Reflection practice Essay

Reflection practice is an approach that allows practitioners to understand how they use their knowledge in realistic situations and how they mix action and learning in a more successful manner (Henderson, 2002). Kondrat (2004) claims that the aim of critical reflection is to be conscious of the influence of the subject self in relations to prejudices so that such prejudices may be reduced or removed. However, Smith (2002: 138) argues that â€Å"for reflection to be critical it need to also embrace the capacity to consider social structures and power relationships analytically and apply this analysis in practice†. This assignment aim at researching the benefits and challenges of reflection in work practice by reflecting on an incident at work and examine what went wrong and what went well (see appendix 1). It will evaluate my progress about how I used reflection to develop professional practice after an incident. It will also assess how feedback from manager and colleagues may help me to maintain my continuing professional development. see more:the different ways that people may react to receiving constructive feedback According to Taylor and Beverly (2000) reflection is a significant human activity in which people recall their experiences, think about it, ponder over, evaluate it; and it is this working with experience that is important in learning. Du Gay (2005) claims that we learn through critical reflection by putting ourselves into the experiences and exploring personal and theoretical knowledge to understand it and view it in different ways. However, Swan (2008) argues that it may be hard to reflect in work practice due to time constraint and lack of understanding about how to reflect. Swan (2008) further argues that others practitioners may not be motivated enough in finding time to reflect. However, Taylor (2000) proposes that improved self-awareness, though not the principle reason for reflection, may create important changes in normal reactions to challenging clinical circumstances that may affect a beneficial change in the outcome observed. As a health and social care practitioner I appreciate that reflection offers a number of benefits such as improvement in practice and in patient service. Improved self-knowledge may offer this additional benefit, as contending with the behaviour of persons in strange circumstances outlines an important part of health care practitioners Taylor (2000). Wilkin (2002), Paget (2001)  and Taylor (2000) cited in Hayden, (2005) agree with the notion that reflection allows practitioners to broaden themselves intellectually and improves their professional role especially when pressure is wielded to behave more technically. However, Smith and Jack (2005) argue that practitioners need to be aware of personal advantages, improved self-awareness and improved confidence in progressing professional development as it may affect how they relate with patient. In relation to my individual learning plan (ILP) as identified in appendix one I have encountered problem such as involving colleagues and my manager in giving me feedback. This may be because of work demands placed on my manager and change in staff structure due to an incident which occurred in work. Therefore I had to reconsider using a diary to record activities identified in ILP and record of incident; this meant that I can only rely on my own feedback and the understanding of my work practise in order to achieve the best possible outcome. According to Boud (2000) health and social care professionals often work one on one with service users who may be experiencing various levels of emotional distress. Young and Henquinet (2000) claim that more than half of challenging behaviour occurs in social services and health care settings, therefore safety is paramount. Boud (2000) claims that it is vital that professionals and service users do not exist in blankness, as both parties are influenced by societal, community and organizational behaviour this is supported by Bronfebrenner’s theory (Adams, 2007). Smith (2002) states that these factors may impact on service users’ relationship and interactions therefore a key skill is needed to work in partnership with service users. When the service user went absent without authorised leave I had to respond immediately as it was apparent that I was the only person with sufficient knowledge. Having experience this before and knowing my work practice procedures on missing person prompted me to react as I did as identified in Schon (1991) reflection in action. Smith (2002) further argues that to attain this, it is essential for  professionals to be able to make logic of their practice, and to understand their involvement in therapeutic functioning. This was evident in my practice as I had to support other service users who were in distress and also I had to write an incident report whilst offering re- assurance. This was challenging as I am working as part of a small team which meant that I had to carry some of the task individually. However, being part of a small team meant that I was able to interact and communicate more easily with peers and gained their sense of commitment level as pointed out by (Young and Henquinet 2000). Northouse (2004) states that ethics in a small teams are important because as team progress through the decision-making or problem-solving process, several questions may arise that may need to be dealt with and the people’s behaviour or actions surrounds the communication process. Engleberg and Wynn (2003) suggest that staff member or team members need to consider how their verbal and nonverbal communication and listening skills may affect how they construct and construe these messages. Fujishin, (2007) argues that communicating in an unethical way may include misrepresenting a position or stance on a topic, and pretending to be informed about a topic. Fujishin, (2007) suggests that to avoid this staff member should not keep back information from other members and should be truthful when sharing information. As a practitioner I am morally required to contemplate the likely benefit or harm that may result if I chose to do nothing in a given situation. My actions matched my belief in the human rights to be safe and contribute to decision making and information sharing (Beidler and Dickey 2001). Controlled reflection may thus be an instrument to help professionals’ gain better understanding not only into professional practice but into their working relationship with service users Bould (2000). Gaining better knowledge and understanding into reflection is not new, Schon (1999) in Adams et al (2009) defines reflection in action as an approach taken by practitioners in work setting to instantly restructure and adjust their practice. However, Crisp and Green (2002) argue that uncontrolled reflection may not generate theory or understanding. Nevertheless, the practitioner who  is able to reflect on a situation, make sense of what happened and coherent the process and variables involved may create a better understanding of the situation and of theory. Another way of making sense of circumstances that affect us together individually and professionally is through organised reflective writing. The method of reflection does not have to be written, however Seymour (2003) and Ullrich et al (2002) suggest that more understanding may be gained if writing is involved as it may allow the professionals to structure opinions and reminiscences more subjectively. Ullrich and Lutgendorf (2002) also claim that it may also provide a lasting record for other professionals to access in future. In work setting I had to keep record and times of incident this is refer to as incident report. Lindeman (2000) claims that writing an incident report allows practitioners to learn about individuals, organisation and others. For instance, I have learnt a lot about different agencies that gets involved when a service user is reported missing. I have also learnt about the importance of keeping accurate conversation records. Duffy (2000) proposes that the process of reflective writing may offer time to reflect properly and make sense of happenings that may have affected work practice. Nonetheless, without a clear outline it may be problematic to know in what way or what to reflect upon. Burton (2000) argues that this is particularly applicable to trainee reflective professionals. Furthermore, Brennan and Hutt (2001) argue that another additional likely risk is that professionals only reflect upon circumstances that they perceive as gone wrong. Taylor (2000) states that in this case reflective writing then becomes possibly negative and not useful if left unstructured or un- facilitated. This was apparent common in my work practice as staff focused more on the negative of the incident instead of encouraging the use of positive. McCabe (2004) suggest that it is the duty of the experienced practitioner to question the practice of another if they believe inappropriate treatment may harm or be negative to service user. It was extremely difficult to challenge my colleagues about their negative comments this may be because they have  been in my work practice longer than me. McCabe (2004) argues that health practitioners may feel uncomfortable due to uncertainty in their work practice. Conversely, Paget (2001) argues that service user’s best interest must be conserved all the time even if conflict should arise. According to Joyce (2005) common difficulties with using reflective journals involve procrastination, fading, eagerness, and also reluctance or lack of ability to reflect. Reflective diaries or periodicals may be an effectual tool for self – assessment and development of reflective skill, specifically reflection on practice (Joyce, 2005). The skill of reflective writing may be advanced either through working separate or within peer groups. Teekman (2000) believes that record keeping is part of showing consistency and caring about service user’s outcome. Caring is also paramount in health and social care, I feel strongly about this belief and try to practise continuously. Ritz (2009) cited in Ritz and Weissleder, (2009) proposes that writing and thinking goes together when developing critical skills. According to Wilkie and Burn (2003) Health and social care have a spoken culture in which practitioners have restricted chances to develop critical, analytical skills through writing. I found it easy to use diary this may be due to the time I spent writing incident report. However, getting feedback from my colleagues proofed difficult as they had different views about giving me feedback. This may be due to what they perceive as of importance as pointed out by Bowers and Jinks (2004). In conclusion reflecting about incident at work has been self- empowering and has provided me with a perception into personal understanding and control (McCabe 2004). This reflection has recognised the opinions, hindrances associated with working in Health and social care (HSC) practice. Additionally, it has also shown that the present-day premise of HSC is multifaceted. However using Schon’s context does aim to reveal the insufficiencies of a positivist attitude to knowledge and practice and this may result to new understandings (Teekman, 2000). Consequently, it is essential that the professional is allowed to reflect critically on practice  so as to improve and extend knowledge and eventually the quality of service and care provided to service users. Reflective writing has helped me to cope with critical incident at work and I feel like I can pass this tool to my work colleagues. References Adam R, Dominelli L, and Payne, M (2009) social work themes, issues and critical debates(3rd ed). Basingstoke: Palgrave. Boud, D. (2000) Sustainable Assessment Rethinking assessment for the learning society. Studies in Continuing Education. 22: 151-167. Bowers S. J. and Jinks A. M.( 2004) Issues surrounding professional portfolio development for nurses. British Journal of Nursing, 13 (3): 155-159 Brennam A.M. and Hutt R. (2001) the challenges and conflicts of facilitating learning in practice the experience of the clinical nurse educators nurse in practice 1(4) :181-188. Bulman C, and Schutz S. (2004) Reflective Practice in Nursing (3rd ed) Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. Burton A. J,.(2000) reflection nursing ‘s practice and education panacea . Journal of Advanced Nursing 31: 10009-1017. Crisp, B.R. and Green L. P. (2002). Assessments methods in social work education A review of the literature social work education 21: 259-269. Demmke, C, Hammerschmid, G, Meyer, RE (2006) Decent ralisation and Accountability as a Focus of Public Administration Modernisation: Challenges and Consequences for Human Resource Management. Maastricht/Brussels: EIPA Duff, L,.(2000) from rote to reflection an incredible Learning Journey Canadian Nurse 96(7) 30-33. Du Gay, P (2005) The Values of Bureaucracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Engleberg, I. N., & Wynn, D. R. (2003). Working in groups: Communication principles and strategies (3rd ed.). Boston, Houghton Mifflin Fisher, K (2003) Demystifying critical reflection: Defining criteria for assessment. Higher Education Research & Development 22(3): 313–325. Fujishin, R. (2007).Creating effective groups: The art of small group communication (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Hayden, K S. (2005) Critical incident A nurses personal reflection. Pro quest nursing & Allied health source (15):329. Henderson, GM (2002) Transformative learning as a condition for transformational change in organizations. Human Resource Development Review 1(2): 186–214. Joyce P.(2005) A framework for portfolio development in postgraduate nursing practice. Journal for Clinical Nursing,14(4) :456-463. Kondrat, M. E, . (2004) ‘Who is the â€Å"Self † in Self-Aware: Professional Self-Awareness from a Critical Theory Perspective’, Social Service Review 3(4): 451–77. Lindeman C. A. (2000) the future of nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education 39:5-12. McCabe, C (2004) Nurse patient communication an exploration of patients experience. Journal of clinical Nursing 13 (1): 45-54 McCutcheon, H. and Pincombe J. (2001) Intuition an important tool in the practice of nursing. Journal of advanced Nursing. 35(3) :342-348. Paget T(2001) reflective practice and clinical outcomes pracitioners views on how reflective practice has influenced their clinical practice. Journal of clinical Nursing. 10(2): 204-214. Parton, N and O’Byrne, Pk (2000) Constructive Social Work. Basingstoke: Macmillan. Ritz A, Weissleder, M (2009) Management development in public administration. In Thom N, Zaugg RJ (eds) Modern personnel development. Wiesbaden: Gabler, pp. 371–394. Ritz, A (2009) Public service motivation and organizational performance in Swiss federal government. International Review of Administrative Sciences 75(1): 53–78. Rogers, R (2001) Reflection in higher education: A concept analysis. Innovative Higher Education. 26(1): 37–57. Seymour, B,. Kinn, S,. and Sutherland N,. (2003) Valuing both critical and creative thinking in clinical practice narrowing the research practice gap. Journal of advanced Nursing 42: 288- 296. Smith, A,. and Jack K,. (2005) Reflective practice a meaning task for students nursing standard 19 (26): 33-37. Smith, S. (2002) ‘What Works for Whom: The Link between Process and Outcome in Effectiveness Research’, Australian Social Work 55(2). Swan, E,. (2008) Let’s not get too personal: Critical reflection, reflexivity and the confessional turn. Journal of European Industrial Training 32(5): 385–399. Taylor, Beverly J. (2000) Reflective Practice: A Guide for Nurses and Midwives. St Leonards,Australia: Allen and Unwin. Taylor B.J. (2000) Reflective practice A guide for nurses and midwives. Open University Press, Maidenhead. Teekman, B. (2000) Exploring reflective thinking in nursing practice. Journal of advanced nursing 31(5): 1122-1135. Thorpe, K (2004) Reflective learning journals: From concept to practice. Reflective Practice 5(3): 327–343. Ullrich P. M. and Lutgendorf S. K,. (2002) Journaling about stressful events effects of cognitive processing and emotional expression. Annals of Behavioural Medicine. 24 : 244-250. van der Meer, F, Marks, P (2013) Teaching and learning reflection in MPA programmes: Towards a strategy. Teaching Public Administration 31(1): this issue. Wilkie K. and Burn I. (2003) Problem based Learning A handbook for Nurses. Palgrave MacMillan Basingstoke. Wilkin K (2002) Exploring expert practice through reflection nursing in critical care. 7(2) :88-93 Young, C. B., & Henquinet, J. A. (2000). A conceptual framework for designing group projects.Journal of Education for Business, 76, 56–60.

