Cooperative Learning Essay examples -- Teaching Education

Cooperative Learning During the weekend I spent learning about the theories and structures of cooperative learning, I was captivated by five components of cooperative learning. I intend to use these five in my own classroom. They begin with the introduction games Pleased to Meet You and Knotting Acquaintance followed by the creation of base groups and finally STAD and TGT. These are five basic, yet exciting ways to use cooperative groups in the classroom. I will use the first two introduction games at the start of the school year, because students are nervous about the start of school and these games are great for breaking the ice. I would start with the pleased to meet you form. This gets students talking amongst one another and opens the door for the new students to see that they have things in common with their new peers. Once they have had ample time to complete the questionnaire I would have them take a seat and tell me about some of the common traits they shared. After we spent a few minutes talking about the importance of working as a team and learning to count or your partners we would work through the Knotting Acquaintance activity. This would show me who the leaders were, who the analyzers were and who was simply going to follow the others. This is another activity that will help the new students become a part of the group. By feeling comfortable in the classroom the new students will feel less shock about being in a new sc hool and will assimilate t...

Three Characters with Good Intentions in Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet :: Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Based on the impulsive, irrational Veronese society, many of the characters in Romeo and Juliet believe that they are doing everything â€Å"all for the best.† Three characters which exemplify this fully are Lord Capulet, Tybalt and Friar Lawrence. All the characters are products of their own society, Veronese society. Status is everything, money buys anything. Woman must marry well and produce many offspring. Men believe strongly in defending their honor by any means available especially violence. When there is a fight in the market place, Capulet rushes to fight for his honor, â€Å"my sword I say, old Montague is come...† Capulet denies Paris’ request to marry Juliet â€Å" and too soon marred are those so early made,† acting for his own good because he wants Juliet to produce many offspring to carry on the Capulets bloodline, since she is his only surviving child. When at the ball Capulet demands Tybalt to let Romeo be,† content thee, gentle coz, let him alone,† but this just fuels Tybalts anger towards Romeo, which eventually ends up in Tybalt causing his own death. Capulet believes he is giving his child the best when he announces her engagement to Paris† she shall be married to this noble earl,† and believes Paris will make a good husband for Juliet. When Juliet refuses Capulet thinks it best to threaten her, â€Å"I will drag thee,† but this just makes Juliet turn to more drastic measures. When asked by Benvolio to make peace in the streets, Tybalt bluntly responds,† talk of peace, I hate the word. As I hate hell all Montagues.† This is the attitude of Tybalt throughout the play. He believes he is doing all for the best and uses violence as his tool. He gets angry at the ball with Romeo being there, â€Å"villain as a guest,† and believes it best to defend his family’s honor by later taking revenge. When Tybalt finds Romeo, he thinks it best to fight him and when he ends up killing Mercutio he believes he has done his duty by causing Romeo the same hurt he has brought Tybalt, â€Å"the injuries that thou hast done me.† Friar Lawrence is by the far the character that displays â€Å"working for the best,† the most. The three main events are the marriage, the plan and the death, all three of which the friar is very involved. The friar originally marries Romeo and Juliet in hopes that the feud between the two families will end, â€Å"to turn your households’ rancor to pure love.

Needs and Concerns of New France Essay

I am writing to you on the issues and needs of New France. Some of the concerns and needs are, the on going war with the Iroquois, population, and industry in agriculture. The Iroquois are a grand part of concern on our people in New France. Presently there is war going on amongst us and the Iroquois. Our people are afraid to go hunting or fishing. If the people are not able to hunt or fish New France is going to struggle because there will not be enough food to be provided. We will also fall behind in fur trading. Since the people are frightened we can not go on exploring lands as it may be risky because of the Iroquois. The Iroquois do not let us cross their lands, so we can not get to our preferred destination. So being in danger of the Iroquois had its disadvantages such as, being afraid so we are not able to hunt or fish, not exploring further, and not getting to our specifies destination. The population in New France is struggling with men and women. I am trying to motivate our people by giving them rewards for marrying and giving birth early. If they do not they will receive penalties. In New France we are in need of more women. So they can get married and give birth. This will increase New France’s population, and you will not have to bring in more females after that. Also there are not enough residents to occupy Canada and live in it. This is a big issue if France wants to gain power and control over other land. So I suggest that before we get more women I ask if you could send in more people to New France. In addition the population has increased in men rather so then women. This again is a problem. So again our concerns are that we are lacking women, there are not enough people in New France to later expand to a big country Canada, and more men increased then women making the population gender wise unbalanced. New France also has to develop its own agriculture and industries. In New France there is a need for agriculture businesses. In the agriculture businesses we need to organize transportation to carry crops and livestock. This will also make it easier to deliver. Another need for New France is to become fewer dependant on France, in terms of supplies, food, people, and etc. Our growing industries are also beginning to drain out France’s finances. Since we are asking for too much and not giving back enough. We should receive a loan to start of industries or to improve on them to provide us with necessities which after we trade or sell and pay off the loan. So, there is a need for agricultural businesses. New France to become more independent and our industries are beginning to drain out France’s finances. You’re Majesty now that I have stated the concerns and needs for New France which are, the on going war with the Iroquois, population problems, and agriculture and its industries. I hope you will take into account the needs and concerns and hopefully come up with solutions. Thank you for taking your valuable time on this letter.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Social Networking Essay

