Students will float to the mark you set

Rose's thesis states that â€Å"Students will float to the mark you set. † † Vocational education has aimed at increasing the economic opportunities of students who do not do well in our schools. Some serious programs succeed in doing that, and through exceptional teachers – like Mr. Gross in Horace's Compromise – students learn to develop hypotheses and trouble shoot, reason through a problem, and communicate effectively – the true job skills. The vocational track, however, is most often a place for those who are just not making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected.† Rose attempts to persuade his readers by showing how dysfunctional the vocational students are and how mediocre or unchallenging their studies are. He also persuades the readers by exemplifying the instructor's poor attempts to care about the quality of learning the vocational education students are receiving. His argument is that the instructors are not inventive in their teaching methods and do not work hard at education through use of their imaginations. â€Å"The teachers have no idea of how to engage the imaginations of kids who were at the bottom of the pond.† I agree with Rose's point stating that † You're defined by your school as â€Å"slow†; you're placed in a curriculum that isn't designed to liberate you but to occupy you, or, if you're lucky, train you, though the training is for work the society does not esteem.† This seems to be the norm at all schools. But, I think at all levels, be it high school or college, the instructors teaching these types of programs should be trained to use more imaginative methods of teaching the vocational level students. Obviously, these students each learn at a different pace, but their minds still need to be challenged. They should receive education that stimulates their minds so they do not lose interest. The vocational education system is used as simply as Rose put it, as a â€Å"dumping ground for the disaffected.† I also understand the point Rose made referring to the fact that if a student is trained in a mediocre way he will do nothing but turn into a mediocre student. Resulting in boredom, indifference, tuning out, ignorance, and finally a lack of job skills society deems necessary. I think Rose was correct in the comment â€Å"Champion the average.† Although that is assuming that every vocational student has the courage to rely on his/her own good sense and put the fear behind him or her. Only most of them lack the courage or self-esteem to stand up for themselves, be it only in their own mind. Moreover, many would not take themselves seriously if they did so. Students Will Float to the Mark You Set Mike Rose is a professor in the School of Education at UCLA , earned multiple awards during his career ; Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English, the American Educational Research Association's Distinguished Lectureship, UCLA’s Distinguished Teaching Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Grawemeyer Award in Education, and the Commonwealth Club of California Award for Literary Excellence in Nonfiction. As a child Rose grew up in a poor family in Los Angeles, during his high school years he was placed on vocational classes on accident, by mixed up test scores from another student with the same last name. In the essay â€Å"I Just Wanna Be Average† by Mike Rose, he describes his observations with his students and teachers during his accidentally placed vocational classes, the teachers were showing no interest in teaching and his class mates were not showing any interest in their education, Rose implies in his essay â€Å"The vocational track, however, is most often a place for those who are just not making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected† (Rose 13) Rose shows how the school system has written off students who have potential, his analysis of the school system specifies multiple reasons for the failure of students that go through high school misunderstood from their difficulties learning, it showed that the students were lacking the effort to learn. In Rose’s essay he talks about one of his classmates Ken Harvey, he describes this open conversation in this classroom, the topic was about working hard and being an over achiever, when in it was Harvey’s turn to talk he answered â€Å"I wanna be average†. Ken Harvey’s â€Å"I just wanna be average† quote immediately picked up Rose’s attention! He later goes revealing how this student was gasping for air in their educational environment, as Rose Mentions in the book â€Å"No matter how bad the school, you’re going to encounter notions that don’t fit with the assumption and beliefs that you grew up with- maybe you’ll hear these dissonant notions from teachers, maybe from other students, and maybe you’ll read them† (Mike Rose 14) Since the vocational track is the dumping ground for those students who can’t make it, Harvey was discouraged because in his school he was labeled â€Å"slow†, as that could’ve lowered his morale, Harvey was rotecting himself from the pressure of school by defying himself as a regular person, and it doesn’t help that the fact that the teachers in the vocational track did nothing to help motivate the student. Rose states that ther e was hardly any who worked hard at their education, however Brother Slattery used his stern voice and his weekly quizzes to engage the imagination of those kids who were at the â€Å"bottom of the pond†. One of my academic weak points is algebraic related activity , during my Senior year I was taking a junior math class Algebra 3-4, my first period class that I would get through in the morning, me a morning person? I would show up half asleep, if I stayed awake I was zoning out. The high school that I graduated from had the block schedule system so the classes would have been two hours and thirty minutes long, I dreaded the block schedule system especially when I had Algebra, as furthermore it would feel like an eternity. I’ve spent a good 75% doing something else that would contradict my learning, doodling on my notes or socializing with the people around me. Every time we would learn a new course I tried to give my full attention to the lesson because it would almost be like a fresh start but in the end it would ended up with me not fully understanding the lesson, so a new course would come up this pattern would repeat itself, so I would get a little frustrated every time that would develop. It got to the point where the requirements of the new course would require the information from the previous course to learn it, that’s how I got stuck along with the interest to care anymore. Unfortunately that type of not caring was labeled as â€Å"Senioritis† it happens to every Senior they say, but I wasn’t going to blame it on â€Å"Senioritis† because I have experience that similar uninteresting feeling for my education before my Senior year. I can’t remember the name of my Algebra 3-4 teacher but I do remember a friend that I made there who sat next to me, his name was Adam he seemed very brilliant and strong academically but he wasn’t so good with the ladies. My algebra teacher never took the time to grade our homework, what she would do was make the student plus the person sitting next to you grade each other’s homework, she would put out the answers on her white board, as she would expect every student to grade the other students homework. Adam and I had an alliance with each other, as we took advantage of that situation, I would scratch his back and he would scratch mine by writing the correct answers down or just filling out the homework right there, sometimes I didn’t even take the time to do my homework I would let Adam fill out the paper for me. Adam continued to perfectly learn in that class he would sometimes end up with one or two mistakes in his homework, but he really wanted straight A’s, I would correct his mistakes for him as he would do the same for me. That homework grading system seemed to me as a huge flaw for her students learning, if she took the time to look at our answers, study our equations that we wrote down she could’ve traced the mistake, point it out, ask why we messed up and showed us the correct way to solve the problem I think that would’ve helped some people out. So the fourth quarter finally arrives, my Algebra 3-4 grades are on the edge of failing, my counselor advocated that I should stay after school with a tutor, which I hated the fact that I had to stay after school for more math, which the thought in my mind was â€Å"I’m not going to learn anything and just waste time†, that was quite the opposite of what was going to happened, I met a tall man with glasses always seemed full of energy, I think his name was Larry (I can’t remember names). Every day after school I would meet up with Larry in a classroom with a few other kids from every type of different math class ranging from basic math to trigonometry, Larry would sit down and help every single student one by one, he seemed like he was vey content teacher, every time Larry would sit next to me I would actually learn or understand all this gibberish that we call algebra, he would approach me with a different attitude way different compared to my Algebra teacher. Now when I think about that situation I was in, I would sit in my first period class for 2 hours and 30 minutes while having difficulties understanding, but now in my tutoring class I would only sit for 45 minutes and everything seemed clear to me. The situation that those students from Rose’s essay they’re intelligence are not limited, a bad teacher can make school such a frustrating experience student won’t learn much, understanding t a teacher’s teaching style can sometimes not w ork with the students.

