Miscommunication Essay

After reading the article, â€Å"Close Relationships Sometimes Mask Poor Communication†, I realized that miscommunication can be a part of our everyday lives with those that we are closest to. I am sure that many of us have thought that we know someone well enough to figure out what they are saying without giving it a second thought. In reality, chances are that this is not the case at all. My wife and I have been married for six and a half years and dated for several years before we were married. Although we believe we think we know each other like the back of our hand, sometimes truly we do not have a clue what the other person is trying to say or portray. We both take for granted the fact that we believe we know each other so well. Luckily for the both of us, most of our miscommunications are nothing that has major consequences. Nine times out of ten, it is something that it’s as simple as what we will have for dinner with our family. However, there are those very few times when our miscommunications are much more serious. Our most serious miscommunication that I can remember is our scheduling conflicts. I work full time, volunteer on our local fire department, schoolwork, and at this time I am volunteering on two separate committees that I have to attend meetings weekly. My wife is also a college student, volunteer EMT for our rescue squad, and tries to keep up with the duties of appointments and seeing that everyone in my home gets to where they need to be at a particular time. Often times we mis-communicate with each other regarding our busy and hectic schedules. This often leaves us in a bind of trying to find a babysitter or deciding which one of us can reschedule what we have going on for that day or week. To try to prevent these communication errors in the future, we are trying to make sure that all of our events get posted on the calendar well in advance. This plan has just begun for the both of us so we are hopeful to have less mis-understandings of our schedules.

Business in China

Would US companies be better suited trying to â€Å"go it alone† in China or to partner with a company that will provide tangible assets and other services for the US-based MNC? What stumbling blocks might exist when partnering with a company in China? After reading the article I believe that a US company will partner up with a company that will provide them with tangible assets and other services. As the fastest-growing major economy in the world, China continues to offer global companies attractive investment and business opportunities.However, doing business in China also means navigating the complexities that arise from China’s unique historical, political, and cultural contexts (Burkitt, 2012). Establishing a company in China can be a trying and tedious task requiring elaborate approval and registration procedures. Despite the challenges, leading US companies are succeeding in China by developing collaborative relationships with Chinese stakeholders and demonstrati ng the agility to continuously adapt their strategies to the country’s dynamic environment. Applying for approvals from various authorities is common in China.Navigating China's complex business and regulatory environment to submit the applications to the right channels is an extremely tedious process that the enlightened businessman would rather leave to a partner in China. These companies are positioning themselves for long-term success by embracing the Chinese proverb qiu tong cun yi, which means â€Å"seeking similarities while respecting differences. † In doing so, they are co-opting China’s long-term interest in stability and prosperity into their business strategies, China investment regulations and compliance issues (Chu, nd).China is doing business more and more the American way, but non-Chinese executives still must work hard at building trust in relationships with their Chinese business partners. Chinese business strategy has changed a lot, and they a dopt western practices (Chau, 2012). Cultural misunderstandings and stereotypes are one of the main causes of business failures, when doing business overseas. You should be able to share your vision and enthusiasm, with a good partner, who can bring expertise in the areas in which you are inexperienced.Having a partner from China with a good reputation and should be someone who understands the legal and financial responsibilities endemic to sharing a business, most importantly, it should be someone who has a good relationship base business culture of China; it might be advantageous to learn about some basics of the Chinese language, culture, history, and geography (Csanad, nd). If done so, your Chinese potential business partners will take you much more seriously, and you will have more chance of being able to get the business with whom you get along and also to keep up with frequent regulatory changes can prove daunting for businesses.There are some barriers in doing business in Ch ina, because we must learn the cultural and religious differences. One con is that most Chinese business activities and deals are made through face to face interactions. To successfully launch a business in China you will need to travel to china and meet with your partners and employers unlike in the US they will do meetings on the phone and via webcam.A pro, which can still be part of barriers, is that having a Chinese company as a partner they can help you with land and buildings, because they know the country and where the best place would be the con to that is that you have to rely on someone else, to do the leg work with you. Another barrier is that the US likes to work direct and have upfront communication while the Chinese are the opposite; they are indirect and try to avoid accountability for making business decisions, the US always like to take accountability and deal with things head on.A barrier that must be overcome is that American’s tend to be overly friendly, p atting each other on the back and saying good job, whereas in China that is not done, patting someone in the back can be construed as aggressive and insulting. I have to say that the barriers can be overcome, but it will take time, it’s just a matter of getting use to the cultural differences. This will take time, but it can be achieved. Business in China Would US companies be better suited trying to â€Å"go it alone† in China or to partner with a company that will provide tangible assets and other services for the US-based MNC? What stumbling blocks might exist when partnering with a company in China? After reading the article I believe that a US company will partner up with a company that will provide them with tangible assets and other services. As the fastest-growing major economy in the world, China continues to offer global companies attractive investment and business opportunities.However, doing business in China also means navigating the complexities that arise from China’s unique historical, political, and cultural contexts (Burkitt, 2012). Establishing a company in China can be a trying and tedious task requiring elaborate approval and registration procedures. Despite the challenges, leading US companies are succeeding in China by developing collaborative relationships with Chinese stakeholders and demonstrati ng the agility to continuously adapt their strategies to the country’s dynamic environment. Applying for approvals from various authorities is common in China.Navigating China's complex business and regulatory environment to submit the applications to the right channels is an extremely tedious process that the enlightened businessman would rather leave to a partner in China. These companies are positioning themselves for long-term success by embracing the Chinese proverb qiu tong cun yi, which means â€Å"seeking similarities while respecting differences. † In doing so, they are co-opting China’s long-term interest in stability and prosperity into their business strategies, China investment regulations and compliance issues (Chu, nd).China is doing business more and more the American way, but non-Chinese executives still must work hard at building trust in relationships with their Chinese business partners. Chinese business strategy has changed a lot, and they a dopt western practices (Chau, 2012). Cultural misunderstandings and stereotypes are one of the main causes of business failures, when doing business overseas. You should be able to share your vision and enthusiasm, with a good partner, who can bring expertise in the areas in which you are inexperienced.Having a partner from China with a good reputation and should be someone who understands the legal and financial responsibilities endemic to sharing a business, most importantly, it should be someone who has a good relationship base business culture of China; it might be advantageous to learn about some basics of the Chinese language, culture, history, and geography (Csanad, nd). If done so, your Chinese potential business partners will take you much more seriously, and you will have more chance of being able to get the business with whom you get along and also to keep up with frequent regulatory changes can prove daunting for businesses.There are some barriers in doing business in Ch ina, because we must learn the cultural and religious differences. One con is that most Chinese business activities and deals are made through face to face interactions. To successfully launch a business in China you will need to travel to china and meet with your partners and employers unlike in the US they will do meetings on the phone and via webcam.A pro, which can still be part of barriers, is that having a Chinese company as a partner they can help you with land and buildings, because they know the country and where the best place would be the con to that is that you have to rely on someone else, to do the leg work with you. Another barrier is that the US likes to work direct and have upfront communication while the Chinese are the opposite; they are indirect and try to avoid accountability for making business decisions, the US always like to take accountability and deal with things head on.A barrier that must be overcome is that American’s tend to be overly friendly, p atting each other on the back and saying good job, whereas in China that is not done, patting someone in the back can be construed as aggressive and insulting. I have to say that the barriers can be overcome, but it will take time, it’s just a matter of getting use to the cultural differences. This will take time, but it can be achieved.

