Management of Change and Organisational Development Essay

Management of Change and Organisational Development - Essay Example In our discussions, we realized that change means a variation or the altering of the established way of life or how we live and which people in an organization or an entity are accustomed to normally. We also concluded that the change that we required for organizational development could be affected by the internal or external environment in which we functioned and the change occurring in that environment. Change is usually premeditated, natural or imposed upon the persons it is likely to affect. Every person in a particular group is often required to participate in change by waiting till the change occurs naturally or may take necessary steps that are preventive that can strengthen the group. Change may be external whereby it affects the development of a group and may include educational or cultural forces, social and economic forces while internal forces may include composition and policy of those involved, changes in the personnel, attitudes and feelings of those involved and the work involved amongst other factors. McLean 2006 (p25) argues that change theorists such as Lewin argue that if you want to understand properly a system, it is important that the person first seek to change it in one way or the other. Therefore, a person must be part of the system that he is seeking to change in order to attain the best results. In the research by Lewin about management change and organizational development, he has found that every action research initiative is distinct from the other and that in finding the solution to each, each player must be taken to be unique and understanding the culture of the system. Due to changes in organizations either through different phenomena such as technology and globalization, there has been a necessity for change management plans and strategies for their implementation. Therefore, as a group we were forced to effect change management and organizational development in order to keep in line with the need for improvements in the grou p environment and to remain aligned to the external influences of the organization. Organizational Development in the Group Organizational development is an effort aimed at improving the ability of a group or an entity to solve problems and renew itself through an effective management of the culture of the organization while emphasizing the culture of formal work force from the whole team as involved (McKinney and Howard 1998, p.167). It is always in a planned manner, identifies the problems in the group or organization, and develops strategies for solving the problems and improving on them, and seeks to change the system of particular entities as a whole for example the development of teams and strategy for management. In order to achieve organizational development, there must be a strong desire in change from both the change initiator or the change agent and the person whom the change focuses on, which we tried our best to foster in the group by employing different strategies. Due to the changing face or dynamism of the environment in which an entity exists there are efforts made as a response known as organizational development. The factors that caused the need for organizational development in our group included rapid and unexpected changes and the sustained growth of organizations. The other changes that necessitated the need for organizational development are increased diversity and change in managerial behaviour

Optimism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Optimism - Essay Example Furthermore, the study concludes that irrespective of its nature, components, and roots, optimism has remarkably positive impact on human life and conditions. Defining Optimism Anthropologist, Lionel Tiger defines optimism as â€Å"a mood or attitude associated with an expectation about the social or material future-one which the evaluator regards as socially desirable, to his [or her] advantage, or for his [or her] pleasure† (18 qtd. in Peterson 44).On the other hand, optimism is attributed to be a sense of personal control, and ability to identify meaning in one’s own life experiences. Optimism is a valuable psychological resource which is long believed to be associated with mental health (Frankle, 1963; Seligman, 1998; Taylor, 1989 qtd. in Taylor et al. 99).Such psychological resources become extremely important when individuals are exposed to challenging or threatening occurrences (Taylor 1164).These resources work as reserves which enables people to cope with diffi cult situations in an efficient manner (Taylor et al. 99).Theorists Scheier and Carver(1985) referred optimism as a generalized anticipation that good as compared to bad will happen an individual confronts problem in crucial domains of life(qtd. in Franken 476). In general, the idea of optimism refers to an individual’s overall positive approach towards life and what it has to offer. Biological Component of Optimism Lionel Tiger (1979) puts forth the biological explanation of optimism. He maintains that in early days, when human left forests, being hunters they had to face death and injuries continuously. Because human mind is inclined towards learning from experiences, he abandoned the tasks associated with negative results. Therefore, it is biological adaption for humans to develop a basic sense of optimism. Furthermore, Tiger argues that when human body is injured, it releases endorphins. Generally, endorphins have two attributes; analgesic attributes which decreases the f eeling of pain, and feelings of euphoria. Humans are biologically adaptive to positive emotions when injured in order to keep the process going (hunting) due to our ancestors’ experiences, therefore, optimism is a trait which is induced biologically (Franken 1994, qtd. in Dunavold 4). Several theorists believe that optimism is a personality trait rather than an emotion. They regard optimism as an inborn temperament which means that people are inherently optimistic or pessimistic ( Dunavold 4). Learned Component of Optimism Many researchers believed that optimism is a way of thinking which can be learned. As Martin Seligman’s idea of learned optimism, in addition to Daniel Goleman confirm that the concept that both hope and optimism can be learned. He identifies that self-efficacy leads to hope and optimistic view in life. Self-efficacy refers to the belief that one has control over life events and his ability to meet the challenges as they appear in life (qtd. in Dunav old 4). However, Dunavold disagrees with the theory and states that, â€Å"... optimism can (not) be learned. Dr. Seligman’s method of teaching optimism relies heavily on active thought processes which I believe is more of a cognitive activity...Optimism can (not) be reinforced or stifled. Additionally†¦

Management Of Strategic Policy In Education Education Essay

