Term Paper: A Critical Discourse on Diversity Management at Ford Motor Company (A business case for cross-culture human resource management)

A Critical Discourse on Diversity Management at Ford Motor Company A business case for cross-culture human resource management

 

1.1 Introduction Company Profile

Ford Motor Company is the world’s second largest manufacturer of cars and trucks with products sold in more than 200 markets (2002 Corporate Citizenship Report, 2003). The company employs nearly 400,000 people worldwide, and has grown to offer consumers eight of the world’s most recognizable automotive brands (2002 Corporate Citizenship Report, 2003).

At Ford Motor Company, the notion of working with African-Americans, rather than just employing them, is steeped in the company’s rich heritage and based on the philosophy that an empowered work force is a productive one (Black Enterprise, 2000).

As far back as 1913, Henry Ford recognized the virtue of a trained and educated work force–regardless of race. As African-Americans migrated to the North in search of meaningful work, Henry Ford tapped into this powerful new labor force and hired African-Americans to work in his automotive assembly plants. Ford not only hired African-Americans, he also ensured that they received the same pay as their white counterparts. “Equal Pay for Equal Work” was a radical notion for the times (Black Enterprise, 2000).

Historical Overview of Ford Motor Company

Henry Ford built his first car, the Quadricycle Runabout, over a hundred years ago in the summer of 1896 (Greenwood and Wren, 1998). It had a four-horsepower engine and could reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, an astonishing feat for the late 19th century (Greenwood and Wren, 1998). He sold that car for 0 to finance his second car, which was completed in early 1898. On June 16, 1903, he incorporated Ford Motor Company, which was capitalized for 0,000 with twelve stockholders. The company produced 1,708 cars that first year. Today, Ford Motor Company is a US0 billion corporation with some 350,000 employees in 200 countries around the world (Ford, 2003). In 1999, just over one hundred years after Henry Ford built the Runabout, Ford Motor Company manufactured 7.2 million vehicles worldwide (Ford, 2003).

Ford Motor Company’s founding father Henry Ford will be remembered as one of US first businessmen who provided a level playing field. His radical philosophy: Don’t just employ people, but work with them and empower them, regardless of the color of their skin (Ebony, 2001). He fostered integration, fair hiring practices, equal work for equal pay, and diversity in the workplace during some of the most turbulent times in American History.

As early as 1913, Ford Motor Company took initiatives to diversify its workplace when Henry Ford promised a day for all of his workers when most Blacks were earning less than a week. When new workers arrived from the South and reported to work at the Ford Rouge plant in Michigan, they also stepped into the once-elusive working middle class (Ebony, 2001).

Research Aims and Methods

            This project sought to investigate the cross-cultural management policies by Ford Motor Company and how it extends to its workforce and its choice of suppliers. It accomplished four aims: (1) determined and illustrated the methods and specific approaches employed by Ford Motor Company in managing diversity in its workplace; (2) discussed the source of such policies and how it affected the profitability and growth of Ford; (3) Analyzed and evaluated the improvements that can be done by Ford based on the existing literature in its diversity management program and; (4) made recommendation on Ford and on future researches.

            The methodology employed in the research primarily was an in-depth investigation and content analysis of Ford documents, articles, books and articles that dealt with diversity management at Ford Motor Company. Moreover, an interview was also conducted on two Ford Motor personnel to provide a background and an overview of what I should be looking for in the literature and in understanding Ford’s policies.

2.1 Diversity and cross-culture HRM

According to the Society of Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) 1998 survey on diversity programs, nine out of 10 respondents from Fortune 500 organizations are actively recruiting women, African-Americans and Hispanics. They’re also taking steps to bring more Asians, Native Americans and people. Moreover, in their 1998 study in Alexandria, Virginia, three out of four Fortune 500 companies have formal diversity programs in place, over half of which (58%) have staff members dedicated to these issues (cited in Caudron, 1998).

Companies like Ford, however, are concentrating on targeted efforts through specific communities. “To reach diverse communities, we’re doing things like targeting universities with a higher percentage of women and minority groups, as well as getting involved with disability groups and local communities,” says Surinder Sharma, European diversity director at Ford (cited in Sappal, 2002). She adds that by making these links, Ford is expanding the pool that they can fish in for their future talent.

Diversity Training: Integrating the Workforce

Diversity training remains the primary method used to facilitate behavior change (Combs, 2002). However, existing diversity training is perceived to have failed, calling for a new diversity leadership focus to improve diversity performance. This paper proposes application of the research supporting the self-efficacy construct to build diversity self-efficacy and bridge the gap between diversity training and diversity performance.

Research suggests that situations reflecting serious overt and subtle discrimination continue to exist in the work environment. Grossman (2000) suggests that in spite of organizational efforts to manage diversity very little has changed in the experiences of culture, ethnicity, race, and gender groups.

Organizational leadership has opted, most frequently, to use diversity training to bring about a positive diversity climate. Diversity training infuses the organization with information and seeks to change the behaviors of employees related to diversity. In many cases the perception is that diversity training has not met expectations as a mechanism for alleviating the work environment of discrimination and prejudice (Caudron, 1999). As a change strategy, diversity training has been labeled ineffective (Flynn, 1998; McKee & Schor, 1999) Many suggest that such training does very little to promote a positive diversity climate. And, at best, diversity training programs, as currently constructed, result in only short-term suspension of discriminatory behaviors and often create more trouble than they resolve (Hemphill & Haines, 1997).

In the 15 years since the publication of Workforce 2000 (Johnston & Packer, 1987), diversity has emerged as an increasingly important issue in management circles. Diversity, workforce diversity, and managing diversity are now frequently used terms in and about business, and managers have been presented with a plethora of materials in the popular press on how to handle a diverse work force (Ferris, Frink, & Galang, 1994). The persistent messages about the need to address the phenomenon of a changing workforce and consumer base have motivated managers and organizations either to create internal diversity training programs or to hire consultants to sensitize employees to differences in race, gender, culture, religion, age, sexual orientation and abilities (Harter and Kirby, 2003). While 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies have already instituted diversity training programs, at least another eight percent are in the planning stage, and small companies are also beginning to plan diversity programs (Diversity training, 1999).

