Mms Renta a Car

M02_TURB7293_09_SE_WC02. 1. QXD 12/22/09 2:38 PM Page 1 W2 APPLICATION CASE W2. 1. 1 Part 1: The Intelligence Phase ONLINE FILE W2. 1 THE MMS RUNNING CASE MMS Rent-a-Car, based in Atlanta, Georgia, has outlets at major airports and cities throughout North America. Founded by CEO Elena Markum several years ago, it has seen fast growth over the past few years, mainly because it offers quality service, fast, at convenient locations. MMS is highly competitive, able to offer cars at slightly lower rates than its competitors because most of its airport facilities are located near but not at the airport.A keen user of information systems, MMS tracks competitors’ prices, stored in a large data warehouse, through its Web-based enterprise information system portal, CLAUDIA (Come Learn About statUs for Deals and Information on Autos). CLAUDIA also tracks sales, fleet status, other internal status information, and external information about the economy and its relevant components. CLAUDIA has been a great success in keeping MMS competitive. The First Meeting Elena calls the meeting to order: ELENA: Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I’m glad that we could schedule this meeting through our new scheduling module of CLAUDIA.I know you have all read my e-mail about our latest problem—sales are off by 10 percent. Basically, this will put us in the red for the year if it continues for another 4 months. CLAUDIA’s forecasting system that links to our RMS (revenue management system) indicates that sales will continue to decrease for the next 4 months, even after we adjust prices. Folks, what’s going on? I want to know what has caused this problem, how we can fix it, and how we can prevent it from happening again. Aside from solving the problem, I want to develop some knowledge about it and use it as an opportunity to improve our business.MARLA: Frankly, Elena, I don’t understand it! I noticed a slight dip in sales 2 months ago b ut was so busy with our new fleet acquisitions that I planned to go back and look into what happened when I finished replacing the fleet later this week. I should have passed word on to our analysts to have a look back then. Sorry. ELENA: No problem, Marla. I should have noticed it myself. I’m glad you were at least aware and ready to move on it. So, we have evidence of a problem. What else do we have? S HARON : My up-to-date reports from the travel industry indicate that over the past 6 months there has been a slight increase in businessProblems Elena has called a meeting of her vice presidents to discuss a problem that she noticed yesterday while tapping into CLAUDIA. Rentals are off about 10 percent nationally from the MMS projections for last month. Furthermore, CLAUDIA’s forecasts indicate that they will continue to decrease. Elena wants to know why. This morning, the following VPs are present: Sharon Goldman, Marketing (CMO) Michael Lee, Operations (COO) Marla Da na, Fleet Acquisitions (CFAO) Tonia van de Stam, Information Systems (CIO) Mark Lams, Knowledge Systems (CKO) Jelene Thompson, Accounting (CAO) Rose Franklin, Finance (CFO) 2-1M02_TURB7293_09_SE_WC02. 1. QXD 12/22/09 2:38 PM Page 2 2-2 Part II †¢ Computerized Decision Support overall. More people are flying for business meetings, conventions, trade shows, and pleasure. And the same proportion of them is renting cars in North America. This is true for all of our primary markets—major cities and airports—but not for our secondary markets in the smaller cities, where most rentals are for business. Overall, business should be up. Vacation business is up quite a bit from the central Florida theme parks advertising specials and major conventions. Both political party conventions were held in major cities.Data indicate that our rentals did not increase while the total market did. Our earlier forecasts indicated that business should have increased; our rental rates reflec t this, as does our increased fleet size, by 15 percent. The cars should be moving— but they’re not! ELENA: How about the advertising impacts? ROSE: Our financials indicate that we have been spending more on advertising in our primary markets. Yet those are where our sales are dropping fastest. JELENE: I agree. Though our records were about 3 weeks behind, now they are up-to-date, and they’ll stay up-to-date, thanks to our upgrade to CLAUDIA.I’m looking at the current data right now on our secure wireless network, and we’re definitely down. ELENA: Okay. Our advertising expenditures are up. That’s because we made that deal with GMC (Gold Motors Corporation). We just finished replacing our entire fleet with GMC cars and vans, right, Marla? MARLA: Absolutely! The cars are much more reliable and cheaper to maintain than the ones that had the transmissions burning out every 45,000 miles (72,000 km). These cars and vans are the national best-selle rs, have great reputations, and are of high quality. They have the highest safety records in most categories.All of the standard models came in first: subcompacts, compacts, mid-size, full-size, and minivans. About 6 weeks ago, we started getting in the hot new GMC Spider 1600 convertible. We have an exclusive deal on this hot little number. It looks like the sporty 1971 Fiat Spider but is built to new quality standards. It’s fun to drive—they let me have one for a year before we got the fleet in! They are expensive, and GMC owns the domestic market. We should be able to rent these out all the time. We have 5 at each agency across the country, and by year’s end we should have 10.SHARON: We got an exclusive with them for the next 3 years. They only give the fleet discount to us, we feature their cars in our advertising, and they feature us in theirs. And the Spider came to us right off the new assembly line in Pittsburgh. ELENA: I have one of the Spiders, too. So I suspect that they’re constantly rented out, aren’t they? MICHAEL: Well, no. Only about half of them are rented. The rental rates were supposed to be set pretty high, but our RMS recommends setting it at the same price as a compact. We hedged a little and set the price to about 10 percent higher.Some local agency offices are overriding the system and setting the prices 15 percent less, and they still can’t move them. ELENA : How about the other classes of cars? MICHAEL: Rentals are down about 8 percent nationally on all the other ones. E LENA : So sales are down 8 percent for everything but the Spider, and the Spider, which should be a hot seller, is off by 50 percent. I know from CLAUDIA that our inventory is okay. All the new cars came in on schedule, and we were able to sell the used cars through electronic auction sites and carmax. com. Folks, we definitely have a big problem.M ICHAEL : As COO, I see that this is primarily my problem, though all of you her e are involved. We’ve never had this happen before, so I really don’t know how to classify the problem. But I think we can get at most of the information we need. This situation is only a symptom of the problem. We need to identify the cause so we can correct the problem. I want some time to get my analysts and Tonia’s moving on it. I will need some major help from Sharon’s people, M02_TURB7293_09_SE_WC02. 1. QXD 12/22/09 2:38 PM Page 3 Chapter 2 †¢ Decision Making, Systems, Modeling, and Support 2-3 and probably a bit from everyone else.Sharon and I talked before the meeting. We both have a feeling that there is something wrong with how we are marketing the new cars, but we don’t have enough information just yet to identify it. I hope that once we solve this problem, we’ll have a nice piece of strategic knowledge for Mark to put into the knowledge management system (KMS). I’ll tentatively schedule a meeting through CLAUDIA next week, as close to this time as possible, depending on people’s previous commitments. I’ll e-mail the major results as we go. I’m sure we’ll know something before the next meeting. ELENA: Thanks, Michael.Okay, folks! We know we have a serious problem. We’ve seen its effects. Michael will assume ownership and move ahead. I also want our IS analysts looking at data even before anyone requests them. That includes any weird economic trends or events—and look at the underlying structure and parameters of our forecasting models, okay, Tonia? Sharon, you look into the advertising. See if there are any external events or trends or reports on the cars that could affect our rentals. The RMS has been accurate until now. It’s been able to balance price, supply, and demand, but something happened.Thank you all and have a great day. APPLICATION CASE W2. 1. 2 Part 2: The Design Phase Later on the day of the first meeting, Michael Lee has his top anal yst, Stephanie Elberson, look into what might have happened. Michael recognized that it was too early to start looking into criteria, solutions, and more (he had studied decision making in a DSS course in his MBA program). He was still trying to understand the problem and separate the problem that could be analyzed from the symptoms. He wanted to make the connection between the two, but he felt that something was fundamentally wrong, and CLAUDIA could ot identify it. A good decision maker relies on judgment and has a good feel for what makes sense and what does not. Michael is one of the best. Stephanie put together a team of analysts and started formulating areas to investigate. One member of the team, Dot Frank, worked closely with Sharon’s analyst, Phil Abrams, to establish the accuracy of the forecasting model. Amy Lazbin, on Stephanie’s team, looked into databases of operational data available internally and economic data available through subscription services. T he latter data focused on the auto rental, automobile, and general economic areas.The analysis team initially set the data mining tools on automatic to establish relationships in the data. For the most part, Amy was able to verify most of the relationships and assumptions that were already in the forecasting models and the RMS. Nothing new popped up from the artificial neural networks, clustering analysis algorithms, and statistical regression models. The pricing model and the forecasting models were all right, though there were some new fluctuations, and the errors were higher when the team looked into how well they had performed over the past 2 months as this new problem arose.The team noticed that the neural networks outperformed the regression-based systems a bit, so they set up an information system and marketing group to look into how they could improve the regression-based models with neural networks. (This was a new opportunity, which led them to return to the intelligence p hase with a new set of issues. ) Stephanie was puzzled. She met with Michael 2 days later to discuss what she was going to do next. She also invited the marketing team and the IS team to each send someone to the meeting. Phil Abrams and Marina Laksey (from IS) joined the team at this point.The meeting was held in the electronic meeting center (EMC), where they would be able to analyze data and use the group support system (GSS). Here’s how the meeting went: STEPHANIE: Thank you all for coming today. As you know, we are working hard on the problem— or rather the symptoms—to try to get to the heart of the problem. Data mining tools helped M02_TURB7293_09_SE_WC02. 