The disadvantages of mobile phones

The disadvantages of mobile phones

 

Introduction

 

There can be possibilities that as of today, the use of mobile phones has lowered active social life and has become an addiction as thousands of people especially the youth of today, have found themselves addicted to mobile phones, with diverse technology innovation and application and the integrated functions of mobile phones, there is no doubt that mobile phones is a large part of social life in a modern genre. Now, the time is on the other side, by being on the social status, the actual problem lies within face to face social life of parties are being inactive due to easy functioning of mobile phones and its accessible features in just one click. Thus, one disadvantage implies to limited actual people oriented interaction which can have other effects along the way. Today's mobile phone is a pervasive tool. It has become such an important aspect of user's daily life that it has moved from being a mere 'technological object' to a key 'social object'.

 

Body

There has been societal and human implications of advances in mobile technology, and notably the increasingly personalized nature of the mobile device. There argues that human and identity and social interaction have not been untouched by the mobile phenomenon. Thus, mobile phone use is banned or illegal under certain circumstances and in some jurisdictions. Nevertheless, some people still use their mobile phones despite recognized safety concerns, legislation, and informal bans. Drawing potential predictors from the addiction literature, this study sought to predict usage and, specifically, problematic mobile phone use from extraversion, self-esteem, neuroticism, gender, and age. Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale has been devised and validated as reliable report instrument, against Addiction Potential Scale and mobile phone usage level (LaRose and Eastin 2002; (Wilska, 2003; Bianchi and Phillips, 2005). There supports community concerns about mobile phone use, and identifies groups that should be targeted in any intervention campaigns.

Another, there were effects of using mobile phone when driving. The drivers attention to traffic and traffic information is impaired and the control of the car becomes less precise and smooth when talking over phone. The conversation in itself impairs attention and maneuvering performance as well as the motor activities needed for phoning. Aside, hand-held phones have not been shown to impair driving quality more than hands free phones. Instead, in contrast to public opinion, the content of conversation is most important in determining the degree of distraction; complex conversations disturb driving much more than simple conversations. The impairment of driving while phoning leads to an increased risk of having an accident for hand held and hands free mobile telephones.

The disadvantages brought along with technology cannot be ignored as problems not only influenced people personally but also the society. Symptoms caused by the radiation of mobile phones are argued problems. The radiation from the mobile phones may cause the users to have different symptoms such as headache, earaches, blurring of vision and even causing cancer. Though, these problems are still under research. Mobile phone users are advice to reduce the usage on mobile phones if it is possible.

Furthermore, cyber bullying is another issue among the disadvantages of mobile phones. Cyber bullying is bullying act using offensive words and behavior via online chatting, emails or SMS text messages. The psychological effects of cyber bullying are severe that face to face bullying among teenagers and students. There are problems causing but the new technology. Mobile phones with camera functions are causing privacy problems. Some countries had banned camera phones through out as people have misused the usage on the camera phones such as using it as a hidden camera to take photos which are private. The spreading on computer viruses is a problem, viruses will affect the normal usage on mobile phones making them to malfunction and causing destructions (Griffiths, Davies and Chappell, 2004; Kaltiala-Heino, Lintonen and Rimpela, 2004).

 

Conclusion

 

Mobile phone addiction has been a social problem as mobile phone addiction is becoming one of the biggest non-drug addictions in present time. Along with the age drop of the mobile phone users and the ease of prepaid method provide by the system operators, most teenagers now own their own mobile phone and network service. Teenagers are engaged on their mobile phones all the time, no matter on phone calls, using SMS text messages, personalizing the mobile phones with ring tones and pictures. Thus, people are running after new mobile phone models. Therefore, mobile phone technology and the need to stay in touch have fueled the growth of cellular telephones around the world.

 

 

References

 

Bianchi, A., and Phillips, J., 2005. Psychological predictors of problem mobile phone use. Cyber Psychology & Behaviour 8(1): 39-51

 

Griffiths, M., Davies, M., and Chappell, D., 2004. Online computer gaming: a comparison of adolescent and adult gamers. Journal of Adolescence 27(1): 87-96

 

Kaltiala-Heino, R., Lintonen, T., and Rimpela, A., 2004. Internet addiction? Potentially problematic use of the Internet in a population of 12-18 year-old adolescents. Addiction Research & Theory 12(1): 89-96

 

Wilska, T.-A., 2003. Mobile phone use as part of young people's consumption styles. Journal of Consumer Policy 26(4): 441-463

 

Expatriate Appointments

Expatriate Appointments

Expatriation is the practice of multinational to send some of its personnel to a foreign branch or region. In making expatriate appointments an MNC considers the personnel’s value and benefits. An MNC conducting an expatriate appointment needs to follow expatriate policies. An understanding of the management of expatriates is of growing importance because of the recent rapid increases in global activity and global competition. As multinational enterprises (MNEs) increase in number and influence so the role of expatriates in those MNEs grows in significance. Indeed, the effectiveness of these expatriates and, therefore, the management of this group of employees are recognized as major determinants of success or failure in international business. The use of expatriates can resolve a number of problems for an international enterprise. However, the use of expatriates also creates several areas of problems. These problems include the fact that the use of expatriates is a very costly practice (Mckern 2003). High salaries to persuade good individuals to work outside their own country are compounded by extensive benefits, moving costs, expense accounts and substantial administrative expertise for a relatively small, if crucial, group of employees. Expatriates are commonly reported to face significant adaptation problems in their new environment which make it difficult to operate effectively, particularly during the early stages of their international assignments (Brewster & Harris 1999).

