Critical Thinking and Its Beneficial Use Essay

There are nuggets of wisdom about life that tell of applicable truths about it. We can surely find an array of them: â€Å"live like there’s no tomorrow†, â€Å"do good and avoid evil†, â€Å"do not do unto others what you do not want others do unto you†, among others. But there is one adage about life that most people – if not all people – will personally come across as they grow old in life. It goes by the phrase, â€Å"life is the best teacher in the world. † Even modern schools of thought accede to this; for one cannot simply dismiss the truth that lies in the fact that â€Å"experience†¦is a major resource in learning situations† (Brookfield, 1986, p. 38). True enough, there are experiences in life that teach vital lessons. They can figure in the learning one draws from school, or the decisions one takes on oneself, or even mistakes one commits in the process. But learning from the past does not necessarily have to translate to committing so many indecisions and mistakes in life. While learning generally stems from the lessons one draws from the past, one does not always have to commit mistakes to know which decision works or not. There can be a lot of things at stake and far many more things to lose were one to put on an attitude of laxity in facing life. Surely, life may allow certain latitude for mistakes; but the general thumb-rule about it runs by the premise that one engages first in thoughtful consideration of possibilities and consequences before making a major decision. As it were, this is where critical thinking comes in. Critical Thinking: Its Nature and Aspects Critical thinking is basically an exercise involving correct reasoning. At the very least, critical thinking is done to arrive at a correct judgment over matters that may or may not lead to a certain kind of decision. Thomson would define critical thinking as an exercise that is â€Å"centrally concerned with giving reasons for one’s beliefs and actions, analyzing and evaluating one’s own and other people’s reasoning, devising and constructing better reasoning† (Thomson, 2002, p. 2. Fundamentally, critical thinking is a process and not a possession of an immediate or intuitive knowledge. One does not usually engage in critical thinking if he or she is not willing to undergo its meticulous process – a process which may involve the following activities: recognition of the problem, gathering of facts, analyzing gathered data, evaluation of other possibilities, and, last but not least, drawing logical conclusions (Thomson, 2002, p. 2). According to Thomson, there are at least three major aspects involved in critical thinking. First, to think critically means analyze the kind of reasoning one submits. In this process, one is enjoined to â€Å"pick out those features of language which tell us that reasoning is taking place† (Thomson, 2002, p. 5). It must be remembered that reasoning is done on a daily basis. Which is why, one needs to discern the nature of reasoning one encounters – whether it is descriptive, analytic, or in many cases, argumentative. The second aspect is the assessment or evaluation of the correctness of the reasoning. Assessment is quite important in the critical thinking process since it entails reviewing all the facts being presented as bases for arguments. â€Å"Assessment,† says one book on learning, is â€Å"a process of reasoning from evidence† (Pellegrino, et. al. , 2001, p. 42). Too often, one’s reasoning becomes correct or not based on the way one assumes judgments over facts. It is therefore important to get into what the facts tell. After all, facts don’t lie; and for one to use them as vital for critical thinking, facts are must observed well, interpreted reasonably and understood correctly (Pellegrino, et. al, 2001, p. 44). The third aspect is about drawing conclusions – logical conclusions that is. Usually, any kind of reasoning will have both premises and conclusions. One’s task is to see the coherence of the premises (gathered from facts or observations) with the conclusions (usually comes as judgments or decisions being made over something) being forwarded. Critical thinking has to end up making a kind of judgment after all things are considered. But at the end of this process, one must always remember that the repercussions of one’s judgment shall measure the amount of critical thinking one has engaged in before making decision. The fruit, they often say, does not fall far from the tree. By Way of Conclusion: Exercising Critical Thinking in Life The profession that I have requires a lot of critical thinking as well. Being assigned as a security manager for a defense contracting company, I am tasked to oversee the performance of at least five to seven persons under my care. I realized that handling people is not like sitting on some paper works or transcripts. To manage people means to give an ear to many of their reports and assessments. Since as persons, they are entitled to act on their particular judgments, it is my task to be critical about what they tell me. Too often, I see myself evaluating if a person has to be fired from his or her post after committing serious errors in the field. Yet there are instances too when I would find sufficient reasons to give an erring employee another chance depending on circumstances that defined the moment. Either way, I am required to be very careful about the situation, and exercise critical thinking for that matter. My experiences made me realize that critical thinking has two important benefits. First, it reduces the possibility of errors. Since my job involves a lot of decision making not only about the nature of jobs that need to be done, but also the way my people should do them, I have to avoid as many mistakes as possible. A mistake of firing an employee for instance may have serious repercussions not only for the company for also for the family of the employee I fire. Critical thinking – and all the processes that it entails: recognition, assessment or evaluation of facts, and drawing logical conclusions – helps me a lot in minimizing the possibility of committing a very bad decision. Second, I came to appreciate critical thinking as a good way to make my decisions logical and objective. Many times, I am faced with decisions over people. As much as I want to be very objective about them, I am also faced with the fact that I can operate based on my personal biases about people. Critical thinking enables me to dwell on the facts, and base my decisions not so much on the basis of personalities, but on account of results or issues. Works Cited Brookfield, S. (1986). Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning. California: Jossey-Bass. Pellegrino, J, Chudowsky, N. & Glaser, R. (2001). Knowing What Students Know. Washington, DC: National Academy. Thomson, A. (2002). Critical Reasoning. A Practical Introduction. New York: 2002.

