Assignment 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

1 - Assignment Example The private sector, on the other hand, is referred to as for-profit sector. These include businesses and institutions that offer goods and services for sale. Their main aim is to achieve profits in the sale of these products and services. This is quite different from the public sector that majors on service delivery not on a profit. It is through the revenue and taxes that the employees in the private sector fund the public sector. The private sector also through their corporate social responsibility programs help the community to develop. Non-for profit organizations are institutions that are not categorized in the public or private sectors and offers goods and services for free. In some situations, good corporate citizens donate to the public sector in an effort to give back to the community. In disaster situations, these groups are affected interdependently. For a case of a mudslide, the demand for public services is increased. Due to the increase in the demand of these services, the budget of the public sector is strained. Companies and businesses in the private sector are also interfered with due to the damage of the disaster. This results to less tax remittance since their services have been affected (Lyon & Hamlin, 2001). In worst cases scenarios, the staff at these businesses may lose their jobs on either a permanent or temporary basis. The tax remittances and contributions to non-profit organizations have to reduce since the businesses are not running as usual. In this type of scenario, the non-profit organization is faced with a decrease in contributions and sometimes an increase in demand of their services. Depending on the cruelty of the disaster and the strains on the local system, funds from outside of the resident community may be required to support the public in its salvage and go back to its normality. Question #2 Disaster and emergency management has had continual evolution through the years. There exists numerous career opportunities in this field since an individual can be employed in the private, public and non-profit sectors. It is a sophisticated field because it disaster affects any part of the community. This interrelationship between the sectors has affected the skills set for disaster and emergency managers. The careers range from the project managers on the ground to policy makers and executives in the office. Employment, therefore, in this field can be permanent or temporary since the disaster and emergency are not always happening (Haddow et al, 2011). An example of a full time employment is at FEMA. At FEMA, Permanent Full-Time (PFT) staffs are employed through a modest procedure that comprises an interview and application. Recruited employees can gain competitive status after one year of continuous service. Temporary employment at FEMA can be as Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees (CORE). These are employees hired to labour for a specific limited period. This is usually about two to four years. Em ployment is usually renewed if there is consistent disaster and funding for the program is available. These staffs can be employed under a rationalized method instead of a modest process. They are normally qualified for similar remunerations  as PFT personnel, but do not get modest career or status tenure during their period of employment. Other employment avenues are in the disaster management facilities or offices. These range from administrative, accounts, management to support staff who guarantee smooth running of the facilities.

Learning Disabilities Essay Example for Free

Learning Disabilities Essay Puzzling is the term teachers use to describe students with learning disabilities.   They tell us that these students look entirely normal, seem intelligent, carry on intelligent conversations – that they don’t appear to any different than other students. Yet these students have difficulty doing certain tasks – not all- in school.   Some have difficulty reading; others perform poorly in spelling; still others make frequent mistakes in math.   Teachers in many schools tell us that these students are very hard to teach – that they simply do not learn in the same ways or as easily as others their age.    They tell us that these students have special needs and are not easy to teach in large classes in which most other students perform reasonably well.   They tell us that modifying instruction so that these students can profit from teaching is an intricate process. Because of the heterogeneous nature of this group of children, the concept of specific learning disabilities has been hard to define or describe in few sentence or by a numerical score such as an IQ or by a decibel loss. Furthermore, because the field has been of interest to educators, psychologists, psychiatrists, neurophysiologists, pediatricians, ophthalmologists, optometrists, speech pathologists, and others, the problem has been viewed in each of those disciplines from different perspectives. Hence there is really the need for several definitions for learning disabilities and thus we can conclude that its definition is defined in â€Å"case to case† basis. Definition of Learning Disabilities Historically, the following terms were used to name children with Learning disabilities: ââ€"   perceptually handicapped ââ€"   brain injured ââ€"   neurologically impaired Then, there came two broad aspects of concern in defining and or identifying those children: biological etiology- â€Å"minimal brain dysfunction†, psychoneurological learning disorders. behavior – â€Å" developmental disparity in psychological processes†, developmental imbalance† The definition of learning disabilities in an educational term has derived its heritage from: ââ€"   neurology ââ€"   psychology ââ€"   speech pathology ââ€"   ophthalmology ââ€"  Ã‚   remedial reading      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wiederholt (1984) has traced the history of Learning disability and has delineated three dimensions of disorders namely: (1) disorders of the spoken language studied primarily by neurologists and ophthalmologists such as; ââ€"   Samuel Kirk developed a test, the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, for use in describing language functioning and developing remedial programs. disorders of written language represented mostly by psychologists, speech pathologists, and educators such as; ââ€"   Grace Fernald established a clinic at UCLA where she perfected remedial reading and spelling techniques. disorders of perceptual and motor behaviors studied mostly by a number of disciplines such as; ââ€"   Goldstein, Werner and Strauss as pioneers of the field which listed the following behavioral characteristics that differentiated between those with and those without brain injuries: excessive motor activity, hyperactivity, awkwardness and consistently poor motor performance, erratic behavior, poor organization, high distractibility and faulty perceptions (like reversals) and ââ€"   Samuel Orton was a neurologist who believed that lack of cerebral dominance was a cause of language disorders. (In normal individual either the left or right side of the brain has dominance in controlling specific functions.) ââ€"  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cruickshank focused his efforts on the study of brain-injured children, specifically children with cerebral palsy. ââ€"   Getman, Marianne Frostig, Newell Kephart, and Ray Barsch focused on the correlation of perceptual disorders and developed remedial procedures ranging from optometric eye exercises, tracing and copying patterns, and differentiating figure from background in a puzzle, to making angels in the snow.