Waste Management Inc

Company Analysis Waste Management Inc offers comprehensive waste management services. The company has a long history in the waste management business since 1894 with its offices located in Downtown Houston, Texas. The company has an extensive association of collection and management of waste operations with over 431 collection operations, 381 transfer locations, 286 disposal sites, 17 waste to energy plants and 134 recycling plants, 119 landfill gas projects and 6 autonomous power production projects.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Waste Management Inc specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Performance The revenue of the company has been steady for the past five years with an average growth of 3.2 per cent. The company has demonstrated a remarkable increase of dividend per share over the past five years with an average dividend growth rate of 9.6 per cent. The company has established a strong distribution network and existing market share of about 30 per cent bringing a level of stability in its revenue, operating margin and profitability in the past five years can be found on the Graph below. Five-year profitability comparison The company’s margins are higher than the industry’s margins indicating cost efficiency of company. The company is a service company dealing with collection and management of waste. The waste collected is recycled and used in the generation of power. By 2003, the company was already returning profits in free cash to its shareholders in form of dividends. The company had expressed interest in acquiring its competitor Republic Services, Inc in July 2008 placing a bid of $34 per share, however, this offer was rejected and the company made another attempt in August the same year raising the offer to $37 per share. Unfortunately, this bid was also rejected and Waste Management, Inc finally withdrew the bid in October, 2008 citing that it was in a financial turmo il. YEAR 2010 2011 Price per share(In dollars) 31.14 31.18 Outstanding share number 2,818,609 2,961,433 Market cap 87,771,484.26 92,337,480.94 Market cap= Price per share* Outstanding share numberAdvertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The above shows Waste management Inc, stock price in comparison to the market cap index and how price per share affect the market capital directly. Competition analysis Competition in the waste management industry is moderate. Price war in 1990’s created by mergers and acquisitions consolidated the industry resulting in a few players in the industry. Waste management Inc largest competitors are Allied Waste management, Inc, Republic Services, Inc and Waste Connections, Inc. all three are very competitive companies. Although Waste Management, Inc is the largest environmental services company in the US, Allied Waste Management Indust ries presents formidable competition. The company has 310 collection companies serving 10 million customers drawn from the residential, industrial and commercial sectors. In addition, it operates 166 transfer stations, owns 169 active landfills coupled with 57 recycling states extending these services to 37 states. Republic Services, Inc is ranked as the third environmental services company which also is a competitor in the waste management industry. However, its operations are not as extensive and far reaching as those of WM and Allied Waste Industries since Republic Services, Inc ‘s operations are mainly in Sunbelt boasting of 140 collection companies, 60 active landfills, 90 transfer locations and 35 recycling stations. The company offers solid waste management services to more than 1 million customers comprised of residential, industrial and commercial clients from over 20 states mainly drawn from western US. Waste Connections, Inc engages small markets mainly in the solid waste sector operating 105 collection functions, 35 active sites and 25 recycling facilities. SWOT analysis The waste management Inc. has its internal strengths and weaknesses plus external strengths and weaknesses.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Waste Management Inc specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More External Internal Opportunity Threats Strengths Strengths are areas where the organization excels over its competitors. Opportunities are the external factors that are present in the company. How well does the company use its leverage to take advantage of opportunities Threats are the factors that hinder the industry as a whole and the organization has no control over it. How does the company use its strengths to minimize threats Weakness Weaknesses are areas where competitors have outweighed the company. How is this weakness controlled not to bur opportunities The only option available is repositioning to adapt to the external environment. How to fix weakness that can have a real impact on threats. Corporate mission Waste Management, Inc mission is â€Å"To develop and deliver meaningful business results†. This well developed mission statement is a clear demonstration that it intends to deliver positive results for its customers, suppliers and shareholders. The company intends to accomplish its mission by building partnerships, involving a competent supplier base, developing best processes and finally by aligning the organization through the help of highly skilled professionals with a business orientation. Products and services The company has tailored its services to efficiently meet the needs of each customer group. It offers collection, disposal, transfer, autonomous power production plants and waste recycling services. Leadership The company has had successful leadership owing to exceptional management of the leadership team. The company has Corporate Governance Guideli nes which provides outlining the company’s primary objectives. It was named by Ethisphere, a business magazine as one of the most ethical companies in the world in June 2008. However, the company has not had it all rosy. The company faced lawsuits and fraud investigations following the alteration of the company’s books of accounts to meet predetermined earnings between 1992 and 1997. This act of unprofessionalism was aimed at eliminating and deferring the financial year’s expenses. In mid 1997 a new CEO ordered a review of the company’s accounting practices consequently discovering the fraud. The company was forced to restate its earnings for the period by $1.7 billion. Resources The company possesses strong organizational resources by employing economies of scale provided by its ability to rely on its large physical network of plants and landfill. The company also has a program called Service Machine that tracks and measures customer service performance. Human resources are strong due to the company’s long history of waste management coupled with extensive portfolio of acquisitions and mergers. The company values the human aspect and puts efforts to manage human resources, through using a job analysis system. Innovation is another strong point for the company since the company demonstrates remarkable ability to reinvent itself. Innovative restructuring has assisted the company overhaul customer service, goods and services purchasing, vehicle and equipment maintenance by reorganization of operation units in market areas and creation of market specific business strategies.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Furthermore Waste Management Inc enjoys significant reputation contributed by its long standing association with many communities and local councils in North America. It brand Waste management Inc, enjoys remarkable awareness in its diversified customer base. However, this reputation was dented badly when Chicago waste collectors went on strike, notably most of the workers on strike from Waste Management Inc owing to the company’s large size. Core competencies and advantages Owing to its large size, the company has the capability to neutralize threats from smaller but strategically placed companies by absorbing them where their territories overlap. Secondly, the company has a strong base in North America where many landfills approved by the government are situated hence the company has an advantage over its competitors. The company offers a wide range of services throughout North America. These services entail collection, disposal, transfer and recycling. Moreover, the firm has waste to waste technology that other competitor companies do not possess. This advantage is serves the company well in the wake of worldwide energy concern. The company has over time through mergers and buy-outs consolidated its command in the industry making its competitors hard to imitate. However, the company is at risk of competitor companies merging to defeat the company’s advantage of size and location. Conclusion and recommendations There is remarkable driving force which is significantly changing in the socio/political arena. The company has abundant environmental opportunities and significant internal strengths. However, some recommendations may be made on the fuel conversion and waste to energy capital expansion. This is achievable by adjusting fleet operations that will be helpful in mitigating risk posed by the ever increasing oil prices. Waste Management Inc can also take advantage of the worldwide energy shortage by expanding and diversifying its operations in the waste to energy sector. The company is operating in an emerging industry which holds a great future for the company. Therefore, the company must ensure that it remains relevant by relentless advertisement and dedicated customer service while avoiding fraudulent undertakings that may badly taint the image of the company. This essay on Waste Management Inc was written and submitted by user Dream1ngCelest1al to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Writing Comparison and Contrast Essays

