Essay on Justice vs. Morality in Measure for Measure and Merchant of Ve

Justice vs. Morality in Measure for Measure and Merchant of Venice    There are many similarities shared between Shakespeare's plays, "Measure for Measure", and "The Merchant of Venice".   The underlying theme of each work is well defined by the phrase "Justice without the temperance of mercy, is power misused".   I will support this claim by drawing upon some of the characters and situations that are consistent in each story. In each story a man's life depends on the interpretation, and sanctioning of justice.   In the, "Merchant of Venice", Antonio (who I believe represents mercy), had sealed a bond with Shylock offering a pound of his flesh for the loan of three thousand ducats.   Unfortunately he forfeits this bond, (Merchant III,ii) "Sweet Bassanio, my ships have all miscarried.... my bond to the Jew is forfeit....".   Shylock (who to the strict letter of the law represents justice), is unyielding to any type of compassion and desires nothing other than what he feels is justice, (Merchant III,iii) "I'll have my bond... beware my fangs. The Duke shall grant me justice...".   In, "Measure for Measure", it is Cladio (representing mercy), whose life hangs in the balance of law and morality.   Cladio has slept with Julietta out of wedlock, (Measure I,ii) "I got possession of Julietta's bed... she is fast my wife... Save that we do the denunciation lack...".   For this crime Angelo (who in place of the duke, representing justice), much as Shylock, desires that Cladio's sentence be carried out exactly as stated by the law, (Measure II,i) "  Ã‚   'Tis one thing to be tempted, Escalus Another thing to fall... Sir, he must die". In both cases the guilty parties have committed a crime punishable by death, additionally each man also r... ... of the law, and by not yielding to human decency and compassion, Shylock would have been   given his just deserts.   The same was true for Angelo who desired Cladio's head as the unaltered law required.   It certainly seems to me, that Mr.. Shakespeare was simply stating that in within the realms of these plays' one could easily say that "Justice without the temperance of mercy, is power misused". Works Cited Black, James. "The Unfolding of Measure for Measure." Shakespeare Survey 26 (1973): 119-28. Leech, Clifford. "The 'Meaning' of Measure for Measure." Shakespeare Survey 3 (1950): 69-71. Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure. The Arden Shakespeare. Ed. J.W. Lever. London: Routledge, 1995. Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. The Riverside Shakespeare. Eds. G. Blakemore Evans and J. J. M. Tobin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997.

Consulting Report of Solberri Hotel

Solberri Hotel January 20 2012 This report is in response to the request by Solberri hotel group for a review of its facing issues and identification of possible solutions. Consulting report ? STATE OF AFFAIRS Solberri is a group of resort hotels registered as a listed company with 12 resort hotels in Europe. Established in the 1980s, it had run successfully until 2003 and also incurred losses in 2005 and 2006. To improve the situation, Solberri implemented strategy changes to the hotel operating environment such as the pricing changes and a refurbishment program. With these adjustments, situation gets better with a large forecast cash surplus in this financial year. Currently the chain of hotels is faced with critical issues revolving around its operation including human resources that are better explained with the help of SWOT analysis in Appendix 1. It is important for Solberri to make use of the management tools to understand the current situation and to achieve the revenue target, increased share holder value and better customer satisfaction. ? ISSUES IN HAND Solberri is faced with multiple issues that act as a barrier to meet their goals and target. From our review and understanding of the environment we put forth the below issues and rank them as priority and other issues. Priority issues: †¢Poor customer experience that could be a result of ethical issues such as oPoor treatment of General manages and senior employees. oMisdistribution of tips oInvestment in unprofitable environmentally friendly initiatives. †¢The potential need to borrow money to enhance spas before the 2007/08 Peak season †¢The need to raise occupancy rates and earnings generated from extra charges to hit the planned revenue for the financial year ending September 2008 †¢The poor share price and vulnerability of Solberri Other issues: †¢Installation of solar panels †¢Non-participation in the international star ratings system †¢Potential problems with the quality of outsourced services †¢Upgrading website to include a virtual tour of facilities . ? ISSUE ANALYSIS In this section, the analysis is done for top priority issues. Customer service and relevant HR issues. The quality of customer service is crucial to companies’ survival in service industry. Unfortunately, the service provided by Solberri failed to meet the expected standard of its customers. The main reason for poor customer service is employees’ lack of skills and motivation. The majority of Solberri employees are temporary, with limited knowledge of the hotel industry and relevant skills. Besides, all short-term employees only receive two days introduction training which is apparently insufficient. The customer service can be improved in two aspects. In the short term, Nick Silva, customer service Director, needs to review staffing level immediately to meet the upcoming demand. Strict selection and a specific regular training program are needed to ensure the quality of its employees. In the long term, adjusting the ratio of the number of long-term employees to that of short-term ones is necessary. Too many temporary employees lead to poor customer service and low stock of talents, resulting in General managers working long hours and under high stress (more details in ethical issues). Though more long-term employees mean more costs, the benefits from improved customer service will outweigh the costs. Furthermore, because recognition of employees’ efforts can stimulate them to offer better service, some motivation measures are recommended. According to ERG theory, people in different levels have different needs. Most temporary employees are in the existence level, they need money to maintain their existence requirements, and therefore incentives such as bonus will be useful. However, most long-term employees are in relatedness and growth level, so incentives such as vocation award or decision making involvement will be suitable. With the new recruitment, training and incentives, it’s estimated that an additional employee cost of â‚ ¬7. 5 million will be incurred, a 12% increase from last year. Ethical issues Two ethical issues will be discussed in this report. a. Poor treatment of employees. General Managers and key senior employees are working under high stress over 16 hours every day. Solberri gets into ethical issue of overworking employees and paying no compensation. Due to a shortage of senior employees, their workload is unlikely to be reduced immediately. Therefore, the hotel should compensate for their overwork. To solve this problem fundamentally Soberri should reserve sufficient elites by increasing its long-term employees. b. Misdistribution of tips. When Solberri collected all the tips and evenly distributed them to employees, an ethical issue arose for the transparency and fairness of such distribution. Such controversial tips distribution should be changed back to the traditional way—employees can keep the tips for themselves. For those non-facing-customer employees who don’t get tips, Solberri is recommended to increase their bonus to make up the difference. Forecast cash surplus investment issue Before analyzing the four proposals, it’s important to know how much cash is available for investment. Since Solberri is under loan covenants and other financing alternatives such as rights issue can’t raise funds in a short time, the only source of funds is the internal capital. It’s estimated that 59 million cash will be generated from operations in this financial year. After deducting finance costs, tax, dividends and additional HR reform costs in the first issue, there’s only â‚ ¬30. 9 million cash available. (Appendix 2. 1) The total amount for the four proposals is â‚ ¬123 million (Appendix 2. 2). Solberri has to perform a cost benefit analysis to choose the most profitable proposal as it is clear that Solberri doesn’t have enough funds to implement all of them. Proposal A is to extend the number of rooms at the four â€Å"Premier† hotels by adding each another 200 rooms and supporting facilities. It’s estimated to generate â‚ ¬10 million NPV for each hotel over a 5-year period based on an 80% occupancy level. However, this may have some negative effects since the additional rooms and facilities make the hotel more crowded and less comfortable. Therefore, the 80% occupancy level is not guaranteed. Besides, it’s just the first year that Solberri has had such high occupancy levels. Extending the number of rooms in such a large scale is too risky. Proposal B is to invest in refurbishment and extend spa facilities at the remaining hotels. The forecast cost is â‚ ¬6 million for each hotel. The high level of bookings at the 4 â€Å"Premier† hotels during the 2008 Peak season has demonstrated the success of the refurbishment plan. So this proposal contains relatively little risk. Furthermore, spa facilities have become a key selling point in resort hotels. This new trend provides great opportunity for Solberri to escape from the Red Ocean, the very competitive market of traditional resort hotels. By differentiating itself by providing exclusive spa facilities, Solberri can successfully grab the Blue-ocean market, namely the profitable and rapidly-developing market of resort hotels with exclusive spa facilities. Finally, refurbishing the hotels can improve Solberri’s profit margin. However, refurbishing all the remaining hotels simultaneously is beyond Solberri’s financial ability. It’s recommended that Solberri refurbish only three hotels—two â€Å"Superior† and one â€Å"Super Plus†. Refurbishing the â€Å"Super Plus† hotels is riskier since there is no previous experience and the refurbishment will need to close permanently 15 rooms in each hotel. But if Solberri only refurbish â€Å"Superior† hotels, in a short time, there will be a gap in middle-priced hotels, which is unfavorable to the company’s strategic development. Proposal C is to acquire an additional resort hotel costing 24 million. The expected NPV is â‚ ¬39. 2 million (Appendix 2. 3). Besides, the breakeven occupancy level is 60% (Appendix 2. 4), which is quite easy to achieve. So Proposal C seems profitable with reasonable risk. However, the initiate cost is too large as it’s for only one hotel. Compared with Proposal B, it’s too risky for Solberri in its first year with such good performance. Proposal D is to invest in environmentally friendly initiatives including the installation of solar panels costing â‚ ¬6 million and other environmental initiatives costing â‚ ¬9 million. Though investing in these initiatives cannot generate profits for the company directly, it can help establish Solberri as a socially responsible company which will be positive to its image. But funds are so limited that investing in all these in unrealistic. It’s recommended that Solberri invest in the solar panel project first since it can produce cost savings of 0. 