Humanity beliefs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Humanity beliefs - Essay Example Is selflessness the most important aspect of humanity beliefs? This paper will have a deep insight into selflessness as an attribute of humanity and how it comes about. First, the paper will define selflessness and then explore into the causes of selflessness and the ultimate impact of this attribute on humanity. Selflessness is the attribute of acting with less interest for yourself than for the success of mutual activity where one is more concerned with the well-being of others than his/her own welfare. It is the nature of people who are genuinely benevolent individuals by putting the needs of others first. A selflessness being is where one gives to anyone, often capitulating or sacrificing something of their own knowing that nothing in their life is truly of their own. Selflessness is offering help, kindness, material things and always be ready to assist to the best of their ability inherently knowing that that is the right thing to do. It is this act of selflessness that distingu ish human from all the other animals since every man has a wild beast within him and selflessness makes us different from anything else thus humanity . Selflessness is established in evolutionary biology and also as a concept in psychology is a mansion that tries to explain the traits of human ethics because individuals who help others benefit in return by promoting their genetic self-interest. This shows that selfless behavior is as a matter of fact a prominent feature of both biological and human nature. Selflessness as a humanity aspect is brought about as a product of selfish desire and one may think this is an emphasis of selfishness but it sets apart for altruism which is an aspect of unselfish devotion to others. The main idea is based on which level in the hierarchy of living organism will turn out to be the certainly selfish and use the real life examples that surround the human nature. The growth of civilization is used to give an incrementally honorable status of the term selflessness because we will realize that this civilization power results naturally as selfishness .since civilization is an aid to growth and originates in selfishness then selfishness may be the reason for growth of civilization thus the meaning of saving the vague supposition of selflessness (Freud 74). This can also be proven by an example of fear as a natural means of self-protection where our a small nation like Kenya will always want to be in the UN organization and give help to others not because they homer the international union or have a greater passion in helping other nation but it is a fear-linked desire for survival when they need help from the UN organization. Tradition can also be a cause of selflessness act as a trait of humanity that is triggered by inner power of selfishness because one might be fully submitted to a given tradition by taking consideration on the community and avoid trouble with the society but in real sense the act is triggered by the selfishnes s power of praise from the community leaders, fame and be given titles of good morals. These examples clearly show that selflessness as a humanity aspect is brought about by fear, greed and tradition but without selfishness the act of selflessness may not be clearly expressed. It is natural to claim that you love someone and you will always do many things to them unconditionally and with passion basically because you want to see them

The History of Chocolate Essay Example for Free

The History of Chocolate Essay Do you like chocolate? Who doesn’t like chocolate? Chocolate is a favorite food of many people, but only few people know about the history of chocolate. That is why I am going to ask you to explore the history of chocolate by reading this essay. The history of chocolate begins with a plant whose scientific name is theobroma cacao which means â€Å"food of the gods†. According to the historians, the Mayan in Central America is the first who learned to plant the cacao plants around 2. 000 years ago. The Maya took the cacao trees from the rainforests and plant them around home. They cooked the cacao seeds then crushed them into a soft paste. They mixed the paste with water and flavorful spices to make an unsweetened chocolate drink. Cacao and chocolate were an important part of Maya culture. There are many images of cacao plants found on Maya buildings and art objects. Royal families drank chocolate at ceremonies. Even poor families of Mayan could enjoy the chocolate drink once in a while. Historians tell us that cacao seeds also used in marriage ceremonies as the sign of the union between a husband and wife. The Aztec culture in Mexico also valued chocolate. Unfortunately, cacao plants could not grow in the land where the Aztec lived, so they traded to get cacao plants. They even used cacao seeds as money to pay taxes. Only the very wealthy people of Aztec that could afford to enjoy chocolate drink because cacao was very valuable. The Aztec authority, Montezuma, believed that they had to drink 50 cups of chocolate drink every day. Some experts believe that the word â€Å"chocolate† came from the Aztec word â€Å"xocolatl†, which means â€Å"bitter water† in the Nahuatl language. It was spelled variously as â€Å"chocalatall†, â€Å"jocolatte†, â€Å"jacolatte† and â€Å"chockelet†. Others believe the word â€Å"chocolate† was formed by combining the words of Mayan and Nahuatl. When the explorer Christopher Columbus did his fourth trip to Central America in 1502, he encountered a great Mayan trading canoe on the island of Guanaja, Honduras, carrying a cargo of cocoa seeds. Then Christopher Columbus brought cacao seeds to Spain. He presented the King and Queen of Spain with the cacao seeds, but Ferdinand and Isabella saw no worth in them. It was Hernando Cortez, a Spanish, who understood that chocolate which was made from cacao seeds, was valuable and could be commercialized. In 1519, Cortez arrived in Mexico. He believed that chocolate drink would be popular with Spaniards. Then, chocolate became very popular in Spain, so they needed to supply more cacao seeds. When the Spanish soldiers defeated with the Aztec empire in 1527 or 1528, the Spanish soldiers won the war, so they were able to seize the supplies of cacao, equipments and recipes from the Aztec to bring them home. Later, Spain began planting the cacao seeds in its colonies in order to supply the large demand for chocolate. Before, chocolate drink was made unsweetened, and it was Spanish court of King Charles V and the wealthy people in Spain who became the first people that enjoyed chocolate drink in sweetened version. It was greeted with excitement. At first, monks, hidden away in Spanish monasteries, are appointed as the processors of cocoa seeds to keep chocolate a secret for nearly another century. Hernando Cortez built a cocoa plantation to â€Å"grow money† in the name of Spain, beginning a Spanish cocoa monopoly that lasted two centuries. It made a profitable industry for Spain, which planted cocoa trees in its overseas colonies. In 1585, the first official shipments of cocoa seeds began arriving in Seville from Vera Cruz, Mexico. Later, the popularity of the chocolate drink spread throughout Europe. The English, French, and Dutch began to plant cacao trees in their own lands. Until the 18th century, none but the rich and noble people could afford to drink chocolate. During the period known as the Industrial Revolution, new technologies helped to produce chocolate in less cost. After the Industrial Revolution, not only wealthy people, but also mediocre people, even poor people can enjoy the sweetness of â€Å"food of the gods†, chocolate. Farmers grow cacao trees in many countries in Africa, Central and South America. The trees grow in shady areas of rainforests near the Earth’s equator, but these trees can be difficult to grow. They require the exact amount of water, warmth, soil, and protection. After about five years, cacao trees start producing large fruits called â€Å"pods†, which grow near the trunk of the trees. The seeds inside the pods are harvested to make chocolate. Growing cacao is very hard work for farmers. They sell their harvest on futures market. This means that the economical condition outside of the control can affect the amount of money that they will earn. Today, chocolate industry officials, activists, and scientists are working with farmers. They are trying to make sure that cacao can be grown in a way that is fair for farmers and safe for the environment. To become chocolate, cacao seeds go through a long production process in factory. Workers must sort, clean and cook the seeds. Then they break off the covering of the seeds so that only the inside fruit (nibs) remain. Workers crush the nibs into the a soft substance called chocolate liquor. This gets separated into cacao solids and a fat called cacao butter. Chocolate makers of different chocolate factories have their own special recipes in combining the chocolate liquor with exact amount of sugar, milk and cocoa fat. The finely crush this crumb mixture, so it becomes smooth. Then the smooth mixture goes through two more processes before it is shaped into a mold form. Pour the smooth mixture into molds or a large pan that then the chocolate can be cut into small bars. Let the chocolate cool and harden in a room temperature or in a fridge covered by foil. Then the chocolate can be packed and sold. That is the chocolate that a modern people consume.

Book Report On a Dramatic Death :: essays research papers fc

Book Report on "A Dramatic Death" This story starts off with the Dorking Drama Group who are making a play everything is going well until gruesome accidents start happening but the group ignores it until a prop falls down and kills someone. The police do a investigation but conclude that it was a accident so the play goes on, but everybody is convinced it was foul play and everyone in the drama group is a suspect. The cast members start investigating the murder by themselves and everybody starts turning against each other. In the end two cast members named Steve and Claire find out the murder is Claire because they themselves were attacked by her but they identified her. Emma was a jealous cast member who loved Steve but Claire was Steve's girlfriend, Steve always treated her like a sister but she wanted more than that and went to great lengths to achieve. CHARACTER ANALYSIS The main characters in my book are Steve and Emma. Steve was a popular good looking guy who all the girls liked. He didn't like school that much expect the Dorking Drama Club where he acted in the play, he had a sister and Steve was very careful to trust anyone during all the murder. Emma was very fond of Steve but because she was Steve's sister's friend for so long Steve treated her as a sister, which she didn't like. Emma became so fond of Steve that she start doing all these gruesome things and in the end she went to a mental hospital. Emma liked to be in the play a lot and she was said to have a very over active imagination. SETTING The setting was in a small quiet town called Dorking, the play took in a high school drama room. The setting brings people together (the drama group) which brings conflicts. The town was described to bring a spooky setting to the novel. THEME The theme of this novel is that we shouldn't trust everybody we know no matter how close they are. In the novel the murder is found to be a very close friend to everyone. Everyone should be considered a suspect. This book was written is for to show the great lengths that some people will go to for love. CHAPTER 1 The Dorking Drama club is getting ready for a play and everybody is joking around and acting calm. When they are rehearsing and somebody opens a prop they scream and find there is a dead cat in the box, everyone wonders who is capable of doing such a thing like this.

Discuss the Significance of Studying Different Philosophical World Views of Teacher Education?