How Social Media Has Changed Our Society Media Essay

Social media has changed the way we live in many ways. It has changed everything from the way we communicate with each other to where we get our news from. It happened so fast that people hardly realized just how much their lives had changed. Personal and professional communities are now intertwined and within arm’s reach and our once small social and work networks have now expanded to proportions that were once unimaginable. Just like in any revolution or period of expansion, there are many positive and negative aspects involved in the world of social media. The world of social media is complex and nowhere near its pinnacle. It’s exciting to think of where it will take us in the years to come. Needless to say, our communication has sped up tremendously since social media was introduced. It has made it easier to keep in touch with people all over the country or all over the world for that matter. Social media has even made finding a date easier to a certain extent by mu ltiplying the size of our social circles. Social media allows people with similar interests to connect and converse. It allows professionals to network easier than ever before. Social media allows businesses to advertise for free and actually seem somewhat human to consumers. It also allows for cost effective campaigns and strategies for growing businesses. It also has the power to drive traffic to a website or even a real business. Some people think that social media is adding to human interaction while other people think that social media sites are basically replacing face-to-face interaction. see more:speech about social media Online interactions can become a substitute for actual human contact. It can encourage people to say or do things they never really would have done or meant to do, due to the fact that they feel like it’s not reality. It can lead to covert dealings and perhaps lead to infidelity. This social media frenzy has allowed bullies to spread destructive information about others and they can even bring out the nastiest conversations because people feel anonymous in some instances. Social media can ruin the image of a company due to the wrong angle or brand image. It can also have a negative impact on worker productivity. Either way you look at it, whether you like it or not, social media is changing our lives in one way or another. One aspect of society that will experience the greatest amount of social change over the next ten years is social media. Social media is going to grow larger and become more encompassing of our lives and able to capture more of our lives. Because we capture more of our  lives the people in our social circles will spend more of their time living vicariously through us. Therefore, they will spend less time learning about society and less time developing their own interpersonal relationships. Already social media encompasses several different media forms. Currently, these forms are music, writing, video, and pictures. Soon social media will include other forms of communication, such as augmented reality. Projects like Google Glass place a screen in front of your eyes all day; the glasses can recognize people’s faces and provide information. The glasses are able to listen to your conversation and provide relevant Google search results, for information you might want to know during the conversation. Therefore, interactions between people will be more fact-checked by information people make on the internet. As augmented reality projects like Google Glass become more widespread and developed, people will be constantly plugged into the internet and to the â€Å"hive-mind†. Eventually people will start dreaming their lives on the internet in part or in whole. You will become more of a public person, and in doing so more shaped by the society around you. Social media changes at the speed of which the technology that supports social media is developed and embraced. For new developments in social media to be embraced the new technological developments must be useful and intuitive. People need to have a reason to care about a new development. Society embraced the sharing of pictures because we like to capture glimpses of other people’s lives. We have embraced video because it expands upon pictures. Words were the first versions of social media, and were exchanged because they are the essence of communication. As long as people exist we will continue to seek new ways of exchanging information. What we call social media now will be but a small fraction of what social media is ten years from now. Eventually social anthropologists will look back at these times just as current social anthropologists examine cave paintings. We can ask ourselves, â€Å"What are the engines that are driving this change in our society?† For example, there are many reasons that drive people to use the site know as Facebook. Research resulted in nine ways that drive people to use Facebook; to conduct a survey, upload photos, putting your page together, posting an event, ask a question, create desktop backgrounds using images from an ev ent, and you can even post a picture of the day. The news media even use it to run a contest and give away merchandise, and posting of videos. Facebook has become an  overnight sensation for social networking, and what makes this so amazing is that Facebook did not even exist until 2004. Three college students created it to allow other students to network and meet each other, and it has caught on with people around the globe. Facebook has had many impacts on today’s technologically advanced society. It allows people who probably never would have met each other in person to communicate; it creates new relationships and friendships, and it places distance between people who could communicate in person but instead choose to communicate online. Facebook is nothing more than a medium for communication, and yet, it is so much more than that. At a glimpse, a person can learn everything from what gender a member of Facebook is, to what religion they believe in, what school he or she attends, and their likes and dislikes, with just a click of a mouse. An article in the Network Journal of Communications written by Brent Leary, compares and contrasts popular social networking sites and his recent experiences with them. He talks about being a member of over twelve differe nt social networking sites in which he has spent time using each network. One of the main interest in this article was the author’s insight into his most recent addition to his list; Facebook. He also notes that business application providers such as Yahoo, Finance, Zoho, etc. are building widgets to work with Facebook in order for Facebook to infiltrate further into the business networking field. The most appealing characteristic of Facebook is that they have been able to grow from what was once only a college based network, to a worldwide network with many different areas of interest. Most importantly they have been able to do this while staying very user friendly, professional, and private, unlike other social networks such as MySpace. This has allowed Facebook to become as financially valuable to its creators as it is socially valuable for its members. It is very interesting to see how Facebook has not only established itself in the networking world, but in the financial market as well that people use it for. Experts estimate that many people now spend at least 50 percent of their waking time online. For many, a large part of this time is spent in social networking sites like Facebook. Facebook on the surface is a socially acceptable networking site for students and others to connect, share experiences, and meet old friends. It does say some disturbing things about how our society is adjusting to the age of technology, and it brings into question how a generation of Face  bookers will deal with the challenges of the real world in person like career, family, and success. There are tons of data that show that the social media wave (hype) is going to continue and is here to stay. Take Facebook and Twitter for instance. Many large associations and companies advertise on these social media platforms like the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL to name a few. From a company stand point CBS, CNN, Wal-Mart, and Apple advertise on these social media platforms also. According to Michael A. Stelzner, â€Å"Social media marketing involves engaging people with online social networks to generate exposure, increase traffic, gather insight, improve search rankings, enhance customer relations, build strong brand advocates, generate quality leads and grow sales† (â€Å"Quickly Grow Your Business†). Social media helps businesses grow around the world. This is one major reason why social media is going to continue to prosper. Social media involves a lot of youth in today’s society. For example, social media has greatly influenced youth to vote or seek education about this year’s Presidential Election. According to Foster Web Marketing, â€Å"The younger genera tion (18 to 35 years old) is the largest group of social media users. They pretty much rely on social media and other internet sources for information. With the structure of social media, information is easily skewed as users exchange it with others. Because someone has to pass on the information to another, they can add their 2 cents along with the relevant content, meaning the end result can lean heavily toward one side or another†. It was said that in this year’s Presidential Election, the youth played a big role in the reelection of Obama. Social media played a major role this election and is projected to play a bigger role in the next Presidential Election. Social media also allow news companies and news stations to get information out to the world within minutes. Good or bad, social media has impacted the world in a major way. It has allowed long lost friends, family members, and lovers to reunite. Since its arrival, social media has changed the way the world socializes in general. Undoubtedly, social media is capable of bringing people together. They potentially create friendships and partnerships, expose users to advertisements therefore developing business endeavors, and allow individuals who would otherwise remain silent virtually shout their thoughts and opinions to a broad range of strangers, friends, and acquaintances alike. There are certainly already  acknowledgeable pros and cons to social media. With the cyber doors wide open, people are able to learn a lot about someone before they even lay their own eyes on them: name, address, looks, personal preferences, etc. It is easy to assume that many social media users are alienating themselves from true personal contact with potential friends and partners. Granted this will not always hold true, younger generations who will grow up under the direct influence of social media will come to believe that it’s okay to meet all their acquaintances through the internet which would ultimately hinder their social skills, confidence, and charisma. In order to measure the future impact of social media on society, over the next decade we will inevitably have to look to efficient research methods for accurate conclusions. Sociologists rely on surveys to gather information about both small and large populations- mostly behavioral and opinion information. â€Å"Surveys are one of the most commonly used quantitative research techniques in sociology.† This method of research is the most effective because surveys allow the sociologist to capture an opinion of a large group which will therefore give the data that is needed to site the information. This information will show the change accurately and promptly. Random sampling for the survey w ill give everyone an equal opportunity in participating in the survey. A diverse amount of people will result in finding an abundant amount of opinions about this topic. We have seen the social media change in just months since new phones have emerged such as the iPhone 5. Apple is one of the number one leading companies in technology and their Apple products are constantly updating. From the article on the apple website, it states, â€Å"We use the iPhone to log in and launch an infrastructure management client. I can screen share with senior architects and lead them through the challenges they’re facing. Being able to do that anywhere — without a computer — is a major benefit to us. We can respond to customer needs much faster and solve problems on the go.† As we can conclude from this quote, the change is inevitable because it’s more convenient, and convenience is what we love. Social media has undergone such a significant change since its founding. This is due to all of its possible uses. When social media first began it was for the purpose of enabling it’s users to locate and communicate with others. Now it has broadened from that into many other possible uses. There has been such a variety of benefits, for both  individuals and business, to using social media. For individuals, one of the benefits has been that they have been able to keep in touch with their friends and loved ones. They are able to see what they have going on in their lives and contact those that they have lost contact with. Individuals are able to stay abreast of the different activities and functions in both their area and other areas. They also use social media to spread the word of functions, using this as a free method of invitation. Social media has also been a beneficial tool for children as well. Kids gain confidence from interacting with others online, which has long term benefits. Online communities are very diverse and expose children to different viewpoints, technologies and ideas. In addition, this is the easiest way of communicating internationally. For businesses, they have caught hold to the trend and have acknowledged the benefits and possibilities to grow their corporations. This has become used by both large and small businesses. They use social media to both promote and survey their businesses. They have saved an abundance of money by using it as a method of free advertising. Many businesses have grown, become established, or have been saved by using social media. They also use this as a way to widen business contacts and as recruitment tools. Social media will experience more social change than a ny other in its class because as times change, need will change. Social media will adapt to meet the needs of society. There will be different and more advanced searches and possibilities for both individuals and businesses. Technology has become the forefront of advancement in today’s society and social media will be modified to meet the needs and encourage different endeavors for its users. With the already present benefits of social media, there will continue to be advancements that will add greater opportunities for growth than any other area in the next ten years. We all enjoy a little social media one way or another in today’s society. Some of us, in fact many of us can’t survive a day without updating our MySpace, Twitter, or Facebook. With the help of these social networking sites, the internet has made our lives as Americans extremely simple and easier. These sites allow their patrons to not only connect with their friends, but are very useful for things such as employment, networking and even getting your brand as an artist, whether music, drawing or any other talents that you may have, out and viewable by today’s society. But with time always comes change. Whether  good or bad, change is the one constant entity in society. The functionalist theory of social change best describes the change in social media because these sites have changed the way we as Americans live and adapt to this new phenomenon. Functionalism is a macro level of analysis, which basically describes how each level or part of society contributes to society as a whole and when something changes from the norm the ability to adapt to that change. Take this for example; milk of course comes from cows for the most part, so it would originate from a farm somewhere in Middle America. After being collected from the farms, it would be transferred via most likely an eighteen-wheeler to a factory for processing. After being deemed consumable, it would then be bottled up and placed perhaps on another eighteen-wheeler, plane or other mode of transportation to be transferred to your local market, and later delivered to your doorstep by your milkman. In this instance, the farm, the eighteen-wheeler, the factory, the market and the milkman are all parts of society working together in the milk industry. But what happens if you were to remove one part of the process. Milk delivered to your front door step isn’t very common anymore, which took the milkman out of the equation. Society didn’t just stop enjoying the great taste of milk; they simply went to the market themselves to purchase the milk. They adapted to the change that was presented to them. Social media has no doubt changed society as a whole, but have we as a society been able to adapt to that change? Without a doubt, the answer is yes. A lot of parts in certain processes that are being used in today’s society have experienced changed due to social media. Take Facebook for example and the effect it has had on the hiring process. Generally, face to face interviews were used to develop an idea of what type of person an applicant may be, but now if you throw Facebook in the mix, employers can take a look at potential employee’s page and develop an idea on that person’s character from their page. In this instance an interview may not be needed, and if you do get an interview, the employer may have developed an idea of your character and has decided whether or not you’re going to get that job. The internet changed the hiring process and we as a society have adapted. Functionalism best explains the change in social media and social networking. Our society has shown that change will always occur but it’s the ability to adapt to the change that actually brings the change to light. In conclusion, social media has forever  changed the way society works, whether it’s the sharing of an idea, the communication of news, or the availability of a product or service. Society today is on the verge of a new way of existing that it’s never experienced before. No longer will people from one side of the world be really able to say that they will never see a person or communicate with someone from the other side of the world ever in their life. No longer will people not be able to share an idea, if they really want to share it (no matter how radical it may be or no matter how many people may disagree with it). No longer will the spreading of information or the expressing of an opinion be able to be completely silenced. As long as there is a person who wishes to express their opinion, share their music or art, or simply say hello to another human being in another country or culture, social media will allow them to do so.

