Flight Centre Case Study

Flight Centre Graham Turner structured the company as families, villages and tribes. The creation of this unique system has also worked to the company? advantage. It provides incentives based on outcomes. The Flight centre? system is based on the idea that people work best in their preferred environment within the larger organisation rather than trying to fit them into the company? mould. The employees believe ? hat gets rewarded gets done.? they are hard workers but also enjoy the many social aspects of the company including buzz nights, award ceremonies and team get-togethers. This essay would focus on how flight centre has structured with the four aspects of the organisation structure. Explains how flight centre has integrated the Mintzberg? five elements to its structure. This essay would also highlights the roles of functional and social specialization. Finally, the metaphors used by flight centre would be discussed. Structure of Flight Centre The importance of organisational structuring and restructuring to organisational effectiveness cannot be over emphasized. Effective organisational design or organisational structuring pays immense dividends, no matter how large or small the organisation is (HRODC , 2006). The founder of the Flight Centre Ltd, Graham Turner claims that people are hard wired to work in small groups within larger groups. To understand this unique structure the four aspects of organisation structure, complexity, formalization, centralization and coordination, can be used. Complexity refers to the way in which the organization is divided into different divisions, departments, groups, or individual roles, each with its own tasks and responsibilities. Vertical differentiation refers to the number of hierarchical levels in an organization (Robbins & Barnwell, 2006). At the Flight centre, the operation level involves retail shops. Each shop involves three to seven people working on one brand which is called a family. The area or a ? illage? involves 7 or 10 families within one geographical region. The tribal country is a set of three or four villages. Each tribe is a different brand, brands include corporate traveler, flight centre and student flights (refer appendix 1). In horizontal differentiation, different parts of the organization become specialized in different activities to increase efficiency (Robbins & Barnwell, 2006). All shops of flight centre sell similar services even though the names (corporate traveler, flight centre and student flights) are different which makes it easy to coordinate activities and to communicate among families. Moreover, due to the similarities of jobs within a family, there are no differences between the staff. However, a special horizontal clustered family consisting of HR, IT and marketing professionals, provides administrative services for retail shops. By clustering different types of functions and activities on any one level of the hierarchy has the advantage of application of higher technical knowledge for solving problems and greater group and professional identification (Luthans, 1986). Flight centre has more than 800 shops spatially dispersed. High-rise of overseas shops would increase the number of tribes, villages, families and employees. As a result, it would be difficult to communicate, coordinate and control. According to Baumard & Starbuck (2006), the members of spatially dispersed organizations seek appreciation within networks of friends and relatives, and they form subcultures that spread across several organizations and that may be more important to them than their focal organization. These communities encompass more aspects of their lives than the strict duties of their work contracts so work and leisure infiltrate each other. Formalization refers to the extent to which rules, regulations, job descriptions, policies, and procedures govern the operation of an organization. Robbins & Barnwell, 2006). Although the flight centre has a flat structure; it has three levels (tribe, village and family) which shows that there is a hierarchy within the structure. Flight centre also follows certain standards to sustain in the business. Flight centre maintain the levels and number of families, villages and tribes. Each family can sell a single service, Entry age to Flight centre is normally 25 y ears. Managers of the shops can take 10% profit and may own up to 20% of their shop. Some rituals include ? uzz nights? one a month and formal get-togethers. Centralization refers to the degree to which decision-making is concentrated at one point in the organization. At flight centre, there are no confusions about people's goals, tasks, style of functioning, reporting relationship and sources of information. The ? ountry? buys services for villages and families. A centralized structure provides people with a clear picture of how their work fits into the organization. The SWOT teams analyze innovations and new ideas. However, at flight centre, there is no centralized control of the head office. Coordination is integration of activities of specialized units towards the common objective. (Anderson, 1988). Programmed coordination requires advanced planning and is often used where there are a small number of expected occurrences (Argote, 1982). Programmed coordination is common in the flight centre. A head office team coordinates administrative services and marketing. Like wise, SWOT teams direct new businesses. All the retail shops are individually coordinated by the shop managers. Furthermore, get-togethers and Buzz-nights are informally coordinated. Common Elements in Organisation One framework proposed by Henry Mintzberg suggests that every organization has five parts (illustrated in appendix 2). The five parts of the organization may vary in size and importance depending on the organization? environment, technology and other factors (Robbins & Barnwell, 2006). At the bottom of the organization is the operating core. At the flight centre, it is referred to the members of the family (retail shops), employees who do the basic work of selling or delivering the services. The Strategic apex is charged to ensure that the organization executes its mission. Flight centre has a unique way of distribution of powers where all authorities are not given to the tribes. However, the tribal country or the regional office is the centre that administrates the brands (corporate traveler, flight centre and student flights) which are retail shops. They also facilitate training and recruitment, buying holiday packages and other employee related services to the villages. Moreover, the head office or the board could also be taken in to consideration because they would be establishing and monitoring the company? visions, goals and strategies. Each family or the retail shop has a manager who connects the operating core to the strategic apex. Moreover, managers of the administrative families (head office teams) would also be included. They are responsible for implementation and coordination at the departmental level. The technostructure of the flight centre involves the HR, IT and marketing professionals who have the responsibility for effecting forms of standardization in the organisation. According to the flight centre report (1999), due to the recruitment system, they have changed the way they identify and attract the best staff. Moreover, technostructure would also include the flight centre SWOT teams where they focus on innovations and try new ideas. Support staff refers to the people that provide indirect support services. Support staff of flight centre includes legal Counselors, cafeteria Workers, security guards and peons. In any organisation, one of the above five (strategic apex, operating core, technostructure, middle line and support staff) would be dominant. The organisation is formed according to the dominating element. When the strategic apex is dominant, control is centralized and it forms a simple structure (Beshears, 2006). At the Flight centre, functions the strategic apex appear to be more dominant than the other aspects. Firstly, the powers of the organisation are dispersed to some level at the flight centre, regional office or the tribal country administrates the brands (corporate traveler, flight centre and student flights) which are retail shops. They also facilitate training and recruitment, buying holiday packages and other employee related services to the village and can be considered as more centrally controlled. Secondly, the SWOT teams and the administrative teams are specialized; all other families do a standardized work, which involves servicing customers and selling products. The structure of flight centre could also be considered flat because it only has three levels and the operating core reports to their respective managers. Some advantages include clear accountability and flexibility to respond to the issues of the customers. Decision-making at the Flight centre appeared to be limited. The tribal country makes decisions regarding administrative the technical matters. The tribal country facilitates brands and other employee related services to the villages and families. Moreover, shop managers make decisions at the family level although the travel consultants are empowered. Even though Flight centre have more similarities of a strategic apex it also has a few differences. As the flight centre has more than 800 retail shops worldwide and in each year 150 more shops are adding up, the operations would be complex because it would have more families, villages and tribe which would make communication and coordination barriers. Furthermore, some authorities are decentralized from the tribal country, such authorities include buying products from wholesalers. Roles of functional and social specialization As organisations become large and physically dispersed, it requires