The Darkness Out There and What is The Darkness Essay Example

The Darkness Out There and What is The Darkness Essay Both authors use their titles as a way of drawing in the reader by making them ask questions right from the start. Lively chose the title The Darkness Out There and this poses the question, What is The Darkness? The word darkness foreshadows that the story is about the unexpected and evil. In the same way, Thomas Hardys title Old Mrs Chundle, immediately begs the question Who is Old Mrs Chundle? Already the reader is picturing an old lady in their mind and wants to find out more about her. Like Lively, Hardy engages the reader by posing questions through the title. Titles are a very effective way of engaging the reader right from the outset. Also, both authors use stereotypes to engage the reader. Lively stereotyped the three main characters, Sandra, Kerry and Old Mrs Rutter. Sandra has been stereotyped as a girly girl who likes a good giggle. Kerry is depicted as one of the lads, he has explosive acne and black slicked down hair. Finally Mrs Rutter is also stereotyped as a dear old thing. The effect of Lively stereotyping her characters engages the reader even further. The reader is able to easily identify with the characters and in this way quickly becomes involved with them. We will write a custom essay sample on The Darkness Out There and What is The Darkness specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Darkness Out There and What is The Darkness specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Darkness Out There and What is The Darkness specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer As well as stereotyping the characters Lively chooses to stereotype the surroundings. She walked through the flowers, the girl, ox- eye daises and vetch cow parsley. This helps to build up the scene of a warm summers day with a girl skipping innocently through the fields. What this does is build up the stereotyping ready for when she reverses them at the end. I will go into this in further detail later on in the essay. Hardy also stereotyped his characters. Old Mrs Chundle was a stereotypical old lady, living on her own, cooking meals for passers by. However the Curate, in complete contrast, is a typically respectable old chap of a higher class. We can tell this when old Mrs Chundle says I dont want to eat with my betters and the language he uses such as Why my good woman. Also the way he insisted on paying Mrs Chundle for his meal I should feel much happier if you would. Once again, this helps the reader to picture the characters more clearly in their mind. As in The Darkness Out There, Hardy moves away from the stereotype of the Curates character curate slowly throughout the story. Firstly the Curate is described as The Kind Hearted Curate who invites Old Mrs Chundle to his parish for service And youll come, if I put it up at my own expense? Later he turns the character round from a caring, friendly Curate to somebody who less than charitably complains about her cabbage breath. I shall tell her not to come. Finally at the end of the story, when Mrs Chundle dies, Hardy uses the line brushed the knees of his trousers, and walked on. The brushing of the trousers symbolises the brushing away of any remorse or guilt for betraying his duties as one of Gods People. Another technique used by Lively throughout the story is to allow the reader to witness Sandra growing up and experiencing puberty. This is shown this by the use of the structural device Packers End. At the beginning of the story Sandra fears Packers End. When she was younger she feared the area because of witches, wolves and tigers But then we have an idea of her stage of puberty when her attention turns to rape. Another reason we know Sandra is growing up and entering adolescence is because when they are in Mrs Rutters house, Mrs Rutter complimented her on her appearance The girl blushed. She touched secretly, the soft skin of her thigh; she felt her breast poke up and out at the thin stuff of her top This adds to the reader alignment of Sandra. We also experience her emotions when on line 173 she shows her first sign of compassion by saying Thats Terrible! This technique allows the reader to identify with Sandra and become involved with her. Both authors use morals to enhance the meaning of their story. Lively uses many different morals. Her first one is that things arent always what they seem. She shows this by reversing all the stereotypes at the end of the story. She does this by reversing the characters of Kerry and Mrs Rutter. Mrs Rutter was a stereotypical old lady, which was reversed when we learnt that she left a German Fighter Pilot to die. Kerrys character grew in maturity throughout the story. When we first met him he jumped out to scare Sandra, he rose from the plough beyond the hedge and through Sandras thought process we were give the line you only have to look at people to know they are not up to much. to when he took it upon himself to leave Mrs Rutters house in disgust. Dunno `bout you, but Im going. By doing this she also shows that peoples perceptions solely based on appearance are likely to be wrong. Penelope Lively