Sampoerna Guiding Coalition and Anchoring Culture Through Acquisition

IN3N – ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT TEAM PAPER SAMPOERNA Guiding Coalition and Anchoring Culture Through Acquisition Disusun Oleh: Adrien Lasserre(Bordeaux) Adhitya Anggripinanto(2009 02 2986) Kokoh Ronald(2009 02 3000) Shauma Nugroho(2009 02 3005) I. INTRODUCTION This paper consists of three parts; organization background, analysis of key success factor, and recommendation. We capture briefly the situation when acquisition happened. Judging from fact that acquisition was succeeded – reaching it goals – we identified that was two key success factors. Guiding by Kotter’s Model we focused on building guiding coalition and anchoring new culture. As our objectives, we recommend some action to Sampoerna’s new CEO which can improve change management in the organization after acquisition. II. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND PT. Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna (Sampoerna) is the biggest cigarette manufacture in Indonesia. In 2008, it can sell almost 73. 3 billion unit cigarette, valued up to 33. 9 trillion rupiahs. These stats are the highest among other competitors in the cigarette industry. With terrific product brand like Dji Sam Soe, A Mild, Sampoerna Hijau Kretek, etc, this company became an icon of cigarette industry in Indonesia. Sampoerna’s story of success is inseparable from the history of its founding family. Sampoerna traces its origin to Liem Seeng Tee, a Chinese immigrant who founded the Company in 1913. At his home in Surabaya, Indonesia, he began producing and selling hand-rolled kretek cigarettes, named after the crackling sound they make as they burn. His small company was among the first to manufacture and market kretek as well as non-clove cigarettes on a commercial basis. Kretek cigarettes quickly grew in popularity. By the early 1930’s, Liem Seeng Tee had changed his family name and the name of his company to Sampoerna (Indonesian term for ‘perfect’). However, by 1959, three years after the passing of Seeng Tee, and in the aftermath of Indonesia’s struggle for independence, Sampoerna was once more on the verge of closure. In that year, Aga Sampoerna (Seeng Tee’s second son) was appointed to lead the company, and succeeded in reestablishing and rebuilding the company. Aga’s second son, Putera took over the helm of PT. HM Sampoerna in 1978. During Putera Sampoerna’s tenure, the company established itself as a public company with a modern corporate structure, and embarked on a period of investment and expansions. During the process, Sampoerna consolidated its position as one of Indonesia’s top-tier companies[1]. Sampoerna’s vision is embodied in the â€Å"Three Hands philosophy†. The philosophy embodies the business environment and Sampoerna’s role in this context. The Hands, which represent adult smokers, employees and business partners, and society at large, are the three key stakeholders the Company must embrace to reach its goal of becoming the most respected company in Indonesia. They address each group through: (1) delivering high quality cigarettes with fair value to adult smokers, (2) providing good compensation and working conditions to employees and building a good relationship with business partners, and (3) giving back to the society at large. There are 225 large (28%) and 585 medium (72%) tobacco related industries in 2004 (Central Board of Statistic, 2004). From those companies, only three players leading the market with 68% market share [Exhibit 1]. In 2004, Sampoerna took second position with 19. 91% market share compared to Gudang Garam 30. 25% and Djarum in third position with 18,26% (GAPPRI in Agnes, 009). These three players are competing directly to become a market leader in industry. Sampoerna is well known as an innovative company with creative marketing strategy. We can see it from it phenomenal product called A Mild, the first low nicotine cigarette in Indonesia. May 18, 2005, Philip Morris International (PMI) acquired Sampoerna by buying 98% stake of the company at a price of Rp. 10. 600 per share or in total value of 18. 58 trillion rupiah[2]. This was not only surprising for the company's internal community but throughout Indonesia. This acquisition is one of the largest foreign investments in Indonesian history (Taco, 2007). Even until today, the company's internal do not know accurately the underlying reason Putera Sampoerna sold this company. Probably, Putera Sampoerna had seen an opportunity to sell his company in high price. Refer to Richter (2001: 341), so we can call in this case, pressure comes from vision of its owner. But, possibly there were several things considered by Putera Sampoerna in making this bold decision. We analyze them comprehensively to identify the pressures faced by the company. Putera Sampoerna realized that heavy pressures were not only occurred in his company but also in Indonesia’s cigarette industry in general. Those pressures were: a) Government Mandate Pressure (Palmer et al, 2009: 54). The industry has been experiencing great pressure as public awareness of cigarettes negative impacts and demand to regulate them are increasing. One of the laws which regulate tobacco control is legislation Prov. DKI No 2 / 2005 on the control of air (Tempo, June 22, 2009). b) Geopolitical Pressure (ibid, 55) Cigarette industry also faced pressures from many non-government organizations such as â€Å"Warga Indonesia Tanpa Tembakau† (WITT) and â€Å"Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia† (YLKI). This issue has become global. It is proven by the UN Conventions – 2 Framework Conventions on Tobacco Control/FCTC. Indonesia has not ratified it yet. c) Hyper-competition Pressure (ibid, 57) The high competition market was also a strong factor that convinced Sampoerna to let go off the businesses. Although famous for its innovation, the company was not able to overtake the domination of Gudang Garam in the industry of clove cigarettes. Putera Sampoerna concluded that cigarette industry will not stay profitable in the future. One striking fact convinced him was the slow growth of the industry. According to Adrian Rusmana, BNI Securities’ Head of Research, in the last three years, the revenue growth of tobacco companies in Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSE) was under the level of 10%; -0. 3% in 2006 rate and 1. 9% in 2007 (Kurniawan, 2009). In the company's official statement, this acquisition provides an opportunity for it to take advantage from PMI's knowledge and experience from various countries over decades. In addition, the acquisition also brings resources, as well as new methods and procedures in the company's management (HM Sampoerna's Annual Report, 2005). For PMI, their acquisition could increase market power, avoiding the cost of new product development, increase the speed of penetrating the market, and avoid the barriers to entry (Agnes, 2009). After acquisition, company achieved its success. Within 1. 5 years, they reached first place in the national tobacco industry with 28. 3% market share in the year 2007 (see Figure 2, more detail in Exhibit 1). In the same year in November 2007, The Indonesian credit rating agency PT. Pefindo upgraded the Company's credit ratings from id AA+ to id AAA with a stable outlook. This is the first time the Company achieve an id AAA rating. Revenue also showed a growing trend, accompanied by increased net sales and income of the company (PT. HM Sampoerna Annual Report, 2007). The acquisition also speed the company's business acceleration. In 2008, Sampoerna added more than eight Cigarette Production Partners, 15. 000 new employees, build a new factory in Jakarta, then â€Å"pelintingan† through partners increased by 8. 000 (PT. HM Sampoerna Annual Report, 2008). From those facts we know that the management did the right action to achieve success. Their action proved to be effective based on result they achieved. In early stages of acquisition, Martin Gray King takes the helm of Sampoerna. With his charismatic leadership style, like Putera Sampoerna did the organization growth rapidly in stable situation. Since May 27, 2009, John Gledhill took leadership role in Sampoerna (www. vivanews. com). Now we can recommend him what else he can do to maintain and improve Sampoerna performance. Before that, we have to analyze what make this acquisition works well. III. KEY SUCCESS FACTORS IN ACQUISITION OF SAMPOERNA The acquisition decision brings fears to Sampoerna’s employee. For most employees, the figure of Putera Sampoerna is not only perceived as a corporate leader, but also as a parent that is worthy enough to be considered as role. The acquisition feared would damage the harmonious atmosphere that had been created. Most of Sampoerna’s management was concerned in the decreasing of employee’s motivation. They were worried that there will be a reduction of employees (Yos Adiguna in SWA, 2007). Worker can produce 350 cigarettes/hour, while the machine is able to produce 8000 cigarettes/min. Thus, one machine is approximately equal to 1,500 people. Fears of uncertainty and cultural shock are major challenge to management that needs a planned change management action. Based on eight step model by Kotter, there are two main key success factors in this acquisition. First, they succeed in creating guiding coalition. Second, they make cultural change come last not first. On this part, we discuss about what management did align with some concepts developed by Kotter. 1. Creating Guiding Coalitions The change idea in organization usually comes from groups of people who realize the importance of a change to be done by the organization in order to work better in the future. But the idea is not always accepted immediately by some elements of the organization, such as the employee, the owner, or the CEO. This happens although they already sense the urgency to change. Even the CEO would not be able to make some change if he just fends for themselves without any support from the employees. In Kotter's Eight Step Process of Creating Major Change, Building Guiding Coalition is one of the early stages of important thing to make a change, because in essence a change who wants to do will not run properly if the plan change will not get support from elements of organization. If the plan to change is supported by an influential group of the company, the next process will be carried out more easily, especially in expanding the vision, mission, strategy and communication of the change process (Kotter, 1996:51). All top executives considered this thing when decision gets final. Putera Sampoerna summoned all the leaders and gathered them in one big room to announce the acquisition decision. Putera Sampoerna directly builds coalitions to notify changes. All the people obey the Sampoerna family ansd no one questioned the reasons behind the decision. Putera Sampoerna directly coordinate all these leaders, calling them as ‘change agents’ to transmit the spirit as change agents to all Sampoerna’s internal parties, and ordered them to spread the information to the lowest level within the organization (SWA, 2007). Realized this step should be arranged quickly, he make it quickly executed. Monday, 13 March 2005, the draft notification is made for the acquisition news sent to all employees of Sampoerna promptly at 9 am. Velocity in the notification is critical to prevent the rumors come from outside. After the information communicated to all employees, then they understand. At the operational level there was nothing really changed, except for expansion. What will they feel may be more adherences to the rules and improved overlooked. That does not mean that once Sampoerna not obey the rules, but the assertion that the rule is an area that could follow it becomes thick, because it is the value of Philip Morris. What makes Sampoerna’s change agent succeed in guiding coalition? Kotter said a strong guiding coalition needed – one with the right composition, level of trust, and shared objectives. In term of making right composition, first important thing is Putera Sampoerna and PMI’s leader at that time (Martin King) involved, engaged, and committed to the change. If Putera Sampoerna just let go without making a good coalition, maybe realities come contrary. Martin King continued his predecessor becoming the change leader in the organization so Sampoerna will ensure they have leader’s support for change. Putera Sampoerna also selected peoples who have strong position power, broad expertise and diversity, and high credibility within their circle of influence. When the information has spread, there was resistance from some parties, although a small number, including several directors. Some of them even chose to resign. Most workers accept the decision because management promised no changes in operations; all will still be working as usual. The resistance does not occur because of all the elements felt the certainty of their fate. Kotter (2009: 163) stated that resistance can occur because of fears of status uncertainty. Besides, the lack of resistance is also due to the factors of good communication and high level of trust in employee. After they had sufficient powerful persons and mutual trust, now it’s time to deal with what new shared visions. In Kotter, we need to create shared vision in coalition when all the members of the group want to achieve the same objective and real teamwork become feasible. Vision in this term is related with Martin King’s vision about Sampoerna in the future. Martin King demanded Sampoerna to improve acceleration, starting from the quantity and quality of products, as well as human resources, considering the very dynamic business changes. This is a key strategy of the future development of Sampoerna. Continuous improvement being implemented by the Sampoerna with employee development systems, management and control report, reward & punishment, as well as information technology systems / IT (PT. HM Sampoerna Annual Report, 2005). Vision and mission are translated into the main target. One of the targets that best describes the spirit of change in Sampoerna is to become a market leader in the national tobacco industry in the next five years. After building a vision and make measurable targets, then for all elements have to work harder than before achieving it goals. 