Seiko Go Upmarket Free Essays

string(24) " mid to low end market\." Executive Summary Seiko Watch Corporation and its predecessor had always been innovative in watch technology development and brought many industry firsts to the watch market, and Seiko was very successful before the 1990s. With competitive environment change started in the 1990s, Seiko found it was not in the right segment of the market for growth, this segment is high end watch market. Seiko tried to break into the high end watch segment, but the attempts haven’t been proved successful. We will write a custom essay sample on Seiko Go Upmarket or any similar topic only for you Order Now Based on detailed analysis of Seiko’s industry environment, competitive arena, and internal issues, conclusion was drawn that Seiko’s past vision, strategy and structure didn’t support its ambition to be an important player in the high end watch market. Countermeasures were then proposed: 1) have a clear and viable vision for future; 2) install a solid strategy of brands differentiation; and 3) match the strategy with organizational structure and resources. * Introduction This case, â€Å"SEIKO WATCH CORPORATION: MOVING UPMARKET†, examined Japanese watch maker Seiko’s history, major technology developments, competitive environment, business expansion, and efforts and challenges to uplift brand image to compete in high end market segment. Seiko’s predecessor K. Hattori was established by 22-year-old founder Kintaro Hattori in 1881. The business was started with second-hand clocks sell and repair, and later on retailing and wholesaling of imported clocks. Hattori then established Seikosha (â€Å"Seiko† means exquisite and â€Å"sha† means house in Japanese) in 1892 to begin to produce wall clocks, launched the first wristwatch in Japan in 1913, and started to use Seiko brand on watches in 1923. Since then, Seiko had been enjoyed rapid growth in domestic market until 1950s when it accounted for 50% of total production in Japan, while Citizen and Orient shared the remaining 50%. Facing pressure from Swiss watch makers, Seiko started to upgrade its technology to improve accuracy and add features, and managed to be comparable with Swiss products in terms of accuracy in the early 1960s. Around the same timeframe, after dominating the domestic competition in the late 1950s, Seiko started to go abroad. Through advertising initiatives such as being official time keeper of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games and continued technology focus such as being the world’s first company to introduce quartz wristwatch in 1969, Seiko earned its place in international market: it had become the leading watch brand in most Asian countries and successfully built sales channels in US and European countries by 1970s. Though Seiko was historically accepted by domestic customers as luxury watches producer at top-end of the market in addition to mid-range watches, its several attempts to reposition itself to high-end segment in international watch market didn’t enjoy much success: in the late 1970s, Seiko bought Jean Lassale, a Swill watch brand, to form a sub-brand â€Å"Seiko Lassale† to sell luxury quartz dress watches at higher price points in international markets, but this brand was not successful in the US and Europe markets and eventually discontinued; another sub-brand â€Å"Grand Seiko†, once alive in 1960s aiming at the high end of the domestic watch market, was re-launched in the late 1980s to flight with Swiss watch makers in the high end segment, this attempt didn’t meet its desired effect otherwise Seiko would have not taken the third try in 2000s to move upward of the market through the spring drive technology. In 2007, doubt about brand upgrade was casted on Seiko again. * Analysis of the issues The myriad of problems facing Seiko can be traced to below three causes. Industry environment – Strategic context change of the horological industry The first phase – before the late 1950s / early 1960s, everybody in the watch industry had competed in a pretty straight forward environment: watches were mainly used for chronometric purpose, watch’s core technology was homogenous (everybody in the horological industry used mechanical movements system), and main objectives for watch makers were to mass produce precise timepieces at competitive cost and sell to everybody needs a watch. Seiko did a nice job in this era. It occupied majority of Japanese domestic market share and caught Swiss rivals up in terms of production facility and product accuracy. The second phase – from the late 1950s / early 1960s through the 1970s and 1980s, technological revolution, mainly application of electronics and quartz technologies, reshaped the horological industry. Every watch shared certain common elements: a movement to measure the passage of time, any energy source, a display, a case, and a bracelet or strap. Electronics altered the stereotype of energy source and display, while more significantly, quartz timekeeping technology broke the tradition of mechanical movement to bring much more accuracy to watch benefiting from its properties of a quartz crystal oscillating at precise frequencies. Comparing to mechanical components, electronics and quartz components could be produced and assembled at more stable, economic, and fashionable way, Watches then could be offered to customers with unprecedented accuracy, lower cost, and fashion statement. To embrace the change or be changed, all