Key Performance Indicators For County Police Department

What are some key performance indicators for the County Police Department that the County Manager may want to monitor through CountyStat? The Allegheny County Police Department has stakeholders -- the citizens of the County, municipal police departments, the County Council, and the local justice system -- and all have interest in a police department runs efficiently and effectively. The County Manager’s office should choose key performance indicators (KPIs) that are relatively standard across police reporting, easily understood by the public and other stakeholders, and reflective of the quality of department performance, not just outside influence. The US Department of Justice (USDOJ) Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) has published best practices on effective performance measures for law enforcement. I recommend using these KPIs as baseline indicators. The USDOJ identified several dimensions of police operations to serve as KPIs including crime rate, crime resolution rate, safety in personal and public spaces, effective, efficient and fair use of resources, and community and customer service. The crime rate is the most often discussed KPI in policing and, based on the included County Police Management Report, one that is already being tracked by the department. The recommended KPIs around crime resolution rate and safety in public and personal spaces are also very crime data specific and are already being tracked through the County Police Management Report. IShow MoreRelatedCurrent Environment : Key Statistics And Performance Metrics1670 Words   |  7 Pagessystems, as well as the Police Department’s CAD enterprise software systems. 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Best Snacks Generic Benchmark Worksheet Free Essays

Instructions for Task A: In the Response row, write out the problem/opportunity statements for the scenario for each of the team members. | Response to Task A: Teresa: Best Snacks, Inc. is hesitant to move away from their standard research, development and marketing activities, though their market share in the snack market is slipping. We will write a custom essay sample on Best Snacks Generic Benchmark Worksheet or any similar topic only for you Order Now Over two years the company’s sales, market share and stocks have decreased and without innovation of their products and services they could lose their standing as a major player in the industry. John: Best Snacks seems to have a disconnect between the employees and their managers. The employees have ideas that could be beneficial to the organization that management is brushing aside, as is shown in the surveys. If a new innovative approach to how business is done internal is not provided, then there could be bigger issues down the road. Kicia: In the past two years, sales have dropped drastically, the market shares have decreased and stock market prices are spiraling down. The vice president of organizational development, Sabrina McKay is a valuable asset with exceptional expertise that involves several organizational development initiatives.However, because of the severity of Best Snacks issues, the company is forced to evaluate what the employees like and dislike competing with success. Ed: Best Snacks, Inc. is in danger of losing its long-held premier market share along with a reduction in sales and stock prices. Best Snacks will need to address management practices and organizational culture because they have not had any product or service innovations in five years. | Generic Benchmarking—The purpose of generic benchmarking is to identify potential solutions to the problem statements defined in Task A.You will do this by looking at how companies in other industries have dealt with similar issues. | Task B1: Generic Benchmarking: Topics| Instructions for Task B1: In the Response row, identify the topics for which you need information in order to identify potential solutions to the problems identified in Task A. * In the Response row, list three to five topics that you will research in peer-reviewed journals, on Web sites, and in popular publications such as magazines and newspapers. In the Response row, provide a justification for each topic. | Response to Task B1: Business Model Change – Supply Chain: Supply chain is the second element of innovation business model change and is how the value is created and delivered to the market. This type of business model change is generally behind the scenes, not noticeable by the customer and affects the value chain, including the way an organization organizes, partners, and operates to produce and deliver their products and services (Davila, Epstein, Shelton,  2006, p. 3). This topic is relevant to Best Snacks has to develop innovation in their products and services and a crucial part of new innovation is how the organization will deliver their product or service to the customer. Technology Innovation: Sometimes new technologies are a major part of an innovation, and they stand out and garner significant attention. Other times, the new technologies are hidden out of sight and can only be seen by the technical people servicing them.Either way, technology change can fuel innovations in three distinct ways; Product and service offerings, Process technologies, and Enabling technologies (Davila, Epstein, Shelton,  2006, p. 35). This topic is relevant to Best Snacks because with Technology Innovation, one of the three distinct ways; product and service offerings, is one of several goals CEO Elizabeth Fairchild is trying to accomplish. A change to a product or service that a company offers in the marketplace or the introduction of an entirely new product or service will pull Best Snacks out of their five year stagnation.Semi-Radical Innovation: A semi-radical innovation can provide crucial changes to the competitive environment that an incremental innovation cannot (Davila, Epstein, Shelton,  2006, p. 47). Any semi-radical change in either the business model or technology always requires some degree of change in the other; however, the change in one element is much larger and more important to the success of the innovation than the other (Davila, Epstein, Shelton,  2006, p. 49). This is a relevant topic because Best Snacks needs to make crucial changes to how it is operating compared to its competitors. By making changes to the already existing formula and improving upon it, they can exploit what works and change what does not. Rewarding Innovation: Incentives and rewards are some of the most powerful management tools available to organizations. Rewards are a way to motivate innovation within an organization (Davila, Epstein, Shelton,  2006, p. 179). Formal reward systems are well-suited for incremental innovation, such as increasing the efficiency of a manufacturing plant or improving quality through quality circles (Davila, Epstien, Shelton, p. 182 2006).This topic is applicatory to Best Snacks because in the organizational innovation survey depicts a high percentage of employees believe that they can contribute to the innovation at Best Snacks, but motivation from management would be required. The survey also shows that employees are dissatisfied with the organizations lack of abiding by their own Performance Management Policies and Practices. | Task B2: Generic Benchmarking: Companies| Instructions for Task B2: In the Response row, identify companies that have faced and addressed similar situations (successfully and unsuccessfully). In the Response row, list two to three companies for each topic identified in Task B1. * In the Response row, identify those that have been successful and those that have been unsuccessful. * In the Response row, summarize your key findings for each company as they relate to the scenario. | Response to Task B2: Business Model Change Supply Chain:Facebook – by John Dunbar: SuccessfulBest Snacks can take away that fact that by changing the supply for the demand can pay off in the end, if done in a creative and new way.Facebook started as an exclusive site, and then slowly opened up to non-college students over the course of many years. Best Snacks could take a similar approach to gain the â€Å"awe† factor with the release of new products, starting with exclusive products and then making them more open to the public as time goes by. This will draw a sense of want from those who cannot have. The same type of thing could be done to help improve the manager’s take on employee ideas. If a system is created where managers have to be accepted into a â€Å"club† to receive some kind of reward, then they may be more apt to listen to student ideas.In this case perhaps only one manager with the best employee idea is chosen the first year. Then perhaps two managers are chosen the next year. Dell, Inc. – by Teresa Hollmann: SuccessfulBest Snacks, Inc. can learn from Dell’s change in supply chain direction for the better of the organization. When Dell began their build-to-order model no one believed it would work for the organization, but they were successful for years with the model. When Dell realized that their current model was no longer working, they had to develop a new creative way to deliver a cost-effective product that their customers wanted.To develop new innovative ideas for their product and services Best Snacks can evaluate their current supply chain model and make changes that best suit their organization. Nokia – by Kicia Robinson: SuccessfulBest Snacks sales have been slipping, market share has decreased and in the past two years, stock prices have taken a dive. Best Snacks CEO Elizabeth Fairchild wants to initiate a corporate cultural change program designed to increase employees’ creative thinking skills (University of Phoenix, 2010). If Elizabeth Fairchild can develop this same concept of connecting employees to what matters as one of the several goals for the program she is trying to implement and include clear definitions about what organizational strategies would best fit Best Snacks, the company may be well on their way to success once again. Wal-Mart – by Ed Thaxton: SuccessfulBest Snacks should emulate Wal-Mart’s relationship with their vendors and live up to their own mission of developing strong partnerships with retailers and distributors, and provide competitively priced products (University of Phoenix, 2010).Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailing companies in the world. Wal-Mart operated more than 3,500 discount stores, Sam’s Clubs and Supercenters in the United States and more than 1,170 stores in all major countries across the world. Wal-Mart achieved leadership status in the retail industry because of its efficient supply chain management practices. Supply chain management is moving the right items to the right customer at the right time by the most efficient means. No one does that well than Wal-Mart (ICMR, 2010). Just like Wal-Mart, Best Snacks fully understands that customers are more likely to buy a product based on price than brand loyalty, and with so many options, differentiation between competitors is eroding (University of Phoenix, 2010). Technology Innovation:Hasbro – by John Dunbar: SuccessfulBest Snacks has the opportunity to learn that doing something no other company in the same industry has can put you over the top. Hasbro chose to find a way to promote itself and its products 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Best Snacks is slipping in the standings of the public and needs to find away to promote itself in positive manner.By taking an approach similar to Hasbro, perhaps they could partner with a TV station that is geared toward their products and promotes their products in a new light. Apple, Inc. – by Teresa Hollmann: SuccessfulBest Snacks, Inc. can learn from Apple’s successful technology innovation in not only their product development, but also how they approach innovation as a company. Technology innovation is not just about developing a technology to sell to consumers but can be internally developed technologies to make the organizational operations more efficient and effective.Technology innovation in operating systems or manufacturing processes could assist Best Snacks in developing innovative and creative products and services for their customers helping them regain their market share. Barnes Nobel – by Kicia Robinson: SuccessfulJust as Barnes Noble introduced new technology and gained substantial