Writing Comparison and Contrast Essays Writing Comparison and Contrast Essays Writing Comparison and Contrast Essays Among different kinds of essays you have to write at school, comparison and contrast essays are perhaps the most interesting ones. Writing comparison and contrast essays develops your analytical skills, you can improve your ability to compare and make conclusions. Well, if you are not sure how to write a comparison and contrast essay, you are reading the right article. Starting your comparison and contrast essayTo make a good start of your comparison and contrast essay, make sure you know the basis for comparison. Start with providing some common features, after that find the characteristics which are different, and then make a conclusion. For instance, you do not know how to write a comparison and contrast essay on the Bible. Well, pick out one story which you like. For example, let it be a story about Cain and Abel. As a matter of common features, write that both of them worked very hard. Then, to contrast them, start with giving the infor mation that Cain worked in the field, and Abel was a shepherd. Then, write that Abel was humble and kind, and Cain was envious and mean. Once, both of them decided to make a sacrifice to God. While God accepted Abels gift, Cains sacrifice was neglected. That is why we can make a conclusion that God sees in a persons heart, it is impossible to hide anything from Him.Comparison contrast essay writing secretsWriting comparison and contrast essays, remember that it is important to sound emphatic. Sometimes it is not easy to find points to compare. For example, you may not know how to write a comparison and contrast essay on some modern book. Modern authors often avoid describing their characters as opposites; they want them to look like real people which have both positive and negative traits. This can complicate writing comparison and contrast essays. For instance, how to write a comparison and contrast essay on History? If you have to compare two poques, choose the main points to characterize. They can be the economical situation in the country, the demographical situation, the level of science development. Write some information about education and culture of these periods. Writing comparison and contrast essays on History, it is also important to mention the level of material welfare of people. In conclusion write in which poque peoples life was better. Now we think that you know how to write a comparison and contrast essay and you will easily complete your assignment.