Height: Width of Limpets Across Different Zones

Rocky Shore Ecology: Holbeck Beach This study was conducted to deduce whether the height to width ratio of limpets altered across the three main zones on the shore: upper, middle and lower. It was carried out on Holbeck Beach, North Yorkshire, where limpets were measured in all three zones using random sampling. We found a significant difference in the height to width ratio between the upper and lower shore and upper and middle shore. This is due to many factors, including the threat of desiccation and strong waves. Limpet Patelle VulgataRocky ShoreEcologyHolbeck BeachUpper ShoreMiddle ShoreLower ShoreCallipers QuadrentRandom SampleDesiccation INTRODUCTION Common limpets, Patella Vulgata, are found, on rocky shores, wherever there is an area firm enough for attachment on rocks, stones and in rock pools. [1] The common limpet is commonly found on Holbeck shore in relatively high abundance. Patella vulgata are in the taxonomic group gastropoda, and the family acmaeidae. They are abunda nt on rocky shores of all degrees of wave exposure but a high density of seaweed makes it harder for the Patella Vulgata to attach itself to the rocks, so limpet density is reduced. 2] Patella Vulgata have the ability to use their mucus and their ‘foot’ to clamp down upon the rock with considerable force. This allows them to remain safely attached at all times, despite strong wave action and the threat of desiccation during low tide. When the limpet is fully clamped onto the rock it is almost impossible to remove them. The common limpet is a temperate species, so is found mainly across Europe, spread from Norway to Portugal. The grey conical shell of Patella Vulgata can reach a width of 6cm and height of 3cm with ridges radiating from the central apex.The muscular foot of the limpet is usually a yellow colour and attached to the smooth interior of its shell. [3] Limpets graze upon algae, which grows upon the rocks where they live. They can scrape the algae with its radu la (a tongue coated with many rows of teeth) as they slowly move across the rock surfaces. The Patella Vulgata always return to the same spot, known as the homing scar, before the tide withdraws. The shells grow to match the contours of the rock in order to form a strong seal, protecting them from desiccation and also predation.They find their way back to the same spot by using chemical cues, finding their own mucus track and following it back to their home point. [4] Limpets are the prey of a variety of creatures, including seals, fish, shore-birds, starfish and humans. The limpets have two defences: fleeing or clamping down to the rock. They can determine which would be the most effective by detecting chemicals in the environment. Patella Vulgata have the general lifespan of 10 years but this can be drastically changed by the rate of growth. If there is an excess of food, the limpets grow exceedingly quickly but generally only live for around 3 years.However, if food is sparse, li mpets usually grow very slowly but can live up to 20 years. [5] Patella Vulgata are hermaphrodites and undergo a sex change during their life. At around 9 months they mature as males, but after a couple of years they change sex and become female. Spawning occurs annually, usually during the winter months as it is triggered by rough seas, which disperse the eggs and sperm. [6] The larvae has a pelagic life of about 2 weeks and then settles on rocks at a shell length of about 0. 2 mm, usually in rock pools or areas that are constantly damp. HYPOTHESISOur hypothesis states that there will be a difference in the height to width ratio of limpets on different parts of the beach: lower, middle and upper. The null hypothesis states that there will be no difference between the height to width ratio of limpets on different parts of the beach: lower, middle and upper. METHOD We visited an exposed rocky shore at Scarborough in order to deduce whether the height to length ratio of limpets change d across different zones of the shore. Initially, we had to identify the different area of the beach and we did this by using different types of seaweed and levels of diversity as an indicator. 7] The upper zone, also known as the high tide zone, does not have enough water to sustain large amounts of vegetation. [8] The predominant organisms are anemones, barnacles, hermit crabs and limpets. The rock pools in this area are inhabited by large seaweed and small fish. The middle shore, or middle tide zone, is submerged by water for approximately half of the cycle. This means that there is the capability to support much more marine vegetation, specifically seaweeds. The organisms found there are more complex and larger in size than further up the shore. 9] The rock pools can provide a suitable habitat for small fish, sea urchins, shrimps and zoo plankton. This area is more diversified than the upper shore. The lower shore, or low tide zone, is mostly submerged underwater. The most notic eable difference of this sub-region is the large diversity of different types of seaweeds. Organisms found in this zone are generally less adapted to periods of dryness. The creatures are generally the largest and most complex organisms on the shore as there are more sources of food as marine vegetation flourishes.The way that we sampled was random, meaning that every point is equally likely to be selected, and selection of one point does not change the probability of including any other point. [10] Once we had deduced the zones, we picked a random point in the zone, which was always the origin, and used a random number chart to decide how we far would walk before putting down the quadrant. We then measured the height and width of all the limpets inside the quadrant. In order to measure the limpets accurately we used a set of callipers; the callipers were positioned from the posterior end of the shell to the anterior.On average we measured 27 limpets per zone. We did not calculate a running mean but we knew from other students that variation decreases in the region of 20-25. We collected the data using a simple tally, adding to it during the day. RESULTS Lower to Middle Shore My hypothesis was that there would be a significant difference in the height to length ratio of limpets found between the lower and mid shore. My statistical test gave a t-value of 1. 3 at 52 degrees of freedom. This value is not large enough to give me any confidence that there is a statistically significant difference, as it is below 1. 8; therefore I must reject my hypothesis and accept my null hypothesis that there is no significant difference between the height to length ratio of limpets found between the lower and mid shore. Middle to Upper Shore My hypothesis was that there would be a significant difference in the height to length ratio of limpets found between the mid and upper shore. My statistical test gave a t-value of 3. 3 at 50 degrees of freedom. This value is larger than 2. 70, giving me a 99% confidence that there is a statistically significant difference and therefore I am able to accept my hypothesis. Upper to Lower ShoreMy hypothesis was that there would be a significant difference in the height to length ratio of limpets found between the upper and lower shore. My statistical test gave a t-value of 3. 2 at 52 degrees of freedom. This value is again larger than 2. 70 giving me a 99% confidence that there is a statistically significant difference and therefore I am able to accept my hypothesis. CONCLUSIONS The data we collected shows that the smallest limpets found on the Holbeck shore were on the middle shore. We found that, on the lower shore, the limpets had the smallest height but the largest width.This can be explained as they are the affected most by strong waves and are most at risk of being washed away. To combat these problems they have a shallow but wide shell to give the largest area for the muscular foot to hold onto the rock. Also, the limpets at the bottom of the shore are underwater for the longest time. This means that they have less problems combating desiccation than limpets in the other zones. This allows for a larger circumference of the shell, as it is not as essential to have a perfect seal to the rock. [11]On the upper shore, the limpets we found were generally taller with a smaller base of their shell. Being far up the beach, they do not have as many strong waves which may wash them from their rock so they do not need as large an area for the muscular foot to grip the rock. However, the smaller circumference lowers the chances of having an imperfection in the shape of the shell compared to the homing scar, meaning that a perfect seal will be created. This is of paramount importance as they spend most of their time exposed and in the sunlight – meaning desiccation could easily occur. 12] To help prevent desiccation, the tall shell allows water to be trapped inside, creating a small pool and allow ing the limpet to survive whilst being out of water during low tide. FURTHER DISCUSSION Apart from the threats of desiccation and strong waves, there may be other factors which influence the growth of limpets in different areas on the shore. One factor would be the feeding time available for limpets. [13] Limpets further down the shore spend more time underwater so they have more time to graze where as the limpets further up the shore have very little time under water so have very little grazing time. 14] The amount food eaten may in some way affect the growth patterns and development of the conical shells. Another factor is salinity. When the shore is submerged regularly by sea water, the salinity generally remains stable. However, in areas with an abundance of rock pools may have varied salinity levels. As rock pools constantly dry out, due to exposure to warm temperature, the water evaporates leaving behind the salt. [15] Overtime the salinity levels become high, making the rock pool inhabitable to many creatures, including limpets which can only tolerate normal sea water salinity. 16] Fluctuations in salinity alter the water potential and may cause cells in the limpet to become turgid or flaccid – both of which are dangerous. REFERENCES [1] – RG Evans (1974). Biology of British Limpets: Page 411. Found on 12. 10. 12. [2] – I Cockcroft. Website: Gyllybeach, Common Limpet. Found on 13. 10. 12. [3] – Fish, J. D. & Fish, S. (1996) A student's guide to the seashore. Second Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Found on 13. 10. 12 [4] – Website: pznow, Limpets. Found on 14. 10. 12. [5] – Hill, J. M. , (2000). Patella vulgata.Common limpet. Marine Life Information. Found on 17. 10. 12 [6] – BBC (2005) Website: BBC, Science and Nature, Animal Fact Files, Common Limpet. Found on 12. 10. 12. [7] – Vipera, T. Website: Life Under The Sea, Zonation. Found on 18. 10. 12. [8] – YPTE (2010). Website: ypte, Environment, Rocky Shore Ecology. Found on 15. 10. 12. [9] – Rothery M (2005) Rocky Shore Handout. Found on 20. 10. 12. [10] – R Easton, Hall J. Website: Stats Glossary, Sampling. Found on 18. 10. 12. [11] – Norfolk WT (2011). Website: Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Wildlife, Common Limpet. Found on 20. 0. 12. [12] – J Adams (1999) â€Å"A Comparison of Width and Height of Common Limpets Between a Sheltered Shore and an Exposed Shore.. Found on 20. 10. 12. [13] – Levinton J. S. (1995) Marine biology: function, biodiversity, ecology. Oxford University Press. Found on 22. 10. 12 [14] – Bennett, I. (1987) W. J. Dakin's classic study: Australian Seashores. , Angus & Robertson, Sydney. Found on 22. 10. 12. [15] – Wars (2011). Website: Limpet Wars, marine science. Found on 20. 10. 12. [16] – Knox G. A. (2001) The ecology of seashores. CRC Press. Page 557. Found on 20. 10. 12

Day Lighting Study Case Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Day Lighting - Case Study Example In the figure, it is clearly visible that the sunlight reflecting directly on the floor at the base of the glass doors is brighter as compared to that pouring through the windows because of the filter. Moreover, the location of windows has been chosen very carefully so as to ensure that people sitting on the chairs get the light rather than the ones passing through the corridor. So the design selected to use the light is successful as it fulfills the purpose of its in-pour. Fig. 3 shows another room of the same building in which there is no in-pour of sunlight and the source of light is basically the reflection of sunrays from the floor of the terrace into the room. Here, the room has been purposefully designed in such a way that there is no direct in-pour of light and yet there is sufficient illumination in the room. In Fig. 4, the filtering windows have been placed atop the room to reduce the intensity of light without reducing the illumination. This is a successful use of light as the design ensures that the occupants of the building receive just the amount of light that is sufficient for them. Without the filter-glass on the top, space would be capturing direct sunlight that would be even more intensified after diffusing from the white floor. In Fig. 5, the room has been oriented in such a way that the window captures the brightness of the sunlight outside without increasing the glare inside the room. A very important purpose that this design serves is that it creates no significant shadows of the furniture placed in the room which enhances the visual appeal of the room. Since it is a room with a limited space, a heavy in-pour of sunlight would have been irritating for the inhabitants. In Fig. 6, the benefit of daylighting is shown as it provides the occupants of the building with a direct link to the evolving outdoor illumination patterns, thus creating productive and visually stimulating environment along with reducing the energy costs of the entire build ing. However, the architectural design shown in Fig. 6 is not successful as it provides no point of entry to the sunlight into the room, which is why the room is dark. Ideally, the design should have been such that allowed the sunlight to enter till the threshold of the room to provide it with enough natural light.

Corporate Goal of Maximizing Shareholder Value Essay

Corporate Goal of Maximizing Shareholder Value - Essay Example Enhancing shareholder value cannot be stretched beyond the limits that start breaching the fundamental requirements of corporate governance. Ireland (1996. pp289) established an empirical generalization that the legal existence of the company and the shareholders is entirely separate. Although acts like Sarbanes Oxley in United States have made the leadership of the organization (CEO or CFO!!) legally responsible for the accuracy in accounting statements, many countries around the world still lacks such acts. Moreover, the act does not make shareholders responsible always because in many companies the shareholders do not sign on accounting statements or manage the company operations. Sundaram and Inkpen (2004. pp353) argue that the shareholder value maximization should be considered after all the liabilities of the corporate has been fulfilled - including incentives of managers, contractual liabilities, payments of dividends, principal & interest payments to bond holders, supplier du es, wages, salaries, etc. The net value addition in shareholder wealth needs to be taken care of after all such liabilities have been fulfilled that can be effectively managed through corporate governance. ... ffective corporate governance are conflicting objectives and hence need to be managed by different individuals to reduce the risk of conflict of interest. The non shareholding stakeholders should be engaged in corporate governance whereas the shareholders should be engaged in wealth maximization and the both parties should have a congenial environment to resolve conflicting situations. These roles should be normally fixed in support of the argument by Sundaram and Inkpen (2004. pp355) that the transition from non-shareholding stakeholders to shareholders is easy but vice versa is very difficult. Example, a CEO practicing effective corporate governance should be kept out of shareholding otherwise the conflict of interest scenarios will happen. Non shareholding CEOs will not indulge into high risk taking attitudes in the attempt to maximize shareholder wealth that may lead to the corporate failing miserably in meeting their obligations and the backfiring on shareholder wealth leading t o complete crash. The meltdown of organizations like Lehman Brothers is an ideal example of failure of control procedures on risk taking attitudes. To what extent the objective of shareholder maximization is constrained by agency theory Agency theory is an important aspect of corporate balancing acts given that individuals will divulge into those actions that maximize their personal utility. This forms an excellent baseline for creating a balance between shareholder wealth maximization and corporate governance. The current financial crisis that we are witnessing is the result of stretched risk appetite in the attempt to maximize shareholder wealth to the largest possible extent. Denis & Denis (1999. pp1072) presents the influence of agency theory on risk taking attitudes of corporate

Supply Chain Management in Ford Automobile Research Paper

Supply Chain Management in Ford Automobile - Research Paper Example The concept of supply chain optimization assists the automobile industry to identify various difficulties that would arise while delivering products to customers at various market conditions. Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is one of the members of the group â€Å"Big Three† including Chrysler and General Motors as the other members (Levine, 2009). The Ford Motor Company is a well established car manufacturer in the automobile industry and the company started its manufacturing operations in 1903. The Ford Company introduced the first â€Å"dominant design† in automobiles which became the fundamental framework for other manufacturers to design their models. It is observed that the most powerful feature of the Ford is its flexibility to integrate with various market situations. This extreme feature has assisted the company to vie with many severe competitive markets. Ford possesses an efficient management team which effectively forecasts the market and changing cons umer tastes and thereby designs innovative car models (Salton, 2010). Supply Chain Management in Ford Automobile Industry The most fascinating feature of Ford’s supply chain management is that it possesses large number of suppliers. The company is characterized with three tiers of suppliers which add value to the company’s supply chain operations. Since the Ford is a $150 billion company, it practices significant leverage over its suppliers. The Ford’s trend of the past 30 years shows that the firm moves toward increasing outsourcing of materials, components, and services with intent to achieve lower costs and increased flexibility. This practice would certainly contribute... The researcher of this paper analyzes various supply chain strategies, objectives and practices of Ford Motor Company. This research paper mostly focuses on describing supply chain optimization, that is the application of different strategies and processes which are aimed at the effective supply chain operations at manufacturing and distribution. In order to achieve supply chain optimization in automobile industry, that is discussed in the research paper it is necessary to ensure uninterrupted and optimal placement of inventory within the supply chain and minimize various operating costs including manufacturing costs, distribution costs, and transportation costs. In modern times, computer software plays a crucial role in developing mathematical modeling techniques which can well contribute to the supply chain optimization especially, in automobile industry. In the automobile supply chain system, such as the Ford Motor Company’s, supplying industries provide rubber, electronics , glass, steels, and other materials to the manufacturers. In conclusion, the researcher tries to sum up his exploration on the company's supply chain strategies. The researcher states that the Ford Motor Company is the best example for such exploration, not only for it efficiently practices but also for different optimization strategies in order to promote its successful business as well. The company’s environment-friendly product designs are highly notable for their increasing significance in the modern automobile market.