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today, there are various provinces in Canada that have established programs for learning disabilities which was instituted for example by ââ€"   The Ontario Ministry of Education ââ€"   Saskatchewan Department of Education ââ€"   Halifax Board of Education and ââ€"   Quebec Ministry of Education But the most widely used definitions is the one incorporated by the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada or LDAC (2002) which state that, the term â€Å"Learning Disabilities refer to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning. As such, learning disabilities are distinct from global intellectual deficiency. Learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning. These include, but are not limited to: language processing; phonological processing; visual spatial processing; processing speed; memory and attention; and executive functions (e.g. planning and decision-making)†. Further, LDAC mentioned that learning disabilities range in severity and may interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following: oral language (e.g. listening, speaking, understanding); reading (e.g. decoding, phonetic knowledge, word recognition, comprehension); written language (e.g. spelling and written expression); and mathematics (e.g. computation, problem solving). Further, the U.S. Department of Education regulation further states that a student has a specific learning disability if: the student does not achieve at the proper age and ability levels in one or more of several specific areas when provided with appropriate learning experiences; the student has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of these seven areas: (a) oral expression, (b) listening comprehension, (c) written expression, (d) basic reading skill, (e) reading comprehension, (f) mathematics calculation, and (g) mathematics reasoning. To summarize, all these definitions of learning disabilities, it includes the following major concepts: The individual has a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes.   Ã‚  Ã‚   (These processes refer to intrinsic prerequisite abilities, such as memory, auditory   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   perception, visual perception, oral language, and thinking.) The individual has difficulty in learning, specifically, in speaking, listening, writing, reading (word-recognition skills and comprehension), and mathematics (calculation and reasoning.) The problem is not primarily due to other causes, such as visual or hearing impairments; motor handicaps; mental retardation; emotional disturbance; or economic, environmental, or cultural disadvantage. A severe discrepancy exists between the student’s apparent potential for learning and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   his or her low level of achievement.   In other words, there is evidence of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   underachievement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The various definitions of learning disabilities have several elements in common: neurological dysfunction uneven growth pattern difficulty in academic and learning tasks discrepancy between potential and achievement exclusion of other causes Identification of Learning Disabilities In identifying individuals with learning disabilities, the following common characteristics must be observed: ââ€"   Disorders of attention: Hyperactivity, distractibility, poor concentration ability, short attention span; ââ€"   Poor motor abilities: Poor fine and gross motor coordination, general awkwardness and clumsiness, spatial problems; ââ€"   Perceptual and information processing problems: Difficulty in discrimination of auditory and visual stimuli, auditory and visual closure, and sequencing; ââ€"   Oral language difficulties: Problems in listening, speaking, vocabulary, and linguistic competencies; ââ€"   Failure to develop and mobilize cognitive strategies for learning: Lack of organization, active learning set, metacognitive functions; ââ€"   Reading difficulties: Problems in decoding, basic reading skills, and reading comprehension; ââ€"   Written language difficulties: Problems in spelling, handwriting, and written composition; ââ€"   Mathematics difficulties: Difficulty in quantitative thinking, arithmetic, time, space, and calculation facts; and ââ€"   Inappropriate social behavior: Problems in social skills deficits, emotional problems, and establishing social relationships. There are also other practical classification schemes that are useful: (1) the academic learning disabilities ( reading, arithmetic, handwriting, spelling, and written expression) (2) the developmental learning disabilities: ( attention, memory, perceptual skills, thinking skills, and oral language skills) A somewhat more systematic way to look at characteristics of students with learning disabilities is to look at those factors referenced in screening devices.   The following outline reflects the types of difficulties often observed in learning disabled students: (1) significantly different classroom behaviors difficulty in beginning or finishing tasks difficulty in organizing inconsistent in behavior difficulty in peer relationships (2) significantly below-average performance in auditory comprehension and listening difficulty in following directions difficulty in comprehending or following class discussions inability to retain information received aurally difficulty in understanding or comprehending word meanings (3) significantly below-average performance in spoken language use of incomplete sentences or unusual number of grammatical errors use of immature or improper vocabulary or very limited vocabulary difficulty in recalling words for use in self-expression difficulty relating isolated facts, scattered ideas difficulty in relating ideas in logical sequence (4) significant academic problems difficulty in reading fluency difficulty in associating numbers with symbols incorrect ordering of letters in spelling confusion of manuscript and cursive writing avoidance of reading confusion of math concepts – addition, multiplication (5) orientation difficulties poor time concept, no grasp of meaning of time difficulty in â€Å"navigating† around building or school grounds poor understanding of relationships (big, little, far, close, under, on, near) inability to learn directions (north, south, left, right) motor disabilities or significant underdevelopment for age poor coordination very poor balance awkward, poorly developed manipulative or manual dexterity lack of rhythm in movements III. Intervention for Learning Disabilities. This knowledge of the characteristics of learning disabled students is one basis for intervention. Thus, we have seen that children with learning disabilities compose quite a diverse group.   It should be no surprise then to find that the teaching and strategies approaches designed to help those children are also quite a diverse. But it is possible to cluster the various approaches into three broad educational strategies: task training, in which the emphasis is on the sequencing and simplication of the task to be learned. ââ€"   Ysseldyke and Salvia (1984) have advanced tow theoretical models namely: (a) analyzing the child’s abilities and disabilities and (b) analyzing the task and the direct training of the terminal behavior or task. This view is supported by behavioral analysts who advocate (1) finding out what the child can and cannot do in a particular skill, (2) determining whether or not the child has the behaviors needed to succeed in the task, (3) defining the goals in observable terms, and (4) organizing a systemic remedial program using reinforcement techniques. The applied behavior analysts do not infer processes or abilities that underlie difficulties but rely solely on the child’s interactional history and the current behavior and environmental situation.   They feel that their approach, which is task oriented and observable, is the most parsimonious approach, and to some it is the only approach needed. ability or process training, in which the focus is on the remediation and simplification of the task to be learned. Quay (1983) discussed the relative efficacy of ability or process training.   He stated that three approaches to remediation have evolved: (1) remediating a disability so that learning will be facilitated at a later date, (2) training and ability or process for its own sake, and (3) direct training of the task.   He concludes that the direct instruction method (task training) should be tried first and then discarded in favor of other methods if direct instruction is not successful. ability – or process-task training, in which the first two approaches are combined and integrated into one remedial program. Raschke and Young (1986) support this approach.   They compared the behavior – analysis model with the diagnostic-prescriptive model. They state that neither approach alone has the answer and propose what they call a dialectic-teaching approach into one system. Essentially the model assesses the abilities and disabilities of the children (intraindividual diffences), makes task analyses of the skills to be learned, and prescribes remediation in the functions and skills to be developed. This dialectic system they maintain â€Å"permits the teacher to assess, program, instruct, and evaluate the child’s psycholinguistic characteristics in the same system as his skill competencies and consequential variables†. Hence, the task of developing a definition of learning disabilities proved to be a formidable challenge.   