people with specialized knowledge and skills to attend to problems professionally and reduce waste. The main functional areas in the flight centre include HR, marketing and information technology. In the rapidly changing business environment Information technology has becomes a vehicle for helping firms to reach their business goal more effectively. Flight Centre is well placed to keep pace with industry changes. As the flight centre is geographically dispersed, information technology enables them with quicker and more effective communication and customer support. Social specialization that is required by the IT professionals includes attending to faults 24-hours because flight centre is worldwide organisation where they deal with traveling and ticketing. If an IT personnel is not available, all the operations might come to a halt because tickets and holiday packages are sold worldwide. In a successful organisation, employees are seen as their primary source of competitive advantage. One of the success factors of Flight centre is that they continuously identify and adopt innovative human resource management policies and practices to sustain that advantage. It also include how they have structured their work and designed their training, performance management, pay, and reward policies to help members of flight centre to succeed in achieving desired outcomes. In other words, they have aligned their HRM policies and practices to reinforce employee behaviors that can best realize the leaders' strategic intent. As HR professionals, they would ensure that equal employment opportunities (EEO) are not violated. The marketing department of the flight centre is like the center of a wagon wheel with each spoke connected to other departments (in- and out-side the company) including sales, production, research, advertising, etc. The center of the wheel connects the various parts so they work in harmony. With this analogy, it is easy to see that the main function of marketing is managing relationships in the organization, with outside vendors, and the consumer. Without marketing there is no consumer and without the consumer there is no use for the product or service the company is producing (University of California, 2005). Standards that are required by the marketing professionals include, caring all stakeholders: customers, employees, suppliers and distributors, local communities in which they do business, society, and the environment. For example, in promotional activities such as advertising, they would respect the host country? culture. Centralizing and Decentralizing Decentralization refers to decision making at lower levels in the hierarchy of authority. In contrast, decision making in a centralized type of organizational structure is at higher levels. The degree of centralization and de-centralization depends on the number of levels of hierarchy, degree of coordination, specialization and span of control (Luthens, 1986). The main reason that the ? ountry? as a business unit buys services for villages and families is to achieve economy of scale and to reduce waste. If the villages or the families buy services, it would increase the cost and repetition. To reduce complexity and to make coordination easy, a head office team facilitates HR, IT and marketing services. To follow a certain reporting duty each family is empowered with a manager. It would reduce the volume of day-to-day communication between the tribe and the family and have a clear accountability. Decentralizing the authority to the travel consultants would reduce the probability of information overload and would facilitates rapid response to all customers. It would also reduce the stress and burdens of senior management. As travel consultants, they would have a better knowledge of local conditions affecting their areas of work. This would allow them to make more informed, well-judged choices. Moreover, motivates travel consultants and can enhance their skill development opportunities. However, decentralizing would reduce consistency in decision-making and some sometimes customers may perceive it as unfair. Advantages of using metaphors To recognize and cope with the idea that all theories of organization and management are based on metaphors that persuades people to see, understand, and imagine situations in partial ways. Moreover, Metaphors create ways of seeing and shaping organizational life. Any metaphor can be very persuasive (Morgan, 1997). The metaphors that are used at the Flight centre are family, village and tribal country. As all the retail shops are considered as families, it shows the equality among shops, which would create less comparison and competition among families. Moreover, giving uniform service to the customers. As employees are bonded up in small teams like a families, it gives them identity where they belong. It would also create close relationships within families and also gives the manager a clear picture of the capabilities of individual staff. Moreover, makes decisions more effective. Creating families, villages and tribes in areas of countries would allow flight centre to adjust their services according to the specific culture of the region rather than generalizing to the whole county or state. For example, in Australia a certain area would dominate Indians, so rather than adjusting their services and marketing strategies to the Australian community they could adjust their services to the Indian market. Conclusion This essay has discussed how flight centre has structured with the four aspects of the organisation structure. At the Flight centre, the operation level involves retail shops. Each shop involves three to seven people working on one brand which is called a family. All shops of flight centre sell similar services. Flight centre has more than 800 shops spatially dispersed. High-rise of overseas shops would increase the number of tribes, villages, families and employees. Programmed coordination is common in the flight centre. A head office team coordinates administrative services and marketing. As the flight centre is geographically dispersed, information technology enables them with quicker and more effective communication and customer support. Social specialization that is required by the IT professionals includes attending to faults 24-hours because flight centre is worldwide organisation where they deal with traveling and ticketing Decentralizing the authority to the travel consultants would reduce the probability of information overload and would facilitates rapid response to all customers. As employees are bonded up in small teams like a families, it gives them identity where they belong. It would also create close relationships within families and also gives the manager a clear picture of the capabilities of individual staff. Moreover, makes decisions more effective. Reference: Anderson, C. (1988). Management: Skills, Functions and Organization Performance. USA, Allyn and Bacon. Argote, L. (1982). ?nput Uncertainty and Organizational Coordination in Hospital Emergency Units,? Administrative Science Quarterly (27:3). Beshears, F. (2006). Mintzberg's Taxonomy of Organizational Forms, Retrieved September 07, 2006, from http://socrates. berkeley. edu/~fmb/articles/mintzberg/ Baumard, P. & Starbuck, W. (2006). Where Are Organizational Cultures Going?. Retrieved September 07, 2006, from http://pages. stern. nyu. edu/~wstarbuc/where. tm Robbins, S & Barnwell, N. (2002). Organisation Theory. (4th Ed. ). Australia, Pearson HRODC (2006). Organisation structure, Retrieved September 07, 2006, from http://www. hrodc. com/ORGANISATIONAL. DESIGN. htm Luthans, F. (1986). Organizational Behaviour. Singapore: McGraw-Hill. University of California. (2005). Public Relations, Advertising & Marketing – What's the Differ ence? Retrieved September 07, 2006, from http://career. berkeley. edu/Article/021011a. stm Morgan, G. (1997). Images of Organization, (2nd Ed), Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks. Appendix 1 – vertical differentiation of flight centre

What Does Enlightened Self-Interest Involve?

Enlightened self interest is actually a viewpoint in principles which states that people who act to advance the interest of others eventually they provide their own self interest. It is simply articulated by the certainty that a person, group and even business entity will at all times do well through the doing good. Enlightened self interest in one way or the other is considered to be so unrealistic. Enlightened self-interest as well it has implications for long-term reimbursements as opposed to short-term reimbursements to oneself. When a person pursues enlightened self-interest the individual possibly will surrender short-term interests so as to take full advantage of long-term interests. A person might sacrifice his instant self-interest for the purpose of an affirmative relationship towards a group of people to which he relates (Robert, 45). Enlightened self interest is totally different from pure altruism which calls for individuals to perform in the concern of others frequently at the expense of their own welfare and with no hope of gain for themselves in the prospect. Some supporters of progressive self-interest may argue that pure unselfishness tends to promote inefficiency also. Some people may benefit materially from philosophy of greed but it is supposed by proponents of progressive self awareness that these people constitute a small minority and that the great number of people can be expecting to experience a net individual failure from a philosophy of uncomplicated unenlightened selfishness. Enlightened self interest clearly states that a big business is in due course assisting itself through helping to resolve communal problems. Advocates challenge that social dependability expenditures by business are motivated through the profit that they make.

