Archive for the ‘University College London’ Category

PostHeaderIcon Product Manager – Job Responsibilities, Education and Salary

Product management is managing of a company’s product through all of its stages starting from designing, on to manufacturing and marketing. This is also known as the lifecycle of a product. Product management is an inbound focus that is made by product managers to maximize the sale and profit of the product and add to the profit of the company or organization. The main focus of product management, however, lies in taking or considering new product for development. According to the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA), the product that adds up to unique benefit and serves superior value to the customers and clients is considered as the highest product of profitability.

Job Responsibilities of a Product Manager

The responsibilities of product managers vary depending upon the size, structure and type of product manufactured by the company. Their key responsibility lies in defining a new product manufactured by the company. They are also responsible for making strategies and policies to consider product life cycle and product differentiation.

Product managers are responsible for product planning and deal with marketing of the product. In planning, a product manager identifies and articulates market requirements and further enhances the basic features and properties of the product concerned so that it meets the needs of customers and clients.

Product managers are solely responsible for setting target demographics and looking at the plans and policies that other production companies have applied to make their product customer friendly. They create and apply new ideas to manufacture and promote a product that suits the company and fits the business model. Product managers have to manage one or more substantial products.

They are required to meet with the product team on a regular basis and get updates on the development of the product. They create product management roadmaps that will detail the ways by which the product will be manufactured and also give an estimation of particular time required.

Sometimes, product managers also have to make hardware, software, mechanical design, user documents, marketing and sales strategies. They also are involved with customer testing activities to promote the product manufactured by the company which make it user friendly.

Education Required to become a Product Manager

The responsibilities of product managers are wholly associated with the production unit and marketing policies of the company. A product manager must have practical knowledge of the current market and also understanding of the policies and strategies of product development. The most desired degree by the product development companies are that of an MBA in product management studies with a focus on economics, accounting, marketing, and business mathematics. These studies enable a student to understand the basic principles of product management and creating new strategies and plans in marketing research.

Online Studies That Can Get You There

Use of internet in our daily life has brought several unimaginable facilities to us. One of these involves getting desired knowledge on any subject from any corner of the world. There are several colleges and universities world wide that offer a variety courses including management studies. To get an MBA degree on product management, online, the following are names of some of the renowned universities and colleges:

Oxford Brookes University Business School Drexel University Ashford University Brown College DeVry University Online Everest University Online Kaplan University Online McCann School of Business and Technology Norwich University South University Online University of Phoenix Walden University

Salary Range of a Product Manager

Salaries are subject to change depending on the assets of the company, the buy and sell strategies, employee strength, geographical position of the company, and also the years of experience. The salary range of a product manager having experience of one year or less, in the Unites States is around $65,471. Persons having experience of five years or more are paid about $72,043 and those having experience of more than 20 years $99,584.

PostHeaderIcon Effective Management



Effective management

 

Dr.N.C.Martin, Ph.D

Lecturer – HOD

Department of Social Work

Shree Chandra Prabhu Jain College, Minjur, Chennai.

Planner

A Manager has to take a long-term view; while a team member will be working towards known and established goals, the manager must look further ahead so that these goals are selected wisely. By thinking about the eventual consequences of different plans, the manager selects the optimal plan for the team and implements it. The manager ensures that work is not repeated nor problems tackled too late, and that the necessary resources are allocated and arranged.

Provider

The Manager has access to information, which the team needs. The role of a manager is important because authority, which the manager holds uniquely within the team and the manager, must exercise the power for the benefit of the team for the effective productivity.

Protector

In any company, there are problems, which can deflect the work force. The manager should be there to guard against these and to protect the team. If a new project emerges which not given an impossible deadline. If someone in your team brings forward a good plan, you must ensure that it receives a fair hearing and that your team knows and understands the outcome. If someone is in your team has a problem at work, you have to deal with it.

Inspires a Shared Vision

An effective manager is often described as having a vision of where to go and the ability to articulate it.

Qualities of a Manager

Good Communicator

The ability to communicate with people is the most important skill by managers and team members. The Manager is also the team’s link to the larger organisation. He must have the ability to effectively negotiate and use persuasion when necessary to ensure the success of the team and project. Through effective communication, manager support individual and team achievements by creating guidelines for accomplishing tasks and for the career advancement of team members.

Enthusiasm

If Managers are negative – they bring staffs down. Manager with enthusiasm, with a bounce in their step, with a can-do attitude. Many people tend to follow people with a can-do attitude. Enthusiastic Managers are committed to their goals and express this commitment through optimism.

Competence

Managers will be chosen based on their ability to successfully lead others rather than on technical expertise, as in the past. Having a winning track record is the surest way to be considered competent. Expertise in management skills is another dimension in competence. The ability to challenge, inspire, enable, model and encourage must be demonstrated if managers are to be seen as capable and competent.

Ability to Delegate Tasks

Trust is an essential element in the relationship of manager and his or her team. You demonstrate your trust in others through your actions – how much you check and control their work, how much you delegate and how much you allow people to participate.

Cool Under Pressure

In a perfect world, projects would be delivered on time, under budget and with no major problems or obstacles to overcome. A leader with a hardy attitude will take these problems in stride. When leaders encounter a stressful event, they consider it interesting, they feel they can influence the outcome and they see it as an opportunity.

Team-Building Skills

A team builder can best be defined as a strong person who provides the substance that holds the team together in common purpose toward the right objective. In order for a team to progress from a group of strangers to a single cohesive unit, the leader must understand the process and dynamics required for this transformation. He or she must also know the appropriate leadership style to use during each stage of team development. The leader must also have an understanding of the different team players styles and how to capitalise on each at the proper time, for the problem at hand.

Communicate the big picture

If you want your employees to work hard and be committed to your business, you have to keep them in the loop. Open communication helps foster loyalty and gives employees a sense of pride. It helps them understand how their work contributes to the company’s success.

Delegate work and responsibilities

Some employees, share their workload with them and assign the work according to people’s strengths and weaknesses, and let employees develop their own good work habits and abilities.

