Saturday, August 31, 2019

Materials Requirements Planning

A material requirement planning is a soft ware based planning and inventory system used in management of manufacturing system. It simultaneously meets three main objectives: plan manufacturing activities, deliver schedules and purchasing activities; it ensures that materials and products are available for production and delivery to customers; it also maintains the lowest levels of inventory.At the same time, it also schedules procedures for production process with several levels of production. When fed with the information describing the production requirements for finished goods of the system, the structures of the production system and the inventory for each operation, the material requirements planning determines raw materials purchasing and schedules for the   operations (Friedman 1997,pg 16).In business activities, it should be realized that, time is money. Material requirements planning come up with dynamic decision technologies. It acts as a necessary tool for applying to a wider range of managerial decisions successfully whereby time and money are directly related. With increased technology, the normal divisions between manual and intellectual labor are collapsing. This has been due to the fact that many industries are moving towards controlling and mediating work using computerized tools.A greater number of workers are being compelled to conceptualize on a very different level of abstraction than before. Materials requirements planning describes how decision making is done through analyzing three level of workers in a large manufacturing factory. The important issue may not be identification of which should or can learn the system but how learning occurs. The main concern here is to explore how workers ways of thinking and understanding are affected by changes in the nature of work and work place organization.Through application of this new technology in business, the decision making would be very easy because MRP would be doing the critical part of work. What is more important is only to feed the required production information to the material requirements planning.Bill of materials is module that is part of the manufacturing software solutions. It is designed to create and maintain the parts needed in completion of end products. Such includes all sub assemblies, and assemblies and also shipping supplies if required. Bill of materials can be created as products are ordered, designed, build or maintained. In material requirements planning, bill of material describes the part list of components required to complete a saleable end item. BOMs are naturally hierarchical where the top level represents the sub assembly or the end term.Modular Bill of materials defines the component materials, parts, documents and engineering drawings required to complete sub-assembly (Friedman 1997,pg 56). (MPS) Master Production Schedule operates within a single level of the BOM. If the MPS is run on a material, it implies that necessary orders one planned at that certain level.   If any dependant requirements they are placed on the next Bill of materials level down and the process stops.   The master production scheduling is a form of material requirements planning that stresses planning on the parts of products that have great influence on company profits or which dominates the entire process of production through raking critical resources.These items are marked as â€Å"A† parts and are planned with extra attention. The items selected for a separate MPS ran before the MRP ran. The Master Production scheduling ran is conducted without a bill of materials exposed so that the material requirement planning controller can ensure that the master schedule items are planned correctly before the running of the detailed material requirement planning takes place. Once the changes in MPS occurs in any business, loses are bound to be incurred because company relies on this part for entire process of production through critica l resources.At the same time, a change in lot size should create a negative impact in the production. Better protection for larger lots can be justified by that, for large lots, the rejecting cost is good where by the cost of accepting bad lots are higher. When the lot size reduces, it then implies that the cost will reduce thus reducing the profits.Case ii. What is the relationship between inventory and MRP? What is the relationship between capacity and MRP?The relationship between inventory and MRP is that, inventory refers to the list of materials and goods or those goods and materials themselves, which are held available by any business. They are held in order to manage and hide the consumer so that the manufacture’s delay is no longer than the delivery delay. They also serve the purpose of easing the effect of imperfections in production process. On the other hand, MRP is a method of effective planning of all resources of any manufacturing organization of company (Friedm an 1997, pg 67).The relationship between capacity and MRP is that, capacity is the point of production at which an organization either industry or firm’s average cost or per unit begin to raise due to fixed factors which are land or capital. Its relation with MRP is in that, economically both stress on production where by MRP can be used in improvement of capacity in the firm.Case iii. Why is it important to have MRP reflect what you actually want to build? How can we use information about the material parent/child relationship and pegging in MRP and PAC (Production Activity Control)? Material requirements planning should reflect what is actually indented to be built. This is because it integrates many fields of manufacturing enterprise in to a single entry for planning and control purpose. It builds on closed loop material requirement planning through adoption of feedback principle and extending it to additional areas of the primarily manufacturing related enterprise.Materia l requirement planning and production activity control are measures used in company’s production which aims at maximization of incomes. The information about the material parent/child relationship can be only be applicable to these measures if at all they are business oriented and aims to improve production. Such a relationship should be large enough for the practices to be carried within the firm otherwise they cannot work in small firms.Case iv. How do set-ups impact capacity planning? How can capacity planning support operational strategies and decision making?Capacity planning is the process that determines the production capacity required by a firm so to sustain the changing demands for its products. When set ups are put in place, they affect the process of capacity planning because at early age, it is very difficult to determine the firms output and its changes in demand. Once a new firm has been set up, it should be given some duration so as to gain establishment to th e clients. During this period, capacity planning cannot be applicable to such a firm.Capacity planning can support operational strategies and decision making in an organization through various ways. Because it aims at minimizing the discrepancy, any factors that may lead to failure in the firm are noted (McCarthy 2002, pg 34). Because capacity is increased through introduction of equipment and material, new techniques, increased number of workers and machines, increased number of shifts or acquiring extra production facilities, it is very easy to identify where there is a loophole through use of capacity planning and make the required change in decision making.Case v. In Production Activity Control, why are their multiple ways to prioritize work to be done?   How are they different?   What are their advantages and disadvantages?In production activity control, multiple ways to prioritize work to be done are applied. This is because with increasing concentration on optimizing capa city to planning, drive down costs and controlling shop floor an activity is a must. Production activity control ensures provision of the flexibility to structural standards expectations and quick adjustments to unexpected changes. By display of all work orders currently in the process, and ready to be processed in the work centre, not unless multiple ways are employed to prioritize the work, accuracy cannot be arrived at (McCarthy, pg 89).Production activity control differs form one another through the size of firm being dealt with. For instance the measures employed in a small scale manufacturing enterprise cannot be compared with the ones applied in a large organization. Although they may serve the same purpose their scope is quite different. The advantages of production activity control include that, there is flexibility in re-prioritization on the fly ensured production competition in accordance with customer deadline.There is also quick adjustment to the temporary adverse circ umstances which are eliminated. Also there is enjoyed long-term effect of production bottle necks. On the other hand, some of the disadvantages include availability of complete new sales orders of products which demand client within a limited deadline.Case vi. How does variation in performance to anticipated standards of set-up, run and availability of equipment/people impact the schedule, inventory levels, customer service and costs?Once a new set up is established the inventory level definitely goes up so as to meet the requirements for the new customers. In the organization the schedules also has to change so as to manage the large number in the market. The main role of inventory planning is to translate the plan of production in to a detailed component orders. It determined the items to be produced and when such productions should be done. This enables the customers to get what they want at the right time.The inventory program also has a function of recommending order priorities thus making capacity requirements planning easier. It assumes that adequate capacity will be available when needed. Suppliers encounter problems due to schedule instability. As a result suppliers have to react to the unexpected changes in requirements. This problem in turn results to high costs because of increased time. As a result, increasing uncertainties and dynamics in the environment of planning system should react to unexpected developments. The variation in performance to anticipated standards of set up and availability of equipments and people impact the schedule inventory levels, consumer services and costs (McCarthy, pg 132).This happens in that, once new set ups are established definitely the inventory levels should go up so as to meet the demand of new consumers. The schedules should also change in order to be able to handle large number in the market. The customer service should be improved also to have more customers through use of motivations.Work Cited.Friedman L, (1997). The Developmental Psychology of Planning: Why, How, and When Do We Plan? Mahwah.McCarthy B, (2001).Human Performance in Planning and Scheduling. London.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Marketing Test Questions

