Communicating the Vision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communicating the Vision - Essay Example For a university to achieve its vision and strategies, every person in the university should be participative in a way. This paper helps to show the effectiveness of achieving the vision. Communication plays a major role in different organizations, in that it is essential for any developmental change to occur. Organizational communication helps to improve employees’ interpretation of organizational activity, which improves their support and commitment to the activity and hence legitimacy for the organizational activity increases. Organizations either engaged in merger and acquisition or not can use narratives as a tool to gain legitimacy from their employees. This is because narrative form of communication is thought to be more influential than other forms of communication. Use of narratives gives the ability to order and organize a collection of events in sequence. Since there is direct communication in the organization, both the leaders and the employees will be able to shape, organize and structure events so that they support each other, in a way that clarifies how each event contributes individually and as part of the whole organization. Narratives also help to clear the uncertainty of merges in organizations. Many successful organizations use narratives as their way of communication, which is why they experience tremendous change. For instance, managers sharing stories about some of their secrets to success with their employees can help create a friendly environment within the organization and the employees will not feel under pressure to work in that organization. Sharing experiences through narratives is a powerful way to consolidate and exchange knowledge. Narratives help in kick starting new ideas, socializing new members, mending relationships, sharing wisdom and building or renewing trust among the people working in a certain organization. Some examples of narratives include storytelling, modeling, simulations,

Understanding Young Children Essay Example for Free

Understanding Young Children Essay Describe the features / principles / characteristics a teacher should consider in her / his role of designing a high-quality early childhood environment and materials selection? How a classroom design / set-up can influence children’s growth, behaviors, and learning? Why a â€Å"learning centers approach† to classroom design is a professionally defined best practice for teachers of early learners? Understanding Young Children Teachers need to understand the nature and characteristics of the learners in order to devise learning materials and strategies appropriate to the learners’ abilities and interest (Krogh and Slentz 11). In order to realize this, teachers must have a solid grasp on the universal principles underpinning the cognitive, social, physical, and emotional development of the young learners. As well, teachers should possess consciousness on the roles of the values, culture and history of family and community in the development and learning of every child. Nevertheless, teachers should be aware on the behavioral characteristics of the learners in the classroom. With the teacher’s consciousness in all these areas, he or she can formulate effective and efficient plans to assess children’s progress and their involvement in meaningful learning experiences. Promoting Child Development and Learning With the teacher’s good understanding on the nature and characteristics on his or her learners, he or she can physically, socially, and emotionally structure the learning environment in order to support children’s learning and development (Krogh and Slentz 11). In connection to this, teachers should appreciate the significance of play in the different aspects of the learners’ development. They should integrate play in the learning activities of children and explain its importance to colleagues, administrators, and parents. In addition, teachers should promote physical growth and health by providing health and hygiene education, employing fine-and-gross motor activities, and encouraging movement and rest. On the other hand, teachers should inculcate the value of rules, group learning, and behavioral expectations in order to foster social development (Krogh and Slentz 12). They should also encourage persistence, risk taking and independence among the learners so as to promote self-respect and emotional development. As well, teachers should plan for language learning activities, both oral and written, in order to support language acquisition. Nonetheless, teachers should provide adequate opportunities and resources in arousing children’s curiosity and persistence while engaging with peers in risk taking. Knowledge on the Integrated Curriculum Curriculum integration involves crossing different academic disciplines in the design of learning activities which are meaningful, interesting, and relevant to children learning style and development (Krogh and Slentz 12). This multidisciplinary approach requires intensive organization of themes, topics, or concepts from mathematics, language, science, visual and performing arts, and social studies for a learning project. Topics from each core subjects will be drawn and interrelated to produce a single subject matter in such a way that upon presentation, learners would experience some sort of difficulties in sorting out what academic subject is being presented (Krogh and Slentz 12). Yet, teacher should keep in mind that each discipline has its own concepts, integrity, and major ideas which needed to smoothly be incorporated for the multidisciplinary learning project. Multiple Teaching strategies for Meaningful learning As mentioned earlier, teachers must have a solid grasp on the learners’ growth and development, their interest and abilities, as well as the cultural and social influences which directly shape the learning of the child. This intricate requirement denotes the complexity of an effective and efficient teaching. Teachers then must facilitate discussions, observe, ask questions, listen, properly intervene in every leaner activity, and carefully design and adapt learning materials to the learners’ needs, interests, and abilities. For the effective implementation of every learning activity, teachers need to create the physical environment along with the learning materials conducive to learning. For instance, in learning beyond the typical range like a new language, environmental and curricular rearrangement is needed which may also necessitate the assistance from the family or from the immediate caregiver of the child (Krogh and Slentz 12). Assessment and