Category: Success

Introduction

This book was written by Patrick Combs who also doubles up as an inspirational speaker. This book has been written for students aspiring to join college or those who are already in college.

Grounded in current research in business economics and coupled with appropriate insights from the corporate world, the book is suitable for every college student regardless of age.

Summary

The first chapter of this book is On the Road to Success. It basically outlines the vitality in students identifying the type of career they would like to undertake in future. The author points out that it is wise for one to choose the career which will offer the greatest happiness and satisfaction. In the second chapter i.e.

Truly Passionate, it has been emphasized that for one to be successful in ones choice of career, he/she must possess extra ordinary drive and passion. This passion will eventually propel one to exert the necessary effort towards the achievement of the set goals.

The following chapter;  Major Excitement is an elaboration of the previous one. It points out that the passion that generates from achieving success in ones endeavors acts as a morale booster resulting in even greater success.

Students are advised to refrain from choosing a carreer on the basis of such things as prestige and renumeration, instead one should go for what really interests and inspires one. Thus , it is also paramount that a student recognizes his/her weaknesses and strengths in the particular subjects required by his/her career of choice.

This is in order to enable the student to know the type of career that one is most suited for in accordance with his/her strengthes as far as relevant subjects are concerned.

The following chapter which is Money Matters offers great advice to students on sound money management practices. It emphasizes that it is important to learn how to manage ones finances prudently regardless of the amounts in question.

In the sixth chapter; Your Ultimate Life, the book observes that a students stint in college is a time that one should explore as many interests as one can. Most of all, one should strive to graduate with an enthusiasm for learning.

It inferes that one can increase his/her enthusiasm by exploring ones interests. This has been further expounded on in the following chapter; The Six Big Fears. Combs observes that such fears for instance the fear of failure and reactions from peers and family members can decrease ones spirit for learning.

In other words, one has to come up with ways of confronting his/her fears and opt to follow ones hearts desires with less focus on what opinions others might have on a particular subject. He further insinuates that one would be better off exploring his/her own interests in the library than sleeping through a class that is boring (Combs, 2000).

In the ninth chapter, the author highlights the importance of co-curricular activities to the students. He concurs that while it is prudent to work hard in academics, it is equally vital for one to take part in sports and such other activities. Such activities help one to wind up and release accumulated tensions.

Such activities also help one to develop other essential skills such as ledership, team work and interpersonal skills. In the next chapter Never Mind the Grades, the book observes that a student should desist from laying too much emphasize on grades since success is a component of various aspects grades being just a fraction of it.

It is pointed out that students can still achieve their goal regardless of poor grades in the majors, a lackluster GPA, and past shortcomings.

The author shows further insightfulness in the later stages of the book. For instance, in the fifteenth chapter; Life Changing Reality Checks, the author advises student to take the opportunity of learning from the numerous lessons that life is bound to throw at people during their course of life.

The following chapter i.e. Really Get into It, the book cautions the students on the need to get desicive and immerse themselves in all the activities that have been tailored to help them achieve their goals.

The author cautions against procastination since it is not only time wasting but it can also cause a decrease in motivation.

The sixteenth chapter i.e. Show and Tell, the book emphasizes the need for students to talk about their areas of interests as this is a great source of motivation and confidence. Also by doing so, one stands to be corrected and assisted which are all the more beneficial.

The eighteenth chapter is Going Professional. It is basically an outline of some prerequisite steps and skills that aspiring college students should have in possession in order to attract employment.

He emphasizes on the need to acquire interpersonal, communicational and technical skills that are relevant to ones career. This is clearly illuminated by the following excerpt from the book, No matter what you major in, if you cant answer the phone, make a presentation, do a spreadsheet,

or write a business letter, nobody needs you. The author has expressly highlighted some resourceful ideas that a student can use so as to jump start an exciting career. For instance he has emphasized on the need to have a presentable resume, sound networking, strong interview skills, plausible references etc.

Critique

There is no doubt that Patrick Combs major in success is not only an enlightening but also an inspiring book. However, some people have had some reservations with some areas in this book. Personally I feel that the book leans more towards wishful thinking than truth and reality.

This is because the author fails to acknowledge the fact that people are living in an ever changing world where new and emerging demands are being placed in all spheres of live. Furthermore, he has failed to explain how a student ought to adapt to these changes once he/she embarks on a specific career.

He has also failed to describe his own success, the authors facts are not grounded in quantifiable facts and statistics, he has downplayed the importance of grades in the job market by making an assumption that College is for developing your talents to learn and do so that you can learn and do anything you like (Combs, 2000) and he also asserts that one should not panic if ones extracurricular activities have a negative effect on ones grades.

Recommendation

Nonetheless, major in success is a great book which offers prospective college students a wide range of lessons and advice. I have to say that, in the end, I would recommend this book to any student wanting to identify his/her areas of interest in view of laying a strong foundation towards achieving a satisfying career.

Works Cited

Combs, Patrick. Major in success: Make College Easier, Fire Up Your Dreams, and Get a Great Job. Francisco: Ten Speed Press, 2000.

No Child Left Behind is one of the main principles of the educational system of the United States. It is very important to have determined well-organized principles and methods of studying for students to be more successful in achieving academic grades.

It was a big step forward to create such program where all students would be chanced to get a better quality of education with the personal approach to each student. It goes without saying that the surest way to discredit public schools is not to leave any child behind.

I think it is the most crucial transformation in the American educational system over the past decade. The federal funding for schools has been increased and the standard of teaching improved which resulted in the higher level of students knowledge recorded by the nationwide standardized test.

One of the main advantages of this program is that parents have a right to choose a public school for their children. It is comfortable both for parents and schools in particular as children are allotted to the classes according to their abilities and the level of knowledge.

Since the level of success is judged by the level of students academic performance, it is important to provide all the necessary means and conditions for the students to have the best grades. The disadvantages of NCLB program is that it has not been worked out for those who have health problems and measured abilities and can not study in public schools.

I think the program would be more precious if it is created for such people as they are in need more than any other students. One more disadvantage is that government of the United States can not allocate enough money to support all ideas of the program which slows down the process and further development of the program.

Nevertheless, according to the data, the achieved result can already be called successful comparing to the level of performance over the past years. As for me, I think this program is effective enough as a lot of opportunities have been given to those who could not afford a good level of education. However, as it was already said, it makes government spend a good amount of money to satisfy all needs.

Actually, talking about the real necessity of such program, it is possible to note that presently, the government of the United States wants to repeal the educational act NCLB. Thinking about this issue more carefully and from the general point of view, the program resulted in increasing the students education thanks to the lowering of learning standards.

Children were thoroughly taught and tested by public schools. I think it is quite a big disadvantage. Actually, both public and private schools can choose the educational standards and think about the best ways to increase the level of education of each student in particular. Presently, public schools just lose state funding in case some purposes can not be fulfilled as it is very costly for the government.

Education is one of the main parts of a humans life so a lot of attention both from the government and peoples side should be paid to it. The program No Child Left Behind is in its active development providing a number of measures and ways to increase the accountability of the states and schools for the students academic achievements.

I think it is a nice opportunity for the teachers to improve their qualification and professional development as well as for parents to be provided with corresponding opportunities of making a choice and getting information. Moreover, one of the goals set by the program at the very beginning has been achieved: the gaps between advantaged and disadvantage students were successfully fulfilled and the general quality of education improved.

Introduction

Dyslexic people have been misunderstood in the past by the people who are involved in their training and correction. Some of them have been labelled as thick or even people who cannot spell. However, research has proved that dyslexia is not a representation of ones intelligence.

The condition has a number of causes though the presentation is different in individuals with varying levels of inability to read.

This essay reviews the literature on dyslexic students, the available methods for their support in learning, and the factors determining the success of these methods in the learning environment.

Literature search and review

Brief topic outline

The subject of information studies is broad. There are a number of possible studies in each of the fields. The topic for this study is Dyslexic Students: Success Factors for Support in a Learning Environment. The paper presents a search of literature with information on the same.

