Herman Millar Inc. Essay Example for Free

Herman Millar Inc. EssayThe office piece of furniture manufacturing labor trade in the United States is very competitive since many companies offering similar products. Companies compete mainly on price, product and service quality, differentiation, design, speed of delivery and customer service. Firms compete within each market segment and are pressured by growing arguing from overseas fashionrs particularly from China and Vietnam. Six manufacturers-Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth, HNI, Kimball external and Knoll-account for approximately 60% of the U. S. office furniture market.The remainder of the market is captured by a large image of small and privately owned businesses that successfully supply the local communitys retail demand. The large number of live companies definitely shaped the landscape of the Chinese market competition. Furniture manufacturing industry concentration has augmentd in last couple of long time because many operators have g unmatched out o f business. Following the downturn of US economy, high unemployment rates, have created an intensely competitive environment for existing players faced with low margins and volatile enter be, many underperforming operators were forced to exit the market.However, as the economy will recover, demand for new office furniture is expected to increase, expanding the number of companies over the five years to 2016. In conclusion, the intensity of rivalry is moderately high. Although present-day(prenominal) concentration of the industry is a low, the trend of the industry is to become more competitive in future. This would strike the potential future profit of department store industry. Threat of new entrants The barrier to entry in this industry are medium and are steady. In the US office furniture industry, the capital need to enter the industry is considerably higher.New operators entering the industry face various challenges, including existing and rise up established distribution networks among operators and suppliers. To remain price competitive, the new operators need to establish coc listed supply relationships with manufacturers and wholesalers in order to secure good quality and low-priced stock. Since the concentration is expected to rise, it places an indirect pressure on new entrants that need to invest more in advertising to develop brand and market awareness. merchandising and promotional activity moldiness exceed that of the existing players to build customer awareness and overcome retail merchant resistance.Furthermore, the productivity difference between the small-sized companies and the large-sized companies is very large. The combination of all this evidence indicates that the entrant barrier into the US office furniture industry is relatively high. Bargaining power of Supplier The intense internal competition force for resources among the large number of manufacturers pushed the bargaining power of suppliers to the most significant influen ce on internal furniture industry. This refers primarily to suppliers of most important goods i. e. raw material and electric power, which are used in intermediary consumption during furniture manufacture.Purchases of raw materials are the largest expense for the Office Furniture Manufacturing industry, accounting for or so 43. 7% of industry revenue. This proportion is typical for manufacturing industries, since operators require significant raw materials to produce final outputs. infix materials used for office furniture include hardwood, such as oak, cherry and maple wood plywood and veneers vane glass plastic and glue. During the five years to 2011, the prices of these inputs have been volatile, making it difficult for manufacturers to anticipate future spend and reduce costs.In general, rising commodity prices have negatively affected the industry, increasing purchase costs for manufacturers. Bargaining power of buyers According to the research of IBIS World, department st ore sales depend heavily on the financial health of the consumer sector, including per capita disposable income. During periods of economic recession and decreasing income of people, consumers cut their spending by delaying purchases or substituting brands products with lower level products. This is heavily influenced by the unemployment rate and general economic growth.In the periods of strong economic activity peoples disposable income increase, and vice versa. Threat of substitutes Furniture has been used for thousands of years and built mostly of wood. There is little evidence indicating that wood furniture will be solely replaced by some other material in the foreseeable future. In the industry of furniture manufacture probability of substitutes is almost impossible. Current global trends have a favorable influence on increase in demand for furniture, due to ever faster obsolescence and shorter furniture lifetime, i. . due to frequent changes in design and manufacture technolo gy. Possible threat of trend changes exists, i. e. furniture made from other materials than wood, that is, various metals, plastics and glass. However, despite the decline of wood in furniture manufacture in the past years, wood is expected to stay one of the most important raw materials for furniture manufacture, because of its advantages when compared with other materials. inquire What are the driving forces and the key success factors in the industry?Answer Having contacts within key markets It is preferable that manufacturers have established links with a number of customers, including wholesalers, contractors and retail outlets, rather than having one or two that account for the majority of their business. Guaranteed supply of key inputs Established links with key suppliers enable a steady flow of key inputs and price locks, which may provide cost savings for bulk purchases. Flexible production processes Furniture items are often custom-made.Producers must be able to adjust products to suit individual requirements. Adapting to changing customer preferences Goods produced should reflect current trends favour by consumers in order to remain competitive. Highly trained workforce Staff is required to pick office furniture efficiently and provide quality workmanship. Question How have the societys value shaped its strategy and approach to strategy execution? Provide illustrations of how these values are reflected in lodge policies. AnswerQuestion What is Millers strategy? Which of the five generic competitive strategies most well-nigh fit the competitive approach that Miller is taking? What type of competitive advantage is Miller laborious to achieve? Answer They focus on a growth strategy, through innovative products and production processes. Reinvention and renewal. They survived the huge Depression and multiple recessions, recovered from the dot-com bust and were able to continue expanding overseas. They adapted to save the company, by introducing new designs.In 1996, Herman Miller began an aggressive drive to reinvent its operations and established a procreative relationship with the Toyota Supplier Support Center. Unique to the office furniture industry, the relationship enabled the company to adopt and see world-class, lean manufacturing processes based on the Toyota Production System principles. Through the Herman Miller Production System (HMPS), the company dramatically reduced manufacturing square footage and inventories, cut lead times for standard product from 8 weeks Question What is your overall appraisal of Millers financial performance? Answer

Theories of Management Essay Example for Free

Theories of trouble EssayManagers atomic number 18 responsible for legion(predicate) things in an organization and well-nigh of them handle various situations depending on their vigilance style. The major role of mangers is to get things make in the boot of their goals for the organization (http//www.thinkingmanagers.com). The management style on the other hand is the leadership method employed by a manger. There are four management styles norm all toldy used by managers these are requireing, participating, delegate and guiding (http www.solhaam.org).The style that a manager provide use determines whether the clobber gets done or not. roaring mangers ware the capacity to use all the management styles on their group. The situation in which the group is in always determines the management style in which the manager uses to make his/her group strike their objectives. However, there is a style that is dominant in a manger and it might be hereditary or acquired with e ducation or experience. Most managers learn the management styles from the theories of management. The 20th century has seen theories changing over magazine starting with bureaucracy and universalism of before 1920s, human relations of 1930s and motivation of 1950s. All these theories had one common thing and that is to make employers puddle whether through the use of authoritarian, participative, guiding and delegating and all had advantages and disadvantages and hence theorists are still finding the most effective one to be used by modern managers.Douglas McGregor proposes twain theories, which emphasizes on employee motivation. He did not use description to identify but rather used symbols X and Y. These two theories suggest that the role of management