Business Intercultural Communication Research Paper

Business Intercultural Communication - Research Paper Example Business intercultural communication is an effective tool for the organizations in order to achieve their objectives along with attaining various accomplishments with regard to performing the international business operations. The effective use of communication within the organization and identification of various cultural norms of the country of operation is the basic elements for the organizations in terms of trading on a global basis (US Department of State, â€Å"Intercultural Business Communication Tips†). Communication Style The verbal and non-verbal communications are the important aspects of conveying information. The communication style incorporated in the business activities in the UK can be considered as an explicit form of conveying information through utilizing both the verbal as well as non-verbal communication. The communication style employed in the UK has been observed as to be simple and uncomplicated while conveying any information to others. The sense of hu mor of the British people is also a major element in terms of making just about any proposal or in terms of the decision-making process. From the perspective of non-verbal communication, the British people are especially undemonstrative with regard to keeping their emotions concealed from other people by not making anyone uncomfortable for their own problem (s). The reserved nature among the people within the British culture highlights their respect to the person to whom they are communicating with (Kowol & Szumiel, â€Å"United Kingdom: communication, negotiations and cultural background†). With this concern of communication style that is followed by the British people are the major concerns for the IBM US employees. Therefore, it is important for the employees of IBM to make use of straightforward communication style along with using a minimum number of physical gestures. The undemonstrative nature of hiding the personal feelings is also an important element to be recognize d by the IBM employees of the US in terms of communicating with the British people (Kowol & Szumiel, â€Å"United Kingdom: communication, negotiations and cultural background†). Business Culture in the UK Hofstede’s Model of Cultural Dimension Power Distance Index (PDI) The power distance index can be determined as a preliminary model in the approach of Hofstede’s cultural dimension. In this context, the index represents the value of hierarchical relationship along with admiration for the authorized person or group. The model refers to the measure of inequality that exists within the culture or country. With this concern, the UK scores low in this index and organizations in the UK believe in innovative and creative strategies rather than following the traditional business approach (Hofstede, â€Å"National Culture†). Individualism (IDV) The individualism dimension within the workforce can result in higher productivity along with providing strengths to eac h individual in a community. However, the high level of individualism dimension can bring about a poor connectivity or deficiency in interpersonal communication with people outside close friends or family members or groups.

The Dormant Roots and the Open Faces of Crime Essay

The Dormant Roots and the Open Faces of Crime - Essay Example This has resulted in a plethora of theories, which has been relegated as obsolete information. Christian thought stressed the personal responsibility in wrongdoing and the gateway to return from the path of wrong is repentance, the aim of which is the ultimate salvation of the individual soul. Till the end of the eighteenth century the study of criminal interest was the domain, chiefly of reformers. 19th century witnessed more attempts to study crime as a science, which has to be studied with the tools of experimentation and statistical evidence to arrive at objective scientific conclusions. The early flowering of the study of crime took many directions in a somewhat phased manner over the course of time finally in the past two decades blossomed in to overabundance of theories due to a host of divergent and complementary movements. Today's world is postmodern, multicultural, post -Marxian, post-feminist and post-structural. After the death-knell of many movements that appeared on the social life of modern societies with great fanfare, people have discarded simplistic notions of life and are more prepared to appreciate the reality of the complexities of social behaviour. The traditional one-dimensional explanations of crime and its prevention, which visualized human beings and societies in to watertight compartments is hardly convincing today. While the old school had glimpses of truth, the analysis and conclusions are inadequate and do not consider some of the essential factors before pronouncing their verdicts on the roots of crime and its expressions. The present day scholarship across the world is demanding a more integrated approach to the study of criminal behaviour and its reduction. A significant work of early days of criminology, The Criminal Man, 1876, by the Italian scholar Lombroso asserted that criminals are separate physical and biological type. His over simplistic identification of the criminal type are based on physical traits, like a long lower jaw, asymmetric cranium and a few other external detectable conditions. These traits according to him indicated an inherent propensity to crime. He taught that the propensity toward crime was due to a primitive level of human development, which asserts atavistic tendencies. Lombroso's theories now enjoys only the value of a historic curiosity as their formulation have not been accompanied enough research and statistical data analysis so as to be recognized as theories of universal applicability. The study was conducted in a limited geographic frame. The study was conducted on people who get convicted, comparing them with people who are free. Even in the modern days of sophisticated crime tracking the number of people who get arrested are very few and among them most of them are acquitted due to the loopholes of law. Gault quotes Garofalo who says: The fact is well known that not the half of those guilty of established crimes are brought to justice (94). So one may be weighing against criminals and non-criminals, with criminals, or criminals in jail with unapprehended criminals. Gault while admiring Lombroso, as a trailer blazer in the infancy of criminology, derides his simplistic conclusions in a most complex behaviour of humans. Lombroso's was a too s imple formulation of an extraordinarily complex problem (94). Lombros's theories were accepted also by

