Monetarization of Environmental Assets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Monetarization of Environmental Assets - Essay Example While this approach was reasonable in the past, the industrial revolution and its associated effects such as increased rate of population growth started to cause a substantial degree of human impact on the environment. Over the past two centuries, it has become increasingly clear to most environmentalists that human impacts on the environment are irreversible and this might eventually limit the ability of humans to continue thriving on the planet (Khalil, 1999). Over a period spanning the last three decades, there has been a global concern over this problem and the search is currently underway for the establishment of strategies that will aid in the minimization of human impacts on the environment while at the same time improving the quality of life of the billions of people that are currently living in abject poverty across the globe.Cost-benefit analysis is generally a comparison of the various increases in human well-being (benefits) and the reductions that humanity experiences in social welfare (costs) as applied to a given policy or action.In this regard, for a given policy or project to be able to qualify as being viable as based on cost-benefit grounds, its total social benefits must be found to exceed its total social costs. Whereas cost-benefit analysis is usually conducted for the specific project, the scope of this analysis can easily be extended to wider limits such as the assessment of the policies that have been designed to aid in the combating of climate change (OECD, 2007).

Extended concert review example Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Extended concert review example - Essay Example The concert I attended was at the Colorado State University School of the Arts. The concert was held at the Griffin Concert Hall, University Center for the Arts on Tuesday, November 15th, 2011. There were a wide variety of performers featured. The ‘Invitation’ was performed by Dan Kramer on the alto saxophone, Kyle Stand on piano, and Devin Arter on trumpet. The ‘Blues in Hoss Flat’ was performed by Alex Buehler on trombone, Dan Kramer on alto saxophone, Kirk Bakalis on tenor saxophone, and Devin Arter on trumpet. ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ was performed by Kirk Bakalis on tenor saxophone. ‘Collectivate’ was performed by Calli Dodd on alto saxophone, Dan Yolles on guitar, Kaelin McDonald on trombone, Luke Rose on drums, and Evan Gohring on bass. ‘Rain Delay’ was performed by Conor Sims on tenor saxophone and Andrew Deem on trombone. There were a number of jazz styles performed in the concert. The first song played was ‘Invitation’. This is a song that was composed by Bronislaw Kaper and Paul Francis Webster and was first featured on Bill Evans’ ‘Intuition’ album. This song has been labeled post-bop as well as mainstream jazz. This song was highly enjoyable. In large part the improvisation was carried by the trumpet and fit seamlessly into the set. While much bop and experimental jazz can be trying on the listener, it’s clear that this is a much smoother variety of jazz. Even as it was originally written in the 70s the song has much in common with Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue album in that it seamlessly melds smooth jazz melodies and rhythms with a multitude of instrumentation and movements. While the improvisation is an essential element it is not presented in a way that self-aggrandizes the player, but is instead placed into the song as a means of enhancing its tonal qualities. The song is generally upbeat and consistent in tone with a number of breakdowns that puncture the style, because concluding the work song. After ‘Invitation’ was completed there was a spoken introduction by the bandleader. The ensemble then launched into ‘Blues in Hoss Flat.’ This song was originally composed by Count Basie for his Chairman of the Board album and was later used by Jerry Lee Lewis. This song was perhaps more differentiated than the previous song and the improvisation more pronounced. In these regards, the song begins with a very noticeable and catchy melody that is cyclical throughout the song. This melody is punctured by down-turns in the track that open the way for improvisation from the trombone and alto saxophone players. While the previous track had seamlessly fit the improvisational elements into the melody, on this track they stand out more prominently. In terms of style the song exhibits a Big Band and swing style. The ne xt track performed at the concert was ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’. This song was originally composed by George and Irwin Gershwin. This song marks a strong shift in the concert. While the previous tracks had contained upbeat melodies, this track was decidedly somber and reflective. In terms of jazz style it clearly implemented mainstream jazz elements. There was minimal improvisation on this song, surely reflective of the origination of the song as emerging from a Broadway musical. In terms of sonic qualities the track is highly reliant on the tenor saxophone that plays a low key and somber melody. It is perhaps the most poignant part of the night as it perfectly balances the upbeat opening and the fantastic conclusion. ‘

What is price discrimination and its effect on economies

What is price discrimination and its effect on economies Introduction Price discrimination is the practice of one retailer, wholesaler or manufacturer charging different prices for the same items to different customers. This is a widespread practice that does not necessarily imply negative discrimination. In an economic term, price discrimination is the ratio of price to marginal cost that differs for similar products. The practice of price discrimination is not an isolated event. It occurs in many familiar situations but this practice is often highly controversial in terms of its impact on both consumers and rivals. Price discrimination is mainly for markets that are monopolistic or oligopolistic. In these kinds of markets the firm has to decrease price in order to sell more of the good because they are the only supplier. Because of this marginal revenue is derived from the demand but the profit maximization condition is still marginal cost equals marginal benefits but marginal benefits does not equal the demand curve. Role and Prevalence Whenever we travel, because we are interested in economics we are probably conscious that we are being charged a different price for our journey than some other persons travelling with us. A rail journey is cheaper in the middle of the day than it is in rush hour. However, even at the same time of day a range of prices is being charged. For example, some have rail cards entitling them to discounts; others do not. Children often travel at half price. It is cheaper for people who book in advance. If we travel by air the price of the ticket probably varies hugely between types of traveler. These variations occur not just for different airlines and different flight times but people travelling on the same aircraft have bought tickets for very different prices. Some will have paid no money at all if they have collected enough `air miles. These price differences are not confined to the transport industry. The rates charged at hotels vary between customers even for the same quality of room o n the same night. Doctors in the private sector charge different amounts to different patients for the treatment of the same condition Role and Prevalence Price discrimination is one of the basic concepts in microeconomics. Price discrimination plays a major role in the privacy which is much debated and one of the many privacy puzzles is that even though the public shows intense concerns about loss of privacy, they are not doing much to protect themselves. Privacy-protecting technologies have not fared well in the marketplace, and very minor rewards are enough to persuade people to sign up for grocery store loyalty programs. Another puzzle is that so many commercial organizations are actively working to erode privacy. Governments often decrease privacy in attempting to combat terrorism, or tax evasion, or to increase their political control. Criminals invade privacy to make money by using other peoples credit cards. Employers monitor their employees to increase productivity. And ordinary citizens, armed with an array of increasingly powerful and versatile tools, such as cameras in cell phones, are beginning to collect massive amounts o f information that, if combined and analyzed, could lead to dramatic decreases in privacy. However, most of the data collection efforts so far have come from private enterprises, and are the ones that attract most of the concern and publicity. These efforts are often extremely intrusive, and are extremely widespread. Moreover, they persist in spite of intense public opposition, even though there have not been too many commercially successful exploitations of the information that is gathered. Most of the privacy issues discussed above are related to price discrimination in one or other way. But it is not always true that price discrimination is bad for public even though the privacy is compromised. We are able to see best products and services for the price we pay today. It would not have been possible if the commercial organizations or the sellers have not continually researched to make their products and services to make it more customized to their customers by analyzing their behavior in different ways. Price discrimination plays very important role for both the survival of the commercial business and to the public to get the best out of the price they pay. Price Discrimination Does Not Explain  Everything Price discrimination by word meaning looks like it is like unfair pricing to customers. But when are discuss from the viewpoint of seller or the manufacturers it is totally different and sounds very reasonable. Stores must sell their goods at prices that cover the wholesale cost of the individual goods as well as the overhead costs of the store, like labor and the building lease. The amount of additional price that must be charged for each good to cover overhead costs is a function of the average turnover of the goods sold. The faster a store can sell its goods, the lower the average overhead costs of each good, and thus the less that must charge to cover the stores average total costs. If a store sells three times as much on Black Friday than they normally do, then the overhead costs are three times as small. Types of price discrimination First degree price discrimination First degree price discrimination is more theoretical as it requires the seller to have knowledge of absolute maximum price for the goods and services that the buyers are willing to pay. As the seller has the knowledge of maximum price that the buyers are willing, they are able to earn the maximum profit from the transaction. This assumes that the consumer passively reacts to the price set by the seller, and that the seller knows the demand curve of the customer. In practice however there is a bargaining situation, which is more complex: the customer may try to influence the price, such as by pretending to like the product less than he or she really does or by threatening not to buy it. Second degree price discrimination In second degree price discrimination price varies according to quantity sold. So when large number of quantity is sold then the unit price of the product is low and if less number of quantities is sold then unit price is higher for the same quality of the products and services. Second degree price discrimination is more practical in nature and is widely used in the general market, mostly in industrial sector. Buyers who are buying in bulk enjoy the discounts than the one who buys individual items. In reality, different pricing may apply to differences in product quality as well as quantity. For example, airlines often offer multiple classes of seats on flights, such as first class and economy class. This is a way to differentiate consumers based on preference, and therefore allows the airline to capture more consumers surplus. Third degree price discrimination In third degree price discrimination customers are segregated into different markets and charged different prices in each of them. Segmentation can be based on any characteristic such as age, geographic location, gender, income and many others according to the nature of the products and services. Necessary Conditions for Price Discrimination The firm must operate in imperfect competition; it must be a price maker with a downwardly sloping demand curve. For example, airlines routinely engage in price discrimination by charging high prices for customers with relatively inelastic demand such as business travelers and discount prices for tourist who have relatively elastic demand. The airlines enforce the scheme by making the tickets non-transferable thus preventing a tourist from buying a ticket at a discounted price and selling it to a business traveler. The firm must be able to separate markets and prevent resale. Example of stopping an adult using a child ticket. The firm must be able to prevent market seepage or consumer switching which is the process whereby consumers who have purchased a good or service at a lower price are able to re-sell it to those consumers who would have normally paid the expensive price. This can be done in a number of ways, and is probably easier to achieve with the provision of a unique service such as a haircut rather than with the exchange of tangible goods. Seepage might be prevented by selling a product to consumers at unique and different points in time for example with the use of time specific airline tickets that cannot be resold under any circumstances. Different consumer groups must have elasticity of demand. E.g. students with low income will be more price elastic. There must be a different price elasticity of demand from each group of consumers. The firm is then able to charge a higher price to the group with a more price inelastic demand and a relatively lower price to the group with a more elastic demand. By adopting such a strategy, the firm can increase its total revenue and profits (i.e. achieve a higher level of producer surplus). To profit maximize, the firm will seek to set marginal revenue = to marginal cost in each separate (segmented) market. Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages Firms will be able to increase revenue. This will enable some firms to stay in business who otherwise would have made a loss. For example price discrimination is important for train companies who offer different prices for peak and off peak. Geographic price discrimination is used when a firm wishes to sell a product at different prices in different member states. Typically, this requires some measures in order to prevent trade between the member states from eliminating the price differentials. By getting more money out of people who are willing and able to pay more than what would be the market equilibrium price you can provide your service to people who arent able to pay the market price. Increased revenues can be used for research and development which benefit consumers Some consumers will benefit from lower fares. E.G. old people benefit from lower train companies; old people are more likely to be poor. Disadvantages: Some consumers will end up paying higher prices. These higher prices are likely to be allocatively inefficient because P>MC. Businesses dont know what people are really willing and able to pay for your service so you might lose out on some money if you underestimate what someone is willing to pay or overestimate what someone is able to pay. Decline in consumer surplus. Those who pay higher prices may not be the poorest. E.g. adults could be unemployed, OAPs well off. There may be administration costs in separating the markets. Profits from price discrimination could be used to finance predatory pricing. Conclusion: Price discrimination is one of the major issues around the world and it will remain for coming years as well. The incentives towards price discrimination and the ability to price discriminate will be growing in the coming years as sellers will be increasingly tempted to engage in differential pricing. Internet have played a crucial role in helping general public to get best out of the price discrimination due to information of products and services easily available in the Web and ease of buying from any supplier. Therefore the stress is likely to be on different ways to hide price discrimination. Sellers are always tracking every moment of their customers to best fit their needs or to attract them to their products in the form of loyalty card, security camera, coupons, store credit card and many other forms of incentives. However, privacy concerns have always hit back to the sellers as it is very important topic going on in this Information Technology world. Since intimate knowledge of consumer preferences and willingness to pay will be of advantage in creating customized packages for the targeted group of people, and will often provide crucial competitive advantage to sellers governments are likely to play an increasing role in pricing. Governments and others non-profit organizations are also likely to continue playing an important role, in order to protect the welfare of the general public without hurting the businesses. We as a general public should also be self conscious about the price discrimination and should accept if reasonable or look for best option if available and protect our privacy to the extent which is within our control. Role and Prevalence http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/privacy.economics.pdf http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3889/is_200210/ai_n9137062/ Forms of price discrimination http://else.econ.ucl.ac.uk/papers/uploaded/222.pdf Price Discrimination Does Not Explain  Everything http://modeledbehavior.com/2009/11/24/price-discrimination-does-not-explain-everything/ Different Types of Price Discrimination http://www.economicshelp.org/microessays/pd/price-discrimination.html NecessaryConditions for Price Discrimination http://www.economicshelp.org/microessays/pd/price-discrimination.html Advantages and Disadvantages http://www.economicshelp.org/microessays/pd/price-discrimination.html http://www.kkv.se/upload/filer/trycksaker/rapporter/proscons/rap_pros_and_cons_pricediscrimination.pdf

