Michael E. Porters Five Forces In Pepsi :: Business Strategy

  Ã‚  Ã‚   Introduction The model of the Five Competitive Forces was developed by Michael E. Porter in his book "Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors" in 1980. Since that time it has become an important tool for analyzing an organizations industry structure in strategic processes.    Porters model is based on the insight that a corporate strategy should meet the opportunities and threats in the organizations external environment. Especially, competitive strategy should base on and understanding of industry structures and the way they change. Porter has identified five competitive forces that shape every industry and every market. These forces determine the intensity of competition and hence the profitability and attractiveness of an industry. The objective of corporate strategy should be to modify these competitive forces in a way that improves the position of the organization. Porters model supports analysis of the driving forces in an industry. Based on the information derived from the Five Forces Analysis, management can decide how to influence or to exploit particular characteristics of their industry.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Five Competitive Forces The Five Competitive Forces are typically described as follows: 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bargaining Power of Suppliers The term 'suppliers' comprises all sources for inputs that are needed in order to provide goods or services. Supplier bargaining power is likely to be high when:    ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The market is dominated by a few large suppliers rather than a fragmented source of supply,  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are no substitutes for the particular input,  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The suppliers customers are fragmented, so their bargaining power is low,  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The switching costs from one supplier to another are high,  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is the possibility of the supplier integrating forwards in order to obtain higher prices and margins. This threat is especially high when  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The buying industry has a higher profitability than the supplying industry,  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Forward integration provides economies of scale for the supplier,  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The buying industry hinders the supplying industry in their development (e.g. reluctance to accept new releases of products),  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The buying industry has low barriers to entry. In such situations, the buying industry often faces a high pressure on margins from their suppliers. The relationship to powerful suppliers can potentially reduce strategic options for the organization.   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bargaining Power of Customers Similarly, the bargaining power of customers determines how much customers can impose pressure on margins and volumes. Customers bargaining power is likely to be high when  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They buy large volumes, there is a concentration of buyers,  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The supplying industry comprises a large number of small operators

Early Childhood Curriculum Essay

While being in this course I have learned about the different curriculums, philosophies and theories. In this paper I will be discussing how to develop an appropriate curriculum for preschool children. This paper will include the following topics: the theories and/or philosophies of Montessori; concepts learned throughout this course, how to apply them into an early childhood classroom focusing on the understanding components to design a curriculum for a preschool classroom based on ages 3 to 5 year old children. First let’s discuss the philosophies of  both Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget. Maria Montessori ideas and beliefs are embedded throughout every early childhood program and her influence on our thinking about curriculum has been profound. She was a tireless child advocate and believed that all children deserve a proper education. Montessori insisted that through proper early education, underprivileged and cognitively impaired children could be successful if they were given a chance to learn. She was one of the first to establish a preschool for poor and mentally retarded children in Rome; these preschools were called â€Å"Casa  dei Bambini†, which translated in English as â€Å"Children’s House. † Dr. Montessori proposed that children that are at risk and the notion that society had a moral responsibility to devote resources to early child intervention. Our textbook states that. â€Å"Montessori embraced and expanded Froebel’s kindergarten concept; she felt that children were natural learners and should drive much of their own learning. She asserted that children should be grouped in multiage (2 ? to 5 years) classes to allow flexibility and opportunities for peer mentoring. Montessori developed an  extensive set of â€Å"didactic† materials and lessons designed to be attractive to children and used by teachers to teach specific concepts and skills. She adapted furniture to child size as a gesture of respect for the unique needs of early learners† (Jaruszewicz, 2012). I agree with her philosophy and theory, because children do need the freedom to learn at their own pace and not to be pressured to do what they see other children do. It is also important the classroom learning environment to be attractive so that it will draw the children to be there and learn