Output Research on Indigenous People’s Group

All Aeta communities have adopted the language of their Austronesian neighbors, which have sometimes diverged over time to become different languages. These include, in order of number of speakers, Mag-indi, Mag-antsi, Abellen, Ambala, and Mariveleno. II. CUSTOMS/ TRADITIONS †¢Religious Beliefs and Practices ?There are divergent views on the dominant character of the Aeta religion. Those who believe they are monotheistic argue that various Aeta tribes believe in a supreme being who rule over lesser spirits or deities.The Mamanua believe in the supreme Magbabaya while the Pinatubo Aeta worships Apo Namalyari. According to anthropologist E. Arsenio Manuel, the Agta believe in a supreme being named Gutugutumakkan. Manuel notes other lesser deities of the Agta; Kedes, the god of hunting; Pawi, the god of the forest; and Sedsed, the god of the sea. There are four manifestations of the â€Å"great creator† who rules the world: Tigbalog is the source of life and action; Lueve ta kes care of production and growth; Amas moves people to pity, love, unity, and peace of heart; while Binangewan is responsible for change, sickness, and death.These spirits inhabit the balete tree. †¢Marriage ?After the bride and the groom have fed each other with a handful of rice supposedly blessed by god, a â€Å"mabalian† or a priest conducting the ritual would gently knock the couples’ heads to perfect the marital vow. †¢Dressing ?The traditional clothing of the Aeta is very simple. Cloth wraparound skirts are worn by the women when young. Elder women wear bark cloth, and the elder men loincloths. The old women of the Agta wear a bark cloth strip which passes between the legs, and is attached to a string around the waist.Today most Aeta who have been in contact with lowlanders have adopted the T-shirts, pants and rubber sandals commonly used by the latter. †¢Music ?The Aeta have a musical heritage consisting of various types of agung ensembles †“ ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held, bossed/knobbed gongs which act as drone without any accompanying melodic instrument. †¢Livelihood/ Handicraft ?The most common form of Aeta visual art is the etching found in their daily tools and implements. This is done on the outer surfaces of various household containers/utensils and ornaments.Bamboo combs are decorated with incised angular patterns. Geometric designs are etched on arrow shafts. They are also skillful in weaving and plaiting. For example, the Mamanua, like other Aeta groups, produce excellent nego or winnowing baskets, duyan or rattan hammocks, and other household containers. III. GEOGRAPHY/ TERRAIN ?Aetas are found in Zambales, Tarlac, Pampanga, Angeles, Olongapo, Panay, Bataan and Nueva Ecija. But because of the Mount Pinatubo eruption, some of them move to resettlement areas in Pampanga and Tarlac. 2. THE B’LAANS I. CULTURE The basic culture is dry cultivation of a broad range of food pla nts including rice, supplemented by food gathering and hunting. Culture change is in an advanced stage. The B’laan language is classified in a group that includes the Tiruray and T’boli, which are distinct from the central Philippine group. The same pattern of scattered settlements exists among the group although the houses generally remain within sight of each other near swidden fields. Rice, corn, and millet are planted. Corn is gradually supplanting rice as the staple. Gardens are planted to sugar cane, bananas, and rootcrops.Each neighborhood is organized under a local datu who has autonomous authority over an area depending on his personal influence. The position is supposedly hereditary and follows a rule of the firstborn assuming the position. The lebe is the B’laan equivalent of the Bagobo magani. II. CUSTOMS/ TRADITIONS †¢Farming ?B'laans adheres to sedentary form of agriculture and engage in other economic endeavors for their subsistence and devel opment. Although many have adapted the ways of the modern Filipino and have been integrated into the main body politic, they still believe and practice their indigenous rituals and customs.B'laans observe certain rituals in their planting cycle. In these rituals, they make offerings to their deities requesting for signs to know where to best make a clearing for a particular planting season. One of this is the mabah or offering to the deities requesting omens that would help them choose the fields for planting. B'laans practice swidden farming as the main agricultural method. They grow rice, corn, sugarcane, banana, papaya, and other rootcrops. Some of their crops are used as barter commodities in exchange for tools and other utensils that they need. †¢Marriage ?Parents arrange the marriage of the children.They are the ones who decide for their future partners. Children are suppressed of their right to refuse. The B'laan practice giving of sunggod or bride price wherein the brid e price wherein brides family especially the father and close raltives demand valuable things and animals such as agong, carabao, horse from the grooms family. The wedding is officiated by a Fulong with the presence of the elders in the community. For them, wedding is the merriest celebration which usually lasts for four days. The people in the community enjoy the saf kain, aparty prepared by the groom's family at the bride's wife.A muli agno (welcome party) is also being held by the groom for his wife. The men especially the Bong Fulong and the Dad Tua are polygamous, men are allowed to have many wives for as they are capable to give sunggod (dowry) and can feed his family/ies. Having many wives is a symbol of power and influence. To be a Bong Fulong's wife who is able to give birth to many sons symbolizes prestige and high status. †¢Burial ?The B'laan does not use chemicals to preserve their dead instead the dead body is wrapped with tadtad or broken bamboo then tied with uwa y (rattan) and hang in the tree.It should be done within 24 hours from the time the person dies. They believe that hanging the cadaver in a tree is a form of respect to the dead person because if it is buried underground, the earthworms and other soil organisms will feed on the flesh of the person while if it hanged the cadaver will decompose in a natural way. †¢Music ?The B’laan use musical instruments extensively with their rituals and dances. The instruments run the full range of idiophones (percussions), zithers (bamboo tubes with strings), chordophones (wooden lutes), and aerophones (flutes and reeds). Dressing ?The people of these tribes wear colorful embroidered native costumes and beadwork accessories. The women of these tribes, particularly, wear heavy brass belts with brass ‘tassels' ending in tiny brass bells that herald their approach even when they are a long way off. †¢Livelihood/ Handicraft ?They are famous for their brass works, beadwork and t' nalak weave. III. GEOGRAPHY/ TERRAIN ?The B’laans is one of the indigenous peoples of Southern Mindanao in The Philippines. Their name could have derived from â€Å"bla† meaning â€Å"opponent† and the suffix â€Å"an† meaning â€Å"people†.Other terms used to refer to this group are Blaan, Bira-an, Baraan, Vilanes, and Bilanes. The B’laan, are neighbors of the T'boli, and live in in Lake Sebu and T'boli municipalities of South Cotabato, Sarangani, the southeastern part of Davao and around Buluan Lake in North Cotabato. 3. THE T’BOLI’S I. CULTURE ?Only a few T'boli are Christian or Islamite. More than 95 percent of The T'boli people still has their animistic religion. They were hardly influenced by the spread of the Islam on the island. The Spaniards too, didn't succeed to Christianize the T'boli during the Spanish colonial period.Main reason was that the T'boli withdrew to the hinterlands in the uplands. ?The T'boli still beli eve in spirits who live on several places in the natural environment. II. CUSTOMS/ TRADITIONS †¢Farming ?In the past the T'boli practiced the primitive way of agriculture â€Å"slash and burn†. â€Å"Slash and burn† means that the people will clear a part of the forest by cutting the big trees and burning the lower and smaller trees and bushes, after which they use the cleared plots as arable land for some years without any fertilization.Rice, cassava and yams were the most important agricultural products. Next to that, the people went hunting or fishing for additional food. For years slash and burn is no longer possible. The forests are gone by intensive economic activities as foresting. At present The T'boli live in the mountains. Agriculture is the only source of income. Some foreigners, in cooperation with the aid organization Cord Aid, succeeded in developing some hectares of arable land in the last few years. Nevertheless, the T'boli live in poor circumstanc es; a struggle for live. †¢Courtship Blit B'laan is a courtship dance of the B'laan people of Davao del Sur in which the dancers mimic the behavior of forest birds in the mating season. Two male dancers that represent richly-plumed male birds eye three females. The females try to hide from the males, burying their heads under their wings, which are represented by their malongs. Still, the aggressive males pursue them. †¢Marriage ?Sla-i (marriage arrangements) are considered lousy without t’nalak during the exchange of kemu (traditional properties) such as heirlooms, gongs, horses, work animals, ancient swords and other tribal artifacts. †¢Burial Just like the other indigenous peoples in the country, the T’bolis of South Cotabato in Southern Mindanao has interesting burial rituals. Grieving starts when the tau mo lungon (coffin maker) or an elder who has been summoned to ascertain the death gives a wrenching cry. Upon hearing the cry, the family members s tart weeping. If the dead is a child, he or she is simply wrapped in a blanket (nga sadan-kumo) or a mat (igam) and then suspended on a big tree. However, if the dead is an older child or an adult, he or she is wrapped and then placed in a lungon (coffin) together with his or her important belongings.The finances of the dead play a vital role in the type of burial as well as the length of wake given him or her as these must be exhausted before he or she is buried. Hence, the wake could last for a week up to five months. Before the coffin is sealed, the relatives of the dead stroke the corpse as a last farewell. Then the coffin is closed and tied firmly with a darnay. It is at this point that the weeping and grieving come to a