A critical study of credit risk management in the First Bank of Dissertation

A critical study of credit risk management in the First Bank of Nigeria PLC - Dissertation Example First one is reaction against bank losses from the Newton, it is realized that losses are unbearable after the losses have occurred. The second aspect is that that bank has been pushed by the recent progress in the area of financing securitization, commercial paper and competition with other non-banks to find possible loan borrowers. Big and stable companies have been seen to shift in the open market sources like those in bond markets of finance.The degree of risk of assumed losses can be minimized by organizing and managing the lending criteria with professionalism and also with active approach. Credit risk management issues can be measured if bank could tap progressively refined measuring technique.The adoption of more rigorous credit risk has been facilitated by the technological developments, predominantly the growing availability of low cost computing power and communication. A lot of banks still have a long way to go in the implementation of such new approaches.Competition in t he provision of financial services is increasing probable due to the acceleration of change in credit risk management in the banks which is viewed as an unavoidable response to an environment and, thus need to classify new and gainful business prospects and appropriately measure the related risk is mounting for the banks and other financial institutions. ... When banks extend their credit considering that borrowers will pay back their loan amounts then the extended credit to the borrowers may be at the risk of default, banks income decreases due to the necessity for the provision for the loans as some borrowers usually default. Commercial banks are exposed to an additional risk of variability as they do not have a clue of what proportion of loan borrowers will default. As a matter of fact almost all the financial institutions bear a certain degree of risk when these institutions lend to consumers and to the businesses, hence when certain borrowers fail to repay the loan amount, they experience some loan losses. Credit risk face by a bank has a possibility of loss arising in case of non-repayment of interest or principal or both. Payment delays and the credit risk among procedures can be transferred by the banks and other financial intermediaries (Demirguc-kunt and Huzinga, 2000). Certain techniques are developed for the measurement of th e credit risk which can be linked with pace of evolution (Laker, 2007; McDonough, 1998; Couhy, 2005; Brown, 2004). Different banks are differentiated with their adoption of different credit risk management policies. A bank having assets that constitutes of loans in their portfolio are relatively illiquid and exhibits the highest credit risk (Koch and MacDonald, 2000). According to the asymmetric information, good borrowers and bad borrowers are might be impossible to distinguish, which can result into an adverse selection and moral hazards problems (Auronen, 2003). Due to the adverse selection and moral hazards banks are led to substantial accumulation of non-performing accounts.

Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paper - Assignment Example If they are actively involved in the planning process they will be more open to allocating resources and providing accurate time forecasts. Employees also need to feel like they will not be subject to punitive measures if time frames are not met (provided that this is not a perennial problem) or else they (or their managers) can unnecessarily extend the projected amount of time required to complete a task. A functional company that wants to shift from an adversarial culture to one that is supportive and interactive should take several factors into consideration. First, it should start by creating a corporate wide strategy that aims at uniting and inspiring employees (Pinto 58). Next, they should establish a reward/punishment framework that matches that strategy. Finally, they will have to develop clear policies founded on lines of leadership and communication. This will facilitate fast and efficient decision

Technical Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Technical Writing - Essay Example In telecommunication system the decoder, usually a speaker, converts the electrical signals into the sound waves. purposes we can collapse the encoder and the decoder into the medium for we never care about the details of the encoder and the decoder in particular. The changes in encoder and the decoder can be considered to be the changes in the medium. Thus sender, message, medium and receiver are the important components of this basic communication model. (A Communication Model, 1) Application of the Basic Model to Group Communication: Since this a communication model it helps the groups members to communicate amongst themselves as well as with the others. This model also helps the group members access information from Internet. Communication amongst the group members by telephone, mobile phone: Suppose that some of the group members are located at different sites. Communication mode via mobile would be by the above model. In this case each of the group member who would make a call would act as a sender. The microphone in the mobile instrument would convert the sound waves into the waves. In this case air would act as the medium for carrying the waves as mobile is the wireless instrument. Ultimately the group member at the other end would receive these waves by his mobile. Here instrument woul

Critical analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Critical analysis - Essay Example He is put in an asylum. The place- Villete, an asylum in the city of Ljubljana. And the author- an expert storyteller, Paulo Coelho. Though, the plot of the story may sound gloomy but the story keeps the reader engaged as it unwinds. Because, you can relate to atleast one of the characters, you are eager to find out what happens next. You want to know the path taken up by the characters. Perhaps, you could follow the same. And the path that you should follow in life is revealed by Paulo Coelho in the most amazing way. You will find it difficult, if not difficult, impossible to disagree with him. The battle of every character is painted by Paulo Coelho with great detail. On one fine day (11 November 1997), Veronika simply decides to die. She swallows sleeping pills and peacefully waits for her death. She could have used some other method of committing suicide but the book explains why she uses sleeping pills- â€Å"Obviously she could have thrown herself off one of the few tall buildings in Ljubljana, but what about the further suffering caused to her parents by a fall from such a height?† Veronika fails to realize that her death will, anyway, bring misery to her parents. Veronika is saved and admitted to an asylum. In the asylum, she is told by Dr.Igor that her suicide attempt has succeeded but she will live for another five days before she dies. Veronika had planned to die quickly. But waiting for your death is different. And so, begins the five day ordeal for Veronika. Many of us commit suicide and die a cowardly death. This happens in a matter of a few minutes. How quickly the scenario changes when you have to wait for your death! You know that every minute is taking you towards death. And so you want to make the most of it. That is what happens to Veronika. At the asylum, Veronika meets other ‘mad’ people.

Financial Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial Analysis - Research Paper Example On the other hand, the industry average current ratio or liquidity ratio was observed as 1.19% (assuming that the revenues and expenses have increased proportionately maintaining stability in the industry structure) (The Brandow Company, 2010). The company’s current ratio and the industry average current ratio is represented below graphically, With reference to the obtained data, it can be evidently stated that the company possesses competitive strength in terms of leverage. It is worth mentioning that liquidity ratios depict the relationship of the company’s liquid assets or current assets with its current liabilities that in turn confirms the financial balance within the company (Brigham & Houston, 2009). As apparent from the chart represented above, the liquidity ratio or current ratio of Can Go is quite higher than that of the industry average. Thus, it can be stated that Can Go possesses significant competitive advantage in terms of liquidity in the industry. On the similar context, the debt ratio of the company is calculated to be 1% which is below the average industry debt ratio, i.e. 1.58% (The Brandow Company, 2010). It can be represented through chart as following: It can be apparently witnessed that the company possesses noteworthy risk in terms of debt balances. Notably, debt ratio indicates the flexibility of an organization to repay the debts incurred at a specified time period with ease and efficiency (Brigham & Houston, 2009). Therefore, with a lower debt ratio than that of the industry average depicts that the company shall have to face significant challenges when repaying the debts efficiently to its creditors. With an in-depth point of view, the profitability of the firm can also be identified as poor in comparison to the industry average ratios. For instance, the profit margin (0.11%) and return on total assets (0.02%) of Can Go are observed to be