 

Diversity for Profitability

Prior to the emergence of this notion of diversity management in the 1990s, issues of workforce composition were usually addressed through one of two approaches: affirmative action or valuing differences (Thomas, 1994). While affirmative action refers to requirements, often legally mandated, to change organizational demographics and remedy past situations where minorities and women were passed over for jobs and promotions, the approach of “valuing differences” is intended to be ethically and morally driven and encourages organizational members to appreciate differences. But as Wheeler (1995) notes regarding these approaches, “one of the primary problems . . . [was] that they were not clearly connected to business objectives” (p. 9).

A primary business objective is being profitable, and managers must explain and justify business performance and decisions in light of this objective (Toulmin, Rieke, & Janik, 1984). Subsequently, a movement has emerged to make a business case for addressing the increasing diversity of both the workforce and the consumer base, and this approach is reflected in the popular literature surrounding diversity initiatives. Carnevale and Stone (1994), proponents for addressing diversity based on a business rationale, begin their article by saying, “Welcoming diversity is directly connected to the bottom line” (p. 24). As further evidence of such an orientation, a report entitled “The ‘bottom line’ organization benefits of diversity training: What’s in it for us?”), outlines the importance of managing diversity for profitability (Wheeler, 1995).

Ford Cross-Cultural Human Resource Management: Managing Diversity

Ford launched its global diversity initiative in 1994 to improve diversity and work life throughout the company (Caudron, 1998). The company’s effort is led by CEO Alex Trotman, who also chairs Ford’s Executive Council on Diversity. Of its 157,000 U.S. employees, 12.8% of Officials and managers are minorities. African Americans represent 8.7% of all top management posts and 17.3% of the workforce overall (Caudron, 1998). These percentages have changed very little in the four years since the initiative began because change in a corporation the size of Ford takes time.

Ford says that accountability is the key to making change happen. To this end, senior executive bonuses are tied to diversity management, along with traditional performance measures. The company is managing diversity in a number of ways (Caudron, 1998; www.ford.com):

·         By establishing aggressive goals for hiring professional women and minorities.

·         By developing external mentoring programs that match minorities who aspire to senior management with top-level minority executives from other companies.

·         By establishing employee resource groups to identify barriers, provide information and develop minority employees.

·         By providing mandatory diversity awareness training for all salaried and hourly employees. Ford’s entire global workforce will have completed this training by year-end.

·         By sponsoring the Ford Academy of Manufacturing Science, a school-to-work program that helps young people acquire valuable work skills.

Ford Supplier Diversity

Ford’s diversity effort also involves suppliers. The company is the first U.S. corporation to achieve minority purchases worth billion, and its goal is to reach .5 billion by 2000 (www.ford.com). Ford also has a strong minority automobile dealer program, providing specialized training, consulting and financial support. Ford’s 333 minority leaderships represent 44% of all U.S. minority dealers.

To evaluate its progress, Ford measures representation of women and people of color at all salary levels quarterly (Caudron, 1998). Ford senior executives also conduct face-to-face diversity focus groups worldwide. Ford’s CEO is chair of its Executive Council on Diversity, which identifies and manages corporate diversity initiatives (www.ford.com). The council members report directly to the CEO and conduct yearly focus groups to hear employee concerns firsthand. Furthermore, all members of the council are held accountable for diversity through a performance measurement system. Moreover, other senior managers are involved in diversity as on-site representatives for universities that are key to its recruitment strategy. Ford believes the demographic makeup of its professional workforce should reflect the demographics in the market across all salary groups.

The Multi-Cultural Diversity Program of Ford

The most universal component of Multi-Cultural Diversity programs is diversity training (Klimley, 1997). This is where most companies start, since they recognize that negative attitudes are at the root of prejudice. Frequently, companies select outside consultants to start their training programs, later relying on their own inside trainers. Once these basics are in place, corporations turn to phase two of diversity–the complex task of developing metrics to measure result.

Even the communications area of Ford has specific measurements for diversity (Klimley, 1997). For instance, company publications must sent “clear messages” about diversity. And key executives are required to hold a certain number of employee meetings each year to discuss issues pertaining to diversity. Ford has already have highly developed diversity measurement systems (Klimley, 1997).

The broad definition of diversity used by most firms diffuses the racial issue. Ford Motor Co., for example, launched a corporate training initiative to raise employee awareness of discrimination relating to gender and age, in addition to race. The effort is designed to help employees understand the increasing diversity of American society, its impact on employee relationships and its effect on the company’s customer base–all of which are important. Ford is creating an awareness of understanding diversity and their next step is to learn how to manage across differences (Caudron and Hayes, 1997).

 

Managing Diversity Processes

Diversity management, while based on cultural change, is a pragmatic business strategy that focuses on maximizing the productivity, creativity, and commitment of the workforce, while meeting the needs of diverse consumer groups (Black Enterprise, 2001). Affirmative action focuses on getting people into an organization rather than changing organizational culture. Affirmative action is grounded in moral and social responsibility to amend wrongs done in the past to those Americans who were not of the majority population. The main objectives of managing a multicultural workforce include awareness, education, and positive recognition of the differences among people in the workplace (Black Enterprise, 2001).

Borrowed from the meat-packing industry (Hounshell 1984), the assembly line at Ford facilitated both the division of labor and increased flow of product Pietrykowski, 1995). In addition, Ford, beginning in 1921 with construction of the Rouge, aggressively pursued a strategy of backward integration. According to Chandler (1990, 208), “Ford was the world’s most integrated automobile company. To be sure of constant, tightly scheduled flows of materials through his huge plants . . . and thus to enhance the economies of scale Ford made massive investment in the production of steel and glass, parts and accessories. Therefore, as output declined, unit cost rose much more rapidly than did those of his competitors. Ford’s integration was primarily within the plant.”  to surprisingly, these signal features of mass production took their toll on workers. Enormous turnover rates in the Highland Park plant are well documented. In 1913 the average rate of turnover at Ford was 370 percent (Peterson 1987).