1. The promotional mix is the combination of promotional tools used to reach the target market and fulfill the organization's overall goals. a. True b. False 2. When a marketer sends a message to the target market, the marketer must first decode the symbols used. c. True d. False 3. Even though a message is received, it will not necessarily be properly decoded; receivers interpret messages based on their own frames of reference. e. True f. False 4. All promotions are designed to either inform, persuade, or reinforce the target audience. g. True h. False 5.The promotional mix consists of: i. advertising, publicity, direct marketing, and personal selling j. public relations, direct marketing, personal selling, and publicity k. product, promotion, price, and place l. advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations m. advertising, telemarketing, public relations, and sales promotions 6. Which of the following statements about advertising is true? n. The total costs o f advertising are typically low. o. The signs on the outsides of buses and taxis are not a form of advertising. p.The cost per contact in advertising is low. q. Innovative media are not used in advertising. r. Advertising is any form of communication in which the sponsor is identified. 7. Public information (that the company did not pay for) about a company, good, or service appearing in the mass media as a news item is: s. personal selling t. advertising u. mass communications v. publicity w. sales promotion 8. _____ consists of all marketing activities that stimulate consumer purchasing such as coupons, contests, free samples, and trade shows. x. Sales promotion y. Publicity . Personal Selling {. Advertising |. Sponsorship 9. In 2006, GM unveiled a GM Fuel Price Protection Program that caps the per-gallon price consumers pay for gas at $1. 99 when they purchase select 2006 and 2007 GM full-size utility and mid-size cars. This is an example of _____ designed to stimulate consumer b uying. }. A sales promotion ~. A public relations activity . Advertising . An implicit communication . Personal selling 10. Communication to large audiences, usually through a medium such as television or a newspaper, is called _____ communication. . Feedback-proof Referential . Interpersonal . Mass . Public 11. The communication process consists of: . Message, media, and transmittal . Source, receiver, and channel . Sender, receiver, and message . Encoding, decoding, channel, sender, receiver, noise, and feedback . Comprehension, noise, and feedback 12. _____ is the conversion of the sender's ideas and thoughts into a message. . Decoding . Envelopment . Processing . Development . Encoding 13. _____ is anything that interferes with, distorts, or slows the transmission of information. . Media communication . Feedback Static . Nonpersonal communication . Noise 14. Advertising competes for two things. These two things are: . ________________b. _________________ 15. There are three typ es of Product Advertising. They are: . ________________b. _________________ c. ___________________ 16. _____ sales promotions are targeted toward the ultimate end-user market. . Facilitating . Intermediary . Pull . Consumer . Trade 17. _____ advertising is used to keep a familiar brand name in the public's mind and to refresh the consumers on the brand’s uses, characteristics, and benefits. Advocacy . Pioneer . Reinforcement . Reminder . Comparative 18. In class we briefly talked about an acronym used in discussions about promotions. The acronym, AIDA, stands for: . Attitude-Interest-Demand-Activity . Attention-Interest-Desire-Action . Awareness-Intent-Demand-Action . Avoidance-Interest-Desire-Acceptance . Attitudes-In-Developing-Acquisitions 19. A manufacturer using the _____ promotional strategy focuses its promotional efforts on the consumer. . Reinforcement . Personal selling . Push . Pull . Kinetic 20.Firms that adopt a push promotion strategy focus their message at inte rmediaries in order to get them to carry the product, rather than at the end consumer. . True . False 21. Comparative advertising is: . like a mirror because it compares all negative and positive features of both products . like a shotgun in that it compares multiple features of two products . like a rifle in that it only compares a single benefit or advantage . only used by companies at the highest level of the pyramid of corporate responsibility . sed to compare two or more competing brands on one or more specific attributes. 22. Aston Martin is a common brand of car driven by the British agent James Bond. Aston Martin paid to have its vehicle featured in these movies. This is an example of: . Advertising . A sales promotion . Paid-for public relations . Product placement . Lobbying 23. In a 2008 movie starring the hilarious Jim Carrey, Red Bull was reference multiple times. This is another example of _______________ and _________________ is the movie’s title. . Advertising and Dumb and Dumber . Puffery and How the Grinch Stole Christmas Customer deceit and The Cable Guy . Product placement and Yes Man . Product placement and Liar Liar 24. Which of the following is not an element of the marketing mix. . Product . Place . Primary Demand . Promotion . Price 25. One of the purposes of promotion is to stimulate demand. What are they? . __________________b. ____________________ 26. This type of demand focuses on making potential customers aware of the general product category. . __________________ 27. This type of demand focuses on making potential customers aware of specific benefits provided by a particular brand/product. ___________________ 28. Based on the results from a recent study, and posted in an article on cnet. com, advertising revenue from Google for the first 6 months of 2012 exceeded that of print media. According to this study, Google brought in how much revenue from ads for this period? . ___________________ 29. Both advertising and public relations (PR) are types of non-personal communication. However, the main difference is advertising is _____________ whereas PR is ________________. 30. According to the course syllabus, Exam #4 is scheduled for what day? . _____________________

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Cyber security is said to be a big issue for business costing not only Essay

Cyber security is said to be a big issue for business costing not only lost revenue but damaged reputations and lost custom. Yo - Essay Example Any cyber security program strives to ensure these four fundamental cyber security components. Information confidentiality enables the organization’s sensitive information to be a secret so that it does not fall into the hands of unauthorized persons for example the competitors. Information integrity ensures that the data that is stored is accurate and serves the purpose and is always up to date. Data availability enables information to be present any time the organization required. This is by preventing any vulnerability for example denial of service. This can give the competitor firm an avenue of bringing down the company by capitalizing on the weakness of the other company and at the same time enhancing its strength. The investigation was conducted by administering questionnaire to cyber security experts of various organizations. Interviews were also conducted with CISO of both business and non profit organizations. In addition, a thorough review of the existing literature on cyber threats and cyber security was conducted. Table of Contents Cyber security is said to be a big issue for business costing not only lost revenue but damaged reputations and lost custom. Your task is to investigate the need for cyber security and analyze the threats from which it protects business. ... A cyber security is a basis or the foundation of organization’s security for its information assets. Cyber attacks are a deliberate or unintentional unauthorized task, which cannot be avoided or is in avoidable that that is capable of causing a vagary on the cyberspace resources. The scope of cyber attack is expands from hardware, software, data that is stored, data in transit, people, documents and other hardware needed like printer cartridges. Findings and Analysis The organization information system is a critical asset that calls for utmost security. For instance, employee’s personal identification information, development plan and financial data are very critical to an organization. This information can fall into two broad categories. There are information that are secured or protected by the state and federal law and those that are based on contractual obligation (Jue 2012). The deliberate or accidental exposure of this information to illegal personnel can be detri mental to the university. The different types of attack that are detriment to cyber security are Threats targeting infrastructure (Invalidated input) Problem and situation The most prevalent threat to client computers is Keylogging and spyware. This is a malware that is built to illegally obtain, track and block the right of a user to get access to the system. An example of this attack is where someone or an individual tries to log on to the system or a website like an email account but the system or the site fails to authenticate the user. This threat is related to backdoor attack command. These are weapons that give remote access that are created to divert the functionality of the system.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Human resource management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

Human resource management - Assignment Example The employees are rewarded and reinforced against their performances. The labour market of hospitality industry comes with greater supply than the demand while there is high rate of turnover. Hilton Hotel needs HR plan that is strategically fit with the needs of organisation so it may overcome the potential issues and enhance its services. HR management needs to forecast the internal and external supply and demand of the labour to design the recruitment process accordingly. It needs to increase employee engagement in all the processes and provide them career path to self actualise and grow. Comparing recruitment process of Marriot Hotel, Hilton Hotel and Holiday Inn, it is found that there is no significant difference in the process while the key focus is to hire people with right skill and for the long term; hence line managers are also indulged in the process. The hospitality industry comprises of hotels and restaurants mostly that serve public and keep staff to efficiently perform diverse tasks. Human resource is the most valuable asset of an organisation which is managed by a distinct entity called human resource management. HRM of a hotel or restaurant endeavours to free the organisation from conflicts and administers the tasks to optimally run organisation so it may expand and compete in the market (Boella et al. 2013). However it is found that there is lack of research in the service sector especially in hospitality industry which is the fourth largest industry of UK. This study attempts to provide detailed analysis of role of human resource management for entire industry in the UK in context with the laws and recommendations are provided to strategically manage the human resource in improved way. This study focuses on HR practices, roles and processes of Hilton Hotel as an example of hospitality industry of the country. As a human resource manager of a hospitality

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Celebrating Nerdiness Analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Celebrating Nerdiness Analysis - Coursework Example In the first paragraph, Rogers mentions some stereotyped definitions of nerdiness, such as being â€Å"friendless† and â€Å"book-smart sissies† (1). He opposes the definition of nerdiness as being suck-ups, however, because nerds, since they are nerds, violate social norms at the behest of authorities. Rogers also underlines that the rise of the Internet makes nerdiness cool to some extent, because their computer skills are handy in high-tech societies. Roger starts expounding on the definition of nerdiness on the first paragraph, because he already names several common definitions of nerdiness. This placement is effective, because it establishes ethos. Rogers is saying that he knows what a nerd is, because he is a nerd himself. His experiences are sufficient to explain that society often get nerdiness wrong. In the first paragraph, he stresses that nerds are far from being suck-ups to authority figures, because their deficiency in social skills tend to â€Å"horrify† the latter (1). The effect of this statement is it shows that nerds are not concerned of following authority, in fact, they are ultimate individualists, sometimes, too extremely so that their social skills and experiences suffer in the process. But like any other individual, these consequences are acceptable, because it indicates that nerds are social rebels, to some extent, and this makes them similar to other average-intelligence people. 2. Using the list on pp. 250-251 in Wyrick, (attached) identify and provide examples of those strategies used by the author in order to clarify the definition. For example, does he compare nerdiness to something else? Does he use familiar synonyms for nerdiness? Does he illustrate what nerdiness is not (negation)? Does he explain the etymology (history) of nerdiness? Does the definition change from the beginning to the end of the essay? Rogers uses the strategy of describing distinguishing

