Research Methods for Managerial Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Methods for Managerial Decisions - Essay Example Therefore, the observed values would be different for each case, hence the difference in the results. Coming to the problem of optimization, the only variable that is used for estimating the optimal values is known as the coefficient of multiple determinations, which is denoted by R2. According to theory, R2 is used to determine the proportion of the variation in the dependent variable that is explained by the set of independent variables. For the above 2 cases, R2 was found to be 0.546 & 0.570 respectively. This signifies that in the analysis, only 54.6% and 57% of the variation in the revenue can be accounted for by the 3 variables taken into consideration. If indeed one were to make the solution optimal, then it can only be done if the model were to explain the results in terms of the largest variation in the dependent variables along with the use of the fewest number of independent variables. As such, it would be optimal to include all the lagged values in the regression equation (as they are dependent variables), but along with this it would also be necessary to include the normal values (current advertising expenditure as well as the price index). The estimated advertising costs (under normal values) must be excluded, as it is not required. Under this scheme, the R2 turns out to be 0,756, which is the largest obtained among all possible combinations, and hence the most optimal. Under the following scenario, we adopt the Normal distribu

Bystander Behavior and Concepts Essay Example for Free

Bystander Behavior and Concepts Essay Research reveals that the feeling of guilt can spur on the behaviour of helping. For instance, a survivor of a terrorist attack may be guilty of going to assist others. Lack of Personal Relationship Ideally, bystanders are more likely to assist when the know the person. In the case of emergency, people in the problem people may make personalized response even if strangers are keeping a distance. The bystanders’ presence in the scene of emergency limits the likelihood of any person will display any response to assist in violence. Schouml;llnberger, Mitchel, Redpath, Crawford-Brown Hofmann, (2007) notes that contrary to common sense, there is no safety in bystander in the presence of the bystander because they see and assume someone else will take responsibility. Both social norm and diffusion explanations predict a reduction in helping behaviour when a bystander is present. Pro-Social BehaviourThe psychological foundations of the pro-social behaviour are beneficial for doing my further research in my field of study. Besides, it can also assist me achieve my educational, criminal justice and social work in line of profession. More importantly, the theoretical understanding with practical implications can assist me in improving my health and philanthropy. The concept teaches the principles of help, sharing and giving that are all important for social relationships and assisting and being of benefit for one another in the society and finally feel good. Social Norms The principle of the social norm argues that people use other people’s actions to decide on when to help. Learning and understanding the social norms in the society will help me develop moral behaviour and learn how to make curate decisions. Making wiser choices is important for life developments and benefits of decisions. Humanism Humanistic psychology refers to a psychological perspective that major on the study of a person referred to as holism. The approach argues that the behavior of an individual is connected to his inner self-image and feelings. According to the humanistic perspective, every individual is unique and individual and is at liberty to change his or her lives at any moment. Because of the center view of the person or her or his personal, subjective perception and experiences of the world, the humanists argue that the scientific methods are inappropriate to study the behaviour. The most influential theory of holism is the cognitive theory (Schouml;llnberger, Mitchel, Redpath, Crawford-Brown Hofmann, 2007). The theory is relevant to my current and future life. Besides, the theory revolves around the studying of the mental process of acquiring knowledge. Since it deals with the perception attention and memory, it will help me achieve and maintain general healthy lifestyle. The theory can be use d to analyze mental illness hence providing healthy lifestyle. Behaviorist Perspective Behaviorists view people as controlled by the environment. Besides, it mentions that we are the result of what we have learnt in our environment. The perspective is important for learning how stimuli affect observable behaviour. The perspective highlights operant conditioning in which people learn from consequences and classical conditioning in which people learn by association. The perspective is beneficial for getting better academic and life grades. Understanding the concepts of learning will assist me achieve better learning procedures for justifying better grades. Reference Schouml;llnberger, H., Mitchel, R. E. J., Redpath, J. L., Crawford-Brown, D. J., Hofmann, W. (November 01, 2007). Detrimental and Protective Bystander Effects: A Model Approach. Radiation Research, 168, 5, 614-626. Source document

