Technical Communication Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Technical Communication Assignment - Essay Example So, from the wide variety of fields or branches that will be available, the individuals will chose their field, specialize in it, ‘graduate’ in it and even ‘Master’ it, going through different stages. So, I James Peck, an estate agent also went through all these stages or part of these stages. Working in the property development sector, I have quite a good knowledge about my field and the job I do. As mentioned above, each of the individual will have an academic choice and career choice of their own, based on their interest, influences and also expected opportunities. If anyone is interested in my field of property development, or if anyone haven’t made their career choice, or if anyone wants to change their current choice to an estate agent, or even if anybody wants to know about the field of property development, as a general knowledge subject, my speech will be quite useful. Importantly, this speech could also be an influencing activity. To entice the listeners and make them attentive to my speech, I intend to plan the outline in a logical way. That is, firstly, I wanted to speak to them about their interests and influences in their childhood and during their school life. This is because; humans are mostly ‘made’ in their childhood and teenage years, before they enter their adulthood. Every human’s life will be composed of several stages, which are inter-linked. And, for every living individual in this world, who has lived long enough, the stage when they were young will be considered the crucial one. At that stage only, an individual’s life can take a turn, both in the positive as well in the negative direction. Positive direction in the sense, if the individual, when he/she was a juvenile concentrates on education, career, etc, their lives will be a successful one. Even if their parents or

Taxation and Tax Environment in the United Kingdom Essay

Taxation and Tax Environment in the United Kingdom - Essay Example When a person is resident for tax purposes in the UK but he is a foreign domicile, he is perhaps only liable for paying tax on the money which has been brought in to the UK. So if a person offshore accounts in his own mother country, but he does not use that money in the UK, he has the chances to exempt from UK taxation but if in doubt he needs to check with an accountant. There are some sorts of income on which tax is not binding. These include certain benefits, special pensions, and income from tax-exempt accounts. These are ignored as well as when working out how much Income Tax may be needed to a taxpayer. HMRC is an association which is responsible for collecting the bulk of tax revenue, as well as paying Tax Credits and Child Benefits, and strengthening the UK's frontiers. It has a huge volume of information on these matters and it can get more as the individual banks are likely to follow suit. HMRC is also committed to targeting tax evasion. "Self Assessment" is the matter of personal taxation which is used in the UK regime. It is introduced in 1996/97. Self Assessment applies to such types of taxpayers who are self-employed. Their tax affairs are so complicated that can not be fully dealt with under the normal system. For example, we can say about the directors, higher rate taxpayers and those who have more than one source of income. The phrase "self-assessment" is ambiguous because the tax will be calculated by the HM Revenue and Customs in certain circumstances or the taxpayer can use the services of an accountant to calculate the tax on his behalf. The regular income-tax system involves the filing of a return of income with the Income-tax Department along with the statement of accounts maintained if any, production and examination of books of accounts, determination of total income, issue of a demand notice for payment of tax and finally its payment.  

Strategic Management Essay Example for Free

Strategic Management Essay Unilever is one of the world’s oldest multinational companies. Its origin goes back to the 19th century when a group of companies operating independently, produced soaps and margarine. In 1930, the companies merged to form Unilever that diversified into food products in 1940s. Through the next five decades, it emerged as a major fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) multinational operating in several businesses. In 2004, the Unilever 2010 strategic plan was put into action with the mission to ‘bring vitality to life’ and ‘to meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good, and get more out of life’. The corporate strategy is of focusing on bore businesses of food, home care and personal care. Unilever operates in more than 100 countries, has a turnover of â‚ ¬ 39.6 billion and net profit of â‚ ¬ 3.685 billion in 2006 and derives 41 per cent of its income from the developing and emerging economies around the world. It has 179,000 employees and is a culturally-diverse organisation with its top management coming from 24 nations. Internationalisation is based on the principle of local roots with global scale aimed at becoming a ‘multi-local multinational’. The genesis of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) in India, goes back to 1888 when Unilever exported Sunlight soap to India. Three Indian, subsidiaries came into existence in the period 1931-1935 that merged to form Hindustan Lever in 1956. Mergers and acquisitions of Lipton (1972), Brooke Bond (1984), Ponds (1986), TOMCO (1993), Lakme (1998) and Modern Foods (2002) have resulted in an organisation that is a conglomerate of several businesses that have been continually restructured over the years. HUL is one of the largest FMCG company in India with total sales of Rs. 12,295 crore and net profit of 1855crore in 2006. There are over 15000 employees, including more than 1300 managers. The present corporate strategy of HUL is to focus on core businesses. These core businesses are in home and personal care and food. There are 20 different consumer categories in these two businesses. For instance, home and personal care is made up of personal wash, laundry, skin care, hair care, oral care, deodorants, colour cosmetics and ayurvedic personal and health care, while food businesses have tea, coffee, ice creams and processed food brands. Apart from the two product divisions, there are  separate departments for specialty exports and new ventures. Strategic management at HUL is the responsibility of the board of directors headed by a chairman. There are five independent and five whole-time directors. The operational management is looked after by a management committee comprising of Vice Chairman, CEO and managing director and executive directors of the two business divisions and functional areas. The divisions have a lot of autonomy with dedicated assets and resources. A divisional committee having the executive director and heads of functions of sales, commercial and manufacturing looks after the business level decision-making. The functional-level management is the responsibility of the functional head. For instance, a marketing manager has a team of brand managers looking after the individual brands. Besides the decentralised divisional structure, HUL has centralised some functions such as finance, human resource management, research, technology, information technology and corporate and legal affairs. Unilever globally and HUL nationally, operate in the highly competitive FMCG markets. The consumer markets for FMCG products are finicky: it’s difficult to create customers and much more difficult to retain them. Price is often the central concern in a consumer purchase decision requiring producers to be on continual guard against cost increases. Sales and distribution are critical functions organisationally. HUL operates in such a milieu. I t has strong competitors such as the multinationals Procter Gamble, Nivea or L’Oreal and formidable local companies such as, Amul, Nirma or the Tata FMCG companies to contend with. Rivals have copied HUL’s strategies and tactics, especially in the area of marketing and distribution. Its innovations such as new style packaging or distribution through women entrepreneurs are much valued but also copied relentlessly, hurting its competitive