The Present Customer Service and Expectations within Samsung Which Essay

The Present Customer Service and Expectations within Samsung Which Have Emerged From the Delivery of Superior Products and Services by the Organization - Essay Example In this paper, various strategies which could be applied by Samsung to deliver consistent as well as effectual customer services within the competitive marketplace will be evaluated. Apart from these strategies, this paper also provides certain recommendations which can be fruitful for the organization to sustain customer service excellence going forward. Customer service is regarded as a service stipulation which organizations’ deliver prior to and after a product purchase. Customer service involves a sequence of activities which are designed by an organization in order to enhance the level of customer satisfaction through delivering products and services as per the customers’ expectations. The significance of customer service may differ in terms of industry, a company’s products and services. It can be said that customer service is a kind of systematic process which is utilized in order to make certain that customer satisfaction is achieved by delivering produc ts as well as services according to the demands of the consumers. Due to this reason, a majority of the leading organizations are intending to execute the process of customer service effectively in order to increase the level of customer satisfaction. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is considered as one of the globally leading advanced electronics based companies in terms of manufacturing digital media as well as superior communication systems. With the help of innovative, talented employees, dependable products and services along with making collaboration with their partners and clients, the company is taking the world into a whole new imaginative direction. At present, the company’s products, services along with the incorporation of its systematic approaches towards the operational activities have helped it to maintain specific business level activities which in turn have enabled it to contribute effectively towards the development of people throughout the world. The employee s of this company are always directed by the simple philosophy, effectual values and superior ethical standards which help them to work efficiently and to deliver better products and services to satisfy customers’ requirements.

How can the efforts of temperance movement in response to alcohol be Essay

How can the efforts of temperance movement in response to alcohol be explained - Essay Example During the Victorian era this movement became more drastic, campaigning for legal prohibition of alcohol rather than promoting moral suasion or calling for moderation. All in all, its efforts were perceived in both progressive politics especially female suffrage and religious renewal. Band of Hope, a temperance movement, was founded in Leeds with the working class being their centre of attention. They strived to keep away children of the working class from the dangers of alcoholism. In 1851 there was a success in banning or restricting the selling of alcohol in various parts of the U.S (Nugent, 2011). The prohibitionists formed different organizations inside the movement to address the problem of alcoholism from all perspectives. The anti-saloon league concentrated on creating dry counties and dry states away from alcohol. Moreover, the movement began to look for alternative places to hold their meetings thereby replacing the roles of public bars. Therefore, they introduced coffee pa laces, temperance halls, temperance theatre and temperance fountains where individuals could reliably get drinking water instead of having to get into the saloons. The movement began to nominate candidates for government offices and forming political parties thus producing leaders who supported the ban of alcohol. All in all they believed that taking alcohol was a deviant, moral and offset to Christianity (Nugent, 2011). The temperance movement advocated for its views with mounting stridency with which could not be of comparison to the use of mass media at the moment in terms of response, commitment and scope. The government of United States has identified alcoholism to be its leading drug problem. Consequently, it initiated some tools to promote more self control. The major tool is higher excise tax which inflates the prices on alcoholic beverages (Sartor, 2013). This helps promote standards of living and public health. Other successful control measures are heavy penalties for driv ing under influence of alcohol, minimum purchasing age to deter underage citizens from abuse, privatization in retail alcohol sales dram-shop liability and limitations on alcohol advertising. Privatization has proved to be effective in controlling sales of alcoholic beverages hence commercial retailing of these beverages is made possible. Never the less, the government also amended the constitution in1919 to prohibit the transportation, sale or manufacture intoxicating liquors. Efforts of temperance movement and the U.S response to alcohol explained in terms of racial prejudice Temperance movement gained more recognition in women suffrage after the seventeenth Amendment. This amendment created a new reliable workforce with prejudice to German-Americans together with their breweries which made ban of alcohol a patriotic cause. Moreover, prohibitionists clamored to make alcohol abuse directed to common racial prejudices thereby convincing others to ban alcohol (Nugent, 2011). The anti -saloon league in the temperance movement portrayed Catholics as morally depraved and intellectually inferior as they feared authoritarian orders from Rome would replace their capitalist and democratic principles. Pro-prohibition groups using rhetorical strategies claimed that alcohol influenced African- Americans to commit serious crimes. The

Environmental Racism, Climate Change, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Environmental Racism, Climate Change, - Essay Example The only remedy to address environmental racism is through environment justice, which promotes environmental, social, and economic justice. In my view, environment justice is better because it advocates for public policy to be based on justice, and mutual respect for all regardless of color. Legal Pragmatism is a philosophical approach that tries to infuse methods, and precepts of Pragmatic thinking to the legal theory. The pros of legal pragmatism include, the attitudes and methods of pragmatic thought are good for public environmental decisions making; it focuses on the accomplishment of social ends and social justice through advocating for judicial adherence to the interpretations of environmental statutes; it focuses on innovation and experimentation to problem solving (Singer, 2002). The cons of legal Pragmatism include, it lacks certain marquee values because of its insistence on practicability, recognition for social needs and innovation and sensitivity to facts. Either because for its insistence on pluralistic, experimentation, and experiential learning it can fail to provide the right answers to good disputed environmental questions. Environmental Pragmatism tries to connect the methods, and precepts of philosophical Pragmatism to find a solution to the real world environmental issues. In view of this, there is thus an intersection with legal pragmatism in that they both advocate for methods, and precepts of philosophical Pragmatism. In my view, a pragmatic perspective would have a better outcome given its insistence on experimentation, concrete facts, flexibility, and practical, workable solutions combined with democratic consensus can offer better outcomes. Stephen Gardiner gives the problem of environmental climate change a different approach. He considers the problem as ethical failure due to failed action by humans to confront this catastrophe. He identifies the storms or temptations that make human vulnerable to