Essay example --

Modern Slavery I. Introduction A. How would you feel like living in a world where all your freedom is taken away? B. In history class, we learned that approximately 150 years ago Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves, but we forget that modern forma of slavery still exist in our world today. C. At this moment, there are 27 million slaves in the world suffering from modern forms of servitude. D. First, I will explain this thesis statement in more detail, then I’ll describe how this changed the world and what government are doing to combat this international crisis. E. Now, let me start by giving some background information on modern slavery. II. Human trafficking is the modern form of slavery that occurs in many countries throughout the world affecting men, women, and children. A. Two basic forms of human trafficking are labor trafficking and sex trafficking. 1. Labor Trafficking: Using force, fraud or coercion to recruit, harbor, transport, obtain or employ a person for labor or services in involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery. Victims can be found in domestic situations as nannies or maids, sweatshop factories, janitorial jobs, construction sites, farm work, restaurants, and panhandling. (Williams, 2013) 2. Sex Trafficking: Involving commercial acts induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person performing the act is under age 18. Victims can be found working in massage parlors, on the streets, in brothels, strip clubs, and escort services. (Williams, 2013) B. Slavery exist in nearly every country, whether the countries are origin countries, transit countries, or destination countries and effects all men, women, and children. 1. Human trafficking is widespread – data taken from th... ...Council, China's Cabinet The mechanism will be conducive to curbing the rise of human trafficking cases and ensuring that victims of trafficking are rehabilitated and relocated in a timely manner, the plan noted. C. As you can see the United States, as well as many other countries, have made efforts to crack down on trafficking, educate vulnerable people, and rehabilitate the victims of these horrific crimes. V. Conclusion A. Modern slavery affects men, women, and children in every country throughout the world through one way or another, but finally government agencies or organizations are taking action to put an end to this international crisis. B. There are 27 million human beings that are bound to servitude through out the world today. C. The next time you enjoy sipping on you morning coffee, take a moment to think about the slave who made it all possible.

Seoul Urbanization

The population of the metropolis increases because people from rural areas and overseas migrate to the urban areas in large numbers, averaging 7. 6 per cent per year (United Nations Population Division, 2001). Increasing of population in many big cities may causes serious problems even in advanced countries. Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, which more than 11 millions of population, has grown rapidly into a metropolis since the end of Korean War (Kim, 2005). Over population in Seoul creates many problems such as traffic congestion and lack of housing.This essay will discuss about two issues caused by increasing number of population in the city. The first is traffic congestion in Seoul and policies to decline this problem and the second is lack of housing and solution by the government. Traffic congestion is one of the most serious problems in Seoul because of a large number of vehicles in the city (Asianinfo. org, 2000). The increasing number of population in an urban area pro duces a plentiful number of passenger cars on the road. Approximately amount of cars is 2. 8 million (Mok, 2007).In Seoul, the statistic shows that one out of three citizens has a car (Zhang, 2010). This situation brings a big pressure to the traffic in the city. The congestion issue causes a distress of travel to metropolitans. Due to this serious problem, the Seoul metropolitan government has created the key measures to solve the traffic congestion. The first measure is to reform the metropolitan transportation system. There are many kinds of transportation in Seoul such as bus, subway and taxi. Under the revolution and reform of transport system, the government has developed bus services according to route demands.In addition, the extension of subways and establishment of exclusive median bus lane make easier and cheaper for passengers to transfer between buses and subways (Jin, 2005). The other measures are policies and encouraging drivers to reduce traffic volume. For example, the government’s measure which encouraging drivers to avoid using of private vehicles for one day of the five-day working week and Seoul Car Free Day campaign which the parking lots of public organization are compulsory closed and drive people to use public transport (Mok, 2007).The government is also searching for a new measure to address the issue of traffic congestion and benefit the megacity’s residents (Cohen, 2009). Apart from traffic congestion, lack of housing is also an important issue caused by population growth in Seoul. Since the end of the Korean War, the nation has focused on increasing only the output within industry (Seoulsouthkorea. jimdo. com, n. d. ) This is the reason for encouraging many people to move into urban centers. A lack of housing for the majority of the new residents has been resulted by rapid urbanization.This is one product of rapid urban development. The influx of population increases need for housing infrastructure. For example, durin g the last few years there have been approximately twice as many households as houses. Those who can find no houses must become squatters and construct shanties and this cause emergence of slum areas in Seoul. The government has an urban development activity with the purpose to clear and relocate squatters from parks and green zones to the outskirts of the city.The measure of Seoul’s government is to allocate houses for the residents which named as Citizen Apartment Building Program (Lee, 2000). Under this program, the government constructs low-rise apartment buildings for squatters and low-income groups. The apartments are intended to be cheap to build and buy. In addition, the government produces low-interest loans that make buyers purchase more easily. In conclusion, urbanization in Seoul began at the end of war. With a rapid growth of the city, Seoul is one of the largest cities in the world with a large amount of population.It can be seen from above examples that increas ing number of population in Seoul causes serious problems such as traffic congestion and lack of housing. However, the government has attempted to address the problems with logical plans and policies.