Reflective Practice Teachers need to evaluate the efficacy on their employed strategy in every subject matter presentation. They need to observe the effect of such in the learners’ social behavior and cognitive attributes. In relation to this, teachers should utilize various assessment tools in evaluating instruction and learning. This may include standardized instrument, anecdotal records, observations, listening, and appropriate questions (Krogh and Slentz 12). Meanwhile, teachers should also reflect on the assessed outcome on their instruction. They must re-examine their subject matter presentation against their bases of decisions, possible biases, and social and cultural considerations (Krogh and Slentz 12). In addition, they must always be opened to innovation and self-renewal through continuous learning. As such, teachers must seek means to attain professional advancement and keep abreast with the current theories and practices of effective teaching. Classroom Structure and Learning Learning environment can directly influence the learning of an individual (Tomlinson, Stronge, and Cunningham-Eidson 11). Childhood years are period of growth and development where every individual is still learning to control his or her behavior and practice environmental adaptation. Children are sensitive to environmental factors which directly affect their physical conditions (Tomlinson, Stronge, and Cunningham-Eidson 11). Thus, their attention to learning and participation to learning activities are also affected. Therefore, teacher should ensure that the classroom atmosphere, from lighting and ventilation to physical setting and audio-visual ambiance, is conducive to learning. Learning Centers Approach Learning Centers are natural approach in providing meaningful learning experiences to young learners (Diffily, Donaldson, and Sassman 5). Since children are curious and fond of interactions, the design of learning centers is aligned with their developmental attributes in order to create an organized and systematic learning environment. The learning materials in the centers like concrete objects and models are carefully chosen and constructed for children’s manipulation and learning at their respective pace and developmental level. In addition, by working and interactions in a small group, the young learners can learn not only the use of learning materials but also the sense of team work and socialization. Thus, the sense of responsibility and cooperation will eventually develop among the learners. Moreover, each learning center such as Art center, Science center, Mathematics center, Listening center, Dramatic-play center, Reading center, Music center and Writing Center, caters for the specific intelligences on the learners. Hence, these learning centers develop and enrich the holistic capability and potentiality of children. Define How and Describe the Importance –A teacher’s knowledge of growth and developmental principles developmental characteristics is connected to the major teacher roles: Child Development Specialist; Foster of Children’s Early Learning; Designer of an Appropriate Learning Environment; Curriculum Designer; Documenter. Education should provide for the inculcation of fundamental skills such as reading, writing, arithmetic, mastery of information, and development of traits. However, to be functional, instructions should include all-round guidance of the learner in fitting him or her for the successful participation in all phases of his present and future relationships (Tomlinson 31). Hence, every teacher should possess intensive understanding of the underlying principles of the child’s being. In such way, the teachers can easily guide children in the discovery and utilization of their respective capacity and potentiality for the attainment of desirable growth and development. In particular, teachers must understand the children’s predictable sequence of growth and development so as to create a learning environment which supports the â€Å"age appropriate† education needs of the young learners. Also, since growth and development uniquely occurs among every child, the teacher should ensure the â€Å"individual appropriateness† of every learning activity. As the theory of Jean Piaget suggests, teachers should promote a unique-child centered learning experiences in order to develop the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social well-being of every child. Moreover, the works of Lev Vygotsky emphasized the role of language in socio-cultural and cognitive learning. Vygotsky suggested that through â€Å"scaffolding,† the learning of every individual can be accelerated. This can be done as by employing group works and interactions among the learners. As a child seeks assistance form the others who have similar zone of proximal development, the child’s learning can be facilitated. Further, if education is growth, teachers must not only prepare children for school life, but also provide opportunities for life experiences inside the classroom. In connection to this, it is important that every child should be given the opportunity to participate in each learning activity which will provide appropriate challenge to his or her abilities. By keeping these in mind, he teacher can serve as an effective designer of curriculum and learning environment. Moreover, the knowledge on the growth and development of every child facilitates the teacher’s understanding of the learners’ social behavior (Tomlinson 32). Due to individual differences and social and cultural background of the young learners, it is impossible for a teacher to set up a pre-conceived standard or model in understanding the nature of every child. It is rather advisable to understand the child’s behavior in terms of what the child is along with his or her family background. In doing so, the teacher can accurately document the academic progress of the child in relation to the child’s social and cultural background. Works Cited Diffily, Deborah, Donaldson, Elizabeth, and Sassman, Charlotte. The Scholastic Book of Early Childhood Learning Centers: Complete How-tos, Management Tips, Photos, and Activities for Delightful Learning Centers that Teach Early Reading, Writing, Math More. New York: Scholastic, 2001. Krogh, Suzanne and Slentz, Kristine. Early Childhood Education: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Mahwah, New Jersey: Erlbaum Associates, 2001. Tomlinson, Carol A. The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of all Learners. Carolina: ASCD, 1999. Tomlinson, Carol A. , Stronge, James, H. , and Cunningham-Eidson, Caroline. Differentiation in Practice: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum. Carolina: ASCD, 2003.

The Institute For Pak Afghan Relations Politics Essay

The Institute For Pak Afghan Relations Politics Essay Pakistans interaction with Afghanistan has been influenced and fashioned by the historical legacy of pre-1947 Afghan-British Indian relations. This legacy laid the basis for the development of an acrimonious bilateral relationship between the two states after 1947, which was complicated by the Cold War power politics. The nineteenth century geo-strategic rivalry between the Great Britain and Tsarist Russia (the so-called Great Game) on the Afghan chessboard created an environment of mistrust and suspicion against foreign powers in the eyes of the Afghans. The relations were further aggravated by the three Anglo-Afghan wars (1838-1842; 1879-1880; 1919-1920). The unsettled borders in the northwest of British India, where the writ of the British government was not fully enforceable, gave Afghanistan an opportunity to create security problems in the days of British Raj and more so after their departure from the subcontinent. Pakistan, therefore, inherited an unfriendly neighbor on its we stern border, making it difficult to formulate a policy of having friendly ties with Afghanistan. Its security threat perception as being sandwiched between a hostile India in the east and an irredentist Afghanistan in the west compelled Pakistan to seek a friendly regime in Kabul. Afghanistans territorial claims on the Pashtu-speaking areas of Pakistan coupled with the pro-Indian posture of its ruling elites further reinforced Pakistans strategic belief that a hostile Afghanistan ill served Pakistans security needs. The logical corollary of this threat perception was that, regardless of its costs and difficulties, Pakistan had to pursue a sub-imperial engagements in Afghanistan to secure a client regime, which would not only give it a strategic depth against India but would also help stabilize its volatile western border. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan forced Pakistan to wage, with the support of western and Arab allies, a proxy war in Afghanistan and ultimately forced Soviets to withdraw from Afghanistan. Since the end of the Cold War, Pakistan continued its forward policy in Afghanistan mainly through the support of the Hizb-i-Islami of Gulbadin Hikmatyar and, later, through the Taliban. Following the events of Sep.11, 2001 the political landscape of South Asia transformed dramatically. The September 11 incident provided Pakistan with an opportunity to reconsider its Afghan policy and regain its lost status in the international community. Pakistan took a U-turn in its Afghan policy and became a front line state in the US war against terrorism and helped topple its erstwhile Taliban allies from power. Though this course of action helped Pakistan get out of regional as well as international isolation, its long involvement with the Afghan groups locked in internal struggle for power has left it with fewer friends and more enemies in Afghanistan, particularly among the literate urban middle class and non-Pashtuns. Its relations with Afghanistan continue to be bedeviled with skepticism and fear, even as both countries are cautiously revitalizing bilateral relations. Though the historical, geographical, cultural, religious, ethnic, security and economic affinities and interdependence between Pakistan and Afghanistan are bound to play their role in strengthening the relations between the two countries, there are certain stumbling blocs in Pak-Afghan relations like Pak-Afghan border issue, the Pashtunistan issue, Afghanistans skepticism on Pakistans resolve to fight war on terrorism; and Pakistans strong reservations over Indian anti-Pakistan activities from Afghanistan. For improving the relations both Pakistan and Afghanistan need to allay their mutual misperceptions and distrust. The ongoing blame game by the two countries led an Afghan expert to write, Owing to increasing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, one cannot hope for any improvement in the security situation in the war-ravaged country. The embattled Afghan government is expected to become even more critical of Pakistan in future on account of the increase in Taliban attacks. Pakistan is likely to reply in the same currency, and there are already signs that its tone in denying accusations of support for Taliban is becoming aggressive. The fireworks will continue, and it would be futile to expect any major improvement in their uneasy political and diplomatic ties in the near future. It is in this context that we felt the need to establish a research organization that will identify examine and analyze the factors that continues to adversely affect relations between the countries that have so many overlapping layers of common history, culture, religion, geography and security. We believe that if both the countries were able to allay their mutual misperceptions, distrust, and suspicions the relations between the two are bound to improve. The relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan are symbiotic in nature. When Afghanistan pains, Pakistan bleeds and vice versa. Both are destined to sink or sail together and now time has come for them to think conjointly to find ways and means for putting an end to recurring power vacuums in this region, which frequently sucks in external state actors. About IPAR IPAR provides the analysis, training and tools that prevent and end regional conflicts, promotes stability and professionalizes the field of regional peace building. It is essential that the Pakistan Afghanistan, adopt a regional approach to find out solution to their existing problems and play an active part in preventing, managing, and resolving regional conflicts to achieve a lasting peace and stability on both sides of the Durand line. Mission Statement The Institute of Pak-Afghan Relations is an independent, nonpartisan, non-governmental, progressive think tank working for comprehensive cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which would provide a solid basis for