Indeed, defining this population is considered such an overwhelming task that some have likened learning disabilities to Justice Potter Stewart’s comment on pornography: impossible to define, â€Å"but I know it when I see it.† Thus, defining learning disabilities in a way acceptable to all has continued as a debatable issue since the inception of the field.   Although a number of definitions have been generated and used over the years, each has been judged by some to have some shortcomings.  Ã‚   There are many types of disabilities, each of which may require a unique diagnosis and a unique remedial method. POSITION PAPER   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The definitions of learning disabilities are numerous and so varied that it is difficult to present taxonomy or even a specific list of these different definitions.   The definition of learning disabilities is a problem in much of the nations throughout the world. This problem first came out when some parents in the United States became concerned because their children who were not learning in school were rejected from special education since they were not mentally retarded, deaf or blind, or otherwise handicapped.   Their children were called by various names such as; neurologically handicapped, brain-injured, aphasodic, dyslexic, and perceptually handicapped. In spite of its current widespread use, the term learning disability is vulnerable to misunderstanding and misuse. The condition is difficult to define operationally since the designation learning disability is an umbrella term for a variety of deviations that are not included in traditional categories of exceptional children. Also it has been confused with general learning problems that are common to some degree in most children. In addition, it has been misused to include educational retardation, which is found in slow learning children and in children who have not learned because of poor teaching or absence from school. Another vulnerability of the term comes from the difficulty in drawing an explicit line between normal and abnormal.   Some allowances must be made for biological and psychological diversity, and considerable variation in abilities is accepted as normal. So, the question now is, â€Å"If there are objections to the term learning disabilities, why use it?   Why not use some other term? Well and good, if a better term can be found.   Other terms are either too specific or too broad.   Dyslexia for example, only refers to severe reading disability and it is not the only learning disability.   Brain injury has little or no educational relevance.   Perceptual handicaps exclude children with language disorders. Hence, the label learning disability has evolved to encompass the heterogeneous group of children not fitting neatly into the traditional categories of handicapped children. And that, substantial number of children show retardation in learning to talk, do not acquire other communication skill, do not develop normal visual or auditory perception, or great difficulty in learning to read, to spell, to write, or to make arithmetic calculations. Some of them even, are not receptive to language but are not deaf, some are not able to perceive visually but are not blind, and some cannot learn by ordinary of method of instruction but are not mentally retarded. Although such children are from a heterogeneous group and fail to learn for diverse reasons, they have one thing in common: they do not perform as well in school as they could. Discussing the problem and the difficulties of names for these children, Kirk (1963) explained that sometimes classification labels block our thinking. He further stated that it is better to state that a child has not learned to read than to say the child is dyslexic. So he advised that the name should be functional.   He suggested further that since the parents were interested in service to their children, it might be preferable to use a term related to teaching or learning and that the term learning disability might be preferable over the currently used terms such as cerebral function and brain injured. The term learning disabilities were agreed by these parents and they consider it more appropriate since it implied teaching and learning and since they were interested primarily in service for their children. So, one of the major problems of definition is that a learning disability is not as obvious or homogenous as blindness or deafness. There are many types of disabilities, each of which may require a unique diagnosis and a remedial method may vary differently from another condition also termed a learning disability. It is no wonder that many students, teachers, and parents have become confused about the term learning disability and the characteristics of children so labeled. This confusion appears to be international and is illustrated by the remarks of a teacher who, in testifying to a government committee studying the subject (Learning Difficulties in Children and Adults, 1986), stated:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I find myself asking the following questions:   What does the term â€Å"learning difficulty† mean?   Does the term â€Å"learning difficulty† mean the same as â€Å"learning disability†? How about the term â€Å"dysfunction†? What does the term â€Å"minimal brain dysfunction† mean? Do they all mean the same? Certainly, all these labels are not necessary, or are they? Does labeling a child with learning problems create more problems? It all becomes a bit confusing†¦The terminology changes often, varies from state to state and from country to country. Out of these definitions, came my own definition of learning disability: Learning disability describes a result rather than the cause of the learning disability.   Therefore, the conditions we call a learning disability is defined in terms of the student’s difficulties – what he can and cannot do in school – and focuses primarily on the academic performance.   So, one cannot be labeled as learning disabled if he has not yet started formal schooling as the label learning disabled indicates that a student is having unusual learning difficulties and involves speculations to possible causes, but it specifically indicates that the primary cause cannot be a condition such as mental retardation, hearing or visual impairment, and so on. Learning disabilities should be identified in the formal school context. Thus, preschoolers should not be labeled as learning disabled as growth rates are so unpredictable at young age,   In addition, very young children who appear to have problems may be identified under a noncategorical label, such as developmentally delayed.   For many children, learning disabilities first become apparent when they enter school and fail to acquire academic skills.   The failure often occurs in reading, but also happens in mathematics, writing, or other school subjects.   Among the behaviors frequently seen in the early elementary years are inability to attend and concentrate; poor motor skills, as evidenced in the awkward handling of a pencil and in poor writing; and difficulty in learning to read.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the later elementary years, as the curriculum becomes more difficult, problems may emerge in other areas, such as social studies or science.   Emotional problems also become more of an impediment after several years of repeated failure, and students become more conscious of their poor achievement in comparison with that of their peers.   For some students, social problems and inability to make and keep friends increase in importance at this age level. A radical change in schooling occurs at the secondary level, and adolescents find that learning disabilities begin to take a greater toll.   The tougher demands of the junior and senior high school curriculum and teachers, the turmoil of adolescence, and the continued academic failure may combine to intensify the learning disability.   Adolescents are also concerned about life after completing school.   They may need counseling and guidance for college, career, and vocational decisions.   To worsen the situation, a few adolescents find themselves drawn into acts of juvenile delinquency.   Because adolescents tend to be overly sensitive, some emotional, social, and self-concept problems often accompany a learning disability at his age.   Most secondary schools now have programs for adolescents with learning disabilities. Many teachers in Canada suggested that we abolish the label learning disability, and merge it with the emotionally disturbed and the educable mentally retarded and only deal with the child from an instructional point of view by defining learning tasks so that they can be taught step by step.   