In 1999, Ford Motor Company purchased a record .3 billion in goods and services from minority-owned businesses, more than any other automaker in the U.S. and Ford Motor Company’s minority dealers number more than 370, surpassing that of any other U.S. automaker (Black Enterprise, 2000).

Diversity is a key contributing factor to Ford Motor Company’s goal of global markets and corporate efficiency (Black Enterprise, 2000). And nowhere is this sound business model better illustrated than in the minority suppliers and dealers that Ford has empowered, and who in turn, have empowered Ford and the communities in which they live and work. It is the individual achievements and community involvement of these trailblazers that enable Ford to reach one of its most dynamic future markets.

Discussion and Evaluation

The problems arising from today’s workforce diversity are caused not by the changing composition of the work force itself but by the inability of work organizations to truly integrate and use a heterogeneous work force at all levels of the organization (Cox, 1991). Granted, some corporations are including diversity goals in their strategic planning and are changing organization wide policies, but even those changes are focused mainly on internal processes of the organization. Organizations need to expand their notion of diversity to include not only the organization itself, but also the larger systems that constitute its environment (Mor Barak, 2000). Organizational policies and actions that are inclusive can benefit all system levels from the individual worker through the work organization to the wider community (Mor Barak, 2000).

Forecasts about the future predict an aging work force in which increasing numbers of women and members of racial and ethnic minority groups will participate (US Department of Labor, 1994). By 2020 white non-Hispanic people will represent 67 percent of the work force (down from the current 76 percent), Hispanic presence will be 14 percent (up from its current 9 percent), Asians will represent 6 percent (up from today’s 4 percent), and African Americans’ share of the work force will remain 11 percent (Judy & D’Amico, 1997). These work force demographic changes will mirror population demographic trends and will vary by region and state. The western states are rapidly becoming more diverse as Hispanic and Asian populations grow (Judy & D’Amico, 1997).

Better treatment of low-wage employees who are often frontline workers improves the Ford Motor Company’s customer relationships. In addition, value-based organizational practices are often attractive to customers. Companies gain a more loyal work force (given that it is treated well) that is committed to the organization and has lower turnover rates as a result (Kossek et al., 1997). With the expanding economy and the current and anticipated labor shortages, Ford Motor Company may need to expand their employee pools by taping into the potential resource of minorities more aggressively. A strong corporate commitment to hiring and retaining former welfare recipients that includes help with employment barriers can facilitate the difficult transition and increase the chances of long-term employment at Ford. In addition, opening up advancement opportunities for the minority population may increase their chances of obtaining higher-paying jobs with better benefits that will release them from the vicious cycle of low-paying jobs that do not leave much income above the job-related expenses such as child care and transportation.

The main obstacle for Ford is the limited corporate vision. This is not only Ford though, companies often focus only on the immediate needs and objectives of the company rather than considering the bigger picture that includes moral and ethical values as well as labor-force trends and the larger organizational environment. The other obstacles are stereotypes held by management and workers against welfare recipients and against people of color. The latter is based on a common misconception that the majority of welfare recipients are people of color when, in fact, the majority are white (Gottschalk, Mclanahan, & Sandfur, 1994).

3.1 Conclusion

This project presents a critical discourse for the inclusive workplace that can benefit individual employees and their families, work organizations, and local, national, and international communities. Although managing diversity is now well embedded in social work values and principles, one must remember that the workplace is a host environment that is often not open to social work intervention. To propose such innovative programs to businesses, Ford Motor Company need to be more aggressive in their diversity campaigns.

Ford is ahead of most companies in procuring minority supplier contracts, and is ahead of its competition in minority dealerships. Although Ford is more progressive than many large companies, there are opportunities for improvement. Ford should begin to view its diversity initiatives as a holistic business strategy that impacts not only its workforce, but its customers and stakeholders.

Furthermore, all diversity efforts and business plans should focus on employees, customers and stakeholders. For instance, the company should begin to segment its markets by race and gender. Ford should increase everyone’s accountability, from its board of directors to front-line workers, to create a productive, equitable environment. Ford should strive to increase the share of women and people of color among its customers, and should influence suppliers and dealers to develop holistic diversity strategies.

Since workplace diversity can only be resolved through an integrative and sound management and corporate program, I suggest that future researches study the factors affecting the establishment of a culturally-sensitive policy in companies, the rationale behind these policies and the different approaches used by managers and management in implementing cross-cultural programs.

 

References

 

2002 Corporate Citizenship Report. (2003). Retrieved Oct 13, 2003. Available at  http://www.ford.com/en/company/about/corporateCitizenship/principlesProgressPerformance/our-perspective/company.htm.

 

Bryan, L. and Kay, J. (1999) Dialogue: Can a company ever be too big. The McKinsey Quarterly.

 

Carnevale, A. P., & Stone, S. C. (1994). Diversity: Beyond the golden rule. Training & Development, 48(10), 22-39.

 

Caudron, S. (Sept 1998) Diversity watch: two companies’ diversity efforts are screened and evaluated by the experts. Black Enterprise, Vol. 29.

 

Caudron, S. and Hayes, C. (Feb 1997) Are diversity programs benefitting African Americans. Black Enterprise, Vol. 27.

 

Caudron, S. (1993). Training can damage diversity efforts. Personnel Journal. 72, 4: 51-68.

 

Chandler, A. (1990). Scale and scope. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

 

Combs, G. (2002) Meeting the leadership challenge of a diverse and pluralistic workplace: implications of self-efficacy for diversity training. Journal of Leadership Studies, Vol. 8.

