Monday, August 26, 2019
Parallel trade (import) in pharmaceuticals in the UK Dissertation
Parallel trade (import) in pharmaceuticals in the UK - Dissertation Example One of the most common problems of these practices is their failure to fully meet the standards related to the relevant activity. Furthermore, it seems that the willingness of the state to support business initiatives in various industrial sectors is not standardized. The above problem has resulted to the development of practices, which can help businesses to minimize the risks of loss and increase their competitiveness; parallel trade is such practice. Despite its value in increasing business performance, mostly through decreasing prices while the quality of offered products is not affected, parallel trade has been often negatively criticized as of its effects on the economy. On the other hand, there are industries more appropriate for parallel trade and others where parallel trade practices are difficult to be established. In the pharmaceutical industry of Britain, parallel import was used in order to control prices, which are already at a high level ââ¬â compared to the averag e prices of similar products in other EU countries. The use of parallel trade in the pharmaceutical industry has been initially related to the reduced prices for patients; however, through the years, the specific activity has been also found to help towards ââ¬Ëthe reduction of costs for the social security system of the importing countriesââ¬â¢.1 In practice, it has been proved that the use of parallel trade in the specific case did not manage to significantly support the particular industry ââ¬â at least, not at the level expected by its initiators. However, important benefits were resulted for the British economy. The effects of parallel trade on the British pharmaceutical industry are examined in this paper. Emphasis is given on the policies used by the British legislators to control parallel trade regarding the pharmaceutical products and minimize relevant risks. It is concluded that parallel trade in the British pharmaceutical industry has helped the industry in incr ease its competitiveness against its rivals ââ¬â referring mostly to the pharmaceutical industries of other member states; however, in terms of the performance of British pharmaceutical firms, the benefits of parallel trade are not clear, a fact indicating that additional measures need to be taken in order for the parallel trade in the specific industry to be more effectively controlled. 2. Parallel trade ââ¬â description, characteristics and benefits Due to its nature, parallel import cannot be clearly defined; rather, reference could be made to its characteristics, as identified in the literature published in the particular field. In accordance with Cheng et al. (1995) the key characteristics of the parallel import are the following ones: ââ¬Ëa) it relates to goods protected by trademark/ patent or copyright and b) the importer is not the rightholder of the said right but obtained and exportedââ¬â¢.2 In terms of their legal status, parallel import goods have been cha racterized as ââ¬Ëgreymarket goodsââ¬â¢, meaning that they are not fully legal;3 this issue is judged each time by reviewing the conditions of the local market but also the economic benefits to which parallel import is related in a particular market.4 In practice, this means that in countries where parallel import highly supports the national economy, its potential alignment with the law (referring to the legal status of the parallel
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Assess To What Extent Large Chain Stores Are Positive For National Research Paper
Assess To What Extent Large Chain Stores Are Positive For National Growth - Research Paper Example The growth of chain stores is of considerable importance when it comes to the growth and size of an economy. There are changes which have emerged due to growth of these stores. This has led to the globalization of the markets and the economic integration due to the introduction of custom unions, free trade areas, political economic unions and social changes which result from the common monetary and fiscal policies (Greenfield, 2011). There are different types of chain stores. These include the consumables and the non consumables stores which are used to stock different types of commodities. These stores are of considerable importance to the nation. Greenfield (2011) asserts that to begin with they have led to the improvement of health sector in the economy. It has been due to this that we have changed the nature of conduct within the place of work. This has led to changes in the political behaviors of dictatorship in the government. This has been due to the misconduct by the wealthy merchants taking their business without considering the health of the workers and their care towards the society members. Secondly these stores have led to environmental conservation. This is due to the organized storage of stock thus avoiding pollution in both air and water. This has led to the conservation of the environment and health for the citizens. In addition, they have led to proper and well organized distribution of goods and services. This is due to the mass production by large companies in the world. Most of these companies are anticipating high returns, and they thus effectively and efficiently struggle to make high profits due to the increase in consumption behavior of the consumers (Howard, 2011). Distribution is a key factor to consider in the modern business. This has been due to the increased competitive nature of suppliers and distributors. Lebhar (4) asserts that consequently, advertising of products is also another factor to adopt due to the rising modern market ing strategies in the field of business. Chain store is managed by observing the degree in which to employ the salesmanship. Salesmanship is employing the convincing power in marketing of the product. However, the business has enhanced the availability of commodities to the customers. This has made it so easy for individuals to acquire goods because of the single roofing whereby one can select the desired product out of the multiple products in the store. The collaboration among many business enterprises has led to capital adequacy in investing especially to the green field investors. Capital is a significant factor to consider in doing a business since it enables an entrepreneur to acquire the factors of production which include land and labor. These are the main resources in production (Lebhar 8). The resources are endowed differently in different countries in the world, and thus chain stores are enjoying together the absolute advantage in production and avoid the comparative disa dvantage caused by factor distortion. This has led to franchise in the international market. In addition, the size of the economy must grow, and there is a significant impact on social living which results from varied opportunities in employment. This leads to eradication of poverty and place individuals in a better position to acquire goods and services (Lebhar 10). They thus
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Time Management and Success Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words
Time Management and Success - Research Paper Example These include setting of goals, planning, delegation, allocation, time analysis, organizing, monitoring, prioritization, and scheduling. In the school setting, time management is extremely crucial for the school to satisfy the organizational goals and objectives. Time management is a tool that determines the project completion and the scope to which a project is done. It helps teachers in satisfying the goals and objectives of the students. When students and teachers on activities that deal with instrumental responsibilities use most of the school time, then, achievement of the student would be influenced positively. In this respect, time management is paramount for the success of any school. This paper explores a report on the impact of time management on the success of a school. Statement of the Problem. The study examined the impacts of time management on the success of a school. In many schools, teachers experience the challenge of accountability and high-stakes testing, that has a massive effect on the success and achievement of the learners. The increased responsibilities towards the profession are one great influence to the time spends on learning activity. School administrators, on the other hand, have the responsibility of policy formulation or a program administration. This means that they have an entitlement to all benefits, rights, and burdens brought about by appropriate management of time. ... School administrators should, therefore, take into consideration the impacts of time management on instructional time for them to satisfy their goals of increasing the achievement of students. Research Questions The following research questions will direct the quantitative section of the study: 1. Is there any there any influence of time management on the success of students? 2. Is there a correlation between the time management skills of the teacherââ¬â¢s and student achievement? The following questions will direct the qualitative section of the study: 1. What are the effects of management of time on the performance of students? 2. How does time management correlates with the performance of the students? Purpose of the Study The key purpose of the research was to give out insight regarding the link between time management skills and student achievement. Through the analysis of the skills of time management skills and the academic performance of the students, as given by studentâ â¬â¢s scores on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), Knowledge could be obtained on the relationship between time management skills of a teacher and the success of the student. The study was conducted to examine the relevance of time management on academic performance hence provide an appropriate solution for increasing the performance of learners in schools. Importance of the Study The success of this study is vital because it is will provide a powerful tool of increasing the performance of learners in a school. The study examines whether time management skills play a factor in the success of student. The existence of any correlation between time management and studentââ¬â¢s success will give room for