market share in more than one-year by leveraging technology, this benchmarking strategy could prove to be a good move for Best Snacks because CEO Elizabeth Fairchild also wants to see initial results within 12 months.Sometimes new technologies are a major part of an innovation. Technology change can fuel inn ovations in three distinct ways: Product and services offerings, process technologies, enabling technologies (Davila, Epstein, Shelton, 2006), because Best Snacks has not had any new product or service innovations in the past five years, this would be a positive move for Best Snacks. Bloom Energy – by Ed Thaxton: SuccessfulElizabeth Fairchild, CEO of Best Snacks states, â€Å"innovation was our lifeblood, and it involved everyone in the company. From what I’ve seen here, not many people seem to understand the importance of innovation. Worse, they seem to have forgotten how to develop and implement creative ideas† (University of Phoenix, 2010, p. 3). Best Snacks can imitate Bloom Energy by using technology to improve the delivery system of products from around the world the same way Bloom Energy is creating a paradigm shift in the way energy is used. That type of technological innovation can assist Best Snacks to maintain their market share percentage. Semi-Radical Innovation:Microsoft, Inc. by John Dunbar: SuccessfulBest Snacks has the opportunity to learn that substantial changes can lead to success. Microsoft chose to make a substantial change to how a player plays a video game, by eliminating the controller altogether and making the user the controller. If Best Snacks wants to make an impact with how its managers view employee ideas, then a substantial change to the management culture will need to be made. If Best Snacks wants to get out of its slump and become number one again in the eyes of the consumer, it will need to make a substantial change to its product line.Technicolor, Inc. – by Teresa Hollmann: SuccessfulBest Snacks can learn from Technicolor’s semi-radical innovation of the mp3HD format. Technicolor’s part of the MP3 player development consortium provided them with an opportunity to modify their business model and technologies. Like Technicolor, Best Snacks can use semi-radical innovation in modifying their business model to develop an innovative model to help them in regaining market share. More than a decade after development of the MP3 player Technicolor is still using the semi-radical technology to innovate their technologies and business model.Toyota – by Kicia Robinson: SuccessfulBecause CEO Elizabeth Fairchild wants to see initial results within 12 months, taking the semi-radical approach can provide crucial changes to the competitive environment that an incremental approach cannot. Best Snacks has traditionally held the number one or two positions in the snack market. Due to sales slipping, and decreasing shares the company will finish a very weak second, and with several smaller competitors emerging as major players in the snack industry, Best Snacks should take a semi-radical approach just as Toyota did with the innovation of environmental vehicles.Sony – by Ed Thaxton: SuccessfulBest Snacks must improve the culture of the organization and encourage the free flowing creativity and innovation. â€Å"Sony, and others have shown making important cha nges to key parts of the dominant business model or the essential technology can redirect the competitive vectors of an entire industry (Davila, Epstein, Shelton, 2006). Innovation projects that range between incremental and radical innovation are more likely to succeed, making such projects more acceptable to risk-adverse executives and managers. With Best Snacks having an issue with introducing new products, and expecting improvement within 12 months. Best Snacks should implement Sony’s policy of â€Å"self-promotion† allows Sony engineers, without notifying their supervisors, to seek out projects anywhere in the company where they feel they can make a contribution. Rewarding Innovation:Samsung – by John Dunbar: SuccessfulBest Snacks has the opportunity to learn that money is not always the way to more creativity and innovation, sometimes recognition and a sense of pride work just fine.By creating a research and development lab for employees to flesh out worthy ideas and innovations, the company will be providing a culture of creativity. These employees would have a place to go and see their ideas realized and gain the opportunity to showcase their strengths, making a solid impression on management and corporate. Boeing – by Teresa Hollmann: SuccessfulIn the organization innovation survey conducte d at Best Snacks shows that employees believe an incentive program within the organization would help boost creativity and innovation.Boeing chose monetary incentives for their employee rewards program, but money is not the only option available to Best Snacks to reward their employees for creative or innovative ideas. Best Snacks could offer paid time off, extra monetary rewards, or employee recognition. Whatever Best Snacks chooses as incentives for their employees this method could provide valuable input from employees who could create the next innovative idea for the organization that help them regain their market share.Starbucks Coffee– by Kicia Robinson: SuccessfulCEO Elizabeth Fairchild wants to initiate a corporate cultural change program designed to increase employees’ creative thinking skills, which is not a bad idea. Best Snacks organization innovation survey shows that employees have strayed away from tried-and-true research, development, and marketing activities. If Best Snacks can incorporate some of the ideas Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz has outlined â€Å"Employee First Philosophy† then this may prove to be a win-win situation for the company while relaxing the employee climate about risk-taking.Google – by Ed Thaxton: SuccessfulBest Snacks should im itate the philosophy of Google by instilling the principle to put employees first by providing a unique environment to work around. Google, Inc. allows employees to spend 20% of their time to work on their own project, independent of their workgroup. Google, Inc. believes that no one should leave to pursue their personal passions. Letting employees do this results in over 20% of product launches stemming from these personal projects.Based upon the Best Snacks organizational survey, the employees do not believe that they are being rewarded for making suggestions or changes; they do not believe there is time to work on new ideas and do not believe supervisors are interested in new ideas. If Best Snacks address those issues and can emulate the environment of Google they can also achieve the goal of becoming Fortune magazine’s â€Å"100 Best Companies to Work For. † | Task B3: Generic Benchmarking: References| Instructions for Task B3: In the Response column, list each reference using APA format. Response to Task B3: Refer to pg. 32| Individual Contributions Facebook – by John Dunbar: Successful Facebook found that its original formula of only allowing college students the exclusive use of its social networking site was not allowing much change. In 2005, the company made the decided to expand who could join; this meant high school students have access to the site (Charlie,  2010). Facebook disregarded initial uproar from those who wanted the site to stay exclusive, but their disregard did not many to leave.Facebook realized that to keep up with demand, then supply in terms of access to the site would need to increase. Rather doing everything at once, the innovative part was that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder, decided to make the site more accessible over the course of a few years. This caused a sense of entitlement for those who joined the site as they were allowed to at different times. It also caused an excitement that was not seen before from a social networking site, as past sites had allowed anyone and everyone to join.Best Snacks can take away that fact that by changing the supply for the demand can pay off in the end, if done in a creative and new way. Facebook started as an exclusive site, and then slowly opened up to non-college students over the course of many years. Best Snacks could take a similar approach to gain the â€Å"awe† factor with the release of new products, starting with exclusive products and then making them more open to the public as time goes by. This will draw a sense of want from those who cannot have.The same type of thing could be done to help improve the manager’s take on employee ideas. If a system is created where managers have to be accepted into a â€Å"club† to receive some kind of reward, then they may be more apt to listen to student ideas. In this case perhaps only one manager with the best employee idea is chosen the first year and perhaps two managers are chosen the next year. Hasbro – by John Dunbar: Successful What better way to promote your own toy company then by joining forces with a TV company and creating a TV channel that promotes the toys nd games your company makes. In 2010 Hasbro launched the HUB, the Hasbro and Discovery Channel joint venture that introduces families and their children to cartoons and puppet shows of the past, popular boards games by way of life, game shows, and to new cartoons with familiar characters (â€Å"The Hub to Host Original Mini-Series Event Showcasing ‘Transformers: Prime’. â€Å", 2010). Hasbro took technology innovation to a different level by joining with Discover to create the HUB.The HUB allows for the company to touch the market as a more family friendly toy company during the day, a more collector-oriented toy company in the late hours, and an all a round company at primetime (â€Å"The Hub to Host Original Mini-Series Event Showcasing ‘Transformers: Prime’. â€Å", 2010). They also get to reintroduce characters through old shows, and reinterpret them in new ones with the same title. They have a found way, through TV that allows them to promote their company and products in a way no other toy company has before.Best Snacks has the opportunity to learn that doing something no other company in your industry has can put you over the top. Hasbro chose to find a way to promote itself and its products 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Best Snacks is slipping in the standings of the public and needs to find away to promote itself in positive manner. By taking an approach similar to Hasbro, perhaps they could partner with a TV station that is geared toward their products and promotes their products in a new light. Microsoft, Inc. – by John Dunbar: Successful Microsoft has recently-released it’s more impressive innovation in years, the Kinect.The Kinect is a semi-radical innovation of a controller, in that it allows one to play games without a controller as you are the controller. The sensor converts your movements into game movements and allows you to do something in real life then put that into the game, like drawing a picture and seeing that exact picture in the game (Microsoft, 2010). Where the Wii and PS3 have taken the route of using motion controllers, Microsoft saw the controller as a hindrance to many and eliminated it completely, allowing the user to play the games without restriction if he or she chooses.By thinking outside the box, Microsoft surely has a hit on its hands, as this is something consumers and gamers have never experienced before. Best Snacks has the opportunity to learn that substantial changes can lead to success. Microsoft chose to make a substantial change to how a pl ayer plays a video game, by eliminating the controller altogether and making the user the controller. If Best Snacks wants to make an impact with how its managers view employee ideas, then a substantial change to the management culture will need to be made.If Best Snacks wants to get out of its slump and become number one again in the eyes of the consumer, it will need to make a substantial change to its product line. Samsung – by John Dunbar: Successful Samsung takes an innovative and interesting approach for rewarding for innovation. Those employees who are creative and innovative get the opportunity to assemble a group and flesh out their ideas into solid prototypes and even finished products in what is called the Value Innovation Program, or VIP (Bloomberg, 2006).This VIP is a place for employees to go and spend as much time as they need to get