Showing posts sorted by relevance for query finance. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query finance. Sort by date Show all posts

Monday, October 8

Research Report: BAO6714 Semester 2, 2018


BAO6714 Semester 2, 2018
Research Report

Assessment:                30%
Due Date:                   See instructions VU Collaborate


“… enterprises are faced with the immediate need to embrace the digital age to match the new and evolving business models and offer decision makers with instant insight.

SAP S/4HANA Finance allows an enterprise to create a consolidated view of all operational and financial data to offer flexible and easy reporting along with automation of processes. It also offers real-time analytics, simulations and forecasting with a great user experience. Benefits of SAP S/4HANA include but is not limited to ‘single source of truth, faster forecasting and planning, ‘on the fly capacities’, new reporting and analytic support, global regulatory and compliance abilities across all languages, currencies and industries, faster month closing, integrated with Fiori etc.

Discuss these statements using case study examples (from literature searches) to demonstrate the benefits of SAP S/4HANA Finance.

Your paper should include the following areas :

  • A brief historical overview of SAP S/4HANA Finance
  • The difference between SAP S/4HANA Finance and current SAP ERP FICO
  • What are the benefits of SAP S/4HANA Finance for businesses
  • Case Studies of companies and the issues they faced migrating to SAP S/4HANA Finance. (Minimum 2)

Your task is produce a 3000 - 4000 word research paper which discusses the issues relating to the above.  The paper should demonstrate a depth and breadth of reading and should be appropriately referenced.  The paper should be referenced using the Harvard referencing standards and formatted according to the approved style guide.

Your essay must include: (Do NOT use heading like Body in your report)

Cover Page:       Use the cover sheet provided. Include the Title, Assignment number, Student Name and Number and Unit.  This should be uploaded separately

Introduction:     Introduction to the topic, a statement of the purpose of the report and a brief description of the report’s structure.

Body:                Discuss, compare and/or contrast different perspectives and present arguments supporting the purpose of the report. Use relevant business case studies to illustrate key points. All points must be presented with Harvard citations and have a corresponding entry in your reference list.

Conclusion:       A summary of the points you have made in the body of the report. These should match your stated purpose.

Reference list:   A complete Harvard format reference list. Review the Library style guide for citation and reference list exampleshttp://guides.library.vu.edu.au/harvard.

Presentation:     You should include a title page that has your name, the title of your report, your tutorial day and time and your tutor’s name on it. Every page should feature a footer that includes your name, student ID, and page number.

You should review: http://www.vu.edu.au/campuses-services/student-support/academic-support-development/academic-writing for some general help on academic writing, especially the sections on essays and referencing. Review the Library Harvard style guide for citation and reference list examples http://bit.ly/1jvBd0i. Please note that Academic Support and Development staff can assist with drafting reports. However, appointments are limited and you must book well in advance on 9919 4744..


Submission:
Your report must be submitted via the Assessment 4 drop box link on VU Collaborate (this links to Turnitin) in MS Word format. Name your assessment 4 file in the form s3999999Assn4.docx and where the 39999999 is replaced by your student number. You do not need to include an assessment declaration (because the assessment declaration it is a standard template it will boost your similarity results so don’t upload it). However, note that when you submit to Turnitin you are formally agreeing to the statements set out on the declaration relating to academic honesty. Your submission to Turnitin must include only a title page, your report, and the reference list. Your submission on Turnitin will be marked electronically, so ensure it is complete. Note that if your tutor asks you for a hard copy, you must submit the complete originality report version produced from Turnitin.

Notes on referencing, paraphrasing, Turnitin and similarity
You must include citations with matching references to demonstrate research relating to the discussion and analysis in the body of your report. You should aim to paraphrase sources where possible, writing the report in your own words and including citations and corresponding reference list entries to demonstrate research where appropriate. You should submit your report to Turnitin well in advance of the due date to ensure your similarity does not exceed twenty per cent (for a submission including your reference list). Note that:
Turnitin scores higher than 20% will be heavily penalised.

It is normal that your reference list is highlighted in Turnitin; this is acceptable and is factored into the 20% threshold. It is not acceptable for whole paragraphs to be highlighted. This usually indicates exact similarity with another source. If this happens you must revise your work and resubmit. Note that you can resubmit your report up until the submission deadline. Initial originality results are returned within minutes. Resubmission results can take up to twenty four hours to process. Therefore, ensure you submit early so you can avoid problems at the last minute. 

Order This Assignment

Friday, December 26

FMCG- Supply Chain Management


Consider a company that you have previously worked for or a public FMCG company. Describe the various stages in the supply chain and the different flows (product, information, money) involved.

Saturday, April 18

Solved Assignment

Art                                  Case study                     Change   

               

Communication            Country Report             Finance

 

General                          HRM                              Innovations

 

International                 Management                  Marketing 

 

PESTLE Analysis         Planning                    Porter Five Model  

 

Strategy                         Supply Chain            SWOT Analysis

 

Value Chain Analysis 

          

 

 

Sunday, March 15

Friday, December 26

Human Resource Management-Saudi Arabia

Introduction

The Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA) is an organization well-known in 2000 to perk up the business surroundings and give confidence foreign speculation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This organization was shaped out of the Kingdom's landmark Foreign Investment Law of 2000 with the permission to broaden your horizons of economy and endow with jobs for its escalating young population.

Wednesday, March 4

Thursday, April 9

Analysis of current Financial Crisis and banking industry

Introduction
The world financial system is now more interrelated than ever. Financial markets are seriously regulated whereas capital markets are expanding in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The banking industry is going in the course of a concentration process with less and fewer players left. Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Turkey are coming into focus after Russia, Brazil, China, India and South Africa have let down. It seems that Europe countries are back in the game, with Germany on the lead for recovery of the continent. On the other hand, the US is still the world's mainly competitive economy, by the IMD World Com­petitiveness Ranking. The procedure of deleveraging the balance sheets of governments and com­panies is under way. Government bond yields and interest rates are at past lows and stock markets have improved to pre-crisis levels.
Therefore what is there to be anxious about? There are eight likely scenarios that might cause the next crisis, not any more significant or likely as compared with the others. For some, prevention is straightforward. For others, some not sure there is a big deal we be able to do.

1.      Stock market

During June 2013 and June 2014, world’s stock markets returned 18 per cent on standard. Certainly, performance was rough, not dissimilar a "normal" year: the market return was about 30 per cent in India, and in China 8 per cent merger. Though, most companies that announced outcomes during 2014 let down markets, and mainly large companies, stock markets have reacted negatively to annual earnings. The cause is that, driven by overload liquidity and a lack of substitute opportunities, a lot of cash has flown in to equity markets. The Yale University economics expert and Nobel Prize winner Robert Shiller has discovered that the gap between stock prices and corporate earnings is now bigger than it was in the previous pre-crisis periods: 2000, 2007. If markets were to go back to their ordinary earning levels, the standard stock market in the world should go down by about 30 per cent

2.      Energy

An energy disaster now might not be caused by the shortage of energy sources - rather the opposite. The expansion of frocking methods and increasing supply of gas in the US has twisted shale gas into an effective geopolitical weapon. If the US Congress were to let energy exports, world’s energy prices would fall considerably. This might be great for companies, but might generate geopolitical problems in Russia and West Asia. These countries depended on energy demand from Western Europe and China, where energy expenses are currently throbbing competitiveness and where a less-expensive alternative might be welcomed with open arms.