Help employees set goals

Setting deadlines and goals helps keep employees focused, busy and motivates them to do their work. Talk to each of your employees about the company’s goals, and work with them to set individual goals directly linked to your business’s mission. Make sure employees understand their professional growth path in the company.

Recognize problems

It is impossible to know about personality conflicts, lagging productivity or other problems in the office if you have your head in the sand. If you notice a change in an employee’s work habits or attitude, try to get to the root of the problem before it starts affecting the rest of your staff.

Effective dealing of Problems

The first step in dealing with a problem employee is to identify the trouble. Many times, a simple, honest talk with an employee will dissolve issues such as occasional tardiness or minor attitude problems. Coaching requires a manager to work one-on-one with problem employees or to assign another employee to work with the employee to overcome their shortcomings. The mentor should provide the employee with feedback and solutions for improving their performance. Coaching requires patience and a substantial time investment, but it can help modify an employee’s behavior.

Poor performance

Poor performance is not always due to a lack of skills; the employee may simply be disorganized or sloppy. These habits can usually be corrected with proper guidance. If performance difficulties relate to a lack of skills, consider coaching or additional training.

Job incompatibility

In some cases an employee becomes a problem because their skills aren’t compatible with their assigned tasks or regular duties. In this case, offering the employee additional training or assigning them a different set of tasks is usually the most appropriate course of action.

Sloppy work

When you notice that, an employee has made some errors, point out the mistakes to the employee and monitors their work more closely. If the problem persists, speak with the employee and detail the most serious examples of problems with their work. Remember to remain positive and focus on how important the employee’s contribution is to the company.

Create an effective message

Consider the specific informational needs of executives, middle managers, supervisors and employees, and tailor your message to fit each audience. An effective message should also explain how your employees´ day-to-day duties directly affect the company’s performance and should touch on the values and pride of the employees. A direct, face-to-face interaction can help reinforce positive attitudes inspire employees and help them adapt to the change.

Listen to your employees

Employee feedback is critical in managing change. Holding focus groups with employ
ees is a great way to gauge reaction and monitor the progress of change. You also can encourage employees to provide feedback through email or the company intranet. Communication is the cornerstone to successful change management. Talking to your employees is not a one-time event, and you need to reinforce your message by communicating early and often.

Conclusion

To be an effective manager you must know yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses, and those of the people around you.  You must know your objectives and have a plan of how to achieve them.  You must build a team of people that share your commitment to achieve those objectives, and you must help each team member to achieve their best which will be able to attain a common goal.

 

Reference:

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Baron, R.A., & Markman, G.D. 2003. “Beyond social capital: The role of entrepreneurs’ social competence in their financial success.” Journal of Business Venturing, 18(1): 41-60.

Bentein, K., Vandenberg, R., Vandenberghe, C., & Stinglhamber, F. 2005. “The role of change in the relationship between commitment and turnover: A latent growth modeling approach.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 90: 468-482.

Blackstone, J. H., Jr. 2003. “On the shape of protective capacity in a simple line.” International Journal of Production Research, 42(3): 629-637.

Buchholtz, A., Amason, A., and Rutherford, M. 2005. “The impact of board monitoring and involvement on top management team affective conflict.” Journal of Managerial Issues, 17(4): 405-422.

Buchholtz, A., Ribbens, B., & Houle, I. 2003. “Takeover resistance and executive succession.” Academy of Management Journal, 46(4): 506-514.

Chung-Herrera, B.C., & Lankau, M.J. 2005. “Are we there yet? An assessment of fit between stereotypes of minority managers and the successful manager prototype.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35: 2029-2056.

Ciavarella, M., Buchholtz, A., Riordan, C., & Gatewood, R. 2004. “The entrepreneurial personality and venture success: A linkage?” Journal of Business Venturing, 19(4): 465-484.

Daniels, R.L., Mazzola, J.B., & Shi, D. 2004. “Flow shop scheduling with partial resource flexibility.” Management Science, 50: 658-669.

DeJoy, D.M., Schaffer, B.S., Vandenberg, R.J., Wilson, M.G., & Griffin-Blake, C.S. 2004. “Making workplaces safer: Effects of job and organizational practices on safety climate.” Journal of Safety Research, 35: 81-90.

Feldman, D.C., Bearden, W.O., & Hardesty, D.M. 2006. “Varying the content of job advertisements: The effects of message specificity.” Journal of Advertising, 35: 123-142.

Feldman, D.C., & Klaas, B.S. 2002. “Internet job hunting: Applicant experiences with management practices.” Human Resource Management, 41: 175-192.

Feldman, D.C., & Lankau, M.J. 2005. “Executive coaching: A review and future research agenda.” Journal of Management, 31: 829-848.

Feldman, D.C., & Turnley, W.H. 2004. “Contingent employment in academic careers: Relative deprivation among adjunct faculty.” Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64: 284-307.

Hirschfeld, R.R., Jordan, M.H., Feild, H.S., Giles, W.F., & Armenakis, A.A. 2005. “Teams’ female representation and perceived potency as inputs to team outcomes in a predominantly male field setting.” Personnel Psychology, 54: 893-924.

Hirschfeld, R.R., Lawson, L., & Mossholder, K.W. 2004. “Moderators of the relationship between cognitive ability and performance: General versus context-specific achievement motivation.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34: 2389-2409.

Kidder, D.L., Lankau, M.J., Chrobot-Mason, D., Mollica, K.A., & Friedman, R.A. 2004. “Backlash toward diversity initiatives: Examining the impact of diversity program justification, group and personal outcomes.” International Journal of Conflict Management, 15: 61-94.

Kim, S., & Feldman, D.C. 2000. “Working in retirement: The antecedents and consequences of bridge employment and its consequences for quality of life in retirement.” Academy of Management Journal, 43: 1195-1210.

Lankau, M.J., Riordan, C.M., & Thomas, C.H. 2005. “The effects of similarity and liking in formal relationships between mentors and protégés.” Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67: 252-265.

Markman, G.D., Gianiodis, P.T., Phan, H.P.,& Balkin, D.B. 2005. “Innovation speed: Transferring university technology to market.” Research Policy, 34: 1058-1075.