 

Cox, T. (1991). The multicultural organization. Academy of Management Executive, 5, 34-46.

 

Diversity training: Is it working? (1999, January). Employment Review [online]. Available at http://www.employmentreview.com

 

Ferris, G. R., Frink, D. D., & Galang, M. C. (1994). Diversity in the workplace: The human resources management challenges. Human Resource Planning, 16, 41-50.

 

Flynn, G. (1998). White males see diversity’s other side. Workforce, 78, 2: 52-56.

 

Ford Motor Company And African-American Empowerment. (March 2001)  Ebony, Vol. 56.

 

Ford, W.C. (2003) Letter from Billy Ford. 2002 Corporate Citizenship Report. (2003). Retrieved Oct 13, 2003. Available at  http://www.ford.com/en/company/about/corporateCitizenship/principlesProgressPerformance/our-perspective/letter-bill-ford.htm.

 

Gottschalk, P., Mclanahan, S., & Sandfur, G. D. (1994). “The dynamics and intergenerational transmission of poverty and welfare participation.” In S. H. Danzinger, G. D. Sandfur, & D. H. Weinberg (Eds.), Confronting poverty: Prescriptions for change (pp. 85-108). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

 

Greenwood, R. and Wren, D. (1998) Business Leaders: A Historical Sketch of Henry Ford. Journal of Leadership Studies, Vol. 5.

 

Grossman, RJ. (2000). Race in the workplace. HR Magazine, March, 41-45.

 

Harter, L. and Kirby, E. (2003) Speaking the language of the bottom-line: the metaphor of “managing diversity”. The Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 40.

 

Hemphill, H. & Haines, R. (1997). Discrimination, Harassment and the Fa)lure of Diversity Training-What to Do Now. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

 

Hounshell, D. A. (1984). From the American system to mass production, 1800 1.932. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

 

Johnston, W. B., & Packer, A. H. (1987). Work force 2000: Work and workers in the 21st century. Indianapolis, IN: Hudson Institute.

 

Judy, R. W., & D’Amico, C. (1997). Workforce 2020: Work and workers in the 21st century. Indianapolis: Hudson Institute.

 

Klimley, A. (July 1997) Diversity programs: coming of age. Black Enterprise, Vol. 27.

 

Kossek, E. E., Huber-Yoder, M., Castellino, D., & Lerner, J. (1997). The working poor: Locked out of careers and the organizational mainstream? Academy of Management Executive, 11(1), 76-92.

 

Managing a Multicultural Workforce. (July 2001). Black Enterprise, Vol. 31.

 

McKee, A. & Schor, S. (1999). Confronting prejudice and stereotypes: A teaching model. Performance Improvement Quarterly. 12, 1: 181-199.

 

Mor Barak, M. (2000) The Inclusive Workplace: An Ecosystems Approach to Diversity Management. Social Work, Vol. 45.

 

Peterson, J. S. (1987). American automobile workers, 1900-1933. Albany: State University of New York Press.

 

Pietrykowski, B. (1995) Fordism at Ford: spatial decentralization and labor segmentation at the Ford Motor Company, 1920-1950. Economic Geography, Vol. 71.

  Sappal, P. (2002) Diversity Initiatives Grow in Popularity. The Wall Street Journal Online.

 

The Model D: At Ford motor company, diversity is the model to grow. (August,      2000) Black Enterprise.

 

Thomas, V. C. (1994). The downside of diversity. Training & Development, 48(1), 60-62.

 

Toulmin, S., Reike, R., & Janik, A. (1984). An introduction to reasoning (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan.

 

U.S. Department of Labor. (1994). Handbook on women workers: Trends and issues. Washington, DC: Women’s Bureau.

 

Wheeler, M. L. (1995). Diversity: Business rationale and strategies. New York: The Conference Board.

 

 

 

 

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ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF A CONTRACTOR ON A BUILDING PROJECT

ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF A CONTRACTOR ON A BUILDING PROJECT

 

            Based on the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, a contractor is a person under agreement to undertake responsibility for the performance of construction work, that may include both the provision of services and materials, and specifying the cost and schedule for completion of the project . Building contractors are usually needed if building projects are particularly huge, complex, requiring several trades and skills, and work is in several stages.

            Contractors organize and manage the work at construction sites from the earliest phase to the finish stage. While some are a jack-of-all-trades, most of the contractors specialize on one type of building projects only. Contractors that build residential houses may also supervise construction of some building projects but do not engage in large-scale structures. Likewise, contractors specializing in huge-scale projects as bridges, dams, highways, and other complex structures most of the times do not engage in domestic or residential projects.

            When hiring contractors, education and past work experiences should always be taken into account. Contractors are usually civil engineering or architecture graduates. Yet, contractors may also hire other engineers and architecture graduates to work for them.  They must have a business license.  They must be trained in design, planning, methods, administration, and business management.  They must also be updated in various technologies.  Furthermore, they must be able to provide good references from previous clients. It is much better if they can provide the site of their previous work so it can be visually checked.

When bidding, contractors should know completely well the plans, conditions, and requirements so prices of materials and labor can be adjusted accordingly. Health and safety factors both to the workers and the future tenants are also given its appropriate weight in considering the materials to be used. 

            Contractors must know how to motivate people and subcontractors, if the latter is included in the project.   (Subcontractors are usually involved in the steel works, plumbing, electrical, roofing, concrete, dry wall, painting, heating, tile, and even swimming pool phase of the job). General contractors have full jurisdiction and administrative  responsibility  over subcontractors. If possible, subcontractors must be licensed, too. 

Contractors must communicate very well, making sure that their people understand what they are trying to impart. Sometimes, they need to go down to the level where manual workers as carpenters and steelworkers can easily understand them. They should also make themselves available at all times. They must also project an appearance of approachability to their people so concerns and problems encountered during the building project will be treated in its early stages promptly and accordingly.