I strongly opposed with this suggestion.   Though maybe it is possible for the child with severe learning disability, but this approach is not sufficient to mild learning disabilities students. This is one of the greatest sources of controversy about the identification issues. The question of how much academic and learning retardation is evidenced before an individual should be identified as learning disabled.   Aside from identifying children with learning disability, it is very important to judge the extent of a child’s learning disability as either mild or severe.   Determining the level of severity is helpful in placement and in planning teaching delivery.   I strongly suggest that students with mild learning disabilities should be given different remediation from those of students who have severe learning disabilities. At this point, it is very crucial to differentiate the two cases.   Mild learning disabilities describe the problems of many students.   Students with mild learning disabilities usually have a disability in just one or two areas of learning, and although they need supportive help and special teaching, they can probably get along – at least for part of the day – in the regular classroom. So, within the regular classroom, the regular teachers should often make changes in instruction that will benefit these students. On the other hand, students with sever learning disabilities pose a very different problem and they require quite different educational services.   These students are likely to lag significantly in several areas of learning and to have concomitant social, emotional, or behavioral problems.   They need the environment of a special classroom, should contact mainly with one teacher, and should be given special services for most of the day.   Because of the intensity of their problems, the special class should be given fewer students than the regular classroom.   I suggest the 1:3 teacher to student ratio is the best to maximize and hasten the remediation process.   However, students with severe learning disabilities can gradually be mainstreamed for special subjects or activities or placed in the resource room, or even back in the regular classroom as their progress permits.   Because of these definitions; teachers, guidance councilors, and other school personnel, play the biggest role in identifying, diagnosing, remediating or treating this kind of disability within the school context.   So any teaching/service delivery should best meet the requirements needed to serve properly learning disabled students within the regular classroom.   Hence, learning disabled students should be treated or given remediation within the given school context with the greatest help of the regular classroom teacher but the guidance of the learning disabilities specialist.   So, it is implied that each school should have a learning disabilities specialist. With this, a change in the administrative arrangements for the placement for instruction of children with learning disabilities is a must.  Ã‚   It is important to take note that in the past, the rapid growth of special education was in the direction of removing atypical children from the mainstream of regular classroom and placing them into special education programs. Even the regular education supported this movement which maybe because the responsibility of educating children with a variety of learning problems is transferred to the domain of special education, and that would really lighten the work load of regular teachers.  Ã‚   But that should not be the case and I do not support that movement. The trend should be reversed and all students with learning disabilities should be brought back into the regular classroom with the regular students and in the hands of the regular teacher with the help of the learning disabilities specialist.     Ã‚  A number of movements and researches support this claim. The influential movement that supports this claim is the REI or the regular education initiative led by Madeline Will, the director of special education in the U.S. Office of Special Education in 1986.   She stated that this initiative is designed to promote collaborative efforts among regular and special educators and â€Å"shared responsibility† (Will, 1986).   In this initiative, regular and special educators were encouraged to pool their talents and coordinate their efforts in planning and teaching.  Ã‚   I greatly support this initiative as the underlying premise of this concept is that student’s learning disabilities can be more successfully taught in the regular education classroom than in special education classes or resource room. By promoting the merging of special and regular education, the regular education initiative reflects a major change in the way students with learning disabilities are identified, assessed, and educated. The approach is supported by many special educators (Lloyd, Singh, Repp, 1991; Maheady Algozzine, 1991; Biklen Zollers, 1986; Greer, 1988; Reynolds, Wang Walberg, 1997).     Ã‚  A specific example is, more than fifty years ago, Samuel Kirk, in his presidential address to special educators, emphasized that all teachers (regular and special educators) have the responsibility for teaching learning disabled children.   Kirk implored that â€Å"every teacher †¦ is a teacher of learning disabled children† (Kirk, 1941).   He further wrote the following: Actually the education of exceptional children is not wholly the responsibility of any one group of teachers †¦. It is hoped that in the future all special class teachers will not only be responsible for the education of children in their classroom, but will take on the added responsibility of contributing their knowledge and special skill to the regular classroom teacher †¦ who (has0 many learning disabled children in (the) classroom. (Kirk, 1941) In 1968, Lloyd Dunn wrote an influential article about the benefits of having special educators work with regular teachers in serving learning disabled children (Dunn, 1968). Another view to change the administrative arrangement in special education is to group children with different disabilities together for instruction.   This categorical system in special education historically evolved as the field of special education developed.   Each category of disability (such as visual impairment, hearing impairment, mental retardation, orthopedic disabilities, speech disorders, emotional disturbance, and learning disabilities) became established individually over the years when there was sufficient interest in that particular area of exceptionality.   This concept emphasizes the common characteristics among students with disabilities and the common instructional methods for teaching students with various disabilities.   In this system, students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and mental retardation are often grouped together. Some parents and special educators are concerned that children with learning disabilities might be lost in the shuffle of this kind of placement, if such classes become a dumping ground for students with a variety of unrelated problems.   The resulting diversity of learning and behavior problems would impede teachers in helping students with learning disabilities. But this view is also opposed by a number of authors and has even provoked unusual levels of confusion, emotion, and debate within the special education community (Jehkins Pious, 2001).   Moreover, other special educators and parents, express concern regarding the regular education initiative movement and caution that more study is needed before making full-scale and far-reaching changes in procedures and policies that will affect the lives of students with learning disabilities (Lloyd et al., 1991; Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1988; Cannon, 1988; Kaufman, Gerber, Semmel, 1998; McKinney Hocutt, 1988, Lerner, 1997). But these opposing views have no substance and should be disregarded altogether.   Fuchs Fuchs (2000) have conducted research on the perceptions of and attitudes toward the regular education initiative among both regular and special educators.   These studies suggest that neither regular nor special education teachers are dissatisfied with the current special education delivery system.   In fact, the teachers favored the resource room model over the consultant model.   Many of the teachers saw no improvement in the achievement levels for either special or regular education students as a result of the regular education initiative reforms.   