Analysis and Evaluation of Scotch Whisky Industry Coursework

Analysis and Evaluation of Scotch Whisky Industry - Coursework Example Production of scotch whiskey has adversely been affected by declining revenues and slow growth for the past 5 years. This is attributable to declining per capita consumption of spirits, health and societal concerns about the misuse of alcohol and tough competition from its close substitutes. One of the major drivers of growth was the exports before the onset of the financial crisis, which slowed down the markets in US and Europe. Effects of global restructuring and cost-cutting measures on the Scotch whisky industry Diageo, as part of its restructuring plan reported that it would close down its Port Dundas grain whisky distillery and the Kilmarnock bottling plant. The latter is where the world’s most popular Scotch whisky, Johnnie Walker, had been bottled. This would cost about 710 jobs. Diageo also intend to expand its Leven plant and create about 400 jobs. A protest ensued from the stakeholders but the decision was ultimately undertaken by Diageo. Another whisky producer Why te & Mackay cut 85 jobs in Scotland. These signal decisions by producers to shift bottling overseas due to increased costs and the emerging economies, which have become important markets. Shifting production processes offshore will have an impact on production of other spirits in Scotland, which rely on the economies of scale by large-scale whisky distilling and bottling to remain operational. Analysis of Scotch whisky in terms of market segmentation . In 2008, Scotch whisky was overtaken by vodka as the highest selling spirit in the UK. However it is easily the most popular UK spirit exports with revenues of ?3.0 billion in 2009. Under the UK law, Scotch whisky must be produced in Scotland. It divided into 3 major types: single grain, single malt or blended. When blended, Scotch comprises 60 percent to 85 percent grain whisky. Its alcohol content ranges from 40 percent to 95 percent by volume. The Scotch whisky industry directly employs about 10,000 people at over 100 distilleries in Scotland. Famous Grouse and Bell’s are the top brands of blended Scotch whisky in the UK. Imported whiskies account for only 4.0 per cent of spirits sales. Included in this category are Irish whiskey, US and Canadian whiskey and Indian whisky. US-produced corn whiskey (bourbon) has demonstrated solid growth in the United Kingdom, particularly among younger drinkers. Markets for Scotch whisky industry Scotch whisky accounts for majority of the exports, followed by vodka and gin. By the year 2011-12, it is expected that exports will account for 88 percent of industry revenue. Scotch whisky’s major export markets are the US, France, Spain, Singapore and South Korea. India and China are becoming increasing important too. Business and production locations for Scotch whiskey There are four major producing regions in Scotland: the Highlands, the Lowlands, Islay and Campbeltown, Speyside is home to more than half of the distilleries in the UK. Scotland also accounts for mos t of the production of spirits other than whisky, including vodka, gin, rum and ready-to-drink beverages. Combining existing production facilities, bottling capacity and distribution channels with production of other spirits provides tremendous economies of scale for spirits producers. In the past two years, more than ?500 million has been spent on new infrastructure in the region. Key Success Factors of the Scotch whisky industry The most important Key Success Facto

Biography of Porfirio Diaz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Biography of Porfirio Diaz - Essay Example It is at this place that Porfirio turned to become a carpenter’s apprentice and got the privilege to do some learning in a school called La Amiga. Following abject poverty experienced by the family, Porfirio dropped out of school before gaining complete literacy. Sometime later in life he joined a group of guerillas who by then were engaged in a fight against a resurgent by the name Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna. This period served to stir up his inner call to military, a factor that saw him spent his later years fighting in the army in opposition to the French and in the Mexico civil wars of mid to late 19th century. During his service in the army, he came to know a liberal politician by the name Benito Juà ¡rez who at one point became the president of Mexico. It was after the death of Juà ¡rez that Porfirio came to power with the help of the Catholic Church and the United States. The records have it that in 1876 he matched armed forces into Mexico City, overthrowing President Sebastià ¡n Lerdo de Tejada. During his reign, which lasted for a period of 35 years i.e1876 to 1911, Mexico experienced great advancement and modernization that saw its economy blossom. His tenure ended when he lost power in 1910-1911 following a rigged election that sparked the Mexican insurgency of 1910-1920.he died in

Take My Eyes Essay Example for Free

Take My Eyes Essay 1.Spousal abuse physically and mentally are obviously the central theme to this movie, there are however a few other underlying themes. First of the theme of reforming or not reforming is shown through the abused women ´s decision in whether or not to go to Madrid and start a career she loves or to stay home with an abusive husband. In the end, the main character finally chose not to reform to her cultures ways and leaves for Madrid. Unlike her mother who stayed with an abusive husband until he died. Another theme would be how abuse affects the entire family. This is really seen with the son of the abused mother and abusive father. Even though the father was never abusive towards his son, he was still gravely affected by the abuse. The sister of the abused women was also affected because she saw what was happening and tried to help but her sister wouldn’t listen. This would have definitely kept her up at night at least. 2.There is explicit and implicit violence throughout the film. The beginning starts out with a ransacked apartment and the abused mother and her son running to her sister’s house. This would be an example of implicit violence. On the other hand when the husband slams her against walls and throws her around that is an example of explicit violence. The director does a good job of not using too much explicit violence because it could cause the film to become hard to watch by some viewers. 3.It is said that the eyes are the portal to one’s soul. When the husband demands for his wife’s and sons eyes, he is attempting to force his control into their soul. The tittle â€Å"take my eyes† represents the husbands need to have everything of her even her soul. The sex scene when he says give me your arms, give me your legs, and so on, is meant to show that he has not changed at all and still sees her as an object. In that scene however, she followed his request by saying take my arms, take my legs, which means she must have enjoyed some of it. 4.Art plays the role of her increased freedom and confidence. It starts with a small job working as a cashier at a religious museum, then becoming a voluntary tour guide at the museum that described and told the religious story of the painting, all the way to getting a job interview in Madrid. The more she chased art the farther it pulled her out of the hell she was in. Another important role was the one of clothes. As she gained confidence she began to dress better and take pride in herself. This angered her husband but because of her work she had to keep it up dressing nice which gave her more and more self-worth. 5.This movie is a serious study of a serious social pathology. Only two men in the movie were portrayed to be abusive monsters. The rest of the males were good honest people who the women enjoyed. It would be ignorant to claim this as male bashing. It is a good tool to advocate for those women.