Contractors also arrange shipments of materials, if necessary. They also get the required licenses and permits from government agencies. They also see to it that safety rules and regulations are followed, and that building codes as imposed by the government  are adhered to. They shoulder all the risks and responsibilities  involved.

            Contractors also manage expenses and sees to it that expenditures do not go beyond  what is stipulated in the contract.

            Contractors must also be healthy physically and emotionally. Stressful situations usually present itself most of the times. Pressure to finish the job on time, sometimes coupled with unexpected expenditures, add tension and emotional strain to the already stressed contractor.

            On the other hand, steer clear from contractors  who, barring acts of God,  do not finish the project on schedule. There are also contractors who drag work to extend working hours if there are no time limit stipulated in the contract. Furthermore, there are even contractors who ask for advances in  finances outside the agreed time-frame for release of funds. 

            It is always advisable to source out and interview at least 3 to 6 contractors before going ahead with the project. A good contractor stands out from the first meeting, and is able to sustain his professionalism all throughout the course of the project. He can offer sound advises to the client as to cost, durability, and reasonable time frame of the intended project. He is always willing to listen to the client, and even adjusts  his plans and methods  to abide by the realistic wishes of the client.  

           

 

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Curriculum Decision Making

Curriculum Decision Making

 

Executive Summary

Curriculum refers to the idea of the course that children take through most of their years on the quest to adulthood. These course and learning are not only limited to the aspect of the school and toe academe, but all throughout and beyond the formative years of the child. The curriculum is a psychological process. The people who make the curriculum decisions are probably people who adeptly understand these processes. These people who understand the needs of the developing students are in a better position to select and use the methods and techniques that will promote effective learning. With this kind of insight, the curriculum decision makers will become more competent and more professional in dealing with educational problems, particularly in various classroom situations.  The center of any educative process is the learner. Without the learner, there would of course be no need for teaching. Since it is the task of the instructor to guide the learner, in the learning processes at various stages of his development, the instructor’s success will depend greatly upon his insight into the various factors basic to growth an developmental characteristics of the learner. The success of the instructor will also depend upon his understanding of each learner as a unique individual who is responding to a very complex environment. The following is the life stages of a person, according to Super.

 

Life Stages:

When Super developed his model, peoples lives tended to move through five clearly defined “Life Stages”, which were a major feature of the model. Today, people’s careers tend to follow a less predictable pattern, so if you want to use the Life Stage idea (which may or may not be appropriate) we recommend you adjust them to fit the pattern of your own life.

 

Super’s stages were:

 

1. Growth (ages 14 and under) – This Life Stages focuses on physical growth, and is a time when people begin to form ideas about their self-worth. During this time people start discover many of their interests, talents, and abilities.

 

2. Exploration (typical age range 14 – 25) – This stage is when people start learning about the different types of work available and what is required to be successful in different careers. During exploration, the more you learn, the more committed you become to a few of the choices and you start to narrow the field to those types of jobs you would like to pursue. Near the end of the exploration stage you will (ideally!) have analyzed the career options against your personal skills, talents and interests as well as your expectations from a career (salary, hours, benefits, opportunity for advancement.)

 

(Explained like this, it sounds like a well-thought-through process. In reality it is not, which means we often make “quirky” career choices. While your first experience with this stage happens usually between the ages of 14 and 25, it is increasingly likely you will return to this stage at least once later in your life as you think through your choices again, hopefully in a more rational and considered way.)

 

3. Establishment (typical age range 26 – 45) – This Life Stage starts as people settle into their chosen career, and become productive members of society. This stage is marked by increased responsibility and personal satisfaction from work and career.

 

4. Maintenance (typical age 46 – 65) – People at this stage are maintaining their current career and participating in career development activities that will keep them up to date in their present job.

 

(With the much-heralded “end of lifetime employment”, people may or may not enjoy such a settled, stable period. Recent trends have shown discrimination against people in their 50s and 60s, although anti-discrimination laws may reduce this in some countries.)

 

5. Disengagement (ages 65 and up) – This is the stage when someone has chosen to slow down and eventually retire from their career. During this stage the emphasis moves away from paid work and leaves people with time to concentrate on the other roles they engage in like leisurite, home-maker, and citizen. ( 1980).

            With all the above statements in mind, the paper will deal mostly on the curriculum decision that thoroughly affects the individuals, the learner and the instructor. Theories and aspects will also be touched in this research paper. Moreover, the paper will tackle certain viewpoints on the curriculum taken up by the many schools today.

Introduction

            As was mentioned, curriculum is the course that people take in order to effectively develop. That is why it is vital to consider many factors before coming up with a curriculum decision. There are many factors to consider in doing this. Factors like growth and development of the learner should be taken into consideration. The terms growth and development have been continually used in most readings in psychology. Many times, these terms are used interchangeably, although in certain respects, both terms, though parallel, imply different definitions. Growth essentially refers to the quantitative changes in an individual as he progresses in chronological age. It may refer to increase in size, height, or weight. Development, on the other hand, refers to the progressive series of changes of an orderly and coherent type of leading to the individual’s maturation. This definition implies that for development to be progressive there is a direction in the manner in which changes occur. Development is also coherent, essentially because the sequence of changes that occur are related to each other and do not occur haphazardly or abruptly. For these definitions, one can notice that both growth and development imply contrasting types of changes in the individual, both are, nonetheless, related and complimentary processes.

            In many cases, people meet children of varying ages and wonder why many of them display various characteristics. The focus of the study of development precisely points to these observations. A teacher who expects to meet the needs of his learners must be aware of various developmental differences among his learners.

IT has a dramatic effect on both people’s personal and professional lives. IT is also changing the nature of organizations by providing opportunities to make fundamental changes in the way they do business. Many of the opportunities are recognized and understood. Yet a tremendous number of issues and consequences are only vaguely perceived while other questions are just now being raised (Beard, 1996). The technology is changing rapidly, with computing speeds and the numbers of transistor equivalents available in a given area of a microprocessor chip both doubling approximately every 18 months.