Human Resource Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource Development - Essay Example This is the beginning of prosperity. The values dear to me is an achievement and independence. These qualities would allow me to stay focus on my pre-set career goals. I would do my best to come out successful regardless of the conditions of the workplace. I find two categories most helpful for my future success. These two are talent management and development and risk management and worker protection. Talent management and development would allow me to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the human resource. With this knowledge, it is easy to allocate each employee the duties with which he or she is most comfortable and passionate. Further, this would allow me to nurture the talents of each person without strain due to trial and error. In developing individual talents, the human resource will achieve its full potential, which in turn gets a direct reflection on the level of productivity. Concerning risk management and worker protection, I look at workers or employees as assets. As elaborated above, the human resource activity that nurtures talent and exploits its full potential makes the employees assets to the entity. With any operations, risks are imminent. Without proper risk management skills, the objectives of operations become elusive and difficult to achieve. It is worthy to know what alternatives to adopt at any given time, what to do when faced with rush decisions and how to manage crises. For worker protection, it is a skill necessary to shield workers from the eventualities of the workplace that are unfavorable. In This way, the workers tend to their duties wholeheartedly with the knowledge that, in the case of any eventuality, a fair decision will be forthcoming. The above skills, once instilled in human resource management, improved productivity of the workforce is easily achievable. In my opinion, the legacy involved determines career success. This insinuates that one is only successful if the values

Should Boys and Girls be in a Separate Class Research Paper

Should Boys and Girls be in a Separate Class - Research Paper Example Arguments in favour of the method One of the major benefits of separating the two genders is that students get to receive better education as per their personalities. It is well understood that girls are often more silent than boys, a factor that favours the good development of the learning environment. At times, girls also seem to be talkative than boys and this may require a new type of education (Weil 56). Psychology puts across the main stages of development among individuals. Learners in both primary and secondary level are at a crucial age of development which can be characterized by several activities amongst themselves. An advantage of teaching a specific gender with respect to this issue is that their future learning would be enhanced, considering the diversity in their growing ways. Boys get older in sexual matters and this could have an effect on girls who may concentrate more on the boys’ attention and thus interfere with the normal learning activities. Many religi ons perceive that boys and girls ought not to attend classes together, particularly during the age of adolescence when such children are curious and have-not yet acquired discipline in the body and mind. The religions with this perspective fear that children may engage themselves in sinful occasions in intimate quarters for the time allocated in school. They suggest that children should not be exposed to this â€Å"risky† situation till when they mature up and get ready to involve in legal circumstances. Above all, separating them keeps their minds focused on studies rather than on each other in the class (Leinhardt432). Other proponents suggest that single-sex education is the best because it is believed that children achieve higher results when taught separately than in unison. Boys’ and girls’ intelligence differs significantly, so their learning pace differs as well. Girls are more passive learners and perform well when it comes to classroom discussions and drawings or diagrams. Their visual ability is also high and are believed to be auditory learners. On the other hand, boys learn more kinetically and like practical learning. This assumption means that by teaching gender-based classes, different learning styles can be catered for and thus teaching them together will mean interfering with their potentials. Boys and girls are engaged by dissimilar stimuli, proving that if a teacher caters the class to the interests of girls, he might lose the boys and vice versa. Boys are sometimes intimidated by the superior verbal abilities in some subjects such as English, but can score far better if girls are not in their midst. The same applies for girls in science subjects, P.E, and woodwork. According to one American psychologist, who is also a family doctor, Dr. Leonard Sax, girls ought to learn on their own. He states, â€Å"The best possible thing you can do to help your daughter is to get her into a girls’ school.† His main arg ument is that the single-sex schools are a good way to eliminate the gender stereotypes in the society. To him, girls in schools with specified gender are more likely to study subjects that are perceived to be masculine. They can pursue engineering, technology, computer science, and physics and be more active in competitive sports compared to girls in co-educational schools setups. Further, he argues that the focus