is assembling the factors of production, which includes people, for the economic benefit of the organization (http www.accel-team.com). In this try out scheme Y is discussed in detail and its implications analyzed. McGregor in his possibility Y believes that employees can only be motivated best by improving their self-esteem and self-actualization. He generalizes that work can be as natural as play or rest and believes that workers can be made to enjoy work as they enjoy play and rest. He also believes that if people become committed to their objectives they can direct themselves towards meeting these objectives and this assumptions is echoed by many managers who believe that if they make their group members committed they can perform their tasks with precise minimal guidance. McGregor further says that workers can be committed to their objectives if there are rewards such as higher(prenominal) pay or promotions. This is very time in many organizations and this has led many firms introduce the cultivation promotion by performance and hence employees always take their work very serious since they be that there are benefits in return. In fact, the reward system is a major motivation for many employees si nce it leads to self-fulfillment. He further beliefs that if employee are motivated they bequeath definitely be responsible and responsibility will lead an organization to higher heights of development. Theory Y assumes that there is an opportunity to align in the flesh(predicate) goals with organizational goals using the workers own aspirations for self-fulfillment as the motivator. McGregor further believes that some employees may be unvaned and therefore there is need for stricter rules, which should be relaxed gradually as they continue to mature and therefore theory Y encompasses autocratic as well as participative approaches in management.Management implications of theory Y. Like all other theories of management used by mangers, theory Y has some demands from the organization in hallow to motivate the employees these areDecentralization and delegation- for organization to motivate its employees it must devolve power to the employees and hence the managers will have subordi nates who are directly responsible to the manager and the manager delegates some duties to them. The delegation of responsibility makes them assured and hence motivated.Job enlargement this theory suggests that firms broadens the working area of an employee so that there is a sorting of new opportunities and responsibility and this boosts the ego of employees and thus getting committed to company goals.Participative management since theory Y believes that in a population there are many creative ideas, some organizations who employ this theory consult their employees before making decisions this makes the employees feel important and accepted and hence motivated.Performance appraisals most organizations have set goals and struggle to contact them. These organizations involve their employees in setting these goals and also involve them in evaluating of rise towards meeting the goals. Many managers echo McGregor views since it embraces a holistic approach the uses of different m anagement styles depending on the offer of the group. This theory Y is the basis of my management style since I believe that management is getting things done by others with or without your presence. By making the employees happy a manager will ease his/her work since they will direct themselves and perform the tasks allocated to them and only ask for guidance whenever they encounter a crisis.Conclusion Management unlike leadership depends on the culture of the institution and the perception and beliefs of the manager (http//www.solhaam.org). For one to succeed in managing a group he/she must be flexible according to the situation at hand. A manger must recognize the potentials of his/her employees and strive to tap their talent to the maximum in order to achieve their goals. By consulting and involving as well as delegating responsibilities to junior members managers will help motivate them since this builds the reliance of the employees.All the management theories and principles of the 20th century revolve around motivating employees in order to achieve the set goals. These theories further suggest that the style of management employed by most managers determine the phase of participation by the employees. Their style can either motivate or the employees or become a disincentive to them and hence management theories and management styles are synergistic.ReferencesBono E. Hellers R. Management Theories Retrieved on 14th September 2007 from http//www.thinkingmanagers.com/management/effective-management.phpDavidmann M.2006 Style of Management and Leadership Retrieved on 14th September 2007 from http www.solhaam.org/articles/clm2.html McGregor D. 2007 Human Relations Contributors Theory X and Theory Y Retrieved on 14th September 2007 from http//www.accel-team.com/human_relations/hrels_03_mcgregor.html

Work Now, Play Later Essay Example for Free

Work Now, cheer Later EssayThere falls a time in heart where one is forced to give hard finiss. Among those hard decisions are those of choosing between your personal and public life. As a freshman in college now, Ive come to the realization of choices I make up to make. I find myself having moments where Im meet by my peers who love to party, drink, and smoke and Im completely uninterested. Though these choices are considered immoral cosmos the age that I am, this is what Im choosing in order to build a brighter hereafter for myself. In the reading provided Mr. Rat, the main character Matt had to make the choice of potentially losing his job or practical application for a friend in a mutual work place. Matt chose to only face by throwing his friend downstairs the bus. While Matt and I decisions on choosing our public life versus our public life are similar because the idea itself is considered immoral, our motivation for our actions differ.Having to l fetch to take of myself at an adolescent stage in my life has taught me that nothing comes easy and time is money. College wasnt promised to me. I worked hours on end on scholarships and essays to own my foot in the door. I have a clearer understanding of my purpose here and my priorities are shortly unmovable. I make the choice to continue to focus on school and purse my career preferably going break and building my social circle. Friends come and go. I very well whitethorn set down a couple of them but they arent going to help dig me out of my financial jamming when Im in debt. As of right now, friends are not a priority. Having this type of brainpower at 18 years gaga is not morally acceptable because its expected that I party and not be as maturate. The general idea of choosing my public life over my friends is how I feel I connect to Matt in Mr. Rat. Society feels you should cherish your friendships so our actions are as frowned upon based upon what society feels our value system sh ould be, despite the circumstance.Though Matt was in a incorporate environment, he was also put in a place where his future was brought into perspective and made him come up in the long run what mattered most. On the other hand, being only 18 years old and devising such a decision under pressure in college is how Matt and I differ. Matt, in his late 20s, is making this decision at work because he felt he was making a point and depicting a certain image to impress his boss. His friend was thrown under the bus in the process and could very well lose his job. In doing this, it shows how our motivations were also completely opposite. I simply realized I dont have time to waste. I came here to earn my degree and to work in order to continue to support and provide for myself. I, personally, am not jeopardizing whatsoever of my friends futures to lounge around what I want.Peer pressure is at its best when friends express how I should frustrate out more and dont need to be so uptight astir(predicate) everything right now. My mature mind set to stand my ground and focus despite my various distractions is all that I have to motivate me. Every choice followed by an action has a consequence. Matts choice to save his ass over his friends could lead to regret and loneliness in the future. The only gray area about my decision is the outcome in the long run. For right now, I do have moments where I get the feeling regret and loneliness since no one is necessarily as serious about my future as I am. Ive learned to trust that my decision will pay off and Ill eventually be glad when I come out on top.Friends will also come later. I just havent gotten there just yet. Though my choice is just as equally immoral as Matts, I do feel I had a break out grasp on the concept because of my circumstance. I dont feel choosing your public life to get over on a friend is right. His ego played a part in his decision and thats not acceptable all the time. Matt could have very well side stepped the promontory or worked his way around it. Deciding to automatically drop his friend for greed is selfish. My ego may also play a part in my decision but its not busybodied with anyone elses life. Its to earn self-accomplishment and success. Societys views on my decision arent considered either because they wont be there when I chose to be moral and fell on my ass.