the idea to a finished point, by doing research, testing prototypes, and more. The facility contains 20 project rooms, 38 bedrooms, a gym, a kitchen, a recreation center, and 24hr access (Bloomberg, 2006). Employees who are the most innovative will be granted the time to go to these facilities, and it is seen as an honor to do so. It does not seem to be a case of increased pay as much as it is a sense pride and accomplishment to give the company continued success as well as gaining personal recognition.Best Snacks has the opportunity to learn that money is not always the way to more creativity and innovation, sometimes recognition and a sense of pride work just fine. By creating a research and development lab for employees to flesh out worthy ideas and innovations, the company will be providing a culture of creativity. These employees would have a place to go and see their ideas realized and gain the opportunity to showcase their strengths, making a solid impression on management and corporate. Dell, Inc. – by Teresa Hollmann: Successful For over a decade Dell, Inc. uccessfully used the build-to-order supply chain model for manufacturing of their computers. Michael Dell, CEO of Dell, Inc. believed that the direct-to-customer, build-to-order process would ultimately be more appealing to customers than just a generic computer system that may or may not meet their needs (Accenture, 2010). The build-to-order model and direct-to-customer business model allowed Dell to maintain low inventory levels in their manufacturing facility, more vendor managed inventories, and low capital investments for the company.In 2010 Dell, Inc. announced that their build-to-order process was no longer working; the operations and supply chain model had become too complex and pricey. Dell’s director of investor relations, Robert Williams stated that in the past the configure-to-order model had worked for the organization and was still a good model for custom configurations. But the model had become too costly and complex for significant portions of Dell’s consumer, and some portions of their commercial businesses (Chiappinelli, 2010). To replace the build-to-order model Dell has created a new strategy called Client Reinvention; a model in which the company will be ordering larger bulk shipments from their contract manufacturers, conducting strategic component buys, and use lower-cost shipping options (Chiappinelli, 2010). Best Snacks, Inc. can learn from Dell’s change in supply chain direction for the better of the organization. When Dell began their build-to-order model no one believed it would work for the organization, but they were successful for years with the model.When Dell realized that their current model was no longer working, they had to develop a new creative way to deliver a cost-effective product that their customers wanted. To develop new innovative ideas for their product and services Best Snacks can evaluate their current supply chain model and make changes that best suit their organization. Apple, Inc. – by Teresa Hollmann: Successful Apple, Inc. launched the iPad in 2010 their tablet computer specifically marketed as a platform for audio and visual media.The iPad is a multi-touch interface with interactive apps, in which Apple targeted a new group of users. The individual elements of iPad were not a superior innovation, but the combination won iPad an innovation of the year award in 2010. Unique features of the iPad include: * A touch screen with IPS technology (in-plane switching) and fingerprint-resistant oleo phobic coating * Apple A4 system-on-a-chip (powerful main IC) * Built-in apps that include mail, contacts, calendar, iPod, and notes * Bluetooth 2. 1 plus EDR technology and Wi-Fi connectivity * Safari web browser iBooks – a new app that allows the end user to buy and read a book on the iPad * Offered in three variants of flash memory capacity; 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB (My Digital Life, 2010). Apple, Inc. is continuously a leader in the innovation market, over the past decade the company has developed six product and service platforms that quadrupled their stock and developed a loyal following in niche markets (Anthony, 2010). With a niche market, a loyal following and revenues in the billions Apple continuously tops their last innovation with a new product that consumers just have to have.Steven Jobs, CEO focuses innovation on competitive pressures and value propositions; his management style focuses organizational energy on customer centered innovation and the customer experience (R3 Now, 2009). Best Snacks, Inc. can learn from Apple’s successful technology innovation in not only their product development, but also how they approach innovation as a company. Technology innovation is not just about developing a technology to sell to consumers but can be internally developed technologies to make the organizational operations more efficient and effective.Technology innovation in operating systems or manufacturing processes could assist Best Snacks in developing innovative and creative products and services for their customers helping them regain their market share. Technicolor, Inc. – by Teresa Hollmann: Successful The invention of MP3 audio files the consumer market needed a device in which to playback the files and in the late 1990s three organizations and a German university came together to develop the MP3 player. Thomson-Brandt now Technicolor, Inc. as part of the development consortium for the new device. In the co-development of the MP3 player Technicolor re-evaluated their business and technology models to determine in what direction they could take the business based on the new product. Because there was a consortium involved in the development of the player the organization made the business decision to license the MP3 player for new products and manufacturing companies worldwide. The development represented both new technology and a new business model for the organization. In 2009 Technicolor announced the latest addition to their MP3 family the mp3HD format that allows mathematically lossless compression of audio material while preserving backward compatibility to the mp3 standard. With the new development Technicolor can add more patents to their portfolio, which equates to additional licensing revenues for the organization. Content creators, the music industry and end users are now able to enjoy the ultimate audio quality experience with the same ease of use as the mp3 format.With the mp3HD format, the music industry can engage in user-friendly distribution of lossless music and audio files (Technicolor, 2009). Best Snacks can learn from Technicolor’s semi-radical innovation of the mp3HD format. Technicolor’s part of the MP3 player development consortium provided them with an opportunity to modify their business model and technologies. Like Technicolor, Best Snacks can use semi-radical innovation in modifying their business model to de velop an innovative model to help them in regaining market share. Boeing – by Teresa Hollmann: Successful Employee rewards are control mechanisms that directly impact the management function of leading. These methods offer a way for managers to increase productivity, encourage innovation, and instill shared beliefs and values for the company and its employees (Associated Content, 2010). Boeing offers several forms of rewards for their employees; EIP program that provides cash bonuses of between 1 and 20 days of additional pay to eligible employees if the company achieves their financial objectives (Boeing, 2010).Meeting annual operating plan target results in two weeks of extra pay, exceeding the target can earn up to four weeks of extra pay. In 2009 Boeing announced an incentive plan that would provide annual cash rewards to non-union employees upon the company’s achievement of annual financial performance objectives. A high-performance culture is critical to the future of Boeing and Boeing’s chairman and CEO, Phil Condit want s to create a company off innovators actively engaged in seeking customer-focused solutions to grow the business and boost economic profit (Market Wire, 2010).Boeing’s long-term success has been built on fully-engaged employees, enthusiastic customers and long-term shareholders. Offering monetary rewards for innovative ideas that help the organization grow is vital to Boeing’s continued success. In the organization innovation survey conducted at Best Snacks shows that employees believe an incentive program within the organization would help boost creativity and innovation. Boeing chose monetary incentives for their employee rewards program, but money is not the only option available to Best Snacks to reward their employees for creative or innovative ideas.Best Snacks could offer paid time off, extra monetary rewards, or employee recognition. Whatever Best Snacks chooses as incentives for their employees this method could provide valuable input from employees that could create the next innovative idea for the organization that help them regain their market share. Nokia– by Kicia Robinson: Successful Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries.The newly form ed Nokia Corporation was ideally positioned for a pioneering role in the early evolution of mobile communications. As European telecommunications markets were deregulated and mobile networks became global, Nokia led the way with some iconic products (Nokia, 2010). Recently, Nokia has â€Å"fundamentally† changed its business model as it encounters competition from PC makers and Internet software companies. Nokia, the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones, estimates its customer retention rate is about 55 percent, almost twice the rate of its global competitors (Bloomberg, 2010).Nokia’s CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said â€Å"The Company’s profitability and U. S. market share need improvement and he repeated guidance given last week that it is too early to say whether the market decline has hit bottom. † However, Nokia has introduced an Investment to integrate services with devices, which helped Nokia retain customers. The customer retention rate has â€Å"consistently increased† every quarter since the beginning of 2007, Kallasvuo said. The Nokia 5800 device has about 20 % of the global market for touch-screen smart phones, he said (Bloomberg, 2010).The company plans to extend its Smartphone line toward the middle of its price range to capture â€Å"trade-down† sales from customers looking to save money. Apple, Inc. has challenged Nokia in high-end smart phones and Google Inc. ’s Android software platform will compete with Symbian, which is supported by Nokia (Bloomberg, 2010). Nokia’s success has come from â€Å"Connecting people† to what matters – whatever that means for each person – giving them the power to make the most of every moment, everywhere, anytime. Connecting the â€Å"we† is more powerful than just the individual (Nokia, 2010).Best Snacks sales have been slipping, market share has decreased and in the past two years, stock prices have taken a dive. Best Snacks CEO Elizabeth Fairchild wants to initiate a corporate cultural change program designed to increase employees’ creative thinking skills (University of Phoenix, 2010). If Elizabeth Fairchild can develop this same concept of connecting employees to what matters as one of the several goals for the program she is trying to implement and include clear definitions of what organizational strategies would best fit Best Snacks, the company may be well on their way to success once again.Barnes Nobel – by Kicia Robinson: Successful Barnes Noble, Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is the world’s largest bookseller and the nation’s highest rated bookselling brand. The company is a leading content, commerce and technology company that provides customers easy and convenient access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of July 31, 2010, the company operates 717 retail bookstores in regional shopping malls, major strip centers and freestanding locations in 50 states, and 633 college bookstores serving nearly four million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States (Barnes Noble, Inc. 2010). The company announced NOOKdeveloper, is a program that enables content providers and the developer community to deliver new and innovative reading experiences using Barnes Noble’s open eReading platform.With the new