6 million per year and defer the others. Loan covenant restriction The â‚ ¬20 million loan negotiated at the end of 2007 has loan covenants restricting the company’s further loan financing within 2 years from December 2007, resulting in a probable capital shortage for its future development. Solberri can try negotiating with the bank for removal of restriction by showing them the latest forecast figures and the high level of bookings. However, the good performance of only one year wouldn’t be convincing enough to the bank. Solberri can also try refinancing by issuing additional stocks through public offering or private placement. However, due to the relatively high standard and costly registration of public offering, private placement is preferable. With low threshold for issuing, private placement is feasible for Solberri whose business just began to pick up after slow seasons. With the good performance this year, it’s probable that the Solberri will attract strategic investment from institutional investors via private placements to ensure its future development. The poor share price and vulnerability of Solberri RECOMMENDATION Customer service and related HR issues. It is recommended that Solberri immediately work out a plan for recruitment and training, to ensure job fit and effective training among all employees. Employees who can’t provide the high standard of service will be refused or assigned to non-facing-customer positions. Moreover, Solberri should set up appropriate motivation mechanisms such as bonus and vacation rewards. It is also recommended that Solberri enlarge its long-term employee proportion by training some short-term employees to be skillful long-term ones. In this way, more employees will cultivate a sense of responsibility and can handle the previous temporary employees’ work in non-peak season. Ethical issues It’s recommended that Solberri compensate for employees’ overwork. In the long run, the company needs to enlarge its senior employee reserve. It’s recommended that Solberri abandon its controversial tips distribution and set up a bonus system for non-facing customer employees to make up their income difference. Forecast cash surplus investment issue It’s recommended that Solberri spend its forecast cash surplus on Proposal B to refurbish and extend the spa facilities at two â€Å"Superior† hotels and one â€Å"Super Plus† hotel, which costs â‚ ¬18 million in total. Since it’s just the first year Solberri has performed so well in these years, it’s better for it to be conservative towards investment. It’s also recommended that Solberri invest in the installation of solar panels at all 12 hotels costing â‚ ¬6 million and postpone other environmentally friendly initiatives due to its limited funds. These two plans will result in â‚ ¬6. 9 million cash retained Appendix 2. 5), which will help improve the liquidity of Solberri. . Loan covenant restriction It is recommended that Solberri try to negotiate with the bank for removal of the restriction. If it’s not workable, Solberri could try seasoned equity offering to refinance either by public offering or private placement, while private placement seems to be most feasible for Solberri and thus is highly recommended. If external financing doesn’t work, it is highly recommended that Solberri try all means to control its costs. The poor share price and vulnerability of Solberri ? CONCLUSION Solberri is now at a crucial time since it’s the first time it has had such good performance in these years. It is now facing several important issues. The most important ones are how to solve the poor customer service problem and which investment proposal to choose for its future development to increase the occupancy level for all the hotel rooms. It is believed that the analysis and recommendations above can serve as useful references for its decision-making. Solberri has to differentiate itself in the market through a shift by showcasing its spa facilities as its forefront in capturing holiday makers. With a change in visa regulations in Europe Solberri may opt to pay more attention to its local clients by offering the day use of the hotel’s services and facilities during non-peak seasons. To position itself as a â€Å"holiday resort hotel†, there should be a refurbishment of Solberri’s hotels to â€Å"Premier† standards ? SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS †¢Good reputation with a long history; †¢Proven track record of range of spa facilities †¢Successful refurbishment program †¢Many of long-term employees have worked for Solberri for over 10 years with rich experience. †¢Stable co-operation with several travel agents. Experienced board directors. †¢High sense of Corporate Social Responsibility( 1 hotel won a bronze award in the Green Tourism business awards, 2007 †¢High level of bookings for Peak season 2008 with large cash surplus forecast WEAKNESS †¢Outdated information technology systems. †¢Restrictive loan covenan t. †¢Difficulty in enforcing agreed quality service levels. †¢Declining share price compared to 2002 †¢Poor customer service with disappointing customer feedback. †¢Low level of repeat booking. †¢Lack of motivation of short-term employees. †¢Poorly structured financial planning. †¢Resignation of Finance Director. OPPORTUNITIES High level of bookings and a forecast cash surplus of â‚ ¬59 million which can be used for further expansion, refurbishment program, paying dividends, and(or) meeting CSR by investing in environmentally friendly initiatives; †¢ Huge potential market for Spa service †¢Pricing structure changes to boost occupancy levels †¢Effective use of variety of media to generate more sales THREATS †¢ External completion from other hotel industries †¢ Understaffing and poor service to meet the high level booking that could impact reputation †¢Resistance from †¢Competitors having state of art information technology can be market eaders. †¢ Fall in spa revenues of one â€Å"premier† hotel due to a rival business operated by an ex-manager. †¢Difference of opinion amongst management staff may delay the strategy implementation. WORKINGS 2. 1. 1 Investible surplus â‚ ¬59 million is cash generated from operations before finance costs, tax and dividends, which should be deducted. Besides, the additional operation cost incurred by human resources management should also be deducted in order to get the available cash for investment. 2. 1. 2Cost of finance S. No. AmountRate of InterestDetailsDuration for CYInterest Cost a. 12 m10%Oct- Dec ‘073 monthsâ‚ ¬0. 3 m b. â‚ ¬6 m8%Repayable in Sep 20101 yrâ‚ ¬0. 48m c. â‚ ¬15 m11%June 20121 yrâ‚ ¬1. 65m d. â‚ ¬20 m10%Jan-2008 to Dec ‘149 mthsâ‚ ¬1. 5m Totalâ‚ ¬3. 93 m Notes: a. â‚ ¬12 million loan at 10% repayable in December 2007 -As its repayable date is in December 2007, the interest expens e incurred in this accounting period is only for three months (October 2007 to December 2007). â‚ ¬12 million*10%*3/12 = â‚ ¬0. 3 million b. â‚ ¬6 million loan at 8% repayable in September 2010 -â‚ ¬6 million*8% = â‚ ¬0. 48 million c. â‚ ¬15 million loan at 11% repayable in June 2012 -â‚ ¬15 million*11% = â‚ ¬1. 5 million d. â‚ ¬20 million loan at 10% beginning in January 2008 and repayable in December 2014 -As this loan began in January 2008, the interest expense incurred in this accounting period is only for nine months (January 2008 to September 2008). â‚ ¬20 million*10%*9/12 = â‚ ¬1. 5 million 2. 1. 3 Tax expense As stated in the case, the post-tax profit for the year ended September 2008 will be â‚ ¬27 million. Based on the tax rate of 32%, the taxable income = â‚ ¬27 million/(1-32%) = â‚ ¬39. 7 million . Therefore, the tax expense = â‚ ¬39. 7 million*32% = â‚ ¬12. 7 million 2. 1. 4 Dividends In 2007, Solberri made a profit of â‚ ¬5 million and paid â‚ ¬2 million for dividends, which equals a dividend per share of â‚ ¬0. 083. It’s recommended that Solberri double the DPS this year, making the total dividends expenditure as much as â‚ ¬4 million. 2. 1. 5 Additional operation cost As is mentioned before, the high occupancy level this year will incur additional operational cost due to the employee recruitment, training and motivation. It’ estimated to be around â‚ ¬7. 5 million based on an estimated 12% increase compared with 2007 when the staff costs were â‚ ¬62 million. Cash Available for Investment( in million) Investible surplus( before deduction)= â‚ ¬59. 00 Less: Interest cost –â‚ ¬3. 93 Tax expense –â‚ ¬12. 7 Dividend expense –â‚ ¬4. 00 Additional operation cost –â‚ ¬7. 5 Net surplus= â‚ ¬30. 9 2. 2. Total cost for all four investment proposals : ProposalInvestment cost per hotelNumber of hotelsTotal cost Aâ‚ ¬9 million4â‚ ¬36 million Bâ‚ ¬6 million8â‚ ¬48 million C****â‚ ¬24 million Dâ‚ ¬15 million Total costâ‚ ¬123 million **Total cost for Proposal C = acquiring cost + refurbishing cost + marketing cost = â‚ ¬5 million +â‚ ¬16 million+â‚ ¬3 million = â‚ ¬24 million Total cost for Proposal D = â‚ ¬15 million 2. . Expected NPV of Proposal C As is shown in the case, when occupancy level equals 95%, the NPV will be â‚ ¬100. 0 million. When it’s 80%, the NPV will be â‚ ¬35 million. When it’s 50%, the NPV will be –â‚ ¬25 million. And their probabilities are 25%, 60% and 15% respe ctively. Therefore, the weighted average NPV = â‚ ¬100. 0 million*25% + â‚ ¬35. 0 million*60% +(-â‚ ¬25 million)*15% = â‚ ¬42. 2 million However the marketing cost of â‚ ¬3 million is excluded in the above NPV, so the expected NPV of Proposal C = â‚ ¬42. 2 million – â‚ ¬3 million = â‚ ¬39. 2 million 2. 4. Breakeven occupancy level of Proposal C When occupancy level equals 95%, the NPV will be â‚ ¬97 million. When it’s 50%, the NPV will be -â‚ ¬28 million. Thus, when the occupancy level decreases by 1%, the NPV will decrease by â‚ ¬2. 78 million. [â‚ ¬97 million – (-â‚ ¬28 million)] / (95-50) = â‚ ¬2. 78 million In this way, when the occupancy level changes by about 35% (97/2. 78), the NPV will decrease to zero. Therefore, the breakeven occupancy level is around 60%. 2. 5 Estimated cash retained Estimated cash retained = cash available for investment – investment costs = â‚ ¬30. 9 million –â‚ ¬24 million = â‚ ¬6. 9 million Comparison between Solberri and Shangri-la Asia Limited with the DuPont Model 3. 1 DuPont Model of Solberri 2007 Return on Equity (ROE) 0. 568 Return on Assets (ROA) 0. 3086? Equity Multiplier (EM) 1. 8409 Profit Margin 0. 0314? Total Asset Turnover 0. 9815 1 /(1—Debt Ratio 0. 4568) Net Income/Net Sales Net Sales/Average Total Assets Total Liabilities/Total Assets 3. 2 DuPont Model of Shangri-la Asia Limited 200 7 Return on Equity (ROE) 0. 1046 Return on Assets (ROA) 0. 1029? Equity Multiplier (EM) 1. 016 Profit Margin 0. 3069? Total Asset Turnover 0. 3354 1 /(1—Debt Ratio 0. 0159) Net Income/Net Sales Net Sales/Average Total Assets Total Liabilities/Total Assets Comparison between Solberri and Shangri-la Asia Limited with the DuPont Model 3. DuPont Model of Solberri 2007 Return on Equity (ROE) 0. 0568 Return on Assets (ROA) 0. 3086? Equity Multiplier (EM) 1. 8409 Profit Margin 0. 0314? Total Asset Turnover 0. 9815 1 /(1—Debt Ratio 0. 4568) Net Income/Net Sales Net Sales/Average Total Assets Total Liabilities/Total Assets 3. 2 DuPont Model of Shangri-la Asia Limited 2007 Return on Equity (ROE) 0. 1046 Return on Assets (ROA) 0. 1029? Equity Multiplier (EM) 1. 016 Profit Margin 0. 3069? Total Asset Turnover 0. 3354 1 /(1—Debt Ratio 0. 