Langauge structure Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Langauge structure - Assignment Example Arabski (1979 pp.135-143) says that making errors is part of the process of acquiring a language and is mostly influenced by transference and simplification. English and Arabic languages are different in many ways and as expected Arab speakers encounter many phonological, morphological and semantic problems when learning English. Arabic speakers do not recognize how to use adjectives in sentences. This is because in Arabic adjectives come after the noun whereas in English adjectives come before the noun. Most Arabic speaks erroneously transfer their knowledge of adjectives during the course of learning English (Cruse 1986 pp.40). This paper will discuss how Arab speakers struggle using adjectives while giving specific learner errors. The discussion will focus on some published language teaching material and it will analyze, compare and evaluate these errors. Project Description Theoretical Framework Studying errors second language learners make is a field that has created a buzz amon g linguists. Several theories have been advanced, and one such theory is the Contrastive Analysis This is a process that explains the comparative aspects of the Mother tongue (MT) and the Target Language (TL). James (1998) provides examples for instance consonant clusters, tense and comparison of the form and meaning of the two languages. This according to Fries (1945) is supposed to determine the oddities that result to interference and error. The reason being a second language learner may find some aspects of the target language easy to learn and others hard. The assumption second language learners make is that it will be easy to learn those aspects that are similar to their native language and very difficult to learn those aspects that are different from their native language. Contrastive Analysis has been conducted on many languages. Khuwaileh and Al Shoumali (2000) studied the writing of Arabic learners of academic English. He was focusing the frequent errors on coherence tense errors, lack of cohesion and parts of speech errors. The study compared the Arabic language and English. Bataineh (2005) investigated the problems Arab learners of language and translators’ encounter when translating Arabic sentences. The focus was on articles. Contrastive Analysis has faced some criticism and thus other theories emerged to fill the gap. The theory advocating for the existence of a â€Å"psychological structure latent in the brain† brought in the idea of Interlanguage (IL) seen in the process of learning a second language. Selinker (1972 pp.209-231) claimed that second language learners created some interim grammars in trying to achieve the target language but this vocabulary changes depending on the task of extraction and the context. IL is influenced by Transfer of training, Language transfer, Strategies of second language communication, Overgeneralization and Strategies of second language learning. As it is impossible to acquire a second language w ithout making errors, many linguists have invested time and resources in analyzing errors and why they occur. There are several reasons for studying errors. According to Corder (1975 pp.122-154) errors can tell a linguist how much a second language learner has acquired and what other aspects of the language require to be emphasized. Also as, James (1980) put it, errors are also markers of how the process of acquiring a second

Consistent Philosophy of Life Essay Example for Free

Consistent Philosophy of Life Essay Abstract This paper focuses John Allison’s management style, what he finds to be the essential characteristics of a leader, and how he employs ethics and principles in this everyday life, in business, and as an educational leader. He is the former CEO of BBT and current leader of the CATO Institute. There is little distinction between Allison’s â€Å"leadership style† and his philosophy. His philosophy can be directly applied to any situation, challenge, or circumstance. Allison is purpose driven and mission oriented, and he applies a set of ten principles to achieve his mission. This paper will also look at how Allison defines a vision, mission, values and principles. Each of the ten principles are examined, and finally, the paper will look at some of the detractors of Allison’s philosophy. John Allison, Consistent Philosophy of Life, Effective Manager of Business, and Important Contributor to Society. John Allison lives by a clear philosophy that permeates every aspect of his life. He built a multi-billion dollar bank (BBT) on it, and managed to stay away from toxic investments that led to the downfall of many banks because of it. He is now taking this highly moral, completely integrated, and fully comprehensive philosophy to the rest of society by donating time and money to universities by explaining the morality of capitalism and rational thought. Most recently, he was appointed to lead the Cato Institute, a Libertarian think-tank. An effective manager instills purpose in themselves and their employees and lives by a set of values or principles that manifests purpose into reality. The purpose needs to be clear and the principles must be interconnected and consistent. Failure on one principle is failure on all principles; and thus, the vision, mission, and goals of an organization are jeopardized. This concept is consistent with six competencies detailed in Hellriegel, Jacosn, and Slocum’s text book, Managing, A Competency-Based Approach. For example, an organization determines that it must outsource a piece of their production (Strategic Action). Therefore, executive management must effectively work with operations professionals (Teamwork), who must develop and action plan (Planning Administration) and Communicate that plan to line managers. It is imperative that executive management carefully considered the cultural drivers of the country that they are entering (Multi-Cultural). Finally, whether this strategy is effective hinges upon whether all levels of employees have good Self-Management skills. Failure on any part of these competencies will lead to failure on the whole. Hellreigel’s six competencies pass John Allison’s integration test; however, John’s principles remove the organizational lens of the six competencies to make them more basic and universal. This paper looks at John Allison’s management style and how it is driven by his vision, mission, and principles. Success with these principles will lead to the success of the six competencies. Finally, this paper will spend some time with the detractors and misunderstandings of John’s philosophy. John Allison’s Management Style It is impossible to explain John Allison’s management style without getting into the details of his basic philosophy first. The Richard Craver of the Winston-Salem Journal interviewed Allison in July 2010, and he noted that, â€Å"the key lesson of Allisons success is that if you get the basics right, the details will follow, and you will run your business right. If you get the basics wrong, youll eventually make a fatal mistake in the details† (Craver 2011). Allison’s basics are a purpose driven life and organization that is achieved through principles. This philosophy is detailed in a 30 page employee handbook that all employees are expected to understand and has remained consistent at BBT for over 20 years. As a result, â€Å"[BBT] attracts employees who agree, and repels employees who disagree. After a quarter century, they have established a culture of great coherency, and in business, that is a great power† (Craver 2011). From a bigger picture perspe ctive, John Allison’s management style is utilitarian in its approach; however, this implies that BBT’s goal is to simply be profitable. However, profitability is a means to the overall vision of BBT, which is to make the world a better place to live in (Allison 2011). Allison explained in a lecture at Wake Forrest University that money is not the end game; instead profits are the means of the