Sales managers roles free essay sample

Question 1 (a) The 3 main roles that a sales manager should perform are listed as below: 1. Manage customer relationships 2. Serve as customer consultants 3. Manage the hybrid sales force Sales managers should firstly, continuously achieve a conversation with his or her customer, provide customized service and recommendations to them in order to increase customer retention. Secondly, sales managers should build ongoing relationships and profitable partnerships with his or her customers. He or she should also act as a consultancy role towards the sales team, encouraging them to provide ore than Just selling to their customers, and always give personalized advice to them. Sales managers should also manage the sales force, which includes external agents and salespeople to ensure the success of the team. It is obvious in that Ian has proven to be a super salesperson due to his experiences and innovative ideas. He is very dedicated to his team as he wants to show them how best to approach customers and negotiate sales. We will write a custom essay sample on Sales managers roles or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He practically spends at least one day a month with his salespeople. However, from various feedbacks given by his team of salespeople, he might not be s competent when it comes to coaching them and providing them with guidance. The complaint received from the Singapore and Malaysia salespeople are that Ian has been spending so much time with them. On days when Ian spends with them to provide coaching tips and feedback, he did otherwise. Ian even went to the extent of accompanying the salesperson at sales presentations to review their performance on the spot and give comments when he thinks there is a need to. He would take over when he is dissatisfied with their presentation to the customers. His salespeople said hat this has led to some confusion in his customers, which might in turn affect the companys image in the long run. One of the salesperson had his potential customers doubt him, asking why Ian was not satisfied with his performance. This has affected his credibility towards his customers, as well as his image as a salesperson. It is important to manage the relationships with the customers, as well as provide a consultancy role when they require so. For Ian, he is obviously lacking in the role of managing his hybrid sales force. With his received complaint, he is not managing the ales force, but taking over their roles when he thinks that their presentation is not up to his expectation. He should train his salespeople with the right skills and help them improve consistently to clinch deals with the clients. Instead of doing so, he takes over and present on the salespeoples Bengal. From their perception, it them and presents an incapable image in front of their clients. Nans current performance will lead to poor company image and reputation in the long run. Taking for example, the salespeople are not able to maximize their potential under Nans coaching, they would prefer to either request for a change of sales anger, or they would change company. Ian should be treating his salespeople as empowered equal and provide his salespeople with motivation to work and continuously strive better. Question 1 (b) With the current sales organization structure, the sales team is able to work better with it structured along product lines rather than geographically. Having said this, there are still several advantages and disadvantages towards this department structure. Geographical sales structure refers to the selling according to the different location of countries and places. This meaner that, according to the culture and demand tatters of a certain area, the company provides the products accordingly and comes up with strategies to attract customers and in turn increase the product demands. Product lines structure meaner that the company focuses on the products they offer, equip the salespeople with the knowledge of the products, and personalize the products according to the needs and wants to the customers. As mentioned, firstly, the salesperson finds out the needs and wants of the customers. With their vast knowledge of the products the company offers, they are able to suggest the right product to the customer, to fit their demand. By having the product line structure, they are then able to focus on the product that they are selling, and easily set their own targets and objectives for personal achievements and selling quota. An additional benefit is that, should they need certain information about the product they are selling or suggesting, the company would be able to provide it to the salesperson without worrying that the information is not reliable or wrong. With the product line structure, it is also easier for the sales team to have a better knowledge of the company as a whole, and most importantly the products they are selling. When a salesperson is fully knowledgeable on the products the company provides, this raises their morale and confidence level when they do sales presentations and explanations to their customers. If it is based on a geographical structure, the sales team will not be able to fully understand what they need to focus on, and most importantly, they are not able to acquire the information they need from the company unless they perform their own research. Nevertheless, this product line structure has also its disadvantages too. From a companys point tot view, due to the deterrent products being tottered, this would b very competitive environment. The different divisions would be fighting for the companys resources and this might lead to some unpleasant situations in the company where conflicts occur between the different divisions. This is especially important when the different product lines need to work together for bundling or several promotions to increase profits for the company. Due to the conflicts between each division, they might not be willing to work with each other, and thus causing the companys productivity to decrease. When this is compared to geographical structure, the