Ice Cream Essay Example for Free

Ice Cream Essay According to market research conducted in 1996, 80% of Filipino consumers bought on impulse (they bought only upon passing an ice cream shop or scooping station, but without an intention to buy first); 98% ate ice cream was an afternoon snack. Furthermore, studies showed that per capita consumption of ice cream was less than a forth of a gallon per person per year. In 1992, it stood at 0. 23 gallons per person and declined to 0. 20 in 1993. On average, domestic ice cream market was 13. 8 million gallons from 1991-1993, worth estimated p 2. 5-3 billion per annum. Bulk ice cream comprised 86% of the industry sales while the rest was accounted for by frozen novelties. Main competitors in this include San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) Magnolia and RFM’s Selecta. Magnolia Other trailing competitors are Universal Robina Corporation’s (URC) Presto, Arce Dairy Ice Cream, and Pure food’s Coney Island, as well as foreign brands like Baskin-Robbins ,Dreyer’s and Haagen-Dazs. Magnolia – The pioneer ice cream brand in terms of flavour, quality control, variety, technology and distribution produced by the merger of SMC and Nestle. It introduced the Flavor of the Month series that provided a huge variety of ice cream flavours to the consumer, with projected volumes of FoM ice cream sold reaching over 28 million gallons. It pioneered the introduction of tropical fruit flavours. It was the first to achieve International Standards Organization quality standards, and is the only Filipino ice cream brand that has expanded overseas. Magnolia is poised as the main competitor, as it aims to be at the forefront of the dairy industry. With increasing competition, MNC intends to make its products available in neighborhood stores and major outlets; introduce a feedback mechanism that will help the corporation monitor the market; and employ new approaches to selling. Currently, magnolia is the preferred choice of many five star hotels, fine dining restaurants, sports and country clubs and food chains. Presto – this brand claims value for money, as part of the corporate philosophy of the Gokongweis, owners of JG summit corp. hich URC is part of, which is to make available value-for-money items for all its consumer-branded products, and as such has positioned its prices lower than Magnolia Selecta. Presto excels in the frozen novelties market, as was demonstrated in their introduction of Tivoli bars, the first ice cream bar in the Philippines, a phenomenal success that had competitors challenge it with their own versions of ice cream bars. Presto currently holding the number three position, is determined to fu rther widen its market share and catch up with the giants. Thus, the company is eyeing the possibility of plant capacity expansion and wider distribution network. It is also determined to enhance its advertising campaigns and be very active in the communication field. Arce Dairy – This ice cream brand was started in January 1995 and immediately got hold of a 5% market share. Its trademark was the use of carabao milk as base, comfortably within the 5-16% fat content requirement to be called ice cream because carabao milk contains considerably more fat than cow milk (9. 65% as opposed to 4. 16%). Only the expensive ice cream (super deluxe and super special) of Arce contain carabao milk, and are priced at higher than the rates of the competition, showing that Arce’s main strength is its appeal to the AB market where its products cost P3-5 more than its competitors’ products, and as its regular ice cream products are priced lower than its competitors by P3-5 which indicates its attempt to appeal to the CD market’s tendency to want every peso to count. Coney Island – 1976 saw the entry of Coney Island in the local ice cream market. It introduced a new standard of creaminess thanks to its products’ high milk fat content, setting a standard for flavour richness back then. Purefoods acquired it in 1991 and increased its production capacity without having neglected the improvement of its quality. In line with Pure Food’s rule of following the highest international standards, Coney Island tried to implement the zero-vegetable fat and at least 10 percent milk fat standard of US ice cream. It used high quality ingredients like Callebaut chocolate from Belgium for its top-of-the-line products such as the Premium Bar, Pure and Simple and Bugs Bunny Bar. It repositioned itself in the market in 1995 to improve local competitiveness. It marketed its products as â€Å"Not Just Ordinary Ice Cream†, supported by new flavours and packaging. Coney Island revised its product classification, and began categorizing its bulk ice cream as simply creamy, fruit and nuts, and cakes and pastries instead of the traditional premium and super premium. This move was inspired by a study that showed that consumers buy ice cream on the basis of flavour concepts. Foreign Brands – Foreign include Haagen-Dazs, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and Baskin-Robbins. Dreyers was the first to penetrate the local market.