new and exciting things. In order to use the teaching method, the teachers must be trained to work with all children and understand that no one child develops the same as another. The other philosopher that I will discuss is Jean Piaget. A contemporary of both Montessori and Dewey, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget proposed a theory of cognitive development that initiated a constructivist view of curriculum (Jaruszewicz, 2012). Piaget conducted several experiments with young children that proved that their mental concepts are learned through trial and error experiences. Young children will continue to do  things that they have been told not to do, until the consequence of their actions has been reached. For example, when a parent tells their child not to stack the building blocks up too high or they will fall on them which could lead to them being hurt; the child continues to do that the same thing over and over again to see if what their parent said is true. Once the child has seen the building blocks fall over on them is when they have learned that they don’t need to do that. His work confirmed early learning as distinct from other developmental periods, implying, therefore,  that materials and activities for young children should reflect the idiosyncratic way in which they think and process stimuli (Jaruszewicz, 2012). Piaget proposed that cognitive development occurs in four different stages, three of which occur during early childhood. In the sensorimotor stage, infants and toddlers process experience and begin to coordinate movement through sensory exploration. Preoperational thinking of preschoolers emerges spontaneously, as they are internally motivated to make sense of their environment by testing ideas and theories in play and  exploration with materials (Jaruszewicz, 2012). Piaget and Montessori are the main philosophies that stood out to me in this course the most. Next I will discuss the Core knowledge preschool sequence curriculum and the areas inside it. With strong focus on challenging, but appropriate content, the Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence and Teacher Handbook is unique among early childhood programs. It outlines a cumulative and coherent progression of knowledge and skills in all developmental areas and integrates developmentally appropriate practices for both content and instruction. Using the core knowledge curriculum helps with creating appropriate activities that prepare the preschool age children to learn. Children are always ready to learn; as long as the teacher understands that, each child will be eager to learn in new and exciting ways. It is important for teachers to make sure that the information that they wish to teach the children in the classroom is appropriate and fun. The Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence Curriculum focuses on five different areas: Social Skills, Early Literacy skills in reading and writing, Mathematics, Science and Visual Arts. It is important for children to learn how to interact with other children their age early in their lives to develop their social skills. One of the many things I love about Montessori is that Montessori teachers see the ‘whole’ child-developmentally, academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. There is a myth out there that says simply placing children in the same room and having them do activities helps them develop social skills. I disagree. Developing social skills needs to be a value in the classroom as well as modeled by the teachers/adults who are around  the children. Using manners, demonstrating what Montessori called ‘Grace and Courtesy’ and always being respectful of the child are key ingredients to helping a child develop social skills. There are several ways to help expand children’s social skills. The activity that would be used to develop social skills would be to have the children sit in a circle on the floor, pass an object around each child to take turns telling the class something about them. Whether it is there name, favorite color, parents name, how many sibling they may have, etc. When are playing together in  the classroom they learn to take turns, shared things and playing with others in general helps them develop social skills. The development of language in early childhood classrooms is an umbrella for the Montessori curriculum. The teachers and parents consider activities on the shelves of the Language area as the heart of actual language learning. The techniques used in a Montessori classroom are different when it comes to teaching language and literacy. Teachers, parents, and administrators need to recognize communication as the foundation for the meaningful  development of language concepts and skills. Effective communication depends on authentic relationships between communicative partners. Teachers have the responsibility (actually, the opportunity) to develop and expand learning relationships with young children. This is truly the ultimate opportunity to make a difference. Seen in this light, conversations with young children on the playground, during field trips, on the way to the bathroom, in the midst of conflict resolution, during lessons, and countless other times create the context for the development of language skills. Relationships of trust are built between children and teachers and among peers. Classroom work further contributes to language concept and skill development within this context of meaningful communication. It is important to talk children especially infants constantly, so they can develop a strong sense of vocabulary. Children catch on to everything that they may hear. So it is definitely important to be cautious what language you use around children. Printed materials and images are strongly important in an early childhood