Performance Related Pay free essay sample

Performance-related pay (PRP) is a financial rewarding system that links pay awarded to the work output of employees (CIPD, 2013). It is connected directly to individual, group and organisational performance (Armstrong, 2005). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, performance pay scheme became prevalently used in both private and public sectors in UK organisations, where it is perceived to be a motivation tool. 2. Theories about PRP As Thorpe and Homan (2000), the role of incentive pay in employee motivation nearly sets up on psychological theories. Locke and Latham (2004) define motivation as internal factors that impel action and to external factors that can act as inducements to action. The theories of motivation provide a solid theoretical basis for the study of the use of financial rewards for stimulating employees to higher levels of performance for the achievements of organizational objectives (Schuler, 1998). Expectancy theory and equity theory offer the fundaments for performance-related pay. 2. 1 Expectancy theory Expectancy theory is relied on expectations that people bring with them to the work situation, and the context and the way in which these expectations are satisfied. We will write a custom essay sample on Performance Related Pay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In other words, there is greater scope to understand how employees may require to be treated differently and to interpret why employees do not necessarily respond in a mechanical way to changes in, for example, the level of pay (CIPD, 2013). Vroom’s expectancy theoryVIE assists to understand the motivation through three elements: †¢expectancy – Employees perceived that they possessed the necessary skills to do their jobs at least adequately; †¢instrumentality– Employees perceived that if they performed their jobs well, or at least adequately, they would be rewarded; †¢valence – Employees perceived the rewards offered for successful job performance to be attractive (Arnold and Randall et al, 2010). According to the expectancy theory, money is a significant motivator for most people, and in order to get or secure a higher base salary or some form f bonus payment, we will normally change our behaviour and attitude, directing or increasing effort in a specific direction. Tying pay to specific performance can ensure people are motivated to increase their efforts and performance and ensure performance outcomes are met (Mikovich and Newman, 2005). 2. 3 Equity theory Another psychologic al thinking that is relevant is equity. Equity theorists claim that people seek balance between their inputs and the reward outcomes. The predictions of equity theory are less often supported by research when people receive than their shares, as opposed to when they receive fewer (Mowday, 1991). In other words, employees are more likely to do something in response to feeling under-rewarded than over-rewarded. Equity theory focuses on perceptions of fairness in the workplace, including distributive justice—that is, whether people believe they have received (or will receive) fair rewards; procedural justice—reflects whether people believe that the procedures used in an organization to allocate rewards are fair; interactional justice—refers to whether people believe they are treated in an appropriate manner by others at work, especially authority figures (Arnold, 2010). When people in an organization feel they have been treated justly, they will be more willing to be ‘good citizen’ at work (Liden et al, 2003). While the motivation to perform ‘good citizen’ behaviours are enhanced by a sense of justice (Arnold, 2010). However, Adams argued that whether the input and reward are in balance is determined on the basis of feelings/perceptions compared with others in relation to social norms. 3. Models In relation to the relationship between pay and performance, pay can be related to individual, the working group or orgnisation performance (Brown and Heywood, 2002). 3. 1 Individual PRP An individual performance-related pay system is â€Å"usually involve payment which is integrated into base salary either in the form of a percentage increase or additional increments on a pay scale† (Kessler, 2005). Individual PRP relates reward on an assessment of the employee’s work performance. It assumes that the differences between individuals are measurable so that retention of high quality employees who wish to enjoy high performance reward is increased (Gerhart and Rynes, 2003). In addition, adopting pay incentives will stimulate employees’ better behaviours that will improve work performance and thus, improve organizational performance. Also, employees are motivated to create more efficient methods to boost productivity. However, individual PRP has negative impacts which may de-motivate employees. It assesses the individual’s performance through using qualitative judgments, therefore bias and unfairness coming from performance appraisal is unavoidable by appraisers’ subjectivity. Moreover, Harris’s research (2001) shows that over half of the management failed to understand the â€Å"value system† of PRP, which in turn made inaccurate judgments on performance. 3. 2 Team PRP Team-based performance-related pay schemes include variable pay which depends on the performance of a team. The aim is to consolidate the team through incentives, establishing a united, mutually supporting team with a high level of involvement (Acas). Meanwhile, team-based pay motivates less effective employees and serves as an incentive for the whole team to improve. There are also potential disadvantages of team-based PRP. In contrast to individual PRP, peer pressure is heavy and result in consistence instead of creativity. Subsequently, bullying or harassment will be resulted from individuals who are perceived to be under-contributing. On the other hand, an amount relies on the underlying magnitude of the free rider problem, whereby team members expect others to accomplish the extra workload to increase team PRP. The greater the concern about some employees’ free-riding, the less will pay be linked to team PRP for the total team input into the production process is reduced (Robert, 2007). 3. 3 Organisation PRP Organizational PRP associates with larger groups than teams, like manufactory and company. The universal PRP schemes for organization level relied on profit-sharing and gain-sharing, or alternatively on dividends of employee-owned shares and change in share value. Hence, employees are able to share such financial participation as profit or share ownership, and are more directly responsible for the project’s success. The firm PRP system is effective as the workforce is aware of their contribution. Besides, employees can participate in organizational control and show greater commitment to the organization. Drawbacks come along with organization PRP benefits. The motivation value of implementing such a scheme is relatively weak. On one side, the added-value systems like profit-sharing involves complicated information and rules and thus employees will feel confused with them. On the other side, the bonus payments are usually available with a delay of several months or years and sometimes combined with other indicators of firm-level performance such as sales, productivity, amount of cost saved and etc. 4. Evidence The tables are from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relation Survey (WERS) (McNabb and Whitfield, 2007). Table 1: Impact of performance related pay, employee and financial participation on individual earnings PRP acts as a motivational tool that attracts workers to perform higher competency and induce employees to pay greater effort. Table one supports this point, showing that workplaces that exert any type of PRP schemes pay higher than those that do not. Among them, individual PRP only makes the most contribution to earnings by comparison with the team and organizational PRP only. Nevertheless, the only single scheme impact is far behind that of combined application of two or more types. Earnings are highest in workplaces where firms adopt a combination of individual and workgroup-based or organizational PRP schemes, as can be seen from the column three. Table 2: Interaction effects Along with, the impact of PRP on pay is strongly controlled by the joint of financial participation. As can be seen from table two, earning is relatively high where PRP co-operate with employee share-ownership. PRP is not only backed up by employers, but also by governments to promote employee financial participation through a range of fiscal incentives. For instance, the UK’s new Share Incentive Plan requires employees to leave their shares in trust for a minimum of five years to avail of tax relief. . Conclusion In conclude, PRP is one of the main financial incentives to motivate employees on the basis of expectancy theory. If PRP is designed and implement efficiently and measured fairly, positive impacts will be appeared on employees’ performance. Earnings are paid higher when organization applies PRP and highest when uses a combination of individual and team or organisational PRP. In spite of this, there is no optimal approach to PRP, an d in practice each model has its own advantages and disadvantages. Individual PRP works best where employee decision-making processes centered on jobs, whereas group-based PRP works best where employees are involved in making decisions about their work-roles in their broader context (Delbridge and Whitfield, 2001). Different organizations should undertake different PRP to suit its own situation. And schemes need to be tailored with the management strategy and organisational culture, such as the organization that demands team work would not be appropriate to establish individual PRP system.

The Catcher in the Rye Overview

'The Catcher in the Rye' Overview The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is one of the most well-known coming-of-age novels in American literature. Through the first-person narrative of teenager Holden Caulfield, the novel explores modern alienation and the loss of innocence. Fast Facts: The Catcher in the Rye Author: J.D. SalingerPublisher: Little, Brown and CompanyYear Published: 1951Genre: FictionType of Work: NovelOriginal Language: EnglishThemes: Alienation, innocence, deathCharacters: Holden Caulfield, Phoebe Caulfield, Ackley, Stradlater, Allie CaulfieldFun Fact: J.D. Salinger wrote a prequel (The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls) that tells the story of Holdens brothers death. Salinger donated the story to Princeton University on the condition it not be published until 50 years after his death- the year 2060. Plot Summary The novel begins with the narrator, Holden Caulfield, describing his experience as a student at Pencey Prep. He has been expelled after failing most of his classes. His roommate, Stradlater, wants Holden to write an essay for him so that he can go on a date. Holden writes the essay about his late brother Allies baseball glove. (Allie died of leukemia years prior.) Stradlater does not like the essay, and refuses to tell Holden whether he and his date had sex. Upset, Holden leaves campus and travels to New York City. He rents a room in a cheap hotel. He makes arrangements with the elevator operator to have a prostitute named Sunny visit his room, but when she arrives, he becomes uncomfortable and tells her that he just wants to talk to her. Sunny and her pimp, Maurice, demand more money and Holden gets punched in the stomach. The next day, Holden gets drunk and sneaks into his family’s apartment. He talks to his younger sister, Phoebe, whom he loves and regards as innocent. He tells Phoebe that he has a fantasy of being the catcher in the rye who catches children when they fall off a cliff while playing. When his parents come home, Holden leaves and travels to his former teacher Mr. Antolinis house, where he falls asleep. When he wakes up, Mr. Antolini is patting his head; Holden becomes disturbed and leaves. The next day, Holden takes Phoebe to the zoo and watches as she rides the carousel: his first true experience of happiness in the story. The story ends with Holden stating that he got sick and will be starting at a new school in the fall. Major Characters Holden Caulfield. Holden is sixteen years old. Intelligent, emotional, and desperately lonely, Holden is the epitome of an unreliable narrator. He is obsessed with death, especially the death of younger brother Allie. Holden strives to present himself as a cynical, smart, and worldly person. Ackley. Ackley is a student at Pencey Prep. Holden claims to despise him, but there are hints that Holden views Ackley as a version of himself. Stradlater. Stradlater is Holden’s roommate at Pencey. Confident, handsome, athletic, and popular, Stradlater is everything Holden wishes he could be. Phoebe Caulfield. Phoebe is Holden’s younger sister. She is one of the few people that Holden holds in high regard. Holden views Phoebe as smart, kind, and innocent- almost an ideal human being. Allie Caulfield. Allie is Holdens late younger brother, who died of leukemia before the start of the narrative. Major Themes Innocence vs. Phoniness. Phony is Holden’s insult of choice. He uses the word to describe most of the people and places he encounters. To Holden, the word implies artifice, a lack of authenticity, and pretension. To Holden, phoniness is a symptom of adulthood; by contrast, he views the innocence of children as a sign of true goodness. Alienation. Holden is isolated and alienated throughout the entire novel. His adventures are consistently focused on making some sort of human connection. Holden uses alienation to protect himself from mockery and rejection, but his loneliness drives him to keep trying to connect. Death. Death is the thread that runs through the story. For Holden, death is abstract; what Holden fears about death is the change that it brings. Holden continuously wishes for things to remain unchanged, and to be able to go back to better times- a time when Allie was alive. Literary Style Salinger employs naturalistic, slang-infused language to believably replicate the voice of a teenage boy, and injects the narration with filler words to lend it the same rhythm as the spoken word; the resulting effect is the sense that Holden is telling you this story. Holden is also an unreliable narrator, telling the reader that he is the most terrific liar you ever saw. As a result, the reader can’t necessarily trust Holden’s descriptions. About the Author J.D. Salinger was born in 1919 in Manhattan, New York. He burst onto the literary stage with the publication of his famous short story, A Perfect Day for Bananafish in 1948. Just three years later he published The Catcher in the Rye and solidified his reputation as one of the greatest authors of the 20th century. Superstardom did not agree with Salinger, and he became a recluse, publishing his last story in 1965 and giving his last interview in 1980. He died in 2010 at the age of 91.

