Reflection on the Secluded Paradise in the Community Park Essay

Reflection on the Secluded Paradise in the Community Park - Essay Example In the first step, I had to garner enough information on the accessibility of the secluded paradise. Gathering this information was vital in ensuring I amassed enough information on travelling to the place. I had to search for this information since I figured a reconnaissance study would be appropriate. Therefore, finding a better route to the place would be plausible. Secondly, I searched for information about the place (Kamyab 23). I indulged the use of both primary and secondary data collection techniques. As I received loads of data, I had to sieve the data to attain the vital points. With such a drill, I was able to gather enough information. Instantaneously after amassing data from the primary and secondary sources, I had to embark on the reconnaissance study. This study gave me enough preparation for the actual visit to the place. After a couple of days, I made the official visit to the place to gather more data. I had to indulge many people in the quest for data as I was practically looking for quality data. I also had to compare the pricing and quality of services with other businesses offering the same services (Kamyab, 66). I discovered there was a minute difference in the pricing, as other businesses preferred the same pricing. After collecting information, I set on to write the essay. Since I had all the information, I faced lesser challenges. I had to encompass all the vital information in the essay, giving a stronger outlook. Though the essay had all the vital information, I had to revise several parts. For instance, I had to specify some of the prices in the park. The community park charges from $ 595 to $ 605, prior to a deposit of $ 303. With such a pricing technique, there is a reduction in cancelations.

Benefits of Electric Vehicles Essay Example for Free

Benefits of Electric Vehicles Essay 1: Problem Statement The market for plug in vehicles is growing more competitive since variety of manufacturers are increasingly offering plug in hybrid and battery electrical vehicle. However, the initially adopted two key drivers, lower operating cost and zero emission driving, are not proving to be as effective as expected. The market for Electrical Vehicle is still struggling to expand towards more mass-market. The purpose of this research is to acquire knowledge and get a better understanding of the cost- benefit of plug in electrical vehicles as well as its’ impact on environmental and financial policies. Questions!! What are the cost and benefits of Electric Vehicles? What is the environmental impact of electric vehicles? How can environmental and financial policies influence on consumer support? 2: Popular sources [IF USED—THESE DON’T COUNT TOWARD THE FIVE SOURCE REQUIREMENT] Write a brief summary of the key information found from your bridge sources and popular source phase of the research. Source cited Give the key points and issue that have broadened you understanding into the problem you are researching 1. Green vehicle. http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Electric_vehicle An electric vehicle is any motor vehicle that uses one or more electric motors or traction motors as a driving force. There are three main types of electric vehicle exist, those that are directly powered from an external power station, those that are powered by stored electricity originally from an external power source, and those that are powered by an on-board electrical generator, such as an internal combustion engine (a hybrid electric vehicle) or a hydrogen fuel cell. These vehicles are environment friendly as they release almost no air pollutants at the place where they are operated. They also have less noise pollution than an internal combustion engine vehicle. EV gives the greater degree of energy resilience as electricity is a form of energy that remains within the region where it produced. 2. Green Cars and Todays Economy. http://www. consumerenergyreport. com/green-cars-and-todays-economy/ According to this article, plug-in hybrid electrical help the economy and personal expenses can determine which green car to buy. The article specifies the pros and cons of having an electric vehicle. Among the advantages are low insurance cost, low gas cost, job creation and better air quality. The disadvantages include maintenance, initial cost and battery life. 3. Negative Environmental Impacts of Hybrid Vehicles. http://greenliving. lovetoknow. com/Hybrid_Vehicles_Negative_Environmental_Impact This article describes the negative environmental impact Hybrid vehicles. It defines different kinds of hybrids. It questions the source of electrical power for hybrids. According to the article hybrid cars are not emission free. The batteries contain nickel in them and are considered toxic. Two other negative aspects that are covered include the negative impact of high voltage wiring and the initial cost associated with the green Car. 3: Scholarly sources List of sources broken down by discipline: Source cited Research process Qualitative/quantitative Framing or norm/post/critical Key insights/theories/points How does this understanding conflict with any other insight/theory or concur 1. Ecology a) R. Socolow, V. Thomas (2000). The Industrial Ecology of lead and electrical vehicle. Journal of Industrial Ecology. Volume 1, issue 1, Pages 13-36, January 2000 b) Title, author? Journal of Environmental Planning Management; Jan 2009, Vol. 52 Issue 1, P79-96. According to this paper, a common risk analysis of electric vehicles is misguided, because it treats lead batteries and lead additives in gasoline on the same footing and implies that the lead battery should be abandoned. The authors stated that â€Å"The use of lead additives in gasoline is a dissipative use where emissions cannot be confined: The goal of management should be and has been to phase out this use. The use of lead in batteries is a recyclable use, because the lead remains confined during cycles of discharge and recharge. † Clean recycling of the lead batteries should be the goal.. A management system closely approaching clean recycling should be achievable. The lead battery has the potential to become a hazardous product managed in the world. The tools of industrial ecology are helpful in identifying the key criteria that an ideal lead-battery recycling system must meet maximal recovery of batteries after use, minimal export of used batteries to countries where environmental controls are weak, minimal impact on the health of communities near lead-processing facilities, and maximal worker protection from lead exposure in these facilities. This research paper explores quantitatively Californians interest in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) based on a statewide phone survey conducted in July 2004 by the Public Policy Institute of California. The paper develops factors that summarize beliefs about energy and the environment using principal component analysis. This study result concludes that the Californians concerned about the environment, energy efficiency, global warming and recent increases in the price of gasoline state a higher interest in hybrids. Another important reason for considering hybrid electric vehicles, however, is the possibility of using high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes while driving alone, especially for people with potentially long commutes to work. The findings also suggest that beliefs about energy and the environment should be included in vehicle type choice models. First article is emphasizing on the negative impact that electric vehicle has on the environment whereas the latter one highlights on the eco-friendliness and the popularity of the EVs. Source cited Research process Qualitative/quantitative Framing or norm/post/critical Key insights/theories/points How does this understanding conflict with any other insight/theory or concur 2. Technology. c) Systems for hybrid cars. Otmar Bitsche et. al. Journal of power sources 127 (2004) 8-15. d) The state of the art of electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles. C. C. Chan. Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol 95, No 4, April 2007. The Otmar article gives us a detailed understanding of what plug-in hybrid electrical are and how their drive trains offer a wide range of benefits such as multifaceted performance improvements, reduced emissions and reduced fuel consumption compared to the internal combustion engine. It demonstrates how important the battery is in different hybrid cars for the right specific automotive application. It describes the cost and safety aspects in terms of battery type and performance of such vehicles. Competition alongside with legislation is pushing hybrid technology towards the future. The paper describes different types of hybrid vehicles and their advantages. It should therefore be considered to have a positive perspective to the reader. However one weakness to the article is that is is relatively technical and may not be appeasing to the general reader in order to understand hybrid cars in a nutshell. Also, the kind of hybrid that would be considered the best in terms of performance is not mentioned. The most significant aspect of the article is it describes all the different modes of hybrid operation and how regenerative braking affects the performance of the battery hence the author develops an important concept. The author approaches the subject matter through a unique method in which he describes stop-start hybrids followed by mild hybrids and full hybrids before focusing on purely electrical cars. The author argues while safety comes first, it is the cost that determines the most important factor to buying a hybrid. In contrast, the Chan paper describes the different state of the art hybrid vehicles in particular. These include Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, Ford Escape, Saturn vue, ISE transient buses and Honda FCX. Chan describes a detailed history of Evs, HEVs and FCVs which the Otmar paper tends to lack. The article describes the differences among Electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles and points out the advantages and disadvantages of each. The paper describes how a better understanding of control theory is essential for the future development of these vehicles. This article is useful in order to choose the right green car for ones individual needs. It describes the hybrid system car by car and is therefore very useful for understanding what is available in the auto market and what to expect from each individual model. The paper is more geared towards the general reader and offers a positive perspective. The most significant aspect of the article is that it is focused on individual car model. It is also in agreement with other sources on hybrid vehicles. The author makes a informative comparison in the form of a table where he compare and contrasts battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles in terms of propulsion, energy system, energy source and infrastructure, characteristics and major issues. These factors may arise to a debate on which type of green car is superior in overall performance. Source cited Research process Qualitative/quantitative Framing or norm/post/critical Key insights/theories/points. How does this understanding conflict with any other insight/theory or concur Economics. e) Fredrik Carlsson (2003) Costs and Benefits of electric Vehicles. A 2010 perspective. . Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, volume 37, part 1, January 2003, pp. 1-28. f) Consumer support for environmental policies: An application to purchases of plug-in hybrid electrical vehicle. Alex Coad et. al. Ecological Economics 68 (2009), 2078-2086. The Fredrick paper describes a social cost-benefit analysis with respect to the increase in electric vehicle number within the Swedish transport sector by the year 2010. According to the paper electric cars are socially unprofitable in spite of having a lower life cycle cost compared to their gasoline counterparts. This is due to government subsidies on electric cars which outweigh the benefits related to low fuel consumption. Despite the environmental advantages, electric vehicles are not very common and different means of financially supporting them is often subject to debate. The paper uses a cost benefit model to determine consumer welfare or utility and can be looked upon as having a normative perspective. The weakness of the paper is that it assumes too many assumptions which is not always realistic. It is a technical paper and therefore the mathematical section is not suitable for the general public. The most significant aspect of this research is to answer the question as to whether governments should subsidize electric vehicles and the conclusion is negative. In his conclusion the author states that due to too many uncertainties the case for public subsidies becomes uncertain. In contrast, the Alex paper describes how consumer motivation can be used to encourage the adoption of cleaner technologies. According to the author intrinsic motivation such as energy labels for cars and extrinsic motivation such as subsidies or fines can be used to encourage the adoption of cleaner technologies. The paper analyzes a survey data set of Swiss households. The results of this survey are of particular interest to policy makers who are keen on guiding consumers towards cleaner technology. This paper gives us a better understanding of intrinsic motivation which is the kind of motivation that comes from within ourselves and not from an outside source that rewards money or grades. Extrinsic motivation is guided by some type of external subject or reward. The paper analyzes to what extent consumers are willing to support public policies in order to promote energy efficient cars. The nature of the article is of normative perspective. The weakness of the article is that the survey was conducted on 1500 Swiss households. Nothing about the age or nature of these households are mentioned in the serve. The most significant aspect of the paper is that it gives one a better understanding of different motivation to get a job done. Although both these papers discuss about the economic perspective of plug-in hybrid electrical, they do so in very different way. While the former article is a cost benefit description of electric vehicles by utilizing an economic model, the latter can be considered as an article that describes the motivation that drives consumer support towards the purchase of a green car. 4: Disciplinary Overlapping: In all sources except for the Cost and benefits article it is mentioned that plug-in hybrid electrical are more cost effective than their gasoline counterpart. However, Fredrik Carlsson in his article mentions that electrical vehicles are socially unprofitable in spite of having a lower private life cycle cost and external cost compared to petrol cars. All six articles do however agree that plug-in hybrid electrical are more fuel efficient and environmentally friendlier than gasoline cars. give us a better understanding on what plug-in hybrid electrical are like and how they have evolved with time. mentions the different systems in hybrid vehicles while describes specific models helping us to choose which green car to buy. The cost benefits of buying a green car is discussed in, however, the source is based on many assumptions and the paper itself is very technical. focuses on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation that leads to support of environmental policies. The articles in general give us a better understanding of the problem statement. However one aspect that was overlooked by all the sources involves the environmental effect of different kind of battery systems, their waste and disposal. Category /Element Criteria Range: (Na)(No)(A)(M) Purposefulness (20) identifies a clear research problem and explains it; Readings chosen are relevant to the problem as defined (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 15 Grounding (40) identifies and adequately summarizes the constituent elements of each source: insights, theories or concepts, methodologies, sources of evidence; connects each source to a part of the problem that it helps illuminate (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 0 The selection of sources gives appropriate â€Å"coverage† of the problem (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 17 Critical Awareness (20). Student recognizes and explains how the different elements of each source affect the findings—methods, theories, concepts, assumptions; Student identifies meaningful conflicts or commonalities among different sources (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 17 Integration (20) Student makes intelligent comparisons between insights, theories, methods or data across disciplinary lines to support an improved understanding or cognitive advancement; explains how different ideas could be applied to an improved understanding (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 16 Total: 65.

