The Vermont Teddy Bear Company Essays

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company Essays The Vermont Teddy Bear Company Paper The Vermont Teddy Bear Company Paper The Vermont Teddy Bear Company was established 1981 by John Sortino. Mr. Sortinos dream was to create a high quality stuffed teddy bear, which was produced in the United States. Mr. Sortino learned to sew and took art classes. With these new skills, he began to manufacture a line of bears. By the end of the first year, over 200 bears were sold and different features were being added to the bear line such as having movable joints and being machine washable. The Vermont Teddy Bear Company became incorporated in the State of New York in 1984. The company began to market the bears in department stores and opened its own store in 1985. Before Valentines Day of 1985, the company began a new marketing technique, which allowed customer to send a bear gram by calling a 1-800 number. This pushed The Vermont Teddy Bear Company into a mullion dollar company. In 1991, a new manufacturing factory had to be established in order to handle the demand. The company was now on a roll winning multiple business awards such as Best of America small business award and Heritage of New England Customer Service award. In 1994, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company had grown so much in such as small period of time. At this time John Sortino recognized the need in order to reorganize the company from an entrepreneurial company to professionally managed organization. At this time, he resigned as Chief Executive Officer of the company. He was trying to prepare the company so that a new CEO with experience in this system would be able to flourish. In 1995, Patrick Burns became the New CEO of the company. Mr. Burns and a new chief Finance Officer, Elisabeth Robert began new strategies for the company. They began to open more stores and produced an expanded catalog, at the same time they cut back on advertising for the bear grams. This diminishment in profits caused Mr. Burns stepped down and Elisabeth Burns became the new CEO of the company. External Factors In order to determine the external Factors that face the Vermont Teddy Bear Company the use of the Five Forces model of Porter is needed. This model is an outside-in business tactic tool that is used to make a study of the value of an industry structure. The Competitive Forces study is made by the identification of 5 basic competitive forces: * The entry of competitors- The Teddy bear manufacturing business will can be entered easily as many consumers are not particular to name brands. However quality is a factor as many of these toys are for children and therefore have to be able to withstand the constraints of child play and the ability to withstand the test of time in order to become heirlooms. * The threat of substitutes- for many Teddy bear collections, a trademark is used in order to distinguish one brand from another. The Steiff Company uses a button on the ear of its products. Some trademarks are services used in order to market their bears. An example of this type of trademark would be a Bear gram which is only available from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company. Other trademarks can be as simple as the features of the bears themselves. * The bargaining power of buyers- Depending on the markets in which the company chooses to use will develop the bargaining power of the markets. For collectible bear the volume of product may be limited in order to fuel demand for the products and raise prices. * The bargaining power of suppliers- Depending on the market, the sellers can differ. Many companies chose to produce high volume low quality bears and sellers consist of discount shops and markets. Other companies with higher quality and higher priced bears will focus more on prestique department stores or antique stores as sellers. * The rivalry among the existing players There is much competition and Rivalry within the competition As the Teddy Bear industry is very popular industry that can be approached in different ways. Some companies chose to manufacture bears for Children toys, others are produced for gifts, etc and other selections are created to be collectibles. . The External factors, which contributed to the downfall of the Teddy Bear Company, consisted of other companies who produced bears or other similar plush items. The largest competitor was Steiff Company. Steiff specialized in bears that are manufactured in Germany and the Far East. These bears are high quality and but are not individually customized. The Stieff bears have a trademark is a button sewn in to the ear of each bear. These bears range from $50 for a 6 inch tall to several thousands dollars for the life size bears. Their markets include discount stores and supermarkets to high-end specialty shops and antique stores. The next company that competed was Gund Company. The Gund Company uses the Internet in order to market its product. Gund products include a wide range of plush animals that are not restricted to bears only. Teddy Bear Factory is the only other American manufacturer of teddy bears. This company is a major competitor in the San Francisco area; however, their market is strictly regional. The North American Bear Company manufactures all of its bears in the Orient, where labor costs are cheaper. This company is focuses more on global markets such as Europe, Japan and the United States. Their line of bears differs from The Vermont Bears by having shorter limbs and noses. Applause Enterprises, Inc, is a smaller competitor, who mostly focuses on small plush versions of Sesame Street, Star wars, Muppets, and Disney characters. Internal Factors In order to determine the internal factors that face the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, The PEST Analysis will be used. This model uses the four factors that face the internal factors such as: Political, Economic, Social and Technological. These factors apply to the companys customers, Employees, Investors, Vendors and Community. Vermont Teddy Bear Company Political * Ecological/environmental issues * Current legislation home market * Future legislation * European/international legislation * Regulatory bodies and processes * Government policies * Government term and change * Trading policies * Funding, grants and initiatives * Home market lobbying/pressure groups * International pressure groups Economic * Home economy situation * Home economy trends * Overseas economies and trends * General taxation issues * Taxation specific to product/services * Seasonality/weather issues * Market and trade cycles * Specific industry factors * Market routes and distribution trends * Customer/end-user drivers * Interest and exchange rates Social * Lifestyle trends * Demographics * Consumer attitudes and opinions * Media views * Law changes affecting social factors * Brand, company, technology image * Consumer buying patterns * Fashion and role models * Major events and influences * Buying access and trends * Ethnic/religious factors * Advertising and publicity Technological * Competing technology development * Research funding * Associated/dependent technologies * Replacement technology/solutions * Maturity of technology * Manufacturing maturity and capacity * Information and communications * Consumer buying mechanisms/technology * Technology legislation * Innovation potential * Technology access, licensing, patents * Intellectual property issues The customers are the groundwork of the company. The ability to meet customer expectations is the backbone of the business culture. With quest for superior customer service the company will be able to produce a high quality product that will meet the customers needs and demands. The companies employees are the internal customers. The idea that the employees should be treated with the same attention as the customers will produce a highly efficient work environment. This treatment will create a sense of pride, partnership, team spirit, and personal commitment in every employee. Our investors provide capital with the expectations that the will be repaid with interest. The companies financial strength will be enable the promise the investors to be accomplished. The vendors are a partnership that allows the company to understand the customers wants and the ability to provide the services to customers in a location and price that they want. The community requires that company work within ethical, legal and environmental guidelines. The company will support associations and individuals that have comparable morals in order to contribute to future generations. This requires a balance between working with the community and developing capability of the company.

Summary of The Ruined Maid

Summary of The Ruined Maid Free Online Research Papers Summary of The Ruined Maid Poetry Analysis and Summation (200 Level Course) I think that the poem is about two country women who both are the same, until one of them loses her virginity. The poem shows how that when one woman has sex, her whole attitude to life changes and her friend wonders why. She acts superior to the other woman and talks and dresses more elaborately than she did. Her speech improves and within herself she believes that she is a better person. When the other country girl asks her questions on her new way of life, she always answers with the same statement, ‘when you’ve been ruined.’ Her excuse of her new attitude is always that she’s not a virgin anymore so that gives her a new status of being a higher class to virgins. She also says in the last line that she can strut around town without being spoken about but it’s not alright for her friend to because she is not ‘ruined.’ Research Papers on Summary of The Ruined MaidMind TravelWhere Wild and West MeetInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementCapital PunishmentHip-Hop is ArtQuebec and CanadaResearch Process Part OneThree Concepts of PsychodynamicComparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito

Green IT Strategies and Applications Research Paper

Green IT Strategies and Applications - Research Paper Example An audit was carried out taking into consideration various factors of carbon efficiency, waste management, resources distribution and IT advancement. It was found that plenty of room is available for improvement in controlling environmental hazards produced by the super store. Carbon footprints are obvious from the reports. After the audit, a Chief Green Officer has been appointed to take steps in transforming Hyper Star into a Green IT complex. He, along with his team, will carry out initial diagnosis and survey of hyper star in light of reports of audit. They will suggest the changes required for the transformation. After Green IT transformation, Hyper Star will be able to influence its partner super stores working in the state of New Jersey. It is required to use resources in an intelligent manner for overall benefit of the employees of Hyper Star and for enhanced environmental care. The issue is raising the efficiency in the manner to utilize minimum resources, minimum waste and maximum performance and results. The return on investment (ROI) by stake holders is beyond just reducing the environmental impact; its about optimizing the resources for the best efficiency. Preliminary Investigation by Green IT Team The higher authorities and stake holders of Hyper Star demanded the Peer review to be conducted by a Green IT team to analyze their store in the light of environmental compliance. An audit team was established comprising CGO, IT experts, managers of different section of Hyper Star and some members from stores inside Hyper Star. The audit was focused on four factors. Input in the form of economical factors Socio-cultural norms and attitude of employees Business Infrastructure Technical Development Following findings were published in their report. Carbon emissions are large enough to threaten the environment regarding global warming. Hyper star is doing an extensive business in New Jersey and can be quite helpful by creating network with Partner Organiza tions. The waste management is not proper. Plenty of items are being wasted without taking any care of them. The items for sale and complementary products for use by the employees are quite large in number. Considering IT items only, the store contains 200 laptops, 100 desktop machines, 250 Printer machines for tracking records of items purchases by customer, 10 membership card identification modules and 20 tag identification modules for recognizing prices on various items. All these things create significant amount of carbon emissions into the environment i.e. nearly 70 kilo tons of carbon in a month. The equipments used by the staff is aging and contributing more towards carbon emissions, Moreover, the computers which keep record of the items purchased has a huge database that itself is a big burden on environment in terms of carbon footprints. Proper tagging of items is not ensured leading towards use of papers and other small stickers by the staff to tag the prices. As a result, more stuff is produced contributing towards the ultimate waste. Scheduling the billing of each customer is not automated. People have to wait in line for their turn. Also cash counters are not enough to deal with a large number of customers. Reforms are required in this regard. A huge data server is required to be set up that keeps a centralized record of each and every activity in the store. Proper videos will have to be made to minimize the risk of items being

