Tuesday, January 28, 2020

The Difficulty Limited and Extensive choices Essay Example for Free

The Difficulty Limited and Extensive choices Essay Abstract The conducted study is based on personal choice in limited and extensive choice experimental groups. It was conducted to further the research in choice overload and paralysis of the mind. The central aim was to assess if people in limited choice groups were more motivated to win, found it less difficult to choose and were more satisfied with their choice. Due to past research, results should indicate an evident slant for the limited choice group being more satisfied and finding it less difficult to choose. The  study recruited HPS121 students to participate in a limited and extensive choice experiment in context to hotels. There were 661 participants, each chose one hotel and where then surveyed using six questions; three demographic and three in regards to difficulty, motivation and satisfaction using a 7-point Likert scale. The findings supported the hypothesis and were consistent with past research. Satisfaction and difficulty of choice showed a statistically significant difference with limited choice groups finding it less difficult and ended more satisfied. Motivation wasn’t statistically significant however; the limited choice group were still more motivated to win. Society today has an explosion of choice and this study indicates that too much choice is causing choice overload and paralysis of the mind. Choice is great however, too much is damaging society. Social psychology is the study of how people or situations influence our feelings, thoughts and behaviour. Personal choice is a new study within social psychology and is highly important to research due to the ever-growing explosion of choices we are facing in today’s society. Schwartz (2006) discusses this stigma of more choice being attractive however; it’s decreasing people’s satisfaction and increasing paralysis of the mind. He states that extensive choice leads to greater expectations which leads to a decrease in overall satisfaction, self blame for not making the perfect choice, opportunity costs (i.e.; always wanting to do something that your not doing) and regret/anticipated regret. Mouse heart (2008) a radio host presenter spoke about the choice explosion occurring in today’s society with Hugh Mackay, who has conducted wide-ranging research on the issue of the paradox of choice. Hugh suggests that there is a rise of the options generation which are people ranging from 18-35 years of age who can be distinguished by the pace of change in their lives and how comfortable they are with the open option. Iyengar and Lepper (2000) conducted three studies into the research of limited and extensive choice that explored motivation and satisfactional differences between the two groups. Study one used a display of jams of which two could only be tasted. One condition involved a selection of six jams and the other a selection of 24 jams. The results were evident that the extensive group found it less motivating to buy any jam due to paralyses and choice overload. Study two Iyengar and Lepper (2000) involved essay topics of which the limited choice group chose from six and the extensive choice chose from 30. The topics were based on the film 12 angry men. Results showed in the extensive group that motivation was severly affected when it came to writing the essay and the quality was hindered. Finally study three involved chocolates and three groups, limited choice, extensive choice and no choice (control group). Fndings indicated that participants in the limited choice who tasted chocolate were far more likely to receive $5.00 worth of chocalate as payment for participating than the extensive group who mostly went for the money. The results are contradictory as people in current society have an abundant of choice and perceive it to be better, however; current research shows it may be more beneficial to limit choice. Our study tried to explore this in the motivation, satisfaction and difficulty differences across the two choice groups by conducting a study with six limited choice options and 24 extensive choice options. The study that Deakin university trimester two psychology students participated in was based on limited and extensive choice in context to hotels. This study aimed to replicate current findings on motivation and satisfaction and to test the hypothesis, a person who had fewer hotels to choose from would be more motivated to win the reimbursement, find it less difficult to choose and be more satisfied with their choice of hotel over participants from the extensive choice group. Method Deakin Hps121 students were asked to pick one hotel at which they would like to stay at and one lucky student would win a $400.00 reimbursement for there stay. Participants were split into two groups at random allocation. Half received a choice from six hotels (limited choice group) whereas the others received a choice from 24 hotels (extensive choice group). Once participants had chosen their desired hotel, they were asked a set of six questions, three of which were demographic and the remaining three were conducted using a 7-point Likert scale. Participants: Participants were from Deakin University studying Hps121 in trimester two. The study used a consequence sample randomly allocating participants into the two experimental groups, either extensive choice or limited choice. There were 661 participants in this study, 546 of which were female and 115 of which were male. The ages ranged from 18-66 years of age: (M=22.37 years, SD=7.51 years). Consent was gained through a disclaimer at the start of the survey, which stipulated and outlined the ethical issues. Materials: Photographs of four to five star hotels in Queensland, Australia, with descriptive words explaining the hotel were used. To test the hypothesis a 7-point Likert scale was used to indicate the participants satisfaction, motivation to win and the difficulty the experienced from choosing a hotel. Procedure: Students of Hps121 were asked to complete a survey at their discretion. One lucky student had the chance to win a $400.00 reimbursement for the hotel they chose in the study. Participants were then given a link to the survey  online via cloud Deakin. There was a consent form outlining the ethical issues and participants could either accept or decline to participate. The participants that voluntarily participated were then randomly categorised into the two experimental groups: one limited choice and the other extensive choice. Photographs of hotels that were four to five stars based in Queensland, Australia were then presented to the participants, the photographs had a few words description. The Limited choice group were able to choose from six hotels and the extensive choice group were able to choose from 24 hotels. After the participants had chosen they were then asked to complete a series of six questions, three of which were demographic based and asked for the student’s age, gender and also their student id number. The second three questions were based on a 7-point Likert scale that asked for the participant’s motivation to win, how hard their choice was and how satisfied they were with their choice of hotel. A t-test was then used to derive the results. In conclusion to the study conducted the extensive amounts of choice society is facing currently is damaging the population. Society is however built like this with technology ever growing and choices expanding everyday, therefore the population need to find a way to cope with the paralysis it’s causing. In any case the limited choice groups were far better off and showed higher rates of satisfaction, found it less difficult to make a choice and had slightly more motivation to participate. The study supported the findings from Schwartz, B (2006), Maushart, S (2006) and Iyengar and Lepper (2000). Showing us that extensive choice may be at first more appealing but not beneficial or appealing subsequently. References Iyengar, S. S., Lepper, M. R. When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a good thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2000, 79: 995-1006. †¢Maushart, S. (Presenter). Multiple Choice, Episode 1 -For the Options Generation, the paradoxes of choice abound -like the couple who lived happily ever afterand then got married. [Podcast radio programme]. (2008, February 20) Sydney: ABC Radio National. Retrieved November 4, 2013 from http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200803/r229466_914710.mp3 †¢Schwartz, B. Too Much Choice. (2006, October 14) [Video] Retrieved November 4, 2013 from http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choic e.html