Integreted Marketing Communication in Cadbury

What is Integrated Marketing Communications  (IMC)? Integrated Marketing Communications  (IMC) is an approach to brand communications where the different modes work together to create a seamless experience for the customer and are presented with a similar tone and style that reinforces the brand’s core message. Its goal is to make all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations direct marketing, online communications and social media work together as a unified force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation, which maximizes their cost effectiveness.Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is an approach to brand communications where the different modes work together to create a seamless experience for the customer and are presented with a similar tone and style that reinforces the brand’s core message. Its goal is to make all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relatio ns direct marketing, online communications and social media work together as a unified force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation, which maximizes their cost effectiveness.IMC is becoming more significant in marketing practice because of the reduced cost effectiveness of mass media and media fragmentation. As consumers spend more time online and on mobile devices all exposures of the brand need to tie together so they are more likely to be remembered. Increasingly the strategies of brands cannot be understood by looking solely at their advertising. Instead they can be understood by seeing how all aspects of their communications ecosystem work together and in particular how communications are personalized for each customer and react in real time, as in a conversation.Brand strategies and their tactics can be viewed on the  Integrated Brands  site. Cadbury Profile:- About Cadbury’s Dairy Milk: Long ago in 1866 the Cadbury brothers were busy pioneeringtheir  d rinking  chocolate  recipe. However,  they  wanted  to  givetheir chocolate fans more. 30 years went by with the brothers dreaming up new ideas and then inspiration struck. What would happen if you put fresh milk into chocolate? That’s why since1905, Cadbury Dairy Milk still contains a glass and a half of fresh milk in every half pound  of milk chocolate.Cadbury  Dairy  Milk  is  full  of  beans, Cocoa beans to  be  precise. And all from one place: Ghana. They believe that Ghanaian beans are  so  delicious  that  we’re  happy  to  pay  premium  prices  for them. They think it’s worth it to give us that unique Cadbury Dairy Milk taste that we all love so much. Everyone  knows  the not  so  secret  ingredient  of  how Cadbury Dairy Milk is made so creamy. However, not many people knowhow dairy milk chocolate is made so chocolatey. It’s all thanks to the beautiful tropical country of Ghana in We st Africa that helps make our Cadbury Dairy Milk taste  so special.The Cadbury’s dairy milk contains a whole glass and a half goes into every single half pound of chocolate. That’s why it tastes so delicious and that’s why is named  as Cadbury’s dairy milk. Cadbury Dairy Milk, produced in Bournville UK, uses fresh liquidmilk sourced from dedicated dairy farmers in the UK. CadburyDairy Milk is also produced in Ireland and uses fresh, liquid Irishmilk to create the unique  chocolate taste. INTRODUCTION Cadbury is a leading global confectionery company with an outstanding portfolio of chocolate, gum and candy brands.They employ around 50,000 people and have direct operations in over  60 countries, selling their products in almost every country around the world. In India, Cadbury began its operations in  1948 by importing chocolates. After 60 years of  existence, it today has five  company-owned manufacturing facilities at  Thane, Induri (Pune ) and  Malanpur (Gwalior),Bangalore and Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and 4 sales  offices (New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkota and Chennai). The corporate office is in Mumbai. their core purpose â€Å"creating brands people love† captures the  spirit of what they are  trying to achieve as a  business. hey collaborate and work as teams to convert  products into brands. Simply put, they spread happiness! Currently Cadbury India operates in  four categories viz. Chocolate Confectionery, Milk Food  Drinks, Candy and Gum category. In  the Chocolate Confectionery business, Cadbury has  maintained its undisputed leadership over the years. Some of the key brands are Cadbury Dairy Milk  ,  5 Star  ,  Perk  ,Eclairs and Celebrations. Cadbury enjoys a value market share of over 70% – the highest Cadbury brand share in the world!Our  flagship brand Cadbury Dairy Milk is considered the â€Å"gold standard† for  chocolates in India. The pure taste of  C DM defines the chocolate taste for the  Indian consumer. In the Milk Food drinks segment their main product is  Bournvita  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the leading Malted Food Drink (MFD)in the country. Similarly in the medicated candy category Halls is the undisputed leader. they recently entered the gums category with the launch of  our worldwide dominant bubble gum brand Bubbaloo. Bubbaloo is sold in  25 countries worldwide. Since 1965 Cadbury has also pioneered the development of cocoa  cultivation in India.For over two decades, they have worked with the Kerala Agriculture University to undertake cocoa research and released clones, hybrids that improve the cocoa yield. Their Cocoa  team visits farmers and advises them on the cultivation aspects from planting to harvesting. They also conduct farmers meetings & seminars to educate them on Cocoa cultivation aspects. their efforts have increased cocoa  productivity and touched the lives of thousands of farmers. Hardly surprising then th at the Cocoa tree is  called the Cadbury tree! Today, they  are poised in  their leap towards quantum growth.Cadbury is world's leading Confectionery Company. HISTORY:- 1948  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ The Company was incorporated on 19th July, as a private  limited company under the name of Cadbury-Fry (India) Private Limited and commence business soon thereafter. Manufacturing facilities were setup gradually. 1964  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ The Company undertook at its own cost and responsibility the development of cocoa growing in the country. A specialist cocoa advisory service was created. A cocoa research centre was also created together with seeding nurseries and  distribution centers. – Through its subsidiary, Induri Farm Ltd. the Company had set up facilities near Pune to breed cattle that would give improved yield of milk at economic feeding costs. 1967  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Cadbury introduced the `Five Star and Gems' chocolates in 1967 and  1968 respectively. 1977  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ The name of the C ompany was changed from Cadbury-Fry (India) Pvt. Ltd. , to Cadbury India Pvt. Ltd. ,on 7th  June. It was converted into A public limited company on 11th June. Our locations in India Registered Office| Cadbury India ltd. Cadbury House 19, B Desai Road Mumbai 400 026 Maharashtra India Tel: +91 22 4007 3100| Indicative map of India | | | | | | | PURPOSE AND VALUESObjective: Grow shareholder value†¦over the long term. Strategy: Create robust and sustainable regional positions in our core categories of confectionery and beverages through organic growth, acquisition and disposal. Process: They achieve this by Managing For Value. Managing for Value Process incorporates: †¢Setting stretched financial objectives. †¢Adopting Value Based Management for major strategic and operational decisions and business systems. †¢Creating an outstanding leadership capability within our management. †¢Sharpening our company culture to reflect accountability, Aggressiveness and adap tability. Aligning our management rewards structure with the interests of our Share owners across the country. MILESTONES OF CADBURY * The June 2003 issue of Business Today identified Cadbury India as one of India's best-managed companies in 2003. * Cadbury India was identified as one of India’s Best Managed Companies in2003. * India’s Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh at Business Today’s Best Managed Companies Awards ceremony, felicitated Mr Bharat Puri, Managing Director of Cadbury India. * It was the only Multinational Company featured in the list of Best * Managed companies in India.Components of IMC Related to Cadbury:- # Advertising Advertising  or  advertizing  is a form of  communication  used to encourage or  persuade  an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group of people) to continue or take some new action. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, a lthough political and ideological advertising is also common. The purpose of advertising may also be to reassure employees or shareholders that a company is viable or successful.Advertising messages are usually paid for by  sponsors  and viewed via various  traditional media; including  mass media  such as  newspaper,  magazines,  television commercial,  radio advertisement,  outdoor advertising  or  direct mail; or  new media  such as  blogs,  websites  or  text messages. Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased  consumption  of their  products  or  services  through â€Å"branding,† which involves the repetition of an image or product name in an effort to associate certain qualities with the brand in the minds of  consumers.Non-commercial  advertisers who spend money to advertise items other than a consumer product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmenta l agencies. Nonprofit organizations  may rely on free modes of  persuasion, such as a public service announcement  (PSA). Advertising by Cadbury:- Cadbury India has unveiled a new campaign that continues with the brand's ‘Kucch Meetha Ho Jaye' positioning. Created by Ogilvy & Mather, the campaign revolves around the theme of ‘Pay Day', which is associated with happiness by most people.Commenting about Cadbury's latest communication, Sanjay Purohit, director – marketing, Cadbury India said, â€Å"This new campaign takes the concept of celebrations to yet another level. With the Pappu and Miss Palampur campaigns, Cadbury Dairy Milk created a space for itself during the big, community celebration moments. This new commercial keeps the core promise of happiness while introducing another ‘moment of joy' in one’s life. Also, the new TVC highlights the celebratory occasion of pay day, which is an important event in the life of every middle-class India n. Said Abhijit Avasthi, executive creative director, Ogilvy & Mather (India & South Asia), â€Å"We were looking to come up with another interesting, unique meetha moment. We realised that while celebrations have been done for various occasions, the celebration for ‘pay day’ was not done. Pay day emotes feelings that are naturally celebratory in nature. Pay day makes you feel as rich as a king or as rich as a crorepati. THE MAIN ADVERTISING CAMPAIN FOR CADBURY INDIA:- KUCH MEETHA HO JAYE (2004)The biggest challenge for Cadbury to reinstate faith of  the biggest challenge for Cadbury to reinstate faith of  consumers after the worm controversy. Post controversy, approached Amitabh Bachchan to calm the Post controversy, approached Amitabh Bachchan to calm thenerves.. nerves.. Hence the Kuch meetha ho jaaye campaign was introduced. Hence the Kuch meetha ho jaaye campaign was introduced. Projected chocolates as a substitute to mithai  (sweets) and Projected chocolate s as a substitute to mithai  (sweets) and cheered people to have chocolate on every joyous occasion. cheered people to have chocolate on every joyous occasion.MISS  PALAMPUR  (2006) Miss  Palampur clearly targeted at hinterland (INTERIOR OF clearly targeted at hinterland (INTERIOR OFINDIA) Focused on Adults and values, like  SACRED COW Focused on Adults and values, like  SACRED COW Campaigns aimed at rural India did fare well Campaigns aimed at rural India did fare well The share of Cadbury increased by more than 20% in rural India. The share of Cadbury increased by more than 20% in rural India. The brand further strengthened its positions with the core audience. The brand further strengthened its positions with the core audience.AAJ PEHLI TARIKH HAI (2009) Pehli taarikh hai campaign is on the working class of  the campaign is on the working class of the ? country?. Pehli taarikh hai campaign highlighted the celebratory campaign highlighted the celebratory occasion of payday, which is an important event in the life of  occasion of payday, which is an important event in the life of  every middle class Indian. Is a clever occasion–based association which allows for the based association which allows for the brand to be recalled in the right context, every month, ? brand to be recalled in the right context, every month.SHUBH AARAMBH (2010) Core target group, consumers in the age group of 15 Core target group, consumers in the age group of 15–35 years 35 years Specifically, there is a shift from the notion of celebrating Specifically, there is a shift from the notion of celebrating happy occasions with chocolate to the happy occasions with chocolate to the concept of anticipating the occurrence of something good  after consuming , a substitute for mithai the campaign is aimed at consumers across sectors, and is supposed