Monday, August 26, 2019

HRM Overview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

HRM Overview - Essay Example The organizational function that deals with the people ..." (Heathfield, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to describe the extent to which HR practices can effectively modify organisational culture and thereby increase the commitment of employees, and also give an account on various aspects of HR management. HR applies to the workforce managed by any employer. An organisation or a business needs employees. In other words, without employees it becomes highly difficult for an organisation to run. It is also equally important to properly manage these employees in order to achieve optimal efficiency. There are several research conducted over the years of how to manage the workforce properly. If fact it has been proven to be much more difficult the workforce than maintaining the complicated computer systems or many other machines. It has also been proven beyond doubt that a mechanical approach towards workforce has often failed. This is the reason why the application of human resources management focuses mainly on the most sensitive issue of human analysis to find out what really works with employees. One of the major aspects of HR maintenance involves employee recruitment, training and development as a function of human capital management. Human Resource Management has an important role in making sure that employees' abilities are precisely and favourably nurtured to best suite the companies' requirement. Once the training of an employee is completed, it is essential to seeing a worthwhile return on investment come from their contribution to the company. Along with employee training, HR departments also look into the area of recruiting new applicants. The HR departments are in a continuous quest to find the best talent available on the global labour. Human resources departments also look into a variety of other problems faced by the organisations such as labour relations that include the crucial and highly sensitive dialogue between employees and management - the production of job descriptions, the monitoring of worker to worker relation and to design a efficient employee management system, and over an above the compilation of incentive and benefits packages as well as a variety of other vital functions that relate directly to the employee workforce (hrVillage.com, 2000). In any organisation, the Human Resources Management (HRM) function remains same and it includes a variety of activities. The most important among the functions is deciding on how many staffs need to be recruited and how to allocate the work to the staff. Besides, recruiting and training the employees, ensuring to bring out the best in each of them, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring standards of the organisation is met and above all management practices conform to various regulations are some of the main functions of HRM (McNamara, 1997). HR Impact on organisational performance and culture Good strategies alone cannot guarantee for long-term success rather many other factors impact organizational performance. Corporate culture is one such important factor is which aids an organization to create a high performance environment. Because culture is so important to the success of a firm, human resource professionals need to

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Human Resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Human Resource - Essay Example The suggested leadership approach for the resistance effort is LMX, particularly for paternalistic or team-based organisational cultures. Leaders are recommended to develop buy in through tapping initial quality relations and the use of evidence to support their arguments. These leaders have ethos, but they must boost logos and pathos appeals to became convincing to employees and management alike. Through their communication and networking efforts, they are believed to create a scintillating force that can resist harmful or unproductive organisational changes. If changes can be attained through strong leadership, a similarly engaging leadership can also result to powerful resistance efforts to changes. Managing resistance to organisational changes has been examined in numerous management, organisational behaviour (OB), and psychology journals. Van Dijk and Van Dick (2009: 144) noted from their review of literature that several management science and OB articles in particular see resi stance as an obstacle to organisational development and success. Recommendations are commonly provided to avoid, control and reduce the causes of resistance (Cummings and Worley, 2009: 165; Kwahk and Kim, 2008). Moreover, a number of studies wholly focused on the change agent (Kwahk and Kim, 2008; van Dam, Oreg and Schyns, 2008). When journals examine employee perspectives, they do so with the purpose of understanding the causes of resistance, so that they could be identified for resolution later on (Meyer et al., 2007) as if all forms of resistance are problematic and unproductive per se. Scanty research has been done on why employees oppose particular kinds of changes and how they can go about preventing the implementation of unhelpful/damaging change efforts. This essay fills this information gap through exploring existing literature and applying concepts and studies to the process of effectively resisting organisational changes that are unbeneficial or harmful to employees or ot her stakeholder groups. This essay agrees that some organisational changes should be opposed, especially when goals, processes and outcomes are unclear and when potential for harmful/unbeneficial consequences exist. It reviews some of the causes of resistance to organisational changes and what employees can do to effectively resist these changes. Its main objectives are: 1) to review literature on the common causes of resistance to change and 2) to provide recommendations on how employees can effectively resist change without jeopardising their welfare and employment status. This essay does not aim to manage resistance to changes, but to help students and managers understand the conditions, where resisting changes may be good for the organisation, particularly, when the change goals, processes and outcomes would not be beneficial or would be detrimental to stakeholders. The reviewed literature shows how the management can effectively respond to employee resistance to changes while o ther studies and books examined the varied reasons behind resistance to changes. The framework for resistance is presented below (see Figure 1). Nevertheless, these studies do not identify that some of the possible reasons for resistance are due to lack of clarity and/or benefits and misalignment with personal ethical beliefs

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Principles of Learning to Play the Piano Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Principles of Learning to Play the Piano - Essay Example When learning to play the piano, the first thing that is important is to find the right teacher, someone who is calm, patient and willing to help one understand the importance of practice and form. When playing the piano for the first time it is common to make many mistakes and feel as though one is not capable enough or adequate for this activity. Playing the piano can be complex and that is why it is important to find a teacher who is willing to help and has the patience to guide the student through the process of playing the piano. What is also important is that a teacher will be able to show the student how not to learn to play with bad habits. Once these habits become common-place they are difficult to break, this is why it is essential that my teacher showed how to play the piano corrected for the first time. From then on I was playing properly and playing this lovely instrument with ease. I felt confident knowing that I have selected the appropriate instructor and looked forwa rd to learning more. After finding the proper instructor, the next step in learning how to play the piano involves practice and lots of it. Yes, as they say, practice makes perfect and this is very true when it comes to playing the piano. The more one practices the better he or she will become and regular practice is essential when playing the piano. Step by step people will slowly improve and become memorization is so important when playing the piano, it is very important that practice is regular and consistent.  

Women in the Workplace A Positive Perspective Essay

Women in the Workplace A Positive Perspective - Essay Example " (Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1603) Whatever be the saying, it is a fact that women are the best creation of God or Mother Nature. Majority of the world's population do not release this and they treat women like slaves; be it at home or at work place. Men believe that women should not be independent and they want their household women (wife, daughter, sister or even mother) to be under the control of a man. In the olden days when the bread winner of the family (man) used to go out for business he would entrust the female of the house in the hands of a boy no matter if he is a kid who can not take care of even himself. This was their plight, then. The goals of human development are deeply interlaced with the development and authorization of women as they comprise a significant proportion of the total population. Women not only represent the precious human resources of a country but their socio economic development sets the velocity for the growth of the rest of the economy. Women in general were not allowed to be independent when growing up. The parents enforced different regulations on a girl which just hindered the girl from maturing enough. Girls were either protected by their parents or the primitive laws and they are never permitted to excel intellectually. The barbaric act of Sati practiced in India is worth to mention here. The practice was when the husband dies the wife has to jump into the pyre and sacrifice her life. If she fails to do so, others will throw her into the burning pyre, forcefully. Sat was a funeral practice among some Hindu communities in which a recently-widowed woman would either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre. This practice is now very rare and outlawed in modern India.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_(practice). Thanks to Mr. Rajaram Mohan Roy, who was social reformer and Lord William Bentinck, the British governor, the practice of Sati was put to an end by the British government in the year 1832. But times have changed since then. The society reached new realms of progress in all aspects of human life. Civilization and culture prospered. General awareness of the rights of people and impartment of education to women has put women in a more or less equal status with men. Rules and regulations are formed in each and every country and internal and international laws are developed and implemented that guarantee safety of women and her right to live as a human being Let us analyze the topic: 'Women at Work Place - a Positive Perspective', in this context. Introduction: Manu smriti (a Sanskrit word) which is also known as Manava-Dharmasastra (Sanskrit) is the most significant and originally written code of custom of Hinduism. This text has discriminated women in a most atrocious way. According to Manu,"In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, and then to her sons; a woman must never be independent. There is no God on earth for a woman than her husband.....She must, on the death of her husband allow herself to be burnt alive on the same funeral pyre. That everyone will praise her virtue." This verse from Manu smriti has portrayed woman as the one who is dependent entirely on man right from her birth till her death. Now nobody considers Manu smriti as the final word now, and human society has grown to such a level to discard every law and code of conduct during the passage of time. The world is

Friday, August 23, 2019

Management strategic-------Carry out a strategic analysis of the UK Assignment

Management strategic-------Carry out a strategic analysis of the UK grocery market using appropriate strategic management models - Assignment Example All these analyses have been carried out from the point of view of Tesco. However, references to UK general grocery market have been made times and again when required. The report concludes with the key takeaways from this detailed strategic analysis. 2. Overview of UK Grocery Market Retailing is one of the main contributors to UK economy with over 12% share. This sector acts as a bridge between production and consumption and is also a great generator of employment. In addition to the organized sector, there are a large number of unorganized players who are self-employed. UK grocery market has witnessed changes across both horizontal and vertical dimensions in the past few years. Horizontally, food retailers have ventured into other retail segments such as consumer goods, clothes, services and so on. Vertically, there has been a shift of power in the supply chain from the manufacturers to large organized retailers. This had a huge impact on the dynamics of the industry (Institute of Retail Studies 2003). 3. Internal Analysis of Tesco Tesco is primarily a food retailer with more than 2500 stores across the globe, a majority of which are in UK. The company has lately ventured into other business segments such as financial services, insurance, electrical appliances, telecommunications and insurance (Data Monitor 2004). SWOT analysis can be effectively used to carry out an internal assessment of Tesco. 3.1. Strengths One of Tesco’s biggest strengths is its continuously increasing market share. As of July, 2011, its market share is above 30% (Institute of Grocery Distribution). Tesco has almost doubled its market share in the past 7-8 years speaking high volumes of its growth. This growth has been enabled because of the continuous geographical expansion and opening of new stores. In addition, Tesco has strategically focused on non-food segment of the business and now it contributes very significantly to its revenues. Tesco has realized the importance of web i n its marketing. It has one of the biggest online supermarkets in the world. Tesco has a great brand image among its customers. It is known for high quality goods, innovative measures and efficient processes. Tesco’s lead over other players in UK market is huge. This has been made possible due to economies of scale it has gained over the years. 3.2. Weaknesses Tesco’s success story has largely been possible due to the UK market. However, it is susceptible to risk in case of change in government regulations. Tesco has a largely untapped market in emerging economies such as China and India. In addition, Tesco has been very aggressive in its expansion strategy and acquisitions. This has meant taking a large amount of debt affecting its balance sheets. Such a capital structure would work till the going gets good but may backfire in tough times. 3.3. Opportunities Tesco has opportunities from two perspectives. One is the geographical expansion in emerging markets as discuss ed above. The second opportunity is to make efficient use of its scale and venture into new business segments. The margins in the food industry are declining and it is profitable to consider new avenues. Tesco has already started working on the same with new segments such as skincare (Data Monitor 2004). In this way, it would also be able to realize economies of scope. 3.4. Threats UK grocery market has witnessed a lot of price wars. This has especially occurred due to entry of

