The Unlived Life of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay Example for Free

The Unlived Life of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay As people look back to past experiences in their life what do they want to remember? Do they want to remember a wonderful life full of expieriences, or a life where they never really lived? The theme of the unlived life in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock manifests through the narrator as he truly embodies the realistic fact that some people out there are introverted, living in fear, and worrying to much about what society does not approve of them. Life is not going to live for one, one must live for life. Introversion is presented throughout The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and presents how one person’s fear can limit their life. The character of J. Alfred Prufrock displays this attribute when he states, â€Å"And I have known the eyes already, known them all – The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase, And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall† (Lines 55-58). This quote gives readers the sense of Prufrocks true insecurities. It also provides evidence into how he wanted to blend in and not really socialize at all. Prufrock again states, â€Å"There will be time, there will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meetâ€Å" This shows how prufrock did not feel ready for society, another form of introversy. It also procides insight into the fact that Prufrock seperated himself from people and that he fealt unready for interaction. Lastly Prufrock again states, â€Å"And indeed there will be timeTo wonder, ‘Do I dare?‘ and, ‘Do I dare?‘â€Å" This hsows how Prufrock was so estranged from society and how introverted he was. It also gives a sense of hope and a want to break this introversy with the statements of â€Å"Do i dare â€Å". Another clear point that is presented by the Author is Prufrock’s life of fear. As Prufrock said,â€Å"With a bald spot in the middle of my hair They will say: ‘How his hair is growing thin!‘†(Lines 40-41) This statement shows how prifrock was so insecure and afraid of what people think. It also shows his clear fear of rejection. Prufrock again states, â€Å"They will say: But how his arms and legs are thin!( line 44) This statement proves the fact that again Prufrock is truly afraid of society. It also shows His total insecurities. Lastly Prufrock says,†Streets that follow like a tedious argument Of insidious intentâ€Å"(Line 8-9) again Prufrock, shows that he even fears the streets of his neighborhood. It also shows how his fear makes him even afraid of the street. Lastly presented was the worrying of what society thinks.And I have known the arms already, known them all – Arms that are braceleted and white and bare[But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!] This statement shows his complete fear of what society will think. It shows how he almost feels trapped by societys expectations. Prufrock also states,†Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.† This shows how he wants to be set free but does not feel as though it is a possibility. it also shows the fact that prufrock wanted to be free with himself and live but was tied down. Lastly he says â€Å"Time for you and time for me,And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions, Before the taking of a toast and tea. â€Å" This last quote shows how he feels the need to revise himself for society. Also this shows his insecurities due to societys pressure. In conclusion the theme of the unlived life in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock comes through as the narrator embodies the realistic fact that some people out there are introverted, living in fear, and worrying to much about what society does not approve of them. It shows that fear becomes an enemy to life and is a component in the detriment of a person’s social status and well being.

Operations Management in Business WH Smith Analysis

Operations Management in Business WH Smith Analysis WH Smith Introduction WH Smith was first created by Smith Family in 1792 as a newsagent, in then became the company with the name â€Å"WH Smith† in 1828 and launched the website WHSmith.co.uk in 1999. This success fully growing company opened many stores in Rails stations, High Streets, Shopping Centers and gradually lost its profit of  £135m. The arrival of Kate Swann made WH Smith to run as the profitable company in a decade. The success of her achievement is based on how she organized and worked towards her goal. Throughout this report there are many explanations related to WH Smith’s success using operation management skills by Kate Swann. Task 1 Operation is the key part of the business which produces goods and services. It involves in planning organizing, controlling an organization operations. Organization without a planning will never be able to success in its business. According to the scenario, the success of profit is based on the Operation Management, which involves a complex set of management activities involved in planning how they wanted to improve their sales organizing leading, by cutting the costs. Kate Swann managed to achieve the target of turning WH Smith into a profitable company by taking into account of the operational management. Following the principles of operation management in an organization will help the company to reduce the cost of products and services and also in the mean time it will help to increase the customer’s satisfaction towards the product quality and the services. As the operations function is responsible in goods and services, it is important to support the input and output to be delivered on time scale. Various input such as capital, labor, and information should be measured in order to obtain desired outputs. The role of operation management is to improve productivity which will help to improve the organizations financial and also to meet customer’s competitive priorities. In the scenario it shows that Swann has targeted the teenagers and as well as young women for stationeries this make the targeted users to be satisfied as well increase the sales in WH Smith. The key elements of Operation managements are known as Business logic, System theory. Kate Swann has understood the business logic in how to increase the profit for WH Smith. She understood how to target the customers and increase the profitable margin. In her success we can see that she has cut the cost persistently which is one of the element in business logic. Applying system theory to a business helps to find out how the environment impacts business process. According to the report of â€Å"Our Quality Commitments to Our Customers† in WH Smith website it clearly says that WH Smith is responsible to fulfill the minimum standards required by the law. If WH Smith reduces the standards and quality towards their customers due the cost effective they might not be able to success in our goal. For example Funky Pigeon greeting card shop which was open online is a best known website because customers get best services. Even though it was introduced to the market 2 years ago it has been famous. The reason behind this is their quality and services that they have been giving to their customers so far. The customers get the opportunity to choose their cards with uploading their own pictures and also the cards ordered by the customers are delivered very next day to their required address. This will impress the customers and make them come back. The online strategy objective of WH Smith is to launch the Funky Pigeon which sells greeting cards, personalized gifts and cards according to the customers need. The products that are sold in this website are very quality as well as cost effective. The services given to the customers are very dependability as funky pigeon is a fastest delivery service. It has the next day delivery services for their customers. More customers may prefer to visit their website as they are not limited by options in cards. The customers got the verity of option in choosing cards. As funky pigeon allows the option of personalizing the gifts or cards the customers may be satisfied in choosing any of the products from them. System is known as the collection of parts which can function independently for the success of the common purpose. For example, System contains the Input – Process- Output in an organization. It is essential that all the collection part in a system work collaborate for a company to be successful. WH Smith should follow each parts as Input and Process and output to make their company to run in organize planning and control and to be on right track Sub-system is known as the complex collections of many Systems in order to achieve the common purpose. In other words it contains many Input many