Culturally Inclusive Classrooms Essay Example for Free

Culturally Inclusive Classrooms Essay How to build culturally inclusive and resilient ELEMENTARY classrooms and what types of supports are in communities that can facilitate student efforts to overcome cultural gaps in the home and in the school (elementary/secondary school level) A culturally inclusive classroom may consist of extremely diverse ethnic composition of students. With new immigration, more and more students are entering school, with little or no knowledge of English and have diverse educational and cultural backgrounds. A recent study on 400 school children in California shows that only 4% of enrolled children come from a single racial group (Chang, 1993). This has resulted in making of classrooms that have students coming from various nationalities, languages, social and economic backgrounds. The growing diversity is not only a problem to the teachers who are not adequately equipped to handle them, but also to parents, who are not sure whether the child’s adaptation will help him or alienate him from his community. Efforts are made to give prominence to the learning of the children with diverse backgrounds. Anti-bias curricula, use of home language and culture of the child, is recommended by National Assessment for Education of Young children, to foster learning of English and basic skills. It aims to make the first school experience a positive one. The forum on the Future of Children and Families held a workshop in 1993 in order to frame a sketch, to assess the scope of adequacy of research in early education of culturally diverse children. It tried to assess the most important factors in the early childhood education of a diverse group of students. Efforts were made to understand the influence of culture on human development and emphasis was laid on examining differences within culture and outside culture. Claude Goldenberg warned against treatment of culture as ‘straitjacket that predetermines the learning experience that children benefit from’ ( Goldenberg . C. 1987). It was observed and accepted that exposure at home influenced the adaptation of the children to school norms and environment. The workshop structured three questions that came up as a result of in depth study. These were- †¢ What role was played by the culture and home experience in shaping learning opportunities? †¢ How the cultural and linguistic background of children affects the knowledge skills and expectations they bring with them? †¢ How should the nature of instruction vary with learning and motivation from various backgrounds? A child has to learn the rules of two environments home and school from his pre school days i. e. , age of 3-4 years. Children who face a language and culture thoroughly different at home and school face a lot of conflicts about behavior which might result in incompatibility. Researchers have found that inconsistency in home and school make learning difficult and adjustments uneasy. The children who do not have some insightful understanding of alphabets and numbers are likely to be left behind in class. Sharon, Griffin and her colleagues (Case and Griffin, 1990, Griffin, Case and Siegler 1992) noticed striking difference in the understanding of maths in low income groups. Claude Goldenberg his colleagues designed an intervention to improve the early literacy achievement of Spanish speaking children in Kindergarten. Timothy Shanahan and his colleagues designed the FLAME project to enable parents with limited expertise in Spanish to improve literacy achievements of their children. Both the projects on evaluation showed significant positive effects on the children’s literacy achievement, Goldenberg reported that control group which received structured instructions outperformed those with informal intervention. Research shows that guided learning at home can effect children’s adjustment in classrooms. Children who remain unaware of such guidance become incompatible in learning, may retreat from learning and even become disruptive. It also showed that there was no proof to suggest that children are constrained by culture in their learning abilities. Social Setting of learning constituted teaching, learning and performance. Research with Hawaiian families showed that ( Gallimore, Boggs and Jordan, 1974) children were accustomed to learning in peer interactions and indirect supervision from teachers exhibited a decline in disruptive and inattentive behavior. Classrooms fostering independent learning seemed alien to these students. Study made on Navajo children (Vogl, Jordan and Tharp , 1987) brought in the fact that peer group study was less prevalent in this culture. Effective classrooms brought out best performance when the children were allowed to work independently- as they did in their communities. Culture shapes conversations and paces response patterns. Pueblo Indian children give more elaborate responses and have spontaneous participation when given enough response time. (Winterton, 1977). Native Hawaiian students when given long waiting time are inhibited in participation. (White Tharp, 1988). Claude Goldenberg found that children learn in accustomed way of entering into a speech- guided by their culture. Latino –American students corroborated this experience, whose mothers use highly directive pattern of communication. Research evidence points to the fact that certain amount of compatibility between home and school culture is required to improve classroom activities. Goldenberg says â€Å"with the exception of same studies of cooperative learning and bilingual education, the experimental evidence linking cultural compatible instructions scholastic outcome can be very tenuous†. Constancy in school environment may not be always wanted. Yet some parents seek it so that the child is exposed to different educational experiences. For a child, the process of adjustment to varied environment at school and home may prove beneficial in future years of schooling and multicultural environment. Differences in the two environments may compliment and reinforce their learning. A culturally inclusive environment requires mutual respect, effective relationships, clear communication, explicit understandings about expectations and critical self –reflection. (Flinders University). In