | | | | | | |- | | | | |3 | | |- | | | | | | | | |- | | | | | | | | |- | | | | | |4 | | |- | | | | | | | | |- | | | | | | | | |- | | | | | |5 | | |- | | | | | | | | |- | | | | | | | | |- | | | | | Details of all group meetings |Meeting Date |Discussion topic/s |Actions & deadlines agreed |Attendees signatures/date | |1. | | |1. | | | |2. | | | | |3. | | | | |4. | | | | |5. | |2. | | |1. | | | |2. | | | | |3. | | | | |4. | | | | |5. | |3. | | |1. | | | |2. | | | | |3. | | | | |4. | | | | |5. | |4. | | |1. | | | |2. | | | | |3. | | | | |4. | | | | |5. | |5. | | |1. | | | |2. | | | | |3. | | | | |4. | | | | |5. | |6. | | |1. | | | |2. | | | | |3. | | | | |4. | | | | |5. | Appendix 5 – Questionnaire: Are We a Team? First, each individual member of the group fills in the questionnaire below. Then the sheets are collected and the scores collated to the table below. = never; 2 = rarely; 3 = sometimes; 4 = mostly; 5 = always 1) We all show equal commitment to our objective1 2 3 4 5 2) We all take part in deciding how the work should be allocated1 2 3 4 5 3) We are committed to helping each other learn1 2 3 4 5 4) We acknowledge good contributions from group members1 2 3 4 5 5) We handle disagreements and conflict constructively within the group1 2 3 4 5 6) We are able to give constructive criticism to one another and accept it1 2 3 4 5 7) We all turn up to meetings and stay to the end1 2 3 4 5 8) We are good at making sure everyone knows what is going on1 2 3 4 5 9) When one of us is under pressure, others o ffer to help them1 2 3 4 5 10) We trust each other1 2 3 4 5 11) We remain united even when we disagree1 2 3 4 5 12) We feel comfortable and relaxed with one another1 2 3 4 5 13) We refer to our ground rules and review them when necessary1 2 3 4 5 Stuart (1998, cited in Levin, 2005) |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |TOTAL | |1. We all show equal commitment to our objective | | | | | | | |2. We all take part in deciding how the work should be allocated | | | | | | | |3. We are committed to helping each other learn | | | | | | | |4. We acknowledge good contributions from group members | | | | | | | |5.We handle disagreements & conflict constructively within the group | | | | | | | |6. We are able to give constructive criticism & accept it | | | | | | | |7. We all turn up to meetings and stay to the end | | | | | | | |8. We are good at making sure everyone knows what is going on | | | | | | | |9. When one of us is under pressure, others offer to help them | | | | | | | |10.We trust each other | | | | | | | |11. We remain united even when we disagree | | | | | | | |12. We feel comfortable and relaxed with one another | | | | | | | |13. We refer to our ground rules and review them when necessary | | | | | | | Action planning can occur as a result of the findings. Appendix 6 – De Bono's (1985) ‘6 Thinking Hats’ ModelEdward de Bono considers that the emphasis should be on designing a way forward all the time. The hats are directions of how to think and not descriptions of what has happened. White Hat:[pic]Facts, figures, laws, information, neutral, objective†¦ With this thinking you focus on the data available and are non-judgmental. Look at the information you have, and see what you can learn from it. Look for gaps in your knowledge, and identify what you need to get or take account of. You consider past trends and historical data. You may consider philosophical aspects such as whose truth it is, whose fact is it? Data may need to be supported by evidence.R ed Hat: [pic]Feelings, emotions, hunches, intuition about †¦ Wearing this hat, you consider the issues using intuition, gut reaction, and emotion. This may be feedback about your feelings and preferences but also consider how other people might react emotionally. Try to understand the responses of other people who do not have the same information or understanding as you. Black Hat: [pic]Negative, drawbacks, disadvantages, careful, cautious, defensive†¦ This highlights the weak points in a situation or plan. By identifying them, it allows you to eliminate or alter them, or prepare contingency plans to counter them. Consider why something might not work (give reasons, consider past evidence).Black Hat thinking may play ‘devil’s advocate’. It helps you to plan carefully, be prepared and more resilient. This way of thinking helps spot fatal flaws by considering safety and risks before embarking on a course of action. (Some successful people get so used to t hinking positively that often they cannot see problems in advance. This leaves them under-prepared for difficulties. ) Yellow Hat: [pic] Positive, speculative, advantages, benefits, savings of†¦ Consider what is right, why it is good and be constructive. Even in a very difficult or stressful situation find positives, e. g. learning will have taken place. It is an optimistic, sunny viewpoint that is often speculative.It helps you to see the benefits of a situation/decision and the value in it. Yellow Hat thinking is supportive when things seem gloomy and difficult. It finds reasons and logical support, and often links to creativity. Green Hat: [pic] Creativity, ideas, innovation, growth, exploration, alternatives†¦ Green Hat thinking is developing creative solutions to a problem. It may generate completely new ideas and developments or consider possible changes to a situation. It is a freewheeling, non-judgmental way of thinking. Blue Hat: [pic] Organise, control, plan (pro cess, people, agendas)†¦ This hat is often the view of a director or the chair at meetings.They often choose the order or process, summarise the situation and offer conclusions which can be put into practice in the future. This way of thinking is generally cool and considered. When others’ ideas cease, Blue Hat thinking may direct activity to other hats! For new ideas Blue may pass to Green Hat or when contingency plans are needed Black Hat thinking will be engaged, etc. | | Appendix 9: Group Work Check List (to be used after every meeting) Please reflect on the group meeting and check/cross the boxes as appropriate, in order to identify strengths and weaknesses: ? Each member was present at the meeting ? Everyone turned up on time Every member did their part of the work & brought it along ? Every member took a role in the meeting ? Each member in the group had a turn to speak ? Each member in the group participated ? The group members respected and appreciated one anot her’s contributions ? Members of the group were polite to one another ? Disagreement / conflict in the group was resolved during the meeting ? Everyone was clear what they had to do next ? Everyone was clear what they had to bring / present at the next meeting ? It was clear how members could communicate with one another between meetings ? The next meeting date, time and venue was agreed by all members

