International Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Environment - Assignment Example The achievement of independence in India was followed by the implementation of mixed economic system for growth and development in long run. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the new mixed economic system was introduced with the aim of developing both private and public sectors. However, in contrast neo-liberal policy focuses on replacing the old mixed economic system with developing private sectors respectively. The neo-liberal policies further facilitates global governing authorities of other nations to bring changes to the neoliberal policies of India respectively (World Bank, 2015). The importance of this study is to understand the concept of neo-liberalism and its differences with the other economic policies as well as its effects on the society. Additionally, the study will outline the effects of neo-liberalism in India and its contribution in growth and development. Furthermore, the paper examines the impact of neo-liberal policy on social, cultural and economic poli cy of India.The concept of ‘Neo-Liberalism’ is associated with approach in economic theories where shift in economic factors can be observed between private sectors as well as public sectors with the aim of enhancing the position of the economy. However, the neo-liberalism policy mainly focuses on the private sector rather than public. The implementation of the new-liberalism policy within the economy enables the government minimise the shortage of monetary resources, amount of loans provided to organisations as subsidies

External environment analysis for Toyota PLC

External environment analysis for Toyota PLC Automotive industry is a large scale of business that the market has altered quickly because of technology, economics, etc. This report is concern about Toyota (GB) Plc that is a large multi-national corporation, which main strategic issues are to be a leader of automotive global market and automotive innovation with respecting environment. Firstly, this section will analyze external environment by the PESTE framework. Secondly, it concern about automotive industry which examined by the five forces framework. Thirdly, it reveals estimation of profitability and efficiency for firms. Finally, it will conclude the assessment of company and recommend the strategy plans for future practice. Company and Industry context For Toyota (GB) Plc, the main activities of the company are distribution, selling and servicing vehicles of Toyota and Lexus brands. Most companies in this geographical market are authorized dealers such as Volkswagen, Ford and BMW and some companies are retail that they sell many brands of vehicle such as Lookers Plc and Arnold Clark Automobile Co., Ltd. Furthermore, the activities provide after sell service, maintenance and selling parts to customers. The macro-environment There are many causes that affect the macro environment concern with automotive industry. Analyzing the external environment, the PESTE framework is used as tools to consider major factors, which affect the business and to create key driver of change (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 2008). This can identify influential effects in each area, which can consider key success factors of company. 1.1 Political This factor is most related government policy such as taxation policy and trade tariff. Because manufactures import some vehicles and parts from other countries, firms need to pay for the tariff for buying. Costs of products will be increase, if government increase import tariff. This is the challenge that company faces fluctuation of cost. 1.2 Economics Economic growth affects spending of people by changing buying power, for example, the economic crisis impact decrease of salary, increase of unemployment that people are difficult to buy products because they have less income. 1.3 Social For social factor, some people select to buy products since they can reveal the social status of consumers and some people are still reputation in brands. Moreover, the trend of family structure has changed and customer needs will be different. For example, people who are in nuclear family need to buy the products that can suitable for their family function. Toyota has not only positioned itself in middle market by using the Toyota brand but also launched Lexus for luxury brand which firm has wide range of product. 1.4 Technology Technology is one of the important factors of environmental impact on organizations, technologies change quickly while companies have invested in research and development to respond needs. Innovative technology can provide more opportunities in particular energy conservation issues such as fuel consumption and alternative energy technology. 1.5 Environment The essential of environmental issues is global warming. Many companies try to produce eco-friendly product for following the issues. People concern more about reducing the environmental impacts that companies need to adapt their product to support consumers such as low emission vehicles. Industry sector By using Porters five forces framework, it can analyze the changing of factors and assess profitability of company in industry (Porter, 1998). Focusing on industry sector, it will concern about potential of firms operating similar activities or providing similar products and influence of both suppliers and buyers to quantify the potential of company. Suppliers Threat of new entry Substitutes Competitors rrar Buyers Figure 1: Porters five forces diagram 2.1 Buyer power In automotive industry, it is low switching cost which customers can select variety of products in the same range of price. Each brand provide good offering for propensity customers. Furthermore, buyers have many ways to compare products information. Thus, buyers have high bargaining power. 2.2 Supplier power This subject is not much influence for the firms because Toyota (GB) plc is subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation Japan. Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd is main supplier to produce vehicles for supporting this company. It can be consider a strong supplier. 2.3 Competitive rivalry The automobile has more diversity of competitors which have strong brands of cars in the same class. Ford and Vauxhall dominate UK car market that each of them gains approximately 13% of market share while Toyota has 4.4% in 2010 (AM, 2010). Moreover, the other brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen are also significant competitors because they offer the same range of price and service maintenance cost. Therefore, companies which 2.4 Threat of substitutes The most influence substitute in this industry is Public transportations such as rail, underground subway and bus. These transportations can facilitate people who need to travel that they are not only convenience but also economical price. Thus, it can decrease demand for buying car. 2.5 Threat of new entry It is difficult for new entry to enter into business in this sector since the investment costs are high. For automotive industry, research and development technologies are crucial for gaining advantages that new entrants cannot develop easily. Moreover, firms which are already in market have large effectively distribution channels. Hence, the threat for new entry is high. Company performance Figure 2: Toyota (GB) Plc (Return on capital employed: ROCE) From figure 2, it show that ROCE ratio had a sharp decrease from 2008 to 2009 because of economic crisis, however, in 2010, it continue increase slightly. It seem to be that company can get more return Conclusion For the external environment, this report shows that company should plan to cope with economic change which can affect buying power. However, using technology in the market, Toyota has own advance technology such as technology of hybrid car that can gain more opportunities because people are more conscious about environmental issues. Concern with industry sector the bargaining power of buyer is high and there are more competitors producing similar products that people have more choice to select products. Firm should provide variety of products especiallyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦

What Constitutes Knowledge? Essay -- Definition Educating Knowing Essa

What Constitutes Knowledge?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The workings of the mind have been the focus of philosophers from the beginnings of humanity. One primary focal point that has been pondered over by numerous thinkers is what exactly constitutes knowledge. At first glance the issue seems to be cut and dry but the question gets more complicated with thought. This can be witnessed by the many different epistemological theories put forward throughout the ages. This can specifically be seen by looking at 4 different classical views on knowledge, those of Plato, Epicurus, the Stoics and the Skeptics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As it was stated in the opening paragraph of this essay everyone has their own theory of what constitutes knowledge. That is why I think it would be beneficial for me to state what I believe knowledge is. First of all I don’t think anyone can ever know anything for certain. I believe that we can sense certain sights, smells, sounds, etc. but our senses could be mistaken. We are let down by our senses all the time we see optical illusions, mirages, mishear people, confuse odors and the like. Also if you think about all of the senses that we are lacking that other species have we are missing out on a great portion of reality. For example bloodhounds have a drastically stronger sense of smell, snakes can see heat, dolphins and bats communicate through high frequency sounds that we can not dream of hearing. Added to all the other things that go on around us daily that we are missing shows me that we are missing out on what is truly reality. We can only hope to experience, or â€Å"know† our own very limited reality. So to that end that is one reason I don’t think we can ever really know anything. In regards to knowledge of human reality I believe that we may be able to be very confident of certain things but I wouldn’t go so far as to say we know them. To me knowledge is having 100% certainty of a fact and that’s dangerous in my opinion because nothing we experience is certain. Here I split what has been called knowledge into empirical knowledge, rational knowledge and Knowledge that we hear from others. However I think that each one of these categories has their own shortcomings and I’ll deal with them from the most credible source of knowledge to the least. As I explained before the senses can deceive us and there is no reason to believe that anything we see is reality. Eve... ...ntrol plays an extremely important part in the process of chasing knowledge. It takes a great deal of self control to admit to yourself that you do not know something. It is a common human characteristic to assume that you know a certain piece of information and you need to restrain yourself and at least double check the validity of the statement. It is also very important to remember how you came to â€Å"know† the information. Many people claim to know things that they have learned in class, from parents, or in church. However, none of these are valid avenues to true knowledge. Just because another individual says something that makes some sense doesn’t mean it’s correct. The individual needs to be wary of believing that they know things. It is one thing to believe in something but it is a far greater commitment to say that you know.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion I agree with some of the points made by the classical philosophers on the subject of knowledge, but I don’t agree with any of their entire theories. Socrates, Epicuris, the skeptics and the Stoics all make valid points but also stray from my view of what knowledge is. However, I am quite sure that my theory could be wrong as well.

