Research Korner

MANAGEMENT ETHICS

Utilitarianism   1. Define Utilitarianism and explain how Utilitarians decide what is morally right.   Utilitarianism is a theory of ethics that stipulates the quantitative maximization of good consequences for a population. Basically, utilitarians decide what is morally right if it conforms to happiness, pleasure, or preference satisfaction. In addition, utilitarians seek to maximize other consequences, these consequences generally have something to do with the welfare of people (or of people and animals).   2. Explain how rule utilitarianism differs from act utilitarianism. To differentiate act utilitarianism to rule utilitarianism, let try to consider the following scenario: A doctor has three patients with terminal illnesses: one needs a liver, one needs a pancreas, and one needs a heart. A fourth, non-terminal patient just came in to have his appendix removed. Should the surgeon kill the fourth man and pass his organs around to the others? Many people would feel that these actions violate the rights of the fourth man, but utilitarianism initially seems to imply that, given a purely binary choice between (1) killing one man and distributing his organs or (2) not doing so and thus allowing the terminal patients to die, violating one man's rights is exactly what we ought to do. Of course, there might be reasons for the act utilitarian to refrain from killing the fourth man, but most would agree that rule utilitarianism can provide more unconditional reasons not to kill him.   3. State three objections raised against utilitarianism. Utilitarianism has objections i.e. the morality of common sense, results of actions, incompatibility to human rights.   4. In the ford Pinto Case, did Ford use a utilitarian analysis? Why? No, because the ford Pinto Case did not consider the welfare of some people. But it only considers the welfare of the company.  Although there is cost-benefit analysis about the possible actions of Ford but the quantitative maximization of good consequences for a population is not considered.   Kantian Deontology 1. Explain how Deontology differs from utilitarianism.  According to the Katian tradition, what is the relation of reason and morality? Deontology is an ethical theory holding that decisions should be made solely or primarily by considering one's duties and the rights of others. Thus, Deontological theories hold that right and wrong actions are not solely determined by their consequences but utilitarianism says that right acts are those that lead to the best consequences. In Kantian tradition, reasons and morality are related since this theory describes that there is no good reasons that abandon morality. It still would be wrong to violate someone's rights even if it led to the best consequences.     2. Explain each of the three Kantian formulations of the Categorical Imperative. First Formulation: Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it would become a universal law. This formulation explains that it is not correct to be tied to any particular conditions, including the identity of the person doing the moral deliberation. Example, "If I am person A, killing is right; If I am person B, killing is wrong". Therefore, a moral mandate must have universality, which is to say that it must be disconnected from the particular physical details surrounding the proposition, and could be applied to any rational being.   Second Formulation: Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.             If any person desires perfection in himself or others, it would be his moral duty to seek that end for all persons equally, so long as that end does not contradict perfect duty. Example, as a slaveowner would be effectively asserting a moral right to own a person as a slave, he or she would be asserting a property right in another person. But this would violate the categorical imperative because it denies the basis for there to be free rational action at all; it denies the status of a person as an end in himself.     Third Formulation: Act as though you were through your maxims a law-making member of a kingdom of ends. We ought to act only by maxims which would harmonize with a possible kingdom of ends. We have perfect duty not to act by maxims that create incoherent or impossible states of natural affairs when we attempt to universalize them, and we have imperfect duty not to act by maxims that lead to unstable or greatly undesirable states of affairs.   3. In the Ford Pinto Case, did Ford’s decision not to make the safety modification meet Kant’s 3 formulations of the Categorical Imperative? Why?             Yes, Ford’s decision did not make the safety modification to meet Kant’s 3 formulations of the Categorical Imperative because it violates some rules like considering only the welfare of the company and not the act in such a way that they always treat humanity.   Justice 1. Briefly explain the main differences between         ’s libertarian theory and the egalitarian approach to justice.             ’s libertarian theory stated that justice is based on the rights of property, ownership and rights of property transfers which contradict the view of an egalitarian that emphasizes the equality of morally-significant beings. If libertarian justified that the right of ownership, then egalitarian argued that it has to be distributed equally to the people. 2. What does       mean by a veil of ignorance? What purpose does it serve? Veil of ignorance accurately reflect what principles of justice would be manifest in a society premised on free and fair cooperation between citizens, including respect for liberty, and an interest in reciprocity. It serves as a protection to attain basic rights as well as economic and social advantages.   3. Some people object to the multimillion dollar salaries of senior business executives. What might         and a utilitarian have to say about this?                  might argue that it should be distributed equally to the people.  However,        might argue that senior business executives should be protected because it is their right to own. And a utilitarian might argue that it is fine to sacrifice the salaries of senior business executives if it is for welfare of majority.   Rights 1. Distinguish between positive and negative rights. How are these rights justified? Actually, positive right imposes an obligation on others and the state to do certain things, while a negative right merely obliges others and the state to refrain from certain activities. Under the theory of positive and negative rights, a negative right is a right not to be subjected to an action of another human being, or group of people, such as a state, usually in the form of abuse or coercion. A positive right is a right to be provided with something through the action of another person or the state. In theory a negative right proscribes or forbids certain actions, while a positive right prescribes or requires certain actions.   2. Explain how the concept of places limits on rights.             The rights of an individual/organization vary on places limits. Actually, rights should of an individual/organization conform to the rules and regulation of a certain place. The place limits the rights based on the places’ role, customs and value.   3. How can conflicts between rights be resolved?             Conflicts between rights can be possibly resolved if obligation and consequences are clearly evaluated in doing one’s right.   Ethical Relativism 1. What is ethical relativism and why do most ethicists reject relativism yet accept the importance of managers recognizing cultural differences? Ethical relativism takes the position that ethical propositions do not reflect absolute and universal moral truths but instead are relative to social, cultural, historical or personal references. Ethicists reject relativism yet accept the importance of managers recognizing cultural differences because they believe there is no single standard by which to assess an ethical proposition's truth.     Solving Ethical Problems 1. “The debates in business ethics-whether on the level of individual action, corporate practice, or public policy-that take place on the job, in the newspapers, and in the business, philosophical, and popular literature are couched primarily in terms of consequences (or utility), rights, justice, and duty” ( 2006:112).  Select one debate in business ethics and outline the relevant issues in terms of consequences, rights, justice and duty to respect autonomous beings.   Business corporations, while their aim is to make profit, should consider the larger environmental context they are in. In conducting business and making profits in the process, it is inevitable that their measures will impact upon society and the environment. And more often than not, their actions go counter with societal and environmental interests because of the differences in paradigms that govern business and society.  In this regard, appropriate evaluation of consequences, rights, justice and duty to respect autonomous beings should be analyzed. Actually, the main reason businesses exist is to serve the economic needs of society. By themselves businesses cannot solve, and should not be expected to solve, social problems like damage to the environment.

