6:21 Scenario: LTE+ 个 Suppose you are a training leader at a manufacturing company. You have been asked to deliver a report about how you will assess the effectiveness of a new training program your department is going to develop regarding more effective customer service at your call centers and addressing the increased product returns. There have been decidedly too many customers hanging up after holding on the phone line for 5 minutes or more and too many customers doing in-store returns of product. • Explain what action would be appropriate to determine if training is necessary and the three areas that would need to be addressed. What information would you want to obtain in each area? • Give at least two examples of business measures that could be used to assess the effectiveness of the training and how these might be relevant to managers. Explain why they would be good measures of effectiveness from the perspective of these managers. ||| O
Q: What actions a Leader can take to help resolve the conflict between two individuals in an…
A: An organization is a structured group of individuals working together towards common goals or…
Q: Let's talk about TATTLING!!!! What are your thoughts? What's the cost of tattling? Is it…
A: The question is asking for an analysis of the concept of tattling, its effectiveness, potential…
Q: Flat Panel TV’s A. Are produced only in one country B. Were invented in Japan…
A: The other options are incorrect:A. Are produced only in one country: False. Flat-panel TVs are…
Q: A Utility Company wants to install a watermain without casing across six lanes onHighway 401 using…
A: a) Requesting technical documents such as engineering plans and geotechnical reports ensures that…
Q: What are the answers for these blank two: 1. Property_service must exist in Owned_Property 2.…
A: 1. Property_service must exist in Owned_Property:This statement is already covered in the database…
Q: none of the above 17 18 Question 25 (1 point) ✔Saved 20 20 21 2 23 25 ✓ 24 24 Quiz Information @ 2 #…
A: Approach to solving the question: read related articles Detailed explanation: The Bardal factors are…
Q: Problem 09.052 - Circuit analysis to find source current in a R, L, C circuit If Vo 8260° V in the…
A: The question seems to be misplaced. The question is related to Electrical Engineering, specifically…
Q: For this exercise you will research your worth in the job market for a position you would like to…
A: The objective of this question is to research and compare the job market value for a desired…
Q: 1)Suggest which HR function you believe to be the most importantto the overall success of the…
A: Human resource management is the aspect of management that is concerned with managing, supporting,…
Q: As a project lead for Project Hoop2, you have been given the task of generating a project reserve.…
A: In light of the information that has been presented, it would seem that there is a possibility of…
Q: Distinguish between psychological intimacy and integrated team involvement. How do these dimensions…
A: Psychological intimacy and integrated team involvement are both essential components of effective…
Q: What wicked problem does patagonia aim to solve ?
A: The outdoor apparel brand Patagonia addresses the pernicious issues of unsustainable consumerism in…
Q: Among the 7 substantive assessment methods: personality tests, ability tests, emotional intelligence…
A: Note: “Since you have posted multiple questions, we will provide the solution only for the specified…
Q: 18 210 10 16 14 12 20 10 PRICE 816 7 4 2 MC ATC 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 QUANTITY 27. Refer to Figure…
A: In microeconomics, understanding a firm's total cost involves delving into its cost structure and…
Q: real life situations of vertical and horrizontal accountability.
