Organizational Innovation and Change - Critical Thinking Mod 1 Essay

Organizational Innovation and Change - Critical Thinking Mod 1 - Essay Example Likewise, there was a need to assess internal resources (including financial support, as well as coordinated time and effort of all members) to make the transferring to another home, possible. In addition, not only was there a need to transfer to a new local community, but to search for the nearby educational institutions, as well as employment opportunities to support and sustain a successful change. Personal Experience as a Story of Change Just like the stories of change presented by authors Palmer, Dunford, & Akin (2009), the story of moving made it a story of change due to the presence of both internal and external factors that contribute to the need to change. Likewise, after establishing the need, the strategies were aptly designed to ensure that the actual change (moving) is implemented within a defined time frame, and with little resistance, as possible. Of course, all members of the family need to be duly informed, and as much as possible, any resistance to the required chan ge had to be effectively addressed and managed through strategies that included open communication, proposing opportunities for growth, and emphasizing that the future would be more productive and rewarding with the proposed change. Similarities with Change Lessons From Hewlett- Packard change story, the following elements were similarly present in one’s personal story of change: (1) that â€Å"different interests need to be recognized and addressed† (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009, p. 9); (2) that the interests apparently provoked different reactions to the change process: from resistance, anxiety, anticipation, relief, among others; (3) that skills of negotiation and persuasion are needed in the process; (4) that â€Å"communicating change often entails providing a vision of the future that is compelling† (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009, p. 9); and (5) that pressures or factors that led to change come from both internal and external sources. Moving to another re sidence share these similarities in terms of having identified that internal and external factors impinge on the current status and necessitate moving. For instance, the change in employment or assignment to another state was the primary reason for moving and that retaining the current residence would have been unproductive and irrational. From the IBM change story, one noted that there were similarities shared in terms of having recognized: (1) that â€Å"change requires a marshaling of appropriate resources† (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009, p. 9). Likewise, from the change story of Kodak, one shared the same experience in terms of manifesting that â€Å"change involves risk and uncertainty† and that its consequences could not always be predicted (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009, p. 9). There were similarities in one’s personal change story after identifying that current financial resources need to be evaluated to assess the feasibility for moving and to determine if the potential income related to the new employment of one’s father could aptly support the cost of living in the new state. Of course, there were risks and uncertainties that include being immersed in a new environment and being potentially exposed to unfamiliar people with diverse cultural backgrounds. The elements that were utterly not applicable in one’

What makes software so important Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What makes software so important - Essay Example This would therefore mean that each and every user will install different computer software in their personal computers. For instance, a household that has children and wants them to play computer games will most likely install software’s aimed at supporting the various games that these children want to play. It is also possible to uninstall software that is not needed, in exchange of software that a user needs. On this note, software’s are used to run computer programs that users want to benefit from. Apart from the personal use of computer softwares, business organizations also need these softwares for purposes of helping their organization function to the best level of standard. This is beneficial to me, because it helps me to acquire high quality services from these organizations. There are different types of softwares that a business organization can use. This depends on the nature of the organization itself, and the kind of business activity that the organization engages in (Bowser, 2012). Examples of computer softwares that business organizations will need to use are, database management softwares, point of sale softwares, content management softwares, etc. Take for instance, a school or a university institution. For this organization, computer software that has the capability of keeping students records is essential (Pressman, 2010). This will help the organization to maintain and keep track of present and past students belonging to the institution under consideration. For a departmental store, or a retailing unit, the point of sale software is essential for keeping track of all the transactions that occurs within the business establishment. The content management software on the other hand is helpful to the online marketers and this is because it can help them to manage the flow of information in their websites in an easy and efficient manner. Apart from the above mentioned softwares,

Free Markets are Efficiency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Free Markets are Efficiency - Essay Example In addition, the paper also focuses on the criticism and arguments surrounding the free market concept. The efficiency of free markets surrounds the effectiveness of an economy in the allocation of resources. The efficiency of a free market is dependant on satisfaction of several conditions that permit the agents in that economy to trade freely and attain the market equilibrium in quantity and price. For the purpose of this paper, a free market is one that has negligible government interference, or no such interference (Argelis & Pitelis, 2008: 1). With this in mind, we may define a free market as a market where the agents engage in selling and buying activities on own consent, without any legal compulsion. The prices at which a trade transaction takes place, or the quantities traded are not under control (direct or indirect) of third parties in the market. In essence, this implies that the market operates without legal restrictions or regulations. Simply, a free market is one where buyers decide freely the commodities to buy and their quantities at the prices of the sellers and sellers choose freely the commodities they are willing to manufacture and sell at their price that they decide to sell. The first welfare theorem or the invisible hand proposes that a free market provides a channel through which an economic system is able to reach the ideal level of production. According to Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations, the different traders, like butchers and brewers, do not offer their services out of benevolence, but with a consideration of their own gains (Chang, 2002:5). Kenneth Arrow and Gerald Debreu later mathematically confirmed this theorem, indicating that in the event that all possible gains are exhausted from the exchange, then the free market attains an equilibrium equivalent to the Pareto efficiency in allocation of resources. In economics, the allocation of resources is Pareto efficient if there is no other feasible allocation preference by one pa rty, and which the other party equally likes, therefore making any further mutual benefiting allocation impossible (Hayek, 1945). For instance, party A and party B engage in a trade exchange. After several exchanges with emphasis on their level of endowment, party A and party B will reach a position on the curve (B and C), which is the Pareto optimal point of resource allocation (Lott, 2007: 82). The curve demonstrates the dual benefits of both parties for both reaching an equilibrium benefit of transfer and guiding the economy towards an outcome that observes the Pareto efficiency. Fig 1: Pareto optimality graph. From http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/images/fig8_1.gif&imgrefurl=http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/08_construction_pricing_and_conctracting.html&usg=__d69xypDoP0EqqL9D0orgPd46Ezw=&h=399&w=404&sz=5&hl=en&start=3&sig2=s1ZXuuc1Dtp3tLmn-opTVA&zoom=1&tbnid=AORY7mH4F1EvoM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=124&ei=uZDpTrifAsqZiQfMnYWyBw&um=1&itbs=1 The Pareto-efficient outcome is only attainable on the certain conditions that are generally not applicable in practice, despite the mathematical proof by Kenneth Arrow and Gerald Debreu (Mankiw, 2009:153). These conditions include, but not limited to, imperfect competition like a monopoly, inevitable provision of public goods, presence of externalities, negligible transaction costs that are difficult to achieve, and social priorities that often favor a particular