MANAGEMENT ETHICS

Utilitarianism 1. Define Utilitarianism and explain how Utilitarians decide what is morally right. Utilitarianism is a theo...

CORPORATE STRATEGY

1. Identify and briefly describe the portfolio of businesses in the organization.   Tool & Die Design & Fabrication             - Tool & Die Design & Fabrication refers to the stage wherein issues found during the prototype fabrication needs to be improved prior to any quantity production.   Prototype Fabrication             - The prototype fabrication is the attempt to determine the completeness of the detailed design and to make appropriate corrections to the design documentation as necessary. This phase is a more detailed systems integration phase then the earlier integration that was performed during preliminary design. This phase is also the first integration of all the mechanical components in the assembled unit.   Precision Metal Stamping & Assembly             - Stamping services is the process of creating three-dimensional parts, lettering, and other surface definition onto materials.  This is achieved through the use of forms and dies which are forced into the surface of the material by extreme pressure.  When removed, the patterns on the forms and dies are indelibly stamped into the material.  Many standard and exotic engineering materials can be stamped or formed with pressure, although metal stamping is the primary application.  Stamping and forming services providers are able to perform a number of different processes, which lead to different styles of finished product.  Some of these stamping techniques include fine blanking, deep drawing, wireforming, and fourslide and multislide stamping.   Electronics Manufacturing Services             - Refers to the design, assemble, produce, and test electronic components and assembles for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Electronics manufacturing services (EMS) has also started to provide design services used in conceptual product development advice and mechanical, electrical, and software design assistance. Testing services perform in-circuit, functional, environmental, agency compliance, and analytical laboratory testing. Electronic manufacturing services are located across the United States and throughout the word and usually vary in terms of production capabilities and comply with various quality standards and regulatory requirements.   R&D and Manufacturer of Consumer Products             - Manufacturer of consumer products refers to the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale, by means of tools and a processing medium, and including all intermediate processes.   2. Prepare a list of the identifiable stakeholder groups for the organisation, what they contribute to the organisation, what they expect from the organisation and what the organisation expects from them. Focus-tech Holding Pte Ltd 64,982,822 17.40 HSBC (Singapore) Nominees Pte Ltd 41,599,000 11.14 DBS Nominees 36,765,905 9.84 Raffles Nominees 19,742,200 5.28 Dr Felix Ong Kim Huat 19,412,992 5.20 Seah Cheong Beng 7,911,544 2.12 Citibank Nominees Singapore 6,397,600 1.71 UOB Kay Hian Pte Ltd 6,152,000 1.65 United Overseas Bank Nominees 5,100,000 1.36 OCBC Securities Private Ltd 4,859,400 1.30 Seah Chiong Kok 4,741,540 1.27 Citibank Consumer Nominees 4,356,200 1.17 DBS Vickers Securities(S) 3,253,012 0.87 OCBC Nominees Singapore 2,804,200 0.75 Hong Leong Finance Nominees 2,648,802 0.71 Kim Eng Securities 2,619,200 0.70 HL Bank Nominees 2,090,000 0.56 Phillip Securities 1,718,340 0.46 Soh Lay Choo 1,449,110 0.39 Chio Kian Huat 1,326,800 0.35       Total 239,930,667 64.23                       The company's strategy is developed by the executive management, although it is normally necessary for the approval of the board to be obtained for major transactions or changes in strategy, and sometimes necessary for shareholder approval to be obtained as well.  The board usually meets monthly, and performs (or is supposed to perform) the functions of reviewing strategy and monitoring the performance of the executive management. This division of functions between the shareholders, the board, and the executive management is an inevitable consequence of the large size and scale of operation as of most companies.   3. Develop a set of Balanced Scorecard type of "perspectives" which are appropriate to the selected organisation. Develop a corporate strategy map which maps out the organisation's current corporate strategies within those perspectives. Develop an appropriate set of "metric" which can be used for corporate reporting and management purposes.   Relationships with competitors focus particularly on pricing and market positioning. In some markets, competitors have reached a point, in which there are generally understood rules of the competitive game. In others, there is no sense of a repeated game, and competition may be pursued to mutually destructive lengths. Sometimes technological change, or new entry, may shift an industry from stability to instability in its competitive process. Positioning and pricing are relevant to relationships with customers as well as with competitors. Advertising and branding are mechanisms by which firms communicate with their customers, but are also strategic tools governed by competitive interactions.   The strategy of the firm is the match between its internal capabilities and its external relationships. It describes how it responds to its suppliers, its customers, its competitors, and the social and economic environment within which it operates. The analysis of strategy uses our experience of the past to develop concepts, tools, data, and models which will illuminate these decisions in future. Success in business derives from adding value of your own, not diminishing that of your competitors, and it is based on distinctive capability, not destructive capacity. Distinctive capability becomes harder, not easier, to maintain as size increases. Yet in descriptions of both business and public policy, the equation of scale, power, and effectiveness is often simply assumed.   