1. QXD 12/22/09 2:38 PM Page 4 2-4 Part II †¢ Computerized Decision Support a bit, but there is something fundamentally wrong, and we have yet to find it. Any ideas?MARINA: Stephanie, we used the data mining tools and looked at most, if not all, of the data we normally look at. And we usually look at standard views through our spreadsheet-type interface. I know we have to look â€Å"outside the box. † First off, the four of us need to fire up our new, powerful OLAP (online analytical processing) software, DOT (Data on Time). It taps into our data warehouse and other data, but it goes beyond data mining by allowing us to poke about in the data. We just got the software in 2 weeks ago, and I have already gone through the training course.It has many of the features that CLAUDIA has, but it allows us to look into multidimensional data from any of our data sources in any â€Å"slice† we choose. It also lets us link into other databases and data marts like the one that marketing has. Let me start it up! PHIL: I agree. I learned how to use the OLAP software on my own, and I’ve developed some interesting views of our marketing data that show relationships we did not believe possible. The graphics are almost automatic. Let’s try it! The team saw the bumps in the data but had no idea what had caused them. At least they could see them.When they tapped into the advertising plans, they noticed a slight inverse relationship with sales and advertising. When they asked Phil about it, he said: PHIL: Sales dropped 2 weeks after our new jointmarketing campaign began. We heavily advertised the new cars. Every national and local TV commercial prominently displayed the Spider. We have data on that in our marketing databases. I know you don’t normally look at that. Here, let me bring them up. Hmmm! We show how much air time each commercial played where, and what was in them. Let me do a little slicing and aggregating here. Aha! I see. We are mostly advertising the cars nationally.Sales are very weak in primary markets, but they’re also a bit weak in secondary markets. Ah! Ah! Ah! One problem we have is distribution. We have over half the cars in the wrong places. We need to move all the Spiders from the secondary markets to the primary markets. But I think we have another problem: The pricing, supply, and demand data that we are using to predict rentals don’t make sense. The car officially has an â€Å"insurance† back seat, so it is a fourpassenger car. But you’d be lucky to get a carryon suitcase back there. Since we didn’t have data on it, someone in our group entered it as a four-seat compact with two doors.The system thinks it is a car ideal for a small family or a single businessperson on a budget. These rent well in the Midwest in the secondary markets but badly in the convention areas, where there are men who are going through their midlife crises and single women who like to rent sporty cars. We have a lot of analyses to do here on where we are advertising what. I’m not sure who rents what where, but I suspect that we can target our ads better once we determine our market clusters—like males in Nebraska, 45 years old, traveling to San Diego for trade conferences.We have the data; we just need to apply them better. MICHAEL: Hold on. Before I start moving cars around, we need to analyze this a bit more. We’ve never had a car like the Spider, so we need to investigate its properties and which categories of customers would ideally want it. Part of the solution jumped at us. But what are we trying to do? If I remember correctly, a few years ago we ran a â€Å"try before you buy† promotion in conjunction with our previous car supplier. People could rent our excess stock on our off-days for half the rental rate for up to 3 days.If they bought the car from a dealer in the area, they got the rental price back. If not, they had fun with the car. It worked well. We noticed that people who liked the car they rented had a tendency to rent them again, especially in our primary markets. We have a lot to look into. I want to recap what we have. We know that our goal is to maximize net profit. This is clearly our principle of choice. We need to come up with criteria that describe the impact of alternatives and determine how they affect our bottom line. Our RMS sets prices so that we can ideally do that.We have some errors in our marketing database; we must rethink how we advertise and how we distribute our stock. Okay. I’ll meet with the VP team in a couple of days. I’m going to e-mail them information about what we’ve uncovered and where to M02_TURB7293_09_SE_WC02. 1. QXD 12/22/09 2:38 PM Page 5 Chapter 2 †¢ Decision Making, Systems, Modeling, and Support 2-5 find the data. First I’ll talk to Sharon so she can get busy with some ideas on marketing. At a Meeting 2 Days Later: Same Place, Same People S TEPHANIE : Good morning. Those of us in the trenches think we’ve got it! Here’s what’s going on.We have several problems, each of which we have developed some alternatives for. We’re going to discuss what we think are the best ones for each situation. Some we can im plement right away; others will take some time. Let’s start with our objective: to maximize profit. Our principle of choice is profit maximization. This part of the problem was easy. Our RMS recognizes this and adjusts prices automatically to maximize profit on an annual basis. There are some errors in the price elasticity curve for the Spider, but, in general, the real question now is how to manage demand.Our advertising influences demand, as does our inventory. We need for the right product to appeal to the right customers. There are many criteria that we need to measure, from quality to color to size, and customer service, car availability, and so on, in terms of how they affect rentals. We are doing this, but need to do a better job of it in order to track our rentals. We have a team analyzing this right now. In a few weeks, they will have some concrete recommendations for system upgrades to the RMS. Our symptoms indicate the following real problems and alternatives, amon g hich we can choose: †¢ Data accuracy. We need to change the profile of the Spider from a compact to a sports car. We need to develop the RMS profile from what little data we’ve got. Fortunately, we can tap into market data that our faculty consultants at the University of Georgia (UGA) have gathered for us in their research. One of the faculty members drives a Spider as well. †¢ Inventory imbalance. We have done some analysis to determine what the real demand for the Spider is, how it affects the demand for other cars, and vice versa. We built an optimization model and solved it. Based on our urrent advertising, we have determined that by moving about 15 percent of our fleet around (and not too far), we can take care of most of the demand imbalance. We recommend moving all the Spiders from secondary to primary markets right away. We also want to move some of our minivans and full-size cars around. Later, we can adjust advertising to push some secondary market dema nd. †¢ Advertising imbalance. We advertise where our customers are, but they rent elsewhere, and for different reasons. We need to do a better job of identifying customer homes to determine what to advertise where.Our analysis shows rentals are off partly because we indicate that we have the Spider. Young to middle-aged men and single women want to rent it, but we stock out where they are going. For example, we discovered that middle-aged men and women from the Midwest rent compacts in the secondary Midwest markets, but those in the primary markets on the coasts want to rent the Spider. We are still analyzing effects like this and should be able to complete the work in about a week to determine how to realign our advertising efforts. †¢ â€Å"Try before you buy. † This actually is an opportunity, not a problem.When we saturate Spider demand in primary markets, we should get some additional Spiders in the secondary markets and reestablish the â€Å"try before you bu y† campaign. This car will be a real boon in this effort. Sharon’s group has already established a cooperative agreement with GMC. They’re interested, and it should boost our profitability on these cars by 18 percent. †¢ Discount substitutes. We discovered that many customers called or got on our Web site to rent the Spider. When they found out that we didn’t have one for them, rather than rent a different car, many were so annoyed that they rented a car from one f our competitors, usually a Toyota MR-2. This happened in almost all of our primary markets. In our secondary markets, people really didn’t want the Spider but instead wanted full-size cars. Because our advertising features the Spider, they â€Å"forgot† that we rent other cars as well. Actually, we forgot to remind them. Our advertising is backfiring on us. We should immediately M02_TURB7293_09_SE_WC02. 1. QXD 12/22/09 2:38 PM Page 6 2-6 Part II †¢ Computerized Decision S upport discount substitutes for the Spider until we get the Spiders in place next week. †¢ Florida theme park demand.We have a unique opportunity here. Florida theme parks have been advertising heavily in Europe because the euro is strong relative to the dollar. We must increase advertising in Europe either with the theme parks or separately. Phil is confident that we can run a joint campaign. Marketing will look into this and how we might be able to get customers to pay in advance in euros. To do this, we may need to move minivans to Florida from as far away as Tennessee. What it boils down to is that we want to be more aggressive in balancing our stock to meet demand and tie this into the RMS and advertising.We also want to refine our advertising model to handle new types of cars, like sports cars, and update demand data more frequently. Michael, this is what we want to present to the VPs on Monday. Is that okay? MICHAEL: Perfect! We have identified the real problems and have good alternatives. I really appreciate the completed staff work. If this all works out, the end-of-the-year bonuses for this team should be excellent. Let’s go have lunch! I’m buying! APPLICATION CASE W2. 1. 3 Part 3: The Choice Phase Monday’s Meeting: With All Vice Presidents, Stephanie, and Her Team ELENA : Thank you again for coming.Stephanie, Michael tells me you’re on to something. Let’s hear what you have to say. STEPHANIE: Well, we think we’ve discovered what to do. But first let me outline what the real problems are and some suggested solutions and why these are appropriate solutions. Next Stephanie essentially outlines the details from the meeting described in Part 2 of the Running Case. There is a little discussion to clarify a few points: ELENA: Amazing. I’m glad Mark recommended acquiring DOT 3 months ago. Though expensive, it’s already paid off. Can you get me specifics on the bottom line for each alternative? STE PHANIE: Not accurate ones for each just yet.Some will take up to a couple of weeks. We do have estimates on all of them. Here are the results in my PowerPoint presentation. ELENA: Hmmm. Okay. I want those data on the Spider updated immediately—and some of them moved to where they’ll rent. MARLA: It’s already done. I took steps right away once Michael told me what happened. After all, it’s my responsibility. I already gave some updated data to IS. They’ve adjusted the RMS. Preliminary data indicate that they have improved our profitability already. In a couple of markets where it was relatively inexpensive, I have moved some cars around based on the DSS model’s recommendation.It worked! I think we should make the major changes recommended by the solution to the model. My estimates, just from these few markets, are that it will work just as the model predicts. SHARON: We’re looking into how to modify our marketing and tie it into the RM S. We’re also running models on how European marketing should work. We’ll know in a week what to do. ELENA: Excellent! Here’s where we stand. We’re going to adjust the profile data of the Spider and all models frequently, move cars around, and discount substitutes until we can get the imbalance fixed.We’ll decide on what to do about the other issues after the rest of the analysis is completed. M02_TURB7293_09_SE_WC02. 1. QXD 12/22/09 2:38 PM Page 7 Chapter 2 †¢ Decision Making, Systems, Modeling, and Support 2-7 APPLICATION CASE W2. 1. 4 Part 4: The Implementation Phase The implementation of the first couple decisions was relatively easy. Transport vehicles were rented, and cars were moved. Discounts were easy to establish for substitute cars because this could be done as routinely as when there was a normal stockout.A customer would first be offered the opportunity to upgrade. If the customer turned it down, the upgrade would be offered free. This worked 95 percent of the time, even in the case of the Spider. Sales were up, and the company was projected to be profitable with these small changes. Elena got the results of the additional analyses. They all made sense. She decided, with the advice of her VPs and the analysts, to go ahead with all the recommendations, but she held back on European marketing until a presence in Europe could be established in major markets.The â€Å"try before you buy† campaign would be started once there were 15 Spiders in each of most of the major markets and 3 in each secondary market. She also approved adding new data and features to CLAUDIA. When the advertising effort was refined and tied to the RMS, profits soared. Every member of Stephanie’s team and all the VPs involved got a generous end-of-year bonus, an extra week’s vacation, and a gift of a free GMC Spider. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION MMS ran into new problems when it changed its fleet.CLAUDIA was not equipped to h andle new cars that were unlike others from past experience, and it did not track events as well as trends. Simon’s (1977) four phases of decision making, along with feedback, were followed, even though the problems were not really identified in the first phase. Successful problem solving was ultimately accomplished using Web-based DSS. Case Questions 1. What is meant by a symptom versus a problem? Relate these ideas to the case. 2. Why is problem ownership so important? 3. Even though the problem was not identified at the end of the intelligence phase, what was? . How was the design phase performed in this case? 5. The choice phase seemed like a combination of design, choice, and implementation. Is this a problem? 6. The implementation phase seemed to involve elements of all the phases. Is this a problem? 7. How were new problems or opportunities handled as they arose? 8. Why do you suppose some alternatives were either modified or postponed? Source: This fictional decision- making case is loosely based on several real situations. Thanks to Professor Elena Karahanna at the University of Georgia for inspiring it.