advantage. HUL is identified closely with India. There is a ring of truth to its vision statement: ‘to earn the love and respect of India by making a real difference to every Indian’. It has an impeccable record in corporate social responsibility. There is an element of nostalgia associated with brands like Lifebuoy (introduced in 1895) and Dalda (1937) for senior citizens in India. Consequently Indians have always perceived HUL as an Indian company rather than a multinational. HUL has attempted to align its strategies in the past to the special needs of Indian business environment. Be it marketing or  human resource management, HUL has experimented with new ideas suited to the local context. For instance, HUL is known for its capabilities in rural marketing, effective distribution systems and human resource development. But this focus on India seems to be changing. This might indicate a change in the strategic posture as well as recognition that Indian markets have matured to the extent that they can be dealt with by the global strategies of Unilever. At the corporate level, it could also be an attempt to leverage global scale while retaining local responsiveness to some extent. In line with the shift in corporate strategy, the focus of strategic decision-making seems to have moved from the subsidiary to the headquarters. Unilever has formulated a new global realignment under which it will develop brands and streamline product offerings across the world and the subsidiaries will sell the products. Other subtle indications of the shift of decision-making authority could be the appointment of a British CEO after nearly forty years during which there were Indian CEOs, the c hanged focus on a limited number of international brands rather than a large range of local brands developed over the years and the name-change from Hindustan Lever to Hindustan Unilever. The shift in the strategic decision-making power from the subsidiary to headquarters could however, prove to be double-edged sword. An example could be of HUL adopting Unilever’s global strategy of focussing on a limited number of products, called the 30 power brands in 2002. That seemed a perfectly sensible strategic decision aimed at focusing managerial attention to a limited set of high-potential products. But one consequence of that was the HUL’s strong position in the niche soap and detergent markets suffering owing to neglect and the competitors were quick to take advantage of the opportunity. Then there are the statistics to deal with: HUL has nearly 80 per cent of sales and 85 per cent of net profits from the home and personal care businesses. Globally, Unilever derives half its revenues from food business. HUL does not have a strong position in the food business in India though the food processing industry remains quite attractive both in terms of local consumption as well as export markets. HUL’s own strategy of offering low-price, competitive products may also suffer at the cost of Unilever’s emphasis on premium priced, high end products sold through modern outlets. There are some dark clouds on the horizon. HUL’s latest financials are not satisfactory. Net profit is down,  sales are sluggish, input costs have been rising and new food products introduced in the market have yet to pick up. All this while, in one market segment after another, a competitor pushes ahead. In a company of such a big size and over-powering presence, these might still be minor events developments in a long history that needs to be taken in stride. But, pessimistically, they could also be pointers to what may come. Questions: 1. State the strategy of Hindustan Unilever in your own words. 2. At what different levels is strategy formulated in HUL? 3. Comment on the strategic decision-making at HUL. 4. Give your opinion on whether the shift in strategic decision-making from India to Unilever’s headquarters could prove to be advantageous to HUL or not. CASE: 2 THE STRATEGIC ASPIRATIONS OF THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is India’s central bank or ‘the bank of the bankers’. It was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1935. The Central Office of the RBI, initially set up at Kolkata, is at Mumbai. The RBI is fully owned by the Government of India. The history of RBI is closely aligned with the economic and financial history of India. Most central banks around the world were established around the beginning of the twentieth century. The Bank was established on the basis of the Hilton Young Commission. It began its operations by taking over from the Government the functions so far being performed by the Controller of Currency and from the Imperial Bank of India, the management of Government accounts and public debt. After independence, RBI gradually strengthened its institution-building capabilities and evolved in terms of functions from central banking to that of development. There have been s everal attempts at reorganisation, restructuring and creation of specialised institutions to cater to emerging needs. The Preamble of the RBI describes its basic functions like this: ‘†¦.to regulate the issue of Bank Notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing monetary  stability in India and generally to operate the currency and credit system of the country to its advantage.’ The vision states that the RBI ‘†¦.aims to be a leading central bank with credible, transparent, proactive and contemporaneous policies and seeks to be a catalyst for the emergence of a globally competitive financial system that helps deliver a high quality of life to the people in the country.’ The mission states that ‘RBI seeks to develop a sound and efficient financial system with monetary stability conductive to balanced and sustained growth of the Indian economy’. The corporate values of underlining the mission statement include public interest, integrity, excellence, independence of views and responsiveness and dynamism. The three areas in which objectives of the RBI can be stated are as below. 1. Monetary policy objectives such as containing inflation and promoting economic growth, management of foreign exchange reserves and making currency available. 2. Objectives set for managing financial sector developments such as supervision of systems and information access and assisting banking and financial institutions to become competitive globally. 3. Organisational development objectives such as development of economic research facilities, creating information system for supporting economic decision-making, financial management and human resource management. Strategic actions taken to realise the objectives fall under four categories: 1. The thrust area of monetary policy formulation and managing financial sector; 2. Evolving the legal framework to support the thrust area; 3. Customer service for providing support and creation of positive relationship; and 4. Organisational support such as structure, systems, human resource development and adoption of modern technology. The major functions performed by the RBI are: †¢ Acting as the monetary authority †¢ Acting as the regulator and supervisor of the financial system †¢ Discharging responsibilities as the manager of foreign exchange †¢ Issue currency †¢ Play as developmental role †¢ Related functions such as acting as the banker to the government and scheduled banks The management of the RBI is the responsibility of the central board of directors headed by the governor and consisting of  deputy governors and other directors, all of whom are appointed by the government. There are four local boards based at Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. The day-to-day management of RBI is in the hands of the executive directors, managers at various levels and the support staff. There are about 22000 employees at RBI, working in 25 departments and training colleges. The RBI identified its strengths and weaknesses as under. †¢ Strengths A large body of competent officers and staff; access to key data on the economy; wide organisational network with 22 regional offices; established infrastructure; ability to attract talent; and financial self sufficiency. †¢ Weaknesses Structural rigidity, lack of accountability and slow decision-making; eroded specialist know-how; strong employee unions with rigid industrial relations stance; surplus