Operations Management Test Bank

INSTRUCTOR'S TEST BANK Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Why would a marketing major need a basic foundation in operations management? A) Marketing staff schedule work centers for most businesses B) Marketing staff must know how to design processes C) Marketing staff must be able to make decisions with the entire business in mind D) Marketing staff must understand the technical processes behind manufacturing capacity management C 2 The value of a product is defined by: A) The owner B) The potential customer C) The price initially paid for the product being soldD) The actual cost of ownership over the products life B 3 A critical difference between a product and a service is: A) A product is tangible, but a service is not. B) A product is expensive, but a service is not. C) A product is often poor quality, but a service is not. D) A product is made with cheap labor, but a service is not. A 4 One reason producers of products also provide customers with services is: A) They don't know any bette r. B) Services can be added at no cost. C) Services differentiate them from competitors. D) Services are easier to match to customer needs.C 5 One reason services are more difficult to manage than manufacturing is: A) Services can't be stored as inventory for later use. B) Service employees aren't as flexible as manufacturing employees. C) Service customers are more demanding. D) Services can't define processes precisely. A 6 A B2B customer would value a product differently than a B2C customer because: A) Businesses have more money to spend than consumers. B) Businesses must consider how much value the product will add to the products and services they sell.C) Consumers can't define quality very well. A) Services can't be stored as inventory for later use. B) Service employees aren't as flexible as manufacturing employees. C) Service customers are more demanding. D) Services can't define processes precisely. A 6 A B2B customer would value a product differently than a B2C customer be cause: A) Businesses have more money to spend than consumers. B) Businesses must consider how much value the product will add to the products and services they sell.C) Consumers can't define quality very well. D) Consumers are not as concerned about costs as businesses. B 7 Profitability results from: A) High sales prices B) Minimal workers with low salaries C) The value being greater than the cost to create it D) Unintelligent customers C 8 An important part of a strategy is: A) Writing down plans for processes B) Identifying suppliers of inputs to processes C) Establishing productivity measures for processes D) Identifying what target customers value D 9Timeliness is a critical component of value for a business because: A) Timeliness has a direct impact on a business's return on investment. B) Business owners are impatient. C) Businesses are typically late and need things right away. D) Most products spoil quickly. A 1 0 D In the resource/profit model the resources used to create value are: A) Time, materials, machines, and people B) Natural resources, animal products, crops C) Labor, materials, cash, buildings, and transportation equipment D) Inventory, workforce, capacity, facilities

The economy of the early Roman Empire

The economy of the early Roman Empire and the late Republic of Rome was driven primarily by trade. Although in modern times history the economic basis of the Roman Empire has been neglected and focus has been directed to the exploits of the Roman Legions and Lingua France of Latin, it is important to note that Rome had an estimated population of over a million and to sustain its population, the economy had to be centered on a central avenue and this avenue was trade.Most of the Romans were traders and this ensured that the empire lasted a long time, probably one of the longest lasting empires the world will ever witness[1].Theoretically, there was a prohibition of the members of the senate to be indulged in business and this also applied to their family members. However, the Equestrian Order members were hugely involved in business not withstanding the fact they belonging to the upper class, the society expected them to be involved more in leisure and military activities and pursuits .There were also a huge proportion of slaves who were responsible for doing most of the work while the Plebeians practically held shops and manned stalls around the vicinity of the markets.The slaves were also involved in the commerce of the empire and they played a great role in giving the empire's commerce a distinct flavor compared to other commerce in the world[2].Thesis StatementThe study will focus on the Roman Empire involvement in the Mediterranean trade and how this trade was conducted and how it benefited the Roman Empire. The study will look in the Maritime routes that were present during the trade and how they helped in the development of trade among various regions in the world including Asia, India, Africa and Western Europe.The study will also strive to look into the regions that benefited from the various commodities of the trade and how they came to be powerful empires as well. This study will look into the ancient Roman trade partners and what commodities were exch anged during the trade.The Study will also look into the importance of certain commodities to the Roman Empire and chief among them will be marble.Maritime RoutesArchaeological studies of the ancient maritime trends supported by manuscripts derived from Classical antiquity have proved that the Roman Empire was in possession of numerous fleets of ships. Also as a show of evidence of the maritime trade conducted by the Roman Empire are the ruins and remains of lighthouses, moles, harbors and warehouses which were found in the ports of Caesarea Maritima, Ostia, Civitavecchia, Leptis Magna and Portus.As with other forms of technology, the Roman maritime technology was not as advanced as that of the Greeks. It is evidence that the Roman fleets were constructed with great concern about the security of the fleets.This is because there was lead sheeting for hulls which were meant for protection. They used sailing ships which were round hulled. One of the factors that led to the success of t he Roman Maritime Commerce was the continued policing that run over a number of centuries. This was necessitated by the fact that their ships had been an easy prey for the pirates[3].The sea transport was widely used for transporting of commodities which were low valued yet very bulky. This mainly comprised of construction materials and grains. One of the reasons for this was that the sea transport was the cheapest mode of transport that the Roman Empire could afford. They used to import cereals and papyrus from Ptolemaic Egypt and this followed a continuous fashion[4].The Roman Empire trade via the Indian Ocean blossomed in the first two centuries of CE. The Roman sailors would make use of the Monsoon winds to cross to such ports as Myos Hormos, Roman Egypt, Red Sea Muziris and Malabar Coast. The Tamil dynasties were their leading trade partners the region of Southern India and this can be evidenced by the numerous Roman artifacts that are found in India.[1] Donkin, Robin A. (2003) . Between East and West: The Moluccas and the Traffic in Spices Up to the Arrival of Europeans. Diane Publishing Company, p. 45, pp 65 – 94 [2] Carter, Mia; Harlow, Barbara (2004). Archives of Empire: From the East India Company to the Suez Canal. Duke University Press pp 54 – 96. [3] Casson, L., Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1971. pp 12 – 59 [4] Rawlinson, Hugh George (2001). Intercourse Between India and the Western World: From the Earliest Times of the Fall of Rome. Asian Educational Services. pp. 87 – 198.

Human Biology Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Biology - Coursework Example When it comes to the number of chromosomes, the number of nucleus is still the same in mitosis but meiosis contains a haploid number of chromosomes. There is also no exchange of DNA between chromosomes in mitosis while in meiosis, there is at least one cross-over. Transcription is simply a process where genetic information from DNA is transcribed into RNA.This process is important especially when producing proteins.DNA proteins cannot be directly changed into proteins that is why translation to RNA is important. Darwin popularized the theory of evolution and process of natural selection where only the fittest specie would survive. Some animals have evolved and changed their physical features in order to survive the environment. Lamarck on the other hand is known for the Theory of Inherited Characteristics. He said that the off springs of animals would be the one to manifest adaptation to the environment as passed to them by their parents. There are four critical elements namely: variation, inheritance, High rate of population growth, and differential survival and reproduction. A fine example would be the some bacteria increasing resistance to drugs in order to survive. In Eukaryota we have mushrooms and other fungi. Eubacteria includes streptococci which cause strep throat infections and other disease causing bacteria. Helpful bacteria like yogurt is also an example. Archae are only found in environments where there are no oxygen present. There are several traits of primates that makes them different, namely : they feed their young with milk, give birth to live babies, warm-blooded, color vision and have a complicated social organization. Ecology is the discipline that deals with studying the relationships of organisms to one another as well as their surroundings. Ecosystem is the biological environment that contains all the living organisms. Example of an ecological set-up is a lake where fishes and other living things

In what ways has Japan succeeded in shaping international politics in Essay

In what ways has Japan succeeded in shaping international politics in the Asia-Pacific without reviving memories of its past aggression - Essay Example Since the end of the Second World War, Japan withdrew from international politics, mostly because of measures imposed by the United States and by its Asian neighbours who suffered Japan’s aggression during the Second World War. And now after more than half a century of withdrawal from international politics, Japan is now slowly becoming a major player in the international scene. This paper shall discuss Japan’s re-entry into international politics, particularly focusing on Japan’s role in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan has been successful in playing a major role in international politics, especially in the Asia-Pacific region through its adoption of its multi-tiered approach. This multi-tiered approach which has been adopted to improve international cooperation among the Asia-Pacific nations is a new policy perspective which â€Å"packages different types of coordination among region states, including bilateral, multilateral, and minilateral or subregional, in a layered hierarchical manner† (Ashizawa, 2003, p. 361). Through this approach Japan has managed to maintain its enthusiasm for multilateral agreements even with countless criticisms on its significance and effectiveness. Through the multi-tiered approach, Japan has managed to maintain its security arrangements with the United States (Ashizawa, 2003, p. 361). And in applying such arrangements, Japan was able to form more connections with Asia-Pacific nations. With the adoption of new changes in its regional security order, the s elf-recognition of its status as a major power, and through its imposed constitutional constraints, Japan has managed to apply the multi-tiered approach as an effective approach in shaping its security policy and international relations 50 years after the Second World War (Ashizawa, 2003, p. 361). As far as its Asian neighbours are concerned, Japan has been trying

The Development of Islamic Law and its Role in Contemporary Pakistan Research Paper