Quality Indicators Relevant to Early Childhood Education

There are various significant practices which promote health and safety in early childhood centres to take in to account. This essay focuses on nutrition across the early years, providing a safe environment and identifying and responding to childhood illness and how teachers can encourage and promote these practices to the children. Auckland Regional Public Health Service (2008) states that during early childhood, children form lifelong eating habits, therefore it is important to have a focus on nutrition across the early years in order to foster a healthy eating culture and enable children to develop healthy behaviours in relation to food.A teacher has an important role in helping children develop these behaviours and can promote healthy eating and healthy food choices in a number of ways. Teachers can promote good nutrition by including children in the cooking process or growing fruits and vegetables within the centre environment. These experiences provide ample opportunities for t he discussion of nutrition and what is healthy and unhealthy. The Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2008) asserts that children must be served food at appropriate times and that it is to meet the nutritional needs of each child.It explains that all food provided during the hours a service is open must be recorded. These records must show the type of food provided and be kept for three months after the serving date. Promoting food safety to the children is also an important aspect of nutrition, this includes role modelling the careful storage of food, hygienic preparation and use of tongs when serving food. Providing a safe environment gives children a better place to play and allows them the freedom to explore their environment without the risk of injury.MoE (2008) declares that ample and changeable indoor and outdoor equipment, resources and furniture must be provided for the children and that it also needs to be appropr iate for the varying abilities of the children using it. Teachers are able to promote a safe environment by encouraging children to play safely. This includes sharing, gentle hands, walking feet, sun safety and water safety. The MoE (2008) is aware an area cannot be completely hazard free so requires a â€Å"hazard identification and management system† and uggests that all realistic steps are taken to minimise risks, be this by redirecting the children or limiting their access to areas where hazards may be. Another important way teachers can promote a safe environment is through active supervision and setting up engaging and appropriate activities for the children to be involved with. One of the most significant practices in promoting health, wellbeing and a safe environment is being able to identify and respond to childhood illness. Teachers need to be able to recognise the signs and symptoms of illness and be able to administer the appropriate first aid.The MoE (2008) decla res that children who become poorly while at a service must be kept at a safe distance away from the other children in order to reduce the risk of contamination and the spread of illness. It is the teachers’ responsibility that this happens to protect not only the children but the teachers and whanau too. Healthy Messages (Ministry of Education, 1997) suggests that early childhood centres develop and change policies so that they promote a safe and healthy environment and that these policies are a good way to introduce children to healthy messages.For example, how to avoid the spread of infectious illness through personal hygiene procedures, washing of soiled children procedures and hygienic laundering and cleaning procedures. As discussed above, encouraging healthy eating and good nutrition, providing a safe environment and recognising and responding to childhood illnesses are all important practices to foster. Teachers have an important role in promoting these practices and by effectively performing them, they will be promoting good health and safety in an early childhood setting.Reference List: Auckland Regional Public Health Service. (2008). Food For Under 5's: A practical guide to food and nutrition for early childhood education services. Retrieved 17th August 2012, from http://www. arphs. govt. nz/Portals/0/Health%20Information/HealthyEnvironments/Early%20childhood%20education%20centres/ECEC%20Food%20for%20under%205s/Food%20for%20under%205s%202008/Food%20For%20Under%205's%20ECE%20resource%20Final%20Jun e%202008-1. pdf Ministry of Education. (2008).Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008 And Early Childhood Education Curriculum Framework. Wellington: New Zealand Government. Retrieved 17th August 2012, from http://www. lead. ece. govt. nz/ServiceTypes/CentreBasedECEServices. aspx Ministry of Health. (1997). Nga kupu oranga: Healthy messages. Wellington: Ministry of Health. Republished on the web:  Ã‚   November 2003. Retrieved 25th August 2012, from http://www. arphs. govt. nz/Portals/0/Health%20Information/HealthyEnvironments/Early%20childhood%20education%20centres/Nga%20Kupu%20Oranga%20HealthyMessages. pdf