Markman, G.D., Phan, H.P., Balkin, D.B., & Gianiodis, P.T. 2005. “Entrepreneurship and university-based technology transfer.” Journal of Business Venturing, 20(2): 241-263.

Markman, G.D., Baron R.A., & Balkin, D.B. 2005. “Are perseverance and self-efficacy costless? Assessing entrepreneurs’ regretful thinking. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(1): 1-19.

Markman, G.D., Espina, M.I., & Phan, H.P. 2004. “Patents as surrogates for inimitable and non-substitutable resources.” Journal of Management, 30(4): 529-544.

Napoleon, K. 2004. “The creation of output and quality in services: A framework to analyze information technology-worker systems.” Production and Operations Management, 13 (3).

Ng, T.W., Eby, L.T., Sorensen, K.L., & Feldman, D.C. 2005. “Predictors of objective and subjective career success: A meta-analysis.” Personnel Psychology, 58: 367-408.

Richardson, H.A., & Vandenberg, R.J. 2005. “Integrating managerial perceptions and transformational leadership into a work-unit level model of employee involvement.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 1-29.

Riordan, C.M. & Vandenberg, R.J., & Richardson, H.A. 2005. “Employee involvement and organizational effectiveness: An organizational system perspective.” Human Resource Management, 44, 471-488.

Saiia, D., Carroll, A., & Buchholtz, A. 2003. “Philanthropy as strategy: When corporate charity begins at home.” Business and Society, 42(2): 169-202.

Williams, L.J., Edwards, J. & Vandenberg, R.J. 2003. “A review of advanced applications of structural equation techniques in organizational behavior and human resources management research.” Journal of Management, 29, 903-936.

Wilson, M.G., DeJoy, D.M., Vandenberg, R.J., Richardson, H., & McGrath, A.L. 2004. “Work characteristics and employee health and well-being: Test of a model of healthy work organization.” Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 77, 565-588

 

PostHeaderIcon MBA Courses at Top Business Schools



 

Masters in Business Administration or MBAs are in real demand these days. And if someone has done his or her MBA course from a reputed business school, it’s an icing on the cake. Incumbents of top business schools bag very good offers from the corporate world. An alumnus of Harvard Business School or IMD gets a rousing welcome in the enterprises.

 

Almost all the universities conduct the MBAs program today. With the phenomenon of globalization taking the practical shape whole world has emerged in to big market. This has led to the great increase in the business activities all over. Products and services are being sent and received across continents. This situation has posed a huge demand for the skilled professionals in the industries. In an MBA program syllabus is prepared in such a manner that it covers all essential elements of business.

 

MBA Specializations:

There are various streams of MBA course which can be studied as specializations. Some examples are: MBA in Human Resources (HR), MBA in Hospitality & Tourism, MBA in Entrepreneurship, MBA in Communication, MBA in Marketing, MBA in Health Care Management, MBA in Finance, MBA in Operations and many more.

 

Some prestigious Management Institutes in the US and elsewhere are enumerated below:

 

Top Business Schools USA



Harvard Business School

Stanford

University of Pennsylvania

Northwestern (Kellogg)

Columbia

Duke (Fuqua)

Virginia (Darden)

MIT (Sloan)

University of Chicago

University of Michigan



 

 

Top MBA programs outside USA



INSEAD, France

IMD, Switzerland

London Business School, UK

Toronto (Rotman) Canada

Western Ontario (Ivey)

Rotterdam School of Management (Erasmus)

IESE

University of Oxford (Said)

Instituto de Empresas ,Spain

SDA Bocconi, Italy



 

 

For more information on MBA Courses and Business Schools, please visit www.indiaedu.com

PostHeaderIcon UAE Education – List of Universities And Colleges In UAE



To become great human being there is requirement of education. The best educations are given to students in universities that are so famous and worldwide recognized. UAE is developed emirates and have lots of universities and colleges there in major cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi. Universities of UAE are well known recognized by world wide. These universities give good facilities to their students. And have positive response in result and appreciated by worldwide. There are some universities in UAE along with colleges, described below:

Abu Dhabi University: This is founded at date of 13 of September and owned by University of Abu Dhabi Board of Trustees and Governors. This is private university and located in Khafila city with PO Box 59911, Abu Dhabi, UAE along with telephone number +971-2-5015555 and fax +971-2-5015990. The website for university is www.adu.ac.ae.

Ajman University of Science and Technology: This is founded at 1988 year and directed by Dr Saeed Abdalla Salman (President). Approximate students number are 11,000 with type of university and Ministry of Higher Education license. The location for this is university is PO Box 346, Ajman, UAE along with phone number +971-6-7466666 and fax +971-6-7482277. Website for this university is www.ajman.ac.ae .

Al Ghurair University: This is founded at 1999 and directed by Abdurahim Mohammed Al Ameen (President). This is private university and Ministry of Higher Education licensed. Location of this university is PO Box 37374, Dubai, UAE along with +971-4-4200223 and fax +971-4-4200224. website for this university is www.agu.ae .

Al Hosn University: This is founded at September 2005 and directed by Professor Abdul Rahim Sabouni and owned by Abu Dhabi Holding Company / Board of Trustees. Number of students approximate is 500 and this is private type of university. Location for this university is PO Box 38772, Abu Dhabi, UAE along with telephone number +971-2-4070700 and fax number +971-2-4070799. Website for this university is www.alhosnu.ae

Dubai Aerospace University: This is founded at 2006, directed by Dr George H Ebbs (CEO) and owned by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise DAE. This is one of private company. Location of this university is PO Box 506591, Dubai, UAE along with fax number +971-4-4038189.

French Fashion University: This is founded at 2006 and directed by Denis Ravizza (Director). This is one of private universities. Location of university is Block 4, Dubai Academic City, PO Box 211021, Dubai, UAE along with phone number +971-4-4291228 and fax number +971-4-3604833. Website for this university is www.french-fashion-university.com .

Hamdan eTQM University: This is founded at September 2002, directed by Dr Mansoor Al Awar (Vice-President & CEO) and owned by Board of Governors. This is one of Ministry of Higher Education licensed universities. Location of this university is 1st Floor, Bur Dubai Traffic Department, Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Barsha, PO Box 71400, Dubai, UAE along with +971-4-4088405 and fax number +971-4-4088555. Website for university is www.hbmeu.ae.