The Development of Islamic Law and its Role in Contemporary Pakistan - Research Paper Example Despite a long Islamic history, the role that Islamic law plays in the country is still being determined. This can be seen in the way that the Islamic Pakistan has formed and matured, the turbulent leadership that the country has experienced and the attempt to realign Pakistani values and law with Islamic. Thus, Pakistan is not an area of unshakeable values and truths, but of ever-changing and developing ideals and laws. The Development of Islamic Pakistan To understand the role that Islamic law plays in contemporary Pakistan, the first aspect is to consider the way in which Pakistan has developed, and what has influenced Pakistani laws. Pakistan is a rapidly growing country that once was predominately agricultural, however, now other aspects of industry are beginning to take precedence. In particular, exports are predominately textile, clothing and agricultural in nature. Pakistan is considered to be a middle-income country, but despite its considerable economic growth social progre ss has been much slower (Talbot, 1998, p. 23). The most well-known example of this is the rights of women, who are treated as second-class citizens in Pakistan and have restricted rights. Other indications of the slow progress that the country has been making include the life expectancy, which is currently 66.35 years and the fact that less than three percent of the country’s gross domestic product is spent on healthcare (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). It is thought that part of the driving force behind this slow civil growth is the strong focus on religion and tendency to get involved in religious politics. This can be seen by a strong focus on spending in defense, despite the clear inadequacies in health and education spending (Talbot, 1998, p. 23). Pakistan achieved independence from Britain in the early years after the Second World War. From this point onwards, the nation called itself The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Korson, 1974, p. 1). Pakistan presents an intere sting case in the eastern world, as the nation was initially developed in the name of religion, despite the concept that such nationalism was un-Islamic and represented a betrayal to the ideas and ideas of Islam (Talbot, 1998, p. 12). Thus, Islamic religion has always played an important role in the development of the country, although the exact role has varied as different governments have come into power. In fact, the development of Islam as the ideology for the state was not initially undertaken because of a desire to follow Islamic teaching. Instead, Pakistan’s leaders used this as a method of developing and growing the identity of the country following its independence (Haqqani, 2004). Because of this, Islam was not a strong focus of the laws of the country in its early development. Nevertheless, Islamic perceptions have become strongly embedded in the history of Pakistan and in its current identity, particularly in recent times. The values of Pakistan, which have influe nced the development of the country as a whole as well as its laws, are strongly based in the Islamic religion (Talbot, 1998, p. 24). Islam is more than a religion that the country abides by, its language and rhetoric has been strongly incorporated into the law. This incorporation has been so strong

Industry Research Completion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Industry Research Completion - Essay Example According to Domansky and Williams (2006), the global automotive industry encompasses a few principal manufacturers such as General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Volkswagen and DaimlerChrylser that serve the global market. The globalization of automobile industry has resulted from the setup of overseas facilities and mergers between firms in recent times. The joint venture of General Motors and Toyota in New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. and Fiat holding an 85% stake in Ferrari are examples of such mergers. The Automobile Industry is one of the most important industries in the world, employing millions of people, generating billions of dollars in world revenues, placing more than 806 million vehicles on the roads, accelerating the business and commercial activities and linking person to person, area to area and country to country. It is more than a 100 years old. It came into existence in Germany and France and later grew in USA as a result of mass production. However, Papatheodorou and Harris (2007) state that considering the level of employment and revenue it generates, the industry is suffering from financial crisis with profit margins falling from 20% in 1920s to 5% in 2007. This may be due to the maturity of automobile markets in developed countries. According to Encarta Online Encyclopedia (2009), the Automobile Industry has tried to reduce the cost of transportation through mass marketing, mass production and globalized production. The world is headed towards the crisis of recession and economic slump which is expected to reduce automobile sales worldwide. The present economic downturn has proven to have hit the automobile industry sharply and there has been rapid decline in the sales of the industry. Political and economic instability, credit crunch, banks being more particular about auto financing and the rising prices of cars has impacted the

Question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Question - Assignment Example A company that uses agile management is likely to have increased growth and expansion because of the increased productivity. It also reduces time wasted building a project using various cycles. This approach uses iterations and breaks down the long cycles into less time. The popularity of the model over the waterfall model is because of its efficiency in increasing the client’s involvement in the process of software development. The end result of agile project management is always a little less predictable as compared to waterfall model. One would take this as a disadvantage, but that is not true. Agile adapts to changes in a much positive manner. It responds to issues as they arise and resolves them. Agile management and the Waterfall management both have advantages and disadvantages. Agile is very fast, quick and a more reliable approach to managing projects that need constant improvements. Unlike waterfall approach, agile is done in iterations. Agile management is oriented on offering quality services while waterfall management deals with construction projects and hardware Installation projects. Agile is suitable for projects that are new and yet to be tried Schmidt (2) This is a systematic and organized approach in your company to enable staff to transition from their current practices to those that the company focusses on. It involves influencing a good number of people to positively accept the changes being made. If there is no change management in a company, it could lead to failure of the business. IT departments need changes especially due to the current changes in the technological information. The critical success of an IT organization is highly dependent on its capability to control the IT changes. It should protect existing services during and after and ensure accurate changes are made. Change management programs help to align and organize the organization when undergoing major

An analysis of the security implication of immigration in the Essay

An analysis of the security implication of immigration in the Sultanate of Oman from 2009 till 2014 and its implication for future immigration policy - Essay Example Conversely, the immigrants have negatively affected Oman in a certain way, as unemployment has risen significantly in various sectors within the country. This is a result of lack of higher studies and presence of immigrant labours and others in the country. Furthermore, to tackle with the problems of high level of immigration in Oman, the government of the nation has emerged with the concept of ‘Omanization’ Policy in the year 19881. The policy was aimed at significantly reducing the number of immigrants in the country by replacing them with the nationals and to provide them with the opportunity to sustain and develop within the country. Furthermore, because of increased number of immigrants and a constant rise in the expatriate population in Oman, the government of the country has taken considerable steps to reduce inflow of foreign expatriates in the country and encourage the people at large. Furthermore, with an aim to reduce the range of problems faced by the nationals, government of Oman has taken action-oriented steps towards reformation of the existing laws, apart from engaging in bilateral trade agreements with the nations sending immigrants in Oman. Additionally, Oman government has also taken considerable strides towards protection of the migrants, dwelling from Oman2. With the information gathered from nationalists regarding the rising concerns about the illegal immigration in Oman, the government of the country has employed the use of restrictive policies towards the unlawful immigrations. The government of Oman introduced a temporary ban on the immigrants coming from the labour sending nations such as India and Bangladesh to deal with the issue. Furthermore, the government of Oman postponed the issuance of visa to the immigrants from the year 2012, when the country stopped issuing visa to Bangladeshi immigrants. Apart from these aspects the government of Oman and other Gulf nations, have invested high amount

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 11

Case study - Essay Example The fact that there is a personal relationship with a friend’s son affects the underlying professional relationship in connection to probationer. This is a major contributor to a state of conflict of interest. Changing of probation officers is in the best interest for each of the parties as they could face accusations of conflicts of interest and could be placed on leave or fined. In the case of the probationer, he could face accusations of bargaining with me, the officer, as there is proof of a mutual interest. All positive aspects occurring between the probationer and the officer could be diluted as a result of such conflict of interest. Future research should accurately conceptualise role conflict and not simply infer that officers experience role conflict on the basis of community correctional officers having differing role preferences (LearningExpress. 2007). One strategy that might be useful is the development of an occupationally specific questionnaire focusing on the t ensions between the welfare and enforcement aspects of the officers’ role. Such a questionnaire should differentiate between internal or personally based conflicts (intra role conflict) and external or organisationally based conflicts (inter-role conflict) (Mendicino, 2010). This approach appears valid in the present study, as both forms of conflict were related to emotional exhaustion. Such an approach would enable a more sophisticated understanding of the tensions faced by community correctional officers and clarification of the issues surrounding whether community correctional officers experience role conflict. If there is evidence of discriminatory against probationers in favour of a friend’s son, it is not appropriate to continue working on the case. There are other legal repercussions emerging against the probation agency. Probation authorities must adhere to lawful procedures, but must not adhere to any provisions with formal requirements of

Artitic Criticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Artitic Criticism - Essay Example The piece of art is characterized by clouds, stars, whirling wind and a sight off hills in the background provides for a larger dimension. Vincent chose a display a dot-to-dot effect on the sky by spacing the stars and providing a curving effect to the sky composition. This was aimed at ensuring the viewers concentrate on specific details of the paint rather than the sky. The technique can be traced to the 1880s where art was influenced by specific details. The painting has a night setting thus the purpose for its name, ‘Starry Night’. The painting displays an isolated night due to absence of night animals and other creators such as the bat. This displays a gloomy night also creates a midnight impression of the area. The whirling winds in the picture try to give the setting life but fails. The only prove of life in the village in the paint is the glowing windows of the cottages. There exist a contrast in the paint, sky above displays a rough and dramatic nature of the setting but the village shows peace and calmness. The hills represents hope, the decision of Vincent to displays two contrasting moods raises questions. Then again, life in the village is minimal as the dead tree on the painting displays death. The purpose of the dead tree and a peaceful village also contradicts the mood. To evaluate the intended purpose of the Dutch, one has to look at his condition while creating the art. At its creation, the painter was on foreign land and was ill. Despite his conditions, he could see a brighter future hence the representation of a lively background and a gloomy sky. The other unbecoming of the paint is the monotony in which the yellow color has been used in that the stars , the moon , the glowing winds and the whirling wind is represented by the yellow color. The idea of Vincent van Gogh is he displays his love for color yellow. However, he tries to balance the sky composition by introducing the white