Israel's Right to Nuclear Weapons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Israel's Right to Nuclear Weapons - Essay Example The persecution reached a peak in Adolf Hitler's Final Solution, which led to the Holocaust and the slaughter of approximately 6 million Jews from 1939 to 1945† . In Holocaust the persecution and genocide was accomplished in stages. Legislation to remove the Jews from civil society was enacted years before the outbreak of World War II. Where the Third Reich conquered new territory in Eastern Europe and Russia, ghettos were established to contain and marginalize Jewish communities. Specialized units called Einsatzgruppen murdered large numbers of Jews and political opponents in mass shootings and mobile gassing units. In countries occupied by the Nazis, Jews were interned before being deported to death camps, often crammed into freight cars and transported hundreds of miles by rail, then killed in gas chambers. These historical events had its impact on the building of â€Å"collective insecurity psyche† of Jews. And that was the time when Jews decided that â€Å"(they sh ould) act in such a way that the Jews who died in the gas chambers would be the last Jews to die without defending themselves.† To add to the above building sense of insecurity when Israel was declared as independent state May 14, 1948 in the heart land of Arab dominated region, none of the Arab Countries liked the situation. Resultantly Egypt, Jordan, Syra, Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invaded but failed to achieve success. In 1949 separate armistice was made with each state in which Jordan occupied the West Bank and Egypt occupied Gaza. Therefore, Israel was made to realize stark reality of existential intolerance of its neighbours. In 1956 during the Suez crisis Israel made tremendous success against Egypt and its allies, Britain and France not only failed in the operation but

Statista Report Essay Example for Free

Statista Report Essay The Print Media surveys in Spain EGM ? The EGM is the Print Media survey in Spain †¢ Since 1968 †¢ Multimedia: †¢ Newspapers (currency) †¢ Magazines (currency) †¢ Radio (currency) †¢ Cinema †¢ Tv (Referential for meters) †¢ Internet (Referential for meters) †¢ Outdoors †¢ The EGM is the Cross Media survey in Spain 2 The Print Media surveys in Spain EGM Radio n = 36. 000 EGM 2000 EGM Multimedia n = 43. 000 The Print Media surveys in Spain EGM Radio n = 36. 000 EGM 2007 EGM Newspaper n = 32. 000 EGM Multimedia n = 43. 000 3 The Print Media surveys in Spain EGM With these extensions we have two different data for Radio and Newspapers: ? The official data (multimedia+monomedia) ? The multimedia data from the Cross Media Survey Example: In 2007 the official audience of â€Å"El Pais was 2,234,000 readers, and the result for the Cross Media Survey was 2,127,000 readers, some 5% less. The Print Media surveys in Spain EGM The â€Å"Market† accepted the coexistence of two different data: ? â€Å"the official data†, currency for the media, is used in the monomedia advertising plans for Radio or Newspapers. ? â€Å"the other data† is used in the multimedia advertising plan where Radio stations or Newspapers titles are included. 4 The Print Media surveys in Spain EGM Radio n = 49. 000 EGM 2008 EGM Newspaper n = 45. 000 EGM Multimedia EGM Magazine n = 20. 000 n = 30. 000 EGM TV n = 13. 000 The Print Media surveys in Spain EGM The Market demanded the implementation of a Data Fusion Process with the following conditions: ? Audience data for each title, station, etc, must fully coincide with the data that comes from each official source. ? The procedure must be traceable. ? Lastly, it would be convenient that the procedure not imply a long-time frame to come up with presentable data. 5 The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion: Origin Interviews: MULTIMEDIA 30. 00 DEMO GRAPHICS OTHERS INTERNET CINEMA OUTDOORS + LIFE STYLE EQUIPMENT CONSUMPTION + NEWSPAPERS RADIO MAGAZINES TV MOMOMEDIA NEWSPAPERS + 45. 000 + DEMO GRAPHICS + NEWSPAPERS + + + MOMOMEDIA RADIO + 49. 000 + DEMO GRAPHICS + + + + RADIO + + MOMOMEDIA MAGAZINES + 20. 000 + DEMO GRAPHICS + + + + + MAGAZINES + MOMOMEDIA TV + 13. 000 + DEMO GRAPHICS + + + + + + TV The Print Media surveys i n Spain Data Fusion. Final Objetive Interviews: MULTIMEDIA 30. 000 DEMO GRAPHICS OTHERS INTERNET CINEMA OUTDOORS + LIFE STYLE EQUIPMENT CONSUMPTION + NEWSPAPERS RADIO MAGAZINES TV MOMOMEDIA NEWSPAPERS + 45. 000 DEMO GRAPHICS + NEWSPAPERS + + + MOMOMEDIA RADIO + 49. 000 + DEMO GRAPHICS + + + + RADIO + + MOMOMEDIA MAGAZINES + 20. 000 + DEMO GRAPHICS + + + + + MAGAZINES + MOMOMEDIA TV + 13. 000 + DEMO GRAPHICS + + + + + + TV = TOTAL = DEMO GRAPHICS = OTHERS INTERNET CINEMA OUTDOORS = LIFE STYLE EQUIPMENT CONSUMPTION = NEWSPAPERS = RADIO = MAGAZINES = TV 6 The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System We used predefined strata of known size in the population: Province (50) x Town Size (2) x Week Day (2)= 200 strata Province (50) x Town Size (2) x Gender (2)= 200 strata (Depending on the Media being fused) We wanted to make sure that the strata of the 5 studies and the sum of the 5 original files amount to the same as the population within each strata: Example: Province Valencia Town Size + 50. 000 Gender Men Population 902,626 The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System The sum file of the 5 initial surveys has missing information that we are going to fulfill in 5 steps, adding with each step the information of one of the media with monomedia extention, and the rest of the information that only exists in the multimedia survey. 7 The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System In each strata we used a donor-receiving system, assigned the information to each receiver of the closest donor of the available ones, computed the range on the basis of a wide set of variables: Age Role Social Status Weekday Language Household Size Town Etc. Nationality Children in home Sex The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System Distances are rank ordered and the pair of most similar individuals is selected: For each stratus h 1 wr1 2 wr2 Receivers †¦ †¦ j wrj †¦ q wrq Donors 1 2 . . i . . p Weight Weight wd1 wd2 †¦ †¦ wdi †¦ †¦ wdp Distance Matrix 8 The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System Donors and their weights: Distance matrix is computed and distances are rank ordered from greatest to lowest. Receivers and their weights: Total Receivers weight: 3,10 0,60 1,40 1,80 1,10 8,00 3,00 1,50 2,00 1,00 0,50 8,00 Total donors weight 8 2 6 1 3 7 5 Distance Matrix The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System Donors and their weights: Pair with the lowest distance between them is selected. Receivers and their weights: Total Receivers weight: 3,10 0,60 1,40 1,80 1,10 8,00 3,00 1,50 2,00 1,00 0,50 8,00 Total donors weight 8 2 6 1 3 7 5 Distance Matrix 9 The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System Donors and their weights: Receiver is pasted donor information Receivers and their weights: Total Receivers weight: 3,10 0,60 1,40 1,80 1,10 8,00 3,00 1,50 2,00 1,00 0,50 8,00 Total donors weight 8 2 6 1 3 7 5 Distance Matrix Donor weight greater than receiver weight The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System Donors and their weights: Receiver is written in to the fused file with its own weight and deleted from the distance table Receivers and their weights: Total Receivers weight: 3,10 0,60 1,40 1,80 1,10 8,00 3,00 1,50 2,00 1,00 0,50 8,00 Total donors weight 8 2 6 1 3 7 5 Distance Matrix Donor weight greater than receiver weight 0 The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System Donors and their weights: Donor finishes in the table with a weight equal to the difference in weight bettewn that of the donor and that of the receiver Receivers and their weights: Total Receivers weight: 3,10 0,60 1,40 1,80 1,10 7,40 3,00 1,50 2,00 0,40 0,50 7,40 Total donors weight 8 2 6 1 3 7 5 Distance Matrix Donor weight greater than receiver weight The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System Donors and their weights: Pair with the lowest distance between them is selected. Receivers and their weights: Total Receivers weight: 3,10 0,60 1,40 1,80 ,10 7,40 3,00 1,50 2,00 0,40 0,50 7,40 Total donors weight 8 2 6 1 3 7 5 Distance Matrix 11 The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System Donors and their weights: Receiver is pasted donor information Receivers and their weights: Total Receivers weight: 3,10 0,60 1,40 1,80 1,10 7,40 3,00 1,50 2,00 0,40 0,50 7,40 Total donors weight 8 2 6 1 3 7 5 Distance Matrix Donor weight less than receiver weight The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System Donors and their weights: Receiver is written to the fused file with a weight equal to the donor weight Receivers and their weights: Total Receivers weight: ,10 0,60 1,40 1,80 1,10 7,40 3,00 1,50 2,00 0,40 0,50 7,40 Total donors weight 8 2 6 1 3 7 5 Distance Mat rix Donor weight less than receiver weight 12 The Print Media surveys in Spain Data Fusion. System Donors and their weights: Receiver finishes in the table with a weight equal to the difference in weight Donor is deleted from the distance table Receivers and their weights: Total Receivers weight: 1,10 0,60 1,40 1,80 1,10 5,40 3,00 1,50 2,00 0,40 0,50 5,40 Total donors weight 8 2 6 1 3 7 5 Distance Matrix Donor weight less than receiver weight The Print Media surveys in Spain Conclusions Donor file, Receiver file and Fused file contain exactly the same information in the imputed variables, and this for all the common strata and for all their possible additions. Internal relations among fused variables are kept and are the same for all the files and surveys. For those variables not controlled, distributions should be as similar as possible. Traceability is possible, one can know exactly how many times each record is replicated, and how original interviews are the base for each data. 13 Thank you! WRRS Valencia 2009 14