Strategy Map:             Developing strategy map in context of the perspectives recurs attention to understanding the basic structure of strategy, learning and mastering the nature of business relationships, acknowledging Seksun distinctive capabilities offered by its Human Resource people and creating a competitive advantage from these distinctive capabilities.   Metric 1: Market Position and Product Price An effective metric to consider are the issues of market position and product price. The two key influences on market prices are the costs of firms and the value offered to consumers. The less stable the competitive environment, the greater is the degree to which prices will be determined by cost rather than value. In the worst case, prices can be driven down to marginal or incremental cost. Marginal and incremental costs are often thought to be very low, but I explain how this is often a mistaken view and describe how activity-based costing helps to bridge the gap between theoretical concepts of marginal cost and accounting systems of cost allocation.   In other market environments there is more opportunity for prices to reflect the value of products to customers. In these, market segmentation-the identification of as many distinct product and geographical markets as possible--is a principal means of securing as high a proportion as possible of the value offered to consumers as added value for the firm. There are two necessary conditions for effective market segmentation. There must be economically relevant differences between the separated markets. These may arise from differences in the incomes of customers, or in the ways they use the product, or in competitive structure.   Metric 2: Competitive Environments             Positioning decisions are partly dictated by the firm's distinctive capability. Some firms are naturally suited to up- or down-market positions. But positioning is also a matter of competitive dynamics. When there are few firms in a particular market, clustering behaviour--in which several firms jostle for the same market position--is a likely outcome. As the number of firms in the market increases, they are likely to spread themselves more evenly across the range of available positions.   Increasingly, a product can only be described by reference to a wide range of its characteristics. Many different features of a car are relevant to potential buyers, and a supermarket must decide which selection of many thousands of goods to hold in stock. For commodities like these, successful firms have to make a well-matched selection of product attributes. For these firms, focus--the consistency of attributes with each other--may be as important as position. Shifts of market position, which require changes in customer perception as well as product specification, need to anticipate competitor responses. They raise special difficulties for multiple-attribute products.   Metric 3: Advertising and Branding While advertising creates brands, there are some differences between the functions of advertising and of branding. Brands are more often discussed than defined. A brand is established when an item sells for more than a functionally equivalent product. It is that characteristic which distinguishes a brand from the name of a product. The most usual reason for a price premium--and the most profitable reason--is that the customer is uncertain about the attributes of the product and is reassured by the supplier's reputation. But brands have other purposes. Some brands are little more than labels, although labels have their uses. Brands may be used by consumers to signal information about themselves to others--these are what are usually meant by brand images. Yet other brands may be attached to distinctive recipes or incumbent positions. The greatest corporate successes built around advertising and branding are those based on brands which have established several of these characteristics.   4. Identify and critically discuss the major corporate strategies that have been employed by this organisation during the last 5 years.                         The Seksun group has been shaping itself in growing as a company upon the  guiding vision of the simple notions of (1) developing its expertise, (2) Expansion of its company (3) Their commitment and resolve for service and quality (4) and its pursuance for results in conjunction with its set objectives and goals. In a more definite and recent perspective, Seksun believes that the Hard disk drives (HDD) industry is resuming healthy growth boosted by new applications for HDDs in consumer electronics devices, such as digital music players, digital cameras, digital entertainment systems, etc. Additionally, they also believe that demand for HDD components in these new devices will significantly increase production volumes that will improve the utilization rates of their FIPG operations, allowing it to contribute positively to their net profit last 2005.   The group, however, anticipates prices of raw materials to gain further in 2005. While raw material price increases have been factored into the selling prices for new programmes, the increase in prices of raw materials for existing programmes is likely to be partially or fully absorbed by the group.   