A: The objective of this question is to understand the real-life applications of vertical and…
Q: Describe how working at a food bank relate to engaged citizenship. Specifically, explain how the…
A: Detailed explanation:For number 1:Volunteering at a food bank is like being a good citizen because…
Q: the purpose of coinsurance clause is to? require the insurer to pay the losses in full encourage the…
A: The purpose of a coinsurance clause in insurance policies is to encourage the insured to insure…
Q: Questions to answer from case study in pics: Explain how Braintrust can link their compensation and…
A: When a company wants to focus more on innovation—like coming up with new toys or improving existing…
Q: Attached is a data model design for the Garden glory questions. • 2. Use this data model to complete…
A: 1. Setting the Stage :* Launch MS Visio and select the "Crow's Foot Database Notation" template.…
Q: A vision is aspirational, stating what the firm wants to be. True / False
A: The question is asking whether a vision statement is aspirational and if it states what a firm wants…
Q: typing clear urjent
A: To calculate E[Xn], we substitute the density function into the expected value formula and integrate…
Q: reflective paper focusing on the topic “Does ethics have a true role in the world of business? write…
A: The Imperative of Ethical Business. In the fast-paced world of business, where choices are often…
Q: Find and use an app or website that will nudge you to better behaviors and decisions. I suggest…
A: Organizations function in a dynamic business environment which keeps on changing. It is important to…
Q: put yourself in the position of a team leader within an organization. If you were called upon to…
A: 1. Connect with the team: The first step in leading change is to develop a relationship with your…
Q: https://youtu.be/ADK58IRPKh8 How does the video say organizations use software to organize data…
A: How Organizations Use Software to Organize Data Related to Project ManagementOrganizations utilize…
Q: A metal fabricator produces connecting rods with an outer diameter that has a 1± 0.02 inch…
A: Given:standar deviation (σ)=0.003sample mean (x̄)=1.005Upper Specification Limit (USL)=…
Q: In the realm of business, planning serves as the compass guiding companies through the ever-…
A: Overall, strategic planning is a proactive tool that helps organizations adapt to changing market…
Q: Based on the output below, the forecast for time period 12 is: Intercept 5,620 X 100…
A: Solution Step-by-Step Solution:Given the forecast model with the coefficients:Intercept: 5,620X:…
Q: Name the four key attributes or characteristics of mission control leadership of members of mission…
A: “Since you have posted multiple questions, we will provide the solution only to the first question…
Q: What are two examples of US invented products that have gone through International product life…
A: Let me state the two examples of US-invented products, These examples are stated below, ---Personal…
Q: The strategically relevant factors outside a company's industry boundaries-economic conditions,…
A: The correct answer is : a company's macro-environment. The term "company's macro-environment" refers…
Q: D Question 25 Refer to the accompanying graph Price 4 E 10 81 82 D₂ Quantity The market is currently…
A: If the sellers are subsidised what happens is that the supply would increase as a result of which…
Q: In a single-business enterprise, the corporate and business levels of strategy-making merge into one…
A: The objective of the question is to determine whether in a single-business enterprise, the corporate…
Q: The value of doing competitive strength assessment is to ○ learn if the company's market…
A: a.Competitive strength assessment is a critical process for any business seeking to thrive in a…
Q: the five project management process groups are
A: The five project management process groups are crucial for effectively managing a project.1.…
Q: What types of technological innovations should be considered for an improved performance of…
A: The objective of the question is to identify the types of technological innovations that can be used…
Q: A 3-in pipe with screwed fittings is used to transmit 10000 cfm of free air at an initial pressure…
A: Solution:- 1. Pressure drop in the pipe:First, we calculate the velocity of air:Next, we calculate…
Q: CASE STUDY FOR YOUR ASSESSMENT: IMPRESS HOTEL Sabrina Rullian has just taken over as personnel…
A: Types of Change:First-order change involves making incremental adjustments within the existing…
Q: What are the conditions that encourage groupthink?
A: Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire…
Q: Consider the following network representation of a transportation problem: Des Moines 30 14 20 20…
A:
Q: 7) Consider the function g(x) = (x − 1)e(-2)+1, rЄR. - Which of the following statements is (are)…
A: To determine if g is a contraction map in a given interval, we need to show that there exists a…
Q: Topgun Records and several movie studios have decided to sign a revenue-sharing contract for CDs.…
A: Scenario 1: CD Cost $3, Revenue Share 35%Part (a): Optimal Number of CDs to OrderTo find the optimal…
Q: Why is international regulatory cooperation important?