Criminal Sentencing Essay

A basic question in criminal sentencing is â€Å"What are the purposes of criminal sentencing?†Ã‚   Scholars, too, reflect on the purposes of punishment. There are commonly four identified purposes: Retribution. The oldest but considered the most important purpose for sentencing is retribution, that is, inflicting on an offender suffering comparable to that caused by the offense. An act of social vengeance, retribution is grounded in a view of society as a system of moral balance.   When criminality upsets this balance, punishment exacted in comparable measure restores the moral order, as suggested in the biblical dictum â€Å"An eye for an eye.† While contemporary critics of retribution sometimes charge that this policy lacks the force to reform the offender, it still remains a strong justification for punishment. A second purpose for sentencing, deterrence amounts to the attempt to discourage criminality through punishment.   Initially, deterrence arose as the banner of reformers seeking to end what they saw as excessive punishments based on retribution.   Critics asked, â€Å"Why put someone to death for stealing if that crime could be discouraged with a prison sentence?†Ã‚   As the concept of deterrence in sentencing gained widespread acceptance, execution and physical mutilation of criminals were gradually replaced by milder forms of punishment such as imprisonment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are two types of deterrence, specific deterrence demonstrates to the   individual offender that crime does not pay while in general deterrence, the  punishment of one person serves as an example to others. Rehabilitation. The third purpose for sentencing, rehabilitation, involves reforming the offender to preclude subsequent offenses.   It resembles deterrence by motivating the offender to conform.   But rehabilitation emphasizes constructive improvement while deterrence and retribution make the offender suffer.   In addition, while retribution demands that the punishment fit the crime, rehabilitation focuses on the distinctive problems of each offender.   Thus identical offenses would call for similar acts of retribution but different programs of rehabilitation. Social protection. A final purpose for sentencing is social protection, or rendering an offender incapable of further offenses either temporarily through incarceration or permanently by execution. Like deterrence, social protection is a rational approach to punishment and seeks to protect society from crime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The different forms of sentencing used in different jurisdictions include institutional sanctions—time to be served in prison or jail; and noninstitutional sanctions—fines and forfeiture of the proceeds of crime, and service of the sentence in the community in the form of probation or parole. Recently the arsenal of punishments has been considerably enlarged by the creation of mixed sanctions and alternatives to either institutional or noninstitutional sanctions. The following are the variety of options for sentencing: Death penalty. In thirty-six states (as well as the federal courts), courts may impose a sentence of death for any offense designated a capital crime, for example, first-degree murder. Incarceration. The defendant may be sentenced to serve a term in a local jail, state prison, or federal prison. Probation. The defendant may be sentenced to a period of probationary supervision   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   within the community. Split sentence. A judge may split the sentence between a period of incarceration and a period of probation. Restitution. An offender may be required to provide financial reimbursement to cover the cost of a victim’s losses. Community service. An offender may be required to spend a period of time performing public service work. Fine. An offender may be required to pay a certain sum of money as a penalty and/or as an alternative to or in conjunction with incarceration. This leads us to the next question, â€Å"What are some reforms that have been proposed? A recent reform growing out of the victims’ rights movement in the sentencing process is the consideration of statements by the victim, known as â€Å"victim impact statements† (VIS). Twenty-six states have mandated the use of VIS in criminal cases, while another twenty-two states have adopted so-called â€Å"victim bills of rights† that include recognition of the right of a victim to present a VIS. In the VIS, the victim provides a statement about the extent of economic, physical, or psychological harm suffered as a result of the victimization. The victim also can make a recommendation about the type of sentence an offender should receive. Usually the VIS is incorporated into the pre-sentence investigation report written by the probation officer. Research has revealed that a judge’s choice of a sentence is influenced much more by legal considerations than by victim preferences in cases where VIS has been presented (McGarrell, 1999). The third reform proposal is â€Å"restorative justice.† Restorative justice has been a feature of justice systems for a long time, though it was little used until a group of criminologists in the United States and the Commonwealth countries brought the idea back to life. The term restorative justice was virtually unknown a decade ago, and it is still in search of a commonly accepted meaning. Yet, the literature related to this subject has grown rapidly, so that we venture to define it in terms offered by Howard Zehr, published in a symposium of The Justice Professional, entitled â€Å"Criminology as Peacemaking.† Zehr provides contrasting paradigms between the traditional, retributive sense of justice and the newly emerging (or reemerging) restorative sense of justice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the proposed reform of restorative justice were adopted, where would that leave us with respect to the traditional â€Å"aims† or â€Å"justifications† of criminal justice? As to retribution (or just desserts), we would still be limited to never imposing an obligation (sanction) that outweighs the harm done. As to incapacitation, even the staunchest advocates of restorative justice recognize that some offenders are far too dangerous to be returned to the community and that their separation from the community is necessary. But the prison population could be vastly reduced. As to resocialization or rehabilitation, the very idea is built into restorative justice, which aims at   Ã‚  restoring the community. Some of the current issues in federal sentencing according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission at https://www.ussc.gov. are the following: The issue on the amendment pertaining to offenses involving cocaine base (â€Å"crack†) and the amendment pertaining to certain criminal history rules, see 72 FR 28558 (May   21, 2007); 72 FR 51882 (September 11, 2007), should be applied retroactively to previously sentenced defendants. The issue of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the and the United States Sentencing Commission has decided to establish a standing victim’s advisory group pursuant to   28 U.S.C.  § 995 and Rule 5.4 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. It was stated that the purpose of the advisory group is (1) to assist the Commission in carrying out its statutory responsibilities under 28 U.S.C.  § 994(o); (2) to provide the Commission its views on the Commission’s activities as they relate to victims of crime; (3) to   disseminate information regarding sentencing issues to organizations represented by the   Ã‚  advisory group and to other victims of crime and victims advocacy groups, as appropriate; and (4) to perform any other functions related to victims of crime as the Commission requests. The victims’ advisory group will consist of not more than 9 members, each of whom may serve not more than two consecutive 3-year terms. The issue on New York’s Rockefeller laws to curb the drug trade – which directly contributed to a dramatic increase in the state’s prison population costing the state millions of dollars, but failing to impact drug trafficking. According to a New York   Times editorial, â€Å"New York has made incremental changes to the Rockefeller laws in recent years, but has stopped short of restoring judicial discretion.† A governor-appointed commission charged with studying state sentencing practices, however, has produced a report calling for the end of â€Å"indeterminate sentencing† – the process by which a judge imposes a minimum and a maximum sentence and the Parole Board decides when to release an offender. It further suggests that nonviolent offenders be considered for community-based treatment instead of prison. Finally, Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s commission recommends restoring prison-based educational and training programs as a means of helping to lower recidivism rates. The website of the Sentencing Project at http://www.sentencingproject.org. mission is to promote reforms in sentencing law and practice, and alternatives to incarceration through their advocacy and research. Moreover, the Sentencing Project provides defense lawyers with sentencing advocacy training and to reduce the reliance on incarceration. Hence, the Sentencing Project has become the leader in the effort to bring national attention to disturbing trends and inequities in the criminal justice system with a successful formula that includes the publication of groundbreaking research, aggressive media campaigns and strategic advocacy for policy reform. As a result of The Sentencing Project’s research, publications and advocacy, many people know that this country is the world’s leader in incarceration, that one in three young black men is under control of the criminal justice system, that five million Americans can’t vote because of felony convictions, and that thousands of women and children have lost welfare, education and housing benefits as the result of convictions for minor drug offenses.   Thus, the Sentencing Project is dedicated to changing the way Americans think about crime and punishment which coincide with the interests of the National Association of Sentencing Advocates. References   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   McGarrell, E.F. Restorative Justice Conferences.   Indianapolis, IN: Hudson Institute, 1999; Edmund F. McGarrell, â€Å"Cutting Crime through Police-Citizen Cooperation,† American Outlook, Spring 1998, pp. 65–67. The Sentencing Project at http://www.sentencingproject.org. U.S. Sentencing Commission Available at https://www.ussc.gov. Zehr, H.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Justice as Restoration, Justice as Respect,†The Justice Professional 11,   Ã‚  Ã‚   nos. 1–2 (1998), pp. 71–87.

