E-commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

E-commerce - Essay Example When utilized properly, it allows companies and organizations to enhance their profitability, move into new markets and also provide the consumers with better services and products. It is due to the advantages of the practice that several enterprises, both small and large, continue to incorporate it into their operations and procedures. By 2005, the e-business revenue exceeded $2 trillion (Laudon & Guercio 2014). This is a strong signal that additional businesses are becoming aware of the opportunities that are available and exploiting them for their own benefits and that of the customers. Some of the brick and motor enterprises which had only physical presence have decided to embrace it to realize the benefits of the innovation (Chaudhury & Kuilboer 2002). It is, however, important to remember that for a brick and motor business to embrace and benefit from e-commerce, it must be ready to counter some of the challenges inherent in the practice. With the right approach, positive outco mes will be realized both in the short term and long term. E-commerce can be defined as a business that is transacted electronically. In most instances, the internet is used (Frieden & Roche 2006). Majority of people take e-commerce to be only about buying commodities over the web. However, it is much more than this. The practice includes purchasing various items from online sellers, online banking services and paying for travel services and accommodation. The basic idea is that there is minimal or no physical contact between the seller and the buyer of the commodity (Graham 2008). This is unlike the brick and motor business model, which requires the buyer to come to the physical location of the commodities and products and buy them or pay for them. Brick and motor businesses rely on traditional selling platforms (Humeau & Jung 2013). This is the same model that Coventry Books has been using. For a customer to transact any business with Coventry