Education provides a foundation for a child to base the rest of his or her life on. Without a solid education, it becomes impossible for an individual to provide for themselves and their family. Also, well-educated people can make decisions that benefit both their own interests and the interests of society as a whole. In this paper, the author will address the different opinions of philosophy about education. The nature of the student will then be addressed followed by the nature of knowledge and finally the purpose of education.In conclusion, the author will compare and contrast the two main theories; that of realism and idealism. No two students are exactly alike. Nevertheless, they do share one fundamental character†¦ the character of an inquisitiveness to learn. Educational philosophy is no doubt a matter that has changed over the decades, and still today not everyone is in total agreement on the subject. However, one thing is certain- philosophy is the foundation of educati onal styles.Today, four basic educational philosophies exist including idealism, realism, pragmatism, and existentialism. All four philosophies are very different, but all strive for the same goal, to better our education system. Although every teacher has a different style of teaching that can be considered their own, they all adhere to one of the four basic philosophies. However, it may take a teacher many years to master, and recognize their style as one of the philosophies.The child centred educational approach holds that the teacher is a facilitator, a guide, an advisor and fellow traveller and therefore, the teacher must provide warmth and nurture emotions whilst continuing to function as a resource centre. Creating an appropriate learning environment where all students feel that they have the ability to learn and succeed is an essential responsibility of the teacher. As a child’s education is the most important tool that they will ever acquire throughout their lifetime , it is imperative for the teacher to find a way to relate to each and every student under their direct responsibility.The domain of education is vast, the issues it raises are almost overwhelmingly numerous and are of great complexity, and the social significance of the field is second to none. These features make the phenomena and problems of education of great interest to a wide range of socially-concerned intellectuals, who bring with them their own favoured conceptual frameworks—concepts, theories and ideologies, methods of analysis and argumentation, metaphysical and other assumptions, criteria for selecting evidence that has relevance for the problems that they consider central, and the like.It is no surprise, then, to find that the significant intellectual and social trends of the past few centuries, together with the significant developments in philosophy, all have had an impact on the content and methods of argument in philosophy of education—Marxism, psycho- analysis, existentialism, phenomenology, positivism, post-modernism, pragmatism, neo-liberalism, the several waves of feminism, analytic philosophy in both its ordinary language and more formal guises, are merely the tip of the iceberg.It is revealing to note some of the names that were heavily-cited in the field (in alphabetical order): Adorno, Aristotle, Derrida, Descartes, Dewey, Habermas, Hegel, Horkheimer, Kant, Locke, Lyotard, Marx, Mill, Nietzsche, Plato, Rawls, Richard Rorty, Rousseau, and Wittgenstein (Curren 2003; Blake, Smeyers, Smith, and Standish 2003). Although this list conveys something of the diversity of the field, it fails to do it complete justice, for the influence of feminist philosophers is not adequately represented.Regardless of the size of the iceberg, authoritative scholars relate and argue that most educational philosophies today are developed from the idealistic and realistic view points. Idealism and realism in education are often considered together in educational philosophy under the name essentialism. This is in part because, although they are of the universe differ radically, their view concerning the nature of truth are similar. Both of these positions, as we shall see, view truth as immutable, permanent, and unchanging.The main tenant of idealism is that ideas and knowledge are the truest reality. Many things in the world change, but ideas and knowledge are enduring. Idealism was often referred to as â€Å"idea-ism†. Idealists believe that ideas can change lives. The most important part of a person is the mind. It is to be nourished and developed. Idealism is a product of ancient Greece and Rome, mainly Socrates. Although Socrates’ ideals are the basis for the idealist philosophy, it was his student Plato, who is considered the founder of idealism.The Platonic theory that ultimate reality lies in a realm beyond the real world that the real world is a by-product of mental or supernatural states; art that rejects realism for the world of imagination. Park, Joe. (1968: 23). The philosophy â€Å"focuses on the spiritual and intellectual development of the individual†(ibid: 27). According to Chambliss, idealist attempt to describe ideas, mind, consciousness, form, thought, energy, and other non-material concepts† Chambliss, (J. J. 1996: 33). The educational approach of this philosophy is of a holistic nature.In which self-realization and character development is strongly supported. The idealist feels that with the growth of a fine moral character as well as personal reflection, wisdom is gained. The holistic approach is supported instead of a specialized concentration on a specific targeted area (ibid: 52). By combining experiences gained through critical thinking and dealing with broader topics, the idealist creates an environment in which a learner can rationalize information across curriculum. Idealism as a philosophy had its greatest impact during the nineteenth century Kamins ky, James S. 1993: 14). Kaminsky further states that ‘its influence in today’s world is less important than it has been in the past’ (1993: 18). Idealism is the conclusion that the universe is expression of intelligence and will, that the enduring substance of the world is the nature of the mind, that the material is explained by the mental. Idealism as a philosophy stands in contrast with all those systems of thought that centre in nature (naturalism) or in man (humanism). According to idealism to be means to be experienced by a person.Idealism holds that the order of the world is due to the manifestation in space and time of an eternal and spiritual reality. As to knowledge, idealism holds that knowledge is man thinking the thoughts and purposes of this eternal and spiritual reality as they are embodied in our world of fact. As to ethics, idealism holds that the goodness of man's individual and social life is the conformity of the human will with the moral admi nistration of the universe. In idealism, the aim of education is to discover and develop each individual's abilities and full moral excellence in order to better serve society.The curricular emphasis is subject matter of mind: literature, history, philosophy, and religion. Teaching methods focus on handling ideas through lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue (a method of teaching that uses questioning to help students discover and clarify knowledge). Introspection, intuition, insight, and whole-part logic are used to bring to consciousness the forms or concepts which are latent in the mind. Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes. Idealism has been influential in education for a considerable amount of time.It is considered a conservative philosophy because of its emphasis in preserving cultural traditions. The strengths of idealism include encouraging thinking and cognition, promoting cultural learning, and providing for character development of students. T eachers are considered valuable parts of the educational process who should strive to provide a comprehensive, systematic and holistic approach to learning that stress self realisation. Scholars today have challenged idealism and brought about challenges and maybe changes to the idealistic approach. Blake, Nigel; Smeyers et al: (248).Aristotle, a student of Plato, developed the basis for the philosophy known as realism. Realism â€Å"holds that objects and happenings exist regardless of how we perceive them† Archambault, Reginald D. , ed. (1965: 103). Thomas Jefferson is one of the more known realists. Teachers who are realists â€Å"focus on reason and thinking† (ibid: 111). The philosophical perspective possessed by a teacher has on affects the ability and effectiveness of their teaching methods. Therefore a teacher must be one who appreciates and respects education and formalized schooling.In this metaphysical view, the aim is to understand objective reality through â€Å"the diligent and unsparing scrutiny of all observable data†. (ibid: 119). Aristotle believed that to understand an object, its ultimate form had to be understood, which does not change. For example, a rose exists whether or not a person is aware of it. A rose can exist in the mind without being physically present, but ultimately, the rose shares properties with all other roses and flowers (its form), although one rose may be red and another peach coloured.Aristotle also was the first to teach logic as a formal discipline in order to be able to reason about physical events and aspects Jarret, James L. , ed. (1969: 78). The exercise of rational thought is viewed as the ultimate purpose for humankind. The Realist curriculum emphasizes the subject matter of the physical world, particularly science and mathematics. The teacher organizes and presents content systematically within a discipline, demonstrating use of criteria in making decisions.Teaching methods focus on master y of facts and basic skills through demonstration and recitation. Students must also demonstrate the ability to think critically and scientifically, using observation and experimentation. Curriculum should be scientifically approached, standardized, and distinct-discipline based. Character is developed through training in the rules of conduct. The educational principles developed by Plato, Aristotle and et al, and numerous educational theorists and philosophers in the interregnum, are alive and well in the twenty-first century.Of particular contemporary interest is the evolution that has occurred of the progressive idea that each student is an active learner who is pursuing his or her own individual educational path. By incorporating elements of the classical empiricist epistemology of John Locke, this progressive principle has become transformed into the extremely popular position known as constructivism, according to which each student in a classroom constructs his or her own indi vidual body of understandings even when all in the group are given what appears to be the same stimulus or educational experience. A consequence of this is that a classroom of thirty students will have thirty individually-constructed, and possibly different, bodies of â€Å"knowledge†, in addition to that of the teacher! ). There is also a solipsistic element here, for constructivists also believe that none of us—teachers included—can directly access the bodies of understandings of anyone else; each of us is imprisoned in a world of our own making. It is an understatement to say that this poses great difficulties for the teacher.The education journals of the past two decades contain many thousands of references to discussions of this position, which elsewhere the author claimed has become a type of educational â€Å"secular religion†; for reasons that are hard to discern it is particularly influential in mathematics and science education. The teacher shou ld therefore be able to ‘mix and juggle’ through the different viewpoints to be able to relate to the disparate intellectual capacity of the students.