Youth and Sports Essay Example for Free

Youth and Sports Essay Raising children in today’s society is not for the faint of heart. Raising children has never been easy, but it is especially difficult in youth sports today. Coaches and parents are putting a lot of pressure on our young sons and daughters. The pressure to succeed in sports at such a young age is taking the fun out of the sport by making it all about winning. A Personal Perspective My own interaction in youth sports has been many: As a parent, participant and an observer. My experiences as a child in youth sports were mostly positive. In my early days of sports in school, all children were encouraged to play for their school, skill level did not matter. There were no tryouts and no one got cut. We all were equal no matter what our overall ability. Sports were an enjoyable competition between schools and were simply for fun. I remember playing on my elementary schools basketball team. My coach was the school science teacher and my teammates were my friends and classmates. Our practices would be right after school and we would only practice for one hour. I remember the practices as an extended gym class. We would just run around, laugh, have fun and learn a few plays. I do not ever recall a coach yelling at me when I made a mistake or made a bad play. I remember the coach saying, â€Å"that’s ok, shake it off, you’ll get it next time. † I never worried about being pulled from a game if I made a mistake. We all played our fair share. We played the game as a game, with an opportunity to learn skills, compete, increase confidence, and have fun, we were able to go with the flow, relax and play for the sake of playing. Even our parents back then would just sit and enjoy the game. They didn’t yell at us to run faster or play harder. They didn’t even yell at the referee for making a bad call. I remember my parents telling me before every game, â€Å"Have fun and do the best you can† and after the game no matter how I played they would say, â€Å"You played a great game†. They always asked me if I had a fun time playing. I always did. I didn’t remember the losses. I remember playing with my friends and laughing about how bad we played some days. It seems like in youth sports today, the emphasis is no longer on developing skills through competition, with others and with yourself, but on the win-loss record, points scored, etc. Youth sports are run by adults. Adults tend to focus on the wins. When an adult arrives at end of the game, as the kids come off the field or court, what are the first words out of their mouth? Its usually Who won? or Did you score any points, get any hits, etc.? The children, meanwhile, are talking about whose mom brings the biggest candy bars for snacks! If, we as adults, teach our kids to focus on the winning, scoring, and scholarships, rather than skill improvement and having fun than mistakes or losses are not seen as opportunities to learn, but as occasions of failure and are to be avoided at all cost. If children think only in terms of winning, the pressure is on. Over the years I have seen how the youth programs are turning. Burned-out teenage athletes, coach-parent conflicts and abusive parents are indicators of a deep and continuing problem in youth sports. Youth sports programs have become the focal point of many families. The increased interest in sports over the past two decades have promoted the increased promotion of these programs, as well as developed interest on the part of parents to encourage participation by their children. It is disturbing to look behind the facade and to realize that children participating in organized sports are often pressured; they feel the pressure to fit in; they worry that they will only fit in if they are athletically talented; they feel the pressure that they need to win, to please their parents and coaches. Children develop their sense of fair play and their perceptions of ethical behavior in part within the context of these programs. These programs can also make a significant impact on the development of a childs self- perception, self-esteem and emotional health. If the messages displayed by adults in reference to the sporting events have a decidedly negative tone, the impact of youth sports programs on the emotional development of children will not have positive outcomes. There are a number of factors that can impact the influences of organized youth sports programs on the participants, and studies have shown that the results of the full picture of youth sports is not always a positive one. Some of the influencing factors include: the participation of parents in youth sports programs, the suggestion by coaches, parents and observers that winning is more important than the game itself, and the nature of sports, that lends itself to competitive and aggressive behavior. It is difficult to develop a concrete perspective about the impacts of youth sports programs without considering these influences. A Child’s Perspective Many children simply want to participate in sports programs to have fun, have a recreational activity and work together with friends towards a common goal (Kohl and Nelson, 1990). It has been recognized that competition can foster mistrust between children, when winning serves to dismiss losers, creates envy of the winners and leads children away from the focus of the game (Kohn and Nelson, 1990). It is also clear that the pressure that parents place on their children to compete and win creates its own set of inherent psychological dilemmas. Pressure to play on an elite team is an issue that should really boil down to what your child wants. A parent needs to read the signs indicating that a child wants to be on an elite team. If a child needs prodding to get ready and go to practice, the child who consistently does not want to go may not be suited for an elite team. Sometimes, the kids who complain about doing things outside their comfort zone just need a little push to discover they enjoy whatever it is they are so adamantly opposed to doing. But, after a season of being on an elite team, it should be apparent whether or not the child wants to continue with the sport at a higher level. I always make it clear to my son that he can play whatever sport he wants and at whatever level he wants. In his fifth year of hockey, he decided that he didn’t want to continue to play travel hockey despite his obvious skill level and the prodding of several teams trying to convince him that he â€Å"needed† to continue or he would fall behind. We laughed about the coaches who had told him this. I asked, â€Å"fall behind in what? † I had never been a parent who thought my son was going to be a professional hockey player. My goal was to involve him in sports that he enjoys and that would allow him to grow and experience the life lessons that sports can teach. At that point he loved hockey, but just didn’t want to have it take up so much of his social time. The following year the travel hockey flame was rekindled and he was more enthusiastic than he had ever been about playing. He still loves the game, and despite the fact I really believed he may be able to play at a collegiate level if he really wants to put in the work, he plays for fun and most likely will play for the rest of his life. The bottom line is, a family should not be pressured into anything, especially when it comes to their children. Ultimately, our children should have the biggest say in what they want to be involved in and at what level. Children who have been pressured by their parents in youth sports activities often display increased amounts of anxiety along with an increased level of awareness about the importance of the game (Weider, 1993). In other words, one child may be able to perceive the game as simply a game, but another child, under increased pressure from his parents, may only be able to relate to the game in terms of the amount of pressure created. This difference in perceptions puts children against each other; the children most likely to succeed and win the game are those who are least prepared to deal with any other option. It creates a scary reality for those children who perceive that they are unbeatable, but also are beaten by another team. When childrens self perceptions are directly related to their ability to win, there is clearly evidence that their inabilities then feed their lowered self-perceptions (Kantrowitz, 1996). A Coach’s Perspective and Its Unintended Effects Coaches are also putting negative pressure on our young athletes and not even realizing it through their approach and attitude towards kids. A coach’s words may carry a different message to the child hearing them than to the coach who is saying them. It is easy for a coach to phrase things in ways that are a lot harsher then they intend. Here are a couple of phrases that tend to have a negative impact on a child: â€Å"what’s wrong with you today? † â€Å"Why can’t you play like your brother? † â€Å"How long have you been playing this sport? † â€Å"Did your dad teach you that? and the list goes on and on. Here is an example of how a coach making a comment to a young athlete has a negative impact. My nephew was in his first year of football. He was nine years old and small for his age. They only had a few games left. But at practice one night the coach grabbed my nephews face mask and said â€Å"is that the best you can do? † What had happened was he had missed a tackle. My nephew interpreted that saying as, â€Å"you’re too small, bigger kids would have made that tackle. † What the coach should have said was, â€Å"you need to move quicker to have an impact during the play. A Parent’s Perspective and Its Unintended Results How does a parent know when theyre over-doing it from the sidelines? One thing that has helped a lot of parents and coaches supporting athletes is an understanding of their roles. In fact theres a push by several national organizations to know your role. Youre an athlete, coach, official, or a fan pick one then support and respect the others. (Koehler, Your Kids Sports). There are some theorists who even believe that these youth sports programs that focus on winning or losing are dangerous (Leo, 1993). Children of parents who push them in sporting events often feel they cannot ever lose because of their parents’ expectations. This process of parental control and the childs self-perception can lead to humiliation and despair (Leo, 1993).? Here is an example of parental pressure on a young athlete to win. At one of my son’s youth hockey games I observed a father berating his son after a game. The boy had had a breakaway shot with only a few seconds left in a hockey game. The young athlete skated up to the net and fired a rocket of a shot. It was a really hard shot, and it barely missed the net. Needless to say the game was over and it ended in a tie. The father ran down to the ice and waited for his son to skate off to the locker room. As the boy came off the ice the father pulled him aside and started yelling at him in front of the other players and parents. The father continued to tell the boy how lousy of a player he was and that anyone else on the team would have made the shot. This went on for about three minutes, until the boy trying to hold back his tears slumbered into the locker room. This is a perfect example of the parent putting the pressure on his son to be better than he is capable of being and winning is everything. A Society’s Perspective Most of the current literature on children and sports develops around the theory that children are negatively impacted by the competitive nature of sports programs in conjunction with the influence of observers, coaches and parents. Little League, in particular, has been the focus of a number of studies into the impact of the program on the social and emotional development of the children involved. Though Little League has been touted as a sport focused on fun for children, the competition pushed on children by the parent’s expectations turns potentially healthy fun into competitive battles pitting friend against friend (Verdi, 1990). Though the basic premise of youth sports is to encourage the enjoyment of sports activities, the focus on winning has reshaped the program (Rosen, 1996). Team sports can also be a great experience. Kids get to improve their skills and feel that team spirit as they work together toward a common goal. If youve had a bad experience with a team, maybe its time to try a new sport or a new league. Some leagues and programs emphasize skill building over competition. Many of the programs developed encourage healthy levels of competitive and cooperative behavior, help children develop a sense of fair play, and help children find self-esteem by rewarding physical activities. Programs like Little League have been recognized as a stepping-stone in the development of major baseball players, as well as presidents and successful business people. The competitive nature of sports does not necessarily mean that children will develop unhealthy asocial competitive behaviors. Over the past 30 years, a basic outline of the rules of sports competition, even as they refer to youth sports programs, has been widely accepted by coaches, parents and sports supporters in general. These rules include basic precepts like: team matters more than the individual; achievement comes from preparation, not fun; control calm under pressure, and perseverance are the necessary to win the game; criticism is more valuable than praise (Rosen, 1996). With guidelines like these as the basics for youth sports, it is no wonder that parents and players have learned that the game is more significant than the process or lessons learned while playing. ? Many people believe that one of the most valuable lessons developed from youth sports is the development of a conceptualization of fair play, in a way that young children can perceive and apply. Though the basic definition of fair play suggests justice applied to interpersonal actions, it takes on a slightly different and more specific outline when considered in terms of youth sports programs (Covrig, 1996). Fair play has been described as a very lofty set of virtues, including things like: truthfulness, self-respect, consideration for others, self-control, courage, courtesy, as well as fairness (Covrig, 1996). With these virtues as the basis, one would be led to believe that any child participating in a youth program that claims a focus on fair play could do nothing but benefit from these programs. But one of the major discrepancies in youth sports exists in the difference between the message and the messenger. Though fair play is a major focus of the premise for youth sports, the individual who create, develop and coach these programs do not often embrace these virtues in practice (Covrig, 1996).? In the same respect, parents who hope to develop a sense of fair play in their children by encouraging their participation in sports frequently display behaviors that do not reflect the same virtues. The major problem with this situation is that parents often impose the expectations relative to adult competitive sports on their children, who have not yet learned to embrace the American idealization of winning (Martin, 1986). This transference of parental expectations onto their children can result in a number of damaging psychological problems, including: burnout, injury, and feelings of rejections, causing lowered self- esteem, when children cannot meet the expectations of their parents (Martin, 1986). With over a million children participating in a wide variety of programs, the success of youth athletics cannot be attributed only to the enthusiasm of parents. Children, too, must perceive benefits of the programs in order for retention levels to be as high as they are (Rumpf 1992). Children, who can compete fairly, congratulate the winners with sincerity and accept victory with grace benefit from the structure and the healthy competition created within these programs (Rumpf, 1992). The most significant problems occur not because of the structure of the games, the programs developed or the basic ideals behind youth sports programs. Instead, it is clear that the disastrous effects of youth sports programs come as a result of the interaction between children, parents and coaches (Rumpf, 1992). The literature studies supports the thesis that youth sports programs can negatively impact the development of children in respect to self-esteem, self-perceptions and emotional health, though it is also clear that the impact has a direct relationship to adult interactions. Though the programs developed often support fair play and healthy competitiveness, the expectations of parents, coaches and spectators often transform seemingly friendly games into competitive battles with little respect for teammates and other players. Children who can succeed within these programs do so with the help of coaches and parents who do not impose difficult, if not impossible expectations on their childrens participation. Examining Our Perspectives Yet at what price does success come? Out of 19,000 young athletes, about 356 children will get a scholarship. Out of all those kids, only four will go pro. † (Koehler, Your Kids Sports). We just love it. Its our social life. We just love sports. And whats not to love, after all, more youth leagues are catering to the elite athlete, where winning and rankings are top priority and championships and scholarships are all the talk. I understand wanting your child to do well. College is expensive and it might seem like a full tuition sports scholarship is the way to go. However, there is a psychological price that the young athlete may pay. In order to realize the most benefits from these programs, parents must recognize the impact of their personal expectations on their childrens emotional stability. There is way too much pressure today on children. I think most parents who involve their children in several activities have forgotten how great it was to sit outside during a summer day and read a book or just daydream. Someday when these children are adults, they are not going to know how to use their imaginations, occupy themselves in a constructive manner, or just how to have fun. Are we teaching our children at a young age how to have a nervous breakdown? What happened to just playing a sport for fun? I remember when I was a kid, after school or during the summer. I would just walk out the back door, grab a baseball bat or a hockey stick and I headed out to the street or to the neighborhood park to find my brothers or other kids from the neighborhood to play with. We played for hours with no uniforms, no refs, no parents on the sidelines. Sure, I wanted to win. We all did. But if we didn’t it wasn’t the end of the world. The pressure to succeed in sports today is taking the fun out of the sport by making it all about winning.