Working Essay -- essays research papers

Work And The Indivdual   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Simply put, work is a major contributor in shaping an individual's life. Our lives revolve around the work we do and the rewards that we get from our work. Work provides the individual not only income to live by, but also identity, value, social belief, social relation and respect. The type of work we choose to do determines our status in society and measures our level of success in life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this society, being without a job is almost like being invisible. Every one has to be involved in some type of work whether it is for self or for someone else. We do work to survive. The only means we have to get what we need is money. And money is earned, not given. Money is most commonly earned through work, which makes work the center of our life. This being said, it would be easy to assume that studying and analyzing the history of work can lead to understanding ourselves as society and as individuals. For example, two hundred years ago, most people did not go to work; instead they worked at home on the farm. In the 1800s about 90 percent of Americans were farmers. People did not use clocks. They worked with the sun and seasons. People made a living by growing their own and trading. They did not rely on wages. As industrialization hit America, within a century most farmers came into cities and became part of the industrial wage system. As a result, they had to adapt to changes that affected their liv...

Operations Management

The process type McDonald's uses is batch process because there are moderate volume and moderate variety in their products and services. McDonald's products are semi-standardized as they are stocked pre cooked. When a customer makes an order, the product is then prepared. This shows high flexibility, for example, a customer orders a special order of McCracken without lettuce, the order will be processed within minutes. There is also high volume of production as McDonald's serves thousands of customers dally. Inning a batch process means that the speed of delivery Is dependent upon the speed and experience of the Individual worker. This process supports the business of McDonald's as they will be able to process the different types orders to cater to the different needs of customers, In the shortest time possible. To achieve that, moderate skill level of workers is required. The advantages of batch process are that it allows workers to specialist in specific lobscouse and use the speci alist equipment, different batches of different production an be made.On the other hand, there are also disadvantages of batch process. Firstly, specialization means that the workers are doing repetitive jobs, which can result to boredom. Secondly, the machinery needs to be reset and cleaned in between batches. This can be time consuming which in turns slows down the production. Also, when the hamburgers are produced by batches, they would keep them for as long as possible and eventually discard them if they were not sold. This will increase the cost for McDonald's. Operations Management OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: as a competitive weapon mks [email  protected] ac. in http://mks507. vistapanel. net Prof. (Dr. ) Manoj K Srivastava Operations Management Area 1. The Systems Approach C O N T E N T S 2. 3. OM Definition Ten Critical Decisions 4. 5. The Cases 4V Typology of Operations 6. 7. Productivity Competitiveness 8. 9. Manufacturing Vs. Service? The History 10. The Future 1 Systems Approach Systems Approach Reduce waste†¦or enhance output†¦ 2 OM Definition What is Operations Management? What is Operations? a function or system that transforms inputs into outputs of greater valueOperations management (OM) is the set of activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs TYPES OF TRANSFORMATIONS †¢ †¢ Physical: Locational: as in manufacturing operations as in transportation operations What is a Transformation Process? a series of activities along a value chain extending from supplier to customer. activiti es that do not add value are superfluous and should be eliminated †¢ †¢ Exchange: Physiological: as in retail operations as in health care What is Operations Management? esign, operation, and improvement of productive systems †¢ †¢ Psychological: Informational: as in entertainment as in communication Value Engineering / Value Analysis ? Use ? Esteem ? Time ? Place 3 What Operations Managers do? ? Service, product design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Quality management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Process, capacity design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Location †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Ten Critical Decisions ? Layout design †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Human resources, job design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Supply-chain management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Inventory management †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ? Scheduling †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Maintenance †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 The Cases Britannica StoryInvite your enemy onto the roof, then remove the ladder Sun tzu The Art of War 36 Stratagems 1988 1988-93 Britannica (Leader, 230 years experience, 1768), $1000 Microsoft encyclopedia from funk & Wagnall’s encyclopedia Searchability, Multimedia, Graphics, Timeline (20 feet), cross-links, updating 1993 1995 Price $300 (cost of CD:$1) (in-fact you can purchase encarta encyclopedia + a PC in Britannica price) Britannica has to jump in a business which was not its strength, Price still $1000 1997 Reduced to $125, later on free online, crashed twice Innovation in Operations McDonald’s Corp Olympic Flame ? ? ? Facing Increased Competition Smarter and More Demanding Customers Less Brand Loyal Switched to hamburger bun that does not require toasting. ? Customers prefer taste of new bun ? Saves time an d money, QSVC Model ? ? ? ? 10,000 runners 15,000 miles through 42 states in 84 days Two years of planning Must plan for no-show runners and rush hour traffic ? Cost of this operation in the neighbourhood of $20 million Innovation in Operations Ginger Hotel BillDesk No-frills, June 2004 No room service, travel desk, swimming pool Wi-fi, Two type of room: Rs. 999 and Rs. 1199, Prabhat Pani, CEO, Roots CorporationBillDesk, a property of IndiaIdeas. com Ltd. , 2000 Three Arthur Anderson Executives Third-party bill collection 25 Banks, 100 companies Just apply today. It only takes a few minutes. Once you're approved, you get your very own Zipcard. Reserve one of our cars – for a couple hours or the entire Day. Do it online or use a phone. We're easy. Walk to the car, then just hold your Zipcard to the windshield. The doors will unlock, and it's all yours! Drive away†¦ and return to the same reserved parking spot at the end of your reservation. It's that simple. And remember, gas and insurance are included too. 5Operations typology: 4V Approach Differences within sectors are often greater than the differences between sectors Financial services An account management centre at a large retail bank Financial analyst advising a client at an investment bank Furniture manufacturing Mass production of kitchen units Craft production of reproduction ‘antique’ furniture Hotels Value-for-money hotel Lobby of an international luxury hotel A Typology of Operations: 4 V’s Low Volume High High how many products or services are made by the operation? how many different types of products or services are made by the operation?High Variety Low High Variation in demand Low how much does the level of demand change over time? how much of the operation’s internal working are ‘exposed’ to its customers? High Visibility Low Implications Low repetition Each staff member performs more of job Less systemization High unit costs Flexible Comple x Match customer needs High unit costs Changing capacity Anticipation Flexibility In touch with demand High unit costs Short waiting tolerance Satisfaction governed by customer perception Customer contact skills needed Received variety is high High unit costs A Typology of Operations ImplicationsHigh repeatability Specialization Capital intensive Low unit costs Well defined Routine Standardized Regular Low unit costs Stable Routine Predictable High utilization Low unit costs Time lag between production and consumption Standardization Low contact skills High staff utilization Centralization Low unit costs Low Volume High High High Variety Low High Variation in demand Low High Visibility Low 6 Productivity Effectiveness Efficiency Productivity Types of Productivity Single Factor Productivity Output Labor Output Materials Output is of quality nature Output Capital Multifactor ProductivityOutput Labor + Materials + Overheads Output Labor + Energy + Capital Total Factor Productivity Good s and Services Produced All inputs used to produce them America West’s Reverse Pyramid system This is in contrast to the approach used by many airlines of just boarding all seats starting from the back of the plane and working forward. 7 Competitiveness Competitiveness The degree to which a nation can produce goods and services that meet the test of international markets while simultaneously maintaining or expanding the real incomes of its citizens. A firm is competitive if it can produce products [†¦ of superior quality or lower costs than its domestic and international competitors. (US-President`s Commission on Industrial Competitiveness 1985, S. 6) Global Competitiveness Ranking 1. Switzerland 2. Sweden 3. Singapore 4. United States 5. Germany 6. Japan 7. Finland 8. Netherlands 9. Denmark India 51 10. Canada China 27 Competition Within Industries Increases When ? Firms are relatively equal in size and resources ? Products and services are standardized ? Industry growt h is slow or exponential Barriers to Entry ? ? Economies of scale Learning curves Capital investment Access to supply and distribution channels 8 Manufacturing vs. services Degree of Servitization Manufacturing and Service Employment Manufacturing Employment and Production Services as % of GDP Tangibility Spectrum Economic Offerings can determine prior to purchasing can only be discerned after purchase or during consumption or use customer must believe in, but cannot personally evaluate even after purchase & consumption Differences Between Goods and Services Intangibility Heterogeneity Simultaneous Perishability Production & Consumption 9 History of OM Five Eras of Operations Management Journey of Operations Management Adam Smith uge increases in productivity obtainable from technology or technological progress are possible match human and physical capital, Division of labor Eli Whitney †¢ †¢ In 1798, received government contract to make 10,000 muskets Showed that machine tools could make standardized parts to exact specifications – Musket parts could be used in any musket Significant events in operations management ? ? ? ? Division of labor Standardized parts Scientific management Coordinated assembly line (Smith (Whitney (Taylor (Ford 1776) 1800) 1881) 1913) ? ? ? Gantt charts Motion study Quality control (Gantt (Gilbreths (Shewhart 1916) 1922) 1924) 10Where are we going? Exciting New Challenges in Operations Management Changing Challenges Past Local or national focus Batch (large) shipments Causes Low-cost, reliable worldwide communication and transportation networks Cost of capital puts pressure on reducing investment in inventory Global Focus Future Just-in-time shipments Low-bid purchasing Quality emphasis requires that suppliers be engaged in product improvement Shorter life cycles, rapid international communication, computer-aided design, and international collaboration Affluence and worldwide markets; increasingly flexible production processes Changing sociocultural milieu.Increasingly a knowledge and information society. Environmental issues, ISO 14000, increasing disposal costs Supply-chain partners Rapid product development, alliances, collaborative designs Mass customization Empowered employees, teams, and lean production Environmentally sensitive production, Green manufacturing, recycled materials, remanufacturing Lengthy product development Standardized products Job specialization Low cost focus Operations Management QUESTION 1 Operations management must be managed properly in order to improve an organization’s productivity and profitability. In the Cadbury World case, several micro and macro processes are involved and those processes bring some impacts to Cadbury World. Thus, Cadbury World must possess a sustainable micro and macro processes to achieve the best outcome and performance. Micro processes that involved are easily to manage compared to macro processes because macro processes are hard to manage or manipulate (Jae, Shim, Joel & Siegel, 1999).As a result, Cadbury World must put more efforts in solving the obstacles and troubles that occurred within the macro processes. First of foremost, we will be discussing the micro processes that involved in Cadbury World case. Within the micro processes, they can make some planning on their operation and strategic management processes to enhance their business and profitability. Micro Processes| Explanation and elaboration| Company| * Cadbur y has set up a team to improve their operation management. * More tickets collectors have been assigned in the exhibition centre to manage and help visitors when they need assistance. Cadbury is always open for criticism, feedbacks and recommendation to improve their operation management. | Customers | * Cadbury always attempting to fulfill all the requirements and needs from their customers and ensure their customers will have a wonderful trip in their exhibition centre. * This is because customers will affect their reputation and brand name if they are not satisfying with the services and products that provided (Galloway, 1998). * Other than that, Cadbury has launched some new products and add more elements into their exhibition programme to attract more visitors and customers. Competitors| * Cadbury World has implemented SWOT analysis to identify their strengths and weaknesses and also the opportunities and threats from their outside environment. So that, they are able to gain th e competitive advantage among their competitors. | Intermediaries| * Cadbury requires several marketing intermediaries in promoting their activities and products. * As such, they have selected some marketing intermediaries to promote