Friday, August 23, 2019
Undocumented, Indispensable by Anna Quinden Essay
Undocumented, Indispensable by Anna Quinden - Essay Example The primary claim of the author that immigrant issue has already assumed a proportion that has to be addressed seriously was well positioned. Quinden did not put her main argument nonchalantly or straightforwardly but rather, she used colorful descriptions and analogies that engage the readers. She used the description of geologic earthquake and comparing the march to the other important marches such as march about Vietnam War and feminist rallies. After engaging the reader about her claim, she then conditioned the reader to her arguments that there side of the arguments that were not considered about immigrants such as their contributions through the taxes they pay that they may in fact be the one helping to keep the system afloat. It also helped to mention that they are being demonized as social costs when in fact they work and also contribute to the social security yet not entitled to full benefits. In essence, Quinden humanized the issue that immigrants are not devils or social s ecurity malaise that drains our resources but rather as individuals who helps to keep our way of life. They may have kept wages down but they also keep the prices our homes cheap and ensure that our foods are cheap. Such, many employers who are also campaign contributors turn their eyes the other way about the immigration status of their worker. And perhaps they may be doing this because they are waiting for immigration laws to be more responsive to the reality of the times. Immigrants are workers and therefore are taxpayers.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Reality of Teaching and Learning Pronunciation Essay Example for Free
Reality of Teaching and Learning Pronunciation Essay Rationale of the study Nowadays, with the rapid pace of integration and globalization, English becomes a golden key to open the door of many fields such as commerce, communication, science and technology throughout the world. Therefore, to meet the demand of the society, it is very necessary to teach English in schools at all levels. And the highest target is to get well in communication. If one wants to get successful in communication, he must be good at pronunciation: ââ¬Å"a threshold level of pronunciation in English such that if a given non-native speakers pronunciation falls below this level, he or she will not be able to communicate orally no matter how good his or her control of English grammar and vocabulary might beâ⬠(Celce-Murcia, 1987:5). In the field of language teaching, the role of pronunciation has varied widely from having virtually no role in the grammar-translation method to being the central focus in the audio-lingual method where emphasis is on the traditional notions of pronunciation, minimal pairs, drills and short conversations. The growing emphasis on communicative approaches for the teaching of English has placed higher demands for correct pronunciation. Despite this fact, at the upper-secondary school level in Vietnam, in language teaching and learning, compared with vocabulary, grammar and language skills, pronunciation has so far been paid less attention to. In the official textbooks used for teaching English at high school level, there are a few exercises for pronunciation practice. To make the matter worse, all important English exams at schools as well as the entrance exam to universities are always in written form so most teachers as well as students have little motivation to teach and to learn pronunciation. As a result, students are often shy and unconfident to speak in English. And that is the reason why the effectiveness of teaching pronunciation still remains one of the most widely problematic subjects in the field of language teaching. Coping with this pressing fact, as a language teacher teaching English at Quynh Coi high school (QCHS), the author always thinks of some burning questions: in language teaching and learning, what is the present situation of teaching and learning pronunciation at high school level in QCHS? What are the problems teachers and students face in teaching and learning pronunciation? How to find suitab le methods to teach pronunciation? What should teachers do to teach pronunciation effectively? How should teachers make students become interested in learning pronunciation? The answers to these questions will help language teachers improve their studentsââ¬â¢ pronunciation as well as help them make progress in effective communication. For the above reasons, the author decides to carry out the study entitled: ââ¬Å"The reality of teaching and learning pronunciation at Quynh Coi high school: problems and solutionsâ⬠. 1. 2 Aims of the study The main purpose of this study is to discover the reality of teaching and learning pronunciation at Quynh Coi high school, especially to find out problems that teachers and students often have in pronunciation lessons. The writer also hopes to make some feasible solutions that can help the English teachers overcome those problems and improve studentsââ¬â¢ pronunciation. 1. 3 Research questions The above aims of the study can be realized by answering the following research questions: (1) What is the present situation of teaching and learning pronunciation at QCHS? (2) Which problems do the teachers and students at QCHS face in pronunciation lessons? (3) What teaching techniques can be used to improve teaching pronunciation for students at QCHS? 1. 4 Scope of the study As a case study, this study focuses on the reality of teaching and learning two aspects of English pronunciation: stress and intonation for the 12th form students at Quynh Coi high school. The subjects of the study are 12th form students those are familiar with learning pronunciation for two years at high school. Moreover, stress and intonation are two major aspects of pronunciation introduced in the official textbook used by the 12th form students. Other characteristics of English pronunciation would not be deeply investigated in this research. . 5 Methods of the study In order to fulfill the tasks mentioned above, both qualitative and quantitative methods are selected for this case study, involving the following instruments: survey questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews. Firstly, the survey questionnaires were delivered to both teachers and students to investigate the reality of teaching and learning pronunciation at QCHS. Then, some classroom observations and interv iews with some English teachers have been also conducted to get supplementary information. Finally, the results obtained from questionnaires, observations and interviews have been discussed and analyzed to with a hope for providing language teacher with some feasible teaching techniques to work successfully with their students. 1. 6 Significance of the study This study hopes to make contribution to teaching pronunciation at high school level in Vietnam and the result of the study is considered to be useful for teachers and students at school. Thus, this study will be an interesting reference material for any high school language teachers in Vietnam, especially for those who are in favor of improving their students pronunciation. This research will help teachers and students identify their problems in teaching and learning pronunciation and self- improve their pronunciation. 1. 7 Design of the study This thesis consists of six main chapters: Chapter one is the INTRODUCTION including the rationales, the aims, the scope, the research questions, the methods, and the design of the research. In the book ââ¬Å"Pronunciationâ⬠published in 1994, Christiane Dalton and Barbara Seidlhofer (1994:3) consider pronunciation ââ¬Å"as the production of significant soundâ⬠. They look at the word in two senses. First, it is used as part of a code of a particular language. That is the reason why English sounds are distinguished from sounds of other languages. In this sense, pronunciation can be told as the production and reception of sounds of speech. Second, sound is used to achieve meaning in contexts of use. Here the code combines with other factors to make communication possible. In this sense pronunciation is referred with reference to acts of speaking. In the scope of this study, the concept of pronunciation can be described as ââ¬Å"a way of speaking a word, especially a way that is accepted or generally understoodâ⬠(American Heritage Dictionary, 1992) or ââ¬Å"may be said to conclude the sounds of the language or phonology; stress and rhythm; intonation; combination sounds; linkage of soundâ⬠(Ur, 1996). 2. 