classroom. These materials make the classroom attractive to  children as well as make them want to learn about what those images and books mean. Phonemic awareness is part of a balanced literacy program, and can be developed in several ways during shared reading and shared writing. Shared reading and shared writing typically occur during the language arts time block, but may also occur during content-area learning. On to my favorite subject any grade level or age is mathematics. In an early childhood classroom, teaching young children mathematics somewhat easy and in some cases not so much. Getting children ages three to four year olds to learn their numbers and one to one  correspondence can be a challenge, but it requires patience to teach the children the meaning of number awareness. Provide children with authentic, hands-on learning experiences-DO NOT USE WORKSHEETS. In preschool you should play to the children’s natural curiosities and look to your student’s interest to guide lesson planning. You are setting up children for a lifetime of learning and you should create excitement around what you. Also, the more hands on the activity is, the more learning styles you are engaging, and the more the child enjoys it the more they will  learn and retain! Create activities that children are actively involved in learning something new, such as how to count and recognize numbers. Numbers are not the only thing that children can learn that is related to mathematics. Shapes are how to perceive and recognize them are important as well. Teaching children about shapes and how many sides each one has involves numbers as well. Mathematics and Language go together because you are using vocabulary words to decide the shapes, numbers, etc. In conclusion, this paper touched on some important factors to help develop a  developmentally appropriate curriculum for preschool/pre-K age children. It is important to provide activities for young children and make sure the environment is a positive, warm and inviting one that children will want to come to school and learn new things. In this paper I discussed the standards for each core knowledge area to develop an appropriate curriculum for young children. References Jaruszewicz, C. (2012). Curriculum and Methods for Early Childhood Educators. In C. Jaruszewicz, Curriculum and Methods for Early Childhood Educators. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education.

Lean Operations Design Homework

Lean Operations Design Homework Introduction Lean operation refers to practices that are aimed at achieving manufacturing processes with minimum waste. This paper seeks to discuss aspects of manufacturing processes. The paper will explore definitions of terms that are used in manufacturing processes. It will also explain lean wastes in a manufacturing set up.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Lean Operations Design Homework specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Definitions Cycle time Cycle time is the duration of time needed to complete a production process. Raw materials are processed into finished products within the period. Cycle time begins when production process starts with raw materials until the time when the necessary production activities are completed (Curry and Feldman, 2010). Throughput Throughput is the measure of the rate of production of a process. It measures the quantity of raw materials that are utilized in a production process per unit duration of time. Denis and Shock define throughput as the mean rate of outcome from a process (Denis and Shock, 2007). Throughput time Throughput time is a total time that is taken to complete a production process. The period begins from the first step of a production process up to the process’ last step. Throughput time in a manufacturing industry is, for instance, defined as the duration of time that starts at the beginning of a production process until the time that the desired finished product is obtained (Reijers, 2003). Work in progress Work in progress refers to the value of raw materials that have been put in a production process but have not yet been completed. Example of work in progress in a manufacturing industry is the set of materials that are meant to be used in the production of commodities, but which are still under the manufacturing process (Dudbridge, 2011). Job shop A job shop is a production facility or a set of machines, which can only execute one activity at a time, but can be reused after every single operation. It defines a collection of facilities which functionalities are renewable (Lee and Choi, 2010). Possible seven lean wastes in Kentucky Fried Chicken domain The main aim of lean production processes is to minimize wastes that could be incurred during production processes. Possible lean wastes in a manufacturing industry include â€Å"overproduction, inventory, transport, processing, idle time, operation motion, and bad quality† (Dudbridge, 2011, n.p.).Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Overproduction, which is defined as excess output of finished products, is a waste because it induces turbulence in a supply chain’s production flow. Further, overproduction means that resources that could have been used in other activities are tied up in stock that is not immediately useful to an or ganization. Transportation, which is defined as the process of moving inventory from one location to another, is also a waste because it causes expenditure, but does not add value to the production process. Operator motion, a process that involves movement of personnel from one manufacturing location to another, in cases where processes are executed at different locations, is also a significant waste. This is because the time and resources that are used in operator motions could be utilized in adding value to the production process (Dudbridge, 2011). Inventory, which is a derivative of overproduction, is another waste in production processes. Like overproduction, inventory holds up resources and disrupts flow of production processes. While bad quality leads to poor sales, costly processing methods reduce availability of resources and idle time delays production processes (Dudbridge, 2011). One of the possible lean wastes that Kentucky could face is overproduction. This could lead to held up resources and losses due to expired stock. The organization can avoid the waste through market research on demand trends. Transportation of resources such as raw materials is another possible waste for the company. This can be avoided by establishing the company’s own poultry firm within or around its premises. Large inventory due to over production can also be avoided by monitoring market trends together with application of sales promotions. Idle time and poor quality are other wastes that the company could face and can be avoided by ensuring proper operations management (Dudbridge, 2011). References Curry, G., and Feldman, R. (2010). Manufacturing Systems Modeling and Analysis. New York, NY: SpringerAdvertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Lean Operations Design Homework specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Denis, P., and Shock, J. (2007). Lean production simplified: a plain language guide to the worlds m ost powerful production system. New York, NY: Productivity Press Dudbridge, M. (2011). Handbook of Lean Manufacturing in the Food Industry. Oxford, UK: John Wiley Sons Lee, S., and Choi, B. (2010). Frontiers of Assembly and Manufacturing: Selected Papers from ISAM09. Barcelona, Spain: Springer Reijers, H. (2003). Design and control of workflow processes: business process management for the service industry. New York, NY: Springer

Free Essays on Superconductivity

Superconductivity INTRODUCTION We've all heard about superconductivity. But, do we all know what it is? How it works and what are its uses? To start talking about superconductivity, we must try to understand the how "normal" conductivity works. This will make it much easier to understand how the "super" part functions. In the following paragraphs, I will explain how superconductivity works, some of the current problems and some examples of its uses. CONDUCTIVITY Conductivity is the ability of a substance to carry electricity. Some substances like copper, aluminium, silver and gold do it very well. They are called conductors. Others conduct electricity partially and they are called semi-conductors. The concept of electric transmission is very simple to understand. The wire that conducts the electric current is made of atoms which have equal numbers of protons and electrons making the atoms electrically neutral. If this balance is disturbed by gain or loss of electrons, the atoms will become electrically charged and are called ions. Electrons occupy energy states. Each level requires a certain amount of energy. For an electron to move to a higher level, it will require the right amount of energy. Electrons can move between different levels and between different materials but to do that, they require the right amount of energy and an "empty" slot in the band they enter. The metallic conductors have a lot of these slots and this is where the free electrons will head when voltage (energy) is applied. A simpler way to look at this is to think of atoms aligned in a straight line (wire). if we add an electron to the first atom of the line, that atom would have an excess of electrons so it releases an other electron which will go to the second atom and the process repeats again and again until an electron pops out from the end of the wire. We can then say that conduction of an electrical current is simp... Free Essays on Superconductivity Free Essays on Superconductivity Superconductivity INTRODUCTION We've all heard about superconductivity. But, do we all know what it is? How it works and what are its uses? To start talking about superconductivity, we must try to understand the how "normal" conductivity works. This will make it much easier to understand how the "super" part functions. In the following paragraphs, I will explain how superconductivity works, some of the current problems and some examples of its uses. CONDUCTIVITY Conductivity is the ability of a substance to carry electricity. Some substances like copper, aluminium, silver and gold do it very well. They are called conductors. Others conduct electricity partially and they are called semi-conductors. The concept of electric transmission is very simple to understand. The wire that conducts the electric current is made of atoms which have equal numbers of protons and electrons making the atoms electrically neutral. If this balance is disturbed by gain or loss of electrons, the atoms will become electrically charged and are called ions. Electrons occupy energy states. Each level requires a certain amount of energy. For an electron to move to a higher level, it will require the right amount of energy. Electrons can move between different levels and between different materials but to do that, they require the right amount of energy and an "empty" slot in the band they enter. The metallic conductors have a lot of these slots and this is where the free electrons will head when voltage (energy) is applied. A simpler way to look at this is to think of atoms aligned in a straight line (wire). if we add an electron to the first atom of the line, that atom would have an excess of electrons so it releases an other electron which will go to the second atom and the process repeats again and again until an electron pops out from the end of the wire. We can then say that conduction of an electrical current is simp...