Learnings in Operations Management from Henry Ford, Sloan and Toyota Essay

The success of Henry Ford till 1925s Henry Ford did not invent the automobile. He didn’t even invent the assembly line. But more than any other single individual, he was responsible for transforming the automobile from an invention of unknown utility into an innovation that profoundly shaped the 20th century and continues to affect our lives today. Model T (A car for everyman) In simple terms, the Model T changed the world. It was a powerful car with a possible speed of 45 mph. It could run 25 miles on a gallon of gasoline. It carried a 20-horsepower, side-valve four-cylinder engine and two-speed planetary transmission on a 100-inch wheelbase. It was Henry Ford’s foresight which saw the potential market of automobiles. In his opinion transportation was a basic need of human and if affordable anyone would be willing to buy it. It was with this vision of delivering automobiles to everyman that Ford started to experiment with different production methodologies to lower the cost of production. Influence of Frederick Taylor on Henry Ford Frederick Taylor was a contemporary of Henry Ford. His theory of scientific management had a big impact on Henry Ford. According to Henry Ford, the assembly line was based on three simple principles: â€Å"the planned, orderly, and continuous progression of the commodity through the shop; the delivery of work instead of leaving it to the workman’s initiative to find it; an analysis of operations into their constituent parts.† A scientific approach to these principles, the next logical step in the organization of work, had already been enunciated by Frederick Taylor in what is now called as scientific management. Henry Ford used the techniques specified by Frederick Taylor in increasing the efficiency of his process. Taylor’s scientific management consisted of four principles: 1. Replace rule-of-thumb work methods with methods based on a scientific study of the tasks. 2. Scientifically select, train, and develop each employee rather than passively leaving them to train themselves. 3. Provide â€Å"Detailed instruction and supervision of each worker in the performance of that worker’s discrete task†. 4. Divide work nearly equally between managers and workers, so that the managers apply scientific management principles to planning the work and the workers actually perform the tasks. Learnings from Henry Ford and Model T Assembly Line/Mass production In 1913 Henry Ford started production of Ford Model T in a sliding assembly line. Though assembly line was used previously used in different industry but it was mostly for products which had small number of parts. Model T on the other hand had many more components. Sliding assembly line of Henry Ford was inspired by overhead trolleys used to dress up beef. Henry Ford thought that the same technique can be used for automobile too. A breakthrough came in April 1913. A production engineer in the flywheel magneto assembly area tried a new way to put this component’s parts together. The operation was divided into 29 separate steps. Workers placed only one part in the assembly before pushing the flywheel down the line to the next employee. Previously, it had taken one employee about 20 minutes to assemble a flywheel magneto. Divided among 29 men, the job took 13 minutes. It was eventually trimmed to five minutes. This approach was applied gradually to the construction of the engine and other parts. According to Henry Ford: The principles of assembly are these: (1) Place the tools and the men in the sequence of the operation so that each component part shall travel the least possible distance while in the process of finishing. (2) Use work slides or some other form of carrier so that when a workman completes his operation, he drops the part always in the same place—which place must always be the most convenient place to his hand—and if possible  have gravity carry the part to the next workman for his own. (3) Use sliding assembling lines by which the parts to be assembled are delivered at convenient distances. Advantages of assembly Line : In his autobiography Henry Ford (1922) mentions several benefits of the assembly line including: Workers do no heavy lifting. No stooping or bending over. No special training required. There are jobs that almost anyone can do. Provided employment to immigrants. The gains in productivity allowed Ford to increase worker pay from $1.50 per day to $5.00 per day once employees reached three years of service on the assembly line. Ford continued on to reduce the hourly work week while continuously lowering the Model T price. Interchangeable/Standard Parts Centre to the concept of assembly line was the concept of interchangeable parts. Interchangeable parts meant that all the cars had same components at same place. This saved time which could have been wasted in sorting and identification of different parts. Henry Ford made sure that all components were standardised in the production of Model T. But it was not only parts which were standardised, Henry Ford also standardised all the processes. Following Frederick Taylor’s â€Å"One right way  to do the task†, Henry Ford devised the best possible way for a process. These were usually devised by detailed study of every task, time measurements and dividing tasks into small, controllable and reproducible steps. Labour policies Ford astonished the world in 1914 by offering a $5 per day wage ($120 today), which more than doubled the rate of most of his workers. The move proved extremely profitable; instead of constant turnover of employees, the best mechanics in Detroit flocked to Ford, bringing their human capital and expertise, raising productivity, and lowering training costs. Ford announced his $5-per-day program on January 5, 1914, raising the minimum daily pay from $2.34 to $5 for qualifying workers. It also set a new, reduced workweek. Ford’s policy proved, however, that paying people more would enable Ford workers to afford the cars they were producing and be good for the economy. Ford explained the policy as profit-sharing rather than wages. Franchising Ford pioneered the franchise system that would be applied to other industries, such as MacDonald’s and many other franchise giants. He put a Ford plant in every country that was on good terms with the U.S. and started the trend toward global corporations. Ford mapped out the whole system, from standardizing the car to franchising dealerships to creating a global network, and he did it all with no precedents to learn from. Just in Time (Henry Ford’s Contribution) Ernest Kanzler worked with Henry Ford in reducing the inventory costs at Fordson tractor plant. Kanzler noticed that during the Great War, excessive supplies were brought into the Fordson Tractor Plant prior to production. He found that these excess supplies tied up valuable plant space and millions of dollars. To remedy this, Kanzler reorganized inventory schedules so that raw materials and pans were bought only when needed and that the freight cars used for  delivery of these pans were used immediately to transport finished Fordson tractors to dealers. The success of General Motors post  1927 (Sloan) Mr. Sloan was elected President of General Motors in 1923, succeeding Pierre S. du Pont, who said of him on that occasion: â€Å"The greater part of the successful development of the Corporation’s operations and the building of a strong manufacturing and sales organization is due to Mr. Sloan. His election to the presidency is a natural and well-merited recognition of his untiring and able efforts and successful achievement.† Mr. Sloan had developed by then his system of disciplined, professional management that provided for decentralized operations with coordinated centralized policy control. Applying it to General Motors, he set the corporation on its course of industrial leadership. The next 23 years, with Mr. Sloan as Chief Executive Officer, were years of enormous expansion for General Motors and of a steady increase in its share of the automobile market. Changing with times While Henry Ford’s success with Model T was based on providing a mean of transport to everyone, Sloan realized that by 1925s just getting a mean of transport was not important. People were now more conscious about the looks and features of car too. He changed the organisation and production system at General Motors to keep up with these changes and provide an advantage over Ford who were still producing only one model at a time. Learnings from Alfred Sloan and General Motors Annual Model Change/Planned obsolescence To maintain unit sales, General Motors head Alfred P. Sloan Jr. suggested annual model-year design changes to convince car owners that they needed to buy a new replacement each year, an idea borrowed from the bicycle industry. In his autobiography, â€Å"My Years with General Motors,† he penned this thought  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The changes in the new model should be so novel and attractive as to create demand . . . and a certain amount of dissatisfaction with past models as compared with the new one.† Decentralisation in Organisational structure Alfred Sloan split General Motors into divisions, and each division was run as a company within a company. Sloan said the company was  Ã¢â‚¬Å"coordinated in policy and decentralised in administration†. He supervised the decentralisation of the organisation into divisional operating units, placing in charge of each an executive with total authority for his own activity. In order to give coherence to the decentralised organisation, Sloan deliberately maintained a degree of central control. Decentralisation he saw as analogous to free enterprise, and centralisation to regimentation. He believed that elements of both were necessary to successful business. At the same time as dividing the company into separate units, he developed a system which enabled the units to support each other, therefore establishing a much stronger organisation as a whole. Price Segmentation Sloan realized that he can’t compete with Ford in price wars. Instead what he did was to have a model in every price segment. This way they can take some chunk of Ford’s low price range with Chevrolet cars while giving multiple options to users at higher ends. His theory was to provide â€Å"A car for every purse and purpose†. This proved very successful in the long run and have become a must do thing for big businesses in all kind of industries. Financing A company was founded in 1919 by General Motors Corporation as the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) to be a provider of financing to automotive customers. This proved very beneficial in the long run as Ford had no such system and it negated the effect of low prices provided by Ford to some extent. Inventory  control and production control Sloan devised a system where inputs from retailers and individual organisation was used to decide the production plans for future. He asked every office to give three estimates- pessimistic, realistic and optimistic. These reviews were used to forecast and plan the future production. Also, it was used to decide how much inventory needed to be kept. Fact Based planning and Decision Planning Sloan always put an emphasis on fact based decision making. Even when working under his predecessors Durant and du Pont, he always went to them with changes in system based on data. Something which du Pont readily accepted and was important in selection of Sloan as next President of General Motors. The success of Toyota in the 70s and 80s The history of Toyota started in 1933 with the company being a division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works devoted to the production of  automobiles under the direction of the founder’s son, Kiichiro Toyoda. Kiichiro Toyoda had travelled to Europe and the United States in 1929 to investigate automobile production and had begun researching gasoline-powered engines in 1930. Toyoda Automatic Loom Works was encouraged to develop automobile production by the Japanese  government, which needed domestic vehicle production, due to the war with China. Need for innovation After WWII, Levels of demand in the Post War economy of Japan were low and the focus of mass production on lowest cost per item via economies of scale therefore had little application. Kiichiro Toyoda again visited many automobile companies in US and Europe. He found that production strategies haven’t changed much in last 20 years. He asked Taiichi Ohno to devise a system as cost efficient as Ford for the Japanese economy. Taiichi Ohno took his own tour of different facilities in US. Having visited and seen supermarkets in the USA, Taiichi Ohno recognised the scheduling of work should not be driven by sales or production targets but by actual sales. Given the financial situation during this period, over-production had to be  avoided and thus the notion of Pull (build to order rather than target driven Push) came to underpin production scheduling. The working of Toyota production system has been very well documented in Jeffrey Liker’s book â€Å"The Toyota Way†. Some tools from Toyota production System Jidoka It may be described as â€Å"intelligent automation† or â€Å"automation with a human touch.† This type of automation implements some supervisory functions rather than production functions. At Toyota this usually means that if an abnormal situation arises the machine stops and the worker will stop the production line. It is a quality control process that applies the following four principles: 1. Detect the abnormality. 2. Stop. 3. Fix or correct the immediate condition. 4. Investigate the root cause and install a countermeasure. Kanban (Just In Time) Kanban cards are a key component of kanban and signal the need to move materials within a manufacturing or production facility or move materials from an outside supplier in to the production facility. The kanban card is, in effect, a message that signals that there is a depletion of product, parts, or inventory that, when received, the kanban will trigger the replenishment of that product, part, or inventory. Consumption therefore drives demand for more production, and demand for more product is signaled by the kanban card. Kanban cards therefore help create a demand-driven system. Kaizen Kaizen is a daily process, the purpose of which goes beyond simple productivity improvement. It is also a process that, when done correctly, humanizes the workplace, eliminates overly hard work (â€Å"muri†), and teaches  people how to perform experiments on their work using the scientific method and how to learn to spot and eliminate waste in business processes. In all, the process suggests a humanized approach to workers and to increasing productivity: â€Å"The idea is to nurture the company’s human resources as much as it is to praise and encourage participation in kaizen activities.† Successful implementation requires â€Å"the participation of workers in the improvement.† People at all levels of an organization participate in kaizen, from the CEO down to janitorial staff, as well as external stakeholders when applicable. The format for kaizen can be individual, suggestion system, small group, or large group. 5 Whys The 5 Whys is an iterative question-asking technique used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a particular problem.The primary goal of the technique is to determine the root cause of a defect or problem. (The â€Å"5† in the name derives from an empirical observation on the number of iterations typically required to resolve the problem.) 5S There are five primary 5S phases: They can be translated from the Japanese as Sort, Systematize, Shine, Standardize and Self-Discipline. Sort: Remove unnecessary items and dispose of them properly Systematize: Arrange all necessary items in order so they can be easily picked for use Shine: Prevent machinery and equipment deterioration Standardize: Maintain everything in order and according to its standard Self-Discipline: To keep in working order Ohno Circle Taiichi Ohno was well known for walking onto the shop floor and drawing a circle on the ground. He would then go and stand in the circle and observe, think and analyse. Learn what was actually going on. From this study he would then have enough knowledge to improve the process. Three types of waste Muda: any activity in your process that does not add value. MUDA is not creating value for the customer. Mura: Any variation leading to unbalanced situations. In short: UNEVENNESS, inconsistent, irregular. Muri: Any activity asking unreasonable stress or effort from personnel, material or equipment. In short: OVERBURDEN Andon Andon is a manufacturing term referring to a system to notify management, maintenance, and other workers of a quality or process problem. The alert can be activated manually by a worker using a pullcord or button, or may be activated automatically by the production equipment itself. The system may include a means to stop production so the issue can be corrected. Learning from Toyota Production System The Toyota Way A brief summary of points given in Toyota Way: Section I: Long-Term Philosophy Principle 1. Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals. Section II: The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results Principle 2. Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface. Principle 3. Use â€Å"pull† systems to avoid overproduction. Principle 4. Level out the workload (heijunka). (Work like the tortoise, not the hare.) Principle 5. Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time. Principle 6. Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment. Principle 7. Use visual control so no problems are hidden. Principle 8. Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes. Section III: Add Value to the Organization by Developing Your People Principle 9. Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others. Principle 10. Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy. Principle 11. Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve. Section IV: Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning Principle 12. Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (genchi genbutsu). Principle 13. Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly (nemawashi). Principle 14. Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement (kaizen). References http://corporate.ford.com/our-company/heritage/heritage-newsdetail/672-model-t http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_line http://www.sloan.org/about-the-foundation/who-was-alfred-psloan-jr/ http://corporate.ford.com/our-company/heritage/historic-sitesnews-detail/663-highland-park http://www.thehenryford.org/EXHIBITS/HF/ http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/08/henryford.asp http://www.vectorstudy.com/management-gurus/frederick-taylor http://www.shmula.com/fords-contribution-to-just-in-time/371/ http://www.willamette.edu/~fthompso/MgmtCon/Scientific_Manage ment.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence http://inspiredeconomist.com/2012/09/20/the-greatest-inventionplanned-obsolescence/ http://www.mbsportal.bl.uk/taster/subjareas/busmanhist/mgmtthin kers/sloan.aspx http://www.economist.com/node/14298890 http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/anil.kashyap/research/papers/gene ralmotors.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_P._Sloan The Toyota Way – Jeffrey Liker My Years with General Motors – Alfred Sloan