Dealing with Stress at Workplace Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dealing with Stress at Workplace - Research Paper Example Every workshop presents a unique opportunity for adult learners to acquire new knowledge and skills that are essential in problem-solving in their workplace (Munson, 2012). The adults are aware of the learning needs and are motivated to learn skills that improve their social and occupational role competencies (Fried, 2008). The workshop is geared at enabling the employees to develop problem-solving strategies in order to avoid work-related stress and foster critical thinking skills. Adult learners have a problem-centered time perspective since the formal curriculum is balanced with opportunities to apply to learn through case studies and role –plays. Adults are capable of self-direction and trustful relationships help in identification of the learners’ needs (Munson, 2012). The adults enjoy planning and evaluating their progress while supervisors recognize the adult learners’ need and treat them as adults. The adults are ready to learn their developmental tasks move towards social and occupational role competence. The adult learners bring their prior experience in every learning situation and discovery how to learn from these experiences in attaining self-actualization (Fried, 2008). Adults have a desire to learn and will learn when they feel the need to learn. The need for adults to learn can be developed and usually learn by doing (Munson, 2012). The immediate and repeated opportunities to use newly learned skills and knowledge reinforce learning in adults and thus learning should be centered on realistic problems. The experience affects adult learning and adults must be provided with opportunities to interrupt, ask questions and argue their ideas during the learning process (Munson, 2012). Adults learn best in the informal environment that encourages interactions and various methods such as role play, cases studies and workshops should be used in teaching adults. The acquisition of new knowledge and skills occurs in a predictable sequence and the curricula should follow this sequence to develop, present and support adult learning.  

Swot Analysis for Pizza Connection Essay Example for Free

Swot Analysis for Pizza Connection Essay Pizza Connection demonstrates numerous strengths within the organization when meeting with the owner, Dave Collier. Mr. Collier explained to our firm that they have been successful and at the same time benefiting from the rise in popularity of pizza that swept across the country during the past few years. He also stated that, with this rise in popularity of pizza, his company took advantage of the trend and created the franchisers home office to coordinate national and regional marketing which also included advertising support. In addition, Mr. Collier knows the market well and is willing to do whatever it takes to take advantage of the opportunity that may lay outside the company. Moreover, Dave Collier also explained to our firm that, because of the coordinated national and regional marketing strategy, it will also give a boost with the internal process within the organization. Mr. Collier also provided a strong product development support. With this strong product development support, there will be a new line of specialty pizzas that will expand Pizza Connections market appeal. This is a very strong aspect to our firm because it shows that Pizza Connection is willing and ready to make the best changes for the company. Weakness When there is strength, there is also weakness. During our meeting with Mr. Collier, he told us that he noticed a decline in sales. Over the past few months, the number of customers has declined steadily. He further explained to us that he believes that customer demands have changed. To be more in-depth, he believes that providing high-quality pizza at a reasonable price was no longer enough. Instead, providing speed, convenience, and alternative dining options is the key. Our firm then realized that these were some of the areas that they lack in: 1. ) Dine-in customers; Pizza Connections were not providing dine-in patrons with fast enjoyable food. Customers now want to get-in, be seated, provide with fast high quality service, and get out quickly. 2. ) Phone-in customers; Pizza Connections lacks in making sure that customer food is ready to be picked up. 3. ) Carry-out customer; lack of providing speed and convenience to customer when ordering and receiving there food. Another weakness that came to light in our meeting with Mr. Collier was that there was a lack of space in the restaurant to do parties. Parties are a growing trend with little league baseball teams, youth soccer teams, and birthdays all have been part of this growing demand for party space in restaurants. Our firm has to find a solution for this because this is a community involvement problem. If the community starts to complain, then slowly but surely Pizza Connections will be out of business for good. Our firm wants to make sure that our clients in the surrounding community are pleased with the organization and the services they provide. Opportunities After carefully analyzing Pizza Connection weaknesses, we have sought out some opportunities that they can take advantage of as of right now. Some of the opportunities that our firm believes can bring in more profit for the company are to address the Dine-in, carry-out, and