process and many output to achieve the goal of the company. WH Smith may contain many system and sub-system diagram for the organization. Following diagram shows the system function in WH Smith. Task 2 Strategic planning is an organizational management activity which helps to set priorities, strengthen operations, and to ensure that employees work towards the goals to achieve success. An effective strategic planning articulates not only where and what actions needed to make progress, but also how it will know if it successful. In order to implement success strategic planning need to follow the performance of operational management. Operational management is essential for all organizations. The strategic planning mostly deals with activities of any business organizations such as operations, sales, finance concerned with different level managers. Operational management is focused with the production / services provider level of organizations. There are three stages of strategic planning. They are known as Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness. To achieve the profit margin Swann has introduced the stationeries targeting the teenagers and young women. WH Smith started to sell stationer ies and sweets at the checkouts. This is a good example that Swann has used one of the strategic planning elements known as Economy. As it is essential assign that right resources has been used at the right time at the right place and right cost which a management should consider in business objectives. In other hand WH Smith has the big online strategy Funky Pigeon where they work in very cost effective. â€Å"Swann announced she was pulling out of selling music and DVDs†, she has compared the market and in order to increase the profit margins. And the comparison stores such as HMV thinks that it’s brave. As she consider the Efficiency, she has compared the performance target she kept to increase the profit of WH Smith. Even though WH Smith has its high street retail it has target the online retailers by introducing Funky Pigeon card site. Effectiveness is determined by examining the objectives and achievement of a company. WH Smith was been losing by 135m due to Swan n’s strong operational management the company has turn into profit of  £106m. Quality is very important for an organization. An example of good quality product with less cost is when a customer who consumes the product and services has nothing or less to complain about the product. In the scenario it says â€Å"WH Smith now sells roughly  £65 of goods for every  £100 of custom† the success is they have carefully reviews the objectives. WH Smith has to review the existing products carefully in order to compare the function of the product required by the customer, who demands them in lower cost. Kate Swann has carefully reviewed and decided that selling of Music and DVD’s are not profitable and not worth of reducing cost. So she completely stopped selling DVD’s and started introducing new ideas on selling new products in WH Smith. They target certain age group to boost their sales. As we can see in the scenario that it says the teenagers and the young woman have been aimed for stationeries. What Kate Swann has done leads WH Smith for its success. Following the performance objective it helps to add value to the customers in delivering quality products or services. The Quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and the cost may defer as performance objectives. Quality services as known as error-free services. There may be no any complains about the product satisfaction. This can be improved by getting customers feedbacks. For example if we take WH Smith the quality can defer as the store cleanliness, an appropriate and attractive outlet and also very friendly and helpful staff so the customer may like to visit the store often. It also includes the goods conditions. As we see WH Smith has a big online strategy Funky Pigeon card site. If they fail to deliver their customers goods on time, they may have bad viewpoint against their services and none of the customers like to continue doing shopping with them. When we look at the WH Smith store it all depends on a customer asking for a product or services and getting it to them, in a nother word satisfactory of their shopping in WH Smith. As we see in the scenario it says that Swann plans to open more shops which are stuffed with stock and screaming promotional banners. This is a role of operational management to achieve as it’s based on dependability. It increases the product or service in the market. WH Smith has sold stationary targeting the teenagers and young women and they also started to display sweets at the checkout make customers to purchase them. If they have not been flexible in introducing new lines to their sales they will not be able to achieve success in their business. Swann also cuts down the cost in order to boost her profit margins. These are the importance five performance objectives that underpin operation managements. Task 3 For a good operational planning is very important, this will lead the organizations to know what they have to do next, in order to deliver best services to the customer’s demand. Planning and controlling related to each other. It is essential to consider these methods in an organization like WH Smith as they helps for the effective outcome. Planning helps what to do and when to do in other hand controlling involves making sure that the plans are taken place. The planning and controlling involves cost estimation, work measurement, planning, routine concerns. Based on this scenario we can see that WH Smith has planned how to fulfill the needs of their customers. Kate Swann for example knew that young women and teenagers will purchase their stationeries and mean time the sweet has been display near the counter in order to promote it to their clients. If Kate Swann didn’t think of what customers normally demand, WH Smith may not be able to satisfy their customers. Linear program is a mathematical technique designed to help to plan and make decisions. This will help to maximize or minimize some quantities such as profits or cost. Liner program requires action on what to choose, where Kate Swann need to introduce displaying sweets near the checkout. One of the examples of WH Smith success in applying linear program in operational management is when Kate Swann stops selling music and DVDs to increase the profit margin. For renovating WH Smith shops there are certain tasks need to be planned. The following table is the tasks listed down for the shop renovation. D must follow A G must follow A and F H must follow A, C, D and F I must follow A, C and E J must follow A and D The above network diagram is an for an WH Smith renovation. WH Smith was running with lose until Swann take over to make it a profit. When we look into the operational outcomes we can see clearly that the WH Smith lose of  £135m turned into profit of  £106m. Another example of operational outcome is targeting of displaying sweets at the checkout and also selling stationery aiming teenagers and young women. Quality can defined by the process through which a business seeks to make sure that the product quality is maintained or improved meantime reduces the errors. It requires both management and employees make every effort for perfection. And according to the Scenario it sets an example Kate Swann stops selling music and DVDs and also the checkout assistants attempt to force-feed the chocolates displayed at the checkout areas. Without planning and controlling an organization will be hard to monitor. It is essential to follow the concepts of Operational management in order to achieve success in an organization. Kate Swann’s success is based on how she followed the operation management skills in order to bring the profit to a company which was running in loss. As Kate Swann follows these skill it states in the scenario that she has the ability to make a unpleasant shops to have profit business. Referencing Six Sigma, [Online], Available: http://www.isixsigma.com/implementation/financial-analysis/cost-quality-not-only-failure-costs/ Operations Management, fourth edition,[ Online], Available: http://wps.pearsoned.co.uk/ema_uk_he_slack_opsman_4/17/4472/1144836.cw/ The Guardian,[online], Available: http://www.theguardian.com/business/blog/2013/jan/23/wh-smith-kate-swann-profit Introduction of Operation Management, [Online], Available: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0070951675/436573/samplech01.pdf Muhammed Akram Khan, Performance Auditing – The Three ‘E’s, [Online], Available: http://www.asosai.org/journal1988/performance_auditing.htm Operational Planning, Wikipedia, [Online], Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_planning Linear Programming, [Online], Available: http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/2234/2288589/ModB.pdf Sree Rama Rao, (2009) Operational Planning and control decisions,[Online], Available: http://www.citeman.com/5031-operational-planning-and-control-decisions.html Quality management, Wikipedia, [Online], Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_management WH Smith, About WH Smith, [Online], http://www.whsmith.co.uk/fcp/content/Help-AboutUs-AboutWHSmith/content