Examples of Physical Changes and Chemical Changes

Examples of Physical Changes and Chemical Changes Are you confused about the difference between chemical changes and physical changes and how to tell them apart? In a nutshell, a chemical change produces a new substance, while a physical change does not. A material may change shapes or forms while undergoing a physical change, but no chemical reactions occur and no new compounds are produced. Key Takeaways: Chemical and Physical Change Examples A chemical change results from a chemical reaction, while a physical change is when matter changes forms but not chemical identity.Examples of chemical changes are burning, cooking, rusting, and rotting.Examples of physical changes are boiling, melting, freezing, and shredding.Often, physical changes can be undone, if energy is input. The only way to reverse a chemical change is via another chemical reaction. Examples of Chemical Changes A new compound (product) results from a chemical change as the atoms rearrange themselves to form new chemical bonds. Burning woodSouring milkMixing acid and baseDigesting foodCooking an eggHeating sugar to form caramelBaking a cakeRusting of iron Examples of Physical Changes No new chemical species forms in a physical change. Changing the state of a pure substance between solid, liquid, and gas phases of matter are all physical changes since the identity of the matter does not change. Crumpling a sheet of aluminum foilMelting an ice cubeCasting silver in a moldBreaking a bottleBoiling waterEvaporating alcoholShredding paperSublimation of dry ice into carbon dioxide vapor How to Tell Whether Its a Physical or Chemical Change? Look for an indication that a chemical change occurred. Chemical reactions release or absorb heat or other energy or may produce a gas, odor, color or sound. If you dont see any of these indications, a physical change likely occurred. Be aware a physical change may produce a dramatic change in the appearance of a substance. This doesnt mean a chemical reaction occurred. In some cases, it may be hard to tell whether a chemical or physical change occurred. For example, when you dissolve sugar in water, a physical change occurs. The form of the sugar changes, but it remains the same chemically (sucrose molecules). However, when you dissolve the salt in water the salt dissociates into its ions (from NaCl into Na and Cl-) so a chemical change occurs. In both cases, a white solid dissolves into a clear liquid and in both cases, you can recover the starting material by removing the water, yet the processes are not the same. Learn More 10 Examples of Physical Changes10 Examples of Chemical ChangesChemical and Physical PropertiesUnderstanding Chemical and Physical Changes Source Zumdahl, Steven S. and Zumdahl, Susan A. (2000). Chemistry (5th Ed.). Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-98583-8.

The Films of Alfred Hitchcock Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Films of Alfred Hitchcock - Essay Example As with the lipstick-stained handkerchief, the articles in Rebecca’s bedroom provide an ominous presentation of her lingering presence in Cornwall. Here, Rebecca’s room space depicts that her presence is represented in her bedroom. Because of this, the new Mrs. de Winter is overwhelmed by the sheer strength of Rebecca’s spirit, as she cannot escape her signs whenever she turns in the house (8). The continuous remain of Rebecca’s presence overwhelms her, thus believing that her husband is still in love with Rebecca. Even Mrs. Danvers suggests that Rebecca wanders the hall of the apartment and watches the second wife when she is with Maxim. These mansion settings turn into haunted houses since the inhabitants are preyed upon, stalked, and often eventually killed in them. In Notorious (1946), Hitchcock explores the meanings of familiar domestic and architectural spaces. Observe, for example, what the film is doing with the balcony in the apartment scenes. Initially, the balcony provides a view for which back-projected picture-postcard of exotic romance; subsequently, it virtually disappears, dissolves, as we draw towards, gets absorbed in the lovers. In other words, Hitchcock depicts that it is a private space, a place for intimacy (Brandt 13). Later, the balcony is represented as cold and dark as well as airy. It mirrors the mismatches and distances between the characters as they squabble. In Alicia’s apartment in the first scene is the perfect, blissful moment of love. The space of the apartment is depicted as everything in it. Starting from the level of staging, cutting, framing, and lighting. It creates that sense and sensation of perfect union, which is of the oneness of the lovers (Brandt 13). Both the outer and inner parts of the house are joined, opening in one continuous strip of space that is bound by a firm sensual luminosity. In the film, Psycho (1960), Hitchcock

Advanced Managerial Accounting Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Advanced Managerial Accounting Report - Essay Example Most Managers inquire before implementing any of these cost systems where ABC is given a first priority due to its production costs that are considered higher to those of conventional banking (Weygandt, Kimmel, and Kieso 56). ABC is a contrast of conventional banking since it helped patients in their treatment when it came to hospitals. Conventional accounting is a simple method for managing costs compared to ABC. However, it is not accurate and most of the time is accompanied by under-costing and also over-costing. ABC is able to capture changes through direct measurement of activity levels thus adjusting from distortions that arise in the conventional cost system (Weygandt 45). However, there exists a similarity among these two cost systems where provision of costs similar to those of ABC can be structured by conventional accounting. In conclusion, both cost systems; ABC and conventional accounting have their place of application and duration of time matters. They all are implemented differently but all of these systems of accounting have a purpose in any business despite of different strengths and weaknesses. ABC works best for most businesses compared to conventional

Culture Shock Essay Example for Free

Culture Shock Essay Studying, working or living abroad can be a wonderful experience. However, this can also be an awful time in one’s life with some people finding a lot of discomfort in adapting to a new society. This impact of moving from a familiar culture to one which is unfamiliar is referred to as culture shock. It includes the different feelings and apprehension people have when learning the ways of a different society. This paper looks at this â€Å"occupational disease† as is commonly known. The term ‘culture shock’ was first used by the anthropologist Oberg back in 1960. According to Oberg, there are six main aspects of culture shock. The first is strain, an effect caused by the effort to adapt. Another aspect is a sense of loss and feelings of deprivation in relation to friends, status, profession and possessions. A third common aspect which especially affects people who relocate to a new environment without prior familiarisation with the environment’s culture and way of life is a feeling of rejection by the members of the new culture, or even rejecting the members. Confusion in roles, values and self-identity is another equally significant aspect of culture shock. A certain variety of people may experience anxiety and even disgust or anger about practices they may encounter in their new environment. Last but not least, Oberg identified â€Å"feelings of helplessness†, a case where one may be unable to cope with the new environment. Despite the many negative descriptions that Oberg gave about culture shock, in all its diverse firms, it has been acknowledged as a part of a successful process of adaptation. (Marx, 2001, 5) Culture shock has several stages and the many symptoms known usually occur after the first stage, the honeymoon stage. The honeymoon stage is an excitement stage experienced in the first few weeks of an individual’s relocation to a new environment. The honeymoon stage may last for even months, depending on certain circumstances, such as the person’s popularity. For instance, a well-known person may experience a long honeymoon stage, where he or she may be taken to the show places and given special attention. This experience may not last for long if the person is forced by circumstances to remain in the place for a long period of time. It is then that the person may start having a hostile and aggressive attitude towards the host country, and many symptoms may occur. (World wide classroom, 2008) For example, excessive concern over cleanliness, where one may find the new and strange experiences in-appropriate or plain â€Å"dirty†, especially in relation to drinking water, food and bedding. Another common symptom is a desire for dependence on long term residents of one’s own nationality. Other symptoms such as the fear of physical contact with attendants or servants, irritation over delays and other minor frustrations out of their proportion to their causes, excessive fear of being cheated, robbed or injured, great concern over minor pains and irruptions of the skin, delay and outright refusal to learn the language of the host country; and most significantly, the terrible longing to be in familiar environment, a situation where one would miss one’s relatives and friends. (World wide classroom, 2008) Everyone has been known to be affected by culture shock. Some people adapt quite easily, but others may take years to fully adapt to their new environment. It is therefore critical to understand how to deal with it. Culture shock is unavoidable, despite a person’s status or circumstances. However, various ways have been identified of minimizing it. Some of these steps include, firstly, allowing time to find out about culture shock, which may involve tasks such as reading and carrying out research about the intended place of destination, a step which encompasses learning to recognize the symptoms and their potential impact. Secondly, expecting culture shock to happen is an important step. This should be irrespective of location or distance, as culture shock is likely to occur in a neighbouring country as much as in a far country. The third step is identifying all the opportunities for building support networks with local people as soon as early as possible. Another equally important step to remember is not to give in to any stressful situation. Learning from people who have undergone similar experiences is an invaluable step as someone is able to avoid certain mistakes, hence adapting faster and easier. In some extreme cases, symptoms may persist despite a person’s coping efforts. In such situations, then one is advised to seek professional help through counselors or medical profession. It is critical to remember that reverse culture shock, a situation where the symptoms of culture shock re-occur to people when they get back home is equally normal. Most importantly, is to think about the positive aspects of culture shock; it is worthy noting that people who experience culture shock adapt better than those who do not. (Marx, 2001, 18) According to recent research, the more well-traveled and practiced at absorbing, accepting and adapting one is, the more easily one overcomes culture shock. Good adjustment to a new environment ensures that one competently performs the roles that each social context requires, thus avoiding frustrations resulting from inappropriate behaviour. (International Education, 2008) Managing culture shock is a skill which is increasingly gaining importance in almost all career fields, and can be of invaluable help to international students, job relocation and even living outside a person’s native country. Despite the many painful experiences associated with culture shock, minimizing it using the steps aforementioned can greatly assist in adapting to a new society hence maximizing one’s time and resources. Works Cited: Eickelmann C. , The International Educational Site: Studying abroad and Culture Shock. Retrieved 29 November, 2008 from: http://www. intstudy. com/articles/ec184a13. htm Marx E. (2001) Breaking through Culture Shock: What You Need to Succeed in International Business. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. World Wide Classroom. (2006) Culture Shock and the Problem of Adjustment to New Cultural environments Retrieved 29 November, 2008 from: http://www. worldwide. edu/about/index. html