Management Of Strategic Policy In Education Education Essay What is sport. According to the Concise Oxford Online Dictionary, sport is being described as an activity which involves the physical exertion and skill in which a person or team competes against one another. Sports should be included as part of a whole in a students life. Sports can actually benefits in health and also train one to develop skills like teamwork as they can be the leaders among the students in the sport team. As such, Berry Berry Easy blog claimed that their readers have actually benefitted from their participation in various sports which they most voluntarily participated in the sports of their choice. But in the current era, students are not being active in sports and they need to be forced in order to get them into sports. They prefer playing online games where there is no much physical exertion involves. As so, taking this matter into the consideration, our Ministry of Education in Malaysia have come up with a policy. We would like to highlight the latest 1Student 1Sport policy which is being introduced by the Ministry of Education in Malaysia. This policy is being introduced in the hope that we can produce more students who are well balanced in both academic and sports. Policy implementation, Dye (2002) indicates that implementation involves all of the activities designed to carry out the policies enacted by the legislative branch. These activities include the creation of new organizations like departments, agencies, bureaus, and so on, or the assignment of new responsibilities to existing organizations. These organizations must translate laws into operational rules and regulations. They must hire personnel, draw up contracts, spend money, and perform tasks. All of these activities involve decisions by bureaucrats decisions that determine policy. Definition According the 1M1S Guidebook, it states that One Student One Sport Policy (1M1S) requires all the students to participate in at least one sport activity in schools. This policys main aim is to support the implementation and in line with the National Education Philosophy that focuses to produce individuals who are physically, spiritually, intellectually and emotionally balanced. This policy is in line with the National Sport Policy, which emphasized on the Sports for All and Sports for Excellence. 1M1S policy program requires every student from Standard 4 in primary schools up to Form 6 in secondary school to complete at least one sporting activity conducted in a planned and systematic way. 1S 1M policy is based on the basic principles of physical development of pupils. Hence, 1S 1M policy is created to provide access for all pupils to benefit from participation in sports in particular to those who were less active or not; develop a school sport towards increasing the participation rate of students in at least one sport in schools; and to provide opportunities for all students who are talented and have the potential to be polished to a higher level. (1M1S Guidebook, 2011) According the 1M1S Guidebook, a sport is very important in building up the physical ability of pupils to support and in line with the phrase Minda yang Cerdas terletak pada Tubuh yang Sihat which means an intelligent mind lies within a healthy body. In this circumstance, sports play an important role in nurturing an active, productive and healthy human in order to be able to contribute to the economic development as well as to the social welfare. Thus, a variety of sports were introduced in order to attract the students practicing an active and healthy lifestyle. Ministry of Education (MoE) implemented 1S1M policy so that every student benefits and gets to enjoy the sports in hope of forming the next generation of sports culture in line with the academic requirements (1M1S Guidebook, 2011). Theory and Concept In short, the elite theory is viewed as the preferences and values of governing elite. As said by Dye (2002), public officials and administrators merely carry out the policies decided on by the elite. Policies flow downward from elites to masses; the policy does not arise from mass demands. This elite theory instigates the top-down approach in the policy implementation process. Educational development and policy in Malaysia have always been characterized by governments effort to adapt education to address to social, economic and political development needs of the country. The Malaysian education system is a highly centralized and bureaucratic system where most of the important policy decision making occurs outside the schools. The MoE decides on the allocation of funds to schools, prescribes and standardizes what should be taught in schools, transfers teachers in and out of schools and formulates top-down school reforms (Zabidi, 2012). Approaches and Models According to PÃ ¼lzl and Treib (2006), there are three generations of implementation research that can be categorized into three distinct theoretical approaches in order to study the implementation. The first model described by PÃ ¼lzl and Treib (2006) will be the top-down models in which their emphasis rely on the ability of the decision makers to produce unambiguous policy objectives and on controlling the implementing stage. The second will be the bottom-up models in which it critiques and view the local bureaucrats as the main actors in the policy delivery and conceive of implementation as negotiation processes within networks among the implementers. And lastly the synthesizer theories in which it tries to overcome the divide between the two approaches by incorporating elements of top-down and bottom-up theoretical models. In this case study, we are considering the Top-down theory as we believe that all policies implemented in Malaysia are based on the Top-down theory. It is always been that the policy makers who are the government will annouce the policy that they have planned and let the implementers who are the teachers to implement the policy accordingly. In an article taken from TheStar online dated 18th March 2010, The Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, said that sports will be introduced to school timetables in year 2011 as a new subject. He also mentioned that under the 1Student, 1Sport policy, secondary school students would get 90 minutes a week to play a game of their choice, while primary pupils would spend 60 minutes weekly. He emphasized that the Physical Education subject would still be taught as it had a specific syllabus. This shows that the Minister is giving the suggestion and also assurance of what the students will get out of the 1M1S policy when it is being implemented. In an article taken from TheStar online dated 14th July 2010, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mentioned We have informed our officers on the appropriate ways to implement this at both primary and secondary school levels, as students of different ages have a different approach to sports, at a press conference after opening the Second Asean Schools Games at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium. This shows that the Malaysia uses the Top-down theory in implementing the 1M1S policy. This excerpt defines that the Ministers cabinet was told on how to implement this policy in schools to cater the needs of different levels of students. Above mentioned articles shows the scenario happening in Malaysia where the Deputy Prime Minister also the Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announces the 1M1S policy in public behalf of the Education Ministry board. This claim can be supported by the top-down theories started from the assumption that policy implementation starts with a decision made by central government as said by PÃ ¼lzl and Treib (2006). As PÃ ¼lzl and Treib (2006) mentioned, the top downers essentially followed a prescriptive approach that interpreted policy as input and implementation as output factors. The author also mentioned due to their emphasis on decisions of central policy makers, deLeon (2001) describes top-down approaches as a governing elite phenomenon. PÃ ¼lzl and Treib (2006) also claimed that Press and Wildavsky started from the assumption that policy objectives are set out by central policy makers in which it refers to the the Ministry of Education. The authors also underlined the linear relationship between agreed policy goals and their implementation. Implementation therefore implied the establishment of adequate bureaucratic procedures to ensure that policies are executed as accurately as possible. To this end, implementing agencies should have sufficient resources at their disposal, and there needs to be a system of clear responsibilities and hierarchical control to supervise the actions of implementers (PÃ ¼lzl and Treib, 2006). This can be seen that the Malaysia Education Ministry assumes the 1M1S policy formation and execution as disticnt activities in which the 1M1S policy is set at the higher levels and then sent out the order of implementation to their lower level bureaucrats who are the implementing agencies; the ed ucation officers in all levels (state,district and school) which