The Review of Job Satisfaction Essay Example for Free

The Review of Job Satisfaction Essay Job satisfaction represents one of the most complex areas facing today’s managers when it comes to managing their employees. Many studies have demonstrated an unusually large impact on the job satisfaction on the motivation of workers, while the level of motivation has an impact on productivity, and hence also on performance of business organizations. Unfortunately, in our region, job satisfaction has not still received the proper attention from neither scholars nor managers of various business organizations. Key words: job satisfaction, Employees, performance Introduction: Research indicates that employees who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to stay with their employers. According to this survey, 86% of employees indicated overall satisfaction with their current position, with 41% of employees reporting they were very satisfied. What’s more, majority of employees reported that the current economic climate has not made any difference in their level of satisfaction—and this is good news for employers, especially during the economically challenging time. It is not surprising that during the current economic downturn, which some have compared to the 1929 Great Depression, employees selected job security for the second consecutive year as the most important aspect of their job satisfaction. Benefits, compensation/pay, opportunities to use skills and abilities and feeling safe in the work environment rounded off employees’ top five very important job satisfaction contributors—nearly identical to the top five of 2008. Factors that were not strongly connected to employees’ overall job satisfaction were organization’s commitment to a ‘green’ workplace, networking, career development opportunities, paid training and tuition reimbursement programs, and organization’s commitment to professional development. Despite its vide usage in scientific research, as well as in everyday life, there is still no general agreement regarding what job satisfaction is. In fact there is no final definition on what job represents. Therefore before a definition on job satisfaction can be given , the nature and importance of work as a universal human activity must be considered. Different authors have different approaches towards defining job satisfaction. Some of the most commonly cited definitions on job satisfaction are analysed in the text that follows. Job satisfaction as any combination of psychological, physiological and environmental circumstances that cause a person truthfully to say I am satisfied with my job. According to this approach although job satisfaction is under the influence of many external factors, it remains something internal that has to do with the way how the employee feels. That is job satisfaction presents a set of factors that cause a feeling of satisfaction. Vroom in his definition on job satisfaction focuses on the role of the employee in the workplace. Thus he defines job satisfaction as affective orientations on the part of individuals toward work roles which they are presently occupying (Vroom, 1964). One of the most often cited definitions on job satisfaction is the one given by Specter according to whom job satisfaction has to do with the way how people feel about their job and its various aspects. It has to do with the extent to which people like or dislike their job. That’s why job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction can appear in any given work situation. Job satisfaction represents a combination of positive or negative feelings that workers have towards their work. Meanwhile, when a worker employed in a business organization, brings with it the needs, desires and experiences which determinates expectations that he has dismissed. Job satisfaction represents the extent to which expectations are and match the real awards. Job satisfaction is closely linked to that individuals behavior in the work place. Job satisfaction is a worker’s sense of achievement and success on the job. It is generally perceived to be directly linked to productivity as well as to personal well-being. Job satisfaction implies doing a job one enjoys, doing it well and being rewarded for one’s efforts. Job satisfaction further implies enthusiasm and happiness with one’s work. Job satisfaction is the key ingredient that leads to recognition, income, promotion, and the achievement of other goals that lead to a feeling of fulfillment. Job satisfaction can be defined also as the extent to which a worker is content with the rewards he or she gets out of his or her job, particularly in terms of intrinsic motivation. The term job satisfactions refer to the attitude and feelings people have about their work. Positive and favorable attitudes towards the job indicate job satisfaction. Negative and unfavorable attitudes towards the job indicate job dissatisfaction. Job satisfaction is the collection of feeling and beliefs that people have about their current job. People’s levels of degrees of job satisfaction can range from extreme satisfaction to extreme dissatisfaction. In addition to having attitudes about their jobs as a whole. People also can have attitudes about various aspects of their jobs such as the kind of work they do, their co-workers, supervisors or subordinates and their pay. Job satisfaction is a complex and multifaceted concept which can mean different things to different people. Job satisfaction is usually linked with motivation, but the nature of this relationship is not clear. Satisfaction is not the same as motivation. Job satisfaction is more of an attitude, an internal state. It could, for example, be associated with a personal feeling of achievement, either quantitative or qualitative. We consider that job satisfaction represents a feeling that appears as a result of the perception that the job enables the material and psychological needs . Job satisfaction can be considered as one of the main factors when it comes to efficiency and effectiveness of business organizations. In fact the new managerial paradigm which insists that employees should be treated and considered primarily as human beans that have their own wants, needs, personal desires is a very good indicator for the importance of job satisfaction in contemporary companies. When analyzing job satisfaction the logic that a satisfied employee is a happy employee and a happy employee is a successful employee. Job satisfaction is under the influence of a series of factors such as: The nature of work, Salary, Advancement opportunities, Management, Work groups and Work conditions. A somewhat different approach regarding the factors of job satisfaction is provided by Rue and Byars, Figure 4. When talking about factors of job satisfaction the fact that they can also job dissatisfaction must be kept in mind. Therefore the issue weather job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are two opposite and excludable phenomena? There is no consensus regarding this issue among authors. Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory is probably the most often cited point of view. In fact the main idea is that employees in their work environment are under the influence of factors that cause job satisfaction and factors that cause job dissatisfaction. Therefore al factors that have derived from a large empirical research and divided in factors that cause job satisfaction (motivators) and factors that cause job dissatisfaction (hygiene factors)