2. Culture Came Last Not First One of change challenge faced from acquisition is cultural adjustment (Palmer, 2009: 105). In Sampoerna acquisition, the challenge is the cultural adjustment because both of two companies came from different countries, different area, different operating systems and procedures that can often lead to conflicts. The way in which this is managed can be a major determinant of the success or failure of merger. There will be a culture shock if it wasn’t treating properly. The cultural is refers to norms of behavior and shared values among a group of people (Kotter, 1996). Norms of behavior are common or pervasive ways of acting that are found in the group and that persist because group members tend to behave in ways that teach these practice to new members, rewarding those who fit in and sanctioning those who do not. Shared value are important concern and goals shared by most of people in a group that tend to shape group and that persist over time even when group membership changes. In the big company such as PMI and Sampoerna, one typically finds that some of these corporate cultures affect everyone and that others are specific to subunits. The culture that exists in the organization is the most powerful forced in change management, because: (1) Individuals are selected and indoctrinated so well (2) The culture exerts itself through the actions of hundreds or thousands of people, and (3) It happens without much conscious intent and thus is difficult to challenge. Because culture so powerful, when the new practices made in a transformation effort are not compatible with the relevant cultures, they will always be subject to regression. Management realized that the culture problem is one of the critical factors in the acquisition of the company. This will hamper the achievement of goals if the accumulation of it not at the right proportion. Therefore, he will not intervene in the existing culture and prefers to focus on the company's strategic plan forward. Sampoerna’s cultural remains will be preserved as such because prior to the acquisition, Martin considered that the culture in Sampoerna is already very good and strong – a local company with international workings (SWA, 2007). This is also the reason why he only brought 14 of his staff and entrust some of the top management to the the previous leaders of Sampoerna. PMI, basically from USA, has its American Culture. The style of American in being outspoken at giving opinion is very different to Javanese culture that tends do the contradictory. In American style, criticism is usually thrown straightforward and sometimes spicy but still in the context of work, not personal. On the other hand, Sampoerna’s staff is very polite, lack of courage in conveying thoughts in mind, and not straightforward. They are not talking about right or wrong, but rather to complement each other. Other Javanese culture will be maintained by PMI. One is in terms of product launch time, raising the selling price, and a meeting with the Javanese calendar system. Other culture, such as it’s a tradition that Sampoerna always budget cost for the â€Å"pawang hujan† at the launch of its products. PMI which is a foreign company, although did not understand, still follows these tradition. This made the PMI headquarters confused when auditing the financial statements because of the ‘unique' cost. Martin, as PMI representative in Indonesia must explain that this is common in Indonesia. PMI‘s culture was also signed to strengthen the existing Sampoerna culture. The use of English is increasingly common not only in top management but also in the middle management; both oral and written. In lingual matters, Martin did not have problem because he can speak Indonesian and Sampoerna himself always recommend English to be used by every employee (Hidayat, 2007). Culture acculturation can be seen in [Exhibit 2]. From those, referring Kotter, we can conclude that change in culture come to last not first. But, in this case we see in different point of view that culture problem prevent early. They know it will caused problem, so they prevent it with choosing company (Sampoerna) which has similarity in culture. The fundamental similarity is that both companies have a passion to become the market leader. Also, both have a behavior and a willingness to improve them to perfection. When judging Sampoerna, PMI found that culture in Sampoerna is good and strong, so they don’t need dramatic change, just little adjustment. Referring to Lewin’s theory of cultural formation (Kurt Lewin in Schein, 2004: 319-329), acquisition of Sampoerna has four phases. Four phases are the explorations phase, unfreezing phase, merge phase, and freezing phase. The first phase, exploration, should already be identified where the cultural similarities and differences between the parties, and goodwill to achieve the best should remain preserved. The second phase is to dilute the old culture to the parties in the merger. The third phase is merging cultures, or the forming of cultural synergy, usually by defining a new culture, through education or training, coaching, mentoring, and so on. The fourth phase or freezing is realized by various artifacts such as logos, colors, physical appearances of the building, and so forth, as well as organization’s system such as regulation, the definition of a new culture, reward & punishment, and furthermore, the stabilization is continue done by gathering activities, and so on. The first and second phase faced wisely by PMI so Sampoerna is now in the third stage, and was relatively easy to be done, because the critical point is in the second phase. PMI as the new owners did not implement their culture to be dominant. Similarly Sampoerna with the Javanese culture, that has a desire to become more globally. IV. RECOMMENDATIONS The next year, the story of Sampoerna has dramatically taken a new direction; the firm has suddenly moved from an Indonesian family-owned company to an American global company. As results, Sampoerna had to adapt itself and challenged major issues. The change process has been really successful and Putera Sampoerna passed the relay to Martin Kings and now to John Gledhill, avoiding too much troubles. Nevertheless, we can wonder what can be the reactions of the labor force if the company faced other issues in the future. For sure, even if John Gledhill is very skillful, he doesn’t have the aura of two former CEO. Then, the markets move more and more fast and conduct the company to adapt quickly. So, can the change process be implemented in the same conditions in the future? In other words, how the new CEO of Sampoerna can keep implementing successful change process in the future? Here are our recommendations. †¢ Building the Guiding Coalition The Sampoerna family has a really special place in Indonesian mind; the successful story of the company and the charisma of its leaders had led to create individual governance under the control of monarch-like CEO. Indeed, despite of the increasing size of the company and fast-moving industry, what Putera Sampoerna said, people did. Now, the situation is definitely different in many aspects. First, John Gledhill can’t have the same influence on the employees company as his predecessor. He is a foreigner, coming from a major global company and could be suspected not to focus on Indonesian interests, unlike Putera Sampoerna. Second, the tobacco industry is obviously an unstable sector. Law pressures, growing health considerations, strong competitions make the market more and more complex. Today’s business environment clearly demands an efficient decision making. Considering these two factors, it appears that leading the new company with the same leadership style could at least be very difficult and most probably impossible. So, to tackle that issue and build a relevant change governance structure, we can suggest John Gledhill to create a strong guiding coalition that can make change happen. As Kotter said, there are three steps in building strong guiding coalition. We recommend what CEO should do based on these. The first step of this process is to find the right people; that means people with strong position power, broad expertise, high credibility, and overall leadership and management skills. Being sure of leadership skills of the change team members is a key to achieve the goals and special efforts to assure of it must be done. Considering the structure of Sampoerna [Exhibit 3], we think that John Gledhill must involve each part of the organization to build the next guiding coalition. The first reason is that to be enough efficient, the guiding coalition has to be aware of all the aspects of the company. Indeed, in such a complex and fast-moving market, developing a vision and taking strategic decisions quickly and efficiently become more and more difficult. To succeed in the future, the CEO must lean on the specific knowledge of each department’s top managers. In fact, with such a coalition, the information would circulate faster and in better conditions. The other reason that supports this choice is the fact that if each division of the different departments are represented in the guiding coalition, then the trust inside the company would be reinforce. We consider that this kind of coalition is able to increase the feeling of sharing the same goals and doing things in the same direction. If people think that the quality of their job is decreased because other departments don’t go in the same way, they would low their efforts as results. So, concretely, we recommend John Gledhill to build the guiding coalition not only the director of each department but also the head of each subdivision. Considering the organization structure of Sampoerna, the coalition will consist of 25 persons. One obstacle is to assure that the directors and managers have sufficient leadership skills to join the guiding coalition. We suggest John Gledhill measuring their ability to do the job properly and take the decisions required if not. That means don’t hesitate in firing the weakest people and hiring good leaders to increase the efficiency of the coalition. The next step of building a guiding coalition leans on creating trust among the team. Team building today usually has to move faster and Sampoerna’s CEO must conduct the process efficiently by using carefully planned off-site events with lots of talk and activities. The last step deals with the necessity to develop common goal inside the team work. Typical goal that can be chosen for Sampoerna is a commitment to excellence, a real desire to make their organization performs to the very highest level possible. Indeed, the common goal must be both sensible to the head and appealing to the heart. The combination of these elements leads to a powerful coalition with the capacity to make future change happen despite all the forces of inertia. †¢ Developing and Communicating A New Vision The success of the change process in Sampoerna must not hide the fact that some employees can feel uncomfortable with the growing uncertainty in the company. An acquisition is a major change in the mind of people, even if processes in operational level don’t change in the first time. Martin Kings had to be aware of this issue and deal with decreasing the potential fears or skepticism inside the company. Now Sampoerna lead by John Gledhill and he has to aware those concern too. Developing and communicating a new vision is the solution to give to people the answer to their question. In fact, in order to implement future change in the company, vision is definitely essential. If new vision is not built, the feeling of risk and, so on, resistance to change could be an unsolvable problem when implementing a new change. Moreover, it allows simplifying many detailed decisions, it motivates people to take action in the right direction, and helps coordinate the actions of different people. We can recommend Sampoerna’s CEO assuring that the vision is imaginable, desirable, feasible, focused, flexible, and communicable to be understood and shared by the whole company. For instance, next vision could be becoming a strong global brand able to develop itself on international markets. Then, to communicate the vision, John Gledhill and his guiding coalition have to respect key elements in the effective communication. Metaphor, analogy and example must be preferred to incomprehensible jargon and must be communicated many times under multiple forums (big and small meetings, memos, newspapers, etc). Furthermore, behavior from important people must be appropriate to reinforce the message: they have to act as examples, try to explain seeming inconsistencies, and listen to people interrogations. To sum up, the new vision or strategy of the company is an essential step to anticipate future change process. People must understand and share the company vision to involve fully in the necessary change. †¢ Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture When Martin Kings took the head of Sampoerna, he underlined the fact that PMI believed in the former corporate culture. He said that the Javanese company was really adapted to the Indonesian market and that the new orientation of Sampoerna would still lean on the values built by the founders. Philip Morris, as a global company, is experienced in such an acquisition and executives are obviously aware of how anchoring new approach in the culture of a company is difficult. So they decided to take time before dealing with that sensible issue. Therefore, even if Sampoerna’s corporate culture seems to be efficient, PMI has to integrate little by little its own values. Indeed, being part of a global company means share a common main culture (particularities can obviously survive). We can recommend John Gledhill first to be patient: the acquisition has just happened and people must be really sensitive regarding that kind of change. In fact, culture can be considered as the last step in change management process. Moreover dealing with culture issue is very difficult because of its own nature. Some aspects are almost not visible and some others not at all. Saying that doesn’t mean doing nothing; we suggest John Gledhill to implement few changes in the approach of each step of the change process. That means he has to give to Sampoerna a â€Å"Philip Morris Touch†, especially considering efficiency and results. We think that managers and mid-level managers are able to disseminate the values if they are involved enough. To conclude, anchoring new approaches in the culture would be very difficult, John Gledhill must do it very patiently with a great humility if he wants to success. V. Conclusion Overall, the steps taken by management in conducting a post acquisition changes are very good, especially in a guiding coalition and cultural adjustment. In building a guiding coalition, management can create a coalition based on the right composition based on the strong position power, broad expertise and diversity, and high credibility within their circle of influence. In addition, management has succeeded in creating a level of trust between the members, and has a good ability in shared objectives. Management also can overcome the cultural problems faced after the acquisition, the many cultural similarities that owned by PM and Sampoerna cause the process of cultural assimilation is not working too complicated. Although in essence PM have a different culture with Sampoerna, Management still retain the the old culture to avoid cultural shock within the organization. Bibliography Books Kotter, J. P. 1996. Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press Palmer, Ian. , Richard Dunford, and Gib Akin. 2009. Managing Organizational Change. New York: McGraw-Hill Schein, Edgar R. 2004. Organizational Culture and Leadership. USA: John Wiley & Sons. Newspaper and Magazine SWA Magazine. HM Sampoerna: Padukan Budaya Lokal dan Multinasional. Kamis, 01 Februari 2007. ____________. Ketika Timur dan Barat Menyatu. Rabu, 06 Februari 2008. Tempo Magazine. Indonesia Pasar yang Menggiurkan Bagi Industri Rokok Asing. Senin, 22 Juni 2009. Electronic Reference Sampoerna’s website. http://www. sampoerna. com. Accessed at October 27, 2009. 16. 40 PM http://berita. liputan6. com/ekbis/200503/97974/class='vidico'. Accessed at October 27, 2009. 15:30 PM http://bisnis. vivanews. com/news/read/61146-john_gledhill__dirut_baru_hm_sampoerna. Accessed at November 5, 2009. 13:30 PM Kurniawan, Agnes. 2009. Why Putera sold his Sampoerna. Accessed at October 27, 2009. 15:30 PM. ______________. 2009. Analisis Industri Rokok Nasional 2007-2008. Accessed at October 27, 2009. 16:38 PM. ______________. 2009. Kenapa Philip Meminang Sampoerna dengan Mas Kawin Sedemikian  Besar. Accessed at October 27, 2009. 16:30 PM. ______________. 2009. Perubahan Sampoerna di Tangan Philip Morris. Accessed at October 27, 2009. 16:22 PM. Taco, Tuinstra. 2007. A New Chapter. Accessed at November 2, 2009. 15:12 PM. Institution Central Board of Statistics, Indicator of large and medium enterprise, various years (the latest publication was in 2004) PT. HM Sampoerna Tbk. Annual Report 2005. Jakarta. 2006. __________________. Annual Report 2007. Jakarta. 2008. __________________. Annual Report 2008. Jakarta. 2009. Exhibit 1 NATIONAL CIGARETTE INDUSTRY MARKET SHARE 2003-2008 (in percent) |COMPANY |2008 |2007 |2006 |2004 |2003 | |Djarum |18. 0 |20. 4 |17. 2 |18. 26 |18. 71 | |BAT Indonesia |2. 4 |2. 3 |2. 2 |2. 54 |2. 86 | |Others |22. | |Batik uniform, black dress. |Batik uniform, black dress. | |Meeting date: 9, 17, 29. |Meeting date: 9, 17, 29. | |â€Å"Pawang hujan† when launching products. |â€Å"Pawang hujan† when launching products. | |Employee rather reluctant to talk with the boss ( Javanese |Employee more outspoken sharing their opinion ( Straight to| |preferred manners. |the point, provoked more sales-oriented, more creative, and| | |more initiatives with a global outlook. | |At managerial level, everyday conversations in English | | |People are encouraged to become more high-achiever, with | | |opportunity in career development, to branches of PMI in | | |another country. | Sourc e: SWA Magazine, February 6, 2008. Exhibit 3 SAMPOERNA ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE [pic] ———————– [1] Cited from company’s website; http://www. sampoerna. com; accessed at October 27, 2009; 16. 40 PM [2] Cited from http://berita. liputan6. com/ekbis/200503/97974/class='vidico'; accessed at October 27, 2009; 15:30 PM ———————– [pic] Source: Annual Report, 2005-2008 Figure 1. Sampoerna’s Net Income and Sales 2004-2009 We provide general recommendation to CEO of Sampoerna about building guiding coalition and anchoring new culture post acquisition of Philip Morris. Acquisition gets its objectives and makes significant results to organization. What makes it succeed? What should they do next in term based on their key success factors? DOSEN Dr. Ningky Sasanti Munir, MBA Ir. Setiadi Johar, DBA Soekono Soebekti, PhD Tjahjono Surjodibroto, MBA WIJAWIYATA MANAJEMEN ANGKATAN LXI STM PPM MANAJEMEN JALAN MENTENG RAYA NO. 9. JAKARTA [pic] Source: Annual Report, 2005-2008 Figure 2. Sampoerna’s Market Shares 2004-2009 ———————– 2