products divisions can work gather to think of common strategies to fit products to the customers in the geographic location. The competition is lesser as product divisions have to work together to achieve a common goal. As the current product line sales structure is suitable to the profile of the salespeople as they have already been used to the structure and habits of selling to the customers, there seems to be no need to have a change of structure since the salespeople are doing well. However, as time changes and consumers preferences shifts overtime, there is a need to change the structure to improve the companys productivity and maximize he potential of the salespeople. With their vast knowledge of the products, they could now focus on understanding the different geographical locations they want to focus on, and then sell according to the needs and wants based on their research. This would in turn benefit the company in the long run, as customers would view it as the understanding of their lifestyle and habits before introducing any products to them, which seems to be personalized service provided to the customers. The company could also be achieving larger market share of the specific geographical actions, and it would help the company to expand to the other markets in the future. In addition, there would be a better chance of success when the company releases a new product which would be largely based on the understanding of the lifestyle and habits of the geographic location. Thus, the suggestion for the company right now is to have a change of sales structure for the company to gain larger market share, as well as maximizing the salespeoples potential to sell and understand the customers profile. Question 2 (a) INTRODUCTION WALL values each salesperson in the company. The human touch point when sales are closed with prospects remains the priority of the company. WALL has embarked onto Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for the past 8 months. WALL would like to emphasis that CRM system is not Just an IT application but rather is a system that allows each of us to better understand the needs of our customers and their purchasing behavior. These will allow us to build a stronger relationship with the customers. In the following presentation, benefits of the CRM system will be shared with the aim to bring WALL and sales team to greater heights by optimizing the M system. WHAT IS CRM? CRM is a systematic integration of information technology and human resources designed to provide maximum value to customers and to obtain maximum value from customers (Hair, Anderson, Meta, Fabian, 2010). It is essential for WALL to embark on the new Journey of CRM system as our business portfolio continues to grow. Our company and salesperson will need real-time information of our clients and prospects. Using real-time information will allow a better understanding of the needs of our customers in an individual way. The needs of our customers can be rather segmented to provide a more efficient and productive meaner of managing our customers. This leads to salesperson able to target the correct group of customers and serve them individually based on a one-to-one marketing strategy. BENEFITS OF CRM One-stop Solution. CRM tracks the interest and activities of our current customers. When these activities are keyed into the CRM system, it allows information to be shared between various sales departments such as the distribution sales department, the accessories sales department and the software sales department. This provides a one-stop solution to our customers. For example, when a customer purchases our English software, he may require a particular accessory to assist him in operating the software. With this information, the salesperson will be able to value-add by promoting the accessory to the client and not reacting to source for the product when the customer asked for. This value-added service will definitely retain existing customer as it builds upon trust and relationship between the salesperson and the customers. Selection of Prospects. CRM also allow salesperson to focus his resources to the right prospect at the right time. Customer database of many salesperson grow each day and it becomes hard for individual person to monitor our customers. The dashboard in CRM provides a glance of information such as the probability and purchasing power of each client. These information and historic trending enables salesperson to better time and anticipate the needs of our customers. For example, in WALL, we will be able to monitor and target institutions that require upgrading of their computer system by analyzing the last upgrade by the institution versus the need of the institution to provide technological education to its students, such as Eng distance learning. Selection of prospects not only allows better time management for salesperson, it also enhances the probability of a close sale and facilitate in identifying larger and smaller prospects. Referral of Prospect. Better relationship not only increases commission sales of salesperson, it also increases the chance of referral from a satisfied customer. Through words of mouth, salesperson will be able to clinch new prospects and thus expanding its customer base. CONCLUSION CRM not only optimizes profit and increase revenue for WALL and its salesperson, it also enhances customers satisfaction. CRM enable salesperson to provide value- added service by understanding the needs of customers. Promoting relevant products or services to our customers that saves resources for both customers and salesperson. These benefits allow WALL to better manage its customer base and increase the customer loyalty and retention. Question 2 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF CRM SYSTEM As mentioned earlier, CRM system does not replace the need for salesperson in WALL, but rather enhances the salesperson ability to sell more to the right prospects at the right time. For CRM to be successfully implemented, sales managers will have to fully support the system and believe that the system will work. This will require the sales