Investment Appraisal Decision Making

Investment Appraisal Decision Making 1. INTRODUCTION The research is undertaken in the partial fulfillment of degree of MBA. The dissertation focuses on the investment appraisal in the Indian hotel industry. Shareholders and Creditors invest capital in an enterprise in the hope of gaining a return. For loan creditors they require interest plus a return of their capital, while shareholders require dividends and maintenance or increase of share prices. The capital invested is channeled through the enterprise and invested in capital projects, which must generate returns commensurate with the expectations of the providers of that capital. Capital investment within any organization is crucial and important for the organizations well being and long time survival. Capital investments are those which have long-term effects on the organization by providing benefits over a number of years. This dissertation also shows the different types of investment appraisal and shows the company where to invest and where to not invest. Questionnaire is desig ned to collect primary data along with secondary data collected during literature review. Conclusions will be based on the basis of data collected from questionnaires. Secondary data and recommendations will be presented that will enhance the decision making process made in the Indian hotel industry by the investment appraisal methods. 2. OVERVIEW OF INVESTMENT APPRAISAL Capital expenditure decisions are crucial to the long-term viability, success and survival of a company. Capital investment appraisal provides a framework in which capital projects can be considered, screened and evaluated. Because of the inflexible nature of capital projects, risk and uncertainty, and environmental change, e.g.; the tax factor, changes in government policy and technological change, it is essential that they are carefully selected, to ensure that they will help the organization to achieve its objectives. Therefore, Investment decision is one of the key decision areas of financial management. An investment decision can be defined as one that involves the firm making a cash outlay with the aim of receiving, in return, future cash inflows. Decisions about buying a new machine, building a factory, extending warehouse, improving a delivery service, instituting a staff training scheme or launching a new product line are all examples of investment decisions that need to be made by the industry. In order to make such decisions and to ensure that they are consistent with each other, a common method of appraisal is required which can be applied equally to the whole spectrum of investment decisions and which should help to decide whether any particular investment will assist the company in maximizing shareholder wealth. Therefore, investment appraisal methods cannot replace managerial judgement, but they helps to make that judgement more sound. Investment appraisal is also referred to as ‘capital budgeting (Lumby. S, 1988). The decision making consists of different stages: Planning Identifying the alternatives to be considered and their transformation into workable proposals. Appraising the alternatives and selecting the best one with regard to the organ isations goals. Implementing the decision. Reviewing the selected investment project (RÃ ¶hrich. M, 2007). 3. RESEARCH AIMS OBJECTIVES Every organization has problems in its investment areas, so an appropriate investment appraisal is required to solve these problems.The role of investment appraisal is to ensure that appropriate information is gathered relating to the investment alternatives. Capital investment decisions allocates resources within the organization to offer the best potential of meeting its objectives. It maintains and improves profit performance and increase market share. It achieves a balanced product portfolio. Investment appraisal methods are relevant to all decisions that form part of the investment planning process. Understanding different investment appraisal methods, their assumptions, limitations and possible usages will lead to an increased understanding of different decision making and an informed choice of methods. This should greatly enhance decision making in regard to both single investment projects and investment programmes. It enhances various alternatives to use different methods of investment appraisal to make business decisions. It also develops higher order skills through having to consider other factors, apart from quantitative methods, that a business might have to consider in making business decisions. The main goal of long term decision making is that the firm must handle the investment in order to earn profits greater than the funds committed. In order to handle these decisions, firms must have to make an assessment of the size of the outflows and inflows of funds, the lifespan of the investment, the degree of risk attached and the cost of obtaining funds. The main focus of