McDonalds Opportunities for Growth in Saudi Arabia

McDonalds Opportunities for Growth in Saudi Arabia Introduction There exist a number of global chains of restaurants that are known all over the world, and McDonalds is one of them. In this paper, we will analyze the situation that McDonalds has been facing in the market, and then we will consider the companys growth opportunities specifically in Saudi Arabia. Based on our discussion, we will offer some recommendations for the enterprise to develop in the mentioned country.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on McDonald’s: Opportunities for Growth in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Analysis Nowadays, McDonald’s is one of the largest global chains of fast food restaurants. It operates as a franchisor, selling local businesspeople the rights to open a restaurant under the brands name and providing them with what is necessary to meet the companys standards (Our Business Model n. pag.). Even though McDonald’s is one of the most well-know n brands in the world, the company suffered a major decline in its profits over the last few years. In 2014, the operating income of the fast food chain accounted for only 90.7% of its operating income in 2013 (â€Å"MCD Income Statement† n. pag.). In 2015, the company suffered even more setbacks. But it was able to recover later in the year; its net income rose to $1.21 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, in comparison to $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014 (CNBC n. pag.). Therefore, it is crucial for the company to use the momentum to continue its recovery and turn it into a growth. It is possible for the business to do that in two main ways: to open new restaurants, and to modify and improve the services it offers. Regarding the second way, the company needs to better adapt to local cultures while operating in countries other than the U.S. It already does to some extent; for instance, in the Arab world, McDonalds proposes food made from halal meat, and provides r espective certificates (â€Å"Our Ingredients† par. 2), and offers some meals that are more typical of the local cuisines (â€Å"McArabia† par. 2). One of the countries where the company might develop further is Saudi Arabia. This country has the population of approximately 30 million people, whereas the total number of McDonalds restaurants in this country is nearly 120 (â€Å"International Saudi Arabia† n. pag.). Therefore, there is approximately one restaurant for every 250,000 people in Saudi Arabia. It means that some potential customers might simply not visit McDonald’s often due to the remoteness of the nearest restaurant. McDonald’s also has a different image in Saudi Arabia than it has, for instance, in the U.S. The restaurant does not only propose food; it also provides the customers with the information about what the food consists of, offers a friendly atmosphere, free Wi-Fi, and so on. While this is common in the USA, it is not always the case in restaurants in Saudi Arabia (â€Å"McArabia† n. pag.).Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Also, some political issues arise around McDonalds as around an American company from time to time. For instance, when in 2000 Saudis were indignant about the USAs support of Israel, they started boycotting American companies, which included McDonalds. McDonalds responded by a charity campaign; they began donating 26 cents from each meal they sold to children’s hospitals in Palestine (â€Å"Saudi Burgers to Help Palestinians† n. pag.). In 2002, another boycott campaign against American companies was on a rise; however, in the case of McDonald’s, more harm was done to the local franchisors than to the global corporation (Mroue n. pag.). On the whole, McDonalds tries to respond to the boycotts in a placating way, showing the local custom ers that the company is not to be blamed. Discussion As we have seen, there are some opportunities for McDonald’s development in Saudi Arabia. The fact that there is only one restaurant for 250,000 people in the country means that the company can grow by opening new restaurants. Apparently, that the network of locations in Saudi Arabia is not dense, which means that many potential customers would gladly visit McDonald’s if a restaurant was not so remote. Consequently, opening new locations should enable them to buy the foods McDonald’s has to offer much more easily, and, therefore, more frequently. It is also a possibility to adapt the menu to the local culture more, and to organize events and attractive offers related to the local special occasions. We have already stressed that McDonald’s in Saudi Arabia has a rather good reputation; therefore, for example, proposing to celebrate a holiday in McDonald’s might be a worthwhile offer to some of the locals. The menu can also be further diversified by including foods that are enjoyed by the Arabian population, for instance, by adding falafel burgers to it. Recommendations Based on the considerations above, we would offer McDonalds to take the following three main steps to develop further in Saudi Arabia. First, some new restaurants should be opened, so that the customers would be able to visit them more often instead of simply not doing it because of the remoteness of the nearest McDonalds. Second, the menu should be diversified by the foods that are very popular among the population (for instance, the falafel burger). And third, the company should provide the clients with more opportunities to celebrate special occasions in the restaurants.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on McDonald’s: Opportunities for Growth in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion To sum up, it should be noted th at McDonald’s had suffered setbacks over the years 2014-2015, but started recovering at the end of 2015. It is important for the company to use the momentum, and one of the countries where there exist opportunities for growth is Saudi Arabia. To develop further in this country, we recommend opening more restaurants, to diversify the menu to adjust it even better to the local culture, and to provide the clients with additional opportunities to celebrate special events in the restaurants. CNBC. McDonalds Beats Earnings on Surging US Sales, China Demand. 25 Jan. 2016. Web. cnbc.com/2016/01/25/mcdonalds-reports-fourth-quarter-2015-earnings.html. Company Profile. n.d. Web. aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/investors/company-overview/company-overview-segment-information.html. International Saudi Arabia: McDonald’s Operator to Hire 1,000. 23 Jul. 2012. Web. recruiter.co.uk/news/2012/07/international-saudi-arabia-mcdonalds-operator-to-hire-1000/. McArabia: McDonald’s in the Arab World. 29 Apr. 2009. Web. http://everything-everywhere.com/2009/04/29/mcarabia-mcdonalds-in-the-arab-world/. MCD Income Statement. 2016. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=MCD+Income+Statementannual. Mroue, Bassem. Arab Countries Boycott U.S. Goods over Mideast Policies. 29 July 2002. Web. http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jul/29/business/fi-boycott29.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Our Business Model. n.d. Web. aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/business-model.html. Our Ingredients. n.d. Web. mcdonaldsarabia.com/ksa-jeddah/en/our_food/quality_ingredients/our_ingredients.html. Saudi Burgers to Help Palestinians. 28 Nov. 2000. Web. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1044998.stm.

Charter Communication Company Case Analysis

Charter Communication Company Case Analysis Introduction The growth and sustainability of Charter Communication Company lie in the implementation of its objectives and business strategies. The objectives and business strategies of the organization must align with the market trend and market target (David, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Charter Communication Company: Case Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Charter communications is a leading company that manufactures Internet and broadcasting cable, it provides high-speed connections to corporate organizations, government agencies and home user. The company has its headquarters in the United States. The mission of Charter Company is to offer value to all customers. The company will achieve its goal by providing quality product and services at fair prices. The strategies of the organization align with its internal and external conditions. Objectivities and Strategies of Charter Communications Inc The objectives of Charter Communications build on quality service to meet customer’s satisfaction. The objectives are highlighted below To provide high-speed Internet, digital connections to its customers. To become the leading manufacturing company in the telecom industry. To provide affordable products and service to its customers. To maintain its quality and transform the world with digital technology. Charter Communications International has a projected 5.5 million client base. The company relies on its business strategy to satisfy its clients. The objectives of the organization can be achieved with an effective business strategy. The performance of the organizations is attributed to the correlation between its objectives and business strategies (Bygrave Zacharakis, 2010). The strategies include Commitment to its customers: The Company provides customer support to its clients. The organization is committed to the improvement of its products and services. Their custome r support team is efficient and always ready to render its service to its customers. The internal factor of success can be used to strengthen its external factors of success. An updated information unit will assist customers to make choices from its list of products and services. Efficient Employees: The Company utilizes its internal strategy to position the organization as a leading service provider. Their efficient and productive employees provide quality service to her numerous clients. The organization synchronizes its operations and market synergy to meet customers demand. A strategy to improve its opportunity To maintain its growth, Charter Communications manufactures compelling broadband products with lower cost of transactions to meet customers satisfaction. The company achieves this feat by sourcing its raw materials from low-cost sites. The production cost will be reduced and thus, its sales will be lower than similar products. The company provides its sales points at dif ferent locations to reduce the cost of transactions. Customers will choose a favourable location to save cost. Customers are willing to patronize a particular company when the cost of business transactions is reduced (Rao et al., 2008).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A strategy to mitigate threats The notable threat is the competition from similar manufacturing companies. Similar products flood the market, thus, reducing the sales of Charters products. However, the management of Charter Communications utilizes product differentiation to overcome this threat. The quality of its products and services provides the competitive advantage to mitigate this threat. The low-cost of production encourages customers to patronize Charters broadband products and equipment.  The advantage of a competitive profile matrix transcends its components; it compares market strengths a nd weakness of competing firms. The variables for the analysis include the quality of products, management, prices, to mention a few. A competitive profile matrix can be used to analyze a companys internal and external conditions. The analysis compares the success and failures of different companies (Rao et al., 2008). The analysis is presented in a matrix format. The format includes a rating section, which indicates the firms response to success. The weight section indicates the relevance of the variables of change to the company. The weighted score can be compiled by multiplying the variable success with its weight. The total weighted score section is the sum of each factor for success. Competitive profile matrix Charter company Verizon communication Cox communication Key success factors Weight Rating Weight score Rating Weight score Rating Weight score Customers care services 0.2 2 0.4 3 0.6 2 0.4 Advertisements 0.1 3 0.3 4 0.4 3 0.3 Price competitiveness 0.2 3 0.6 3 0.6 4 0.8 Network coverage 0.1 2 0.2 4 0.4 0.3 0.3 Streaming speed 0.1 2 0.2 4 0.4 3 0.3 Mobile banking 0.3 1 0.3 1 0.3 1 0.3 Product Differentiation 0.4 2 0.3 1 0.2 2 0.1 Service delivery 0.5 3 0.1 2 0.1 1 0.1 Total 1.0 2 2.7 2.6 Average score 2.075 Minor weakness Major weakness Minor strength Major strength The analysis shows a strong rating between the competing firms. Charter Communications recorded high success in its customer support services. The advertisement ratings show higher value. Its service delivery is a competitive advantage for the organization. The company’s weakness in mobile banking reduces its growth. Similar firms such as Verizon and Cox Communications recorded high ratings in their network coverage. The ratings dropped significantly with their product delivery services.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Charter Communication Company: Case Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn M ore External factor matrix External factor matrix assesses the business trends of a company. The analysis reveals the threats and the opportunities of an organization. The external factor matrix comprises of a list of external factors, which influences the success of an organization. The components of the external factor evaluation include cultural, political, and economic factors. The external factor evaluation matrix of the Charter Communication Company is presented below. An external factor evaluation matrix Weight Rating Weight score Globalization trends 0.11 4 0.44 Government policy 0.12 3 0.36 Foreign exchange rates 0.15 1 0.15 Taxation 0.12 2 0.24 Political situation 0.14 2 0.28 Economies of scale 0.10 3 0.30 Per-capita income 0.05 3 0.15 Growth of economy 0.08 4 0.32 Inflation 0.05 2 0.10 Stock market trends 0.08 2 0.16 Total 1.0 2.5 Average 1.75 Minor threat Major threat Minor opportunity Major opportunity The evaluation matrix for Ch arter Communications shows a strong rating in global trends and a poor rating in its exchange rates. The economies of scale, government policies, pre-capita and taxation recoded average in the rating. The success factors in the organization determine the growth of the organization and measures the strengths and weakness of the company. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the strengths, weakness, opportunities and the weakness of the Charter Communication Company. The objectives and strategies of the organization provide the platform for effective management of each production unit. An effective business plan influences the critical success of the organization. The competitive profile matrix can be used to reorganize the organization. The challenges faced by the organization can be reduced using the analysis in this report. A comprehensive report includes the objectives, strategies, internal and external matrix evaluation of the organization.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Bygrave, D., Zacharakis, A. (2010). The portable MBA in entrepreneurship. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. David, F. (2011). Strategic management: Concepts and cases. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall / Pearson. Rao, P., Rao, A., Sivaramakrishna, K. (2008). Strategic management and business policy: Texts and cases. New Delhi, India: Excel press.