managers to first lead and subsequently influence salesperson to use and practice the system. Trust in the system will definitely change the company culture to greater heights. Cultural Change. CRM system is a customer-centric approach that requires all in WALL to be committed. Sales managers of various departments will need to be open with the providing information into the CRM system. Through cross-feeding of information, it will allow a holistic collation of information to serve our customers. This information will then provide relevant information for salesperson to analyses the needs of our customers. Training and Education. To understand the potential of CRM system, proper training will be needed for both the sales managers and salesperson. Areas such as using different fields to extract relevant information will need to be trained. Through training and education, sales managers and salesperson will be able to leverage on technology to see the future and optimism the system as a force-multiplier facilitate utter management and sales. Creating Value for Customers. Sales managers are the links between WALL and customers and hence will need to allocate resources on identified profitable customers based on the knowledge of product. While the salesperson not only create sales but rather provide value-added service to solve the customers problem. The salesperson will need to understand each customer and provide greater flexibility in enhancing customers satisfactions. This approach enhances the professionalism of our salesperson and increases Walls creditability that will draw Eng term relationship with our customers. Change tot Sales Process. Management will need to review the sales processes such as allowing salesperson to hunt freely for their prospect in the database, if the prospect is not engaged within a specific period (Graff, 2011). This will encourage salesperson in using the system more religiously to gain sales commission. Creating Database in CRM. For successful implementation of CRM system, the WALL will require high-technology solutions for electronic storage of data and processing data. Salesperson that are the direct interface with customers will need to solicit elevate information from customers such as problem faced and future development. These information will allow sales manager to analyses the needs and develop relevant approaches to satisfy the problem of customers. Conclusion The success of CRM implementation will need to be top-down approach. Management level will need to walk-the-talk in order to influence change for salesperson to follow. Sales processes can be refined to entice the use of CRM in WALL. With the successful implementation, CRM system will provide sale force an excellence meaner to enhance sales of WALL. Question 3 (a) The selling process refers to the complete set of steps that must take place in order to execute a sales transaction from start to finish (Webzines, 2013). There are seven stages in the selling process and they are best depicted as a continuous cycle or wheel of over lapping stages. Once the wheel is set in motion, it continues to rotate from one stage to the next. As it reaches the last stage, the cycle will repeat again because the sales persons follow up can generate repeat sales. Stage 1 Prospecting and qualifying Prospecting is the method by which salespeople search for new customers and attention customers. One obvious reason for prospecting is to expand the customer base, which is important because most sales organizations lose customers every year. Prospecting requires salespeople to first obtain leads. A lead is basically the name and address or telephone number of a person or organization potentially needing the companys products or services. Before considering a lead to be a valid prospect, the sales person must qualify it in terms of need or want, authority to buy, money to buy and eligibility to buy. Stage 2 Planning the sales call: the Approach The pre-approach step includes all post prospecting activities prior to the actual visit with a prospect. These include doing research on the prospect, familiarizing with the customers needs, reviewing previous correspondence, and pulling together any other new and relevant material that might be appropriate for bringing to the sales Stage 3 Approaching the prospect The approach usually takes the first minute or minutes of a sale. It consists of the strategies and tactics employed by salespeople when gaining an audience and establishing initial rapport with the customer. The approach includes opening small elk, the handshake, eye contact, and generally making a good initial impression. Successful salespeople often set a primary objective (targeted outcome), a minimal objective (lowest acceptable outcome), and an optimal objective (best possible outcome) before approaching the prospect. Stage 4 Making the sales presentation and demonstration The presentation is the main body of the sales call and should occur after the salesperson has predetermined the needs of the customer. This step can be one presentation or multiple presentations over a period of time. Goals for the sales presentation will vary. First-time buyers must get sufficient information to adequately understand the products benefits, which may be facilitated by building the presentation around a product demonstration. Selling points and attributes are visualized and built around a call agenda or sales proposal. This step can be complex, and preparation is essential. Stage 5 Negotiating sales resistance and objections Objections can be broadly defined as customer questions and hesitance about the product or company. Salespeople should expect that objections would be encountered in every sales presentation. A number of reasons exist for objections, and despite the fact that objections can delay the sales process, for the most part they should be perceived in a positive sense as useful. This is because by revealing objections, true buyer needs can be uncovered. Sales resistance can consist of either valid or invalid objections, and salespeople need to recognize each type in negotiating with prospects. Stage 