Organizational Innovation and Change - Critical Thinking Mod 1 Essay

Organizational Innovation and Change - Critical Thinking Mod 1 - Essay Example Likewise, there was a need to assess internal resources (including financial support, as well as coordinated time and effort of all members) to make the transferring to another home, possible. In addition, not only was there a need to transfer to a new local community, but to search for the nearby educational institutions, as well as employment opportunities to support and sustain a successful change. Personal Experience as a Story of Change Just like the stories of change presented by authors Palmer, Dunford, & Akin (2009), the story of moving made it a story of change due to the presence of both internal and external factors that contribute to the need to change. Likewise, after establishing the need, the strategies were aptly designed to ensure that the actual change (moving) is implemented within a defined time frame, and with little resistance, as possible. Of course, all members of the family need to be duly informed, and as much as possible, any resistance to the required chan ge had to be effectively addressed and managed through strategies that included open communication, proposing opportunities for growth, and emphasizing that the future would be more productive and rewarding with the proposed change. Similarities with Change Lessons From Hewlett- Packard change story, the following elements were similarly present in one’s personal story of change: (1) that â€Å"different interests need to be recognized and addressed† (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009, p. 9); (2) that the interests apparently provoked different reactions to the change process: from resistance, anxiety, anticipation, relief, among others; (3) that skills of negotiation and persuasion are needed in the process; (4) that â€Å"communicating change often entails providing a vision of the future that is compelling† (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009, p. 9); and (5) that pressures or factors that led to change come from both internal and external sources. Moving to another re sidence share these similarities in terms of having identified that internal and external factors impinge on the current status and necessitate moving. For instance, the change in employment or assignment to another state was the primary reason for moving and that retaining the current residence would have been unproductive and irrational. From the IBM change story, one noted that there were similarities shared in terms of having recognized: (1) that â€Å"change requires a marshaling of appropriate resources† (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009, p. 9). Likewise, from the change story of Kodak, one shared the same experience in terms of manifesting that â€Å"change involves risk and uncertainty† and that its consequences could not always be predicted (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009, p. 9). There were similarities in one’s personal change story after identifying that current financial resources need to be evaluated to assess the feasibility for moving and to determine if the potential income related to the new employment of one’s father could aptly support the cost of living in the new state. Of course, there were risks and uncertainties that include being immersed in a new environment and being potentially exposed to unfamiliar people with diverse cultural backgrounds. The elements that were utterly not applicable in one’

Free Markets are Efficiency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Free Markets are Efficiency - Essay Example In addition, the paper also focuses on the criticism and arguments surrounding the free market concept. The efficiency of free markets surrounds the effectiveness of an economy in the allocation of resources. The efficiency of a free market is dependant on satisfaction of several conditions that permit the agents in that economy to trade freely and attain the market equilibrium in quantity and price. For the purpose of this paper, a free market is one that has negligible government interference, or no such interference (Argelis & Pitelis, 2008: 1). With this in mind, we may define a free market as a market where the agents engage in selling and buying activities on own consent, without any legal compulsion. The prices at which a trade transaction takes place, or the quantities traded are not under control (direct or indirect) of third parties in the market. In essence, this implies that the market operates without legal restrictions or regulations. Simply, a free market is one where buyers decide freely the commodities to buy and their quantities at the prices of the sellers and sellers choose freely the commodities they are willing to manufacture and sell at their price that they decide to sell. The first welfare theorem or the invisible hand proposes that a free market provides a channel through which an economic system is able to reach the ideal level of production. According to Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations, the different traders, like butchers and brewers, do not offer their services out of benevolence, but with a consideration of their own gains (Chang, 2002:5). Kenneth Arrow and Gerald Debreu later mathematically confirmed this theorem, indicating that in the event that all possible gains are exhausted from the exchange, then the free market attains an equilibrium equivalent to the Pareto efficiency in allocation of resources. In economics, the allocation of resources is Pareto efficient if there is no other feasible allocation preference by one pa rty, and which the other party equally likes, therefore making any further mutual benefiting allocation impossible (Hayek, 1945). For instance, party A and party B engage in a trade exchange. After several exchanges with emphasis on their level of endowment, party A and party B will reach a position on the curve (B and C), which is the Pareto optimal point of resource allocation (Lott, 2007: 82). The curve demonstrates the dual benefits of both parties for both reaching an equilibrium benefit of transfer and guiding the economy towards an outcome that observes the Pareto efficiency. Fig 1: Pareto optimality graph. From http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/images/fig8_1.gif&imgrefurl=http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/08_construction_pricing_and_conctracting.html&usg=__d69xypDoP0EqqL9D0orgPd46Ezw=&h=399&w=404&sz=5&hl=en&start=3&sig2=s1ZXuuc1Dtp3tLmn-opTVA&zoom=1&tbnid=AORY7mH4F1EvoM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=124&ei=uZDpTrifAsqZiQfMnYWyBw&um=1&itbs=1 The Pareto-efficient outcome is only attainable on the certain conditions that are generally not applicable in practice, despite the mathematical proof by Kenneth Arrow and Gerald Debreu (Mankiw, 2009:153). These conditions include, but not limited to, imperfect competition like a monopoly, inevitable provision of public goods, presence of externalities, negligible transaction costs that are difficult to achieve, and social priorities that often favor a particular