The Breathing Process

The first step in the breathing process starts with the brain. The brain sends a message to the diaphragm, telling it to move. The diaphragm is a large dome shaped muscle that divides the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity and attaches to the ribs at the sides and the sternum in the front of the body. When the brain tells the diaphragm to move, it flattens out, enlarging the thorax of the body, the ribs, and the chest. When the chest expands, it pulls on the lungs, causing a drop in pressure in the lungs compared to the pressure of the atmosphere and air is sucked into the lungs to balance the pressures. There are many muscles used in the process of inhalation. The diaphragm is the most important. The external intercostals are on the outside of the ribs, and extend from rib to rib, in between. These muscles help to pull the lower ribs up when the chest is rising to take air into the lungs. The levatores costorum are small muscles that extend from the vertebrae to the ribs. They also aid in lifting the ribs upward. The serratus posterior superior extend down and out from the vertebrae to the upper ribs in the back. These muscles also help raise the chest. The pectoralis major is the upper chest muscle that fans out from the humerus and inserts into the sternum and the clavicle. The pectoralis minor extends from the scapula and inserts into the second through fifth ribs. This muscle is also fan shaped and helps to raise the ribs. The lattissimus dorsi (or â€Å"latts†) is the large muscle on the back extending from the lower vertebrae to the hip bone and from the ribs to the upper arm. This muscle helps to expand the lower part of the thorax. The sternocleidomastoid extends from the skull to the sternum and clavicle. It helps to pull the chest upward. The last muscle important in the act of inhaling is the scalenes, This muscle extends from the neck to the first and second ribs and helps to pull the chest upward. Exhalation: The act of exhaling is pretty much the exact reverse of inhaling. The diaphragm relaxes and goes back into its dome-like shape. The ribs, chest, and thorax lower and return to their natural position. Gravity also plays a part in lowering the chest, ribs, and thorax. The lungs, elastic air passages, and chest wall recoil, and exhalation occurs. There are also many muscles that are involved with the process of exhaling. The abdominals are the primary muscles of exhalation. They pull in a down and out motion, helping to lower the chest and contract the diaphragm and other muscles. The internal intercostals are on the inside of the ribs and extend between them. They help to pull the ribs downward and inward. The subcostals are also on the inside of the ribs and extend upward and outward from the lower rib to the higher rib. These muscles also help to pull the ribs inward. The serratus posterior inferior extend up and out from the vertebrae to the four lower ribs and these muscles pull the ribs downward. The quadratus lumborum extends from the lowest rib to the hip bone and anchors the lowest rib from pull from the diaphragm. Finally, the transversis thoracis extends upward and outward from the lower part of the sternum and inserts into the second through sixth ribs. This muscle helps to pull the chest downward. Singing:  It is important in singing to have strong muscles and to use the muscles in a correct way to achieve the maximum potential of the air flow and of the voice. There are three types of respiration: Quiet respiration, forced respiration, and subglottal pressure. Quiet respiration is involuntary breathing. It is the type of breathing that occurs at any restful state and there is very little exchange of air. Forced respiration is voluntary breathing. It is used in yelling, loud talking, and singing. It requires active use of both the inhalation and exhalation muscles and there is a large amount of air exchanged within the lungs. Subglottal pressure is probably the most important in singing. It is the overpressure of air in the lungs, created by forced respiration. There is forced airflow against partially closed vocal folds. This type of respiration allows the singer to control airflow and have a constant sound. Using correct breath control and muscle control will allow a singer to achieve constant intensity and sound in their voice.

What does a firm’s overall cost of capital mean?