Four Social Media Mistakes Could Keep You From Getting Hired

Four Social Media Mistakes Could Keep You From Getting Hired You often hear about how social media can be leveraged to help you get a job, but what about when the process backfires? It happens †¦ and more often than you might think. But this doesn’t mean you need to deactivate your Facebook account and swear off Instagram forever. Instead, read up on four common social media mistakes in order to avoid these pitfalls and enjoy a productive job search. 1. Leaving Your Profile PublicA whopping 77 percent of employers use social media networking sites during the candidate recruitment process, according to a 2013 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) study. Unless you’re up for completely whitewashing your entire social media presence in order to deliver a 100 percent professional impression, simply set your profile to private instead. With one click of the page, you remove the possibility that companies will stumble upon something on your Facebook page that could result in your elimination from consideration.2. Leaving  Unprofessional Content on Your ProfileEven if your profile is set to private, there’s no excuse for unprofessional photos. Take time to remove all potentially incriminating pictures and posts - from rants about your last boss to evidence of that one crazy night on spring break. These can only come back to haunt you.Also, keep in mind that your profile picture is visible to all - â€Å"friends† or not. Choose something professional: this photo may well be the first impression you make on a recruiter.3.  NegativityNegative or gossipy tweets and disgruntled Facebook posts about current and past jobs and bosses do not reflect well on you. This applies to those penned by you as well as others left on your profile. For employers looking to judge your work ethic, level of commitment, and sense of integrity, unprofessional comments on social media set off alarm bells.And skip the profanity while you’re at it: 63 percent of employers have reconsidered hiring candida tes based on encountering the occasional four-letter word in their profiles.4. Improper GrammarIf you think that your Facebook posts are immune from the grammar police, think again: a staggering 66 percent of recruiters factor spelling and grammar into consideration when checking out the social profiles of candidates.And don’t forget that your current â€Å"friends,† â€Å"followers,† and â€Å"connections,† are all potential future colleagues and/or employers. Careless posting

The history of manufacturing worldwide and its influence on societies Essay

The history of manufacturing worldwide and its influence on societies and global power - Essay Example It was from this that the world saw increased food production.  Whitten, O. (1997, pg2) says that it was during this period that the agricultural sector benefited from production of machines to replace the existing ones which proved to be unproductive. It is  rational  to argue that the economy of the world has been  independent  of the growth in agriculture. This is because as the agricultural sector made some steps the economy made some percentage growth. The manufacturing of goods in the whole world increased. More profits than before  were indicated. The availability of raw materials was another factor that contributed to the  growth  of manufacturing industries. It is common knowledge that the  production  industries need a constant supply of raw materials. Development of technology that enabled the  growth  of certain crops in deferent areas where they could not  grow  before proved to be significant in  factory  development. These factories enhanced the increase in suppler which meant that more food was available for human consumption than  before. Mills, J (2002, pg53) argues that the increase in the food production was in tandem with the increase in economy. World manufacturing companies are now making  profit. In all sectors of life, things  have been brought  to the footsteps of the people. It is  rational  to  indicate  that, talking of the world manufacturing; one is at the same time talking about globalization. New machines have continuously been manufactured and in the process, increase the  production  of goods. The technology, more  specific  the preservation methods, provided a  chance  for the  growth  of industries. Transportation systems improved tremendously. As a result, machines that cannot be manufactured in deferent areas  were transported.  This made it possible to have the industries spreading to all corners of the world.  Proficient management system in all business, as  put  by Trautman et al (2008, n.p), is

Cold War America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cold War America - Research Paper Example identity, by divergence with the corresponding fabrication of patriotism, which comprises of the social conditioning and personal bearing that underwrite a country’s decision and actions. Nationalism is studied through two perspectives that are psychological and political or social perspective.The former point of view encompasses personal attachment to religion or a person, the need to interact and communicate or a desire to belong. This perspective depicts the elementary human motivation. The latter perspective talks about Primordialist perspective; here nationalism is explained as a shadow of the antique and opinionated evolutionary attitude of mankind to merge into different groups or colonies that share the same propinquity of birth. The second perspective describes nationalism as a novel episodes pre-requisite of existence of modern society. Henceforth, this paper is set about study the role of nationalism in modern Europe on multiple levels, how it is being manifested in the regime and what are some aspects of the character of the issue in Europe. Starting with the evolution of nationalism in Europe, a wave of romantic nationalism swept the major countries of Europe such as Germany, Italy and Romania. Here, the role of Napoleon played a crucial role, since his code and intellectualities became an influential ethics for the European. Furthermore, taglines for liberty, freedom, equality and brotherhood started sweeping into the ideologies of the people. Apart from this, national awakening emerged as a result of theories of national identity, self-expression for nationhood and attachment to the culture. Other than Napoleon, G. W Friedrich Hegel proposed the idea that where religion and dynastic duty were on downswing, there nationality is an essential backbone for structuring of societies (McKay, Hill & Buckler. et al 2013). The eruption of Nationalism was not only on one level, but many. Many researches and studies show that in the 19th century in Europe,

Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Information Systems - Essay Example In spite of maintaining a high performance on the business parameters, Comair was simply grounded for a full 3 days during the peak holiday season because it faced a highly damaging IT risk issue on December 24, 2004, when the company’s Information system for managing the scheduling of the crew and flights crashed. It is impossible for an airline to fly when its mission critical crew scheduling system fails. In case of Comair, this IT failure resulted in a loss of approx $20 million which was actually wiping out it previous quarter earning of $25.7 million. This report is a study in the Comair Information systems and highlights the gaps between the IT strategy and business strategy. The report also attempts to suggest an information system which can take care of the gaps between business and IT strategy so that such failures as mentioned above are prevented as much as possible as well as identifies the people, technology and organization issues which Comair must take into account before building a resilient information system. Comair information system was purchased from SBS international in the year 1986 after union and federal regulations forced Comair to meet higher standards in its management procedures. To comply with the regulations, Comair leased software from SBS International to track & schedule its flight crews. The system worked admirably and was a welcome relief for the staff who were managing the schedule using the pen & paper until then. As the business started growing, Comair felt a need to upgrade its information system as the existing system was written in FORTRAN for which there was no in-house expertise available. Moreover it was the only system using old IBM AIX platform compared to current HP UNIX. Following table lists down the milestones in Comair’s IT journey until Dec 24, 2004 against their business strategy. As can be clearly seen from the comparative

Theory and practice of Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Theory and practice of Leadership - Essay Example pper and Lipshitz (1993) have defined leadership is a way to motivate people to perform with the help of non-coercive means while other research scholars like Alas et al. (2007) have stated that leadership depends on personal traits of a individual such as behaviour, relationship with subordinates, interaction pattern with subordinates, influencing capability, ability to motivate people to perform well, influence on culture of the organization etc. Vardiman et al. (2006) have argued that leadership is a process of influencing others to accomplish predetermined objectives rather than characteristics of individual. According to Vardiman et al. (2006) leadership is dependent on the dyadic relationship between leader and follower which is independent of the macro and micro environmental conditions. Day (2002) has defined leadership in terms of transformational leadership theory which states that individual characteristics of leaders decide the dynamics of leadership. Various research sch olars such as Johnson (2000) and Howell & Costley (2001) have stated that organizations need to develop leadership skill among employees in order to provide direction, commitment and engagement to their work effort. Morrison et al. (2003) have stated that leadership is basically the ability of individuals to understand and implement contemporary management theories to real life problems. Popper and Lipshitz (1993) have indicated that there are three pillars for successful leadership characteristics, 1- building self efficacy, 2- motivating others to perform well and 3- developing specific skills to influence the followers. Steers et al. (1996) have also stated that leaders must the ability to motivate employees in workplace. Groves (2007) has proposed that systematic effort is needed in order to develop leadership quality among individuals. Deci and. Ryan (2000) has revealed that social-contextual conditions boost psychological development and self-motivation and these two factors

Prevention of diseases Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Prevention of diseases - Assignment Example Children may suffer from various diseases such as asthma and mold at a very tender age due to pollution (Miller, 1976: p.23). Environmental pollution may take various forms such as water or air bore diseases depending on the mode of waste disposal. Poor disposal of highly toxic liquid materials pollutes the environment. This is common to industries that discharge toxic chemicals into water bodies or streams. This will affect individuals who use this water for domestic purposes like cooking or drinking. Mercury consumption may lead to cancer which is an incurable disease that has claimed the lives of many people. New methods should be employed to help in proper disposal of waste materials (Pellow, 2006: p.103-124). Moving vehicles also pollute the environment. The gases emitted from locomotives such as carbon monoxide is very dangerous and poisonous gas to human health. Such gases may lead to death within a short period of time if inhaled. This is so because if the gas is inhaled, it causes complications to the breathing system of human beings and can cause death instantly. Inventing new sources of energy will help to curb this menace or using (Vrijheid, 2000: p.101). However, Scientists have tried modifying and inventing new sources of fuel that are used in the industries and locomotives. The use of electricity has replaced coal that was used earlier in running heavy machinery in most factories. Treating of waste materials from industries has also helped a lot in curbing the menace of water pollution.

International Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

International Management - Essay Example Given the fact that the company has somehow been left behind, in terms of revenue, by the various cafà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s in the market which are offering almost the same products at much lower prices. The author also showed that the company Starbucks must be able to reenergize, not only in the way it does business in the market, but also with their everyday business with people who comes into its coffee shops. The author stated that the coffee business is a crowded playing field in the sense that many food chains like McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts (companies which don’t include coffees in their menus before) are now creating and selling their own posh coffee creations. Another reason for the need to reenergize the company is its declining reputation. According to the survey conducted by Schultz â€Å"the Starbucks experience has been significantly downgraded as a consequence of its rapid expansion.† The once hip vibe turned into â€Å"disparate markets,† even if compared amongst the Starbucks chain of coffee shops. Starbucks company should also focus on the way the company is connecting with its customers on a day to day basis. This entails the catering of coffee drinkers at the different times of day. It is also noticeable how high-tech Starbucks stores have been; but in some cases, the store must also give importance on creating an atmosphere conducive to fostering human interactions. The company’s strength lies in the fact that is a pioneer coffee shop in the industry. It has already established a name and a reputation amongst coffee drinkers as offering the best coffee concoction in the business. Experience is also one of the company’s strengths. As it had been in business for so many years, the company somehow knows the coffee market. In putting the phrase â€Å"refocus on the experience† on a different context, Starbuck company could reevaluate the years with which they have operated and compare it with

Prevention of diseases Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Prevention of diseases - Assignment Example Children may suffer from various diseases such as asthma and mold at a very tender age due to pollution (Miller, 1976: p.23). Environmental pollution may take various forms such as water or air bore diseases depending on the mode of waste disposal. Poor disposal of highly toxic liquid materials pollutes the environment. This is common to industries that discharge toxic chemicals into water bodies or streams. This will affect individuals who use this water for domestic purposes like cooking or drinking. Mercury consumption may lead to cancer which is an incurable disease that has claimed the lives of many people. New methods should be employed to help in proper disposal of waste materials (Pellow, 2006: p.103-124). Moving vehicles also pollute the environment. The gases emitted from locomotives such as carbon monoxide is very dangerous and poisonous gas to human health. Such gases may lead to death within a short period of time if inhaled. This is so because if the gas is inhaled, it causes complications to the breathing system of human beings and can cause death instantly. Inventing new sources of energy will help to curb this menace or using (Vrijheid, 2000: p.101). However, Scientists have tried modifying and inventing new sources of fuel that are used in the industries and locomotives. The use of electricity has replaced coal that was used earlier in running heavy machinery in most factories. Treating of waste materials from industries has also helped a lot in curbing the menace of water pollution.

Films and American Popular Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Films and American Popular Culture - Essay Example This article is relevant to my topic, because it analyzes the negative effects of the mainstreaming of rap music on the goals of rappers. Blair showed concern for the commercialization of rap music, because commercialization has historically benefitted white firms more and diluted the genuineness of black rap music. He narrated the history of rap in the U.S. He argued that Marxian hegemony theory can best explain how mainstream black rap has become a tool for the elite to propagate their own interests and goals. This is a good article, because it explores the theoretical underpinnings of commercializing black rap. It directly answers the research question also on the challenges of rap music. Blair’s findings that commercialization is not an absolute good for black rappers contradicts the implications of the findings of Hunnicutt and Andrews, because in their study, black rappers use mainstream music to broaden their prominence and audiences. Hence, for Hunnicutt and Andrews, m ainstreaming black rap can also indicate the acknowledgement of the invisible voices of low-income, young, black men. Deflem, M. (2001). Rap, rock and censorship: Popular culture and the technologies of justice. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Law and Society Association, Chicago, May 27-30, 1993. Retrieved March 12, 2011, from http://www.cas.sc.edu/socy/faculty/deflem/zzcens97.htm The source came from a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Law and Society Association, Chicago, May 27-30, 1993, so it is trusted as a scholarly article. This source is relevant, because it examines how popular music has been put on trial, because of its deviant messages. Deflem reviewed literature on music censorship and its effects on the development of rap music and other forms of popular music. Findings demonstrated that the law has been used to regulate social processes and institutions, but the history of music censorship demonstrated that the law and law enforcement could not significantly impact and limit musical expressions, mainly because of the First Amendment protection. The strength of this article is that it answers both research questions. Its weakness is its focus on the legal history of music censorship. This article has the same findings as Blair, in that dominant social institutions and tools are being used to limit or crush the social, economic, cultural, and political messages of black rap music. Hunnicutt, G. & Andrews, K. H. (2009).Tragic narratives in popular culture: Depictions of homicide in rap music. Sociological Forum, 24 (3), 611-630. The source came from a peer-reviewed journal, so it is trusted as a scholarly article. It is important to the research, because it answers the question about the goals of rap music. They explored homicide themes in rap lyrics across the period 1989–2000 and used the framework of cultural criminology. Their sampling included 360 titles, where they took the first top 30 songs for each year. Find ings showed three categories: 1) exaltation of killing, 2) moralizing tales about the destruction of violent death and the need for change in society, and ? or 3) homicide used as a figure of speech for being a â€Å"bigger† or more popular rapper. Some songs cautioned about the consequences of leading a criminal life, while others remarked on the power structure, and situations of preserving respect, zero tolerance, and vengeance. Homicide is also surprisingly gendered, with men killing men. The

Tim OBrien’s The Things They Carried Paper Essay Example for Free

Tim OBrien’s The Things They Carried Paper Essay Introduction The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien is replete with several themes in the story but this paper will tackle the particular â€Å"things† that O’Brien’s characters carry, whether literal or figurative. As one reads through the novel, the reader sees the different emotional load that each of the character carries and which become hindrances to the way they behave in battle and even after they go back to their own homes. Theme In particular, this paper looks into the theme of mental luggage that each man brings into the war, whether they are objects or beliefs, which basically hinder them from functioning effectively in battle. III. Characters’ Burdens and Anxieties   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Starting off with Henry Dobbins, who may be just a minor character who even exhibits a kind and gentle spirit, yet is found to be superstitious as he carries his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck. This can be funny as one reads it first, but there is this firm belief on his part that this practice will protect him wherever he goes. The pantyhose, thus, becomes a thing that literally is carried by Dobbins all throughout the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One main character that ends up tragically because of the emotional burdens that he carries is Norman Bowker. He is portrayed as a quiet soldier, keeping things to himself, aggravated when Kiowa dies, prompting him to return to his hometown aloof and restless. He puts up a front, as if nothing is wrong with him, but this is where he succumbs in the end. His only alternative to unburden himself is when he is able to tell his story, even asking Tim to write his story for him the travails of his life at war. Yet, when the story ends up unsuccessful, Bowker finds no meaning in life at all and eventually kills himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another character who carries a burden is Jimmy Cross. This time is starts with a mental burden of thinking about Martha, a girl he loves deeply back in New Jersey. Martha does not return this love at all, yet Cross carries this to war and because of the distraction that this entails, he is not able to save a man who died. Thinking that it was because his mind was preoccupied with the thought of Martha, Cross never forgives himself because of this incident and how irresponsible he is to his men. He tries to come to terms with Ted Lavender’s death and seemed forever burdened with this even if he was no longer fighting in the war. He also literally carries compasses and maps during the war. Effect of Emotional Burdens   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author demonstrates how silently carrying one’s burdens like painful memories can hinder one from enjoying life to the fullest. Cross’ character is shown to even suspect that the â€Å"Love† signed at the end of Martha’s letters is just a figure of speech. Lavender’s death is imprinted in Cross’ mind and heart and this is aggravated again by the fact that Cross discovers that in reality, Martha never really cared for him at all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even Ted Lavender carries his anxieties with him in war as he smokes marijuana and takes tranquilizers. In fact, the men in this war carry their anxieties and fear with them, just repressing them because they are in battle. But the preoccupations of their minds and hearts are sometimes even bigger than the battle at hand. In sum, these soldiers have a difficult time in telling their experiences and the repression of their experiences are carried long after the war has been fought. The tragedies and horrors of the war are carried back to their own homes, leaving them distraught all the more. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Indeed, the story emphasizes the havoc that war brings after they go into battle. These men â€Å"carry† emotional burdens that continue long after they go back to their own homes after the war. The conflicts in their minds continuously eat away on their victims’ minds for the rest of their lives. Work Cited OBrien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990

