Lord of the Flies and Psychology Essay

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, narrates the story of a group of English boys as they struggle to survive on an uncharted, uninhabited island. The boy’s airplane crashes into the island and kills any adults on board — leaving the boys to fend for themselves. Ralph and Piggy meet each other first and, upon Piggy’s counsel, Ralph decides to call a meeting of all the boys by blowing on a conch shell. The boys quickly begin to form a society in which they elect Ralph as their leader. A boy called Jack quietly disagrees and believes that he should lead the group. As times passes, Jack and his choir become hunters for the rest of the boys and they begin to enjoy the ways of a predator. As Jack grows more savage, he becomes unhappy with the way that Ralph leads the boys and decides that he will go to the other side of the island and start his own tribe. Boys slowly begin to leave Ralph to join Jack. The boys become so savage that they kill two boys and they plan to kill Ralph. Just as Jack has cornered Ralph, a naval officer appears and rescues them all. Golding depicts not only the struggle of the boys to survive, but also the psychological reasoning that leads the boys to abandon the civilized nature that they know. Through characterization and setting Golding creates in his novel, an ideal forum for validating psychological principles introduced by Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, and Carl Jung. Sigmund Freud was a psychologist who pioneered the thought that the mind contains three different levels, the id, the ego, and the superego. The id bases itself on the pleasure principle; it meets basic needs. The id wants a quick satiation of needs and has no consideration for the reality of a situation. The ego bases itself on the reality principle, it understands that other people have needs and desires and that impulsiveness or selfishness can cause harm in the future. The ego meets the needs of the id, while taking the reality of the situation into consideration. The Superego develops due to the moral and ethical restraints placed on a child by influential adults in their lives. One could compare the superego to the conscience, as it dictates belief of right and wrong. Golding acknowledges these different states of consciousness within his novel by using characters to represent each one. For instance, Jack represents the id. Jack never takes into consideration the best thing for the group or himself in the long run and he holds himself accountable to no set of rules or any code of ethics. â€Å"Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong – we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat† (91). Jack addresses the issue of a beast believed to inhabit the island by filling his thirst for violence and neglecting to take into consideration that confronting a beast will most likely lead to danger. Jack’s reasoning involves selfish motives; he wants to get rid of the beast, he wants to kill, he does not care that he has potentially placed the others in a dangerous situation, nor does he realize the ludicrousness of the beast, Jack has neglected reality entirely. Piggy represents the ego. He constantly tries to reason with the other boys, when he and Ralph first meet, Piggy understands that the other boys also landed on the island and someone needs to find and help them. â€Å"We got to find the others. We got to do something† (14). Piggy also realizes that the boys will most likely stay on the island for a while before someone rescues them — if someone ever rescues them at all. Piggy understands the boys while staying in touch with reality and he knows that if he does not find the smaller boys and take care of them, they will die. Piggy comprehends the seriousness of their predicament and realizes what it will take to keep everyone in order and alive. Simon represents the superego because he adheres to the principles instilled in him by society and civilization. After Jack has killed a pig for the first time, he and his clan approach while chanting, Piggy whimpers and â€Å"Simon hushed him quickly as though he had spoken too loudly in church† (69). Simon’s conscience keeps Piggy in line even when dealing with savage Jack. Towards the end of the novel, the other boys savagely murder Simon; when the boys kill Simon they also kill their conscience, they kill the rules and implications set upon them in order to keep society civilized and from this point until the boys get rescued their savage nature completely takes over and nothing holds them back any longer. Alfred Adler believed that personality difficulties are rooted in a feeling of inferiority. He also believed that people focus on maintaining control over their lives. Golding shows these ideas in his novel. Piggy, Ralph, and Jack all have issues with inferiority and control, in some way each of them feels inferior and each them strives for control. The other boys consider Piggy substandard to them because physically he is not their equal, Piggy realizes that the other boys perceive him this way and tries to make up for it with his intellect and emphasis on the rules, which leads into Piggy’s control issue he tries to use control to counter act the feeling of being out-classed. Jack always strives for superiority, from the very beginning Jack feels that he should be chief instead of Ralph. Jack crumbles underneath his need to become more superior than Ralph and decides to takes control of his situation and forms his own tribe. Jack tries to control his life by getting his way and convincing other boys to get his way as well. Ralph fears inferiority, leadership thrusts itself upon Ralph but he holds his position in very high regard. As Ralph loses support from his tribe, he loses his superiority and he begins to lose faith in himself and become more nervous. Ralph does not like the loss of control in his tribe or in his life, the signal fire and getting the boys to help him make shelters was so important to him for this reason. Adler studied various types of people and he came to the conclusion that there are the four main types of people: The ruling type that tries to control others, the getting type that tends to go along with others ideas, the avoiding type that tries to isolate themselves to avoid defeat, the socially useful type that values having control over their lives and strive to do good things for the sake of society. Jack represents the ruling type with his demand that the boys do as he says â€Å"‘go on’ the two savages looked at each other, raised their spears together and spoke in time. ‘The chief has spoken’ â€Å"(141). Jack thrives off of ruling and absolute power. Sam and Eric fit into the category of the getting type, they tend to go along with and do what others tell them to do. Whenever Ralph is their chief they listen to him and go along with what he says, and then when Jack captures them and takes them to his tribe they adhere to his code and do what he says. Sam and Eric follow — they do not contribute to creative thought but they willingly take part in its aftermath. Simon represents the avoiding type, he largely keeps to himself, and he goes and finds a secret place where he can sit alone in the quiet with his thoughts. Ralph represents the socially useful type, he likes to have control of the boys but, unlike Jack he wants them to do things for the betterment of the group. Adler’s ideas come to life in Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Psychologist Carl Jung believed that symbol creation was a key in understanding human nature. Symbols express something essentially unknown in the best way possible. The boys in Lord of the Flies create a symbol for their fear, at times the boys feel afraid and they cannot exactly express why. The boys create the symbol of the beast because they cannot touch or see their fear and so they imagine a beast that they could touch and see. Whenever Simon recognizes that the thing to fear lies within the boys he also creates a symbol, the Lord of the flies. Jung also believed that the introvert and the extrovert make up the main components of personality. The introvert, like Simon, tends to keep to themselves, and find more interest in ideas than in people. â€Å"Simon paused. He looked over his shoulder as jack had done at the close ways behind him and glanced quickly around to confirm that he was utterly alone† (56). The extrovert however, is outgoing and socially oriented. Both Jack and Piggy fit the description of extroverts because, they both freely express their ideas and long for others to hear and admire them. According to Jung a person that has a healthy personality can realize these opposite tendencies and can express each. Ralph most closely adheres to Jung’s theory about healthy personality. Ralph has a need for socialization but, he also knows when he needs time for reflection and thought, many times Ralph wishes that he had time to gather his thoughts before he had to go and present them in front of the rest of the tribe. When reading Lord of the Flies some readers may miss the latent meaning and only focus on the manifest. Readers who do not take in deeper psychological nature of the novel would attribute the boy’s different reaction to the island, to differences in personality and background instead of the boys taking on the image of the different levels of consciousness. This reader might think that they could not keep order simply because they are just young boys when their real motives were their subconscious need for superiority. The entire novel deals with the psychological principles set forth by Freud, Adler, and Jung; it could be considered a case study that verifies the very things that these psychologists believed.

How Has Popular Recreation Influenced Sport and Pastimes in the 21st Century

How has popular recreation influenced sport and pastimes in the 21st century? Popular recreation was pre-industrial sports and pastimes mainly associated with the peasant/lower class. This could also refer to popular past times at that time. Pre industrial popular recreation accurately reflected society and life in pre industrial Britain. The different activities and sports were supported by a strict class system (The feudal system) sometimes they shared activities such as cock fighting, sometimes they took part in different activities, mob football was predominately lower class and past time such as lawn tennis were upper class. In some cases the different classes had different roles within the sport, for example in hunting the upper class would take part in the actual hunt and the lower class would organise the dogs and tend to the animals. Bare knuckle boxing Bare knuckle boxing was a popular sport that has heavily influenced modern day boxing. Like many pre industrial past times bare knuckle boxing was simple with very primitive methods, had very few rules and was violent which reflected the harsh eighteenth century rural life. It was one of few sports in which upper and lower classes were involved. Some members of the gentry sponsored a lower class fighter and they became their patron. The patron would arrange the contest, put up a stake or wager money and give board and lodging to the performer. The fighters were usually from very poor background and this gave them a chance to earn money fame and status. The patron however did this for prestige and popularity. Modern day boxing is similar in many ways to bare knuckle boxing; there are accepted rules such as not striking a downed opponent, In 1853 London prize fighting ring rules were introduced which stated that fights had to take place in a 24 feet square ring, if the fighter was knocked down he had thirty seconds to rise to his feet and biting, head butting and hitting below the belt were declared fouls. These rules are still in place today but the fundamental difference is boxing gloves and mouth guards for safety and head guards for amateur boxers Lawn tennis Lawn tennis is a variation of the modern game today that is known as tennis. Lawn tennis originated in Britain and was a combination of the game rackets and the Spanish ball game peolta. It was developed and played exclusively by the upper class and had a clear set of rules and etiquette. It wasn’t accessible by the lower classes as they had neither the money nor equipment to become involved. It was created in the mid 19th century just at the start of the industrial revolution. The rules of tennis have been kept largely similar to modern day tennis although like many other past times the equipment has changed as materials became more readily available for inventors to modernise the game. The original rackets were wooden and prone to breakages were as now the rackets are made of carbon-fibre and are lightweight. Mob football Mob football was a mediaeval form of what is now known as association football  which emerged in Europe during the middle Ages. Mob football was very simple with no rules and huge number of players, and any means could be used to move the ball to a goal, as long as it did not lead to manslaughter or murder. These early games of football  were forerunners of modern codes of football such as rugby football  and association football. The origins of the game is not clear but by the Middle Ages these games had generally become annual celebrations and had a tendency to become quite rowdy. Mob football would have more resembled a  riot  than any of its descendants. The sport usually involved groups of men from two connecting villages (or two groups from either end of a single village) fighting to move a ball from one side to the other. The game was associated with the lower classes and frowned upon by upper classes and more so by royalty. A number of monarchs prohibited the sport as it's lack of rules did not accurately reflect Christian life. Each town or village would have played a slightly different game with rules that were not written down. The events were held on public holidays such as  Shrove Tuesday  when men would have been given the day off work. The sport can still be witnessed in some parts of the  United Kingdom, notably Ashbourne where the annual Shrovetide football game attracts people from all around the world. Cruel sports In the 18th century life was tough for peasants and their past times echoed this. Bear baiting, dog fighting and cock fighting were just some of the cruel, violent past times that took place in pre- industrial Britain. Many of these past times took place in the inn’s yard as it was a one of the only ways to socialise as there were very few methods of communication. They were a place for locals to do business, socialize and were a stopping station for coaches. The landlords provided equipment and set up a number of games to boost customer and profit. Many sporting clubs used the pubs as there base and this is still evident today with pubs having pool, darts and football teams. Pubs helped the development and spread of sports around Britain. Religion has been a key factor in the development of sport in Britain. The reformation caused the creation of two new types of Christian religion, Protestantism and Puritanism as well as the original Roman Catholics but after the break away from Rome, the catholic way of life disappeared from Britain. As a result of the English reformation Puritans emerged and they were fiercely against excess, unruliness and drinking associated with contempory recreations. This was a bleak time for recreation in Britain but this only lasted for a short time and Protestantism became prominent and leisure was restored but only for work purposes. The military has also influenced modern day sport and past times. Combat skills such as archery and fencing were originally functional and used in battle but over time these became recreational and with the development of guns, lost their functions. They remain relatively unchanged and archery is an Olympic event and professional sport. Are there illegal activities still continuing? Bare knuckle boxing is now illegal and has been for many years but there is still an underground movement and also many cruel sports such as bear-baiting , dog fighting and cock fighting still unfortunately take place. It was banned in the UK in 1835 but is still present in many less developed countries in the world particularly Latin America. Conclusion Popular recreation in pre-industrial Britain has greatly influenced modern sport as the origins are evident in many sports such as mob football becoming association football and bare knuckle boxing becoming boxing. The popular past times were generally basic with few rules with the exception of lawn tennis and cricket which were developed by the upper class and these led to many variations such as mob football developing into rugby and rugby in turn forming rugby union and rugby league. Without these pre industrial past times many of the modern sports would not have been developed.