3.      New real estate

The circumstances in 2005-07 that led to a real estate bubble have returned: low growing demand, low interest rate and increasing real estate prices in a few markets. With respect to the demand issue, in present market circumstances, the only good-looking investments for institutional investors are equities and real estate. As a consequence, prices are increasing.
Recently, Bank for International Settlements has released information on real estate prices in a number of markets from 2013. During, 2008 to 2013, housing property prices enlarged by more than 60 percent in China, 80 per cent in Brazil, and in Canada 15 per cent.
In addition, there are uncertainties of a bubble in other countries such as UAE and Switzerland. Similar to any other bubble, it would only become one time it bursts. What is dissimilar in 2014 is that at the present central banks have enormous tools to prevent real estate bubbles.

4.      Corporate

The standard for companies is now to be BBB-rated. In the US, there are merely three firms that still are AAA-rated: Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and Exxon Mobil. 61 were in 1982. As interest rates are low, companies perceive the profit in debt financing. But this means that firms are too more responsive to changes in interest rates. Usually a BBB rating is linked with a likelihood of default of about 4%t in five years. So, we ought to anticipate that in the next 5 years, about sixteen companies in the S&P500 index might go bankrupt. One of them might be the new Enron.

5.      Geopolitical:  

From Ukraine to Nigeria, and from Venezuela vs. Syria, the world danger map shows a lot of hot areas where geopolitical actions might trigger a world crisis. Why should anybody care regarding Syria or Uk­raine? Because fi­nancial markets tend react to political actions. And because, given the financial connection among countries, negative sentiment in China might trigger a market fall down in the US and vice-versa. Let us not fail to remember the outcomes of the Great Wars.

6.      Poverty:

During last few decades the world has turned into wealthier and more flourishing. While the proportion of the population in absolute poverty is at the moment at its lowest height ever, the absolute figure of poor people continues to grow up. In this background income variation is one of the social battles that we require to fight. But the trouble with combating income variation is that the common solutions (usually taxes) hinder the competitiveness of countries. This is one of the long-term crises that will need smart guidance to shun inefficient solutions.

7.      Cash:  

There is great amount cash out there. It is the consequence of quantitative let-up policies that central banks have followed. The surplus liquidity in the system is determined among financial and non-financial organizations. More than four hundred and eighty six billion US dollars in cash has Citigroup; Apple about one hundred and fifty billion US dollars. It is paradoxical that, in a few cases, banks and firms are so wealthy that they could purchase entire countries (total GDP minus government debt). If the corporate segment were to unload such enormous financial resources on to society, they might create hyperinflation and consequently financial crisis. But otherwise we are in circumstances in which central banks print money that they will have to get out of the system later. We know how quantitative let-up works, but we do not recognize how to exit from it.

8.      Banking system:

One of the main components of the banks’ transactions is shadow lending, it is more than hundred per cent of GDP in the US, and about seventy per cent in China. This is more of a crisis in China as compared in the US, due to two reasons. First, in China the banking sector is protected from foreign rivalry - only local banks are permitted to work independently in the country. As a consequence, without any danger in a gigantic market, the leading banks in the world are now Chinese. They are in fact too large to fail.
The second cause is that a big element of Ch­inese shadow lending goes to central government and provincial governments. Banking guideline in China is measured to be very stringent, but we recognize what happens when regulators become self-interested. Without a hesitation, the next banking crisis will be triggered by a Chinese bank.

Conclusion 

We are at the present in a post-crisis stage. Yet, looking behind to between 1945 and 2008, we observe that the frequency of financial crises and recessions is fairly high: at average, there is one crisis every 58 months (US National Bureau of Economic Research). Using other words, statistically words we should be expecting the start of the next crisis in April 2015, it would ending by March 2016. That’s why we are in a post- or a pre-crisis phase? For some, prevention is straightforward. For others, some not sure there is a big deal we be able to do.
I do not desire to be the holder of ill tidings, but I believe we should always speculate what the cause of the subsequent crisis will be. There is no solitary episode of financial crises in the previous 50 years that could not have been prohibited. This time, let us look in front, not react after the crisis has occurred.

References:

1.      Chudik, A., & Fratzscher, M. (2011). Identifying the global transmission of the 2007–2009 financial crisis in a GVAR model. European Economic Review, 55(3), 325-339.

2.      Fidrmuc, J., & Korhonen, I. (2010). The impact of the global financial crisis on business cycles in Asian emerging economies. Journal of Asian Economics, 21(3), 293-303.

3.      Turner, A. (2009). The Turner Review: A regulatory response to the global banking crisis (Vol. 7). London: Financial Services Authority.

4.      Dieckmann, S., & Plank, T. (2012). Default risk of advanced economies: An empirical analysis of credit default swaps during the financial crisis. Review of Finance, 16(4), 903-934.

5.      Riaz, S. (2009). The global financial crisis: an institutional theory analysis. critical perspectives on international business, 5(1-2), 26-35.

6.      Blankenburg, S., & Palma, J. G. (2009). Introduction: the global financial crisis. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33(4), 531-538.



Wednesday, March 4

Business Function in context, I


Question 1: What is ‘fair trade’? How does fair trade benefit consumers? How does it benefit organizations?

Friday, October 12

AIOU Solved Assignment (Spring 2018): School Administration and Supervision (8616): Assignment No.2

Q.1 Select a secondary school in your area and prepare a report about the performance of five teachers using performance appraisal process and different techniques used for this purpose 

Answer: 

Performance Appraisal is the systematic evaluation of the performance of employees and to understand the abilities of a person for further growth and development. Performance appraisal is generally done in systematic ways which are as follows: 
  1. The supervisors measure the pay of employees and compare it with targets and plans.
  2. The supervisor analyses the factors behind work performances of employees. 
  3. The employers are in position to guide the employees for a better performance. 

Objectives of Performance Appraisal 


Performance Appraisal can be done with following objectives in mind: 
  1. To maintain records in order to determine compensation packages, wage structure, salaries raises, etc. 
  2. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees to place right men on right job. 
  3. To maintain and assess the potential present in a person for further growth and development. 
  4. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status. 
  5. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status. 
  6. It serves as a basis for influencing working habits of the employees. 
  7. To review and retain the promotional and other training programmes. 

Performance appraisal process: 


The performance appraisal process is one that few look forward to. However, understanding the process can help managers and employees conduct a more fruitful appraisal. At the University of Texas at Dallas, managers are taught that "A chief purpose of any performance appraisal program is employee development. This goal is accomplished by helping the employee to do a better job and by developing in the employee the knowledge and skill to meet the future needs of the work unit and the institution." 

Establish a File 

For managers to be effective and help employees develop skills and capabilities, it’s essential to begin the performance management process on the employee's first day. Create a file for each employee and record the accomplishments, areas for improvement and regular feedback throughout the year. 