The success of the initiative depends on the support of regular and special teachers (Semmel, Abernathy, Butera, Lesar, 1991; Coates, 1989).   Moreover, the research prove that merely shifting the responsibility from the resource room teacher to the regular or a consultant is not enough to ensure the success of the reform. Hence, major policy changes in regular education profoundly affect students with learning disabilities.   Several recent national study commissions on the poor quality of schools serving the learning disabled students.   It is my fear that, most school’s pursuit for academic excellence standards will left behind students with learning disabilities – or they will be the losers.   Being unable to meet the educational standards set by the pursuit-of-excellence movement, some students with learning disabilities will be denied a high school diploma and thus be denied the opportunity to complete their schooling.   Further, if regular teachers are held accountable for the academic excellence of their students, they will be reluctant to accept the responsibility for hard-to-teach students.   Some special educators predict that the push for excellence may serve to widen the schism between regular and special education (Pugach Sapon-Shevin, 1997). Hence, it is my challenge to educators and healthcare professionals to undergo another education reform movement where school curriculum requirements for the learning disabled should be added to the current curriculum standards for the regular students. So in this recommendation for curriculum changes, a greater consideration should be given for the learning disabled students.   But this should be within the context of the regular education curriculum. This approach is same with the integration of regular and special education.   Some special educators also are now urging that the integration process should be taken much further – that the current special education system should be drastically restructured and that regular and special education should be merged into a single system (Kauffman Trent, 1991).   Such educators cite several reasons for changing the current system.   Special education, they maintain, is not effective when it occurs outside of the regular classroom.   In addition, the physical separation of students with disabilities is demeaning and degrades instruction.   These special educators maintain that integrated special education is more effective than separate programs. So the delivery options for teaching students with learning disabilities should also include regular classes and resource room classes.   This approach is concomitant to the observation that successful adults with disabilities have learned to function comfortably in society as it exists – an unrestricted environment composed of all people.   To promote experiences in the greater society, it must be ensured that, to the extent appropriate, students with disabilities should have experiences in school with regular (or non-special education) students. Since society includes the family, parents too should not be forgotten as an important element in the entire complex.   Parents are a vital component in the student’s education. These parents of children with learning disabilities need help in accepting their situation.   Mental health professionals should help make parents be aware that the problem must be faced both by the child and by other members of the family.   In addition to an honest acceptance of the disability, there must be recognition that improvement is often a slow process. So any approach concerning children with learning disability should establish healthy parental attitudes and ensure parent-teacher cooperation is of course, very necessary.   Parent support groups and family counseling are effective in assisting parents understand their children and their problems and in finding ways to help their children within the home.   In addition, parent-teacher conference can become a bridge between the home and school and can involve parents in the educational process. Learning disabilities is now at a crossroads, as it seems to have been throughout its thirty-year history.   Many innovative ideas are only in their beginning stages and will develop more fully in the years to come. The approach I suggested as discussed in this paper is one of those ideas.   It is very important for this approach that more students with learning disabilities are served through regular education.   In addition, there should be more collaboration between special and regular educators.   A consequence of all of these shifts is that the responsibilities of learning disabilities teachers will change to meet the new demands. References Bush, W., and Giles, M.(1979).   Aids to Psycholinguistic Teaching. Columbus,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ohio: Charles E. Merrill. Clements, S. (1986). Minimal Brain Dysfunction in Children.   Public Health   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Service Publications. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Washington, D.C. Dunn, L.M. nad Smith J.O. (1987). Peabody Language Development Kits. Levels   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   P, I.II.III. Circle Pines, Minn.: American Guidance Service. Fernald, G.M. and Keller, H. (1971), â€Å"The Effect of Kinesthetic Factors in the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Development of Word Recognition in the Case of Non –Readers.† Journal of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Educational Research 4:355-357. Getman, G.H. (1985). â€Å"The Visuo-Motor Complex in the Acquisition of Learning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Skills.† Learning Disorders, Volume 1. Seattle: Special Child Publications Gellingham,A. and Stillman B. (1986). Remedial Training for Children with   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship, 5th ed. Cambridge,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mass: Educators Publishing Service. Hegge,T., Kirk,S. and Kirk, W.(1986). Remedial Reading Drills.   Ann Arbor,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mich.: Geroge Wahr. Hirsch,E. (1983). â€Å"Training of Visualizing Ability by the Kinesthetic Method of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Teaching Reading.† Unpublished master’s thesis. University of Illinois. Karnes,M., Zehrbach, R. and Teska, J. (1984). â€Å"The Karnes Preschool Program;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rational Curricular Offerings and Follow up Data.   Report on Longitudinal   Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Evaluations of Preschool Programs, vol. 1: 95-108. Kirk, S.A. (1963).   â€Å"Behavioral Diagnosis and Remediation of Learning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Disabilities.† In Proceedings of the Conference on Exploration into the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Problems of the Perceptually Handicapped Child.   Chicago: Perceptually   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Handicapped Children. Kirk, S.A. and Elkins, J. (1985) â€Å"Characteristics of Children Enrolled in the Child   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Service Demonstration Centers.†Ã‚   Journal of Learning Disabilities 8: 630-637. Learning Difficulties in Children and Adults. (1986). Report of the House of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Representatives Select Committee on Specific Learning Difficulties. Lombardi, T.P., and Lombardi, E.J. (1987).   ITPA: Clinical Interpretation and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Remediation. Seattle: Special Child Publication. Minskoff, E.D., Wiseman, and Minskoff J. (1985). The MWM Program for   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Developing Language Abilities. Ridgefield, N.J.: Educational Performance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Associates. Orton, S.J. (1978). â€Å"Specific Reading Disability – Strphosymbolia.† Journal of the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   American Medical Association 90:1095-1099. Spalding, R.B.AND Spalding W.T. (1987). The Writing Road to Reading.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Morrow: New York. Strauss, A.A. and Lehtinen. (1987). Psychopathology and Education of the Brain-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Injured Child, vol. II. New York: Grune and Stratton. Weiderholt, J.L (1984).†Historical Perspectives on the Education of the Learning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Disabled.† In L. Mann and D.A. Sabitino, eds. The Third Review of Special   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Education.  Ã‚   Philadelphia: JSE Press.