Theories and concepts in leadership

Theories and concepts in leadership The term leader is defined as a person initiating interaction with other members of a group, a person who moves the group towards group role. To be called a leader, one must be performing leading roles repeatedly under varying conditions (English dictionary 1987; Gibb 1965) (leaders and leadership roles in relation to effective management of human resources by John Domingo) Social psychologist define leadership as the process through which one member of a group (its leader) influences other group members towards the attainment of specific group goals (Yukl,1994).Leadership however is essentially a process of mutual stimulation which by successful interplay of relevant individual differences controls human energy in pursuit of a common cause. (Ekong, 2003) Leadership calls for certain qualities or characteristics firstly on the part of the individual who want to become a leader and secondly on the part of a group who want to respond favorably to the individuals leading acts. In the first place, a leader must have the ability to influence others. This may be derived from his personal characteristics such as height, handsomeness or some general personal appeal, abilities to speak and win the crowd, the possession of specific skills known to and desired by the group, being wealthy and or generous, having known connections with external sources of power or occupying known official positions , and so forth. Studies in Nigeria have also shown that among other characteristics, age, being married, honesty, humility and industry are highly valued in being accepted as a community leader (Adeogun, 1976). Second, a leader must have the ability to identify with the group he leads. This entails the ability to place oneself in anothers position; consideration for others, emotional stability, readiness to delegate tasks, love for and constant identification with the group, selflessness, and loyalty to group ideas and goals, etc. A person may also assume leadership because of the innate conditioned need in him to lead and or dominate others. However, for his leadership to be accepted by the people he must have other desirable characteristics, which he would have to project it to the group In certain instances, people have assumed leadership on the assumption that they have a divine call or revelation to lead others. A number of self appointed prophets and religious leaders fall into this group. Apart from their claims to divine call, such people still have to develop other personal qualities mentioned earlier, and or show extraordinary power(e.g. healing, fortune telling, making of very po tent charms,etc)to be accepted by others. In all several types of leaders can be identified according to the following criteria: Path of attaining leadership position, power, authority, scope of influence and orientation. It must be noted before hand that these are not mutually exclusive categories. One leader can fall into all or most of these classifications which leads to types of leaders and path to leadership the first being situational leader this refers to one who foresees crises or the needs of a group and takes initiative in either rectifying the situation or mobilizing others to meet such a situation. And that is why it is argued that leaders are not born but made by situations. Situational leaders however persist as long as the condition which brought them into the forefront lasts. They can last longer only if the condition becomes institutionalized or else, by imposing themselves as leaders on the group. Then comes the dictatorial leader generally when a situation brings up a leader , there is the tendency for this individual to either feel that he has the obligation to remain at the head to watch over the interest of that group perpetually irrespective of their wishes ,or that the only befitting gratitude which the group he has helped could render him is to allow him to rule over them .In the absences of such expectations being voluntarily fulfilled , the individual then uses his initial advantage to paralyze initiative amongst his followers and subdue all manner of opposition. He would want to control all phases of life in the community and takes no suggestion from his subordinates except when such suggestions are in his own favour. Generally they succeed in antagonizing others to their disadvantage and so they never last for too long before being toppled. Military rulers who come in through coup Detat and do not want to return to the barracks are e.g. of dictatorial leaders. Traditional or hereditary leaders: this is one born into a hereditary leadership position which custom and tradition recognize. His leadership status is therefore ascribed rather than achieved. In othe r words, he has authority by virtue of the tradition of the community (Moss 1970). Charismatic leader charisma means a divine or spiritual power .it also means a personal character or quality that enable an individual to influence his fellow men. A charismatic leader is therefore a type of person who has such personal type of qualities like good looks , high level of intelligence , ability to speak, fearlessness and commitment to a certain idea which when taken altogether make people follow him almost without questioning his authority . He has a more or less magical appeal to the people and they may infact, come to regard him as their saviour. He himself may, as time goes on, begin to feel that he has been divinely inspired to lead. This type of leader tends to thrive most in crises situation where he can display or exhibit his qualities. A number of political leaders can be look upon as charismatic leaders. Professional leaders this is one who earns his leadership position by virtu e of his expertise or technical competence. His leadership is therefore not based purely on personal charm, although good personal characteristic can enhance his acceptability to the group he is leading. The community workers, the agricultural extension officer, the medical officer, the organization executive are all professional leaders. In their interaction and leadership roles they control their actions and direct these to conform to the expectations of the organizations they represent, the expectations of their peers within the profession, the expectations of the client population which they serve and to what they expect of themselves as individuals. Now comes the question what is the base of leadership, this was given by Cartwright and Zander Leadership involves the ability to influence, director control others which means that leadership involves the use of power. Weber (1961) defined power as the ability to affect ones own will against resistance from others. Power may be exercised by using force, we tend to think of power in relation to government, it is well to remember that it is exercised in many other context as well: in family, schools, hospitals and businesses wherever it is possible to manipulate conditions so that people must obey. The leader must have a recognized power, the sources of which may be within or outside the group led. When his power is from the group, this is spontaneously accorded him by his followers, whereas where the sources of powers is located externally there may be some elements of coercion. Cartwright and Zander (1960) have identified five bases of power of a group leader. These include reward p ower: Which derives from the belief on the part of the followers that they will be rewarded in some way for complying , in this instance ,power is exercised effectively whenever one party can grant or withhold what another party needs but cannot get elsewhere ; Coercive power: Which arises from the belief that non compliance will result in punishment, expert power: In this case when a person is evaluated to have needed knowledge , information or skill which cannot be obtained readily elsewhere ,that person holds expert power over the group., referent power : This is the power the leader has as a result of his having qualities which the group members like , admire and want to identify with. They submit to him because they identify with him. Legitimate power: this derives from the office or official position which the individual occupies and which gives him the right to cont5rol others and equally compels others to comply. The tax collector, the police all have legitimate powers to do their work. Power is usually conceived in terms of authority and of influence. Authority and influence are not synonymous as an individual who has influence may not have any authority. Authority is derived from official position and is the power attached to that office whereas influence resides within the individual on the basis of his possession of certain characteristics or qualities which make other people want to submit to him (Ekong, 2003).The basis on which authority is used affects the nature of the organization and of the society of which the organization is the part.