Compare and contrast Blake’s ‘London’ to Wordsworth ‘composed upon Westminster Bridge’ Essay

Both these poems were written at around the turn of the 19th century, in Georgian times, to illustrate the authors’ views on the City of London. At this time, the industrial revolution was underway and there was vast growth in the population, due to medical advances and people having more children. In my opinion, they are both mocking the City and its inhabitants. Both Poems use their structure to emphasise the words in them. William Blake’s ‘London’ is written in four, four line stanzas. Each line of each verse has the same number of syllables; this creates a regimented, almost mechanical effect. It uses alternate line rhyming to make the poem sound regular. This system also emphasises the last word of each line. Each verse of the Blake poem attacks a different aspect of London. It is clear that Blake found London a very corrupt and immoral place, providing a very bleak picture of the city. Whereas in contrast Wordsworth’s poem is written in the form of an Italian sonnet, of which describes the man made elements of the city, the last sextet refers to natural beauty. This poem also uses alternate line rhyming to create the effect of order. Bringing attention to emphasizes the meaning of the rhyming words. Both poets use different symbolism to convey their ideas to the reader. Wordsworth shows his feelings for London in a figurative way. He personifies the sun, river and the city. He allows them to perform human functions such as wearing clothes. He continues this simile giving the river ‘a will’, something which is unique to people. He says ‘The City now doth like a garment wear the beauty of the morning’. This gives the impression that the city is alive, not just an inanimate collection of buildings. I interpret this personification to mean that the city takes the beauty of the morning to disguise it dirtiness and ugliness. William Blake’s poem conveys his feelings in a more abstract style, when he uses the people and buildings of London to represent the institutions, which they are associated with. He uses the image of a church to criticise religious establishments and a palace to signify the state, and authorities that control it. He gives the image of the soldier’s sigh running in blood down palace walls. Here he is attacking the monarchy and government for condemning young men to death by sending them off to fight in foreign wars. Many of the words in Blake’s poem have more than one meaning. In the first line he talks of London’s ‘charter’d’ streets. Chartered can be interpreted to mean responsibility of the church or state or licensed; on the other side of the coin it can be use to mean licentious and freely immoral. Taken in context with the rest of the poem I consider it to mean freely immoral as further on in the poem he alludes to prostitution, and other such corrupt activities. According to traditional reading the picture of London we see in Wordsworth’s poem is an exaggerated tribute to the beauty of London. It uses imagery and praises both nature and mans achievements. It immediately sets out how the author feels in the first line saying ‘Dull would he be of soul who could pass by, a sight so touching in its majesty.’ Inferring that the sight of London would evoke strong views in everyone who sees it. It is left up to the reader to decide whether this is a compliment or a criticism. Wordsworth’s most famous works allude to the beauty of his beloved lake district. So it is not to imagine he would be shocked and repulsed by London. Wordsworth’s poem describes London as ‘glittering in the smokeless air’ and having a calming aura. These statements, I think prove that the words are sarcastic. At the time they were written the Industrial was happening and the chimneys of London would be belching out thick smoke. Also to describe London as calming is, in my opinion a blatant lie. London is the heart of the United Kingdom, a port and an important centre of commerce. It is near impossible for us to imagine it as ‘calm’ even in ‘The beauty of the morning;’ In contrast to this the Blake poem uses hyperbole to criticize London and the sadness and malice of the people who live there. Blake’s London brutally painted is a dark, dirty, disease ridden and deprived place Unlike the Wordsworth poem it leaves you in no doubt as to the authors feelings on the subject. In the last verse of the Blake poem there is a theme of sexually transmitted disease, leading to the end of society. This is most apparent in the last verse. It describes the ‘youthful harlots curse’ blasting the newborn infant. This is showing that the venereal disease affects everyone because of the promiscuity of the people in the society. The last line uses the image of a marriage hearse being blighted by sexually transmitted disease. Marriage is supposed to be a happy occasion though here it is shown to be an institution that carries people to their deathbeds. This is because marriage is usually seen as an appropriate setting for sexual intercourse, which spreads the diseases when infidelity is rife. Which are hinted to lead to the end of civilization. The Wordsworth poem is slightly less melodramatic in its outlook as it merely describes London at one moment in the morning. It has nothing in it that could be interpreted as relating to London’s people or what the future holds for them. The Wordsworth poem is made more charged in the penultimate line where he says ‘Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;’ He is so overwhelmed by the tranquillity of London that he feels the need to invoke gods name. In contrast nowhere in the Blake poem does he use direct speech to heighten any of the emotions. Both these poems, in my opinion, share feelings of concern and disgust for London. If I had to pick which one I preferred I would choose the Blake poem. This is because the meaning of the words is more clear-cut. I accept that the point of the Wordsworth poem may be to leave it up to the reader to decide whether or not the poem is sarcastic or not. But I don’t consider this device to be particularly effective; thought irritating maybe but not effective. The Blake poem is also more emotional and melodramatic.