phone-in situation, and make it better. These are the essential internal opportunities that they can take advantage of immediately. Mirror off your competitors strategies like Pizza Hut or Unos. Also, another opportunity that can pursue that a lot of other company havent yet, is used the World Wide Web (WWW). With that, Customers can place order online instead of using the phone and give exact time when they are going to pick up there merchandise. This becomes more convenient for your customers and the business as a whole. Some other opportunities that our firm noticed which Pizza Connection can do is to start delivering and creating more specials for the products they sell. Most pizza venues deliver to the customer which makes it more convenient for the consumers. Pizza Connection has to expand the operation now to be considered a threat in the market. Also, Pizza Connection can recognize most of the little league team that come in to the restaurant on a regular basis and sponsor them. This will give the teams who are recognized a sense of local celebrity status and more publicity that we believe will be beneficial to Pizza Connections success in the long run. Threats Finally, Mr. Collier explained to us the threats that they are dealing with at the current time. Besides the changing of the market demands, competition for the consumers dining dollar increased significantly in the geographic area where Mr. Colliers restaurant served. The number of dining establishments in the area has more than tripled during the last two years. Numerous of Dine-in, and Drive in, has given Mr. Collier a strong threat which make him and our firm wonder if things can get back to normal. Pizza Connection has many threats to deal with but our firm will come up with a solution to solve these problems.

Relationship between Gender, Identity and Civil Disobedience

Relationship between Gender, Identity and Civil Disobedience Hannah Rates Gender, Identity and Civil disobedience: Are they the solution to their own problem? Social political concepts are arguably becoming the most important and highly discussed governmental topics. Gender, identity and civil disobedience are highly relevant in modern society and effect everyones day to day lives. As society is changing and modernizing the roles and meanings of these three concepts are also adapting. I look to explain their similarities and differences as well as how they have affected the global population throughout history and continue to do so. Identity politics is a name given to political positions who share the same interests and views of social minority groups in which people identify, often the individuals have shared experiences of injustice, (Heyes, 2016a) this leads to the challenge of other oppressive groups with the goal usually being equality. Identity political groups aim to secure political freedom of a specific constituency marginalized within its larger context. (Heyes, 2016b) Identity politics is a term that has only been used in recent history originating from around the 1960s. There are hundreds if not thousands of cases of minority groups who are oppressed all over the world including but not limited to gay individuals, women, ethnic minority groups, Muslims as well as well as many other less recognized groups. Collective Identity politics has many positive effects on individuals, a feeling of solidarity with others through constructed collective identity provides an immutable and all-encompassing group t hat supply an escape from the society that oppresses them. One of the biggest collective identity movements in recent history is feminism, their goal was to remove the opposed biological determinist views that men are stronger and smarter than women to gain equal rights which included: the right to vote, reproductive and domestic rights along with many more. Women identifying with each other to challenge the oppression they faced created a way for individual womens voices to be heard, although women grouped together they campaigned for equal rights which benefited each individual in that group. Identity however is a contested concept, where collective identity is accentuated individualism diminishes and where solidarity with a persons minority is gained it is then restricted to one group. A person may have a single identity, but it will be made up of many levels of loyalty and identification. Identities change, because they are based on perceptions, which themselves change over time and environment; as it is possible to identify ones self with more than one thing at a time such as class and gender, or religion and age. Therefore, there are various elements of ones identity and which operate at different levels and these various elements in an identity may well be contradictory. (Concept of collective identity, 2015) Identity politics can be destructive as it can encourage people to fixate or excaudate their sense of persecution, it can also focus the stigmatization which then instigates the effect further. Inside a minority group differences are also overlooked which in turn divides the group internally; in feminist history, ethnic and gay feminists see themselves as having nothing in common with white straight feminists they then end up competing over their relative degree of victimization. (Todd, 2013) Judith Butlers argued using queer theory that the feminist movement only emphasised the differences between men and women by grouping women as individuals wit h the same interests and characteristics. She explained feminism as an unwitting regulation and reification of gender relations reinforcing a binary view of gender relations in which human beings are divided into two clear-cut groups, women and men. Rather than opening up possibilities for a person to form and choose their own individual identity. (David, no date) Judith Butlers use of queer theory in her book gender trouble has also been one of the main driving forces behind the contesting of gender. Gender is defined as either the male or female division of a species, especially as differentiated by social and cultural roles and behaviour. (Dictionary, 1300) As society progresses gender is becoming a multifaced concept that is constantly being challenged, the idea that sex is biological and gender is socially constructed has become a constant discussion point in the