are then charged with the managerial, administrative and technical tasks of putting the 1M1S policy into practice. The MoE also gives the time to accomplish the implementation without considering the sufficient resources that needed to ensure the implementation to succeed. Some selected models of policymaking are taken into consideration before implementing the 1M1S policy via top-down approach. The first model that is taken into consideration is the institutionalism model where the model treats the policy as institutional output. According to Dye (2002), the relationship between the public policy and government institutions is very close in which the policy is authoritatively determined, implemented and enforced by government institutions, namely Parliament, Prime Minister, bureaucracies and so on. In accordance to this model, 1M1S policy is being authoritatively determined and enforced by the MoE. The second model that counts is the rationalism model which treats the policy as maximum social gain. Dye (2002), stated that no policy should be adopted if its costs exceed its benefits. The policy is considered rational when the difference between the values it achieves and the values it sacrifices is positive and is greater than any other policy alternatives. Reflecting from this models point of view in this 1M1S policy, the outcome in future will be beneficial to the country as this policy will produce more talented sports people in various sports activities, get participated in many international games and making our country proud by winning more medals in various games. Implementation Techniques Utilized In the case of 1 Student 1 Sport (1M1S) policy, information provision technique is highly utilized. The provision of information is an essential element of the functioning of any community. Providing information in a timely and targeted manner can be a huge benefit. Without a means to provide facts and data, policy implementers would not be able to make well-considered decisions about how the policy should be operated. The 1M1S Policy Implementation Handbook was published in order to help policy implementers with the dispersion of the policy. Through the handbook, the states education office, the districts education office, the schools sport development committee, the teachers, as well as the Parents Teachers Associations, are given guidelines on how to employ the policy. School sports program implementation under 1M1S policy is to be conducted throughout the year. However, schools are encouraged to plan the implementation of sports programs in accordance with the availability, affordability and creativity and innovation the schools. There are a total of 42 different sports/games intended for the implementation of the 1M1S. The policy makers also proposed some sports activities to be carried out throughout the year. For example general sports programs which includes cross-country, and track and field. In the handbook, 15 strategies in carrying out the 1M1S policy were also presented. Every school is recommended to follow the strategies presented depending on the facility and the existing infrastructure in schools. Schools are given the flexibility to choose, determine or modify the method of execution as appropriate, means and needs of the school. Schools may also plan other methods if deemed appropriate. Some examples of those strategies would be to undertake survey to identify student interest in certain sports, survey of sports facilities in and outside the school that can be used by students, and scheduling school sports program activities in accordance with the appropriate time based on the background and school facilities. The Ministry of Education also provided sports training modules for school sports club advisory teachers. Currently there are 20 training modules for 10 different sports are made available for both primary and secondary schools through the MoEs website. These modules are helpful as guidelines for sports club advisory teachers and trainers, and are also useful as visual aids for students in the course of their training. The management guideline for track and field (athletics) championships in school is also made available in the MoEs website. This is useful as it will aid teachers especially novice teachers in managing athletics championships in school, as it provides proper guidance. Professional circulars, and sports and co-curriculum press letters are also given out by the MoE from time to time, in order to steer policy implementers towards achieving the goal of the policy. Thus it is evident that, in the implementation of 1M1S, the policy makers rely heavily on information provision as an instrument of policy implementation. Implementers Involved There are many implementers involved in the diffusion of 1 Student 1 Sport. As the students are the target group for the policy, the school itself is the main implementer of the policy. The school must hold competitions between levels, classes, sports houses, dorms, and sports clubs of schools. The students participation in the District School Sports Council (Majlis Sukan Sekolah-Sekolah Daerah [MSSD]) or State School Sports Council (MSSM) competitions as well as on international level are counted as 1Student 1Sport activities. But who is the school? Who is responsible for all those competition? Every school has a School Sports Development Committee. Teachers are a big part of the implementers involved. Teachers are appointed as heads of smaller managing committees, sports/club advisors, and also trainers. This is indeed a great challenge for teachers, as they are already laden with other school tasks. The Co-curricular Senior Assistant Teacher is also an important implementer figure. The Co-curricular Senior Assistant Teacher is responsible for the smooth administration of the co-curricular activities, enhancing student performance as well as the involvement and participation of teachers in extra-curricular activities. Moreover, they are also responsible to work with the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the schools regarding co-curriculum matters, who are the implementers involved as well. Parents Teachers Associations are also integral to the implementation of the policy. With support and provisions by the PTA, it can provide insights and lessen the burden of the teachers in the diffusion of the policy. The Chairman of the School Sports Development Committee is the principal/headmaster of the schools. The District Education Office acts as the advisor, while the State Education Office is the Patron of the School Sports Development Committee. The Principal monitors the operation of the policy at the school level. They then report to the District Education Office, and then the District Education Office reports to the State Education Office. These policy implementers face the reality of promoting the learning of sports to groups of students, with all their diversity and complexity. Moreover each context creates a set of variable with which policy implementers must contend, and policy initiators are often unaware or unimpressed. Policy makers and policy implementers want the same things the best possible educational sports experience for students. These implementers are important in assuring the success of the 1M1S policy diffusion. Monitoring Monitoring helps to access degrees of compliance, discover unintended consequences of policies and programs, identify implementational obstacles and constraints, and locate sources of responsibility for departures from policy. (Dunn, 1994). According to Dunn, there are 2 levels of monitoring: Macroimplementation Monitoring and Microimplementation Monitoring. Macroimplementation monitoring consists of tracing the process by which a policy progresses from legislation to action in order to determine: (i) what is being implemented, (ii) why is it taking a particular form, and (iii) what actions can be taken to influence implementation. Microimplementation monitoring consists of collecting information to