to have a balanced appeal across all tiers. # Direct MarketingDirect marketing is just what it sounds like †“ directly reaching a market (customers and potential customers) on a personal (phone calls, private mailings) basis, or mass-media basis (infomercials, magazine ads, etc. ). Direct marketing is often distinguished by aggressive tactics that attempt to reach new customers usually by means of unsolicited direct communications. But it can also reach out to existing or past customers. A key factor in direct marketing is a â€Å"call to action. † That is, direct marketing campaigns should offer an incentive or enticing message to get consumers to respond (act).Direct marketing involves the business attempting to locate, contact, offer, and make incentive-based information available to consumers. # Personal Selling Personal selling is a promotional method in which one party (e. g. , salesperson) uses skills and techniques for building personal relationships with another party (e. g. , those involved in a purchase decision) that results in both parties obtaining value. In most ca ses the â€Å"value† for the salesperson is realized through the financial rewards of the sale while the customer’s â€Å"value† is realized from the benefits btained by consuming the product. However, getting a customer to purchase a product is not always the objective of personal selling. For instance, selling may be used for the purpose of simply delivering information. Because selling involves personal contact, this promotional method often occurs through face-to-face meetings or via a telephone conversation, though newer technologies allow contact to take place over the Internet including using video conferencing or text messaging (e. g. , online chat). Dairy Milk:-Most fantastic and commonly used concept of personal selling is done when they had introduced Dairy Milk silk as their premium product. They actually kept written message explaining their product silk. They also kept an idea of feed back through mails and toll – free – number â€⠀œ 1800 22 7080. Interactive Marketing Interactive marketing is a one to one marketing process that reacts and changes based on the actions of individual customers and prospects. This ability to react to the actions of customers and prospects means that trigger based marketing is dramatically more effective than normal direct marketing.Interactive marketing is called many things. You may have heard it called event based marketing or event driven marketing or even trigger based marketing but it is all the same idea: reacting to what the customer is doing and driving up marketing effectiveness. Dairy Milk’s Interactive marketing – 1. Social Networking Site One of the easiest way to get connected in today’s 21st century is leading networking sites i. e. Face book and as all other brand even Cadbury has its face book page specially Indian fans is http://www. facebook. com/cadburydairymilkindia 2.Banners and hoardings In key supermarkets, Cadbury will sample its rang e of Cadbury Dairy Milk Fairtrade products during the Fortnight’s first weekend. Online activity will include banners on supermarkets’ websites and there will also be a campaign blog, with regular posts from Ghana updating consumers on progress. Marketing materials show the benefits to the community by way of three characters â€Å"wearing† a school, community centre and hospital. For such type of direct marketing they will always choose a prime location where its always an eye catching phenomenon location.Recently Cadbury had placed almost more than 12 hoardings in western express highway on account of rakshabandhan to promote its chocolate in terms of Indian sweets. For Creating such an advertisement Cadbury India asked national public to send their brother – sister pictures to their registered mail ID or need to fill some forms where they can actually send their feelings / message for their siblings. This act was a perfect direct marketing tool to attr act the crowd using emotional intelligence.This not only created an environment for festival encouragement but an soft corner for the brand Cadbury chocolates as its personal brand of chocolates. 3. INTERNET MEDIA Launched its website www. cadburyindia. com Interactive site www. meethamoments . com, making cards etc Community on social networking sites . Community on social networking sites. Advertisements on different web sites. # Sales & Promotions:- Sales promotion offers a direct inducement to act by providing extra worth over and above what is built into the product at its normal price.These temporary inducements are offered usually at a time and place where the  buying decision  is made. Not only are  sales promotions  very common in the current competitive market conditions, they are increasing at a fast pace. These promotions are direct inducements. In spite of the directness,  sales promotions  are fairly complicated and a rich tool of marketing with innumerable creative possibilities limited only by the imagination of promotion planners. Sales promotion is often referred to by the names of ‘extra purchase value’ and ‘below-the-line selling’.Today we  find companies  in almost all sectors offering some sort of a promotion scheme. These sectors range from automobiles to beverages, from financial services to foods, from household durables to services, from  household products  to  business products, from personal care to textiles and apparel. Dairy Milk initiative for Sales Promotion:- Quantity deal Cadbury offer discounted schemes under customer  oriented sales promotion strategy to increase the sales of product like it offers 250 g pack of  chocolate at the cost of 200g pack and offer 50g chocolate at the cost of 50gextra to their  customer.Consumer contest Cadbury also organized many contest to get attraction and to increase the interaction with the  customer. Interaction with the  customer ww w. meethamoments. com includes  many  competitions  for  for  consumer  like†¦ Consumer Story writing, Painting competition  etc. Point of sales material Point of sales material * Mini Cooler: Mini Cooler serves the need for cooling Chocolates for its reduced perish ability while  still maintaining cooling while  still maintaining the visibility of the product. Visibility of the product. * JarsThese are provided to small outlets, where they are prominently outlets, where they are prominently displayed. * Events in Mall & Festival times Most common Sales promotion now-a-days is they keep their live stall in malls during weekends and conducting some games where the winner would get a Cadbury dairy milk hamper or some Gift vouchers from Cadbury. # Public Relations:- Every organization, no matter how large or small, ultimately depends on its reputation for survival and success. Customers, suppliers, employees, investors, journalists and regulators can have a power ful impact.They all have an opinion about the organizations they come into contact with – whether good or bad, right or wrong. These perceptions will drive their decisions about whether they want to work with, shop with and support these organizations. In today's competitive market, reputation can be a company's biggest asset – the thing that makes you stand out from the crowd and gives you a competitive edge. Effective PR can help manage reputation by communicating and building good relationships with all organisation stakeholders. Public relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics. One of the example case study for Cadbury Chocolate is as follow:- EFFECTS OF THE CONTROVERSY ON CADBURY The state Food and Drug Administration has ordered seizure of Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolates from all over Maharashtra after worms were found in two of them in Mumbai.Cadbury India, whose chocolates had ridden into controversy late last year during the festival season because worms were discovered in some stocks of its Dairy Milk chocolates is probably hoping the association with Bachchan will help consumers forget the bad press the company got on account of the discovery. The Food and Drug Administration had then seized the company's stocks and the Cadbury India management had explained it was bad storage practices by retailers and distributors that had led to the worms. Cadbury India's sales fell following the discovery.And even the government got in to the act with the central health ministry asking for a report on the  controversy. The timing of the controversy couldn't have been worse. Festival season sal es (Cadbury sells almost 1,000 tonnes of chocolates during Diwali) plummeted 30 per cent. Until then, in the country's FMCG sector plagued by slow,  low single digit top line and bottom line growth, Cadbury was a sweet exception. But its net profit in 2003 dipped 37 per cent to Rs 45. 6 crore (Rs 456 million) as compared to a 21 per cent increase the previous year. ROLE OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONSPR concerns the total communications of your total organization/group of organizations. It is unlike advertising, where you are sharing skills of planning, creative and media buying teams with an out-sourced agency. PR calls for a very intimate understanding of the total inner workings of your organization at all levels – workers to Board levels. It requires the integration of knowledge and communications. It is not a part time job for a Marketing Services Manager. If it is to work and serve the larger objective, the PR department should be independent, servicing others like production , personnel, marketing, finance, corporate agendas.Therefore, the PR Head should be part of the top management team- reporting directly to the CEO. He also needs to share everyone's confidences. The PR department of Cadbury’s played a very effective role in managing the reputation and keeping up the goodwill of the company. After being struck with the Worm Controversy it was not possible to create a very good impact on consumers who trusted the company the most. But through the efforts and a good PR team Cadbury’s managed to wriggle its self out of the controversy with a clean chit.STEPS TAKEN TO SOLVE THE CONTROVERSY †¢NOT DENYING THE FACT It helped that the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration had given a clean chit to the company's two plants in the state. Cadbury went into overdrive to tell consumers that improper storage of what is essentially a perishable commodity might lead to worm infestation. Last November Bharat Puri, Cadbury's mild-mannered MD, wen t to media offices around the country meeting reporters, answering mostly hostile queries and patiently explaining the company's stand on the issue. Unlike the cola companies which were caught in a controversy just a month earlier and displayed an ostrich-like attitude, Cadbury did not go into denial mode. It accepted that there was a problem, which may not have been of its own making, and made a commitment to the consumer that it would plug all possible safety loopholes,† says a Mumbai-based brand consultant. As a result Cadbury improved the packaging and paid more attention to the way its chocolates were stored by nearly 650,000 retailers across the country. †¢GAINING BACK TRUSTThe Big B promoted the Big C in the chocolate business – Cadbury in India. Indian cine superstar Amitabh Bachchan has signed on to become the brand ambassador of the chocolate major for two years. AB played a pivotal role in all communication relating to Cadbury's products and brands, be i t in print, on television or the great outdoors, the company's managing director Bharat Puri has been quoted as saying in media reports. With the help of its Public Relations Dept. and advertising agency O;M, it created a campaign which aimed for both rational and emotional appeal.One of the ads showed Bachhan visiting a Cadbury plant, inspecting the systems and processes and finally consuming a bar of chocolate to be convinced that there's nothing wrong with the brand. The other ad featured Bachhan and his granddaughter to emphasize that the product was absolutely safe for children Sponsorship The brand has tied up with the popular TV show; Kaun BanegaCrorepati (KBC) 4and is the key sponsor for it. TCC tropic of cancer foundation and also for the most popular TV show FIR which comes on SAB TV. Product Publicity The following re the types of publicity they used to promote their product:-Tie-up with Reliance India Mobile service. CDM has tied up with BSNL's Missed Call Alert scheme. The brand plans to tie up with marriage and job portals. Tie up with Indian Railways for branding on tickets. Conclusion The Cadbury dairy Milk company successfully  re-establishes the  brand in  different  classes Important and ongoing  campaign after  the 2004 worm controversy which almost affected the sales and the good will of the company. Many variations in this campaign helped in targeting the different socio economic class of people and also the emotional value of people by making and soft heart feeling for the brand.Cadbury Dairy Milk very effectively used the various tools of IMC and the Kuch meetha ho jaye campaign also went  on to  win Silver  for   The Best Integrated Marketing Campaign and Gold in the Consumer Products category at the EFFIES 2006 (global benchmark for effective advertising campaigns) awards. Bibliography:- * http://www. facebook. com/cadburydairymilkindia * www. cadburyindia. com * www. meethamoments . com * www. scribid. com * www. wikipedia. com * www. timesofindia. com