European Union Environmental Business Law Essay Example for Free

European Union Environmental Business Law Essay The Treaty of Rome which established the European Economic Community in 1958, did not originally included any provisions for the safeguard of the environment It was not until 1985 that the Single European Act inserted Title VII containing articles 130r to 130t in the Treaty of Rome that made environmental protection a lawful objective of the Commission and laid down the core principles upon which the environmental policy was based (Poostchi 83). The core principles as stated by Poostchi are â€Å"the principles that preventative action should be taken, that the polluter should pay and that environmental damage should be rectified at source. These legal principles as given by the Single European Act were further refined by The Maastricht Treaty which enhanced the scope of the environmental policy of the European Union. Today the European Union has over 200 directives (legal texts) with environmental policies under the broad classifications of Air, Biotechnology, Chemicals, Civil Protections and Environmental Accidents, Climate Change, Land Use, Noise, Ozone Layer Protection, Soil, Waste and Water as well as issues like public participation in environmental decision making and public access to environmental information. Development and Implementation of Environmental Law The EU has the option of adopting environmental legislation by way of three primary legal instruments: (i) directives, (ii) regulations, and (iii) decisions. Regulations and decisions are binding in their entirety and are directly applicable within Member States; directives, are binding as to the result to be achieved, but leave to the Member States the choice of form and method, which means that member states have the power to enact local legislation based on a directive to further the cause of initiating it in the first place (Goodrich). The branch of law dealing with the environment has the same system of development and enforcement as other laws developed by the commission. The primary responsibility of EU is to develop environmental laws, while the duty of implementation and enforcement rests in the hands of the 25 member states. Herein lays the strength and weakness of the system. The strength lays in the fact that member states have greater power of enforcement than a council of 25 states, but at the same time member states enjoy considerable flexibility in enforcement which often leads to delays or avoidance of implementation, thereby frustrating the purpose of the law itself. The Legislative Process The Commission is responsible for ensuring compliance with environmental laws. By undertaking its own assessments, through complaints by EU parliament and petitions by EU citizens, the commission monitors the degree of compliance. If after review there is evidence of a breach of law, the EU initiates the infringement proceedings against the violating state. There are three categories of breaches 1) Non-communication cases, in which a member state fails to, inform EU about the adoption of national legislation implementing a directive after the deadline for implementation has passed. 2) Non-conformity cases, in which a member state implements a directive incorrectly. 3) Bad-application cases, in which a member state has failing to correctly apply community law in a particular case. The infringement procedure contains several steps which are outlined in Article 226 of the Treaty. The Commission usually upon receiving a case, issues a formal notice to the government, after which it can issue a reasoned opinion. If the member state still refuses to comply the commission refers the case to the European Court of Justice, for a ruling. Non-compliance with a ruling can lead to the imposition of a fine or lump-sump penalty on the member state. In April 2004 environmental liability directive was issued by the EC with the aim of preventing and remedying environmental damage. According to the directive (which is to be adopted by member states over a period of 3 years) Environmental damage can be remedied in several ways depending on the type of damage: For damage affecting the land, the Directive requires that the land concerned be decontaminated until there is no longer any serious risk of negative impact on human health; For damage affecting water or protected species and natural habitats, the Directive is aimed at restoring the environment to how it was before it was damaged. Another development in the environmental law front is the possibility (proposal for a directive) of criminal action against serious negligence and intentional damage. According to a press release by the EC (Brussels, February 2007) the law would apply to both natural and legal persons. The proposal lays down the maximum penalty, and allows member states to impose more stringent measures. The motivation to introduce criminal action is because although EC Environmental law has existed for 30 years, there are still many cases of severe non- observance of Community environmental law. According the Seventh Annual Survey on the implementation and enforcement of Community environmental law 2005 (Commission Staff working paper Brussels, 2006) there has been a significant reduction in the number of open cases at the end of the year 2005 (798 cases) as opposed to 2004 (1220 cases). However the Environment sector, still accounts for one-fourth of all open cases concerning non-compliance with Community Law under investigation by the Commission. EU Environmental Law and International environmental law Over the past 30 years EU had made tremendous impact on environmental law legislation by enforcing very stringent environmental standards across its member