Impact of Leadership Styles on Job Satisfaction of Nurses

Impact of Leadership Styles on Job Satisfaction of Nurses Every day nurses have the responsibility for the health as well as the well being of their patients and therefore to ensure a continuity of the patient care each every nurses on a unit work tougher to ensure that they achieve the shared goals. The cohesive team thus work diligently to promote then patent health, safety and recovery and to achieve such unity nursing manager coordinates and supervises all the interactions that go on between all the team members he is in charge of (Longerich, et al 2003).Nurse leaders may be nurses mangers who are responsible for one nursing unite or a nurse executive held responsible for all the in-patient nursing units. Nurse steam leaders achieve their roles by applying the various nursing leadership style which include: transformational, transactional as well as dynamic leadership. A combination of more than one leadership style is often considered more effective but a single type also serves the intended purpose depending on the situation that the leader is in (Mahoney, 2001). Background The nursing professionals faces one of the greatest challenges of developing future leaders as powerful leadership skills are required all nurses i.e. those responsible for providing direct acre to those in the top management position for example anyone looked upon as an authority ranging from a nurses taking care of a patient to those responsible for giving assistance to others. All of them are considered s leaders. Another difficult that faces leadership for health care professionals is that most of the leadership theories were not developed based on the healthcare context but rather with in the business context then applied to healthcare. A clinical nursing leader is involved in direct patient care as well as offers a continuous improvement of the care by influencing others. Leaders have skills, task which they utilize to as an attitude that inform behavior leading to consistent superior performance with long-term benefits to all those involved. Leader s not alloy control other but are more of visionaries who serve to helping employees to lead, plan, organize and control their activities (Jooste, 2004). In the past decade shelf life of leaders in the health service has halved and instead of working in environments that encourage creative thinking especially about the future of health care there is one that consists of vast paper trails that are characterized by motions masquerading as activity. Thus the luxuries of personal lives for the senior staff are tumbled upon especially in some of the healthcare organizations where 60- hours working in a week has become quite normal. This situation has made some health care staff to no longer work for patients but rather to be motivated by pronouncements from government representatives , media expose an even on the latest scandal regarding misuse of public money (Woolnough, 2002). Health care system has witnessed different parts of the health organization focus on different things which is often marred with poor coordination across the various departments with objectives being sandwiched between keeping costs down with efforts to increasing patient services. Such in-coordination as been felt by the hospital administrators especially at times when demands for administrative services increases and thus administrative jobs are cut. Making choices require certain amounts of freedom, thought, actions, time for weighing options, as well as time for reviews of such decision, unfortunately in health cares leaders lack such luxuries as the reliable, easily accessible and relevant information they require to make decision is often not unavailable. Further more resources and time that is essential for such responsibilities is missing and this affects much of the health care leaders who are driven by gut feeling which is linked to strong sense of personal values regarding what is right, just and reasonable(Outhwaite, 2003). Irrespective of the countries which healthcare leaders operate they are always expected to fulfill the following roles: being a diplomat, a visionary, politician, conflict resolver, coach, figure head as well as a human being failure to which no leader can claim to the title. as a matter of fact most leaders face the pressures of sharing a little pieces of themselves with anyone that ask for it, in addition to that healthcare leaders face real dilemmas regarding several issues like ways of radically changing their organizations without any guarantees of success despite the well planned changes and being able to accept the consequences of their actions, working with political agendas or legislations which they disagree with and also accept the consequences, apportioning of resources of the available as fairly as possible while also accepting the consequences, saying no when they want to say yes and also accept the consequences ,trying to act ethically yet sometimes leading to failures and knowing that despite their selfless effort someone some how cries foul. In addition to that healthcare leaders are faced with challenges of making decision like making choices regarding decisions on acting on absolute principle or creative several flexible responses, to keep particular services or to discard them, having a open organization and developing closer ties with the service users yet at same time having little or no control over the eventual outcomes, to continue to lead or not (Outhwaite, 2003). Failure to act in decisive manner by healthcare leaders may lead to general delay action for instance lack of medical and nursing action in the review of requested treatment in admission leads to inaction on the part of delivering the treatment. The pivotal role of the leader may be overshadowed by fear of unjust critism which result to delayed decision which its ultimate consequence of having to deal with sense of failure and guilt. Leadership Leadership can be defined as the process of influencing others, meeting goals by obtaining the co-operation from those around them and acquiring the resources to achieve their goal. To be a leader you must make a decision to act; doing so requires skill, knowledge, energy, vision and self-confidence (Tappen, 2001). On the other hand, leadership may not be obvious or visible process of influencing others, but the very leadership features within the individual may trigger other people to act according the leading person. Carney (1999) defines leadership as persuading others to pursue a common goal by setting aside individual concerns, while Marquis Huston (2000) states that leadership is made up of authority and accountability. They define authority as the power one has to direct the work of others and accountability as well as the moral responsibility that comes with the position of leadership. Majority of existent theories pays attention to leadership as a personal feature which is more or less helpful when achieving goals within the organization and not for individual goals. However, this paper work would focus on both parts as leadership in nursing field requires the same amount of attention to the work of organization and the individual as well. In other words, if adding all definitions together, we get the idea that leadership involve influence on others, authority, achievement of goals through command work and the leaders moral responsibility. The basic question is how the leader arranges his / her priorities, the job of staff, atmosphere, etc. Leadership theories Trait theory Much has been written about the