Adult Education Essay -- essays research papers

Community Based Adult Education A. Global Assessment of Community Based Adult Education. This includes most important contributions they can make to society in the face of what are considered the most significant challenges of the 1990's. Who are the customers and how can they best be served? Which of the philosophies of adult education are most evident in each case?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Adult educators in community based development identify with a specific content area or with a specific clientele. For example literacy (the adult reading programs established throughout different communities) and also health (aids awareness programs).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aims and purposes of community-based adult education are usually directly related to specific community issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Community Development (strictly an educational process; everything else is secondary) vs. Popular Education (providing social skills useful to the oppressed).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Community-Based education operates on the assumption that a given community has potential to solve many of its problems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The customers are the people in the community with common needs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paulo Freire is the principle thinker under the Popular Education. B. What trends are evident (or can be expected) that will impact such institutions:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education with the people instead of for the peop...

Comparative Analysis of Models in the Competitive Market

Every rational individual acknowledges that businesses need to be competitive in order to thrive. My comparative analysis will recognize the various models used in the competitive marketplace and compare the end-results of these models. The four models that I will be comparing are: step checklist, transformation model, Mintzberg’s physiognomy, and the economic sector analysis. In line with my analysis I will also be using my experience as a sales marketer for Aramco Oil Company to provide key examples about how these fundamental processes occur on an every day basis. When comprehending comparative models you must first understand that a model is simply a complex or systematic description of the competitive marketplace. These models are used to aid individuals in seeing the structure or design of the marketplace. Initially, we will focus first on the transformation model and its hand in the marketplace. Looking at the general word ‘transform’ you will see how wisely chosen this process is. To transform is to create something from a raw material. In this model, this transformation occurs when inputs are transformed to outputs. This process is a very high level look at the marketplace. It looks simply at what manner of item when in to the system in order to procure a end result item. Almost like a circuit, it is the in-s and out-s which keep the market process in a continuous movement and growth. The more raw material which goes into a system the more outputs you expect to see. In my role, as a sales marketer of Aramco Oil Company I see this process every day. The raw material of oil is processed to produce a high demand product, and thus the transformation process is a never-ending cycle. As a model though, this process does not account for all the idiosyncrasies or complex factors that play a role in the create of this high end product. In fact, the process is so high leveled that I see the Step Checklist as a much more logical look at the process (Armson, Rosalind, John Martin, Susan Carr, Roger Spear, and Tony Walsh.) Of the four models being compared, the Step Checklist is by far the most organized in its structural intact and outlook on the competitive market. This checklist looks at the key influences in the competitive marketplace. It focuses on the social, technological, economic, and political influences by concisely breaking down various aspects of how, why, where, when, and what possible affects they have on an organization. Unlike the transformation model, this checklist supplies the analyzer with various possibilities to be on the lookout for when determining a course of action. Furthermore, this checklist allows for a simplistic and widely applicable usage of these factors. Whereas the transformation model was a very board look at the inputs and outputs, this Step Checklist is a systematic perspective of social factors like demographics and age-groups. By looking at the technological components of the competitive marketplace, a company like my own has the opportunity to ensure that it is staying or making advancements along with the competitive other players. Economic changes can be watched or statistically analyzed to make appropriate changes or adaptations should the competitive marketplace change. My company is a key player in the oil industry and must gauge how its future profitability will be at the best advantage. From a political avenue, this model is essential to make sure that all players in the competitive marketplace are aware of legislative policies or strategies that might affect the industry. Furthermore, politics has a constant role in policies changing or advancements. Should a sales representative like myself not account for this changes our clients will see that we are not staying in line with policies and perhaps be adversely affected by our lack of adhering to those policies. This analysis of competitors is a means towards identifying the company’s competitors, understanding what their strategies are, recognizing their objectives, seeing how their strengths and weaknesses are seen in a checklist manner, and recognizing reaction patterns to those factors which affect the marketplace (Kotler 234-247) Moving on to the Mintzberg’s physiognomy model, many analysts might see this model as highly subjective in origin. In comparison to both the Transformation and Step Checklist models, this model is dependent on looking at the power various players wield in the competitive marketplace or industry. This model stresses that there is a ‘cast of characters’ in an organization which ranges from owners to employees to special interest groups to various other entities. Based upon this model, we see a very visual representation of the marketplace. It is unique to see the differences between the models. Transformation model is seemingly a process flow. The Step Checklist was created based upon influences and logically connects or affects upon the industry. Now here we have Mintzberg’s physiognomy’s model. What stuck out at me first is that physiognomy is clearly the study of a person’s palm to determine that individual’s fate. This destiny is determined based upon a higher source of power which dictates what is to occur in the future for that individual. Here this model looks at the ‘power’ play of what will determine the fate of the company based upon the various sectors which play a role in its maintaining profitability (Armson, Rosalind, John Martin, Susan Carr, Roger Spear, and Tony Walsh.). It focuses primarily on the strategies or activities of these entities. These strategies or activities will overall affect the competitive industry in some manner. For instance, in my company should the owners fail to provide adequate compensation to the employees they can either strike or retain work elsewhere. If the company lacks adequately experienced employees it will fail to retain clients or creditability in the eyes of its public. This can potentially damage or hinder the economic profitability or continued success of Aramco Oil Company. If that occurs, as a sales marketer I will have a difficult time convincing others that the company is maintaining its correct directions and gross profit margins. At this time, I will roll right into the economic sector analysis model. The competitive marketplace is built on the ideology of ‘economics’. This fundamental model looks at sectors, the environment, and markets. Without bumping the company against its competitors we will fail to recognize where growth or change is required. The sectors themselves compete amongst themselves and there are definite signs of where one company might be affecting or causing a chain-reaction within other companies. For instance, an EDI system allows for less manual maintenance. If a company fails to make appropriate changes or does not advance itself like other, then the other companies in that particular sector will swiftly overtake its market shares. In the oil industry there is often a state of rapid growth and it is wise for a company to watch for such changes. Like the Mintzberg’s physiognomy, there is a look at the power players or influences in this model. The power look in this case is the economic sector and other players in that particular sector. All in all, measures must be taken to ensure that the marketplace is watched for its stability, and adversely if unstable occurrences are happening. These models can all be used to determine how the competitive marketplace is doing and how to identify influences that affect it. In general, these models each have their strengths and weaknesses. In general each model can be used to analyze various aspects of the marketplace. This analysis can be broken down into the strategies used to determine how the marketplace needs to react as changes occur in it and around it. Works Cited: Armson, Rosalind, John Martin, Susan Carr, Roger Spear, and Tony Walsh. Understanding Business   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Environments: Identifying Environmental Issues, 2000 Kotler, Philip. Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control. Sixth Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1988