this Cadbury World exhibition event and help them to gain the profits. | Suppliers| * It is crucial to select the best suppliers to enhance the production of Cadbury.Due to this, Cadbury has implemented some analysis and works when choosing their suppliers because they always ensure their products have the high quality that can fulfill every customer’s requirements. | Table 1: Micro processes as applied to the case Cadbury World Macro Processes| Description | Demographic| * Several analysis have been implemented to analyze the preference and needs among people from different demographic profile. * This is because demographic profile is crucial when managing the requirements from different customers. Those analysis can be done according to several groups such as gender, age group, nationality, likeliness. | Natural| * Cadbury always seek for alternatives although their natural resources are still available and still able to support their operation and production. * This is because they believed that natural resources will be finished exploited in one day. So that, they want to put some efforts before the day to come. | Economic| * Economic trend must be aware from time to time to prevent Cadbury World business being affected during the economic crisis. Technological| * Cadbury always conscious and aware with the new technological and applied the technological elements into their operation system to gain the higher profits. * Besides, with the technological elements such as automated system or centralized system can help their operation system become more efficient and easy to manage the visitors that entering their exhibition centre. | Table 2: Macro processes as applied to the case Cadbury World Figure 1: Input-Transformati on-Output model (Cadbury World case) The model of input-transformation-output in Cadbury World case has been displayed in Figure 1 above.This model consisted of micro and macro processes because as mentioned earlier, micro and macro processes are very important for the operation processes in an organization. From the figure above, we will be discussing the micro processes of Cadbury World case in the form of input-transformation-output model. Those micro processes are company, customers, suppliers and competitors. Cadbury needs a lot of human resources such as manpower to carry out their daily operations process. Those manpower with the technological methods are essential to convert the raw materials from the input to the transformation process   (Tilanus, 1997).After that, the incomplete goods that in the transformation process will turn into the outputs which are products and goods that introduce to the markets. When the products introduced to market, Cadbury may get some feedba cks from publics or their customers and also their competitors. Hence, Cadbury must do some amendment on their operation processes within the internal management in their organization or review their suppliers to enhance their operation process. QUESTION 2 Process flow chart to show the ways of customers are being processed through the operation from start to finishThe process design that adopted by Cadbury World case is the product-based layout because the arrangement of the equipments in every section of the exhibition centre are clearly displayed in a logical sequence. Hence, the process design can provide the better understanding to their visitors if they wish to take a tour without guiding. This is because the product-based layout can eliminate the confusion of the visitors as the process flow is predictable and repeatable (Thompson, 1967)  . QUESTION 3 3. 1: The capacity of each processes in question 2 above The entrance 5-20 visitors x (60 minutes / 2-1/2 minutes) =  360- 480 visitors per hour The Marie Cadbury room * Original design (70 visitors x 1/3) x [60 minutes / (5 minutes + 1-2 minutes + 4 minutes)] =  131-144 visitors per hour * Peak times 70 visitors x [60 minutes / (5 minutes + 1-2 minutes + 4 minutes)] =  382-420 visitors per hour The packaging plant 30 visitors x [60 minutes / (3 minutes + 8 minutes) =  164 visitors per hour The demonstration area (15 visitors x 8 guides) x (60 minutes / 6-17 minutes) =  424-1200 visitors per hour * The shop [(60 minutes x 60 seconds)/15 seconds] x 3 checkouts =  720 visitors per hour * The restaurant: If the tables are allowed to sit with different families or groups of visitors (60 minutes/25 minutes) x 169 covers =  406 visitors per hour * If the tables are allowed to sit with one family or same group of visitors (60 minutes/25 minutes) x 53 tables =  128 visitors per hour The coffee and ice-cream  parlour (60 minutes/18 minutes) x 46 covers =  154 visitors per hour 3. 2: The project ed annual, weekly and hourly demand from the data in the case (Mid August to end of December 4. 5 months). Explain  the impact of seasonality on these figures. 1. The Entrance: 2. 5 minutes 2. The Marie Cadbury Room: 10 – 11 minutes 3.The Packaging Plant: 11 minutes 4. The Demonstration Area: 6 – 17 minutes 5. The Shop: 15 seconds = 0. 25 minutes 6. The Restaurant: 25 minutes 7. The coffee and ice-cream Parlour: 18 minutes After reviewing the case of Cadbury World, we can understand that the time required for each station in the case of Cadbury World when during the normal period are 84. 75 minutes / 3. 53 hours and 72. 75 / 3. 03 hours during the peak periods. Therefore, the projected demand are as below:- 1. Annual demand = 4. 5 x 30 x (3. 03 – 3. 53) = 409. 05 – 476. 55 hours 2. Weekly demand = 7 x (3. 03 – 3. 53) = 21. 21 – 24. 71 hours 3.Hourly demand = 3. 03 – 3. 53 hours Holiday season, weather, national celebration or event such as election can cause some impacts of seasonality that affect Cadbury World business and operation. From the Cadbury World case, the period of the exhibition event is held from mid of August to the end of December. During that period, Halloween and Christmas might influence their operation as people may wish to take a short travel to refresh themselves during these holidays. As such, Cadbury World can be a better selection. However, when the demand of seasonality increased, Cadbury World needs extra capacities to support their operation.If not, they will face some bottlenecks and affect their overall performance and profitability. QUESTION 4 4. 1 The ways that Cadbury world management has varied capacity to respond to changes in demand When the business of an organization is boosted up, this means that the demand has been increased as well. Thus, the organization need more capacities to prevent they fall into bottlenecks (Stevenson, 2010). In Cadbury World case, some bottleneck s might be occurred if they didn’t varied the capacity to respond to the changes of demand. Firstly, more ticket collected have been arranged accordingly in the entrance area during peak period.Those ticket collectors will apply the technological system such as automation system to handle the situation in the exhibition centre and also the safety of their visitors. Besides, Cadbury internal management team have implemented some actions to enlarge the space of parking lots during the peak period. After that, the shop, restaurant and ice-cream parlour areas will be amend to cater more visitors. 4. 2 The operations that occurred the bottlenecks in the process  and the ways that service can be amended to increase bottleneck capacity. Where are the bottlenecks in the process? How could service be amended to increase bottlenecks capacity? | The entrance| * Introduce online ticketing to reduce the time that needed to purchase the tickets. * Utilize information technology system to handle the safety of visitors that enter the exhibition centre. * Enhance the dependability and speed in the exhibition centre to provide the convenience to visitors. | The exhibition area| * Boost up the efficiency of Cadbury staffs that handle the visitors that enter this area. * Apply micro operation system and information technology method to reduce the delays problems and also eliminate the workload of attendant. Improve the process flow in Marie Cadbury room as it is the bottlenecks in this section. | The packaging plant| * Change the areas that show the brief videos. * Such as displaying the brief videos in the areas before entering the packaging plant to give a brief explanation and understanding to visitors. | The restaurant| * Amend the process flow because current process flow is inconvenient to visitors. * Redesign the serving points and serve more variety of food in each serving point. * So that, visitors can enjoy their favorite food without passing every serving poin ts. The restaurant design can amend to a round shape instead of row arrangement to increase the flexibility to visitors. | LIST OF REFENCES Galloway, L. (1998)  Principles of Operations Management. India: ITP. Jae, K. , Shim, Joel, G. & Siegel (1999) Operations Management. USA: Barron’s Educational Series. Stevenson, W. J. (2010) Operations Management. An Asian Perspective (9th Edition). New Zealand: McGraw-Hill. Thompson, J. (1967)  Organizations in Action. New York: McGraw-Hill. Tilanus, B. (1997)  Information Systems in Logistics and Transformation (2nd ed). USA: Elsevier Science Ltd. Operations Management The process type McDonald's uses is batch process because there are moderate volume and moderate variety in their products and services. McDonald's products are semi-standardized as they are stocked pre cooked. When a customer makes an order, the product is then prepared. This shows high flexibility, for example, a customer orders a special order of McCracken without lettuce, the order will be processed within minutes. There is also high volume of production as McDonald's serves thousands of customers dally. Inning a batch process means that the speed of delivery Is dependent upon the speed and experience of the Individual worker. This process supports the business of McDonald's as they will be able to process the different types orders to cater to the different needs of customers, In the shortest time possible. To achieve that, moderate skill level of workers is required. The advantages of batch process are that it allows workers to specialist in specific lobscouse and use the speci alist equipment, different batches of different production an be made.On the other hand, there are also disadvantages of batch process. Firstly, specialization means that the workers are doing repetitive jobs, which can result to boredom. Secondly, the machinery needs to be reset and cleaned in between batches. This can be time consuming which in turns slows down the production. Also, when the hamburgers are produced by batches, they would keep them for as long as possible and eventually discard them if they were not sold. This will increase the cost for McDonald's. Operations Management OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: as a competitive weapon mks [email  protected] ac. in http://mks507. vistapanel. net Prof. (Dr. ) Manoj K Srivastava Operations Management Area 1. The Systems Approach C O N T E N T S 2. 3. OM Definition Ten Critical Decisions 4. 5. The Cases 4V Typology of Operations 6. 7. Productivity Competitiveness 8. 9. Manufacturing Vs. Service? The History 10. The Future 1 Systems Approach Systems Approach Reduce waste†¦or enhance output†¦ 2 OM Definition What is Operations Management? What is Operations? a function or system that transforms inputs into outputs of greater valueOperations management (OM) is the set of activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs TYPES OF TRANSFORMATIONS †¢ †¢ Physical: Locational: as in manufacturing operations as in transportation operations What is a Transformation Process? a series of activities along a value chain extending from supplier to customer. activiti es that do not add value are superfluous and should be eliminated †¢ †¢ Exchange: Physiological: as in retail operations as in health care What is Operations Management? esign, operation, and improvement of productive systems †¢ †¢ Psychological: Informational: as in entertainment as in communication Value Engineering / Value Analysis ? Use ? Esteem ? Time ? Place 3 What Operations Managers do? ? Service, product design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Quality management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Process, capacity design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Location †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Ten Critical Decisions ? Layout design †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Human resources, job design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Supply-chain management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Inventory management †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ? Scheduling †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Maintenance †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 The Cases Britannica StoryInvite your enemy onto the roof, then remove the ladder Sun tzu The Art of War 36 Stratagems 1988 1988-93 Britannica (Leader, 230 years experience, 1768), $1000 Microsoft encyclopedia from funk & Wagnall’s encyclopedia Searchability, Multimedia, Graphics, Timeline (20 feet), cross-links, updating 1993 1995 Price $300 (cost of CD:$1) (in-fact you can purchase encarta encyclopedia + a PC in Britannica price) Britannica has to jump in a business which was not its strength, Price still $1000 1997 Reduced to $125, later on free online, crashed twice Innovation in Operations McDonald’s Corp Olympic Flame ? ? ? Facing Increased Competition Smarter and More Demanding Customers Less Brand Loyal Switched to hamburger bun that does not require toasting. ? Customers prefer taste of new bun ? Saves time an d money, QSVC Model ? ? ? ? 