Marxist Theory of Crime

Using the material from item A and elsewhere assess the usefulness of Marxist approaches to an understanding of crime and deviance. (21 marks) Marxist approaches can be useful to help us understand crime and deviance. Marxists theory adopts the belief that the ruling class is responsible for societies. They think crime is systematically generated by the structure of capitalist society. Marxists believe that society is divided into two classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.The bourgeoisie promote values such as individualism and competition, and some may argue that it is these values that promote crime amongst the typical offenders, the proletariat. Traditional Marxism attempts to explain the relationship between the two aforementioned classes, with writers such as William Chambliss concluding that the best way to understand crime and deviance is to analyse the process by which the ruling class exploit their subordinates , through means such as the media , ideology and false-cl ass consciousness, to name a few mediums.An example of this, again the result of a study conducted by Chambliss. Marxist say that the rich and powerful decide what is considered deviant and criminal in society to suit their own needs and interests. This supports item A as it states ‘a set of rules laid down by the state in the interest of the ruling class'. This is reflected in crime statistics; the most common offenders are young, black males between the ages of 15-21. A counter argument to this is the idea of Strain Theory developed by Robert Merton.Traditional Marxism argues that it is increased aggression and individualistic nature of the capitalist society that inspires individuals to commit crime, however Merton comments that it is Strain between goals and the legitimate means to achieve these goals that cause an individual to commit crime. It is also noted that the Traditional Marxist theory only looks at the cause of crime, and not the effect that the crime has on the society. Another sociological theory that attempts to provide an explanation for crime and deviance is the Marxist subcultural theory.This Marxist theory of crime goes on to explain it is the emergence of youth subculture that result in crime. It is argued that only the groups on the margins of society are the few that are not bound by the ideology and economic importance of the ruling class, and due to this ‘immunity’, they are able to somewhat resist the influence of the capitalist society. The largest group which display this resistance are typically the working class youth.According to Brake, amongst other writers, the resistance which is provided by the working class youth is expressed through youth subcultures. A subculture is defined as a group within a society who adopt alternative norms and values to mainstream society. The youth part of these subcultures will wear different, or rather radical clothing compared to mainstream society, and their language, among o ther attitudes and formalities, will show a contempt for the capitalist system of which they are on the fringes of.It is also said by Brake, that this resistance is ‘magical’, magical in the sense that this resistance does nothing to solve the problems that are experienced by the youth subcultures, but it still continues, because each generation, it is said that the capitalist society produces vast wealth inequalities and opportunities, said by Althusser. Stan Cohen, on the other noted that this analysis of working class youth subcultures are based on analysis, and as such, are biased, due to these writers looking to prove that subcultures are a direct attack on the capitalist society.A criticism that Cohen provided is that there are many ways in which an individual can interpret the actions of a subculture, the Marxist view on this just so happens to be one of the many views in circulation. Blackman also notes that the concentration on youth subcultures and resistance ignores the fact that many subcultures are formed with an emphasis on, gender, sexuality, and also ‘intelligence’.Youth subcultures exist everywhere, in also institutions, for example in education. There are some who specifically desire to adhere to the rules of the education, and follow direction as they are given, and there are those who wish to resist because they find schoolwork autonomous, (the ‘earoles’ and the ‘lads’ – ), which is taken from the interpretivist view of education.

Rpp Rental Power Plants

Rental plants are simple cycle plants and consume marginally more fuel than combined cycle power plants which are normally set up as Pips. Despite the fact that rental contacts are between 3-5 years and not 20 years (as with Pips), rental tariffs are low. When lower tariffs to rental plants are taken into account and a further allowance made for higher fuel costs, the difference is almost equal or marginally higher in case of rental plants. Therefore, it is entirely incorrect to suggest that rental power costs are substantially higher than those of Pips.Other advantages of rental power Rental sponsors have taken a Jump of faith and are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in fast-track development of these rental plants. Sponsors and lenders are uncomfortable that they are being subjected to misplaced, ill-informed media trial sponsored by bad interests who do not want to see power shortages removed on priority and are vocal in their criticism of individuals and companies settin g up rental plants, which have been awarded transparently.Government of Pakistan has no liability to pay for setting up of rental plants, rental plants are paid for electricity delivered to the grid 60 days in arrears, Government of Pakistan takes no responsibility for payment of loans taken by rental sponsors, and rental plants are successfully set up in 6-8 months whereas Pips take 3-4 years. If anyone has better solutions to resolve the power crisis on an urgent basis, they should come forward with concrete proposals for public and private consideration.CONS Impact on fuel demand The rental power plants would increase the Pakistani power sectors furnace oil needs by 29 percent, driving up its import bill and adding to pressure on the rupee and currency reserves. Pakistan requires 35,000 tons a day to feed its thermal power plants and the installation of the Reps will increase demand to 45,000 tons, officials say. The country imports about 80 percent of its oil. It spent $9. 5 bil lion on the import of 10. 6 million tons of petroleum products and 7. 8 million tons of crude oil in the 2008/09 Lully-June) financial year.Impact on net exports Since we import most of our oil needs, and after the implementation of Reps, our demand for oil will increase, this means we will have to import more oil into our country. On a larger scale this act will put a very negative impact on our net exports as more imports will result in greater import-export deficit. Thus, more discomposes More fuel consumption Analysts say that RSI. 80 million a month for generating 51 MM is spent for the Turkish ship producing nuclear power in the port of Karachi.That's mainly because of the later findings that rental power is eating up more fuel than expected, even more than the Independent power producers. This is a bad sign for future rental power projects. Impact on gross domestic product Senior economists, portrayed in May this year, a highly depressing picture of the decline in the product ivity of Pakistanis industrial sector caused mainly by power loading's, asserting that overall loss of industrial production had been as high as RSI 210 billion during 2008 and that accounted for about 2 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GAP).Other disadvantages Many opponents say the mostly second-hand equipment will be less efficient and that the tariff will rise. They argue that the government would be better off spending money on upgrading and using idle existing capacity. Some opponents also say the option is being supported by corrupt politicians hoping for kickbacks. WHO SAID WHAT ABOUT MY PAPER? The Rental Power Plants would significantly enhance the cost of production which will cake survival of the industry more difficult and create more problems for the fragile economy.Business community said the Government should fully protect the national interests before going for the Reps, as the price of electricity produced by them would reportedly go further up by 3 1-45 percent. Said Mongol, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry while chairing a meeting here, said, There is no enough gas available in the country to meet the Reps needs. While no arrangements has been made for transporting of the alternative fuel or furnace oil to the Reps, which could plunge this whole project into ruble and waste precious resources, he added.Economists of eminence like Shad Caved Burk (who later wrote articles in newspapers), Sartor Aziza, DRP Kamala Hussein, Aisha Shahs Pasha, DRP Perez Has and Shad Kara were of a unanimous view, at a seminar that a good wheat crop prevented some damage in the agricultural sector, otherwise the loss to the national economy could have risen as high as RSI 400 billion as rice, sugarcane and cotton production fell although varying in the degree of yield. The textile sector suffered the major damage losing RSI 25 billion that adversely affected Pakistanis exports that clines too value of $1 billion.This scenario ha d an overall adverse impact on the balance of trade, which was badly disturbed in view of imports that mounted beyond precedent, weakening the overall performance of the national economy. After reading all these pros and cons, I have come up to a conclusion that the situation emerging envisions that the people cannot wait for multi-purpose dams for irrigation water and power generation because such projects usually take eight to 10 years to complete. Similarly, coal and furnace oil-fired independent power plants unsure two to three years before they are able to produce electricity.Seen in the background of a colossal industrial and agricultural loss, particularly during the year 2008, the only solution we have right now is to â€Å"quick fix† the gap between demand and supply of electricity and that is by Rental power plants. Even though it might be expensive but I don't see any other way to fulfill rising demand needs. Although the government should work with full priority t o build Pips after filling the gap. And keeping in mind that the demand will keep on exceeding in the coming years.