also tells her reader to fear the unknown. She does this by using Packers End. Lively doesnt let the reader gain much knowledge about Packers End, which will create fear within the reader. Lively also refers to light and dark a lot throughout the story. They are both metaphors. Light representing good, and dark evil. The dark reach of the spinney. Which creates the feeling that there is something sinister lurking in the woods. Polleny summer grass that glinted in the sun this shows to me that she evokes the feeling of an innocent fresh summers day. This builds up the fear of the darkness in the mind of the reader. Thus poses the question to the reader, what is the darkness out there? This is another way of engaging the reader used by Lively. In the last paragraph we see Sandra coming to the realisation of the darkness out there. This is shown by the quotation birds singing and next you glimpse darkness. The word glimpse suggests that the darkness is always there but its lurking, in hiding. Also the last two lines are extremely effective for revealing the true meaning of the story. She walked behind him, through a world grown unreliable, in which flowers sparkle and birds sing but everything is not as it seems, oh no. The phrase not as it seems sums up that Lively is suggesting that you could be facing the darkness everyday of your life but you may not realise it until its too late. By describing the world as unreliable, Lively shows that in Sandras eyes the world has lost its innocence, in comparison to the stereotypical setting seen through the eyes of Sandra in the opening. Hardy uses a similar moral to Lively. His moral is that perceptions of people based on appearance may be misleading. This is shown when the Curate betrays Old Mrs Chundle, even though she looked up to him and thought of him as one of Gods people. Line 297 shows this by saying The curate went out, like Peter at the cock- crow. This is comparing the Curate betraying Old Mrs Chundle to when Peter betrayed Jesus. Hardy also used the narration of the story to engage the reader and enhance meaning. Throughout the story, right until Old Mrs Chundles death the readers sympathies lie with the Curate. The narrator uses lines such as The Kind Hearted Curate and Zealous young man to build up the empathy. I think Hardy used this method, as he wanted to exploit the misconducts of the church. By building sympathy up with the Curate and then reversing it when we found out he betrayed Old Mrs Chundle Hardy adds extra impact to the remorse the reader has for the loss of Old Mrs Chundle. In The Darkness Out There by Lively, Lively use a third person narrator. She walked through the flowers She does this to create distance with the reader. Thus the reader feels they are observing the story unfold from a distance. However, after line 83, the narration switches from third person, to witnessing the story through the eyes and thought processes of Sandra. Some people you only have to look at to know theyre not up to much Using this method aligns the reader with Sandra and enables them to witness her growing up. This engages the reader further by making them want to find out what happens to Sandra. Hardy used pre-twentieth century language, as this was spoken at the time he wrote the short story. Curate hither and howsomever, helps the reader to establish the period in which the story is set. This pulls the reader in, as they can now easily picture a time and a setting in their mind. Local Dialect or Non- Standard English is used in both stories as a way of engaging the reader. In Old Mrs Chundle, Hardy uses local dialect for the character of Old Mrs Chundle. This helps us to learn more about her. For example Tis taters and cabbage, boiled with a scantling o bacon. Would ye like it? gives us a much clearer idea about the character than, It is potatoes and cabbage, boiled with a little bacon. Would you like some? This is also however a complete contrast to the language used by the curate. Yes, my good woman. This tells the reader that he is of a higher class. This also enables us to understand that there was a social divide at the time the book was written. Lively uses slang in the same way as Hardy does Non- Standard English. Both Kerry and Sandra use slang. Stupid so- and- so and whatd you like us to do are just a few examples. This enables the reader to learn more about the age of their characters and also know that they have been brought up in a more urban area. This enables the reader to align and relate to the characters. Building a relationship between themselves and the characters is a method of drawing in the reader even further. In conclusion both Hardy and Lively use a variety of techniques to engage the reader into their short stories. I found both very good and thoroughly enjoyed them. The first time I read them both, I preferred The Darkness Out There. However, after reading them more thoroughly, I preferred Old Mrs Chundle. I loved the way Hardy threw in little words and sentences that didnt seem like much but really had great impact on the story. For example brushed the knees of his trousers, and walked off. Both authors are very effective in engaging the reader.