Thursday, August 22, 2019

African Americans and the Prison System Essay Example for Free

African Americans and the Prison System Essay I. The History of Oppression and African Americans? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K.. III. The lasting effects of slavery: continuous oppression? K? K? K? K? K? K? K a. The lost sense of culture and cultural pride: Feeling of inferiority b. No economic foundation c. Unleveled playing field IV. Maintaining oppression? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K. PART 2 : THE NEW AGE SLAVERY: The Prison System I. The Prison Institution? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K II. Race and the Prison System? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K.. III. The lasting oppression? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K.. IV. The effects of oppression? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K a. Demise of the Black family b. Lost political voice V. Solutions? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K. VI. Closing? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K? K I. Introduction In the book the Mugging of Black America, Earl Ofari Hutchinson relays an interesting experience by a reporter. The reporter, who spent two and a half hours watching suspects march before Washington, D. C. Superior Court Judge Morton Berg, noted that all but one of these subjects was Black. He stated, ?  §There is an odd air about the swift afternoon? Xan atmosphere like that of British Africa in colonial times? Xas the procession of tattered, troubled, scowling, poor blacks plead guilty or not guilty to charges of drug possession, drug distribution, assault, armed robbery, theft, breaking in, fraud and arson. According to Hutchinson, the reporter witnessed more than a courtroom scene; he witnessed the legacy of slavery. This paper will attempt expand on Hutchinson?  ¦s theory. It will do so by first describing slavery and its lasting impact then it will attempt to show how the current criminal justice system mirrors slavery. PART 1: Slavery I. The History of Oppression and African Americans The history of the oppression as it relates to African Americans began in 1619. It was this year in which a Dutch ship brought the first slaves from Africa to North America. Following this arrival of twenty Africans in Virginia, white European-Americans created the institution of slavery. Slavery spread so quickly that by 1860 the original twenty slaves turned into nearly four million. In the beginning the legal status of these Africans was undefined. This absent definition created a lack of certainty which allowed for some slaves to become free after years of service. This only lasted briefly. In the 1660s, however, the colonies began enacting laws that defined and regulated slaves and the institution of slavery. One of the most important of these was the provision that black slaves, and the children of slave women, would serve for life. These ?  §breeding laws were just the beginning. Soon, slavery in the United States was governed by a body of laws developed from the 1660s to the 1860s. Even though every slave state had its own slave code and case law, it became universal that slavery was a permanent condition. In addition to slavery being a permanent condition, slaves were also, under these laws, considered property. Slaves, being property, could not own property or be a party to a contract. Since marriage is a form of a contract, slave marriages had no legal standing. Most codes also had sections regulating free blacks. Under these codes blacks who were not slaves were still subject to controls on their movements and employment. These laws served not only as a physical limitation, but an ideological one also. In addition to granting slave owners and white people power over slaves and in some cases free blacks, the laws also granted slaveholders and white-Europeans an intangible source of power. Socially, the institution of slavery allowed white slave owners to believe they had not only physical control, but physical and mental superiority over the slaves. With only a few exceptions, all slaves were Africans. This fact placed the label of inferiority on black skin. The actual institution of slavery as it relates to master and slave lasted up in till the Civil war. The American Civil War was fought, in part, over slavery. During the war, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which ?  §freed all slaves. This seemingly, brought the end of slavery throughout the United States, but unfortunately left a lasting impression. From this point on slavery took on a new form as former slaves being associated with the label of inferiority. II. The lasting effects of slavery: continuous oppression Slavery is defined by Webster?  ¦s dictionary as ?  §The state of being under the control of another person . Aalthough the actual physical control and violence supposedly ended after the emancipation proclamation, The intangible theory of supremacy derived from the institution of slavery resulted in many lasting effects. These effects in and of themselves are a form of force, a form slavery. a. The lost sense of culture and cultural pride: Feeling of inferiority Slave drivers made great efforts to eliminate African culture. For instance Africans were beaten if they were caught speaking their native languages or carrying out native rituals . Therefore, they were not able to effectively pass the languages, stories and traditions on to their children. This forced suppression resulted in the loss of verbal records and a rich legacy of history. It is no secret that there is pride in culture. Taking away the culture takes away the pride and the motivation and results in feelings of worthlessness. b. no economic foundation Slave drivers not only attempted to deprive the Africans of there culture and pride, but they successfully robbed them economically. Slaves were forced to work without pay for years while padding the pockets of the slave owners. This deficit of economics resulted in an inability to establish an economic foundation in the United States. c. Unleveled playing field Along with the deprivation of financial resources, another significant factor concerning the state of African Americans is arrested development. Slaves were deprived of opportunities to learn and become more competitive in many areas of society. Black people were not allowed to read or learn to read, so they could not take advantage of written text. All these lasting effects placed blacks in a severely disadvantaged state when slavery was abolished, led a socioeconomic structure in which white people generally held the highest ranks and Black people generally held the lowest ranks. III. Maintaining oppression In order to maintain this socioeconomic structure, there always seems to be a new form of oppression set in place to maintain ?  §slavery. As if the above detrimental effects of slavery were not enough, the White southerners were anxious to maintain more direct power and control over people with black skin, despite there classification as ?  §free. The White southerners decided to, again, use the law in order crystallize there theory of inferiority and keep black people at the lowest ranks. In 1865, southerners created Black Codes, which served as a way to control and inhibit the freedom of ex-slaves. These historic Codes controlled almost all aspects of life, and prohibited African Americans from almost all the freedoms that had been won during the Civil War. The codes, which were blatantly racist and oppressive, were eventually suspended in June 1866, during the ? §reconstruction era. During this time period in America and despite resistance, African-Americans were slowly becoming part of this nations inclusion. By 1868, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution confirmed the long awaited citizenship for Blacks in America. By 1870, the 15th Amendment was added to the Constitution which made it illegal to deny the right to vote based on race. The Reconstruction era, although short-lived, showed the first real attempts of inclusive freedom for African-Americans since the abolition of slavery. Gains were taking place: Citizenship, Voting, Education, and Politics. But, the underlying desire to have power over those in black skin never subsided. Just like the black Codes, this desire to dominate again manifested itself in another form, Jim Crow Laws. These laws promoted discrimination and the denial of equal protection by law. Just like the codes, they too were eventually abolished. Just like the Codes, Jim Crow laws, the desire of our society to suppress those in black skin will soon take another form. Today that form is the Criminal Justice System. PART 2 The New Age Slavery: The Prison System I. The Prison Institution Prisons are big in the United States. During the past 20 years, the United States experienced a massive increase in incarceration. The prison population increased fourfold, from 330,000 in 1980 to nearly 1. 4 million in 1999, and the incarceration rate increased from about 140 to about 476 per 100,000 resident populations. Today there are more than two million Americans behind bars. But even more startling is the fact that more than one-half of these incarcerated Americans have black skin. Although black Americans only make up about 12% of the US population, they account for more then 30% of all arrests, 44% of all prisoners and 40% of prisoners on death row. II. Race and the Prison System These obvious disparities in the criminal justice system can be attributed to many different things ranging from racial profiling to the lack of opportunity and poor education, but most criminal justice observers believe that these disparities have emerged from the underlying assumptions rooted in slavery. The assumption that slaves were inferior has carried over to today. Currently this theory of inferiority and desire to maintain oppression influences one of the major policies in place attacking African Americans today, the ?  §war on drugs. Most of the shocking disparities in the criminal Justice System as it relates to African Americans in prison can be attributed to the ?  §war on drugs. According to a study by Human Rights Watch, African-Americans comprise 62 percent of the drug offenders admitted to state prisons. In seven states, blacks constitute between 80 and 90 percent of all people sent to prison on drug charges. According to studies of the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, African-Americans constitute 15 percent of the national drug users, but comprise an amazing one-third of all those arrested on drug charges and 57 percent of those convicted on drug charges. The criminal justice system generally, and contemporary crime and drug policies in particular, serve as a means for White America to control the African Americans like they did in the 1600 . III. The lasting oppression Similarly to the black codes and segregation implemented after the abolition of slavery; restrictions are placed on prisoners after they are released. Once a prisoner is released from prison, parole and the bans on public assistance, public housing restrictions, etc. create barriers and a seemingly doomed cycle of dominance. Since half of the prisoners in prison are African American, these barriers, like the lasting effects of slavery, have a disproportionate effect on our black communities. III. The effects of oppression According to the Department of Justice?  ¦s Bureau of Justice statistics, the number of adults in prison, jail, or on probation or parole reached almost 7 million during 2004. Since Blacks comprise 30 percent of probationers and 41 percent of prisoners. That means around 4,500,000 African Americans are affected directly by the criminal justice system. Unfortunately those African Americans sent to prison or under parole are not the only people affected. The impact on the black community does not stop at the prison door, conversely it goes far beyond. Even after a prisoner is released there are lasting effects to the prisoner, his or her family and the community as a whole. a. Demise of the Black family One effect of the high rate of incarceration of African American males in particular has been the decreasing number of marriageable men in the African American community. Along with high rates of homicide, AIDS-related deaths and other factors, this has created a substantial imbalance in the male-female ratio among adult African Americans. Whereas gender ratios for African Americans at birth are about 102-103 males for every 100 females, by the age range 40-44, this declines to 86 males per 100 females, whereas white rates are 100:100 for this group. b. Lost political voice The impact of the criminal justice system on the black community goes beyond the declining family structure to issues of political influence as well. As a result of laws that disenfranchise felons and ex-felons in various states, an estimated 1. 4 million African American males, or 13% of the black male adult population, is either currently or permanently disenfranchised as a result of a felony conviction. In fourteen states, a felony conviction can result in lifetime disenfranchisement, and in seven of these states, an estimated one in four black males is permanently disenfranchised. Thus, not only are criminal justice policies contributing to the disproportionate incarceration of African Americans, but imprisonment itself then reduces the collective political ability of African Americans to influence these policies. V. Solutions The constant demise in the structure of the black family, lost political influence and seemingly arrested development are all very familiar results of a history of oppression. Since these effects of slavery and disparities in the criminal justice system seemingly steam from hundreds of years ago there is no quick fix. Ideally the answer would lie in the destruction of all prejudice. But, it is impossible to erase the deep seated legacy and resurfacing effects of slavery. Therefore this problem must be attacked from a variety of different angles. Recommendations for change can be considered in the areas of awareness, legislative change, criminal justice officials?  ¦ initiatives, and criminal justice/community partnerships. The following are some suggested that will allow for a beginning to a seemingly circular and endless problem. 1. Legislative Actions Legislation should be pushed to Reconsider Mandatory Sentencing Policies and Equalize Penalties for Crack and Powder Cocaine . 2. Criminal Justice Officials?  ¦ Initiatives ?n Criminal Justice Officials should Expand Drug Policy Options And Expand the Use of Alternative Sentencing 3. Criminal Justice/Community Partnerships. The criminal Justice system and the community should attempt to Increase Community-based Diversion from the Criminal Justice System And Strengthen the Link between Communities and the Justice System VI. Closing Oppression in the form of institutionalization is nothing new to those dressed in black skin; it has been present since 1619. In this year Africans were brought to the United States and forced into the institution of slavery. Even after the abolition of slavery, a series of codes and segregation laws were set in place to maintain the suppression of black people because black skin was stigmatized as inferior. Even though the prejudice and biased codes and laws were eventually abolished themselves, this stigma remains. Because this theory of black inferiority was embedded in the American culture due to slavery, various means of oppression are able to continually resurface in different forms. Today that form is Criminal Justice System, more specifically the drug policies. Practically mirroring the institution of slavery, African Americans are being controlled and dominated by this system. Control by the USCJS includes the probation, parole, imprisonment, lost economic power, struggling communities and lost political voice. In order to end this vicious cycle of oppression, action must be taken. First people must be made aware of the disparities. Next those who are made aware must press for legislative change, criminal justice officials?  ¦ initiatives, and criminal justice/community partnerships. The challenge for the community at large is to engage in broad discussion of the mix of family, community, and government initiatives that can begin to reverse the cycle that has been set in motion in recent years. Let?  ¦s do what Abraham attempted o do in 1877, let?  ¦s end this legacy of slavery.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Significance Of The Masdar City Project Environmental Sciences Essay