differing leadership styles and theories over the last seventy years. Many leadership theories have evolved over the last century starting with Trait theory. It is based on the assumption that some people possess personality traits which single them out as natural leaders and those who possess such traits should be nurtured into leadership positions (Marquis Huston, 2000). However, this theory was abandoned by the 1940s as no set of consistent traits could be identified and thus research focused on the behavior and attitudes of managers based on the assumption that leadership styles are based on specific behavior. (Sellgren et al, 2006) Nowadays, many ideas of trait theory are rejected as psychology studies provided evidence that leadership though appears as every individuals feature is not that helpful when trying to nurture it so this theory now has only historical rather than practical importance. Behavioral theory Research on leadership has shifted focus from leadership traits to leadership behavior (Bass, 1981 cited in McNeese-Smith, 1996). Behavioral theories particularly focus on what a leader does (Whitehead et al, 2007). This approach was adopted from the 1950s onwards following two major studies by American universities. It looked at what a leader does and what he / she should do, what is leaders role when facing certain problems, the behavior exhibited by leaders and the influence of leadership style on a groups performance. Research into behavioral theory was based on the premise that each leader has a style based on their personality, they experience and education (Ekvall, 1992 cited in Sellgren et al, 2006). Also, the theory was interested on leaders interaction in group work, and how members of the group react to each other and especially, the leading figure. For further analysis, the leaders behavior can be separated into three main leadership styles Authoritarian, democratic and Laissez-faire (Tappen, 2001). Leadership style is related to the amount of control or freedom which the leader affords to the group (McCarthy, 1998). Authoritarian Authoritarian leaders keep most of the authority and make most of the decisions without much consultation with the group. Autocratic leadership style does not allow group participation and does not nurture creativity. This may have the effect of de-motivating the team members in the long term (Whitehead et al, 2007). In some cases it can even be said that autocratic leader does not even need a group work; all what matters is groups ability to follow the orders. Authoritarian style can however, be useful in situations where group participation would be counter-productive or where rapid decisions need to be made. Still, rapid decisions do not guarantee success, so this type of leadership in many cases is rarely acceptable. There are certain researchers nowadays who examine the leadership and leaders behavior of important historical figures. They draw a conclusion that many presidents, politicians and generals of the past were good authoritarian leaders as the very lifestyle back then were based on social status and the power within the society (Whitehead et al, 2007). Education also played an important role and the good leader was the one who could lead the whole nation to success by making decisions on his own. Fortunately or not, nowadays this type of leadership is often treated as unacceptable behavior rather than type of leadership. Democratic This style of leadership takes the opinions of the group into account. The decision making is shared with the group paying attention to every single critique and comment from other members of the group. This style encourages group participation and exercises general, rather than close supervision. (Carney, 1999) In other words, it is all seen in the very word democratic; the leader within the group is seen as more important figure than everyone else, but the leader himself / herself is responsible for creating a feeling of equality; work in such group usually would be followed by friendly and positive atmosphere as every individual in the group would be seen in many cases as more important figure than the very problem they are solving. Possible drawbacks may be that democratic leaders are only strong when every individual feels strong in the group, but some leaders are not capable of withstanding their opinion if it may damage the atmosphere within the group. Despite that, these case s are rarely discussed as after such incidents the authority of the leader may be diminished and the group would be searching for other leading figure. Laissez faire In this style the leader allows the group to determine their own way of working and does not provide much direction, feedback or decision making. This type of leader is passive and non-directive; he / she provide little support for the group and in fact may turn requests for help and support back to the group in general (Tappen, 2001). Some groups require passive leader, who in a way will took all responsibility, but actions and decisions would be made by other people in the group. It does not necessarily suggest that this kind of leadership is provoked by group members; the leader should be conscious about the situation and accept that. Some behavior researchers and psychologists even points out that this type of leadership requires more psychological knowledge and personal strength than others; not many people would allow such freedom for the group without being afraid to accept full responsibility of their actions (Tappen, 2001). In more recent times, research carried out by Kouzes Posner (1988) and Bass (1995) showed interesting results about leadership behaviors. They studied over 1,300 leaders and have identified five different leadership behaviors: Challenging the process: these are leaders who are innovative and experimental; their work should be a challenge. Inspiring a shared vision: Intuitive leaders who picture the future and enlist others to become involved; Enabling others to act: these are empowered and supportive leaders who build trust and team work; Modeling the way: Leaders who act as role models, setting a good example and practicing what they preach; Encouraging the heart: Leaders, who support their followers, recognize and reward their accomplishments, though some researchers nowadays questions methods of leading the group through rewards (especially material). These leadership behaviors are very useful and can be used as independent variables to measure both the managers opinion of their style of leadership and that which is perceived by those they manage. This in turn can be used as an indication of employees satisfaction with their managers style. Situational leadership theory This leadership theory is based on the premise that leadership style should be determined by the situation or the individuals involved (Marquis Huston, 2009). The differing leadership styles of situational leadership proposed by Hersey et al (1997) are based on the maturity or readiness of the follower. They set out four levels of readiness ranging from low (unable or unwilling) to high (able, willing and competent) and depending on the level of the follower the leaders style is directive, coaching, supportive or delegate in approach. There would be helpful to present an example which would illustrate this theory better. For example, the leader who is working with group of people which is known to him / her would follow absolutely different steps or provide different behavior when working with other group of people which he / she has not met before. That is because new people would consciously or not question presented leaders authority, their working methods may contradict the meth ods by which leader chooses to act, etc. In other words, this theory focuses on the new direction which was not discussed before the conflict between group members and leader when facing certain new issues, or anything at all what is innovative and not known how to deal with. Situational leadership stresses out the importance of leaders actions in new situations where group work has to be organized very carefully (Hersey, 1997). Charismatic Theory (Transactional and Transformational leadership styles) New leadership styles have developed in more recent times and that involves the transactional leadership and transformational leadership, both of which are part of Charismatic theory (Rafferty, 1993). In rapidly growing health sector, these kinds of leadership are especially notable up to the present day. Transactional leadership is characterized