Republic of Poland- Republic of Angola issue, focusing on Essay

Republic of Poland- Republic of Angola issue, focusing on opportunities - Essay Example With the deceleration period being surfaced in Europe, the Sub-Saharan region is anticipated to grow exponentially. The prolific and stable economic climate endured by Angola today has resulted in an enormous modernization of industries and an ever-rejuvenating population. With its GoAfrica initiative, Poland has one of the best opportunities to grow economically with Angola by establishing lasting socioeconomic and political relations. Why Africa and Angola in Particular? Africas population is expected to grow twice by 2030 to reach 2 billion people and continue to grow further to 5 billion people. The people in Europe are shrinking, and the economic growth is to decline. The African countries are emerging markets that bear the potential for the Polish companies to do business (Benelam, 2010). It is anticipated that Africa will have the largest labour force worldwide shortly. The stabilising political environment in Africa has significantly boosted the economic growth. Africa occupies 60% the worlds farmland with a promising potential for food supply. Poland has therefore narrowed its target and focus on particular countries in Africa with a dimension that is sizeable to the capacity of its companies. Angola is the third-largest economy in the Sub-Saharan Africa and the second largest oil producer in the region. With a population of 24.5 million people and a GDP of 139 Billion USD, the country presents a thriving market opportunity for the Polish companies and the Polish government (Salter and Bousfield, 2009). The expected per capita gases, oil, energy, mineral and agricultural resources in Angola have the potential to make the country one of the richest nations in the south. Attractive Sectors for the Polish Companies in Angola. The food and agricultural exports, retail business, agricultural investments, the mining and chemicals, oil and gas, energy and water and

Stereotypes, Cyborg & Moral Panics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Stereotypes, Cyborg & Moral Panics - Essay Example Categorically, it is a first-person shooter video game released in different formats such as XBox, Wii and PC. Its theme is quite similar to another war simulation game known as Medal of Honor. However, Medal of Honor ( MOH) is played only from the perspective of an American soldier. The first Call of Duty gives the player two other perspectives: Soviet and British since the computer provides allies from these countries. In short, the game simulates the real allied forces during World War 2. According to Metacritic ( 2003), Call of Duty had a rating of 91 which is quite a feat since the 44 critic reviews were ravishing. Metacritic is website that publishes game reviews so that the gaming public would not waste their money and time on badly scripted games. Critic reviewers of video games are often harsh since the industry is filled with frustrating games. Luckily, aside from getting superb reviews from game sites, Call of Duty garnered awards such as â€Å"Game of the Year Award 2004 ( from the Academy of Interactive Sciences) as well as Computer Game of the Year . Because of its popularity, various spin-off of the game such as Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3 and the recent Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare has evolved. The most modern version, Call of Duty 4 : World at War 2 was released for different consoles such as Xbox360, PlayStation 3 and Wii; moreover, it also had a PC version for Windows and Mac OS X. However the most controversial version was that of Call of Duty : Modern Warfare ( CODMW) which was released last April 2007. According to gamepro.com, COD MW sold 7 million copies, however , that was as far as January 2008. News report of USA Today ( 2009 ) claims that the game has sold 11 million copies. Aside from gaining sales and top video ratings, the game also earned a lot of controversy. For one, the game gives the player an option to play good guy by defending the capital. Conversely, the player can

Abortion Laws And Ethics in Research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Abortion Laws And Ethics in Research - Assignment Example Thirdly, with the parent’s knowledge, abortion should only be carried out in the 1st trimester. However, if the pregnancy is in the second trimester, abortion should only be carried out for medical reasons in order to save the life of the mother after considering the health of the mother. This also applies in the third pregnancy where the life of the child should come first in case of imminent danger. However, the case was not argued in favor of the doctor who performed the abortion since abortion is a crime except when the mother of the child is in a medical danger. Based on the proceedings of this case, the doctor’s decisions on whether to carry on with the abortion or not was only valid during the first trimester. However, abortion in other trimesters was dependent on the mother’s health meaning that pregnancy could be terminated only to save the life of the mother (Mcbride, 2007). Part 2 The Tuskegee Syphilis research, which was conducted some decades back cannot be conducted today because the research endangers the lives of the participants and also discriminates participants based on gender. The public, which knew about the study, should have protested given that they have activism power to do so. The research is totally unethical since research ethics demands that a research that endangers the lives of the participants is not ethically right. In addition, full consent of the participants should also be sought.

IT Architectural Considerations Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

IT Architectural Considerations - Case Study Example IT Architectural Considerations a. IT characteristics i. Accessibility Accessibility of the centralized sales and product system will be highly restrictive to specific people who will use the system to play specific roles or undertake specific purposes. On the whole, the sales IT manager shall be the head of the system and so he shall have full access to the system. All sales departmental heads shall also have access to the system but they shall not have access to manipulate data put into the system in any way. This is because accounts data are very crucial for determining the progress of the company and need not be tampered with. Finally, accountants and auditors shall have access to the data in the system but shall not have access to operate the system in any way. ii. Availability Since sales, payment and product registration go on in the company on regular basis, the system shall be available for use on regular basis by those who are permitted to have access to it. As often and re gularly as sales are made in any department or any branch of the company, payment input shall be made into the system so that the system will have to record the payment and undertake a comprehensive summation at the head office of the sales. iii. Portability One of the most outstanding advantages of the new technology for the sales and products department is its portability. This is because the framework of the system has been designed to centralize all accounts records of the company. This means that there will not be little fragments of account data to deal with: therefore making the system very portable and handy. One aspect of the system that makes it even more portable is the fact that the system will not be accessible to a lot more people. iv. Reliability The system has been designed on the bases of reliability and accuracy. For instance data entered into the sales and payment system cannot be manipulated in any way by any body expect by the senior sales IT officer. This means that the company shall have reliable sales and payment records. The situation whereby some people are likely to embezzle funds will thus be catered for under the system. The company shall there be expectant of financial growth henceforth b. security aspects as they relate to the technology solution i. Authentication & Authorization Authentication and authorization are important components of any IT system especially when it deals with accounts figures. Wells (1996) explains that â€Å"authentication tools provide the ability to determine the identity of a party to an interaction and to ensure that a message came from who it claims to have come from.† Based on this background, all operators of sales machines have been given registered for a special verification process that makes use of thumbprint. Users therefore have to register their thumbprints into the sales machines before they can access it. Without this verification, data recorded into the sales machine will not be re corded by the new IT system. ii. Prevention & Resistance Any technology system that does not focus on prevention and resistance lacks a good security basis. For this reason, no matter the authentication and authorization features incorporated into the system, the way must be paved for any security breaches to be prevented all together (Purpura,2002). For this reason, a prevention

The Causality Relation between the Kazakhstan Stock Market and the US Dissertation

The Causality Relation between the Kazakhstan Stock Market and the US Dollar, the Euro and the Russian Ruble - Dissertation Example The relation between the Kazakhstan tenge and other currencies is examined by statistical time series analysis. The relationship of exchange rates over a specific period of time is studied based upon bivariate and multivariate variables. Currency has continuously evolved as the domestic and international vehicle for trade. This paper will define and discuss the history of the causality relation between the Kazakhstan Stock Market and the tenge, and the US Dollar, the Euro, and the Russian Ruble. The research includes a quantitative analysis by using several statistical methods to support the hypotheses. The sample data represents performance analysis from June 2000 to December 2012. Skilled trader George Soros earned one billion dollars in one day, trading currency on the Foreign Exchange market (XE Currency, 2013). Massive amounts of World trade are made possible through stock exchanges. Today, world trade systems have become high-tech, electronic passageways for intercontinental commerce. The Foreign Exchange market (FOREX) is as big as the World Wide Web. Averaging trillions of dollars in transactions each day, the FOREX operates 24 hours a day. However, the stock market did not become what it is today, overnight. Time, trial and error, and the demand for commerce have shaped the stock market exchange into what it is today. The stock exchange is the most crucial element of international trade. Stocks are like football teams, the true fans root for their favorites whether they win or lose. And when they lose, they don’t exchange them for better prospects, they go back to the play room drawing board. Some have argued tha