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Rural inhabitants aren’t a different species, but consumers as quirky and demanding of marketers as any of their urban cousins. And just as eager to consume — maybe even more so, given their access to messages of consumption via TV, but lacking the easy access that makes urban consumer’s blase. For marketers the potential is huge — a country waiting eagerly for their products, providing they can make the effort to export inwards, and learn to play the games by rural rules. And if they don’t, the chances are that they will be left behind. Even with the minimal effort put in by companies so far, rural India now accounts for majority, or near majority, consumption in many categories. — Rural India is clearly not such an area of darkness anymore, and as a further incentive to keep the lights on, remember that farmers get electricity free! One of the most popular and widely accepted Marketing Myth is that the rural consumers will only buy really cheap mass market brands. But the stark reality is that though brands like Nirma lead, but penetration of premium products has also been observed even to the lowest SEC. The percentages may be very small, but given the large universe, the actual figures may be significant Thus when we are aware of the fact that brands like Nirma rule the rural market, it would be interesting to study and analyse their basic marketing inputs —–the 4P†s 1 NIRMA About the Company Nirma is the Rs. 17 billion Detergents, Soaps and Personal Care Products Brand, a market leader in the Indian detergent market and second largest in bathing soaps†¦ the brand NIRMA being one of the world’s biggest in it’s segment†¦ result of it’s mission to provide ‘Better Products, Better Value, Better Living’. The man who altered the clothes-washing habits of the Karsanbhai Patel the chairman of the Ahmedabad-based Nirma Ltd. This chemist who manufactured detergents at home in Ahmedabad in 1969 has certainly come a long way. He worked from his backyard which developed into a soap factory, cycled to retail outlets and hawked his b rand at one-fourth of the price of similar products then available. At Rs 6, Nirma, named after his daughter, was the cheapest detergent vying for attention on shop shelves. By the late 1980s, Nirma had become one of the world’s largest-selling detergent powders. That he rewrote history and gave Hindustan Lever, the Indian subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch foods and toiletries conglomerate Unilever, a huge headache is wellchronicled. Today he is proud owner of an Rs 2,500-crore Ahmedabad-based soaps and detergents major It has been Patel’s dream to make Nirma a synonym for quality. â€Å"Nirma is not merely a brand or a product, it is a dynamic phenomenon, a revolution, a philosophy,† he once said. Nirma sells over 800,000 tones of detergent products every year and commands a 35% share of the Indian detergent market, making it one of the world’s biggest detergent brands. Towards this end, he tried his hand at many brand extensions. From toothpaste to salt and matchsticks, they all nestled under the Nirma umbrella. Incorporated as a private limited company, Nirma was converted into a deemed public company and then to a public limited one in Nov. ’93. Nirma is an over Rs. 17 billion brand with a leadership presence in Detergents, Soaps and Personal Care Products, offering employment to over 15,000 people.

Wal-Mart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wal-Mart - Essay Example The website is very well organized in terms of links and images. The left hand side of the e-store has a list of categories of consumer items for sale. The check-out function of the website is very easy to use. Wal-Mart can be benefit a lot from a more aggressive e-commerce strategy. The global market for online sales is huge. In 2010 e-commerce sales were $153 billion (Plunkett Research, 2011). Wal-Mart should look to increase its market share of this multi-billion dollar marketplace. The beauty of e-commerce is that it has the potential to reach a hundred percent of the global population of 6.9 billion. Wal-Mart has to look for ways to increase the traffic of its website. Simple solutions such as offering a discount coupon with every Wal-Mart receipt redeemable at its online stores can help increase the revenue of the store. The firm should advertize the site in TV commercials, radio, and in the press. An untapped market that could help the company increase its ecommerce sales is c ellular video advertizing. The assistance of G4 networks is enabling people to use the internet more through smart phones such s the I-phone.

Project, operations and supply chain management Essay - 1

Project, operations and supply chain management - Essay Example In this respect, projects adopting the traditional approach are designed in a way that the exact results expected from the project are defined with precision. As such, definite results are agreed upon between the project team and the client. On the other hand, projects adopting the agile approach start with the expectation that there may be changes in the features and requirements of the project over time. As opposed to the traditional approach, the only agreement that is set between the project team and the client is the time to the taken as well as the resources in order to deliver the most optimal results (Carroll, 2012, p. 8). Differences between the two approaches can also be noted in the implementation phase. That is, the traditional approach follows a route that is predictable and linear; the tools and techniques that are used in sequencing, organizing and assigning various tasks in the project are very inflexible. On the contrary, the agile methodology is more adaptive and follows a less linear route. Emphasis in this project management approach is put in on the people, collaboration, effective communication and customer solutions, while seeking to bring about dynamism in the project aimed at adapting to the external environment (Singh, 2012, p. 205). The leadership and management styles that are applied in projects while using the two approaches also differ greatly. In this respect, the traditional approach to project management adopts a bureaucratic, top-down approach to leadership. The leaders in such projects rely on control and command in passing instructions to their subordinates, while having clearly set roles for each of the project members. On the other hand, the agile methodology adopts a transformational leadership style whereby leaders seek to inspire their subordinates in carrying out their respective tasks. The assigning of duties among