Cost of capital is the return necessary to make a capital budgeting process worthwhile. Further, it is the returns that a company gets after an investment. This is the money that evaluates any new project of a company for it determines the minimum profit expected by investors in the business. To satisfy investors, the return on capital employed must be above the company’s average debts, thus making investments worthwhile. That is, the expected output must be more than the invested capital; the returns are more than the capital (Armitage, 2005).Moreover, if a project costs the same as the company’s average business activities, then it is wise to use the average cost of capital of the company as the base. This ensures that the company’s security on the cost of capital is calculated. It is done by first calculating the cost of debt and equity. Afterwards, calculate the expected returns after doing business. This is done by dividing the dividend payment per share wit h the market price then adding the growth rate. One can thus issue dividends to investors.From a financial manager's perspective, discuss the capital budgeting process used to identify projects that add to the firm's value? How do capital budgeting decisions help to define a firm's strategic direction? The capital budgeting process is used to identify projects that add value to a firm. Afterwards, the managers have to calculate the cash required acquiring a new building or equipment without deriving any cash benefits from the disposal of the replaced commodity.Any additional working capital in relation to the new equipment is initially outlaid and the initial investment is included as a part only if changes occur at the beginning of the project. After this, the managers calculate the terminal cash flow after the sale of the assets, savings after the operations, as well as the net present value of the assets. This procedure helps them to calculate the feasibility of purchasing an equ ipment or building. Capital budgeting decisions help to define a firm’s strategic direction by deciding whether to invest in a specific asset or project.This process helps to determine whether to engage the firm in acquiring certain assets which were not formerly used by the firm. In addition, this undertaking can help to replace any outdated assets, thus maintaining their efficiency. How does a firm’s capital structure relate to your personal capital structure? In what ways are they similar? Provide examples of how you use debt and equity in your personal financial life that parallels the basic capital structure decisions made by a firm.Capital structure is the combination of equity, debt, and other finance sources used to fund other long-term finances. It is therefore related to personal capital structure since the 2 represent the money working in the business, thus showing money flow in the business. Both are similar for they are the working capital of a business. T hey indicate the amount of money invested in the business as well as the profit gained. They both indicate the amount of borrowed capital flowing in the business.Further, they indicate any other form of capital that are used to run a personal business, such as, a dealer servicing one’s business with goods then settling the dues later. Debt and equity in personal financial life parallels the basic capital structure decisions made by a firm since the amount of money invested at the launch of the business, together with the sum total of goods provided by a dealer to be paid later in form of equity, is indicated.The amount of money borrowed by an individual to help strengthen their capital is indicated as equity for it represents the total amount borrowed to run the business. Modigliani and Miller [MM] employed the concept of arbitrage to develop their theory. Explain the concept of arbitrage and the role of arbitrage in the MM model. Discuss the assumptions and the issues underl ying the MM model. http://www. rdboehme. com/MBA_CF/Chap_15. pdf The concept of arbitrage can be explained using the analogy two different markets with one selling at a lower price.Sellers will buy from the low-price market and sell in the market with high prices. The prices thus tend to rise in the low-priced market until the difference is bridged. The role of the MM model is to indicate the safety of investments, that is, if a firm runs two companies, then one might have high market value per share but be very risky regarding market price per share. Conversely, the other may be low market price. Investors will then sell the shares of the risky firms and purchase the other’s, thus standardizing the average cost of capital of the group.The assumptions of the MM model are that the capital market is perfect if only the investors know the market forces. Further, the model classifies firms in groups according to business risks. Investors are assumed to use the operating income to determine the market price. It is also assumed that there are no corporate income taxes. The issues underlying the MM model are that it is very hard to run a business without paying of taxes. Further, the market prices fluctuate, thus the knowledge about market prices is not conclusive. It is thus hard to gauge the market price. What does a firm’s overall cost of capital mean? Cost of capital is the return necessary to make a capital budgeting process worthwhile. Further, it is the returns that a company gets after an investment. This is the money that evaluates any new project of a company for it determines the minimum profit expected by investors in the business. To satisfy investors, the return on capital employed must be above the company’s average debts, thus making investments worthwhile. That is, the expected output must be more than the invested capital; the returns are more than the capital (Armitage, 2005).Moreover, if a project costs the same as the company’s average business activities, then it is wise to use the average cost of capital of the company as the base. This ensures that the company’s security on the cost of capital is calculated. It is done by first calculating the cost of debt and equity. Afterwards, calculate the expected returns after doing business. This is done by dividing the dividend payment per share wit h the market price then adding the growth rate. One can thus issue dividends to investors.From a financial manager's perspective, discuss the capital budgeting process used to identify projects that add to the firm's value? How do capital budgeting decisions help to define a firm's strategic direction? The capital budgeting process is used to identify projects that add value to a firm. Afterwards, the managers have to calculate the cash required acquiring a new building or equipment without deriving any cash benefits from the disposal of the replaced commodity.Any additional working capital in relation to the new equipment is initially outlaid and the initial investment is included as a part only if changes occur at the beginning of the project. After this, the managers calculate the terminal cash flow after the sale of the assets, savings after the operations, as well as the net present value of the assets. This procedure helps them to calculate the feasibility of purchasing an equ ipment or building. Capital budgeting decisions help to define a firm’s strategic direction by deciding whether to invest in a specific asset or project.This process helps to determine whether to engage the firm in acquiring certain assets which were not formerly used by the firm. In addition, this undertaking can help to replace any outdated assets, thus maintaining their efficiency. How does a firm’s capital structure relate to your personal capital structure? In what ways are they similar? Provide examples of how you use debt and equity in your personal financial life that parallels the basic capital structure decisions made by a firm.Capital structure is the combination of equity, debt, and other finance sources used to fund other long-term finances. It is therefore related to personal capital structure since the 2 represent the money working in the business, thus showing money flow in the business. Both are similar for they are the working capital of a business. T hey indicate the amount of money invested in the business as well as the profit gained. They both indicate the amount of borrowed capital flowing in the business.Further, they indicate any other form of capital that are used to run a personal business, such as, a dealer servicing one’s business with goods then settling the dues later. Debt and equity in personal financial life parallels the basic capital structure decisions made by a firm since the amount of money invested at the launch of the business, together with the sum total of goods provided by a dealer to be paid later in form of equity, is indicated.The amount of money borrowed by an individual to help strengthen their capital is indicated as equity for it represents the total amount borrowed to run the business. Modigliani and Miller [MM] employed the concept of arbitrage to develop their theory. Explain the concept of arbitrage and the role of arbitrage in the MM model. Discuss the assumptions and the issues underl ying the MM model. http://www. rdboehme. com/MBA_CF/Chap_15. pdf The concept of arbitrage can be explained using the analogy two different markets with one selling at a lower price.Sellers will buy from the low-price market and sell in the market with high prices. The prices thus tend to rise in the low-priced market until the difference is bridged. The role of the MM model is to indicate the safety of investments, that is, if a firm runs two companies, then one might have high market value per share but be very risky regarding market price per share. Conversely, the other may be low market price. Investors will then sell the shares of the risky firms and purchase the other’s, thus standardizing the average cost of capital of the group.The assumptions of the MM model are that the capital market is perfect if only the investors know the market forces. Further, the model classifies firms in groups according to business risks. Investors are assumed to use the operating income to determine the market price. It is also assumed that there are no corporate income taxes. The issues underlying the MM model are that it is very hard to run a business without paying of taxes. Further, the market prices fluctuate, thus the knowledge about market prices is not conclusive. It is thus hard to gauge the market price.

Contracting and Procurement in Project Management- Phase 2 DB Essay

Contracting and Procurement in Project Management- Phase 2 DB - Essay Example ACME Development Corporation (ADC) wants to buy the scheduling tool from any software company. The first step in creating a contract is to make sure that both companies are talking regarding the identical deal, in this way when they would consequently have the same opinion to enter into the contract they would mutually agree to the similar thing. When the ACME Development Corporation (ADC) and software development company had a "meeting of the minds" as to the contract, they have to trade something of value in order to turn out a contract. Frequently Software Developer Company offers its services in exchange for the cash of the ACME Development Corporation. But forethought can take a lot of other forms, as long as every company is giving up something of worth to it to convince the other company to go into the agreement. Once both ACME Development Corporation and Software Developer Company understand the deal and recognize what kind of deliberation will be substituted by each company, then they would be ready to prepare a contract. Typically the companies disclose that negotiations are ended and a contract would be attained when the companies sign the contract. In this section I will try to incorporate contracting and procurement activities into an overall project cost and schedule. The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) established six procedures/states for the Project Procurement Management and contracting between our company and Software Developer Company will discuss in the proceeding section in relation to our buying scheduling software and other above stated equipment. This is the first process in which we will determine the software development organization’s services and purchasing process plan. We also select the type of contract through which we will deal with other company. In the next phase we will place our contract details for purchasing the equipment and services and

