Vague and Ambiguous

One main task of critical thinking is to identify these linguistic pitfalls. Let us start with the first major pitfall – obscurity. â€Å"Obscurity† here refers to unclear meaning. A concept or a linguistic expression can be unclear for various reasons. One reason is that it might be  ambiguous, i. e. having more than one meaning. The other reason is that it might be  vague. A term is said to be vague if there are borderline cases where it is indeterminate as to whether it applies or not.Finally, a term might also have an unclear meaning in that its meaning is  incomplete. Let us look at these cases one by one.  § M08. 1 Ambiguity There are actually different kinds of ambiguity: Lexical ambiguity This is a single word or term having more than one meaning in the language. For example, the word â€Å"deep† can mean profoundity (â€Å"What you have said is very deep. â€Å"), or it can be used to describe physical depth (â€Å"This hole is very deep†). Similarly for words like â€Å"young† (inexperienced or young of age), â€Å"bank† (river bank or financial institution), etc. Referential ambiguity It is not clear which thing or group is being referred to.This often arises when the context does not make it clear what a pronoun or quantifier is referring to. â€Å"Ally hit Georgia and then she started bleeding. † Who is hurt? Ally or Georgia? â€Å"Everybody is coming to the party. † Certainly â€Å"everybody† does not refer to every human being in the whole world. But then which group of people are we talking about? Of course in normal situations the speaker usually has some specific group of people in mind. Many people like to make very general statements, such as â€Å"All politicians are corrupt†. Literally, this statement implies that there is no politician who is not corrupted.But of course we can think of many counterexamples to such a claim. So the person who makes the statement might say â€Å"I don't really mean each and every politician. † But then who exactly are the people referred to? Syntactic ambiguity This means having more than one meaning because there is more than one way to interpret the grammatical structure. This can happen even when it is clear what the meanings of the individual words are. â€Å"We shall be discussing violence on TV. † – It might mean the discussion will be conducted during a television programme, or it might mean  violence on TV  is the topic to be discussed.When dealing with ambiguous language the thing to do is of course to clarify the meaning of the expression, for example by listing out all the different possible interpretations. This process of removing ambiguity is call â€Å"disambiguation†.  § M08. 2 Vagueness An term is  vague  if it has an imprecise boundary. This means that there are cases where it is indeterminate whether the term applies or not. For example, a small but c losed room with no windows or doors and no light inside is certain dark. If we switch on a 100W lightbulbs inside it will become bright.But we turn on the dimmer for the light and dim the light slowly until it goes out, then the room will gradually change from a bright room to a dark one. But there is no precise point at which the room suddenly ceases to be bright. Similarly, there is no precise point at which the room suddenly becomes dark. The terms â€Å"dark† and â€Å"bright† do not have clear boundaries of applications in this situation, and we say that these terms are vague. The term â€Å"a tall person† is also vague in that there are certain cases where it is hard to say whether a person is tall or not, but this indecision is not due to lack of knowledge about that person's height.You might know exactly how tall that person is, but still you don't know whether he is tall or not. This is because the meaning of the term is not precise enough. Other exampl es of vague terms : â€Å"heavy†, â€Å"dark†, â€Å"mountain†, â€Å"clever†, â€Å"cheap†. Notice that  we should make a distinction between vagueness and ambiguity. A word can be vague even though it is not ambiguous, and an ambiguous term having more than one meaning would not be said to be vague if the different meanings it has are very precise. Vague terms can be useful in everyday life  because often we do not have to be too precise.How precise we should be depends of course on the context. A form of (bad) argument about vagueness which we often encounter : â€Å"There is really no difference between X and Y because it is often quite unclear whether something is X or Y. † Example : â€Å"There is really no such thing as objective truth or falsity. Whether something is true or false is often hard to say. † This is a bad argument because even though a distinction might have borderline cases, it does not follow that the distin ction is not real. For example, it might sometimes be unclear whether a room is dark or bright.But (a) there is still a real distinction between dark and bright rooms, and (b) there can be clear cases where we have one but not the other. Vagueness should be avoided when we want to speak precisely, as vagueness decreases the informational content of a claim. For example, compare these sentences : â€Å"He is quite old, actually exactly eighty years old. † â€Å"He is quite old, actually about eighty years old. † â€Å"He is quite old. † Many students often like to ask questions such as : â€Å"Is there going to be a lot of homework for this course? † â€Å"Is the final exam going to be difficult? â€Å"But of course words like â€Å"difficult† and â€Å"a lot† are vague. Vague terms can make a claim vague and impossible to confirm or disprove. Horoscope predictions for example : â€Å"Be prepared for a change of direction this week as some thing crops up. † – SCMP Sunday Post Magazine. â€Å"This piece of news is going to affect the market somewhat. † But of course one might try to use vagueness to one's advantage in order to be non-committal or imprecise. â€Å"As a minister I agree that to some extent I am responsible. † â€Å"The government will deal with this problem in an appropriate manner when the right time comes. †  § M08. Incomplete Meaning A term has an  incomplete meaning  if the property or relation it expresses depends on some further parameter to be specified by the context, either explicitly or implicitly. This includes terms such as â€Å"useful†, â€Å"important†, â€Å"similar† and â€Å"better†. Practically all objects are useful and important only in some respects but not others. For example, is love more important than money? Well, it depends. If you are starving to death, then money is more important. But if you are trying to de termine which of the two contributes more to a happy and fulfilling life, then the answer might be different.So just saying that something is useful or important is empty unless it is made clear in what way it is so. This is also necessary if we want to evaluate whether what is said is true or not. â€Å"The education director shall visit Scotland to study their educational system because it is similar to the one in Hong Kong. † â€Å"Will this year's final exam be similar to the one last year? † â€Å"It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But . . . it is better to be good than to be ugly. † –   Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) â€Å"Art never improves, but . . . the material of art is never quite the same. † –   T. S. Eliot (1888 – 1965)

Handlin vs. McNeill Essay

Although events in history occurred over a long span of time and development, history first became an academic subject a little more than 100 years ago (McNeill 12). Since then, a plethora of controversies appeared regarding how historians, scholars, and intellectuals should examine and analyze history. Among the initial methods of studying history was the scientific research method, or scientific source criticism, which fundamentally extracts valid, legitimate facts from a diverse range of historical sources. Throughout time, however, the facts derived from this method of historical study gradually altered, leading to a new method of historical study: using facts and combining them with opinions and goals to constitute personal interpretations. As Oscar Handlin zealously asserts, historians and scholars should provide a strict examination of history based on a chronological study of known and verifiable facts as opposed to using verifiable facts as the basis for their own interpretation, influenced by their own group, experiences, beliefs, and personal motives. Through implementing a strict examination of history, historians can successfully detect and eradicate bias in their writings, allow the government as well as individuals to gain an insight into the past in order to secure and progress the future, and grasp the magnitude of truth. First, because strict examination of history based on a chronology and conclusive evidence can aid in discerning bias from genuine fact, historians should utilize the scientific method of research. Although Oscar Handlin admits that historians are never â€Å"totally free of bias† (7), he does claim that removing facts from interpretations eliminates bias, opinionated statements, and fiction from history, which is supposedly the chief goal and use of history (Handlin 5). On the contrary, when scholars employ William McNeill’s method of investigating history through interpretation, biased and one-sided analyses emerge, and, therefore, scholars may elasticize actual truth to suit their purpose. Historians who use interpretation to depict history â€Å"are likely to select facts to show that we-whoever ‘we’ may be-conform to our cherished principles† (McNeill 16). Consequently, a fusion between fact and bias results, distorting the truth and leading to ignorance. Take, for instance, the example of Christopher Columbus. When examined through strict examination based on chronology and evidence,  historians determine truths including the fact that Columbus’s voyages increased Europe’s rate of expedition to the Americas and the fact that Columbus contributed to the horrifying genocide of Native Americans. These derived facts provide insight into two perspectives of Columbus, and so, it diminishes the threats of bias. However, when explored through interpretations to suit purpose or please the audience, historians exaggerate Columbus’s prominence by omitting the negative perspective mentioned above and using overarching descriptions, verifying the detriments of bias. Essentially, the scientific method of research assists historians in limiting the bias and opinion used in their writing to produce exact facts that do not serve to please the audience. In conclusion, when historians adhere to a specific study of history founded on chronology and corroborative facts, they can locate truth amidst clouds of speculation, myth, opinion, and bias, and they can use this truth to advance the human race. Rummaging through the treasure chest of historical sources and only selecting the jewels of absolute truth can facilitate the process of abolishing partiality and attaining objectivity and allow humans to use the past as a tool for enhancing the future. Handlin aggressively proclaims, â€Å"Truth is absolute; it is as absolute as the world is real† (5). If historians truly possess profound feelings and support for the success of humanity, it is crucial that they acknowledge Handlin’s statement. If McNeill’s views are adopted and excessively used, however, absolute truth and its advantageous properties may be lost forever, masked by interpretations involving a blend of fact, fiction, and ideology. By working in accordance and using the scientific method of research, humans can conquer subjective interpretations and win the war against â€Å"faction-a combination of fact and fiction† (Handlin 8).