nations. Environmental laws are discriminatory by nature, as they favor countries with developed infrastructures, wealthy industries and higher per capita incomes. For EU to expect all its trading partners (irrespective of their national income and stage of development) to comply with its strict Environmental laws, means that it will seek to eliminate any advantage that they might have in terms of lower prices. Environmental laws can serve as a form of non-tariff trade barrier. As in the case if Shrimp-Turtle case (USA banned the import of shrimp from countries which in the process of shrimp trawling accidentally caused the death of sea turtles. These countries were expected to install US made Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), so that the shrimp trawling would become environmentally friendly again) (Schaffer et al. 628). The net effect was to increase the sales of a US industry (the industry making TEDs), and possibly raise the price of imported shrimp products. (Schaffer et al. 623) United States ran into trouble with the WTO on the ban on shrimp products, because it was declared uncompetitive and unfair. Subsequently USA had to redefine its guidelines, so that exporting countries which employed a programme similar to that of the USA for turtle protection were given a certification to export again. Impact on FDI and International Businesses EU’s has emerged as the leading incubator for environmental rules and regulations, and this has major implications for all businesses hoping to work with the European market. This includes businesses within and outside the European Union. This is mainly because of two reasons. Businesses must comply with EU regulations if they wish to continue supply and demand to the region. Secondly like all highest forms of legislation (and constructive action in general) the EU legislation set the benchmark for environmental regulation and there may come a time when they will be followed and implemented across the globe. Recently the Commission enacted 3 new laws, which will have a significant effect on businesses trading in EU. The three regulations are REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Assessment of Chemical Hazards); RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances); and WEEE (the directive on Waste Electronic and Electric Equipment). All three are complex pieces of legislation that will affect a vast range of products, chiefly electronics that are made, sold, used, and disposed of across 25 EU member countries. (Elkington) The first legislation will make mandatory testing of over 30,000 chemical substances for human safety. This will put the fate of several chemical companies in jeopardy. RoHS seeks to ban six substances out of the E. U. economy: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). This will make it nearly impossible to manufacture semiconductors for electronic items. The third legislation (WEEE) will affect manufacturers of products like TVs, refrigerators, or cars. This take-back legislation will force companies to take the responsibility of recycling packaging material of their product and also ensure recycling of discarded products (end of life accountability). This legislation takes root from the concept of recycling all waste material so that some of it can be re-absorbed (re-claimed) in the productive process, instead of going unutilized into landfills. These legislations will have a number of implications for local and foreign countries in Europe. Firstly they will have to invest in take-back and recycling infrastructure. It is generally observed that big companies adopt the law, in fear of retaliation from NGO’s, and because they refused to be driven out of markets because of these de-facto trade barriers. Korean and Japanese countries demonstrated this when they took a lead in adopting the ISO 14000 standards, so that they cannot be discriminated in the European Market. The rate of adoption of companies from these countries was faster than that of EU companies themselves. The possible impact of stringent environmental laws is felt on domestic companies as well. During a period of economic downturn and business slowdown, most businesses are reluctant to enforce environmental legislation. Also the cost of monitoring the legal environment for businesses increases. EU is actively taking notice of breach in compliance with environmental laws and the process of pursuing legislative action at the European court is a time wasting and expensive affair. According to the OECD report on FDI, the 2003 FDI inflows to European countries were 23 per cent lower than in 2002. But according to data available with UNCTAD, for the period 2004-2006 FDI picked up again and the EU countries recorded a growth of 30% . Thus it cannot be determined to a conclusive level whether the changes in FDI have resulted because of the enactment and enforcement of environmental laws. It may be noted that European Union’s proactive behavior in enacting environmental legislation could be because they had a smaller land mass and learned the importance of conservation before other bigger countries like US. Whatever the case maybe, it remains to be seen whether the extensive array of laws will improve the environment to any noticeable degree. Given the number of years it takes for degradation to become noticeable any fruits of improvement will take time to manifest themselves. Till then both foreign and domestic businesses will find themselves facing a host of challenges, ranging from legislative action, forced compliance, rising environmental compliance cost and the like. However it will also open opportunities for businesses to develop eco-friendly products, and maintain a positive image in the minds of consumers.

