Classifying Cultures Generalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Classifying Cultures Generalization - Essay Example This means that people will judge others based on the information they get from the media or any other source instead of trying to learn about them. This is because people will not take effort in trying to learn through experience, the behaviors of other groups, but they will assume what they have heard about them represents the entire group or culture. Generalization will have the effect of causing stereotyping and prejudice since it judges individuals as a group instead of trying to understand the individual characteristics. The common American notion that people of the Muslim or Arabic culture are terrorists is false. After the September 11 attacks on the world trade center, the American government set up strategies on the war against terrorists and initiated the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. There are many differences in these wars, but they are all associated with war of the Americans against Muslims in their effort to do away with terrorism. This war has raised questions such a s what the attitudes of the Americans are about Muslims living in the states and whether these attitudes will help in the war against terrorism. These attacks were conducted by the Al-Qaeda group and caused many deaths of the American citizens (Sides & Gross, 1). The group has also been associated with other terrorist attacks all over the world and the war on the group was started in order to create security in the world. After theses attacks, politics was based on the war against terrorism and this changed the attitudes of Americans against people of the Muslim descent. Most Americans have associated Islam with terrorism since the Al-Qaeda group is from the Muslim culture and they see Islam religion as a weak one. Islam followers and mostly people of the Arabic descent started being seen as violent people and they were sidelined as the violent extremists. President Bush signed the Islamo-Facists bill, and this changed the attitude of some Americans on people of the Islam religion d espite the fact that it was war on some Muslims engaging in terrorism (Sides & Gross, 1). In the minds of some Americans, this created generalization, which implicated Muslims. Despite the efforts to separate the terrorist groups from the entire Muslim community, people still have derogatory attitudes towards Muslims and associate any Muslim they come across to be a terrorist. Research data shows that most Americans have the stereotypes of Muslims as aggressive and they do not trust them (Darren, 27). The Americans perceive Muslims negatively and they believe that their goals are not compatible. Media has emphasized on the negative intentions over the years and it has played a crucial role in heightening the generalization of the Muslim culture. Media dose not directly implicate Muslims with terrorism, but it has contributed to the perception on the Americans of Muslims being hostile. Research shows that most news coverage involving Muslims tend to cover stories associated with war and crisis (Sides & Gross, 3). After the attacks on the world trade centre, the war against terrorism is seen to have been directed towards Muslims and people of the Arab descent. Most of the depictions of the Muslims have been negative since then, and this has caused Muslims living in the United States and in other places in the world to be feared and associated with terror (Brigette,

Entreprenuership and Innovation BUS7001 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Entreprenuership and Innovation BUS7001 - Essay Example The question that needs to be asked should therefore centre on how to create a competitive urge over competitors. This is for now, what the present report seeks to achieve by analysing all factors that centre on the product and the market so as to put the product in a better position to penetrate the market (Aldrich and Weiss, 2001). A lot of research will also be done on the product involved so as to establish the key strengths of the product that needs to be built upon and some weaknesses that need to be improved. An assessment of the factors in the marketplace into which you suggest the product could be sold Sale in universities and other educational institutions where students have daily demand for cooking There are several factors on the prevailing market that suggest that the product cold easily be sold. One of such factors has to do with the fact that there are at every point in time, students in various universities and colleges who are in hostels and have regular demand for cooking. These students are not fed by the school and thus have to depend on their own provision for food (Aldrich, 2009). With growing concern for the need to stay healthy in one’s eating habit also, the likelihood that these students will resort to ready-cooked food is also minimal. This therefore means that a lot of these students will have to cook for themselves. Again, considering the fact that there is an ever growing student population in our country, one thing remains clear and that is, the product will certainly have a very large customer base among the students if the university cooking factor is considered critically. Another factor within the university factor that makes the product very viable and suitable for the university population is that students do not have much time for activities like cooking and are therefore always looking for avenues that will make cooking fast and less involving – something that this new product can easily give them (Bender, 2 000). Sale in places where the use of electricity as the source of energy as compared to gas is seen to be cheaper and easily accessible. Another important factor that suggests that the product will easily sell on the marketplace has to do with the every growing concern for the need to use electricity as a preferred source of energy instead of gas. It would be noted that gas has for long remained the major supply of energy for most homes in developed and developing worlds. However, the risks involved are fast being calculated by scientists and other experts. Some of these include pollution, degradation of the environment, greenhouse effect and dangers of causing fire (Birley and Westhead, 2004). With such concerns, the focus has now shifted to the use of electricity. Knowing that the new product is powered by electricity, the company has an advantage and potential in selling the product in places where the use of electricity as the source of energy is regarded as safer and environme ntally friendly option. Even more, electricity continues to be a cheaper source of energy as compared to gas and other forms of energy for powering cooking devices like