program, Barnes ; Noble is inviting content providers and developers to create, market and sell content and applications that enrich, extend and expand reading for millions of Barnes ; Noble customers, beginning with the newly announced NOOKcolor, the first full-color touch Reader’s Tablet (Market Watch, 2010). Barnes Noble has quickly become a leader with its rapidly growing eBooks and eReading products, gaining substantial market share in mo re than one-year by leveraging technology and digital expertise combined with its nearly 40 years of bookselling experience.With the launch of NOOKdeveloper, Barnes Noble will offer content providers and application developers unprecedented access to unique merchandising opportunities to drive discovery and demand on Barnes Noble’s leading eReading devices, on BN. com, one of the world’s largest e-commerce Websites, and in store at more than 1,300 of the company’s Barnes ; Noble and Barnes ; Noble College bookstores across the country (Market Watch, Inc. 2010). Best Snacks has not had any new product or service innovations in the past five years.Previously successful marketing methods have been improved or extended and CEO, Elizabeth Fairchild is very much aware that Best Snacks is in danger of losing its long-held premier standing in the snack market (University of Phoenix, 2010). Just as Barnes ; Noble introduced new technology and gained substantial market share in just more than one-year by leveraging technology, this benchmarking strategy could prove to be a good move for Best Snacks because CEO Elizabeth Fairchild also wants to see initial results within 12 months. Sometimes new technologies are a major part of an innovation.Technology change can fuel innovations in three distinct ways: Product and services offerings, process technologies, enabling technologies (Davila, Epstein, ; Shelton, 2006), because Best Snacks has not had any new product or service innovations in the past five years, this would be a positive move for Best Snacks. Toyota – by Kicia Robinson: Successful Toyota is the seventh largest company in the world and the second largest manufacturer of automobiles with production facilities in 28 nations around the world — and the highest production facility of any non-domestic automaker in the United States (Toyota North America, Inc. 010). At the core of the company’s success is the Toyota Production System, which took shape in the years after the Second World War, when Japan was literally rebuilding itself, and capital equipment were hard to come by. A Toyota engineer named Taiichi Ohno turned necessity into virtue, coming up with a system to get as much as possible out of every part, every machine, and every worker. The principles were simple, even obvious—do away with waste, have parts arrive precisely when workers need them, fix problems as soon as they arise (Toyota North America, Inc. 010). Toyota has made some successful innovation marks in the automobile industry. Since its launch in 1997, the Prius has earned the love of millions of forward-thinking drivers and is paving the way for the next generation of environmental vehicles such as cars that will run solely on electricity, or consume hydrogen, and emit only water (Toyota North America, Inc. 2010). Toyota continues the use of a distinctive element approach defining innovation as a semi-radical process.Toyota also spends an average of nearly one million dollars an hour on R;D to develop the cars and technologies of the future – cars that deliver higher fuel economy with lower vehicle emissions. We will continue to invest in R;D, moving even closer to our vision of the ultimate eco-car (Toyota North America, Inc. 2010). Because CEO Elizabeth Fairchild wants to see initial results within 12 months, taking the semi-radical approach can provide crucial changes to the competitive environment that an incremental approach cannot.Best Snacks has traditionally held the number one or two positions in the snack market. However, due to sales slipping, and decreasing shares the company will finish a very weak second, and with several smaller competitors emerging as major players in the snack industry, Best Snacks should take a semi-radical approach just as Toyota did with the innovation of environmental vehicles. Starbucks Coffee– by Kicia Robinson: Successful Starbucks Coffee began in 1971with a single store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market.Starbucks has always believed-in serving the best coffee possible. It is their goal for all of their coffee to be grown under the highest standards of quality, using ethical trading, and responsible growing practices. The company’s coffee buyers personally travel to coffee farms in Latin America, Africa and Asia to select the highest quality Arabica Beans. Once these quality beans arrive at their roasting plants, Starbucks experts bring out the balance and rich flavor of the beans through the signature Starbucks Roast.Today Starbucks is privile ged to welcome millions of customers through their doors every day, in more than 16,000 locations in more than 50 countries (Starbucks Corporation, 2010). Starbucks Chairman and Visionary Howard Schultz believe in rewarding employees for innovation. In fact, he clearly says â€Å"We built the Starbucks brand first with our people, not with consumers. Because we believed the best way to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers was to hire and train great people, we invested in our employees.Innovation starts with employees and it is important that we understand that. Why not reward your employees for innovation† (Starbucks Corporation, 2010). Starbucks believes in hiring exceptional people willing to work for excellent results. In exchange, the company is committed to the development of good people by identifying, cultivating, training, rewarding and promoting those individuals committed to moving the company forward through innovation† (Starbucks Corporation, 2010).CEO Elizabeth Fairchild wants to initiate a corporate cultural change program designed to increase employees’ creative thinking skills, which is not a bad idea. Best Snacks organization innovation survey shows that employees have strayed away from tried-and-true research, development, and marketing activities. If Best Snacks can incorporate some of the ideas Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz has outlined â€Å"Employee First Philosophy† then this may prove to be a win-win situation for the company while relaxing the employee climate about risk-taking.Wal-Mart – by Ed Thaxton: Successful Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailing companies in the world. Wal-Mart operated more than 3,500 discount stores, Sam’s Clubs and Supercenters in the United States and more than 1,170 stores in all major countries across the world. The company also sold products on the Internet through its website, Walmart. com. The company’s founder Sam Walton had always focused on improving sales, constantly reducing costs, adopting efficient distribution and logistics management systems and using innovative information technology tools.Wal-Mart achieved a leadership status in the retail industry because of its efficient supply chain management practices. Supply chain management is moving the right items to the right customer at the right time by the most efficient means. No one does that better than Wal-Mart (ICMR, 2010). Just like Wal-Mart, Best Snacks fully understands that customers are more likely to buy a product based on price than brand loyalty, and with so many options, differentiation between competitors is eroding (University of Phoenix, 2010).Wal-Mart always emphasized the need to reduce its purchasing costs and offer the best price to its customers. The company procured goods directly from manufacturers, bypassing all intermediaries (ICMR, 2010). Wal-Mart has made important changes to its enabling information management technologies, with significant improvement in its ability to track and manage its partners, the supply chain, and finances (Davila, Epstein, Shelton, 2006). The second element of innovative business model change is the supply chain—how value is created and delivered to the market.This type of business model change affects steps along the value chain, including the way an entity organizes, partners, and operates to produce and deliver its products and services (Davila, Epstein, Shelton, 2006). As stated by Bruce Richmond of Andersen Consulting â€Å"This type of business model change affects steps along the value chain, including the way an entity organizes, partners, and operates to produce and deliver its products and services. † Wal-Mart spent a significant amount of time meeting vendors and under standing their cost structure.By making the process transparent, the retailer could be certain that the manufacturers were doing their best to cut down costs. Best Snacks should emulate Wal-Mart’s relationship with their vendors and live up to their own mission of developing strong partnerships with retailers and distributors, and provide competitively priced products (University of Phoenix, 2010). Bloom Energy – by Ed Thaxton: Successful Bloom Energy is changing the way the world generates and consumes energy.The company’s unique on-site power generation systems make good use of an innovative new fuel cell technology with roots in NASA’s Mars program. Derived from a common sand-like powder, and leveraging breakthrough advances in materials science, Bloom Energy’s technology can produce clean, reliable, affordable power, practically anywhere, from a wide range of renewable or traditional fuel sources, including natural gas, wind, solar, and biomass. Bloom Energy Serversâ„ ¢ are among the most efficient energy generators available, providing for significantly reduced electricity costs and dramatically l ower greenhouse gas emissions.By generating power on-site where it is consumed, Bloom Energy offers increased electrical reliability and improved energy security, providing a clear path to energy independence. Founded in 2001, Bloom Energy is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The technology stage is early in the lifecycle of an industry; technology innovation often dominates and is typically populated by startups (Davila, Epstein, Shelton, 2006). Bloom Energy can trace its roots to work performed at the University of Arizona as part of the NASA Mars space program. Dr. KR Sridhar and his team were charged with creating a technology that could sustain life on Mars.They built a device capable of producing air and fuel from electricity, and electricity from air and fuel. They soon realized that their technology could have an even greater impact here on Earth. Originally called Ion America, Bloom Energy, was founded with the mission to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone on earth. Over the next few years, the technology quickly developed from concept, to prototype, to product, as the major technological challenges were solved and the systems became more powerful, more efficient, more reliable, and more economical.In early 2006 Bloom shipped its first 5kW field trial unit to the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. After two years of successful field trials in Tennessee, California, and Alaska, to validate the technology, the first commercial (100kW) products were shipped to Google in July 2008. Since that time Bloom’s Energy Servers have helped our customers generate millions of kWhs of electricity and eliminate millions of pounds of CO2 from the environment. From humble beginnings on Mars, Bloom Energy is now changing the Earth for the better.Fuel cells are devices that convert fuel into electricity through a clean electro-chemical process rather than dirty combustion. They are similar to batteries except that they never lose power. Each Bloom Energy Server provides 100 kilowatts of power, enough to meet the base load needs of 100 average homes or a small office building — day and night, in roughly the footprint of a standard parking space. In addition, the modular system allows customers needing more power to add more energy servers.Customers generate their own electricity at a cost savings that typically translates to a three to five year payback on their investment. Because the company’s initial commercial installation in 2008, Bloom Energy has produced more than 11 million kilowatt hours for its customers and reduced their carbon footprints by