Examining and Evaluating the Globalization of Globacon Nigeria

Examining and Evaluating the Globalization of Globacon Nigeria Modern global businesses have to satisfy a myriad of conflicting demands coming from different directions. In a competitive world, firms use integrated controls to preserve corporate standards and strategies, which help attain economies of scale. They also make certain innovative decisions that help in sustaining the growth of the business and create competitive edge over the other firms in the industry. Some of these core decisions is on participating more actively in the local and global market, while bearing in mind that to operate efficiently and effectively on the global platform needs sensitivity to indigenous market situations, adaptability under varying circumstances, and responsiveness to new prospect. Multinational companies increasingly face intense competition globally. In these emerging situations, companies seek to implement strategies that will improve and sustain the growth of their business. Because of this, multinational companies are changing the way they structure their businesses, changing their modus operandi in order to conform to todays business environment. For todays business managers the need to understand this strategic motivation for change is of utmost importance. For they to be responsive, there must be concern not just for the now, but also for the companys unforeseen future. This entails planning, organizing, directing, and controlling resources and managing a diverse labour force in a way that will be beneficial to all structures of businesses internationally. Overview of Globacom Nigeria Limited Globacom Limited is a Nigerian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, a privately owned company and one of Africas fastest growing telecommunications company. Globacom is the market leading mobile service provider in Nigeria and operates in the neighbouring West African states (Globacom Limited n.d.). According to (Globacom Limited n.d.) it is reputed to be one of the fastest growing mobile service providers in the world, and aims to be the biggest and best mobile network in Africa. The telecommunication industry in Nigeria in particular and the world at large characterized by huge investments in technology and is exposed to rapid fluctuations in the market environment, such as consolidation of both telecom operators and network providers. The providers are competing for the limited number of customers, present on the global stage. Competitors can be either large multinational companies, such as Vodafone, or small regional companies, such as MTN, Za in etc. The global industry performance is largely dependent on continued growth in mobile and fixed communication in terms of both number of subscriptions and usage per subscriber. Moreover, the current merging of the telecom, data, and media industries changes the conditions in which the telecom operators do business. Consequently, the competitive environment is changing and novel strategies, addressing the new market conditions, are developed. Now in its bid to meet the organisational aims and objectives, the company wants to know the possibility of increasing its participation in the local and global market. Thus, this paper seeks to outline the key issues involved in localisation and globalisation, strategic decisions involved and implementation challenges with Globacom as reference. THE CONCEPTS OF GLOBALISATION AND LOCALISATION Globalisation is a term that denotes the process of strengthening political, economic, social and cultural relations across the world. Different authors and scholars have tried to define or explain globalisation. (Ohabunwa 1999), understands globalisation as a development which is analytically reforming interactions among different countries by eliminating bottlenecks in the areas of communication, commerce, culture. According to (Ohiorhenuan 1998), globalisation is the widening and deepening relations of national economies into a worldwide market for goods and services, especially capital. (David 2009) Sees globalisation as international way of doing business using strategic decisions based on global profitability rather than local considerations. Generally, globalisation is the integrated and co-ordinated approach by which industries evolve from multi-national to global competitive structures through trade, financial transactions, and exchange of information, ideas, technology, and the movement of people. Localisation on the other hand is the opposite of globalisation. Localisation entails that multinational companies recognises national economic issues and are locally responsive in meeting local demands. With this perspective in mind, (Meyer and B.D.Wit 2004) opined that managers in the international departments of multinational companies, should then be permitted to be responsive to particular local conditions. Arguing a case for localisation, (Chen Jun 2008), stated that companies localise their operations because of the various differences and political obstacles between different local markets, and that the cost of neglecting or disregarding local uniqueness in preference to that of global setting is too high. The choice of increased participation in the local and international market has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of global are cost-based, maximizing economies of scale and reducing repetition of processes and materials, thereby rea lizing efficiency. The advantages of localization are on the other hand are revenue-based, promoting variation to reach all customer positions and customer satisfaction (Buckley Ghauri, 2004). Porter,(1989) a proponent of global convergence perspective, argued from an international integration angle in his article The competitive advantage of nations that the world is becoming globally integrated but that the competitive advantage of a company is dependent on a combination of both its national circumstance and its strategy of harnessing it. He further opined that it behoves on the company to seize the opportunity of competitive advantage existing in its country. However, a globalisation perspective that is becoming more globally accepted by both the academic world and decision makers of multinational companies is that of Douglas and Wind who does not agree with the principal assumptions of the global standardization philosophy. Firstly, they opine that there is absence of evidence about uniformity in global customer taste, as there is diverse customer behaviour and taste even within the same country. Secondly, Differentiation as against low price strategy is more profitable and can reduce over competition in the industry. Thirdly, economies of scale of product is not the only credible reason for global convergence, research and development, marketing and after sale service sometimes are even more important than production. There is a consensus that multinational companies should not just focus on one side of the divide, but try to adjust the balance between localization and globalization. Multinational companies should deal with the problem differently according to different strategic contexts. (Douglas and Wind n.d.). Consequently, from the analysis, it is clear that the study of the dilemma of localization and globalization is approachable from different angles. The magnitude of globalization is different from country to country and there is no one best organizational response to globalization, every organization should balance those factors dynamically and find the strategy best suited to their company. PARADOXES For a firm to participate in local and global environment, some underlying internally and externally issues have to be analysed, rationalised and dealt with according the situation on ground. Meyer highlighted some paradoxes that exist and are instrumental to final strategic decisions by multinational companies. Globalization and localization Multinational companies are facing the paradox of globalization and localization in breaking into each emerging market. Generally, there are various ways on how multinational companies organise its global activities: The first according to (Chen Jun 2008) is global convergence perspective, which lays emphasis on taking advantage of their corporate resources and attaining global interactions, while the other is international diversity perspective, which lays focuses on adapting to local difficulties. According to (Tallman and Yipp 2001), the three basic strategic issues involved in multinational companies operating globally are geographic spread, localisation and global integration. The question here lies in whether companies should consider the global market in its entirety or recognise the local market structure as its main stream of business. Profitability and Responsibility The dichotomy (globalisation and localisation) pushes the companies into understanding their purpose in business. Different businesses have different visions and mission as seen in their various statements. According to (Meyer and B.D.Wit 2004), some of their motives is to maximise profit for the owners (a shareholder