The Ultimate AP Psychology Review Guide 5-Step Prep Plan

The Ultimate AP Psychology Review Guide 5-Step Prep Plan SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Preparing for the AP Psychology exam shouldn't cause you to lose your sanity (pun intended). Some of the material is challenging, but overall it's not that scary compared to other AP tests. If you stay focused during your studying and are familiar with the format of the test, you'll have a good chance of acing it! In this article, I'll provide specific details on the structure and content of the exam and tell you how you can make the best use your AP Psychology review time to end up with a great score. What’s the AP Psychology Exam Like? The AP Psychology exam is one of the shorter AP tests, clocking in at just two hours total. You’ll have an hour and ten minutes to complete 100 multiple-choice questions and the remaining 50 minutes to complete two open response questions. Overall, I’d say it’s one of the easiest AP tests based on its length and the complexity of its content. Since you only have 70 minutes for 100 multiple choice questions, you’ll need to make sure you’re keeping track of time. It’s important to move relatively quickly because you have less than a minute for each question! Try not to spend more than 30 seconds on a question; you can always come back to the question later. There is no guessing penalty on multiple choice (as for all AP exams now) so incorrect answers won’t hurt you any more than leaving questions blank. The open response questions shouldn’t give you much trouble in terms of time. There are only two of them (much fewer than most other AP tests), and they’re usually very straightforward. In many cases, they will just ask you to explain how terms you’ve learned in AP Psychology relate to a specific situation. You’ll also need some knowledge of the scientific method for certain open response questions that ask about the methodology of a psychological study. I'll give you examples of AP Psychology multiple-choice and free response questions in the next section. No penalties for incorrect answers! Finally, the College Board can lay off all those referees and free up some room in the budget. What’s on the AP Psychology Exam? Here’s an example of a multiple choice question you might see on the test: This question is kind of wordy, and it may seem like you need to know a lot to figure it out, but you could actually get the answer without much psychology knowledge at all (though it’s less confusing with some background information). The baby monkeys preferred the soft cloth surrogate mother over the wire surrogate with food, indicating that the comfort of the cloth was more important to them than the food when they were scared. The answer is B! Most multiple choice questions will involve either simple logic, like this one, or basic memorization of the content in the course. Here’s an example of an open response question that was on the 2015 exam: Here, it’s easy to see how the points for the question are earned. The seven bullet points correspond to the seven possible points you can get from answering the question. This question is dependent on a comprehensive knowledge of specific terms and concepts from the AP Psychology curriculum. The College Board provides a breakdown of the different topics on the AP Psychology exam by percentage of questions. Here are the topics you’ll see on the exam (from most to least common): Topic Percentage of Questions Research Methods 8-10 Biological Bases of Behavior 8-10 Social Psychology 8-10 Cognition 8-10 Learning 7-9 Developmental Psychology 7-9 Abnormal Psychology 7-9 Sensation and Perception 6-8 Motivation and Emotion 6-8 Personality 5-7 Testing and Individual Differences 5-7 Treatment of Psychological Disorders 5-7 States of Consciousness 2-4 History and Approaches 2-4 This might inform how much of your AP Psychology review time you spend studying each topic, but it’s probably more important to pay attention to where you struggle the most on an individual level. For example, if you know all there is to know about Research Methods but don’t remember much about Treatment of Psychological Disorders, you should spend more time reviewing the second topic even though it relates to fewer questions. In the next section, I’ll give more specific guidance on how to review for the exam. Preliminary AP Psychology Study Tips Here are some tips to keep in mind before you start your AP Psychology exam review! They'll help you stay on the right track and make the most of your time. Tip 1: Plan Out Your Time How much time do you have before the test? You'll need to take this into account when formulating your study plan. Think about how much time you can afford to spend studying for AP Psychology while considering the amount of other schoolwork you have. For example, if you think you have about 10 hours to study, your plan might look something like this: Take and score a practice test (2.5 hours) Go over your mistakes (1 hour) Review weak content areas and update test-taking strategies (2 hours) Take and score another practice test (2.5 hours) Final review (2 hours) If you have longer, you might be able to go more in-depth with your mistakes on the second practice test and even take a third or fourth