The world of technology and communication has changed rapidly during this millennium era. We can not avoid that and as a matter of fact we will be lag behind if we do not follow it. Information Communication and Technology or ICT has become the major role to bring the world into a more modern and develop. ICT has also shaped the world to be more dynamic than ever before.†¨The world of education get the effect on the rapid changes of ICT. Education now have to adapt with the ICT, if not then there will create gap within education and the society. The education world now is also getting more improve by using ICT. Social Networking or Social Media such as facebook, twitter, WhatsApp and other alike is also product of the development in ICT. Not many people realise that social media that are used by so many people in the world can be used for language learning.†¨Social media provides the learner with the possibility of participating in actual, real-time, relevant conversations taking place online, and practicing the target language with or without the help of an experienced teacher by his or her side. However there are some advantages and disadvantages of using social networking for language learning. This article tries to present the role of social networking in education and to know the advantages and disadvantages of it. Read more:  Social networking advantages and disadvantages essay Though, there are many opinion regarding the topic, this article would like to limit on the advantages and disadvantages of social networking in english language learning.†¨The social networking sites focus heavily on building online communities bound together with common interests or activities. Thereby provide them with tools that help them to do so. In the field of education social networking sites encourage students to engage with each other and to express and share their creativity. Social media is also one good way for students to gain knowledge which can be from outside their classroom activities. So many social media they can share and discuss many things related to their need of particular knowledge with others practically.†¨With Social networking can create a better English communicative environment for students, they do not have to go to the country where the mother tongue of English is, they just connect to the internet and interact with people from English spea king countries. And they do not need to meet physically, and it also improving the efficiency of class teaching. English teaching can make the lessons more effective and efficient. Many social networking sites offers the users many applications  that make them easy to get any benefit including in english language learning. The most important feature of the social networking site is the ability to give and receive feedbacks. If this feature was not there, the world of social networking would not what it is today. Any content that you post instantly starts receiving comments, likes, reviews, opinions, and additional information on that topic . By doing this, it can create discussions, sharing ideas and other communicative skills which use english as the language in the discussion.†¨Social networking can encourage students to upload images or videos related to the courses. Some teachers even ask their students to upload their essays and assignments on the net, analyse the feedback, and write a better one for the final class essay. It is very good activity and the process or learning and teaching will run smoothly without any barriers of place and time.†¨Beside advantages of social networking in education, there are also some advantages of social networking in language learning. Many researchers has conducted research on this matter and many of them conclude that social networking can be subjected to crime especially to the youth or students. Because social networking offers the users to communicate each other without any boundaries that will be used by the bad people to to do crime to the others.†¨By using social networking people who is next to us because we are too busy with online internet or people who are far away becomes near because of this social networking. It means that, though the students are sitting close to each other but they are busy with their gadgets so, it is lack of social interactivity in the real life.†¨Networking websites can make people or especially students become very addictive. People spend more and more time at computer with makes them isolated from real life. They are wasting time at checking purposeless posts and informations. Thinking just about virtual world they can’t focus on anything and have problems at school or work.†¨In the term of language proficiency, many young people write broken english words which are not found in English dictionary. Some of the use abbr eviation which sometime confusing to the others. Such as they use ‘text language’ in their normal day to day vocal, saying things like ‘lol’ (laugh out loud).†¨Because mostly social networking using written context message, so sometimes students face  many problem when they are told to speak correct and professional English. Some are not able to form correct sentences on the spot and after making a mistake, the whole flow of the sentence and conversation breaks apart. Social networking sites, â€Å"can be a potential risk for teachers as some applications allows users to communicate† and â€Å"the content can lead to discrediting or slanderous messages†. It can be happens to the teacher when they are not so aware with the threat of social networking to them. The teacher need to concern and sometimes the teacher are not so well understand about the use of social media and its advantages in the teaching and learning. And the teacher should be good in selecting the content materials if not the learning process will be just useless.†¨Social networking can also be subjected to an on line bullying. It may happens when a students make or post bad things, and he does not realize that it can be used by other friends at school to embarrasse him. Of course it will create bullying among the students.†¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨There are some advantages and disadvantages of using social networking in education including in English language learning. It ca n encourage students to engage with each other and to express and share their creativity and can create a better English communicative environment for students. Oh the other hand, social networking is lack of humanitarian aspects and create confusing language because using slank words or abbreviation which are not found in English dictionary. Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking Essay Social networking sites have become extremely popular among the youth as well as the professional people. Keeping in mind, the growing popularity of these sites and the effect it has and the benefits that it brings along, it can be easily predicted that its popularity is sure to grow much more. The social networking websites are more like the virtual meeting places where people can just chill and hang out with friends. They can discuss on different topics, share information, and exchange files and pictures. We admitted the fact that using social networking is one way to enhance our social interaction with other people. Because of our technologies there are many ways that can help our works faster and easier. However, everything has a positive and negative side. Similarly, the social networking sites are also made up of their set of advantages and disadvantages; it is a one way to communicate our distant relatives or families, it’s a big help for the people who needs jobs especially there are online jobs offered in social networking and also it’s a way for some students who wants to finish their study due to their personal problems because there are many distance learning here in social networking. But among those advantages we can get from social networking, there are still many disadvantages that can affect to the users. Students are the one who are really affected for the disadvantages of social networking. According to the some surveyors many students are addicted to some social networking. That can lead them not to go to their classes’ hours. There are some social networking’s that are prohibited for minor children. Because of that, the cases now for the minor children like harassment, rape and etc. are getting higher. Because some are getting influence by what they have saw or learned from that social networking. In using social networking, it must be minimal and the users should know how it affects to her /his life so that there will be no regrets at the end. Do whatever you want as long as it can lead you on a better way and a peaceful life. Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking Essay  « Vocabulary and Grammar – An Elementary lesson for CELTA trainees at CELT Athens What steps are part of the process of designing a syllabus? What knowledge & skills do teachers need?  » The Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networks for Language Teachers Does this look familiar To –ing or not to –ing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦that is today’s question! One of my students asked me last month why we use the –ing form for blogging, networking, computing†¦..Good question! My answer? Because technology is constantly changing and plus usually these actions are constant, happen often, plus they are amusing but can be annoying – so we use the present continuous form†¦. On Wednesday 18 January, #ELTchatters wished each other a Happy New Year and got their teeth into a very stimulating chat. As language teachers, do we find these social networking platforms and services amusing or annoying Our students are already using a wide-range of social network sites and teachers are beginning to familiarize themselves with such sites, to keep up with technology but more importantly, to discuss and exchange ideas and develop as teachers. We read and write blogs, visit forums, develop Nings and Wikis, all of which are constantly changing and being updated. The #ELTchat itself is proof of this†¦.it’s fast, furious, fun and educational! We have joined ther World of Technology, for good or for bad? By the way, did you know that if Facebook was a country, it would be the third largest country in the world!!! So in the ELT world, here are the main themes from the discussion. Advantages: * There will be more pro chatters tonight as most members are keen SN users. * #ELTCHAT is one of the major advantages of SNs for teachers. * SNs have radically changed teachers’ lives. We will never feel alone again. * Facebook has become a professionally developing site rather than just a social network. * SN has revolutionized the way we think and opened wider perspectives. * SNs are global and 24/7. * SNs should be harnessed by 21 century teachers with enthusiasm. * Use Facebook for personal contacts and Google+ for PD. * SNs are an extension of staffroom chats with links, banter and discussions. ‘Virtual staffroom†. * #ELTchat is great as it is an ‘outer of class collaboration’ discussion, as few teachers in the workplace know how to collaborate. * SNs create friends which lead to face to face meetings. * Share worksheets/mind maps for students, time-saving. * Twitter tags can inform parents’ of students’ progress. * Non-native teachers are also exposed to real language in the modern world. * SNs, like Twitter and #ELTchat are energizing! Plus, through #ElTchat, you find more people to follow! So, start following!!! Disadvantages: * All SNs are time-consuming. * Some teachers find SNs too daunting to tackle. * SNs can become addictive. They can take over your life, leaving little time for family and friends. Knowing when to stop is crucial – try to switch off! * Replication of themes from one SN to another is annoying. * Students become obsessed in finding their teachers on FB and intrude in teachers’private lives. * Privacy issues with FB AND Twitter – do not accept people you don’t know or protected accounts on Twitter. * Tweetdeck often has technical problems. Mentioned sites, platforms and services worth checking out: * http://www.edmod Secure Social Networking for Teachers * http://moodle.org/Moodle is a Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is a Free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites * http://www.blackboard.com/ Blackboard helps clients enrich all aspects of the education experience by engaging and assessing learners, making their daily lives more convenient and †¦ * http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com/ is a free online collaborative education platform that allows students and teachers to transcend the boundaries of their physical classroom to engage in an online collaborative  learning environment. * http://bloggerindraft.blogspot.com/2011/08/introducing-google-scribe-in-blogger.html-an aid to write your blog! * http://aplanet-project.org/ Autonomous Personal Learning Networks For Teachers * http://www.scoop.it/t/interactive-teaching-and-learningExploration of engaging learning spaces and technologies that suppo rt them. * http://www.evernote.com/ Remember everything! * http://www.diigo.com/ To collect, highlight and remember those bookmarks! The chat went on to discuss the issue of coping with lack of time and organizing information and links shared. This lead to a variety of suggestions for bookmarking and who prefers Twitter, FB, Google+. Everyone had their own opinion! A blog challenge was proposed: @esolcourses: Best method for organizing #ELTchat bookmarks! Choose one and demo! As ever, there were some great links shared: * http://t.cohttp://evasimkesyan.edublogs.org/2012/01/18/evo-digitalstorytelling4kids-and-the-tool-of-the-week//JBbayIuc * http://learningfundamentals.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Focus.jpg How to focus in times of distraction. Excellent mind map presentation! * http://cybraryman.com/facebook.html All you need to know about SN s and your students. * http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8142721/Social-networking-teachers-blame-Facebook-and-Twitter-for-pupils-poor-grades.html * http://educationland.wordpress.com/my-worksheets/http://educationland.wordpress.com/worksheets/http:/www.facebook.com/pages/Education-Land/221436857914023http:/t.co/gzX8zGIR Share worksheet and ideas! That’s the summary folks! I would like to add that I didn’t mention specific names on the summary as so many people commented on this chat, so there is something from everyone!! Thanks for another energy-boosting, informative chat! Happy Social Networking!!!