Human Services Program and Profession Unit 1 discussion Research Paper

Human Services Program and Profession Unit 1 discussion - Research Paper Example I recognized that it feels awesome to help with anything I possibly can such as providing people assistance in various situations through the current knowledge and resources I know that can help. The vision that I could be an instrumental contributor to the betterment of mankind’s wellbeing led me to the field of human services. What are some of the populations and career settings you would like to work with in the future? I currently am a single mom with three kids and anything I know I do not mind sharing. Some of the populations I look forward working with are children facing various forms of abuse. I envision myself as a clinical social worker and focus on finding ways and means to prevent and minimize child abuse. The â€Å"Tips for Online Success† presented in the Illinois Online Network proffered pertinent techniques that would assist students through the term. As disclosed, the ten tips focus on participating; asking when some areas need clarifications; being actively involved and committed; and taking advantage of the benefits of distance or online learning. Honestly, it is one’s personal contention that when students are really committed to learn, whether in traditional classroom setting or through online modules, the objective to apply what one learned is of paramount

CASE 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CASE 2 - Coursework Example Common stocks are also investment made by stockholders and is recorded as par value. Retained earnings are the portion that a company keeps once dividends are paid to the preferred stockholders. Large corporations hold a considerable amount of retained earnings. Capital surplus defines values created from stocks issued at a premium over par value. Other stockholder equity shows cumulative gains or losses that cannot be recorded on the income statement (â€Å"Financial Statements†, n.d.). The concept outstanding share is contributed to common stocks. They are owned by public as well as by the company employees. A company calculates its market capitalization by multiplying outstanding shares by their current market price. From this perspective, companies do not have outstanding preferred stock shares. Preferred stocks have characteristics of common stock and a bond. They are traded separately from common stock at a different price. Like a bond, preferred stock has fixed rate payment. These stocks do not have voting right. Treasury shares are that share that once were outstanding shares, but later bought back by the company and decommissioned; they do not have voting rights and cannot claim dividend. Treasury share are created to boost up earning per share (EPS). This assignment uses Whole Foods Market from NASDAQ and General Electric Company from NYSE. Both companies report treasury shares but do not disclose the reason. Basic earnings per share (BEPS) implies the amount of a company’s profit that can be allocated to one stock. It is calculated using the formula, BEPS = (Net Income – Preferred dividends) / Weighted average number of common stock. Diluted EPS (DEPS) is calculated in those cases if a company possesses dilutive securities that can be converted into common stock. It is calculated using the formula, DEPS = {(Net income-Preferred dividend)/ Weighted average number of common stock – impact of convertible

Thin film lab Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Thin film lab - Essay Example Introduction: This experiment involves the usage of a physical vapor deposition technique known as evaporation. Physical vapor deposition, or PVD for short, is a term used to denote vacuum deposition processes where the coating material is passed into a vapor transport phase by a physical mechanism such as evaporation, sputtering or others, and the coating material then gets deposited onto a substrate surface to which it is transported (Thornton, 1988). Evaporation is one of the PVD techniques which have been used for film deposition since Faraday’s (1857) time. The age of this technique dictates clearly that a lot of work has been done in this field, specifically on developing coatings on glass. This involves substrate cleaning, followed by choosing a method for evaporation of target, and running the test under vacuum for a calculated time to obtain a certain thickness of film growth (Bach and Krause, 1997; Jackson and Ford, 1981). The intricacies of the method and the theory behind it are discussed in the next section. Theory: Evaporation deposition technique involves three essential steps (Pulker, 1999): 1. Evaporation of target material to obtain vapors for deposition. 2. Transport of vapors to substrate for deposition. This requires very low pressures as high mean free paths are required to assure the close-to-linear deposition of the film. 3. Adsorption of vapors on substrate surface leading to heterogeneous nucleation film growth. This section will deal with the theory behind the methods used to conduct the above mentioned three steps in the experiment that we conducted in the lab. The first step, evaporation, was carried out through Joule heating using a tungsten filament. Joule heating, in simple terms, is resistance heating, done through using wires of high resistance R which generate heat Q when current I is passed through them for time t. They follow the mathematical relation (Weisstein, 1996-2007) given below: This heat is utilized for heati ng our target material. The choice of the heating wire depends on resistance, which needs to be high for high heat generation. Tungsten filaments are usually used for this purpose, though tantalum or molybdenum may also be used (Ohring, 1992). Special purpose evaporation techniques also use electron beam evaporation. The target to be evaporated is wrapped around the filaments or shaped in hollow cylinders to place the filament inside them. Once the evaporation is carried out, the next important step is to get the material transported to the substrate surface. This depends on the mean free path of the gas molecules in the chamber. Mean free path is the average distance that a molecule travels in a gas chamber between two consecutive collisions (Nave, 2010). This is mainly dependent on the pressure and the kinetics of flow of the gas. Both pressure and temperature adversely affect the mean free path of a gas. For uniform deposition, we require high mean free path, so that the particle s can get transported to the surface of the substrate evenly (Ohring, 1992). Adsorption of the transported species on the substrate surface is a very interesting science, involving both thermodynamics and kinetics, indicating how the type of the growth of the surface layer, its morphology, the nucleation rate, the growth rate and the microstructure can be influenced by small changes in the conditions. These may involve surface cleanliness, substrate preheating, plasma

Owens Precision Machinery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Owens Precision Machinery - Essay Example The company is a machine shop that has felt a recent surge of demand as the trend of insourcing has felt an increase after the recent recession. While the company is keeping up with the increasing demand, the company is also faces issues of dwindling cash reserves. In order to stay ahead of the competition, the company has to keep inventory in stock because of the longer lead time that suppliers require. For this, the company has to rely on outside investment which makes the President and owner consider whether he should sell off his company. The aim of this paper is to analyze the future move of the company. Owen has two options: he could either sell the company or ask his friend and investor for another loan. In order to decide which option to pursue, Owen would have to analyze his company as well as the industry in which he operates. He needs to find out if the issue of capital shortage can be corrected in the near future and what steps should he take in order to solve the problem . If he feels that the company has no future, then the best course of action would be to sell off the company. In order to recommend the best course of action for Owen Precision Machining, the first part studied business models that would help in analyzing the situation at hand. The models that have been used in the paper are: SWOT Analysis, Risk Reward Analysis, Just in Time Strategy, Vendor Managed Inventory, and Business Process Reengineering. SWOT helped in understanding the current standing of the company both internally as well as externally. The Risk Reward Analysis helped in evaluating the potential rewards in comparison with the risks for the options available for Christopher Owen. Since the company was facing the biggest hurdle in managing its inventory, two strategies that were discussed are Just in Time Strategy and Vendor Managed Inventory. Lastly Business Process Reengineering was used to help guide the organization on how to attain the required changes. SWOT Analysis of the company showed that the company is in a favorable position both internally as well as externally. However, the company has to work on its threats in order to bring the company into a more favorable position. The risk reward analysis revealed that the company is in the growing stages where the risks and rewards are both high. In this position, the company has to manage its operations in such a manner that it should be able to minimize the risk and thus entire the mature stage. Also the best option for OPM under the risk reward analysis is to retain the company but at the same time revise its operational strategy. The biggest issue that OPM is facing in this regard is managing its inventory so that cash is available for the company. For this, the analysis suggests using a combination of Just in Time Strategy and Vendor Managed Inventory. In order to bring about the necessary changes, the Business Process Reengineering model will be followed. Once the company was analyzed throug h the above mentioned models, a set of recommendations were developed for the company. It was recommended that Owen not sell the company but rather retain ownership of the company. The company should ask Benson for a bigger loan in order to implement VMI and JIT Strategy. Chapter One Owen’s Precision Machining is a small machine shop that operates with a total of 15 employees and under the leadership of the President and second generation owner, Christopher Owen. The company develops machine parts for robot prototypes and laboratory automation equipment. Before the economic crisis that hit the world in 2007, more and more companies were outsourcing their manufacturing to emerging countries around the world and chief among them was China. This trend of outsourcing had resulted in a decline

Analysis of RadioShack Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of RadioShack - Essay Example The company is suffering from net cash outflow instead of net cash inflow and this threatens to deplete its cash and cash equivalent reserve. This means that the company may be bankrupt in the near future and creditors are likely to lose their stake in the company. The company is also not doing well in its profitability because this source of cash inflow could offset the deficit in cash and cash equivalents that the company suffers (Carrasco 1). Possible stiff competition and poor operational management could be the reasons the organization is not doing well. While a large percentage of the organization’s stores are based in the United States, these stores have not been profitable to generate sufficient cash and facilitate growth. Competition could have also constrained demand, leading to high levels of inventory, and reduced profitability. Assuming the role of competition in the organization’s performance, poor operational strategies that have failed to minimize cost would be another reason for the current condition. The inefficient growth strategy is another reason for the condition because while the company is realizing challenges in its United States’ market while other markets remain promising, it has failed to shift its focus to the other regions (Carrasco 1). The economic approach to â€Å"profit maximization and marginalism† are the central principles to the problem that the company faces (Nicholson and Snyder 374). Under the profit maximization principle and within the scope of a competitive market, the company should operate at a level where the difference from its marginal costs to its marginal revenue approaches zero from the positive side (Mankiw 283, 284). This could inform production level and reduce or mitigate the realized negative cash flow, and develop creditors’ confidence and finance management’s efficiency.  Ã‚  

Symbolic Representation Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Symbolic Representation - Term Paper Example Regards to Hesse-Biber (2007). In the American society, necklaces have been an important part of jewelry, which can be traced back to the ancient times of civilizations. Apart from beauty, just presenting or wearing jewelry has a lot of social, economic, religious and political implications in the American society. In the earlier years it was used to show existence of connection with a particular class of people. Jewelry has been used in many cultural rites that people pass through. Metal and cloth arts have significantly expanded variety of jewelry that are available to people. String and twine have facilitated the making of smaller and durable necklaces. Since human beings discovered the art melting and casting of metals into different shapes, silver, copper, gold and other metals have been used to model magnificent necklaces for both women and men (Hesse-Biber, 2007),Recent technologies such as glassblowing and gemcutting have permitted highly polished and faceted gemstones as wel l as beautiful art glass that are usually added to pieces. Currently, there are numerous brands of new metals that are available for making of necklaces that could not be used in the earlier years as they could not be properly melted, for example, titanium and stainless steel. Electroplating has also come in handy in ensuring that people can at least own gold and laser etching and miniaturization have enabled modeling of very fine and detailed insignias with the elements of an individual necklace. In the American society, women have been enhancing their mode of dressing with pendants and beads. Necklaces are a treasure for Native Americans as they contain substantial amount of jewelry. It is common to see on the US streets women having different types of necklaces that range from beads to metal ornaments or objects made of wood for purposes of aesthetic beauty. Necklaces are known to be part and parcel of ceremonies in the American society. For example, contemporary Americans have i ntegrated precious metal ornaments such as necklaces into about all their ceremonies. In the earlier years, pendants and beads made of naturally available materials were commonly used in ritual ceremonies due to the esteem of Native Americans placed upon metals and other precious metals. In contemporary times, ceremonies and celebrations are some of the occasions that women showcase their jewelry in form of necklaces. This demonstrates that Americans go at greater lengths that involve huge sums of money to buy jewelry to enhance their personal accessories and appearance. Stemming from the earlier times, the Native American dances were mostly accompanied by dishing out ornaments to fans, and to date beads and other precious metal ornaments have formed part and parcel of the American ceremonies (NativeTech: Native American Technology and Art, 2012). Ceremonies such as marriages have continued to witness the use of ornamentation such as necklaces that are offered as present to the newl y wed people. As is the norm, many women have an addiction for pretty things, hence have a lot of appetite for impractical decorations and it happens that jewelry has been on their side to satisfy the need. Since jewelry is very expensive, giving out a jewel such as a necklace to a lady in the American s