overall goal (Allison 2011). The utilitarian methodical approach may be considered amoral, at best; however, it becomes highly moral in the context of a moral vision and purpose. At the individual level, BBT does not simply manage employees, instead, they develop leaders. Allison explained that â€Å"Most business failures are due to leadership failures; most of those are the result of personal leadership failures† (Allison 2011). Therefore, each employee is not just given a handbook of BBT’s vision, mission and values, but they also attend a presentation given by Allison himself. In this presentation, Allison explains that there are two fundamental aspects to leadership. First, leaders must create a sense of purpose in themselves and their employees. Purpose creates passion. Second, leaders must live principles that turn purpose into reality (Allison 2011). Living these principles motivates average performers to perform at an above average level and prevents the Great from becoming average. Allison’s Clear philosophy: Allison’s philosophy can be summarized by a general vision that is manifested by a mission statement. The vision is â€Å"To make the world a place that you want to live in† (Allison 2011). The mission is to apply principles that improve the odds of staying alive, becoming successful, and ultimately being happy. The ten principles are further defined herein and are universally applied to individual and organizational missions. Allison’s personal vision and mission parallels BBT’s vision and mission statement, which is â€Å"To make the world a better place by: Helping our clients achieve economic success and financial security; creating a place where our employees can learn, grow and be fulfilled; making the communities in which we work better places to be; and thereby, optimizing the long-term return to our shareholders, while providing a safe and sound investment† (Handbook 5). With the Vision and Mission clearly defined, Allison’s ten prin ciples are: Principle 1 – Reality The reality principle is an Aristotelian concept that A=A. In an interview with New York Times, Allison said that, â€Å"Wishing something is so does not make it so† (Martin 2009). Although this concept seems very simple, there are plenty of examples in history where individuals, governments and businesses evaded reality. Allison projected that, â€Å"I guarantee that long before the rest of us knew, those geniuses at Lehman Brothers, knew that something was wrong, but they evaded it† (Martin 2009). Reality is independent of authority. For example, the ratings agencies had a level of authority in the market place; however, the ratings agencies evaded the reality that subprime lending was unsustainable. BBT avoided the subprime market by not evading reality and being responsible for evaluating authority and determining what was true (Allison 2011). Reality is also independent of popularity. For example Galileo bucked the popular idea that the earth revolved around the su n. Principle 2 – Reason / Objectivity Allison contends that mankind’s competitive advantage is that humans have the ability to think and develop concept formation. Allison avoids religion; however, this concept is not in conflict with a Christian’s perspective with some distinction. God created man in the image of God. Therefore, to reason is to approach God and to fulfill His intention for mankind. Allison applies Aristotle’s model of thought. First, base premises on facts; second, use inductive and deductive reasoning; third, integrate conclusions that are not contradictory; and forth, use conclusion to reach a higher level of thought (start the cycle again). Deductive reasoning is the concrete application of a general principle. Inductive reasoning is the taking a general principle and applying it to a specific application. BBT has been a highly strategic organization, which requires objective thought and facing reality. In the late 1980’s, laws were about to change that would allow banks t o enter other states. Realizing that North Carolina would soon be flooded with competition from larger banks, he began a series of intra-state acquisitions prior to the changing of the laws. This allowed them a head start on the out-of-state competition while giving BBT the experience to perfect the merger process well before the larger consolidation of the industry. Allison recognized the reality, used inductive and deductive reasoning to conclude that they would need to get bigger, be purchased, or struggle as a result of the changes in the law, and then was able to move on with a new premise of how to become bigger. Despite the popular opinion that BBT was paying too much for some of its acquisitions, the strategy paid off. BBT defended its role as acquirer of choice, and stressed the strategic nature of its acquisitions. It had developed a reputation as one of the most successful integrators of acquired banks in the industry. Darn few have been able to get away with a consolidation strategy, but one of the best is BBT, an SNL Securities analyst told the Business Journal Serving Charlotte and the Metropolitan Area (BBT.com). Allison also uses reason to implement a method of philanthropic activities in order to be more effective based on BBT’s core strengths. Allison explained in Philanthropic Magazine that, â€Å"The money that was being spent wasn’t going to promote the well-being of our company or our country. We needed to focus our contributions on something that will matter, and we think that presenting the concepts that undergird capitalism is essential for both BBT’s well-being and the well-being of the society in which we live† (Sparks 2011). Principle 3 – Individual Allison contends that all thought happens at the individual level. â€Å"Our brains are not physically connected† (Allison 2011). Teamwork is important principle, but new ideas are generated by the individual. A team can improve the idea or even give some the inspiration to develop a new idea, but the thought came from one’s mind. This principle also means that the individual is responsible for themself. â€Å"A manager cannot be responsible for their employees,† Allison explained in his lecture. A manager, parent, or leader can only guide people, but the individual must make choices and affix attitudes for herself/himself. Understanding this concept is very liberating not only for the individual employee, but also for the organization. At the employee level, ownership of their own role gives them a sense of importance. At the organizational level, businesses benefit by having limitless ideas that bubble up to management. In Craver’s interview with Allison, he noted that, â€Å"The decision not to write mortgage loans of the type that are now called toxic was made by a fairly low-level executive without even consulting Allison† (Craver 2011). Allison continues the concept of liberating the individual by saying, â€Å"Man has rational capacity, and a capitalist system allows him the greatest individual freedom to exercise that capacity for creativity and innovation—and to be rewarded accordingly. It is, in a very deep sense, a just system† (Sparks 2011). Principle 4 – Productivity Productivity is a measurable at the organizational level though output and profitability. A profitable business is a good thing. More fundamentally, productivity is the â€Å"gut-level commitment to get the job done† (Allison 2011). From a Christian’s perspective, production and productivity is a very spiritual concept; the idea that something tangible was formed from the intangible. This is especially spiritual when the idea was inspired through prayer and worship. There is a parallel between with the most miraculous event in history, when the spirit became flesh, and when someone’s idea becomes reality. The root word for sacrifice is â€Å"to approach† (Wigoder 873); therefore, when a person creates, she is performing a kind of sacrifice; not in the sense that something is given up, but instead, both the tangible world and the spiritual world are in agreement; â€Å"On earth as it is in heaven.