players of the industry went through an era of uncertainty and innovation. Seiko was very creative in the time and pioneered many watch technologies to the market. Seiko started expanding overseas and its international brand image was formed during the period. In the meanwhile, Seiko began efforts to setup sub-brand to move up in market. People would not have known ramifications of what they were doing when in process of historical events, but looking back into history, we know today the seed of Seiko dilemma was planted in the 1970s and 1980s under the soil of its success. The third phase – the 1990s was a no name decade for Japanese watch makers including Seiko. Domestic economy was staggering. Watch technology was still in evolution, but there was no break-through invention like quartz could stir up the arena. Low cost economies such as China and Hongkong were arising to take over in mid-priced and low-end watch market. Swiss watch makers firmly seized hold of high-end watch market while fighting back in mid to low end market. You read "Seiko Go Upmarket" in category "Papers" Watch Competitors came out from outside of the chronological industry: pocketable digital device made watch no longer a functional necessity for timekeeping purpose. Seiko sales declined in the decade. The fourth phase – after the millennium, prevalence of cell phones further deteriorated watches’ position as personal primary timekeeping accessory. People bought watches not for time telling but for social status and prestige distinguishing. Global demand for luxury goods grew, and high-end segment of the watch market was emerging as the most profitable and the fastest growing sector. Seiko was adjusting itself to the new era, but its brand image had never been perceived as luxury. Competitive arena – Strong Swiss competitors in high end segment, fierce competition in mid and low end segments from LCE (low cost economy) watch makers, domestic rivals, and Swatch group In the high end segment, Swiss watch makers were lost in the 1970s when quartz technology was changing the game. Though painful, a number of Swiss watch companies such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Omega chose to stick to mechanical watch making, and they laughed at last. Below quotation could best describe the situation: We worked really hard in the 1980s where everybody was dead. The quartz movement came in the 1970s, so all the other watchmakers threw away everything, both their equipment and their movements. In the 1980s is when we started to redevelop all our complications. At the time, my father [Philippe Stern] had a vision that only one type of watch should remain – the one with a mechanical complication. He believed there would always be people who appreciate fine mechanisms, whether it’s manual winding or automatic. And he was right. It’s like a nice painting. It’s something unique, rare and made with passion. * Thierry Stern, Patek Philippe President, interviewed by Timezone. com in Sep 2012 In the mid and low end segments, Seiko’s attacks were from all around as technologies were easy to duplicate and consumers really cared about money they were spent, thus if you could provide fair quality watches with lower cost, e. g. LCE watch manufacturers, you could win some share of the market segment; if you could provide good quality watches with comparable cost but more features and fashion styles, e. g. Japanese domestic competitors Citizen and Casio as well as Swatch group from Swiss, you could gain some other share of the segment of this market. Company vision, strategy and structure – Seiko had no clear vision and strategy for the era of watches as prestige symbol, its structure was prohibitive from effective decision making and resources utilization Vision – we know in the 1970s and 1980s, Seiko enjoyed much success and went global as an icon of precise and inexpensive quartz technology. Seiko didn’t foresee that the greater success it appreciated the stronger consumer would tie it to the quartz brand, and fine craftsmanship of mechanical watch making would override in the future. Seiko has always been innovative in technology development, but failed to grasp a watch’s implication to today’s consumer: time is timeless and invaluable; consumers would eventually wish their watches as seen carrier of time are timeless and invaluable as well. Quartz or electronics is perceived by consumers as ephemeral and cheap consumable stuff. Strategy – Seiko made mistakes in brand portfolio strategy. It launched two sub-brands to go up of the market segment in the years. The â€Å"Seiko Lassale† equipped with quartz movement was launched in the late 1970s and discontinued when it turns out not welcomed in US and European markets. The â€Å"Grand Seiko† featuring mechanical movement was alive from 1960-1975 within Japan domestic market only, and had been stopped for more than a decade in the quartz era until re-launch in 1988 for global market featuring quartz movement, after another decade, the â€Å"Grand Seiko† sluggishly began to shift to high grade mechanical movement. Both the â€Å"Seiko Lassale† and the â€Å"Grand Seiko† were too close to Seiko name and technology of quartz to reverse the quartz image of usually non-luxury items. In addition, it seemed Seiko didn’t have a carefully planned long range brand strategy. High end sub-brands were created and abandoned. The recent example was that Spring Drive, Seiko’s latest breakthrough mechanical movement technology