multi-disciplinary cooperation. The IPAR emphasizes the vital importance of brotherly relations in pursuance of policies of mutual respect, non-interference and peaceful coexistence and recommends further expansion of economic, social, and cultural relations between the two countries. Its goals are to help: Prevent and resolve regional conflicts Promote post-conflict stability and development Increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources. Aims and Objectives Emphasizing the deep historic, religious, spiritual, cultural and commercial bonds among Afghanistan and Pakistan, IPAR focuses especially on the treatment of terrorism, extremism and militancy, bilateral cooperation in political and economic fields, and regional and international issues of common concern. The institute will work for the following objectives: Improving bilateral relation between Pakistan and Afghanistan culminating into a perennial strategic partnership carried forth to coming generations; Supporting programs that foster independent research, enabling our scholars to produce articles, reports, and books and hold roundtables that analyze Pak afghan foreign policy issues and to make concrete policy recommendations; Sponsoring Independent Task Forces to produce reports with both findings and policy prescriptions on the most important foreign policy issues; and Providing up-to-date information and analysis on Pak-Afghan relations; Programs and Activities In order to achieve the above goals, the Institute undertakes a unique combination of activities, including the following: Performing cutting edge research, to produce  publications  for practitioners, policymakers, and academia. Building mutual trust and confidence by Parliamentary exchanges complement political-level interaction and promoting people-to-people contacts including the exchange visits of journalists, poets, writers, musicians and artistes. Educating students  about conflict, organizing study tours, and increasing the peace building capabilities of future leaders. Supporting policymakers  by providing analyses, policy options, and advice, as well as by sponsoring a wide range of region-oriented working groups. Expertise The Institute draws on a variety of resources in fulfilling its mandate, including Institute staff, grantees, fellows, and a broad set of governmental and non-governmental partners: Institute Specialists: The Institute employs specialists with both geographic and subject-matter expertise. These experts are leaders in their fields. They come from the government, military, NGOs, academia, and the private sector. Partners/Grantees: The Institute works with an extensive network of partners, including non-profits, academic institutions, government agencies, international organizations, and the military. Publication IPAR approach is grounded in field of research. Our surveys and policy analyses are informed by the work of a team of researchers, reporters and political analysts located in different areas of Pak-Afghan region. Based on information and assessments from the field, the institute produces analytical reports, weekly updates and policy briefings containing practical recommendations targeted at key national and international decision-makers. We also publish survey-based reports, research journal and books, providing in-depth analysis of various issues.

Cyberporn and Pornography - Sex Should Not be a Spectator Sport :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Pornography - Sex Should Not be a Spectator Sport    Some adults recall the days in the early Sixties with a certain nostalgia, as a time when people were still aware of the distinction between pornography and erotic art, and when erotic books and films could pass the censor only if a case could be made for their artistic value. Everything changed very suddenly, according to the poet Philip Larkin:    Sexual intercourse began In nineteen sixty-three. Between the end of the Chatterley ban And the Beatles' first LP.    But still, even though the permissive habits spread rapidly through society, breaking down taboos and breaking up marriages, people remained sensitive to the distinction between art and pornography, and had no objections to a law which forbade explicit sexual imagery. The recent judgment of the High Court, upholding the decision of the Video Appeals Committee (another collection of the Great and the Good) to allow the sale of videos showing explicit scenes of sexual intercourse, suggests that the last vestiges of decency are being finally chased from the law.    Like many distinctions which are intuitively obvious, that between the erotic and the pornographic is not easy to explain. It has been said that pornography is obscene, whereas erotic art is merely suggestive. But what is obscenity? The old test laid down in the Obscene Publications Acts of 1959 and 1964 holds that matter is obscene if it tends to deprave and corrupt those who are likely to come across it. But that test is flawed, since it looks for obscenity only in the effects of a thing, and not in the thing itself. Moreover juries are by no means competent to predict the effects of watching any particular film or reading any particular novel, and are easily swayed by smooth-tongued barristers who represent pornography as a healthy "safety valve" for feelings which could erupt in far more dangerous ways.    The fact is that the desire to watch explicit scenes of carnal lust is in itself depraved. It is not that explicit videos have a tendency to corrupt: they are corrupt. In the sexual sphere this is what corruption consists in - namely the display of sexual appetite divorced from the personal relations that redeem it. To justify pornographic videos on the grounds that they don't make people worse than they are is like justifying gladiatorial combat because it doesn't make people into

Balanced Scorecard Development