What is the strategic of human resource management in boots?

What is the strategic of human resource management in boots? WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BOOTS (WATERLOO)? WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) It is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of and providing direction for the people who work in the organization is called Human Resource Management (HRM). Line managers also can perform human resource management. Administration and training, employee motivation, benefits, communication, wellness, organizational development, safety, performance management, hiring, compensation, these all issues are related to people and dealt by organizational function named human resource management (HRM). William R. Tracy, in the Human Resource Glossary defines human resource management as: ‘‘the people that staff and operate an organization.as contrasted with the financial and material resources of an organization. The organizational function that deals with the people. HR POLICY Every members of an organization must follows a format statement of a principle or rule, is called policy. And how to carry out or implement a policy by the members is called procedure. There are differences between policy and procedure. Policies are written statements or rules and procedures are written instructions. Source: How to identify your organization training needs By John Mc Connel ‘2004 (page 15-50) An organization establishes a system of codified decision which is HR policies. Performance management, employee relations, administrative functions, resource planning are supported by the HR policies. Acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, nature of an organization, procedure of work in the organization, etc are explained and described by HR policies. Management is making decisions about people and then the policies act as the reference points. Source: A handbook of Human Resource practice, 9th Edition By Michael Armstrong, 2003. (Page 15) LITTERATURE REVIEW WHAT IS STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (SHRM) There are some branches of human resource management (HRM) and strategic human resource management is one of the branches. Among the present discipline of HRM it is a new branch. People-centred values of HR and corporate strategies are belonged to that SHRM territory. Source: Int. J. of Human Resource Management 16:5 May 2005 633-659 By Trichy, Fombrun andDevanna (1982), Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna (1984),Miles and Snow (1984),Walton (1985), Schuler and Jackson (1987a,b), Delery and Shaw (2001),Wright et al. (2001). The SHRM can also be defined in different way. In order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture, competitive advantage, human resource and strategic goals are very important. SHRM of an organization means to take all the decisions according to the strategic view and implement the decisions through recruiting, selecting, training and rewarding. Source: Int. J. Of Human Resource Management (page 633-659) How SHRM differs from HRM HR functions were having increasing awareness for softer people-centred values and hard world of real business in the last two decades. So that to understand how the business is running day to day the HR policies are acting very closely. For those reason standard practices of traditional management of people is preferred less than the strategic management of people by many writers in the late 1980s. Long-term objectives with human resource programmes are focused on by the strategic human resource management (SHRM). In the long run people management programmes are affected by focusing on addressing and solving problems, instead of focusing on internal human resource issues. By giving more priority on business obstacles of outside the human resources we can increase employee productivity if we implement the primary goal of strategic human resources. To improve the employee productivity, performance and motivation for the long run the strategic human resource managers need to identify the HR areas where strategies can be implemented primarily. For that human resource management and the top management of a company always need to communicate to be the best strategic human resource management (SHRM). Wright and Mc Mahan defined strategic human resource management (SHRM) as ‘‘the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals (1992: 298). Delery and Shaw (2001) think that there are two main differences. By following the SHRM policies now a day the business the businesses are performing highly and this is the reason for the employees becoming the source of sustainable competitive advantage (Lawler, 1992, 1996; Levin, 1995; Pfeiffer, 1998). Source: Academy of Management Journal 2005, Vol.48, no.1, 135-145 KEY FEATURE OF STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Between organizational strategic aims the environment and HR policy and practices there is a very important relation. There are some specific areas where strategic human resource management can be focused: Human resource accounting, which attempts to assign value to human resources in an effort to quantify this organizational capacity (Flamholtz, 1971; Frantzreib, Lanau, Lundberg, 1977), Human resource planning (Baird, Meshoulam, Degive, 1983; Galosy, 1983; Olian Rynes, 1984; Russ,1982; Stumpf Hanrahan, 1984), Response to a strategic change in the environment (Ellis, 1982) Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Strategic-Human-Resource-Management?id=549585 Hoofer Schendel (1978) said, ‘‘competitive advantage encompasses those capabilities, resources, relationships and decisions that permit a firm to capitalize on opportunities and avoid threats within its industry. But Porter (1985) did not agreed with them, he said, ‘‘by lowering costs, by increasing sources of products a firm can achieved competitive advantage with the help of human resource management. And to achieve the competitive advantage, human resource has to do some activities. And those activities are called strategic human resource management (SHRM). THE GOALS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHRM RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES Using the word ‘‘strategic is very important and different thing for the researchers. Training programmes, selection methods, etc are elaborated in some researches how human resource practices and affect in organizations performance. International competition became tough for the pressure of human resource and other corporate staffing in 1980s (Dyer Reeves, 1995). So that organizational activities got much more importance for total quality management (TQM) and reengineering. And all these happened only for implementation of strategic human resource management (SHRM). SHRM always try to discuss about interlinked HR policies than the single HR policies or practices. Measuring the performance of human resource management (HRM) with the traditional approach, we can achieve only costs and benefits of a single functional area. And adopting the strategic approach of human resource management (HRM) we can get more than about costs and benefits of a single functional area (e.g. Koch McGrath, 1996). Thats why the managers use the SHRM process and use some different human resource practices. Again the term ‘‘strategic in SHRM tries to see how the companies are affected by using human resource management. Source: http://cba.uah.edu/chadwick/Alternatives%20to%20Generic%20Typologies%20Chadwick%20Cappelli.pdf STRATEGIC HRM IN MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES When any company becomes international for expanding their business, they also become very important in the global market. And they play important role in the global market as well. Day by day the strategic