0159) Net Income/Net Sales Net Sales/Average Total Assets T Solberri Hotel January 20 2012 This report is in response to the request by Solberri hotel group for a review of its facing issues and identification of possible solutions. Consulting report ? STATE OF AFFAIRS Solberri is a group of resort hotels registered as a listed company with 12 resort hotels in Europe. Established in the 1980s, it had run successfully until 2003 and also incurred losses in 2005 and 2006. To improve the situation, Solberri implemented strategy changes to the hotel operating environment such as the pricing changes and a refurbishment program. With these adjustments, situation gets better with a large forecast cash surplus in this financial year. Currently the chain of hotels is faced with critical issues revolving around its operation including human resources that are better explained with the help of SWOT analysis in Appendix 1. It is important for Solberri to make use of the management tools to understand the current situation and to achieve the revenue target, increased share holder value and better customer satisfaction. ? ISSUES IN HAND Solberri is faced with multiple issues that act as a barrier to meet their goals and target. From our review and understanding of the environment we put forth the below issues and rank them as priority and other issues. Priority issues: †¢Poor customer experience that could be a result of ethical issues such as oPoor treatment of General manages and senior employees. oMisdistribution of tips oInvestment in unprofitable environmentally friendly initiatives. †¢The potential need to borrow money to enhance spas before the 2007/08 Peak season †¢The need to raise occupancy rates and earnings generated from extra charges to hit the planned revenue for the financial year ending September 2008 †¢The poor share price and vulnerability of Solberri Other issues: †¢Installation of solar panels Non-participation in the international star ratings system †¢Potential problems with the quality of outsourced services †¢Upgrading website to include a virtual tour of facilities . ? ISSUE ANALYSIS In this section, the analysis is done for top priority issues. Customer service and relevant HR issues. The quality of customer service is crucial to companies’ survival in service ind ustry. Unfortunately, the service provided by Solberri failed to meet the expected standard of its customers. The main reason for poor customer service is employees’ lack of skills and motivation. The majority of Solberri employees are temporary, with limited knowledge of the hotel industry and relevant skills. Besides, all short-term employees only receive two days introduction training which is apparently insufficient. The customer service can be improved in two aspects. In the short term, Nick Silva, customer service Director, needs to review staffing level immediately to meet the upcoming demand. Strict selection and a specific regular training program are needed to ensure the quality of its employees. In the long term, adjusting the ratio of the number of long-term employees to that of short-term ones is necessary. Too many temporary employees lead to poor customer service and low stock of talents, resulting in General managers working long hours and under high stress (more details in ethical issues). Though more long-term employees mean more costs, the benefits from improved customer service will outweigh the costs. Furthermore, because recognition of employees’ efforts can stimulate them to offer better service, some motivation measures are recommended. According to ERG theory, people in different levels have different needs. Most temporary employees are in the existence level, they need money to maintain their existence requirements, and therefore incentives such as bonus will be useful. However, most long-term employees are in relatedness and growth level, so incentives such as vocation award or decision making involvement will be suitable. With the new recruitment, training and incentives, it’s estimated that an additional employee cost of â‚ ¬7. 5 million will be incurred, a 12% increase from last year. Ethical issues Two ethical issues will be discussed in this report. a. Poor treatment of employees. General Managers and key senior employees are working under high stress over 16 hours every day. Solberri gets into ethical issue of overworking employees and paying no compensation. Due to a shortage of senior employees, their workload is unlikely to be reduced immediately. Therefore, the hotel should compensate for their overwork. To solve this problem fundamentally Soberri should reserve sufficient elites by increasing its long-term employees. b. Misdistribution of tips. When Solberri collected all the tips and evenly distributed them to employees, an ethical issue arose for the transparency and fairness of such distribution. Such controversial tips distribution should be changed back to the traditional way—employees can keep the tips for themselves. For those non-facing-customer employees who don’t get tips, Solberri is recommended to increase their bonus to make up the difference. Forecast cash surplus investment issue Before analyzing the four proposals, it’s important to know how much cash is available for investment. Since Solberri is under loan covenants and other financing alternatives such as rights issue can’t raise funds in a short time, the only source of funds is the internal capital. It’s estimated that 59 million cash will be generated from operations in this financial year. After deducting finance costs, tax, dividends and additional HR reform costs in the first issue, there’s only â‚ ¬30. 9 million cash available. (Appendix 2. 1) The total amount for the four proposals is â‚ ¬123 million (Appendix 2. 2). Solberri has to perform a cost benefit analysis to choose the most rofitable proposal as it is clear that Solberri doesn’t have enough funds to implement all of them. Proposal A is to extend the number of rooms at the four â€Å"Premier† hotels by adding each another 200 rooms and supporting facilities. It’s estimated to generate â‚ ¬10 million NPV for each hotel over a 5-year period based on an 80% occupancy level. However, this may h ave some negative effects since the additional rooms and facilities make the hotel more crowded and less comfortable. Therefore, the 80% occupancy level is not guaranteed. Besides, it’s just the first year that Solberri has had such high occupancy levels. Extending the number of rooms in such a large scale is too risky. Proposal B is to invest in refurbishment and extend spa facilities at the remaining hotels. The forecast cost is â‚ ¬6 million for each hotel. The high level of bookings at the 4 â€Å"Premier† hotels during the 2008 Peak season has demonstrated the success of the refurbishment plan. So this proposal contains relatively little risk. Furthermore, spa facilities have become a key selling point in resort hotels. This new trend provides great opportunity for Solberri to escape from the Red Ocean, the very competitive market of traditional resort hotels. By differentiating itself by providing exclusive spa facilities, Solberri can successfully grab the Blue-ocean market, namely the profitable and rapidly-developing market of resort hotels with exclusive spa facilities. Finally, refurbishing the hotels can improve Solberri’s profit margin. However, refurbishing all the remaining hotels simultaneously is beyond Solberri’s financial ability. It’s recommended that Solberri refurbish only three hotels—two â€Å"Superior† and one â€Å"Super Plus†. Refurbishing the â€Å"Super Plus† hotels is riskier since there is no previous experience and the refurbishment will need to close permanently 15 rooms in each hotel. But if Solberri only refurbish â€Å"Superior† hotels, in a short time, there will be a gap in middle-priced hotels, which is unfavorable to the company’s strategic development. Proposal C is to acquire an additional resort hotel costing 24 million. The expected NPV is â‚ ¬39. 2 million (Appendix 2. 3). Besides, the breakeven occupancy level is 60% (Appendix 2. 4), which is quite easy to achieve. So Proposal C seems profitable with reasonable risk. However, the initiate cost is too large as it’s for only one hotel. Compared with Proposal B, it’s too risky for Solberri in its first year with such good performance. Proposal D is to invest in environmentally friendly initiatives including the installation of solar panels costing â‚ ¬6 million and other environmental initiatives costing â‚ ¬9 million. Though investing in these initiatives cannot generate profits for the company directly, it can help establish Solberri as a socially responsible company which will be positive to its image. But funds are so limited that investing in all these in unrealistic. It’s recommended that Solberri invest in the solar panel project first since it can produce cost savings of 0. 6 million per year and defer the others. Loan covenant restriction The â‚ ¬20 million loan negotiated at the end of 2007 has loan covenants restricting the company’s further loan financing within 2 years from December 2007, resulting in a probable capital shortage for its future development. Solberri can try negotiating with the bank for removal of restriction by showing them the latest forecast figures and the high level of bookings. However, the good performance of only one year wouldn’t be convincing enough to the bank. Solberri can also try refinancing by issuing additional stocks through public offering or private placement. However, due to the relatively high standard and costly registration of public offering, private placement is preferable. With low threshold for issuing, private placement is feasible for Solberri whose business just began to pick up after slow seasons. With the good performance this year, it’s probable that the Solberri will attract strategic investment from institutional investors via private placements to ensure its future development. The poor share price and vulnerability of Solberri RECOMMENDATION Customer service and related HR issues. It is recommended that Solberri immediately work out a plan for recruitment and training, to ensure job fit and effective training among all employees. Employees who can’t provide the high standard of service will be refused or assigned to non-facing-customer positions. Moreover, Solberri should set up appropriate motivation mechanisms such as bonus and vacation rewards. It is also recommended that Solberri enlarge its long-term employee proportion by training some short-term employees to be skillful long-term ones. In this way, more employees will cultivate a sense of responsibility and can handle the previous temporary employees’ work in non-peak season. Ethical issues It’s recommended that Solberri compensate for employees’ overwork. In the long run, the company needs to enlarge its senior employee reserve. It’s recommended that Solberri abandon its controversial tips distribution and set up a bonus system for non-facing customer employees to make up their income difference. Forecast cash surplus investment issue It’s recommended that Solberri spend its forecast cash surplus on Proposal B to refurbish and extend the spa facilities at two â€Å"Superior† hotels and one â€Å"Super Plus† hotel, which costs â‚ ¬18 million in total. Since it’s just the first year Solberri has performed so well in these years, it’s better for it to be conservative towards investment. It’s also recommended that Solberri invest in the installation of solar panels at all 12 hotels costing â‚ ¬6 million and postpone other environmentally friendly initiatives due to its limited funds. These two plans will result in â‚ ¬6. 9 million cash retained (Appendix 2. ), which will help improve the liquidity of Solberri. . Loan covenant restriction It is recommended that Solberri try to negotiate with the bank for removal of the restriction. If it’s not workable, Solberri could try seasoned equity offering to refinance either by public offering or private placement, while private placement seems to be most feasible for Solberri and thus is highly recommended. If external financing doesn’t work, it is highly recommended that Solberri try all means to control its costs. The poor share price and vulnerability of Solberri ? CONCLUSION Solberri is now at a crucial time since it’s the first time it has had such good performance in these years. It is now facing several important issues. The most important ones are how to solve the poor customer service problem and which investment proposal to choose for its future development to increase the occupancy level for all the hotel rooms. It is believed that the analysis and recommendations above can serve as useful references for its decision-making. Solberri has to differentiate itself in the market through a shift by showcasing its spa facilities as its forefront in capturing holiday makers. With a change in visa regulations in Europe Solberri may opt to pay more attention to its local clients by offering the day use of the hotel’s services and facilities during non-peak seasons. To position itself as a â€Å"holiday resort hotel†, there should be a refurbishment of Solberri’s hotels to â€Å"Premier† standards ? SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS †¢Good reputation with a long history; †¢Proven track record of range of spa facilities †¢Successful refurbishment program †¢Many of long-term employees have worked for Solberri for over 10 years with rich experience. †¢Stable co-operation with several travel agents. Experienced board directors. †¢High sense of Corporate Social Responsibility( 1 hotel won a bronze award in the Green Tourism business awards, 2007 †¢High level of bookings for Peak season 2008 with large cash surplus forecast WEAKNESS †¢Outdated information technology systems. †¢Restrictive loan covenan t. †¢Difficulty in enforcing agreed quality service levels. †¢Declining share price compared to 2002 †¢Poor customer service with disappointing customer feedback. †¢Low level of repeat booking. †¢Lack of motivation of short-term employees. †¢Poorly structured financial planning. Resignation of Finance Director. OPPORTUNITIES †¢High level of bookings and a forecast cash surplus of â‚ ¬59 million which can be used for further expansion, refurbishment program, paying dividends, and(or) meeting CSR by investing in environmentally friendly initiatives; †¢ Huge potential market for Spa service †¢Pricing structure changes to boost occupancy levels †¢Effective use of variety of media to generate more sales THREATS †¢ External completion from other hotel industries †¢ Understaffing and poor service to meet the high level booking that could impact reputation †¢Resistance from Competitors having state of art information techno logy can be market leaders. †¢ Fall in spa revenues of one â€Å"premier† hotel due to a rival business operated by an ex-manager. †¢Difference of opinion amongst management staff may delay the strategy implementation. WORKINGS 2. 