2 Features of pronunciation Gerald Kelly (2000) points out main features of pronunciation including phonemes and suprasegmental features, in which consonants and vowels belong to phonemes, intonation and stress are two main parts of suprasegmental. Phonemes are units of sound, they are known as segments. Suprasegmental features are features of speech which apply to groups of segments, or phonemes. The features which are important in English are stress, intonation, and how sounds change in connected speech. The following diagram shows a breakdown of the main features of pronunciation: Features of pronunciation (Kelly, 2000:1) As seen from the diagram, pronunciation is a broad subject with the boundaries of various items such as consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation. This study is intended to focus on two major features of pronunciation: intonation and stress are deeply investigated. According to Quirk R. and Greenbaun S. (1973:450), stress is the prominence with one part of a word or of a longer utterance is distinguished from other parts. This can be understood like this: when an English word consists of more than one syllable, one of these syllables is made to stand out more than the others. This is done by saying the syllable louder. For instance, in such words as ââ¬Å"Englishâ⬠, ââ¬Å"teacherâ⬠, and ââ¬Å"studentâ⬠the first syllables are stressed. Intonation is an important part that most teachers have to deal with when teaching connected speech, it refers to the way the voice ââ¬Å"goes up and down in pitchâ⬠(Kelly, 2000: 86) when we are speaking. It plays a vital role in helping people express their opinions, and understanding thought of others. In short, the word ââ¬Å"pronunciationâ⬠is like a big umbrella covering various sub-items as consonants, vowels, intonations, stress, etc. With such big boundaries of items, language teachers and learners have to think of how to master these key aspects, especially stress and intonation, to be successful in teaching and learning pronunciation. 2. 3 Teaching pronunciation 2. 3. 1 The importance of teaching/ learning pronunciation and a ââ¬Å"paradoxâ⬠2. 3. 1. 1 The importance of teaching and learning pronunciation Pronunciation is as important as any other aspects of language like syntax and vocabulary. Some people may argue that speech is obviously much more significant than pronunciation. However, speech cannot exist without pronunciation. Correct pronunciation, in fact, is considered to be a prerequisite to develop the speaking skill. That is why teaching pronunciation should occupy an important place in the study of any language. According to Gerald Kelly (2000), pronunciation ââ¬Å"involves far more than individual soundsâ⬠including word stress, sentence stress, intonation, and word linking. All of these influence the sound of spoken English. Sound is the core of the language. When teaching a language, the first and foremost thing teachers should do is to let learners have chances to expose themselves to the sounds of that language. That is the reason why more and more teachers pay much attention to teaching pronunciation to their students. Considering the importance of communication in general and pronunciation in particular, Gerald Kelly confirms ââ¬Å"a learner who constantly mispronounces a range of phonemes can be extremely difficult for a speaker from another language community to understand. A consideration of learnersââ¬â¢ pronunciation errors and of how these can inhibit successful communication is a useful basis on which to assess why it is important to deal with pronunciation in the classâ⬠(2000:11). Sharing the same ideas with Kelly, Martin Hewings (2004:10) adds ââ¬Å"difficulties with pronunciation might mean that students fail to get their message across, even when the correct words are being used, or they might fail to understand what is said to them. â⬠The inaccurate use of suprasegmetal elements, such as tress or intonation, can also cause problems. Errors in pronunciation can lead to a problem of reception, or comprehension of the meaning or function of an utterance, even worse, they can affect the perceived tone or mood of an utterance. Moreover, it is obvious that good pronunciation serves as a strong motivation for language learners. Most language learners show considerable enthusiasm for pronunciation as they consider it as a good way to show that they are competent in the language. Once they have obtained adequate pronunciation competence, they gradually build up strong confidence for themselves and are ready to learn new things without hesitation. 2. 3. 1. 2 A ââ¬Å"paradoxâ⬠As the matter of fact, the role of pronunciation in English learning process could not be negated. Regrettably, teaching and learning pronunciation has not received appropriate attention as expected and Gerald Kelly call this fact a name ââ¬Å"a paradoxâ⬠(Kelly, 2000: 1). It tends to suffer from being neglected. This may not be teachersââ¬â¢ lack of interest or motivation in pronunciation. The main reason comes from their teaching experience and confidence, ââ¬Å"feeling of doubt as to hoe to teachâ⬠(Kelly, 2000:13). In spite of the fact that both teacher and students are keen on pronunciation, they often take grammar or vocabulary precedence over pronunciation for granted. If it is not neglected, ââ¬Å"it tends to be reactive to a particular problem that has arisen in the classroom rather than being strategically plannedâ⬠(Kelly, 2000:13). This is the most popular problem is pronunciation lessons. Teachers only deal with pronunciation when it comes to be problematic. There is no lesson plan, no strategy in teaching and learning pronunciation. Most teachers often prepare lesson plan for teaching grammar, vocabulary, but pronunciation. Yet pronunciation work can, and should, be planned for, too. Teachers should regard features of pronunciation as integral to language analysis and lesson planning. This paradox arises from both the nature of pronunciation itself, from the teaching staff as well as from the learners themselves. However, to deal with this problem, as language teachers, teachers need to have a good grounding in theoretical knowledge. Furthermore, in order to teach pronunciation successfully, teachers should be practically skilled in classrooms, and they need to have good ideas, approaches, techniques, as well as classroom activities. 2. 3. 2 Teachersââ¬â¢ roles in teaching pronunciation Mastering a foreign language pronunciation is not something impossible as far as the student and the teacher participate together in the total learning process. Thus, to succeed in a pronunciation program, the teacher plays an essential role. Kenworthy (1987), Nguyen Bang and Nguyen Ba Ngoc (2001), and Hoang Van Van, et al. (2006) shared the similar ideas about teachersââ¬â¢ roles in the teaching and learning pronunciation process, in which, teachers are responsible for: â⬠¢Helping learners to hear: The teacher has a mission to provide appropriate input of the target sounds for learners to hear. Teacher needs to check that their students are hearing sounds according to the appropriate categories and help them develop new categories if necessary. â⬠¢Helping learners to make sounds: It is true that some English sounds do not exist in the learnersââ¬â¢ mother tongue. Some learners may be able to imitate the target sounds if they are provided models. However, for those who lack such an ability, it is teachersââ¬â¢ duty to explain the way those difficult sounds are made and provide aids to help learners produce correct sounds. â⬠¢Providing feedback: Students need to be told where they are standing, how much they have gained and what they need to improve because sometimes, students themselves can not know whether they are making mistakes or not. The teacher must provide them with feedbacks on their performance. â⬠¢Pointing out what is going on: In many cases, learners fail to realize what and how they are speaking, as speaking is for most parts unconsciously controlled, learners may sometimes make mistakes in the way they produce a particular sequence of sounds, or put stress in an incorrect place, leading to misunderstanding. It is the teachersââ¬â¢ role to specify the area that learners have to pay attention to so as not to cause miscomprehension. â⬠¢Establishing priorities: Native-like pronunciation is not easy to achieve. Therefore, learners need a guide to tell them about what aspects they should master, what aspects they not need to be ââ¬Å"perfectâ⬠. Inevitably, when learning a foreign language, it is dealt if learners master every aspect of it. However, as this is somehow unrealistic, learners should learn to satisfy at an accepted level of those aspects which are not vital. The level at which learners can feel satisfied at depends on different situations for different individuals. â⬠¢Devising activities: It is not easy for teachers to cover all activities in a limited time. Thus, teachers need to identify what exercises will be suitable for their learners, what activities would bring them the best effect. In devising them, however, it should be accepted that certain activities are more suitable to some students than others. â⬠¢Assessing progress: An important role of teacher is to assess progress. Learners need to know at what level they are in pronunciation. Tests allocated at appropriate times will serve as a strong motivation for students. When they look at their marks, they have a clear sense of how much they have gained. Judging learnersââ¬â¢ pronunciation performance is very complicated. However, this should be done accordingly. 2. 3. 3. Approaches, techniques and activities in teaching pronunciation 2. 3. 3. 