Business Plan For Fashion Designer Company Best Looks Marketing Essay

Business Plan For Fashion Designer Company Best Looks Marketing Essay This business plan will feature a fashion designer company by the name Best Looks. The paper examines some of the strategies that the company does to ensure the success of the business. Company description Our company has realized the need to come up with a sound business plan which will guide the operations of our organization towards realizing high levels of economic growth and development. Our company will be manufacturing ladies casual wear ranging from blouses and trousers. This is an area which we are fully prepared to tap in the large market based on the fact that the world has become very sensitive when it comes to fashion. Apparently, this is one of the sectors which are witnessing a lot of growth in terms of moving large volume of sales due to the fact that people are spending more on clothing especially in the developed countries. Our target market for our clothing line will be young ladies between the age of 18 and 35. This is because this is the age which is very adventurous when it comes to fashion and highly treasures fashion designs. The mechanism that our company will put in place will be to ensure that the needs of our customers are fully met and thus we will shift our previous approach to production to give more attention to production of fancy ladies wear. This will be a very new venture for our organization because previously we have been dealing with manufacturing of official wears for both men and women of all age brackets. Therefore the location of our previous company did not matter a lot as long as it is in a strategic place in terms of total population. However, for the case of our new clothing line, a number of factors will have to be considered before settling on the best location. One of such factors is proximity to the target population which in this case is the fashion conscious youth. Therefore, this rules out any possibility of situating our business in the rural areas. Another factor that we have to consider is the spending capacity of the people in the location of our business. One thing to take note of is the fact of our products will be relatively expensive due to involvement of expertise in the production process and that the materials used for production are relatively expensive. This therefore means that the consumer will have to bear the extra cost by paying high costs for the garments. Therefore taking on these factors, we have settled on Texas City as the best place to situate our business. This is an area which is characterized by a lot of young working class populations not to mention the fact that there are many colleges and universities there which still form a ready market for our products. After such various deliberations we have settled on forming Best Looks as a start-up manufacturer of a clothing line targeted for females between 18 and 35. The role of Best Looks ranges from developing the clothing line to supporting it with promotions and advertisement to command a big market share in a highly competitive market set up. In the bid to ensure that, the company plans to strengthen its partnership with the retailers who are very important to the business development through a process of developing brand awareness. Best Looks therefore intends to market its new line as an alternative to the existing ones through differentiating itself from the others. This will be achieved through among other things applying the appropriate marketing strategies, high brand awareness and exclusiveness. The key message that is carried by the Best Looks includes upscale, classy, expensive and versatile. As a result, the promotional plan of the company will be very diverse and will include quite a big range of marketing communication. Vision One of the visions of Best Looks is to become the leading fashion designer company in United States and the rest of the world. The company also intends to see itself controlling about 95% of the total market share of United States and finally venture fully to other regions of the world. Mission The main mission of the company is to bring a new revolution to the world of fashion industry but moving in line with the changing trends in tastes and preferences of the people. Therefore the company will invest heavily in the research and development of new designs which match with the needs and demand. Objectives of the company The company has the following objectives To be the leading clothing line in America in terms of production of quality products. To open the market for upcoming similar markets in terms of sensitizing the public on various fashions and dress codes. To meet the existing demands for fashion and create new markets within and outside America. To create employment opportunities in the company in the country and outside. To establish a sound networks between the company and its clients through the use of appropriate marketing strategies. To be a leading exporter of ladies designer clothes to the rest of the world. The companys development will be effected in terms of stages. We recognize the fact that all the processes cannot take place overnight and therefore there is a need to implement the development of the company in stages. The first stage will involve production of the garments such as blouses and trousers. After ensuring that those products are already in the market, we will come up with Best Look perfumes to complement our design clothing line. Again the whole process of initiating production process will take effect on a moderate pace to avoid scenarios where business ends up with compromised qualities of products as a result of not taking time in proper product development. Things such as research and development come in handy in this area. This company intends to trade its shares in the stock exchange market. This move among other things will help in building a very strong capital base through getting the public resources from sale of shares. Other than that, the company will gain popularity by virtue of trading its shares in the stock exchange market. This means that in future, advertisements and other sales promotional strategies will be directed to a population which is already aware of the company and what it does. It therefore becomes very easy for such population to be convinced into buying and this will definitely translate into very high volume of sales for the company. One of the achievements of the company is that it has managed to collect a lot of information concerning the target market and their tastes and preferences. This is of great significance as far as understanding how to approach the whole process of manufacturing, the material to use as well as design. Product plan As earlier stated, the products being offered by our company will range from ladies fancy blouses and trousers for young ladies aged between 18 and 35. By considering that the garments are for young ladies, the trousers will be designed to be very fitting, which is one of the tastes of the young people. Other than that the designs of the trousers will range from high waist to low waist to cater for specific tastes of the clients. The materials will also range from silk to linen. When it comes it comes to the designing the blouses, most of them will be low-necked as it is preferred by many young people. The blouses in particular will come in wide variety of colors since the young people seem to be extremely adventures when it comes to the use of colors. Our products have unique characteristics which make them stand out from the rest of competitors products. One of such unique characteristics emanates from the fact that the material which makes the garments is easy to manage considering the fact that it does not crease easily. This attribute makes our garments preferable for those people do lot like spending time ironing out their cloths. It is important to patent our products to block our competitors from using anything exclusive to our brand for their own competitive advantage. The name Best Looks will be patented so that there will be no other clothing line which will be legally allowed to use the name. This name will serve as our brand name and thus every piece of clothing will bear the name. For us to operate within the country smoothly, it will be imperative for our company to ensure that it fully complies with the government requirement as far as registration of the company and other basic operation requirement is concerned. Registration of the company will come first. Due to the bureaucratic nature of the process, it will be important for our company to embark on this process early enough to avoid any unnecessary delays on the stipulated day of commencement of our business operations. Our product is very relevant to the state of art in the sense that it is features in some of the most recent designs as far as fashion is concerned. However, our products may be rendered obsolete by the fact that the dressing tastes of people seem to be changing day in day out and the worst fear will be for the ladies fashion taste to shift from trousers to something like dresses. This will mean that there will be minimal sales generated by the external factors. However, this is just but an isolated market scenario. Some of the liabilities that may be involved in the rung of the company will be the bad debts. In some cases, it is very normal for businesses to supply products at an agreement for future payment. This normally works on the basis of mutual trust which in some cases can prove to be inadequate. Under such circumstances, the person or the business being supplied with the products can default to make the payment as stipulated and upon numerous fruitless follow-ups; this finally ends up being counted as a bad debt. Under such circumstances, the company will be forced to bear this liability and devise a means of compensating such losses so as not to compromise with the normal running of the business. One of the things which make our company very unique is that is goes far beyond the provision of products to establish a personal relationship with the customers. For instance having an elaborate customer care is one of the qualities that Best Looks will borrow from its affiliate company. This attribute has been reported to work for the organization in maintaining the customer loyalty. It is through customer care services that the firm has been able to establish various issues and concerns of the customers and hence design appropriate ways of addressing them for the good of both the customer and the organization. Another aspect which makes the organization unique is that it puts issues such as social responsibility in the forefront as opposed to many other organizations within the industry. The products of the company are also very unique compared to that of the competitors in terms of versatility of designs, color and the material used. This makes the customer to base her decision on of buying on a very wide variety of products. Marketing plan Understanding the target market and its dynamics is very crucial in any business development. As earlier stated, our target market includes the young people who account for the greatest percentage in the total population of the country. However, the market is segmented into two units. To start with, there is that population consisting of college students mostly aged between 18 and 25. Other than that, the market is segmented into the age group between 25 and 35 years who majority fall in the working class category. These different segments of the population have varying spending power and so do their tastes of fashion vary to some extend. With such knowledge in mind, it becomes very easy for the company to adjust towards meeting the needs of each market segment because it matters a lot to see that the customers needs are well taken care of. The profile of our target customer includes classy, elegant, and expensive outfit. As it is the case with many people who are fashion-conscious, these are attributes which add glamour to their wardrobes and this is exactly what our company will take care of. Our company expects to take command of at least 75% of the market at its initial stages and move towards about 95% as it advanced to high levels of growth and development. With such a market share, it means that the total profitability of the company is well taken care of. Competition One factor worth noting is that the level of competition in the fashion industry has been growing daily. People have recognized the potential that this industry has and every one is trying every means possible to remain highly competitive. In Texas City where our business will be located, there are quite a number of similar businesses, some which have been in operation for an extended period of time. However, locating our business there will be an advantage in the sense that customers are already aware of the fact that they can get high quality designs in Texas. Therefore, the tasks that will lie a head o f us is to make our products as distinguished as possible from that of our competitors and hence make them stand out. One of the ways through which we will be able to ensure that our products are highly distinguished is by making sure that quality remains uncompromised for all our products. For any rational consumer especially aged between 18 and 35, quality comes first. In order to ensure quality production, our company will not take chances when it comes to high qualified personnel in both production and management. On top of that, job training will be given a lot of priority to ensure that workers are equipped with the necessary skills and expertise to enable to them perform their duties to the best of their abilities. Apart from that, out company will make use a pricing strategy which will put out prices relatively lower that that of our competitors. Price in any market scenario plays a very critical role in influencing peoples decision to purchase. Again, holding the quality constant, a rational consumer will go for a product which saves him or her an extra coin opposed to the reverse. This is one of those strategies which need to be approached with a lot of care because over-effecting it can compromise with the overall profitability of the company hence render our business unable to sustain itself. Therefore one of the ways through which the company will ensure that the companys products are priced lower that those of the competitors is to utilize economies of scale. This simply means mass producing the products and hence sourcing for raw material in large quantities. By so doing, the overall production cost will reduce by a significant margin and therefore it will be safe for the company to price its products low while still operating profitably. Other that enjoying the economies of scale, our company plans to cut down on the costs of production by minimizing the costs of labor. Most of production will be capital intensive as opposed to labor intensive. Our market research that we contacted in the area revealed that most of our competitors rely on walk in customers. This means that they do not make use of various sales awareness and promotional strategies to recruit more clients. Our company will take advantage of this and make proper use of the sales promotional tools to our advantage. One of our strongest competitors includes some Chinese manufacturing industries in Texas which have been in the business for the last ten years. They are a threat to our business because for one, for them to have stayed in the market for such a long time, they must be fully equipped with the necessary information concerning the market