Measurement Of Advertising Effectiveness Across Different Media Media Essay

Measurement Of Advertising Effectiveness Across Different Media Media Essay Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine advertising effectiveness of four media. These media include both traditional media like television, radio and print and a new medium like the internet. Design/ Methodology/ Approach An online questionnaire was floated asking the respondents to evaluate the four media on eight different parameters namely, informativeness, emotions, attitude, action, attention, entertainment, irritation and deceptiveness. The results were analysed by comparison of the means using the One Way Anova and Tukey b Test, was applied to see the difference between the effectiveness of different media on the basis of the eight parameters listed above. This was followed by Terpstra Jonckheere Test to confirm our order of alternatives. Findings The study determined that different media have significant differences in their effectiveness when evaluated on the above mentioned eight parameters. According to the study, the consumers perceive television as the most effective advertising medium followed by print, internet and radio. Research Limitations/ implications Only four media were considered for the study and it measured the effectiveness of different kinds of advertisements in general. Also, the respondents belonged to the same age group. Future research can be done with more media and can be extended for a particular product and for a particular brand. Practical Implications The study can be used to determine the most effective media for advertising a particular product. Also the advertising requirements differ with the life cycle of the product. The same can be evaluated with the help of this study. Originality/ Value There have been past studies to evaluate the advertising effectiveness of different media but none of them has been particular to Indian context. Key Words advertising effectiveness, comparison between different advertising media, traditional media compared to web Paper Type Survey based research paper INTRODUCTION Media, from long, has been used by advertisers to build brands; be it television, radio, print, internet or outdoor advertising. With increasing competition and the rat race between the various sellers, it has increasingly become important for the advertisers to differentiate themselves from others, and the efficient advertising mix has a very important role to play in the effectiveness of this differentiating behaviour. Often marketers face themselves with the problem of deciding on how much to spend on advertising on the various types of media. This decision rests on the measure of effectiveness of each of these forms, which is often a tough task. For the same product, the effect of a particular media may be far different from the others. Also, the effects of these media may vary largely across the various product categories as well. Hence to reach to the optimum advertising mix its necessary for the marketers to evaluate the perceived value of each of these media on its consumers. How do viewers perceive the TV over other types of media? Is the modern media like internet more effective compared to the traditional media like TV and print? To answer these questions, the study focuses on the view, opinions and perceptions of people who are exposed to the various media. Here, in this paper, we intend to measure the perceived value of the various forms of media in the mind of consumers, and quantify this to reach to an advertising value for each of the media across a particular product category. This perception of viewers has a large role to play on the advertisers selection of various media for advertising, and allocation of the advertising budget to these media. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Advertising on the four media which are taken into consideration for the purpose of this study namely, television, radio, print and internet have their own advantages and disadvantages. While television, radio and print are the traditional methods of advertising and have a long history behind them, internet has emerged as an advertising medium in the near past. Over the years, internet has emerged as a competitor to the traditional media and has created a niche for itself. It is however not clear from the previous studies that consumers who watch all four kinds of advertisements consider all of them equally effective or not. Also, there is a dearth of research when it comes to measuring the advertising effectiveness of the four media vis-a-vis each other in the Indian context. This study aims to fill this gap that exists. ADVERTISING ON DIFFERENT MEDIA Advertising on Television Television advertising started in United States in the year 1941. Television advertising started in India in the eighties and from then there is no looking back for this medium of advertising. Television is a commonly used medium for advertising campaigns due to its popularity and the capability to reach audiences of all ages (Edell Keller, 1989). According to the New York Times, television is to stay in India. It has seen a phenomenal growth in the past and will continue to grow. There are been a 20 percent increase in the number of homes with televisions. It has increased from 88 million in 2000 to 105 million in the year 2009. There has been a 21 percent increase in the advertising spending on Indian television from the year 1995 to 2005. Spending on television advertising reached $1.6 billion in the year 2005. Television has several advantages over other medium. The reach of television is much wider than that of other advertising media like print and it does so in a shorter duration of time. Also, television has multiple communication appeal as it uses both hearing and vision. Â  By appealing to both senses a TV advertiser can use these to reinforce each other. Television as an advertising medium has its own set of disadvantages. The cost of advertising is much higher for television as compared to other forms of media considered here. Also, if the advertisement is not intrusive enough it may fail to capture the attention of the audience. In addition to this the number of advertisements which fight for the coveted time slots on television may add to the clutter and may not help in reinforcing the belief of the customer. Advertising on Radio Advertising on radio started in the early 1920s, when the first radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers and retailers who offered programs in order to sell more radios to consumers. These days radio is no longer considered to be an attractive means of advertising. Radio, an old- fashioned medium existing in the shadow of high tech boom of internet advertising and cable TV, is not considered lucrative anymore (Joachim Jean C., 1999). Though radio ads have decreased in popularity but still it is widely used as an advertising medium because of the benefits it provides. The key advantage of radio advertising is its cost effectiveness as compared to other media like television. The advantages of radio advertising are low production costs and selectivity in reaching segments of audiences homogeneous in demographics or lifestyles (McDonald, 1998; Roberts Berger, 1989). Also, radio has a wider reach in terms of the number of audience covered vis a vis television or internet. Radio advertisement has the disadvantage of being ephemeral, since the consumer can only hear the ad, it becomes very necessary to have an ad which is highly attention grabbing. Also, due to smaller coveted slots, cluttering of ads may happen. Apart from this, the decrease in the popularity of the medium has made radio advertising less sought after. Print advertising is one of the oldest modes of advertising. With the advent of radio, television and internet, print advertising has lost its lustre. Due to the advantage that print medium has on the cost front, it is still the most sought after advertising medium for small, local businesses. Print medium has a very wide reach and it proves to be very cost effective. The advertisement can reach different segments in a wide geographic region. The people can refer to the ads multiple times and therefore it has the desired permanence. The biggest limitation of print is that the ad has to compete for the attention of the reader. In the limited space that the medium provides, the ads may just get lost in the clutter. In addition to this, more and more people are now switching to online versions of magazines and newspapers. So the traditional print medium is losing its charm .Advertising on the Internet Advertising on the internet started in the year 1994 when Wired magazine came up with its commercial web magazine which was the first of its kind. With this online magazine started the era of of advertising on the Internet. Since then, advertising on the Internet has increased rapidly, mainly due to an astronomical growth in Web traffic. But with this increase in the web traffic clutter over the internet has increased manifolds. The internet has many advantages over the traditional forms of media, the most prominent of them being the cost. The cost incurred is a fraction of the cost which will be paid for a similar ad on television. Another advantage of Internet advertising is that it provides a medium to buy the product as well. No other media offers this flexibility. As with other advertising media clutter is an issue, as competition for Web users becomes more intense. Also, the frequency of pop up ads can cause irritation in the consumer. Apart from this the rate of usage of internet is really an issue especially in developing countries like India and this makes internet advertising less popular. LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESIS Advertising Effectiveness as defined by Ducoffe is a subjective evaluation of the relative worth or utility of advertising to consumers. Ducoffe, in his study, suggested media mix has an important role to play in advertising effectiveness. In his research, the respondents were asked to rank different media in terms of their role in advertising. Consumers ranked television the top labelling it the most valuable source, followed by print media, direct mail and radio; web was placed at bottom. As per previous studies, consumers consider newspapers to be most effective in informativeness, reliability and credibility whereas television and radio rate lower on these attributes. Comparision of Traditional Media with Web With internet emerging as an effective media of advertising, a synergy in advertising through various media forms can be achieved by integrating internet with other media to achieve companys objectives. Leong et al [1998], in his study, suggested that though internet is different from other media, it can be used to complement other media. Many researchers [Negroponte-1995] are of the view that TV viewing would become obsolete in certain time with computer activities replacing it in a large way. But at the same time, there are many that do not support the replacement view [Coffey and Stripp-1997]. They do agree with TV popularity decreasing to some extent but expect it to still remain a popular activity. As per Kanso and Nelson [2004], various media can be integrated to serve the purpose, thereby enticing customers to the product/ brand. A similar study by Chang and Thorson [2004] show the combined effect of advertising on various media viz. traditional and web is far superior compared to repeated advertising on individual mediums. As per the survey carried out till date, there does not seem any paper which provides a complete comprehensive comparative analysis of different forms of media. Gap in extant literature The study by Ducoffe presents the results of a survey focussing on the perceived value of web advertising vis-Ã  -vis other media. To understand what makes advertising effective, Ducoffe identified the dimensions of advertising which include informativeness, irritation, deceptiveness and entertainment. But this study was limited to comparing traditional media and web advertising and also excluded parameters like degree of information dissemination and emotional effects. Though Leong et al did provide few parameters like attention, emotions, precipitating action and attitude to find out the advertising value of a particular media, but the study was limited to comparing the internet advertising to traditional media. Also, most of the researches carried out so far miss on the point that the respondents chosen should be exposed to these various media so that their responses reflect the true effectiveness of media. We intend to choose those exposed to all the various media forms as our respondent base. This effectiveness varies across the various product categories, their phase in the product life cycle, the demographics of the target group, and hence cannot be generalized. Hence, we intend to carry this research so as to keep these extraneous variables constant and can later be easily replicated across all the categories. THEORETICAL BASES DERIVATION OF FOR THE HYPOTHESIS Figure 1: Application Model The hypothesis has been derived separately for each of the eight parameters, discussed above, and is described below stating all bases for the derivation of each. Informativeness According to the information gathered about informativeness of the various media, internet ads are the most informative, followed by print, television and radio.[Leong, 1998] This fact seems to be correct as the information available about a product/service is very expansive on the internet, due to links provided that help the user gain unending information. This is closely followed by print ads that contain extensive information printed about the product, due to the availability of space. Television and radio provide lesser information, due to the expensive per second rates. Television is more informative than radio due to the visual aid available. Hypothesis 1 The level of informativeness of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with internet ads being the most informative, followed by print media, television and radio in this order. Attention This section shows how engaging and interactive the media is. Again, television and radio score high on this factor, due to their audio-visual and audio aid respectively. This is followed by print and internet. Print, due to its direct impact in a newspaper or a magazine ranks next in this regard followed by internet ads which might not be that engaging for the user. Hypothesis 2 The level of attention of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with television ads being the most attention seeking, radio, print media, and internet in this order. Emotions According to Nielson, the internet is a more rational medium, while the television is an emotional medium. Thus, television rates high on the emotional factor, followed by radio and print, with internet being the least emotional, due to least interactiveness of the medium and it being the most informative. Hypothesis 3 The level of emotions of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with television ads being the most emotional, followed by radio, print media and internet in this order. Precipitating Action Persuasion is an action that drives a user towards purchasing the product. Internet purchasing is the most popular and is significantly higher than telemarketing. Internet is followed by print in precipitating action. Print media seems to influence people towards buying a product due to the informative nature of the medium. Radio is the least persuasive in this regard as radio just provides a recall for the product. Hypothesis 4 The level of precipitating action of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with internet ads having the most precipitating action, followed by print media, television and radio in this order. Attitude Attitude defines the degree to which advertisements are able to change the beliefs/attitudes of people towards the product or the brand. This would affect the final buying decision of the product or service. The order for this factor ranges from television, print, internet and radio from most effective to least effective in changing attitude. Hypothesis 5 The level of attitude of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with television ads being the most attitudes changing, followed by print media, internet and radio in this order. Entertainment According to the information gathered about entertainment, television ads come out to be the most effective, followed by radio, print and internet. [Larkin] Television tops the list due to the audio visual effects present. This is followed by radio. The print media shows the entertainment factor through its creative designs and catchy print messages. The internet is considered to be a rational medium providing clear information without the frills. Hypothesis 6 The level of entertainment of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with television ads being the most entertaining, followed by radio, print and internet in this order. Irritation Advertising effectiveness depends on the users receptiveness towards an ad, and on their attitude towards advertising. Non relevant ads on TV, in newspapers and on the radio are perceived as inevitable by consumers; on the Internet, they are considered to be a nuisance. Television and radio ads are considered irritating due to the disturbance they cause during normal TV or radio screening. Print media ads are considered least irritating as they do not hinder normal operation of a newspaper or a magazine. Hypothesis 7 The level of irritation of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with internet ads being the most irritating, followed by television, radio and print media in this order. Deceptiveness Another important factor to calculate effectiveness of a medium is to measure the credibility of the medium. According to our research about the subject [Larkin], television ads seem to be to the most deceiving because of the lower airing time, thus the effect could be deceptive and important facts about the product are left out. This is followed by radio and print, with internet being the least deceptive due to the depth of information present on the internet. Hypothesis 8 The level of deceptiveness of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with television ads being the most deceiving, followed by radio, print media, and internet in this order. Overall Perception The overall perception of advertising media effectiveness has been taken to get an overall picture of the effectiveness. Hypothesis 9 On general/overall perception of the customer, television is the most effective, followed by print media, radio and internet in this order. METHODOLOGY Scale Development The scale items were adopted from Ducoffe [1996] and Leong et al [1998]. A total of 17 statements were used for the proposed scale. A 5-interval scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree was used to measure the response to each item. The respondents were given special instructions to not get biased towards a particular advertisement, brand or a product, rather evaluate each media as a whole. The internal reliability score was measured using Cronbachs alpha. The coefficient alpha reliability indicates that the items in each scale are significantly high above 0.7, except for Deceptiveness and Irritation. Though the value of alpha is not significantly low, this lower value is approximately equal to 0.6 which is close to the acceptable value. The instrument thus used was a 17-item scale, with eight underlying factors viz. informativeness, attention, emotion, precipitating action, attitude, entertainment, irritation and deceptiveness. The results were analysed by comparison of the means using the One Way Anova and Tukey b Test, was applied to see the difference between the effectiveness of different media on the basis of the eight parameters listed above. This was followed by Terpstra Jonckheere Test to confirm our order of alternatives. The scale items are listed below- Table 1: Scale Items Respondents Our survey was taken by 106 respondents in the age group of 18-30 years. Considering the kind of research we were conducting, only those people who had been exposed to all the four media viz. TV, Radio, Print and Internet were chosen to take our survey. Respondents were also asked to rank various media in terms of effectiveness with 1 assigned to the most effective medium and 4 to the least. RESULTS Result 1: Informativeness The level of informativeness varies significantly across different media, with respondents rating radio as the least informative. Though respondents consider internet most informative, followed by print and television, the tests reveal that the difference between this three different media is not significant enough to be considered. This is consistent with our hypothesis. Result 2: Attention The level of attention varies significantly across various media with respondents rating radio to have the least level of attention. Though respondents consider television the most attention catching, followed by print and internet, the tests reveal that the difference is not significant in the case of internet and print media, thus might not be considered. This result is slightly different than our hypothesis, according to which internet had the least level of attention. The reason for such a difference could be the difference in times from when the article was written and when the survey was taken. Table 2 : Reactions to Advertising on Various Media Measurement Model Means Scale Relia-bility Signi-ficance Level TV Radio Print Internet Informativeness 3.512 3.031 3.742 3.746 0.698 0.000 Ads provide relevant product information. 3.717 3.160 4.123 3.840 Ads are sources of up-to-date product info. 4.038 3.425 3.934 4.105 Ads supply complete product information. 2.783 2.509 3.170 3.330 Attention 4.344 2.986 3.642 3.524 0.768 0.000 Ads are attractive/eye-catching. 4.434 2.698 3.745 3.651 Ads are effective in producing engaging messages 4.255 3.274 3.538 3.396 Emotions 3.778 2.835 2.901 2.651 0.543 0.000 Ads give details about the product, but do not stimulate emotions* (Negative Question) 2.264 3.047 3.189 3.359 I am touched by ads. 3.821 2.717 2.991 2.660 Precipitating Action 3.953 2.698 3.755 3.255 0.737 0.000 I have thought of buying an advertised product after watching the ad. 3.953 2.698 3.755 3.255 Attitude 4.118 3.340 3.717 3.481 0.737 0.000 Ads help people change their attitude towards the brand/company. 4.170 3.349 3.821 3.547 Ads help people change their beliefs related to the product. 4.066 3.330 3.613 3.415 Entertainment 4.335 3.151 3.340 3.288 0.762 0.000 Ads are enjoyable 4.245 3.255 3.330 3.179 Ads are exciting 4.425 3.047 3.349 3.396 Irritation 2.871 2.988 2.522 3.006 0.573 0.000 Ads insult peoples intelligence 2.755 2.623 2.472 2.566 Ads are annoying 3.076 3.528 2.585 3.585 Ads are confusing 2.783 2.811 2.509 2.868 Deceptiveness 3.698 3.590 3.349 3.590 0.561 0.010 Ads lie 3.660 3.406 3.330 3.613 Important facts about the products are left out of the ads 3.736 3.774 3.368 3.566 Mean responses to the item, n=106 (1 = Strongly Disagree, 5 = Strongly Agree) * Significant at 5% level of significance ** Cronbachs Alpha Reliability Test was used Table 3 : Terpstra Jonckheere Test for ordered Alternatives HYPOTHESIS TESTING PARAMETERS HYPOTHESIS Rank of different Media [from highest to lowest] T-J Statistic* Sig. 1 Informativeness Internet >Print >TV >Radio 7.269 0.000 2 Entertainment TV >Radio >Print >Internet 7.254 0.000 3 Irritation Internet >TV >Radio >Print 4.043 0.000 4 Deceptiveness TV >Radio >Print >Internet 1.768 0.077 5 Attention TV >Radio >Print >Internet 4.495 0.000 6 Emotions TV >Radio >Print >Internet 8.340 0.000 7 Precipitating Action Internet >Print >TV >Radio 3.161 0.002 8 Attitude TV >Print >Internet >Radio 7.536 0.000 FINDINGS TESTING PARAMETERS FINDINGS Rank of different Media [from highest to lowest] T-J Statistic* Sig. 1 Informativeness Internet >Print >TV >Radio 7.269 0.000 2 Entertainment TV >Print >Internet >Radio 8.963 0.000 3 Irritation Internet >Radio >TV >Print 4.889 0.000 4 Deceptiveness TV >Internet >Radio >Print 3.049 0.000 5 Attention TV >Print >Internet >Radio 10.386 0.000 6 Emotions TV >Print >Radio >Internet 8.595 0.000 7 Precipitating Action TV >Print >Internet >Radio 9.697 0.000 8 Attitude TV >Print >Internet >Radio 7.536 0.000 * Significant at 5% level of significance After having performed Tukey-Bs test to check which particular medium differs significantly from others, : Terpstra Jonckheere Test for ordered Alternatives was performed tovalidate the prescribed order of mediums as suggested by the hypothesis and key findings. These results were in conformance with those obtained by the Tukey B test. Result 3: Emotions The level of emotion varies significantly across the different media, with respondents rating television to have the greatest level of emotion. This was followed by radio and print in the same order, although the tests revealed that this difference is not significant enough to be considered. Internet was considered to have the least emotion. Our hypothesis is quite similar to the result, with only difference between radio and print. This could be due to the latest trend of social messages in print advertisements. Result 4: Precipitating Action The level of precipitating action varies significantly across the different media with respondents rating radio to have the least level of precipitating action followed by internet. Though respondents consider television to have the most precipitating action, followed by print media, the tests reveal that this difference is not significant enough to be considered. This result is significantly different than our hypothesis according to which internet has the most precipitating action, followed by print, television and radio. This could be due to the increasing popularity of telemarketing in the current times. Result 5: Attitude The level of attitude varies significantly across the different media with respondents rating radio to have the least level of attitude and television to have the most. Though respondents consider internet and print to follow television, the tests reveal that this difference between internet and print is not significant enough to be considered. This is similar to our hypothesis. Result 6: Entertainment The level of entertainment varies significantly across the different media, with respondents rating television as the most entertaining. This was followed by internet and print, although the tests reveal that this difference is not significant enough to be considered. Radio was found to be least entertaining The only difference in the result from the hypothesis is the position of radio which according to the hypothesis is the second most entertaining after television. This change could be attributed again to the changing times, where radio advertising has taken a back seat in comparison to the print and internet media. Result 7: Irritation The level of irritation varies significantly across the different media, with respondents rating print as the least irritating. Though respondents consider internet most irritating, followed by radio and television, the tests reveal that this difference is not significant enough to be considered. The hypothesis also yields the same result. Results 8: Deceptiveness The level of deceptiveness varies significantly across various media, with respondents rating print as the least deceptive, but the tests reveal that the difference in print, internet and radio are not significant enough to be considered. Though respondents consider television most deceptive, followed by internet and radio, the tests reveal that this difference is not significant enough to be considered. The hypothesis is same for the most deceptive media, but according to the hypothesis, internet is least deceptive. Result 9: Overall Perception Table 4 :Mean rankings of various media Media Mean Rankings Television 1.3208 Print 2.4906 Internet 2.8113 Radio <

Proposed Computerized Examination

Computerized Examination is an application that establishes a connection between the university and the users specifically the teachers and students. This application covers only two features of course management system mainly the examination and course monitoring. Teachers use the application to prepare and deploy the examinations. The students, on the other hand, can take the test at their most convenient time and know their results instantly. Course Monitoring System is defined as an application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of courses or training programs. This application covers the courses that the students take when they take an entrance test.This system will help the teachers determine the number of students taking the course they want. The system can also monitor the student applicants’ courses, population and other pertinent information concerning their examinations. Details such as the total number of test takers, the total number of students applying for a particular course and also the number of students who passed and failed are included in the proposed system. The organization of the Guidance and Counseling Services of Filamer Christian College in June, 1973 was prompted by two administrative concerns: 1) arising conflicts in some of the academic units, and; 2) in order to prepare for accreditation in 1980.The advent of the professionalization of the guidance and counseling known as â€Å"Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004† (RA 9258) strengthened the programs and services through upgrading the qualification and proficiency of the guidance workers. The Guidance and Counseling Center is trying to make unnecessary improvements and innovations every now and then to respond to the guidance needs of the university. Their vision is to have a professionalized guidance services for the development and enrichment of individual and group lives; Mission is to provide a proactive, functional guidance se rvices for the development of holistic, well-functioning individuals, and; Goals is to provide stable, proactive function programs in the basic areas of Guidance Services. Guidance and Counseling offers the following services like: individual inventory services, testing service, individual and group counseling, information service, research and evaluation, placement and  follow up, and orientation.The Career Guidance and School Promotion activities bring the school closer to the elementary high school graduates of the province within reach. Seminar-workshops are conducted annually to help the graduating students learn the basics of jobs hunting and facilitate an understanding of career development. An information center is established and maintained for educational, social and occupational information to guide clients in decision making. Scholarships, job opening and job requirements are posted for public notice. Provide educational, social and occupational counseling to guide ind ividual’s choice and decisions through homeroom guidance, classroom guidance, and guidance hours during departmental convocations.To enhance program, the Guidance and Counseling Center organized the Peer Counseling Program which actively involves volunteer students trained for the work. Their system is capable to produce result but they need more in improving for the better and faster release for the entrance examination and for the monitoring of course. In five years, Filamer Christian University will have efficient and faster method of obtaining a computerized examinations and in monitoring the courses.Problem StatementTraditional examination method spans thousands of years in our country, and frequent exams today brings a lot of problems as well.1. The Guidance Office is using complicated forms.2. The test checkers are having a hard time checking the papers and separating the courses that the students take. 3. The current manual system is inefficient.Problem Objectives Gen eral Objective To analyze and develop an online entrance examination and course monitoring system for the Guidance office of Filamer Christian University.Specific Objectives 1. To design the proposed system that features user friendly electronic tests and accessible online. 2. To design the proposed system that automatically checks test papers and monitors the specific courses chosen by student applicants. 3. To design the proposed system that can prevent the common  errors experienced through manual test checking thus achieving accuracy in automatic test checking results.Scope of the ProjectThe guidance counseling department is directly involved in the development and implementation of the proposed system since the department is directly in charge of giving examinations to student applicants in the institution. It includes the examinations, monitoring of courses in every department of the freshmen students in the university and scholarships that the Guidance and Counseling Office offers.Computerized Examination and Course Monitoring System handles all the operations and generates reports as soon as the test is completed which saves the precious time of faculties spent on reviewing answer sheets. The proposed system includes course monitoring. It excludes the services of the Guidance Office like the Individual Inventory Services, Individual Group and Counseling, Information Service, Research and Evaluation, Placement and Follow Up and Orientation. The institution that will be directly involved and integrate the proposed system is in Filamer Christian University.Significance of the ProjectThe University will benefit from it because the proposed system can be a featured innovation in relation with student services specifically in introducing online entrance examination and course monitoring.The Guidance counseling department will benefit from it because the proposed system introduces an efficient alternative to manual examination. Faster turnout of the examina tion results will help the different colleges in the processing of the student applicants’ which will also yield in higher enrollment. The student applicants can instantly get their test results through computerized examination which will help them to conserve their time and effort in waiting for the results.Definition of TermsTerms here are conceptually and operationally defined for better understanding of the readers.

Organizations as Open Systems – China Star Chinese Restaurant

Relationship: worked as an order taker five years ago. Responsibilities included taking and packing the orders, end-of-the-day bookkeeping. Introduction China Star is a fifteen-year old, mid-size Chinese restaurant serves common Chinese dishes. It has a dinning area, and a smaller bar/administrative area that has a back door where customers come to pick up their telephone orders. The staffs include the owner/manager, an order taker, a waiter, two busboy/girl, four chefs, two part-time delivery drivers, and one cleaner. The restaurant is in an excellent location: very close to the Reston Town Center, surrounded by numerous high-tech companies and rich residents, but has been carrying its flat revenue for the past decade. It opens seven days a week, yet its most profit comes from the $5 range lunch combination during weekdays and carryout dinner orders. The dine-in dinner business had slowed down after several years of its opening, the average table that the waiter serves each night is about five. Carryout orders constitute about one half of the restaurant's total sales. Its customer base has shrunk into office workers and residents within several miles. Analysis As an open system organization, China Star's inputs are the workers, the raw food, and the facilities. Enough workers, the skill of the workers, the quality of the raw material, and the states of the facilities are all important in producing the satisfying output—fresh, delicious food and excellent service. But China Star was far from inputting enough: a) The skills of the chefs were just so-so, and it always had only one waiter. During the busy lunch hours, all the customers came at once; it was impossible for the waiter to take care of each table well and give each customer full attention. Often the customers got impatient, started to call the bus boys, and found that they hardly speak any English. Sometimes when the customers were happy they'd try to talk to the Chinese busgirl and asking her questions about China and Chinese food, but the girl wasn't able to continue the delightful conversation, and the customers were disappointed, even embarrassed. b) In order to save time and costs, restaurants mass process their wholesale ordered raw food once a while. Large restaurants have state of the art refrigerators and freezers for them to separate and preserve the food accordingly. But China Star has only one large walk-in refrigerator for almost everything and the storing wasn't done in a very pleasant manner. Inevitably the food tasted funny several times. c) The restaurant's decoration was old and it looked rather messy and stuffy. The drawings on the wall looked cheap and the Great Wall embossment was coarse. It was not a pleasant place to sit and enjoy a formal meal at all. With various stylish restaurants opening in the area, and the Chinese food rivals developing in every shopping center offering chicken-fried rice of $4.75, China Star has neither product nor price to compete with. It soon entered the Negative Entropy state of an open system. The restaurant failed to take advantage of its surrounding office buildings and residents, most of all, the excellent economy during the late 1990's. Its business fell into the typical â€Å"cheap carry-out Chinese food† image. The dine-in customers felt bored sitting in a typical Chinese restaurant, while they can hang out in a lively place with TV and live band just 3 blocks away. People came to China Star for cheap food only, and carryout orders save tips. But even carryout orders declined soon. During the peak lunch time the telephone order volume is extremely high. Customers often have to be put on hold since there is only one person responsible for taking the orders, send them to the kitchen, pack the orders, and sometimes phone the customer back— again the input is not sufficient. It's easy to make a mistake with disastrous result: one, sometimes two if the orders are switched, very angry and hungry customers that would never recommend this restaurant to others, and food that cannot be resold. Although this system was obviously moving toward its death in a highly competitive environment, the owner wasn't actively seeking solutions. The waiter and other employees were often telling him customers' comments, giving him advises–which applies the â€Å"feedback† principle in the open system theory, but he had ignored them all. (the restaurant was finally redecorated a few years ago, other changes unknown) It's actually not very hard for China Star to start a better cyclic. Restaurants are relatively less-complicate organizations. The most important principles are inputs and feedbacks. The restaurant could increase the human, material, information inputs, and adapt more the changing environments, for example, revise the menu and serve one-of-a-kind Chinese appetizers with Chinese wines and expensive, authentic green teas; hire more waiters and a few performer play soothing music with Chinese traditional instrument for the exhausted people at the end of the day; construct a website for the restaurant and make the carryout ordering web-enabled. And of course, listen to the feedbacks, both from the outside and inside of the organization. As these changes apply, the restaurant will also increase the price on its menu, without worrying about irritating its customers. As mentioned before Reston is a high-income area where people are more into â€Å"style† and willing to pay more to have a good time or feel special. Once the restaurant has established its reputation and attracts certain group of loyal customers, its sales will become stable and the organization enters the steady state until the environment changes again.

Free Essays on INFORMATIONAL TEXT

What is Informational Text? Informational text provides ideas, facts, and principles that are related to the physical, biological and social world. Informational texts may take many different forms: picture books, photo essays, chapter books, articles and essays, letters, diaries and journals, factual books including almanacs and statistics, brochures and manuals. The primary purpose is to communicate information. (www.scholastic.com) How does is differ from fiction? Fiction is generally defined as a narrative that is imagined rather than real compared with non fiction which is based on fact. Fiction is a large category that includes many kinds of literary works. It includes historical fiction, realistic stories, plays, fantasies and folklore. A fictional text may be a novel, short story or play. The purpose of fiction is to entertain and involve readers in stories of life. (Fountas and Pinnell, 2001, p 401) Why is it important to teach children how to read it? It is important to teach children how to read informational text because: „_ Provides success in the later years of Schooling. As children progress they are faced with content area text books as well as informational passages on tests. Introducing the children to informational text early on allows them to better handle the information.  ¡Ã‚ §Children learn to read and read to learn ¡Ã‚ ¨ (www.Scholastic.com) „_ Prepares children to handle real life reading. Children need to be prepared to read newspapers, non fiction magazines and web based materials. To prepare children for the real world we need to teach them how to apply their knowledge effectively. „_ Develops vocabulary and other types of literacy knowledge. When reading informational text there is a stronger emphasis on vocabulary. Students are introduced to new concepts and there are many teachable moments. Learning to read diagrams, tables and other types of graphic organizers... Free Essays on INFORMATIONAL TEXT Free Essays on INFORMATIONAL TEXT What is Informational Text? Informational text provides ideas, facts, and principles that are related to the physical, biological and social world. Informational texts may take many different forms: picture books, photo essays, chapter books, articles and essays, letters, diaries and journals, factual books including almanacs and statistics, brochures and manuals. The primary purpose is to communicate information. (www.scholastic.com) How does is differ from fiction? Fiction is generally defined as a narrative that is imagined rather than real compared with non fiction which is based on fact. Fiction is a large category that includes many kinds of literary works. It includes historical fiction, realistic stories, plays, fantasies and folklore. A fictional text may be a novel, short story or play. The purpose of fiction is to entertain and involve readers in stories of life. (Fountas and Pinnell, 2001, p 401) Why is it important to teach children how to read it? It is important to teach children how to read informational text because: „_ Provides success in the later years of Schooling. As children progress they are faced with content area text books as well as informational passages on tests. Introducing the children to informational text early on allows them to better handle the information.  ¡Ã‚ §Children learn to read and read to learn ¡Ã‚ ¨ (www.Scholastic.com) „_ Prepares children to handle real life reading. Children need to be prepared to read newspapers, non fiction magazines and web based materials. To prepare children for the real world we need to teach them how to apply their knowledge effectively. „_ Develops vocabulary and other types of literacy knowledge. When reading informational text there is a stronger emphasis on vocabulary. Students are introduced to new concepts and there are many teachable moments. Learning to read diagrams, tables and other types of graphic organizers...

Acting Adrenaline Essays - Concession Stand Food, Free Essays

Acting Adrenaline Essays - Concession Stand Food, Free Essays Acting Adrenaline The thrill of being on stage, the thrill of making people laugh, the thrill of giving joy to the audience member waiting in their seat for the show to start. Acting on stage is like being able to be a whole new person without having to worry about anything for a while. Sometimes I can hardly contain myself when I'm on stage doing what I love most. When the spot light is on me my eyes shimmer like diamonds. The lights are blinding but beautiful. The smell of concession stand food is enlightening. The night before the show is like having the weight of the world on your back. When I first get on stage my hands start shaking, my heart starts pounding, I start blinking repeatedly. Acting is the art of being a performer and acting is truly that an art form. A life without the ability to act would not be a life worthwhile. The thrill I get when I am on stage is un-imaginable by an outsider. The feeling of being on stage brings more adrenaline to your body then a heart patient waiting for the shot he must get to save his life. Acting brings me what I need to feel alive and make me feel normal. Acting brings a feeling me a feeling of happiness. I may not have been blessed with the ability to play sports, or the ability to be a successful billionaire at the age of 17 but one thing I was sure blessed with is the ability to act. Acting is my adrenaline rush that makes me feel like I can walk on water without any complications. Acting is my bridge to terabithia that lets my mind and body wonder all over the place in front of hundreds of people without feeling like I am being laughed at. The feeling I get before I get on stage is the same feeling of having a 15 pound baby kick me in the stomach. That all goes away as soon as I get on stage, the feeling just drops. I am now able to be myself in an environment I am use to. There are no bullies to torture me to laugh at me for being different; everyone is now laughing with me for being funny and me being me. There is no other feeling in the world that can compare to the way I feel when I am acting on stage. The way I feel for acting has no comparison.

Article Review #4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Article Review #4 - Essay Example The planners of this operation knew that in order to do so, the true scale of the convoy must be hidden from Axis knowledge; once the Axis do learn of it, their leaders must be kept from knowing its true objectives and their forces must be kept preoccupied far from the intended landing sites of the Allied forces. In his article â€Å"Fortuitous endeavor: intelligence and deception in Operation Torch†, Commander Patch pieced together the planning and execution of this ambitious undertaking and underscored the significance of military deception and signals intelligence to its success. Torch planning commenced in August 1942 with the formation of the Armed Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) led by General Eisenhower. During the planning, signals intelligence (SIGINT) of Allied forces was greatly enhanced when the British’s Government Code and Cipher School (GCCS) broke down high-grade Axis cipher codes, providing a source of intelligence information known as ULTRA. The intelligence information gathered by Allied forces helped shaped the strategic and operational framework of Torch. Particularly, SIGINT sources provided decrypts and Y-intelligence that informed Torch planners about weather conditions in Axis-controlled areas, accounts of Axis order of battle, movements of Axis shipping and naval assets, intentions of Axis leaders, and the Axis’ perceptions of the intent of Allied Forces. The latter helped Torch planners gauge the efficacy of their deception measures, a strategy they employed to help secure their covert operation. Deception measures in war strategies have been valued as far back as the time of Sun Tzu but it has never been used in the scale that Operation Torch intended. Here again, signals intelligence played a key role. The extensive double-agent network controlled by British forces planted information that was to confuse the Axis forces regarding the true objectives of the massive

Should Americans have free universal health care Essay

Should Americans have free universal health care - Essay Example Also, deeper evaluation of why the government should consider a free universal health care has been explained well. The opposing viewpoints have been revealed and were corrected with a brief explanation too. Both sides of the coin have been weighed with various studies to explain the efficiency or importance of the program. A Position paper to the issue: â€Å"Americans Should Have a Free Universal Health Care† There are many people who long to have freebies in life such as free food, free key chain, free shirts, and even free gift certificate in salon and spa. Some makes fun of it and some do not. Every laughs that these freebies bring has some â€Å"real thing† accompanied with it. It is pretty obvious that every man who wants freebies in life lacks for something. And that is the issue: if there is someone who cries for some â€Å"freebies† and it seems to bring goodness on the other side if evaluated well, would the authority listen? Health is one the most imp ortant things that people do consider. If they are not having a good lifestyle, their health would be on the peak of harm. They would experience illness and worst, even death. Health has become a big issue in the United States making universal health care to be the answer for these health issues. According to Torrey (2008), universal health care is a view where everyone, who belongs to a certain place, is covered with basic health amenities and would not be denied of any health related needs. Today, there are several debates that discuss whether the Americans should have a free universal health care or not. Julie Sykora (2010) listed a few countries that embrace the universal healthcare system such as Canada, Germany and Japan and compared their health services with the United States of America. According to the writer, the United States is the only industrialized nation whose citizens are not guaranteed health care rights. As a result, as many as 45 million citizens are uninsured. Sykora (2010) also criticizes the unnecessary paperwork included in the American medical care system and considers them repetitive and unnecessary. Also, according to Avery Johnson (2010), a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, it was showed that the data and statistics of the rising uninsured, based on the 2010 Census Bureau, are dramatically increased in a year’s time. Most of the drop is seen in employer sponsored insurance, while people are found moving to government funded health insurance that can be seen with a significant increase in number. The Democrats use these findings to support their health care reform, and, on the other hand, Republicans representatives also want to get every American covered under health insurance. It is obvious that literally, people value their health and always make it a point to work with it. The government should consider their cries. Health is a valuable thing that one should always consider. It is a good point if the government would l et the universal health care to be freed. All Americans should have free universal health care. This is because free universal health care would encourage them to start preventive medicines and avoid major health problems. Also, it would let people work part-time or be stay-at-home parents without worrying about the health