Significance Of The Masdar City Project Environmental Sciences Essay Masdar is a project developed in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. The core of Masdar is a well-planned city. It is constructed by the construction builder Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, which is a branch of the Mubadala Development Company. The major part of capital finance is given by the government of Abu Dhabi. The project is designed and planned by the Foster and its Partners, which is British architectural firm. Masdar city will sustain completely on sources of renewable sources for example, solar energy and various other resources which has a sustainable, zero-waste and zero-carbon ecology. The city is stretches about 17  kilometres (11 miles) in the east-south-east of Abu Dhabi, alongside Abu Dhabi International Airport. It would be the host for the headquarters of the (IRENA) International Renewable Energy Agency. Masdar has faith in capability of humankind for development of cheaper, cleaner, and efficient sources of energies for usage in order to overpower the climatic and environmental changes in a responsible and effective manner. It was established in April of 2006 as Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, a multifarious organization making development towards the commercialization and full functioning deployment of all possible renewable energy and providing solutions regarding cleaner ecological technologies. It combines the idea of the full renewable sources of energy with a clean technology lifecycle taking it from research point of view to the level of commercial deployment trying to fulfill the ultimate objective of developing a scalable and clean technology of renewable sources of energy. (Masdar Carbon, 2010) Importance of topic: Masdar City Project will not utilize any zero gas or oil resources. Hence it can be said that contribution to causing greenhouse gases would be minimal. Masdar is the central piece of Emirates and Abu Dhabis plans of having a market for renewable energy sources, a measure against the time when the oil wells and resources situated there run dry. An animated depiction of the design shows narrow streets covered with buildings which are modern still capture the essence of an ancient city of Arab. It appears that making plans identical to those of historic designs of ancient times will help designers reach their aim of energy goals they wish to accomplish. Recycling Water The city planners say that 80% of water used in city would be recycled. This needs a change of thinking. According to Peter Sharratt, who is working with WSP a British energy consulting firm, they normally have a linear process. They take in water through the taps, use it. And then it further goes down straight in the drain. In this way it gets to be used once only. But the design of Masdar City would be reusing water for as many times as it is possible. For example, one of the ideas involves capture of the leftover of water of crops which is known as irrigation recovery. The method works like as follows: After irrigation of crops water goes down through the top 2 or 3 feet layers of soil and then meets plants requirements and underground water collection system recovers whatever amount of water is left. This water can then be used for irrigation again on some another occasion or redirected for another purpose. (Masdar Introduction, 2010) Emissions of gases Related to Construction The basic idea behind Masdar City is to construct a place where is no carbon footprint. Owing to the fact a lot of construction site equipment use gas, it can be said that some carbon dioxide would be released into the atmosphere while construction, which will result in having an adverse effect on eco system. This can be an offset putting extra solar energy or by growing trees or back into national power grid of Abu Dhabi. But evaluation of a carbon footprint is more complicated than this according to Liz Darley. She works with Bioregional, the British firm which will be assessing Masdar Citys carbon footprint calculations. She further added that what they are planning to do is deciding where to draw lines for the boundary which in itself is a complex job as it could include the entire expenditure of carbon even when the project team is travelling between Europe and Middle East. Hence it is very tough to estimate the overall carbon cost incurred on building the Masdar city as it will depend upon where you will draw you boundaries. (Palca, 2008) A Goal to Curb Energy Use One of the major goals of Masdar City plan would be to become the first city where emission of carbon is zero. Shaded walks and narrow streets would be helpful in reducing the need of air conditioning. The city will be oriented northeast direction to minimize and reduce the amount of sunlight directed on buildings windows and sides. Solar collectors and solar panels on the roofs and at remaining places would be helpful in generation of sufficient electricity in order to fulfill the requirement of Masdar City. Another aim of Masdar City is to prohibit cars in the city. But city is not small enough for its inhabitants to cover by walking. Hence designers are planning for a system called a (PRT) personal rapid transit system. According to Scott McGuigan of the CH2M Hill, it is really a car. It can be seen as a simple vehicle for six passengers. It is designed in shape of a car, but is powered by solar energy and with batteries. These cars powered by solar power would be running under th e city just in ways like a subway system. But these cars would not run on fixed roads and routes, rather they can be taken anywhere a passenger wishes to go. He further adds that PRTs show an energy-efficient manner of moving around people among 1,500 stations approximately. The passenger can program the station they wish to go and the vehicle will transport them to that station. Handling of Waste Management One of the major aims Masdar City is going to deal with is to become the first city to manage waste in such a manner that waste is converted into energy and is possibly reduced to zero. In real facts, waste could be reduced to be very close to zero, as some material cannot be transformed to energy or be recycled. But as far as human waste is concerned, it would all be repurposed. The nutrients would be recovered and then used to generate soil which can be further used as component of the requirement of landscaping. The part of the sewer sludge would again be processed in waste-to-power plan. This plan to recycle or reuse as much as it is possible would permeate the strategy. According to Mc Guigan, they are constantly in search for materials which can be reused or recycled. He further added that they are looking at recyclable plastic so as to use to it for construction of site fencing. Later on that fencing could be sold to the manufacturer and be again recycled for reselling it agai n. So it has a purpose at the end. Designers are even beginning to plan, how could the concrete, used for building Masdar City, be recycled so as to reuse it the for purposes such as construction of road when the city is torn down. (Masdar Carbon, 2010) Achieving the Reality According to some skeptics reducing total carbon contents and footprints to zero would not be easily possible. They also say that Masdar will not cover the huge amount of guzzling gas of the United Arab Emirates. Khaled Awad, person in charge for making the plans into a real city say he has heard such people but is sure of its success. But he invited the suggestions on how to improve the City and what can be done. He also explained saying that they are serious about the city and its aspirations and are putting lots of resources to build it correctly and make it right. He expects it to be an ideal place at a meaningful scale. The intended plan is also to complete the Masdar City in a record time. Literature Review: The Masdar City project is being steered by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC). It was started in 2006 and the project was estimated to cost about US$ 22 billion and expected to take about 8 years to complete construction. The first phase of building was scheduled to be completed and would be habitable by 2009. Due to the effect of the economic crisis, now the Phase 1 of the Masdar City would be finished by 2015 and the completion of whole complex by 2020-2025. The estimated cost of complex has been reduced by 10 to 15 percent, hence the complete development cost ranging from US$18.7 and 19.8 billion. Masdar city is projected to cover an area of six  square kilometers (2.3 sq  miles) and would provide residency to about 45,000 to 50,000 people and home to 1,500 businesses, majorly manufacturing and commercial facilities having expertise in the environment friendly and eco-friendly products, and an expected to have around 60,000 workers. It would also be having university , (MIST) Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, which would be helped by (MIT) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Automobiles and vehicles would be prohibited within the city. Transportation would be carried out with the help of personal rapid transit and public mass transit systems with the already existing railways and roads providing connection to outside. As there are no vehicles and automobiles inside the Masdars perimeter wall, it is planned such as to prevent the hot desert air to enter the complex along with shaded and narrow streets allows suitable condition funnel cooler breezes across the Masdar City. (Palca, 2008) Masdar City is thought to be the most advanced technology among the small number of well and highly planned, technology-intensive research specialized municipalities that also assimilate a living hospitable environment as those of Tsukuba Science City, Japan or Novosibirk, Russia. (Masdar Carbon, 2010) Masdar Clean Tech Fund is a diversified vehicle of $250 million venture capital. It used to create a portfolio of joint venture investments, clean technology funds and direct co-investments. Others partners of Clean Tech Fund include Siemens Venture Capital, Credit Suisse and Consensus Business Group. CH2M HILL is the company responsible for constructing the first phase of the project. Construction of infrastructure of the city is being managed by Al Jaber Group. The central headquarters of Masdar City are being by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture. As pointed out earlier, the Fund is having commitments with the from the following organizations: (i) Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC), (ii) Credit Suisse (CS), (iii) Consensus Business Group (CBG) and (iv) Siemens AG. (Masdar Introduction, 2010) It is expected to develop a portfolio of investments in funds and having a commitment of around $60 million to 3-5 fund managers. Rest of the Fund capital would be invested in co-investments beside fund managers and in the direct investments by companies which are being sourced by the Fund. The Fund would invest in organizations that have technologies which are favorable for commercialization in U.A.E. Credit Suisse, one of the leading organizations for managers of co-investments and private equity fund of funds and also the General Partners will handle the Fund along with its partners. The Fund will take to advantage Credit Suisses and its partners expertise on investment along with Credit Suisses vast investment banking and private equity platform for sourcing, adding value and selecting investment opportunities in favors of the Fund. Moreover, the Fund will also take an initiative towards Abu Dhabis larger alternative energy resource, also known as the Masdar initiative which was started in March 2006. The Masdar initiative is response of Abu Dhabi to the global requirement of conservation of diminishing resources and the need of alternative energy sectors. It is planned to make sure that in the long-term Abu Dhabi retains its energy resources and flourishes even more, and also maintains its share in the global energy market. The main focus of the Fund would be on the commercialization and development of technologies involving renewable energy, their energy efficiency, management of carbon and its monetization, desalination and usage of water. It is the hope of the government of U.A.E. that Masdar initiative and other governmental organizations should be used to support portfolio managers, joint venture participants and companies of Fund and participants who are wish for the commercialization of products in the UAE. (Masdar City, 2010) Conclusion and Recommendation: Masdar City is going to deal with is to become the first city to manage waste in such a manner that waste is converted into energy and is possibly reduced to zero. In real facts, waste could be reduced to be very close to zero, as some material cannot be transformed to energy or be recycled. According to some skeptics reducing total carbon contents and footprints to zero would not be easily possible. It is very tough to estimate the overall carbon cost incurred on building the Masdar city as it will depend upon where you will draw you boundaries. Despite all the speculation being, it could be said that all these are worth a try so as to conserve the ecological system. It can be seen as a an innovative effort making development towards the commercialization and full functioning deployment of all possible renewable energy and providing solutions regarding cleaner ecological technologies. It combines the idea of the full renewable sources of energy with a clean technology lifecycle taki ng it from research point of view to the level of commercial deployment trying to fulfill the ultimate objective of developing a scalable and clean technology of renewable sources of energy. The key recommendation for the city is to create awareness among the people towards the waste and carbon issue so that the project can figure out as a classical example of green energy and waste management using technology.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Incentive Schemes for Employees