by bargaining, it emphasizes the organizations goals while recognizing the rewards that people value. Once goals have been achieved the leader rewards those who helped to achieve them (Lindholm et al 2000, Carney 1999). It seems as a very fair method to focus on goals rather than rewards; the sequence of actions is very strict, showing that efforts would be rewarded only if they were effective. Transformational leadership has charisma as its focus. The leader provides the vision, instilling a sense of pride in achievements, while gaining trust and respect from the group. Transformational leadership raises both leader and follower to a high level of motivation and morality as both shares a common value according to Burns (1978) who coined the term. In other words, both leader and the follower are on the same level, the main distinction is who leaded who to such level. To shortly sum up, this theory basically was called charismatic as leader must be able to build up the strategy consciously and think ways of how group can effectively be included into achievement of necessary goals. Servant leadership One of the more recent leadership concepts is Servant leadership. This style is very different to traditional views of management where the organizations needs take precedence. Servant leadership is concerned with service to the follower as opposed to engaging followers to support organizational goals (Stone et al, 2004). Servant leaders take into account their followers needs first and this in turn empowers them to achieve organizations goal. This also sometimes brings problem of inequality in light as the leaders needs and the followers would be of very different level. Thus, one side could feel in a way used but in many cases feelings would not be considered that important as many problems are solved in formal style and achievement of goals is the only satisfactory solution. This theory was called servant for various reasons very few literature provides the origin of such concept, as the fact that organizations word is always the last, is quite natural itself (Carney, 1999). To sum up these kinds of leadership theories, the short evolution of leadership studies it is seen that analysis provides numbers of exceptions, and ambiguities. Every theory and every type of leadership can be understood and interpreted differently considering every individual. Leadership is necessary in group work to achieve certain goals, but nothing can guarantee or provide an easy pattern to do so. However, after this discussion we now would be focusing on another part of this paper analysis; in what forms leadership appears in nursing field and how leadership styles can help to achieve personal or institutional goals and bring satisfaction for the job. Leadership styles in Nursing What is clear from the literature is that no one style of management and leadership is consciously used within nursing as a specific method to cope with certain issues that nurses and ward managers are facing. However, what emerges is that predominantly health care has moved away for the traditional autocratic style and towards a combination of transactional and transformational leadership. A study of 71 Irish Health Managers carried out by Armstrong (1999) found that over half used transactional and transformational leadership. The reasons are quite obvious. The period of time shows that the research is quite new and nowadays autocratic leadership is usually interpreted negatively. Transactional and transformational leadership, however are more effective in nursing field as such kind of leadership showed great success in institutional work (Avolio, 1988). Nurses in general, aims to helping people, and these two styles of leadership are emphasize the co-operation with other people; g roup work and care for others is extremely important to get successful results. Nowadays in nursing field other models are rarely seen as effective and though it can be said that democratic leadership is also very common, it usually appears in the group of nurses excluding their direct leader the employer. Democratic leadership often occurs where leader is not the one with higher status, but the one which is chosen by the group as the most reliable or so on (Bass, 1995). In a study carried out by Lindholm et al (2000) he found that more than half of managers interviewed exhibited a combination of both transactional and transformational leadership styles and these managers appeared to experience fewer management problems, less resistance to change and greater support from other professional groups within health care. What is not really acceptable is that these studies do not provide enough information about minorities, who are using different leadership styles. Although, it is only natural to state that leaders who uses different methods or have mixed qualities, often are said to be better than those who can be applied only to one pattern. The Hay group, an international management consultancy firm which carried out a study of leadership styles in seven NHS trusts in Brittan sets out six leadership styles which are prevalent in nursing (Kenmore, 2008): Directive: A leader who instructs staff on what to do without consultation, this often seems as autocratic style, though also can be the transactional or transformational leadership style leader; Visionary: The leader who provides long term guidance and vision for the future, the team work is important and especially the trust for a leader; Affiliative: This leader creates harmony within the team as other way the achievement of goals would be not as effective as needed; this style is especially good if the certain group is going to co-operate in the future, they would find ways to achieve goals effectively together as a team; Participative: A leader who generates ideas and develops staff commitment; it is an active leader who also works in a group though he / she clearly states who is the leader; Pace-setting: This leader promotes high standards and task accomplishments as he / she finds the reward as the best way to motivate his group; statistics show that money as motivation is not the most important part for job satisfactory, but still this kind of leaders are quite common; Coaching: A leader who promotes self-development and further education; it is a sort of investment in group for facing future tasks; also very effective if the team would work together for a long period of time. The Hay group found that the most effective ward managers are flexible in their approach and used a variety of these leadership styles in order to get the best performance from their staff (Kenmore, 2008). However there is no comparative study of leadership styles carried out within Irish nursing on this scale which identifies an opportunity for further research in order to gain better understanding in the Irish context. In Ireland the National Clinical Leadership Programme (2008) was set up by the Office of the Nursing Midwifery Services Directory (ONMSD) to assist nurse managers to develop leadership skills which support the new and expanded ways of delivering quality patient care. This programme was adopted from the Royal College of Nursings (RCN) Clinical Leadership Programme framework which aims to develop transformational leadership qualities in participants (Clinical Leadership Pilot Evaluation Report, 2008). The theoretical framework focuses on: Learning to self manage Developing effective relationships Patient focus Networking Political Awareness This leadership programme has since been developed further by the ONMSD to become the National Leadership Development Project. This project has developed competencies which promote clinical leaders. These, the ONMSD believe, are the key to providing better care and developing leadership within nursing. This pilot project commenced in March 2011 with the completion date set for 2012. (NLDP, 2010). So far, this project received positive reviews by many researchers of health care studies and the nurses themselves. Defining Job satisfaction history and current thoughts Job satisfaction is defined by Locke (1969) as: a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job or job experience. It is described as a positive affective orientation towards employment by Muller McCloskey (1990). Job satisfactory is a crucial factor which influences individuals personal appearance in his / her work sphere which can result in increasing or decreasing effectiveness in job duties. As a formal area of research, job satisfaction did not really exist