halt. The T’bolis bury their dead at night. Before the coffin is brought out of the house, the tau mo lungon breaks a bamboo water container called kobong.As the container breaks, the people let off a shout. The coffin is then brought around the house, a nd then carried out into the burial site. Only the men are allowed to accompany the cortege. At the site, the coffin is placed in a small house-like structure fitted into the pit. After the coffin is settled on the grave, the people sit down for a meal, leaving some of it on the grave. After the meal, the tau mo lungon breaks an earthen jar, after which the people start leaving the site in a single file, following the order in which they had come, kuloy or plumelike flowers of talahib on their head.Reaching the house, they jump over two T’boli knives (Kafilan or Tok) stuck on the ground forming an X. Then they bathe in a nearby river. Otherwise, the bereaved family put their left foot on a stone at the stair landing, and then walks to a tray of food from which they scoop a little, eat it, and then exit through the backdoor. Finally, the house of the dead is either burned or abandoned as they build a new one. †¢Music ?The T'boli have a musical heritage consisting of vario us types of agung ensembles – ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held, bossed/knobbed gongs which act as drone without any accompanying melodic instrument.T'boli have a variety of musical instruments including a drum, the agong, the kulintang, bamboo zither, flute, the hegalong, a long, slender and spindle-shaped two stringed guitar. They have also a variety of dances, which are mostly expressive imitations of their immediate environment. †¢Dressing ?The T'boli women are known for their body ornaments. During ordinary days, the women can be seen wearing several sets of beaded necklaces, brass or beaded dangling earings, and a wooden comb decorated with round pieces of mirror and trimmed with beads and fibers or horse's hair.The men nowadays wear their traditional dresses made of tnalak only during special occasions. Both the men and women wear brass rings in sets of five for each finger. †¢Livelihood/ Handicraft ?T’nalak is an exotic fabric mad e through a centuries-old process of tie-dye weaving by the T’boli women. It is made into bags of different sizes, attache case, wall decors, blankets, jackets, purse, clothing, cigarette case, belts, portfolio and others. III. GEOGRAPHY/ TERRAIN The T'boli is of proto-Malayan stock and is found in the mountain ranges of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat Provinces. 4. THE HIGAONON I. CULTURE ?The belief in the power of the spirits of ancestors and in the influence of more than one god is strongly rooted in the hearts and minds of many Higaonon. Most Higaonon still have a strong belief in the existence of gods and spirits. The ‘upper god’ is Magbabaya, the creator of all aspects of life. There are several ‘lower gods’. Each ‘lower god’ has dominion over a specific part of the natural environment.There is a lower god (Igbabasok) who has dominion over the farms, a lower god (Pamahandi) who has dominion over treasures and properties, a lower god (Bulalakaw) who has dominion over the waters and fishes and there is a lower god (Panalagbugta) who has dominion over lands. The (ancestor) spirits have control on all aspects of the daily life of the people. This belief, called â€Å"animism†, influences the Higaunon people deeply. They believe that all problems like illnesses, bad harvests and even the death, are due to their failure to satisfy the spirits.The Higaonon believe that they have to please the spirits. Only if the Higaonon succeed during their life to fulfill all the wishes of the spirits, they will not die and a path will be shown to go from this world into the eternal world where the creator gods live. One way to satisfy the spirits is having rituals with sacrifices. Pigs and chickens are the most common sacrifices. Without the sacrifices or when there not enough sacrifices, there will be problems with their subsistence, crops will fail and illnesses will not be cured and people will die.If somebody gets ill, an ‘all knowing’ shaman is asked advice what to do. The shaman is a person in the village who has the ability to tell which spirit caused the sickness and what should be done to pacify the spirit II. CUSTOMS/ TRADITIONS †¢Farming ?The Higaonon is one of the mountain tribes in the Philippines. Most Higaunon still have a rather traditional way of living. Farming is the most important economic activity. †¢Courtship ?Prior to the wedding, the boy must live in the girl's house for about a year to prove his worth and where he is scrutinized by the parents of the girl. Marriage ?Marriage in Higaonon society is arranged mainly by the parents of the boy and girl. The arrangement is a long and tedious process. The wedding ceremony is elaborate and expensive. Feasting lasts for several days at the residence of the bride and groom. The marriage of a datu is even more elaborate. †¢Livelihood/ Handicraft ?The main economic activity is slash and burn cultivation of upland rice and corn. The agricultural cycle starts during March and April when the Higaonon devote themselves to clearing and planting. They also engage in food gathering.Their livelihood is supplemented by logging timbers like apitong, lauan, yakal, kamagong and narra. The timber is cut by hand and the logs are hauled using carabaos as draft animals to bring the logs down to the Agusan river. The hunting of banog, bats, snakes, field rat, monkey and different kinds of birds is prevalent. Fishing is also one of the major activities. Occasionally, poisons are used in streams. Spear guns are also employed. III. GEOGRAPHY/ TERRAIN †¢The Higaonon are an indigenous tribe found in the northern regions of the island of Mindanao in The Philippines.With a population estimated at 350, 000, they are distributed over five provinces — Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte and Bukidnon. 5. THE IFUGAO’S I. CULTURE ?In the past the Ifugao were fear ed head-hunters, just as other tribes in the mountainous regions of northern Luzon. The war-dance (the bangibang) is one of the cultural remnants of the time of tribal conflict. Their ancestors constructed the fascinating rice terraces with the perfect working irrigation systems. These mountain tribes still distinguish themselves by their specific cultural expression and their skills.II. CUSTOMS/ TRADITIONS †¢Farming ?Ifugao culture revolves around the rice, which is considered a prestige crop. There is an elaborate and complex array of rice culture feasts inextricably linked with taboos and intricate agricultural rites, from rice cultivation to rice consumption. Harvest season calls for grandiose thanksgiving feasts, while the concluding harvest rites â€Å"tungo† or â€Å"tungul† (the day of rest) entail a strict taboo of any agricultural work. Partaking of the rice beer (bayah), rice cakes, and betel nut is an indelible practice during the festivities and ritua l activities. Practice ?Batok or tattooing is practiced by Ifugao men in some districts. In other districts the tradition has disappeared, but in general, men tattoo almost all the parts of their body except the back and the feet. Tattooing of the chest, shoulders, arms is common; less common are tattoos on the face, buttocks and legs. Younger men tattoo only their necks and upper chest. The more common tattoo designs used by the Ifugao men are: tinagu (man); kinahu (dog); ginawang (eagle); ginayaman (centipede); kinilat (lightning); pongo (bracelet). †¢Marriage Monogamy is the norm, but the wealthy sometimes practice polygamy. The incest prohibition extends to first cousins; more distant cousins may be married only on payment of livestock penalties. Ifugao courtship takes place in the girls' houses ( agamang ). Before a wedding, temporary trial marriages sometimes occur. Wealthy parents arrange marriages through intermediaries, and they make decisions concerning their children 's use and inheritance of property. Families exchange gifts and maintain close relations following marriage. Divorce may occur by mutual consent, or with the payment of damages if contested.Grounds for divorce include bad omens, childlessness, cruelty, desertion, and change of affections. There is a vast difference in property allocation if the couple has children. Childless partners each take whatever they brought individually into the marriage through inheritance and then divide commonly acquired joint property equally; if there are children, all property goes to the children. A widow or widower may marry again only after making a payment to the deceased spouse's family; the payment is reduced if the second spouse is of that same family.Postmarital residence is typically close to the largest rice field acquired by either partner, but newlyweds may initially spend some time with the parents of either the groom or the bride. Both sexes may inherit property and debts from both parent s, although the firstborn receives the greatest share. An illegitimate child has the right to receive support from his or her natural father's family but no right to inherit from his estate. †¢Burial ?Their funerals are not only a sad event because of the lost of the person. There is also a celebration during days; because of they believe of a better life after death.Six years after the body is buried, the bones are dug up, after which a second celebration will take place. This is one time repeated after another six years. †¢Music ?Generally Ifugao songs can be classified into ritual songs and non-ritual songs. Ritual songs are sung in religious occasions; some songs require responses while others are extemporaneous. A ritual song is the alim. Non-ritual songs include the hudhud, the liwliwa, and the salidumnay. The liwliwa, used to express love, protest and other personal emotions, is sung in debate form by groups of men and women and their leaders.The salidumnay, which c an express ideas or emotions, is usually sung antiphonally by groups of men and women. †¢Dancing ?Dancing has always been part of the Ifugao life, taking center stage during rituals, religious activities, and special occasions. The dance steps follow a slow shuffle with slow turns and twists of the left hand and a fast up-and-down movement of the right hand. While kneeling in front of the dancers, the gong players hold the gangsa on top of their thighs with the