bared management hope to upgrade brand image, first debuted in lower â€Å"Seiko† product line rather than high end â€Å"Grand Seiko† line. Seiko’s another high end brand â€Å"Credor†, though had long history and good acceptance at home, had never been marketed in international markets. Structure – Seiko historically had too complicated structure arrangements: a sales company purchased Seiko watches from its parent company owned manufacturing arms, and the arms were competing with each other and developed into firms with watch as minor business. The good thing was Seiko management realized this point and reorganized the company in 2001 to streamline decision making and focus on branding. * Conclusion and Recommendation Seiko’s vision, strategy, and structure didn’t help the company to gain advantage over its rivals in the competitive environment in recent two decades. Recommendation for Seiko is to build prudent and viable company vision ;amp; strategy, link the vision and strategy together with organization structure and resources, and get the vision and strategy realized. Details are following: Seiko needs to re-think that who are Seiko’s intended, actual, potential, and future customers, and what do these customers value in a watch. Watch collectors and enthusiasts, successful executives, and younger generation of rich families should be target clients for top end watches. These people care about watches’ craftsmanship and uniqueness, aesthetic and intricate style, status and symbol indication, as well as investment and heritage value, much more than superior accuracy and function for daily use. Seiko should take care of the demands of these people. However, Seiko shouldn’t give up the mid to low end market. Consumers of this market segment need a quality watch for money, fashion, function features, and some kind of status symbol will be plus. Seiko needs to have a solid strategy of distinguishable brands to server different segment demands. Seiko can get best practice idea and lessons learned from companies in the watch industry, such as Swatch group, and in other industries, such as VW group in automotive industry and L’Oreal group in cosmetic industry. Though the basic inner technology and formula could be shared across different brands and models, the exterior and style must be different. Different brands should convey clear different messages to customers. It would take too many resources and too long time to move the current Seiko brand up. The â€Å"Grand Seiko† name is no significant different from â€Å"Seiko† name thus is not appropriate to be a top end brand, but could cover the segment in between. The brand â€Å"Credor† is suggested to carry over the high end segment responsibility and needs to expand globally under intensive and well-designed promotional campaign. Seiko made a positive move to centralize and streamline watch company organization; the next step would be to match brand differentiation needs with organizational structure and resources. The â€Å"Credor†, â€Å"Grand Seiko†, â€Å"Seiko†, and other brands could share R;amp;D, production facility, IT, finance, HR and administration. But segmental marketing and sales, brand management, and some other specialized tasks can’t be shared. Each brand should be led by experienced and proved executives and take its own profit and loss responsibility. How to cite Seiko Go Upmarket, Papers

Essentials Of Robotics Essay Example For Students

Essentials Of Robotics Essay Have you ever wondered how your car, your computer, or even a can of beans is made? Well, it is all done by a computer-controlled machine that is programmed to move, manipulate objects, and accomplish work while interacting with its environment (Robot). This complicated machine is called a Robot. Robots have been used all over the world to help make dangerous or even long labored jobs a simple task (Reaching). They work in mines, industrial factories, consumer goods factories, and many more places. Robots are also used as personal hobbies, as seen in many movies, shows, etc (Schoeffler). Robots have existed for over 80 years and there potential is only growing more and more (Robot). Robots are essential to the world we live in today, because of all the different things they are used for a daily basis. Robots have been used in many dangerous environments, keeping humans from being harmed (Reaching). For example, The Department of energy faces the enormous task of cleaning up radioacti ve waste and harmful chemicals accumulated during years of nuclear weapons production at sites across the country (Robots work). To clean this mess up the DOE uses robots. This is a very practical way to prevent harm to humans from the radioactive material. This is one job that is not to be messed around with a human life. Also the robots are very cost effective, because of the risk involved and the fact that they never get tired (Robots work). For people to do the job the robots do, it would require very high pay and very skilled technicians (Robots work). It would be hard to find a skilled professional to risk their life for this job. Robots are also being used by the military to eliminate the need for manual rearming of battle tanks (Reaching). This is good because once again it will provide a safe environment and increase efficiency. They will also help the army in terms of cost effectiveness. For instance, when tank after tank are coming in for ammunition rearming the job can b e done without costly humans