a culturally inclusive environment a student will be allowed to express his opinion freely, participate in classroom’s activities, experience stress free classes with no fear of unfair treatment or abuse. It also facilitates that teachers are approachable and open to concepts and ideas from different culture, allow diversity and promote a relaxed setting of learning. When teaching students from diverse background, a teacher needs to plan out his instruction with attention and care, with skills and strategies, specialized with an array of educational aids and materials. He has to keep in mind certain facts about his students, their experience in school, home and outside school and design the curriculum in accordance with their exposure. It should also be guided by the strengths and weaknesses of their experience. Teachers need to connect to the experience of his students. Reading about flowers, fruits, animals children are not familiar with in their culture or may not have been exposed to, makes it meaning less for the child. Readings to build vocabulary and comprehension are meaningful, when the child can connect to it. He also understands that his views are being respected, making him feel secure . Children are intelligent to sense if the support for diverse culture is superficial or genuine. Ysseldyke, Algozzine Thurlow point out that a teacher needs to ask himself if the curriculum is tailored to the interest of the student, are the study materials used in any way reflective of cultural or ethnic diversity. He also needs to be aware of the learning styles adapted by his students. The curriculum needs to be complete and accurate and have materials for all the students. It should avoid being symbolic and should not make the underrepresented group feel ‘the other’. Check should be made to see that the curriculum does not discriminate. Teaching materials used should be unbiased and un-oppressive (male centric, race centric etc). The content must explore a large angle of variety, be accurate and complete. Students need to be made aware about the issues of social justice. Lessons on racism, sexism, classism and other forms of oppression need to be facilitated and discussed in class, to enhance the awareness. In the assessment student feedback should be encouraged. Teachers should work with each other and critically appreciate each others work . Teachers could introduce various awareness activities in the class. Participants can introduce themselves and share their ethnicity, similarities and diversities with other members of the group Students may be encouraged to speak on their multi-cultural experiences . Some activities may include students sharing their identity through a poem. Sharing experiences of prejudices or discrimination as a sufferer or doer, personal experience of gender-bias may be discussed. Students can be encouraged to relate aspects of their personality, identity. Feeling of inclusion or exclusion in a learning process and multicultural awareness quiz etc may be conducted. A model developed by Australian Ministries of Education, aimed at education of educational equality of indigenous people, focused on three areas- community, school and classroom. Parents, Teachers, care givers, and previous school needed to be involved in a common understanding and adopting new approach to teaching of students from multicultural backgrounds. Strong partnerships between school and homemakers made the study supportive. School officials had the duty to look after and assist each student in the development of essential skills and attitude of the students to work independently, cooperatively and responsibly. The programs monitoring and assessment provided vital clues to the future direction of the curriculum. It stated the importance of assessment made as a joint effort between students, parents and community members who provide important input in the assessment. The data collected by various workshops and research points out to the fact that there is more room for study to be made on improvising culturally inclusive schools, classrooms. Very few teachers are trained and equipped to handle such diverse culture classes. Coordination between community and schools are wanted, to make a complete, homogeneous education to students from diverse cultural background. . References Case, R. , and S. Griffin 1990 Child cognitive development: The role of central conceptual structures in the development of scientific and social thought. In C-A. Hauert ed. , Developmental Psychology: Cognitive, Perceptuo-Motor and Psychological Perspectives. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. Chang, H. 1993 Affirming Childrens Roots: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Early Care and Education. San Francisco, Calif. : California Tomorrow. Gallimore, R. , J. W. Boggs, and C. Jordan 1974 Culture, Behavior, and Education: A Study of Hawaiian-Americans. Beverly Hills, Calif. : Sage. Goldenberg, C. 1987 Low-income Hispanic parents contributions to their first-grade childrens word-recognition skills. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 18:149-179. In press. Promoting early literacy development among Spanish-speaking children: Lessons from two studies. In E. Hiebert, ed. , Teaching Children to Read: The State of Early Interventions. Boston, Mass. : Allyn Bacon Griffin, S. , R. Case, and R. Siegler 1992 Rightstart: Providing the Central Conceptual Prerequisites for First Formal Learning of Arithmetic to Students at Risk for School Failure. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Education, Clark University. Howard Weiner, Adelphi University, Garden city, New York, Culturally Insulated Students : Assessing the Diversity Disposition Cap in a Predominantly White University with a New Instrument, the Culturally Responsive Educator Test. Journal of Authentic Learning, Volume 2, Number 1, September 2005. National Association for the Education of Young Children 1989 The Anti-bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children. Washington, D. C. : National Association for the Education of Young Children. National Association for Family Day Care 1990 Helping Children Love Themselves and Others: A Professional Handbook for Family Day Care Providers. Washington, D. C. : National Association for Family Day Care.