The Federal Reserve System Essay -- History Banks Financial Federal Re

The Federal Reserve System Even before the creation of the Federal Reserve, banks were used by the public just as we use them today. Deposits were made into savings accounts. Loans were taken out to mortgage a home or finance a new business. Banknotes were issued and spent when the public borrowed from the banks. Borrowers spent these banknotes just as paper money is spent today. These bank notes were valued as money since they were backed by the promise that they would be exchanged on demand for either gold or silver.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There was the occasionally belief on behalf of the public that banks would not be able to, or outright refuse to honor their banknotes. This fear, if held by enough of a community, could lead to a run on the banks. In a single day, demands for exchange of banknotes for gold and silver would be made by a majority of the people if there was doubt concerning the ability of a bank to redeem its notes. This problem would be compounded when this fear spread to other banks. Runs on a single bank would escalate and spread from one bank to another causing financial panic (http://www.dallasfed.org).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another problem prior to the establishment of the Federal Reserve System was the inelasticity of bank credit and the supply of money. Small banks placed their excess reserves in large central reserve banks. Whenever a bank’s depositors wanted their funds, the smaller banks would be covered by the central banks. The system worked well during normal conditions. Some banks would draw down on their reserves as other banks would be building up their reserves. In times of excessive demand, however, the problem became quite serious. When the public wanted large amounts of currency, the demand for funds quickly became powerful and widespread. During these periods of high demand, banks from across the nation called on the central banks to supply the funds (Federal Reserve System 5th ed pp. 10-11).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the time, there were not adequate facilities available to meet the demand for additional funds. Bank’s reserves of money were stored around the nation at 50 locations. The reserves were not able to be shifted quickly to the areas that were experiencing increases in withdraw demand. The immobility of reserves only added another element to the financial panic (Schlesinger pp. 41). The credit situation would become tense. Since the banks coul... ...Governors is also the chairman of the FOMC. Its principal duty as described under law is the supervision of open market operations that principal method of federal monetary policy (Federal Reserve System 8th ed. pp. 12).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Federal Reserve System will always be necessary to maintain economic stability and uphold the value of the dollar. The Fed is able to make the necessary decisions that protect the nation from unexpected threats to the economy. Through times of crises and prosperity the Fed will â€Å"be operating behind the scenes of the banking industry to make sure money is a positive force in American BIBLIOGRAPHY Author Unknown (1994). The Federal Reserve System: Purposes and Functions (5th ed.) Published by Library of Congress Author Unknown (1994). The Federal Reserve System: Purposes and Functions (8th ed.) Retrieved Feb 3, 2005. http://www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pdf/frspf1.pdf Schlesinger, A.M. (1989). The Federal Reserve System. (pp. 41-45, 75). Chelsea House Publishers http://www.dallasfed.org/fed/understand.html http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/pleng/history.html http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1052.html