(Leaders and leadership roles in relation to effective management of human resources by John Domingo in yang) (www.academicleadership.com) Discussion on leaders power and influence leads us to think of the styles of leadership. Leadership style is concerned with the behaviour of the leader towards his followers. .Ideally there is three leadership styles: Autocratic leadership style, in this all policies and procedures are determined by leader. The leader should take considerable responsibility for assigning the activity task and companions of each group member. Democratic leadership style, wherever possible the policies should be a matter of a group decision and discussion with active encouragement and assistance by the leader. Wherever, technical advice is needed the leader should try to suggest two or more alternative procedure from which choice can be made by the group members. Laissez-faire leadership style, in this leader should play a rather passive role in social participation and leave complete freedom for group or individual decisions in relation to activity and group procedure. Here the leader does not make any attempts to control the behaviour of the group members. He tends to relinquish his responsibility for most decisions in the organization to his subordinates.( Koehler . anatol and applbaum, 1976) The function of any leader is to guide his group members. He leads in so far as he is ahead of his group goals. The role of a leader as a guide connotes a person devoted to helping the group move effectively in the direction it chooses to move. The leader as a guide must assist the group to choose this direction judiciously based on his expert knowledge or other advantages. The leader is a group spokesman. The leader is a group harmonizer and an enabler. In other words he is the one who keeps interpersonal relations pleasant, arbitrates disputes, provides encouragement, gives the minority a chance to be heard and increases interdependence among members. He focuses discontent and enables group members verbalize such discontents, encourages organization and emphasizes common objectives of the group. As an enabler he strives to make the group realize its potentialities and strength in cooperative work. He stimulates insight rather than provides all the answers and provides support for o thers who may want to share in the responsibilities of group organization and action. He is also a group educator or an expert. People submit to him because he is capable of bringing them to see the solutions to their problems. As an expert he provides research data, technical experience, and resource material, advises on methods and assists in evaluation. This may also imply expertise in knowing the traditions and customs of the people and being able to act as a resource person on traditions and cultural issues. The leader is the symbol of is the groups ideals and an agent of control. People submit to control of a leader because he is able to discern their underlying and inarticulate aspirations and to give them expression. He has the passion for the cause he represents and can crystallize this within mens hearts. He is loyal to the ideals and aspirations of the group so members look up to him for direction. The leader exercises control over his followers and not necessarily by usi ng sanctions but by exhibiting certain qualities which nourish and maintain favourable sentiments e.g. courage, self sacrifice, hatred of vice, contempt for folly, a sense of national or community destiny, and so forth (Ekong 2003) (Leaders and leadership roles in relation to effective management of human resources by John Domingo in yang) Historical background of this topic shows us that research on leadership and has been a part of social psychology since its very earliest days: and in recent decades, this research has spilled outside social psychology to the closely related fields of industrial/organizational psychology and organizational behaviour .(Fiedler,1994;GreenbergBaron,1995).leadership is an inherently subjective subject with many definitions associated to it (Zaharah Hassan 2004) .most of those definitions found in the literature agreed that leadership is mainly concerned with a person who tries to influence groups or followers to achieve certain objectives .the literature also indicates that there are various theories describing leadership such as the traits that leads to successful leaders (Stogdill,1950),and the roles that a leader needs to perform (Mintzberg,1973;Yukl1994). Early researchers viewed leadership in terms of `great person theory-according to this theory ,great leaders posses certain traits that set them apart from most human beings ;until 1890 research designed to test the theory generally failed to yield positive findings(Geier,1969,Yukl1991). In recent years ,however this situation has changed greatly more sophisticated research methods ,coupled with a better understanding of basic dimensions of personality ,have led researchers to conclude that leaders do indeed differ from other persons in several important ways(Kirkpatrick locke,1991) specifically ,recent findings(e.g. JudgeBono ,2000) suggest that several of what psychologists often term the Big Five Dimensions of Personality may play an important role in leadership(Barrickmount/;1991). Still we question what characteristics do these leaders have? Leaders are known to have their own leadership style and can be said to be unlike any other leader which is to a great extent true .Literature points to the styles and approach that leaders need to adopt such as shown by early studies conducted by Lowa university ,Ohio university and Michigan universities (Nahavandi,19770)leadership theories also takes into account of the contingencies and situations they face(Fielder,1967; Hersey and Blanchard ,1988).more recent research includes transformational (Burns,19780) and servant leadership (Greenleaf ,1998).Recent writings also noted that there are notions of leadership that are assumed either implicitly or explicitly linking leadership to gender (Zaharah Hassan 2004).Further in this field of study ,studies have shown that people in leadership positions are thought to be or characterized more as men over women ,gender stereotypes ,( Myres 2002) are peoples beliefs about how men and women behave .A major concern dealing with gender stereotypes, are the effects they may have on leadership. Some research shows that these stereotypes may present obstacles for women who wish to compete for a leadership position .Hosoda and Stone(2000) found that the actual stereotype of men and women have remained relatively unchanged from 10-20 years ago, and also found that masculine stereotypes was evaluated less favorable and the feminine stereotype was evaluated more favorab ly over a period of 21 years ,this was done through studying seventy eight attributes of which twelve were `key masculine attributes and rest were associated with feminism .This suggest that people believed that men and women generally behave differently from one another at the same time there were research on effect of perceived attractiveness on leadership of women .a study conducted by Sigel man (1986) found attractiveness a plus for males running for political office ,but not for female candidates. Women were not discriminated against for being pretty but they were not helped by attractiveness as were the men (Sigel 1986). In recent years, transformational and transactional leadership construct has become a popular theme in leadership studies in the general management domain. Unlike task versus relationship oriented leadership, the transformational -transactional leadership notion is viewed as a continuum allowing for individuals to employ transformational and transactional qual ities at the same time (Bass 1985, 1990;Bryman,1992) .Bass furthered Burns view of transforming leadership to be a leadership style that gives insight into the importance placed on certain outcomes and promotes development and vision in subordinates .Bass also identified five main components to transformational leadership-charisma ,inspiration ,intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, and extra effort . Burns (1978, as cited in Mher, 1997) suggest