Forensic People Essay

Computer forensics is the need of carrying out computer related investigations to find legal evidence to related crimes. In order to carry out these investigations, forensics experts use computer forensics tool kits that help them in their investigations. There are a number of forensics tool kits used in different forensic activities such as: Password recovery tool kit (PRTK) This is a tool used to recover lost passwords. It is used to recover passwords of commonly used applications such as Microsoft Office, Lotus 1-2-3 in Windows NT. The file whose password is lost is dragged and dropped onto the open window of the program and Password recovery tool kit recovers its password (Forensic People, 2009). The Password Recovery Toolkit enables the proper management of passwords; it has the capability of analyzing several files at one time and recovering all types of passwords regardless of length and character type. It is also multilingual in nature for it can also recover passwords set in different languages. It is also able to recover password from many applications close to 80. It is also secure as it requires a personal security code to be able to use it. After analyzing files and the recovery of their passwords it gives an optional report file. This tool is provided by access data which is a forensics expert company and it provides a variety of forensic tools (Forensic People, 2009). Source: Smart Doctor (www. recoverlostpassword. com) Metaviewer Metaviewer is a Forensic tool that is developed by pinpoint labs. It is used by forensic examiners to retrieve the metadata for specific files. Pinpoint Metaviewer enables the user to extract files system metadata that are contained in Microsoft Office Files. The information which is retrieved can be pasted into any application. It is used to retrieve OLE metadata for specific files by forensic experts (Pinpoint labs, 2009). Source: Pinpointlabs. com Web historian It is used to give a history of all the activities a person has been carrying out online. It can give a history of the activity on common web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, internet explorer, Netscape and opera. The tool has the capability of recording the paths for Internet activity files for each web browser Cliff’s (Jones & Belani, 2005). The tool also has the ability to reproduce the recovered data into HTML and Delimited Text File formats. The information normally gives the history of sites visited, activities on those sites and login time and also information got. This helps investigators to carry out investigations and get the suspicious activities of people online. This tool is available as a freeware tool and it’s provided by Red Cliff’s (Jones & Belani, 2005). Source: http://www. securityfocus. com/incidents/images/webfor4. jpg Wireless-Detective – Wireless Sniffer and Interception Tool Wireless-Detective is used by investigators for WLAN Lawful Interception. It is a Tool manufactured by Decision Group and assists in sniffing the WLAN so as to carryout investigation on wireless LAN Networks. Wireless-Detective is used to decode WLAN Internet traffic and reconstruct it in real time. Any online activity that is dependent on internet traffic can be sniffed and accessed. The tool captures the traffic and reconstructs all information in a list according to category and content format. It is able to search details and analysis can also be made on the captures traffic to determine evidence and also crack crimes online. This makes the Wireless LAN Detective the most preferred forensics tool for investigators because of its one stop ability to carry out investigations (Decision Group, 2010). X-way forensics. X-way forensic is a resourceful forensic tool that serves various needs of forensics investigators. It has diverse functionalities that support the collection of digital evidence and investigative process (X-ways Software Technology, 2010). This forensics tool offers a functionality of individual case management, the automatic generation of reports from activities and it is capable of recovering data using various techniques. It has time saving capabilities and is not vulnerable to data hiding techniques such as host protected areas (X-ways Software Technology, 2010). The X-ways forensics tool is supplied by X-ways software technology AG. Conclusion Computer forensics tools are very useful in helping forensic experts in retrieving evidence that is important for law makers to prosecute against crimes. It is a fast growing field that is very dynamic as it faces many cyber crime challenges. Thus it is very important for the computer and internet users to be aware of the risks they are facing and how to avoid them. References Decision Group, (2010), Wireless-Detective – Wireless Sniffer and Interception Tool. Retrieved From http://www. edecision4u. com/network_forensics_news. html Forensic People, (2009), Your One stop for Forensic Solutions, Decryption tools. Retrieved From http://www. forensicpeople. com/products. asp? tProductGroupId=1&tProductId=3 Jones, K. J. & Belani, R. (2005), Web Browser Forensics, Part 1 Retrieved From http://www. symantec. com/connect/articles/web-browser-forensics-part-1 Pinpoint labs, (2009), Free Software Utilities. Retrieved From http://www. pinpointlabs. com/new/utilities. html X-ways Software Technology, (2010), X-ways Forensics Integrated Computer Forensics Software. Retrieved From http://www. x-ways. net/forensics/

The Clouds essays

The Clouds essays They fear and see philosophy as a threat that will shake their sense of spiritual security or fissure their soda-cracker-like faith which is seemingly solid, but just a touch of philosophys sturdy hand crumbles this faith before their very eyes. (Velasco, 54) This line struck me when I was reading the articles because it is true especially in my life. Ever since I was young I always believed that I had strong faith in my religion, which is Roman Catholic. First of all, I considered God as a part of my life. I hardly missed masses during Sundays. I make sure that I pray when I wake up, before and after eating and even before sleeping. Another reason is because he became like a friend to me whom I can run to through all my trials and triumphs. Whenever I prayed to God, he would grant my hopes and wishes. Whenever I felt down, I would feel his presence helping me to recover. I remember an instance which made my faith even stronger. When I was a senior in high school, I really wanted to study in DLSU because I saw how my sister acquired great knowledge in this institution, which she is currently using in her job. And when I found out that I did not pass here, I prayed hard and went to mass almost everyday so that God would see how eager I was in studying in DLSU. After a few months, I found out that I was reconsidered and I considere d it as one of Gods works, which made my faith even stronger. Even when I have reached my goals, I would thank him for always guiding and supporting me through it all because I know he had a hand on that certain achievement. In short, God was part of my daily routine. Before entering college, I was warned by a lot of people that college is a time when one questions and at the same time loses ones religion. It was not a problem for me then because I never questioned my faith or even doubt Gods existence. However, after being exposed to the six points of view I see thing...

Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Their Potential Impact on Athletes essays

Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Their Potential Impact on Athletes essays When one wants to know whether the world is becoming more health conscious, one only has to look at the number of health food stores cropping up nationwide. It seems that everywhere one looks, health and fitness are the recurring themes of business. Restaurants have produced healthy choice menus, fast food establishments are promoting various salads and school menus have come under scrutiny. The trend has not overlooked the most health conscious industry in the nation either. Athletes undergo vigorous training that places great demands on them physically and psychologically. It is important that they maintain the most optimum health possible so that they can excel at their chosen sport. The recent interest in the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids has reached the field of sports and athletes are turning to these elements to try and boost their physical strength and abilities by boosting their overall health profiles. While there have not been many studies conducted yet on the benefits o f omega 3 fatty acids on athletes, the studies that have been done prove promising. Before one can begin to understand the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids on the life of athletes one needs to have an understanding on what they are and how they work as a supplement to the body. One food trend that gained significant momentum during 2005 was the increased prevalence of heart healthy omega 3 fatty acids. Found naturally in cold water fish, algae, other marine sources and in flax seeds, omega 3's have begun to penetrate a variety of product categories, including milk, yogurt, bread, pasta and eggs. According to Datamonitor's Productscan Online database of new products, worldwide launches of new foods and beverages containing omega 3's have more than doubled since 2002(Seaton, 2006). The significant increase in interest toward omega 3 fatty acids is due to the increased understanding of their benefits. Omega 3 fatty acids have ...

Definition and Examples of Diction in English

Definition and Examples of Diction in English In rhetoric and composition, diction is the choice and use of words in speech or writing. Also called  word choice.In phonology and phonetics, diction is a way of speaking, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of pronunciation and elocution. Also called enunciation and articulation. Etymology From the Latin, to say, speak Example The principal meaning of diction is the selection and use of words or the manner of expression. But this fact does not rule out, as some purists would like to do, the companion meaning of mode of speaking or enunciation.(Theodore Bernstein, Miss Thistlebottoms Hobgoblins, 1971) Concrete and Abstract Diction Concrete and abstract diction need each other. Concrete diction illustrates and anchors the generalizations that abstract diction expresses. . . . The best writing integrates concrete and abstract diction, the language of showing and the language of telling (explaining).(David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen, Writing Analytically, 6th ed. Wadsworth, 2012) Diction and Audience Diction will be effective only when the words you choose are appropriate for the audience and purpose,  when they convey your message accurately and comfortably. The idea of comfort may seem out of place in connection with diction, but, in fact, words can sometimes cause the reader to feel uncomfortable. Youve probably experienced such feelings yourself as a listenerhearing a speaker whose words for one reason or another strike you as inappropriate.(Martha Kolln, Rhetorical Grammar. Allyn and Bacon, 1999) Levels of Language Sometimes diction is described in terms of four levels of language: (1) formal, as in serious discourse; (2)  informal, as in relaxed but polite conversation; (3) colloquial, as in everyday usage; (4)  slang, as in impolite and newly coined words. It is generally agreed that the qualities of proper diction are appropriateness, correctness, and accuracy. A distinction is usually made between diction, which refers to the choice of words, and style, which refers to the manner in which the words are used.(Jack Myers and Don Charles Wukasch, Dictionary of Poetic Terms. University of North Texas Press, 2003) Small Surprises Your diction, the exact words you choose and the settings in which you use them, means a great deal to the success of your writing. While your language should be appropriate to the situation, that generally still leaves plenty of room for variety. Skillful writers mix general and particular, abstract and concrete, long and short, learned and commonplace, connotative and neutral words to administer a series of small but telling surprises. Readers stay interested because they dont know exactly whats coming next.(Joe Glaser, Understanding Style: Practical Ways to Improve Your Writing. Oxford University  Press, 1999)Note the placing of the single low word in [Dwight]  Macdonald’s brilliantly high-flown definition of the academic prose that had already begun to jam the college libraries: The amount of verbal pomposity, elaboration of the obvious, repetition, trivia, low-grade statistics, tedious factification, drudging recapitulations of the half-comprehended, and generally inane and laborious junk that one encounters suggests that the thinkers of earlier ages had one decisive advantage over those of today: they could draw on very little research. The low word, of course, is  junk. But it helps to light up a bravura sentence full of useful noncolloquial phrases:  drudging recapitulations of the half-comprehended  is a permanently good definition of the danger posed by college courses without standards, and  low-grade statistics  has the merit of starting another discussion altogether.(Clive James, Style Is the Man. The Atlantic, May 2012) Exactness, Appropriateness, and Accuracy Word choice and usage come under the heading of diction. Some people seem to think that when it comes to word choice, bigger is always better. But using a word just because it is big is a bad idea. Youre better off using words for their exactness, appropriateness, and accuracy than for their size. The only time a bigger word is a better choice is when it is more accurate. In any case, the final decision to use this word over that should be based on the audience for whom youre writing.(Anthony C. Winkler and Jo Ray Metherell, Writing the Research Paper: A Handbook, 8th ed. Wadsworth, 2012) Weasel Words One of our defects as a nation is a tendency to use what have been called weasel words. When a weasel sucks eggs the meat is sucked out of the egg. If you use a weasel word after another, there is nothing left of the other.(Theodore Roosevelt, 1916) T.S. Eliot on Words Words strain,Crack and sometimes break, under the burden,Under the tension, slip, slide, perish,Decay with imprecision, will not stay in place,Will not stay still.(T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton) Pronunciation: DIK-shun