 

 Unsuccessful expatriate adjustment, personally, by the family, or in terms of inadequate performance, leading to early repatriation, have been commonly reported. A more common problem may be that of underperformance while in post. The problem of cost versus performance encapsulates the major issue in the management of expatriates for the organization. Since expatriates are among the most expensive people any organization employs and the measurement of expatriate performance is, to say the least, uncertain, this has had a direct effect on the way organizations view them. This has been made more difficult to handle by the reorganization of MNEs and the consequent reduction in the size of headquarters’ operations. Among other effects, a move towards organizing on the lines of business streams and a reduction in the number of people in corporate international human resource management departments has meant a significant change in the way expatriates are handled (Kaplan 2000). More than a few MNEs have lost the central expertise in the management of expatriates that had been built up over many years. In non-commercial organizations expatriation has also grown. More and more international governmental and non-governmental organizations, international aid organizations and charities employ an increasing number of international employees. The growth in their work also seems likely to be linked to a growth in expatriation. There has been almost no research into expatriation or the management of expatriates in these non-commercial organizations. Changes in the employing organizations and in the host countries have occurred alongside changes in the expatriate population. The traditional, middle-class, crusty, career expatriate can still be found, but much more rarely (Kuhlmann,  Mendenhall & Stahl 2001).

 

Expatriates will more often do one assignment and then return home, occasionally undertaking a second assignment later in their career. More of them are well educated, with degrees or MBAs. One consequence is that they are more likely to see a foreign assignment as part of a career: expecting to come back to headquarters in an improved position and ready to negotiate and argue about their contracts. Expatriation remains a critical factor in international staffing strategies and is therefore included as a dominant theme, although it is recognized that this forms a subset of an overall strategic international human resource management (SIHRM) orientation. Yet despite the cost, both direct and indirect, of the continued use of expatriates, all the evidence points to the growing demand by multinational firms and international agencies for expatriate staff who can work internationally. Most recruitment specialists and consultancies suggest that multinationals expect to recruit more international executives and employ more expatriates. The benefits of expatriation helps it be chosen as a strategy by MNCs rather than going through job interviews and trainings (Maurer & Perry 2003). Expatriation policies have two basic functions. The first is to identify and attract employees with the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the successful implementation of the strategy of the subsidiary. Having obtained this pool, the next aim of expatriation practices is to encourage expatriates to behave in a way that supports such a strategy. The roles and purposes for expatriation may well be changing. As MNEs increasingly develop local nationals to run their overseas operations, it might be suggested that the numbers of expatriates may actually be on the decrease. Countering this possibility is the increased use of expatriation for individual and organizational development purposes coupled with the obvious increase in the number of firms operating internationally. Firms that are early in the evolution of their international activity tend to use more expatriates to manage and develop their international sales and operations than do more internationally mature firms (Backman & Butler 2003).

 

MNCs should make more expatriate appointment in order to exert greater success

One common feature of organizations operating in international arenas is the need for increased mobility of staff. The strategic and practical aspects of expatriation have been a favored topic of study for many IHRM scholars. Indeed, at one time, the topic of IHRM dealt mainly with the management of expatriation. Yet, amongst the larger and more established international players there have been significant changes, notably a much more competitive environment forcing an increasing attention to cost reduction and cost-effectiveness (Black et al., 2005). Since expatriates are amongst the most expensive people any organization employs, and the measurement of expatriate performance is, to say the least, uncertain, this has had a direct effect on the way organizations view their expatriates and the challenge of international mobility. This has been made more problematic by the reorganization of MNCs and the consequent reduction in the size of headquarters. The strong trends towards decentralization and downsizing over the last decade mean that many MNCs have lost the central expertise in the management of expatriates built up over many years, as the numbers of expatriates’ increases. Shareholders are mainly interested in the financial value of a company as evaluated by share price or rates of return. Other important shareholders' wants include operational performance, for example, quality, productivity, standardization, innovation (Briscoe & Schuler 2004).