During the search, some of the related findings on the topic are the diagnosis of the condition, the causes, and the prognosis of this condition. However, the interest of the search is on the success factors in the learning environment when correcting the condition.

Some of the topics that still need review in this area include the pathological signs in the brains of dyslexic students and the effects of social factors on the condition. Therefore, the research questions include:

1. What are the types of learning environments for dyslexic students?
2. What factors support learning in this environment?

Literature search strategy

The search strategy used a combination of methods. Electronic databases were preferred for the search. The key words were dyslexia, dyslexic students, learning support, and learning environments. The search was conducted in more than one database followed by analysis of the results.

The references of the results were then searched with the relevant ones being analysed for the study. The search for relevant books was through the COPAC library catalogue, which yielded useful publications for the study. A systematic approach was used in the search.

A targeted approach was later adopted for use to eliminate the less useful publications. The bibliographic tools used to carry out the search included the library catalogues and the databases. Since knowledge is constantly accumulating on the subject under study with research findings being published regularly, a limitation in the search was made.

The search, therefore, was limited to the research publications made since the year 2000. They were deemed to be current and useful to the study. For the purpose of ease in the compilation of the search results and a detailed analysis of the literature, only literature published in the English language was considered for review.

Search results

From the original search, a number of results were obtained. These were then scrutinised followed by a final list of 20 references, which were then used for the study.

The results include Bell, J 2010, Doing your research project : a guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science, Blaxter, L, Hughes, C & Tight, M 2010a, How to research, Burden, R, & Burdett, J 2005, Factors associated with successful learning in pupils with dyslexia: a motivational analysis, Carroll & Iles, An assessment of anxiety levels in dyslexic students in higher education, Clough & Nutbrown, A students guide to methodology : justifying enquiry.

Others are Davis, R 1997, The Gift of dyslexia: why some of the brightest people cant read and how they can learn, Doering, An unusual balance of skills: dyslexia in higher education, Fred Murphy On being dyslexic: Student radiographers perspectives Radiography, Gold, Rotella, Chenoweth, and Zaleski, Overcoming dyslexia (Book), Hatcher, Snowling, and Griffiths, Cognitive assessment of dyslexic students in higher education, Kirby, Sugden, Beveridge, Edwards, and Edwards, Dyslexia and developmental co-ordination disorder in further and higher educationsimilarities and differences.

Does the Label influence the support given?, Ling and van Schaiks, The influence of font type and line length on visual search and information retrieval in web pages. However, these are some of the results from the search with the rest being included in the reference list.

Selected sources

The first of the works that was of relevance to the study was Fred Murphys work published in the radiography journal in the 2011 issue (Murphy 2011, p. 134). The purpose of Murphys study was to provide an insight into life as a dyslexic student radiographer, identify barriers and risks in clinical training, and develop recommendations for the support of students with dyslexia (Murphy 2011, p. 134).

The justification of his study was the inadequacy of research into the experiences of student radiographers whose support was given only from the experience from other professions. He reported the absence of any study on the experiences of dyslexic radiography students (Murphy 2011, p. 135).

The study involved comparing the abilities of dyslexic students in performing given tasks. This result was compared with the abilities of non-dyslexic radiography students.

The results of the study revealed that there are few significant differences in the performance of clinical tasks by both sets of students (Murphy 2011, p. 136: Carroll &Iles 2006, p.12: Perry 2003, p. 23). The ten dyslexic radiography students in the study reported difficulties and prejudices in their areas of practice.

The clinical environment was also reported not to have a detailed support structure for their condition (Murphy 2011, p. 136). The study also revealed that the students had to take responsibility for most of their learning, which resulted in the development of complex strategies to cope with the condition.

The study made a number of recommendations on the improvement of support structures for dyslexic students mainly for support of dyslexic students on clinical practice.

This study is relevant to the current study, as it features some of the problems experienced by dyslexic students. The recommendations are also important as they apply to the dyslexic students in most of the areas of study because they face similar problems.

The research methodology is adequate for the study though the sample size used was not large enough to yield very significant results. The results are however presented in a clear manner thus making interpretation easy.

The second study that was relevant to the current study was that by Robert Burden and Julia Burdett, whose work was Factors Associated with Successful Learning in Pupils with Dyslexia: A Motivational Analysis (Burden & Burdett 2005, p.100).

The study resulted from previous studies on the subject, which had established existing challenges for dyslexic students in their self-esteem (Burden & Burdett 2005, p.100). The challenge in self-esteem is said to impart negative consequences on self-development of dyslexic students.

Burden and Burdett set to challenge these findings (Burden & Burdett 2005, p.102). The study was based on interviews conducted by the researchers on 50 boys between the ages of 11 and 16 who were dyslexic and attending a special school (Burden & Burdett 2005, p.102).

The two issues they explored were the pupils attitudes to learning and their sense of personal identity (Burden & Burdett 2005, p.102). They found a positive appraisal in most of the pupils they interviewed. They related this result to successful learning outcomes for the dyslexic pupils (Burden & Burdett 2005, p.103).

Their findings also included low levels of depression among the students with low levels of what they referred to as learned helplessness (Burden & Burdett 2005, p.104). They singled this quality of the learning process in these children as an important one in their learning process.

In the methodology, the number of students used indicates a significant sample for conclusion making, which again makes generalisation of the results easy. The study was also conducted in a systematic manner with the findings reported in an easy way.

The use of statistical inference is also evident in the study thus making the findings of the study valid. The findings of this study are important to the current study, as they form a relationship between attitude and learning in the dyslexic students.

Since the current study investigates success factors in the learning of dyslexic students, the factors discussed in the study by Burden and Burdett are important in conclusion making and inferences.

The third study of significance is a pilot study by MacFarlane et al. The study is on The effect of dyslexia on information retrieval (MacFarlane et al. 2010, p.307). This study is the first of its kind. The results are therefore significant to the current study.

The aim of the research was to fill the knowledge gap on the interaction of dyslexic people with information retrieval systems. A specific focus was made on their information seeking behaviour (MacFarlane et al 2010, p.307). The study utilised non-dyslexic people who were used as control for those under investigation.

The methodology included the use of a standard Okapi interface and two standard TREC topics, which were used to assess the information searching behaviour of the participants (MacFarlane et al 2010, p.312).

The study demonstrated the differences between information seeking behaviours of dyslexic people with those of the controls using log data being recorded (MacFarlane et al 2010, p.323).

From the study, Session data indicated that there may be an important difference between the number of iterations used in a search between the user groups, as there may be little effect from the topic on this variable (MacFarlane et al 2010, p.324).

This inference is a relevant finding in the study of the problems encountered by dyslexic students. It is applicable in making conclusions in the study currently being undertaken.

The authors found a knowledge gap in knowledge seeking behaviours of the dyslexics. They had no template on which to compare and use to critique their findings. There is therefore a need to conduct more research in this field. However, the layout and presentation of the results are systematic.

The conclusion made tallies with the results they found. As for the methodology, the sample size was adequate enough. The methods used in data collection were relatively accurate. The use of statistical inference in the research is plausible, as it makes it an important study for the topic being discussed.

The last of the important studies gotten from the literature review is the work of Taylor, Duffy, and Hughes (2007, p. 26), which investigated The Use of Animation in Higher Education Teaching to Support Students with Dyslexia. The study was carried out in the higher education setting of the United Kingdom.

The use of animated materials to support the learning of students with dyslexia was studied. The study design involved the use of thirteen dyslexic undergraduate computing students. The use of animation in their learning was investigated and compared with ordinary teaching methods (Taylor, Duffy & Hughes 2007, p. 27).

The results of the learning were then evaluated and inferences made accordingly (Taylor, Duffy & Hughes 2007, p. 29). A control group of non-dyslexic students was utilised for the study.

From the findings, it appeared that appropriate animated learning materials were perceived as being more useful than equivalent static learning materials by both the students with dyslexia and the control group of non-dyslexic students (Taylor, Duffy & Hughes 2007, p. 27).