Stephen Crane's The Open Boat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stephen Crane's The Open Boat - Essay Example The second element is that heroes are survivors. Being a hero is an active and living state. Individuals that die in the process of performing heroic acts are not heroes. They are deceased. A hero accomplishes the great feat and lives to tell the tale. Common people die in the course of attempting heroic actions. While this definition of heroism may to some seem narrow or even disrespectful to individuals and characters that have died while performing heroic and selfless deeds, the intention could not be further from the truth. It is simply an attempt in my mind to differentiate and distinguish between actions that are heroic and the personification of individuals and characters that can be categorized as heroes. In Stephen Crane’s short story The Open Boat, four characters are presented in the most precarious of circumstances. Their ship has sunk and they are all together in a small dingy struggling to make landfall. Mountainous wave beset their craft in a relentless effort t o swallow them into the sea. The four characters are the captain, who was injured in the sinking of the main vessel, the cook, the least ranking and most common among the men, the oiler and the correspondent. What becomes clear upon a close reading of The Open Boat is the fact that this is a story entirely bereft of heroes. Certainly, the men find themselves in a difficult spot that requires heroic actions or the part of all. Billie the oiler was coming off of working a double shift just before the ship went down. He found himself at sea rowing for land for two days without proper rest and having had very little to eat before sinking. Yet he never hesitated to take his turn at the oars when it came time to spell the others so they could get some rest. Indeed, the correspondent, the night before making landfall called on him many times so that he could rest. Billie selflessly and heroically rowed while the others slept. Cook was more than happy to do the drudgery of bailing while the correspondent and the oiler rowed. He had no desire for status or for any position of notice. It could be said in modern terms that he was a â€Å"team player† silently and obediently do the most menial yet important tasks. The correspondent selflessly kept watch through the night, when the ominous presence of death embodied by the figure of a great shark, came to circle the small craft. And finally, there was the selfless guidance of the captain who waded through the personal tragedy of losing his beloved ship in an unflagging effort to continue to command the crew of the dingy as best he could. His experience was all that gave the crew hope at times and he obliged their needs for hope instead of bowing to hopelessness. But heroic deeds do not a hero make. In order to really consider any of the characters heroes by the proposed definition in this essay, the motivation of these actions must be explored. The final night, when the correspondent is wrestling with Fate, when he is struggling with fatigue and hopelessness, the one thought that comes to him is profoundly selfish. He wanted to live. I would be nice to continue to live even though dying might just be easier. There was not one thought for his fellow crewmembers. He wanted to live and he would strive to make it so. This every-man-for-himself mentality is nicely characterized by the departure from the boat onto the shore. On the captain’

JRN WEEK3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

JRN WEEK3 - Coursework Example There are many individuals who have no idea of what global warming is and how to prevent it. The media only focus on natural disasters when they happen and offer no assistance in terms of knowledge. Dr. Martin Patchen challenges the media to provide more comprehensive coverage on social issues, and global warming should be prioritized. Since the media reaches millions of viewers, it can educate people on how ways to combat global warming. Global warming is to blame for the natural disasters that are rocking our world today, for example, the floods that have devastated the city of Houston, Texas in the United States. The media does not tend to long-term issues they instead tend to focus on short-term problems so they can move on to other stories. Global warming is real and they sooner the media realize it, they can take it upon themselves to educate the general public. People tend to remember the effects of global warming when disaster strikes. Patiently waiting for others to handle global warming is a misguided conception, and each person has the responsibility of reduce the risks of global warming. Some of the activities that can decrease the risk of global warming include pla nting trees and decreasing the percentage of greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon

Learning, Motivation and Emotion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Learning, Motivation and Emotion - Essay Example The correlation between how involving the material was to students and quiz score was found to be negative. On the other hand, the extent of sniffy involvement and learning outcomes was positively correlated. This study has shown that quality time spent on learning concepts and also experience wrestled from a student's experience gave better performance than the mere amount of time devoted to the learning materials provided. The implication of this study to teachers and students alike is that more efforts should be devoted to enhancing students' comprehension through better learning habits than mere rote hours students are encouraged to spend on learning materials. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (2003) defines learning in psychology as the process by which a relatively lasting change in potential behavior occurs as a result of practice or experience .This definition places a distinction between learning and behavioral changes that arise from processes such as maturation. The former takes place throughout life, whereas the latter accounts for a large proportion of the behavior observed in man. Learning as a subject is as old as man himself. However, the learning process did not receive serious systematic inquiry until over a century ago. Ivan Pavlov (1927)'s classical work with dogs produced the classical conditioning theory. This theory posits that changed behavior (learning) can be elicited involuntarily even after the stimuli that produced the observed behavior had been replaced by another. The work of Skinner(1953) gave rise to the operant conditioning theory. This theory says that learning takes place through voluntary behavior, which can be shaped by the application of external stimuli in the form of rewards and punishments. Rewards and reinforcements are administered to produce the desired learning outcomes, whereas punishments are given to curb undesirable behavior. The third theory given by Kohler(1992) is called the cognitive learning theory. It says that learning takes place often through trial and error until insight is gained into the problem under investigat ion. Learning as a tool for gaining competitive edge at the individual and organizational levels is increasingly being recognized. At the individual level, it can be safely said that today's careers are built largely through sustained life-long learning. Persons adept at pursuing fruitful learning can expect to see vast improvements in their school work and also their careers. Whereas those who give low priority to this activity, risks being left behind by their counterparts. In most fields of endeavor, the surest route to making a distinctive mark is to commit oneself to learning. At the organizational level, many firms are charting the path to becoming learning organizations. They are committing greater resources to making the realization of this goal possible. If learning brings such enormous benefits, why is it that people sometimes are reluctant to commit themselves to this activity The answer to this question brings the allied subject of motivation into the picture. It is important to point out that learning does not always come easily and cheap. One could encounter difficulty with the learning task itself or may have to cope with an environment that is largely unsupportive or uncooperative. In such situations, motivation

Financial Assignment (Breeze House) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Financial Assignment (Breeze House) - Essay Example As a business, the accounts receivables are one the company’s sources of cash. Accounts receivable is like cash in the bank. It shows up as an asset on the balance sheet because it means value in the business. (Muckain, 1998) When looking at the budgeted profit and loss statement of the company (see Table 1), the net income of the company is not stable. This means that revenues and expenses that are incurred for the month are actually revenues and expenses that should have been incurred on a different month. As mentioned, this situation happens because of the long turnover of accounts receivable while the accounts payable are settled within the month. However, the practice of the company of maintaining inventory stocks with a lead time of half of the next month’s demand is commendable, since it is enough to satisfy the demand of the market while preventing over-stocking or under-stocking of inventory. Effective credit control is one way of improving the cash flow of the company. A good credit control system increases sales, reduces bad debts and increases profits. The credit control can also increase the creditworthiness of the company and build confidence in the banks. An effective control system focuses on the accounts receivable of the company. (Brealey, Myers, & Marcus, 2001) It is a practice of companies to allow a delay in payment if it cannot demand cash on delivery. However, the customer’s promise to pay for their purchases constitutes a valuable asset (Tracy, 2002). As a valuable asset, credit must be managed properly and promptly. At Breeze House, the company has overlooked the importance of managing its accounts receivable such that they incurred losses in the long run and acquired problems with the cash flow. This paper recommends implementing a credit control system for Breeze House. The implementation program starts by using control points

Walt Disney Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Walt Disney - Research Paper Example He always had found memories of yesterday that he wanted to combine with today in making animated stories. He was the bridge from the past and his love of history to the future as we know it today. He was a pioneer like never known before. He had one of the most fertile and unique imaginations of his day and of our day. He took what made people dream and made those dreams come true at a time when it was difficult even to have dreams. Walt Disney was born in 1901 in Chicago, Illinois to Elias Disney an Irish Canadian and his mother Flora Call Disney who was German American. He was one of four boys and 1 girl. His family moved to Marceline Missouri where he grew up. He showed a very early interest in sketching and drawing and his parents encouraged him. He began to sell small sketches to his friends and neighbors when he was about 7. In school, he was often in trouble because he chose to doodle instead of doing his schoolwork. He had family that worked on the railroad and he was able to get summer jobs selling popcorn, soda pop and candy to the travelers. This is where he learned to love railroads and later built the scale railroad for friends and neighbors. He also went to his first movie house in Marceline. He was fascinated. The first movie he saw was the recreation of the crucifixion of Christ. He loved nature and wildlife and often just took long walks. He had a great sense of family like so many that grow up in an agrarian society. Later, his family moved to Kansas City. By this time, he had developed a talent for acting and performing as well as his drawing. He was often known to imitate Charlie Chaplin as an entertainment for his friends. He often snuck out of the house late at night to perform in the local theaters or to tell his friends stories that he had made up. Walt Disney tried to enlist in the service in 1918 but was not allowed to

Dancom in Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dancom in Russia - Essay Example If they had been equals, administration would not have been easy. MNCs carefully avoid behaving like overlords and expect cooperation from native workers. Western countries, who were impressively successful in imperialism, had been unable to attain same level of achievement here while dealing with cultural syndromes. The provided case study of Dancom operating from Russia is an eye-opener, a situation in crying need of cross-cultural management. Study gives importance to the Russian voices of dissent heard in a Danish company. Russian workers, especially middle managers, who are 'united against headquarters in Denmark,' do not feel loyal for their company belonging to Danes. Problem of languages, lack of frequent/meaningful communication, poor and misguided interpretation, and isolated decision making with very little trust on the integrity and cleverness of Russians are the issues nagging this company. Another complex question is of insiders and outsiders, hosting insiders and hosting outsiders. Looking from Danish angle as the company belonged to them, Russians are workers from another dense culture, that too, ex-communists. From Russian point of view, overbearing Danish company is operating from Russian soil, and this should make Russians main players. There is a major difference in planning between Danish (long term activity, hence, important) and Russians (a short immediate task, not much to be bothered about), while Russians feel that Danes should have more trust in the knowledge and experience of Russian middle managers. What brings the differences other than culture, language and working pattern and natural bias How to reduce cross-cultural conflicts It had been a major challenge to Dancom. Russians are more tuned to the 'one authority' ordering, being under Communist rule for decades and Danes, being capitalistic in their approach, are more decentralised in their handling, even though they depend mainly on themselves. Years of mutual mistrust and prejudice about the other's capability (mainly due to political propaganda fed during days of Cold War) cannot be wiped out at one go. It takes time to develop trust, respect and mutual understanding and such an effort could be made through cross-cultural management. As a solution, cross-cultural relationships should be trusted and developed. Communication and co-ordination have to be developed. It is imperative to find out how Russians perceive themselves and this might be the key to many stagnating questions. Lamenting on not having research results, Jonson and Cullen argue: "Research on trust and its role in exchange has proliferated since the 1990s. However despite the insights offered by scholars, we do not yet have a generalizable and comprehensive model of trust in exchange," Jonson and Cullen in Gannon (2002, p.335). They hope to have much more research on the dynamics of trust, culture's role in the bases and evolution of trust and on business ethics across cultures. There are issues which showcase Danish approach being different from

Media Analysis Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Analysis Assignment - Essay Example This symbolizes the idea that the later generations of the first generation immigrants who made America their home during the early part of the twentieth century, have become an integral part of the culture of this continent. In simple words it means that these later generations have become completely ‘Americanized’ by losing their own cultural identity, thus adding to the cultural pot where all cultures simply melt away to produce a mash called the ‘American culture’. However, a closer look will reveal that it is not so as the myth claims. Indeed, America is more about the co-existence of different cultures that are each vitally alive in their own identities. Here we will review and analyze the movie â€Å"Crash†, and see the different underlying racial discriminations that are often existent in real life America. This movie portrays the co-existence of many cultures from different parts of the world living in America, and tries to show the tensions between them, and how they judge each other and form assumptions. In real sense this movie does a commendable job in bursting the myth of the so called ‘great American cultural melting pot’. There are two very distinct sides to the myth of this ‘cultural melting pot’. One part signifies that all are welcome in this country, irrespective of being rich, poor, black, white or brown. Everyone is welcome to take a part in the grand American dream of prosperity and freedom, and be a part of the single cultural identity that is called ‘Americanism’. The other side is much darker, that which with the help of this myth attempts to extenuate the presence of racial discrimination and bigotry. It simply tries to portray racism and intolerance as a passing phase as the minority immigrants adjust in this new country. This is evident in a magazine article that in 1875 said â€Å"the fusing process goes on as in a blast-furnace;

Meanings of Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Meanings of Concepts - Essay Example In other words these are dependent on the independent variable and the values are considerably influenced by it. 8. Validity: It refers to the extent to which a study precisely represents the definite concept that the researcher is trying to measure. Validity is concerned with the studys success at measuring a particular aspect that the researcher is trying study. 11. Data collection: Researchers collect information regarding various aspects related to the study and the data that is collected contributes to the finding or the final outcome. In other words it is the activity of accumulating primary data records for a given set of observations. 12. Unit of analysis: A statistical unit is the unit of study or size for which data are collected or derived. The selection of units of analysis accurately captures the characteristics of the larger population (uchicago.edu). 13. Population: A population refers to a set of variables collected or data collected for the complete set of objects of analysis. For example, the students in a class, the collection of votes (uchicago.edu). 15. Representativeness: â€Å"It is the desirable properties of a sample which refers to the selection of units of analysis that precisely detain the characteristics of the larger population† (uchicago.edu). 16. Random sample: â€Å"A random sample is one selected by a method connecting a random component. Random sampling can also consign to taking numerous independent observations from the same probability distribution, without involving any real population†. 17. Discrete variable: â€Å"A discrete variable is one that will not take on all values within the limits of the variable†. For instance, responses to a three point rating scale can only take on the values 1, 2 and 3 and not the value 1.5 or 1.2. 19. Continuous variable: â€Å"A continuous variable is one for which, within the limits

The roles and impacts of computers and communications technology Essay Example for Free