until the mid 1930s although there was a good deal of qualitative research and theorizing about the concept of job satisfaction. These included Freud (1922) who felt that morale acted to suppress negative tendencies, encouraging personal sacrifice and commitment to group goals. Janet (1907) theorized that repetitive work encouraged one to dwell on negative thoughts and cause obsessive thinking. Historically, researchers were interested in job satisfaction as a means of increasing productivity. Scientific management theory assumed that above all things, workers value economic incentives and would be willing to work harder for economic incentives. Taken these two opinions into account it is seen that the lack of personal or moral satisfaction still was not discussed widely. This led to the Hawthorne studies which were carried out by Professor Elton Mayo from the Harvard Business School between 1927 and 1932. This study began by examining the effect of physical conditions on productivity, however in the course of his investigations he became convinced that factors of a social nature were affecting job satisfaction and productivity. This study revealed that the feelings and attitudes of workers affected production rates and this led to him introducing an interview programme to assess the nature of the relationship between methods of supervision and workers attitudes. As a result of these interviews it became apparent that small changes in work conditions temporarily increase productivity but further investigations reveled that this increase resulted, not from the changes in conditions, but from the knowledge that workers were being observed. In other words when interest was shown in workers their productivity increased but when this interest was withdrawn , the productivity fell. This later became known as the Hawthorne effect. This research provided strong evidence that people work for other purposes than pay as well and sparked a wave in research into other factors which affect job satisfaction. After these studies and thoughts about job satisfactory, numbers of tools for measuring job satisfaction appear. One of the most commonly used is Maslows theory of human needs (1954). Maslow asserted that human needs emerge sequentially according to a hierarchy of five need levels: physiological, safety, affiliation, achievement and esteem and self-actualization. Maslow argued that the satisfied need was not a motivator of behavior and therefore the importance of higher needs increases as lower needs are satisfied. This was followed by Herzberg et al (1959) who went on to develop a theory of job satisfaction based on Maslows hierarchy and concluded that not all factors increase satisfaction. They conclude that there was a relationship between job satisfaction and certain work behaviors as well as between job dissatisfaction and other work behaviors. Hertzberg concluded that satisfaction and dissatisfaction were two totally different phenomena which develop from distinct sources and h ad differing initial and long term effects on behavior. Hertzberg also found that the factors related to good feelings towards ones job were achievement and recognition, the nature of the work itself, responsibility, advancement and salary. The bad feelings towards the job stemmed from company policy and administration, technical supervision, the question of payment, interpersonal relationships with supervisors and working conditions. Hertzbergs basic proposition is that workers are driven by two different factors; hygiene and motivation factors. Hygiene needs related to the physical and psychological environment in which the work is done while motivational factors relate to the nature and the challenge of the work itself. However, there has been severe criticism of Hertzbergs theory due to its lack of empirical support as well as the very idea of job satisfactory did not provide examples of fairly different job spheres. The job satisfaction of nurses There is a wealth of literature relating to job satisfaction in general management literature and to a lesser extent, in nursing literature. From the moment when job satisfaction became a field of psychological interest, numbers of considerable researches has been done on various aspects of job satisfaction. One of the most notable studies was carried out by the Hay group and it would be mentioned further. Job satisfaction is not easily defined mostly because it means different things to different people. Job satisfaction is multifaceted and can be affected by both internal and external factors. Atchison (2003) lists pay as the most important external factor but states that internal factors such as a good boss, professional development and a nurturing work environment are even more important. This is borne out by the extensive study carried out by the Hay group (1999) of over 500,000 employees in 300 locations where they found that employees rated pay and benefits in only 10th position in the reasons for employee satisfaction. According to Atchison (2003), pay checks are entitlements and not motivators. The only time a pay check is motivating is when there is a threat of loss of the pay check. Atchison (2003) states, that job satisfaction to nurses is unique as what motivates nurses is not so much pay and conditions but rather the well-being of the patient and a sense of a job well don e. What is more, not payment, but the patient is one of the most important figures in nurses job. Even when the patient outcome is not positive a nurse may feel a sense of satisfaction having met the patients needs spiritually, physically and psychologically. This is defined by the Hay group (1999) as Meaningful work, making a difference and is cited as the 3rd most common reason given by employees for wanting to stay with a company. Pay ranked at only 10th place as a reason for staying, though this may vary in other countries depending on nursing conditions, economy, etc. This research lists ten reasons overall (Hay group, 1999): Career growth, learning and development Exciting work, challenging Meaningful work, making a difference Great people Being part of a team Good boss Recognition for job well done Autonomy, sense of control over ones work Flexible work hours and dress code Fair pay and benefits This is re-iterated by Lebbin (2007) who says that many people who work in health care are motivated by improving the health and well-being of their patients. He goes on to state that staff dissatisfaction cannot be fixed by increasing pay and benefits but by the organization addressing its primary goal which is caring. Blegin (1993) found that factors affecting employee satisfaction were: employer commitment, communication with supervisors, autonomy, recognition, and peer communication. This study also found that stress and routinization negatively affected employees satisfaction. Basically, if an employee meets constant stress in work place or the job becomes as a routine, the changes are necessary, and the payment is rarely a sol

The ecological approach to classroom management

The ecological approach to classroom management An ecological approach to classroom and behaviour management accounts for the distinct individuality of each teaching setting. Such environments constitute a fusion of the many unique experiences, needs and expectations of their individual occupants. Hence, an ecological perspective embraces, attends to and nourishes this heterogeneity through the construction and maintenance of proactive, inclusive and positive learning environments. In the secondary school setting, this needs-based approach is both valuable and practical. (Arthur-Kelly, Lyons, Butterfield Gordon, 2003) Bronfenbrenner (1979, p.16) posits that behavior evolves as an interplay between person and environment. In the secondary classroom socio-cultural factors that have helped to shape each individual are also at play. These include race, family dynamics, gender, socioeconomic status, values and attitudes (Arthur-Kelly et al., 2003). As students mature, their histories of interacting with significant others must also be considered. For example, children with easygoing dispositions generally evoke positive reactions from social counterparts whereas those with less favourable dispositions attract negative, impatient or punitive responses. These bi-directional relationships may have contributed to lasting developmental effects (Berk, 2009). In educational settings coercive interactions, deficient teaching strategies and unfavourable learning environments may also lead to