6 Confirming and closing the sales The close is defined as the successful completion of the sales presentation culminating in a commitment to buy the good or service. Once any objections have en successfully overcome, the salesperson must actually ask for the business and thus begin the process of closing the sale. Stage 7 Following up and servicing the account After the prospect accept an order, the salesperson will follow up to make sure the prospect is happy with the product or service and that everything that was promised is being delivered. Ian should not have the idea of spending less time on prospecting and qualifying prospects, as it is the foundation of sales. Finding leads is the most vital part of the selling process because WALL cant make a sale without identity yang the people to whom theyll be selling. In other words, without prospecting, nothing else can happen. Prospecting doesnt happen Just once; its a constant process. WALL lose some customers every year for a variety of reasons: customers may no longer need the product or service, have the financial meaner to purchase the product or service, or live or do business in the area, or the business may no longer be open. So if WALL havent been building its prospect list, they wont have new customers to replace the ones they lose. More than this, finding new prospects is the only way WALL can increase their sales and expand the business. Question 3 (b) Sales presentation is refer as a formal and pre-arranged meeting where a salesperson or a sales team presents detailed information about a product or service (Webzines, 2013). There are six different sales presentation strategies salesperson can adopt. 1) Stimulus Response Stimulus response is an approach to selling which relies on the salespersons ability to say the right thing (stimulus) in order to obtain a favorable reaction from the buyer (Salespeople, 2013). The advantages of stimulus response is that the sausages to the buyers can be structured in a logical order. Questions and objections from the buyers can usually be anticipated and addressed before they are magnified during buyer-seller interaction. However, the limitations of stimulus response methods can be severe, especially if the salesperson is dealing with a professional buyer. Most buyers like to take an active role in sales dialogue, and the stimulus response approach calls for the salesperson to dominate the flow of the conversation. The lack of flexibility in this approach is also a disadvantage. Stimulus espouse is most suitable for relatively unimportant purchase decisions, when time is limited and when professional buyers are not involved. 2) Formula Formula approach assumes that the buying process for most buyers is essentially identical and the buyers can be led through certain mental states, or steps, in the buying process by using the appropriate sales messages. These mental states are typically referred to as AID (attention, interest, desire, and action). The positive feature of this approach is that it led the prospect towards purchase action one-step at a time. The down side of this approach is that the prospect may find the presentation too mechanical and it is a salesperson-oriented rather than a customer- oriented method. In an effort to move the prospect from one mental state to the next, the salesperson has a tendency to dominate the interview, and the customer may have little chance to participate. Little attention is paid to variations in needs or circumstances among customers. ) Need Satisfaction Need satisfaction selling is based on the notion that the customer is buying to satisfy a particular need or set of needs. This approach focuses on the prospects needs. The salesperson will use a questioning, probing tactic to uncover the prospects needs. Only after relevant needs have been established, the salesperson begins to relate how his or her offering can satisfy these needs. One major advantage of the need- satisfaction app roach is that it is customer-oriented and flexible. Proponents of this approach contend that it provides the basis for a friendly buyer-seller relationship with two-way communication. The limitation to this approach is that it demands highly qualified sales personnel who have an excellent understanding of their potential customers. They must have the training and experience to adjust their selling methods to the needs and concerns of each individual prospect. Also, this approach requires a great deal of time for the salesperson to become familiar with the prospect. Consequently, it is an expensive method, and it should be used when the value of the potential sales Justifies the expense. 4) Consultative Problem Solving Problem-solving selling is an extension of need satisfaction selling. Under the problem-solving method, however, the salesperson goes one step further to help the prospect identify several alternative solutions, analyses their advantages and sedateness, and select the one best solution. The sales person completely deemphasizes the product offering, and concentrates on providing, expert advice to the prospect much like a true business consultant. The primary objective is to form long-term relationships with customers in which the sales representative is seen as a trusted source of technical information and advice. As with the need-satisfaction approach, the problem-solution method requires extremely competent, well-trained, and experienced sales representatives. It also requires that the salesperson spend a great deal of time with each prospect. Consequently, it is a very expensive selling method. 