Interconnecting the Network of Networks

Interconnecting the Network of Networks Introduction The global telecommunications trend has witnessed a gradual shift from the traditional practice where national telecommunications service providers formed a monopoly both on the international and national markets. This traditional system is referred to as â€Å"network of networks†. The modern practice, however, has witnessed change whereby system integrators have been formed to offer services to the end users.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Interconnecting the Network of Networks specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These integrators interconnect between each other’s services and customize their services for individual end users’ good. The system has been referred to as â€Å"system of systems†. This paper explores in detail the new trend being witnessed in the market and analyzes its general impact as well as carries out a future analysis of the systems integration industry. Im pact of systems integrators on responsibility issues Systems integrators will basically play an integral role of influencing relative price reductions to the end users. As the practise is today, consumers incur a lot of expenses in trying to obtain all round service through integrating numerous service providers. In order to acquire the right mix and integration, such integration would be too costly for individual or corporate users as it would also mean they hire expertise to help them out in achieving this goal. However, with the availability of systems integrators, users will no longer need to bother about choosing a portfolio of individual providers and determining each of their prices before integrating right choice of mix. There would equally be no reason for end users to incur extra costs and time hiring IT experts to execute their local integration (Noam para 5). The integration of systems, to a larger extent, would also result in improved service provision and therefore enh ance quality on the part of users. The service integrators will particularly come up with tailor made services which will exactly suit users’ needs and therefore enhance their service provision or general satisfaction. The array of services will also be varied, including e-mail, data sources, transaction programs, bulletin boards, as well as audio and video publishers. Others will also include personal information screening, users groups, data storage services and, for residential users, customers’ telecommunications node within their premises’ vicinity. The provision of all these services and many others in one stop will enable consumers obtain their right choice of quality and mix without harboring doubts on quality because they will have a choice of demanding for what they think they rightfully require (McCauley 19). Heightened competition is also likely to be witnessed across the telecommunications industry as a result of these service integrators. The liber ation of the industry has limited government regulations which mainly existed to advance monopolistic policies and rules that aimed at protecting the national telecommunications service providers against any form of competition.Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, with the new trend where markets are defined more along customization and tailor made services rather than the traditional generalized delivery of service, entry into the market of other small scale service providers has brought about competition. Every service integrator is seeking to improve on delivery and service provision as a whole so as to win more customers. As a result, the system integrators have assumed the role of agents for end users against carriers. Where particular carriers are providing poor services, the service integrators intercept in order to protect their end users against such below par service s. In other words, traditional problems that were associated with price, quality, market power and privacy have all been eliminated as a result of the competition witnessed in the market today. The level of government control has also reduced considerably with the shift from traditional national telecommunications service reliance to systems integration. The market and indeed the industry have generally been liberalized and therefore many players have been encouraged to enter. The relaxation of strict barriers that discouraged investors from venturing into the industry have also seen national governments do away with archaic laws that prohibited others from competing with the national telecommunications service providers. On the negative side though, the competitive pressure being exerted by systems of systems will definitely affect costs and prices in general. Although to the end user things are becoming more and more affordable, there is a huge challenge faced by systems owners on their capability to maintain the redistributive system that has traditionally existed. Generating subsidies as well as trying to transfer them internally from one user category to the other within the same service carrier is becoming impossible. Among the reasons identified to be affecting the existence of such an arrangement is the inability to sustain an internal redistribution given that there could be other carriers lacking redistributive burdens, and which could be targeting the subsidizing users. Residential users may equally pay a much higher share compared to large users like corporate organizations because cost shares amounting from the substantial joint expenses and costs may inversely be allocated to demand elasticity. Additionally, the corporate organizations which are generally categorized as large users have more than one option thus making them have greater elasticity. The inelastic customer will be more disadvantaged because the current trend of price rebalancing wi th reference to total costs incurred will exceed its objective (Harrigan 638).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Interconnecting the Network of Networks specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The confronting of these issues There have been witnessed several attempts and efforts which aim at confronting all the issues that were raised by Naom 9 years since he wrote his article on the emerging telecommunications trends. Firstly, public telecommunications operators are trying to protect their local markets by barring entry of systems integrators while at the same time they are attempting to venture into the international market. In essence, public telecommunications carriers from different countries are together forming a global systems integration forming dominant alliances. This trend has particularly been shaped up by the realization that private systems integrators, particularly from the United States of America and Japan, offer competitive services which can easily jeopardize the public telecommunications operator’s position. Authorities from different countries are also trying to come with new regulations that effectively address developments that