10,000 runners 15,000 miles through 42 states in 84 days Two years of planning Must plan for no-show runners and rush hour traffic ? Cost of this operation in the neighbourhood of $20 million Innovation in Operations Ginger Hotel BillDesk No-frills, June 2004 No room service, travel desk, swimming pool Wi-fi, Two type of room: Rs. 999 and Rs. 1199, Prabhat Pani, CEO, Roots CorporationBillDesk, a property of IndiaIdeas. com Ltd. , 2000 Three Arthur Anderson Executives Third-party bill collection 25 Banks, 100 companies Just apply today. It only takes a few minutes. Once you're approved, you get your very own Zipcard. Reserve one of our cars – for a couple hours or the entire Day. Do it online or use a phone. We're easy. Walk to the car, then just hold your Zipcard to the windshield. The doors will unlock, and it's all yours! Drive away†¦ and return to the same reserved parking spot at the end of your reservation. It's that simple. And remember, gas and insurance are included too. 5Operations typology: 4V Approach Differences within sectors are often greater than the differences between sectors Financial services An account management centre at a large retail bank Financial analyst advising a client at an investment bank Furniture manufacturing Mass production of kitchen units Craft production of reproduction ‘antique’ furniture Hotels Value-for-money hotel Lobby of an international luxury hotel A Typology of Operations: 4 V’s Low Volume High High how many products or services are made by the operation? how many different types of products or services are made by the operation?High Variety Low High Variation in demand Low how much does the level of demand change over time? how much of the operation’s internal working are ‘exposed’ to its customers? High Visibility Low Implications Low repetition Each staff member performs more of job Less systemization High unit costs Flexible Comple x Match customer needs High unit costs Changing capacity Anticipation Flexibility In touch with demand High unit costs Short waiting tolerance Satisfaction governed by customer perception Customer contact skills needed Received variety is high High unit costs A Typology of Operations ImplicationsHigh repeatability Specialization Capital intensive Low unit costs Well defined Routine Standardized Regular Low unit costs Stable Routine Predictable High utilization Low unit costs Time lag between production and consumption Standardization Low contact skills High staff utilization Centralization Low unit costs Low Volume High High High Variety Low High Variation in demand Low High Visibility Low 6 Productivity Effectiveness Efficiency Productivity Types of Productivity Single Factor Productivity Output Labor Output Materials Output is of quality nature Output Capital Multifactor ProductivityOutput Labor + Materials + Overheads Output Labor + Energy + Capital Total Factor Productivity Good s and Services Produced All inputs used to produce them America West’s Reverse Pyramid system This is in contrast to the approach used by many airlines of just boarding all seats starting from the back of the plane and working forward. 7 Competitiveness Competitiveness The degree to which a nation can produce goods and services that meet the test of international markets while simultaneously maintaining or expanding the real incomes of its citizens. A firm is competitive if it can produce products [†¦ of superior quality or lower costs than its domestic and international competitors. (US-President`s Commission on Industrial Competitiveness 1985, S. 6) Global Competitiveness Ranking 1. Switzerland 2. Sweden 3. Singapore 4. United States 5. Germany 6. Japan 7. Finland 8. Netherlands 9. Denmark India 51 10. Canada China 27 Competition Within Industries Increases When ? Firms are relatively equal in size and resources ? Products and services are standardized ? Industry growt h is slow or exponential Barriers to Entry ? ? Economies of scale Learning curves Capital investment Access to supply and distribution channels 8 Manufacturing vs. services Degree of Servitization Manufacturing and Service Employment Manufacturing Employment and Production Services as % of GDP Tangibility Spectrum Economic Offerings can determine prior to purchasing can only be discerned after purchase or during consumption or use customer must believe in, but cannot personally evaluate even after purchase & consumption Differences Between Goods and Services Intangibility Heterogeneity Simultaneous Perishability Production & Consumption 9 History of OM Five Eras of Operations Management Journey of Operations Management Adam Smith uge increases in productivity obtainable from technology or technological progress are possible match human and physical capital, Division of labor Eli Whitney †¢ †¢ In 1798, received government contract to make 10,000 muskets Showed that machine tools could make standardized parts to exact specifications – Musket parts could be used in any musket Significant events in operations management ? ? ? ? Division of labor Standardized parts Scientific management Coordinated assembly line (Smith (Whitney (Taylor (Ford 1776) 1800) 1881) 1913) ? ? ? Gantt charts Motion study Quality control (Gantt (Gilbreths (Shewhart 1916) 1922) 1924) 10Where are we going? Exciting New Challenges in Operations Management Changing Challenges Past Local or national focus Batch (large) shipments Causes Low-cost, reliable worldwide communication and transportation networks Cost of capital puts pressure on reducing investment in inventory Global Focus Future Just-in-time shipments Low-bid purchasing Quality emphasis requires that suppliers be engaged in product improvement Shorter life cycles, rapid international communication, computer-aided design, and international collaboration Affluence and worldwide markets; increasingly flexible production processes Changing sociocultural milieu.Increasingly a knowledge and information society. Environmental issues, ISO 14000, increasing disposal costs Supply-chain partners Rapid product development, alliances, collaborative designs Mass customization Empowered employees, teams, and lean production Environmentally sensitive production, Green manufacturing, recycled materials, remanufacturing Lengthy product development Standardized products Job specialization Low cost focus Operations Management OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: as a competitive weapon mks [email  protected] ac. in http://mks507. vistapanel. net Prof. (Dr. ) Manoj K Srivastava Operations Management Area 1. The Systems Approach C O N T E N T S 2. 3. OM Definition Ten Critical Decisions 4. 5. The Cases 4V Typology of Operations 6. 7. Productivity Competitiveness 8. 9. Manufacturing Vs. Service? The History 10. The Future 1 Systems Approach Systems Approach Reduce waste†¦or enhance output†¦ 2 OM Definition What is Operations Management? What is Operations? a function or system that transforms inputs into outputs of greater valueOperations management (OM) is the set of activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs TYPES OF TRANSFORMATIONS †¢ †¢ Physical: Locational: as in manufacturing operations as in transportation operations What is a Transformation Process? a series of activities along a value chain extending from supplier to customer. activiti es that do not add value are superfluous and should be eliminated †¢ †¢ Exchange: Physiological: as in retail operations as in health care What is Operations Management? esign, operation, and improvement of productive systems †¢ †¢ Psychological: Informational: as in entertainment as in communication Value Engineering / Value Analysis ? Use ? Esteem ? Time ? Place 3 What Operations Managers do? ? Service, product design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Quality management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Process, capacity design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Location †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Ten Critical Decisions ? Layout design †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Human resources, job design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? Supply-chain management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Inventory management †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ? Scheduling †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Maintenance †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 The Cases Britannica StoryInvite your enemy onto the roof, then remove the ladder Sun tzu The Art of War 36 Stratagems 1988 1988-93 Britannica (Leader, 230 years experience, 1768), $1000 Microsoft encyclopedia from funk & Wagnall’s encyclopedia Searchability, Multimedia, Graphics, Timeline (20 feet), cross-links, updating 1993 1995 Price $300 (cost of CD:$1) (in-fact you can purchase encarta encyclopedia + a PC in Britannica price) Britannica has to jump in a business which was not its strength, Price still $1000 1997 Reduced to $125, later on free online, crashed twice Innovation in Operations McDonald’s Corp Olympic Flame ? ? ? Facing Increased Competition Smarter and More Demanding Customers Less Brand Loyal Switched to hamburger bun that does not require toasting. ? Customers prefer taste of new bun ? Saves time an d money, QSVC Model ? ? ? ? 10,000 runners 15,000 miles through 42 states in 84 days Two years of planning Must plan for no-show runners and rush hour traffic ? Cost of this operation in the neighbourhood of $20 million Innovation in Operations Ginger Hotel BillDesk No-frills, June 2004 No room service, travel desk, swimming pool Wi-fi, Two type of room: Rs. 999 and Rs. 1199, Prabhat Pani, CEO, Roots CorporationBillDesk, a property of IndiaIdeas. com Ltd. , 2000 Three Arthur Anderson Executives Third-party bill collection 25 Banks, 100 companies Just apply today. It only takes a few minutes. Once you're approved, you get your very own Zipcard. Reserve one of our cars – for a couple hours or the entire Day. Do it online or use a phone. We're easy. Walk to the car, then just hold your Zipcard to the windshield. The doors will unlock, and it's all yours! Drive away†¦ and return to the same reserved parking spot at the end of your reservation. It's that simple. And remember, gas and insurance are included too. 5Operations typology: 4V Approach Differences within sectors are often greater than the differences between sectors Financial services An account management centre at a large retail bank Financial analyst advising a client at an investment bank Furniture manufacturing Mass production of kitchen units Craft production of reproduction ‘antique’ furniture Hotels Value-for-money hotel Lobby of an international luxury hotel A Typology of Operations: 4 V’s Low Volume High High how many products or services are made by the operation? how many different types of products or services are made by the operation?High Variety Low High Variation in demand Low how much does the level of demand change over time? how much of the operation’s internal working are ‘exposed’ to its customers? High Visibility Low Implications Low repetition Each staff member performs more of job Less systemization High unit costs Flexible Comple x Match customer needs High unit costs Changing capacity Anticipation Flexibility In touch with demand High unit costs Short waiting tolerance Satisfaction governed by customer perception Customer contact skills needed Received variety is high High unit costs A Typology of Operations ImplicationsHigh repeatability Specialization Capital intensive Low unit costs Well defined Routine Standardized Regular Low unit costs Stable Routine Predictable High utilization Low unit costs Time lag between production and consumption Standardization Low contact skills High staff utilization Centralization Low unit costs Low Volume High High High Variety Low High Variation in demand Low High Visibility Low 6 Productivity Effectiveness Efficiency Productivity Types of Productivity Single Factor Productivity Output Labor Output Materials Output is of quality nature Output Capital Multifactor ProductivityOutput Labor + Materials + Overheads Output Labor + Energy + Capital Total Factor Productivity Good s and Services Produced All inputs used to produce them America West’s Reverse Pyramid system This is in contrast to the approach used by many airlines of just boarding all seats starting from the back of the plane and working forward. 7 Competitiveness Competitiveness The degree to which a nation can produce goods and services that meet the test of international markets while simultaneously maintaining or expanding the real incomes of its citizens. A firm is competitive if it can produce products [†¦ of superior quality or lower costs than its domestic and international competitors. (US-President`s Commission on Industrial Competitiveness 1985, S. 6) Global Competitiveness Ranking 1. Switzerland 2. Sweden 3. Singapore 4. United States 5. Germany 6. Japan 7. Finland 8. Netherlands 9. Denmark India 51 10. Canada China 27 Competition Within Industries Increases When ? Firms are relatively equal in size and resources ? Products and services are standardized ? Industry growt h is slow or exponential Barriers to Entry ? ? Economies of scale Learning curves Capital investment Access to supply and distribution channels 8 Manufacturing vs. services Degree of Servitization Manufacturing and Service Employment Manufacturing Employment and Production Services as % of GDP Tangibility Spectrum Economic Offerings can determine prior to purchasing can only be discerned after purchase or during consumption or use customer must believe in, but cannot personally evaluate even after purchase & consumption Differences Between Goods and Services Intangibility Heterogeneity Simultaneous Perishability Production & Consumption 9 History of OM Five Eras of Operations Management Journey of Operations Management Adam Smith uge increases in productivity obtainable from technology or technological progress are possible match human and physical capital, Division of labor Eli Whitney †¢ †¢ In 1798, received government contract to make 10,000 muskets Showed that machine tools could make standardized parts to exact specifications – Musket parts could be used in any musket Significant events in operations management ? ? ? ? Division of labor Standardized parts Scientific management Coordinated assembly line (Smith (Whitney (Taylor (Ford 1776) 1800) 1881) 1913) ? ? ? Gantt charts Motion study Quality control (Gantt (Gilbreths (Shewhart 1916) 1922) 1924) 10Where are we going? Exciting New Challenges in Operations Management Changing Challenges Past Local or national focus Batch (large) shipments Causes Low-cost, reliable worldwide communication and transportation networks Cost of capital puts pressure on reducing investment in inventory Global Focus Future Just-in-time shipments Low-bid purchasing Quality emphasis requires that suppliers be engaged in product improvement Shorter life cycles, rapid international communication, computer-aided design, and international collaboration Affluence and worldwide markets; increasingly flexible production processes Changing sociocultural milieu.Increasingly a knowledge and information society. Environmental issues, ISO 14000, increasing disposal costs Supply-chain partners Rapid product development, alliances, collaborative designs Mass customization Empowered employees, teams, and lean production Environmentally sensitive production, Green manufacturing, recycled materials, remanufacturing Lengthy product development Standardized products Job specialization Low cost focus