Ethics + Professionalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics + Professionalism - Essay Example She always maintains proper eye contact with the addressee which makes the conversation very effective. She is never biased in her dealing with others as she treats everyone with same respect. She has no favorite student, as all students are her favorite people on earth. She loves to talk to students in order to motivate them to work hard to achieve their academic goals. She has same standards for everyone. She is always very helpful, and is optimistic in nature which is why people love to talk to her regarding all areas of life. Her main focus while talking to us is on making efforts to excel in studies. She never complains about anything which shows how very positive she is in life. Her overall attitude is very gentle and courteous, and her good manners and etiquettes are expressed in her attitude very clearly. I believe that professionalism is the ability of an individual to work according to the ethical standards to achieve goals and objectives in the best possible manner without giving any delays in the work pursued. Professionalism demands that work should be done while remaining within the ethical boundaries. Deadlines should be achieved within the given time frame, and everybody involved in the project should be satisfied. According to me, dress is an important reflection of professionalism. If you are dressed properly, or if you are following the dress code properly, that means that your attitude toward work is systematized. Untidy or improper dressing is a reflection of carelessness toward work. Professionalism also demands that one must be able to communicate effectively with people. One must have the convincing power, and must use language that is respectful and ethical. Eye contact is a crucial ingredient of effective communication. Without proper eye contact, there is no use ta lking to others about important issues. Eye contact increases the convincing power of the speaker. The

Current Trends in Chemotherapy for Pediatric Brain Tumor Essay

Current Trends in Chemotherapy for Pediatric Brain Tumor - Essay Example Due to this, medical professionals have designed alternative chemotherapy treatments that seek to address the side effects generated by the standard chemotherapy and improve the overall health of the pediatric patients. However, the effectiveness of the new trends such as metronomic therapy, circumventing the blood-brain barrier, and application of Bevacizumab monotherapy, raises interesting questions such as whether they can effectively handle the challenge of eliminating malignancies without posing greater threats to pediatric patients. Additionally, since the new methods are under experimental trials, their future is dependent on their efficacy, which has not yet been established. Cancer is one of the biggest challenges facing health care on a global basis. The impact of controlling the disease has affected the world economy. The American Cancer Society report that the annual costs of cancer in 2009 were estimated to be over $216.6 billion where $86.6 billion was spent on direct medical costs whereas $130 billion was spent on indirect mortality. The American Cancer Society indicates that over 1,600 people die each day due to cancer complications. Brain tumor is the second most common cancer and the most frequent solid tumor in childhood, which account for 4.3 cases per 100,000 in the US (Gottardo & Gajjar, 2008). This paper will conduct an in-depth analysis of cancer in pediatric patients, giving special focus to brain tumors and the emerging chemotherapy treatment trends being administered to fight cancer in pediatric patients. According to Cabrera and Schub (2014), the most common brain neoplasms in children, and medulloblastoma, which account for 20-30% of all brain tumors in pediatric population. Although childhood cancer is relatively uncommon, the disease is still a persistent issue among the cancer patients it affects. Childhood Cancer states that Cancer is the second leading

Strategic Management of HR 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Strategic Management of HR 2 - Essay Example Furthermore, the relationship between line management and HR departments is also becoming integral and diversified as organizations require more accountability and responsibility on the former’s part, this notion however, poses several implications for the business. The aspect of diversity and inclusivity as well as the ethical dimensions attached with the outcomes of endorsing a culture of inclusiveness suggest that organizations must work towards the establishment of effective frameworks that govern work-life policies that encourage inclusivity and also encourage HR managers to adopt the role of being catalysts of change to promote a multicultural workforce within the organization. Organizational Issues in Strategic Human Resource Management Establishing HR Systems The differentiating aspect of strategic management of human resources in comparison with human resource (HR) approaches implemented on an individual basis is the former’s specific concentration towards the establishment of human resource systems (Lepak et al., 2006) that can aid towards the achievement of organizational aims and objectives. In the organization of today, however, the establishment, development and consequent implementation of these systems faces several challenges that hamper the initiatives taken by the HR department to promote strategic readiness in the organization for the effective management of its workforce through the present business climate. Reichers and Schneider (1990) define climate as the workforce’s observation and opinion of practices, policies and processes in the organization that are formally established or informally applied within the business. Lepak et al. (2006) note that organizational climate is a highly critical variable in creating a suitable fit between the nature of the organization and the job performance of employees. Moreover, organizational climate has also been found to be an imperative factor in contributing towards the effectiv eness of the organization as a whole (Ostroff et al., 2003). HR Policy Challenges Lepak et al. (2006) argue that in enhancing the strategic readiness to manage its people, an organization must implement effective HR systems that are in turn governed by specific HR policies. These policies include: 1. Concentrating on employee expertise such as skills, education and talent 2. Concentrating on the management of worker motivation 3. Concentrating on providing workers with chances for participation within the organization thereby, promoting employee involvement The selection and implementation of the aforementioned HR systems is faced with certain organizational issues, the first of which is concerned with an accurate assessment of the expertise demanded by an organization in its workers, this view is further cemented by the notion that each HR policy sphere requires specific knowledge scales in order to help an organization to achieve its strategic objectives (Lepak et al.,

Going to Extremes Case Application Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Going to Extremes Application - Case Study Example He illustrates the core values that define the culture of the employees in an organization. In Zappos, the organizational culture tends to be more than the written values. This is evident in the complex web of human interactions created by the company. The company employs the use of a social web, to link the employees with one another and to enhance the interaction of employees with the customers. The company also evaluates its health, by questioning the employees as to whether the company has a higher purpose than the profits. The employees are also questioned if their role has meaning to the company, and if they enjoy working in that environment. The company believes that, with the right culture and the right values, a company is likely to obtain the best performance from the employees. The corporate values possessed by this organization include; commitment to excellence, commitment to innovation, promoting the organization’s culture, proper training of the employees, increased profits, enhanced human interactions, defining the purpose of the company other than the profits, enhanced cooperation among the workers, increased efficiency and quality. Commitment to excellence as a corporate value ensures the employees understand their role in the organization to enhance the success of the organization. This ensures the employees are not only trained on technical skills, but also other skills necessary for a company to succeed in business. Commitment to innovation ensures the employees always know what is required of them in terms of any new technology that is to be employed in the organization. The organizational culture in Zappos is more than the written values. The culture tends to be extremely high through the complex web of human interactions created by the company. The use of a social web, to link the employees with one another and to enhance the interaction of employees with customers is also a culture that

CSR and Recruitment methods used by Four Seasons Essay

CSR and Recruitment methods used by Four Seasons - Essay Example Prezi facilitates this process by providing a virtual whiteboard from which presentations can be made into conversations. Traditionally, presentations have always taken the form of monologues where the presenter simply talks and passes information with very minimal engagement from the audience. Prezi offers a shift from such a monotonous process. Prezi offers consumers very critical information regarding presentations and how to improve communication in such situations. It is recognized that information is better passed through visual enhancements. Prezi therefore designs various images, videos which are used in enhancing presentations. Prezi offers cloud-based platforms hence the users can always present from their desktops, tablets of phones. One of the greatest strengths of Prezi is its reliance on communication as a tool for business. The company recognizes that people will always have to communicate and this translates into the continual need for the services. In addition, the company has developed a tradition of listening and paying attention to criticism and this provides a better way of learning and improving services. Prezi focuses on special metaphor in ensuring that the audience remembers the content better. Considering the fact that a presentation is only as effective as the information the audience captures and remembers the company invests a lot in developing techniques which ensure that the audience’s memory is always engaged. Strength arises from Prezi’s traditional focus on elegance and style. For a long time, the company has been known to create very beautiful products which captivate the users. On this, the joy is always on making the users smile. More importantly, it is always about simplicity and this ensures that the users get products they can easily use and love. On the other hand, it is realized that while the communication solutions provided by Prezi are simple and stylish, challenges often arise as new products

Analysis of a drama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of a drama - Essay Example The play effectively demonstrates these conditions by providing realistic situations and scenarios to the readers. Through the play, Ibsen sheds the light on and examines the lives of the three women from different socioeconomic classes: Nora, an affluent wife of an attorney; Mrs. Linde, a middle class woman who surrenders love to acquire riches for her family; and the nanny, a struggling lower- class citizen who gives up her integrity for the sake of her children. Although Ibsen dose not clearly state these sacrifices in words, he paints vivid images of the bitterness these women endure emotionally through their actions and reactions to the things that happen around them. In the first part, we are introduced to a character named Nora, an economically advantaged housewife to an oppressive husband, Torvald Helmer. Although it may appear that Nora has all that she wants in life, she nonetheless is forced to endure a difficult and emotionally unhappy life. Trapped in a society that predetermines the men to be the dominant partner in a marriage, Nora is forced to concede to Torvald’s condescending actions and words towards her. He not only governs her personal life, he also questions her management of money and constantly finds new excuses to insult her family. Torvald screams at Nora during Act I: You are an odd little soul. Very much like your father. You†¨always find some new way of wheedling money out of me, and, as†¨soon as you have got it, it seems to melt in your hands. You†¨never know where it has gone. Still, one must take you as you†¨are. It is in the blood; for indeed it is true that you can†¨inherit these things, Nora. (Ibsen,442) Torvald’s tyrannical dictatorship over Nora in this relationship epitomizes a marriage in society during Ibsen’s time. The actually location of this relationship in the play coupled with Nora’s stubbornness and unwillingness to submit

