The Effects Of Drug Use

Maybe some of us have a good idea that the illegal drug business is still huge but covered somewhere among the â€Å"black† economy markets. After all the numbers one could hear tossed around, I am afraid that the sad truth could be, that no one really knows just how huge this business might be, how many people die, how much blood money has been made and than laundered into legal businesses. It is terrible to imagine how many subways and basements come to be â€Å"the places for being in the clouds†. According to the National Drug Prevention League drugs are an object of the fastest growing trade, except the Internet. Some of you might share my opinion that it is a billion-dollar industry that takes a comfortable place in our society. Drugs have always been with mankind as we seem to carry an inherent need to consume mind altering substances. Many people, who didn’t use drugs before, know only that â€Å"that thing† can make them feel in a strange way. But drugs could harm people when using them. It is not a secret that the consequences could be severe for the users. It is essential that people are educated at a very young age and presented with the appropriate social re-enforcers to understand that there are viable reasons that drugs are dangerous – they destroy lives. Drugs affect people’s thinking, awareness and senses. They have huge effect on people’s physical and mental health because of the chemical reactions they provoke in humans’ bodies. They lead to hallucinations, hearing voices, suspision and a feeling of â€Å"everyone is out to get me†. Also they make most of the organs in your body disfunction, poison blood, kill brain cells and finally, in most cases, kill the person that abuses them. Hallucinations can make people experience things that aren’t real. Probably drug users are looking exactly for that â€Å"escaping the reality† for a while. Don’t you think that until now, modes of life have been based on the material slavery of the masses? Does our society offer us a different life than working all day long and going home to get some rest for the next working day? Maybe not, and maybe that is why people who are using drugs do believe drugs are the magic formula that leads someone to a world totally different from the boring every-day life. There is a clich? that says – â€Å"People have the strange instinct to break every rule once it is established†. When I went to Holland 3 years ago, I found that the government had established some rules that were quite strange for me at first. In 1976, Holland decriminalized marijuana possession. From that time on one can go into a retail shop and purchase small amounts of marijuana. This could be one of the reasons why Holland has a low level of heroin use, a low level of cocaine use, much lower than most of the other countries do. What actually happened was that the marijuana became the filter, preventing harder drug use. But do people of our society really know where the drugs are going to and who are their greatest consumers? It is a pity that one of the easiest places to find some drugs could be in schools. Students who turn to more potent drugs usually do so after first using cigarettes and alcohol, and then marijuana. Maybe there are some people who know that drugs transform schools into marketplace for dope dealers. However, students who continue to use drugs learn that drugs can make strange things with their thoughts and feelings, and the greater a student’s involvement with marijuana, the more likely it is that student could begin to use other drugs in conjunction with marijuana. When talking about night parties, I got used to seeing guys smoking marijuana as imperturbably as they drink their beers. Can you think about somebody you know who has taken drugs in front of you? Here, the bad thing could be that you might have seen at least one person taking drugs freely. â€Å"This is a family problem†- some could say. And according Dan Check’s book † The Success and Failure of George Bush’s War on Drugs† the problem is coming rather from the family than somewhere else. Maybe the society has to rely on the family, as being the strongest entity in its structure to solve the huge-spread drug problem that exists. But here, the weird thing is that parents can’t really see the symptoms of drug addiction in their children. And it is a â€Å"public secret† that the gap between parents and kids is getting bigger and bigger. I don’t want to imagine what the difference between parents and children could be in the next generations. But parents shouldn’t wait until they think their child has a problem. Many young people in treatment programs say that they had used alcohol and other drugs for at least two years before their parents knew about it. Maybe their parents should begin to talk earlier about the effects of alcohol and other drugs use and keep the lines of communication open all the time. Isn’t it better to let your child know that you are concerned, and that you can work together to find answers of these so important questions? It is really harder to stop drug use among children once it is there. Most of the times, after students get involved with drugs, they start to sell them or begin to steal from family, friends, or employers in order to buy the next dose. Determining the consequences of harder drug use could help the new generation stop using them. Maybe facing the answer of this question will make people think about the real price they are paying when drugs are involved. Along with â€Å"escaping the boring reality†, the teeth rot out, the appetite is lost, and the stomach doesn’t function properly. The gall bladder becomes inflamed and eyes and skin turn yellow. In some cases, membranes of the nose turn a flaming red and breathing becomes difficult. Oxygen in the blood decreases, bronchitis and tuberculosis develop. Good traits of character disappear and bad ones emerge. Sex organs become affected too. Veins collapse. Nerves snap. Imaginary and fantastic fears blight the mind. Sometimes complete insanity results. Many times, death comes much too early. Such is the torment of being a drug addict and such is the plague of being one of the walking dead bodies. The statistics show that in the period 1994 – 1999 the rate of death caused by â€Å"hard-core† drugs use has increased with 6%. Maybe the answer for preventing humans and most of all the young people from taking dope is hidden somewhere among all these questions that are hard to be faced by the society. Who is responsible for this to happen? And who is really interested in preventing the dope disaster? Is there something that can be done if we, the human beings, do not realize the importance of the dope problem? Drugs have made a tremendous impact on American society over the past thirty to forty years, yet many Americans are ambivalent regarding their opinions relating to drugs in terms of decriminalization, availability, impact on society, and mental and physical health impacts.

Stefan’s Diaries: Bloodlust Chapter 28

Remember the time we broke Mothers crystal bowl? And I was so worried about how she would react that I cried?† I asked. â€Å"Yes, and then Father decided I was to blame and whipped me and called me wicked,† Damon said dully. â€Å"I tried to make your life easier, little brother. But Im done. This time, I want you to get exactly what you deserve.† â€Å"What do you want me to say, Damon?† I asked angrily, so loudly the two guards looked up in surprise. Damon paused, his eyes at half-mast. â€Å"Ill tell you exactly what I want you to say right before I kill you.† I rolled my eyes in angry frustration. â€Å"I thought you were the one who wanted to die. And now youre going to kill me?† Damon chuckled. â€Å"You know, now that I think about it, being a beast from hell might not be so bad. In fact, I think its a role I could take to, immensely. Perhaps it wasnt my newfound state I despised. It wasyou. But if youre gone–â€Å" â€Å"If Im gone youll be in Patrick Gallaghers freak show forever,† I interrupted. â€Å"But admit it, brother. Dont you think Patrick Gallaghers freak show is more fun than hell? And once I get some strength, I think I can plan an escape quite easily.† â€Å"And then Im sure youll get caught, just as you did the first time,† I said in disgust. I leaned my head back against the cage bars. The fight was one short hour away, and I hadnt given up on trying to engage Damon, to spark any possible thread of connection between us. But no matter what Id say, hed taunt me or ignore me. It was impossible to know just how long wed been trapped. Since I had become a vampire, time had taken on a different quality. Seconds and minutes no longer mattered. I found being imprisoned gave time back its importance, because every second brought us closer to our battle. As I waited, I played out in my mind the various scenarios the fight could take. I pictured Damon snapping my neck, roaring triumphantly for the crowd. I saw myself succumbing to anger, accidentally stealing life from my brother–again. But what would happen if we both refused to fight? Could we take on the entire audience together? Could we somehow engineer an escape? Yes, Gallaghers minions had vervain and stakes, but we had Power. If only I had Callie on my side My heart panged painfully at the thought of Callies betrayal. The image of her flame-red hair and gleaming eyes floated to my mind constantly, inflaming my anger–and hurt–over and over. I curled my fists. If only Id listened to Lexi. If only I hadnt let a human in. My only goal for the battle was that, if I should die, I would die with my eyes closed, instead of searching the crowd for her face. â€Å"Lets go, boys!† Gallagher called out, pushing open the door as if he were rousing two children for a bright and early hike. He wore a black waistcoat and a brand-new gold watch that glinted in the weak sunlight. He snapped his fingers, and instantly the guards jumped to their feet, bustling to put on the makeshift uniform of a vampire handler: gloves, boots, and vervain-soaked garlands. The door of the cage flew open, and guards roughly yanked us out, tightened muzzles around our fangs, and shackled our hands behind our backs. We were blindfolded, then marched out of the attic and into the back of a black iron wagon. The wagon took off, bumpily heading down to the lake. When we arrived at the tent, we were marched in opposite directions. â€Å"Boo!† â€Å"Freak!† I heard the sideshow acts hiss as I was marched through the backstage area. I tightened my jaw. I wondered if Lexi wondered where I was, if she thought I was already dead. Though I was still blindfolded, I knew every inch of this tent. To the left was the tattooed woman, and to the right was Caroline, the bearded lady. The floor dipped down, and I knew I was in the arena. I felt something grab my arm. â€Å"Ive told a lot of people about what a crafty one you are. But dont try too hard for my benefit, Mr. Salvatore. My money is on your brother,† Jasper whispered gleefully. Finally, the blindfold was removed from my eyes. The tent was lit up like it was midday, and all the stands were crammed with people. At the center of the ring, Gallagher had set up a betting pool, where people frantically waved bills in the air. Organ music filled the tent, and the air smelled like candied apples and rum punch. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her. Callie was weaving through the stands, and behind her was Buck, carrying a tin box. Her hair was plaited with vervain stems, and her face was pale. Shed obviously been dispatched to collect bets in the stand. She was certainly her fathers daughter, and she fulfilled her duties well. She did not look at me once. I tore my gaze away from her and forced it over to Damon on the opposite side of the ring. Damon had always been a good fighter, and his recent bouts had only strengthened him. If Damon wanted to kill me, he would. Moreover, I would let him. I owed him that much. Jasper struck the starting bell, and the crowd hushed. Gallagher stood up from his post in the betting pit and boomed: â€Å"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another fine evening of sport made possible by yours truly, Patrick Gallagher. Only days ago, we brought you the first-ever fight between a vampire and a mountain lion. Tonight, we bring you the first-ever fight between two vampires, including the winner of that previous match. And not only that,† he said, dropping his voice and causing the crowd to hush and lean forward, â€Å"these two monsters are brothers. They came from the same womb, and now one of them will be heading straight to hell.† A rock hit me in the back of the head, and I whirled around. Vervain was everywhere, causing the sea of faces to blend together in a nightmarish collage of eyes, noses, and open mouths. â€Å"Brother, I'm sorry for anything I've done. Please. If we die, let's not die in anger. We're all we have,† I whispered, clenching my jaw and trying, one last time, to reach Damon. Damon looked up for a split second and jerked his head, but his expression was unreadable. In the center of the ring, Gallagher was still commanding the audiences attention. â€Å"The book will be open for another five minutes for final bets. But!–† He raised his hand in the air, attempting to silence the crowd. The noise in the tent dulled, if only slightly. â€Å"Stay after the show, when well be selling the losers blood. Even a dead vampires blood has healing powers. Cures all ailments. Even ones in the bedroom.† Gallagher winked showily. The crowd catcalled and cheered. I stiffened, wondering whether the crowd thought this was all an act: that we were down-on-our-luck actors and that the blood Gallagher sold after the show would be some type of cherry cordial. Did anyone know that all the blood would be real, that the fallen loser in the center of the ring wouldnt be standing up and heading home once the tent was emptied? Callie knew. Callie knew, and she had decided that this would be my fate. I again clenched my jaw, ready to fight, ready to give the audience the show it was looking for. Suddenly, I found myself being led around the ring by Jasper, giving the audience one final chance to scrutinize my strength before raising their stakes. I could hear snatches of conversation from all sides of the tent: That one's got an inch on the other. I'm swapping sides. How'd your old lady like one of those for your anniversary? I wonder how they'd do against a real lion. A man dressed in clerical robes stood next to Gallagher, raising his frocked arms to quiet the crowd. I recognized him as the snake charmer from the sideshow. â€Å"May all good light shine upon this fight and return the losers soul to the cleansing fires of hell!† he yelled, causing the tent to erupt in a cacophony of noise. A whistle blew, and the fight was on. Damon circled toward me, his stance low to the ground, like when we were kids and practiced boxing. I imitated his stance. â€Å"Blood!† one drunken man yelled, practically hanging over the railing of the ring. â€Å"Blood! Blood! Blood!† The entire tent seemed to be cheering. Damon and I continued to circle each other. â€Å"Let's not do this,† I said.†Let's refuse. What can they do?† â€Å"We're beyond that, brother,† Damon said.†The two of us can't survive in the same world.† Anger seeped into my limbs from the center of my being. Why couldnt we? And why couldnt Damon forgive me? I no longer thought he was haunted by the memory of Katherine. Instead, I believed he was haunted byme. Not who I was, but who he thought I was–a monster who killed without fear or awareness of consequence. How dare he not even recognize the lengths Id gone to to try to make him happy, to try to save him? I swung, connecting with Damons cheek. Blood spurted under his eye, and the crowd roared. Damon wound up and swung back, hitting me on my shoulder and knocking me down to the ground. â€Å"Why did you do that?† Damon hissed, baring his teeth to the delight of the crowd. â€Å"Because you wanted it,† I hissed back, baring my own teeth, then flipped him over into a headlock. He freed himself quickly and returned to his corner. We stood at opposite sides of the ring, staring at each other, both confused, angry, alone. â€Å"Fight!† the crowd roared again. Gallagher glared at us, unsure what to do. He snapped his fingers, and Jasper and Buck ran toward us with stakes, determined to force us to fight each other. They prodded us until our bodies were only inches apart and both of our fists were raised, when a huge, echoing, booming crack that sounded like the sky splitting in two echoed from above. A cold wind whipped around us, causing a cloud of sawdust and debris to rise at our feet. I smelled smoke. â€Å"Fire!† a panicked voice yelled. I looked around wildly. Part of the tent was on fire, and people were running in all directions. â€Å"Comeon!† I felt hands shoving my shoulders. Callie. My eyes opened wide in surprise. â€Å"Go, go, go!† Callie yelled, pushing me. She held an axe in her hand, and slowly I began piecing together what had happened. Had she actually cut down the supports of the tent structure, then set the fire? â€Å"Move!† Callie pushed me one more time. She was surprisingly strong for a human, and after a few seconds of stupidly standing and blinking in place, I grabbed Damon by the wrist, and we ran, past the tents, away from the river, faster and faster, heading toward my home.