The Impact of Ict on Tertiary Education

The impact of ICT on tertiary education : advances and promises Kurt Larsen and Stephan Vincent-Lancrin Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Directorate for Education / Centre for Educational Research and Innovation* DRAFT OECD/NSF/U. Michigan Conference â€Å"Advancing Knowledge and the Knowledge Economy† 10-11 January 2005 Washington DC ABSTRACT: The promises of e-learning for transforming tertiary education and thereby advancing the knowledge economy have rested on three arguments: E-learning could expand and widen access to tertiary education and training; improve the quality of education; and reduce its cost.The paper evaluates these three promises with the sparse existing data and evidence and concludes that the reality has not been up to the promises so far in terms of pedagogic innovation, while it has already probably significantly improved the overall learning (and teaching) experience. Reflecting on the ways that would help develop e-learnin g further, it then identifies a few challenges and highlights open educational resource initiatives as an example of way forward.The first section of the paper recalls some of the promises of e-learning; the second compares these promises and the real achievements to date and suggests that e-learning could be at an early stage of its innovation cycle; the third section highlights the challenges for a further and more radically innovative development of e-learning. Knowledge, innovation and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have had strong repercussions on many economic sectors, e. g. the informatics and communication, finance, and transportation sectors (Foray, 2004; Boyer, 2002).What about education? The knowledge-based economy sets a new scene for education and new challenges and promises for the education sector. Firstly, education is a prerequisite of the knowledge-based economy: the production and use of new knowledge both require a more (lifelong) educated popu lation and workforce. Secondly, ICTs are a very powerful tool for diffusing knowledge and information, a fundamental aspect of the education process: in that sense, they can play a pedagogic role that could in principle complement (or even compete with) the traditional practices of the education sector.These are the two challenges for the education sector: continue to expand with the help (or under the pressure) of new forms of learning. Thirdly, ICTs sometimes induce innovations in the ways of doing things: for example, navigation does not involve the same cognitive processes since the Global Positioning System (GPS) was invented (e. g. Hutchins, 1995); scientific research in many fields has also been revolutionised by the new possibilities offered by ICTs, from digitisation of information to new recording, simulation and data processing possibilities (Atkins and al. , 2003).Could ICTs similarly revolutionise education, especially as education deals directly with the codification a nd transmission of knowledge and information – two activities which power has been decupled by the ICT revolution? The education sector has so far been characterised by rather slow progress in terms of innovation development which impact on teaching activities. Educational research and development does not play a strong role as a factor of enabling the direct production of systematic knowledge which translates into â€Å"programmes that works† in the classroom or lecture hall (OECD, 2003).As a matter of fact, education is not a field that lends itself easily to experimentation, partly because experimental approaches in education are often impossible to describe in precisely enough to be sure that they are really being replicated (Nelson, 2000). There is little codified knowledge in the realm of education and only weak developed mechanisms whereby communities of faculty collectively can capture and benefit from the discoveries made by their colleagues.Moreover, learning typically depends on other learning inputs than those received in the class or formal education process: the success of learning depends on many social and family aspects that are actually beyond the control of educators. Information and communication technologies potentially offer increased possibilities for codification of knowledge about teaching and for innovation in teaching activities through being able to deliver learning and cognitive activities anywhere at any time.Learning at a distance can furthermore be more learner-centred, self-paced, and problem solving-based than face-to-face teaching. It is also true, however, that many learning activities cannot be coordinated by virtual means only. The emulation and spontaneity generated by physical presence and social groupings often remain crucial. Likewise, face-to-face exchanges are important when they enable other forms of sensory perception to be stimulated apart from these used within the framework of electronic interactio n.However, the influence of distance and time is waning now that the technological capacity is available for knowledge-sharing, remote access and teamwork, and organising and coordinating tasks over wide areas (OECD, 2004a). Focusing on tertiary education, this paper examines the promises of ICTs in the education sector, first as a way to better participate in the advancement of the knowledge economy, second as a way to introduce innovations. Leaving aside the impact of ICTs on the research or e-science performed by tertiary education institutions (see Atkins and al. 2003; David, 2004), we concentrate on e-learning, broadly understood as the use of ICTs to enhance or support learning and teaching in (tertiary) education. E-learning is thus a generic term referring to different uses and intensities of uses of ICTs, from wholly online education to campus-based education through other forms of distance education supplemented with ICTs in some way. The supplementary model would encompas s activities ranging from the most basic use of ICTs (e. g. use of PCs for word processing of assignments) through to more advanced adoption (e. g. pecialist disciplinary software, handheld devices, learning management systems etc. ). However, we keep a presiding interest in more advanced applications including some use of online facilities. Drawing on the scarce existing evidence, including a recent survey on e-learning in post-secondary institutions carried out by the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI), it shows that e-learning has not yet lived up to its promises, which were overstated in the hype of the new economy. ICT have nonetheless had a real impact on the education sector, inducing a quiet rather than radical revolution.Finally, it shows some possible directions to further stimulate its development. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: the first section recalls some of the promises of e-learning; the second compares these promises and the real achievements to date and suggests that e-learning could be at an early stage of its adoption cycle; the third section highlights the challenges for a further development of e-learning and shows what directions might be the most promising for its further development. I.Advancing knowledge and the (knowledge) economy: the promises of e-learning The emergence of ICTs represents high promises for the tertiary education sector (and, more broadly, the post-secondary education sector if one takes into account their impact on non-formal education). ICTs could indeed play a role on three fundamental aspects of education policy: access, quality and cost. ICTs could possibly advance knowledge by expanding and widening access to education, by improving the quality of education and reducing its cost.All this would build more capacity for the advancement of knowledge economies. This section summarises the main arguments backing the promises. E-learning is a promising tool for expanding and widening access to tertiary education. Because they relax space and time constraints, ICTs can allow new people to participate in tertiary education by increasing the flexibility of participation compared to the traditional face-to-face model: working students and adults, people living in remote areas (e. . rural), non-mobile students and even foreign students could now more easily participate in education. Thanks to ICT, learners can indeed study where and/or when they have time to do so–rather than where and/or when classes are planned. While traditional correspondence-based distance learning has long played this role, ICT have enhanced traditional distance education enabled the rise of a continuum of practices between fully campus-based education and fully distance education.More specifically, fully online learning can allow large numbers of students to access education. The constraints of the face-to-face learning experience, that is, the size of the rooms and buildin gs and the students/teacher ratio, represents another form of relaxation of space constraints. ICTs indeed allow a very cheap cost of reproduction and communication of a lesson, via different means like the digital recording and its (ulterior or simultaneous) diffusion on TV, radio or the Internet.The learning process or content can also be codified, and at least some parts be standardised in learning objects, for example a multimedia software, that can in principle be used by millions of learners, either in a synchronous or asynchronous way. Although both forms might induce some loss in terms of teachers-learners interactivity compared to face to face teaching, they can reach a scale of participation that would be unfeasible via face-to-face learning.When the needs are huge, fully online learning can be crucial and possibly the only realistic means to increase and widen rapidly access to tertiary education. Some developing countries have huge cohorts of young people and too small a n academic workforce to meet their large unmet demand: given training new teachers would take too much time, notwithstanding resources, e-learning might represent for many potential students and learners the only chance to study (rather than an alternative to full face-to-face learning) (World Bank, 2003).E-learning can also be seen as a promising way for improving the quality of tertiary education and the effectiveness of learning. These promises can be derived from different characteristics of ICTs: the increased flexibility of the learning experience it can give to students; the enhanced access to information resources for more students; the potential to drive innovative and effective ways of learning and/or teaching, including learning tools, easier use of multimedia or simulation tools; finally, the possibility to diffuse these innovations at very low marginal cost among the teachers and learners.Distance E-learning has not only the virtue to be inclusive for students that cann ot participate in tertiary education because of time, space or capacity constraints, as it was shown above. It can also in principle offer to students more personalised ways of learning than collective face-to-face learning, even in small groups.Although learning is often personalised to some extent in higher education through the modularity of paths, ICTs allow institutions to give students to choose a wider variety of learning paths than in non-ICT supplemented institutions – not the least because of the administrative burden this would represent in large institutions. This means that students can experiment learning paths that best suit them. Moreover, e-learning can potentially allow students to take courses from several institutions, e. . some campus-based and others fully online. This possible flexibility of individual curricula can be seen as an improvement of the overall student experience, regardless of pedagogical changes. In one word, e-learning could render educat ion more learner-centred compared to the traditional model. A prestigious university generally has a sizeable library gathering tons of codified information and knowledge.One of the most visible impact of ICTs is to give easier and almost instant access to data and information in a digital form that allows manipulations that are sometimes not otherwise possible. The digitisation of information, from academic journals through to books and class notes, can change (and has changed) the life of students by giving them easy access to educational resources, information and knowledge, as well as new data processing possibilities.But e-learning could also lead to the enhancement of quality in tertiary education by leading to innovative pedagogic methods, new ways of learning and interacting, by the easy sharing of these new practices among learners and teachers communities, as well as by more transparency and easier comparisons and cross-fertilisation of teaching materials and methods. Fina lly, e-learning can be seen as a promising way to reduce the cost of tertiary education, which is critical for expanding and widening its access worldwide. It might thus represent new opportunities for students having ifficulties with this traditional format. Although ICT investments are expensive, they can then generally be used at near-zero marginal cost. Where would this cost-efficiency come from: the replacement of expensive brick and mortar campuses by virtual campuses; the digitisation of library materials that would save the cost of keeping huge paper collections; the improvement of efficiency of institutional management; the automation of some of the traditional on-campus activities, including some teaching. II. Living up to the promises: a quiet rather than radical revolutionHas e-learning (and especially online learning) lived up to the promises outlined in the previous section? It has to some extent. The reality of e-learning has never matched its most radical promises (Z emsky and Massy, 2004): while experiments are still underway, the initial stage of over-enthusiasm has ended when new economy bubble burst about 2002. In this respect, e-learning has followed the ups and down of the new economy and given rise to the same caveats as in other sectors: irrational beliefs about its market value, over-investment, over-capacity, and more announces than services really launched (Boyer, 2002).Like other activities, e-learning has not proven yet its ability to generate high profits or to replace the old economy of learning. However, interpreting this as a failure of e-learning would however over-simplify the reality and could be seen as â€Å"throwing the baby with the bath water†. While, perhaps unsurprisingly, e-learning has not led to the radical revolution in tertiary education that was sometimes prophesised, some of its forms are already pervasive in tertiary education and have already led to a quiet revolution.Its modesty should not lead to over look it. This section gives a overiew of the limited evidence we have about the adoption of e-learning in tertiary education. E-learning adoption The radical innovation view was that fully online learning would progressively supersede traditional