CSR and Recruitment methods used by Four Seasons Essay

CSR and Recruitment methods used by Four Seasons - Essay Example Prezi facilitates this process by providing a virtual whiteboard from which presentations can be made into conversations. Traditionally, presentations have always taken the form of monologues where the presenter simply talks and passes information with very minimal engagement from the audience. Prezi offers a shift from such a monotonous process. Prezi offers consumers very critical information regarding presentations and how to improve communication in such situations. It is recognized that information is better passed through visual enhancements. Prezi therefore designs various images, videos which are used in enhancing presentations. Prezi offers cloud-based platforms hence the users can always present from their desktops, tablets of phones. One of the greatest strengths of Prezi is its reliance on communication as a tool for business. The company recognizes that people will always have to communicate and this translates into the continual need for the services. In addition, the company has developed a tradition of listening and paying attention to criticism and this provides a better way of learning and improving services. Prezi focuses on special metaphor in ensuring that the audience remembers the content better. Considering the fact that a presentation is only as effective as the information the audience captures and remembers the company invests a lot in developing techniques which ensure that the audience’s memory is always engaged. Strength arises from Prezi’s traditional focus on elegance and style. For a long time, the company has been known to create very beautiful products which captivate the users. On this, the joy is always on making the users smile. More importantly, it is always about simplicity and this ensures that the users get products they can easily use and love. On the other hand, it is realized that while the communication solutions provided by Prezi are simple and stylish, challenges often arise as new products

Quality Indicators for Safe Medication Preparation and Administration Essay Example for Free

Quality Indicators for Safe Medication Preparation and Administration Essay Being passionate about caring and helping others has influenced and inspired me to enter the medical field and has then encouraged me to become a registered nurse in the Philippines. I have worked in a public hospital located in Manila which caters health care services for people presenting infectious and tropical diseases. One day, I had an admission who was diagnosed with an Acute Gastroenteritis secondary to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. The doctor ordered a new antibiotic that should be given intravenously. When the antibiotic was already at hand, I administered the medication with the 100ml solution of normal saline to the patient. Afterward, because of a lot of toxicity in the area caused by a large number of patients, I forgot to reassess the patient whom I gave the antibiotic initially. I was surprised when I got back, the patient was already experiencing an allergic reaction to the antibiotic that the skin was flushed and generalized rashes were observed. I referred the patient immediately to the resident on duty and anti-histamine medications were given right away. Because of the incident happened, I felt overwhelmed with fear due to the possible consequences I had in my mind that the patient might suffer. I had been administering antibiotics many times in the past, but this situation made me feel guilty and uneasy. I even questioned myself if I am really that competent enough to do medical interventions to the patients. A nurse’s role is to render a high quality of care at all times. The reactions of the antibiotic would have been prevented if the proper assessment has been executed. Being knowledgeable in interventions especially medication administration is essential in my role, that I felt I didn’t accomplish fully. I documented all that happened to the patient and I made an internal incident report so that the other team members would be well-informed about the situation and also proper endorsements were done. Further errors and complications will be prevented through active management and effective reporting system would ensure patient’s safety. Administration of medicines to individuals who are ill is part of nurse’s responsibility to deliver holistic and optimal care (Veitch Christie 2007). In the Philippines, nurses are required to practice methodical approach that follows local polices. In regards to my own experience, nurses practice 10 rights of medication administration that are intended to protect patients from any misconduct in promoting health. Some of the key things I have learned include developing my time management, multi-tasking, and organizational habits. One of the ways I would change what I did then would be to assess before and after administering certain medication to the patient especially if it’s an initial dose. I am now more cautious and responsible for my actions when delivering holistic care. Although I should’ve reassessed the patient, the experience I have gained from this has made me more mindful of patient’s rights that safeguard patient’s well-being. In the future, I think I would try to deal with this by improving the level of my competence and not neglect the aspects of nursing as a caring profession. I will continue to provide genuine care to the patients through further developing my skills in performing the 10 rights of medication administration. I intend to become more careful and as well as confident when protecting the health of my patients from possible risks of any treatment and health practices. As a registered nurse, I aim to advance my knowledge and skills that will befit the needs of the clients. Therefore, even if this experience for me was a challenge, I took it as an advantage to help me understand the importance of values in nursing and will guide me in tackling different instances and situations in the future.