Scientific method Essay Example for Free

Scientific method Essay Policy and practice impacts of research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council A case study of the Future of Work programme, approach and analysis Steven Wooding, Edward Nason, Lisa Klautzer, Jennifer Rubin, Stephen Hanney, Jonathan Grant Policy and practice impacts of research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council A case study of the Future of Work programme, approach and analysis Steven Wooding, Edward Nason, Lisa Klautzer, Jennifer Rubin, Stephen Hanney, Jonathan Grant Prepared for the Economic and Social Research Council. The research described in this report was prepared for the Economic and Social Research Council. The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark.  © Copyright 2007 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2007 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P. O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665 Westbrook Centre, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1YG, United Kingdom RAND URL: http://www.rand. org/ RAND Europe URL: http://www. rand. org/randeurope. To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [emailprotected] org Preface This report, prepared for the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), examines the impact of the ESRC’s ‘Future of Work’ programme on policy makers, professional practitioners and other groups outside academia. It also explores the applicability of the ‘Payback Framework’, a conceptual model for research evaluation, to social science. The Future of Work programme was an initiative that aimed to bring together leading researchers in the United Kingdom in an investigation of the future prospects for paid and unpaid work. The first phase of the programme started in October 1998, followed by a second phase in January 2001. The report is presented in two volumes. This volume presents the conclusions of the research and summarises the methods and results. The second volume includes a brief literature review of the evaluation of social science and the influence of research on policy; an overview of the Future of Work programme; detailed analysis of a survey of Future of Work PIs (Principal Investigators); and four complete case study narratives of projects from the programme. The report will be of interest to the ESRC and policy makers in the wider social science and policy community who are interested in how social science informs policy and practice. It will also be of interest to those developing methods to evaluate research. The research was led by RAND Europe in collaboration with the Health Economics Research Group (HERG). RAND Europe is an independent not-for-profit think tank and research organisation that serves the public interest by providing evidence for policy making and public debate. HERG, a Specialist Research Institute of Brunel University, has as one of its main research themes, methodological and empirical studies of the impact of research. This report has been peer reviewed in accordance with RAND’s quality assurance standards (see http://www. rand. org/about/standards/) and therefore may be represented as a RAND Europe product. For more information about RAND Europe or this document, please contact Steven Wooding Senior Policy Analyst Tel: +44 1223 273897 Email: [emailprotected] org RAND Europe Westbrook Centre, Milton Road Cambridge. CB4 1YG, United Kingdom Jonathan Grant Deputy to the President Tel: +44 1223 293 893 Email: [emailprotected] org [emailprotected] org iii Contents Preface iii Overview of impact vii Executive summary ix Acknowledgments.. xiii CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1 CHAPTER 2 Methodology and project structure .. 3 2. 1 The analytical framework . 3 2. 2 Initial tasks .. 5 2. 2. 1 Brief review of social science impacts literature . 5 2. 2. 2 Review of FoW documentation 5 2. 2. 3 Key informant interviews. 5 2. 2. 4 Output of initial tasks 5 2. 3 Payback survey .. 6 2. 4 Interim report 7 2. 5 Case studies. 7 2. 6 Analysis workshop 9 CHAPTER 3 Results . 11 3. 1 Key findings from the literature review and key informant interviews.. 11 3. 2 Summary of results from survey.. 13 3. 3 User interviews 26 3. 4 Case study summaries.. 27 3. 5 Case study A. 27 3. 6 Case study B. 30 3. 7 Case study C 33 3. 8 Case study D 35 3. 9 Concluding comments 37 CHAPTER 4 Discussion.. 39 4. 1 Impact of the FoW programme .. 39 4. 1. 1 The FoW programme has had significant wider impacts on policy and practice 39 v Policy and practice impacts of ESRC funded research RAND Europe 4. 2 4. 3 4. 4 4. 1. 2 What impact has the FoW programme had? 39 4. 1. 3 Why has the FoW programme had an impact? 40 4. 1. 4 What affects the impact of projects .. 41 Applying the Payback Model to wider impacts of social science .. 42 4. 2. 1 The Payback Framework can be applied to social science .. 42 4. 2. 2 Generalisation of categories.. 42 4. 2. 3 General points about assessing impacts of social science . 43 Further research.. 45 Concluding comments. 46 REFERENCES. 47 Reference list.. 49 vi Overview of impact The Future of Work (FoW) programme succeeded in bringing together an interdisciplinary group of academics, stimulating constructive discussions and providing access to policy makers to ensure the wider impact of the research. The FoW programme had significant academic and wider impacts. There was substantial output from the programme in the area of knowledge production. To date this has included 11 books and 69 book chapters; four journal special issues and over 100 peer reviewed articles, alongside over 200 conference presentations. Six of the researchers felt they had changed the direction of their research field. In terms of capacity development, involvement in the FoW programme was seen as a moderate or considerable contributor to 20 academic promotions, and the most common benefit of the programme cited by researchers were the opportunities to meet other researchers and in providing fora for discussion. In our survey of Principal Investigators (PIs) they reported 50 policy impacts, across a range of organisations including national government, political parties, employers and unions. Contributions to the policy debate included more than 60 working papers and official reports; seminars for the DTI, Low Pay Commission and Cabinet Office. More directly there were nine secondments, which placed the researchers in a policy environment, including a senior role in the DTI Women and Equality unit, where the researcher was able to influence strategy and policy decisions relating to equality. Further specific examples of policy impact were: the chairmanship of the TUC Partnership Institute by a researcher, allowing him to impact on employer/union relationships; the drafting of guidance notes on complying with employment legislation for the DTI by a research group; direct input into the Work and Families Bill (2003), which introduced new legislation on maternity and paternity leave; and citation in a House of Lords judgement on pay and conditions, specifically looking at unfair dismissal. Outside the government sectors our case studies identified a number of impacts on employers, including changes in workload policies and career structure; effects on maternity and family friendly working practices in a large consulting organisation and the negotiation of union-employer partnership deals. vii Policy and practice impacts of ESRC funded research RAND Europe Dissemination Almost half of the PIs felt the extensive networks of the Programme Director, and steering committee, had provided them with direct access to policy makers. These policy makers included those in the Work Foundation and a government agency. In addition, the FoW Media Fellow enhanced the impact of the research on more distant policy makers. He achieved this by producing research summaries set in the context of current policy and other research findings. Crucially, he worked to timescales suitable for policy makers rather than those of researchers. Evaluation methodology This evaluation used the Payback Framework as a conceptual structure and showed that the framework is useful for evaluating the wider impacts of social science. We used a number of techniques to collect data for the study: document review; key informant interviews; an on-line survey; and case studies. However, we found that some impacts are inaccessible to evaluation, because of political sensitivity or anonymity guarantees. viii Executive summary We examined how the ESRC Future of Work (FoW) programme influenced policy and professional practice. While doing so we reflected on the methods used to assess and identify impacts. Specifically, we considered whether the Payback Framework, a conceptual model for research evaluation, was appropriate for social science. Here we summarise the key findings. The FoW brought together an interdisciplinary group of academics, stimulated constructive discussion and provided access to policy makers. This may be especially significant given the view expressed by key informants that employment policy and management practices may be especially hard to reach with evidence as they are heavily contextual and apt to be influenced by fashion and ideology. Impacts The FoW programme had significant impacts on knowledge and research. This was evident in the numerous publications and conference presentations attributed to the programme. Most Principal Investigators (PIs) attributed incremental changes in their field of research to their projects, and some attributed a clear change of direction in their field of research to their projects. Most of the projects also influenced other researchers. The FoW programme had significant impacts on public policy. Although some PIs could identify specific impacts of their research, many found it difficult to identify actual policies they had influenced. PIs generally thought they had influenced policy in an incremental way and informed the policy debate. PIs also gave many presentations of FoW research to policy audiences. The FoW programme had significant impacts on career development. More than 75% of PIs thought the FoW programme had helped them to form networks with researchers, policy makers and practitioners; nearly half of PIs attributed career development for researchers to their FoW projects, including nine secondments to government. The FoW programme impacted on the policies and practice of organisations. There were many presentations given in organisations; PIs thought organisational practices were influenced by the research, but only some were easily identifiable. The policy environment determines policy impact. In one case the heightened awareness among policy makers of issues around maternity leave and women returning to work ix Policy and practice impacts of ESRC funded research RAND Europe provided fertile ground for research on how women make these decisions. In a second case the waning interest in union-employer partnerships was thought to have reduced the impact of a TUC institute chaired by a former FoW researcher. In general, the FoW research seldom caused major changes in policy but often resulted in impacts such as stimulating debate, fine-tuning policy, dispelling myths and providing confirmatory support. Dissemination The FoW programme provided access to policy makers. It effectively combined the networks of the Director and steering committee, and provided the researchers access to these networks which included key policy makers in the DTI, Low Pay Commission (LPC) and Cabinet Office. The FoW Media Fellow enhanced the impact on policy makers. This was achieved largely for two reasons. First, because his summaries of the FoW research were produced to a timescale suitable for policy makers, rather than researchers. And second because they were accessible to policy makers: setting the FoW research in the context of other research and current policy discussions. Researchers and policy makers differed in their views on how best to disseminate to policy makers. The two groups consider different channels to be important: researchers favouring academic publications, policy makers favouring the Media Fellow’s publications. The Payback Framework is a useful model for evaluating social science research. The Payback Framework provides a structure for research evaluation. It comprises a logic model of the research and dissemination process and a classification scheme for the immediate and wider impacts of research. This consists of five categories: Knowledge; Impacts on future research; Impacts on policy; Impacts on practice and Wider social and economic impacts. Both the literature review and fieldwork showed that the Framework could be effectively applied to social science research. Impacts and attribution Some impacts may be inaccessible to evaluation, for example some impacts were politically sensitive, so participants requested that they were not discussed. Also, subjects of the original research may have been influenced by their participation in that research, but their identity could not be revealed to the researchers in this evaluation. A confluence of inputs and incremental ‘knowledge creep’ make it difficult to attribute policy change to a given input. The Payback Framework provides a structure in which to explore the context within which projects are developed. However, the incremental nature of policy remains a difficulty in assessing impact at the project level. There are few mechanisms in social science to codify and synthesise research. In contrast to biomedical science, in the fields covered by the FoW programme there are fewer formal mechanisms to systematically review research; these mechanisms can offer tracers of policy influence. x RAND Europe Executive summary Timing Research on impacts may happen too early or too late. If research on impacts occurs too early, some impacts may not yet have occurred. If it occurs too late, certain impacts may have already come and gone. This possibility of transience makes it harder to investigate the impacts, as they may not be captured by a current snapshot of policies and policy debates. In order to provide a comprehensive view of the wider impacts of research this project suggests it would be important to warn researchers at the start of the project about likely evaluations; provide researchers with a mechanism to capture early impacts; and