this research is to analyze the decision making process made in the Indian hotel industry by the investment appraisal methods. Taj Residency Plc, Abad Plaza Plc are the hotels in India which are included in this research. This dissertation will try to answer following questions using investment appraisal methods depending on problems identified during the analysis and searching for a lternatives. Key considerations in making investment decisions are: Should an investment be undertaken or rejected? In the case of mutually exclusive investment projects, which one should be preferred? For how long should n investment project should be utilized? When should the investment project be started? What is the scale of the investment can the company afford it? How long will it be before the investment starts to yield returns? Which of the investment projects should be preferred and carried out when limited financial budget restricts the number that can be undertaken t the same time? How long will it take to pay back the investment? What are the expected profits from the investment? Could the money that is being ploughed into the investment yield higher returns elsewhere? Does the proposed investment fit in with the organizations strategic objectives? What are previous proposals to see which techniques the organization uses? How the organization allows for risk and inflation in investment proposals? Which investment appraisal techniques would the companies wish to consider for making long term investment decision? Investment appraisal in the Indian Hotel Industry Hotel Industry in India has made tremendous boom in the recent years. Hotel Industry is inextricably linked to the tourism industry and the growth in the Indian tourism industry has fuelled the growth of Indian hotel industry. The hotel industry and tourism industry in India are straightly linked to each other. Revenues of Hotel and Restaurant (HR) industry in India during the financial year 2006-07 was INR604.32 billion , a growth of 21.27% over the previous year, primarily driven by foreign tourist arrivals ,which increased by 14.17%. at present, there are 1,980 hotels approved and classified by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, with a total capacity of about 110,000 hotel rooms. The tourism industry is showing excellent performance, in terms of foreign tourists arrival. It is estimated that over the next two years 70,000-80,000 rooms will be added across different categories throughout the country. The thriving economy and increased business opportunities in India have acted as a boon for Indian hotel industry. The cheaper airlines rates to India has also made growth in the domestic and international tourists which helped the industry very successfully. In recent years the Indian government has taken several measures to boost travel tourism which have benefited hotel industry in India.Investments in tourism infrastructure are essential for Indian hotel industry to achieve its potential. But instead there are few challenges faced by the Indian Hotel industry. They are lack of cost structure, shortage of efficient manpower, shortage of resources etc, so an appropriate investment appraisal is required to select and monitor the investments properly. The hotels which are included in this research are Taj Residency Plc, Abad Plaza Plc. Taj Residency Plc is a five star hotel which is situated in Cochin, kerala, India. Its a hotel which consists of 108 rooms including 12 spacious suites. The hotel provides all the services for the customers. The hotel is situated near to the sea, so it focuses mainly on international tourists. The Taj Residency Group is focusing on building a new hotel under the same name in another place in kerala, India. Abad Plaza Plc is a five star hotel which is situated in Cochin, kerala, India. Its a hotel which consists of 80 fully furnished luxury rooms. The hotel provides much more quality services for the satisfaction of customers. Warmth and hospitality has always been the strong points of this hotel. It is located near to the railway station and close to bus station as well. The hotel is trying to expand the business by way of building another hotel in another city in kerala, India and they are planning to extend the existing hotel into more bigger one in order to build more rooms and provide more service facilities to customers. So, a good decision must be made by using efficient investment appraisal techniques in order to invest in the right place and in the right time. 4. LITERATURE REVIEW OF INVESTMENT APPRAISAL An investment is ‘any course of action that involves sacrifices now or in the near future in anticipation of higher future benefits (Pike and Neale, 2003). Investment appraisal is influenced by the fact that external shareholders and potential investors have access to accounting data and make their estimates of firms economic rte of return with accrual-based accounting numbers. As a result, there is a