What Makes Como Hotels And Resort Different Tourism Essay

What Makes Como Hotels And Resort Different Tourism Essay An Asian lady-Mrs Ong, the owner of the COMO group, dedicated and curious business woman who traveled a lot around the world was not really satisfied with the Londons most popular hotels. By 1991 Mrs Ong had already had well established fashion business because of which she traveled quite often to London. In 1991, in one of her visits to London she discovers that a building in Central London with perfect location is on sale. Immediately she decides to buy this building and turns into fantastic hotel and this Halkin Hotel consequently becomes an access for the COMO hotels and Resorts (Group Handbook, 2009). Thus starting her business to satisfy her expectations on her visits to London she builds a new business which fulfils the needs of higher expectations. According to COMO statistics of 2010 COMO hotels and resorts consists of three hotels (and 18 aprtments in Metropolitan Hotel), two resorts, two umas and one shambala estate. Two of the hotels are located in London and one in Bangkok. Parrot Cay (TurksCaicos) and Coco Irelands (The Maldives) are very unique resorts of COMO. But the main differentiator of COMO from any other hotels and resorts is its Umas(Uma Ubud(Bali) and Uma Paro(Bhutan)) and COMO Shambala Estate at Bagawan Giri(Bali) (Market share statistics 2010). With its distinguishing business approach COMO hotel resorts has been able to achieve uniqueness among its competitors over the past few years. Three hotels which are located in busy cities are developed to attract guest who travel to big cities for businesses. Because of this Sales and Marketing department of COMO hotels and resorts is located in London and correspondent office in Bangkok. These three five star hotels which are located in hart of the busy cities is the way how COMO attracts its customers. The main strategy of COMO is to build Resorts in the most rural, wild and unusual places of the world (COMO hotels and resorts, 2010). Focused differentiation strategies in Hotel industry seeks to provide high perceived service benefits justifying a substantial price premium product and are usually heavily branded and offer benefits different from those of its competitors and that are widely valued by buyers (Gerry et al, 2006). Implying this fact, because of its unique strategy and approach to its customers COMO can be named as a differentiator in Hotel and resort industry. Each COMO hotel and resort is very different, but it is not difficult to identify the most common aspect. As an owner of the group Mrs Ong pays a huge attention to the well being and health, as well as style. For instance in Vital statistics of COMO hotels and resorts (2010), Shambhala described as a health concept that has been built as centers of wellbeing at all estates. These include COMOs city hotel spas, known as COMO Shambhala Urban Escapes, as well as COMO Shambhala Retreats at the companys private islands and Uma resorts. Shambhala Yoga Centre in Singapore trains yoga teachers and therapists in order to create personalized, holistic solutions for the specific needs of different guests. It is a consultative rather than prescriptive approach, allowing consultants to respond to clients on a one-by-one, day-by-day basis. They demonstrate the best of ancient Asian traditions and, where it is appropriate, older techniques are combined with Western enhancements. Bodywork is also an other essential element of the COMO Shambhala experience. At all properties, yoga facilities are available. In addition, COMO Shambhala maintains on-going relationships with key health professionals, including nutritionists. COMO Shambhala cuisine, available at nearly all properties, focuses on energizing and organic products. The difference of these products is the emphasis paid on raw ingredients (more easily digested as well as richer in vitamins and sea minerals) is combined with old Asian influences. COMO Shambhala also generates a range of skin and body care products, which is made from all-natural ingredients (available in-room at every property), together with an Active Living clothing collection (COMO hotels and resorts Vital statistics, 2010). COMO Hotels and Resorts is developed by a unique Asian spirit: a peaceful commitment to servicing customers in order to ensure their break with pleasure. In contrary to many hotels COMO tries not to make a hotel like their home, instead it strives to bring the culture, along with all the aspects of the country to make sure that guests will remember the lodge as unforgettable. This aspect, passion and reliability makes each stay exclusive by defining not just the service norms but the hart of each property. All of this described by the essence of the destination which can be found in food, architecture, and the way COMO helps guests to explore and experience the sightseeings of the place. Because of these facts whether its a private island in the ocean or a hotel at the heart of UK, COMO Hotels and Resorts    an award winning, a private company    knows how to make memories of the guests last forever (COMO hotels and resorts, 2010). Internal and External analysis Chart 1: Source: Gerry J, Kevan S, Richard W, Exploring Corporate Strategy, texts and cases, (2006), pp. 64. The Chart 1 gives a clear view of frameworks for understanding the environment of COMO hotels and resorts with the aim of assisting to identify the key issues and ways of overcoming the challengers and complications. There are a lot of factors which influence COMO hotels and resorts, but mainly for the right assumptions and good analysis it is necessary to analyze those aspects by dividing them into internal and external factors. External- in other words environmental and competitive analysis-aim to identify opportunities and threats which affects the company. On the other hand internal analyses seek to identify strengths and weaknesses a COMO is facing in current competitive and challenging business environment. Environmental (PESTEL) Analysis. COMO Hotels and Resorts is competing in the hospitality industry, which has been effected enormously by the impact of war, terrorism attacks, political instability and visa regulations as well as economic crisis like 2009th credit crunch. It is also affected by technological innovations and globalization as well as environment. By using PESTEL framework COMO Hotels and Resorts can categorize environmental influences into six main forms: political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal. PESTEL provides a comprehensive list of influences on the possible success or failure of the strategy of COMO Hotels and resorts. Many of these factors are linked together which is why it is crucial to identify the key drivers for change. And these key drivers for change are the high-impact factors likely to affect significantly the success or failure of strategy(Gerry et al, 2006). COMO Hotels and Resorts approach considers the impact on the economies, cultures, environment and communities of each destination in which it operates. Promise to sustainability is embedded in the fundamental COMO commitment to passion, creativity and style. Creating unforgettable journey experiences for guests go together with rewarding employees to maximize their prospective, targeted stewardship and contributing to the local economy (COMO hotels and resorts, 2010). Political/Legal Factors As a Global Industry COMO is hugely affected by political factors of the country where it operates. It is comprehensible that visa regulations effect dramatically on COMOs sales. For example it is more difficult to obtain visa to Bali which makes Uma less attractive for its guests. Nowadays people do not really want to fill extra paperwork and wait for results. All the Resorts and Umas as well as estate is located either in higher mountains or in islands which narrows its customer segmentation to a luxury holiday and leisure seeking guests. For example to travel Coco Irelands where one of the famous resorts is located a guest will need to feel extra paperwork proposed by the governments which affects the guest decision to visit the resort. As COMO operates in different countries it is very important to invest into the governmentally stable country. Another reason for that is the cost of closure of the business; this is due to costly assets. Taxation is another aspect of consideration for any global company. According to the experiences of some guests, some complaint that they were charged higher tax on their third visit to Uma Ubud, but this is due to the governmental taxation policies which does not necessarily affect COMO but discourages the trust of the customers (Trip Advisor, 2009). Economical Last year has been especially difficult for the tourism, hospitality and travel industry. War in Iraq, the rise of oil prices, the outbreak of different flu viruses because of which traveling was limited or dangerous to some destinations has had a devastating effect on the global hospitality industry. Those factors combined with the domestic situation in the UK, such as credit crunch, a declination in consumer spending, the weak job and closure of many businesses made the last year very challenging for businesses. As the economic downturn is slightly picking up, the hospitality and travel industry gains from increased business travels. And expectations for a more favorable hospitality and travel industries are in sight and are proclaimed by various sources for the 2010. According to the Profit and Loss statement of COMO Hotels and Resorts for 2009 RevPAR has generally declined for 2.3% but predicted Profit and Loss statement for 2010 looks much healthier than last year with 1,2% increase in RevPAR. Merrill Lynch analysts (10/30/2009) believe that the hotel industry has hit the lowest figures of present lodging cycle and is disillusioned for a huge rebound due to increasing demand, as a result of a strengthen economy, together with very low supply growth over the next a few years. These results consequently should translate into strong RevPAR. And followed by the improvement of RevPAR, RC(return on capital), ROCE and overall hotel evaluation is often followed. According to the Ghassan Aidi, President of International Hotels Restaurant Association, notes on U.N. World Tourism Organization Resilience Committee meeting in Berlin on September 2008, nearly in parallel with stock market turmoil, occupancy at luxury hotels start to go down 6% then 14% in October. Furthermore he mentioned RevPAR in 2009 fell by 17% for luxury market while as it was mentioned above COMO Hotels and Resorts was able to keep its business in -2.3%. Moreover Mr Ghassan Aidi (2009) concludes his speech mentioning that in general 2009 and early part of 2010 will be challenging for hotel industry, but he also believes that hospitality industry as a whole needs to become positive and explore unlimited opportunities. Please remember that our industry is the largest employer in the history and employ more than 950 million of workers and we are the last barrier and the major fighter against global poverty says Mr Ghassan Aidi on his report. Social and Environmental COMO has been investing and paying huge attention to the environmental factors such as global warming, poverty and discrimination. For example COMO foundation is specially designed program to support nonprofit organizations that tries to improve lives of women and girls. Without any geographical limitations to the foundation portfolio COMO was able to grant projects such as healthcare, skill development and education (COMO hotels and resorts, 2010). COMO has implemented different recycling projects in its hotels and resorts. Metropolitan Hotel in London was awarded as the best environmental caring hotel of 2009 (Employee handbook, 2010). Technological Factors To obtain bigger market share and to increase customer satisfaction, hotels and resorts are continuously trying to offer high-tech technology. In the past few years have shown huge effects on telephone revenues and an increased demand for high speed Internet access throughout hotels and resorts (Phillip et.al, 20/11/2003). The overall change in customer booking patterns was affected by the way customers are searching, reviewing and choosing hotels and resorts. Travel agents such as Travelodge have increased their large market share and are continuing to change the current status of the market. It is not difficult to observe how travel agents who offer vocational packages which include accommodation, airfare and transportation are growing over the past few years, but at the same time this affected negatively on revenues in the hospitality. Moreover Internet review web-sites such as interdependent hotel review web pages like www.cntraveller.com has impacted on customers choice and decisions. Online booking is rapidly increasing because of the customers behavioral changes. Moreover economical changes persuaded Hotels and Resorts to implement cost cutting techniques. On the second part of this report technological changes which are effecting COMO hotels and resorts will be discussed more briefly. SWOT analysis The key strategic messages from business environment and strategic capability can be summarized in the form of SWOT analysis. According to Mintzberg (1998, p.406) SWOT analysis summarizes the key issues from the business environment and the strategic capability of an organization that are most likely to impact on strategy development. The aim of these analyses is to identify the extent to which the current strengths and weaknesses are applicable to, and capable of, simultaneously dealing with the threats and capitalizing on the opportunities in the hospitality industry. COMO business structure and development as SWOT analysis important strengths and weaknesses within the industry and illustrates valuable opportunities and threats the hotel is facing currently: Strengths   COMO has gain a good reputation from its existing customers There is constant upgrading of COMO management Perfect and unique hotel locations Differentiating facilities Great hotel service and high customer value Cultural staff/personnel relations with guests Very popular restaurants located in each hotels and resorts COMO shambala health treatments Small chain which means better and easier management COMO Foundation Weaknesses Lack of profit maximization from other sources like for example, conferences and wedding venues revenues Low employment overhead revenue Lack of differentiation of reception from other hotels Difficulties to reach target customers Tough visa regulations in some locations of the resorts Lack of self owned online sales channels   Opportunities   The presence of enough basic facilities to improve quality Technological innovation   Refresh of hotel operators   The increase in sales due to customer loyalty   The ability to be efficient as knowledge curve is changing   Customer Growth Enhancement of Brand Name Threats Presence of better market positioning by hotel rivals Constantly raising and tough competition because all the Hotels are located in big cities Economic slowdown that may obstruct hotel development Implementation of newer technology tools by other hotels Unsuitable environment for keeping loyal customers Change in Technology Changes happen all over the world, every single minute there is something invented or improved and this lead to the fact that nowadays life cannot be imagined without technology. Some companies use technology in some part of the production procedure, while others consist whole from technology and hugely depend on it. One of the hugely dependant on technology and changes within technological industry is hospitality industry. Starting from reaching and making reservations for guests, all the way till making the customers loyal requires technology. The following paragraphs of this report highlight most important innovations and installations of technology in the COMO hotels and resorts. Technological influences on policies and decision making Starting from 1980s, strategy management scholars began to recognize technology as an important element of business definition and competitive strategy. (Robert Burgelman, 2004). For example Porter observes that technology is among the most prominent factors that determine the rules of competition. But according to one prescriptive school of strategy is that general managers need not have backgrounds in science or IT, but they do need to invest significant effort in learning to understand the technologies important to their business. But the most important fact for CEOs in todays constantly changing technological world is their ability to frame the key strategic questions in relation to technology (Robert Burgelman, 2004). The link between generic competitive strategies and technological strategies is described in details below in Chart 1. Chart 1 Technological Policies and Generic Competitive Strategy Generic Strategy Product technological change Overall cost leadership Overall differentiation Focus segment Cost leadership Focus segment differentiation Technological Policies COMOs new product offer to reduce product/service cost by lowering materials content. COMOs product development to enhance product quality COMOs product development to design enough performance for the segments needs COMOs new product offer to meet exactly the needs of the particular business segment application. Process technological change COMOs process development to enhance economies of scale COMOs process development to support greater quality control, faster response COMOs process development to tune production to segment needs in order to lower cost COMOs process development to tune the production to segment needs in order to improve performance. Source: Burgelman R., Christensen C., Wheelwright S., 2004, Strategic management of technology and innovation Being global means a lot of communication and quick respond to the changes. Having properties in different parts of the world is very difficult to manage without standardized property operating systems. The finance department in all of the properties of COMO uses the same system which in its turn enables head office to better control the finance of the company. All COMO hotels and resorts bank transactions exceeding 10.000 pounds are being processed by head office in UK. Due to technology this procedure is reached high outcomes, as a result of the availability of the internet any resorts or Umas at any time can scan the copy of the invoice and send to the head office. After this head office analyses the invoice and processes payment to the beneficiary on behalf of the resort or hotel. Effectiveness of COMOs response to change in technology COMO is constantly striving to be the first of new technological advances in the industry. According to Mr Orchard-regional general manager-a companys strength and competitive advantage is its ability to constantly update and keep up with technology. Mr orchared says: We were able to differentiate ourselves because of our passion, creativity and style. But the key behind this theory is our ability to be first in introducing new technological changes to our guests. COMO hotels and resorts have implemented different technological advances and those are being explored to increase its facilities within the lodge. For example, Metropolitan was the first hotel in London who offered free wireless internet within the hotel. Moreover it is the first hotel in London who installed 42 and 32 flat screen TV in all its bedrooms. Also it offers vary products such as iPod docking station, electronic do not disturb button in all its bedrooms. Due to change in technology COMO is able to offers more services to its customers than ever before, for example: IT Butler Limousines Foreign exchange Business Centre with high speed broadband internet service Secretarial service Laundry, dry cleaning and pressing services Express check-out Mobile phone rental Flat screen TV with 67 channels Extensive on demand music jukebox and movie selection WiFi and high speed internet access iPod docking station (in Studios and Suites) CD and DVD player Dual line, direct dial telephone with voice mail Air conditioning Electronic do not disturb sign Private fax machine with designated number UK and US modem points Video recorders, mobile phones and printers (on request) Sony widescreen TV Wall mounted plasma screen DVD player Hairdryer Iron and ironing board Mini bar In recent years the emerging of the internet as a new channel of distribution has presented some challenges to the lodging industry. In respond to this COMO partnered with e-commerce company which enabled better online reservation systems. With the installation of these new systems COMO was able to offer international customers use the local language to make a reservation. Of course internet is a great tool to reach customers globally but aim of the COMO is to tailor that distribution method to suit to each guest. And this recently developed e-commerce has and will further enable COMO to reduce the distribution costs, while promoting the brand name around the world. The main objective behind this is to make COMOs web site and online sales channels to reach more customers and to promote the brand name (Employee handbook, 2009). Areas for improvement as a response to the change in technology COMO is constantly looking and investigating for new technological improvements and advancements to satisfy the needs of its guests. But as it can be seen in any business because of the rapid change in technology it is too difficult to keep up with changes in technology all the time. There is always a gap or neglected part of the business which can be improved to turn weaknesses and threats in opportunities and strengths. For example to improve the distribution and increase customer loyalty COMO uses online sales channels. But in order to better compete, to have a better and stronger brand COMO needs to have its own online sales channels. COMO Hotels and Resorts needs to insure all its customers to get the best value by accessing the different distribution channels available. As an advertiser of COMO hotels and resorts it co-operates with Design Hotels Inc, this kind of companies advertise hundreds hotels and resorts. As some of its competitors are already aware and became ahead COMO by designing their own advertising web browser, COMO needs to keep up with this as well. Biometric clock in and clock out system allowed organizations to automate payroll processing, eliminate unauthorized overtime and accurately reports employee time/ attendance to HR. Right now COMO is implementing a time card which needs to be swiped to record the attendance. But biometric attendance recorder can help to eliminate early punch ins and hours of payroll calculation. It helps and eliminates the effort and time required by the HR to monitor the time-clock activity and reduces the manual involvement of payroll consequently leading to a cost savings and improved productivity. COMO hotels and resorts is very narrowly targeted to a very rich guests, but is not COMO distancing itself from other guest demographics? The effort to keep up with changing technology is working, but can COMO stay in line with further changes of technology and competition? Conclusion COMO hotels and resorts seems to be very well positioned and has made significant achievements and was able to expend very quickly by integrating of its brand name by accomplishing its strategic trend in such turbulent economic situation. Its culture, brand and global strategy are the key part of their success. While there are still huge opportunities, such as technological innovation, reinvigoration of hotel operators, the increase in sales due to customer loyalty, customer growth and enhancement of brand name these opportunities are also accessible over the period of time. Nevertheless, COMO has been able to accomplish huge success in less than 20 years by nurturing a culture and reputation based on style, creativity and passion to navigate though challenging markets and prosperous times. Thus the strength of COMO became a synonym of luxury.