face-to-face learning and represent a competitive threat for traditional tertiary educational institutions. To some extent, this belief has been a reason for the creation of new ventures and for established institutions to enter this new market: early adopters ould indeed possibly gain a brand name and a serious competitive advantage in the new market. The reality is that, while sometimes successfully experimented, fully online learning has remained a marginal form of e-learning and often not even the ultimate goal or rationale for e-learning adoption. However, this does not mean that e-learning in other forms has not gained significant ground over the past decade in tertiary education: there is indeed some evidence of a noticeable growth o f e-learning adoption both on demand and supply sides.One must bear in mind that e-learning encompasses a wide range of activities. Following the terminology used in the CERI survey (OECD, 2005), we distinguish between different levels of online learning adoption as follows, from the less to the most intensive form of e-learning: ?None or trivial online presence; ?Web supplemented: the Web is used but not for key â€Å"active† elements of the programme (e. g. course outline and lecture notes online, use of email, links to external online resources) without any reduction in classroom time; ?Web dependent: Students are required to use the Internet for key â€Å"active† elements of the programme—e. g. online discussions, assessment, online project/ collaborative work—but without significant reduction in classroom time. ?Mixed mode: Students are required to participate in online activities, e. g. online discussions, assessment, online project/collaborative wo rk, as part of course work, which replace part of face-to-face teaching/learning. Significant campus attendance remains. Fully online: the vast bulk of the programme is delivered online with typically no (or not significant) campus attendance or through â€Å"learning objects†. What do we know about the major trends in the adoption of e-learning by institutions and students? First, e-learning has grown steadily in the last decade, at a relatively rapid pace, but from a very low starting point—and for some activities: from scratch. The lack of comprehensive data renders these trends difficult to document, but existing surveys all point to the same direction of an increasing activity/supply.A significant share of tertiary education institutions have developed some e-learning activities and strategies and believe in the critical importance of e-learning for their long term strategy. The 2003 Sloan Survey of Online Learning based on a sample of 1 000 US institutions shows that only 19% of US institutions have no advanced e-learning activities – that is web dependent, mixed mode or fully online courses (Allen and Seman, 2003). The remainding 81% offer at least one course based on those advanced e-learning activities.Second, this growth of e-learning under all its forms should continue in the near future. There is indeed a converging evidence that tertiary education institutions consider as part of their future development strategy. In the Sloan survey, less than 20% of the US tertiary education institutions considered online education as not critical to their long term strategy. Similarly, data from the first international survey by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) revealed that of the 42 UK institutions that responded (out of a total population of ca. 06), 62% had developed or were developing an online learning strategy and most had done so since 2000 (OBHE, 2002). The second survey undertaken in 2004, 79% of the 122 unive rsities from the Commonwealth countries responding to the survey had an institution-wide â€Å"online learning† strategy as such or integrated into other strategies (46%) or under development (33%). Only 9% of these institutions had no e-learning strategy in place or under development in 2004 .While these figures may reflect some self-selection in the respondents, they unambiguously show a significant adoption or willingness to adopt some form of e-learning in the coming future. Although reflecting different levels of adoption of e-learning, all post-secondary institutions participating in the CERI survey on e-learning point to the same direction and report plans to increase their level of online delivery or to maintain their already high levels (OECD, 2005). Third, virtual universities are not likely to become the paradigm of tertiary education institutions.While it will most likely continue to grow, especially in distance institutions (see below), no evidence point towards a predominance of this form of e-learning in the near future in tertiary education. While the mixed mode of learning blending online and on-campus courses now clearly appears as a better candidate, institutions head towards the simultaneous offer of a variety of learning models. For understandable reasons, only few campus-based institutions (that is the bulk of post-secondary institutions) seem to aim at delivering a large share of their courses fully online or at becoming virtual.While some institutions participating in the CERI survey are at the avant-garde of e-learning, no campus-based institution predicted to deliver more than 10% of its total programmes fully online within three years (OECD, 2005). In the US, rather than offering only fully online courses (16%) or only mixed mode courses (10%), most institutions offer both fully online and blended courses; moreover, the majority (67%) of academic leaders believe that mixed mode and web dependent courses hold more promise than fully online, against only 14% having the opposite view (Allen and Seaman, 2003).This clearly reflects what we know about the main rationales for undertaking e-learning. The OBHE surveys show that on-campus enhancement of teaching and learning (1st) and improved flexibility of delivery for on-campus students (2nd) are the two key rationales in institutional strategies of e-learning. Only 10% of the institutions considered the enhancement of distance learning as more important than on-campus enhancement.Interestingly, the level of importance granted to distance or fully online learning decreased between 2002 and 2004 among returning respondents. Distance or fully online learning remains the fifth most important rationale though (OBHE, 2002, p. 4). Finally, while a generalisation of the fully online model is not probable for tertiary education overall, at least in the medium run, this does not mean that fully online activities are not growing rapidly nor that the fully online learning model gains ground at distance education institutions (Bates, 1995).To our knowledge, no data on fully online enrolments are available for other countries than the United States. According to the 2003 Sloan survey, more than 1. 6 million students (i. e. 11% of all US tertiary-level students) took at least one fully online course during the Fall 2002 and about one third of them, that is 578 000 students, took all their courses online. For example, the University of Phoenix, the largest university in the United States in terms of enrolments, has for example 60 000 of its 140 000 students online.The enrolments of fully online students in the United States were forecasted to increase by about 20% between 2002 and 2003, to 1. 9 million students—a projection that proved to be accurate according to the 2004 Sloan survey (Allen and Seaman, 2003, 2004). This growth rate, which is projected estimated at 25% for 2005 is much higher than the growth rate of total tertiary enrolments in t he United States. From a low starting point, fully online learning is growing at a rapid pace, even if it is merely as a complement to face-to-face or mixed mode learning.Moreover, fully online learning is clearly very important for distance institutions. In the CERI survey, the institutions willing to embrace fully online learning to the greatest extent were all virtual/distance learning only institutions (or branches) (OECD, 2005). In conclusion, e-learning seems to live up to its promises in terms of flexibility and possibly access. It is a growing activity that has for example significantly widened the participation in tertiary education of foreign students (OECD, 2004).Does e-learning improve the quality of tertiary education? The real impact of e-learning on the quality of education is difficult to measure. E-learning largely embodies two promises: improving education thanks to improved learning and teaching facilities; inventing and sharing new ways of learning thanks to ICTs , that is a new specific pedagogic techniques. While the first promise is by and large becoming a reality, at least in OECD countries, the second appears further from reach.Viewed mainly as an enhancement of on-campus education, and thus matching the reality depicted in the previous section, there is some evidence that e-learning has improved the quality of the educational experience on both faculty and students sides (not to mention enhancement of administrative management). All institutions participating in the CERI survey reported a â€Å"positive impact† of greater use of e-learning in all its forms on teaching and learning. The quality of education (with or without e-learning) is very difficult to measure, not the least because learning depends on students’ motivation, abilities and other conditions (e. g. amily, social, economic, health backgrounds) as much as on the quality of teaching. However, the reasons explaining this positive impact on quality largely live s up to the promises of e-learning to offer more flexibility of access to learners, better facilities and resources to study, and new opportunities thanks to the relaxation of space and time constraints. Basically, they do not correspond to a significant change in class pedagogy, but to a change in the overall learning experience. According to the institutions, the main drivers or components of this positive impact come from: †¢facilitated access to international faculty/peers, e. . with the possibility of online lectures or joint classes with remote students; †¢flexible access to materials and other resources, allowing students to revise a particular aspect of a class, giving more access flexibility to part-time students, or giving remote and easy access to the library materials; †¢enhancement of face-to-face sessions, as the availability of archived lectures online frees up faculty time to focus on difficult points and application and because the introduction of e-l earning has sometimes led to a debate on pedagogy; †¢improved communication between faculty and students and increase of peer learning;This â€Å"positive impact† on the overall learning experience is, alone, a significant achievement of e-learning, even though it has not radically transformed the learning and teaching processes. The quality of fully online learning is a more controversial question, possibly because online learning was once viewed as possibly become of higher quality than on-campus education (possibly including e-learning as already mentioned).Comparing the quality (or the beliefs about the quality) of fully online learning against traditional distance learning, traditional face-to-face learning or other mixed modes of e-learning might not yield the same results: fully online learning is indeed more readily comparable to distance learning than to on-campus education. While institutions having adopted e-learning have generally a positive view of its possi ble impact on quality, there is little convincing evidence about the superior or inferior quality of fully online learning compared to other modes of tertiary education.Another question is whether fully online learning has entailed innovation in pedagogy or just replicated with other means the face-to-face experience. As noted above, ICTs could indeed entail pedagogic innovations and help create a community of knowledge among faculty, students and learning object developers that would codify and capitalise over successful innovation in pedagogy. At this stage, there is no evidence that e-learning has yielded any radical pedagogic innovation.The most successful fully online courses generally replicate virtually the classroom experience via a mix of synchronous classes and asynchronous exchanges. Arguably, they have not represented a dramatic pedagogical change. We will see below that in spite of worthwhile experiments, learning objects and open educational resources are still in thei r infancy. They hold promises for educational innovation though. The cost of e-learning Has e-learning lived up its promises in terms of cost-efficiency?Here again, not if one looks at the most radical promises: as noted above, virtual universities have not replaced brick and mortars and saved the cost of expensive building investments and maintenance; digital libraries have supplemented rather than replaced physical ones; the codification and standardisation of teaching in a way that would allow less faculty or less qualified academics has not become the norm, nor have new online learning objects been invented to replace faculty altogether; finally, it has become clear that there was no once-for-all ICT investments and that the maintenance and upgrading costs of ICT facilities were actually important, contrary to the marginal cost of then replicating and diffusing information. Moreover, cost-efficiency has for many universities been a secondary goal compared to the challenge of dev eloping innovative and high quality e-learning courses at many tertiary education institutions. Although the anking of cost-efficiency has increased between 2002 and 2004 by 16%, 37% of respondents considered â€Å"cutting teaching costs long-term† as a key rationale in the OBHE survey (OBHE, 2004)—a small percentage compared to the two key rationales (over 90% of responses). Again, most universities consider e-learning materials and courses as a supplement to traditional class-room or lecture activities rather than a substitute. The predominance of web dependent and mixed modes of e-learning makes the assessment of the costs and benefits of e-learning investments more difficult to evaluate as they become part of the on-campus experience. It is striking that the institutions participating in the CERI survey on e-learning had no systematic data on their e-learning costs (OECD, 2005). In this context, and after the burst of the dot. om economy bubble that put out of busi ness many e-learning operations (many never really started their operations though), identifying sustainable cost-efficient models for e-learning investments in tertiary education has become critical. There are examples of cost-efficient models â€Å"outside† the traditional colleges and universities though. Virtual tertiary education institutions as e. g. the Catalonia Virtual University have a cost advantage as they are developing e-learning material from scratch and not â€Å"building onto† a physical camp. The Open University in the UK which is gradually moving from a traditional distance learning