Provide Regular Feedback 

Regular feedback should occur at least once each quarter and more frequently if an employee needs encouragement or motivation. According to the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, “The performance management process starts with employee planning and ends with an evaluation of employee progress. Managers and employees should meet to discuss planning and goals throughout the year. If possible, formally sitting down with your supervisor or manager on a quarterly basis is optimal. The process, at its best, is a collaborative one which should add value for both the employee and the employer.” Employees thrive on feedback because it ensures they are performing job duties and responsibilities according to the company’s expectations. The feedback can be given in a casual manner, provided the topic of the feedback is suitable for a casual meeting. Always document any feedback you provide to employees, even if it’s just to say “great job.” 

Discipline Issues 

Throughout the year, an employee may engage in behavior that warrants disciplinary action. Your company’s procedure for addressing discipline should include a requirement to document every disciplinary action taken. All disciplinary issues and improvements are taken into account during the annual performance appraisal meeting. 

Management by Objectives 

Management by objectives, or MBOs, is another step in the performance appraisal process used for some employees who have defined goals and steps to achieve each goal. These MBOs really should be reviewed quarterly to track progress or redefine the goal if neither of you see enough progress. MBOs are also particularly helpful to employees who are on a professional career track within your business. 

Conduct the Appraisal Meeting 

As the time nears for scheduling the appraisal meeting, begin preparing the performance appraisal document. Many companies have lengthy forms that require managers to record relatively detailed information about the employee’s performance in all areas of the job. Performance is rated in areas such as job proficiency, interpersonal relationships, communication skills and aptitude. Some employers consider employee self-evaluations. In these cases, the employee should prepare her comments about her performance during the past year. Both the manager and the employee should feel comfortable during the appraisal meeting. Tension will just make the meeting agenda much more difficult and uncomfortable than it needs to be. 

Follow Up Action 

After the performance appraisal meeting, there will likely be follow up matters such as discussing areas for improvement, establishing goals for the next year and confirming the employee's salary or wage increase. In addition, the manager and employee may schedule another time to discuss unresolvable issues that arise during the performance appraisal meeting. 
Different techniques used for: 

1. Ranking Method 

The ranking system requires the rater to rank his subordinates on overall performance. This consists in simply putting a man in a rank order. Under this method, the ranking of an employee in a work group is done against that of another employee. The relative position of each employee is tested in terms of his numerical rank. It may also be done by ranking a person on his job performance against another member of the competitive group. 

2. Forced Distribution method 

This is a ranking technique where raters are required to allocate a certain percentage of rates to certain categories (eg: superior, above average, average) or percentiles (eg: top 10 percent, bottom 20 percent etc). Both the number of categories and percentage of employees to be allotted to each category are a function of performance appraisal design and format. The workers of outstanding merit may be placed at top 10 percent of the scale, the rest may be placed as 20 % good, 40 % outstanding, 20 % fair and 10 % fair. 

3. Critical Incident techniques 

Under this method, the manager prepares lists of statements of very effective and ineffective behaviour of an employee. These critical incidents or events represent the outstanding or poor behaviour of employees or the job. The manager maintains logs of each employee, whereby he periodically records critical incidents of the workers behaviour. At the end of the rating period, these recorded critical incidents are used in the evaluation of the worker’s performance. Example of a good critical incident of a Customer Relations Officer is : March 12 - The Officer patiently attended to a customer’s complaint. He was very polite and prompt in attending the customers problem. 

4. Checklists and Weighted Checklists 

In this system, a large number of statements that describe a specific job are given. Each statement has a weight or scale value attached to it. While rating an employee the supervisor checks all those statements that most closely describe the behaviour of the individual under assessment. The rating sheet is then scored by averaging the weights of all the statements checked by the rater. A checklist is constructed for each job by having persons who are quite familiar with the jobs. These statements are then categorized by the judges and weights are assigned to the statements in accordance with the value attached by the judges. 

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Q.2 How financial audit and academic audit are different? Explain your answer keeping in mind different aspects of audit. 

Answer: 

Subjecting your business for regular third-party review and evaluation helps your small business successfully evolve. External reviews allow you to observe problems within your business that you might not see because you are in the midst of the business. Whether for financial or academic purposes, audits examine activities against set criteria and standards. Successful audits must be independent, must have a set method and must be documented. 

Financial Audit 

Financial audits evaluate financial statements and provide third-party opinions on the truthfulness of these statements. Auditors test various claims against relevant accounting standards to provide this opinion. All financial statements are based on these accounting standards. The assertions include accuracy of the numbers, existence of the assets and liabilities, completeness of the numbers and actual occurrence of transactions. In short, auditors check the entire accounting process through which these numbers are placed on your financial statements. 

Academic Audit 

Academics are short-term efforts, and their ultimate goal is to create unique outputs for your business. Academic audits, therefore, examine the true status of academic cost, schedule, scope and quality. They identify issues and problems that may hinder your business’ academic development, and then provide solutions to improve the performance of that academic. First, academic auditors identify the success parameters and then interview the core academic members and relevant investors. Next they analyze the issues, challenges and opportunities using information they gained from interviews and academic documents. Finally, auditors develop reports that they present to management. 

Main Differences 

The differences in financial audits and academic audits are in their objectives. While financial audits seek financial statement accuracy, academic audits seek to unearth and resolve academic problems. The methods used in either case also are largely different. Unlike academic audits, financial auditing uses a range of substantive procedures. Additionally, businesses submit to financial auditing activities because of statutory or regulatory pressures. However, business owners, managers and stakeholders initiate academic audits to ensure that academic activities remain on track. 

Other Differences 

Financial audits are mainly close-ended exercises. This means that auditors focus only on verifying the financial information. Conversely, academic audits are open-ended, consultative exercises. Academic auditors act as consultants who try to add value to academics and business by suggesting improvements and ways to close gaps. Depending on the academic type, the auditor must have relevant expertise and skills to provide meaningful output. For example, a academic auditor who has no knowledge of trigonometry and design might have difficulties performing academic audits of the world’s tallest buildings. 

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Q.3 Suppose you are working as head teacher, how will you used the authoritarian and developmental approach of supervision in your school? 

Answer: 