Incentive Schemes for Employees In this situation, the management should taking effective measures in organization towards there goals of the business. The management can apply following points to overcome this situation in order to increase productivity and low absenteeism. The following points are given below:- The benefits should replaced by INCENTIVES- In this situation, the management should introduce a quota system or perhaps the production pay in which workers are rewarded by meeting quota or paid more for superior production. The incentive should provide with monetary as well as non-monetary benefits like bonus, profit-sharing, status, job security etc.The incentives plan encourages employees to perform additional tasks for this compensation, in addition to their normal workload. An incentives plan costs the employers additional money but well designed plan will provide greater return by increasing productivity and lowering other costs. INCENTIVES should be linked with PRODUCTIVITY of the employees. The management should launch a performance based plan to enhance the productivity. They introduced performance linked incentive and Halsey premium plan to increase the productivity efficiently. A Performance Linked Incentive is a form of payment from an EMPLOYER to an EMPLOYEE, which is directly related to the performance output of an employee and which may be specified in an employment contact. PERFORMANCE LINKED INCENTIVE may either be open ended (does not have a fixed ceiling) or close ended (has an upper ceiling which is normally stipulated in the employment contract) Open ended incentives are normally applicable revenue generating activities (e.g., Sales) and Close ended incentives are associated to support functions (e.g., Operation, Human Resources, etc.). Method of calculating PERFORMANCE LINKED INCENTIVE:- PLI, by virtue of being sanctified in the employment contract, is paid for objective, measurable and visible results. MBO is the generally used to define the output which determines the payment of Performance linked incentive. Since Performance linked incentive is paid for the results and not merely for the efforts, the objects should be chosen to reflect those activities whose results are visible immediately after the effort. Also, in calculating performance linked incentive, only the performance and not the potential of the employee should be considered. Potential of the employee is normally subjective and can be contested. Performance linked incentive should be based on metrics which are absolutely objective and clearly perceived as fair by both employee and employer. Halsey premium plan This plan is a combination of time and speed while they are working.- That every worker is paid according to hourly rate.- Every worker is paid according to the time he hason the work.- Every worker is given that he has to finish the allotted work within the standard time. If he is able to save the time, he will be paid a bonus for the time he has saved. The amount of bonus is 50 percent of time saved. Total Earnings = Time Taken * Hourly Rate + (Standard Time Time Taken) * Hourly Rate * 50 percent Advantages of these incentives plans: Higher wages for worker and higher profits for the firm. Focus subordinate efforts Variable costs linked to results Reward those who will perform well. EXAMPLE Productivity incentive scheme for TEA PLUCKERS IN Tamil Nadu. till 1980s workers were paid a fixed rate and small incentive for extra plucking of leaves This was a constant amount/kg of tea but in due course, the system was reined by having two incentive slabs After several rounds of negotiations, an agreement was reached in 1990 Result:- There was a 36 percentage improvement in the plucking average. 2. The benefits to puckers during the five year period had gone up by 25 percentages. Salary/wage structures should be re-worked out The management should pay according to the industrial policy norms so that employees feel that they are being adequately paid. The management provided salary/wages to them keeping in mind that the minimum wages/salary act and all other act should be follow before fixation of salary/wages structure. The management is also set an appraisal time to time to increase the wage/salary structure so that they can get a completive salary/wages as compared to other industries. For this, the management should follow five steps to determine the salary/wages. This are- Review your own pay practices. Define the job Track the completion Set the salary range Bundle pay and parks. Advantage of fair and true fixation of salary/wages by management- Increase motivation among employers. Increase productivity. Achieving the target. There is employees stability. Reduce wastage of manpower planning. HR Personnel Should Be Re-Shuffled The problem of low productivity and higher absenteeism showing there is Lax HR personnel. So the HR personnel may reshuffled and to promote the culture of hard work to there employees. They can set there rigid rules to there employers in order to avoid the given problems. The management should adopt the right HR practice to increase productivity. The top ten HR practices which should follow in every firm. This are- Safe, Healthy and happy work place Creating a safe, healthy and happy workplace will ensure that the employees feel homely and stay with the organization for a very long time. Capture their pulse through employee surveys. Open book management style Sharing information about contracts, sales, new clients, management objectives, company policies, employee personal data etc. ensures that the employees are as enthusiastic about the business as the management. Through this open book process you can gradually create a culture of participative management and ignite the creative endeavor of your work force It involves making people an interested party to your strategic decisions, thus aligning them to your business objectives. Be as open as you can. It helps in building trust motivates employees. Employee self service portal, Manager on-line etc. are the tools available today to the management to practice this style. Performance linked bonus Paying out bonuses or having any kind of variable compensation plan can be both an incentive and disillusionment, based on how it is administered and communicated. Bonus must be designed in such a way that people understand that there is no payout unless the company hits a certain level of profitability. Additional criteria could be the teams success and the individuals performance. Never pay out bonus without measuring performance, unless it is a statutory obligation. 360 degree performance management feedback programmed This system, which solicits feedback from seniors (including the boss), peers and subordinates, has been increasingly embraced as the best of all available methods for collecting performance feedback. Gone are the days of working hard to impress only one person, now the opinions of all matter, especially if you are in a leadership role (at any level). Every person in the team is responsible for giving relevant, positive and constructive feedback. Such systems also help in identifying leaders for higher level positions in the organization. Senior managers could use this feed back for self development Fair evaluation system for employees Develop an evaluation system that clearly links individual performance to corporate business goals and priorities. Each employee should have well defined reporting relationships. Self rating as a part of evaluation process empowers employees. Evaluation becomes fairer if it is based on the records of periodic counseling achievements of the employee, tracked over the year. For higher objectivity, besides the immediate boss, each employee should be screened by the next higher level (often called a Reviewer). Cross functional feedback, if obtained by the immediate boss from another manager (for whom this employees work is also important), will add to the fairness of the system. Relative ratings of all subordinates reporting to the same manager are another tool for fairness of evaluation. Normalization of evaluation is yet another dimension of improving fairness. Knowledge sharing Adopt a systematic approach to ensure that knowledge management supports strategy. Store knowledge in databases to provide greater access to information posted either by the company or the employees on the knowledge portals of the company. When an employee returns after attending any competencies or skills development program, sharing essential knowledge with others could be made mandatory. Innovative ideas (implemented at the work place) are good to be posted on these knowledge sharing platforms. However, what to store how to maintain a Knowledge base requires deep thinking to avoid clutter. Highlight performers Create profiles of top performers and make these visible though company intranet, display boards etc. It will encourage others to put in their best, thereby creating a competitive environment within the company. If a systems approach is followed to shortlist high performers, you can surely avoid disgruntlements. Open house discussions and feedback mechanism Ideas rule the world. Great organizations recognize, nurture and execute great ideas. Employees are the biggest source of ideas. The only thing that can stop great ideas flooding your organization is the lack of an appropriate mechanism to capture ideas. Open house discussions, employee-management meets, suggestion boxes and ideas capture tools such as Critical Incidents diaries are the building blocks that can help the Managers to identify develop talent. Reward ceremonies Merely recognizing talent does not work, you need to couple it with ceremonies where recognition is broadcast. Looking at the Dollar Check is often less significant than listening to the thunderous applause by colleagues in a public forum. Delight employees with the unexpected The last but not least way is to occasionally delight your employees with unexpected things that may come in the form of a reward, a gift or a well-done certificate. Reward not only the top performers but also a few others who are in need of motivation to exhibit their potential 4) If Absenteeism is due to lack of interest by the employees in the job, because they do not see career advancement in the company. The management should started career counseling sessions to generate interest in the job among the employees. 