1 Approaches in teaching pronunciation In the book ââ¬Å"Teaching pronunciationâ⬠(Celce-Murcia M. , et al. 1996: 2), the authors point out two general approaches to the teaching of pronunciation in the modern time, namely intuitive-imitative approach and analytic-linguistic approach. An intuitive-imitative approach depends on ââ¬Å"the learnersââ¬â¢ ability to listen to and imitate the rhythms and sounds of the target language without the intervention of any explicit informationâ⬠. This means the teaching of pronunciation depends largely on the teacherââ¬â¢s turning on and rewinding a cassette player (or another instrument), and the main activities in the class are listening and repeating. In this approach, the teacher has no responsibility to explain how sounds are formed or produced and the learners do their main task of listening and imitating, and it is expected that learners will gradually gain pronunciation competence. Meanwhile, an analytic-linguistic approach ââ¬Å"utilizes information and tools such as a phonetic alphabet, articulator descriptions, charts of the vocal apparatus and other aids to supplement listening, imitation, and productionâ⬠(Celce-Murcia M. , et al. , 1996: 2). In this approach, learners are given explanation as well as training on how to form particular sounds of the target language. Between these two approaches, there is no scale on whether which one is better. Choosing to apply which approach into teaching pronunciation depends on teachers themselves and the level of learners. To do well with these two approaches, it is a need for both teachers and learners to fulfill knowledge of articulator system such as consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation, etc. In this study, the author considers the use of both approaches to gain best effect in teaching and learning pronunciation. 2. 3. 3. 2 Techniques and activities Pronunciation is never an end in itself, thus to receive expected result in teaching and learning pronunciation, teachers have made use of a great deal of techniques. It may be taught in isolation or in combination with language skills of speaking, listening, reading or writing. Supported by Kelly (2000:16); and Celce, et al (1996:8), some common techniques are: â⬠¢Drilling: One of the main ways in which pronunciation is practiced in the classroom is through drilling. In its most basic form, drilling simply involves the teacher saying a word or a structure, and getting class to repeat it. â⬠¢Listen and imitateâ⬠The pronunciation of the target language is provided by the teacher or tape recorders, language labs, etc. students are to listen to a sequence of sounds or sentences and repeat it. â⬠¢Chaining: This can be used for sentences which prove difficult for students to pronounce, either because they are long, or because they include difficult words and sounds The above mentioned techniques are nearly similar; they usually take two forms, which are either all-class or individual. These two forms are actually the two phase of the same techniques. Normally, at first, the whole class repeats after certain sound and phrases. After a certain amount of class-drilling, individual students take turns and pronounce those items themselves. â⬠¢Phonetic chaining: This technique makes use of articulator descriptions, articulator diagrams and a phonetic alphabet. Learners are provided with basic theoretical knowledge about how sounds are formed. They are also aided by the teacher to make genuine sound production. â⬠¢Minimal pair drills: These relate to words which differ from each other only one phoneme. Normally, students are allowed to listen to the tape and distinguish between the two sounds. This type of activities is particularly useful to teach sounds which causes difficulties for learners or sounds that are mismatched. â⬠¢Contextualized minimal pair: In this technique, the teacher establishes the setting and present key vocabulary; students are then trained to respond to a sentence stem with the appropriate meaningful response. When minimal pair drills seem a bit boring and too theoretical with separated sounds, the contextualization seems to be more useful because it is more practical. â⬠¢Tongue Twisters: This technique rooted from speech correction strategies for native speakers. When other techniques look serious and sometimes put learners under pressure, tongue twisters provide a more delighting way to learn pronunciation. Sounds which are difficult to differentiate are put together to make meaningful sentences. â⬠¢Reading aloud/recitation: Students are provided with a passage or scripts and then read aloud, focusing on stress, timing and intonation. This activity is often done with texts such as poems, rhymes, song lyrics, etc. â⬠¢Recording of learnersââ¬â¢ production. This technique can use audio-tape, video-tapes of rehearsed and spontaneous speeches, free conversations, and role plays. It needs the feedbacks of teachers as well as self-evaluation. â⬠¢Practice of vowel shifts and stress shifts related by affixation: Base on rule of generative phonology, used with intermediate or advanced learners. The teachers point out the rule-based nature of vowel and stress shifts in etymologically related words to raise awareness; sentences and short texts that contain both number of a pair may be provide as oral practice material such as:PHOtograph And phoTOgraphy 2. 4 Learning pronunciation 2. 4. 1 Factors affecting learning pronunciation According to Joane Kenworthy (1987), there are many factors affecting learning pronunciation, including the native language, the age factor, the amount of exposure, phonetic ability, attitude and identity. The native language: it is inevitable that learnersââ¬â¢ native language has a great impact on their ability of pronouncing English. The ââ¬Å"foreign accentâ⬠is therefore easy to identity. The age factor: it is often assumed that the younger a person starts learning a foreign language, the better he is at pronouncing it and he has a greater chance of having a native-like accent. The amount of exposure: people who live in the country where the target language is spoken and is surrounded by an English-speaking environment may have some advantages over some who do not. Phonetic ability: researches have shown that some people naturally have a ââ¬Å"better earâ⬠for a foreign language than others. Attitude and identity: results from many studies have shown that learners who have a positive attitude towards speakers of a foreign language tend to have a more native-like pronunciation. 2. 4. 2 Studentsââ¬â¢ roles in learning pronunciation It is essential that in order to learn a language, motivation plays a vital role. The same thing happens to learning pronunciation. If students really care much about their pronunciation, they will become more cautious about their speaking, and gradually build up good pronunciation. In teaching and learning pronunciation, if teachers play the roles of a ââ¬Å"speech coachâ⬠, students themselves need to involve in this process as much as possible in order to get good results. According to Nguyen Bang and Nguyen Ba Ngoc (2001), students need to satisfy some demands. Firstly, they need to perceive the model as exactly as they can. Secondly, they need to response as much as and as well as possible to the recognition, the imitation and repetition activities. Lastly, beside the help of the teachers, students should do self-correction of their pronunciation mistakes. 2. 5 Teachersââ¬â¢ and studentsââ¬â¢ problems in teaching and learning pronunciation Both teachers and students encounter various problems in the process of teaching and learning pronunciation. These problems do not only arise from the nature of pronunciation itself, but from various subjective and objective factors. In the light of the previous and current studies, some major problems that teachers and learners face in teaching and learning pronunciation are:. The nature of pronunciation According to Nunan (1991), the problem of acquiring the phonology of a second or a foreign language presents a formidable challenge to any theory of second language acquisition. In teaching and learning pronunciation, the biggest problem that most of the English teachers and students complain come from nature of pronunciation. English pronunciation itself contains so many complicated factors and invisible rules. In the light of this problem, Doff A. (1988) listed some common problems that learners often make when they speak English. The first is difficulties in pronouncing sounds which do not exist in the studentsââ¬â¢ own language. The second is the problems with similar sounds that often cause learnersââ¬â¢ confusion. The third is difficulties in pronouncing consonant clusters. And the last problem mainly comes from English stress and intonation. Students seem to have a tendency to give all syllables equal stress and ââ¬Å"flatâ⬠intonation. Class setting A lot of problems in teaching and learning pronunciation come from class setting such as classroom size, quality of the teaching staff, teaching and learning equipment. Firstly, a large class causes difficulty in teaching pronunciation. At high school, on average, there are over 50 students per class. With such a high student-teacher ratio, it is impossible to make sure that the teacher could carry out successful teaching techniques and activities, and the learner is not able to listen and receive what the teacher is saying. The quality of teaching staff is also a big problem. Most teachers of English are non-native speakers, and a few of them can have a native-like pronunciation. As a result, the language input that students receive every day is from non-native people. Therefore, it is impossible to require students to achieve perfect pronunciation. Teaching model According to Kelly (2000), in the past, the model of teaching English pronunciation was ââ¬Å"received pronunciationâ⬠, the pronounciation of people in the southwest England. Today, there are a vast number of English: American English, Australian English, etc. Thus, it is difficult for teachers to choose what model to teach. In fact, each teacher often cannot produce a ââ¬Å"perfectâ⬠accent without being affected by his own language. This fact sometimes causes both teachers and students problems in teaching and learning pronunciation. Some teachers do not feel confident with their own voice and students do not know what input language is perfect to receive. Intelligibility Beside factors from the nature of pronunciation, class setting, etc, teaching and learning pronunciation involves in its own problem that Kenworthy (1987) calls it as ââ¬Å"intelligibilityâ⬠. He defines ââ¬Å"intelligibilityâ⬠as ââ¬Å"being understood by a listener at a given time in a given situationâ⬠. This means that intelligibility is affected by a number of factors: the speaker, the listener, the time, and the situation. This also means that teaching and learning pronunciation depends on many factors, causing many problems for both teachers and students. In conclusion, in this chapter, some theoretical backgrounds relating to teaching and learning pronunciation have been pointed out. These factors are the pronunciation concepts and their features. Factors relating to pronunciation teaching and learning as the importance, the problems, techniques and activities have been also given. It cannot be denied that pronunciation and teaching pronunciation is an important part to conduct in any language course. It is even more important for those who are or will be teachers of the language. Methods of teaching pronunciation are various with different elements of pronunciation. What are the attitudes of teachers and learners towards teaching and learning pronunciation? The school has 36 classes with 90 teachers and 1,800 students. Each year, the school enrolls more than 600 new comers. 