Primary education Essay Example for Free

Primary education Essay The World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal approved a comprehensive vision of Education for All (EFA) to be achieved by 2015 based on the six goals. The six goals relate to the areas of early childhood care and education, universalising primary education, gender, youth and adolescents, adult education and quality of education. The main focus is on ‘reaching the unreached’ for ensuring complete coverage of education. With this background the Mid- Decade Assessment of Education for All was initiated to take stock of the progress made with respect to EFA Goals. Corresponding to this exercise, a comprehensive review of the progress made with respect to Education for All in India was conducted jointly by Government of India and the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA). The present work which is a sequel to the National Report consists of a series of thematic and state review papers. There are nine thematic review papers covering all the six goals including three additional papers on three other themes, namely, Teacher and Teacher Education, Management Strategies for EFA and Financing of EFA in India. These thematic review papers are further followed by a series of analytical papers covering progress of EFA in twenty seven states of India. State reviews attempt to present a quick picture of the current level of progress in each state of India assessing the magnitude of the task involved in achieving EFA goals and projecting a realistic time frame as well as strategies needed to reach the goals. Each thematic review as well as state-specific analytical review paper has been prepared by an established expert in the respective area/state in close collaboration with national and state governments. The review papers along with the National Report present a comprehensive and disaggregated picture of the progress made towards EFA goals in the country. The papers are coming out at a very opportune time when the Parliament is engaged in debating the legislation to make education for all children a Fundamental Right. While the thematic papers highlight state of development of education with respect to different goals of EFA, the State papers present the diversity of the situation across the country. The whole series  would serve as an invaluable independent documentation on various aspects of EFA ranging from early childhood care and education to universal elementary education and adult literacy programmes using authentic data sources accompanied by a review of relevant empirical research. The whole Project involving the National Report along with the series of thematic and state analytical review papers were conceived and executed by Prof. Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 3 Early Childhood Care and Education R. Govinda, NUEPA who led the entire exercise and would like to thank him profusely for his leadership. Dr. Mona Sedwal who as a part of the Project Team at NUEPA contributed immensely to the whole exercise also deserves appreciation. The Team immensely benefited by the advice given by the Technical Advisory Group set up under the Chairmanship of Professor A. K. Sharma for guiding the entire exercise. I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Prof. A. K. Sharma for his invaluable guidance. Finally, I would also like to acknowledge the generous financial support provided by UNICEF and UNESCO. Ved Prakash Vice Chancellor. National University of Educational Planning and Administration 4 iv Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Early Childhood Care and Education Editorial Note Indian Constitution directs the State to provide free and compulsory education for all children upto the age of 14. This goal has been pursued by the country for nearly six decades through successive development plans. The last two decades have witnessed significant improvements in children’s participation in schooling, accompanied by substantial increase in investments. The recent effort to raise resources for the sector through imposition of an education cess is major effort in that direction. Even though school education has traditionally remained a subject for action by State Governments, Government of India has, during the last two decades following the National Policy on Education – 1986, begun to play a leading role. This culminated in the launching of the national programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in 2001. Despite all these efforts, the final goal of providing quality education for all has eluded the country. Urgency of reaching the goal has been heightened in recent years due to several national and international developments, including commitments made under the Dakar Framework for Action for providing quality Education for All by 2015, which not only covers primary education but also focus on literacy goals, gender equality and quality concerns. The Dakar Framework of Action listed the following six specific goals to be achieved by all countries. 1. Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. 2. Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality. 3. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes. 4. Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literary by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults. 5. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality. 6. Improving every aspect of the quality of education, and ensuring their excellence so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills. The National Plan of Action for Education for All (2002) in India reflects this sense of urgency felt within the country by proposing to reach the targets much ahead of the international dateline. At the national level, the Constitutional Amendment in 2002 declaring education in the age group 6-14 which corresponds to the elementary education stage of schooling a fundamental right has brought the issue of universal elementary education (UEE) to the centre stage of public discourse. The country is in the process of drawing up the legislation for effective implementation of the right for Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 5 Early Childhood Care and Education translating the constitutional provision into reality. With the progress made in recent years the goal seems to be achievable by the international time frame of 2015. But this requires systematic assessment of the various goals the present exercise is one such effort. UNESCO has been bringing out annual review of the progress made in moving towards the goal of EFA through the Global Monitoring Report. These assessments do not reflect an encouraging picture of the Indian scene. This is an issue of serious concern for the national leadership as one sixth of the world population lives in India. With around 65% adult literacy rate, there are more around 350 million adult illiterates in the country. This should not be taken to imply that no efforts are being made to meet the challenge of EFA. Besides, the national averages do not fully reflect the diverse reality characterizing educational progress in India. In fact, it is paradoxical that while certain pockets of the country are emerging as the international hub for creating a knowledge society, certain other regions and sections of the population continue to be deprived of even basic education. It is clear that in pursuing EFA goals, not all states and regions of the country are in the same league. The variety is too wide to draw any generalization. While some states have made remarkable progress in education, practically eradicating illiteracy and achieving near universal participation of children in elementary education, several other states continue to remain far from the final goal. What is needed to progress faster in moving towards the 2015 EFA deadline in all parts of the