Targeted Advertisement

Targeted advertisement through data mining and privacy issue. Introduction A computer user sits in front of a screen and starts browsing their favourite website while their child similarly does the same. While this peaceful pastime activity is being enjoyed, however, they are unaware of the hidden pathways through which every detail about them is being disclosed. Because of these pathways, there are people that can get hold of the users’ names, phone numbers, IP addresses of the computers and their households.They have access to information about any users’ income, medical history, gender and age, not to mention what they searched on search-engines and which websites the users visited. They can even learn which online shopping purchases were performed by the users on any recent website. They, who know every detail of users, are not the Big Brothers of â€Å"1984† nor are they hackers; they are online advertisers who deliver advertisement on the Internet. The comp uter user is vulnerable to online advertising companies that value that specific personal data.The focus of this paper is to convince advertising companies that they should enforce regulation by providing an opt-out mechanism and practice permission based data mining in order to protect consumer’s privacy. Moreover, notifying and protecting users before distributing and taking advantage of their personal information is significant to company’s accountability and furthermore allow establishing a long term relationship with customers. I will explore the issue from consumer and also an advertiser’s perspective. As a design student who has been designed companies’ logos, it is significant to gain valuable insight from this topic.By gaining the necessary information in this issue, I can navigate the internet in a more safe and secure manner as a consumer. Background of Data Mining Online advertising is a growing industry that is based upon the traffic from onl ine views. â€Å"Fifty-six of the top hundred websites based on page views in February 2008 presented advertising† (Evan, 2009, p37). For every activity a consumer performs on the internet such as making a purchase, visiting a website or searching on search engines is collected (Charters, 2002).This information is processed and stored automatically through data mining practices and becomes a significant source of revenue for online advertisers without the granted permission or any notification to the customer. Data mining is an â€Å"overall process of preparing data, discovering patterns in data, and analyzing that data into useful knowledge† (Tavani, 1999, p137). According to Murphy, â€Å"the right to privacy involves the ability of individuals to decide for themselves, how much they are willing to share about their lives, thoughts, and feelings† (Murphy et al. , 2009).As personal and behavioural data are collected, stored and sold for more effective advertis ement, â€Å"loss of control† and â€Å"loss of identity† become issues (Drumwright et al. , 2009). Moreover, all the information we expect to be remained confidential, such as health insurance numbers and medical records, also become commodities for sale. Internet users have been paying for the â€Å"free† online services with their private and personal information (Goldfarb et al. , 2011). Effects of Data Mining Firstly, data mining is based on the Internet and affects the uninformed users by the loss of control over their personal information and right to privacy.Individuals are unaware that the data about them are collected and that they â€Å"have no say in how the information about them is used† (Tavani, 1999, p141). For example, search-engine providers summarize and store the entire search history categorically that â€Å"enables them to identify the individual IP address† (Evans, 2008, p55). While there is no warning to the consumers prior to collection and storage of their data, users are unaware of the fact that data mining is being conducted every time they click something on the websites.Although, Google has reduced the storing data period from two years to nine months (BBC News, 2008), the sale of data collection to online advertisers is still in progress. The transaction of information causes the loss of control over their right to privacy. Moreover, advertisers have an access to the â€Å"cookies†, which track the websites visited and every activity an individual does on the internet. Again, this becomes a privacy issue as advertising companies’ access this information without any granted permission. The privacy issue associates with the unawareness of this invisible phenomenon of data mining.Granting more control over their personal information to the users is critical. Thus, the usage of data mining without the consent of the user is an invasion of privacy. The user needs to have more authority over their information and prevent unwanted usage of their personal information. Secondly, data mining is more than just a personal and behavioural analysis. Every time the Internet client provides private information, such as medical records, all the information is being collected and saved (Buchholz & Rosenthal, 2002).The information we expect to remain confidential and anonymous becomes a source of profit to advertisers. There is a difference of scale between revealing one’s favourite color and revealing one’s social insurance number to the advertisers. For example, Google Gmail, which provides 7GB of free space, scans and records the content of emails while displaying targeted advertisements on the side that result from Google’s ability to examine the content of the emails (Evans, 2008). The vast amount of the provided space was not really â€Å"free† and users been paying it with their private information.Revealing personally identifiable data or pri vate information such as social insurance number through these services has potential risk of misuse. Consumers may concern more if they know â€Å"search engine provider is selling the data to another vendor that has figured out a way to associate the user’s IP with other personal information including name, address, and telephone number† (Evans, 2008, p57). Google’s company’s goal is to â€Å"organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful†(Google, 2011).Yet, our information also counts toward world’s information. We should be concerned if these companies with these types of mission statements can protect the users’ privacy; users should not be blindsided to the potential risks of misuse of our private information. Targeted Advertising and Consumer Relationships Regardless of the privacy concern associated with data mining and targeted advertisement, the reason why online advertising is still on the rise and is central to the e-commerce economy is because of its effectiveness on consumers (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2008). Detailed individual data can create more efficient advertisements, compared to traditional newspaper advertisements or old banners on the websites. For example, European Union practices privacy regulation on advertisers. The responses of â€Å"3. 3 million survey takers who had been randomly exposed to 9,596 online display banner advertising campaigns,† reveal that this government restriction reduces the effectiveness of advertising by 65% on average (Figure 1. ) in terms of changing stated purchasing intent (Goldfarb et al. , 2011), Therefore, regulation means a â€Å"trade-off between the benefits of consumer privacy and the benefits to consumers of a potentially broader, less obtrusive advertising-supported Internet† (Goldfarb et al. , 2011, p50). In addition, advertisers argue that â€Å"unauthorized secondary use of data† is f ound to be insignificant and consumers are used to this way of business in terms of traditional forms of advertising (Brown & Muchira, 2004).Although targeted advertising is an effective way to advertise to consumers, reflecting too much knowledge about consumers in their advertisements may offend the users (Evan, 2009). Often, the users may use internet to search or purchase what they do not wish to share or talk about with others. Online advertisements may do what is opposite of this wish. For instance, purchasing a self-help book online to treat depression does not mean you wish to sign up for an advertisement that shows lists of other books about depression.Moreover, since computers are shared online with other users, this purchase may be unintentionally revealed to the public. Advertisers should be advised of the precautions of data mining, which tracks every piece of information about consumers for effective and smart advertisement, could drive potential consumers away instead . Targeted advertisements are only effective if they respect the consumer’s privacy and use their information only when users are aware of the situation and give their permission. The foundation of strong relationships with consumers requires trust of both the website and usage of personal information.Lack of trust leads to privacy concerns and the users unaware what websites are legitimate. Resolving such privacy dilemma is, therefore, crucial to â€Å"creating stable and ultimately profitable customer relationships† (Brown & Muchira, 2004). The major factor that can weaken the relationship is â€Å"invasion† of the privacy (Attaran, 2000). It involves â€Å"contacting consumers who have not requested such contact and is often done repeatedly† (Brown & Muchira, 2004). Also, receiving unwanted junk mail and promotions from advertisers could irritate consumers (Korgaonkar & Wolin, 1999).The result of a survey that Brown and Muchira conducted indicates that consumers who have experienced online invasion of privacy are less likely to purchase products via the Internet. In other words, the ability to handle personal information is significant to advertisers to maintain a strong relationship with consumers. Advertisers should view the protecting privacy as an opportunity to establish long term relationships with consumers. Conclusion Government regulation is practiced in some European countries to resolve the privacy issues in online advertising.Nevertheless, government regulations that may be proposed to protect right to privacy, may end up violating â€Å"the principle of respect for individual† and create another invasion of privacy (Charters, 2002). Instead of government intervention to deal with privacy issue, online advertising companies should enforce regulation by providing opt-out mechanisms, and practice permission based data mining in order to protect consumer’s privacy. Advertising businesses need to store and s ell consumer’s private information with their permission of consent and a notification.Consumers may agree with giving their information about them if they can trust whom they are providing it to. That way, advertisers do not lose the opportunity to provide targeted advertisement to consumers, which is much more effective than providing non-targeted ones. Consumers also will benefit from receiving relevant advertisements against the cost of losing privacy. The balance between advertisers and consumers can be achieved through permission based practice. The computer user sits in front of a computer and starts browsing again.This time, the website asks for permission to collect the user’s information for online marketing and advertising business. The user has the ability to opt-out, and considers that this website is indeed secure. This website creates a transparency between by the Advertising contacts and the consumers. The user is informed, given options, and protected. Figure 1. 1 – Before and after the regulation by EU References Attaran, M. (2000), â€Å"Managing Legal Liability of the Net: a Ten Step Guide for IT Managers†, Information Management and Computer Security, 8(2)2.Brown, M. & Muchira, R. (2004). Investigating the Relationship between Internet Privacy Concerns and Online Purchase Behavior. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research 5(1),62- 71 Buchholz A. , and Rosenthal B. S. (2002), Internet Privacy: Individual Rights and the Common Good. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 67 (Winter), 34–40. Charters, D. (2002). Electronic Monitoring and Privacy Issues in Business-Marketing: The Ethics of the DoubleClick Experience. Journal of Business Ethics, 35 (February), 243– 254. Drumwright, E. M. , Murphy, P. E. , (2009).The current state of advertising ethics: industry and academic perspectives. Journal of Advertising. 38(1), 83-108 Evans, S. D. (2009). The Online Advertising Industry: Economics, Evolution, and Privac y. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 23(3), 37-60. Goldfarb, A. & Tucker C. E. (2011). Privacy regulation and online advertising. Management Science, 57(1). Korgaonkar, P & Wolin, L. (1999), â€Å"A Multivariate Analysis of Web Usage†, Journal of Advertising Research, 39(2), 53-70. Tavani, H. T. (1999) Informational privacy, data mining, and the Internet. Ethics and Information Technology. 1: 137–145.