come with the emerging telecommunications trend. There are difficulties, however, in addressing this whole issue because there is also need for allowing freedom and liberation to thrive in an industry that has for long been governed through monopoly. Some regulations imposed by authorities with the intention of opening up the market for free and fair play for all have, to the contrary, ended up curtailing on competition. The dynamism of the information technology has further compounded efforts to derive long time rules for the common good of all users. The highly innovative industry has seen inventions come up within short intervals that incidentally render the immediate former innovations and advancements obsolete. The future of systems integratio n Systems integration has a very enormous potential which remains largely underexploited. Restrictions still being witnessed in the name of providing barriers to market entry by large state-owned telecommunications carriers undermine its capabilities. However, as the information technology industry in general continues to expand with fast innovations, systems integration will most likely be the choice of many in the years to come. Globalization has brought about the need for people to rely more on information than has ever been the case. Many people continuously search for information sources that can satisfy their own unique quest without necessarily having to deal with a service that is too general and time consuming. The customized services for end users are more appealing to the consumers and offer them with the flexible choice of selecting packages that appropriately serve their needs. The high service quality that comes with systems integration is also likely to play an import ant role in establishing it as the future system of choice. As the competition amongst players intensifies, the ultimate consumer becomes the beneficiary because systems integrators are improving on their general service delivery to ensure they attract a large market. Prices are also relatively cheap as compared to the network to network system which apart from being costly is too rigid to suit customer demands (Sarkar, Cavusgil and Aulakh, 361).Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Technology and the future of university education Naom’s predictions through his article titled â€Å"Electronics and the dim future of the university† have actually come to pass. The classic university set up has gradually been altered by the information technology through its immense capabilities (Piccoli, Ahmad and Ives 401). Through innovations experienced in the information technology sector, the need to have physical universities as centers of knowledge has been phased out and instead new trends, as predicted by Naom, are emerging (Fletcher, Sigmund and Wisher 96). The changes so far have witnessed long distance or virtual classes take precedent in the modern days where video and internet equipment are used together to relay recorded lectures to students. Often, the students go about their normal studies but from remote locations that could even mean different countries or continents. The physical distance that existed in the traditional days has been eliminated and modern universities now have wider coverage than ever before. Further changes are expected to effect Naom’s observations back in 1995 even as the highly dynamic IT industry develops fast, improved, and reliable services (Noam para 4).. Conclusion The telecommunications sector has undergone a lot transformation in the recent past following the gradual improvement of the information capability. The internet in particular has made it possible for traditional telecommunications services to pave way for a new trend of systems integrations which basically improves on service delivery and quality of telecommunications services. A majority of public telecommunications operators have been exposed to competition from the systems integrators following the removal of monopolistic laws that shielded the mostly state-owned operators. The trend has seen the national and public telecommunications carriers concentrate on international operations as they interconnect their services with ot her international operators to form a global integrated system. The extent of IT effects has also affected the manner in which institutions of higher learning like universities operated traditionally, causing new trends and practices where learners no longer need to converge at a central location for purposes of taking their studies. Fletcher, James Douglas, Sigmund Tobias and Wisher Robert A. Learning anytime, anywhere: Advanced distributed learning and the changing face of education. Educational Researcher. 36.2 (2007): 96-102. Web. Harrigan, Kathryn Rudie. Formulating vertical integration strategies. The Academy of Management Review. 9.4 (1984): 638-652. Web. McCauley, Herbert N. Deceloping a corporate private network. MIS Quarterly. 7.4 (1983): 19-33. Web. Noam, Eli M. Beyond liberalization: From the network of networks to the system of systems. Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, n.d. Web. Noam, Eli M. Electronics and the dim future of the university. Columbia Institute f or Tele-Information, August 18, 1995. Web. Piccoli, Gabriele, Ahmad Rami and Ives Blake. Web-based virtual learning environments: A research framework and a preliminary assessment of effectiveness in basic IT skills training. MIS Quarterly. 25.4 (2001): 401-426. Web. Sarkar, M. Baenitz., Cavusgil S. Tamer and Aulakh Preet S. International expansion of telecommunication carriers: The influence of market structure, network characteristics, and entry imperfections. Journal of International Business Studies. 30.2 (1999): 361-381. Web.

The cold war in Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The cold war in Europe - Essay Example On the other hand, Bernard Law Montgomery was born on 17th November 1887. He was a British field marshal officer. He was mostly referred to as Monty and he earned his distinction during the World War II as he had highly efficient leadership skills to the British army in the North Africa. Montgomery was seen to be very more arrogant Friedman (43). Patton and Montgomery were both the most prominent military figures during the fight of freeing Europe from the grip of Nazism. These two generals were rivals throughout the war. The two had different massive egos and opinions on how they were going to defeat the Germans, their differences perceptions always got them arguing. Bernard law Montgomery was considered to be so pompous while Patton was considered as reckless and this prevented both the two generals from leading the Allied land invasion of Europe (Friedman 47). Bernard law Montgomery and George S. Patton turned in to natural rivalry because they competed with each other to see who was going to get to Berlin first and they wanted to prove their powers hence they wanted to see who was much better between the two (other). The two pushed their men recklessly to get of Massena first than the other group.