† Allison’s professional trajectory certainly is one of productivity. He started at BBT, once known as the Branch Banking and Trust Company, in 1971 and became chief executive in 1989, when the bank had $4.7 billion in assets. By the time he retired as C.E.O. in December, he had overseen 60 bank and savings-institution acquisitions and turned BBT into the 11th-largest bank in the nation, with $152 billion in assets, according to the bank (Martin 2009). Allison commented on BBT’s Sterling Award winners (internal awards based on productivity). He noted that the same people won 25% of these awards, and that they all shared a commonality. All of them discussed what they were doing, and were not stuck on the obstacles. There is a basic belief in their ability to achieve (Allison 2011). Principle 5 – Honesty Without honesty, nothing else works, whether that is capitalism, a church, a business, or a government. Marilyn Fedak is a retired Investment Manager that works with John Allison on making the case for the free market at the university level. In a joint conference with Allison, she refers to the importance of honesty, At its best, the free market produces a â€Å"virtuous cycle,† but it has to be rooted in trust and the rule of law. Trust and predictability are everything. Capitalism is based upon the idea that, implicitly or explicitly, you’re making contracts with people all day long, and if you can’t trust that the laws in place will prevail and that the other person is going to fulfill their side of the bargain, well, then no transactions are going to take place. (Sparks 2011) Allison explains that being honest 100% of the time is a true test of integrity. For example, â€Å"You can be wrong and be honest. We are not omniscient.† Therefore, â€Å"We must mean what we say and know what we mean† (Allison 2011). This phrase encompasses two concepts. One, cumulative white lies lead to a black lie. For example, some managers are less than honest on performance reviews by sugarcoating or enabling underperformance. Then, the manager reaches a breaking point, or the poor performance leads to major mistake. The employee never gets the chance to correct their actions due to their manager not being honest. On the other hand, the manager may be wrong in his/her premise that the employee is the problem. The real problem may be a poorly designed system, which could have been addressed during the performance review. The concept of cumulative white lies is also evident in personal relationships. Allison gives an example of a married couple, â€Å"the husband gets mad at the wife for not hearing what he didn’t say† (Allison 2011). Two, it is up to the individual to take responsibility for their claim to knowledge. â€Å"Sometimes the best answer is, ‘I don’t know’† (Allison 2011). Principle 6 – Integrity Integrity is defined as the consistent application of moral principles. David Leoper is the CEO of Wealthcare Capital Management. He also subscribes to Allison’s objectivist philosophy. Leoper references Ayn Rand’s description of morality as the, â€Å"Judgment to distinguish right and wrong, vision to see the truth, courage to act upon it, dedication to that which is good, and integrity to stand by it at any price† (Geracoiti 2011). By this definition, integrity is akin to faith. One may not immediately understand the consequences of breaking a moral principle, but she or has faith that such actions will have an eventual consequence. A key example of Allison’s integrity was after the Supreme Court’s infamous Kelo decision. BBT was the only major bank not to provide financing for projects that used land seized through eminent domain for private purposes. â€Å"We thought that was a violation of a principle that is necessary for a free society,† Allison says. The bank’s decision, â€Å"turned out to be great economics, which doesn’t surprise me at all† (Sparks 2011). Later in 2011, Don Luskin moderated a conference with John Mackey of Wholefoods and John Allison. Mackey was highly criticized for his public stance against Obamacare and was nearly thrown out of his own organization. Mackey’s conclusion was that he will think again before making political comments. Allison, however, disagreed and explained, I’m a person that believes very strongly in my principles, and I can’t sacrifice them in my business, regardless of the consequences in the short-term. We took a strong position on eminent domain, after the Kelo decision. I couldn’t tell my customers and employees that we have principles, but in this case we’d turn a blind eye to people’s property being expropriated to be given to other private people. In our case, it was successful. We got thousands of people moving their accounts to BBT because of our position on eminent domain, because we acted on principle. That’s the same reason we refused to write loans to people who couldn’t afford them. I did it because I never want to have to tell someone that I did something that I thought was morally wrong. (Vegter 2011) Allison took a visible stance against the federal government once again in 2008 when he submitted a 14-point letter to Congress in which he objected to the bailout of the financial-services industry out of concern that it will hurt, â€Å"well-run financial institutions such as BBT (Craver 2011). His integrity was questioned when BBT accepted TARP monies shortly after the closed-door session with the nation’s political leaders. Shortly thereafter, Allison stepped down as the CEO so that he could start his education campaign. His work at the university level and at the CATO Institute is an effort to stop governmental force being exerted against independent businesses again. Principle 7 – Justice / Fairness According to Allison, â€Å"The good news is that we are all unique individuals† (Allison 2011). Managers that make the average above average and to keep the great from becoming average instill justice in the workplace. Allison believes that, â€Å"Egalitarianism is one of the most destructive ideas in our society† (Allison 2011). Managing equal outcomes not unequal input is truly unjust. Since individuals are not the same in their talents and abilities, a manager’s key function is to evaluate and judge others. This is a difficult function; therefore, Allison prescribes a three point method for judging others in order to stay fair. The person needs to be judged (1) as an individual, based on (2) the personal merits and based on (3) what matters in that specific circumstance. Therefore, â€Å"We reject collectivism and how they judge, which is based on their memberships groups, such as race, sex, nationalism, etc. [Collectivists] are always wrong because they are making an individual decision based on a group observation. An Individual cannot be a group† (Allison 2011). Principle 8 – Pride Aristotle described pride as the ultimate virtue because in order to have pride, all other virtues (justice, honesty, integrity, and rational independent thought) needed to be mastered. The pride described here is not arrogance or hubris, but instead, it is the reward to do good deeds and the reward for having done good deeds. Allison describes this as the â€Å"psychological rewards;† However, the rewards for Christianity are much more profound. The apostle Paul speaks of a healthy pride that one should have in oneself and others (2 Cor 5:12; 7:4; 8:24; Gal 6:4). Christianthinktank.com quoted the Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament that â€Å"Even Lexicons based on semantic domains have entries for ‘pride (legitimate)† (Chistianthinktank.com 2012). Allison equates pride with strong ethics. In a defiance allusion to Warren Buffet’s quote about ethics, Allison says, â€Å"The next time you face an ethical decision, ask yourself if you would be willing to tell the people that you love, care about, and judge to be of high-esteem the decision you made, not the newspaper.† Principle 9 – Self-Esteem / Self-Motivation Allison believes that this principle is the foundation of happiness. In his lecture, he states that, â€Å"You must believe at a very deep level that you are capable of being good and that you have the moral right to be happy.