Advantages and disadvantages of implementing TQM

Advantages and disadvantages of implementing TQM The topic for the study is advantages and disadvantages of implementing TQM as a precursor to ISO 9000 and vice versa. The sector taken for the study is petrochemical industries and the country chosen is UK. The papers scope of analysis extends to the current position of this industry and the challenges faced by it. The study has attempted to make an in depth discussion about the advantages of implementing quality concepts in petrochemical industry. The pros and cons entailing due to the implementation of TQM and ISO 9000 are also explained. Performance standard for each activity increases the overall performance of organizations in this sector. Therefore, it is essential for every organization to implement any of the quality concepts, so that it will enable it to manufacture and distribute quality products. Introduction: In this modern world, which fast changing, most of the organizations are coming up with new strategies to attract their customers. Nowadays, consumers have become totally aware of the quality of products and services delivered by the organizations. There was a wrong belief that the quality concerns only products but not service. But later the perspective has changed. managers perspectives on its possible effect on company performance are not positive product quality that will be improvised after the implementation (Costa 2004, p.1). The customers always demand good quality for the products and services for which they pay. Due to this, the use of quality concept has become an important criterion for both manufacturing and service industries across the world. Maintaining quality for the products and services is not an easy task for all organizations. Product and service quality is the central part of all the organization that leads to the accomplishment of the organizational goals and objectives. For sustaining quality within the organization, some quality concepts are required to be implemented. These concepts are implemented in the organization to boost the overall efficiency of the company in a qualitative manner. There are many quality concepts that can be implemented for this purpose. Among various quality concepts, the most important concepts are total quality management system and ISO 9000. Maintaining quality in the overall work progress has envisaged the petrochemical industries to emphasise more on quality of the products and services that they deliver. Quality management system is an important criteria that have to be given due consideration in the every operation of any business. The design and implementation of a quality management system will vary depending on the type, size and products of the organisation (ISO 9001:2000 quality management system n.d.). Quality management standards promote the adoption of a process approach when developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of a quality management system, to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer requirements (Quality management systems requirements for service quality by public service organization 2005, p.2). To recapitulate, the industries taken for the current study is petrochemical industry in UK. Due to the slowdown in the global market economy in the year 2009, there was a huge decline in the demand for the products manufactured by the petrochemical industry. The petrochemical industry of today is an indispensable part of the manufacturing and consuming sectors, churning out products which include paint, plastic, rubber, detergents, dyes, fertilizers, textiles, and even solvents.  (Analyzing the global petrochemical industry, 2009, para.1). The top ten petrochemical industries in the world are as follows: BASF (Germany) Dow Chemical (USA) ExxonMobil Chemical (USA) LyondellBasell Industries (Netherlands) INEOS (UK) Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Saudi Arabia) Formosa Plastics Corporation (Taiwan) Sumitomo Chemical (Japan) DuPont (USA) Chevron Phillips (USA). (Baxter, 2009, para.7). As far as petrochemical industry in UK is concerned, maintaining quality is an important aspect. To achieve this objective in all spheres of work processes in petrochemical industry, various quality concepts have been implemented in these organizations. Among these the concept which has created an overall progress for this sector is the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) and ISO 9000. TQM is considered as a holistic and systematic approach that provides quality management for the petrochemical industry in United Kingdom. It is an integrated management philosophy which continuously focuses on improving the quality performance of the products, processes and services that are delivered by the organizations to meet the customers requirements and enhance customer satisfaction and there y retaining their loyalty towards the organization. TQM is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions (marketing, finance, design, engineering, and production, customer service, etc.) to focus on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives. (Hashmi, 2009, para.4). ISO 9000 is a group of standards which is mainly implemented in an organization to improve the overall efficiency and to effectively enable the maintenance of quality management system within the organization. In the earlier days, this was meant for only those organizations which were engaged in international trade. ISO 9000 can help a company satisfy its customers, meet regulatory requirements and achieve continual improvement. (ISO 9000 and other standards, n.d., para.4).   ISO 9000 series is composed of ISO 9000:2005, ISO 9001:2008, ISO 9004:2008 and ISO 9004:2009. There is a specific ISO standard for every industry. ISO/TS 20091 is a specific quality management system which includes the requirements related to design, production, development, installing and delivering the services related to the products that are manufactured by the petrochemical industry. Current scenario of global Petrochemical industries: As the name suggests petrochemicals are certain chemicals which are obtained from cracking of petroleum feedstock. These petrochemicals are mainly used in manufacturing fields. Petrochemical industry is considered to be one of the fast growing sectors in the world. It not only plays a crucial role in meeting the daily needs of the common man, but also contributes significantly towards industrial and economic growth of the nation (Introduction 2008). The petrochemical industry of today is an indispensable part of the manufacturing and consuming sectors (Analyzing the global petrochemical industry 2009). Quality is defined by international standards ISO 8402 as the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs (Mariojouls n.d., p.1). As far as petrochemical industries are concerned, quality plays a significant role in the overall functioning. Recession is precipitating a long-term decline in the British petrochemicals industry, with producers cutting and consolidating capacity in 2009, according to BMIs latest UK Petrochemicals Report (United Kingdom Petrochemicals report Q1 2010 2009). Petrochemical industry being fastest growing industry with an estimate nearly US$2.4 trillion, there is an absolute necessity within the business to ensure and sustain customer satisfaction. Despite of many challenges from environment protection standards and high rate in crude oil prices, it is still maintaining higher rate in overall manufacturing segment. As per industry reports the pharmaceutical segment contributes approximately 26% of the total industry output and approx. 35-40% is dominated by the petrochemical segment (Global Scenario 2008). Commodity chemicals is said to be one of the largest segment in this industry with approximate turnover of $750 billion while fine chemicals constitute $500 billion. The major markets are widely spread all over the globe which include Japan, Western sides of Europe, North America and also Asia and Latin American countries. However, United States consumes almost one-fifth of the chemical production while Europe consumes only half of the sa id volume. In petrochemical industry the process of petrochemical production consists of two stages. In the first stage naphtha, produced by refining crude oil or natural gas is used as a feedstock and is cracked. Cracking (breaking of long chain of hydrocarbon molecule) produces olefins and aromatics. In stage two, these building blocks are polymerized (made to undergo chemical processes) to produce downstream petrochemical products (polymers, polyesters, fibre intermediaries and other industrial chemicals (Petrochemicals 2009). The nature of the petrochemical industry is cyclical. In case of petrochemical supply industries, Middle East region is considered to be very rich in oil fields and reserves and it has been developing newer complexes for petrochemicals. The huge capacity of these countries fulfills their domestic demand. In case of demand side it is Asia, particularly China that more and more demands are coming. These two factors changed the supply-demand scenario of global petrochemic al industries over the last two decades. The US petrochemical industry has remained volatile between up and down trends in the last few years and also present situation is no different. The US petrochemical industry has traveled through different phases in their life cycle from their initial phase till the present. The US petrochemical industry faces many slumps in their production because of high feedstock prices. The rising of feedstock prices has put the giant petrochemical industry of US on back foot over other main rivalries. Because of this investment reduced in the US petrochemical industry. This caused considerable unsteadiness in the market. The result was that US petrochemical was in a stagnated position and the future of the petrochemical industry in United States seems back. In the case of Middle East, petrochemical industries are accessing to cheap and copious feedstock and more overly they are producing larger quantities from their petrochemical industry. Besides large scale investment continues in the sector which results in favourable condition for Middle East countries. Apart from this, China being the country whose intake is quite large, the market is encouraging. Thus, Middle East did not worry about the market condition at all. Apart from this, rules, regulations and protocols present in this country are very simple which poses no problem in doing steady business. By 2015, it is said that Middle East countries will surpass the European countries in terms of ethylene capacity. The region is estimated to account for about 20% of world ethylene capacity, against 17% share of Europe (US petrochemical industry takes a backseat in global supply- demand 2003). Middle East is targeting China as their potential market where there is a huge demand for oil always exists. Middle East is expecting the demand of around nine percentages every year in China while comparing with other countries. Importance of TQM and ISO in petrochemical industries:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TQM and ISO 9000 are two very important topics in connection to quality of a product. The idea of TQM is based on a transformation from the management process based on outcomes to a management process based on the improvement of quality. ISO 9000 is very important in determining the quality of a product. TQM is concerned with making sure that the company does the right thing and ISO 9000 deals with whether all the things are done right in the company. Researches had shown that TQM and ISO 9000 concepts are used in most of the petrochemical industries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TQM is important because it enhances the existing methods of business. It also improves the product and service quality which will be help in the existence of the product for a long time. TQM is now used not only in manufacturing activities but also it is used as a general management tool. Total quality management decides the level of quality of the things in the petrochemical industry. It determines the characteristics of a thing. The quality of the products in the industry will attract customers towards it. TQM is not only limited to product quality improvement but also widely cover aspects of quality in service sector too. TQM in India more than manufacturing, it is the service sector that took its time to recognize the importance of TQM (Managing quality in organization 2010). TQM is focused on improving the quality of products in the petrochemical industries. The companies can fully take actions to the customers hopes with the help of TQM.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ISO 9000 standard determines the quality of a product.  Standards like  ISO  9000 are important for the success of any organization. Petrochemical organizations have recognized the importance of ISO 9000 certification for the growth of their business. The standard is important because of the benefit of it in marketing and sales, due to its value etc. ISO 9000 is important in the first instance because it gives organizations some guidance on how to manage for quality. Secondly, mechanisms exist by which an organization can be certified for conforming to ISO 9000 specifications (Rada 1994). Its characteristics are different from the other standards of engineering. In other words ISO 9000 is unique. These standards can help in the progress of the business processes of a company. It also helps to add value to the business. The sales of the industry can be increased by attaining ISO 9000 standards. It meets the requirements of the customer which leads to cust omer satisfaction. ISO 9000 helps the petrochemical industry to react to the needs of the customers in agreement with the standards and costs. The rules of ISO 9000 offer a complete model for the management of quality. It can make the petrochemical industries competitive. The motivation of the staffs can be improved with the help of ISO standards. It can encourage trade at the global level. It is also a method to add profits to the industry. The productivity of the industry is increased with the help of ISO 9000. The petrochemical industries can use it as a standard that will help to evaluate the effectiveness of its quality. A petrochemical industry with ISO 9000 can sell its products at an improved rate. It can claim that their products have been the outcome of a procedure that frequently examine for quality. ISO 9000 standard helps the petrochemical industries to attain the quality standards that are accepted all over the world.   Since the standard is accepted internationally, for the industries doing international business consider it as a reasonable option. It will also be a good option for customers who want products of international quality.  