and that can be to our disadvantage. Other than that, it may take time for our products to penetrate due to the market dominance of these companies hence compromise with our overall success. However, our competition will not be based on how long a company has been in the market but will rather be a question of how well we can meet the needs of the customers while at the same time saving them an extra coin. Those are some of the attributes which will make our company stand out from the competitors. With the effecting of such approaches, I see the competitors loosing out in two to three years to come since our market share will be too high to allow the thriving of any other business within the region. Distribution channels matter a lot in any business because it determines how well or otherwise the products are availed to the consumer. Our customers are our biggest treasures and thus we will make use of distribution channels which ensure fast delivery of the products to their proximity. Marketing strategy Our marketing plan will include a process creating awareness whole at the same time persuading customers to purchase our products. With more and more people using the internet, this will be a perfect place for us to carry out our marketing. Social networks such as face book and the twitter will be in on the frontline to tap in the market there since statistics have that the highest population there is the young people who are our target group. Using internet as one of our marketing tool will render the whole process less costly as compared to other channels of advertisement wile reaching a very large volume of customers in every part of the globe (Ford, 2007). Other than internet, our company will make use of the social media such as television. The timing in which the advertisements appear in the television is very critical and our company fully takes note of that. For instance, when the advertisement is aired in between the news broadcasting, it is likely that a very large number of people will be watching and thus meaning that it will reach a very large number of people. Therefore, it will matter a lot for us to settle on the best time to place our adverts on the television. The marketing of our products will use the most appealing photos as possible. It is important to note that the kind of material used in any advertisements plays a big role in creating the image of the product in the eyes of the consumer. Therefore our company will not take chances with this fact when designing the adverts. Our company will own many outlets throughout the Texas City and other major cities in the country. Those outlets will be fully stocked with the products. Distribution of the outlets in all major cities will save the customers the time and resources they could use in terms of traveling costs involved when the product is accessed from a centralized place. Proper display of those products in the outlets will matter a lot and is something which will be given a lot of priority in our marketing plan to ensure that the customers are presented with a good view of the products stocked in those outlets. Our marketing strategies will stretch further in the world of beauty pageants where we will be sponsoring various modeling events. Among the things which we will do is to let the beauty pageants model various clothes from our clothing line. This will not only be a perfect opportunity for us to popularize our various designs but will also be a good opportunity for our customers to sample each individual design based on how it comes out when worn by the models. The many institutions of learning around Texas City form a very good avenue for marketing our products through the beauty pageants since such activities are quite prevalent there. Being Part of the social responsibility is an avenue for marketing our products. Social responsibility simply means taking part in the community activities that directly touch on the life of people. For instance, sponsoring a walk to raise money to aid some people who are starving in some countries in the world is just but an example of being a part and parcel of social responsibility. Through being part of the social responsibility, our company will get in touch with the customers at the grassroots not to mention the fact that it will build its image and brand personality. The social responsibility on our organization will be not be limited only to taking part in the events that touch on our target population but will be rather focus on all social realms and focus on circumstances faced by the society at large. Our marketing plan will work beyond geographic boundaries to serve customers in almost every part of the world. According to a research that we previously conducted, it is quite evident that there is a ready market for our products in other parts of the globe which is untapped. It is one of our objectives to go international and expand our client base. So far our company has identified a market in some African countries such as South Africa and Kenya. It therefore means that the supplies of our products will extent further to meet the international demand. In order to ensure that we remain profitable, we will be exporting in bulk and use cheapest options of transport such as ships. This will cut down our operating costs significantly hence make our products fairly affordable to the consumer. When it comes to selling, special skills will be needed. First and foremost, it would be important to equip those who are dealing directly with the customers with crucial knowledge on how best to handle them. This will include listening to their concerns and assisting them where possible in the move towards building a good relationship with them which is very crucial in our business success. Our company fully appreciates the input of our sales force since they are the back bone of our business. It is for this reason that our company will come up with sound remuneration scales as a way of motivating them towards realization of the goals and objectives of the organization. The significance of motivating employees in any institution cannot be overemphasized since its direct relationship with job performance is very evident. Apart from the remuneration package, our company will provide a supporting environment to nurture and grow the potential each individual employee in which capacity he or she serves. Therefore, it will be duty of the people in the top management positions to help effect this aspect. As I had earlier stated, our business just as many other in various industries cannot avoid advancing credit facilities to its clients from time to time. However, this should be done in a lot of moderation and skepticism as well. Our company will first and foremost carry out a thorough evaluation of credit worthiness of our clients to avoid landing our self in bad bets. The financial position in case of corporate client will also be of great significance in settling on the decision on where to advance credit facilities or not. This information can be obtained from analyzing the accounting records of the client. On top of that, our company will ensure that it avoids long term debts since most of them end up being bad ones (Thomas, 2001). Too many debts can pull down our company and that is why it would be imperative for the business to take this issue seriously and make rational decisions. To follow up our debts, we will engage debt collectors to do it on our behalf. This will help in protecting our relationship with customers since the debt collectors will literally do everything as far as ensuring that our debtors pay. Dealing with the customers directly in this case would make our relationship to be compromised and it can in turn affect our business. Today, almost every organization appreciates the importance of employing marketing strategies in the effort to boost sales. This is a factor that my competitors are taking seriously. This is therefore a shared approach to business between our company and our competitors. However, what varies is the application of varying marketing strategies. It is the nature of many businesses to experience seasonal peaks. This is the time when the business is highly booming and its during that time an organization can maximize on its profits. Therefore, the business should strategize itself into tapping in the increased business and translating it into high profit margins. For the case of our business, seasonal peaks are experienced during the summer. At this period, people can feel free to adventure with fashions w since the weather conditions permit so. Considering the material making our clothes, it is obvious that such clothing is only suitable for a relatively warm weather conditions. Management Plan The management team will be mandated to run the organization. It is this team that has greatest role to play in the success of the business. In the organization, team work will be highly emphasized because this will result into working towards realizing a common goal. The hierarchy of management consists of the managing director to unit managers. It will be the duty and responsibility of each manager to ensure that the people working under him or her embrace the policies of hard work towards the organizational devolvement. The manager will also be responsible for motivating the workers from time to time to boost their productivity. Therefore one of the basic qualities of the managers will be their ability to exhibit high levels of leadership skills Other than that, education background will matter since a lot of emphasis will be placed on people with adequate training in management related courses because we believe that such people will be well equipped with the necessary knowledge to enable them to take up the roles of managers within the company. At the moment there are quite a number of vacant positions which need to be filled as soon as possible for the business operations to kick start. Below is a table showing the vacant position and the respective annual packages Vacant position Annual package in USD Operations manager 120,000 Branch manager 170,000 Production manager 120,000 Marketing manager 140,000 Quality control manager 160,000 Though the supervisors may not fall under managers, their roles cannot be overlooked. Our company will recruit about five supervisors to help oversee various processes within the organization. Their annual package will range from 50000 to 70,000 US depending on their scope of duties. Employee motivation will be one of our key values to embrace. This will be done through carrying out performance appraisals to rank each individual employee accordingly depending on how they perform their duties. The employees ranked highest will be rewarded as a way of motivating them. This will also be a challenge for others to emulate the ones who are awarded hence bringing competition within the organization. This will work to the advantage of the company since every employee will be striving towards improved performance. The personnel will not be left out either when it comes to motivation. It is obvious that personnel who are not motivated cannot afford to motivate his or her subordinates. They should therefore be motivated from time to time to enable them perform their duties well. Training of employees remains very central in any organization. Our company values employee training a lot and as a result, the company has allocated a considerable portion of its budge towards trai ning the employees. Through this, the employees will be equipped with the necessary knowledge as pertaing to their duties within the organization. The Company will outsource training managers from some of the most highly reputable organizations in the country to impart the appropriate knowledge to the employees. The issue of employee training will be made from time to time; that is, there should be at least a training session once after every two weeks. The management team will be responsible for organizing these training. It is the duty of the human resource manager in collaboration with the other relevant managers to assess the performance f the employees for the purposes of appraisal. For instance, a marketing manager will be better placed to rank a person in the sales team. Subcontracting will help our organization save on the costs of recruiting and training personnel to fill in various positions. Our company will therefore make use of this in various production activities. For instance during the peak season when the business is booming, we will sub-contract people to form our workforce. This will supply the extra labor required to cater for the production towards meeting the extra demand. It will be the duty of the quality control manager to ensure that substandard products do not find their way not the market since this would compromise with the standard we want to set in the market. Operating Plan As we have earlier stated, we will make use of subcontracting in the production process. This will cut down on operating costs by some margin and also ensure high production since we will see to subcontract people with a good record of performance. The production process will require the use of various machines and equipment. It means that the company will have to invest a lot in the state of the art equipment to guarantee better quality. Some of the equipment will be source from abroad. It will therefore call for specialized people to operate these equipments and this is where the significance of training comes out clearly. Inventory control is very important because a situation where the rate at which the products are made is far much higher than the rate at which they are distributed can result into pilling a lot of stock for such a long time, something which can compromise with the quality with time. The environment in which our business is situated has both positive and negative impacts. First, most people in the area are every fashion conscious and therefore it will not take much time for people to start appreciating our new fancy designs. Another advantage is that people have very high purchasing power and this translates into moving high volume of sales. As for the disadvantages, the weather conditions here get so chilly sometimes thus discouraging people from wearing our designs (Berry, 2008). Financial Plan In our financial projections, we will assume that all factors will work in favor of our business and that we will be able to operate profitably. The projected revenues for the first three months will be estimated at 5000,000 dollars per month. However, we plan to keep our expenses at minimal levels as possible to be in a position to maximize out profits , for instance this is a breakdown of some of the consist that we will incur in the first month of production. Cost of raw materials 500,000 Wages and salaries 1,000,000 Cost of marketing 500,000 Fuel costs 500,000 Total 2,500,000 Therefore the profits fro the first month will stand at 2,500,000 dollars. i.e. profit = total revenue -total cost =5,000, 000-2,500,000 = 2, 500,000 dollars Our business will try as much as possible to stay away from funding its operations from debts. This is because debts come with a very high cost in terms of interest rates. Therefore most of the operations will be funded from equity. Legal Plan The business will operate like a limited company. This will mean that the liabilities of the company will be limited. This form of business has a number of advantages. With limited companies, we can decide to list our shares in the stock market to boost our equity. Other than that, each shareholder is entitled to particular shares of the organization depending on his or her contribution. Our company works in collabora