more than 14 million pounds. That represents the equivalent of powering ~1,000 average United States homes for a year and planting ~1 million trees (Bloomenergy, 2010). As Elizabeth Fairchild states, â€Å"†¦innovation was our lifeblood, and it involved everyone in the company.From what I’ve seen here, not many people seem to understand the i mportance of innovation. Worse, they seem to have forgotten how to develop and implement creative ideas† (University of Phoenix, 2010, p. 3). Sony – by Ed Thaxton: Successful Sony is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its motion picture, television, computer entertainment, music and online businesses make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment and technology companies in the world.The co-developer of the CD, DVD, Super Audio CD and Blu-ray Disc, A leading recorded music company in the United States and worldwide, The developer, manufacturer, and marketer of PlayStation ®2 computer entertainment system, PSP ® (PlayStation ®Portable) handheld entertainment system, PlayStation ®3 (PS3 ®) system and the PlayStation ®Move motion controller. The inventor of a wide range of consumer audio-visual products, such as the BRAVIA ®TV, BRAVIA ® LCD TV, Cyber-shot ® digital camera, Ha ndycam ® camcorder, Walkman ® digital music player, Reader Digital Book, and Memory Stick ® flash media.Also an innovator in IT products, including VAIO ® personal computers, and professional products, highlighted by the XDCAM ® HD System, HDCAM ® 24-P, Digital Betacam ® and DVCAM ® VTR and camera formats (Sony, 2010). Achieving radical or semi-radical innovation requires a different mix of business model and technology change than incremental innovation (Davila, Epstein, Shelton, 2006). Product engineers at Sony turn out an average of four ideas for new products every day.Despite the fact that Sony is now a huge, diversified organization employing more than 115,000 employees worldwide, the company continues to lead the way in innovation in the consumer electronics industry. First, a policy of â€Å"self-promotion† allows Sony engineers, without notifying their supervisors, to seek out projects anywhere in the company where they believe they can make a contribution. Like many other large Japanese companies, Sony has a policy of lifetime employment, which makes it easy for its engineers to take risks with ideas and encourages the development of norms and values that support innovative efforts (Jones, 2004).Sony’s founder constantly challenged his engineers to do things that had never b een done before, such as new ways to create an image on a TV screen (the Trinitron tube) or very cheap video (the Betamax system). â€Å"Sony and others have shown making important changes to key parts of the dominant business model or the essential technology can redirect the competitive vectors of an entire industry (Davila, Epstein, Shelton, 2006). Innovation projects that range between incremental and radical innovation are more likely to succeed, making such projects more acceptable to risk-adverse executives and managers.Just as Sony is a leader in introducing semi-radical innovations, Best Snacks must improve the culture of the organization and encourage the free flowing creativity and innovation. Google – by Ed Thaxton: Successful Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin named the search engine they built â€Å"Google,† a play on the word â€Å"googol,† the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros. The name reflects the immense volume of information that exists, and the scope of Google’s mission: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.Of course, there is a large amount of information in the world that is not yet online, so we are also working to get more of it digitized, such as in Google Books or the Google News Archive. We also know that when ever you search the web you want it to be as fast as possible, with all your favorite websites at your fingertips, so we offer software like Google Toolbar and Google Chrome to help you browse the web quickly and easily. Though Google has grown significantly since opening in 1998, they still maintain a small company feel. At lunchtime, almost everyone eats in the office cafe, sitting at whatever table has an opening and enjoying conversations with Googlers from different teams. Our commitment to innovation depends on everyone being comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. Every employee is a hands-on contributor, and everyone wears several hats. Because we believe that each Googler is an equally important part of our success, no one hesitates to pose questions directly to Larry or Sergey in our weekly all-hands (â€Å"TGIF†) meetings – or spike volleyball across the net at a corporate officer.We are aggressively inclusive in our hiring, and we favor ability over experience. We have offices around the world and dozens of languages are spoken by Google staffers, from Turkish to Telugu. The result is a team that reflects the global audience Google serves. When not at work, Googlers pursue interests from cross-country cycling to wine tasting, from flying to frisbee. The corporate headquarters, fondly nicknamed the Googleplex, is in Mountain View, California. Though the offices are not identical, they tend to share some essential elements.Here are a few things you might see in a Google workspace: * Local expressions of each location, from a mural in Buenos Aires to ski gondolas in Zurich, showcasing each office’s region and personality. * Bicycles or scooters for efficient travel between meetings; dogs; lava lamps; massage chairs; large inflatable balls. * Googlers sharing cubes, yurts and huddle rooms – and very few solo offices. * Laptops everywhere – standard issue for mobile coding, e-mail on the go and note-taking. * Foosball, pool tables, volleyball courts, assorted video games, pianos, ping pong tables, and gyms that offer yoga and dance classes. Grassroots employee groups for all interests, like meditation, film, wine tasting, and salsa dancing. * Healthy lunches and dinners for all staff at a variety of cafes. * Break rooms packed with a variety of snacks and drinks to keep Googlers going. Everybody’s searching for something different and just as the very idea of Google depends on diversity so does delivering the best products. Google’s success hinges on their ability to understand the needs of all 597 million of our users and that is why they work hard to attract and hire talented individuals of every possible perspective, from all over the world.When Googlers are encouraged to express themselves, they mean it. In fact, we count on it. Intellectual curiosity and passionate perspectives drive Google policies, work environment, perks, and profits. At the end of the day, it is Googlers who make Google one of Fortune magazine’s â€Å"100 Best Companies to Work For. † The fascinating aspect of these companies are their intrinsic rewards and how it allows employees to operate with freedom and respect, allowing them control of their own time, and empowering them to have a united common goal, which is to invent products and ideas that will change the world for good.In today’s corporate environment, the organization’s bottom line is to make the most profit long-term by attracting top talent, retaining top talent, and motivating top talent for maximum performance. The way companies can do that is by offering the best rewards in the industry. The company that is highlighted the most for its most elaborate rewards is Google, Inc. The founders believed that to attract the best talent, they had to provide an environment in which people would want to come to work, have fun, dream big, and get rewarded for hard work. Google, Inc. as achieved a top-5 ranking by providing innovative benefits, flexibility, and the opportunity to pursue ideas that challenge the status quo and shatter paradigms. Google, Inc. ’s CEO, Erin Schmitt, adopts the â€Å"fun is good† principle and states that they built a company around the idea that work should be challenging, and the challenge should be fun. Google, Inc. allows employees to spend 20% of their time to work on their own project, independent of their workgroup. Google, Inc. believes that no one should leave to pursue their personal passions.Letting employees do this results in over 20% of product launches stemming from these personal projects. Best Snacks should imitate the philosophy of Google by instilling the principle to put employees first by providing a unique environment to work around.References Accenture. (2010). Supply Meets Demand at Dell Inc. . Retrieved from http://www. accenture. com/Global/Services/By_Industry/Communications/Access_Newsletter/Article_Index/SupplyComputer. htm Anthony, S. (2010, May  18). Three Critical Innovation Lessons from Apple [1]. Message posted to http://blogs. hbr. rg/anthony/2010/05/three_critical_innovation_less. html How to cite Best Snacks Generic Benchmark Worksheet, Papers

Linking Operational and Financial Performance

Question: Discuss about the Linking Operational and Financial Performance. Answer: Introduction: Cash and cash equivalent: Increase in cash will increase the bank balances. It can be used to pay off the creditors which in turn will decrease the amount of creditors and can be used to purchase assets, thereby will increase the balance of fixed assets as well as current assets (Harford, Mansi and Maxwell 2012). Inventories: Increase in inventory will results in decrease the balance of cash and cash equivalents. It will result in lower sales and gross profit as increase in inventory means decrease in sales and in turn decrease in gross profit (Jones and Tuzel 2013). Sales revenue: Increase in sales revenue will result in increase in cash as well as debtors. It will also increase the gross profit which in turn will increase the net profit. Increase in net profit will increase the shareholders wealth. Therefore, increase in sales will increase the asset account balance and equity balance (Stiglitz and Rosengard 2015). Other income: Increase in other income will increase the net profit which in turn will increase the shareholders wealth. Therefore, increase in other income will increase the equity balance (Blanden, Gregg and Macmillan 2013). Plant and equipment: If plant and equipment is purchased on cash then it will reduce the cash balance and if it is purchased in credit then will increase the creditors balance. Increase in balance of Plant and equipment will also increase the depreciation account balance. Therefore, increase in plant and equipment will increase the asset account balance (Clemens et al. 2013). Interest expenses (Financial Cost): Increase in interest expense will increase the debt account and at the same time will reduce the cash and cash equivalent account. Therefore, interest expense will increase the liability and decrease the asset. It will also reduce the net profit, which in turn, will reduce owners equity (Vogel 2014). Sales and marketing expenses: Increase in Sales, marketing expense will reduce the cash and cash equivalent account as well as it may reduce the prepaid expenses account. It may also increase the balance of liability account like accounts payable or increase in accrues expenses payable account. Therefore, interest expense will increase the liability and decrease the asset. It will also reduce the net profit, which in turn, will reduce owners equity (Dinner, Van Heerde and Neslin 2014). Occupancy expenses: Increase in occupancy cost may increase the other expenses associated with this such as, tax expenses, insurance expenses and utilities expenses. At the same time it will reduce the cash and cash equivalent account as well as the prepaid expenses account. It may also increase the balance of liability account like accounts payable or increase in accrues expenses payable account. Therefore, interest expense will increase the liability and decrease the asset. It will also reduce the net profit, which in turn, will reduce owners equity (Zhang, Lawrence and Anderson 2015). Trade and other payables: Trade payables increase when any new asset or inventory is obtained. Therefore, it will increase the balance of asset or inventory. Thus, increase in trade and other payables will increase the asset as well as the liability (Molina and Preve 2012). Borrowings (non-current): Borrowing will increase the debt balance and at the same time will increase the asset account for which loan