Video Gaming is Good For Everyone Essay Example for Free

Video Gaming is Good For Everyone Essay Video gaming is good for everyone because it is useful for rehabilitation, relieves stress, and helps the elderly. Have you ever played a video game? Did you get totally immersed in it, and it made you feel wonderful afterwards? There have been recent studies and tons of articles written which show that, indeed, video games are good for everyone! Not just your usual young players (ages 10-17), and not just the more hard-core gamers (ages 18 – 25), but now these studies link video games to success in more than just fun times, and show that these type of games can be beneficial for all types of people, from young to elderly, and from healthy to the impaired. Yes, video gaming is good for everyone! It used to be that only young people were associated with playing video games. That is no longer the norm, as studies are now seeing a surge of middle-aged people and even the elderly benefiting from these types of games. Interactive gaming is a hot topic of course, with the introduction of games like â€Å"Words With Friends† available on various platforms such as a smart phone or Facebook. This game is readily available to download as a stand-alone game on tablet computers and regular PC’s also. Households can get the whole family involved in this, just like playing the old-fashioned Scrabble game around your kitchen table. There is a whole source of video games that people of all ages can enjoy together (Weed, 2012)! Even stay-at-home mothers are getting into the gaming world more easily, with simple games that they can use to interact with their toddlers on their PC’s or video game systems to help them learn rudimentary things such as reading, writing and arithmetic. These type of games are great attention-getters to keep toddlers entertained while in line at stores (via cell phone apps), or just to keep them entertained while a mother takes a well-needed rest but doesn’t want to plunk her child down in front of a DVD or video on television like in past years. These children are actually getting engrossed and learning at the same time, while the mother does other tasks such as cleaning, cooking, or even taking a well-deserved break (Lopez, March 2012). Video games benefit the elderly, as shown in a study that most have not even thought about! Something to ponder is that back in the late 1970s and early 1980s there were many games in bars like PONG or PACMAN. This was the dawning age of the video game empire. And many of our parents at that moment in time were in those bars, enjoying the company of their peers. They played those games, spent their quarters, and had fun. In time, however, video games became more and more intricate and thus many older people tended to drift away from those moments of fun and escape. Perhaps they still longed to play those games, but were afraid to try the new formats. Those parents now are 30 years older and thought their gaming days were long gone. Video gaming has been shown to be very beneficial to the elderly retirement community through local senior recreation departments in many cities. Studies recently have found that the elder community of retirees over 65 do benefit from video game activities. These studies were commented on by Katharine Ross, the Director of an online Senior Magazine called Senior Guide Magazine. She states: â€Å"It’s clear that video games are becoming a popular addition to a large number of retirement community activity rooms and senior event calendars† (Ross, 2010, Paragraph 10). Some of the more popular games to play have been in senior living communities that have games like WII Bowling, where people actually feel that they are part of the game, because players make an avatar of themselves to play the game with, and their movements are recognized and played on the screen. This is known as â€Å"motion gaming† rather than the common â€Å"button pushing† of other game c ontrollers. The Nintendo WII and the XBOX 360 both have motion detection system games that do the same thing. After even just a few gaming sessions in these retirement communities, it has been found to have become a great success. There is a noted boost in balance, coordination and strength, which could help prevent an elderly person from getting the dreaded fall, where they break a hip or worse. This also makes them feel more involved and not just becoming a wall fixture in retirement homes. They are actually part of the community and part of the â€Å"in† crowd again, like reliving their past! This helps them both in the physical and psychological aspects of their lives (Zafar, Feb 2011). Not only does video gaming that involves movement help the elderly, but actually Allstate Insurance Company recently put out a new program for those aged 57 – 80, which challenges older drivers to upgrade and hone their skills in a video format. It improves their driving skills by offering a way to improve reaction time and memory. You drive on a virtual test track, and objects and different scenarios are thrust upon you to get through to the next level. Most who have taken this amazing course have gone on to be better drivers and driving longer. A strong point is to test the older driver’s field of vision, which can be done in a safe environment with this type of video game. Its fun, and helps keep clients for the insurance