human resource management is becoming more recognized and getting more priority in the business environment. And slowly failure and success in international business (Stroh and Caligiuri, 1998: Schuler. et al., 2002) are explored in between human resource management a strategic human resource management for the multinational companies. It got emphasise on growth of research on strategic human resource management and the rate of getting attention of researchers becoming higher (Schuler, 2000; Evans et al, 2002). Besides these we need to know about international human resource management (IHRM). If we know about IHRM and SHRM then easily we can distinguish between them. Tailor et al (1996), Schuler et al. (1993) Lado and Wilson (1994) said between IHRM and HRM of a multinational company have some differences. Functions and process, attracting, maintaining, developing all these are the set of a multinational companys HRM system. Source: International Human Resource ManagementA critical Text. By Hugh Schullion Maryaret Linehan (page 22-23) THE IMPACT ON STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ON ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS Any organizations success depends on how much efforts have been given for the organization. So it is important how the company is taking actions on their mission. Source: http://www2.enap.gov.br/mesa_redonda/downloads/daley_vasu.mpsa02_PPM.pdf CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS In this proposal we had some approaches, like contingency, configurationally and contextual. If we can make a balance among the approaches and how and what they contributed and had limitations, and overlook the minor differences then we can come to the bottom line. In the depth of strategic human resource management the universalistic framework is laid. Through the strategic human resource management is already tested and trusted in many organizations and became successful except some limitations. For understanding SHRM deeply researchers are using more sophisticated techniques for going to the deep sea level depth of SHRM. But its not that this proposal can consider how HRM is structured. The function, defining the main elements and how they are organized are analysed by the SHRM. So that the researchers will get encourage to practice SHRM in the business as like as Cluster analysis. And then we can see there is a barrier between contextual variables of this proposal is not just a c ontingency factor and we can consider that for that reason how the management system can influence their environments. So that the researchers who are following contextual adapted are inductive logic. And all these complement the deductive and mainly quantitative focus of the previous streams. Source: Int. J. of Human Resource Management 16:5 May 2005 633-659 ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS Alliance Boots is the worlds largest pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer. Boots The Chemist UK retail business is the most trusted brand on the high street. It is undergoing major growth that will see 2,300 stores by the end of 2009. The Boot family began trading in 1849, selling herbal remedies from a small store in Goose Gate, Nottingham. The first overseas store also opened in New Zealand in 1936.More recent decades have seen the introduction of brands such as 17 cosmetics and new business ventures such as Boots Opticians. Today, Boots is the UKs leading health and beauty retailer, with the largest share of the OTC market, and it also sells Boots brand products through an international business, which currently operates in 14 countries. Source: http://www.gomadthinking.com/business/managing_change a) What are the products/services are offered There are a lots of products/services are offered by Boots. We can divide them into: Pharmacy, Opticians, Insurance, Photo processing, Quick shop, Beauty, Fragrance, Mother baby, Everyday essentials, Electrical, Toys, etc. Pharmacy: In pharmacy there are different types of services. Such as cervical cancer vaccination service, weight loss programme, Chlamydia screening service, erectile dysfunction service, medical check-up service, midnight pharmacy, Boots health insurance, etc. Insurance: In insurance there are also different services like travel insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, child trust fund, etc. Photo processing : In processing there are also some services like photo prints, photo books, calendars diaries, cards stationery, wall decor, home gifts, fun stuff, gifts for the kids, etc. Beauty: Premium beauty, the beauty boutique, make up, skin care, body care, sun care, hair, etc. b) In which international markets are they offered Today, Boots is the UKs leading health and beauty retailer, which currently operates in 14 countries. We can divide the continents into four parts. Thailand from Asia, USA Canada from north America, Kuwait UAE from middle east, Norway, Romania, Russia from Europe Source: http://www.gomadthinking.com/business/managing_change QUESTIONARY 1) Question to the Store manager (Waterloo St): In which purposes Human Resource strategic plans serve? Answer: Approximately half of the organizations we talked to have developed separate Human Resources strategic plans. These plans generally serve one of two purposes. Either they provide direction for those agencies that have not integrated HRM into the organizations strategic plan, or they are used as implementation plans which support organization wide HRM goals, strategies, and measures. These plans are particularly important to those organizations that do not integrate HRM into the organizations wide plan because it helps them map out where they want the HR program to go. They seem less important to many of the organizations that have thoroughly integrated HRM into the organizations plan. For example, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has not developed a specific HR strategic plan because HRs goals and measures are part of the organization wide approach. Then, there are some organizations that integrate HR extensively into the organizations plan, but still prefer to have a separate HR operational plan supporting the organizations wide plan, as is often done by other corporate functions such as information technology and financial management. 2) Question to the Store manager (Waterloo St): What are HRs contributions toward mission accomplishment? Answer: HRs most valued contributions are the areas need the most improvement: recruitment and staffing, employee development, and employee relations. It would be extremely difficult to get the jobs done without the help of HR provides. 3) Question to the Team manager (Waterloo St): What is important to increasing organizations overall ability to achieve their missions? Answer: In this time of budget cuts, downsizing, and an aging Federal workforce, workforce planning becomes extremely important to increasing organizations overall ability to achieve their missions. Although few organizations have strong workforce planning systems in place, some are beginning to take steps in this direction. 4) Question to the Team manager (Waterloo St): Which information can make the improvements to solve the problems? Answer: HR staffs find that measures from HR strategic plans tend to be more useful than those in the organizations strategic or annual plans, at least at the functional level. HR strategic plan measures tend to focus on internal HR programs, policies, and processes, and can therefore point to deficiencies in these areas. HR officials can then use this information to make improvements to the problem areas. From an organizational perspective, however, the measures are generally not very helpful in determining achievement of HR goals because they are process rather than outcome oriented.