5) Depth Selling Depth selling involves the salesperson to employs a skillful mix of several sales presentation methods. This customized mix approach combines the best features of several sales presentation. However, this will required salesperson with exceptional skill and experience to execute this approach. ) Team Selling Team selling refers to a group of individuals from different companys department working towards a common sales goal. Team selling enable the company to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction, better time management and higher integration of accounts. The pitfall of this approach includes: non-sales people may create confusion with the customer, there are multiple agendas from various departments and conflicting corporate objectives. Walls sales department is organized into 3 business units. The first business unit assembles and distributes computers to institutions . The second business unit distributes computer accessories to retailers and the third business unit sells English Language software testing program to institutions. Consultative problem solving presentation strategy will be appropriated for the first cuisines unit. This business unit is WALL main core business and have high budget and time for customers in this business unit. WALL needs to understands and solve the problems of these customers. Furthermore, WALL needs to forge a trustful, consultative relationship with the customers. In this way, WALL can keep away the competitors from their customers. Once a long run trusting relationship is established, WALL can also introduce their computer accessories and English software to this pool of customers. For the second business unit, WALL can implement need satisfaction strategy. As WALL has a wide range of computer accessories that distributes to different retailers, it is important for WALL to understand what each retailers needs. From there, WALL can advise the retailers which products or promotions are suitable for them. Consultative problem solving presentation strategy will be suitable for the third business unit. Like the first business unit, much focus is on the customer. As this is a new business unit, WALL should spend time to understand the needs of the customers so they can understand the market better and keep them ahead from the competitors. Question 3 (c) Sales training takes human inputs and develops them into successful productive members of a marketing team. Sales training development process is the process of designing and implementing a sales training program that begins with analyzing needs, setting objectives, developing program content, determining delivery, preparing, motivating, reinforcing and evaluating. 1) Conduct a Training Needs Assessment Managers should review trainees background and experience to identify the gaps between their qualifications and the Job requirement. Managers then can customize the training program base on the development of each salesperson. Determine training objectives The next step is to set the training objectives. A good training program should focus on the performance objective rather than learning objectives. In this way, salespeople are able to achieve successful results from training. 3) Determine training programmer content There are two types of training programmer a) Initial sales training programmer designed for newly hired salespeople, it is comprehensive and usually last three to six month s. B) Continuing sales training programmer designed for experienced salespeople, these programmer are shorter,

Stroop Lab Report Essays

Stroop Lab Report Essays Stroop Lab Report Paper Stroop Lab Report Paper The word Blue when presented in blue ink, on the other hand is an example of a congruent-colored word. Because the left hemisphere has demonstrated an overall advantage relative to the right hemisphere on most verbal tasks, interference effects were hypothesized to be greater in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere (Balancer Camino, 2002). Numerous studies have been made in hope to fully understand the Strop effect, yet several issues remain open. The primary purpose of this duty was to determine whether the Strop phenomenon is equally strong in both brain hemispheres. Participants collected from our research methods lab were asked to complete an online experiment measuring the time of interference it took them to depict the color of the ink of the color-words. Furthermore, each color was assigned a number. For example, the ink color red was represented by the number two. The color words were also randomly presented in the center, left, and right of the screen to measure our hypothesis, which stated that incongruent words presented to the left hemisphere exhibit greater Strop effect than when they are presented to the right hemisphere. Along with our second hypothesis stating that there is greater interference (Strop effect) when color words are incongruent with their presentation color. The Strop effect can be denoted through the time of interference that it takes to name the ink color of a word, varying in word position and word color. Several accounts have been made to explain the Strop effect. In Manacles model of the Strop there is a slight into that hemispheric effects might be present; in theory, hemispheric effects are expected to be superior in the left hemisphere. Methods Participants A total of 87 subjects (76 Female, 11 Male), drawn from students in two research method labs, took part in a mufti-experiment study and were given course credit as compensation. Independent variables that were tested include: L Congruent vs Non-congruent c Left-presentation vs Centered-presentation vs Right-presentation c Input method: Keypad (37 participants, lab 1) vs Keyboard (50 participants, lab 2) The pendent variable that was measured in the study was reaction time. Procedure Research participants were to complete at least 72 trials. Each trial measured the time of interference it took them to depict the color of the ink of the color-words. Furthermore, each color was assigned a number. For example, the ink color red was represented by the number two. Each trial began with a plus sign, serving as a focal point on the computer screen. Research participants were to press a key when they were ready for a word to be presented. Following the key press was random delay of about 1 to 4 seconds before the word appears. Words then appeared written vertically on the screen for a fixed time. Four color words were used: red, blue, green and yellow. Words were randomly printed in a word-color congruent form or non-congruent form appearing at any of three positions (left, center, and right).