In many developed countries, such as United Kingdom (UK) and United States, much more attention has been given to inspection than school supervision (Lee, Dig & Song, 2008). The Inspectorate of Education had originated from France under Napoleon's Regime at the end of the 18th century, and other European counties followed the idea in the 19th century (Grauwe, 2007). For example, in UK, the first two inspectors of schools were appointed in 1883 (Shaw, Newton, Aitkin & Darnell, 2003) and in the Netherlands it was started in 1801 (Dutch Education Inspectorate, 2008). The terms "inspector'' and "inspection" are still being used in various developed and developing countries , including United Kingdom (UK), United States, European countries and some African countries such as Lesotho, Senegal, Tanzania and Nigeria (Grauwe, 2007). 
Traditionally, inspection and supervision were used as important tools to ensure efficiency and accountability in the education system. Later adherents of the terminologies of inspection and supervision are used by different countries in different ways. As outlined by Tyagi (2010), inspection is a top-down approach focused on the assessment and evaluation of school improvement based in stated standards, where as supervision focus on providing guidance, support and continuous assessment to teachers for their professional development and improvement in their teaching- learning process. Nevertheless, since the demand of teachers for guidance and support rendered from supervisors has increased from time to time, some countries changed the terminology and preferring the term "supervisor" over that of "inspector". According to Grawue (2007), some countries have recently developed more specific terminologies: Malawi, uses "education methods advisor", and Uganda "teacher development advisor". The concepts of "supervision" and "inspection" have been changed frequently in Ethiopian education system and the reason was not clearly pedagogical (Haileselassie, 2001). In 19 42, educational inspection was practiced for the first time, then it was changed to supervision in the late 1960s , again to inspection in mid 1970s and for the fourth time it shifted to supervision in 1994 (Haileselassie,2001). Haileselassie stated that: Apart from perhaps political decisions, one could not come up with any sound educational and pedagogical rationale to justify the continuous shift made in the name. With the name changes made we do not notice any significant changes in either the content or purpose and functions. (Haileselassie, 2001, p. 11-12) From 1994 onwards, supervision has been practiced in Ethiopia decentralized educational management. According to the Education and Training Policy (1994), educational supervision is recognized at the center (Ministry of Education), Regional, Zonal, District (Woreda) and School levels. Instructional supervision at school level is practiced by principals, deputy principals, department head, and senior teachers. 
However, since the Woreda is the lowest administrative level and had a direct contact with schools, more practical support and guidance are expected from the assigned supervisors at this level. As it is clearly mentioned by the Educational Management, Schools' Organization, Finance, and Community Participation Guideline (MoE, 2002), supervisors have the following key responsibilities: Ensuring whether teacher -student relationship is healthy and democratic, teachers are properly executing their tasks, education is based on the needs of students, the relation between schools and community, mobilizing community, ensure the existence of help and respect sprit between teachers and students, provide professional support, follow up and training for teachers. (p. 30-32) According to Blasé and Blasé (1998), although many supervisory approaches are collaborative in nature, for long time, supervisory of instruction has been viewed exclusively as an inspection issue. Sergiovanni (1992) described supervision as a "ritual they [supervisors and teachers] participate according to well established scripts without much consequence" (p. 203). This author continued that "today, supervision as inspection can be regarded as an artifact of the past, a function that is no longer tenable or prevalent in contemporary education" (p. 204). He explained that though functioned for a considerable span of time, this type of supervision caused negative stereotypes among teachers, where they viewed as subordinates whose professional performance was controlled. Supporting this idea, Anderson and Snyder (1993) stated, "because of this, teachers are unaccustomed to the sort of mutual dialogue for which terms like mentoring, peer coaching collegial assistance are coming in to use" (p.1). 
It should be clear, however, that traditional supervisory approaches should not be removed completely because supervisory authority and control are essential for professional development. Mitchell and Sackney (2000) explained this as "much of past practice is educationally sound and should not be discarded" (p. 37). Having said this, it is important to differentiate instructional supervision from evaluation. Authors described the former as a formative approach and the later as a summative approach (Poole, 1994; Zepeda, 2007). Poole (1994) stated that "instructional supervision is a formative process that emphasizes collegial examination of teaching and learning" (p. 305). In this regard, participants in the supervision process plan and implement a range of professional growth opportunities designed to meet teacher's professional growth and educational goals and objectives at different levels. Teacher evaluation, on the other hand, is "a summative process that focus on assessing the competence of teachers, which involves a formal, written appraisal or judgment of an individual's professional competence at specific time" (Poole, 1994, p. 305). The supervisory (formative) and evaluative (summative) processes should go hand in hand (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2007). While supervision is essential for teachers' professional growth, evaluation is essential to determine this growth and teacher effectiveness (Kutsyuruba, 2003; Wareing, 1990). 
The widely used approaches to evaluation are administrative monitoring, report writing, checklists, and self-assessment. On the other hand, approaches to supervision are categorized as clinical supervision, peer coaching, cognitive coaching, mentoring, selfreflection, professional growth plans, and portfolios (Alfonso & Firth, 1990; Clarke, 1995; Poole, 1994; Reninan, 2002; Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2007; Zepeda, 2007). Implementing different supervisory approaches is essential not only to give choices to teachers; it is also important to provide choices to the administrators and schools (Kutsyuruba, 2003). 

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Please Check Solutions to Other B. ed Assignments (Spring 2018) 

Q.4 Compare different models of supervision and suggest any one model keeping bin view the Pakistani situation, justify your suggestion with strong reasons. Discuss Kadushin’s model of supervision and give your opinion about this model. Would you like to suggest any other model if yes, justify it? 

Answer: 

Theories and models serve to help us make sense of and organize information. Operating within a model grounds our practice and helps practitioners with intentionality and consistency. Supervisors should outline their model of supervision, discuss how decisions regarding the focus of supervision are generally determined, discuss their expectations of the supervisee, and how the process will be evaluated for effectiveness. Often this information is included in a Professional Disclosure Statement that is presented to the supervisee. Supervisees should take the opportunity to discuss their general preferences for receiving feedback, their methods of learning, their expectations of support and critical feedback, and question what to do if they perceive that something is not going effectively in supervision. This discussion, at the beginning and throughout the course of the relationship, may aid in facilitating a positive relationship that leads to counselor development. Training in theory and models of supervision increases supervisor knowledge, and provides guidance for how to direct student learning, as well as how to understand the supervisee experience and development. 
In general there are four types of clinical supervision models: 
  1. Psychotherapy-based models 
  2. Developmental models 
  3. Social-Role models 
  4. Eclectic or Integrationist models/Supervisor’s Model in Practice 
While it is acknowledged that there are models of supervision that are based on theories of psychotherapy, Bernard and Goodyear (1998) state that an indicator that supervision is coming into its own is that there is an increase in models that were developed independent of psychotherapy. Therefore, this section will focus on the developmental and social role models of supervision. Supervision can be found in the growth of charitable social agencies in Europe and North America during the nineteenth century. It involved the recruitment, organization and 11 oversight of a large number of volunteers and, later, paid workers. The volunteers were commonly known as ‘visitors’. Their task was to call on a small number of families to offer advice and support. The main concern was to foster self help, and the adoption of ‘healthy’ habits and behaviours. In addition, visitors were also often in a position to access limited funds via their agencies, although such monies were only given after a careful investigation of the family’s circumstances. In other words, a decision had to be made as to whether they were ‘deserving’. (See, for example, the discussion of Maude Stanley, girls’ clubs and district visiting and ellen ranyard, ‘bible women’ and informal education).
The person assigning cases, organizing work and taking decisions on behalf of the agency was basically an ‘overseer’ – and hence the growing use of the term ‘supervisor’. (In Latin super means ‘over’, and vidêre, ‘to watch, or see’). As Petes (1967: 170) has pointed out, traditionally, part of the overseer’s job was to ensure that work was done well and to standard. This can be viewed as an administrative task. However, overseers also had to be teachers and innovators. These were new forms of organization and intervention: ‘standards were being set, new methods developed’ (op cit.). In these early forms – and especially in the work of the Charity Organization Society in the USA and UK – the present functions and approaches of supervision were signalled. As thinking and practice around casework became more sophisticated, especially through the work of pioneers such as Mary Richmond (1899; 1917; 1922), and demands for more paid workers grew, so supervision became more of an identified process. For example, books on the subject began to appear – e.g. Jeffrey R. Brackett’s Supervision and Education in Charity (1904). Also, the hierarchical position of the supervisor (or paid agent) was revealed: While the ‘paid agent’ acted as supervisor to the volunteer visitor, the paid agent ‘supervisor’ was himself supervised by the district committee, which had ultimate authority for case decisions… The paid agent supervisor was then in a middle-management position, as is true of supervisors today – supervising the direct service worker but themselves under the authority of the agency administrators. (Kadushin 1992: 6) 12 It is this hierarchical and managerial idea of supervision that tends to permeate much of the literature in social work. 