Analysis of the Capital Assets Pricing Model

Analysis of the Capital Assets Pricing Model Chapter I The QUARREL ON THE CAPM: A LITERATURE SURVEY Abstract The current chapter has attempted to do three things. First it presents an overview on the capital asset pricing model and the results from its application throughout a narrative literature review. Second the chapter has argued that to claim whether the CAPM is dead or alive, some improvements on the model must be considered. Rather than take the view that one theory is right and the other is wrong, it is probably more accurate to say that each applies in somewhat different circumstances (assumptions). Finally the chapter has argued that even the examination of the CAPMs variants is unable to solve the debate into the model. Rather than asserting the death or the survival of the CAPM, we conclude that there is no consensus in the literature as to what suitable measure of risk is, and consequently as to what extent the model is valid or not since the evidence is very mixed. So the debate on the validity of the CAPM remains a questionable issue. 1. INTRODUCTION The traditional capital assets pricing model (CAPM), always the most widespread model of the financial theory, was prone to harsh criticisms not only by the academicians but also by the experts in finance. Indeed, in the last few decades an enormous body of empirical researches has gathered evidences against the model. These evidences tackle directly the models assumptions and suggest the dead of the beta (Fama and French, 1992); the systematic risk of the CAPM. If the world does not obey to the models predictions, it is maybe because the model needs some improvements. It is maybe because also the world is wrong, or that some shares are not correctly priced. Perhaps and most notably the parameters that determine the prices are not observed such as information or even the returns distribution. Of course the theory, the evidence and even the unexplained movements have all been subject to much debate. But the cumulative effect has been to put a new look on asset pricing. Financial Researchers have provided both theory and evidence which suggest from where the deviations of securities prices from fundamentals are likely to come, and why could not be explained by the traditional CAPM. Understanding security valuation is a parsimonious as well as a lucrative end in its self. Nevertheless, research on valuation has many additional benefits. Among them the crucial and relatively neglected issues have to do with the real consequences of the models failure. How are securities priced? What are the pricing factors and when? Once it is recognized that the models failure has real consequences, important issues arise. For instance the conception of an adequate pricing model that accounts for all the missing aspects. The objective of this chapter is to look at different approaches to the CAPM, how these have arisen, and the importance of recognizing that theres no single ‘right model which is adequate for all shares and for all circumstances, i.e. assumptions. We will, so move on to explore the research task, discuss the goodness and the weakness of the CAPM, and look at how different versions are introduced and developed in the literature. We will, finally, go on to explore whether these recent developments on the CAPM could solve the quarrel behind its failure. For this end, the recent chapter is organized as follows: the second section presents the theoretical bases of the model. The third one discusses the problematic issues on the model. The fourth section presents a literature survey on the classic version of the model. The five section sheds light on the recent developments of the CAPM together with a literature review on these versions. The next one raises the quarrel on the model and its modified versions. Section seven concludes the paper. 2. THEORETICAL BASES OF THE CAPITAL ASSET PRICING MODEL In the field of finance, the CAPM is used to determine, theoretically, the required return of an asset; if this asset is associated to a well diversified market portfolio while taking into account the non diversified risk of the asset its self. This model, introduced by Jack Treynor, William Sharpe and Jan Mossin (1964, 1965) took its roots of the Harry Markowitzs work (1952) which is interested in diversification and the modern theory of the portfolio. The modern theory of portfolio was introduced by Harry Markowitz in his article entitled â€Å"Portfolio Selection, appeared in 1952 in the Journal of Finance. Well before the work of Markowitz, the investors, for the construction of their portfolios, are interested in the risk and the return. Thus, the standard advice of the investment decision was to choose the stocks that offer the best return with the minimum of risk, and by there, they build their portfolios. On the basis of this point, Markowitz formulated this intuition by resorting to the diversifications mathematics. Indeed, he claims that the investors must in general choose the portfolios while getting based on the risk criterion rather than to choose those made up only of stocks which offer each one the best risk-reward criterion. In other words, the investors must choose portfolios rather than individual stocks. Thus, the modern theory of portfolio explains how rational investors use diversification to optimize their portfolio and what should be the price of an asset while knowing its systematic risk. Such investors are so-called to meet only one source of risk inherent to the total performance of the market; more clearly, they support only the market risk. Thus, the return on a risky asset is determined by its systematic risk. Consequently, an investor who chooses a less diversified portfolio, generally, supports the market risk together with the uncertaintys risk which is not related to the market and which would remain even if the market return is known. Sharpe (1964) and Linter (1965), while basing on the work of Harry Markowitz (1952), suggest, in their model, that the value of an asset depends on the investors anticipations. They claim, in their model that if the investors have homogeneous anticipations (their optimal behavior is summarized in the fact of having an efficient portfolio based on the mean-variance criterion), the market portfolio will have to be the efficient one while referring to the mean-variance criterion (Hawawini 1984, Campbell, Lo and MacKinlay 1997). The CAPM offer an estimate of a financial asset on the market. Indeed, it tries to explain this value while taking into account the risk aversion, more particularly; this model supposes that the investors seek, either to maximize their profit for a given level of risk, or to minimize the risk taking into account a given level of profit. The simplest mean-variance model (CAPM) concludes that in equilibrium, the investors choose a combination of the market portfolio and to lend or to borrow with proportions determined by their capacity to support the risk with an aim of obtaining a higher return. 2.1. Tested Hypothesis The CAPM is based on a certain number of simplifying assumptions making it applicable. These assumptions are presented as follows: The markets are perfect and there are neither taxes nor expenses or commissions of any kind; All the investors are risk averse and maximize the mean-variance criterion; The investors have homogeneous anticipations concerning the distributions of the returns probabilities (Gaussian distribution); and The investors can lend and borrow unlimited sums with the same interest rate (the risk free rate). The aphorism behind this model is as follows: the return of an asset is equal to the risk free rate raised with a risk premium which is the risk premium average multiplied by the systematic risk coefficient of the considered asset. Thus the expression is a function of: The systematic risk coefficient which is noted as; The market return noted; The risk free rate (Treasury bills), noted This model is the following: Where: ; represents the risk premium, in other words it represents the return required by the investors when they rather place their money on the market than in a risk free asset, and; ; corresponds to the systematic risk coefficient of the asset considered. From a mathematical point of view, this one corresponds to the ratio of the covariance of the assets return and that of the market return and the variance of the market return. Where: ; represents the standard deviation of the market return (market risk), and ; is the standard deviation of the assets return. Subsequently, if an asset has the same characteristics as those of the market (representative asset), then, its equivalent will be equal to 1. Conversely, for a risk free asset, this coefficient will be equal to 0. The beta coefficient is the back bone of the CAPM. Indeed, the beta is an indicator of profitability since it is the relationship between the assets volatility and that of the market, and volatility is related to the returns variations which are an essential element of profitability. Moreover, it is an indicator of risk, since if this asset has a beta coefficient which is higher than 1, this means that if the market is in recession, the return on the asset drops more than that of the market and less than it if this coefficient is lower than 1. The portfolio risk includes the systematic risk or also the non diversified risk as well as the non systematic risk which is known also under the name of diversified risk. The systematic risk is a risk which is common for all stocks, in other words it is the market risk. However the non systematic risk is the risk related to each asset. This risk can be reduced by integrating a significant number of stocks in the market portfolio, i.e. by diversifying well in advantage (Markowitz, 1985). Thus, a rational investor should not take a diversified risk since it is only the non diversified risk (risk of the market) which is rewarded in this model. This is equivalent to say that the market beta is the factor which rewards the investors exposure to the risk. In fact, the CAPM supposes that the market risk can be optimized i.e. can be minimized the maximum. Thus, an optimal portfolio implies the weakest risk for a given level of return. Moreover, since the inclusion of stocks diversifies in advantage the portfolio, the optimal one must contain the whole stocks on the market, with the equivalent proportions so as to achieve this goal of optimization. All these optimal portfolios, each one for a given level of return, build the efficient frontier. Here is the graph of the efficient frontier: The (Markowitz) efficient frontier The efficient frontier Lastly, since the non systematic risk is diversifiable, the total risk of the portfolio can be regarded as being the beta (the market risk). 3. Problematic issues on the CAPM Since its conception as a model to value assets by Sharpe (1964), the CAPM has been prone to several discussions by both academicians and experts. Among them the most known issues concerning the mean variance market portfolio, the efficient frontier, and the risk premium puzzle. 3.1 The mean-variance market portfolio The modern portfolio theory was introduced for the first time by Harry Markowitz (1952). The contribution of Markowitz constitutes an epistemological shatter with the traditional finance. Indeed, it constitutes a passageway from an intuitive finance which is limited to advices related to financial balance or to tax and legal nature advices, to a positive science which is based on coherent and fundamental theories. One allots to Markowitz the first rigorous treatment of the investor dilemma, namely how obtaining larger profits while minimizing the risks. 3.2 The efficient frontier 3.3 The equity premium puzzle 4. Background on the CAPM â€Å"The attraction of the CAPM is that it offers powerful and intuitively pleasing predictions about how to measure risk and the relation between expected return and risk. Unfortunately, the empirical record of the model is poor poor enough to invalidate the way it is used in applications. The CAPMs empirical problems may reflect theoretical failings, the result of many simplifying assumptions.† Fama and French, 2003, â€Å"The Capital Asset Pricing Model: Theory and Evidence†, Tuck Business School, Working Paper No. 03-26 Being a theory, the CAPM found the welcome thanks to its circumspect elegance and its concept of good sense which supposes that a risk averse investor would require a higher return to compensate for supported the back-up risk. It seems that a more pragmatic approach carries out to conclude that there are enough limits resulting from the empirical tests of the CAPM. Tests of the CAPM were based, mainly, on three various implications of the relation between the expected return and the market beta. Firstly, the expected return on any asset is linearly associated to its beta, and no other variable will be able to contribute to the increase of the explanatory power. Secondly, the beta premium is positive which means that the market expected return exceeds that of individual stocks, whose return is not correlated with that of the market. Lastly, according to the Sharpe and Lintner model (1964, 1965), stocks whose return is not correlated with that of the market, have an expected return equal to the risk free rate and a risk premium equal to the difference between the market return and the risk free rate return. In what follows, we are going to examine whether the CAPMs assumptions are respected or not through the empirical literature. Starting with Jensen (1968), this author wants to test for the relationship between the securities expected return and the market beta. For this reason, he uses the time series regression to estimate for the CAPM ´ s coefficients. The results reject the CAPM as for the moment when the relationship between the expected return on assets is positive but that this relation is too flat. In fact, Jensen (1968) finds that the intercept in the time series regression is higher than the risk free rate. Furthermore, the results indicate that the beta coefficient is lower than the average excess return on the market portfolio. In order to test for the CAPM, Black et al. (1972) work on a sample made of all securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange for the period of 1926-1966. The authors classify the securities into ten portfolios on the basis of their betas.They claim that grouping the securities with reference to their betas may offer biased estimates of the portfolio beta which may lead to a selection bias into the tests. Hence, so as to get rid of this bias, they use an instrumental variable which consists of taking the previous periods estimated beta to select a securitys portfolio grouping for the next year. For the estimate of the equation, the authors use the time series regression. The results indicate, firstly, that the securities associated to high beta had significantly negative intercepts, whereas those with low beta had significantly positive intercepts. It was proved, also, that this effect persists overtime. Hence, these evidences reject the traditional CAPM. Secondly, it is found that the relation between the mean excess return and beta is linear which is consistent with the CAPM. Nevertheless, the results point out that the slopes and intercepts in the regression are not reliable. In fact, during the prewar period, the slope was sharper than that predicted by the CAPM for the first sub period, and it was flatter during the second sub period. However, after that, the slope was flatter. Basing on these results, Black, Fischer, Michael C. Jensen and Myron Scholes (1972) conclude that the traditional CAPM is inconsistent with the data. Fama and MacBeth (1973) propose another regression method so as to overcome the problem related to the residues correlation in a