continuing history of research analysing and relating accounting rate of return and economic rate of return concepts. Accounting information affects investment appraisal in many ways (Danielson Press, 2003). There are four basic techniques for the appraisal of capital investments which are : Payback (PB) measures the time that it will take to recover the total funds invested in an project. It shows the time required for the total cash inflows to equal the total cash outflows. A Project is considered attractive if it has short payback period. Projects with short payback periods allows managers to recuperate their investment quickly and give them more flexibility to reinvest these funds in future. They also have fewer risks than projects with longer payback periods. The payback period is popular method to evaluate capital investments. The shorter the payback period is, the more desirable the investment. Because the payback period focuses on short-term results, it does not require managers to predict cash flows far out into the future. Accounting rate of return (ARR) measures the percentage return the project achieves over its life in terms of profitability. Accounting rate of return is often used internally when selecting projects. It measures the performance of projects and subsidiaries within an organization. ARR is almost similar to payback period method but the important difference is that it tends to favor higher risk decisions, whereas use of the payback period leads to overly conservative decisions(Broadbent. M, Cullen. J, 2003). Internal rate of return (IRR) measures the percentage return the project achieves over its lifetime in discounted cash flows. The advantage of using IRR method is that it does not consider the time value of money and therefore is more exact and realistic than the ARR method. The shortcomings of this method are that it is time consuming to compute (Shim. K. J, 2000). Net present value (NPV) compares the initial cost of the project with the future discounted cash flows it generates. It allows the company to screen the company projects potential profitability by discounting future cash flow expectations and comparing the sum of these cash flows to the initial capital expenditure required to fund the project. Though similar to IRR method, NPV does not calculate an investments exact rate of return but instead calculates the exact dollar amount that an investment exceeds, or fails to meet , the expected rate of return. NPV provides an excellent decision criterion for investments. NPV does not suffer from any of the drawbacks of the payback or IRR methods. NPV is the method most recommended by financial experts for making investment decisions. IRR is still used to determine the exact rate of return for an investment, but NPV has none of the problems that IRR have with unusual investments (McAllister. E. W, 2005). 5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A research design provides a framework for the collection and analysis of data (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Data is divided into four types; secondary, primary, quantitative and qualitative. Selection of data type depends largely on the type of research (Buckley, 1995). The research objectives justify that descriptive research is the best method to achieve research objectives. The methods used in this research to collect primary data are as follows: Questionnaire It is a commonly used technique in quantitative research methods. The main benefit of using questionnaire to collect primary data is that it collects data in a format that is easy to analyze. The questions to be asked in the questionnaire are dictated by the research objectives. Questionnaire provides good sampling control and flexibility and control with regards to location and time. It is time consuming if several segments are involved. The research undertaken will use questionnaire to collect primary data. The mainrationale behind choosing questionnaire is that the research requires the controlled responses from the individuals. Time limitation for the dissertation also supports the selection of questionnaire for primary data collection as it is less time consuming to conduct. Personal interviews A Personal interview is defined as a purposeful discussion between two or more people (Kahn and Cannell, 1957). The data collected using personal interview is very reliable. Interviews can be un-structured or structured (Saunders et al, 2007). Structured interviews are a systematic goal oriented process. They force organized communication between the knowledge engineer and the expert. A structured interview is a question and answer session, which is recorded in some way. Personal interviews provide the visual verification of respondents characteristics and references to sources can be used to verify facts. However, personal interviews may be expensive and difficult to arrange. Also respondents may formulate the answers depending upon their profiles.