Logical Fallacy

One of the main problems with Michael Moore’s IDIOT NATION (and much of Moore’s work in general) is the fact that Moore begins with a conclusion and works backwards in an attempt to prove his argument. That is, he has already made up his mind on a subject and then â€Å"cherry picks† facts and arguments to prove his point. Unfortunately, his proof collapses upon careful examination of the logic flaws in his arguments. This will be proven by selecting several examples of flawed logic in the work and defining it. Consider the follow excerpt by Moore condemns private education and promotes public education by way of personal attacks: â€Å"Hunt these little pricks down like dogs and then cage them until we can break their will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (138) Moore is referring to here is the elitist attitude of the clergy and he points it out in a thoroughly pandering manner. He presents a supremely sweeping generality of nuns as totalitarian dictators. This demonizes the nuns is done to disparage the educational system they represent so as to prop up the other institution. This method hopes to gain sympathy for a cause through the cheap use of personal attacks. Similarly, Moore attacks the military and lays the blame on defense spending as the reason why there is much failure in the public schools: â€Å"[political leaders and voters] have decided it is a bigger priority to build another bomber than to educate our children.† (135) In other words, because tax dollars are being funneled needlessly to the military our schools are in bad shape. Hence, cut military spending because there is no need for it and pump more money into schools and the schools will automatically improve. This is a thoroughly false analogy as it infers there are no security threats to the United States and that military build up is arbitrary and aggressive and that schools are under-funded, both of which are complete inaccuracies. First, the public education system in the United States is no where near as bad as alarmists like Moore contend. Public schools has produces many excellent students over the years, but let’s center on the worst case scenarios†¦after all, that is what Moore does. If millions of dollars were pumped into the school system, how would this alter the attitudes of areas of contention such as poor quality teachers who are not doing their jobs or students who cut class? What about the millions of dollars of already spent on public education that has produced little results? Why should it be increased? And why cut military spending? Why not cut agriculture subsidies? Because Moore personally doesn’t like the military and that is the bidget cut he is after. Moore is also opposed to measures of discipline in public schools and uses an argument rooted in pandering to gain support. Consider the following: â€Å"kids learn to submerge personal expression. They learn that it is better to go along so that you get along.† (147) Moore is referring to dress codes that have been instituted in some public schools. Moore’s statement panders to those who would sympathize with an anti-authoritarian statement and may be willing to align with his anarchist sentiment. The reality of this sentiment is that no one is trying to submerge personal expression as much as the schools are attempting to reduce violence. Many dress codes were designed as a way of reducing gang violence. Moore does not address this and opts to pander to those who see such actions by the school as an attack on rugged individualism. Pandering may draw support, but it can not make an untrue argument about conspiracies to subvert individualism. Moore is not an unintelligent man and has been known to make clear and intelligent points. Unfortunately, his desire to be a populist has led to such flawed logical treatises such as IDIOT NATION and this is unfortunate as he could do much better.                                 

Better to Be Loved or Feared

Machiavelli, the well-known philosopher of the Italian Renaissance, poses this question in this famous book excerpt The Morals of the Prince: is it better to be loved than feared, or vice versa? Machiavelli answers his own question, arguing that a prince is much safer being feared than being loved. Inducing fear upon his subjects with cruelty will keep them united and loyal. Those who are fearful of a person of any authority are more inclined not to cross the boundary of disrespect, for fear of punishment. Without a doubt, being loved is desired and has a greater value compared to being feared.Love has the power to nurture, support and ultimately, liberate; fear restricts, denies and imprisons. Personal growth and human achievement thrive on love, while fear hampers and destroys potential. Many people who aspire to be feared actually are fearful people themselves. They command respect rather than earning it, but they desperately want it all the same. To allow ourselves to be loved we have to also allow ourselves to be vulnerable. If we are very fearful people then we may feel that we need to form a protective emotional barrier around ourselves and shut out love.When this happens we may come across to others as cold and unfeeling. At the same time we may want to have as much control as possible, including control over other people. Being loved is not about having to abandon discipline, or being soft and fuzzy. For me, love means that the support, instruction, good example and encouragement help others towards freedom and goodness. It brings respect, emulation and admiration. Yet there are some in positions of power and authority, who would disagree, believing that fear achieves more. A dictatorial and rigid boss will rule by fear.Fear of the consequences, for workers, if they cannot meet his or her demands, is the way such a person chooses to operate. The unfortunate people who have to work for such a tyrant will be afraid of losing their jobs. Those people afraid to offer innovative ideas, and afraid to approach the feared person with even the simplest request work under duress, as stress and resentment build, disgusted to go to work, but fearing to do anything other than what the boss demands. In such a restrictive atmosphere, the job will get done, productivity figures might be reached, but nobody other than this boss will have much pleasure and satisfaction.Those who are in positions of great importance and power have been advised throughout the centuries that an aura of fear can be their best asset. Famous leaders who used fear, while pretending that love was a motivational factor, include Hitler, and Stalin. The historical evidence of them having been feared and the results of that, speaks volumes for how fear does indeed restrict and imprison, while denying the human spirit. Some iconic individuals in history, who have led by love and not fear, come to mind as examples of how it all works. John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa are particularly good illustrations. They each, in their own way, encouraged the goodness in those they led, so that individuals felt supported in ways that helped them achieve personal goodness. They have had a huge following because they were appreciated and respected for the love that they showed to the world. The world benefited by their having been in it. These are the kind of people who have continued to influence others long after they were gone. We have seen value in their life. Fear that is held about a person can diminish when they die. We have no reason to be afraid of them anymore. We may, nevertheless, still remember that person, but in a negative way. Either that or we may be grateful that they are no longer around. Love that is held for a person doesnt diminish when they die. Not only do we remember the person but we continue to experience the feeling of love that we had for them. In this way, love prevails over fear as it can be never ending. In family life, love plays the role of a powerful bullet which helps you to overcome all the difficulties that come across your path. You are able to share all your sorrows and pleasures with people who really love you and care for you. Though sometimes out of anger and fury we might behave distant but it does not mean that we dont care for each other. Family quarrels are bitter things but are of slightest importance. We should not care about these few unpleasant memories but rather we must consider and reflect about the existing love within our family members. To be loved, however, nurtures caring, compassion, loyalty, creativity, generosity of spirit, benevolence, unselfishness and other positive binding and giving emotions.It may also generate jealousy in some. But overall, it is a healthier relationship to have with other human beings. Love increases our sense of well-being, it elevates our sense of self-worth, and it serves to develop our character. It contributes to sincerity, and fulfillment in life. Looking at the wider implications of being loved or feared, then bringing this down to the everyday level of family life, working life, and social relationships, there is still no doubt that it is better to be loved than feared. .

Movie review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Movie Review Example the audience to rethink their perceptions on faith healing, and want to believe the ease by which a person can be healed without the use of any form of medication. In addition, it gives non-believers the idea that faith healing is not dependent on the form of faith, but the faith itself, meaning that a person does not need religious faith to be healed; a little faith is enough. Henry Poole discovers that he has a terminal disease during a routine check-up, gives up hope in life and buys a house in the suburbs in his home area, where he can die in peace after wasting his life on drinking. This retreat into suburbia shows that Poole had given up hope on life, and all he wanted to do with his life is to waste it before he died. To ensure that he lives in solace, Poole buys a house in a busy suburb that resembles many others, and since people will be too busy minding their own business, he will not be disturbed. However, this is not to happen as he finds out that he had a nosey neighbour, Esperanza, who insists that a stain she saw in his house was the image of Jesus, and it has healing power. While dealing with Esperanza, Poole meets with Millie; the daughter of Dawn became taciturn and lost her speech when her father left them. Millie touches the stain and her speechlessness is cured, and Poole’s neighbours start insisting that he was in that house fo r a reason and the stain could heal him (Henry Poole Is Here). Poole did not believe this, and in anger, he smashes the wall due to the frustration of believers insisting on imposing their faith on him, even though there is nothing wrong with their insistence or his resistance. However, denying the apparition means that Poole consciously thinks he does not believe in faith healing, though later events in the film show that he believes but at a subconscious level. Smashing the wall intensifies Poole’s relationship with his neighbours, especially since Millie’s healing had an effect on him. He knows that he touched

Econ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Econ - Essay Example This should not be astonishing, as transaction cost economics was formulated in the first place to assist in explaining the presence and structure of firms, and of by far and large economic institutions and these are fundamental aspects in the area of strategic management. Undoubtedly, of all the developed recent branches of economics, transaction cost economics has the most apparent resemblance with strategic management. Within the field of strategic management, transaction cost economics is the foundation in which economic thoughts, business frameworks, and organizational theory meet. Due to its emphasis on institutional element, rather than statistical demonstration, it has wider spectators among non-economists than other subfields of organizational economics. The resemblance comes from similar sectors of inquiry. They as well acquire from a similar intellectual mode, which motivates inquiry into the justifications for particular institutional aspects. Not astonishingly, the clinical investigations carried out by strategy researchers and economic historians as well have aided influence the progress of transaction cost economics (Dosi 1998). This paper will review the intellectual accounts of strategic management and determines the influence of transaction cost economic on the discipline. Thereby, it demonstrates the wide array of managerial economics topics and dimensions to which transaction cost principle valuably applies. Transaction cost economics aims to give details on the reasons an agreement has a definite structure and has specific attributes, and this micro-analytical preciseness has great appeal for academics of strategic management, who have a clear-cut empathy for disaggregation (Buckley 1996). Furthermore, the transaction cost economics paradigm is clearly comparative and facilitates one to mention something regarding the efficiency components of various

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 46

Homework - Essay Example This implies that a trainee needs to be careful when executing tasks and possess the highest mental strength to tackle difficult situations. Similarly, sociability trait is the ability to accommodate divergent views from others while extroversion enables one to be sociable. Sincerity to experience is the sensible and creative nature of an individual to come up with new strategies. The problems that occur in organizations due to a self-enhancement phenomenon include making of poor decisions and being overconfident in all situations. This implies that employees can overestimate the possibilities of attaining their ideas because of the positive elements and strengths they possess. In this regard, organizational leaders should ensure that their employees understand their weaknesses instead of focusing on the positive attributes only. Value congruence is relevant regarding organizational against professional values in that it eliminates confusion and conflicts of interests. This implies that a professional shares similar values and objectives to those of the organizational missions. It can also contribute to higher job satisfaction, allegiance and organizational citizenship because a professional is able to execute his skills without conflicts or problems with the management. High power distance and collectivism are cross-cultural components that illustrate the nature in which individuals in a certain society accept unequal power distribution. The implications of this information are that employees value submission to authority and are comfortable getting commands from their bosses without deliberations. As a result, when a senior executive visits another country, he or she will not face resistance from employees who observe a different