simple linear regression. Indeed, instead of estimating only one regression for the monthly average returns on the betas, they propose to estimate regressions of these returns month by month on the betas. They include all common stocks traded in NYSE from 1926 to 1968 in their analysis. The monthly averages of the slopes and intercepts, with the standard errors of the averages, thus, are used to check, initially, if the beta premium is positive, then to test if the averages return of assets which are not correlated with the market return is from now on equal to the average of the risk free rate. In this way, the errors observed on the slopes and intercepts are directly given by the variation for each month of the regression coefficients, which detect the effects of the residues correlation over the variation of the regression. Their study led to three main results. At first, the relationship between assets return and their betas in an efficient portfolio is linear. At second, the beta coefficient is an appropriate measure of the securitys risk and no other measure of risk can be a better estimator. Finally, the higher the risk is, the higher the return should be. Blume and Friend (1973) in their paper try to examine theoretically and empirically the reasons beyond the failure of the market line to explain excess return on financial assets. The authors estimate the beta coefficients for each common stock listed in the New York Stock Exchange over the period of January 1950 to December 1954. Then, they form 12 portfolios on the basis of their estimated beta. They afterwards, calculate the monthly return for each portfolio. Third, they calculate the monthly average return for portfolios from 1955 to 1959. These averaged returns were regressed to obtain the value of the beta portfolios. Finally, these arithmetic average returns were regressed on the beta coefficient and the square of beta as well. Through, this study, the authors point out that the failure of the capital assets pricing model in explaining returns maybe due to the simplifying assumption according to which the functioning of the short-selling mechanism is perfect. They defend their point of view while resorting to the fact that, generally, in short sales the seller cannot use the profits for purchasing other securities. Moreover, they state that the seller should make a margin of roughly 65% of the sales market value unless the securities he owns had a value three times higher than the cash margin. This makes a severe constraint on his short sales. In addition to that, the authors reveal that it is more appropriate and theoretically more possible to remove the restriction on the short sales than that of the risk free rate assumption (i.e., to borrow and to lend on a unique risk free rate). The results show that the relationship between the average realized returns of the NYSE listed common stocks and their correspondent betas is almost linear which is consistent with the CAPM assumptions. Nevertheless, they advance that the capital assets pricing model is more adequate for the estimates of the NYSE stocks rather than other financial assets. They mention that this latter conclusion is may be owed to the fact that the market of common stocks is well segmented from markets of other assets such as bonds. Finally, the authors come out with the two following conclusions: Firstly, the tests of the CAPM suggest the segmentation of the markets between stocks and bonds. Secondly, in absence of this segmentation, the best way to estimate the risk return tradeoff is to do it over the class of assets and the period of interest. The study of Stambaugh (1982) is interested in testing the CAPM while taking into account, in addition to the US common stocks, other assets such as, corporate and government bonds, preferred stocks, real estate, and other consumer durables. The results indicate that testing the CAPM is independent on whether we expand or not the market portfolio to these additional assets. Kothari Shanken and Sloan (1995), show that the annual betas are statistically significant for a variety of portfolios. These results were astonishing since not very early, Fama and French (1992), found that the monthly and the annual betas are nearly the same and are not statistically significant. The authors work on a sample which covers all AMEX firms for the period 1927-1990. Portfolios are formed in five different ways. Firstly, they from 20 portfolios while basing only on beta. Secondly, 20 portfolios by grouping on size alone. Thirdly, they take the intersection of 10 independent beta or size to obtain 100 portfolios. Then, they classify stocks into 10 portfolios on beta, and after that into 10 portfolios on size within each beta group. They, finally, classify stocks into 10 portfolios on size and then into 10 portfolios on beta within each size group. They use the GRSP equal weighted portfolio as a proxy for the whole market return market. The cross-sectional regression of monthly return on beta and size has led to the following conclusions: On the one hand, when taking into account only the beta, it is found that the parameter coefficient is positive and statistically significant for both the sub periods studied. On the other hand, it is demonstrated that the ability of beta and size to explain cross sectional variation of the returns on the 100 portfolios ranked on beta given the size, is statistically significant. However, the incremental economic benefit of size given beta is relatively small. Fama and French published in 1992 a famous study putting into question the CAPM, called since then the Beta is dead paper (the article announcing the death of Beta). The authors use a sample which covers all the stocks of the non-financial firms of the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ for the period of the end of December 1962 until June 1990. For the estimate of the betas; they use the same test as that of Fama and Macbeth (1973) and the cross-sectional regression. The results indicate that when paying attention only to the betas variations which are not related to the size, it is found that the relation between the betas and the expected return is too flat, and this even if the beta is the only explanatory variable. Moreover, they show that this relationship tend to disappear overtime. In order to verify the validity of the CAPM in the Hungarian stock market, Andor et al. (1999) work on daily and monthly data on 17 Hungarian stocks between the end of July 1991 and the beginning of June 1999. To proxy for the market portfolio the authors use three different indexes which are the BUX index, the NYSE index, and the MSCI world index. The regression of the stocks return against the different indexes return indicates that the CAPM holds. Indeed, in all cases it is found that the return is positively associated to the betas and that the R-squared value is not bad at all. They conclude, hence, that the CAPM is appropriate for the description of the Hungarian stock market. For the aim of testing the validity of the CAPM, Kothari and Jay Shanken (1999), study the one factor model with reference to the size anomaly and the book to market anomaly. The sample used in their study contains annual return on portfolios from the GRSP universe of stocks. The portfolios are formed every July from 1927 to 1992. The formation procedure is the following; every year stocks are sorted on the basis of their market capitalization and then on their betas while regressing the past returns on the GRSP equal weighted index return. They obtain, hence, ten portfolios on the basis of the size. Then, the stocks in each size portfolio are grouped into ten portfolios based on their betas. They repeat the same procedure to obtain the book-to-market portfolios. Using the Fama and MacBeth cross-sectional regression, the authors find those annual betas perform well since they are significantly associated to the average stock returns especially for the period 1941-1990 and 1927-1990. Moreover, the ability of the beta to predict return with reference to the size and the book to market is higher. In a conclusion, this study is a support for the traditional CAPM. Khoon et al. (1999), while comparing two assets pricing models in the Malaysian stock exchange, examine the validity of the CAPM. The data contains monthly returns of 231 stocks listed in the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange over the period of September 1988 to June 1997. Using the cross section regression (two pass regression) and the market index as the market portfolio, the authors find that the beta coefficient is sometimes positive and some others negative, but they do not provide any further tests. In order to extract the factors that may affect the returns of stocks listed in the Istanbul stock exchange, Akdeniz et al. (2000)make use of monthly return of all non financial firms listed in the up mentioned stock market for the period that spans from January 1992 to December 1998. They estimate the beta coefficient in two stages using the ISE composite index as the market portfolio. First, they employ the OLS regression and estimate for the betas each month for each stock. Then, once the betas are estimated for the previous 24 months (time series regression), they rank the stocks into five equal groups on the basis of the pre-ranking betas and the average portfolio beta is attributed to each stock in the portfolio. They, afterwards, divide the whole sample into two equal sub-periods and the estimation procedure is done for each sub-period and the whole period as well. The results from the cross sectional regression, indicate that the return has no significant relationship with the market beta. This variable does not appear to influence cross section variation in all the periods studied (1992-1998, 1992-1995, and 1995-1998). In a relatively larger study, Estrada (2002) investigates the CAPM with reference to the downside CAPM. The author works on a monthly sample covering the period that spans from 1988 to 2001 (varied periods are considered) on stocks of 27 emerging markets. Using simple regression, the authors find that the downside beta outperforms the traditional CAPM beta. Nevertheless, the results do not support the rejection of the CAPM from two aspects. Firstly, it was found that the intercept from the regression is not statistically different from zero. Secondly, the beta coefficient is positive and statistically significant and the explanatory power of the model is about 40%. This result stems for the conclusion according to which the CAPM is still alive within the set of countries studied. In order to check the validity of the CAPM, and the absence of anomalies that must be incorporated to the model, Andrew and Joseph (2003) try to investigate the ability of the model to predict book-to market portfolios. If it is the case, then the CAPM captures the Book-to-market anomaly and theres no need to further incorporate it in the model. For this intention, the authors work on a sample that covers the period of 1927-2001 and contains monthly data on stocks listed in the NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ. So as to form the book-to-market portfolios, they use, alike Fama and French (1992), the size and the book-to-market ratio criterion. To estimate for the market return, they use the return on the value weighted portfolios on stocks listed in the pre-cited stock exchanges and to proxy for the risk free rate; they employ the one-month Treasury bill rate from Ibbotson Associates. They, afterwards, divide the whole period into two laps of time; the first one goes from July 1927 to June 1963, and the other one span from July 1963 to the end of 2001. Using asymptotic distribution the results indicate that the CAPM do a great job over the whole period, since the intercept is found to be closed to zero, but there is no evidence for a value premium. Hence, they conclude that the CAPM cannot be rejected. However, for the pre-1963 period the book to market premium is not significant at all, whereas for the post-1963 period this premium is relatively high and statistically significant. Nevertheless, when accounting for the sample size effect, the authors find that there is an overall risk premium for the post-1963 period. The authors conclude then that, taken as a whole, the study fails to reject the null that the CAPM holds. This study points to the necessity to take into account the small sample bias. Fama and French (2004), estimate the betas of stocks provided by the CRSP (Center for Research in Security Prices of the University of Chicago) of the NYSE (1928-2003), the AMEX (1963-2003) and the NASDAQ (1972-2003). They form, thereafter, 10 portfolios on the basis of the estimated betas and calculate their return for the eleven months which follow. They repeat this process for each year of 1928 up to 2003. They claim that, the Sharpe and Lintner model, suppose that the portfolios move according to a linear line with an intercept equal to risk free rate and a slope which is equal to the difference between the expected return on the market portfolio and that of the risk free rate. However, their study, and in agreement with the previous ones, confirms that the relation between the expected return on assets and their betas is much flatter than the prediction of the CAPM. Indeed, the results indicate that the expected return of portfolios having relatively lower beta are too high whereas expected return of those with higher beta is too low. Moreover, these authors indicate that even if the risk premium is lower than what the CAPM predicts, the relation between the expected return and beta is almost linear. This latter result, confirms the CAPM of Black which assumes that only the beta premium is positive. This means, analogically, that only the market risk is rewarded by a higher return. In order to test for the consistency of the CAPM with the economic reality, Thierry and Pim (2004) use monthly return of stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX for the period that spans from 1926-2002. The one -month US Treasury bill is used as a proxy for the risk free rate, The CRPS total return index which is a value-weighted average of all US stocks included in this study is used as a proxy for the market portfolio. They sort stocks into ten deciles portfolios on the basis of historical 60 months. They afterwards, calculate for the following 12 months their value weighted returns. They obtain, subsequently, 100 beta-size portfolios. The results from the time series regression indicate, firstly, that the intercepts are statistically indifferent from zero. Secondly, it is found that the betas coefficients are all positive. Furthermore, in order to check the robustness of the model, the authors split the whole sample into sub-samples of equal length (432 months). The results indicate, also, that for all the periods studied the intercepts are statistically not different from zero except for the last period. In his empirical study, Blake T (2005) works on monthly stocks return on 20 stocks within the SP 500 index during January 1995-December 2004. The SP 500 index is used as the market portfolio and the 3-month Treasury bill in the Secondary Market as the risk free rate. His methodology can be summarized as follows; the excess return on each stock is regressed against the market excess return. The excess return is taken as the sample average of each stock and the market as well. After estimating of the betas, these values are used to verify the validity of the CAPM. The coefficient of beta is estimated by regressing estimated expected excess stock returns on the estimates of beta and the regression include intercept and the residual squared so as to measure the non systematic risk. The results confirm the validity of the CAPM through its three major assumptions. In fact, the null hy