The non-dyslexic students preferred the animated methods of learning as compared to the dyslexic students under study. The conclusion from the study was therefore that animated learning was of less significance in the learning of the dyslexic and the non-dyslexic students(Taylor, Duffy & Hughes 2007, p. 29). The sample size used to make the conclusion was small.

This drawback would reduce the accuracy of the findings and the reported conclusions. The use of statistical analysis is also not apparent in the study. The methodology appears to be limited in the ability to draw important conclusions.

On the other hand, the reporting and use of statistical representation in the work is appropriate, and so is the analysis of the results. The work is important to the study being investigated, as it focuses on the dyslexic learning behaviours and one of the methods that may be used to aid learning for these students.

Research proposal

Topic description

As indicated above, the topic for the study is, Dyslexic Students: Success Factors for Support in a Learning Environment. Dyslexia has been described as a medical mystery with a number of researches done on the causes and possible solutions (Kirby, Sugden, Beveridge, Edwards & Edwards 2008, p. 19).

The modern education system has many dyslexic students. Teachers and instructors in institutions of higher learning are faced with the difficulty of effectively imparting knowledge to these students (Hatcher, Snowling & Griffiths 2002, p. 76). A number of methods have also been suggested on how to support the train of the dyslexics.

The methods have also been applied with varying results. Dyslexia has been classified and defined as a language learning disorder characterised by spelling, reading, and writing deficits (Gold, Rotella, Chenoweth & Zaleski, 2003, p.63).

A number of causes for the conditions have been suggested with some suggesting that dyslexics see words backward. However, some scientific evidence shows that the students have a problem in the sight for words and producing the sounds made by these words (Doering 2003, p. 16).

The conventional methods of learning are not appropriate for the dyslexics. Most of the instructors find it hard when using them to teach the dyslexics. With the available methods of teaching dyslexics available, this research focuses on the success factors in the learning environment of dyslexics.

The students have to memorise each new word they come across. They hope to remember them in the next session (Ling & van Schaik 2006, P. 39: Neurodiversity 2010, p.98).

The learning environment for dyslexic students is different from that of conventional students. Several factors determine the success of teaching them in this environment (Madriaga 2007, p. 28). These factors form the basis of the study.

Aims and objectives

The main aim of the study is to investigate the success factors for support in a learning environment for dyslexic students. The study will therefore target to determine the factors affecting the success of learning for dyslexic students.

Over the past, studies have been done on the best methods to teach dyslexic students with suggestions being made on the appropriate changes to be made (Davis 1997, p. 16).

Follow-up studies have however shown mixed results while using the study methods proposed. This study therefore establishes the success of the methods in place to augment teaching for dyslexic students.

Another aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between the learning environment and the learning outcomes for dyslexic students. As indicated above, various studies have found differing results on the effects of learning environments for dyslexic students (Reid & Kirk 2001, p.29).

The study will therefore utilise the results from some of the studies in a bid to compare them with those from the data collected on learning environments and learning outcomes for dyslexic students.

Another aim of the study is to investigate the number of students benefiting from special methods for teaching dyslexics. In the past, the number of institutions offering special methods to teach dyslexics has been declining with few of the dyslexics being discovered (Reid & Kirk 2001, p.29).

The study therefore investigates the institutions and methods in place to train dyslexics showing how effectively they are doing this.

The other objective of the study will be to find out the methods of diagnosing dyslexics in the institutions where the study will be conducted. Depending on the institutions, the methods used to diagnose special students vary, as it is also the case for dyslexic students.

The study will therefore aim to find out the measures in place to diagnose these students in the institutions. The other aim of the study will be to determine whether dyslexic students are provided with extra tutorials in these institutions.

Method of choice and pilot study

In conducting a research or a study on the topic, the method to be used is significant as it determines the accuracy of the results that will be used to make conclusions (Bell 2010, p.23). The strength of the conclusions will therefore depend on the type of methods used for the research (Bell 2010, p. 23).

A combination of methods has been found to be appropriate for making solid conclusions (Bell 2010, p. 23). The method of choice for the study will be the use of questionnaires for the department heads for the various institutions with dyslexic students.

The contents of the questionnaire include the details of the institutions to be sampled and the respondents. Some of the questions to be addressed include whether the institution has any dyslexic students.

The questionnaire will also elicit for the opinions of the respondents of the on how to improve the measures in place for the improvement of learning resources for dyslexics in the library in their institutions.

The second method to be used for data collection will be the use of interviews. The use of interviews in research enables the researcher to get the opinions of the interviewees thus allowing more of the objectives of the study to be covered (Clough & Nutbrown 2007, p. 27).

The interview will cover the questions not addressed in the questionnaire to provide for the addition of more information that may be necessary for the study. The conducting of the pilot study will be done in one of the selected institutions, which will involve a relatively fewer number of respondents (Clough & Nutbrown 2007, p. 27).

The pilot study will be used to test the methods used in the actual study in a bid to establish the likely problems in carrying out the study.

Sources of data

The sources of data for this study are mainly derived from previous studies. They will be used to compare the results from the study. The use of peer reviewed journals and other professional works around the topic and objectives of the study will be made.

The sources will be analysed for any relevance to the study before inclusion. The main sources of data for the research will be the performance registers for the students under the study. In the institutions where the study will be conducted, the results of the examinations sat by the dyslexic students will be utilised as the sources of data.

The other sources of data for the research will be the records of the institutions with dyslexic students. These sources will be used to evaluate the number of students in the institutions with the condition.

As indicated above, the data will be used to make conclusions on the achievement of factors for success in the learning environment for dyslexics.

As a requirement, the strength of conclusions made by the research will be based on the statistical strength of the work, which will therefore be important to maintain (Clough & Nutbrown 2007, p. 27).

For the results of any research to be credible and generalisable to the wider public, the sample to be used must be representative of the population under study (Wolcott 2001, p.34). To achieve this goal, the sample size has to be large with a large number of participants to achieve the normal distribution of results (Wolcott 2001, p.34).

The sample size will therefore have to be larger than fifty to make the results of the study as accurate as possible. The sample to be used will also be obtained by the use of an appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria. The use of the criteria also improves the quality of the findings for the research.

Data analysis

The methods used for analysis of data results for research purposes are equally as important as the methods used to achieve them (Wolcott 2001, p.34). The various methods of data analysis should be accurate enough to provide results that can be generalised for the population under study (Wolcott 2001, p.38).

These methods are however dependent on the type of data that is gotten from the study. Some of the most utilised methods of data analysis are the gated counts that are manually done on paper and the use of statistical packages (Wolcott 2001, p.36).

The gated method is tedious to use in analysis of multiple sets of data as it involves a number of processes (Wolcott 2001, p.37). It is however accurate to use especially for smaller sets of data. In terms of the speed used to analyse this method of data analysis, the time taken is relatively longer compared to the use of statistical packages (Wolcott 2001, p.34).

On the other hand, the use of statistical packages in the analysis of statistical data is gaining popularity due to the established efficiency (Wolcott 2001, p.34). It takes a shorter time in analysing data. They are therefore important where there are a large number of sets of data involved (Wolcott 2001, p.34).

For both of these methods, some errors may occur. The methods may therefore be combined for accuracy (Blaxter, Hughes & Tight 2010, p. 12: Nielsen 2001, p. 34). For research on the success of factors for support in the learning environment for dyslexic students, a combination of data analysis methods will be used to ensure accuracy in the final results.

The sample results will be analysed using the gated method, which will then be followed by analysis using an appropriate statistical package.

Synthesis pattern

The synthesis of results is important in any research as it determines the quality of the research. For this particular research, the synthesis will mostly be in the terms of the groups used. After analysis of the results, they will then be synthesised according to the related findings.