Blue Sky

TEACHING NOTE Blue Sky Thinking Case Analysis 1. Company Profile First Choice Holidays This session's students should describe the company profile of First Choice Holidays (FCH) – a travel agent which has more than 14. 000 staff, operate in 16 different countries and have ? 2,6 billion turnover in 2005. The students should able to define that FCH is the major player in travel industry and what the business they are in. 2.Problem Formulation This session's students should formulate the problems of FCH that shown by Sales Conversion rate had been static for two years, and also should be able to mention the FCH efforts to solve the problems and why they choose to hire Blue Sky Consulting. The hidden problems of FCH are sales and management staffs on motivation, focus, and believe in themselves and their products. One of the methods could use the fish bone diagram to find the problems. . Problem Solving Methods The problem solving methods are tend to fulfill the objectives of FCH is to increase 10% revenue yoy and to merge brands between ‘First Choice Direct' (Direct) and ‘Eclipse Direct' (Eclipse). The case shows that FCH hire the Blue Sky Consulting, in these section students should place themselves as Blue Sky Consultant and be able to show what Blue Sky do to achieve the FCH objectives.The first steps, Blue Sky create secondary objectives of developing a broad strategy that supported Direct and Eclipse team objectives: o Unifying company culture and brand value o Establishing measurement to ensure the performance improvement was maintained The next steps, Blue Sky conduct a ‘holistic operational diagnostic' on purpose to show the FCH management to evaluate the effectiveness FCH processes, as opposed to just identifying the sales training gaps. Blue Sky conduct ‘current performance evaluation' with activities include: o Meeting with key management personnel o Informal interview with cross-section of advisers and team leaders o Focu s Groups o Listening into and observing assessment of calls o Mystery Shopping o Staff surveys o Reviewing current skill and trainings o Reviewing Business Process o Documentation and initiatives – Create recommendation 4. Design and Action Plan Program This session's students should be able to show the need of developing and communicate the vision for call center and each department. Blue Sky TEACHING NOTE Blue Sky Thinking Case Analysis 1. Company Profile First Choice Holidays This session's students should describe the company profile of First Choice Holidays (FCH) – a travel agent which has more than 14. 000 staff, operate in 16 different countries and have ? 2,6 billion turnover in 2005. The students should able to define that FCH is the major player in travel industry and what the business they are in. 2.Problem Formulation This session's students should formulate the problems of FCH that shown by Sales Conversion rate had been static for two years, and also should be able to mention the FCH efforts to solve the problems and why they choose to hire Blue Sky Consulting. The hidden problems of FCH are sales and management staffs on motivation, focus, and believe in themselves and their products. One of the methods could use the fish bone diagram to find the problems. . Problem Solving Methods The problem solving methods are tend to fulfill the objectives of FCH is to increase 10% revenue yoy and to merge brands between ‘First Choice Direct' (Direct) and ‘Eclipse Direct' (Eclipse). The case shows that FCH hire the Blue Sky Consulting, in these section students should place themselves as Blue Sky Consultant and be able to show what Blue Sky do to achieve the FCH objectives.The first steps, Blue Sky create secondary objectives of developing a broad strategy that supported Direct and Eclipse team objectives: o Unifying company culture and brand value o Establishing measurement to ensure the performance improvement was maintained The next steps, Blue Sky conduct a ‘holistic operational diagnostic' on purpose to show the FCH management to evaluate the effectiveness FCH processes, as opposed to just identifying the sales training gaps. Blue Sky conduct ‘current performance evaluation' with activities include: o Meeting with key management personnel o Informal interview with cross-section of advisers and team leaders o Focu s Groups o Listening into and observing assessment of calls o Mystery Shopping o Staff surveys o Reviewing current skill and trainings o Reviewing Business Process o Documentation and initiatives – Create recommendation 4. Design and Action Plan Program This session's students should be able to show the need of developing and communicate the vision for call center and each department.