Alliance Boots Pestel Analysis Business Essay

Alliance Boots Pestel Analysis Business Essay The global pharmaceutical industry has been overwhelmingly changing in the last decade creating rigorous globalization and increased competitiveness. The global market shares are creating new challenges for pharmaceutical companies strengthening the consolidation of the world pharmaceutical industry through alliancing and acquisitions as a strategic orientation for global pharmaceutical companies. Many global companies including pharmaceutical believe that alliance will not only create awareness but will also create successful strategic collaborations capable of creating more global interaction opportunities and integration with other markets. The aim of this report is to explore Alliance Boots future strategic directions. Organisation Background It is a multinational company with strong recognition and reputation as one of the leading pharmaceutical and beauty companies in the world. Alliance Boots revenue is more than  £22.5 billion in excess; it also has various outlets in more than 20 countries. Alliance Boots core areas of business are pharmaceutical and beauty, formed in 2006 as a merger Boots Group and Alliance UniChem and recently a global merger with Walgreens. The company main purpose is to help its customers to look and feel better than ever, by providing exceptional customer and patient care with great value for its customer. Product brands Alliance Boots Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division is experiencing a rapid growth and global sales; the company believes that its product innovation and development competences are some of the resourceful factors, which enable the company to develop new and existing products for global consumption. Some of these products are, No7, Soltan and Botanics, 17, Almus and Alvita that were successfully launched in recently. Organisation Structures Alliance Boots have over 185,000 employees and numerous pharmaceutical outlets. The aim of the company is to work closely with manufacturer of pharmaceutical, beauty and health products and use experienced pharmacists to provide services to their customers. Alliance Boots headquarters is in Zug Switzerland. Alliance Boots Strategy Options It is important that when a global business organisation wants to adopt a sustainable development strategy for its products and brands, such strategy needs to be applicable across a wide range of different product types, also has to be flexible to cope with the rapid turnover of products. Alliance Boots also believe that: The strategy also has to be robust so as to be able to cope with the main three routes by which products are introduced at Alliance Boots(own manufacture, third party supply of Alliance Boots brands and proprietary brand). Its strategy must provide leadership on where and how improvements and such improvement must be commercially successful. Marketing strategy Alliance Boots believe that by putting its customers first for all its pharmaceutical and beauty products with outstanding quality and service at a competitive cost will help the company to achieve excellent profitable margins in the global competitive market. Its unique strategy will also help Alliance Boots with continue profit growth through a balance of strong global sales growth. Ansoffs Matrix Ansoffs Matrix is a unique marketing tool, which provides strategic choices to business organisations in order to achieve the objective for growth. Ansoffs Matrix has for main categories namely: Market penetration: Market penetration creates a good avenue for a company like Alliance Boots to sell existing products into existing markets. It is important for Alliance Boots to continuing promoting its product with the new features and good quality .This is helping Alliance Boots to invest heavily and focus more on research and development in new market research creating more distribution channel. Market development: Alliance Boots uses Market development as a growth strategy to sell its existing products into new markets, including new geographical markets; for example product exportation to a new country. It also includes new product packaging new distribution channels (e.g. Boots Pharmacy stores across UK and selling via e-commerce and mail order). Its ability to target new market makes Market development a unique strategy. Product development: Alliance Boots uses Product development as growth strategy creating a unique avenue for its business to introduce new products into existing pharmaceutical markets with great expectation that they will gain more customers and market share. Such strategy may involve the development of new capabilities and requires Alliance Boots to develop modified products, which can appeal to existing markets. Diversification: Alliance Boots Diversification strategy allows the company to diversify easily to another geographical market. In 2012, Alliance Boot acquired Nanjing Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Nanjing has a strong market position and operating distribution centres in 12 cities and across eight provinces in China. Such diversification into China Pharmaceutical market now makes Alliance Boots, as the largest shareholder is Nanjing Pharmaceutical Group Limited creating new products and opportunities in the Chinese market. Alliance Boots SWOT Analysis Alliance Boots Swot analyses are: Strength: Alliance Boots has an excellent and long-standing relationship with all its customers. The company also has a strong historical reputation for all its quality, using nectar card to gather customer intelligence. Availability of Boots Pharmacy stores everywhere in the UK and Europe. Weaknesses: Due to strong competition with other pharmaceutical companies in the global market, Alliance Boots is struggling to cope with the increased competition in the market. Opportunities: Alliance Boots continue to use the internet opportunity to keep increasing its presence by using online shopping to transact with its domestic and global customers. Using it retail stores advantage across the global market such as Boots Pharmacy to create the right products with right combination of price and promotion to achieve the firms aims of long-term growth. Threats: The major threat to pharmaceutical industries including Alliance Boots is the government higher tax on the price on medicine that Alliance Boots and other retailers must deal with. Porters Five Forces: The five forces of Porter can be used to make an analysis and attraction of business organisation structure as follows: Supplier Power: It plays important role in competitive force, more suppliers one can greatly increase y bargaining power with these suppliers. For example, Alliance Boots successfully bargained with over 80 suppliers to lower prices of some of the drugs they sell over the counter in 2007. Buyer Power: Increasing customer loyalty is a way of reducing the power of the buyer, the introduction of nectar card by Alliance Boots is a way to reward its customers. Because of this, it allows the buyers to save considerably. It also allows Alliance Boots to capture useful information and monitor consumers purchasing habits. Threats of New entrants: There has been huge increase in the number of new entrants in