Similar characteristics in the learning environments of dyslexics will be synthesised together to make a logical outcome. In the previous studies on dyslexics, the synthesis methods used were mainly applied to the results of the test performance (Reid & Kirk 2001, p.29). The same methods will be used in this proposal.

Project management

The project will need significant funding, which will be used to offset the charges in the project, as well as the costs of the various tools and staff utilised in the study. The first cost that will be incurred is in the materials used to develop the project.

They include stationery and printing charges. In producing the final draft of the proposal, a number of papers will need to be printed for review by the authorities responsible.

They will significantly contribute to the cost incurred. When the draft is complete, the instruments for the pilot study and the actual study will then be prepared. They will also need significant funding (Wolcott 2001, p.34).

The study will be carried out by a number of people over a number of days. Analysis will also involve a number of people based on the size of the sample (Bell 2010, p. 21). The staff therefore required in the carrying out of the study will be a significant source of cost for the project and the research.

In getting to the field where the data will be collected, the staff and the people responsible for the study will need to travel. This travelling will take place throughout the period of the study. The use of both private and public means of transport to these areas will therefore need a significant amount of money.

This need will contribute to the increase in the budget for the research. Other costs to be incurred in the research include the publishing of the results, the organisation of meetings to discuss the study, and the overhead costs.

As an estimate, the research will likely utilise a thousand dollars, which is an estimate that could increase or reduce based on the size of the research.

Disseminating findings

The findings of any study are only important if they are provided to the relevant authorities for action. They should also be made public to ensure change is effected based on the findings and the results from the research. For the research proposed above, the results are significant to the learning institutions, which have dyslexic students in their classes.

For them to fully utilise the results, a feedback will need to be planned. A report should be handed to the institutions where the study was conducted. The report should contain the methodology of the study, the results obtained from it, the recommendations, and other information from the study that may be relevant to the institutions.

When the report is provided to the institutions, a session could also be provided to the people concerned. This session should be in a PowerPoint presentation. It should be in simple language for them to understand. It should also be informative.

Another way of disseminating the results would be the use of professional and peer reviewed journals (Bell 2010, p. 23). These would then publish the results to be available for the scholars and general public.

The relevant authorities could also be provided with a copy of the final report to make any changes and or gauge their performance based on the findings (Bell 2010, p. 23).

The results could also be published in newspapers and magazines offering relevant information to the population concerned. Other methods of dissemination of the results include public lectures and tutorials. For the method chosen to disseminate the results, the target should be to reach the people that will have the most use of them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the research involves finding out the factors of success in the learning environments of dyslexics. The topic was chosen due to the established problem in the learning of dyslexics especially when conventional methods of teaching are employed.

The number of dyslexics in the institutions of higher learning is also reported to be increasing. This revelation justifies the need for the research. The study aims to achieve the mentioned objectives with the most important being to determine the success factors in the learning environment for dyslexics.

A combination of methods has been suggested for the study with the use of questionnaires and interviews being considered. The questions will be addressed to the teaching authorities in the institutions established.

The results will then be compiled. A pilot study will also be conducted to establish the problems likely to arise in a bid to plan for the research.

The sources of data will be the records from the institutions especially the tests given to these students. The analysis of the data will be done by the use of a combination of methods, which will be simple gated counts and the use of statistical packages.

In the project management, the main cause of concern is the cost of carrying it out. Some of the costs that will be incurred include the staffing, travelling to the institutions, and making of the test instruments. An estimate of this cost has been given.

The findings will then be disseminated in a number of ways with the feedback being made to the authorities responsible. A presentation will be made followed by a copy of the report that will be handed to the institutions.

References

Bell, J 2010, Doing your research project : a guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science, Open UP study skills, McGraw-Hill Open University Press, Maidenhead.

Blaxter, L, Hughes, C, & Tight, M 2010, How to research, McGraw-Hill/Open University.

Burden, R, & Burdett, J 2005, Factors associated with successful learning in pupils with dyslexia: a motivational analysis, British Journal Of Special Education, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 100-104.

Carroll, J & Iles, J 2006, An assessment of anxiety levels in dyslexic students in higher education, British Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 76, no. 3, pp. 651-62.

Clough, P & Nutbrown, C 2007, A students guide to methodology: justifying enquiry, Sage Publications, Los Angeles, London.

Davis, R 1997, The Gife of Syslexia: why some of the brightest people cant read and how they can learn, Souvenir Press Ltd., Great Britain.

Doering, JW 2003, An Unusual Balance of Skills: Dyslexia in Higher Education, Contemporary Review Company, Harvard.

Gold, F, Rotella, M, Chenoweth, E, & Zaleski, J 2003, Overcoming Dyslexia (Book), Publishers Weekly, vol. 250, no. 14, p. 63.

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Schuman accounts for success and failures of the Asian model of development by using two biographies, exploring anomalies in Asia that vary from this classic Asian model of development, and showing exceptional cases of the connection between strength of regulation and economic expansion.

First, Schumans biographies indicate two main traits of the Asian model of development. There is the truth among these that Asian nations tend to stress investment in export exhaustive industries, as well as take part heavily in global trade.

The second feature is the stress on investment as a main pathway to economic development. Regrettably, having both of these traits can be challenging, since an overreliance on exports not uniformly balanced with domestic use can result to a fizz economy.

Schuman explains these questions by the example of two biographies of different people, such as Li Ka-shing who is a Hong Kong market responsive supporter, and Shigeru Sahashi, a Japanese critical revisionist. He chooses Shigeru Sahashi, a public official, because he has embodied the intrusiveness of Japans situation in directing the economy (Schuman 7).

He executes a series of policies to change the comparative advantage of Japan from manual industries like textiles and toys into profound industries, which necessitate great technical know-how and big investments.

Through low-interest and easy access funding, duty-free importation of essential machinery, concoction of alien technology, and trade hurdles that protected preferred industries from alien rivalry, the Central Bank and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) collaborated to accelerate and increase investment (Schuman 15). In this manner, Japan primarily formed the MITI-driven Model.

Expansion led primarily by the regime is quite symbolic for the characteristic model of Asian development. Conversely, Schuman chooses Li Ka-shing, a hugely significant and wealthy businessman, because he typifies other characteristic features of the Asian development model such as dynamic involvement in global trade (Schuman 20).

Li begins his business by making plastic toys for a home trading company and accruing immense quantities of capital by accepting substantial orders from overseas. Therefore, Asian domestic trade is expanding swiftly while the regime is stressing on exports and global trade, which may result in a largely diminished state consumption.

Secondly, Schuman explores a number of irregularities that vary from this economic model of development in Asia on top of changes that have been associated with this model. Among these irregularities, Indias attention is concentrated on the service segment.

Even when most of the other Asian states centered on manufacturing taking benefit of the inexpensive labor force, India focused on a more human capital rigorous growth mechanism. This is exciting since while the service industry stresses a high intensity of expertise and skill, developing nations have a less developed educational structure which cannot compete with developed states in the quality of personnel.

Hence, most emerging nations grow via production industries rather than service business. Even as, the subsidiary return to service is declining as the personnel enlarge, the reverse is happening for human capital since the subsidiary earnings are raising as the magnitude of human capital augments.

This feature might demonstrate the latent development power for India as it seems to be growingly predominant in international service industries.

Higher education conscription rate is a key pointer of enlightening attainments, and India has had the lowest situation amid chief emerging nations. Hence, it is even more probing how India has managed to develop through the services industry, though Schuman does not scrutinize the motives for this.

Schuman also examines a key shift that has been happening to the Asian model of economic development. In earlier times, Asian regimes were used to focusing their attention on the flows of the interior Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Nevertheless, the procurement of IBMs PC unit China demonstrates that a growing amount of Asian nations might soon commence ventures in industrialized states.

Therefore, there has been a change towards external FDI flow, which can take benefit of superior technologies, infrastructure and personnel in developed nations, thus benefiting economic development. Hence, Schuman shows that while there are definite characteristics that are common all over the Asian economies, they are also shifting over time with chief differences amid the states.