A: International business is the aspect that deals with the business or trades of products, services,…
Q: CASE STUDY FOR YOUR ASSESSMENT: IMPRESS HOTEL Sabrina Rullian has just taken over as personnel…
A: Leadership and Change in the IMPRESS Hotel GroupLeadership plays a crucial role in successful or…
Q: Describe two external factors that can affect entrepreneurship in a particular industry. Evaluate…
A: The Dancing of External Forces: Entrepreneurial Opportunities and DifficultiesAn entrepreneur's path…
Q: Which one of the following options is usually an appealing way to try to increase a company's ROE?…
A: Because it has a direct effect on the ROE calculation, repurchasing common stock is usually a…
Q: Which of the following statements is CORRECT about perils in property insurance policies? a. a…
A: In property insurance, a peril is indeed defined as the specific cause of loss or damage to…
Q: Corporate strategy for a diversified or multibusiness enterprise O involves how functional…
A: Strategic management helps the firm establish its long-term direction for a business by formulating…
Q: Given the chart below for month 20 of a 25 month project: a. Analyze the project. Include in your…
A: The graph analysis provides a detailed overview of the project's performance based on the Earned…
Q: Discuss the factors that determine the nature of an ethical decision in business.
A: The moral foundation that helps people and organizations understand the structured environment of…
Need help with the scenario and questions associated please
Trending now
This is a popular solution!
Step by step
Solved in 2 steps
- Create a Group Control System Step 1. From into groups of three to five students. Each group will assume that another student group has been given an assignment of writing a major paper that will involve research by individual group members that will be integrated into the final paper. Each group member has to do his or part. Step 2. Your assignment is develop a list of rules and identify some statistics by which to control the behavior of members in that group. Brainstorm and discuss potential to govern member behavior and consequences for breaking those rules. Step 3. First, select the five rules that you think are most important for governing group member behavior. Consider the following situations that rules might cover; arriving late for a meeting: missing a meeting: failing to complete a work assignment; disagreements about desired quality of work; how to resolve conflicts about paper content; differences in participation , such as one person doing all the talking and someone else talking hardly at all; how to handle meetings that start late; the use of an agenda and handling deviations from the agenda; and any other situation that your group a cover. Step 4. Now consider what statistics could be developed to measure the behavior and outcome of the group pertaining to those five rules. What kinds of things could be counted to understand how group is performing and whether members are the following rules? Step 5. Discuss the following questions. Why are rules important as a means of control? What are the advantages and disadvantages of having many rules (hierarchical control) versus few rules (decentralized control) for a student group? How can statistics help a group ensure? appropriate behavior and a high-quality product? Step 6. Be prepared to present your conclusions to the Class.Chris Dykstra, responsible for loss prevention at Electronics took a deep breath before he launched into making his case for the changes that he was proposing to the company's shoplifting policy. He knew that convincing Ross Chenoweth was going to be a hard sell. Ross, the president and CEO was the son of the founder of the local, still-family-owned consumer electronics chain based in Phoenix, Arizona. He'd inherited not only the company, but also, his father's strict moral code. "I think it's time to follow the lead of other stores," Chris began. He pointed out that most Other retailers didn't bother calling the police and pressing charges unless the thief had shoplifted merchandise worth more than $50 to $100. In contrast, Westwind currently had a zero-tolerance policy toward theft that Ross's father had put in place when he started the business. Chris wanted to replace that policy with one that prosecuted only individuals between IS and 65 who had stolen more than $20 worth of goods, and who had a previous history of theft at Westwind. In the case of first-time culprits under IS or over 65, he argued for letting them Off With a strict warning, regardless of the value of their ill-gotten goods. Repeat offenders would be arrested. "Frankly, the local police are getting pretty tired Of having to come to Our stores every time a teenager sticks a CD in his jacket pocket," Chris pointed out. "And besides, we just afford the costs associated with prosecuting everyone." Every time he pressed charges against a shoplifter who'd made Off with a $10 item, Westwind lost money. The company had to engage a lawyer and pay employees Overtime for their court