Akbar and Aurangzeb’s Policies Essay -- South Asia History, War

During the early modern period in South Asia, diverse communities interacted and clashed. This also meant that rulers and their policies also clashed one another. The two greatest leader of the Mughal Empire, Akbar and Aurangzeb’s policies went back and forth. Whereas Akbar had to take over the throne at an early age of thirteen, Aurangzeb had to fight and go against his own family members to gain the throne. Akbar began his leadership at a young age that he was never able to learn how to read or write and remained illiterate throughout life. Even though his grandfather and father were well educated, Akbar had great intellectual capacity that helped him rule the empire. During his first year of his reign, Akbar was faced with a challenge by a Hindu usurper, Hemu who almost succeeded in putting an end to the Mughal rules (Kulke, Rothermund 142). Despite being a Muslim, he did not force his religion on the people, they remained Hindus throughout his reign (Kulke, Rothermund 143). During Akbar’s reign, Islam was spreading throughout Southeast Asia. During this period, Akbar abolished the jizya, which was a poll tax which Islamic rulers imposed on all non-Islamic subjects. He conceived himself as giving laws rather than only following Islamic laws (Kulke, Rothermund 143). To keep the unity of his empire, Akbar had to adopt programs that won the loyalty of the non-Islamic population. By allowing his people to stay Hindu and trying not to convince them to Islam was a key point because it allowed him to give people their own freedom and it allowed him to gain his leadership. The Mughal Empire was an agrarian state, which depended on land revenue also known as land survey. It directly depended on the accurate assessment of the ... ...em against their Muslim colleagues (SarDesai, 177). Why would a ruler of his own people want to use a policy against his own people? Doesn’t that inform people that something is not right with the ruler of the empire? Akbar emerged as the leader of the rajputs whereas Aurangzeb kicked the rajputs out of nobility. Akbar was a great conquer who expanded his empire through diplomacy. By abolishing the jizya, it was easier for him to win the hearts of India. On this matter, people hated Aurangzeb and did not give him any respect for brining the jizya and other policies. Aurangzeb’s reign was marred by the destruction of temples and a general intolerance toward people of non- Muslim. He failed to realized the secular basis of Akbar’s polity was just not a matter of political tact. The secular basis was to form a peaceful and progressive polity in a plural society.

1 Malaysia

A very good afternoon to the honor judges, Ms Linda and Ms Joane, all my friends and the fellow audience, and especially the organizer of this public speaking competition. My name is Chin Kar Mei, from DHT. Well! This is my pleasure for having a chance to present my speech at this stage. I am here seeking for your attention; my topic is about ? ExcellentCulture in Malaysia.? Hopefully all of you will enjoy for it. Ladies and gentlemen: First and foremost, our 6th Prime Minister, Dato ¶ Seri Najib Razak used to say, ?OneMalaysia should be existed today onwards?. Dato ¶ Seri continued saying that, ? This is the best solution for restructuring our society during the outbreak of a global recession?. What does it mean by One Malaysia concept? One Malaysia concept consists of 8 values. They are culture of excellence, perseverance, humility, acceptance, loyalty, meritocracy, education and the last one, integrity. All of these are prime conditions to reach 1Malaysia. This concept is neit her too hard nor too easy to be achieved.Since Malaysia is being developed, current Prime Minister espoused 1Malaysia concept and it is purposely takes into considerations the interests and aspirations of all communities in moving country forward. Ladies and gentlemen: Malaysia is a multi-racial community. For instance, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Iban, Kadazan and so on. Every Malaysian should understand and tolerate among each other in order to create a harmony place. There is a good example, understanding Islam among Muslims and non-Muslims. Non-Muslims cannot take alcoholic beverages, cannot take pork product and so forth. There is another situation, still could remember, when I was working in hotel last time. I have realized that there was several gangs in my department. They are Malays, Chinese and Indians gang. They were arguing among each other every time just because of small, little things. They were never ever tolerating among themselves. Until once upon a time, there was a severe mistake done by someone else. And because of this, warning letter will be given to everyone unless we able to find out the solution. Therefore, all the 3 gangs finally discussed together regardless the races and we really found the best solution.