Unit 4 DB Introduction to Law Enforcement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 4 DB Introduction to Law Enforcement - Essay Example ction responds to immigrations and customs violations such as smuggling with a frontline service as far as the law enforcement responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security are concerned. CBP combines an integrative border law enforcement effort incorporating the services of other agencies to form a formidable administrative umbrella that facilitates legal, safe travel and trade. Under this framework, the agency absorbs employees from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the Border Patrol, the Customs Service, and the Department of Agriculture with the main mission of preventing terrorists’ activities, especially those touching on weapons of mass destruction from entering the country (DHS, 2012). Based primarily at U.S. border-points of entry as well as ports, the agency duties involves apprehending illegal immigrants, stemming the flow of illegal drugs/chemicals, and protecting the nation’s agricultural interests from external harmful pests and diseases. The agency also collects data on imports and imports for the nation’s control of its strategic trade balance as a player in international economics (DHS, 2012). Basically, law enforcement involves the services of a chain of agencies right from the federal level down to the local sheriffs operating at the community level. Given its operative mechanics cutting across through to the intelligence networks, the agency monitors, collects, analyses and disseminates its intelligence reports to and from the federal, state, local and international links for a proper understanding of illicit international exchanges, which touches but goes beyond immigration issues. Indeed, the engagement between this particular agency and the local law enforcement agencies since the September 11 has been fruitful enough to keep the nation off another deadly attack from its sworn enemies, the al-Qaeda. While it is commendable that information trickling down from the agency helps local organizations to function

Minutes of associated student organization Essay

Minutes of associated student organization - Essay Example In fact, Sarah and Michael had a screaming match about the amount the fees had increased in the past for the next half hour. Although it was facetiously entertaining, it emphasized the degree of seriousness this particular issue has brought the student community. A resolution was passed collectively to protest against this increase; nevertheless, one of the students, Bob, refused to sign his name to anything due to his phobia about commitments. The second issue that was discussed was the lineup for the next semester’s musical events. Bob remarked that there were too many country acts, and not enough alternative acts. He noted, â€Å"A little country goes a long way†, which spurred conflict with Marty, another member of the body. Marty vented, â€Å"What do you want, some idiot in leather who spits up fake blood.† He added that country acts are popular in the whole community as compared to alternative acts, which draw audiences very poorly. With the current policy of up-front deposits required by Elite Productions, the body agreed to ensure that we don’t book any weak acts, which could deplete the whole budget of the student organization for the entire year. Bob replied that he did not mean to neither degrade nor insult country acts, and the two agreed to discuss the issue at a deeper

Topshop Transactional website Essay Example for Free

Topshop Transactional website Essay Topshop is a transactional website that specifically sells merchandise like clothes, shoes and accessories. The audience intended to shop at Topshop is varied between teenagers and middle aged women around 35 years old. As I navigated around the Site I believe that it would fulfil the needs of the audience with its wide variety of merchandise. Site Structure The homepage of Topshop is well decorated and brightly colour to obtain the customers attention. The site is also updated every week to keep the site fresh and original looking. As you can see from the screenshot above there is a list of options down the left hand side of the site navigating you to Shop products and to the different shop information. The first listing on the column is Shop by which takes the customer to the different categories of stock e. g. Fashion Tops, basic Tops, Dresses etc. Also on the main column there are a number of options to click upon Shop By When clicked upon shop by opens a new window showing the different items of merchandise a customer can purchase New Shows you the items recently added to the Topshop website and what you can purchase in the Topshop store Collections collections shows the customer the different type of styles i. e. Punk, Office etc and different types of designer that design for Topshop e. g. Celia Birtwell Topshop Boutique This option also shows you different types of designers but the designers are not house hold names but are well known e. g. Richard Nicoll and Markus Lupfer. The TEE shop the tee shop shows the different style of plain t-shirts you can purchase in every colour so that if youre looking for a simple top it will be easily found. The denim shop this includes all denim items the Topshop provide e. g. Jeans. Jackets etc TOPSHOP mini Topshop mini is a new selection on this website this consist of many various items supplied for small babies. Topshop info when this option is chose this brings the customer to whatever information they are seeking for example Return policy or Postage and Package cost. Also located in the options in the left hand side is Topshop info when clicked upon this brings the viewer to various options like Store Locator, Contact us, policies or Services and Help. Topshop site is well laid out and simple to navigate around, the Information like Privacy is straightforward to find and will make customers more relaxed about purchasing over the internet. However there are no search facilities or site map which might be a downfall to Topshop success but as you continue viewing this site the customer will realise that the site is well laid out and therefore there will be no need for these functions. The arrangement throughout the site is simple enough to follow for someone who can use computers but for a newcomer or older person this site would take a lot of time and effort to get adjusted to. The services and help are clearly marked in the Topshop site and its easy to use, simple layout of the information is well documented and is very useful. The domain name of the site is Topshop which I consider to be really memorable as it is short but appealing. As Topshop is a renowned site if entered into any search engineer e. g. Google, it will locate the site. When entered the site is quick and effortless to load which is a huge advantage also as no password is needed to enter the Topshop website any user is aloud to access it. The Topshop website is in keeping with the corporate identity and the Topshop font on the website is the same as the Topshop high street store and the corporate design on the sales bag.

Reflection On Interpersonal Skills In Clinical Practice

Reflection On Interpersonal Skills In Clinical Practice This is a reflective essay based on my experiences whilst on my five week surgical placement in a local hospital. The aim of this essay is to explore the use of communication and interpersonal skills in clinical practice. I have chosen this particular incident as I spent a considerable amount of time communicating verbally and non verbally with this particular patient. To protect the identity and maintain confidentiality of the patient I have chosen to discuss they shall be known as John, this is accordance with the NMC code of professional conduct (2008). To assist me in the process of reflection I will be using Gibbs (1988) reflective model. The structure of this framework allows the reflection to be written in a clear way, which provides opportunities to look at the incident from a number of perspectives; this will help to highlight areas of practice which could be changed in the future (Jasper, 2003). There are numerous reasons why reflection is important to nurses. Through refle ction we can get to know more about what we do and what limits our abilities and this gives the opportunity to improve the way we care (Ghaye and Lillyman, 2001). Description John was a 74 year old man admitted onto the ward from the emergency department 2 days previous to me starting my first late shift of that week. He had been suffering from retention of urine, and was in considerable pain. My mentor and I were informed during handover that we would be looking after John on this particular shift and could we change the dressing on his right leg as he had an ulcerated leg due to suffering from a condition known as Peripheral Vascular Disease (Alexander el al, 2004). As a consequence of this disease he also had his left leg amputated below the knee some years ago and mobilised using a wheelchair. It became clear during the handover that John had been very difficult the last couple of days. The nurse in charge went on to say that he had thrown items across his room and was constantly pressing his nurse call button and shouting all day, he had also refused to have a wash and change his pyjamas. As we left the room where the handover had taken place, my men tor said she thought that we should change Johns dressing now but first we should get him washed and changed and could I assist her. We gathered all the equipment we needed from the treatment room and made our way to Johns room. I knocked on his door and introduced myself as a student nurse, I then asked John for his consent for me to assist him in having a wash and change of clothing (NMC, 2008). John was sat on his bed, he appeared to be quite tense, he looked up at me and shouted no, I want to see a doctor and I havent had a cigarette for 2 days. I explained that I was here to assist in changing the dressing on his leg and to help him to have a wash and change. I moved closer towards his bed and lowered myself to his eye level. I then began to engage in conversation with him by maintaining a soft tone of voice and asking him if he would like a cup of tea after we had finished. His body language softened and he looked up and smiled, he said I would love one. I smiled back at John, I then repeated the question of assisting him with having a wash and change, whilst maintaining a relaxed posture and eye contact with him. John gave me his consent and I proceeded to assist him in maintaining his personal hygiene with respect and dignity (NMC, 2008). With Johns co operation my mentor and I were then able to go on and change his dressing on his leg. Feelings Through this learning experience I encountered different feelings towards the situation. From the initial handover, the staff nurse in charge did not paint a positive picture of John. I wondered why this particular patient was so aggressive and demanding and the staff described him as being difficult. I felt anxious, as this was my first placement as a first year student and I did not feel experienced enough to deal with the situation. During my encounter with John it became clear why he would feel so angry and frustrated. I noticed he didnt have a wheelchair in his room, and it became apparent that he was a smoker. He also hadnt been given any nicotine replacement therapy to help him cope with his withdrawal symptoms. When the full extent of Johns situation became clear to me, I felt immense frustration for him. According to the NMC Code of Professional Conduct (2008), nurses should treat patients with respect and maintain their dignity. With John not having a wheelchair, he was con fined to his bed and therefore had lost his autonomy. The situation also made me very angry, reflecting back I feel I should have been more assertive and maybe questioned why Johns requests had been ignored by the staff. Evaluation It was a shame that the professional staff acted the way that they did, ignoring how angry and frustrated John had become and not acting upon it. The nurses compassion and communication skills seemed to be very much lacking, not listening to his requests and showing no feeling towards him. This breakdown in communication in the nurse patient relationship with john, left him feeling frustrated and not in control of his own wellbeing (Garnham, 2001). At first, I could not see any good points in this situation; however looking back I can see that it did have its positive side, in as much as allowing me to examine myself and to search for my short fallings in relation to the incident. The incident has also given me the opportunity to link theory to practice. The way I communicated with John had a positive outcome for both of us in that his personal hygiene needs were met, and I learnt that effective communication is essential in building a trusting bond between the patient and the nurse (Almond Yardley, 2009). The bad points of this experience were that I judged John based on the information I received during handover without meeting him first. This could have created a barrier between myself and the patient. Accepting a patient as a unique individual and without judgment is very important in the communication process. I have learnt from this experience that as nurses we should respect a patients beliefs and values, and we should not let our own beliefs and values affect our decision making in patient care (Rogers, 1957). I also feel I should have been more assertive when it came to the way John was being treated by the staff. As a first year student I did not feel comfortable questioning the way a professional staff nurse carried out her nursing care. However, from this experience I will question bad practice in future, as the NMC (2008) states that I am personally accountable for my actions and omissions in my practice and I must always be able to justify my decisions. Analysis According to Briggs (2006) as cited in compendium of clinical skills Communication is the process of conveying information between two or people. Communication is essential in building relationships with patients and gaining trust. In the NHS the majority of the complaints brought against them were for poor communication from healthcare staff (Pincock 2004). To highlight how important communication is in the nursing profession, the NMC identified it as being an essential skill and only if a student is competent in this skill can they then go on and register as a nurse (NMC 2007b). In order to communicate with John the situation required the use of interpersonal skills, known as non verbal and verbal communication. Non verbal communication is described by lister and dogherty p62 as being information transmitted without speaking. Johns body language indicated that he was tense and anxious therefore approaching him with empathy ensured that he is being understood and that his participation in communication was valued (Peate 2006)nurs 21st. Given the history of Johns aggressive outbursts it was necessary to consider the proxemics in the situation. It is recommended that keeping within a distance of 4 to 12 feet away from a person is less intimidating for them (Egan 2002). In order to engage in conversation with John, Egans (2002) acronym SOLER was used. This is a process of using body language to actively listen to a person. By sitting squarely towards John, having an open posture, leaning in towards him, maintaining eye contact and maintaining a relaxed posture, encouraged him to relax and feel less intimidated and therefore talk more openly (Lister and Dougherty). Verbal communication with John was enhanced by the use of facial expression and paraverbal communication. (Fund Nursing p195) states that Facial expressions give clues that support, contradict or disguise the verbal message, therefore the use of a smile when approaching John indicated warmth and friendliness. This was assisted further by the use of para communication; these are the cues that accompany verbal language. These include tone, pitch, speed and volume of the person speaking, therefore by communicating with John with a soft tone of voice added further meaning to the spoken words (fund nurs). The barriers in communication during this incident were Johns aggressiveness. This could have been due to the withdrawal from cigarettes, as according to Bruce (2008) irritability is a symptom of nicotine withdrawal. If a patient is unable to smoke in hospital then nicotine replacement therapy should be introduced and the patient treated like any other dependant. Bruce (2008) suggests that Withdrawal from nicotine needs to be recognised and treated appropriately in the acute hospital and it will often be the ward nurses who are relied on to recognise the symptoms. These symptoms were overlooked by the staff and to add to his frustration he had no means of mobility to be able to leave the ward for a cigarette. This may account for his outbursts of anger. Peplau (2004) suggests that when there is an obstacle or obstruction preventing a person from achieving their goals this may lead to frustration which in turn often leads to anger. Action Plan Using Gibbss reflective cycle has assisted me in making sense of the situation and to put things into perspective, recognising how I can put this learning experience to positive use in my future practice as a Nursing professional. If this situation were to arise again I know I would now have the courage to question the nurses attitude at an earlier stage pointing out that bad practice by anyone is not acceptable. From this experience I have learnt that I need to be more assertive and if I feel the needs of a patient are not being met, my first consideration should be to protect the interests and safety of patients, in line with the NMC (2002) Code of Professional Conduct, (clause 8). This reflection has highlighted the need to increase my knowledge and understanding of the process of communicating with patients from different cultural backgrounds, I will address these issues by, listening and learning from the qualified staff and by reading relevant literature. Conclusion In conclusion it can be seen that the nurse has a very important role in communicating with patients through their treatment. When a patient is admitted to hospital, assessments should be made based on the activities of daily living, Roper, Logan Tierney (2000). Johns assessment not only should have identified the level of care needed, it should also have established his normal routine, and the fact that he was a smoker and required a wheelchair for mobility. If Johns needs had been assessed correctly the breakdown in the relationship between John and the professional staff could have been prevented. Overall, through this reflection I have learnt that communication is an essential skill that requires as much practice and consideration as any other aspect of nursing.