My Reasons for Joining the Marine Corps Essay -- Personal Essays

Most or all of my reasons for joining the Marines are as follows. Ideal- The Marines Embody more of my personal views and ideals then the other branches of the armed services. Loyalty, I respect and love the idea of loyalty to a person or persons...or a cause. To be totally loyal to something without question but to also love and honor that something, that idea is something I long for and adore. Which leads me to Honor as well. I have, since I discovered it in middle school I believe, always respected the idea of Honor. It means a lot to me. Its ideal a person can build and guide their beliefs on as well as their standards. Honor Goes hand and hand with Loyatly. To be loyal to a cause greater then my own is one reason that drove me to the Marines. Working to pay the next bill day in and day out is not what I want. My drive so far has been merely to survive and get the next fix(video games, sports, music, etc) HONOR: Taking a stand for something you believe in, fighting for those you love, so that they dont have to. Sacrificing many things so that your loved ones dont have to. Fighting till the end, when you think there is nothing left and then finding the courage to and inner strength to keep going. Making in impact no matter the odds against you. Faith in those around you and your beliefs. Mastering your fears, for fear is a weakness. Knowing your emotions, they can be a fond ally or black hole. Being prepared for a fight is one thing, looking for it is another. Self-awarness, not self-centered. Know yourself but do not become enthralled with it. Discipline. Self-control, physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional. Confidence, In yourself and to lead those that would follow. (this is what I believe Honor is) Honor, ... ...tiring out of there. I plan on getting officer training at some point. I will do college when I have at least put 2-3 years into the Infantry. Then I will also change my MOS to learn some Technical Skills, repairing vehicles, stuff like that, for a just in case scenario. Something I can fall back on in case my plans after The Marines doesn't fall through. I plan on joining the CIA or FBI.(if CIA doesn't fall through) Definatly Counter-Terrorist stuff. Active things, not a desk job. To do this I will need several years of College. Thats why I plan on being in the Marines a long time. Because I have a lot to prepare for. A lot of people have said I cannot that decision just yet, about being in there a long time and all. I say I can. I have made my decisions and plans. But I guess I'll see how everything works out. Until then that is where I will keep my believing.

If Seeing is Believing, Then Hearing is Connecting :: Psychology Hearing Seeing Essays

If Seeing is Believing, Then Hearing is Connecting When I was in sixth grade, our teacher, Mr. Kreinhop, presented us with an interesting and provocative dilemma: would we prefer to lose our hearing or our sight? During the discussion that followed, I was very surprised to learn that Mr. Kreinhop's answer was different from my own. As an eleven year old, I could not understand why anyone would choose to lose their vision (!) instead of their hearing. My reasons for needing to keep my sight seemed so obvious to me. Without it, one cannot browse at the library, hide away with a good book, see a friend approaching, or "watch" a movie. Most importantly to a soon-to-be-teenager, one could not drive ­surely a necessity for an American wanting to be truly independent. Without vision, how could one ever do all the things I thought I needed to do? Now, as an adult who has done some of those things and who will never do others of them, and as a wife and a mother and a teacher, I would give the same answer that Mr. Kreinhop did ­I would choose to lose my vision if it meant I could keep my hearing. I have two compelling reasons. First, my relationship with my children and my husband centers around the talking and listening that we do. Second, my vision of teaching has become one where teachers and students join as participants in discourse, which means they must actively communicate with each other, say what they are thinking and listen to each other to join in a conversation. The question and my answers to it interest me now in new and different ways. What are the differences between seeing and hearing that made/make these choices so simple and obvious for me? Here are two different sign systems. Well, actually more than two, but I am going to focus on the ones that are concerned with the communication of and between human beings, the systems upon which I based my choices. One is made up of visual signs, both verbal and nonverbal ­communication based upon writing, pictures and symbols. The other is also verbal and nonverbal, the spoken word and the sounds and intonations of the speech itself, as well as the silence that can be an invaluable component of listening and conversing. Visual sign systems are very important in our culture; so much of the communication in our society is based on visual signs, both verbal and nonverbal. If Seeing is Believing, Then Hearing is Connecting :: Psychology Hearing Seeing Essays If Seeing is Believing, Then Hearing is Connecting When I was in sixth grade, our teacher, Mr. Kreinhop, presented us with an interesting and provocative dilemma: would we prefer to lose our hearing or our sight? During the discussion that followed, I was very surprised to learn that Mr. Kreinhop's answer was different from my own. As an eleven year old, I could not understand why anyone would choose to lose their vision (!) instead of their hearing. My reasons for needing to keep my sight seemed so obvious to me. Without it, one cannot browse at the library, hide away with a good book, see a friend approaching, or "watch" a movie. Most importantly to a soon-to-be-teenager, one could not drive ­surely a necessity for an American wanting to be truly independent. Without vision, how could one ever do all the things I thought I needed to do? Now, as an adult who has done some of those things and who will never do others of them, and as a wife and a mother and a teacher, I would give the same answer that Mr. Kreinhop did ­I would choose to lose my vision if it meant I could keep my hearing. I have two compelling reasons. First, my relationship with my children and my husband centers around the talking and listening that we do. Second, my vision of teaching has become one where teachers and students join as participants in discourse, which means they must actively communicate with each other, say what they are thinking and listen to each other to join in a conversation. The question and my answers to it interest me now in new and different ways. What are the differences between seeing and hearing that made/make these choices so simple and obvious for me? Here are two different sign systems. Well, actually more than two, but I am going to focus on the ones that are concerned with the communication of and between human beings, the systems upon which I based my choices. One is made up of visual signs, both verbal and nonverbal ­communication based upon writing, pictures and symbols. The other is also verbal and nonverbal, the spoken word and the sounds and intonations of the speech itself, as well as the silence that can be an invaluable component of listening and conversing. Visual sign systems are very important in our culture; so much of the communication in our society is based on visual signs, both verbal and nonverbal.