getting tired and needing fill-ins. Many scientists are now using robots to explore volcanoes, which have the potential to erupt (Reaching). The robots are sent down on cable and later take soil samples and test for volcanic pressure (Reaching). This is helping the world to better understand and predict volcanic eruptions (Reaching). It may later lead to the prevention of many volcanic disasters. Without these robots many people would have to put their lives to risk for something as stupid as a nuclear waste clean up. If anyone has ever have wondered how a car is made, well the answer is a robot. To do this CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) computers operate machine tools that make various parts and components. They also instruct robots that weld and paint the car. Metal stamping is a method used to manufacture cars, where a machine is programmed (robot) to shape metal into the form of a dye. This method makes the making of parts for a car very producti ve. For example, after the parts are ready the robots can put together an average of 75 cars an hour. Imagine a human trying to do that many cars an hour. Welding Robots are used to weld together the parts made by the dye and produce the car body frame. This also makes the construction of cars a simple task. The robots can make many cars in a very short time and do it with extreme accuracy, which is very important when making a car. Robots are very essential to the mass production of cars in the present day in time (Automobile). Robots are used all the time in the making of consumer goods, such as clothing, food, toys, and much more (Clothing). In the food industry robots are used to transfer food from one assembly line to another, to can food, and to package final products (Food). This makes it easier on companies to use robots because they never need a break and can always perform their duties to the fullest (Manufacturing). Food packaging can be done precisely and very quickly wi th robots (food). 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Impact of the Digital Society

Impact of the digital society and information development Information technology has great on organizations and individual lives. That is it has transformed our lives socially, politically and economically.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Impact of the Digital Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Political Information technology has reduced the distance between various territorial boundaries countries and even the distance from continent to continent. Several years ago transportation means from even one continent to another continent was a nightmare due to the introduction of digital aircrafts and electric trains; we have experienced the death of distance (Bailor 2006). Economical Development of information technology has led to the introduction of commerce (e-commerce/business) that is online business of which has necessitated global market penetration hence transforming on living standards. Social Informati on technology has created a social network where individuals are now able to communicate and share their ideas. It has also led to the creation of social ethnics/norms among individuals and organizations (Clarke 2004). Strategic information development on business For some business, the impact of digital economy is revolutionary. That is, some frequent changes in technologies and markets and the appearance of the business models can introduce radical changes in industry structure according to research. And the nature of competition can shift rapidly. The digital economy has not changed the core business of most firms at the same time. That is for most businesses, internet simply offer tools that can increase their success through their traditional sources of competitive advantage be it low cost, excellent customer service or superior supply chain management(Beasty 2006). Therefore, information technology impacts the business in the following ways: By identifying new strategic oppor tunities Assessing Technology innovations Deriving more technology enabled business models Prioritizing investment opportunities Managing vendors Exploiting investment in technology Ensuring appropriate usage of information systems Ensure that people embrace the right behavior and value to work with information Ensure that the value for application is captured by the organization and information technology investment does not become a source of competitive disadvantage. The challenge for researcher and practioner alike is to understand what contributes towards the development of these aspects of sustainability. E-Commerce Electronic commerce has the following drives with respect to impact of digital society:Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Internet penetration Many individuals and organizations are capable of accessing internet services to check emerging and market trends Internet charge s ervices have been reduced to a lower cost which is affordable to almost every member of the society. Therefore, this improved internet speed and reliability to business people Differentiation: E-commerce has been established mostly through low prices. Other E-commerce drives include the following: Time and Cost – it is convenient and cost-effective Enhanced information access. Every single information can be accessed by every organization or individual at any time every where Enhanced client base Enhanced proper marketing strategies In general most societies have found that digital business is beneficial because it attempts to integrate business processes across the world onto a single enterprise wide information system. Therefore it enhances improved coordination across functional departments and increased efficiency of doing business.