Monday, January 20, 2020

Distance Education Essay -- Teaching Educating School Essays

Distance Education "Distance education is a process that creates and provides access to learning when time and distance separate the source of information and the learners"(Zhang, 1998, p.1). Distance education defies time and space and can help create a "virtual schoolhouse, or a ‘classroom without walls’"(Wheat, 1998, p.1). The "need to take the distance out of education has not been driven largely by sheer need to bridge physical separations. It has been based mainly on providing access as open as possible to those who are willing to avail themselves of the opportunities education affords them"(Tam, 1998, p.3). "Education needs to reach those who are disadvantaged by location, finance, time, and resources"(Tam, 1998, p.3). Distance learning can also reach students "with an unusual learning needs" or "unusual emotional problems", who need to take "atypical courses", or who have "visual learning styles"(Dede, 1990, p.3). "Distance learning is a strategy educational institutions are in itially using to overcome inadequacies of local resources for meeting learners’ needs"(Dede, 1990, p.3). "Distance learning is hardly a new idea; correspondence courses have been offered since the mid-1800’s"(Sonner, 1999, p.1). New technologies have simply given distance educators more options on how to supply distance learning to potential distance learners. Technology-Assisted Distance Education The technologies of distance education "have been evolving from traditional technologies such as mail, telephone, fax, to instructional television, to VCR-based technology, and computers systems such as the Internet (Zhang, 1998, p.2). "Internet-based distance courses are booming"(Zhang, 1998, p.2) "IP (Internet Protocol) is the way the ... ...ges. Hancock, Amy. (1999, March). The evolving terrain of distance learning. Satellite Communications, 23(3), 4 pages. Leonard, David C. (1999, Winter). The Web, the millenium, and the digital evolution of distance education. Technical Communication Quarterly, 8(1), 12 pages. Markel, Mike. (1999, April). Distance education and the myth of the new pedagogy. Journal of Business & Technical Communication, 13(2), 15 pages. Merisotis, Jamie P., & Phipps, Ronald A. What’s the difference? Change, 31(3), 6 pages. Sonner, Brenda S. (1999, Mar/Apr.). Success in the capstone business course—assessing the effectiveness of distance learning. Journal of Education for Business, 74(4), 5 pages. Zhang, Ping. (1998, Summer). A case study on technology use in distance learning. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 30(4), 22 pages.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Honda Motor Company Ltd. Essay