3. 1. 2 Description of the course At school, all students when pass the entrance exam to the school have to study English as one of the compulsory subjects. During the process of learning English at school, students use three English textbooks (English 10, English 11, English 12) focusing on four skills including reading, speaking, listening, writing and language focus part. The language focus comprises two major parts: pronunciation and grammar. Normally, students start learning pronunciation when they study English 10. However, at grade 10th, students only learn some vowels and simple consonants. At grade 11th, students continue to study complex consonants. And at grade 12th, students start to be familiar with stress and intonation exercises. That is the reason why stress and intonation are two major aspects of pronunciation chosen in this investigation. 3. 2 Subjects The subjects of this study comprised 10 teachers and 55 12th-form students at QCHS. All English teachers were invited to participate in this study. They are from 27 to 60 years old, and have taught English for more than 2 years. They graduated from both regular and in-service training. With those teachers who have taught English for many years, they have teaching experience, but were not well trained. They mainly graduated from colleges, even in-service training. With younger teachers, they graduated from many different universities: state and non-state universities. They are full of motivation, but lack of teaching experience. In general, these teachers are good at teaching grammar and do not feel confident to deal with speaking, listening, and pronunciation lessons. Thus, they often focus their lesson on grammar but the speaking and pronunciation. The class that the author chose to study consists of fifty-five 12th-form students. These students have had at least 6 years of academic English experience by the time they reach this course. However, their English proficiency is not good, especially at pronunciation. They may be good at grammar and can do these grammar exercises quickly, but can not speak fluently. Most of them do not feel confident to speak in class and express their ideas in English. These students have studied at high school for more than two years. Therefore, they have been getting similar with the teaching and studying methods, the conditions and the teaching environment, so it easy for the author to get their consent to participate in the research. 3. 3 Research methods As mentioned previously, the researcher chose a mixed-method approach to data collection, utilizing triangulation to measure a broad variety of variables in the research. Necessary data was gathered directly from the teachers and students participating in the research in several ways: Questionnaires: In order to collect reliable and comprehensive data, two questionnaires were designed: one for teachers and one for students. They are both open-ended and close-ended questions. Teacher questionnaire (Appendix 1): one survey questionnaire with 8 questions was designed for the teachers to get their ideas of pronunciation teaching and learning reality, problems faced by their students and some recommendations to improve learning pronunciation reality at school. To get this aim, the questionnaire is categorized into the following groups: â⬠¢Teachersââ¬â¢ attitude towards present situation of teaching and learning pronunciation at QCHS; â⬠¢Approaches, techniques and classroom activities used by teachers in teaching pronunciation; â⬠¢Problems faced by teachers in teaching pronunciation; and â⬠¢Teachersââ¬â¢ recommendations of techniques to improve studentsââ¬â¢ pronunciation. Student questionnaire Appendix 2): another survey questionnaire with 8 questions was designed for students including the following categories: â⬠¢Studentsââ¬â¢ attitude towards learning pronunciation, especially stress and intonation; â⬠¢Studentsââ¬â¢ problems in learning pronunciation; and â⬠¢Studentsââ¬â¢ expectations in learning pronunciation. In-depth classroom observations: Six informal classroom observations during regular classroom sessions were used as an additional data source. The observations were carried out for two weeks during the course of the study to get more practical information about teachersââ¬â¢ and studentsââ¬â¢ attitudes towards teaching and learning pronunciation, and difficulties as well as techniques used in pronunciation lessons. During the process of observations, the author focused on some aspects taking in class as: â⬠¢Teaching and learning materials used in class; â⬠¢Studentsââ¬â¢ activities and their mistakes in producing pronunciation; and â⬠¢Teachersââ¬â¢ approaches and techniques used in teaching pronunciation. Interviews and discussions (Appendix 3): after collecting data from the survey questionnaires and classroom observations, the author used the post interview in order to get the in-depth discussion about techniques used to improve studentsââ¬â¢ pronunciation. Because it is too difficult for the researcher to conduct long interviews with all teachers, the researcher randomly selected 5/10 teachers for interviews. They were willing to express deeply their opinions, and ideas about teaching techniques. 3. 2. Data collection procedures The study was conducted in the first term of the school year 2010-2011 (from September 2010 to December, 2010). At the beginning of the first term, two sets of questionnaires were given to the teachers and the students who agreed to participate in the research. After two days, these questionnaires were collected. The information from these questionnaires were then summarized and presented in the form of statistics. For the following two weeks, the autho r carried out some classroom observations. The observations during six English lessons including one in reading, one in writing, one in listening, one in speaking and two in language focus periods. At each session, the researcher took field notes on what happened when the students learned pronunciation. Finally, when the information from the survey questionnaires and classroom observations were collected and analyzed, structured interviews were carried out. The data collected from three different resources were read through to obtain a sense of the overall data. They were then analyzed both descriptively and interpretatively. The initial sorting-out process was writing findings in the form of reflective notes and summaries of field notes. The information was then displayed in forms of tables and figures while qualitative data from the open-ended questionnaire items, classroom observations and interviews were presented by quoting relevant responses from the respondents. CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF THE DATA This part, the information from collected data was presented in accordance with the category of data collection instruments. 4. 1 Survey questionnaires 4. 1. Teachersââ¬â¢ and studentsââ¬â¢ attitudes towards teaching and learning pronunciation Assuming that the consideration of the teachersââ¬â¢ and studentsââ¬â¢ attitude towards teaching and learning pronunciation would be beneficial to the research, at the outset, these factors were surveyed. The results, shown in below, reflect that grammar is the most concerning aspect in learning English at high school. Surprisingly, only 10% of the t eachers think that pronunciation is the most necessary for their students. They always pay much attention and time and energy on grammar. In contrast, teaching and learning pronunciation as well as developing listening, speaking or reading skills do not receive enough attention to. 4. 1. 2 Studentsââ¬â¢ pronunciation level From the chart 2, we can see an optimistic reality of studentsââ¬â¢ level in learning pronunciation at Quynh Coi high school. Being asked about this, all the teachers said that studentsââ¬â¢ level is not equal, however; it is not good as expected. 60% teachers said that their studentsââ¬â¢ level at pronunciation is at average; and even 30% of the students get under average level. None of the teachers evaluate their studentsââ¬â¢ level at pronunciation is good or excellent. . 1. 3 Pronunciation teaching and learning time Chart 3 presents time that teachers and students spend on teaching and learning pronunciation. One more time teachers and students share the same ideas about the fact that too little time is on pronunciation. 