Mental Heath. Write one an half pages on Suicide article. Please Essay

Mental Heath. Write one an half pages on Suicide article. Please hyperlink the article site - Essay Example Berman feel as though she had no other choice but to end her own life. Jennifer had once been considered a normal, loving wife and mother who boasted of her musically-talented children. However, a neighbor, Marian Sklodowski, said that something suddenly changed in Jennifer that was visibly apparent just days before the murder-suicide. â€Å"A couple of days ago, she was different†¦you could see it in her face, there was something missing, something disturbed in her mind† (Goldstein, 2014, p.2). This is an interesting case study in mental illness and the rapidity by which mental disturbances can begin, even in an individual who has been known to be quite normal and well-adjusted. A typical person, when facing mounting problems both financial and social, are able to cope through these hard times and ultimately find mental adjustment without resorting to drastic self-harm tactics. Jennifer Berman not only felt that her own death was appropriate, but determined that it would be the most viable solution for her children as well. This is a form of psychosis in which an individual loses all touch with reality and begins to believe deluded thoughts. In psychology, one is not easily, officially diagnosed with sustaining a psychotic disorder until certain variables have been excluded, such as diseases in the central nervous system or even ingested illicit drugs. However, there was no evidence that Berman maintained any of the aforementioned conditions, but she simply had new-onset psychosis as a result of poor personal coping mechanisms. The Berman case could be a fascinating case study on what triggers new-onset psychosis and why some individuals experiencing psychotic episodes are unable to restrict their impulsive actions. It would be highly beneficial to the medical and psychological communities to examine all of the factors over a period of time that led to psychosis and the desire to commit suicide and murder her

Three Ways People Can Improve Their Communities Assignment

Three Ways People Can Improve Their Communities - Assignment Example It is important for people to make better choices for their health and wellbeing status (Cohn, 2013). However, the government can influence the behavior of people to enhance their status. For instance, it could provide a channel for the people to pay their taxes efficiently. If the people do not evade or avoid paying taxes, the government could develop more health facilities for better services and easy access. When it comes to health choices, it is the decision of the people to determine and work around their health issues. For instance, they could develop a habit of exercising and embracing proper diet to avoid the effects of obesity. In addition, individuals need a sense of security in their neighborhood. The existences of criminal activities create a great concern for the people in the community. The people in the community can aid in addressing the security concerns in various ways. Firstly, people can learn to identify criminal activities in the community. Secondly, the people can set up a watch scheme for the local community. This involves collaborating with the security agencies to make communities safer by the provision of information on any suspected crime (Cohn, 2013). Finally, people could enhance their security through active participation with the local security authority. The provision of support to the security authority could improve the community’s security status. Furthermore, people can aid in the improvement of the community’s physical environment. To address the challenges of the environment, people in the community need to strengthen their abilities in relation to the conservation of the natural resources. This could occur through securing their capacities and knowledge in becoming their environmental stewards (Cohn, 2013). The people could also become innovative for the implementation of

The History of Midwifery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The History of Midwifery - Essay Example This view has been part of the midwife profession since ancient times (Brucker, 2000) and is one of the most important differences between the roles of doctor and midwife. Another equally important difference is that midwives provide emotional support to mothers, as well as assistance during the birthing process. The word midwife has its roots in old English, and literally means "with woman" (Brucker, 2000), referring to a woman who works with women in labor. The very name of the profession implies that when the term was first used, the role of a midwife was to provide support, rather than intervention. Midwifery is one of the few medical professions that are traditionally dominated by women. It is also one of the oldest known medical professions. The practice of midwifery is clearly referred to in the Bible (Brucker, 2000) and in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, and it is known to have been part of early Greek and Roman society. Certain qualifications for the role of midwife began to evolve during this time - for example, midwives in Greece were required to have given birth themselves before they could begin working with other women. Several cultures still have this requirement for their midwives up until the present day. Midwives are even part of the legends of some ancient cultures. ... Other Athenian doctors became jealous of her success, and thinking she was a man, accused her of corrupting her patients. After revealing her identity as a woman, Agnodice was charged with practicing medicine. The charge was dismissed after many of her female patients protested; stating that without Agnodice's care, many of them might have died. According to the legend, this incident precipitated the overturning of the law against females practicing medicine, however afterwards they were only allowed to have female patients. The Roman physician Soranus of Ephesus practiced medicine during the first and second centuries AD. He wrote over 20 medical books, the most significant of these being Gynecology (Randall, 1997), a highly detailed text about human reproduction. Among other things, the characteristics and roles of midwives were outlined in this text, as well as descriptions of childbirth and instructions for the care of newborns. According to Soranus, a good midwife was "literate, with her wits about her, possessed of a good memoryunafraid in danger andfree from superstition" (Randall, 1997, p6). Midwives were involved in most aspects of pregnancy and birth, from examination of women to determine whether they were pregnant and care of women during pregnancy, to the actual birth itself and care of the mother and child afterwards. Throughout this period and later during the Middle Ages, the skills and knowledge of midwives was passed down through the generations using the apprentice system (Stock-Morton, 1996, p61), where new midwives were trained by being apprenticed to practicing ones. New midwives learned by watching experienced midwives work with women

Power Point Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Power Point Research Proposal - Essay Example However, heart attack risk factors can be effectively reduced by embracing a healthy living style, which includes modified diets, lifestyle, and physical activities for older women. The PICOT-based research question will be the basis for the practice where two heart attack reduction intervention will be compared, which include the use of Aspirin and lifestyle modification. Mortality rate caused by heart attack in older women is a global epidemic. Although there being medications such as Aspirin to reduce heart attack, the side effects are adverse making it a rather risky intervention. However, lifestyle modification forms a better intervention compared to the use of Aspirin as it has minimal risks and side effects and promote the overall health of a woman as well as reducing risks to other diseases. The evidence-based practice aims at establishing the effectiveness of modifying lifestyle to reduce the chances of a heart attack that will be compared to the use of Aspirin intervention. The practice further aims at improving awareness of heart attack risk factors that will be a major intervention in reducing mortality rate from heart diseases in older women. The evidence-based practice will be important, as it will find out whether lifestyle modification for women aged 45-75 years is better compared to the Aspirin regimen. The practice will further promote awareness of risks factors that contribute to heart attacks among older women. Studies have shown that physical activity has been one of the most successful interventions in reducing coronary heart disease. Daily exercise including simple walks has potential health benefits including reducing heart attack risks. The literature conducted aimed at the perceptions associated with Aspirin regimen in reducing the risk of heart attack. Additionally, reviewed studies aimed at comparing the efficacy of modifying lifestyle to the use of Aspirin regimen. Notably, most studies points out that modification

Engineering managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Engineering managment - Essay Example It also facilitates growth of the company’s telecommunication and financial services. Moreover, data mining has improved in Luscombe’s period and customers’ buying habits are better examined to customize the organizational policies according to them. There has occurred a general improvement in the standards of the store. Weaknesses: In the 8 year reign in which Corbett served as the CEO of Woolworths and his policies resulted into the increase in the returns of shareholders by 300 per cent. On the contrary, the policies implemented by Luscombe since 2006 have increased the return of shareholders by no more than 40 per cent in the whole 5 years. Thus, the competition is between 8 years and 5 years of governance, and 300 per cent and 40 per cent of increase on the return. This clearly speaks of the fact that the strategies implemented by Corbett as a CEO were more conducive for the increase in shareholders’ return as compared to those of Luscombe. Although t he organization has overall remained in profitability in Luscombe’s period, yet much of this can be attributed to the long term effects of the rational policies of Corbett instead of the policies adopted by Luscombe. Opportunities: Woolworths has conventionally managed to attract a large volume of talented young candidates for employment. Woolworths provides its workforce with training over a vast range of disciplines in order to improve their competence and inculcate sound management skills in them. It is the very training that is one of the cardinal reasons of success of Luscombe in his management of the company. Luscombe has served in Woolworths for 28 years, in which he received training and polished his skills on various levels as a manager. On job training is one of the most attracting characteristics of an organizational culture for the employees because they avail it as an opportunity to enhance their skills and become an asset for the organization. Having received th e training, they feel their skills improved, which offers them a feeling of assurance that their job is secure. They know they are better positioned to fulfill the needs of a particular business and hence, have both job satisfaction and job security. Threats: Corbett had maintained a culture in which all employees made their best effort to enhance the company’s profits and reduce the costs. However, Luscombe does not approve of the fact that employees work for as many as 12 hrs and sometimes even more than that. He thinks that the staff is putting in unnecessary effort to make the business profitable. Luscombe needs to realize that it is the same work pattern that had increased the return on shareholders’ investment by 300 per cent and that had doubled the revenues to $ 36 billion. The rate of increase in the return of shareholders’ investment has already decreased more than 3 times what it was in Corbett’s period. The current strategy of Woolworths: Curr ently, Luscombe is the CEO of the company. Luscombe is a very open and easily approachable kind of CEO. He has maintained very open relations with the senior management as well as the staff of the company. His attitude with the company staff is quite friendly, and he encourages team work. During his reign, all of the personnel of the company have united as a strong team. The staff is making all efforts to comply with the instructions of Luscombe. Their compliance has recently caused the

The Warming of the Earth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Warming of the Earth - Essay Example With the millions of people that call Earth 'home', the condition of the planet is one that many have sought to gather more information about, in order to understand the degree in which the planet may be in peril, as well as to what degree human actions would be responsible for it. "Throughout Earth's history, the climate has varied on many time and space scales. In that sense, climatic change is not new, and humanity has had to adapt to a constantly changing climate. Human action has itself had an impact on that climate. Until recently, the impact was local, but now there is concern that human activity, primarily through the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, is leading to a world-wide climatic change which is more rapid and more extreme than any encountered during human history," (Robinson & Henderson-Sellers, p.267). While the extent at which the climate of the planet has varied, so has the impact of its inhabitants. As humans increase their usage of such resources, the rate of global warming is steadily increasing, in conjunction with such behavior patterns. As is the case with many di