Gunpowder Empires

You might have heard of gun powder, but do you know who invented it and when it was created. It was first created by the Chinese during the tang dynasty. This particular dynasty was active in the 18th century. Gunpowder contains 3 important ingredients: sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal. Ironically today we use gunpowder to kill but before used in weapons the Chinese thought it could cure skin diseases. Soon after gunpowder’s total potential was discover. The Chinese then invented the cannon. Three major empires saw the power of these cannon and began to create and experiment with this new technology.As known technology advanced so did cannon building and other small arms. This allowed the empires that invested in this technology to strengthen and spread out and conquer more lands. As these empires expanded they began to intrude on European cities. Naturally Europeans didn’t appreciate the intrusion. The Europeans began to fight back and start wars, most importantly at th e battle of Vienna. Vienna was a very important city for the Ottoman Empire to conquer seeing how it is the easy passage through the mountains to Europe, a sort of doorway. The Ottoman Empire attacks the best they could fighting the Europeans.The fighting was so close that only the long waited Calvary from Poland was able to save the Europeans from total disaster. Maybe if the ottomans gunpowder was more powerful and closer to today’s formula they would have won. If the Calvary had never showed up the entire history of Europe would be different. Another example is when the Ottoman Empire managed to conquer Istanbul. You may be wondering how anyone could get past the 50 by 40 foot walls of Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire developed huge cannon. These cannon were twenty six feet long and 18 inches thick. It shot carved stone balls that weighed in excess of six hundred pounds.These alone weren’t enough to take down the wall; however the ottomans came up with a clever strategy . What the ottomans did was build twenty six of these bad boys and divide them into three groups each group fired at one desired point along the wall with days of constant battering at one point the wall came down. The gunpowder undoubtedly changed history, even though some people believe that if gunpowder was never discovered the world would be a safer place. They might be right but I don’t see how we could have reached this point in development without technology.