80% of the teachers and 43% of the students said that they di d not have time to spend on teaching and learning pronunciation in one teaching session (45 minutes); 20% of the teachers and 32% of the students spend less than 20 minutes on teaching pronunciation. None of the teachers and a very small number of the students teach and learn pronunciation for more than 20 minutes. The overall results indicate that the reality of teaching and learning pronunciation at Quynh Coi high school is not positive as expected. Although both teachers and students are very optimistic towards teaching and learning pronunciation, studentsââ¬â¢ level is not good as well as time spent on teaching pronunciation is limited during one normal teaching session. 4. 1. 4 Teachers and studentsââ¬â¢ problems in teaching and learning pronunciation Chart 4 shows that both the teachers and the students face many problems during the process of teaching and learning pronunciation. The biggest problem that both teachers and students face comes from the nature of pronunciation. The next two factors preventing students from gaining good pronunciation are teaching time and studentsââ¬â¢ competence. 27% of the teachers and 22% of the students said that they do not have enough time on pronunciation. 20% of the teachers considered that their studentsââ¬â¢ competence in pronunciation is too low. 22% students also agreed with that idea. Class setting is the next factor that 20% teachers chose. It is clear that quality of teaching staff is not good enough to come over all the difficulties in teaching pronunciation. In contrast, only 1% of the students agreed with this. The smallest factor that both teachers and students think that causing problem in teaching and learning pronunciation is studentsââ¬â¢ motivation. 4. 1. 5 Teachersââ¬â¢ and studentsââ¬â¢ problems in teaching and learning intonation and stress From the chart above, most of the teachers (50%) and students (43%) think that stress is the most difficulty in teaching and learning pronunciation. the second is intonation: 30% of the teachers and 14% of the students think that intonation causes trouble. Meanwhile, none of the teachers meet any difficulties in teaching consonants and vowels. Particularly, chart 6 shows that 43% of the students cannot know the place of stress in a word; 20% said they cannot pronounce stress though they may be know place of stress in those words. Surprisingly, 27% of the students said that they do not know anything of stress. From the above chart, we can see that the reality of learning intonation is even worse than learning stress. 56% of all surveyed students understand nothing about intonation, causing a lot of difficulties in teaching and learning pronunciation.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Great Recession Essay Example for Free
Great Recession Essay Our 2007-2008 financial crisis is blamed on cheap mortgage credit, including lax underwriting process and government policies. In 2003, the government passed the American Dream Development Act, which provided financing to low-income families. Trying to help lower middle class families, the policy led to mortgage subprime mortgages. Financing to families with low credit rating at high interest rates. Since a large part of the population is middle to lower class, an exhaustible demand for new homes was created. As a result, creating a bubble in home price. Some of these mortgages include Interest only (monthly payment pays nothing to the principal, thus never decreasing the principal amount financed), and Adjustable Rate Mortgage, which consists of lowering or increasing rates every year depending on market interest rate. This type of mortgage can be beneficial in times like this; but back in 2006, when interest rates were so high, many mortgages monthly payments increase more than 10% in just one month. As Interest rates increased, subprime mortgages started to default exponentially since new homebuyers were unable to meet the monthly payments. This led to the collapse of home prices. This period of time is called the Great recession. The increase in subprime defaults reduces aggregate income and increases aggregate home prices, which in turn increases the level of prime defaults in the economy. This is called the subprime contagion. How did the government react? The government used fiscal policy to stabilize interest rates, reduce unemployment and increase GDP, they issued a program of Easy Credit, letting subprime borrow at a prime borrower spread. Also, they gave a Tax Rebate in 2008 of $8,000 for First time homebuyers, and for those in default they issued the Distress Relief program of HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program). On the other hand, the Fed used monetary policy to reduce the economic crises and spur investments and consumption. They reduce the rate at discount window, increase money supply to reduce rates and they purchase mortgage-backed securities. Using Monetary Policy in a recession is more effective because it acts faster than fiscal policy. Fiscal policy has go through a various committees and has to be voted on to be made into law. As a conclusion, there is a contagion effect od subprime default due to the negative impact of subprime defaults on aggregate income, and monetary policy is the most effective when dealing with a recession. Monetary policy increases home aggregate prices in contrast to alternative government fiscal policies designed to loosen mortgage credit.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Leadership in the UK Banking Sector
Leadership in the UK Banking Sector Banking industry in the United Kingdom, where has around 50 scheduled commercial banks, is one of the most competitive sectors and has a direct influence on this country economy. The story started 18 months ago, when global economic crisis spread in the UK. Following results of it caused some of the most successful British bank leaders have been forced to resign. In this assignment, the current and future leadership requirements of the British bank industry and the methods and techniques of developing leadership skills will be discussed. 2. Table of contents Executive summary Table of contents Introduction Aim and Objective Scope Methodology The Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK The Current Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK High self-confidence High energy level and stress tolerance Conceptual Skills Social Intelligence Participative leadership behaviour 7.2. The Predicted Future Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK 7.2.1. Power Motivation 7.2.2. Achievement Orientation 7.2.3. Technical Skills 7.2.4. System Thinking Leadership Development Supporting Leadership Development Special Technique for Leadership Training 8.2.1. Behaviour Role Modelling 8.2.2. Case Discussion 8.2.3. Business Games and Simulation 8.3. Developmental Activities 8.3.1. Multisource Feedback 8.3.2. Job Rotation Program 8.3.3. Mentoring 8.3.4. Executive Coaching 8.3.5. Outdoor Challenge Programs 8.3.6. Personal Growth Programs 8.4. S Conclusion and Recommendations 9. Supporting Leadership Development after the Training 10. References 3. Introduction Leadership means à ° process of getting things done through other people. The quà °rtà à µrbà °Ãâà k moves the team towards à ° touchdown. Being a là à µÃ °dà à µr is an à °dvà à µnturà à µ because you can never be sure whether you will reach your goals. So a leader always needs to improve his related personal skills and behaviours by getting new training. However, some of leadership sciences believe the most successful leaders learn from their life experience and apply them in their working behaviours (Tengblad, 2001). After, recent economic crisis and its results in the different sectors, there are some new effort to apply more leadership behaviour in their own organization. Following pages will be discussed particularly about leadership requirements in the UK bank sector. 4. Aim and Objectives The core of these pages is to identify the leadership requirements of the United Kingdom bank sector and find appropriate methods and techniques to reach these demands in current and future of bank industry. 5. Scope The Ãââ⬠¢Ãâà opà à µ of this study rà à µvolvà à µÃââ⬠¢ around the UK banking Ãââ⬠¢Ã à µÃâà tor and will be limited through à ° Ãââ⬠¢Ã à µÃâà ondà °ry à °nà °lyÃââ⬠¢iÃââ⬠¢ of the topic and Ãââ⬠¢Ã à µÃâà ondà °ry rà à µÃââ⬠¢Ã à µÃ °rÃâà h data. 6. Methodology This assignment is base on secondary data. The research involves studies in details of newspapers, journals, leadership books and online material on the web. The rà à µÃââ⬠¢Ã à µÃ °rÃâà h was Ãâà onduÃâà tà à µd through various Ãââ⬠¢ourÃâà à à µÃââ⬠¢, including librà °rià à µÃââ⬠¢ and the Internet. à à research library was visited for gathering useful data from textbooks and journals. The Internet was also an important tool to find relative information, là à µÃ °ding to the Ãââ⬠¢Ã à µÃ °rÃâà h for variety à °rtiÃâà là à µÃââ⬠¢ in journals and nà à µwÃââ⬠¢pà °pà à µrÃââ⬠¢ from dà °tà °bà °Ãââ⬠¢Ã à µ. 7. Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK The requirements for the UK banking sector will be presented in two different parts: current and future requirements. 