describe the a policy has taken in various implementing jurisdictions in order to determine: (i) the extent of compliance, (ii) the adaptation a policy has undergone, (iii) reasons for noncompliance and adaptation, and (iv) manipulatable aspects of implementation. Monitoring of the implementation of the management of 1M1S by the school management is part of the strategy to evaluate and ensure the success and effectiveness of sporting activities undertaken. This aims to examine aspects of management and use of equipment, regulatory compliance, health, safety and welfare and student participation in school sports program. The monitoring process shall be conducted by the school management throughout the year. Improvements are to be carried out by the school from time to time to ensure the implementation of the 1M1S. Policy Problems Policy problems are unrealized needs, values, or opportunities for improvement that may be pursued through public action, as defined by David Dery. According to Russell A. Ackoff, policy problems are products of thought acting on environments; they are elements of problems situation. William N. Dunn also stated that policy problems are the products of subjective human judgment. There are three questions to be considered about the nature of policy problems, as suggested by William N. Dunn. How well do we understand the problem? Have we identified the right objectives? Are we solving the wrong formulation of problem when we should be solving the right one? Problems Encountered in One Student One Sport The availability of school infrastructure School infrastructure is the prior fundamental requirement for the success implementation of the policy One Student One Sport. Schools should have provided adequate sports facilities and equipment to maximize the opportunities of physical activities. Lacking of space, playing fields, sports equipment will cause the deficiency of the policy. Moreover, the variation of sports and its equipment is much limited in schools. Schools in Malaysia which have already established for years inevitably needed an upgrading. The readiness of teachers as sports trainers Teachers are undoubtedly the implementers of the policy, which is to be the sports trainers in schools. Their readiness in terms of physically, mentally or technically is dubious indeed. Most teachers who are involved are assigned by the management of schools. They do not have relevant qualification in sports coaching or physical education. It is a setback for them to coach students instructionally appropriate. The implementation of this policy should not be just letting students to play any sport they wish as usual. The choices of sports in schools The choices of sports in schools are limited as the sports facilities and equipment are not adequate. For those existing sports facilities and equipment in schools, some of them are not well maintained too. As the policy One Student One Sport focuses on students, it is crucial to take in students personal interest of the particular sports into consideration. Hence, the choices of sports in schools are most probably in short supply to cater for students need in their selected physical activities. The different abilities of students Students physical ability is one essential factor to be reflected in the policy of One Student One Sport. Students with strong physical ability or competence will be motivated to participate actively in sports and thus bringing this policy a success. Nevertheless, students who have low physical competence will be marginalized as they are not able to enjoy the sports activities in schools. As a result, they lose interest in sports and this policy becomes an extra burden in their schooling days. The ratio between the number of students and teachers The ratio between students and teachers is an influence factor towards the policy attainment. In most schools, the number of teachers is far more exceeding the number of students. The number of students as participants is not meeting the expected amount. Students tend to defend their absence or nonparticipation by giving all sorts of excuses. The lack of support from parents Parents support directly impacts on the policy of One Student One Sport; either it is a bane or boon. Parents support helps students in developing their interest in sports. However, parents nowadays place a strong emphasis on academic excellence of their children. Students who are examination oriented failed to be beneficial from the policy. Solutions of the policy problems Solution of the policy problems produce information about the likelihood that future courses of action will result in consequences that are valuable to some individual, group or society as a whole, as stated by William N. Dunn. He added that this process engages between the transformations of information about policy futures to action which will then come in valued results. Any solution to the policy problems must be actionable, that is going beyond the fact and involving actions that aim to satisfy need, values and opportunities for improvement, (Alexander George, 1980). Solutions to the Problems Encountered in One Student One Sport Increase the allocation of sports fund in schools Allocation of sports funds in schools should be increased in order to improve on the schools infrastructure. Sports facilities and equipment have to be expanded in terms of quantity, whereas the existing facilities and equipment should be upgraded, especially in their quality. Variation of sports activities should be added in as well as introduced in schools for students. By having a variety of choices, students can have better chance to develop their interest in sports. As a result, the number of students who participate in sports will be raised. Select the right teachers as sports trainers Teachers have to be equipped with high quality coaching skills for the particular sports that they are in charged with. Students need to master the basic skills in their chosen sports as a kick start for their development of interest in sports through teachers coaching. Therefore, teachers as sports trainers have to be instructionally skilled in certain sports. Expertise and technical skills of sports trainers make a difference in students life. Schools management can provide sufficient supports to teachers as a mean to enhance their enthusiasm of being sports trainers in schools. Incorporate sports as part of academic Sports can be incorporated as part of academic as a way to encourage students to be more actively engaged in it. Sports can be integrated in schooling hours, but not to be in the extension of schooling hours. This is hopefully to re-gather the support of parents to encourage their childrens participation. It is intended to minimize the inconvenience of sending their children back to school after schooling hours. Furthermore, sports activities can be accountable for higher percentage in students academic as to counter the problem of examination oriented mindset, either of the students or the parents. Conclusion Every policy started off with a noble purpose. However, the process of implementing it in reality is what it really matters after all. It is not to say that the noble purposes are there to defend any deficiency of the outcomes. Hence, policy in action is what to be the main focus. Undeniably, the evaluation of policy comes after the implementation over a period of time. Problems are identified and then followed by recommended solution. It is a process, a cycle which keeps going on. Sport is an integral part in ones life. One Student One Sport is a policy with the vision of creating a balance and healthy lifestyle among students. It is indeed a well plan policy which seen to be a complete one for the society, schools, teachers and students. Nevertheless, to implement any policy in Malaysia, it has to be confronted with all aspects considering the fact of every school where it will be the setting of the policy implementation. One policy is not to be able to fulfil every ones need.