then evaluate research after further impacts have had time to develop, probably 5-10 years after completion of the research. The literature suggests that for research relating to ‘hot topics’ in policy, initial impact is likely to occur earlier and that 2 years post completion may provide the best time frame for evaluation. Implementation of evaluation There was widespread cooperation in the evaluation. The majority of PIs (including all case study PIs), 80% of nominated research users, and others nominated by PIs, agreed to participate in the research when approached. Researchers and users may prefer structured interviews to written surveys. Our experience also suggests that such interviews would provide more useful information for evaluation. Our on-line survey required significantly more of most participants’ time than predicted. xi Acknowledgments This study would have been impossible without the generous support of those involved with the Future of Work programme – we thank them for their constructive criticism and for sparing their time for interviews and to fill in our survey. We would particularly like to thank those researchers whose grants were selected as case studies. We would also like to thank Veronica Littlewood of the Economic and Social Research Council for her help and advice, including at the analysis workshop. Finally, we would like to thank Professor Martin Buxton and Stijn Hoorens who acted as the quality assurance reviewers. xiii CHAPTER 1 Introduction This report explores the wider impacts of social science research: how research affects policy, practitioner behaviour and public opinion. It does this by examining the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Future of Work (FoW) research programme. The ESRC is the UK’s largest research funder and training agency addressing economic and social concerns. As such it aims to provide high quality research on issues of importance to business, the public sector and government. The FoW programme set out to bring together leading UK researchers, across a wide range of disciplines, in order to investigate the future prospects for paid and unpaid work. The programme was shaped by a consultation exercise involving 140 policy makers, academics and practitioners, carried out by Professor Peter Nolan in 1997. The first phase of the programme started in October 1998, followed by a second phase in January 2001. The total funding of the programme amounted to ? 4 million and attracted 221 applications for the first phase, of which 19 were supported. A further eight projects were supported in the second phase. The aims of the programme are shown in Box 1. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ To create the evidence base that would then ground theories of work To enhance public understanding of the critical developments most likely to impact on people’s working lives To deepen accounts of the future of work by systematic mapping of past and present shifts and continuities To foster interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives To use innovative methods to engage with research users To act as a focus for debate within and between the academic, practitioner and policy-making communities Box 1. Aims of the FoW programme. Peter Nolan, Montague Burton Chair of Industrial Relations at Leeds, went on to direct the programme. He encouraged interaction between the research groups, promoted dissemination of programme findings and raised the programme’s profile. The Director was assisted by a programme advisory committee of senior representatives from government, the Trades Union Congress (TUC), business and academia. The advisory group attended meetings, participated in site visits to meet researchers, and provided access to policy networks. The written dissemination activities were led by Robert Taylor, a 1. Policy and practice impacts of ESRC funded research RAND Europe former journalist at the Financial Times, who was appointed as the programme’s Media Fellow. He wrote a series of seven booklets, aimed at policy makers, that described FoW research and set it in context. The output of the programme has been substantial: its outputs so far include 11 books, 69 book chapters, over 100 refereed articles and over 400 media mentions. This study explores the wider impacts of the programme in more detail. Over the past decade there has been an increasing culture of accountability affecting government spending. This climate has led ESRC to investigate the most effective ways to evaluate social science research, and to demonstrate the wider impact of its research on society. This report builds on experience of evaluating research in the health services and biomedical settings and seeks to apply it to social science. In this work we take the Payback Framework, originally developed by the Health Economics Research Group (HERG) at Brunel University, and test its applicability to social science. The Payback Framework was initially developed to examine the payback of health services research (Buxton et al., 1994; Buxton and Hanney, 1994; Buxton and Hanney, 1996). It was further developed in an earlier ESRC analysis of non-academic impact from research (Cave and Hanney, 1996) and subsequently extended to examine basic and clinical biomedical research (Wooding et al. , 2005; Wooding et al. , 2004). This study tested whether the Framework could be applied to examine the payback of social science research. To do this we briefly reviewed the literature on social science evaluation and the common models for examining the impact of evidence on policy, and concluded that they could be aligned with the Payback Framework. We then used the Payback Framework to examine the research projects in the FoW programme. We used the Payback Framework to structure a programme-wide questionnaire and a series of four case studies. Finally, we used these three streams of evidence to summarise the wider impacts of the FoW study and to see what can be learnt from the programme. We also used the evidence to develop a refined Payback Framework and consider its applicability for evaluating the wider impacts of social science research. 2 CHAPTER 2 Methodology and project structure. This project set out to examine the wider impacts of the FoW programme and to test the applicability of the Payback Framework to social science. It used a number of data collection methods (shown schematically in Figure 1). First we conducted a brief review of the literature concerning the ways in which social science affects policy and how the impacts of social science can be assessed. To develop our understanding of the FoW programme we reviewed documents from the ESRC and interviewed key individuals. We then surveyed all the Principal Investigators (PIs) who held grants from the FoW programme  to investigate the wider impacts of their grants, and asked them to nominate a user of their research for follow up via a telephone interview. To examine the pathways to impact in more detail we carried out four case studies of FoW PIs. The data collected throughout the study were then analysed in a one-day workshop. More detail on each of these stages is provided in the sections that follow. Figure 1. Project schematic 2. 1 The analytical framework The analytical framework for the study was based on the Payback Framework. The Payback Framework consists of two elements: a logic model representation of the complete research process (for the purposes of research evaluation), and a series of categories to classify the individual paybacks from research. The logic model and categories of the Payback Framework that served as the starting point for this study are presented below in Figure 2 and Box 2 respectively. The logic model provides a framework for analysing the ‘story’ of a research idea from initial inception 3 Policy and practice impacts of ESRC funded research RAND Europe. (Stage 0) through the research process (Stage 2) into dissemination (Interface B) and on towards its impact on people and society (Stage 6). The model is meant as a research tool to facilitate cross-case analysis. It does this by providing a common structure for each case study thereby ensuring cognate information for each study is recorded in the same place. The model is not meant to imply that the research process itself is linear. If necessary, individual pieces of information can be recorded in more than one place in the Framework to ensure they are picked up in the relevant cross-case comparisons. Figure 2. The version of the Payback Framework used as a starting point for the study1 Knowledge production Journal articles; conference presentations; books; book chapters; research reports Research targeting and capacity building Better targeting of future research; development of research skills, personnel and overall research capacity; staff development and educational benefits Informing policy and product development Improved information bases for political and executive decisions; development of pharmaceutical products and therapeutic techniques Health and health sector benefits. Improved health; cost reduction in delivery of existing services; qualitative improvements in the process of delivery; improved equity in service delivery Broader economic benefits Wider economic benefits from commercial exploitation of innovations arising from RD; economic benefits from a healthy workforce and reduction in working days lost Box 2. The payback categories of the Payback Framework used as a starting point for the study (Source: Hanney et al. , 2004) The categories of the Payback Framework are considered in the Discussion section of this report where the applicability of the model to social science research is discussed. 1 Source: Hanney et al. , 2004 4 RAND Europe Methodology and project structure 2. 2 2. 2. 1 Initial tasks Brief review of social science impacts literature A brief review of the literature, presented in Volume II, examines frameworks of evaluation previously used to examine the impact of social science research as well as models of research impact. The review was intended to identify lessons from the literature that would inform the current study, but was not intended to be comprehensive. 2. 2. 2 Review of FoW documentation At the outset of the project we also reviewed the ESRC records covering the FoW programme. This informed our interview protocol for the key informant interviews and provided the basis of our overview of the FoW programme, which was used as background information throughout the study. This overview is presented in Volume II. 2. 2. 3 Key informant interviews To gain a deeper understanding of the overall context and impact of the FoW programme we carried out interviews with six key informants. Suitable key informants were identified by ESRC and by the Director of the FoW programme: o o o o o o Professor Peter Nolan (FoW Programme Director) John Hougham (Chair of Advisory Board) Professor Toby Wall (Member of panel that appointed the Programme Director and Member of Advisory Panel) Bill Callaghan (Member of Research Priorities Board and Chair of Commissioning Panel) Professor William Brown (PI on two grants, one in each phase of the programme) Robert Taylor (Programme Media Fellow). These interviews were written up and examined for themes relating to the wider impact of social science and the FoW programme. These themes were then clustered and used to inform the refinement of the Payback Framework. We also carried out a second follow-up interview with Peter Nolan late in the project to examine various issues that had been raised in the survey and case study phases of the project. 2. 2. 4 Output of initial tasks The findings of the initial tasks suggested that the logic model aspect of the Payback Framework was generally appropriate for the social sciences. However, the categories needed some generalisation; our initial revision of these categories was presented in our interim report to the ESRC and are shown in Box 3. 5 Policy and practice impacts of ESRC funded research RAND Europe Knowledge production Journal articles; conference presentations; books + chapters; research reports Research targeting and capacity building Sparking new research proposals; providing research training; supporting career advancement Informing policy and product development Raising the profile/awareness of existing research among policy/practitioners makers; dispelling/resisting myths; providing policy options; prioritising areas; designing management assessment tools; developing benchmarking protocols Employment sector benefits. Improved working conditions; higher participation in workforce; more effective regulation Societal and broader economic benefits Lower stress among workers; improved public health; improved mental health through decreased unemployment; greater productivity; improved equity Box 3: Draft Payback Categories for the Social Sciences afer initial tasks. 2. 3 Payback survey To examine the range and types of payback produced across the FoW programme we invited all the PIs to complete an online survey. The survey concentrated on the wider impacts of the projects, but also asked some questions about the initiation of the research. The survey questions were based on those used in previous payback studies and modified in light of the key informant interviews and literature review2. PIs were invited to participate in the survey using personalised emails which contained a direct hyperlink to their questionnaire. PIs who had grants in both phases of the FoW programme received two emails linking to two separate surveys. The survey was implemented using MMIC web questionnaire software. 3 Data were downloaded from MMIC and analysed using SPSS version 14 and Microsoft Excel version 2000. 4 The questionnaire was originally drafted on paper. The paper draft was reviewed by the ESRC and by both of the project’s quality assurance reviewers. After incorporating their comments it was converted into a web questionnaire and again reviewed by the ESRC. We also asked a RAND researcher from outside the project team to test the questionnaire by talking us through their thoughts as they filled it in. This helped us to identify misunderstandings and confusing questions. 2 Payback questionnaires first used in Buxton et al. , 2000 and subsequently refined for payback analysis of the NHS Research Implementation Methods Programme and the Dutch and UK Health.