value approach), or to meet the requirements of the general populace (a stakeholders values approach). In deciding on increased participation in the market, Globacom will have to decide which is more germane to its core values. Why Firms Globalise From the discussion, companies that decide to globalise, or use global strategies will have some beneficial consequences such as gaining new customers for their products and services, other advantages are: According to (Yip, Mintzberg and Quinn 1991), companies can reduce costs by pooling production or other activities for multiple countries. They further opined that other methods such as exploiting lowers factor cost i.e. moving manufacturing activities to countries with low costs, moving production between countries to take advantage of lowest costs at a particular time, also reduces costs. Excess capacity and economic risks can be absorbed through foreign operations (David 2009) There will be increased competitive advantage as companies will act as checks and balances on each other. With joint venture programs, companies will learn the culture, technology, and business practises of the host nation. Global savings distributed more efficiently as countries higher productive capacity for capital e.g. UK, can borrow from countries with excess fund. (David 2009), also stated that economies of scale can be achieved as large scale production and better efficiency allow higher sales volume and lower price offerings. Other factors such as economies of scale in production, purchasing, faster accumulation of learning from operating worldwide, decrease in transportation and distribution cost, reduced cost in product adaptation, and the emergence of a global market segments have encouraged the competition on a global scale. However, the decision to globalise has some inherent drawbacks. Barriers such as governmental policies and institutional limitations, tariff barriers and duties, transportation cost, variances in customer preference and demand, are some of the drawbacks enumerated by (Douglas and Wind n.d.). Seizure of foreign operations by nationalists as stated by (David 2009), is one of the disadvantages. The economic changes fashioned by globalisation have brought about business displacements and job losses in many countries, changed the commodity composition of trade and led to distortions in local consumption patterns, thereby bringing about relative price changes that local consumers find difficult to adapt. Globalisation has also led to a situation where financial disturbances emanating from one country quickly spreads like wildfire to other countries with destabilizing consequences. (Obadan 2004). STRATEGIC GLOBAL DECISIONS In order to achieve an objective, aim or goal, every business must have a strategy. There is no common or single definition of strategy as it relates to and can be applied to many contrasting fields such as marketing ,economics, investment, military, gaming, and as well as corporate global environment. Strategy can however be generalised to mean a plan of action, thought out in advance, aimed at achieving a particular objective, with particular reference to gaining competitive advantage for an business over other businesses in the same industry. (Barney and Hesterly 2010) , defines strategy as a theory by a firm on how to gain competitive advantages. (Mintzberg 1988), proposed five definitions of strategy Plan A conscious thought out course of action, a guide made in advance before implementation. Ploy made with the intentions of outsmarting other competitors. Pattern i.e. a consistent and accurate behaviour resulting from the plan. This can be realised, unrealised and emergent strategies. As a position i.e. the way, a company positions itself in the market in terms of locating particular product brands at particular markets. Perspective i.e. the fundamental way of doing things in the business and way the managers of the company perceive the world from the companys point of view. (Lewis 1999), added a sixth definition, by defining strategy as a process of sensing, analysing, choosing and acting. According to (Johnson and Scholes 2007),Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term: which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfil stakeholder expectations. They also posited that there are different strategies used at different levels of a business. Corporate Strategy is concerned with the generally purpose and scope of the business to meet consumers expectations. Investors interactions in the business environment, has an influence over and is a guide to strategic decision-making within the business. Corporate Strategy is also part of the mission statement of most firms. Business Unit Strategy This deals more with how a business competitively successfully a business is in a particular market. It is about the strategic decisions of choice of products, customer satisfaction, competitive and comparative advantage over competitors, development or creation of novel ideas and opportunities. Operational Strategy This handles the issue of how each the component parts of the business is organised in other to deliver the corporate and business-unit level strategic direction required for growth. Operational strategy therefore focuses on subjects of resources, processes, and people. Companies can use any or all of these strategies but also have to bear in mind that there are some globalisation drivers affecting the prospective use of global strategy. Lewis et al (1999) opined that managers shoul d be able to recognize when these drivers provide opportunities to use these strategies. In explaining thes drivers, Lewis et al (1999) said that Market drivers, are those characterised by homogenous customer needs, global consumers, global channels of distribution and transferability. Cost drivers on the other hand are the drivers that are dependent on the economies of the business and are characterised by economies of scale and scope, learning and experience, sourcing efficiency, favourable logistics and product development costs. Governmental drivers are those dependent on government policies and an influence over the use of all the other global strategies. It comprises of favourable trade policies, compatible technical standards and common marketing regulations. Fina lly, they named competitive drivers as those comprising of the interdependency of countries and globalised competitors. Although these drivers are individually powerful, they are not on their own formulae for sure success. A combination of two or more can be viable in an economy. Lewis et al (1999) PESTEL Creating a global strategy involves an initial step of an environmental analysis of political, economic, social, and technological trends that are pertinent to operating on a global level. (Kotler 1998), claims that this analysis is useful strategic tool for learning the direction a business is going with reference to its growth or deterioration, business position, potentials. PESTEL ANALYSIS Economic Factors Political Factors Social Factors Legal Factors FIRM Technological Factors Political factor: These refer to government policies such as the degree of intervention in the economy. Political decisions can have an effect on many vital areas for business such as the education of the workforce, the health of the nation and the quality of the infrastructure of the economy. African governments are taking steps in opening their economies to international trade. Most countries have started trade and exchange liberalization process, eliminating multiple exchange rates and nontariff barriers, and reducing the degree of tariff protection. Economic factors: These include interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. , the restructuring of many African economies is gaining momentum. Throughout the continent, government intervention in economic activity is on the decline. Administrative price restrictions and agricultural marketing has been widely eased up. Social factors: Changes in social trends can affect the demand for a firms products or services and the availability and enthusiasm of the work force. Technological factors: new technologies create new products and new processes. There can be cost reduction, improvement in quality and innovation through technology. These developments can have a positive effect on consumers as well as firms concerned. Environmental factors: this includes weather and climate change. Fluctuations in temperature can have a negative on many industries including the telecoms industry. With the advent of global warming, there is greater environmental awareness and this is becoming a significant concern for firms to ponder. Legal factors: the legal setting in which firms operates determines the progress of the business. With ever-stringent laws in the telecoms industry on provision of services, Globacom will have to improve on its service provision. The managers of Globacom need to think about the factors that are likely to change and in what direction and which factors will have the greatest influence on them. PORTERS FIVE FORCES According to Michael Porter (1985), for a firm to