Explain Marx's general law of capitalist accumulation and discuss it's Essay

Explain Marx's general law of capitalist accumulation and discuss it's contemporary relevance - Essay Example Though Marx does not agree with the means by which capital accumulation takes place, the identifiers that he exhibits with regards to how such a system takes place and is perpetuated is difficult to argue against regardless of the political/economic ideology that the individual may have. As a function of understanding Marx’s identification and theory of capital accumulation, this analysis will approach this topic from a historical and economic standpoint. Moreover, after seeking to define and understand the nuances of capital accumulation, as Marx describes it, the analysis will then move on to attempting to define whether or not this particular definition and understanding is applicable currently or has any contemporary relevance whatsoever. Finally, it is the hope of this author that such a discussion will not only integrate a further understanding with regards to Marx’s original intent and the means by which the Communist definition of capital accumulation was theori zed/enunciated but that this realization an understanding will seek to elaborate upon the means by which such a definition/theory continues to be relevant or is entirely irrelevant within the current era. As with so many of Karl Marx’s economic theories, it is of course first necessary to integrate with an interpretation and understanding of how Marx defined human psychology and base nature as a means of better understanding this theory and definition of capitalist accumulation. Ultimately, the writings and philosophy of Karl Marx were concentric upon an understanding that human nature as necessarily developed as a means of ensuring that humans are able to derive all of the necessary requirements for life that they may have. Not distinct from the evolutionary standpoint, Marx theory of human nature specifies that the individual, and the group for that matter, will likely seek to enrich themselves in all manners possible at all times possible (Hein, 2012). According to Marx, t his is something of an innate drive that is engaged from the moment that an individual self-actualizes until the time that they die. This primary interpretation of the motivation degree provides is a primal means by which the capital accumulation theory is defined within the Marxist worldview. Delving directly into the definition itself, Marx understood capitalism to be locked in something of a self induced death spiral. This was ultimately the result of the fact that Marx understanding of capital was a situation in which humans invariably seek after wealth and self-enrichment as a means to define their own reality. Although this in and of itself represents and unethical approach, far more unethical, according to Marx, is the reality of fact this reality invariably takes place on the backs of others. This enrichment at the expense of others has profound and severe consequences due to the fact that brutal treatment of the producers is oftentimes affected as a means of capital accrual /accumulation. In short, Marx’s concept of capital accumulation can be understood with regards to the illustration and so many economists oftentimes make with regards to t

A Basic Project Management Framework and the Proper Staff Literature review

A Basic Project Management Framework and the Proper Staff - Literature review Example The measures that had been put in place were not working, in July emergency measures were put in place.   This included free two-year extensions to passports as well as many other drastic measures.   One such measure was to add 100 staff to places issuing passports, and there was a phone line set up to deal with inquiries over the phone. In addition, more measures were put in place in order to improve the lines at passport offices.   Even though the Agency set up a goal of reaching the deadlines for processing passports by peoples’ dates of departure, there were still about a half of a grand missed dates of departure.   This is not to mention all of the hand-wringing going on by customers who were anxiously anticipating their passports being processed. Another aspect of this whole fiasco was that, throughout the ‘90s, some of the concerns of management were to lessen costs as well as make the organization more effective, at the same time keeping good quality cust omer relations.   Management thought that perhaps the Agency had done well for itself, improving in both of these senses of the word and that it boded well with other agencies comparable to itself—costs to the consumer being competitive with other places around the country. Regardless, both management and the Agency realized that they had not taken into consideration, along with the fact that there was increased demand for passports, that the Agency was working out of deference to how many passports were coming in at one time rather than taking into account the fact that the Agency was dealing with a higher demand.  Ã‚  

Bata Shoes (Retailing Industry) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Bata Shoes (Retailing Industry) - Essay Example A number of lower and middle price footwear business experienced the risk of collapse. Few number of large scale specialists in fashion and premium players were able to survive the trembled economic condition. In the coming future there would be certain factors which could affect the footwear industry. Venture capitalists have been the key driver in the growth of the footwear industry. However, due to the financial turmoil the venture capital sector was not able to offer any lucrative prospectus. That is why even the footwear industry had to bear a stalled growth in the last few years. During the global recession, the consumers had been very much selective about their spending. They would polish their old shoes rather than buying some new shoes. UK footwear industry also experienced less profitability due to the depreciation of Sterling against the US Dollar (Verdict, 2009). They were operating on low operating margins as low consumer confidence made it quite difficult for the retail ers to offer higher price to the customers. Now that UK is reviving from the trembled situation, one can expect a revival for the footwear industry. In the mid nineties, the demand in the footwear industry had seen a downturn. However, between 1996 and 1999, only the leather footwear industry saw a growth of nine percent. The demand for the footwear have been rising since then; the reasons are many including increased population, enhanced standard of living and continual increase in the shopping spree of the tourists. However, due to the financial downturn, consumers started looking for bargains and at the same time tourist spending was reduced to bare minimum. As a consequence the footwear industry saw a drop in sales in the last two years. With the economy recovering, the show retailers expect the shoe retail industry to rebound this year. The revival is indicated by the recovery in the local shopping sectors. The process

How to Maintain Reciprocity in Intimate Relationships Article

How to Maintain Reciprocity in Intimate Relationships - Article Example This will be enhanced through critical evaluation of scholarly research. Reciprocity in any relationship motivates each partner’s behavior. In every form of union, there exists either positive or negative reciprocity. This helps ensure that in society violent reactions due to anger are minimal. Negative reciprocity encourages the violent reactions and even mistreatments while positive reciprocity encourages praiseworthy deeds and humility enabling one to endure hard situations (Vetere et al, 2005). There are different types of reciprocity. It may be one on one relationship between either individuals or governments or institutions. Research conducted by Solomon & Samp (1998) shows that most of them are usually long-term relationships that expect either direct reciprocity. One-to-many or many-to-one reciprocity is usually experienced in informal ties like bridal showers, and even community comes together. There is also generalized reciprocity that happens over a large group of i ndividuals or institutions. Citizens also need to practice reciprocity with their states and communicate any possible conflict in ideas or even complains or gratitude to their rulers. According to Van Lange, & Visser (1999) research, for people to get in any relationship, they experience strong feelings towards each other. A feeling of lust, liking, and love starts to grow towards each other. Close relations start growing, and with time, they become compassionate and committed into each other. These attractions may be due to their skin color, walking styles, the way they talk, or their thinking. It may also because these two people share beliefs and have common interests. Psychologists argue that love is usually a passionate feeling, both physical and emotional. One gets utterly absorbed into the other and helps each other realize and understand themselves better by the compliments they get. Intimate relationships are cultivated as strong sexual feelings and feeling of completeness also onset. Passion and dependency on each other also are cultivated. This closeness between individuals results to complex emotions that grow for each other. Dependency for emotional support helps ensure of the well-being of each other. Partners offer each other with enthusiasm and positive personal view on their self worth. In his scholarly work, Cole (2001) depicts that the level of intimacy develops in stages. It is not cultivated within hours or one day. The links established with one another foster the closeness and trust feeling for one another. However, peer relationships that are based on curiosity may tend to be more intimate briefly only for periods of self-discovery. The anxiety to explore on new areas may cultivate intimacy but only to encourage accessibility to what they intent to explore on (Vetere et al, 2005). Adult intimate relationships are expected to have communications and expression of one’s feeling freely. Feelings of gratitude or any other significant feelings both negative and positive can be communicated without barriers. The response that one gets may be corrective, encouraging, or even punishing. In case of negative reciprocity the individuals should turn to the community for help on how to resolve the conflict. In an intimate relation, pain infliction is not encouraged and but rather repairing the harm done should be the main thing. Consoling should

Mortality Rate Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mortality Rate - Research Paper Example Adjusting the mortality rates is important if we have to compare populations of age-sex groups or belonging to different time periods. â€Å"In order to avoid errors in interpretation, mortality rates must be adjusted to a common population with a known age structure† (Hispanic Health Homepage, 2001). Thus, we standardize the mortality rates. This also called adjustment to calculate mortality rate and its significance is seen when we observe that there are many diseases that occur at different rates in different ages. For examples, cancer occurs most often in elder people while physical injuries happen to younger age group within the same population. So, when we age-adjust the statistics, we can tell what health conditions the population is suffering from and what are the mortality rates when compared with other populations (Department of Health, 1999). If we use unadjusted mortality rates, then this comparison is not possible and it also becomes difficult to interpret the dif ferences between the mortality rates of different populations or different time periods. Question2 Adjusted and unadjusted mortality rates are useful for healthcare organizations in decision making process in that when a speedy result is required in making comparisons of health conditions or mortality, then crude or unadjusted rates are sufficient.