Answer 2 questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Answer 2 questions - Assignment Example In terms of morals, a lot has changed since today casual sex is allowed, and even preferred in some cases (Wells & Twenge). The last three decades have seen the face of family life change drastically. In the United States, for instance, only 25% of the population is in nuclear families (Wells & Twenge). A variety of stepfamilies has arisen due to the increased number of divorces and remarriages. This "new normal" in the universe is reflected and accepted in all aspects of our lives. The media, for instance, encourages this view through advertising, broadcasting and promoting movies and music. The idolized music and movies stars today can get divorces up to three times,. As such, divorce and remarriages have become the best way to move on. Such principles have been accepted, and people do not see any issue. For this reason, the number of stepfamilies will continue to shot up if this trend goes

Discuss to what extent the role of Groupthink in the Challenger Space Essay

Discuss to what extent the role of Groupthink in the Challenger Space Shuttle was critical to the incident and suggest ways in which the situation might have been avoided - Essay Example Groupthink theory, and the model resulting from it, is one of the most prominent efforts to try and explain decision-making outcomes in organizations (Whyte, 1998). This theory is considered useful in the explanation of one of the most prominent disasters of modern time. In 1986, NASA launched a space mission in which the space shuttle Challenger was to deliver astronauts and a school teacher to space. This mission was supposed to be a bold statement that space travel was safe and NASA had made advances in space program that would be educationally beneficial to all Americans. This paper examines the decisional process that culminated to the fateful disaster that befell Challenger and its crew, sparking so many questions on NASA’s organization and its safety ethics. The paper particularly examines the role of groupthink theory in the disaster. After the introduction the paper provides a brief description of the Challenger disaster, it then discusses groupthink as was presented by Janis (1982). A big part of the paper is dedicated to examining the role of groupthink in the Challenger disaster after which suggestions are provided about how the disaster would have been avoided. The paper then ends with a brief conclusion summarising the key issue s discussed. In 1986 NASA launched what was to be its safest mission into space which was supposed to usher in an era of safe space travel. However, this was not to be as disaster struck shortly after the launching of the space shuttle Challenger. The shuttle exploded mid-air killing all crew and leaving NASA with the responsibility of explaining decisions leading to the accidents. Immediately after the shock of the disaster that befell Challenger, the public was demanding answers about how and why the accident took place (Solomon, 2006). Public investigations by a presidential commission set up for that purpose

Ritual Vessel in the Shape of a Rhinoceros Essay

Ritual Vessel in the Shape of a Rhinoceros - Essay Example The artist intentionally disregarded rich decoration on exterior on it despite of prevailed tradition of that era and gave it most realistic look with unattractive greenish scalloped cloud scrolls. Bronze was the metal for sacred objects; thus, ritual vessel in rhino shape is not metallic or gold. This Bronze Liquor or food containing vessel in the shape of rhinoceros is placed in Asian Art museum of San Francisco. Bronze rhino has all the peculiarities of a real animal standing with alert ears, four short but sturdy legs, tiny tail and the biggest dropping tummy shows the weight of it. Likewise, the front horns, smooth and thick skin depict the strength of the animal. Its color is dirty dark grey with greenish cloud scrolls and is well shaped like the animal (rhino). Moreover, it entails a large inscription inside and unattractive dà ©cor (opposite of the present tradition of that era in which exterior was decorated richly and inscription was the shortest). It’s length and breadth is 23cm and but height is 33 cm. The skin of the rhino is significantly covered with raised patterns of scalloped cloud scroll. These patterns give it an artistic yet realistic touch. The texture on the body of rhino container is mesmerizing as it transforms a typical animal shaped vessel into a creative and admired piece of art. Animals like tiger, dragoon and rhinoceros were considered a sign of strength and protection in ancient China. Thus, Chinese rituals significantly entail the strength and spirit of these animals. Moreover, rhino’s skin was used as armor by Chinese soldiers and its horn were used for ornaments and various purposes (19, Corlett). The armor made from their skin was deemed to contain strength and power of it. In ancient China, Wine keeping vessels were known as Zun or gui and these animal shaped vessels were often kept for ceremonial or ritual use only. This piece of art was found by a Shandong farmer, while plowing in his field

Advantages and disadvantages of owning VS renting a home Essay

Advantages and disadvantages of owning VS renting a home - Essay Example The advantages and disadvantages discussed in this article will enable one come up with viable decision as whether to purchase a house or rent. Let us begin with the advantages of owning a home. When one owns a home, that person is building equity. One must understand that the value of a house does not increase with time. On the contrary, its value decreases with time. However, when one owns a home they can contribute to their investment portfolio. As one clear a mortgage, he, or she builds up equity while the home value remains constant (Williams, 23). Authorities that are responsible with collecting tax have established tax relief to those who have taken mortgage. The purpose of this reduction is to aid in offsetting ones loan. In addition to that as one chooses to pay fixed-mortgage, payment in interest and the initial principal remains constant as long as the loan is outstanding. Even though payment of taxes and insurance may vary with time, one may be able to use the house as an investment. Moreover, when one purchases a house and leaves it, it is not wasted since the same house can be rented to generate income. This is also one of the best alternatives one can use to repay mortgage. It is therefore advisable to choose a house that is attractable and that is rentable, that is if one might think of renting it in the near future. Another important benefit of owning a home is that it enables one settle and lives with the community. Purchasing a home is a long-term investment. Once one has a home, he or she is committed to live with the surrounding people for a long time. As a result, one gets to understand the neighbors well and may get the opportunity to be involved in communal economical activities or even become a volunteer in a program that benefit the community for instance assisting in building of a school or public latrines among others. When one owns a home, he or

Activism, Protest and National Progress Essay Example for Free

Activism, Protest and National Progress Essay The people created the government to safeguard their individual interest and the interest of society. Democracy works upon the assumption that the power to rule belongs to the people. Public officials are mere representatives of the state. The state was created by the people and it should serve the people and not the interest of the few. However as Lord John Acton would put it â€Å"power tend to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.† When the state tyrannizes the people, that is the time for the people to take action through collective action. Dr. Martin Luther King said that â€Å"freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.† (1968). The world has witnessed perhaps the most successful collective action through nonviolent strategy of civil disobedience that a country can undertake and that is during EDSA Revolution of the Philippines (Abueva, 1999). They successfully overthrew a dictator for 21 years, Ferdinand Marcos, by giving flowers to the military men. They had tanks and weapons but the people outnumbered them by millions. It was a feat of the entire country, had it been just a few men it would have been easy for the dictator to disperse the group. We must establish the connection of the success of nonviolent strategies of civil disobedience to collective action. Civil disobedience without enough support from the masses will not win over the state that has all the machineries. Dr. Martin Luther King used the strategy of progressive groups which is to â€Å"inform, educate, organize and mobilize†. This strategy can also be used by progressive groups in pushing for their advocacies such as the issues on Iraq war, global warming, and even isolated local issues. First of all they have to gain the support of the masses and this is through the strategy we have mentioned above. First they have to inform the public that there is such an issue, then they have to educate them why there is an issue and what out to be done, then they can organize the public such that when civil disobedience occur they have a unified stand and they are adept with the issue that they carrying. Dr. Martin Luther King organized workshops training the public on taking in blows by police officers and not striking back. The last part is to mobilize. However it should be taken into account that a mass action should only be done when all means of dialogues and legal action has been done yet there is still no resolution to the issue. For when two parties have conflicting interest it is impossible for them to reach an understanding. In the case of Dr. Martin Luther King, they had engaged in dialogues and have agreed to a compromise yet they were betrayed. Collective action through civil disobedience is an effective tool in fighting against oppression since it magnifies the issue and draws attention to it. However it has to be reiterated that collective action is needed so that there is higher possibility of success in the endeavor. Much has changed in society since the time of Henry David Thoreau and Dr. Martin Luther King. Various medium is now available in disseminating information, thus, it is much easier to â€Å"inform, educate, organize and mobilize† the people. However the challenge here is to break the culture of apathy in our nation. Students would not mind if there are no healthy food in their canteen unless they are informed and they feel the need to eat healthy. Americans will not care about the Iraq war unless they are informed of its negative effects on the economy. Inform te public for them to feel the urgency for an collective, nonviolent civil disobedience. References Abueva, Jose V. (1999). Peoples’ Perception of People Power. October 17, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Tagalog_Default_files/Philippine_Culture/remembering_the_1986_people_power_revolution.htm King, Martin Luther. (1968). Letter from Birmingham Jail. October 17, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/frequentdocs/birmingham.pdf Thoreau, Henry David. (1849). Civil Disobedience. October 17, 2008. Retrieved from http://thoreau.eserver.org/civil3.html

Earth Science Essay Example for Free

Earth Science Essay Stars are one of the celestial bodies found in the solar system. Such celestial object produces heat, light, and different forms of radiations such as x-rays and ultraviolet rays caused by its cosmic energy engines. All stars are made up of gas, plasma, and matters comprised of subatomic particles that are extremely heated. From the earth, it may appear that stars are near because of their radiance shining over. However, stars are very far away that most of the scientists have to develop methods in order to calculate their distance. Two of the most notable methods are the parallax technique and the use of Cepheid variable (National Geographic, 2008). The parallax technique is used in order to identify the distance of the stars that are closest to the earth. Due to the revolution of the earth to the sun, the stars that are near to the earth shifts position against the stars that are in farther positions. These changes in the position of the nearby stars are known as the parallax shift. The parallax method functions by observing the distance of the shifting process and determining the earth’s orbit diameter. From there, astronomers are able to determine the parallax angle of the star’s distance. The main principle behind the method is that â€Å"the smaller the parallax shift, the farther away the star is from the earth† (Windows to the Universe Team, 2000, n. p. ). Such method is only applicable for stars that are within the range of few hundred light years from earth. Thus, when stars exceed the given range, the parallax shift could be too small to be measured through this technique (Windows to the Universe Team, 2000). For the countless distant stars that are in the range beyond 100 light years and are in clusters found in a different galaxy, the measurement is identified through the star’s property known as Cepheid variable. Stars that have this property undergo a fixed cycle where they get brighter and dimmer. This property is common among stars that are in â€Å"old age† (Berger, 2002, n. p. ). Because of their abundance in space, astronomers measure their distance by determining the number of cycle when stars are bright (Berger, 2002). There are many ways to measure the distance of the stars. It may be obtained from the stars spectral properties, temperature, brightness, and luminosity. Because of the major efforts in improving the measurements of the distances of the stars, various ways are also formulated in order to determine the cosmic distance of other celestial bodies present in the sky. References Berger, W. H. (2002). Measuring distance to the stars. In Intro to Astronomy: Discussion of the Field of Astronomy, University of California, San Diego. Retrieved September 17, 2008 from http://earthguide. ucsd. edu/virtualmuseum/ita/06_3. shtml. National Geographic. (2008). Stars. Retrieved September 17, 2008 from http://science. nationalgeographic. com/science/space/universe/stars-article. html Windows to the Universe Team. (2000, September). How do astronomers measure the distance to stars? Is it accurate? University Corporation For Atmospheric Research. Retrieved September 17, 2008 from http://www. windows. ucar. edu/tour/link=/kids_space/star_dist. html.