Cell Phones Essays

Cell Phones Essays Cell Phones Essay Cell Phones Essay Technologies are acquiring hi-tech. Everyone wants to hold the latest appliances like cell phones. As cell phones improved. more characteristics are added that causes some jobs to some school systems. Leting pupils to hold their phone in school has been debated over the old ages. Many school systems have adopted a policy that bans cell phones on school land in which I support. Cell phones can disrupt category treatments. For case. pupils frequently forget to turn off their cellular telephones in category which lead distractions to instructors and fellow pupils. This break can take away some of their clip in larning their lessons which can take to discoursing a different subject. Some pupils intentionally interrupt a category with their phones but without them holding it. they can non utilize it for distractions. Next. it will be easier for pupils to go through notes in category because of texting and other societal networking sites. They could easy utilize their phones for rip offing. For illustration. my schoolmate in my Spanish category ever brings his phone every twenty-four hours to category. I was so funny on why he kept acquiring high classs in trial when he doesn’t even make his place plants. One clip when we had a trial. I saw him interpreting the Spanish sentences on his phone which could be the ground on why he kept on acquiring high classs. So I truly do believe that phones should not be banned from any facility there is. Sincerely, Nyla Weems

Frankenstein and Dorian Gray Essays

Frankenstein and Dorian Gray Essays Frankenstein and Dorian Gray Paper Frankenstein and Dorian Gray Paper Essay Topic: Dr Faustus The Picture of Dorian Gray The nineteenth century was a time of fantastic development and change, both scientifically and psychologically, which would have placed a dramatic effect on the writing of Mary Shelley and Oscar Wilde. The new science suggested that we do not know the universe, that what we know suggests a struggle, and that human beings take part in that struggle because their minds are clouded by unconscious motivations. In a period when the distinctions between the disciplines were less rigid, especially in science art and philosophy; science was considered to hold the key to social progress. Incredible discoveries were occurring; in 1802 Galvani showed that running a current through a frog produces a twitch-endanger life, and in 1803, Aldani attached a battery to the corpse of a criminal which led to it moving and one of its eyes moving. These breakthroughs would have inspired Shelley enormously. Shelley was brought up by wealthy, middle-class parents and had a respectable, almost idyllic childhood. Her father, William Godwin was both a philosopher and a novelist. He had a passion for science and Marys childhood was dominated by her love to roam around her fathers extensive library. Shelley wanted to speak of the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror, and so created a gothic novel. Mary Shelley was influenced by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), a poet and critic, who deemed it important to address scientific issues in his work. Shelleys biggest inspiration was her husband, Percy Shelley, who had an intensive excitement for nature, the supernatural and science, all themes that vividly run through Frankenstein. He was interested in live matter emerging from dead matter. : Critic Mario Praz expresses that All Mrs Shelley did was to provide a passive reflection of some of the wild fantasies which, as it were, hung in the air about her. Oscar Wilde, the author of The Picture of Dorian Gray, was mainly influenced by the psychological development in the nineteenth century. Until the 1880s, psychology was widely regarded as a branch of philosophy, before it developed as an independent scientific discipline. Psychology borders on various other fields including neuroscience and artificial intelligence; factors of which Mary Shelley also bases her writing upon. The progress of psychology, and most prominently Sigmund Freuds psychoanalysis would have been a huge influence on Wildes writing. Oscar Wildes tutor, Reverend JP Mahaffy, was a huge inspiration to him, along with his parents who were noted authors. The imprisonment of Wilde had a huge affect on his writing and could possibly have led him to develop the sinister character of Dorian Gray. Victor Frankenstein could be described as too impatient, ambitious and self-centred to accept the slow pace of science and evolution, which could explain his despair before the creation of the monster. By using chemicals to put together his creature, he short-circuits the natural cycle required for the creation of new life, and the result of his experiment is, in effect, an evolutionary step backwards. The Modern Prometheus, as Frankenstein is sometimes referred, originates from the Latin Prometheus, who makes an unnatural man from clay and water to directly repel against the laws of nature. The figure of Prometheus was the subject of a poem published by Lord Byron in 1816 who explored and harnessed the secrets of nature. Shelley immensely uses the theme of Prometheus throughout Frankenstein, and Victors creation of the monster is almost identical to that. These two aspects of the Prometheus story, creation and transgression, complicate the image of the scientist represented by Victor Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein could be compared with Dr Faustus, a man who desires to know the secrets of the universe, and sells his soul to Satan. He becomes power-hungry but does not know how to handle the power. The Faust legend raises the question of eternal damnation due to the unpardonable sin of despair. Victor relinquishes his family for the pursuit of secret knowledge, and, working in isolation, creates a creature that he abandons. This can also be compared to Oscar Wildes Dorian Gray. Wilde was very familiar with the Faust legend through popular culture and so incorporated its themes into his writing. Lord Henry can be associated with the devil, or at least the devils advocate, and Dorian Gray the innocent, unwitting, insecure boy who has his flaws manipulated by Lord Henry. He persuades nai ve Dorian, to exchange his soul for eternal youth which in turn leads him to become greedy and out of control. Mary Shelley was reading the book Emile previous to writing Frankenstein. The novel argues that mans nature is harmless, but is made evil by societys perception. The monster, although visually distorted and horrendous, was not born a bad person. A parents, or creators job is to support and care for their creation, which Victor failed to do. Inspiration for this storyline may have originated from Marys home life. Both Percys and her father simultaneously disowned them for falling in love with one another, similar to Victor and the monster, on their departure she began to write Frankenstein. The theme of the monster in man is very apparent in both Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray. In Shelleys novel, the monster is used as a symbol for our own inner ugliness. Although it appears to be the cause of fear and prejudice, it could stand for a hideous and violent reaction to something unknown and different. This is similarly obvious in Wildes Dorian Gray, as Dorian is an envied, beautiful man, but on discovery that he will one day lose his assets and look different, his personality significantly alters and he transforms into a monster. Another theme that is present in both novels is that of discovery. Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein and the monster all begin by expressing their desires to discover. The monster has humble aims to discover motives, but the others have lofty ambitions and are prepared to sacrifice human relationships to fulfil them. Dorian Grays only motive is to sustain his youth, but by doing this embarks on an incredible journey which enables him to discover himself, and release the monstrous characteristics he possess inside him.

What Are the Benefits of Recycling Metal

What Are the Benefits of Recycling Metal The United States recycles 150 million metric tons of scrap materials annually, including 85 million tons of iron and steel, 5.5 million tons of aluminum, 1.8 million tons of copper, 2 million tons of stainless steel, 1.2 million tons of lead and 420,000 tons of zinc, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). Other metals such as chrome, brass, bronze, magnesium, and tin are recycled as well. What Are the Benefits of Recycling All That Metal? By definition, mining metal ores and refining them into usable metals is unsustainable; the amount of metals present on earth is fixed when considering (at least when considering any useful geological time scale). However, metals are easily recycled and reused, providing renewed opportunities for their use without having to mine and refine more of it. Thus, issues associated with mining like can be avoided, like  acid mine drainage.  By recycling, we reduce the need to manage extensive and potential dangerous piles of mine tailings.   U.S. Exports Recycled Metal In 2008, the scrap recycling industry generated $86 billion and supported 85,000 jobs. The recycled materials that the industry processes into raw material feedstock every year are used for industrial manufacturing around the world. For example, 25% of the steel used in production car panels (doors, hood, etc.) is obtained from recycled materials. For copper, used in the home building industry for electric wires and plumbing pipes, that proportion surpasses 50%. Each year, the United States exports staggering amounts of scrap metals - called scrap commodities  -  contributing significantly to U.S. trade balances. For example, in 2012 the U.S. exported $3 billion worth of aluminum, $4 billion of copper, and $7.5 billion of iron and steel. Metal Recycling Saves Energy and Natural Resources Recycling scrap metal reduces the substantial amounts of  greenhouse gas emissions  produced during the various smelting and processing operations used when making metal from virgin ore. At the same time, the amount of energy used is also much smaller. Energy  savings using various recycled metals compared to virgin ore is up to: 92 percent for aluminum 90 percent for copper 56 percent for steel These savings are significant, especially when scaled up to large production capacities. Indeed, according to the U.S.Geological Survey, 60% of steel production comes directly from recycled iron and steel scrap. For copper, the proportion coming from recycled materials reaches 50%. Recycled copper is almost as valuable as new copper, making it a common target for scrap metal thieves. Metal recycling also conserves natural resources. Recycling one ton of steel conserves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone. Water is also used in great quantities in the manufacturing of many metals. According to an industry source, through recycling steel the amount of energy conserved would be enough to power 18 million homes for an entire year.  Recycling a ton of aluminum conserves up to 8 tons of bauxite ore and 14-megawatt hours of electricity.That figure does not even account for shipping the bauxite from where it is mined, generally in South America.  The total amount of energy saved in 2012 by making aluminum from recycled material added up to 76 million megawatt hours of electricity.​ Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

Role of Moses in Judaism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Role of Moses in Judaism - Research Paper Example Still the Israelites, operating under the blessings of God, grew in numbers and stronger (Wheless, 19). This forced the Egyptians to introduce tighter controls against the Israelites by killing their children. It is during this time that Moses is born. This was as a result of the Israelite prayers to God, to deliver them from the Egyptian bondage. To protect Moses from death, her mother places him in a casket and it flows along the River Nile, and through Gods intervention, the Casket flows into the hands of Pharaohs daughter who adopts him as her son and therefore raised as an Egyptian prince. Moses grew up in the palace but he did not identify himself with the Egyptians. As a grown up man, Moses was not happy at the way in which his people were being treated, and he at one time killed an Egyptian for beating up an Israelite, thereby drawing the wrath of Pharaoh and fleeing to Midian and in this land, Moses met Zipporah, and married her. Zipporah was a daughter of Jethro, the priest of Median. Moses worked for him, for forty years as a shepherd, and it is while tending after the flock, that he got a visitation from God, requiring him to go back to Egypt, and to Pharaoh in particular, demanding the release of the Israelites from bondage. Moses obeyed the call from God and went back to Egypt demanding the freedom of the Israelites. Pharaoh, at first refused to grant him his wish, and through Moses, God struck Egypt with ten plagues, and it is the tenth plague that forced Pharaoh to release the Israelites. This plague was known as the plague of the first born where an angel of God, called The Angel of Death, killed all the first born male children of the Egyptians, including Pharaohs child. The first born of Israelites were saved by marking their door posts with the blood of a lamb. They had to eat the slain lamb, with bitter herbs, symbolizing their painful stay in Egypt as slaves. This was known as the Passover (Storr, 85).On leaving Egypt, Pharaoh changed his mind, and ordered his army to pursue the Israelites, and they were cornered at the Red Sea. God miraculously caused the Red sea to open and the Israelites passed over it. When the Egyptians attempted, God made the Red Sea to swallow them and therefore destroying the Egyptian army. This paper is an analysis of the Role of Moses in Judaism. It highlights, in detail, why Moses is regarded as an important Jewish prophet and teacher of God’s word. The paper analyses the first five books of the bible that are credited to Moses, namely Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers and Leviticus. The paper highlights how Mosaic laws shaped the thinking of the Jews and their historical celebrations. It also highlights his role as a savior, taking them away from Egypt, into the Promised Land. There is also the mention of the Ten Commandments which forms the basis of the Jewish laws and traditions and the aspect of religion in him being the first person in the bible to introduce the Israelites into the knowledge of their God, Jehovah. This paper mentions the various wars that Moses led the children of Israel into during their exodus, and through faith, how they won this wars. This paper has a conclusion, which talks of other Prophets of Israel whom the Jews regard as important in their Judaist practices. Approximately, a thousand years after the death of Abraham, his descendants lived in