5) Leave encashment may be encouraged:- Leave encashment refers to that amount payable for the employees leave period, depending upon the leaves to his credit and his salary at the time of termination of employment or at the time of encasing his leaves. The encashment can be calculated as:- Basic +DA (BASIC+DA/26)*NO. OF DAYS) 6. A suitable (encouraging competition) promotion policy should be introduced, if not already existing A set of rules guidelines set forth by a firm or organization that outlines how employees are to interact with potential customers in the promotion of a good or service. The promotion policy helps the company keep control of the message it is sending about the good or service, as well as to dictate appropriate actions that employees can take when dealing with outside personnel. For example, a pharmaceutical company could have a promotion policy that its field representatives must adhere to when they meet with doctors to promote a drug. The firm can adopt various types of promotional activity to increase there productivity. There are a numerous ways to promote there goods and service. Sometime in big organization may adopt a various types of sales strategies to increase there goods and service. These are:- Contests Contests are a frequently used promotional strategy. Many contests dont even require a purchase. The idea is to promote your brand and put your logo and name in front of the public rather than make money through a hard-sell campaign. People like to win prizes. Sponsoring contests can bring attention to your product without company overtones. Social Media Social media websites such as Face book and Google+ offer companies a way to promote products and services in a more relaxed environment. This is direct marketing at its best. Social networks connect with a world of potential customers that can view your company from a different perspective. Rather than seeing your company as trying to sell something, the social network can see a company that is in touch with people on a more personal level. This can help lessen the divide between the company and the buyer, which in turn presents a more appealing and familiar image of the company. Mail Order Marketing Customers who come into your business are not to be overlooked. These customers have already decided to purchase your product. What can be helpful is getting personal information from these customers. Offer a free product or service in exchange for the information. These are customers who are already familiar with your company and represent the target audience you want to market your new products to. Product Giveaways Product giveaways and allowing potential customers to sample a product are methods used often by companies to introduce new food and household products. Many of these companies sponsor in-store promotions, giving away product samples to entice the buying public into trying new products. Point-of-Sale Promotion and End-Cap Marketing Point-of-sale and end-cap marketing are ways of selling product and promoting items in stores. The idea behind this promotional strategy is convenience and impulse. The end cap, which sits at the end of aisles in grocery stores, features products a store wants to promote or move quickly. This product is positioned so it is easily accessible to the customer. Point-of-sale is a way to promote new products or products a store needs to move. These items are placed near the checkout in the store and are often purchased by consumers on impulse as they wait to be checked out. Customer Referral Incentive Program The customer referral incentive program is a way to encourage current customers to refer new customers to your store. Free products, big discounts and cash rewards are some of the incentives you can use. This is a promotional strategy that leverages your customer base as a sales force. Causes and Charity Promoting your products while supporting a cause can be an effective promotional strategy. Giving customers a sense of being a part of something larger simply by using products they might use anyway creates a win/win situation. You get the customers and the socially conscious image; customers get a product they can use and the sense of helping a cause. One way to do this is to give a percentage of product profit to the cause your company has committed to helping. Branded Promotional Gifts Giving away functional branded gifts can be a more effective promotional move than handing out simple business cards. Put your business card on a magnet, ink pen or key chain. These are gifts you can give your customers that they may use, which keep your business in plain sight rather than in the trash or in a drawer with other business cards the customer may not look at. Customer Appreciation Events An in-store customer appreciation event with free refreshments and door prizes will draw customers into the store. Emphasis on the appreciation part of the event, with no purchase of anything necessary, is an effective way to draw not only current customers but also potential customers through the door. Pizza, hot dogs and soda are inexpensive food items that can be used to make the event more attractive. Setting up convenient product displays before the launch of the event will ensure the products you want to promote are highly visible when the customers arrive. After-Sale Customer Surveys Contacting customers by telephone or through the mail after a sale is a promotional strategy that puts the importance of customer satisfaction first while leaving the door open for a promotional opportunity. Skilled salespeople make survey calls to customers to gather information that can later be used for marketing by asking questions relating to the way the customers feel about the products and services purchased. This serves the dual purpose of promoting your company as one that cares what the customer thinks and one that is always striving to provide the best service and product. 7) Training programmers should be started with a motivational approach:- The management should provide training for overall performance of employees in order to get work affiance. In order to grow a business, employees and managers need to be trained in motivational sales techniques. Motivational sales training teaches participants how to use different skills, approaches and techniques to motivate people to purchase the product or service being offered. Without continual training, salespeople can become dependent on one particular selling approach, which can limit their sales results. Use motivational sales training to continually challenge and sharpen employees abilities to sell. 8) TRADE UNION Trade union is an organization that consists of workers and it is formed to protect its members from those forces that could harm their interests. These forces could be the employers or management, the state or the government or any other agency identified as such. This could be, broadly speaking; a simple description of trade unions and it contains the basic idea of what trade unions are. In case there is no union, or the union is not strong enough, some employees who are top absentees or least productive may be shunted out to send a message or signal to the other employee to come to terms. The management should form the trade union on behalf of workers so that the workers should feel to the organization. They can feel free to meet there demand through union leader. If there is no trade union than workers are not meet there expectation and afterwards they De-Motivated and hence productivity will tend to decrease. Benefits of trade unions a) Increase productivity: Unions help build high-trust workplaces where workers are healthier, better skilled and more able to resolve grievances all of which lead to a more committed and productive workforce. Unions can also help maintain productivity during periods of employer innovation by providing ways of consulting with workers over change and reducing the chances of staff resistance. b) Save money. Early identification of problems in the workplace can lead to significant savings, for example by reducing the costs employers face as a result of accidents, ill health and staff turnover. Unions also have a strong record of working with employers to identify efficiencies and cost savings- both employers and employees have a shared interest in business success. c) Provide access to learning and skills: Helping members to access education and training is a key priority for unions. Research shows that union recognition has a consistently positive effect on the amount and range of training that is provided to employees.2 In turn, higher skilled employees bring productivity benefits for employers. d) Ensure workplaces are safe:-. Union representatives help to lower accident rates at work by ensuring safe working practices and reducing stress-related ill health caused by, for example, working long hours, being bullied or working in poor quality environments. Evidence shows that unionized workplaces are safer workplaces1 which has the added benefit for employers of significantly reducing the costs of ill health and accidents. To lower accident rates at work of significantly reducing the costs of ill health and accidents. to lower accident rates at work by ensuring safe working practices and reducing stress-related ill health caused by, for example, working long hours, being bullied or working in poor quality environments. Evidence shows that unionized workplaces are safer workplaces1 which has the added benefit for employers of significantly reducing the costs of ill health and accidents. 9) Social security provide by management:- The national commission of labor(2002) opines that in the Indian context, social security may be defined a all types of measures consisting of preventive, promotional or protective depending on whether they are designed to:Â   prevent deprivation(preventive measure) assure everyone of basic minimum income which would be adequate for meeting the basic needs of oneself ones family or dependants( promotional measures) protect income against loss or diminution due to the occurrence of any contingency including sickness(protective measure) The management should provide all social security to there employers such as:- social assistance social insurance major acts to serve better to the interest of workers like- 1) Employees state insurance act, 1948. 2) Maternity benefits act (1961) 3) Employees provident funds act, 1952 4) The payment of gratuity act, 1971