country? This obviously demands an analytical exercise goal wise as well as statewise. It is with this objective in view that the present exercise was taken up to make an independent assessment of the progress achieved in different states and with respect to different EFA goals. The present series of papers constitute the outcome of such a comprehensive exercise carried out by independent experts, in collaboration with Central and State Governments. The main purpose of the exercise is to place before policy makers, planners and the civil society as a whole an analytical picture of the progress made towards EFA goals and the challenges ahead for reaching the goals in a realistic fashion. The exercise consisted of three parts. The first part consisted of presenting an overview of progress in the country with respect to six goals highlighted in the Dakar Declaration. This was largely based on the technical guidelines for assessment prepared by UNESCO. A national report entitled â€Å"Education for All Mid-Decade Assessment: Reaching the Unreached† has been prepared and published jointly by NUEPA and Government of India. The Second Part consists of a series of nine thematic review papers dealing with different dimensions of ‘Education for All’ keeping in view the Indian context and priorities. These include: (i) Early Childhood Care and Education; (ii) Universal Elementary Education; (iii) Adult Education; (iv) Towards Gender Equality in Education; (v) Education of Adolescents and Young Adults; (vi) Quality of Education; (vii) teacher and teacher education; (viii) Management Strategies for EFA and (ix) Financing of EFA. Each of these papers has been prepared by an expert or experts 6 vi Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Early Childhood Care and Education in the respective area. The papers were reviewed by another independent expert and revised based on the observations. The third part consists of analytical papers covering all states of India. Each thematic review as well as state-specific analytical review was prepared by an established expert in the respective area/state in close collaboration with national and state governments. The state level reviews are prepared on lines similar to what was followed for preparing the national review. Each of them deals with comprehensively on all six goals of EFA specified in the Dakar Declaration. The present paper by Venita Kaul and Deepa Sankar examines the situation with respect to Early Childhood Care and Education comprehensively dealing with school based pre-primary education programmes as well as the more widespread ICDS programme. In fact, this is an area of critical importance as increasing empirical evidence points to the value of providing pre school experience to children not only for improving their readiness for schooling but also as part of meeting their basic growth and development needs. Providing early childhood care and education is the first goal stated in the Dakar Framework for Action, and the National Plan of Action promises to take an integrated view of early childhood care and education. This elaborate exercise of assessing the progress in EFA should be viewed in the context of repeated assertions by the UNESCO Global Monitoring Report on EFA that Indian is at the risk of not making the global targets with respect to several EFA goals. The findings of the review clearly points out that the situation across the country is very diverse. While some States have registered fast progress on all fronts, some others continue to lag behind. Also in general, access to schooling has improved every where even though much remains to be done with respect to other goals of EFA. It is hoped that the various volumes brought out through the exercise would together present a realistic analysis and a disaggregated picture of the Education for All process and achievements in the country. R. Govinda Professor and Head Department of School and Non-formal Education National University of Educational Planning and Administration Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment. vii 7 Early Childhood Care and Education Acknowledgements This comprehensive exercise of reviewing the progress of EFA has been done through active involvement and support of a large team of experts and officials from Government of India as well as various State Governments. The exercise was carried out under the constant guidance of the members of the Technical Advisory Group under the leadership of Professor A. K. Sharma. The task could not have been completed without the commitment and support of Professor Ved Prakash, Vice Chancellor, NUEPA. Special thanks are due to Smt. Anita Kaul, Joint Secretary, MHRD, Government of India who played a central role in conceiving and implementing the whole exercise. Financial support for the exercise came from UNICEF and UNESCO; in particular, thanks are due to Mr. Samphe Lhalungpa who took personal interest in ensuring that the Project is completed smoothly. We would like to record our appreciation for the technical support and cooperation given by the NUEPA Publication Unit and for printing and publishing the volumes. EFA Project Team National University of Educational Planning and Administration 8 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment. Early Childhood Care and Education Technical Advisory Group Professor A. K. Sharma Former Director NCERT Chairperson Professor Ved Prakash Vice Chancellor NUEPA Member Joint Secretary (EE) MHRD Member Professor R. Govinda Head Department of SNFE NUEPA Member Deputy Secretary MHRD Coordinator NUEPA Project Team Professor R. Govinda Head Department of SNFE NUEPA Project Director Dr. Mona Sedwal NUEPA Project Associate Fellow Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 9 Early Childhood Care and Education About the Authors ix Venita Kaul is Senior Education Specialist in World Bank. Prior to joining the Bank she was Professor and Head of Department of Preschool and Elementary Education at the NCERT. She has written extensively in the areas of Early Childhood Education and Early Primary education in the Indian context and has several books and papers to her credit. Deepa Sankar is an Education Economist with the South Asia Human Development Department of the World Bank. 10 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Management of Elementary Education Contents Preface iii Editorial Note v Acknowledgements viii Technical Advisory Group ix About the Authors x Section I Introduction 1 Section II. Early Childhood Development (ECD) – The Indian Context 2 Section III ECCE –An Equity Issue 9 Section IV Providing for the Child in India Section V Coverage of ECCE Services 25 Section VI Public Spending on Children 30 Section VII Some Significant Issues and Concerns in ECCE 36 References 11 15 43 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Early Childhood Care and Education SECTION I INTRODUCTION The first six to eight years of a child’s life last a lifetime!! Known as the early childhood stage, these years are considerably, and often irreversibly, reduced. This research finding places a very large percentage of children in  globally acknowledged to be the most critical years for life-long development, since the pace of development in these years is extremely rapid. Recent poverty contexts, particularly in the developing world, ‘at risk’, in terms of their life chances. â€Å"By the time poorer children in many countries reach school research in the field of neuroscience has provided convincing evidence that â€Å"experience-based brain development in the early years sets neurological and age, they are at a significant disadvantage in cognitive and social ability† (The World Bank, 2005b:132). This early childhood stage is also biological pathways that affect health,  learning and behaviour throughout life†. (Mustard, 2007:40) It is in these early years of life that critical periods are important as a foundation for inculcation of social and personal habits and values, which are known to last a lifetime. It follows logically that these located for development of several cognitive, social and psychomotor competencies, which significantly contribute to later success in life. If years are crucial and important for investing in to ensure an enabling environment for every child and thereby a sound foundation for life. This is not these critical periods are not supported by, or embedded in a stimulating and  enriching physical and psycho-social environment, the chances of the child’s only the right of every child, but will also impact in the long term, on the quality of human capital available to a country, like India, whose main asset in the brain developing to its full potential are years to come will be its ‘youth power’. Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 1 Early Childhood Care and Education SECTION II EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT (ECD) – THE INDIAN CONTEXT Our Cultural Heritage: Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs for children in the age group of prenatal to 6 years, derive their importance from the next. This  wealth of developmentally appropriate childcare practices is gradually becoming extinct, in the humdrum of more modern this rationale, and from the changing social, economic and demographic contexts over the last few decades that have often rendered homes ill-equipped provisions for children and changing social realities. to ensure optimal childcare. A look into India’s past cultural heritage indicates that traditionally, the early childhood years (from prenatal to five years) were are more specifically associated with changes in the family structure, from joint to nuclear, so that parenting, which was earlier a shared family  considered to lay the foundation for inculcation of basic values and social skills in children. It is believed that these values are imbibed from the responsibility, is now solely the responsibility of the parents; this responsibility is again often further delegated. While children from the family as the ‘sanskaras’ and the scriptures advocate an attitude of lalayat or indulgence, as the desirable mode of child rearing at this stage, as compared higher socio-economic strata are often left with paid surrogate care givers, in the lower socio-economic communities the responsibility of childcare gets to more disciplinary approach for the  older child! Much of the early care and education of the child was informal, within the family and largely through loaded on to the older sisters, thus keeping them often out of school and robbing them of both their childhood and basic education. In addition, the grandmothers’ caring practices, stories, lullabies and traditional infant games, handed down from one generation to growing urbanization and increase in maternal employment outside the home has further affected the possibilities of 2 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment In India, as elsewhere, these changes Early Childhood Care and Education  ensuring â€Å"quality informal early care and education’ for the young child within the home. It was this changing social context, over the years, which laid the however, the concept of early childhood care and education (integrating health, nutrition and education aspects) has been widely accepted. India has in this seeds for the introduction of the concept of organized Preschool Education /Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in the country. context, been able to put together a fairly supportive policy framework and has launched some major initiatives for children for this stage of development, ECCE-The Beginning: The earliest  formal documentation of preschool/early childhood education, as an organized which are discussed later in the paper. As a result, there has been noticeable, though not adequate, progress over the last fifty years, in both public and private initiative in India, dates back to the latter half of the nineteenth century when Gijubhai Badheka and Tarabai Modak, among others, became the pioneers of provision for young children. this movement in the country. Influenced by Madame Montessori’s visit to India, they established preschool education centers in Gujarat. In 1946 Three important principles of Child Development, substantiated by  research, have steered the evolution of programs for young children from just Madame Montessori met Mahatma Gandhi, who asked her to ‘indianize’ her method to make preschool education available to a large majority of children. ‘preschool education’ to the concept of more integrated and holistic Early Childho od Development programs. These principles assert that: (i) A child’s That was the beginning of ‘pre basic education’ in the rural parts of the country, largely through voluntary effort. Till India’s independence in 1947, early experiences and outcomes will determine the extent to which s/he will gain from subsequent interventions,  since child development is a continuous voluntary agencies and private institutions primarily fulfilled the need for ECCE, particularly in the form of preschool education. The first and cumulative process. A recent study in US demonstrated that by the age of 3 years, gaps in learning as measured by vocabulary are already large among government initiative in this area was the setting up of a Central Social Welfare Board in 1953, which started a grant–in–aid scheme for voluntary children from different social groups (The World Bank, 2005b); (ii) A child’s cognitive learning is affected by his/her socio-economic status, through the  agencies. Over this half century, child’s health (malnutrition, iron and Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 3 Differentiating ECD, ECE and ECCE Early Childhood Care and Education micronutrient deficiency, and parasitic infections) and the quality of the home environment. Health, nutrition and education/ psycho-social development education has been one of its six components, in addition to health and nutrition. The nomenclature, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) are all synergistically inter-related, and this makes a case for addressing all needs of children through a holistic approach; and (iii) The child’s  found its due place in the policy framework in India later in 1986 when an exclusive chapter of the National Policy on Education was devoted to it. development gains will be optimized and more sustainable, if the programs address not only the child, but the child’s overall context, including the ECCE was defined, in the policy in ways similar to ECD, as an integrated and holistic concept of care and education of children between 0-6 years from socially family. Consequently, Early Childhood Development (ECD) and/or ECCE as disadvantaged groups. This provision was seen as facilitating to lay the child’s foundation for life and also a support  service for girls and working mothers. understood by Indian professionals working with young children, refers to a holistic and integrated program of nutrition, health and early childhood The policy emphasized the joyful nature of ECCE, especially for the 3-6 years olds, and discouraged any formal instruction of the 3R’s at this early stage education which caters to children from prenatal to 6/8 years and which addresses the all round development of the child from a lifecycle perspective of education. In practice, however, ECCE programs for children have assumed various nomenclatures and definitions, depending on the priority a  (See Fig 1 for an Indian Conceptual Framework). While this nomenclature of ECD is relatively recent, India has the distinction of having conceptualized and particular program serves. These include Early Childhood Education (ECE) /preschool education programs which are focused only on preschool floated perhaps the world’s largest program for children, modeled on this definition, as early as in 1975. Known as the Integrated Child Development education for 3-6 years olds (e. g. prenurseries, nurseries, kindergartens, preparatory schools, pre primary etc). These do not have any health or Services (ICDS), this program targets  children, pregnant and lactating mothers and adolescent girls from a lifecycle perspective. Non-formal preschool nutrition component, are ‘stand –alones’ or part of primary schools and generally in the non-governmental or private sector. 