Seksun believes that its shareholders will profit from the agreement with ZF Array and the adoption of a strategy to target Seksun's contract manufacturing operations at customers seeking low-to mid-volume production capabilities. This strategy will leverage on ZF Arrays San Jose-based product development centre and Seksun’s lower-cost Asian operating environment. While there would be no material impact on Seksun’s financial performance for FY 2005, they are confident that the expansion of the contract manufacturing operations will produce longer-term benefits for the performance of the Group and better returns for their shareholders. …“The current year will also see us adopting a strategy to intensify our focus on our contract manufacturing operations for the Consumer Electronics segment…” Given the above, Seksun expects that they will remain profitable for the current financial year.   Analysis: …In 1959 BMW was on the edge of bankruptcy. The company recovered to become one of the world's most profitable automobile manufacturers. Honda became the leading supplier of motor cycles in the United States within five years of entering the market…   Success is most illuminating when contrasted with failures. Corporate success, of the kind achieved by BMW, Honda, and Glaxo, is not the realization of visions, aspirations, and missions--the product of wish-driven strategy. It is the result of a careful appreciation of the strengths of the firm and the economic environment it faces. But nor is success often the realization of a carefully orchestrated corporate plan. The strategy of successful firms is adaptive and opportunistic. Yet in the hands of a successful company an adaptive and opportunistic strategy is also rational, analytic, and calculated. The capacity to adapt does not mean waiting for something to turn up for opportunism is only productive for a firm which knows which opportunities to seize and which to reject.    5. Discuss what you perceive to be the corporate direction and governance for this organisation?   Additional directives of which Seksun wishes to achieve are as follows: (1) Proposed listing for China operations in two years. The China operations have the required three year profit track record, having been profitable since inception. According to press reports, after tax profit from Seksun's China operations in 1999, 2000 and 2001 were 10.8m RMB (S$2.4m), 16.5m RMB (S$3.6m) and 30.8m RMB (S$6.8m) respectively, or 39%, 44% and 70% of group net profit (2) Move into contract manufacturing to expand service offering. Seksun bought into a contract manufacturing business last year by paying RM1.85m for a 56% stake in a Johor plant. The motivation was to offer more services its customers to deepen the relationship. The plant is already producing game controllers for the Xbox and Digital Media Recorders (which operates in DVD, SVCD, VCD, CD-Audio, MP3 and MPEG standards) for Seagate. Digital Media Recorders use a built-in HDD. With a full year contribution in FY02, Seksun is targeting to bring the business to profitability this year. (3) Lowest valuations in the sector. Current valuations do not justify Seksun's exposure to the strongest growth trends in the HDD industry and its track record of profit growth in a volatile sector. Unlike many of its peers, Seksun has stayed profitable throughout its operating history, which is a commendable track record given the industry's boom and bust trends.   These programmes are in conjunction with the Seksun group’s mission and vision statements which specifically underscores its quality policy on total customer satisfaction. While delivering products and services which meet all relevant requirements on time and by doing right the first time. Additionally Seksun continually reviews and improves the effectiveness of their quality management system to remain current and competitive.   6. Identify and discuss any current issued of corporate direction and governance for this organisation.   …A company's social responsibility program has three major areas: complying with laws, setting -- and abiding by -- moral and ethical standards, and philanthropic giving…   Social responsibility is a major subject of concern and action for all but the smallest or least aware of companies. Today it is generally accepted that business firms have social responsibilities that extend well beyond what in the past was commonly referred to simply as the "business economic function."   Quite often the responsibility for actions in this area is vested in an individual or small staff, frequently within the human resources management area. Personnel assigned to this area, then, have responsibility for social issues in three major areas: (1) Total compliance with international, federal, state, and local legislative laws and acts (2) Moral and ethical standards and procedures under which the firm will operate (3) Philanthropic giving.   Most companies find it no simple matter to formulate and implement socially responsible actions and programs. However, all companies must become concerned and involved in this area. To operate without major disruptions, a company must at all times be in compliance with legal requirements -- international, federal, state, and local. It must develop, establish, implement, and police a code of ethical and moral conduct for all members of its organization. In the area of philanthropic activity, where there is considerably more latitude of operations in how, when, where, and even if the company or division wants to contribute money or other resources to "worthy causes," the firm must deliberate about and resolve many questions prior to establishing fair and workable guidelines.   In compliance with this business requirement, Seksun has been awarded as among top SGX's "Most Transparent Companies" last 13th September 2002. Furthermore, Seksun has been granted ISO/TS 16949: 2002 Certified IATF Cert. No.:0022032 and ISO 9001: 2000 Cert. No.: 160220