 

Organizations are acquiring more and more technology systems to assist in everything from manufacturing to the management of information to the provision and improvement of customer service. Harnessing and coordinating this computing power is the challenge. New tools and innovative perspectives with which to examine, interpret, and comprehend these rapidly evolving environments are always needed and sought (1996). IT creates changes not only in organizations but in institutions as well it makes jobs easier and it helps in making things be done faster.

The project is focused on determining the benefits and disadvantages of IT in education. As mentioned in the previous part IT can give benefits to companies and institutions. It can create big changes and make life easier at the same time it can be said that IT can cause some negative things and can create problem. Through the study a better understanding of how IT works in education can be initiated. How IT is used in education can also be given attention.

 

Discussion

Personal theory

One problem with IT in education is not all teachers or instructors can easily comprehend or make use of such. A probable solution to the problem is to give additional seminars and conferences to teachers/instructors for them to gain more understanding and knowledge of IT and its uses. The teachers/instructors can also be given hands on training on such so that they can ask questions to the persons giving them added knowledge.

The expected form of answer revolves around IT and education. The answer should focus on the benefits of IT on education and also its disadvantages. It should reinforce the need for IT on education and it should strengthen the relationship within the two. Moreover the answer will provide more evidences of the changes IT can do. Through the answer the changes IT can give will be known more and be more visible.  Through the answer a better understanding of IT can be done and additional knowledge of IT can be known.

The answer can create a strategic business IT outcome that will be valued by business. Through the answer a business engaging in IT will have more reasons to continue developing products and services that can be used in education. The answer will boost the need for continuing in developing the field and creating measures to make it more efficient and useful.

 

Summary

The project will focus on IT in education wherein the benefits and disadvantages of such will be given attention. IT creates changes not only in organizations but in institutions as well it makes jobs easier and it helps in making things be done faster. Through the study a better understanding of how IT works in education can be initiated. How IT is used in education can also be given attention. To collect primary data the best method to use is interview of people involved in education sector. This acquires answers that can assist in making sure that the goal of the project will be realized. The answer can create a strategic business IT outcome that will be valued by business. The research method used will be descriptive method. Descriptive research tries to explore the cause of a particular event or situation. It also wants to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study

Over thirty-five years have passed since academics began speculating on the impact that information technology (IT) would have on organizational structure. The debate is still on-going, and both researchers and managers continue to explore the relationship between IT and organizational structure. This relationship is becoming increasingly complicated by both the rapidly changing nature of IT and the increasing environmental turbulence faced by many organizations. As organizations need to process more information under these uncertain conditions, IT is one possible way for organizations to increase their information processing capability. However, other, more organizational tools are also at their disposal for processing more information. These include task forces, lateral relationships, self-contained work groups, and slack resources. Thus, the relationship between IT and organizational structures is not a simple one (1998). IT is transforming the way that business is conducted. Computers prepare invoices, issue checks, keep track of the movement of stock, and store personnel and payroll records. Word processing and personal computers are changing the patterns of office work, and the spread of information technology is affecting the efficiency and competitiveness of business, the structure of the work force, and the overall growth of economic output. This transformation in the way in which information is managed in the economy constitutes a revolution that may have economic consequences as large as those brought about by the industrial revolution (1994).

 Many people believe that the primary driving force behind this information revolution is progress in microelectronic technology, particularly in the development of integrated circuits or chips. Thus, the reason that computing power that used to fill a room and cost million now stands on a desk and costs 00 or that pocket calculators that used to cost 00 now cost is that society happens to have benefited from a series of spectacularly successful inventions in the field of electronics. But fewer people understand why the introduction of information technology occurred when it did or took the path that it did, why data processing came before word processing or why computers transformed the office environment before they transformed the factory environment. Because this technology oriented view of the causes of the information revolution offers little guidance to the direction that technological developments have taken thus far, it offers little insight into the direction that they will take in the future ( 1994). 

 

These reasons and benefits of IT to other sectors make a need to understand the importance of knowing how beneficial and how disadvantageous IT is to the education sector. It can further the importance of IT in people’s lives. The main research question is what are the benefits and disadvantages of using IT in education. Through such question the use of IT towards that specific sector will be known and what problems IT can cause towards the sector will also be known. The answer should focus on the benefits of IT on education and also its disadvantages. It should reinforce the need for IT on education and it should strengthen the relationship within the two. Moreover the answer will provide more evidences of the changes IT can do. Exploration of the benefits and disadvantage of IT to education sector can assist in improving IT and education respectively and in a way cohesively. 

Literacy is changing. Once it was entirely shaped by the technologies of the printing and publishing industries and their associated cultures. Now, however, in an age of burgeoning new media of communication, information and representation, there are more and different technologies available. These are increasingly deployed in working and playing with texts, in the practice of new and different literacy. Indeed, people are now able to recognize and acknowledge that, for schooling and education, print is simply one of a range of available techno-cultural resources. Accordingly, account needs to be taken of a profound media shift in literacy, schooling and society, a broad-based shift from print to digital electronics as the organizing context for literate-textual practice and for learning and teaching (1999).Although this does not mean the eclipse of print technologies and cultures, it does mean that people need to employ a rather different, more flexible and comprehensive view of literacy than teachers are used to in both their work and their lives. Print takes a new place within a re-conceptualized understanding of literacy, schooling and technological practice, one which is likely to be beneficial in moving parents, teachers, administrators, their children and students into a new millennium ( 1999).