staff; and weak market intelligence. Over the years, the RBI has evolved in terms of structure and functions, in response to the role assigned to it. There have been sweeping changes in the economic, social and political environment. The RBI has had to respond to it even in the absence of a systematic strategic plan. In 1992, the RBI, with the assistance of a private consultancy firm, embarked on a massive strategic planning exercise. The objective was to establish a roadmap to redefine RBI’s role and to review internal organisational and managerial efficacy, address the changing expectations from external stakeholders and reposition the bank in the global context. The strategic planning exercise was buttressed by departmental position papers and documents on various subjects such as technology, human resources and environmental trends. The strategic plan of the RBI emerged with four sections dealing with the statement of mission, objectives and policy, a review of RBI’s strengths and weaknesses and strategic actions required with an implementation plan. The strategic plan reiterates anticipation of evolving external environment in the medium-term; revisiting strengths and weaknesses (evaluation of capabilities); and doing away with the outdated mandates for enhancing efficiency in operations in furtherance of best public interests. The results of these efforts are likely to manifest in attaining a visible focus, reinforced proficiency, realisation of shared sense of purpose, optimising resource use and build-up of momentum to achieve goals. Historically, the RBI adopted the time-tested technique of responding to external environment in a pragmatic  manner and making piecemeal changes. The dilemma in adoption of a comprehensive strategic plan was the risk of trading off the flexibility of the pragmatic approach to creating rigidity imposed by a set model of planning. Questions: 1. Consider the vision and mission statements of the Reserve Bank of India. Comment on the quality of both these statements. 2. Should the RBI go for a systematic and comprehensive strategic plan in place of its earlier pragmatic approach of responding to environmental events as and when they occur? Why? CASE: 3 THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF KALYANI GROUP The Kalyani Group is a large family-business group of India, employing more than 10000 employees. It has diverse businesses in engineering, steel, forgings, auto components, non-conventional energy and specialty chemicals. The annual turnover of the Group is over US$2.1 billion. The Group is known for its impressive internationalisation achievements. It has nine manufacturing locations spread over six countries. Over the years, it has established joint ventures with many global companies such as ArvinMeritor, USA, Carpenter Technology Corporation, USA, Hayes Lemmerz, USA and FAW Corporation, China. The flagship company of the Group is Bharat Forge Limited that is claimed to be the second largest forging company in the world and the largest nationally, with about 80 per cent share in axle and engine components. The other major companies of the Group are Kalyani Steels, Kalyani Carpenter Special Steels, Kalyani Lemmerz, Automotive Axles, Kalyani Thermal Systems, BF Utilities, Hikal Lim ited, Epicenter and Synise Technologies The emphasis on internationalisation is reflected in the vision statement of the Group where two of the five points relate to the Group trying to be a world-class organisation and achieving growth aggressively by accessing global markets. The Group is led by Mr. B.N. Kalyani, who is considered to be the major force behind the Group’s aggressive internationalisation drive. Mr. Kalyani joined the Group in 1972  when it was a small-scale diesel engine component business. The corporate strategy of the Group is a combination of concentration of its core competence in its business with efforts at building, nurturing and sustaining mutually beneficial partnerships with alliance partners and customers. The value of these partnerships essentially lies in collaborative product development with the partners who are the original equipment manufacturers. The foreign partners are not intended to provide expansion in capacity, but to enable the Kalyani Group to extend its global marketing reach. In achieving its successful status, the Kalyani Group has followed the path of integration, extending from the upstream steel making to downstream machining for auto components such as crank-shafts, front axle beams, steering knuckles, cam-shafts, connecting rods and rocker arms. In all these products, the Group has tried to move up the value chain instead of providing just the raw forgings. In the 1990s, it undertook a restructuring exercise to trim its unrelated businesses such as television and video products and concentrate on its core business of auto components. Four factors are supposed to have influenced the growth of the Group over the years. These are mentioned below: †¢ Focussing on core businesses to maximise growth potential †¢ Attaining aggressive cost savings †¢ Expanding geographically to build global capacity and establishing leading positions †¢ Achieving external growth through acquisitions The Group companies are claimed to be positioned at either number one or two in their respective businesses. For instance, the Group claims to be number one in forging and machined components, axle aggregates, wheels and alloy steel. The technology used by the Group in its mainline business of auto components and other businesses, is claimed to be state-of-the-art. The Group invests in forging technology to enhance efficiency, production quality and design capabilities. The Group’s emphasis on technology can be gauged from the fact that in the 1990s, it took the risky decision of investing Rs. 100 crore in the then latest forging technology, when the total Group turnover was barely Rs. 230 crore. Information technology is applied for product development, reducing production and product development time, supply-chain management and marketing of products. The Group lays high emphasis on research and development for providing engineering support,  advanced metallurgical analysis and latest testing equipment in tandem with its high-class manufacturing facilities. Being a top-driven group, the pattern of strategic decision-making within seems to be entrepreneurial. There was an attempt to formulate a five-year strategic plan in 1997, with the participation of the company executives. But no much is mentioned in the business press about that collaborative strategic decision-making after that. Recent strategic moves include Kalyani Steels, a Group company, entering into a joint venture agreement in may 2007, with Gerdau S.A. Brazil for installation of rolling mills. An attempt to move out of the mainstream forging business was made when the Group strengthened its position in the prospective business of wind energy through 100 per cent acquisition of RSBconsult GmbH (RSB) of Germany. Prior to the acquisition, the Group was just a wind farm operator and supplier of components. Questions: 1. What is the motive for internationalisation by the Kalyani Group? Discuss. 