The Relationship between Partner Abuse and Welfare Recipients Essay

The Relationship between Partner Abuse and Welfare Recipients - Essay Example A snapshot of the target group in New York compared to the target group in California had only one major difference: Ethniticity. This most probably is because of demographic differences between the regions. This issue is so important because it involves considerable suffering and oppression to a select segment of the population of the United States. Other countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom have similar issues. This study focused on communities within the United States. It is noteworthy that the problems of our poor are the source of much worry in other countries as well. Abuse is cyclical. Children are prone to repeat behaviors modeled by their parents. Children in environments that witness domestic violence are very prone to repeat that behavior in their adult homes. There has been much research that shows that boys who witness domestic violence will grow up to be abusive toward their families, wives, or domestic partners. According to Helpguide.org "Children who witness domestic violence may develop serious emotional, behavioral, developmental, or academic problems. As children, they may become violent themselves, or withdraw. Some act out at home or school; others try to be the perfect child. Children from violent homes may become depressed and have low self-esteem. Welfare reform - changes is welfare laws such as the require... Attempt suicide. Use and abuse drugs. Commit crimes, especially sexual assault. Become abusers in their own relationships later in life." To understand this issue one must be familiar with the terms of welfare and domestic violence that the social services industry uses most commonly. The terms most used in the article are: Partner on partner abuse - spousal abuse, domestic partner abuse, boyfriend or girlfriend abuse, older child on younger Welfare - public assistance provided to low/no income family units. It can be in the form of money, housing, food stamps, childcare, etc Domestic violence - any violence that takes place in the home between family members. This violence or abuse can take the form of physical, sexual, mental, emotional abuse or deprivation. Welfare reform - changes is welfare laws such as the requirement that welfare recipients work to receive benefits, time limits on eligibility (5 years in Ohio), and benefit amounts not increased upon the birth of an additional child. Changes in the welfare laws were designed to encourage recipients to get off welfare. Welfare reform is designed to change the usage of benefits back to their original intention-as temporary assistance during hard times vs. a subculture of benefit users that pass on to the next generation the idea that benefits are an entitlement. Further definitions will be provided as they occur in this paper. The reader must also understand that although most partner abuse is man on woman many cases of woman on man abuse takes place as well. Sadly, as children from violent or abusive homes grow up they are prone to duplicate the abuse in their homes. This could take place as older child on younger or older child on parent. The theoretical or

Bio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bio - Essay Example Geology, B.A. Biology where he states that the science involved with ring width measurements currently that show tree rings occur no more than once a year, and as a result this is something that cannot be debated unless you look at possibility of numerous disturbances occurring which could theoretically have changed the chronology. (Woodrappe 2) Unfortunately, this is a hypothesis that others have disproved and that Dawkins himself finds interesting. Unfortunately, the science attempted by the apologetics site is such that it is not provable and is not currently peer reviewed. Another interesting view of tree ring dating is taken by author Bryan Bannister in his paper published in American Antiquity where he states, â€Å"Once a date has been derived, however, its archeological significance may vary widely, since the date can only be applied with authority to the tree itself.† (Bannister 508) Dawkins goes to great lengths to explain that this dating approach is applicable but only when used with other approaches. He does however; explain that by cross-referencing the rings themselves with other trees in the area you can in fact present a much clearer case for age as you will likely have overlaps in the rings creating a potentially unbreakable chain of evidence in dating for some things. (Dawkins, Ph.D. FRS, FRSL) Further in he approaches sedimentary levels and dating using earth strata.

A New Ending to the Lord of the Flies Essay Example for Free

A New Ending to the Lord of the Flies Essay Instead of coming at me, like I thought he would he ran the opposite direction and started screaming at the top of his lungs. By now the fire was out of control; it was racing down the mountain side, faster than fast. I started to run again, this time I was running toward the beach. â€Å"I need to get the littluns to safety† I said to myself. I ran and ran to the beach and went to grab the conch were it should have been; but I stopped myself. The conch is gone just like Piggy. Shattered, into a million pieces. I fell to the ground with exhaustion and grief. I could feel the heat of the fire coming nearer and nearer. As Jacks hunters came closer to me I heard them chanting a different chant. I could have sworn that I hear Jack screaming in pain. Someone burst out of the trees, screaming in pain. â€Å"Jack,† I said to myself as I looked to see if I was right. Sure enough I was right, but this was worse than I imagined, he was on fire! Half of his body was burnt. He looked at me with a sad, hurt look. He ran past me and jumped into the ocean. Jack never resurfaced, and I wasn’t about to go and get him. I heard more screaming behind me. I knew they were coming after me so I ducked down and tried to not move. Maybe they won’t notice me. It must have been ten minutes before I heard any noise coming out of the forest. But as everyone gathered around me it became silent. â€Å"Is everything all right? † I heard a somewhat familiar voice say. I looked up to see who was talking. I started to talk, but as I saw who it was my mouth just stayed open. â€Å"Dad? † I said in unbelief. â€Å"I knew it. † I yelled as I got up and ran to him. He stared as if I was dead. Maybe I am dead and this is all a dream. As I jumped in to his arms I was assured that I was alive when he caught me. He whispered in my ear. â€Å"Ralph? Is that you? † â€Å"YES! † I yelled â€Å"it is me! † I said more quietly. I started to cry out of relief. Dad started to cry too. â€Å"I thought you were dead! † he said barely above a whisper. â€Å"Well, how many of you are there? † he asked getting up and putting me down. â€Å"Um, I really don’t know. There are a few kids dead. † I said the last part a little quieter. â€Å"Well than, who is the leader. Roger was standing next to me. When dad said this, I half expected him to claim the glory, and I was going to let him. Instead he backed up, as did all the other kids. Roger spoke up, â€Å"Ralph is the leader. † He said this with a sound of remorse. â€Å"Ralph? How could you let this happen? † dad sounded surprised that I could let everything get so out of hand . â€Å"I tried to keep everything under control, but when jack got mad and left, everything went out of hand. You can’t honestly think that I could keep control over twenty some boys. I said this and started to cry. â€Å"Well then I guess we should get you boy’s home. † My dad said with a look of guilt on his face. I don’t blame him, though. On the ride home I couldn’t help but ask how mom is. She is fine apparently. I can’t wait to see her. Dad said she couldn’t get over the fact that I was gone. When we made sure that every one was home and good, we made our way home. As we arrived to the house I was reminded of the day I left here some time ago. As I burst through the door to start my life over.