Home Made Candles

Homemade Candle Materials: Matches Cotton Oil Salt Glass container Procedure: Step1: Put a salt in the container Step2: Put a little oil in the container Step3: History of Candles Candles have cast a light on man's progress for centuries. However, there is very little known about the origin of candles. Although it is often written that the first candles were developed by the Ancient Egyptians who used rush lights, or torches, made by soaking the pithy core of reeds in molten tallow, the rush lights had no wick like a candle.It is the Romans who are credited with developing the wick candle, using it to aid travellers at dark and lighting homes and places of worship at night. Like the early Egyptians, the Roman's relied on tallow, gathered from cattle or sheep suet, as the principal ingredient of candles. It was not until the Middle Ages when beeswax, a substance secreted by honey bees to make their honeycombs, was introduced. Beeswax candles were a marked improvement over those made w ith tallow, for they did not produce a smoky flame, or emit an acrid odor when burned.Instead, beeswax candles burned pure and clean. However, they were expensive, and, therefore, only the wealthy could afford them. Colonial women offered America's first contribution to candle making when they discovered that boiling the greyish green berries of bayberry bushes produced a sweet-smelling wax that burned clean. However, extracting the wax from the bayberries was extremely tedious. As a result, the popularity of bayberry candles soon diminished.The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century brought the first major change in candle making since the middle Ages, when spermaceti, a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil, became available in quantity. Like beeswax, the spermaceti wax did not elicit a repugnant odor when burned. Furthermore, spermaceti wax was found harder than both tallow and beeswax. It did not soften or bend in the summer heat. Historians note that th e first â€Å"standard candles† were made from spermaceti wax.It was during the 19th century when most major developments affecting contemporary candle making occurred. In 1834, inventor Joseph Morgan introduced a machine which allowed continuous production of moulded candles by the use of a cylinder which featured a movable piston that ejected candles as they solidified. Further developments in candlemaking occurred in 1850 with the production of paraffin wax made from oil and coal shales. Processed by distilling the residues left after crude petroleum was refined, the bluish-white wax was found to burn cleanly, and with no unpleasant odor.Of greatest significance was its cost – paraffin wax was more economical to produce than any preceding candle fuel developed. And while paraffin's low melting point may have posed a threat to its popularity, the discovery of stearic acid solved this problem. Hard and durable, stearic acid was being produced in quantity by the end of the 19th century. By this period, most candles being manufactured consisted of paraffin and stearic acid. With the introduction of the light bulb in 1879, candlemaking declined until the turn of the century when a renewed popularity for candles emerged.Candle manufacturing was further enhanced during the first half of the 20th century through the growth of U. S. oil and meatpacking industries. With the increase of crude oil and meat production, also came an increase in the by-products that are the basic ingredients of contemporary candles paraffin and stearic acid. No longer man's major source of light, candles continue to grow in popularity and use. Today, candles symbolize celebration, mark romance, define ceremony, and accent decor — continuing to cast a warm glow for all to enjoy. Candle Use & SafetyHow are candles made? While modern candle-making processes vary, most candles are made through the timeless process of placing a cotton wick into wax which is then molded, di pped, extruded, pressed, rolled, drawn or filled into a desired shape and size. What is the best way to store candles? Candles should be stored in a cool, dark, dry place and, for tapers, in a flat position to prevent warping. When stored properly, candles can be enjoyed for years and play an important role in traditions. Does the industry have standards for candles?Domestic candle manufacturers have a long tradition of making high quality, long-lasting and safe candles. National Candle Association members – manufacturers and suppliers – are working with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) to implement voluntary standards for candles. Are candles safe to use? Candles are safe when burned properly and responsibly, and according to manufacturers’ directions. When burning candles, consumers should always follow these simple, common sense steps: †¢never leave a burning candle unattended keep candles out of the reach of children and pets †¢trim wicks prior to each use and keep trimmed †¢keep candles away from drafts, vents and flammable objects †¢extinguish a candle that smokes (check instructions before re-lighting) †¢extinguish candle when ? † of wax remains in a container †¢use only candle holders that have been manufactured for use with candles †¢keep matches and other debris out of the candle †¢Extinguish the flame if it burns too close to the container or holder do not move a glass container when the wax is liquid.

Ch 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ch 1 - Essay Example Additionally, it would help in advancing my career as I seek to further my education. Thus, a critical aspect to study would be on presentation skills. As argued by Beebe, Beebe, and Ivy, an effective public speaker should be sensitive of their communication and understand their interaction with their audience (28). Gaining the appropriate presentation skills would enable me to effectively use verbal and nonverbal symbols to pass across the relevant information to students. It would also be useful in interpreting and understanding the messages from my students and respond to their needs. Adapting the disseminated information to these needs would make my teaching effective. Persuasion skills would also be useful to me in my career. As I seek to grow my career, I would be required to defend the findings from my research studies. I would therefore be required to have the requisite skills to persuade the panelists of my arguments. This informs on the importance of gaining appropriate rhetoric skills. According to Beebe, Beebe, and Ivy, rhetoric is the discovery of the effective means for persuasion given a specific situation (28). Therefore, acquiring such skills would go a long way in making me successful in defending my theses in pursuance of career

Accounting principals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accounting principals - Essay Example The key is to price it at a level where people can still afford it and will still demand it but where the company will also be able to make a profit and be able to maintain its status as a going concern. There are many ways measure performance but the reason why it is important is that if performance suffers than the whole company suffers. There are man econometric systems of measurement used for this process. Needless to say, it is complex. Clearly taxes play a huge role in every business and it is important to account for them. Transfer pricing is one method of adjusting prices between different parties at arms length. This is an effective method of determining the real price of something with relations to tax. All good accountants will do this. For many years governments have permitted this kind of calculation. Depending on where you sit politically outsourcing is either good or bad. It involves sending certain jobs to other places or countries where they can be done more cheaply. For example, a lot of companies outsource menial work such as call centres to India where wages are lower. This is a good way for companies to save money as they are always sending jobs to places where they can be done more cheaply. However, for workers at home they dont want to see their jobs move. In the end, the customers win as the companys savings are passed on to them. This is important to take into account when reading financial statements. Many workplaces are unionized. Workers sign collective agreements and have many rights. For workers this can be a good thing as their jobs are more easily protected, but for many companies this often involves higher costs as unions demand more wages and benefits. We can see how unions have nearly destroyed the American car industry through the way they drove up costs dramatically over the years. No

Feminist theories Why you think women commit crime Personal Statement

Feminist theories Why you think women commit crime - Personal Statement Example According to Einstadter (2006), the rise in the rate of female crimes in the early 1960s and 1970s was due to the fact that most women were adopting male roles thus, masculinising their behaviour and attitudes. On the same note, other scholars argue that immense participation of women in the workforce exposes them to crimes. Consequently, most women in prison are accused of abusing drugs, robbery, shoplifting, motoring, burglary, and fraud. What is clear is that women commit particular crimes at a different level from that of their male counterparts. Therefore, there is a large gap between men and women who commit a crime as it is unlikely to hear women being incarcerated for serious crimes such as murder. Freda Adler who was a theorist related the rise in female crimes to the success of the women’s liberation movement. According to him, the social movements increased women’s prospects and the need to commit crime to meet their societal needs. On the same note, Sigmund Freud argued that although women commit fewer crimes as compared to men, women who are involved in antisocial behaviour do it in revenge due to the fact that they do not have a penis; hence, they assume masculine traits (Cote, 2002). Based on this, it is sound to argue that most women commit crimes because they show masculine biological and psychological orientations. Consequently, they have a desire to be recognized in the society; hence, resort in illegal activities. Burgess-Proctor, A. (2006). Intersections of race, class, gender, and crime: future directions for feminist criminology. Retrieved from

Change Management Framework in Healthcare Research Paper

Change Management Framework in Healthcare - Research Paper Example The health care managers and professionals obligations and duties is to maintain and acquire the expertise skills needed for them to undertake their managerial and professional tasks. Changes are always around us, and the opportune moment of making the changes participating fully is the way to support. There are various ways to make the transformational changes in the managements of the hospitals and the changes results to the benefits of the healthcare environment. Managing changes is more of handling the complexities involved in the success of that process. It is the planning, evaluating, and operations implementations, the strategies and tactics and making sure the changes taken are more relevant and worthwhile. Change management is a dynamic, complex and a challenging process; it is always a combination of the efforts of the oriented people and the technological solutions as well (Davies, Finlay and Bullman, 2000). To make the changes is a demanding and fatiguing process that involves cooperation of the people at stake. In order to bring in a change or adapt to another situation will require the manager to challenge the standards and the precedents a well as requiring perseverance against some of the norms and habits of the established behaviors. To bring about change requires the manager to have a time commitment. He or she must understand some of the values that matters and his focus to the values that need to change instead of new ones. The manager can check on what is suitable in the healthcare management how it will affect the patients, staff, employees and the society in general. The healthcare manger on evaluating the necessary changes that will be suitable in the health care organization is changing the lives and the environment of the institutions and making it better. Being clear to what is necessarily important and developing proactive actions and responses accordingly is what makes the success of the institution. The key strategies in the