7.1. The Current Bank Leadership requirements in the UK In the current situation, British government has lent too much money to bank industry to overcome their problem such as mortgage crisis and the credit crunch. Due to this, nowadays, the UK government has more shares in some banks and give time to them to lock for new rescuer and funding some new options to firstly, end up this situation and then pay back the money, although some banks like Lloyds TSB already did, they still are supported by the government. Another important area that the government has asked banks is: keeping this lending information secret and prevent any panic among bank customers that may decline the numbers of investors. The British governor advice bank industry to prevent any wrong decision because any mistake can cause a huge fail for them (Sorkin, 2009). According to current scenario, the leadership requirements of bank industry are: High self-confidence High energy level and stress tolerance Conceptual Skills Social Intelligence Participative Leadership Behaviour 7.1.1. High self-confidence Self-confidence consists various related concepts like self-esteem and self-efficacy. High self-confidence is the exactly thing that high-level leaders in bank sector need in crisis situation. Managers with high-self confidence are more likely to attempt difficult tasks and overcome the crisis situation. Leaders with this feature have more motivation to solve problems Self-confidence is particularly essential for bank leaders to act confident and be decisive in current situation that usually their behaviour is followed carefully with Media and newspaper that it can cause an extra pressure for them(Yuki,2008,p53). There are some disadvantages for high self-confidence such as making rash decision and autocratic.However, being optimistic about the crisis is extremely helpful for bank leaders to overcome the problems. 7.1.2. High energy level and stress tolerance High energy level and stress tolerance help bank leaders to cope with changing situation and long working hours, thus it make it easier to overcome the stressful interpersonal situations like rapid change in economic system, control by Media and government demands. The success key for these leaders to making better decisions is: having high level of energy and stay calm. 7.1.3. Conceptual Skills Generally, conceptual skills consist of good judgment, creativity, intuition, foresight, and the ability to discover meaning and order in uncertain event and crisis situation. Nowadays, bank leaders need to identify complex relationships in economic al environment, creative the best ways to solve the current problems and predict future bank industry events from the current trend. It is essential for bank managers to have enough capability to analysis current issues in the external environment which will impact the bank sector, to identify how different parts of global bank industry related to each other and how changes in one aspect influence the UK banks, and to find new opportunity for bank sector (Yuki, 2008, p63). 7.1.4. Social Intelligence Social Intelligence is the capability to identify the requirements for leadership in special situation. Social perceptiveness prepares the ability to finding the functional demands, drawbacks, and opportunities that related to banks. If a bank manager has high social perceptiveness, he/she can motivate the group to work more effective. Behaviour flexibility helps bank leaders to use different behaviour correctly in crisis, and it is provided by self monitoring from leaders. One important aspect of social intelligence ability is having political skills which are extremely essential in todays bank situation. 7.1.5. Participative Leadership Behaviour Participate Leadership consist of applying different decision procedures that allow other people some influence on leaders decisions. In todays bank situation leaders need to involve other people in their decision particularly by consultation, joint decision and delegation. Bank leaders should try to encourage their colloquies to help them that cause more part of bank involve in the crisis and create a cooperative bank environment as well as help leaders to reduce the number of wrong decisions. If participative leadership behaviour imply correctly now, it can help bank leaders to rebuilt bank structure in the future. 7.2. The Future Bank leadership requirements in the UK In my opinion, current banks crisis will be continuing just for a few more time however, it affects the sector deeply. As it mentioned before, the UK government inject lots of money in the bank industry to prevent many drawbacks, but by doing this British government have more stocks in the bank industry, so the UK banks will be more dependence to the government. As a result of this, the next generation of the British bank leaders will be more selected by government and political environment will influence bank sector widely. The government wants to controls banks more than before and also do not want to loose profit again. Therefore, the United Kingdom government try to change some policies such as restriction on banker bonuses because wants to reduce bankers risk and create safer environment, control bank assets price, and change bank structure. It asked bank leaders to focus on some area like inflation and unemployment in bank industry. So, the future of this sector will be changin g in structure in the next five years in several parts, more autocratic environment by leaders that government selected, and need motivated leaders because of restriction on banking bonuses. As a result of this situation, future requirement for bank leadership are: Power Motivation Achievement Orientation Technical Skills System Thinking 7.2.1. Power Motivation Power motivation define as a ability and power to influence people and events .Managers with personalized power are more likely to create leaders who seek position of authority, aggrandize their-selves and satisfy personal demand for esteem and status. However, socialized power helps leaders to behave more for other peoples benefit .They use this power to influence subordinates, peers, and superiors to build up the bank sector and make it successful. Due to their orientation, these kind of leaders use more participative and coaching style of managerial behaviour, what exactly bank leaders need when they want to re-built the bank structure (Yuki, 2008, p55-56). 7.2.2. Achievement Orientation Achievement orientation consists of need for achievement, willing to assume responsibility, focus on task objective, and drive to success. If bank leaders have high achievement, they will focus on changing sector, solving problems, and high performance objectives. These kinds of managers maybe have lack of delegating and it is a drawback for this feature. However, if they can control it, banks leaders successfully can re-build bank structure and motivate other people to do it as well (Yuki, 2008, p58-60). 7.2.3. Technical Skills Despite the fact that high level manager does not need high level of technical skills, in future of bank industry leaders strongly need to have high technical knowledge about the are that in bank sector should be changed. If they do not have enough information about new policy and regulation they can make several mistakes in their decision that will be effect lower level leadership in their organisation and also they will not be able to show lower managers the current future. Therefore, they need to have enough knowledge about the future bank structure, new rules, management system, required employment characteristics, their new customer demands, and their bank opportunities in new situation. 7.2.4. Systems Thinking Systems thinking is what exactly bank leaders need when they are making effort to change their bank structure in the next five years. Systems thinking help them to identify the changing processes, dealing with new challenges, and improving efficiency. Change in one part of bank structure will affect the other parts as well and it usually has some reaction that maybe destroys the process. Bank leaders should clearly know what will be happen after their new decisions, identify following problems, and be ready to prevent any challenge. 8. Leadership Development In this part, the techniques, methods and other related subject to development the UK bank industry requirement will be discussed. 8.1. Supporting Leadership Development before the Training If we want to have an effective leadership development in the UK bank sector, we need to support our leaders for their training which are particularly important for intermediate level leaders. First of all, an effective development program needs to fully describe for its trainees. Being a bank leader usually requires long-working hours, so their work schedule should be more flexible that managers can attend especially in todays bank work environment. Also, they need to have enough time off for their preparations. Supporting leadership training is more essential in current crisis rather than predicted future situation. Therefore, bank leaders should have some programs that do not need too much preparation or are more flexible. 8.2. Special Techniques for Leadership Training There are varieties of techniques which are suitable for the UK bank leadership training. Some of effectives ones are: Behaviour Role Modelling Case Discussion Business Game and Simulations 8.2.1. Behaviour Role Modelling Behaviour role modelling is one of the most effective methods for managers and it usually combine with demonstration. Trainee can play a especial role for current bank crisis or future changing environment in small group or in front of the class. By playing different roles, bank leaders can get an appropriate feedback about their behaviour, especially if they record their plays. However, there is not enough evidence that measured actual behaviour change back on the job or improvement in managerial effectiveness. Behaviour role modelling can be useful for intermediate bank leaders not for executive ones who usually do not like to attend in this kind of training due to their position. However it can be full of fun and help bank leaders to reduce their stress level in crisis as well as improve their social intelligence, conceptual skills, system thinking, energy-level, and system thinking. Role playing prepare bank leaders to be more judgment about the situation and their decision, creative new solutions, and also identify special bank leadership behaviour style during crisis and for future. 