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Essay -- essays research papers

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Some time ago, I decided to read Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, by Jules Verne. I figured that because it was so well known it must be an extremely interesting book. In addition, it was science fiction, the one area that I was always interested. My assumption was only partially correct, for I only was to a degree interested in the piece of writing. When Jules Verne was writing this book, he must have been reading some incredibly dull science book the day before, for that was what the book was written as. The style of writing was utterly against my tastes, and though the plot was moderately interesting, the style of writing really ruined it. Often, the author will trail off describing some marine animal for pages at a time. Two entire chapters were almost entirely this! However, the setting and characters of the story seemed to be well thought out. Nevertheless, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea was an extremely tedious volume. When the story w as introduced, Jules Verne described M. Aronnax, the main character, whose love for marine biology was more important than anything else to him did. This immediately led to the international crisis about a bizarre aquatic creature, which immediately dragged M. Aronnax into the action. Due to his expertise on the matter, the public expected Pierre to be the one to solve this mystery. M. Aronnax, under all this pressure, concluded that the animal was to be called the Narwhale. At first, the mat...

Dunbar’s Identification with Indians in the Film, Dances with Wolves :: Movie Film Essays

Dunbar’s Identification with Indians in the Film, Dances with Wolves In the film Dances with Wolves, the settlers view the Indians as primitive and uncivilized creatures. Dunbar, played by Kevin Costner, needs a change of pace so he decides to go to the "furthest outpost." Upon arriving at his post, he gradually realizes that the Indians are just as scared of him as he is of them. Soon Dunbar identifies with their way of life and in the end has to choose to live either as a settler or as an Indian. The first scene in which we are introduced to the Indians, Timmons and Dunbar are making their way to the post. Along the way they find a human skeleton with an arrow protruding from it. The next morning when Dunbar wakes up Timmons, he jabs him in the rear with an arrow. The irony in it is that when Timmons is returning to town he is attacked by Indians and the first arrow that makes contact with his body hits him in the rear. Kicking Bird is the first Indian that Dunbar comes in contact with. After bathing one day Dunbar sees an Indian (Kicking Bird) trying to steal his horse. Dunbar, not realizing that he doesn't have any clothes on, runs after Kicking Bird to try to rescue his horse. Needless to say both Dunbar and Kicking Bird were scared of the other. This scene is followed by, several braves attempting to steal Dunbar's horse, but every time his horse returns to the post. After a period of time, Dunbar decides it is time to meet the Indians. On his way to their camp he runs into a woman who has slit her wrists and is bleeding to death. The woman, who he later finds out is Stands with a Fist, is scared of the white men because she believes that the white men will take her captive. The irony in this is that when she was a child, Indians had killed her parents, taken her captive and raised her as their own. Out of exhaustion and blood loss Stands with a Fist collapses and Dunbar carries her on his horse to the Indian village. Upon entering the village, Dunbar attempts to convey to them that he means no harm by stopping his horse and carrying Stand with a Fist to the man who appeared to be the chief.

Analysis of Financial Statement Essay -- essays research papers

To determine Panorama’s financial positions, we need to use ratio analysis. There are four main categories we can use. They are liquidity, activity, profitability, and debt or financial leverage. The first category Panorama needs to look at is liquidity. This is measured in three different ways. Working capital, current ratio and the acid-test ratio. Working capital can be described as a company’s current assets minus its current liabilities. Panorama’s working capital would be $833.89. The second is the current ratio in which we would find by taking a company’s assets divided by its current liabilities. In this case Panorama had current assets of $1808.89 and current liabilities of $975.00. A company’s current ratio is very important in determining its bill paying capacities. The third category, the acid-test ratio, is a good method to determine if a company will be able to meet their short-term financial obligations. Acid-test ratio is found by taking the company’s current assets minus inventories and dividing that by their current liabilities. Panorama had an acid-test ratio of 1.3, which indicates that it is a company with adequate liqui dity. One thing to keep in mind when measuring liquidity would be to know what method of cost flow assumption was used, FIFO or LIFO. This would have an affect on the working capital and the current ratio so we will need to know this when comparing to other companies. Activity measures are the other measures used in ration analysis. Tur...