(Bharati 2006, Hershey) However, e-commerce has forced the following barriers by business entities: Electronic fraud Hacking Initial cap ital Technological challenge Information technology infrastructure. The above barriers have promoted unfair competition among organizations, hence, competitive disadvantage. Brain sensor technology Brain sensor technology uses neurons to depict actions. Brain sensors translate the thoughts of one into action. Using brain sensors like the Emotiv Epoc, one can think of a movement and the movement is reflected on the screen. Drug manufacturers and chemists are now using this technology to study the effects of drugs to the brain. Impacts of brain sensor technology Consistent use may lead to ones slow response to physical conditions and the brain may end up gating reliant to the technology. The speed which the technology detects changes in the brain and reflects them to the screen corresponds with Moores law. Moores law states that the number of transistors in a chip will double every two years. In brain sensors the number of chips are many considering the fact that it encompasses nanot echnology. The huge of chips will allow for a large number of electric currents which might affect the brain considering that the sensor are placed in the head as near as possible to the brain.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Impact of the Digital Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ethical Issues in information technology/legal issues Moral dimensions Information rights and obligation should be obtained Property rights – intellectual property rights should be protected in the modern society so that ownership to intangible property should be handled properly. Quality of life – there should be acceptable ways of doing things in a given society. System quality – data application should be of high quality Accountability and control should be reflected for data prosperity. Analysis According the research conducted, various societies have adopted digital/ modern ways of doing things becaus e of it’s: Speed Accuracy Memory capacity which is large enough to accommodate more organizations Consistency Processing capability Reliability Information security Organizations and individuals have employed the following techniques to secure business transactions:- Password Privacy codes have been installed to help organizations to avoid legal problems and to ensure data confidentiality. Laws and regulations to be used in extranets Public area networks (PWAN). Confidential information should be closed to the public so that their access is limited to members of the public but can only be accessed by genuine owners of the data. International aspects also be considered where members of a given country can only access information within their country. Impact of e-commerce on business practices Positive Enhancing on customer public relation An e-commerce won’t be able to improve on the relationship between the business and the customer unless they have some ideas ab out the consumers of their products and services. That is by having knowledge on the customer’s needs, purchasing practices, enticements, and behavior. E.g. easy functionality of the web site of the company, low prices, after sale service, offering call services etc these are some of the factors that are likely to contribute more enhancing customer enterprise relation(Cho 2003). A good example is that e-commerce has a competitive advantage when it comes to peak times such as back to school. This means that through e-commerce online purchases and after sales services enables the current business practices to be able to get the products and acquire services from home and get them there(Bharati 2006, Hershey). Symmetry of online and human relations Besides market coverage advantage brought about by e-commerce, the interaction with the consumers is also an issue that has been impacted by the adoption of the e-commerce. This is through the linkages between all the departments in t he companies through the online business to present a uniform surface.Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More E.g. the amount deducted after presentation of consumer’s credit card should be based on the price charged at the point of transaction i.e. display uniformity from all fronts (Bhaskar 2004). This enhances the cross-channel purchasing actions undertaken by the consumers. This is a method which has been adopted by most of the e-commerce companies through linking most of their online transaction with the offline one. This choice board channel has hence demanded from the e-commerce enterprises to carry out a customer survey that seeks to understand who their customers are and their nature of interaction both online and physical interaction in the store (Cho 2003). Invest in clientele services With the inversion of e-commerce into the market economy, the major issue is on how to entice the customers’ attention to purchase the e-products. This has shifted the market operation to a more consumer oriented services, where to make profit the e-commerce vendors need not to lure p otential buyers who are likely to purchase their products and