world of politics. Society is progressing with the help of technology and social media giving minority genders a voice, resulting in the world becoming more accepting of contested identitys. Transgender and genderqueer individuals identifying as a group has had positive outcomes and helped to empower people. This therefore gives evidence of contested genders becoming more widely accepted. To to be able to identify with their particular gender group however, individuals are required to succumb to specific gender labels which can then often cause them to be treated differently and negatively by peers, loved ones and so ciety. Throughout history many feminists have disagreed and have endorsed the sex gender distinction. Provisionally: sex denotes human females and males depending on biological features (chromosomes, sex organs, hormones, and other physical features); gender denotes women and men depending on social factors (social role, position, behaviour or identity). (Mikkola, 2016) Masculine and feminine behaviour has been learnt through nurture and gender socialisation and has created many inequalitys over time. One of the main objective of feminists, mainly in the second wave movement, was to reverse the gender roles created by society. The idea that women are created to raise children and stay at home doing the cleaning and cooking with a male dominated family has been a view challenged by feminists through many mass protests. Second wave feminism also known as the womens liberation movement set to overhaul gender inequality in private after first wave feminism had achieved public equality, aiming to remove the idea of the public man and the private woman. During second wave feminism the personal is the political became a rallying phrase to dispute the nuclear family and family values which resulted with gender becoming political. Challenging authority through civil disobedience became a very effective tactic for second wave feminists used to gain gender equality. Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government. (Brownlee, 2013a) The term originated from Henry David Thoreau in 1848 when he refused to pay the poll tax as he did not want to contribute to the funding of war and slavery. In Thoreaus essay, he justifies his actions by saying that government is best which governs least, men will someday be able to have a government that does not govern at all. As it is, government rarely proves useful or efficient. It is often abused and perverted so that it no longer represents the will of the people. (LLC, 2016) Throughout history civil disobedience has been used to change societys moral parameters; Gandhis salt march, civil rights movement and suffragettes are all prime examples of instances where civil disobedience proved to be an important mechanism for social change. (Brownlee, 2013b) John Rawls states that a civil diso bedience movement must be: public, non-violent, a conscientious yet political act, contrary to the law and it must aim to bring change to policies and the law. John Rawls suggest that the main point of the movement is that it must be conscientious, this highlights the seriousness and sincerity in which the civil disobedient break the law; through their disobedience, they draw attention to draw attention to laws or policies that they believe require reassessment or rejection. (Brownlee, 2013c) Henry David Thoreau emphasised the importance of human conscience in his 1848 essay stating we should be men first, and subjects afterwards. (Henry David Thoreau, 2017) The non-violence aspect of civil disobedience is also an important factor of the movement as it is not only moral but strategic and more effective, an uprising is 50% more likely to fail (Fisher, 2013a) if violence is used. If a protest does become violent then that legitimizes the states use of violence in response (Fisher, 201 3b) and is also less likely to have support from the public often polarizing them in support of the government. The argument that we all have the right to civil disobedience as part of our democratic rights, alongside our human right to freedom of speech are two factors believed toto encourage oppressed minority groups to speak out about their injustices, this is reflected by civil disobedience protests being known to gain more attention than any other forms of protest. Acts of Civil disobedience by minority groups including gender minority have been carried out throughout history, one of the largest being the feminist movement. The politics of gender roles and inequality have been at the heart of all womens liberation movements especially during second wave feminism. In more recent history Polish women carried out civil disobedience in October 2016 to protest against the governments proposed ban on all abortions with women facing imprisonment if the law was broken. Tens of thousand s of women missed work and school wearing all black to peacefully protest outside parliament against the Law and Justices party proposed ban. The mass protests caused parliament to reconsider and then reject the proposed ban. Poland already have the most restrictive laws on abortion in Europe with women only being able to have one in certain circumstances, however many activists see parliaments choice to over throw the ban as a chance to gain liberation in the near future. Identity politics is a concept that runs parallel with all acts of civil disobedience, individuals identify with each other and all share the same goal which is often equality and social justice. Every civil disobedience movement emphasizes a collective notion of the good. They suggest that when we identify ourselves with something larger than our own identity, we are compelled to take action. We are driven to bring about social reform because we value the importance of helping others. (Enotes, 2016a) In his essay , Thoreau emphasises the importance of coming together as a collective identity as the only way to achieve social reform, he also believes that all individuals should ignore their individual differences and work together towards a collective goal. Thoreau sees a persons power increasing when they unify with others in the cause for social reform. (Enotes, 2016b) The second wave feminist movement and the 2016 Polish protests were both collective actions trying to gain social reform for both identity and