Art and fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Art and fashion - Essay Example Mannequins such as the Siegel-Vigneau had very seductive with undeniably lifelike bodies significantly contributed to the success of social as well as cultural reconstruction. Surrealists perceived women as in an erotic and decadent disguises who were actually predators in life of men due to their passive sex as well as accessibility which prompts men to be attracted to the female bodies. Female bodies were turned into elements amongst the surrealists because a body could also attract attention and communicating information. A body could reveal some of the most hidden meanings behind its restructuring. Most images were therefore belonged to the repertoire of surrealists although some of them lost their origin in favor of sex appeal. Sexual appeal of a woman’s body was crucial since a woman was considered a sexual object whose life is engrossed exclusively with sexuality (Emanuel 2006). Initially, mannequins were so heavy and were more unrealistic creations which were made of w ax and could melt in the summer heat. However the understanding of women psychology led to great imperfections that made mannequins look like real women bodies. It should be noted that surrealism became very prevalent in 1930s particularly to the public where their artwork became the model for international exhibitions. Visual style artwork became dominated the period between 1930 and 1935 by Dali and Magritte. During this period art served a significant purpose as a way of expression that included hallucinatory imagery (Beck 2007). Surrealism came up with visual techniques that incorporated giving ordinary objects their usual meaning so that they could compel to the public. Audience’s empathy would therefore be aroused because of the image characteristics which were more than just ordinary formal organization. 1930s was characterized with stylistic evolution that included a mixture of depictive and the emotional elements which were very necessary in influencing an audience. Mannequins actually reflected fashion models but some of the headless mannequins represented would make someone think that it had been sliced thus representing scene of a brutal war (Stewart 2008). Mannequins were made to fit dress maker’s form thus reverting them to look like shop mannequins. Shop mannequins were however not made to represent any form of personality or lifestyle but simply to show the outline of the garment. This was really amazing because the objects simply drew attention to how they were created rather than the dress they were wearing (Emanuel 2006). Someone would not think much about the garments on the display despite close imitation of the tailor or designer’s dummy. Representation of the mannequin to the clients became very important hence prompting the introduction of heads and limbs to the headless and limbless mannequins. The most appealing mannequins were the ones which were introduced in the 1930s which had movable limbs making them seem as if they were engaging in some activities. Movements of the limbs proved useful in representation of the lifestyle (Thesander 1997). Surrealists greatly incorporated art into life by relating subject and object in their work. The mannequins were greatly designed by artists who made them look like body objects. Mannequins were nicely used to define surrealism since it

A Consideration of Necessity in the Work of David Hume Essay

A Consideration of Necessity in the Work of David Hume - Essay Example In his Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume delineates his theory of human morality. The form of argument Hume takes is the concept that human morality is not based on coherent thought and logical reason, but is instead the upshot of humanity's passionate fervor. Since this fervor cannot present itself as the creation of logical reason, it would be consequently be the ultimate in the lack of logical thinking to adjudicate any moral deed as being the result of either rational or irrational thought. Hume delivers a succession of explanations that serve to reveal why humanity should express scepticism toward any conclusion based upon reasoning that is arrived at through familiarities based on sensory perception.Hume concludes that even in the face of complexities that are presented by virtue of the illogic inherent in sensory perception, humans still maintain a forcible belief in illogical conclusions due to psychology.This presents the paradoxical notion that strong belief is often gro unded in contradictions.Hume's argument posits that it is even within the realm of possibility that the most grounded and confident reasonable conclusions are, in fact, merely probable and that the degrees of probability are subject to intense scrutiny with each additional analysis. Mistakes made on the basis of supposedly rational certainty are legion due to the inescapable imperfectability of human judgment. The ironic paradox of human judgment resides in the fact that each further analysis of the previous judgment decreases the probability of correctness in the original judgment. This has particularly chilling aspects when considered against the potential for reductions of probability in those elements that humans invest the utmost confidence in regarding the infallibility of correctness, such as laws of mathematics and science. Hume emphasises that there are three stipulations required to confirm merely through observation. The first he termed the aspect of constant conjunction, in which the cause and the effect are required to be both spatially and constantly extant. The second stipulates that the cause must have come before the effect itself. And finally, there must be a connection of necessity; that is it must be possible to ascertain why the cause produces the effect. Hume's appraisal of causation necessarily dictates that it can only be inferred and not examined and his conclusions indicate that it is impossible to achieve an impression of a necessary connection; rather, one must experience constant conjunction and temporal priority: "Experience only teaches us how one event constantly follows another, without instructing us in the secret connection which binds them together" (Hume, 1870, p. 347). Ultimately, Hume asserts that there are significant limitations to reason. Hume maintains that humans remain convinced that any object that is observed exists independently. Once this belief is subject to analysis, however, it is determined to be without basis and that paradox provides a basis for conflict in the process of reasonable determination. All perceptions are dependent upon human observation and even the slightest modification in the senses can distort that perception. Since this is one of the few absolute truths that exists, it is not logical to assume that perception can be something existing independently of us, nor can it possibly exist when there is nobody there to perceive it. Despite this Hume asserts that people will almost never surrender their natural belief in the existence of an external world that is separate from their perceptions. The

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Case Study Example They do this through rallies on weekly basis where they have a system of accumulating customer care points. It is redeemable for various rewards (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). Through efficient CRM, Harrah’s will manage to learn emergent aspects from customers like how often they visit. This will enable its management ensure better services to the satisfaction of the customers thus giving them a reason to come back again. Therefore, Harrah’s focus will be more on service development strategies as well as ways that will best suit their customers. For instance, Harrah’s will be sending about 250 million mails to members in a year and most customers will prefer this way because the information sent is relevant to them (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). These Total Reward will be of great benefit to the customers for example during a trip to Atlantic City, someone can pick the busiest weekend where most hotels were booked fully. If he can swipe his Harrah’s Total Reward card in order to use, he can get an available room at reduced rate of 100 dollars a night. This explains how benefiting it is to be a loyal customer and it is motivating to the potential ones. Based on survey so far conducted, the number of people using Total Reward will be approximately 40 million customers. Most of the customers are just ordinary people like teachers, doctors, and bankers from different lifestyles (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). This is different because for long time the industry has always focused on the rich people. Since the establishment of Total Reward, the annual gambling budget share can rise to 20% while 18% to the customers who preferred gambling at Harrah’s then at their hometown casinos (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). The services in Harrah’s will bring better returns to the company in terms of revenue from the happy and loyal customers. For instance, as of 2009, Harrah’s became the biggest in the industry with revenue of 10 million dollars

