Baby Bloomers

Time Context The case under study covers the period of the 1980’s (particularly 1987) wherein the Philippine economy is experiencing difficulty due to the political turmoil.Summary A family enterprise known as the Baby Bloomers specializing in floral arrangement was founded in 1977. It was inspired by the Three Flowers Florists which is considered as the leading supplier of flower arrangements during the previous years. It became widely known floral trade to the market because of the imported materials they use. Also, their standardized outlet, with luxuriant interior and overall air of quality, has a great impact to the customer. This led to a large amount of cash inflows incurred by the company, mainly because of its high price being charged in their high-quality products and services. With this tremendous success, owners take into consideration business expansion.They started establishing restaurants, automobile dealership, wine importation business, cocktail lounge, jewelr y shop, European sporting goods dealership, and store specializing in remote-controlled toys. However, not all of the newly established businesses were doing too well, except the restaurant which was moderately successful. Large amount of investments was incurred and much of the funds available were being use as working capital instead of servicing of the loans. During 1983, a consequential challenge was faced by the enterprise, when devaluation of the dollar exchange rate set in. Unfortunately, expenses increase because some of their businesses were import-oriented.It became a greater liability for the Baby Bloomers flower boutiques for it is the only enterprise generating high income. Many of its loans were defaulted, and since personal funds were not sufficient to meet the payment, troubled businesses were eventually sold to settle the problem, leaving only the flower boutiques and the restaurant.Mission StatementTo provide a high-quality floral products offering imported materia ls, and a standardized outlets for the convenience and satisfaction of our customers.To pursue business expansion of many unrelated ventures under the Baby Bloomers Commercial Corporation.Vision Statement To preserve the status of the company as the leading supplier of flower arrangements in the floral industry by providing good quality products and services.I. Statement of the Objective/s The primary objective of the study is to assist Baby Bloomers regain its success by devoting more time and effort in managing the money-generating flower boutiques, in order to recover the financial losses the company suffers.Specific Objectives: To understand the background of the company. To know the causes of troubled businesses. To suggest means of settling pending loan obligations. To identify businesses need to continue and discontinue operation.II. Central Problem How would Baby Bloomers bring back its normal condition and how would it recover from financial losses it suffers to maintain bu siness’ soundness?III. Areas of Consideration Strengths Prestige that came with Baby Bloomers brand name Sufficient experience in the florist trade High pricing power Standardized outlets Strong management of flower shops Weaknesses High debt burden Rapid sequence of expansion of unrelated businesses Weak management of other businesses Use of imported materials Opportunities International expansion New markets Baby Bloomers’ brand name serves as a goodwill to the newly-established businesses.Threats Volatile dollar exchange Intense competition in other established enterprises Government tax regulations Bad reputation brought by enterprises not doing too well Political risksIV. Alternative Courses of Action These are the possible solutions to the problem with the corresponding advantages and disadvantages:1. Not to expand floral boutiques and focused first in managing existing ones.AdvantagesLesser expenses may incur because the company do not need to hire new employees .Mrs. Picache may have an idle time to train her daughters in order to continue the family business traditions. ImprovementDisadvantagesLetting go of the chance of successful business expansion where it can put the firm in a positive place when it comes to acquiring necessary financing.It cannot place the company in the forefront of many customers’ mind.Sacrificing the income coming from expansion of other boutiques.2. Foreclosed the restaurant with moderate earnings and continue to expand immensely profitable flower boutiques.AdvantagesThere will be more time can be devoted in well-management of the flower boutiques because the company will be focusing on one kind of business.Greater chance of improving and innovating their products and services because they will stick to business which the family knows best.DisadvantagesProducts of this kind of business are not necessaries which customers consumed almost everyday.In case demand for flower arrangements decrease the company m ight suffer additional losses because there will be no other sources of income.3. As the company regains its success, take into consideration expansion of unrelated ventures.AdvantagesAn opportunity to staff new businesses with qualified people. These people can help streamline processes, bring fresh ideas to the organization.Exposing the brand name Baby Bloomers to a wider audience. This increased pool of potential customers can improve sales, resulting in increased profitability.DisadvantagesRapid sequence of business expansion can lead to declining quality of products and services.Expansion requires major financial investments that can turn sour if a company cannot keep up with the resulting obligations.May encounter the same problems faced before.V. Strategy Formulation/RecommendationWe therefore conclude that the best solution to the problem is alternative course of action no. 2, â€Å"Foreclosed the restaurant with moderate earnings and continue to expand immensely profitable flower boutiques.† Generally, expansion of unrelated ventures like the Baby Bloomers Restaurant is advantageous because of the additional income it may provide, but Picache’s family area of expertise does not lie in managing that kind of business,  they are specializing in floral arrangements. Foreclosure of restaurant may result to more time and effort to be spent on the preservation and improvement of the high-class quality products and services of flower boutiques which will ensure a much higher profit, thus easily regaining its success.It is also advisable that as early as possible, daughters of Mrs. Picache must be trained to continue the family business since she almost reached the age of seniority. As the company recovers, and plans to do expansion of unrelated ventures, by this time they need to be wiser, taking into consideration the past causes of their fall down, also the future problems they may encounter. Expansion must not be in a rapid sequence because expansion does not always connote additional profit because of the presence of economic and political risks. Additionally, there should be a defined reason for the expansion – entering into new, potentially profitable market segments, for example.VI. Plan of Action1. Focus on incurring cash inflows to settle part of loan obligations still unpaid. 2. Devoting more time and effort in managing Baby Bloomers floral boutiques to recover from financial difficulties, thus maximizing profit. 3. Expand the number of money-generating floral boutiques and sell the restaurant. 4. Aid in first the assistance of business consultant when making expansion of unrelated ventures.VII. Potential Problems1. What if Mrs. Picache has no longer personal funds to cover the unpaid loan obligation? 2. What if Mrs. Picache can no longer devote much of her time to manage the flower boutiques because of her age? 3. What if prices of imported materials become doubled and Mrs. Picache could not offer its p roducts in a much higher price than the usual because customers are also suffering financial difficulties? 4. What if the trend for floral arrangements enterprise decreases due to innovative culture?VIII. Contingency Plan1. The company may sell the restaurant, at the first place she hardly knows anything about restaurant management because her family is sticking to what  it knows best, the floral arrangements. 2. She may assign Mrs. Bengco to help her managing the flower shop, after all Mrs. Bengco is one of her loyal employees, working for her for almost ten years. Furthermore, she has three daughters; they can be trained to manage the business in the future. 3. The company must try to deal with local materials which will ensure her of the same quality products she is currently providing to her customer. Local materials are less costly than imported materials. 4. The company must try to come up with new ideas on how to improve its products and services to preserve the loyalty and patronage of customers to their products.