that transactional leadership emphasizes exchanges between leader and follower and how needs of subordinates can be fulfilled. Recent research (Hack man, Furniss, Hills Paterson, 1992) implies that to be effective leaders must display both feminine and masculine behaviour. Hack man et al (1992) found that transformational leadership requires a gender balance of strong masculine and feminine characteristics. Transformational leadership is generally held to be a superior form of leadership, built on transactional leadership, b ut not vice-versa .there is a line of argument in leadership literature contending that female leaders tend to be more transformational than male leaders (Rosener, 1990), since transformational leadership emphasizes on nurturing of subordinates and on the process of socialization, the nurturing qualities of women are particularly well developed in comparison to men. A cross cultural study by Gibson (1995) involving Norway, Sweden, Australia and the US, found that male leaders were more likely to emphasize goal setting than female leaders and female leaders more likely to focus on facilitating interaction then male leader this trend among women leaders who also emphasized in the Malaysian public sector leadership (Raffia Salim 2007, Halipah Esa 2007). However, other scholars such as Butterfield and Powell (1981) Campbell et al (1998) and Ron K (1993) all have concluded that leadership style is independent of gender and that they exhibit similar amounts of task oriented and people ori ented leadership behaviour. Kolb (1999) has asserted that two decades of research indicates few, if any, leadership differences in the leadership behavior of male and female. Leadership in community: Moving from Gender the research on leadership has moved on to study of communities, organization and defence forces. The word community is an umbrella term that is defined and applied in a myriad of ways. For instance, it may be used to refer to refer to geographic communities where members are based on region (lfe, 1997; Maimunah Ismail, 2001); unit of social organization such as worker and community associations (Maimunah Ismail, 2001); cultural Groups that can be identified through religions or races (Maimunah Ismail, 2001); or virtual communities, where members main form of contact is through electronic media (lfe, 1997). Communities of circumstances constitute another possible form of community such community or Group might emerge, for e.g. when floods occur across different regions and those most affected feel connected to one another (Marsh 1999). Finally there are communities of interest, where identity groups form to lobby Government for some kind of policy change or sponsorship various definitions of community development and organization are available in literature. One of the early definitions that were widely accepted was developed by the U.S.international cooperation (1956) as cited by Maimunah Ismail (1999).It emphasized the process where individuals in the community joined forces to plan and take actions regarding community problems. They identify community problems and needs plan and conduct activities together using available resources. They also sought outside help from Government and private organization. On the other hand, the United Nations (1975), indicated that community development is a process whereby the efforts of individuals in the community were combined with efforts of Government and no bodies to bring about improvement socially and economically. These efforts should lead to national development (Jones, 1982). Kirk and Shutter (2004) suggested a community development model that is more collaborative and co mprehensive in nature that comprises of three components leading change through dialogue, collective empowerment and connective leadership. It is said that children are the future of a country and they are the ones who will be leading the nation tomorrow, therefore it is really a matter of great concern that how should these young generations be groomed, what should be the crux of their positive development? It is here where the role of developmental psychology is needed .development after all is a process of growth and increasing competence. In the important sub domain of social and emotional development, however we are often more articulate about how things go wrong than how they go right. We have a burgeoning field of developmental psychopathology but have a more diffuse body of research on the pathways whereby children and adolescents become motivated, directed, socially competent, compassionate, and psychologically vigorous adults. Corresponding to that we have numerous researc h based programmes for youth aims curbing drug use, violence ,suicide, teen pregnancy, they lack a vigorous applied psychology of how to promote positive youth development. The place for such a field is apparent to anyone who has had contact with a cross-section of American adolescents. In such a group one encounter a surprising number of youth who appeared to be bored, unexcited about their lives it is in this article of towards positive youth development Reed W. Larson focused on extra co curricular activities helping in positive development of youth. Here when the samples of self report on 16000 moments in the daily experience of a representative sample of white, working and middle class young adolescents-a group that seemingly has everything going for them. These youth reported feeling bored for 27 %.( 4300) of these random moments (Larson Richards, 1991). Of course these individuals differed in these rates ,but what was surprising was that honor student were as likely as those involved in delinquent activities ,in many cases for more than 50% of random moments . The litany of explanation for this boredom -theres nothing to do in life, the odyssey is boring, and they communicate ennui of being trapped in the present, waiting for someone to prove them that life is worth living. a central question of youth development is how to get adolescents fire lit ,how to have them develop the complex disposition skills needed to take charge of their lives .this calls for development of initiative in them .The construct initiative is closely related to capacity for agency or for autonomous action that others have discussed (Brandst-idter,1998;Deci 1995;Ryan1993). It consist of the ability to be motivated from within to direct attention and efforts towards a challenging goal , initiative is the core requirement for other components of positive development, such as creativity ,leadership, Altruism and civic engagement. Reed W.Larson argues that western adolescents life do es not provide abundant daily opportunities for the development of initiative and it is in these activities such as participation in sports, hobbies, arts and in any youth organization opens the door of initiative within. positive youth development however has had not a strong base of research and theory (Brown 1988;Dubassnider 1993,Murray foster).the anthropologist Benedict (1938) observed that many traditional society provide a progressive set of steps that socialize youth into the roles and responsibilities of adulthood, whereas adults are required to be independent and suddenly take charge whereas in western society there is marked discontinuity between what we expect of adults , especially with regard to initiative. Benedict pointed out that children in our society are treated as dependent and given few responsibilities ,whereas adults are required to be independent and suddenly take charge of all parts of their life9et Sampson,1988) ,thus in order to develop initiative youths need a series of experience opportunity(1938).participation in extra co curricular activity and community youth organization has been fond to be correlated with higher self-esteem ,control over ones own life etc .(Holland Andre1978) the problem with these relationship is that participation in these activities is selective ,participation is greater in among higher socio economic status along with parental support(butcher,1985, Holland Andrà © 1987) once these factors are controlled the relationship participation and positive outcomes are reduced .(AgnewPeterson1989) this claim however is more adequately tested by longitudinal studies .number of studies have fond association between higher school and adult participation in political organization (Dematrini 1983);the arts (blom1985) sports (HowellMeckenzie,1987) but do not adequately control for the possibility that prior unmeasured third variables .studies that control for some of the variables that effect high school participation s uch as SES ,grade point average(GPA)still finds effect.