appearances. In addition, Chris was looking at hiring more security guards to keep up with the workload. Westwind was already in a losing battle at the moment with mass retailers who were competing all too successfully on price, so passing on the costs of its zero-tolerance policy to Customers wasn't really an option. " Let's concentrate on catching dishonest employees and those organized-theft rings. They're the ones who are really hurting us," Chris concluded. There was a long pause after Chris finished his carefully prepared speech. Ross thought about his recently deceased father, both an astute businessman and a person for whom honesty was a key guiding principle. If he were sitting here today, he`d no doubt say that theft was theft—that setting a minimum was tantamount to saying that stealing was acceptable, just as long as you steal too much. He looked at Chris. "You know, we've both got teenagers. Is this really a message you want to send out, especially to kids? You know as well as I do that there's nothing they like better than testing limits. It's almost an invitation to see if you can beat the system." But then Ross faltered as he found himself glancing at the latest financial figures on his desk—another in a string of quarterly losses. If West-wind went under, a lot of employees would be looking for another way to make a living. In his heart, he believed in his father's high moral standards, but he had to ask himself: Just how moral could Westwind afford to be? Continue Westwind's zero-tolerance policy toward shoplifting. It's the right thing to do—and it Will pay Off in the end in higher profitability because the chain's reputation for being tough on crime Will reduce overall losses from theft.Chris Dykstra, responsible for loss prevention at Electronics took a deep breath before he launched into making his case for the changes that he was proposing to the company's shoplifting policy. He knew that convincing Ross Chenoweth was going to be a hard sell. Ross, the president and CEO was the son of the founder of the local, still-family-owned consumer electronics chain based in Phoenix, Arizona. He'd inherited not only the company, but also, his father's strict moral code. "I think it's time to follow the lead of other stores," Chris began. He pointed out that most Other retailers didn't bother calling the police and pressing charges unless the thief had shoplifted merchandise worth more than $50 to $100. In contrast, Westwind currently had a zero-tolerance policy toward theft that Ross's father had put in place when he started the business. Chris wanted to replace that policy with one that prosecuted only individuals between IS and 65 who had stolen more than $20 worth of goods, and who had a previous history of theft at Westwind. In the case of first-time culprits under IS or over 65, he argued for letting them Off With a strict warning, regardless of the value of their ill-gotten goods. Repeat offenders would be arrested. "Frankly, the local police are getting pretty tired Of having to come to Our stores every time a teenager sticks a CD in his jacket pocket," Chris pointed out. "And besides, we just afford the costs associated with prosecuting everyone." Every time he pressed charges against a shoplifter who'd made Off with a $10 item, Westwind lost money. The company had to engage a lawyer and pay employees Overtime for their court appearances. In addition, Chris was looking at hiring more security guards to keep up with the workload. Westwind was already in a losing battle at the moment with mass retailers who were competing all too successfully on price, so passing on the costs of its zero-tolerance policy to Customers wasn't really an option. "Let's concentrate on catching dishonest employees and those organized-theft rings. They're the ones who are really hurting us," Chris concluded. There was a long pause after Chris finished his carefully prepared speech. Ross thought about his recently deceased father, both an astute businessman and a person for whom honesty was a key guiding principle. If he were sitting here today, he`d no doubt say that theft was theft—that setting a minimum was tantamount to saying that stealing was acceptable, just as long as you steal too much. He looked at Chris. "You know, we've both got teenagers. Is this really a message you want to send out, especially to kids? You know as well as I do that there's nothing they like better than testing limits. It's almost an invitation to see if you can beat the system." But then Ross faltered as he found himself glancing at the latest financial figures on his desk—another in a string of quarterly losses. If West-wind went under, a lot of employees would be looking for another way to make a living. In his heart, he believed in his father's high moral standards, but he had to ask himself: Just how moral could Westwind afford to be? Adopt Chris Dykstra's proposed changes and show more leniency to first-time offenders. It is a more cost effective approach to the problem than the current policy, plus it stays close to your father's Original intent.