CORPORATE STRATEGY

1. Identify and briefly describe the portfolio of businesses in the organization. Tool & Die Design & Fabrication ...

The notion of “school culture and the sub-cultures” within Australian schools

The notion of “school culture and the sub-cultures” within Australian schools   Introduction             Culture is simply defined as shared beliefs, customs, practices, norms, policies, social behavior and values of group. In academic context, culture reflects the dynamicity of each institution wherein ‘the way we do things here’ is the mantra. What shapes school culture are rituals, expectations, relationships and decision-making processes. Unique attributes could be also evident in curricular focus, extra-curricular activities and graduation requirements. Teacher and student interactions are intrinsic part of school culture. Nevertheless, a school culture could be shaped, enhanced and maintained through school leadership. Australian school culture is not an exemption as it also shaped through various relationships between student, teachers and the management. In this paper, such school culture and subcultures will be explored as well as the implications for the teaching community. School culture in Australia             In Australian schools, attention was provided to creating and maintaining a school culture that valued learning not only amongst the students but also among the staffs. The principal took great pains in explaining interconnections between teachers and administrative leaders in bringing school’s purpose, structure, function and culture into alignment. Backward mapping process is evident in the culture whereby the primary focus is understanding what the school wants the student to achieve and build pedagogy and teaching practices around that premise. From there, the necessary step is to build structures and leadership and the culture in the way to support the actions of the teachers and the management itself. In this way, schools are able to ensure the close link between what leaders do inside the schools and what happens to the students inside the classrooms (MacBeath et al, 2008, pp. 92-93).             Dimmock (1993, p. 107) contends that school culture in Australia are built subjectively and is manifested in the everyday business of school life. School activities are the medium for value display. Even so, key elements of schools cultures apart from values, beliefs and meanings are heroes, rites and rituals. Choice and recognition of heroes, for instance, occurs within the cultural boundaries identified through value filter. Cultures are espouses all around excellence in various aspects like sports, academic and artistic among others hence sporting, social, academic and artistic heroes will be recognized and honored by students. Through this, schools could possibly create an inclusive culture without disruptions to the teaching and learning process. Schools could also promote value clarification, school-wide actions, pedagogical decision-making and understanding identities (Moss, 2006, p. 4)             Australian school cultures could be also professional and bureaucratic, with values underpinning both. Bureaucratic domain focuses on mediating between schools and community while professional domain focuses more on teaching and learning and the collegiality that surrounds the process. Differences in schools could be highlighted through attention to the balance or proportion to each domain and perhaps the degree of excellence can be identified through similar means. School-based management negotiates time and importance between the two domains. By which domain should be dominant in schools are decided by the principals, perceived as a significant role in shaping the choices that are made in regard to the development of domain within schools (Dimmock, 1993).             The concept of coupling is also embedded on Australian school cultures. Coupled events are responsive but each event preserves its own identity and evidences of its physical and logical separateness. For example, schools have straightforward tasks and standards and consistent inputs and identified outcomes but with structures that are warranted and workable. With school processes improvement at the helm, schools could hire additional teachers whenever necessary but outcomes must still be consistent if not to be improved further. Aside from schools’ definite goals, technological advancements, activity coordination and connected structural elements are changed when the needs arise but different priorities for school outcomes must be also changed in the process (Dimmock, 1993).             Spoehr (1999, p. 252) assessed that the directions that Australian schools are trying to pursue is from a stuck culture into collaborative and socially critical culture. A stuck culture is where low levels of teacher, deficit view of students and teacher privatism are evident. Collaborative is more particular in collegiality wherein the whole teaching community within a school is willing to work together towards the pursuit of improving student learning. Teachers in a collaborative culture continually test and evaluate the adequacy of their theories about teaching and learning. Thereby, a collaborative culture that is now dominant in the Australian academic society covers coherent school planning, student-centered and curriculum development-driven.   Compared to socially critical that emphasizes social justice emphasis, critically reflective teachers, promote critical literacy and celebrate difference. Subcultures             Some kinds of solidaristic attempt to resist the dominance of mainstream school system are school subcultures. Ethnicity, class and gender play significant role in the emergence of various subcultures within schools.  For instance, ethnic schools have become a major feature in Australian academic system before and now minorities like aborigine and refugees to enable children form ethnic constituencies to master curriculum necessary both for the success of national examinations while also maintaining elements of ethnic cultures. Nonetheless, they form part of the general independent school system (Verma, 1989, p. 73). Class and again gender also have roles in subculture creation. Versions of masculinity and femininity within schools are perceptible in sports and cheerleading but the former is more regarded as an achievement of unity and school spirit than the latter (Henry, 1988, p. 155).              Subcultures in Australian schools are lived culture, encircling day to day routines, habits and actions. The broader culture in the domestic society is where emergent subcultures depend their identity to some degree and there are subcultures existing on the basis of culture heritage like Irish, Lebanese and Bosnian Australians. Exposure, familiarity and extent of emersion on some subcultures regardless of race and class are also indicators of belongingness in some subcultures. Coolness, for example is best epitomized by what music genre they are listening and what language they are speaking, mostly street slang. The culture of adolescent within Australian schools is also subdivided into other subcultures such as deviant subcultures (Bahr and Pendergast, 2007, p. 180).               