Socratic dialogue Essay Example for Free

Socratic dialogue Essay 1. Meno is among the Socratic dialogues that were inscribed by Plato early in the Fourth Century B. C in Greece. Plato wrote the article in an attempt to determine the befitting definition of virtue as he understood it. He wanted to come with a common meaning of virtue which applied evenly to every particular virtue; this he succeeds with the use of the dialogue between Socrates and Meno. The dialogue between Meno and Socrates tries to define what aspects makes a human being good and what makes him or her bad. Plato as well introduces another theme in the talk anamnesia. Anamnesia suggests that human soul is eternal and it understands everything, and merely recollects for the purpose of learning. The article brings out the ideological difference between Meno and Socrates. 2. Meno first points out that virtue is different from person to person but Socrates believes there is a common definition for all. Socrates rejects Meno’s assertion that virtues depends on factors like age and gender. Meno secondly suggests that the capacity to govern well (Plato, 2009) could be a virtue to all. Socrates mentions to the slave master, Meno, that governing well can never be a virtue of a slave, since he would then not be a slave anymore. Meno also suggests that virtue is yearning for fine things and the influence to get them. Socrates notes that this brings about another dilemma- a lot of people don’t recognize what is evil. 3. Socrates drew geometric shapes on the ground to articulate how a slave is originally ignorant of finding double the square area. Socrates explains how, before he randomly picked the slave boy from Meno’s entourage, the slave boy had spoken well and fluently on the topic (Plato, 2009). Socrates remarks that the numbing he effected on the slave boy did not harm him. Afterwards he draws another square shape diagonally; the slave boy can now observe that adding horizontal and vertical lines from the square corners, the area created is double the size. Socrates gets the slave boy to concur that the area is doubled and the slave boy admits to â€Å"spontaneously recovering knowledge from a previous life. Witnessing the slave boy example, Meno finally concurs with Socrates in his â€Å"innate† theory (Plato, 2009). 4. Virtue is something that someone learns from the environment that he or she has been brought up in. Sometimes the degree of holding on to a belief as being true depends on how seriously the subject matter is taken in the society one is brought up in. Knowledge and virtue are closely related but can be mutually exclusive. When a child grows up he or she learns new things by observing the environment, and based on his observations will decide what is virtuous and what is not. This is mostly based on his reaction to the society’s treatment or punishment of alleged vices. When he or she grows he forms his own opinion of what is good and what is bad, based on his interactions in life. Reference: Plato. (2009). Meno. Arc Manor LLC.