is taken. Therefore, both the asset as well as liability account will increase. It will also increase the interest expense account and thereby reduce the net profit, which in turn will reduce the owners equity (Stango and Zinman 2014). Overview of the case study questions: The case study has represented few questions related to the consolidated financial statement of JB Hi-Fi Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2016. Questions are related to few items of consolidated financial statement and some are related to consolidated revenue statement. The questions asked about the closing balance of the items given, effect of their increase and decrease on other accounts and how these accounts affect the debit side and credit side of the statement with their increase or decrease. The questions asked here can give a clear idea about JB Hi-Fi Limiteds financial position and the analysis of financial data that can help to get an overview of the company (Healy and Palepu 2012). Overview of the chapter and topic: The chapter Financial Analysis includes the recognition of several items of a companys financial statement for the given period. It states: Trends: It provides trends for major items of the financial statements over more than one year period to evaluate the performance of the company. Usual trend analyses are for the gross profit, net profit, accounts receivable, debt, cash and owners equity (Grant 2016). Proportion: A collection of ratios are presented to analyse the size of different accounts in the financial account. For example, a companys current ratio can be calculated to evaluate the proportion of current liabilities compared to its current assets or debt-equity ratio can be calculated to measure the debt portion of the company. These evaluations are frequently done between the expense and revenues listed in the revenue statement and the equity accounts, liabilities and assets listed in the balance sheet. Analysis of financial statement is an effective tool for various users of the statement and each of the users have different requirement from the financial statement of the company. There are various users of financial statement. They are: Investors: Both existing as well as potential investors analyse the financial statements to evaluate the companys ability for issuing dividends, generating cash flow. Creditors: Any institution who lent money to the company is willing to know their ability of paying back the loan and therefore will scrutinize various cash flow items. Management: the management of the company prepares an analysis statement for financial results, particularly for operational activities that are not revealed to outside organizations. Regulatory authorities: If a company is held publicly, its annual statements are scrutinized by the exchange commission to analyse if its statements match with different statements of accounts (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2013). Relations of the study questions to the chapter and topic: The questions presented here can assist in evaluating the financial condition of the company. Various account balance and their fluctuations can evaluate the financial statement in better way. The items presented in the questions can be used to assess the financial condition of JB Hi-Fi limited and effect of their increase or decrease on other account. Cash balance, plant and equipment balance and inventories balance can be used to evaluate the asset position of the company and borrowings and trade payables can be used to evaluate the liability position of the company (Zeff 2016). On the other hand, sales revenue and other income can be used to assess the income and gross profit of the company and interest expenses, occupancy expenses and sales and marketing expenses can be used to evaluate the net profit of the company which in turn will affect the owners equity. The increase or decrease in any item will have contra effect such as increase in expenses will reduce the cash balance; i ncrease in sales revenue will increase the cash balance or debtors balance. In the same way, increase in borrowing will affect the debt balance as well as the interest expenses. The expenses like occupancy expense, sales and marketing expenses and interest expenses will reduce the cash balance as well as net profit, which in turn, will affect owners equity (Nyabwanga et al. 2013). Reasons of choosing the study questions: To analyse any companys financial position, few important items from statements are chosen for assessment such as cash and cash equivalents, trade payables, sales revenue, expenses, inventories and borrowings. The increase or decrease in amount of these items is compared with one or more years amount to assess the position of the company over the years. How the increase or decrease in the value of these items are affecting other accounts of the statements are asked in the question to analyse the relation between various items and to check that whether in the financial statement, appropriate alteration has been shown for change in value of other items. Analysis of the items from financial statement also assists in evaluating the risk factors and profitability of the company. Therefore, the questions asked in the case study will assist in analysis of financial position of the company and are relevant to the chapter and topic. References: Blanden, J., Gregg, P. and Macmillan, L., 2013. Intergenerational persistence in income and social class: the effect of within?group inequality.Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society),176(2), pp.541-563. Brigham, E.F. and Ehrhardt, M.C., 2013.Financial management: Theory practice. Cengage Learning. Clemens, S., Aarts, M.G., Thomine, S. and Verbruggen, N., 2013. Plant science: the key to preventing slow cadmium poisoning.Trends in plant science,18(2), pp.92-99. Dinner, I.M., Van Heerde, H.J. and Neslin, S.A., 2014. Driving online and offline sales: The cross-channel effects of traditional, online display, and paid search advertising.Journal of Marketing Research,51(5), pp.527-545. Grant, R.M., 2016.Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley Sons. Harford, J., Mansi, S.A. and Maxwell, W.F., 2012. Corporate governance and firm cash holdings in the US. InCorporate Governance(pp. 107-138). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Healy, P.M. and Palepu, K.G., 2012.Business Analysis Valuation: Using Financial Statements. Cengage Learning. JB Hi-Fi Annual Report 2016. (2016). 1st ed. [ebook] Australia: jbhifi.com.au, pp.55,56. Available at: https://www.jbhifi.com.au [Accessed 31 Dec. 2016]. Jones, C.S. and Tuzel, S., 2013. Inventory investment and the cost of capital.Journal of Financial Economics,107(3), pp.557-579. Molina, C.A. and Preve, L.A., 2012. An empirical analysis of the effect of financial distress on trade credit.Financial Management,41(1), pp.187-205. Nyabwanga, R.N., Ojera, P., Simeyo, O. and Nyanyuki, N.F., 2013. An empirical analysis of the liquidity, solvency and financial health of small and medium sized enterprises in kisii municipality, Kenya. Stango, V. and Zinman, J., 2014. Limited and varying consumer attention evidence from shocks to the salience of bank overdraft fees.Review of Financial Studies, p.hhu008. Stiglitz, J.E. and Rosengard, J.K., 2015.Economics of the Public Sector: Fourth International Student Edition. WW Norton Company. Vogel, H.L., 2014.Entertainment industry economics: A guide for financial analysis. Cambridge University Press. Zeff, S.A., 2016.Forging accounting principles in five countries: A history and an analysis of trends. Routledge. Zhang, J.J., Lawrence, B. and Anderson, C.K., 2015. An agency perspective on service triads: Linking operational and financial performance.Journal of Operations Management,35, pp.56-66.

Self And Identity Essays - Psychology, Interpersonal Relationships

Self And Identity The better which a person develops an understanding of themselves and of the other people around them, the better able they will be able to develop intimate relationships. A person who has a negative model of self and has a negative model of others , otherwise known as Fearful, is going to shy away from attachment and be socially avoidant which obviously is going to affect the crisis of intimacy versus isolation. The example describes a person who is hesitant to make long term commitments and resists urges to display intimacy, but is capable of forming a dependency on him by the other in the relationship. A Preoccupied person has a negative self model and a positive model of others. They often tend to be overly dependent and ambivalent. The example suggests a person who might be shy and conservative but is capable of not displaying their awkward feelings to the other person. A Secure individual has a positive model of self and others. They are comfortable with intimacy and autonomy and often do not have a difficult time in forming intimate relationships. The example describes this person as someone who is very capable of healthy relationships and good communication skills. It seems like a secure person has all the good qualities that any relationship requires. And finally, a Dismissing person has a positive model of self but a negative model of others. They are characterized by denying attachment and their counter dependency. All of the differences among the different models result from past experiences in the individuals life. How they were raised in terms of different parenting styles and methods of child raising affect an individuals internal working models of self and others. Attachment styles of Secure individuals are described as passionate and selfless. They have high levels of intimacy, passion and are very committed and able to be trusted. This reminds me of the perfect girlfriend. I don't see a lot of jealously and bizarre head games coming from a secure person. They are highly self confident and low on self consciousness with their partner. They tend not to fear being close to another person and yet are not likely to go out of their mind when things don't feel right. Avoidant people are known for their head games. They tend to be low in terms of intimacy, passion and commitment. This reminds me of a relationship my roomate has with his girlfriend. They are both madly in love with each other and yet all they do is fight over stupid little game they play with each other. Neither one of them are faithful to the other and they rarely speak encouragingly of their relationship. They are both very self conscious and yet still interdependent on each other for support. An Ambivalent person tends to be very possessive of other individuals in a relationship with them. They tend not to be very passionate and trustworthy in terms of commitment. As its described in the worksheet that they are high on pre occupation, dependence, and idealization. They are known to be self conscious and yet still willing to initiate intimate relationships. Differences in internal working models of self and others as well as differences in attachment styles can be accredited to various influences. For example secure individuals have memories of their parents being warm and affectionate while Ambivalent people tend to remember their father being unfair. Differences in attachment beliefs and attitudes such as the amount of self doubts and self worth one has and ones ability to understand others are obvious from secure to ambivalent. Secure people tend to feel that others are trustworthy and dependable while avoidant folks think that social situations are difficult to understand. And finally while avoidant people need to maintain distance in relationships, secure and ambivalent people desire intimate relationships but vary in degree of intimacy. These differences stem from the individuals perception of others and where he/she fits into reality. People act how they think they are suppose to, so their perception of reality is a major factor in determining how they act in , and while establishing intimate relationships. Identity achievement comes from many years of exploring different roles and personalities. Like we discussed in class individuals can change their attitudes and personalities almost daily. As the person is trying new things he/she is also taking cues form society as to which role or personality they fit best. How and individual perceives these cues will determine how they choose which personality or role is right for them. As we