ingrained behavioural deficits (Conroy, Sutherland, Haydon, Stormont Harmon, 2009). Using an ecological approach, the classroom may be viewed as an ecology consisting of connected and intertwined personalities, activities, procedures and occurrences, all of which may impact upon behaviour (Arthur-Kelly et al., 2003). In comprehensively examining student behaviour, it is essential that all ecological contributions are identified and considered. With this approach, the relationship between the adolescent and influential environment factors is considered most critical rather than any suspected or diagnosed issues that the student may present with (Johnson Fullwood, 2006). This facilitates proactive manipulation or adjustment of the environmental context in which the behaviour occurs. Additionally, it ensures that actions are not merely reactive but seek to address causative imbalances (Arthur-Kelly et al., 2003). An ecological approach concerns itself with the construction and maintenance of positive learning environments comprised of effective preventative measures, targeted interventions where necessary and the fostering of student self-discipline. The provision of well delivered, engaging classroom activities that are perceived as worthwhile and meaningful by students, and attention to building positive, cooperative relationships are also imperative. An inclusive environment where students feel safe to contribute is created. In this way, classroom management becomes a collaborative process. The teachers task involves a cycle of providing structure, warmth and guidance, encouraging participation and belongingness, then monitoring and adjusting as necessary. (Osher, Bear, Sprague Doyle, 2010) In secondary classrooms, teachers face multiple challenges. By employing an ecological approach, the learning environment is enhanced, allowing students to share the burden by learning to participate constructively within a nurturing, dynamic system (Osher et al., 2010). Much research exists that extols the ecological approach as both practical and successful (Osher et al., 2010). Moreover, it is positively correlated with social and personal developmental gains and enhanced academic outcomes (McLeod, Fisher Hoover, 2003; Osher et al., 2010). 4 References Arthur-Kelly, M., Lyons, G., Butterfield, N., Gordon, C. (2003). Classroom management: Creating positive learning environments. (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning Australia. Berk, L. E. (2009) Child development. (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Conroy, M., Sutherland, K., Haydon, T., Stormont, M., Harmon, J. (2009). Preventing and ameliorating young childrens chronic problem behaviors: An ecological classroom- based approach, Psychology in the Schools, 46, 1, 3-17. Johnson, H. L., Fullwood, H. L. (2006). Disturbing behaviors in the secondary classroom: How do general educators perceive problem behaviors? Journal of Instructional Psychology, 33, 1, 20-39. McLeod, J., Fisher, J., Hoover, G. (2003). The key elements of classroom management: Managing time and space, student behaviour and instructional strategies. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Osher, D., Bear, G. G., Sprague, J. R. Doyle, W. (2010). How can we improve school discipline? Educational Researcher, 39, 1, 48-58. 5 PART 2- TASK 4: In what ways could communication methods based on mutual respect alter the classroom ecosystem? How could these affect disruptive children as well as those who already exhibit positive behaviour? In the secondary school setting, effective communication skills are a vital component of positive learning environments. They enable teachers to alter the classroom ecology in such as way as to develop mutually respectful reciprocal interactions with students that serve to augment classroom experiences and outcomes. Well-developed communication methods may be used to enhance interpersonal exchanges, promote effective problem-solving and expedite conflict resolution. These are the vital building blocks that serve to build trust and understanding. Moreover, they assist greatly in facilitating warm reciprocal student/teacher relationships and productive learning environments which in turn, foster positive behaviour and learning outcomes. The use of effective communication processes in secondary classrooms has the potential to benefit students who exhibit disruptive behaviours as well as those who do not (Arthur-Kelly, Lyons, Butterfield Gordon, 2003). Many secondary school students perceive this time period to be especially challenging. Developmentally, such students are experiencing considerable upheaval as they begin to negotiate the maze to emotional, social, physical and cognitive maturity. The secondary school years are further complicated as adolescents begin to consolidate their sense of identity, strive for greater autonomy and freedom and expand their social networks. These momentous changes may cause many students to flounder and struggle both behaviourally and academically. Fortunately, through the use of effective interpersonal communication techniques teachers are able to build respectful, reciprocal relationships that bolster secondary students throughout this tumultuous journey. (Martin, 2010) 6 Effective communication skills have long been regarded as the backbone of classroom management that results in the creation and maintenance of positive learning environments (den Brok, Fisher, Wubbels, Brekelmans Rickards, 2006). As such, communication and more specifically, teacher interpersonal skills may be viewed as the single most influential tool in altering classroom ecology to facilitate positive behavioural and academic outcomes (den Brok, Fisher, Wubbels, Brekelmans Rickards, 2006). Much research also supports the notion that effective teacher interpersonal behaviour is positively correlated with greater student cognitive and behavioural outcomes (den Brok, Levy, Brekelmans Wubbels, 2006; Fraser Walberg, 2005; Urdan, Schoenfelder, 2006). More particularly, student motivation, learning and degree of compliance are predominantly shaped by their perception of their relationship with their teacher (den Brok, Levy, Brekelmans Wubbels, 2006). During the tumultuous secondary school years students care a great deal about establishing positive relationships with their teachers and the level of support this provides. Hence, students who exhibit challenging behaviours and their counterparts who do not, both respond with far greater enthusiasm, pronounced engagement and augmented effort, behaviourally and academically, when they perceive that their teachers care about them (Urdan, Schoenfelder, 2006). By using effective communication skills, teachers are equipped with the tools to impart this powerful belief in their students, thus leading to respectful reciprocal relationships, positively altered classroom ecology, increased compliance and associated behavioural and academic growth. 7 References Arthur-Kelly, M., Lyons, G., Butterfield, N., Gordon, C. (2003). Classroom management: Creating positive learning environments. (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning Australia. den Brok, P., Fisher, D., Wubbels, T., Brekelmans, M., Rickards, T. (2006). Secondary teachers interpersonal behaviour in Singapore, Brunei and Australia: A cross-national comparison. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 26, 1, 79-95. den Brok, P., Levy, J., Brekelmans, M., Wubbels, T. (2006). The effect of teacher interpersonal behaviour on students subject-specific motivation. The Journal of Classroom Interaction, 40, 2, 2-33. Fraser, B. J., Walberg, H. J. (2005). Research on teacher-student relationships and learning environments: Context, retrospect and prospect. International Journal of Educational Research, 43, 103-109. Martin, A. (2010). Building classroom success: Eliminating academic fear and failure. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Urdan, T., Schoenfelder, E. (2006). Classroom effects on student motivation: Goal structures, social relationships, and competence beliefs. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 331-349. 