company also! (Potter, October 2008) Video gaming doesn’t end with just the pleasure part of it all, there are aspects to it that even benefit disabled persons! One of these important discoveries is the use in physical therapy. Stroke victims, whose limbs are not working in coordination with their brains, often have problems moving their limbs for simple tasks. In the past, this meant a long, drawn-out process of physical rehabilitation at a special facility. Nowadays, many rehabilitation programs include special video games designed to work with home video equipment to supplement a person’s rehab progress. The use of virtual reality gaming helps with arm functions (picking up a cup, using a WII controller on a WII game) or even doing word games, which involve memory, often a function lost when a person has a stroke. There are microphones in WII controllers, which recognize words, and special games are made where the person has to practice speaking these words over and over to become clearer in their speaking. This both saves time and money in the long run – freeing up the therapist to treat other patients, and less money spent on rehabilitation for the insurance companies. It’s a win-win situation any way studies look at it! The jury is still out on how well this really works, but from what experts can see, it is making a dent in the process and is more fun for the person going through it and they can do this in their own home surroundings (Anderson, April 2011). Lastly, the benefits of playing video games can be seen in all ages, by the reduction of stress! It has been shown that playing video games brings on a reduction of the stress-producing hormone called Cortisol. By reducing this hormone, stress is lowered and a calmer demeanor is produced and boosts people’s self-confidence levels. People that were in a depressed mood before playing a video game were given a game that was fairly easy to beat. Once beaten, these people had a huge boost in self-confidence, thus lifting their moods out of that sadness. For example, people at a call-center played a game, which involved choosing the singular smiling faces among many other depressing-looking faces on a screen as quickly as they could. After the game was completed, more employees felt that there was a more positive attitude in doing their jobs when they did well in the game ( Nauert, 2007). This reduction in stress was also seen in a study where children who have violent tendencies because of a stressful situation in their lives played certain video games. These children, usually aged from 12 to 14, were more likely to gravitate towards more adult rated â€Å"M† (for Mature) games, with more violence in them. But once they played these games, they tended to take out their aggressions on the characters they were playing against in the games, rather than their friends or peers on the street. Ultimately, the parents have the last word on how their children will be allowed to play certain games, but in this study, it did show that when given the chance to beat up a fictional character on the video screen, or beat up a real person, they chose to take out their aggression on the video screen, thus helping both the child and society with an ever-growing problem (News Staff Science 2.0, July 2007). Some people still might argue that video gaming rots your brain, but there is no doubt that video gaming can be helpful to people of all ages. One cannot dismiss the findings in studies on this subject. In the past 30 years, this has come a very long way, from the simple joystick controllers of the original Atari systems to high-tech versions played on your Apple I Pad today, with popular games like Angry Birds. From rehabilitation to stress relief, and from toddlers to the elderly, there are not many people around nowadays that can truly say that they have never played a video game of one type or another. Video gaming is good for everyone! References Weed, J. (2012, April 20). There are loads of video games that all ages can enjoy together. Retrieved from http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2018025676_ptteentween21.html Lopez, L. (2012, March 15). More moms turn to video games. Retrieved from http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/tech/Video-Game-Moms-142869815.html Zafar, A. (2011, February 13). Physical video games may help the elderly psychologically. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/02/physical-video-games-may-help-the-elderly-psychologically/71184/ Ross, K. (2010, July 01). Video games helping seniors stay young and healthy. Retrieved from http://assisted-living.benchmarkseniorliving.com/video-games-helping-seniors-stay-young-and-healthy/ Potter, N. (2008, October 27). Video games help elderly drivers. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=6121775page=1 Anderson, P. (2011, September 14). Video games may help stroke rehabilitation. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/749703 ( you have to belong to this website to view – or just google the title name ! I belong to it ! ) Earnshaw, R. (2011, April 17). Wii video games help rehabilitation patients. Retrieved from http://www.nwitimes.com/niche/get-healthy/fitness/wii-video-games-help-rehabilitation-patients/article_2bad04b4-313b-53d7-97c0-ac2f7b5d7257.html Nauert, R. P. (2007 , October 24). Video games lower stress hormone. Retrieved from