The signifigance of Fishing in The Sun Also Rises :: essays research papers fc

Escaping the Wasteland   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fishing trip within Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises provides a pilgrimage of rejuvenation to the novel’s participating characters, Jake Barnes and Bill Gorton. Escaping the wasteland that is Paris, the two men â€Å"shove off,† (Hemingway, VIII), to Burguete, Spain, where they fish for trout on the Irati River.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The protagonist and narrator of the novel, Jake was left impotent from an injury incurred while serving with the Italian Front in World War 1. His inability to consummate his love for the insatiable Brett Ashley, and the sterile social backdrop of Paris provide a striking similarity to the Arthurian Fisher King motif of a man generatively impaired, and his kingdom thusly sterile. Bill Gorton, an amicable ally of Jake, and one of the few morally sound characters in the novel, serves as Galahad, gently kidding Jake about his injury, promoting self-acceptance and healing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemingway often depicts nature as a pastoral paradise within the novel, and the fishing trip serves as his epitome of such, entirely free from the corruptions of city life and women. Doing away with modern modes of transportation, they walk many miles gladly to reach the Irati River. While fishing, Jake and Bill are able to communicate freely with each other, unbound by the social confines of American and European society. The men also enjoy the camaraderie of English Veteran, Harris. This is quite different from the competitive relationships that can develop between men in the presence of women. Bill is able to express his fondness for Jake openly without it â€Å"mean[ing] [he] was a faggot,† (VIII), and Jake has no qualms over his fish being smaller than Bill’s, in what could be interpreted as an admission of lesser sexual virility.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fresh air of Burguete provides clarity of mind beyond the scope of the Parisian lifestyle and it is evident within Hemingway’s prose and style. Jake’s diligence and dedication to each of the steps involved in fishing are indicative of his separation from his life and the woes that constitute it. Throughout the novel, Jake has a shrewd, practical outlook on life that is omitted here. His focus and attentiveness reveal the sensitive, reflective man that Jake is, free of inhibition. His thoughts undulating like gentle waves, Jake uses worms for bait as opposed to a fly, so he can peacefully drop his line and contemplate life instead of concentrating on the constant casting and jerking inherent to fly fishing.

Replacement of the Book with Computers Essay -- Reading Electronic Tex

The Book Is Dead! Long Live the Book! The book, so post-structuralists critics have long been assuring us, just isn't what it used to be—or, to be more accurate, what we used to think it was. It's no longer a discrete entity, a little world unto itself wedged between two covers, a piece of discourse that speaks to us with a unified voice, the work of an individual author. Instead, as critical discourse by the likes of Barthes (1979) and Derrida (1974) have informed us, the contents of one book or article are inextricably linked to dozens, even hundreds or thousands, of others, and its contents, in turn, are absorbed by other texts. Texts refer to other texts endlessly: our awareness of the labours Page 2 of our predecessors battling with the written word gives rise to writing that is a dense and complex weave of references and allusions which lead Barthes in â€Å"From Work to Text† (1979) to characterise individual works as networks linked by paths, a web of texts which was effectively authorless. The striking similarities between hypertext and the Text as described by post- structuralist critics accounts, in part, for the magnitude and scope of the hype that has accompanied its debut as a viable medium of information. Mention hypertext to a colleague or acquaintance today, and the chances are he or she will certainly have heard of it—even if very few people have actually seen any examples of it. Put simply, hypertext is information (usually text, but also graphics, video, and audio clips) that is mediated by a computer, generally divided into chunks of information connected by computer links. Readers can work their way through texts in a variety of different orders, sometimes following sequences already mapped... ... â€Å"When Freedom of Choice Fails: Ideology and Action in a Secondary School Hypermedia Project.† NAPA Bulletin 12 (1993): 66-72. Barthes, Roland. â€Å"The Death of the Author.† Image, Music, Text. Trans. Stephen Heath. New York: Hill and Wang, 1977: 142-149. __________. â€Å"From Work to Text.† Textual Strategies: Perspectives in Post-Structural Criticism. Ed. Josuà © Harari. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1979: 73-82. Crane, Gregory. â€Å"Composing Culture: The Authority of an Electronic Text.† Current Anthropology 32.3 (1991): 293-311. Derrida, Jacques. Of Grammatology. Trans. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976. Edward, Deborah M. and Lynda Hardman. â€Å"‘Lost in Hyperspace’: Cognitive Mapping and Navigation in a Hypertext Environment.† In Hypertext: Theory into Practice. Ed. Ray McAleese. Oxford: Intellect Books, 1990: 105-125.

Changes in the Marketing Environment Essay

In recent times, from an economic environment perspective, people are getting more affluent, even in third world countries like Vietnam, the younger generation are more interested in spending on the latest fashion and gadgets, like iPods. Phone marketers might want to include phone designs which allow for self-expression, hence catering to the younger people seeking to carve out their own identity. For example, young girls in Japan like to stick many shiny crystals on their phones as they see it as a form of beautiful art. Phone marketers can cash in on this growing trend by offering phones which have suitable surfaces for crystal gluing, and they might want to also consider having a tie-up with a suitable bead company in order to have a package selling the crystals together with the phones. An important marketing strategy in catering to the changing political environment would be cause-marketing. It is by cause-marketing that phone marketers can reassure the public that they are soc ially responsible, even in the midst of increasing unethical behaviour existing in society. Cause marketing might be the determining factor which might set a phone or a brand of phones apart, especially if customers have the same perception of 2 brands of phones and are undecided which to choose. Phone marketers can follow Motorola’s lead whereby they produced a red â€Å"razr† phone to promote awareness of aids, which was highly successful. Another important marketing strategy is for the marketer to observe the changing demographic forces and decide which target group they can focus on in order to make the most profits. Quite a few countries in the world are facing an aging population, like Japan, China and Singapore. This might be a good target market to go into, by manufacturing phones which are suited for older people like by having larger screens and more user-friendly buttons. Technological forces are constantly changing, and a good marketer would be able to foresee what kinds of functions people might want in their phones. Marketers might want to research about what form of entertainment is capturing people and cater to these needs. Sony Ericsson realised that music was slowly becoming an integral part of people’s lives, no matter what age and produced the walkman phone series which was highly popular. The path to success and its maintenance depends very much on a phone marketer’s resellers and suppliers, hence phone marketers should engage in tie-ups with them both. A phone marketer’s resellers normally consist of telecommunications companies.  Marketers can offer to sell their phones at a lower price to these companies, and in exchange, persuade them to offer more attractive or cheaper line subscription packages when customers purchase the phones of the marketers’. Marketers should constantly source for more efficient and cheaper suppliers and sign a long-term contract with them. Marketers might also want to consider suppliers based in China or India, as labour in such countries is known to be one of the cheapest, yet efficient, in the world. Lastly, marketers should always keep an eye out for competition and continually check on other phone marketers’ strategies and phone pricing. Marketers should also be aware that competition not only lies with other phone marketers, but in any company that has to do with providing entertainment or convenience to people. For example, Apple is not a phone manufacturer, but it is beginning to slowly capture the phone market due to its iPhone. Phone marketers might want to produce phones which have the capability to rival such phones, or if they are unable to do so run a major advertisement campaign to promote their phones against other rival phones, so as to hopefully mould the public’s thinking into their liking. Alternatively, phone marketers can also liaise with major entertainment companies like Apple or Creative to work together to produce quality phones or gadgets to capture a major share of the phone market.