Conformity Vs. Individuality Essay -- essays research papers

"People don't talk about anything...and nobody says anything different from anyone else" This quote, from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, demonstrates how this fictional society had no individuality, yet they expressed no disprovement of the conformity. To be so simple minded as this civilization was would have eventually lead to self-destruction. To support my theory, recall in the novel when the old lady chose to commit suicide because she did not have freedom. She felt that even though she was "free" she was "enslaved" by the enforcement of limited knowledge. Without individuality in today's society, the world would be filled with a population of large amounts of followers as opposed to leaders. Do you know where and what this society would be like if we didn't have leaders like Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, etc.? I presume that we wouldn't be as strong of a nation as we are now. We wouldn't have any freedoms or rights that these leaders fought so hard to achieve. We wouldn't be able to experience historical periods such as the Industrial Revolution, the Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Movement, etc. for all of these eras express different ideas, inventions, and opinions and gradually erased some people's ignorance towards these changes. As an African-American, I take great pride in the Harlem Renaissance because this was a time when we got to prove the "ignorant" people wrong as we demonstrated our arti...

Americans Eat More Than Required

According to The Journal Of the American Medical Association JAM), † More than one-third of adults and 17% of youth in the United States are obese†¦ † (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, and Flea) So why do we as Americans eat more than the usual human being? From personal opinion I believe it is all the resources and opportunities we have to constantly eat. There are vending machines everywhere, food vendors every†here, restaurants everywhere, food trucks everywhere, it is almost if our world revolved around eating.On top of that we like to get out moneys worth, so it constantly pushes restaurants to serve more food. Know when eat I usually eat what is on my late whether its a lot or a little, tend to finish. Working in the restaurant industry I see the same. Our portions tend to be about 8 ounces of meat and another 10-12 ounces worth of sides. That is a lot of food to put down in one sitting. Most people do it though. Very few people ever ask for a take out box. This pape r is not about how all Americans are obese, but instead to inform the reader that we should not be eating as much.We should be eating smaller portions and more frequently. In today's industry all the restaurants are offering healthier alternatives. McDonald's is getting ready to rebind itself and lean more in a healthy way. That itself should show America that we need to observe what we eat. The JAM article states, â€Å"Overall, there have been no significant changes in obesity prevalence in youth or adults between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012. Obesity prevalence remains high and thus It is important to continue surveillance. (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, and Flea) It is something that if we instill in the children of America they will understand it at a young age and begin their habits right instead of overeating from a young age, † Obesity and childhood obesity, in particular, are the focus of many public health efforts in the United States. (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, and Gall) To conclude I would like to say that I am not the â€Å"ideal† in shape American, but I also do not fall into the 17% of the youth that is obese.