the pharmaceutical marketing making difficult for Alliance Boots to expand in the way the company wants. For example, Tesco is planning various new supermarkets across Britain that would restrict Alliance Boots ability to expand. This poses a real threat, which means that Alliance Boots need to change its marketing strategy with possibility of reducing prices through advertising. Threat if substitute: In order to save money many businesses may decide to outsource their products and service to another company at a cheap cost. Alliance Boots did not outsource its products and services; instead, the company IT department was able to make changes in the way customers pay for their products by replacing its traditional till machines to touch screens capability giving customers a faster way to shop on their own. Competitive Rivalry: This affects many businesses in terms of price competition and products identification. For example, other rivals in the business like Lloyds Pharmacy, Superdrug are expanding rapidly. Because of this, Alliance Boots are constantly improving its stores marketing strategy making its products more affordable and available everywhere in the UK and continue to provide outstanding customer service. Alliance Boots PESTEL Analysis Political Factors: Various political decisions can have a huge impact in the business operate and its performance. For example the impact of government UK policies on the business allowing some major supermarkets to open numerous pharmaceutical stores within their stores. The government believes that such policy will increase NHS services and improved healthcare. Such move will not help Alliance Boots, instead, it will create a huge competition, which will eventually make Alliance Boots to lower its products prices and operate for longer hours. Economic Factors: The global economic recession is badly affecting every business sector including healthcare, with many businesses suffering. There has been a huge increase in the prices of global healthcare affecting the way customers spend and how much they want to spend in buying healthcare products especially Beauty products. In addition to this, the rising fuel costs also have a huge impact in the supply chain channel of Alliance Boots leading to an overall price increase increasing prices and passing over the cost to consumers. Social Factors: the prices of its The social factors is creating more awareness about how everyone should take care of himself or herself through, exercise, eating habit, type of food that is good for the body and many more. For example, government campaign that is promoting healthy eating (eatwell.gov.uk 2012 online) as a result in the rapid increasing level of obesity within the UK (Department of health 2012 online).Such information is boosting Alliance Boots sales by encouraging its customers to try its healthier products at a cheaper price than other companies. Technological Factors: The evolution of internet is helping online retail sales, Alliance Boots is making use of the internet technology to its advantage with internet is now generating more than a third of all revenue for Alliance Boots products and services. Alliance Boots Centre for Innovation is investing hugely for the development of inventive products and technologies that focus on: Ways to diagnose treat and monitor key aspects of health, beauty and wellbeing. Providing positive support to ageing products and working very hard to produce new products. Environmental Factors: Many countries are now committing to green energy ever than before due to the risk of global warming is becoming a reality, Many companies like Alliance Boots have been told to play key role in reducing carbon footprint and increasing energy efficiency (Bream 2008). Because of this, Alliance Boots will have to invest more on greener products (selling of organic healthy product) and reducing their impact of carbon footprint on the environment. Legal Factors: There are various legal issues that are facing the way companies operate globally, for example, Alliance Boot Cases include application to European Court of Justice in sex discrimination case of Neath versus Hugh Steeper Limited. New laws keep emerging everyday especially on healthy product and drinks, which mean Alliance Boots will have to be more cautious about it packaging and labelling policies, which will be extra financial liability on the Alliance Boots. Globalisation Drivers The drivers of globalisation can be classified into Market Drivers: Increasing travel create global consumers Growth of global and regional channels Establishment of world brands 2. Cost Drivers: Fast-tracking technological innovation Transportation and distribution channel 3. Government Drivers Reduction of tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers Privatisation in previously state-dominated economies 4. Competitive Drivers Strong rise in global strategic alliances with other companies. Rise of new competitors with intension of becoming global competitors Future Strategic Partnership Walgreen Co., US largest drug store chain is the latest future strategic partnership and direction that Alliance Boots is taking. Under this new strategy, Alliance Boots and Walgreen Co are bringing together the strengths and proficiency of both companies to create the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. Recommendations In order for Alliance Boots to maintain its global presence and continue to be one of dominant forces in the Pharmaceutical companies, the following are the vibrant future strategic direction that Alliance Boots must take for its business. Delivering of new innovative medical research using the next generation technology. A new global approach to marketing by sponsoring various events related to wellbeing of Alliance Boots customers. Expansion of general merchandise ranges which in return will create sales with greater growth potential and effectiveness. Conclusion In conclusion, strategic management with a dedicated market focus is a driver to build a successful future globalization and merger processes of pharmaceutical industry. The greater the strength of the competitive drivers, the greater the tendency for an industry to globalise. Alliance Boots continues to internationalise its key product brands, selling them to distributors, independent pharmacies and retail partners including online shopping sites globally.

Speech Analysis -- essays research papers

This short paper will discuss my analysis of the Informative Speech I gave in class. I will cover posture, voice – volume and distinction, eye contact, and overall analysis. Posture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the beginning of my speech I think my posture was good. However, I do think it had is weaknesses. I stood straight and didn’t move around for example. I could have used my movements and better posture to get a more knowledgeable perception to the audience. I had my back towards the audience on the left of me when I was pointing at things on the slide show. I know this is a big NO-NO but I guess I didn’t realize at the time that I was doing it. Voice   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have always felt like I possess a loud voice, but people tend to tell me that I am very soft s...