How does Mr. Honda’s history with suppliers relate to Honda’s current supply management strategy? Honda’s current supply management strategy is consistent with Mr. Honda’s history. There three factors about Honda’s supply management strategy, focus on local market, emphasis on competition and reliable suppliers. According to the Honda’s export strategy of â€Å"Honda and U.S. – Japan Automotive Trade†(1997), it is clearly that Honda focuses on regional markets which contributes to developing more sales, strong research and better development. And their strategy of manufacturing the products where or near to where they are sold is the result of their being local strategy. Additionally, focus on local market benefits not only Honda but also the local government. Taking the US market as an example, on one hand, â€Å"Honda’s commitment to global trade and the positive benefits that result for U.S. jobs, suppliers, consumers and exports.† On the other hand, when the government benefits from Honda, it is easier for Honda to develop in the future. The other one is that Honda always emphasizes the competition of globalization. And during the intense competition, finding reliable suppliers to ensure and advance the quality of production is very important. Being globalization is the corollary goal if one company wants to make more benefit. And reliable suppliers are of great significance for company. This is the foundation of being on time as well as having good quality. Furthermore, Honda’s suppliers are able to be involved in the development process to give suggestion and have negotiation with Honda. In this way, Honda has access to know how to make it better and faster. Why is purchasing so important at Honda? Purchasing is important to Honda because of its strategy to be globalization. As Honda is a transnational corporation, it is very important to know the different policy, culture and environment in different local places in order to producing saving, managing contracts effectively and maintaining productive supplier relationships. Effective supply chain management depends on material availability, purchase volume, product cost and types of materials. As there thousands of parts in a car, sometimes materials should be bought from all over the world to reduce cost. Purchasing ensures the lowest price with good quality. And with communication as well as  negotiation to the suppliers, it is possible to make all the products to be produced on time with lower cost which is very important. Additionally, purchasing takes what kind of contract is the best into consideration which contributes to managing contracts effectively. Due to the different environment in every location, an appropriate type of contract benefits Honda and suppliers at the same time. Furthermore, as mentioned above, Honda pays a lot attention to the relationship with suppliers. One of the important part of purchasing is negotiating with the suppliers. With good negotiation and communication, it not only increases the chance of getting better deal but also contributes to establishing positive relationship with suppliers. How does purchasing rank in the corporate structure at Honda? Purchasing ranks highly in the corporate structure at Honda. It is in charge of local purchasing which decides the local suppliers as well as the global source. Besides, it has the option of adding a second source of supply. How is Honda organized globally? How does this help/hinder the purchasing function at Honda? Honda has lead automotive exporter which increase the buying and selling power for Honda. Honda focus on the localization as well as globalization which neutralizes the effect of currency rate. However, it also causes some problems such as at the beginning it is hard to coordinate between the local and the global. But this problem has been solved when the international purchasing department strengthen its macro-control of the local and global purchasing. Honda is sensitive to international requirements which means it takes advantages as well as create opportunities with local government. Since 1986 the MOSS came out, Honda created thousands of job opportunities in US and in turn it gets a lot benefit. What are the key elements of Honda’s supplier evaluation policy? How does it differ from others (e.g. the Big Three)? Suppliers are able to be involved in the product development to some degree. Different from others which control everything during purchasing and the suppliers are just responsible for supplying products as what is in the contract, Honda’s suppliers are able to offer advice about enhancing the efficiency which facilitate the cooperation as well as the products. In other words, Honda and its suppliers are mutually-beneficial cooperation rather than Honda just relies on suppliers. Continuous development and responsiveness of suppliers at the early age of product development process is critically important. â €Å"Honda tries to  encourage suppliers’ suggestions early before finalizing drawings, particularly in the area of cost reduction and quality improvement.† Honda always tries to maintain relationship with suppliers. It is hard to communicate effectively in Honda’s four trade zone but Honda always pays attention to it. As Mr. Morita says, â€Å"Honda places value on maintaining relationships, so we do not enter into them lightly.† Different from companies which focus on the immediate benefit of low cost rather than long-term benefits of maintaining relationship, Honda values suppliers and tries best to maintain good relationship with suppliers which turns out to be a very economical strategy. Because changing suppliers or having problems with current suppliers always takes a lot of time and money of fix it. What is Honda’s policy on new product development and supplier involvement? How does it differ from other automotive companies? Honda’s policy on new product development and supplier involvement includes two pars: Pacific Automotive Cooperative since 1986 and Re-assigned Pacific Automotive Cooperative since 1995. The former one was signed by Japanese and American government which required companies to report all of their import and localization volumes. The latter one consisted of 32 shareholders from joint venture composed of Japanese automakers which was established to meet political objecti ve for production in North America. Both of the policies emphasize on the involvement and cooperation of suppliers. Different from other automotive companies, suppliers of Honda have access to have knowledge of product development process and to offer suggestion which enhance the relationship between Honda and suppliers as well as promote the production efficiency. Honda’s culture have always emphasized globalization. Honda cultivated an international background at a very early age resulting in getting along with suppliers well. Conversely, Nissan and Toyota primarily exported vehicles, and did not develop this international culture. Does Honda support local sourcing from domestic suppliers? What are the advantages / disadvantages of this approach? Yes, Honda strongly supports local sourcing from domestic suppliers. Advantages: Firstly, it is easier for Honda to create and develop domestic market with domestic suppliers which understand customer culture and market better than Honda itself. Secondly, domestic suppliers decrease the cost of time and  money to distribute and produce. Thirdly, as there may be several domestic suppliers, so Honda has more options to choose the best one. And additionally,, domestic suppliers lower the risk of discontinuousness. Disadvantages: At the beginning of purchasing, domestic suppliers may be lacking in specific raw materials or components. And furthermore, how to adjust the domestic suppliers with global market is very important. Honda’s policy and commit to long-term relationships has been criticized as being â€Å"too loyal†, and Honda will go to â€Å"ridiculous lengths† to maintain a supplier relationship before severing ties. What do you think about these criticisms? Although Honda’s policy is criticized, in my opinion, it is still of great significance. When choosing suppliers, quality of products they supply compared with the cost and delivery fee are the most important factors. If the suppliers were able to satisfy these requirements, there is no need to change suppliers. Additionally, Honda keeps increasing the relationship with suppliers by involving them into the product development process, which benefits both Honda and suppliers. Stable and long-term relationship doesn†™t equal ridiculous lengths. With efforts, it is one way to increase the quality of suppliers.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Mission in Burundi South Africas Voice of Solidarity