Jit &toyota Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Jit &toyota - Essay Example Though there are a lot of various kinds of business, the main principles of effective management are applicable in 90 per cent of all cases. The differences in managerial practice are mainly connected with the way these principles are implemented. Operations management is not only a concrete system of parameters and indicators, which it depicts, but also it includes a character and peculiarities of professional managerial thinking. In other words, it is a performance that is related to the process of elaboration, usage and improvement of production systems based on which consummate products and services of the company are produced. The ultimate purpose of effective operation management is the building of managerial system that is able to ensure implementation of necessary actions and procedures in order to receive market result out of the functioning of each organization. One of the brightest examples of successful operation management is Toyota Motor Corporation. It is the largest Japanese automobile corporation that also offers financial services and has several supplemental business directions. The headquarter is located in Toyota, Japan. The company takes the eighth place in the Fortune Global 500. The company produced cars, trucks and autobuses under such brand names as Toyota, Lexus, Scion, Daihatsu, Hino. The company sells about 9 million cars annually gaining total net revenue of more than $2 milliards (75 Years of Toyota, 2012). Assimilating relatively new trend of electromobiles, Toyota Motor tests  «Toyota Plug-in HV » i Japan, USA and Europe, which is considered to affect environment less perniciously than the cars with hybrid engine. Toyota is a company with diversified and active business position that all the time searches for the ways of development. Hence, in 2007 Toyota supplies own engines for the Williams team in the races of Formula 1 (75 Years of Toyota, 2012). The

Managing for Competitive Advantage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing for Competitive Advantage - Essay Example t would be known as the Chip and PIN programme bringing banks, building societies and retailers together to combat the ever expansive problem of credit and debit card fraud. The trial began in fiscal year 2003 where cardholders would authorise purchases with the use of a Personal Identification Number (PIN) in place of their signature. (M&S Annual Review 2003 inside cover operating highlights) Year 2003 HR – Improvement in quality was managed in several ways including reconstitution of the store management structure including the presence of a store manager at each of the stores. Each of these store managers would have clear goals, responsibilities and accountability. There would be a field-based area management team offering the benefit of internal and external experience, which brings M&S in line with leading industry standards, thus providing a basis for further improvement in customer service, leadership and overall store standards. (M&S Annual Review 2003 inside cover operating highlights) Year 2003 Operations –There was increased market share in Women’s, Menswear and Lingerie with both strong product appeal and quality. The opening of thirteen Simply Food stores garnered 250,000 new customers shopping per week and the pilot program of the new credit and loyalty card proved successful with national roll-out in the second half of fiscal year 2003/2004. Considerations for the improvement of customer service involve potential for relocating the fitting rooms and the customer service within them. (M&S Annual Review 2003 inside cover operating highlights) Year 2003 Financial Management – The chairman, Luc Vandevelde, believes that â€Å"the key to regaining market share has been a focus on improving both the appeal and value of our products, thereby making aspirational quality more accessible to our customers, The Home programme opening just prior to the launch of the credit and loyalty card in Financial Services. During the fiscal year 2003 operating

Project literature review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project literature review - Essay Example ficial comparisons of silence and voice suggest that ideas are two different behaviors among employee in organizations, they are still multi-dimensional in nature. Silence in an organization is a powerful, tool or force that employees may use to present their grievances (Dyne, Ang and Botero 1364). However, the two can still be used as a way of presenting employee grievances. In organizations, issues that rise as a result of employees being dissatisfied with the working conditions, procedures or other problems are all classified under employee grievances. Aggrieved employees always file their dissatisfaction through such grievance processes and the management team has to take action (Daud, Yahya, Isa, and Noor 247). In some cases, the management is reluctant to take any action. Matters involving grievances show that employees are usually trying to express their dissatisfaction with the management. It also shows that there is a breach of the employees’ rights that get affected because of lack of clarity. In organizations with low rates of grievances, employees may fear presenting their grievances (Daud, Yahya, Isa, and Noor 242). In most companies or businesses, grievance discussions are conducted several times as until the aggrieved parties can agree on the same issues as the party that is accused of propagating the problem. In all the grievance processes carried out in organizations, one main aspect stands out. This is communication. Both formal and informal communications are the key to eliminating or preventing grievances (Daud, Yahya, Isa, and Noor 248). The handling style used also matters because the wrong style of handling a grievance process only increases the frustrations and complains. Justice in institutions, at work or at home can only be attained if there are effective grievance processes. Without these processes, there are no tangible outcomes and the employees’ sense of justice is always violated. Most research on grievance processes focuses

The Greater Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The Greater Freedom - Essay Example To begin with, the influence of the political class on judicial proceedings will be limited or completely prohibited. This is because politicians often threaten fair administration of justice, hence hindering citizen from airing grievances. The judiciary is thus not autonomous, and prevalence of justice is sabotaged. Secondly, the government will be held accountable through democratic platforms. This would be essential in promoting media freedom in covering proceedings of government business in parliament, and the experts airing views on governance. Lack of questioning or critique of the government breeds corruption and other dubious deals whose burden and effects are borne by the citizens. Thirdly, it will be beneficial to carry over the freedom of rights article from the First Amendment to the new nation, which includes speech, religion, petition, peaceful assembly, and free press. This is because the amendment was made at a time when the United States was experiencing a lot of turbulence due to the then government’s discrimination against those who defied its rulings no matter how weird they were. It was during this period that the people were allowed to be affiliated with their religious groups of choice, and speak freely unless in the case of slander or malice. However, this freedom of expression will be under certain limitations that will include obscenity, advertisement of harmful substances, offensive symbolic expressions, and inappropriate music.America is a technological hub.

Economics Essay, applying Porter's Diamond to the construction Essay

Economics , applying Porter's Diamond to the construction industry - Essay Example The work includes building of roads, bridges and other major infrastructures. The real estate business is also urban based; so the constructions companies need to base all their business activity in urban areas in order to compliment the real estate industry. The repair and maintenance of existing buildings and other infrastructures also falls under the domain of construction industry and its major business comes from the densely populated urban areas. This is due to the fact that the more usage of infrastructure in densely populated urban areas results in higher damages and hence is subject to repair. There are mainly three categories in which the construction industry is divided. First, being the heavy constructions that require high civil engineering; in this category we have the construction of roads, bridges and other big infrastructures. In this category the big guns of construction industry come into function for all major commitments. The second category is the general constr uction of buildings of real estate; in this category the construction companies operate in housing development works. The small construction companies mainly operate in this category, as it requires small budgetary involvements. The third and final category comprise of special constructive work, which is done in small scale. Specialized areas of construction fall in this category like the construction work on wood, electric related works, etc. In this category very specific construction companies operate as it require specialization in specific field of work. (Economy watch, n.d). It is seen that the contractor may be an individual or any organization; contractors definitely fall in any of the above categories in construction business. A construction firm, of any size can fall under these three categories of the construction business. The scope of growth of construction industry is favorable in the developing countries where the trend of

Operation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Operation management - Essay Example Slack and Lewis (2008) identified three basic verticals for companies such as finance, marketing and operations while finance and marketing activities have close linkage to operation management Slack & Lewis (2008, p. 4) defined operation management as â€Å"it is the management of systems or processes that create goods and/or provide services.† Consideration of research works of Slack, Chambers & Johnston (2007) and Hsu & Tang (2010) reveals the fact that operation management has close linkage with supply chain activities. Slack, Chambers & Johnston (2007) defined supply chain management as the sequence of activities in order to supply resources throughout every phases of value chain. As part of synchronization of supply chain activities and operation management activities; facilities, functions and activities are being used. Facilities- warehouses, processing centres, offices, factories, distribution centres and retail outlets are the place where operations are took place (S lack, 2004). Functions and activities- operation management is collective act and not only operation manager but also supply chain partners and workers play vital role in performing activities like delivery of the resources or final output to facilities, inventory management, customer service, scheduling of operational activities, information management, forecasting of future demand, purchasing of material, designing new product, quality assurance testing etc (Slack, 2004). While describing nature of operation management in context to manufacturing sector, Slack (2004) and Slack & Lewis (2008) used the following model. Figure 1: Operation Model (Source: Slack & Lewis, 2008) According to the above model, operation management is backed by three strategic verticals such as resources, capabilities of the firm and process that will be deployed in manufacturing new product or processing a service. As part of resources; equipments, financial capital, staff, sourcing from suppliers and tech nologies is being used in operation management. As part of capabilities of the firm; application of state of art technology, quantitative formulation of process and process diagrams are being used by operation managers and respective staff members. As part of process; job design, movement of goods in the facilities, process design, new product concept design, new product development etc are being used as part of operation management. So, what is the role or types of activities that operations managers are involved in operation management? Answering the question is not simple because types of activities of operation manager differ significantly with the change in nature of business for organizations. For example, operational activities of operations managers in manufacturing plan cannot be same operational activities in bank. However, some basic activities of operations manager for manufacturing facilities can be identified as, 1- managing the resources that are being used in differe nt phases of manufacturing, 2- developing and adjusting production schedule, 3- monitoring and controlling quality in