By using ISO 9000, industries can recognize the cause of the difficulties and hence discover a solution for it. A reliable supply chain can be produced using ISO 9000. The importance of TQM and ISO 9000 has encouraged the petrochemical industries to apply them in their business. Problem faced by Petrochemical industry: Quality plays a significant role in the development and success of any organization or product. UK is recognized as a core of the creation of petrochemical and other associated products of petrochemical. There is high demand for this product all over the world; so quality assurance and quality management are very important in petrochemical industry in order to exist in the global economy. There are many petrochemical industries in this country and millions of people are working in these industries. Even though this sector is the major source of economic growth, the industry is facing some problems regarding quality management and quality assurance. The main challenges faced by the petrochemical industry are the need to manage the commercial environment better and as a minimum to stop worsening the industrys inherent cyclicality the need for further restructuring in order to improve underlying performance and the need to improve relationships with the outside world because crucially these relationships increasingly will determine the scope for success in our industry (Grote, 2001, para.5). During the production process they are not fully utilizing the resources and they are not aware about the recycling of the waste products. The rate of manufacturing the petrochemical products is very high; so the wastage of resources is causing great loss of profit for them. The petrochemical industry like BP did not implement the latest technology and methods to improve the activities in the production procedure and to improve the performance of the workers. Due to lack of the latest technologies, they could not increase the quantity and quality of products and also could not provide the customers requirements properly. So, in order to overcome such problems, they introduced quality management techniques like TQM and ISO 9000 standard. The financial crisis for the past few years has affected the running of the petrochemical industries. Increase in the price of the resources decreased the production of these industries. Moreover as they are aware of recycling the waste resources there is vast wastage of the resources. The petrochemical products are used for a number of purposes therefore the lack of quality decreases the sale of their products. This has totally caused to the financial status of the petrochemical industries. The resources for the production of the petrochemicals products are not available in sufficient manner. The chemical plants are been abolished due to environmental contamination like pollution, smoke stacks etc. usage of the traditional methods in the production process decreased the quantity and quality of their products. It is taking more time for the production process as they are following the traditional methods. According to the invention of the latest technologies these organisations did n ot implemented the latest technologies in their business activities. Therefore they fail to reach with the other petrochemical industries in other nation. Proper training is not given to the employees to improve the performance of the employees moreover they are aware in handling the latest tools and techniques. The decrease in quantity of the petrochemical products does not accomplish the need of all the customers so this is affecting the whole reputation of these industries. Deficient in attaining the customer satisfaction of their products they are not able to compete with the petrochemical industries in other countries. For the achievement of success of any business there need a good relationship with the other countries in order to increase the sale of their product. But in the case of petrochemical industries this country is not keeping a good relationship with the outside world therefore the sale of their products has decreased. Implementation of TQM as a precursor to ISO 9000 and vice versa: The petrochemical industries are those involved in the manufacturing of toxic chemicals and organic compounds which can affect the people when not maintained properly. Quality assessment and quality standard implementation should be done from the start up of production to the final despatch of the product for customer satisfaction and for the maintenance of quality system. The petrochemical industry should also comply with the requirements of occupational health and safety management systems which deal with the precautions on health and environmental factors. This is applicable to all chemical industries. Implementation model: (Implement- from quality to organisational excellence, n.d., p.1). The implementation of quality factors starts with the vision and mission of the company, the vision are the future view of the company; the mission are the goals in terms of quality products, customer satisfaction and the profit which they want to achieve. The statements should be clear and spontaneous. CSF/KPI: The critical factors for successful implementation are the building blocks for the success and those identified factors that affect in the implementation by analyzing of the past data and the modification to be done in implementing the new standards. They identify the key performance indicators like the employees, resources like plant and machinery, innovation etc. Encouraging new ideas and technology, discarding obsolete ones etc contribute to the success in the implementation; they monitor the performance and report the progress and the feedback for the organizations well being. Core process: The core business processes are the profit rearing segments of the business and they consist of suppliers, process and the customers. The quality implementations create a major impact on the core process and the competitive advantage when the implementation of the TQM is done in the business process. Defining of the business opportunity: Quality implementation is done mainly for increasing the reputation of the company. The company must be against the acceptance of any kind of compromise in the product quality which affects the company and its reputation in the market. To make the situation at an ease and conducting a review to identify the particular need and the specification of the customer and the company and the analyzing whether the required standard is met or not, this becomes the method for getting a better business opportunity. The ISO 9000: This is an important tool for the implementation of TQM. This is a general name given to the list of quality standards. The main aim of these quality standards is to provide the company with the standard products and to make the company a profit oriented and highly reputed. The brainstorming of the ideas is given a good place for the implementation. They help in several ideas generated by the people and the product analysis and the performing of the functions according to the effectiveness of the customer satisfaction and the major role in the quality assessment criteria and to enhance the company position, reputation and profitability. Decision making by the management and the implementation to be done by the different standards and the performance of them are monitored continuously, and the demerits in the performance are identified and continuous improvement is done by providing adequate training and development. ISO 9000 series is a quality management system that has to be maintained in an organization. This means what the organization does to fulfil: the customers quality requirements, and applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to enhance customer satisfaction, and achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives (ISO 9000 and ISO14000 2010). The idea of improvement in implementing TQM by the companies is to have the accreditation, proper dealing with the customer for the certification for the business and exports to be done to other countries and also to increase the position and profit of the company. Advantages of implementing TQM as a precursor to ISO 9000 and vice versa: The ISO 9000 and TQM are two main subjects that are used to show the quality of an industry. Although fundamentally different TQM ensures organizations do the right thing, while ISO 9000 is about doing things right. (Exhibit: An introduction to ISO 9000 TQM, 1999, p.2). There are many advantages in implementing TQM as precursor to ISO 9000 and vice versa in petrochemical industries. These two topics have got a good exposure and encouragement. The petrochemical industries find it very important to obtain them. This has grown popularity due to its advantages. The ISO 9000 is considered as a quality model. The implementation of TQM creates a competitive advantage. The implementation will also improve the participation and dedication of the employees in the petrochemical industry. The employees work as a team for the implementation activities and thus cooperation increases. The implementation of TQM and ISO 9000 helps provide quality to the customers. It helps in meeting the needs of the customers. Assessing the quality can be done by quality standards like ISO 9000. It determines whether the work is done in an efficient way or not. Total quality management can be implemented through ISO 9000. Implementing ISO 9000 as a precursor can be of advantage to the implementation of TQM, because it will help increase the profit and thereby keep their regular customers. ISO 9000 can be used as a tool to TQM in petrochemical industries. ISO 9000 will help the process of production when the quality management process is at the starting stage. ISO 9000 has nowadays become a need for the petrochemical industries because it helps to improve productivity. It helps in organizing the process of production. It also helps in improving the performance of the company. The advantages can be listed as follows; It improves the productivity of the organization from top to bottom. It is s systematic and well structured approach that can be used for enhancing customer satisfaction. It is an improvement method by which the deviations can be reduced. It helps in delivering the product and services t the required quality expected by the customer. It helps in reducing a higher level of wastages.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Implementation of ISO 9000 offers a strong foundation for the efficient implementation of TQM. The implementing of ISO 9000 as a precursor of TQM helps to create an understanding of the requirements of the customers. It enhances the involvement of the employees in the TQM process. It increases the relationship with the suppliers. The profit of petrochemical can be increased by the implementing ISO 9000.  Ã‚   Disadvantages of implementing TQM as a precursor to ISO 9000 and vice versa: In petrochemical industries, ISO 9000 and TQM are the integral components of the successful running of every organization. When a petrochemical industry is considered there exist a lot of difficulties regarding the implementation of TQM as a precursor to ISO 9000 and vice versa. Petrochemical industry plays a major role for the economic growth of a country. Nowadays petrochemical products are used for several purposes of our day to day life. While implementing TQM as a precursor to ISO 9000, few problems arise in connection with customer satisfaction, because without the incorporation of TQM and ISO 9000 does not bring enough customer satisfaction. They consider that ISO 9000 certification is the main thing which shows the manufacturers ability to produce high quality products. Also implementation of TQM as a precursor to ISO causes difficulties for entering into international market because ISO 9000 certification is an integral component of petrochemical industry to enter an interna tional market. In order to get ISO 9000 systematic planning is necessary and it will help bring faith from the part of the customer and also to produce good quality products. ISO 9000 certification is the major thing which is used to compete with the international markets. Also, implementing TQM as a precursor to ISO 9000 will cause difficulties to maintain quality improvement. So, it is better to follow ISO 9000 standards before TQM in every organization. But, there exist few disadvantages also for this type of implementation. In order to achieve maximum profit from a business, the major thing is to fulfil the needs of the customer and TQM approach gives more consideration to customer satisfaction. So, by implementing ISO 9000 first will cause few problems regarding customer satisfaction. Even there is quality in the products for the satisfaction of the customer ISO 9000 and TQM certification is essential. It is better to implement ISO 9000 before TQM because in the newest version of ISO 9000 it includes several features of TQM. Therefore the implementation of TQM before ISO 900 is really wastage of time and money. There are some problems regarding the implementation of the TQM as the precursor to ISO 9000 and some of that problems are Initially higher cost of production as more is recognized as rejects. Cost of training personnel, cost of implementing stages of feedback for employees (Voters 2010). The implementation of this TQM standard requires more cost because there need to bring total changes in the organization such as for the training of the employees, implementation of the latest technologies etc. it is difficult to alter the practice of the longtime workers to the TQM procedures and ISO 9000 procedures. while the organization are running smoothly with their existing functional procedures as the customers demands for the ISO 9000 and TQM standard certification the company owners are forced to change to these standard procedures. Even though an organization maintains quality in their products and excellent workers the customer does not agree the quality without the certification of these standards. The petrochemical products are used for several purposes so the certification of ISO 9000 and TQM for every product seems to be very difficult because sometimes the assurance of the quality of a product requires much more money than the money required for the manufacturing of that product. There are also some difficulties in implementation the ISO 9000 as the precursor. To finish the procedures of ISO 9000 registration it takes several months. The 1996 Quality Systems Update survey indicated that it took businesses an average of 15 months to move from the early stages of the process to passage of the final audit, and that processes of 18-20 mo nths or even longer were not that uncommon (ISO 9000 2010). It is really wastage of time and effort to the business owners moreover wastage of time to other employees in the organization. Frequently companies will have a customer who demands that they be ISO 9000 certified to continue doing business. NOW the company has the choice of losing a customer or implementing ISO 9000. Either way money is lost in the short term (Nurre, Gunaman De- Almeida 2000, p.5). Conclusion and Recommendations: The concepts of TQM and ISO play a significant role in improving the quality management system within an organization. It is evident that the adoption of these two concepts has enabled the petrochemical industries to overcome all the problems they were facing before their implementation. The challenges faced by the petrochemical industries can be solved effectively by implementing these concepts. The issues related to the product or service quality must be handled by the experts in the organization. The overall performance of this sector can be improved by framing a standard for each activity that are carried out in an organization, so that the deviations occurring in each activity can be identified easily and appropriate measures can be taken in time.