1. 1 Investible surplus â‚ ¬59 million is cash generated from operations before finance costs, tax and dividends, which should be deducted. Besides, the additional operation cost incurred by human resources management should also be deducted in order to get the available cash for investment. 2. 1. 2Cost of finance S. No. AmountRate of InterestDetailsDuration for CYInterest Cost a. â‚ ¬12 m10%Oct- Dec ‘073 monthsâ‚ ¬0. 3 m b. â‚ ¬6 m8%Repayable in Sep 20101 yrâ‚ ¬0. 48m c. â‚ ¬15 m11%June 20121 yrâ‚ ¬1. 65m d. â‚ ¬20 m10%Jan-2008 to Dec ‘149 mthsâ‚ ¬1. 5m Totalâ‚ ¬3. 93 m Notes: a. â‚ ¬12 million loan at 10% repayable in December 2007 -As its repayable date is in December 2007, the interest expense incurred in this accounting period is only for three months (October 2007 to December 2007). â‚ ¬12 million*10%*3/12 = â‚ ¬0. 3 million b. â‚ ¬6 million loan at 8% repayable in September 2010 -â‚ ¬6 million*8% = â‚ ¬0. 48 million c. 15 million loan at 11% repayable in June 2012 -â‚ ¬15 million*11% = â‚ ¬1. 65 million d. â‚ ¬20 million loan at 10% beginning in January 2008 and repayable in December 2014 -As this loan began in January 2008, the interest expense incurred in this accounting period is only for nine months (January 2008 to S eptember 2008). â‚ ¬20 million*10%*9/12 = â‚ ¬1. 5 million 2. 1. 3 Tax expense As stated in the case, the post-tax profit for the year ended September 2008 will be â‚ ¬27 million. Based on the tax rate of 32%, the taxable income = â‚ ¬27 million/(1-32%) = â‚ ¬39. 7 million . Therefore, the tax expense = â‚ ¬39. 7 million*32% = â‚ ¬12. 7 million 2. . 4 Dividends In 2007, Solberri made a profit of â‚ ¬5 million and paid â‚ ¬2 million for dividends, which equals a dividend per share of â‚ ¬0. 083. It’s recommended that Solberri double the DPS this year, making the total dividends expenditure as much as â‚ ¬4 million. 2. 1. 5 Additional operation cost As is mentioned before, the high occupancy level this year will incur additional operational cost due to the employee recruitment, training and motivation. It’ estimated to be around â‚ ¬7. 5 million based on an estimated 12% increase compared with 2007 when the staff costs were â‚ ¬62 m illion. Cash Available for Investment( in million) Investible surplus( before deduction)= â‚ ¬59. 00 Less: Interest cost –â‚ ¬3. 93 Tax expense –â‚ ¬12. 7 Dividend expense –â‚ ¬4. 00 Additional operation cost –â‚ ¬7. 5 Net surplus= â‚ ¬30. 9 2. 2. Total cost for all four investment proposals : ProposalInvestment cost per hotelNumber of hotelsTotal cost Aâ‚ ¬9 million4â‚ ¬36 million Bâ‚ ¬6 million8â‚ ¬48 million C****â‚ ¬24 million Dâ‚ ¬15 million Total costâ‚ ¬123 million **Total cost for Proposal C = acquiring cost + refurbishing cost + marketing cost = â‚ ¬5 million +â‚ ¬16 million+â‚ ¬3 million = â‚ ¬24 million Total cost for Proposal D = â‚ ¬15 million . 3. Expected NPV of Proposal C As is shown in the case, when occupancy level equals 95%, the NPV will be â‚ ¬100. 0 million. When it’s 80%, the NPV will be â‚ ¬35 million. When it’s 50%, the NPV will be –â‚ ¬25 million. And their probabilities are 25%, 60% and 15% respe ctively. Therefore, the weighted average NPV = â‚ ¬100. 0 million*25% + â‚ ¬35. 0 million*60% +(-â‚ ¬25 million)*15% = â‚ ¬42. 2 million However the marketing cost of â‚ ¬3 million is excluded in the above NPV, so the expected NPV of Proposal C = â‚ ¬42. 2 million – â‚ ¬3 million = â‚ ¬39. 2 million 2. 4. Breakeven occupancy level of Proposal C When occupancy level equals 95%, the NPV will be â‚ ¬97 million. When it’s 50%, the NPV will be -â‚ ¬28 million. Thus, when the occupancy level decreases by 1%, the NPV will decrease by â‚ ¬2. 78 million. [â‚ ¬97 million – (-â‚ ¬28 million)] / (95-50) = â‚ ¬2. 78 million In this way, when the occupancy level changes by about 35% (97/2. 78), the NPV will decrease to zero. Therefore, the breakeven occupancy level is around 60%. 2. 5 Estimated cash retained Estimated cash retained = cash available for investment – investment costs = â‚ ¬30. 9 million –â‚ ¬24 million = â‚ ¬6. 9 million Comparison between Solberri and Shangri-la Asia Limited with the DuPont Model 3. DuPont Model of Solberri 2007 Return on Equity (ROE) 0. 0568 Return on Assets (ROA) 0. 3086? Equity Multiplier (EM) 1. 8409 Profit Margin 0. 0314? Total Asset Turnover 0. 9815 1 /(1—Debt Ratio 0. 4568) Net Income/Net Sales Net Sales/Average Total Assets Total Liabil ities/Total Assets 3. 2 DuPont Model of Shangri-la Asia Limited 2007 Return on Equity (ROE) 0. 1046 Return on Assets (ROA) 0. 1029? Equity Multiplier (EM) 1. 016 Profit Margin 0. 3069? Total Asset Turnover 0. 3354 1 /(1—Debt Ratio 0. 0159) Net Income/Net Sales Net Sales/Average Total Assets Total Liabilities/Total Assets Comparison between Solberri and Shangri-la Asia Limited with the DuPont Model 3. 1 DuPont Model of Solberri 2007 Return on Equity (ROE) 0. 0568 Return on Assets (ROA) 0. 3086? Equity Multiplier (EM) 1. 8409 Profit Margin 0. 0314? Total Asset Turnover 0. 9815 1 /(1—Debt Ratio 0. 4568) Net Income/Net Sales Net Sales/Average Total Assets Total Liabilities/Total Assets 3. 2 DuPont Model of Shangri-la Asia Limited 2007 Return on Equity (ROE) 0. 1046 Return on Assets (ROA) 0. 1029? Equity Multiplier (EM) 1. 016 Profit Margin 0. 3069? Total Asset Turnover 0. 3354 1 /(1—Debt Ratio 0. 0159) Net Income/Net Sales Net Sales/Average Total Assets T

The Effects and Implication of Mentoring for Beginning Teachers in the Philippines

Research Problem:The Effects and Implications of Mentoring for Beginning In-service teachers in Western Mindanao State University – Philippines Statement of the problem Teachers face many challenges during the first years of teaching, such as planning and implementing curriculum and instruction, conducting assessments, motivating students, managing student differences and behaviour, and generally feeling overwhelmed (Roehrig et. al. 2006).They are being asked to teach technological and analytical skills to students from a broad range of backgrounds, prepare them to read and write scholarly, to think critically, and to apply their knowledge to solving real-world problems. In other words, the skills teachers need to develop are both complex and demanding (Borko & Livingston, 1989). To reduce the challenges that new teachers face and to improve the quality of their teaching a popular approach was introduced purposely to provide support via mentoring which is prevalent in the US ( Roehrig et. l. 2006). In fact, beginning teachers are being required to participate in mentoring programmes, often as part of the process for permanent certification in some states in America. Unlike in some developing countries, like the Philippines wherein its department of education has been under-performing for years, and has no clear cut policy on mentoring program, professional advancement and in-service training to improve the teachers’ competence once hired (Luz, 2008).Hobson (2008) defines mentoring as the one-to-one support of a novice or less experienced practitioner (mentee) by a more experienced practitioner (mentor), designed primarily to assist the development of the mentee’s expertise and to facilitate their induction into the culture of the profession. Mentoring can have a variety of purpose or goals, can involve a variety of practices and strategies to achieve these purpose and goals, and can take place at different stages of a mentee’s profess ional development and over different durations.Based on this assumptions and preconception of mentoring, the primary purpose of this research is to determine the possible effects and implications of mentoring to novice teachers in my institution. Research Questions: This research project aims to develop insights into the mentoring process and seeks to explore how mentoring can assist beginning in-service teachers in my home institution in developing their confidence, teaching competencies , skills in motivating students as well as classroom management. Moreover, it seeks to examine my own lived experiences as a mentee.Furthermore, it aims to answer the following research questions below. ?As a mentee, what were my experiences that made me recognized the worth of mentoring scheme provided by senior teachers. ?How did these experiences assist me in becoming a more reflective and dynamic teacher? ?How can these experiences assist me in mentoring new teachers? Methodology: This research is an auto-ethnography that focuses on my own lived experiences as a teacher and as a mentee and the connection of my life story with the experiences of other teachers from my home institution.According to Ellis and Bochner (2000), an auto-ethnography is a form of study that makes the researcher’s own experience a topic of investigation in its own right. It utilizes data about self and its context to gain an understanding of the connectivity between self and others within the same context (Ngunjiri, et. al. 2010). The intended purpose of this study is to provide a detailed, in-depth description of my mentoring experiences, its effect and implication on my practice as a teacher. This methodology is suitable for this research because, according to Chang (2007), auto-ethnography is a qualitative research.As a research methodology, it takes a systematic approach in data collection, analysis, and interpretation about self and social phenomena involving self. This systematic and i ntentional approach to the socio-cultural understanding of self sets auto-ethnography apart from other self-narrative writings such as memoir and autobiography. Moreover, Ngunjiri (2010) explicitly emphasized that auto-ethnography is distinctive from other research because it is self-focused and context-conscious. The esearcher is at the centre of the investigation as a â€Å"subject† (the researcher who performs the investigation) and an â€Å"object† (a participant who is investigated). Auto-ethnographic data provide the researcher a window through which the external world is understood. Although the blurred distinction between the researcher-participant relationship has become the source of criticism challenging the scientific credibility of the methodology (Anderson, 2006), access to sensitive issues and inner-most thoughts makes this research method a powerful and unique tool for individual and social understanding (Ellis, 2009).Lastly, auto-ethnography is context -conscious, which means it intends to connect self with others, self with the social, and self with the context (Wolcott, 2004). The focus on self does not necessarily mean â€Å"self in a vacuum. † A variety of others, â€Å"others of similarity† (those with similar values and experiences to self), â€Å"others of difference† (those with different