Assess the idea that globalisation leads Essay Example for Free

tax the idea that globalisation leads EssayGlobalisation leads to transnational organisations such as the European Union and the coupled Nations. Also transnational companies such as Nike. Globalisation also leads to the developments in new technologies such as internet, fibre optics, and jet planes, this means there can be an instant link between mavin person searching on the internet ab divulge one specific culture and finding out everything they need to know whereas before this was non possible.This leads to the relativity of truth, the decline in Meta narratives and also mass tourism. These transnational companies such as Nike, Ford, Enron etc all cause developments around the world due to the fact that they can bear upon around freely around the globe. This is called industrial migration. Big companies such as these move to places where labour is ratty and they build big, new developments such as city centres with big industrial buildings, and mines where they can ex ploit the local cultures.An example of this would be the kayapo, where they found that a gold mine was situated on their get rarify and so they group was therefore split in two as one group precious to bewray the gold to the big corporations and get wealth for it, whereas the other half did not want to sell their land to the foreigners and so the culture of the kayapo was washed-up and the industrial companies exploited the infixed kayapos for their surplus value.These developments also spread to places such as conservation parks such as in Peru where the sacred ground of the michu pichu was do into a world heritage site and so the michu pichus could not afford the entry price and so could not worship or pay their respect, even on a Sunday when the entry prices be taken away there is no silence and so they cannot pray still. Therefore this meant that the culture of the michu pichus has broken down and the main beliefs of their culture have been taken away from them and so leading to the slow eradication of that culture.A similar thing has happened in the safari parks in Botswana where bushmen where pushed off their lands unfairly to make style for rich upper class tourists who want to hunt big game. So the Bushmen who lived in peace treaty with the animals were forced to work for the safari park as rangers and guides for the tourists who pushed the native Australians off their land changing their culture from hunting watch gatherers to capitalistic workers.A similar thing has happened to ayers rock in Australia where for sixty thousand years the native aborigines paid their respect to the rock, where they believed that it is where the souls of their ancestors go after they die and the rock has been turned into another world heritage area where many tourists come to see and disrespect the rock by climbing all all over it. This has do it increasingly difficult for the aborigine people to pay their respect to their ancestors as there are many peop le around all the time and disrespecting it often.The masaai Mara where hired by the mayers to perform their native dances for the mayers regular guests. The Mayers founded the group to show the masaai in their traditional culture, houses, and dress ware, but were severely exploited by the Mayers for their surplus value as they were not paid properly instead were given food for thought and told that the food that they eat and the fact that they live in the Mayers residence was payment enough.The Mayers hired the masaai as the western tourists wanted to see firsthand the cultural beliefs, and also rituals in a traditional manner, even when it was their ancestors who had intentionally destroyed the culture of the masaai. The Mayers residence was closed down as the government thought that the Mayers were exploiting the masaai far too bad and so closed them down. The exploitation of the masaai is imperialism as the masaai people were hired as pretty much slaves and made to work for th e people who had taken away their culture in the first place but made the masaai men and women show their traditional dances and lifestyle.

The Cahokian civilization Essay Example for Free

The Cahokian civilization EssayThe Cahokian civilization, one of the largest Native American tribes, was indigenous to the Midwest. Cahokia is in addition known as the city history forgot. This complex and sophisticated society challenges the stereotypical beliefs of Native American as being native, ignorant savages. The Cahokian civilization provides the basis for political, economic, and social developments that changed the course of human history. ( Timothy Pauketat)after reading Timothy Pauketats keennessful essay, Cahokia A Pre-Columbian American City, I was intrigued by the Cahokias people and culture. This society quickly evolved from a village to an blow up city. The Cahokian complex architectural aspects include better homes, pyramids and plazas. Through expansion, their beliefs and customs were diffused into other civilizations. Due to warf be, galore(postnominal) complex advancements were designed to protect the central city. An elaborate 15, 000 log wall was b uilt to defend their city. The advanced Cahokian society was developed earlier to any European interaction.Having known very little about such a complex and elaborate civilization, I was intrigued by many of the Cahokian developments and beliefs. Their centralized authority, the nature and the extent of their influence over vast areas, are aspects of many other European civilizations. This essay challenged many of my prior ideas and beliefs about the Native Americans.The city proviso and the organization of the city of Cahokia resembled the city of ancient Rome. The Cahokian civilization used the method of Cahokianization to expand and spread their ideologies throughout their territory. Similarly, the ancient Romans used the method of Romanization to expand and spread their empire. Both societies developed and utilized similar phalanx tactics and strategies. Under the rule of Constantine I, the Romans built a wall to protect their city from invaders, the Cahokians built a wall ma de of logs for protection. These two distant civilizations demonstrated similar ideologies and strategies.I have gained more insight and knowledge after reading Timothy Pauketats essay on the intricate city of Cahokia. It is bewilder that such a complex society that had lasted for about 250 years just vanished. Many archeologists have unlike ideas on the collapse and disappearance of Cahokia. It is incomprehensible that such an elaborate society vanished and is forgotten in many history books.The civilization of Cahokia was advanced, complex and sophisticated. This innovative tribe challenges the European ideologies of viewing Native Americans as primitive and ignorant. This civilization provided the economic, social and political standards that was implemented in other civilizations.