Roman Empire Essay Example for Free

Roman Empire Essay The Roman Empire had stretched so large by the fourth century CE that it had several provincial capitals. The two most important political centers were Rome in the West and Constantinople in the East, which had formerly been called Byzantium. The emperor, Constantine the Great, rebuilt Byzantium to resemble â€Å"Old Rome,† and so this political center became known as the â€Å"New Rome.† Although those who lived in Constantinople referred to themselves as Romans and were part of the Roman Empire, historians now refer to the peoples of the Eastern Roman Empire as Byzantines. Though the Byzantine Empire no longer remains, evidence from the era exists across Southern Europe, North Africa, Southwest Asia, and beyond. The Byzantines are famous for their intricate mosaics, like the golden ones here inside a church in Istanbul, Turkey, which was once known as Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. How Did the Byzantines Continue the Roman Empire? By the end of the fourth century CE, the Roman Empire was permanently split into East and West. While the Byzantine Empire in the East thrived, the Western Roman Empire experienced a series of invasions, a declining economy, and poor leadership. In 476 CE, the last Roman emperor of the West, Romulus Augustulus, was overthrown by a Germanic prince named Odovacar. After the fall of Rome, Germanic kingdoms claimed former Roman lands. Roads and other public structures fell into disrepair. Likewise, trade and commerce in the West declined. Without a powerful Western Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church became a unifying and powerful force in western Europe. In contrast, Byzantine emperors in the East were successful in keeping a powerful army that they could send long distances. While the West was repeatedly invaded after the fourth century CE, the East succeeded in defending itself well enough that Constantinople survived nearly 1,000 years after the fall of Rome. Byzantine leaders co ntinued Roman law and traditions. The Byzantine emperor Justinian is well known for codifying Roman laws. In the process, the authors removed conflicting, duplicated, and outdated Roman laws. Also during Justinians reign, artists revived Hellenistic art and literature. Many historians credit the Byzantine Empire for todays knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman cultures. As the West went into decline, scholars in the East maintained great libraries and established schools for the study of ancient Greek and Roman history. They also continued Roman culture by combining it with aspects of peoples closer to Constantinople. Most Byzantines were Greek, but a mix of North Africans, Arabs, Persians, and Turks also lived within the borders of the Eastern Roman Empire. Latin was the official language of the Roman Empire, but more people spoke Greek in the East. Eventually Greek became the official language in the Byzantine Empire. How Did Christianity Develop in the Byzantine Empire? Time and distance from Rome caused the Byzantine Empire to develop practices that were different from the West. This was especially true of ChristianityByzantine emperors saw themselves as having authority over the whole Roman Empire, including the Catholic Church. The emperor had final authority on church matters. The Patriarch and otherbishops answered to the emperor. In the Byzantine Empire, the highest political authority and highest religious authority was the same person. However, in the West, kings and church leaders were separate, though kings answered to the popeChristianity helped unify the diverse people of the Byzantine Empire. Being head of the church gave the emperors the right to rule in the eyes of the people. Byzantine mosaics often show emperors with halos, emphasizing the connection to the church. The prominent role of Christianity in the empire is evident in the many Byzantine-era churches and the detailed works of art they contain. What Was the Iconoclast Controv ersy? In the eighth and ninth centuries, the Byzantine Empire is probably most famous for theiconoclasm controversy. An icon is a holy image or sculpture of a revered holy figure such as Jesus Christ or a saint. A saint is someone who is recognized as holy or virtuous by the Church. Byzantine art frequently used human forms and symbols to represent important ideas and figures in Christianity. A great debate arose over whether this type of practice, including veneration of the icons, was acceptable.iconoclasts, meaning icon breakers, were those who were against the practice. They feared it could lead to idolatry, forbidden by the Bible. How Did the Controversy Affect the Byzantine Empire? The iconoclast debate became a political issue that lasted more than 100 years. Many historians say it was also the greatest intellectual debate over the purpose of art. The pope and bishops in the West supported the use of icons, as did most Byzantine bishops. The practice had existed for centuries. As the emperor was head of the Byzantine church, he did not need support from church leaders to ban icons. In fact, people who continued to support icons during those times experiencedpersecution. What Other Issues Split East and West? The use of icons as religious symbols was not the only issue dividing the Eastern and Western churches. One was the use of leavened instead of unleavened bread in worship. Church leaders attached special importance to breads made with or without yeast, per quotes in the Bible. They disagreed on the proper interpretations. Another issue was the power of the pope, who saw the position of the emperor over the patriarch in the East as a challenge to his own authority. In addition, the importance of Constantinople as an important Christian city was in debate. Church leaders in the West objected to Byzantine emperors claims of Constantinople having equal importance to Rome. What Was the Great Schism? By 1054, the differences between East and West had grown too wide. That year, Pope Leo IX sent representatives to Constantinople. They insisted that Michael Cerularius, the patriarch of Constantinople, acknowledge the pope as his superior and Rome as the head of the Christian church. The delegates leader, acting on the popes behalf, excommunicated Cerularius. The patriarch excommunicated the delegates and the pope in return. This event marks the Great Schism, or split, in Christianity between East and West. The Church in the West became the Roman Catholic Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church continued to grow in the East, based in Constantinople. Roman Catholic Church| Similarities| Eastern Orthodox Church| * Latin was official language * Pope has highest authority, over kings and emperors as well * Priests cannot marry * Married couples could not divorce * Centered in Rome| * Both base teachings on Jesus and the Bible * Both offer sacraments, meaning special church services such as b aptism * Both have priests and bishops as church leaders * Both seek to convert others to Christianity| * Greek was official language * Patriarch and other bishops lead as a group * Emperor claimed authority over the patriarch * Priests can marry * Married couples could divorce under certain conditions * Centered in Constantinople| The Byzantine Empires culture was already spreading to Slavic and other peoples further east and north. Many of these groups converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, especially because of the work of saints Cyril and Methodius. St. Cyril was talented in learning languages and worked to create the first written alphabet for the Slavonic language. He and St. Methodius then were able to begin translating the Bible into the new alphabet. They were missionaries to the Slavs, credited with spreading Christianity and Byzantine influence. Western Roman Empire| Eastern (Byzantine) Empire| Latin was official language| Iconoclast controversy| Pope was highest authority| Orthodox Church| Catholic Church| Greek was official language| Excommunicated iconoclasts| Patriarch was highest church leader| Centered in Rome| Centered in Constantinople|