Marjorie Joyner and the Wave Machine

Marjorie Joyner and the Wave Machine An employee of  Madame Walkers  empire, Majorie Joyner invented a permanent wave machine. This device, patented in 1928, curled or permed womens hair for a relatively lengthy period of time. The wave machine was popular among women white and black allowing for longer-lasting wavy hair styles. Joyner went on to become a prominent figure in Walkers industry. Early Years Joyner was born in 1896 in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and moved in 1912 to Chicago to go to school study cosmetology.   She was the granddaughter of a white slave owner and a slave. Joyner graduated from A.B. Molar Beauty School in Chicago in 1916. She was the first  African-American  to achieve this. At the beauty school, she  met  Madame C. J. Walker, an African-American beauty entrepreneur who owned a cosmetic empire. Always an advocate of beauty for women, Joyner went to work for Walker and oversaw 200 of her beauty schools, working as the national adviser. One of her major duties was sending Walkers hair stylists door-to-door, dressed in black skirts and white blouses with black satchels, containing a range of beauty products that were applied  in  the customers house. Joyner taught some 15,000 stylists over her 50-year career.   Wave Machine Joyner was also a leader in developing new products, such as her permanent wave machine. She  invented her wave machine as a solution to the hair problems of African-American women. Joyner took her inspiration from a pot roast. She cooked with paper pins to shorten prep time. She experimented initially with these paper rods and soon designed a table that could be used to curl or straighten hair by wrapping it on rods above the persons head and then cooking them to set the hair. Using this method, hairstyles would last several days. Joyners design was popular in  salons  with both African-American and white women. Joyner never profited  from  her invention, however, because Madame Walker owned the rights.  In 1987, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington opened an exhibit featuring Joyners permanent wave machine and a replica of her original salon.   Other Contributions Joyner also helped write the first cosmetology laws for the state of  Illinois,  and founded both a sorority and a national association for black beauticians. Joyner was friends with Eleanor  Roosevelt,  and helped found the  National Council of Negro Women. She was an advisor to the Democratic National Committee in the   1940s,  and advised several New Deal agencies trying to reach out to black women. Joyner was highly visible in the Chicago black community, as head of the  Chicago Defender  Charity network, and fundraiser for various schools.   Together with Mary Bethune Mcleod, Joyner founded the United Beauty School Owners and Teachers Association.  In 1973, at the age of 77, she was awarded a bachelors degree in psychology from  Bethune-Cookman College  in  Daytona Beach, Florida. Joyner also volunteered for several charities that helped house, educate, and find work for African Americans during the Great Depression.