Open Campus Policy :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Students, you, as well as I, have always felt the strain of limitations brought upon you this and past school years. These past years, the school board has been closing students’ ability to do almost what they please to an oppressive detention in which you cannot even walk the hallways to get a sip of water. How many times have you or heard that someone has been given a detention for just walking around the halls? How many times have you been hassled for trying to go to your car and sent back into the school by a so called â€Å"rent-a-cop† and a new enforcer cop? All of these and more are related to the idea of a closed campus. I, on the other hand, am on the behalf of an open campus. An open campus gives the student more freedom and responsibility to make the right decisions. As opposition, the closed campus concept would argue that not all or any of the students should receive such trustworthiness from the school. I think that not all but a selec t group of students should have the open campus opportunity. Another matter with open campus is money issues in many areas in which I will discuss.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As time goes on, each class of students gains and loses freedoms. An open campus freedom would not only just let students go where they please; it would also give the students a responsibility to manage their time. Many administrators on the board of education do not think that a high school student should have such a responsibility. They would tell us that we are too immature to be able to manage time during the school day. I think that students are mature enough to have such a freedom placed within their grasps. I can anticipate that the opposition will be outraged by all students receiving this freedom and responsibility. If such a concept as open campus could be arranged, there surely would be rules and regulations placed in effect to ensure that the school will not have liability of the student once off school ground.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The group of students that can leave the school can be very easily simplified from the current thought of all students being able to leave. First of all, a freshman certainly cannot leave the school grounds. A sophomore, even though more mature than the freshman, should as well not be able to leave the grounds.

Assigment Manufacturing Process

FACULTI OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PAHANG BMM3643 (Sem II 2012/13) Assignment #4 1. a) What distinguishes machining from other manufacturing processes? b) What is a machining center? c) How important is the control of cutting-fluid temperature in operations performed in machining centers? Explain. (8 marks) 2. a) What are the primary considerations in tool selection? b) What is the advantage of a helical-tooth cutter over a straighttooth cutter for slab milling? c) What are the consequences if a cutting tool chips? (8 marks) 3. ) Why might it be desirable to use a heavy depth of cut and a light feed at a given speed in turning? b) Explain the reasoning behind the various design guidelines for turning. c) In drilling, the deeper the hole, the greater the torque. Why? (8 marks) 4. a) For producing flat surfaces in mass production machining,how does face milling differ basically from peripheral milling? b) Why is end milling such an important versatile process? c) Why is grain spacing important in grinding wheels? Explain the relationship between grit size and surface finish. (8 marks) 5. ) Why has the wire-EDM process become so widely used in industry, especially in tool and die manufacturing? Explain. e) What is meant by the term overcut in electric discharge machining? f) What is the nature of the surface obtained by electro discharge machining? (8 marks) 6. g) Estimate the time required for face milling an 20. 32 cm-long, 7. 62 cm-wide brass block using a 2032 cm-diameter cutter with 12 HSS teeth. (Given: Using the high-speed-steel tool, let’s take a recommended cutting speed for brass (a copper alloy) at 90 m/min = 1. 5 m/sand the maximum feed per tooth as 0. mm) h) In a surface grinding operation performed on hardened plain carbon steel, the grinding wheel has a diameter = 200 mm and width = 25 mm. The wheel rotates at 2400 rev/min, with a depth of cut (infeed) = 0. 05 mm/pass and a crossfeed = 3. 50 mm. The reciprocating speed of t he work is 6 m/min, and the operation is performed dry. Determine ; i) the length of contact between the wheel and the work, ii) the volume rate of metal removed. iii) If there are 64 active grits/cm2 of wheel surface, estimate the number of chips formed per unit time. (10 marks)

Commerce Education and Employability

COMMERCE EDUCATION AND EMPLOYABILITY It is commonly agreed that education should aim at ‘holistic development’ of the individual. Further, such development should be in harmony with the society and the nature. To quote the great Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo, education should aim at â€Å"all round development of the personality, which includes education of the sense, body, mind, moral and spiritual education. † The concepts of ‘all round development of personality’, or ‘holistic development’ include all the aspects of development-intellectual, spiritual, moral, economic, etc.However, some philosophers have defined the economic aims of education. Christopher Winch1; a British scholar says ‘education is broadly, although not exclusively concerned with preparation for life or for particular phase of life’. He gave three aspects to this concept of education, which are ‘fulfillment’, ‘civic participationâ₠¬â„¢ and ‘vocation’ and specifies that the individual conception of education, as they can be found in particular societies at particular time, consists of distinct combination of these different aspects.In order to define the objectives of commerce education, it may be important to go a little into its history. The origin of commerce education can be traced to the 19th century. It started with the teaching of skill based courses of ‘typing’ and ‘book keeping’, to meet the emerging manpower requirements in these areas. With an increase in commercial activities and expansion of banking, insurance, transportation and other related services, the nature and scope of commerce education changed. From a vocational bias in the initial years, the focus changed to providing liberal business education.Some experts even gave different objectives for different stages or levels of education. For example, Prof. Dasgupta (1959) used three different expressions to indicate ‘business education’, at three different levels. At the junior level (higher secondary stage), it was referred to as ‘commercial education,’ covering specific skills programmes; at the first degree stage, the term used was ‘commerce education’, to cover general stream courses for preparing semi professionals and at ‘post graduation’ level, it was termed as ‘Professional Business Education’, with the aim of preparing experts in specific areas.In other words, commerce education, at less than degree level was referred to as ‘commercial education’ or ‘vocational business education’. However, the commonly accepted view at present is that commerce education at higher secondary stage is not merely to satisfy the skill or vocational needs of pupils but provides basic understanding of the various principles, procedures and practices related to business. It also fosters an understanding of