Economics - Product Differentiation in Monopoly Essay Example for Free

Economics Product Differentiation in Monopoly Essay Monopolies are firms that are the sole or dominant suppliers of a good or service in a given market. And what sets apart monopolies from competitive firms is â€Å"market power†- the ability of a firm to affect the market price. Price discrimination is the business practice of selling the same good at different prices to different customers, even though the cost of production is the same for all customers. Only monopolies can practice price discrimination, because otherwise competition would prevent price discrimination. Price discrimination increases the monopolist’s profits, reduces the consumer surplus and reduces the deadweight loss. (the buyers of the lower-priced product should not be able to resell the product to the higher-priced market. Otherwise, the monopoly will not be able to maintain price differentials. ) The monopolist must be able to identify segments of the market that are willing to pay different prices, and then market its products accordingly. A common technique to achieve this is by making it harder to get the lower prices, since wealthier consumers value their time more than their money. Some ways the monopolistic firms can implement discriminatory pricing are; †¢Linear Approximation Technique or Markup Pricing Technique †¢Personalized Pricing – extracting the maximum amount a customer is willing to pay for the product. †¢Coupons and Rebates – providing coupons to attract more customers or providing personalized discounts. †¢Bulk pricing – offering lower prices when customer buys a huge quantity of the same product. †¢Bundling joining products or services together in order to sell them as a single combined unit. Block pricing Charging more for the first set of the product, then less for each additional product bought by the same consumer. †¢Group Pricing- charging different customers different price based on factors such as race, gender, age, abilities etc. and also â€Å"psychographic segmentation†- dividing consumers based on their lifestyle, personality, values, and social class. †¢Charging different prices based on geographic location. Some products may be cheaper to produce in different places and based on the cost of the good sold the monopolistic firm can charge different prices in order to maximize its profits. Placing restrictions or other inferior characteristics on the low-price good or service, so as to make it sufficiently less attractive to the high price segment †¢Establishing a schedule of volume discounts (â€Å"block pricing†) such that only large-volume buyers (who may have more elastic demands) qualify †¢Using a two-part tariff, where the customer pays an up-front fee for the right to buy the product and then pays additional fees for each unit of the product consumed.