Smoking Risks Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most popular habits in today’s society is smoking. Yet each year, cigarette smoking kills more Americans than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, homicides, suicides, illegal drugs and fires combined. Smoking is an extremely bad pastime, practiced for centuries, for an individual’s health and those surrounding him/her. People start for many different reasons and get addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes. Smoking cause many fatal diseases, but help is available to those who seek it. Cigarette smoking is a disgusting and unhealthy habit. History of Smoking   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Smoking is defined as the action of inhaling tobacco from a pipe, cigar or cigarette. It has been practiced for 100’s of years, including by early North-American natives. Europeans had introduced it into the Old World by the early 16th century (Petrakis). It was continually practiced since then throughout the world, with tobacco companies arising and packaged cigarettes soon available. Smokers would praise it for medicinal reasons and also claimed smoking to be pleasurable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Smokers had no knowledge of cigarette smoke’s harm to their health until 1964, when the surgeon general of the U.S Public Health Service concluded that smoking was hazardous to an individual’s health, and soon after it was discovered that second-hand smoke was also hazardous to the health of surrounding non-smokers inhaling it. Reasons Why People Smoke   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many reasons why people begin smoking. One of which is insecurity. In an uncertain situation in which a person is not comfortable with their individuality and not confident with themselves, if there are smokers around then that person may be tempted to take up smoking. It might be because they would like to â€Å"fit in† with an unknown group of people, or someone may take it up based on a new friend’s or girl/boyfriend’s influences. Another reason why people take up smoking is because of peer pressure leading to a quick physical addiction. One ingredient in cigarettes is nicotine, and it is extremely addictive. And yet nicotine is not the only physical reason people smoke, they are also get hooked on the taste, smell and the feel of cigarettes. Health Risks of Smoking   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the American Heart Association there are an est... ... would distract someone from smoking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The government also encourages people to quit smoking. Cigarette smokers are warned each time they smoke a cigarette of the deadly diseases that could effect their health. By law a warning label must appear on each pack and carton of cigarettes warning buyers of the hazards. There is also a ban on television and radio ads for cigarettes in the United States, and in Canada there is a ban on all advertisements for tobacco companies. It is also illegal to smoke in most public places now, including some restaurants, elevators, the workplace, schools, airlines, public transportation machines and most stores. Also, the Canadian and American governments prohibit the selling of cigarettes to anyone younger than 19 years of age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although there are still many individuals who smoke worldwide, one can hope that sometime in the future there will only be non-smokers. Smoking only proves to lead to an early grave for smokers and non-smokers alike. With medicines, support groups and will power, the world could easily become a cleaner, non-smoking place, because a smoker’s death is an unneeded death.

Is Money the Most Important Thing

Money, fame, a successful career; these are among the things many people would consider to be the most important things in life. What do you think; do you consider the factors above to be the chief things in life? First though, let us agree that regardless of the route we take, our goal in all our pursuits remain essentially the same: Happiness. The problem with most people is that in their pursuit of this state of mind, they often sacrifice too much, sometimes sacrificing even happiness itself along the way! As a result, just when they think they have finally captured the cage that should hold joy and satisfaction, such as by getting to the peak of one's career, they soon discover that the cage is empty. How tragic! Take money or financial success for example. The extent to which money contributes to happiness is probably the most misunderstood phenomenon on earth. Now please do not take me wrong. Money is very important to have in our society. In fact the Late Jim Rohn Says it ranks right up there with oxygen. But as a result, it is highly overrated by most people. Meanwhile various researches have repeatedly proven that slightly above the poverty line, subsequent financial success contributes less and less to a person's state of happiness. This has to be true; otherwise, why are suicide rates among wealthy people and lottery winners among the highest? Likewise those who see fame as the ultimate in life; they soon get disillusioned. Drug overdose and, yes, suicide are particularly high among very famous people. Why? Surely fame has brought them real happiness. So then what? Yes, what things are truly the most important in life? I would propose that the most important things in life are those that bring the greatest happiness to ourselves and those around us. Top on this list would be genuine love and rich relationships, such as is shared among true friends and family members. Next on my list would be a measure of good health and a good relationship with the creator, God. It goes without saying that love is the chief thing in life. What would life amount to if nobody, not even God, shows us affection? Newborn babies soon die when they are denied affection. And adults do not fare much better. We can as well say the same thing about relationships. Developing a healthy relationship with others creates interdependence, which is vital to both personal and your business growth. This is not to say that money and financial success are of no use. No. It is just that they should not be your major focus in life. And that leads us to another item on the most important things in life: wisdom. I will define wisdom as the correct application of knowledge. Wisdom is hugely important in our lives. For example, it takes wisdom to balance your personal MLM business pursuits without sacrificing vital family and other relationships. In deed, it is when we go about our pursuits in this way that we stand the chance of being happy at their attainment. On the other hand, a failure to get these factors in proper order leads so many persons to frustrations. This is because every person has a set of beliefs, or mindset which guides them as they make decisions. This mindset is often shaped by such variables as our individual experiences in life, our education and the environment where a person grew up. This mindset may either be working in our favor or against us. The difference lies in the cumulative outcome of all our decisions. Good results mean that our mindset is working, and vice versa. Bearing in mind that your decisions today will have a significant effect on how the rest of your life turns out. Would it not be better to pay greater attention to the most important things in life as you also go after your MLM success? Interestingly, most wealthy people find that once they get things in proper order, other things naturally fall into place. So enrich your life, approach things in this way.