All About Ronald Reagan, The 40th U.S. President

All About Ronald Reagan, The 40th U.S. President Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. He worked at various jobs growing up. He had a very happy childhood. He was taught to read by his mother when he was five. He attended local public schools. He then enrolled at Eureka College in Illinois where he played football and made average grades. He graduated in 1932. Family Ties: Father: John Edward Jack Reagan - Shoe salesman.Mother: Nelle Wilson Reagan.Siblings: One older brother.Wife: 1) Jane Wyman - Actress. They were married from January 26, 1940 until they divorced on June 28, 1948. 2) Nancy Davis - Actress. They were married on March 4, 1952.Children: One daughter by first wife - Maureen. One adopted son with first wife - Michael. One daughter and one son by second wife - Patti and Ronald Prescott. Ronald Reagans Career Before the Presidency: Reagan began his career as a radio announcer in 1932. He became the voice of Major League Baseball. In 1937, he became an actor with a seven year contract with Warner Brothers. He moved to Hollywood and made about fifty movies. Reagan was elected Screen Actors Guild President in 1947 and served until 1952 and again from 1959-60. In 1947, he testified before the House concerning Communist influences in Hollywood. From 1967-75, Reagan was the Governor of California. World War II: Reagan was part of the Army Reserve and was called  to active duty after Pearl Harbor. He was in the Army from 1942-45 rising to the level of Captain. However, he never took part in combat and stated stateside. He narrated training films and was in the Army Air Force First Motion Picture Unit. Becoming the President: Reagan was the obvious choice for the Republican nomination in 1980. George Bush was chosen to run as his vice president. He was opposed by President Jimmy Carter. The campaign centered on inflation, the gasoline shortage, and the Iran hostage situation. Reagan won with 51% of the popular vote and 489 out of 538 electoral votes. Life After the Presidency: Reagan retired after his second term in office to California. In 1994, Reagan announced that he had Alzheimers Disease and left public life. He died of pneumonia on June 5, 2004. Historical Significance: Reagans largest significance was his role in helping bring down the Soviet Union. His massive buildup of weapons which the USSR could not match and his friendship with Premier Gorbachev helped usher in a new era of openness which eventually caused the breakup of the USSR into individual states. His presidency was marred by the events of the Iran-Contra Scandal. Events and Accomplishments of Ronald Reagan’s Presidency: Soon after Reagan took office, an assassination attempt was made on his life. On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley, Jr. shot six rounds at Reagan. He was hit by one of the bullets which caused a collapsed lung. His Press Secretary James Brady, policeman Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy were also all hit. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to a mental institution. Reagan adopted an economic policy whereby tax cuts were created to help increase savings, spending, and investment. Inflation went down and after a time so did unemployment. However, a huge budget deficit was created. A lot of terrorist acts occurred during Reagans time in office. For example, in April 1983 an explosion occurred at the U.S. embassy in Beirut. Reagan claimed that five countries typically harbored aided terrorists: Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, and Nicaragua. Further, Muammar Qaddafi was singled out as the primary terrorist. One of the major issues of Reagans second administration was the Iran-Contra Scandal. This involved several individuals throughout the administration. In exchange for selling arms to Iran, money would be given to the revolutionary Contras in Nicaragua. The hope was also that by selling arms to Iran, terrorist organizations would be willing to give up hostages. However, Reagan had spoken out that America would never negotiate with terrorists. The revelations of the Iran-Contra scandal caused one of the major scandals of the 1980s.In 1983, the U.S. invaded Grenada to rescue threatened Americans. They were rescued and the leftists were overthrown.One of the most important events that occurred during Reagans administration was the growing relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Reagan created a bond with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev who instituted a new spirit of openness or glasnost. This would eventually lead to the downfall of the Soviet Union during President George H. W. Bushs term in office.

Why We Celebrate Womens History Month In March

Why We Celebrate Womens History Month In March On February 28, 1980, President Jimmy Carter wrote: From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American Indian families who befriended them, men and women have worked together to build this Nation. Too often, the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. These words, part of his message establishing the first Womens History Week in 1980, marked the beginning of a new chapter in American history; one in which recognition of women and their work, and the promotion of their rights became a more explicit concern. That initial effort was expanded in 1987, when March was designated as Womens History Month. The Beginning: Womens History Week In 1978 in California, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women began a Womens History Week celebration. The week was chosen to coincide with International Womens Day, March 8. The response was positive. Schools began to host their own Womens History Week programs. The next year, leaders from the California group shared their project at a Womens History Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. Other participants not only determined to begin their own local Womens History Week projects, but agreed to support an effort to have Congress declare a national Womens History Week. Three years later, the United States Congress passed a resolution establishing National Womens History Week, which had ample bipartisan support. This recognition encouraged even wider participation in Womens History Week. Schools focused on special projects and exhibitions honoring women. Organizations sponsored talks on womens history. The National Womens History Project began distributing materials specifically designed to support Womens History Week, as well as materials to enhance the teaching of history through the year, to include notable women and womens experience. Womens History Month In 1987, at the request of the National Womens History Project, Congress expanded the week to a month, and the U.S. Congress has issued a resolution every year since then, with wide support, for Womens History Month. The U.S. President has issued each year a proclamation of Womens History Month. To further extend the inclusion of womens history in the history curriculum (and in everyday consciousness of history), the Presidents Commission on the Celebration of Women in History in America met through the 1990s. One result has been the effort towards establishing a National Museum of Womens History for the Washington, D.C., area, where it would join other museums such as the American History Museum. The purpose of Womens History Month is to increase consciousness and knowledge of womens history: to take one month of the year to remember the contributions of notable and ordinary women, in hopes that the day will soon come when its impossible to teach or learn history without remembering these contributions. Sources National Womens History Week Statement by the President. February 28, 1980.

Field Hockey Introduction Essays

Field Hockey Introduction Essays Field Hockey Introduction Essay Field Hockey Introduction Essay Is there a difference in stress factors between college athletes and non-athletesIntroductionStatement and Purpose of the Problem The move from high school to college is one of life’s major moments, however many do not comprehend the stresses that accompany this vast transformation in education. This paper has been developed to gain greater insight into the stresses that college students face and endeavor to determine if athletes and non-athletes differ in the way that they perceive and experience stress. Significance of the ProblemStress has been a rising issue concerning both athletic and non-athletic college students, which has been brought to the public eye increasingly over recent years (Bennett, 2013). Evidence suggests that athletes may experience even greater levels of stress due to the demands of balancing both sporting and academic achievements (Wilson Pritchard, 2005). The news of an ever-increasing amount of college student suicides has bro ught rise to the issue of is college too stressful for young adults to cope with, and is there excessive pressure being applied to students for them to achieve their optimal in everything they do? Background of the ProblemCurrent research supports the reasoning that college presents students with highly stressful situations and pressures (McCleod, 2002). Lazarus and Folkman (1996) defined stress as the undesirable sentiment that occurs when an individual feels incapable of coping with the demands that are placed upon them. Although researchers acknowledge that collegiate athletics can serve as a stress reliever in some cases (Hudd et al., 2000; Kimball Freysinger, 2003; Kudlacek, 1997; Shirka, 1997), studies also suggest that athletic participation at such a competitive level can become an additional stressor that traditional college students do not experience (Kimball Freysinger, 2003; Papanikolaou, Nikolaidis, Patsiaouras, Alexopoulos, 2003).Research QuestionIn

The Innovation of Electric Cars and Its Commercial Impact Essay

The Innovation of Electric Cars and Its Commercial Impact - Essay Example The researcher states that the electric car industry started with the development of the first electric car models and has grown to a bigger and a wider industry today. The first people to develop the electric cars originated from such countries as the Netherlands, United States, and Hungary. They invented with the idea of using a battery to power a vehicle that enabled them to develop small-scale electric vehicles. In the 2nd half of the 19th century, the first practical electric car was designed the French and the English innovators. In the US, William Morrison was among the first people to come up with an electric car in 1890. The popularity of these vehicles started growing in 1900. In the same period, the electric cars occupied a third of all the vehicles on the road in the United States. The electric car industry before 1900 was composed of the few models of the ancient innovators. For instance, Ferdinand Porsche developed an electric car in 1898 called P1. Today, Ferdinand Por sche is the founder of a sports car company. Companies started having an interest in the industry in the year 1900 after many factors convinced many companies to invest in an electric car. Such factors included the ever increasing costs of fuel and the environmental pollution by the cars that used gasoline. Henry Ford, who is the founder of the Ford Company, produced an electric car called Model T that came as a blow to the auto industry because it cost almost the same as any other car. For instance, in the year 1912, cars using gasoline cost $650 while the Model T car cost $1750. Due to increased development and discoveries of the gas oil, the production of electric cars declined until the 1960s when it revived. The cheap prices of gasoline had also made the demand for electric cars decrease hindering other companies from investing in the industry. In the 1970s, the American Motor Company and GM Motor Company produced electric cars. This signaled the revival of the electric car ind ustry.

Stockholders' Equity (Assignment 10) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Stockholders' Equity ( 10) - Assignment Example Common stock Authorized The most significant change was the change in comprehensive income whereby Pentair, Inc. recorded an overwhelming percentage of 576.94. The other significant change in stockholders equity involved a negative change in the amount of total stockholders’ equity which was recorded at -7.15%. 4. Check here if your firm had no preferred stock outstanding. If your company had preferred stock outstanding at any time during the most recent year, indicate which of the following features apply. Pentair, Inc did not have any preferred stock. f. For characteristics a. through e. that apply to your firms preferred stock, indicate the specifics of that characteristic to your stock. For example, if it is convertible, under what terms can it be converted? If yes, identify the number of shares issued of each type of stock, par value (if any), and total dollar amount received from each issue. Pentair, Inc. issued 98,622.564 shares and collected 15,779,610.24 million dollars. These were class A common stock. Based on the Note about P/E ratios, what does your firms price-earnings ratio tend to indicate about investors expectations regarding the companys future earnings? Pentair, Inc has a high P/E ratio and this boosts investor confidence in the firm. The ratio basically indicates that the company is expected to produce higher earnings for its shareholders. Assuming the dividend yield ratio you just computed has been fairly constant over recent years, briefly explain what this reveals about the cash return an owner receives on his/her investment each year. Do you believe this is a satisfactory return on a stockholders investment? What other source of return (besides dividends) do stockholders earn on their investment? Pentair, Inc. has a low dividend yield on its common stocks. Investors always make money from their investments in stocks in form of both

Advanced management accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advanced management accounting - Assignment Example The net present value method is usually used to calculate the economic viability of a project and it is used to determine if the project is economically viable or it is not. The advantage of using the NPV criteria in the valuation of a project is the fact that the method has a clear decision making process. In evaluating a project or product, if the net present value is positive, then the project should be accepted by the management because the product or project would benefit the company (Cadenhead, 1970, 80).If the net present value is a negative, then the project or product should be rejected. If the net present value is equal t zero, then the management would be at a break even and any decision taken would not be harmful to the profitability of the company (Barton, 1999, 234). In case the management of Smart electronics decides to talk up the proposed investment, it would be costly for the company because the company would be running at a loss as a result of the many costs that a re associated with the product. The only thing that would warrant the acceptance of the product would be the reduction of costs to the company. The many costs that are associated with the product are making it hard for the company to gain any profits (Bastable, 1995, 133). C) Return on investment is a rate of return that accrues to shareholders of a company as a result of investing in the company. The rate of investment would be the main determinant for an investor before making any decision. The rate of return is however determined by the risk factor that is associated with a project or company. A company that has a high rate of risk is usually associated with high returns while companies that have low risk levels are associated with low returns. In the case of Smart electronics, the return on investment will be viewed on the rate of return that will accrue to the company as a result of investing in the new product. The investment in a new product should be feasible in the sense th at the returns should be positive and that the returns would be in such a manner as to work in the favor of the company in terms of profitability. Profitability of a company will increase if the company gets high returns from the products that it sells. For smart electronic to maximize on its rate of return, it should try to cut on costs that are associated with a product and the level of efficiency should be improved so as to ensure that running costs are as low as possible. The level of efficiency is usually determined by the machinery that is in the company. That should be done in a manner that the process of a company are efficient and the people working in the various departments are also efficient enough. Efficiency of processes is done by the company improving on the machinery that is been used in a company and the company improving the level of technology that is required to make the production process easier and simpler (Anthony, 1997, 225). The efficiency can