courses using books, video cassettes, and CD-ROMs to online courses has reported that their costs per student are one third of the average cost for similar on-campus programmes in the UK.Fixed capital costs are lower and it is easier to align staffing structures to e-learning processes than at â€Å"traditional† universities. The e-learning activities of Phoenix Un iversity, which is a private for-profit university mainly for adult students, is also seen as cost-effective. Its business model is based on â€Å"standardised teaching†, relatively small on-line class size, and use of proven low-tech e-learning technologies (inducing lower costs than more sophisticated technologies). Much of the faculty staff at Phoenix University is often hired part time and having jobs at other tertiary education institutions, which often implies that staff development costs are lower at Phoenix University than other tertiary education institutions.E-learning investments in tertiary education can be cost-effective, but it depends on the business model, the profile and number of students and topics (cost-effectiveness has been demonstrated in some cases in large undergraduate science classes (Harley, 2003), and initial development costs. The calculations also depend on whether student opportunity costs are taken into account. The initial costs for e-learnin g development are often high (e. g. infrastructure, creating course material from scratch, experimentation, new kind of staff/units, immature technologies, etc. ). In order to ensure that e-learning investments are cost efficient, e-learning activities may need to substitute parts of the on-campus teaching activities (rather than duplication).Educational innovations, like learning objects, could for example allow supporting the re-use and sharing of e-learning materials. Although data is lacking on cost-efficiency, at this stage there is little evidence that e-learning has led to more cost efficiency in tertiary education. Failures have been more numerous than success stories, although the latter document the possible sustainability of e-learning. The adoption of ICTs for administrating tertiary education institutions has probably been the main source of cost efficiency in the tertiary sector, like in other economic sectors. Conclusion: the e-learning adoption cycles So, has e-learn ing lived up to its promises?This is probably true as far as it holds promises for incremental improvement, including an increased access and quality of the learning experience—a kind of change whose importance should not be underestimated. As for radical innovation, the answer is rather: not yet. So far, e-learning has induced a quiet rather than a radical revolution of tertiary education. Perhaps e-learning will follow the same development path in tertiary education as other innovations that first begin with experiments, then expand to a group of early adopters before becoming commonplace. Zemsky and Massy (2004) have proposed a possible â€Å"e-learning innovation’s S-curve† divided into four distinctive but often overlapping adoption cycles that help understand the current development of e-learning, and, possibly, its future challenges. The cycles include: )Enhancements to traditional course/program configurations, which inject new materials into teaching an d learning processes without changing the basic mode of instruction. Examples include e-mail, student access to information on the Internet, and the use of multimedia (e. g. PowerPoint) and simple simulations; 2)Use of course management systems, which enable faculty and students to interact more efficiently (e. g. Blackboard or WebCT). They provide better communication with and among students, quick access to course materials, and support for administrating and grading examinations; 3)Imported course objects, which enable the faculty to embed a richer variety of materials into their courses than is possible with traditional â€Å"do it yourself† learning devices.Examples range from compressed video presentations to complex interactive simulations including the increased use of â€Å"learning objects† ; 4)New course/program configurations, which result when faculty and their institutions reengineer teaching and learning activities to take full advantage of new ICTs. The new configurations focus on active learning and combine face-to-face, virtual, synchronous, and asynchronous interaction and learning in novel ways. They also require faculty and students to adopt new roles – with each other and with the technology and support staff. The overview of current e-learning adoption shows that most tertiary education institutions in OECD countries can largely be located in cycles one and/or two. These first two cycles have largely built upon and reinforced one another. However, they have not fundamentally changed the way teaching and learning is pursued at the large majority of institutions.Their momentum has not automatically transferred to either increasing use and dissemination of learning objects or to the use of new course/program configurations (e-learning cycles three and four). Cycles 3 and 4 correspond to changes remodelling more radically teaching and learning. While some experimentations underway give us some idea of where they could he ad, they are still in their infancy. The third cycle corresponds to the creation of â€Å"learning objects† that can potentially offer an efficient approach to the development of e-learning materials (i. e. reduced faculty time, lower cost, higher quality materials), although many issues remain (e. g. opyright, lack of incentives for faculty to create, the range of actors in and ‘location’ of the creative process, lack of standardisation and interoperability of e-learning software). The learning objects model implies material/course development that departs from the â€Å"craft-model† where the individual professor is responsible for the majority of work. Instead it is a model where the course is assembled largely by or from third-party material. Besides the technical and organisational challenges of developing learning objects, there are also considerable pedagogical challenges using them. Some argue that learning is so contextually based that the breakin g up of the learning experience into defined objects is destructive for the learning process.Evidence from the Open Learning Initiative at the Carnegie Mellon University suggests that effective e-learning courses are often facilitated by having a ‘theme’ that runs throughout the course, which might be difficult to obtain with the notion of decontextualised learning objects (Smith and Thille, 2004). Therefore, much more research and development is needed to ensure pedagogical effectiveness of the learning objects model. For faculty members to rely on others for their material will also need a cultural change as it would probably often be considered today as demonstrating â€Å"inferiority†. Wide use of learning objects in tertiary education will therefore only occur if major changes in working habits and attitudes of faculty are possible. The development of learning objects is very much in its initial phase. This is illustrated by the use of the public available l earning objects repositories as e. g.MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching). The basic idea behind the MERLOT repository was to create a readily available, low-cost, web-based service to which experimenters could post their learning objects and from which interested practitioners could rate and download objects for use in their courses. While there has been a tremendous growth in the number of learning objects made available by MERLOT, there has been very little interest to use what other colleagues had made available and consequently little effort in terms of rating others’ learning objects. This can however be seen as the first steps towards the construction of knowledge communities in education.Despite the premature stage of learning objects and the large number of obstacles to overcome, some standard form of learning objects will probably emerge and gain importance in the development of e-learning in tertiary education as well as in othe r education sectors. Very few institutions have reached the fourth e-learning adoption cycle at an institution wide scale. There are however institutions which are clearly experimenting with new ways of using ICTs that change the traditional organisation and pedagogy of tertiary education. One such example is the previously mentioned Open Learning Initiative at the Carnegie Mellon University. The use of cognitive and learning sciences to produce high quality e-learning courses into online learning practices is at the core of this initiative (Smith and Thille, 2004).As there is no generic e-learning pedagogy, the aim is to design as â€Å"cognitive informed† e-learning courses as possible. The establishment and implementation procedures for routine evaluation of the courses and the use of formative assessment for corrections and iterative improvements are part of the e-learning course development. The development of the e-learning courses often rely on teamwork including facul ty from multiple disciplines, web designers, cognitive scientists, project managers, learning designers, and evaluators. The key question for any project like the Open Learning Initiative attempting a combination of open access to free content, and a fee-for-service model for students using the courses in a degree granting setting is its sustainability.This initiative could not have been realised without significant voluntary contributions from private foundations and a major research grant from the National Science Foundation to start the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center. The next section will address the challenges for the adoption of these third and fourth adoption cycles. III. Challenges for the further development of e-learning in tertiary education: what sustainable innovation model? The aim of this final section is to identify and reflect on some of the key issues that would need to be considered in a systematic way for e-learning to develop further and become a deeper d river of innovation in tertiary education.If the vast majority of colleges and universities are to embrace the third and fourth e-learning adoption cycles, a sustainable innovation and investment model will have to be developed. A first challenge lies indeed in the development of sustainable e-learning innovation models which go beyond using e-learning as an add-on to traditional forms of teaching and learning in tertiary education but rather invent new, useful and better pedagogic innovations partly substituting traditional face-to-face teaching. This will require a broad willingness of these institutions to search for new combinations of input of faculty, facilities and technology and new ways of organising their teaching activities.A second challenge lies in the development of a realistic model for investment in e-learning that would stimulate the participation of faculty and other stakeholders and be financially sustainable, which is not straightforward given that there is littl e systematic knowledge on the real costs and benefits of e-learning investments in tertiary education. However, like for ICT investments in other sectors, the cost-effectiveness of e-learning investments will depend on whether new organisational and knowledge management practices are adopted. It might indeed be more difficult to provide the â€Å"softer† social, organisational and legal changes in tertiary education than the technological infrastructures necessary to fully embrace the advantages of e-learning.This section emphasises partnerships and networks as a possible way forward for further investment, product development and innovation diffusion in e-learning. There are many examples where tertiary education institutions seek to share the costs of e-learning development through partnerships and networking. Partnership and network building are also useful for having access to new knowledge, to learn from others experience and exchange information about the latest develop ments in e-learning and they can involve many different organisations as e. g. traditional colleges and universities, virtual universities, libraries, for-profit ICT and training companies from different sectors etc.These activities can range from sharing material, joint technology and software development, joint research and development, joint marketing, joint training, connectivity, etc. and can be sub-national, national and international (OECD, 2004b; Cunningham and al. , 2000). After showing the importance (and challenges) for universities to engaging their faculty in e-learning, we will turn to an innovative practice exemplifying the potential power of partnerships and networks: Open Educational Resources (OER). They will indeed most likely have significant implications for the way e-learning activities will develop over the coming years in tertiary education. Engaging universities and faculty in e-learningIn most OECD countries the question is no longer whether or not tertiary education institutions should invest in e-learning. Because of the competition between institutions and student demand for easy access to courseware material and flexible learning environments, most tertiary education institutions willing to deliver quality teaching are bound to invest in e-learning. As we have seen, the large majority of institutions are now embracing e-learning adoption cycles one and two, which are basically about providing the students with better access to learning and course material and facilitating the electronic communication between students and teachers.Again, only very few institutions and faculty are however systematically exploring and producing re-usable learning material and objects (third cycle) or have taken full advantage of new ICTs with focus on active learning that combines face-to-face, virtual, synchronous, and asynchronous interaction and learning in novel ways (fourth cycle). The latter approach would require faculty and students to adopt new roles – with each other and with the technology and support staff. While ICTs offer powerful new instruments for innovation, tertiary education institutions are generally decentralised institutions where individual faculty often has the sole responsibility for teaching courses and delivering course material. Adoption of the third and especially the fourth e-learning cycle would imply changing to more collaborative ways of organising and producing teaching material.Faculty members would in many cases have to collaborate with a whole range of new staff as e. g. course managers, web designers, instructional/pedagogical designers, cognitive scientist etc. to produce course material. This could lead to resistance from â€Å"traditional† faculty arguing that current teaching practices have proved its value for centuries and there is no need to change them to new pedagogical and teaching methods, which have hardly proven their efficiency yet. Moreover, promotion of facult y and funding