Study On The Salem Witchcraft Crisis History Essay

Study On The Salem witchcraft Crisis History EssayThe Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 represents a low point in the history of colonial in the raw England. There have a variety of interpretations crafted in an effort to explain the rise of this consummation of crisis. Some interpretations blame ergot poisoning or an outbreak of encephalitis as the primary causes of the SajgmJWitchcraft Crisis.1 Other historians have argued that it was the social and political discordance among the men of Salem that engineered the rise of the Salem witchcraft calamity.2 Mary Beth Norton, in her bat In The Devils Snare, offers a significant departure from the current historiography of the Salem witch craft crisis. Norton argues that the Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 can altogether be understood by examining the military conflict between the English settlers and the New England Native Americans which occurred for the break up part of two decades. The author is quick to note that the military co nflicts did not cause the crisis that befell Salem rather, these conflicts created the dower that enabled the events in Salem to develop as quickly and as completely as they did.4In evolution her thesis, Norton presents her interpretation in a chronological fashion focusing primarily on the events swirling out of pieceoeuvre in Essex County, Massachusetts in the early 1690s.5 Not only does Norton make the consociate between the turn up military conflicts of the settlers and the natives with the ongoing witchcraft crisis, she also discusses a myriad of other topics. Norton through the course of her work examines the change of the Salem Witchcraft Crisis over time, the unique elements inherent to the Salem Witchcraft Crisis, and she also provides an historical look at the runner and second Indian wars.6 In order for Norton to engage in an nimble discourse of these aforementioned topics she uses a generous amount of journal articles, secondary source materials, and primary sou rces. She draws upon such secondary source works as Salem-Village Witchcraft, and A Quest For Security The Life of Samuel Paris The1 Mary Beth Norton, In The Devils Snare (New York Alfred A. Knopf, 2002), p.4.2 Norton, Devils Snare, p.4.J Norton, Devils Snare, pp.5,12.4 Norton, Devils Snare, p.298.5 Norton, Devils Snare, p.7.6 Norton, Devils Snare, pp.6,8,11.Sermon notebook of Samuel Paris, 1689-1694, and Cotton Mathers Wonders Of The Invisible World are among the primary source materials that are used by Norton. By understanding Nortons thesis, viewing the various topics addressed in this work, and the sources used to construct this interpretation one essential consider the main points Norton brings up in support of her thesis.The lives of two New England women, and a household hard worker were irrevocably altered on February 25, 1692. Upon that very day Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and a buckle down named Tituba were accused of being lay eyes on to Satan, and in his employ as witches. Of the trine women that were accused of witchcraft, Norton argues, it is the charges against Tituba that are the most significant.7 The racial identity of Tituba, Norton notes, compete a decisive role in her joining both Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne among the first of the accused. Historians have debated as to whether Tituba was an African or even a half-African slave, but Norton explains that in the surviving records related to this event villagers ordinarily referred to Tituba as Tituba Indian or theoIndian woman. This racial connection between Tituba, as an Indian, displace her within a similar vein of hatred that was solely reserved for the New England Native Americans by the settlers of Essex County, and ultimately elsewhere in the New England colonies.9 Norton notes the significant timing of this accusation of witchcraft against an Indian slaveLess than a month after the devastating raid on York and following more than three years of unrelenting frontier warfare. . .the first person identified as a witch in the crisis of 1692 was someone known to all primarily as an Indian. . . .The accusers thus named a woman with whom they were intimately acquainted, and who could be pull inn as representing the people who were then tormenting New England as a whole.10The accusation of Tituba was to send in doing a calamity, Norton argues, that was to be inextricably linked with the violence between the English settlers and the New England Native Americans.117 Norton, Devils Snare, p.21.8 Norton, Devils Snare, p.21.9 Norton, Devils Snare, p.21.10 Norton, Devils Snare, p.21.11 Norton, Devils Snare, p.21.The accusation brought against the Indian slave Tituba unleashed a torrent of witchcraft accusations throughout Essex County. Another woman, Martha Corey, was accused on establish 18,1692. Corey, through the course of her examination on March 21, was to further link the witchcraft crisis in Essex County to the ongoing violence with the Native Americans. M artha Coreys examination added the figure of the religious black man.12 The spectral black man was witnessed by one Coreys accusers, Abigail Williams, who stated, There is a black man whispering in Martha Coreys ear.1 Norton explains that the term black man was generally employed interchangeably with Indian during this period in New England, as a means of addressing the native people of New England.14 It is Cotton Mather in his work Wonders of the Invisible World who makes the connection absolutely explicit, The Black Man. . .they the confessing witches and accusers generally say he resembles an Indian.15 It is nonchalantly remarked by Norton that such an association between Indians this black man and Satan would not have been affect to the residents of Essex CountyEnglish settlers. . .had long regarded North Americas indigenous residents as devil worshippers. . . .Puritan New Englanders. . .were particularly inclined to see themselves as antagonists of the devilish Indians.1Marth a Coreys fraternization with a spectral black man implied a direct hamper between Satan and the Native Americans of New England.17 The frequent references by confessors and those afflicted by witchcraft proven to establish an illicit connection between the witchcraft crisis of Salem and the ongoing military conflicts with Native Americans.The link between the witchcraft crisis and the military conflicts between the18Native Americans was made absolutely blank by the confession of Abigail Hobbs. On April 19, 1692 Abigail Hobbs confessed. Through the course of her examination, Hobbs12 Norton, Devils Snare, p.58. lj Norton, Devils Snare, p.58.14 Norton, Devils Snare, p.58.15 Norton, Devils Snare, pp.58-59.16 Norton, Devils Snare, p.59.17 Norton, Devils Snare, p.59.18 Norton, Devils Snare, p.81.admitted to having met the devil on the Maine frontier in 1688.iy During her time in Maine Hobbs stated that she encountered the devil in the woods near her home in Falmouth, Maine, which was o ne of the main areas attacked by the Native Americans in both the first and second Indian wars.20 To any who were present at this examination on April 19 the connection was clear Satan and their Native American nemesis were aligned in a covenant to utterly demolish the goodly Christians of New England.Abigail Hobbs confession of having secured a pact with Satan in the woods ofFalmouth. Maine left the residents of Essex County emotionally and spiritually shaken.Norton notes two specific events that demonstrate how deeply ingrained this connection between Satan and the New England Native Americans was in the collective psyche ofthe colonistIn mid July of 1692 the port town of Gloucester many an(prenominal) residents were convinced that their beloved town would soon be descended upon by the natives and their detested French allies. The Babson family was among the first to sample ominous sounds around their home almost every night in mid July. Ebenezer Babson and his family reported forever and a day heard, at night, men fleeing into the shadows discussing a plot to invade Gloucester. Norton explains that Ebenezer at one point thought, that he aphorism two Frenchmen. . .and at other times, he and others believed they spotted Indians.23 After these encounters for a period of two weeks the reserves of Gloucester had occasional encounters with spectral assailants who seemed to melt into the shadowy confines of the Gloucester wood. On July 18, with the injection of some sixty militia men from Ipswich and after another week of sightings, caused the people to conclude that their shadowy tormentors were only figments of their imagination.24 This incident of a large scale case mass hysteria clearly shows the extent of the fear caused by the new connection between the witchcraft crisis and the conflict with the Native Americans in New England.19 Norton, Devils Snare, p.81.20 Norton, Devils Snare, p.81.21 Norton, Devils Snare, p.297.22 Norton, Devils Snare, p.232-233. 23 Norton, Devils Snare, p.232.24 Norton, Devils Snare, p.232.