The Formation of the Islamic State Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Formation of the Islamic State - Assignment Example He was the founder and leader of al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad formed in the 1990s (Osobista 17). Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the current leader of ISIS but before that he was an active Muslim cleric and a follower of Saddam Hussein. He preaches radical Islam and is believed to be a Caliph by his supporters. The two men play a role in the formation of ISIS as Zarkawis terrorist groups led to the formation of ISIS as well as the teachings of Baghdadi the leader of ISIS. Baghdadi was the leader of al-Qaeda in 2010 before the formation of ISIS in 2014. The two men were working together in terrorist attacks that later formed ISIS (Osobista 30). Baghdadi is a man of few words where one can say he is an introvert. History suggests that he was not a social person and did not have many friends. He is a caliph who spends most of his time in the mosque leading prayers. Baghdadi, unlike Zarkawi, is not a violent person. Zarkawi’s personality, on the other hand, is open right from his leadership of al Qaeda. He was the one leading in the radical teachings of Islam and had a large following (Osobista 15)..

The influence of attachment theory on my practice Essay

The influence of attachment theory on my practice - Essay Example John Bowlby suggested that attachment keeps an infant close to the mother. It is this closeness that permits the child to accept suckling and other protection mechanisms that the mother provides to increase its chances of survival (Personality Research Organization, 2011). As mentioned above, it was John Bowlby that highlighted the significance of young children establishing attachment with their significant adult. According to Bowlby, attachment is a special psychological and emotional relationship that inculcates an exchange of care, comfort and pleasure. The relationship between a child and an infant a caregiver (parent or a significant adult) created a sense of comfort, care and pleasure. The roots of Bowlby’s research stemmed from Fraud’s theories about love. He researched and shared significant psychoanalytic view that earliest experiences of a child in his early years of development have imperative effects on the child’s development and growth in later yea rs. As such, the theory claims that everyone’s daily interaction and behavior towards other people are phenomena that were established in childhood through early attachments to the caregivers (McLeod, 2012). In addition, Bowlby researched and placed forth a claim that the attachment between one and the world around him underwent evolutionary effect. Evolutionary component of the Attachment Theory enables human beings to survive in the ever dynamic world. According to the researcher, the propensity to create strong emotional bonds to particular people or person is a basic component of every human being. In the view of Bowlby, Attachment Theory displays four distinct characteristics of attachment. Foremost, there is the characteristic of Proximity Maintenance. This refers to the need to be always close to the people one is attached to. A child always misses the closeness of the significant adults they are attached to. The second characteristic is Safe Haven. This characteristic of the theory makes children return to their attachment figures for safety and comfort in the event that they fear or are faced with threats. Children always run to the people they have emotional attachment to in times of danger and grief. There is the concept of Secure Base (McLeod, 2012). As the child explores the surrounding environment and gets to learn people and issues, the attachment figure acts as the base of his security. All issues that present danger and potential harm are reported to the significant adult in a child’s life. Lastly, Attachment Theory has the characteristic of Separation Distress. In the event that the attachment figure or significant adult is absent and far from the child, a feeling of anxiety and distress sets in the child (McLeod, 2012). Bowlby’s Attachment Theory was officially published in the trilogy Attachment and Loss in 1969-82 (Personality Research Organization, 2011). However, there were preliminary papers on the progress of the p sychologist’s research efforts right from 1958. The preliminary reports included the researcher’s expanded field of study to the theory including evolution by natural selection, control systems theory, cognitive psychology, and field of ethnology, evolutionary biology and object relations theory (psychoanalysis). The final publication that was released in 1969 outlined John Bowlby’

Assessment of the Operation Performance Objectives

Assessment of the Operation Performance Objectives A company should be concerned to satisfy its customers requirements for fast and dependable services at reasonable price, as well as helping its own suppliers to improve services they offer.   There are five basic performance objectives and they apply to all types of operation: Quality Speed Dependability Flexibility Cost Flow of flowers in VBA Operations and Critical Points It starts from the sellers section, here the flowers are received and kept in cold storage area and it moved to auction. Next it moves to the buyers section, the area for preparing and packing flowers for shipment. They pack the flowers and moved for to the auction area. With lot of manpower they handle the flowers and plants for packing and moving to the auction area. Once they reached the auction area, flowers are brought into standard container. They packed each flower with a reference number. Then flowers are arranged by its category and placed into different halls for auction. Once the auction done by the buyers for the flowers, lots are distributed on the trolleys to the appropriate packing and loading Ares. Critical Point in this Flow After moving flowers from the sellers section to the buyers sections, and moved from the auction area to the destination, it is critical to preserve the freshness of the flower. Another important critical to take care of the bidding price and flower. The first bidder to press desk operation stops the clock and become buyer of the lot. VBA have to take care of two or more bidder pressed desk operation at the same time. Scientific Management relates to Modern Job Method Design To avoid manual things which