values and experiences from self), and â€Å"others of opposition† (those with values and experiences seemingly irreconcilable to self), are often present in stories about self (Chang, 2007).This multiplicity of others exist in the context where a self inhabits; therefore, collecting data about self ultimately converges with the exploration of how the context surrounding self has influenced and shaped the make-up of self and how the self has responded to, reacted to, or resisted forces innate to the context. Research methods To answer my first two research questions, I will use personal reflection and narrative inquiry as my research methods. Personal ReflectionPersonal Reflection as define by John (2004), is being mindful of self, either within or after experience’, as though looking through a window which will enable the practitioner ‘to view and focus self within the context of a particular experience, in order to confront, understand and move toward resolving contradiction between one’s vision and actual practice’. It is a process of examining and evaluating the impact of personal values, culture and beliefs in relation to certain issue.My own retrospection allows me to recount the support, assistance and emotional as well as intellectual guidance that were provided to me from my senior colleagues and how these support made me traverse the obstacles that were on my path during the first few years of my teaching. In addition, my personal reflection will enable me to envision the possible mentoring that I will provide when my opportunity to become a mentor com es. Advantages/Strength As it is about you it requires you to be honest and open about your life and feelings about a specific thing ?It is often used by the person researching and writing to explain how they have felt during the process and their reaction to the topic ?Allows people to learn from experience Limitations ?Should be used in conjunction with others ?Very difficult or Impossible to quantify ?Some topics could cause friction within the family Narrative Inquiry Narrative inquiry is my main methods to represent my voice and engage readers in my text.This method focuses on studying a single person, gathering data through the collections of stories, reporting individual experiences, and discussing the meaning of those experiences for the individual (Creswell, 2008). The use of stories, discourse and my personal history will be my way of describing my mentoring experiences as a teacher and as a mentee and critically reflect on its effect and implications in my teaching practi ces. Although my personal narratives will be the major component of my data, other individuals’ life experiences and stories will be also considered (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990).Strengths ?No need of comprehensive procedure to follow for it is just my own experiences. This means no standard formality involved. It is a matter of my availability of time and retrospective mood. ?Ability to present data accurately as I have a good long term memory. Limitations ?Risk of missing information due to memory fatigue. ?Some experiences may not be presented as it may have harm to third party. Although the stories are my experiences, by telling them may have an impact on the life of a third party. Thus to be ethical I may not be able to tell every story (Cohen et al, 2000). Limited ability to present emotional stories. I am not a confident writer, therefore my limited writing skills will be a limitation. Quality standards Any educational paper regardless of which paradigm the researcher p osition himself should have some quality standards associated with it. In the context of auto-ethnographic research, the standard use in judging the quality of any research needs to be considered carefully. Member checking Is basically what the term implies – an opportunity for members (participants) to check (approve) particular aspects of the interpretation of the data they provided (Doyle, 2007).It is a â€Å"way of finding out whether the data analysis is congruent with the participants’ experiences† (Curtin & Fossey, 2007). The usual practice is that participants are given transcripts or particles from the narratives or written stories they contributed and are asked to verify their accuracy. Participants may be asked to edit, clarify, elaborate, and at times, delete their own words from the narratives; although Creswell (2008) stressed that member checking is best done with â€Å"polished† interpreted pieces such as themes and patterns emerging from the data rather than the actual transcripts.Member checking can be an individual process or can take place with more than one person at a time, such as in focus group settings, as a discussion with the researcher (Doyle, 2007). Member checking is often a single event that takes place only with the verification of transcripts or early interpretations. Sometimes though, it is done at a few key points throughout the research process with some scholars recommending it be done continuously (Doyle, 2007). As the researcher I will regularly provide my other participants with their nterpretations of the narratives for the purpose of verifying plausibility (Curtin & Fossey, 2007) and asking: Am I on the right track? Did I understand this in the same way you meant it? Authenticity Refers to the reliability and verifiability with which the account of the event corresponds to the â€Å"real† details of the event (date, time, place, people, and words spoken). Truth claims can be made only if certain procedure has been followed to guarantee to the greatest extent possible that the researcher’s account matches or corresponds to the event.A study is authentic when the strategies used are appropriate for the true reporting of the participants’ ideas, when the study is fair, and when it helps participants and similar groups to understand their world and improve it. It means that there is new insight into the phenomenon under study (Holloway & Wheeler, 2002). I can only achieve this in my research through member checking. The data should be continually revisited and scrutinized for accuracy of interpretation and for meaningful, coherent conveyance of the participant’s narrative contributions (Creswell, 2008).Moreover, fairness is one of the standards under authenticity to make sure different constructions are presented, clarified, checked, and taken into account in a balance manner (Cohen et al, 2000). To ensure fairness, I will certainly involve all stakeholders in constructions and interpretations of data. I will make sure that the data collected are accurate in terms of a vis-a-vis agreement with participants. Transparency Is the benchmark for the presentation and dissemination of findings, the need to be explicit, clear and open about the assumptions made and the methods and procedures used.Seale, et. al (2004) recognizes the researcher’s need to be transparent and reflexive about conduct, theoretical perspective and values. The credibility of any qualitative study lies in the transparency of its specific paradigm assumptions. In planning, designing, and carrying out qualitative research there must be a conscious examination of research strategies, selection of participants, and decisions made in collecting and interpreting the data (Duarte, 2007). Methods of inquiry, which includes he procedures of data collection and data analysis and interpretation must be clear enough for others to replicate, and therefore must be transparent. This is possibly the important difference between qualitative and quantitative inquiry, the emphasis is on the procedures being replicable, and not the findings (Sparkes, 2001). Qualitative inquiry requires a thorough critical self-exploration of the researcher’s assumptions, presuppositions, decisions, and self-interests. It is important to stress that reflexivity must be applied to the entire research process, and is not merely a consideration of potential sources of bias.The researcher has a crucial participatory role in any inquiry. Transparency and reflexivity therefore go hand in hand, since without transparency, reflexivity is impotent, and in return, reflexivity effectively promotes transparency (Bruce , 2007).

Free Essays on Landscapes

Wherever one goes, one can see certain homes covering the landscape. Each home varies as do the owners themselves. The only limits are money and social acceptance of what one can build. In this paper I shall talk about the similarities and differences in house types and building materials used in India (Punjab), Canada (B.C.), and Mexico. There were three types of homes that were most prevalent in Mexico. These types were as follows: the squatter homes, adobe brick homes, raw brick (brick that hasn’t been fully kilned) and the cement covered brick homes. The squatter homes in Mexico are made from anything that is cheap and readily available. Usually these homes consist of raw brick for walls and a metal or Spanish tile roof. The home itself is built on a plot that has no essential services such as electricity or running water. These homes are not very large it all depends on the amount one can afford and they range from a simple square of 8 by 8 feet or a rectangle of 8 by 12 feet. Adobe brick homes are not found in squatter settlements in Mexico. One could speculate that building on a hilltop away from any good source of clay soil makes the availability of adobe limited at best. Accordingly adobe structures are more noticeable in some cities and farming communities in Mexico where clay soil is plentiful. In this picture one can see the extensive use of Adobe. This building is built simply and cheaply and most likely not to code. The structure itself consists of wooden poles every couple of feet. These poles are placed vertically and are weight-bearing poles, holding up the roof and keeping the walls intact. There are smaller poles, which are placed horizontally, and these tie it all in. After the wooden structure is erected and the soil is mixed with water, the Adobe is ready to be applied to the wall. The adobe, which I once believed was cow manure, is actually soil mixed in with water and then kneaded like flour;... Free Essays on Landscapes Free Essays on Landscapes Wherever one goes, one can see certain homes covering the landscape. Each home varies as do the owners themselves. The only limits are money and social acceptance of what one can build. In this paper I shall talk about the similarities and differences in house types and building materials used in India (Punjab), Canada (B.C.), and Mexico. There were three types of homes that were most prevalent in Mexico. These types were as follows: the squatter homes, adobe brick homes, raw brick (brick that hasn’t been fully kilned) and the cement covered brick homes. The squatter homes in Mexico are made from anything that is cheap and readily available. Usually these homes consist of raw brick for walls and a metal or Spanish tile roof. The home itself is built on a plot that has no essential services such as electricity or running water. These homes are not very large it all depends on the amount one can afford and they range from a simple square of 8 by 8 feet or a rectangle of 8 by 12 feet. Adobe brick homes are not found in squatter settlements in Mexico. One could speculate that building on a hilltop away from any good source of clay soil makes the availability of adobe limited at best. Accordingly adobe structures are more noticeable in some cities and farming communities in Mexico where clay soil is plentiful. In this picture one can see the extensive use of Adobe. This building is built simply and cheaply and most likely not to code. The structure itself consists of wooden poles every couple of feet. These poles are placed vertically and are weight-bearing poles, holding up the roof and keeping the walls intact. There are smaller poles, which are placed horizontally, and these tie it all in. After the wooden structure is erected and the soil is mixed with water, the Adobe is ready to be applied to the wall. The adobe, which I once believed was cow manure, is actually soil mixed in with water and then kneaded like flour;...