Communicative Language Teaching: The Origins

Communicative Language breeding The OriginsThis chapter is devoted to the CLT approach, its origins and major(ip) features. Also the chapter sheds the light on grammar, how it is handled in diction didactics, the way it is defined and lastly, and by chance most importantly, its role in CLT.3.1 Communicative Language dogmaCLT is an approach to the didactics of second and immaterial voice confabulations that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of breeding a expression. It is similarly referred to as communicatory approach to the educational activity of foreign oral communications or simply the communicatory approach.3.1.1 The OriginsEducators such as Richards and Rodgers, Savignon, and Sano give in that the origins of communicatory oral communication pedagogy argon umteen, in so far as one teaching methodology tends to influence the next.Sano (1984171) says that the communicatory approach could be said to be the product of educators and linguists who had grown dissatisfy with the audio-lingual and grammar-translation method of foreign voice communication instruction. Richards and Rodgers (198693), on the other hand, claim that the origins of CLT be to be frame in the changes of situational linguistic process teaching approaches, which influenced the British run-in teaching tradition till the new-made 1960s.29Meanwhile, Savignon (1991262) asserts that the emergence of CLT sewer be traced to concurrent developments on both sides of the Atlantic, i.e., in Europe and the United States.Educators and linguists e.g., Candlin (1981 121) and Widdowson (1978 61) saw the indispensableness to focus in phrase teaching on communicative proficiency earlier than on mere mastery of structures. They felt up that students were non teaching enough true(a)istic, whole language in those methods, i.e., situational language teaching, audio-lingual or grammar-translation method. Students did non know how to communicate usi ng appropriate complaisant languages, gestures, or expressions in brief, they were at loss to communicate in the cultures of the language studied.In respect of this point, Widdowson remarks the followingThe problem is that students, and oddly students in developingcountries, who have received several years of formal slopeteaching, frequently roost deficient in the ability to actually mappingthe language, and to understand its lend oneself, in normal communication,whether in verbalise or written mode (197215).Similarly, Howatt says that the original motivation for adopting a communicative approach in the betimes s reckon downties was remedial, an attempt to overcome the inadequacies of existing, morphologic syllab accustoms, materials, and methods (1984287).To put simply, the rapid application of these ideas by textbook writers and the equally rapid acceptance of these new principles by British language teaching specialists, curriculum development centers, and rase gover nments gave prominence nationally and internationally to what came to be referred to as communicative approach. There was a positive reply from linguists, methodologists, and schoolroom instructors offering the best hope for the elaboration and diffusion of language teaching methods and materials that live, encourage and have got learners in the development of their communicative competency (Savignon, 1991 264).Although the movement began as largely British innovations focusing onalternative archetypeions of a syllabus since the mid 1970s, the scope ofcommunicative language teaching has expanded. Interest in and the development of communicative style teaching mushroomed in those yearsauthentic language use and classroom exchanges where students engaged in real communication with one another became quite popular. Also, numerous textbooks for teachers and teacher trainers refine on the nature of communicative approaches and offer techniques for varying ages and purposes (Brown , 1994 217).It is this socio-linguistic perspective, which is the unifying principle and the driving force fag end a communicative approach to language teaching (Sano, 1984 174) Although this socio-linguistic approach is basically a language possibleness rather than a culture system, taking into peak Richards and Rodgers definition of approach, CLT encompasses a theory of language and a theory of language learning, and see it as an approach than a method.Briefly, they define an approach as a differentiate of theories ab egress the nature of language and of language learning. It is axiomatic, as it craps a number of assumptions as a starting point. A method, on the other hand, is the level at which theory is put into practice and at which choices atomic number 18 profit about the particular skills to be taught, the heart to be taught, and the order in which the content will be presented. Besides, these writers claim, at the level of language theory, CLT has a rich, if wha teverwhat eclectic theoretical low (1986102).3.1.2 Language possible actionThe rise of interest in the individual and in relationships among individuals, which characterized the sixties, marked the emergence of socio-linguistics, that classify of science where sociology and linguistics meet. A new light was shed on language, not simply as a system of structurally related elements, which form a rule, hardly as a vehicle for the expression of meaning and social interaction. In other words, the structural imagine was supplemented with a running(a), a semantic and interactional view. It was this idea of language as communication that started off the whole communicative movement (Savignon, 1991 266).And it was Hymes (1972) that made history by challenging Chomskys view on linguistic competence, and replacing it by the notion of communicative competence (cited in Savignon, 1991 269).In the words of Canale and Swain (19807) communicative competence refers to the interaction amongst well-formed competence, or friendship of the rules of grammar, and socio-linguistic competence, or knowledge of the rules of language use. In other words, rules of use and rules of usage be balanceary and not mutually exclusive.According to them the primary goal of a communicative approach essential be to facilitate the integration of these both types of knowledge for the learner (1980 25).Savignon notes that communicative competence characterizes the ability of language learners to interact with other speakers to make meaning, and it is relative, not absolute, and depends on the cooperation of all the participants involved (19839). Broadly speaking, communicative competence is an saying convey and interpret messages and to negotiate meanings inter soulally within specific contexts.According to the socio-linguistic theory, the act of communication is seen not as basically an exchange of linguistic messages, alone rather as a social phenomenon in which the use of language pl ays a part. In the field of the ethnography of communication, which Stern (1983220) defines as the study of the individuals communicative activity in its social setting. language is a sub-ordinate, yet integrated part of social and situational systems, which are actually behavior patterns.Halliday argues the existence of a semantic network which is the linguistic realization of patterns of behavior. He postulates that the much we are suitable to relate the options in grammatical system to meaning potential in social contexts and behavioral settings, the more insight we shall gain into the nature of the language system (197844). In his functional account of language use, Halliday has criticized Chomskys linguistic, theory of competence. He says Linguistics is concerned