Micro-Strip Patch Antenna for Wideband Application

Micro-Strip Patch Antenna for Wideband Application Career Episode 1 CE 1.1 Introduction This career episode describes about the project which I have done during my vocational industrial training that was undertaken at Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited, India in 2009. The title of the project was Design and Fabrication of Micro-Strip Patch Antenna for Wideband Application. It was completed on time and I was awarded for it. This was my individual project. I was a Diploma student in Electronics Communication at Sarvoday Polytechnic Institute. CE 1.2 Background The project focuses on micro-strip antenna which are small in volumes, have great integration and are cost effective along with providing good performance. I tried to solve its disadvantage of having narrow impedance bandwidth, poor radiation efficiency and low gain. Recently the wideband technology is gaining consideration due to its communication systems that offer reduction in fading, high bandwidth, and low power needs. Wideband receivers make use of narrow band interference suppressions methods that will advance its performance range of communications and capacity. There is problem of jamming of receiver by these narrowband signals on the wideband systems. The reason for doing this project was its challenge to achieve multi frequency operations and enhancement of the bandwidth of wideband applications. And to solve the issue relating patch antenna having low gain and narrow bandwidth. And majorly to improve its capacity and range of communications. CE 1.3 Objective of project There are few methods that have been developed for enhancing bandwidth. They are: 1. by increasing thickness of substrate 2. by stacking different radiating elements of antenna vertically or laterally. 3. low dielectric permittivity 4. utilization of magnetic dielectric substrates. To form a thick substrate of low dielectric permittivity so that the bandwidth of printed patch increases. There was struggle with this approach for implementation of integrating antenna to other microwave circuits due to its large inductive image of input impedance of antenna and surface wave propagation. Bandwidth greater than 25% is achieved by loading of surface with the help of slots of appropriate shape. CE 1.4 My obligations As a team leader, I have many responsibilities and duties which I need to perform with honesty. Few of my duties were: To assign tasks to fellow team mates Perform research on related topics Design the hardware structure and finalize components for use. Motivate team members Study various reference materials to understand concepts and imply them Regularly report project guide about the status of my project Troubleshoot the project after its completion CE 1.5 Personal Engineering Activity A micro-strip antenna or also known as patch antenna comprises of a dielectric substrate that has a metallic ground plane on one side and a radiating metallic part on the other. They are mostly found in circular, elliptical or rectangle shapes for easy analysis and fabrication purpose. There are few micro-strip antenna that use metal patch mounted above ground plane using dielectric spacers instead of dielectric substrate. Modern printed circuit type technology is used to manufacture micro strip antenna which are relatively cheap. The size of antenna is directly related to wavelength at resonant frequency and employs at ultra-high frequency and high frequency. Below figures show the structures and inner view of micro-strip antennas. CE 1.6 Design Procedure I then started with designing of patch antenna. Various steps were involved which are described below. The design of a low-profile patch antenna is very complex. The fact is that the low profile, the wide impedance bandwidth and the omni directional radiation pattern cannot be accomplished simultaneously. Step 1: Calculate of the patch width Step 2: Calculate of the effective dielectric constant Step 3: Calculate of the effective length Step 4: Calculate of the length extension Step 5: Calculate of the actual length of the patch Step 6: Calculate of the ground plane dimensions The transmission line model is suitable for only infinite ground planes. However, for practical requirements, it is essential to have a finite ground plane. It observed from many literatures that similar results from finite and infinite ground planes can be obtained if the size of the ground plane is greater than the patch dimensions by approximately six times the substrate thickness around the periphery. CE 1.7 I started with constructing my wideband antenna with double band rejection feature as per my design steps. I did some calculations and then made a study on individual notches and their band notch properties. Proper care was taken to minimize the cross coupling among them and so that the operation is not hampered when integrating the notch elements. Thereafter, two L-shaped slits and an E-shaped slot of varying dimensions are etched on the radiating patch to produce notch characteristics. Then I also implemented a V-shaped strip on ground plane to achieve additional resonances at 15GHz and wide impedance bandwidth at this higher band. The major parameters affecting the performance properties of micro-strip patch antenna are patch length, width and inset of feed location along with the length and location of slots. By changing the value of à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ º, one can determine the required sensitivity for impedance to match and then adjust the electromagnetic coupling between the patch and ground plan along without any extra cost. From my investigation on various design techniques I found the parameter variation of dimension to be the