Analysis of Professional Development Plan Research Paper

Analysis of Professional Development Plan - Research Paper Example This paper entails a critical analysis of professional development plan being followed by Jamestown Public School and its detailed comparison with plans developed by other few district schools. Critical evaluation This plan is intended to generate certain planned outcomes such as assisting students in making radical progress in yearly academic curriculums and triggering improvements in students’ reading and mathematical abilities. This in turn shall be influenced by enhancing skills and knowledge of teachers and nurturing them personally and professionally. Thus, the district uses extensive amount of data, collected from several assessment tests taken by students, to evaluate achievements of students, and utilizes information pertaining to teachers, collected through different surveying tools, to identify their needs for professional training and continuing education. These collection methods are very effective as this vital information is helpful in shaping objectives of the plan. One of the essential achievements of this plan is the participation of the entire faculty members in training sessions that enable them to develop coaching and mentoring tactics. This plan is also fruitful as it lays great emphasis on integrating technology into teaching methods so that the tutors stay updated with the latest technologies being globally adopted in educational fields. This plan covers a timeline of one complete year and schedules various constructive activities for teachers’ continuous development including training sessions on instructional techniques and workshops on best global practices. It is mandatory for all teachers to establish atleast one professional goal per annum that they shall achieve during the year. The district has allocated 5 days per year per certified teacher for professional development sessions, which seems inadequate for covering all aspects of development including reading, mathematics and technology. Financial aid for the plan s tems from three different sources including Federal Title IA, Title IIA and general funding. District hires various mentors and specialists to conduct workshops sessions and train teachers on modern teaching methodologies. A very useful scheme has been recently launched by the district whereby teachers have opportunities to spend one complete year with the specialized mentors to grow professionally. The plan, on the whole, is highly effective as it presents some valuable goals and strategies (North Dakota Professional Development Plan, 2013). Comparative analysis We also consider another development prepared by Maryland State Board of Education which primarily focuses on enhancing students’ learning, fulfilling teachers’ needs and complying with Maryland Teacher Professional Development Standards. Although, the objectives are similar to Jamestown’s, this plan highlights a pivotal point that the trainings must be tailored according to differing needs and intellec tual levels of teachers. A generalized training session becomes source of demoralization, frustration and wastage of resources as in the case of Jamestown. This plan emphasizes on developing analytical skills of teachers rather than instructional and communication proficiencies. While North Dakota has to offer a highly effective mentoring program for its teachers, Maryland only has generally accepted standards to follow and a state-approved curriculum that could be voluntarily

You are required to compar and contrast qualitative and quantitative Essay

You are required to compar and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods - Essay Example It is the hope of this author that such a level of discussion and analysis will be beneficial with respect to providing a basis through which the reader can more effectively comprehend the differential between these two and seek to apply the approach that suits their needs and research goals to the highest degree. Finally, the two different research methods themselves will be illustrated by a short analysis and review of respective articles that illustrate how they can be leveraged within the field of nursing practice and inquiry. Firstly, before delving into the nuances and differentials the these two forms of research and methodologies, a discussion and analysis of the definitions of both qualitative and quantitative research will be performed. As such, qualitative research is ultimately a site exploratory research. As such, is often used to help understand or to find underlying reasons, motivations, or opinions with regard to specific topic. Moreover, it helps to generate insights into the specific issue and help to develop ideas or answers/hypotheses or further quantitative research as such, qualitative research oftentimes forms an introductory level of scope and analysis which further researchers can then focus on specific details or attributes of a given issue as a means of seeking to draw inference. Further, by providing trends and delving deeper into issues, qualitative research performs functions quite unlike quantitative research in that it can construct models of understanding concerning human feel ings, emotions, reactions, and thoughts. Whereas it is true that quantitative research can perform many of these same functions, the underlying nuances and differentials that it is oftentimes able to capture are greatly reduced as compared to qualitative research. Whereas an exhaustive listing of qualitative research methods is not

Sound the Jubilee :: Essays Papers

Sound the Jubilee Slaves lived terrible lives; always being told what to do and how to live, what to eat and who to converse with. But what if all that could change? What if slaves could be free to live their own lives? That’s what Sandra Forrester writes about, in the book Sound the Jubilee. The main characters in the book are Maddie, a young slave girl, and her family, Titus, Ella, Angeline, and Pride. Titus is a sweet, strong, loving father; Ella is a kind, firm, loving mother; Angeline is Maddie’s older sister, who always does everything perfectly; and Pride is Maddie’s unhealthy baby brother. The setting is during the Civil War, from 1861-1865 at River Bend Plantation, Nags Head, and Roanoke Island. Maddie and her family are house slaves on a North Carolina plantation; their problem is how to get to freedom. The solution? When she and her family are sent with their mistress to Roanoke Island because of invading Yankees, they run for freedom. Once the Yankees take over the island, the government gives aid to all the runaway slaves and provides them with jobs and the resources to start new lives. I think the author shows how the season changes very clearly throughout the book. For example, when summer came to Roanoke Island it was stated clearly at the beginning of the chapter, (pg 92, paragraph 1). Or when autumn came to Roanoke Island, the author describes it clearly as crisp, cool, and early, (pg. 110, paragraph 3). Summer was also described again clearly as especially hot and miserable, (pg. 132, paragraph 2). The S.C.I. point that relates most to this book is The Nature of Life is to Grow. In many of the chapters at least one of the characters grows in some way.