convex side held up. They beat the gongs with their hands, the right hand giving the downward stroke, the left hand serving to dampen the sound.Speeches are made in between these dances, with the resounding â€Å"whoooo-o-eee† serving to silence those present so that the speech may be delivered. †¢Dressing ?Men wear their hair short all around the head but the middle part is allowed to grow long, thus giving impression that they wear a cap of hair. Some wear a turban. Ifugao men carry butong (hip bags), the l arger kind is called the pinuhha; the smaller kind the ambayong. The pinuhha bags are made of white threads, the ambayong of double block thread. The men usually put their betel nut leaves and lime container, kottiwong (small crescent-shaped nife), wooden spoon, amulets, and other things here. Necklaces worn by Ifugao males are usually a string of 2 to 8 pieces of gold, silver, or copper in a C-shape and worn tight at the base of the neck. Pang-o of amber beads, which hang much lower than the other necklaces, are sometimes added. In some places, men wear a tight necklace or trapezoidal shells. Many Ifugao men also wear leglets made of Copper wire wound spirally in 20 to 40 coils, gradually increasing in width from above downward. Some wear armlets made of tusks of wild boar.A belt called ginuttu, made of round white shells kept together by a string of rattan dyed red, is worn at the waist from the right side of the upper part of the left thigh, and then allowed to hang loose at the left side. ?Ifugao women, on the other hand, wear the tapis, a wraparound skirt called the ampuyou or tolge. The ordinary tapis consists of a blue cloth with narrow white horizontal stripes and two broken line of red triangles, and is worn just above the knee (Vanoverbergh 1929:209). Ifugao girls begin to wear the tapis by the time they are five or six years old. There are five kinds of Ifugao skirts.The inggalgalletget is worn just above the knee. It is full of narrow stripes and is made of two pieces of cloth joined together. This skirt is working in the rice paddies, but is not in fashion at present. The intinlu is a typical Ifugao skirt made of three pieces of cloth. The pieces are joined together with a takdog and other stitches, a black thread alternating with white. The indinwa skirt is also typically Ifugao although less frequently woven. It is shorter than the intinlu but longer than the working skirt. The gamit skirt is made of two equal pieces of cloth joined together by takdang stitch.Red and white threads alternate with white and yellow (takdog stitch); its edges that fray are hemmed and have a bambulud. Gamit skirts are characterized by elaborate border designs which vary according to the type and the color of alternating threads woven into the textile. Some Ifugao women allow their hair to hang loose at the back, but some fold their hair up and use a string of beads called atake or inipul; these they wind several times around the head to keep the hair in place. The atake is made of small white beads while the inipul is of large beads of light colored agate.Sometimes these beads are worn around the neck. The women put their belongings in the folds of their tapis in front or in a pouch made of cloth similar to that used by men, except that it has no rings and is thus carried in the hands or pace din the folds of the tapis. Women also tattoo their arms up to the shoulder blade, with designs similar to men. Earring and pendants used by men are also worn by the women. The necklaces hang lower than those of the men, sometimes reaching the navel. Copper bracelets are also used by the women. †¢Livelihood/ Handicraft They have skills in making bowls; baskets, weapons and clothing. The Ifugao still practice the same skills as in the past: Woodcarving and weaving clothes. They discovered the tourists as a welcome client for their products in a time that the youngest Ifugao prefer Western clothes. ?The Ifugao produce baskets to serve the needs of the household, and many other purposes. They have baskets for winnowing, storing, catching pests and domesticating animals, storing grains and cooked food, keeping household utensils, clothes, and personal belongings, and for rituals and religious ceremonies.Carrying baskets have been so designed as to leave a person’s hands free to carry other loads. III. GEOGRAPHY/ TERRAIN ?The Ifugao inhabit the most rugged and mountainous part of the country, high in the Central Cordillera in northern Luzon, with peaks rising from 1,000-1,500 m. , and drained by the waters of the Magat River, a tributary of Cagayan River. The area covers about 1942. 5 sq. km. of the territory. Their neighbors to the north are the Bontoc; to the west Kankanay and Ibaloy; to the east the Gaddang; and to the south the Ikalahan and Iwak.There are 10 municipalities in the province: Banaue, Hungduan, Kiangan, Lagawe, Lamut, Mayoyao, Potia, Hingyan and Tinoc. There are 154 barangay, with Lagawe as the town center of the province. 6. THE IBANAG I. CULTURE ?Their language is also named Ibanag, which also serves as the lingua franca of other neighboring ethnic groups such as the Gaddang, Yogad, and a few Aeta. This is spoken by about 500,000 peoples in Isabela and Cagayan, especially in Tuguegarao, Solana, Cabagan, and Ilagan. However, most of the Ibanags can also speak Ilocano, one of Northern Luzon's dialects.II. CUSTOMS/ TRADITIONS †¢Farming ?The Ibanags are lowland farmers that used to in habit the area along the Cagayan coast but migrated further inland. They conducted trade with neighboring areas using distinctive seacrafts, and their commercial interests made their language the medium of commerce throughout the region before the influx of Ilokano migrants. They are also excellent blacksmiths and continue to make good bolos. . Are agricultural, and they engage in fishing and farming. †¢Marriage ?Marriage customs, to great degree, have been made simple.Expenses are now borne by both parties unlike before when the groom's parents shouldered all wedding expenses. Preparations may not be very lavish but the umune-ca presents and maginterga, are still parts of marriage customs, likewise the gala is, sine qua non especially in rural wedding. III. GEOGRAPHY/ TERRAIN ?The Ibanag are concentrated on the Provinces of Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela. The Ibanag are among the minority of Filipino people that live along the banks of the Cagayan River. They are the most ass imilable and adaptable among groups of the Filipino people.On Cagayan, Ibanag are more found in Tuguegarao, Abulug, Pamplona, Camalaniugan, Lal-lo, Amulong, Iguig, Penablanca and Aparri towns. 7. THE MANOBO I. CULTURE ?An occupation that figures as entertainment for the Manobo is bee hunting, the procedure for which the basis of the comic bee-hunting dance. Bees appear during the season when the tress start to bloom. The hunter waits for them along the creek banks and trails them to their hive. If he catches a bee, he ties a fluff of cotton to it and then releases it. When the bee reaches the hive, the other bees raise such a buzzing noise, that a hunter is led to the location of their hive.He builds a fire to smoke out the bees and then climbs the tree to get the empty bee hive. However, the hunter faces hazards, such as the tree catching fire or the bees attacking him. II. CUSTOMS/ TRADITIONS †¢Farming ?The upland Manobo practise swidden or slash-burn farming whereas those in habiting the valleys practise wet-rice farming. Rice culture is so central to the Manobo way of life that there are more than 60 different names for rice varieties, and all agricultural rituals center on it. †¢Marriage ?Intervillage relationship is based on upakat or reciprocity.Village members, usually belonging to kinship group or groups allied by marriage, expect assistance from each other in matters of subsistent labor, defense, and support in crises. Marriage is traditionally by parental arrangement, which begins when each of two families chooses a spokesperson, preferably a datu or bai, who is known for eloquence and knowledge of custom law. The ginsa (â€Å"asking†) begins with the girl's representative offering betel chew, which the boy's representative politely refuses until negotiations for the kagun (bridewealth) begin.All the groom's relatives, especially the datu/bai related to the groom's family, will contribute to the kagun. The wedding date is determined by the length of the groom's family will need to raise the kagun. In the meantime, the bride's relatives are preparing the apa (wedding feast), consisting of rice, meat, fish, and rice wine. On the wedding day, the groom – wearing a white handkerchief – and his party walk to the bride's home. The bride is kept hidden behind a curtain in another room with someone guarding her.The groom's party knocked at the doorway y the ed-ipal, two or more of the bride's relatives who may ask the groom's party for a gift, such as clothing or money. After the feast, the elders sit on a large mat for the edteltagan he rirey, to display the symbols for the bride's value. Ten piles of corn kernels each are laid out in rows. Each pile symbolizes remuneration for the pains taken by the bride's family in rearing her. For example, one pile represents the purangan (to keep awake at night), the sleepless nights the parents spent over her; another pile represents the tugenan (viand), the nouris hment they have given er. Then the groom's family presents the items of the kagun which may consist of a house, a piece of land, clothing, money, articles made of iron, brass, and animals. These items are distributed to members of the bride's extended family, especially her aunts and uncles and those who contributed to the bridewealth given by her father when he married the bride's mother. The negotiations over, the groom's family presents the tenges (headcloth), which symbolizes that the arrangements must be wrapped up tightly to ensure a happy life for the young couple. The seru ritual follows: the bride and groom sit before a dish of rice.Each of the spokespersons takes a fistful of rice, molds it into a ball, and gives it to the couple, who feed each other. Then the guests join in the eating, with much revelry. The bride's mother prepares betel chew and hands it to her daughter, who offers it to the groom. This gesture symbolizes her tasks and duties as a wife. The couples are t hen given advice by the elders while the guests leave for home. The groom's