seek for a favourable competitive placing in any industry, it will have to find out how attractive the industry is. To be able to analyse any industrys attractiveness, either domestically or internationally, there are five competitive forces: the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of consumer, the threat of substitutes and the intensity of rivalry competitors. The five forces is the focal determinant of the industry profitability, as they have tremendous influence on price, costs and profits of the product. (De wit Meyer, 2004: p.259) Porters five forces model The threat of new entrants: In the telecommunication industry, the threat of new entrant is relatively low as the stringent barriers high initial cost of start-up and fixed cost associated with the business is extremely high. This works to the advantage of Globacom and others in the industry. Bargaining power of suppliers: There is a myriad of telecommunication companies worldwide but there limited number of telecommunication equipment suppliers in the industry. Here, Globacom is disadvantaged as there are limited alternatives. Bargaining power of consumers: bargaining power is high in this industry because of presence of many competitors. In Nigeria alone there are about ten telecommunication companies fighting for the same customers. Globacom is only at the moment differentiated in price and customer loyalty. Threat of substitutes: in the telecoms industry, threat of substitution is high as all the telecoms companies sell virtually the same product and or services. Globacom should determine the extent of customer switchover and try make customer satisfaction a priority. However, other companies in the industry may decide to go into price war, which reduces the profit margin of the companies involved. Degree of rivalry: the telecoms industry is a highly competitive as each company is trying to outdo the other in other to increase their subscriber base. Here as stated before, Globacom should have customer satisfaction as its watchword. Managers of Globacom should as a matter duty identify the key aspect or elements of each competitive force that influences the firm, assess how strong and vital each element is for the firm and decide whether the combined strong point of the element is worth the firm entering or staying in the country. Limitations Globacom has used this model as a strategy. Since growth is of core importance to the company, it has shown this by rolling out different services such as Glo mobile, Glo gateway, Glo 1, and Glo broad access, across West African sub-region (Globacom Limited n.d.). Globacom is using the strength of large customer base and name to keep itself in the forefront of the telecoms industry. PORTERS GENERIC STRATEGY Multinational companies are able to achieve competitive advantage, mainly through differentiating their products and services through low costs. Companies can broaden their market scope or they can focus on a refined target in the market. According to (Porter,1989), strategies allow companies to gain competiive advantage via three bases : cost leadership, differentiation and focus. It is imperative for companies to use the cost leadership strategy if they try to become low cost producers in their industry. Globacom pricing strategy is among one of the best in the industry in the sub-region. The other telecoms companies are trying hard to meet the price standard set by Globacom and this makes it easier for them to locate to other countries. N Nigeria, they have the lowest price tariff coupled with other added services. Globacom is also one of fastest growing companies in the industry it showed tremendous growth through sale of 600,000 sim cards in its first ten days of operation in republic of Benin (Cellular-News 2008), and planned to capture 30% of the 11 million subscribers within a short period of its commencing business in Ghana (Oruame 2008). Differentiation as used by many firms cannot in the telecoms industry as virtually all the product and services are similar in nature. However, the per-second billing method for calls, has been used by Globacom to dif ferentiate its product and services. Globacom on the other hand is not pursuing the focus strategy as it is directing its effort in a particular section of the industry. Limitations Companies pursuing the strategic generic model, have to make a choice between cost leadership and differentiation and avoid the stuck in the middle syndrome, which results in poor financial performance (Porter, 1980). Globacom does not pursue either low cost strategies or differentiation. It merges both techniques as its strategy. THE ANSOFFS GROWTH MATRIX (Lewis 1999), in citing Ansoff (1965), opined that the tool is used in detecting options available to firms wanting to widen their competitive edge, as it helps these businesses decides the strategy they will use in their product and market growth. Some of these options include: Ansoffs growth matrix Product Development Market Penetration (Existing product) (New product) (New market) Diversification Market Development (Existing market) Market penetration: This focuses on increasing market share of existing products into existing markets. The objectives of this option are to maintain or increase the market stake of current products through combining competitive pricing strategies, advertising, and sales promotion, ensure supremacy of growth markets, increase usage by existing customers Market development: This is a growth strategy where companies want to sell its existing products into new markets through new geographical areas, new product sizes or packages, or new distribution channels. Product development: this is the growth strategy where a business creates new products for augmenting existing products in existing markets. Diversification: This is the growth strategy where businesses introduce new products into new markets. However, for a business to implement a diversification strategy, therefore, it must have a knowledgeable idea of its gains and accompanying risk. Limitations: Globacom as a company uses this strategy extensively as seen in the number of countries it had moved into within a short span of time, the number of products it had introduced into these markets and the rate of diversification. However, it needs to monitor the trend in customers, demands in other to be responsive to them. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE Most products pass through for basic phases i.e. introduction, growth, maturity and decline. From a strategic point of view, knowledge of the products life cycle helps a company to manage the introduction of a new product. (Barney and Hesterly 2010), speaking from an international perspective, opines that that the product life cycle of a product or service can be at different stages of its life cycle in different countries. Consequently, the resources developed by a firm during a particular stage in the life cycle of the product in the home market to the same stage of another product in the international market (Barney and Hesterly 2010). The PLC of a product consists of introduction, growth and maturity, and companies use this to analyse and assess how they believe their product will perform through its PLC and the marketing strategies and marketing mix implemented at each stage. (Lewis 1999), warned that firms that do not pursue strategies appropriate to the life cycle stage of the ir product, might lose competitive advantage. Globacom is increasingly expanding its range of products to retain its competitiveness in the market and hence important that they invest make sure their customers demand are satisfied. CONCLUSION Every strategic model is an instrument used for gathering strategic information from the international perspective and a process for perceiving a number of different futures for any organisation. Undeniably, globalization for the telecommunication industry is a persistent trend. The international low cost of both material and labour, the low price of the resources, and the most advanced technological expertise are all required for increasing competitiveness in the industry. Furthermore, for these firms to be able to manage the intricacies involved in globalization entails including new tools, structures and strategic models added to the ones already in use as the knowledge and application of strategic models is a prerequisite for the survival of any business in its industry. Globacom should adhere strictly to the laws of the relevant strategies and integrate them into the corporate business model to ensure and sustain its leadership role in the telecoms industry. Managers have to dec ide how to modify their products, make changes in their marketing policies to suit the situation on ground, formulate human resource practices and business strategies to deal with national differences in culture, language, business practices, and government regulations. In addition, managers have to decide how best to tackle the threat posed by efficient foreign competitors entering their home market and how to effectively and efficiently enter a foreign market and create a positive impact.