Definitions of biological science Essay Example for Free

Definitions of biological science Essay 1) Cite 3 definitions of biological science. Why is it significant to include it in your curriculum? a) Science of life b) Transcends such as sciences as chemistry, physics, mathematics and geology c) Study of living things * We can have information’s about the workings of living systems, turning the discoveries into medical treatments, methods of growing food and innovative products. We can learn organic structure, properties and chemical mechanism as we apply biological systems. It will empower us to understand and even predict about living things and other related to science. 2) Analyze the timeline of biology presented and discussed previously. What do you think are the 5 major inventions or discoveries of all time? Prove your point. a) 1961 Leonard Hayflick demonstrated that a population of normal human fetal cells in a cell culture divide between 40 and 60 times then enter a senescence phase. b) 1970 Geerat â€Å"Gary† Vermeij, a blind scientist, while studying mollusks in Guam, discovered that predators play a major role in determining how and why specie change. In 1992 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and in 1996 published â€Å"Privileged Hands: A Scientific Life†. c) 1974 – Albert Claude, a Belgium-born biologist, won the Nobel for his work on the sub-structure of the cell. d) 1977 – Robert Ballard and John B. Corliss found unknown creatures thriving on bacteria from that depended on sulfur from volcanic vents. e) 1981 – Lynn Margulis wrote â€Å"Symbiosis in Cell Evolution†. She proposed that three types of prokaryotes fused biologically to create the first living cells with nucleic structures. 3) Name 5 approaches/disciplines that are related to biology and make connections why you consider them related to biology. a) Botany study the ways in which we can manipulate the growth of plants and genetically alter them for nutritional or environmental benefits. Plants will lead you to study their individual structures, how plants are alike and how they differ, and how to identify and classify plants of all kinds. b) Cell Biology Cell biology is the sub discipline of biology that studies the basic unit of life, the cell. It deals with all aspects of the cell including cell anatomy, cell division and cell processes such as cell respiration, and cell death. c) Herpetology the field of herpetology may include studies related to behavior, genetics, anatomy, physiology, ecology, health, and reproduction. d) Integrative Biology the study and research of biological systems. It does not simply involve one discipline, but integrates a wide variety of disciplines that work together to find answers to scientific questions. e) Physiology – it is a broad sub-field in biology. It may be categorized into animal and plant physiology depending on the organisms described. It determines the relative functions of parts, it crosses another important sub-field in biology. The biological processes and functions of the parts of an organism.

Determine The Motivation Factors Tourism Essay

Determine The Motivation Factors Tourism Essay 1.0 Introduction This chapter is an introductory chapter. It intend to discuss on background of the study, highlight the problem statement, depict research objectives and questions and explain significance of the study, provide outline of the study and sum up a conclusion of this chapter. 1.1 Background of the Study Before year 1997, the insurance companies in Malaysia are operating as private company complied by the Insurance Act 1963. Yet, followed by the enactment of Insurance Act 1996 which started into force on 1st January 1997, all the insurance companies are converted to public company which licensed by the Ministry of Finance under the Companies Act 1965 (Bank Negara Malaysia [BNM], 2005). The growth of the insurance industry is closely related to the domestic economy of Malaysia. Based on the financial performance, the revenue of insurance industry in Malaysia is increasing gradually year by year. It had shown that an increase of RM 1,110,806 or 7.87% in the income of insurance industry in Malaysia in year 2010 as compared to year 2009. Income of RM 14,114,618 and RM 15,225,424 are recorded respectively for year 2009 and 2010 (Malaysia Insurance Institute, 2010). Meanwhile, the number of registered agents is also growing up year by year. There was a growth from 116,008 agents in year 2009 to 122,399 agents in year 2010, which was increased by 6,391 agents (BNM, 2010). Motivation is the part of commitment and results in achieving the organizational objectives at the appropriate way. Job satisfaction of employees can be motivated by different motivation factors (Balachandar, Panchanatham Subramanian, 2010). According to Tripathi (2001) most of the companies usually motivate their employees by offering economic reward, recognition, promotion, job security, training and authority. When customer comes to buy insurance, very few people contact an insurance company directly, the insurance agent play the role to solicit and sell insurance policies to the general public. No doubt, the revenue of insurance industry is very much depending on the sales gained by the insurance agents. Hence, motivation plays a great role to encourage insurance agents to work professionally in delivering their services to customers. Insurance agents will feel satisfied with their job when companies apply the motivation factors correctly on them. Insurance companies motivate their insurance agents by giving rewards such as extra bonus or company trip to appreciate their effort in getting sales for the insurance company. 1.3 Problem Statement Nowadays, more people want to become insurance agents, which led to the increased of challenges. The statistical report of Bank Negara Malaysia stated that the number of registered insurance agents had increased 5.51% from 2009 to 2010 (BNM, 2010). Normally, insurance agents do not have any basic salary but their pay is based on commission. Insurance agents try to retain and increase their target productivity in order to satisfy their jobs, save their jobs and increase their well-being because the wages of insurance agent depends on a commission basis (Christopher, 2007). According to Bakos (2008) insurance agents retain in the company is highly influenced by commission as remuneration. If the commission to the insurance agents is low, it will de-motivate them and leads to resignation. Past studies showed that motivation and job satisfaction have direct relationship to influence employee retention and performance among various types of organization (Goleman, 1998). According to Cravens, Ingram, LaForge and Young (2010) giving a right tool of training and development can motivate insurance agents more successful in selling life insurance products. Training and development can improve the job skills and knowledge of insurance agents at each level. Therefore, employees should be given more opportunities for advancement to motivate them in order to enhance their job satisfaction level (Feinstein, 2000). Besides, Tripathi (2001) stated that employees can be motivated by job security, recognition, promotion and training to enhance job satisfaction. There are several past researchers Hassan (2010), Salleh, Dzulkifli, Abdullah and Ariffin (2011), Golshan, Kaswuri, Aghashahi, Amin and Ismail (2011) studies on the relationship between motivation factors and job satisfaction among nurses, state Government employees and Gen-Y administrative and diplomatic officers in Malaysia but lack of studies on insurance agents in Malaysia. The objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between motivation factors and job satisfaction among insurance agents in Malaysia. 1.4 Research Questions and Objectives 1.4.1 General Objective The major objective of this research is to identify and determine the motivation factors that influence job satisfaction of insurance agents in Malaysia. 1.4.2 General Question What are the motivation factors that influence job satisfaction of insurance agents in Malaysia? 1.4.3 Specific Objectives To investigate whether commission pay influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia. To investigate whether job security influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia. To investigate whether opportunities for advancement and development influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia. To investigate whether work itself influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia. 1.4.4 Research Questions Will commission pay influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia? Will job security influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia? Will opportunities for advancement and development influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia? Will work itself influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia? 1.5 Significance of the Study This research is tending to contribute to the individual and companies. To through this research, the insurance companies will know the importance of the insurance agents job satisfaction and knowing the level of job satisfaction of insurance agents. Meanwhile, individual can also gain a better understanding on motivation factors that can lead them to job satisfaction. The second aim of this research is to narrow the gap with regards to understanding job satisfaction of insurance agents by studying the motivation factors that influence insurance agents job satisfaction. Insurance companies will get to know more about the motivation factors that influence the insurance agents job satisfaction by offer some rewards system to satisfy insurance agents. This enables them to build long-term profitability and retain continuous growth in their businesses to gain competitive advantages in the insurance industry. This research will also expose a new knowledge to the public who has interest on the job of an insurance agent. It assists the public on raising knowledge and awareness of motivation factors that influence the job satisfaction of the insurance agents. 1.6 Outline of the Study Chapter two shows the related literature review that provides the foundation for developing the theoretical framework to proceed with further investigation and hypotheses testing. Chapter three presents the research methodology used to test the research questions. It includes research design, population, sample and sampling procedures, data collection method, variables and measurement, and data analysis techniques. Chapter four is the description of the data analysis. It presents the overall result and findings from the data collection. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) is used to generate results in this research. Chapter five is summaries the research finding and also discusses the major finding. Besides, it also discusses the limitation of the study as well as provides the recommendation for future researchers. 1.7 Conclusion This chapter is about the overview of this study stated on the above. This study aims to determine the motivation factors affecting toward insurance agents job satisfaction so as to contribute for insurance companies and the public. In the following chapter two, it will provide the literature review of this study.

Business Management of Cloud Services

Business Management of Cloud Services 1. Establish executive support Senior management team must understand and take responsibility for the successful adoption of cloud services. Pressures will come from a number of key players in any cloud decision: IT, finance, procurement, and the user community. The IT community is most concerned about global access and impact on networks, security, user performance, etc. The key to their support is a globally-aware architectural plan for cloud implementation. Finance and procurement are most concerned about saving money. The key to executive support is a well-thought ROI rationale and calculation. Users are often most concerned scaling the environment in lock-step with changes to the business. The key to executive support from this group is to demonstrate higher elasticity from the cloud. 2. Address organizational change management Management must understand and address the pressures introduced by cloud computing on the organization. Cloud computing will introduce change to the normal IT development and deployment processes, breaking down many organizational barriers and norms. At the heart of change is fear of loss-primarily, loss of control. The change must have a well-managed, well-planned process for mitigating fear of loss. Embracing change is critical to success. 3. Establish commitment The organization must be fully committed to developing and executing a strategic plan for cloud computing within the enterprise. Adoption of cloud computing should be led by senior management including the CEO and CFO with the CIO and CTO playing a role of key enablers. 4. Carefully evaluate cloud service agreements to ensure critical business needs Do not use service agreements for a fundamentally broken system that cannot meet the expectations being set. The service agreement is a shared responsibility and simply moving a service to a cloud provider does not mean that the service will magically work. Buy service, not servers. Look for complete managed services where you rely on the cloud provider to integrate all the parts into a complete solution. A properly negotiated service agreement will ensure there is a partnership between the customer and provider for the overall success of the service. 5. Address federated governance Cloud services are by nature distributed, but most command-and-control systems for managing IT are hierarchical. To succeed, some degree of distributed control and federated governance is necessary to match the model of cloud service delivery. Before making a decision on a cloud service provider, it is important to understand how the cloud service will be managed and what processes need to be integrated into the existing IT environment. 6. Rationalize security and privacy At the heart of security is trust. Often cloud providers have a deeper awareness of what is required to provide good security than the customers they serve. However, the customer and cloud service provider must work together to establish a trust relationship and to establish the security and privacy required. Document the level of security required to properly protect the service and data and let the provider confirm how the requirements will be met. Objectively measure the providers true security capabilities. It is critical that sensitive information does not find its way into the wrong hands. The provider is responsible for ensuring that the data has appropriate protection, consistent with the requirements of the SLA. 7. Comply with legal and regulatory requirements An organization must be aware of and plan for adherence to legal and regulatory requirements, including those related to security, privacy and accessibility. Failure to comply can derail the cloud computing effort and result in costly lawsuits. 8. Define metrics and a process for measuring impact Create operational metrics which define steady state success define how the metrics will be measured. Use metrics to assess cost savings and revenue enhancement, and to validate SLA compliance, including elasticity, availability, performance globalization, etc. By measuring results, there will be a baseline from which to make better decisions for future cloud services with the goal of continual ROI improvement

cloning enigma :: essays research papers

Year 2004: A father goes to a hospital and enters the room of a genetic engineer. â€Å" Sir I want to have a child.† Doctor, â€Å"What gender?† â€Å" A boy, blue eyes, blonde hair, fair skin , good height and intelligence equivalent to Einstein’s.† Doctor,† Sorry sir, no Einstiens, no Aristotles, Government isn’t allowing any more. You know the student councils have been shouting their heads off, cause the Sommerfield Wave equation has been changed so often.† Brace yourselves fellow human beings, for the onslaught of technology in the ensuing years. Owing to the rapid progress being made in genetics, you and I might be declared a rare species in the years to come. ‘Designer Babies’ will be the order of the day. Alas! The first human clone being bred in American Laboratories will not grow into a human being like us mortals! But it possesses a replication of our Genetic Code. The cells will continue to multiply like in any of us but unlike us they would be on a laboratory’s culture discs. The basic purpose behind this million dollar Genome Project is to create healthy cells free from any diseases and use them to cure ailing people. I personally feel that this entire project is a wonderful step towards eradicating lethal like AIDS and cancer. However, many people view this achievement in a negative manner by blaming the doctors for ‘playing God’. They believe that creating an artificial human clone is a direct revolt against nature’s equilibrium. However, it must not be forgotten that God has assigned man the role of serving humanity in any way possible. And, I view this human clone as a promising solution to many problems. Another conservative view is; the technology available today is not advanced enough to ensure that the clone develops steadily into a disease free source of cells. The cloned sheep, Dolly developing symptoms of arthritis at a young age, has specially proved this. Nevertheless, one must be aware of the fact that it is a trial and error process which will gradually lead to more reliable