Banking on a Beard Award Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Banking on a Beard Award - Assignment Example Decision making process I have used a decision tree as a support tool to show possible consequences and also chance outcomes, resources costs and losses. I have used the decision identify a most likely strategy to reach a goal (Goetz T 2011). In addition, it is used to calculate the conditional probabilities. Before making any conclusion, I have looked at the scenario at hand and have realized that there are different points that my friend has not synthesized. It is also noticeable that the starting of the restaurant may be due to vague opinions. This is so because research has to be carried out before undertaking any business venture. It emerges that Jennifer, enjoys her current career and her drive are to manage her own business. She is also inclined towards entrepreneur ventures and adds that it is a way of improving her personal value. Her justification and judgment depends on her desire to manage her business. During my analysis, I have realized that sixty percent of business ve ntures into restaurants fail within their first three birthdays. It is also noticeable that if Jennifer starts the restaurant business she will use her saving worth 250 dollars. If Jennifer remains in her current job, she will be eligible for a promotion whereby she will be entitled to fifty percent increase in price. Conclusion According to the decision tree the probability of Jennifer retaining her current job as a banker is 0.333. The probability also of getting a promotion and termination is also 0.333. If Jennifer get a promotion after a year, the amount of money she will get, will be greater than any other option. It is also likely that if she retains her job, she may also retain her current position as a banker. This means, she will not get promotion but, this is not a dreadful thing since she will earn slightly lower, than the restaurant business. She will also retain her savings unlike when she starts the business since she will top up the bank loan. There is a 0.333 chance that Jennifer may also loose her job meaning that she will have no earnings. The other option with Jennifer is to start her restaurant business; this may be risk taking since more than half businesses fail before their 3rd birthday. The probability that the restaurant business will flourish with a huge success is 0.1 or ten percent chance. It is a pretty low chance to act on but if the business succeeds Jennifer will earn a large profit. The profit is greater than her current career job even if she does not get a promotion. The moderate success probability is 0.3; this is thirty in percentage scale. The probability is below the average or half. There is a large probability that the business will close. This accounts to sixty percent. Jennifer should take caution when analyzing or rather making a decision whether or not to start the restaurant business. In order to break even, the restaurant should be big enough to produce sales exceeding $ 200,000 so that she manages to pay the ban k loan, and return the money lent to the business and also get a substantial profit. Recommendations The recommendation that I would give Jennifer regarding her desire to quit her job, and start her restaurant is to remain in her job, and not to start her restaurant. This is because in the banking job, the money she would get annually when promoted much greater than what she would get from the

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 2

Sociology - Essay Example His work emphasized on the methods of sociological studies, division of labour, scientific studies of religion and the analysis of suicide due to imbalance between self and the society. (â€Å"Durkheim, Émile†, 2007) Durkheim’s made his most influential work on the detailed study of suicide in his famous book ‘Le Suicide’ which was published on 1897. This book, not only broke the conventional analyses of suicide, but it was successful in giving sociological studies a new momentum from the long celebrated ones. The modern standard structure of sociological research and analysis was originated from Durkheim. Durkheim, in his book framed a new definition of suicide as â€Å"the term suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result†. Through this definition Durkheim distinguished suicide from accidental death. He was very much interrogative regarding the analysis of suicide in a social perspective. The essence of his analysis lies in discovering the actual correspondence, if exists, among the different socioeconomic and psychological factors that may inculcate the desire inside a person to terminate his life intentionally. According to this great sociologist there could be many factors generated from the social and economic structures that would lead to the desire to kill oneself. In his book Le Suicide, Emile Durkheim not only changed the way of understanding suicide but also he was successful in cultivating a new way of conducting sociological researches. Hence he was successful in conceptualization of a new structure of sociological research. From the very beginning of the book he started to define the pivot term under discussion and advanced towards sketching out the promotional outlines of a pedagogical explanation of suicide, which would be informed by social science. In this way he used the tables of suicide statistics. He collected

Art and Materiality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Art and Materiality - Essay Example However, some scholars and critiques of art settle on the 1970s as the cut-off period for the definition of the beginning of contemporary art. Contemporary art vividly integrates life because of its formalization of novel real life practices through artistry. It is widely admissible that contemporary artwork appreciates life practices by the conveyance of diverse notions that are inherent in most artworks. There are distinction between things and objects as applied in artworks but none of them solely dominates the materiality of art. Things are expressions of human relations to the world while objects express the extent of performance of the relationship expressed in an artwork. Objects, as used in art, best perform the role of an intermediary and a catalyst that communicate the assertion of the artist. In as much as different artist choose one of the two forms of materiality, objects or things, they may change from one to another. Art criticism is the comprehensive judgment of artwo rks based on diverse aspects. The vast dominance of a variety of art renders art criticism as one of the most interesting themes in exploring art and materiality. The criticism explores diverse facts about art including their qualitative judgments and determining whether artworks are objects or things. It allows the evaluation of art based on qualitative methods and an understanding of the quality of the artworks that determines the artists’ level of success. The diverse materiality aspects of visual arts addresses in art criticism include its conservation and the decorative value. The argument as to whether art is an expression that uses objects or things, however, may vary extensively. Artworks are a means of communicating ideas and thoughts of the artists. In some instances, it is to create social change and political transitions in another. Other artists, through their artworks, intend to explore the theme of social diversity among communities. Some artworks also inspire and empower historical issues through their cultural values. The role of the artwork dictates the consideration of art as an object or things. Cultural expressions, as a role of artwork would be achievable, best, by the use of objects that are representative of the culture depicted. Although the materiality of things can show value when used to express culture, artists prefer objects to things. In contemporary art, artists appreciate the existence of materiality as an important reason for their effort to explore nature and other aspects of life, in totality, through creativity. Contemporary art serves as the factor that combines human imagination to reality. The artworks of Jean Tinguely, a Swiss, attracted plausible interest in the 20th century. The exemplary manifestation of decline of modern industries and of species extinction of species remains an appreciation of things that exist in world as well as objects. The kinetic artwork that Tinguely displayed concentrated on the theme of destruction. He created artwork that displayed mechanical structures and dominated by objects that are part of human’s daily interactions. Most of his artworks experienced the predominating of the consequences of malfunctioning of objects. Chaos I is one of the most remarkable and historic arts by Tinguely. Damien Hirst’s shark forms one of the greatest artworks that attract massive numbers in most museums, to date. The controversial artwork by Hirst is unquestionably an impression of thoughts. This renders