The Censorship of Huck Finn Essay Example for Free

The Censorship of Huck Finn Essay The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn has been called one of the greatest pieces of American literature, deemed a classic. The book has been used by teachers across the country for years. Now, Huck Finn, along with other remarkable novels such as Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird, are being pulled off the shelves of libraries and banned from classrooms. All the glory this majestic piece by Mark Twain has acquired is slowly being deteriorated. This is occurring because some say it does not meet â€Å"today’s† politically correct standards. This is an immense disturbance to all who have read and cherished Huckelberry Finn and know this work’s true meaning. Censorship, as defined in the dictionary, is, in the case of a book, to take out things thought to be objectionable. Censorship is far more than that. This mere word prohibits us from all things branded with its mark. In this instance of The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn, it takes away an American treasure, and more importantly, defies First Amendment rights. Those who find Huck Finn distasteful and unappropriate are trying to brand this work, by censorship, and make it unjust to read. This is similar to a farmer trying to brand his mark upon a bull, with those against Huck Finn as the farmers and Huckelberry Finn is the bull. As most know the bull never goes down without a fight and won’t allow thje farmer to branded, just as the supporters of Huckelberry Finn will not just be taken down passively. The main reason Huckelberry Finn is being subjected to such scrutiny is because of the way Twain portrayed â€Å"nigger† Jim, and his use of the racial slur. The Anti-Huckelberry Finn feel that it is to uncomfortable for African-Americans to read the book and think they are being stereotyped into Jim’s image. Though some find it wrong for this American treasure to remain available due to its racism, this is not the case. Even though the word â€Å"nigger† is used over 200 times in the book, it was common for African-Americans to be referred to as this during the period of the book and the time the book was published. Those trying to have Huckelberry Finn censored are also opposed to Jim being portrayed as â€Å"an uneducated man, very superstitious, infantile, passive, and generally uncultured,† as written by Frank Ritter. These ideas may at first seem like the basis for a good argument , but it is later apparent that these  discriptions coeinside with the feelings about African-American slaves at the time. For this reason there is no way that Huckelberry Finn can be charged with not living up to todays standards. The racist ideas put forth in Huckelberry Finn, horrid as they may be, are part of America’s past. Reguardless that it was in the past, it should not be lost, but utilized to see the wrong done to this group of people and to learn from it to better life today. In the four articles there were many contrasting ideas and different approaches to Huckelberry Finn and the case surrounding it. Though there were a few points made against Huckelberry Finn, the general feelings and logic of the articles was that the book should be left, â€Å"as is. † This was clearly stated by Frank Ritter in him saying, â€Å"the present-day objections to Huckelberry Finn are absurd. It is idiocy to go back and apply to novels written more than 100 years ago the standards that prevail today. † In that same article, John Wallace’s ideas on the teaching aspect of the book were more than irrational. He called the book, â€Å"the most grotesque example of racist trash ever given to our children to read,† and then continued on to verbally abuse teachers in the past and those who will use Huckelberry Finn in their classes. The four articles though offering some help to the offense, defend Huckelberry Finn in many more ways. This idea was best put forth in the Seattle Times article, in the part speaking of the english teacher who has assigned the bood for 28 years saying, â€Å"the book has a ‘raw edge’ and that some of the language is offensive, but the positive value far outweighs the negative. † The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn should not, in any way, shape, or form, be restricted from readers and students. This great American novel is part of our history, a part of history that has lasted and been passed on from generation to generation. The passing on not of racism, but of a way to learn about the past and to learn from it. English classes, as well as readers, have utilized this book to better understand the way of life on the Mississippi in the first half of the 1800s. Huckelberry Finn is not only a good way to teach literature, but also to help people open their eyes and see what life was really like. More importantly to learn from the mistakes made in the past. Those who haved picked up this book have used it to become not hating and racist, but further educated and more understanding people. In censoring this classic, the First Amendment rights which are so priceless to our country, would debase them and our entire American way of life. This incrdible masterpiece of 1800 America would be forgotten if censored. This would do away with all the morals our country stands for and obliverate the book’s incredible author. There are many ways around censoring this work and the bull will not go down without a fight. This awesome piece of art, known as The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn, won’t be vanquished.