Mahatma Gandhi Quotes Essay -- Mohandas Gandhi Essays

Gandhi Quotes Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacities. She has the right to participate in the minutest details in the activities of man, and she has an equal right of freedom and liberty with him. Hatred ever kills, love never dies such is the vast difference between the two. What is obtained by love is retained for all time. What is obtained by hatred proves a burden in reality for it increases hatred. Fear of death makes us devoid both of valour and religion. For want of valour is want of religious faith. There are times when you have to obey a call which is the highest of all, i.e. the voice of conscience even though such obedience may cost many a bitter tear, and even more, separation from friends, from family, from the state to which you may belong, from all that you have held as dear as life itself. For this obedience is the law of our being. Insistence on truth can come into play when one party practises untruth or injustice. Only then can love be tested. True friendship is put to the test only when one party disregards the obligation of friendship. The test of friendship is assistance in adversity, and that too, unconditional assistance. Co-operation which needs consideration is a commercial contract and not friendship. Conditional co-operation is like adulterated cement which does not bind. It may be long before the law of love will be recognised in international affairs. The machineries of government stand between and hide the hearts of one people from those of another. A vow is a purely religious act which cannot be taken in a fit of passion. It can be taken only wi... ...ll. My work will be finished if I succeed in carrying conviction to the human family, that every man or woman, however weak in body, is the guardian of his or her self-respect and liberty, and that this defence prevails, though the world be against the individual resister. Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession. I worship God as Truth only. I have not yet found Him, but I am seeking after Him. I am prepared to sacrifice the things dearest to me in pursuit of this quest. Even if the sacrifice demanded my very life, I hope I may be prepared to give it. We do not need to proselytise either by our speech or by our writing. We can only do so really with our lives. Let our lives be open books for all to study.

Swag Money

She has had many hobbies, achievements, and a really good career. My mom, Kristin Collision, is a really cool woman for multiple reasons. My mom has a very interesting family. Her parents died at the ages of 80(mother) and 82(father). She also has my dad, me my sister and the rest of her side of the family, plus she has my dad's side too. She cares a lot for them and would do anything for them because she loves them to death. My mom has had a good line of careers In her life.Her first Job was at McDonald's during her sophomore year until a few weeks after she graduated from high school. After that she worked at Patsy Loll's. Eventually, she went Into work for an old people home for about 5-6 years. After me and my sister were born, she was a stay at home mom while my dad was at work. Now she works as an lad on the special needs bus for GIST. My mom has gained a bunch of knowledge from all of her jobs and specially has made so many really good friends.Some of my mom's accomplishments are getting married, having kids, working hard, and making good friends. My parents got married in 1997. Then 3 years later, had me in Two years later in 2002, she had my little sister. She has had many good lobs and has made many good friends through her life. Those were some reasons why my mother, Kristin Collision, is a very inspiring, cool, and bodacious. She is an awesome mother, family member, friend, and general person.