Curriculum Evaluation Essay

The report included a deterioration of performance in reading, language and arithmetic due to poor instructional methods, large class sizes, and inadequate supervision Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education (PCSPE) 1. Analyze performance of the educational system and its relevance to national developmental goals 2. Ascertain the efficiency of the system 3. Identify areas which need more detailed investigation. 4. The report included findings on : a. Mismatch between educational services and manpower requirements b. Mismatch between education priorities and the national development priorities c. Inequitable distribution of educational facilities and resources across the regions d. Lack of systematic planning and evaluation SURVEY OF OUTCOMES OF ELEM EDUCATION (SOUTELE) 1. Battery of achievement tests designed to measure the outcomes of elementary education 2. General mental ability test of non-verbal type designed to measure association 3. Student’s attitude inventory aimed to measure affective objectives 4. Questionnaires in order to establish the profiles of pupils, teachers, school heads, etc. 5. The study revealed deficiencies of elementary education in terms of inputs (resources), processes (curriculum and instruction), and outputs (students’ achievement). These are affected by socio economic, school types, quality of teaching. The Household and School Matching Survey (HSMS) 1. The survey hypothesized that learning is predicated on the antecedent academic, social, physiological variables. 2. The findings of the investigation showed that home-related and community related variables have greater influences on learning than school related factors such as cost per pupil and numbers of textbooks per students. The Congressional Commission on Education Study (EDCOM) 1. Enhancing the internal capability of the system to satisfactorily implement the constitutional provisions on education 2. Providing the system with necessary financial and other infrastructure support 3. Strengthening the system’s linkages with all sectors concerned in human resource development 4. Assisting the system to achieve its sectoral goals and targets through strategies that are consistent with the nation’s development goals. The National Evaluation and Impact Study of PRODED 1. Teacher factor is crucial in the success of the teaching-learning process 2. There is a need to improve the pre-service and in-service training of teachers that should include the development of skills in classroom management, teacher-pupil interaction, and the use of instructional aids, etc. Monitoring and Evaluation of RBEC 1. Defines what levels of learning students of schools and divisions meet at various stages of the basic education cycle based on the national curriculum. 2. Setting of minimum national standards for capabilities, structures, processes and output based on a template for school improvement processes from planning to implementation to monitoring and evaluation 3. Nationally standardized student assessment, outcomes measurement and reporting of basic school statistics Presidential Commission on Educational Reform (PCER) 1. Created through E.O. in 1988 to define a budget feasible program of reform, and identify executive priority policy recommendations and items for a legislative agenda on education. 2. Comprised of multi sectoral group 3. Proposed the establishment of National Education Evaluation and Testing System (NEETS) that assumes responsibility for educational assessment of all levels, including technical and skills development CURRENT TRENDS AND ISSUES BILINGUAL EDUCATION 1. Article 14, sect 7 of 1987 constitution – â€Å"for the purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and until otherwise provided by law, English.† 2. DECS Order 52, s. 1987 – the policy of bilingual education aims to make every Filipino competent in both Filipino and English at the national level 3. DECS defines bilingual as â€Å"separate use of Filipino and English as media of instruction in specific subjects.† Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) 1. Art 15, Sec 2, 1987 Phil. Cons. – recognizes the â€Å"right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development.† 2. UN Convention on the Rights of Child 3. Education for All (EFA) agenda of DECS, 1990 envisioned 90% in 2000 of early childhood care and development either home-based services or kindergarten / nursery classes Other issues 1. Access to pre-school education 2. Private Pre-school education 3. Global education 4. Environmental education The K to 12 Program The K to 12 Program covers kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of junior high school, and two years of senior high school [SHS]) to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship. The adoption of the program is in response to the need to improve the competitiveness of our country’s graduates as the ten-year basic education cycle is seen as inadequate for work and higher education. In fact, overseas Filipino workers are not automatically recognized as professional in other countries that view the ten-year education program as insufficient. The Philippines is the only country in Asia and is one of only three countries in the world with a ten-year basic education cycle. 1. Universal Kindergarten Education. 2. Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education. 