parents stay for three more days, during which a purification ritual of chickens and rice is performed for the couple's gimukod (soul-spirit), whose approval of the marriage is sought.The groom goes home with his parents to call his gimukod in case it stayed there while he was away. He does not stay away too long from his bride's home because, for every day that he is gone, he must gift his in-laws with an article of clothing. Marriage is an alliance system in which reciprocity and mutual obligation between the groom's and bride's kinship groups are expected. It is, therefore, a means of maintaining peace and oder, for the Manobo's practice of retaliation does not extend to one's kindred or allies. Incest taboo is strictly followed up to a common great-great-great grandparent on both the mother's and father's side. Polygamy, although rarely practised, was allowed. A datu might resort to it, usually for econo mic and political reasons. Several wives allowed for more fields that could be cultivated, since the Manobo women did all the work in the fields. Polygyny also multiplied one's alliances and expanded them to several communities. However, the man could take another wife only if the first wife and her parents consented. The fist wife remained the head wife. †¢Burial ?When death occurs, lapuy, death messengers, are sent to inform relatives and friends.The body is washed, dressed in best clothes of the deceased, laid on mat at the exact center of the floor directly underneath the peak of the rooftop, and completely covered with a blanket. Objects, such as a bolo sword that the dead must take with it on its journey to the afterlife, are placed near the body. A clothesline is strung parallel to the body, and the clothes of the family or the dead person's personal possessions are hung there. There is much wailing and shouting and the agung (gong) is constantly beaten to announce the d eath to everyone within the hearing distance.The number of beats indicates the dead person's age, status and social position. After the grave has been dug, someone stands guard by the pit to keep the busaw away. Burial rites begin in the house with the â€Å"cutting the strand† ritual: an elder blackens half of a strand of manila hemp. This blackened end is held by the family while the white end is tied to the corpse. The strand is cut to signify the cutting of ties of affection between the family and the dead. A man is buried facing the east so that the sunrise will signal to him that it is time to work.A woman is buried facing the west so that the sunset will remind her that it is time to cook. As the dirt is thrown back into the pit, all turn their backs to avoid temptation of accompanying the dead person. The grave marker is a low wooden frame. Tree cuttings are stuck around the grave. After the burial, the mourners go to an unfrequented part to wash themselves and the to ols used to dig the grave. When they return to the house, they spit on a burning woo or a fire by the doorway. Everyone takes a small bite from the small meal that has been placed on the mat where the corpse had lain in state.The last person coming in takes the glowing piece of wood and the meal out of the house and throws it in the direction of the grave. Everyone, including the soul of the dead, is invited to eat. A mourning period of 8 to 12 days is set, depending on the stature of the dead person. A baby is mourned only for one day; a datu, seven days. There is singing and dancing but no instrumental music is allowed. †¢Music ?Manobo music differs from one group to another. The variance can be observed in the gong ensembles, which may consist of 8 to 10 agong (gongs) as in the ahong of Magpet, or five small hand-held gongs as in the sagagong. Dressing ?Before the Spanish colonial period, the Manobo wore bark cloth to cover their genitalia. Today they wear Western clothes: t he skirt and blouse or dress for the women, trousers and sports shirt for men. The heavily embroidered traditional Manobo costume is now worn only on special occasions. †¢Livelihood/ Handicraft ?Traditional fabric for clothes was abaca or hemp, weaved by the ikat process, but is now cotto cloth obatained through trade. Dyes were acquired from plants and trees: the tagum plant and the bark of the lamud treee produced lack, the turmeric root, yellow, and the keleluza plant, red.Ginuwatan are inwoven representational designs such as flowers. If cotton trade cloth is bought, big floral designs are preferred. Typical colors are red, black, yellow, green, blue and white. III. GEOGRAPHY/ TERRAIN ?Most Manobo inhabit the river valleys, hillsides, plateaus, and interiors of Agusan, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Davao, Misamis Oriental, and Surigao Del Sur. The whole Manobo population numbers 250,000. The subgroup Manuvu inhabits a contiguous area along southern Bukidnon, northeastern Cotabato, an d northwestern Davao. The Ilianon, Livunganen-Arumanen, and Kirintekan are in northern Cotabato.The Tigwa/Tigwahanon are concentrated in Lindagay and scattered all over the town of San Fernando, Bukidnon, close to the border of Davao Del Norte. Tigwa may have derived from guwa (scattered) or the Tigwa River, whose banks they inhabit. The Umayamnon are scattered around the town of Cabalangsan, Bukidnon, and the interiors of Agusan Del Sur. The western Bukidnon Manobo inhabits the southwestern quarter of Bukidnon province. 8. TIRURAY I. CULTURE ?Their language is structurally related to those of the Malayo-Polynesian family. But when spoken, it is unintelligible even to their immediate neighbors.II. CUSTOMS/ TRADITIONS †¢Religious practices and beliefs ?According to the Tiruray, the world was created by the female deity Minaden, who had a brother named Tulus, also called Meketefu and Sualla. Tulus is the chief of all good spirits who bestow gifts and favors upon human beings. He goes around with a retinue of messengers called telaki. Tulus is said to have rectified some errors in the first creation of theworld and of human beings. †¢Livelihood/ Handicraft ?The Tiruray have not developed the arts of traditional cloth weaving, metal craft, and pottery, but have excelled in basketry.They are, in fact, one of the most accomplished basket weaving groups among the country's cultural communities. III. GEOGRAPHY/ TERRAIN ?They live in the upper portion of a river-drained area in the northwestern part of South Cotabato, where the mountainous terrain of the Cotabato Cordillera faces the Celebes Sea. The Tiruray call themselves etew teduray or Tiruray people, but also classify themselves according to their geographic location: etew rotor, mountain people; etew dogot, coastal people; etew teran, Tran people; and etew awang, Awang people, or etew ufi, Upi people. . TAUSUG I. CULTURE ?Tausugs are experienced sailors and are known for their colorful boats or vintas. They are also superb warriors and craftsmen. They are also famous for the Pangalay dance (also known as Daling-Daling in Sabah), in which female dancers wear artificial elongated fingernails made from brass or silver known as janggay, and perform motions based on the Vidhyadhari (Bahasa Sug: Bidadali) of pre-Islamic Buddhist legend. II. CUSTOMS/ TRADITIONS †¢Religious practices and beliefs ?The Tausug follows standard Islamic beliefs and practices.The Quran is considered by all Muslims as the words of Allah (God), revealed to the prophet Muhammad through archangel Gabriel, and as the source of all Islamic Law, principles and values. Aside from the Quran and the Sunnah and Haddith (literally, â€Å"a way, rule, or manner of acting†), other Islamic sources of law include Ijtihad (independent judgment) and Qiyas (analogy). The Five Pillars of Islam are dec-laration of beheb in the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad and the four obligations of praying, almsgiving , fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in one's lifetime. Marriage ?Marriage is ideally arranged by parents. Contacts between the sexes are restricted and marriageable women are kept in relative seclusion to protect their value to their family as political and economic assets. First and second cousins are favored spouses (with the exception of the children of brothers). A series of negotiations precedes marriage, concluding with an agreement on the amount of bride-wealth and other expenses to be paid by the boy's family. In addition to arranged marriages, wives may be obtained by elopement or abduction, both common alternatives.Weddings are held in the groom's parents' house immediately upon payment of bride-wealth and are officiated by an imam. Newly married couples generally reside uxorilocally for the first year, or until the birth of a child, after which they are free to join the husband's family, remain with the wife's family, or, preferably, build a new house of thei r own, typically close to the husband's natal community. Independent residence is the eventual ideal. Relations between husband and wife are characteristically close and enduring.Divorce is permitted but is infrequent, occurring in less than 10 percent of all marriages and, although polygamy is allowed, few men take more than one wife. †¢Burial ?Four acts must be performed at death: bathing the corpse, enshrouding it, reciting the prayer for the dead, and burial. Burial is followed by a seven-day vigil. Depending on a family's economic circumstances, commemorative feasts may be held on the 7th, 20th, 40th, and 100th day, and on the first, second, and third anniversaries of death. Each person is believed to have four souls that leave the body at death.The body goes to hell, where the length of punishment it suffers is determined by the misdeeds and accumulated religious merit of the deceased. On the fifteenth day of the month of Shaaban, one of the souls of the dead is sent back to earth: here the deceased is honored with prayers and on the following day graves are cleared. †¢Music ?Various musical instruments played solo or as an ensemble, provide the Tausug with music. Most notab-le is the kulintangan ensemble consisting of two gandang (drums), a tungallan (large gong), a duwahan (set of two-paired gongs), and the kulintangan (a graduated series of 8 to 11 small gongs).At least five players are needed to play the ensemble which is used to accompany dances or provide music during celebrations. Other popular instruments are the gabbang (na-tive xylophone) and the biyula (native violin). With 14 to 24 keys divided into seven-note scales, the gabbang has become the most popular musical instrument in Sulu. It is used to accompany Tausug vocal music such as the sindil. The tune produced when the gabbang is played solo by a man or woman is called tahta'. The biyula is similar to but larger than the western violin. It consists of four strings played by a bo w made of horsehair.Traditionally played by men, the biyula, with the gabbang, accompany the sindil (Kiefer 1970:2) Flute music is associated with peace and travel. It represented by the following less popular instruments: the saunay (reed flute), suling (bamboo flute), and kulaing (jew's harp). The saunay is essentially a six-holed slender bamboo, 1. 