the economy, of the community in which activities related to business and industry takes place. It prepares the learners to take up business career.The secondary schools should therefore, provide the students with knowledge of the background of commerce and of the way it affects the life of the community, apart from the commercial knowledge and skills. This integrating approach to the liberal and vocational education has the support of many modern thinkers on education. It is argued that education should turn the people to something he knows well and can do well. Thus, commerce should be taken as both a knowledge subject and a skill subject. The specific objectives of academic stream of commerce education i) To provide knowledge of principles, practices, procedures, etc. bout business, trade and industry and its relationship with the society; ii) To provide basic knowledge of technological tools including computers and its application in business; iii) To develop an understanding of the environment in which we live and undertake various activities relating to business; iv) To develop basic skills needed to undertake different commerce related activities; v) to educate learners in different functional areas and develop their basic understanding about the same; vi) To develop right aptitude and qualities for undertaking business and commerce related activities; and vii) to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship and prepare learners to enter into a business career. Linkage with the Industry The present curriculum has been found to be only moderately useful to the industry. In order to make it more useful it is suggested that the students should be exposed to practical knowledge, a) by engaging them on project work, or attachment with industry, and b) establishing interaction with industry through field visits, involving professionals in teaching, and organising lectures by industry experts/successful entrepreneurs.It was generally perceived that the present cur riculum offered low degree of opportunities of skill development to the students of commerce As a result, the pass-outs of higher secondary course only have theoretical or conceptual background of various aspects of business and trade. When it comes to the practical knowledge when they are asked to perform an activity, the results are rather poor because the required skills have not been developed in them. This is a common situation, which affects the acceptability of the students by the industry as well as the users of services. The industry looks for skilled people who have a practical exposure to various commerce related activities and possess generic skills like communication skills, problem-solving skills etc. As the present curriculum offers low opportunities of skill development, need for rectifying the position has been strongly felt.Various suggestions received to improve the situation in this regard include organization of field visits, on the job training of the students, improving the infrastructural facilities and provision for establishment of commerce laboratories in the schools. Strengthening linkages Any serious effort to make the commerce curriculum relevant to the industry and increasing its acceptability would require strengthening of linkages between the school and the industry. Various suggestions have been received in this regard, from the responding stakeholders. These are discussed as follows. Firstly, it is strongly felt that organising field visits to business ecommercial establishments etc. would be of great help in exposing the students to the real work of business.For example, the student may be taken to a factory and shown how goods are being manufactured or packaged. This will give them a real feel of the various processes and an opportunity or relating these to what is being taught in the class. This is very important for sustaining their interest in the subject and making them useful to the employers as well as to the society in general. Second, it is suggested that industrial internship, to three to four week’s duration, during the summer vacation (or some other vacations), would be quite helpful in providing the students an opportunity of actually working in an office or in the field environment.Third, the students may be assigned some project work relating to the subject of study. Let us say while teaching the chapter on marketing, the students may be asked to go to their local market and find out which brands of a particular product, say toothpaste or toilet soap are available in a retail outlet; which of these are preferred by a particular class of buyers (say people belonging to lower income group) and why? Further, the schools may regularly organize seminars, workshops and discussions where experts from industry are invited to participate and interact with the students. For example, sharing of experiences by successful entrepreneurs may be of great interest and utility to the student.Fifth, the schools may be encouraged to set up commerce laboratory where the students can practice through charts, models, computer games, exploration on internet, etc. some of the practical aspects of what is taught in the class. Other important suggestions received for strengthening the linkages include making a provision for extensive training of the teachers and inducing industry for adoption of schools so that the course can run efficiently. If the teachers are not trained regularly, they would not be able to impart knowledge and skills about the latest developments in their field. Moreover, the role of teachers is changing fast. They have to work like facilitators, in the present day world of information and fast changing technological and economic environment.Thus, periodic training of teachers is very important for effectively running a course. As regards the strategy for development of linkages, it is agreed enterprises, it is agreed that the industry should be persuaded to coope rate with the schools. Entrepreneurial Values The present curriculum was perceived to be offering low degree of opportunities for development of entrepreneurial values, attitudes and skills. As a result most of the pass-outs were included to look for some wage employment opportunities, after completing their studies. This creates a lot of stress on the already soaring list of unemployed youth in the country and need improvements. The students may be induced towards entrepreneurship.The entrepreneurial values, attitudes and skills should be groomed from schools days so that the pass-outs can be prepared to set up their own ventures instead of looking for wage employment to improve the situation, various suggestions. Include organization of field visits, adoption of case study approach, teaching of biographies of successful entrepreneurs, use of small Business Games and Mock stock exchange proceedings for teaching these aspects and bringing change in the orientation of curriculum and textbooks, to incorporate entrepreneurial value and attitudes. Commerce Education needs the infusion of fresh ideas so as to provide a stimulating, supporting and sustaining environment. The Social Context of Education The education system does not function in isolation from the society of which it is a part.Hierarchies of caste, economic status and gender relations, cultural diversity as well as the uneven economic development that characterize Indian society also deeply influence access to education and participation of children in school. But at the same time, globalisation and the spread of market relations to every sphere of society have important implications for education. Business Studies Syllabi and Textbooks The syllabi and textbooks in commerce have been prepared according to the principles of the National Curriculum Framework. 