The Australian educational system itself also unconsciously bred various subcultures particular in the structure of the system. One clear example of this is the further division among private schools. Elite schools, which are comprised of relatively a small fraction of the private sector, appear large in social importance and public image. There are schools that are committed in maintaining particular subcultures which is basically based in religion and ethnicity. Alternative schools are hone own subcultures that rest particularly on the educational notions of community and individual development. Moreover, these private schools could be also divided as profit-making and charity schools (Marginson, 1997, pp. 48-49). Although these schools maintain grounds of subculture, a differentiation is based on the ground of quality and extent of responsibility.                    Despite the inexistence of subculture in Australian school system, creating a learning community is always the entrenched goal. However, the fact that subcultures affect the teaching and learning process cannot be ruled out as Vrasidas and Glass (2004) made mention that subcultures could lead to complexity in academic work. Involvement of teaching staff is a priority to respond to the dilemma, requiring a fundamental shift in the teaching and learning culture rather than just the relaying and acquisition of skills and understanding. Professional development, with respect to diversity in subcultures, meant creation of an environment in which changed practices are part of the usual professional activity. Professional practice must be fundamentally related to and occurs within groups or organizational system, each with its own subculture. Implications to teaching professions             These cultures and subcultures require a restructuring in the teaching population in Australia. Central to the restructuring is the empowerment of teachers within a school culture that is both shared and technical particularly because the cultures not only foster the types of outcomes for students but also stimulate continuous professional growth among teachers. Leithwood and Begley (2002, p. 129) asserted that norms of authority and discipline typically characterize teachers’ interactions with students while professional advice isolates teachers from their peers. Instructional decisions most importantly are adaptive wherein the professional culture now bends to cater for student-centered interactions. Norms inside Australian schools require supportive and positive teaching-learning environment.  While discipline should be maintained, it is now more dictated to serve the interests of learning rather than an end on its own right.             As such, teachers are continuously asked to engage in a shared and technical culture that is embedded on norms of collegiality, collaborative and continuous improvement. Staff and the student body are cohesive and to have a strong sense of community, teachers are asked to do as well especially that they have the capability, motivations and resources to do so. To make the schema whole, administrators should live with the expectations to provide effective instructional leadership and parents should act as co-partners in meeting the needs of the students. Reciprocity would be then evident in the culture not just among teachers and their students but also among staff, the schools as institutions and the essential component which is the parents. These changes in the professional culture would be a valuable response to new and more complex expectations for student outcomes, high expectations of the public from schools, changing family environment and expanding body of technical know-how which concerns instruction (Leithwood and Begley, 2002, p. 129).             Despite the necessity to build collaborative teaching environment, there is also a requirement to value teacher’s individuality at the same time. The ethic of care is the most important aspect of such because teachers spend as much time as possible in contact with their students.  School cultures and subcultures strongly support creative and efficient problem-solving from the perspectives of the teachers, solitude will be as important wherein autonomy over the teaching practice is apparent. The goal is not to mandate collaborative culture that jeopardizes isolated cultures but to cultivate a collaborative professional situation that also hones effective isolation among teachers (Leithwood and Begley, 2002, p. 130). In this way, shared problem-solving could be promoted like engaging in dialogue concerning teaching practices and evaluating such practices in a shared manner. This is also critical in improving school performance where teachers can align their professional and personal goals on collaborative goals of the institution as an organization.                 The uniqueness of learning classroom environment also requires teachers to develop their communication behaviors because teachers also come from a specific culture and/or subculture and involved teaching students from other cultures and subcultures. Dimensions of teach communication behavior that directly influences attitudes and learning outcomes include questioning, wait time, communication rate, helping, friendly and understanding teacher behavior, verbal reinforcement and non-verbal reinforcement (Klein, 2006, p. 116). All of these inhibit students’ capacity to learn. Teachers must be also equipped with the knowledge on learner’s self-image which is greatly influenced by their level of acceptance within their own culture of subculture to make communications more effective. As learners, students also seek acceptance from teachers and prefer to negotiate learning with teachers. It would be critical then for teachers to create a cooperative culture within the classroom (Kiddey and Robson, 2001, p. 21). Conclusion In sum, school cultures in Australia are ones that develop not only the well-being of students but also of the professional (both teachers and staff). Backward mapping process is a critical endeavor. School culture is either professional or bureaucratic or the combination of the two. Further, it is currently changing into a more collaborative culture. Subcultures, on the other hand, vary according to ethnicity, religion, gender and class. Apparently, subcultures could be also created through the educational system and as outgrowth of most dominant cultures in the domestic society. Further and deepening collaboration among teachers could be an important implication of emergence of different cultures and subcultures. References Bahr, N. & Pendergast, D. (2007). The Millennial Adolescent. Australian Council for Education Research. Dimmock, C. A. J. (1993). School-based management and school effectiveness. Routledge.   Henry, M. (1988). Understanding schooling: an introductory sociology of Australian education. Routledge. Kiddey, P. & Robson, G. (2001). Make Their Heads Spin! Improving Learning in the Middle Years. Western Australia: Department of Education, Curriculum Corporation. Klein, M. B. (2006). New Teaching and Teacher Issues. Nova Publishers. Leithwood, K. A. &  Begley, P. T. (2002). Developing expert leadership for future schools. Routledge. MacBeath, J., Dempster, N., Frost, D., Waterhouse, J. & Swaffield, S. (2008). Connecting Leadership and Learning: Principles for Practice. New York: Taylor & Francis. Marginson, S. (1997). Educating Australia: government, economy, and citizen since 1960. Cambridge University Press. Moss, J. (2006). How to Succeed in Making Schools Inclusive. Australia: Curriculum Corporation. Spoehr, J. (1999). Beyond the Contract State: Ideas for Social and Economic Renewal in South Australia. Wakefield Press. Verma, G. K. (1989). Education for All: A Landmark in Pluralism. Routledge. Vrasidas, C. & Glass, G. V. (2004). Online professional development for teachers. Center for the Application of Information Technologies, IAP.