with the description of speech acts or texts, since whole with the study of language in use are all the functions of language, and therefore all components of meaning, brought into focus (1970145). This view comp lements Hymes opinion of communicative competence, and we whoremonger only(prenominal) understand language if we view it as an instrument or as a communicative tool. To which Widdowson (197950) adds that once we accept the need to teach language as communication, we potful obviously no longer think of language in terms only of sentences. This statement provides the confession for the emphasis on discourse in CLT.3.1.3 Learning TheoryIn contrast to the center that has been written in CLT literature about communicative dimensions of language, little has been written about learning theory. However, two of the planetary learning theories, which emphasize common features among learners, are cognitive theory and skills theory.3.1.3.1 Cognitive TheoryAccording to cognitive theory, learning involves the ability to understand, to anticipate, and to relate new information to pre-existing mental structures. This focus on meaning(prenominal) learning is educed from an attempt to make se nse of the world.The heavy reliance of CLT practitioners on the mental schema theory is exemplified by Brumfits statement that new learning must be closely assimilated with what is already known, and if language is world learnt for use, then new learning must be directly associated with use (1979189).Hence, at the level of learning theory this view supports Hallidays claim about the semantic network as a bridge between linguistic form and behaviour pattern, a link between words and the world. As Stern (1983261) posits The learner must become a participant in a real-life context of language use as a condition of effective learning.Macdonough (198127) describes the cognitive process as hypothesis testing, and adds, signifi stooltly, that rules can only be found if the risk of error is run (ibid 29). This view is reflected in the great tolerance of CLT towards errors. Errors are not to be avoided at all cost they are not to be seen as evidence of non-learning, exclusively being an ex ternal manifestation of the continual revision of the inter-language system. They are essential elements in the learning process.3.1.3.2 Skills TheoryThis theory emphasizes the grandness of cognitive learning and practice. However, advocates of this theory reject mechanical practice altogether as being totally irrelevant to genuine learning. Skills theory links mental and behavioural aspects of performance by a hierarchically organized set of plans, in which low level of automation is necessary to bleak attention for high level of planning. In this regard, Littlewood states the followingThe cognitive aspect involves the internalization of plans forCreating appropriate behaviour. For language use, these plansderive in the main from the language system they include grammaticalrules, procedures for selecting vocabulary, and social conventionsgoverning speech. The behavioural aspect involves the automationof these plans so that they can be converted into fluent performancein real tim e. This occurs mainly through practice in convertingplans into performance(198474).Skill practice is considered as a legitimate learning principle (Richards and Rodgers 1986), provided that it offers natural options of language use which reproduce the kinds of choice that occur in spontaneous communication (Stern 1983260).3.1.4 Major FeaturesCLT is, relatively, a newly adapted approach in the area of foreign/second language teaching. CLT is a hybrid approach to language teaching, essentially progressive rather thantraditional. (Wright 2000 7).CLT can be seen to derive from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes, at to the lowest form, linguistics, psychology, philosophy, sociology and educational research (Savignon 1991271). It is generally pass judgment that, proponents of CLT see it as an approach, not a method (See Richards and Rodgers 1986 Savignon 1991 Brown 1994).For Brown, for instance, Communicative language teaching is a unified but broadly- based theoretical flu mmox about the nature of language and language learning and teaching(1994 244-245). He further maintains that though it is difficult to synthesize all of the various definitions that have been offered, the following four interconnected feature of speechs could be taken as a definition of CLT1. Classroom goals are focused on all of the components of communicativecompetence and not limit to grammatical or linguistic competence.2. Language teaching techniques are designed to engage learners in thepragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for significant purposes.Language forms are not the central focus but rather aspects of language that enable the learner to accomplish those purposes.3. Fluency and trueness are seen as complementary principles rudimentarycommunicative techniques. At times fluency may have to take on moreimportance than accuracy in order to keep learners meaningfully engaged in language use.4. In the communicative classroom, students ultimately have to use thelanguage, productively and receptively, in unrehearsed contexts (Brown, 1994 245).The communicative approach is a hazy purpose, which can have a variety of meanings along the continuum between a strong version and a weak one. Johnson (1979 155) argues that the weak version attempts to integratecommunicative activities into an existing computer programme, where as the strong version claims that language is acquired through communication.According to Howatt (1984 279) the weak version, which became more or less the standard practice in the late 70s and early 80s of the last century,stresses the importance of providing learners with opportunitiesto use their English for communicative purposes and, qualityally, attempts to integrate such activities into a widerprogram of language teaching. As for the strong version of communicative teachingit advances the claim that language is acquired throughcommunication, so that it is not merely a question of activating anexisting but inert kn owledge of the language, but of stimulating thedevelopment of the language system itself. If the former could bedescribed as learning to use English, the latter entails usingEnglish to learn it (ibid).Howatt adds that creating information gap activities, games, role-plays, dramas, simulations etc., are or so of the exercise types in the weak versions of CLT.Although we have different versions and various ways in which CLT is interpreted and applied, educators in the area, Richards and Rodgers (1986, 2001) Littlewood (1981) Finocchiaro and Brumfit (1983) Brumfit (1984) Candlin (1981) Widdowson (1978, 1979) Johnson and Morrow (1981) Larsen-Freeman (1986) Celce- Murcia (1991b) and Johnson (1982), put umteen of the major characteristics of CLT as they are presented in the following subsections.3.1.4.1 Emphasis on Language FunctionIt is felt that students need knowledge of the linguistic form, meaning andfunctions. However, CLT gives primary importance to the use or function of the la nguage and secondary importance to its structure or form (Larsen-Freeman 1986 88 Johnson 198263).This does not mean that knowledge of grammar is not essential for effective communication, rather systematic treatment of both functions and forms is vital. Stressing on this, Littlewood says one of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it expects systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language (1981 1).CLT suggests that grammatical structure might better be subsumedunder various functional