History of the Aztec Empire :: Pre-Columbian History Culture

History of the Aztec Empire The center of the Aztec civilization was the Valley of Mexico, a huge, oval basin about 7,500 feet above sea level. The Aztecs were formed after the Toltec civilization occurred when hundreds of civilians came towards Lake Texcoco. In the swamplands there was only one piece of land to farm on and it was totally surrounded by more marshes. The Aztec families somehow converted these disadvantages to a mighty empire known as the Aztec Empire. People say the empire was partially formed by a deeply believed legend. As the legend went, it said that Aztec people would create an empire in a swampy place where they would see an eagle eating a snake, while perched on a cactus, which was growing out of a rock in the swamplands. This is what priests claimed they saw when entering the new land. By the year 1325 their capital city was finished. They called it Tenochtitlan. In the capital city, aqueducts were constructed, bridges were built, and chinapas were made. Chinapas were little islands formed by pilled up mud. On these chinapas Aztecs grew their food. The Aztec Empire included many cities and towns, especially in the Valley of Mexico. The early settlers built log rafts, then covered them with mud and planted seeds to create roots and develop more solid land for building homes in this marshy land. Canals were also cut out through the marsh so that a typical Aztec home had its back to a canal with a canoe tied at the door. In the early 1400s, Tenochtitlan joined with Texcoco and Tlacopan, two other major cities in the Valley of Mexico. Tenochtitlan became the most powerful member of the alliance. Montezuma I ruled from 1440 to 1469 and conquered large areas to the east and to the south. Montezuma's successors expanded the empire until it extended between what is now Guatemala and the Mexican State of San Luis Potosi. Montezuma II became emperor in 1502 when the Aztec Empire was at the height of its power. In 1519, the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes landed on the East Coast of Mexico and marched inland to Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards were joined by many of the Indians who were conquered and forced to pay high taxes to the emperor. Montezuma did not oppose Cortes because he thought that he was the God Quetzalcoatl. An Aztec legend said that Quetzalcoatl was driven away by another rival god and had sailed across the sea and would return some day. His return was predicted to come in the year Ce Acatl on the Aztec Calendar.

The Waterfall :: Place Essay, Description Essaay

Visiting a waterfall, especially on a hot sultry day, can be a favorite way to spend a day. You get in your car, drive for miles, then get out and walk the remainder of the way to a waterfall. Civilization has cleared and marked a pathway for you and the many thousands like you who have come to enjoy these named landmarks. Rarely do you get to enjoy the natural beauty of one by just stepping out into your own backyard. Behind my house, barely noticeable, is a trail leading through the woods to a waterfall. The trail is narrow but well worn. Any shrubbery that would have grown has been trampled down and all that is left is a very narrow path, overhung with branches from the trees that mark its sides. As I start down the trail, I begin to feel the trees closing around me until the house can no longer be seen. I follow the trail to where it stops at the creek's edge, approaching quietly so as not to disturb any of the wild creatures that has come to enjoy the cool fresh water. I gently cross over the creek using the stones, which show the wear of several previous crossing, so that I can have full view of the creek and the beauty it possesses. I can hear the rush of the water long before I see the falls. As I sit down on the big gray slate rock that has been warmed by the early morning sun, I begin to gulp in the beauty as a starving man would gulp down food. I start my usual ritual of examining the banks of the creek by gazing down the right side of it first. I notice that the wild azaleas are in full bloom and that the trees have regained all their leaves. They stand tall and majestic as if they are soldiers standing guard. My gaze travels up one of the trees to find two squirrels chattering down at me as if to say "Go away and leave us in peace." Further down starts the gentle bend that takes the remainder of the creek from my view. My gaze shifts to the left side of the bank and there lies an old oak tree that has fallen long ago. It still lies partially upon its stump so that it looks like the shape of an "L".

Citizenship, Political Liberalism and the National Curriculum Essay

Citizenship, Political Liberalism and the National Curriculum I shall maintain in this essay that the civic education proposed in the new National Curriculum subject called Citizenship is not in harmony with the educational aims and principles stated in The Education Reform Act, 1988, in which the National Curriculum itself was established. I shall argue further that the present institutional arrangements for the whole of education are contrary to the spirit of the civic education outlined in Citizenship. To pursue the argument I shall draw on John Rawls’ insight that, in a modern democracy such as that in the UK, the idea of a democratic state with a single generally agreed moral or religious doctrine is no longer useful. In Political Liberalism he writes about this notion: That conception of social unity is excluded by the fact of reasonable pluralism; it is no longer a political possibility for those who accept the constraints of liberty and toleration of democratic institutions. (p.201) He uses the notion of justice as fairness to indicate how the state may deal justly with its citizens in a pluralist society. He defines justice as fairness in terms of two principles of justice. The first is that all people must have the same political rights and liberties. The second principle is that of equality of opportunity. Rawls then restricts the sphere of influence of these principles to that of political, social and economic institutions. This position he calls ‘political liberalism’. He maintains that this political liberalism should be seen as a freestanding moral system applicable only to political, social and economic institutions. This is somewhat difficult to swallow if only in terms of exactly how this limit... ...ply to all pupils. Pupils do not receive the same civic education. Fourth, the institutions are not freely available in terms of fair competition although both systems are state controlled. If, therefore, equality of opportunity is indeed One of a broad set of common values and purposes which underpin the school curriculum and the work of the school as the Secretary of State claims, then I submit that both our current National Curriculum and our current institutional arrangements are not in line with this value, and that, therefore, the aims of Citizenship are unlikely to be realised. Bibliography RAWLS, J. (1996) Political Liberalism, Columbia University Press, New York, Chicago, Chichester Education Reform Act 1988: Secretary of State’s Preface and opening sections National Curriculum Values 2002 Citizenship, Programme of Study Key Stage 4

A Comparative Analysis of Moses

The biblical Moses and the Moses described by Zora Neale Hurston in her book Moses, Man of the Mountain, are both based upon the Exodus story, found in the second book of the Bible.Although the stories are similar in many respects, both concerned with the bondage of a people and their cries for a deliverer, who is found in Moses, the biblical Moses is firmly rooted solely in the Hebraic tradition, following the lead of the patriarchs, Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.Hurston’s Moses, however, although still a Hebrew, has a more universal appeal. He speaks in black colloquialisms, creating an extended analogy that can be linked not to the ancient Hebrews, but also to the oppressed blacks in America, and to the modern Jews who were savagely persecuted by Hitler and Nazism.The Exodus story concerns a male son born to Hebrew slaves. The midwives disobey Pharaoh’s command to kill all male newborns. Moses is hidden only to be discovered by none other than Pharaoh’s own daught er, who then raises him as her own son, who later discovers his   true identity and leads the slaves to freedom.   Moses’ life is divided into forty year segments: forty years in Egypt; forty years on the back side of a mountain; and forty years wandering in the wilderness.In Hurston’s version, more is made about race. The story discusses the idea of a â€Å"people† and their origins to a greater extent. Hurston slants the argument toward the idea of racial origins and perhaps origin more generally as the start of many of the evils of the world. She not only wants to create doubts about Moses’ pure origins, but also about the very concept that was prevalent during 1939 when her book was written: that of racial purity.As an anthropology researcher she understood racial divisions as idealized abstractions, even though they had concrete functions in the real world. Hurston explored race as a cultural creation rather than a biological fact. Her novel assu mes an even greater meaning as Germany, led by Hitler’s theory of eugenics-founded on the idea of racial improvement through selective breeding- started the world war in 1939.In the United States the eugenics movement was related to racist campaigns against European undesirables and blacks. Eugenics was thought to be necessary to produce a great race. Hitler’s goal was a Master race who guarded the purity of their own blood. By keeping race â€Å"pure,† exterminating Jews and Slavs were deemed   essential to that undertaking.(Hurston, introduction xii-xiv).The spectre of Nazism looms over the beginning of Hurston’s novel   as it starts  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   with the act of marking Hebrew male newborns for extinction. Parents, desperate for places to hide their children, become frantic that the police might get tipped off and come execute their child. In fact, Moses’ father is so fearful that he aims to kill the baby himself so that the police won ’t have that chance. Yet despite their terror, Moses’ mother is determined that he lives and hides him. In all this hoopla of extermination, the irony is   that there is plenty of   Hebrew blood in Pharaoh’s family already.â€Å"That is why he wants to kill us off. He is scared someone will come along and tell who his real folks are. The grandmother of Pharaoh was a Hebrew.† ( Hurston, 14).Besides his murder of male infants, Pharaoh is cruel in other ways. He denies citizenship to the Hebrews, relegating them to slavery. Yet in still another act of irony, Pharaoh ends up with a Hebrew grandson in Moses.As he grows older, Moses fights for inclusion of the Hebrews in the Egyptian army. But the Egyptians oppose him, remarking:â€Å"They are not citizens of Egypt, but enemy prisoners, and as such it would bbe rash to put arms into their hands again. Who knows when they might rise up and turn the tables?†