The Harlem Renaissance and the Harmon Foundation Essay

The Harlem Renaissance and the Harmon Foundation - Essay Example This extended the requisite space and opportunity to the black creativity to flourish. It was the Caucasian real estate developer, William E Harmon, who evinced an immense interest in the African American creativity, and founded the Harmon foundation in 1922. The objective of Harmon foundation was to recognize and support African American achievements in the field of fine arts, literature, education, business, music, religious service, science, farming and race relations. Harmon foundation played an important role in promoting racial tolerance and in bringing to limelight the contributions made by the African Americans to the national culture. Hale Woodruff, Langston Hughes, Palmer Hayden, Countee Cullen and Archibald Motley were some of the noteworthy artists that were extended recognition and support by the Harmon foundation (Aberjhani & West 147). Many artists and scholars accused Harmon foundation of being paternalistic and segregated in its approach as it celebrated the works of only African American artists (Aberjhani & West 147). Harmon Foundation was also blamed for being condescending towards black artists (Aberjhani & West

Toyota's Business Strategy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Toyota's Business Strategy - Research Paper Example The company has over 371,605 employees’ worldwide working in different positions (Ireland, Hoskisson, and Hitt 57). Toyota has successfully grown into a multinational corporation since they entered into the market. They have expanded into many countries and were rated as the best automobile company in 2008. Toyota operates brands such as Lexus, Hino and Daihatsu alongside other non-automotive companies. The Toyota Company bases its business strategy on five major principles. The first principle is introducing new and unique ideas into the market so as to outdo their competitors by achieving the dreams of their customers. The second principle is that they are always ready to develop, create and improve ideas and services in their existing markets. The third principle is teamwork since they are aware that cooperation fosters better production and nurtures success. Their fourth principle is fulfilling the market needs by producing what the market wants and adjusting their product ion with the market needs and demands. Their last principle is developing one another which imply that their employees get better by learning from each other and frequent training so as to ensure they have the best employees. Toyota has been in the forefront of innovation and was the proud inventors of the hybrid vehicle. The company invests in innovation and appreciates the opinion of all their employees. They have come up with cheaper production methods whereby they produce high quality and economical vehicles at considerably cheap prices. This enables them to have a price competitive advantage since they can respond to demand by altering their prices and still remain profitable. Producing high-quality vehicles has helped them build an irrefutable image in the market and have also gained customer loyalty in most of their customers. Toyota assures their customers that their low prices are due to better production methods and not

Approve or disapprove each proposal and provide your reasons such as Research Paper

Approve or disapprove each proposal and provide your reasons such as costs, benefits and ethical issues raised in relation to your recommendation to Approve or Disapprove - Research Paper Example If anyone has ever heard of the Tuskegee experiment, or the human experiment performed on Guatemalans by infecting them with STD’s, one knows the dangers that can be inherent upon experimenting on people—which may abound. This research will delve into whether the proposed research and cost, the experimental group and benefits, and the control group and ethics are balanced in experimenting with human subjects. Your committee is the State University IRB. Dr. Jones is interested in the effect of stress on performance on the McCord Intelligence Test. She feels that the test, which is very †¨widely used in public schools, gives misleadingly low scores to kids under stress. The proposed research is about how stress affects student performances on the McCord intelligence test. However, one of the difficulties with such a test is the way in which the experiment was conducted. In order to measure stress—instead of having one group told they had failed and having one group told they had passed—that would not have factored in to stress as much as other ways of testing this. For example, the experimental group could have been given various stressing tasks to do before the test—such as writing a timed essay—while the other group, the control group, would not have to write such an essay before being tested. This would more effectively test the results of stress on students taking tests, some of whom may either underperform on assessments or might have anxiety problems. These people tend not to score well. She †¨wants to divide her subjects (college students) into two groups of 20 each. All subjects †¨will take a bogus pretest and will be given their "results." The experimental group will be †¨told that they failed the test and that it is surprising that they were able to do well enough †¨in high school to get into college. The benefits of the study do not

Older Adulthood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Older Adulthood - Essay Example This means that some diseases and health defects associated with old age can be prevented or at least reduced if proper care is taken. I will advocate for routine medical checkup for me and my friends so that these many complications are avoided in future. For example, it has come to my attention that avoiding exposure to environmental toxins and other hazards and also getting faster access to healthcare can avoid these complications. For a successful transition into old age, I will from now henceforth advice those with old age to accept the change, be sociable and also employ spiritual faith. Older adults require religious support and spiritual nourishment to enable them cope as I have just realized. Another way of coping is by keeping old and retired people busy by volunteering. This enable them overcome depression associated with old age, widowhood or caring for a sick partner. Having family members visit the old is refreshing to them (Kail and Cavanaugh 519). Old people are sometimes neglected or abused. This is not good as they require as minimum stress as possible. I have a changed opinion about old age, and will from now on emphasize on love and care for the old people. From this class, I have learnt of better ways of caring for and helping the older people. I have also gained an insight that can enable me advice old people into successful transition to old age. Plus, it has changed my view on old age. Old is

Approve or disapprove each proposal and provide your reasons such as Research Paper

Approve or disapprove each proposal and provide your reasons such as costs, benefits and ethical issues raised in relation to your recommendation to Approve or Disapprove - Research Paper Example If anyone has ever heard of the Tuskegee experiment, or the human experiment performed on Guatemalans by infecting them with STD’s, one knows the dangers that can be inherent upon experimenting on people—which may abound. This research will delve into whether the proposed research and cost, the experimental group and benefits, and the control group and ethics are balanced in experimenting with human subjects. Your committee is the State University IRB. Dr. Jones is interested in the effect of stress on performance on the McCord Intelligence Test. She feels that the test, which is very †¨widely used in public schools, gives misleadingly low scores to kids under stress. The proposed research is about how stress affects student performances on the McCord intelligence test. However, one of the difficulties with such a test is the way in which the experiment was conducted. In order to measure stress—instead of having one group told they had failed and having one group told they had passed—that would not have factored in to stress as much as other ways of testing this. For example, the experimental group could have been given various stressing tasks to do before the test—such as writing a timed essay—while the other group, the control group, would not have to write such an essay before being tested. This would more effectively test the results of stress on students taking tests, some of whom may either underperform on assessments or might have anxiety problems. These people tend not to score well. She †¨wants to divide her subjects (college students) into two groups of 20 each. All subjects †¨will take a bogus pretest and will be given their "results." The experimental group will be †¨told that they failed the test and that it is surprising that they were able to do well enough †¨in high school to get into college. The benefits of the study do not

After CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTSS, the us social movement of the 1960s and Article

After CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTSS, the us social movement of the 1960s and 70s - Article Example The focus gears toward the point that it was through a series of historical incidents and the aggressiveness for change that women’s rights had been recognized and that choices, which had not been available before, is now a part and parcel of a woman’s everyday life in America. The narrative highlighted the typical woman of the 1950s whose duty as a homemaker offers no other viable option except child rearing. The women of that era had the singular choice of getting married and then staying at home to care for her husband and their children. As the man sets out to provide for the family, the wife stays at home and tends to the domestic needs of the family. The book, The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan enlightened on the shared emptiness and dissatisfaction that housewives share because of a lack of endeavors. This ignites the kindled spirits of the 1960s which formed the Women’s Liberation and the very foundation of radical feminism (â€Å"Makers: Women Who Make America Part I Awakening†). These notions were further challenged by brave women who had the courage to question societal norms and the view of women as second-class citizens to the 1970s when job options remained limited. In the tennis match dubbed The Battle of the Sexes, between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, the former shattered Riggs’ hubris as a woman beats him in the highly publicized game. As King said herself, â€Å"That night it wasn’t about tennis. It was about history. It was about social change† (â€Å"Makers: Women Who Make America Part II Changing the World†). Similarly, women’s newfound power were shown through the focus on contraceptives, specifically pills, where the power to decide is now lodged with the woman. This is also supported by the Supreme Court Decision in Roe vs. Wade where a decision for abortion within the first trimester of the pregnancy is left to the discretion of the woman and her physician. The interviews of women who were part