Organisational factors Essay Example

Organisational factors Essay Example Organisational factors Essay Organisational factors Essay Purpose: To study and find out the organisational factors which play a significant role in the successful implementation of ERP and finally find out the relation between the factors which helps us in narrow down the factors so that we can get the most influenced factor to concentrate upon. It’s quite difficult for the company to take care of all the factors, so our next aim to find the major factor(s) which have more criticality over the others. Methods: During research project we collected the data from Primary and Secondary source.We prepared around 16 questions and get them answered from the employees and managers of the company who are currently using ERP. Apart from it we interviewed some top management level people for the detailed knowledge and its importance. Findings: After getting the results we found that we can group these factors into three groups according to the impact over the other. Introduction Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are adopted by many or ganisations to meet various challenges of information flow and competition. ERP systems help to make the key business processes to be automated and integrated in an organization.ERP systems help in timely flow of the information which can help in making efficient strategic decisions. Following pattern is followed, the related literature is reviewed. Then, hypothesis and objective is presented followed by research methodology used for study. Next, observation, findings and analysis are discussed. Finally, conclusion and suggestions are given. Literature Review 2. 1 ERP implementation success Several factors may affect ERP implementation in organizations. These factors include, lack of top management support (Supramaniam and Kuppusamy, 2011; Shah et al. , 2011; Finney and Corbett, 2007; Bhatti, 2005; Wong et al. 2005), business requirement gap (Shah et al. , 2011; Wong et al. , 2005), user involvement (Francoise et al. , 2009; Rasmy et al. , 2005) and vendor support (Al-Mashari et al. , 2006; Thavapragasam, 2003), communication and co-ordination which may cause ERP implementation failure. ERP systems always require changes in work flows which need organizational alignment which requires top management support. Top management commitment and support is noted as a critical factor which has a positive effect (i. e. positively related) on the success of ERP implementation success (Rasmy et al. 2005; Supramaniam and Kuppusamy, 2011, Shanks and Light, 1999; Shah et al. , 2011). Finney and Corbett (2007) also stated that top management support has the 1st most critical success factors regarding ERP success in his research. 2. 2 Organisational factors influencing successful ERP implementation Determining factors that are positioned behind a successful ERP system implementation has been a key research question in previous research. Implementation of an ERP system is a complex process including a great many factors and conditions which can potentially influence successful mplementation. These factors might have a positive effect on the ERP implementation project outcome, whereas the lack of these conditions could create trouble through ERP implementation. Many researchers have recognized that there are many factors that could be critical to the successful implementation of ERP. For example, [36] Somers and Nelson (2004) recognized that there are 22 critical success factors including Top management support, Education on new business processes, User training on software, On the hand, [1] Al-Mashari et al. 2003) found out that thre are 12 critical ERP factors such as ERP selection, project management, training and education, business process management, cultural and structural change management while [39] Umble et al. (2003) divided the factors into 10 categories including Commitment by top management, Clear understanding of strategic goals, Excellent implementation project management, Great implementation team, Successfully coping with technical issues , Organizational commitment to change, Data accuracy, Extensive education and training, Focused performance measures, and Multi-site issues resolved.Based on [12] Dezdar and Sulaimans (2009) work the factors can be grouped into 17 categories which subsequently can be re-organized into three main categories; organizational, project and system. [53] Dezdar (2010) found organizational factors to be quite instrumental in determining the ERP implementation success. This research focus on the following aspects of the organizational factors, i. e. Top management support, Organizational size , cooperation and coordination ,ERP training and education, and role of business vision and mission . These factors are discussed in detail in the following paragraphs. . 2. 1 Top management Top management support, has been emphasized, as a crucial factor in successful ERP implementation by many ([1] Al-Mashari et al. , 2003; [39] Umble et al. , 2003; [47] Zhang et al. , 2005). [29] Ngai et al. (2008), discussed that top management support, plays a significant role in the ERP implementation success because ERP are normally done on a large-scale and require extensive resources. Top management support has two major aspects or factors in ERP implementation projects: providing the necessary resources and providing leadership.Even the survey done for this project has shown the same results that management plays a very critical role in successful ERP implementation. 2. 2. 2 Training and education As mentioned earlier ERP is a complex system thus adequate training and education must be provided so that the users to use them effectively and efficiently ([8] Correa and Cruz, 2005; [47] Zhang et al. , 2005; [3] Bradley, 2008) and with ease. Training and education would enhance the users level of knowledge, understanding and efficiency, thus increasing individual performance and subsequently organizational performance. [27] Nah et al. 2003) stated that sufficient training can increase the pr obability of success of ERP system implementation, while inappropriate or no training can hinder its success greatly. Adequate training and education may also help the organization to build positive feelings towards the system. More important it may help ERP users to adjust to the organizational change-taking place with the implementation of the system. In addition, training increases ease of use, user acceptance and reduces user resistance, which, in turn, enhances the likelihood of ERP systems use and success ([3] Bradley, 2008). 2. 2. 3 Business mission:In order to successfully run a business, an entrepreneur needs a clear vision as to where the business is going. In other words, a business needs to know what its purpose is and where it is going. A mission statement is the perfect tool to develop in order to define a new businesss purpose, activities, and values . A mission statement should act as a lighthouse. If a company loses track of itself, it will be able to look back on t heir mission statement and be reminded of their overall purpose. In general, a mission statement should inform your workers and customers what the business is all about and where it is headed.A mission statement helps p a business to create a culture that is integrated with its overall purpose For purposes of this study, two notions, i. e. organizational mission and goals from the strategic management literature, are used to describe business vision. That said, many organizations in fact adopt ERP to meet their organizational objectives (business vision) ([8], [9] Davenport, 1998, 2000; [5] Bingi et al. , 1999). Sadly, it has been observed so far that many organizations fail to articulate their IT implementation strategy vis-a-vis overall business vision ([24] Keen, 1993; [10] Deloitte Consulting, 2000 According to [9]Davenport (2000), companies with a desire to implement ERP must be clear about their strategic intent before going for such an exercise. He quotes: In the same categor y of things that need to be settled beforehand if youre going to get value from an [ERP] is the notion of strategic clarity certainty as to what business the company is in [ ] ([9] Davenport, 2000, p. 47). 2. 2. 4 Organisation Size The journal â€Å"The impact of organization size on enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations in the US manufacturing sector† clearly states that organisation’s size plays a very important role in successful ERP implementation.The greater the size more the need to use standardized ERP for proper information flow. In the research done, it has been found out the organizations having branches ;gt;10 are implementing ERP package. 2. 2. 5 Employee resistance The research document â€Å"Resistance to change and ERP implementation success: the moderating role of change management initiative†. It clearly states that employee resistance plays a very important role in success of ERP. Even the research conducted stated the same result s. 2. 2. 6 Standardization of single packageThe research document â€Å"Understanding the Impact of ERP Standardization on Business Process Performance† states that standardization on a single ERP package contribute greatly in success of ERP implementation. Even the study conducted also showed the same results. 2. 2. 7 Connectivity across different companies The research document â€Å"Issues in multinational ERP implementation† try to state that connectivity across the organization play significant role in ERP implementation. This research carried out even stated the same results. 2. 2. 8 Range of branches: ERP implementation is beneficial when the organisations have wide range of branches.Various studies has been conducted which tried to state that only companies which has wide range of branches usually go for ERP implementation as it has more benefits in terms of information flow and resource allocation. Research Objective: â€Å"Our objective is to find out that o rganisational factors play a significant role in successful ERP implementation. † The relationship between each factor and the success of the ERP implementation is analysed in this research. The research analyses the data and information taken from various companies. Hypothesis: Null Hypothesis (H0):Organisational factors does not play significant role in successful ERP implementation. Alternate Hypothesis (Ha): Organisational factors play significant role in successful ERP implementation. Methodology: The methodology which we used in finding the survey data is from Primary and Secondary source both. We first examine the existing literature on critical success factors of ERP implementation (Secondary Data) and then assess the company perception on the criticality of these factors (Primary Data). The questionnaires were distributed to selected managers and employees of companies adopting ERP systems.We also gathered some data by taking interview of the Top management of some pr estigious company. This approach helps us in finding out various factors from practical scenario which really helps in the success of the ERP implementation. Few companies from where we gather the data are:– TCS, Ford, LnT, Renault, Daimler, Microsoft, Motherson Sumi Systems, John deer, Tyco, NCR Co. India Pvt. Ltd. , Yamaha motors Pvt. Ltd. , Infosys, and some experienced and knowledgably faculties of prestigious B-Schools e. g. IMT Hyderabad. Later we find the criticality of every factor by: Factor Analysis and Regression.We took 100 samples but only 54 relevant responses were found out. Number of sample questions in each survey are 16, some questions are objective type which can be answered on the likert scale and some are descriptive type because we are interviewing or gathering the data from the top management and employees of the company about the major factors and their importance. Therefore, we presented the mixed types of questions. While doing the project we come ac ross few limitations of the research: Firstly, the ERP implementation success dimensions were measured using subjective and perceptual measures.This was due to the difficulty in securing the related factual data from the participating organizations. Secondly, there can be some biasness in giving the data, as the companies who are currently in use of ERP and spend so much will give the biased information. The questionnaire is attached in annexure with all the responses from the industry i. e. primary source. Results: Linear  Regression  Results| The  REG  Procedure Model:  Linear_Regression_Model Dependent  Variable:  Success  in  implementation(Benefi  Success  in  implementation(Benefit  perception+Increase  in  satisfaction  level)| | Number of Observations Read| 52|Number of Observations Used| 52| | Analysis of Variance| Source| DF| Sum of Squares| Mean Square| F Value| Pr  ;gt;  F| Model| 8| 44. 19446| 5. 52431| 6. 46| ;lt;. 0001| Corrected To tal| 51| 80. 98077|   |   |   | Error| 43| 36. 78631| 0. 85550|   |   | | Root MSE| 0. 92493| R-Square| 0. 5457| Dependent Mean| 5. 51923| Adj R-Sq| 0. 4612| CoeffVar| 16. 75831|   |   | | - - - Note:  Model  is  not  full  rank. Least-squares  solutions  for  the  parameters  are  not  unique.Some  statistics  will  be  misleading. A  reported  DF  of  0  or  B  means  that  the  estimate  is  biased. | - Note:  The  following  parameters  have  been  set  to  0,  since  the  variables  are  a  linear  combination  of  other  variables  as  shown. | Top Management Influence =| 4 * Intercept| | | | Parameter Estimates| Variable| Label| DF| Parameter Estimate| Standard Error| t  Value| Pr  gt;  |t|| Intercept| Intercept| B| 3. 28844| 1. 89106| 1. 74| 0. 0892| Standardization of Single Packag| Standardization of Single Package| 1| 0. 10219| 0. 08832| 1. 16| 0. 537| Top M anagement Influence|   | 0| 0| . | . | . | Connectivity across different co| Connectivity across different companies| 1| 0. 19473| 0. 08456| 2. 30| 0. 0262| Organizational Size|   | 1| -0. 23147| 0. 19982| -1. 16| 0. 2531| Range of branches|   | 1| 0. 29018| 0. 11756| 2. 47| 0. 0176| Less degree of employee resistan| Less degree of employee resistance| 1| -0. 22751| 0. 17244| -1. 32| 0. 1940| Coperation and Cordination|   | 1| 0. 65358| 0. 24454| 2. 67| 0. 0106| Role of Business mission and vis| Role of Business mission and vision| 1| -0. 38776| 0. 23768| -1. 63| 0. 101| Training and Development|   | 1| 0. 35042| 0. 19639| 1. 78| 0. 0814| | Correlation of Estimates| Variable| Label| Intercept| Standardization of Single Packag| Connectivity across different co| Organizational Size| Range of branches| Less degree of employee resistan| Coperation and Cordination| Role of Business mission and vis| Training and Development| Intercept| Intercept| 1. 