War is Kind by Stephanie Peace and Wilfred Owen’s Anthem for Doomed Youth :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

War is Kind by Stephanie Peace and Wilfred Owen’s Anthem for Doomed Youth War and peace, another saga in the on going battle of good versus evil. Ironically though, war (evil) is created in the process of pursuing peace (good.) The world today believes that peace is freedom, the right to live, and a harmony between all. Certain places or people do not agree with this though, so the â€Å"good† must go in and conquer the â€Å"evil† in order to create peace. Where as Claude McKay would agree with me that war serves to create peace, Wilfred Owen would more than likely say that war does nothing but bring death. War is not pretty, as decorated as it may be, but it does have a purpose. Without fighting, without battles, without war, our nation would not be what it is today. We had to fight for our freedom and our pursuit of happiness. Once we obtained this, we then had to fight to keep it from the Nazi’s, from the Japanese, and even Russians. In McKay’s â€Å"America†, he compares our nation to a tiger who’s tooth sinks into his throat. He is saying that America is strong and fierce, and that blood must be spilled in order to â€Å"stand with in her walls with not a shred/ Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer† (725 9-10). If America wasn’t this tiger, if America didn’t fight for what those with in her believe is right, then the people with in her would live in fear and terror of being attacked themselves. This is why we must fight, so that we can keep our peace. While war may keep our peace, there are people who sacrifice themselves during battle who will never get a chance to see it. This is how Wilfred Owen views war in â€Å"Anthem for Doomed Youth.† Instead of those who fight in battle being surrounded by peace, they only hear the â€Å"monstrous anger of the guns† and only see â€Å"[candles] Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes† (731 2, 11). No, for those who fight in war there is no peace, only death. Only decay. This is all those who fight see and hear; this is what loses in around them. To those who fight in war, there is no winning. To those who fight in war, there is no victory. No, instead there is only the â€Å"pallor of girls’ brows†, only tears and sorrow (732 11).

To Hell With Dying as an Autobiography Essays -- Hell With Dying Essay

To Hell With Dying as an Autobiography  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   When reading fiction, one can begin to wonder how much of a gap there is between the story the narrator is telling and the actual events that occurred to make the author decide to write the story. In Alice Walker’s "To Hell With Dying," one could say that this story is basically auto- biographical. Although some people may have thought that "To Hell With Dying" was completely fiction, evidence from the story and other sources suggest otherwise. The love the narrator feels towards Mr. Sweet parallels with actual events that took place in Alice Walker’s life. In the preface of Donna Haisty Winchell’s book Alice Walker, it is revealed that Alice Walker was "blinded in one eye at age eight by a careless shot from a brother’s BB gun" (ix). The shot left a scar that bothered Walker immensely. Winchell also writes that because of the BB shot wound Walker was "feeling ugly and outcast" (ix). This description of Walker’s accident creates the image of a young girl who has no feeling of self worth. In the story, however, Mr. Sweet is very fond of the narrator. He used to call her "his princess," and "he made [her feel] simply outrageously devastating at the blazing age of eight and a half" (1144). Perhaps this description of how Mr. Sweet makes the narrator feel pretty symbolizes the way Alice Walker felt about Mr. Sweet in real life. Alice Walker was eight when she got shot with the BB gun, and the narrator is eight and a half when Mr. Sweet is telling her how pretty she is. Although Alice Walker only has vague memories of th e real Mr. Sweet, she does remember that he never stopped talking about the things that upset him. Mr. Sweet’s talking and singing made Walker feel good. In Walker... ...e an artist as well. Walker explains in Alice Walker. "The love happened, and that is the essence of the story" (qtd. in Winchell, 12). Walker wrote "To Hell With Dying" in order to thank Mr. Sweet for what he contributed to her life. Winchell acknowledges that "the story is her [Walker’s] wish that she could have returned the favor" (13). Works Cited Walker, Alice. "Remembering Mr. Sweet." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. Walker, Alice. "To Hell With Dying." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. Winchell, Donna Haisty. Alice Walker. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992. Works Consulted Short Story Criticisms. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale Publishers, 1990. Contemporary Literary Criticisms. Vols. 46, 58. Detroit: Gale Publishers, 1990.      

The Implications of the Phrase: “Existence Precedes Essence.”

Kung Tzu or Confucius as he is better known as was born in 551 BC and was a Chinese thinker and teacher (as he preferred to see himself) developed a system of philosophy and religion known as Confucianism. One part of his thoughts in particular are currently of interest to us; his views on human nature. Confucius believed that human nature is neither good nor evil, but develops through out one’s life.The actions, choices and thoughts of every person all contribute towards a person’s nature; and as a result of this thought he justified that there is no collective human nature and that human nature varies from person to person. This may be summed up into one phrase: â€Å"existence precedes essence†. The statement in this case would mean that people are born without any nature as such, and are neither good nor evil to begin with; quite simply they’re like a hollow husk with no character, soul or substance (mental and emotional) that would make them human.The character develops and grows as a person experiences live and all the challenges and rewards that accompany life and is reflected through the actions and decisions of each person. This would imply that every individual is born with a ‘clean sate’ and are thus free to determine the direction of their existence weather for good or evil as a culmination of their lives thus far. It also means that all human beings are born equal (at least on a moral plain) because every individual at birth has no essence or soul; quite simply, they may be compared to animals.It is their lives and experiences that shape who they are in essence and their actions and choices that reflect who they are. Further more as a result of the equality implications is could be deduced that all people regardless of their economic or social class are equally capable of committing good and evil and no individual is incapable of committing either good or evil regardless of their social or economic class.