1. The chapter on Social Responsibility of Business discusses how a business unit has to take care of the society of which it is a part.Every busi ness needs to act in a socially desirable manner and respect its employees, the community and the environment in which it operates. Our objective is to sensitise the student to social issues and concerns and the fact that business can do a lot for society, while fulfilling its social obligation. Environmental Protection also forms part of the chapter where conservation and industrial pollution are discussed. Business Ethics is also included to make students aware of ethical and responsible behaviour of a business. This also instills in a student value of personal ethics and standards and a code of conduct which can be applied in personal life also.Interrelationships however between business ethics and individual ethics need to be drawn by the teachers. 2. The global and local perspective and rural development needs to be taken care of. Small Business has been included in the syllabus and covers tiny and cottage industries and assistance to business provided by the government to smal l business reasons of including this in the syllabus. Rural Development and growth is a priority area and has been given a special emphasis in the latest year plans and all documents pertaining to economic development. In fact, marketers are depending on the rural demand and markets. Examples from rural business have been given throughout the book to sensitise children to the rural aspect of the country.Local perspective needs emphasis as a student is always able to relate to his local surroundings, therefore, local examples are better understood by them. 3. Connecting knowledge to life outside school. The environment in which a business operates forms an important aspect of management. A business unit has to constantly interact with the economic, political, legal and social environment. The business environment is dynamic in nature and examples can be taken from all around us, newspapers, business magazines, business TV programmes and the internet. Management has to respond to all these changes and this chapter has been specially included so that students are aware of what is going on in the economic, political, legal and social environment.A business has to analyse the environment before taking decisions. 4. Projects, activities and case problems have also been included to ensure that learning is shifted from rote methods. Creativity is a value that needs to be fostered. At the end of each chapter projects, activities and case problems have been given. 5. Boxes includes enrichment material taken from newspapers, business magazines and the internet. We hope these will enable students to connect textual knowledge to the business world Students should draw interrelationships between the text and the news in the print and electronic media. The Objective is to give students an idea of what is happening inside a business. 6.We live in an age of unprecedented violence, local regional, national and global. Values of love, cooperation, non violence, peace are univers al and need to be emphasized again and again. Social equality and justice is an integral part of peace education. Our chapter on social responsibilities emphasizes social equality and justice but teachers need to revisit the concept and connect it to place in society. The topic on cooperative societies and international business are based on the spirit of cooperation. Cooperation as a value needs to be re emphasized by teachers and then lead the student to imbibe the value of cooperation. International agreements, WTO and GATT are all based in international cooperation.Since management involves doing work systematically and resolving conflict situations, while we are teaching management we can revisit the idea of maintaining peace and harmony within an organization. Coordination of activities ensures harmonious relationships which is what manage motivation which again is related to peace and harmony. The teacher in the class needs to draw interconnections between the text and values of peace and non-violence. This has become almost an essential and moral duty of every teacher. 7. India is a multicultural society and all groups have equal rights to coexist and flourish. In our texts we have tried to give business examples from all regions.When the social environment of business is taught then certain examples can be taken up so that students have a fair idea of the pluralistic society in which we live. 8. Any economic development affects the Financial Market and ultimately every business unit in some way or the other. The role of major financial institutions and banks are becoming prominent in the financial markets. The fluctuations in the capital market are due to a variety of reasons. How the political, economic and social changes affect the markets can be studied, it will be going beyond the textbook. However, students will find it very interesting. These topics are important, current issues and students need to be aware of such topics as they shape the coun try’s future and economic development.In fact, the whole world is looking at India and China since they are relatively strong economies because of the regulatory mechanisms in the financial markets. Reference 1. www. ncert. nic. in/programmes/teacher_edu/pdfs/Commerce. pdf In Service Teacher Education Manual for Teachers and Teacher Educators in Commerce. 2. Emerging Trends in Commerce and Management, Santosh Gupta, Published in University News41 (05) 2003 3. Recent Trends in Commerce and Management Education, Dr. V. V. Khanzode, Strling Publishers Private Limited. 1990 4. National Policy on Education1986 an Appraisal, DoabaHouse, New Delhi. 1989 5. Commerce and Management Education in India,Ed. K. V. Sivayya,Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi. 1990 Commerce Education and Employability COMMERCE EDUCATION AND EMPLOYABILITY It is commonly agreed that education should aim at ‘holistic development’ of the individual. Further, such development should be in harmony with the society and the nature. To quote the great Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo, education should aim at â€Å"all round development of the personality, which includes education of the sense, body, mind, moral and spiritual education. † The concepts of ‘all round development of personality’, or ‘holistic development’ include all the aspects of development-intellectual, spiritual, moral, economic, etc.However, some philosophers have defined the economic aims of education. Christopher Winch1; a British scholar says ‘education is broadly, although not exclusively concerned with preparation for life or for particular phase of life’. He gave three aspects to this concept of education, which are ‘fulfillment’, ‘civic participationâ₠¬â„¢ and ‘vocation’ and specifies that the individual conception of education, as they can be found in particular societies at particular time, consists of distinct combination of these different aspects.In order to define the objectives of commerce education, it may be important to go a little into its history. The origin of commerce education can be traced to the 19th century. It started with the teaching of skill based courses of ‘typing’ and ‘book keeping’, to meet the emerging manpower requirements in these areas. With an increase in commercial activities and expansion of banking, insurance, transportation and other related services, the nature and scope of commerce education changed. From a vocational bias in the initial years, the focus changed to providing liberal business education.Some experts even gave different objectives for different stages or levels of education. For example, Prof. Dasgupta (1959) used three different expressions to indicate ‘business education’, at three different levels. At the junior level (higher secondary stage), it was referred to as ‘commercial education,’ covering specific skills programmes; at the first degree stage, the term used was ‘commerce education’, to cover general stream courses for preparing semi professionals and at ‘post graduation’ level, it was termed as ‘Professional Business Education’, with the aim of preparing experts in specific areas.In other words, commerce education, at less than degree level was referred to as ‘commercial education’ or ‘vocational business education’. However, the commonly accepted view at present is that commerce education at higher secondary stage is not merely to satisfy the skill or vocational needs of pupils but provides basic understanding of the various principles, procedures and practices related to business. It also fosters an understanding of the economy, of the community in which activities related to business and industry takes place. It prepares the learners to take up business career.The secondary schools should therefore, provide the students with knowledge of the background of commerce and of the way it affects the life of the community, apart from the commercial knowledge and skills. This integrating approach to the liberal and vocational education has the support of many modern thinkers on education. It is argued that education should turn the people to something he knows well and can do well. Thus, commerce should be taken as both a knowledge subject and a skill subject. The specific objectives of academic stream of commerce education i) To provide knowledge of principles, practices, procedures, etc. bout business, trade and industry and its relationship with the society; ii) To provide basic knowledge of technological tools including computers and its application in business; iii) To develop an understanding of the environment in which we live and undertake various activities relating to business; iv) To develop basic skills needed to undertake different commerce related activities; v) to educate learners in different functional areas and develop their basic understanding about the same; vi) To develop right aptitude and qualities for undertaking business and commerce related activities; and vii) to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship and prepare learners to enter into a business career. Linkage with the Industry The present curriculum has been found to be only moderately useful to the industry. In order to make it more useful it is suggested that the students should be exposed to practical knowledge, a) by engaging them on project work, or attachment with industry, and b) establishing interaction with industry through field visits, involving professionals in teaching, and organising lectures by industry experts/successful entrepreneurs.It was generally perceived that the present cur riculum offered low degree of opportunities of skill development to the students of commerce As a result, the pass-outs of higher secondary course only have theoretical or conceptual background of various aspects of business and trade. When it comes to the practical knowledge when they are asked to perform an activity, the results are rather poor because the required skills have not been developed in them. This is a common situation, which affects the acceptability of the students by the industry as well as the users of services. The industry looks for skilled people who have a practical exposure to various commerce related activities and possess generic skills like communication skills, problem-solving skills etc. As the present curriculum offers low opportunities of skill development, need for rectifying the position has been strongly felt.Various suggestions received to improve the situation in this regard include organization of field visits, on the job training of the students, improving the infrastructural facilities and provision for establishment of commerce laboratories in the schools. Strengthening linkages Any serious effort to make the commerce curriculum relevant to the industry and increasing its acceptability would require strengthening of linkages between the school and the industry. Various suggestions have been received in this regard, from the responding stakeholders. These are discussed as follows. Firstly, it is strongly felt that organising field visits to business ecommercial establishments etc. would be of great help in exposing the students to the real work of business.For example, the student may be taken to a factory and shown how goods are being manufactured or packaged. This will give them a real feel of the various processes and an opportunity or relating these to what is being taught in the class. This is very important for sustaining their interest in the subject and making them useful to the employers as well as to the society in general. Second, it is suggested that industrial internship, to three to four week’s duration, during the summer vacation (or some other vacations), would be quite helpful in providing the students an opportunity of actually working in an office or in the field environment.Third, the students may be assigned some project work relating to the subject of study. Let us say while teaching the chapter on marketing, the students may be asked to go to their local market and find out which brands of a particular product, say toothpaste or toilet soap are available in a retail outlet; which of these are preferred by a particular class of buyers (say people belonging to lower income group) and why? Further, the schools may regularly organize seminars, workshops and discussions where experts from industry are invited to participate and interact with the students. For example, sharing of experiences by successful entrepreneurs may be of great interest and utility to the student.Fifth, the schools may be encouraged to set up commerce laboratory where the students can practice through charts, models, computer games, exploration on internet, etc. some of the practical aspects of what is taught in the class. Other important suggestions received for strengthening the linkages include making a provision for extensive training of the teachers and inducing industry for adoption of schools so that the course can run efficiently. If the teachers are not trained regularly, they would not be able to impart knowledge and skills about the latest developments in their field. Moreover, the role of teachers is changing fast. They have to work like facilitators, in the present day world of information and fast changing technological and economic environment.Thus, periodic training of teachers is very important for effectively running a course. As regards the strategy for development of linkages, it is agreed enterprises, it is agreed that the industry should be persuaded to coope rate with the schools. Entrepreneurial Values The present curriculum was perceived to be offering low degree of opportunities for development of entrepreneurial values, attitudes