Social Class And A Persons Life Chances

Social Class And A Persons Life Chances Before the start of industrial capitalism, in a pre-industrial societies work is referred to as a general way activities directed at satisfying the human need for survival. Which were all non-industrial, work such as hunting, gathering or farming. Starting in the 18th century and continuing into the 19th century work has become regular paid employment. The simple rural lives were exchanged by mass production of goods. Industrialisation led to urbanisation, it changed the medieval customs, beliefs and ideals. The term industrial revolution is used to describe this transformation. Industrial Productive activity involved Factory systems and mechanisation powered by energy sources that is undertaken outside the home in a building or factory, Where workers has to work as industrial labourers under hazardous conditions. Karl Marx argued the capitalist who are the owners of the means of production, must essentially exploit the workers for maintaining the existence of the structure and organ isation. The capitalism is a system based on profit, within the capitalism the workers are given a paid wage enabling them to survive. It is necessary that capitalism continue to grow, to give the mass population the surplus wealth. It depends on continual growth and, therefore, it makes sense to give the mass of the population surplus wealth for enable them to buy goods; the more goods they buy, the more the system can produce. Marx was one the first social theorist to examine in to the conditions of work in factories that were emerging during the industrial revolution, looking at how the transition from self-working craftwork to working for a boss in a factory resulted in alienation and deskilling. For Marx capitalism created the world of work then turned it against the workers, not only workers were prevented from realising themselves but they developed a system where work became the cause of alienation and exploitation. Max used the term alienation to describe what it were like to be wage workers under industrial capitalism. He used four type of alienation in factory workers: first alienated from the  objects of their work as job becomes repetitive and automatic. Second workers are alienated from  the activity of working; they are forced to work for them. Third Workers are alienated from the  chance to determine what it is to be human and finally Alienation from other workers, not having to spend t ime with people you enjoy and are forced to work with people even if you like them or not. Braverman similarly mirrored most of Karl Marxs writing and applied it to work in the twentieth century. Braverman claimed that many jobs in the capitalist economy were subjected to a process of deskilling; this is where professional knowledge becomes replaced by machines and automation and tendency toward specialisation of task. He describes this as the period of monopoly capitalism. Taylorism exemplified this managerial strategy. At the beginning of the twentieth century Henry Ford combines the organisational innovation of taylorism, which introduced special machine tools that standardised production in a continuous flow in the form of assembly line. It was used on a large scale and using semi-skilled workers. Workers had one task each that they had to repeatedly do which is why they did not need to be particularly trained. However, he has been criticized for his idea; Fords mass-production system. The regulation theory explained that as a capitalist production system, Fordism is alienating and involved deskilling; therefore, Fordism is unable to overcome workers dissatisfaction. Another argument is that it is unable to overcome consumer dissatisfaction. Both arguments concludes that during 1970s Fordism was in crisis. Many solutions were adopted to solve the crisis of Fordism with a development of wide range of better quality products with neo-Fordism, McDonaldism, and post-Fordism. Also the process of de-industrialisation began around 1970s with a decline in employment among the manufacturing and industrial jobs and an increase in employment in service sector jobs. However, de-industrialisation was not just about the end of particular jobs but the dismantling of social and cultural relations in some societies. For example, manufacturing employments were sites of masculine occupational cultures and part of working class male identity. De-industrialisation was evident to large number of unemployment in industrial areas in the UK which led to a crisis of masculinity for working class men. On the other hand theorist such as Bell (1973) saw this as a positive way in The coming of Post-industrial society. He argued that it will be less alienating than in industrial societies. Class may also lose its power as knowledge and professional will have power rather than the anachronistic industrial ruling class. When people are unemployed, they get involved in the labour market. Labour markets  works through the interaction between workers and employers. They try to understand employers demand and workers supplies by looking at pattern of employment, income, wages or often pattern of racism and sexism that are existing in society. These patterns of discrimination have led to what is called dual or segmented labour markets. Trade unions are part of fight against such processes in our society. They provide an important function for millions of workers. They protect workers from being exploited and making sure they have fair wages and working conditions. While work occupies a main role in our lives, its social significance extends beyond our personal identities and daily activities. It is closely involved with other social institutions, social structures, and social processes, especially social inequality.

The Charlie Barber Treatment - :: essays research papers

A Character Study of Charlotte Barber The novel 'The Charlie Barber Treatment'; is written by Carole Lloyd. It is about a boy called Simon whose mother dies unexpectedly. He is very upset and unable to get over his mum. When he meets Charlie Barber she really cheers him up. Charlie has a big effect on Simon. Charlie is a sixteen-year-old girl who is staying with her Gran for the week.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We first meet Charlotte when Simon bumps into her outside the local newsagents in his small town. Charlie asks Simon directions to somewhere she can walk her Gran's dog. Simon tells her directions to the downs but Charlie deliberately gets confused and gets Simon to go with her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Right from the first time we meet Charlie we see she knows what she wants. 'She chuckled and the smile went all the to her eyes which stared quite directly and honestly into his.'; This implies she is very pleased when Simon offers to show her the way to the downs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We see she is complete control of hers and Simon's relationship, right from the beginning. ' 'I'm not going up there alone.'; Simon has a sudden sense of being out played.'; Here Simon knows that she has no intention of letting him go.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think Charlie is a very independent girl. 'Who cares what other people think?'; She also shows she is independent by being in the village without her dad.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We know that Charlie is quite caring from when she won't give Simon any sugar for his tea. She playfully argues with him. 'It's bad for you.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charlie is a very clever girl. She has eleven O-levels and is going to university. Simon is clever as well so they are quite well matched.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charlie and Simon first know for sure that they like each other when Charlie is at Simon's house. 'I needed to see you.'; Later on Simon walks Charlie home and they hug and kiss.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charlie knows she is forward and sometimes a bit pushy but not in a nasty way. 'Gran thinks I'm very forward and you're probably just too polite to tell me.

An Annotation of Emily Dickinsons The Last Night that She Lived :: Poem Poetry Poet Essays Dickinson Last Night

An Annotation of Emily Dickinson's The Last Night that She Lived Dickinson's The Last Night that She Lived presents a meditation on the reaction of the speaker and those with her while they are confronted with the death of a female friend. Strangely, in dealing with the subject of death, Dickinson steers away from the metaphysical aspect of such a heavy situation and remains firmly anchored in the tangible world. The speaker makes no references to God or the afterlife, and her allusions to nature are fleeting. The poem is anything but an attempted justification of the death of her friend, rather it is resembles a catalogue of the human responses of those who remain in the earthly realm after the death of a loved one. The Last Night that She Lived by Emily Dickinson The last Night that She Lived It was a Common Night Except the Dying--this to Us Made Nature different We noticed smallest things-- Things overlooked before By this great light upon our Minds Italicized--as 'twere. As We went out and in Between Her final Room And Rooms were Those to be alive Tomorrow were, a Blame That Others could exist While She must finish quite A Jealousy for Her arose So nearly infinite-- We waited while She passes-- It was a narrow time-- Too jostled were Our Souls to speak At length the notice came. She mentioned, and forgot-- Then lightly as a Reed Bent to the Water, struggled scarce-- Consented, and was dead-- And We-We placed the Hair-- And drew the Head erect-- And then an awful leisure was Belief to regulate-- It is noted immediately that nothing spectacular is taking place within the speaker's natural surroundings in response to the situation. The universe has not paused for the departing soul of a woman, or those left behind. It is clear from the first lines that the Dickinson will make no leaps to paint nature as an intelligible or responsive force. The speaker is all too aware that it is the confrontation with the death of a loved one that causes "Those to be alive" to view their surroundings with a different slant. The event of death has jarred them into a state of heightened awareness. Previously inevident things; "smallest things" have been brought into focus. It is not the world that has changed, but their perception of it. It is also important to note that the speaker refers to "Us". For the remainder of the poem she will only refer to herself as part of a collective. The word "I" is absent from the poem.

Antonia White :: Authors Literature Story Tellers Essays

Antonia White â€Å"My novels and short stories are mainly about ordinary people who become involved in rather extraordinary situations. I do not mean in sensational adventures but in rather odd and difficult personal relationships largely due to their family background and their incomplete understanding of their own natures.† – Antonia White Antonia White was born in London March 1, 1899 in London under the name Eirine Bottling to parents Cecil and Christine Bottling. (She later took her mothers maiden name, White and Tony was a name she was known by amongst her friends.) Her father was a professor of Greek and Latin at St. Paul’s School. She was baptized a protestant and then converted catholic at age 7 because her father converted to Catholicism. She struggled with religion and did not feel that she fit in with the other catholic children. She did not find faith in the church as a child although she was educated at a catholic school, The Convent of the Sacred Heart, Roehampton. Although she is remember as a modernist writer, she developed a terrible fear of writing after a misunderstanding when she was 15. She had been working on what was going to her first novel. It was to be a present for her father. She wanted to surprise him with a book about wicked people whose lives are changed as they discover religion. She attempted to give a detailed description of the evil characters, but, because of her lack of experience, she was unable to describe their wickedness except to say that they â€Å"Indulged in nameless vices†. This dark story was found unfinished by officials at her catholic school and she was then expelled from the school without being given the opportunity to explain her book. She describes this incident as being her most vivid and tragic memory. â€Å"My superb gift to my father was absolutely my undoing† she remarked in an interview. She did not begin writing novels again until 20 years later, when her father died. After she left school, she attended her father’s school St. Paul’s for the next few years. She attempted to be an actress but was unsuccessful. She then wrote in magazines and worked in advertising where she earned 250 pounds a year advertising Mercolized wax. She spent nine years working as a copy writer in London and she also worked for the BBC as a translator.