4 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Early Childhood Care and Education Figure 2. 1: An Indian Conceptual Framework for Integrated Child Development Determinants  ¦Maternal health, nutrition adequacy and quality of care of newborn  ¦Safe delivery, family and community support for the mother and baby  ¦Environmental hygiene, safe water and sanitation Prenatal to one month Outcomes  ¦ Healthy, responsive  newborn Indicators  ¦Mother not anemic or underweight  ¦Child weighs more than 2500 grams  ¦Child moves head side to side on being stimulated Determinants One month to three years Outcomes  ¦Freedom from intermittent diseases (diarrhea acute respiratory infection)  ¦Nutritional security  ¦Curiosity, sociability  ¦Confidence selfhelp and sensory motor skills Indicators  ¦Full immunization by end of year one  ¦Completion of all prophylaxis (e. g. vitamin A) by end of 3 years  ¦Toilet trained  ¦Ability to communicate clearly and confidently  ¦ Sociability and ability to stay away from family for a few hours  ¦Appropriate height and  weight for age  ¦ Age-appropriate gross motor and auditory-visual skills Three to six years Outcomes  ¦ Interest in learning school readiness skills (language, numeracy psychosocial skills)  ¦ Activeness, selfconfidence, awareness of environment  ¦ Freedom from intermittent diseases, nutritional security  ¦ Management of any identified disability Indicators  ¦Active participation in early childhood care and education activities.  ¦ Ability to narrate experience confidently  ¦Demonstration of curiosity  ¦Age-appropriate self-help social skills  ¦Age-appropriate height weight  ¦ Regular preschool attendance  ¦Nutrition adequacy, including  exclusive breast-feeding  ¦ Responsive complementary feeding, quality of mother/caregiver-child interaction  ¦Immunization, management of diarrhea and other illnesses  ¦Health and hygiene practices  ¦Sensory motor and language stimulation and opportunities for play and exploration  ¦ Cultural attitudes and stereotypes Determinants  ¦Quality early childhood care and education.  ¦Basic healthcare services including disability screening  ¦Nutrition adequacy and incidence of intermittent diseases  ¦Literacy level of parents, educational environment at home Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 5 Early Childhood Care and Education Determinants.  ¦ Early childhood care and education experience/ school readiness  ¦Access to schooling  ¦Nutritional adequacy  ¦Quality of school  ¦Socio-cultural factors – extent of inclusion (gender, tribe, caste, etc. )  ¦Early detection of learning disabilities  ¦Social norm, role models and supportive home environment  ¦Safe water and sanitation, incidence of infestation and infection affecting regular attendance  ¦Female teachers Six to eight years Outcomes  ¦Sociability, selfconfidence/ selfesteem  ¦Ability to read and write, with a continued interest in learning  ¦Freedom from anemia and intermittent diseases Indicators  ¦ Demonstration of  competencies for Class 2 by end of age 8  ¦Regular attendance  ¦No worm infestation or anemia Determinants  ¦Quality of school  ¦Socio-cultural factors – inclusion (gender, tribe, caste), social norm  ¦Health promoting school  ¦Early detection of learning disabilities  ¦Infestation and infection occurrence, nutritional levels, particularly in girls  ¦Supportive home environment, community Eight to twelve + years Outcomes  ¦Successful completion of primary school with appropriate literacy and numeracy skills  ¦Active learning capacity  ¦Good health, nutrition  ¦Positive self-image  ¦Coping and social skills Indicators  ¦Regular school attendance.  ¦Eagerness to learn  ¦Sociability, activeness  ¦Demonstration of competencies for Class 5 at end of age 11  ¦Motivation and confidence to continue education Source: World Bank, 2004, pp. 12. It is now being increasingly realized that the ECCE stage itself has within it more than two distinct sub-stages, each with the first sub-stage of prenatal to three years, the developmental priority is ensuring health and nutritional wellbeing its own developmental priorities (See Figure 2. 1). ECCE can thus be further classified into the sub-stages of (a) prenatal to two and a half to three years; of the mother and child, since this is the  vulnerable stage for growth faltering and is also critical for brain development. This stage requires more of home- (b) 3- 4 years and (c) 4 to 5/6 years. For targeted 6 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment parent counseling in nutrition Early Childhood Care and Education and health education and in ‘early psychosocial stimulation’. For the 3-4 years olds, the priority shifts to early learning and all round development include the more structured school readiness elements. Within this integrated framework, this paper focuses especially on the latter two sub- through a more organized center-based ECCE program, using the play way  method. For the 4-6 years olds, this program gets further expanded to stages within Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), i. e. for the 3-6 years olds. Graph 2. 1 Child Development Index 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 CDI- 1993 CDI 1999 Kerala Gujarat HP Haryana Punjab Orissa UP MP Bihar 0 CDI 2006 Graph 2. 1 shows that although almost all states showed improvements in child development related parameters, the improvements varied. The states, which had already reached higher levels of child development, improved marginally, while states with very low base indicators improved faster – like Bihar and UP. However, Bihar, UP, Rajasthan and MP continue to be below the all India average figures. These states are the laggard states in terms of child development and need more focused approach to develop child related outcomes. For that, it is also important to address their provision needs, as well as the socio-economic barriers to improve child development. Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 7 Early Childhood Care and Education Graph 2. 2 Comparative difference in CDIs using immunization Vs malnutrition indicators (2004-06) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10  4 indicator CDI Nagaland JK Arunachal Rajasthan Assam Manipur Bihar Uttarakhand MP Mizoram Tripura Sikkim Meghalaya Punjab All-India AP UP Orissa Delhi Chattisgarh Goa West Bengal Karnataka Gujarat Haryana Maharashtra Kerala Jharkhand TN HP 0 5 indicator CDI However, if malnutrition indicators are taken into consideration in the CDI instead of immunization, the profile in terms of absolute CDI values changes. Interestingly, this shift is more significant in the case of states which are at the higher end, for example, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala (Graph 2. 2). Possibly, with better governance, literacy levels etc, these states demonstrate higher CDI levels when education and immunization indicators are included since both and related to the quality of service delivery. However, when impact in terms of child development outcomes are included (e. g. , underweight and stunted children), the inter-state variations get narrowed down. With states like Tamil Nadu, which have a history of effective feeding programs, the deterioration in CDI values indicated in Graph 2. 2 may well raise the question â€Å"Is feeding enough to address malnutrition in children? 8 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Early Childhood Care and Education SECTION III ECCE –AN EQUITY ISSUE ECCE is now emerging as a significant equity issue in the Indian context. largely an outcome of a rapid expansion of private facilities, particularly in the Despite significant expansion of the ICDS program from the eighth plan onwards, the recent NFHS-3 data shows that the status of children in the urban sector. On the other, children from the lower socio-economic strata, whose need is perhaps greater due to impoverish.