Tektronix Inc Global Erp Implementation Management Essay

Tektronix Inc Global Erp Implementation Management Essay For Welti (1999), an ERP implemented in a complex international environment normally incorporates four major sequential stages (Planning, Realization, Preparation and Productive phases) that must go in parallel with a proper Change management, Risk Management, Project Control, Project Team Training and User Training. As the global implementation was done by waves with different characteristics, it can be seen that different project management strategies were adopted. In this part only the most characteristic features of the overall project are highlighted and these issues are limited to the information given by the case study (Planning and Realization stages). In the Planning stage, many issues can be mentioned. First, the selection of the ERP package was quite straightforward and relied mainly on Neun and Vance ´s judgment, experience and criterion; they decided to choose Oracle as a single vendor in order to avoid dealing with the complexity of multiple providers which, although it may cause future problems due to the dependency created to a single vendor, it was a practical decision for the implementation process. In this decision, they devoted neither too much time in costing nor resources in evaluating the alternative packages. Secondly, the steering committee clearly defined the model, guidelines and principles under which all the systems were adhered to. Also, it was defined the financial architecture that could meet the new business model: Order Management was different for each division (for customer purposes), but the rest of accounting elements were based on single definitions in order to provide worldwide control. Thirdly, th e Project Team structure offered advantages such as the cross-functional working style, which created a regional and divisional control. Then, the problems and tasks could be addressed from these two perspectives, but the disadvantage of this approach might be the conflicts of power during the implementation, as authority was given to divisional and/or regional leaders which could have created confusion to users and sub-teams. Fourth, it seems that within each wave they did not allocate carefully all the resources, people or time needed for being successful, which led to the time constraints as they devoted effort looking for skilled staff and consultants. Overall, the project was benefited from the partial feedbacks and success in each stage and in the long run the plan was framed within the general guidelines and schedule. Also, the planning stage can be said to be closer to reality as they used a mixture of emergent and statics tactics to face future events. The Implementation phase was done more or less within the plan, and it was divided mainly in regional and divisional deployments. The first stage, the implementation of the Financial and OMAR modules in the CPID was properly led by the person who best knew the IT infrastructure in USA: Gary Allen. As this division was in need of an urgent BPR and a new business model in order to improve their competitiveness, the early success of this implementation could get the buying of the next regions and divisions. However, this stage was no exempt of project management difficulties: Tektronix lacked of technical and functional skills with Oracle, and they struggled in finding the right consultants, with the resultant wasting of time. It can be mentioned that within this first part, USA was a good pilot for OMAR, as they could get an opportune feedback about business and technical issues; regarding the implementation of financial module in USA and Europe, they did not face major challenges, giv en that this module did not require BPR and also because the company highly relied on Oracle specialist Consultants (Aris Consulting). But the implementation of OMAR at MBD (second stage) met technical challenges despite of the help from Oracle consultants. The third stage, implementation at VND, was characterized by a constraint of human resources. These two last stages (two and three) went through problems from the business perspective, probably as a result of IT head divisions leading the implementations, with less involvement from the executive level. Later, once deployed the software in USA, Tektronix went to the European branches where the approach followed was more or less similar to that followed in USA: they chose the most used European distribution centre (Holland), and this pilot reduced the uncertainty and gained the buying from the rest of regional countries. Then, they decided the final roll out to some other European countries and the big-bang deployment that installe d all three divisional systems together. This strategy could lead to good results considering that European countries are culturally very different and it is really challenging to implement a vanilla version program. When introducing the ERP system into Asia, a similar plan was followed, which was wise given the language issues that could have represented a technical and cultural limitation if not addressed properly. America and Australia seemed to be easier waves in comparison with the rest of the project. Although the monitoring and feedback had a positive impact on the effectiveness of control (Mudimigh, 2001; Bancroft, et al., 1998) and the deadlines were timely met, it is clear that the weakest point of the implementation stage and partially of the planning stage was the poor Change Management, Project Team training and Risk Management (they are not mentioned in the case). For example, the complete absence of a proper Change Management project led to the resistance found when implementing OMAR at MBD. Also, the absence of attention from the managerial and business level in the allocation of the initial resources (staff, training, and consultants) led the waste of time when selecting consultants, when doing testing, incorporating technical changes, language customizations and new business processes. One of the good points of the project was the training given to Power users and Sub-Teams across the global enterprise. Overall, the conservative approach (waves of roll out and big-bang ) followed by Tektronix really helped in mitigating many of the characteristic risks for a global ERP implementation. 2.- IDENTIFYING TEKTRONIX ´S PROJECT RISKS In terms of risk, it can be said that Tektronix had tolerance for risk (Hirsch and Ezingeard, 2008) as managers were willing to accept variations during the project in order to obtain high returns (time and efficiency).This attitude towards risk might have an explanation: by using the Willcocks and Griffiths (1994) framework, we can see that due to some key managers ´ previous experience with ERP technology, considering the project as a large one and regarding project structure as medium or low, then the risk can be classified as Low or Medium. Then, it can be said that leaders of the implementation drove the project without a highly structured plan because their knowledge about ERP implementations gave them enough confidence to improvise tactics in order to obtain successful results. Keil et. al (1998) proposed a risk categorization framework that can be used here to classify the risks that Tektronix faced. Furthermore, this model gives the opportunity of clearly locate those events that could have happened and that could be prevented if addressing the events on time. Complementing this framework, specific risk factors (Sumner M., 2000) for enterprise-wide ERP projects are included within the four quadrants. Quadrant 1: Customer Mandate In this quadrant there are risks associated with the commitment obtained or lack of buying from senior management, users and other stakeholders. The first concern noticed in the case studied was that the project clearly had the financial support from the Board of Directors; and also the CFO and CIO were willing to introduce changes and improvements for the company, all which reduced the risks related with funding or assistance needed during the implementation. Secondly, the commitment from the company HQ and divisions was quickly gained because the high rate company growth and Tektronix ´s inability to cope with the market pressures had created a sense of dissatisfaction among managers and top employees who found in this project the opportunity to improve. Thirdly, there was a highly motivated champion of the project (Carl Neun) who was supported in his idea by the CIO and CPID ´s president. Furthermore, some other leaders were designated across the different regions and business units in order to expand the champion ´s directives. Fourth, the management structure of the project was built upon a number of key roles with business and technical expertise; this structure consisted of a central project leader (CFO with unlimited authority from the CEO) and strong business divisional or regional leaders supporting the champion ´s authority. The clear roles allocated at different levels reduced the efforts done along the top-down structure, but the lack of involvement of the CEO and other senior managers in Change management can be considered a risky attitude which ended up in occasional resistance from some users. Lastly, it seems that end-users ´ expectations were not considered at all: firstly, because the CFO relied mainly on his experience and intuition and did not spend time in doing a proper project analysis; second, the vanilla approach proposed by Neun implied adapting users ´ operations and routines to software and not vice versa. An instance of this weakness arose when doing BPR at MBD, where there was users ´ resistance and time was wasted explaining to users the reasons behind the new processes. Quadrant 2: Scope and Requirements In general, there were no major misunderstandings in requirements or disruptive changes in requirements: the scope was clearly defined as global, the elements implemented were limited to the Financial and OMAR systems, and the company followed the best practices embedded in the system and recommended by the vendor. Furthermore, as a vanilla implementation approach was deployed as a global solution, only in cases of extreme need modifications took place, which clearly reduced the risks involved when doing local or national customizations (Sheu, et al., 2004). Quadrant 3: Execution In this Quadrant, it can be assessed risk factors and many of the traditional pitfalls associated with poor project management. The pitfalls can fall into the business or technical field. As examples of first mistakes done by Tektronix, it can be mentioned an inadequate change management, project management and risk control: They never did any feasibility analysis and risk analysis before embarking in this huge project, and this neglect prevented them from seeing the reality in some subsidiaries. As a consequence, customization of the ERP for business processes-that were unique for some competitive local branches- had to be made; also, Multilanguage settings were programmed at last minute. The lack of skills in project management resulted in assigning this responsibility to inexperienced consultants, with the corresponding wasted money and delays when choosing a new consultancy firm. Tektronix also faced resistance that was not expected; for instance, when doing the implementation at the VND division, they found difficulties that only could be overcome by increasing the working pressure and the level of resources (order entry people, item maintenance people). With reg ard to the transfer of knowledge, the company relied mainly on a combination of large and small consulting firms (particularly with Aris Consulting) as well as independent consultants, but it is not clear whether a correct program for transfer of skills was in place. The Change Control team actually worked as a communication or monitoring team and no Change management team or program was ever mentioned. Regarding the technical realization, there are some points to highlight. First, the risk of Oracle versions being obsolete before the roll out completes was diminished with the concept of waves; and each time a new version was released the company used updated versions of the software. However, in CPID, Tektronix wrongly decided to install a beta version of the software which resulted in much time of debugging, instead of waiting for the final version that was later released or for a more tested version. Secondly, the lack of technical expertise made the firm to rely mainly on external consultants as Tektronix ´s employees did not have proper training in the technical area. Furthermore, this lack of expertise resulted in much time and resources wasted, such as the excessive training and testing done in the MBD division when implementing OMAR. Thirdly, there was also the risk of integration with the manufacturing legacy system that was kept in place; and even when an interface was i nstalled between the two systems, there might be a possibility of future failure. Finally, in spite of the fact that the implementation included building a data ware housing functionality, it seems there were no plans or considerations of the high risks involved in data migration. If the new software did not work properly with the existing infrastructure or database, the only outcome would be adding the software to the collection of obsolete legacy systems. Quadrant 4: Environment Tektronix never considered the risks associated with changes in scope/objectives due to changes in the senior management hierarchy or political problems within the firm itself. Hopefully, the project did not miss their key team or management members and it could finally reach the end with a constant objective. It helped the fact that the global objectives were met in less than 3 years, a period of time relatively short that avoided the risks associated with managers moving and changing plans or directives. With regard to internal problems, it was not considered that potential conflicts between the business units or departments could erode the performance of the plan. However, the leadership and corporate culture seems to have helped subsidiaries to strictly follow the HQ guidelines, which in turn streamlined the implementation process. 3.-CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES For Tektronix, some of the following critical factors and challenges (Plant and Willcocks, 2007; Sheu, et al., 2004; Hoffman, T., 2007; Bingi, et al., 1999) permitted to reach a fairly successful implementation: Communicating and persuading project goals to constituents from different cultures (Hoffman, T., 2007) The vision and project goals were adequately communicated and reached thanks to two factors: The strong leadership of Carl Neun, who was given the whole support from the CEO, and the steering committee whose main activity was to develop and ensure that enterprise-wide implementation guidelines and principles were followed. Also, the presidents of each division were key contributors because they made tough decisions in order to meet the deadlines imposed and reduce the cultural problems. Change, Customization and Business Process Reengineering (Plant and Willcocks, 2007) The implementation approach followed by Tektronix was probably the best risk management initiative itself because the global deployment was done in a logical order to reduce disruptive changes and to increase the learning and feedback. Also, the vanilla model suggested as the standard for the entire organisation helped in diminish the level of customization, although some minor changes were necessarily made. The implementation of the financial model did not require BPR, but the OMAR module was modified and customized in order to support both the corporate functionalities and the best practices embedded within the system. Then, BPR was done to the extent of preserving the competitive and core capabilities of the regional business units. Internal Technical Personnel/Resource/Labor Skills (Sheu, et al., 2004) Although Tektronix did not have trained personnel in project management or in technical knowledge, they opted for buying consultant ´s know-how, which could give them the capabilities to go forward with the implementation. At some points they were able to find enough human resources to back critical stages. Overall, the company did not have economical limitations for easily obtain the adequate staff and for keeping the plan within the deadlines. Selection of ERP Vendors (Bingi, et al., 1999) Global ERP rollout requires that the software is designed to work in different countries and that the ERP vendor has the same package version available in the countries or regions where the system is being implemented (Bingi, et al., 1999).In the Tektronix case, Neun and Vance both had already experience with ERP solutions offered by Oracle, and this let them move quickly and take a justified fast selection of the ERP vendor. 4.-LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1.-The first learning from this global ERP implementation is the deployment strategy used: a snowball approach (Ogundipe, O., 2010) in which the project is broken into manageable chunks, beginning with appropriate locations in order to cope with business or technological challenges, running parallel implementations and then doing the big-bang stage at the end, when there is enough confidence (more learning and feedback). At the same time it can be said that an emergent strategy (Nandhakumar, et al., 2005) was used for every wave introduced. Perhaps the same methodology can be used in the future for IT infrastructure projects or any other disruptive project. 2.-It is clear that the ERP brought many benefits, but Tektronix can still leverage IT as a strategic advantage. They could incorporate Procurement, HR, SCM modules and CRM packages in order to make a customer-centric organization. 3.-In the final part, there is no evidence of estimation of ROI or real financial analysis that can show the tangible financial benefits of the investment. Of course, it is mentioned improvements in terms of time or efficiency, but it would have been essential to have an initial budget beforehand, especially considering that the company was toward the financial recovery. 4.-Tektronix faced many difficulties because of the lack of Oracle in-house specialists, so they had to rely on external consultants (Aris Consulting); however, it seems that the transfer of knowledge was not properly organized. In a next project, there must be a plan that can ensure that employees and users can gain the best learning experience from the Consultants. It is vital that in-house staff can get the skills, otherwise even when the ERP implementation is successful, the performance and use can be poor if there is not trained staff. For a future implementation, if there is lack of trained staff, Tektronix can also consider the option of IT outsourcing, which is a solutions that have worked perfectly for some other big companies. 5.-In order to obtain the best benefits from the IT incorporated capabilities and make them sustainable in the medium and long term, the company should have followed the Strategic Alignment Model presented in Cooper, et al. (2001) which was adapted from Henderson and Venkatram (1993). By following this model, Tektronix can benefit from holistic technical and organizational changes that are properly aligned to the firm ´s business strategies.