lead to error, it is resulted in information processing technology. Job Method Design is used in VBA with its useful features such as task simplification, automation, specialized tools and procedures. This approach stems from the scientific management school of thought, time and motion study and work simplification and specialization. Its primary scientific basis is classic industrial engineering. Jobs high in mechanistic features can be staffed by almost anyone and training time is typically very short. Because mental demands are minimal, stress and overload are unlikely. Errors are less common because mistakes are less likely to occur. Measuring Performance Performance in VBA can be measured based on each Performance Objectives. Quality Speed Dependability Flexibility Cost Doing things right by providing error free goods and services, which will satisfy the customers, is known as quality. VBA operations have to export their flowers to be perishable and so they made the quality inspection by VBA staff and kept in cool storage place. Performance objective speed means doing fast, it means to minimize the time between the order and the availability of the product or service that gives the customer speed advantage.VBA are focused operations to reduce difficulty by having ten thousand people to work at the center to handle seventeen million flowers and two million plants by their information processing technology. To do the things in time for customers to receive their goods or services when they are promised this performance objective known as dependability. In VBA everything tiered to the auction computer so that each buyer can have uninterrupted view of the flower and price. A clear result of responding to a dynamic environment is that organization change their products and services and changes the way they do business.   This performance objective is known as flexibility. The whole bidding process by VBA including processing time takes only a few seconds and the lots are distributed on the trolleys to the appropriate packing and loading Ares. Companies compete with prices is cost.   Low price is a universal attractive objective to customers, which can be achieved by producing goods at lower costs. In order to do things cheaply. The high level of computerization and automation of material flow allow VBA to operate with low cost at high speed and dependability. Business Process Engineering fits into the Improvement Activity The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed encompasses the envisioning of new work strategies, the actual process design activity, and the implementation of the change in all its complex technological, human, and organizational dimensions. BPR, if implemented properly, can give huge returns. BPR has helped giants like Procter and Gamble Corporation and General Motors Corporation succeed after financial drawbacks due to competition. It helped American Airlines somewhat get back on track from the bad debt that is currently haunting their business practice. BPR is about the proper method of implementation Example General Motors Corporation General Motors Corporation implemented a 3-year plan to consolidate their multiple desktop systems into one. It is known internally as Consistent Office Environment (Booker, 1994). This reengineering process involved replacing the numerous brands of desktop systems, network operating systems and application development tools into a more manageable number of vendors and technology platforms. According to Donald G. Hedeen, director of desktops and deployment at GM and manager of the upgrade program, he says that the process lays the foundation for the implementation of a common business communication strategy across General Motors. [12] Lotus Development Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Development Company, formerly Compaq Computer Corporation, received the single largest non-government sales ever from General Motors Corporation. GM also planned to use Novell NetWare as a security client, Microsoft Office and Hewlett-Packard printers. According to Donald G. Hedeen, this saved GM 10% to 25% on support costs, 3% to 5% on hardware, 40% to 60% on software licensing fees, and increased efficiency by overcoming incompatibility issues by using just one platform across the entire company Cause of failures and Prevention Corporate failure models can be broadly divided into two groups: quantitative models, which are based largely on published financial information; and qualitative models, which are based on an internal assessment of the company concerned. Both types attempt to identify characteristics, whether financial or non-financial, which can then be used to distinguish between surviving and failing companies. Quantitative models identify financial ratios with values which differ markedly between surviving and failing companies, and which can subsequently be used to identify companies which exhibit the features of previously failing companies. Commonly-accepted financial indicators of impending failure include: low profitability related to assets and commitments low equity returns, both dividend and capital poor liquidity high gearing high variability of income. Many other lists of symptoms of failure exist. For example, there is a list of 65 reasons on the UK Insolvency website which include:1 Failure to focus on a specific market because of poor research.2 Failure to control cash by carrying too much stock, paying suppliers too promptly, and allowing customers too long to pay.3 Failure to control costs ruthlessly.4 Failure to adapt your product to meet customer needs.5 Failure to carry out decent market research.6 Failure to build a team that is compatible and has the skills to finance, produce, sell, and market. Failure to pay taxes (insurances and VAT).8 Failure of businesses need to grow. Merely attempting stability or having even less ambitious objectives, businesses which did not try to grow didnt survive http://www.accaglobal.com/pubs/students/publications/student_accountant/archive/sa_jj08_mpogue.pdf. Changes affecting customer services, efficiencies in operations and improvement in stakeholder value PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION SPECIALISTS What is so difficult with the split between production and distribution specialists? It is to accommodate the variety of business situations likely to happen. There is no standard way to cooperate between a financial services producer