Investigating Castle Mall management Essay Example for Free

Investigating Castle Mall management Essay The castle mall is a shopping centre located in the centre of Norwich. It is owned by the insurance company Friends Provident. Friends provident employ a whole managerial team who run the centre. This is called Castle Mall Management. This is what I will be investigating in my project. E1 Public and Private Limited Companies (PLC) Castle mall management Ltd is a private limited company (ltd). A private company is a business with limited liability whose shares are not available to the public. A Public limited company (PLC) is a business with limited liability whose shares are not available to the public. PLCs are required by law to publish their accounts. This means that they are available for scrutiny, not only by the owners (shareholders), potential investors, and bankers, but also, by competitors. The Memorandum of Association must state clearly that the business is a public company and it must be registered as such. The term plc must appear after its name. The differences between the two, private and public limited companies are; A public company can raise capital from the general public, while a private company is prohibited from doing so. The minimum capital requirement of a public company is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50,000. There is no minimum for a private company. Public companies must publish far more detailed accounts than private companies. Advantages 1) The shareholders have limited liability. 2) It is easy to raise capital by issuing more shares. 3) It is much easier to raise finance because the banks are much more willing to lend money to a large, well established, as they see it as much less of a rise. 4) This all makes it easier for the PLC to grow and expand. 5) The shareholders will appoint specialists to manage and runt the company for them. Disadvantages 1) Setting up a public limited company is expensive. There is a lot of administration work involved and at least à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 000 has to be raised before a PLC can be set up. 2) The PLC has to issue much more information about itself and this again is very expensive to produce. It has to prepare and annul report as well as Annual Accounts and these have to be printed and sent to all the shareholders. They also available to the general public and competitors to see. 3) The extent to which any one individual, or group, can maintain control of an organisation is severely limited by the sale of its shares on the stock exchange. A family may find their influence on a business diminished when a listing is obtained. In turn, this means that publicly quoted companies are always vulnerable to take over bid. This may affect the decisions taken by directors. For example, they may be more inclined to cut back on staffing during a recession, whereas a private firm would want to hold on to experienced staff for when the economy starts to recover. E6 Communications There has to be communication between each member of staff for the company to function properly. I will now look at how this can be done within the company. Uses of communication To contact each other To make deals To give instructions To give or receive information To exchange ideas To announce plans or strategies To compare actual results against a plan To lay down rules and procedures Job descriptions, organisation charts or manuals Direction of communication Formal Informal Vertical Vertical * Downwards Between peers, friends or -From superior to subordinate. Colleagues. * Upwards Could be given as From subordinate to superior emotional support. Or to organise a function Horizontal or lateral or party. People of the same rank, (In the same section Or in different sectors) Diagonal Interdepartmental communication by people of different ranks. Methods of communication A) Face to face communications Formal meeting Word of mouth Interviews Informal contact B) Oral communication The telephone Public address system C) Written communication Letters, external mail systems Memorandum, internal mail system Reports Forms Notice board News letters, bulletins, house journals Organisation manual, handbook, leaflet D) Visual communication Charts Films, PowerPoint Presentation E7/A3 Quality Control * Quality is one of the ingredients in the purchasing decision of consumers, who demand ever-increasing levels of quality * Any firms that ignore the quality aspect of both inputs and outputs risk losing market share to those firms who make it a priority. Quality is defined by the Customer W E Deming (American Quality Guru) Quality Defined * It is difficult to provide a single definition for quality as it means different things to different groups of people. Certainly the perception of the customer is a key element. Here are some of the minimum requirements for customer satisfaction: * Fitness For Purpose The product can do what is it meant to do. This is a useful definition as it can be applied to a wide variety of products, including cheap products such as disposable pens. * Meeting the minimum standards prescribed by acts of parliaments Health and Safety, Weights and Measures and Trade Description Legislation provides a legal framework for minimum standards across a wide range of goods. * Meeting trade association standards Some industries have self regulating bodies that guarantee their members work, e.g. the national house building council. In final analysis it is the customers perceptions of quality that really matter, firms must strive to convince the market that their product/service is the best value for money. Quality Control Systems In the past, Quality Control in the UK meant inspecting the product after production has taken place. In other words it was a faultfinding exercise. Today quality control it is all about building in quality at each stage of production. Such a preventative approach reduces the high costs of rejects and re-working. The Japanese perfected this is known as: Total Quality Management (TQM) Basic features of TQM are: * The establishment of culture of quality among all employees * The recognition of quality chains where each stage of production is treated as a separate customer to be valued and looked after * The use of Quality Circles * Empowerment of workforce * The emphasis on after-sales service as well as quality manufacture. TQM is not a management tool but a Philosophy. Requiring a complete mind shift on behalf of the entire company (Managers and employees) Quality Initiatives In recent years these have been many initiatives introduced to assist firms to achieve Assurance.Quality Quality Assurance Refers to all of the activities that ensure the satisfactory delivery of goods and services to end customer. Quality Assurance refers to all of the activities that ensure the satisfactory delivery of goods and services to the end customer. Key factors include: * The quality of inputs such as raw materials and components * The quality of the design process so that the products meet customer requirements whilst still being economic to manufacture * To appropriate skill level of the workforce and its commitment to quality assurance * The quality control methods used in the production process * The quality of advice at the purchasing point and after-sales service The Main Initiatives Have Included: TQM A philosophy of quality QUALITY CIRCLES An informal discussion group drawn from all parts and levels of the business that meets regularly to discuss quality problems KAIZEN An approach to advocates continuos improved in small steps rather than a competitive overhaul of the production system. BENCHMARKING Identifying the best practice of the leading firms and using that as a yard stick with which to measure ones own performance ISO 9000 An international quality certification procedure ZERO DEFECTS A philosophy that encourages all employees to strive for the ultimate goal of a perfect product TRAINING Where management has recognised that for quality to be assured a quality culture must be implemented at each stage of the process; it is imperative therefore to train all employees to have the requisite skills, both for their direct tasks and for quality monitoring Quality can be achieved in diverse ways but the ultimate goal is to satisfy the customer, which of course is a constantly moving objective. The thing is that Castle Mall Management does not sell anything. This can be a problem when trying to implement quality control. To overcome this they have to vet the stores they have in the centre and make sure that they use quality control. This would help castle mall management reach their objectives especially the main objective to make a profit. As Castle Mall management do not sell anything they cant run certain procedures. This means that the design and production side is out of their hands, but is it? If they want to be really sure of what they are getting into they can agree with the firm or business to have an input into what they are selling. For example, they could check the production side of a chocolate shop making sure that their production line is of a high standard and that they are not breaking any laws. Another thing they could check, although not directly liked with quality is where the product is made. If a product is made in a small 3rd world country with the st aff getting paid for example 50p a day they might disagree with this and not allow the shop to trade in their centre. I believe that one of their objectives should be to help the customer in buying a quality product. The use of quality control to add value. * Adding value For landlord * Increase foot fall * Increase spending * Operate a profitable environment City * Investment in the city * Precence Population * Provides jobs * Provide social outlets * Sponsorships * Castle Mall is the only underground shopping centre in Western Europe. This makes it a landmark E2/E3/C1 The objectives of Castle Mall Management Objectives: A statement of what an organisation wants to achieve Objectives are a statement of what an organisation wants to achieve through its operation. A firms formal objective is given in its memorandum of association, and larger firms may publicly state their general philosophy and values in a list of objectives. For most PLCs profit is only one goal among others. Objectives provide criteria for decision-making. Most firms harden these general objectives into more dynamic aims, which are intended to drive the organisation forwards in the chosen direction. Mission statements are focused declarations of intent, designed to energise staff at all levels to work in common cause. In practice the overall objectives of a large firm need translating into terms that have meaning for each operation or function. This may mean that one objective is particularly highlighted. 