 

It is estimated that there are over 43 million hosts connected to the Internet worldwide, and somewhere between 40 and 80 million adults in the United States alone have access to around 320 million unique pages of content on arguably one of the most important communication innovations in history. As a nation, Australia is also adopting technology-driven environments with increasing enthusiasm, as computer chips become ever more versatile and pervasive. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that in 1999, almost 23% of Australian households were connected to the Internet. Significantly, of these 1.6 million households, almost 71% were located in capital cities, and the heaviest users are the young: more than 74% of 18-24-year-olds accessed the Internet in the 12 months to August 1999 and some 52% of 25-39 year olds ( 2000).  For those aged between 40 and 54 years, however, the figure drops to 39% and a mere 13% for persons 55 years and over. Over the next decade, Web usage is expected to increase dramatically. The 1999 Commerce Net/Nielson Internet Demographic Survey suggests that over 90 million Americans are regular users, and this is expected to increase to over 150 million over the next couple of years. Electronic commerce is also predicted to explode. Anderson Consulting predicts that an estimated 200,000 American households are currently purchasing their food and household goods on-line, but by 2007, that number is expected to hit 20 million (2000).

 

Recent moves in international education policies confirm that governments the world over are becoming more and more committed to a technology-saturated future. In 1998, the United Kingdom spent 220 million (pounds sterling) on technology in education. In Singapore around billion was set aside to be spent over five years along similar lines. The US government also approved in 1998 a five-year, billion program called the Technology Challenge Literacy Fund; its primary purposes being to encourage `computer literacy’ and to connect schools to the Internet by the year 2000. In Australia, which is second only to the United States in its per-household use of personal computers, state governments are equally intent on ensuring that Australian students of the twenty-first century are given every opportunity of participating in and benefiting from this bright new world that will demand technologically-skilled workforces if countries and nations are both to keep pace with change and position themselves favorably in an increasingly global economy (2000). 

 

In 1998, the Victorian government committed .4m for access to computers, the Internet, on-line curriculum materials, and technology training for teachers. Similarly, over four years the Western Australian government pledged 0 m to similar projects. Tasmanian students living outside metropolitan areas are soon to be supplied with access to on-line training and education, while the Northern Territory is set to install PCs in all schools and throughout their Department. In New South Wales (NSW), 4 m is being spent over four years on computer and information technology in schools, including a number of new modes of delivery for development and training of teachers, like CD-ROM, Web-based training, email support and video conferencing. It is rather unusual to hear of such large sums of money being thrown at education, particularly for such specific goals, but technology seems to have been taken on board the education band-wagon. Time will tell if the hype has substance; but in the meantime, the notions of literacy are undergoing dramatic changes as people struggle to keep up with the digital revolution (2000).

 

People can do many things better than computers. Foremost among them are being a human being, understanding human values and what it is like to be a human being, posing problems that humans want to answer, and interpreting the results that are produced as attempts are made to solve the problems. On the other hand, computers can do a steadily increasing number of things better than humans. Educators are faced with the problem of how to educate children for adult life in a world in which computer capabilities will continue to grow very rapidly and already exceed humans in many areas. The educational system needs to develop and use authentic assessment methods to measure its success in addressing different problems (2001). 

 

A non-authentic test of information retrieval skills would be to send a person to a conventional, hard copy library and ask that person to solve a computer chess information retrieval problem. Without a significant amount of training in the use of the various types of indexes available in a library, the person might well fail to find the needed information. Of course, even if  that person succeeded, it would have taken him/her a huge amount of time relative to what  actually expended while sitting at home using the computer (2001).    

Another aspect that should be touched in the curriculum decision making is the aspects that make up the individual. The curriculum should be able to harness and foster these innate talents so that the individual may be able to put these talents into good use. An example of which is creativity.

There is an ample need to understand and analyze the process of creativity among people in applying the needed information that helps integrate the importance of creativity within the development of the problem solving skills amicably. This means that the creative process is an essential tool that describes the application of such creative information that could be a part of the cognitive skills that entails the process for enhancing certain problem solving skills. Moreover, creativity and problem solving (CPS) skills cultivate whole brain thinking that helps in their search for ideas for efficiencies in procedures and coping with changes in the environment. Thus, nurturing creativity in individuals can come up with creative ideas as needed. Many people think creativity is soft and fuzzy used as an excuse for wasting time and believe creativity is not practical since it only involves with fine arts such as music and dance. Creativity needs to be encouraged within the appropriate intelligence in order for the individuals and groups to be creative and intelligent within to act freely and right in the views of other people. Creativity is arguably the most important element in achieving success in life goals as it is argued that, to encourage and enhance creativity people involved in every aspect should address the effects of fear of taking risks and criticism. (1991)

The Importance of Creativity

            Creativity is at once the least scientific aspect of advertising and the most important (1998). To be successful, it must have impact, quality, style and relevance. Ideas must be unique and relevant to the product and to the target audience in order to be useful as solutions to communications problems (1998). This is because a “winning creative idea,” one that stands out from the crowd and is memorable, can have enormous impact (1992; 1997). Academic researchers (1982; 1999) have found creativity to be among the most complex of human behaviors to describe. It has even been suggested that creativity cannot be defined or measured (1991; 1982). The importance of creativity is acknowledged by the scale and scope of the research activity that has been conducted both to understand it and to examine its application in diverse fields. (2000)

            Then, creativity is important because in a way creativity lead to different understandings of a situation within the process of generating new ideas for the benefit of something useful such as in organizations. Thus, creativity involves the foundation the development of technology and helps promote and discover useful solutions to practical problems and ways of doing things. Creativity provides the impetus to develop new technologies and new products to satisfy the needs and wants of society. Thus, such excitement is experienced in the challenge of a quest to find a better way as  (1999),  (1999),  (1995) and  (1987) identified certain attributes that are important to the development of creativity.

Challenge: students are inspired and motivated to be creative.

Resources: sufficient resources such as time, tools and materials are available.

Environment: the physical facility is attractive, and examples of creative work are present.

Atmosphere: the affective environment is supportive, trusting, free and open.

Technology of Creativity: tools and techniques associated with creativity are utilized

Educational Environment: the administration, school and community support creativity.