and a distributor and there will not be any before long due to the fragmentation of the banking industry. It means that each couple of partners to- be will have to find and negotiate its own answers reflecting the power relationship as well as both specific strategies to the basic questions: Under what brand and what packaging are the services sold to the end customer? How are determined the service prices? Who does prepare, print and send the invoices? What are the roles vis-à  -vis the contract? Who does sign? Who does endorse the commitments to the customer? To the legal obligations? Who does carry the risks a priori? A posteriori? Who does manage the disputes, claims, litigations? Who does book the accounts? Who does manage the reporting to the regulators? Who may access and use the clients information files? How is organized the after sales service to clients? Who is accountable for the reporting to the clients? How are designed the processes to combine the client orientation with the product expertise? What are the incentives pushing both parties to enhance the global performanc e? The security? The IT efficiency? How are determined the earnings of both parties? In order to get the best result out of this discussion, a bank will have to be as flexible as possible in its ability to accommodate a variety of interactions with its partners IS. Let us take some examples. In the case of a brokerage partnership (where the bank does not play an important role in the contract management after the sale) as many banks have built for instance with insurance companies: The production specialist (e.g. insurance) will supply high level services: a full portal or at least application services supporting complete processes (salesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) to be integrated in the portal of the distribution specialist, Conversely, the distribution specialist will supply lower level services such as objects (addressesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) or data flows (contracts inputs). In the case of a outsourcing partnership (where the production specialist is more an outsourcer of data processing and back-office processes) as many banks have built for instance with joint ventures set up as shared service providers with competitors: The production specialist will rather supply functional services (scoring, etc.) to be orchestrated within the processes of the distribution specialist, access to simple objects (pending orders, etc.) or even data flows (reporting), The distribution specialist will supply higher level functions than in the first case (pricing decision, risk analysisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). A Capacity planning Capacity planning is the process of determining the production capacity needed by an organization to meet changing demands for its products.[1] In the context of capacity planning, capacity is the maximum amount of work that an organization is capable of completing in a given period of time. the phrase is also used in business computing as a synonym for Capacity Management A discrepancy between the capacity of an organization and the demands of its customers results in inefficiency, either in under-utilized resources or unfulfilled customers. The goal of capacity planning is to minimize this discrepancy. Demand for an organizations capacity varies based on changes in production output, such as increasing or decreasing the production quantity of an existing product, or producing new products. Better utilization of existing capacity can be accomplished through improvements in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Capacity can be increased through introducing new techniques, equipment and materials, increasing the number of workers or machines, increasing the number of shifts, or acquiring `additional production facility ies. Capacity is calculated: (number of machines or workers) ÃÆ'- (number of shifts) ÃÆ'- (utilization) ÃÆ'- (efficiency). The broad classes of capacity planning are lead strategy, lag strategy, and match strategy. Capacity planning is long-term decision that establishes a firms overall level of resources. It extends over time horizon long enough to obtain resources. Capacity decisions affect the production lead time, customer responsiveness, operating cost and company ability to compete. Inadequate capacity planning can lead to the loss of the customer and business. Excess capacity can drain the companys resources and prevent investments into more lucrative ventures. The question of when capacity should be increased and by how much are the critical decisions. Capacity planning and control is an issue which every operation is faced with. Furthermore it is an activity which can profoundly affect the efficiency and effectiveness of the operation. Capacity planning and control is concerned with making sure there is some kind of balance between the demand placed on an operation and its ability to satisfy that demand. If an operation has too much capacity at any point in time it will be underutilizing it resources, paying out for machinery and facilities and often paying its staff but, because demand is lower than capacity, its costs are spread over two few customers. Therefore its costs per customer will be high. If it has too little capacity, its costs will be low (because its facilities will be fully utilized) but its customer service will be poor because it is either turning customers away or making them wait for their products and services. This will potentially undermine the companys success in the future. Therefore there are serious cons equences of getting the balance between demand and capacity wrong B (Antti Tenhià ¤là ¤, 2008)The different planning methods are by no means mutually exclusive (Meal, 1984). However, a concept called bottom-up re-planning helps to define the main method of capacity planning (Fransoo Wiers, forthcoming; Vollmann et al., 2005). It is the method that is used to ensure the feasibility of master production schedules. The variance in the sophistication of the main methods is interesting because the more advanced methods specifically aim to improve operational per-formance by reducing errors in planning. Some studies, which have focused on non-systematic methods, RCCP, and CRP, have provided preliminary evidence of the more advanced methods benefits (Sheu Wacker, 2001; Wacker Sheu, 2006). Including the finite loading techniques in the comparisons