Third, Schuman provides exceptional cases of the connection between strength of regulation and economic expansion. A certain title of the chapter is used by the author to feature the relationship that occur between economic development and its regulation, Why Koreans want to clone a dictator? (Schuman 37).

Park fashioned the Economic Planning Board, which manages the whole development procedure. Furthermore, he overtly possessed Koreas financial systems and took express power over their loan practices. Even as, the Korean economy did grow under his government, Schuman does not attempt to clarify whether this development happened despite the rule or because of it.

Schuman not only reveals the accomplishments of the economic Asian model of development, but also points out the possible problems it features. Besides, he sheds reservations on the laissez-faire ideology widespread in European nations and the United States economic growth model and stresses the positive impact of regime in Asias economic growth (Schuman 46).

Even though economists are habitually criticizing Asian regimes as intervening and overstretching too much in the free market, the victory of Asias economic development cannot be ignored. Schumans account of Asian economic growth leaves the following query that deals with in what circumstances a strong government-business affiliation positively pressures the economy.

It would seem that both the global situation in the 20th century and Asian culture and history impact this result even if Schuman does not openly answer the query. Even without the employment of intricate statistical models, the use of abstract concepts, or critical investigations, he vibrantly recalls the account of the hasty growth in Asian economies by describing the stories of a number of eminent persons (Schuman 43).

Schuman, accordingly, offers a sensitive appreciation of the Asian model of economic growth in his work. Through the use of striking, individual stories, Schuman adds to the existing theories on Asian economic development.

In conclusion, Schuman uses two biographies that indicate the main traits of the Asian model of development. He chooses Shigeru Sahashi, a public official, since he has embodied the intrusiveness of Japans situation in directing the economy.

Shigeru executed a series of policies to change the comparative advantage of Japan from manual industries like textiles and toys into profound industries, which necessitate greater technical know-how and bigger investments.

Conversely, Schuman chooses Li Ka-shing, a hugely significant and wealthy business man, because he typifies the other characteristic of the Asian development model: dynamic involvement in global trade. Li begins his business by making plastic toys for a home trading company and accruing immense quantities of capital by accepting substantial orders from overseas.

Lis enterprise noticeably broadens by global business when a change in international production, from urbanized to emerging nations, occurred more than forty years ago. Thus, Schuman demonstrates that Asian, domestic trade is expanding swiftly while the regime is stressing exports and global trade, which can result to a largely diminished state consumption.

Besides, Schuman explores a number of irregularities that vary from this economic model of development in Asia, on top of changes that associate with this model. Among these irregularities is Indias attention on the service segment. He demonstrates that nowadays, India is a developing state that is of great importance for the global services and outsourcing businesses and industries gaining of inexpensive human capital.

Third, Schuman provides exceptional cases of the connection between strength of regulation and economic expansion. Schuman not only reveals the accomplishments of the economic Asian model of development, but as well points out the possible problems it features.

Besides, he sheds reservations on the laissez-faire ideology widespread in European nations and the United States economic growth model and stresses the positive impact of regime in Asias economic growth.

Even without the employment of intricate statistical models, the use of abstract concepts, or critical investigations, Schuman vibrantly recalls the account of the hasty growth in Asian economies by describing the stories of a number of eminent persons.

He shows that while there are definite characteristics that are common all over the Asian economies, they are also shifting over time with chief differences amid the states. Through the use of striking, individual stories, Schuman adds to the existing theories on Asian economic developmen

Works Cited

Schuman, Michael. The Miracle  The Epic Story of Asias Quest for Wealth. London: Harper Collins Publishers, 2009. Print.

Introduction

The first part of this essay will deal with question one and the second part is the long answer questions. Question one asks about the reasons why the banks financial systems in Canada and Australia are successful and what has made them remain instability amid the global financial crises. The following are the major reasons, which have stabilized the banking industry in Canada and Australia.

Part one

The first reason for this stability is that banks in Canada are more robust and strong in comparison to those, which are in the United States of America. This robustness in terms of being in all states of the country as well as having a wide capital and assets base is the reason that has ensured stability in both Australia and Canada. This strong asset base and capitalization experienced by banks in Canada are because of historical differences in regulations that began as early as the nineteenth century.

The banks in the United States on the other hand are weak. They do not have a strong financial and asset base to withstand the shocks and risks involved in the banking industry such as declining macroeconomic factors. This fragmentation has seen a decline in the capabilities of those banks to withstand financial crises in the market (Bordo & Redish 1987).

The differences in regulations that have brought about major differences are attributable to regulations. In Canada, the federal government regulated the banks whereas in the United States it was the state government. This led the banks in the United States to be limited in their expansion because some states did not allow banks that were not from their state to open branches in their state. This led to banks, which were states based rather than country-based (Bodenhorn 2000).

The banks were thereby weak and their capital and asset base were limited to their states. This was different in Canada and Australia because the banks were regulated by the federal government. This allowed the banks to have branches all over the country that provided them with capital base and assets, which are critical for stability. The federal government, therefore, chartered banks in Canada whereas the state governments chartered banks in the United States (Bordo, Reddish & Rockoff 2012).

The other difference is that the security markets in Canada and Australia grew slowly compared to those of the United States and this affected the banks performance and stability. The security markets or the stock industry in the United States grew more than in the two countries. This was a result of the weak bank system, which would not provide the needed capital therefore the need for industries and companies to look for more finances by taking their companies public in the stock exchange. This made the New York Stock Exchange very robust while weakening the banking system. In Canada, due to the robust banking system, there was no urgent need for stock markets as the banks were capable of funding the necessary industries with the needed capital (Davis 2008).

The growth in the stock market in the United States led to another major difference in terms of regulation that differs from the regulation in Canada and Australia. There was the acceptance of investment banks in the United States whereas the other two countries did not adopt them until the mid-twentieth century. The investment banks are banks, which accept stocks as security for the credit. The stocks were however regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission which determined who was to invest.

The banks in Canada on the other hand preferred more items that are tangible as security such as house and real estate. This gave the banks stability as the value of the stock was likely to depreciate depending on the market and this was the major reason why the banks in the United States were in a panic as the value of stock depreciated in Wall Street. Real estate on the other hand is certainly going to maintain its value or increase it (Bordo, Reddish & Rockoff 2012).

The regulation of credit in Canada is another reason attributed to the stability of their banks. Banks in Canada are not credit-oriented and they, therefore, do not support credit cards as most of the banks in the United States. The banks in the United States offered mortgages for homeownership. Also, they gave more credit to individuals who had the mortgage against their equity. This meant that home equity was the security which led to mass default when there was a decline in the value of houses. In Canada there is no permission for a loan on equity, the borrower had to repay fully the loan before he or she qualifies for another one. This strictness has made the country banks to remain stable amid the global financial crises (Bordo, Reddish & Rockoff 2012).

Part 2

This part will deal with the long answer questions whether the foreign-based banks either subsidiary or affiliates are affected by the global financial crises and how they responded to this crisis. The subsidiaries are those banks, which have their parent company based in a foreign country, the subsidiaries may receive their initial funding from the parent company, but with time, they operate independently only requiring periodical supervision of their performance by the parent company.

The affiliates are also banks based locally but they affiliate with a foreign bank. The emerging market economies were unaffected by the global financial crises while the western nations were affected. Irrespective of this the subsidiaries had to react to the crises to ensure that they were prepared to handle it. One of how the subsidiaries responded to the crises was by cutting the overhead costs as well as reducing the rates of borrowing.

Other subsidiaries temporarily stopped lending to Small and Medium enterprises and rather preferred to lend to large and established enterprises. Those subsidiaries that were performing well than their parent companies reiterated that they are independent while those that were performing dismally had the support of their parent company and there was no need for panic (Mihaljek1 2011).

Question two of the long answer question asks for the strengths of German and Australian banks and their weaknesses. There are several strengths of German and Australian banks. The first strength regards the fact that German banks have three structures. There are privately held commercial banks, which are the largest banking institutions in the country. The publicly held banks have the government as a shareholder, and there are cooperative banks owned by the commercial members of the banks most of whom deposit their money.