- Chris Dykstra, responsible for loss prevention at Electronics took a deep breath before he launched into making his case for the changes that he was proposing to the company's shoplifting policy. He knew that convincing Ross Chenoweth was going to be a hard sell. Ross, the president and CEO was the son of the founder of the local, still-family-owned consumer electronics chain based in Phoenix, Arizona. He'd inherited not only the company, but also, his father's strict moral code. "I think it's time to follow the lead of other stores," Chris began. He pointed out that most Other retailers didn't bother calling the police and pressing charges unless the thief had shoplifted merchandise worth more than $50 to $100. In contrast, Westwind currently had a zero-tolerance policy toward theft that Ross's father had put in place when he started the business. Chris wanted to replace that policy with one that prosecuted only individuals between IS and 65 who had stolen more than $20 worth of goods, and who had a previous history of theft at Westwind. In the case of first-time culprits under IS or over 65, he argued for letting them Off With a strict warning, regardless of the value of their ill-gotten goods. Repeat offenders would be arrested. "Frankly, the local police are getting pretty tired Of having to come to Our stores every time a teenager sticks a CD in his jacket pocket," Chris pointed out. "And besides, we just afford the costs associated with prosecuting everyone." Every time he pressed charges against a shoplifter who'd made Off with a $10 item, Westwind lost money. The company had to engage a lawyer and pay employees Overtime for their court appearances. In addition, Chris was looking at hiring more security guards to keep up with the workload. Westwind was already in a losing battle at the moment with mass retailers who were competing all too successfully on price, so passing on the costs of its zero-tolerance policy to Customers wasn't really an option. " Let's concentrate on catching dishonest employees and those organized-theft rings. They're the ones who are really hurting us," Chris concluded. There was a long pause after Chris finished his carefully prepared speech. Ross thought about his recently deceased father, both an astute businessman and a person for whom honesty was a key guiding principle. If he were sitting here today, he`d no doubt say that theft was theft—that setting a minimum was tantamount to saying that stealing was acceptable, just as long as you steal too much. He looked at Chris. "You know, we've both got teenagers. Is this really a message you want to send out, especially to kids? You know as well as I do that there's nothing they like better than testing limits. It's almost an invitation to see if you can beat the system." But then Ross faltered as he found himself glancing at the latest financial figures on his desk—another in a string of quarterly losses. If West-wind went under, a lot of employees would be looking for another way to make a living. In his heart, he believed in his father's high moral standards, but he had to ask himself: Just how moral could Westwind afford to be? Adopt Chris Dykstra`s proposed changes, but with a higher limit than the proposed $20 amount (say, $50 or $100), but which is still less than the cost of prosecution. In addition, make sure that the policy isn't publicized. That way, you'll reduce costs even more and still benefit from your reputation for prosecuting all shoplifters.Cousins Jeri Lynn DeBose, Tish Hoover, and Josephine (Joey) Parks looked forward to meeting up during the Christmas holidays to compare notes on the results of midyear teacher evaluations. All were public school teachers in districts scattered over the state. In the pressured search for new levels of teacher accountability demanded by legislators, the state department of education joined 16 other States in implementing a new teacher evaluation system. The goal is to hold teachers account-able for student learning progress in the classroom. Under the guidance of the National Council for Teacher Quality, criteria varies by State, but in most cases, 40 percent of each teacher's accountability score would be based on the principal's evaluation and ranking based on personal observation, 30 percent would be based on personal observation by a master teacher from outside the district, and the Other 30 percent would be based on student test score gains. The state department of education would set a performance goal each school district, and the principal would set a performance goal for each teacher. In preparation, the State conducted intensive training sessions for principals and designated master teachers who would conduct the evaluations based on four class observations per teacher. Officials used standardized achievement tests to derive value-added scores that measure student learning over the year. Teacher ratings were I —5, with I am being the lowest and 5 representing near perfection. The publication of the first year's evaluations stirred interest and controversy, particularly among teachers who worried about the possible long-term effects on job retention and tenure. Now, with the first-year evaluations in hand, the three cousins pored over their