5 mm in diameter, capped by a sampung simud (mouthguard). A resonating chamber made of palm leaves is housed in the mouthguard. The suling is a larger version of the saunay. It is a 60-cm long bamboo with a 2-cm diameter. Like the saunay, it has six fingerholes (Kiefer 1970:4).The repertoire for Tausug instrumental music in-clude: the gabbang tahtah (gabbang with biyula accompaniment); the kasi-lasa, lugu, and tahtah (biyula songs); the sinug kiadtu-kari (kulintangan); the tiawag kasi (saunay music), the tahtah (suling music); and others. Kalangan or Tausug vocal music can be divided into narrative and lyric songs, and further into the lugu and the paggabang traditions. The luguh traditio-n denotes unaccompanied religious songs, while the paggabang tradition applies to â€Å"more mundane† songs that are accompanied by the gabbang and biyula. †¢Dancing The most well-known dance of the Tausug is the pangalay. It is the basic style from which the move-ments of various dances in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are derived. The pangalay is danced by either sex, alone or together, and is usually accompanied by the kulintang ensemble. The movement of the pangalay is concen-trated on the thighs, knees, ankles, toes, waist, shoulders, neck, elbows, wrists, and fingers. The torso is usually kept rigid, moving upward or downward as the flow of the dance demands. The feet is firmly planted on the ground and move in small shuffling steps (Amilbangsa 1983:14, 62).The pangalay dances are distinctive in their use of the janggay (metal nail extenders) to underscore hand movements. The extended fingers are stiff and set apart from the thumbs. †¢Livelihood/ Handicraft ?Tausug visual arts are represented by carvings, metalworks, woodworks, tapestry and embroidery, mat making and basketry, textile and fashion, pottery, and other minor arts. III. GEOGRAPHY/ TERRAIN ?Mainly in the Philippines Region: Jolo, Sulu Archipelago. Palawan Island, Basilan Island, Zamboanga City. 10. BADJAO I. CULTURE ?The Badjaos are itinerant travelers.Their paintings and carvings are integral to their life cycle. In wedding ceremonies, the wedding beautician must be adept at applying the special makeup on the bride and groom. With a razor blade tied with thread to a split bamboo twig, the beautician shapes the bride’s eyebrows into a triangle and carves tiny bangs on her forehead. Lampblack is used to outline a rectangle on her forehead and is emphasized by a yellow ginger juice. Black dots are outlined horizontally above the eyebrows and/or beneath the eyes with the pointed end of a coconut midrib.Another beautician attends to the groom and his face is made up the same way. II. CUSTOMS/ TRADITIONS †¢Marriage ?In wedding ceremonies, the wedding beautician must be adept at applying the special makeup on the bride and groom. With a razor blade tied with thread to a split bamboo twig, the beautician shapes the bride’s eyebrows into a triangle and carves tiny bangs on her forehead. Lampblack is used to outline a rectangle on her forehead and is emphasized by a yellow ginger juice. Black dots are outlined horizontally above the eyebrows and/or beneath the eyes with the pointed end of a coconut midrib.Another beautician attends to the groom and his face is made up the same way. †¢Music ?The Badjaos have five types of songs: the leleng, binoa, tenes, panulkin, and lugu. Except for the last two, the lyrics are improvised and sung to a traditional tune. The â€Å"leleng† is sung in most occasions. Anyone can sing the leleng. †¢Dancing ?The Badjao’s dance traditions are simila r with the other ethnic groups of Sulu, particularly the tribes in Samal. The basic traditional dance movement is the igal or pangalay performed by the female.The dancer’s hair is preferably pulled back in a bun, although it may also be allowed to hang loose. Either a drum or a gabbang accompanies the dance. †¢Dressing ?The traditional attire of the Badjao consists of either everyday wear or elaborately embroidered costumes for special occasions. The patadjung/tadjong has many uses. Among the Badjao it is large enough to fit any person and is worn by both men and women as a skirt or gown tucked at the chest level. It can serve as putung (headcover), waistband, sash, blanket, hammock, shoulder bag, cradle, pouch, hood, or pillow. Livelihood/ Handicraft ?Metal craft designs can be classified into three kinds: the repousse, relief hammered from the reverse side; arabesque, incision of interlocking curves; and filigree, tracing with thin gold, silver, or brass wires.III. GEO GRAPHY/ TERRAIN ?Sulu-Tawitawi, Siasi, Tabawan, Bonggao Sitangkai, Cagayande Tawitawi (Mapun); Basilan, Maluso, Malamawi, Bohe’ Lobbong; Zamboanga del Sur, Rio Hondo, Batuan Lumbayaw, Taluk Sangay, Sanggali; Zamboanga del Norte, Olutangga; Davao City, Isla Verde, Sasa; Cagayan de Oro; Visayas, Cebu, Tagbilaran; Palawan, Puerto Princesa; Batangas.

Amazon’s Competitive Analysis Essay

Competitors are the firms that compete to serve the same customers in the same marketplace. Competitors can compete directly or indirectly. Competition happens on two levels: Product or service competition. Due to the shift of focus for Amazon, it has become the â€Å"Earth’s biggest anything store†. Its competitors have expanded from just online book retailers Barnes and Nobles and Borders to top audio retailers CDNOW.com and online auction house e-bay.com. Amazon has an overall lead of 40% market share against the other online retail firms. Their international business has more than doubled over the past 2 years Amazon’s primary value chain includes purchasing/sourcing, marketing, distribution and after-sales services, which includes returns and exchanges from unsatisfied customers. Their main focus is in the purchasing/sourcing and in the distribution of the products to the consumers. Their investments are therefore, geared towards warehouses in key points of high consumer demand areas and an efficient delivery and distributing system to service all its consumers. Thus, Amazon controls most of its distributing system that spans across borders. How does Amazon compete? Competes through Quality, service, and low price. How effective is each? Quality – they make sure that their product reach the customer with no damage and always serve their customer with the best product. Service – Amazon delivers the product within a week. Less lead time Low price – reasonable pricing. How powerful? Amazon is power because they were the first to start an online business. They have more customers due to this. The customers are loyal to Amazon and will do their shopping only at Amazon. Amazon is very profitable and is doing well currently. How aggressive? Amazon.com has remained on top of the online retailing business despite the entrance of giants such as Barnes and Nobles and Borders. Their success is attributed to two factors; timing and continuing to invest heavily into the inventory and distribution systems. Amazon, by being the first of its kind, has a big lead over the nearest competitors due to their experience and its reputation as the first movers. Their thrust remains on improving efficient delivery systems across borders and to build name recognition as the number one retailing firm in the Internet. They have also ventured into different retail options to keep that lead. Marketing, Innovative inventory and distribution systems, and name recall have helped Amazon build a sustainable competitive advantage. Will diversification into new markets finally turn a profit for Amazon.com before the dotcom godfather burns through the last of its savings? In five years Amazon.com has built the world’s biggest online store. However, despite generating expected $1bn ( £0.67bn) sales from the Christmas retail season alone, profit has proved elusive. Despite its profligate sales, business-to-consumer e-commerce’s pre-eminent player is not expected to enter the black until year-end, according to financial analysts’ most-optimistic forecasts. Meanwhile, a cost-intensive diversification strategy casts doubt on the prospect of the company ever turning a profit, according to a growing chorus of company-watchers. In order for any online retail company to remain prosperous and income generating, they must invest a lot of time and money into research and development of more efficient operations and distributions systems. This proved to be key for the Market Leader in online retailing, Amazon.Com. Conclusion – Many Amazon-watchers believe diversification will saddle the company with an unsustainable cost burden. â€Å"There is an incompatibility between its brand proposition of offering a dominant breadth of assortment and achieving profitability,† b. While the threat from dotcom upstarts has receded with their reduced ability to raise funds on the investment market, the challenge from bricks and mortar retailers adding online stores is getting fiercer. As well as wielding generous Internet war chests from established profitability, physical retailers will benefit from a maturation of the online market. The lunched of Amazon.com in July of 1995 was the creation of a new and bold way of doing business on the Internet. Amazon.com forced the traditional physical world brick and mortar retailer in the book industry to change the way they target the industry’s consumers and then epitomized Business-2-Consumer e-retailing. Although, Amazon.com started as an online bookstore, The bricks and clicks mantra revolves around the idea that the winning — and profitable — formula for electronic commerce success is leveraging the best of the physical and virtual worlds. In theory, it should give physical retailers venturing on to the Web an edge over pure dot-com e-commerce companies because they can efficiently extend their existing infrastructure and complement their real world stores. So far, the most successful retailers have been those that have taken an aggressive approach to the Internet like Amazon. The bricks-and-clicks model is gaining momentum as the e-commerce market matures. A growing number of retailers have finally gotten serious about doing business on-line, now that fast-moving dot-com players such as Amazon.com Inc., eBay Inc. and eToys Inc. have carved out market niches. By creating an independent on-line unit that has the freedom to develop its own merchandising and marketing strategies, Amazon has the freedom and flexibility to capitalize on opportunities. Toys â€Å"R† Us Inc. stumbled when  it decided to protect its stores and offer only a limited selection of merchandise on its Web site. That gave eToys and Amazon.com a window of opportunity to win customer loyalty and rapidly grow sales, while Toys â€Å"R† Us struggled to play catch-up. The Market is moving toward a system where it is no longer going to be only Internet or only bricks and mortar,† he says. â€Å"Amazon’s mandate is not focused on where the business was, but rather where the opportunities are.