An Educational Workplace Challenge Essay

â€Å"It is our deep faith that God is compassionate and merciful, and mercy is what he bestows upon His subjects. He is generous and beautiful, and beauty is what he gives. That is how we should see the world, beautiful, with all its resources and contents, known to us or unknown. Qatar, our beloved, is also rich in natural resources. Be it human buds or wild flowers. All are blossoms, all are natural, all are beautiful bearing Qatar’s name. Let us all work together, caring for our little buds. Lets us plant them deep in the consciousness of our land. Let us nurture them with love and care to help them blossom into flowers filled with beautiful scents and filling their surroundings with beauty. † Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Bin Abdullah Al-Missned. (Shafallah 2007) â€Å"A picture says more than a thousand words. † For an educational institution, the vision statement shows the picture of what the school will be at its best. On the one hand, the vision is the very basis for everything that the school, the management, the teachers, the students, their parents and the community, all work for. On the other hand, the mission is the means to achieve this vision. The mission determines the strategies that will be implemented by the school management to achieve its goals and vision. Leadership takes a significant role in the achievement of this mission. This paper discusses workplace challenges and the influence of leadership in the achievement of successful school reforms. The Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs and its efforts to solve its major problems and improve the implementation of its educational programs will be discussed using the concepts on leadership. Specifically, the paper will focus on the concept of parallel leadership and the roles of the school management and teaching professionals as leaders in influencing the school’s needed reforms. The Workplace The School The Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs is a non-profit private school located in Doha City, Qatar, providing comprehensive services and care to individuals with departmental learning challenges, their families and the community. It was established in 1998 through the efforts of community leaders who believe in the vitality and importance of the family and the child’s role in the society particularly those children with special needs. They want to provide the children with the best care, services and educational facilities that will enable them to adapt to the surrounding environment in order to live among others in the community, and eventually secure their future. The center provides diagnosis, evaluation, school programs, training and development services for all children with all forms of disabilities from ages three to twenty-one years old. The goals and objectives of the school are: To provide comprehensive educational, instructional, rehabilitation, social, vocational and recreational services for children with special needs. To provide support and family counseling services to families of children with special needs, including individual and group therapy. To provide community awareness on dealing with children with special needs, as well as fostering acceptance and understanding of the nature of disabilities. To provide training opportunities through Shafallah Center and establishing an international entity specializing in this field. To serve as an advocate for public policy and legislative support of appropriate educational and vocational programs for children with special needs. (Shafallah 2007) School funds are generated from local and international grants and from regular tuition and matriculation of the students. The school offers five (5) programs aligned for students depending on age and learning concentration. These are the Pre-school and kindergarten which enrolls students ages 3-5. The school unit 2 is for students aging 6-21 with mild and moderate challenges, its coursework are in pre-academic, academic and pre-vocational and emphasizes on social and daily life skills. Unit 3 caters to students with mild and severe intellectual and developmental disabilities from ages 6-21; its programs are aimed to increase independence and activities are centered on daily living, self care and basic communication including socialization and leisure education. Unit 4 is designed for those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, ages ranging from 6-21. The program uses the model TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic Related Communication Handicapped Children) and other models tailored for these children.

Critically review the situation at RestaurantCo Essay

This essay analyses the case of RestaurantCo, a large non-unionised restaurant company with over 300 branches across the UK, and more than 7000 employed staff members (Suter & Marchington 2011). According to Brad and Gold (2012, p.401) the term non-unionised is a ‘workplace, where managers have flexibility in designing work, selecting, promotion and training people, and determining rewards and other human resources (HR) practices.’ As briefly defined managers carry out many duties and responsibilities for the business. In order to have a better understanding of the role of line managers and employee relations at RestaurantCo it would be necessary to explore and outline the strengths and weaknesses of the company. To be more specific, this essay will explore and outline the main strengths and weaknesses in the working style of branch managers and the structural centralisation within the organisation, the formal and informal employee involvement and participation (EIP) practices, the working relationships between front line managers and employees, and the competitive effectiveness of the organisational HRM system and capability framework for branch managers. This case study of RestaurantCo focuses on the organisational problems that stems from the centralisation of corporate decision making and monitoring. The company regarded itself as a high quality restaurant business with a strong focus on positive employee relations thus reflected in their history of informal employment relations approach (Suter & Marchington 2011). However, since the change in ownership the company had to implement new business strategies and HR practices as well as make further enhancements to the restaurant environment. For instance, the changes in the restaurant environment included refurbishments, expanded food and drinks menus, and cost savings by integrating the supply chain with other  restaurants owned by the group (Suter & Marchington 2011). Consequently, some of these changes were seen as quite extensive and problematic for restaurant managers. For instance, some of these organisational changes were somewhat inefficient and costly in terms of