Internet and Its Impact on Developing Countries

The Internet and its impact on developing countries: examples from China and India T. Kanti Srikantaiah Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois, USA and The Internet and its impact on China and India 199 Received February 1998 Revised March 1998 Dong Xiaoying Peking University, Beijing, China Introduction In the new information climate many countries are relying on electronic access to information through the Internet, which is revolutionising information management and information technology. Developed countries have improved their communication systems and are able to share information in a user-friendly environment.They have used the Internet in various sectors: †¢ agriculture; †¢ health; †¢ public sector management; †¢ industry; †¢ environment; †¢ telecommunications; †¢ trade; †¢ etc. The Internet is now penetrating developing countries. This paper discusses the role of the Internet in such countries, with specific reference to China a nd India. The Internet The idea of the Internet originated about 25 years ago at the US Defense Department Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), to keep track of data through computer hardware and software. The Internet is now a complex web of networks connected with high-speed links cutting across countries.There are no set boundaries for the Internet in cyberspace. Recent statistics show 50,000 networks in more than 100 countries with more than 50 million users (MIDS press release). It is estimated that the rate of growth in Internet use is around 20 per cent a month. Currently the Internet is not proprietary and is available to anyone with computer access connected to the external world. Since the USA launched the information superhighway in 1994, the Internet has come to play an ever-increasing role in the vast information market in many countries (Table I). Asian Libraries, Vol. 7 No. 9, 1998, pp. 199-209.  © MCB University Press, 1017-6748Asian Libraries 7,9 Country G-7 countries Canada France Germany Italy Japan Great Britain USA Africa South Africa Cyprus Tunisia Jamaica Senegal Egypt Mozambique Burkina Faso Cameroon Ghana Kenya Morocco New Caledonia Niger Swaziland Host Initial connection Country Turkey Indonesia Philippines India China Kuwait Malaysia United Arab Republic Kazakhstan Macau Fiji Uzbekistan Vietnam Lebanon Lithuania Latin America Brazil Mexico Chile Ecuador Peru Argentina Bermuda Venezuela Puerto Rico Costa Rica Guam Virgin Islands Nicaragua Panama Dominican Republic Host 22,963 10,861 4,309 4,794 25,594 3,555 6 994 1,136 1 0 153 3 1,128 2,761Initial connection 12/91 07/93 04/94 11/90 04/94 12/92 11/92 11/93 11/93 04/94 06/93 12/94 04/95 06/94 04/94 200 690,316 292,096 875,631 211,966 955,688 878,215 825,048 07/88 07/88 09/89 08/89 08/89 04/89 07/88 419 1,973 15 349 275 1,894 44 2 75 275 457 888 59 34 240 12/91 12/92 05/91 05/94 10/94 11/93 03/95 10/94 12/92 10/94 11/93 10/94 10/94 10/94 05/94 Asia and Middle East Taiwan 40,706 12 /91 Table I. South Korea 132,370 04/90 Distribution of hosts Israel 61,140 08/89 connected to the Internet Singapore 60,674 05/91 (1997): G-7 countries, Thailand 12,794 07/92 Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America Source of host number: http://www. w. com/zone/www/dist-byname. html, 1997 68,685 126 19,168 1,078 6,510 18,985 1,648 4,679 114 4,259 91 7 743 390 25 06/90 02/89 04/90 07/92 11/93 10/90 05/90 02/94 10/89 01/93 10/93 03/93 02/94 06/94 04/95 Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohammed, once said: It can be no accident that there is today no wealthy developed country that is information poor, and no information rich country that is poor and underdeveloped (Nagy, 1991, p. 57). This statement emphasises the importance of the Internet for developing countries.From an international perspective access to and use of the Internet is unbalanced; there are obvious gaps between developed and developing countries in terms of the numbers of nets, hosts and users. As a study from the Panos Institute indicated: The Internet and its impact on Table I provides data on hosts and connection dates for selected countries in China and India Africa, Latin America, Asia and Pacific, along with G-7 countries for comparison.Of the hosts 56 per cent were in the USA, 26 per cent in Europe, 16 per cent in Canada and Latin America, 12 per cent in Asia and the Middle East, and the remaining 1 per cent were in African countries. The G-7 countries took about 80 per cent of total nets connected with the Internet, and the number of nets in 55 developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America amounted to only 5 per cent. According to another study, based on data from World Bank economic and social indicators, the correlation of Internet nodes with GNP per capita is 0. 88 per cent.Adjusted for population size, the country with the highest density of nodes for population was Switzerland. The USA ranked sixth, and India was one of the lowest. So the revolution in electroni c publishing and accessing is not really global (Jacobson, 1994). The timing of connection to the Internet is significant. For instance, while most developed countries obtained their connections to the Internet between 1988 and 1990, developing countries began around 1994-95. Even now many developing countries do not have Internet facilities. An approximate date of Internet connectivity for selected countries is also given in Table I.The World Bank has published data on various economic and social indicators for 133 countries. Table II shows data on population, literacy and GNP for selected developing countries and the G-7 countries. Tables I and II show a definite correlation among GNP per capita, population, illiteracy and number of networks connected with the Internet. The data show that the higher the GNP per capita and the lower the illiteracy rate, the greater the number of links to the Internet, whereas indicators such as higher population, higher illiteracy and lower GNP per capita accompany fewer connections to the Internet.For most developing countries Internet connections brought the golden opportunity of â€Å"leapfrog† development through participating and competing in global trade, sharing information globally in education, research and manufacturing/productivity sectors, and alleviating poverty, contributing to improved social and economic indicators. Information environment in China and India China and India are the two most populous countries in the world. With more than 2 billion people in these two countries, the market for the Internet is vast.In addition, both China and India are information-rich countries with a long tradition of learning, publishing and media activities. Both countries have recently experienced phenomenal growth in economic terms. According to a World Bank report, the annual average growth of GNP during the period 1985-94 in China and in India was around 7 per cent and 3 per cent respectively (World Bank Atlas, 19 96). Compared with other developing countries of the same scale, China and India have shown significant growth in the development here is a danger of a new information elitism which excludes the majority of the world’s population (John, 1995). 201 Asian Libraries 7,9 G-7 countries Canada France Germany Italy Japan United Kingdom USA Africa Cameroon Egypt Kenya South Africa Asia China Indonesia India Malaysia Thailand Latin America Argentina Brazil Mexico Peru GNP per capita in US$, 1994 Real growth rate, 1985-94 (%) Population, 1994 (’000) Growth rate, 1985-94 (%) Illiteracy rate, 1990 (%) 202 19,570 23,470 25,580 19,270 34,630 18. 410 25,860 680 710 260 3,010 530 880 310 3,520 2,210 8,060 3,370 4,010 1,890 0. 4 1. 7 1. 9 1. 3. 2 1. 4 1. 3 –6. 6 1. 6 0. 0 –1. 4 6. 9 6. 0 2. 9 2. 7 8. 2 1. 9 –0. 4 0. 6 –2. 5 29,121 57,726 81,141 57,154 124,782 58,088 260,529 12,871 57,556 26,017 41,591 1,190,918 189,907 913,600 19,498 58,718 34,180 159,143 91 ,858 23,331 1. 3 0. 5 0. 5 0. 1 0. 2 0. 3 1. 0 2. 8 2. 0 2. 9 2. 4 1. 4 2. 0 2. 0 2. 5 1. 6 1. 4 1. 8 2. 2 2. 0 * * * 3 * * * 46 52 31 – 27 23 52 22 7 5 19 13 15 Table II. Basic indicators for selected developing countries and G-7 countries Notes: – = not available; *according to UNESCO, illiteracy is less than 5 per cent Source: The World Bank Atlas (1996) Washington DC: World Bank ycle and in the utilisation of information technologies and information management. The steep decrease in the price of personal computers, proliferating software in Asia and the multimedia influx have contributed to growing markets and Internet use in China and India. Sales of PCs in these regions have expanded more than 20 per cent each year (Sherry, 1995, p. 71). A rating scale by the Gartner Group predicts a long-term potential for information technology in the Asian and Pacific region (Gartner Group, 1996).The rating is based on population, education, GDP, economic growth, government su pport to IT, popularity of IT, IT industry (and its competitiveness), the industry type and international perspective. Table III shows details for China and India, as well as selected countries for comparison. The total rating score for China was 75 and for India 58. In China the population of 1. 2 billion lives on 9. 6 million square kilometres. With its long civilisation and tradition of learning, and with its economy CountryEconomic Government Popularity Industry Total Population Education GDP growth support to IT of IT Competitive type International score 9 9 4 3 4 8 7 4 9 8 7 5 9 9 7 6 5 6 3 2 2 5 4 1 5 2 18 10 12 17 16 12 12 12 14 14 8 5 8 5 6 6 8 4 9 8 7 6 0 2 10 9 7 3 6 8 3 4 7 10 0 1 9 9 7 3 5 7 1 3 7 10 6 7 5 4 5 7 7 4 7 7 6 5 8 7 4 2 4 2 7 5 6 4 4 3 53 50 75 58 58 58 62 52 50 55 62 60 The Internet and its impact on China and India 203 USA 8 Japan 8 China 10 India 10 Indonesia 8 South Korea 6 Malaysia 3 The Philippines 6 Singapore 1 Taiwan 4 Thailand 6 Vietnam 6 Source: Ga rtner Group (1996), China Infoworld, Vol. 1, 29 July Table III. Long-term potential of information technology in Asian and Pacific countries growing rapidly since 1980, China has become one of the most powerful information resources and an integral part of the world information community. In 1995 there were 101,381 books, 7,583 kinds of magazines (4,014 are scientific and technical journals) and 2,089 newspapers (205 national and 844 provincial newspapers) published by nearly 600 publishers nationwide (Handbook of Press, 1996). There are 1,080 universities located in 29 provinces, and more than one million students graduate each year.There are 350,000 libraries of different types – public, university and school, research, military and labour union libraries. There are plans to have at least one library in each village and urban area in China by the year 2000. Government has always been the biggest information producer and consumer. A total of 34 information centres belonging to different central government departments, China Statistical Bureau, China Economic Information Centre and National Scientific and Technical Commission (NSTC) distribute and collect information from the central government at provincial, city and county levels.Chinese general information systems are divided into six categories: (1) information centres affiliated with the National Scientific and Technical Commission; (2) information centres belonging to central government ministries; (3) information centres of a provincial nature; (4) information centres of a specialised nature affiliated to regional governments; (5) information centres affiliated with state enterprises, universities and other research institutions; Asian Libraries 7,9 204 (6) information centres of non-governmental, regional, professional and similar bodies (Dong, 1995).Since 1994, the global upsurge of the information highway has influenced Chinese decision-makers. China’s information superhighway, consisti ng of â€Å"eight golden projects†, covers networks among universities, industry and state enterprises. The public need for the Internet and its potential are vast. India, which gained independence in 1947, covers a vast area of over 3. 2 million square kilometres and has a population of more than 900 million. In the area of information India is relatively rich, being the seventh largest publisher in he world. It also supports a flourishing book industry: some 11,000 publishers publish more than 18,000 monographs each year and there are more than 30,000 periodicals, of which 5,000 are in English. There are thousands of book-sellers, more than 196 universities and 8,100 colleges and research institutions. The student population in higher education alone exceeds 5 million. In Delhi alone, there are 360 booksellers, six universities, 80 colleges, approximately 40 research institutions and over 100 government agencies.Government offices and quasi-government offices at central, st ate, district, subdistrict and village levels produce and consume vast amounts of information. At the national level the main sources of information include: †¢ various line ministries; †¢ the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO); †¢ the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO); †¢ the Registrar-General of India (RGI); †¢ the National Information Centre (NIC); †¢ the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE); †¢ INSDOC; †¢ DELNET; †¢ Tata Energy Research Institution; †¢ the Centre for Science and Environment; and †¢ the Federation of India Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI).There are hundreds of governmental bodies at state and local levels. The information output from these offices in the various sectors is considerable. In addition, information is created, acquired and disseminated in all manufacturing and service sectors. These sectors indicate the scope for the Internet in India. Over the years the demand for i nformation has increased in India and China. In India the market for information in English is enormous, as English speakers form a significant proportion of the literate population.They are generally wellestablished in economic and social terms and need information in paper and electronic forms. This is also reflected in the fact that the majority of newspapers and periodicals are published in English. India, one of the largest publishers in the world, exports many books and periodicals to countries in Asia and Africa and also to Western countries. It imports much printed The Internet and material from abroad. its impact on China has made substantial progress in information management.China and India According to a 1996 report, there were 1,038 databases covering both Chinese and English sources, representing an increase of almost 30 per cent since the previous survey in 1992 (Guide to Chinese Databases, 1996): 205 †¢ there were 41 per cent of databases concentrated in science , industry and technology; †¢ economy and business databases accounted for 28. 