gender through civil disobedience. Social political concepts are continuing to shape modern day society, and the majority of these groups are co-dependant. The argument that collective identity diminishes individuality in that group is ongoing. Whist individualism is conceivably reduced, many civil disobedience movements contain individuals that have different standing views on what theyre protesting against. In the case of feminism there are radical and liberal groups inside the larger feminist group. Some radical groups focus on trying to overthrow patriarchy rather than liberal feminists who try to change society to make it equal. This shows that the strive for identity within civil disobedience exceeds the concept of just gender. Although both radical and liberal feminist groups have the same common goal it highlights the flaws of collective identity as the group works against the larger movement cohesion due to their opposed views on aspects of the feminist ideology. Many radical feminists will not accept men to be part of their movement due to their feelings of oppression caused by a patriarchal society throughout history, this excludes men and reinforces the dichotomic view of gender relations highlighting gender differences through identity. Queer theory can be used to understand the contradicting views of both identity and gender; queer theory supports the idea that gender is free flowing and an expression. It contradicts collective identitys as identity consists of so many aspects, to group identities collectively based on one variable e.g. gender is wrong. A difference perspective on collective identities with regards to gender however is that it can empower many people, as more people in modern society are identifying as gay or transgender the glamorization of identity through gender has increased this holds true for many gender labels. Whilst people seek confidence by identifying with these gender labels the end result can be that individuals have restricted themselves to the stereo typical behaviour of that gender identity. Many civil disobedience movements aim to compact the stereotypical view of gender roles and behaviours showing how the three concepts not only intertwine but often provoke each other. It is clear that collective identities are sought out by individuals in order to find solidarity in a certain group, they are used to construct community and feelings of cohesion and holism, a concept to give the impression that all individuals are equal in the imagined community. Gamson argues that fixed identity categories are both the basis for oppression and the basis for political power, again further outlining that civil disobedience is not only comprised by collective identitys, but that they are also a catalyst for many civil disobedience movements. Connotations associated with gender often form these collective identitys that in turn form civil disobedience. Without collective identity, civil disobedience movements would be ineffective; movements are only taken seriously if its a large identity group working towards the same goals. In the example of the feminist movement and the polish protests women identified with their gender to campaign for equality however identifying in this group women have highlighted their oppression and focused the stigmatization. Although quite obviously linked identity does not only exist through the marinization of oppressive groups, if society was completely equal both identity and gender would still exist and where there is democracy there is inevitably civil disobedience. As theories and concepts identity, gender and civil disobedience all share a common quality, in that they are often co dependant in order to be effective as well as being a seemingly paradoxical solution to themselves. Whilst all three concepts seek equality; identity is formed through segregation, gender is defined by its separation and civil disobedience can only exist with minority protesting the majority. In addition to this incongruence, comprised with all acts of politics in accordance to these concepts, ego and prejudice will always effect the individual, creating bias within these social groups, making the topics insolvably disputed for the future. References Heyes, C. (2016) Identity politics. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-politics/ (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Concept of collective identity (2015) Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/politics/concept-of-collective-identity.php (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Todd, D. (2013) Douglas Todd: The pros and cons of identity politics. Available at: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Douglas+Todd+pros+cons+identity+politics/8235119/story.html (Accessed: 19 January 2017). David (no date) Www.Theory.Org.Uk resources: Judith Butler. Available at: http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-butl.htm (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Dictionary (1300) The definition of gender, in Available at: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gender (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Mikkola, M. (2016) Feminist perspectives on sex and gender. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-gender/#GenSocCon (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Brownlee, K. (2013) Civil disobedience. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/civil-disobedience/ (Accessed: 20 January 2017). LLC, S. (2016) Civil disobedience. Available at: http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/civildisobedience/section1.rhtml (Accessed: 20 January 2017). Henry David Thoreau (2017) Available at: http://izquotes.com/quote/394572 (Accessed: 20 January 2017). Fisher, M.F.M. (2013) Peaceful protest is much more effective than violence for toppling dictators. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/11/05/peaceful-protest-is-much-more-effective-than-violence-in-toppling-dictators/?utm_term=.85c428fbbc16 (Accessed: 20 January 2017). Help, H. (2016) In civil disobedience by Thoreau, on the eve of historic Dandi march by Gandhi, and long walk to freedom by Nelson Mandela, how is the.. Available at: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/civil-disobedience-eve-historic-dandi-walk-freedom-748335 (Accessed: 20 January 2017).