Organizational Focus and Goals Essay

Forte is a nonprofit organization in its infancy. The organization is only three years old and has already seen substantial changes to its structure and business strategy. Currently, Forte is mostly unknown. However, this past year the organization took a huge leap in firing its Artistic Director and choreographer and hiring a new Artistic Director and choreographer. Both new additions bring a wealth of knowledge of the performing arts industry that has catapulted Forte to setting their sights higher than the two performances a year. In the past two years the organization was funded primarily through parental donations, which were small and only allowed the organization to perform twice a year. This past year with the addition of the new employees, the organization saw ticket sales increase tremendously and interest from many more students in joining. CURRENT FOCUS AND GOALS Forte is focused on gaining a reputation within the performing arts community. As a young organization located in a small community, it is imperative that the organization remain focused on establishing the company’s reputation. The goals of Forte are now to be able to increase the student membership, increase the amount of performances per year, and to increase funding to make the other two goals possible. TRAINING NEEDS Forte is a very young organization with a board of directors that are in desperate need of training. The knowledge that is lacking within this board of directors is staggering. â€Å"Training refers to a planned effort by the company to facilitate employees’ learning of job-related competencies† (Noe, 2008, p. 4). The board handles all the business end of the organization with little knowledge of what is available to them. Training in two areas is suggested. Those two areas are educating the board on best practices in producing a production and in communication standards and ethics. As no current board member is educated in the performing arts, they are hemorrhaging money on expenses that are not needed. Training in where to buy and rent production equipment is an area with huge opportunity to cut costs and improve the quality. By improving the quality of production equipment and cutting costs, the organization will have more money to spend in other areas such as set design and costumes as well as space rentals for performances. By educating the board on proper communication standards schedules can be met and instruction from the artistic director and choreographer will improve. As it stands now, far too much rehearsal time is spent with the board asking questions and interrupting rehearsals. By training in effective communication between the employees and board, the time taken away from instruction will increase, increasing the talent of the organization. EFFECTS THE FOCUS AND GOALS HAVE ON PRIORITIZING THE TYPE AND AMOUNT OF TRAINING Forte’s focus and goals affect the type of training and amount of training  needed. Because Forte desires to gain a wider reputation and increase available performances, the training needs to be comprehensive and happen quickly. Both the new Artistic Director and choreographer have taken several board members into a sort of internship for this year. This on the job training will accomplish in a short amount of time the massive training needed. PRIORITIZING TRAINING NEEDS Forte will prioritize those areas that will direct the finances of the winter season first. Gaining a handle on the hemorrhaging funds is a top priority in order to allow those funds to be put to better use. In order to progress to the goals of the organization, it is suggested the training prioritize the financial aspects of training first. As it stands now, this is the largest area of opportunity for training and the largest area of opportunity for growth. CONCLUSION Training develops the skills needed to perform job-related tasks efficiently and effectively which directly affects the organization. (Noe, 2008) Training also creates a positive work environment. Creating a positive work environment attracts talented employees and customers. Forte seeks to attract more talented performers. In order to this, training in how to produce a performing arts production properly needs to happen, or the talent will not join. Reference Noe, R. A. (2008). _Employee Training and Development_ (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin..

Political, Social, And Economic Issues Essays - Social Issue

Political, Social, And Economic Issues Essays - Social Issue political, social, and economic issues I see myself as a quite liberal person on political, social, and economic issues. I believe the public has some duties to the government such as pay taxes. In turn, the government should fund programs to help the people who need assistance. Unfortunately, much of the American public has lost its trust in the federal government because of corruption and special interest groups. However, now we are solving many of these problems, and hopefully America will again trust Washington. Once the public puts its trust with its government without criticizing each step of the way, we will see improvements in areas such as education and health care. Through federal mandates, each person will be given the opportunity to receive quality education and health coverage. Political Issues I believe the federal government has an obligation to protect the rights of its people. America is a melting pot of various cultures from all different parts of the globe. These people all have different backgrounds, family environments, and experiences that affect their views on politics. Because of the diversity of its people, America accordingly has a diversity of political views. It is the duty of the federal government to protect the rights of each of these people whether they are black, white, Asian, conservative, liberal, socialist, or libertarian. The only time the federal government should violate someone's rights is when it negatively affects the well being of others. Social Issues The federal government has a duty to ensure each person the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of life. Unfortunately, the federal government has left some issues to be addressed by the states and private industry. One of the biggest issues is education. Many children are forced to attend schools that have less than adequate facilities. Most of these schools are in the inner-city neighborhoods. Their suburban counterparts have much more funding and as a result, better facilities. This has caused a gap in test scores between inner-city schools and suburban schools. If the federal government stepped in and provided equal funding to all schools, this problem would be solved. Also, the federal government has stayed out of health care and left it to industry. Millions of Americans cannot afford health care, and as a result, do not receive the treatment they require. The federal government should step in and supply health care on a federal level to all modeling the Canadian system. This would reduce costs of health care and give everyone the assistance they need. There also is too much discrimination against minorities such as blacks, homosexuals, and women. The federal government needs to help ensure that each person is given a chance to lead a life comparable to that of a member of the majority. Each has the right to live a decent life, and no one can take that away. Economic Issues Currently too much of the money is in the hands of the elites who control industries. Too many workers receive too little pay to afford the services they need to raise families in today's world. Big business today controls the wages and forces the workers to work its terms. The federal government should step in to ensure wages at decent levels and jobs to all people. Society should help each individual get onto his or her feet. Then each individual can return the favor and help society.