0000| -0. 2150| -0. 3886| -0. 7468| 0. 2264| -0. 4380| -0. 4969| -0. 5696| -0. 4536| Standardization of Single Packag| Standardization of Single Package| -0. 2150| 1. 0000| 0. 2258| 0. 1309| 0. 0552| 0. 0616| -0. 1327| 0. 2571| -0. 917| Connectivity across different co| Connectivity across different companies| -0. 3886| 0. 2258| 1. 0000| 0. 2307| 0. 1232| 0. 4621| -0. 0188| -0. 0187| 0. 3353| Organizational Size|   | -0. 7468| 0. 1309| 0. 2307| 1. 0000| -0. 1477| 0. 0832| 0. 3870| 0. 1966| 0. 2829| Range of branches|   | 0. 2264| 0. 0552| 0. 1232| -0. 1477| 1. 0000| -0. 1528| -0. 1183| -0. 4683| -0. 2168| Less degree of employee resistan| Less degree of employee resistance| -0. 4380| 0. 0616| 0. 4621| 0. 0832| -0. 1528| 1. 0000| -0. 0598| 0. 3169| 0. 3236| Coperation and Cordination|   | -0. 4969| -0. 1327| -0. 0188| 0. 3870| -0. 183| -0. 0598| 1. 0000| 0. 0296| -0. 1252| Role of Business mission and vis| Role of Business mission and vision| -0. 5696| 0. 2571| -0. 0187| 0. 1966| -0. 4683| 0. 3169| 0. 0296 | 1. 0000| 0. 0922| Training and Development|   | -0. 4536| -0. 1917| 0. 3353| 0. 2829| -0. 2168| 0. 3236| -0. 1252| 0. 0922| 1. 0000| | | Factor  Analysis  Results| The  FACTOR  Procedure| | Input Data Type| Raw Data| Number of Records Read| 52| Number of Records Used| 52| N for Significance Tests| 52| | | Generated  by  the  SAS  System  (Local,  W32_VSHOME)  on  February  24,  2013  at  7:27:27  PM| | | Factor  Analysis  Results| The  FACTOR  ProcedureInitial  Factor  Method:  Principal  Components Prior  Communality  Estimates:  ONE  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  | | Eigenvalues of the Correlation Matrix: Total = 8 Average = 0. 88888889| | Eigenvalue| Difference| Proportion| Cumulative| 1| 2. 11694553| 0. 24953625| 0. 2646| 0. 2646| 2| 1. 86740928| 0. 50755333| 0. 2334| 0. 4980| 3| 1. 35985595| 0. 49497679| 0. 1700| 0. 6680| 4| 0. 86487917| 0. 32219842| 0. 1081| 0. 7761| 5| 0. 54268075| 0. 02774770| 0. 0678| 0. 8440| 6| 0. 51493305| 0. 0 7920770| 0. 0644| 0. 9083| 7| 0. 43572535| 0. 13815443| 0. 0545| 0. 9628| 8| 0. 29757092| 0. 29757092| 0. 0372| 1. 0000| 9| 0. 00000000|   | 0. 0000| 1. 0000| 3  factors  will  be  retained  by  the  MINEIGEN  criterion| Factor  Pattern| |   | Factor1| Factor2| Factor3| Standardization of Single Packag| Standardization of Single Package| 0. 69014| -0. 26162| -0. 23207| Top Management Influence|   | 0. 00000| 0. 00000| 0. 00000| Connectivity across different co| Connectivity across different companies| -0. 49203| 0. 54147| -0. 48463| Organizational Size|   | -0. 55073| -0. 48025| 0. 33725| Range of branches|   | 0. 20013| 0. 34213| 0. 80756| Less degree of employee resistan| Less degree of employee resistance| 0. 17237| -0. 68893| 0. 30760| Coperation and Cordination|   | 0. 7166| 0. 28393| -0. 13602| Role of Business mission and vis| Role of Business mission and vision| -0. 17059| 0. 74207| 0. 43129| Training and Development|   | 0. 73842| 0. 22839| 0 . 07819| | Variance Explained by Each Factor| Factor1| Factor2| Factor3| 2. 1169455| 1. 8674093| 1. 3598560| | Final Communality Estimates: Total = 5. 344211| Standardization of Single Packag| Top Management Influence| Connectivity across different co| Organizational Size| Range of branches| Less degree of employee resistan| Coperation and Cordination| Role of Business mission and vis| Training and Development| 0. 59859241| 0. 0000000| 0. 77015031| 0. 64768308| 0. 80925749| 0. 59896039| 0. 55025088| 0. 76578116| 0. 60353504| | | Generated  by  the  SAS  System  (Local,  W32_VSHOME)  on  February  24,  2013  at  7:27:27  PM| | | | | | | Findings: * The Regression equation is as follows: Success in Implementation = 3. 28844 + 0. 10219 * (Standardization of single package) + 0. 19473 * (Connectivity across different companies) 0. 23147 * (Organizational Size) + 0. 29018 * (Range of Branches) 0. 22751 * (less degree of employee resistance) + 0. 65358 * (Coope ration and Coordination) 0. 38776 * (Role of Business vision and Mission) 0. 35042 * (Training and Development) * R Square Value = 0. 5457 * Significance: 1. Corporation and Coordination, range of branches and connectivity across different companies has t-value ;gt; 2. 2. Standardization of single package and Training ;amp; Development have positive t-values but less than 2. 3. Organizational Size, Less Degree of Employee Resistance and Role of Business Mission and Vision have negative t-value. * In Factor Analysis, the organisational factors as 9 independent variables can be grouped into 3 factors: * Factor1 (Infrastructural and Structural factor)Standardization of single Package Organisational Size Cooperation and Coordination Training and Development * Factor2 (Organizational cultural factor) Connectivity across different companies Less degree of Employee resistance Role of Business Vision and Mission * Factor3 (Size factor) Range of Branches Discussion: Following is the interpr etation from the regression results: * The Organizational factors that have t-value greater than 2 will have significant positive impact on the successful implementation of ERP. These factors are: 1. Connectivity across different companiesFor the Organization to implement ERP successfully it should develop and maintain proper and high connectivity across different companies. 2. Range of Branches The organization which has large range of branches is more likely to be successful in ERP implementation. 3. Co-operation and Co-ordination There must be good cooperation and coordination among the employees working in the organisation as it is very crucial factor for the success of ERP * The Organizational factors that has positive t-value less than 2 will have positive impact on the successful implementation of ERP but not very significant. These factors are: . Standardization of single package All the different functional areas of company like HR, Finance, Marketing, and Sales and distrib ution should be standardize on single ERP package for successful implementation. 2. Training and Development The employees of the company should be given proper training on ERP modules for it to be successful in future. * The Organizational factors that have negative t-value will have negative impact on the successful implementation of ERP. These factors are: 1. Organisational Size If the organization size is small the ERP can be implemented quickly as compared to large. 2.Less Degree of Employee Resistance From our results, we found that the Less Degree of Employee Resistance factor will not contribute more for the successful ERP implementation. 3. Business Vision and Mission From our results, we found that the Business Vision and Mission factor will not contribute more for the successful ERP implementation. * Top Management influence is present everywhere the ERP was implemented. This shows that it is the most critical factor for the successful implementation of ERP. The R square value â€Å"0. 5457† shows that these independent variables are covering about 54% of variation in the output i. . , successful implementation of ERP. When we run the factor analysis we were able to group these 9 independent variables into three factors and these factors contributed about 66% of deviation. 1. The first factor which is the most important factor is having the independent variables as follows: * Standardization of single Package * Organisational Size * Cooperation and Coordination * Training and Development These independent variables show the common element of infrastructure and working structure of the organization. So, the first factor is named as Infrastructural and Structural factor. . The second factor which is the next crucial factor is having the independent variables as follows: * Connectivity across different companies * Less degree of Employee resistance * Role of Business Vision and Mission These independent variables show the common element of organ izational culture. So, the second factor is named as Organizational cultural factor. 3. The third factor is the next crucial factor having only one independent variable as: * Range of Branches This independent variable has the element as size of the organization. So, this factor is named as Size factor.From the correlation matrix we found high correlation among the independent variables that are in the same factor group which confirms our parity of results. Conclusion : The companies which have high connectivity across different companies, high range of branches, high cooperation and coordination among employees, and good training facilities are most likely to effect the successful ERP implementation. From our findings we found that the top management influence was an important and critical factor for success of ERP in companies. Recommendations:For the company to successfully implement ERP it should invest heavily in Training ;amp; Development facilities. It should encourage high c ooperation and coordination among employees. Because the organization cannot concentrate on 9 organizational factors and work upon that. So, we divided the 9 organizational factors into 3 factor groups and the company can choose one of the factor groups that can be Infrastructural and Structural factor. Simultaneously, it can work on the independent variables that are present in this factor to enhance the probability of success of ERP implementation.Sources : sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0378720601001343ttp://fico-forum. com/? p=147 https://dspace. lboro. ac. uk/dspace-jspui/handle/2134/8091 researchersworld. com/vol2/issue2/Paper_07. pdf

Subject-Verb Agreement for ACT English Tips and Practice

Subject-Verb Agreement for ACT English Tips and Practice SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In this article, we shall delve into the fun-filled world of subject-verb agreement on the ACT. Subject-verb agreement questions on ACT English are less common than punctuation questions; however, you can count on having at least a couple of subject-verb agreement on your ACT English section, so understanding this grammatical rule can easily help you improve your ACT English score. While the grammar rule itself is relatively simple, the questions related to it can be challenging and a bit tricky. In this article, I’ll teach you strategies and tipsto become a master of all things subject-verb agreement on the ACT. In this post, I’ll do the following: Give you a clear understanding of subject-verb agreement. Explain why and how subject-verb agreement questions on ACT English can be tricky. Offer general strategies that can help you correctly answer subject-verb agreement questions. Provide you with practice questions so you can test what you’ve learned. Review: Definition of a Subject The subject of a sentence is the noun that corresponds with the verb in the sentence. In a sentence where there is an action, the subject is the noun that does the action. Doer of action=subject. Here's an example sentence: Justin rescued a kitten from a burning building. What is the subject? Justin. Why? Well, he is the hero who did the rescuing. Similarly, in a sentence with a description, typically using a form of the verb "to be," the subject is the noun that is being described. See: Justin is not funny. Once again, "Justin" is the subject because he is the person who is not funny. Now that we understand the concept of a subject, I'll define and explain subject-verb agreeement for you. Explanation of Subject-Verb Agreement Subject-verb agreement is a rule that states that all subjects must agree with their verbs in number. If a subject is singular, then you must use a singular verb. If a subject is plural, then you must use a plural verb. On the ACT, most subject-verb agreement questions deal with verb forms in the third-person singular (he/she/it/one) and third-person plural (they). In the present and present perfect verb tenses, third-person singular verb forms end in an "s." Third-person plural verb forms do not. Look at this incorrectly written sentence in the present tense: The reality television star readbooks. This is the corrected version of the sentence: The reality television star reads books. While you may have intuitively known how to correct this sentence, and you could have relied on what "sounds right," you should understand why the original sentence was incorrect. The subject of the sentence is "the reality television star." She is the person who does the reading. Furthermore, since we're referring to one reality star, the subject is singular. Because our subject is singular, the verb needs to be in the singular form. In the present tense, "read" is plural. Therefore, we need to change the verb to the singular form "reads." Let's look at another example with a plural subject. This is our incorrect sentence: The singers performs bad cover songs. How do we correct the sentence? Like this: The singers perform bad cover songs. The subject is "singers" because they are doing the performing. "Singers" is plural, so the verb should be in the plural form. The plural form of the verb is "perform." This rule may seem rather simple; however, of course, the ACT doesn't want to make life too simple for you. Subject-verb agreement questions on the ACT can be challenging. The sentences will be more complex than the ones above, and the subject-verb agreement errors will not be as obvious. How Are These Questions Challenging? Typically, when you encounter subject-verb agreement questions on the ACT, the subject will not be placed directly in front of the verb.The subject will either be separated from the verb by an interrupting phrase or, in rare cases, the sentence will be inverted and the subject will follow the verb. Here are ACT English tips you can use to identify the traps students fall for. Trap #1: Interrupting Phrases Interrupting phrases are phrases that separate the subject from the verb. These phrases make identifying the subject and determining whether the verb should be singular or plural more challenging. We'll take a look at a couple of types of interrupting phrases. You don't need to know all of the specific grammar terms, but you should understand and recognize the effect they have on subject-verb agreement questions. Prepositional Phrases The most common interrupting phrase that appears on the ACT is the prepositional phrase. Simply, a prepositional phrase is a phrase that begins with a preposition. What are prepositions? Prepositions provide additional details about nouns and often answer the questions "Where?", "When?", or provide descriptive