Googles Performance Management System

Googles Performance Management System Contents (Jump to) 1. INTRODUCTION 2. FORMULATION OF HR STRATEGY 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: 4. EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT REFERENCES: 1. INTRODUCTION The practice of human resource management is concerned with all aspects of how people are employed and managed in organizations. The main principle of human resource management is to make sure that the organization is able to attain success through people. HRM aims to increase organizational efficiency and ability and the capacity of an organization to achieve its goals by making the best use of the resources available to it. Human resource management mainly deals with organizational behavior, organization design and development, people resourcing, performance management, learning and development, rewarding people and employee relations. In the organizational context, performance is usually defined as the extent to which an organizational member contributes to achieving the goals of the organization. Performance management is a regular process to improve organizational performance by improving the performance of individual persons and teams. The performance management strategy is practical to be the procedure of providing the study about the performance of the employee and is consider being the important tool in the decisions taken by the human resource department. Performance management is defined as Performance management is a strategic and integrated approach to delivering sustained success to organizations by improving the performance of the people who work in them and by developing the capabilities of teams and individual contributors (Armstrong and Baron, 2004). Performance management is the method of formulating, implementing and evaluating the work performance of employees, so that the organization will achieve their goals and objectives. Successful performance management is designed to develop performance, recognize performance requirements, and provide feedback related to those requirements and help with career development. The overall aim of performance management is to establish a high performance culture in which individuals and teams take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and for their own skills and contributions within a framework provided by effective leadership (Armstrong, 2006). The objectives of performance management are (Hawkes, 1998): To sustain employees to find knowledge and skills to do their job well, To encourage in the ability of improved standards of work performance of an employee. For employees to work towards definite goals. For employees to get regular feedback on performance and For employees to achieve personal growth through acquiring significant knowledge and skills and attitudes. In todays business environment, the companys bottom line is to make more profits in long term by attracting, retaining and motivating top talent people for utmost performance. The approaches of companies for attaining profits are by offering the best rewards in the industry. The company which is in that list is Google Inc. Google early years, the search engine attracted an ever growing number of trusty users, which finally lead to an initial public offering valuing Google at US$ 23 billion. After the IPO, Google under the professional leadership of CEO Eric Schmidt, has grown greatly and continuous to innovate and expand into a numberless of industries, such as communication and web applications etc. The modern environment in which Google operate is very competitive. According to Google employees and their technical knowledge is companys greatest advantage (NYU IBA, 2008). This case study will focus on performance management tool of reward and feedback system of Google. Concentrating on how reward system is influencing the employee performance? And what are the methods used to evaluate the feedback performance management? 2. FORMULATION OF HR STRATEGY 2.1 Process of Performance Management: Performance planning and agreements: This process helps people to get into action so they can achieve planned and agreed results. This process briefly focuses on the elements like what has to be done and how it should be done and what is to be achieved. And this process is equally concentrated on developing people; helping them to learn and giving them the support they need to do well. The managers and the individuals carry out performance and development plan jointly. These planning should lead to an agreement on what needs to be done by two parties. This process is concentrating on Role profiles Objective settings Measuring performance and assessment Performance planning Development planning Role profiles This section describe the function in terms of the key result areas; define what the role possessor desires to know and be able to do and how they are likely to behave in terms of behavioral competencies and maintenance the organizations core values. This process will concentrate on rising the role profiles, defining the core result areas, defining the technical competencies, defining the behavioral competencies, and core values. Objective Setting This process describes the organizational goals or objectives to achieve over a period of time by the departments and the individuals. This will give ongoing role or the work objectives, targets, tasks, behavioral expectations, values, performance improvement, learning, and integrating objectives to manager and the individuals. As per (Armstrong, 2006) most of the organizations follow SMART mnemonic to summarize the characteristics of good objectives. S (Specific) Clear, understandable and challenging. M (Measurable) quality, quantity, money and time. A (Achievable) challenging but in the reach of a experienced and committed person. R (Relevant) related to the objectives of the organization so that the goal of the employees is associated to corporate goals. T (Time framed) objective is to be completed within a timescale. Measuring performance and assessment This process is a significant model in performance management. It is the main finding for providing and generating feedback, it identify where things are going well and where things are not going well, so that necessary action to be taken. The criteria for measuring the performance should be (Armstrong, 2006) linked to the strategic goals Focusing on inputs, outputs and outcomes, and behaviors. Point out the data or evidence that will be available as the source for measurement. Be as specific as possible in accordance with the purpose of the measurement and the accessibility of data. Give a sound basis for advice and action. Be comprehensive, covering all the main aspects of performance. The CIPD surveys of performance management in 2004 discovered that, in order of significance, the following performance measures were used by the respondents (Armstrong, 2006). Attainment of objectives Capability Quality Contribution to team Customer care Working relationships Output Flexibility Skills/learning targets Aligning personal objectives with organizational goals Business awareness Financial awareness Performance planning The performance planning is part of the performance management chain, which involves contract between the manager and the person on what presently needs to do to achieve objectives, move up standards, improve performance and develop the required competencies. It also establishes priorities the key aspects of the job to which attention have to be given. The aim is to make sure that the meaning of the purpose, performance standards and competencies as they apply to everyday work is understood. Agreement is also reached at this phase on how performance will be measured and the proof that will be used to begin levels of competence. It is important that these procedures and evidence requirements should be known and fully approved now because they will be used by persons and managers to check and demonstrate achievements (Armstrong, 2009). Personal development planning Personal development plans provide a learning action plan for which employees are responsible with the support of their managers and the organization. It may contain official training but, more importantly, it will include a wider set of learning and development actions such as self managed learning, training, mentoring, project work, job improvement and job enrichment. It is likely to focus on development in the existing job, and to improve the capability to make it well and to enable individuals to take on bigger responsibilities, extending their ability to accept a broader role. This plan therefore contributes to the success of a policy of continuous development that is predicated on the belief that everyone is able of learning more and doing better in their jobs. The plan will also give to enhancing the likely of persons to carry out higher level jobs (Armstrong, 2009). Managing performance throughout the year: Managing performance is that it is a continuous process that reflects normal good management practices of setting direction, monitoring and measuring performance and taking action accordingly. Performance management should not be imposed on managers as something special they have to do. It should instead be treated as a natural function that all good managers carry out. This approach contracts with that used in conventional performance appraisal systems, which were usually built around an annual event, the formal review, which tended to do well on the past. This was carried out at the behest of the personnel department. Managers proceeded to manage without any further references to the outcome of the review and the appraisal form was buried in the personnel record system (Armstrong, 2009). Performance review and assessment: Performance management is a permanent process it is compulsory to have an official review once or twice a year. This will give an idea on the key performance and development issues. There are mainly five performance management elements for review meetings; they are agreement, feedback, measurement, positive reinforcement and dialogue. These elements will leads to the end of the performance management cycle by informing performance and development agreements (Armstrong, 2009). The criteria for the performance review are Achievements with respect to objectives The level of skills and knowledge possessed and applied (Technical competencies) Performance is getting effected in job by the behavior (Competencies) Day-to-day effectiveness 2.2 Learning and Development: Employee development is the main method followed by most of the organizations to develop organization performance, which in turn requires a perceptive of the processes and techniques of organization, team and individual learning. Performance reviews can be regarded as learning events, in which employees can be encouraged to think about how and in which ways they want to develop. Development programs are reflecting the needs of sequence plans and looking for to promote leadership skills (CIPD, 2010). In a successful organization, employee developmental needs are addressed. Developing in this case means increasing the ability to make through giving training, develop new skills or by giving more responsibilities. Introducing the processes of performance management provides an outstanding opportunity to identify developmental needs. During the planning and monitoring of work, deficiencies in performance become clear and can be addressed. Areas for improving good performance also show up and action can be taken to help successful employees progress even better (OPM, 2010). 2.3 360 Degree feedback: 360 Degree feedback recognizes the difficulty of management and the value of input from a range of sources. The feedback is frequently unspecified and may be presented to the employee to the manager or to both employee and manager. Some organizations do not arrange for feedback to be mysterious. Whether or not feedback is anonymous depends on the organizations culture (Armstrong, 2009). The main advantages of having feedback are Individuals get a broader viewpoint of how they seem by others. It gives people a broad view of their performance Increased awareness by senior management. The main disadvantages of having feedback are Employees or managers do not always give honest feedback People may feel stress in receiving or providing feedback Too much official procedure (bureaucracy) In organizations they do not have a practice of open feedback; it is likely that 360 Degree feedback will be seen with greater levels of distrust. 2.4 Reward: Reward management is concerned with the formulation and implementation of strategies and policies in order to reward people fairly, equally and consistently in agreement with their value to the organization (Armstrong, 2009). The aims of reward management are Reward people as per the organization want to pay for. Reward people for the value they creating. Build up a performance culture Motivate people and obtain their commitment. Help to attract and keep the high quality people the organization desires. Operate fairly Operate transparently 2.5 Rating performance: Rating scales can be defined alphabetically, or numerically. Initials are sometimes used in an attempt to disguise the hierarchical nature of the scale. The alphabetical or numerical points scale points may be described adjectivally, for example, a= excellent, b= good, c= satisfactory and d= dissatisfactory. 2.6 Advantages and concerns of performance management: The advantages of performance management are Performance management focuses on results instead of behaviors and activities. Aligns organization activities, and processes to the goals of the organization. Explains long term views of the organization Provides specificity in commitments and resources Provides specificity for comparisons, directions and planning. The concerns expressed about performance management are that it seems extraordinarily difficult and often unreliable to measure phenomena as complex as performance. People point out that todays organizations are rapidly changing, thus results and measures quickly became obsolete. They add that translating human desires and interactions to measurements is impersonal even heavy handed. 2.7 Role of line managers and HR managers in performance management: Human Resource division at any organization has unique challenges, it has to make sure that the employees are motivated and dedicated to the organization with complete reliability and honesty. However, at the same time, the Human resource division has to make sure that the market dynamics are not badly affected by the total volumes of investment involved in the process. And also line managers are crucial to the success of performance management. But there can be problems with their commitment and skills and it is necessary to involve them in developing the process, provide training and guidance, gain top management support, keep the process simple, emphasize that performance reviews provide for quality time with their staff and need not be stressful if conducted properly. The main objective to the success at Google Inc. is simple work procedure apart from the incredible perks and compensations. There are a few fundamental rewards existing at Google like, there is no real hierarchical structure in the company, and it works in small groups it will give an opportunity to maximize the performance and this follows a flat structure. The ideas getting at the work place which are shared within the groups. Even though they work in smaller groups, they will have a project manager to look over the development of the committees. The company treats the small groups and teams as individual start-ups (NYU IBA, 2008). 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: 3.1 Methods of performance management: There are number of methods we can use for managing performance. Below table shows some information on a number of official methods of performance management that may be used (Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the arts, 2010). Process What is this method? Where is this method used? 360 Degree appraisal This method gives a valuable approaching into how the persons work and behavior. This method is often used for managers and supervisors. While the values of this method are very useful, it can be administratively good method for small businesses. This method is used when funding and time is available. Where it is important to get quite a few perspectives on a persons performance, for example in the customer service roles or where the person is working across teams. Self assessment Just the name suggests, the individual assesses their own performance to set criteria. This is a good method for identifying where the businesses opinion of performance and the individuals opinions are different. Where there is an interview based performance management process Competency based assessments In this method they will access skills and capabilities. Ability can be harder to define in jobs with a high level of vagueness or where outcomes are not clearly express, such as managing relationships with staff. Where there are task oriented jobs with little or no ambiguity or decision making responsibility. Management by objectives A collaborative method, the MBO defines goals and future targets by consultation. Future tasks, behavior and productivity, for example, are discussed and a SMART plan is created so that the manager and staff member are aware of what needs to be achieved, to what standard and by when. Where the business uses formal processes to manage performance and where outcomes can be measured accurately. Google feedback program Google implements formal and informal feedback system to evaluate their employees. At Google, an employees manager report and individual reports are considered for the evaluation process. Its formal system of evaluation uses 360 Degrees review method. The employee will also selects three or more officials to review his performance. These reviews are made twice a year and this will reflect on the performance review with an employees bonus. Anyways, there is nothing surprise because regular checking of the performance is a form of informal feedback system and they are more comprehensive than a formal review which is performed twice a year (NYU IBA, 2008). Google reward program Google reward system extensively makes use of these formal and informal feedbacks, where the bonuses are based on the combined performance of the corporate, team and an individual. It got a complex structure of promotions and stock options within the organization. In addition, there is a strong clan society within the organization and comparatively flat organizational structure, making the company more a fusion of the two reward system. One of the Googles most exhilarating employee rewards is its capability to offer stock options. Stock options are typically to exercising the option and purchasing stock at a given date or not, however Google has decided to take a more innovative approach to its reward. Transferable stock options are a compensation program that Google developed for the purpose of allowing employees to trade their options off to a bidder. In this way, Google not only increases the value of every stock option given to its employees but also enhance its options valuations (NYU IBA, 2008). 4. EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Google feedback program By considering all the above statements, we can say that Google has room to improve upon its feedback system in terms of making it more stabilized and prearranged. In addition, one-on-one interaction should be encourages as much as possible. The informal feedback should come in some sort of format that helps employees more than hurts them, and gives beneficial analysis rather than negative and strange feedback (NYU IBA, 2008). Google reward program What is Googles incentive in giving out these perks and rewards?. Well it is becoming increasingly important to attract and keep top talent in an increasingly competitive job market. With competition from technology giants like Microsoft and Yahoo! Google is offering US$2000 to the current employees, if they refer a friend to work at Google. At the same time these perks and rewards help differentiate Google from its competitors that have expanded their own benefits program in recent years. Despite the seemingly phenomenal environment at Google, we believe the company should consider the system of perks to ensure a stable employee base in the future. In the future, an overemphasis on perks may not build sufficient employee commitment, especially if competitors can imitate Googles programs. Thus, it is better Google slowly merge the perks with the rewards system. Increasing employee rewards, rather than merely offering interesting perks will in the long run help increase employee productivity and loyalty (NYU IBA, 2008). REFERENCES: Armstrong, M. and Baron, A. (2004). Managing performance: performance management in action. London: Chartered Institute of Personal and Development. Armstrong, M. (2006). Performance Management: Key Strategies and Practical Guidelines. 3rd Ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personal and Development.