Forecasting the Adoption of E-Books Essay

Question 1 The size of the market for e-books in the long-run: 293. 7 million x 46. 7% x 8% = 10. 973 million (Total US population x percentage of US population reading literature x Percentage of traditional paper books purchased online in 2003) It will take 10 years to reach 95% penetration of the potential market. Question 2 I predict that the sale of the e-book when it first became available is 0. 751milion (pm) (Assumption: each innovator buy one book. ) Question 3 The long-run total adoption of e-books would be 10. 973 million. (Total US population x percentage of US population reading literature x Percentage of traditional paper books purchased online in 2003) Question 4 I do expect the market for e-books tend to be guided by imitators rather than innovators. According to the table above, I found that the weighted average for e-book of q (0. 0684) is larger than p (0. 2990). In addition, the word of mouth takes an important role in the adoption of e-books. The information about the e-book from the innovators contribute much to the adoption of e-books since people tend to hesitate to change their old reading habit. Question 5 S(t)=[p+(q/m)N(t-1)][m-N(t-1)] Year 1: [0. 0684+(0. 2990/10. 973) X (0)][10. 973-0] = 0. 751 million Year 2: [0. 0684+(0. 2990/10. 973) X (0. 751)][10. 973-0. 751] = 0. 908 million Year 3: [0. 0684+(0. 2990/10. 973) X (1. 659)][10. 973-1. 659] = 1. 059 million Year 4: [0. 0684+(0. 2990/10. 973) X (2. 717)][10. 973-2. 717] = 1. 176 million Year 5: [0. 0684+(0. 2990/10. 973) X (3. 893)][10. 973-3. 893] = 1. 235 million Question 6 The adoption of e-book will be very different from digital music obtained online. The adoption of e-books face more challenges when comparing to the adoption of digital music. To most of the listeners, there is not much difference in experience between listening to a song from an iPod and a CD player. Therefore, they have a relatively low switching cost and more willing to change their habits. On the contrary, to most of the readers, it is definitely very different from reading an e-book to reading a printed book. The feelings of holding a printed book and flipping over a physical book are irreplaceable. So readers are loyal to printed book and hesitate to switch from traditional books to e-books. Hence, it is reasonable to predict that the pace of adopting digital music is faster than the pace of adopting e-books. Question 7 I think both of the attitudes about reading and purchasing e-content have changed a lot in recent years. In the old time, people could read e-content via PC only. Nowadays, people are able to read e-content through various mobile devices. Therefore, they spend more time on reading e-content especially during leisure time and even commuting time. However, the quality of the reading effort is diminishing as the overload of e-content available on Internet. In addition, people tend to rely more on the e-content since it is very convenient, environmentally friendly, high mobility and high accessibility. For the attitude about purchasing e-content, more people are willing to pay for the e-content in recent years. The advanced online payment system plays an important role. People feel more secure and also convenient when dealing online ever than before. Moreover, more well-known and large-scale publishers offer more choices of e-content for readers. Besides, in the light of the prevalent of mobile device, people have more time and chances to read the e-content regardless of the time and places. Thus, people are more willing to spend on e-content than before. Question 8 The hardware plays a paramount important role in the adoption of e-books. No matter how amazing the e-content is, the e-books would not be popularized if the hardware were not user-friendly. However, a good hardware is very likely to boost sales of the e-books. It is because the hardware is a fixed cost while the e-books are the variable cost to the readers. A portable hardware with proper size of monitor and high capacity is very attractive to the readers. They no longer need to neither carry the bulky printed books nor spare some places for storage. Moreover, the hardware enables readers to read comfortably when comparing to read via PC or smart phone. It is good for the readers’ eyes. Last but not least, the hardware contributed to protecting the environment as it saves much paper. Only when the hardware preforms better than the tradition printed books, the adoption of e-books will be success. Question 9 I do expect the size and also the pattern of diffusion are quite different globally as compared to the United States. The size and the pattern of diffusion depend on many factors. Population, culture, attitude to new products, technology and even literacy could be one of the variables of the size and pattern of diffusion. Take Africa as an example; though the population size of Africa is much larger than The United States, the potential size of the market for e-books must be obviously different from the United States. So it is not difficult to understand that the size and pattern of diffusion of various places will not be similar to the United States.