Poor Time Management Skills

Poor Time Management Skills ICBT leads in delivering Edexcel HNDs. However, recent observations showed HND Business Management students showed an increase in poor attendance punctuality, failed in on time delivery resulting in late non-delivery of assignments, the main reason identified for the negative results were, students poor time management skills. This negatively effects key stakeholders such as institute, students, parents lectures, resulting in inability of students to achieve good grades, increased stress years taken to complete the HND, reduced the practice working on deadlines, makes ICBT unable to reach its mission vision, impacts the existing positive image with Edexcel the market, fades parents goals hopes, increases pressure upon lecturers leads to demotivation as results are not achieved as expected from students. The importance of a solution was recognized, identified improving students planning organizing, prioritizing goal setting skills improves time management skills. Improving the said skills, increases students on time submission rates, capability to work on time reduces stress, enable ICBT reach its mission vision maintain good name with both Edexcel the market, reduce work load pressure incenses motivation of lecturers lead parents see their children achieving success. Introduction Established since year 2000 (ICBT, 2011) International College of Business Technology Ltd (ICBT) has become one of the most leading private sector higher education offering institute in Sri Lanka offering variety of internationally accepted study courses. It was observed most students at ICBT studies Edexcel HNDs, ICBT is most popular in delivering HNDs as ICBT was awarded by Edexcel International (The Sunday Times, 1996 2011) as the leading center for Edexcel HNDs in Sri Lanka However recent observation showed students studying Edexcel HND business management shows average poor attendance punctuality, fail to submit assignments on due dates resulting in late submissions not submitting assignments. The main reason identified for students inability to submit assignments on time poor punctuality, was students poor time management skills. Symptoms identified through observing students which led me to look into these problem was students grades achieved, on average students poor attendance, poor punctuality, students complaints on subject matters, students non-verbal expressions such as showing less interest concentration towards lectures, sleepiness, negative attitude towards lectures, talking with friends while lectures are being conducted within the class room, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The importance of identifying finding a solution to these problem was recognized upon identifying the negative effects it could have upon all key stakeholders involved such as students, parents, lecturers the institute the benefits it could bring to the mentioned stakeholders as discussed below. Improved students time management skills, will increase students ability to submit assignments on time, which could be a criteria leading to achieve high grades, reduce both stress levels enable students to complete the HNDs within the time frame of eighteen months, avoid additional payments required on on late extension re-modules of assignments. Further more achieving high grades would increase students knowledge skills levels, which would benefit in gaining building core competencies necessary when entering the job market. Also finding a solution to improve students time management skills, would increase students practice ability to mange time effectively, efficiently under pressure of work while in the university, which could be highly believed would be useful in their career life as time management is considered as a vital interpersonal skill in todays business world. Further if strategies are not implemented to improve students time management skills it would make it impossible for ICBT to reach its mission vision as identified in figure - in appendix , as ICBTs mission of enhancing quality of human resources available to the market, would be negatively effected as students poor grades, poor time management skills, poor punctuality, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ would not result in an increase of quality human resource available to the job market in the future, it would not enable ICBT to reach its vision, since poor performance of students would effect ICBTs reputation recognition in both the local international market negatively, impacting both international local market growth negatively. Also if this results in an continuation, there is an high possibility that ICBTs quality of education reputation in the private higher education could be adversely effected, resulting in ICBTs reputation recognized by Edexcel International as discussed above to de teriorate. Students ability to mange time effectively is a vital factor that could effect a child ability to meet parents goals hopes, such as seeing children passing exams with good grades on planned time frame being highly educated, having a good career a work life balance. Further good time management skills would result in not requiring to pay any additional payments to the college on late submission or re-modules resulting in less financial burden upon parents. Increase in students time management skills would increase students ability to submit assignments on time, this would enable the lecturers to complete checking the whole batches assignments on a particular day, without the need of carrying forward any due checks, putting additional pressure burden upon them. Further effective time management plays a major role in students ability to achieve a Distinction criteria other good grades, which could be a motivating factor for lecturers act as proof of lecturers high performance. As problem was identified ICBT City campus Edexcel HND business management students, area of influence or the scope of the study was identified as the collection of all the current registered Edexcel HND Business Management students at ICBT City campus. As identified discussed above how students poor time management skills effects students other core stakeholders such as parents, lecturers, the institute, the importance of finding a solution for this problem was highlighted by doing so it would not only fulfil the knowledge gap, but also bring massive benefits to all the key stakeholders as discussed below. Research Problem Why are ICBT City campus Edexcel HND Business Management students inefficient in their time management? Research Questions What is time management? What is efficiency effectiveness? What is effective time management? What are the factors influencing effective time management of students? Research Objectives Identify what is time management by reading articles other relevant documents published on time management on or before 12/09/2012 Read articles other relevant documents identify what is efficiency effectiveness why it is important to students before 13/09/2012 Identify what is effective time management by reading articles other relevant documents published on effective time management skills on or before 16/09/2012 Search relevant theories literature to identify factors effecting effective time management of students on or before 18/09/2012 Literature Review Time management involves balancing all the activities in which a person participates within the confines of the week (Canyons, 2001-2012). Efficiency effectiveness plays a vital role towards determining an individuals ability to balance manage all activities of a perticular time period. Efficiency is where time or effort is well used for a planned task efectiveness is doing the right thing. Therefore effective time management could be considerd as an individuals ability to ensure right things are done at the right time, while ensuring time effort is well used for the planned task. However factors effecting time managemnt skills of an individual is discussed below. A study done to find the relatinship between, delay the lack of ability to set daily routines associated with academic activities (Dietz, Hofer Fries, 2007) suggested that students planning is important to prevent delays in academic work, while Drucker in 1967 recognized that planning activities task does not always ensure completion of planned work, specially when time presure is high. However a study done by Gerhard in year 2007, showed that student planning is only one factor among several other factors that could effect time mangement, through results observed by both pre post training skiils observed, which focused on four criterias such as self assesment, goal setting, time mangement self regulation, which was capable to show a major increase or improvement in between students pre post self managemnt skills. According to Sandberg in year 2001, stated that effective utilisation of time would help to achive goals as planned, it is the art of arranging, organising, scheduling, budgeting ones time for the purpose is the factors that influence effective work productivity. Obi in year 2003 stated that time mangemnt involves accurately identifying tasks to be performed, planning scheduling of activities, prioritisng activities in order, allocating time to tasks according to the degree of imporatane that enhances productivity. Olaniyi in 1998 Akomolafe in 2005 argued that, there is nothing to mange in time as time is beyod human control, what individuals are capable to do is to decide what to do with the available time how well to organize activities within the available time frame. Adedeji in year 1998 also came up with a strong similar argument that supports, Olaniyis Akomolafes findings, where he sead time is an scares resource utilization of time could be achived by doing the right thing at the right time. A study done by university students in the United states (Macan, et al, 1990) identified a four factor model which effects students time managemnt skills they were setting goals and priorities, planning and scheduling, perceived