Article Review for Graduate Level Educational Research Class Essay

Article Review for Graduate Level Educational Research Class - Essay Example Maslow’s understanding is that ‘if one is to transform the performance of an average person in any field , then one has to study the peak performers, understand the way they work and think and then impart the same skills to the performer who is average to reach the peak’. This understanding was a driving force for Smith and Strahan who chose to study three experts in the field of teaching, watch them in an active environment and collect the information which can help them to create a set of personality traits that makes expert teachers. The study, although was very minute, extensive and thorough, seems to be little rigid. There are many ways and aspects of the study where the researchers could have taken a broader path. This study was undertaken to create a model which can be a tool for beginners in teaching field to understand what makes an expert teacher and how to become one. The aim of the study was to make American Public schools a centre of excellence by helping the teachers of average quality to learn from the experts. Now, when we talk of development of whole country where thousands of schools are involved, is it really valid to create a prototype based on the study of just three teachers? I think that the study should have been conducted nationwide and not just in one state. Teachers with different backgrounds, different cultures and different states should have been studied as we all know that everything changes with difference in the state. This not only would have helped to gain more insight into understanding the expertise in teaching but also would have generated more and more central skills as

Leading the Way - A Marketing Plan for Sustainable Competitive Essay

Leading the Way - A Marketing Plan for Sustainable Competitive Advantage - Essay Example Apple may have to invest a great deal of financial and human capital effort into performing market research to gain new market interest, something the firm is not experienced with as, historically, Apple has chosen to focus on developing existing markets through product development strategies. Marketing Strategy and Analysis for Apple, Inc. 1.0 Introduction Apple, Inc. has long been considered a pioneering company; an innovative organisation that develops unique products with features and benefits unavailable by competition that gives the business a positive market position. Marketing has been one of the fundamental success factors for Apple, especially in relation to launch of the iPod, iPhone and iPad, methods of differentiating the business from other competition. Marketing is defined as being all-inclusive of all activities related to commercial exchanges that involve advertising, branding, distribution, establishment of pricing structures, and responding to consumer behaviour pa tterns (McCall 2003). Apple successfully utilises marketing in order to build relationships with consumers that lead to brand loyalty, attachments that have consumers favouring Apple branded products over other competitive products offered by such competitors as Samsung and Blackberry. Apple focuses on building a brand, a holistic representation of the business that is reflective of quality and internal corporate values. Branding is a strategy that creates the ability to build connectivity between internal market-centric assets and important target markets that allow a business to nurture its resources effectively (Abimbola 2001). Apple maintains a brand strategy that reflects emotional appeals, building a brand personality that emphasises such consumer-centric concepts as â€Å"inspiring passion and hope, power-to-the-people through facilitating technology, imagination and liberty regained† (Robinson 2012, p.2). This is how loyal markets view Apple as a leader in the technol ogy industry. 2.0 Responses to competitor activities Apple uses marketing as a tool to create perceptions in desired target markets that Apple products and services as superior to competitor brands. Apple is adept in creating pioneering products that have relatively long product life cycles as competitors are not able to quickly replicate the features and benefits of Apple branded products. Apple, in the early 2000s, was able to gain favourable market attention and brand preference with diverse markets by being the first-to-market. According to marketing theory, the publicity associated with pre-launch activities set up the foundation for brand loyalty. When a first-mover achieves positive gains with an innovative product, they actually define the product category and are seen as a model by which consumers evaluate late movers (Agarwal and Gort 2001; Liberman and Montgomery 1988). Apple is not generally taken to creating marketing strategies as a response to competitive efforts, but to build proactive methodologies of promotion that enhance its public brand reputation through media coverage. The former CEO, Steve Jobs, used to serve as a relevant and trusted celebrity endorser that engaged many diverse consumer