Haroun And The Sea Of Stories Character Analysis

She leaves her husband with her neighbor Mr.. Sanguine, which may be the reason for Harpoon's turn of events. Briefly describe the character and his or her relations with other characters (a solid paragraph or two). This is a more detailed factual description of your chosen character. You may combine your own factual description with quotations from the text. Give page numbers. When Sorry is first introduced she was said to have a â€Å"sweet voice raised in song† (15). Readers are seemingly given an image of her being a sweet and loving wife and mother..But things go terribly wrong once she no longer sings (16). It's also evident that Sorry was very vulnerable. She was so tired of being left home while her husband told fictional stories that Mr.. Cantata's criticisms of Raised soon enveloped her heart like the darkness of Chatham- Shut. It may be Mr.. Cantata's statement, â€Å"what's the use of stories that aren't true? That finally got to the lonely Sorry (20). Sorry was a ticking time bomb that blew up. It's almost to be expected seeing as her family was the only happy one in a sad city.Even love for her son couldn't get her to stay. Although, just as things had turned around for Rasher and Harmon, Sorry had realized her mistake. Ironically, she described Mr.. Sanguine the same as the narrator had described Chatham-Shut. Lover, mother, and wife, Sorry as a full package. Luckily, she was able to see the light of the day, instead of the darkness of the night. Explain why you find the character interesting, and discuss how the character affects your understanding of the novel (a solid paragraph or two).Sorry is a very minor character whom only appears in the beginning and the end of the story. The best thing about Sorry is that her small part had a huge impact on the way the story went. First, lets observe the way she left her husband. She simply asked him to look for some socks that their son Harmon may have lost, and in that instance she disappeared. Her leaving with the stairs neighbor was very contradictory with her character. Readers can only sympathize with the openwork Rasher and their precious son Harmon.Rasher was so distraught over his wife leaving him that only after taking out his anger by smashing every clock in their home, he loses his ability to tell stories. The plot thickens as he no longer wants to tell stories and is visited by the Water Genie to have his story line disconnected. Moving over to Harmon, he was so heartbroken that he couldn't concentrate on anything more than 1 1 minutes; this was the Same time that his mother left them (1 1 o'clock). All of these these are significant. Had it not been Corpora's choice to leave her family for boring old Mr..Sanguine, neither Hardbound nor Rasher would have helped save Kahn. It was her choice that led to Rasher's choice to no longer tell stories. It was her choice that caused Harmon to take If's tool hostage to get to the Walrus and keep his father's storytelling abilities. Corpora's choice kept Harmon from focusing on his first wish that would have kept him from ever going into Gulp City. Corpora's choice led them both into gulp City. Corpora's choice helped the sad city remember it's name. Basically, without Sorry, no one would ever know about the sea of Stories.

Tuition

If students were robots they might at least not need ‘rest'. They would continue to work on a novel for days together, learn lessons of mathematics without Intervening subconscious processing of thoughts. The efficiency and effectiveness would have been uninterrupted. But students need rest, enjoyment, and change of routine. Therefore we cannot easily ignore importance of holiday, which has all the three ingredients. It alleviates anxiety of workload , takes away from hectic environment of office. Holiday is a ‘proper feed' of mind, gives it proper resting place', and timeout'.Plot for a great story Is discovered to us during our ‘Idle hours'. It underpins importance of rest and enjoyment for efficient working. A sage has wisely said, † the time that we enjoy wasting, is not wasted. † This is keeping in view the importance of enjoyment and leisurely hours in our life. A holiday is a time for celebration. It can be celebrated in a variety of ways. Student s go out for a short trip to various historical places to meet different people, enjoy their cuisine, listen to their folk songs, and legendary tales. Or they may vlslt new institutes, engage in seminars, and discussions and enrich their experiences.Besides that people enjoy playing games, joining health clubs, reading stories, learning new languages and skills going out for dinner with friends and families, watching movies and documentaries. some people get plenty of sleep thinking of rest instead of any work at all. To sum up. I can say that doing a part-time Job does students good. They can get more experience for future job, practice the lesson got from classes and grow up. For the reasons I have mentioned, I am going to seek a job for my self and do it with all my best to grow out of my own ebullient thought and action. Tuition If students were robots they might at least not need ‘rest'. They would continue to work on a novel for days together, learn lessons of mathematics without Intervening subconscious processing of thoughts. The efficiency and effectiveness would have been uninterrupted. But students need rest, enjoyment, and change of routine. Therefore we cannot easily ignore importance of holiday, which has all the three ingredients. It alleviates anxiety of workload , takes away from hectic environment of office. Holiday is a ‘proper feed' of mind, gives it proper resting place', and timeout'.Plot for a great story Is discovered to us during our ‘Idle hours'. It underpins importance of rest and enjoyment for efficient working. A sage has wisely said, † the time that we enjoy wasting, is not wasted. † This is keeping in view the importance of enjoyment and leisurely hours in our life. A holiday is a time for celebration. It can be celebrated in a variety of ways. Student s go out for a short trip to various historical places to meet different people, enjoy their cuisine, listen to their folk songs, and legendary tales. Or they may vlslt new institutes, engage in seminars, and discussions and enrich their experiences.Besides that people enjoy playing games, joining health clubs, reading stories, learning new languages and skills going out for dinner with friends and families, watching movies and documentaries. some people get plenty of sleep thinking of rest instead of any work at all. To sum up. I can say that doing a part-time Job does students good. They can get more experience for future job, practice the lesson got from classes and grow up. For the reasons I have mentioned, I am going to seek a job for my self and do it with all my best to grow out of my own ebullient thought and action.

General Electrical Medical Systems

Q1: What is the underlying logic behind the global product company idea? Global Product Company (GPC) philosophy is mainly aiming at producing products that fit global markets with lowest cost and highest profit. This philosophy has mechanisms that have been applied to different phases of product lifecycle: Manufacturing phase: In manufacturing phase, cutting costs was achieved by moving manufacturing activities and eventually design and engineering activities from high-cost countries to low-cost countries. R&D phase: R&D is a very important phase in product development, it is essential to develop new products that can compete in the global market and considers different customers’ needs. Having high skilled workers in developing countries, where labor has relatively lower costs, has enabled the movement of R&D from high-cost countries to low-cost countries, however R&D programs, objectives, and strategies were still managed by headquarter and the corporate global senior management. Marketing & Sales phase: On contrary to R&D and Manufacturing, marketing & sales have to be localized operations according to each region and country. Accordingly, GEMS has established many offices around the world for sales and marketing management to get closer to the customer. Q2: Should the Global Product Company philosophy be altered to suit the needs of medical diagnostic market in China? China already has the third largest market for medical diagnostic after USA and Japan and it is already the fastest growing, it has the biggest market or low-ended products which has about 20% of the worldwide industry revenues. Accordingly, somehow the tenets of the GPC policies should change to increase the market share in the low-end products; GEMS should adopt the new â€Å"In China for China† policy and bring the plants in already low-cost countries to China. According to Chinese culture and rules, domestic production will bring greater demand and will also bring a slight cost savi ng that could enable GEMS low-end products to compete with Siemens products that are already being manufactured in China. Dropping the price with 10% can increase the sales with 50%. Although the â€Å"In China for China† policy might cause duplication in infrastructure, the newly expected market share in the Chinese market can absorb this duplication of infrastructure and production. Q3: Should GEMS be pursuing genomics and health care IT opportunities aggressively in addition, or instead of the China opportunity? China opportunity is a cash cow for the time being, it represents the biggest opportunity in the low-ended products. On the other hand, genomics and health care IT opportunities are the future of the industry they are star products. If GEMS did not look for opportunities and investments in genomics and health care IT, then it will lose its market share in the high and medium-ended products which both represents about 80% of the industry market. Accordingly, I see that GEMS should pursue genomics and health care IT opportunities aggressively in addition to the China opportunity.

Canadian Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Canadian Identity - Essay Example The immigration of people from all over the world and their adoption of an essentially Canadian way of life have led to a situation where the people of this country have been united. This union has come about mainly because the increasing number of immigrants has been able to counter the some of the negative effects brought about by the British- and French-speaking populations. Immigrant communities have been able to bring about diversity in the political, social and economic life of Canada. These individuals have, in addition, been able to adapt to life in Canada so effectively that they have become a basic part of life in the country. They have further been able to promote a strong Canadian identity, especially in the second and third generations after the original immigrants, that they have not only transcended the political and social conflicts previously experienced, but have also been instrumental in the creation of a strong Canadian identity that has allowed the nation to cont inue thriving. In conclusion, the discussion above has attempted to show that Canadian identity has come about as a result of its multicultural nature, the identification of a common destiny by its people, and immigration which has become a basic part of the country’s policies. Among the most significant aspects of these has been its multiculturalism which has allowed for the creation of a diverse nation. Through the development of a strong national identity, these cultures have been brought together in such a way that they have fostered unity.