Children learn Essay

The Guidance for the Foundation Stage Curriculum (2001) suggests that an appropriate curriculum for young children is a play-based curriculum, offering children a choice of play based activities and experiences. Siraj-Blatchford and Clarke (2000) agree that play has been well documented as a means by which young children learn.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Play is highly valued in the Early Years for its ability to stimulate and integrate a wide range of children’s intellectual, physical, cultural, social and creative abilities.† (Siraj-Blatchford and Clarke 2000, p.76) However, unstructured play, in its’ purest sense, may cause a number of problems when providing suitable provision for children demonstrating hyperactive, impulsive or inattentive behaviour due to lack of structure and continual distraction. Kewley (1999,p.151) would agree when stating,  Ã¢â‚¬  Unstructured situations such as playtime often cause problems for children with ADHD†¦because of the over-reaction to the stimulus and their impulsive behaviour.† Ballard (1997) defines an inclusive setting as one where â€Å"differentness† is an ordinary part of human experience. Indeed, differentiation is the key to effective teaching and learning. However, problems arise when the whole structure of the curriculum is inappropriate for the needs of a particular child. Cooper (1999) would agree that it is invaluable for the practitioner to be aware of the specific circumstances in which individual children perform best in order to plan for the learning needs of these children and suggests that some aspects of an Early Years curriculum may aggravate symptoms of ADHD when stating, â€Å"Children with ADHD can become overwhelmed by the massive over stimulation they experience in a group situation and through free-play activity.† (Cooper 1999, p.144)  In addition,  Barrow (in: Merton 1998) and Toothhill and Spalding (in: Sefton 2000) also found that children with ADHD responded better in highly structured lessons than less organised ones.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Children with ADHD are often hypersensitive to distraction. It is important, therefore, to ensure that they are seated in a place that is relatively free from distraction.† (Cooper 1999, p.146) Thus, making the task of suitable inclusive provision difficult for practitioners in Early Years settings. However, many opportunities for structured, adult-directed play do exist within the Early Years. (Siraj-Blatchford and Clarke 2000) Games such as those with rules, card games, matching games, and outdoor games with balls all provide opportunities for adult-directed play and provide the child with instructions and guidance for playing the game, rules of turn taking and developing new information. In addition a play-based curriculum offers opportunities for high levels of adult support and encouragement and a kinaesthetic based approach to learning, which is a preferred style of learning for many children with ADHD. Kewley (1999,p.146) concurs, stating, â€Å"Children with ADHD tend to be intuitive and need a practical approach to learning rather than a highly theoretical approach.†Ã‚  Research suggests however, that a high number of children with ADHD are not acknowledged as having SEN and instead their inappropriate behaviour highlighted as unsuitable candidates for mainstream settings. Hayden (1997) suggests that this attitude does not improve as the children enter formal education. Hayden researched children who had been excluded from primary school and found that children with ADHD are more likely that most to be excluded from school for behavioural reasons. This does appear at first glance to be surprising, when considering the evidence to suggest that a structured environment is more appropriate for a child with ADHD. Cooper (2005) offers an explanation for this however, and suggests that when considering the constructions of ADHD that, it is influenced by both biology and the social environment. Cooper infers that â€Å"school† plays a major part in the process of social constructions and indicates that children with ADHD are expected to conform to an unsuitable and ridged social framework and inappropriate curriculum when stating, â€Å"Pupils from an early age are expected to internalise and behave in accordance with a set of rules that derive from constraints imposed by a teacher-centred, curriculum-focused method of teaching pupils in age related groups.† (Cooper 2005,p.128)  Cooper also suggests that inappropriate teacher/child ratios may create social disorder problems that are met by a set of lineal rules, designed to regulate peer interaction and movement around school. Concluding that the majority of problems arise from an externally imposed age determined curricula as apposed to a negotiated curriculum. These findings are alarming when considering recent developments, legislation and guidance relating to children with SEN and may indicate that the behaviour aspect of children with ADHD is being used as a scapegoat strategy for settings who are not meeting the needs of these children.  When examining the issues surrounding ADHD it is clear that successful inclusion both in the Early Years and Primary school settings is problematic. On the one hand a play-based curriculum is the most suitable form of learning for the majority of young children and is endorsed in Early Years Settings, whilst on the other the symptoms that children with ADHD display suggest that such a curriculum would exasperate these symptoms. However, as previously discussed, some aspects of a play-based curriculum are preferable to the more formal approach of primary school. The PLA (2001) suggest once children have been admitted to the setting, an environment that is created should be one that encourages all children to flourish. Furthermore, Kewley (2001, p6) states the inclusion of children with ADHD is a â€Å"moral imperative†, however, Farrell and Polat (2003) argue that the inclusion of children with EBD has the potential to cause barriers to the government implementation of their policy of social inclusion. This would suggest that although differing levels of ability can be quiet easily catered for, behavioural and emotional differences are not as easily accommodated in educational settings. Visser and Stokes (2003) found that many people agreed with the inclusion of children with SEN, however when it came to children with EBD they were often denied inclusion due to their SEN. This supports the research undertaken by Hayden (mentioned previously) that children with ADHD are excluded from primary school due to behavioural reasons. The DfES (2006, p.1) suggest that children with ADHD can have an overwhelming affect in the setting when stating, â€Å"pupils with ADHD present challenges for teachers, both in effective behaviour management and in keeping them focused on the task in hand.† [online]  Teachers may feel threatened by having to deal with a child with ADHD, particularly if they have no training in the area and lack confidence, in addition to having to give instruction to a further 30 children or more. The parents of other children may feel that the attention has been drawn away from their children as more time needs to be spent dealing with disruptive outbursts and one to one tuition. All these factors effect the successful inclusion of children with ADHD. Swinson, Wolf and Meling however, disagree that these children’s needs would be addressed more effectively in special schools and conclude that there is much evidence of mainstream schools successfully including children with EBD and there was no evidence to suggest children with EBD benefit from special school. Rose (2002) found that teachers felt they could successfully include children with EBD, but only with additional classroom support. This may suggest a lack of confidence in their ability to meet the needs of children with ADHD in their care. Swinson, Wolf and Meling (2002) suggest that this view is not uncommon, they found that many teachers felt they were not sufficiently trained to meet the needs of inclusion. Another reason that teachers insist on additional classroom support may be due to the time and attention children with ADHD need. Newelle (2001) agree that children with EBD take up a lot of time and resources. All of the barriers above are not isolated to ADHD or indeed EBD they are general inclusion issues that have been successfully addressed throughout a majority of mainstream settings, particularly Early years settings. Albeit ADHD may manifest itself in differing ways and appear to centre around continuous, disruptive behaviour, for some leading to exclusion, however, all children with SEN should have their needs met and advice given by the DfES (2000) should apply to all children when stating,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Children with special educational needs all have learning difficulties that make it harder for them to learn than most children at the same age. These children may need extra or different help from that given to children of the same age† [online] According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [online], ADHD can have long term effects on the child’s ability to make friends and over time these children may develop emotional problems such as poor self-esteem and depression if the child’s needs are not met. McEwan (1998) identifies emotional reactivity and conduct problems, which include symptoms such as a shot fuse due to getting easily frustrated, overreacting to things that happen, defiant behaviour, verbal hostility and angry outbursts. Fletcher-Campbell (2001) looks at the problems of children with EBD and suggests that these children alienate themselves from their peers, due to their behaviour. Thus, â€Å"Some manifestations of the disorder tend to isolate children with ADHD from their peers, who will sometimes react with hostility to impulsive and hyperactive behaviour. This can result in long term difficulties in relation to other individuals and developing and sustaining relationships – and the emotional problems that follow often exacerbate the struggle to learn.† (Question Publishing 2003) [online] Effects of inattention and impulsivity causes children problems with turn taking and this suggests they often interrupt when others are talking or playing. (Cooper and O’Regan (2001) In addition McEwan (1998) argues that children with ADHD can often be selfish and self-centred, which means they are likely to find it hard to make friends and build relationships. They are often unaware of social cues and do not worry about the consequences of their behaviour.