Exam Malpractice

Abstract Show/Hide This study considers the remote causes of examination malpractice in the Nigerian education system with a view to suggest new ways of combating the problem. Three research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Using the multistage stratified sampling technique, 200 students were selected for the study from 20 secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State. An Examination Malpractice Questionnaire (EMQUE) was used for data collection. The three research hypotheses were tested statistically using the Chi square statistical technique.The results indicate that poor study habits, paucity of educational facilities, and inability of schools to cover prescribed syllabuses are significant remote causes of examination malpractice in the country. Based on these findings, methods of tackling the menace are proffered and counselling implications are suggested. Introduction The issue of examination malpractice is a national emergency situation. Before the advent of western type e ducation, traditional Nigerian education was based mainly on experience and practice.Its mode of instruction was simple as knowledge was passed on orally and through practical tests. Students then only had to commit to memory, learn by rote, or through observation (Ibia, 2006). Because traditional Nigerian education placed little or no emphasis on certification, students had the proper view of education, seeing it as a means to an end not an end in itself. Besides, the Nigerian culture then frowned at dishonesty and would not hesitate to sanction offenders (Agogo, 2006).According to Ejiogu (2001), general moral decadence and the high premium placed on achievement and certificates by Nigerians has in recent times spawned examination fraud. The general overdependence on educational certificates as a measure of one’s knowledge and competence has led to a mad rush by most people for educational certificates (Sofola, 2004). In a bid to acquire such certificates, many have resorted to unethical means—foremost among which are examination malpractices—just to acquire the certificates at all cost.Without doubt, the persistent occurrence of examination malpractice in Nigeria has spawned heinous problems such as: 1. Lack of credibility of academic certificates acquired in Nigeria by the international community. 2. Declining standard of education in the country. Onyechere (2004) asserted that unless we are able to stop examination malpractice, the standard of education in Nigeria will continue to fall. 3. The problem of turning out into the society half-baked—if not unbaked—graduates who are virtually good for nothing and functional illiterates. 4.Inability to secure competitive and challenging jobs which require practical test of proficiency and skills. 5. The existing correlation between examination malpractice and corruption in public offices. As noted by Thomas Derry of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and quoted in the E xaminations Ethics Project (EEP) survey (2004) report, students who steal their ways to higher offices through examination malpractice would not find it difficult to engage in corrupt practices when they are employed. 6. Finally, examination malpractice has economic implications.According to EEP (2003) report, Nigeria loses more than one billion naira annually to examination malpractice. Thus examination malpractice could equally be seen as an economic crime. Mention-worthy at this juncture is the fact that Nigerians have not been sleeping since the wake of this mischief in the mid 1970s. It is on recorded history that the first serious case of examination malpractice in independent Nigeria was the leakage in 1977 of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) question paper for the West African School Examination (Onyechere, 1996).The outcry by WAEC in the wake of this incidence led to the setting up of a tribunal by the Federal government of Nigeria to investigate the mass leakage and to suggest possible measure to forestall future occurrence. The tribunal recommended severe punitive measures. The federal government followed this up by promulgating Degree No. 20 of 1984 and later, Degree No. 33 of 1999 in which severe punishments against perpetrators of examination malpractice were clearly enshrined.Further measures which have been taken in recent times to eradicate examination malpractice include that taken by the Obasanjo Administration which embedded in the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) policy document a target of 40% reduction in examination malpractice annually; the existing legislation on examination malpractice, Degree No. 33 of the 1999 Constitution which is still in force—though not enforced; and the move by the Federal Ministry of Education to introduce the study of ethics in the school curricula with a view to forestalling examination malpractice.It is a truism that even though much has been done, it is eith er grossly inadequate or ineffectual at curbing the menace as we day-in-day-out see examination malpractices take newer, dynamic and appealing forms especially with the advances in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) coupled