† He explained that this is, â€Å"The most important and controversial thought that I have to share with you today† (Allison 2011). On several occasions, Allison has made reference to the â€Å"sandbox example.† It is a story about a boy named Johnny that is playing with his toy truck in the sandbox. Fred then comes and takes Johnny’s toy truck because he wants to play with it. A fight then ensues, and Johnny’s mother comes over and says, â€Å"Johnny, be a good boy and share with Fred.† Allison asks, â€Å"What message does that give to Fred? More importantly, what message does that give to Johnny?† (Allison 2011). The heart of self-esteem is that a person can only control his or herself, not others. Therefore, the individual can only be in charge of their attitudes and their work; and thus, must be focused on them. Egalitarians are focused on others, and as a result, are adverse to others for being great. This is envy, which is the ultimate immoral pastime. Allison explains that, â€Å"you may be able to fool your boss, but you will never fool you. Do your best, and self-esteem increases. Do less than your best and self-esteem decreases† (Allison 2011). The trader principle fits with any of the other ten principles, but it particularly fits with self-esteem and self-motivation. The trader principle simply means that because people are self-interested, only win-win relationships are sustainable over the long term. All other relationships are either a lose-lose or eventually a lose-lose. Free-market capitalism is a highly moral system because it incentivizes good behavior and provides for a system for people to interact with others in search for win-win relationships. Allison explains this concept as the new leader of the CATO Institute: One of the things that I really want to do is make this a moral fight instead of a fight around the technical aspects of economics. The libertarian vision is a moral vision and we own the moral high ground. A free society is the only society in which people can think for themselves and pursue their rational self-interest. Freedom creates the ability, through creativity and incentive, to raise the quality of life for everyone. When I was CEO of BBT we saw the opportunity, on many occasions, to create products and services that would improve the quality of life of our clients but some government regulation prevented us from doing it. Unfortunately most business leaders are not really capitalists. They are crony capitalists looking for some way to use the government to give them a special advantage. Cato is a defender of real capitalism, real free markets (Benko 2012). Principle 10 – Teamwork In a philosophy that is built on the individual and self-motivation, teamwork may be overlooked as a key principle. However, teamwork is essential in an organization and a society. Teamwork allows much more to be produced. Craver noted in his interview with Allison that, â€Å"What makes Allison unusual among leaders is that his philosophy is one of realism — not phony idealism. Its all about excellent individuals making personal contributions to a joint effort — for the purpose of making profits, not saving the whales. Allison candidly says, in effect, a team is made up of people, each of whom is an I. We insist that you be an individual, and that if you want to be on the team, you have to voluntarily buy into the mission we have all chosen to share (Craver 2011). Detractors of Objectivism Forbes dubbed John Allison as the â€Å"Philosopher King;† however his philosophy is not easily accepted by many. The first and most relevant critique is that God is absent from this philosophy. This paper has included some allusions to how objectivist principles can mesh with Christian ideals; however, the architects of this philosophy, namely Ayn Rand, were atheists. The incongruities of this philosophy and Christianity largely lie in the concept of natural order (mother-nature) and the belief in God that is not visible (faith). As explained above, Christians cross this intellectual divide by substituting â€Å"natural order† or â€Å"mother nature† with God. There are also some differences in the idea of selfishness and self-sacrifice. More research is needed to find intellectual bridges; however, some of these conflicts are semantic in nature. Nonetheless, there is a logical case for God, and Christians knows that God reveals rational thought, purpose, creati vity, motivation, and reason through prayer. There is some confusion between being selfishness and self-destructive. Detractors of objectivism and capitalism contend this it is a â€Å"dog-eat-dog† system that takes advantage of others. Allison argues that taking advantage of others is truly self-destructive, not selfish. If a business takes advantage of a customer, then the customer will alert the market-place; and thus, the business will be harmed. Businesses take advantage of others through the political process, but that is not capitalism, and as Allison said, is not congruent with his philosophy. Finally, detractors find Allison’s philosophy lacks emotion. Allison disagrees and says that emotions can be a good thing. â€Å"Passion is an emotion, and you need passion in life† (Allison 2011). Allison believes that emotions are learned, not magical. This certainly seems to be true with some emotions, such as phobias; however, to the Christian, emotions can be divine inspiration. Allison warns leaders to check their premises when their emotions are at odds with reason. He further advises to always go with reason over emotion. Christians would disagree, at least in part. A Christian may always go with reason over emotion, but only after prayer and meditation and when reason and emotion are in-line. Certainly, a Christian should go to God in prayer to check their premises and motives. Life becomes easier to live, organizations are easier to lead, and employees are easier to manage if one has a clear philosophy and set of principles. With this in mind, BBT’s senior management style is written in its literature as being as â€Å"participatory, team oriented, fact-based, and rational† (BBT History 111). They define management concepts as, â€Å"obtaining and retaining excellent people, training employees well, give employees the appropriate level of authority and responsibility, expect a high level of achievement, and reward performance accordingly† (BBT History 112). All of these definitions and concepts line-up with Allison’s core philosophy. BBT’s website explained that, â€Å"Allisons management style stressed decentralization, striving for a community banking feel at the branch level† (BBT.com). The individual, self-esteem, productivity, and teamwork principles are the driving principles for this decision. Moral Clarity leads to better decision making, longevity, success, and happiness. This is good for all the stakeholders involved in the organization. This paper will conclude with scripture that encapsulates the role between managers and employees and consistent with most of Allison’s principles. Ephesians 6:5-9 says: Ephesians 6:5-9 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. References Allison, John (7/21/11), â€Å"Principled Leadership† Lecture at Wake Forest University Schools of Business. http://vimeo.com/27183721 BBT (1998), â€Å"The BBT Philosophy† Mission and Values guidebook. BBT (2012), Our Account, History of BBT 10th edition 2012. Benko, Ralph (7/2/12), â€Å"Who Is JohnAllison? A Randian, Libertarian Business Icon Takes Over the Cato Instituteâ€Å" http://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphbenko/2012/07/02/who-is-john-allison-a-randian-libertarian-business-icon-takes-over-the-cato-institute Craver, Richard (7/10/11), â€Å"My Interview on John Allison – Today’s John Galt,† Winston-Salem Journal http://www.iamjohngalt.com/2011/07/my-interview-on-john-allison-todays.html Geracioti, David (Apr. 12, 2011), â€Å"Cold Call: Wealth Manager Operates Firm on Rand’s Objectivism† Wealthmanagement.com, http://wealthmanagement.com/institutions/cold-call-wealth-manager-operates-firm-rand-s-objectivism Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (Vol. 1, Page 310). New York: United Bible societies.] Hellriegel, D, S. E. Jackson and J. W. Slocum, Jr. Management: a Competency-Based Approach. (2008). Cincinnati: Cengage. ISBN 0 32 4421400 Martin, Andrew (8/1/09), â€Å"Give BBT Liberty, but Not a Bailout,† New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/business/02bbt.html?