Question 1
Recent reports suggests that a majority of students in most urban areas in the United States have not been able to fully utilize their time in these schools to achieve better grades. Most reform initiatives have been carried out on these schools to find out a way of ensuring students in these schools are able to achieve quality education as well as reduce the constant problems that have been facing them in the past. The pros and cons of some of these reform measures need to be looked into keenly to determine the best measures to be taken to solve these issues. Some of these reform initiatives include
These are state-funded scholarships that were introduced by the government to enable students from poor background to attend private schools. These private schools have to meet a certain level of standards set up by the education stakeholders to be able to qualify to receive these voucher recipients. There are also certain qualifications that students intending to get these scholarships must have before they are considered. Although many have argued about the benefits of these kind of systems with most people saying that by allowing parents to choose where to send their children will enable them to choose the best performing schools thus leading to the poorly performing schools to improve their performances to be able to be preferred by parents in future. They also argue that the flexibility in private schools creates a better environment to enhance market competition among them and ensuring efficiency in the costs involved.
Those against this system on the other hand argue that by moving students from public to private schools does not necessarily mean a reduction in the cost of paying public school teachers or the amount spent on school facilities but it will lead to a reduction in their funding as more students leave for private schools. Others also view that the positive effects of school competition on student success are exaggerated by the supporters of this system.
Magnet Schools
Many have argued that due to the current challenges facing the education sector in most urban areas requires the use of specially defined missions like magnet schools. The advantage of these magnet schools is that is that they offer better academic opportunities to most school going children in urban centers. Studies on this field have suggested that student achievements in magnet schools are higher than student achievement in public schools. However these studies have not shown the full effects of school choice between public, magnet schools and religious schools as well as private ones. Thus making it difficult to find out whether magnet schools are that advantageous compared to other schools.
Question 2
The city of Detroit has been faced with serious problems over the years ranging from bankruptcy to decline in its growth leading to a slower growth of the city compared to other cities within the United States. Researchers have suggested that for the city of Detroit to take off in a path of prosperity then certain decisions must be made regarding development in the city. Certain changes should be made such as shrinking the urban footprint of the city and coming up with a new design that is smaller and easier to apply on the city. There is needed to make the city desirable for most developers to enable them to identify this city. By applying the use of Porter’s five forces model the city of Detroit can start building a foundation for a growth that will be stable and calculated.
Michael Porter in his model suggests that the setting up of profitable markets will lead to higher profits which will in turn be attractive to most entrepreneurs but by applying a system where new firms are not allowed to enter the market will lead to more profits to the incumbent firms. By limiting the entry of new firms in Detroit the existing firms will be able to rise again and develop further. There is also the threat of substitute products which should be applied in Detroit to ensure that more substitute products are sold. The power of bargain by customers should also be empowered since that will affect the sensitivity of the customers to prices of goods and services and in case of any changes to these prices. Suppliers also should be allowed the liberty to utilize their bargaining power to producers before deciding to supply their products.