            The excitement of a challenge is at the heart of a creative classroom in technology education. Competition through Technology Student Association (TSA) provides open-ended problems that encourage creativity and motivate students to do their best. The essence of the problem in the Structural Challenge event is to design and build a balsawood structure that will carry a maximum load. Students who are motivated will not be stopped. They are enthusiastic and will do whatever it takes to solve a problem. A challenge brings out the best in people and stimulates an individual’s motivation to succeed. A strong sense of passion and individual commitment is necessary to sustain the effort required to achieve a creative solution to a technological problem. “Task motivation makes the difference between what a person can do and what a person will do” (1987). Teachers need to provide challenging problems that motivate students to be creative.

            It takes resources to be able to solve a problem creatively. Relevant information and knowledge must be gathered and applied to a problem. Tools and materials must be available to try out and test ideas. Sufficient time is also important to elaborate upon ideas and develop creative solutions. Having a sufficient variety of information available provides the critical fuel for a creative solution. Factors related to information resources were ranked as the most important factors for technological problem solving in secondary technology education programs (1991) and that creativity doesn’t just happen by chance as the prepared environment nourishes it.

            The technology education classroom environment can have a positive effect and inspire the creativity of students. Models and examples of creative work can be displayed. The facility should be attractive and well-organized to enable students to efficiently try out their ideas. “Scores on tests of divergent thinking are affected by both the physical objects in the room and the activities that precede the test. Students are more likely to generate fluent responses in a stimulus-rich than stimulus-poor environment” (1995). “The total creative process requires a drive to action and the implementation of ideas. We must do more than simply imagine new things; we must work to make them concrete realities” (1996).

Atmosphere

            The climate of the classroom is critical to the development of creativity. Creative ideas are easily extinguished with ridicule and a lack of acceptance of unusual ideas. Creativity must be encouraged, recognized and rewarded. Students need to be open to new ideas and help each other to be creative. Miller observed that “creativity is a group phenomenon as much or more than an individual one” (1999). Each person is unique and this is an important characteristic of creativity. Diversity must be encouraged in the quest for broad thinking and the consideration of all possibilities. The diversity of the group contributes to the dynamics and richness of a creative solution. Hence, Ekvall in his study of creative organizations concluded that debate and critique in the spirit of improving and developing better ideas are important positive qualities of a creative group. On the negative side, he also concluded that conflict in the environment of an organization is counterproductive, lf conflict permeates the environment and then new ideas will be squashed (1999). If conflict is present among students and between students and the teacher, the production of creative ideas will be diminished. (1999) The challenge is to apply such findings to individual technology education classrooms and establish an environment that supports and encourages the development of creativity.

            The technology of creativity includes the tools and processes that enable a person or group of people to develop a problem solution that is original and purposeful. Mesthene defined technology as “the organization of knowledge for the achievement of practical purposes” (1970 ). When creativity is applied to a problem, the result is new technology, product, or system so; creativity involves the development of a better solution. The technology of creativity involves the use of proven tools, like brainstorming, within the context of a creative problem-solving model to develop effective solutions to practical problems. When creativity is present in a technology classroom, an important element of technology is represented, and an element of reality and excitement is added to the development and education of students (1987). There are specific processes and tools that are likely to improve the creativity of a solution. Awareness of these tools and how to use them appropriately is essential to an individual’s creative performance (1987). Brainstorming is perhaps the most well-known process (1957 ), but many people have developed other effective tools to enhance creativity (1974 ;1970).

            Creativity can be encouraged and developed through the use of the steps in the creative problem-solving process (1987). When people “apply these processes deliberately, they speed up their creative processes and experience greater creative productivity” (1996). reviewed several studies related to the development of creativity. “The general conclusions are the same: creative abilities can be developed by deliberate programs and methods” (1987).

It is important that the educational environment beyond the technology education classroom is supportive of creativity. Other teachers and the school administration need to encourage, recognize, and reward the creative efforts of technology education teachers and students. Parents and the community can provide role models. “The accumulated body of research on climate and organizations undoubtedly indicates that climate makes a difference in creativity” (1999). The challenge is to apply this research to individual technology education classrooms. Technology education teachers who are interested in maximizing the potential of their environment to support creativity can use the questionnaire as an assessment tool. The questionnaire identifies key elements that will encourage creative behavior. It is intended to be used by teachers to identify strong and weak areas to help assess and improve the climate for creativity in the technology education classroom.

Conclusion

Nowadays, many people have negative ideas and preconceptions about creativity, their own abilities and about the value of the process with an understanding of a thorough problem solving process and why creativity is vital to the process for the determination of intelligence by looking at certain creativity and problem solving habits and that in order to encourage creativity,  a person may open the door to a wide range of business benefits and give employees the chance to make business look great. Taking into consideration the skills to address the tasks required for problem solving and development and be able to produce their solutions in an environment that does not restrict creativity and intelligence respectively. In reflection, when people identify individuals, as gifted in such domain they often concentrate on what they know about the domain and their ability to learn about that domain thoroughly than other individuals. But gifted adults are identified as such by the creative roles they take in their fields, not by how quickly they learned about their fields. Instead, one attains fame by leading the field with one’s ideas. If one thinks of some of the most eminent people in the field of gifted education, one knows they got to their positions not by demonstrating high scores on tests of knowledge but by being leaders with their ideas about how to educate the gifted. Therefore, creativity is thought of as it pertains to the arts but it does occur in almost any kind of activity and within various groups of people such as originality and imagination, its identification can sometimes be easy since, creativity has to involve divergent thinking the ability to come up with unusual answers.

Education and Computers can go very well. They can assist each other in solving problems and make a better living for people. The literature above shows how beneficial computers and technology is to education. Without it different problems may occur and things cannot be done accordingly and efficiently. To be able to work hand in hand with changing world education should be modernized and IT should be used towards it for a better future. The example above showed what will happen if there technology is not used towards education.

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