 

 Expatriates are often seen to be amongst the most expensive people any organization employs, with their whole compensation and benefits package costing three to four times that of a normal salary. This in turn will impact on the motivation of individuals to accept international assignments. Shareholder pressure is driving much of the interest in being able to measure the value of international assignments. In addition to strategic decisions in terms of the type of international assignment, organizations need to consider who they should be using to fill these positions. In general, these types of decisions reflect the overall orientation of the organization in relation to internationalization, as discussed previously (Tayeb 2005). A commitment to a geocentric approach would indicate equal gender representation amongst the international worker population and a proportional representation of managers from the countries and regions covered by the organization. The need for diversity forces organizations to make some important distinctions, notably between an expatriate and a global manager. The term expatriate or international manager defines an executive who is able to assume a leadership position fulfilling international assignments across countries and cultures. The term global manager refers to an executive who is assigned to a position.  Although there is considerable overlap in the attributes associated with success of expatriates and global managers, for the latter as much emphasis has to be placed on cultivating the manager's mind as opposed to traditional concerns about relevant behaviors and competencies. However, by its very nature, the development of a global mindset can only be achieved through exposure to diversity (Brewster, Harris & Sparrow 2004).

 

 It is hardly likely that a homogenous group of managers will develop a global mindset unless the composition of the group is changed to reflect the diversity within the organization and potentially within its client base. In many organizations a complex set of changes to existing HR programs have to be set in place in order to build this international mindset. Internationalizing the mindset of a workforce involves far more than just managing global assignments more effectively. However, global assignments are central to this process. Effective management of international mobility entails the need to take a holistic approach to all aspects of the assignment process. Both the cost of expatriate assignments and the problems associated with them, such as dual-career and family issues, have led organizations to investigate alternative forms of international working (Maddox 2000). A move away from reliance on long-term assignments increases the complexity of strategic decision-making in these areas. The problems facing international HR professionals trying to manage differing forms of international working are significant. In particular, few organizations have any real grasp of costs and almost no idea of the benefits to the organization of each form of international working.  International career development in organizations represents a major challenge. However, the reality is that managers can develop parochial attitudes to international moves because at business unit manager level understandably commitment to the general good of the company can be weaker than commitment to the immediate needs of their business unit. It is difficult enough to plan for inter-unit technical moves, let alone international moves. So what is the solution? It has to be to internationalize the whole management development process so that even with constrained moves managers already have an international mindset (Denison 2001). MNCs should continue with its appointment of expatriates since it brings more benefits than problems. Expatriation reduces the cost of training and hiring local personnel since the firm sends trained individuals to foreign places.

 

References

Backman, M & Butler, C 2003, Big in Asia: 25 strategies for

business success, Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

 

Black, s, Gregersen, HB, Mendenhall, ME & Stroh, LK 2005, An

integration of strategy, research, and practice, Lawrence

Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.

 

Brewster, C & Harris, H (eds.) 1999, International HRM:

Contemporary issues in Europe, Routledge, New York.

 

Brewster, C, Harris, H & Sparrow, P 2004, Globalizing human

resource management, Routledge, London.

 

Briscoe, DR & Schuler, RS 2004, International human resource

management: Policy and practice for the global enterprise,

Routledge, London.

 

Denison, D (ed.) 2001, Managing organizational change in

transition economies, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.

 

Maurer, B & Perry, R 2003, Globalization under construction:

Governmentality, law, and identity, University of Minnesota

Press, Minneapolis.

 

Maddox, RC 2000, Cross-cultural problems in international

business: The role of the cultural integration function, Quorum

Books, Westport, CT.

 

Mckern, B (eds.) 2003, Managing the global network corporation,

Routledge, London.

 

Kaplan, C 2000, Questions of travel: Postmodern discourses of

displacement, Duke University Press, Durham, NC.

 

Kuhlmann, TM, Mendenhall, ME & Stahl, GK 2001, Global business

leaders: Policies, processes, and innovations, Quorum Books,

Westport, CT.

 

Tayeb, MH 2005, International human resource management: A

multinational company perspective, Oxford University Press, 

Oxford, England.

 

 

IMPACT OF FDI ON THE ECONOMY OF A COUNTRY

IMPACT OF FDI ON THE ECONOMY OF A COUNTRY

 

How does outward foreign direct investment (FDI) affect domestic economic activity? This question has been the subject of extensive public policy debate in the industrialized world. Opponents of outward FDI argue that outward investment substitutes foreign for domestic production when firms shift parts of the production abroad. Accordingly, outward investment inevitably reduces domestic investment, employment, productivity, and thereby economic growth. Proponents of outward investment, in contrast, point out that outward FDI enables firms to enter new markets, to import intermediate goods from foreign affiliates at lower costs, and to access foreign technology. From this point of view, the entire domestic economy benefits from outward FDI due to the increased competitiveness of the investing companies and associated productivity spillovers to local firms.