† Another model is being pursued by Peachtree Network Inc., which is creating an on-line grocery network across Canada. Rather than spend heavily to build warehouses and purchase delivery trucks, Peachtree offers a service to regional grocery chains that lets them provide consumers with an on-line ordering system. The grocers, which already have the infrastructure, process the orders and handle delivery. Amazon.com has parlayed its Internet expertise to compete very successfully against traditional â€Å"bricks & mortar† book retailers such as Barnes & Noble, and Borders; Price line has leveraged its e-commerce patents and business model to challenge the incumbent travel agent industry. Thus, the pure Internet plays are very well-positioned to leverage the Internet to overwhelm their incumbent competitors who are locked into their â€Å"bricks & mortar† channels. However this is not necessarily true for all industries. If an incumbent can update its business model and supporting organizational infrastructure, it can successfully leverage the Internet just as effectively. Companies that exist to engage in commerce in the Internet’s digital marketplaces are known as digital players. For example, Amazon.com exists as a digital player that uses digital processes to transact physical products such as books, and videotapes. By using the Internet as its sole marketing and support channel, Amazon.com has been able to avoid heavy â€Å"bricks and mortar† investments that weigh upon its physical competitors such as Barnes and Noble, and Borders. Incumbent competitors are beginning to establish their own websites so that they can continue to serve their clients who are already on the Internet, and also to serve new market segments. However the pure digital players, if they do not already have brand-recognition or are not affiliated with existing brand names, often have to invest significantly  in marketing and other promotional expenditures to gain consumer awareness. Market Entrants Leverage Disruptive Innovations Since market entrants by definition do not have established business models and distribution channels  with the related cost structures, they can exploit the strategic flexibility provided by disruptive innovations to devise business models and strategies to compete successfully in the emerging marketplace. Unlike the incumbents who have to work within the constraints of their existing business models, organizational structures, and cultures, these entrants can craft their business strategies based upon the unique enabling opportunities provided by the disruptive innovations.

Robots, cyborgs & AI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Robots, cyborgs & AI - Essay Example The term android is used only on robots that look like humans, while the term robot is used on machines, which might look or might not look like humans. There are other examples of rising robots known as actroids, which do not exist in the science fiction realm, but they tend to resemble the human beings in their action and also their reception to input. In films like The Terminator, which have smashed awareness the public since their features have instilled a strong idea about human fusion with technology. Cyborgs are aggressive and contain a fantasy of being destructive and invisibility. However, this hyper violent creature is among the many types of fictional cyborgs that have become the main way for commercial films to present the cyborg condition. In films they have privileged the masculine figure which is mainly violent. When the cyborgs are staged in movies they show different ways of thinking in matters of sexual identity and gender. The software interfaced cyborgs created make the bodies of human beings obsolete when the human consciousness was downloaded onto a computer software they showed aggressiveness and their prowess is always improved thus can not go down and the only thing they can do best is kill because its strength physical not cerebral thus can not be controlled. However not all cyborgs are hyper masculine killing machines they are also used for other functions e.g. the terminator in terminator 2 is used as a surrogate father. Electronics technology capability certainly has caused fear which has been translated to massive bodies overpowering human characters. The cyborgs in films are also used to show the male spectacle and desire for masculine body. This not only culminates the sexual expression but also the brute force expressed by the cyborgs. This concept of externally forceful machinery was culminated in the industrial machinery in the early twentieth century. During this time the robot replaced the

Designing Learning Activities in a Standards-Based System Assignment

Designing Learning Activities in a Standards-Based System - Assignment Example When based on the organization, the resulting activity will be of high quality, allow for learning from others and the designed activity can be uses by the entire school. My chosen professional development is individual based because it can be accessed online at any place, and an individual can develop by him/herself based on his or her personal preference. The content of this professional development activity has helped me develop professionally in the area of standard-based systems for learning activities. I have learned that the â€Å"lifeless content† (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001, p. 920) is the normal curriculum can be translated into meaningful learning objectives, as well as strong standards, for the authentic assessment and engagement of the learning activities. ... B The Professional Development Activity in Context. This professional development activity I chose relates to the culture of my school. Based on the school culture of the graduate programs in the College, students are supposed to cover the syllabus within the required time. Nevertheless, the traditional methods of teaching emphasize on covering the curriculum without engaging the students to develop activities by themselves based on standardised system. This helps students, teachers and parents. This area relates to the New York state educational policy where new teachers have to undergo training before they start teaching. Teachers undergo induction period for the first two to three years to develop their capabilities. Also, beginners in the teaching field are not left to work on their own. Teachers are prepared well prior to teaching, can develop the expertise on their own and teaching can be mastered in a relatively short time. Peer coaching and mentoring to enhance analysis of ap plication, companionship and technical feedback are all features of this teacher training. Also, competence of teachers has to be evaluated annually to enhance continued learning. According to Whitehouse et. al. (2006), "professional development of teachers is to help teachers improve their professional practice so that students learn better" (p.49). Professional Learning and Leadership Standards enhance lifelong learning among the reading professionals, and this equips them with skills such as reading, attending the professional meetings, and pursuing an advanced degree. Also, the professions are able to evaluate the importance of advocacy, professional learning experiences,

Performing Flamenco Dance at a Wedding Assignment

Performing Flamenco Dance at a Wedding - Assignment Example Therefore, this dance is an all-inclusive activity (Pohren 67). It involves numerous dance movements. One of the common ones is a rhythmic expression whereby I exhibit rapid movements of the heels and feet. Moreover, I engage in an activity of slapping both the chest and clapping of hands. I alternate this with steps made with the feet. Flamenco dance also involves lower body movements which begin from the waist downwards. These include hip rolls, juts of the hips, lifting of the legs, which is usually done with the kneels down as well as making circles with the legs (Pohren 88). Notably, I also include numerous movements of the upper body. Some of the common ones include twisting of the arms as well as making circular movements using my arms. The most intriguing movement that I like most in the flamenco performance includes making the spine a spiral. This movement serves to produce a counter line reflected on my back (Scheff, Sprague and McGreevy-Nichols 140). There are also circula r movements whereby I involve my wrists and fingers. In other occasions, dancing extends to fanning using my fingers. On other occasions, I combine different movements to exhibit an expression that involves the entire body. These are enhanced by shrugging shoulders, jumping, hopping, different facial expressions and gestures. In every single performance where I am invited, I combine all these different movements (Ruiz 71). The flamenco dance originated from Spain and is common amongst Spanish dancers. However, flamenco classes are available in different countries. I was intrigued by the dance from an early age a factor that motivated me to register for dancing classes. Although in my initial days in the dancing class, I focused on general dancing, I later specialized in flamenco. In an American society, where the dance is not common, I took a lot of time to monitor the steps.