Subsidies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Subsidies - Essay Example Both direct and indirect payments can be part of an economic subsidy package. In the literature of economics, subsidies have been criticized for distortions and for wasting state or government resources. However, the criticisms from economics have not deterred states from providing subsidies. Some of the state or government policies may be responding to political expediency or convenience and this may be the reason why the criticisms from economics on subsidies have been failing to deter states and government from providing subsidies. Further, it is also possible that considerations other than economics have been determining state and government attitudes towards subsidies. For example, it is possible that national security can be invoked to defend a subsidy even if the literature of economics covers public goods in which issues of national security are included. Economic winners and losers in the new garbage facility. The economic winners in the subsidy include those in the supply chain of the new garbage facility. This means that the new garbage facility and their suppliers will benefit from the subsidy. Of course, the industry to which the new garbage facility will input into will also benefit from the subsidy. The economic losers in the subsidy can include the firms in the more developed part of the city. Although, the city government may not be likely exacting new payments from the said firms, it is possible that they can end up as economic losers just the same based on lost opportunities. However, they may not end up losers if the economic subsidy is just enough to compensate for the lack of profitability in the less developed area of the city. Citizens who will be living in the less developed city can be considered as winners in the subsidy because they will be able to avoid the possible discomfort without the subsidy. At the

BUS law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

BUS law - Essay Example It is further observed that the terms and conditions submitted by Wrench LLC to Taco bell on their request was not approved but still Alfaro, representative of Taco Bell continued promoting the caricature based on the ideas of Wrench LLC, which leads to the violation of rights under  §106 of Copyrights Act. Taco Bell is liable to be prosecuted for breaching implied contract as it has used the concepts, ideas and materials of Wrench LLC in its marketing before and after rejecting the terms of Wrench LLC. The above facts satisfy the requirements for an implied contract and Taco Bell is liable to pay for the losses incurred by Wrench LLC as it is upheld in Metrano v. Fox Broadcasting that â€Å"suit for breach of a promise not use †¦.ideas without compensation does not require proof of any element that is not required by the Copyright Act† (Anschell, Hodulik and Rohrer, 24). Anschell, J.H., Hodulik J.B. and Rohrer A.S. The Whole Enchilada: Wrench LLC v Taco Bell Corp. and Idea Submission Claims Communications Lawyer, The Journal of Media, Information and Communications Law, 21(4). 2004.

Professional Issues - Child Protection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Professional Issues - Child Protection - Essay Example In the task of looking after the children who are being abused the child protection workers have to face many problems. Child welfare work is difficult and Child protection social workers have to face lots of challenges in relation to the management of violence done to the children. These child protection professionals have to face the threatening of the parents and they also have to challenge the underlying assumption that working with parents is always possible. Many of the workers have to face the threats of not only the parents but also of the supporting agencies. Decision making is the main thing which is the essence of child protection. Rebecca Aviel in his article Restoring Equipoise to Child Welfare says that an error in decision making from the part of a social worker will lead him/her to answer the questions raised by the federal court. (Aviel, 2010). Despite the area of consultation a social worker has to make decision about child safety. In a monthly article titled Ã¢â‚¬Ë œCPS Supervision: What does the present suggest for the Future?’ it appeared that despite the area of consultation a social worker has to make decision about child safety. For this they need assistance for sorting out the problems of maltreating families. When the workers do not get any assistance they make it anyway which may not be a proper one. Many young people are coming into this field without any proper education or training. They cannot be considered as professionals and they are prone to make wrong decisions which may affect the child in a bad way. In such a condition of lack of professionals the supporting agencies do not even think of keeping supervisors. The agencies also support an ineffective means of treatment of the social workers. They often try to compensate and support the ineffective supervisors and they ignore the work of the supervisors. (Liddle, et al, 1988). Child workers work in close association with the families to monitor child’s safety and well being. They have to assess the on going service needs of the children and also of the foster parents. They also have to ensure the safety of the child and look for â€Å"stable living arrangements that promote the well being of the children† (Child Welfare Caseworker Visits with Children and Parents: Innovations in State Policy, 2006). Formerly being a social worker, Robert Tapsfield, Chief Executive, Fostering Network says that it is a challenge for a social worker to make the decisions and make it right. It should be identified that the protection of the children who face child abuse is not the sole responsibility of the social worker. The responsibility is to be shared among the directors, managers, supporters, lead members and the counselors. One of the main difficulties faced by the social workers is to find out or identify the families in which the child is abused. They family may try to hide matters from the social worker who go to interview the child. Robert Taps field says that it may need officials or professionally skilled persons to undertake this task. (Milton, 2011). Social workers are to be well trained to do this task of finding facts from the family in which a child is abused or suffering. They also find it difficult to work with aggressive and violent parents who may not disclose the secrets in front of a stranger. They may indulge in violent means to prevent this. â€Å"

Global Strategy at General Motors Essay Example for Free

Global Strategy at General Motors Essay Company, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908 and its annual revenue in 2000 of $185 billion. The company sells 8 million vehicles per years, 3. 2 million of which are produced and market outside of its North America. GM caught 27 percent share of the North America and 9 percent share of the market in the rest of the world as well as GM captured 12 percent share in the Western Europe in 2000 which is second only to that of ford. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors Company acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer operations of the old General Motors Corporation. Though GM had a long presence in developing countries, until recently sales there accounted for only a little fraction of the company’s total international business. Traditionally GM used the developing countries as a dumping ground for the obsolete technology and outdated models and earned huge money from this aging investment. This strategy has seen as lack of commitment from top management and GM offered very low quality, made of old product. All decision, plan and marketing decision were centralized by Detroit headquarter and they acted as a market context. GM kept in its mind about the poverty, crime, geographical situation and politics and communism in the developing countries. On the other hand, GM Detroit headquarters kept away GM European operation from other part of the world. And because of this arm’s-length-basis, company had failure to share all the valuable technology, skill and practice among the subsidiaries. But it had appealing market, and high profit opportunities in the Europe. So, GM did tailor the specific market needs because it had worried about blowing off from market if it didn’t tailor the specific market. So, while the GM tight controlled over its operation in the developing country but in the some time GM was too lax in Europe and felt lack of overall strategic coherence. Since 1997, GM has been trying to switch a philosophy that centre of excellence may reside any where in the global operation. An embodiment of this is to set up new four plants in the developing countries with investing $2. billion. And the four plants are identical and they can able to imitate Toyota. At the Eisenach plant, GM leant lean production from Toyota and implemented this. So the plant which productivity rate is at least twice that of most North American assembly operations is most efficient in Europe operation and the best in GM. Although they reach the more scale economics, more efficiency , more synergy, and ability to match local preference, but this strategy are not working because GM still suffers from high costs, low perceive quality. Finally, GM thinks that the push toward global cars is misconceived. At the Opel’s Russelsheim design facility, the German based engineering has uttered concerns that distinctively European engineering features may be left by the wayside in the drive to devise what they see as blander â€Å"global† cars. Question-1: How would you characterize the strategy pursued by GM in the (a) developing world and (b) Europe before 1997? Answer: The question asked to characterize the strategy pursued by GM in the developing world and in Europe before 1997. So, first of all it is very important to notice that in this question we have two important information for discussion: First information: there are two main market areas for GM’s international operations: Europe and the developing world which is made up of Latin America, Asia and eastern Europe and the strategy pursued in these two markets are totally different. Second information is that there’s a key date in GM’s history which is 1997. This date is an important turnaround for GM. Strategy in developing countries before 1997 The fact: †¢Outdated low cost products were selected for developing countries. †¢All the strategic decision, marketing and manufacturing plans were centralized by Detroit headquarter †¢Low commitment policy was there since GM select developing countries as a dumping ground for obsolete technology and outdated models The context: †¢The main context in the developing countries is the political and economical instability. †¢Low expanse capability of the developing countries as they are poor. †¢Low growth perspectives. The strategy: Decision to produce and sell low cost models that were considered outdated developed world. Added benefit of extending the return on investment of previous decade’s investments. †¢This allowed generating a continuous cash flow to be invested in more appealing markets like Europe. †¢Probably willingness is not to share valuable technologies and skills in countries with low patent protection. The Result: market sha re less than 8. 9% The strategy pursued in the developing markets before 1997 was a very low commitment from the top management towards the developing markets. This means that the product offer was very low quality, made of old products that would have not been sellable in a competitive, developed market like the US or western Europe. From the case we also noticed that all the strategic, planning and marketing decisions were centralized in the Detroit headquarter. So, this means that the top management didn’t consider important to have a direct contact with those markets and didn’t want â€Å"trust† local subsidiaries to manage on their own. They thought they could manage the developing market from their desks in Detroit. Lack of initiative or just plain Yankee arrogance weren’t the main reasons. We think the GM management acted accordingly to the market context. In fact to understand their strategy, we must keep in mind that the geopolitical situation before the nineties in South America had instability both in politics and economy, poverty, crime and sometimes civil wars. In Eastern Europe and Asia: communism was also known as not favorable to American capitalists. The choice of a low profile strategy was the only chance at these conditions and there were low risk, low investment, low commitment but also low return. The market share of GM’s vehicles in these markets was very little but, considering the amount of resources invested, it’s not bad at all. After all, this low-cost strategy allowed GM to extend the life of obsolete products without risking to loose valuable resources in risky states. And most important, generating some cash to be invested in more appealing markets like Europe. Strategy in Europe before 1997 The context: †¢Strong local competitors †¢Strong cultural identity †¢Differences in preferences compared to US †¢Tight urban space The pursued strategy: †¢Need to totally design, produce and sell different models( compared to US) †¢Huge investment. Allowed to produce state of the art vehicles featuring the ultimate technology and design tailored to the local customers. †¢Loose control by Detroit headquarter and wide freedom to regional and national subsidiaries( strategy planning, designing of cars and facilities were managed on their own) The Result: †¢11. 3% market share second only to Ford †¢Lack of an overall strategic coherence. Inability to leverage synergies And here we go with the second part of the question: strategy in Europe before 1997. Here everything is different. We have an appealing market, high profit opportunities, demanding customers and strong competitors. In Europe you can’t even imagine to sell the same cars you sell in America. First of all because there’s not enough space: streets are smaller, plain and simple. Second, because people have very different preferences compared to US and third because if you don’t tailor the cars to the specific market needs, local competitors will blow you off in a minute. And you’ll be out of the game. So here’s how GM managed the European operations: They gave local subsidiaries freedom to design, produce and sell new models. Impact of pre 1997 strategy In developing countries: †¢Inability to respond to market needs †¢Mediocre from a competitive point of view but decent from a financial point of view In Europe: †¢Good response to market needs †¢High costs †¢Good from a competitive point of view but very expensive and not much efficient To summarize Pressure for cost reduction was high in developing countries not because of competitors but mainly because of poverty. In Europe, compared to developing countries, customers have a high expenditure capability so if a pressure for cost reduction exists, it’s due to competition but still it’s not comparable to that in the developing world. That’s why we’ve put it in the lower end of the axis. Question-3: How would you characterize the strategy that GM has been pursuing since 1997? How should this strategy affect GM’s ability to create value in the global automobile market?