control over time, and preference for disorganisation. Out of the four factors perceived control over time had shown the strongest contribution to students academic and emotional adjustment. Further Macans identification that goal setting could infleunce time managemnt was also surported by Richards in 1987 where Richardss concluded that setting life goals keeping time logs were important techniques for effective time managemnt. McCay in 1959 developed a concept for time management training programme, where the critical elements highlighted in it were, giving insight into time consuming activities, changing time expenditure, increasing work day efficiency by teaching people how to make daily planning, how to prioritise task how to handle unexpected tasks. A study done by Britton Tesser in 1991, had identified that 67% of undergraduate students find time managemnt as the most difficult task to manage 36% varience among the grades werte due to time mangemnt skills. This further highlights proves the importance of finding why and how time mangemnt skills could be improved among ICBT City campus HND Business managemnt students. Planning organizing skills Figure (Conceptual model) Time management Prioritising skills Gaol setting skills Alternative Hypothesis identified Students planning, organizing prioritising goal setting skills effects time management Planning organizing skills is the ability to manage self and/or others, and resources including time and surrounding circumstances to reach a specific goal (University of Strathclyde, n.d) Prioritizing skills is the ability to define, rank, and assign levels of importance to tasks, activities, and/or issues and deal with matters of higher importance first. Create a list of items in order in which they need to be completed or delegated. Align personnel and other resources according to priority while maintaining organizational mission, vision, and objectives. Determine matters of urgency and handle accordingly (Selection criteria examples, 2012) Goal setting is the ability of an individual to establishing specific, measurable and time targeted objectives (Objectiveli, 2012) Time management is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools, and systems that work together to help you get more value out of your time with the aim of improving the quality of your life (Time thoughts, 2004 2011), time management skill of an individual depends upon the individuals planning organizing, prioritising goal setting skills. Methodology The sampling frame would be derived from the current ICBT city campus HND Business management students registers, available from the programme coordinating office, which would give a complete list of all students registered for the course under each batch. Out of the sampling frame, a student sample would be obtained in order to conduct the research. However, HND Business management batch 38 46 would be excluded from, the survey as batch 38 has already completed the HND only awaiting for the finalised results batch 46 would be excluded, as the batch is the freshest HND Business management batch, which has started on the second week of September 2012, would not enable to gain required information. In order to avoid the sampling error study would be done to identify the most suitable sampling method to be adopted a larger sample size would be considered in the survey, than the sample size requirement calculated through the sample size calculator. Table (Operational model) Criteria to be measured Measurement unit Planning organizing Skills Ability to estimate time effort required to complete a task Ability to organize systems required resources Organize personal time to carry out responsibilities Maintain satisfactory preparation time for scheduled deadlines Capability to develop schedules timetables with clear milestones deadlines Ability to measure results milestones for self Prioritising skills Ability to identify critical task arrange tasks in logical order Establish priorities systematically differentiate between urgent, important unimportant tasks Ability to monitor or adjust priorities on a daily basis Goal setting skills Ability to set SMART objectives Criteria to be measured Measurement unit Time management skills Students attendance On time delivery, late submissions not submitted rates of assignments (University of Strathclyde, n.d) (Top achievement, n.d) To measure the relationship of the conceptual model identified in figure an operational model had been created in table above. According to the conceptual model organizing, planning prioritising goal setting skills are considered as independent variable time management skills is considered as a dependent variable. Table - (Logical link created to prove the accuracy of measuring units used in the operational model) Criteria to be measured Measurement unit Logical link to prove accuracy of measuring unit Planning organizing skills Ability to estimate time effort required to complete a task Ability to estimate the time effort required to complete particular task, would enable a student to plan in advance on future tasks help to identify how much remaining time is available towards achieving other tasks Ability to organize systems required resources Ability to organize systems resources required to accomplish an task in advance, would help students to fully utilise its separated time towards achieving the task, without the need to use that time in finding required resources systems which would save time Organize personal time to carry out responsibilities If students have the ability to organize time to carry out personal responsibilities in their lives, the separated time could be fully utilized in meeting personal responsibilities, where this would help to avoid personal responsibilities interrupting at times students are engaged in academic work. Maintain satisfactory preparation time for scheduled deadlines Students ability to maintain satisfactory preparation time for scheduled deadlines would help to avoid stress levels of students, an increase their ability to accomplish their goals as planned. Criteria to be measured Measurement unit Logical link to prove accuracy of measuring unit Planning organizing skills Capability to develop schedules timetables with clear milestones deadlines Ability to set clear milestones deadlines with the use of clear schedules time tables, would lead to student motivation also highlight the targets students have to achieve at each given time or date thereby enable to plan organize tasks Ability to measure results milestones for self Ability to measure results milestones for self, would give an students a clear personal idea on where adjustments needs to be made thereby help to plan organize tasks more accurately in the future Prioritising skills Ability to identify critical task arrange tasks in logical order Students ability to identify critical tasks would enable students to give more priority towards achieving them, among other less important tasks Establish priorities systematically differentiate between urgent, important unimportant tasks Ability to priorities systematically differentiate between urgent, important unimportant tasks, would enable a student to give more priority accordingly to urgent, important unimportant tasks. Ability to monitor or adjust priorities on a daily basis In general there is high possibility that sudden unexpected tasks may arise than expected, or an unmet task as planned, may be have to reposition into daily tasks. At a given situation, students ability to accurately monitor readjust the set plans accordingly would enable to reprioritise tasks accordingly. Goal setting skills Ability to set SMART objectives Ability to set SMART objectives would enable student to avoid underestimation or overestimation of work capabilities Criteria to be measured Measurement unit Logical link to prove accuracy of measuring unit Attendance Students attendance records Students attendance records would provide an clear understanding on students punctuality attendance, which could be count towards time management skills Assignment submission rates On time delivery, late submissions remoulded rates Students on time delivery, late submissions remoulded rates of assignments, would set a clear criteria towards evaluating time management skills, as ability to submit assignments on time mostly depends on students ability to manage time effectively Students planning, organizing prioritising goal setting skills would be measured using pre determined questioners used by researches that have been capable of measuring students planning, organizing prioritising gaol setting skills. The results obtained using the questioners would be compared against students late on time assignment submission rates, re-module rates attendance in determining if, HND Business management students planning, organizing prioritising goal-setting skills has an effect upon time management skills. Data collection plan Note Questioner attached in the appendix Data / Information required Primary / Secondary data Source of data Sampling frame Secondary data Data obtained through the programme officeof ICBT city campus Data / Information required Primary / Secondary data Source of data On time assignment, late submission re-module rate of assignment submission of students Primary data Questioners distributed among the sample students Student attendance Primary data Questioners distributed among the sample students Students planning organizing, prioritising Goal setting skills Planning organizing skills Primary data Questioners distributed among the sample students Prioritising skills Primary data Questioners distributed among the sample students Goal setting skills Primary data Questioners distributed among the sample students Sampling methods to be adopted Simple random sampling All students considered under the population will be listed in Excel software according to batch wise, in order to the student register, a sample of students would be selected using the, random formula provided in Excel in order to conduct the survey. Simple