Abstract The balanced scorecard was introduced in 1992 as a performance measurement tool and has developed now to form a strategic management system. This paper uses eight articles, identified in Figure 1 along with extra materials to track and analyse developments in the design and implementation. The paper shows examples of the scorecard in practice and concludes that developments have been beneficial overall. It also highlights problems encountered along the way and further areas for improvement.For years managers have used financial measures to monitor performance however a study carried out in 1990 led to the development of the first generation balanced scorecard (BSC); a strategic planning and management system. By including financial and operational measures,it solved the issue that managers were beginning to reject financial measures during the 1980s and 1990s (Letza, 1996). The BSC originated analysing four perspectives; customer, internal, learning and financial,with focus driven by four questions shown in Figure 2.The BSC encouraged managers to focus on few critical measures to prevent complexity and information overload, however ensured several areas were looked at simultaneously as organisations became more complex (Kaplan & Norton, 1992). Choice around the measures allows adaptability and flexibility when using the model. This is vital in order to keep up with global competition and the ever changing environment. Companies must acknowledge this flexibility and as their strategy changes, so must the measures to stay in line with overall aims. The introduction of the BSC coincided with the recession in the 1980’s and 1990’s.Therefore companies will have been more enthusiastic about performance measurement and seen this as a good way to track progress towards strategy, growth and profit. Today, 20 years on, the core perspectives have stayed with the individual measures being adapted and perspectives added depending on the companyâ€℠¢s strategic goals. The BSC has evolved from a performance measurement tool enforced by few, to a strategic management tool used worldwide; with the main developments being ‘driven primarily by observed weaknesses in the design process rather than in the architecture of the original idea’ (Cobbold&Lawrie, 2002).Financial measures were satisfactory for the industrial era however adapting to change in skills and competencies allowed the scorecard to produce ‘richer and more relevant information about activities they are managing than is provided by financial measures alone’ (Cobbold&Lawrie, 2002). No individual measure produces adequate information to plan. When planning a journey, the objective is to get from one point to another with lots of dials producing information on the likelihood of succeeding. The fuel gage alone doesn't set the scene however collectively the measures allow a judgements and decisions to be made.For example, to increase the likelihoo d of success you may add more oil or fuel. In business with the objective to boost sales you may increase quality and therefore sales. Introducing operational measures to performance measurement, allows these factors be monitored as the drivers of future financial performance. As the number of measures is limited, companies must identify the factors that are key performance drivers in order to achieve successful implementation. With the first generation scorecard, very little was known about the implementation of the BSC.This meant companies were not gaining the full effects of improved performance. ‘What you measure is what you get’ (Kaplan ;Norton, 1992). Therefore if you measure things that have no influence, directly or indirectly to profitability and growth then it will be impossible to improve. Hence the measures must be in line with a company’s strategic objectives. Kaplan and Nortonintroduced the four processes for managing strategy shown in Figure 3 to e mphasise the need for the BSC to be linked to strategy, but there was no clarity to the importance and effect of this.Many would have good measures in place such as customer satisfaction but would not analyse this further to improve profitability, therefore a wasted opportunity as there was no real vision of making it happen. The design however, was taken on successfully by many companies as it brought everything together in one clear report. Words were kept minimal and visual aids were used to represent and explain measures. This proved effective as few words paint huge pictures, and people are designed to accept pictures and often remember these better.The BSC also looks at the whole organisation as opposed to separate departments therefore bringing all silos together. Many organisations have individual cultures within each silo and therefore departments are often driven towards targets at departmental level as opposed to overall corporate objectives. Therefore it is crucial that all measures are monitored to ensure that the targets are met through the right objectives, and not at the expense of another. For example the production department may increase productivity leading to more sales and potentially higher profits however the quality may slack causing customer satisfaction to fall.This could cause reputational damage leading customers to go to competitors who offer higher quality. The second generation scorecard expanded on this highlighting filtering and clustering as areas of concern. This took the BSC from the measurement system to an integrated management system while still focussing on strategy and performance drivers. Often this involved relating measures to key performance indicators. The second generation scorecard introduced strategic objectives and developed causality further.This development addressed the issue of an ‘inability to link a company’s long-term strategy with its short term actions’ (Kaplan ; Norton, 1996). Add ing phrases to the four perspectivesallowed companies to select measures around their strategic vision. This selection method provided more thoroughness and made implementation clearer and more defined. Causality was included in the first generation scorecard with the four statements shown in Figure 4 but the second generation developed this by indicating relationships