The notion of “school culture and the sub-cultures” within Australian schools

The notion of “school culture and the sub-cultures” within Australian schools Introduction Culture is simply defin...

Description and discussion on Qualitative, Quantitative and Mix Methods approaches of collecting data as applied to a research entitled “The Impact of Parents’ Food and Lifestyle Choices on the Development of Obesity among their Children”.

Description and discussion on Qualitative, Quantitative and Mix Methods approaches of collecting data as applied to a research entitled “The Impact of Parents’ Food and Lifestyle Choices on the Development of Obesity among their Children”.               The essay will explore the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methodologies, focusing on “the impact of parents’ food and lifestyle choices on the development of obesity among their children’. This essay will also discuss different methods of data collection.        Quantitative Research Approach             The quantitative paradigm is based on positivism which takes scientific explanation to be nomothetic (i.e. based on universal laws.) Its main aims are to                                                         objectively measure the social world, to test hypotheses and to   predict and control human behavior.             Parents’ role in the development of obesity among children has been the subject of many studies. In order to guide the said studies, the researchers created hypotheses that were tested. A hypothesis, simple defined, is a prediction of a causal correlation among multiple phenomena. It is a statement of what the researcher predicts will happen in the research. The current research aims to test the hypothesis that parents’ food and lifestyle choices have a significant impact on their children’s food and lifestyle choices that lead to obesity.             In order top investigate the correlation of parents’ food and lifestyle choices to the development of obesity among their children, a sampling method can be employed. Various research about the subject of childhood obesity have employed sampling as a method of investigation. Sampling is primarily a method in statistics wherein the researcher selects a representative of the total population of concern that yield some knowledge about the said population. When studying the impact of parents’ food and lifestyle choices on childhood obesity, it is important to classify the subjects base on their economic status and family income. This will allow the researcher to determine the role of economic status and family income in food and lifestyle choices. The social and economic status of the family is important to consider as the researcher believes that these factors affect the choices that parents make. Sampling is a simple practice that allows the researcher to yield reliable results without including the entire population the data collection.             One of the methods of quantitative data collection is the use of survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire will present useful information from the respondents regarding the topic. The survey will provide information to determine whether parents’ food and lifestyle choices can lead to poor food and lifestyle choices of their children that will eventually lead to childhood obesity. The responses of the subjects will be summarized, analyzed, and reported in order to make a general findings about the topic. To better understand the impact of parents food and lifestyle choices on the development of childhood obesity a structured survey questionnaire can be designed by the researcher.             It is important that the researcher also consider the disadvantages of using a survey questionnaire in collecting data. One disadvantage is that the respondents may misinterpret the question resulting to answers that are useless to the research. Questionnaires also oblige people to choose from limited responses that can be vague and not represent their actual response. There is also a great tendency to standardized the questions.   Questions that Quantitative Research seeks to Answer             1. Descriptive Questions – research questions that seek answers to “How much?” or “What changes over time or different situations?” type of questions. Descriptive questions can seek to identify the degree of relationship that exists between tow or more variables. The script for a descriptive relationship question would be as follows: o   What is the relationship between (variable 1) and (variable 2) for participants? 2. Predictive Questions – questions that seek to determine whether one or more variables can be used to predict some future outcome. The script for a predictie question would be as follows: o   Does (predictor variable) predict (outcome variable in setting? 3. Causal Questions – questions that compare different variations of some phenomenon to identify the cause of something. These questions often involve the manipulation of an independent variable and the comparison of the outcome of this manipulation. The script for questions would be as follows: o   Does variation (or change) in the (independent variable) produce changes (e.g. increase or decrease) in (a dependent variable)?   Qualitative Research Approach             The qualitative paradigm stems from an antipositivistic, interpretative approach, is idiographic, thus holistic in nature, and the main aim is to understand social life and the meaning that people attach to everyday life.             When investigating the occurrence of childhood obesity, it is a requisite that one explores the social, cultural, family and personal backgrounds of the subjects.  One of the most popular methods of data collection in the qualitative sphere is interviewing. In the investigation of the impact of parents’ food and lifestyle choices on the development of childhood obesity the researcher intends to design a structured interview involving the parents. The aim of the interview is to ascertain the impact of parents on the development of childhood obesity. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire of the researcher to obtain first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study.             The researcher also intends to use observation as a means of data collection. It is important that the belief, actions, attitudes and behaviors of children about food, obesity, health and their food and lifestyle choices.   Questions that Qualitative Research Seek to Answer In the qualitative research, the following are the most popular methods of collecting data: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Interview</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Focus Groups</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Diaries or Written Accounts</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Participant Observation or Non Participant Observation</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Media Sources </li> </ul> The survey questionnaire that the researcher intends to employ in the investigation of the impact of the parents food and lifestyle choices on the development of obesity among their children seeks to answer to following questions: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Descriptive/Linear Questions – Can you describe to me your food choices and your lifestyle at home?