Genetic Algorithms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Genetic Algorithms - Essay Example There are few behavior to crack the N-queens problem. A number of of them are trying all the variations, using backpedal methods, by means of strengthening learning methods, and etc. In this scheme, genetic algorithm will be old to solve this problem by with GAlib package. Genetic Algorithms are adaptive methods which may be used to resolve look for and optimization problems. They are base on the genetic processes of organic organisms. Over a lot of generation, natural populations develop according to the principles of usual assortment and "continued existence of the fittest". By mimicking this procedure, genetic algorithms are clever to "evolve" answers to real world problems, if they contain been suitably prearranged. Genetic Algorithms utilize a direct analogy of usual behavior. They labor with a population of "individuals", every representing a likely solution to a known problem. Every individual is allocating a "fitness score" according to how good a answer to the problem it is. The highly fit persons are given opportunities to "copy", by "cross propagation" with other persons in the population. This produces new persons known as "offsprings", which share some skin taken from each "close relative". The smallest amount fit members of the population are less probable to get chosen for copy, and so determination "die out". How do they work A whole new population of likely solutions is thus shaped by selecting the best persons from the current "generation", and mates them to produce a new set of persons. This original age group contains a higher amount of the characteristics obsessed by the high-quality members of the previous age group. In this way, over a lot of generations, good individuality is increase throughout the population, life form mixed and exchanged with other high-quality individuality as they go. By favouring the mating of the additional fit individuals, the most talented areas of the look for space are travel around. If the genetic algorithm has been intended well, the population will meet to an optimal answer to the problem. How contain they been productively practical to any real-world problems The authority of genetic algorithms come as of the fact that the technique is healthy, and can deal productively with a wide variety of problem areas, counting those which are hard for other techniques to solve. Genetic algorithms are not certain to find the global most favorable solution to a problem, but they are usually good at finding "well enough good" answers to problems "well enough quick". Where specialized methods exist for solving exacting problems, they are probable to break genetic algorithms in both speed and correctness of the last consequence. The main earth for genetic algorithms, then, is in hard areas anywhere no such techniques exist. Smooth anywhere existing techniques employment well, improvements have been complete by hybridizing them with a genetic algorithm. What do they contain to do with cognitive discipline Genetics will more and more enable physical condition professionals to recognize, treat, and stop the 4,000 or more genetic diseases and disorders that our class is heir to. Genetics determination

Bauhaus goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bauhaus goals - Essay Example Traditionally, it consumes sometimes and dedication for a craftsman to assumes control of his artistic skills. It further demands grace notably from heaven to facilitate the change of the work into art. Bauhaus was destined to create an existence of the proficiency amongst the students so as the achieve gesamtkunstwerk. For Bauhaus to achieve gesamtkunstwerk amongst its students, it would create or nurture a continuous and existent environment of creative imagination by facilitating eruption or genesis point of creativity. Creativity comes from within, but it must be nurtured and continuously watered to ensure the acquisition of competent and appreciated artwork. According to Gropius, an established difference between craftsmen and artists was should not border in the bounds of arrogance and class but only in the level of accomplished output level. He calls on the fraternity of Bauhaus to create a new group or guild of craftsmen basing on a clear and well outlined. The call creates r inging version on Bauhaus students to conceive and generate new construction of the prospect future that embraces a combination of architecture, painting and sculpture in an expounded single unity and that may rise in days to come for heaven. It creates a symbolic essence that merges up to form feature similar to those of a million workers assumed in the crystal symbol nature of a new faith base. The clear notation of the current craftsmanship emerges from the realization that future applications mainly entails mass production.

Individual Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Individual Report - Essay Example Being the largest employer in the world and one of the biggest companies in the world, Wal-Mart faces a number of business risks as well as human resource challenges. The human resource challenges faced by the company are factors of internal threat to the business and Wal-Mart has been trying its best to alter its strategies and adopt the best possible human resource practices to negate the effect of the negative publicity caused by the internal human resource challenges faced by the organization. Discussion The employees of Wal-Mart have been dissatisfied with the discrimination and low pay policies which is resulting in negative image of the company. The employee engagement issue has been chosen for this purpose. Employee engagement In an attempt to enhance employee engagement, Wal-Mart has started the employee advancement program. The company takes care to ensure that the employees are presented with enough opportunities to rise through the ranks. Wal-Mart has a reputation of not treating their employee’s right and not being as up to date with technology as they could be. Wal-Mart is showing improvement with using the technology of e-training to enhance the knowledge and skills of their employees. The company along with trying to be customer centric is also trying to touch the base with their consumers (Laris, 2013). In the company the employees are referred to as Associates to promote equality and advices the managers to think themselves as servant leaders. This policy is used to encourage the mangers to serve others while staying focused on reaching the objectives in keeping with the values and integrity of the organization (Wall Street Journal, 2006).Many issues have arisen inside the organization due to the large and diverse workforce in the company. Maintaining the work culture while balancing the diversity level has been a challenge for the human resources team. Due to the existence of numerous stores and a huge number of employees, a vast range of requirements for pay and benefit is necessary (Dessler, 2005, p.97). Wal-Mart recognizes the need for a comprehensive list of options for its employees. Wal-Mart maintains a wide range of choices in the benefits packages offered by them under the career benefits offered by the organization. In terms of employee engagement issue Wal-Mart had faced a number of wage discrimination and class action gender lawsuits resulting in tarnishing the image of the company. It hired more specialized human resource managers and created a team of five legal professionals to handle the workplace issues and the concern of the supervisors on employment matters. A class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart encompassing more than one million female employees, making it one of the largest workplace discrimination cases in the history of the United States. In response to the charges of discrimination, the organization has hired a director of diversity, implemented a companywide computer posting of managemen t opening and also implemented a system in which the bonuses of the executive managers are based on the diversity of the workforce (Ungar, 2013). In order to judge the engagement of the workers in the workplace the company follows the performance measurement system. It was implemented in an organization need to be aligned with both the organization's competitive strategy and the internal HR practices (Bratton, 2007, p. 374). The performance management system of

Starbucks has not paid UK corporation tax Case Study

Starbucks has not paid UK corporation tax - Case Study Example The legitimacy theory is also associated with social perceptions directed towards organizations in regard to their responsibility to meet societal expectations and social rules. In some instances, when these institutions do not meet social, legal as well as environmental benchmarks of operations, they may be exposed to sanctions and or even being barred from operations. Starbucks is one of the current companies that have shown a violation of the requirements of the Legitimacy theory. The Company is currently facing a court case in London. Starbucks is a major restaurant in Britain, the Company has been facing a serious allegations in regard to tax avoidance. Additionally, the Company has been controversies in regard to the information that it has been providing to the Investors. Apparently, a recent publication by a local newspaper in Britain indicated that the Company has been informing investors that it is making profits while in the real sense it has been experiencing losses. This has been perceived as controversial owing to the fact that the company has been providing different sets of information to its investors and taxmen. Research has indicated that over the last three years, the company has not made any profit and has also been avoiding taxes. This has created a negative image on the company, especially among the local British populace. The Company’s problem emerged from the issue of tax avoidance coupled with provision of controversial information to its investors as well as the taxman. From the year 2008, the company is reported to have made losses amounting to 26 million Britain Pounds. On the other hand, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer was providing controversial information to its investors as well as other members of the public. The research also indicated that the Company had not paid any taxes for a period

All about Coal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

All about Coal - Research Paper Example The reason for the gathering of coal was primarily for household uses, namely heat. It was later discovered that it played an important role with its heating capabilities in smelting, alloy production and the generation of electricity. Sir George Bruce created a loading island where he sank a shaft connected to two others for drainage purposes and ventilation. This form of technology was extraordinary in coal mining during medieval times, often considered an industrial wonder of the time. In the 17th century many advances in the techniques used for mining were discovered, including test boring and drainage of the collieries, to allow the coal to be brought to the surface easier and more safely. Definition Merriam-Webster (2011) defines coal as â€Å"a piece of glowing carbon or charred wood†. This is a curious definition, as most would think of coal as simply a dirty, black rock that creates heat and is great for summer barbecues. The fact that it is defined as â€Å"glowingà ¢â‚¬  and â€Å"charred wood† leave the mind to wonder how was coal formed then? If it is already â€Å"charred wood†, why would we use it? It’s already been burned up, so what use can it be? The answer lies in the reason and process through which coal was formed. How coal was formed The formation of coal began around 300 million years ago, while most of the earth was covered by swamps, giant ferns and different mosses. Layer after layer of these plants died and subsequently were compressed and covered with new soil. As these new layers of soil covered the dead plants, the lack of air stopped the decomposition processes of the plants. This created peat, and throughout the years with heat and extensive pressure, it forced out oxygen and hydrogen, leaving carbon-rich deposits known as coal. As the carbon content of the coal increases, its compression is increased and the moisture content drops further. Thusly, there are four types of coal that form in subsequent order, each with its own grading scale, known as a â€Å"rank† (Speight, 2005). (stovesonline.co.uk) III. Four Categories of Coal The four categories of coal are lignite, subbituminous, bituminous and anthracite. Each one has its own ranking, based on the degree of which the original plant materials have been turned into carbon. These ranks are also used an estimation of how old the coal is. In general, the older the coal, the higher the carbon content. Lignite coal is the youngest of the four, and is most often used in the generation of electric power. It is a brownish black color and has a high moisture and sulphur content. It is more similar to soil than rocks and has a tendency to fragment when exposed to the elements. Subbituminous coal is often referred to as black lignite, although its moisture content is lower. It is also used for the generation of electricity, but also used for heating. Bituminous coal is a soft coal. iIt is dense and black with stripes of vibrant an d dull materials. This is the most commonly found and used type of coal, for coke (a residue of coal used in the steel industry), electricity, and heating as well. The last of the four, anthracite coal, is the hardest, oldest and best of the four types. It is black, glossy and very hard like a rock. It has the lowest sulphur content and the highest carbon