most reliable method. CE 1.8 I performed come calculation and effective length and dielectric constant can be calculated as Leff = L + 2ΆL. Also, the performance of an antenna can be measured considering number of parameters including critical ones like radiation pattern, gain, directivity, bandwidth, return loss and voltage standing wave ratio. Keeping the resonant frequency (fr or fo) as 7GHz and dielectric constant (ÃŽÂ µr) of 4.4. the height of dielectric substrate (h) is selected as 1.6mm. I made use of MATLAB application that provide GUI interaction. GUIDE provides tools that are useful in designing user interface for custom applications. It also auto-generates the MATLAB code for construction of GUI and can be modified by user. It can store in two file formats i.e. . fig file which as complete code description and .m file that has the actual code. CE 1.9 The major problems I faced while working on this project was in its design. As achieving enhanced bandwidth with multifrequency operations in many of the wideband patch antennas. Also, there was an issue concerning with the low gain and narrow bandwidth due to specifications that are used. And biggest challenge was to achieve good and better-quality performance with increased capacity and having wide range of communication using suppression techniques applied to patch antennas. CE 1.10 Working within a group during a project is a learning experience. I learnt how to get adjusted with the views and thoughts of other and how to stay connected and focused with each other to fulfill the project commitments and to compete with hassle-free. It taught me new ways to tackle things and situation. Programming and coding were not my forte so I got a chance to understand and gain knowledge about it from my team mates who knew it. At every stage I motivated, interacted and took suggestions from my team mates and gave a fair and unbiased solution and decision, as a team leader to any problem that we faced. CE 1.11 Summary I have proposed a small monopole antenna that has the characteristics of single and dual band notches and capability of being used in wideband applications. The antenna in my project works on 2.83GHz to 18.93GHz band and has two rejections between 3.47GHz to 4.33GHz and 5.10GHz to 5.80GHz band range. After performing various measurements and simulation on this project of antenna, it resulted in good relation with voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) and loss returned. Thus, this thesis had met the objective of designing and simulating the wideband micro-strip patch antenna. It had also provided a sense of attainment as a substantial quantity of work had been accomplished. Nevertheless, there are still significant and vital areas that require further work. The project held lot of importance in my career as it was my first hands-on experience and that was a part of my curriculum and vocational training. My seniors, guides and professors were appreciating my work and stood by me when needed. This project built my confidence, leadership quality and strengthened my educational skills of electronics.

Essay --

Character Development: John: In the novel, we see John changing in many aspects. First, he gain some of his legacies. Like resistant to heat and being able to talk to other creatures. For the first time in his life, John finds a place of which he can truly call paradise. For example, on page 258, John says: â€Å"I don’t want to leave. I have a friend, and I have a girlfriend. I am not going to leave.† He’s found people that actually care about him and don’t care about who he really is. After Henri telling him he will never be a normal person, John starts to get worried that he won’t be with Sarah forever. John begins training and starts to prepare to fight the Mogadorians after refusing to leave Paradise because he’s caused too much attention. Henri tells him many times but since he’s found a place where he belongs, he doesn’t want to leave. Mark Who would’ve expected Mark to be the guy to save John’s life in the end. On page 439, it says: â€Å"Mark, I owe you more than I’ll ever be able to repay.† Then Mark responds with: â€Å"You don’t owe me a thing† This passage is critical to the development of Mark’s Character because in the book, the first day John came to class, Mark tripped him, at the Halloween fair, he hurt him. The hatred between these two was burning hot. I kind of find it ironic that the person who wanted to kill John ended up saving his life. This leads me to the question of Why did Mark all of a sudden change ? I think Mark changes because he realizes that with him being mean to everyone else, he lost friends and the most important of them all was his girlfriend of the time, Sarah. Significant Passages â€Å"We’ve done all we could. And what’s done is done.† (pg.418) This quote is critical to the development ... ...like he says on page 440, â€Å"I’ll come back to you. I promise you if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll come back to you.† Book vs. Movie I felt like I liked the book better than the movie because in the movie, I felt like things were moving a bit too fast and in the book, they go into detail. The movie was also missing some scenes like Mark’s house burning down, it changed up some facts in the end. In the movie, John convinces Number six to let Sam come with them but in the book, it seems as though they both have their own agreement together. I felt like because I read the book before watching the movie, I knew what was happening like the scars coming on John’s body. One more thing. In the movie, they never mention the magazine They walk Among Us. They only mention it when Henri goes to the writer’s house. But overall, I thought the book was far better than the movie.