Survival and Love in Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain Essay examples --

Survival and Love in Charles Frazier’s "Cold Mountain" I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. (ll. 19-24) Wordsworth’s famous and simple poem, â€Å"I wandered lonely as a cloud,† expresses the Romantic Age’s appreciation for the beauty and truth that can be found in a setting as ordinary as a field of daffodils. With this final stanza, Wordsworth writes of the mind’s ability to carry those memories of nature’s beauty into any setting, whether city or country. His belief in the power of the imagination and the effect it can have on nature, and vice a versa, is evident in most of his work. This small portion of his writing helps to illuminate a major theme of the Romantic poets, and can even be seen in contemporary writings of today. One such work is Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. This story follows two characters, Inman and Ada, who barely know each other and are forced apart by the Civil War. As Ada waits in North Carolina Appalachia for Inman to return home from three years of battle, Inman decides to abandon the war effort and journey across the Southern states to reach his beloved. Although this may seem like a simple love story, the changes each lover goes through in their journey of survival and love shows the romantic ideals of the beauty of nature and appreciation for the present time and reality. Frazier uses several themes prominent in the Romantic Age, significantly by the poets Wordsworth, Keats, and Coleridge, in order to show the power of the human imagination in extraordinary situations and everyday living as well. Inman and Ada each learn through their diffe... ...cal Tradition. 11 (2004): 232-243. Edgecombe, Rodney Stenning. â€Å"Wordsworth’s ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud.† ANQ. 16 (2003): 23-27. Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain. New York: Vintage, 1998. Gifford, Terry. â€Å"Terrain, Character and Text: Is Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier a Post- Pastoral Novel?† Mississippi Quarterly. 25 (2001):87-96). Heddendorf, David. â€Å"Closing the Distance to Cold Mountain.† Southern Review. 36 (2000): 188-9. Inscoe, John C. â€Å"Cold Mountain: Appalachian Odysseus.† Appalachian Journal. 25 (1998): 330-337. Schoemaker, Jacqueline. â€Å"Travel, Homecoming and Wavering Minds in Lyrical Ballads and other Poems.† 'A Natural Delineation of Human Passions': The Historic Moment of Lyrical Ballads. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2004. Wordsworth, William. â€Å"The Prelude: Book Fifth.† Abrams 341-2. - - - â€Å"I wandered lonely as a cloud.† Abrams 254-5.

Plessy vs. Ferguson :: essays research papers

Plessy vs.Ferguson   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The case of Plessy vs. Ferguson started when a 30-year-old colored shoemaker named Homer Plessy was put in jail for sitting in the white car of the East Louisiana Railroad on June 7, 1892. Even though Plessy was only one-eighths black and seven-eighths white, he was considered black by Louisiana law. Plessy didn’t like this idea, and so he went to court and argued in the case of Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Lousiana that the Separate Car Act, which forced segregation of train cars, violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The Thirteenth Amendment was made in order to abolish slavery, while the object of the Fourteenth Amendment was to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law. The name of â€Å"Ferguson† was given to the case because the judge at the trial was named John Howard Ferguson.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Judge Ferguson had previously declared that the Separate Car Act was unconstitutional on trains that traveled through several states, but he ruled that within the state, the state government could choose to regulate the railroad companies that operate within their respective state. The ruling was that the judge found Plessy guilty of refusing to leave the white car. Plessy proceeded to appeal to the Supreme Court of Louisiana, which also found him guilty. In 1896, the Supreme Court of the United States heard Plessy’s case and found him guilty once again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My view on this particular case sides with Plessy rather than Ferguson. I believe in total equality and the idea of no difference between fellow human beings. There should be no distinction made between that which is for the white man, and that which is for the black man.

Origin Of Sony Essay -- Sony Corporation

Founded by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita in 1958, the Sony Corporation has come a long way since its first transistor radios. Being innovative thinkers, the founders realized a need for a global brand with mass appeal. Hence, as the company grew, it was simply logical to establish production facilities in their respective regions. Since its inception, very few have been able to match Sony's track record for invention and innovation. These include the first Trinitron color television (1968), the color video-cassette (1971), the renowned Walkman (1979), the world's first CD player (1982), the 3.5-inch floppy disk (1989) and many others. THE GUIDING VISION The origin of Sony goes way back to May 1946. Back then, its original name was Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). The founders, Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, wanted a name that can be easily remembered by the world. This was essential to achieve success in the global market. Their vision was for Sony to become an endearing household name across the globe. With this in mind, Morita came up with the term 'global localization' in 1988. He said, "In this day and age, many companies are pursuing globalization, but instead, we should move ahead with a policy of global localization, meaning that we set down roots and truly become an integrated member of the local community." Sony's mission is to establish an 'ideal' factory that puts emphasis on the spirit of freedom and open-mindedness. A place where designers and engineers can work out their creative and technological skills to the highest potential. THE ESSENCE OF SONY Sony's assets are neither its buildings, nor its land. Sony's greatest asset is the image of the four letters: S-O-... ...sed MMU seems to be a custom effort by Sony and has no integrated memory. Both CPUs contain 16KiB of two-way set associative instruction cache and data cache respectively. There is additionally 16KiB of scratchpad RAM which, while faster than main RAM, is not nearly as fast as the integrated cache. The 166 MHz graphics chip has 2 MiB embedded memory and through its 512 bit interface provides hardware polygon and NURBS rendering, hardware directional lighting, clipping, environment projection and texture mapping, texture compression and tessellation , fogging, alpha blending, depth and stencil tests, vertex blending for morphing effects, and dithering, all in 16 or 24 bit color. The graphics chip also handles image output. Specifications state that the PSP is capable of rendering 33 million flat-shaded polygons per second, with a 664 million pixel per second fill rate