(Hanks and Eckland 1978) found that youth who participated in activities were more likely to be involved in voluntary associations at age 30,even with controls for initial SES and academic aptitude .Eccles and barber (1999) fond that participation in structured youth activities in 10th predicted positive changes .(Marsh 1992) too found a positive change with respect to self concept . Classic sociological theories recognizes that joining a group leads to socialization (Berger and luckman,1966).the most extensive and most psychological discussion about the process of social integration are provide by Youniss ,Yates who have focused on how participation in service activities provide a context for civic participation (1997). This opens another avenue to the study of leadership .How far specific training in a particular field can help in mastering and developing a polished skill in the concerned field. (Toward a psychology of positiv e youth development by reed w. Larson) The construct of youth leadership and life skills development is a complex arrangement of experience, backgrounds and attitudes. In the measure of leadership skills of agriculture students leadership and life skills development were defined as skills in communication ,decision making, interpersonal relationship, learning and resource management, understanding self and working with group .participation in FFA leadership activities in combination with the variables after school jobs, years in the FFA .self reported cumulative grades and gender accounted for 22.3% of the variance in youth leadership and life skills development scores. As an addition to the body of knowledge surrounding youth leadership and life skills development this study has revealed an increase in the overall amount of variance explained for this concept, with less than 25% of the variance explained in the phenomenon known as leadership development.(journal of agricultural education24 volume.38, 3,1997 Garry J Winge nbach Alan A Kahler) . The hypothesis of this study is that, the leadership quality is higher in the students who undergo NCC training than regular students who do not take NCC training. Today NCC is second largest youth organization in the world and the largest in India (a hand book on NCC) .it is one of the major second line defence force which is known for imparting training in military aspects, it has now expanded its horizon and now aims at developing character qualities amongst cadets and making them into good leaders of tomorrow as well as useful citizens so that they can take their appropriate place in all walks of life in the service of the nation. The qualities of leadership, discipline, spirit de coups, courage and confidence with secular outlooks, which are hallmark of a leader are inculcated in the cadets through a well conceived programme of institutional training combined with adventure, sports and outdoor activities plus many other community development programme -such as disaster managemen t ,adult literacy ,traffic control, village adoption ,tree plantation, blood donation are taken up which gives youths a comprehensive and a very good platform to take initiative in almost aspects of life. not only this the camps are conducted which constitutes the most vital part of national cadet corps where cadets get the thrill and joy of outdoor and community living stay together no matter how rich or how poor they are and thus teaches socialization, team spirit, unity in diversity through its motto of unity and discipline. (www.ncc.org.sg) The present study not only aims at adding more knowledge to the existing body of researches in past but it is also trying to go beyond the normal theories of styles, approaches and is focusing on a universal organization that aims at instilling leadership amongst youth .in todays world we have large number of organizations where we need leaders to lead the team to achieve the organizational goals ,whether its the field of scientific research ,the corporate ,the defence, the political world the non governmental organizations etc. thus, it would be interesting to know how far it has been successful in this endeavor. Method Participants In this study there were two groups consisting of total 60 subjects of which there were thirty NCC students who had participated in various training camps of NCC and few also had an opportunity to attend the prestigious national and international camps like republic day camp and youth exchange programmes, many have also attended mountaineering and parasailing courses, horse riding cum show jumps. These Students were taken from camp in Bison polo grounds Secunderabad. The non NCC students were the other regular college students taken from colleges like St. Anns, Bhavans, CBIT, St.Francis, etc. all the sixty subjects were in the age group of (17-22) years. Material The research instrument used for the study was the Leadership Characteristics and Skills Survey questionnaire. The first section of the survey consisted of a small section on personal information like name, age, category (NCC and non-NCC), and gender. The second part of the survey contained thirty questions which focused on individuals behaviour in a team. Leadership Characteristics and Skills Survey was assessed on five point Likert scale ranging from a score of (very weak-1, moderately weak-2, adequate-3, moderately strong-4, very strong-5). The purpose of this research was to find reliable information. Design In this study the students both from NCC and NON-NCC category formed the independent variables. The leadership qualities which was assessed was the dependent variable for this research .the age group from 17-22 was chosen for assessing the leadership qualities because the experimenter was keen in knowing whether a special course or training helps in enhancing ones managerial skills and also does it really makes a leader out of an ordinary human being. The other reason behind taking this age group was that the youngsters are the future leaders of tomorrow, so how far a youth organization like NCC has been successful in this endeavor of grooming future leaders, since NCC students basically fall in this age group and that is the reason this age was chosen for the study. Procedure In order to

Lewis and Clark Matter :: History Expeditions Essays

Lewis and Clark Matter Amid all the hoopla, it’s easy to lose sight of the expedition’s true significance As the Lewis and Clark bicentennial approaches—the Corps of Discovery set out from Camp Dubois at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers on May 14, 1804—all the signs of a great cultural-historical wallow are in place. Hundreds of Lewis and Clark books are flooding the market—everything from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to Gary Moulton’s magnificent 13-volume edition of the expedition’s journals, to cookbooks, coloring books and trail guides. A gift catalog from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello offers stuffed versions of a prairie dog, a bison and a Newfoundland dog made to look like Seaman, the animal that accompanied Lewis on the trip. You can even order dolls of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Sacagawea and York "with detailed removable clothing." There are Corps of Discovery television documentaries, an IMAX movie and dozens upon dozens of Internet Web sites. There are Lewis and Clark conferences, museum exhibitions and trail rides. Last summer Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders drove parts of the trail. When Harley hogs discover Lewis and Clark, you know something big is going on! Now I would be the last person to dump mashed potatoes on all of this; after all, I’ve written four books about the expedition. Much of this bicentennial celebration is good, clean family fun that’s both informative and entertaining. But in all this hoopla I fear that we may miss the underlying significance of the Lewis and Clark story and the chance to connect these early explorers to the larger and richer stories of our past. On the road with Thomas Jefferson’s Corps of Discovery, or even standing alongside the trail as they pass by, we meet ourselves, and more important, we meet people who are not ourselves. Not the first Lewis and Clark were not the first white men to cross the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific north of Mexico. (Scottish fur trader Alexander Mackenzie crossed Canada a decade earlier.) Nor did they visit places not already seen and mapped by generations of native people. You could even say that Lewis and Clark began the American invasion of the West, which aimed at making it safe for cows, corn and capital at the expense of bison, prairie grasses and cultures not fitting the expansionist agenda. If we want to be hard edged, we could even make a case that the Lewis and Clark story is a mainstay of the same shelf-worn narrative that glorifies and justifies the American conquest and dispossession of the North America natives.

