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.