Recruitment schedule and preparation for interview

Describe about yourself† – Identify synopsis about the applicant, specifically their Unique Selling Proposition, describe the applicants who they are and the major benefit that a company will drive from this person. Q. â€Å"Why have you applied for this Job? Or â€Å"Why are you leaving the current position? † – These are very critical questions. The interviewer will consider the reason why the applicants make a change. Is that problem with their previous employer or co-workers? Or do they want to promote? Q. What do you consider your most significant accomplishment in your previous Jobs? † – To find out their experiences/roles/responsibilities that the company can derive from that accomplishments Q. â€Å"What excites you most about this position and what do you think would be stretch for you? † – Evaluate and test the applicant to make sure they understand this Job description and what motivates them to take this Job. Intervie w questions about applicant's skills and experiences: Q. â€Å"Why do you believe you are qualified for this position? – To identify what qualifications or skills that the applicants need to adapt this Job. The applicant need to mention technical skills, a management skill or personal success story Q. What do you like/dislike most about your previous Job? † – Try to determine compatibility with the open position. Can discuss about challenges, pressure situations, deadlines Q. â€Å"What tasks do you find the hardest in the last Jobs? What weaknesses do you have and want to improve? † – Understand the limit of the applicants and identify their weakness.Does the weakness affect to the company? Or could the weaknesses be improved? Q. â€Å"Describe a difficult work situation/ project and how would you handle it? † Q. â€Å"Describe the time that you didn't work well with supervisor or co-worker? What was the outcome and how would you have chan ged the outcome? † CIO. â€Å"Have you worked with someone you didn't like? If so, how you handle it? † – These case-study questions to determine how the applicants dealt with their Jobs under the difficult situations such as pressure, technical problems, confliction with co-workers†¦IQ 1 . â€Å"Do you prefer to work independently or on a team? † – Want to know if they are team's players or would rather work on their own. IQ 2. â€Å"Give some examples of teamwork that you involved. † – Determine the applicant's roles/responsibilities in the team and how heir contribution to make the project successfully Interview Questions about Technical Skills IQ 3. â€Å"What do you do to maintain your technical certifications? † IQ 4. â€Å"How do you keep current on this industry? – Want to know if the applicant still update their knowledge in IT field and â€Å"could they be trained if required? † IQ 5. â€Å"How do you troubleshoot IT issues? † Q. â€Å"What development tools have you used? † – To find out their experience how to troubleshoot computer's hardware and software; maybe which tools they used to fix it or what programming language they used†¦ IQ 7. â€Å"Tell me about a time that you work conveying technical information to a unintentional audience† – Examine applicant's communication skills, and how they delivered their Job to unintentional audience.How quickly are they response for the problems? IQ 8. â€Å"Tell me about the IT's project you are most proud of, and what your contribution was. † IQ 9. â€Å"Give an example of where you have applied your technical knowledge in a practical way' – A deeper look in terms of technical skills to make sure the candidates are suitable for this Job. The interviewer maybe look at the software, management tools or development tools they used, are these tools used in our company? Q. What are you salary requirements – both short-terms and long- terms? Would you take a Job for less money? † – To identify the salary that satisfy the applicant and also consider the budget that company can afford it Interview Guide l. Prepare Create comfortable environment Introduce the purpose of this interview Spend some time introducing yourself to the applicants, and ask the applicants to do the same II. Core interview Focus on open questions to draw out candidates and their opinions.The questions would follow interview questions above: General questions: Ask about the applicant's personality, passion, hobbies Opinions about work and life Work independently or team Their ability Experienced in problems and how deal with it Deal with deadlines, stress Technical questions: Their roles/responsibilities in previous project/Job Ability to pick up new product/technology quickly Technical skills Technical training courses Career and company questions: Salary requirements Opi nions about this position/company Future career plan Ill. After the interview – Tell the applicants how can you reach them or send the results.Write a checklist all the questions you as

The Dance Class by Edgar Degas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Dance Class by Edgar Degas - Essay Example Edgar paid more attention to color in the painting The Dance Class by expressing the tutus and motions of the ballet dancers. The picture is well enveloped by the ceiling, and the space of the painting is expanded by using the oblique point of view. The ballet teacher who happens to be a real character is standing in the middle of the class and some of the ballerinas are facing him while practicing. Ballerinas see each other busy with their practice and other activities involved in a ballet class. The painting gives us a striking balance between the inelegancy of the ballet in wait and the glamour of the dancing ballerinas. There is also the floor and wall colors that make the painting complete, more dazzling and suitable for the painting. The painting is The Dance Class, it was made in 1873 by Edgar Degas. The artist has defined the image through the shading of those forms dark to light with the hope that they infuse the scenes with immediacy.Edgar used dazzling colors, which are we ll distributed in the painting. The main colors used include red, white, grey, yellow, blue, green, black and brown. The colors saturation was well painted depending on the color intensity. The red was fire red in all characters of the painting. Each color represents a deep meaning to the painting, they are all symbolic to the painter and the people who appreciate art. The texture of the paint is rough yet very appropriate for this particular work. There are brushstrokes at the edges of the paintings.

Non Specific topics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Non Specific topics - Essay Example The U.S national economy is different from those of other nations in various ways. Firstly, the US has a liberalized economy. In this economy, the government has minimal control over the economy. Private investors own most of the country’s infrastructure and businesses. Besides having a liberalized, the US has the most formal economy in the world. The US has a functional revenue collection system that provides the required finances. Lastly, the country has market-based economy. In this type of economy, individual/consumers make market decisions. Testing microeconomic theories is a difficult undertaking. This is because an economic phenomenon depends on many valuables. Some of these variables cannot be tested, hence the difficulty in testing microeconomic theories. Moreover, change in dependent variables after each change in independent variable takes a long time or is difficult to establish. In such case, it is difficult or impossible to study the underlying economic situation (Bade, & Michael, 2001). For example, improvement of people’s purchasing power because of infrastructural development might take decades. The Keynesian theory predicts that government’s intervention on an economy results in economic growth. It would be difficult or impossible to test such theory since economic changes takes a long time. The great depression had significant impacts on the US economy. Following these economic extremes, the US government had to restructure its policymaking process. Initially, the US had a rigid economy that was mainly controlled by the government. In addition, the government was the sole developer of economic policies. However, following the depression, the government started involving the private sector in the development of economic policies (McEachern, 2012). The US economy was also based on short-term policies developed by the government. However, following the

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 21

Economics - Essay Example The sellers have an ‘insignificant’ market share in a perfectly competitive market, implying that each firm is acting as a price-taker. In monopolistic competition, on the other hand, has as many producers and consumers as the perfect competition. Producers enjoy a degree of control over price. The products sold and purchased in a perfectly competitive market are homogeneous, which are perfect substitutes for each other. In contrast, the products sold in the monopolistically competitive market are heterogeneous. In other words, when a large number of buyers and sellers interact to buy and sell heterogeneous products we have monopolistic competition. Thus, a monopolistically competitive market differs with a perfectly competitive market mostly because of product differentiation, i.e. products are not perfect substitutes. Monopolistic competition involves many aspects of non-price competition. Marginal Revenue (MR) =Marginal Cost (MC) = Price (P) =Average Revenue (AR) = Average Cost (AC). In short run, new firms enter the market, in case the existing firms are making supernormal profits, thereby making reallocation of resources within the market. Given demand remains unchanged, the increased output (with new firms entering the market) shifts the aggregate supply curve to the right and drives the equilibrium market price down until price equates long run average cost. Thus, long run equilibrium is established as firms having no incentives now to move in or out of the market. Hence, in the long run firms make normal profits. In perfect competition ‘allocative efficiency’ is achieved, both in short run and long run, since price equates marginal cost. Production efficiency, occurring when price is equal to average cost at its minimum, is, however, achieved only in the long run. Combining the two, it can be said in the long run optimal levels of ‘static economic efficiency’ is reached in perfect competition. MR

The Waterboy Reaction Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Waterboy Reaction Paper - Essay Example Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler wrote the film; it acts as a motivator to surpass the general parameter of mundane perceptions of possible and impossible. It retells the story of immense possibilities imbibed within an individual who just needs certain extra efforts and a little bit of courage to surface out. Thesis Statement This essay intends to explore the reaction that evolves in the mind of a man after watching this film and the nature and amount of motivation the film exercises on the mind of the audience watching it. Water Boy: A Reflection Characters and situations appearing on the silver screen are always very fascinating. Hardly any hero of a film or a novel confronts defeat. However, in real life the situations are always very different. At a pragmatic plane, therefore it is very tough always to relate to the characters of the reel life. Bobby, the protagonist of the film, â€Å"The Water Boy† at the outset of the film is projected as a character very clumsy and unacce ptable. He is shown undergoing the immense teasing of his fellow boys who are regular players in the football team. He is over protected by his mother who makes him more effeminate and weak. However, nobody ever tries to peep into the nobility of the boy, who chooses to supply water to his classmates playing for the football team after hearing that his father died of dehydration in the Sahara desert while serving in the Peace Corps. He undergoes all the humiliation to provide water to the boys whom he feels need it and in his own little way tries to pacify his mind by quenching the thirst of others. From this act of the boy, his mental convictions are indicated. He is a very determined person and he never gave up whatever he liked although he faced a lot of humiliation from his classmates and often chiding from the head coach, Red Beaulieu played by Jerry Red accusing him of disrupting the practice unnecessary. These situations in the film are conceived on a pragmatic line of action and thought process and motivate a human mind to a great extent. A dejected and a deprived person best comprehends the pang and the pain of another deprived and dejected person. As it is said, one is not able to feel the pang of a sore toe unless he puts the feet inside the shoe. The character of Coach Klein performed by Henry Winkler appears as the catalyst to the process of metamorphosis that takes place in Bobby’s life. He understands his ability and approaches Coach Klein, who mentors him to become one of the most aggressive linebackers attacking the opponent players continuously with ferocity almost like a superhuman. The deprivation and humiliation of long drawn years, which could have acted as a prominent flow of negative energy in Bobby, actually was manipulated by Bobby as his aggression, which he used to develop his attacking skill in the football ground. At the same time, coach Klein was able to give a good reply to the coach Beaulieu by training and transforming a mere water boy of his team to one of the most valued and attacking players of the opposite team. The film â€Å"Water Boy† is very motivating because it shows the perfect balance of a professional and personal life, which is a very important factor of the contemporary world. Bobby achieves a great development in his career as a player. He transforms himself completely. However, this change does not bring any kind of pride of self-glory in him. He knows how to balance his personal and professional life. Bobby follows the exact

Globalization and Technological Revolution Term Paper

Globalization and Technological Revolution - Term Paper Example Organizations in the international arena typically follow low cost, low-risk entry strategies. Apart from low-risk organizations always consider the political, legal and economic factors of national environments. Accordingly, the competition for FDI would be based increasingly on cost differences between locations, the quality of infrastructure and business-related services, the ease of doing business, and the availability of skills. Organizations are attracted to FDI when they offered a competitive advantage over locals, a lower cost for labor and/or physical resources, secure access to physical resources, proximity to major markets and increased market share, Countries attract FDI if they provide certain facilities to organizations. In this regard, UNCTAD (2002) developed a 12 point criteria, named the inward FDI potential index capture several factors apart from market size (Appendix -1). Now we will analyze the case study- Ireland 2004. Starting with the concept of GDP as it refl ects the income of the people within the country; it also shows the capacity especially purchasing power of the people; it also reflects the demand for the commodities and services. As provided in the case study, the GDP per head (US$: market exchange rate) Ireland in 2003 is $ 37,911 and GDP per head (US$: Purchasing power parity) is 32, 916. Even the real GDP growth rate during 1999-2003 stood around 7.1%. Irish GDP grew at 9.9% per annum during the period 1996-2000. But the GDP growth has slowed down during 2003 due to weak global demand and several other factors. Now if we analyze Irish real GDP growth with most of the countries in Europe, US or Japan we find that GDP growth rate is much higher in Ireland in comparison to UK, France, Germany, US or Japan. So it shows that Ireland economy is expanding and the income level of people are going up which may result in an increase in demand. So companies have enough opportunities to invest in Ireland. The rate of growth of GPD over th e last 5 years when the reforms actually started is around 7-8% which could be seen as a remarkable growth rate if we compare it with other countries in the vicinity.