Impact Of Culture And Employee Voice In Organizations Management Essay

Impact Of Culture And Employee Voice In Organizations Management Essay Culture is the shared assumptions, values, and beliefs of a group of people which result in characteristic behaviors (Hobfoll, 2001). People communicate with each other from different cultural background. Culture as a factor influences the following facets of organizational life. Employee voice, through direct or indirect methods, plays an important role in organizational communication. It is evident that computer-mediated communication has become very common in work life, just like through the media of e-mail, mobile phone and even MSN, which facilitates our communication and makes lives at work easier. Nevertheless; some people choose the face to face communication pattern. In their belief, it helps have a relationship with other people directly; however, people can communicate indirect voice including the media of the work council and some union. Also through collective bargaining, people contact each other and change ideas and thoughts with each other freely. And the same conditi on of supervisory boards. In this essay the author will critically evaluate the relationship and impact between culture and employee voice in the context of modern corporations. In the conduct of this discourse, definitions and discussion of culture will be presented followed with explanation and discussion on culture and employee voice in organizations. Some examples will be used to illustrate the basic premise that this culture-voice coupling can be an area of tension for the employee relations practices of multinational corporations. 2.0 Discussion on Culture and Employee Voice in Organization Management. 2.1 Culture and Employee Voice Basically, organizational culture is the personality of the organization, which comprised of the assumption, values, norms and tangible signs of organization members and their behaviors (Hobfoll, 2001). When the members of an organization work together, they soon come to sense the particular culture of an organization. For example, the culture of a large, for-profit corporation is quite different than that of another corporation. Culture plays a vital role in modern society, especially in international businesses among companies. Different culture represents different thoughts, values and way of thinking owing to the different social background (Hobfoll, 2001).. In modern organizations, people work together in the same company may come from different places even different countries. Therefore, the communication between them is of great importance to the development of company. And the concept of culture is particularly important when attempting to manage organizations. Employee voice refers to the participation of employees in influencing corporate decision making. Employees are given a voice through informal and formal means to minimize conflict, improve communication and encourage staff relation through motivation and fair treatment. Employee participation is a form of empowerment and motivation that leads to increased productivity and retention. The term employee voice provides a useful way to examine both its purpose and practice, which is allowed to transfer union and non-union, individual and collective. The purpose of the voice as the articulation of individual dissatisfaction overlapped with notions of employee contribution through communication channels. Second the articulation of voice as collective organization was rather less central than other individualistic definitions of voice (Jeffrey and Linn,  2001). In contemporary organizations, competitive advantage can come from ideas employees communicate to supervisors for improving processes, products, and services. One approach to studying employee communications with supervisors is voice behavior. Different culture has different behavior norm and moral constraints for its employees in a company. Culture will exert great influence on the way employees communicate with each other. Meanwhile; employee voice is a way to represent the organization communication. And the voice of employees conveys their certain culture. Take the Japan Company and American company as examples. In Japan Company, employees are required to hold the creed of discipline and they have high performance work system. Japanese employees should be in charge of their own business individually rather than cooperate with others (Bae, et al., 2001). While in American company the culture is quite different. The employees usually behave directly to others and most of times they will share with the work. What the difference of them show in the aspect of their human management. In some famous Japan companies like SONY, whose employees will be divided into different groups and keep the groups as separate as possible according to their different cultures so as to avoid the cultural clashes with each other. But the feedback of this system is that it is difficult to hear different voices from employees, which will of course constraint the quicker and healthier development of the organization. The condition is opposite of the American company. It can be seen that employee voice in organizations can be greatly influenced by organizational culture. Thus, managers should consider cultural factors when managing employee voice. In all, culture plays an important role in both international business and international human resource management, which has great impact on employee voice, an effective way of organizational communication in organizational management. In modern business world, the fierce competition between companies mainly depends on their cultural advantage through the effective management. Culture difference between employees in companies may lead to the dominant troubles in communication (Hobfoll, 2001). The securing of credibility, the nurturing of goodwill, the motivation of a workforce and the development of a marketable product, all translate into the bottom-line of the success or failure of a business activity. In this regard, the securing of these prizes, in the international context, has prompted multinational corporations to seek to establish a corporate culture across borders, and conduct appropriate measures with employee voice. 2.2 Direct Employee Voice and Indirect Employee Voice Employee voice is attained through both direct voice and indirect voice. Direct employee voice includes general conversation between employees and employers, email communication, employee surveys and notice board at the workplace. While indirect voice includes work council, union, collective bargaining and supervisory board. (Jeffrey  A  L,  Linn  V  D,  2001) The direct voice is most certainly one of the most impressive forms of mediumship whereby the people present are able to very clearly hear Spirits speak aloud in their normal voices, exactly the same voices as they were known by in physical life, and to engage in long conversations with them. The indirect voice represent that enjoy a high-quality, cost-effective, public-switched voice solution for calls to local, national and international, phone destinations. (Burke, R. J. 2001). Organizational values, work experience and satisfactions among managerial and professional women. Direct and Indirect Voice services are specifically designed for business customers concerned about the quality and cost of their voice communications. Indirect access is the simplest way to enjoy all the benefits of becoming a customer of one of our partner supplies. (Buelens, M. and H. Van den Broeck 2007) Our partners indirect voice services allow you to take advantage of their own highly working networks. T his, combined with a detailed approach to building dependable interconnections with other operators across the UK ensures a reliable telephony service for all your communications needs. While direct voice can provide employees an opportunity to exchange ideas and thoughts directly, even face to face. This kind of voice is easily to be heard and accepted by the company. Through the direct employee voice, people can exchange ideas and thoughts with others directly. And this kind of communication can reflect some problems existing in employees. While through the indirect employee voice, it is probably not easy to achieve the result of communication between employees, maybe it will cause some misunderstandings. The experience of the McDonalds EWC suggests that where workforce has low levels of unionization and employees are opposed in principle to the prescribed arrangement, a non-union firm can frustrate even the limited aims of the Directive. Furthermore, legally underpinned national-level substructures, which are often assumed to make such European-level bodies accountable, may fail to do so in practice. Multinational corporations have been defined as enterprises which own or control production or service facilities in more than one country. (Enderwick, P. 1986) It is the dimension of ownership and control of value-adding activity that sets the MNC apart from the organization which simply trades internationally. Moreover this feature of ownership or control brings with it the challenge of managing human resources in different national contexts. It is within this field of organizational life that this essay will be concerned. This can be contested territory for multinational corporations. There will be a practice and experience in the organizations country of origin but the form and content of this may not fit comfortably or favorably in other countries where there is a different cultural disposition to voice. Conclusion Culture as a factor influences the different facets of organizational life in regard of members behavior, belief and human management of an organization. In some certain, employee voice reflects by culture plays an important role in the organization management. The role of employee voice as the articulation of individual dissatisfaction overlapped with notions of employee contribution through communication channels. In the conduct of this discourse, definitions and discussion of culture have been presented followed with explanation and discussion of employee voice. Therefore; the conclusion about this culture-voice coupling is that organizational life should pay primary attention to the culture difference between its members. Only in this way the further development of an organization might be possible.