_r=0 Perman, Matt (4/29/30), â€Å"A Christian View of Management in Ephesians 6:5-9.† What’s Best Next http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2011/04/a-christian-view-of-management-in-ephesians-65-9/ Sparks, Evan (2011), â€Å"Intellectual Capital†, Philanthropy Magazine, http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/topic/excellence_in_philanthropy/intellectual_capital The Holy Bible. NIV forwards Charles F. Stanley and Andy Stanley Side by side bible NIV KJV. 2011 Biblica, Inc. Wigoder, Geoffrey; Paul, Shalom M.; Viviano, O.P., Benedict T. Stern, Ephraim (1986) Illustrated Dictionary Concordance of the Bible. G.G. The Jerusalem Publisying House ltd. Zigarelli, Michael (2003), â€Å"The Priorities and Practices of Christian Leaders,† Regent Business Review, http://www.cbn.com/finance/rbrchristianleaders.aspx

Understanding Educational Aspirations And Expectations

Understanding Educational Aspirations And Expectations It is no longer questioned that high education level and human capital formation promote human well-being and are one of the main preconditions for economic growth (Romer, 1989:28). Moreover, along with evolving globalization, competition and economic challenges world is facing, returns to academic achievements have become larger than ever (Harmon and Walker, 2001:39), and low academic achievements can be seen as a constraint for economic independence. It has been observed that during the World financial crisis unemployment has risen exactly among the less educated people  [1]  . Therefore, it would be just natural if we would see more young adults, from both genders and all ethnic and social groups, reaching for higher educational levels and taking advantage of possibility to gain higher returns. However, evidence shows that educational attainment among youth differs significantly (e.g., Betz and Fitzgerald, 1987). Therefore, the question remains: why equally talented individual s with similar abilities and initial preferences make different academic choices, and why some of them end up in lower paying jobs and occupations? Economists have tried to explain this phenomenon with the existence of credit market imperfections, which individuals from less advantageous backgrounds might be facing (Loury 1981, Galor and Zeira 1993, Piketty 1997). However, these hypotheses are questioned in a large body of literature. Although in developing countries credit constraints might be a partial explanation for differences in educational attainment, this does not fully explain the differences in the developed world. Evidence shows that in developed word families facing economic constraints, when it comes to education, represent only a small part of the community (Cameron and Taber 2002). Besides, nowadays there exist many organizations and funds which are providing scholarships and financial help to students from low income families  [2]  . Therefore, it is essential to look for other, more internal reasons that could explain differences in educational choices and attainment among young adults with equal abilities a nd preferences. For being able to understand and change ones educational and career choices, it is crucial to understand what determines his or her aspirations. However, explaining it is not a straight forward task. Aspirations are determined already in early childhood and are prone to changes throughout the life. Moreover, sometimes high educational aspirations are not sufficient to guarantee a better outcome. This phenomenon exists due to aspiration-expectation gap, when ones desired goals do not coincide with the expected outcome due to the disbelief to a successful result. This pattern is especially observed among women and certain ethnic groups. Therefore, it is not only crucial to look at the level of educational aspirations, but it is also essential to ask if ones aspirations are always fulfilled. Although a considerable amount of literature has examined educational and career aspirations of young adults, the existing literature tends to provide somehow different conclusions; therefore, a comprehensive and critical literature review, overlooking different factor influence ones academic and career aspirations, is still missing. The purpose of this study is to contribute to an understand of how factors like gender, ethnicity, peers, parents, teachers and self-efficacy beliefs influence young adult academic and career aspirations and decision making. This thesis will also explain why sometimes high aspirations for girls and Black students do not lead to higher educational outcomes; the existence of an aspiration-expectation gap will be supported by the latest empirical data. Further, this thesis will discuss the existing policy measures aimed to promote and raise children educational attainment. Hence, the research questions of this thesis are: What are the determinants of educational and career aspirations? Why high educational aspirations do not always lead to better outcomes? What are the existing policies and projects in order to raise ones educational and career expectations? The focus of the thesis will be qualitative studies and will be based on an extensive literature review, covering various study fields, explaining the determinants of educational and career aspirations (Part I). Part II will provide different theories explaining an aspiration-expectation gap for girls and Black students; the existence of it will be supported by the latest quantitative data from U.S. Census Bureau 2010. Further Part III will concentrate on the overview of the policy measures and government projects that have been implemented in order to raise ones expectation level and close the aspiration-expectation gap. Chapter 1 Literature review of the determinants of educational and career aspirations This chapter introduces the determinants of educational and career aspirations and expectations. It begins with an introduction of the necessary definitions. Further, it is explained how ones aspirations and expectations are formed by providing different views and findings from an existing literature. 1.1 Defining educational and career aspirations It is believed that student educational and career aspirations are the most relevant factors determining ones future educational attainment (Gottfredson 1981; Trice and King, 1991). Therefore, it is essential to understand the exact meaning of aspirations. However, there has not been reached a consensus of one and certain definition; therefore, various explanations have been provided by different authors. Markus and Nurius (1986) have reported aspirations as ones ideas and hopes of possible selves, i.e., what a person would like to and what would not like to become or achieve. In psychology, aspiration level has been defined as the level of quality of a task which one desires to attain. It is a determinant of an individuals performance level in the future. It has been hypothesized that aspiration level varies from persons to person and place to place and is determined by factors that may change and influence aspirations level during the lifetime  [3]  . Likewise, the Wisconsin model  [4]  , which is a socio-economical model developed by Sewell and his colleagues in 1969 meant to explain ones social mobility and its determinants, provides definitions of educational and career aspirations. The educational aspiration level variable in the model is explained as the level of education one would like to attain, e.g., not continue higher education after high school, finish vocational school or attains college or university