The roles and impacts of computers and communications technology Essay What are the roles and impacts of computers and communications technology in the increase of trans-border economic activity? I am specifically going to speak about foreign workers handling UK consumer calls and IT jobs in general, better known as offshoring or out-sourcing. Below I have tried to out-line some of the good and bad points about the subject Benefits The advocates of offshoring describe it as having high potential; moving jobs to a low cost labour market will save money and provide a good source of employment for the local people. Also as developing countries become richer, they will also buy more from us and invest more in our economy. UK exports of goods and services to India alone are already worth around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.5billion a year, securing thousands of UK jobs. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) believe that the UK also stands to gain from growing world prosperity and a bigger global market for British goods and services. Offshoring will allow Britain to remain competitive, ensuring that the UK economy continues to generate new and sustainable jobs and new business opportunities. There is also the opportunity to gain from global partnerships. Problems Offshoring can have a negative effect on the morale of remaining onshore staff; furthermore, the low wages offshore could put downward pressure on remaining workers wages. The company risks trade union and public criticism, which could affect customer loyalty and satisfaction. Overseas workers at call centres may be unable to help beyond their training script, so there could be a reduction in quality. There are a number of challenges the offshore workforce will face: cultural differences may create difficulties in forming relationships, managing remotely can be difficult and the service may require local knowledge, such as geography, or an understanding of British systems, i.e. NHS My personal opinion I am totally fed up with ending up in call centres in India. It makes the whole experience lengthy, stressful and frustrating. I hate not being able to speak normally, having to repeat and spell almost everything said and the whole experience is one I could do without. I already have changed a bank for this reason. It Is ridiculous. Why should people have to put up with it? It seems to me just a way to make companies have a healthier bottom line, also no executive wants to give up their perks! As a student soon to be looking for work in the UK, I am fully in support of those who hold the view that companies that served mainly British customers should support jobs in Britain. They should be punished if they dont, either by consumer boycotting or by government taxes or both. Since many corporations are copying each other due to corporate greed there is mass influx of unemployed highly skilled workers, without a place for them to go, it will only take so long of being unemployed for them to either move offshore themselves or move to another occupation. I think offshoring has a large share of the blame for the job shortage here in Britain. Its amazing to see how the definition of cheap labour has changed at first the term was only associated with people working in terrible conditions for next to nothing. But now it extends to multinational companies and corporations moving skilled jobs abroad to save money, all at the expense of the British people. Below is a couple of articles I found that I think compliment what I have written. Bank customers fury at India call centres 12:41pm 18th October 2005 Staff at Lloyds TSB are facing high levels of customer dissatisfaction about the banks policy of transferring work to India, a union has claimed. A survey of nearly 2,000 branch managers and staff found that 96 per cent of people thought customers werent happy dealing with staff in India, while 83 per cent thought customers received worst service as a result. More than half of staff claimed they received complaints or adverse comments about the Indian operation every day, and a further third of people said they received them at least every week. Nearly two-thirds of those questioned reported seeing significantly more errors and mistakes being made by the Indian operation, and 64 per cent said offshoring had made it more difficult to promote the banks products. Around 85 per cent of staff thought the bank would lose many customers because of its decision to offshore work to India, while a similar proportion thought people would be likely to switch to financial services companies that were committed to the UK, according to the Lloyds TSB Group Union. Lloyds ignoring concerns But the union said Lloyds TSB was ignoring these concerns and continuing to transfer back office processing and telephone operations abroad. Steve Tatlow, assistant general secretary at Lloyds TSB Group Union, said: The survey confirms what we have known all along. That staff dealing with customers day in and day out are having to deal with considerable customer hostility at having their accounts handled abroad. The results show that whatever Lloyds TSB might say about the customer service provided by its India operation, hordes of customers are complaining across the UK each and every day of the week. Senior Management will have to make a choice. Either to continue with cost cutting in the teeth of customer opposition to its offshoring plans, or else refocus its strategy towards putting customers first. A Lloyds TSB spokeswoman said: Customer service is essential to us. The call centre in Mumbai has taken seven million calls over the past year and we do monitor the quality and look at customer satisfaction. We have found that levels of customer satisfaction are as high on calls to India as to the UK. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/money/money.html?in_article_id=365776in_page_id=1804 The Impact of Global Sourcing on the UK Economy 2003-10, commissioned by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), an umbrella organisation for IT software and service organisations in India, estimates that by 2010 the UK could face a shortfall of 700,000 jobs as a result of an aging population and slow population growth. If the problem isnt addressed it reckons that economic growth in the UK could slow, leading to a loss of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½113 billion. Outsourcing would not only bridge that gap, it would also help generate extra income. For the report claims that for every à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 of work outsourced offshore, up to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½141 is re-invested directly back into the UK economy. This upbeat assessment of the benefits of exporting jobs comes even though the report acknowledges that more than 250,000 UK jobs would be lost as a result of offshoring. But it argues that while the impact of offshoring on the UK workforce is real and will lead to the displacement of workers, it insists that the UK labour market is flexible enough to deal with the problem. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/01/28/sending_jobs_overseas_could_boost/