Kadushin’s model of supervision 

It is at this point that Alfred Kadushin’s discussion of supervision in social work becomes helpful. He goes back to earlier commentators such as John Dawson (1926) who stated the functions of supervision in the following terms: 
Administrative – the promotion and maintenance of good standards of work, co-ordination of practice with policies of administration, the assurance of an efficient and smooth-running office; 
Educational – the educational development of each individual worker on the staff in a manner calculated to evoke her fully to realize her possibilities of usefulness; and 
Supportive – the maintenance of harmonious working relationships, the cultivation of esprit de corps. [This is Kadushin’s (1992) rendering of Dawson 1926: 293]. It is a short step to translate these concerns into the current language of the ‘learning organization’. As Salaman (1995: 63) argues, managers must have a concern for both performance and learning. [T]he essentially managerial aspects of managers’ work is their responsibility for monitoring and improving the work of others; their managerial effectiveness is determined by their capacity to improve the work of others. if managers are not able to make this contribution, then what value are they adding? The only ultimate justification of managers’ existence is the improvement of the work of their subordinates. If managers fail in this way they fail as managers. In this way managers are expect to develop relationships and environments that enable people to work together and respond to change. Such ‘joint performance’ involves having common goals, common values, the right structures, and continuing training and development (Drucker 1988: 75). 
I want to concentrate on how managers approach supervision – later I will suggest that the threefold education/administration/support model also works for ‘non-managerial’ supervision. In our experience of management some of us will have found that all three elements were present – and were acknowledged by the parties involved. As managers we may well express a concern for the well being of those we are responsible for; we may also attend to gaining clarity around the tasks to be achieved (and how they are to be undertaken). In addition, we may have a care for staff development. We may well explore particular incidents and situations and seeing how they could be handled in different ways. There may also be situations where these elements are not all present. For example, we may have slipped into a strong task orientation with a particular worker. Or, and this is quite common, we may focus rather too strongly on the support side. In voluntary and not-forprofit organizations it is not uncommon to find that staff require a good deal of ‘working with’! I find it helpful to think of the three elements as inter linked (or as overlapping). They flow one into another. If we are to remove one element than the process becomes potentially less satisfying to both the immediate parties – and less effective. It is easy to simply identify managerial supervision with administrative supervision. 
Administration 
Kadushin tightens up on Dawson’s formulation and presents his understanding of the three elements in terms of the primary problem and the primary goal. In administrative supervision the primary problem is concerned with the correct, effective and appropriate implementation of agency policies and procedures. The primary goal is to ensure adherence to policy and procedure (Kadushin 1992: 20). The supervisor has been given authority by the agency to oversee the work of the supervisee. This carries the responsibility: … both to ensure that agency policy is implemented – which implies a controlling function – and a parallel responsibility to enable supervisees to work to the best of their ability. (Brown and Bourne 1995: 10) 
It also entails a responsibility not to lose touch with the rationale for the agency – ‘to provide a first-class service for people who need it (or in some cases are required to have it, in order that they or others may be protected from harm)’ (op cit.). 

Please Check Solutions to Other B. ed Assignments (Spring 2018)

Q.5 Write your understanding about: Supervising Physical Structure 

Answer:

A supervisor’s role in human resource management is that of setting the strategic course for the department to improve company performance. The supervisor can use HR to create levers to influence how workers focus their energy and select workers with skills and interests aligned with the company’s goals. 

Guiding Employee Selection Criteria 

A supervisor must set the strategic course of the human resource department. This means setting the correct criteria for selecting staff. The supervisor should match your small business's core needs to the skill set of the staff. Not every skill needed by your company will be a strength of each employee, but on a cumulative basis the supervisor must attempt to have employees that cover some of the areas of expertise so that every major key function can be met. This is harder for soft skills such as team building, facilitation and influencing key constituents. 

Setting Incentives 

Incentives are another crucial function of human resources. Employees may have different incentives, whether pay, promotion, perks or flexibility, and there may be different degrees to which each employee's performance is influenced by those incentives. The supervisor must tailor incentives so that they are in line with long-term company goals. This will have a bonus effect in that, over time, employees who value these incentives will join and stay at the company and employees who do not will leave. The incentives must be clear, and meeting them must be measurable and within an employee’s control. 

Making Staff Carry Out Policy 

A supervisor must make sure the human resource staff is performing correctly. The supervisor must understand the staff’s jobs well enough to know what is good, bad or average performance by the staff. The supervisor must understand that loyalty is often a function of how well or how slighted an employee feels. This is sometimes related to benefits and other times related to the performance evaluation process. A supervisor must make sure the staff acts in a professional and consistent way so employees feel the workplace is a fair environment. 

Recommending New Approaches 

A supervisor should recommend new policies to improve not just the human resource department's performance but also the company’s performance. This could be in the realm of redesigning the incentive system to reward risk taking. Conversely, the supervisor could implement a cost-cutting reward system where employees share in the benefits of the costcutting effort they suggest. Finally the supervisor can facilitate an environment in which company leadership encourages excellence and loyalty by revamping policy to match what the employees value with what benefits and compensation the firm provides. 

2. Supervising School Environment 

Answer: 

Through the effective supervision of instruction, administrators can reinforce and enhance teaching practices that will contribute to improved student learning. By skillfully analyzing performance and appropriate data, administrators can provide meaningful feedback and direction to teachers that can have a profound effect on the learning that occurs in each classroom. Because student learning is the primary function of the schools, the effective supervision of instruction is one of the most critical functions of the administrator. If schools are to provide equal access to quality educational programs for all students, administrators must hold teachers accountable for providing an appropriate and well-planned program. These programs include a variety of teaching strategies designed to meet the diverse needs of all students in our complex society. 
This reviews areas of focus for teacher evaluation, the components of effective teaching, some basic strategies and procedures for data gathering and conferencing, and steps administrators should consider in the effective preparation of conference memorandums and letters of reprimand. Approaches that are discussed which differ from existing procedures in the district should be used to stimulate discussion and prompt a review of current practices. This process may lead to a restructuring of practices and procedures that could result in the enhancement of student learning. 

Teacher Evaluation 

To enhance the professional effectiveness of the teaching staff administrators must be skilled in these areas: (a) what to evaluate, (b) how to observe and analyze classroom observation information and other data, and (c) how to translate the results of observations and the summary of data into meaningful conference feedback that guides and encourages teachers to improve instruction. Expectancies for teacher performance were enacted by California State Senate Bill 813 and are included in Section 44662 of the California Education Code. This section requires the governing board of each school district to establish standards of expected pupil achievement at each grade level in each area of study. Under this code, evaluation and assessment of certificated employee competency are required in four areas. These include: (1) the progress of pupils toward the district-adopted standards, (2) the instructional strategies and techniques utilized by the teacher, (3) the teacher's adherence to curricular objectives, and (4) the establishment and maintenance of a suitable learning environment. Although this code section prohibits the evaluation and assessment of certificated employee competence by the use of published norms established by standardized tests, it does give the board of education of each district authority to adopt additional evaluation guidelines and criteria. In addition, the school board in each district is required to establish and define job responsibilities of other certificated non-instructional personnel (supervision or administrative positions) whose responsibilities cannot be evaluated in the aforementioned four areas.