1) The Main objective is to make a profit. They have to make a profit in order to ensure that the investors i.e. Friends Provident get return on their investment. This is the main objective of most businesses; they set out to make money. If they do not then they are considered a failure. 2) To provide a Safe and secure environment for their customers. In order to make a profit people have to come in to the centre. If possible customers feel that the centre is secure and they will be safe then they may visit and return for all their needs. If they consider the centre and car parks not to be safe then they will not visit as they feel that they or their property is not safe. 3) To increase footfall per year. The footfall is the amount of people that visit the centre in a measured time. The more people that come in the more chance of them buying items and the Castle Mall making a profit. Even if a non-customer walks through the centre everyday on the way to work then they may see a shop or an item in a window, which they may come back and buy it when they want it. 4) To increase amounts of visits per person. This is not the same as footfall as footfall is the amount of people who visit the mall, whereas the 4th objective is to increase how many times one person visits in a measured period. Again more visits means potentially more profit. 5) To increase visits from within a large catch-ment area. Trying to gain custom from shops in a large catch-ment area. This means trying to get potential customers from other places of Norfolk up to a 1-hour drive away. 6) For customers to stay longer when they get there. The longer the customer stays the more money they are likely to spend. Also with plenty of food restaurants in the mall if people are there a long time then they may get hungry and buy food. This will help increase profit. The overall objective all the objectives lead to is to Make a profit. E4 The Functional areas of Castle Mall management Ltd The main functional areas of Castle Mall Management Ltd are; * Marketing * Accounts * Administration * Security * Human resources * Food Court * Customer service Each area has its own responsibilities and objectives. Next I will explain each areas responsibility; * Marketing Public Relations Advertising -Briefing the creative/media buying agencies -Approving copy and schedules -Ensuring targets and deadlines are met Web Site Christmas Decorations Promotions -Events -Displays -Activities Research Sponsorship Buying -Maintaining stock levels -Existing literature -Briefing in new requirements -Checking prints quality -Distribution Health and Safety checks on displays * Accounts The accounts section of Castle Mall Management Ltd looks after the money side of the company. This can involve checking and counting all the money side of the centre. This can range from making sure people have paid their rent and how much they should have paid to counting the money that is put into the car park pay machines. This is a very important side of the company as without them they would not get any money in and staff would not get paid etc. * Administration Admin look after the paperwork side of the company. This can involve writing to perspective clients and customers with information about the centre. Also it can involve internal communication helping the company run. Without the admin department the company could not run, this is because they basically sort everything out. If a letter needs to be sent, a contract needs to be singed or a delivery needs to be taken admin are there, if they cannot sort it out then they can contact a someone who can. * Security The security department is a very important in the Castle Mall. Weather you see them or not they are always there. There are a team of highly trained security staff patrolling the Mall 24/7. This offers a visual presence for the customers, making them feel safe and secure. What the customers dont see is the main control room where the operation is run from. Here they control over 50 cameras. Some of these are visual to the customer, some a hidden Matchbox cameras which can be hidden basically anywhere. The CCTV system is very important in the mall, if a situation is spotted then the security guards can be contacted by radio and told any information they need to sort it. The security staffs also are called into action when there is a fire alarm. When this happens the mall is evacuated and the fire service is called, when they arrive its the security guards job to show them to the area where the alarm is. When the all clear is given it is the guards job to let everybody back into the m all. From shoplifters to lost customers the security guards are helping the mall function properly. * Human Resources The human resources department is in charge of the employment side of the company. This can involve placing adverts in the paper for a new position, looking at the application forms. Deciding on candidates and then interviewing them. They would then have to decide on a new employee with their experience and knowledge. * Food Court The food court has a different sort of agreement with Castle Mall Management, they are directly accountable to Castle Mall Management Ltd as there targets are set by them. If they are struggling to meet this Deadlines Castle Mall Management will intervene and try and sort the problem. As they have this relationship the profits they make are shared with Castle Mall Management. This is a pre-arranged agreement, which was sorted when the mall opened. As the food court is a large part of the mall and is closely linked with Castle Mall Management they have their own manager within Castle Mall Management. It is their job to make sure that the food court are meeting their targets and are running with no problems. * Customer Service The customer service desk and team have a large area to cover. They basically look after the customers of the mall. Here are some of the areas they cover. Information services for the mall and local area. Security Car parking Disabled parking and access Disability service Shopmobility Information leaflets Public relations informing public about evens Baby changing facilities Good signage and directions First aid Directory leaflets Also the customer service desk is also the first place to make a complaint. It depends on the nature of the complaint as to how it is dealt with. However, all that make a complaint will get a letter of some kind of response from the centre manager. All complaints are dealt with as soon as possible. If necessary clients/customers will be invited backs and helped. One example is when a fire alarm went off and a mother with a toddler with a pushchair had to carry the pushchair down flights of stairs because she had taken the wrong turning. She aired her concerns to CMM Ltd who invited her back to show her that there was an access/ exit especially for disabled/pushchair access. This alleviated her concerns and she is more than likely to return to the shopping centre because her concerns were dealt with efficiently and effectively. Complaints cam be made either through the information desk or by post. Customer fills in form They will then be sent to the management suite where the corresponding manager will deal with it. Investigation carried out And acted upon E5/C2/A1/A2 Organisational structures When you look at the structure of Castle Mall Management it looks, as it is hierarchical (See additional page 1). This is not 100% true, when I asked Erik Kirk the manager of Castle Mall management Ltd he described them as having elements of all structures and cultures. Organisational structures can be described as flat, hierarchical or matrix shaped. Where decision-making is decentralised, the structure tends to be flat. This means that managers and the staff are given wide ranging responsibilities in deciding what to buy, what prices to charge and which staff to employ etc. An organisational structure where decision-making is decentralised it can be described as flat because it does not have many layers. A disadvantage of this type of organisation is that decision-making can be slow. For example any decision that is made this way can take a long time. However, the decision-makers have the advantage of being close to the others day to day activities. In other words there is not along line of communication between the decision-maker and the work to be done. The most extreme version of this is the sole trader who does all the work and carries out all the decisions of the business. Some organisations have in recent years cut out layers in the middle management with the aim of improving communication and decision-making. It can be called de-layering this has had the effect of widening the span of control of the managers who are left. This means that managers can become overwhelmed by the information coming to them and the quality of decision-making suffers. The managers start to loose control over practices and procedures. Narrow Span of control Wide Span of control An alternate way to run the business is to centralise operations. This approach takes decision-making power away from junior staff. This resulting structure is described as hierarchical. Senior staff makes all-important decisions. Below is an organisational chart showing a centralised structure it has several layers of command and is pyramid shaped, i.e. wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Most large businesses are organised in a hierarchical structure. The senior managers are responsible for taking decisions affecting the whole, or large parts of the businesses whilst shop floor workers mainly carry out decisions made by others. Manager Senior supervisor Senior supervisor Junior Supervisor Junior Supervisor Junior Supervisor Junior Supervisor Shop Floor Workers Shop Floor Workers The Key advantage of a hierarchy is that it allows strong leadership and centralised decision making. It ensures that the organisation has a consistent policy, approach or activity. A problem with hierarchy is that the line of communication between top and bottom might be quite long. There are layers of people who to receive and pass on information and at each stage the Information can be reinterpreted or misinterpreted. One way of avoiding