The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process Essay Example for Free

The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process Essay The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not descriptive of a catalytic event but a chronic conflict that has persisted for more than half a century. The military and political ramifications of the conflict in Palestine and the Arab world are nothing but huge (Barsalou 2003; Bregman El-Tahiri 1998). For years the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has trudged on dotted with what has currently been accepted as twists and turns of small successes and persistent failure of the peace process at large. The underlying issues are as broad as the range of interventions that can be used to solve them but the political will to enforce recommendations has been lacking ever since Israel self declared its independence and Palestine in collaboration with the Arab world declared war on the Israeli state. However, the complexity of the eventualities that led to the collapse of the peace process can not forever prevent the success of any future interventions so long as key issues are straightened out. As the peace process remains stalled, any future intervention will have to desist from pushing partial agreements and instead advocate for a comprehensive and sustainable7 final status agreement. There is need to avoid sequenced confidence building strategies that had been prevalent with the past peace process negotiations. This is crucial to prevent the peace process from becoming a hostage to security. Instead both parties in the negotiation table should be encouraged to adopt a strategy that promotes a mutual and comprehensive ceasefire by both the Israelis and the Palestinians (Brown2009). The Israeli government should freeze all construction developments in occupied territories because these settlements are in contravention of international law. Abidance to such preliminary conditions is critical in driving the negotiations to sustainable resolution of underlying issues and subsequently the charting out of a final status document that is agreeable for all the negotiating parties. As the international community; the United States included, continues to provide support towards the democratization and the creation of the Palestinian state, it should be understood that such sovereignty cannot be achieved under conditions akin to military occupation, thus the ceasefires. It is a fact that with America spearheading the peace process, Palestinians and the Arab world will never believe in the impartiality of the mediator. Thus, if America is to continue being the mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the United States must restore its credibility as an impartial and honest broker by adopting an even handed role. The nature of America’s Middle East foreign policies is a slap in the face of their supposed stance of impartiality. The military and economic cooperation with the Israelis will only serve to advance the understanding that America can only drive the negotiation to endpoints that are in congruence with its own interests and values such as the advancement of democracy and equal rights. Such positions even if unbiased in America’s perspective may not be in congruence with the desires of the Palestinian populace (Avineri 2001; Baddar 2007; Carpenter 2008). The failure of the United States to exert considerable pressure on Israel on important concessions of the peace process negotiations remain a great stumbling block to the realization of sustainable peace. As opposed to earlier formulations of the peace process, a sustainable peace process should allow the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to be driven by principles of international law. This would mark a paradigm shift from the current status quo. Basing the peace negotiations on international law ensures the neutrality of mediation. Moreover, under international law, Israel will have to stop settlements in territories that are not recognized under international law as well as improving on the definition and clarity of negotiations based on neutrality. Additionally, such a shift would make the negotiations and the final resolution of the conflict acceptable to the international community. Only international law can level the playing field in the peace process negotiations. If such a strategy is used the final resolution will not only be reflection of justice but also ensure that the fundamental rights of the Palestinians are respected. If negotiations proceed as per the current status quo, the final resolutions that are not in congruence to international law may not be easy to implement. The international community and especially the United Nations should be involved in the pursuit of novel approaches of solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Daalder et al 2006). This call is not only urgent but late in coming. The failure of the Israeli-Palestinian peace processes has been partly attributable to the insistence of keeping out the United Nation in the peace negotiations. The specially scripted negotiations such as the Oslo Process and even the RoadMap to peace by various mediatory parties have only led to persistent stagnation and hopelessness among the Palestinians (Greenstein 2003; Rubenberg 2003). It is only in the best interest of the international community that the United Nations steps in to give the Palestinians hope and steer the peace process to sustainability. Finally, it should not be lot on all negotiating parties that any strategy should conclusively address and resolve the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In essence, the sidestepping of the real causative issues in the conflict has been at the core of the failures of the peace process. Infact, the conflict only arose when the native Palestinians were dispossessed of their land during the establishment of the State of Israel. Moreover, when it comes to the question of the Palestinian refugees, Israel has consistently refused to make an alteration on its position preferring instead to disregard the existence of legitimate rights of these populations. The important of the centrality of the refugee question based on international law is thus critical in future negotiations. In conclusion, the Palestinians must, as a matter of criticality in the peace process, accept the existence of Israel as a state because failure to accept that single historical eventuality will automatically stagnate the peace process. So long as the ideals of liberating Palestine from Israeli occupation coupled to the complex desires of the Muslim fundamentalists are supremely put to the fore in the negotiation process, Israel will undoubtedly maintain its hard-line stance on the need to protect its citizens from external extremist attacks and consequently continue to create a buffer zone between Israel and Palestine. The political instability of Palestine is also a detriment to the pursuit of lasting peace. Palestine must strive to create a stable government that is not only representative of the entire Palestinian populace but also possess the full political and military authority to upkeep the recommendations of the peace process. In this stride, the international community should help Palestinians through interventions that are acceptable to the world at large because the ongoing extremism, fundamentalism and resultant political instability is not beneficial to pursuit of global peace and security. References Avineri, S. (2001). A Realistic U. S Role in the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. http://www. carnegieendowment. org/publications/index. cfm? fa=viewid=866 Baddar, Omar. (2007). US Policy and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, Hotel InterContinental, New Orleans, LA, Jan 03, 2007 Not Available. 2009-02-04 http://www. allacademic. com/meta/p154225_index. html Barsalou, J. (2003). The Long Road to Palestinian Reform. Middle East Policy; 10:1, 154-164 Bregman, A. , El-Tahiri,J. (1998). The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs. London: Penguin,1998; 1-15 Brown, N.. Palestine and Israel: Time for Plan B. Policy Brief, February 2009; No 78 http://carnegieendowment. org/publications/index. cfm? fa=viewid=22792prog=zgpproj=zme Carpenter,T. G. (2008). Smart Power: Toward a Prudent Foreign Policy for America. Cato Institute; 122 Daalder, I. H. , Gnesotto, N. , Gordon, P. H. (2006). Crescent of crisis: U. S. -European strategy f for the greater Middle East. Brookings Institution Press; 48 Greenstein, F. I. (2003). The George W. Bush presidency: an early assessment. JHU Press; 110-115 Rubenberg, C. (2003). The Palestinians: in search of a just peace. Lynne Rienner Publishers; 286-290