2. Which type of international strategy is Kalyani Group adopting? Explain. CASE 4: THE STORY OF SYNERGOS UNFOLDS Synergos is a young management and strategy consulting firm based at Mumbai. It was established in 1992 at a time when there were a lot of expectations among the industry people from the liberalisation policies that were started the previous year by the Government of India. The consulting firm is an entrepreneurial venture started by Urmish Patel, a dynamic person who worked with a multinational consulting firm at the time. He left his comfortable position there to venture into the management consultancy industry. The motivation was to be ‘the master of his own destiny’ rather than being an employee working for others. Urmish comes from an upper middle-class Gujarati family, settled in a small town in Rajasthan. His father was a government servant who retired with a meagre pension. His mother is a housewife. His other siblings are all educated and well-settled in their  respective careers and professions. Urmish is a creative individual, uncomfortable with the status-quo. During his student days at a college at Jaipur, he was continually coming up with bright ideas that some of his friends found to be preposterous. To him, however, these were perfectly achievable ideas. He studied biotechnology and then went to the US on a scholarship to do his Masters. After a semester at a well-known university there, he lost interest and switched to pursue an MBA. He liked it and soon settled down to work with an American consultancy firm and toured several countries on varied assignments during the seven years he worked there. In 1992 came the urge to Urmish to chuck his job and be on his own. It was risky, yet an exciting step to take. His accumulated capital was limited—just enough to rent office space, buy a few computers and hire an assistant. There were no consultancy assignments for the first three months. But an acquaintance soon came to his aid, introducing him to the CFO of a major family business group who needed advice on a performance improvement project they wanted to launch. The opportunity came in handy though the returns were nothing to write home about. That project was the first step to many more that came gradually. Synergos started gaining presence in the competitive management consultancy industry and attracting attention from the people whom they worked for. Word-of-mouth publicity led them from one project to another for the first three years till 1995. Synergos took up whatever came its way, delivering a cost-effective solution to its clients. A team of four had formed by now, each member of the team specialising in services rendered to the clients. For instance, one of the members is a specialist in engineering projects, while another has expertise finance. The third one is a service sector specialist, also having experience in dealing with government matters. The phase of rapid growth started some time in 1995 when the Synergos team decided to focus on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These were firms that realised they had problems needing specialist advice, but were apprehensive to approach the big firms on account of their limited outlay and inexperience of dealing with such firms. Synergos came to their aid by tailoring their services as near as possible to their needs. Another differentiation platform Synergos offered to its client was a fully-integrated consultancy service where it got involved right from the stage of planning down to its implementation and monitoring.   Presently, Synergos has grown to be a medium-sized consultancy firm, serving clients in India and abroad, working for industries ranging from auto components to financial services and for manufacturing organisations to service providers. Some-how, nearly half of the assignments it has worked on have been for mid-sized, upcoming, family-owned businesses, a niche it has served well. These organisations typically need a boutique sort of consultancy that can offer customised services dealing with a broad range of practices related to strategy, organisation design, mergers and acquisitions and operational matter such as logistics and supply-chain management. Synergos fits in with their requirements owing to its personalised service and reasonable commission structure. The organisational structure at Synergos has a board at the top, consisting of seven people, including the four founding members and three independent directors. One of the independent directors is the chairman of the board. Urmish, as the founder CEO, also heads an executive management committee with each of the founding members, leading three other top-level committees dealing with business portfolio, service management and executive recruitment. The management team is called the professional group. The rest of the employees are referred to as the staff. The professional group has young women and men who are graduates from some of the best institutions in India and abroad. They are assigned to taskforces based on their qualifications, experience and interests. The departmentation at Synergos is flexible, based on an interplay of the three categories: skill, service and specialty. For instance, a professional may have IT skills, may have worked to provide supply-chain management ser vices and developed expertise in handling operational assignments for medium-sized food and beverage firms. There is a lot of multi-tasking however, to utilise the wide range of skills and special expertise that the professionals have. For administrative matters, the professionals are assigned to client-service departments of industry solutions, enterprise solutions and technology solutions. The flexibility that such an organisational arrangement affords seems to have been the major reason for the evolution of the organisation structure at Synergos over the years. The staff group of employees consists of the support people who provide a variety of services to the professionals. Among  these are research assistants, industry analysts, documentation experts and secretarial staff. There is no set pattern for assignment of staff to the administrative departments and generally, a need-based approach is followed, depending on the workload at a particular time. Recruitment for professionals is stringent. Synergos typically looks for a good combination of education and experience and lays much emphasis on the compatibility of the prospective employee with the shared values. Creativity, broad range of professional interes ts, intellectual acumen, team-working and physical fitness to undertake demanding tasks and work for long hours are the criteria for hiring. There are not many training opportunities except the on-the-job learning. New professionals are assigned to a mentor for some time till they are ready to handle assignments autonomously. The staff members are usually recruited from fresh graduates, with good degrees from reputed institutions, in arts, sciences and commerce. The staff positions are also open for persons wanting to work on part-time or project-bases. Emphasis is given to the ability of the prospective staff to undertake multi-tasking and work with documentation and word processing and presentation software packages. The compensation system consists of a base salary with commission and bonus depending on performance. There are other usual elements such as medical reimbursement, loan facility and gratuity and retirement benefits. the performance appraisal is informal, with at least one of the four founding members being part of the evaluation committee for a professional. Usually, the founding member closest to the work area of the employee is involved in determining the rewards to be given. The time-cycle for appraisal is one year. Management control is discreet and performance-based rather than behaviour-based. The means for control are informal, such as direct supervision. Urmish is a strong proponent of the emergent strategy and is not in favour of tying Synergos to a fixed strategic posture. So are the other founder members, though at times they do talk about deciding on a niche such as SME organisations as clients and enterprise solutions as the core competence. In the highly fragmented consultancy industry where it is possible for even one person to set up an office in a commercial area and leverage connections to secure projects, Synergos is open to opportunities as they emerge, while trying to maintain the flexibility that has made it successful till now. Questions: 1. Identify the type of organisation structure being used at Synergos and explain how it works. What are the benefits of using this type of structure? What are the pitfalls? 2. Express your opinion about whether the structure is in line with the recruitments of the strategy that Synergos is implementing. 