How Teachers Should Rethink the Summer Work Packet

How Teachers Should Rethink the Summer Work Packet Simply stated: Summer vacation has a negative impact on academic performance. In the book  Influences And Effect Sizes Related To Student Achievement  (updated 2016) by John Hattie and Greg Yates,  39 studies  were used  to rank the effect of summer vacation on student achievement. The findings using this data  are posted on the  Visible Learning  website. They noted that  summer vacation has one of the greatest negative effects (  -.02 effect) on student learning. To combat this negative impact, many teachers in middle and high schools are encouraged to create discipline-specific summer assignment packets. These packets are an attempt to equalize academic practice for all students during summer  vacation. The summer assignment packets that teachers distribute at the end of a school year are designed for students to practice  a few hours every week  throughout the summer. What happens in reality, however, is that completing the summer packet often turns into a  contentious activity. Students may wait until the last possible moment to do schoolwork or lose the packet entirely. Additionally, depending on the grade level, subject, or teacher, summer work packets vary in quality, length, and intensity. Examples of high school summer assignments on the Internet vary from two pages of geometry that can be completed online to  22 pages of geometry problems that must be downloaded to complete. Multiple Advanced Placement courses, such as AP English Literature, show the disparity in summer assignments with some schools offering a choice (Read three novels from this list) to a required five novels matched with pages and pages of worksheets. There is no standardized summer assignment packet for middle and high schools. Who Complains About Summer Assignment Packets? Complaints against the assigned summer work packets come from each of the stakeholders: parents, teachers, and students. Their complaints are understandable. Parents may  argue for freedom from summer assignment packets suggesting that â€Å"My child needs a break,† or  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Why must we do this to students every summer?† or This is more work for me than for my child! Teachers are not happy to begin the school year with a pile of summer assignment papers to grade. Despite their best intentions in creating the packets, they do not want to start the year collecting or chasing students for summer assignment work.   Harris Cooper,  chairman of the department of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, addressed these  concerns in his brief essay Forgotten on Vacation. His response was featured in  an editorial debate in the New York Times titled  The Crush of Summer Homework  in which several prominent educators were asked their opinions on summer assignments. Cooper was one who chose to respond as to how parents can meet the demands of the summer assignment packet: Parents, if the assignments are clear and reasonable, support the teachers. When your child says I’m bored (what parent hasn’t heard this on a rainy summer day?) suggest they work on an assignment. He also responded to the concerns of teachers: My advice? Teachers, you need to be careful about what and how much summer homework you assign. Summer homework shouldn’t be expected to overcome a student’s learning deficits; that’s what summer school is for. However, in another response, What Low Achievers Need,  Tyrone Howard, associate professor at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, suggested that summer assignment packets do not work. He offered an alternative to the summer assignment packet:   A better approach than homework is to have more intensive, small learning community-type summer school programs that last four to six weeks. Many educators who contributed to the NY Times debate   The Crush of Summer Homework  viewed summer assignments as  a measure of accountability or student responsibility rather than an academic practice. They argued that many of the students who do not complete homework assignments as academic practice during the school year are unlikely to complete summer assignments. Missing or incomplete work is reflected in student grades, and missing or incomplete summer assignments can damage a students grade point average (GPA). For example, some of the summer work assignments posted for high school students on the Internet include warnings, such as: Certain mathematical practice packets may take more than one day to complete. Dont wait until the last minute!The teacher will personally consult with the student and/or parent if  the student does not hand in the summer work packet on the first day of class.This work will be 3% of your first quarter grade. 10 points will be deducted for each day it is late. Seeing the impact on a students GPA for incomplete or missing summer work, many educators argue, If teachers cannot get students to turn in homework during the school year, especially when they see them every day, what is the chance that these summer work assignments will be completed? Student Complaints But  students are the  most vocal group arguing against the summer assignment packet.    The question  Should students be given summer homework?  was featured on  Ã‚  Debate.org.   18% Students say Yes to summer assignments82% Students say No  to summer assignments Comments from the debate arguing against summer assignments included: Summer homework takes around 3 days and it feels like the whole summer  (7th grade student).Mostly summer homework is just a review so you dont really learn anything. Im going into 8th grade and Im not learning anything its all a review for me.If a student really wants to learn, they will do extra work, without it being assigned.The homework should just be suggestions, to stop students from stressing out over work that probably wont even be checked. In contrast, there were some students who saw value in summer assignments, but most of these comments reflected the attitudes of students who already expected additional work from their advanced level classes. I, for example, am going to be enrolling in an Advanced Literature course next year and have been assigned two books to read this summer, an essay to write... this pushes me to find out more information about the subject matter that will be in the course. While students who take the advanced level (Advanced Placement, honors,  International Baccalaureate, or college credit courses) like the one above fully expect to engage in an academic practice, there are other students who do not see the importance keeping their academic skills sharp.  While a summer packet is designed to help all students, regardless of ability, the  student who may not complete the work may be the very student who most needs the practice. No Buy-in from Students In an interview posted on Great Schools,  Denise Pope, senior lecturer at the Stanford University School of Education and co-founder of  Challenge Success, a research, and student-intervention project, agrees that the months off for summer vacation is too long a time for students to not do anything, but she expressed concern stating  I’m not sure this idea of giving workbooks and pages and pages of handouts works.†Ã‚  Her reason for why summer assignments may not work?  No student buy-in: â€Å"In order for any learning to be retained, there has to be engagement on the part of the students.† She explained that students must be intrinsically motivated to complete the systematic practice that is designed for the summer assignments. Without student motivation, an adult must monitor the work, which according to Pope, puts a burden more on the parents.† What Does Work? Reading! One of the best research-based recommendations for summer assignments is to assign reading. Rather than spending the time to create and then grade a summer assignment packet that may or may not be done at all, educators should be encouraged to assign reading. This reading can be discipline specific, but by far, the best way to have students maintain academic skills during the summer-at every grade level- is to encourage their motivation to read. Offering students choice  in reading can improve their motivation and participation. In a meta-analysis titled  Reading Takes You Places: A Study of a Web-based Summer Reading Program,  Ya-Ling Lu, and Carol Gordon recorded ways that student choice in reading increased engagement which led to improved academic achievement. In the study the traditionally required reading lists of classics were replaced with   recommendations based on several of the following  research-based guidelines: 1. People who say they read more read better (Krashen 2004), therefore the primary purpose of the [summer] program is to encourage students to read more.2. In order to encourage students to read more, the primary purpose of summer reading is reading for fun rather than for academic purposes.3. Student choice is an important element in reading engagement (Schraw et al. 1998) including the choice to pursue personal reading interests.4. Materials and materials access can be Web-based (Note:  92% of teens report going online daily - including 24% who say they go online â€Å"almost constantly,† Pew  Research Center) The results showed an increase in student motivation and engagement, leading to improved academic performance. Summer Packets vs. Reading Despite the research  that proves motivation and systemic practice must be in place for summer assignment packets to help the student,  many teachers, particularly at the middle and high school levels, will still assign summer work packets. Their time and effort, however, may be better spent assigning reading in their content area, and where possible, offering student choice in reading. While summer vacation allows students to have time to play and to relax, why  not encourage students to practice over the summer the kind of academic practice that reinforces a life-long critical skill, the skill of reading? Additional Research on Summer Reading: Allington, Richard.  Summer Reading: Closing the Rich/Poor Reading Achievement Gap.  NY:  Teachers College Press, 2012. Fairchild, Ron. Summer: A Season When Learning is Essential. Afterschool Alliance. Center for Summer Learning. 2008. Web. afterschoolalliance.org/issue_briefs/issue_summer_33.pdf Kim, Jimmy. â€Å"Summer Reading and the Ethnic Achievement Gap.† Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR). 2004. Web. ala.org/research/librariesmatter/node/161 Krashen, Stephen. Free Reading. Pasco School District. School Library Journal. 2006. Web. psd1.org/cms/lib4/WA01001055/centricity/domain/34/admin/free reading (2).pdf National Summer Learning Association. n.d.  summerlearning.org/about-nsla/ Report of the National Reading Panel: Findings and Determinations of the National Reading Panel by Topic Areas.† National Institute of Health. 2006. Web. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/Pages/findings.aspx