3. Core Academic Areas 4. Specializations. TYPES OF CURRICULUM (PHILIPPINE SETTING) Overt, explicit, or written curriculum Is simply that which is written as part of formal instruction of schooling experiences? It may refer to a curriculum document, texts, films, and supportive teaching materials that are overtly chosen to support the intentional instructional agenda of a school. Thus, the overt curriculum is usually confined to those written understandings and directions formally designated and reviewed by administrators, curriculum directors and teachers, often collectively. Societal curriculum As defined by Cortes (1981). Cortes defines this curriculum as: the massive, ongoing, informal curriculum of family, peer groups, neighborhoods, churches organizations, occupations, mass, media and other socializing forces that â€Å"educate† all of us throughout our lives. The hidden or covert curriculum That which is implied by the very structure and nature of schools, much of what revolves around daily or established routines. Longstreet and Shane (1993) offer a commonly accepted definition for this term. The â€Å"hidden curriculum,† which refers to the kinds of learning’s children derives from the very nature and organizational design of the public school, as well as from the behaviors and attitudes of teachers and administrators. Examples of the hidden curriculum might include the messages and lessons derived from the mere organization of schools — the emphasis on: sequential room arrangements; the cellular, timed segments of formal instruction; an annual schedule that is still arranged to accommodate an agrarian age; disciplined messages where concentration equates to student behaviors were they are sitting up straight and are continually quiet; students getting in and standing in line silently; students quietly raising their hands to be called on; the endless competition for grades, and so on. The hidden curriculum may include both positive or negative messages, depending on the models provided and the perspectives of the learner or the observer. The null curriculum Those lessons learned through searching the Internet for information, or through using e-forms of communication. (Wilson, 2004) From Eisner’s perspective the null curriculum is simply that which is not taught in schools. Somehow, somewhere, some people are empowered to make conscious decisions as to what is to be included and what is to be excluded from the overt (written) From Eisner’s perspective the null curriculum is simply that which is not taught in schools. Somehow, somewhere, some people are empowered to make conscious decisions as to what is to be included and what is to be excluded from the overt (written curriculum. Since it is physically impossible to teach everything in schools, many topics and subject areas must be intentionally excluded from the written curriculum. But Eisner’s position on the â€Å"null curriculum† is that when certain subjects or topics are left out of the overt curriculum, school personnel are sending messages to students that certain content and processes are not important enough to study. Unfortunately, without some level of awareness that there is also a well-defined implicit agenda in schools, school personnel send this same type of message via the hidden curriculum. Phantom curriculum The messages prevalent in and through exposure to any type of media. These components and messages play a major part in the enculturation of students into the predominant meta-culture, or in acculturating students into narrower or generational subcultures. Concomitant curriculum What is taught, or emphasized at home, or those experiences that are part of a family’s experiences, or related experiences sanctioned by the family. (This type of curriculum may be received at church, in the context of religious expression, lessons on values, ethics or morals, molded behaviors, or social experiences based on the family’s preferences.) Rhetorical curriculum Elements from the rhetorical curriculum are comprised from ideas offered by policymakers, school officials, administrators, or politicians. This curriculum may also come from those professionals involved in concept formation and content changes; or from those educational initiatives resulting from decisions based on national and state reports, public speeches, or from texts critiquing outdated educational practices. The rhetorical curriculum may also come from the publicized works offering updates in pedagogical knowledge. Curriculum-in-use The formal curriculum (written or overt) comprises those things in textbooks, and content and concepts in the district curriculum guides. However, those â€Å"formal† elements are frequently not taught. The curriculum-in-use is the actual curriculum that is delivered and presented by each teacher. Received curriculum Those things that students actually take out of classroom; those concepts and content that are truly learned and remembered. The internal curriculum Processes, content, knowledge combined with the experiences and realities of the learner to create new knowledge. While educators should be aware of this curriculum, they have little control over the internal curriculum since it is unique to each student. The electronic curriculum Those lessons learned through searching the Internet for information, or through using e-forms of communication. (Wilson, 2004) This type of curriculum may be either formal or informal, and inherent lessons may be overt or covert, good or bad, correct or incorrect depending on ones’ views. Students who use the Internet on a regular basis, both for recreational purposes (as in blogs, chatrooms, listserves, through instant messenger on-line conversations, or through personal e-mails) and for research and information, are bombarded with all types of media and messages. Much of this information may be factually correct, informative, or even entertaining or inspirational, but other information may be very incorrect, dated, passive, biased, perverse, or even manipulative. The implications for educational practices are that part of the overt curriculum needs to include lessons on how to be wise consumers of information, how to critically appraise the accuracy and correctness of e-information, as well as the reliability of electronic sources. Also, students need to learn how to be artfully discerning about the usefulness and appropriateness of certain types of information. And, like other forms of social interaction, students need to know that there are inherent lessons to be learned about appropriate and acceptable â€Å"netiquette† and online behavior, to include the differences between â€Å"fair usage† and plagiarism.