The use of operations management techniques

The use of operations management techniques Operations management is concerned with the design, planning, control and improvement of an organisations resources and processes to provide goods or services for customers. Whether it is the provision of airport services, medical services, holiday packages, or the manufacturing of automobiles, consumers electronics and so on; the operations manager would have been involved in the design, creation and delivery of those products and services. (Johnson, R. etal 2003). Operations Managers are found everywhere including banks, supermarkets, construction site, production plant, government offices, and so on. Their role includes designing systems within an organisation, ensuring quality, manufacturing products, and delivery of services. They also deal with clients, suppliers, partners, and latest technology. Operation management is more than just planning and managing processes; it is transformation processes which can also be define as a series of activities along a value chain extending from supplier to customer. TRANSFORMATION PROCESS INPUT: Material, Equipments, Labour, Management, and Capital OUTPUT: Goods Services Feedback Figure 1: Operations as a Transformation Process (adaptation from Russell Taylor, 2005) For instance, in a car manufacturing factory, sheet steel is formed into different shapes, painted and finished, and then assembled with thousands of component parts to produce a working automobile. In a hospital, customers (patients) are helped to become healthier individuals through special care, medication, meals, physiotherapy, and surgical procedures. Core activities in operations management include organizing work, arranging layouts, locating facilities, designing jobs, measuring performance, selecting processes, controlling quality, scheduling work, managing inventory, and planning production. Operations Management Techniques There are several operations management techniques used by companies. These include but not limited to; Lean Production Just-in-Time Benchmarking Material Requirement Planning (MRP) Quality Management Supply Chain Management Inventory Management Linear Programming Waiting Line Analysis Forecasting This report will focus on three of the ten Operations Management techniques listed above. They are Supply Chain Management, Just-in-Time, and Benchmarking. 2.1 Supply Chain Management According to Russell and Taylor (2006), Supply Chain Management can be described as an operations management technique that focuses on integrating an managing the flow of goods and services and information through the supply chain in order to make it responsive to customer needs while lowering total costs. It is also an integrated group of business processes and activities with the same goal of providing customer satisfaction. These processes include the procurement of services, materials, and components from suppliers; production of the products and services; and distribution of the products to the customers. 2.2 Just-in-Time (JIT) This is an operation management philosophy directed at eliminating manufacturing wastes by producing only the right amount and combination of parts at the right place at the right time. Developed by the Japanese during the post World War II era, it is based on the principle of producing only what is needed and nothing more than needed. The Japanese believed that anything produced over the quantity required is waste. Wastes results from any activity that adds cost without adding value to the product, such as transferring of inventories from one place to another or even storing them. (Sirisha, D. 2003). The goal of JIT is to minimize the presence of  non-value-adding operations  and non-moving inventories  in the production line. This will result in shorter throughput times, better on-time delivery performance, higher equipment utilization, lesser space requirement, lower costs, and greater profits.  JIT is most applicable to operations or production flows that do not change, i.e., those that are simply repeated over and over again. An example of this would be an automobile assembly line, wherein every car undergoes the same production process as the one before it. Benchmarking This is one of the operations management technique aimed at improving organisational process by constantly identifying, understanding and adapting successful practices and processes by others and facilitating its incorporation into an organisation. Simply put, benchmarking means comparing ones organization or a part of it with that of the other companies. As further explained by Camp (1995), benchmarking is a continuous activity; key internal processes are adjusted, performance is monitored, new comparisons are made with the current best performers and further changes are explored. When information about these key processes is obtained through a co-operative partnership with specific organisations (rather than third party such as independently-maintained database), there is an expectation of mutual benefit over a period of time. The type of benchmarking that companies can adopt are: Strategic Benchmarking Competitive Benchmarking Process Benchmarking Functional Benchmarking Internal Benchmarking External Benchmarking International Benchmarking Benchmarking exercise is a four-stage process involving; Planning stage involves identifying, establishing and documenting specific study focus areas, key events and definitions. Data collection stage involves accumulating qualitative data and learning from the best practices of different organizations. Data analysis and reporting stage involves critical evaluation of practices followed at high performing organizations, and the identification of practices that help and deter superior performance. Adaptation stage involves developing an initial action plan to adapt and implement the practices followed by these high performance organizations. 3.0 CASE STUDY 1: Dells Supply Chain Management Practices (Consumer Electronics) This case study is based on a different type of supply chain management practices pioneered by Dell Inc, one of the leading PC manufacturers in the world. It is known as the Direct Model, a unique model of selling PCs directly to the consumers, bypassing the resellers. With this model, Dell was able to provide its customers with tailor-made products, built only after procuring the order from them. This case study describes this model in detail and explains how it enabled Dell to manage its supply chain effectively. 3.1 Summary Background Note Dell Inc. (headquartered in Texas, USA) is a global technology corporation that develops, manufactures, sells, and support personal computers and other computer-related products. Founded in 1984 by Michael Dell (Michael), it grew during the 1980s and 1990s to become the largest seller of PCs and servers. Dell became a pioneer in the configure to order approach to manufacturing delivering individual PCs configured to customer specification. In order to minimise delay between purchase and delivery, Dell has a general policy of manufacturing its products close to its customers; which allows for implementing a just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing approach, which minimises inventory costs. 3.2 The Direct Model Dells Direct selling Model traces its origins to Michaels idea of selling computers directly to the consumers eliminating the need for distributors. He believed that by selling system (PCs) directly to the consumers, the company would be able to better understand the needs of its consumers. Each system was assembled according to customers preference. Dell also realised that maintaining a high level of quality was necessary in order to compete with the to PC manufacturers like IBM and Compaq. To achieve this, the company decided to increase their funds in hand by reducing inventory. Dell decided to produce PCs as per orders it received and not to hold excess inventory or finished products. Dell then later decided to replace inventory with information and pass on the information to the suppliers, who were provided access to companys internal data about the demand for specific components. With the reduction in components inventory having a positive effect on each cash flow, the company decided to bring other task related production in line with the reduced inventory. The overall savings Dell derived from managing the inventory encouraged it to try matching supply and demand on monthly, weekly and daily basis. This reduced the variation in supply and demand and gradually it was no longer necessary for Dell to maintain any component i nventory. Dell established its website in 1994, introduced online pricing in 1995, and began online sales in 1996. Within six months Dells revenue on the Internet stood at US $1 million a day. By 1997, sales through the Web were around US $1 billion, and by 1998, Dells sales through the Internet accounted for more than half of its total sales. The internet proved to be a booster for Dells direct model as it was able to facilitate transactions. Reduce costs, and improve relationships with customers. Dells direct model was directly supported by the way the companys activities were organized globally. 3.2.1 The Direct Model Role of Dells Suppliers As bringing components from the suppliers factories to Dell took anything between 7 and 30 days depending on the mode of transportation, Dell required all its suppliers to maintain a warehouse close to its factories. They could either manufacture the product at the warehouse or produce at another place and ship the finished product to the warehouse. The warehouses known as Suppliers Logistics Centres (SLC) were located few miles away from Dells assembly plants. Each SLC could be shared by more than one supplier. Typically, Dell required suppliers to maintain inventory for 8 to 10 days in SLCs. Dell took the inventory from SLCs as required, usually replenishing its stocks every two hours. Most suppliers replenished the stocks at SLCs thrice a week. Dell demanded that its suppliers should be extremely flexible to accommodate short-term demand fluctuations. The suppliers are provided with data on real-time customer demand, and every week, suppliers were given an order commitment from Dell for the following week. The suppliers needed to send their consent to meet the companys demands immediately. 3.2.2 The Direct Model Balancing Demand and Supply Dell maintained a database to track the purchasing patterns of corporate customers and their budget cycles, in order to forecast demand. It also maintained a similar database for individual customers in order to cater for their future requirements. The changing demand patterns were communicated to the major suppliers three times a day. If it was found that the lead time for a product was increasing, the procurement of the product was accelerated or additional suppliers were brought and the customers were encouraged to buy substitute product. If any component was found to be accumulating, customers were provided incentive to buy those products. On the other hand, if demand exceeded supply at any given point in time, Dell had more than one supplier to accelerate supply. If the component was generic, Dell checked with alternative suppliers. Once the supplier options were exhausted, Dell used its marketing team to shift demand. 3.3 Benefits of Direct Model Dell gained tremendous benefit from their Direct Model approach to Supply Chain Management. As Dell did not hold large inventory of finished products, it did not have to sell technologically obsolete products at a discount. Dell was able to bring in new products according to the needs of the customers into the market faster than its competitors. In addition to this, Dell was able to incorporate new technologies quickly into its products and take them to customers almost two months ahead of its competitors. Through the Direct Model, Dells production system functioned on negative working capital as suppliers were paid 36 days after Dell received payments from its customers. This is in contrast with other computer manufacturers who usually paid the suppliers 30 days before the PC was skipped to the market 3.4 What Dell could do to get more positive results In order for Dell to regain its number one position in the PC market, it has to make significant business changes to way its been doing business for two decades. Firstly, Dell could provide a facility where consumers have the opportunity to see the product before buying it. Dell can achieve this by partnering with PC retail stores. This will also help to address some of the customer service issues and improve its support system. Another thing Dell could do is to create products with a longer shelf-life, like digital televisions and printer cartridges, in addition to a few desktops and notebooks and sell them through the Dell retail stores. Finally, Dell could enter the commercial retail segment and compete with likes of HP and Acer, although this is an area in which Dell is not experienced enough. 4.0 CASE STUY 2: Toyotas Just-in-Time Revolution (Automotive) This case study is based on the Just-in-Time manufacturing system pioneered by Toyota. It is one of the most significant production approaches of the post world war II era. The case discusses in detail the concept of Toyotas JIT system and the Kanban concept; which was one of the principles on which Toyotas JIT was based. I will compare the Kanban concept with the western manufacturing philosophy. I will also make objective criticism and suggestion, where appropriate, to show what else Toyota could do to get more positive results. 4.1 Summary Background Note Toyotas history goes back to 1897, when Sakichi Toyoda (Sakichi) diversified into machinery business from his family traditional business of carpentry. He founded Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in 1926 for manufacturing automatic looms. Sakichi established an automobile department within TALW. Toyota Motor Corporation was established in 1937 after Sakichis son Kiichiro Toyoda (Kiichiro) convinced him to enter the automobile business. Kiichiro visited the Ford Motor company in Detroit to study the US automotive industry. He saw that an average US workers production was nine times that of a Japanese worker. He realized that the productivity of the Japanese automobile industry had to be increased if it were to compete globally. Back in Japan, he customized the Ford production system to suit Japanese market. He also devised a system wherein each process in the assembly line of production would produce only the number of parts needed at the next step on the production line, which made logistics management easier as material was procured according to consumption. This system was referred to as Just-in-time (JIT) with the Toyota Group. 4.2 Just-in-Time Production System in Toyota Taiichi Ohno (Ohno), who is now referred to as the father of JIT implemented JIT in Toyotas manufacturing plants in the early 1970s. The system was aimed at avoiding waste, reducing inventories and increasing production efficiency in order to maintain Toyotas competitive edge. Initially, it was used as a method for reducing inventories in Toyotas shipyards, but later it evolved into a management philosophy including a set of techniques. Kanban was an important component of Toyotas JIT concept. It is a simple parts-movement system that depended on cards and containers to take parts from one workstation to another on production line. Ohno developed the in 1956 from the supermarkets in the US, which had devised an effective system for replenishment of store shelves based on the quantities picked by customers. The essence of the Kanban concept was that a supplier delivered components to the production line only when required, thus eliminating storage in the production area. Supplier delivered desired components when they received a card and an empty container, indicating that more parts were needed for the production. In case of line interruption, each supplier produced only enough components to fill the container and then stopped. At Toyota, two types of Kanban cards were used. To move parts from one place to another, known as the Conveyance Kanban card and to authorize the production of parts, known as the Production Kanban card. Three types of information were exchanged using Kanban; Pick up information guided the earlier stages regarding parts to be produced for the succeeding stages. Transfer information indicated when the parts had to be produced for the succeeding stages. Production information was transmitted from the earlier stages to the later stages to inform the workers about the product mix and other operational matters. To make the Kanban system effective and reap maximum benefits from it, Ohno framed six rules: Do not dens defective products to the subsequent process The subsequent process comes to withdraw only what is needed Produce only the exact quantity withdrawn by the subsequent process Level the production Kanban is a means to fine tuning Stabilize and rationalize the process Another important component of JIT was called Heijunka (production smoothing). JITs principle of building only the required number of items helped keep the production costs low. Heijunka helped in the accomplishment of this principle by creating a consistent production volume. Heijunka averaged highest and lowest variations of the orders. The variations were then removed from the production schedule. This ensured that the right quantity of parts was produced with minimum workforce. Heijunka took care not only of the total volume of items but also the type of items produced and the other options. Benefits to Toyota The JIT system implemented by Toyota offered several advantages over other manufacturing processes. Because of the early adoption of JIT, Toyota benefited more from the system than other automobile companies. The main benefit of the JIT system to Toyota is its ability to help drive down costs and waste by improving the flow of production. Another big advantage of JIT system to Toyota is that it improves the responsiveness to changes in demand. The Kanban concept implemented is like a smart traffic light with ability to sense when the traffic, or in this case the demand, is building up. In addition to these, Toyota was able to: Reduce stock holdings by reduction in storage space which saves storage and insurance costs. Have less working capital tied up in stock as stock is only obtained when it is needed. Reduce time spent on checking and re-working the product of others as the emphasis is on getting the work right first time 4.4 What Toyota could do to get more positive results Toyota has not been able to replicate the JIT production system in an efficient way in any of its operations outside Japan. Toyota should try to imbibe the Japanese culture (which is a main driving force of their JIT) in their other operations outside Japan inorder to get more result. Also, Toyota should use more than two suppliers for most parts as having less than two suppliers makes Toyota susceptible to flow interruption. 5.0 CASE STUY 3: Xerox The Benchmarking Story (Consumer Electronics) This case study is based on the benchmarking initiatives taken by Xerox, one of the worlds leading copier companies. This is a part of their Leadership through Quality program implemented by the company during the early 1980s. I will discuss in detail the benchmarking concept and its implementation in various processes at Xerox. I will explore the positive impact of benchmarking practices on Xerox also make objective criticism and suggestion, where appropriate, to show what else Xerox could do to get more positive results 5.1 Summary Background Note The history of Xerox dated back to 1938, when Chester Carlson, a patent attorney and part-time inventor, made the first xerographic image in the US. He struggled for over five years to sell the invention, until 1944 when Battelle Memorial Instutite approached him to refine his new process. Xerox was registered as a trademark in 1948 when The Haliod Company obtained all rights to Carlsons invention from Battelle. Xerox Corporation was formed and listed on the New York stock Exchange in 1961. The company grew throughout the 1960s by acquiring many companies, and later diversified into the information technology business through to the early 1970s. in the 1970s, Xerox focused on introducing new and more efficient models to retain its share of the reprographic market and cope with competition from the US and Japanese companies. The companys revenue increased from $698 million in 1966 to $4.4 million in 1976, and profits also increased five-fold from $83 million in 1966 to $407 million in 1977. The rapid growth at Xerox led to the introduction of a variety of controls and procedures and the number of management layers was increased during the 1970s. This, however, slowed down decision-making and resulted in major delays in product development. By early 1980s, has found itself increasingly vulnerable to intense competition from both the US and Japanese competitors. According to analysts, Xerox ignored new entrants who were consolidating their positions in the lower-end market and in niche segments. The management also failed to give the company strategic direction. The companys operating cost was high and its products were of inferior quality in comparison to its competitors. Xerox also suffered from its highly centralized decision-making processes. As a result of this, return on assets fell to less than 8% and market share in copiers came down sharply from 86% in 1974 to just 17% in 1984.xeroxs profits decreased from $1.15billion in 1980 to $290 million in 1984. When David T. Kearns (Kearns) took over in 1982, he discovered that Japanese companies were able to undercut Xeroxs prices effortlessly because their average costs of copiers was 50-60% cheaper than that of Xerox. Kearns quickly began emphasizing reduction of manufacturing costs and gave new thrust to quality control by launching a program that was popularly referred to as Leadership through Quality. As part of this quality program (to find ways to reduce their manufacturing costs), Xerox implemented the benchmarking program. These initiatives played a major role in pulling Xerox out of trouble in the years to come. The company even went on to become one of the best examples of the successful implementation of benchmarking. 5.2 Benchmarking against Japanese Competitors Xerox discovered that it took twice as long as its Japanese competitors to bring a product to market, five times the number of engineers, four times the number of design changes, and three times the design costs. The company also found that the Japanese could produce, ship, and sell units for about the same amount that it cost Xerox just to manufacture them. In addition, Xeroxs products had over 30,000 defective parts per million about 30 times more than its competitors. Benchmarking also revealed that Xerox would need an 18% annual productivity growth rate for five consecutive years to catch up with the Japanese. After an initial period of denial, Xerox managers accepted the reality. Following this, Xerox defined benchmarking as the process of measuring its products, services, and practices against its toughest competitors, identifying the gaps and establishing goals. Goal is always to achieve superiority in quality, product reliability and cost. Gradually, Xerox developed its own benchmarking model. This model involved tens steps categorized under five stages planning, analysis, integration, action and maturity. Figure 2: Xerox Benchmarking Model (according to Karsnia 1991, Camp 1989) Xerox collected data on key processes of best practice companies. These critical processes were then analyzed to identify and define improvement opportunities. For the purpose of acquiring data from the related benchmarking companies, Xerox subscribed to the management and technical databases, referred to magazines and trade journals, and also consulted professional associations and consulting firms. Having worked out the model it wanted to use, Xerox began by implementing competitive benchmarking. However, the company found this type of benchmarking to be inadequate as the very best practices, in some processes or operations were not being practiced by copier companies. The company then adopted functional benchmarking, which involved a study of the best practices followed by a variety of companies regardless of the industry they belonged to. Xerox initiated functional benchmarking with the study of the warehousing and inventory management system of L.L. Bean (Bean), a mail-order sup plier of sporting goods and outdoor clothing.   Similarly, Xerox zeroed in on various other best practice companies to benchmark its other processes. These included American Express (for billing and collection), Cummins Engines and Ford (for factory floor layout), Florida Power and Light (for quality improvement), Honda (for supplier development), Toyota (for quality management), Hewlett-Packard (for research and product development), Saturn (a division of General Motors) and Fuji Xerox (for manufacturing operations) and DuPont (for manufacturing safety). Results of Benchmarking Some of the benefits Xerox derived as a result of their benchmarking are; Customer satisfaction for its copier/duplicator and printing systems increased by 38% and 39% respectively. Customer satisfaction with its sales processes improved by 40%, service processes by 18% and administrative processes by 21%. Customer complaints reduced by more than 60%. Financial performance of the company also improved considerably through the mid and late 1980s. Some of the other benefits Xerox derived were: Number of effects reduced by 78 per 100 machines. Inspection of incoming components reduced to below 5%. Inventory costs reduced by two-thirds. Notable decrease in labour costs. Became the leader in the high-volume copier-duplicator market segment Country units improved from 152% to 328%. 5.4 What Xerox could do to get more positive results Xerox could get more positive results by continuously benchmarking against other companies outside the United States, especially in India and China. As we are in a more competitive business environment where customers preference are changing and they want more value for their money, Xerox should try to diversify more into the technology market in order to retain its competitiveness in the market. 6.0 Conclusion Hence we can see that operations management is an important aspect of any business organisation. It is very important as it is concerned with creating products and services; the core of an organizations existence. It is also challenging because the techniques implemented by organizations need to work globally and responsibly within the society and the environment; as we can see in all the three case studies used in this report.