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ADVISOR :: essays research papers

Abstract The Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) is part of the FAA’s Free Flight program which has been on going for the past 12 years in an attempt to enable controllers the means in which to manage airspace and reduce delays at airports safely and more efficiently. It uses flight plan information along with environmental concerns to aide controllers in sequencing arrivals at airports and makes recommendations for traffic patterns to aide in undue congestion. The TMA has boosted efficiency of the air traffic controllers and helped in fuel efficiency and safety for the airlines, passengers and crews. The Concept of the Traffic Management Advisor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) is used to aide the air traffic controllers and coordinators thru graphical map, which display alerts, when dealing with aircraft when they are on the outer meter, meter fixed, final approach and threshold for landing at an airport. The TMA schedules and sequences times for their orbits and landings at airports which take a lot of the stress and calculations away from the controllers. It also schedules their landing runways for the aircraft which helps with separation and safety of the aircraft. It does this by computing their speed and approach angles which can be seen on a live Doppler type of screen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The TMA system relies on eight processes which include the following: 1) the communications manager which shares information between its databases, 2) the radar daemon which has a link between the TMA and the controllers computer, 3) the weather daemon which uses weather information from the national weather service, 4) the timeline graphical user interface which receives and uses information from the traffic management controllers computer, 5) the route analyzer which decides which route the aircraft will use, 6) the planview graphical user interface which uses input from the controllers and displays the information, 7) the trajectory synthesizer which determines the estimated time of arrival and the descent profile of the aircraft, and 8) the dynamic planner which determines the runway and the sequences of the other incoming traffic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The TMA computes the aircrafts schedule and sequencing between 40 and 200 miles from the airport, even before they have reached the airports controlled airspace. All of this information comes from the aircrafts flight plan and the TMA has the ability to adjust runway assignments and the sequencing of the aircraft also due to environmental conditions or in response to the input by the controllers.