            Unfortunately, empirical studies do not provide a clear picture of whether and how domestic economic activity is influenced by outward FDI. Stevens and Lipsey (1992), for example, analyze the domestic investment behavior of seven US multinational companies. Their results suggest that that outward investment and domestic investment are substitutes. Desai et al. (2005), on the other hand, using time-series data for the US firms, find a positive relationship between domestic and foreign investment. This finding, in turn, is consistent with a study by Lipsey (1994), who reports a positive correlation between foreign production and domestic employment levels by the US firms. In contrast, the results by Blomström et al. (1997) suggest that in the US multinational firms, higher foreign production is associated with lower employment at home, whereas Swedish parent companies employ more labor at home when they produce more abroad. Finally, Braconier et al. (2001) examine the related question of whether domestic productivity is affected by outward FDI. Using firm- and industry-level panel data for Sweden, they find no evidence of FDI-induced productivity gains. This, however, is in contrast to the results by Barba Navaretti and Castellani (2004), who find that in Italian firms, outward investment increases domestic output and productivity growth.

Admittedly, a common feature of all these studies is that they are based on firm- or industry-level data for manufacturing. Since, however, services have emerged as the leading industry for outward FDI, the large majority of outward investment is excluded from the analysis a priori. Furthermore, data restricted to individual investing firms or industries are by definition not able to capture the effects of outward investment on the economy as whole. However, resolving the policy debate about the effects of outward FDI on domestic economic activity requires clarifying the overall effects of outward FDI – in particular, the effects of aggregate outward FDI on economic growth.

China has become the top foreign direct investment (FDI) destination among all developing countries and remained host to the world's largest share of FDI receipts since its accession to the WTO in 2001. Together with the extremely impressive record of FDI influx since China's economic reform in 1979, Chinahas also experienced remarkable economic growth and development by achieving a high growth rate of almost 10% per annum, on average, and over 10% during the period after Deng's speech in 1992 reaffirming China's continuous economic opening. Given such a notable economic growth performance, the quest of China's sustainable growth continues to stimulate much discussion and vigorous debates among academics during recent years. However, in studying China's growth, special attention has to be paid to the two major globalized delta economies (GDEs), Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD), located respectively in the south- and east-coastal China (Tuan and Ng, 2009).

China's economic reform and opening policy launched in 1979 successively made PRD and YRD the two most dynamic regions in China.2 These two GDEs represented the two most dominating, fastest growing regions and continued to out-perform all other regions in China in terms of GDP performance and FDI absorption.3 The PRD and YRD, which together account for only 1.4% of China's total land area and 7.7% of the total population,4 have contributed (on average) 12.3% and 27.4%, respectively to China's national GDP in recent years; they absorbed 26.2% and 36.1%, respectively, of the total national inward FDI during the post-reform period. In addition, the GDP growth rates of PRD and YRD reached an average of 13.8% and 11.9%, respectively, during the period from 1979 to 2005, a much higher pace than the national average growth rate of 9.7% during the same period (Tuan and Ng, 2009).

 

References

 

Barba Navaratti, G., Castellani, D. (2004), "Does investing abroad affect performance at home? Comparing Italian multinational and national enterprises", London, CEPR Working Paper No. 4284,

Blomström, M., Fors, G., Lipsey, R.E. (1997), "Foreign direct investment and employment: home country experience in the United States and Sweden", Economic Journal, Vol. 107 No.445, pp.1787-97.

Braconier, H., Ekholm, K., Knarvik, K.H.M. (2001), "Does FDI work as a channel for R&D spillovers? Evidence based on Swedish data", Review of World Economics, Vol. 137 No.4, pp.644-65.

Desai, M.A., Foley, F., Hines, J.R. Jr (2005), "Foreign direct investment and domestic capital stock", American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 95 No.2, pp.33-8.

Stevens, G.V.G., Lipsey, R.E. (1992), "Interactions between domestic and foreign investment", Journal of International Money and Finance, Vol. 11 No.1, pp.40-62.

Tuan, C. and Ng, L. (2009). “China’s post-economic reform growth: the role of FDI and productivity progress”. Journal of Asian Economics. 20(3), 280 – 293.

 

FORECASTING

Question 1

 

Situation:

           

 

Based on the above data:

a. What trends, if any are evident?

Figure 1

            From figure 1, we can see that there is a cyclical movement.  Based on the given data, cyclical trend is apparent.  Actually, there is a swing of values or there is a swing from prosperity, recession, depression, recovery and back again to prosperity. This trend varies in time, length and intensity.

 

b. Calculate the forecasts for the last six months (July to December inclusive) using the following methods:

Ø      three-period moving average

To obtain three-period moving average, in the table below, the first three numbers are added, the first three number is then replaced by the next number in the column of figures and the process continued until the entire series has been included.  Each total is then divided by 3.