Productive and Counterproductive Behaviors Paper

Productive and Counterproductive Behaviors in the Workplace Employees within an organization can either contribute positively or negatively towards their employing organization’s overall success and effectiveness. The organizations that ream the most productive behaviors from their employees typically incorporate motivational and leadership activities that encourage these behaviors (Jex & Britt, 2008). This paper will define counterproductive and productive behaviors and describe the impact those behaviors have on job performance and the overall performance of an organization.Counterproductive Behaviors Logic says that employees should want to do well in their jobs. But despite this logic, some employees do not. For various reasons employees will sometimes perform counterproductively towards their employer’s overall goals. Examples of these types of behaviors are ineffective job performance, frequent absence from work, unsafe behavior, turnover, theft, violence, substan ce abuse, and sexual harassment (Jex & Britt, 2008). These types of behaviors can result in high costs for organizations.Detecting Counterproductive Behavior The best way employers can detect counterproductive behavior among employees is to perform routine performance appraisals. There are several methods for performing appraisals, including electronic, production data, and subjective appraisals. Each of these systems has pros and cons to it, and are only marginally effective (Jex & Britt, 2008). The truly best way to detect counterproductive behavior is to interact with employees and monitor their job satisfaction. What Causes Counterproductive Behavior?An employee who does not perform well in his or her job may do so for reasons like lack of ability, interruptions from other employees, or poor task design (Jex & Britt, 2008). As well, poor job performance may result from elements in the organizational climate that provoke poor attitude, or, much less often, because of deep psychia tric problems (Jex & Britt, 2008). Once an employer detects a counterproductive behavior among his or her workforce he or she must try to pinpoint the cause of the behavior. One way of doing this is through the attribution process, in which the mployee’s supervisor would evaluate an employee’s current performance against his or her past performance, his or her performance on specific tasks versus his or her overall performance, and his or her performance compared to other employees. By doing this the supervisor can try to determine the cause of the ineffective behavior and whether it is being caused by internal (lack of ability or motivation, poor attitude, or psychiatric issues) or external (coworkers, poor task design, or lack of tools) factors (Jex & Britt, 2008). Responding to Counterproductive BehaviorOnce a behavior is detected and the cause of the behavior is analyzed, employers must decide how to respond to the behavior. The best first response is to have the e mployee’s manger discuss the counterproductive behavior with the employee in question (Jex & Britt, 2008) and determine whether the behavior can be corrected in order for the employee to retain his or her position. Once the discussion takes place the manager and employee can decide whether further training or coaching would encourage improved behavior or whether an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) would be beneficial (Jex & Britt, 2008).Of course, organizations would be best off to prevent counterproductive behaviors from occurring at all. This can be done by going to the effort and expense of hiring the right employees, possibly by utilizing the tools of selection programs to analyze potential employees skills and personalities. As well, employers should nurture their employees’ skills and abilities to encourage productive job performance. Finally, they should also offer employees frequent feedback and measurement of their performance to help keep them on track with respect to organizational expectations (Jex & Britt, 2008).Productive Behaviors Despite the fact that some employees do not contribute positively to the organizations they work for, most employees try to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities and even go above and beyond their required duties at times. Examples of productive behaviors include positive job performance, organizational citizenship, creativity, and innovation (Jex & Britt, 2008). Assessing Productive Behaviors Organizational psychologists use various models to assess job performance.These models evaluate in-role (technical aspects of a given job) and extra-role (skills that transcend the specific content of a job such as communication skills and being a team player) performance by employees (Jex & Britt, 2008). These assessments allow managers to recognize productive employees and encourage and motivate them to continue in their efforts. Predictors of Productive Behaviors There are several methods that organi zations can use when recruiting employees to predict whether candidates will contribute positively to their organization.These include general cognitive ability, level of job experience, and the personality trait of conscientiousness (Jex & Britt, 2008). By evaluating these predictors, organizations can save themselves time and money by hiring the right people who will contribute to organizational goals without excess coaching, training, or need for reprimand. The Affects of Counterproductive and Productive Behaviors Clearly an organization will be affected by the employees that support it. Employees that contribute positively will help the organization move towards its goals, and, if innovation and creativity are present, possibly even surpass their goals.On the other hand, employees who work counterproductively within an organization, will cost management time and may require additional effort to be spent on reputation management, recruitment, and training (Jex & Britt, 2008). Org anizations would be best served to recruit employees with the most potential to work productively by analyzing their job experience, personality, and cognitive ability before offering an individual a job.References Jex, S. M. , & Britt, T. W. (2008). . Organizational Psychology. A Scientist-Practitioner Approach, Second Edition. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/classroom/ic/classroom. aspx.

Employment and Best Performance Appraisal Essay Example

Employment and Best Performance Appraisal Essay Example Employment and Best Performance Appraisal Essay Employment and Best Performance Appraisal Essay What is the best performance appraisal method for the Netflix team to keep the best employees? I think the best performance appraisal method for Netflix would be the critical-incident technique. The critical- incident technique keeps a record from the beginning of employment of the effective and ineffective job behaviors. The manager would sit with the employee and discuss what their performance is specifically. It would take any positive examples of their work and the negative examples. It seems that Netflix already has a good orientation program at hand. They make sure that they hire the best people for the positions that they have to offer. With the critical-incident appraisal method it takes into account your very good aspects and the very bad. I think that when the very bad is pointed out to the employee they would make an effort to make sure that they do not make that mistake again. I would believe that the running log that comes from the critical-appraisal method is kept by the manager and the employee. If the employee has it on hand at their desk they can refer to it to make sure that they are performing in an acceptable way. Hastings makes everyone responsible for their own choices that they make at the job. So by giving them an upfront account of what they are doing goo and what they are doing poorly should give them no excuse to improve. 2. What are the limitations and risks of Hastings’ human resource management practices? Hastings practices a human resource management practice that seems to be somewhat carefree in a way. I believe that his human resource team does practice the three major responsibilities that they have which are attracting a quality workforce, developing a quality workforce and maintain a quality workforce. I think that is evident from the great staff that Hastings claims they already have. They make sure to recruit qualified job seekers who have the skill set that Netflix requires. Hastings has a human resource team unlike anything that I have experienced. They offer creative hiring model by paying higher than average pay salaries, recruiting three other friends that they would love to work with, giving much work freedom and allowing the employee to choose how much of their pay they want in cash and going to stock. These incentives are extremely attractive to a person seeking a new job. However, this could harm them as well. Once a person hears what Netflix has to offer upon employment, the future employee could present them self in a way that really is not who they are. They would probably be deceitful by exaggerating about their skills and what they can bring to the company.