experiences. The three represented different types of school systems within the state. Jeri Lynn worked for a metropolitan system in the state capital. The system included many low-income students whose first language was nor English, and several schools within the system were teetering on the brink of State takeover if improvement in student scores didn't materialize this school year. Tish worked in a county System dominated by upper-income residents, and Joey taught in the rural community in which all three grew up. The rural community had high unemployment, and a low percentage of graduates went on to college. As a result, the cousins came to the table with differing teaching experiences. "The numbers are all over the place," Jeri Lynn remarked as she studied the pages. "The whole system is flawed, and they need to make changes," Joey said. " It's too subjective. The principal and master teacher observations are subjective because there are personal factors that affect a true outcome." "Yeah, look at the numbers from your upper-income district," Jeri Lynn said to Tish. "How can 60 percent of the teachers score 5s?" Tish chuckled. "Yeah, lucky us. Our schools are overflowing with children from wealthy families. These are the kids who will apply to Ivy League schools. I can tell you that the principals are going to avoid confrontation on all fronts. No principal is going to give any indication that their students are receiving an education that's less than perfect, and that means cramming the rankings with 5s. They claim a higher level of motivation for students, and thus the selection of an elite team of educators. So with those pressures, I don't think we get personal feedback that IS accurate." "At the other end of the spectrum, we have my rural district," Joey said. "The big problem is that the principals know everyone and have longstanding relationships with everyone in the county, so I think scores are based on personal history. We could almost predict who would get high or low scores before the observations. For principals, it can go back as far as his daddy and my daddy hated each other in high school, and now I get to evaluate his daughter "I think that in many cases, principals feel pressure to align scores with state expectations. The stare expected my district to have high scores and expected rural schools such as yours to be lower," Tish said. "But isn't that partially offset by lower goals for the rural school distracts responded Joey. "The key to the accountability system is the principal in each school," Jeri Lynn suggested. "With several of the schools in Metro teetering on the edge of state takeover by the end of the year, we had lots of strict principals who wanted to hold our feet to the fire with lower scores." "l thought the whole idea was to provide the teachers With feedback so that we would know the areas where we need improvement," Tish said. "The principals were supposed to conduct two observations in the fall and two more in the spring," Jeri Lynn said. think that's asking too much of them when they already have so much on their plates. I think a lot of them are skimping on their visits. know I only had one observation last semester, and I'm sure Mr. Talley just faked the second set of numbers. The master teachers make only two observations a year, which may be more objective but counts for less." "I'm wondering, too, how a principal measure performance in a course area outside his area of expertise, such as math," Joey said. "If the guy has a phobia about math, anything the teacher says or does is going to 100k brilliant—thus a 5." Tish and Jeri Lynn looked at each other and laughed. Maybe we picked the wrong subjects," Tish said. "My question is one of perception," Jeri Lynn said. "A large percentage of my students are ELL. That affects their scores. How do you measure a 3 in my situation against a 5 for Tish? At the end of the school year, little Carlos is thrilled that his reading in English has improved, but there's no Big Bang here. a slow steady improvement that may not actually show up in big strides for a couple of years: "So, the question is how do they create a system that is fair?" Tish asked. "And accurate," added Jeri Lynn. What do you see as the major strengths and flaws in the feedback control system used in the schools in this scenario? What changes do you recommend to overcome the flaws?Cousins Jeri Lynn DeBose, Tish Hoover, and Josephine (Joey) Parks looked forward to meeting up during the Christmas holidays to compare notes on the results of midyear teacher evaluations. All were public school teachers in districts scattered over the state. In the pressured search for new levels of teacher accountability demanded by legislators, the state department of education joined 16 other States in implementing a new teacher evaluation system. The goal is to hold teachers account-able for student learning progress in the classroom. Under the guidance of the National Council for Teacher Quality, criteria varies by State, but in most cases, 40 percent of each teacher's accountability score would be based on the principal's evaluation and ranking based on personal observation, 30 percent would be based on personal observation by a master teacher