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Narrative Questions – Can you tell me about the food that you prepare for your family and your child’s/children’s food preferences?</li> </ul> <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Structured Questions – What do you think are the factors that lead to your child’s obesity ?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Contrast Questions – How can you compare your child’s health with other children his/her age?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Evaluative Questions – How do you feel about your chilld’s health?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Systematic Questions – What do you think your child’s food choices would be if you as his or her parent have healthy food and lifestyle choices?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Prompts and Probes – Can you tell me more about that?</li> </ul>   Qualitative Methodology vs. Quantitative Methodology                                                                   The difference of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies according to Baum (1992) is that quantitative research attempts to reduce and measure social phenomena while qualitative research aims to understand social processes. 1. Underlying Assumptions             The goal of qualitative research is to describe and analyzed the quality or substance of the human experience in a detailed manner. Qualitative researchers believe that in order to understand human actions and behaviors, it is imperative to understand the meanings and interpretations that people give to their own actions, to the actions of others and to situations and events. Qualitative researchers see the physical aspects to the world as having independent existence.             On the other hand, quantitative research is based on the assumption that the world can be investigated using scientific method and that there is an independent reality. Quantitative research is based on the belief that measurable influences (independent variables) affect measurable outcomes (dependent variables) in a cause-effect manner. 2. Research Design             Qualitative research can be designed deductively (to test hypothesis) or inductively (to develop a hypothesis) – majority are inductive in nature. The inductive nature of qualitative research means that the design tends to change as the study is in progress in response to the changes in the circumstances and the collected data.             On the other hand, quantitative research use standardized and repeatable methodologies that represent human experience in numerical categories. 3. Research Setting             Qualitative researchers employ talk and action in the collection of data. They use data collection methods such as in-depth interviews and focus groups, observation and textual analysis. Qualitative research are often conducted in public places, homes, workplaces and schools.             In contrast, quantitative research is generally conducted in a controlled environment, such as a psychology laboratory, or using anonymous data, such as statistics collected through surveys, questionnaires, structured interviews or tests. 4. Researcher’s Role             Qualitative researchers try to gather and analyze their own data rather than working with anonymous data collected by other people. They recognize that they are an integral part of the research process.             Quantitative researchers adopt a traditional objective expert role. They attempt to remove their interpretations or prevent them from influencing the research.               Base on the above comparison, the strengths and weaknesses of both methodologies can be identified. Quantitative research is most useful in research that is objective while qualitative can be used more effectively in subjective research. The research questions that can be answered by a quantitative research typically involves number, (how many?) and strength of association. Qualitative research on the other hand, seeks to answer the What and Why questions. Literature review in the quantitative research is often done early in the study while in the qualitative research it is progressive, meaning, the literature review can be done as the research progress. The results of quantitative research are measurable while in the qualitative research the results are interpretative.   Mixed Method Research Approach             Mixed research method aims to combine the qualitative and quantitative methodologies of research. This research method will allow the researcher to achieve a deeper understanding to the impact of parents food and lifestyle choices on the development of childhood obesity. For example, the researcher can combine qualitative and quantitative methodologies such as focus groups and survey questionnaire. 1. Focus Groups – the focus groups will include parents. The focus groups will enable the researcher to learn about the topic from the perspective of the parents. 2. Questionnaire – the questionnaire will be administered to the obese children and their children measure their perspectives. Questions for the questionnaire would be developed after the qualitative data had been analyzed. A questionnaire administered to a large sample allows for generalized statements to be made about attitudes and self-reported behaviors. The use of exploratory qualitative research to develop the questionnaire will increase the validity of the questionnaire data.             One disadvantage of combining qualitative and quantitative research methodologies is the amount of time, skill, and resources needed to conduct such a research.   Conclusion             The three research methodologies discussed in this paper have their individual strengths and weaknesses. In the current research the researcher believes that Mix Methods approach is applicable. For the research study, I decided to combine the strengths of quantitative research and qualitative research. Both research methods have their own strengths and weaknesses, and I think combining both can yield more accurate and clear results. It has been asserted by Phillips (1981) that both approaches are complementary and not competitive. In order to come up with powerful research, it is important to combine both methodologies. First, one could use large-scale quantitative analysis to demonstrate the existence of a previously unsuspected phenomenon. Then, one could use small-scale qualitative analysis to investigate the detailed processes producing the phenomenon. According to Neuman (2000), combining both qualitative and quantitative styles of research can be advantageous. I agree with this belief. I believe that a powerful research can be done through the effective combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Description and discussion on Qualitative, Quantitative and Mix Methods approaches of collecting data as applied to a research entitled “The Impact of Parents’ Food and Lifestyle Choices on the Development of Obesity among their Children”.

Description and discussion on Qualitative, Quantitative and Mix Methods approaches of collecting data as applied to a researc...