The Single Most Important Factor Influencing Learning Education Essay

The Single Most Important Factor Influencing Learning Education Essay Broadfoot (1996, p.21) describes assessment as the most powerful tool in education and as a source of leverage to bring about change. In this assignment I will attempt to draw together my own experiences of using assessment as a teaching tool, both summative and formative, and how music has been the most assessed of disciplines, both in the school context and beyond (Phillpott 2007) FIND REFERENCE or use online source?!!!! With relevance to Q11 I shall explain my understanding of the assessment requirements for GCSE and AS level music and how I have used these to inform my own practice and involvement with assessment for learning, specifically as a day to day classroom tool. It is necessary that pupils achievements are recorded and monitored in some way, not only to provide the student with essential hard evidence of their strengths for use in higher education, the workplace and beyond, but to provide a means to appraise the effectiveness of a school and its staff. OFSTED inspectors will appraise a schools record keeping and assessment protocols and will need to scrutinize records of student results. The school league tables printed in the national press focus on exam results in order to rate a schools success against the national average although these published results do not illustrate a schools success measured against other influences such as socio-economic factors or turbulence for example. What does key stage 3 national curriculum assessment consist of? At the end of key stage 3, normally when pupils are in year 9, schools have to report teacher assessment outcomes to parents/carers. The requirement for all pupils to sit tests in English, mathematics and science at the end of key stage 3 was removed in October 2008. Teacher assessment of pupils remains a statutory requirement. At the end of key stage 3, teachers summarise their judgements for each eligible pupil, taking into account the pupils progress and performance throughout the key stage. They need to determine: a level for each attainment target in English, mathematics, science and modern foreign languages   an overall subject level in each of the core and non-core subjects. Teachers should base their judgements on the level descriptions in the national curriculum. GET THIS IN SOMEHOW!! RELATE TO FFT/RAISE ONLINE, ETC Q13 requires trainee teachers to know how to use local and national statistical information to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching. At Guthlaxton College, the pastoral assessment of pupils uses a summative model described as an ATL (attitude to learning). This compares aspirational target grades taken from scores at key stage 3 and analysed via the Fischer family trust data analysis project which produces estimates of likely attainment. These FFT estimates are calculated individually for each pupil and, from these, school and local authority performance projections may be calculated. These figures are estimates only in that they make predictions for future attainment if pupils work and make progress that is in line with that of similar pupils in previous years. The ATL score looks at current progression against the FFT estimate for that pupil and is useful in providing on-going data evidence, alongside teacher assessment, coursework grades, test results and attendance in pro viding a picture of the student across all of their subject areas. Student progression, with further relevance to standard Q13, can be assessed in this way and attainment levels can be raised by identifying strength and areas for further development or support. Effective schools continuously monitor progress and evaluate themselves by scrutinising pupil progress and grades, identifying influences which prove to hamper or accelerate achievement and progression. The school should pay close attention to the impact that any intervention or support has had and how it has affected the learning of the pupils. In my own practice I have used summative data, ATL scores and FFT projections to discuss pupil progress with parents during student review sessions. I have also been able to identify areas for improvement in my own teaching methods by using test and mock exam scores to create a picture of student achievement levels. At key stage 4, GCSE results can be used by the school to identify areas of weakness or areas which require support and intervention by looking at patterns which may emerge from scrutiny of these summative results. This information can be fed back to subject leaders who may then be able to identify areas for future development. Therefore, summative assessment can be used as a driving force for school improvement. Educational decisions regarding pupil performance, for example the streaming I observed in my second school placement at key stage 3, must be based on effective use of the evidence gathered. Over a relatively short space of time a childs performance may evolve. Careful and regular use of summative data can help a teacher or school make effective teaching decisions. www.fischertrust.org Broadfoot, P. (1996) Assessment and Learning: Power or Partnership? In Goldstein, H and Lewis, T (eds.) Assessment: Problems, Developments and Statistical Issues. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons The National Strategies illustrates that it is important for schools to use summative assessment data in a contextual way. For example learner achievement should be viewed against the national average, against relevant influences such as turbulence and KS3 and 4 splits (Leicestershire) and socio-economic factors such as EAL. Also, subject specific achievement differences may emerge. The strategies continue to illustrate that only useful data should be collected for the purpose of providing sound evidence for improvement. Relevant data may be used by schools to set targets and to identify successful practice so that it may be repeated or used as good exemplar teaching. When targets are established the school can then take steps towards support provision, training, intervention and further development (dcsf 2010) nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk Music as a discipline is fraught with grey areas which present challenges when trying to perform a final assessment of a performance or a composition, etc. In a school setting, when faced with the challenge of evaluating work which on some levels will always be interpreted subjectively, a teacher needs to have an assessment model that has legitimacy in a whole-education context (Spruce 1996) Spruce, G (1996) Teaching music, Assessment in the arts:issues in objectivity, London, Routledge. In my own practice for example I have used the carefully worded marking criteria given by the exam board as a template for appraisal and I have also used our college guidelines regarding learning objectives to assess what I have asked pupils to do and hopefully learn. However, it is the ongoing interaction between student and teacher which brings about most development in a young musician. The nature of learning a musical instrument requires that we move in small, guided steps and, to make any musical progress at all the learner must become self-reflective about their own skills and understanding. Traditional instrumental grades, although valuable in providing a signpost to a students general ability only deal with performance but do not provide any information about the journey which brought the student to this point. They do not take into consideration the musical growth, learning and understanding which has taken place prior to the final test (Faultley 2010). Fautley Martin Assessment in Music Education, Oxford Music Education, 2010. The folk view of assessment, that it happens after teaching has occurred, as in the model demonstrated by traditional musical instrument grades, separates assessment from teaching itself. This model of summative a ssessment makes the performance at the appointed hour of assessment the priority rather than the learning which has occurred. There are two types of assessment commonly referred to in education, summative and formative and there has been much debate over which one is more beneficial in education. In practice it seems that one, formative, is a teaching method which can lead to improvement and success in the other, summative form of assessment. Summative assessment is the summing up of a performance or an overall assessment that usually occurs at the end of a module or a period of work. The term formative assessment, on the other hand, is an ongoing process shared by the pupil and the teacher and is often referred to as assessment for learning because the constructive, reflective nature of the assessment is used an educational tool in itself, essential to guide both pupil and teacher alike for identifying areas for improvement and development. Summative assessment, tests, exams, grades, etc. summarise student progress at a specified point in the educational career, but formative assessment, questioning, peer and self-assessment, teacher feedback, etc. are all intended to develop and improve the process of learning itself. The results of formative assessment are not used to provide a final grade or judgement of a pupils knowledge or abilities but to guide learning. AfL, used well in the classroom encourages deep thinking and reflection rather than simple recall of information through questioning, self-assessment, peer assessment and teacher feedback. As a student teacher, I have often been asked by mentors, How do you know if they are learning? My initial attempts at teaching classroom music were characterised by the delivery of facts and instructions but without the utilizing the powerful opportunities for formative assessment such as open questioning or peer assessment for example. Dylan Wiliam in an interview for teacher TV is quoted as saying that the basic premise for AfL is the question Did the children learn what I just taught? If not, why not? This seemingly simple question requires discipline on the part of the teacher to be answered openly and constructively and the 10 principlines of AFL (assessment reform group 2002) gives a broad overview of how this might be achieved. Depending on situation, subject, behaviour issues, etc. it might be very difficult to put AFL into practice as it is intended. Indeed, Black and Wiliam (1998) write that formative assessment is a powerful tool if communicated correctly. As a trainee teacher, my second school placement in a very turbulent school presented me with such behavioural difficulties in the classroom that I found it difficult to attempt some of the AFL techniques I had been trying to hone with my perfectly behaved GCSE students elsewhere. Day to day strategies for AFL such as questioning, self-and peer assessment and feedback were not in place in a way I was familiar with and seemed tokenistic. The pupils were not familiar with the methods and so the style was not as effective as it should have been had they been introduced to AFL via a whole school approach. There is a definite need for a school to adopt a consistent culture of assessment for learning for it to work successfully within the music classroom. T he temptation may be to enhance a lesson using a few token AfL techniques such as peer assessment, etc. just to get through an observation or OFSTED inspection. However, the idealism and spirit behind assessment for learning seems to be that the pupil becomes more responsible for shaping their own learning through the constant use of self and peer assessment, receiving feedback and dealing with challenging, thought provoking questions. The AfL ideas should be the basis for the teaching rather than empty, ritualistic mechanisms or novelty add-ons. The Assessment reform group states that Assessment for learning should be recognised as central to classroom practice and should involve both teachers and learners alike in the process of reflection on the classroom activity and decisions regarding progression towards learning goals and objectives. AFL is also an important tool for the teacher to assess their own methods and ask Did they learn what I just taught them? If the teaching practice is ineffective then it must be adjusted and improved and AFL should become part of the effective planning of teaching and learning (Assessment reform group, 2002). The assessment judgments of teachers do matter, they are essential to the successful development of every child in learning music, and, as a number of recent initiatives observe, every child matters. (Faultley 2010) The Assessment Reform Group (2002, p.2) define assessment for learning as the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there.   Assessment Reform Group. (2002) Research-based principles to guide classroom practice. London: Assessment Reform Group The single most important factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly (Ausubel et al, 1978) Ausubel, D.P, Novak, J and Hanesian, H (1978) Educational psychology:A cognitive view, 2nd edition, Holt Rinehart and Winston. Many different researchers such as, Casbon and Spackman, (2005), The Assessment Reform Group (2002) and Black, et al, (2002) have identified different strategies that underpin successful assessment for learning.   This assignment will focus on four that I have put into practice myself while teaching music and can comment upon from personal experience: setting goals and the sharing of assessment criteria, questioning, peer and self-assessment and teacher feedback.   I will use these four strategies as a guide to describe exactly what assessment for learning is and how it relates to musical Education. Casbon, C and Spackman, L. (2005) Assessment for Learning in Physical Education. Leeds: Coachwise Black, P, Harrison, C, Lee, C, Marshall, B and Wiliam, D. (2002) Working Inside the Black Box; Assessment for Learning in the Classroom. London: nferNelson SETTING GOALS/SHARING CRITERIA By setting goals and sharing criteria the classroom teacher can aim to ensure pupils know what they should have achieved by the end of the lesson (School Curriculum Assessment Authority, SCAA, 1997).   Pupils should know what they are trying to achieve. Without this information they cannot evaluate their own success at the end of the lesson (Weeden et al, 2002).   Before setting goals, the teacher needs to find out what the pupils have learned previously and what level they are at in order to make the goals achievable and a source of motivation (James, 2000 and SCAA, 1997). Q11 refers to developing an understanding of assessment requirements for public examinations and I have used these a starting point for designing many of my units of work as the AQA GCSE syllabus lists clear marking criteria. Indeed it was a useful exercise for me to translate these criteria into easily digestible, pupil-friendly language. Questioning, the second strategy, is a vital part of assessment for learning and one which as an inexperienced teacher I have had to seek much advice from colleagues.   Weeden et al. (2002) report that a lot of teachers use questions which require only the recall of information in order to provide an answer. Weeden, P, Winter, J and Broadfoot, P. (2002) Assessment: Whats in it for the school? London: RoutledgeFalmer As Stobart and Gipps (1997) point out, a pupil cannot demonstrate understanding simply by regurgitating facts or pieces of information.   Assessment for learning is concerned with process and not the product and therefore questions need to enable knowledge and understanding (Casbon and Spackman, 2005) via the implementation and demonstration of higher order thinking.   According to Blooms taxonomy, the recall of knowledge is classified as a lower order skill. By adjusting the complexity of a question and the requirements for an answer, a teacher can encourage higher order skills and thinking. For example, in my music lessons for KS3, I had to begin a topic on notation by introducing simple facts such as note values and pitch. The next questioning strategy I used, involving simple sums using notes instead of numbers, was designed to encourage the students to demonstrate their comprehension of note-lengths. Black, et al. (2002) describes teachers as not only presenters of informati on but leaders of exploration. The skills I am aiming to develop in my own practice require being able to create probing, explorative questions which cause a pupil to apply and analyze even simple knowledge and facts. Blooms taxonomy hierarchy of questioning get it in there somewhereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ They can be used to explore pupils prior knowledge (Black and Wiliam, 1998) and also their own points of view on a subject.   Questions are also useful tools for feedback.   Black, et al. (2002) explain that impromptu questions posed while the pupils are working about what they are thinking and why, encourages wider thinking and provides immediate feedback to the teacher regarding pupil understanding.   Teachers also need to be aware of how the questions are being answered and that this can be influenced by the mode of questioning used.   The all-important thinking time allowed for all pupils is approved by Black, et al (2002) who prescribe a no hands up policy, where all the pupils should have an answer to share with the class if they are called upon by the teacher.   This approach to questioning allows more pupils to be involved and engaged in a question and answer session. According to personality type, different students will show different levels of willingness to be involved. The more effective and valuable technique I have used in my music lessons is to present a question, allow thinking time and then assess student answers in a way which does not rely on the hands-up approach. The answers and thoughts can be retrieved via methods such as asking a student by name and then asking a peer to comment on their answer or by using the mini-whiteboard method whereby the whole class can answer a closed question simultaneously. My first attempts at this AfL method were poorly planned because of the closed nature of the questions I used and I realized later that some pupils would give me answers they felt I wanted to hear rather than engaging in a dialogue unveiling the genuine state of their learning. In this way, I conclude that the focus should always be on the pupil truly reviewing their own understanding by tackling open ended questions. Black and Wiliam (1998) assert that a common feature of poor questioning practice is that teachers fail to allow adequate processing time when asking questions. Without reflective thinking time factored into the questioning, the only answers that can be reasonably asked are factual, knowledge based and limited in their scope for demonsrating learning through exploration and evaluation (Black and Wiliam 1998). The lesson may have a sense of pace and enthusiasm but it will only be a limited number of pupils answering the rapid, fact-based, short answer questions. Shirley Clarke (2005) advocates increased waiting time during classroom questioning by indicating the thinking time and adopting a no-hands up approach ie. Dont answer straight away, split into pairs and take 2 minutes to consider why Mozart changed key suddenly at bar 27. Clarke (2005) goes on to state that changing the student expectation of what classroom is and how they are to be involved in the process will result in long er, more confident responses. The variety of answers and explanations will widen and help to provoke thought and learning and the failure to respond will decrease for those who are less confident. In my second school placement I was presented with an assessment policy briefly covering the expected elements of AFL. This document stated that skillful questioning gauges understanding (Hamilton community college, 2010) but I would suggest that questioning in the classroom is also a means to provoke thinking when used correctly. Black et al (2003) concur with this by stating that More effort has to be spent in framing questions that are worth asking: that is, questions which explore issue that are critical to the development of students understanding. (Black et al, 2003) Black, P., Harrison C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., and Wiliam D. (2003) Assessment for learning, Open university press. Shirley Clarke (2005) writes that effective, thought provoking questioning is planned prior to the lesson and will extend student understanding beyond mere recall of facts or knowledge. Blooms taxonomy defines closed recall of fact as a lower order thinking skills but that analysis or evaluation require a higher level of thinking and involvement in order to engage with the question. Therefore, pre-designed questioning will encourage the required thoughtful, reflective dialogue needed to evoke and explore understanding (Black and Wiliam 1998) and through the implementation of sound framing and the use of thinking time all pupils may have the opportunity to develop and express their ideas. SELF ASSESSMENT Stobart and Gipps (1997, p.15) believe that assessment is only truly formative if the process involves the pupil, and this of course requires self-assessment, the third strategy.   By allowing independent learning where pupils crucially take active responsibility for, and participation in, their own learning, self-assessment is a vital AFL  tool. Black, et al. (2002) feel that this personal reflection on progress can only take place if the pupil fully understands objectives and this is backed up by Shirley Clarke (2005) who outlines a model for enabling students to identify their own success against clearly outlined learning objectives. The Assessment reform group (2002) states that AFL should develop a learners capacity for self-assessment, so that they can become reflective and self-managing. With well outlining learning goals the process may also avoid be destructive to a pupils confidence and can be focused mainly on areas for future improvement. For example, in my GCSE music classes I can use self-assessment to ensure that a pupil looks objectively at their own composition work with reference to the AQA marking criteria which help to provide sound success criteria for the unit of work. By understanding what they should be learning they can assess what they need to do to reach the required goals. Self-assessment is a skill which needs to be taught and used on a regular basis but in my brief experience needs to be woven into lesson planning in order to fulfill its role. Stobart, G., Gipps, C., Assessment: A teachers guide to the issues, Hodder Arnold H&S; 3rd Revised edition edition (4 Dec 1997) PEER ASSESSMENT As well as self-assessment, peer-assessment is also a powerful of learning tool.   Cowie (2005) points out that often pupils are more likely to understand the feedback language used by their peers.   Pupils may also appear more confident when they are around their peers and are consequently more likely to interrupt another pupil through lack of understanding, than a teacher (Black, et al, 2002).   It is however, important that pupils are not encouraged to draw comparisons between themselves because that could have a negative effect on confidence and self-esteem. The Dfes guidance states that students do not become self-evaluative overnight and in my own practice it has taken time and commitment to self and peer assessment to move the process away from simple competition in the classroom towards more valuable collaborative learning activity. The focus for peer and self-assessment should be on the quality of the work produced and ways to improve it rather than simply marking each others work. FEEDBACK Teacher feedback may be described as formative when it helps students understand how to do better next time. If feedback, written on the bottom of an essay for example, simply gives a grade or mark out of ten, the student has no idea how to improve. However, if a teacher gives clear guidance for possible next steps or areas for development then this is valuable for all students, regardless of ability. It also avoids the comparison effect and focuses on personal improvement. If the emphasis is placed on the grade of a piece of work, a student with low ability can easily become demotivated. This is especially true in GCSE music where the spread of the cohort admitted to the course can range from those who have had private instrumental tuition for years to those whose only experience of practical music making will have been in the music classroom. Through careful feedback a teacher can avoid the maladaptive responses (Dweck 1986) which can manifest in a music lesson as a form of helples sness and the lack of persistence a learner can exhibit when faced with difficulty or a low grade. Formative feedback is diagnostic and is more important to raising achievement by giving a commentary for improvement than simply by giving a grade (Lawson 2008) Lawson, Tony, Assessing students reflective teaching and learning edited by Dymoke, S., Harrison, J. 2008. Sage publications limited. Feedback, the fourth strategy, is very important in assessment for learning; it can have huge impacts on pupils learning.   There are two types of feedback, normative, which refers to the giving of grades and the comparison to a statistical picture and formative which refers to giving constructive comment. Weaver (2006) points out that feedback is an effective way of alerting pupils to their strengths and weaknesses and giving information on how to close the gap. Closing the gap refers to the difference between the learning outcome or goal and the pupils present state (Black and Wiliam, 1998). By using feedback and assessment information, pupils and teachers are then able to decide what should be done next. A study by Martinez and Martinez (1992) found that normative feedback, grades and marks, etc., had a negative effect on pupils learning and this is echoed by Black and Wiliam (1998) who observed in their research an over-emphasis on marks and grading which in itself did not provide useful advice or instruction for the future. In order for learning to take place feedback must involve constructive dialogue and comment between the teacher and the pupil.   This kind of feedback can be a catalyst for discussion and further enhance learning (Maclellan, 2001). Traditionally however, the education system is grade dominated, and it would be hard to deviate from that.   Pupils will always want to know their grades.   Feedback can have very positive effects on both confidence and motivation, if used effectively (Weaver, 2006).