between the measures across the perspectives shown in Figure 5; as opposed to just vague links between the perspectives.This increased the urge to ‘prove’ links (Kaplan ; Norton, 1996). This could have been bad for companies as employees may have tried to link movements in the performance measures that weren’t related trying to show one as the causation of one another; simply to reach targets. This would be more common when financial rewards were linked to performance. Even with this is mind, the linkage model became an important part of the BSC design. Introduction of software reporting systems im proved managers’ ability to react with fast diagnosis and quick interventions when problems occurred.The early software provided by AT;T, and later by companies including IBM; used email and diary programs to fasten this process. Software caused confusion as many believed it would enable design and implementation of the BSC. However, it is performance management software to use after implementation to ensure performance information gets ‘to the right people at the right time’ (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 2013). As it allowed data to be stored, objectives could be allocated to owners and measures to objectives; allowing managers to make historical comparisons to measure performance accurately over time.It also helped communicate the information effectively and enforced more control and organisation. Some packages allow performance to be measured and tracked at departmental level, project level or the organisation as a whole. This only works if there is strategic alignment throughout the hierarchy. Organisations can then narrow down the specific areas that are underperforming in order to increase focus to improve or divest that part. Although the software has many benefits some find it ‘difficult to adapt to the needs of a growing and dynamic company’ (IBM, 2013).Hence, many prefer to use self-developed software however it sometimes lacks required functions and solutions to the cause and effect; as the specialist skills are not there to develop the program. Difficulties still arose in selecting relevant measures and target setting due to conflicting thoughts amongst management. There was also difficulty communicating the linkage model to lower level staff if they did not already have knowledge of the model. This could cause problems when trying to motivate teams as there will be different interpretations of aims and targets; therefore employees working towards different goals.The late 1990’s saw the third generation and the development of the destination statement (Figure 6) in order to achieve clarification through checking the measures, objectives and targets selected. The destination statement is a form of ‘what if’ analysis that brought the tool closer to company strategy, it's management and implementation. By estimating quantified amounts of consequences and achievementsfor a set future period; companies could easily compare actual achievements to targets and benchmark against others externally, in the case it was to stick with objectives from the linkage model.For example the destination statement would predict a rate of customer satisfaction for 3 years that you could check back against annually. This will identify under achievements, perhaps where you can enhance quality to boost satisfaction; and over achievements where you can identify what successful policies to keep. Management teams could easily relate to the statement to communicate down the hierarchy in order to gain a single interpretation, as it did not include looking at complex strategic objectives. Therefore a reversal of design as it was seen as an early stage in the process, as opposed to the final,making selection of measures and ausality easier. Companies have proven success without financial measures. Svenska Handelsbanken, while not disclosing use of the BSC; have gone over thirty years with ‘no budgets, no absolute targets, and no fixed plans' but with specific performance measures in place (Daum, 2001). More recently, in 2003 a new CEO adopted the BSC for Lloyds TSB in order to ‘show employees how their actions impact their colleagues and customers and how this, in turn, translates into our overall performance’ (Lloyds TSB, 2013). This linked objectives of 80,000 employees, emphasizing the advantage of aligning the whole organisation.By involving employees at every level in some aspect of the process generates ‘acceptance of and commitment to the concept' (War d, 2005). Implementation proved successful to drive the company towards growth and away from being sales and cost driven, which had caused them to lose their strong market position. ‘The cause and effect chain of events’ was critical for them to see that would drive the revenue up as opposed to just a target of increased sales (Ward, 2005). As Lloyds are large and have overseas staff they could have faced technical and strategic challenges including cultural conflict and difficulties selecting measures.Companies with a diverse workforce should ensure they measure things that can be influenced and changed by employees. Lloyds also highlighted the point that implementation takes time and resources to ensure thoroughness. A tight deadline imposed ‘danger of completing the task while missing the goal’ (Ward, 2005). They recognized the importance employees understanding the concept before implementation so brought in a BSC specialist, who had worked closely with Kaplan and Norton to run seminars and lectures; in order to reduce this danger.Not only do employees need to understand the concept and accept the process; they should include feedback including how many employees see it as motivational and effective. If employees do not enjoy what they are doing they will be inclined to only meet targets and not excel further. The strong focus of the scorecard encourages companies to focus on what they really need to measure as opposed to what is easy to measure; resulting in all decisions being made around the strategy. The BSC changed