deliveries and that mistakes were frequently made in the order and supply of ingredients (Suter & Marchington 2011). Managers were no longer able to order directly from suppliers but instead were instructed to direct their orders through the supply chain department, whose understanding of the needs of individual branches were seen as limited (Suter & Marchington 2011). There were also additional changes in improving customer service such as the introduction to the ‘Mystery Customer’ initiative (Suter & Marchington 2011, p.213). This program initiative was seen as a form of corporate centralised monitoring and control of service, which somewhat contradicts the supposed given autonomy to branch managers. This demonstrates senior management distrust in its branch managers’ abilities to meet or fulfil their duties and responsibilities. This form of control violates the ‘psychological contract’ between the branch managers and employers which is also known as a ‘two-way exchanged of perceived promises and obligations between employees and their employer’ (Bratton & Gold, 2012, p. 12). In this case, senior management had infringed on the trust between its branch managers by having a ‘centralised monitoring system’ in placed to gather customer information and business performance, thus in turn viol ating their psychological contract (Suter & Marchington 2011). Consequently, creating a negative ‘low-trust and low-commitment’ relationship compared to a ‘high-trust and high-commitment’ participatory relationship between senior management and branch managers (Bratton & Gold, 2012, p. 160). Nevertheless, control is seen as somewhat necessary by senior management, but ‘too much control might be counterproductive’ (Dant & Nasr, 1998, p. 7). Hence, ‘excessive levels of control’ should be carefully considered as it will ‘impact on business performance levels’ (Dant & Nasr, 1998, p. 7). As stated in Dant and Nasr (1998, p.7) tight control is generally not perceived well by managers who are driven by a strong desire for ‘independence and autonomy’, they may withheld ‘authentic and helpful information’ from senior management or employers in order to preserve some indirect form of control as they might believe that their input would not be valued or validated. In this particular case, tight control would lead to less cooperation between branch managers and senior management. Furthermore, feedback from mystery customers to senior management may not be as useful or informative compared to the managers’ vast degree of knowledge and experience regarding its local business restaurant market environment and business performance levels. Rather than just rewarding ‘performance related bonus’ to managers who receive an overall satisfactory rating from mystery customers there should also be incentives or reward schemes in placed for managers who actually provide ‘authentic and helpful information’ to senior management (Michael, 2002, p. 329). This sort of privileged information could further enhance the organisation’s productivity and performance. For instance, the organisation would have a greater competitive advantage through new strategic opportunities and awareness of new threats as mentioned by its’ branch managers (Michael, 2002, p. 329). This ‘upward’ flow of information decentralises the tight monitoring and control of senior management but more importantly strengthens the communication, commitment, trust and employee relations between senior management and its branch managers through reciprocal cooperation and reward schemes (Michael, 2002, p. 329). It is crucial in service industries that branch managers be given more autonomy to make operational decisions as their understanding of the business environment surrounding their individual branches is relatively more extensive compare to senior management and management support, who have limited understanding of the business environment. This process is referred to as ‘decentralisation’ (Dant & Nasr, 1998). According to Suter and Marchington (2011), each restaurant establishment was usually run by a branch manager and two assistants. The role of supervisory responsibilities was shared between the branch manager and assistant manager due to the long operating hours and the shift system, hence, the manager on duty would take on the role of supervising employees (Suter & Marchington 2011). The manager on duty dealt primarily with problems and issues in regards to employees, and that wider issues were assigned to the branch manager. The branch managers in addition carried out a number of HR functions such as employment appraisals, pay reviews, and personal development plans (Suter & Marchington 2011). These branch managers had described their work as being more intensified and that the HR policies had become more sophisticated and  formalised (Suter & Marchington 2011). Branch managers were supposedly allowed a fair degree of autonomy in how they could manage the restaurant. A key element of the capability framework enabled branch managers to take charge of their own delivery and performance. However, managers experienced great difficulty in making operational decisions regarding their restaurant. Some of the reasons were due to the fact that the management support team were not always readily available to branch managers but also that company-wide operational decisions were being implemented at branch levels, in turn conflicting with branch managers’ operational decisions (Suter & Marchington 2011). Branch managers should be provided with support throughout the restaurant operational hours from the management support office except, the restaurant support team operates on a 9-5 office-based workplace arrangement (Suter & Marchington 2011). This would lead to significant problems when the restaurant requires assistance after the support office ends operation, therefore causing an inconvenience when decision and support is needed. It might also affect the organisation’s reputation if issues are not promptly resolved. Without proper support and facilitation from the support management team, branch managers are unable to perform their role efficiently. Under the influence of senior management, branch managers were pressured into implementing formal relationship practices with their employees (Suter & Marchington 2011). However, one of the core components of a psychological contract is ‘workplace communication’ which will generally help to minimize the ‘false consensus effect,’ meaning that people assume that they share the same perceptions (Bratton & Gold, 2012, p. 433). For instance, branch managers perceived the restaurant and its employment relations as informal whereas head office had expressed the need for more professional management and more importantly had over-rated the formality of policy implementation at branch level (Suter & Marchington 2011). Notably, communication