Masculinity Exhibited in Advertisements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Masculinity Exhibited in Advertisements - Essay Example This "Masculinity Exhibited in Advertisements" essay outlines masculinity depiction in different ads. The days of dry statistical display in advertisements are gone. On going through centuries of developments encompassing several ups and downs, like pre industrial revolution, post industrial revolution, Great Depression of World War II, advertisement has grown to adopt story-telling as the finest form of its execution, in which culture and gender occupy key roles.(O’Guinn et al, 2009) The motivation research being carried out in the field of advertisements by several business concern still have their vigour. The types of media have also grown exponentially to keep the consumer populace at its grip. Through ages culture is the soul of advertising everywhere. The dry depiction of mere information gave way to pictorial display of youth especially women. For many decades women played the core of business advertisements even to promote sales of products that were purely for men. Th e advents of lesbianism and gay culture have introduced the knack of understanding what gender means really in a business society. Masculinity was felt need not be kept behind the screen for a long time. Men are pictured either as care taking father/son or as anarchic, seducers, warriors and rogues with extraordinary physical strength and pomp. However, certain advertisers depict men with both pomp and responsibility bearing appearance. No more rebellious images are mixed with this type of responsible bearing men. In the contemporary image of masculinity, the idea of a caring, loving and gentle man is not a taboo but integral in the current image of masculinity. RALPH LAUREN: Ralph products are of course, very nice that they provide a sense of different feel at different timings. This aspect is mainly centred on the quality of the product; however, the advertisement team had brainstormed to inculcate this factual information into the minds of consumers with hectic experiments. A clo se look on the Polo advertisements of Ralph Lauren would reveal the hidden facet of womanliness in man. If you imagine a young woman wear the same costume, then also the product would look very nice. This type of opposite gender attraction has tactfully been employed in the advertisements of Ralph. Fashion and beauty no more enjoy the sole propriety of woman hood. Ralph had cleverly combined the flair for fashion with the taste of tradition. Even in the designing of women’s wear, Ralph Lauren added the Polo logo. The loosely cladding belt in this advertisement provides a mere manly look to the product. The Polo logo in women’s wear had tremendously attracted women too and made a great hit. Usages of masculine tint in his advertisements for women’s wear have effortlessly fetched greater results. Ralph Lauren’s advertisement for men’s wear invariably hinted men’s quest for soft touch, while loudly exhibiting the toughness of masculinity. This was made possible by way of underpinning womanliness inherently running inside every man. Likewise, women’s wears were advertised with men’s touch. A perfect blend was meticulously calculated and harnessed in the advertis

Introduction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 9

Introduction - Essay Example Such as enhancing my vocabulary, encouraging powerful writing skills and ensuring wide-ranged career opportunities and advancement options so that I could become stable in the future. Personally, I was keen on improving my command on English language, and the course offered me this opportunity. Emails are extremely important nowadays at any workplace since communications by email are conducted daily. Reading and Writing emails is an essential tool in my company too. Writing email is itself an art and effective writing skills are necessary to write eloquent emails. However, I would primarily focus on improving not just my written but verbal communication skills in English language too so that getting along with others effectively becomes possible for me. I find it difficult to convey my ideas in a clear and precise manner both on paper or during speech and listeners/readers cannot correctly comprehend what I am trying to express and deliver through my thoughts. It has been pretty challenging for me to communicate effectively in written and/or spoken English writing or speaking because it is my second language. However, I plan to overcome this language barrier as it causes a dilemma for me every day. I have taken too many courses to help me out in this context, and I plan to learn more in this class. I am sure it will take a lot of time and dedication to accomplish that, but I am looking forward to it. My main focuses in life are school, work, and most of my free time is spent reading. If I find the title and the theme interesting, I just read it without caring about who is the author. My favourite reading materials are the ones that have some underlying message such as which teach me how to become a better person. Topics like etiquette, human relationships, and personal fitness are some of my preferences. I have always believed

Human relations theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human relations theory - Essay Example Mainly, the Human relations theory in organization and management has been attributed to Elton Mayo. Mayo's major theoretical stand point, according to Wood (2004, p.35),is that " in the absence of an explicit understanding of the determinants of co-operative effort, rapid technological and scientific advance tends to be associated with increased social disorganization." Wood (2004, p.36) has added that "by social disorganization, Mayo means, a disruption (loosening, weakening, impoverishment etc.) in the social ties, codes and established routines."Wood (2004, p.36) has further clarified this position of Mayo by dileneating that these social ties, codes and routines are the factors that "regulates the relations of individuals to one another in a group and they foster a strong identification of the individual to the group." So, when these are disrupted, as predicted by Mayo, the "essential conditions for cooperative efforts among individuals and groups" are destroyed.(Wood, 2004, p.3 6)Mayo (1975, p.32))also has observed that when these elements are present, the act as an atmosphere where "non logical bases for co-operation" are present and from which, "rational bases for cooperation can also emerge". When the kind of social disorganization as observed by Mayo (1975, p.31) happens, "obsessive thinking" replaces "rational thinking." According to Mayo (1975, p.32), obsessive people are "those who have not been trained for co-operative effort." The rational people, on the other hand, have "explicit skills of communication required by the adaptive society (Wood, 2004, p.36).Mayo has analysed that as for obsessive people, there is no turning back unless they learn the skills to relate to others, modern societies without understanding of the importance of cooperative efforts and with rapid technological and scientific growth, also have no way to return from chaos (Mayo, 1975, p.33). Mayo has not put forth any magic solutions to this problem. He has instead suggested some indepth and longterm measures. One such measure is to observe the relations within a group, develop these observations into a systematic social science study, just like physical sciences and then incorporating sociology with psychological thought by an involved researcher (not a detached one) (Mayo, 1975, p.113). The Hawthorne experiments conducted by Mayo was a major milestone in the study of industrial behaviour (Mayo, 1975, p.60). He conducted an interview based research in Western Electric Company, Chicago, to analyse the development of employee attitudes and how that influences the outcome. He was searching for an optimal situation which could bring about highest productivity. Hawthorne experiment findings included observations like, "an individual's identity is strongly associated with his or her group' an individual's affiliation or sense of belonging to the group can be more important to him or her than monetary rewards' groups can be formal or informal'both can exercise a strong influence on individuals at work'(and) managers and supervisors would do well to take this group behaviour into account when seeking to extract the maximum amount of work from their subordinates" (Campbell and Craig, p.16). This was part of Mayo's efforts to develop a new approach which he named, "clinical sociology." (Mayo, 1975, 65-70). In this way, Mayo wanted to add sociology to the group of natural sciences. A second experiment, named, 'relay assembly test room' was conducted by Mayo, in which a group of women, whose work was to assembly telephone relays, were subjected to various changes in their conditions of work, payment, rest pauses etc. (Crowther &Green, 2004,p.35). And he found that workers' productivity depended less on their objective conditions and more on "communicating with them well, helping them become involved in the organization and making them feel wanted and important (Crowther &Green, 2004,p.35). This experiment was a major breakthrough in management studies. From his studies, Mayo inferred that "every social group

Masculinity Exhibited in Advertisements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Masculinity Exhibited in Advertisements - Essay Example This "Masculinity Exhibited in Advertisements" essay outlines masculinity depiction in different ads. The days of dry statistical display in advertisements are gone. On going through centuries of developments encompassing several ups and downs, like pre industrial revolution, post industrial revolution, Great Depression of World War II, advertisement has grown to adopt story-telling as the finest form of its execution, in which culture and gender occupy key roles.(O’Guinn et al, 2009) The motivation research being carried out in the field of advertisements by several business concern still have their vigour. The types of media have also grown exponentially to keep the consumer populace at its grip. Through ages culture is the soul of advertising everywhere. The dry depiction of mere information gave way to pictorial display of youth especially women. For many decades women played the core of business advertisements even to promote sales of products that were purely for men. Th e advents of lesbianism and gay culture have introduced the knack of understanding what gender means really in a business society. Masculinity was felt need not be kept behind the screen for a long time. Men are pictured either as care taking father/son or as anarchic, seducers, warriors and rogues with extraordinary physical strength and pomp. However, certain advertisers depict men with both pomp and responsibility bearing appearance. No more rebellious images are mixed with this type of responsible bearing men. In the contemporary image of masculinity, the idea of a caring, loving and gentle man is not a taboo but integral in the current image of masculinity. RALPH LAUREN: Ralph products are of course, very nice that they provide a sense of different feel at different timings. This aspect is mainly centred on the quality of the product; however, the advertisement team had brainstormed to inculcate this factual information into the minds of consumers with hectic experiments. A clo se look on the Polo advertisements of Ralph Lauren would reveal the hidden facet of womanliness in man. If you imagine a young woman wear the same costume, then also the product would look very nice. This type of opposite gender attraction has tactfully been employed in the advertisements of Ralph. Fashion and beauty no more enjoy the sole propriety of woman hood. Ralph had cleverly combined the flair for fashion with the taste of tradition. Even in the designing of women’s wear, Ralph Lauren added the Polo logo. The loosely cladding belt in this advertisement provides a mere manly look to the product. The Polo logo in women’s wear had tremendously attracted women too and made a great hit. Usages of masculine tint in his advertisements for women’s wear have effortlessly fetched greater results. Ralph Lauren’s advertisement for men’s wear invariably hinted men’s quest for soft touch, while loudly exhibiting the toughness of masculinity. This was made possible by way of underpinning womanliness inherently running inside every man. Likewise, women’s wears were advertised with men’s touch. A perfect blend was meticulously calculated and harnessed in the advertis