Monday, August 19, 2019

History, Theory, and Applications of Capacitors :: capacitor electronics

Static electricity was discovered in 600 B.C., but it was not until the mid 1700's when energy storage properties were discovered. 'With the discovery of the first Leyden jar, it was referred to as a condenser because electricity was thought of as a fluid which could condense. The Lehden jar is a glass partially filled with water that has a wire inserted through the top of an insulating stopper (cork). When the wire is charged by static electricity, it holds the charge until the wire comes into contact with a conductor which will discharge the glass. It was roughly one hundred years later when Michael Faraday discovered a variable capacitor. He did this by measuring the varying capacitance of different dielectrics on capacitor.'(4) When the first aluminum capacitor was discovered, some thirty years after Faraday's work, the SI unit used measuring capacitance was named a farad (F) in his honor. 1F = 1 C / V In words: one Farad is equal to one Coulomb per Volt Since the farad is a large unit of capacitance, most capacitors have units of picofarads (pF) or nanofarads (nF). To this day only one type of capacitor has the ability to store enough energy to warrant measurements using a farad as the standard unit, and this is the super capacitor. A capacitor consists of two conducting surfaces separated by an insulator (dielectric). The value of capacitance depends not only on the geometry of the capacitor, but the dielectric as well. (1) "Since capacitance (C) of a capacitor is the ratio of the magnitude of the charge on either conductor to the magnitude of the potential difference (V) between them: " (1) : When a DC voltage source is applied to the 10 mF capacitor shown to the left, a charge is stored on each side of the electrode. A mulitmeter is used to measure resistance, it is shown that when the capacitor is charging, current is moving and when the capacitor is fully charged, the current will stop flowing, because there is no change in electric potenial, so the resistance goes to zero. You can see that when the electodes are switched, the resistance again goes to zero when the capacitor is fully charged. AC current is allowed to pass through the conductor continuously because it works similiar to the way the probes are switching, so the current is allowed continuos flow. The main function of a capacitor is for it to store energy and to act as a filter, passing current (AC) and blocking current (DC).

Sunday, August 18, 2019

depression :: essays research papers

Om depression Psykiska tecken pà ¥ depression Mà ¥nga personer tror att de aldrig kommer drabbas av depression, men sà ¥ à ¤r det inte, vem som helst i vilken som helst à ¥lder kan drabbas av depression. Denna sjukdom à ¤r inget som de flesta egentligen vill prata om, utan det à ¤r kanske nà ¥got som man skà ¤ms à ¶ver. Psykiska sjukdomar har dessvà ¤rre i alla tider varit en negativ stà ¤mpel. Men en viktig sak att veta à ¤r att depression à ¤r en av de vanligaste sjukdomarna i Sverige och det gà ¥r att bli frisk. Ungefà ¤r 4 - 5 % av Sveriges befolkning har i vuxen à ¥lder, idag en depression som behà ¶ver behandling. Det finns olika typer av depressioner. Egentlig depression, melankoli, dystymi, och manodepressiv sjukdom à ¤r de vanligaste depressionsdiagnoserna. Alla mà ¤nniskor kan ibland kà ¤nna sig ledsna och nere, men detta à ¤r inte depression, detta à ¤r nà ¥got som drabbar alla i và ¥rt dagliga liv. Nà ¤r man à ¤r sà ¥ deprimerad sà ¥ att man inte ser nà ¥gon utvà ¤g och allt kà ¤nns svart och meningslà ¶st, dà ¥ det pà ¥verkar và ¥ra kà ¤nslor tankar och handlingar. Dà ¥ har man en depression. Depressioner kan kà ¤nnetecknas av nedstà ¤mdhet, hopplà ¶shet, trà ¶tthet, glà ¤djelà ¶shet, allmà ¤nt ointresse, hà ¤mning av olika aktiviteter, sjà ¤lvmordstankar och i svà ¥ra fall sjà ¤lvmord. Den allvarligaste depressionen à ¤r den djupa depressionen eller melankoli. Normal nedstà ¤mdhet brukar alla mà ¤nniskor klara av, hantera och bearbeta. Ärftliga faktorer och tidigare erfarenheter pà ¥verkar dock và ¥rat sà ¤tt att reagera och hur sà ¥rbara vi à ¤r. Det finns emellertid ett antal depressionstillstà ¥nd som à ¤r svà ¥rare och krà ¤ver bà ¥de medicinsk och psykologisk behandling. De vanligaste symtomen vid depression à ¤r: Nedstà ¤mdhet Avsaknad av glà ¤dje och intresse fà ¶r vanliga aktiviteter Aptit- och viktfà ¶rà ¤ndringar Sà ¶mnstà ¶rningar Fà ¶rà ¤ndrad motorik Trà ¶tthet och kà ¤nslomà ¤ssig frusenhet Nedvà ¤rderande sjà ¤lvbild Koncentrationssvà ¥righeter och beslutsvà ¥nda Tankar pà ¥ dà ¶den, sjà ¤lvmordstankar och sjà ¤lvmordsfà ¶rsà ¶k Sexuella stà ¶rningar, à ¥ngest och à ¶verdriven misstà ¤nksamhet mot omgivningen Depressiva sjukdomar à ¤r mycket vanliga och kan drabba vem som helst och i alla à ¥ldrar. Enligt WHO à ¤r depression pà ¥ và ¤g att bli en av và ¤rldens stà ¶rsta folksjukdomar. Cirka 500 000 svenskar berà ¤knas just nu ha en depression som krà ¤ver medicinsk behandling. Fyra olika diagnoser pà ¥ depression Fà ¶rstà ¤mningssyndrom kallas ibland ocksà ¥ fà ¶r affektiva sjukdomar och à ¤r den sammanfattade benà ¤mningen fà ¶r de tillstà ¥nd som à ¤r kopplade till fà ¶rà ¤ndringar i stà ¤mningslà ¤get. Hit rà ¤knas t.ex. egentlig depression, dystymi, och manodepressiv sjukdom. Là ¤kare delar in depressionen after dess svà ¥righetsgrad och hur den yttrar sig. Hà ¤r nedanfà ¶r à ¤r de vanligaste depressionsdiagnoserna. Egentlig depression Är det som beskriver bà ¤st det man menar nà ¤r man pratar om depression. Fà ¶r att stà ¤lla denna diagnos krà ¤vs det att symtomen nedstà ¤mdhet och/eller minskat intresse fà ¶r omgivningen skall finnas under stà ¶rre delen av dagen, sà ¥ gott som varje dag under minst tvà ¥ veckor. Sjukdomen kan vara av là ¤tt, mà ¥ttlig eller av svà ¥r karaktà ¤r, och vid de svà ¥rare depressionerna sà ¥ anvà ¤nds begreppet melankoli. En del personer som drabbats av depressioner varar det under mycket là ¥ng

Iraq: Past, Present, Future Essay -- Essays Papers

Iraq: Past, Present, Future Imagine you are back in time, in a land where water flows, date palms flourish and people abound. The part of the globe which the Greeks called Mesopotamia and we call†¦Iraq. In my paper, instead of focusing primarily on the impending war with Iraq, I will focus on why we are continually in a conflict with Iraq (and other Middle Eastern countries) through investigating the past, present and future of Iraq’s history. It is highly interesting how because of the US’ dealings with Iraq that have stretched back for the last twenty or thirty years, many people in this country have flawed senses of the rich history actually present in the region. Mesopotamia, or the fertile crescent, which housed some of the oldest civilizations known to man, has been all but forgotten about by western society, and the greatness and cultural fluidity that once persisted there has been forgotten almost entirely in this age of arbitrary borders and divisive politics. With the partitioning of Turkey at the conclusion of WWI, the middle east was segmented arbitrarily which led to political unrest in the region. Because of this unrest, there has continually been the apparent need and desire (on the part of the western powers, especially the United States) to intervene in the Middle East and especially Iraq. This is how one can explain the current situation we are in and have been in with Iraq for at least twenty years. When leadership is despotic, and these arbitrary border lines are crossed or disrespected, our government usually decides to intervene (especially if oil money is at stake) These interventions are simply patch-up solutions to what is a much larger problem: instability caused by arbitrary borde... ...Life Video and Television. Alexandria, Va. : Time-Life Video and Television (distributor), 1995. 11. Goffman, Daniel. The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe. New York : Cambridge University Press, 2002. 12. Mackey, Sandra. The Reckoning : Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein. 1st ed. New York : Norton, 2002. 13. Malam, John. Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, 10,000 to 539 B.C. Austin, Tex. : Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1999. 14. Tripp, Charles. A History of Iraq. 2nd ed. New York : Cambridge University Press, 2002. 15. Zadok, Ran. The earliest diaspora : Israelites and Judeans in pre- Hellenistic Mesopotamia.Tel Aviv : Diaspora Research Institute, Tel Aviv University, 2002.