Child Behavioural Problem Programmes Analysis

Child Behavioural Problem Programmes Analysis Antisocial behaviour Aggression and fighting are part of normal child development and can help children to assert and defend themselves. Persistent, poorly controlled antisocial behaviour, however, is socially handicapping and often leads to poor adjustment in adults (Scott 1998). It occurs in 5% of children (Meltzer et al 2000), and its prevalence is rising (Rutter et al 1998). The children live with high levels of criticism and hostility from their parents and are often rejected by their peers.3 Truancy is common, most leave school with no qualifications, and over a third become recurrent juvenile offenders (Farrington 1995). In adulthood, offending usually continues, relationships are limited and unsatisfactory, and the employment pattern is poor. Thelon term public cost from childhood for individuals with this behaviour is up to ten times higher than for controls and involves many agencies (Scott et al 2001b) Antisocial behaviour accounts for 30-40% of referrals to child mental health services (Audit Commission 1999). Most referrals meet general clinical diagnostic guidelines for conduct disorder from ICD-10(international classification of diseases, 10th revision), which require at least one type of antisocial behaviour to be marked and persistent. Rather fewer meet the diagnostic criteria for research, which for the oppositional defiant type of conduct disorder seen in younger children require at least four specific behaviours to be present (World Health Organisation 1993). The early onset pattern typically beginning at the age of 2 or 3 years is associated with comorbid psychopathology such as hyperactivity and emotional problems(Taylor et al 1996, language disorders, neuropsychological deficits such as poor attention and lower IQ, high heritability (Solberg et al1996), and lifelong antisocial behaviours (Moffitt 1993). As a result of its prevalence and significant consequences, the management of these childhood behavioural problems has received an increasing level of attention, research and theory over recent years. Two of the more prominent interventions for the behavioural management of children are health visitors and Group Parenting Programmes. Each of these approaches will now be outlined and will be the focus of the systematic literature review to be discussed. 1.1 Health Visitors and behaviour management The health visitors first task is to identify health care needs. Together with general practitioners, they provide the child health surveillance programme of immunisations, screening, and advice. They aim to identify those important conditions that parents might overlook and, for the rest, to help parents access professional expertise, voluntary agencies, and local facilities (NHS Executive 1996). Health visitors make key contributions regarding immunisation, breast-feeding, good nutrition and depression. This role can extend to help make appropriate interventions regarding the management of child behavioural problems through home visits. Health visitors can help to identify problem situations and refer the parent/child to the right agency. Furthermore, they can advise the parent and help to equip them with the skills needed to effectively manage and reduce the behavioural problems. If the health visitor can meet the parent when the child is under 10 days old, or even at the ante-natal stage, then a trusting and effective relationship can be formed (Beecham 1997) which can have positive effects. It has been suggested that this is of particular relevance to subgroups such as single parents. They have been shown tube less likely to attend health care environments for immunisations and their children appear to have more accidents around the home (Flemmingand Charlton 1998). These are clearly key issues within community service provision (Hall 1996). The health visitors can provide much needed support, particularly with the more vulnerable groups. This social support can have significant benefits during pregnancy/labour(Match and Sims 1992), after birth (Kumar et al 1993) and in reducing the probability that the mother will experience post-natal depression(Ray and Hornet 2000). The health visitor can therefore have a range of benefits for the parent and the child and the extent to which these benefits extend to the child’s behavioural problems merits consideration. 1.2 Group Parental Programmes Harsh, inconsistent parenting is strongly associated with antisocial behaviour in children (Rutter et al 1998), but whether this is a cause or consequence or is due to a common genetic predisposition has been less clear (Farrington 1995). The pioneering work of Patterson and colleagues showed that parents had a causal role in maintaining antisocial behaviour by giving it attention and in extinguishing desirable behaviour by ignoring it (Patterson 1982). Such findings have facilitated the development of group parenting programmes which aim to reduce children’s anti-social behaviour by working with parents. These programmes include the Webster-Stratton programme (Webster-Stratton and Hancock 1998) and the Solihull approach. They generally involve group sessions with parents of children who have behavioural problems. Sessions take place over a few months and involve the discussion of topics such as play, praise, limit setting, rewards and the handling of misbehaviour. The children do not attend the sessions. Video tapes aroused to provide examples of good and bad parenting behaviour and encourage the parents to talk about their experiences. This approach provides an alternative way of managing child behavioural problems rather than the need for health visitors to attend the parents’ homes. 1.3 Evaluating Health Interventions Before selecting any health-related intervention it is vital that theyare assessed on a number of grounds through empirical research which investigates their effectiveness and efficacy. Within the NHS, cost restraints pose a significant issue and hence any intervention needs to provide value for money relative to other potential options (Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health 1997). The Audit Commission(1997) reported that the annual maternity costs in England and Wales are  £1.1 billion. Hence, any savings, or more cost-effective approaches, could have significant impacts on the financial performance of the NHS. Both group parenting programmes and health visiting have been evaluated within empirical research. Most of this research has taken place within America (Deal 1994). The following review will consider this research in order to evaluate the use of group parenting programmes and home visits by health visitors with regards to their effectiveness and efficacy for managing child behavioural problems. The methodology employed within this research will now be outlined before ten relevant research studies are discussed and critically analysed. These findings will then be related to the research discussed in this introduction to the review before overall conclusions are drawn regarding the research question. 1.4 Method and search history A systematic review aims to integrate existing information from comprehensive range of sources, utilising a scientific replicable approach, which gives a balanced view, hence minimising bias (Clarke Oman 2001). In other words, a scientific approach will help to ensure that research evidence is either included or excluded based upon well-defined and standardised criteria. This should ensure that the possible effects of researcher bias should be kept to a minimum. Berkley and Glenn (1999) also states that systematic reviews provide a means of integrating valid information from the research literature to provide a basis for rational decision making concerning the provision of healthcare. Literature reviews are important as they can help to consolidate the knowledge which is available on a given topic. The main themes and findings can be highlighted and this information can inform the design, implementation and evaluation of future research. In this instance, the research evidence can be used to make recommendations and decisions regarding the use of health visitors and Group Parenting Programmes for behaviour management in children. 1.5 Reviewing process Whenever one reviews or compares research reports, it is important that clear set of criteria are established upon which the evaluations can be made. Table 1 below outlines the global process which was used to conduct the literature review. This process was based upon that employed by Berkley et al (1999) It is important that such a framework is identified and used to structure a literature review so that all of the relevant stages are addressed and that limitations which could be associated with the methodology employed can be reduced where ever possible. Table 1: Systematic Review (Summary of Framework)(Adapted from Berkley and Glenn 1999) Identify the need Rationale, background information, existing work Formulate problem and specify objectives Background, problem specification, objectives Develop review protocol Design, resources, refinement Literature search and study retrieval Sources, search strategy, documenting a search strategy Assessing studies for inclusion Defined criteria, minimising reviewer bias, tables of studies included and excluded Assessing and grading studies Appraising checklists, hierarchies of evidence Extracting Data Data collection forms, extraction methodology Synthesizing data Qualitative overview, quantitative synthesis Interpreting results Strength of evidence implications of results Disseminating and implementing results Methods of dissemination and implementation In terms of the process used to review the selected research, the guidelines used by McInnis et al (2004) were adopted. These are displayed in Table 2 below: Table 2: Core Principles Used in Reviewing Selected Research Articles (adapted from McInnis et al 2004) Systematic reviews Adequate search strategy Inclusion criteria appropriate Quality assessment of included studies undertaken Characteristics and results of included studies appropriately summarized Methods for pooling data Sources of heterogeneity explored Randomised controlled trials Study blinded, if possible Method used to generate randomisation schedule adequate Allocation to treatment groups concealed All randomised participants included in the analysis (intention to treat) Withdrawal/dropout reasons given for each group Cohort All eligible subjects (free of disease/outcome of interested) selected or random sample 80% agreed to participate Subjects free of outcomes on interest at study inception If groups used: comparable at baseline Potential confounders controlled for Measurement of outcomes unbiased (blinded to group) Follow-up sufficient duration Follow-up complete and exclusions accounted for ( 80% included in final analysis) Case control Eligible subjects diagnosed as cases over a defined period of time or defined catchment area or a random sample of such cases Case and control definitions adequate and validated Controls selected from same population as cases Controls representative (individually matched) 80% agreed to participate Exposure status ascertained objectively Potential confounders controlled for Measurement of exposure unbiased (blinded to group) Groups comparable with respect to potential confounders Outcome status ascertained objectively 80% selected subjects included in analysis Cross-sectional/survey Selected subjects are representative (all eligible or a random sample) 80% Subjects agreed to participate Exposure/outcome status ascertained standardized way Qualitative Authors position clearly stated Criteria for selecting sample clearly described Methods of data collection adequately described Analysis method used rigorous (i.e., conceptualised in terms of themes/typologies rather than loose collection of descriptive material) Respondent validation (feedback of data/researchers interpretation to participants) Claims made for generalizability of data Interpretations supported by data The results of this analysis will be presented via the CAST tool. Thesis available in two formats. The first concerns the evaluation of qualitative research studies and the second provides a framework forth evaluation of studies which have used a randomised and controlled approach within their methodology. The use of such a framework can provide structure within the results section and ensure that the data is presented in a way which is easily read and understood by the reader. 1.6 Sources of data The methodology employed within the research will involve obtaining data from three key sources: Computerised searches, Manual searches, and the Internet. Each of these data sources will now be considered in more detail. 1.6.1 Computer-based searches The methods used in this research will include a detailed computerised literature search. Multiple databases, both online and CD–Rom will be accessed to retrieve literature because they cite the majority of relevant texts. (Ford and Miller 1999) The computerised bibliographic databases are:- †¢ MEDLINE †¢ EMBASE †¢ CINAHL †¢ PSYCHINFO †¢ British Nursing Info BNI †¢ Cochrane †¢ Science Direct (All Sciences Electronic Journals) †¢ Asia †¢ DETOC †¢ HMIC However because articles may not be correctly indexed within the computerised databases, other strategies will be applied in order to achieve comprehensive search (Sindh Dickson 1997). 1.6.2 Manual searches A manual search will be performed to ensure that all relevant literature is accessed. The manual searches will include:- †¢ Books relevant to the topics from university libraries and web sites †¢ Inverse searching- by locating index terms of relevant journal articles and texts †¢ Systematically searching reference lists and bibliographies of relevant journal articles and texts 1.6.3 The Internet The internet will provide a global perspective of the research topic and a searchable database of Internet files collected by a computer. Sites accessed will include:- †¢ Department of Health †¢ National Institute of Clinical Excellence †¢ Google †¢ The British Medical Journal website (www.bmj.com) 1.7 Identification of key words Databases use a controlled vocabulary of key words, in each citation. To assist direct retrieval of citations techniques Boolean logic will be applied using subject indexing, field searching and truncation to narrow the topic focus (Hicks 1996, Goodman 1993). As part of this approach, key words will be based on the components of the review question. An imaginative and resourceful technique of searching electronic databases will be used including recognising the inherent faults in the indexing of articles. Misclassification and misspelling will be included in the searches with searches utilising keywords and the subheadings, (Hicks 1996). Based on these principles, the following search terms will be used in different combinations: †¢ Behaviour Management †¢ Children †¢ Anti-Social Behaviour †¢ Health Visitors †¢ Group Parenting Programmes †¢ Webster-Stratton †¢ Solihull †¢ Evaluation Further search terms may be used within the methodology if they are identified within some of the initial search items. Whenever one is searching literature ‘sensitivity’ and ‘’specificity’ are important issues when conducting searches of research on a database. The searches need to be as ‘sensitive’ as is possible to ensure that as many of the relevant articles are located. This may be a particularly salient issue with regards to the evaluation of behavioural management techniques for children as the number of appropriate entries may be limited. Thus an attempt to locate as many of these articles as possible becomes a more relevant and important objective. Furthermore, the search needs to be ‘specific’. In other words, it needs to be efficient where appropriates that a higher number of the articles identified through a database search can be included and hence the time allocated to reviewing articles which are ultimately of no relevance, can be kept at inacceptable level. 