is important because a lot of efforts have been put in their development during the last two decades (Kouvelis et al., 2005). The use of progressive methods would be well justified if there was evidence on the relationship between the accuracy of the planning methods and performance. Hence, the following hypothesis is formulated: 8 Globalization refers to the process of integration across societies and economies. The phenomenon encompasses the flow of products, services, labor, finance, information, and ideas moving across national borders. The frequency and intensity of the flows relate to the upward or downward direction of globalization as a trend. Business operations are those ongoing recurring activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders. They are contrasted with project management, and consist of business processes. The outcome of business operations is the harvesting of value from assets owned by a business. Assets can be either physical or intangible. An example of value derived from a physical asset like a building is rent. An example of value derived from an intangible asset like an idea is a royalty. The effort involved in harvesting this value is what constitutes business operations. Business operations encompasses three fundamental management imperatives that collectively aim to maximize value harvested from business assets (this has often been referred to as sweating the assets): Generate recurring income. Increase the value of the business assets. Secure the income and value of the business. All three imperatives are mutually dependent. The following basic tenets illustrate this interdependency: The more recurring income an asset generates, the more valuable it becomes. For example, the products that sell at the highest volumes and prices are usually considered to be the most valuable products in a businesss product portfolio. The more valuable a product becomes the more recurring income it generates. For example, a luxury car can be leased out at a higher rate than a normal car. The intrinsic value and income-generating potential of an asset cannot be realized without a way to secure it. For example, petroleum deposits are worthless unless processes and equipment are developed and employed to extract, refine, and distribute it profitably. Globalization has a huge impact on business operations The extent of globalization unfolds in an uneven fashion to the degree that the question is raised whether international trade is more focused on regional rather than global integration. Trading blocs, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the European Union (EU), the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC), Mercosur (South American trading bloc), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the East Africa Community (EAC), support regional cooperation between geographical neighbors. Georgios Chortareas and Theodore Pelagidis research findings on openness and convergence in international trade indicate that intra-regional trade increased more than global trade in most situations. They stated that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ despite the positive international climate resulting from important reductions in transportation costs, the development of new technologies and trade liberalization markets continue to be determined, to a large extent, regionally and nationallyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Within NAFTA, intra-regional exports rose from 34 percent in the 1980s to more than 56 percent in 2000; exports between Asian country members amounted to 48 percent in 2000; and exports within the EU were sustained at about 62 percent. An example of limitations to fair market access for developing countries is that developed countries subsidize agricultural producers with about $330 billion per year, which creates a significant disadvantage for poorer economies without such subsidies. The impact is exacerbated because 70 percent of the worlds poor population lives in rural communities and depends heavily on agriculture. Hence, one of the concerns with uneven distribution of globalization is its impact on poorer economies by perpetuating systems of inequality.

The Power of Change :: Personal Narrative Writing

The Power of Change My best friend’s ex-boyfriend used to tell her â€Å"that’s the difference between you and me†¦you’re a tree and I’m a blade of grass. You’re problem,† he would say, (apparently never having learned that starting off any piece of advice with â€Å"your problem† is the kiss of death) – â€Å"your problem is that you need to learn to bend.† He might have questioned his desire to have her heed such advice some months later after she dumped him for his best friend and tossed the shredded bits of his world into thousands of irreparable pieces. And, as clichà © as his words of guidance may seem, I have now begun to think him rather astute, for in the months that followed their separation my friend transformed her behaviors in the most fundamental and opposing ways: she traveled more, replaced her old job with one she actually liked, gave herself over to the pleasures of a most memorable one night stand, and today smiles r andomly and with more charm than I have ever remembered. It is a fiction that we become less spontaneous and more rigid as we get older, that we are all blithe and adaptable children. As for me, I hated change as a child, resisted it like a dry naked body would sliding down a fire pole. I experienced each new thing as a betrayal. A new friend in the circle meant, not more love to go around, just less time for the old ones. It also meant going off the course, entering something unseen, welcoming an unknowable unfolding. Change was not transformation. It was exchange – this for that – an end for a beginning. How we come into this world– that is– the state in which we arrive is a complete mystery to me. While other children, my siblings included, relished new pets, or a new piece of furniture for their bedroom or the hope of a family vacation, I capitulated to a kind of juvenile asceticism. When I was eight I spent the whole of a trip to Disney World grumpy and brooding, not because I wanted something I was denied, but because I sensed that in the excitement that fueled everyone else – that in that exodus from our routine of school and homework and sports and homemade dinners – there was the prospect that anything could happen. And anything could change everything.