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AIOU Solved Assignment (Spring 2018): School Administration and Supervision (8616): Assignment No.1

Please Check Solutions to Other B. ed Assignments (Spring 2018)


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Strategic Planning Analysis - Tesco

Tesco is one of the world’s largest retailers with over 500,000 colleagues, and serve millions of customers a

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AIOU Solved Assignment (Spring 2018): School Administration and Supervision (8616): Assignment No.1

Q.1 How you will define school administration, strengthen your answer with relevant literature and in your opinion what is the scope of educational administration in teacher education? 

Answer: 

Educational administration is the study and practice of managing the resources, tasks and communications involved in running a school. The goal of the administrator is to keep the school's overall process flowing smoothly, making decisions that facilitate successful education. The administrator identifies and articulates a school's mission and goals and makes them happen by implementing programs, delegating tasks and allocating resources. 

Meaning of Educational Administration 

Educational Administration is a discipline within the study of education that examines the administrative theory and practice of education in general and educational institutions and educators in particular. The field ideally distinguishes itself from administration and management through its adherence to guiding principles of educational philosophy. 
The concept of educational administration may not be totally different from what we are familiar with in the concept of administration. Education at different levels has its objectives, the most important of the objectives that cut across all the levels of education is teaching and learning. It is the function of the school to produce educated and enlightened human beings who would be able to contribute positively to the development of the society. This formed the opinion of Olaniyi (2000) who describes school as a social institution which does not exist in a vacuum. He said further that a school is a micro-community, existing within a macro community to mould the habits, interest, attitudes and feelings of children and transmit from one generation to another. The school also comprises certain personnel i.e. teaching and non-teaching staff as well as the students. These human resources in the school work with some materials, such as instructional materials, equipment and financial resources in order to achieve the objectives of the school
Administration is very germane to the realization of the school’s objectives – indeed, the success of the school system depends largely on the administration of the school it handled. The teachers, students, non-teaching staff and resources must be efficiently arranged, monitored and controlled, so that they would work harmoniously according to (educational plan). Even the National Policy on Education emphasizes the success of the entire educational system on proper planning, efficient administration and adequate funding. School administration is the process by which principles, methods and practices of administration are applied in educational institutions to establish, maintain and develop such institutions in line with the goals of the institutions. Akinwumi & Jayeoba (2004) define school administration as the scientific organization of human and material resources and programs available for education and using them systematically and meticulously to achieve educational goals. Basically, educational administration implies the arrangement of the human and material resources and program available for education and carefully using them systematically for the achievement of educational objectives. 
Thus educational administrator, whether in the ministry of education, the schools board, or in a school is essentially the organizer, the implementer of plans, policies and program meant for achieving specific educational objectives. The educational administrator may contribute, one way or the other, in planning, policy–making and program designing, yet his major role rests with the effective and efficient implementation of such plans, policies and program for the benefit of education. Viewed from this angle, educational administration is concerned with organization and implementation – it may be categorized under broad areas of: 
  • Planning and Policy 
  • Implementation 
Although such a categorization is essentially arbitrary and broad and these aspects of management are closely tied, inseparable and inductive, it is possible to separate the functions of administration from that of planning and policy–making in education. For example the administrator is concerned with formulating general plans and policies for education.

Roles of Educational Administrators 

The top administrator, whether she's called superintendent, head of school, president or principal, is the institution's equivalent of a chief executive officer in business. She takes an active role in personnel issues, budget decisions, curriculum planning and setting policy that staff and students will abide by. Administrators are responsible for setting the institution's tone and serve as its public face. School districts, colleges and universities often employ assistant administrators to be responsible for budget, curriculum and personnel. Still other educational administrators work in research and policy-making roles in governmental and private departments and organizations where students typically never set foot.

Educational Administration Degrees 

Typically, an educational administrator will need at least a master's degree in education, master's degree in educational administration or doctorate in education. At the master's level, coursework typically includes the sociology and law of education, educational research, curricular and instructional strategies and leadership and management skills. Earning a doctoral degree requires advanced study in leadership; educational theory, practice and planning; supervisory skills; research and statistics; and organizational dynamics. 

Styles of Educational Administration 

Educational researchers have devoted considerable effort to defining and analyzing what makes an effective administrator. Effectiveness is measured using research tools such as school climate surveys and institutional health assessments. The [Encyclopedia of Educational Research and Administration] (http://www.sagepub.com/refbooks/Book226460) published by Sage Research identifies four distinct styles: authoritarian leaders who employ a top-down, unemotional style and run tight ships using coercive tactics, participative leaders who emphasize collegiality and collaboration, transactional leaders who strive for a 4 happy middle ground between the two and transformational leaders who focus on servant leadership and empowerment. There is no definitive proof that one of these styles works better than all of the others; what matters is a good fit between the administrator and the institution's key stakeholders. 

Making a Career in Educational Administration 

Many a teacher takes a look at the way things are being run and either admires or detests it so much that he decides to go for that master's and become a decision maker, and many graduate programs are designed to accommodate the needs of these working teachers. Aspiring educational administrators need to prepare themselves for long days during which they'll handle a variety of problems and successes and be the one held responsible in good times and bad. It's a job for problem solvers with superb time management skills. 

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Please Check Solutions to Other B. ed Assignments (Spring 2018)

Q.2 Elaborate educational administration and its scope. What are the responsibilities of a head teacher in a school? 

Answer: 

Within TimeClick there are several different levels of administration that allow you to spread the work of administering TimeClick across different departments. Note that all three levels of administration are accessible with a unique administrative password. Having multiple admin users makes it easier to split the work among others and ensures the proper tasks are assigned to the appropriate administrator. Each of the three administration modes can be open on any of the TimeClick computers by clicking the administration button, choosing the administration mode you would like to enter and then typing the password. The first option is the main administration mode. This administrator will have access to everything in the time tracking system. This is where you will add and edit employees’ records, modify times, view reports, set preferences, and manage your accruals. Next, you have the Level 2 – Restricted Administration mode. This will allow anyone with the appropriate password to view reports and/or modify times if the main administrator allows them to do so. By default, the Level 2 administration is only able to view reports in TimeClick. You can, however, allow them to modify times by going into the main administration mode, selecting preferences then password and misc controls and then check the box that reads allow level 2 and department supervisors to modify times. 
Last, there is a Department Supervisor administration level. Again, like a level 2 administration you can allow department heads the ability to just run reports or to modify times as well. In order to allow a department supervisor these administrative capabilities, you will first need to create the department, and then set them up as a department supervisor in the administration mode under Departments. After you’ve assigned an employee to be a department supervisor they will be able to access reports and modify times for employees listed within their department. The department supervisor(s) will be able to use their employee password to log in to this restricted area. 