Deciding my future Essay Example for Free

Deciding my future Essay A dream is not something to scoff at. Dreams always seem out of reach, a siren call that leads you to new, uncharted waters. Achieving one’s dream would be to reach a true pinnacle of life; however, the road to a dream is fraught with risks. To give achieving this dream your all might be the only way to reach one’s true potential, yet it may also lead to a bitter and disappointing end. With this in mind, I have often put off achieving my own dreams. I was so frightened by the possibility of failure that I dared not even try, instead resigning myself to a life of mediocrity. However, my dreams were given life by the encouragement of my parents to not settle for less. My dreams are not a trifle, an easily obtainable goal. My ultimate goal is to be a leading Video Game Designer, to create adventures and stories that resonate with the world and revolutionize storytelling in gaming. The mere immensity of this task was enough to make me shudder in fear. I looked my dream in the eye and thought it too immense. I would have resigned myself to a life of normalcy were it not for my parents, who did not want me to settle for any less then what I was capable of. They had just discovered a college that was about to open up a new major for Video Game Development, and encouraged me to face my fears and try to achieve my dreams. They pushed me to achieve my dreams, knowing that this college would be twice as expensive as a regular school. This encouragement led me to attempting to try and chase my dreams, to have some hope that what I wanted was possible, and to never give up on my dream. Becoming a game designer is not easy. It is even more difficult if you have dreams as large and grand as mine are. The mere thought of the immensity of this task, and my preconceived notions of my own inferiority, drove me away. However, I realized that, although a dream is rarely the easiest path, and instead it is more often than not the hardest path of all, to not even try to reach ones dream is to give up on life. The path I chose may not be the easiest path, and yet I walk down it knowing full well it might end in heartbreak. I do this knowing that, if I had given up, then I would never have known if I could do it, and spend the rest of my life mourning what could have been. Again, were it not for my parents encouragement, I would never have even attempted to chase my dream. No matter how much you want something, it is impossible to achieve it if you have no hope it could succeed. A sense of hope that what you want could be possible is a vital component to making it possible. This was something I had lacked prior to my parents encouragement. I was so frightened by what I wanted to do, I had no hope it was possible. Without hope, I would not even try, for why try when you are certain you will fail? My parents helped me believe that I COULD do it, that there was a chance, and that chance was all I needed. No matter the odds facing me, I had to have hope that it was possible to overcome. Even when you want something and work very hard, it is all too possible you will fail at first. The old adage, â€Å"If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again† works beautifully in this scenario. No matter how many times you are beat down, no matter how many times I fail in convincing people to work to my dream to companies to invest in my dream, I must perspire. If a dream is weak enough to be broken at the first sign of trouble, then it was never truly one of these â€Å"dreams† of which I speak, so much as it was a passing fancy. A true dream is not something one would ever give up on, and neither should I, for although there are many obstacles I must overcome to achieve my dream, to give up my dream would be to give up on my happiness. The dream of which I seek is a lofty one, and there is little chance it will be easy. However, no matter the cost or hurdle I must overcome, I have decided to reach my dream. This courage to face the impossible would not have occurred however without the support of my parents who have helped me and want me to reach my full potential, so thanks to them, even if I do not reach my dream, I will have tried; and the fact that I will try shall be the greatest gift my parents would ever have given me.

Treatment Planning System Software Reflective Essay

Treatment Planning System Software Reflective Essay â€Å"Improving one’s learning and performance could be considered to be a ‘meta-skill’, that is the skill of learning how to learn.† (The Open University, 2012) Clinical skills chosen The clinical skill that was chosen is learning how to use Varian Medical Eclipseâ„ ¢ Treatment Planning System software and acquiring knowledge on how to plan a treatment for the different cancers. Eclipseâ„ ¢ is a comprehensive treatment planning system that simplifies modern radiation therapy planning for dosimetrists, physicists, and physicians to efficiently create, select, and verify the best treatment plans for their patients while ensuring high standard of care and effective protocols (Varian Medical Systems, 2014). This skill was chosen because it is treatment related and is able to give me a deeper understanding on patient’s treatment. Furthermore, the resources were readily available in the department for learning purposes. Process of learning this skill The process of learning this skill was broken down into two components; mastering the use of Eclipseâ„ ¢ software efficiently and gaining knowledge on treatment planning. The intention of breaking goals down (University of Kent Careers and Employability Service, n.d.) into two components is so that I can tackle them one step at a time. Each component was further evaluated based on a three-stage framework of developing a strategy, monitoring progress and evaluating performance (Figure A), which can be used to develop and improve skills and learning in general (The Open University, 2012). Strategy first component of learning process Firstly, the strategy was to have an action plan and time checklist of what I should be doing each week and what I should achieve at the end of each week. An action plan is a review of one’s current capabilities and goals over an extended period of time (The Open University, 2012). It is useful as it provides a structured plan linking the objectives of the learning process together and setting targets for achieving goals. There is a time checklist/schedule plan created on a weekly basis at the end of every journal entry to keep me on track and ensure that the objectives for the week have been met. There was a change in the schedule plan in week 1 as compared to the schedule plan in the action plan because I realised in the first week that one week was insufficient and I needed more time to learn the software. Another strategy was to split the learning process into two components. Getting to know the user interface and all the functions of Eclipseâ„ ¢ treatment planning system first would enhance my learning in treatment planning in the later part. Treatment planning requires both knowledge on treatment planning and skills on using the Eclipseâ„ ¢ treatment planning system. Thus, the first component of my learning journey was to get myself familiarise with Eclipseâ„ ¢ treatment planning software’s user interface and its functions. This took me a couple of weeks instead of one week that was originally planned in the action plan. I was able to learn a lot both on my own by referencing the user manual and also with the help of the senior radiation therapists during the 8-hour learning session per week. As I learn, I jotted down notes in the notebook. Note-taking was helpful as I was able to monitor my learning progress to keep me on track on the things that I have covered and have not. In order to evaluate my performance so far, a written assessment was carried out with the help of the senior radiation therapists at the end of week 2. The results from the assessment would determine my next step, which was to either continue learning the software’s user interface or to move on to the second component of my learning journey to learn how to plan a treatment. I chose a written assessment to evaluate my performance because it allows me to see my results visually in terms of scores. Scoring 92% for the written assessment on the software’s user interface gave me confidence to move to on to the second component of the learning process. Second component of learning process I passed the assessment and moved to learning how to plan a treatment for rectal cancer. For this component, I required the senior radiation therapist to guide me and share her knowledge. It was an observational and verbal learning for the first few hours after which I was left on my own with the hospital’s protocol booklist to try treatment planning on my own. The overload of information and knowledge caused me to miss out on quite a number of things in treatment planning. As such, it occurred to me that I would need a checklist. In my notebook, there were 2 types of lists: one of which is a step-by-step list for a treatment plan based on what the senior radiation therapist taught me and the other, is a checklist that the senior radiation therapists check against after every completion of a treatment plan. The advantages of having a checklist are that it focuses my mind on important objectives, orders my thoughts, making me less likely to forget certain details, monitors my p rogress and prevents me from side-tracking from my objectives. I managed to complete learning the treatment planning for rectal cancer a week earlier than planned. This caused a change in my schedule plan where the remaining planned weeks were brought forward a week. During this process, I should have read up textbooks for information instead of relying solely on the protocol book and the knowledge provided by the senior radiation therapist. I could have also used the Miller’s pyramid (Figure B) to monitor my performance on a personal level. Based on the Miller’s pyramid, I am at the â€Å"Shows† level as I am able to demonstrate the skill of planning a treatment plan for rectal tumours. I have yet to reach â€Å"Does† because I am still not efficient in treatment planning as I do still make mistakes such as over-shielding in the treatment plan for brain tumour. For each treatment plan, a competency-based assessment and verbal assessment were carried out to evaluate my performance. Firstly, I had to design a suitable treatment plan using Eclipseâ„ ¢ treatment planning software for a particular case that was selected by the senior radiation therapist. After which, I had to explain and convince her that my treatment plan has met the requirements and was suitable for the patient’s condition. She used a competency-based assessment checklist (Figure C) to evaluate my performance. A competency-based assessment is a collection of evidence to demonstrate that a learner can perform a task according to specific standards (Singapore Workforce Development Agency – Quality Assurance Division, 2012). The assessment outcome will allow the assessor to make judgment with respect to the competence or incompetence (Singapore Workforce Development Agency – Quality Assurance Division, 2012). Such method of assessment has been used for many years by the planning department to assess training staff on treatment planning where they have to apply their knowledge in designing a treatment plan and explaining the rationale as well as suitability for the particular patient in accordance to the hospital’s protocol and patient’s benefit. This is good as it involves an assessment of a combination of treatment planning knowledge, process skills and transferable skills (Singapore Workforce Development Agency – Quality Assurance Division, 2012). Apart fr om competency-based assessment, I also chose verbal assessment for this component because it allowed me to gather feedback directly from my senior radiation therapist on ways that she thinks could have been better and on how to improve my treatment plans. Learning from my mistakes allows me to learn and grow as I will avoid making similar mistakes in the future. Type of learner I learned faster with the help of the senior radiation therapist. At the start of each session, the senior radiation therapist will show and explain to me regarding treatment planning. After which, I was given hands-on opportunities to enhance my learning. Among the learning styles (Figure D), I learned better through visual, verbal and logical styles where the senior radiation therapist showed and explained to me the different components of treatment planning. I feel that explanations make better sense to me rather than just verbal instructions. As such, I found myself asking more to get a deeper understanding of the interface and usage of the software as well as knowledge in treatment planning. After each discussion with the senior radiation therapist, I prefer to work alone to digest all the information and try out the treatment planning on my own. Therefore, solitary learning style (Figure D) was more suitable for me rather than social, also known as group discussion. Self-reflection using Gibb’s Reflective Model (Figure E) Description feelings I was able to learn new skills and knowledge from the seniors. Throughout this learning process, I learned how to develop my own learning goals, identify my own learning styles and be responsible for my own learning. At the start of the process, I struggled a little bit as the amount of knowledge and things to learn was too overwhelming especially since I am not IT-savvy. However, the hands-on practices helped me build up my confidence each week. I feel that this newly learnt skill and knowledge are useful as it can be applied when I carry out the daily treatments and also when I am doing the new treatment card check. The knowledge can also be shared with my juniors and students on attachment. Evaluation analysis The main challenge during the learning process was time. I only had one day (8 hours) every week to go to the treatment planning department. There was no fixed schedule plan as certain skill or knowledge required more time to learn. The changes in my schedule plan were made as more time was needed than expected to learn the software at the start and also due to the lack of manpower in the department which denied me of learning opportunities. However, I did managed to complete learning the treatment plan for rectal cancer a week earlier. As such, the schedule plan will always be adjusted based on my needs and capabilities each week. Despite this, it is crucial for me to keep to a certain timeframe as delaying a learning objective for too long would mean that the whole learning process will be completed at a later period. Given more time, I would like to be given a chance to create my own checklist on treatment planning and refer to more references from the textbooks instead of relying on the hospital’s protocol and knowledge shared by the seniors. Conclusion action plan If I was given another opportunity, I would repeat the same process with similar action plan but with a more realistic set of timeline based on my learning speed and capabilities. I would also like to develop my note-taking skills and the method of evidencing my skills. 1