the way people looked at performance measurement. Previously it was seen as a method to ontrol employees but the tool encourages targets in order for employees to work towards. The idea was that employees would adapt their behaviour accordingly to reach goals; hence giving them more freedom, motivation and involvement in the process. However, some may argue that the focus has shifted too far towards operational mat ters that there is not financial involvement. Adaptability should allow those companies to change to their needs. The BSC will vary for each company depending on how dynamic the industry is and what the individual aims and strategy include.Lloyds TSB added a fifth perspective as they felt it was a key driver to the company's strategic direction. Although there are BSC failures, the advances in the design have allowed more successful implementations over the years. There is now more knowledge and literature available because more companies have adopted this management tool; but more importantly there are significant successes documented for teams to learn from. With corporate social responsibility being so highly regarded nowadays due to greater awareness and regulation, modern scorecards have seen a fifth sub-perspective introduced; environment/external.This shows the broader impact on society than is indicated through the customer perspective; hence giving more in-depth analysis. A s long as the process is carefully planned, communicated and regularly monitored it should prove successful however there is always room for improvement with the uncertainty in the ever changing environment. The scorecard, instead of providing single destination outcomes could include risk and probabilities related to various possible outcomes.In conclusion, the economic environment is only going to become more dynamic but the last twenty years has proven that continuous developments should ensure the BSC is kept up to date in order to stay a useful management tool. Figure 1 – Main Articles Used Author| Title| Daum. J| Beyond Budgeting: A Model for Performance Management and Controlling in the 21st Century? | Cobbold. I ; Lawrie. G| The Development of the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management tool| Kaplan. R ; Norton. D| The balanced scorecard – measures that drive performance| Kaplan. R ; Norton.D| Transforming the Balanced Scorecard from Performance Measuremen t to Strategic Management: Part 1| Kaplan. R ; Norton. D| Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system| Letza. S| The design and implementation of the balanced business scorecard| Schneiderman. A| Why Balanced Scorecards Fail| Ward. A| Implementing the Balanced Scorecard at Lloyds TSB| * Full references for the articles are shown in the reference list at the end of this paper* Figure 2 – Four Perspectives for Balanced Scorecard Perspective| Why? | Customer| â€Å"To achieve our vision, how should we appear to our customers? | Internal Business Process| â€Å"To satisfy our shareholders and customers, what business processes must we excel at? â€Å"| Learning and Growth| â€Å"To achieve our vision, how will we sustain our ability to change and improve? â€Å"| Financial| â€Å"To succeed financially, how should we appear to our shareholders? â€Å"| Figure 3 – The Balanced Scorecard Process Adapted from – Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D. P. , Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system, Harvard Business Review, January-February 1996, 75-85. Available from: http://scholar. google. co. uk [Accessed 23 February 2013]Figure 4 – First Generation Balanced Scorecard Source – Antunes. G et al. , Process improvement measures in social area organisations: A study in institutions for elderly: survey results, The TQM Journal. Available from: http://www. emeraldinsight. com [Accessed 15 February 2013] Figure 5 – Second Generation Balanced Scorecard/Linkage Model Source – Cobbold, I. C. and Lawrie, G. J. G. , 2002. The Development of the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management tool, 2GC Website. Available from: http://www. 2gc. co. uk [Accessed 19 February 2013] Figure 6 – Third Generation Balance Scorecard/Destination StatementAndersen. H. , Effective quality management through third-generation balanced scorecard, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Manageme nt, Available from: http://www. emeraldinsight. com [Accessed 21 February 2013] References Andersen. H. , Effective quality management through third-generation balanced scorecard, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Available from: http://www. emeraldinsight. com [Accessed 21 February 2013] Antunes. G et al. , Process improvement measures in social area organisations: A study in institutions for elderly: survey results, The TQM Journal.Available from: http://www. emeraldinsight. com [Accessed 15 February 2013] Balanced Scorecard Institue, 2013. The Balanced Scorecard & Technology: Strategic Performance Management Automation. U. S. Balanced Scorecard Institute. Available from: http://www. bala ncedscorecard. org/software/balancedscorecardsoftware/tabid/61/default. aspx Balanced Scorecard Institue, 2013. What is the Balanced Scorecard. U. S. Balanced Scorecard Institute. Available from: http://www. balancedscorecard. org/bscresources/aboutthebalancedscore card/ tabid/55/default. aspx Cobbold, I. C. and Lawrie, G. J. G. , 2002.The Development of the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management tool, 2GC Website. Available from: http://www. 2gc. co. uk [Accessed 19 February 2013] Daum, J. H. , Beyond Budgeting: A Model for Performance Management and Controlling in the 21st Century? , Controlling & finance, July 2002. Available from: http://scholar. google. co. uk [Accessed 4 March 2013] Drury, C. , 2008. Management and Cost Accounting. 