 

Bottles of 100 sold

Three-period Moving Average

January

80

 

February

95

 

March

87

 

April

82

87.33

May

97

88

June

94

88.67

July

89

91

August

82

93.33

September

87

88.33

October

72

89.33

November

94

80.33

December

89

77.67

 

From the table, the forecasted values for the last six months are:

 

July

91

August

93.33

September

88.33

October

89.33

November

80.33

December

77.67

 

Ø      exponential smoothing forecast using an α value of 0.1 (assume the forecast for June was 87 bottles)

Exponential smoothing is a forecasting method that is easy to use and efficiently handled by computers.  It is also a type of moving average technique but it involves very little record-keeping of the past data.  The basic exponential smoothing formula can be use for our given data is:

            Using this formula, the forecast for the last six months are:

July

87 + 0.1 (89 - 87)

87.2

August

87.2 + 0.1 (82 - 87.2)

86.68

September

86.68 + 0.1 (87 - 87.2)

86.7

October

86.7 + 0.1 (72 - 86.7)

85.23

November

85.23 + 0.1 (94 - 85.23)

86.107

December

86.107 + 0.1 (80 - 86.107)

86.396

           

c. For the last six months (July to December inclusive), calculate the root mean square deviation, mean absolute deviation, and bias for both three-period moving average forecast and the exponential smoothing forecast.

 

 

 

For three-period moving average forecast we have:

 

Forecasted values(x)

July

91

91-86.665

4.335

18.79222

August

93.33

93.33-86.665

6.665

44.42222

September

88.33

88.33-86.665

1.665

2.772225

October

89.33

89.33-86.665

2.665

7.102225

November

80.33

80.33-86.665

6.335

40.13223

December

77.67

77.67-86.665

8.995

80.91003

 

 

=30.66

=194.1312

 

root-mean-square deviation = =

M.A.D =

 

For exponential smoothing forecast we have:

 

Forecasted values(x)

July

87.2

87.2-86.3855

0.8145

0.66341

August

86.68

86.68-86.3855

0.2945

0.08673

September

86.7

86.7-86.3855

0.3145

0.09891

October

85.23

85.23-86.3855

1.1555

1.33518

November

86.107

86.107-86.3855

0.2785

0.077562

December

86.396

86.396-86.3855

0.0105

0.00011

 

 

=2.868

=2.262

 

root-mean-square deviation = =

M.A.D =

 

d. What is the three-period moving average forecast for the forthcoming January?

            Using the table in b i.e.

July

91

August

93.33

September

88.33

October

89.33

November

80.33

December

77.67

 

            The computed three-period moving average forecast for the forthcoming January is 85.

 

e. What is the exponential smoothing forecast the forthcoming January using an α value of 0.1?

            From the data in b we have,

January= 86.396 + 0.1 (80 – 86.396) = 85.76

 

f. In your opinion, are these forecasts reasonable? Why? Without doing any calculations, describe how you would determine which technique is better, and speculate on which of these forecasts you would expect to be better?

 

            Yes, these forecasts are reasonable since the resulting forecasted values of the two techniques are close to each other (e.g for January we have 85 and 85.75). Without doing any calculations, we can determine which technique is better by simply observing the trend of data and since the data behaves in cyclical manner, thus it is suggested to use the exponential smoothing. In addition exponential method is easy to handle and it only involves very little record-keeping of past data.

 

g. Comment on the other forecasting that might be useful in this situation? What would they entail?

            With respect to the behavior of data, the other forecasting technique that is useful in this situation is the least square method. This technique fits a trend line to a series of historical data points and then projects the line into the future from medium to long-range forecasts.  If we decide to develop a linear trend line by a precise statistical method, the least square method may be applied. This approach minimizes the sum of the squares of the vertical differences from the line to each of the actual observations.

 

h. What is your sales forecasts for the forthcoming January? How many bottles would you buy?

            Using the method of least square from the given data, the computed model is : Y= 88.24 – X (0.139), where x could be 1, 2, 3 up to 12 (note: 1=January, 2=February and so on). Thus, for the forthcoming January we have,

Y= 88.24 – X (0.139)

Y= 88.24 – 1 (0.139)

Y= 88.10

            For this reason I will buy 88 bottles.

Question 2

a. Explain the elements of the “system approach”, and describe how it differs from other methods.

            System approach is an approach that allows different participants to conduct forecasting analysis. Unlike other method, it is a systematic approach of analysis. For example the Delphi process.  There are three different types of participants in the Delphi process: (1) decision maker (2) personnel, and (3) respondents. The decision makers consist of a group of experts that will be making the actual forecasts. To be manageable, this group usually consists of five to ten members.  The personnel assist the decision makers.  It is in-charge of the preparation, distribution, collection, and summarization of questionnaires and survey results.  The respondents are group of people whose judgment are sought after and valued.  The actual forecasting procedure consists of the following steps:

Select the decision maker, staff and respondents group.

Develop and administer questionnaire #1.

Analyze questionnaire #1

Develop and administer questionnaire #2.

Analyze questionnaire #2

Do final analysis and present results.

Develop the forecast.

 

 

b. Why is the system approach not always used?

System approach is not always used because it is not usually applicable for quick analysis. Although the result of it is reliable compared to other forecasting method but then there is still a need to consider the constraints such as time, personnel, etc.

 

Question 3.