Mending the Relationship of Two Brothers in James Baldwins Sonnys Blu

Mending the Relationship of Two Brothers in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues According to Liukkonen, James Baldwin is well known for his "novels on sexual and personal identity, and sharp essays on civil-rights struggle in the United States." "Sonny's Blues" is no exception to this. The story takes place in Harlem, New York in the 1950's and tells of the relationship between two brothers. The older brother, who is the narrator and a participant in the novel, remains unnamed throughout the story. The novel is about the struggles, failures and successes of these two African American brothers growing up in the intercity as a minority. The encounters that the narrator and his brother, Sonny, have throughout the story exemplify Baldwin's theme of personal accountability and ethical criticism. The older brother, the narrator, finds himself struggling at the beginning of the story. While riding the subway, he reads in the paper that Sonny has been arrested for possession of drugs. During his day of teaching, he reflects on prior years with Sonny and their past adventures as young boys. He remembers Sonny's "wonderfully direct brown eyes, and great gentleness and privacy." The narrator sees his brother as a good boy, not "hard or evil or disrespectful." He wonders how many of his algebra students are similar to Sonny in appearance and personality along with his drug habits. This comparison allows the older brother to conclude that Sonny was probably not arrested on his initial use of drugs. It also allows the narrator is see that Sonny may be like most of the other young boys in Harlem. As the narrator makes his way to the courtyard heading home from school, a "friend" of Sonny's, another drug-user, approaches him. The narrator ... ...the narrator and all people a way of finding meaning in their pains and joys. The two brothers again can live in brotherhood and harmony. Works Cited Finnessy, Patrick. James Baldwin. 2004. Biographies. University of Illinois at Chicago: Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Heterosexual Concerns (OGLBTC). 26 Apr 2004. James Baldwin. 2004. American Masters. PBS. 23 Apr 2004. Liukkonen, Petri. James (Arthur) Baldwin Books and Authors. 2002. Amazon.com. 20 April 2004. Magill, Frank N. ed. Masterplots II: Short Story Series. Vol 5 Pru-Ter. California: Salem Press, Inc. 1986. Sipiora, Phillip. Reading and Writing about Literature. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002. Wilson, Kathleen, ed. Short Stories for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context and Criticism on Commonly Studied Short Stories. Vol 2. Michigan: Gale Research, 1997.