6 per cent, a considerable increase over the 1992 figure; †¢ social science took 15 per cent; †¢ general, 5. 6 per cent; †¢ law and medicine gained 3. 5 per cent; †¢ news and mass media took about 2. 9 per cent; †¢ databases with abstracts represented 66. per cent, and †¢ full-text and number databases took less than 30 per cent. With the inclusion of Hong Kong, China has become a superpower in information acquisition and dissemination, not only in Asia but also on a global basis. It is anticipated that demand for information in China will continue to grow in significant terms in the next decade. In both India and China access to the Internet will be extremely valuable. Internet connections In China the first TCP/IP link to the Internet was established in 1994, in the Institute of Higher Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science.The following are also connected with the Internet: †¢ Chinese Public Internet (Chinanet), established and run by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the backbone of Internet connection in Beijing. It is available through local post offices for a subscription. †¢ China Education and Research Network (CERNET), owned by the State Education Commission. In 1996 CERNET connected 100 universities nation-wide. Eventually, it will connect to all universities and will become the basis for the booming educational and research development. National Computing and Networking Facilities of China (NCFC), started in 1989 and was the first high-speed network funded by the State Planning Commission and the World Bank. In 1994 its international route was opened. †¢ Gi Tong Company Network (GBNET), established in 1994, and supported by the Ministry of Electricity, has more than 1,000 users. Over three years China has shown an increase in numbers of computers and Internet users. According to statistics provided by the Information Centre of Asian Libraries 7,9 206 China Internet, the number of Internet users increased dramatically between 1994 and November 1997.The number of hosts connecting with the Internet increased approximately 35 times, from 569 to 19,739. The number of users increased steadily from 1,600 in 1994 to 620,000 in 1997, coming mainly from education, science, business and government (Information Centre of China Internet, 1997). ChinaNet plans to cover 30 provinces, and nation-wide users will exceed one million (Ge, 1996, p. 161). Internet users are generally scientists, social scientists, academics, university students, researchers and technical experts with higher-educational backgrounds and proficient in English.Access is gained, primarily, through universities, scientific and technical institutions and corporations. In India Internet access was initiated in November 1986 through the Education and Research Network (ERNET), with assistance from the Government of India and the Un ited Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Eight institutions were involved: the five Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in Bangalore, the National Centre for Software Technology (CST) in Bombay and the Department of Electronics (DOE) in Delhi.The objectives included: (1) setting up a nationwide computer network for the academic and research community to promote research and development in India and abroad; (2) strengthening national capabilities in information infrastructure; (3) building specialised human resources through education and training to increase awareness of information resources available through the Internet; and (4) opening an India-USA technology gateway to provide a wide information base with other servers (ERNET, 1995).Three other internal service providers became involved at a later date: (1) SOFTNET by STP; (2) National Information Centre (NICNET); and (3) Gateway Internet Access Services (GIAS) (Ramakrishnan, n. d. ). By September 1996, India had more than 100,000 Internet users, 70,000 through ERNET, 15,000 through SOFTNET; 2,000 through NICNET and 8,000 through GIAS. User numbers are expected to grow to one million in the next three years; by then computer penetration will be around 10 million PCs.The education and research community has maximum penetration with 65 per cent, followed by business users of 25 per cent and other users of 10 per cent in the government and private households. A dramatic growth is expected once private sectors enter the Internet market. The city of Bangalore is expected to dominate the internal market because of its â€Å"electronic city†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ image (Ramakrishnan, n. d. ).Current issues and conclusions The Internet and There are three major areas of concern about the Internet that are significant in its impact on developing countries: China and India (1) national information policy; (2) regulatory framework and information infrastructure; and 207 (3) educa tion and training. National information policy Developing countries have a long tradition of oral culture; therefore, awareness of information sources in written form tends to be minimal.While national information policy in developing countries concentrates on trade, international relations, national security and technology, very little attention has been paid to accessing information electronically through the Internet and to deriving benefits. Developing countries, in order to achieve faster economic growth, should include in their official documents high-priority plans for implementing electronic information delivery systems. Policy statements should be integrated into national planning documents such as five-year plans and should be implemented on schedule.Sufficient funding should be allocated at the planning stage and should be made available quickly for implementation. Regulatory framework and information infrastructure The regulatory framework in developed countries enforces protection of investment, intellectual property and individual privacy in the information market. The legal framework addresses private sector involvement, skilled human resources, standards and implementation. In most developing countries regulatory frameworks concerning information do not exist.Although the rapid growth in information technology is changing methods of doing business at home, at work and in organisations in both developed and developing countries, regulatory frameworks have had very little effect on developing countries. While information technology, including telecommunications, has penetrated every market in the developed world, developing countries still view information technology as a means to support management information systems, finance and accounting facilities, and data processing.Computer penetration per capita in both China and India in the area of small office/home office (SOHO) is still not significant in relation to population numbers. Telecommunic ations still remain a major issue in both China and India. If information infrastructure were to cover the widespread Chinese and Indian populations, and technology were to be made available to access global information through the Internet, then the economic scene would be revitalised. Awareness of the Internet and its importance for policy makers xists only at the executive level, but unfortunately, not at the political level. This needs to be addressed urgently in both countries. Asian Libraries 7,9 208 Education and training Workforces in developing countries, as in developed countries, are changing from labour intensive to knowledge-based work. In developed countries, surveys have shown Internet use is associated with higher education. The same principle applies in developing countries. Thus, attention needs to be paid to improving literacy rates.It is the responsibility of governments, central, state and local, of learning institutions and civic associations to work together t o raise literacy levels in developing countries. The training of information professionals should be given priority. Trained information professionals will be able to utilise the Internet more efficiently and will be more effective in acquiring, organising and disseminating information. Often, developing countries are concerned about safeguarding their heritage of language and culture and supporting political systems.They are weary of foreign economic formats. Appropriate training for information professionals is an immediate requirement. Trained professionals can then educate the masses and take advantage of the Internet, sharing the dissemination of knowledge through cyberspace and adding value to the global information sector. The information revolution is real, and an information economy has already emerged, accelerating economic and social change. Information is crucial and is the central resource and basis for competition.The Internet will assist in development in the followin g ways: †¢ assessing the information capacity of the country and determining user needs, organising and synthesising information and providing access to internal and external information; †¢ disseminating information to meet the needs of the public and private sectors and the daily information needs of the general public. The two items are almost inseparable and have a symbiotic relationship. In developing countries it is urgent to train information professionals to support information infrastructure and information management.In the contemporary world, information is vital to all sectors. Thus, the role of governments in utilising the Internet is critical. First, it influences appropriate use of the Internet for social and economic change in the transition from labour-intensive production to knowledge-based information industries. Second, it defines public and private sector relationships and opens the market to a strong private information sector. Third, it redefines tel ecommunication policies to break down monopolies and to encourage competition among international and indigenous vendors.In conclusion, there is no single solution that can be applied, uniformly, to all situations in developing countries. Each case needs to be evaluated and customised to meet individual country needs. Priorities must be determined, depending on available resources. Indigenous resources should be harnessed and other resources tapped, including funding from international organisations. The Internet has considerable potential in developing countries: it is relevant to lobbying for more government support and budget allocation; it ffers delivery modes for the collection and dissemination of information; it may The Internet and be used to mobilise support among specialised ministries, universities and its impact on industries to produce and manage information, and to emphasise institutional China and India arrangements to influence policy makers and information purveyors to promote the Internet for the country’s development. References Dong, X. (1995), â€Å"The development and management of secondary information systems and services in China†, International Information and Library Review, Vol. 27, pp. 83-94. ERNET to Academic and Research Community (1995), brochure. Gartner Group (1996), â€Å"Information industry in Asia and Pacific is catching up and will become a main player in the 21st century†, China Infoworld, Vol. 41. Ge, W. (1996), â€Å"Internet in China: the state of art and perspectives†, China Computerworld, Vol. 9, September. Guide to Chinese Databases (1996), State Planning Commission and the State Scientific and Technological Commission, Beijing. Handbook of Press and Publ ication Statistics in China (1996), Press and Publications Administration, Beijing.Information Centre of China Internet (1997), â€Å"The current situation of Internet in China†, China Computerworld, Vol. 10, November. Jacobson, T. L. (1994), â€Å"The electronic publishing revolution is not ‘global’ †, Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Vol. 45 No. 10, pp. 745-52. John, M. (1995), â€Å"Third world faces ‘information poverty’ †, CD News Bank Comprehensive, Reuters America, 11 October. MIDS press release: â€Å"New data on the size of the Internet and the matrix†, . Nagy, H. 1991), â€Å"Information technology in World Bank lending: increasing the development and development impact†, World Bank Discussion Papers, Vol. 120,World Bank, Washington, DC. Ramakrishnan, S. (n. d. ), head, Information Infrastructure Division, Department of Electronics, Government of India, New Delhi, personal communication. Sherry, A. (1995), â€Å"The East is wired†, Far Eastern Economic Review, Vol. 15. The World Bank Atlas (1996), World Bank, Washington, DC. About the authors Dr Dong Xiaoying is Associate Professor in the Department of Information Management at Peking University.She is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Asian Libraries. Address: Department of Information Management, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. E-mail: [email  protected] bta. net. cn. Dr T. Kanti Srikantaiah is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Dominican University, 7900 West Division Street, River Forest, IL 60305. E-mail: [email  protected] dom. edu 209