The textbook describes several types of process: project, job shop, batch, continuous, and process.  Explain the factors that influence process choice.

 

Project- A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. Thus, the end result sought may be distinct from the mission from the organization which undertakes it because the project specifically has a deadline and the endeavor is temporary.

 

It can also comprise an ambitious plan to define and constrain a future by limiting it to set goals and parameters. The planning, execution and monitoring of major projects sometimes involves setting up a special temporary organization, consisting of a project team and one or more work teams. A project usually needs resources.

 

job shop- Job shops are typically small manufacturing operations that handle specialized manufacturing processes such as small customer orders or small batch jobs. Job shops typically move on to different jobs (possibly with different customers) when each job is completed. By nature of this type of manufacturing operation, job shops are usually specialized in skill and processes.

 

Batch- A batch is a group of similar items produced, processed or gathered together and treated as a single unit. Basically, batch is use as ype of production called batch production. Batch production is a method used to produce or process any product in groups that can be called batches, as opposed to a continuous production process. For example baked goods such as cakes are typically produced in batches, while oil refineries (including biodiesel ones) often use continuous processes.

 

Continuous production- is a method used to produce or process any product without interruption. There is no discrete rate at which goods are produced, as opposed to a batch production process, or a one-time production. Examples of continuous production are those used to make pens, paper, cars and computers.

 

This process is followed in most of the Float Glass Industries where glass of different thickness is processed in a continuous manner. Once the molten glass flows out of the furnace (usually rectangular in shape), machines work on the glass from either sides and either compress or expand the glass. By controlling the speed of rotation of those machines and varying them in numbers, we can get a glass ribbon of varying width and thickness.

 

Process-in business, process is a recipe for achieving a commercial result. Each business process has inputs, method and outputs. The inputs are a pre-requisite that must be in place before the method can be put into practice. When the method is applied to the inputs, then certain outputs will be created.

 

A business process is a collection of related structural activities that produce something of value to the organization, its stake holders or its customers. It is, for example, the process through which an organization realizes its services to its customers.

 

A business process can be part of a larger, encompassing process and can include other business processes that have to be included in its method. In that context a business process can be viewed at various levels of granularity. The linkage of business process with value generation leads some practitioners to view business processes as the workflows which realize an organization's use cases.

 

IMPROVING VOCABULARY AND COMPREHENSION SKILLS IN ESL STUDENTS THROUGH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY, CRITICAL THINKING AND STUDY SKILLS

CHAPTER 1

 

Introduction

 

           

This paper proposes a research study that will test and determine the effects of language proficiency, critical thinking, and study skills approach on improving the vocabulary and comprehension skills in English as Second Language (ESL) students. The aim of this paper is to determine and examine the specific advantages and disadvantages of the three approaches mentioned. The purpose of this study is to build new theories in ESL learning and to further contribute on knowledge about ESL learning and teaching.

           

Statement of the Problem

 

 

            Currently in the United States, there is great impetus for ESL programs because of the continuous increase of non-English speaking immigrants in the country since the latter 1990s (Schmidt, 2001; Kuntz, 2003; August, 2003). Immigrants who cannot speak fluent English cannot contribute much to the American society because of their limited capacity to comprehend and communicate with the American people. The effort made by the government to ensure that these immigrants develop the will to learn English is through a constitutional amendment that English is the official language and the state requirements that citizens need to possess proficient English skills (Kuntz, 2003). As a result, there are now many types of ESL programs being implemented by different schools.

 

            Improving the vocabulary and comprehension of students are ESL teaching strategies that are usually approached with language proficiency improvements, critical thinking, and study skills. However, such ESL programs are still misunderstood and are not yet proven effective (Zen, 2001). Zen (2001), with a number of actual cases reviewed, concluded that ESL education fails because the programs hold no standards or clearly or clearly defined expectations for their learners. Furthermore, Zen (2001) emphasized that ESL students are not well understood and adequately addressed. Moreover, another problem is the lack of qualified and trained teachers to do the job (Zen, 2001).

 

Zen’s (2001) conclusion as well others that will be discussed in the second chapter indicate that continuous evaluation of different approaches on ESL learning and teaching is needed and will continue to do so unless results will show that more and more immigrants are becoming proficient in English with such approaches.

 

Objectives of the Study

 

 

            As mentioned, the aim of the study is to measure the effects of improving language proficiency, critical thinking and study skills of ESL students on their English language vocabulary and comprehension. The following objectives, on the other hand, will be addressed in the study:

1.         To determine if it is important for ESL teachers to focus on the language proficiency, critical skills, and study skills of their students?

2.         To determine the current advantages and disadvantages of ESL teaching instructions in improving the language proficiency, critical thinking and study skills of ESL students.

3.         To contribute to ESL research and discover new theories that may help improve ESL teaching instructions.

 

Significance of the Study

 

 

            The study is important because it may contribute new knowledge on ESL teaching and learning, specifically the importance of focusing on several areas such as language proficiency, critical thinking and study skills.