1.8 Inclusion/Exclusion criteria In order that a manageable quantity of pertinent literature is included in this study, it is essential that inclusion and exclusion criteria are applied. In order that a diverse perspective of the topic is examined broad criteria will be used. (Benignant 1997). However, it is important to note that a balance needs to be achieved through which the scope of the inclusion criteria is sufficiently wide to include relevant articles whilst also being sufficiently specific such that the retrieval of an unmanageable set of articles is avoided. 1.8.1 Inclusion criteria: The articles which are highlighted within the proposed searches will be assessed in terms of whether or not they meet the following criteria. Each article will need to be viewed as appropriate with regards to all of these constraints if they are to be included in the final analysis. †¢ A literature review encompassing all methodologies will be applied ( Pettigrew 2003) †¢ International studies will be included †¢ Available in English †¢ Relate to the evaluation of Health Visitors and/or Group Parenting Programmes †¢ Focus on the behaviour of young children 1.8.2 Exclusion criteria The articles highlighted by the searches will also be assessed in terms of whether or not they fulfil the following exclusion criteria. If a potential relevant article meets one or more of these criteria then they will be immediately excluded from the data set and will not be included within the analysis stage of the methodology. †¢ It is not the purpose of this review to discuss the development of behavioural management interventions so studies focusing on this will be excluded †¢ Literature in a foreign language will be excluded because of the cost and difficulties in obtaining translation. †¢ Research reported prior to 1990 will not be included within this review. 1.9 Consideration of ethical issues Any research involving NHS patients/service users, carers, NHS data, organs or tissues, NHS staff, or premises requires the approval of ankhs research ethics committee (REC).(DH 2001) A literature review involves commenting on the work of others, work that is primarily published or in the public domain. This research methodology does not require access to confidential case records, staff, patients or clients so permission from an ethics committee is not required to carry out there view. However, it is essential to ensure that all direct quotes are correctly referenced. Permission must be sought from the correspondent before any personal communication may be used. All copyrights need tube acknowledged and referenced. The researcher will also act professionally when completing this report and ensure that research is identified, reviewed and reported accurately and on a scientific basis. The analyses of the ten selected articles will now be summarised. 2.0 Results and CAST tool Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this literature review, a set of ten research studies were selected. They will now be analysed using the CAST Tool. Article 1: Morrell and Walters (2000) TITLE Costs and effectiveness of community post-natal support workers: Randomised controlled trial AUTHORS Morrell CJ and Walters PS SOURCE British Medical Journal, 2000: 321, 593-598 QUESTION 1: FOCUS This research was sufficiently focussed on assessing the cost effectiveness of a series of home visits by a health visitor. It aimed to determine the cost of this intervention compared to that which would be normally incurred through the maternity process. It also aimed to investigate the health benefits of these individual home visits for the mothers and children involved. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS A randomised controlled trial was employed within the methodology of this research as it provided a group with which the results of the women in the intervention group could be compared. Therefore the progress of women who had recently given birth could be monitored and analysed to see if there were any significant differences as a result of the attendance of a Community post-natal suppor t worker. QUESTION 3: ALLOCATION A total of 623 women who had recently given birth were recruited for the study at a university teaching hospital. They were randomly allocated to either the intervention group (N = 311)or the control group (N = 312). The only requirement for inclusion in the study was that the participants were giving birth. Participants were not matched for factors such as their age, marital status or whether or not it was their first child. It was presumed that such individual differences would be controlled for by the random allocation of the participants within the relatively large sample. Subsequent analysis of the characteristics of those in the sample revealed that there was no significant differences in terms of age between the intervention and the control group. Neither did they differ on a set of88 socio-economic details. QUESTION 4: BLINDED The intervention participants were not blind to the fact that they were receiving help from a support worker. No de tailed information is given of the control group and of what their perception and knowledge of the research was. Inevitably the support workers themselves knew that they were in the intervention group. The potential, however, for observational bias was relatively small as the dependent variables were provided by the participant. As they had nuclear interest in demonstrating that the intervention had made appositive effect when it actually had not, this should have helped to ensure that the data given were accurate accounts of what had actually happened. . QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR Of the 623 participants who were recruited for the original study, a total of 551 participants completed the whole study through to the follow up stage. The cases of drop out were due tithe participants not wanting to complete the course of home visits or because they did not return the questionnaires at the follow up stage. QUESTION 6: FOLLOW-UP A range of questionnaires were completed by the participan ts at the six week and six month follow up stages. It would have been interesting to combine this approach with a more qualitative method, such as a focus group, such that a more in-depth data set could be gained to supplement the quantitative data. QUESTION 7: CHANCE The study employed a relatively large sample of 551 participants. QUESTION 8: FINDINGS Therefore were no significant health benefits associated with the intervention at the six week or six month follow up periods. The cost of the intervention to the NHS was  £815 for the intervention group and  £639 for the control group. There were no differences between the groups in terms of their use of the social services and in personal costs. QUESTION 9: PRECISE The study provides p values which indicates that there are no significant benefits associated with this intervention despite it being significantly more expensive. QUESTION 10: OUTCOMES As a result of the relatively large sample it would appear that these results co uld be generalised to other simple hospital situations in the UK. Based on the statistics provided, one would not recommend this intervention in terms of the health benefits. Having said this, it was a popular intervention with the women who received it and this may have value in itself. Article 2: Scott et al (2001a) TITLE Multi-centre controlled trial of parenting groups for childhood anti-social behaviour in clinical practice. AUTHORS Scott S, Spender Q, Dolan M, Jacobs B and Ashland H SOURCE British Medical Journal, 2001, 323, 194 QUESTION 1: FOCUS This research was sufficiently focused on the evaluation of a specific programme for a specific age group and set of behaviours. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS A sample of 141 3-8 year olds were allocated to either receive the intervention or to go on a waiting list(control group). Allocation was based on the date of referral This was an appropriate approach for this research study as it enabled the effects of the intervention programme to be evaluated. QUESTION 3: ALLOCATION The controlled trial approach was used as the allocation procedure should help to ensure that the children in the intervention and control groups exhibited equivalent anti-social behaviour and hence individual differences could be controlled for. QUESTION 4: BLINDED The particip ants were blind to the allocation stage of the methodology. The participants were aware that they were taking part in an evaluation study. The people who rated video tapes on the parent participants and their children was blind to whether the participant had been in the intervention group or in the control group. Therefore the ratters were blind to treatment and condition. QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR A total of 31 participants dropped out of the study as they did not attend a sufficient number of the intervention sessions. QUESTION 6: FOLLOW-UP Participants were followed up five to seven months after the base line stage. Six measures of child behaviour were taken as well as one measure of parenting behaviour. This is inacceptable follow up period for this form of study. A long term follow-up, however, would have helped to establish the permanence of any significant changes which result from the intervention. QUESTION 7: CHANCE A power calculation was reported in this study and the s ample size exceeds that which is recommended. Thus it could be argued that sufficient steps have been taken to minimise the possible influence of chance. QUESTION 8: FINDINGS The referred children who took part in the study were highly anti-social. A significant reduction was observed in taint-social behaviour of those within the intervention group. The behaviour of those within the control group was found to remain constant. The praise given by parents was found to increase three fold by those in the intervention group and to decrease by a third for those in the control group. QUESTION 9: PRECISE Confidence levels are provided within the statistical section of the study. Based on these it could be concluded that the parental group behavioural programme does have a significant impact on serious anti-social behaviour among children. QUESTION 10: OUTCOMES The large sample and sound methodology employed within this research would lead one to conclude that these results could be gene ralised to children of similar ages and with similar levels of anti-social behaviour. Article 3: Harrington et al (2000) TITLE Randomised comparison of the effectiveness and costs of community and hospital based mental health services for children with behavioural disorders. AUTHORS Harrington R, Peters S, Green J, Byford S, Woods J and McGowan R. SOURCE British Medical Journal, 2000, 321, 1047-1050 QUESTION 1: FOCUS The research focused on the evaluation of a community based versus a hospital based delivery of mental health services for children with behavioural disorders. The question set was relatively broad including both the costs and effectiveness of the approaches but it was sufficiently focused on specific programmes. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS The parent/child participant pairing were randomly allocated to receive the behavioural programme either at community location or at the hospital. This allocation was performed bay researcher who was independent of the study. The allocation was performed using stratified sampling between the two different health authorities involved in the research. Q UESTION 3: ALLOCATION This randomisation was performed such that no bias within the allocation procedure could have an influence on the results. The potential of parental expectations as a confounding variable was also acknowledged and assessed. No significant difference was found between the two groups on this variable. QUESTION 4: BLINDED At the observational stage of the research theatre was blind to the treatment group of the participants. This was demonstrated when they tried to identify the location which different participants had received the intervention. Their performance on this task was no better than chance. QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR A full set of data was available for 115 out of the 141 participants who took part in the research. The drop outs occurred through non-attendance to the programme sessions or no data being provided at the follow up stage. QUESTION 6: FOLLOW-UP The participants were followed up one year after the base line stage. QUESTION 7: CHANCE The sa mple size was selected based on the size of the effect which was required by the purchaser and the provider’s agreements regarding whether the programme would be accepted for wider implementation. QUESTION 8: FINDINGS It was reported that there were no significant differences between the intervention groups in terms of the parents’/teachers reports of the child’s behaviours, the parents ‘criticisms of the child and the impact of the child’s behaviour on the family. Parental depression was identified as a significant problem and variable which predicted the outcome of the child’s behaviour assessments. QUESTION 9: PRECISE The ultimate finding of this research was fairly specific in suggesting that the location in which a parental behavioural management programme was delivered did not have significant impact on the child’s behaviour. It appears more important that a range of services are made available, including those which address par ental depression. QUESTION 10: OUTCOMES The large sample and the use of two different health care authorities would lead one to conclude that these findings could be generalised to other areas of the UK. Article 4: Buts et al (2001) TITLE Effectiveness of home intervention for perceived child behavioural problems and parental stress in children with utero drug exposure AUTHORS Buts AM, Pulpier M, Marino N, Belcher M, Leers M and Royall R. SOURCE Archives of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 2001, 155, 1029-1037 QUESTION 1: FOCUS This research project was specifically focused on evaluating a home intervention programme which aimed to educate and provide support for parents of children with perceived behavioural problems. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS Participants were mothers who had recently given birth at one of two urban based hospitals in Baltimore, USA. They were randomly allocated to either receive the home visits or to be given the standard care package which would usually be given. QUESTION 3: ALLOCATION Random allocation was used to overcome any potential bias which could have been present if the researchers had allocated the participants. This enabled an assessment of the relative benefits of the home intervention to be determined over and above that which would be associated with standard care. QUESTION 4: BLINDED The data obtained within the study was via questionnaires completed by the parental participants. They were blind at the allocation stage of the study but clearly they knew that they had been either exposed or not exposed to the home visit intervention. The child behaviour ratings were given by an independent observer. QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR A total of 100 participants took part in the study. A sample of 51 participants comprised the standard care control group with 49 being in the intervention group. The details of the dropout rates were not clear. QUESTION 6: FOLL