Strategic Management Project Shell

Strategic Management Project Shell COMPANY: SHELL Introduction Shell is one of the worlds leading energy group and petrochemicals companies. It has around102000 employees in more than 100 countries. The objectives of the Shell Group are to engage efficiently, responsibly and profitably in oil, oil products, gas, chemicals and other selected businesses and to participate in the search for and development of other sources of energy to meet evolving customer needs and the worlds growing demand for energy. Mission Statement Shells innovative approach ensures that they are ready to tackle the challenges of new energy futures. 1.1 Topic of investigation having a strategic implication. This report explains the team buildings and teams work in Shell and development of its research work progress within the organization. It also presents suitable analysis of the project management and planning, advisory and project implementation of work. In this report, positive results of theories and its test showed that effective teamwork can lead to a success and achieving critical goals of Shell. It may also be able to gain the sustainability of competitiveness. Moreover, study explains that how team performance can be improved through leadership with project planning to face the upcoming challenges in modern era of business environment Shell operates in. 1.2 The aim, scope and objectives of the project. How can we improve Shells research study about lubes oil? What strategy we should adapt for improving Shells research? How and effective team force can be made for this purpose? The aim of the project is to achieve such team management, technology and resources that meet the new emerging energy challenges. Shell need to adapt such management strategies which will make a strong workforce with experienced and skilful team members. Shell wants to be recognised as a great company-competitive successfully and a force for progress. Shell has a fundamental belief that they can make a difference in the world because of its worth in the global market. A strong consumer proposition has been developed for the brand and embodied in the line World Quality which communicates Shell value-based offering in a precise manner, to its core target audience. The purpose of the advertising in the first instance is to support this strong value proposition and secondly to tailor the media solution to the store. 1.3 Justifying the scope, aim and objective. In meeting the energy challenges, the world faces three hard truths. The first is that there has been a step-change in global energy demand, with rapidly developing countries like China and India entering the energy-intensive phase of growth. Even with huge improvements in energy efficiency and substantial growth in renewables, fossil fuels will still be the main element of the energy mix by mid-century. The second hard truth is that easy-to-access oil and gas is in decline. As a result, energy will come increasingly from unconventional sources, such as oil sands. The third hard truth is that the increased burning of fossil fuels especially coal for power generation could mean unacceptably high emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and climate change. Meeting the energy challenge Shell is helping to meet the energy challenge with a broad range of approaches. It uses advanced technologies that can unlock oil and gas in more remote or hostile environments, and new techniques to extend the lives of existing fields. We are increasing production from unconventional sources, including oil sands. Shell helps make the most of cleaner-burning natural gas through our output of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas to liquids (GTL) products. We are helping to develop second-generation bio fuels that do not compete with food crops; and we are developers of wind and solar power. 1.4 Evaluation of project research methodology. Methodolgy Research Study should be verified by seniors because all research is based on practical data and that data may vary by location of the research and by person. Need to Understand the Hypothesis before research and development. Which department are more feasible and which person is more interested and suitable for that research. Research should be complete on time. Research conduct at same time on different locations 2.1 Identify sources of data and information that will support the aim of the project. For a company like Shell having the right information about the environment, customs, laws and customer needs is of key importance. To gather this information the company will firstly see the law of the country in which it is going to start business, as we are talking about their business in UK the law allows this business. Here in UK there is a high demand it is a rich environment for the company to run their business. Data about this can be obtained by doing surveys and examining the current market i.e. by observing the similar businesses running in the country. Scanning the Environment In this research study, an appropriate approach of environmental scanning is considered in the industrial organisations that are operating in the chemical industry. Different types of information were used in this study. It included general information about the industry and specific about the participating companies. The type of data that was included was; Formal data that concerns the companys character. Data that is publicly available, like in annual reports. Interviews of managers that provided the history and culture of the companies. This information was very important to analyse and research the topic and to see how other companies are operating in the industry. Strauss (1987) emphasizes the usefulness of the case study approach when used with grounded theory. Grounded theory seeks to generate theoretical statements and, ultimately, complex theories based on empirical evidence, although it can be used in different ways and reach various degrees of complexity. The research design framework adopted in this study can be described as a multiple case study, composed according to the theory building structure, as described by Yin (1989), i.e., where the sequence of chapters follow a theory-building logic, and using the grounded theory method of qualitative data analysis. 2.2 Synthesise the data and information for options or alternatives that support the project aims. An effective information infrastructure was implemented to assess the information required in this research, which included technological information, processes and information acquired by people. A rich collection of scientific and technical information was gathered, which was managed by professionals having different backgrounds. However, some companies just provided a consistent picture which was a small collection made up of journals, literature and reports mainly. The information being pervasive is one of the main reasons in having difficulty in accounting for the costs involved in the research as it depends on specific roles and their performance. The data that was collected showed that in medium or large chemical companies data and information was being handled by 50% staff while in smaller companies about 9% staff was involved. The scope of the companies was assessed by their links with Research and Development organisations and hoe they collaborate with the regulatory agencies. Strategic change Larger companies like Shell influence the planning adoption but some other factors also interfere with the tendency, for example in what form the organisation is and what is the management style of the organisation. No evidence was found that suggests that the subsector companies should adopt the planning technique as a planning tool. While, the planning offices are also rare and their main duty is to collect the difficult data which is needed by the top management for decision making. The strategic change analysed mainly talked about increasing the quality of the product, which includes mainly improving the conditions of production. Environmental protection was also an issue in some cases there were highly pollutant industries. Globalisation and diversification were also some important strategic changes. Companies that targeted globalization pursued growth in the industry but some companies just secured their positions in the internal market due to the threat of major competitors operating in the main market. Companies which had a little scope of growth adopted specialization. The main target was to improve the product quality. Some companies claimed that they always pursue improving the production quality while other companies admitted that they have to improve the quality of the product to satisfy the EC regulations. 2.3 Determine an option or alternative that supports the project aims. Other way of supporting the project aim is to use theoretical information and implement it directly on the company. Information is like team management theories. Inductive and deductive research can be used to gather information and to move towards the aim. Deductive research Deductive reasoning works from the more general to the more specific. Sometimes this is informally called a top down approach. Conclusion follows logically from premises Inductive research Inductive reasoning works the other way moving from specific observations to broader generalizations and theories. Informally, we sometimes call this a bottom up approach. Conclusion is likely based on premises..It involves a degree of uncertainty. Inductive type based on induction. Data is collected on a subject and researcher tries to develop theory from this data. 3.1 Evaluate the research analysis to enable conclusions to be made. Team Management It is difficult to build a team and maintain good working relationships. However, team members go through a number of development stages to work together effectively in team performance management. Individuals performing well are rewarded while those who are not performing good are motivated. The functions and roles of its members should be recognised by its team. The leader should establish continuous communication lines and set clear goals that are understood. A team that performs well accomplishes projects quickly and with less difficulty, misunderstanding, and divergence. Strategic Objectives Strategic goals or objectives are broad, high level aims, derived from organisations mission statement and purpose, affecting the whole organization (sometimes referred to as corporate aims). These will be: Long term (time horizon of several years), although they should be monitored regularly (typically annually) and may be revised periodically. Responsive to external factors such as new competition, changes in global economic conditions, or customer demands. The term strategic denotes a particular focus of the managers planning and decision making responsibilities. Senior mangers focus mostly on why questions, concentrating on the big picture and providing vision and leadership for employees across the whole organisation. Alignment of team performance and corporate goals To achieve the corporate aims it is necessary that the direction of the teams is towards the long term strategic goal. Managers and team leaders have to keep in mind what they need to achieve overall. And hence, to control the teams in such a way that either they are working on long projects or short its all adding up to the final goal. In the case of Shell the main objective of the company is to provide good quality chemicals. To achieve this there has to be a proper direct and control system of the staff working at the stores from the top management to the staff working on the floor. A good communication and understanding will always lead to easy achievement of goals, satisfying the customer at the end. Mangers are supposed to take into account the demand and supply of the products to make sure every product is available on time and then work should be allocated to the subordinates in a proper system to get all the work done systematically and easily. Proper team management should be done by the supervisors and the team leaders. All the staff should be divided into small teams which have to work in different sections. Proper training should be given to all the team members and a standard way of achieving the goal. This performance target should be given to all the team members and should be monitored and reviewed constantly. This standard should be according to the company policy and should be according to health and safety and customer satisfaction oriented. Providing good work at the end of every shift, which is the availability of all the products on time with good customer service. 3.2 Recommend a course of action that achieves the project aim. Skills that need some development Communicating Decision-making Leadership Prioritizing Valuing and Skills need to be achieved. To respond problems, experiences and opportunities from which to learn. To generate ideas without constraints of policy or structure or feasibility. Involving with other people i.e ideas bouncing off them, solving problems as part of a team. Need to have a limelight/high visibility i.e can chair meetings, lead discussion, and give presentations. To be engaging myself in short, activities such as business games, competitive teamwork tasks, role playing exercises. Supporting Others Motivating Analysing Delegating Reporting 3.3 Analyse the impact of the recommendations. Training courses at Shell for career progression. Management Development Programme Includes: Consumer Legislation Customer Service Employment Law Health and Safety Human Resource Management Policies Procedures Opportunity development builds competitive positions by identifying and utilizing opportunities in the environment. Opportunity development is necessary because your existing positions are constantly being degraded by change. Opportunities exist as openings in the environment that allow you to advance your position in the direction of your mission. These openings are usually small, but by taking advantage of the small openings, you eventually position yourself for the big advances you want. Training After the initial audit our ethical trade specialists work with the suppliers to support them through remediation of any issues that are found. Training is offered to suppliers on particular issues and best practice, at regular intervals. Shell is in the process of more than tripling the size of its own ethical trade team that focuses on training and intensive problem solving with its suppliers. These individuals are trained to the highest levels and are equipped to address endemic problems in the supply chain and come up with viable solutions for the suppliers. 4.1 Produce the results of the investigative project. The purpose of this study was to explain the team buildings and teams work in Shell and development of its research work progress within the organization. It also presents suitable analysis of the project management and planning, advisory and project implementation of work. In this report, positive results of theories and its test showed that effective teamwork can lead to a success and achieving critical goals of Shell. It may also be able to gain the sustainability of competitiveness. Moreover, study explains that how team performance can be improved through leadership with project planning to face the upcoming challenges in modern era of business environment Shell operates in. The main result was in the adoption of the learning and training courses within the company in order to prosper and enhance in the future. Shell is one of the leading companies in the world in the chemical an oil sector and it felt pride in taking these training and development steps in order to move forward and to achieve its project aim as a result of the research program. 4.2 Evaluate the impact of the investigative project The future sustainability of any organization heavily depends on the quality of project management to be able to cope with todays dynamic business environment. There is direct co relation between stake holder business project and the people within the firm. Shell is one of the four largest companies in the UK and has been ranked number one of the top 100 graduate employers in the UK and all over the world. The sustainability of Shell competitive advantage of its brightest people is depending on the successful team work and leadership. The best leaders know how to get others to follow and the best team members know how to follow their leaders. REFERENCES BOOKS: Aguilar, F.J. (1967) Scanning the Business Environment. New York: McMillan. Robert , buttrick ,(2005).The project workout: pearso education limited Edinburgh gate Education 3rd (1) pp, 305-350 Strauss, A. Corbin, J, (1990). Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. London: Sage. Strauss, A. (1987) Qualitative Analysis For Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Total Quality Management: The route to improving performance by John S. Oakland (Hardcover 15 Mar 1993) Shell employee control hand book 07/08 Personal development as a strategic manager unit 7001: level 7 strategic management and leadership CMI Checklist: Personal development planning Developing strategy for world class business E-learning Your role in improving personal effectiveness Development needs and planning development Web links: www.milum.net 13/12/2009 www.enotes.com 13/12/2009 www.quickmba.com 13/12/2009 www.managers.org.uk 10/12/2009 www.shell.co.uk 20/12/2009