is a significant component of a psychological contrast as it is quite evident that branch managers and senior management had conflicting views on how the restaurant business needed to be operated. Alternatively, It would be beneficial for senior management and branch managers to effectively communicate their views across to one another in order to minimize the ‘false consensus effect’ (Bratton & Gold, 2012, p. 433). Again, to ensure that this can actually happen, senior management  would need to be more readily available to branch managers and vice versa in order to strengthen the psychological contract between them. According to the branch managers the organisational change brought about more job responsibilities, intensified workload and more expectations from senior management (Suter & Marchington 2011). Whilst handling their ‘supervisory responsibilities’, the day–to-day HR functions and operational responsibilities such as ordering and control of stock/supplies, forecasting labour budgets and marketing initiatives were devolved into the roles of branch managers (Suter & Marchington 2011). This devolvement of HR functions into the role of branch managers goes beyond the parameters of what is required of branch managers. Despite this, senior management have not provided their branch manager with further additional training in their new responsibilities and duties neither has it been outlined in their legal binding contract. Even though the assistant managers and branch managers shared the same responsibilities of supervising the employees, employees still reported directly to the branch managers (Suter & Marchington 2011). Instead of sharing this supervisory responsibility of employees, it would be more efficient and productive to delegate this responsibility to the assistant manager so that branch managers can focus more on the operational responsibilities and HR functions. Another obstacle branch managers had identified was their inability to make operational decisions regarding the day-to-day running of the branch due to the lack of coordination or collaboration in the senior management company-wide operational decision-making process (Suter & Marchington 2011). This in effect reinforces senior management distrust in its branch managers’ ability to fulfil their role and therefore, causing resentment and animosity towards senior management from its branch managers. According to Dant and Gundlach (1998, p.37) ‘excessive controls aimed at monitoring’ employees can be costly as it can generate ‘motivational and morale problems’ among employees. It is important from a management perspective to ‘balance the forces of dependence and autonomy’ within the business in order to maintain ‘the long run viability’ of the business organisation (Dant & Gundlach, 1998, p. 37). In terms of achieving overall effectiveness senior management need to contribute to a more productive relationship between branch managers and employees in their organisation. Another important aspect to consider is  that the company and branch units have ‘contrasting economic and managerial characteristics’ (Bradach, 1997, p. 276) whereby, the senior management of the company must meet two key management challenges: ‘maintaining uniformity and system-wide adaptability’ (Bradach, 1997, p. 277). With reference to RestaurantCo, units in a chain share a common identity by operating under the RestaurantCo trademark (Bradach, 1997, p. 277). There are five underlying categories of uniformity in an organisation and they are, ‘the line manager, organisational systems, learning culture, role and responsibility and HR department and professionalism’ (Harrison, 2011, p. 921). In order to ‘preserve the integrity and value’, the company must enforce uniformity across these five underlying categories through bureaucratic control and standardisation (Bradach, 1997, p. 277). Furthermore, in order to ensure the sustainability of the company, it must be able to adapt to the ‘opportunities and threats’ (Bradach, 1997, p. 282). In addition, senior managers must identify and implement system-wide adaptation processes and practices that will fit to some extent across all of the individual branches, except the main challenge of this is to ensure that all the branches move in the same direction. The ‘plural form’ model of management proposed by Bradach (1997) can be used to effectively a ddress the uniformity and system-wide adaptability problems. The ‘plural form’ consists of four processes which are as followed: ‘modelling process, ratcheting process, socialisation process and mutual learning process’ (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). Through these processes the company can pursue greater uniformity and improve system-wide adaptation across the restaurant chains (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). The modelling process is focused on the structural element of the management by increasing the use of common practices across the organisation and the restaurant chains (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). The ratcheting process is part of the control system of management which enables both branch managers and senior managers to influence each other as well as increase the level of uniformity and performance of the chain overall (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). The socialisation process reflects the career path aspect of management, which essentially helps to create a shared understanding of what is required to operate a restaurant, thus will increase the uniformity across the chain (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). Lastly, the mutual learning process is also referred to as the strategy making  process, which focuses on improving the system-wide adaptability by providing ‘performance data and demonstrating new ideas to help persuade branch managers to adopt the proposed system-wide adaptations’ (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). Overall the ‘plural form’ is used to overcome some of the control problems associated with managing restaurant branches and maintaining uniformity across the chain (Bradach, 1997). Another important key issue highlighted from this case study is how formal and informal employee involvement and participation (EIP) practices are implemented by management. According to the RestaurantCo capability framework which consisted of eight capabilities, four related specifically to informal EIP (Suter & Marchington 2011). EIP is influenced or shaped by four dimensional factors which are, the two type of ‘forms of EIP’ (formal and informal EIP), ‘degree of involvement of the employees’ (ranged from very little to a considerable amount), ‘different levels of EIP within the organisation’ (head office to branch level) and ‘scope of subject matter’ (long term plans that are central to the organisation