Suggested market strategy for Nandos restaurant chain

Suggested market strategy for Nandos restaurant chain It is an individual report outlining a suggested marketing strategy, focusing in detail on one of the target markets, for the future marketing direction of the chosen organisation(NANDOS) in dealing with the issues and problems identified. It is based on the swot and twos analysis done on nandos. According to the earlier research done on nandos the formulation of appropriate aims and objectives and critically discussion of the strategic choices is done. IdentifIcation and discussion of the image and positioning strategy is also done which is described by a tactical marketing plan, discussing in detail any relevant marketing mix activity. The swot analysis and marketing mix plans of its competitors is described. The aim is to concentrate on marketing strategies rather than focusing on wider corporate strategic management issues. The main focus of this assignment is on developing an appropriate tactical marketing mix plan for a recommended strategy and demonstrating evidence of wider research and reading. Nandos is one of the fastest growing restaurant chain with a portugese/Mozambique theme. Nandos is known as the home of legendary grilled peri peri chicken. Nandos was born in 1987.earlier it was named as chicken land, but was renamed again after its founder Mr. Fernando Duarte. Started in Southern Johannesburg, South Africa with a Portuguese/Mozambican theme. It was formed by two friends Fernando Duarte and Robert Broz in africa. It has specialty of fresh-flamed grill chicken spiced with Periphery sauce, indigenous Its growth can be seen with the fact that there are around 700 restaurants in 29 countries. It launched its first restaurant in UK in 1992 and now has more than 200 Nandos in here. . FUNCTIONS It is a restaurant dedicated to people with an craving for life, people who love to laugh and exist to eat. At Nandos we believe in our flame-grilled Periphery Chicken, we believe its the best in the world. Taste the only one of its kind essence and fire of our Periphery chicken which is only one of its type. Nandos is of the finest restaurant chain in the world as it promises to offer a world class chicken experience at reasonable prices with unfailing quality, value and dedication to its consumers. Human Resource Team: Nandos earlier known as chickenland originated from South Africa.It is chain of chicken restaurants, which arrived in the UK in 1992. Nandos has around 137 restaurants with a staff of 2,000 and an HR team of 30. Each restaurant has a team of two buddies who are in charge of HR department . (http://www.nandos.com) Nandos management focuses on giving friendly and prompt services to customers.It also focuses on placing a strong emphasis on staff motivation, believing that happy employees are the key to provide good customer service. Every restaurant manager is known as a Patraos meaning Portuguese for head of the family. Area managers are known as MDs and each has a fun budget to hold parties and days out for staff.The management is considered to be very important in running the restaurants. FINANCE Nandos has been growing as a restaurant at a rapid rate.it has about 700 eateries in about 29 countries with the operating profits of about $140 million. iIt was launched in the UK and Ireland itself in 1992 and now has 217 restaurants here, all directly owned and operated.Whereas in its originating country i.e South Africa,it has about 250 outlets which are franchises. Most of its other markets are populated by franchises. (Business Times Online, UK) One of the most important marketing tool is 7 ps of marketing: 7 Ps of MARKETING: 7 ps of marketing include physical evidence, place, price, product, process, promotion and people. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE: Nandos popularity could be easily judged by looking through its ongoing increasing locations around the globe.Its roots can be seen in almost all growing nations. It is spread in around 31 countries which include: Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Botswana, Canada, Cyprus, Fiji, India, Ireland, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Nandos is doing extremely good and spreading its spreading very fast around the globe. . PLACE: Place is reffered as the locations around the globe.It aims at describing the the total number of outlets. Nandos is positioned in around 31 countries with more than 700 restaurants and is still growing rapidly. PRICE Penetration pricing: It is based on keeping the offering low priced to grab the maximum market share Competition pricing:- In this the focus on price is less as compared to  non price competition  items such as location and service Psychological pricing:- This is market based approach where the customer psyche is intensely affected. PRODUCT Nandos Product portfolio primarily comprises of flame grilled Periphery chicken which is the main focus of customers.The chicken is mainly served in quarters,halves and wholes. Cold drinks, shakes, ice tea , appetizer are also served at a nominal price. Nandos also serves burgers, pitas, salads, wings and wraps. In some countries, Nandos sells chicken livers, Espetada (a large stand with a skewer of chicken breast and grilled peppers) and the Cataplana (a chicken and rice dish served in a traditional Portuguese copper dish). (www.nandos.com) It also manufactures a range of sauces which include Peri-Peri sauces, marinades, cooking sauces and a Peri-Peri Essence. (www.nandos.com). PROCESS Amazing taste with nutrition -The chicken provided is lower in fat with great taste and high on protein. Freshly prepared Premium chicken are selected for Nandos. Then they are trimmed for excess fat and marinated in Peri-Peri sauce for 24 hours for the amazing taste. Thrilling Grilling Chicken is properly grilled naked on an open flame resulting in lower cholesterol and fat. And is basted on customer preference like lemon and herb, mild or extra hot Peri-Peri. Uses 100% natural ingredients and no preservatives, flavors, colors and no added MSG. PROMOTION 360 ° promotional techniques are used. For winning prizes and discounts scratch cards are given when an order is placed on various combo meal. Special offers like value meals offer greater value for money for the customer PEOPLE Friendly and prompt services to customers. Appropriate interpersonal skills, aptitude, and service knowledge. Responsiveness, reliability, assurance, empathy are the KRAs Transforming the transaction value to the customer life time value. OPERATIONS Nandos is known for its overwhelming staff. They give their best to make it a lifetime experience for the customers. I interviewed some crowd to judge about their experiences in nandos and according to the people it was one of the best restaurants experience for them. Best known for its peri-peri chicken which is really mouth watering. Even if the restaurant is busy the order placed comes to you in less than 10 -15 minutes. Unlike other restaurants the staff cooperates instead of annoying the guests. One of the best part about nandos is that it has options for vegetarian people too.There are some varieties of options to choose from pastries and other desserts priced between  £2 to  £3.The service is very quick and wonderful. One can choose from different varieties of menu. So nandos could be an lifetime and mouthwatering experience for the people. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS POSITIONING OF COMPETITORS: MC DONALDS It positions itself as the leader in quick service restaurants. In order to maintain dominance, they market to a younger set of persons, much in the same way that our Im Lovin It campaign does. KFC KFC corporation positions itself as the worlds most popular chicken restaurant chain, specializing in extra crispy fried chicken, Twister and Colonels Crispy Strips chicken with home style ideas which are different from others SWOT MATRIX OF McDonalds Here are some major strengths,weakness,oppurtunities and threats of mc donalds are described. Strengths McDonalds is considered as a market leader in both the domestic and international markets. It has an efficient food preparation style that follows the process in a systematic way The food is cheap and lots of variety is available. Weaknesses High renting cost and high fixed cost. Price competition with the competitors resulting in low revenue. There is lack of product innovation as the same menu is being used from a long time. Opportunities It can adapt to the needs of the societies and undergo an innovative product line McDonalds still has plans for more international expansion. Threats The companys aggressive international expansion. Foreign currency fluctuation as it uses standard pricing for its food items. SWOT ANALYSIS OF KFC Strengths KFC has strong trademark recipes. Ranks highest among all chicken restaurants for its convenience and menu variety. Distribution strategy. Weaknesses Admitted inability to provide quality service. Lack of knowledge about their customers. Conflicts between KFC and PepsiCo cultures. Opportunities Overseas expansion with the rapid economic growth. Updating restaurants. Threats Increasing wage rates directly affect menu prices. Changing customer demands. BRAND AUDIT KFC McDonalds Brand image Bucket chicken, wings of chicken, their mascot Chicken burgers, cone ice cream, Ronald What is your perception towards the customer Enjoy Crispy Chicken Experienced service which is the industry standard. Roles these brand play in your life Global Appeal Global appeal with providing best service in industry What is the reason for going there To have chicken served A multi fast food choice Level of awareness High High PESTLE Pestle is an abbreviation for the factors that should be understood by a company as part of its environmental analysis. It is described as: P Political E Economic S Social/Cultural T Technological L Legal E Environmental. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Opportunities Threats People are more open to experiment with food now a day. Rapid growth in food industry International expansion Demographic trends Rapid economic growth Strength of competition. Rising sale of substitute goods. ex- Mc Donalds cheap chicken mayo burger (99p). Mature/overstored industry. More health-conscious consumers. Loyalty enjoyed by the present competitors. Economic downturn Internal Factors (IFAS Table) External Factors (EFAS Table)TOWS MATRIX Strengths (S) Branching (29 countries) Its fresh (never frozen) marinated for 24 hours Grilled to order (healthy) Customer able to choose level of spice in food. In the UK itself 214 restaurant Every restaurant is unique individually design 2010 one of the worlds top 30 hottest marketing brands Weaknesses (W) Menu updating cycle is too long Less care for religion and vegetarian costumer High renting cost , fixed cost Relatively high food price Health problem about grilling food Traditional grill food cant satisfy all the costumers. Does not provide online ordering Opportunities (O) People are more open to experiment with food now a day. Rapid growth in food industry International expansion Demographic trends Rapid economic growth S-O Strategies There are room for more international expansion (S1, O3) Increase number of outlet in current market (S1, S5, O1, O2) Increase marketing effort on healthy food (S2, S3, O1) Adding new menu items (S3, O1) W-O Strategies Add more food categories (w1 w2 w6 o1) Add online service with home delivering (w7 o2) Decrease the fixed cost of the food (w2 w3 05) Threats (T) Strength of competition. Rising sale of substitute goods. ex- Mc Donalds cheap chicken mayo burger (99p). Mature/overstored industry. More health-conscious consumers. Loyalty enjoyed by the present competitors. Economic downturn. S-T Strategies Open more outlets/Expand internationally (T1, T5, S1, S5) Cut the product prices (T1, T2, T6, S2, S3, S4) Start Home-delivery. (T1, S5, S7) Increase marketing efforts (T1, T3, S1, S5, S7) Attract more customers. (T3, T5, S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7) Enhance the food making standards. (T1, T4, S2, S3, S4) W-T Strategies 1. Should come out with some cheap products to compete with others.(w4,t2) 2. Must use more healthy ingredients to attract the health conscious population.(w-5,t-4) 3. Need to focus on strategies to gain more profit in economic downturn position(w3,t6) 4. must come with more vegetarian products to attract the crowd.(t1,w2) TARGET MARKET PROFILE: Age: 18 30 year old (Generation y) Gender: Male and Female Income: Moderate to high Occupation: Students and Young Independent People Social class: Middle to Upper Class Risk perception: Low risk Needs-motivation: Sports and independent images Brand loyalty: Strong STRENGTH Branching (31 countries) Its fresh (never frozen) marinated for 24 hours Grilled to order (healthy) Customer able to choose level of spice in food. In the UK itself 214 restaurant Every restaurant is unique individually design 2010 one of the worlds top 30 hottest marketing brands CSF/CA MARKETING Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are the critical factors or activities required for ensuring the success of the business. The term was initially used in the world of data analysis , and business Analysis.( http://rapidbi.com/created/criticalsuccessfactors.html) Critical Success Factor (CSF) Marketing can help Nandos in the following areas of their business: SEO and SEM Social Media Marketing QR Codes Email Campaigns Trade Magazine Advertising Mobile Marketing Lets take the example of the famous social networking website and see how it can benefit Nandos and how the brand name can be promoted using the World Wide Web: Social Media Marketing on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc is huge right now. Facebook has over 500 million active users and uses a targeting system for delivering ads that works. More than 500 million active users. 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day. Average user has 130 friends. People spend over 70 0 billion minutes per month on Facebook. Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events Average user creates 90 pieces of content each month More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month. More than 70 translations available on the site Using demographics and geographic analysis, ads should be targeted to the right sex, age group, metropolitan or national areas Facebook really delivers. Setting up smart campaigns for your wall posts and ads is crucial.. Custom pages can also be built listing your services, promotions, and more. Facebook determines the location of a user based on IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, which can help identify the country or city where a user is physically located. If a user has listed a current address on their profile, they may see ads targeted to that location, regardless of where they are currently located. So masses can easily be reached and brand can be promoted easily with the direct technique.