random sampling would avoid biasness in selection of students for the sample, enabling every student considered under the population to have an equal chance of being selected for the survey would thereby be capable to represent the whole population. Difficulties limitations faced in using Simple random sampling Although the list of students names are readily available at the programme coordinating department gaining access to the list may be challenging as it may require permission from a authorised personal, as the list of students names may be protected under certain privacy policies Efficiency of the programme coordinating department team influence the ability to gain information on students names list, which may influence the time required to complete the research positively or negatively The list of students names provided by the programme office may not be readily available in one single document, therefore it may be difficult time consuming to bring all data together into one single document or worksheet to create a final list from where a sample could be created. There may be a possibility that all students chosen to represent the sample may have planning, organizing, prioritising goal setting skills, or all the students chosen to represent the sample may not have planning, organizing, prioritising goal setting skills, which may create an inability in comparing the results of both kinds of students, arrive at a valid conclusion. Project plan (Gantt chart) of the research Activity completed Activity not completed X Table Task Start date Finish date Length Task dependent on Progress (Activity completed/ not completed) Comments rescheduled date if task not accomplished as planned 1 Research proposal 10/09/2012 20/09/2012 1 week 4 days Was able to complete task before the planned date 2 Prepare the questionere 13/09/2012 16/09/2012 4 days Was possible to prepare the questionere by 15/09/2012 3 Get the student names list required from the programme office 24/09/2012 27/09/2012 4 days Was able to obtain the names list on 13/09/2012 before the planned date of 27/09/2012 4 List the student population in Excel sheet use simple random sampling to select the sample students 27/09/2012 30/09/2012 4 days 3 Task Start date Finish date Length Task dependent on Progress (Activity completed/ not completed) Comments rescheduled date if task not accomplished as planned 5 Distribute questionere get the feedback from all selected sample students 01/10/2012 20/10/2012 20 days 2 4 6 Start editing, coding, data entry, data analysis of data obtained through thequestionere 21/10/2012 05/11/2012 15 days 5 7 Final research project 06/11/2012 30/11/2012 25 days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Conclusion ICBT well renowned private higher education provider has been recognized as the leading center for providing Edexcel HNDs in Sri Lanka (The Sunday Times, 1996 2011). However, it observed students studding HND Business management has shown an increase in poor attendance punctuality, fail to submit assignments on due dates, influencing all key stakeholders such as students, lecturers, institute the parents negatively. The reason identified for poor attendance punctuality, failure to submit assignments on due dates was students poor time management skills therefore imporatance of identifying finding a sollution to these problem was recognized. Through a detailed literiture, conceptual model was derived where which displayed planning organizing skills, prioritising skills goal setting skills influence students time managemnet skills, therefore the alternative hypothesis developed was, Students planning, organizing prioritising goal setting skills effects time management. Planning organizing, prioritizing goal setting skills was identified as the indipendent variable, where it could influence the dependent variable which is time managemnt skills. The operational model identified in table - lists the measurements that could be used in mesuring all the dependent indipendent variables. In order to to find how ICBT HND Businesss Managemnt students planning organizing, prioritising goal setting skills effects time managemnt, the sampling frame was identified as all the current students studing HND Business managemnt at ICBT City campus. However batch 38 46 would be excluded from the survey as batch 38 has already completed the HND batch 46 would be excluded, as the batch is the freshest HND Business management batch, would not enable to gain required information. Data collection plan in table shows the data required the sources of data collection in gathering the required details. Simple random sampling was identified as the suitable sampling method to derive the sample to conduct the survey, in order to minimise the sampling error a larger sample size would be considered in the survey, than the sample size requirement calculated through the sample size calculator. Difficulties in adopting simple random sampling method are listed on page- Table shows the project developed to conduct the research.

Essay --

1) What is Six Sigma (6S) ? 1.1 The concept The sigma’s concept comes from the Greek letter ‘ÏÆ'’ which the statisticians use to describe the â€Å"the standard deviation of a population†. So, Sigma represents the variability within a population. A high quality level of Sigma demonstrates the possibility of defective products. The higher the Sigma’s level, the lower the rate of the defective. Hence, the use of Six Sigma helps to reduce the variation, achieving small standard deviations and improving the product’s quality.(Pande et al 2002, Breyfogle 1999, Breyfogle et al 2001, Oakland 1999) 1.2 The background Six Sigma was developed by Motorola in the late 1980s with a view to improving the quality (Bhote 2002). In 1990s, General Electric and Allied Signal implied Six Sigma successfully. After that, more and more organisations firstly in United States and after worldwide developed 6S and it won the attention of the business world. The strategy of Six Sigma includes the use of statistical tools within a structured methodology for obtaining of knowledge needed to achieve faster, better and cheaper products and services from the competitors. The disciplined and the repeated implementation of the main strategy are the key of the 6S. (Breyfogle 1999, Urdhwareshe 2000) 1.3 Definition of Six Sigma Six sigma has many definitions depending on the authors, it can be defined as a strategy, an operational initiative, a statistic method, a tool for measurement, a target, a comparative performance’s measure, a vision, a philosophy and other. Breyfogle (1999) supports that Six Sigma is considered an operational strategy that uses a well-structured continuous improvement methodology. The aim is to reduce the variability of processes and the c... ...Six Sigma is not a technique or a method, according to the definition of Mario Perez-Wilson (1999), the 6S targets an optimized performance level with almost zero defects in a process that produces products, services or transactions. It indicates an achievement and maintenance of a world-class performance. Six Sigma is the result, not the journey. Accordingly, Perez-Wilson does not consider the Six Sigma as a methodology, but as a target. Consequently, according Knowles (2011), as output of the different views, Six Sigma has three aspects and it is: 1) A measure: How far is the organisation from the target and the perfect quality ? 2) A target: 3.4 defects per one million opportunities. 3) A philosophy: It focuses on sustainability and on a long term strategy which targets on the reduction of expenses, decreasing the variability in the process and the products.

A Separate Peace :: essays research papers

Sitting in my third grade classroom we chattered anxiously, waiting for the spelling quizzes to be passed back. My teacher placed them all facing down on our desks, a rather pointless effort when she was already aware that at any moment the room would burst into havoc with yells of "what did you get?", shouting numbers back and forth, and of course superior comments from the students proud of their marks. I quickly flipped mine over and grinned at the 8/10 scrawled in red marker near the top of the page. "What did you get?" sure enough my friend Jenny thrust me her paper. As I stared down at her 100% sitting aside a bright yellow smiley sticker I felt a familiar twinge of jealousy. From that day on I had a secret goal to achieve higher marks than my friend. I can not remember when this rivalry ended, but I do know that it is normal behavior. Each person feels rivalry or competition to other humans, for the majority of their lifetime. This rivalry greatly affects our ability to understand others, and this eventually results in war, discrimination, and enmity. Children are definitely culprits for acting inhumane to each other with teasing, competition, and often hurtful remarks. Although this is the way children often act, it is in the teenage years realization, along with careful thought and consideration, brings each individual to understand wider prospects of human nature; that people coldly drive ahead for themselves alone. Man’s inhumanity1 to man is a way for people to protect themselves from having pain inflicted on them by fellow humans, and achieving their goals and desires free from interference of others. The concept of man’s inhumanity to man is developed in John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace. The primary conflict in this novel centers on the main character, Gene, and his battling of jealousy, paranoia, and inability to understand his relationship with his best friend Phineas. Yet the larger battle of man’s inhumanity to man is portrayed by the backdrop of World War II. Gene Forrester is an average, studious, young man attending Devon school in New Hampshire during the second World War. His roommate at Devon, Phineas (otherwise known as Finny) sends Gene on an unexpected journey of self discovery. Finny represents man in his innocence, a kind of edenic2 Adam. He is very athletic, honest and trusting.