8.2.2. Case Discussion Case discussion can be use in bank environment to develop its leaders analytical and decision-making skills and is suitable for high-level bank leaders. In this technique, managers can discuss about current and future the UK bank industry issues by exchanging their personal experiences. It helps bank leaders to increase their understanding about bank crisis, find the appropriate behaviour, make recommendations for the UK bank scenario, and predict banks future opportunities and threats. So, case discussion can improve bank leaders technical, decision making, power motivating and achievement orientation skills. 8.2.3. Business Games and Simulation Business games and simulation help bank leaders to analysis complex bank problems make decision and receive feedback about their decisions. It usually combines with role playing and group problem-solving exercises. Improvement in communication technology make it easier to use virtual meeting between bank leaders in different part of the United Kingdom and even all around the world and generally, it is short time training thus; it saves bank leaders time in current over-crowded bank working environment. Most business games stress on quantities financial information, market conditions, organization chart, and the tasks and responsibility for their positions which are essentially important for bank leaders to correctly understand the British bank sector situation. Finally, with this method, bank leaders can improve their confidence, system thinking, making decisions skills. (Yuki,2008,p430-432). 8.3. Developmental Activities There are several activities which can help bank leaders to learn from their experiences on the job and is so useful for development leadership skills due to being informal, applying by boss or co-workers, and combining with formal activities. These kinds of activities are particularly suitable for current bank situation because they are informal and usually do not take too much time of bank leaders and also give feedback to the leaders thus; according to this feedback bank leaders can improve their skills in short time. However, they have some advantages for predictable bank future as well. Some of these activities that are more appropriate for the UK bank industry are: Multisource Feedback Job Rotation Program Mentoring Executive Coaching Outdoor Challenge Programs Personal Growth Programs 8.3.1. Multisource Feedback Multisource feedback or 360-degree feedback is extremely popular for management development and it normally use to provide leader behaviour feedback in large organizations. Therefore it should be appropriate to apply in the UK bank sector. 360-degree feedback emphasizes board discrepancies among self-rating by leader and what other think about leaders behaviour. In this way, managers are received information about their behaviour or skills from questionnaires who are their subordinates, peers, superior, and clients. A feedback workshop with a facilitator usually is more helpful for enhancing the influence behaviour of bank managers rather than only giving them a feedback report (Barclay, 2007). 360-degree feedback can be valuable in current situation not in the UK banks future because in the future most of the British bank executive leaders are selected by the government and they should be more autocratic and powerful thus, questionnaires normally will be afraid to answer the questions honestly and the feedback will have not enough worth. 8.3.2. Job Rotation Program In job rotation program, bank leaders are given to work in various functional subunits of the bank sector for different period of time from 6 months to 3 years. These changes are for developmental reasons such as facing with new challenge, improving cooperative relationships, dealing with new types of technical problems, and developing a huge network of contacts in different part of bank. Job rotation programs are more appropriate for the future requirement of the UK bank industry, when this sector is trying to rebuild its structure. By doing these programs, high-level bank leaders can clearly understand the new problems in different parts, identify variety of behavioural reaction to the change, create a friendly environment in the whole banking sector which is essentially necessary for the time of change, and exchange their experiences and knowledge. In my opinion, these kind of programs are not suitable for the current bank crisis because bank leaders are under too much pressure from external environment especially Media and newspapers thus, changing their position can increase their personal stress. 8.3.3. Mentoring Mentoring programs are useful to simplify management development in bank industry. During the mentoring programs which are for high-level managers, more experienced leaders help less experienced ones. Mentoring programs are appropriate for both current and future bank requirements. By applying mentoring programs in the UK bank sector, we can reduce leaders stress level, facilitate adjustment to new change, create a stronger banking communication, and rise bank leaders satisfaction (Noe, 1991, p129-173). However, there are some factors in the UK bank industry that maybe reduce the beneficial effects of mentoring programs. For instance, more successful banks leaders can promote their position in bank sector, government or even political community thus; some of them maybe refuse sharing all of their experience with other bank leaders. Furthermore, female leaders usually have more difficulty to find successful mentoring and during bank crisis, these kinds of programs can increase their stress level and it is normally difficult to applying a program by separation between leaders according to their genders. 8.3.4. Executive Coaching Executive coaching has known as a great type of developmental intervention for middle and executive leaders. In this program, bank leaders can have an external or internal consultant. Executive coaching can help bank managers to implement recent and future the UK bank sector change, deal with their new bosses particularly in predicted bank future who are more related the British government, and gain more knowledge and information about new bank policy and structure. In current bank crisis, the decisions are made by bank leaders are so essential and effective for banking sector thus; a consultant can help to bank leaders to make correct decisions as well as reduce their stress level. Despite the fact that executive coaching is convenient, flexible and confidential, the high cost of it and shortage of bank competent coaches result in limitation of applying it (Yuki, 2008, p443). 8.3.5. Outdoor Challenge Programs Outdoor challenge programs are one of essential informal programs for bank leaders who are under too much of pressure due to crisis and changing bank environment. Outdoor programs can help bank managers to reduce their stress level, increase their self-control, self-confidence, energy level, and risk taking. However, there are some drawbacks about these programs .First of all, due to long-working hours in bank sector especially in todays situation, leaders need to receive strong support s to change their working hours for a short time. Secondly, because of overwhelming working situation, some bank leaders need to efficiently encourage attending in outdoor programs. 8.3.6. Personal Growth Programs After restriction in banker bonuses and crisis, the UK bank leaders need to more improve their self-awareness, emotional and moral level which can be provided by personal growth programs. The programs normally consist of several psychological exercises that help bank managers to find their living and working goals, how human development happens, how bank environment change, and how the role of leadership in bank sector change. Personal growth programs can help bank leaders to improve their emotional level, decrease their stress particularly in current bank crisis, and understand the change that will be occur in the future of the UK bank such as it will have more political environment. However, there is a fear of some negatives effects in bank leadership behaviour because for instance older bank leaders maybe indirectly encourage leaving their stressful jobs and more enjoy their personal life thus; these programs should apply carefully particularly in their subject selections (Yuki,20 08,p445-446). 8.4. Supporting Leadership Development after the Training Having an effective bank leadership development needs some supporting behaviour as well. It is important that leaders can apply their new skills in bank thus; providing an environment that they use their newly learned skills is essential. Also, leaders need to review what they learnt so, we can hold periodic review sessions or ask them to train these new skills to lower positions managers. By doing this, we can spread leadership development skills and behaviours among different part of banks and provide a friendly bank environment to cope with crisis and later changes. Conclusion and Recommendations The UK banking sector has experienced a trouble time recently that lake of leadership behaviour and skills is one important lateral factor to occur. However, by identifying and applying developmental leadership requirements such as participative leadership, system thinking, social intelligence we can cope with current issues and improve bank leaders skills by different training and methods to prevent more problems for the UK banks future. Furthermore, developing and implementing bank leadership requirements require a broad effort from whole the UK bank sector, the British government, bank clients, and also the media and newspapers.
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