Murdoch University Dubai: This is founded at September 2008, directed by Professor J Michael Innes (Dean / Pro-Vice Chancellor). This is one of private university. Location of this university is Block 10, 4th floor, Dubai International Academic City, PO Box 502971, Dubai, UAE along with +971-4-4355700 and fax number +971-4-4264708. Website for this university is www.murdochdubai.com .

visit website for dubai universities , uae universities

PostHeaderIcon Silver Jewelry – Is It Fashion Jewelry Or Fine Jewelry

Fashion Jewelry are those that you wear with your latest dresses, go out in town wearing them, and team them with the latest designer thing in your wardrobe. Fine jewelries are those that you reserve for fine dining occasions. Exclusive club parties, wine tasting affairs, black tie affairs, weddings, etc. You know, where you really have to watch yourself and follow every etiquette rule that you know of, including using the cutlery for their right purposes.

And then you have silver jewelry, which is a class apart. Because it is both fashion jewelry and fine jewelry. It is one of the rare jewelry that will go with anything you wear and look good on any occasion and on any person. You simply cannot go wrong with silver jewelry when you are going out somewhere. They are also very well suited with any gem that you may like.

Silver jewelry transcends all rules of fashion and finesse with their color and style. They are simply chic and elegant when you want them to be but when you change in to your girl out in town outfit, they can change in to fun, flirty accessories that are simply cool and sexy.

You don’t need to worry much about what you are going to get to compliment the varied outfits that you have. There are some of the classic silver jewelry available online that will go with anything that you want to wear.

Pearls are one of the best things that go with silver. You can choose from elegant looking hook drop silver earring set in pearls or you can go with dangling style silver earrings with pearl. These will look good with a simple silver pendant or a pearl and silver pendant. These are jewelry that will look good on any woman.

There are some sterling silver rings available online that are amazing to look at because they have well cut gems set in to them. These rings are the best in their class and they have a wide variety of gems to choose from. You can choose gems like zirconium, amethyst, sapphire, topaz and many more. You can also get a combination of gems on these rings. They will lend themselves to any look quite easily. You can wear them with designer outfits as easily as with formal dresses.

Silver looks good with gems of all colors and helps each of them stand out in their full glory. Even textured gems like tiger’s eye looks great when set in to silver. Silver is thus a very versatile material when it comes to jewelry. Silver jewelry will help you get the best out of your gems and your dresses.

The best thing about silver is its affordability and wide range of possibilities. Silver jewelry are commonly found in almost every corner of the world. This ensures a large variety in the choice that you will have when you are buying silver. Thus you can simply take you pick out of the best gems and silver jewelry online.

PostHeaderIcon The American Concept of Efl and Its Invisible Visions in the Middle East Region



Introduction:

In this paper I will discuss the phenomenon of using native English teachers in the Middle East region, precisely in United Arab Emirates in the context of EFL in the public primary schools. In this discussion I will examine the reasons beyond such a phenomenon. I will also examine the attitude of native and non-native speaker teachers who teach English language along with students’ parents’ attitudes. Moreover, I will link “communicative imperialism” (Phillipson, 2006) and the role of the media with the context of EFL in the Middle East region. Due to the natural of my paper, a “self reflective” (Pennycook, 2001: p.1) and previous experiences of other countries are expected to be present.

ELT in United Arab Emirates has witnessed an extraordinary revolution in the last 6 years. My interest of this issue emerged simultaneity with the appearance of a new type of schools which are gradually replacing the ordinary public schools in UAE. This type is called (Al-Ghad schools) which literally means “tomorrow schools” in Arabic. It clearly indicates the main purpose of these schools is to produce more sophisticated, moderated and competitive students. The vision of ministry of Education and Youth in UAE as what they declared is “to have a new generation who is more capable of English language and its vocabulary and grammar skills”, in other words “we need a generation who speaks English as it is his or her first language”, thus to achieve this goal teachers who “have a better command of fluent, idiomatically correct language forms, are more knowledgeable about the cultural connotations of the language” (Braine, 1999: p.xiv) are needed. In order to make this vision alive, a huge number of native English teachers had been brought from areas such as “North America, Britain, new Zealand and Australia which claim ownership over English”( Canagarajah, 1999: p.79). Furthermore, to support this vision, some authorized sources in the government argue that this new methodology of teaching is the best in teaching English which enables the students to acquire the language very easy and smoothly. Schiitz (2007) cites Krashen’s (1987) view that acquisition any language requires meaningful interaction in the target language (natural communication) thus, language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules because learners grow up learning the language as it is something very natural in their life without an effort, especially at the beginning levels of their life. Moreover, Boyle (1997) illustrates that native speaker teachers have a range of advantages over the non-native speaker teachers because (a) English learned from birth and developed through his/her life as primary language which been used in his/her life (b) the intricacies of the grammar of the language are learned instinctively and can be employed with speed and certainty (c) native speaker of English engages with other native speakers of English as something natural in his/her social context, so he/she uses the language all the time as the dominant language, thus it is better to use native speaker teachers of English to teach their first language. Additionally, McNeill (1994) in his study about the characteristics of native and non-native speaker teachers of English argues that native speaker teachers have the advantage when it comes to learners’ vocabulary needs. It is sensible to point here; the government is replacing non-native speaker teachers with native speaker teachers of English gradually in order to provide their students with the opportunity to hold conversations with teachers in English, and only in English.

On the other hand, Al-segair (2007) who works as a teacher in a prestigious university in the Middle East illustrates that in his investigation about native speaker teachers in the Middle East, “I found some of them used to work as dog-trainers back in Chicago” (paragraph, 2). He also pointed out that some teachers were “a bunch of former company employees and some had worked in western embassies” (paragraph, 2) who did not work as teachers before. Al-segair thus explains that not because you are a native speaker of a language qualifies you to teach it! Teaching a language requires “skills, competence, training and knowledge” (paragraph, 3). Going further in this issue, Al-Osaimi (2007) illustrates that some schools do not bother to recruit qualified English teachers, however, parents usually more impressed by where did teachers come from and the fact that their accent sounds more ‘American or British’ considered to be enough to convince them that they are the most suitable teachers to teach their children, regardless what they have of qualifications or experiences. Such criteria forced me to wonder why such thinking is dominant in the region.