Ideology in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil Essay

Ideology in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil Bennett and Royle in their textbook, Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, define ideology as representing â€Å"†¦ ‘the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence’† (161). The ideology of self, of personal identity, is represented by a person’s perception of what is acceptable in their society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, The Minister’s Black Veil, the minister appears before his community with a black veil covering his face. He gives no explanation for this apparel and the community becomes agitated that their minister refuses to remove it. The readers challenge is to discover why the minister wears the veil and why he won’t take it off. Hawthorne challenges the readers ideology of self with his choice of words, by showing how ideology is redefined by each subject, and by using as his form the technique of the parable. The parishioners expectations are shattered by the appearance of their beloved minister wearing a black veil over his face. Children, with bright faces, tripped merrily beside their parents, or mimicked in graver gait, in the conscious dignity of their Sunday clothes. Spruce bachelors looked sidelong at the pretty maidens, and fancied that the Sabbath sunshine made them prettier than on weekdays (Hawthorne 1) These expectations are portrayed by the way the story begins. Hawthorne uses words that suggest happiness; â€Å"bright† â€Å"merrily† â€Å"pretty† â€Å"fancied† and â€Å"sunshine†. But this ‘happiness’ vanishes with the appearance of the minister. The expectations of what is socially acceptable are challenged by the appearance of the black veil. â€Å"But what has good Parson Hooper got upon his face?† c... ...o understand the parable. A parable is used to explain something that is unexplainable and cannot be explained if the reader does not understand it. The reader is in constant danger throughout the reading of having his ideology of self shattered by the very real possibility that he won’t ‘get it’. The entire story is as obscure and shaky as ideology itself. Hawthorne’s choice of words throughout the story set up the reader for a continual bombardment of his/her ideology of self and societal expectations. Works Cited Bennett, Andrew and Nicholas Royle. Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory. 2nd Edition. New York: Prentice Hall, 1999. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil†. Crown College. Accessed 27 Aug 2003. http://www.crown.edu/humanities/ratledgw/ENG%20132/stories/ veilhawt.htm> Miriam Webster Dictionary. Accessed 27 Aug 2003.

Macbeth: Macbeth A Victim of Circumstances :: Free Macbeth Essays

Macbeth: Macbeth A Victim of Circumstances Macbeth, a victim of circumstances or not? He was a victim of circumstances. The witches, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth himself all contribute to the murdering of Duncan. The first of the three major circumstances Macbeth falls victim to is the witches' prediction. The third prediction that the witches make is that he will be king "All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!"1. The second of the circumstances is Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth, at first, skillfully pushes Macbeth to murder Duncan by mocking him "Was the hope drunk; Wherein you dressed yourself?"2, doubting his love for her "Such I account thy love,"3 accusing him of cowardice "And live a coward"4. She finally convinced him by pointing out how easy it would be " When Duncan is asleep-"5. Macbeth loved his wife very much and valued her opinion, perhaps too much. The last of the major circumstances is simply himself and what he is deep down. Macbeth has no control over the way he is. It is his vaulting ambition that makes him the way he is. This is why I consider it a circumstance where others may not. Macbeth is weak. He gave in to his evil side by even considering murdering Duncan. We can see him questioning himself in his aside in Act I scene 3 "Why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image ... Are less than horrible imaginings;"6. He cannot seem to be able to control his thoughts. He lets his ambition to become king run a wild. The murder of Duncan is the first and biggest step in Macbeth's moral degradation. From here evil deeds become easier because he feels he has gone too far to turn around. I am in blood; Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er.7 Later Macbeth is so hardened by his sins "The time has been my senses would have cooled To here a night-shriek"8 that a woman's shriek does nothing to him. Now, in order for this essay to show that Macbeth is a victim of circumstances I must prove the importance of each major circumstance. Without any one of these reasons I do not believe that Macbeth would have gone through with killing Duncan. If I take away the witches' prediction, Macbeth would never have thought about becoming king. Thus he would not have given even a thought to murdering Duncan. Now, if he never murdered Duncan, he would have had no reasons to have

Ethical Leadership