7th Edition. London: Cengage Learning. IBM, 2013. Balanced Scorecard Software. U. S. IBM. Available From: http://www-01. ibm. com/ software/analytics/cognos/balanced-scorecard-software. tml IBM, 2013. Innovation Center. U. S. IBM. Available From: http://www-01. ibm. com/software/ data/cognos/innovation-center/advisors. html Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D. P. , The balanced scorecard – measures that drive performance, Harvard Business Review, January-February 1992, 71-79. Available from: http://schola r. google. co. uk [Accessed 21 February 2013] Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D. P. , Transforming the Balanced Scorecard from Performance Measurement to Strategic Management: Part 1, American Accounting Association Accounting Horizons, 15 (1), 75-85. Available from: http://scholar. google. co. k [Accessed 23 February 2013] Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D. P. , Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system, Harvard Business Review, January-February 1996, 75-85. Available from: http://scholar. google. co. uk [Accessed 23 February 2013] Letza, S. , 1996. The design and implementation of the balanced business scorecard. Business Process Re-engineering & Mangement Journal, 2(3), 54-76. Available from: http://www. emeraldinsight. com [Accessed 15 February 2013] Lloyds Banking Group plc, 2009. Annual Report 2008. United Kingdom: Lloyds Banking Group plc. Available from: http://www. lloydsbankinggroup. om/investors/financial_performance/ company_results. asp#2007 Lloyds Banking Group plc, 2013. Performance Management. United Kingdom. Lloyds Banking Group plc. Available from: http://www. lloydstsb-annualreport. com/businessreview/our_people/ performance_management/ Schneiderman, A. M. , Why Balanced Scorecards Fail, Journal of Strategic Performance, January 1999, 6-11. Available from: http://scholar. google. co. uk [Accessed 6 March 2013] Ward, A. , Implementing the Balanced Scorecard at Lloyds TSB, Strategic HR Review, 4 (3), 16-19. Available from : http://www. emeraldinsight. com [Accessed 28 February 2013]

Greatest Place on Earth Essay

I believe the Greatest Place on Earth is Greenville Tennessee. The time that me and my family spend there are magical. I call Greenville Tennessee the Greatest Place on Earth because of the times and the memories that has been spent and made there. The country roads are so peaceful and clean, the air is fresh and the people are super nice. There are so many things there to do and most of the things that we have found are free. There is the beautiful waterfall that is so peaceful to take the kids to play while you sit by and read a book and drift away into what I call the fantasy world. The kids will play for hours in the falls a beautiful place where my family and I love to take pictures and capture the moments of our lives. Where the waterfall has crystal clear water and the sounds from it is so peaceful and relaxing my family always chose to go to the waterfall for those very reasons. There is also a place where there is small sandy beach better known as the kids own mini personal beach where they enjoy the hot summer days of swimming, building sand castles, and playing beach volleyball with the rest of the family. The family sits back and lets the children enjoy the sun and sand while they relax in the sun with a book or listen to music as memories are made once again. The children all feel special because the small sandy beach is what they like to call their very own. Then there is what we all call outlook landing it’s an intense hike up a mountain side in the woods that will leave to tired and sweating, but well worth the hike. Once getting to the top all the stress that the world throws your way leaves and the sight is the most beautiful thing that my eyes have ever saw. The mountain is such a beautiful sight being able to see for miles and miles around, with the big rocks to set on and look out over the mountain you are able to see the three surrounding states. Packing drinking supplies and food to cook while on the mountain we set under the shelter and enjoy the view as the sun is about to set . Every season is different the fall the leaves are starting to turn beautiful shades or orange, yellow, and red the climate is starting to change as the days are getting cooler. When in the summer months the sun is bright, the birds chirp, the sound of traffic is never heard, the cars and trucks on the tiny road ways look like ants. Spring time the flowers are blooming, leaves are growing back, animals are starting to come alive, the weather is starting to warm and view is amazing while all the beautiful things are growing. Outlook Mountain is one of the places where my family and I enjoy spending time while visiting the greatest place on earth. While staying in Greenville Tennessee my family and I also spend time at a private family owned fishing lake. When spending a day at the lake the whole family gets together and sits back to fish and talks about the memories make at the lake. Nothing is better than making a fire and letting the kids chose their own sticks to make their roasted hotdogs and marshmallows for their homemade smores. The children are having the best day catching fish and taking pictures so that they are able to show how well they did on their fishing trip that day. With a fun filled day the children have dirty hands and faces to prove their great time at the lake. As the day slowly starts to end the family starts to pack up all the fishing gear to rest up for another fun filled day in the morning. Greenville Tennessee is the Greatest Place on Earth because there are so many things that we as a family love to do. When our family takes a trip to the Greatest Place on Earth we never know what the next day will have in store for us. Maybe it’s taking a trip to Dollywood, Cherokee, a day of shopping the waterfall, outlook mountain, or the fishing lake my family and I always knows that when heading to Greenville Every trip that my family and I make to Tennessee is always filled with fun and memories are always make. As our trip is near the end, we look forward to the next time that we get to visit Greenville Tennessee for more family fun. That is why Greenville Tennessee is the Greatest Place on Earth.