degree. Sewell et al. (1969) defines career aspiration level as ones ambitions and thoughts about their future occupation. However, some studies have suggested that high educational aspirations do not necessarily lead to high educational attainment (Empson, 1992; Conroy, 1997). Gottfredson (1981) has identified this phenomenon and has provided explanation to it. She suggests the existence of realistic aspirations or expectations and idealistic aspirations. The former is applied when ones educational and career aspirations are tempered by knowledge of obstacles and opportunities (Brown, 2002: 91), while the idealistic aspirations are ones desired goals and ideal education and occupation, in other words best possible life outcome. If there is a difference between these two types of aspirations and ones idealistic aspirations do not reflect ones expectations or realistic aspirations, there exist an aspiration-expectation gap (Danziger and Eden, 2006). Hence, in this thesis Gottfredsons theory about two types of aspirations and Danzigers and Edens definition of aspiration-expectation gap will be used. Firstly, determinants of idealistic aspirations will be discussed. Later this thesis will elaborate on the external factors that shape ones expectations or realistic aspirations. For the sake of simplicity, in the following text this thesis will refer to realistic aspirations as expectations while to idealistic aspirations as aspirations. 1.2 Determinants of educational and career aspirations and expectations Understanding the exact elements that determine ones educational and career aspirations and expectations is a tricky task. Existing evidence shows that there are many factor and circumstances that can shape them in a positive or negative way. Therefore, to contribute to a clearer understanding, in the following sections this thesis will deeply and broadly examine the determinants of aspirations and expectations. 1.2.1 Initial endowments determinants of ones aspirations We will firstly look at the initial endowment determinants, i.e. gender and ethnicity, which influence ones aspirations. These factors are extremely powerful in shaping ones academic and career aspiration level already in an early childhood. 1.2.1.1 Gender: Gender effect has a relevant role in determining ones aspiration level. A considerable amount of literature has focused on gender-related differences in academic and career aspirations (Howard, 1979; Betz and Fitzgerald, 1987; Danziger and Eden, 2007). Different views exist on the nature of the differences among both gender aspirations. Patton and Creed (2007) has argued that male students tend to hold higher aspirations for education level and position in the labor force, while Mau and Bikos (2000), approaching the same question, found the opposite. They claimed that girls are more likely to hold higher aspirations than men. Overall, most of the studies have supported Mau and Bikos (2000) view (Figure No.1) (e.g., Clift and Vaughan 1997; Butlin 1999; Anisef et al., 2001; Perry et al., 2009). Also, during the last decades female educational attainment and workforce has increased rapidly (Schoon, Martin and Ross, 2007); however, it has been observed that not too many women expect to follow careers which are mainly associated with the opposite sex, such as science and technology, despite the fact that these careers usually yield higher salary. This pattern becomes even more compelling as there is no evidence observed of differences i n quantitative abilities in tasks related to science and technology between both genders (Betz and Hackett, 1981). Figure No.1: Source: Looker, D. And Thiessen, V. (2004:Figure 1) 1.2.1.2 Ethnicity: Research has shown that educational and career aspirations vary across different ethnic groups. However, the results found in different studies yield different conclusions. It has been wildly assumed that the highest educational aspirations are held by Asian (especially Chinese) students (e.g., Cheng and Stark, 2002; Willitts et al., 2005). Their high aspirations are formed earlier than ones for other ethnic groups and are held constantly high throughout life (Kao and Tienda, 1998). Most of the researches contacted have found that White boys have the lowest aspiration level between all the other ethnic groups (Figure No.2) (Dillard and Perrin, 1980; Strand, 2007) and their educational achievements during the last years have increased less than for other ethnic groups (Figure No.3)  [5]  . White boys were found to hold lower aspirations than their Black peers in the research conducted by Wilson and Wilson (1992). Contrary, Cook et al. (1996) discovered that middle class White male s had higher educational aspirations than low-income African American males. However, this conclusion does not seem straight-forward as the differences might be also explained by the economic factors. Figure No.2: Figure No. 3: Data source: S., Strand (2007: 39) Data source: Department for Children, Schools and Families: Statistical First Release, England (2010: 12) Although, Strand (2007) has found that Black Caribbean and Black African students might have higher academic aspirations than White students, their higher educational attainment seems to be much lower (Figure No.4). Therefore, a question arises: what are the factors that do not allow high aspiration transformation into high achievements? The answer lies in the aspiration-expectation gap on which this thesis will elaborate in chapter 2. Figure No.3: Source: Jusan Ng (2011) 1.2.2 External factors determinants of ones expectations In the next two sub-sections, this thesis will concentrate on external factors, i.e., peers, teachers and parents, which can positively or negatively influence ones academic and career expectations. 1.2.2.1 Peer effect: A variable studied in the literature concerning the determinants of academic and career expectations is the peer effect. The peer effect refers to the positive or negative influence significant others have on ones expectations and level of achievement (e.g., by providing one with feedbacks, models or norms how they should behave, think and act in certain situations). Among their peers young adults develop their identities and self concept; therefore they are essential socialization agents for a young individual (Bandura, 1989; Brown et. al., 1994; Black, 2002). Although, some have argued that children expectations are more likely to be shaped by the characteristics of a family than by the characteristics of peers (Duncan et. al., 2001), relevant amount of the literature shows that peers play a crucial role in influencing ones achievement level and educational expectations (Peterson et al., 1986; Willms 1986; Goldstein et al., 2005). Ide et al. (1981) examined ten studies published form 1966 to 1978 that concerned the peer effects influence on ones academic achievements and expectations. In all these studies, they found a significant correlation. This finding is consistent with Downs and Rose (1991) who argue that peer effect is contributing to the construction of ones behavior and academic expectations. Another, slightly different view is held by Haller and Butterworth (1960) who look more critically on the straight forward correlation between ones academic expectations and peer influence. Although, they do not reject it, they emphasize that the initial factors, like characteristics and family backgrounds, could play a key role in bringing together similar individuals in that way forming homogeneous groups of peers. According to Jonsson and Mood (2008) children with high academic expectations and achievements are likely to connect with those sharing the same interests and expectations. Oppositely, adolescents, who have worse attitude to school and lower expectations, will most probable be attracted to peers with similar views (Ryan, 2000). In sum, it has been found that being around a certain group of people will have an effect on a persons future, specifically, it will impact the academic level or career one will expect to achieve. However, the degree of the importance of peers is ambiguous as different studies yield different results. 