and skills. As a result most of the pass-outs were included to look for some wage employment opportunities, after completing their studies. This creates a lot of stress on the already soaring list of unemployed youth in the country and need improvements. The students may be induced towards entrepreneurship.The entrepreneurial values, attitudes and skills should be groomed from schools days so that the pass-outs can be prepared to set up their own ventures instead of looking for wage employment to improve the situation, various suggestions. Include organization of field visits, adoption of case study approach, teaching of biographies of successful entrepreneurs, use of small Business Games and Mock stock exchange proceedings for teaching these aspects and bringing change in the orientation of curriculum and textbooks, to incorporate entrepreneurial value and attitudes. Commerce Education needs the infusion of fresh ideas so as to provide a stimulating, supporting and sustaining environment. The Social Context of Education The education system does not function in isolation from the society of which it is a part.Hierarchies of caste, economic status and gender relations, cultural diversity as well as the uneven economic development that characterize Indian society also deeply influence access to education and participation of children in school. But at the same time, globalisation and the spread of market relations to every sphere of society have important implications for education. Business Studies Syllabi and Textbooks The syllabi and textbooks in commerce have been prepared according to the principles of the National Curriculum Framework. 1. The chapter on Social Responsibility of Business discusses how a business unit has to take care of the society of which it is a part.Every busi ness needs to act in a socially desirable manner and respect its employees, the community and the environment in which it operates. Our objective is to sensitise the student to social issues and concerns and the fact that business can do a lot for society, while fulfilling its social obligation. Environmental Protection also forms part of the chapter where conservation and industrial pollution are discussed. Business Ethics is also included to make students aware of ethical and responsible behaviour of a business. This also instills in a student value of personal ethics and standards and a code of conduct which can be applied in personal life also.Interrelationships however between business ethics and individual ethics need to be drawn by the teachers. 2. The global and local perspective and rural development needs to be taken care of. Small Business has been included in the syllabus and covers tiny and cottage industries and assistance to business provided by the government to smal l business reasons of including this in the syllabus. Rural Development and growth is a priority area and has been given a special emphasis in the latest year plans and all documents pertaining to economic development. In fact, marketers are depending on the rural demand and markets. Examples from rural business have been given throughout the book to sensitise children to the rural aspect of the country.Local perspective needs emphasis as a student is always able to relate to his local surroundings, therefore, local examples are better understood by them. 3. Connecting knowledge to life outside school. The environment in which a business operates forms an important aspect of management. A business unit has to constantly interact with the economic, political, legal and social environment. The business environment is dynamic in nature and examples can be taken from all around us, newspapers, business magazines, business TV programmes and the internet. Management has to respond to all these changes and this chapter has been specially included so that students are aware of what is going on in the economic, political, legal and social environment.A business has to analyse the environment before taking decisions. 4. Projects, activities and case problems have also been included to ensure that learning is shifted from rote methods. Creativity is a value that needs to be fostered. At the end of each chapter projects, activities and case problems have been given. 5. Boxes includes enrichment material taken from newspapers, business magazines and the internet. We hope these will enable students to connect textual knowledge to the business world Students should draw interrelationships between the text and the news in the print and electronic media. The Objective is to give students an idea of what is happening inside a business. 6.We live in an age of unprecedented violence, local regional, national and global. Values of love, cooperation, non violence, peace are univers al and need to be emphasized again and again. Social equality and justice is an integral part of peace education. Our chapter on social responsibilities emphasizes social equality and justice but teachers need to revisit the concept and connect it to place in society. The topic on cooperative societies and international business are based on the spirit of cooperation. Cooperation as a value needs to be re emphasized by teachers and then lead the student to imbibe the value of cooperation. International agreements, WTO and GATT are all based in international cooperation.Since management involves doing work systematically and resolving conflict situations, while we are teaching management we can revisit the idea of maintaining peace and harmony within an organization. Coordination of activities ensures harmonious relationships which is what manage motivation which again is related to peace and harmony. The teacher in the class needs to draw interconnections between the text and values of peace and non-violence. This has become almost an essential and moral duty of every teacher. 7. India is a multicultural society and all groups have equal rights to coexist and flourish. In our texts we have tried to give business examples from all regions.When the social environment of business is taught then certain examples can be taken up so that students have a fair idea of the pluralistic society in which we live. 8. Any economic development affects the Financial Market and ultimately every business unit in some way or the other. The role of major financial institutions and banks are becoming prominent in the financial markets. The fluctuations in the capital market are due to a variety of reasons. How the political, economic and social changes affect the markets can be studied, it will be going beyond the textbook. However, students will find it very interesting. These topics are important, current issues and students need to be aware of such topics as they shape the coun try’s future and economic development.In fact, the whole world is looking at India and China since they are relatively strong economies because of the regulatory mechanisms in the financial markets. Reference 1. www. ncert. nic. in/programmes/teacher_edu/pdfs/Commerce. pdf In Service Teacher Education Manual for Teachers and Teacher Educators in Commerce. 2. Emerging Trends in Commerce and Management, Santosh Gupta, Published in University News41 (05) 2003 3. Recent Trends in Commerce and Management Education, Dr. V. V. Khanzode, Strling Publishers Private Limited. 1990 4. National Policy on Education1986 an Appraisal, DoabaHouse, New Delhi. 1989 5. Commerce and Management Education in India,Ed. K. V. Sivayya,Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi. 1990