The Importance of Ethical Leadership Ethical leadership is the foundation to successful leadership. There is no substitute for honesty and integrity inside and outside of the workplace. It is something that is extremely difficult to earn back. Once someone's ethical persona has been Jeopardized that person may not ever be able to regain it, especially if that person continues to work among the same peers. Ethical leadership sets the tone for the culture of the organization.In the article The Ethical Commitment to Compliance: Building Value-Based Cultures, it mentions that a study was done to ompare and contrast the effectiveness of a rules-and-punishment approach with a values-and-integrity approach to compliance. They found that programs had fewer reports of unethical conduct, higher levels of ethical awareness, more employees seeking advice about ethical issues, and a higher likelihood of employees reporting violations. These ethics are instilled from the leadership down to the emp loyees. There is clear empirical evidence that a leader and culture built on ethics will benefit the organization through the integrity of its employees. The rticle goes on to say that leaders of an organization can greatly improve the overall quality and integrity of the organization by focusing on the executive leader's policies and the actions of the supervisors to lead with procedural fairness.This shows that ethical leadership can be proven by the equality of the processes that are implemented. The article concludes that the â€Å"role for the ethics and compliance officer [is] a values-based approach, in which organizations seek to motivate employees to develop and act on ethical values† and that it â€Å"is a more effective pproach to managing rule adherence. † The value-based approached discussed in the article is instilled from the top down. It is important that the leadership of the organization establish this ethical standard.Once the employees understand th at ethics are the norm and values will be embraced, it is a lot easier for them to adhere to the ethical standards of the leadership. Any unethical behavior performed by leaders can potentially give peers an excuse to participate in unethical behavior themselves. In the article Who's With Me? False Consensus and Ethical Decision Making, it states â€Å"people tend to see their choices and attitudes as being consistent with others' choices and attitudes, which, in turn, leads them to interpret their actions and beliefs as ‘common and appropriate†.Leaders set the example. If they waiver on their perceived ethical behavior, it could have repercussions with their peers who let unethical behavior become more commonplace. This is further illustrated in the article Rational Cheaters vs. Intrinsic Motivators when it states â€Å"there are conscience-driven employees whose empathy toward their employer overns whether theyll consider cheating†. An employee's view of their leaders may potentially have a corresponding effect with how ethical they are in the workplace.  Also you can read a rather interesting article about an Ethical Flaw.In the article The Leader Machine by Geoff Colvin, it states â€Å"most companies have enunciated values that include respect for the individual, good citizenship and integrity. When company leaders also become leaders of charities, schools, and other nonprofits, they snow their commitment to those values, encouraging and inspiring employees. † This example shows the importance of leadership choosing virtuous principles. Not only should leaders behave ethically, but it is also important to inspire their employees by participating in giving back to the community.Robert Mueller, in the chapter The Networking Leader, wonderfully summarizes â€Å"Trust, mutuality, and ethics are essential. The high road to success lies in cultivating authentic, win-win relationships, inside the organization and out, while operatin g at the highest standards of ethics. † Thus, the evidence continues to point out that ethical leadership is irreplaceable. It is vital to the health and success of any organization achieving for greatness. Ethical Leadership The Importance of Ethical Leadership Ethical leadership is the foundation to successful leadership. There is no substitute for honesty and integrity inside and outside of the workplace. It is something that is extremely difficult to earn back. Once someone's ethical persona has been Jeopardized that person may not ever be able to regain it, especially if that person continues to work among the same peers. Ethical leadership sets the tone for the culture of the organization.In the article The Ethical Commitment to Compliance: Building Value-Based Cultures, it mentions that a study was done to ompare and contrast the effectiveness of a rules-and-punishment approach with a values-and-integrity approach to compliance. They found that programs had fewer reports of unethical conduct, higher levels of ethical awareness, more employees seeking advice about ethical issues, and a higher likelihood of employees reporting violations. These ethics are instilled from the leadership down to the emp loyees. There is clear empirical evidence that a leader and culture built on ethics will benefit the organization through the integrity of its employees. The rticle goes on to say that leaders of an organization can greatly improve the overall quality and integrity of the organization by focusing on the executive leader's policies and the actions of the supervisors to lead with procedural fairness.This shows that ethical leadership can be proven by the equality of the processes that are implemented. The article concludes that the â€Å"role for the ethics and compliance officer [is] a values-based approach, in which organizations seek to motivate