information. Take a look at some examples of commonly used prepositions: http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-preposition-definition-uses-examples.html On the ACT, prepositional phrases tend to be inserted between subjects and verbs to distract from errors in subject-verbagreement. Here's an example of an incorrectly written sentence using a prepositional phrase as an interrupting phrase: Changes for the new and improved ACT Writing section is going to be implemented soon. First, let's identify the subject. What is going to be implemented? Changes. The phrase "for the new and improved ACT Writing section" is a prepositional phrase that begins with the preposition "for." The prepositional phrase describes the changes that will be implemented. See how the ACT can trick you by putting a singular noun, "section," right before the verb. However, because "changes" is plural, the verb should be in the plural form. Unfortunately, "is" is singular. Here's how the sentence should look: Changes for the new and improved ACT Writing section are going to be implemented soon. So how do you avoid falling for this common ACT trap? Strategy Cross out the prepositonal phrase and the sentence should still be grammatically correct. Additionally, using this strategy will enable you to more easily identify the subject and determine whether there's an error in subject-verb agreement. Always remember that the subject will never be contained within a prepositional phrase. Let's employ this strategy with the incorrectly written sentence above: Changes for the new and improved ACT Writing section is going to be implemented soon. Now that the subject is right in front of the verb, the subject-verb agreement error is much more obvious. The strategy involves three steps: Cross out the prepositional phrase. Identify the subject. Determine if there's an error in subject-verb agreement. Use this strategy and you'll be much less likely to miss a subject-verb agreement question on the ACT. You're welcome. Actual ACT English Example Question Let's use this strategy with an example taken from an actual ACT: First, let's cross out the prepositional phrase. Equipment for both types of kayaks are similar. We're left with "Equipment are similar." Even if the answer is obvious to you at this point, let's go through the remaining steps. The subject is "equipment," which is singular. The verb is "are," which is plural; therefore, there's an error in subject-verb agreement and the correct answer is G. Based on the context of the passage, the verb should be in the present tense. The other types of interrupting phrases on the ACT serve the same function as the prepositional phrase in subject-verb agreement questions. They separate the subject from the verb. Let's take a look at another common type of interrupting phrase on the ACT. Non-Essential Clauses and Appositives Non-essential clauses describe a noun, often the subject of a sentence. They are surrounded by commas and can be removed without creating grammatical errors or changes in the meaning of a sentence. Here's a sentence with the non-essential clause in bold: My sister, who is very social, was elected class president. The non-essential clause is separated by commas and serves to provide descriptive information about my sister. Removing the clause doesn't result in a grammatical error or change in the meaning of the sentence. Check it out: My sister, who is very social, was elected class president. One additional note about non-essential clauses is that a subject-verb agreement error can be contained within the clause itself. Take this sentence, for example: Carbonated beverages, which is delicious, are not good for your health. The verb in the non-essential clause, "is," corresponds with the subject "carbonated beverages." Because the subject is plural, the verb should be in the plural form as well. The sentence should read: Carbonated beverages, which are delicious, are not good for your health. While a non-essential clause usually starts with a relative pronoun (which, who, whose, or where), it doesn't in a phrase known as an appositive. An appositive serves the same purpose as a non-essential clause, but an appositive doesn't contain a verb. Here's a sentence with the appositive in bold: My sister, a very social person, was elected class president. The appositive provides descriptive information about my sister, but the phrase can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence or creating a grammatical error. How will knowing about these phrases help you answer subject-verb agreement questions on the ACT? Read below to find out. Non-Essential Clauses and Appositives on the ACT Just like prepositional phrases, non-essential clauses and appositives will be placed between subjects and verbs to make it less clear if there's an error in subject-verb agreement. Here's a sentence with a non-essential clause. I've underlined the subject and bolded the verb: My boss, who is extremely kind to his employees, give helpful advice. The non-essential clause separates the subject from the verb. The subject is "boss," which is singular, and the verb is "give," which is plural. There's an obvious error in subject-agreement. The sentence should read: My boss, who is extremely kind to his employees, gives helpful advice. On the ACT, you may encounter a similar sentence. Many students will incorrectly assume that the subject is "employees" because that is the noun closest to the verb. While "employees" is plural, the actual subject "boss" is singular. By correctly identifying the subject, you can avoid being tricked by the interrupting phrase. The method you should you use to avoid being tricked is the same one I taught you for prepositional phrases. Strategy In sentences with non-essential clauses or appositives, always cross out those phrases. Doing so makes it much easier to identify errors in subject-verb agreement. Let's use this strategy with the incorrectly written exmple sentence from above: My boss, who is extremely kind to his employees, give helpful advice. After we cross out the non-essential clause, we're left with "My boss give helpful advice." The singular subject is right next to the plural verb. The error in subject-verb agreement should be obvious. Nice! Actual ACT English Example Question Let's put our knowledge to use. Here's another example from a real ACT: In this example, the non-essential clause is surrounded by dashes, which serve the same function as commas in this sentence. The ACT folks threw in that extra curve ball because they also really like testing your knowledge of punctuation. If we cross out the prepositional phrase "of letters" and the non-essential clause, we're left with "Dickinson's last twenty years reveals." The subject is "years," which is plural, so the verb should be in the plural form. The answer is B. Let's briefly discuss one last type of interrupting phrase you may encounter on the ACT. Essential Clauses with "That" Occasionally, an error in subject-verb agreement will involve a clause beginning with "that." The clause will end right before the verb. For sentences with these clauses, simply use the same strategy we used with non-essential clauses. Take a look at this sentence: A book that has an interesting plot and well-developed characters are fun to read. The essential clause begins with "that" and ends right before the verb "are." Just like we did with non-essential clauses, let's cross out the clause. We're left with "A book are fun to read." The singular subject is now right next to the plural verb. Here's the corrected version of the sentence: A book that has an interesting plot and well-developed characters is fun to read. There's another tactic the ACT uses, though much less common, to complicate basic subject-verb agreement questions. Trap #2: Sometimes the Subject Comes After the Verb In rare instances, the typical word order of a sentence will be altered so that a prepositional phrase appears at the beginning of a sentence and the subject follows the verb. In these instances, it can be particularly challenging to identify the subject and determine if there's an error in subject-verb agreeement. In order to illustrate this point, let's look at an example sentence with the prepositional phrase underlined and the verb in bold: In the trunk of my car resides fifteen empty water bottles. We know that a subject can't be contained within a prepositional phrase. Also, we know that a subject is the noun that's doing the action. In the sentence, what's residing? The water bottles. The prepositional phrase provides information about where the water bottles are residing. Because the subject is "water bottles," the verb should be in the plural form. This is the correct version of the sentence: In the trunk of my car reside fifteen empty water bottles. The correctly written sentence may sound more awkward to you because the singular noun "car" is placed right next to the plural form of a verb. You should focus on the rules and strategies as opposed to just relying on what "sounds right." In extremely rare situations, the subject follows the verb but is not preceded by a prepositional phrase. Check out this sentence: Skipping school is fun, but less fun is its consequences. In this sentence, what is less fun? The "consequences". Therefore, in the second clause, "consequences" is the subject. The verb "is" corresponds with the subject "consequences." Because we have a plural subject and a singular verb, there's an error in subject-verb agreement. This is the corrected version of the sentence: Skipping school is fun, but less fun are its consequences. Is there a way to simplify these types of sentences to help determine if there's an error in subject-verb agreement? Of course. Strategy In sentences in which the subject follows the verb, rearrange the sentence so that it follows the normal structure of subject then verb. Using this strategy will allow you to more easily spot any errors in subject-verb agreement. If you utilize this method in the incorrectly written sentence above, you'd be left with "its consequences is less fun." The plural subject is now right next to the singular verb and the error should be immediately apparent. Now, we'll cover one more unique situation that can complicate the most basic subject-verb agreement questions. Trap #3: Compound Subjects A compound subject is a subject in whichtwo singular nouns are connected by "and."In a sentence with a compound subject, you should use the plural form of the verb. Here's a basic sentence demonstrating this rule: Justin and the ACT are friends. Because the subject is both "Justin" and the "ACT," the verb should be in the plural form. This is a more complicated example in which a prepositional phrase is also placed at the beginning of the sentence: In between the cushions of my couch is change and an old pen. First, let's rearrange the sentence so that the subject comes before the verb. What's in between the cushions? Change and an old pen. So after doing our rearranging, the sentence should read "Change and an old pen is in between the cushions of my couch." The subject is both change and an old pen; therefore, the verb should be in the plural form. This is the corrected sentence: In between the cushions of my couch are change and an old pen. At this point, we're aware of the ways the ACT complicates basic subject-verb agreement questions. We've also learned specific strategies to use when faced with certain types of situations. Here are some general tips to follow to help you correctly answer any subject-verb agreement question you may encounter on the ACT. General Strategies for ACT Subject-Verb Agreement Look for Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement When a Verb Is Underlined If a verb is underlined, make sure there are no errors in subject-verb agreement. Singular and Plural Forms of the Same Verb in the Answer Choices Signal a Possible Error in Subject-Verb Agreement On the ACT, you can often figure out what's being tested based on the underlined phrase and the answer choices. If you see that there are singular and plural forms of the same verb in the answer choices, determine if there's an error in subject-verb agreement. Always Identify the Subject Both subjects of sentences and subjects of clauses must agree with their verbs. For each underlined verb, find the noun that corresponds with that specific verb. Then, determine whether that subject is singular or plural and make sure that the subject and verb agree. The Subject Is Never Part of a Prepositional Phrase Be aware that a subject will not be part of a prepositional phrase. Most subject-verb agreement questions on the ACT separate a subject from a verb with a prepositional phrase. Remember the strategy of crossing out the phrase to aid in answering these questions. Be Able to Recognize the Common Tricks Knowing the common tricks the ACT English section uses on questions that test your knowledge of subject-verb agreement can be helpful. The better you know these tricks, the more quickly you'll be able to recognize them and use the appropriate strategies to correctly answer subject-verb agreement questions. Additional Practice Hopefully, by this point you thoroughly understand subject-verb agreement and how to correctly answer any subject-verb agreement question that may appear on the ACT. I've created some realistic ACT English practice problems to test you on what you've learned. Remember to use the general strategies I referenced above. 1. Beautifully written sentences composed by the prolific and talented author has been integral to his success. A. NO CHANGE B. have been C. was D. is being 2. The size and style of the dress is not to my liking. A. NO CHANGE B. was C. will being D. are 3. The selfish man, who owns five cars and two houses, has been unwilling to give any money to charity. A. NO CHANGE B. were C. have been D. has being 4. Mastery of grammar rules are essential to doing well on ACT English. A. NO CHANGE B. are being C. is D. were 5. Swimming pools that are above ground are often mocked by snobs. A. NO CHANGE B. are being C. is D. will been Answers: 1. B., 2. D, 3. A, 4. C, 5. A What's Next? Now that you're comfortable with subject-verb agreement on the ACT, familiarize yourself with everything that's actually tested on ACT English. You'll probably want to read this article about commas, too. For those overachievers out there, find out how to get a perfect score on ACT English from a perfect scorer. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this English lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial: