Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Biochip technology Essay Example for Free

Biochip technology Essay The term global village is one popularized by Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan to refer to the ability of electronic communications technologies to collapse notions of geography and disrupt the conventional wisdom by which society appraises time-space relations. At the heart of the concept of the global village is the idea that because electronic communications technology are exponentially increasing their ability to abnegate space and time limitations, they enable individuals, societies and institutions to operate on a larger scale than before – phone calls can be made across greater distances at reduced costs, e-mails allow instantaneous transmission of readable content and cellular technology increases the mobility of telephony. Whereas the domain we used to operate on was on the village-scale, it is now global: a global village. McLuhan effectively celebrated the development of the global village because he believed that it would expand our social consciousness. Not necessarily make us more socially conscious, but at the very least increase the scale by which we already think. Where we used to think primarily in terms of local affairs and developments that are mostly proximate to our surroundings, the ability to transmit developments instantaneously means that citizens can now think on an enlarged scale. More enthusiastic neo-McLuhanists maintain that the global village will eradicate all barriers to cultures, nations and political institutions. However, there is some concern that this is not entirely a good thing. For example, some have worried that expanding the individual consciousness to meet the scale of the global village comes at a cost. In effect, by thinking on the global scale, individuals may find themselves effectively disengaged from local concerns and proximate issues and at the very worse actively following developments in communities they have no power to affect, and disengaged from local developments that they could realistically make a difference in. Castells (1997) contends, however, that the globalizing effects of Internet and other similar networking technologies will not necessarily eradicate political boundaries. Rather the side effect of the Information Age is that many of the things that have come to define the nation state will be effectively downsized. Sovereignty will no longer figure in the absolute sense that we have understood it before, but rather, nation-states will exist solely due to the network of alliances, commitments, responsibilities and subordinations that are more than just existent for the benefit of the state, but are necessary to its existence, and this becomes possible due to the ability to instantiate relationships through networking technologies. It is this component of Castell’s understanding of globalizing effects which hold some consonance with the views of Ulrich Beck. Beck maintains that much of the failure to really take measure of the effects of globalization is derived from a limited understanding of it. Beck contends that globalization is not something that is limited to economic relationships and complex trade relations, but something that occurs in the most internalized sense, such as the ways by which we navigate culture and social relationships in an expanded transnational view that is the result of a national sense sublimated by globalizing technologies, cultural exchanges and international relationships. However, because of the co-dependencies brought upon by the transition into Castell’s â€Å"network state,† there is a risk that globalization will erode what sovereignty and democracy there is in the weaker nation-states. In other words, rather than acting as a force for solidarity, globalization could erode democratic controls and constitute a political and economic injustice to the nation-state. This is possible when a nation-state is unable to negotiate for the betterment of its community (whether through incompetence and corruption from the weaker country, or exploitation and deception from the stronger one. ) Globalization cannot end democracy per se, but it risks compromising it to the point of rendering it ineffective. REFERENCES Castells, M 1997, The End of the Millennium, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture Vol. 3. Blackwell, Cambridge, Massachussetts. Beck, U 2000, What is Globalization? Polity Press, Cambridge. McLuhan, M 1986, The Global Village, Oxford University Press: New York.

Monday, August 5, 2019

Traditional Professional Identity Of Nursing Might Be Lost

Traditional Professional Identity Of Nursing Might Be Lost Nurse, a multitask angel, is always caring for the sick, public, patients and their families , helping with the management stuff and assisting other health care providers in order to provide holistic quality care through teamwork and caring service. This eventually brings to confusion and conflicting opinions as the professional identity of nursing become unclear and the blurring of boundaries are existing inadvertently. Barber (2002) commended that the traditional professional identity of nursing might be lost in the context of the expanded role by the nurse. The nurse tends to pass the traditional nursing role to others junior staff or healthcare assistants whenever they extended their scope of practice which usually done by doctors. As many others hospital setting, the problem in my working area are lack of doctors and the nurses appear to be the largest group in the health setting. The article( Star on line) (2010) reported that in Malaysia, the doctor and patient ratio is 1:940 in year 2009 and the nurse patient ratio is 1:645 in year 2009 and 1:375 in year 2010 as reported in The Star on line (2008). Thus, In the context of lacking of doctors, the nurses tend to takeover the expended role voluntarily as they are willing to learn and developing themselves. The expanded role usually performed by the staff in my ward is cannulation, this happened whenever the doctors are busy covering a few wards during night duty. No doubt it actually greatly increased their burdens, but they do have their key role in coordinating patients care and look after them from the organizational turbulence. Rushforth Mc Donald (2004) had done a survey on the expanded role of nurses on procedure such as IV admistration, Cannulation, ECG recording, Defibrillation and Prescibing, they found that on cannulation alone are performed by over 50% of the nurses in the respective area. The female medical ward which has 35 beds is a busy ward and one of the highest admission rate in the hospital, the turnover rate is high as the number of admissions. The bed occupancy rate was xxx% and a total number of xx patients were admitted in 2009. The average length of stay was xx days, the ward has divided into five cubicles and 2 isolation rooms for the patient either receive chemotherapy and cases of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases ( ESBL). The total number of nurses in my unit are 27 and eight out of them are senior staff nurses. Most of the patient admitted is due to hypertension, diabetes mellitus and anemia and they need the cannulation for the continuation of injection antibiotic, maintenance of fluid to prevent dehydration and blood transfusion purposes. In this paper, I will discuss the crossing boundary in the context of cannulation being done by nurses. Although the senior staffs are given the authority by doctors in performing the cannulation to the patients, sometime they are facing the situation of the role uncertainty and decision making in expending their role. In the United Kingdom, the neonatal nurse are given the title of Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner after completed the course, they are able to perform the duty as the junior doctors competently and efficiently in handling the cases of the high risk infant as described by Dilon George ( 1997). The diabetes specialist nurse provide the need of the patient relating to diet control, self monitoring and treatment as illustrated by Loveman et al ( 2003). Similarly in Malaysia, the diabetes nurse who are educating the diabetes patients and neonatal nurse who are taking care of the newborn infant are not given the title such as nurse practitioner, advanced nurse practitioner and clinical specialist nurse. Those nurses are undergone specialized post basic training and most of them are quite senior but always been referred as neonatal nurse, diabetes nurse, stoma nurse, critical care nurse and so on. Nancarrow (2004) illustrated that increasing in the overlapping of the extended role is result from the growth of the interprofessional practice and training. It happened among nurses and others healthcare providers such as doctors, dietician, pharmacist and physiotherapist which has brings to the establishment of the new nursing roles. However, Cameron (2010) has found that the senior nurses felt empowered in expanding their role and appear to be more acceptable about flexible work and multi-skilling to improve continuity, efficiency and effectiveness of patient care compare to the junior staffs who felt more stressful in the expanded role. As a nurse, I think this is due to the complex situation because of time constrain, lacking resources available nor in the nursing curriculums or workplaces. I am working as a staff nurse in a medical ward and have 18 years of experience. From my experience, I noticed that the senior staff frequently making recommendations regarding patient care and they do influence decision making by providing related information about the patient. This is always happened spontaneously during the interaction in between the nurses and the doctors. In my practice setting, the ward are monopoly by doctors because of they are seen owing full professional status by having exclusive theoretical knowledge which enable them to control over nurses. However, the junior doctors are rotating every three month and they are relied on the senior nurses for guidance on the aspects of ward practice and the details of local protocols. For instance, in the treatment decision, they will seek for the nursing advice about drug dosages if they are unclear. Jones (2007) has described boundaries can be known as Interfaces, clear dividing margins between different ownerships areas or shared areas of contact . The blurring boundaries that commonly happened in my ward is cannulation which is supposed to be performed by doctor but it is done by the senior nurses in the ward. It frequently happened during night duty, usually there are only one specialist on call, one medical official and one junior doctor on call, one senior staff nurse with post basic and two junior staff nurses are on duty. The junior doctor is responsibilities to cover a few medical wards included acute medical ward which has a few ill and ventilated patients. The problem arise whenever the nurses facing difficulties in getting the junior doctors to come to the ward to set cannula resulting the burden has increase to ward staff. The nurse must undertake the cannulation themselves either in providing the continuity of circulatory antibiotic levels or to ensure the maintena nce of adequate fluid status for the patient. However, Tye and Ross (2000) has illustrate that an evaluation done by the key stakeholders within the organization indicates that the extended role of the nurses may culminate in uncertainty, individual variation and a perception of a blurring of role boundaries. Hoder and Schenthal (2007) described that professional boundaries are defined as limit-lines protection in between the nurse and the patient. The demand for professional boundaries has increasing drastically in nursing profession, resulting the limitation must be set to ensure a safe, therapeutic connection among the nurse-client relationship. An essential component of competent and ethical nursing care is required in providing better services and reducing underlying conflict. It is the responsibilities of the nurses to establish and sustain the professional relationship through the guidance of code of ethics and professional standards. Most of the nurses in my ward are facing with the challenges even though they are given the authority in setting the cannula, this is because they have to make difficult decisions and facing uncertainty whenever they are dealing with difficult situation. In minimizing the uncertainty, they are practicing a few routes to ensure the best services are delivered to the client. First, through the documentation of evidence based practice on client preference, the nurse must get the consent or agreement from the client before delivering the services to him/her. Besides that, the NNIA ( National Nursing International Audit) are implemented to ensure the current practice did not increase infection and insertion site phlebitis, the audit is carried out by the nursing team in my practice area every twice yearly. Secondly is the source through SOP( Standard Of Procedure) and protocol or guideline that is easily accessible for nurses as referral when need. The nurses are practicing the proper hand washing technique and performing the procedure under aseptic technique to avoid infection during performing the cannulation for client. From a professional perspective, the Code of Professional Conduct for nurses (1998) states that individual nurses have a responsibilities to keep up with advances in health practice and maintain their competence in nursing knowledge and skills. Aveyard and Sharp (2009) illustrate that by performing the latest evidence based practice is able to protect the healthcare provider from any legal proceedings. The third source is the intuitive knowledge that emerged from the past experience. Benner (1984) has described a nurse must passes through five stages that is from novice to expert. Although the contribution of knowledge has been acknowledge in clinical practice, most of the credibility is subjected to biasness. This is supported by Romyn et al (2003) said that credibility must base on knowledge that used to be critique and scrutinized. In order to perform the task of decision making, Dowding and Thompson (2003) stipulated the nurses must aware that the impact of decision making are influence on nursing outcome and patients experience. Simpson and Courtney (2002) emphasized that the nurses must be able to think critically to provide best care at the same time dealing with the expansion role especially in the current health care system as it appears to be more complex over the last few decades. As suggestion, Rushforth and McDonald (2004) recommended that a sense of balancing and safer policy is needed for the few senior nurses to expand their role without jeopardized to the nursing component. The nurses are fit to practice and accountable for the nursing care they provide. Oermann(2007) suggested that evidence based practice in nursing can be searched in the web sites. By using the available research evidence and clinical expertise, the nurses are able to focus on nursing knowledge in minimizing the role uncertainty and developing a culture of lifelong learning. A emergence training programme for cannulation and re-evaluation on regular interval is needed to ensure the standard is maintained accordingly. However, training alone is inadequate to bring a change in the behavior of the nurses to take on their expanded role in performing the advanced skills. The nurses perception and the support systems are some of the important factors to be address such as opportunity are provided on regular basis in maintaining ones competencies and support from supervisors to facilitate and guide the senior nurses in the overlapping role. Inevitably, there is far-reaching implication pending on how the nurses conduct themselves in their relationships. If the blurring boundaries always happened, the nurses will be confused as it bring into an ethical issue regarding their professional role. Barber (2002) suggested that all practitioners are responsible toward their action and have high awareness of legal implication of practice during performing their overlapping role. However, Molyneux (2001) described that contribution of care from multidiscipline for the same patient through collaboration, knowledge and skills. Caldwell and Atwal (2003) found that different ideologies, unequal power, overlapping role and communication are the difficulties exist within the interprofessional practice. Therefore, a clear flow and structured at several level is needed for the interprofessional team to facilitate and guide their practice effectively. As conclusion, no doubt the nursing blurring boundaries may against the professional rule, but it had bring benefit to patients especially during night time and the treatment are able to carry out on time. Nurses must understand the additional responsibility invariably probably may increase their burden. Therefore, by using evidence-based practice, critical thinking and updating knowledge in lifelong learning, the nurses are able to extend and cross the boundaries safely to meet clients needs.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

The Jamaican Hero Essay -- Biography, Bob Marley

He is an iconic figure and an inspiration to millions of people around the world. His name is Bob Marley. Marley had a profound impact on the world’s culture that still has a lasting impression today. His music inspired people everywhere to maintain a sense of calmness, and enticed the Jamaican people to keep peace during the country’s tough political and economic times. Marley also inspired many of the future reggae musicians, and his legacy still stands to this day. His songs become well-known for its messages of universal love and Biblical prophecies, and inspired people across the world to spread the message of peace and harmony. Bob Marley was a charismatic leader, who used the power of music and his religion to influence and change his country and eventually the world. He had a lasting impact on the world that still exists today. No doubt, â€Å"One of the most important and charismatic champions of human freedoms in the 1970s, Marley emerged from humble beginnings and an early life of austere poverty in Jamaica to bring reggae music to international popularity† (King 4). Marley suffered from a very tough childhood, as the country he was born and raised in was in political and economic torment at the time, and suffered from the harsh rule of Great Britain. Marley’s mixed ancestry embodied his homelands tormented colonial past. Until 1962, the country of Jamaica had been ruled by Great Britain, whose original founders had driven the Spanish from the island in 1655 (Dolan 19-20). Marley grew up in these harsh conditions, but he managed to get through them. â€Å"Marley possessed qualities that seemed to help him through the harsh conditions. Very small, and generally soft-spoken, he managed to exude an aura that deterred people from m... ...to unite a nation in tough, impoverished times, in an attempt to unite the unstable nation of Jamaica, and later, future countries that endured the same economic, political, and social difficulties. Marley helped a troubled nation bind together during tough political times, simply with the power of music and his religion of Rastafarianism. He brought the issues to light, where other countries and people could observe the troubles of this little island country called Jamaica. Marley was raised in a very unforgiving country, and in a way, raised himself. With little money and family help, with friends, and with the message of love and peace, Marley rose above all these troubles to eventually become a legend that cannot be duplicated. Bob Marley is the definition of charismatic, and his impact on the world during and after his life will not ever be reproduced again.

The Reagen and Bush Presidencies Essay -- Comapre Contrast Comparison

INTRODUCTION It is widely accepted that George Bush Snr. was forced to play out his presidency in the mighty shadow of Ronald Reagan. Reagan's charm and personality was one of his greatest strengths and, even now, is widely revered for his time as President. Bush was reportedly always conscious of people's expectations of him in view of his predecessor and this burden seemed to weigh heavily. Reagan's achievements in Washington were considerable, if not in number then in impact. His political and strategic skills were impressive and Bush cannot be said to have equalled his achievements at home, and this is borne out by Bush's failure to win re-election. Nevertheless Bush made some staggeringly important contributions to the international arena and is deeply respected for his part in world events where there is every reason to suspect that Reagan would not have been. The huge differences between the two are even more interesting given that Bush was a dutiful Vice President to Reagan for eight years and sought on gaining office only to take over where he left off. Bush did not set out to ring the changes between Reagan and himself; quite the opposite. He purported to be the archetypal guardian president; consolidating Reagan's good work and continuing to steer America on the same path. So why then did they turn out to be such almost polar opposites? This essay explores the realms of domestic politics, vision and leadership and international issues with the focus on drawing comparison between the two men and their styles of leadership and analysing in each instance who may have been the more effective president. I will conclude that, regardless of actual achievements real success in presidential terms depends on successful handling of the media, an area Reagan understood and Bush never would. IMAGE, PERSONALITY, AND MEDIA RELATIONS It is almost universally agreed that Ronald Reagan's greatest strength, certainly early in his first term and arguably until he left office was his ability to communicate with the American people. He won the presidency not only on his package of radical reforms at a time when the current policy orthodoxies had failed the Americans (along with most of the rest of the western world), but on his winsome personality, his awesome eloquence and his considerable charisma. A direct comparison with Margaret Thatcher can ... ...symbolism than the vast disconnect between what people close to Bush perceive about the man and what much of the public ultimately believed" Reagan, on the other hand, is remembered not only for his reforms in policy, but overwhelmingly for the connection he managed to achieve with the American voting public. This not only secures him a place in fond memory but was ultimately what allowed him to achieve that which he did whilst in office; "In the modern era, the presidential image is tantamount to reality" . Where Bush might easily have been the better President given the requisite media talents and a little more political sophistication, in fact Reagan came out of his term of office the more successful of the two. BIBLIOGRAPHY Â · Kellerman, B., 'The Political Presidency', Ch. 11; (1984) Â · Light, P., 'The President's Agenda' Chs. 10, 11, 12; (1999) Â · Mervin, D., 'George Bush and the Guardianship Presidency', Chs. 2, 9; (1996) Â · Rose, R., 'The Post-Modern Presidency', Ch. 15; (1991) Â · Rozell, M. J., 'In Reagan's Shadow: Bush's Antirhetorical Presidency', Presidential Studies Quarterly; (Winter 1998) Â · Wildavsky, A., 'The Beleaguered Presidency', ch. 12; (1994)

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Ernest Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants Essay -- Ernest Hemingwa

Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernest Hemingway's short story 'Hills Like White Elephants' is a story about a couple who are having some trouble in their relationship. The main characters in the story are an American man and a girl. The whole story is mostly a dialogue between the couple. They are trying to have a fine time, but there is a tension between them and some kind of operation needs to be done. The operation can easily be done and if it's going to happen it will be done on the girl. In the story it's not being said what the operation is. The second time I read it I understand that they are talking about an abortion. The man wants the girl to do the abortion while the girl is not sure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The setting of the story is well described; the couple is waiting at a little train station between Barcelona and Madrid. The couple is sitting outside a bar 'at a table in the shade'. (171) They are having a cold drink. It?s warm outside and the view is beautiful, in the distance they see white hills.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story doesn?t give very much information about the characters. The American man and the girl, whose name is Jig, are a couple, but they are not married. The man are probably a bit older than the girl, he is mention as an American man while Jig is just mention as the girl, the story doesn?t say what her nationality is. But she can?t be Spanish because she doesn?t speak Spanish. They are traveling around because they have bags with ?label... Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants Essay -- Ernest Hemingwa Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernest Hemingway's short story 'Hills Like White Elephants' is a story about a couple who are having some trouble in their relationship. The main characters in the story are an American man and a girl. The whole story is mostly a dialogue between the couple. They are trying to have a fine time, but there is a tension between them and some kind of operation needs to be done. The operation can easily be done and if it's going to happen it will be done on the girl. In the story it's not being said what the operation is. The second time I read it I understand that they are talking about an abortion. The man wants the girl to do the abortion while the girl is not sure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The setting of the story is well described; the couple is waiting at a little train station between Barcelona and Madrid. The couple is sitting outside a bar 'at a table in the shade'. (171) They are having a cold drink. It?s warm outside and the view is beautiful, in the distance they see white hills.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story doesn?t give very much information about the characters. The American man and the girl, whose name is Jig, are a couple, but they are not married. The man are probably a bit older than the girl, he is mention as an American man while Jig is just mention as the girl, the story doesn?t say what her nationality is. But she can?t be Spanish because she doesn?t speak Spanish. They are traveling around because they have bags with ?label...

Friday, August 2, 2019

Evaluation of Strategic Marketing Models in Fashion Industry Essay

Introduction Fashion essentially involves change, defined as a succession of short term trends or fad and the very nature of fashion, where change is intrinsic, gives different emphasis to marketing activities (Eeasey, 1994). Furthermore, process research, according to Pettigrew (1992), in strategic management is paradigmatically diverse and empirically complex. Therefore, analysis of process model of strategy specific attention should be paid in fashion industry. Since it is significant without any doubt for a fashion company to choose the proper model to complement marketing strategy, evaluation of strategy process model could be essential. This essay attempts to evaluate Johnson & Scholes’ traditional model and Hill & Jones’ model in fashion industry by analysing and comparing these two models via a few cases of fashion companies. By virtue of making a case study of a listed company, Metersbonwe Group, analyzing its strategy it could have an evaluation of Johnson & Scholesâ€℠¢ traditional model while the â€Å"Bravo† of Burberry would illustrate advantages of Hill & Jones’ model despite of certain limitations. Evaluation of Strategic Marketing Models in Fashion Industry Overview of Models ââ€" Exploring Corporate Strategy model (Johnson and Scholes, 1999) The exhibit above indicates the three main processes in a linear sequence: understanding the strategic position; strategic choice; turning strategy into action (Johnson and Scholes, 1999). Johnson and Scholes (1999) pointed that each process is supposed to be regarded as closely associated, and none has priority over another process realistically for these three processes are interrelated and interconnected  in circles. In Exploring Corporate Strategy model, according to the Johnson and Scholes (1999), strategic position means that strategic analysis and understanding of the impact on strategy of the external environment, an organisation’s capability (resources and  competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders, which lays the foundation of the future strategies. In the strategy creation and choice part, there are several strategic options available for manager making a reasonable decision to choose congruent methods. Next, the strategy implementation involves the ensuring that chosen strategies are actually put into action. ââ€" Strategic Planning Process model (Hill and Jones, 2004) Evaluation of Strategic Marketing Models in Fashion Industry The figure shows that there are five major processes of the Hill and Jones’ model: selecting the corporate mission and goals; analyzing the organization’s external competitive environment to identify opportunities and threats; analyzing the organization’s internal operating environment to identify the organization’s strengths and weaknesses; Selecting strategies that build on the organization’s strengths and correct its weaknesses in order to take advantage of external opportunities and counter external threats, which should be consistent with the mission and major goals of the organization; implementing the strategies (Hill and Jones, 2004). Analysis of Comparison and Evaluation From the description of the processes of two models, it could be found that there is a difference in process between Johnson and Scholes’ model and Hill and Jones’ model. In this part, evaluation would be concluded by case analysis. In Johnson and Scholes’ model, they prefer to analyses the impact on strategy of the external environment, external elements (resources and competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders before  choosing a congruent strategy between several options. Take Metersbonwe Group as an example, the company, which was created by President and Founder, Zhou Chenjian in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, in 1995, is a listed company specialized in casual wear apparel designing, manufacturing and retailing,  playing its role as a leading casualwear apparel company (Shiwei and Hengjing, 2011). It had achieved great success in past several years. To extend their business, Metersbonwe had a new strategy to imitate the fashion model, which was i nitiated by Zara. In the market process, the company made an analysis of it internal and external environment. However, they had an imprecise market prediction of fashion trend, which made the company’s sales not as expected thus increasing company’s inventory in the dynamic market. According to China Scope Financial (2011), as of September 30, 2011, Metersbonwe’s inventory value was CNY 2.98 billion, 83% of its net asset and although Metersbonwe’s cash flow in the third quarter of 2011 became positive for the first time since the third quarter of 2010, the growth of its income and profit has slowed down. One of the main characters of Zara’s fast fashion model is that in the rapid supply chain maintaining low inventories of this model is the basis for profit (Maolijief, 2012). On contrary, the Metersbonwe had committed a fatal error in their process of strategy choice, declining inventory rate and slowing operation time many times. In fashion industry, high inventory each retention day means devaluation (Maolijief, 2012). In addition, on account of the management of the Metersbonwe, the positioning issues were all important for Metersbonwe when it is confronted with the high inventory crisis and decline of their brand image. The external environment offered the threat and ever-growing competition from other brand such as Semir. Its strong Apparel brand and existing consumer group were key advantages for  defending its position. In the dynamic market, especially in the fashion market, which is undergoing a myriad of changes in the twinkling of an eye,  if the company made an inappropriate strategic option and could not change to cope with the unpredictable situation in their process of strategy, they would turn from a success into a failure while proces s of strategy planning is essential. In contrast, in Hill and Jones’ model, analysis of organization’s external competitive environment and the organization’s internal operating environment are followed by a clear mission. The UK fashion brand Burberry will suffice to illustrate this point. Burberry started a new strategy after appointing Rosie Marie Bravo in 1997 as chief executive, which has made Burberry from boom. In the new strategy, Rosie Marie Bravo (CEO) set a mission to reposition the Burberry’s brand by selecting the corporate mission and goals, which could be regarded as the first step of Hill and Jones’ model. Burberry’s goals were to rebuilt Burberry brand image, to keep the traditional consumer base as well as attract a new, more fashion forward client base by regaining control over distribution and taking back the power over design and product development. In the process of analyzing the company’s external competitive environment, Burberry made a decision of opening a flagship store on New Bond Street in London, competing with stores such as Gucci, Versace, Prada and Chanel by placing itself on the level of these luxury fashion brands. Besides, Burberry’s fashion shows in Milan, as other luxury fashion brands usually do, was a congruent approach to draw the fashion media’s attention and to enjoy media  coverage, thus empower itself highly competitive in international fashion market. The next process after selecting the mission was analyzing the internal situation such as their narrow scope of customers and lacking of controlling design and product distribution, then Burberry made a strategy to establish six new brand levels under his direction and incorporated several alternative fashion directions previously ignored thus leading Burberry to attract majority of the potential consumers. With these new brands extending their range varying from traditional menswear to womenswear, children’s apparel, and accessories, Burberry could cope with their weaknesses of narrow scope of customers to achieve their mission. In  addition, Burberry made a plan to renegotiate with these foreign companies that the licenses previously endorsed. In this way, Burberry enabled itself to overcome company’s internal design and distribution disadvantages. In the fourth steps, Burberry took a new strategy in three aspects, according to the company’s mission and analysis of both internal and external situation to turnaround Burberry: plenty of approaches to marketing and rebranding; controlling product design and manufacture; changing distribution policy. After the implementation of the new strategy, Burberry achieved considerable improvement in its financial performance, showing a profit increase of 630 per cent between the years of 2000 and 2003 and constructing itself as a fashion luxury brand. The Burberry case demonstrates the characters and significance of every process in Hill and Jones’ model. Although, Hill and Jones’ model has its limitations as well as merits, just as Katja Kanngiesser (2004) pointed out that traditional strategy process paid much attention on analysis, reason and period of stability and presume that based on their analysis they could make reliable future prediction. Hill and Jones (2004) admitted that valuable strategies often emerge from deep within the organization without previous planning. Furthermore, other researchers hold the opinion that the real world is unpredictable and they doubt the role that lower-level managers could play in the management process (Gavetti, Levinthal, and Rivkin) Conclusion This essay presents two generalizable model of firm strategy in the fashion market and illustrates model with two cases. From the analysis of two kinds of strategy process model in company cases, it could be concluded that Hill and Jones’ model has an advantage over Johnson and Scholes’ model by virtue of analysing of Metersbonwe and Burberry while Johnson and Scholes’ model and Hill and Jones’ model have many similarities in the process of strategy model. Both Johnson and Scholes’ model and Hill and Jones’ model have its limitations as well as merits. Bibliography Andrew, M. Pettigrew. (1992), The Character and Significance of Strategy Process Research. Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 13, Special Issue: Fundamental Themes in Strategy Process Research (Winter, 1992), pp.5-16 Christopher M. Moore, Birtwistle G. (2004), The Burberry business model: creating an international luxury fashion brand, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 32 Issue: 8 pp. 412 – 422 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. (2005),†Bravo† for Burberry: From bust to boom – creating a luxury fashion brand, Strategic Direction, Vol. 21 Issue: 1 pp. 22 – 24 Eeasey, M. (2009) Fashion Marketing, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell G. Gavetti, D. Levinthal, and J. W. Rivkin. (2005), Strategy Making in Novel and Complex Worlds: The Power of Analogy, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 26: pp.691–712. Hill, C. & Jones, G. (2004) Strategic Management Theory, New York: Houghton Mifflin. Johnson G. & Scholes K. (1999) Exploring Corporate Strategy, Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall. Kanngiesser, K (2006) The Strategy Process in Dynamic Markets. Diploma Thesis, European Business School Evaluation of Strategic Marketing Models in Fashion Industry Shiwei X, Hengjing L. (2011), Constructing core competencies of virtual enterprise with information technology a case study of Metersbonwe Fashion & Accessories Co., Ltd. Business Management and Electronic Information (BMEI), 2011 International Conference on 13-15 May 2011, Vol. 1: pp.456–459. China Scope Financial, (2011). Metersbonwe Faces High Inventory Pressure. [online] Available at: http://www.chinascopefinancial.com/news/post/1736.html [Accessed 27 December 2011]. Maolijief, (2012). Metersbonwe brand clothing high inventory problem analysis. [online] Available at: http://mens-clothes-online.tm96.net/20120724/metersbonwe-brand-clothin g-high-inventory-problem-analysis-2.html [Accessed 24 July 2011].

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Apprenticeship System

EDUCATIONAL THEORY AND PRACTICE A (ETP 410S) Discuss the impact that technological development in general had on the apprenticeship system from its original form till today. In your deliberations also refer to the apprenticeship system in Namibia. Also explain the advantages and disadvantages of the Apprenticeship system. In the introduction define the term â€Å"apprenticeship system†. In your argumentation answer the question above and also deliberate the question whether the replacement of the apprenticeship system with a trainee system can solve the vocational education and training problems of Namibia.Conclude your question with a summary of the content. THE APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM 1. Introduction This assignment serves to discuss about the Apprenticeship system, its origin. I will as well deliberate a bit on the events in history which had an impact on the apprenticeship system and compare the ancient apprenticeship system to the modern type of skills transferring. A few d isadvantages and advantages will as be looked at, without derailing from the main focus of the assignment, the deliberations will mainly focus on Namibia in general.Certain aspects of my argumentations will as well look at the changes to the apprenticeship system and how Industrial revolution or technological development had an effect on the apprenticeship system. Lastly the focus will then be directed at the hot question of whether the replacement of the apprenticeship system with the traineeship system will solve the vocational education and training in Namibia. A conclusion will then be made to sum up the whole topic. According to A.Du Preez (2012: 13) â€Å"The word apprentice is from the Latin word apprentia which means learner†. The word system is a process or structure. The Apprenticeship system can be defined as a system training of training a new generation of apprentices of a structured set of skills and apprenticeships which may save as a gate way for one to enter many different careers. Apprenticeship ranged from craft occupations or trades to those seeking a professional license to practice in a regulated profession.Most of the apprentice’s training was done while working for the employer who in return helps the apprentice to master their trade and profession, in exchange for their continuing labour for a period agreed on in the indenture after they have achieved the required competency (Apprenticeship and traineeship n. d. ). Apprenticeship is a combination of on-the-job training (OJT) and related classroom instruction under the supervision of a journey-level craft person or trade professional in which the workers learn the practical and theoretical aspects of a highly skilled occupation. The history of Apprenticeship n. d. ). 2. Objectives The objectives of this assignment are to: 1. Discuss the historical impact on the apprenticeship system. 2. Discuss the impact that technological development in general had on the Apprenticeship system as from its origin till today. 3. Discuss notable changes to the early apprenticeship system compared to the modern type of apprenticeship. 4. Deliberate on the apprenticeship system in Namibia. 5. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the apprenticeship system. 6.Lastly, discuss and or deliberate on the question of whether the replacement of the apprenticeship system with a trainee system can solve the vocational education and training problems of Namibia. 7. Conclusion. 3. DELIBERATIONS/ARGUMENTATIONS Impact of historical events on the apprenticeship system Before we look at the impact that technological development had on the apprenticeship system, there is a need to step a bit back into time and look at the origin and historical impact on the apprenticeship system, being the only recognised and structured form of transferring skills from an expect to a learner.Human lives revolve around skills and knowledge in order to achieve goals, sculpturing, ploughing and creat ing of tools, are all some of the skills that have been passed from generation to the other through apprenticeship. Although not documented, apprenticeship has been part of human revolution, where parents or masters would subject young men and women to some form of skills learning in order to be able to perform certain tasks.Many years ago, the manufacturing of shoes, household utensils, boats, crafts, hunting tools, furniture, clothes, house decorations and bread baking were all produced in families and clans by specialised in doing so. As the need for such homemade items grew for commercial purposes, clan and family members with such skills formed organisations herewith known as guilds with responsibilities of protecting and guarding the exploitation of such skills and to avoid impostors from cheating the consumers and discrediting the master craftsmen.With time the guilds grew more and more powerful, they became the only authority to certify craftsman to practice the trades. With in the protection and guarding of the apprenticeship, the guilds started to set up rules and conditions of the apprenticeship, such as, suitable working conditions for the apprentice, set of wages for an apprentice who has just completed the apprenticeship and the standard of work (A. Du Preez 2012: 13). Unlike in the beginning of time, contracts were now drafted for both the master craftsman and the apprentice to sign before entering into an apprenticeship.Further readings would state that the contractual agreements signed by the two parties had with them rules and conditions for both parties to undertake. Such rules were: Rules and condition for the master craftsman: * Lodge the apprentice * Clothe the apprentice * Feed the apprentice * Teach the apprentice the art and mysteries of the trade. * Responsible for the apprentice’s morals, religion and civic education. * Teach the apprentice how to read and write. * Monitor the apprentice’s progress on a daily basis. Rule s and conditions for the apprentice: * Live and stay with the master craftsman. Work for the master craftsman for a period of time. * Obey and respect the wishes of the craftsman * Will not partake in any other apprenticeship, gambling or visit brothels. * Will only serve one master craftsman. * Would create a final masterpiece for his/her master upon completion of his/her apprenticeship as a proof of level of skills acquired (Apprenticeship n. d. ). Impact of technological development on the apprenticeship system For many centuries apprenticeship was the only kind of education a working class youth could get† while staying and working for his/her master.The apprenticeship system, which has lasted for hundreds of years since middle age has through time, gradually disappeared in its original form of apprentice and master, with the rise of industrial development. (A. Du Preez, 2012). Apprentices usually at tender ages of ten to fifteen years and would live and be fed in the mast er craftsman’s home (Apprenticeship n. d. ). Age was never a matter of concern in the ancient times, parents would allow their children to be taken away by master craftsman or would give them away due to poverty or could just not simply afford to send them to school.No education was ever provided for, for these children hence at such a young age they should have been to or attending schools. With contract signed between the craftsman and the apprentice, the young apprentice was only bound to obey their masters and only live by their masters’ wishes. In keeping up with the new era, certain laws had to be put in place to govern and transform the apprenticeship system. One such law is the Constitution of the republic of Namibia in which certain Articles based on human rights and freedoms are enshrined.We take a look at three Articles, Article 9 Slavery and forced labour, Article 15 Children’s rights and 20 Education. Article 9 Slavery and forced labour states that, no person shall be subjected to any form of slavery or forced labour. Article 15 Children’s rights, clearly states that no child under the age 16 shall be allowed to work or enter into any form of contractual agreement with an adult and most importantly it states that all children shall be cared for by both parents. Article 20 Education, it states that primary education in Namibia shall be free and compulsory.This is to stop parents from giving away or sending their children to go and work somewhere at tender age due to poverty or unable to pay education fees. (The Constitution of the Republic of Namibia). This law made it impossible for master craftsmen to practice the ancient apprenticeship system in the developing world as it protects the exploitation of humans and children in particular. Impact of industrial revolution on the apprenticeship system In the early 20s industries and technology expanded and there was a drastic demand for more skilled persons in different fiel ds.Such demands caused the master craftsman to change the apprenticeship approach, from where the learner was attached to the master for a longer period, to a more competent and demand meeting approach and which was as well changed to a more specific skills approach, a lesser or shorter period being implemented. The training of one learner at a time to acquire a wide range of skills over a long period has become a thing of the past. Masters were forced by the industrial revolution to use the on-the –job type of skills transferring and class rooms where not only one person is subjected to learning but a group of apprentices are taught at once.Vocational Training Centres were established where skills could be transferred to apprentices by different master craftsmen herewith referred to as instructors. The most notable example to this is the Namibian Police training standard. Police recruits immediately after the colonial era were recruited and trained policing in general withou t specialisation. Some were recruited on grounds of being ex-combatants or being ex police officers in the South West African Police (SWAPOL).Some of these members were sent out to countries with better police training institutions for longer periods of time to acquire the much needed policing skills and knowledge e. g. nine months police training in Zambia. The whole idea was seemingly to return experience police officers on which the police grounds could be established. According to A. Du Preez (2012: 17) â€Å"the apprenticeship system was seen as a highly beneficial method of proving skilled workforce in those trades that demanded skills and of retaining the knowledge and experience of older workers†.This was praised as a good idea, however the training period became a concern as Namibian people needed a lot of skilled and educated policemen and women. The advanced ways of how crimes were committed and the introduction of computers, the police was forced to take a new dir ection to curb the crimes and meet its goal of maintaining of law and order. Decent numbers of men and women were recruited and subjected to a more military-like training by experienced skilled police officials.Trainings continued with the military-like trainings where more military tactics were being taught, mostly the use of fire-arms and drill formations. The public demanded for more skilled and educated police officials to walk the streets. A new map was the drawn on the training to meet the changing needs. The trainings centres were then revamped to an education friendly environment. A different learning approach was adopted from that of more skills training to a 50/50 practically and theoretically oriented training.Instead of training being done in fields, classes became the song of training where educated and better qualified police official undertook to train new police recruits with more theory than practice. As time went by, training was then divided into three phases: mai nly Basic recruit training for six months, six months probation on the job practices and then a choice of specialisation in any field of choice, be it investigation or traffic policing. With the adoption of technology, a lot of things changed.The way how skills are currently being transferred compared to the early apprenticeship, the use of computers to give classes, the use of visual and audio materials where the master is never personally in contact with the apprentices, unlike the early form, where the master was on a daily basis present with the apprentice, monitored and guided him/her throughout the entire learning process. Take for example the telecommunication system, in the 19th century, for one to make a call; you have to be connected to an operator who then has to connect you to an operator who then has to connect you to the numbers or number of choice.These persons working at switch-board were only skilled persons trained by a craftsman which has all changed to the use of computers. The whole process where the operator connects the caller to the next intended receiver changed in the 20th century with the use of computers. The fate of all operators is unknown as their services were no more needed. According to A. Du Preez (2012:24) â€Å"Focused training was needed to satisfy the demands of a fast growing industrial environment†. The differences between the ancient and modern apprenticeship system ANCIENT APPRENTICESHIP| MODERN APPRENTICESHIP| . Anyone could sign an indenture with the master craftsman. (A. Du Preez 2012)| 1. Only persons meeting the required entry standards are registered. | 2. Age was never part of the requirements for anyone to undergo apprenticeship by a master craftsman. | 2. Only persons above the age of 16can be admitted as apprentices. | 3. The apprenticeship ran for many years. | 3. It runs on a more manageable period of time. | 4. The skills taught were not specific and were only based mostly on crafts. | 4. Each appr enticeship has its own craftsman with his/her students/learners| 5.There was a very low output of skilled apprentices. | 5. Since the apprenticeship is done in classrooms, they are a lot of graduates annually. | 6. The apprentice stayed and lived with the master craftsman during the entire apprenticeship process. | 6. The apprentices do not stay with masters, they their own homes. | 7. The apprentice could not engage in any other activity or change the field of study. | 7. The apprentice is likely to engage in other apprentices, depending on personal wishes. | 8. It was only a one- on-one type of skills transferring. 8. The presentations are done by one master to a group of people at once. | 9. After the completion of the apprenticeship, the apprentice was required to make and present a masterpiece to the master craftsman, which would the be presented to the guild, and only after the guild’s approval would the apprentice be certified as a journey’s man and later a craf tsman (A. Du Preez 2012: 15)| 9. The final year concentrates more on practices in workshop and on the job trainings after which theoretical and practical examinations are done.Success in the examination would amount to a Certificate, diploma or degree and higher. | 10. Done at the residence of the master. | 10. Done in classrooms, in industries and in workshops. | This clearly indicates just how much has the apprenticeship system being modernised and transformed to meet the social, economic, industrial and political pressure. The apprenticeship system in Namibia The apprenticeship system in Namibia has in years focused mostly on the psychomotor domain learning approach, other that the cognitive domain as a learning style.The psychomotor domain is the system being used in the vocational training centres as Namibia is driving towards the direction of competency, efficiency and effectiveness in skills acquiring. For a learner to be able to go and work, one has to firstly complete all v ocational requirements and lastly graduate (A. Du Preez 2012:19). We take a look at the police force once again, all police cadet or police recruits would firstly undergo a six months training programme with both theoretical and practical examinations and test being done.Those who do not excel in shooting practices would be recommended never to carry an official service firearm and as for those who do not make it academically, their fate is in the streets or recommendations for retraining and would remain cadet constable (students) until such time they qualify. Namibia’s development plan of vision 2030 is the driving force behind the current state of the apprenticeship system with the aim of meeting the target of a better and developed nation.Some Namibian may have used the ancient and colonial form of apprenticeship where a learner was attached to the master for a period of time while acquiring skills, but have changed to a vocational and on the job kind of apprenticeship. T he much thought after example to this is the Namibian Police Force, franchise shops and institutions known as vocational training centres. Let us look at the vocational training centres, skills are not passed from professionals or qualified persons in the form of practices only but theory is as well included and that goes for the police trainings.The use of firearms was taught only at shooting ranges but as of recent years, students have to undergo a theoretical approach to the use of firearms and their understanding is tested through written test and examinations after which they are then exposed to the practical shooting exercises at shooting ranges while under the supervision of instructors. The current situation in Namibia is different to that of the ancient times as apprentices are free, they receive a salary and in most times have homes of their own while undergoing training. According to A.Du Preez (2012: 21) â€Å"Namibian’s training system of training takes place in classrooms as well as in workshops and trainees receive tools to work with. Apart from doing practical wok in workshops trainees also receive individual set of writing exercises which they have to carry out and can only go on the job-attachments once they have mastered the skills†. The above practices shows just how much Namibia is striving to achieve its vision for developed Namibia by 2030 by allowing masters to conduct an on the job trainings and the introduction of vocational training centres where skills are acquired to perform or master certain tasks. Nowadays, apprentices are members of a production force as they train on the job and in the classrooms. They are paid wages, work a regular work week, and live in their own homes rather than that of a master. The apprenticeship agreement set out the work processes in which they are to be trained and the hours and wages for each training period. At the end of their apprenticeship, they receive certificates that are similar to diplomas awarded to the engineering graduates of universities (History of apprenticeship n. d. ).The above quote/ paragraph is in line with what the police is currently doing, where recruited persons undergo basic police training and are paid a probation salary until the completion of another â€Å"6† six month on the job probation. Advantages and Disadvantages of the apprenticeship system Every institution or department, entity or environment has its own ups and downs which in most cases we would refer to as the advantages and disadvantages; we will now take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of the apprenticeship system. The lack of job or employment opportunities in Namibia currently, has forced a lot of young women and men to seek for employment forth education in a sense of firstly securing a job and then study and without knowing, they enter into apprenticeship systems rather than the educational process. The choice of firstly seeking or getting emplo yed and then study has its own greener grounds and its down falls, this is evident in the Namibian police, when young men and women would prefer to be recruited, get trained and then pursue a career in either policing or other police related fields. Looking at some of the advantages and disadvantages, it will then be a sole choice of an apprentice to decide the direction of learning. Advantages of the apprenticeship system * Acquire skills and knowledge about your career before registering for educational qualification. * You get paid or an apprentice gets paid a salary while learning and under-supervision. * Working or work experience gives an apprentice the courage to take on any task. * Apprenticeship helps an apprentice to gain more knowledge, experience and skills which may be of advantage in or when enrolling for at a tertiary institution. With apprenticeship, less books or studying is at own will as all skills and knowledge are obtained through practice and guidance by or fro m experience supervisors. * The â€Å"master† or leader gets to monitor, guide and correct his/her apprentice through practice as the saying goes â€Å"Practice makes Perfect†. * Police officers get recruited and as soon as they are appointed as cadet constables, they start to receive a cadet constable‘s salary or while awaiting to undergo a six month basic training, they are paid a student’s salary (career information & E-Recruitment n. . ). * . Disadvantages of the apprenticeship system * Unlike a university graduate recruit an unqualified recruit gains a lesser salary compared to that of a university graduate recruit. * Sometimes having to work before obtaining a university qualification may cause an apprentice to be lazy to study and obtain such need qualification. * With the revolution of technology, the chances of an apprentice without any tertiary qualification of being retrenched to make way for qualified and certified persons are very high. It may take long for an apprentice to get promoted at work than a university graduate. * An apprentice may in some cases not be able to learn all about the choice of career through practice but tertiary education may be likely cover all aspects. * Persons with tertiary qualifications are likely start at command or senior position to that of an apprentice. * When opting to study, distance learning may be a bit difficult than having to do full time (career information & E-Recruitment n. d. ).The apprenticeship system may in other words being referred to as a backlog for young persons, as it is a very long route to obtain tertiary qualification. Replacement of the Apprenticeship system with the Trainee-Based system What are apprenticeships and traineeship; Apprenticeships and traineeships combine paid work and structured training. They allow you to learn a trade or workplace skill and receive a nationally accredited qualification. apprenticeships and traineeships can both be undertaken eithe r full-time or part-time (The traineeship). What's the difference between an apprentice and a trainee?There is a very thin line of difference between the two; however there are two main differences between an apprentice and a trainee. An apprentice is trained in a skilled trade and upon successful completion will become a qualified tradesperson. Trades such as electrical, plumbing, cabinet-making and automotive mechanics are just a few that are a part of the apprenticeship scheme. A trainee is someone who is being trained in a vocational area. These vocational areas include, but are not limited to, office administration, information technology and hospitality.Upon completion of a traineeship you will be  eligible to receive  a minimum of a certificate II in your chosen vocational area (ApprenticeshipInfo n. d. ). Many people have been fooled into believing that apprenticeships are only about plumbing, mechanics, tailoring or building. There are a lot of apprenticeships out there ; it all depends to the choice of an apprentice on what he/she is comfortable with. When the traineeship system was introduced in 1985, it shared many features with the apprenticeship system on which it was based.Over the years, institutional scopes have reduced some of the differences although traineeship system trainees have not benefited from the strong behavioural norms that have governed the apprenticeship training (Grey et al 1999). Why choose an apprenticeship or traineeship? An apprenticeship or traineeship can enable you to: * Gain valuable work experience * Get paid while you learn * Learn the latest knowledge and skills * Get a qualification that's recognized across Namibia. Apprentices and trainees complete a qualification while learning skills at work and under the guidance of a training organisation (ApprenticeshipInfo n. . ). When the traineeship system was firstly introduced in the mid eighties, it was introduced with a variety range of characteristics of the apprent iceship system, with the expansion of technology; most of the characteristics which the traineeship system shared with the apprenticeship system were and have been reduced. Therefore, the features that underpin the completion of the traineeship are essentially the same as for an apprenticeship, but their effects are weaker. Traineeship have not benefited from the strong behavioural norms that have governed the apprenticeship training (Grey et al. 999). Many occupations and industries in which traineeships are used have a tradition of a weak attachment between the employer and the employee. The unstructured nature of labour markets means that the gain to a trainee completing is small, and the lower cost to the employers means that they are less concerned recovering this cost from the trainees. However the whole traineeship completion rate changed in the midi-nineties where the system became more popular and more significant, the low completion rate became more visible (NCVER 2005).Ap prenticeships and traineeships are available in a diverse range of industries and across a vast variety of occupation groups. Traineeships and apprenticeships also allow for the training to be done on a full time or part time basis and can vary in their duration. In addition although most trainees and apprentices are engaged in a single contract with one specific employer or the vocation they are training in and so may effectively enter into more than one training contract prior to completing an apprenticeship or traineeship (NCVER 2001).The successful completion of a traineeship or an apprenticeship requires the achievement of three specific tasks as listed below: * Completion of formal off job requirements of the traineeship or apprenticeship, including completion of the qualification specified in the training contract. * Completion of the indenture period of the contract of training, in addition to satisfying the employer endorsed on the job requirements. Once the above requireme nts have been met, notification of the successful completion of the training contract by the trainee or apprentice, along with provision of required evidence substantiating the successful completion of the traineeship or apprenticeship must be provided to the relevant training authority. High rates of non completion amongst apprentices has been recognised as being costly for employers who invest significant time and resources into offering such training opportunities but may receive little or no return for their efforts (WADOT 1998).An apprenticeship or traineeship is a formal contract between an employer and an apprentice or trainee to undertake vocational education and training under the supervision of the employer or trainer. Traineeships and apprenticeships are offered to a variety of workers including those falling into one of the following groups: i) New entrants to the labour market ii) Re-entrants into the labour market iii) Existing workers who are looking to upgrade their skills with a specific employer.Looking at the above findings, it all comes to one ending, industries are resorting more and more to the traineeship system as it is cheaper and affordable, there are contractual bindings with the trainee and they do not lose a lot in the whole training process. Although the traineeship system appears to be an advantage for the industries, it has however been regarded as a way for companies to score cheap labour without decent consideration of the workers’ needs. The bonus for the trainees is that they do not get to be counted as unemployed, even though they are living on near poverty wages (Google Groups Traineeship are a scam).Apprenticeships and traineeships are available in a diverse range of industries and across a vast variety of occupational groups. Traineeships and apprenticeships also allow for training to be done on a full time or part time basis and can vary in their duration. In addition although most trainees and apprentices are en gaged in a single training contract with a specific employer, some may change employer or the vocation they are training in and so may effectively enter into more than one training contract prior to completing an apprenticeship or traineeship (NCVER 2001). Facts about apprenticeships and traineeships: apprenticeships and traineeships combine work with structured training * traineeships vary in length from 12 months to three years * apprenticeships can take up to four years to complete but many apprenticeships can now be completed more quickly than the traditional four years * apprenticeships and traineeships can be full-time, part-time, or school-based – where some of the training is undertaken while the apprentice or trainee is in high school * existing employees may undertake an apprenticeship or traineeship * apprenticeships and traineeships require employers to enter into a training contract with the apprentice or trainee * Employers work with a training organization and the apprentice or trainee to draw up the training plan (ApprenticeshipInfo n. d. ). Training can be delivered using one or more of the following options: * In an appropriate environment, such as an employer's premises. * Using flexible delivery methods, such as video link, teleconference, correspondence, work books, online self-paced learning, or an internet classroom link, where training is delivered by the training organization * In the workplace, where training is delivered by the employer (ApprenticeshipInfo n. d. Where can an apprenticeship or traineeship take you? On completion of an apprenticeship or traineeship you will have learnt new skills and gained experience and confidence working in a real job. This puts you in a great place to keep working, to go on to further study or even start your own business (ApprenticeshipInfo n. d. ). The afore-stated argument, if looked at the current direction at which the world is aimed and the use of technology and how much industries req uires specialisation in fields and more critical on theoretical knowledge when planning and achieve, the replacement of the apprenticeship system will not solve the vocational education in Namibia.A trainee graduates with a lower or unrecognized qualification whereas an apprentice graduates and qualifies in his/her field. It would therefore be wise and advisable that the two systems run side by side, where the traineeship prepares trainees for the apprenticeship system. The NYS (national youth service) under the Ministry of Youth runs a traineeship programme, where young men and women from all walks of life undergo a training programme and upon completion they get integrated into apprenticeships. A person who does t he apprenticeship is according to the findings, guaranteed a job unlike the one who goes through the traineedhip. Conclusion The deliberations in the assignment looked at main topic of the apprenticeship system.The apprenticeship system was an early form of education or transfer of skills from a craftsman to an apprentice or a learner in a number of years, however hence the early apprenticeship system was a one-on-one training, these whole system started to change from a one-on-one transfer of skills to one-on-many form of education and the duration minimised to a more shorter time frame due to industrial revolution and technology. The apprenticeship system has entirely changed from its original form due to historical events and industrial revolution. In the deliberations, an emphasis was made on the advantages and disadvantages of the apprenticeship system.The other part of the assignment took a focus on the apprenticeship system in Namibia in particular The recruitment of police officers changed from skill training to a 50-50 theory and skills training due to an industrial demand for more educated law enforcement officers. Although Namibia still practices the apprenticeship system, compared to the early apprenticeship system, trainees are not ent irely attached to their masters and, they are paid a salary based o the type of work performed. Current apprentices are being trained on job. The point of concern was the question asked, will the replacement of the apprenticeship system with the traineeship system solve the vocational education and training problem in Namibia.For Namibia to remain competitive to other nations the introduction of the trainee system to replace the apprenticeship system will just diminish the values of the vocational training institutions as they will be forced to enrol unqualified trainees upon the completion of the traineeship. A suggestion is then made that the apprenticeship and the traineeship system runs together as there is a thin line of difference between the two systems. References: * A. Du Preez (2012). Educational Theory and Practice A. Unit 1: 1-26 Published by centre of open and life-long learning, Windhoek, Namibia. * History of apprenticeship (n. d). Retrieved on 14 February 2013 from * http://. Ini. wa. gov/TradesLicensing/Apprenticeship/About/History/default. sp * Advantages and disadvantages of apprenticeship system. (n. d. ) Retrieved on 14 February 2013 from http://www. allaboutcareers. com/careers-advice/apprenticeship/advantages-of-apprenticeship * Traineeship. (n. d. ) Retrieved on 26 February 2013 from http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/education-20961113 * Apprenticeship and traineeship. (n. d. ) Retrieved on 27 February 2013 from http://www. bafensw. edu. au/courses/types/apptrain. htm * Apprenticeship and traineeship. (n. d. ) Retrieved on 27 February 2013 from http;//www. apprenticeshipsInfo. gld. gov. au/apprentices/index. html * Apprenticeship (n. d. ) Retrieved on 27 February 2013 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Apprenticeship