this problem is to delegate decision-making. This means that people within the organisation are given the authority to make decisions themselves rather tan wait for instructions from the top. Advantages and Disadvantages of centralisation Advantages * Bulk buying reduces costs * Fewer staff are required in the whole operation. * The scope for specialisation increases * Producers such as ordering and purchasing can be standardised * Planning and control tends to be more effective * Decisions are made for the good of the company rather than the branch * Leadership is likely to be stronger and more consistent Disadvantages * Middle managers may be less motivated because they have less responsibility * Local needs are less likely to be met * There is less flexibility * There may be more administration * Communications between different sections might be poor * The burdens of management is more concentrated to the centre More example of Structures Location Allied Breweries Ltd Calsberg/ Allied Breweries Allied Tetley UK Netherlands Breweries Trading World-wide Product Allied Lyons PLC Spirits Retailing Brewing Food + Manufacturing Wholesaling Some organisations have structures that cannot be described as flat or hierarchical. They use tears that cut across traditional departmental boundaries. Sometimes the tears are permanent, in other cases the are brought together for a specific purpose. Project tears are increasingly being used by businesses to develop new products. Such tears have MATRIX STRUCTURES. In that the have members drawn from several departments. One example of a project team is the one Rover used to develop the 600 series. From the start of the project, stylists, manufacturing, production engineers, production line operates and suppliers all worked together. All team members had the authority to act without consistent referral to senior management. Stylists Engineers Team Leaders Production line Operates Suppliers How does the organisational structure affect its performance The organisational structure of Castle Mall Management (or as they call it the Family Tree) has a hierarchical shape. This means that there is one main centre manager. The centre manager Eric Kirk then goes directly to a deputy centre manager. They then lead directly to four other managers of separate divisions. The marketing, food court, security and administration manager all then head a team in that department except the marketing manager who has no team and works closely to the deputy and main manager. The structure shows that the centre manager has direct input to the four division managers. I believe that having a structure of this sort will be successful. This is because everyone has a link with everybody else. If there is a problem then there is always someone there to sort it. Also as the main manager has close links with most of the staff under him so if he makes a request they may not mind carrying it out. I think that the structure helps Castle Mall Management meet and exceed its objectives because they work well as a team. This is because everyone is linked with everyone and there is always someone to help you out if need be. You see how important they find these as they call there structure the Family Tree. This can help with all objectives, especially the objective, to make it a safe and secure place for the customers to shop. If the employees believe they are doing a important job and feel wanted as a part of a team then they may put more effort. This means that they may make the extra little bit of effort to clean a spillage etc. The management culture The management culture of a business is how the people very high on the hierarchy act to the lower down employees and their associates. It depends on how managers act, if they tell people what to do or if they leave it up to them to make their own decisions. A good model to show this is the leadership continuum. Autocratic style Participative style Free-Rain Style Consultative Consensus Democratic Autocratic style An autocratic leader maintains most of the authority by issuing orders and telling what to do without consulting them. To the autocrat, the basis for leadership is formal authority. Autocratic leaders may have a few favourite subordinates but they usually regard close interpersonal relationships with group members as superfluous. The autocratic style of leader is generally in disfavour in modern organisations. Participative style A participate leader is one who shares decision-making authority to the group. Participative leadership occupies enough space on the continuum to warrant dividing it into three subtypes: Consultative, Consensual and democratic. A Consultative leader solicits opinions from the group before making a decision, yet does not feel obliged to accept the groups thinking. A standard way to practice consultative leadership would be call a group a group meeting to discuss an issue before making a decision. A Consensual leader encourages group discussion about an issue and then makes a decision that reflects the general agreement of group members. Consensual leaders thus turn over more authority to the group than consultative leaders do. The consensus leadership style results in long delays in decision making because every party involved provides input. Free-rain style or laissez-faire style A Laissez Faire or Free Rain leader turns over almost all authority to the group members and does as little leading as possible. Given a situation in which the work to be done by each employee is clearly defined, weather it is sorting coupons or cutting gears with laser beam, such leaders maintain a hands-off policy. They make few attempts to increase productivity or to coach their employees. At times the free-rain leader is a abdicator who cares very little for productivity goals or developing subordinates. Erik Kirk of Castle Mall management is certainly not like this as he has very high targets and standards. As with any leadership style, there are some situations in which an autocratic style is appropriate. One example is a high-accident work area where the employees are not particularly knowledgeable about the potential risks. Many autocratic leaders have been successful as high-level leaders in the private and public sectors. One good example of this is taken from Management and organisation by DuBrin, Ireland and Williams. Jack Traimiel, the controversial executive who has occupied key positions at both Commodore and Atari. A co-worker of Tramiels said, Commodore was the house that jack built, and when he left the company, so did the spirit, the aggressiveness and the drive. Decision making also went by the wayside Castle Mall Management are democratic and laissez-faire at times but are autocratic at times of: * New Employees New employees may not know about certain parts of the business so if they make decisions however small they could make curtail mistakes, which could cost money or customers. Also if they are not taught they may never learn a certain technique and carry on using the wrong way forever. * Health and safety Health and safety is very important as it involves the welfare of workers and customers. If they want to meet their objective of proving a safe and secure place for people to shop they will have to be very strict on this subject. This means that precise decisions need to be made which are in lines with all guidelines set by the governments of the world. * Security Is very important, again if they want to meet their objectives they will have to be very strict and precise on security matters. This may involve making decisions based on laws and keeping information form other employees lower down the hierarchy. Erik Kirk and his associates like to have a team of workers who are loyal and work hard. He also likes to make them feel part of something, a team. He has an open door attitude when it comes to this. He likes to feel that if there is a problem it can be sorted. No matter how small the problem is he feels that he can help providing answers and privacy. On paper the structure appears hierarchical but it does have elements of a flat structure. Overall the culture is: * Philanthropist in attitude * Good work ethics * Relaxed * Productive * Efficient * Good and open communication channels * Clear objectives * Safe and secure working environment E6 The use of ICT in communications Castle Mall management would be severally impaired without ICT. The main use of ICT is communication. There are many areas of communication featuring ICT, these are: * E-mail Internal External * Web site * Alarm System (2 way communication) * Reports * Telephone (external + between departments) * CCTV + Mini cameras E-mail Castle Mall Management uses E-mail to communicate between department, level and centre. E-mail is a very good way of communication as it is virtually instant. Also you can send designs, graphics and programs as attachment files. This is very helpful as it saves in paper costs and also cannot be lost as with paper. Castle Mall Management uses E-mail to communicate with each other no-matter where they are in the building or country. For example a admin worker could e-mail his supervisor to alert them of a problem or just to book holiday. Another example is Erik Kirk the main centre manager E-mailing another manager of another centre alerting them of a security problem. Web site Castle Mall Management help run the castle-mall.co.uk web site. Some Castle Mall Management staff has been trained to update and redesign the web site. The web site can be used to make customers aware of events and new promotions. It can also give customers information about what shops are in the mall and what services are available. Alarm systems The alarm system in the mall has a communication system built in so if there is an emergency most people in the mall can contact each other through the alarm system to find out whats happening. It can also pinpoint where a person is so if they are in danger then they can quickly be located and helped. Reports Reports are written by all sections of management so that other people in other positions know what is happening, why and when. They are written about special events to inform people what is happening and how successful something was. Also reports are written once a week, month and a major one written each year. These reports are read by managers and then sent to Friends Provident or FisPam. To let them know how they are getting on. If there is a problem with the reports then friends provident will try and suggest ways to rectify it.