1.2.2.2 Teachers and parents influence: As discussed earlier peers have a certain influence on shaping ones academic expectations (e.g., Peterson et al., 1986; Willms, 1986; Black, 2002); however, a significant amount of literature points out the importance of familys and teachers influence on children long term decisions, e.g., occupation considerations (Jurkovic and Ulrici, 1985; OBrien, 1990; Furman and Buhrmeister, 1992; Wall et al., 1999; Duncan et. al., 2001). It is believed that teachers and parents can positively influence ones confidence and beliefs of his or her abilities, thus, persuading that the person is capable of being successful in further life (Van Auken and Stephens, 2006). According to Wall et al. (1999) parents as a support and role model have influence on ones conception about educational and career opportunities. Parents social support is directly linked with students school experiences, achievements and behaviors (Nurmi, 1987). There also exist a positive correlation between parents expectations for their child and childs expectations for himself (e.g., Davies and Kandel, 1981; Hossler and Stage, 1992). Family support can encourage the student to devote bigger effort to learning and school tasks (Gilbert et al., 1993). It is also observed that children who have the highest self-efficacy are the ones with the biggest family social support (Dubow and Ullman, 1989). In contrast, the ones with low family cohesion are more exposed to depression, low self-efficacy and self-esteem (Moran and Eckenrode, 1991; Cauce et al., 1992; Hirsch and DuBois, 1992). Moreover, Wall et al. (1999) has claimed a stronger correlation between young male expectations and the family support than the one for girls. In the research by Roper, (2008) it was shown that parent expectations and student GPA are correlated (Table No.1). Children with higher grades tended to have parents with higher expectations for them. According to De Coulon et al. (2008) also parents education level plays a significant role in formation of children expectations. In their research, they found a significant correlation between low literacy rates of parents and low test scores by their children. It was shown that parents with the lowest literacy skills were the least supportive and encouraging in relation to education. As a result, children with such parents were more likely to report dissatisfaction with school and develop low educational expectations. Table No.1: Source: Roper (2008: 2) A significant amount of literature has discussed parents and family role in shaping ones expectations, however, the body of literature about teachers expectation influence is rather small. Cheung (1995) found evidence on positive teacher influence on ones academic achievements. Teacher support has shown to have a bigger influence on women, student from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnic minority perceptions of academic and career opportunities (Ellis and Lane, 1963; Wall et al., 1999). However, it is often blamed that teachers have insufficient expectations for their students, especially for students in rural areas and for certain student groups (Bishop, 1989; Hilliard III, 1991). It is shown that teachers tend to establish better contact and attitude forward students with higher ability (Bamburg, 1994). This is seen as a problem because children tend to internalize and adopt teacher perceptions about their abilities, which as a result, in case of low teacher expectations can lead to psychological constraints for self-efficacy and self-esteem (Raffini, 1993). To sum up, a considerable body of literature has shown that teachers, parents and peers can influence ones academic and career expectations. Young adults tend to internalize expectations that others have about him or her and accordingly adjust their own educational and career expectations. 1.2.3 Self-efficacy beliefs As already discussed, all of the beforehand mentioned factors, i.e., gender, ethnicity and social support, have an effect on shaping ones behavior, thoughts and attitudes towards different tasks, education levels and occupations. However, in order to be able to reach the aspired goals it is also extremely beneficial that one has a high self confidence in what he is doing. It was shown that teachers and parents have the ability to influence ones self-beliefs what in turn leads to higher or lower level of academic expectations of that individual. Therefore, this section will discuss why high self-efficacy beliefs, i.e., ones belief that she or he is capable of producing certain level of performance to attain certain goals (Bandura et al., 2001), are important in determining the outcome. The importance of self-efficacy on ones educational expectations have been wildly studied in the literature (e.g., Bandura, 1994; Lent and Brown, 1996; Nauta et al., 1998; Brown Lent, 2006); it has been proven that individuals self-efficacy beliefs have a significant importance in promoting positive outcomes and reducing the possibility of negative outcomes (Oyserman et al., 2006; Destin and Oyserman, 2009). Students who have high self-efficacy are more productive, efficient and confident about their performances than their peers with the same ability but lower self-efficacy. It has been also shown that they put more effort and are more concentrated on the task than others, as well as they are more committed to their goals (Bandura, 1997; Schunk and Pajares, 2005). Therefore, the ones with high self beliefs perform better and based on better outcomes have higher future academic and career expectations (Brown Lent, 2006) (Figure No.5)  [6]  . Figure No.5: Source: Looker, D. And Thiessen, V. (2004: Figure 10) Chapter 2 Aspiration-expectation gap In the previous chapter, determinants of ones academic and career aspirations and expectations were discussed. It was shown by the evidence from the existing literature, that girls are more likely to hold higher aspirations than boys (e.g., Clift and Vaughan 1997; Butlin 1999; Anisef et al., 2001; Perry et al., 2009) and Black adolescents hold higher aspirations than Whites (e.g., Wilson and Wilson, 1992; Strand, 2007). It was also shown that social support has an influence on forming ones expectations. However, high aspirations do not always lead to high educational attainment and high position in the labor force (Strand, 2007). It has been suggested that the problem lies in the difference between aspirations and expectations. Unfortunately, often academic and career expectations of girls, Black Africans and Black Caribbean students are lower than their aspirations due to some perceptions in the society, perceived barriers or even academic feedback (e.g., Gottfredson, 1981; Armstrong Crombie, 2000). As a result, this can lead to underachievement and lowered self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura et.al. 2001). This chapter will approach this phenomenon by providing existing and relevant theories that tend to explain the reasons of an existing aspiration-expectation gap for females and ethnic minorities. Later, empirical data obtained from U.S. Census Bureau results will be provided to help us to confirm or reject some of the existing theories and hypothesis, therefore, giving the final concussions. 2.1 Gender: One of the explanations for different gender-related career expectations is that women career decisions are more complex than those of men. This arises from a bigger involvement in family and children lives or possible early pregnancy (Vonderacek et al., 1986; Lucas et.al., 1997; Eccles, 2005). Even more, women academic and career expectations can be shaped by existing stereotypes or strong gender identity because of social role perceptions (Eagly, 1987; Akerlof and Kranton, 2000; Danziger and Eden, 2007; Gupta et al., 2008). 