test. Overall, your time should be split relatively evenly between taking practice tests and reviewing the material. Your plan could change depending on your initial scores and how much you’re looking to improve. I would say that you don't need to spend more than 20 hours total studying for AP Psychology. The amount of material isn't overwhelming, and it's not an especially difficult test. I’ll get more specific on how to use practice tests effectively in the next section. Tip 2: Choose Review Materials Wisely You’ll need reliable review materials to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your study sessions. I’d recommend buying a review book (5 Steps to a 5 and Cracking the AP Psychology Exam are the ones I like best). Review books cover just the information that you’ll need for the exam, so they’re going to be less overwhelming to study than your textbook or notes from class. That being said, don’t totally ignore the resources you’ve accumulated in your AP Psychology class. Your notes might include unique methods for remembering concepts and terms which can be useful as an alternative to the information in a review book. Your textbook could be useful as well because it might have diagrams that are better than the ones in review books. I think it’s just nice to have a review book as a backup so that you stay focused on your studying and don’t spend time on topics that are less relevant for the exam. This wise owl says "hoo hooo hoooooo," which translates to "Choose your review materials wisely like I would!" Either that or "They're coming. Tonight." Tip 3: Focus on Memorizing Terms The AP Psychology exam is centered around psychological terms and theories. Some of these can be confusing and hard to tell apart (or not what they sound like intuitively). It's really important to have a solid grasp on all the terms that you learned in the course for both multiple choice and free response questions. Free response questions will often ask you to relate an obscure psychology term to a certain hypothetical scenario, and it's impossible to get points if you aren't completely confident about the meaning of the term. Flashcards are helpful for this type of memorization. If you have time, you can make flashcards for all the important terms in the class or even just a few terms that always trip you up. These can be physical flashcards, or if that's too old-fashioned, you can use Quizlet to study virtual flashcards (in this case you won't even need to make your own; there are already a ton of user-created study sets). I find that writing down the definitions of terms yourself will drill their meanings into your brain more effectively, so I prefer making my own cards, but you can do whatever works best for your schedule and learning style. To put a fun spin on studying and ensure that you never forget terms, you can send flashcards that describe psychological disorders to people who seem to have them based on your expert diagnosis. They'll be sure to thank you later (disclaimer: if you do this you are probably a sociopath). Tip 4: Go Over Testing Strategies Before you take a practice test, you should be aware of the testing pitfalls that may impact your score. Don't sacrifice points on practice tests (or the real test!) due to factors unrelated to your knowledge of the material. Here are some strategies for different types of test questions: Multiple Choice Questions As I mentioned earlier in this article, the exam doesn’t give you a ton of time for each multiple choice question. If you have a tendency to get stuck on difficult questions, you’ll need to keep this in mind during the AP Psychology test. Try to avoid spending more than 30 seconds on each question, and don't worry too much about skipping a few. It's possible to get a 5 on the test even if you miss 20-30 multiple choice questions. I'm not advocating skipping questions at random, but you should know that it's not the end of the world if you can't answer every single one. It’s also important not to overthink multiple choice questions. The questions can sound and look complex, but most of the time they’re not overly difficult if you know the material. Underline the parts of the question that are most important so that you don’t get distracted or start to second-guess yourself. If one of the answers seems like it doesn’t make sense, eliminate it. Free Response Questions On free response questions, remember that this isn’t an English test! There’s no need to write an introduction and conclusion; go straight for the answer to the question. That being said, you should still write in complete sentences with correct grammar. Make it as easy as possible for the graders to find your answers and give you points. Underline verbs like â€Å"describe† or â€Å"define† in the question to keep yourself focused on the task at hand. If the free response question is something like the example I provided in the previous section, it can be easier to work backward by putting yourself in the position of one of the people in the hypothetical scenario. You might say, "if I was looking to purchase a new house, what thoughts would cross my mind and why?" After thinking this through a little bit, you could look at the first term and make a connection. The prefrontal cortex is involved in planning and