America and its Politics play a major part in all of this. The American tenet that “the current educational systems in place in the Muslim world were partly responsible for motivating the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the pentagon. In June 2002” (Karmani, 2005:p.262), thus in order to change their attitude towards the western and the American culture, a new concept should be replaced with what is described as a “combination of intolerance, ignorance, anti-Semitic, anti-American, and anti-Western views” (Karmani, 2005: p.262) by using native speaker teachers as means to apply this project.  By importing native speaker teachers of English from what Kachru calls “inner circle countries” (Kachru & Nelson, 1996: p. 78) with westerns’ beliefs and values, a new Americanized generation would be the total outcome. In simple words, educational or mind colonialism and “linguistics imperialism” (Phillipson, 2006: p.346) are the main goals in such invasion of native speaker teachers at the Middle East region.

Searching for its alleged security:

Handley (2004) mentions that in the late 1700s, America was surrounded by great European superpowers, thus America was “economically and militarily disadvantaged” (Hadley, 2004). Therefore, to build a strong and superpower nation, America must expand its borders by negotiation or war. The American citizens had been convinced that the world and America’s national security always in danger, so in order to protect the world and America, any country that threats us should be attacked. Furthermore, “lack of expansion implies the possibility of defeat” thus, “American insecurity was an important factor in the invasions of Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Philippines” (Hadley, 2004) in the past. Other form of such American fears is the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which was a proposal by the American president Roland Reagan in March 23, 1983. The main goal of this proposal as what Wikipedia illustrates is “to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles”. This proposal carried the popular name “Star Wars” in 1977 after movie by George Lucas. According to Handley, the Star Wars program is an expansion of America’s continued need searching for its national safety “by now expanding its borders into outer space” (Handley, 2004 cited Mauk and Oakland, 154), moreover, the recent invasions on Iraq and Afghanistan interpreted by a large number of American citizens is they had been convinced that America’s national security was threatened. Thus, in order to assure that no one threats America’s security in the future, a new ways of domination and controlling should take place in areas such as Eastern Asia, Africa and the Middle East not only military, but also as media and academic occupation.

The role of Media in the Middle East:

No one can deny the strong role played by Media in any place in the world. America tries to impose its policies and its ideologies in the Middle East whether by using force or not. In order to
dominate the region, the American beliefs should be promoted in the area. Phillipson (2006) argues that the development of communications networks has a basic relationship to the emergence of the new world order. He illustrates that “communication organizes the movement by multiplying and structuring interconnections through networks” (p. 352). Thus, in order to dominate a particular country and its culture, you must control its media and what is being showed to the people inside their homes.  A controversially television network channels like MBC group (Middle East Broadcasting Center) and Alhurra (means the ‘free one’ in Arabic) had emerged in the Middle East and dedicate the lion’s share in Middle Easterners’ minds and homes. Such channels can be seen by some people as mediums to spread the American’s plans and principles in the region using another means beside tanks and rockets. Alhurra is a commercial-free Arabic language satellite television network for the Middle East operated and funded by the United States of America. This channel is financed by the American people using their taxes through the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the U.S. Congress. Many Arab political critics argue that this channel lunched to change the views of Arabs and Muslims around the world towards the west and America by showing football games, explaining the acetic dimensions of baseball and airing documentaries about the ‘fence’ in Palestine, along with doses of fashion. Alhurra in its official web site claims that:

“We are devoted primarily to news and information. In addition to reporting on regional and international events, the channel broadcasts discussion programs, current affairs magazines and features on a variety of subjects including health and personal fitness, entertainment, sports, fashion, and science and technology” (Alhurra official web site).

Give me a break! In order to facilitate TESOLers’ jobs who came from inner circle countries, an anesthetization of Middle Easterners’ hearts and minds must be done so people can accept these teachers with a positive attitude and a wide smile on their faces. People in the Middle East must be convinced that they are not proficient enough to teach English, thus teachers their first language is English must take over and teach English for your child’s own benefit. According to Phillipson (2006) media is not only organize production on a new scale and force a new structure sufficient to global space, but also make its justification inherent power, as it “produces, organizes, as it organizes, it speaks and expresses it self as authority” (p. 352). Why I would pay my good money to fund an Arabic channel such as Alhurra when I cannot earn money from it. Alhurra in its web site mentions that “Alhurra is operated by non-profit corporation, The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN)” (Alhurra official web site). The Arabic satellite dish contains more than 300 free entertainment channels which can be accessed by Arabs from any place in the Middle East with more than 6 news channels such as Al-jazeera, CNN and BBC. Therefore, the purpose of such channels is that the American government can trade its citizen’s money with its future security by dominating and directing Arab youths’ minds and beliefs toward its own interest, by providing ‘a purely American Arabic speaker’ channel. The other case is MBC group channels which “started in London as the first satellite, free-to-air multi-channel media group of its kind in the Arab world” (MBC official web site). Al-Arabiya (means the ‘Arabian channel’ in Arabic) which is one channel from the MBC 6 free channels specialized with news and press. The reason behind the emergence of such channel has been declared by the people work there is to have a democratic channel which fights Aljazeera’s thoughts (an Arabic news channel) and its anti-democratic trends. Since Al-jazeera has been described by many Westerner politicians as anti-American bias, thus we need a channel against any anti-American thoughts in the Middle East region. According to Ryan (2005) Donald Rumsfeld has accused the station of persuading people that the US is an occupying force in Iraq, which he describes as a lie! On the contrary, the expansion into Iraq was to “brought freedom, economic growth, education and democracy to people who have suffered under years of oppression and mismanagement” (Hadley, 2004 quoted Assistance for Iraq). As a result, America is trying to Americanize the Arabic society the same way as she Americanized the Japanese society after the World War ll. Therefore, the road will be paved for native English teachers when they come to teach the ‘Western values’.