20th century differed from the world at the end of the 19th century Term Paper

20th century differed from the world at the end of the 19th century - Term Paper Example Asians and African have tried to function in the power structure; however, this structure of power has been engineered to uphold Western rule over economic, social, and geo-political articles (White, pg 98). At the beginning of the 20th century, racial and gender, discrimination still prevailed in the society. Even though the 19th century had seen the end of the Atlantic slave trade, the struggle for equality of Africans in the white population of Europe, South America, and North America sustained. All through the century, the societal taboo regarding gender discrimination decreased. The end of the 20th century witnessed that in almost all regions of the globe, women’s rights equaled that of men. Moreover, not only did people of other cultures get equal rights by the society, but most people criticized racial discrimination as well (White, pg 98). The term Specialism was created during the 1970s, as society began to wonder at, and question humanity’s natural prejudice regarding other species. The closing years of the 19th century, and the whole of the 20th century saw considerable amount of industrial development. Americans abandoned many farms and small towns in favor of industries and factories. These industries and factories, created for mass yield and exemplified on precipitous hierarchy, depended on manual labor, and small salaries. Labor unions slowly gained power in these surroundings. In time, they attained considerable advancements in working circumstances. They also succeeded in modifying American politics: most of the time siding with the Democratic Party, labor unions made up a crucial part of most of the social legislation endorsed from the 1930s, from the time of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, until the Kennedy and Johnson governments in the 1960s. Structured labor is still a significant economic and political power today;

Overview of Information Systems and Technology Essay Example for Free

Overview of Information Systems and Technology Essay Corporations rely heavily on their internal business systems. These business systems consist of departments such as finance and accounting, human resource, legal, sales/marketing, and operations. Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. contains all the necessary business systems to operate for day to day activities. Riordan, a manufacturing company HRIS system is dated back in 1992 and as part of the financial system, it tracks the employee information such as pay rate, hire date, personal tax exemption purposes, seniority date, vacation hours for none exempted employees, organizational information such as manager’s name and department for budget purposes, and personal information with inclusion of addresses, birth dates and names. The companys HRIS system was installed in 1992. It is a part of the financial systems package and keeps track of the following employee information: †¢Personal information (such as name, address, marital status, birth date, etc.) †¢Pay rate †¢Personal exemptions for tax purposes †¢Hire date †¢Seniority date (which is sometimes different than the hire date) †¢Organizational information (department for budget purposes, managers name, etc.) †¢Vacation hours (for non-exempt employees) Changes to this information are submitted in writing (on special forms) by the employees manager and are entered into the system by the payroll clerk. Training and development records are kept in an Excel worksheet by the training and development specialist. Each recruiter maintains applicant information for open positions. Rà ©sumà ©s are filed in a central storage area, and an Excel spreadsheet is used to track the status of applicants. Workers compensation is managed by a third-party provider, which keeps its own records. Employee files are kept by individual managers; there is no central employee file area. Managers are also responsible for tracking FMLA absences and any requests for accommodation under the ADA. The compensation manager keeps an Excel spreadsheet with the results of job analyses, salary surveys and individual compensation decisions. Employee relations specialists track information about complaints, grievances, harassment complaints, etc. in  locked files in their offices.