decision-making, so it would be used extensively in the process of committing to the purchase of a new house. This is the only house that would be in my price range right now. Jim doesn't know how good he has it. Your AP Psychology Review Plan in Action Here’s a basic outline of the steps you should take once you’ve prepared your materials and made a rough study plan for AP Psychology. Step 1: Take and Score a Practice Test The first thing you should do is take an initial practice test to see how high you’re currently scoring. You can find practice tests for AP Psychology in review books and online. If you don’t have a review book, Googling â€Å"AP Psychology practice exam pdf† will yield many results. Use tests that were created as recently as possible (ideally within the last 5 years) to ensure that they are relatively similar to the test you’ll be taking. Here’s a conversion table that shows you how raw composite scores from practice tests translate to the AP scale: Composite Score AP Score 113-150 5 93-112 4 77-92 3 65-76 2 0-64 1 To calculate your composite score, add up the number of multiple choice questions you answered correctly. Then, consult the scoring rubric for the free response questions to calculate the number of points you would earn on each question. Convert the number of points you earned on the free response questions to a value out of 50 (for example, if you got 8 out of 15 points on the two free response questions, you would convert that to about 27 out of 50). Then, add the raw score numbers from the multiple choice and free response sections together. If you earned 75 points (75 questions correct) on the multiple choice section and 27 points on the free response section, your composite score would be a 102, making your official AP Score a 4. See this article for more information on calculating your score. Once you’ve scored your practice test, you can set a future score goal. This is pretty simple for AP tests because the score range is just 1-5. There’s no reason not to aim for a 5 on the test, especially in the case of the AP Psychology exam. Since it’s one of the less difficult AP tests, a 5 should be achievable for you if you put some effort into studying. If you’re scoring very low right now, you could think about aiming for a 3 or 4 and increasing your goal if you reach it before the test. Even if you’re already in the 5 range, you should still consider doing a bit of studying if you have time. It's important to feel as comfortable as possible on the real test! You want the AP Psychology test to be like an old friend that you still pretend to like out of pity. Step 2: Analyze Your Mistakes Look at the questions you got wrong or had to guess on, and try to figure out why you struggled. Did you forget a term or concept? Were you not sure what the question was asking? Did you make a careless error? Did you run out of time? Which of these issues was most prevalent? Did you notice a certain type of question that you tended to get wrong? Record your findings on the nature of your mistakes so that you can correct them in your studying. This guide will help you with reviewing your mistakes (I know it’s for SAT/ACT practice tests, but the same principles apply here). Step 3: Review Weak Content Areas If you made a lot of mistakes related to content or question misunderstandings, you should try to figure out which areas caused you the most trouble. Then, you can consult your notes or a review book to brush up on terms and concepts that you’ve forgotten. AP Psychology involves quite a bit of memorization, so there’s bound to be at least a few areas where you weren’t sure of the meaning of a term or couldn’t remember what a specific psychologist did. Stay focused on your weak areas, and pay special attention to weak areas that are also big parts of the exam. For example, if questions about cognition give you trouble, but you also struggle with the history and approaches category, put more effort into studying cognition. A knowledge deficit in this area will cost you more points in the end. Make sure you fix any weak links in your psychology knowledge chain before the exam. Step 4: Revise Your Test-Taking Strategies If your mistakes fell heavily on the side of time issues and careless errors, you should think more about how you can change your approach to the test. Remember to avoid getting stuck on difficult questions if you’re running out of time. Consider slowing down a bit and reading questions more carefully if you suffer from careless errors. Step 5: Rinse and Repeat! After you’ve revised your strategies and brushed up on your content knowledge, you should take another practice test to assess your progress. Then, you can go through the review process again and take steps to improve further. You can do this as many times as it takes for you to feel comfortable with the test and reach your score goal. Conclusion When reviewing for the AP Psychology exam, it's important to pay attention to the format of the test so that you know what to expect. You should also devote special attention to topic areas that are the most difficult for you. Both strong content knowledge and smart testing strategies are important if you want to earn a high score. Practice tests are the most valuable tools in your arsenal for checking on your progress as you review the material. Keep revising your strategies and closing any gaps in your content knowledge until you get to a score that makes you happy! What's Next? Want to learn more about specific AP Psychology topics? Start with our discussion of Stockholm Syndrome here. What does a good score on the AP Psychology mean for you in college? Learn more about how AP credit works at colleges. AP tests and SAT subject tests can both be important components of your college application. Find out the difference between the two and which type of test is more important. Are you taking AP US History along with AP Psychology? Read this article for some helpful AP US History study resources. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Linking up with Talent at Osram Sylvania Case Study

Linking up with Talent at Osram Sylvania - Case Study Example 2. Social Networking Sites for Recruitment Recruitment by means of social networking sites is the latest trend in the professional employment procedure. There are many advantages related to this approach, especially in the instances when the employment has to be done from abroad. Rather than contacting the recruitment companies in those far-off regions, the online communities of interest that have a majority of members from the respective region can be joined and observed silently, for example, supply chain management communities can be joined that have been founded by Indians and have most members belonging to the South Asian land. Sial (2009) stated that the employers can act as silent observers in the prevailing discussions on the platform and identify the individuals that seem to have good experience in the field. Blogging also gives the employer an opportunity to evaluate the individual’s caliber. However, it is advisable to stick to the professional social networking sit es like LinkedIn that are focused on the professional aspects of the individuals. It proves to be a good medium for hiring competent professionals since some are not proactive in the job market and hence do not post their CVs at the job hunting sites.

Organizational Change, Values and Leadership Research Paper

Organizational Change, Values and Leadership - Research Paper Example Organizational change is often necessary to improve the performance of an organization or part of the organization (McNamara, n.d). Organizational values are acceptable beliefs, principles, and practices that govern behavior and actions of employees in an organization (The Teal Trust, n.d; Sources of Insight, 2007). On the hand, leadership is a scenario in which one individual exercises influence over the roles and operations of other individuals with the aim of achieving a common goal (Northouse, 2009). A strong connection exists between organizational change, values, and leadership. Vision and leadership are essential for successful change while change should be considered a core organizational value (Durant, 1999). Current Organizational Issues Organizations face certain issues that may pose challenges to their operations. Change is one of the current issues encountered in organizations. In the event that these organizational changes are encountered, there is need for the companie s to strive to adapt their employees to the new organizational requirements. A change in the organization’s policy, vision, or mission may cause certain challenges to the employees, who in turn must be ready to execute the changes. An organizational change may often lead to a difference in opinions among the employees of the organization. ... Similarly, effective leadership is an essential management tool in enhancing organizational effectiveness. The managers mobilize others to get things done in an organization. They need to acquire skills for peoples’ management through effective training. Literature Review The management of organizations is charged with the responsibility of detecting and responding to these changes accordingly and in good time. The changes affect the organizational objectives as well as the way employees deal with each other (Mowat, 2002). Addressing the issue of change is one of the difficult and yet most important tasks of the managers of an organization (Stichler, 2011). Management of change requires an earlier mitigation of the possible change patterns that are likely to be encountered. These changes can be caused by company growth, diversification leading to introduction of new products, acquisition of modern technology, or entry into new market (Sadler, 1998). It has also been noted that the real task in the management of change is not developing a new idea; the task lies in the implementation of change (Fishman, 1997). The managers have to ensure that the employees adapt to the observed changes and the new strategies to be adopted. Stichler (2011) further asserts that the greatest failure in the management of an organization is to avoid addressing the issues of organizational change with the assumptions that the employees will adapt willingly to the changes. The people constitute the organization and thus change often begins among the people (Brown & Gray, 1995). Values are fundamental beliefs upon which the strength of an organization is built (Business Improvement Architects, 2012). Individuals in