Investigating a Case Study of a Literacy Learner Essay

Investigating a Case Study of a Literacy Learner - Essay Example Asked about her educational background, she gave confusing answers as to what level she finished school, because she mentioned something about earning a certificate to be a primary school teacher. She kept saying â€Å"grade 2 teacher†, and it was unclear if she meant she can only teach second grade or â€Å"grade 2† was a level of skill in Nigeria. Sarah understands that learning the English language well will open many doors for her. Being a second language, she admits difficulty in mastering it because back home, she uses her native language which is Yoruba. Her parents are illiterate people and she does not speak English to them. She adjusts her language to the people she relates to. If her friends understand English, then she speaks to them in English, but if not, then she resorts to her native language. She enrolled in the current class to further her skills in the English language. She knows that her vocabulary skills will improve with reading books and if there are words she does not understand, then she refers to a dictionary to check its meaning and how it should be pronounced. Her use of language can sometimes be unclear due to the run-on sentences she attempts to express. Her listener can get lost in comprehending what she means. Sometimes, she contradicts herself. She said â€Å"I don’t borrow any story book . I borrow my English, vocabulary yes†. It might be confusion on her part on the proper use of the English language, as she may be trying to translate what she wants to say from her native language. She admits, â€Å"I try for example I try to speak more than the way I am to have more knowledge in English to improve in order to further my education because for any step I want to take English is desiring me for that.†. Although to her listener, she may seem to say the say things in the same sentence, one needs to consider that it may be the way she emphasizes a point in her native Yoruba. To English speakers, it may sound too wordy and somehow nonsensical, but to Sarah it might make perfect sense. . Still, her interview provides much information on her yearning to improve herself, to reach her dream of becoming a nurse. It also reflects on how she treats people. From her explanation of her work experience, she enables people to be independent and not to be stagnant, and she would do anything to help them. She is indeed a lifelong learner and encourages others to be the same. Her overwhelming desire to optimize her potentials makes her move towards her goals, and she tries to overcome potential impediments such as work or busy schedules. The motivation to learn is affected by the reinforcements to learning namely intrinsic motivation or the inner drive to learn which leads to personal fulfillment; extrinsic motivation, which consists of rewards such as high grades or a prize for performing well; social reinforcement, an example of which is praise and approval from significant persons in an individual's life; and achievement, or the attaining of the learning goal. Having an interplay of the four kinds of reinforcement is the most effective way to motivate a learner to pursue more knowledge and acquire more skills (Stoll, L., Fink, D. & Earl, L., 2003). From the interview, Sarah’s main motivation is to be a nurse so she can continue enabling ot hers. Her journey to learning is more intrinsically motivated. Even how she assesses her improvement is intrinsic, as she said, â€Å"You know that when you love something you have to put all your effort because you are looking to achieve something on it, you have to put your effort how difficult it is you have to continue. When it’

Dominos Pizza UK & IRL plc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dominos Pizza UK & IRL plc - Case Study Example The company focuses on selling only one product - pizza - and throughout the year, as it has been doing in the UK and Ireland in the last 20 years, minor improvements are made to get the product to the customer in the shortest possible time. In 2006, the company launched an 'out-the-door' campaign that cut the time from order taking to the start of the delivery down to 15 minutes. Thus, by combining the quality of the product with speed of service, Domino's was bale to increase its repeat orders, which is a key driver of like-for-like sales increases that, at least in theory, could last forever. The profit margin went up by 10% on the basis of several possible factors like better marketing, improved economic conditions in the UK and Ireland where the economy is growing each year by 3-4% (Heritage, 2007, p. 381). The margins for the Group most likely reflect the profits earned from selling to franchisees the ingredients used for making pizzas and from the franchise fees paid by those who opened new stores during the year. Offhand, 13-15% margins are rather small for a food operation, where profit margins are in the range of 20-30% as shown by the margins of McDonald's (2007, p. 20) in the last eleven years, which means that Domino's gets most of its profit margins from franchise fees and not from sales of ingredients or pizzas through its own stores. The asset turnover was calculated using the sales figure of  £94.965 million and the total capital employed of  £18.265 million which is the total assets less the current liabilities as clearly stated in the balance sheet (p. 30). This means that every  £1 invested in the company’s assets returned sales of  £5.19 or over five times the total capital employed in the business. ... The profit margin went up by 10% on the basis of several possible factors like better marketing, improved economic conditions in the UK and Ireland where the economy is growing each year by 3-4% (Heritage, 2007, p. 381). The margins for the Group most likely reflect the profits earned from selling to franchisees the ingredients used for making pizzas and from the franchise fees paid by those who opened new stores during the year. Offhand, 13-15% margins are rather small for a food operation, where profit margins are in the range of 20-30% as shown by the margins of McDonald's (2007, p. 20) in the last eleven years, which means that Domino's gets most of its profit margins from franchise fees and not from sales of ingredients or pizzas through its own stores. As the Domino's report also shows (p. 27), the company spends 14 million on administrative expenses and 8 million for distribution. Asset Turnover = 5.19 times (3.61 times in 2005) The asset turnover was calculated using the sales figure of 94.965 million and the total capital employed of 18.265 million which is the total assets less the current liabilities as clearly stated in the balance sheet (p. 30). This means that every 1 invested in the company's assets returned sales of 5.19 or over five times the total capital employed in the business. This figure is high, and it has increased quite substantially since the previous year. This figure shows that the company generates revenues with a small amount of assets. This is quite expected given that the main business of the Group is to distribute franchises, carry out quality control processes, and plan the marketing of a product portfolio that is focused on pizzas. The increase from 2005 to 2006 is also interesting, a