Course: The South in World Politics: a Parallel World in the Making? Mission in Burundi: South Africa’s voice of solidarity INTRODUCTION In 1993 Nelson Mandela defined the issue of human rights, respect for diversity, cooperation in regional construction, infrastructure and resource development projects, concerns and interest of the continent of Africa to be the pillars of the foreign policy of South Africa (Mandela 1993). The essay will define what mediation is, what the peace process phases, will briefly describe the essence of the Tutsi-Hutu conflict in Burundi, will demonstrate how South Africa fulfilled its taken ‘obligations’ in the Burundi peace mission from 1999-2005 as a mediator, and will conclude when the mediation can be considered successful. BACKGROUND INFORMATION â€Å"Mediation is a process in which a third party attempts to resolve a conflict by fostering an agreement acceptable to both sides, without any prior acceptance or commitment by the parties to the conflict of the mediators ideas or suggestions† (Ayres, 1997). â€Å"Third parties mediate based on their desire to make peace, and their own self-interest. Self-interest is the primary motivation for states. States are motivated by both defensive and offensive interests† (ZartmanTouval 1996). Mediation per se intervention in the long-term Burundi peace process (1993-2005) involved many international actors and had the following milestones: the initial intercession by the UN SpecialShow MoreRelatedNotes18856 Words   |  76 PagesColonialism and the African Experience Virtually everything that has gone wrong in Africa since the advent of independence has been blamed on the legacies of colonialism. Is that fair? Virtually all colonial powers had â€Å"colonial missions.† What were these missions and why were they apparently such a disaster? Did any good come out of the African â€Å"colonial experience†? Introduction Colonization of Africa by European countries was a monumental milestone in  ­ the development of Africa. The