Habits Of Highly Effective People Philosophy Essay

Habits Of Highly Effective People Philosophy Essay Reading this inspiring book I have discovered that to achieve the highest level of self-discipline we need to have 7 habits. By saying habits it means these 7 behaviours pattern must form our everyday pattern of behaviour no exception. This book has opened my eyes on some fundamental facts or habits that shall make me a successful person and achieve high personal achievement. Be more confident on taking decisions and reflect on my strength and weaknesses. The book talks about habits that most effective have them and that made them successful. He said that we make habits and then habits make. We are what we repeatedly do. (Aristotle) Ashe is talking about leadership he mentioned that leadership precedes management. The difference between management and leadership is that management is formal authority while leadership is Moral Authority. Overall the book was interesting and I would like to comment on the main topics covered in the book. The Maturity Continuum is in three steps Dependence This is personal achievement Habits 1, 2, 3 Interdependence This is public achievement-Habits 4, 5, 6 Interdependence-Habit 7 In maturity continuum at dependence stage it is YOU, in independence stage it is I and in interdependence stage it is WE. These are the stages of perfection and optimization that a successful leader should achieve. Habit1. Be Proactive In habit 1 the author is suggesting that one shall be proactive and not reactive. He introduced 3 values in life: the experiential which comes through experiments, creative which come by our creation attitudinal which reflects our response to different situations. By being proactive I can read the surroundings and react upon things by facing the facts but with our own power and control we can response positively. I liked the way he talks about using our energy and power of influence in the right circle. He calls it the circle of influence and the circle of interest. In the circle of influence we have the power to change things but in the circle of interest we may not have the power of change, by concentrating on circle of interest we are just losing our power without we can make any changes; this is not the case if we concentrate on our circle of influence. In proactive approach we make mistakes, acknowledge and correct them. Being in our influence circle is all about proactive. Human Endowments Exercise human endowments imagination and conscience keep promise start small start with yourself never promise too big and deliver too low strong independent will is much inner power swim upstream Become transitional Stop transmitting negative actions of others Be true proactive , not reactive Influence others by my behaviour Make a space between Stimulant and Response so there is a gap for thinking Have principles We have the freedom of choice so we are responsible on our actions Paradigms I take responsibility of my action and choice I am capable of expanding my freedom and influence by proactive behaviour Having the above traits, the process Any reactive tendency I have , I change it to proactive I increase my circle of influence To become transition person so I benefit and others Exercise human endowments mentioned up Habit2. Begin With the End in Mind Focussing on goals is what we always need to do. Our personality has 3 different leadership qualities leadership management productivity Covey quotation in his book from Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis, management is doing things right, Leadership is doing the right things (1).This statement was so powerful and straight to the point which tells all about leadership in very simple and profound words. With the goal in mind we can design the start and focus on our goal and get the results we imagined. He suggests that we visualize things and focus on them so they interweave with our life experience. Things can go as we imagined because we put energy and focus on them and make things happen. I liked the author words mental creation precedes physical creation Effective people shape their own future Use whole brain (left and right) Have a personal mission statement, do incremental changes to the goal but dont change the core. Personal mission statement should answer the questions: What I am about? What do I leave behind? What characters Id like to emulate? What are the important I want? How I can use the right brain? And so on the list goes on. Benefits By doing this it encourages you to think deeply about your life, discover our inside thinking, expands perspective, visualise our goals desires and being the auto pilot to be on the right track. Refining By studying the lives of people we admire we can refine our mission statement Read poetry and inspiring literature Keep a list of trait s characters you like to develop Visualise what u want to be in 10, 20, 30 yrs. List the important things Testing mission values Timeless proven Represent the best inside me Inspire me the right direction Security and comfort to me approach and integrate the 4 basic human needs For example we should reflect upon Mahatma Ghandi mission of every day: I shall not fear any one on earth I shall fear only god I shall not bear ill toward any one I shall not submit to injustice from anyone I shall conquer untruth by truth And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering Process Create and apply daily living personal and organisational mission statement Envision the desired results and important values to guide activities. Anyone cannot do the right thing in one part of life while he is doing wrong things in any other parts, because life is one invisible whole (Ghandi) Summary of this part is: Choose a life centre Personal mission statement Habit3. Put First Things First So when you want to do something, plan, design and do it. By using calendar and notes list diaries we organise things and put priority on them .we cannot control time but we can manage our or organise ourselves to do tasks. The tasks can be classified in 3 different priorities: Urgent, Important, Not important. I Important and urgent II Important and not urgent III Urgent and not important IV Not urgent and not important We will make things bigger and bigger till it will dominate us and absorb our power by only focusing on Quadrant IQI in the table because it is urgent. The most important one is QII. Effective people are more interested in QII. They do not act in III and IV which are not important and stay in I and II but give more time to II and make I smaller Effective people do their time management by focusing on activities in QII because they are important and those activities have big impact in our life, so we must focus on them. Effective managers focus on results and not on methods so subordinates can choose the method and by this approach best results can be achieved because the subordinate have come up with their own visions or means to do it; it is their visions and not somebody elses. Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and he will become as he can and should be (1) We only need time management to organise ourselves to do tasks. Time management can be looked at from three different angles -we believe that we need more timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..but you have all the time is there -we believe that we can save timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..time is equally given to all and we have to spend it -we believe that we can manage timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. We can manage ourselves not time This simple comparison show how thinking has changed Old generation new generation Efficiency effectiveness Practices principles Management Leadership Schedule Relationship Urgent things First Things In control Illusion In Alignment I liked the way the author talked about building emotion bank account. It is a brilliant idea to gauge our account statement and see where the pluses and minuses, i.e. the deposit and withdrawal. He said that to build emotion account we basically have six major deposits, when we do negative things we withdraw from the account and when we do positive things we deposit the account. These deposits and withdrawal are our actions. Examples of deposits that we can make are by: 1. I see what is important for the other person and make it important to me also 2. I attend to small things that are seeing big things to the other to strengthen the relations 3. I keep promise, by not committing to fulfil; it is a big withdraw 4. I must clarify expectations. The author says this is the most damaging part of relations. Explain the role, term and goal. By clearing this upfront, it will save much of time and effort later. 