3. Based on the information related to the information, control and reward systems available in the case, examine whether these systems are appropriate for the type of strategy being implemented. CASE: 5 EXERCISING STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL CONTROLS AT iGATE GLOBAL SOLUTIONS The Bangalore-based iGATE Global Solutions is the flagship company of iGATE Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed US-based corporation. Known earlier as Mascot Systems, it was set up in India in 1993, to offer staffing services. It acquired business process outsourcing (BPO) and contact centre businesses in 2003, making it an end-to-end IT and ITES service provider. Its service portfolio includes consulting, IT services, data analytics, enterprise systems, BPO/BSP, contact centre and infrastructure management services. iGATE has over 100 active clients and centres based in Canada, China, Malaysia, India, the UK and the US. Chairman, Ashok Trivedi and CEO Phaneesh Murthy, an ex-Infosys IT professional and their partners hold a major stake, with some participation by institutional and public investors. The revenues for 2006-2007 are over Rs. 805 crore and net profits, Rs. 49.6 crore. The corporate strategies of iGATE are offering integrated IT services and divesting the legacy IT staffing busin ess and possibly making acquisitions in the domain expertise for financial services businesses. The business strategy is focused differentiation based on the focal points of testing, infrastructure management and enterprise solutions. The competitive tactic is avoiding head-on competition with the formidable larger players in the  industry by carving out a niche. The business definition is serving large customers and staying away from sub-contracting work. iGATE adopts a differentiation business model based on an integrated technology and operations model which it calls as the iTOPS model. This is an advancement over the prevalent model in the ITES industry based on low-cost arbitrage model. iTOPS is based on transaction-based pricing for services and supporting the clients by providing the platform, processes and services. The strategic evaluation and control has both the elements of strategic as well as operational controls. The functional and operational implementation is aimed at achieving four sets of objectives: a) Shifting from small customers to large customer (Fortune 1000 companies) b) Shifting away from stocking to project-consulting assignments c) Working directly with clients rather than with system integrators d) Moving from a local to international markets Some illustrations of the performance indicators that reflect these objectives are: 1. On-shore versus off-shore mix of business revenues: In 2004, this ratio was 55:45 and in 2007, it has improved to 27:73, indicating a much higher revenue generation from off-shore business. 2. Billing rates: Revenue charged from clients on assignments. With project consulting assignments from off-shore clients, where the revenues are typically higher, with lower costs and higher productivity in India, the realisations from billing have to be higher. The industry norms for ITES are US$18-25 per hour for off-shore and US$ 55-65 per hour for on-shore assignments. 3. The number of large clients from Fortune 1000 companies: Presently, iGATE has nearly half of its more than 100 clients from Fortune 1000 companies, of which the top 10 account for 70 per cent of its business. 4. Controlling employee costs: This is an area where concerted effort is required from the HR and finance functions. Hiring less experienced employees lowers the compensation bill. In the IT and ITES industry, attracting and retaining well-qualified and experienced employees is a critical success factor. The performance indicator for this objective is the cost per employee. 5. Human resource metrics such as the hiring and attrition rates: In the IT and ITES industry, the human resource metrics such as hiring and attrition rates are critical indicators.  Increasing the number of employees and lowering the attrition rate by retaining the employees is a big challenge. There are presently about 5800 employees, likely to go up to 8500 in the next two years. The attrition of 20 per cent presently at iGATE is on the higher side. But such attrition is common in the industry where the employee mobility is high and employee pinching a widespread trend. The human resource management function being critical in an industry where so many challenges exist, needs a strong emphasis on training and development, motivation, autonomy and attractive incentives. iGATE has an integrated people management model focusing on developing technical, behavioural and leadership competencies. The three metrics by which the HR function is assessed are: human capital index, work culture and employee affective commitment. The reward system at iGATE consists of meritorious employees across all levels being granted restricted stock options, thus providing an incentive to remain with the company till they become due. The company, though, is an average paymaster, which disadvantage it tries to trade-off offering a more challenging work environment, quicker promotions and chances for practising innovation. Critics say that that iGATE lacks the big-brand appeal of the larger players such as Infosys and Wipro, cannot compete on scale and is still under the shadow of its original business of body-shopping IT personnel. Questions: 1. Analyse the iGATE case to highlight how it could apply some of the strategic controls such as premise control, implementation control, strategic surveillance and special alert control. 2. Analyse and describe the process of setting of standards at iGATE. 3. Give your opinion on the effectiveness of the role of reward system in exercising HR performance management at iGATE and suggest what improvements are possible, given the environmental conditions in the IT/ITES industry in India at present.

Impact of Walking on Excess Adiposity in Obese Adults

Impact of Walking on Excess Adiposity in Obese Adults The effect and efficacy of a health walk intervention in diminishing excess adiposity in obese adults ABSTRACT Introduction With the exponential rise in worldwide obesity rates, obesity is a non-communicable disease considered to be an epidemic cause of concern. Not only is this due to the physiological decline leading to premature mortality but also as a financial burden on society. Individuals meeting the cut-off point for obesity (BMI > 30 kg m-2) are reportedly at a higher risk of mortality or developing comorbidities than healthy-weight individuals. Accordingly, the role of exercise as a weight loss strategy must be examined. Objective To initiate a walking health route plan for a 2kg fat mass loss in an obese individual and to further investigate the efficiency of exercise (i.e. walking) as a role in weight loss. Methods Subject A, a male (age = 50 years, height = 1.77m, body mass = 96kg, body mass index (BMI) = 30.3kg/m2) was chosen as the target subject for a walking health route strategy to initiate a loss of 2kg of fat mass. Energy expenditure data was analysed using the subjects known anthropometric data along with the calories expended and duration of the walk as tracked and calculated by the app MapMyWalk. Results Subject A expended 379 Kcal (1585.74 kJ) as calculated by MapMyWalk for the designed health route walk. Subject A would have to repeat this health route walk approximately 49 times to lose 2kg of fat mass. In real time, this equates to performing 40 hours of this walk route for a 2kg fat mass loss. This is not a realistic approach to weight loss, especially in an obese individual already struggling to take up exercise. Thus, other methods that complement the walking health route must be considered for optimal weight loss. Conclusion Introduction With westernized lifestyles being adopted in developing countries and a growing obese population in the developed, obesity is now considered a worldwide epidemic. Obesity was officially recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2013) as a non-communicable disease that requires an effective intervention if its rise is to be prevented. Moreover, obesity is also the source of other non-communicable diseases that burden society, both economically and health-wise (WHO, 2000). Prospective Studies Collaboration (2009) performed an analysis of numerous studies that observed the effect of BMI on the risk of mortality. Their findings showed that every 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI resulted in a 30% higher risk of mortality. Additionally, the study concluded that while other anthropometric measures are useful, BMI alone is strong enough as a predictor of obesity. Despite the growing uncertainty over using BMI as a valid indicator of obesity, there is no strong evidence yet encouraging the dis use of this anthropometric measurement (Bouchard, 