services(Bressler 2001). The investments have shifted towards customer satisfaction besides other essential factors to achieve business aims and objectives. Some of the customer oriented technologies are the call delivery, interactive voice reaction, PC telephone incorporation, information management systems, etc all geared towards packaging, delivery, public relations and customer service (Croteau and Li, 2003, p. 22). This is in contrast with the former ideology where enterprises considered customer service utility as an expense venture and non profitable (Clarke 2004) Although if the goals of an enterprise towards customer relations does not go as planned consequentially it can lead to drastic failure for the enterprise i.e. customer dissatisfaction is likely to occur if the customer service does not fulfill its purpose. Negative The comparison between the traditional offline business transaction and the e-commerce bus iness transactions indicate that despite the adoption of e-commerce as major prospects in maximization of profit through larger market reach, offline business transaction is still there to stay. This is because despite the influence brought about by the internet and the www, offline business transaction is still preferred and more secure, the low market reach or the personal communication with the real vendor has made most of the consumers more addicted to the offline transaction mode(Croteau and Li 2003). Hence, online e-commerce transaction has come with it some challenges that are facing the corporate world: Insecurity Most if the online product consumers are not likely to use or conduct a transaction in an insecure website. Also as per the requirement of the online vending, e-commerce presents a more insecure information dissemination which has not been adopted by most of the consumers. This is because not all consumers will easily agree to give out his personal details to an on line form before being assured of his/her security and the information being given. Also trust issue is a problem in the use of e-commerce business transaction; this has caused a division in the business world with some enterprises ideologically refusing to devolve in the e-commerce assuming that e-commerce will never surpass the offline business transaction. Hence, this has created a competitive advantage to some enterprises that have adopted, secured and gained the devotion needed from its consumers and still acquiring others(R. e. Feinberg 2002) Works Cited Alba, Joseph et al. â€Å"Interactive home shopping: consumer, retailer and manufacturer incentives to participate in electronic marketplaces.† Journal of Marketing, 61(1997): 38-53. Print. Bailor, Coreen. â€Å"Furnishing Service Excellence.† CRM magazine, Feb. 2006. Destinationcrm.com. Web. Beasty, Colin. â€Å"Retail’s 2 Worlds. Tips on Integrating Online and Offline Channels.† CRM magazine. 1 M ar. 2006. Destinationcrm.com. Web. Bharati, Pratyush, and Abhijit Chaudhuri. â€Å"Product Customisation on the Web: An Empirical Study of Factors Impacting Choiceboard User Satisfaction.† Information Resource Management Journal, 19.2(2006): 69-82. Print. Bhaskar, Rahul. â€Å"A customer relationship management system to target customers at Cisco.† Advanced Topics in Electronic Commerce. 1(2005): 209-221. Print. Bressler, Martin. Internet CRM must have human touch. Chicago: Marketing News, 2001. Print. Cho, Yooncheong, Im, II, and Roxanne Hiltz. â€Å"The impact of e-services failures and customer complaints on electronic customer relationship management.† Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatosfaction and Complaining Behavior, 16(2003): 106-118. Web. Clarke, Irvine III and Theresa Flaherty. â€Å"Challenges of transforming a traditional brick-and mortar into bricks-and-clicks model: a small business case study.† Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organ isation, 2.4(2004): 74-89. Print. Croteau, Anne-Marie and Peter Li. â€Å"Critical success factors of CRM technological initiatives.† Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 20.1(2003): 21-35. Print. Etzin, Opher, Amit Fisher, and Segev Wasserkrug. â€Å"e-CLV: A modeling approach for customer lifetime in e-commerce domains, with an application and case study for online auction.† Information System Frontiers, 7.4-5(2005): 421-434. Print. Feinberg, Richard. et al. â€Å"The state of electronic customer relationship management in retailing.† International Journal of Retail Distribution Manegement, 30.10(2002): 470-482. Print. Feinberg, Richard Rajesh Kadam. â€Å"E-CRM web service attributes as determinants of customer satisfaction with retail web sites.† International Journal of Service Industry Management, 13.5(2002): 432-451. Print. This essay on Impact of the Digital Society was written and submitted by user Nehemiah Bass to help you with your own studies. 