The Pros and Cons of Agribusines Essay -- Agribusines

I. Introduction Agriculture has long been a topic of interest and will continue due to the necessity of farming to supply a basic fundamental need – food. Farming is considered a stable economic activity as it provides products, jobs, and supplies to the local community as well as supporting the global infrastructure. The recent global economic conditions have caused an array of structural changes within the global infrastructure. These structure changes have directly impacted banking institutions, housing, lending processes, farming sectors, and privatization. The declining housing market, corrupt banking/financial institutions, and decline in stable investments have increased the need to find economically viable ways to invest. Investors look at markets for sustainability and lucrative return on investments (ROI) while attempting to minimize risks. Naturally – food and water have become commodities but investors are still interested in returns and farming losses are often offset by federal subsidies and crop insurance (Lynch & Bjerga, 2013). Corporate investment, government regulations, and privatization become issues while trying to improve ROI. The recent water wars are evidence of control issues and an attempt to purchase natural resources. Investors are now looking at ways to promote diversity and sustainability to their clients while countries are grappling to ensure food security. Farmland investments involving large-scale acquisitions are lucrative for investors. Large-scale acquisitions of farmland in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia are now being sought by international investors and have garnered global attention (Cotula, Vermeulen, Leonard, & Keely, 2009). Farming, agriculture,... ...ences (continued) Laxman, L. & Abdul, A. H. (2011). GMOs, safety concerns and international trade: developing countries’ perspective. Journal of International Trade Law and Policy, 10 (3), 281-307. doi: 10.1108/1477002111116553L Lynch, D. J. & Bjerga, A. (2013, September 9). Taxpayers turn U.S. farmers into fat cats with subsidies. Bloomberg. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-09/farmers-boost- revenue-sowing-subsidies-for-crop-insurance.html Lynch, D. J. (2013, September 11). Fraud stealing $100 million shows flaws in U.S. crop insurance. Bloomberg. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-11/fraud-stealing-100- million-shows-flaws-in-u-s-crop-insurance.html Sherrick, B. J., Mallory, M. L. & Hopper, T. (2013). What’s the ticker symbol for farmland? Agricultural Finance Review, 73(1), 6-31. doi: 10.1108/00021461311321285

Final Corporate Enterprise

Enterprise architecture is a strategic planning model of an organization. It is an important foundation that has grown from the impact of globalization and modern market dynamics. It facilitates an organization streamline technological and Information Technology (IT) strategies achieve tangible synergies and value addition in its business. There are key steps, and milestones involved in the designing and implementation of this model from the corporate current state to a final corporate Enterprise Architecture (EA).The steps, standards and guidelines involved in the enterprise architecture process are discussed below. However every enterprise has its own unique characteristics meaning that there can be no particular model of enterprise architecture that suits all enterprises. The person responsible for the development of the enterprise architecture is the enterprise architect (Feurer, 2007). Step 1: Initiate the EA Program The involvement and approval of the management of the corporat ion bears a pivotal role in this process.Therefore the initial step would be to win the goodwill and commitment of the management team (Feurer, 2007). Step 2: Establish EA governance Effective governance demands a competent decision-making process that elaborately defines the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved in the process as well as the desired standards to be attained. Enterprise architecture governance has five fundamental viewpoints namely: organization and roles, processes, standards and templates, tools, and key performance indicators (KPIs).The responsibility of the enterprise architect will be to; define governance principles, integrating governance into the EA and identifying the relevant governance bodies to ensure the process complies with the defined EA principles (Feurer, 2007). Step 3: Define the Architectural Approach In this step the EA team defines the bridging strategy to close the gap between the current-state and the final-state.There are six ma jor tasks in this step; to understand and utilize the enterprises operating model, draw a basic core graphic representation of the organization’s operating model that depicts the desired state of the enterprise architecture (this may require a particular template ), definition of the utilization and scope of the EA-this should be in tandem with the organization’s strategic plan, collaborate with the various stakeholders of the organization by educating the stakeholders on the benefits of the EA, the identification of the most appropriate EA framework is done at this point and lastly, the implementation of the EA is bound to demand skills that may not be currently in the organization, therefore elaborate educational and skill enhancement programs are developed at this stage (Feurer, 2007). Step 4: Develop the EA In developing the final-state EA, the basic viewpoints will have to be clearly elaborated for the purpose of accomplishing the following; collecting information and developing an information resource base on enterprise architecture in order to develop appropriate EA products as well as carry out a gap analysis and design the way forward to the final-state, defining the final-state as it would be desired (the â€Å"to-be state), document the current-state. The current-state assessment document is meant to provide the necessary information to guide the strategy to the final-state (Cashman, 2005.p 8) (See a graphic representation of current-state assessment in appendix A). Also in this step the EA products should be reviewed and updated to comply with the desired state. This is jointly done with the subject matter experts (SMEs) (Feurer, 2007). The gaps between the current-state and final-state are analyzed with the help of a gap analysis. The way forward referred to as the â€Å"migration path† is planned. It will include a step by step process of movement from the current-state to the final-state with a focus on the resources requir ed. Finally the approval and publishing of the EA is done. Step 5: Use the EA The Enterprise architecture is used as a strategic planning model of an organization.It will provide a collaboration platform for the EA team and the people who will implement it. In this step there is the promotion of the use of EA, the utilization of EA in procurement of the appropriate technological infrastructure, and lastly the implementation of the Corporation’s projects by the use of EA. Step 6: Maintain the EA The EA should be assimilated in the dynamics of the corporation’s business. It should be periodically reviewed with the view to adapt the necessary changes. Conclusion The evolving of enterprise architecture is a major step in the growing opportunities for innovation in any organization that seeks to comply with the global standards.As much as EA enhances the corporate image of an organization it is paramount that the corporation shares the lessons learnt with other organization s (Feurer, 2007). Appendix A The graphic representation above shows the current state of ICT in an organization’s department under five separate but interrelated topics (Cashman,2005. p 3). References Cashman, T. (2005). Current State Assessment: ICT Strategy Project. Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. Retrieved February 21, 2009 from http://www. dcenr. gov. ie/NR/rdonlyres/C7917512-C6D9-43AB-8FAF-75525AC353B0/0/ICTStrategyCurrentStateAssessment. pdf Feurer, S. , (2007). Putting the Enterprise Architect in Enterprise Architecture.SAP NetWeaver Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2009 from http://www. netweavermagazine. com/archive/Volume_04_(2008)/Issue_01_(Winter)/v4i1a09. cfm? session Feurer, S. , (2009). Building an Agile Enterprise Architecture. SAP NetWeaver Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2009 from http://www. sapnetweavermagazine. com/archive/Volume_03_(2007)/Issue_04_(Fall)/v3i4a12. cfm? session Kreizman, G. , & Robertson, B. , (2006). Incorpora ting security into the Enterprise Architecture Process. Retrieved February 21,2009 from http://egovstandards. gov. in/egs/eswg5/enterprise-architecture-working-group-folder/gartners-reports/incorporating_security_into__137028. pdf/download

