Critical Response to Article by Karl Hostetler Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Response to by Karl Hostetler - Article Example This preamble marks the paper out as something a little different from the usual mainstream literature, and the impression of novelty is further enhanced by statements to the effect that researchers need to be playful and irreverent about serious subjects, and need to offend some people and annoy others. Hofstetler certainly practices what he preaches, since the article is full of provocative statements that could be taken as undermining the most fundamental values of academic research activity in most contemporary universities. The key problem that Hostetler identifies is a tendency for education researchers to focus on how their work is done, rather than undertaking a deep analysis of what they are doing and why they are doing it. Analogies such as debating which way to investigate the effectiveness of thumbscrews (Hostetler, 2005, 16-17) or herding lemmings toward the cliff (Hostetler, 2005, 17) or even sticking students with cattle prods (Hostetler, 2005, 19) are somewhat ludicro us, but the point important: too many researchers do not reflect enough about the fundamental aim of education and how far their work helps of hinders people who might be affected at some later date by the outcomes of this research. This line of argument flies in the face of standard notions of research which involve concepts such as objectivity and scientific rigor. Without the use of statistics and analytical methods, there would be very little beyond anecdotal evidence to inform policy making and practice. Hofstetler makes a valid point, but he overstates it with his deliberately â€Å"naughty† (Hofstetler, 2005, p. 17) examples, and he risks not being taken seriously by the vast majority of interested readers who are quite capable of combining scientific methods with careful ethical reflection, and see no necessary conflict between the two. A second problem that Hostetler describes is that of definitions, for example the very different ways that the conception of â€Å"c haracter† in school programs is constituted. Clearly there are quite fundamental variations in the ideologies that can underpin such notions, and Hostetler argues that this complexity is something that needs to be more fully taken into account by researchers. On this point the article is convincing, and certainly there is a case for more clarity in the way that abstract educational terminology is used, especially in government slogans and initiative titles. Hofstetler speaks up for the particular student experiences that are hidden within the data of randomized trial procedures, for example, suggesting that some of the generalizing theories that researchers produce may contain within them actual harm to individual students, since minority results tend to be lost in the bigger picture. Hofstetler questions whether the trade-off is justified, and this is a commendable observation because it highlights the dilemma of that section of the school population with behavioural or learn ing disorders who are so often lost in the drive for overall quality improvements. This article raises a number of valuable questions, and provides much material for reflection, but it is rather short on concrete answers to these questions. The conclusion which is reached is little more than a platitude expressing approval of the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and other moral giants of history and calling for a more

NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT - Essay Example ject is dependent on the markets expectations and changing preferences, to introduce a new idea, the company should look at time as a scarce resource. What the new product development manager can do is to look at the whole process and see what to cut down without compromising the quality of the product. For instance, if the new product entails smaller risk, the test marketing can be done on a smaller and shorter scale so as to cut down on time to deliver the product to the market without cutting down on the value that will be provided to the consumer. Also, the new product development manager can utilize simultaneous product development which utilized cross-functional planning. This will cut down on the time it takes to pass on from one process to another because all the involved functions will be part of the planning process. The new product development manager can significantly cut down on time it takes from idea generation to launching the product to the market. For new product development, financial budget is one of the crucial factors that can determine the success of a new project. As new projects in terms of overall research throughout the process can be costly, not enough budget is one of the challenges that a new product development manager can experience. It is very usual that the whole project has an initial budget as included by the company. However, since these are new projects that are supported by new technology, those budgets are usually the best estimates of those who are involved. Midway through the project, the new product development manager will learn that the costs are significantly different from the estimates, and that the budget that has initially been set, usually by the top management is insufficient. Due to certain management policies and corporate politics, revision and application for a new budget to be approved is usually a problem. Thus, a new product manager could be left with what was initially planned, and decide to pursue or