Comparing Readers and TV Watchers :: essays research papers

Comparing Readers and TV Watchers In today’s society, one needs to be well prepared for the problems they will encounter. One might be offered drugs, or be faced with the decision of whether or not to breakup a friendship. How does one get prepared to deal with these types of situations? Reading books definitely will not help. Sure, one can get background knowledge on just about every topic from a book, but reading will not prepare you to deal with the outside world. Television is the best way to get a grasp of society’s problems at hand.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Readers believe that not only is reading a form of entertainment, but you can learn from it also. Readers are generally better writers; however, too much reading can make you an introvert. There are probably dozens of books that try to depict real life problems, but it’s hard to get the emotional feeling by looking at text. When watching Television, you feel what the character feels. Additionally, readers lack the verbal communication skills possessed by T.V. watchers. To prepare yourself for a job interview, would you rather read a book, or watch people be interviewed? By watching them, one can see how they visually present themselves, and how they speak and listen. That, you cannot learn from a book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Television watchers have a tendency to be more extroversive. They are better verbal communicators, and they know how to present themselves to others. If you were to give a speech, the best way to prepare yourself would be to watch others, and take notes. Additionally, T.V. watchers can build vocabulary through listening to context on the television. When one watches T.V., they can share their experiences with most of America, since most Americans prefer television to reading. Thus, T.V. watchers will get along better with others. Lastly, T.V. sitcoms introduce all kinds of problems and solutions which can be adapted into real life situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It’s quite obvious that reading will help one become more educated.

Describe an important character and explain why they are important. :: English Literature

Describe an important character and explain why they are important. Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Ralph Describe an important character and explain why they are important. An important character in Lord of the Flies by William Golding is Ralph. Ralph is a strong leader in the book who all the boys respect, and he is the person who first tries to create an order on the island. In some ways Ralph's motivation for being a good, powerful leader is his longing for home. Ralph's relationship with another boy on the island, Jack is very important also. From the beginning of the book Ralph takes charge over his newly acquainted companion Piggy. When he calls the other boys together he takes control over the entire group and his leadership is acknowledged by the majority of the boys voting for him as chief. With his power Ralph makes many important decisions, such as building huts and starting a signal fire which he thinks is most important. This is illustrated when he says "There was a shipà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ you said you'd keep the smoke going". Ralph's leadership is what keeps the order among the boys on the island. Ralph's desire for home is what drives him to lead the group of boys and to keep an orderly society on the island. Creating the signal fire was Ralph's only way to get home and it is clear he knows this when he tells Jack "No fire, no smoke, no rescue." This shows Ralph's passion for their rescue, for his home and for the fire. Ralph's longing for home is important because it is from this that he bases his decisions on and it's his decisions that get the boys home. We all have a craving for love, warmth and home, but it is not until we are without these that it becomes obvious. When Ralph finds a conch shell and uses it to call the boys from all over the island, they come running. The conch is a very powerful tool. When the boys have settled the conch is used to control the boys and to create an order on the island. A rule is set out by Ralph using the conch, "Whoever has the conch has got the right to talk". This shows the conch's power and Ralph's leaderhsip. Again, Ralph's determination for an ordered society is driven by his wanting to go home. Ralph has strong relationships with many of the boys on the island, but his relationship with Jack is most important of all. Ralph's relationship with Jack begins like the others, with friendship and

The Canadian Governing System is not Fair or Democratic Essay -- essay

There are Canadian citizens who thought that the Canadian government we have is perfect, citizens who believed that every aspect of the government was truly democratic, and citizens who believe that government could do no wrong. Truly this group of believers has been living a lie. In our Canadian system of government, large aspects within are far from democratic and need to be changed. Liberal-minded people will cry out for a change in order for government to serve the people better, and on the other hand the more conservative thinkers will argue that no change is needed because our government is efficient and considerate. However, our voting system, our Senate, and the power vested to the Prime Minister are far from democratic, do not meet the actual needs of the people and definitely need to be addressed. Canada itself claims to be democratic, yet the Canadian Senate is appointed to office by the current Prime Minister rather than elected by the citizens. The original purpose of the Senate was to give fair representation between provinces and to the citizens. Having failed its purpose, clearly there are issues within the Senate that need to be addressed. Because of the Prime Minister appointing the Senators, they will now serve the Prime Ministers needs rather than the people who they should have been listening to. As if this were not enough of a show of power for the Prime Minister, the Senators cannot be lawfully kicked out of office until the age of seventy-five. An example of Senate idiosyncrasy in Canadian government is Ross Fitzpatrick, who was appointed to office by former Prime Minister Jean Chretien of the Liberals in June 1990. His official opponent, Preston Manning, rightfully questioned the circumstances regardin... ...e a lot of parties are going to be running for office. However, for the fringe parties this creates a major advantage for them. With the load of political parties in the House of Commons, there would be a wider range of interests for people but there would be a lot of indecision and coalitions. It is cold hard fact that Canadian government is not entirely democratic. The question remains of how to deal with this. Canadian government, as effective as it currently is, has major factors in their system that have a negative effect on Canadians. Our current voting system favors the higher-populated provinces and creates a tyranny of the majority. Our Senate is distinctly undemocratic as it is an assigned position. Our head of State, the Prime Minister, holds too much power. Unless we resolve these issues, our government will remain far from a perfect governing system.

Street Dreams and Hip Hop Barber Shops Critique

Brad Weiss’s ethnographic research on popular culture, hanging out in barbershops and bus stands, seamstress tables and video halls, was carried out in the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha. In â€Å"Street Dreams and Hip Hop Barber Shops† Weiss does a great job observing the everyday life of the people in Arusha. He explores how globalization and neoliberalism affect the mindset of a community and shows the reader how gender role, media, and self-fashioning can play a big role in a person life. Weiss’s fieldwork and observation is very accurate and informative for the most part but looses the reader in some of the topics that he presents. Brad Weiss does a great job in his chapter on gender and the role that it plays in the community of Arusha. Much of the book has been focused on the expressions of masculinity and the understandings of men that are concerned with gendered personhood, many young men in Arusha comprehend themselves and their relationships with one another in terms of what they imagine women and femininity to be like. But Weiss takes a chapter to turn to women’s practices to show how the cultural process of perception and embodiment allude to the iconography of western culture. Weiss revealed to the reader that women like to keep up with the times in Arusha just like men and they are very conscious about their look and the way they present themselves. Men use magazines and catalogues to keep up with the latest trends but women are one step ahead and use commercials and movies to stay updated. Weiss’s observation was very informative and accurate. This observation proves that globalization can influence people all around the world and have a big effect on a society. Weiss regularly shows the importance of globalization in his writing. His observation on the youth of Arusha was very precise and shows the reader how globalization and neoliberalism can shape a persons life immensely. Weiss tells the reader that through hip hop posters and magazines the younger generation of Arusha use it as a guide for fashion, music and lifestyle. This illustrates how the themes of inclusion and exclusion that shape popular practice-from the assertive modes gendered performances at bus stands and hair salons, to the fashion sense of tailors and their clients, to the viewing preferences of video audiences-operate in Arusha. He explains to the reader that the young men and women of Arusha are social actors who try to find a niche and struggle to participate in a world that is significant for them. I strongly agree with Weiss’s point and believe that every young person in any society are social actors who try to fit in a world that they feel is right for them and use popular culture and globalization as a tool to get there. Brad Weiss does a great job showing the reader that barbershops around Tanzania are more than just a place for getting a haircut. He explains to the reader in great detail that the people of Tanzania see barbershops as a place for obtaining news, catching up on the latest trends, gossip, discovering new music, or just simply hanging out. Barbershops provide men with a â€Å"chance†, an â€Å"opportunity† or a â€Å"place† during times of uncertainty. Weiss spends most of his time at barbershops because it is a great place for studying popular culture and allows him to see what the clients at these barber shops find interesting. There were some things that I found problematic in Weiss’s writing that can turn off some readers. Some parts of the book he tends to over analyze and bore the reader with useless facts. I found myself being turned off during some parts of the book where he begins to ramble on and on. In the introduction chapter he doesn't do a good job of catching the readers attention and takes a long time to get to his point. His writing sometimes ends up being very difficult to read and enjoy at the same time and I found some chapters extremely tedious. Weiss’s writing style can be very uninteresting and dull in the beginning of the book but he later compensates by providing interesting topics and arguments. One thing I really like about Weiss’s writing is that he interacts with the people of Tanzania and takes time to show the reader their story and what they go through in his writing. In one chapter he tells the story of two barbers named Hussein and Ahmed who cut hair at the â€Å"Bad Boyz† barbershop. He provides an ethnographic backdrop to the kinds of activities that go on in the shops and streets. This helps the reader better understand the thought process of the people that Weiss comes across and what they go through on a daily basis. It also gives the reader a different perspective on the effects of neoliberalism and globalization through the eyes of the people in Tanzania. Throughout the book Brad Weiss provides the reader with good background information about the people he observes and tells the reader their story. I find it very useful that he takes time in his writing to make sure the reader understands exactly what is going on instead of just presenting his observations. I was very impressed by how accurate Brad Weiss’s observations were about barbershops and the people that go there in Tanzania. I believe in third world countries barbershops serve as a place for great social activity and exposure to the western culture, people rely on barbershops keep up with the times. When I visited Bangladesh couple summers ago I noticed that most people who go to barbershops go there to socialize and keep up with the latest trends that are coming from the west instead of actually getting a haircut. Just like in Weiss’s writing about the people in Tanzania, Bangladeshi barbershops also have cut posters from magazines decorated around the shop of musicians and athletes and share many of the same characteristics. Overall I found â€Å"Street Dreams and Hip Hop Barbershops† very informative. For the most part I enjoyed reading about the topics and arguments Brad Weiss presented in his work. He did a good job informing the readers about the norms of the Tanzanian society and had a lot of interesting observations. I believe in his writing he had more strengths than weaknesses. Even though some chapters were dull and hard to read Weiss provides interesting information to the reader make up for his flaws. I learned from this book that globalization can integrate societies from all around the world more easily than I previously thought. Exposure to things like food, music, movies and fashion can have a great effect on a group of people from country that doesn't have much culture. Globalization is like a ripple effect that can change the thought process and way of life of an individual and â€Å"Street Dream and Hip Hop Barbershops† did a good job showing that effect.