How to Get Into Cornell 4 Expert Tips

How to Get Into Cornell 4 Expert Tips SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Located in Ithaca, New York, Cornell University is a member of the Ivy League and one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Every year, Cornell accepts several thousand new students as members of its incoming freshmen class. If you’re hoping to be one of them, you’ll need to make sure that your application is up to snuff. In this article, we’ll teach you exactly how to get into Cornell and talk about Cornell admission statistics so you know how you measure up against other applicants. How Hard Is It to Get Into Cornell? If you’re trying to get into Cornell, you might be wondering, â€Å"How hard is it to get into Cornell? Do I have a shot at admission?† In short: it's very hard to get into Cornell. Cornell is one of the most competitive schools in the world to get into, boasting an admissions rate of a little less than 10%. Cornell admission statistics indicate that Cornell accepts 10 out of every 100 students that apply. If you want to be one of those students, you’ll need to make sure that every part of your application (academics, extracurriculars, essays, and recommendations) is as strong as possible. You’ll also need to make sure that you match up to what Cornell is looking for in its students. What Is Cornell Looking for in Its Students? Each year, tens of thousands of students apply to Cornell. Learning what stands out about the accepted applicants will help you learn how to get into Cornell. Simply put, those students possess the specific qualities Cornell looks for in its applicants: they have intellectual ability, character, involvement in their schools and communities, and a passion for Cornell itself. Your Cornell University application is a chance to demonstrate all of those qualities. Through your grades and test scores, you’ll show your academic ability. You’ll get a chance to highlight your involvement in your community and your passion for Cornell on different parts of your application, but most importantly, in your Cornell essays. Can You Apply to Cornell Early? Cornell University offers an early decision option to applicants. Early decision is binding - if you’re accepted to Cornell, you need to withdraw your applications to any other colleges or universities you might’ve applied to. By submitting your early decision application, you’re making a commitment to attend Cornell if you’re accepted. Don’t make this choice lightly - only apply early decision to Cornell if you really, really want to go to Cornell. If you do want to go to Cornell, applying early has its benefits. Cornell admissions statistics indicate that around a third of its freshman class during early decision. In 2018, Cornell had 51,000 total applicants, admitting 5,288 of them. Around 1,600 of those applicants applied early decision. Cornell Application Deadlines and Requirements Cornell is made up of seven different colleges. Each college has its own admissions requirements. However, there are some standard application requirements for all seven schools: The Common Application (CA) or Universal College Application (UCA) The School Report Counselor Recommendation Two Teacher Evaluations The Midyear Report, when your mid-year grades are available $80 application fee or fee waiver Required standardized test scores (only scores sent directly to us from testing agencies are accepted) Official secondary/high school transcript Cornell University Questions and Writing Supplement (CA) or Cornell Supplement (UCA) Depending on which school within Cornell you’re applying to, you may have to submit other supplementary materials. Here they are: SAT Subject Test Requirements Agriculture and Life Sciences: SAT Subject Tests are not required Architecture, Art, and Planning: SAT Subject Tests are not required Arts and Sciences: Two SAT Subject Tests of your choice Engineering: One mathematics SAT subject test (of any level) and one science SAT subject test Cornell SC Johnson College of Business: SAT Subject Tests are not required Human Ecology: SAT Subject Tests are not required Industrial and Labor Relations: SAT Subject Tests are not required Interview Requirements Formal admission interviews are required for applicants to the architecture program in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. Formal admission interviews are offered for applicants to The School of Hotel Administration. Portfolio/Design Submission Requirements Some of the Cornell programs require portfolio or design assignments. Here's a look at what those are. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Landscape architecture program: portfolio required. Architecture, Art, and Planning Architecture program: file portfolio required Art program: portfolio required Human Ecology Design and environmental analysis program: design challenge required. Fashion design and management program: design supplement required. How to Get Into Cornell: GPA Requirements It’s extremely difficult to get into Cornell. You need to have a high GPA and demonstrate a history of undertaking challenging coursework to be competitive. The average unweighted GPA of admitted applicants to Cornell is 3.8. You’ll need to have mostly A’s on your report card to meet or exceed this average. That doesn’t mean, however, that you should stack your schedule with easy courses to get good grades. Cornell wants to see that you’re capable of challenging yourself academically. When possible, you should take honors, AP, or IB classes to show that you can handle tough academic coursework. How to Get Into Cornell: Test Score Requirements Your GPA is just one part of your academic record. Cornell also requires standardized tests to measure your academic preparedness for college. What SAT Scores Do I Need to Get Into Cornell? The average admitted applicant to Cornell scores a 1470 on the SAT. The average composite score of applicants in the 25th percentile is 1390; in the 75th percentile, it’s 1540. You’ll need to score a 1390 or above to be competitive with the other applicants vying for admission to Cornell. If your SAT scores aren’t where you want them to be, you should invest your time and energy into building and sticking to a solid training plan. What ACT Scores Do I Need to Get Into Cornell? The average admitted applicant to Cornell University scores a 33 on the ACT. The average score of students in the 25th percentile score 32; for students in the 75th percentile, it’s 34. Basically, this data means that you’ll need a 32 or above on your ACT in order to be seriously competitive with the test scores of your fellow applicants. How to Get Into Cornell: Cornell Essays Cornell requires that you answer one essay prompt only. The prompt you’ll answer depends on which college within Cornell you’re applying to. As with all college admissions essays, authenticity is key. You may have myriad scholastic interests, but for this essay, stick with what you know best and are most passionate about. Your potential topic must correspond with the areas of study at the college, too. Here are the 2018-19 Cornell University essay prompts: The primary focus of your college interest essay should be what you intend to study at Cornell. In the online Common Application Writing Supplement, please respond to the essay question below (maximum of 650 words) that corresponds to the undergraduate college or school to which you are applying. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. Specifically, how will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cornell University help you achieve your academic goals?†¯ College of Architecture, Art, and Planning: What is your â€Å"thing†? What energizes you or engages you so deeply that you lose track of time? Everyone has different passions, obsessions, quirks, inspirations. What are yours?† College of Arts and Sciences: Students in Arts and Sciences embrace the opportunity to delve into their academic interests, discover new realms of intellectual inquiry, and chart their own path through the College. Tell us why the depth, breadth, and flexibility of our curriculum are ideally suited to exploring the areas of study that excite you. Cornell SC Johnson College of Business: Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management: Affiliated with both the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management is unique by design. Explain how our approach to business education is the right fit for you, and how your interests, experiences or goals will contribute to the unique composition of the entering class. Cornell SC Johnson College of Business: School of Hotel Administration (SHA): The global hospitality industry includes hotel and food service management, real estate, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, technology, and law. Describe what has influenced your decision to study business through the lens of hospitality. What personal qualities make you a good fit for SHA? College of Engineering: Cornell Engineering celebrates innovative problem-solving that helps people, communities†¦ the world. Consider your ideas and aspirations and describe how a Cornell Engineering education would allow you to leverage technological problem-solving to improve the world we live in. College of Human Ecology: How have your experiences influenced your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future? School of Industrial and Labor Relations: Tell us about your intellectual interests, how they sprung from your course, service, work or life experiences, and what makes them exciting to you. Describe how ILR is the right school for you to pursue these interests. If you’re looking for tips on how to ace your Cornell essays, check out our dedicated blog post on this very topic. How to Get Into Cornell: General Tips It’s challenging to be one of the 10% of students accepted to Cornell each year, but if you work hard and polish your application, you can be one of them! Here are some tips for making sure your application is Cornell ready: #1: Pick the Right College Cornell is somewhat unique amongst the Ivy League in that it requires you to apply to one of the seven specific schools on campus. Make sure you pick the right one! If you’re interested in art, don’t apply to the College of Engineering just because you think engineering sounds interesting. Your choice of college should reflect the classes and activities you’ve been involved with to show that you’re prepared and actually intrigued by your potential course of study. #2: Demonstrate Your Love for Cornell Cornell wants you to want to go to Cornell - they say so right on their admissions page! You should use your Cornell essay to not only talk about the college you want to attend within Cornell, but why you want to attend the university as a whole. Speak honestly about what attracts you to Cornell. And don’t just say its stellar academic reputation - pick real, concrete reasons that affect you as an individual. If the academic reputation is important to you (and it likely is), tie it back to how that’ll affect you personally. What will attending one of the best schools on the planet help you achieve? The more authentic excitement you can demonstrate, the better! #3: Be Honest The admissions committee at Cornell has to read through tens of thousands of applications every year. Applications that are trite, boring, and cliche will be shuffled straight to the â€Å"REJECTED† pile. Your application should be true to you - not who you think the admissions committee wants you to be. #4: Show Off Your Spike A spike is something that makes you stand out. Something that no (or very few) other applicants have. Your application won’t stand out if you’re second string on the football team and a non-office-holding member of student council. It will stand out if you single-handedly organize a huge fundraiser to benefit an issue close to your heart or perform at Lincoln Center with your wind ensemble. When your focus is on one thing, you’ll be better at it than if you have to split your time and attention. It will also be more impressive on your resume. What’s Next? Want to rock your Cornell admissions essays? Learn all about the Cornell required essays here. Are youworking on the Common App essayas part of your application? Read our breakdown of the Common App prompts and our guide to picking the best prompt for you. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.