Amazon Marketing Services 20 Creative Unique Ways to Use AMS Ads

Amazon Marketing Services 20 Creative Unique Ways to Use AMS Ads Amazon Marketing Services: 20 Creative Unique Ways to Use AMS Ads â€Å"AMS Ads are dead, said the not-so-savvy self-published author.Don’t believe this lie. AMS Ads, or Amazon Marketing Services ads, are stronger than ever, and whether we like it or not they are here to stay. As a matter of fact, Amazon just rolled out a brand-new, improved UI for AMS; they have added new features, and are constantly creating training material to help authors better understand the platform.Would they do that if AMS were on the way out? Not likely.Sure, not every book is a good fit for Amazon ads: that’s why many Amazon published authors grow bitter and blame the platform for not being able to sell a book that would not be marketable anyways.Don’t be discouraged. Now is the time to jump onto the AMS wagon if you want to actually get paid to write. Those who don’t read the Self-Publishing School Blog and believe that Amazon advertising is dying will gradually move away from it, making the space less crowded and much more profitable for all of us. Here are our tips for using Amazon marketing services effectively:Target famous authors with Amazon marketing servicesTarget Amazon published booksTarget books featured on BookBubTarget books that are recent moviesTarget paperback booksTarget audiobooks with Amazon Marketing ServicesThink about Amazon ads for your book seriesGrow your email listAdvertise your backlistUse The Greatest Hits methodThe Amazon Ad puzzleThe Ad stackerPre-populate with pre-ordersUse AMS for reviewsUse Amazons Bid+ systemUse negative keywordsTarget your own bookStay put, don’t give up. When others zig, just zag 🙂What is Amazon Marketing Services?Amazon marketing services (AMS), now called Advertising Console is a collection of effective tools to help vendors drive traffic to their products and sell more.For authors, this means AMS is a hub for increasing low book sales and maintaining a steady income with their books.NOTE: We cover everything in this blog post and much more about how to build a platform and maintain consistent book sales in our Sell More Books Program. Learn more about it hereAmazon Marketing Services for Authors Made EasyI get it, click bids have gotten more expensive, finding profitable keywords is more difficult and winning is harder than ever. But this is only a byproduct of the space getting more crowded. However, let me assure you: those CPC prices are nowhere near what our friends in the physical product markets are paying. Strange as it may seem, AMS is still a happy place for authors. The key is to get more creative, thinking out of the box. Find new ways of using AMS, test and tweak, and you’ll be way ahead of the (still relatively small) competition. How? Here are 20 ways in which you can use Amazon Marketing Services Ads for your book marketing ventures. Each tactic is coupled with a brief explanation of how to implement it in a practical way. Enjoy the list and remember: now is the time for Amazon advertising!#1 Targe t a famous author in your genreYoull do this in order to try to get into his or her also-boughts. You know, the little section in this screenshot that shows you what other people who bought an item havealso bought↓It’s no secret that ‘also-boughts’ are the main source Amazon uses when they recommend new books to readers. And if your book is in one of your competitor’s ‘also-boughts’, then there’s a good chance it will get shown, recommended and ‘pushed’ to the exact audience you’re after. Happy days. Try bidding heavily on one of your competitors as a target so that your book shows up everywhere on their book’s page and ‘steals the show’ in your reader’s eyes.#2 Target books published by AmazonAmazon has various imprints through which it publishes books, the most famous being Thomas Mercer. Targeting authors and books by these subsidiary companies is a great idea. Amazon (and their algorithm) love when people buy their stuff, which they continuously promote left and right. Try to get your book next to one of Amazon’s own babies, and you’ll be a happy writer indeed. #3 Target books that are featured on BookBubOnce a book is featured in BookBub’s daily email (aka their ‘Featured Deals’), it’s likely to get thousands of downloads and a load of traffic on all the retailers. Which of course means more eyeballs on the said book. By keeping an eye on the books that appear daily on BookBub’s email blast and targeting them with your Amazon ads, you’ll be the first to place your book next to the day’s hottest title, thus piggybacking on its visibility and hopefully sales.#4 Target books that have recently been turned into moviesA hot new release (just as explained in point 3) is always going to garner bigger attention, at least for a few days. Keep an eye on new movie releases in your genre, especially b ig blockbuster films that have been inspired by bestselling books. Again, the trick here is to target those hot new titles so that your book shows next to them, thus collecting some love from all those hungry readers.#5 Use Product Display Ads to target paperbacksAmazons Product Display ads give you a unique chance to specifically target paperback versions of your competitor’s titles (unlike Sponsored Product ads). The first benefit of doing thisis that you’ll undoubtedly broaden the reach of your ads. But most important perk is that you’ll also likely increase the sales of your own paperback copies.As it were, ‘physical book lovers’ have a preference for physical books, which are more expensive and thus will likely result in higher royalties for you to pocket!#6 Use Product Display Amazon Ads to target audiobooksSee point 5 above, but this time use PD ads to target audiobooks! Don’t have an audiobook version of your title? You’re de finitely missing out on one of the hottest and fastest-growing trends in the indie publishing industry. You can find a step-by-step guide on creating an audiobook right here.#7 Lose money on the first book in your seriesYour first in series is likely to be free on Amazon(or at least it should be). But don’t fret, pure ROI seekers! Sure, by going a bit ‘heavier’ on Amazon ads pointing to that book, you’ll likely lose money. But you’ll make it back when readers go on to purchase book 2, 3, 4, etc. in your series. Make sure you have a good idea of how to calculate your audience’s ‘read-through rates’, and adjust your CPC bid and daily budget accordingly.