and short term issues regarding the restaurant) (Marchington & Kynighou, 2012, p. 3338). RestaurantCo depend heavily on their employees’ interaction with customers, for this reason it is noticeably best to implement informa l EIP because their engagement with customers is instrumental to the organisational performance levels and profitability. By using informal EIP branch managers are able to gain employees’ affective commitment to the organisation (Rodrigues, 1994). Although, branch managers must take into consideration the contextual circumstances in relation to the restaurant and the four contingencies outlined above to assist in determining the appropriate EIP to implement for their given work situation (Rodrigues, 1994). More specifically, formal EIP was utilised in the larger and busier restaurant branches as branch managers had less time to involve employees informally and formal EIP was the most effective way of bringing staff members up to date with important information and news (Suter & Marchington 2011). On the other hand, informal EIP was utilised or practised more predominately in the smaller branch restaurants (Suter & Marchington 2011). However, effective co-existence of formal and informal EIP is essential for the organisation’s long term sustainability (Denton, 1994). Informality at RestaurantCo is an effective instrument of recognising and managing employee voice (Denton, 1994). The  role of informality is to give employees an open channel for informal communications with managers, so that they can address their concerns and to give informative feedback on work related issues (Beattie, 2006). The constant changeability and flexibility of the workplace environment, illustrates the need for informal day-to-day communications in comparison to official formalised meetings with employees, which can be more costly and time consuming. Above all, the flexibility and diversity of organisational arrangements in the service industry reinforces the need for the implementation of informal EIP practices (Beattie, 2006). In summary, the RestaurantCo case study illustrated some important strengths and weaknesses in the HR management practices and organisational frameworks. Overall, several weaknesses were identified such as the need for informal relations between line managers and employees, the importance of decentralisation to enable cooperation and collaboration between branch managers and senior management through the ‘plural form’ model. Furthermore, it was exemplified that there should be a co-existence and implementation of both formal and informal EIP in the workplace. Evidently, business performance levels can be improved by balancing the dependency and autonomy of branch managers, so that they can efficiently perform to their capabilities. In conclusion, this essay highlighted some positive and negative issues regarding operational responsibilities of senior management and branch managers. References Beattie, RS 2006, ‘Line Managers and Workplace Learning: Learning from the voluntary sector’,Human Resource Developmental International, vol.9, no.1, pp. 99-119, viewed 2 Setptember 2013, Ebsco database. Bradach, JL 1997, ‘Using the plural form in the management of restaurant chains’, Administrativ.e Science Quarterly, vol.42, no.2, pp. 276-303 viewed 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Bratton, J & Gold, J 2012 Human Resource Management: theory and practice, 5th edn, Palgrave Macmillan, London. Dant, RP & Gundlach, GT 1998, ‘Dependence in Franchised Channels of Distribution’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 14, pp. 35-67 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Dant, RP & Nasr, NI 1998, ‘Control techniques and upward flow of information in franchising in distant  markets:conceptualisation and preliminary evidence’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol.13, pp. 3-28 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Denton, DK 1994, â €˜Empowerment through Employee Involvement and Participation: Ford’s Development and Training Programs’, Empowerment in Organisations: An International Journal,vol. , no.2, pp. 22-28 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Harrison, P 2011, ‘Perspective on Practice: Learning culture, line managers and HR professional practice’,Journal of European Indutrial Training ,vol. 35, no.9, pp. 914-928 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Marchington, M & Kynighou, A 2012, ‘The dynamics of employee involvement and participation during turbulent times’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol.23, no.16, pp. 3336-3354 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Michael, S C 2002, ‘Can a franchise chain coordinate?’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol.17, pp. 325-341 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Rodrigues, CA 1994, ‘Employee Participation and Empowerment Programs: Problems of definition an d implementation’,Empowerment in Organisations,vol. 2, no.2, pp. 29-40 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Suter, J & Marchington, M 2011, ‘The role of line managers and employee voice in the restaurant industry’, in T Dundon and A Wilkinson (eds), Case studies in global management: Strategy, innovation and people management, Tilde Press, pp. 212-220

Philosophy Of Education Based On Curriculum Perspectives Education Essay

Gregory & A ; Ripski ( 2008 ) explains the effects of making trust and edifice bonds with pupils, â€Å" A relational attack may gain pupil cooperation via pupils ‘ feelings of their instructors as trustworthy and legitimate authorization figures † . Teachers must be leaders inside and outside the schoolroom. The instructor ‘s function is to first make energy to swear and esteem in their schoolroom. By making a schoolroom scene that is safe and loving ; pupils ‘ motive and energy towards larning is straight wedged explains Eccles & A ; Roeser ( 2003 ) , â€Å" It has been suggested that due to the developmental significance of relationships during adolescence ( peculiarly relationships outside the household ) , a socially supportive school atmosphere will advance positive academic and societal results in immature people † as cited in Associating Academic Social Environments, Ego-Identity formation, Ego Virtues and Academic Success ( Good & A ; Adams 20 08 ) . The key of a successful instructor is understanding how they became the instructors they which straight impacts pupil success. Student success is straight relationship to a safe schoolroom scene, positive relationships with pupils, and the desire to larn. I believe that each kid possesses the ability to be successful no affair what their environment. Each pupil has a alone personality that with individualised attending can happen success in whatever they set their head to make. I believe that pupils should be able to have an