The world of TESOL and the native speaker teacher of English:

To impose the American ideologies in the Middle East, America promoted very well the teaching job for the native speaker teachers of English by promising them with “ good salaries and an exotic overseas adventure” (Hadley, 2004). According to Hadley many scholars such as Troike and Crystal have linked the expansion of TESOL to the expansion of former British and present American empire. Furthermore, native English teachers serve as “part of the educational aid packages exported to countries throughout South America, South East Asia, Africa and the Middle East” (Hadley, 2004) who work as colonial administrators. Handley in his paper cited Edge’s view that EFL teachers have become an academic army that satisfies intellectual conflict and occupies the linguistic dominions of an Anglophonic empire:

“…it is now possible to see us, EFL teachers, as a second wave of imperial troopers. Before the armoured divisions have withdrawn from the city limits, while the solders are still patrolling the streets, English teachers will be facilitating the policies that the tanks were sent to impose. And whether, and to whomsoever, I teach EFL, I am part of that overarching system” (Hadley, 2004 quoted from Edge, 10)

 Karmani (2005) argues that an extraordinary pressure has been put on Muslim governments to reform their educational curricula.  A very interesting article by Glasser (2003) who works for the Washington Post illustrates that many Arabic Gulf countries reshape their schools and put English over Islam, so in order to make way for more hours of English, classes in Islamic studies and Arabic are being reduced. A new stuff of native English speaker teachers has been brought into the schools of United Arab Emirates to teach the students from early ages. What is interesting is that the native speaker teachers are brought from inner countries as experts who do not need any preparing or training. They are who design the textbooks, monitoring the non-native speaker teachers and deciding who should stay and who should not stay in the school. However, American policies had succeeded in this country. Almost every non-native speaker teacher convinced that the native speaker teachers are better than non-native speaker teachers in English and this system is the best to teach the students this language even if they do not have the required qualifications, because English is their first language. This persuasion created negative outcomes with less positive results. In such schools a world full of racial discrimination in job opportunity, payment and respect has emerged. Non-native speaker teacher is no longer trusted by parents and his or her students. The native speaker teacher’s salary must be double than the non-native speaker teacher as one condition to import these teachers. Moreover, they must be provided with luxury accommodations, free transportations and first class annual flight tickets to their mother land. Of course, these conditions had been set by the American government to ensure that their citizens are treated well. Such conditions are imposed against governments’ wish in the Middle East region. What is ironic is that even if you have an American passport or you are a citizen from inner countries and you were not wh
ite or you were originally from Arabic country, you may not have these facilities! In some cases your contract might be cancelled even after you have signed the contract if your original identity has been discovered.

Conclusion:

In order to achieve the maximum domination on the Middle East and to make sure that no anti-American bases are exist in the region. Moreover, to insure that what happened in September 11, 2001 is not going to happen again, an American political equation must be applied, first, using the tank to impose the power. Second, programming youth’s minds and their views on what America ‘believes in’ is right. Third, teach the child what is against America is against you in the classrooms. It is not a coincidence that the emergence of (Al-Ghad) schools was after only one year from the dramatic events of September 11, 2001. It is not a coincidence that the reform of the educational curricula implemented after September 11, 2001. It is not also a coincidence that, channels like Alhurra and Al-Arabiya had been lunched after what happened in September 11 in 2001 which they are now based in Dubai, in United Arab Emirates. However, no one can disagree that Middle East countries need skilled and experienced workers and teachers from developed countries such as America, and Britain, but a direct supervising to those employees must be done by Middle Eastern countries that brought those experts and pay their salaries from their money for a preset goal. According to Fields (2005) who is a native speaker teacher of English works in Abu-Dhabi, UAE, teachers should be hired based on their qualifications to work in an atmosphere of fairness and respect, free from fear of discriminatory treatment or arbitrary dismissal because of their ethnicity, whether they were native or non-native speaker teachers of English.

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Reference:

Alhurra, 2005, ‘About us’. Available from: http://www.alhurra.com/sub.aspx?id=266 [Accessed 12 Jun 2008]

Al-Osaimi, N., 2007. English Teachers Not Always Qualified [online]. Arab News. Available from:http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=104142&d=30&m=11&y=2007. [Accessed 17 May 2008]

Al-Segair, K., 2007. Only Native Speakers as English Teachers! [online]. Arab News. Available from:

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=13§ion=0&article=101526&d=22&m=9&y=2007. [Accessed 17 May 2008]

Boyle, J., 1997. ‘Native-speaker teachers of English in Hong Kong’. Language and Education vol. 11, No.3

Braine, G., 1999, Introduction, in G. Braine (Ed), Non-Native Educators in

English Language Teaching, Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum,

pp.xiii-xx

Canagarajah, A. S., 1999, Interrogating the “Native Speaker” Fallacy:

Non-Linguistic Roots, Non-Pedagogical Results, in G. Braine (Ed), Non-Native

Educators in English Language Teaching, Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence

Erlbaum, pp.77-92

Fields, M., 2005. If students can learn who is the better teacher, why can’t employers? [online]. Guardian Weekly. Available from:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/If students can learn who is the better teacher, why can’t employers  TEFL  EducationGuardian_co_uk.mht. [Accessed 16 May 2008]

Glasser, B., 2003. Qatar reshapes its schools, putting English over Islam [online]. Washington Post Foreign Services. Available from:

http://www.english.education.gov.qa/files/886_WPOST.pdf. [Accessed 16 May 2008]

Hadley, G., 2004, ‘ELT and the New World Order: Nation Building or New Reconstruction?’, in TESOL Islamia, Niigata University of International and Information Studies. Available from: http:/tesolislamia.org/articles.html [Aaccessed 11 Jun 2008]

Kachru, B., & Nelson, C., 1996, ‘World Englishes’, in S McKay & N

Hornberger (eds), Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 71-102

Karmani, S., 2005, English, ‘Terror’, and Islam. Applied linguistics 26(2) 262-267

MBC group, 2008, ‘About MBC group’. Available from: http://www.mbc.net/about-mbc-en/ [Accessed 12 Jun 2008]

McNeill, A., 1994. ‘Some characteristics of Native and non-Native speaker teachers of English’. International language in Education conference.