Meaningful Social Studies Essay

The democratic principles and ideals of citizenship reinforces effective social studies. By focusing on rights, responsibilities, and respect, a solid base of social studies knowledge and skills develops civic competence. The foundation of four core disciplines, or strands, from the social sciences are: geography, civics, economics, and history. They are the Louisiana framework for social studies. Each of these disciplines offers a distinct perspective for examining the world. Within these strands, other social sciences, such as anthropology and sociology, are incorporated.  §103. Louisiana Content Standards Foundation Skills The Louisiana Content Standards Task Force has developed the following foundational skills which should apply to all students in all disciplines: Communication, Problem Solving, Resource Access and Utilization, and Linking and Generating Knowledge. Through research, activities, discussions, and real-life experiences, children can and will learn that diversity can be positive and socially enriching. A pluralistic perspective involves students’ building unbiased, open-minded views towards diversity among their fellow human beings. Teachers of this generation have the combined blessing and challenge of helping students make the most of a world that is rapidly changing. Students must develop the perspective that cultural and philosophical differences are necessary and desirable qualities of a democratic community (NCSS, 1994). I chose the concept of â€Å"Problem Solving† for Grade 6-8th in which I will be teaching in the near future. Problem solving identify an obstacle or challenge and uses the application of knowledge and thinking processes which include reasoning, decision making, and inquiry in order to reach a solution using multiple pathways, even when no routine path is apparent. Bringing students into contact with other people’s various views and conflicting values is very important. In the school and local community, therefore, problem solving/inquiry problems are most often found. Questioning and cooperative learning are two strategies that are frequently used to support meaningful learning. Questioning. This is where all learning begins. The types of questions teachers use guide students’ engagement in the lesson (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000). The amount of time a teacher waits between asking questions and calling on students for responses, or responding to answers, affects student responses (Rowe, 1996). On average, teachers wait less than a second before calling on a student or responding to a student’s comment, this has been proven by classroom research. If the teacher wait 3 or more seconds before calling on a student or acknowledging a response, this can increase the length of student responses, the number of appropriate responses, and the cognitive level of the responses. Questions should be planned in advance, relate to the lesson activities, and are written into lesson plans. The Learning cycle lessons begin with questions that all students have a chance to answer. All answers are accepted by the teacher even though some answers may explain more than others. In the class such questions engaged by all of the students. In every learning cycle a central key question is planned for the exploratory phase. In a lesson focusing on the concept of presidential elections, for example, the teacher may ask the key question â€Å"What do you have to do to be elected president?† This is an open question that involves each student in thinking about the main idea of the lesson. Development phase, questions focusing student inquiry on the main concepts, skills, and attitudes of the lesson is done during the lesson. During the lesson development, many questions are narrow or closed. Questions are used to help students apply the concept in a new context, during the expansion phase of the lesson. On open questions, the emphasis is greater although some closed questions may be used. Effects of Emphasizing Student Control What students learn is influenced by how they are taught, the quality of individual and social processes occurring in the classroom, and the perceptions and understanding of social studies as a subject to be taught and learned (NCSS, 1994b). Matching Instructional Strategies to Student Needs One aim of education is to help students be self-directing (NCSS, 1994a, pp. 11–12). The amount of student control during the learning process, is a key factor. The categories, in order from least to greatest student control, are expository, guided discovery, and inquiry and problem solving/decision making. An appropriate instructional strategy is chosen by the teacher that matches the student’s level of social studies content, skill, attitudinal objectives, and developmental needs. These instructional methods are very effective and appropriate in helping students attain a particular level of learning objective. Expository, or Direct, Instructional Methods: Lower Student Control Students are provided with little control over the direction or extent of the learning process using the Expository instructional methods, or direct instruction method. Activity lessons using expository methods include the following characteristics: * The teacher controls the situation, providing adequate directions and motivation. The teacher provides ample opportunities to practice the skill in a wide