Odour Of Chrysanthemums | Analysis Of Themes

Odour Of Chrysanthemums | Analysis Of Themes Odour of Chrysanthemums, by D. H. Lawrence, once again is full of themes and motifs. One could study this text and come up with many different interpretations. Lawrence also seems to reference rolls of sex in his story. Lawrence stresses the essential separation of all people, particularly the separation of men and women. This is indicated by Elizabeth Batess emotional distance from all those around her, with the exception of her daughter, Annie, and with the way in which characters talk at, rather than engage in dialogue with, each other. Recognition of the separation of all people and particularly of men and women, for Lawrence, must take place in the dark, through the sensual channels of dimmed sight, muffled odors, and touch rather than through intellectual understanding. Elizabeth Bates recognizes the apartness of her husband by gazing on and touching his still-warm body. She recognizes that he is now apart from her in the world of death, just as during his life he was apart from her in his sexual difference, his masculinity. Similarly, his son John, who resembles his father, is described as being separate from his mother in his shadow y darkness and even in his play-world. Finally aware of the infinite separation between herself and her husband whom she had known falsely, Elizabeth will submit to life, her new master, as she had not submitted to her husband by acknowledging his essential otherness. Death also plays a big role in Odour of Chrysanthemums. The delivery of Walter Batess dead body at the Batess home introduces the storys climactic final phase. This phase addresses the relationship between death and life, in light of a consideration of the relationship between men and women. From the beginning, darkness and gloom and a sense of dread seem to hang over Elizabeth Bates. In the first paragraph, the mine and its train are presented as life-destroying forces which startle animals and cramp human lives. Knowing the dangers of underground work, Elizabeth Bates and her neighbors seem to be aware that Walter Bates may have died in the mine. These different elements foreshadow the focus on death at the conclusion of the story and the way it will inform the future life of Elizabeth Bates. While Walter Bates has probably been dead for the first part of the story, a period coinciding with Elizabeth Batess anxious anticipation of his arrival, the story shifts into a mythic dimension with the stark presence of his half-naked body. The two women kneeling by the untouched and still body conjure up images of the scene of the Virgin Mary holding the body of the crucified Christ. Encountering the dignity and finality of death, she realizes that she has been misguided in her futile attempts to criticize and change her husband. The story implies that she will spend the rest of her life attempting to incorporate this realization, achieved through an encounter with death, into her life. She will live, the story implies, anticipating a meeting with her husband in the realm of the dead. Lawrence also writes about the difference in social class. Odour of Chrysanthemums is set in a rural mining village, and there are strong indications that Elizabeth Bates considers herself socially superior to her husband and his working-class friends who labor underground; however, by the end of the story, through her mythic encounter with his dead body, she comes to value her husband, and by implication, to ignore his class position. Elizabeth Bates is described as a woman of imperious mien, who scolds her son when he tears up the flowers because it looks nasty and appears to censure her fathers decision to remarry soon after being widowed because it violates social propriety. Unlike her neighbors, she does not use the local dialect, an indication of class position, but she is not above criticizing one neighbors unkempt house. Unlike other miners wives in the community, she refuses to demean herself by entering the local pubs to entice her husband home. She is distressed when her c hildren mimic their fathers habits and preferences. Most significantly, however, Elizabeth Bates indicates her disdain for the social position of her community by fighting against her husband and his values. Probably lulled into marrying him by his good looks and his lust for life, she now resents him for making her feel like a fool living in this dirty hole. She seems to despise the manual nature of her husbands work, indicated by her unwillingness to wash the residue of pit-dirt from his body when he emerges from his shift in the mine. Awaiting his return, she angrily says she will force him to sleep on the floor. However, her attitude dramatically shifts when she learns about the accident. She even entertains a fleeting, deluded notion that she may transform her husband morally while nursing him back to health, but her illusions disappear when the dead body of her husband is carried into her home by miners supervised by the pit manager. Viewing the body lying in the naive dignity of death, she is appalled and humbled at what appear s to be her husbands new distance from her, but she slowly comprehends that their former connection was based solely on an unnamed attraction above and beyond the conditioning of social class, and the lure of compatible personality, common interest, or shared experience. She now acknowledges that their relationship was part of a different order of experience, which belonged to a mythic dimension. It is a dimension which includes the physical work of the dark mine, the sexual attraction of the body, and the mysterious world of the dead. The story ends with the laws of this new mythic dimension overriding Elizabeth Batess former concerns about social class. Control Room | Documentary | Analysis Control Room | Documentary | Analysis Documentary film analysis of â€Å"CONTROL ROOM†. In March 2003, American and British forces invaded Iraq with the intention to overthrow the regime of the dictator Saddam Hussein, and the Gulf War erupts. The countless military troops and thousands of journalists from all around the world, descend upon the region in order to secure potential news coverage. â€Å"Truth ultimately finds its way to peoples eyes and ears and hearts†. This is the sentence, uttered by Secretary of Defence Donald H. Rumsfeld, and is heard midway through â€Å"Control Room† Jahane Noujaims bristling documentary about Al Jazeera, the satellite news network during the war. You can only hope that Mr. Rumsfeld is right, though his words inevitably call to mind the proverb, that in war, truth is the first casualty. (Scott, 2004; commondreams.com). Jehane Noujaims â€Å"Control Room† another high profile entrant in the current sweepstakes of anti-Bush, anti- imperialist documentaries. As in her â€Å"Start up.com†, Noujaim focuses less on abstract issues and more on the personalities of the players as they react to events taking place. She was born and raised in Egypt before moving to America and that is probably one of the reasons of her unusual access and trust on both sides. Al- Jazeera (one of the most popular channel in the Middle East with over 40 million Arab viewers) was launched in 1996. This observational documentary records the wide range of opinions that surrounds the Qatar television news network during Iraq invasion. Turning up at the stations headquarters in Qatar, Noujaim got to know reporter Hassan Ibrahim and senior producer Sameer Khadar, both from Al- Jazeera channel network, whose sympathy to her project enabled its success. Most of ordinary people including journalists, who come into view in the documentary film are doubtful, to say the least of the Bush administrations policies, but they also stick to a journalistic ethic of objectivity and fairness, trying to navigate between their political allegiances and the code of their craft. (Walters, New York Times 2004) This particular documentary film is made of conversations of journalists and different people involved in the news industry. Though there are shots of dead civilians and bombardments with meat corpses, it is not the main subject in the film. The main subject is the real documentary shots showing people, journalists and their reaction to the events, their conversations and their actions. The shots of innocent Iraqi civilians being killed make the viewer feel very sorry for everything that is happening to them and their families. There for, the complete documentary film represents American military troops in the cruel and very ‘devil light. An Observational documentary mode: This film uses a ‘fly on the wall technique to observe the Al Jazeera journalists (and other media organisations) as they record stories and interact with the U.S. military media spokespersons. The main commentator in the name of Al Jazeera is the senior producer Sameer Khader. Conversation between the two organizations, which are Al Jazeera and US Central Command, is embodied in the interview between two individuals Hassan Ibrahim and the American press officer Lt. Rushing. Their conversations focus around conflict and the reason of the war, agendas and images and privy to many debates about neutrality and objectivity.In the observational documentary, the camera crew is not normally seen. The people who are being filmed are meant to forget, that the camera crew is there, this is aimed to give to the audience a â€Å"slice of reality†. (Predovnik, 2009 http/socio-political-documentaries. suite) The observational mode (as technology advanced by the 1960s and cameras became smaller and lighter, able to document life in a less intrusive manner, there is less control required over lighting etc, leaving the social actors free to act and the documentaries free to record without interacting with each other). (www.mediaknowall.com/Documentary/definitions.htm) Despite being seen as the most direct form of documentary film, there are a number of problems inherent in the genre, which has caused to be viewed with some suspicion. One of the main problems centres on the extent to which `verite` can be seen as offering a `real` or `true` picture of the subject it is involved in. Lukacs, for example has claimed that the cameras attention to the `here and now` is an inadequate mode of knowing. Events and objects are all caught in process of change and networks of causal relations that require representation, if the `true` story is to be understood. Lukacs claim, however that â€Å"the extensive totality of reality is beyond the scope of any artistic creation†. In short, he is implying that `verite` is incapable of offering a true picture of its subject, because as an approach to documentary it is so limited in its scope. (Praxis international issue: 1/1986 p 82-94) Within the context of this piece of work, I am going to look on how editing can and does affect my documentary film. Editing can be defined as the art of being able to tell a story by connecting a series of shots together to make a sequence and thereby having a series of shots put together make a whole film. When editing is done well, it creates a continuity of sequence, which can make the film interesting and watchable. The way in which the camera is used, its many movements and angels of vision in relation to the object being photographed, the speed in which it reproduces actions and the very appearance of person and things before it, are governed by the many ways in which editing is fulfilled. (Rotha, 1966:79) In this particular documentary film, I have focused on the details of the opening scenes in the different aspects, whether it is a sound, camera angels or emotional influences, and if to pay attention, it is easy to see and understand the scenes and the way that the director expresses the key moments by using very sad music, dialogues and actions. Dialogues between the journalists and some other people related to the war story within the film are very crucial and important in order to follow the story. Those conversations give you a brief explanation of what is going on and who is probably the victim in the story. However, director of the film knew how to send a message to the viewer and most of all what kind of message, by finishing it all with a very clever and very provocative angle of editing in this film. There are two scenes in this film, which I would like to highlight. One of them is when, on the fifteenths minute of the documentary, the director has showed us the archive footage of ordinary, unarmed, innocent people being humiliated and attacked by the U.S military troops right in their houses. The second scene, when the statue of Saddam Hussein being removed on the square and when people shown to us, are very cheerful about it, in my opinion, gives a very strong evidence of what director was trying to say in this documentary. Most importantly, when several journalists give us their thoughts and views about the moment, when this is all happening on the square, is vital for the whole structure of the film. That is probably, the essential part in order to understand and make your own `truth` about this documentary film. By the end ofâ€Å" Control Room† documentary, viewers make their own conclusion. In fact, in this documentary, we have been given a `truth`, which every single viewer will decide for him/her self. We are also presented with filmic evidence, in which Al Jazeera is keen to show both sides of an argument and engage in lots of discussions, including the airing of an American perspective. In my view, the editing of the shots and conversations, along with interviews, wounded pictures of children, played a key role in this documentary. Bibliography A Portrait of Al Jazeera, Scott A. O, 2004; 09/12/2009 www. commondreams.com. Ben Walters, Film Notes, New York Times 2004 Politics of War Predovnik, 09/12/ 2009 http/socio-political-documentaries. Suite Rotha, Paul 1966 Documentary Film, 3rd edn, London: Farber Documentary modes; 1935 09/12/2009 www.mediaknowall.com/Documentary/definitions.htm Praxis international issue: 1/1986 p 82-94 An Introduction to Television Documentary (1998) ; Richard Kilborn and John Izod: Manchester University Press