Health care providers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Health care providers - Assignment Example The paper tells that the basic principle that governs the objectives of health care providers is the duty and responsibility to promote people’s health. The idea is not only getting people to stay healthy, but also to maintain their good health over time. In the light of achieving this objective, health care professionals have had difficulties embracing change. This has been rooted in the line of services offered and the nature of their profession. To start with, the demand for health care is derived rather than direct. In this regard, heath care professionals have always differed in determining what combination yields maximum benefit for health care seekers. A unique consensus lacks among these professionals, thereby constituting the difficulties therein. Consensus about a given way of having things done is fundamental in determining need for change and the extent to which change is spread across the identified practitioners. Change is by great margin characterized by an adva ncement of a given status or level. Health related advancements take longer to materialize and create the desired impact in the specific medical field they are tailored to. This as a result of longer time lags of research and development in health sector. On the same note, health professionals practice a rather fixed profession where most ways of doing things require that a given system, mechanism or protocol be followed. Change is an expensive affair. The health sector is primarily financed by the government through the relevant ministries and agencies. Critical resources need to be put in place for effective realization of change. Innovativeness, creativity and inventions are key drivers of an intervention that is likely to bring about change. Health care professionals on their own cannot afford to undertake such interventions in the absence of adequate funds. On the same note, contemporary technology ought to be integrated in the process. This factor combination constitutes numer ous difficulties in the context of change for and by health professionals. What are some of the ethical issues posed by information technology? Information technology has been a great boost of the current health care systems in place. Technological advancements have facilitated and aided success into various medical interventions. However, the positives attributed to information technology are not without their negative side. Ethical issues have been raised in the light of using information technology. One of the ethical concerns posed by information technology is that confidentiality for health care givers and health care seekers. A lot of information about patients and health care professionals are stored in data bases run through information technology programs (Dewar, 2009). This information is likely to be available to a number of users, even those that it does not concern. The privacy of both parties aforementioned is therefore guaranteed because of the likelihood of access by one person after the other. Computer crimes have also had their impact on the provision of health care. Hacking has become quite common, and the motives behind such acts are ill. Misuses of information stored in computers have also been of ethical concerns to the sector. Both the health care professionals have used this information for personal or for collective gains at the expense of another party. Moral obligations and codes of conduct for both caregivers and patients have been violated, thus the emergence of ethical concerns in the health system, particularly in the application and use of information technology. At some point, social security has been challenged. What are some of the issues that were unique at Hermann Healthcare System? How did leadership deal with these issues? Healthcare provision is a practice that requires pulling up adequate resources and finances for effective and efficient

IT Case Study Essay Example for Free

IT Case Study Essay The Widget Wonders distribution center is the worldwide leader in widgets. Which theyre in the process of building a state of art facility to manufacture new generation of widgets. The SNHUConsulting group leads the way of consulting in information technology. SNHUConsulting has been hired to consult on new hardware that will last for at least the next three years for the different apartments. The sales department consists of 50 employees that requires mobility with access to the companys resources while in the field with customers and presenting at sales meeting and conferences. The manufacturing department will have 45 employees and will need hardware that support word processing and spreadsheet programs and internet capable. The inventory control department will have 30 employees who would need mobility hardware as well with power to access database systems. The research and development department will consist of 20 employees thats need hardware with graphics design and CAD programs. The MIS will consist of 5 employees who will need additional processors and memory requirements to support administration tasks. My recommendations for the sales department for mobility purposes is notebooks, smartphones, and tablets for visiting customers. For bigger presentations a digital projector that is interactive, with laser pointers that allows the sales team to talk and click on the computer to dictate its pace. Also USB drives that holds a large amount of storage that the sales team can upload from any computer systems. For the manufacturing department my recommendation are the new generation computer systems that support multi servers for the manufacturing needs. The manufacturing department will also need printers and connectivity capability to the internet as an additional resource tool to complete their job functions. The inventory department will need tablets with 32 or more GB of storage with direct access to the companys database systems. The research and development department needs  notebooks, printers, and a docking station for automated systems backing up. Hardware that is able to compare and contrast data for the development of the company. The MIS department would need computer systems that is compatible with graphic adapters. Also the computer systems will have a multimedia screen capability for administrating tasks. In conclusion, the hardware that would be required for each department will have the durability and warranty that will last the company for at least 3 years, which will then require the company to revisit their strategic plan for any updates as needed. In purchasing the hardware, the company will included warranty and service agreement with the vendor to assist in any maintenance issues that may arrived regarding any of the hardware purchased. The hardware will have the most advance technology needed for each department efficient in their job duties.

Religion in Colonial America Essay Example for Free

Religion in Colonial America Essay Throughout the colonial period with British North American settlement, the subjects of religion and economics often come hand-in-hand when associated with significance. Although economic concerns of development and exploration had its part in British settlement into the New World, religious entanglement, such as Puritan progression and The Great Awakening , played a bigger role in the rise of the American colonies. The flee for religious freedom and organization based on religion in a colony outweigh the concerns for economics. The American colonies valued their religion, as well as making it the most valuable part of their lives. In the early 1500’s certain Christians from different European nations went against the Roman authority of the pope. Religious wars/conflicts, competition, and the Protestant Reformation all contributed to a religious motive for exploration and colonization into North America. Many British immigrants came to the new world not only looking for wealth, but for a religious freedom and structured society. This pull factor created a foundation for religion in the new colonies many people fled the home country to avoid religious persecution and inferiority. Furthermore, Puritans, who colonized the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629, sought to create an empire of religious tolerance. Under John Winthrop, the religious group taught the new colony that the people should provide a whole world a model of Christian society ought to be, as in â€Å"A City upon a Hill†. The groups of people who wanted to separate from the church of England or go against the Roman catholic Pope went to the New World solely for religious freedoms, creating a religious superiority put into their new location. Immigration into America was by far dominated by groups of people avoiding the oppression and persecution faced by royal and religious leaders in their homeland; religious refuge provided means for these colonists to build upon a belief of religious tolerance and organization. As colonies were developing and new groups of people/ideas were diffusing, religious conflict and authority became prominent. A major religious event  in the life of the American people, The Great Religious Awakening, highlighted the valuable role of religion in the people’s lives. The Awakening permanently reflected the need for religious tolerance and organization in a group of people. Also, religious groups such as the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians (all minority religious groups) took root and grew. Along with awareness to significance, the movement highlighted the presence of religious feeling among masses of people. A major division between orthodox and â€Å"New Lights† increased religious diversity and created a greater competition between the groups to attract followers. This historical event exposed a new way of thinking for the peoples – democracy. In fact, the Great Awakening brought a shared common experience for Americans regardless of race or religion. The Great Awakening brought political and religious impact to the Americans, which still influences the nation today. Even though religion posed to be the biggest concern associated with British settlement in the New World, economic development proved to contribute in the time period. Columbus’s exploration of the New World was based on the hope to find land, resources, and wealth; all pertaining to the progress and bringing up of Europe’s economy. Moreover, the thirteen colonies developed ways, (such as Jamestown’s tobacco crop) to exploit resources as means for survival. The North American Colonies Association with trade (Columbian Exchange) put them in competition with other empires to compete for wealth and progression as a community. Economic concerns engaged in the colonies’ organization; however, religion was the basis for British settlement and the foundation for population growth, social movement, and political structure. Although economic concerns of development and exploration had its part in British settlement into the New World, religious entanglement proved to be more important in the race for American development. Religion posed as the main factor for the peoples, and led them to make decisions and act upon their beliefs. In this colonial time period, religion proved to be a greater power in the daily lives of Americans.