8 PART 3- TASK 7: Read the four scenarios on pages 174-176 in Arthur-Kelly et al., [2006] and using goal-centred theory identify in each of the four scenarios: a. How the child achieving his or her goal of misbehaviour helps the child to belong? b. How might the teacher restructure the learning environment to avoid future recurrences of these problems? Scenario 1: Liana is a pain (Attention) Liana requests continuous attention that commands teacher concern and assistance in order to fulfil her need for social belonging (Edwards, 2008). Liana mistakenly believes that she only matters when the teacher is actively paying her attention (NSW Department of Education, 1987). Scenario 2: Maria pouts (Power) Maria demonstrates a power focussed approach. By refusing to cooperate, Maria announces to her teacher and peers that she can prove her societal worth by doing whatever she likes. Asserting her authority enables Maria to achieve her goal of feeling powerful and important within the group. (Balson, 1992) Scenario 3: Ivan is violent (Revenge) Ivan seeks revenge. He feels misunderstood, unfairly treated and hurt. These feelings have accumulated over time as a result of negative interactions with others and negative student appraisals (Balson, 1992). To cope with such strong emotions and to achieve his goal of feeling uniqueness and group belonging, Ivan resorts to forcing others to share his pain (Ming-tak Wai-shing, 2008). Scenario 4: Rodney is lazy (Inadequacy) Rodney has become extremely discouraged and entrenched in a firm belief of his own inadequacy and inability. This belief acts like a shield which protects Rodney from further 9 humiliation. By demonstrating such pervasive disability, Rodney hopes that nothing will ever be expected of him. This affords him special status within the group as he is increasingly able to manipulate others into leaving him alone (Balson, 1992). To prevent perpetuating the abovementioned behaviours in a secondary school setting the teacher needs to reconstruct the classroom environment to promote positive behaviour. This may be achieved by conveying a genuine sense of caring, respect and inclusivity to all students. Additionally, adolescents need to feel empowered by being recognised for positive behaviours and receiving opportunities to shine. Teachers needs to impart the belief that the classroom is a welcoming place where students are valued, encouraged and treated fairly. (Arthur-Kelly, Lyons, Butterfield Gordon, 2003) Four factors are involved, the first being the establishment of democratically negotiated class rules with coordinated logical consequences. The second factor is the inclusive formulation of an effective conflict resolution mechanism, perhaps taking the shape of class discussion or negotiation meetings. Thirdly, the teacher should provide regular positive feedback and encouragement to all students, thus nurturing their need for belonging. Lastly, the teacher should employ specialised approaches to address the needs of discouraged students. (Arthur-Kelly et al., 2003) This may involve using strategies such as regularly rewarding attention-seekers when they display appropriate behaviour (Tauber, 2007). Power seekers might be enlisted to assist, exercise judgement or to tutor others with subsequent teacher encouragement (Nelsen, 2000). For revenge-focussed students, the teacher could focus on strengthening classroom relationships, perhaps by regularly manoeuvring situations that allow the student to shine in front of peers so that their negative appraisals begin to diminish (Ming-tak Wai-shing, 10 2008). Genuine support and encouragement may be expressed for students who display inadequacy. Additionally, carefully tailored learning situations may be used to enable frequent experiences of success and acknowledgement. Particular attention should be paid to expressing faith in ability at every opportunity (Ming-tak Wai-shing, 2008). 11 References Arthur-Kelly, M., Lyons, G., Butterfield, N., Gordon, C. (2003). Classroom management: Creating positive learning environments. (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning Australia. Balson, M. (1992). Understanding classroom behaviour. (3rd ed.). Hawthorn, VIC: ACER. Edwards, C. H. (2008). Classroom discipline and management. (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons. Ming-tak, H., Wai-shing, L. (2008). Classroom management: Creating a positive learning environment. Aberdeen, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Tauber, R. T. (2007). Classroom management: Sound theory and effective practice. (4th ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. Nelsen, J. (2000). Positive discipline: For teachers. Retrieved 25 November, 2010, from http://www.positivediscipline.com/questions_teacher/quest005.html NSW Department of Education. (1987). Understanding the roles and directing the characters goals of misbehaviour and how to respond. Retrieved 25 November, 2010, from http://alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au/localresource/schooldocs/respond.html 12 PART 4- TASK 9: Discuss the view put in Chapter 9 that you should develop and apply a model of classroom management that is aligned with both your personal philosophy of learning and teaching, and your personal approach to classroom management. It is crucial that pre-service teachers establish a model of classroom management that is in agreement with their personal learning/teaching philosophy and individual approach to classroom management. In constructing such an integrated structure, it is necessary to consider the contribution of personal values and beliefs as well as the various theories associated with instruction, pedagogy, development, behaviour, curriculum and assessment and the complex environmental attributes that constitute classrooms. A congruent and amalgamated philosophy, classroom management model and personal approach are prerequisites for facilitating success in dynamic secondary classroom ecologies. (Arthur-Kelly, Lyons, Butterfield Gordon, 2003) The process of developing such structures may be viewed as equally important as it enables the pre-service teacher to focus on and articulate a personal rationale (Goodyear Allchin, nd.). For pre-service secondary school teachers, this integrated approach is ak in to a blueprint, designed as a guide that all future classroom interactions may be evaluated against (Bosch, 2006). The process of creating an aligned teaching/learning philosophy, classroom management approach and model may be viewed as an essential planning phase (Arthur-Kelly et al., 2003). During this process, the pre-service teacher clarifies their assumptions, knowledge and beliefs regarding effective teaching/learning, the importance of classroom management, the theories that drive ones personal approach and the importance of ecological factors. Employing such scrutiny allows the pre-service teacher to reveal any discrepancies between their beliefs and intended actions and to develop a unique, consistent personal style. Any inconsistencies may be rectified, thus averting potential impediment to teaching practice (Osterman Kottkamp, 1993). 13 Pre-service secondary teachers are wise to conduct a thorough self-examination of their values, beliefs and their theoretical underpinnings prior to settling on a model of classroom management and corresponding learning/teaching philosophy. This synchronised technique engenders a surefooted base that maximises the potential for successful classroom interactions and achievements. Subsequent to employing this unifying approach, intentions, goals and methodology may be clearly communicated to all stakeholders (Raymond, 1997). Moreover, this framework allows the success of outcomes to be accurately measured and serves as a guide for reflective practice (Titus Gremler, 2010). This is especially important in secondary classrooms where a persistent, consistent and systematic approach is essential for the respectful and unambiguous communication that is a requirement in building positive learning environments (Arthur-Kelly et al., 2003). It is the pre-service teachers beliefs and values systems that drive their teaching practices and behaviour. An aligned model and approach to classroom management and personal philosophy of learning and teaching leads to consistent patterns of classroom communication and instruction and a well coordinated teaching style. Indeed, Heimlich and Norland (2002, p. 17) describe teaching style as a predilection toward teaching behaviour and the congruence between an educators teaching behaviour and teaching beliefs. Furthermore, the decisions that pre-service teachers make and the actions that ensue are reflections of their conscious beliefs regarding what constitutes effective teaching/learning. A teaching style marred by incongruity, lacks pedagogical reflection and direction, hence minimising the likelihood of effective and coordinated teaching practices (Titus Gremler, 2010). 14