2007). The standard definition of obesity is a BMI of 30kg/m2 (Cole et al., 2000; James et al., 2001). If this epidemic rise remains unchanged, by 2025, more than 18% of men and 21% of women worldwide will officially be classified as obese (NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, 2016). NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2016) further suggested that lowering global BMI numbers produces the largest health benefits. As recent research has indicated, the significant association between obesity and BMI is largely determined by adiposity. Malik, Willett and Hu (2013) stated that excessive adiposity is an important risk factor in the development of non-communicable diseases. Lowering BMI by targeting adiposity is the most commonly used method of intervention and this is often achieved through either an increase in energy expenditure, reduction in energy intake or a combination of both. A cohort study performed by Padwal et al. (2016) observed residents in Canada above the age of 40 years from the first trial, where their anthropometric measurements were taken, up until deaths among the subjects were documented. This study found that the men in the highest body fat percentage quintile had the highest risk of mortality and that there was a direct association between body fat percentage and mortality; a higher body fat percentage resulted in a higher risk of mortality. Moreover, Padwal and his fellow researchers concluded that adiposity levels higher than a healthy value reduces chances of survival. Obesity and a high BMI result in premature mortality mostly in due to the comorbidities that follow excess adiposity. A population-based cohort study by Reyes et al. (2016) found that being overweight or obese significantly increases the risk of hand, hip, and knee osteoarthritis and that these conditions increase in probability with increasing BMI. Both diabetes and hypertension are amplified in adult life by increases in BMI (James et al., 2001). A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study by Feigin et al. (2016) reported that more than 90% of the global stroke burden is a result of modifiable risk factors such as a poor diet and physical inactivity. Feigins study concluded that regulating behavioural and metabolic risk factors such as physical activity and diet prevents more than three-quarters of the global stroke burden. Chan et al. (1994) studied the risk of type II diabetes mellitus in men with obesity and high levels of adiposity. The study design recruited 51,529 U.S. men, all approximately 40 75 years of age in 1986, followed by a five-year follow-up on the same subjects. Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes have been long researched to understand its mechanisms. Various studies suggest that increased resistance to insulin and diminished expression of the GLUT4 glucose transporter are found in both obese and diabetic populations (Yang et al., 2005). Chan concluded from the results of the study that there is a strong positive relationship between obesity measured by BMI and risk of diabetes. Despite analysing the relationship between diabetes and other antecedents such as early obesity, waist circumference and childhood weight gain, the results determined that BMI was the leading risk factor for type II diabetes mellitus. Nevertheless, weight loss has been suggested as one of the few modif iable factors for reversing the metabolic effects of obesity and diabetes (Bassuk and Manson, 2005). Many studies have shown associations between physical inactivity and all-cause mortality. Cardiorespiratory fitness is a key marker of aerobic capacity and often found to be the link between obesity, and mortality from cardiorespiratory diseases. Wei et al. (1999) studied the relationship between low cardiorespiratory fitness and mortality in different weight category populations wherein 25,714 adult men were examined in 1970, with a follow-up of mortality rates in 1994. Low cardiorespiratory fitness was found to be a strong independent predictor of mortality in all BMI groups: approximately 50% of the obese group had low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, increasing health risks to 39% for CVD mortality and 44% for all-cause mortality. The aim of this report is to analyse the role of exercise as a health change behaviour of an obese middle-aged man to prevent the risk of obesity-related diseases and minimise the likelihood of premature mortality. Methods Subject A is a 50-year-old man with a logged height of 1.77m, with a body mass of 96kg and a body mass index of 30.3kg /m2. The health route designed for Subject A involved a 2.87 mile (m) walk at a speed of 16:52 minutes per mile (min/m), which equates to 3.75 mph miles per hour (mph). The walk included a maximum ascend of 327ft and an average heart rate of 144 beats per minute (bpm). The route involves Subject A to walk through a park and along an uphill footpath in a circle until the subject reaches the park once again. Figures 1, 2, and 3 present the body mass index calculation, the walk route, the data from the walk route and elevation from the walk route. Heart rates were recorded at random throughout the walk: a graphical representation of the recorded heart rates at 7 random intervalscan be seen in figure 4. The changing terrain can be seen through the varying heart rates despite the route being a steady-state, sub-maximal exercise. The results section and the appendix present the detailed calculations surrounding the data collected for the subject. Figure 1 BMI calculated and classified through the NHS website Figure 2 Health route data Figure 2 2.81-mile health route overview Figure 3 2.81-mile health route and further data calculated by MapMyWalk   Ã‚   Results Subject As data regarding their body mass (kg), height (m), the average heart rate and the duration of the walk (in minutes) was analysed by MapMyWalk to calculate the total energy expenditure (in Kcal) of the health route. The energy expenditure (in Kcal) was converted to energy in kilojoules (kJ) before calculating the energy expenditure of the activity per minute (kJ/min-1). Table 1 shows the duration, number of repetitions, and energy expenditure requirements to ensure a loss of 2kg of fat mass using the walking health route. According to the data, one repetition of the walk will require Subject A to expend 1585.74 kJ/min-1. Additionally, to lose 2kg of fat mass, the walk must be repeated approximately 49 times. Subject A Mean Heart Rate (bpm) 144 Percentage HR max 84% Total energy expenditure for the health route walk as given by the app MapMyWalk (Kcal) 379 Energy expenditure per minute (kJ/min-1) 32.6 Energy expenditure for total walk (kJ) 1585.74 Time required to lose 2kg fat mass (hours) 40 Time required to lose 2kg fat mass (minutes) 2392.63 Number of health routes required to lose 2kg fat mass 49 RPE 12 Table 1 Health route data (Refer to the appendix for the calculations) Figure 4 Health route walk: Randomised heart rate recordings at 7 intervals Subject As average heart rate was 144 bpm, putting him within the fat burning zone, which is optimal for the desired outcome. This equates to 84% of the subjects maximum heart rate (170 bpm). Discussion The results from this intervention suggest that Subject A must repeat this health route walk approximately 49 times to lose 2kg of fat mass, this equates to completing 40 hours of this walk route to initiate a 2kg fat mass loss. While completing the health route walk once is an appropriate duration of physical activity, the time needed to produce a reduction in weight loss of 2kg, and therefore a reduction in BMI value, is unrealistic and impractical. Research surrounding physical activity suggests similar recommendations for tackling weight loss. McGuire et al. (1999) observed the behavioural techniques used by the U. S. adult population. The subjects were divided into three different categories; weight-loss maintainers: individuals who had intentionally lost à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥10% of their weight and maintained it for à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥1 year, weight-loss regainers: individuals who intentionally lost à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥10% of their weight but had not maintained it and a control