Educational Administration: 

As we know the very fact that educational administration needs integration and coordination of all the physical and human resources and educational elements. Besides this it requires a great efficiency with it based on human sympathy, understanding, knowledge and skill. The physical resources mainly contribute building equipment’s and instructional materials. The human resources include pupils, teachers, supervisors, administrators and parents. The additional elements comprise the various aspects of educational theory and practice including philosophy of education, objectives of education, curriculum, method of teaching, discipline, role of the teacher, rules and regulations etc. These elements are “parts, made into whole” and are components brought into harmonious relationship. So the purpose of doing such vital task is to fulfill different purposes which are known as the objectives of educational administration. 
These are: 

1. To provide proper education to students: 

This objective seeks to mention the fact that good education doesn’t mean education at a very high cost as is practiced in modern public schools. Rather it means the right type of education from the right type of teachers within reasonable cost. This objective also implies quantitative expansion and qualitative improvement of education. 

2. To Ensure Adequate Utilization Of All Resources: 

For adequate realization of the various purposes of educational programme there is the need of ensuring adequate utilization of all available resources-human, material and financial. 

3. To Ensure Professional Ethics And Professional Development Among Teachers: 

As teachers are the senior and mature human elements to accelerate the programme in time their role is highly felt in this regard. They are to be encouraged and given the facility to devise and try out innovative ideas on instruction and to participate in service education programmes. In this context, it can be visualized that educational administration should aim at developing a desire for hard work, dedication and commitment for their job among teachers. 
4. To organize educational programmes for acquainting students with the art of democratic living and giving them excellent training in democratic citizenship. 

5. To mobilize the community: 

Like general administration, educational administration seeks to maintain and improve the relations with the community. For this it should seek community support and co-operation for quantitative expansion, qualitative improvements, smooth and fair examination in the educational system. 
6. To organize co-curricular activities effectively for developing talents of students and work efficiency of educational teachers. 

7. To get the work done: 

The most important objective of administration is to get the work done effectively, efficiently and with satisfaction to the individuals and benefits to the society. 7 8. To prepare students for taking their places in various vocations and avenues of life. 9. To train the students in developing scientific attitude and objective outlook among them towards all aspects and activities of life. 10. To ensure qualitative improvement of education: Good education can be provided to students by bringing qualitative improvement in instruction. Regular supervision of teaching and guidance of teachers help to ensure quality teaching in schools. 

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Q.3 We came away with the belief that the administrative functions are the scope of educational administration. It is important to identify the task areas of the educational administrator. What are the main tasks areas of educational administration that we need to identify? 

Answer: 

Educational Management is a multi-faced activity. It is a social process that is designed to ensure co-operation participation, intervention and involvement of others in the effective achievement of given or determined objectives. Management, being a social process, lays its major emphasis on the interaction of people, mar inside and outside the institutions and people above and below one’s operational position. Thereto% aims and objectives of educational management have to be understand from the above dimension, 
Several attempts have been made by Early Childhood Education Training to define aims and objectives of educational management different terms. Broadly the objectives: 
  1. To define the functions of the school. 
  2. To plan for the future and arrange the plan of operation. 
  3. To organize/build up the material and human resources required for proper running of the school 
  4. To command the staff both teaching and non-teaching to do their work efficiently 
  5. To co-ordinate the functions of various human elements and correlate all the activities. 
  6. To control and to ensure everything is done in accordance with the rules which have been down and the instructions which have been given. 
  7. To create environment and facilities for educational research etc. 

Functions of Educational Management/Administration 


There are seven clearly defined functions of educational management which throw more light on viz. planning, organization, direction, control, co-ordination, evaluation and reporting. There are seven clearly defined functions of educational management which throw more believe it viz. planning, organization, direction, control, co-ordination, evaluation and reporting. 

Planning 

Planning is the crucial step in the educational management. An unplanned management/administration will not go very far. Only a planned approach can achieve the desired. Planning should precede every performance. 

Organisation 

It is the fundamental task in every administration. Organization is the machine for getting thing done. It mainly concerned with provision, arrangement, and manpower, which enable the administration to carry out its functions. In fact administration works through the available organization. 

Direction 

It is the process of guiding the human efforts and achieving aims/objectives. Direction represents leadership; which has a key role to play in administrative. This is the authority, which direct thing done direction shows the way. It channelizes the entire organization towards the common goal. In administration there is always the involvement of number of persons,. Different functionaries of the machinery are made to pursue the common goal by proper control failing which they pull in different directions. 

Co-ordination 

It is the process of harmonizing in a uniform way all the elements-the persons, materials and services so as to interweave them to achieve a common objective. For this purpose the management should clearly define (1) division of labour (2) allocation of tasks and control & supervision over the Die human or material elements and establishing good rapport/relationship between them. 

Evaluation 

It is the process of formulating judgment i.e. stocktaking of an administration. Since administration is a dynamic process, it has to be reviewed from time to time examining the extent to which objectives have been achieved, and reasons for failures Proper evaluation enable the management to understand its own strengths and weaknesses and planning for introduction of better techniques or discovery of new knowledge or processes. 

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Q.4 Explain the central bodies of educational administration that play important role in administration. 

Answer: 

An education system with government as the major investor and social partners as coinvestors. In current stage, local government is playing a key role in compulsory education, while central and provincial government are dominant in higher education. In occupational and adult education, social partners including industrial organizations, businesses and public institutions are playing a more and more important role. Ministry of Education of PRC is the supreme education administration body in China, which is responsible for carrying out related laws, regulations, guidelines and policies of the central government; planning development of education sector; integrating and coordinating educational initiatives and programs nationwide; maneuvering and guiding education reform countrywide. 
Since 1978, Chinese government has promulgated such codes as Degree Statute of the People's Republic of China, Law of Compulsory Education of the People's Republic of China, Law of Teachers of the People's Republic of China, Law of Protection over Juveniles of the People's Republic of China, Education Law of the People's Republic of China, Statute for Teacher's Eligibility and Law of Higher education of the People's Republic of China, and released more than ten sets of education administration regulations. The Ministry of Education, within its jurisdiction, has issued more than 200 sets of administrative rules and regulations, significantly facilitating development of education of different natures. With regard to education budget, financial allocation is still the major source, while multiple fund channels have been opened up. At present, fund needed by schools directly controlled by the central government comes from the central financial pool; schools controlled by local governments are supported by local finance; schools sponsored by township and villageship governments and by public institutions are mainly financed by the sponsor institutions and subsidized by local governments; funds needed by schools operated by social partners and celebrities are raised by the sponsors themselves (including collecting tuition from students and soliciting contributions). In addition to these sources, the central government is advocating work-study programs, aiming at improving the education conditions through premium services. Education administrators are employed in universities and colleges, schools, preschools, and daycare centres. They manage routine activities and provide instructional leadership at these institutions. They may also be employed at businesses, museums, correctional facilities, and community service organizations to direct their educational programs. 

What does an Education Administrator do? 