This structure ensures stability in the German banks although partly affected by the global financial crises, especially the commercial banks. However, the cooperatives experienced much of the effects as they received deposits from their cooperative members. The weakness in the banking system in Germany has to do with the commercial banks having toxic assets. Toxic assets are those assets, which cannot easily turn liquid such as stocks that were declining in value because of the global credit crunch (International Monetary Fund 2011).

Question three is about similar patterns of operation between the Australian banking system and banks in the emerging markets. The first similarity is that of lending to small and medium enterprises in the country that is not only risky but also the one with the highest rate of return. Most of the emerging markets are experiencing industrial growth, which requires funding. The banks in emerging economies have taken advantage of this beneficial opportunity. Also, Australia is experiencing industrial growth and there are new industries that require funding. The banks are taking it as a major opportunity irrespective of the risks involved. Notably, Australia did not experience the heat of the Global recession as most of the Western countries (Kyoon & Sheridan 2012).

The difference in the banking system is that Australian banks have more assets base than banks in emerging economies. They are in a better position to remain stable amid the risks. On the other hand, banks in the emerging economy do not have a wide capital base to buffer them from the risks in times of crisis. However, they have the advantage that their economies are growing thus providing them with the needed resources and means of sustenance (Gorton 2010).

Conclusion

Banking is a robust industry, it directly relates to the economy, and therefore the regulations are important especially when meant to provide stability in the industry. The economies are becoming credit-oriented and there is a vital need to provide mechanisms like those in Canada that are going to ensure stability amid crises.

References

Bodenhorn, H 2000, A history of banking in antebellum America: Financial markets and economic development in an era of nation-building, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Bordo, M & Redish, A 1987, Why did the bank of Canada emerge in 1935? Journal of Economic History vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 405-17.

Bordo, M, Reddish, A & Rockoff, H 2012, Why didnt Canada have a banking crisis in 2008 (or in 1930, or 1907, or&)? National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 17312 2011, pp. 4-10.

Davis, K. (2008) The Australian financial system in the 2000s: Dodging the Bullet The World Economic Forum Development Report increased Australias financial system ranking from 11th internationally in 2008 to 2nd in 2009, partly in response to Australias experience during the financial crisis. World Economic Forum, Paris, pp. 29-34.

Gorton, G 2010, Slapped by the invisible hand: The panic of 2007, Financial management association survey and synthesis series, Oxford University Press, New York.

International Monetary Fund, 2011, Germany banking sector structure technical note: Financial Sector Assessment Program Update, New York.

Kyoon, B & Sheridan, N 2012, Asia and Pacific department bank capital adequacy in Australia, IMF Working Paper, New York, pp. 3-31.

Mihaljek1, D 2011, Domestic bank intermediation in emerging market economies during the crisis: locally owned versus foreign-owned banks. The BIS meeting of Deputy Governors of emerging market economies, New York.

Sports and sporting activities are an integral part in human life, since they keep us healthy and fit both physically and mentally. Another significant benefit of sports is that, they do play an important role in enhancing social interactions among people of varied cultural tastes who are likely to come together and interact freely through sports activities.

These however, are some of the many benefits associated with sports, and are the reasons why many people fancy sports. Personally, I am a great fan of sports, and I like taking sports activities whenever it is possible. Among other reasons, I have always valued sports for two major reasons; first as a hobby and then as something which can help me improve my whole health in various ways.

Jogging and in-house gymnastic activities are my favorite sports programs, and in that case, I like going for the perfect sportswear that would enable me achieve my goals in these fields. Among the various sportswear categories in the market today, I have always had a strong liking for Nike products, particularly shoes, not because of their great popularity, but owing to the fact that they have served me better over the years.

The main reason why I have decided to evaluate this specific product is because it matters a lot to me and to other people across the world who have been using it for sports activities. For the purpose of this paper, the product would be evaluated in categories of cost, design or use, and durability.

The corporate mission for Nike is to emerge as the global leader in fitness and sports gear, particularly footwear. However, the American sportswear company has long achieved this goal, considering the fact that it has retained its position in the world, as a leader innovator and designer in sports footwear. As a matter of fact, this outstanding success of Nike in the global markets can be attributed to the quality of its footwear products and apparel for sports.

Today, the company is ranked among the biggest manufacturers and suppliers of sports shoes in the world, and this coupled with their highly valued brands has made Nike a giant among the global businesses in sports gear. Many people allover the world, especially the younger generation, view Nike shoes as a status symbol, and for that reason, they would like to be associated with them.

Having known Nike as a company that manufacturers and sells an assortment of high quality sports products, I have always seen them as a better choice for all my sports footwear needs. This however, would range from indoor to outdoor activities. Unlike other popular brands such as Fila, Puma, Reebok, and Adidas, Nike is an American brand and this home advantage increases the products availability in the country, thus making it easily accessible at a fair cost.

More importantly, and just what tends to impress many people, Nike brand sports footwear models are designed into various designs to comply with the current developments in fashion as they are generated by technological advancements among other trends of urbanization and industrialization.

As it would be observed, Nike products, just like any other brands in the world, are associated with both positive and negative attributes, whereby the positive attributes are more influential.

For instance, considering the issue of design, Nike, Inc has always ensured that it comes up with design styles that comply to current aspects of modernity to fit to the changing demands of athletes and sportsmen (Hausman & Thorbeck, 2010). This innovative nature has always contributed to introduction of various new features that have been designed to enhance performance and increase comfort.

In this regard, Nike footwear for different sports activities has been designed with the idea of stability and resilience in accordance with the intended purpose. As a matter of fact, design has been a key focus and a milestone in the companys sustainability strategy, and for that reason, the company has always worked to accelerate the development of new designs for its footwear.

As a matter of fact, the comfort in Nike shoes can be found in the design style. For example, the LunarLite Foam used in the sole of most Nike shoes is a bit lighter, thus offering ultra-lightweight and soft cushioning. This plays a significant role in helping to minimize painful pressure to the foot, among other shoe-related discomforts.

The other advantage associated with Nike sports/athletic footwear would be in the materials used to manufacture the products. There is enough evidence that the companys most-used materials are environmentally friendly. Moreover, these materials are highly sustainable and ones that can be recycled for future use. Some of the environmentally friendly materials that are used by the company include leather, environmentally preferred rubber, synthetic leather, recycled polyester, and organic cotton.

In this regard, there is no way Nike sports footwear can have a negative impact on the environment. Nice sneakers are also generally attractive, durable, and comfortable to wear. Nikes design styles are meant for excellent performance of the products in various sporting environments, and in that case, natural materials such as leather are used to ensure strong and flexible sports shoes are manufactured.

Apart from the benefits expressed above, Nike athletic shoes have also been associated with a number of negative attributes. One common disadvantage of Nike sports shoes over other brands of compared quality is that, they are more expensive. Another important concern here is that, some Nike shoe models would tend to wear out after only a little use.

There have also been some cases of foot injuries resulting from the use of Nike shoes in sports activities. These, however, are some of the areas which the footwear company needs to focus on and make the necessary improvements in order to continue providing a competitive edge of its sports products in the global markets.

As it observed from this evaluation, Nike footwear is designed to meet the changing needs of athletes and sportsmen and women in almost all aspects. This suitability nature can be observed from a number of features associated with the products which include things such as their high quality status, durability, comfort, and nice appearance, among other aspects. These, coupled, with the companys innovative nature as discussed in this paper, have accorded the brand unmatched competitive advantage in the sports industry.

Also as observed from this evaluation, the positive attributes associated with this particular brand have far exceeded the negativities, and this makes Nike footwear products a better choice over the other brands in the industry. Based on all these observations, I have every reason to urge those people who have not used Nikes products, especially the footwear, to start going for them to realize enhanced sports performances and satisfaction in their respective sporting fields.