Human relations theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human relations theory - Essay Example Mainly, the Human relations theory in organization and management has been attributed to Elton Mayo. Mayo's major theoretical stand point, according to Wood (2004, p.35),is that " in the absence of an explicit understanding of the determinants of co-operative effort, rapid technological and scientific advance tends to be associated with increased social disorganization." Wood (2004, p.36) has added that "by social disorganization, Mayo means, a disruption (loosening, weakening, impoverishment etc.) in the social ties, codes and established routines."Wood (2004, p.36) has further clarified this position of Mayo by dileneating that these social ties, codes and routines are the factors that "regulates the relations of individuals to one another in a group and they foster a strong identification of the individual to the group." So, when these are disrupted, as predicted by Mayo, the "essential conditions for cooperative efforts among individuals and groups" are destroyed.(Wood, 2004, p.3 6)Mayo (1975, p.32))also has observed that when these elements are present, the act as an atmosphere where "non logical bases for co-operation" are present and from which, "rational bases for cooperation can also emerge". When the kind of social disorganization as observed by Mayo (1975, p.31) happens, "obsessive thinking" replaces "rational thinking." According to Mayo (1975, p.32), obsessive people are "those who have not been trained for co-operative effort." The rational people, on the other hand, have "explicit skills of communication required by the adaptive society (Wood, 2004, p.36).Mayo has analysed that as for obsessive people, there is no turning back unless they learn the skills to relate to others, modern societies without understanding of the importance of cooperative efforts and with rapid technological and scientific growth, also have no way to return from chaos (Mayo, 1975, p.33). Mayo has not put forth any magic solutions to this problem. He has instead suggested some indepth and longterm measures. One such measure is to observe the relations within a group, develop these observations into a systematic social science study, just like physical sciences and then incorporating sociology with psychological thought by an involved researcher (not a detached one) (Mayo, 1975, p.113). The Hawthorne experiments conducted by Mayo was a major milestone in the study of industrial behaviour (Mayo, 1975, p.60). He conducted an interview based research in Western Electric Company, Chicago, to analyse the development of employee attitudes and how that influences the outcome. He was searching for an optimal situation which could bring about highest productivity. Hawthorne experiment findings included observations like, "an individual's identity is strongly associated with his or her group' an individual's affiliation or sense of belonging to the group can be more important to him or her than monetary rewards' groups can be formal or informal'both can exercise a strong influence on individuals at work'(and) managers and supervisors would do well to take this group behaviour into account when seeking to extract the maximum amount of work from their subordinates" (Campbell and Craig, p.16). This was part of Mayo's efforts to develop a new approach which he named, "clinical sociology." (Mayo, 1975, 65-70). In this way, Mayo wanted to add sociology to the group of natural sciences. A second experiment, named, 'relay assembly test room' was conducted by Mayo, in which a group of women, whose work was to assembly telephone relays, were subjected to various changes in their conditions of work, payment, rest pauses etc. (Crowther &Green, 2004,p.35). And he found that workers' productivity depended less on their objective conditions and more on "communicating with them well, helping them become involved in the organization and making them feel wanted and important (Crowther &Green, 2004,p.35). This experiment was a major breakthrough in management studies. From his studies, Mayo inferred that "every social group

Leadership Essay Example for Free

Leadership Essay There are some concepts about leadership in the world, some people think leaders are born, and some people believe that leaders are made. If employees believe that leaders are born and not made, it may be demoralising. Some people may have the inherent qualities to become leaders, but they may not have developed their leadership because nobody else has ever noticed potential leadership qualities in them. Leaders move out of comfort zones. When one reflects on whether leaders are born or made, it is important to define what a leader is as well as to distinguish between a leader in management and a leader in another field of expertise. Leadership and management are two distinctive yet complementary systems of action. †(Story Cover, 1993). Because â€Å"management power comes from organizational structure, it promotes stability, order and problem solving within the structure. Leadership power, on the other hand, comes form personal sources that are not as invested in the organization, such as personal interests, goals and values. Leadership power promotes vision, creativity and change in the organization† (Samson and Daft, 2005). Management centres on handling complexity and Leadership are to face the new challenges (Story, 1993). For example, in peacetime, an army can train very well under good management, but there is no one who can manage people into battle, the soldiers of course will led by leaders (Story, 1993). â€Å"Management is a skill that can be learned, Leadership is a calling†(Shea, cited in Story, 1993, p. 34). Shea acknowledges, â€Å"Some leadership qualities can be learned, but only if the raw material exists† (Shea, cited in Story, 1993, p. 34). Therefore when good leaders are provided with ample management skills, then they can get their goals, good leaders will be able to communicate their goals to employees in such an effective way that the employees will be able to identify with the goals and will strive to achieve it. â€Å"According to Shea, a good manager may be able to keep even an inefficient organization running relatively smoothly. But a good leader can transform a demoralized organization†(Shea, cited in Story, 1993, p. 34). Consequently, good leadership ability will become an increasingly important quality in the future. A good leader has an impact on the employees and the future of the company. And some times leaders have to face some tough situations. A new leader may for example have to dismantle bureaucratic old rules in a company that already existed for more â€Å"150 years† (Osborne, 2006, cited in Warwick, p. 15). Since such a leader is totally new in the company, people would not want to listen to him, even though he would have to implement more effective procedures for the company. They would feel that he lacks legitimacy, and they actually know the company better than him. This is a common problem that a new leader may face, who still needs to prove his legitimacy. To overcome this obstacle, a leader needs â€Å"strong communication† (Warwick, 2006). Furthermore a leader may not be seen as legitimate because â€Å"employees know more about technical details† (Samson and Daft, 2005, p. 430). To overcome this problem an effective leader could empower employees (Osborne, 2006, cited in Warwick, 2006, p. 15; Samson and Daft, 2005). A good leader must be able to communicate his ideas, so that employees will respect his ideas. If a leader succeeds in communicating responsibility, motivation, and vision to people under him, new leaders are born when they are empowered. Good leaders are not supervisors; instead they delegate responsibility to employees (Warwick, 2006). This is also called â€Å"legitimate power† which stems from a formal management position in an organization and the authority granted to it† (Samson and Daft, 2005). â€Å"Leadership is not rank or status. The military has rules and regulations, paper and procedures. The officers have rank, status and power. But does this necessarily make them leaders? No! Leadership cannot be imposed†(Ron Eddy, 1998). For example, Thomas C. Graham, the chairman of AK Steel, used the military way to manage his staff; however he still failed to get promotion and make more contributions for the company (Samson and Daft, 2005, p. 430) Military style dictatorship is not good leadership. Leaders should give more space and more responsibilities to their staff so that they will know that they are responsible for the company, everyone is part of the company, so it will make them put more passion on their job and then they will push themselves very hard. A good leader must be able to make tough decisions (Warwick, 2006). For example, he may have to retrench superfluous employees (Osborne, 2006, cited in Warwick, 2006). This is form of â€Å"coercive power† (Samson and Daft, 2005). But a leader should also empower employees. If a leader empowers people this will create responsibility in employees (Samson and Daft, 2005) and will also create a competitive environment where employees will feel valued, because expertise is valued. But they have the responsibility be cost effective. They will be rewarded for they own initiative, this rewards could include â€Å"pay increases or promotions†¦ praise, attention and recognition† (Samson and Daft, 2005, p. 429). When management empowers employees it will develop the self-confidence of employees, who will feel good about themselves, and will in turn respect the leader who has promoted their self-esteem. When employees show that they respect their leaders it will enhance their leader’s confidence. Self-confidence is a quality that must be distinguished from ego or bravado, which may be superficial or feigned. True self-confidence is the deep conviction that ones strategies are the most appropriate for solving the problems at hand. It may be crucial to weather the stormy periods that will inevitably occur at many times during the voyage. A leader should give birth to leaders in a company, not to lead the company, but to be leaders in their field. If you never give a responsibility to staff, they will never create new things in their domain. And follow the old habits forever. Hence, a leader of an organization has to lead it to â€Å"constantly reinvent† itself (Warwick, 2006). This is necessary in order to make things more efficient for the company, although the leader’s decisions may be unpopular, it will be effective if he can convince people why change is necessary. Leaders are made when management empowers employees. Leaders should encourage employees to search for new and innovative solutions. Leaders are lifelong learners. â€Å"The gifted leader never stops learningshe reads, she listens, she observes. It is important to note that formal education isnt a necessary ingredient to become a gifted leader. Our three case studies received a traditional medical education that creates followers, rather than leaders. None of them pursued another advanced degree, such as an MBA or MHAthey achieved their lofty status by other means† (William R Fifer, 1997). Creativity and initiative are stimulated when people are given more responsibilities. Leadership means, literally, to go in advance (William R, Fifer, 1997). A leader who gives more responsibility and confidence to employees makes them less dependent on supervision. â€Å"The gifted leader must be able to break away from dependence on the group and visualize new directions. Good leaders in management will lead employees to become leaders in their fields of xpertise that in turn will transform the company into a leading organisation. Thomas Frist, Jr. , MD, who built the giant empire Hospital Corporation of America, once described the solitary long walks he took in all kinds of weather. He said he always got at least one idea out of each walk† (William R Fifer, 1997). A good leader will have the ability to weather both difficult peri ods and good times. He/she will find ways to come up with new ideas whilst also constantly challenge and motivate employees to search for innovative ideas that can be implemented to ensure that the organization becomes a leader in its field. Leaders who have the ability to empower employees have inborn qualities. Intelligence is a key ingredient, especially the kind associated with verbal facility (William R, 1997). Good judgment or simple common sense is another important trait. A colleague of mine fired a seemingly gifted employee after a brief stint on the job; when I asked what the problem was, my colleague replied, He couldnt anticipate! I knew exactly what he meant (William R, 1997). â€Å"Personality, which may be defined as whatever makes a person attractive to others†(William R, Fifer, 1997). They must have boundless energy, be assertive and aggressive. Maybe that training can improve the ability to lead or manage, people need the right qualities to begin with. ( Vaughan, 2002). â€Å"†¦I’d place a greater interest on the qualities rather than training because some people, no matter how well trained, will never be leaders†(Vaughan Gareth, 2002). To be honest, leaders are not like other normal people, â€Å"Leaders do not have to be great men or women by being intellectual geniuses or omniscient prophets to succeed, but they do need to have the right stuff and this stuff is not equally present in all people† (David L, Cawthon, 1996). Successful leaders understand how people from different cultures view them and interpret their actions and adapt their behaviour accordingly†(Dale Pfeifer, 2006). Leadership is a very difficult, indomitable work with a great responsibility and pressure that they will have to suffer. Abraham Zaleznik (1992) contends that â€Å"the ability to lead is directly linked to ones personality. Leaders and managers, he writes, are not the same. Whereas managers tend to favor maintenance of the status quo, leaders seek to transform what is into what should be. As a result, leaders have more in common with artists than they do with managers† (Zaleznik, 1992, cited in David L, 1996) A good leader who has the ability that can always makes a good judgment in the tough situation and have the strong communication which he need to convince and inspire employees in the company in a fast changing world. Not many people have that inborn qualities, therefore how to use that power will be the most important thing that leaders have to consider about. A good leader will help the company to solve the problems such as, global warming challenges and the shift in economic power form the USA to China and India and how employees will need leaders who can cope with change and who can plan for unforeseen challenges. Born leaders have the ability to give vision, responsibility, and legitimacy to employees and this empowerment makes leaders.