Theories of the process of lateralization

Theories of the process of lateralization The apparent specialization of the left hemisphere for language is usually described in terms of lateral dominance or lateralization. Lateralization process begins in early childhood. It coincides with the period during which language acquisition takes place. During childhood, there is a period when the human brain is most ready to receive input and learn a particular language. This is known as the critical period. The general view is that the critical period for first language acquisition lasts from birth until puberty. This process of development is called Maturation. The idea of a critical period for development of particular processes is not unique to humans. Songbirds display hemispheric specialization in that only one hemisphere controls singing. There are three accounts of how lateralization emerges (Bates Roe, 2001; Tomas, 2003). The equipotentiality hypothesis states that the two hemispheres are similar at birth with respect to language, each able in principle to acquire the processes responsible for language, with the left hemisphere maturing to become specialized for language functions. The irreversible determinism hypothesis states that the left side is specialized for language at birth and the right hemisphere only takes over language functions if the left is damaged over a wide area (Rasmussen Milner, 1975; Woods Carey, 1979). Irreversible determinism says that language has an affinity for the left hemisphere because of innate anatomical organization, and will not abandon it unless an entire center is destroyed. The critical difference between the equipotentiality and irreversible determinism hypotheses is that in the former, either hemisphere can become specialized for language, but in the latter, the left hemisphere becomes specialized for language unless there is a very good reason otherwise. The emergentist account brings together these two extremes, saying that the two hemispheres of the brain are characterized at birth by innate biases in types of information processing that are not specific to language processing, such that the left hemisphere is better suited to being dominant, although both hemispheres play a role acquiring language (Lidzha Krageloh-Mann, 2005). The Critical Period Hypothesis is the best-known version of the equipotentiality hypothesis. Lenneberg (1967) argued that a birth the left and right hemispheres of the brain are equipotential. There is no cerebral asymmetry at birth; instead lateralization occurs as a result of maturation. The process of lateralization develops rapidly between the ages of 2 and 5 years, and then slows down, being complete by puberty. The completion of lateralization means the end of the critical period. There are many theories about Critical Period Hypothesis, some of them confirm the existence of a critical period in acquiring a language and others bring this existence into question or make a distiction between the presence of a critical period in FLA and SLA. The idea of a Critical Period Hypothesis comes from the nativists, lead by Lenneberg and Chomsky, whose explanation is that there is a critical period because the brain is pre-programmed to acquire language early in development. Bever (1981) argued that it is a normal property of growth, arising from a loss of plasticity as brain cells and processes become more specialized and more independent. The Critical Period Hypothesis of Lenneberg (1967) comprises two related ideas, The first idea is that certain biological events related to language development can only happen in an early critical period. In particular, hemispheric specialization takes place during the critical period, and during this time children possesses a degree of flexibility that is lost when the critical period is finished. The second component of the Critical Period Hypothesis is that certain linguistic events must happen to the child during this period for development to proceed normally. Proponents of this theory argue that language is acquired most efficiently during the critical period. The most important idea of Critical Period Hypothesis is that unless children receive linguistic input during the critical period, they will be unable to acquire language normally. One of the most famous of these cases was the Wild Boy of Aveyron, a child found in isolated woods in south of France in 1800. Despite attempts by an educationalist named Dr Itard to socialize the boy, given the name Victor, and to teach him language, he never learned more than two words. It is less easy to apply this argument to the unfortunate child known as Genie. Genie was a child who was apparently normal at birth, but suffered severe linguistic deprivation. From the age of 20 months until she was 13 years and 9 months, when she was found, she had been isolated in a small room. Not surprisingly, Genies linguistic abilities were virtually non-existent. Critical period in SLA Theories in favour of the existence of a critical period in SLA According to the nativist theory, once the critical period is over, usually postulated to be sometime during puberty, it is assumed that a person who begins to learn a L2 will be unable to achieve the native-like competence and performance in it. The basic assumption of a biologically determined critical period is that some essential capacities of younger children are not available to adult learners. One such capacity is the learners access to Universal Grammar, that is, the innate system of linguistic categories, mechanisms and constraints shared by all human languages (Chomsky, 1995). Mark Patkowski hypothesized that only those who had begun learning their second language before the age of fifteen could ever achieve full, native-like mastery of that language. These results gave added support to the Critical Period Hypothesis for second language acquisition. Theories against the existence of a critical period in SLA There are two reasons for rejecting a strong version of the Critical Period Hypothesis. Children can acquire some language outside of the critical period, and lateralization does not occur wholly within it. A critical period appears to be involved in early phonological development and the development of syntax. The weakened version is often called a sensitive period hypothesis. There is a sensitive period for language acquisition, but it seems confined to complex aspects of syntactic processing. (BialystokHakuta, 1994). Locke (1997), argues that a sensitive period arises because of the interplay of developing specialized neural systems, early perceptual experience, and discontinuities in linguistic development. Lack of appropriate activation during development acts like physical damage to some areas of the brain. The distinction between the Critical Period Hypothesis and the sensitive period hypothesis is whether acquisition is possible only within the definite span of age or easier within the period. Seligers proposal (1978), is that there may be multiple critical or sensitive periods for different aspects of language. The maturational explanation is that certain advantages are lost as the childs cognitive and neurological system matures. In particular, what might first appear to be a limitation of the immature cognitive system might turn out to be an advantage for the child