Distributed leadership and teacher leadership

Distributed leadership and teacher leadership This assignment will explore the leadership practices of both distributed leadership and teacher leadership. Where necessary these practices will be applied to the environment of school A. School A is an inner city comprehensive secondary school with a large intake of English as an Additional Language (EAL) students. In 2009 School A achieved its best ever GCSE results in history with 72% of students achieving an A-C grade in Maths and English. These results placed the school within the top 10 best performing schools in the LEA. Other schools in the top 10 included independent grammar schools or outer city comprehensive schools. However, in 2010 the school was unable to maintain the successes of the previous year as overall GCSE results fell by 4%. It could be argued from this, that the school had neither the leadership capacity to sustain or improve (Ansell, 2004) its position. Kotter (1998) has identified eight principal errors that cause organisations to fail and the applicable principle in this scenario is declaring victory too soon. However; this was not the case for school A, the problem was that three strong leaders whom held senior positions were promoted to other schools around the borough and as a result the rising GCSE trend was unsustainable. Lewis (2003) describes such situations as an uncontrollable barrier that impacts upon organisation improvement. A differing view by an external practitioner had highlighted that the lack of distributed leadership or teacher leadership practices may have hindered the schools chances of improving. Leadership was the term commonly used in all of the examples given above and the opinions of the external practitioner provided me with a focus for this assignment. As a result I intend to examine the literature around leadership, in particular how distributed leadership and teacher leadership are perceived and practiced. The policy and theory related literature review will allow me to develop a greater insight into the two leadership styles, which may well improve my practice as a middle leader. To meet the aims of my project I will answer the following questions and where necessary apply these to the context of my school; What is leadership and educational leadership? What are the key features of distributed leadership and teacher leadership? What are the similarities and differences between distributed leadership teacher leadership? What are the merits and constraints to distributed leadership teacher leadership? 2. What is leadership and educational leadership? Despite decades of research into leadership, writers still remain divided over the answer to the question what is leadership? One powerful criticism is that leadership is a label attributed to human behaviour and that this term can be interchanged with another term (Lakomski, 2005). Cuban (1988, p190) states that there are more than 350 definitions of leadership. Paglis and Green (2002) describe leadership as the process whereby a person identifies where the group is at present, where they need to be and then devises a strategy for reaching their destination. Northouse (2007) defines leadership as a process where an individual influences a group to achieve a common goal. Out of the two definitions I feel that Northouse (2007) definition provides the stronger answer to my research question as the definition takes account of personality traits such as influence which Paglis and Greens (2002) definition does not dwell into. Yukl (2002) explains this influence process as a social influen ce process whereby intentional influence is applied to structure the tasks and relationships within an organisation. Earlier researchers by Stodgill (1948) reviewed 124 trait studies of leadership and found several personal factors of leadership which included responsibility, participation capacity and status. However, the criticism was that these studies did not examine how aspects of contexts and personality traits were interrelated in leadership studies. As a consequence many attempts to find universal qualities of leadership proved to be fruitless (Shorter and Greer, 1997). This led to the emergence of many leadership models. Nevertheless, the term leadership within organisations became associated with innovation and the ideas of change, as a result was elevated in status above management (Gronn 2004). Cuban (1988) stated the contrast in leadership and management to be vast, as leaders sought change and wholeheartedly implemented it whereas managers preferred to maintain the status quo. For this reason, many businesses recognised the importance of leadership as the key driver to their future success. However, applying Gronns (2004) and Cubans (1988) ideas to education I feel that it is necessary for the Headteacher to both play the role of a manager and a leader. This is because the Headteacher is responsible for the school vision (leadership) but needs to take practical steps to implement the school strategy (management). Bolman and Deal (1997) share my thoughts and state that modern organisations require practical managers that lead others in achieving a common goal. Educational leadership is a specific area of leadership within education. Although as highlighted earlier defining leadership is impeccably difficult, however educational leadership within a school setting is defined as a process that guides the talents and energies of, teachers, students and parents to achieve the common educational aims. Preliminary the aim of successful leadership is securing and sustaining improvement (Hopkins, 2001). School improvement has been at the forefront of educational reform leading to many writers discussing the positive benefits of leadership to student learning and school improvement. Wallace (2002) explains the impact of leadership upon school effectiveness and school improvement to be of great importance. Leithwood and Riehl (2003) share a similar view and state that large scale studies of schooling conclude the effects of leadership on student learning to be educationally significant. For this reason the term educational leadership has made its mark within education. It is evident from the literature review that no universal definition has been noted for leadership; however it has allowed me to discover that leadership is a process and one which brings about many models of leadership. In school, leadership is considered to be a process that will support schools to be successful (Harris 2004). Traditionally, educational leadership focused around the heroic model of leadership where the Headteacher demonstrated heroic features such as authority, courage and control (Johnson, 1997). The post-heroic model lays emphasis on teamwork, participation and empowerment. In this situation, school leadership does not dictate and control, but collaborates with others regarding organisational plans and operations. (Eicher, 2006). As schools become more challenging places to control and lead it has become necessary for Headteachers to promote school leaders as a means of sustaining improvement. The National College for School Leadership support this view and state As schools become more complex places to manage and lead, we need many more leaders than ever before (NCSL, 2008). The capacity building model is focused around the promotion of leaders. At the centre of the capacity building model, it has been discussed, is distributed leadership along with social cohesion and trust (Hopkins and Jackson, 2002, cited in Harris 2004 p12). In short, distributing leadership equates with taking full advantage of the human capacity within an organisation. This creates opportunities for all teachers to become leaders and contribute towards the schools vision (Harris Muijs, 2005). In the context of my own situation as a middle manager the school has supported my development extensively, as two years ago I started off as a NQT, now I am a middle manager on a fast track senior leadership training programme. Through the support of this development it can be argued that a form of capacity building has taken place. 3. What are the key features of distributed leadership and teacher leadership? Distributed Leadership Distributed leadership is one form of leadership that has raised the interest of many researchers within the educational field. Prominent researchers within this field include James Spillane, James Duignan and Alma Harris. As a result Bennett et al. (2003) address that there is little agreement to the term of distributed leadership and consequently the interpretations of this term vary from writer to writer and some of the interpretations of distributed leadership are related to collegiality. Connections have also been made between ideas of democracy, empowerment, and autonomy; however the integration of these elements is not made explicit. (Harris 2004). Most helpfully Bennett et al. (2003) suggest that it is more practical to imagine distributed leadership as a way of thinking about leadership as oppose to seeing it as another technique or practice. This view is shared by Spillane (2006) who suggests the key feature of distributed leadership to be used as a framework to examine lea dership. Another key feature discussed by Woods et al, (2004, p441) is that distributed leadership highlights leadership as an emergent property of a group networking of interacting individuals. This process shares some resemblance to transformational leadership as both focus on the actions of the group which Gronn (2000) describes as concertive action and an additional dynamic that is the product of conjoint activity. But different to transactional leadership as this focuses around a leader and its followers. The distributed leadership process also allows educational establishments to consider the boundaries of leadership, expanding upon the traditional leadership positions such as those of Assistant Heads and middle leaders. Woods et al (2004, p442) state that this process is predisposed to widen the convectional net of leaders this in turn raises the question of which group and individuals are to be brought into leadership or seen as contributors of it. So therefore distributed leadership concentrates on how leadership practice is distributed between informal and formal leaders. As Bennett et al. (2003 p3) note, distributed leadership is not something done by an individual to others, rather it is an emergent property of a group or network of individuals in which group members pool their expertise. Teacher Leadership Upon reviewing literature surrounding teacher leadership, it is evident that a precise meaning cant be found. The idea of teacher leadership focuses its attention towards the encouragement of teachers becoming leaders and engrossing in leadership activities outside the classroom environment. Barth (2007) describes this process of leadership where teachers take on initiatives that will inturn have a positive impact within the classroom. Similarly, Wasley (in Harris and Muijs, 2005) suggest that the key characteristic of teacher leadership is to support colleagues to develop work on their own initiative, rather than be lead by initiatives derived from a formal leader. Within my responsibilities as a director of specialism (Business and Enterprise) in my school I have to co-ordinate several whole school enterprise days throughout the year. Rather than organising and leading activities myself, I get my team on board and discuss the delivery of these enterprise days. By getting the team on board I am creating opportunities for these members to build upon their strengths and offer opportunities where they can deliver these sessions independently. It is clear from this example that a form of teacher leadership is taken place within my department. Another aspect of teacher leadership is for teachers to work together, constructing meaning and knowledge collectively and collaboratively (Lambert 1998). It is argued that if everyone has the capacity to do this, only then will school improvement take place (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 2001). This is why schools should have an understanding that leadership should not just be assigned to those within formal positions (Harris and Lambert, 2003). Research has also addressed that understanding leadership alone will not be enough to encourage all staff to play a part in the schools improvement process alone, a form of capacity building will also be required. (Harris and Muijs 2005). It has been highlighted from the Ofsted report during our last inspection that Assessment for learning practices should be consistently applied throughout the whole school. This has resulted to several teacher training days focused around assessment practices. Opportunities have been provided during these days fo r teachers to work collaboratively and share good practice to all. So, it can be argued that these practices share the opinions of both Katzenmeyer and Moller (2001) and Harris and Muijs 2005. The largest numbers of staff within a school are teachers and therefore are at the centre of the capacity building model. The argument for this, is teachers are in the unique position to make change happen given that they are directly involved in the teaching process (Lieberman Miller 2004). Therefore, the key characteristic of teacher leadership is to develop teachers to become leaders beyond the classroom thus leading to improved educational practice (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 2001). 4. What are the similarities and differences between distributed leadership teacher leadership? The focus of distributive leadership is the distribution of power that is stretched over a number of individuals and where the leadership activities are achieved through the interaction of many leaders (Spillane and Louis 2002). Harris (2005) shares a similar view and suggests that distributive leadership is centred on the creation of conditions where people work together and learn together. So it could be argued that teacher leadership is just one area under the umbrella of distributed leadership. Whereby, this process of distributive leadership is all about giving authority to teachers and empowering them to lead, (Harris 2005). This is a move away from the individualism and isolation of teaching brought forward by Lortie (1975 cited in Spillane et al 2001) Teacher leadership and distributed leadership share many similarities (Muijs and Harris, 2003). Both leadership processes are centred on people working together and it is argued that the knowledge base of individuals would increase when compared to individuals who worked alone (Bennett et al 2003). This is why both leadership types promote the construction of knowledge through cooperation and active participation (Harris and Lambert, 2003). 