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buy custom The Bilingual Education essay Bilingual education is a system of education where learners are taught in two languages. They are instructed in their native language and a second language (English). Technically, every schooling system that presents educational material to students in more than one language is bilingual. People who are against this system of education argue that the expense incurred by the government in implementation cannot be justified. The benefits to the learner and the country are many therefore; the system should be highly encouraged. The advantages of a bilingual education system Bilingual system allows learners to appreciate other cultures. Learning in more than a single language gives learners the opportunity to interact with different cultures. Children learn other cultures while maintaining their own culture. The system broadens learners view of thinking as they get exposed to other cultures. Learners also get enriched as their minds open up and broaden due to exposure. In addition to this, children in a multicultural society learn to tolerate other cultures (Garci%u0301a and Hugo 123). Bilingual education system prepares learners to cope with the world. The world has been turned into a global village by technology. There is a greater mobility and communication around the world, which has come with the discovery of new technologies. Larning in more than a single language therefore, develops multitalented individuals. Children are fast learners. Children can grasp grammar, vocabulary and other nuances of non-native language effortlessly. Children have better capabilities to learn a second language than grownups. It is, therefore, healthy to introduce a second language to children at an early age. This system of education helps children to develop their own identity. Children learn their own language, and they appreciate their own roots. Children do not discard their traditions since they are taught in their native (Medina 156). Training learners in a bilingual system reduces the chance of losing content. Content loss is inevitable when learners are taught using a language they do not understand. It is, therefore, healthy to teach content in a language a learner understands for a certain period. Learners can then be taught in English when they have fully learned the language. The system uses resources available as a basis for acquiring knowledge and building of new skills. Teachers use the basic language that the learners has in instruction so as to achieve academic excellence. This is advantageous because schools do not have to train the learner in language before proceeding to introduce other subjects. The learner goes to school ready to learn new concepts. Instrructors may then teach English as a second language at the pace of the learner. The learners native language provides contextual basis for acquiring knowledge in the second language (English). The economic advantage of this system to the learner lies in the job market. Many companies pay a lot of money to employees who can speak more than one language. Such people are needed to handle clientele from diverse origins effectively. The system therefore, develops competitive individuals in the job market. Conclusion In conclusion, the merits of a bilingual education system outweigh demerits. Reforms should be undertaken so that full benefits of the system get realized. Automatic assignment of learners with limited skills in English to bilingual classes should be discontinued. This amounts to dictatorship and discrimination. Parents, who feel the pain of paying fees, need be given a chance to choose programs to enroll their kids. Learners should be given a chance to learn their native language in a class where English is emphasized. English as a second Language is an excellent program that emphasizes English and allows learners to change to mainstream classes. This program therefore, provides an avenue for reforms to bilingual education system. The learners can then switch to English-only classes when they become competent in English language. Buy custom The Bilingual Education essay

Socrates Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Socrates - Assignment Example Upon making his defense against those accusing him, Socrates went forward to respond to the charges that were being leveled against him. To begin with, Meletus had indicated that Socrates was an evil doer in that he was found corrupting young people, did not believe in the state gods, and had introduced personal divinities. To defend himself, Socrates asked Meletus to offer himself in order to respond to some questions he wanted to ask to him. Socrates was particularly skillful in his questions, which resulted in Meletus not only contradicting himself but also making accusations that were totally meaningless. His statements meant that Socrates was the only person in Athens who was affecting the young people. At the same time, Socrates admitted that no one would deliberately make people worse and at the same time, live with them. From this point of view, it is difficult to say that Socrates was making or turning the people worse, or Socrates was doing so involuntarily. In either case, Socrates was not responsible for any crime; therefore, ought not to be punished. The Meletus opposition to Socrates was based somehow on grounds of religion because he simply did not confide his faith in the gods associated with the state. In fact, when interrogated about it, Meletus insisted that Socrates was an atheist. Of course, the charge was ridiculous, and Socrates made that clear by indicating that Meletus had disagreed with his earlier statement that Socrates had introduced new divinities and yet did not confide his faith in any supreme being (Plato 3-7). In reality, Socrates, whilst not accepting the widely accepted conceptions of religion, was a religious person. Socrates had a deep belief in the religious meaning of the world and life, along with a strong belief in God as a source of moral obligations. Socrates, for many generations, has been considered as a hero and