Creative Intelligence †Mental Models Essay

Introduction Creative Intelligence is the ability of mind to devise innovative and smart solutions to the problems faced in routine life. It is a very essential component of successful intelligence as it determines the potential to go ahead of the given situations in order to produce creative and interesting ideas. Such a situation appears when an individual moves in a direction opposite to that of general opinion with a motive to develop efficient means to accomplish the task (Burt, 1931). The four styles of Creative Intelligence are: Intuitive, Innovative, Imaginative and Inspirational. The comparison of these styles and their influence on organizational decision making is as follows- Intuitive: According to the intuitive style, the basic concepts and insights of mind are responsible for developing innovative ideas and determining the decision to be taken. In such a style, facts and figures hold less importance and complexity of the situation is not annoying. In intuitive style, constant changes in the internal as well as the external environments of the organization are presumed, beforehand. This style has a major influence on the organization as decisions are largely taken on the basis of the basic understanding of the employees. Innovative: As per the innovative style of creative intelligence, the creative ability of the mind to develop remarkable solutions to the problems gains high prominence. Such style is usually characterized by out-of box thinking and unconventional point of views. Similar to the intuitive style, it does not focus a great deal on the data and statistics. As every organization desires novel and innovative ideas for its problems, thus, the innovative style plays a pivotal role in the decision-making process. Imaginative: In this style of creative intelligence, an individual devises  new and creative ideas entirely on the basis of his imagination capabilities. Such a style requires the situation to be perceived from a variety of perspectives and solved entirely on the basis of shear creative potential of the mind. It does not require many details related to the given circumstances. Such a style does influence the decision-making process of an organization by recommending inventive measures to resolve the problem. Inspirational: The inspirational style is a very unique form of creative intelligence. According to this style, novel ideas and solutions are developed by drawing inspiration from the actions taken in situations of similar nature. Such kind of motivation can also be derived from the figures acknowledged by the individual. In contrast to other styles, it realizes the importance of the details related to the situation. Also, the inspirational style, simplifies the process of decision-making in a positive manner by recommending tested and proven measures. Influence of Five forces on Mental Models- A mental model accounts for an individual’s thought process about how things work in the real world. As these models refer to a symbol or representation of outside facts, they are assumed to play a crucial role in decision-making (Sternberg, 1982). The five forces affect the mental models existing in an organization in a significant manner. As a result of these forces, the mental models adapt themselves to the changes in the internal and external environments (Mental Models, Metaphor and Design, 2008). How Mental Models might limit the decision-making process- As the mental models form preconceived responses to a given situation or a problem, they prevent the introduction of any new solutions to tackle the current issues (Robles-De-La-Torre G. & Sekuler, 2004). For illustration, the poor performance of an employee owing to certain inevitable measures would lead the HR Manager to take an incorrect decision about his future due to his set mental model. Similarly, an organization’s defensive mindset would prevent it from engaging in a risky yet profitable project (Increasing Intelligence, 2008). Commonly used Mental Models and their influence on the decision-making process at the workplace- At the workplace, a number of mental models are used by the individuals to take decisions in the given situation (Mental Models, 2008). On similar lines, my decision-making process at the workplace is guided by the structural and functional mental models. In order to take a decision in the given situation, I firstly employ the functional model as it helps to know the actual task to be performed in the given circumstances. Generally, this mental model serves as the fundamental basis for taking any kind of decision for the problem. However, in order to understand the factors leading to the problem, the structural model is used. This model assists in understanding the various components of the problems at the workplace and their relationships with each other. In fact, both the models influence my decision-making process to a great deal as they assume varying significance depending on the situation encountered at the workplace. At the same time, they help in the process of taking appropriate decisions as per the requirement of the given situation. References Burt, C. 1931. _The Differentiation Of Intellectual Ability_. The British Journal of Educational Psychology. Robles-De-La-Torre G. & Sekuler R.. 2004. _Numerically Estimating Internal Models of Dynamic Virtual Objects_. ACM Transactions on Applied Perception. Sternberg, R.J. 1982. _Handbook of human intelligence_. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Increasing Intelligence. (2008). Retrieved April 17, 2008, from http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/users/reingold/courses/intelligence/cache/sternberg_intelligence.html Mental Models. (2008). Retrieved April 17, 2008, from http://www.cs.umu.se/kurser/TDBC12/HT99/Laird.html Mental Models, Metaphor and Design. (2008). Retrieved April 17, 2008, from http://www.syntagm.co.uk/design/articles/mmmad.pdf

Operations Management Synthesis Essay

Product Design The products that will be made out of the given components are corrective lenses for eyeglasses. The product will have the following features: a. Corrects near-sightedness or far-sightedness, whichever may be the case, through varying curvatures of the lenses, for different grades b. May be rectangular or circular in overall shape c. Around 1.5 inches in length, 1 inch in width d. Clear and transparent, not dark Considering that the finished goods (lenses) are very much expensive in relation to the raw materials (marbles), it would be safe to say that much value was added to the raw materials by the process of manufacturing, as a result. Process Design and Layout Given a product with just modules and essentially made from the same base – standard glass lenses, the process could be considered as repetitive-focus. Given the raw materials of only marbles, the illustration above is the process diagram that will be used. In order to clearly explain the diagram, the process involves the following steps: a. Crush marbles b. Melt marbles c. Add chemicals to treat the glass for durability d. Check for proper consistency/ratio of chemicals to glass and impurities e. Transfer defects back to start of production cycle f. Cool the material g. Check for bubbles h. Transfer defects back to start of production cycle i. Roll out the cooling glass j. Shape or cut out into shape (either circular or rectangular) k. Check dimensions (1.5 inches by 1 inch) if correct l. Transfer defects back to start of production cycle m. Curve the lens according to specifications using a curving machine n. Check if curvature specifications are met o. Transfer defects back to start of production cycle p. Final cleaning for any impurities q. Polishing of lenses for a shiny or glossy finish r. Final checking of lenses s. Package the lenses t. Ship the finished goods u. Administer preventive maintenance before next cycle (general cleaning of machines, check for machine irregularities) The layout is done in such a way that in case of defects, the transfer back to the start of the production cycle would be easier. Furthermore, the layout allows for job expansion for the workers due to them handling more than one step in the process. Also, this layout is supposed to minimize the amount of distance from one process to another, as long as these processes follow each other. Quality Management Initially, quality checkpoints are put up right after every crucial process. Meanwhile, the concept of six sigma is also implemented in order to address and eventually minimize them. By using the DMAIC, the following is how defects would be addressed: a. Define defects (For instance, bubbles were found.) b. Measure and collect process data (Identify how many products were defective and how much of the production process was affected.) c. Analyze data (What was the cause of the defect? i.e., inconsistency of chemical-to-glass ratio) d. Improve process (What should be done to prevent it from occurring again? i.e, thoroughly checking for proper consistency/ratio of chemicals to glass and/or hiring experts/more skilled employees) e. Control new process to make sure performance is maintained Location The primary determinant of location would be costs of rent and delivery of raw materials. The factory must be closer to suppliers than customers. If we are to apply clustering, it would also be good to be close to competitors, as it would implicate a technology spill-over. To compare the advantages of the possible different locations and the advantages of each, the center of gravity method is while also determining the most convenient manner of delivering orders. Human Resources The main objective of the human resources department is to make sure that the employees are skilled in glass processing. This is in order to troubleshoot properly and detect any defects in the product itself. Since the process is repetitive-focus, the qualifications of the workers are not as high as the qualifications needed for a process-focus design but still higher than that of the product focus. Salaries would be a bit higher than the minimum wage. Furthermore, the following factors shall be observed: a. The criteria on determining which Individual should be assigned to a station must be based on their skills, talents, and strengths (i.e, hiring field experts for checking for defective products and hiring capable persons for cleaning, packaging, and preparing for shipping). b. Employee empowerment should be considered through incentive systems (i.e, offering incentives to employees based on their needs, for instance, car loan for managers while food/transportation bonuses for the laborers). c. Employee empowerment through job expansion (i.e, enriching/enlarging the scope of the jobs, for instance, 1-2 employees assigned for all checkpoints instead of having 1 per checkpoint). Supply Chain Management .The primary suppliers should easily be accessible since raw material orders will only be issued upon demand. There must be a strong relationship that would be built with primary suppliers in order to eventually avail of discounts and a higher assurance of good quality. There should always be backup suppliers in case the main supplier fails to deliver. Other suppliers would include actual glass manufacturers in case of the lack of materials from primary sources. Inventory Management In order to maximize resources and keep inventory holding costs at a minimum, we will employ the Just-In-Time method for managing inventory. Furthermore, we will order only when we need to produce; thereby not falling into the trap of availing of quantity discounts which sometimes incur more expenses in the long run. As a result, to further reduce inventory costs, finished goods could be shipped out of the plant as soon as possible. Scheduling All orders will be taken and processed in a uniform manner. Orders may be changed in specifications only until the preliminary process of producing the modular standard glass lens is concluded, meaning that once the process of curving the lenses, which is the process where the orders differ, the orders cannot be changed anymore. Regularly, orders will be processed and queued regularly, preferably every day, Maintenance Preventive maintenance is done every after cycle, which involves the standard operating procedure of cleaning the machines. When factory is not scheduled for production, a more general preventive maintenance is undertaken to ensure smooth operations during the scheduled productions by increasing the reliability of the machines.