Human Resource Management and Employees Essay

After an organization’s structural design is in place, it needs people with the right skills, knowledge, and abilities to fill in that structure. People are an organization’s most important resource, because people either create or undermine an organization’s reputation for quality in both products and service. In addition, an organization must respond to change effectively in order to remain competitive. The right staff can carry an organization through a period of change and ensure its future success. Because of the importance of hiring and maintaining a committed and competent staff, effective human resource management is crucial to the success of all organizations. Human resource management (HRM), or staffing, is the management function devoted to acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating employees. In effect, all managers are human resource managers, although human resource specialists may perform some of these activities in large organizations. Solid HRM practices can mold a company’s workforce into a motivated and committed team capable of managing change effectively and achieving the organizational objectives. Understanding the fundamentals of HRM can help any manager lead more effectively. Every manager should understand the following three principles: All managers are human resource managers. Employees are much more important assets than buildings or equipment; good employees give a company the competitive edge. Human resource management is a matching process; it must match the needs of the organization with the needs of the employee. HR Management: Laws and Regulations Laws and regulations at the federal, state, and local levels regulate how companies conduct staffing. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act banned most discriminatory hiring practices. Three sensitive areas of legal concern that managers must comply with are equal opportunity, affirmative action, and sexual harassment, described in the following sections. These areas, as well as other laws, impact all human resource practices. Equal Employment Opportunity Individuals covered under Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws are protected from illegal discrimination, which occurs when people who share a certain characteristic, such as race, age, or gender, are discriminated against because of that characteristic. People who have the designated characteristics are called the protected class. Federal laws have identified the following characteristics for protection: Race, ethnic origin, color (for example, African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian) Gender (women, including those who are pregnant) Age (individuals over 40) Individuals with disabilities (physical and mental) Military experience (Vietnam-era veterans) Religion (special beliefs and practices) The main purpose of the EEO laws is to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity of getting a job or being promoted at work. Affirmative action While EEO laws aim to ensure equal treatment at work, affirmative action requires the employer to make an extra effort to hire and promote people who belong to a protected group. Affirmative action includes taking specific actions designed to eliminate the present effects of past discriminations. Employees are also protected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which was established through the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title VII. The scope of authority of the EEOC has been expanded so that today it carries the major enforcement authority for the following laws: Civil Rights Act of 1964. Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. Civil Rights Act of 1991. Reaffirms and tightens prohibition of discrimination. Permits individuals to sue for punitive damages in cases of intentional discrimination and shifts the burden of proof to the employer. Equal Pay Act of 1963. Prohibits pay differences based on sex for equal work. Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. Prohibits discrimination or dismissal of women because of pregnancy alone, and protects job security during maternity leaves. American with Disabilities Act. Prohibits discrimination against individuals with physical or mental disabilities or the chronically ill, and requires that â€Å"reasonable accommodations† be provided for the disabled. Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Prohibits discrimination on the basis of physical or mental disabilities and requires that employees be informed about affirmative action plans. Most employers in the United States must comply with the provisions of Title VII. Compliance is required from all private employers of 15 or more persons, all educational institutions, state and local governments, public and private employment agencies, labor unions with 15 or more members, and joint (labor-management) committees for apprenticeship and training. Sexual harassment Few workplace topics have received more attention in recent years than that of sexual harassment. Since professor Anita Hill confronted Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas on national television over a decade ago, the number of sexual harassment claims filed annually in the United States has more than doubled. Since 1980, U. S. courts generally have used guidelines from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to define sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is defined as â€Å"unwelcome sexual advances for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. † Sexual harassment may include sexually suggestive remarks, unwanted touching, sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature In a 1993 ruling, the Supreme Court widened the test for sexual harassment under the civil rights law to whether comments or behavior in a work environment â€Å"would reasonably be perceived, and is perceived as hostile or abusive. † As a result, employees don’t need to demonstrate that they have been psychologically damaged to prove sexual harassment in the workplace; they simply must prove that they are working in a hostile or abusive environment. Sexual harassment is not just a woman’s problem. Recently, a decision handed down by the U. S. Supreme Court broadened the definition of sexual harassment to include same-sex harassment as well as harassment of males by female coworkers. In the suit that prompted the Court’s decision, a male oil-rig worker claimed he was singled out by other members of the all-male crew for crude sex play, unwanted touching, and threats. From management’s standpoint, sexual harassment is a growing concern because it intimidates employees, interferes with job performance, and exposes the organization to liability. Organizations must respond to sexual harassment complaints very quickly because employers are held responsible for sexual harassment if appropriate action is not taken. The cost of inaction can be high. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 permits victims of sexual harassment to have jury trials and to collect compensatory damages in cases where the employer acted with â€Å"malice or reckless indifference† to the individual’s rights. Employers can take the following steps to help minimize liability for sexual harassment suits: 1. Offer a sexual harassment policy statement. This statement should address where employees can report complaints, assure confidentiality, and promise that disciplinary action will be taken against sexual harassers. 2. Provide communication and training programs for supervisors and managers. These programs should emphasize that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. 3. Conduct fair, impartial investigations and base actions on objectively gathered facts. The complainant must be insulated from the kinds of behavior that prompted the complaint. Other employment laws Several other laws impact staffing practices as well. The Fair Labor Standards Act specifies the minimum wage, overtime pay rules, and child labor regulations. The Employee Polygraph Protection Act outlaws almost all uses of the polygraph machine for employment purposes. Privacy laws provide legal rights regarding who has access to information about work history and job performance for employees in certain jurisdictions. Under the Whistleblower Protection Act, some employees who publicize dangerous employer practices are entitled to legal protection. Table 1 lists additional federal laws that shape HRM practices. TABLE 1 Some Federal Laws Shaping HRM Practices Law Date Description National Labor Relations Act 1935 Requires employers to recognize a union chosen by the majority of the employees and to establish procedures governing collective bargaining. Age Discrimination in Employment Act 1967, amended in 1978 and 1986 Prohibits age discrimination against employees between 40 and 65 years of age and restricts mandatory retirement. Occupational Safety and Health Act 1970 Establishes mandatory safety and health standards in organizations. Vietnam-Era Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance Act 1974 Prohibits discrimination against disabled veterans and Vietnam-era veterans. Mandatory Retirement Act 1978 Prohibits the forced retirement of most employees before the age of 70. Immigration Reform and Control Act 1986 Prohibits employers from knowingly hiring illegal aliens and prohibits employment on the basis of national origin of citizenship. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act 1988 Requires employees to provide 60 days’ notice before a facility closing or mass layoff. Employee Polygraph Protection Act 1988 Limits an employer’s ability to use lie detector tests. Family and Medical Leave Act 1993 Permits employees in organizations with 50 or more workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family or medical reasons for each year. Determining Human Resource Needs Staffing is an ongoing process that begins with finding the right people through proper planning, recruiting, and selecting. But staffing doesn’t end once employees are hired; management must keep and nurture its people via training, appraising, compensating, and implementing employment decisions that determine such things as promotions, transfers, and layoffs. Human resource planning The first step in the staffing process involves human resource planning. Human resource planning begins with a job analysis in which descriptions of all jobs (tasks) and the qualifications needed for each position are developed. A job description is a written statement of what a jobholder does, how it’s done, and why it’s done. It typically portrays job content, environment, and conditions of employment. The job specification states the minimum acceptable qualifications an incumbent must possess to perform a given job successfully. It identifies the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to do the job effectively. Job analysis is then followed by a human resource inventory, which catalogs qualifications and interests. Next, a human resource forecast is developed to predict the organization’s future needs for jobs and people based on its strategic plans and normal attrition. The forecast is then compared to the inventory to determine whether the organization’s staffing needs will be met with existing personnel or whether managers will have to recruit new employees or terminate existing ones. Recruiting strategies Recruitment includes all the activities an organization may use to attract a pool of viable candidates. Effective recruiting is increasingly important today for several reasons: The U. S. employment rate has generally declined each year through the 1990s. Experts refer to the current recruiting situation as one of â€Å"evaporated employee resources. † Many experts believe that today’s Generation X employees (those born between 1963 and 1981) are less inclined to build long-term employment relationships than were their predecessors. Therefore, finding the right inducements for attracting, hiring, and retaining qualified personnel may be more complicated than in previous years. Keep in mind that recruiting strategies differ among organizations. Although one may instantly think of campus recruiting as a typical recruiting activity, many organizations use internal recruiting, or promote-from-within policies, to fill their high-level positions. Open positions are posted, and current employees are given preferences when these positions become available. Internal recruitment is less costly than an external search. It also generates higher employee commitment, development, and satisfaction because it offers opportunities for career advancement to employees rather than outsiders. If internal sources do not produce an acceptable candidate, many external recruiting strategies are available, including the following: Newspaper advertising Employment agencies (private, public, or temporary agencies) Executive recruiters (sometimes called headhunters) Unions Employee referrals Internship programs Internet employment sites But there’s more to recruiting than just attracting employees; managers need to be able to weed out the top candidates. Once a manger has a pool of applicants, the selection process can begin. Selecting the Best Person for the Job Having the right people on staff is crucial to the success of an organization. Various selection devices help employers predict which applicants will be successful if hired. These devices aim to be not only valid, but also reliable. Validity is proof that the relationship between the selection device and some relevant job criterion exists. Reliability is an indicator that the device measures the same thing consistently. For example, it would be appropriate to give a keyboarding test to a candidate applying for a job as an administrative assistant. However, it would not be valid to give a keyboarding test to a candidate for a job as a physical education teacher. If a keyboarding test is given to the same individual on two separate occasions, the results should be similar. To be effective predictors, a selection device must possess an acceptable level of consistency. Application forms For most employers, the application form is the first step in the selection process. Application forms provide a record of salient information about applicants for positions, and also furnish data for personnel research. Interviewers may use responses from the application for follow-up questions during an interview. These forms range from requests for basic information, such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers, to comprehensive personal history profiles detailing applicants’ education, job experience skills, and accomplishments. According to the Uniform Selection Guidelines of the EEOC, which establish standards that employers must meet to prevent disparate or unequal treatment, any employment requirement is a test, even a job application. As a result, EEOC considerations and application forms are interrelated, and managers should make sure that their application forms do not ask questions that are irrelevant to job success, or these questions may create an adverse impact on protected groups. For example, employers should not ask whether an applicant rents or owns his or her own home, because an applicant’s response may adversely affect his or her chances at the job. Minorities and women may be less likely to own a home, and home ownership is probably unrelated to job performance. On the other hand, asking about the CPA exam for an accounting position is appropriate, even if only one-half of all female or minority applicants have taken the exam versus nine-tenths of male applicants. A quick test for disparate impact suggested by the Uniform Selection Guidelines is the four-fifths rules. Generally, a disparate impact is assumed when the proportions of protected class applicants who are actually hired is less that 80 percent (four-fifths) of the proportion of the majority group applicants selected. For example, assume that an employer has 100 white male applicants for an entry-level job and hires one-half of them, for a selection ratio of 1:2, or 50 percent (50/100). The four-fifths rule does not mean that the employers must hire four-fifths, or 40 protected class members. Instead, the rule means