 

Furthermore, it is significant to ESL students because it may help them understand more about the skills they need in learning English as fast as possible. It may also help them reflect on their English language skills and may be influenced to improve them.

 

Also, this study is significant to ESL educators because it will help them identify several issues that they can reflect on their teaching styles. The findings that will be collated from this study may also help them improve their teaching skills by knowing which areas of learning are important for students.

           

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

 

ESL

 

The need for ESL programs is imperative because of the increasing number of immigrants in the United States (Ignash, 1992; Schmidt, 2000; Kuntz, 2003; August, 2003). ESL programs are programs where the primary language of instructions is English and students receive services in various proficiency levels – novice, intermediate, and advance – in program types such as pull-out classes, class period and resource center (ERIC Digest, 1993; North Carolina State Department of Public Instructions, 1995). ESL is different from bilingual teaching because unlike the latter, ESL convey academic content in the absence of the student’s native language (Walling, 1993).

 

            According to Walling (1993), the goals of ESL instructions are simple. They are to: teach students English; maintain and produce academic progress; provide for the student’s integration into the mainstream of school and society; and validate and preserve student’s native language and culture (Walling, 1993). Walling (1993) also emphasized several important points to remember such as the need for the student to maintain academic skills along with language skills, as well as the importance of parent involvement and validating the culture of the student.

 

            The Federal Monitoring Guidelines stated that in order to determine the progress of the students in ESL, one must examine the following: the need for proficiency in both primary and secondary language; the ability to comprehend and interpret text at the age and grade-appropriate level; the ability to understand the language of the teacher, comprehend information, and follow instructional discourse; the ability to produce written text with content; and the ability to use oral language appropriately and effectively in learning activities (Grundy, 1992).

 

            In terms of effectiveness, ESL is still questionable. Zen (2001) stated that there is still a prevalence of poor outcomes in ESL programs and reasons behind those failures include poor quality of teachers, lack of service, and lack of well-established curriculum and assessment system. It does not hold high expectations for ESL learners and teachers have no guidelines to follow when teaching ESL (Zen, 2001).

 

            Brigaman (2002) also stated the need for effective teachers and learning environment in teaching ESL. The school climate should be supportive of the program and the learning environment customized (Brigaman, 2002). There is also a need for systematic student assessment, staff development, and home and parent improvement (Brigaman, 2002).

 

             Kuntz (2001) investigated the emergence of ESL instructions in Madison, Wisconsin and found that there is a great demand in the area for such a service. Kuntz (2001) also found that there is indeed a lack of standard on ESL instructions because the study shows that curriculum varied widely in different institutions. Kuntz (2001) stated that some programs provided a text book and a brief curricular plan, while others supplied teachers with a library of materials and encouraged them to develop a curriculum based upon student needs. There are still issues such as lack of Federal guidelines and assessment, as well as licensing and salaries of teachers.

 

            Braine (1993), on the other hand, investigated the placement options on ESL high school students. Braine (1993) argued that ESL students excel better when placing them in classes that best design their needs. Braine (1993) stated that mainstreaming ESL students is detrimental because they may feel penalized for being culturally diverse and may affect their performance. However, Braine (1993) stated that special classes for ESL students are implemented only by few schools because of barriers such as: lack of sufficient ESL students to justify special classes; special classes may be seen as remedial; can be seen as a form of remediation; and there are problems in creating new programs. There is, however, several types of ESL classes and they often include instruction in listening comprehension, speaking, reading, writing and grammar (Ignash, 1992).

 

Language Proficiency

 

            Chen (2000) stated that ESL student writers are frequently labeled as having poor language proficiency skills, poor writing skills and poor organizational skills. However, in Chen’s (2000) study, it was found that they have language and writing proficiency, but the writing proficiency is closely related with their native-language writing. Furthermore, the English proficiency of ESL students works with their writing expertise.

 

            ESL proficiency tests take many forms. Christopher (1993) stated that this may involve placement tests, multiple choice tests with vocabulary, grammar and reading comprehension sections; writing tests; and listening tests. However, there are still doubts on whether these tests measure language proficiency among ESL students effectively. Christopher (1993) examined the validity of testing through writing scores and found that they are not effective in measuring language proficiency among secondary and university ESL students.

           

Proficiency in the English is continuously being pushed by the government as personified by the No Child Left behind Act. In the Reading First program, all schools are held accountable to ensuring that all students know how to read by third grade (Antunez, 2002). It promotes explicit and systematic instruction in: phonemic awareness; phonics; vocabulary development; reading fluency, including oral reading skills; and reading comprehension strategies" (Kauerz, 2002; Antunez, 2002). However, the problem with these instructions is that they are not specifically designed to educate foreign students using foreign language as their first language.