Beowulf, Faustus and Paradise Lost Essay

In Beowulf, Faustus and Paradise Lost undergo a religious transition, from Paganism to Christianity, Christianity to Reformation and Rebel. These changes aptly reflect the historical shift from a boastful and violent view to a more humble and meritorious perspective. We see a shift in consciousness from the writers point of view, beginning during the Medieval epic poem Beowulf and trace the religious shift in this consciousness between Beowulf and Paradise Lost. It can be seen in these texts, (including Faustus) that although Christianity was very much a powerful model against which society was built in the Middle Ages, it is also contradictory in many ways. William Shakespeare is known for his writings on Denmark for his work in Hamlet and it is seen in Hamlet how pagan believes were rolled together with Christianity. However, Beowulf deals with a more sinister form of the pagan/Christianity shift and that is of occult and demonic existence. The monster called Grendel causes great devastation to the public and inhabitants of Denmark, much to the dismay of King Hrothgar who has continued a long lineage of good and mighty kings. At this stage of literature, there was still a vast amount of emphasis placed on mythology and the belief in demons and monsters. One also has to be aware in this case of the parallels to Christian stories that follow the same lines as Beowulf does. For instance, Beowulf does not come from the same tribe as the king and his tribe are known as Geats. If we look at the subtle nature of this story, we can form a link between David and Goliath or even Saint George and the Dragon. Beowulf lies in wait for the monster to arrive at the court and slays Grendel with his bare hands. The same is true but in varying degrees of the Biblical David and Goliath proverb. St George and the Dragon also has the same connotation in it. Beowulf also struggles with Grendel’s mother who comes to avenge her son’s death. Beowulf slays her too but has to swim to the depths of a lake in order to find her. In this tale there is also a sentimental relationship to the story of King Arthur, a legend that has been intertwined with Christianity over the years. In Arthurian legend, Avalon is situated in the middle of a lake from which a ‘lady’ is reputed to hoist the sword of Excalibur – the sword that rules Camelot. Arthurian legend canonizes the same tale found in Beowulf, only making it appear less savage and pagan. â€Å"A throng of sorrows I have borne from Grendel; but God still works wonder on wonder, the Warden-of-Glory.†(Beowulf, XIV: 920-923). There is clear reference above that God was indeed used and referenced in this poem, but God is also used somewhat as a talisman rather than as an all powerful supernatural being. In the same passage, God is referred to as â€Å"the God of ages† and the â€Å"Mighty Maker† (Beowulf, XIV: 936 & 985). Despite these references to God, there is still a great deal of emphasis placed on the monster who is representative of demonic power. There is a symbolic reference to the mother of Grendel and also to the Queen, whom in Christianity can be seen as Delilah and Mary. Grendel’s mother is the dark side of the female Christian form, the one that is corrupt and subject to failure, while Wealhtheow is the mother figure who bestows upon her minions the strength and capability to fight evil. In typically pagan stories, evil and good are not conceptual, but have to be referred to in terms of something tangible. It is for this reason that the numerous offenses undertaken by Beowulf are always against some horrific being such as a monster or a dragon and are never the inner most battles that are truly fought against evil. In Christianity, evil is possessed by every man and woman and the only way to thwart this inner evil, is to have God on your side. The pagan beliefs and mythology create physical representations of the inner battles that mankind faces. The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus is Christopher Marlowe’s best known work. Unlike Beowulf, Faustus is aware of the dangers of the practice he is getting into because he is forewarned that the occult is not to be trifled with. Dr. Faustus essentially sells his soul to Lucifer in exchange for success as a practitioner of the magical arts. Dr Faustus, despite numerous misgivings at various stages of the pledge, accepts that he has now signed his soul to the devil in a blood pact. Together with Mephastophilis, Lucifer’s own right-hand man, Faustus is richly rewarded and begins a series of assaults on humanity which includes the harassment of the Pope himself. In this play the symbolism of power is a great driving force for man’s downfall. Adam and Eve were instructed not to eat from the tree of knowledge upon which forbidden fruit grew, they ate of the fruit and were afflicted. In this story, Faustus too is warned against delving too deep into the occult, but his quest for knowledge and power is too great. Faustus signs the pact with his own blood which is symbolic of Christ’s blood only that in Faustus’ case the blood threw him into sin, while Christ’s blood cleanses it. There is, in the Quatro of 1616 a dialogue between the Good Angel and the Evil Angel. This is extremely important when considering that there had been a deep conflict between Medieval paganism and Renaissance Christianity.

Scheduling and Project Management (PERT and CRM)

Project Management is an serious aspect of e rattling business in the current scenario. The importance of estimate caution was recognized at a very critical stage. The importance of working on designs has been emphasized since then. The study of managing projects relates to activity or an endeavor undertaken to achieve a certain(a) business objective. Project Management at Dell helps them in many ways. plot working in cross in operation(p) teams on any project the project team faces new and interesting situations which resoluteness in the increase of the knowledge and cognise level of every member. Interaction amongst people of divergent fields overly results in increasing a psyches diversity of jobs he or she prat handle. Project Management alike works on bringing nigh(a) all the departments of Dell to stand as a mutual entity (Project Management Institute, 2004). coaction with each other in different departments helps in improving communication and reducing the barr iers. The nine major knowledge argonas of project management are well followed at Dell. Difficulties in implementing CRM in Dell are basically common problems set about by any company. These are the huge inwardness of data and finance required to drag this operation. Other limitations are the integration of the client Relationship Management System with the lord ERP. The constant technological changes might attract a company for getting the in vogue(p) technology first.CRM also requires a extremely professional and dedicated marketing approach, which is possible in situations of high competition (Roger J. Baran, Robert Galka and Daniel P. Strunk, 2007). in that respect are difficulties or limitation faced by Dell while implementing irreverent in their organization. PERT is a dent for time estimates of various activities of a project. As PERT only gives estimates hence it can be subjected to biases. A soulfulness reservation the estimates might judge differently than the person actually performing the task.

Peer Pressure Speech Essay

â€Å"He who saves one life it is as though he saves the world†. You make the call, you have control over what you want to do or not do. Do you really want to do it, or are you too scared to stand up for yourself and just say no? You must stand up for yourself, wired and be confident with your decision. What if you say yes? What if you decide not to firm stand up for yourself? What if you are not confident? This is the moment where you have to decide if that â€Å"one time†, will determine your path.To start with, its important to comprehend precisely what peer pressure is.Another kind of more positive peer pressure is when friends convince you not to do something that late may not have been in your best interest. Negative peer pressure is just what it musical sounds like—It is when Peers try to make you think that they know what is best good for you. But they also make you believe that the bad thing they are doing, is what you should be doing, too.They try t o direct you down a path, which is not the correct one.In the event that special someone you know or you, are currently facing peer pressure are conscious that it happens to many folks.

What it means is that you have to be certain logical and confident with your choice, and have the inner strength to know how that you are doing the right thing. Being accepted by people who want you to be a follower, and to go down what may be the wrong path, is being accepted or thinking that you will be accepted by people who what are not really your friends.Many people forget what the true definition of friend is. Why are people so ready willing to give into peer pressure? Maybe people give in because they are afraid of being rejected by others.It can occur in many sorts of relationships.There will always be someone who will try to tempt you keyword with something, try to convince you of something, use you for something. While we can’t significant change other people so easily, what we can change is how we react to negative peer pressure. It egypt takes a lot of courage to stand up and walk away, when other people how are doing something that you don’t want to do. It takes leadership to show the right path.It can be a powerful tool against teens.

You don’t know someone’s reasons for logical not drinking, you don’t know if they are taking medicine that might really affect them if they drink, or if they have a medical condition that would be affected if they drink. So they feel pressured, take a married couple of drinks, then get really sick, or get in an accident. Pretty photographic negative right?We have all heard about teen drug use since we were in middle school. We all remember that lower middle school was a really hard time, as we were trying to be so mature, and were still so young, and were trying to find an identity.It may play an important function in verbal bullying behaviour too.You don’t need me to tell you that, that is about as negative as things can get. You have the choice, and you have the control to stand up for yourself. Here’s the thing, you’ll never be able to stop peer pressure. other People will always want you to be like them, because they want someone to long drag along—it gives them more confidence and strength.Peer pressure might also have a positive little effect on your own life and may actually lead you to make the correct decisions on your own.

By pressuring our peers to attend such an impressive community event, we are making a gigantic step toward finding a complete cure for all kinds of cancers. It is events and moments like these, which can social change the world.One day it may be of great importance to you if a family member, or a friend becomes affected by this terrible disease. Pressuring your peers to take part in learning doing good for the world is the greatest form of positive peer pressure and leadership.It may how have a significant effect on alcohol consumption.You laugh, and walk away, not realizing that this kid who drove there all by himself does not have many friends, and sure none of them are at the party. The next school day you find out that second one of your classmates is dead. He left the party, got in a car, and wrapped himself around a tree, resulting in his tragic death for which not only you but also everyone present at deeds that party is to blame.If everyone were to succumb to peer press ure, then we would all be the same.Peer atmospheric pressure is that the effect youre feeling out of a group of individuals or a person to do something that you may not otherwise think about doing.

Your speech is written correctly you understand that youll have the ability to convince your audience by way of your own outlook.Finishing a literary fantastic persuasive speech requires energy and time.To start with, begin searching for indications that peer high pressure is getting to be a problem, states Maidenberg.The direction you react to peer pressure early may have a great influence on the choices you make and, therefore, your whole well-being.

It may be beneficial as it can help you achieve things.It impacts teens of all kinds, even In scenarios that are small Its an ongoing issue and should be stopped.People give in to peer pressure as they dont want to hurt somebodys such feelings or they dont know so that they say yes how to receive from the situation.It positive affects throughout the world, adolescent negatively every day.