that the employer’s selection ratio of protected class-applicants should be at least four-fifths of that of the majority groups. Testing Testing is another method of selecting competent future employees. Although testing use has ebbed and flowed during the past two decades, recent studies reveal that more than 80 percent of employers use testing as part of their selection process. Again, these tests must be valid and reliable, or serious EEO questions may be raised about the use of them. As a result, a manager needs to make sure that the test measures only job-relevant dimensions of applicants. Most tests focus on specific job-related aptitudes and skills, such as math or motor skills. Typical types of exams include the following: Integrity tests measure factors such as dependability, carefulness, responsibility, and honesty. These tests are used to learn about the attitudes of applicants toward a variety of job-related subjects. Since the passage of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act in 1988, polygraph (lie detector) tests have been effectively banned in employment situations. In their place, attitude tests are being used to assess attitudes about honesty and, presumably, on-the-job behaviors. Personality tests measure personality or temperament. These tests are among the least reliable. Personality tests are problematic and not very valid, because little or no relationship exists between personality and performance. Knowledge tests are more reliable than personality tests because they measure an applicant’s comprehension or knowledge of a subject. A math test for an accountant and a weather test for a pilot are examples. Human relations specialists must be able to demonstrate that the test reflects the knowledge needed to perform the job. For example, a teacher hired to teach math should not be given a keyboarding test. Performance simulation tests are increasing in popularity. Based on job analysis data, they more easily meet the requirement of job relatedness than written tests. Performance simulation tests are made up of actual job behaviors. The best-known performance simulation test is known as work sampling, and other credible simulation processes are performed at assessment centers. An assessment is a selection technique that examines candidates’ handling of simulated job situations and evaluates a candidate’s potential by observing his or her performance in experiential activities designed to simulate daily work. Assessment centers, where work sampling is often completed, utilize line executives, supervisors, or trained psychologists to evaluate candidates as they go through exercises that simulate real problems that these candidates would confront on their jobs. Activities may include interviews, problem-solving exercises, group discussions, and business-decision games. Assessment centers have consistently demonstrated results that accurately predict later job performance in managerial positions. Work sampling is an effort to create a miniature replica of a job, giving applicants the chance to demonstrate that they possess the necessary talents by actually doing the tasks. Interviews Another widely used selection technique is the interview, a formal, in-depth conversation conducted to evaluate an applicant’s acceptability. In general, the interviewer seeks to answer three broad questions: 1. Can the applicant do the job? 2. Will the applicant do the job? 3. How does the applicant compare with others who are being considered for the job? Interviews are popular because of their flexibility. They can be adapted to unskilled, skilled, managerial, and staff employees. They also allow a two-way exchange of information where interviewers can learn about the applicant and the applicant can learn about the employer. Interviews do have some shortcomings, however. The most noticeable flaws are in the areas of reliability and validity. Good reliability means that the interpretation of the interview results does not vary from interviewer to interviewer. Reliability is improved when identical questions are asked. The validity of interviews is often questionable because few departments use standardized questions. Managers can boost the reliability and validity of selection interviews by planning the interviews, establishing rapport, closing the interview with time for questions, and reviewing the interview as soon as possible after its conclusion. Other selection techniques Reference checking and health exams are two other important selection techniques that help in the staffing decision. Reference checking allows employers to verify information supplied by the candidate. However, obtaining information about potential candidates is often difficult because of privacy laws and employer concerns about defamation lawsuits. Health exams identify health problems that increase absenteeism and accidents, as well as detecting diseases that may be unknown to the applicant. Orientation and Training Programs Once employees are selected, they must be prepared to do their jobs, which is when orientation and training come in. Orientation means providing new employees with basic information about the employer. Training programs are used to ensure that the new employee has the basic knowledge required to perform the job satisfactorily. Orientation and training programs are important components in the processes of developing a committed and flexible high-potential workforce and socializing new employees. In addition, these programs can save employers money, providing big returns to an organization, because an organization that invests money to train its employees results in both the employees and the organization enjoying the dividends. Unfortunately, orientation and training programs are often overlooked. A recent U. S. study, for example, found that 57 percent of employers reported that although employees’ skill requirements had increased over a three-year period, only 20 percent of employees were fully proficient in their jobs. Orientation Orientation programs not only improve the rate at which employees are able to perform their jobs but also help employees satisfy their personal desires to feel they are part of the organization’s social fabric. The HR department generally orients newcomers to broad organizational issues and fringe benefits. Supervisors complete the orientation process by introducing new employees to coworkers and others involved in the job. A buddy or mentor may be assigned to continue the process. Training needs Simply hiring and placing employees in jobs does not ensure their success. In fact, even tenured employees may need training, because of changes in the business environment. Here are some changes that may signal that current employees need training: Introduction of new equipment or processes A change in the employee’s job responsibilities A drop in an employee’s productivity or in the quality of output An increase in safety violations or accidents An increased number of questions Complaints by customers or coworkers Once managers decide that their employees need training, these managers need to develop clear training goals that outline anticipated results. These managers must also be able to clearly communicate these goals to employees. Keep in mind that training is only one response to a performance problem. If the problem is lack of motivation, a poorly designed job, or an external condition (such as a family problem), training is not likely to offer much help. Types of training After specific training goals have been established, training sessions should be scheduled to provide the employee an opportunity to meet his or her goals. The following are typical training programs provided by employers: Basic literacy training. Ninety million American adults have limited literacy skills, and about 40 million can read little or not at all. Because most workplace demands require a tenth- or eleventh-grade reading level (and about 20 percent of Americans between the ages of 21 and 25 can’t read at even an eighth-grade level), organizations increasingly need to provide basic literacy training in the areas of reading and math skills to their employees. Technical training. New technology and structural designs have increased the need to upgrade and improve employees’ technical skills in both white-collar and blue-collar jobs. Interpersonal skills training. Most employees belong to a work team, and their work performance depends on their abilities to effectively interact with their coworkers. Interpersonal skills training helps employees build communication skills. Problem-solving training. Today’s employees often work as members of self-managed teams who are responsible for solving their own problems. Problem-solving training has become a basic part of almost every organizational effort to introduce self-managed teams or implement Total Quality Management (TQM). Diversity training. As one of the fastest growing areas of training, diversity training increases awareness and builds cultural sensitivity skills. Awareness training tries to create an understanding of the need for, and meaning of, managing and valuing diversity. Skill-building training educates employees about specific cultural differences in the workplace. Training methods Most training takes place on the job due to the simplicity and lower cost of on-the-job training methods. Two popular types of on-the-job training include the following: Job rotation. By assigning people to different jobs or tasks to different people on a temporary basis, employers can add variety and expose people to the dependence that one job has on others. Job rotation can help stimulate people to higher levels of contributions, renew people’s interest and enthusiasm, and encourage them to work more as a team. Mentoring programs. A new employee frequently learns his or her job under the guidance of a seasoned veteran. In the trades, this type of training is usually called an apprenticeship. In white-collar jobs, it is called a coaching or mentoring relationship. In each, the new employee works under the observation of an experienced worker. Sometimes, training goals cannot be met through on-the-job training; the employer needs to look to other resources. Off-the-job training can rely on outside consultants, local college faculty, or in-house personnel. The more popular off-the-job training methods are classroom lectures, videos, and simulation exercises. Thanks to new technologies, employers can now facilitate some training, such as tutorials, on the employees’ own computers, reducing the overall costs. Regardless of the method selected, effective training should be individualized. Some people absorb information better when they read about it, others learn best by observation, and still others learn better when they hear the information. These different learning styles are not mutually exclusive. When training is designed around the preferred learning style of an employee, the benefits of training are maximized because employees are able to retain more of what they learn. In addition to training, employers should offer development plans, which include a series of steps that can help employees acquire skills to reach long-term goals, such as a job promotion. Training, on the other hand, is immediate and specific to a current job. Evaluating Employee Performance Employee performance should be evaluated regularly. Employees want feedback—they want to know what their supervisors think about their work. Regular performance evaluations not only provide feedback to employees, but also provide employees with an opportunity to correct deficiencies. Evaluations or reviews also help in making key personnel decisions, such as the following: Justifying promotions, transfers, and terminations Identifying training needs Providing feedback to employees on their performance Determining necessary pay adjustments Most organizations utilize employee evaluation systems; one such system is known as a performance appraisal. A performance appraisal is a formal, structured system designed to measure the actual job performance of an employee against designated performance standards. Although performance appraisals systems vary by organizations, all employee evaluations should have the following three components: Specific, job-related criteria against which performance can be compared A rating scale that lets employees know how well they’re meeting the criteria Objective methods, forms, and procedures to determine the rating Traditionally, an employee’s immediate boss conducts his or her performance appraisal. However, some organizations use other devices, such as peer evaluations, self-appraisals, and even customer evaluations, for conducting this important task. The latest approach to performance evaluation is the use of 360-degree feedback. The 360-degree feedback appraisal provides performance feedback from the full circle of daily contacts that an employee may have. This method of performance appraisal fits well into organizations that have introduced teams, employee involvement, and TQM programs. Making Employment Decisions Employment decisions go beyond determining which employees are due for raises. Through regular, objective performance appraisals, managers acquire information to make and implement decisions about promotions, transfers, demotions, separations, and compensation. In most organizations, outstanding employees are recognized for their hard work and outstanding performances, and offered promotions. A promotion generally means rewarding an employee’s efforts by moving that person to a job with increased authority and responsibility. Downsizing has led many firms to rely on lateral moves or transfers instead of promoting employees. A lateral move can act as an opportunity for future vertical advancement because it can broaden an employee’s experiences and add skills. On the other hand, sometimes employees’ performances signal that they aren’t adapting well to their jobs and may need fewer responsibilities. One option is a demotion, or reassignment to a lower rank or less prestigious position. Demotions are not a popular technique because of the stigma attached to this move. A misconception is that demotions should be used as punishment for ineffective performance. The departure of an employee from an organization is referred to as separation. Separation may be voluntary or involuntary. Resignations and retirements are voluntary separations. Involuntary separations are layoffs and/or firings. Lately, the rash of downsizing throughout the United States has resulted in many layoffs. Sometimes, however, an employee must be terminated because of poor performance. Dismissal or firing of employees should occur only on the basis of just cause and only after all reasonable steps to rehabilitate the employee have failed. In some cases, such as gross insubordination or theft, immediate dismissal is required. Compensating Employees Employee compensation refers to all work-related payments, including wages, commissions, insurance, and time off. Wages and salaries are the most obvious forms of compensation and are based on job evaluations that determine the relative values of jobs to the organization. Under the hourly wage system, employees are paid a fixed amount for each hour they work. The system is generally used for lower skilled occupations. Salaried employees receive a fixed sum per week or month, no matter how many hours they work. Most professional positions are salaried; the reality is that these jobholders typically work in excess of a â€Å"minimum† 40-hour workweek. Some occupations are compensated through incentive pay programs. Salespeople typically receive commissions based upon the quantities of goods they sell. Some sales compensation plans contain elements of both a salary and commission. A production worker’s pay may be based upon some combination of an hourly wage and an incentive for each â€Å"piece† he or she makes. Some employees are offered merit awards as a reward for sustained superior performance. Employee benefits are supplements to wages or pay. Some benefits, such as unemployment and worker’s compensation, are legally mandated. Other benefits are optional and help build employee loyalty to an organization, including the following: Health insurance Pension plans E