#8 Lose money (again) to grow your email listBe sure to display an opt-in form in the free book you’re running ads on (pro tip: also place it in the first pages of the book, so that readers don’t have to ‘wait’ until they’ve read the whole thing be fore parting with their email address). This will inevitably result in more signups to your email list. Again, this isn’t stellar for pure ROI, and you might be losing money now, but in the long term, this will be super-beneficial.#9 Advertise Your BacklistDon’t put all your eggs in one basket (aka, don’t point all your ads and spend all your budget on one book). Running Amazon ads for other titles in your backlist is always beneficial in keeping the books ‘sticky’ in the rankings, often also providing a load of read-throughs to the other titles in the same series (see point 7).#10 The Greatest Hits methodStart your ads by bidding low-ish on keywords and competing authors/book-titles. Once you have a good idea of what is actually performing well, take those successful phrases and compile them in a ‘Greatest Hits’ ad, with higher CPC bids and daily budget.#11 The Amazon Ad PuzzleTry using your own book as a target keyword, but this ti me to advertise your higher-priced titles or box sets. The ‘Sponsored’ results on the latter’s book page will likely populate with all your other titles, just like the pieces of a puzzle. If a reader lands on your one book and sees your other stuff in the Amazon ads, they might buy a higher-priced title in your collection (and go on to become an aficionado fan of yours)!#12 The Ad StackerDon’t limit yourself to Amazon Marketing Services ads. Ad ‘stacking’ is often the best way to get a gazillion eyeballs on a new release (especially if you’re aiming at hitting bestsellers’ lists when running a hard launch). Try your hands at BookBub ads, Facebook Ads, and others. You don’t need to spend thousands on them: a small budget will be more than enough to Discover where your readers are hanging out, so that you can place your books right under their eyes.#13 Pre-populate with pre-orders!Start running AMS ads well in advance, eve n when your book is still in the pre-order phase. If you get your targeting right, this will help add your book to the ‘also-boughts’ of other books in your genre, thus igniting the sacred ‘recommendation loop’ from Amazon.You can do this one week to a few months in advance. The bigger your author platform is, the longer you can get away with putting your book up for pre-order before the actual publication date.Plus, people will be exposed to your book, will pre-order it, and when the book is live, the instant truckload of downloads will shoot it into the stratosphere!#14 Use AMS for reviewsSpend a bit more on AMS during a free promo you have scheduled. This might sound counterintuitive when it comes to pure ROI, but you’ll be amazed at the number of downloads you’ll get. Be sure to add a ‘call for reviews’ to the end of your book. Some readers won’t, but many will actually leave an honest (and verified) review.#15 Bid+Wi th their recent ‘upgrade’ of the Amazon Marketing Services platform, Amazon has given authors the chance to use their ‘Bid+’ system (an old acquaintance of those using Vendor’s Accounts). This new feature basically lets Amazon know you’re willing to spend up to 50% more on CPC for the terms that are performing well.Its really simple to use, as you can see in the example below so dont be afraid to use this! Think about it: if Amazon has given us this new tool, why not take advantage of it? You definitely won’t go broke (the daily budget still being the highest cap on spend): rather, you’ll likely outbid all of your competitors on your most prized keywords and phrases!#16 Use negative keywordsAs you surely know by now, hyper-relevant laser-focused targeting is the name of the game with AMS, but sometimes, this is much easier said than done. Have an epic fantasy novel that appeals to teens, but that YA readers would absolutely hate ? Don’t risk getting one-star reviews by unsatisfied vampire-hungry audiences. Another new feature that Amazon has just implemented into their new AMS platform is the ‘negative keywords’ field. Use it wisely to list all of the keywords you absolutely DO NOT want to associate your ads to through Amazon Marketing Services. The sniper approach has never been easier.#17 Target your own bookWhy on earth would you want to spend money targeting your own book? After all, it already shows up ‘organically’ in the search results for your key terms, no? Well, not exactly. Amazon is putting a lot of emphasis on advertising (another reason why you should use AMS ads), so it sometimes favors paid results over organic something other platforms (e.g. Facebook) have been doing for a while now. Crazy, right? Try punching one of your keywords in the search box and see if your book appears. It doesn’t?Then you might want to give it a nice little push with a coup le super-targeted ads. Bonus: 3 more advanced Amazon Marketing Services tacticsIf yourereally ready to make some money, you can try to tackle some of these more advanced Amazon Marketing Services methods to increase your book sales.These might be tricky for you at first, butwith enough practice, theyll prove to be more than effective.#18 Use a Vendors Account (part 1)An Amazon Vendor’s Express account will let you advertise your ebooks, but also audiobooks or paperbacks. Use this incredibly powerful tool to advertise your physical or audio copies on relevant pages by your target authors. As seen above (point 5), this will often result in sales of your own audios and paperbacks, yielding a lot more royalties!#19 Use a Vendor’s Account (part 2)A Vendor’s Express account through Amazon Marketing Services will also let you advertise titles that you didn’t publish yourself. Why would you want to do that, you say? For multi-author box sets you’re a par t of, for example! This will bring more eyeballs to your stuff and†¦ don’t forget to include an email-optin in your portion of the text!#20 Use a Vendor’s Account (part 3)As seen above, why not use a Vendor’s Account to also promote a traditionally-published book you wrote before going indie? Your publisher will likely not be using AMS, so show them who the savvy author is and get some sales rolling!Hope you enjoyed some of these tactics for Amazon Marketing Services ads. As I mentioned in the introduction to this post, don’t listen to those who want to attract you to the ‘next best thing’.Think out of the box, test, test, and test again. And you will succeed!Ready to Sell More Books?Your books sales can mean the difference between helping a few and helping the many.We have exactly what you need to sell more books- and change more lives.