Pennycook, A., 2001, Critical Applied Linguistics: A Critical Introduction,

Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum

Phillipson, R., 2006, Language Policy and Linguistic Imperialism, in T. Ricento (Ed.), An Introduction to Language Policy: Theory and Method, Oxford: Blackwell, pp.246-361

Ryan, P., 2005, ‘Middle East ‘Media War’, Middle East window. Available from: http://middleeastwindow.com/node/975 [Accessed 12 Jun 2008]

Schiitz. R., 2007. ‘Stephen Krashen’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition’. Available from:

http://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html. [Accessed 19 May 2008]

 

PostHeaderIcon Scholorship Application – Can Anyone Apply for $10,000 Scholarship Drawing?



The number of Scholorship Application available is great and you should apply for all of them.  Here’s a couple of Scholorship Application you can apply for to pay your college expenses.  You should also run your own search online to find even more scholarships that you may qualify for you help you pay off all your tuition and other costs.

*** Click Here to Register Free for your $10,000 Scholarship ***

Freecollegescholarships.net has a free $10K scholarship drawing that happens every month.  If you would like to apply, you simply need to be at least 18 years old and live in the United States.  You enter the scholarship giveaway when you register at their website.  Don’t miss your chance at the scholarship and remember to register early.

You may be eligible for the writing scholarship from Coe College.  This fellowship provides $1,000 every year for up to four years.  Those who apply needt o prove financial need and have at least a 22 on their ACT.

A third program you can take a look at is the scholarships given away at Arkansas Tech.  To apply, submit works in humor, dramatic script, and journalism.  You can get from $1K to $5K and you can achieve this by submitting examples of your writing.

*** Click Here to Register Free for the Scholorship Application $10,000 Scholarship ***

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a scholarship that you really wanted to get.  Doing this will improve your chances of actually getting scholarships and will make your tuition payment time much easier.

Sell yourself to the scholarship committee through the scholarship.  It’s simply a formula of putting as much energy and effort into your application and applying to as many scholarship programs as you qualify for.

PostHeaderIcon Definitions of History?



The term ‘history’ is derived from the Greek word ‘historia’ which means ‘information’ or ‘an enquiry designed to elicit truth’. It is just “man — his story” — the story of efforts to satisfy his craving for an orderly social life.

History has been defined by different scholars in different connotations. Though the words and languages used often are different in character, but, the implications are not so different fundamentally.

i. According to the earliest definition of Aristotle, “History is an account of the unchanging past.”

ii. According to Reniev, history can be termed as a study which is concerned with the human past.

iii. E. H. Carr gives a very beautiful definition of history. He says — history is an unending dialogue between the past and the present.

iv. Robinson thinks history could be used for overcoming the natural bewilderment of unfamiliar situation.

There is no universally agreed definition of history. It has been defined differently by different historians.

a) Burckhardt said, “History is the record of what one ages finds worthy of note in another.

b) Carlyle says, history is nothing but the bibliography of great men.

c) According to H. G. Wells, “Human history is in essence a history of ideas.”

d) Miller says, “The course of life is like a sea; men come and go, tides rise and fall, and that is all of history.”

e) Marc Bloch thinks that history is the science of men in time.

Some thinkers are of the view that “God manifested himself in history.”

1) According to Freud, “Historical records are a law of right and wrong.”

2) Jones thinks that history is a veritable mine of life experiences and the youth of today studies history.

3) Henry Johnson gives the view that history is a detailed account of the events that have taken place.

4) Pt. Nehru says, “History is the story of man’s struggle through the ages against nature and the elements; against wild beasts and the jungle and some of his own kind who have tried to keep him down and to exploit him for their own benefit.

5. Dr. Radhakrishnan says, “History is the memory of a nation or a race.”

6. The best definition which is scientific to a great extent, was given by Rapson. According to him, “History is a connected account of the course of events of progress of ideas.”

PostHeaderIcon Career in Advertising Part -2



(A)  Personality Traits

Art Director / Designer –

1.)    Aesthetic Visual Sense

2.)    Creative

3.)    Artistic – ability to illustrate

4.)    Excellent       Language skills

5.)    Ability to work under pressure & deadlines

Copywriter –

1.)    Literary Talent

2.)    Creativity

3.)    Excellent Command over the language

4.)    Ability to communicate ideas in restricted space / time

5.)    Open to criticism

(B)  Salaries

1.)    Junior Copywriters / Visualisers – Starting Position. Approx 2-3 Lacs per annum after a Graduate degree.

2.)    Branch Head Copywriters / Designers – Approx. 35 – 50 lacs per annum.

(C)  Study Routes

Copywriters

Copywriters are selected on the basis of their talent rather than their qualifications. At the entry level, a candidate has to take a copy test. Besides evaluating command over written English (knowledge of more than one language is preferred), the test is designed to judge creative ability.

Graduate degree in English/ regional language/ psychology/ social sciences would be suitable for copywriters, though talent is what is required.

Visualisers

Art director and his team are selected from art schools or design institutes. The Bachelor of Applied Art course teaches the prospective creative artist the use of photography, graphics, and other visual communication media. Courses in multimedia and mass communication are also useful.

Class XII (any stream) with Art as an optional subject, followed by degree in applied art (4-5 years) or diploma in industrial design, or diploma in multimedia will be useful for the art and visual communication professionals.

(D) Diploma Courses

1.)    Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art, Dr. D. N. Road, Mumbai. Apprentice training in Photography, Interior Decoration.          

2.)    Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University of Baroda, Baroda. Painting, Sculpture, Applied Art.

3.)     Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Shantiniketan – 731 235, West Bengal. Fine Art, Crafts, Painting, Sculpture, Graphic Art and Design.

4.)    College of Fine Arts, Tilak Marg, New Delhi – 110 001

(E) Degree Courses

1.)    Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art, Dr. D. N. Road, Mumbai. Bachelor of Fine Arts after X entrance test.

2.)     Faculty of Fine Arts MS University of Baroda, Baroda. Bachelors degree in Applied Arts, Art History, Painting, Sculpture.