Reference

Hausman, W., & Thorbeck, J. (2010). Fast Fashion: Quantifying the Benefits. Innovative

Quick Response Programs in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 15(8), 315-319.

Electronic commerce (EC) has influenced other industries and markets than others. These influences may be due to different forms of products or industry characteristics.

Product characteristics

The type of product is important for the success of EC. For instance, customers will find it simple to order digitized products than other forms of products. These products exploit the advantage of digitization, rely on a simple distribution system, and this result in low costs of doing business. Digitization of products allows dealers to reduce processes and procedures involved in the delivery of the order to the customer. Amazon has found it simple and affordable to digitize books and CDs for the global market.

Customers who wish to order products like cloths, which are difficult to digitize may find it difficult to do so through the EC platform because they have to deal with several questions related to product features. Selling such products through the EC platform is difficult because of their characteristics.

The customer wants to experience and feel such products before making a purchase decision. It is difficult to get information about these products without a direct contact or experience with them. In this case, knowledge and information concerning product characteristics are important to customers and retailers because they influence how customers interact with the product through the EC platform.

Thus, the retailer must highlight important product features when considering EC and media of communicating with customers. The retailer must replace the face-to-face communication of the traditional market in order to meet customers interaction needs. The EC retailer must consider product characteristics and media of communication alongside costs, customer service standards, and other characteristics of EC (Axelsson 3).

Products also have different prices, which may influence outcomes of EC. Products with high prices also have high risks to the retailer and the customer. This is critical when dealers and their customers are geographically far and lack trust. Customers prefer to purchase low priced products through EC platforms than high valued products.

Industry characteristics

The EC industry has experienced rapid changes as technologies continue to emerge with new solutions (Turban and King 569). In this context, an industry factor may affect the success of the EC business. For instance, there is no single standard of describing EC products. In other words, products lack specific standards, which they must meet. As a result, the lack of a single standard, which the retailer and customer can recognize, may hinder the EC business. Currently, most retailers highlight their product features through textual means.

However, these should change and include multimedia elements. When retailers incorporate multimedia features to product descriptions, customers will find it easy to understand and make purchase decision. Thus, retailers should consider audio, images, and video when describing their products to customers through EC platforms. The industry should adopt virtual reality to facilitate EC.

The EC industry may also look for brokers to match retailers and customers directly. This is necessary because of abundant information over the Internet. EC firms, which have third parties, may not experience many challenges from their customers. The industry should develop intelligent software that can reduce challenges that many customers face during EC transactions.

Industry characteristics are many and different. It may be difficult for a retailer to keep up with rapid changes in the industry. This scenario may hinder the success of a firm. However, adopting new technologies as the e-commerce market evolves can guarantee successful business.

Works Cited

Axelsson, Karin. Exploring Relationships between Products Characteristics and B2C Interaction in Electronic Commerce. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research 3.2 (2008): 1-17. Print.

Turban, Efraim and David King. Electronic Commerce 2012: Managerial and Social Networks Perspectives. 7th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.

The fluctuating market often demands changes in a company, so that it stays successful. IBM is a world known organization that has seen rough times but managed to adjust to the world and the economy. Some changes took place several years ago but the major one was accomplished through innovation and is rather recent. The general adjustments that took place were a more environment oriented approach that led to lowering costs, increasing the role of stakeholders and a more customer oriented work technique.

The CEOs have also changed some of the management that would provide a shift from hardware to software focus. The technologies were upgraded that made work more efficient and much faster. A great part of the need to change came with the culture and the public demands. The new technology that gets improved very often dictates how the company will work within its own culture, as well as with the public.

IBM is a worldwide company and sometimes it is difficult to keep track of all locations. One of the strategic advances that were made is related to changing the consulting practice and connection between locations. The major focus has turned to people and interaction with the public. As customers will often return to the same organization if the products and services are reliable and of high quality, it was wise for IBM to pay special attention to how the business is conducted.

The international success has proved that people are expecting great service and IBM recognized this by increasing the number of employees responsible for customer relations. With nearly 3,500 strategy professionals worldwide, the IBM strategy and change practice is part of IBM Global Business Services and this increases the quality of services accordingly (Organizational Change Strategy).

As there is a lot of competition in the modern world, the changes that IBM makes have to be quick. While the adjustment of production has lowered costs and heightened quality, as well as making it more environment friendly, the changes to the services and workforce greatly added to the companys success

Sometimes the company that adjusts to the economy or fluctuating market must let some of its employees go but IBM chose a strategy that increased the amount of workers worldwide and it positively reflected on the organization. It is a wise strategy to improve both products and services because this means that with higher quality of merchandise people will also receive great services.

Comparing to other companies IBM has rooted out all competitors because the size of the organization, the amount of locations and people involved in customer oriented focus have majorly outnumbers all others. Another improvement that was made is the involvement of IBM in several industries at the same time.

This enlarges the scope of the company and makes it more knowledgeable in other spheres of everyday life. It is clear that the management understands what people want and need, and the ability to get everything in one place, with addition to outstanding service, makes it one of the best companies. Even though these changes were made through the demands of the company and the public, there are many other ways that IBM can better its products and services.

Overall, IBM has made many adjustments but the best treatment for its customers is one of the most important ones. A company that values the consumer will be the most successful.

Works Cited

Oganizational Change Strategy. IBM. 2011, Web. https://www.ibm.com/services

Introduction

The successful of business organisations is often depended on the leaders or executives who drive leadership in these business organisations. Business leaders are the main strategists of business programs that define the success of the firm in the industry and the economy in which it operates. Executive competence is one of the leadership attributes that combines other enabling qualities for business leaders (Henman, 2011).

There are many notable business executives across the world that have helped companies to gain strong positions through innovation. The late Steve Jobs id on of the most commonly known executives for his ability to drive Apple Incorporated to what it is today. It is argues that Jobs was able to develop the company through executive competence that he developed over time. This paper discuses Steve Jobs and his leadership skills that aided him in attaining executive competence that enabled Apple Incorporated to grow to success.

Overview of business performance and executive competence

It is important to note that no business company can attain growth without a clear and visionary leadership from the person leading the company. The companys success is often based on the policies that are developed and how these policies are implemented by the organisation.

Organisational leaders or executives are the overall overseers of policies of companies since they approve the policies and ensure that these policies are implemented to the latter. The kind of policies that are developed and their respective implementation depend on business leadership qualities of the executive. The executive must have a clear picture of where he or she ought to drive the company to (Goleman, 2011).

Goleman (2011) observed that good business leadership skills of organisational executives often result in positive business outcomes for firms. This makes firms more competitive and positions them in the sense that they become more strategic in the market. Business leaders form the first brands of organisation that they are heading.

Steve Jobs is one of the most echoed business executives having taken over leadership in Apple and diving the company to greater heights. Though business leaders are shaped the organisational environment, they should to have more influence to the organisational environment.

They need to take charge of the environment and subdue to favor the practices of the company and bring about achievements. This is what successful business executives like Steve Jobs were able to do. The performance of Steve Jobs as the Chief Executive Officer of Apple incorporated is linked to many factors most of which revolve around the business leadership skills and competence.

Performance of Steve Jobs as a senior executive

Business executives have to be transformative in nature. Transformation is one of the most desired aspects in organisational or business leadership. Steve Jobs was termed as one of the most transformative oriented executives in the world by believing in change and innovation and making that change happen through innovation.

This is one of the aspects of executive competence that made Steve Jobs leave a legacy by making Apple one of the leading companies in the competitive information and communication technology industry. Transformational leadership is argued to drive innovation which is one of the most desired attributes in organisational positioning.

One of the most important transformative aspects of Steve Jobs is his belief in innovation and the subsequent support and involvement in organisational innovation leading to creativity in the company (Mohr, Sengupta & Slater, 2010).

Jobs had an open and creative mind having been one of the important players in the information technology industry before being appointed to head Apple into developing most innovative products. Most of the products that were developed during the tenure of Jobs as the Chief Executive Officer of Apple have been termed as being evolutionary. Jobs was directly involved every step of developing these products; being a specialist in information technology.