employees to develop and act on ethical values† and that it â€Å"is a more effective pproach to managing rule adherence. † The value-based approached discussed in the article is instilled from the top down. It is important that the leadership of the organization establish this ethical standard.Once the employees understand th at ethics are the norm and values will be embraced, it is a lot easier for them to adhere to the ethical standards of the leadership. Any unethical behavior performed by leaders can potentially give peers an excuse to participate in unethical behavior themselves. In the article Who's With Me? False Consensus and Ethical Decision Making, it states â€Å"people tend to see their choices and attitudes as being consistent with others' choices and attitudes, which, in turn, leads them to interpret their actions and beliefs as ‘common and appropriate†.Leaders set the example. If they waiver on their perceived ethical behavior, it could have repercussions with their peers who let unethical behavior become more commonplace. This is further illustrated in the article Rational Cheaters vs. Intrinsic Motivators when it states â€Å"there are conscience-driven employees whose empathy toward their employer overns whether theyll consider cheating†. An employee's view of their leaders may potentially have a corresponding effect with how ethical they are in the workplace.  Also you can read a rather interesting article about an Ethical Flaw.In the article The Leader Machine by Geoff Colvin, it states â€Å"most companies have enunciated values that include respect for the individual, good citizenship and integrity. When company leaders also become leaders of charities, schools, and other nonprofits, they snow their commitment to those values, encouraging and inspiring employees. † This example shows the importance of leadership choosing virtuous principles. Not only should leaders behave ethically, but it is also important to inspire their employees by participating in giving back to the community.Robert Mueller, in the chapter The Networking Leader, wonderfully summarizes â€Å"Trust, mutuality, and ethics are essential. The high road to success lies in cultivating authentic, win-win relationships, inside the organization and out, while operatin g at the highest standards of ethics. † Thus, the evidence continues to point out that ethical leadership is irreplaceable. It is vital to the health and success of any organization achieving for greatness.

Is Consumer Society a Divided Society? Essay

A consumer society is a society where people often buy new goods that they do not need (buy goods that are not necessary) and in which places a high value on owning many things (a high value placed on consumption of those goods). This essay will outline how social division is created through consumption and the consequences of consuming. It will first outline what Zygmunt Bauman calls the seduced and the repressed and how people are divided in our society based on these terms. It will then show evidence to support these claims by looking at the study of retail parks by Peter Jackson. Finally this essay will outline the two big supermarket (two different market) powers, namely, the zero-sum power and the positive-sum power and give evidence to support this by outlining the big supermarkets such as Tesco being the main one and how these two powers being looked at by showing two sides of an argument. (use the evidence gathered on big chain supermarket Tesco in the UK to support these tw o oppositional concepts by looking at the both sides of the argument) Not everyone is able to consume equally, firstly we will look at the seduced and the repressed. They are two divided (divisions in a) consumer society. According to a social scientist Zygmunt Bauman (1988), people in contemporary western society can be broadly divided into two groups. The seduced what Bauman calls, are the people who can afford to consume to a greater degree than others. An example of the seduced are the people who have a secure job with a really good income, them having to consume greater than others gives them a social membership with a positive identity. However the seduced not only include with (with not needed) people who have enough money to buy goods and services, but also the ones who are seen by the consumer society as valued members, both by other consumers and by those who have something to sell to a lucrative market. They are the employed, older people with good pensions and savings, those who are able to achieve their aspiration such as talent, good looks, or a particular skill that is valued and financially rewarded within the society. So in Bauman term the seduced are also those who are in a position to be admitted to a membership in a society because in the eyes of others they are able to consume affectively. This also creates pressure to conform because not doing so could easily lead to a social exclusion and a devalued identity. (not using your own words, too much direct quoting) Examples of the repressed are in Bauman terms, the repressed are the ones who are excluded from this consumer society or who are pushed to its margins. They are the unemployed, low paid, insecure or temporary working, recently arrived migrants or those often who are not in a position to participate to (in) the consumer society. Clearly this shows that income has a lot to do with these divisions and shows that whether a person belongs to one of the categories of the seduced