group of individuals who had never lost à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥10% of their maximum weight and had maintained their current weight ( ±10 pounds) within the past 5 years. The results of the study showed that the weight-loss maintainer group consistently upheld their initial weight loss over a period of 7 years. In regards to their intervention, the weight-loss maintainer group incorporated a larger variety of techniques to regulate and self-monitor their lifestyle. Th e study concluded that adherence to a controlled dietary intake and increased physical activity contributed to weight loss and its maintenance. Appendix Calculation of health route data Total energy expenditure for the health route walk as given by the app MapMyWalk = 379 Kcal Total energy expenditure converted to kJ = 1585.74 kJ Rate of energy expenditure = 1585.74 kJ à · 48.5333 minutes (OR 48 min 32 seconds) = 32.6 kJ min-1 1kg of fat contains 39,000kJ (McArdle et al.,1996), thus 2kg of fat = 78000 kJ: To find out the number of repetitions needed of the health route walk: Energy in 2kg of fat à · Total energy from the health route walk 78000 kJ à · 1585.74 kJ = 49.18839154 Thus, approximately 49 repetitions. To find out the total time taken for a 2kg fat loss using the health route walk: Energy in 2kg of fat à · Total rate of energy expenditure of health route walk 78000 kJ à · 32.6 kJ min-1 = 2392.638037 minutes (OR 39.8773006166667 hours OR 39 hours, 52 minutes, 38 seconds) Thus, when rounded up; approximately 40 hours. Average HR from 7 randomised points: 100 3 min, 140 8 min, 133 11 min, 143 27 min, 159 33 min, 165 36 min, 170 40 min = 1010 à · 7 = 144.2 or 144 BPM Percentage of HR max attained during the health route walk: = 220 50 years = 170 BPM = (144 BPM (average heart rate during health route walk) à · 170 BPM) * 100 = 84% Word Count: 2,500 excluding abstract and reference list References: Bassuk, S.S. and Manson, J.E., 2005. Epidemiological evidence for the role of physical activity in reducing risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Journal of applied physiology, 99(3), pp.1193-1204. Bouchard, C., 2007. BMI, fat mass, abdominal adiposity and visceral fat: where is thebeef?. International journal of obesity, 31(10), p.1552. Chan, J.M., Rimm, E.B., Colditz, G.A., Stampfer, M.J. and Willett, W.C., 1994. Obesity, fat distribution, and weight gain as risk factors for clinical diabetes in men. Diabetes care, 17(9), pp.961-969. Cole, T.J., Bellizzi, M.C., Flegal, K.M. and Dietz, W.H., 2000. Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. Bmj, 320(7244), p.1240. Feigin, V.L., Roth, G.A., Naghavi, M., Parmar, P., Krishnamurthi, R., Chugh, S., Mensah, G.A., Norrving, B., Shiue, I., Ng, M. and Estep, K., 2016. Global burden of stroke and risk factors in 188 countries, during 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. The Lancet Neurology, 15(9), pp.913-924. James, P.T., Leach, R., Kalamara, E. and Shayeghi, M., 2001. The worldwide obesity epidemic. Obesity research, 9(S11), pp.228S-233S. Malik, V.S., Willett, W.C. and Hu, F.B., 2013. Global obesity: trends, risk factors and policy implications. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 9(1), pp.13-27. McArdle et al. (1996) Exercise physiology: Energy, nutrition and human performance (4th ed.) Pub. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins pp. 774. McGuire, M.T., Wing, R.R., Klem, M.L. and Hillf, J.O., 1999. Behavioral strategies of individuals who have maintained longà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ term weight losses. Obesity, 7(4), pp.334-341. NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, 2016. Trends in adult body-mass index in 200 countries from 1975 to 2014: a pooled analysis of 1698 population-based measurement studies with 19 · 2 million participants. The Lancet, 387(10026), pp.1377-1396. Padwal, R., Leslie, W.D., Lix, L.M. and Majumdar, S.R., 2016. Relationship Among Body Fat Percentage, Body Mass Index, and All-Cause MortalityA Cohort StudyRelationship Among Body Fat Percentage, Body Mass Index, and Mortality. Annals of internal medicine, 164(8), pp.532-541. Prospective Studies Collaboration, 2009. Body-mass index and cause-specific mortality in 900 000 adults: collaborative analyses of 57 prospective studies. The Lancet, 373(9669), pp.1083-1096. Reyes, C., Leyland, K.M., Peat, G., Cooper, C., Arden, N.K. and Prietoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Alhambra, D., 2016. Association Between Overweight and Obesity and Risk of Clinically Diagnosed Knee, Hip, and Hand Osteoarthritis: A Populationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Based Cohort Study. Arthritis Rheumatology, 68(8), pp.1869-1875. Wei, M., Kampert, J.B., Barlow, C.E., Nichaman, M.Z., Gibbons, L.W., Paffenbarger Jr, R.S. and Blair, S.N., 1999. Relationship between low cardiorespiratory fitness and mortality in normal-weight, overweight, and obese men. Jama, 282(16), pp.1547-1553. World Health Organization, 2013. Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013-2020. World Health Organization, 2000. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic (No. 894). World Health Organization. Yang, Q., Graham, T.E., Mody, N. and Preitner, F., 2005. Serum retinol binding protein 4 contributes to insulin resistance in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Nature, 436(7049), p.356.

Genetics Engineering :: essays research papers

Genetics Engineering   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hollywood has been showing it to us for years. Frankenstein, The Six Million Dollar Man, Jurassic Park, etc.; the list goes on. All these movies show man's instinct to create. This fiction of playing God in recent years is becoming a reality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1952, deoxyribonucleic acid was discovered(Dewitt, 1994). The spiral staircase molecule, DNA. DNA is the building block of life. This block holds the code for every aspect of any life on the planet Earth. DNA decides whether one life will be a plant or rhinoceros. DNA also carries the information that tells how smart, creative, bossy, shy, athletic, or any other description you can think of. The secret code of DNA would prove to be invaluable. This is the reason the Human Genome Project has been started. Scientist around the world are using super computers to crack the code. This 15 year project is predicted to end by the year 2005(Dewitt, 1994). That is only 10 years from now. What does that mean to the average Joe?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Well, today we already live with genetically engineered items. The FDA has approved bioengineered tomatoes that ripen without rotting(Dewitt, 1994). Entire herds of cattle are now being injected with a growth hormone(BST) so that they will produce more milk than ordinary cattle(Dewitt, 1994). Also drought resistance grass that needs no moving.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scientists will soon be able to collect DNA from endangered species. This DNA could be used to clone more condors, bald eagle, mountain gorillas, and many other animals. Totally extinct animals may be recreated as well, i.e. Jurassic Park. Imagine having your own dodo bird or pet triceratops.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many types of diseases will be cured. Just take out the gene that giving you the problem. Pure panacea. As soon as a baby is born his or hers parents will know everything about him or her. If they will be artistic. Will she get breast cancer? Will he be tall or short? Is he a genius. Ten years from 2005, these questions won't even have to be asked. Made to order babies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Made to order babies?!? Is this where we are headed? It's only a matter of time before a president's hair clippings are swept up at a barbershop and then used to detect what diseases he has or is susceptible to. The rich may one day be able to obtain â€Å"immortality† by cloning themselves. I couldn't picture three Donald Trumps all thinking the same.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is even a darker side to this. Governments may decide to create super soldiers. Killing machines with top physical and mental prowess. This was the dream of Adolf Hitler himself.