Physics of Roller Coasters Essay -- Roller Coaster Theme Park Amusemen

Roller coasters are driven almost entirely by inertial, gravitational and centripetal forces. Amusement parks keep building faster and more complex roller coasters, but the fundamental principles at work remain the same. A roller coaster is like train. It consists of a series of connected cars that move on tracks. But unlike a passenger train, a roller coaster has no engine or power source of its own. For most of the ride, a roller coaster is moved only by the forces of inertia and gravity. The only exertion of energy occurs at the very beginning of the ride, when the cars are pulled up the first hill, or the "lift hill". The purpose of this first climb is to build up potential energy. The concept of potential energy is: As the coaster gets higher in the air, there is a greater distance gravity can pull it down. The potential energy built-up going up the hill can be released as kinetic energy, energy of motion, as soon as the cars start coasting down the hill. At the top of the first lift hill (a), there is maximum potential energy because the train is as high as it gets. As the train starts down the hill, the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy -- the train speeds up. At the bottom of the hill (b), there is maximum kinetic energy and little potential energy. The kinetic energy propels the train up the second hill (c), building up the potential-energy level. As the train enters the loop (d), it has a lot of kinetic energy and not much potential energy. The potential-energy level builds as the train speeds to the top of the loop (e), but it is soon converted back to kinetic energy as the train leaves the loop (f). When the coaster is relea... ...ly upside down, gravity is pulling you out of your seat, toward the ground, but the stronger acceleration force is pushing you into your seat, toward the sky. Since the two forces pushing you in opposite directions are nearly equal, your body feels very light. As in the sharp descent, you are almost weightless for the brief moment when you are at the top of the loop. As you come out of the loop and level out, you become heavy again. In a loop-the-loop, the intensity of the acceleration force is determined by two factors: the speed of the train and the angle of the turn. As the train enters the loop, it has maximum kinetic energy -- that is, it is moving at top speed. At the top of the loop, gravity has slowed the train down somewhat, so it has more potential energy and less kinetic energy -- it is moving at reduced speed.

Ghost Story of the Sacrament Dog Essay -- Ghost Stories Urban Legends

The Sacrament Dog The modern ghost story has become a sort of rite of passage in American culture. At the youngest age, children are scared by their older siblings’ renditions of a ghoulish tale. Teenagers nationwide think it is their duty to investigate their town’s local haunting at least once before graduating high school. Once these teens transition into adulthood, they begin to scoff at the stories they once embraced, criticizing the irrational content and telling their children that they are silly for believing in such blasphemy. Finally, such disbelief is somewhat removed when people reach an elderly state, and they begin to relish in the joy of passing on ghostly stories to younger generations, not necessarily with the intention to scare, but with a desire to preserve a history and tradition unique to their personal life experience. Ghost stories are thus an integral part of the human life, not only reflecting the â€Å"hopes, fears, and anxieties† of various societies and cultures (Brunvand 2), but also making up a great portion of how humans define themselves and their lives. It is not surprising, then, that when I interviewed various members of the University of Maryland community, I was able to find many students with a ghost story (or two or three) on hand to share. One tale that I found particularly interesting and in-depth, and which will be discussed here, was told to me on one ironically-appropriate stormy night in a dorm room full of college students. The storyteller was a nineteen-year old, male freshman from Narstown, PA, majoring in English and Government and Politics. His mother is a nurse and his father is a telecommunications analyst. The story was about his Catholic college-preparatory high school in Penn... ...g the latter element, the anxiety of the Catholic faith to keep its young followers intact by instilling in them a fear of wondering astray or a hope for salvation is reflected in the story’s pro-Catholic sentiment, unnecessary for the general spookiness of the story, but fitting in the Catholic school setting. Thus, ghost stories are note intended to be merely spooky. Works Cited Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meanings. New York: W.W. Norton, 1981. Maryland Ghost and Spirit Association. Ed. Beverly Litsinger. 2006. 8 April 2006 http://marylandghosts.com/. Shadowlands Haunted Places Index - Pennsylvania. Ed. Dave Juliano. 2005. 8 April 2006 http://theshadowlands.net/places/pennsylvania.htm. UMD Legends Index. Ed. David Schlossman. 2005. 7 April 2006 http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dschloss/Legends/index.htm.

Pepsi Vision and Mission Essay

Headquartered in Purchase, New York, with Research and Development Headquarters in Valhalla, The Pepsi Cola Company began in 1898 by a Pharmacist and Industrialist Caleb Bradham, but it only became known as PepsiCo when it merged with Frito Lay in 1965. Until 1997, it also owned KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, but these fast-food restaurants were spun off into Tricon Global Restaurants, now Yum! Brands, Inc. PepsiCo purchased Tropicana in 1998, and Quaker Oats in 2001. In December 2005, PepsiCo surpassed Coca-Cola Company in market value for the first time in 112 years since both companies began to compete. PEPSICO INDIA: PepsiCo gained entry to India in 1988 by creating a joint venture with the Punjab government-owned Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation (PAIC) and Voltas India Limited. This joint venture marketed and sold Lehar Pepsi until 1991, when the use of foreign brands was allowed; PepsiCo bought out its partners and ended the joint venture in 1994. 5] Others claim that firstly Pepsi was banned from import in India, in 1970, for having refused to release the list of its ingredients and in 1993, the ban was lifted, with Pepsi arriving on the market shortly afterwards. PepsiCo’s responsibility is to continually improve all aspects of the world in which we operate – environment, social, economic – creating a better tomorrow than today. † Our MISSION is put into action through programs and a focus on environmental stew ardship, activities to benefit society, and a commitment to build shareholder value by making PepsiCo a truly sustainable company. Our VISION is to be the world’s premier consumer Products Company focused on convenient foods and beverages. We seek to produce financial rewards to investors as we provide opportunities for growth and enrichment to our employees, our business partners and the communities in which we operate. And in everything we do, we strive for honesty, fairness and integrity. As PepsiCo has become one of the country’s leading food and beverage companies, now they are focusing even globally. PepsiCo has built an expensive food and beverage business. PepsiCo `nourishes consumers with a range of products from treats to healthy eats that deliver joy as well as nutrition and always, good taste. PepsiCo has become one of the largest multinational investors in the country; PepsiCo has established a business which aims to serve the long term dynamic needs of consumers in India. PepsiCoprovides various opportunities to the employees like they provide direct and indirect employment to around 150000 people.