Media and the Public :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When radio became popular around the forties and fifties, it was the one source of entertainment and news that people could enjoy in the comfort of their own home. In â€Å"Radio Days†, radio was a central part of the lives of the movie’s characters, especially Joe. Today however, radio does not act as the â€Å"hub† of information, like it was depicted in â€Å"Radio Days†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joe, played by Seth Green and narrated by Woody Allen, had a miniature obsession with a radio program called â€Å"The Masked Avenger†, and other characters had similar fixations with different radio programs. Today the radio isn’t even considered, when people want entertainment. Television has replaced the format that radio used to have. No longer do people eat dinner and then gather in front of the radio to listen to a program. Radio had become a background soother. When driving in the car, one may turn it on and listen to it on a low volume, just so that there isn’t silence. Aunt Ceil, played by Renee Lippin, went on a date with a fellow who ran off in the middle of the date because they were listening to a program that involved an alien invasion, and he believed every word the DJ was saying. Even though there rarely is any programming like that on the radio anymore, today people are much more aware of what they hear on the radio. At the birth of radio, everyone believed everything they heard on the radio. People have become more critical and attentive as to what they HEAR and what they BELIEVE. In the forties and fifties radio format had mostly talk shows, news and occasionally music. Now it is almost opposite of what it was. Music has taken over radio, especially FM stations. There are news stations and a small amount of sports stations, but no more programs like â€Å"The Masked Avenger† anymore. AM stations still have some entertainment programming and NPR still has talk shows, but these stations are just no longer popular. In fact, they are a dieing breed; almost extinct. Radio holds a place in people’s lives today that is relevant, but not central as it was shown in â€Å"Radio Days†. I believe it has become better. In â€Å"Radio Days† the character actually listened to the radio. Today people only really hear the radio. With the inventions of the TV and internet, the fact that radio still holds its own in the entertainment industry is amazing. Media and the Public :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When radio became popular around the forties and fifties, it was the one source of entertainment and news that people could enjoy in the comfort of their own home. In â€Å"Radio Days†, radio was a central part of the lives of the movie’s characters, especially Joe. Today however, radio does not act as the â€Å"hub† of information, like it was depicted in â€Å"Radio Days†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joe, played by Seth Green and narrated by Woody Allen, had a miniature obsession with a radio program called â€Å"The Masked Avenger†, and other characters had similar fixations with different radio programs. Today the radio isn’t even considered, when people want entertainment. Television has replaced the format that radio used to have. No longer do people eat dinner and then gather in front of the radio to listen to a program. Radio had become a background soother. When driving in the car, one may turn it on and listen to it on a low volume, just so that there isn’t silence. Aunt Ceil, played by Renee Lippin, went on a date with a fellow who ran off in the middle of the date because they were listening to a program that involved an alien invasion, and he believed every word the DJ was saying. Even though there rarely is any programming like that on the radio anymore, today people are much more aware of what they hear on the radio. At the birth of radio, everyone believed everything they heard on the radio. People have become more critical and attentive as to what they HEAR and what they BELIEVE. In the forties and fifties radio format had mostly talk shows, news and occasionally music. Now it is almost opposite of what it was. Music has taken over radio, especially FM stations. There are news stations and a small amount of sports stations, but no more programs like â€Å"The Masked Avenger† anymore. AM stations still have some entertainment programming and NPR still has talk shows, but these stations are just no longer popular. In fact, they are a dieing breed; almost extinct. Radio holds a place in people’s lives today that is relevant, but not central as it was shown in â€Å"Radio Days†. I believe it has become better. In â€Å"Radio Days† the character actually listened to the radio. Today people only really hear the radio. With the inventions of the TV and internet, the fact that radio still holds its own in the entertainment industry is amazing.

Charisma: Psychology and Enormous Overwhelming Presence Essay

Whenever we want to define any word we usually look at the meaning in the dictionary. In Greek, charisma is any special grace conferred by God on an individual. Charisma refers to the enormous overwhelming presence that some people have. It is the ability to influence others by being connected with them physically, emotionally, and culturally. Although it is difficult to have a specific definition of charisma, but we could describe some people as a charismatic person who have an extraordinary ability to inspire, influence, and draw other’s attention. Charisma is usually associated with leaders who have a power and high positions, but it could be a characteristic of actors, public speakers, mathematicians, scientists, singers, or any other people. Charisma indicate a positive meaning; however, it could has it own dark side. Some leaders how have charisma causes huge damage to the world in the human history such as Hitler. Hitler was able to get a wide popularity by his support to the nationalism and anti-communism ideas. Later, he established the Nazism organization which believes in racism against other races and the altitude of certain races to others. The real number of his victims is unknown but it said that it reached more than 10 million victim. Some philosophers believe that charisma is innate characteristic while psychologists believe that it could be learned by increasing the individual’s awareness of his emotions and linking it to other people’s feeling, emotions, and needs. So, how can we have a magnesium personality? There are some some tips you could do to be a charismatic person, some of it are: having self-esteem, matching the body language to your speech, thinking before speaking and arranging your ideas, accepting criticism, and being unique in finding practical ideas to develop your character and your surroundings.

Brian Moore – the Donegal connection

Belfast-born Brian Moore left Ireland a young man, and spent more than fifty years In Canada and the US. However, as Martin McKinley found out (belatedly he had strong links with Dongle. The great Brian Moore and the Dongle connection So I mention to Muriel that I'm doing an article about Brian Moore, the writer, and she says, â€Å"His mother was from Dongle, wasn't she? † It seems that the world has been aware for some time that the man regarded as one of the great Irish novelists had Dongle connections and, even better, Courthouse connections.If only I'd known that when I saw him read in a lecture theatre in Queen's university in Belfast, more than ten years ago. I could have asked him something original, like about the influence of Courthouse on his work. Instead, I asked him if he'd thought about coming back to live in Belfast. I mean, the man lived in Malibu at the time. He died there In January, 1 999, which was a shame for people like myself who waited for his new nove l every two years or so. It was hard to believe there would never be another Brian Moore book. But he had a long publishing career.His first novel, ‘The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearse', from 1955, Is probably still the one he's best known for. Four others were also made into films – The Luck of Ginger Coffey, ‘Catholics', ‘Cold Heaven' and ‘Black Robe'. He won many literary prizes, and was shortlist three times for the Booker Prize. He also worked with Alfred Hitchcock, writing the screenplay for Torn Curtain', starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. It's not really regarded as a classic, but Brian liked to take the credit for a particularly drawn-out – and famous – murder scene.He told Hitchcock he had learned from his father, a actor, that â€Å"people didn't always die as quickly as they did in movies. † Hitchcock took him at his word. Dentally Lodge The story of Brian Moor's Dongle connection begins back in another age, 1889, when his mother Eileen