The Quality of Aircraft Traffic Control at Dubai International Airport Essay

The Quality of Aircraft Traffic Control at Dubai International Airport - Essay Example This research tells that Dubai international airport, one of the largest growing airline hub in the Middle East established in order by the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum in 1959 that days, the first airfield construction consists of runway, a terminal building and fire a station in the Al Garhoud area which was the edge of Dubai city back in 1960. The airport opened and started handling aircraft, expansion, and development of Dubai. Nowadays the airport has expanded and accommodates airline serving thousand destinations and the reveal of domestic airline and passenger growth in UAE make the Dubai geographic location airport one of the fastest growing major hubs and among the worlds top 5 airports in terms of international passenger and cargo traffic. With this expansion, there is a need to study the quality of traffic control and areas where improvements can be made. The research study will involve interviews, and questionnaire with air traffic control ATC and air port council ACL at Dubai airport and runway Maintenance Company survey and collect and analyze data through the author’s experience while working in fly emirates maintenance hangars will help me to gather information and idea inside and outside of the airport building. In this process of data collection, the researcher will design the questionnaires. Validated questionnaires from past research materials in books and the internet will be guides for designing the questionnaires. These questionnaires will be administered to thirty respondents randomly. While administering the questionnaires, the study group will be interviewed. The questions for the interviewee will be those in the questionnaire. This process will be able to countercheck the information in the questionnaires and also this will help further inform the respondents on the correct way to fill the questionnaire. This process will increase the validity of the data collected.

The history of alphabet in Israel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The history of alphabet in Israel - Essay Example A limestone boulder was found in Jerusalem, some letters written in Hebrew were found on it, the same led to more research in the same and produced results. "Archaeologists digging in July at the site, Tel Zayit, found the inscribed stone in the wall of an ancient building. After an analysis of the layers of ruins, the discoverers concluded that this was the earliest known specimen of the Hebrew alphabet and an important benchmark in the history of writing, they said this week." (A is for Ancient, 23 September 2008). The results produced in this research has been supported by many a scholar, they believe that the stones found hold the most oldest and at the same time reliable data written in Hebrew language. It was also found that when the research was made, the Hebrew letters were still in transition from its roots. The stone was discovered by American Researchers and it is believed that the stone is 3000 years old. The stone is supposed to have the oldest form of Hebrew written on it. The weight of the stone is 38 pounds and the alphabets found on it were in proper order, if the scholars are t be believed. "The stone was discovered July 15 in an excavation at TelZayit, Israel, about 35 miles southwest of Jerusalem on the outskirtsof ancient Judah, by a team led by archeologist Ron E. Tappy ofthe Pittsburgh TheologicalSeminary." (Team Digs, 23 September 2008). The whole research by archeologists is regarded as a very big very big breakthrough, scholars highly value the stone found by the archeologists. It is also believed that Tel Zayit is quite close to another city by the name Timnah, the biblical strong man Samson married a woman who was philistine by origin. Scholars suggest that the stone found would have been used to train scribes but there is no concrete proof to support this statement. "The Israelites adopted a variation of the Canaanite alphabet and began writing down their historical myths. By around 700 BC, innovative priests had collected the best of these myths and woven them together to form a detailed history of the nation of Israel, intended to convince the Israelites that they were God's chosen people. (The history of ancient Israel, 23 September 2008). The myths which they came up with were followed by the people and they firmly believed in the myths. Earlier in Israel each word or phrase was very beautifully projected as pictures. This also created a problem because the expressions were many and the pictures were less, so people had to come up with new pictures day and day out in order to meet the requirement of the expressions. Around 3000 BC, a group of people by the name of Phoenicians came up, these people did a lot of work in the development of Israel even at that time when there were very less resources known to man. They were highly skilled people and knew works like construction of boats, building of ports along the coasts etc. These people gradually had inherited writing from the Sumerians and all this was around 1200 BC. They brought in tremendous changes for better by decreasing the number of symbols in the language, the reduced number was 30 of many symbols. Each symbol carries a meaning and represented a different sound. They believed that putting the symbols into sound conveyed their message better. "The invention o f the Phoenician alphabet allowed written words to better

ERM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

ERM - Essay Example Innovation in the public sector context: In public sector context, innovation is defined as application of new ideas to produce improved outcomes. It is creating and implementing products, services or methods of delivery to improve the efficiency, the effectiveness and the quality of outcomes (Hargadon, Andrew 2003). Generally the public sector is considered as a passive receiver of innovation taking place in the private sector by the private companies, but the public institutions do innovate as well. Innovation takes place across government’s public sector entities these include policy development, different approaches for using technology, program delivery, also organizational innovation to provide new services. Every public servant should realize and appreciate the importance and diversity of innovation, and find such ways to achieve it that minimizes its risks (Mulgan & Albury 2003). Different forms and dimensions of innovation: Innovation theories show that it can take ma ny forms as some will be transformational, representing s a substantial departure from the past. Others include organizational improvements or emergent technologies. Innovation can be triggered within a sector/institution or by external influences. Different types of innovation in the public sector include the following streams. Firstly shaping policy directions; here the public sector role is to provide consultancy to government’s decision making related to policies and programs by providing objective and reasoned advices. Second type is implementation of policies and programs that is by delivering services to the country’s community efficiently and effectively. Lastly there are administrative innovations that introduce new internal processes and practices aimed at improving productivity and reducing costs (Paul Cunningham). Benefits of Innovation: There are many diverse benefits of innovation. Innovation is crucial for the enhancement of economic performance, welfare of the society, and for the stability of the environment, these benefits of innovation are widely recognized. Innovation can also drive new directions and enable better performance. It can improve an organization’s or a sector’s (public or private) efficiency as innovation would provide not only higher quality but also more timely services to citizens. It will also reduce business transaction costs. One of the major benefits of innovation is that it provides new methods of operation, and it is only innovation that helps moving from the present to future (Reilly 2013). Two Basic Drivers for Innovation: One of the main drivers for innovation specifically in public sector includes new and changing government as well as community expectations, to meet these expectations the public sector needs to innovate. The other driver for innovation in the public sector is the need for coordinated approaches, this is when there are discrepancies in the current approaches and are not sufficient for the new changing system, hence innovation is to come up with new approaches and refined processes that can fulfill the requirements (Boden & Miles 2000). Private and public sector innovation: Both the private and public sector innovation have some differences, commonalities, and synergies. Some aspects of public sector inn