allocations in universities are often linked to research activities rather than teaching activities, often seen as less prestigious.Faculty members have therefore often relatively few incentives to invest their time in e-learning activities. The adoption of new ways of teaching and learning at tertiary education institutions through ICTs can therefore create organisational conflicts and tensions. New organisational innovations, new knowledge management practices, and more team working are therefore necessary conditions for tertiary education institutions to be able to move to e-learning adoption cycles three and four. The CERI study on e-learning case studies in post-secondary education has identified a number of lessons learnt by institutions that are in the forefront of e-learning development (OECD, 2005): More strategic e-learning planning at the institutional or faculty level and to tie this to the overall goals of the institution is needed; †¢A paradigm shift in the way academics think of university teaching would be necessary, e. g. a shift away from ‘scepticism about the use of technologies in education’ and ‘teacher-centred culture’ towards ‘a role as a facilitator of learning processes’, ‘team worker’, and ‘learner-centred culture’; †¢Targeted e-learning training relevant for the faculty’s teaching programme as well as ownership of the development process of new e-learning material by academics is also necessary. There is no one-best-way or trajectory for e-learning development at tertiary education institutions.But it might prove more difficult to provide the â€Å"softer† social, organisational and legal changes in tertiary education than provide the technological infrastructures necessary to fully embrace the advantages of e-learning (David, 2004). It will depend on a whole range of factors not necessarily related to the development of e-learning including: †¢Changes in the funding of tertiary education and in particular e-learning funding; †¢Student demography; †¢Regulatory and legal frameworks; †¢Competition between traditional tertiary education institution themselves and with new private providers; †¢Internationalisation including the possibility of servicing foreign students living abroad; and not the least to the extent to which students will want to use the new opportunities for new and flexible ways of learning.Many tertiary education students would possibly prefer to have some kind of â€Å"mixed model† learning choice involving a whole range of different learning opportunities and forms combining face-to-face, virtual, synchronous, and asynchronous interaction and learning. A possible way forward: Open Educational Resources Open Educational Resources appear as a potentially innovative practice that gives a good example of the current opportunities and challenges offered by ICTs in or der to trigger radical pedagogic innovations. Digitalisation and the potential for instant, low-cost global communication have opened tremendous new opportunities for the dissemination and use of learning material.This has spurred an increased number of freely accessible OER initiatives on the Internet including 1) open courseware ; 2) open software tools (e. g. learning management systems); 3) open material for capacity building of faculty staff ; 4) repositories of learning objects ; 5) and free educational e-learning courses. At the same time, there are now more realistic expectations of the commercial e-learning opportunities in tertiary education. The OER initiatives are a relatively new phenomenon in tertiary education largely made possible by the use of ICTs. The open sharing of one’s educational resources implies that knowledge is made freely available on non-commercial terms sometimes in the framework of users and doers communities.In such communities the innovation impact is greater when it is shared: the users are freely revealing their knowledge and, thus work cooperatively. These communities are often not able to extract economic revenues directly from the knowledge and information goods they are producing and the â€Å"sharing† of these good are not steered by market mechanisms. Instead they have specific reward systems often designed to give some kind of credit to inventors without exclusivity rights. In the case of open science, the reward system is collegial reputation, where there is a need to be identified and recognised as â€Å"the one who discovered† which gives incentives for the faculty to publish new knowledge quickly and completely (Dasgupta and David, 1994).The main motivation or incentive for people to make OER material available freely is that the material might be adopted by others and maybe even is modified and improved. Reputation is therefore also a key motivation factor in â€Å"OER communities†. Be ing part of such a user community gives access to knowledge and information from others but it also implies that one has a â€Å"moral† obligation to share one’s own information. Inventors of OER can benefit from increased â€Å"free distribution† or from distribution at very low marginal costs. A direct result of free revealing is to increase the diffusion of that innovation relative to conditions in which it is licensed or kept secret.If an innovation is widely used it would initiate and develop standards which could be advantageously used even by rivals. The Sakai project has, for example, an interest in making their open software tools available for many colleges and universities and have therefore set a relatively low entry amount for additional colleges and universities wishing to have access to the software tools that they are developing. The financial sustainability of OER initiatives is a key issue. Many initiatives are sponsored by private foundations, public funding or paid by the institutions themselves. In general, the social value of knowledge and information tools increases to the degree that they can be shared with and used by others.The individual faculty member or institution providing social value might not be able to sustain the costs of providing OER material freely on the Internet in the long term. It is therefore important to find revenues to sustain these activities. It might e. g. be possible to charge and to take copyrights on part of the knowledge and information activities springing out of the OER initiatives. Finding better ways of sharing and re-using e-learning material (see the previous mentioned discussion on learning objects) might also trigger off revenues. It is also important to find new ways for the users of OER to be â€Å"advised† of the quality of the learning material stored in open repositories.The wealth of learning material is enormous on the Internet and if there is little or no guidance of the quality of the learning material, users will be tempted to look for existing brands and known quality. There is no golden standard or method of identifying quality of learning material in tertiary education on the Internet as is the case with quality identification within tertiary education as a whole. The intentions behind the MERLOT learning object repository was to have the user community rating the quality and usability of the learning objects made freely available. In reality very few users have taken the time and effort to evaluate other learning objects.There is little doubt that the generic lack of a review process or quality assessment system is a serious issue and is hindering increased uptake and usage of OER. User commentary, branding, peer reviews or user communities evaluating the quality and usefulness of the OER might be possible ways forward. Another important challenge is to adapt â€Å"global OER initiatives† to local needs and to provide a dialogue between the doers and users of the OER. Lack of cultural and language sensitivities might be an important barrier to the receptiveness of the users. Training initiatives for users to be able to apply course material and/or software might be a way to reach potential users.Also important will be the choice (using widely agreed standards), maintenance, and user access to the technologies chosen for the OER. There is a huge task in better understanding the users of OER. Only very few and hardly conclusive surveys on the users of OER are available . There is a high need to better understand the demand and the users of OER. A key issue is who owns the e-learning material developed by faculty. Is it the faculty or the institution? In many countries including the United States, the longstanding practice in tertiary education has been to allow the faculty the ownership of their lecture notes and classroom presentations. This practice has not always automatically been applied to e-learning c ourse material.Some universities have adopted policies that share revenues from e-learning material produced by faculty. Other universities have adopted policies that apply institutional ownership only when the use of university resources is substantial (American Council of Education and EDUCAUSE, 2003). In any case, institutions and faculty groups must strive to maintain a policy that provides for the university’s use of materials and simultaneously fosters and supports faculty innovation. It will be interesting to analyse how proprietary versus open e-learning initiatives will develop over the coming years in tertiary education. Their respective development will depend upon: How the copyright practices and rules for e-learning material will develop at tertiary education institutions; †¢The extent to which innovative user communities will be built around OER initiatives; †¢The extent to which learning objects models will prove to be successful; †¢The extent to which new organisational forms in teaching and learning at tertiary education institutions will crystallise; †¢The demand for free versus â€Å"fee-paid† e-learning material; †¢The role of private companies in promoting e-learning investments etc. It is however likely that proprietary e-learning initiatives will not dominate or take over open e-learning initiatives or vice versa.The two approaches will more likely develop side by side sometimes in competition but also being able to mutually reinforce each other through new innovations and market opportunities. Conclusion There are many critical issues surrounding e-learning in tertiary education that need to be addressed in order to fulfil objectives such as widening access to educational opportunities; enhancing the quality of learning; and reducing the cost of tertiary education. E-learning is, in all its forms, a relatively recent phenomenon in tertiary education that has largely not radically transformed teachi ng and learning practices nor significantly changed the access, costs, and quality of tertiary education. As we have shown, e-learning has grown at a rapid pace and has enhanced the overall learning and teaching experience.While it has not lived up to its most ambitious promises to stem radical innovations in the pedagogic and organisational models of the tertiary education, it has quietly enhanced and improved the traditional learning processes. Most institutions are thus currently in the early phase of e-learning adoption, characterised by important enhancements of the learning process but no radical change in learning and teaching. Like other innovations, they might however live up to their more radical promises in the future and really lead to the inventions of new ways of teaching, learning and interacting within a knowledge community constituted of learners and teachers. In order to head towards these advances innovation cycles, a sustainable innovation and investment model wi ll have to be developed.While a first challenge will be technical, this will also require a broad willingness of tertiary education institutions to search for new combinations of input of faculty, facilities and technology and new ways of organising their teaching activities. Like for ICT investments in other sectors, the cost-effectiveness of e-learning investments will depend on whether new organisational and knowledge management practices are adopted. Experiments are already underway that make us aware of these challenges, but also of the opportunities and lasting promises of e-learning in tertiary education. References Allen, I. E. and Seaman, J. (2003), Sizing the opportunity.The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2002 and 2003, The Sloan Consortium. American Council on Education and EDUCAUSE (2003), Distributed Education: Challenges, Choices and a New Environment, Washington DC. Atkins, D. E. , Droegemeier, K. K. , Feldman, S. I. , Garcia-Molina, H. , Klein, M. L. , Messerschmitt, D. G. , Messina, P. , Ostriker, J. P. , Wright, M. H. , Final Report of the NSF Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Cyberinfrastructure, available at http://www. cise. nsf. gov/sci/reports/toc. cfm. February 2003. Bates, A. W. (1995), Technology, e-learning and Distance Education, Routledge, London/New York. Boyer, R. 2002), La croissance, debut de siecle. De l’octet au gene, Albin Michel, Paris; English translation: The Future of Economic Growth: As New Becomes Old, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, 2004. Cunningham, S. , Ryan, Y. , Stedman, L. , Tapsall, S. , Bagdon, S. , Flew, T. , Coaldrake, P. (2000), The Business of Borderless Education, Australian Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Canberra. Dasgupta, P. and P. A. David (1994), â€Å"Towards a New Economics of Science†, Research Policy, 23(5). David, P. A (2004), Toward a Cyberinfrastructure from Enhanced Scientific Collaboration: Providing its ‘Soft’ Foundatio ns May be the Hardest Threat, Oxford Internet Institute. Foray, D. 2004), The Economics of Knowledge, MIT Press, Cambridge, USA. Harley, D. (2003), Costs, Culture, and Complexity: An Analysis of Technology Enhancements in a Large Lecture Course of UC Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education. Paper CSHE3-03, Berkeley University. Hutchins, E. (1995), Cognition in the Wild, MIT Press, Cambridge, USA. Nelson, R. (2000), â€Å"Knowledge and Innovation Systems†, in OECD, Knowledge Management in the Learning Society, Paris. Observatory for Borderless Higher Education (2002), Online Learning in Commonwealth Universities – Results from the Observatory 2002 Survey, London. OECD (2003), New Challenges for Educational Research, OECD, Paris.OECD (2004a), Innovation in the Knowledge Economy – Implications for Education and Learning, Paris. OECD (2004b), Internationalisation and Trade in Higher Education. Opportunities and Challenges, Paris. OECD (2005 forthcoming), E- learning Case Studies in Post-Secondary Education, Paris. Smith, J. M. and C. Thille (2004), The Open Learning Initiative – Cognitively Informed e-learning, The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, London. World Bank (2003), Constructing Knowledge Societies: New Challenges for Tertiary Education, The World Bank, Washington D. C. Zemsky, R. and W. F. Massy (2004), Thwarted Innovation – What Happened to e-learning and Why, The Learning Alliance, Pennsylvania University.