Definition Essay - What is Wisdom? -- Expository Definition Essays

What is Wisdom? If one asks the majority of people what the word wisdom means, most will answer vaguely that it is the knowledge gained during a lifetime. However, wisdom is much more than just knowledge gained; it signifies the accumulation of knowledge, the application of learning, and the personification of God's will in the creation of the universe (according to the American Heritage Dictionary, 6th ed.). The abstract nature of the word wisdom allows for broad interpretation of its context. To limit the vagueness of the definition, many interpret wisdom as the accumulation of knowledge. In Greek mythology, the goddess Athena was known for her wisdom. Additionally, the personification of animals as possessing wisdom also heavily influenced Greek lore. Owls, for example, are synonymous with wisdom; likewise, foxes, with their cunning nature and ability to outsmart their prey, are considered insightful animals. Age plays a prominent part in the accumulation of learning. In many societies the elderly receive top status as preservers of both culture and knowled...

Conditioning and Learning Essay

â€Å"Learning, acquiring knowledge or developing the ability to perform new behaviors. It is common to think of learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, and people continue to learn throughout their lives. † (Gregory, 1961) Conditioning is the term used to designate the types of human behavioral learning. Since the 1920s, conditioning has been the primary focus of behavior research in humans as well as animals. There are four main types of conditioning: ? Classical Conditioning ?Operant Conditioning ?Multiple-Response Learning ?Insight Learning. Conditioning and Learning 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Classical Conditioning â€Å"Classical conditioning, also called associative learning, is based on stimulus-response relationships. A stimulus is an object or situation that elicits a response by one of our sense organs, like how a bright light makes us blink. Associative learning allows us to associate two or more stimuli and change our response to one or more of them as a result of simultaneous experience. † (Moore, 2002) â€Å"According to classical conditioning, learning occurs when a new stimulus begins to elicit behavior similar to the behavior produced by an old stimulus. Studies into classical condition began in the early 1900s by the Russian physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov. † (Klein, 1998) Pavlov trained dogs to salivate in response to two stimuli: noise or light, and food or a sour solution. The dogs’ salivation is automatically elicited by the food and sour solution, so these were called the unconditional stimulus. However, when the noise or light (conditional stimulus) was repeatedly paired with the food or sour solution over an extended period of time, the dogs would eventually salivate at the noise or light alone. This is a prime example of a conditioned response. Unconditional stimuli, such as the food and sour solution, allow the learning to occur, while also serving to reinforce the learning. Without an unconditional stimulus in his experiment, Pavlov could not have taught the dogs to salivate at the presence of the noise or light. Conditioning and Learning 3 Classical conditioning is particularly important in understanding how people learn emotional behavior. For example, when we develop a new fear, we have learned to fear a particular stimulus, which has been combined with another frightening stimulus. Operant Conditioning. â€Å"Operant conditioning is goal-directed behavior. We learn to perform a particular response as a result of what we know will happen after we respond. † (Blackman, 1975) For example, a child may learn to beg for sweets if the begging is usually successful. There is no single stimulus that elicits the begging behavior, but instead it occurs because the child knows that this action may result in receiving treats. Every time the child receives sweets after begging, the behavior is reinforced and the tendency of the child to beg will increase. During the 1930s, American psychologist and behaviorist Burrhus F.Skinner performed several important experiments into operant conditioning. Using what is now termed a Skinner Box, he trained rats to press levers to receive food. A hungry rat would be placed in a box containing a special lever attached to concealed food. At first the hungry rat would wander around the box, investigating its surroundings. Eventually it would accidentally press the lever thereby releasing a food pellet into the box. At first the rat would not show any signs of associating the two events, but over time its exploring behavior becomes less random as it begins to press the lever more Conditioning and Learning 4  often. The food pellet reinforced the rat’s response of pressing the lever, so eventually the rat would spend most of its time just sitting and pressing the lever. This type of learning is based on the idea that if a behavior is rewarded, the behavior will occur more frequently. There are four main types of operant learning: Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Punishment and Omission Training. Observational Learning â€Å"When we learn skills, we must first learn a sequence of simple movement-patterns. We combine these movement-patterns to form new, more complicated behavioral patterns with stimuli guiding the process. † (Domjan, 1995) For example, efficient typing requires us to put together many finger movements, which are guided by the letters or words that we want to type. We must first learn to type each letter, and then learn to put the movements together to type words and then phrases. To investigate this type of learning, psychologists have observed animals learning to run through mazes. An animal first wanders aimlessly through the maze, periodically coming to a choice-point, where it must turn either left or right. Only one choice is correct, but the correct direction cannot be determined until the animal has reached the end of the maze. By running through the maze numerous times, the animal can learn the correct sequence of turns to reach the end. It has been found that the sequences of turns near the Conditioning and Learning 5 Two ends of the maze are learned more easily than the parts near the middle. Similarly, when we try to learn a list of items, we usually find the beginning and the end easier than the middle. Insight Learning Insight refers to learning to solve a problem by understanding the relationships of various parts of the problem. Often insight occurs suddenly, such as when a person struggles with a problem for a period of time and then suddenly understands its solution. Therefore insight learning is solving problems without experience. Instead of learning by trial-and-error, insight learning involves trials occurring mentally. â€Å"In the early 1900s, Wolfgang Kohler performed insight experiments on chimpanzees. Kohler showed that the chimpanzees sometimes used insight instead of trial-and-error responses to solve problems. When a banana was placed high out of reach, the animals discovered that they could stack boxes on top of each other to reach it. † (Schwartz, 1983) They also realized that they could use sticks to knock the banana down. In another experiment, a chimp balanced a stick on end under a bunch of bananas suspended from the ceiling, then quickly climbed the stick to obtain the entire bunch intact and unbruised (a better technique than the researchers themselves had in mind). Kohler’s experiments showed that primates can both see and use the relationships involved to reach their goals. Conditioning and Learning 6 CONCLUSION There are many differences and similarities between each of these learning processes. For example, classical conditioning involves only involuntary or reflex responses where as operant conditioning involves both involuntary and voluntary reflexes. These diverse learning processes can be used independently in many different situations. Where classical conditioning may be extremely effective in one situation it might be ineffective in another. For this reason each of these learning processes, classical and operant conditioning and observational and insight learning are each as important and effective as the other. Conditioning and Learning 7 References. Kimble, Gregory: (1961) Conditioning and Learning, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. John W Moore: (2002) A Neuroscientist’s Guide to Classical Conditioning. Stephen B. Klein: (1998) Contemporary Learning Theories: Pavlovian Conditioning and the Status of Traditional Learning Theory, Chap. 5 (Perceptual and Associative Learning). Derek E. Blackman: (1975) Operant Conditioning: Experimental Analysis of Behaviour (Manual of Modern Psychology). Michael Domjan: (1995) The Essentials of Conditioning and Learning. Tighe, Schwartz: (1983) Modern Learning Theory, Psychology of Learning and Behavior 2nd edition.