McFadden was born outside Courthouse, apparently in the download of Clashes. Her parents were Pat and Grace (nee McGee). She was among the youngest of a large family, and grew up in the family home in Dentally, a little way along the Courthouse to Carrier road.The McFadden were quite a notable family. Linen's grandfather Edward had a corn mill at Dentally. His brother was FRR Hugh McFadden UP Challenge, who died in 1868. He was the priest who accompanied some of those evicted in Terry. ‘each to Dublin on the first leg of their dinner arranged for them in a Dublin hotel. Linen's father Pat had two brothers who also became parish priests in the Arapaho diocese – Dean Hugh McFadden, UP Dongle and Vicar General, who died in 1908, and Archdeacon James, UP Challenge, who was known as ‘James of Glenda'.Eileen Moore attended Loretta Convent in Lettermen. She would have been fifteen when her father Pat died in 1905. As was fairly common in those days , she spent some time living with a relative, n her case Dean Hugh McFadden. It seems that he left her some money when he died and she used this to fund her nurse's training in Belfast. FRR John Silks, the well- known historian and diocesan archivist, recalls his mother Susan (nee McKinley from Boomer in Courthouse) telling of three girls from the parish who went to Belfast and all â€Å"married well†.One of them was Eileen McFadden. In 1915, when she was 25, she married a doctor more than twenty years her senior, James B. Moore, a Bellman man who worked in the Mater Hospital. In the next 12 years she had nine children, with Brian coming in number four on 25th August, 1921. The family lived in no 11 Clifton Street in North Belfast until they were bombed out of the house by the Germans in the Second World War. The house was eventually demolished in 1995, in spite of a campaign to save it because of its associations with Brian Moore.Briar's father also came from a strong Cathol ic background, if it was a bit more unusual than most. James Bi's father, James B. Senior, was a Presbyterian law clerk in Bellman who decided to become a Catholic even before he got married to one, Eleanor O'Hare. Their house was stoned every year on the Twelfth. It seems James B. Enron brought up his family with the zeal of a convert. All in all, it seems hardly surprising that Brian Moore spent a good part of his writing career exploring the whole idea of Catholicism, religion and the question of the afterlife.Holidays in Courthouse Growing up in the ass and ass, Brian spent quite a bit of time on holiday around Dentally and Courthouse. His sister Nun Maguire, who lives in Alular, says he had very fond memories of it. He stayed in Dentally with his mother's brother Jim Pat and his wife Martha. Patricia Craig writes – â€Å"The farmhouse was called Dentally and stood above a glen; it contained a stone-floored kitchen with huge iron cooking-pot; it was pervaded by the punge nt smell of turf-smoke, and not far away was the fifteenth- century Doe Castle, an enticing ruin in those days . † Brian himself wrote – â€Å"l seemed to be in an older Ireland, a place where life was elemental and harsh, yet close to a reality which was timeless and true. I would see a pig slaughtered, its blood running in rivulets in the yard outside the kitchen door. I would see a stallion mount a mare, its hooves scraping at the barrel of her rib-cage †¦ I would be butted by allow-eyed goats, kicked by donkeys when I tried to climb on their backs. I would see people drink tea, not from teacups as in Belfast, but from large china bowls I nth eighteenth-century manner.I would sit by the hob of the kitchen turf fire watching as floury potatoes were doled out to the men coming in from the fields for their noonday dinner . I would see long white clay pipes and plugs of tobacco laid out near Jugs Jim McFadden, a grandson of Linen's brother Jim Pat, is one of the ol der McFadden, and has a well-known shop in Strange. He doesn't really remember Brian at Dentally, but does recall the McFadden getting ready for the Mores' visits a few times. â€Å"One thing I do remember – Dry Moore smoked cigars.It was a very unusual thing for me to see anybody smoking cigars in those days. † Jim thought that the Mores didn't really feel at home in Dentally. â€Å"It wasn't really what they were used to, although the house was a lot better than most of us had at the time. † It may have been the profits from the McFadden cornmeal which helped the family build Dentally well over a hundred years ago. It was regarded as one of the finest houses in the rear, certainly a cut above the ordinary with its sitting room, bedrooms and an outside toilet.Michael McFadden, who lives in the modern Dentally now with his wife Caroline and their children Bobbie (12), Doran (6) and Michael (5), says wedding receptions used to be held in the sitting room. A coupl e recently returned to mark their golden wedding anniversary by getting their photograph taken in front of the marble fireplace. However, as Brian Moore recalled it in an article in 1980, Courthouse was still a big change from city life – â€Å"Dongle is an extremely wild and rocky-looking place in the west of Ireland. I used to go there when I was a boy, to a farm owned by a poor Irish subsistence farmer.I would move from our middle-class world to an absolutely peasant environment. † Loved the country Jim recalls him going to a farm belonging to an uncle-in-laws brother around Darwinian to help out during the summer. â€Å"l don't think he liked it very well – I think he said they cut the bread too thick! † But Brian Moor's sister Nun Maguire says he had very fond memories of Dentally. â€Å"He loved the country. Going there on his holidays as a child gave him a great sense of freedom. We grew up in a four storey house in Belfast, but we had no garden. The freedom in Dongle appealed very much to him.He could wander about in a way that we wouldn't be allowed to in the city. † Brian Moore left Belfast a young man and traveled around theatres of the Second World War as a civilian working with the British Ministry of War Transport. He lived for eleven years in Canada and became a Canadian citizen. He moved to the United States in 1959, and it was his base for forty years. His writing career began with a series of detective potboilers under various names, which he reckoned sold about 800,000 copies. ‘Judith Hearse' was his first ‘serious' novel in 1955. An early ‘review in the summer of that year came in a letter from his mother.She said about some of the more explicit bits – muff certainly left nothing to the imagination, and my advice to you in your next book leave out parts like this. You have a good imagination and could write books anyone could read. † She added, â€Å"l am glad to find you we re kind to the Church and clergy. † The book was later banned in the Republic. In 1995 Brian and his wife Jean built a house in Nova Scotia, on the coast. He said at the time – â€Å"It's beautiful. It looks out on a bay that looks Just like Dongle. It's very wild He was quite a regular visitor to Ireland over the years, but recognition came fairly late here.This was the man who went into a Dublin bookshop at one point and asked if they'd anything by an Irish novelist Brian Moore. He was told no, but they did have one or two books by a Canadian novelist of the same name. It seems that Brian Moore didn't re-visit Dongle very often, although he and Jean stayed with Brian Fries and his wife at Mobile on at least one occasion. His brother Seam's, a doctor in Belfast who also died in recent years, did keep up contact with the Courthouse connection. Michael McFadden says that Briar's late sister Pebbling, who lived in Manchester, also visited in recent years.Final farewell B riar's final visit to Dentally came with Jean and his sister Nun, she thinks about twelve or so years ago. They visited Challenge Castle, and then went across to Courthouse and over to Dentally. Brian thought the house was â€Å"spruced up† a lot from how he remembered it. He knocked on the door, but there was no one in. Brian went across the road and spent a while looking over the bridge at the spectacular gorge with its trees and fast-flowing water, as he'd done in his childhood. â€Å"He had ere, very happy times there,† Nun said.Both Brian and Jean loved the west coast, and on one of their tours came across a tiny graveyard in Connector. Brian was surprised to find in this beautiful spot the grave of Bubble Hobnobs, a Belfast Quaker, one-time vice-president of Sin Feint, and a good friend of his father and his uncle Neon O'Neill. Later when Brian and Jean talked of where their ashes would end up, they both wrote their choice separately on a piece of paper. The piec es said the same thing – the Connector graveyard. It seems that Brian Moor's remains will finally return to the west of Ireland, which he came to know as a boy.