Reflective Essay on Teaching

This assignment will critically reflect and analyse a microteaching session I presented to my peers in a clinical placement regarding Nursing management of chest drains. I will define reflection; teaching, learning and the rationale for choosing this topic will be clearly outlined in this paper. The preparation, planning, implementation and evaluation will also be incorporated. This assignment will be structured using Gibbs (1988) reflective model cited in Modular Training Course, 2003 because of its simplicity. Analysis will permeate through each stage of the Gibbs reflective model. Finally I will conclude by reflecting on my role as a joint practitioner outlining areas of personal, professional growth, identifying my strength, weakness and put forward an action plan for my future development in teaching. Reflection is an important human activity in which people re-capture their experience, mull it over and evaluate it. It is working with experience that is important in learning (Boud et al, 1985). Teaching is defined as a system of activities intended to induce learning, comprising the deliberate, methodical creation and control of those conditions in which learning does occur (Curzon, 1997). In Nursing, teaching is said to be the change in behaviour that we wish to bring about if we are to enhance and improve care for patients and client (Hinchliff, 2004) The term teaching and learning are often used interchangeably. Curzon (1990) cited by Nicklin and Kenworthy (2000) define learning as the apparent modification of a person’s behaviour through his activities and experiences so that his knowledge, skills and attitudes, including modes of adjustment towards his environment, are changed, more or less permanently. The rationale of choosing my topic was due to its relevance to the area of my clinical placement (Cardio thoracic) and the Unique learning needs of nursing management of chest drains amongst Nursing students as realised while working with them. As mentioned above, I will be using the Gibbs reflective model, which follows a cyclical pattern from description, feelings, evaluation, to conclusion and action plan. See in the Appendice. Each of these is sub-headed in the next sections to maintain clarity. Description This is the first stage of the Gibbs model. The value of micro sessions is for planning and delivering a short presentation where by feedback can be gathered before embarking on longer sessions (Walkin, 1990). Planning is about thinking things through it requires imagination and lateral as well as logical thinking (Kiger, 1995). It is a process that directs the teacher and the learner towards certain actions, which will facilitate learning. During the preparation of my teaching presentation I researched my chosen subject using databases like British Nursing Index (BNI), Nursing practice text books as well as Journals as recommended by Hinchliff (2004) who contend that using evidence-based practice can help to ensure that the subject is fully researched and this will provide support practice and view. I set out the aims and objectives of the teaching session. This view is supported by (Daines et al, 1993) who state that the teacher must know what it is that he or she intends to teach and what the students are expected to learn as an outcome for the joint effort. I drafted a lesson plan see in the appendice, which I highlighted that I was going to use an overhead projector and give handouts to the group. Ewan and White (1996) suggest it is necessary to understand learners’ different learning styles for learning and teaching to be effective. I devised my teaching plan bearing in mind that there were pragmatists, activists, theorists and reflectors among my peers. After putting the content of my presentation together I began printing and photocopying my acetates and handouts for my peers. The next step I did was to start rehearsing my presentation at home. On the day of the presentation I gave out handouts to my peers prior to the microteaching session. I used an overhead projector as a guide for my discussion even though my acetates were cluttered with too much information. I also used some equipment like different types of chest drains, water and a dame in of a person to demonstrate to my peers. I used psychomotor learning domain as it was described by Bloom (1956) cited by De Tornyay & Thompson (1987) to be most important domain compared with Cognitive and Affective domains as it enabling the learner to learn through the demonstrated skill. As I encouraged my peers to carry out the skill that I had demonstrated, I had to bear in mind that many adult learners are self-conscious about trying new psychomotor skills as contended by De Tornyay & Thompson (1987). They worry about looking foolish and making errors. And therefore it is crucial that the learning environment is warm and accepting, inviting the learners to try things, take risks and experiment. Feelings Planning on its own caused a lot of anxiety, as I was not really sure of how well I will do in delivering and presenting my topic to my peers. Although I had some idea about management of chest drains from both the practical bit that I had gained during my first two weeks on the ward and the theory that I had gathered, I was nervous prior to my presentation. It is argued by some commentators that having nerves can improve your performance (Lancaster and Janes, 1994). Feelings of nervousness helped me to focus on my presentation however things did not go the way I planned them. I can only attribute my feelings of nervousness due to inadequate preparation. During the presentation I had mixed feelings of nervousness compounded by feelings of confidence and I was not sure about how the audience perceived my presentation. I was feeling confident at times because I knew a lot about the topic and my peers through evaluation echoed this. Evaluation Evaluation can be seen as a process of making personalised judgements and decisions about achievements, expectations, the effectiveness and evaluation of what we are doing (Hanchliff, 2001). It occurs at different stages of learning experience, is ongoing, vital to development, evolution of teaching and learning. It is emphasised that if you do not self evaluate there is a tendency to carry on as usual (Hinchliff, 2004). As part of my preparation, I decided that I was going to use the SWOT analysis to evaluate myself. And with this, I was going to be able to identify my Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. My strengths included giving handouts first before starting my presentation. My peers in the feedback sheets echoed these remarks. This is supported by (Boyd et al, 1997) who states that handouts provide organisation, enable students to listen rather than