2.1.1 Stereotype activation theory: Gender stereotyping can influence a persons decision making when it comes to academic or career choice (Heilman, 2001; Nosek, Banaji and Greenwald, 2002). Gupta et al. (2008) examined the impact of stereotypes on both genders intentions to follow traditionally male-related occupations. They found evidence showing that people were likely to internalize stereotypes and act according to them, choosing tasks associated with their own gender. This pattern is more observable if the stereotype is wildly accepted in a culture (Heilman, 2001). According to Day (1990) many women have high aspirations; however, usually they do not expect to be able to have the occupation they would like to in case it is more male-dominated. Wall et al. (1999) was examining the correlation between career expectations and career aspirations. As a result, they found inconsistency between women career expectations and aspirations, i.e., their expectations were most of the time lower than their aspirations. The phenomenon was explained by stereotypes in the society about gender-related jobs and women beliefs about the limits of what they possibly can achieve. 2.1.2 Social role and socialization theory: Another important theory explaining differences in men and women career and academic expectations is the social role theory. The theory, developed by Eagly (1987) is based on the historical division of men and women roles in the society, where women were associated with household responsibilities while men had responsibilities concerning livelihood of the family. Consequently, career expectations started to differ among men and women. Furthermore, the gender-related roles were usually transmitted to future generation making the distinction between appropriate gender roles in the society even stronger (Eagly, 1987). Moreover, the academic and career expectations are shaped by socialization processes people experience in childhood. Socialization shapes people perceptions of what is appropriate for themselves and for others, including what is expected from both genders (Seymour, 1999). Further, in early childhood children learn these roles associated with their gender, which in turn, shapes later perceptions about different types of jobs and influences their academic and career expectations (Danziger and Eden, 2007). According to Eagly and Wood (1999) and Franke et al. (1997) both genders tend to adjust their expectations in accordance with their social roles and expect to have occupations connected with their own gender (Dunne, Elliott and Carlsen, 1981). This leads to men occupying men-related professions and attaining higher educational levels while women tend to enter more female-related studies and jobs and attain lower educational levels (Powell and Butterfield, 2003). Although, gender stereotyping has been diminishing and the gender gap in education has been decreasing (Power and Wojtkiewiez, 2004), there are still fewer female than male representatives in men-related studies and profession fields (Powell and Butterfield, 2003); this shows that Eaglys (1987) social role theory is a considerable attempt to explain the differences between female and male academic and career expectations. 2.2 Ethicity: There are two main views, respectively structuralist and culturalist, that tend to explain differences in educational attainment between ethnic groups. 2.2.1 Structuralist theory: According to structuralist perspective, differences in educational choices between ethnic groups can be explained by external factors. The most influential factor, following structuralist theory, shaping ones expectations is the teacher support. This view has been supported by Ellis and Lane (1963) and Wall et al. (1999) who state that teacher support have an influence on ethnic minority students perceptions about academic and career opportunities. Unfortunately, most of the time teacher expectations are negatively correlated with ethnic minority group students expectations (Strand, 2007). In his report, Strand (2007) found evidence that teachers are likely to develop lower expectations for certain ethnic groups, especially for Black students. They also tend to hold unequal attitude towards White and Black student behaviors due to racism and social stereotypes. This, as a result, leads to a situation where ethnic minority students, following teacher beliefs about them, lower their ow n expectations of the possible outcomes regardless to their initial high aspirations. This, in turn, can explain the differences in educational attainment between Black students and their other ethnicity peers. However, the hypothesis, that educational expectations and attainment between ethnic groups can be fully explained by racism and social stereotypes have been criticized. Modood (2003) has argued that Asian students tend to face more social pressure and racial harassment than Black Caribbean and Black African students, yet their achievements are outstanding and there is no evidence that Asian students would experience aspiration-expectation discrepancies due to the racism toward their ethnic group. Although, there exist several problems with the structuralist core assumptions, their ideas present useful and testable information that helps to explain and understand the reasons behind Black African and Caribbean student aspiration-expectation discrepancies. 2.2.2 Culturalist theory: According to culturalist point of view, differences in educational choices rise from internal factors, like internalization of historical and social norms or constraints. Therefore, culturalist perspective can partly fill the missing holes in the structuralist theory and explain why, for example, Asian students perform better than their Black peers although are both prone to racial harassment. Caplan et al. (1991) has argued that Asian performance is significantly better than one for other ethnic groups due to their cultural perceptions and understanding. It is claimed that Asian students tend to hold higher sense of responsibility for their family and prioritize self-reliance more than students from other ethnic groups, especially, Black Africans and Black Caribbeans. It is observed that Black Caribbean boys on average experience bigger peer pressure than other ethnic groups. They are exposed to the pressure to adopt the lifestyle of street culture, which negatively influences their academic performance (Sewell, 1997). Ogbu and Fordhams (1986) have contributed to the explanation why Black students tend to have low educational attainment despite the fact that they are holding high educational aspirations. They focused on two opposite ways how students are thinking and behaving, i.e., acting White and acting Black. Due to the previously mentioned peer pressure of adopting the street culture, acting White, i.e., doing well at school, is not seen as appropriate behavior for Black students. Therefore, Black students choose to keep their identities and are avoiding acting White, what results in lower educational achievements and attainment than in case of an absence of this pressure. Another factor that triggers the low educational attainment for Black African and Caribbean students is the socio-historical factor (Ogbu, 1991). Based on the historical roles in the society for Black population, Black African and Black Caribbean students may under value the necessity of investment in education. This is due to job ceiling they might feel they are facing. It has been suggested that Black people do not have the same economic opportunities as White people in the job market. In a recent study, Fouad and Byars-Winston (2005) found that, despite the high aspiration level among the Black students, they expected fewer job offers and opportunities than their White counterparts. Therefore, it is easy to understand why Black student do not see education as an essential tool for being able to gain a high position in the labor force and their academic attainment is lower than the one for other ethnic groups. This in turn, unfortunately, has resulted in a tendency that Black peopl e are overrepresented in low skilled jobs and are a considerable propo

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