School administrators work in every level of education. They may direct programming, hire and supervise staff, manage budgets, and make decisions that affect the academic community. They are also in charge of developing a direction and mission for the facility at which they work. 
The actual specific job functions for an education administrator will vary depending on the institution of employment. For schools, this job is usually the role of a principal or assistant principal. For private schools and businesses, the job may be as a director of programs or head master. Libraries and museums often employ administrators as instruction coordinators. For colleges and universities, education administrators are employed at all levels of the management structure — as admissions officers, department heads, and as deans and provosts. Making policies and procedures and setting educational aims and standards is the responsibility of an education administrator. They act as a supervisor for managers and support other faculty, such as librarians, coaches, teachers, and aids. In small organizations, such as a daycare, there may be only one administrator in charge of all these duties. At larger institutions, such as universities or large school systems, several administrators share the workload, each having a specific responsibility. Education administrator's responsibilities include: 
  • handling relations with parents, students, employers, and the community 
  • managing budgets and ensuring financial systems are followed 
  • overseeing record-keeping 
  • managing student services such as guidance programs 
  • training, supervising, and motivating faculty including teachers and auxiliary staff 
  • working on committees including academic boards, governing bodies and task groups 
  • assisting with recruitment, public or alumni relations and marketing activities 
  • providing administrative support to an academic team of lecturers, tutors or teachers 
  • drafting and interpreting regulations and dealing with queries and complaints procedures 
  • maintaining high levels of quality assurance, including course evaluation and course approval procedures 
  • contributing to policy and planning 
  • purchasing goods and equipment, as required, and processing invoices 
  • liaising with partner institutions, other institutions, external agencies, government departments and prospective students 
  • organizing and facilitating a variety of educational or social activities 

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Please Check Solutions to Other B. ed Assignments (Spring 2018)

Q.5 What is the difference between the administrative structure of public/government and private schools? Explain the functions of an educational administrative office. 

Answer: 

Which is better: Private school or public school? It's a question many parents ask as they consider where their children should go to school. There are generally six factors for a family to consider when determining which is right for them. 

1. FACILITIES 

Many public school facilities are impressive; others are mediocre. The same is true of private schools. Private school facilities reflect the success of the school's development team and that of the school to continue to generate financial support from parents and alumni. Some private K-12 schools have facilities and amenities which surpass those found at many colleges and universities. Hotchkiss and Andover, for example, have libraries and athletic facilities on a par with those at Brown and Cornell. They also offer academic and sports programs which make full use of all those resources. It is hard to find comparable facilities in the public sector. They are few and far between. Public schools also reflect the economic realities of their location. Wealthy suburban schools will have more amenities than inner-city schools as a rule. Think Greenwich, Connecticut versus Detroit, Michigan, for example. The most important factor to consider is, what does your child need to succeed? If your son is an aspiring football player, than a school with great athletic facilities and coaching staffs will be a top priority. 

2. CLASS SIZE 

According to the NCES report, Private Schools: A Brief Portrait, private schools win out on this issue. Why? Most private schools have smaller class sizes. One of the key points of private education is individual attention. You need student/teacher ratios of 15:1 or better to achieve that goal of individual attention. Many private schools boast class sizes of 10-15 students with 7:1 student-teacher ratios. On the other hand, a public system is a challenge that private schools don't: they have to enroll almost anyone who lives within its boundaries. In public schools you will generally find much larger class sizes, sometimes exceeding 35-40 students in some inner city schools. If the teacher is a strong teacher with a well-behaved class, this can be a suitable learning environment. But a student who is easily distracted may need something different. 

3. QUALITY OF TEACHERS 

Teacher salaries can make a difference in the quality of teachers, as can the methods for hiring. Public sector teachers are generally better paid and have superior pension programs. Naturally, compensation varies widely depending on the local economic situation. Put another way, it's cheaper living in Duluth, Minnesota than it is in San Francisco. Unfortunately, low starting salaries and small annual salary increases result in low teacher retention in many public school districts. Public sector benefits have historically been excellent; however, health and pension costs have risen so dramatically since 2000 that public educators will be forced to pay or pay more for their benefits. Private school compensation tends to be somewhat lower than public. Again, much depends on the school and its financial resources. One private school benefit found especially in boarding schools is housing and meals, which accounts for the lower salary. Private school pension schemes vary widely. Many schools use major pension providers such as TIAA-CREF Both public and private schools require their teachers to be credentialed. This usually means a degree and /or a teaching certificate. Private schools tend to hire teachers with advanced degrees in their subject over teachers who have an education degree. Put another way, a private school hiring a Spanish teacher will want that teacher to have a degree in Spanish language and literature as opposed to an education degree with a minor in Spanish. 

4. Budgets

Since local property taxes support the bulk of public education, the annual school budget exercise is a serious fiscal and political business. In poor communities or communities which have many voters living on fixed incomes, there is precious little room to respond to budget requests within the framework of projected tax revenue. Grants from foundations and the business community are essential to creative funding. Private schools, on the other hand, can raise tuition, and they also can raise significant amounts of money from a variety of development activities, including annual appeals, cultivation of alumni and alumnae, and solicitation of grants from foundations and corporations. The strong allegiance to private schools by their alumni makes the chances of fund-raising success a real possibility in most cases. 

5. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT 

The bigger the bureaucracy, the harder it is to get decisions made at all, much less get them made quickly. The public education system is notorious for having antiquated work rules and bloated bureaucracies. This is as a result of union contracts and host of political considerations. Private schools on the other hand generally have a lean management structure. Every dollar spent has to come from operating income and endowment income. Those resources are finite. The other difference is that private schools rarely have teacher unions to deal with. 

6. COST 

A major factor in determining what's right for your family is the cost. Not just of tuition, but in terms of time and commitment. Most private schools require students be driven to and from school and there are significant obligations for students to participate in activities outside of normal school hours. This means a lot of hours and miles for families every week to make it happen. A family needs to weigh the financial costs, time investment and other factories So, who comes out on top? Public schools or private schools? As you can see, there are no clear-cut answers or conclusions. Public schools have their advantages and disadvantages. Private schools offer an alternative. Which works best for you? That's a question you'll have to answer for your own family. 

Functions of an educational administrative office: 

Education administrators often work within the central administrative (academic registrars) department and for individual faculties, departments and sections of universities and colleges of further and higher education. Opportunities also arise within private, tertiary and specialist training colleges. There is no ‘typical' job profile: administrators may have student recruitment, funding, quality assurance, marketing, or public relations roles, or they may be responsible for budgetary/financial administration, project management or human resources management. Many work in a general capacity – undertaking tasks from all of these areas. 
Typical responsibilities of the job include: 
  • handling correspondence 
  • organizing and servicing committee and academic board meetings (producing agendas, taking minutes etc) 
  • researching and writing reports 
  • preparing statistics and handling data, such as attendance figures 
  • processing invoices 
  • purchasing equipment/other goods 
  • liaising with potential students, other institutions, government departments and external organizations 
  • helping with course approval and evaluation activities 
  • formulating and implementing regulations/policies 
  • timetabling and planning events 
  • administering and coordinating student recruitment, examinations and assessment activities 
The job can be busy at key times in the academic year, when some long hours may be necessary. There are good opportunities for career progression via promotion into senior administrative, managerial and project management roles, or transfer/secondment between departments.

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AIOU Solved Assignment (Spring 2018): School Administration and Supervision (8616): Assignment No.2