5. I show personal humour and integrity. Be consistent when dealing with groups or individuals. The author says that you must remember how you treat one is how you treat the all others because all is the sum of ones 6. I should apologize when do mistake sincerely and it will be deposit. Priorities The most important things should come first before the less important Improve product/product capacity balance within my circle of influence I fulfil my mission by acting on important Goals in my key roles. Process Focus on important things and NO to unimportant things. Focus on QII activities and gradually Q1 activities will be covered or merged in QII, QIII and QIV will go away. Habit4. Think Win-Win Human relations based on one of these transactions: Win-Win both mutual benefit Win-Lose it is competition if I win you must lose and the relation is authoritarian Lose-Win the leadership is permissive Lose-lose when people try to make others lose even if they lose Win Win-Win or No Deal Win-Win both parties are winners or no deal and no loser. This is the beginning of relations and if no benefit then not a deal once in relation after some time the parties move to Win-Win if they have built the trust. Four dimension of Win-Win: Character: integrity, maturity, abundance mentality Relationships: demonstrate honesty, loyalty Believe in the best of others, clear expectation, accurate in time and honest in communications, treat others with respect and respond to their needs, focus on positive and use feedback for improvements. Agreements: desire results, guidelines, resources, accountability , consequences- achieve win-win or not Systems Processes Persist on looking for win-win results despite the past win-lose condition. Principles Effective long term relationship require mutual benefit I seek the benefit of others as well as my own I get better results by cooperating interdependently that by competing independently Win-Win relations should be focused on win-win with trust. Performance agreement will define the relation and it will be from vertical to horizontal where partnership or team work. the agreement set standards where people measure their performance: define the results, parameters Resources-human, financial, organisation support Accountability the time and standards Consequences what will happen Reward is very important system in Win-Win. If reward is used in win-lose, the system will have negative effect. If rewarded few in the Win-Win system, others are losers .Best is to set individual goals within the overall win goals so all can get rewarded. In competitive market win-win situation should be existed to make win-win to all participants but lack of confidence and trust is the main culprit. Win-Win is a third alternative, it is not my not your way but it is a better way. Habit5. First Understand, then be understood The beauty of this part lies in the art of listening. Which is very important element in gaining the hearts of the others and I believe it is on the top list of communications skills. We tend to prescribe things before listening deeply to the problem and diagnose what is needed. Be a good listener is a key to success. We listen not just for listening but to deeply understand the other party frame of reference and feelings. Listen with ears eyes and heart. Diagnose before prescribe things is not a professional approach. Understand what the customer needs is and give solutions. Amateur salesperson sells product BUT professional salesperson sales SOLUTIONS. Listen not by mouth. Listen to give answer. Listen with ears eyes heart In 75% of waking life, we learn reading, writing, speaking and listening.40% is listening alone. Every hour of understanding save 10/20/50 hours of problem solving arise from not understanding. Empathy listening is the key to the art of listening. Words we say represent 7%, nonverbal body language is 38%, the way we say words (emphasis) and sounds we make is 55% of the speech. So communication is seeing and feelings. It is mainly attitude and partly skills. The one who listens does most of the work not the one who speaks. Everyone is single and unique who will listen then? It is said that walls have ears. However some ears have walls. These words were very powerful on me and I have reflected upon them for a while. They are so true and profound and full of wisdom. Habit6. Synergise Simply it means all or total is greater than the sum of the parts or ones. Its value comes from valuing each other competencies and differences respect them and try to complement each other hence we get the complete picture which individually cannot be completed because o these differences and weaknesses. Cooperation builds trust and needs to interweave with each other. By having synergy mission it will be part of every body mind and heart and not individual concern when it is made by others. Ground rules for synergy try to adopt win-win way of thinking and mentality keep your heart, mind open to new alternatives and possibilities appreciate and respect value others opinions, views, and solutions The third alternative Negotiate and communicate till find a solution that we all feel good about It is not my way nor your way it sis the a better way We both can be right but we dont agree I must listen and if I dont agree I say: this is how I see it, not you are wrong Humility-I have my own experience though a life trials and errors. Take the others experience that took them a lifetime of understanding as a gift given to you for free. The main drive for synergetic approach is answering the question: Would you be willing to explore a solution which might be better than what we suggest? The principles of synergy are: Valuing differences of others and looking for a third alternative Doing work together takes time but produce better long term results Human problems can be solved by using habits 4, 5, 6, Habit7. Sharpen the Saw The principles of balance self-renewal You should work in a proactive way as mentioned before in the QII quadrant to refresh the dimension of ourselves physically, mentally, spiritually and socially. Live-Physical, basic wealth Lovesocial LearnMental Leave a legacyspiritual These when integrated they produce Fire Within Four dimensions of renewal Physical This is concerned about physical wellbeing by good eating and having good sleep and relaxation with exercise, stress management, sleep and rest, regular medical check-ups healthy habits and lifestyle. Spiritual Is inside us and it is a self-monitoring commitment to our values and it drives us by giving inspiration and uplifting to deal with human beings Create mission, review and refine Watch nature and reflect Study literature of great people Appreciate music and art Religious worship, yoga and meditation Mental dimension Keep the mind always fresh and sharp- with all the knowledge by reading writing planning and open mind to others to get new ideas. Read and read and read he says 12 books a year. Most professions have half-life of 4 years. Solve puzzles, play mental games, continue education, listen to music, be aware of TV it can be an open sewer into your home. These are the suggestions of the author and I completely agree with him. Social/emotional It is showing by our interactions with others and how we focus on them. Keep family relations, keep old friendship and find new friends, keep good relations and repair damage, value differences and look for synergy, take holiday and celebrate, take each family member in a date, write letters to family and friends. The four dimensions have to be refreshed and renewed together and if one is not looked after then the whole is affected. The process of synergising Apply Win-Win way of thinking-habit 4 Listen with empathy-habit 5 Seek synergic outcome- habit 6 Then use the synergy rules to find the third alternative Life changes continuously, keep core intact and deal with changes. Your centre is a source of security, guidance, wisdom and power. The real improvement is by renewal of all the four dimensions, physical, social. Set goals and work to achieve those dimensions renewal goals. The process is achieved by constantly developing and renewing of these personal dimensions (resources) to achieve better personal (product) and balance. Some quotes; Strength lies in differences, not in similarities The key of objectivity is to accept subjectivity I dont see the worlds as it is, I see is as I am The enemy of the Best is the good unknown. 7. Sharpen the Saw Be proactive and accepts risk to take new challenge Begin with the end in mind share team vision and mission First things are the things that are most important, they come first Think win-win increase group momentum and bring effective solutions to conflicts Seek understand first so u be understood and successfully resolve problems Synergy by engaging everybody can get better results and complement each other Renew and refresh your four personal dimensions continuously to protect them from burn-out Final Quotes: Become my leader although I a m your boss Production is golden egg, capability is goose