5. What are the benefits and constraints of distributed leadership and teacher leadership? This section will be broken into sub-headings generated from distinctive elements of distributed leadership, distinguished upon reviewing related literature surrounding this type of leadership practice. (Gronn 2000; Harris 2004; Timperley; 2005; MacBeath et al 2005; Spillane 2006). Within this section I will discuss the benefits and constraints of both leadership types. As addressed earlier teacher leadership forms one strand of distributed leadership so therefore my discussion surrounding the benefits and constraints of this leadership type will also be addressed within this section. Emergent property of interaction One of the primary functions of distributed leadership is the development of interaction between groups of people (Woods et al 2004). Spillane et al (2001) describe this as a collective leadership process that leads to an evolution of leadership practice, one which is far greater than the sum of each individuals practice. In the context of my school, this type of process could involve groups of professionals (teachers and senior leaders) coming together and sharing their expertise on a particular topic i.e. improvement strategies of Assessment for learning within classrooms. A shared approach compared to a singular led approach would not only yield a stronger pool of information, but also create a sense of belonging amongst teachers. After all, it is teachers who are required to implement these practices. This approach is similar to theories of teamwork, where the view is that working together produces far greater results than working alone (Harris 2004). It is also suggested that th e interaction approach would be best utilised in an environment where relationships are based on support and mutual protection (Belbin 2000). In respective of teacher leadership, Griffin (1995) highlights the need for teachers to prosper as leaders so they can support the development of other teachers. The knock on effect of teachers not interacting with each other can be seen as an intellectual resource being wasted. A similar view is shared by Harris and Mujis (2005) who have reported that teachers knowledge and expertise increase after being involved in discussion sessions with other leaders. These viewpoints are shared by my colleagues who are on the teaching and learning committee within my school. Having the time to interact with other teachers and discuss improvement ideas/good practice has improved the teaching within their own classroom and this would not have been possible prior to the committee being set up. Top-down Vs Bottoms-up The term top down leadership in schools is a process whereby strategies and solutions are identified by senior leaders and are then passed down the organisation (Hodgkinson 1991). Whereas the bottoms up approach promotes employee participation at all levels of the decision making process. Ryan (2003) suggests that distributive leadership is a non-hierarchical collaborative approach. The benefits of the collaborative approach would increase work performance compared to the traditional hierarchical approach. (Leithwood and Riehl 2003). As a middle manager I have witnessed the bottoms up approach to be more favourable than the hierarchical approach. For example, when the Deputy Headteacher runs CPD sessions some staff are displeased with the development support provided as their views are not taken into consideration. When the contributions and views of teachers are considered, then there is a greater chance that teachers will implement school strategies and support school goals. (Shepp ard,1996). Research has made it known that the authoritarian top-down style of leadership is common in schools that are in special measures (Gray, 2000) compared to improving schools that have embedded distributive leadership (Muijs and Harris 2003). It is apparent from this research that top-down leadership approaches are found within failing schools; however this point cannot be generalised as other factors could play a part towards a school deemed to be failing. Murphy and Meyers (2008) highlight lack of readiness for school, low socioeconomic status of students and urban school settings as a constituent to a failing school. Furthermore, I feel that top down and bottoms up leadership approaches can coexist within a school and still be classed within the spectrum of distributed leadership. For example the Assistant Head in charge of teaching and learning at my school had put forward the five principles to monitor progress of students in lessons. The teachers administered these principles and were given the opportunity to discuss the results with the Assistant Head to identify improvement strategies for the problem areas. This process both involved formalised leaders and informal leaders working together on a similar cause and is described by Spillane (2006) as coordinated distributed leadership. As a recognition of expertise Distributed leadership focuses its attention on assigning experts to appropriate tasks within formal and informal roles and this is different to the traditional leadership model which would only assign formal leaders to take on leadership tasks. Owens (2004) suggests that schools operate under complex systems so therefore; it is unrealistic for the Headteacher to be an expert in all areas of the school. Applied to the context of my school, the Headteacher has recruited a business manager to deal with the financial aspects of the school and oversee the Building School of the Future (BSF) programme. The reason for this is, the business manager has previous experience not only in finance but most importantly holds the expertise in managing a school rebuild elsewhere. Although the Headteacher is ultimately accountable for the school finances and the rebuild, this role is assigned to an expert to ensure the efficient running of school operations. Expertise can also be drawn from school teachers. By creating a climate that identifies teachers know-how will bring out the leadership within those teachers. For the Headteacher to seek expertise outside the formalised roles will empower those individuals (Hargreaves, 1999). However, in my opinion there proves to be unanswered questions with Hargreaves (1999) thoughts as no mention is made when the expert i.e. teacher is not skilled or enthusiastic to lead and as a result the process of identifying expertise may become unproductive. However, Duignan (2006) does shed some light on my thoughts and mentions recognising expertise will promote an allowed-to-be-a-leader culture; this can be a powerful tool in the motivation, support and appreciate of teachers. Conversely it is argued by Katzenmeyer Moller (2001) that teachers can be supported to develop their leadership potential, but teacher leadership can only blossom within a culture where the opinions of these leaders are respected. Nevertheless, it is suggested that the support and expertise offered by teachers can fulfil the responsibilities of the site leaders (Keedy Finch 1994). Lambert (1998) believes that this allows experts to shine from outside the formalised roles of leadership and will increase their capability of becoming leaders. These views could potentially support the problems towards the decline in GCSE results within my school. An initial thought to the cause of this problem was through the departure of three senior leaders who were promoted to posts at other schools. The view here was that when strong leaders left their posts, it led to the decline in students academic results. Lamberts, Keedys and Finchs (1998) views could not be applied to the context of my school, as there was little evidence of a culture of teacher leadership being recognised, nurtured and built upon within my school. If the teacher leadership culture was apparent then the school may not have been affected when the senior leaders left their posts. Harris and Lambert (2003) support my view and put forward the notion that all teachers harbour leadership capabilities and if unlocked can be engaged for the benefit of the school. It has been noted from the literature on teacher leadership that formal roles such as lead teachers were established to recognise the efforts of teachers, however; these programmes were found to be ineffective as Smylie and Denny (1990) found out. These teacher leaders could not fully support their fellow teachers as most of their time was taken up attending meetings as opposed to spending time at improving the practice of other teachers. Supporting school improvement It is argued that leadership that is distributed can support capacity building in school and contribute to school improvement (Harris 2004). This view is supported by Silns and Mulford (2002), their research within this area has identified that student outcomes are likely to increase if the leadership is distributed throughout the school community. However, it is Harris (2004) that brings to our attention that more evidence is required to confirm the relationship between student learning outcomes and distributive leadership. Hallinger and Heck (1998) also bring to our attention that the quality of teaching and learning play a pivotal role in supporting student achievement. If the students are doing better compared to the previous year then the school is seen to be improving. School leaders need to recognise that teachers have contributed extensively to this improvement. Literature has also highlighted that teacher leadership can lead to improved student outcomes as knowledge and skills are shared in order to improve instructional practice (Smylie, 1994) This view is shared by Lieberman and Miller (2004) who suggest, when teachers have opportunities to lead and share good practice the chances of securing the quality of teaching learning is increased. Barth (2007) adds to this view by stating that schools badly need the leadership of teachers if they are to improve It is apparent from the views of the writers above; that teacher leadership plays a crucial role in raising attainment. If effective teacher leadership practices are in place then students attainment will increase. This may not be the case within my school as GCSE results had fallen by 4% compared to the previous year. Therefore; this raises the question is teacher leadership not prominent in my school or is leadership on a whole poor? Moreover, Mendez-Morze (1992) research into effective urban schools has highlighted that student achievement could only be raised with the guidance of an effective leader. -Tensions barriers to distributed leadership and teacher leadership There are no guidelines available as to how distributive leadership should be implemented and this is the key concern of this type of leadership. Other leadership models that exist, encompass guides of delivery for example, John Adairs (1973) Action Centred Leadership model provides a blueprint for the leadership of a team or an organisation. As the model is open to interpretation, the distributive process may lead to the abuse of power and as a result the intentions of this leadership style may prove to be invalid (Maxy and Nguyen 2006 cited in Mayrowetz 2008). Gunter and Ribbins (2003) support this view and address concerns to what distributive leadership will look like in an organisation. Spillane (2005) challenging these concerns and points out that distributive leadership is a way of thinking of leadership and as a result no blueprint can be made available nor an instruction of how leadership should be practiced in a school. This view is supported by Harris (2005), upon the revi ew of both Spillanes and Gronns work into this process of leadership and addresses that distributive leadership is a way of studying leadership as opposed to explaining leadership practice. Also, the distributive process encourages teachers to take on leadership roles, in my opinion there is a significant problem with this as an assumption is made that teachers are capable in taking on leadership roles. Smylie (1994) study of teacher leaders and their principles brought out that teachers raised concerns about the lack of training that was provided towards building new working relationships. In my experience leaders require some form of training prior to taking on leadership responsibilities. The expertise of potential teacher leaders hold may not be effective if the teachers are not capable to lead. This is why in my school the majority of leaders assigned to middle leadership and senior leadership positions attend training courses delivered by the NCSL. Centralised systems of accountability that hold the Headteacher accountable can prove to be another barrier towards successful implementation of distributive leadership. One reason for this is that the Headteacher may be reluctant to delegate their power as he/ she may feel vulnerable due to the lack of control they harbour once others bear the burden of responsibility. OECD (2008) state that this may be true in cases where legal, HR, and financial control is given to others in the school. This is not the case with my school as the Headteacher has given away some of her power to others for example the responsibility of the school finances has been passed down to the business manager within the school and the curriculum design and management passed down to the Deputy Headteacher. This demonstrates that distributed leadership is taking effect as responsibility has been delegated to experts within their fields. Hierarchical systems that remunerate staff in accordance to their roles and responsibilities can prove to be a barrier to teacher leadership. Teachers may feel that the increase workload of additional responsibilities may not be worthwhile if financial rewards are not provided, in return may lead to teachers not being motivated enough to take on leadership roles. In my experience of taking on additional teaching and learning leadership responsibilities when I was teaching a full timetable, I had problems fulfilling my role fully due to the lack of time made available for me to implement my additional leadership responsibilities. My view is supported by several other studies which recommended that time has to be made available for teachers to plan and discuss whole school plans, curriculum matters or liaising with external bodies (Ovando; Seasore-Louis et al., cited in Muijs and Harris 2003). 6. Conclusion I am aware of the benefits that distributed leadership can provide, in particular having a framework to examine and understand leadership practice and developing group interactions through the collaboration process. However, the literature has acknowledged that distributed leadership is a new phenomenon that encompasses a limited literature base and a widely accepted definition (Bennett, Harvey, Wise Woods, 2003; Harris, 2004; Timperley, 2005; Spillane, 2006). In addition there is also little empirical evidence towards the effectiveness of the impact that distributed leadership has towards increasing student attainment and promoting instructional improvement. On this basis, I was unable to find a definitive answer to my hypothesis, which was to determine whether distributed leadership could improve student grades. What I have become aware of is, distributive leadership can play a part to increasing student attainment. Apart from the improvement of student grades, distributed leadership is a powerful leadership strategy where evidence has shown contributes directly to school effectiveness and development (Muijs and Harris, 2003). It is also suggested that the structure of teacher leadership creates a more professional work atmosphere (Little, 1995), which leads to building of a professional community. Studies have found that a school with higher levels of teacher learning and leadership, significantly enhances teacher work in the classroom (Silns and Mulford, 2002) as such an environment encourages collaboration and trust. However; the research has found Headteachers must be prepared to create a culture and climate that is favourable to teacher leadership (Bishop, Tinley Berman, 1997) as teacher leadership offers a realistic understanding of the idea maintained by the theory of distributed leadership as it presents leadership as an invention of a collective activity with all teachers being involved. Overall, the literature reviewed has allowed me generate a deeper understanding of both distributed leadership and teacher leadership. It was also apparent from the application of the literature to the context of my school that distributive practices do exist with some elements of teacher leadership. However, I am aware that it was not possible for me to directly link/test the literature to my problem as no action research into distributed and teacher leadership methods were trialled and tested. Nevertheless the literature has enabled me to build a theoretical base that would be