Operation Strategy(Dell, Amazon.Com & Ibm) Essay

Question: Discuss operations strategies of three companies. Answer: Operational Strategy: Amazon.com Introduction: Amazon.com has become the largest customer friendly online retailer and provides one click purchase facility to its wide range of products including books, music, toys, gifts, electronics etc. For 2011 Amazon’s net sales documented the value of $48077 million to earn net income of $631 million (Annual Report, 2011). Currently, Amazon is serving more than 137 million of its customers with its 56200 employees all over the world. Moreover, International traffic also ranks Amazon at 16th position. However, Amazon achieved this milestone through deploying its three fold strategy of limitless inventory, customer convenience and low price. The purpose of current study is also to explore that how Amazon achieved its objective by using its digital channel. 1. Mass Customization: Primary difference between a physical retailer and Amazon is its online operations that allow Amazon to adopt mass customization. Amazon.com provides an opportunity to offer huge collection of books, music or other products without keeping them physically on shelf. Millions of books are available at Amazon for purchase while a large brick and mortar store is required to keep such huge inventory. In 1999 Amazon consistently added new product line or capabilities after every six weeks to increase its sale revenue. Currently, its product range can be divided into 34 broad categories. Such product customization differentiates Amazon with its competitors. It is argued that product customization is a critical source of competitive advantage even as compared to price competitiveness as it allows customers to select products according to their needs and wants at one place. So, one can attribute such mass customization to the success of Amazon.com. 1.1 Amazon Operating Models: However, to provide such mass customization Amazon follows its three  operating models. First, it sells its own inventories and manages customer relation and supply chain on its own through Amazon.com. Second, Amazon also act as third person and allow other companies to place their products at Amazon.com for sale. However, Amazon only manages front end customer relations while logistic issues are controlled by sellers. In 1999 Amazon offered Z shop facility that allows small companies to sell their product through Amazon.com. His strategy was to compete with e-bay who was also providing similar services of auction. At last Amazon has also introduced its e-commerce solutions and design web sites and offer hosting services to its customers. In other words these three operating models provide huge collection of products that is consistent to its business strategy limitless inventor y. 2. Integrated Business Operations: Success of Amazon strategies lay within its integrated business operations. Figure 1 illustrates that how Amazon fulfill its customers order through integrating its operations. Amazon.com server uses the supply chain optimization software to predict demand and also optimize its supply chain. In first step customers’ data for credit card is processed to finalize their orders. Amazon warehouse is also information about customer order in this respect for coordination. This is done to find out stock information at Amazon warehouse. However, in case of shortage at Amazon warehouse appropriate suppliers are selected. This information is transferred to publishers, music companies and electronic OEM for further process. After receiving order information publishers, music companies and electronic OEM dispatch required products physically to the nearest Amazon warehouse. At Amazon warehouse these items are packed and also send to customer place through UPS or US postal services. In this way Amazon develop integrated business operations that share information over its network for effectiveness. Figure 1: Amazon Network of Fulfillment Amazon integrated system speeds up the process and customers can receive their product at same or next day. This will positively contribute to customer’s loyalty. Moreover, Amazon also made required changes to its fulfillment system when needed especially for huge order fulfillments. For instance Amazon received record advance order of 275000 for single volume of Harry Porter. This challenged information staff at Amazon. During such event  Amazon mailed to its customers for confirmation of delivery information. Moreover, before shipment data regarding each package was updated. For Shipment purpose Amazon contracted with FedEx for shipping 250000 orders at released date that scheduled 100 flights to fulfill orders. In this way, Amazon successfully met such huge order fulfillment on released date. 2. Low Cost Strategies: Porter (1980) argued that firms can gain sustainable competitive advantages through adopting differentiation, cost leadership or focus strategies. While on the other hand Loudon & Loudon, (2006) argued that firms can gain cost leadership through online operations as it reduces ordering and inventory cost. Mass customization at Amazon also augmented its profitability through high activity with low variable cost. Fixed cost per unit decreases with the increase in activity as compared to variable cost per unit (Drury, 2006). While in case of Amazon fixed cost of system dominates as comp ared to nominal variable cost. Cost of technology, many parts of fulfillment cost and advertisement costs are fixed in nature. On the other hand Amazon is bearing nominal variable cost. This indicates that high activity will lead to low fixed cost per unit cost that Amazon can use to settle for low prices. So, this mass customization will also lead to high productivity that ultimately will optimize profits through decreased fixed cost per unit. Moreover, Amazon also reduces its costs through cross docking shipments. For instance Amazon place its different items like books, toys, electronic etc simultaneously in single order to the closest warehouse located near to customers. To do so, Amazon uses its â€Å"12 technologies† to optimize solutions and to predict demand. 3. Customer Fulfillment Network (CFN) Strategy: On the other hand Amazon has also adopted the customer fulfillment networking (CFN) strategy that emphasize to augment gross profit margins through purchasing books directly from publishers rather than involving distributors who add their profits. CFN strategy was developed to integrate customer relationship management and order fulfills management applications. CFN system compares customers’ demand with their capabilities to recognize that whether Amazon can fulfill their orders with reasonable profits or not. It also allows predicting dynamic demand that ultimately reduces the carrying cost and transportation cost at Amazon warehouse. Moreover, it also allows improving their cash flow as less cash is tired up in inventory and increase inventory turnover that ultimately augments firm’s  profits. 4. Customer Centric Strategies: One can also explain Amazon’s success in respect of its ability to extract and use of customer information. Amazon keeps a complete record of all of its customers. Amazon main a data base that knows that when and what a customer orders. If a customer has not been placing order for some time then Amazon sends him an e-mail coupon containing information regarding entirely different or related product line to stimulate customers for reordering. For instance it is possible that you will receive an e-mail regarding computer equipments products if you last purchased a notebook. 4.1 personalized Options: Similarly, Amazon.com also provides convenience in selecting products over its website through customization. Web pages are customized according to the liking of their customers. One can easily personalize his selection when he login as a customer at Amazon.com. All the Amazon products are divided into 34 broad categories. A person can select and search within these 34 broad categories easily. It is consistent with their strategy of providing convenience to customers. 4.2 Customer Review: It is argued that digital means of information can be used to communication product quality and also creates a bond between buyers and sellers especially within online markets (Chevalier and Mayzlin, 2006). Amazon also stimulates its customers to write editorial and review of book they purchased. This option of book review communicates positive information to other potential customers and increases the like-hood of purchase. It is also consistent with Chevalier and Mayzlin, (2006) who also argued that improvement in scores obtained by a book through book review contributes to purchase intentions and lead to high sales revenue. 4.3 Quick Shipment: Providing hassle-free fulfillment of customers’ order is also viewed as one of the key success areas of Amazon. For most of the product Amazon offers same or next day fulfillment. This is what makes different Amazon with other online retailers. However, Amazon does this through its integrated order fulfillment process as demonstrated in figure 1. Operation Strategy: Dell Introduction Dell is a technological sales company which performs their business in the whole world as is possible to see in the following diagram. With net revenue of $61,133,000,000 is the second largest computer manufacturer company in the word and the number one in United States. Dell focuses on Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C) commerce to satisfy their business and individual customers. Dell differentiates between classes of customers because the needs of their business customers, who buy large quantities of computers, are different than the individuals who want to configure a single unit. The present document is oriented to analyze Dell just since the point of view of operations management starting with a review of the company, after a look over Product design process, the internal process and the technology associated, how Dell forecast the coming productions rates, how Dell manages their inventory, which is the quality model followed by the company, which is the human resource strategy to finalize with conclusions and reflections. 1. Operations Strategy Identify the operations strategy of Dell is go almost in all the main activities of the company where operations is relevant. Under this perspective, the list of strategies is related to some areas of operations inside of the company: * Be the greenest technology company on the planet and the first computer company to achieve carbon-neutral operations by the end of 2008. * Continue leadership with the climate strategy and global recycling programs. * Partner with customers in energy-efficiency and climate-protection initiatives. * Broaden the Global Citizenship commitment. * Recommit efforts to improve sustainability governance. 2. Product design process For Dell, Globalization has impacted directly in the management of the product life cycle involving more stakeholders during the process of product development; thereby the complexity of this process has become more complex  as well. The most important factor introduced in the product life cycle is the environmental issue. For Dell, the design products have to be energy efficient, to avoid unnecessary materials and to be easy to use, which is supported by rigorous business controls and supplier audits that consider (Dell, 2008): * Energy Efficiency: Dell delivers optimized performance per watt, and help customers deploy systems efficiently. In this way, IT is an important avenue to decreasing cost of ownership and enhancing productivity while reducing a customer’s carbon footprint. * Precautionary Chemicals and Materials Use: Dell design to eliminate the use of unregulated substances if we believe they possess hazard characteristics similar to other, regulated substances. If alternatives are not yet viable, Dell works to develop reliable, environmentally sound and commercially scalable solutions. * Supply Chain Sustainability: We expect suppliers to uphold the same commitment to environmental responsibility as we do, as a condition of doing business with them. Dell design activities are compliant with this internationally recognized standard for environmental management system criteria (ISO 14001 certification program) Other main stream of definition of what Dell is doing in terms of product design rely on the participation of their own customers. The website â€Å"Dell Idea Storm† (http://www.ideastorm.com) where customers participate directly in the conceptualization of products giving their own ideas of develops, voting for another ideas already posted or simply criticizing products from the company. This website is a very comprehensive platform to cover an appropriate SWOT analysis of products design due to the huge variety of post and group discussion on it. 3. Processes and Technology 3.1 Production process The well known operation model of Dell called ‘Dell Direct’ base its value added in just work on demand eliminating intermediaries in procurement, manufacturing and distribution processes. The technology used by the company in the manufacturing process is the base of success and therefore play a very important role in its operations. Dell’s technology allow to the company to combine its resources, its relationship with suppliers and its consumer communication capabilities, developing one big advantage over its competitors. Dell is in â€Å"Mass Production† process category due to mainly the stable demand of products, the assembly work as a main line of production and with a good level of efficiency. To consider Dell as a manufacturing or assembly company is a constant discussion even for the employees of the company. Due to the nature of the products (mainly computers) they build new products that do not exists in the market, in this sense they are manufactures. But in another sense they just assemble component which production is on suppliers, in this sense could be considerate that dell â€Å"buy to sell†. In this document the company will be considered as a manufacturer company. The generation of innovative ideas for the production line is pulled due to the necessity of new kind of products defined basically due to the interaction with suppliers and customers. All the Dell manufacturing centers use the same processes enable by the same systems and are measured in the same way. This insurance consistency award quality across the global network and also allows identifying and implementing best practices. The standardized process of manufacturing is divided as is illustrated in the following diagram. Final Test and labeling Order accumulation area Software Installation and Testing Customer Order Pull Kiting Boxing Build These processes are described as follow: * Customer order pull: receive the electronics orders closer to the ship destination. In this point the order is transferred from Dell order management systems to the Manufacturing scheduling system. The servers of the facility keep the track of order process associating serialized parts with unique codes. * Kitting: the build to order process of Dell generate request for materials which is delivered to the factory. Since there are no warehouses the inventory system is very important and every part is serialized and labeled since this is received from suppliers (which are basically important for Dell quality system). The scanning of these tags associated to the order indicates to the personnel which components should be part of a specific order, and at the end of the kidding line, all the parts of a single unique order are ready for the next step. * Build: the scan of the code associated to the single order gives to the personnel specific instructions to builders based in the customer requirements. In this step, Dell associates every single component using bar codes to the order allowing a better quality control for the company. * Software Installation and Testing: Directed by the main brain, the central gives specific instruction to ensure all the components are presents and operating properly before to install any software in machines. * Boxing: This process ensures all the components required by the user are properly stored and ready for the ship. Once finished the boxing, the order goes straight for shipping or the order accumulation area. * Order accumulation area: When the client creates and order, all the required products start at the same time but not all of them finish at the same time due to process variability. Once all of them are finished the shipping process starts. * Depending form the order, there is an external synchronization with others manufactures as monitors or printers manufacturers for example, which allow to Dell to reduce inventory with extern products to the production line. 3.2 E-business E-business is central to Dell’s entire operations and Dell uses e-business extensively across its entire value chain to deliver high levels of service to its customers and suppliers. Dell basically does trades with two of the four main kind of e-business (B2B, B2C, C2B and C2C) and both of them based in the internet architecture * B2C: the main stream is represented by direct communication between Dell and their customers. Internet allows this direct communication avoiding intermediaries. This guarantees a good quality service for the customers, efficient processes, decision makers in real time, higher customer expectations and globalization. * B2B: this stream of communication connects Dell with their suppliers allowing and efficient process of communication with the same benefits described in B2C. Also, the when big corporations and governments are clients, the definition of relation is established in a very particular way treating them as a special customers that need a special attention. 3.3 Technology In terms of technology, Dell in all its experience in all the manufacturing centers has implemented a large number of solutions in order to accomplish a constant improvement in the value chain. Basically, the main source of constant improvement has been Internet, helping Dell to establish good relations with both their suppliers and their customers. The high level of integration that this technology has allowed is on simple evidence through the corporate website (www.dell.com) where for example suppliers are allowed to follow their material as it used throughout Dell’s operations. They can log-on, drop off invoices, check engineering change orders; review negotiated and forecasted cost reports, and track their overall performances and progress. The â€Å"Dell i2 Supply Chain Management (i2SCM)† is the name of the solution implemented to cover communications necessities with suppliers. This implementation enabled to Dell to reduce costs providing component suppliers and Dell planners with global views of product demand and material requirements. In partnership with IBM, both have managed to maintain high employee productivity. The join in between companies to design the productions lines provide near unlimited availability to their IT infrastructure. Another outcome of this partnership is the use of electronic catalog with appropriate search functionality. As an example time ago, Altiris Recovery Solution was selected by Dell for integrated delivery of backup and disaster recovery. Altiris along with Dell Open Manage Client Administrator (OMCA) will provide â€Å"Direct integration of Altiris backup and recovery technology with Dell OMCA which helps ensure business continuity and helps provide additional cost savings for Dell customers through proactive IT management†. These factors implemented into a concrete disaster recovery plan provide Dell and IBM with the confidence to scale and complex IT network. 