with the general falling standards of societal norms. It is also true that examination malpractice would not have attained its present endemic state but for the fact that the major stake holders in education are at the forefront aiding and abetting the crime.Orhungur (2003) decried the general opinion which tends to indict the students and exonerate the teachers and other examination agents. Quoting a tentative report by Usman, he maintained that if the staff, that is, all who have to do with examinations—examiners, typists, custodians, staff of examination bodies, printers, transporters, and security agents—put their house in order, students would not have access to examination materials before examinations. Umar (2003) indicted head m asters and principals as the biggest perpetrators of examination malpractice in the country.He asserted that headmasters in connivance with their teachers initiate primary school pupils into examination malpractice during common entrance examinations by giving answers to the students so that they would record high number of passes in their schools. In the case of secondary school principals, Umar (2003) stated emphatically that they are the worst perpetrators of the crime as they, in a bid to have the names of their schools praised and recognized, manipulate and aid the crime.In the same vein, Ike (2004) of the EEP held that principals have gone to the extent of building into the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) registration fees, an examination malpractice fee variously referred to as cooperation fees, understanding fees, examination welfare fees, and miscellaneous fees with the sole aim of bribing supervisors and invigilators an d whoever sent them so that they might ‘cooperate’ during examinations.Another group of master-minders who have rather taken centre stage in recent times are operators of private study centres also known as extramural classes. These study centres are veritable fronts for examination fraud operated by organized syndicate who charge outrageously high fees for examinations. Funnily enough, students are, more often than not, willing to pay because in the end it pays off very well (Thisday, 2004). The last group which is also a strong force behind the perpetration of examination malpractice is the parents. Many parents would not want their children to repeat any class no matter their level of performance.Thus, they pressure school authorities to give their children automatic promotion even when they fail their examinations. Parents are also in the forefront of hiring mercenaries to write examinations for their wards. They thus collude with principals to issue fake but favour able examination results to their children. Looking beyond the contribution of education stakeholders to examination crimes, other important causes of examination malpractice revolve around the students and their attitude towards their studies as influenced by the general socio-economic situation in the country.In recent times, students prepare—if at all they do—lackadaisically for examinations. The reason for this lacklustre attitude as opined by Thomas Derry of WAEC is that the youths have prioritized entertainment and pleasure at the expense of their books (myspacefm. com, 2004). Furthermore, Anger (2004) pointed out that the high fees associated with especially the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) makes malpractice unavoidable as poor students cannot afford to repeat a given examination and would in the first instance do anything to pass it at all cost.A comprehensive submission by Anyiin (1998) identified the fundamental causes of examination malpracti ce to include: 1. Lack of necessary facilities for teaching/learning 2. Non-coverage of prescribed syllabuses due to their extensiveness and the general nonchalant attitude of teachers towards teaching. 3. Industrial actions by teachers. 4. Mass promotion of students in internal examinations. 5. The general misconception of good performance by some principals and the society as a means of enhancing the status of societal rating of the principals and their schools. . Faulty or lack of proper administration of examinations. 7. Imposition of school subjects on candidates by parents. 8. Poverty and greed on the part of the teachers who constitute the bulk of invigilators and examiners. 9. Constant increase in examination fees, among others. Statement of the Problem In the fight against examination malpractice, it appears that no one is exonerated. As exposed in the preceding section, education stakeholders, the students, as well as the national economy could rightly be apportioned blame s for the preponderance of this menace.In sum, these variables tend to operate interdependently such that there is a cumulative influence, with one variable buttressing the others. This could be seen in the fact that the poor economic situation in the country has compelled most poor parents to resort to unethical means in order that their wards may pass their examinations at one sitting. Therefore, this research investigates remote causes of examination malpractice in Nigeria with a view to proffering effective methods for curbing the menace.