variety of situations. * The teacher supplies immediate and continuous feedback focusing on correct answers. * The teacher uses lecture and closed, narrow questions to control the learning situation but must provide extensive and adequate directions for the student. Expository Guided Inquiry/Problem Solving Discovery and Decision Making Expository methods require external motivation and careful classroom management. Only lower levels of learning: recall and memorization are produced by these methods. Development of the affective areas of attending and willingness to receive information is facilitated by Expository methods. These methods are occasionally useful in the lesson development phase of the learning cycle in which the teacher explains the key idea of the lesson and the lesson focus involves the need for recall (Rosenshine, 1986). Guided Discovery Instructional Methods: Mixed Teacher and Student Control Students are involved in activities related to a concept and form an understanding of them when using guided discovery instructional methods before they are offered or explained by the teacher. A problem to investigate is created by the teacher and he/or she determines procedures and materials needed, but students collect and analyze data and evaluate the results as they relate to the problem. Guided discovery has four characteristics. 1. Students are provided with the time and opportunity to study relationships in data and form a new idea. 2. Students use several activities focusing on one concept, generalization, value, or skill. 3. Students’ main role is to investigate and discover answers to the questions posed, discussing and displaying data to do so. 4. The teacher provides directions and asks questions that help students begin activities with the learned resources selected. From data students can learn inquiry skills such as inferring, predicting, organizing, interpreting, and draw conclusions. Inquiry and Problem-Solving/Decision-Making Instructional Methods: Greater Student Control Inquiry involving significant student control over the direction the lesson takes, is the third social studies instructional method. The Students create a problem to investigate, determine procedures and materials needed, collect and analyze data, and evaluate results. These lessons have five characteristics: 1. Students are competent in basic social studies inquiry skills. 2. Students select problem areas to investigate. 3. Students work in groups, orally reporting the results of investigations. 4. The teacher guides students in defining the problem to investigate and in helping to identify resources. 5. A safe and supportive classroom environment is maintained. Activities using the Inquiry method are intrinsically motivating because students direct their own learning. A first-grader even is likely to use higher thought processes during an inquiry. For example, a young student’s social studies project could involve making a drawing showing where items in her personal materials basket (scissors, glue stick, crayons, etc.) should be placed. After the student lists three or more problems with the basket, such as the glue stick always falling over, the drawing is made. This allows the student to ask questions, communicate information, make inferences, and build prediction. Facts may form the basic content of the narrative, when writing stories about the experience, but students also often make inferences and construct generalizations. In inquiry and problem-solving/decision-making method activities, students are involved in practicing the full range of inquiry skills. Key social studies ideas and skills are carefully selected and is needed because inquiry methods reduce the amount of material covered to a greater extent than other instructional methods. Meaningful learning of generalizations and higher-order inquiry skills, as well as improved long-term memory and transfer of learning, occurs. Problem solving and decision making is what inquiry focuses on mainly. Students plan how they can participate and work together (Dunfee & Sagl, 1967; Meyerson & Secules, 2001). Conclusion By building on a core of effective practices in teaching and by designing activities and lessons with learning objectives in place, teachers encourage students to use their strengths and to respond successfully to challenges. They support students as active learners in meaningful activities. Focusing on helping young students identify multiple perspectives on issues and problems is a major learning outcome related to global issues. So also is discussing what are good and positive actions, moral positions, and appropriate behaviors. References Research & Evaluation Strategies for Early Childhood Education. Research In Early Childhood Education in Handbook Research on the Education of Younger Children. Springer (2007). Retrieved from http://ww.library.gcu.edu.2048/login?qurl.http$3A2F%2F% www.credoreference.com/entry/sprihsei/table_of_contents. Social Studies Content Standards – Division of Adminstration www.doc.louisiana.gov/osr/28v121/28v121.pdf Sunal-Szymanski, C. & Haas, M.E. Social Studies for the Elementary & Middle Grades: A Constructive Approach, (4th Ed.). Published by Allyn & Bacon copyright (2011) by Pearson Education, Inc. The Evolving Role of Teachers In Effective Schools in Springer International Handbooks of Education: International Handbooks of School Effectiveness and Improvement.