Method Of Language Teaching: The Silent Way

Method Of Language Teaching: The Silent Way The Silent Way is the name of a method of language teaching devised by Caleb Gattegno. Gattegnos name is well known for his revival of interest in the use of coloured wooden sticks called cuisenaire rods and for his series Words in Colour, an approach to the teaching of initial reading in which sounds are coded by specific colours. His materials are copyrighted and marketed through an organization he operates called Educational Solutions Inc., in New York. The Silent Way represents Gattegnos venture into the field of foreign language teaching. It is based on the premise that the teacher should be silent as much as possible in the classroom and the learner should be encouraged to produce as much language as possible. Elements of the Silent Way, particularly the use of colour charts and the coloured cuisenaire rods, grew out of Gattegnos previous experience as an educational designer of reading and mathematics programs. (Cuisenaire rods were first developed by Georges Cuis ­enaire, a European educator who used them for the teaching of math. Gattegno had observed Cuisenaire and this gave him the idea for their use in language teaching.) The Silent Way shares a great deal with other learning theories and educational philosophies. Very broadly put, the learning hypotheses underlying Gattegnos work could be stated as follows: 1) Learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or creates rather than remembers and repeats what is to be learned. 2) Learning is facilitated by accompanying (mediating) physical objects. 3) Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learned. Let us consider each of these issues in turn. 1. The educational psychologist and philosopher Jerome Bruner distinguishes two traditions of teaching that which takes place in the expository mode and that which takes place in the hypothetical mode. In the expository mode decisions covering the mode and pace and style of exposition are principally determined by the teacher as expositor; the student is the listener. In the hypothetical mode the teacher and the student are in a more cooperative position. The student is not a bench-bound listener, but is taking part in the play the principal role in it (Bruner 1966: 83), The Silent Way belongs to the latter tradition, which views learning as a problem-solving, creative, discovering activity, in which the learner is a principal actor rather than a bench-bound listener. Bruner discusses the benefits derived from discovery learning under four headings: (a) the increase in intellectual potency, (b) the shift from extrinsic to intrinsic rewards, (c) the learning of heuristics by discovering, and (d) the aid to conserving memory (Bruner 1966: 83). As we shall see, Gattegno claims similar benefits from learners taught via the Silent Way. 2. The rods and the coded-coded pronunciation charts (called Fidel charts) provide physical foci for student learning and also create mem ­orable images to facilitate student recall. In psychological terms, these visual devices serve as associative mediators for student learning and recall. The psychological literature on mediation in learning and recall is voluminous but, for our purposes, can be briefly summarized in a quote from Earl Stevick: If the use of associative mediators produces better retention than repetition does, it seems to be the case that the quality of the mediators and the stu ­dents personal investment in them may also have a powerful effect on mem ­ory. (Stevick 1976: 25) 3. The Silent Way is also related to a set of premises that we have called problem-solving approaches to learning. These premises are succinctly represented in the words of Benjamin Franklin: Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn. In the language of experimental psychology, the kind of subject involve ­ment that promotes greatest learning and recall involves processing of material to be learned at the greatest cognitive depth (Craik 1973) or, for our purposes, involving the greatest amount of problem-solving activity. Memory research has demonstrated that the learners memory benefits from creatively searching out, discovering and depicting (Bower and Winzenz 1970). In the Silent Way, the teachers strict avoidance of repetition forces alertness and concentration on the part of the learners (Gattegno 1972: 80). Similarly, the learners grappling with the problem of forming an appropriate and meaningful utterance in a new language leads the learner to realization of the language through his own perceptual and analytical powers (Selman 1977). The Silent Way student is expected to become independent, autonomous and responsible (Gattegno 1976) in other words, a good problem solver in language. Approach Theory of language Gattegno takes an openly sceptical view of the role of linguistic theory in language teaching methodology. He feels that linguistic studies may be a specialization, [that] carry with them a narrow opening of ones sensitivity and perhaps serve very little towards the broad end in mind (Gattegno 1972: 84). Gattegno views language itself as a substitute for experience, so experience is what gives meaning to language (Gattegno 1972: 8). We are not surprised then to see simulated experiences using tokens and picture charts as central elements in Silent Way teaching. Considerable discussion is devoted to the importance of grasping the spirit of the language and not just its component forms. By the spirit of the language Gattegno is referring to the way each language is composed of phonological and suprasegmental elements that combine to give the language its unique sound system and melody. The learner must gain a feel for this aspect of the target language as soon as possible, though how the learner is to do this is not altogether clear. By looking at the material chosen and the sequence in which it is presented in a Silent Way classroom, it is clear that the Silent Way takes a structural approach to the organization of language to be taught. Language is seen as groups of sounds arbitrarily associated with specific meanings and organized into sentences or strings of meaningful units by grammar rules. Language is separated from its social context and taught through artificial situations, usually represented by rods. Lessons follow a sequence based on grammatical complexity, and new lexical and structural material is meticulously broken down into its elements, with one element presented at a time. The sentence is the basic unit of teaching, and the teacher focuses on prepositional meaning, rather than communicative value. Students are presented with the structural patterns of the target language and learn the grammar rules of the language through largely inductive processes. Gattegno sees vocabulary as a central dimension of language learning and the choice of vocabulary as crucial. He distinguishes between several classes of vocabulary items. The semi-luxury vocabulary consists of expressions common in the daily life of the target language culture; this refers to food, clothing, travel, family life, and so on. Luxury vocabulary is used in communicating more specialized ideas, such as political or philosophical opinions. The most important vocabulary for the learner deals with the most functional and versatile words of the language, many of which may not have direct equivalents in the learners native tongue. This functional vocabulary provides a key, says Gattegno, to comprehending the spirit of the language. Theory of learning Like many other method proponents, Gattegno makes extensive use of his understanding of first language learning processes as a basis for deriving principles for teaching foreign languages to adults. Gattegno recommends, for example, that the learner needs to return to the state of mind that characterizes a babys learning surrender (Scott and Page 1982: 273). Having referred to these processes, however, Gattegno states that the processes of learning a second language are radically different from those involved in learning a first language. The second language learner is unlike the first language learner and cannot learn another language in the same way because of what he now knows (Gattegno 1972: 11). The natural or direct approaches to acquiring a second language are thus misguided, says Gattegno, and a successful second language approach will replace a natural approach by one that is very artificial and, for some purposes, strictly controlled (1972: 12). The artificial approach that Gattegno proposes is based on the principle that successful learning involves commitment of the self to language acquisition through the use of silent awareness and then active trial. Gattegnos repeated emphasis on the primacy of learning over teaching places a focus on the self of the learner, on the learners priorities and commitments. To speak requires the descent of the will into the voluntary speech organs and a clear grasp by ones linguistic self of what one is to do to produce definite sounds in definite ways. Only the self of the utterer can intervene to make objective what it holds in itself. Every student must be seen as a will capable of that work. (Gattegno 1976: 7) The self, we are told, consists of two systems a learning system and a retaining system. The learning system is activated only by way of intelligent awareness. The learner must constantly test his powers to abstract, analyse, synthesize and integrate (Scott and Page 1982: 273). Silence is considered the best vehicle for learning, because in silence students concentrate on the task to be accomplished and the potential means to its accomplishment. Repetition (as opposed to silence) con ­sumes time and encourages the scattered mind to remain scattered (Gattegno 1976: 80). Silence, as avoidance of repetition, is thus an aid to alertness, concentration, and mental organization. The retaining system allows us to remember and recall at will linguistic elements and their organizing principles and makes linguistic communication possible. Gattegno speaks of remembering as a matter of paying ogdens. An ogden is a unit of mental energy required to link permanently two mental elements, such as a shape and a sound or a label and an object. The forging of the link through active attention is the cost of remembering paid in ogdens. Retention by way of mental effort, awareness, and thoughtfulness is more efficient in terms of ogdens consumed than is retention attained through mechanical repetition. Again, silence is a key to triggering awareness and hence the preferred path to retention. Retention links are in fact formed in the most silent of periods, that of sleep: The mind does much of this work during sleep (Stevick 1980: 41). Awareness is educable. As one learns in awareness, ones powers of awareness and ones capacity to learn become greater. The Silent Way thus claims to facilitate what psychologists call learning to learn. Again, the process chain that develops awareness proceeds from attention, production, self-correction, and absorption. Silent Way learners acquire inner criteria, which play a central role in ones education throughout all of ones life (Gattegno 1976: 29). These inner criteria allow learners to monitor and self-correct their own production. It is in the activity of self-correction through self-awareness that the Silent Way claims to differ most notably from other ways of language learning. It is this capacity for self-awareness that the Silent Way calls upon, a capacity said to be little appreciated or exercised by first language learners. But the Silent Way is not merely a language teaching method. Gattegno sees language learning through the Silent Way as a recovery of innocence a return to our full powers and potentials. Gattegnos aim is not just second language learning; it is nothing less than the education of the spiritual powers and of the sensitivity of the individual. Mastery of linguistic skills are seen in the light of an emotional inner peace resulting from the sense of power and control brought about by new levels of awareness. Silent Way learning claims to consolidate the hu ­man dimensions of being, which include variety and individuality as essential factors for an acceptance of others as contributors to ones own life and even moves us towards better and more lasting solutions of present-day conflicts (Gattegno 1972: 84). Design Objectives The general objective of the Silent Way is to give beginning level students oral and aural facility in basic elements of the target language. The general goal set for language learning is near-native fluency in the target language, and correct pronunciation and mastery of the prosodic elements of the target language are emphasized. An immediate objective is to provide the learner with a basic practical knowledge of the grammar of the language. This forms the basis for independent learning on the learners part. Gattegno discusses the following kinds of objectives as appropriate for a language course at an elementary level (Gattegno 1972: 81-83). Students should be able to correctly and easily answer questions about themselves, their education, their family, travel, and daily events; speak with a good accent; give either a written or oral description of a picture, including the existing relationships that concern space, time and numbers; answer general questions about the culture and t he literature of the native speakers of the target language; perform adequately in the following areas: spelling, grammar (production rather than explanation), reading comprehension, and writing. Gattegno states that the Silent Way teaches learners how to learn a language, and the skills developed through the process of learning a foreign or second language can fee employed in dealing with unknowns of every type. The method, we are told, can also be used to teach reading and writing, and its usefulness is not restricted to beginning level stu ­dents. Most of the examples Gattegno describes, however, as well as the classes we have observed, deal primarily with a basic level of aural/ oral proficiency. The syllabus The Silent Way adopts a basically structural syllabus, with lessons planned around grammatical items and related vocabulary. Gattegno does not, however, provide details as to the precise selection and arrangement of grammatical and lexical items to be covered. There is no general Silent Way syllabus. But from observation of Silent Way programs developed by the Peace Corps to teach a variety of languages at a basic level of proficiency, it is clear that language items are introduced according to their grammatical complexity, their relationship to what has been taught previously, and the ease with which items can be presented visually. Typically, the imperative is the initial structure introduced, because of the ease with which action verbs may be demonstrated using Silent Way materials. New elements, such as the plural form of nouns, are taught within a structure already familiar. Numeration occurs early in a course, because of the importance of numbers in everyday life and the ease w ith which they can be demonstrated. Prepositions of location also appear early in the syllabus for similar reasons. Vocabulary is selected according to the degree to which it can be manipulated within a given structure and according to its productivity within the classroom setting. In addition to prepositions and numbers, pronouns, quantifiers, words dealing with temporal relations, and words of comparison are introduced early in the course, because they refer to oneself and to others in the numerous relations of everyday life (Stevick 1979). These kinds of words are referred to as the functional vocabulary of a language because of their high utility. The following is a section of a Peace Corps Silent Way Syllabus for the first ten hours of instruction in Thai. It is used to teach American Peace Corps volunteers being trained to teach in Thailand. At least 15 minutes of every hour of instruction would be spent on pronunciation. A word that is italicised can be substituted for by another word having the same function. Lesson Vocabulary 1. Wood colour red. wood, red, green, yellow, brown, pink, white, orange, black, colour 2. Using the numbers 1-10 one, two, ten 3. Wood colour red two pieces. take (pick up) 4. Take (pick up) wood colour red two pieces give, object pronouns 5. Take wood colour red two pieces hive him where, on, under, near, far, over, next to, here, there 6. Wood red where? Wood red on table. Question-forming rules. Yes. No. 7. Wood colour red on table, is it? Yes, on. Not on. adjectives of comparison 8. Wood colour red long. Wood colour green longer. Wood colour orange longest. 9. Wood colour green taller. Wood colour red is it? 10. Review. Students use structures taught in new situations, such as comparing the heights of stu ­dents in the class. (Joel Wiskin, personal communication) Types of learning and teaching activities Learning tasks and activities in the Silent Way have the function of encouraging and shaping student oral response without direct oral instruction from or unnecessary modelling by the teacher. Basic to the method are simple linguistic tasks in which the teacher models a word, phrase, or sentence and then elicits learner responses. Learners then go on create their own utterances by putting together old and new information. Charts, rods, and other aids may be used to elicit learner responses. Teacher modelling is minimal, although much of the activity may be teacher directed. Responses to commands, questions, and visual cues thus constitute the basis for classroom activities. Learner roles Gattegno sees language learning as a process of personal growth re ­sulting from growing Student awareness and self-challenge. The learner first experiences a random or almost random feeling of the area of activity in question until one finds one or more cornerstones to build on. Then starts a systematic analysis, first by trial and error, later by directed experiment with practice of the acquired sub areas until mastery follows (Gattegno 1972: 79). Learners are expected to develop independence, autonomy, and responsibility. Independent learners are those who are aware that they must depend on their own resources and realize that they can use the knowledge of their own language to open up some things in a new language or that they can take their knowledge of the first few words in the new language and figure out additional words by using that knowledge (Stevick 1980: 42). The autonomous learner chooses proper expressions in a given set of circumstances and situations. The teacher c ultivates the students autonomy by deliberately building choices into situations (Stevick 1980: 42). Responsible learners know that they have free will to choose among any set of linguistic choices. The ability to choose intelligently and carefully is said to be evidence of responsibility. The absence of correction and repeated modelling from the teacher requires the students to develop inner criteria and to correct themselves. The absence of explanations requires learners to make generalizations, come to their own conclusions, and formulate whatever rules they themselves feel they need. Learners exert a strong influence over each others learning and, to a lesser degree, over the linguistic content taught. They are expected to interact with each other and suggest alternatives to each other. Learners have only themselves as individuals and the group to rely on, and so must learn to work cooperatively rather than competitively. They need to feel comfortable both correcting each other and being corrected by each other. In order to be productive members of the learning group, learners-thus have to play varying roles. At times one is an independent individual, at other times a group member. A learner also must be a teacher, a student, part of a support system, a problem solver, and a self-evaluator. And it is the student who is usually expected to decide on what role is most appropriate to a given situation. Teacher roles Teacher silence is, perhaps, the unique and, for many traditionally trained language teachers, the most demanding aspect of the Silent Way. Teach ­ers are exhorted to resist their long standing commitment to model, remodel, assist, and direct desired student responses, and Silent Way teachers have remarked upon the arduousness of self-restraint to which early expedience of the Silent Way has subjected them. Gattegno talks of subordinating teaching to learning, but that is not to suggest that the teachers role in Silent Way is not critical and demanding. Gattegno anticipates that using the Silent Way would require most teachers to change their perception of their role. Stevick defines the Silent Way teachers tasks as (a) to teach, (b) to test, and (c) to get out of the way (Stevick 1980: 56). Although this may not seem to constitute a radical alternative to standard teaching practice, the details of the steps the teacher is expected to follow are unique to the Silent Way. By teaching is meant the presentation of an item once, typically using nonverbal clues to get across meanings. Testing follows immediately and might better be termed elicitation and shaping of student production, which, again, is done in as silent a way as possible. Finally, the teacher silently monitors learners interactions with each other and may even leave the room while learners struggle with their new linguistic tools and pay their ogdens. For the most part, Silent Way teachers manuals are unavailable (however, see Arnold 1981), and teachers are responsible for designing teaching sequences and creating individual lessons and lesson elements. Gattegno emphasizes the importance of teacher-defined learning goals that are clear and attainable. Sequence and timing in Silent Way classes are more important than in many kinds of language teaching classes, and the teachers sensitivity and man ­agement of them is critical. More generally, the teacher is responsible for creating an environment that encourages student risk taking and that facilitates learning. This is not to say that the Silent Way teacher becomes one of the group. In fact, observers have noted that Silent Way teachers often appear aloof or even gruff with their students. The teachers role is one of neutral observer, neither elated by correct performance nor discouraged by error. Students are expected to come to see supportive but emotionally uninvolved. The teacher uses gestures, charts, and manipulates in order to elicit and shape student responses and so must be both facile and creative as a pantomimist and puppeteer. In sum, the Silent way teacher, like the complete dramatist, writes the script, chooses the props, sets the mood, models the action, designates the players, and is critic for the performance. The role of instructional materials The Silent Way is perhaps as well known for the unique nature of its teaching materials as for the silence of its teachers. The materials consist mainly of a set of coloured rods, coded-coded pronunciation and vocabulary wall charts, a pointer, and reading/writing exercises, all of which are used to illustrate the relationships between sound and meaning in the target language. The materials are designed for manipulation by the students as well as by the teacher, independently and cooperatively, in promoting language learning by direct association. The number of languages and contain symbols in the target language for all of the vowel and consonant sounds of the language. The symbols are colour coded according to pronunciation; thus, if a language possesses two different symbols for the same sound, they will be coloured alike. Classes often begin by using Fidel charts in the native language, colour coded in an analogous manner, so that students learn to pair a sound with its associate d colour. There may be from one to eight of such charts, depending upon the language. The teacher uses the pointer to indicate a sound symbol for the students to produce. Where native-language Fidels are used, the teacher will point to a symbol on one chart and then to its analogue on the Fidel in the other language. In the absence of native-language charts, or when introducing a sound not present in the native language, the teacher will give one clear, audible model after indicating the proper Fidel symbol in the target language. The charts are hung on the wall and serve to aid in remembering pronunciation and in building new words by sounding out sequences of symbols as they are pointed to by the teacher or student. Just as the Fidel charts are used to visually illustrate pronunciation, the coloured cuisenaire rods are used to directly link words and structures with their meanings in the target language, thereby avoiding translation into the native language. The rods vary in length from one to ten centimetres, and each length has a specific colour. The rods may be used for naming colours, for size comparisons, to represent people build floor plans, constitute a road map, and so on. Use of the rods is intended to promote inventiveness, creativity, and interest in forming communicative utterances on the part of the students, as they move from simple to more complex structures. Gattegno and his proponents believe that the range of structures that can be illustrated and learned through skilful use of the rods is as limitless as the human imagination. When the teacher or student has difficulty expressing a desired word or concept, the rods can be supplemented by referring to the Fidel charts, or to t he third major visual aid used in the Silent Way, the vocabulary charts. The vocabulary or word charts are likewise colour coded, although the colours of the symbols will not correspond to the phonetics of the Fidels, but rather to conceptual groupings of words. There are typically twelve such charts containing 500 to 800 words in the native language and script. These words are selected according to their ease of application in teaching, their relative place in the functional or luxury vocab ­ulary, their flexibility in terms of generalization and use with other words, and their importance in illustrating basic grammatical structures. The content of word charts will vary from language to language, but the general content of the vocabulary charts (Gattegno 1972) is paraphrased below: Chart 1: the word rod, colours of the rods, plural markers, simple im ­perative verbs, personal pronouns, some adjectives and question words Charts 2, 3: remaining pronouns, words for here and there, of, for, and name Chart 4: numbers Charts 5, 6: words illustrating size, space, and temporal relationships, as well as some concepts difficult to illustrate with rods, such as order, causality, condition, similarity and difference Chart 7: words that qualify, such as adverbs Charts 8, 9: verbs, with cultural references where possible Chart 10: family relationships Charts 11, 12: words expressing time, calendar elements, seasons, days, week, month, year, etc. Other materials that may be used include books and worksheets for practicing reading and writing skills, picture books, tapes; videotapes, films, and other visual aids. Reading and writing are sometimes taught from the beginning; and students are given assignments to do outside the classroom at their own pace. These materials are of secondary im ­portance, and are used to supplement the classroom use of rods and charts. Choice and implementation depends upon need as assessed by teachers and/or students. Procedure A Silent way lesson typically follows a standard format. The first part of the lesson focuses on pronunciation. Depending on student level, the class might work on sounds, phrases, or even sentences designated on the Fidel chart. At the beginning stage, the teacher will model the appropriate sound after pointing to a symbol on the chart. Later, the teacher will silently point to individual symbols and combinations of symbols, and on monitor student utterances. The teacher may say a word and have a student guess what sequence of symbols compromised the word. The pointer is used to indicate stress, phrasing, and intonation. Stress can be shown by touching certain symbol more forcibly than others when pointing out a word. Intonation and phrasing can be demonstrated by tapping on the chart to the rhythm of the utterance. After practice with the sounds of the language, sentence patterns, structure, and vocabulary are practiced. The teacher models an utterance while creating a visual realization of it with the coloured rods. After modelling the utterance, the teacher will have a student attempt to produce the utterance and will indicate its acceptability. If a response is incorrect, the teacher will attempt to reshape the utterance or have another student present the correct model. After a structure is introduced and understood, the teacher will create a situation in which the students can practice the structure through the manipulation of the rods. Vari ­ations on the structural theme will be elicited from the class using the rods and charts. The sample lesson that follows illustrates a typical lesson format. The language being taught is Thai, for which this is the first lesson. 1. Teacher empties rods onto the table. . 2. Teacher picks up two or three rods of different colours, and after each rod is picked up says: [mai]. 3. Teacher holds up one rod of any colour and indicates to a student that a response is required. Student says: [mai]. If response is incorrect, teacher elicits response from another student, who then models for the first student. 4. Teacher next picks up a red rod and says: [mai sti daeng]. 5. Teacher picks up a green rod and says: [mai sii khiawj. 6. Teacher picks up either a red or green rod and elicits response from stu ­dent, If response is incorrect, procedure in step 3 is followed (student modeling). 7. Teacher introduces two or three other colors in the same manner. 8. Teacher shows any of the rods whose forms were taught previously and elicits student response. Correction technique is through student model ­ing, or the teacher may help student isolate error and self-correct. 9. When mastery is achieved, teacher puts one red rod in plain view and says: [mai sii daeng nung an]. 10. Teacher then puts two red rods in plain view and says: [mai sii daeng song an]. 11. Teacher places two green rods in view and says [mai sii khiaw song an]; 12. Teacher holds up two rods of a different color and elicits student response. 13. Teacher introduces additional numbers, based on what the class can comfortably retain. Other colors might also be introduced. 14. Rods are put in a pile. Teacher indicates, through his or her own ac ­tions, that rods should be picked up, and the correct utterance made. All die students in the group pick up rods and make correction is encouraged. 15. Teacher then says: [kep mai sii daeng