Value Chain Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Value Chain Analysis - Research Paper Example Organizations identify strategic advantages and disadvantages with the help of value chain analysis. Value chain refers to all the value-creating functions required for creating and delivering the goods and services to the target customers. Value chain analysis is an important tool for strategic cost management which is an important part of the management accounting. According to Porter, in value chain cost management methodology first the value chain need to be identified, and then the cost, asset and revenue need to be assigned to the value activities (Hoque, 2005). Value chain analysis involves organizations internal cost analysis, its internal differentiation analysis and vertical linkage analysis. Porters value chain model is represented below. Wal Mart, one of the largest organizations in the world not only in retail sector but among the entire private as well as public sector organizations. Wal Mart, founded by Sam Walton in 1962, started its operation in 1969; it is one of the largest organizations in terms of number of employees and revenue. There are almost 1.3 million employees working in Wal-Mart. According to estimates, there are 3400 Wal Mart stores in America till 31st January, 2007. Company is one of the most important drivers of US economy. It is further proven by the fact that every week there is almost 120 million people shop in Wal Mart. As far as sales is concerned Wal Mart is far ahead of its three major global competitors namely Carrefour (France), Home Depot (United States), and Metro (Germany). Cost management is one of the basic things in management accounting. Strategic cost management results to improved strategic performance and significant transformational change in organizational value chain. Cost management information is crucial for four important management functions, which are 1) strategic management, 2) control in management and operations, 3) planning and decision making and finally

Exit Exams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Exit Exams - Essay Example A description of those affected most by the exit exams will be given, and a look at what some districts are doing to improve test scores will be worthwhile. Exits exams have many aliases, including proficiency tests, graduation exams, minimum competency exams (MCEs) and mandatory exit exams (MEEs). The bottom line to all of them is that even if a student finished the 12th grade with the minimum required grade point average, and the mandatory amount of credits, no diploma will be issued until the student passes the exit exam required by the state. As of June 2008, students in 23 states will have to pass exit exams to receive high school diplomas (Rosenthal, 2008). Some states don't require it yet, but soon will. Students in Maryland, for example, won't have to begin passing the exam until 2009 (Rosenthal, 2008). Other school districts, though, are begging out of the exam. Two years ago, "Utah pulled back from making exit exams mandatory" (No New States, 2006). In California, lawsuits were filed when students didn't receive diplomas, based solely on the inability to pass a proficiency exam, but the California Supreme Court upheld the stat e's decision to withhold diplomas when students failed to prove minimum competency using the exam. Decisions like that have sparked debate all over the United States. Proponents believe it is a good idea for various reasons. Opponents have an even longer list of reasons why the exit exams are unfair. Teachers claim to be tired of juggl[ing] two accountability standards (Cromer, 2007), one from the state and one from the No Child Left Behind act, and others feel that teachers have no right to complain since many of them do, or will receive "some form of incentive pay" (Cromer, 2007) when their students pass their exam. With all of this going on, it is not difficult to see why the states are in such a state of flux about the issue. Proponents Those who are for the examine take much criticism, but have valid points. Proponents claim that the exam will "encourage students to achieve basic competency in core subjects and to make the high school diploma more meaningful" (Rosenthal, 2008). There is little definition about what a meaningful diploma is, but the arguments don't stop there. They claim that dropout rates haven't declined because of the exam (Greene & Winters, 2004), as evidence that students take more pride in their high school experience. It is said, "Most students who are serious about graduating high school should be able to pass such an exam if given enough tries" (Greene & Winters, 2004). Although this opinion is biased in the opinion of some, the fact is that every state gives the students multiple chances to pass the exam. Some students even begin taking the test in Spring of the 8th grade year. Ironically, some of the biggest supporters of the exam are students who have received their diplomas by passing it. One news report reads, "They want the exams, as well, because it validates the formula that they worked so hard to achieve" (O'Reilly, n.d.). The meaning is that once students have felt the threat of not graduating if they can't pass the exam, and then they do pass it, they are more likely to feel like everyone else who works hard should pass the exam, too. The fact that people want students in high school to begin taking