Discuss symbolism of death in `Don`t go gentle into the good night Essay

Dylan Thomas’ â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night† is arguably the most famous villanelle compose in English. The poem’s subject is death; more specifically, the death of Thomas’ own father. Critical interpretations of the poem uniformly praise the poem’s imagery and symbolism, while popular appraisals of the poem center around the poem’s simplicity of language and its easily memorable, repeated lines. Though technically restrained and simple from the standpoint of language and imagery, the poem creates complex tensions and associations by the changing emphasis of the repeated words and imagery. By causing the reader to read the same, repeated words, each time with a different emphasis on meaning and imagery, Thomas attained a depth and profundity in his villanelle which seems to take the form itself to an entirely new plane of expression. Part of Thomas’ extraordinary capacity to express deep themes in the villanelle form is derived from his capable use of symbolism throughout the poem. Because the poem is about death, the symbolic associations in the poem which are tied to Thomas’ conception of death provide the primary emphasis for the poem’s expression and tension. Merely by reading the title, the reader is furnished with Thomas’ first and most dynamic symbolic association with death — â€Å"That Good Night. † Death is symbolized by a â€Å"good night† which indicates both departure and (through logical progression) the eventual rising of the sun, or resurrection. The tension of the poem is squarely evoked, also, in the title with the verb â€Å"go† providing another symbolic association with death, that of motion, travel, departure and movement. Both associations, â€Å"good night† and â€Å"go† imply activity beyond death. So the admonition â€Å"do not go† by implying stasis, begins the central tension of the poem, right from the title. Lines 2 and 3 extend the symbolism of death into a more complex series of associations, one which includes overtly negative evocation â€Å"Old age should burn and rave at close of day;/ Rage, rage against the dying of the light. † Here death is symbolized by the â€Å"close of day† and as a â€Å"dying† light. The admonition to â€Å"not go† becomes an impassioned verb â€Å"Rage, rage† and also â€Å"burn and rave. † Though not explicitly stated, the connotation is that life = day, so death = night. By all logic night and day follow one another, of course, so life beyond death is implied in Thomas’ symbolic associations with death. Further symbolic association with death is made by Thomas use of blindness and sight to differentiate between the dead and the living. â€Å"Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight/ Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,† and again there is good reason to read sight and blindness as interchangeable states, with Thomas so implying that life and death are the same. Meanwhile, with each refrain of the poem, he implores â€Å"Do not go gentle into that good night/ rage, rage against the dying of the light† and this is where the suspense and emotion of the poem are generated. The final symbolic association with death that is woven into the poem is Thomas’ use of the term â€Å"sad height. † These words imply heaven but also the grief of mortality in one unique phrase â€Å"And you, my father, there on the sad height,/Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. † The suspense of the poem is broken, finally, by the refrain — which by now, the reader realizes cannot keep the subject of the poem (or anyone) from their appointed time with death. because the symbolic associations of the poem describe death as a both unknown but possibly beautiful and renewing state of being, the poem has sustained tension and ambiguity. Thomas crafted a poem which posited his subjective experience of his father’s death and his subjective associations with the consequences and realities of human mortality. The poem relies on symbolic associations of a universal and enduring nature to describe a complex interrelationship between life and death and the joy and despair of mortality. It is due to these associations that Thomas’ poem has become one of the most celebrated if not the most celebrated villanelle in English.