These products include the iPhones, iPads and iPods which have left a big mark in the information and communication technology industry. Perhaps, the most important thing to ask here is what it takes for a person to be a good executive and drive change in an organisation. They say, experience is one of the important considerations of the ability of a person to manage a firm. This is a weighty factor and can be easily linked to Steve Jobs as a success factor an icon in business leadership (Schermerhorn, 2011).

Steve Jobs operated in the information and communication technology industry for long before being appointed to lead the Apple Company. Jobs had developed a great understanding and a passion for the company. He only got a platform for exploring his passion for the industry in Apple. Jobs carried a broader vision in him about the telecommunication industry.

He understood what was needed in the industry and the direction that the industry needed to take and executed that in Apple incorporated. Jobs took advantage of his position as a chance to explore (Betz, 2001). This is cited as one of the reasons why Jobs was able to effectively execute innovation in the company.

This can also be used as a basis for attaining executive competence for other companies. The use of technocrats in managing enterprises is taking course in many companies. This is a positive development basing on the Case of Steve Jobs and innovation in the Apple Company. Steve Jobs is referred to as a genius in information technology which s true because he was an active participant in thinking and developing of innovation (Schermerhorn, 2011).

Jobs was applauded for being able to articulate well between the vision and the objectives of the organisation. This precisely lies with the fact that the personal vision of Steve Jobs was to a big extent related to the vision of the organisation. Jobs always saw a big potential of delivering in the company and put this vision to work by devising better strategies to drive the vision of the organisation.

Good leadership and other communication and entrepreneurial skills combined to realise the vision of the firm. A business firm may have a good vision, but this vision can only be realised when the leader of the firm is able to read into the vision. The leader reads into the vision by devising strategies that are able to drive the company towards the achievement of objectives underlying the vision.

Realising the need for innovation so as to keep per with the competition in the company, Jobs embraced investment in research and development to back the development. During his tenure, Apple was rated as one of the companies that heavily invested in research and development. This was however paid off by the results of research and development as was implicated in innovative software and hardware products that have been produced by the company (Dawson & Andriopolous, 2008).

The other important factor of organisational success in the economy is the ability of the chief leader of the organisation to embrace a positive working environment. This refers to the relationship between organisational employees and the executive of the organisation. Without this, an organisational can hardly be innovative because the level of innovation often relies on the cohesiveness of product development groups.

The ability to communicate, foster, develop and manage employee and employee relations cannot be left out at the mention of Steve Jobs and the Apple Company. Jobs had good skills of communicating with employees in the company making him easily work with all workers in the company (Nelson & Quick, 2011).

Jobs put him at a level where he managed to bridge the gap between him and all the employees. This ranged from the manner in which he dressed to the way he communicated with and engaged organisational teams. While most ideas on product development and innovation were developed by Jobs, these ideas were implemented by organisational employees.

The ability of the employees to adopt and implement the ideas is associated with the ability of Jobs to effectively communicate them to innovation or project teams in the organisation. For most of the innovations, for example, the development of the Mackintosh computer by Apple, Jobs had the whole concept behind this but communicated it to project engineers. The project engineers were able to implement the whole concept to the later (Nelson & Quick, 2011).

Therefore, the employees of firms are very important assets which drive success in business organisations thence the success of the CEO and the company. Therefore, executive competence is also reliant on the ability of executives to initiate and maintain positive working relations which Jobs did to bring success in Apple (Rumelt, 2011).

Executives are the main defenders of organisations especially when organisations are troubled by competitors. Steve Jobs strongly defended the products of the company in the market by taking head on with companies that had intentions on infringing on the copyrights of Apple.

This prevented Apple from being a subject of unfair competition from other companies the market. Jobs, strongly advocated for international copyright laws which have helped in protecting the identity of the products of Apple. With many companies operating in the industry and producing substitutes and complementary products, Apple was assured of the uniqueness of its products. This is an important business leaders fighting for the company at all times (Henman, 2011).

Conclusion

Business executives are the leading players in organisational success because they are the chief players in organising and executing operations in organisations. It has been noted that a lot is often expected of business executives or leaders because they are the main influencers of the organisational environment.

Organisational executives are expected to make a lot of efforts to learn the external business environment and implement internal practices which drives development. All this depends on executive competencies of organisational leaders which are manifested in skills, characters and actions of firm executives.

These are the qualities that have positioned Steve Jobs as a successful chief executive officer during his leadership period in Apple. Apples success is strongly attributed to the business leadership qualities of Jobs which bond with personal qualities.

References

Betz, F. (2001). Executive strategy: Strategic management and information technology. New York: J. Wiley.

Dawson, P., & Andriopolous, C. (2008). Managing Change, creativity and innovation. London: SAGE.

Goleman, D. (2011). HBRs 10 Must Reads On Leadership. Boston, MA; Harvard Business School Publishing.

Henman, L. D. (2011). Landing in the executive chair: How to excel in the hot seat. Pompton Plains, NJ: Career Press.

Mohr, J. J., Sengupta, S., & Slater, S. F. (2010). Marketing of high-technology products and innovations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Nelson, D. L., & Quick, J. C. (2011). Organizational behavior: Science, the real world, and you. Mason, OH, USA: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Rumelt, R. (2011). Apple and Jobs. Web.

Schermerhorn, J. R. (2011). Organizational Behavior. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

The ever-increasing technological pace has led to some companies legging behind in ancient hardware and unneeded services. Some have been able to barely survive while others have found ways to prosper and adjust to changing times. Xerox is one such company that is determined to flourish in the market and innovate its business techniques to suit the demanding times.

One of the ways Xerox has been able to serve a large amount of customers is by creating business partners and offering comprehensive packages that include a number of services. More specifically, it offers help in developing the business and taking care of the necessary tasks. Any business has a lot of paperwork and detailed processes that must be complete for the business to develop and move forward.

The advertisements, numerous flyers, documentation and dealing with customers are only a few services that Xerox offers. Xerox has also shifted a great amount of resources towards its customers and was able to better the already existing relations.

The number of locations has increased, enabling customers to ask any necessary questions and raise concerns, find out the specifics and data needed for the business, as well as financial and accounting services. It is also widening its global services and partnerships with other companies. Parts of the world that are starting to develop create a great market for businesses. The establishments of new agreements in countries such as India and China have opened up more ways and opportunities for partnerships and economic growth.

A great amount of innovation was in the changes of the company itself. The pressures from laser scanners, file transference, enhanced networking and technological advances in general, have forced changes to the company. As the common age is becoming clean energy oriented, Xerox has been able to lower costs and offer reasonable solutions.

Many governmental companies have a higher responsibility to avoid any pollution or over usage of energy, and Xerox has been a good resource to such businesses. It has been dealing directly with the federal government, as well as individuals, to provide cost efficient energy uses for the business and peoples homes.

Another important change was in healthcare, which is valued highly by governments and private citizens. Xerox understands the demands and needs for healthcare and has taken a step towards bettering the management and administration in the provision of healthcare.

There are services that are primarily based on health information distribution, exchange of the needed advances, beneficial pharmaceutical progress, electronic databases in health records and a close management and organization of cases. It is clear that Xerox is very much involved in a lot of governmental and social aspects of life (Xerox, 2013).

The success of any company is based on the competitive market and advantages that a certain business can offer. Xerox has put extra focus on the internal scientific research, engineering breakthroughs and partnering companies that are interested in the common goal. The entrepreneurial potential of Xerox has also been on the rise, giving new abilities and ventures to do business with.

The innovation committee has been working on the implementation of new technologies into the global market and local customer population. Even though the primary business structure of Xerox has had some changes, it is still very much needed in the business world.

The success of every company lies in its management and internal structure. Xerox has been able to adjust to the technological changes and enhance it services and products, so that the company stays as popular as before.

Reference

Xerox. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.xerox.com/