The Language of My Generation

The Dictionary defines language as a body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition. Based on this definition wouldn’t it make sense for different generations to have differences in their language because they are apart of different cultural differences amongst one another? My generation consistently gets a bad wrap for being too vulgar, too curt, too disrespectful, and too controversial, but that’s not the way we see it. The same words that make our parents cringe are the same words that build comradery amongst our peers.The songs that leave our grandparents in disgust make us feel empowered. Were misunderstood, is what it boils down too. The Language of my generation is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves, not how anyone else see us; we redefine, and reclaim language and modify it to reflect who we are. In today’s day and age, everyoneâ₠¬â„¢s looking for something to control. It has been proven that this generation faces more pressure than the generations before us. With everyone controlling every other aspect of our lives, language allows us to have something that is our own, something we can control.This is why we speak the way we speak, because no one can tell us otherwise. This is what language means to us. It’s a way we can relate to our peers, and no one else has to understand, because they aren’t meant too. So who’s to say that the â€Å"b word† cant be used as a term of endearment? Who makes the rules on what these words we use mean? A word is just a word until you give it meaning, because after all words are just sounds, and the dictionary is just a book, written by regular people, people with bias, so why can’t I disagree with those who gave these words their original meaning?History repeats itself; therefore there is no way that our parents generation was viewed anymore negatively then the generations before them. From the way they dressed, to the way the walked, and spoke, and the emergence of hip hop music into mainstream culture, My parents and their peers were regular rebels, at least their parents thought so. The generations before them experienced the same thing. The only problem reason my generation is misunderstood is because the generations before us so quickly forget. The reason they forget is because they can no longer relate. They can no longer relate because their lives have changed.But there was a time when my mom used to get into arguments with her mother about the way she spoke, and acted, and dressed, no different then the ones she and I go through now. She was my age in 1988, a time notoriously known for sex, and drugs, and all things controversial, so I have a hard time believing we are all that different. It’s so easy to focus on the negative, but my generation is innovative. We are creators, philanthropists, thinkers, a nd inventors, and we use our language as a platform to promote ourselves. Today, more than ever before there are more kids making their dreams come true.We use our resources to make things happen. Kids can use social networks to build a following in pursuit of their goals whether it is music or fashion, or gaining support for a philanthropic cause. The best thing about it is we can do it on our own. I know people my age who are entrepreneurs running successful businesses. Believe it or not, there are teens out there making a difference. When I was a junior in high school I hosted a series of park cleanups in my city, and the turnout was amazing. When asked by several adults how I got kids my age to come out early Saturday mornings to pick up trash, I told them â€Å"I just asked†.I reached out to my peers in the most effective way I knew how, using our language, speaking blatantly, and of course posting it all over Twitter and Facebook. They came out because they related to m e, we related because of our common language. Instead of criticizing my generation I think we should try to bridge the gap by trying to better understand one another. Society spends so much time trying to strip us of our identity, which is our language, when they should just accept as is. This is who we are, every curse, every action, every word, defines we as a people.

Internal Analysis

06 Internal Analysis In this part, the report will briefly illustrate the result from analysing the internal environment of CEMEX by supply chain analysis and resources and competences framework and VRIO model. 6. 1 Value Chain Analysis Activities| Resources| Competencies|PrimaryActivities| Supply chain management| | * Good relationships with products suppliers and transportation companies| | Operations| – Internal design| – Import products from Vietnam| | Distribution| – Indirectly: wholesalers, retailers – Stylist packaging| * Knowledgeable salespersons| | Sales and marketing| – Advertising campaigns focus mainly on B2B websites and trade fair| – Effective marketing strategy to differentiate from competitors | | Service| Good relationships with suppliers of different products in Vietnam. Support team for developing new products and help wholesalers to finding new suppliers for other products in Vietnam, India†¦| SupportActivities| Prod uct R&D, Technology and system development| – Market Research and developing new design. | – Rights to copyrights and patents of weaving and designs of carpets/rugs| | Human Resources Management| – 10 employees| * Excellent executive team * Highly skilled employees | | | | |According to threshold/distinctive resources and competencies framework, the defined resources and competencies can be categorized as following: Threshold resources – Distribution system – Opponents’ suppliers – Internal design – Research and development team Threshold resources – Distribution system – Opponents’ suppliers – Internal design – Research and development team Threshold competences * Knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff, especially salespersons – Effective and trusted wholesalers/importers Threshold competences Knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff, especially salespersons – Effective and trusted wh olesalers/importers Distinctive resources – Excellent managing team – Sale and marketing team – Strong cash position Distinctive resources – Excellent managing team – Sale and marketing team – Strong cash position Distinctive competences – Strong brand name – Customer loyalty – Good quality and competitive price products Distinctive competences – Strong brand name – Customer loyalty – Good quality and competitive price products . 2 VRIO Framework Resource/ competency| Valuable? | Rare? | Difficult to imitate? | Exploitable? | Competitive implication| Excellent managing team| Yes| Yes| Yes| Yes| Sustained competitive advantage| Distribution system to wholesalers/retailers| Yes| No| No| Yes| Competitive Parity| Brand/name| Yes| Yes| No| Yes| Temporary competitive advantage| Sales and marketing team| Yes| Yes| No | Yes| Temporary competitive advantage| Customer loyalty| Yes| Yes| Yes| Yes| Sustained com petitive advantage|

My Favorite Dish Essay

My Favorite Dish Most of us have a certain type of favorite dish, but my favorite dish is seared steak with a garlic glaze. I love this dish because it reminds of that time my cousin told me about it and described it. Ever since he told me I always wanted it to try it. I couldn’t try the dish because he didn’t know the name of it and so I couldn’t try it out in some other restaurant or make it myself. The only way I had to try it was to go where he lives and he lives out of state, I had to wait a few months to taste it. That made me want to try it even more. 2 years ago my dad came home from work with very good news he told my family that we were going to spend Christmas with my family in Bellevue, Washington. When I heard the good news I was so happy I was going to try the dish my cousin was telling me about. I was just counting the days to go, I remember it was December 15 we packed out stuff and went to Washington. The first thing we did was go out to eat and it was in that Restaurant in Bellevue I don’t really remember the name of it I just wanted to try the dish. The restaurant was located between Bellevue and Seattle. In the restaurant we got the got the menu and my cousin pointed at the dish and it was called Seared steak with garlic glaze. I didn’t really want to try it because of the garlic but I waited so long for this dish I had to try it. I got my dish and it looked weird but smelled so good. The garlic along with the spices it had on the glaze smelled so good was making me want to jump for it right away. The steak was hot and cooked well done and was about  ½ inch thick had good color to it the glaze was brownish looking. The glaze was covered with garlic cloves I made a weird face when I saw it. I took my first bite and I am not a fan of garlic but I loved it was so good, I said to myself all this wait was worth it that garlic taste mixed with some spices they used made it taste so delicious never have I tasted something like it. After Christmas we came back to Los Angeles California I was just  remembering the taste of seared steak I wanted to try to and make my own. I searched online and found a recipe and it seemed pretty easy and didn’t use that many ingredients. I went to the local super market by my house and had most of the ingredients it required, the only thing I couldn’t find was rosemary I think they had it I just didn’t know where to find it. I went home and luckily there was rosemary in the house. I seared the steak so it can be really dry and I seasoned it with salt, pepper and steak seasoning so it can have a good crust and cooked it in a cast iron skillet. The steak smelled good already so was time to make the glaze the glaze was really simple just some garlic beef broth and rosemary. My dish was done it didn’t take a long time it took me about 25-30 minutes. My dish didn’t come out as it looked back in the restaurant I think because my stake was a little thin then  ½ inch. I tried it and it didn’t really taste the same like the one in the restaurant didn’t have that good garlic flavor maybe in the restaurant they added some extra spices or secret ingredient. I would make this dish again but this time I would like to experiment and add more spices to the glaze or maybe make it a little spicy probably next time when I go to Bellevue Washington I should ask the chef what are the ingredients in making this wonderful dish. Next time I am probably going to make it with pork chops I think it will be pretty good maybe even better. I like my visit to Washington and going to that restaurant next time I will remember the name of it. I had fun in making this dish and I will try to make it as good as the one in the restaurant or probably even better. I will never give up!