taking notes and serve as a reminder of what the students have heard in the classroom or lecture. I linked the theory to practice as I was using acetates on an overhead projector as well as demonstrating and some of my peers commented that this helped them to understand the topic better. De Tornyay & Thompson (1987), recommend the use of an overhead projector by the teacher as this avoids distracting instructions and can integrate the material from the transparency with the presentation naturally and without losing eye contact with class. My voice was loud and clear throughout my presentation to enable my peers to hear the topic. Oliver and Endersby (1994) emphasise that if people cannot hear you during presentations they will not listen to you hence it is important to have a good voice projection when teaching or presenting. I had also met my aims and objectives that I had set up and my peers had learnt from them following the feedback. Aim & Objectives can provide a logical sequence for both you & your students enable you to check whether your teaching has been effective and also help to make decision about what exactly the student should learn as recommended by (Hinchliff, 2004). My weaknesses included confusing some surgical terms that I had used and therefore giving the wrong explanation of the word, not giving all my peers a chance to practice the skill and also not involving my peers to participate in terms of the questioning technique. Some of my peers commented on the feedback sheets that I had the tendency to read my acetates, I should have brought in prompt cards just to remind me of the main points which needed to be discussed further. It is argued by (Baume and Baume, 1996) that reading from transparencies will give a stilted feel to a presentation and does not give the presenter much credibility. In essence as a presenter you should know most of what you want to say otherwise you should not be teaching or presenting to the audience. And also some of my peers commented that I had rushed my presentation despite the fact that I finished within the expected time. I didn’t have all my teaching equipments as I had planned. In organizing the materials for teaching, Oliver & Endersby (1994) stated that the responsibility of teaching does not only lie on accuracy of the information presented but also in the manner and order in which it is presented. The opportunity of being familiar with my peers and knowing the subject area that I was going to present strengthened my confidence as I began to teach. My threat was not being able to finish on time and being so nervous that I would not give the best to my group. Analysis On analysis, I thought I choose the right topic that was relevant to my course and my clinical area of placement. â€Å"As joint practitioners we will encounter carers in our working life, so giving information on carers assessment, their limitation and effect of caring will prepare us for future practice† (Hinchliff, 2004). As I was preparing my presentation, I thought about adult learning as all my peers were going to be adults. I decided to use Androgogy approach of teaching as recommended by Knowles (1990) who defined it as the art and science of supporting students particularly, adult learner in their own learning process. In retrospect, I feel that this helped to promote the students’ concentration and I believe that my peers felt valued, as I was able to include them in the teaching by acknowledging each and everyone who participated by using their names and praised them. The teaching session took place in a seminar room near the ward where everyone was familiar with the environment. It is believed that a good learning environment allows a more positive attitude to study and desire to learn (Kiger, 1995). Overhead projector was used during the teaching, this was benefiting to my peers, it help to clarify and explain key points. The use of overhead projector encouraged motivation from peers and makes it more interesting (Larrivee, 2000). The teaching session was aimed to facilitate humanistic or cognitive domain as well as psychomotor where cognitive domain is student centred. This permit student perception and thinking, it also incorporate student participation which gave the chance to ascertain peers’ knowledge of the topic been taught. I used Abbatt & Mc Mahon (1993) 3 aspects of evaluation i. e. Plan, Process and Product as a form of evaluating my peers learning and effectiveness of my teaching. With this, there was use of evaluation checklists See in the Appendices that were used by my peers to evaluate my teaching in form of feedback. These can enable the teach to identify aspects of his/her teaching that could improve on. Although the feedback from my peers and mentor was informative and good, from my own reflection afterwards made me realise that I had not taught I had planned. I didn’t involve all my peers to practice the skill, which would have helped them to learn more as recommended by Hinchliff (2004). I should have informed them of how long the session was to take in order to avoid them from thinking that I had rushed. I should not have read my presentation from the acetates because it is argued that the audience will probably understand very little and will loose concentration quickly (Nicklin and Kenworthy, 2000). Body language communicates different impressions to the audience; I maintained eye contact on some occasions this helps to regulate the flow of communication. This is supported by (Oliver and Endersby, 1994) who state that presenters who make eye contact covey interest, concern, warmth and credibility. Conclusion I seem to have learned more from the reflective process than the actual presentation. Presenting to the group was one of the most nerves wrecking experiences as well as waiting for feedback from my peers and mentor. However, carrying out this teaching session has broadened my knowledge in management of chest drains and given me the courage and confidence for my future teaching and presentations. Action Plan I endeavour to perceive weakness as opportunities for future development rather than as failures. In essence the act of reflecting on the microteaching presentation has deepened my understanding of the importance of having a good preparation, a good plan, including having rehearsals prior to the presentation, the importance of having a good learning environment, and being familiar with the material you are going to use before presenting. It is imperative to evaluate each teaching session or presentation, as this is the only way we can learn to improve our practice.

Mark Twain2 essays

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Apple Inc. Increasing Corporate Market Share Research Paper

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