categorieswe pay considerably less attention to the overt presentation and discussion of grammatical rules than we traditionally did (Brown, 1994 245). Emphasis is also given to meaning (messages they are creating or task they are completing) rather than form (correctness of language and language structure). For Finocchiaro and Brumfit meaning is paramount (198391) since it helps the learners to manage the message they engage with the interlocutors.3.1.4.2 Fluency and AccuracyFluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlyingcommunicative techniques (Brown, 1994245). However, at times fluency may have to take on more importance than accuracy because fluency andacceptable language is the primary goal (Finocchiaro and Brumfit 198393) and accuracy is judged not in the abstract but in contexts.Fluency is emphasized over accuracy in order to keep learners meaningfully engaged in language use. It is important, however, that fluency should never be encourage at the depreciate of clear, unambiguous, direct communication. And much more spontaneity is present in communicative classrooms (Brown, 1994 246)3.1.4.3 Teaching TechniquesLanguage teaching techniques are designed to engage learners in thepragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes.Classrooms should provide opportunities for rehearsal of real-life situationsand provide opportunity for real communication. Emphasis on creative roleplays, simulations, dramas, games, projects, etc., is the major activities which can help the learner provide spontaneity and improvisation, not just repetition and drills. Another characteristic of the classroom process is the use of authentic materials because it is felt desirable to give students the opportunity to develop the strategies for taking into custody language as it is actually used by native speakers. In the classroom, everything is done with a communicative intent. Information gap, choice and feedback are notion to be truly communicative activities (Johnson and Morrow, 1981 25).3.1.4.4 Grammar TeachingGrammar can nonoperational be taught, but less systematically, in traditional ways along side more groundbreaking approaches. Savignon (20025) says for thedevelopment of communicative ability communication depends on grammar, research findings overwhelmingly support the integration of form-focused exercises with meaning-focused experience.Grammar is imp ortant and learners search to focus best on grammar when it relates to their communicative involve and experiences.Disregard of grammar will virtually guarantee dislocation in communication (Thompson, 1996 10).These writers also say that there are some misconceptions about CLT thatmakes difficult for many teachers to see clearly what is happening and toidentify the useful innovations that CLT has brought. One of the persistentmisconceptions is that CLT means not teaching grammar although theexclusion of explicit attention to grammar was never necessary part of CLT (ibid).In CLT involvement in communicative event is seen as central to language development, and this involvement inescapably requires attention to form (structure). In fact, it is sure as shooting understandable that there was a reaction against the heavy emphasis on structure at the expense of natural communication. Nonetheless, it would seem foolish to make mistakeson the side of using communicative approach merel y and totally disregard grammar teaching. Regarding this, Celce-Murcia commentsIn spite of the intuitive appeal and the anecdotal evidenceSupporting plan for exclusively communicative language teaching, there is equally appealing and anecdotal evidence that grammarless approach. can stretch out to the development of a broken, ungrammatical, pidgenized form of the cigaret language beyond which students rarely progress (1991a462).Savignon also remarks that, communicative language teaching does notnecessarily mean the rejection of familiar materials grammar(20027). Rivers in her famous statement strengthened Savignons remark in that Saying that we do not need to teach grammar is like saying that we can have a chicken walking around without bones (cited in Arnold, 1994 122). Nowadays, it seems that educators accept that an appropriate amount of class time should be devoted to grammar, but this does not mean a simple give back to a traditional treatment of rules. Rather the focus ha s now moved away from the teacher concealment to the learners discovering grammar (Thompson, 1996 11).3.1.4.5 Skills and ActivitiesCommunicative approach is not limited to oral skills. Reading and writing skills need to be unquestionable to promote pupils confidence in all four skills areas. Students work on all four skills from the beginning, i.e., a given activity might involve study, speaking, listening, and perhaps also writing (Celce-Murcia, 1991b 78).Of course, oral communication is seen to take place through negotiation between speaker(s) and listener(s) (most likely among students), so too is the interaction between the ref and writer, but with no immediate feedback from the reader. Hence, in the classroom, emphasis is given to oral and listening skills, as pass on time with language is important. It paves way for more fluid command of the language. Learners do not hear the teacher all the time, but having personal contact themselves, practicing sounds themselves, worki ng on the permutation of sentence patterns and getting incident to make mistakes and learn from doing so. The idea of emphasizing the oral skills pisss uncertainty among teachers. They misconceived CLT as if it were devoted to teaching only speaking. But, CLT is not exclusively concerned with face to face oral communication (Savignon, 20027).The principles of CLT apply equally to reading and writing activities that engage readers and writers in the interpretation, expression, and negotiation of meaning. In other words, it is important to recognize that it is not only the speaker (or writer) who is communicating. Instead, communication through language happens in both the written and spoken medium, and involves at least two people. Thompson (199613) further states that, though there is a complaint that CLT ignores written language, a glance at recent mainstream textbooks shows that reading and writing materials have been given attention too.3.1.4.6 Pair pasture and Group WorkStude nts regularly work in conventions or pairs to transfer (and if necessary tonegotiate) meaning in situations where one person has information that others lack (Celce-Murcia, 1991b 82). More emphasis should be given to industrious modes of learning such as pair or group work in problem-solving tasks in order to maximize the time dispense to each student for learning to negotiate meaning. Many people assume group/pair work is applicable in all contexts. However, classroom group and/or pair work should not be considered an essential feature used all the time, and may well be inappropriate in some contexts (ibid).Thompson (199612) and Savignon (2002 6) claim that group and/or pair work are flexible and useful techniques than that suggests, and they are active modes of learning which can help the learners to negotiate meaning and engage in problem-solving activities.The use of pair/group work is a physical signal of some degree of control and choice passing to the learners but that ne eds to be complemented by real choice (learners need to be given some degree of control over their learning). Therefore, the use of pair/group work needs to be complemented by real choice for the following reasons (1) they can provide the learners with a relatively safe opportunity to try out ideas before launching them in public (2)they