instruction in an environment that is safe, and fulfilling to everyone involved. It is my belief that each kid possesses a flicker inside them and the function of the pedagogue is to tackle that flicker and make energy ( desire ) of the pupil to larn. Many first twelvemonth pedagogues receive advice such as â€Å" do non smile until December † and â€Å" Let pupils neglect in the beginning, so they know they need you † , Landsman et Al ( 2008 ) argues, â€Å" Unfortunately, excessively many instructors begin their calling without a tool kit full of schemes for pull offing pupil acquisition. Therefore, they end up training pupils with force and menaces † . With this attitude educating the pupils of today is a losing conflict. The attack pedagogues take into their schoolroom sing pupils can finally order the success of the pupils behaviorally and academically, â€Å" Educators can construct better schools by cognizing, swearing, authorising, linking, and honouring all their pupils † ( Hoffman & A ; Lavek 2008 ) . The cogent evidence comes from the pupils ‘ success. The intent of instruction is to enable pupils to go successful in their lives. As an pedagogue I must larn what is of import to my pupils and what will assist them win in mundane life. Taking what is of import to them combined with the Georgia Performance Standards will assist to make their single success. I believe effectual instructors should make this every twenty-four hours every bit good as relate all acquisition to the universe around the pupils doing it meaningful to them. Constructing Relationships Relationships are non built in an blink of an eye. Time builds bonds with pupils. Relationships do non come over dark between pupils and instructors, nevertheless the clip exhausted making these bonds nurture a successful schoolroom, â€Å" The clip required to develop relationships with pupils may be significant. However without this clip, the loath scholar may ne'er go engaged in larning † ( Landsman, Moore, & A ; Simmons 2008 ) . A successful school is a topographic point where instructors take the clip to larn about their pupils as stated by Hoffman & A ; Lavek ( 2008 ) , â€Å" To make schools that function as individualized communities of larning instead than anon. establishments where some pupils feel they belong and others feel ignored, we must cognize our students-how they think, what they need, and what they want † . Relationships in the schoolroom and off from academically puting have the possible to impact the pupils instantly every bit good as supply a long er last impact. Classroom Environment Teachers many times can make a nurturing environment or cold schoolroom by the manner they perceive certain pupils. The incrimination is frequently passed on to the pupil as a deficiency of motive or duty, but the instructors may be the incrimination. As cited in, Reluctant Teacher, Ladson-Billings ( 2006 ) indicates that instructors who define pupils in such footings create a schoolroom environment that is no longer a topographic point of acquisition and high outlooks, but instead a topographic point rooted in control and direction. Such conditions will non assist the loath scholar become successful ( Landsman et al.2008 ) . Students want to experience that they are of import. They want to experience as if they belong, and have a interest in what they are making in the schools, â€Å" loath scholars need to experience that they are heard, that their narratives, their voices, their inquiries, and their parts affair. The best instructors make pupil voices the centre of the category à ¢â‚¬  ( Landsman et al 2008 ) . My end is to do learning merriment and take every docile minute to the benefit of my pupils. In order to supply my pupils with a route map to success ; I am committed to utilizing new and advanced techniques every bit good as go oning to turn professionally. I will make a stimulating ambiance wrapped with positive support, so pupils can turn and maturate emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. Academic Achievement and Behavior Fostering relationships where the pupils trust and have a relationship with their instructor lead to a well run schoolroom academically and behaviorally. Students who feel their environment in secure and understand the outlooks are more likely to back up and work for their instructor describes Stuhlman, Hamre, & A ; Pianta ( 2002 ) , â€Å" since the schoolroom is the puting where pupils execute on a day-to-day footing, doing it a more supportive environment may hold more immediate and longer-lasting effects on results such as behaviour and attending † . Another factor is behavior jobs and hapless academic accomplishment is motive. Students who are non motivated are more likely to hold behavior issues or academic jobs. Dissecting the pupils ‘ involvements to research how to actuate their acquisition will engender a schoolroom where pupils are willing to work, â€Å" by developing and presenting such schemes, pedagogues facilitate the edifice of positive relationships be tween instructors and pupils that can supply the motive, enterprise, and battle which are indispensable for academic success † ( Stuhlman et al 2002 ) . Collaboration is the following key to pupil success. Without the support of the parents and/or defenders and all pedagogues involved so larning is jeopardized. Educators can non trust to accomplish success without back uping one another and the support of the parents. Students can make higher degrees of larning when all grownups involved in their acquisition aids take their educational growing beyond the walls of the school. Gregory, A. , & A ; Ripski, M. ( 2008 ) . Adolescent trust in instructors: Deductions for behaviour in high school schoolroom. School Psychology Review, 37 ( 3 ) 337-353. Good, & A ; Adams, . ( 2008 ) . Associating academic societal environments, ego-identity formation, self-importance virtuousnesss and academic success. Adolescence, 43 ( 170 ) , 221-236. Hansen, K. ( 2008 ) . Rewriting Bildung for Postmodernity: Books on Educational Philosophy, Classroom Practice, and Reflective Teaching. Curriculum Inquiry, 38 ( 1 ) , 93-115. doi:10.1111/j.1467-873X.2007.00399.x Hoffman, D. , & A ; Levak, B. ( 2003 ) . Personalizing schools. Educational Leadership 61 ( 1 ) 30-34. Landsman, J. , Moore, T. , & A ; Simmons, R. ( 2008 ) . Loath instructors, Educational Leadership, 65 ( 6 ) 62-66. Slater, L. ( 2004 ) . Relationship-driven instruction cultivates coaction and inclusion Kappa Delta Pi Record 40 ( 2 ) . Stickney, J. ( 2006 ) . Deconstructing Discourses about ‘New Paradigms of Teaching ‘ : A Foucaultian and Wittgensteinian position. Educational Philosophy & A ; Theory, 38 ( 3 ) , 327-371. doi:10.1111/j.1469-5812.2006.00198.x. Stuhlman, M. , Hamre, B. , & A ; Pianta, R. ( 2002 ) . Advancing the teen/teacher connexion. The Education Connection, 68 ( 3 ) , 15-17.