3.)    Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Shantiniketan – 731235, West Bengal. Painting, Sculpture, Graphic Art Design, History of Art.

4.)    College of Fine Arts, Tilak Marg, New Delhi – 110 001. Bachelors degree in Painting, Sculpture, Applied Art.

Most of the above also have Post Diploma courses available.

(F) Colleges Overseas

USA

1.)    Academy of Art University

2.)    Ball State University

3.)    New England College

4.)    Stephens College

5.)    Pace University

6.)    Rider University

7.)    Xavier University

UK

1.)    CECOS London College

2.)    Aston Business School

3.)    Henley Management School

4.)    Grafton College of Management Sciences

5.)    Bournemouth Business School International

6.)    London College of Law and Management

7.)    Aberdeen Business School

8.)    Hamilton College, London

9.)    Kelvin Business School

10.)    Silpa Business Training

Australia

1.)    Murdoch Business School

2.)    Carrick Institute of Education

3.)    Sydney School of Business and Technology

4.)    Le Cordon Bleu Australia

5.)    The University of Western Australia



PostHeaderIcon What Should High School Athletes Look for When Choosing Their College



As a former college sports coach i was often amazed at how little research some student-athletes did when it came to selecting their school. College can be some of the best years of your life and if you get it wrong they can also provide you with some bad experiences.

I know that most athletes are controlled by the “money factor” when it comes to choosing schools but you should still understand the various types of schools on offer and which one is best for you.

If you are thinking about playing a sport in college then you will need to complete some thorough research into the various types of colleges available to you. Below you will find some of your options.

The normal term for obtaining a bachelor’s degree at a U.S. college or university is four years in length. Some students can finish in less than four years and some may take longer. Some students want to fast track their degrees by taking summer school classes.

When you are pursuing a bachelor’s degree you will first participate in the schools’ required classes during your freshmen year and then will likely be required to declare a major by the end of your sophomore year. In order to graduate you will be required to study a certain number of hours and complete several other school criteria such as obtaining cultural credits. Check your school as these will vary.

When you graduate you will likely be awarded one of the following two most common degrees in a Bachelor of Science Degree or a Bachelor of Arts Degree. At a community college you will receive an Associates Degree.

You will attend one of the following types of schools when trying to obtain a Bachelors Degree. All vary in their structure, cost and requirements. Therefore it is important to understand their differences when selecting your school.

It often comes down to a personal preference when choosing your school. Various factors such as location, costs, size of the school, its sports programs, facilities, reputation, friends will all play a role in your decision making process.

The first thing to know about private schools is that they are likely to be more expensive than other schools. Costs can often go past the $25,000 mark which is just out of reach for many students and parents. The private schools are not controlled by government agencies as are public schools. As a result they receive less financial support in the form of government funding. Private universities are structured differently in the way that they are run by private groups and also supported through private funds.

Public Schools are governed and subsidized by the state they are located in and often have the word “state” in their name. For example, North Carolina State University or Florida State University. These public schools are often more popular with in-state residents as they provide a lot of financial assistance and are a lot cheaper than their private school alternative.

If you are an out-of-state student then you will pay higher fees as your taxes have not contributed to that particular states funding. However, it may still be a cheaper alternative than attending a private school in your state. Many of the state schools have great academic reputations and sporting programs so follow your list when selecting a school.

Religious Affiliated Schools – in the U.S. system of equal rights and your right to choose; you can still decide attend one of these religious affiliated schools and still maintain your right to be of a different religion. Although some schools will require you to attend some of their religious programs for cultural credits. These schools are often privately funded so that they do not have to be governed by the state and can still make their own independent choices about how the school exists.

Liberal Arts Schools strive to provide students with a broad education that aims to develop all aspects of a person and expose them to a wide variety of topics, life experiences and social experiences. They are trying to develop a “well-rounded” student by having them participate is a wide range of classes. Along with the specific classes in your major you are also likely to take classes that can range from history, religion, music, arts and geography to name a few.

Most liberal arts colleges will be smaller private schools where the majority of students (often over 75 %) live on campus. One major benefit is that you will find yourself in a class of less than 40 students which has obvious benefits. The teacher is more likely to know your name and be there to assist you on a more personal level.

Community Colleges award a student an associates degree or technical degree. These institutions are often two years and are sometimes referred to as Junior Colleges. You will hear about many athletes attending a junior college prior to attending a four year school. This is also a good way to prepare yourself and then transfer to for a four year program. Community colleges have increased in popularity due to their ability to work with students busy schedules and needs.

Ivy Leagues Schools are well known for their high academic standards and are very difficult to get into. Only a small percentage of applicants will be accepted into an Ivy League school and you will find that each college and university will set their own admissions criteria so look into each school individually and you will see which ones you have more of a chance of getting into. Go for the schools that put more emphasis on the areas that you are strong in.

Some of the Ivy League schools include: Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, Penn and Dartmouth.

Diversity in College – Many colleges will strive to be schools that value diversity amongst its student population. Colleges aim for a balance between males and females as well as students from a variety of different backgrounds including ethnic, religious, sexual, racial and international identities.

A college campus will be comprised of many diverse groups and most schools strive to achieve a balance when selecting students.

You will find that many of the athletes are from different countries. Most of these athletes are only able to pay for the costs of college because they receive aid in the form of an athletic scholarship.

Whether you are an International athlete or a local athlete in the USA; there are many factors that you will need to take into account before selecting your college. Most often this will be dictated by where you are able to get enough scholarship money to help pay for the high costs of college. Some of the key factors you need to look at include location of the school, the costs, availability of financial aid, weather, size of school, do they have your field of study, quality of facilities, do they have a dedicated tennis coach or just a part-time coach.

You will also want to check out the standard of players currently on the team, budget given to the tennis team, housing facilities, the campus, graduation rates and reputation of both the athletic department and the college.

As an athlete you would love to get a lot of “Free” money from the school in the form of grants and scholarships to help pay for the costs of going to college. However, you can fill the gap by applying for one of the many federal loans or even looking into private loans.

There are many options when it comes to paying for college so don’t let money get in the way of playing a sport in college. This is just one key points to ask the financial aid office at your potential college of choice.