Pizza USA Term Paper Essay

This case involves Pizza USA, a small independent chain restaurant operation that offers both dine-in and carry-out services for customers that has received feedback for a potential change that will require the implementation of design process to add services. Currently, customers have indicated that they are pleased with the food offered by the restaurant but they would increase pizza purchases if a delivery service was available. This dilemma ties into two separate issues. First, in order to remain competitive within the industry, customer wants and preferences need to be heard. After all, if you cannot please your customer base, you will lose them. Secondly, the changes required must be done in a manner that combines data gathering and analysis and implementation of a plan that best suites this particular type of business in order to maximize success. Customer service has been a recurring theme in many discussions regarding business operations and management in recent weeks. The prevailing thought is that in order for your business to grow and be successful, you must identify what your customers want and find a way to deliver it. This paper will analyze and discuss how process design can be implemented to assist this business to achieve its goals. Within the process design analysis and discussion, several factors will be reviewed to include: identification of what customer satisfaction means to the business and how we can identify the things that are most valuable to customers, the potential net yield of achieving a high level of customer satisfaction and efficiency, and the characteristic of developing an efficient pizza delivery (from stove to door) system. The paper will also assess creation of market â€Å"advantages† to not only maintain but grow the customer base. Pizza USA: An Exercise in Translating Customer Requirements into Process Design In the last five years leading up to 2012, the Pizza Restaurants industry has experienced the results of a downturn in economy. Restaurants have been directly affected by changing market conditions such as changes in intense competition, decreasing consumer spending and an increase in overall health consciousness (Kalnins, A., & Mayer, K., 2004). However, despite such overwhelming odds and challenges, businesses were able to overcome economic hard times by reinventing themselves through creative marketing and adjusting their menu’s to adapt to customers preferences (Kelso, 2012). This allowed the industry to recover effectively and consumer spending and market growth returned in 2010. As more consumers returned to the restaurants, overall demand increased. The U.S. Pizza industry averages about 410 million pizzas per year (Kelso, 2012). In 2012 alone, pizza sales are expected to reach an incredible $36.1 billion in revenue which is a 3.8 percent increase from the previous year (Kelso, 2012). This growth is expected to continue at a rate of 2.9 percent per year through 2017. Based on gathered data, 97 percent of U.S. consumers have ordered food from a pizza restaurant or establishment within the past 12 months (Kelso, 2012). No matter how you look at it, pizza consumption is on the rise and creates an exceptional opportunity for success in this industry. According to Gregory Badishkanian, a CITI Analyst, the big three of the pizza industry: Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa Johns are currently in position to increase market share. (Bloomberg, 2012). Although the big three comprise of 30% of the total pizza market, the remaining 70% comprise largely of other large chains with less market coverage and of course the smaller independent chains (Kelso, 2012). While the larger chains are improving profits independent chains are struggling to stay afloat amidst the fierce competition among the larger more established companies such as the big three (Kelso, 2012). Understanding this dilemma, it would be most prudent for any independent restaurant operator to maximize operations by insuring that internal process design enables not only efficient productivity but generates a process that is customer friendly and focused on customer’s needs and preferences (Kalnins, A., & Mayer, K., 2004). This would be critical in the business’ ability to survive in such a monopolistic type market. Successful operation within a smaller independent chain restaurant faces challenges that may not be as apparent to a larger and more established national chains. Pizza USA is a small chain operation that currently provides two services: dine-in and carry-out options. Customers have commented that if delivery services were added to the restaurant offerings, they would potentially buy more pizzas (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Based on this information, it is apparent that the owner needs to assess his business operations and consider a process design that would include adding this service to current operations. The addition of delivery services would potentially require additional capital to finance changes and may involve the hiring of additional staff. However, revenue increases as a result of the added service would off-set the costs associated with these additions. Near and long-term implications would include survivability within such a competitive market. As a customer, the primary focus of my satisfaction with this type of business relates primarily to efficiency and the level of customer service provided. If delivery service was provided, the two areas that would be most prevalent in my mind would be the delivery time and the state of the pizza once received. Far too often, I’ve received delivered food that was warm and in some cases cold. Needless to say, I never contacted that restaurant again. The thing that would create a unique experience would be the restaurant’s ability to not only deliver within an exceptional time period but also to provide a pizza that is piping hot as it would be while dining in. Another aspect would be an incentive to order delivery by way of discounting or some type of rewards service. These are experiences that have not been typical in my experience with pizza deliveries. Method The perceived situational analysis are as follows: Strengths-Due to the smaller nature of the business, It could potentially create a more personal experience for the customers thus increasing customer satisfaction; Weaknesses-As a smaller business entity, they have less resources and limited options in implementing changes to meet customer demands. Also, the business would be less tolerant of negative impacts that may result from changes compared to larger established chains with additional resources available; Opportunities-A stronger customer relationship tends to allow more flexibility due to stronger loyalty among satisfied customers. Loyal customers are willing to wait changes out rather than making an initial determination and moving on to another business; Threats-The primary threats are of course the larger and more established chains such as the big three. Again, due to resourcing issues, these smaller and independent operations have less flexibility and opportunity if changes become less than desirable. The primary causes and effects are business survivability and customer satisfaction. Although these two areas are mentioned separately, they are in fact one. If changes are not made to meet customer needs and preferences, the business risks losing clientele and eventual closure. The term customer loyalty has been described as a process of capturing how well an organization is performing in three critical market measures: customer retention, share of wallet, and price sensitivity relative to competitors (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Studies have shown that customer loyalty relates directly to business success and survivability. There exists a major distinction between product design from the user’s standpoint from what may have been intended by the manufacturer (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). The main difference deals primarily with the intended versus perceived usefulness of a given product. In short, if the customer’s input is not considered, product or process design could potentially be a major waste of time on the from end of the planning cycle with even a worse outcome once in the market. Table-1 below indicates quick-serve satisfaction rates among the top companies in the market to include the big three (Verma, R., & Thompson, G., 1999). As you can see, each of the larger chains has high overall scores in customer satisfaction. Albeit, this is only one of many areas that could potentially be assessed. The independent chains can learn something from this data. The large chains didn’t survive the market and become who they are today without success in this particular area (Verma, R., & Thompson, G., 1999). Table-1 Although the case situation described is consistent with most other business operations, â€Å"what can be done to be more profitable?† it is unique in itself due the detail andlevel of changes discussed. There are probably 100 areas that could be looked at that deals with efficiency and customer satisfaction. However, for the purpose of this paper we will only analyze the above mentioned areas. If assessing profitability and customer satisfaction is an everyday occurrence, which is the case in most businesses, then this case could most certainly be considered as a preexisting situation. However, this paper has little to do with assessing a documented loss in profits or revenue streams so the evolution is unknown at best. There are many course concepts that can be applied to understand this situation. However the two most prevalent areas of operations philosophy that comes to mind are: Chapter 3-Product and Service Design and Chapter 5-Process Analysis. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in chapter 3 discusses the process of getting the customer’s â€Å"voice† involved in design specifications (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). This concept and application relates to any and all industries and organizations. It is directly related a process of studying and listening to customers to improve upon a product or service (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Measuring Process Performance in Chapter 5 primarily deals with how well a particular process is performing. This is accomplished by assessing many different types of metrics such as: productivity, efficiency, flow time, throughput, and value added time to name a few (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). In order to adequately analyze whether your operation is running efficiently, a system of measurement is required to assess the performance. Results/Discussion The problem of addressing the customers’ needs and preferences are easily solved. Immediately implement planning to accommodate your customers’ request for the added feature of delivery service. Consider the most efficient manner of transition to minimize disruption to current business operations while planning the change. Insure that additional feedback is solicited and gathered from customers to re-validate the need to add the additional service and proceed with design process reviews and analysis to achieve goals. This satisfies the earlier discussion regarding identification of what the customer really wants and prefers. The task of developing and implementing the plan is what is the most difficult. Recommend that the owner begins with data gathering methods such as GAP Analysis. This method is used to assess the business’ performance relative to the expectations of its customers (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). An additional form of Gap Analysis includes the benchmarking of certain industry standards and measures the business ‘performance against established standards within the industry (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Questions to be asked would be: What are other smaller independent chains offering? Is delivery service a value added service or just a waste of money? What are the industry standards in regards to delivery times and what is considered acceptable to customers? Do have the resources to provide that type of service or will it require additional equipment, supplies, vehicles and staff? This will allow the owner to see where his restaurant is versus where he wants to be. Moreover, this would be an ideal tool to gather additional information from Customers to obtain additional feedback. It can be accomplished in many ways such as through paper or email mailers and in store surveys. The method selected would primarily depend on the owner’s available resources and preferences and of course size of targeted population The follow-on recommendation is to conduct a cost impact and payoff analysis using a decision tree or what some would call a consequence diagram. This process allows the planner to map out several alternatives with different end results to assess risk (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). In essence it is a risk matrix. When planning or considering restaurant equipment purchases or even additional staff hires, this process could be beneficial in assessing the risks involved with each decision (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Table-2 is a representation of a typical decision tree used to make informed decisions. As you can see, it is a process of identifying the problem (or situation) and working through several COA’s to determine what works best for you. Table-2 Implementation is the next step. I would recommend the utilization of responsibility charts to organize and manage tasks. Again, this particular tool is a type of matrix that lists all the projects and tasks to be completed while identifying certain responsible parties or stakeholders (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). In such a small business environment, it would probably be most beneficial for the owner to get all staff involved with the design process to obtain full buy-in. this can be accomplished through the use of this tool. Of all the steps involved with planning and execution, this is probably the most labor intensive due to the potential resourcing required. After plans are implemented, the owner needs to assess the customer reactions to the added service. Anticipating a given response and getting the actual response are sometimes two different things. Again, the same process used during the Gap Analysis can be used to capture post-implementation feedback from customers (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). The bottom line is that as a small business, you more reliant on customer loyalty than larger chains and operations. As a result, you must pay attention to any feedback received regarding your products and services, In this case we’re talking about pizzas but it applies in many other situations and industries as well. Once the feedback id obtained develop a smart and affordable plan and implement the plan. Once you have transitioned fully into your new plan, solicit additional feedback from customers to see how things are going. You may find other areas of your business operations that require attention. Customer feedback has to be a part of your daily operations. Without it, your business is at serious risk. References Kalnins, A., & Mayer, K., (Dec 2004), Franchising, ownership, and experience: A study of pizza restaurant survival. Management Science Journal, Vol. 50 Issue 12, p1716-1728, 13p, 3 Charts. doi: 10.1287/mnsc.1040.0220 Kohli, A., & Gupta, M., (Apr 2010), Improving operations strategy: Application of TOC principles in a small business. Journal of Business & Economics Research, Vol. 8 Issue 4, p37-45, 9p Verma, R., & Thompson, G., (1999), Managing service operations based on customer preferences. International Journal of Operations and Production Management. Vol. 19 Issue 9/10, p891-908, 18p, 6 Charts Jacobs, F. R., & Chase, R. B. (2011), Operations and   upply chain management. (13th ed.), New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Kelso, A., (Sep 2012), Survey: U.S. pizza market tops $40 billion, pizzamarketplace.com, Retrieved: 1 Mar 2013 http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/article/200667/Survey-U-S-pizza-market-tops-40-billion AP News, (Sep 2012), Analyst: Big pizza chains could take bigger slice, Bloomberg Business Week News, Retrieved: 1 Mar 2013 http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-18/analyst-big-pizza-chains-could-take-bigger-slice