from outside the district, and the Other 30 percent would be based on student test score gains. The state department of education would set a performance goal each school district, and the principal would set a performance goal for each teacher. In preparation, the State conducted intensive training sessions for principals and designated master teachers who would conduct the evaluations based on four class observations per teacher. Officials used standardized achievement tests to derive value-added scores that measure student learning over the year. Teacher ratings were 1-5, with I am being the lowest and 5 representing near perfection. The publication of the first year's evaluations stirred interest and controversy, particularly among teachers who worried about the possible long-term effects on job retention and tenure. Now, with the first-year evaluations in hand, the three cousins pored over their experiences. The three represented different types of school systems within the state. Jeri Lynn worked for a metropolitan system in the state capital. The system included many low-income students whose first language was nor English, and several schools within the system were teetering on the brink of State takeover if improvement in student scores didn't materialize this school year. Tish worked in a county System dominated by upper-income residents, and Joey taught in the rural community in which all three grew up. The rural community had high unemployment, and a low percentage of graduates went on to college. As a result, the cousins came to the table with differing teaching experiences. "The numbers are all over the place," Jeri Lynn remarked as she studied the pages. "The whole system is flawed, and they need to make changes," Joey said. " It's too subjective. The principal and master teacher observations are subjective because there are personal factors that affect a true outcome." "Yeah, look at the numbers from your upper-income district," Jeri Lynn said to Tish. " How can 60 percent of the teachers score 5s?" Tish chuckled. "Yeah, lucky us. Our schools are overflowing with children from wealthy families. These are the kids who will apply to Ivy League schools. I can tell you that the principals are going to avoid confrontation on all fronts. No principal is going to give any indication that their students are receiving an education that's less than perfect, and that means cramming the rankings with 5s. They claim a higher level of motivation for students, and thus the selection of an elite team of educators. So with those pressures, I don't think we get personal feedback that IS accurate." "At the other end of the spectrum, we have my rural district," Joey said. "The big problem is that the principals know everyone and have longstanding relationships with everyone in the county, so I think scores are based on personal history. We could almost predict who would get high or low scores before the observations. For principals, it can go back as far as 'his daddy and my daddy hated each other in high school, and now I get to evaluate his daughter." "I think that in many cases, principals feel pressure to align scores with state expectations. The stare expected my district to have high scores and expected rural schools such as yours to be lower," Tish said. "But isn't that partially offset by lower goals for the rural school distracts responded Joey. "The key to the accountability system is the principal in each school," Jeri Lynn suggested. "With several of the schools in Metro teetering on the edge of state takeover by the end of the year, we had lots of strict principals who wanted to hold our feet to the fire with lower scores." "I thought the whole idea was to provide the teachers With feedback so that we would know the areas where we need improvement," Tish said. "The principals were supposed to conduct two observations in the fall and two more in the spring," Jeri Lynn said. think that's asking too much of them when they already have so much on their plates. I think a lot of them are skimping on their visits. know I only had one observation last semester, and I'm sure Mr. Talley just faked the second set of numbers. The master teachers make only two observations a year, which may be more objective but counts for less." "I'm wondering, too, how a principal measure performance in a course area outside his area of expertise, such as math," Joey said. "If the guy has a phobia about math, anything the teacher says or does is going to 100k brilliant—thus a 5." Tish and Jeri Lynn looked at each other and laughed. Maybe we picked the wrong subjects," Tish said. "My question is one of perception," Jeri Lynn said. "A large percentage of my students are ELL. That affects their scores. How do you measure a 3 in my situation against a 5 for Tish? At the end of the school year, little Carlos is thrilled that his reading in English has improved, but there's no Big Bang here. a slow steady improvement that may not actually show up in big strides for a couple of years." "So, the question is how do they create a system that is fair?" Tish asked. "And accurate," added Jeri Lynn. Is a 1-5 grading System by principals and master teachers a valuable part of a feedback control system for teachers? Why?