Learning Strategies and Information-Processing Development Essay

Learning can be simply defined as the process that leads to relatively permanent change in behavior or potential change in a person’s behavior. Learning makes one change the way they perceive the environment, react to stimuli and interact. Cognitive psychology is a very important branch of modern psychology. The main focus of this approach is the memory-how information is stored and retrieved. Several theories have been developed with regard to this subject such as the stage theory (Atkinson & Shriffin, 1968). The stage theory model is widely accepted since it proposes that information is processed and stored in three sequential stages i.e. â€Å"the sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory† (Atkinson & Shriffin, 1968, p. 90). In addition to this model other accepted theories include â€Å"levels-of-processing† theory proposed by Craik and Lockhart (1972), the parallel-distributed processing model and the connectionistic model. This paper examines how attention, memory, recognition and knowledge are related to various learning strategies. In addition, the paper discusses how visual-perceptual, motor and language relate to information processing development. Information processing development As stated in the introduction above, cognitive psychology forms an integral part of the discipline of psychology. The most widely used theory is the stage theory whose focus is on how information is stored in memory. Information is processed in three stages and this is done in a serial and scholastic manner. Another important theory is the â€Å"levels-of-processing† theory whose proposition is that the learner utilizes different levels of explanation as he or she processes in formation. A major advantage of the information-processing strategies is in their explicitness and accuracy in diving complex cognitive functions into distinct elements that can be easily studied. However, when it comes to analyzing cognition into its distinct parts; information processing fails to re-unite them into a general, comprehensive construct. In addition, most information processing tools such as computer models have lost touch with real-life learning experiences (Berk, 2009). Information processing approach towards cognition seeks to explain how the learner (children and adults) operate on the different types of information. Most scholars view the mind as a complex system (a type of computer) through which information flows and is manipulated. General models such as the store model by Atkinson and Shiffrin assume that information is stored in three parts of the brain for processing: â€Å"the sensory register, short-term memory, and long-term memory† (Berk, 2010, para.1). Craik and Lockhart (1972) level-of-processing model assumes that information is transferred from working memory to the long-term memory depending on the level processing. There exist several other information processing developmental models such as the Case’s theory which is a reinterpretation of Piaget’s theory of information processing model. Case views cognitive development as the increase in information processing capacity as a result of brain development which can be linked to more efficient learning strategies. Connectionism on the other hand explains information processing development as a result of learning strategies such as computer-simulated strategies which enhance; inter-connectivity of processing units that are well stratified just like the neurological structure of the brain. Siegler’s using his model of learning strategy choice argues that, learners always generate a number of strategies for problem solving, the more the experience, the more strategies are selected or discarded (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2008). Attention is a critical factor when it comes to human thinking, it dictates the information that will be considered when undertaking a task. Attention is greatly enhanced during early and middle stages of childhood. Thus, improved attention makes one to be more adaptable, selective and organized. Enhanced cognitive reticence and efficacy of attentional learning strategies are pertinent to the fine-tuning of selective attention. The fine tuning of attentional learning strategies takes place in four stages: â€Å"production deficiency, control deficiency, utilization deficiency, and effective strategy use† (para.2). Whenever there is a problem with attention students would develop learning disorders. The argument here is that, when a student is learning a new concept, their attention needs to be focused on the new concept.   If they fail to fully pay their attention, it means that they will have a serious problem with the learning of the new information (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2008). Memory strategies are said to improve with age, as children continue to develop various methods such as, organization, and elaboration. This increases the likelihood of storing information in working memory and its consequential transfer to the long-term knowledge bank. Thus, over childhood stages and even in adolescence, students’ recall steadily improves as knowledge is continually amassed and its organization is improved effectively. Children’s metacognitive abilities usually change from passivity to activity. A more productive view of mental functioning increases with the increase in awareness of information processing strategies, cognitive aptitudes, and task variables. Self-regulation cognitively develops gradually during childhood and adolescence stages. Recently, scholars of information-processing have focused their attention towards academic learning of children (Berk, 2009). Visual-perceptual, motor and language relation to information processing development A visual-perceptual skill is simply the brain’s ability to process information as seen.   Previously, most scholars had assumed that a deficiency in visual-perceptual skills was directly linked to the malfunctioning of the eye.   That is having a poor physical vision or poor muscle control in the eye. However, the presence or absence of physical vision has nothing to do with visual perceptual. Instead, visual perceptual refers to the ability of the brain the receiving of visual information, its interpretation, organization, storage, and transmission Thus, if a student’s brain is not properly storing information, recall will definitely be poor. This directly affects the student’s ability to concentrate and read since he or she has a slow recall of words. The slowing down of recall can also have a negative impact on their mathematical abilities let alone their fluency in speech and reading (Smith 2004). Language and phonological processing abilities are affected by the student’s ability to store, process, and retrieve information.   Usually language and phonological problems are rooted to reading disorders.   Many students with reading disorders have difficulty storing, processing, and retrieving information.   A normal student’s left brain hemisphere becomes dominant when they are carrying out tasks involving language processing (Berk 2009). A student’s motor skills are also an important factor when discussing about learning strategies.   Children will learn from their interaction with the environment; this ability is affected hindered by a child’s motor or verbal skills, a child will learn better when their motor skills are well developed.   This can be observed in a math class.   A conventional practice in the learning of fractions is the use of multiplication.   A student with a problem with their motor skills will have a problem with the use of manipulatives.   Thus they will definitely have it rough when it comes to the learning of fractions (Berk, 2010). Conclusion This paper argues that there exist several other information processing developmental models such as the Case’s theory which is a reinterpretation of Piaget’s theory of information processing model. Case views cognitive development as the increase in information processing capacity as a result of brain development which can be linked to more efficient learning strategies. The most widely used theory is the stage theory whose focus is on how information is stored in memory. Learning strategies such as memory strategies are pertinent to the process of information development. Information processing approach towards cognition explains how the learner operates on various kinds of information. The mind is a complex system (a type of computer) through which information flows and is manipulated. Deficits in information processing skills have negative impacts on a student’s ability to learn effectively. This is attributed to the reason that all learning is relatively cumulative.  Thus, problems in learning should be detected early in enough and solved otherwise; they would get worse with advancement of age.