or the repressed. (Hetherington, 2009, p. 25) In evidence to Bauman’s argument is an example of Peter Jackson, a geographer who has carried out a study of retail parks in the mid 1990’s in north London to try to offer an explanation of why these sites were becoming popular, he and his team of researchers asked customers why do they like shopping in these type of sites, (new sentence?) what they found in their studies, are that customers who shop in malls is because not only do (do this not only because) these shopping malls provide a vast range of goods but also the positive view of them being safe, it is convenient for them and a modern place to go shopping with their families. As the streets were seen as a place of crime, disorder and unclean, the view of the street did not look as welcoming and safe like the shopping mall did. The risks seen in this are the social exclusion. The ones who are poor and old may find themselves excluded because they have difficulty to shop there as they do not have access to a car to get to these sites because these sites are miles away or the money they can spend when they get there. Likewise the success of these sites has an effect on the other fewer sites that provide cheap consumer goods. Then these shops cannot compete with the large retail parks so they go out of business. By looking at his studies it shows (one sees) the effect of consumption and the division that is created (in a society through inclusion and exclusion). We, as consumers, divide ourselves from the society, sometimes without even realizing it and what leads us to these divisions are the large supermarkets. Large Supermarkets play a big role in dividing the society we live in. There are two sides of an argument of how large supermarkets are (described?) in terms of power (what supermarkets do or can do with their power). They are (There are or There can be either a) the zero-sum power and (or) the positive-sum power. An example of zero-sum power is thinking of it as a game where there are only losers and winners or where one gains and the other loses. What supermarkets have been doing is that they provide cheap goods for the consumers and a lot of choices therefore making the small businesses looked at (seen), as losers in zero-sum power term and the large supermarkets (seen) as winners due to the fact that most of the money has gone to them because we as the consumers are lead (led or attracted) there by the (the not needed) cheap goods and a lot of amount of choices they provide us (provide us with or provide for us). So the result are small Independent stores are been put out of business. But the pro-supermarkets lobby don’t (does not) see it as that, they see it as a positive-sum power where there are only winners and no losers the best way to describe this is where all parties benefit to some extent for instance by having a large supermarkets gives the consumer a lot of choices so don’t have to waste their time looking for what they need elsewhere and also they provide a lot of job opportunities for the local un employed (Allen, 2009, p. 66) Tesco being in the lead since 1995, it has slowly increased its market share to around one-third of all groceries shops in the UK. As for Sainsbury’s local or Tesco Express, small independent stores find it difficult to compete. Due to the dominance of the big supermarkets small independent stores are been (being) put out of business or to put it in a social science term: a zero-sum power is being used. The end result is the high street stripped of diversity and life as the big four limit the possible range and type of shops available. The Federation of small businesses points out that, since 2000, some 7000 local grocery stores have been lost, with independents closing at the rate of 2000 a year, whereas, over the same period, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons have doubled the number of stores that they operate (Federation of small businesses, 2006). The anti-supermarkets campaigners they (they not needed) argue that this retail power to consume their (is what gives consumers a) little choice over where people (they) can shop, or only choice the shoppers have are Tesco or Asda, Sainsbury’s or Morrisons (Allen, 2009 p. 72) But big supermarkets see it as a positive-sum power they don’t (try to use full form i.e. do not) just offer a lot of job opportunities for the local unemployed but also work for places like Bangladesh. Since the mid 1990’s, the garment industry in Bangladesh has grown rapidly, with some 2.5 million people working in the thousands of factories. These factories represent a path out of poverty and according to Martin Wolf (2004), an economic journalist on the financial times (Financial Times), the last thing a country like this would want is for the big retailers to stop sourcing their labour from them. (Allen, 2009 p. 91) This essay has outlined how division is created through consumption and looked at two sides of the argument. It first described the two division used by Bauman the repressed and the seduced then provided Peter Jackson’s study of the retail park as evidence. Then finally this essay outlined the powers of the supermarkets the zero-sum power and the positive sum power then in evidence showed two sides of an argument of how the big four supermarkets are looked at (use their power). So overall the way people consume and how big retailers influence consumers in terms of power divides our society. (a bit too short?)