 

Critical Thinking

 

 

            Critical thinking is also being claimed as important tools for ESL students. For instance, Chamot (1995) stated that ESL teachers have to turn the classroom into a community of thinkers. In a particular control group study, it was found that critical thinking skills can indeed make a different for ESL students (Davidson and Dunham, 1996). Critical thinking-based instructions have been found more effective than that of content-based instructions in ESL (Davidson and Dunham, 1996).

 

            The rationale for critical thinking is that students learn to think about their own thinking and reflect on the ways to which they learn. They basically discover why they learn and why they fail to learn (Sapp, 2002). However, critical thinking instructions are also being criticized in its application to ESL teaching. Curry (1999) explored critical thinking in ESL and found that there are many limitations in its incorporation ESL instructions. For instance, critical thinking is not clearly defined and there is a lack of guidelines that would better explain this approach.

 

Study Skills

 

 

            Peniston (1995) stated that there is a need for educators to improve the study skills of their students to improve problem-solving abilities and study habits. Several study skills that were found useful include: survey, question, read, recite, review; paraphrasing; guided questions or self-questioning; heuristic problem solving; keyword method; pegword method; and first letter mnemonics.

 

            The Indiana Career and Postsecondary Advancement Center (1996) stated that improving the study skills of students is necessary in earning better grades and making the most of their talents. Study skills basically involve planning and critical thinking as well. It also emphasizes the use of text books, better listening skills, and organizing study tasks.

           

Sinfield (2000) examined if study skills empower students and the results show positive relationship between the two variables. The study shows that students are often anxious and require support from teachers and classmates to ensure that they are on the right track. Study skills may help keep them on that track and give them the proper skills to execute common academic tasks.

Other Studies

            Hayes and Salazar (2001) conducted a districtwide evaluation of the instructional services provided to English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in Structured English Immersion classrooms in grades 1-3. Two models were used in the study: teaching in English, with the primary language for clarification, and teaching primarily in English, with other instruction in the primary language. They found that the predominant language of instruction was English. Listening, oral reading, oral speech production, and writing were most often observed. There were few English language development lessons or experiential hands-on learning activities, and very little primary language support was seen. Considerable confusion occurred about the definition and implementation of the two Structured English immersion models, resulting in uneven implementation of the program. Teachers noted a lack of resources and training. They also reported that parents could not help students with homework. Seven appendixes include information on the study and tables and charts on ELL education.

 

            In another study, Ma (2002) concluded that 1 year of English instruction is generally inadequate to prepare ELLs to succeed in general education classes taught only in English. Also, Ma (2001) found that achievement gaps between native English speakers and ELLs are widening, and teachers are seriously demoralized.

CHAPTER 3

 

 

Research Design

 

 

            The study will use interpretivism as its research philosophy. Interpretivism is the necessary research philosophy for this study because it allows the search, the ‘details of the situation, to understand the reality or perhaps a reality working behind them (Remenyi et al., 1998). On the other hand, the design will be deductive, which is dedicated to deducing hypothesis or expressing and testing hypothesis in operational term.

 

Data Collection

 

            Data collection strategy will be pretest-posttest control group approach. Here, a group of research participants are randomly assigned to an experimental and control group. Both groups of participants are pre tested on the dependent variable and then post tested after the experimental treatment condition has been administered to the experimental group. This approach controls for all of the standard threats to internal validity. Differential attrition may or may not be a problem depending on what happens during the conduct of the experiment.

Data Analysis

 

            The latest SPSS software will be used to analyze the results of the pretest-posttest control group analysis.

 

CHAPTER 4

 

 

Implementation Plan

 

 

            The study will have four stages of implementation: the preparation stage; the data collection; the analysis stage; and the documentation stage.

 

            The first stage or the preparation stage will deal specifically with the preparation of materials that will be needed in the study. This stage also involves the search and review of literatures related in the study. This involves choosing the project site, the respondents, and the persons that will help in the control group process.

 

            The second stage, on the other hand, will involve the whole control group process. The project site will be two ESL private tutoring classes composed of 6 students out of a population of 25 from a private Tutoring Academy. The students will be of a diverse background and will be referred by a local community college. The 6 will be divided into two groups (3 on each). The first group will be the control group, while the second will be the experimental. The control group will take ESL tutoring without emphasis on language proficiency, critical thinking and study skills instructions. On the other hand, the experimental group will be given language proficiency instructions, critical thinking instructions and study skills instructions. A tutor will also be hired and will meet twice a week with the 6 students at a local public library in order to implement the plan that should last 8 weeks. These students must take a placement or Pretest in order to place them in any of five ESL levels for tutoring. The pretest will be administered at the beginning and then a post test will be conducted. The control group will be a double-blind test, meaning the two groups of students.

 

            The third stage will be the analysis stage and will involve the comparison of the results of the study. An SPSS analysis will be used to compare the grades of the students on the tests given during the control group design process. On the other hand, analytical interpretation will be used on the observations and interview data will the students.

 

            The final stage will involve writing the conclusion and recommendation for the results as well as the documentation of the project.