learning language. The results of experimental studies have two important implications for adult second language learning. One is that childrens acquisition of a foreign language is different from that of adults. The other is that acquisition of pronunciation and grammar is also different because it involves a problem of physiologic aging process. Adults can learn the grammar of a new language more easily and rapidly than children but that they retain foreign accents. Theories that consider the existence of a critical period in FLA but not in SLA It is widely believed that the ability to acquire language declines with increasing age. Today it is generally agreed that a critical period does exist for first language acquisition but the hypothesis is not as uniformly accepted as applicable to SLA. When considering separately the time required for L2 learning and the ultimate success achieved in the L2, some researchers suggested a compromise conclusion that older is faster but younger is better. At initial stages of L2 acquisition, older learners were at an advantage in rate of acquisition but only in limited aspects. In a recent critical review of the Critical Period Hypothesis literature, Marinova observed that, despite general perceptions that older learners are slower L2 learners, the research has long revealed that, in fact, older learners are faster in process of L2 acquisition, especially at the initial stages. Theoretically, if the critical period for L2 acquisition exists, and older learners are strictly at a disadvantage due to age and some biological or maturation constraints, then all late L2 learners should be performing well below the younger learners. However, many studies, whether supporting of challenging the Critical Period Hypothesis, have shown that younger learners tend to perform fairly similarly to one another, while generally older learners show greater variation in their L2 performances. The effects of the L2 learning process and the type of L2 learning environment have been studied more formally on a larger scale. It has been argued that if adults are able to learn an L2 implicitly in more natural settings, similar to the way children learn language, then they may achieve similar levels of performance at a faster rate (Neufeld). The Critical Period Hypothesis has traditionally been used to explain why second language acquisition is difficult for older children and adults. Johnson and Newport (1989) examined the way in which the critical period hypothesis might account for second language acquisition. They distinguished two hypotheses, both of which assume that humans have a superior capacity for learning language early in life. According to the maturational state hypothesis, this capacity disappears or declines as maturation progresses, regardless of other factors. The exercise hypothesis further states that unless this capacity is exercised early, it is lost. Both hypotheses predict that children will be better than adults in acquiring the first language. The exercise hypothesis predicts that as long as a child has acquired a first language during childhood, the ability to acquire other languages will remain intact and can be used at any age. The maturational hypothesis predicts that children will be superi or at second language learning, because the capacity to acquire language dismisses with age. Are children in fact better than adults at learning language? The evidence is not clear-cut as is usually thought. Snow (1983) concluded that contrary to popular opinion, adults are in fact no worse than young children at learning a second language, and indeed might even be better. Children spend much more time than adults learning the language. Snow and Hoefnagel-Hohle (1978) compared English children with English adults in their first year of living in the Netherlands learning to speak Dutch. The young children 3-4 years old, performed worst of all. In addition, a great deal of the advantage for young children usually attributed to the critical period may be explicable in terms of differences in the type and amount of information available to learners. There is also a great deal of variation: some adults are capable of near-native performance on a second language, whereas some children are less successful. They proposed that there is a change in maturational state, from plasticity to a steady state, at about age 16. The younger a person is, the better they seem to acquire a second language. There is evidence for a critical period for some aspects of syntactic development and, even more strongly, for phonological development. However, rather than any dramatic discontinuity, decline seems to be gradual. Second language acquisition is not a perfect test of the hypothesis, however, because the speakers have usually acquired at least some of a first language. Lenneberg supplied some evidence to support the CPH and he found that injuries to the right side caused more language problems in children than in adults. He also provided evidence to show that whereas children rapidly recovered total language control after such operations, and adults did not so, but instead continued to display permanent linguistic impairment. However, this evidence doesnt demonstrate that is easier to acquire a language before puberty. In fact he assumed that LA was easy for children. The CPH is an inadequate account of the role played in SLA, because this assumption was only partially correct. Only where pronunciation is concerned is an early start an advantage, and even then only in terms of success, not rate of acquisition. Developmental changes in the brain, it is argued, affect the nature of language acquisition, and language learning that occurs after the end of the critical period may not be based on the innate biological structures believed to contribute to first language acquisition or second language acquisition in early childhood. Rather, older learners may depend on more general learning abilities. In educational settings, learners who begin learning a second language at primary school level do not always achieve greater proficiency in the long run than those who begin in adolescence. The Critical Period Hypothesis is a particularly relevant case in point. This is the claim that there is, indeed, an optimal period for language acquisition, ending at puberty. However, in its original formulation (Lenneberg 1967), evidence for its existence was based on the relearning of impaired L1 skills, rather than the learning of a second language under normal circumstances. Conclusion As well as there is an agreement that corroborates the Critical Period Hypothesis set up by the nativists during the L1 acquisition, there is not such agreement when considering L2 acquisition. Contrary to what was thought about the impossibility to acquire an L2 after the end of the critical period, there is some evidence that show learning an L2 after puberty is also achievable. The theories that support this idea say that an adult or an adolescent learner will be able to acquire a native-like mastery in the L2 as a younger learner will do. Since the study of human brain is still very limited, some theorists contradict the non-presence of a critical period in SLA. For this reason, although it seems to be a prevalent theory about this aspect, it will be difficult to arrive to a general consensus.