Education in Mizoram Essay

Education is the most vital process that contributes to all round development of a society. It not only brings about the best in human personality, but can also be the medium of peace and progress of a nation. Education is a critical factor in improving the quality of life of the people, in eradicating poverty and accelerating economic growth. It is the lifeline of any modern day civilization or country. â€Å"Without education, we cannot see beyond ourselves and our narrow surroundings to the reality of global interdependence. Without education, we cannot realize how peoples of other races and religions share the same dreams, the same hopes. Without education, we cannot recognize the university of human aims and aspirations. † – Kofi Annan. Mizoram is among those states where education was first initiated and popularized by the British. Missionaries were responsible for the growth and institutionalization of education in the state. The first educational institution in Mizoram was initiated by the missionaries in the Aizawl region in 1897. The educational scenario in Mizoram today as viewed from the angle of literacy is very promising – at 91. 58% and stands 2nd among the states in India, next only to Kerala, according to the 2011 Census. It is really not a figure we can much be proud of as education should be viewed from the angle of its contribution in improving the quality of life of the people and thereby eradicating poverty and accelerating economic growth, in which Mizoram is lagging behind. The main issue is that the current educational system is not able to produce employable graduates who can compete with graduates from other parts of the country. This results in the increase in unemployed graduates every year. STATE EDUCATION REFORMS COMMISSION-MIZORAM Educational system of any society needs regular changes and reforms in the light of the emerging issues, concerns and challenges. Recently, Mizoram has set up a State Education Reforms Commission with a view to promote qualitative change and reforms in the field of education. The report of the commission is an important guide towards restructuring the education system of Mizoram. The report suggests that in tune with the provisions and spirit  of ‘Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009’, the school education in the state may be readjusted. The national programmes like the SSA need to be implemented in letter and spirit. The report puts particular emphasis on pre-school education and recommends that institutions like SCERT may step in to help the state in this respect with documentation and research. The report emphasizes on the merits and applicability of open and distance learning system in supplementing the conventional and classroom based formal education and also in providing avenues for vocational education in the state. It may be pointed out here that the north-east region in general and Mizoram in particular could be developed as India’s hub for quality handicrafts and forest-based products. The report deals with some of the basic concerns of curriculum. In this connection, extra emphasis may have to be given on science and mathematics education with the application of innovative methods, kits and practices. The report also points out that with a view to achieve all-round development of the students, school curricula should have definite components of health and physical education, art education and work education. The report makes a particular reference to the provisions under Section 29 of the Right to Education Act 2009 and suggests there should not be any public examination for the students from Class I to VIII but with a continuous process of monitoring and comprehensive evaluation. A system of grading replaces the marking system. This system is currently being introduced in most private and govt. schools today with great enthusiasm from the teachers, parents and the students. The report suggests that there is an urgent need to boost enrolment of students in the colleges. As such, it recommended that so of the unviable colleges with poor enrolment records may be merged with other better functioning adjacent colleges. It also suggested that about 20% of the annual budget of higher education may be earmarked for infrastructural and instructional development in the colleges. The issues concerns and challenges of teacher education are also discussed in the report. It suggests that the existing may be strengthened with the help of additional inputs like infrastructural facilities and human resources. The report suggests upward mobility of teachers. It supports the idea of lifting of ban on new recruitments and avoidance of contractual appointment of teachers as far as practicable. The report suggests that the government should encourage professional development of school and college teachers by providing facilities like study leave, research grants, etc. SSA Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a comprehensive and integrated flagship programme of Government of India to attain Universal Elementary Education (UEE), covering the entire country in a mission mode. SSA has been launched in 2001-2002 in partnership with the State Governments and Local Self Governments. The programme aims to provide useful and relevant, elementary education to all children in the 6 – 14 age group by 2010. It is an initiative to universalize and improve quality of education through decentralized and context specific planning and a process based, time bound implementation strategy. The programme lays emphasis on bridging all gender and social category gaps at elementary education level with time bound objectives. Its intention is clear from the name itself – Sarva meaning all, Shiksha meaning education, and Abhiyan meaning campaign. SSA adopts, â€Å"the bottom-up† process of planning, wherein the felt needs of the served communities and educational needs of learners are well taken care of and the plan fits into the broad framework of SSA. In view of the fact that the desired improvement and sustenance of the improved efficiency level cannot be achieved without the active involvement of the community in the schooling system, SSA has emphasized the involvement of local people and stakeholders in planning. This also ensures reflection of local specificity, which is essential for achieving the goals of the programme. For a brief understanding of the activities of the SSA mission, it is important to highlight some of its objectives – * The programme seeks to open new schools in those habitations which do not have schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants. * Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers, while the capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for developing teaching-learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure at a cluster, block and district level. * SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a special focus on girl’s education and children with special needs. SSA also seeks to provide computer education to bridge the digital divide. ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY. The role of the civil society is very important for the realization of universal elementary education. For the success of the SSA Mission, the common people, voluntary organizations, NGOs, etc. has an important role to play. With reference to the Aizawl District, there are the voluntary organizations like the Y. M. A. and M. H. I. P. which had signed an agreement with the SSA for working together for the realization of the goals and objectives of the SSA Mission especially in the areas like identification of Out Of School Children, Children with Special Needs, promotion of Girls Education, and more. The SSA and these voluntary organizations work together in creating awareness and also to change the mindsets of the people against the Children with Special Needs. Also, the Mizoram Presbyterian Church works constructively with the SSA in the promotion of its goals. It is through these organizations that the common people play an important role in the SSA Mission. CONCLUSION Achievements made by Mizoram in the field of elementary education, as a result of intervention of SSA, are very much appreciable. Enrollment and retention rate are appreciably high. Dropout rate and the number of out of school children are also very low as compared to other states of the country. A good number of new school buildings have come up and existing school buildings have improved a lot. Schools have become much more attractive places for children with the installation of outdoor play equipments such as colorful slides, see saw and swings. Children seem to enjoy the Mid Day Meal provided to them on daily basis and poor and working parents are greatly relieved from their burden. Schools with inadequate number of teachers have been equipped with additional teachers. We can, therefore, conclude that quantitative expansion and improvement have been achieved to an appreciable extent in Mizoram due to the intervention of SSA. However, Mizoram has only reached the stage where quantitative expansion and improvement has been achieved. A time has come when Mizoram has to give due attention and priority to qualitative improvement. Improved infrastructural facilities, high rate of enrolment retention, low rate of drop out and out of school children are not the ends but the means to realize the goals of qualitative elementary education. The state government and the SSA authorities should not be complacent with the achievement of only quantitative expansion of elementary education; rather they should take care of aspects which can provide quality education to children in the primary and upper primary schools.