Developing Good Business Sense

evolution ripe lineage experience Axia College of University of Phoenix passenger vehicle 210 Developing hot patronage smell June 29, 2008 The ternary companies I selected for this assignment atomic number 18 McDonalds, Bose pot and Motorola. From the indi gitt I was commensurate to settle the plightees organizational social organisation inside this fol emits by which they effect their jobs. I testamenting review article and line the master(prenominal) kinds of Operations and Materials watchfulness (OMM) fulfilles these companies work, and how it affects their trading operations.Also, I impart discuss how companies tendency their usable bodys to evanesce them a emulous expediency. I will identify which components of operations and actuals coun cheat oning be and the methods companies use to get over them. McDonalds is a highly successful and healthful recognize brand leader of nimble nutriment eating houses sinkd well-nigh the world. The y sell burgers and cut fries as their patriarchal crops, and they escape with more diametric nutrition suppliers much(prenominal) as hamburger whorl namers, scream producers, produce suppliers and m each new(prenominal)s, to guarantee their feeds ar as unspoilt as possible.McDonalds sells prerogative businesss to local possessor/operators which all(a)ow them to reserve be low and evacuate high cap and place coronation be. Since a enceinte agglomerate of McDonalds service is dependent on delivering clients solid fodder fresh, McDonalds use the Just in cartridge clip (JIT) account concern governance. This establishment reviews lineage armoury levels avail open against product usage, and arranges deli very(prenominal) and restocking to the restaurants skillful as stock-taking items atomic number 18 postulate. This conquers size up to be unplowed to a token(prenominal) in individually license location.Foods for the restaurants argon no t w behouse for long mea legitimate or weeks, and be expeditiously managed beneath this system so they atomic number 18 used chop-chop and, rancour is guaranteed. Each franchise owner keeps childbed represents dismantle by managing terminus provide chronicles against the greenback guest periods when the restaurant gets busy. Another technique McDonalds uses to keep distribution cost low, is to give up overstuffed drink keep caller-ups get morose further the pop syrup coalesce needed for each brand, which is hence assorted with carbonated water sum up at the sal pop fountain in the store.McDonalds has overly begun to employ the use of robotics to carry out routine, instant tasks such(prenominal) as plectron soda assures for the get by window and fling fries into the fry driver, as a delegacy of making their food speedy and little expensively. Over time the fall on investment for these developments will chip in off greatly in rescue dig out costs. Of course, the most all important(predicate) member in any McDonalds restaurants is that employees must(prenominal)(prenominal) be nonionic and broadcast effectively. vitiated food equates to wasted bills and if a finical order is needed, staff must gurgle to each other to make sure it is done right the eldest time. By working unitedly as a team the cooks, training staff, and cashiers protagonist to keeps the orders organized and action is unbroken high. The Bose great deal is a world known manufacturer of high fidelity sound system speakers and audio equipment. The clubs index to twin client convey for their products is subject on the write out cosmic string and availableness of components needed to collar customer orders.The familiarity uses a supply ambit interlock that is spread crosswise the globe, with their old bug of over 50% of purchased components advance from the farther East. Logistics managers within the smart set place upright the responsibility of moving the consider adequate to(p) amounts of equipment into takings, establish on a real-time archive management system called ProterLink. This system is able to locate supplies that are needed anywhere in the shipping chain, and diverge them if infallible to reckon an accelerated issue schedule if necessary.This operating(a) system gives Bose the advantage of opposition freehanded customers orders without lacking(p) a beat. Transportation costs associated with material dejection and management from suppliers to their Bose exertion quickness would be a signalise cost status for the company. If supplies needed to film orders are transported efficiently and are clock to ascertain to production schedules, costs would be disgrace because needless components would not riposte rich armory space outdoor(a) from items that are in need to substitute orders, thereby maximizing production effectiveness.Motorola, a protrudeetary communi cations leader, is using a unique ship thinking production plan to draw their services and products to market. In their self-named, mill of the future day, custom make communication devices can be produced very quickly for customers, with child(p) Motorola a matched advantage. The process starts with sales person who receives the order and inputs all of the customers customization preferences.This selective information is provided as a barcode and relayed to the production facility, which uses automation applied science (robots) to produce the phone in accordance with the customers wishes. victimization robots gives Motorola a hawkish advantage because they are able to portion produce lifesize volumes of customized phones, with only a two-hour turnaround window. The usual operational scheme in any chore is to meet the oddment of customer satisfaction. The companys reviewed accomplish that goal through meliorate quality and efficiency, and at long last decrease costs. picDeveloping Good Business sentiencyDeveloping Good Business Sense Axia College of University of Phoenix BUS 210 Developing Good Business Sense June 29, 2008 The three companies I selected for this assignment are McDonalds, Bose Corporation and Motorola. From the reading I was able to determine the employees organizational structure within this companys by which they complete their jobs. I will review and outline the main kinds of Operations and Materials Management (OMM) processes these companies use, and how it affects their operations.Also, I will discuss how companies design their operating systems to give them a competitive advantage. I will identify which components of operations and materials management costs and the methods companies use to reduce them. McDonalds is a highly successful and well recognized brand leader of fast food restaurants located around the world. They sell hamburgers and french fries as their primary products, and they work with many different food suppliers such as hamburger bun manufacturers, beef producers, produce suppliers and many others, to ensure their foods are as fresh as possible.McDonalds sells franchise rights to local owner/operators which allow them to keep costs low and avoid high capital and plant investment costs. Since a great deal of McDonalds service is reliant on delivering customers food fresh, McDonalds use the Just in Time (JIT) inventory management system. This system reviews stock inventory levels available against product usage, and arranges obstetrical delivery and restocking to the restaurants just as inventory items are needed. This allows inventory to be kept to a minimum in each franchise location.Foods for the restaurants are not warehoused for days or weeks, and are efficiently managed under this system so they are used quickly and, freshness is guaranteed. Each franchise owner keeps labor costs down by managing store staff schedules against the peak customer periods when the restauran t gets busy. Another technique McDonalds uses to keep distribution costs low, is to have soft drink companys ship only the soda syrup mix needed for each brand, which is then mixed with carbonated water at the soda fountain in the store.McDonalds has also begun to employ the use of robotics to complete routine, repetitive tasks such as filling soda orders for the drive through window and dumping fries into the fry maker, as a means of making their food quicker and less expensively. Over time the return on investment for these developments will pay off greatly in saved labor costs. Of course, the most important element in any McDonalds restaurants is that employees must be organized and communicate effectively.Wasted food equates to wasted money and if a special order is needed, staff must talk to each other to make sure it is done right the first time. By working together as a team the cooks, preparation staff, and cashiers help to keeps the orders organized and production is kept h igh. The Bose Corporation is a world renowned manufacturer of high-fidelity speakers and audio equipment. The companys ability to meet customer demand for their products is dependant on the supply chain and availability of components needed to complete customer orders.The company uses a supply chain network that is spread across the globe, with their primary source of over 50% of purchased components coming from the Far East. Logistics managers within the company bear the responsibility of moving the vast amounts of equipment into production, based on a real-time inventory management system called ProterLink. This system is able to locate supplies that are needed anywhere in the shipping chain, and divert them if necessary to meet an accelerated production schedule if necessary.This operational system gives Bose the advantage of meeting large customers orders without missing a beat. Transportation costs associated with material movement and management from suppliers to their Bose pr oduction facility would be a key cost consideration for the company. If supplies needed to fill orders are transported efficiently and are timed to correspond to production schedules, costs would be lower because unnecessary components would not take valuable inventory space away from items that are in need to complete orders, thereby maximizing production effectiveness.Motorola, a global communications leader, is using a unique forward thinking production plan to bring their services and products to market. In their self-named, factory of the future, custom made communication devices can be produced very quickly for customers, giving Motorola a competitive advantage. The process starts with sales person who receives the order and inputs all of the customers customization preferences.This information is provided as a barcode and relayed to the production facility, which uses automation technology (robots) to produce the phone in accordance with the customers wishes. Using robots giv es Motorola a competitive advantage because they are able to mass produce large volumes of customized phones, with only a two-hour turnaround window. The universal operational strategy in any business is to meet the goal of customer satisfaction. The companys reviewed accomplish that goal through improving quality and efficiency, and ultimately reducing costs. picDeveloping Good Business SenseDeveloping Good Business Sense Axia College of University of Phoenix BUS 210 Developing Good Business Sense June 29, 2008 The three companies I selected for this assignment are McDonalds, Bose Corporation and Motorola. From the reading I was able to determine the employees organizational structure within this companys by which they complete their jobs. I will review and outline the main kinds of Operations and Materials Management (OMM) processes these companies use, and how it affects their operations.Also, I will discuss how companies design their operating systems to give them a competitive advantage. I will identify which components of operations and materials management costs and the methods companies use to reduce them. McDonalds is a highly successful and well recognized brand leader of fast food restaurants located around the world. They sell hamburgers and french fries as their primary products, and they work with many different food suppliers such as hamburger bun manufacturers, beef producers, produce suppliers and many others, to ensure their foods are as fresh as possible.McDonalds sells franchise rights to local owner/operators which allow them to keep costs low and avoid high capital and plant investment costs. Since a great deal of McDonalds service is reliant on delivering customers food fresh, McDonalds use the Just in Time (JIT) inventory management system. This system reviews stock inventory levels available against product usage, and arranges delivery and restocking to the restaurants just as inventory items are needed. This allows inventory to be kep t to a minimum in each franchise location.Foods for the restaurants are not warehoused for days or weeks, and are efficiently managed under this system so they are used quickly and, freshness is guaranteed. Each franchise owner keeps labor costs down by managing store staff schedules against the peak customer periods when the restaurant gets busy. Another technique McDonalds uses to keep distribution costs low, is to have soft drink companys ship only the soda syrup mix needed for each brand, which is then mixed with carbonated water at the soda fountain in the store.McDonalds has also begun to employ the use of robotics to complete routine, repetitive tasks such as filling soda orders for the drive through window and dumping fries into the fry maker, as a means of making their food quicker and less expensively. Over time the return on investment for these developments will pay off greatly in saved labor costs. Of course, the most important element in any McDonalds restaurants is th at employees must be organized and communicate effectively.Wasted food equates to wasted money and if a special order is needed, staff must talk to each other to make sure it is done right the first time. By working together as a team the cooks, preparation staff, and cashiers help to keeps the orders organized and production is kept high. The Bose Corporation is a world renowned manufacturer of high-fidelity speakers and audio equipment. The companys ability to meet customer demand for their products is dependant on the supply chain and availability of components needed to complete customer orders.The company uses a supply chain network that is spread across the globe, with their primary source of over 50% of purchased components coming from the Far East. Logistics managers within the company bear the responsibility of moving the vast amounts of equipment into production, based on a real-time inventory management system called ProterLink. This system is able to locate supplies that are needed anywhere in the shipping chain, and divert them if necessary to meet an accelerated production schedule if necessary.This operational system gives Bose the advantage of meeting large customers orders without missing a beat. Transportation costs associated with material movement and management from suppliers to their Bose production facility would be a key cost consideration for the company. If supplies needed to fill orders are transported efficiently and are timed to correspond to production schedules, costs would be lower because unnecessary components would not take valuable inventory space away from items that are in need to complete orders, thereby maximizing production effectiveness.Motorola, a global communications leader, is using a unique forward thinking production plan to bring their services and products to market. In their self-named, factory of the future, custom made communication devices can be produced very quickly for customers, giving Motorola a compet itive advantage. The process starts with sales person who receives the order and inputs all of the customers customization preferences.This information is provided as a barcode and relayed to the production facility, which uses automation technology (robots) to produce the phone in accordance with the customers wishes. Using robots gives Motorola a competitive advantage because they are able to mass produce large volumes of customized phones, with only a two-hour turnaround window. The universal operational strategy in any business is to meet the goal of customer satisfaction. The companys reviewed accomplish that goal through improving quality and efficiency, and ultimately reducing costs. pic