Introduction to Psychology Perception and Reflection

Introduction to Psychology Perception and Reflection Free Online Research Papers The aim of the essay is to discuss what are the factors that affect our perception of people, and some of the elements that impact our accuracy or otherwise of first impression, and how perception effects the decision-making process in the first few moments of contact e.g. â€Å"first date†. Why we all have first impressions of someone we just met in the first few seconds. Why do we form an opinion about someone without knowing really anything about him or her-aside perhaps from a few remarks or readily observed traits. We are well informed that the answer is related to how our brain allows us to be aware of the world. Our brain continuously processes incoming sensory informationthe sights and sounds of your world. These incoming signals are compared against a host of memories stored in the brain. This paper will examine the aspects and the influences on first impression and perception in meeting someone on a first date. From well researched information we understand that behavioral potentials set the limits within which our dispositions can vary, and can vary in their tendencies, to argue be nervous, organized, be conservative, introvert or extravert, gender, physical attractiveness, cultural back ground and so on. Abelson, Frey Gregg (2004) suggest that it is a popular belief that a first impression is a lasting impression. First impressions are important because they are the initial idea that a person forms about another person and it determines whether a person decides to pursue any type of relationship with anyone. People tend to form impressions of each other rather quickly. They use minimal information, such as the sex of the person, appearance, ethnicity or a brief encounter to draw conclusions about each other; these types of factors can lead people to form remarkably detailed impressions. Process in Forming Impression Abelson et al (2004) found that once an impression is formed by superficial processing e.g. (when relying on accessible information to make inferences or judgments, while expending little effort in processing) or systematic processing, e.g. (giving thorough, effortful consideration to a wide range of information relevant to a judgment) it becomes a basis for decisions and behaviors. An initial impression can alter the interpretation of later information, leading to impressions that are resistant to change. Impressions often lead people to seek consistent information, or even to elicit confirming actions from others, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. When people encounter information that is clearly inconsistent with an impression, they may take it into account. Most of the time, however, they may attempt to explain it away or attribute it to situational factors. It is only when people are actively looking for change in an individual that fundamental change is possible. Factors of Perception Perception is a constructive process, based on the available information but greatly influenced by past experience and expectations. For the most part these systems provide us with the accurate information upon which we base our actions. There is still sufficient uncertainty within the systems, however, to allow our higher thought processes and emotional states to greatly influence how we experience things. Other important factors of perception that we traditionally talk about are the five senses, taking these to be touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing Wright Macleod (2006). The decision-making process Davito (2007) suggests that people who are physically attractive are perceived to be happy, warm, friendly, successful, confident, and well-adjusted. At other times, however, people form impressions based on a careful observation of a person’s behavior. From the observers perspective he will look for other visual variables and observations such as, appearance, dress, posture, manner and body language. We are all aware and it’s an area that is well researched, that first impression is everything. There is no second chance for a first impression. People immediately cast others into stereotypes in every situation: they form a schema or an organized set of thoughts and hypothesize about others within the first eight seconds of meeting or seeing an individual for the first time. These schemas affect the way people carry themselves and around others Bem, D. (1972) explains that this behavior that people come up with is called attributions. Explaining (â€Å"attributing†) is classifying, assigning, another person’s behavior to some cause, deciding on a reason for their actions, whether it be something about their stable personality (values, beliefs, traits) or something about the situation they are in. Using Our Body language is a term for communication using body movements or gestures instead of, or in addition to, sounds, verbal language or other communication. It forms part of the category of paralanguage (non verbal), which describes all forms of human communication that are not verbal language. This includes the most subtle of movements that many people are not aware of, including smiling, fondling of hair, winking and slight movement of the eyebrows. In addition body language can also incorporate the use of facial expressions Wikipedia (access 2007). Let’s examine the following setting, â€Å"If an attractive woman tilts her head to the side, licks her lips, fondles her hair, and looks over her shoulder directly at someone to make eye contact we can then presume that she’s interested in that person. As Abelson et al (2004) explain that we can be distracted by the most visible and salient aspects of a persons personality and physical attractiveness and charisma (a large part of which is extroversion) can hide the inner layers of the onion. The attractive woman would have been stereotyped as being warm and friendly by her counterpart. For example in this instance the attractive woman may have been a serial killer and the inevitable counterexample of first impressions can, sometimes, be dreadfully wrong. Examining Stereotyping in General A crucial aspect of this theory is the fluctuating nature of identity. While people tend to identify with many social groups, based on various factors such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, physical appearance, attributes, and so on, these factors become salient at different times and in different ways. According to social identity theory, if and when a particular group identity becomes salient at a particular time for whatever reason the sentiments, emotions, and behaviours of any given member of the salient group will tend to be affected and guided by the norms and aspirations of that group, Rathus (2007). In the vast literature on identity and gender, several approaches have found it useful to regard women and men as members of social categories. For example, gender stereotypes are pervasive, and carry relatively well-defined prescriptions for typical male and female behaviour Deaux Major (1987). In this case we could argue that the first impression of the male recipient would have been â€Å" I am attracted to her† she is making gestures to attract my attention, I hope she not a girl of the night. It would not be uncommon for the male recipient not to stereotype the attractive women in this social group. It is well researched that males are predominant as being the authoritarians in nature of men’s social identification in relation to gender-related beliefs. What if in this case the attractive woman was a â€Å"blonde†, what would have been the stereotype let’s say in this case it was â€Å"Marilyn Monroe† who played the role extremely well as a dumb blonde in most of her movies, for example in role she played â€Å"Gentleman Prefer Blondes†. The behaviour from the male participant would have somewhat different in reference of facial expressions, body language and of course other sexual innuendos and so on. The dumb blonde stereotype is traditionally an exhibitionist role so fits perfectly into this type. Broad view of gender stereotypes in the expression and perception of vocal and facial effects: Researchers have documented stereotypic beliefs about females and males for the perception and expression of emotion. Such research consistently shows that fear and sadness are considered to be female emotions while anger is viewed as a predominantly masculine emotional state. This general pattern of beliefs has not only been found for adults but has also been shown to exist for preschoolers and elementary school children, who tend to associate sadness, fear, and happiness with females and anger with males (Fabes Martin, (1991). Gender expression can be defined as the way in which every human being expresses herself/himself in genderized terms – that is to say, the way in which all persons express themselves within the different possibilities that the gender spectrum offers -like masculinity, femininity, androgyny, facial attractiveness etc Rathus (2007) My Perspective I have learned that we are all unique. We all have our own ‘world’, our own way of looking at and understanding our environment and the people within it. A situation may be the same but the interpretation of that situation by two individuals may be vastly different. As in the case of the attractive woman stereotyped by first impression and yet there was a possibility being a serial killer. The physical properties may be identical in term of how they ‘are’, but they are perceived quite differently because each individual has imposed upon the person and perceived their own interpretations, their own judgment and evaluation. From the literature I would argue that stereotyping of first impression and the affects of perception are very dynamic and can have a positive or negative outcome. We can be distracted by the most visible and salient aspects of a persons personality and physical attractiveness by first impression. Kenny (1994) explains that we immediately cast others into stereotypes in every situation; we form a schema or an organized set of thoughts and hypothesize about others within the first eight seconds of meeting or seeing an individual for the first time. I have learned more about human nature, and in the course of my observations from this essay. I learned that we all, even myself, are victims of this judgmental view of others. First impressions and perceptions, formed by all people truly affect your interactions in everyday life. Summary In summary we have evaluated the following: Impressions of other people are influenced by many cues. These cues are interpreted with the help of associated or accessible knowledge. During social interactions, peoples eyes convey a wealth of information about their direction of attention and their emotional and mental states. Particular focus is given to the gaze-cueing paradigm that has been used to investigate the mechanisms of joint attention. The contribution of this paradigm has been significant and will likely continue to advance knowledge across diverse fields within psychology and neuroscience, Rathus (2007). When processing information superficially, people infer traits from observable behaviors. Often traits are also inferred when situational causes actually account for behaviors. When processing systematically, people make causal attributions for behavior. A cause is more likely to be considered as an explanation when it is accessible or salient. To create an overall impression, knowledge is organized by clustering behaviors, and by creating causal links among characteristics. When people devote time and effort to forming an impression, biases may still occur. Impressions are a basis for decisions and behaviors. Impressions alter the interpretation of later information, often lead people to seek consistent information, and elicit confirming actions from others, leading to impressions that are resistant to change. When people encounter information that is clearly inconsistent with an impression, they may take it into account. Most of the time, however, peoples impressions can be difficult to change. References Abelson, R.P. Frey, K.P and Gregg. A.P (2004) Experiments With People Revelations from Social Psychology: Lawrence Erlbaum publishers New Jersey London Bem, D. (1972). Self-perception theory. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, (Vol. 6). New York: Academic Press. as.wvu.edu/~sbb/comm221/chapters/attrib.htm Davito J.A. (2007) The interpersonal Communication Book, 11th Edition. Pearson Allen and Bacon Deaux, K., Major, B. (1987). Putting gender into context: An interactive model of gender-related behaviour. Psychological Review, 94, 369-389. Fabes, R. A., Martin, C. L. (1991). Gender and age stereotypes of emotionality. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 532-540 (accessed 2007) Kenny, D.A (1994) Interpersonal Perception: A Social Relations Analysis. New York: Guilford Press. Rathus, A S. (2007) Psychology Concepts Connections Brief Version (8thed.) Thompson Learning, Inc. Wright, P. and Macleod H. (2006) Get Set for Psychology. Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh. My email Address: tsiganos1@hotmail.com Desired acount name : Dimitrios submited before, forgot to add my email and desired account name. 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