The ABCs of Alphabet Games A Complete Guide

The ABCs of Alphabet Games A Complete Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips It’s hard to imagine a time when you didn’t know the alphabet, so the idea of teaching the letters to someone else can be daunting. But for toddlers and preschoolers (and anyone else learning English), the letters of the alphabet are the building blocks of the English language. Learning and recognizing them is the first crucial step to developing strong literacy and language skills. Enter: alphabet games. Alphabet games make mastering letters fun- which is exactly what learning should be! So whether you have a little one just starting out on their literacy journey, or know someone learning English as a second language, we’ve broken down everything you need to know about alphabet games. In this article, we’ll explain what alphabet games are, the best ones to use, and the mistakes to avoid when using them to guarantee learning success. Feature image:Retrokatz/CC What Are Alphabet Games? Alphabet games are any activities designed to help children learn the 26 letters of the English alphabet. They may also be referred to as â€Å"letter games,† â€Å"ABC learning games,† or â€Å"letter recognition games.† They can be as simple as using alphabet magnets to show letters, or as advanced as alphabet puzzles, and everything in between. Edward Miller/CC Why Do We Use Alphabet Games? Being able to read, write and listen are core to understanding and communicating in English (and any language). As such, we want to do everything we can to encourage success. By making that first big step (learning the alphabet) fun and engaging, children are more likely to remember letters and their sounds. The more they remember their letters, the more they’ll recognize them and identify them in and out of order. And the more prepared they’ll be to learn to read and write. Josh Applegate/Unsplash Early Childhood Cognition From the moment they’re born, children are like sponges absorbing everything in their world. They want to know how things work, why they work, and what things are. Learning the alphabet serves as a base for learning to read, communicate and understand the English language. It’s the first step to providing children with the tools to not only learn, but to seek answers on their own. To add to their knowledge base of how and why things work and what they are. Beyond the alphabet, letter games help children improve and strengthen their memory and cognition- all vital skills for anyone to have.. When it comes to mastering the alphabet, the vital concept a child must conquer is the ability to recognize letters and recall them. The easier they can recognize and recall, the easier it’ll be for them to learn letter sounds, which is a must for learning to read. Being able to â€Å"recognize and recall† letters means your learner can tell the difference between each of the 26 alphabet letters. They can also say the name of each letter. Identifying a letter by its name and sound (regardless of the order presented), requires memorization and practice. So, the more letter recognition games they play, the more fun they’ll have, but also the more letter repetition they’ll be exposed to and the more easily they’ll be able to remember and recognize letters and sounds. The following is a chart featuring a few of the reading-related milestones to look out for depending on your learner’s age, according to the U.S. Dept. of Education: Age: 0-3 years Age: 3-4 years Age: 5 years Age: 6 years Begin to associate words they hear frequently with what the words mean. Understand that print carries a message. Sound as if they are reading when they pretend to read. Read and retell familiar stories. Handle objects such as board books and alphabet blocks in their play. Make attempts to read and write. Recognize letters and letter-sound matches. Decide on their own to use reading and writing for different purposes. May write about topics that mean a lot to them. Understand how books should be handled; pretend to read books. Identify familiar signs and labels. Understand that print is read left-to-right and top-to-bottom. Identify new words by using letter-sound matches, parts of words and their understanding of the rest of a story or printed item. Look at pictures in books and realize they are symbols of real things. Identify some letters and make some letter-sound matches. Begin to match spoken words with written ones. Identify an increasing number of words by sight. Begin to pay attention to specific print such as the first letters of their names. Enjoy listening to and talking about storybooks. Begin to write letters of the alphabet and some words they use and hear often. Sound out and represent major sounds in a word when trying to spell. Produce some letter-like forms and scribbles that resemble, in some way, writing. Use known letters (or their best attempt to write the letters) to represent written language especially for meaningful words like their names or phrases such as "I love you." Begin to write stories with some readable parts. Try to use some punctuation marks and capitalization. What Are the Different Types of Alphabet Games? We tend to think of the alphabet song when we think of learning letters, but that’s only one of many letter games children should be playing. This is because we want learners to do more than just sing the alphabet in order. We want them to be able to recognize and distinguish between the letters. This will make them versatile and adept readers down the road. It can be hard to differentiate between letter recognition games when there are so many out there. Particularly given that not every child learns best in the same way. There are three main types of learners: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Knowing which one your child is (or combination of) can help you find the best letter games for them. Each alphabet game you use should focus on one or more of these types of learning: What Are the Best Alphabet Games to Use? The first thing to know is that there is no absolute right way to teach the alphabet. However, the most effective method will use a combination of letter games targeting the different types of learning. The best games will address some or all of the following: memory, sight recognition, sound and speaking (or â€Å"phonics†), and touch. The following are a few of the most used and versatile ABC learning games we recommend: Alphabet Bingo Alphabet bingo (or â€Å"letter match†) is great for audio, visual and kinesthetic learners. Players get to see the letters on a card, hear the letter being said to them (and, if you’d like, you can have them say the letter back to you!), as well as identify and physically place (touch) a marker to the correct letter. You can easily make this game yourself using household items, download it for free online (here’s a link to 30 free printable alphabet bingo cards), or purchase it from a vendor, such as Amazon. Sidewalk Chalk Games Sidewalk chalk games are fantastic for visual and kinesthetic learners because children get to see letters in a different context and move around while still learning. And the best part? All you need is chalk and (you guessed it) a sidewalk. While there are numerous games you can play, we recommend â€Å"Alphabet Hopscotch† for its versatility. Alphabet Hopscotch can be played as the hopscotch game we all loved as kids (just with letters inside the squares), as the block version below, as a â€Å"hop and move† game (second photo), or any variety of ways you can imagine. Sidewalk letter games are great for children who learn best by doing and being physical./Buggy Buddy Use actions to make the letters more memorable./No Time For Flash Cards Playdoh Letters Playdoh Letters is another fantastic game you can â€Å"play† in so many different ways. Playdoh Letters are great for kinesthetic and visual learners because of their tactile nature. Use Playdoh to make letters for your child to touch (identify) or have them make Playdoh Letters based off of alphabet letters written on paper or shown on a screen. A child can also stamp letters into the Playdoh, or use magnetic letters or alphabet cookie cutters to make letters. Use Playdoh Letters for audio learners by saying the letters and having your learning choose the correct one, then have them pronounce the letter back to you. Alphabet Puzzles Another great activity for letter learning is the alphabet puzzle. Puzzles are fantastic for kinesthetic and visual learners because children get to touch and move letters around, as well as see them in 3D. Use them for audio learners by saying aloud and having your child say the letter once they’ve put it in its correct slot. There are many versions of this game in stores and online, but for those looking for a DIY version, This Reading Mama has printable puzzles on her website. Reading Ok, so we know it’s not exactly a game, but reading can really help a child on his or her journey to learning the alphabet. Reading exposes learners to seeing letters on a page, and hearing the letters being pronounced helps them understand letter sounds. Reading also helps children understand how letters can be used to form words and trains them to know English reading is done from left to right and top to bottom on a page. Nicole Honeywill/Unsplash Alphabet Learning Games for Students With Different Learning Needs There are also alphabet learning games available for students with different learning needs (i.e.: for the blind and deaf). Below are a few links we recommend checking out for games using American Sign Language and Braille. Sign Language Learning Games (for Learners Who Are Deaf) DeafLinx Very Well Health Kids Courses Braille Learning Games (for Learners Who Are Blind) Paths to Literacy Pinterest Sensory Sun Other Resources The internet is full of great resources for teaching and learning the alphabet. We recommend searching through Pinterest and YouTube for alphabet learning games. There are also a ton of free resources available on various websites and blogs (e.g., those by parents and teachers) that can be found using your favorite search engine. Here are a few we recommend: Growing Book By Book Healthy Children How Wee Learn Reading Rockets The Measured Mom The Most Common Mistakes Made When Using Alphabet Games (and How to Avoid Them) Unfortunately, finding fun alphabet games is only the first step. If you want to help a child learn their letters efficiently, make sure to avoid these common mistakes. #1: Teaching the Alphabet in Order Believe it or not, teaching the alphabet in order from A-Z is not the most effective or useful way to learn the alphabet. This is because we want to ensure children not only memorize their letters, but that they know them by sight and sound independent of the alphabet order. Instead, try teaching the letters in groups to both break up the alphabet into chewable nuggets and to give your child a chance to distinguish small words. For example, teaching a child the letters in their name can be a fun, easy way to get started. Not only will they hear and see those letters on a regular basis, they’ll also have a simple word to learn that ensures they know each letter in their name by sight and sound. Once a child can identify a letter by its name, it’s easier to move on to learning the letter sounds. Another trick is to teach groups of letters that can make small words. Say you focused on the following group of letters: B, P, N, D, E. Once a child has learned those letters, they can begin to identify small words such as: den, bed, pen, etc. #2: Not Making Alphabet Games Hands-On Enough Learning the alphabet and playing alphabet games should be a dynamic, engaging process. Children love to move, touch, see, and interact with the world around them, and alphabet games should tie into that enthusiasm easily. Relying too heavily on methods like worksheets can lose a child’s interest and decrease the likelihood that they’ve truly learned their letters and can distinguish them in and out of their alphabetic order. #3: Not Mixing It Up Avoid the temptation of using the same two or three games over and over. As with anything, variety is the spice of life. Keep minds interested and engaged by changing up the types of games used to master letters. #4: Not Being Consistent Practice truly makes perfect when it comes to letter recognition and ABC learning games. One simple way to keep children invested is to use everyday objects as a chance to learn. Try labeling objects around the house that a child will come in contact with throughout the day and every time you see them interact with that object, use a simple word to help them connect it back to the alphabet. For example: when your child sits on a couch, you can point to the label and ask them what object they just sat on. Then say the word â€Å"couch† and/or have them say the word and the letter it starts with (i.e.: â€Å"C† is for â€Å"couch†). #5: Not Celebrating Each Success Along the Way Learning the alphabet is an incredible accomplishment! But there are 26 letters to learn and each one mastered is a reason to celebrate. Give your learner a sense of accomplishment by encouraging them and cheering them on every time they learn a new letter. Remember... There is no single correct way to teach the alphabet. However, the more fun, dynamic and engaging you make it, the more your learner will remember his or her letters. The more they remember, the better prepared they’ll be to learn to read. Be sure to mix up the types of alphabet games you play by using letter recognition game ideas on Pinterest, YouTube and blogs (like ours!). Be consistent and don’t forget to celebrate every learned letter as its own accomplishment. What’s Next? Looking for more learning games? Be sure to read our complete guide. (Coming soon) Already reading? Check out the 9 Literary Elements You’ll Find in Every Story. If you need a break from letters, learn about the Most Common Shapes and How to Identify Them. These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.