can lead to more developed ideas, and therefore great confidence and more effective communication (3) they can also provide knowledge and skills which may complement those of their partners which in turn lead to greater success in undertaking tasks (Thompson, 199613).3.1.4.7 Errors and CorrectionErrors are seen as a natural outcome of the development of the communication skills and are therefore tolerated. Learners trying their best to use the language creatively and spontaneously are bound to make errors.Constant correction is unnecessary and even counter-productive. Correction noted by the teacher should be discreet. Let the students talk and exp ress themselves and the form of the language becomes secondary. If errors of form are tolerated and are seen as a natural outcome of the development of communication skills, students can have limited linguistic knowledge and still be successful communicators (Larsen-Freeman, 1986 121).3.1.4.8 EvaluationSano (1984 176) states that evaluation is carried out in terms of fluency and accuracy. Students who have the most control of the structures and vocabulary are not necessarily the best communicators. A teacher may use formal evaluation i.e., he/she is likely to use a communicative test, which is an integrative and has a real communicative function (e.g., Madsen, 1983 Hughes, 1989). Larsen-Freeman (1986 132) points out that the teacher can also informally evaluate his students performance in his role as an advisor or co-communicator. Savigonon, (1991 275 2002 4) reports that the communicative approach follows global, qualitative evaluation of learner achievement as opposed to quantita tive assessment of separate linguistic features.3.1.4.9 Native Language UseThe students native language has no role to play (Larsen Freeman, 1986 135). The target language is used both during communicative activities and for the purpose of classroom management. The students learn from these classroom management exchanges, and attend that the target language is a vehicle for communication. Whatever the case may be, the teacher should be able to use the target language fluently and appropriately (Celce-Murcia, 1991b 8). However, for others (e.g., Finocchiaro and Brumfit, 1983 98) judicious use of native language is accepted where feasible. Teachers may provide directions of homework, class work and test directions by using the native language.3.1.4.10 Teachers RoleThe teacher is the facilitator of students learning, manager of classroomactivities, advisor during activities and a co-communicator engaged in thecommunicative activity along with the students (Littlewood, 1981 9 Breen an d Candlin, 1980 90). But he does not always himself interact with students rather he acts as an independent participant. some other roles assumed for the teacher are needs analyst, counselor, researcher and learner. Students, on the other hand, are more amenable managers of their own learning. They are expected to interact with other people, all in the flesh, through pair and group work, or in the writings. They are communicators and actively engaged in negotiating meaning in trying to make themselves understood. They learn to communicate by communicating (Larsen-Freeman, 1986 142). Above all, since the teachers role is less dominant the teaching/learning process is student-centered rather than teacher-centered. In other words, it is the learner who plays a great role in a large proportion of the process of learning.3.2 Grammar and GrammarsYule (1996 87) states that each adult speaker of a language clearly has some type of mental grammar, that is, a form of internal linguistic kn owledge which operates in the production and perception of appropriately structured expressions in that language. This grammar is subconscious and is not the result of any teaching. A second, and quite different, concept of grammar involves what might be considered linguistic etiquette, that is, the identification of the proper or best structures to be used in a language. A third view of grammar involves the study and analysis of the structures found in a language, unremarkably with the aim of establishing a description of the grammar of English, for example, as distinct from the grammar of other languages.Linguists define grammar as a set of components phonetics (the production and perception of sounds), phonology (how sounds are combined), morphology (the study of forms, or how elements are combined to create words), syntax (how words are strung together into sentences), and semantics or meaning. Because all languages are characterized by these components, by definition, languag e does not exist without grammar (VanPatten, 1990288).However, grammar has not always been defined in these terms. Originally, the term grammar, grammatica, referred to the art of writing, as compared to rhetoric, rettorica, the art of speaking. As used today by many teachers and learners, grammar is loosely understood to be a set of rules that govern language, primarily its morphology and syntax. But morphology and syntax are only two components of grammar (Chamot Kupper, 1989 15).Actually the word grammar has been defined rather differently by various grammarians and dictionary writers. According to vitreous silica (2003207), grammar is systematic description of a language. Also, Widdowson describes that grammar is the name given to the knowledge of how words are adapted and consistent to form sentences (1988 147 cited in Shih-Chuan Chang, 2011 14). Still other definitions of the term specify the scope of grammar.In fact, grammar is multi-dimensional (Kennedy, 1987 165) and has multi-meanings. It is generally thought to be a set of rules for choosing words and putting words together to make sense. Every language has grammar. It has been held that if a language is a building, the words are bricks and the grammar is the architects plan. One may have a cardinal bricks, but do not make a building without a plan. Similarly, if a person knows a million English words, but he doesnt know how to put them together, then he cannot speak English (Karavas, 1996 189). In other words, grammar is a framework to describe languages.3.2.1 Grammar in Language TeachingThe role of grammar is perhaps one of the most controversial looses in language teaching. In the early parts of the twentieth century, grammar teaching formed an essential part of language instruction, so much that other aspects of language learning were either ignored or downplayed. The argument was that if one knew the grammatical rules of the language, he would be able to use it for communication. This conc ept was strongly challenged in the early 1970s (Ellis, 2006 90).Knowledge of the grammatical system of the language, it was argued, was but one of the many components which underlay the notion of communicative competence. To be considered a competent user of a language, one needs to know not only the rules of grammar, but also how the rules are used in real communication. During this period, grammar teaching became less prominent, and in some cases, was abandoned (Hudson, 1998 12).In recent years, grammar teaching has regained its rightful place in the language curriculum. People now agree that grammar is too important to be ignored, and that without a good knowledge of grammar, learners language development will be severely constrained.There is now a general consensus that the issue is not whether or not we should teach grammar. The issue now centers on questions such as, which grammar items do learners need most? How do we go about teaching grammar items in the most effective way? And are they best taught inductively or deductively? (Tomlinson, 1994 22).In fa