Case Study †Operations Management Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION Operations management is defined as â€Å"the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver products and services† (Slack et al. 2010 p4). This encompasses the entire activity carried out within the organization. With increasing pressure on organizations to deliver optimally at reduced cost, the role of operations has been transformed from that of strategy implementer to one of strategy driver. Operations strategy looks at the patterns of strategic decisions and actions in a bid to set the roles, objectives and activities of the operations (Slack et al. 2010). An understanding of these strategies is important in ensuring that organizations are well aware of the requirements needed to meet the corporate objectives set about by management. The report looks at a case study of Concept design services (CDS); a product based manufacturing company looking to break into service operations. It seeks to identify current strategy types evidenced in the organization and the role operations play in the implementation of this strategies. Also considered is the relationship between the core functions highlighting possible conflicts, current practices and perceived strengths and weaknesses. Issues such as servitization and growth strategies are considered in relation to the companies push for development in line with its desire to become a service provider. An analysis of the impact it will have on the company’s manufacturing and service departments is also considered. Finally, recommendations that will ensure operations develop with the new growth plan is presented to management. 2.0 STRATEGIES IN CONCEPT DESIGN Within CDS, there is evidence of an amalgamation of strategies. With a diversification of the company’s portfolio, the corporate strategy of the organization had to be reflecting the changing scenario of the business environment. To identify the different strategy types within CDS, there is first a need to understand what strategy is. Strategy can be defined has â€Å"the total pattern of decisions and actions that  position the organization in its environment and that are intended to achieve its long-term goals† (Slack et al. 2010 P79). Strategy has also been described as the long term direction an organization intends to go (Johnson et al. 2011). In achieving an over arching strategy, three levels of strategies have to be considered; corporate level, business level and operational level. The formulation of these strategies will determine how the different organizational strategies will interact with one another (Zanon et al. 2013) While corporate level strategy deals with the overall purpose and scope of an organization such as where to locate the business, what type of business to engage in; business level strategy is more concerned with the various ways the business can compete successfully against other competitors in its segment. Functional strategy looks at ways in which individual functions can contribute to the overall objective of the organization. Operations strategy is concerned with the strategic decision and actions that set roles, objectives and activities of the operations (Slack et al. 2010). It focuses more on how the different parts of the organization can deliver on set strategies through the management of resources, processes and people. Operations strategy’s primary role is to implement strategy, but with continuous business growth, operations is expected to support and drive the organizations strategy. This will see it contributing to the competitive advantage of the firm (Slack et al. 2010). This is aptly captured in Hayes and wheelwrights four stage model of operations contribution. Figure 1. Hayes and Wheelwrights four-stage model of operations contribution. Adapted from Slack et al. 2010 Slack et al. (2010), identified four different perspective to operations strategy; Top-down, bottom up, market requirement perspective and resource based perspective. He noted though that all four perspectives are required for proper understanding of operations strategy. Although the strategies employed by organizations may differ, it remains important to reconcile the needs of the market with operational resources  (Slack and Lewis 2008). Hence, it is important to analyse the process through which market needs are aligned with operational realities, thereby ensuring that operation can deliver what it is being asked of them and that this alignment will endure over time (Zanon et al. 2013). Evidenced in CDS operations is the implementation of two of the identified perspectives; Market requirement and Operations resource perspective. 2.1MARKET REQUIREMENT PERSPECTIVE ANALYSIS A market requirement perspective focuses on what market position requires of operations (Slack et al. 2010). Its focus is not just on the industry, but it considers where the organization intends to compete as well as the nature of competition ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­ (Lowson 2002). Hill (1985), suggested that to win orders in the market place, organizations operations strategy and the marketing strategy need to be in sync. CDS Marketing function identified a trend that seems to have worked for retailers in the decorative product industry. They realised the importance of fashion trends and its appeal to people. This market requirement led to the creation of a whole new industry. The need for premium, high quality household product characterised by the many different colour range became a market qualifying criteria that drove marketing’s strategy. This strategy was in line with the overall organizations strategy that saw a shift in the focus of its production of industrial injection-mould plastics to popular household items. In a bid to meet markets demand, supply services had to upscale its machineries by procuring additional large injection moulding machines to cater for the rapidly growing volume of products. Also, the design team had to be one step ahead of the competition by ensuring that they had a range of products that will keep customers engaged. Hence, the case study has shown that CDS have been able to develop its operations strategy by allowing operations meet the performance criteria required by the market (Slack et al. 2004). 2.2OPERATIONS RESOURCE PERSPECTIVE ANALYSIS In the case of operation resource perspective or resource based view (RBV),  focus is on the organizations operation resources, competencies and capabilities (Lowson 2002). It focuses on the key strengths of the organization, looking at internal resources that cannot be purchased externally, thus providing the firm with competitive advantage through superior performance (Clulow et al. 2007; Fahey and Smithee 1999; Barney 1991). With operations-led, strategy is developed through sound understanding of current operational capabilities and an analysis of how it can be developed in the future (Slack et al. 2004). An understanding of the organizations strength will then influence the decision as to which markets should be considered for the deployment of current or future capabilities, and which competitors can pose a threat or can be taken advantage of (Hayes et al. 2005). CDS have clearly shown the strength of their operations over the years. Early experience gained from the manufacturing of industrial products have set them miles ahead of competition. This is evidenced in the quality of their product which drove sales to record highs and resulted in retail outlets signing up for the organizations product. The company prides itself on its technical abilities which has been achieved not just from years of experience but by investing in machineries. CDS have acquired latest precision equipment’s with the best quality moulds available. The technical knowledge of the employees also provides the company a unique advantage. Another area of operations that provides competitive advantage for the organization is its design expertise. CDS have in its employ professionally respected designers with the know-how of translating difficult technical designs into manufacturable saleable products. This has provided the organization leverage when dealing with design houses. The company is clearly leveraging on its operations resources, competencies and capabilities to obtain competitive advantage. 3.0AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CORE FUNCTIONS Within the context of any organization, there are 3 functions that must exist for the organization to realize its goals of meeting customers need. They are; 1) The marketing function 2) The product/service development function 3) The operations function The marketing function which also comprises of the sales unit is primarily responsible for communicating what product/services the organization has to offer to consumers in a bid to generate customers’ requests for the service. The product development functions’ responsibility is to create new and modified products and services in order to generate future customer request for services. And lastly, the operations function is responsible for fulfilling customers request for service through the production and delivery of products and services (Slack et al. 2010). The ability to effectively work with other functions in the organization is a key responsibility for the operation function (Slack et al. 2010; Zanon et al. 2013). Research as shown that in most organizations, different functions within the organization usually employ their own strategies to assist them in realizing their functional objectives. This unfortunately is a basis for corporate misunderstanding, inter-functional differences and rivalry (Hill 2005).While the objective of the operations function remains the production of goods and services whilst managing resources, it has to also manage its relationship with other functions of the organization. Due to the nature of its strategic importance, the operations function usually has conflicts with other functions. MARKETING In determining an organizations strategic objective, operations and marketing usually adopt different approaches. While marketing tends to emphasise improved service features that appeal to customers, operations focus more on efficiency and cost control (Nie and Young 1997). Erickson (2010), stated that the main reason operations and marketing functions in an organization have conflict is due to their perceived differing objectives. Largely, trade-offs are responsible for the conflicts between these functions as they attempt to balance competing priorities (Tang 2010). It is therefore important that organizations manage trade-offs in a manner that will ensure that they don’t compromise the over-arching organizational strategy for gaining competitive advantage. Zanon et al. (2013) in their research identified certain paradigm that organizations needed to implement for the  successful collaboration of the two functions. They argued that there is a need for alignment between market needs and operational realities. The objective here is to satisfy market needs while using appropriate operational resources and jointly developing those resources so that the operations department can acquire new capabilities and provide the firm with sustainable competitive advantage. The marketing function at CDS have been able to effectively market/communicate the value of their products to the market, this is evidenced in the phenomenal growth of the company. Through innovation, extensive advertisement – both on TV and in illustrated magazines, they have been able to drive sales of CDS products. The function have successfully carved a niche market for the organization through the portrayal of its products has been â€Å"classy† and for the upwardly mobile individual. Product differentiation, design partnership and extensive research, combined with a marketing manager with lots of experience and autonomy working with an experienced, technically astute manufacturing department has resulted in the success of the CDS products. The function has also been able to market itself and the value it can give to design houses in Europe. Through its marketing activities, CDS is moving from being just a manufacturer of commodities to a provider of services. Despite the progress that have been recorded by CDS, there still seems to be a misalignment between the marketing and operation functions. With the success of CDS products and the continuous innovation drive of the organization, it would seem that the marketing function is failing to acknowledge the limitations of the company’s capacity. CDS have a problem with the storage of finished goods and this has impacted on the delivery of product availability from supply services. They are currently struggling to ensure that they meet SKU stocking levels. Another problem has been the issue of proper planning and effective forecasting by the marketing team. The seasonal nature of CDS products requires that the marketing function carries out comprehensive forecasting to try and anticipate demand. Currently, poor forecasting by the function is costing the organization. Supply services have to deal constantly with issues of utilization,  efficiency and growing scarp rates; this is as a result of ad-hoc requests for urgent production to meet with un-planned demand. To minimize wastage and ensure proper alignment, marketing and operations will have to network and collaborate better (Johansen and Riis 2005) to ensure that the over corporate objectives are met. NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (NPD) â€Å"NPD is defined as the transformation of a market opportunity into a product available for sale, through a set of activities executed in a logical way, sequentially and concurrently† (Almeida and Miguel 2007). It allows organizations to gain competitive advantage, attract new customers, retain existing customers, and strengthen their ties with the distribution networks (Kotler and Keller 2006). Organizations that successfully introduce new products do so through a well-developed process that leads from creative designs to a successful launch of the product by focusing on satisfying specific customer needs (Chandra and Neelankavil 2008). The attainment of this task will require NPD to collaborate closely with both operations and marketing. NPD, in comparison to other functions is usually characterised by a high degree of uncertainty, risk and high cost to make changes to initial decisions made (Slack et al. 2010). For CDS, NPD is responsible for transforming designs from marketing into workable design moulds. Operations then ensure that the products from the mould are standardized and tested appropriately and efficiently. The moulds then have to be tested on the production machines. A great deal of inter-functional collaboration is required to ensure that proper scheduling is in place to enable NDP carry out testing without disrupting production. Getting this right is easier said. The reality is that there is usually a delay in getting the moulds from the suppliers in South Korea. This will then result in a need for an urgent test of the moulds. That said, CDSs’ NPD function are technically sound. They have managed to build for themselves a reputation of being able to overcome problems with designs regardless of its nature. The NPD function contributes to the organizations unique operations resource. 4.0 AN EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT ON THE OPERATION OF THE  MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE DEPARTMENTS CDS like most manufacturing organizations are starting to appreciate the intrinsic value of adopting servitization as a practice. Servitization have been described as the process of transforming manufacturers to compete through product-service systems rather than products alone (Baines et al. 2007). The rationale for this transition from ‘purely product’ to ‘product- service’ or ‘purely service’ can be viewed from three perspectives (Oliva and Kallenberg 2003). They identified the reasons as; First, economic. Research has shown that substantial revenue can be generated from products with a long life cycle; also services in general have higher margins than products and services also provides a more stable source of revenue as they are resistant to the economic cycles that drive investment and equipment purchases. Secondly, there is pressure on organizations from customers demanding more services. This has led to firms adopting a narrow definition of core competencies while increasing their dependence on technology to help in their bid to specialize. Lastly, it is viewed as providing competitive advantage. The less visible a service is, and the more labour dependent it gets, the more the probability of imitation reduces (Oliva and Kallenberg 2003). Manufacturing has long moved beyond production alone and a combination of both products and service business model are now generally accepted as playing a key role in the success of any modern business (Baines et al. 2014). Companies that have adopted the concept of servitization will probably not follow the product-service classification, but will instead seek to distinguish on the basis of the value proposition with their customers (Baines and Lightfoot 2013). This is the case in CDS, where the company have had to adopt differing service model while dealing with the design houses and retailer service market. While the design houses have adopted a proposition that sees both companies working together – that is the customer wants the company to work with them (Baines et al. 2014), the retailers on the other hand, are happy to leave the management of the entire operation to CDS. Baines et al. (2014) have identified this differing forms of proposition has been ‘base’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced services’. The relationship between the retailer services market and CDS can be classified as advanced. This categorization of product-service offering is centred on  the idea that due to the competencies of the company, maintenance and workability of the operations should be managed by the provider of the service. A feature of this type of offering includes customer support agreements, risk and reward sharing contract, and revenue through use contact (Baines and Lightfoot 2013). To meet with demand, and ensure that customer’s needs are met in terms of product availability, CDS will have to increase its production lines and increase holding capacity. Storage facilities will have to be located closer to the location of their customers. Localised facilities will ensure that store replenishment lead times are reduced. CDS will also have to invest in ICT. Setting up an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system will help connect the stores database with that of CDS. That way, they can easily track inventory levels and are able to respond in a proactive manner. Also, Oliva and Kallenberg (2003) argued that a good practice will be to set up a new service department whose focus will be to drive and improve performance objectives. The consolidation of the service offered is usually accompanied by a strong initiative to improve the efficiency, quality and delivery time of the services provided, and the creation of additional services to supplement the service offering. The consolidation of services also comes with the development of a monitoring system to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the service delivery. This monitoring system allows managers realize the size of the service market and account for services’ contribution to the firm’s operations (Oliva and Kallenberg 2003). Internally, these changes create the transparency of numbers needed to get a clear sense of direction and to monitor the success or failure of executed changes (Oliva and Kallenberg 2003). Externally, the improvement of quality will establish CDS as a reputable service provider among its clients. CDS has seen steady and continuous growth over the years, albeit its focus had been centred on a single product type. With the recent direction of the organization, there are real concerns surrounding it rapid growth and its diversification into services. Southard and Swenseth (2003) identified certain issues that evolving organizations encounter due to rapid growth, they include bottle-necks, back-orders, and decreased profits despite increased sales. Some of these issues are evidenced in CDS. The rapid growth  of the organization has resulted in capacity related issues. There is one in every twelve chances of a product not being available, continuous scheduling disruption due to demand surpassing supply and the popularity of its product and wide acceptance usually leads to stock outs. The manufacturing function seems to be stretched to the limit with support services equally struggling. It would seem that the organization is currently unprepared for the changes. 5.0RECOMMENDATION TO MANAGEMENT In line with the company’s objective for growth, it has become imperative to address the operational issues that can hinder the organizations growth strategy. Using the product/service lifecycle to analyse the organizations current operations, it is obvious that the transition from being a purely product based manufacturing company to a product-service based organization is still in the infancy state. This is characterised by uncertainty as customer’s needs are not well understood. Hence, operations management will be required to develop flexibility to cope with any changes and be able to give the product/service performance that will ensure quality is maintained (Slack et al. 2010). Other issues to be considered by management includes; the issue of capacity management. To meet with the demand of the market and its growth strategy, CDS will be required to get more warehouses and hold more inventories. The plastic business is clearly one of volume; hence CDS has to ensure that it maintains its status of been a reliable supplier. It also has to effectively operationalize it marketing strategy. The company is currently plagued by poor forecasting and planning. There is a need to upscale the competencies of the sales representatives. This will enable them gather appropriate data that can then be fed into the organizations planning to help reduce scheduling related issues, stock outs and disruptions. Also required is an alignment between the strategies of the core functions. Regular business meetings, where issues relating to each function get tabled will help build better understanding among the different functions. REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY ALMEIDA, L.F. and MIGUEL, P., 2007. 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