3.4 Production Layout Dell is by definition an assembly manufacturer company, where basically the process is only one and the assembly line as well. Dell does not build any part or piece of the computers, lodging basically in their own suppliers which have the necessary expertise and commitment with dell’s production line. If we consider Dell and their suppliers as a unique company it will be represented as typical â€Å"Process Layout†, and Dell will be of course in this exercise the assembly department. The main advantages of the â€Å"Product layout† (or assembly line production layout) are: * The amount of time for a product to be ready is faster in general if it is compared with other kind of process layout. * The set up cost of the product layout is low due to the facilities does not vary in position and functionality. * Due to the tasks of every stage are very specific, the efficiency of this kind of distribution (production layout) is higher than others types of layouts. This very related with the high continuity of the assembly line. * The necessary planning in order to be concern about matters like synchronization is very low if it is compared with other layouts, this because is just one continue line. * The required level of expertise is not so important as well considering that the main task is to assemble. There is no much hard production processes to take care about. * For Dell the level of inventory is very low, maybe too much low considering the average industry in â€Å"Products Layout† companies. This is because the technological advantage of Dell using Internet. As negative point in Dell layout oriented to product, it is possible to say that the required infrastructure is more expensive than other layouts because the high degree of cohesion that should exist in the assembly line which it demands a high technology and dedicated machinery. 4. Supply Chain As is possible to appreciate, Dell Company is in the middle of all the operations since suppliers till the final customer. The simplicity of this model put on evidence the absence of intermediaries in the supply chain, which is synonymous of low cost, fast answer to client’s orders. The communication between Dell and suppliers is by Internet, and in real time which it means that the suppliers are constantly monitoring the status of components in order to prepare new orders and negotiate the prices on demand. Usually suppliers have warehouse building nearby Dell’s Manufacturing Centers in order to reduce the risk of lack of components in the main assembly line of Dell and assuming at the same time the inventory costs that Dell is avoiding. The suppliers usually feed the starting point of the Dell’s assembly line, but as the illustration show, it is possible to have some suppliers after the production line of Dell (even out of Dell facilities). Partnership with screen or printer manufacturers, allow to the final user to order for products that are absolutely out of Dell’s production lines, and it is just necessary to complete the order in their warehouses to finally ship the order to the client. Is important to recognize that the use of Internet is the blood of this system, without this technology would be impossible to coordinate such value system. In order to make the service easier for customers within this supply chain, Dell has divided their home page into a number of major customer groups: * Home & Home Office, * Small Business * Medium and Large Business and * Government, Education & Healthcare 5 Forecasting, Planning and Scheduling 5.1 Forecasting As a forecasting method Dell, as many other big companies, base their analysis on the records stored on the internal Customer Relationship Manager system (CRM). This system stores every registry made by customers in order to analyze the tendency of the actual behavior and predict demand for certain products in the future. Now considering daily operations on Dell, there is a â€Å"Short Range Forecast† process that operates constantly. Dell uses state of the art production planning programs that forecast the quantities of components needed to build  the computers. After those forecasts are made, supply chain systems pass those forecasts to suppliers, who respond with cost estimates and plan their production as a result. As the CRM, the mentioned i2SCM (technology section) is another provider of forecast information as well, providing real-time factory scheduling and inventory management. These methods used by Dell are considerate â€Å"Quantitative Forecast Methods†, leaving for decisions makers, the forecast that comes from â€Å"Qualitative Forecast Methods†. 5.2 Scheduling Dell bases its scheduling process in the system i2SCM system output. One of the basic tasks of i2SCM is to streamlines the supply chain in order to keep a constant flow of component in the starting point of the assembly line, and considering this, as a consequence is in charge of provide a manufacturing schedule the whole plant. This scheduling process is refreshed every 2 hours. 6. Inventory Management Dell has implemented â€Å"Just-In-Time Inventory System† which operates on only 6 days of inventory. This simple number implies a huge benefit for Dell because this enable to the company to reduce the warehousing costs, also is not necessary to hire people to put in charge and maintain the inventories and though technology become obsolete very quickly, for Dell this is not a problem because they don’t hold obsolete technology in its small inventory. The way how Dell controls, in terms of basic definition its inventory and the costs that this means is being a â€Å"Demand Pull Company† (used as well as a Lean system method), whereas one of its top competitors (Compaq HP for example) is strictly a supply-push company and operates in a more traditional manner. 7. Quality model Since several years, Dell has been operating their manufacturer plants using the production standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 (Dell). Dell operations in China have been distinguished by Ministry of Information Industry (MII) and China Quality Management Association for Electronics Industry (CQAE) receiving wards such as â€Å"Excellent Quality Management Corporation†, â€Å"Excellent Quality Management Team’s and â€Å"Excellent Quality Management Individual†. It demonstrates Dell’s commitment to providing high-quality products and superior customer experience (Dell). The main support behind this award is the constant focus in the customer-centric strategy, and the will for a constant improving in the quality management system. In Dell, the quality control process starts from engineering design and the early testing stages during which design for reliability is the priority. Been conscious of quality standards in early analysis of failure mode, the product design is based on typical customer profile and operation requirement. It is important to consider that reliability test and improvement are also keys factors to ensuring the best quality. In addition, Dell has extended the â€Å"quality chain† putting great emphasis on suppliers’ quality management, as the company always regards the quality of the components as crucial factors for product quality. According to this, Dell has established a set of scientific and complete management process, which ensures final product quality through rigid selection and process control of industry-leading suppliers. Considering the whole process, the Quality Management during manufacturing process is the strongest guarantee of Dell products’ quality. Engineering pilot and employee training are conducted before any new product launch. Through Statistic Process Control Quality Analysis, Dell is able to detect and improve incoming material and process issues, which guarantee the best manufacturing quality. 8. Human Resources Strategy Dell’s direct business model influenced an organizational structure that fosters direct communication and open-minded listening. As an strategy to  accomplish this objective is to listen employees, and this is done through â€Å"Tell Dell† program, a voluntary and confidential employee opinion survey. This program is developed to encourage employees to speak frankly and privately about Dell’s principles, values, strategies, policies, managerial effectiveness and employee engagement. In this way the HRM department, after taken the measurement, is able to act in direct response to surveys. Some responses to these kind surveys were for example in the past: * Implementation of an employee purchase program * Greater work-life flexibility * Streamlined decision-making processes * Increased focus on employee development * Improved customer solutions Less formal but equally important strategy to get employees feedback is Employee Storm. A tool that enables every Dell employee to bring experiences and creative solutions to Dell and our customers. With the objective to reduce mistakes and its consequences, Dell has implemented a strategy related to ethic tools. This strategy defines for example policies of communication in order to allow employees approach the company when they feel is necessary according to the defined Dell Code of Conduct. These policies are: * Open door policy * Global Ethics and Compliance Team * Ethic helpline Since Dell is committed to inclusion and diversity, their mission is to succeed in the marketplace by fostering a winning culture in which Dell employees are highly talented, committed, reflective of our global customers, and recognized as our greatest strength. For Dell â€Å"diversity† is the core of their values and winning culture. For this Dell has implemented the following activities: * Employees networking groups. A program that connect employees that share the same nationality, gender, ethnicity, etc. * Diversity Education and Training. Providing quality professional development opportunities to all employees. * Work/Life Effectiveness. Committed to balance the employees contribution to the company with their personal lives. Other areas of strategy where Dell has been working on are: * Global talent management * Employee health and wellness * Employee sustainability engagement Conclusions It is very interesting to remark that Dell, a multinational company with a big size, is successfully capable to repeat basically the same formula of manufacturing process in every manufacturing center that the company has. Dell has been able to repeat the best practices across the borders around the world which by definition represent a big challenge for any company. Never the conditions will go to be the same: restricted markets, cultural shocks for employees, different cost structure are some of the factor that usually affect multinational companies with operations in many countries around the world. Dell strategy found its success in basically the correct and optimums use of technology; Internet is practically the blood of Dell system, or the base of Dell success. Dell’s business model bases its success basically in Information technology. There is not a revolutionary change in the way how to do business, is just a perfect example of how to take advantage of technology to become the most efficient competitor in the computer sales industry. Even though Dell business model is very well know, has been a model very difficult to imitate basically because the huge investment that companies should do together with their suppliers. The supply chain structure in this case is the key of success. Is not a matter of investment coming just from Dell to have success, is a sacrifice coming from Dell, suppliers and partners that in some way are trusting in Dell way of doing business. Trust in the value chain, is definitely a very big competitive advantage for Dell. The product mix from Dell is not as broad as directs competitors are doing it, which in one way has allowed to Dell specialization, focus and expertise in the field. But is a risk at the same time because depending basically on a very limited amount of product and services it does not open many alternatives to explore new markets or develop innovative solutions amount the products and services. Even though Dell is considered a very successful business model, the company has been having problems. These problems are reflected in financial reports which indicate that Dell is not reaching the rate of growing that they were expecting. Although Internet is the base of its success, it has been a big problem for Dell as well, since the point of view that important bloggers has been complaining in the net about the pour quality of services and this has spread quickly between users a non god image of the company. Dell is working on this blog phenomenon taking care of every comment done in the net about their products and services. Another problem faced by Dell is that Dell is becoming victim of its size because they are trying to keep the rate of growing in a market where the value of their products fall significantly every year , this means that to keep the rate of growing is necessary to have a higher rate of sales. As a final weak point in the way how Dell is approaching businesses, Dell is relaying increasingly on new markets which it means that Dell is just applying best practices and knowledge in the field rather than go deep with a study of the new entrance. This could be a risk considering the diversity and cultural matters in between their customers. Operation Strategy: IBM Introduction: IBM or International Business Machines is a well known American computer manufacturer, founded by Thomas J. Watson (born 1874-02-17). IBM is also known as â€Å"Big Blue† after the color of its logo. The company has made  everything from mainframes to personal computers and has been immensely successful selling business computers. Drawing on the strength of the full strategy and change practice: Operations Strategy is one of the four competencies within IBM’s larger Strategy and Change team. The three parallel competencies are Business Strategy, Organization Change Strategy and Technology Strategy. Operations Strategy helps clients resolve a variety of critical issues from strategy and planning to day-today operational improvements. IBM practitioners specialize in identifying the capabilities that are required to execute business strategies and in defining how operational models should be configured, implemented, and continuously improved. With deep experience in operations strategy, IBM provide clients with the support needed to address the operational issues that are crucial to success. Helping clients with critical business issues: Clients look to Operations Strategy for help with these critical business issues: * Cost efficiency and performance improvement * Focus on company’s core business * Increasing shareholder value * Continuous process improvement * Maintaining competitive edge * Improving customer service quality * Migration to new technology * Product innovation management * Merger synergy realization. IBM experience in successfully formulating and implementing operations strategies lies in three main areas: * Helping clients formulate operations strategies that align corporate and business strategy with organization, technology and process strategy. * Providing process expertise for business process change, reengineering and operational improvement, cost reduction, Six Sigma, innovation management, and post-merger integration. * Assisting clients with outsourcing strategies and their execution, including make/buy/partner decision strategies, domestic and global outsourcing, and creating scalable operations. Utilizing a proven, consistent approach: All Operations Strategy engagements incorporate the following key elements: * Mobilization – Utilizes preparation and planning to help increase the odds of successful and timely project completion. * Situation assessment – Establishes a shared assessment of the current and future situation with senior client management. * Strategy development – Defines strategic options and specifies strategic initiatives which are Designed to create significant value for the client. * Implementation planning– Determines critical success factors and establishes change programs to implement the strategic initiatives. * Learning – Measures and adapts the strategic management process in real time utilizing key Performance indicators. Providing a full suite of offerings: Operations Strategy has a diverse range of capabilities, including: Rapid process change: * A solution for rapidly identifying and delivering a step change in process, organizational and systems performance. Rapid process change focuses on achieving tangible operating improvement results in an accelerated time frame. Six Sigma/Lean Sigma: * Strives to create both operational excellence and a strategic change in the culture of a corporation, division or business unit. These engagements  are designed to increase customer satisfaction and drive out costs by helping to improve processes linked to company strategy and key performance indicators. Six Sigma also helps build an enduring capability within the organization that can create and sustain competitive advantage over the long term. Design for Six Sigma: * Extends Six Sigma principles to the development of new products, services, processes, and plants that are designed to precisely meet client current and future needs. Strategic profit improvement: * A framework designed to deliver improved financial performance, including: increasing revenues and margin, reducing costs and assets, strengthening infrastructure, and positioning for future growth. Service after the sale: * Helps clients lower their customer service costs and find new sources of revenue and value-added differentiation. Product innovation management: * Supports the business decision making component of product development. These engagements are designed to reduce time-to market and product development costs and they help increase the pace of innovation. Enterprise focus: * Determines which components of a business are strategic and critical to success of the enterprise and which are not. Then identifies opportunities for improvement and transformation by comparing critical business requirements and operational capabilities. Shared services implementation: * Our team builds a business case for the transition to a shared services operational model, designs a custom shared services solution, and then works with the client to successfully implement the change. Outsourcing governance: * Helps organizations establish a program management office capable of supporting outsourcing Initiatives throughout their lifecycle, from qualification and assessment to development and Operation. Demonstrating success at numerous clients: At one client, a leading consumer electronics manufacturer, benefits of the project included: * Reduction of overhead costs due to redundant / inefficient overhead services and infrastructure in Corporate HQ and five worldwide product divisions. * Annual savings of over $400 million, including: agreements in infrastructure sharing and Governance, shared services and elimination of cost drivers and redundant resources, and establishment of a project management office for active savings tracking and reinforcement. At a large manufacturer of aluminum products, we developed and implemented a new operating model. The scope and results included: * Analyzed operations for 15 business units in 10 countries * Creation of global process models * Over $300 million in annual savings, including improved processes, continued focus on cost Controls, and adoption of best practices across business units. Finally, we developed an outsourcing strategy for a leading manufacturer of semiconductor equipment. The scope Included: * Working with client executive team to develop a vision and operating model * Implemented the model, focusing new investment in core business processes and developing and implementing the roadmap to outsource all non-core processes to save client significant cost and increase competitive advantage. IBM Clients: A small sample of IBM clients includes leaders of every industry and all levels of Government: ABB| Ford Motor Company| Motorola| Aetna| Goodrich Corporation| Novell| Alcoa| Halliburton| Panasonic| America Online| Honda Motor Co.| Raytheon| Ashland| IKON Office Solutions| Royal Philips Electronics| Atkins Nutritionals| International Truck and Engine Corporation| Selectron| Bloomberg| Lam Research| Siemens| BP| Lexmark International| Sony| Chevron Texaco| MCI| Tyco International| Circuit City Stores| McKesson| United States Department of Agriculture| Dupont| Medtronic| Verizon Communications|