Three Fundamental Functions Of Business Organizations Management Essay

Three Fundamental Functions Of Business Organizations Management Essay BMW stands for Bayerisch Motoren Werke AG established in 1916. The company was first known as a manufacturer of aircraft engines. In 1928, it started focusing on car manufacturing with the purchase of the Eisenach motor vehicle factory. The BMW 3/15 which was a version of the Austin Seven, from British automaker Austin was the companys first passenger car. It operated with a 15 horsepower engine and had a top speed of 45 miles per hour. BMW began to design and build its own cars in the 1930s. The company developed its own engine plant that allowed BMW to build both sports cars and sedans without using engines made by other companies. The 327, 328 and 335 models were advanced technologically that made BMW be recognized as a major European automaker. During WWII BMW was forced to produce motorcycles and engines for the German army. They had to stop car production until the 1950s. After WWII, BMW had to restart their car production from zero. In 1952, they began producing the large 501 luxury sedan. It was the first car to be mass-produced in the West Germany. The successful 501 was followed by the 502 sedan in 1954 and the popular 507 roadster in 1956. This series help the company regain the prominent position for sports and luxury cars. Today BMW cars is recognized as a worldwide luxury brand with a high reputation for quality and by their marketing slogan, The Ultimate Driving Machine. BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce are three of the strongest premium brands of BMW nowadays. BMWs car is a superior product in terms of aesthetic appeal, dynamic performance, technology and quality. It underlines the companys leading position in innovation and technology. BMW Group Production Network currently includes 29 production and assembly plants in 14 countries on four continents with a network of more than 12,000 suppliers all over the world. The integration of production and logistics systems within the individual BMW Group locations provides advantages for the customer. Higher efficiency in the supply of production materials helps accelerate the delivery of cars to customers. Each plant contributes to the smooth operation of the global production network. The main locations of BMW Group Production Network include: USA: Spartanburg, South Carolina. Germany: Dingolfing, Berlin, Eisenach, Landshut, Munich,  Regensburg and Wackersdorf Brasilia: Manaus. Italy:   Cassinetta India: Chennai Great Britain: Goodwood, Hams Hall Oxford Swindon Austria: Graz, Steyr. Indonesia: Jakarta Russia: Kaliningrad Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur Thailand:   Rayong South Africa:   Rosslyn China: Shenyang (Dadong) and Shenyang (Tiexi) (Adapted from www.bmwgroup.com; BMW group (2011); http://www.ehow.com/about_5145304_bmw-cars.html ) Operations management as a set of decision making 2.1. What resources will be needed and in what amount? 2.1.1. What resources will be needed? The production process is concerned with transforming a range of inputs into those outputs that are required by the market. This involves two main sets of resources the transforming resources, and the transformed resources. Transformed resources include those that are transformed in some way by the operation to produce the goods or services that are its outputs. Three types of resource that may be transformed in operations are: materials the physical inputs to the process (manufacturing) information that is being processed or used in the process customers the people who are transformed in some way (common in the service business) Transforming resources include those that are used to perform the transformation process. The two types of transforming resource are: staff the people involved directly in the transformation process or supporting it (labour) facilities land, buildings, machines and equipment (capital) (http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-transformed-resources-and-vs-transforming-resources) In the case of BMW group, the resources necessary for their car production can be summarized in table1 Resources Types Notes Transformed Iron, Steel, Aluminum, Rubber etc Energy Car Body Paint Engine Other parts For the production of car body, bolt, rivet, wire, seat and other parts etc Transforming Land Engine production plants, body shops, paint shops and assembly plants Automated machines and other related machines Equipment and tools -Computers and supportive software Workers, managers, supervisors, inspectors -To build different types of car manufacturing plants 2.1.2. In what amounts? The amounts of resources required for car manufacturing largely depends on the demand of the product. The number of the goods/ services the company intends to produce and deliver to customers and the variety of products to be produced will determine the amounts of resources needed within a defined production system. To make decisions on the amounts of resources needed for manufacturing the product(s), operations managers should consider carefully two elements: selection of production process (operations strategy) and forecasting of demand of products/services. Selection of production process: There are three basic types of production methods or process: Make-to-stock (mass production): this method commonly goes along with line-flow strategy in which high volumes of products of relatively few standardized products are manufactured base upon relatively accurate anticipation of future demand for those products. This requires the firm to hold products in stock for immediate delivery. The competitive priorities of this method are stable quality and low cost. Since the demand for the products have been well anticipated so does the amounts of required resources (Krajewsky et al, 1999). Make-to-order: this method is commonly used by firms with flexible flow that produce low-volume, high-variety of goods/services according to customer specifications. In this direction, high level of customization is the major competitive priority of this method (http://www.web-books.com/eLibrary/NC/B0/B66/098MB66.html) Assemble-to-order (mass customization): this method is used to produce goods/services with many options from a relatively few number of assemblies and components in line with the customers specific order. Assemblies and components are held in stock until specific orders arrives. Then respective products will be assembled with appropriate assemblies and components. This method is relevant to high volume and relatively high variety of good/services (Krajewsky et al, 1999). Forecasting: In order to determine more accurately the amounts of resources needed for the product/service the organization is to offer to the market, it is vital to forecast the demand of this product/service. Demand forecast is usually developed by the marketing department and its accuracy will be the crucial element of the success of capacity management plans implemented by operations. Forecast provides a strong basis for determining the capital invested in the plants, machines and equipment, purchasing the right amount of materials and employing the right amount of labour (Albert Porter, 2010). Production methods and capacity planning of BMW group as means to define amounts of resources needed. In terms of production method, BMWs leading production principles includes horizontal and vertical integration of functions, team work organisation, visual management, built in quality processes, pull system of procurement and continuous improvement. This can be seen as a hybrid production system with a strong German element in product, production technologies and quality standards, a strong part of Japanese principles in process and work organisation and an American part of vertical management hierarchy. BMWs production approach is characterized with high quality, high productivity and high product flexibility which is closed to the mass customization model of production (Ludger Pries, 2002). With this production approach today BMW produces at least 80 percent of its vehicles to customer orders. (http://www.bmwgroup.com/e/nav/index.html?../0_0_www_bmwgroup_com/home/home.htmlsource=overview). With regards to capacity planning BMW develops a well-elaborated strategic-planning process where products and sales are forecast before production capacity planning. Derived from the results of market research, planners decide on the set of future products and estimated sales figures during their life cycle for different geographical markets with the necessary flexibility reserves (i.e. difference between expected demand and available capacity based on their experience). This serves as data for plant loading in which planners allocate the products to the plants and determine the required production capacities including future amount of resources needed and the way to procure them (Bernhard Fleischmann, 2006). 2.2. When will each resource be needed? When should the work be scheduled? When should materials and other supplies be ordered? When is corrective action needed? All those above questions are connected with materials management, scheduling and quality control the operations manager should carefully consider once the production process is put in place. Master Scheduling Plan and Work Scheduling Forecast of future demand of sales helps companies set up an overall production capacity plan which in turn tailored into Master Scheduling Plans (MSP) with an intermediate timeline where the quantity of specific end-products and the time to produce them are defined. It is the major control of all production activities. To create an MSP, it is important for managers to know where materials are located and how they flow at every step in the production process. For this purpose, they determine the routing of all materials-that is, the work flow of each item based on the sequence of operations in which it will be used (Anil Kumar et al, 2009). On the other hand, as it is necessary for managers to control the timing of all operations, they have to build work schedules for this purpose. Scheduling allocates resources over time to perform specific tasks (Krajewsky et al, 1999). Managers determine jobs to be performed during the production process, allocate tasks to work groups, set timetab les for the accomplishment of task and ensure that resources are to be adequately provided when and where they are in need. Two most popular techniques used in scheduling are Gantt and PERT charts (http://www.webbooks.com/eLibrary/NC/B0/B66/098MB66.html) Inventory control It is disastrous if a manufacturer runs out of the materials it needs for production. However, keeping large inventories of materials is wasting money because the firm has to pay for those materials in stock and find places to store them. Therefore, to remain competitive, firms have to manage inventories efficiently. They need to ensure the availability of materials for production and at the same time not to waste money due to large inventory. Achieving the balance between those two risks rests on the inventory management and control. There are three types of inventories including (i) raw materials; (ii) purchased goods and (iii) finished parts and components. The various types of inventory to maintain the continuity in the production process is illustrated in fig 1. Inventory Raw materials Process Inventory Parts + Purchased items Process Finished products Market Inventory Fig 1: Inventory of materials (www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/001386.pdf) There are two common inventory-control methods as follows: Just-in-Time It is seen as the modern concept of inventory planning where the materials should be purchased and brought in the stores just before it enters the production or sold out so that inventory cost is negligible. The zero inventories are the ideal planning because the costs of holding inventory are significantly cut. JIT, however, requires considerable communication and cooperation between the manufacturer and the supplier. The manufacturer has to know what it needs, and when. The supplier has to commit to supplying the right materials, of the right quality, at exactly the right time (Albert Porter, 2010). . Material Requirements Planning However, in the present situations in any of the organization particularly manufacturing organization, it is not absolutely possible to keep no inventory of materials required for production. Another inventory control method is commonly used called Material Requirements Planning (MRP). The MRP is a technique relies on a computerized program both to calculate the quantity of materials needed for production starting from the raw materials, finished parts, components, sub-assemblies and assemblies as per Bill of Materials (BOM) and to determine when they should be ordered or made to support a Master Production Schedule (MPS) (Krajewsky et al, 1999; Anil Kumar et al, 2009). The basic MRP focuses on material planning, but there is a more sophisticated system-called Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II)manufacturing resource planning (MRP II)System for coordinating a firms material requirements planning activities with the activities of its other functional areas.-that goes beyond material planning to help monitor resources in all areas of the company. Such a program can, for instance, coordinate the production schedule with Human Resource managers forecasts for needed labor (www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/001386.pdf) Quality control Quality control of materials The quality of the product largely depends upon the quality of the materials used to produce that product. Therefore, it is a very important for the firm to purchase the right quality of materials. Quality control of materials aims at delivering product at higher quality with lower cost. It also helps decide the selection of suppliers and the relationship between buyers and suppliers. In quality control, the quality assurance is decided by inspection and checking. The various properties of materials are decided by the standards they should follow. (www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/001386.pdf) Total quality management Today, quality is an efficient weapon firms use to compete with their rivals in the market. Total Quality Management (TQM) or quality assurance includes all managerial steps that firms take to ensure that its goods or services are of high quality to adequately meet customers need). TQM encompasses the following three principles: Customer -driven definition of quality: firms encourage customers to tell them how to make the right product. Firms also track customers feedback about their products (via surveys and other methods) to know what they need to improve. Employee involvement: commitment of employee in ensuring quality of their tasks and in detecting and correcting quality problems is very important. Training and other tools will help employee be actively involved in quality assurance process. Continuous improvement: the commitment to making constant improvements in the design, production, and delivery of goods and services ((Krajewsky et al, 1999). A range of tools have been developed to control quality and indentify areas of improvement such as Statistical Process Control, Benchmarking and Taguchi`s Quality Lost Function method. In addition, a set of standards called ISO has been devised by the International Organization for Standardization to help companies comply with quality documentation standards and get recognition worldwide. There are a set of standards: ISO 9000 family for quality management and ISO 14000 for environmental management. (http://worldacademyonline.com/book/applied_operations_management_manufacturingand_services/). Materials Management and Quality Management at BMW BMW forecasts their new products and demand of sale for capacity planning and allocate the products to their plants worldwide. Each plant then develops the MSP based upon the new orders and demand of sales. The MSP determines explicitly the quantity and the time of the resources (materials and capacity) needed based on the sequence of operations. In terms of inventory management, since BMW adopts a hybrid production system, MRP is used to calculate the quantity of materials needed for production and to determine when they should be ordered or manufactured with the integration of JIT principle to reduce inventory. In each location, BMW manufacturing plant establishes a network of first tier suppliers located nearby, for instance the Spartanburg plant has 18 first tier suppliers that are located in the nearby industrial park and committed to provide ordered materials and components with high quality and right in time. E-orders and purchasing are used to communicate and do the transacti on with its suppliers. As a result, buffers between body shop and painting is18 units and between painting and assembly is120 units. The suppliers are forced to recompense the rigidity of the production system with their own and extensive buffer (Ludger Pries). This mixed inventory control method allows BMW to develop a mass customization production system characterised with high quality, high productivity but also high flexibility. Quality is the strongest competitive advantage of BMW cars. For BMW to achieve premium quality, it is important to recognize any defects/mistakes before production begins and to correct them. Therefore the company has adopted sophisticated computer-aid quality inspection technology to control the quality of purchased parts, engines and all the semi-products and components going from the press, body shop to the final assembly with start-of-the-art inspection device such as 3D CAD, mobile optical TRITOPCMM system (http://www.capture3d.com/file-capture3d-bmw-assemblyline.pdf). Computer-aided inspection systems contribute significantly to saving rework time, optimizing processes and thereby reducing production costs. BMW group also complies to ISO 9000 and IS014000 for quality and environmental management system ((Ludger Pries, 2002). 2.3. Where will the work be done? The selection of plant location or facility location is a key strategic decision for an organization. The location decision is costly and time consuming to change. This is because large investment is made to buy the land and to construct buildings. Companys competitiveness will be affected by its location since it will impact costs such as transportation and labour. Improper location of a plant may lead to loss of competitiveness, and eventually waste of all investments put in land, buildings and machinery. Therefore, before making decision for the selection of a plant location, long range forecast about the future demands should be made. The plant location should be based on the firms expansion plan and policy, diversification plan of products, changing market conditions, changing sources of raw materials and other resources and many other factors. The key following factors are seen important for location decision: Proximity to customers (extremely important in service business) Proximity to suppliers Proximity to labour Infrastructure and transportation availability (Albert Porter, 2010; Anil Kumar et al, 2009). BMW group and its worldwide plant locations Needless to say, BMW group has seen the development of its plant location worldwide network as a key strategic planning to enhance its competitiveness in the automobile global market. From their dominant position in Europe with their plants located in strategic countries such as Germany (its headquarter), Britain, Austria and Italia, the company spread their manufacturing to strategic countries of all over other continents (except Australia) for instance the US for North America, Brasilia for South America, South Africa for Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thai for Southeast Asia, India for East Asia and recently China for North Asia. In each country, BMW has meticulously identified most suitable area for the location of their strategic manufacturing plant corresponding to their expansion plan and policy and the diversification of their products. Proximity to suppliers, labour and the land, infrastructure and labour availability are factors the group always considers when making plan loc ation decision.