Effects of Nationalism After French Revolution

After the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era, people were brought together by the French army marching through their country. During the nineteenth century nationalism became a great aspect of life. Both writer and artist works were greatly influenced by nationalistic ideals and brought people together. Nationalism became a very popular thing after the Napoleonic Era, when people saw how the French carried themselves as a people of a nation. This is when other nations started to strive for links between their people.One major forerunner was language. People saw language as one way to unify as a nation, and create a brotherhood between its people. The whole idea of roots and back story also influenced the literature of the nineteenth century as well. Many writers works were influenced from the nineteenth century was influenced by Nationalistic ideals. One set of writers who showed the idea of nationalism were the Brothers Grimm in their Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Grimm’s Fairy Tales is a collection of German fairy tales all in one book.They used these collection of fairy tales to create a German identity, by saying these were the tales passed on from generation to generation in German culture. Another writer that shows nationalism is Aleksandr Pushkin in his work The Bronze Horseman. The Bronze Horseman tells the tale of Evgenii and how he ends up going mad and getting killed by the statue of Peter. This shows nationalism in the fact that in the introduction of the poem, he talks about the founding of St. Petersburg and how great Russia is. Artist also had many works that portrayed nationalistic ideals.One piece of art that without a doubt showed nationalism was La Liberte guidant le peuple by Eugene Delacroix. This painting depicts â€Å"Mother France† leading her people into battle during the French Revolution. It shows Mother France with torn clothes and a French flag above her head which show how she wanted to bring her people all under the French flag and join them together. Another painting that depicts nationalism is The Bard by John Martin. This painting shows a Welsh bard running from a massacre that had just happened in a town off in the background of the painting.This showed nationalism in the idea that no matter what the English would send upon the Welsh they would always stand strong as a people and never give in to the English repression. All these different works show different aspects of nationalism. The Brother Grimm with the Grimm’s Fairy Tales, showed German nationalism in the fact that it created German folklore for people to come around. Aleksandr Pushkin’s The Bronze Horseman showed nationalism in that it tells how great Russia is and no matter what happens it will forever keep its greatness.Eugene Delacroix’s painting La Liberte Guidant le people shows French nationalism in that it shows the French people all coming together under one flag to fight alongside Mother France and were willing to die for her. In The Bard by John Martin shows Welsh nationalism in that no matter what the English did to them they would never give in. In sum, nationalism became a major aspect of life in the nineteenth century. People came together and many new nations began to form in response to these new ideals of nationalism. Nationalism led to many great things, like the unification of Germany in 1871.

Intro to Marketing Final Review

1. Explain the importance of the marketing mix. Product Price Promotion Place 2. Describe and analyze the marketing management functions. Developing marketing strategies and plans Capturing marketing insights Connecting with customers Building strong brands Shaping marketing offerings Delivering value Communicating value Creating long term growth 3. Explain the elements of a marketing plan. Executive Summary Situation Analysis Marketing Summary Target market Market Demographics Geographics DemographicsBehavior factors Market Needs Trends and Growth S. W. O. T. Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Competition Product Offering Keys to Success Critical Issues Marketing Strategy Mission Marketing Objectives Financial Objectives Target Markets Positioning Strategies Marketing Mix Distribution Price Advertising and Promotion Customer Service Marketing Research Financials Breakeven Analysis Sales Forecast Expense Forecast Controls Revenue Expenses Customer Satisfaction New Pr oduct Development ImplementationMarketing Organization Organization Chart Contingency Planning Difficulty and Risks Worst Case Scenario 4. Describe the stages of the product life cycle. Introduction Growth Maturity Decline 5. Explain and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of entering international markets. Advantages Economies of scale in production and distribution Lower marketing costs Power & Scope Consistency of Brand Image Ability to leverage good ideas, quality and efficiency Uniformity in marketing process DisadvantagesDifferences in Consumer needs, wants and use patterns for products Differences in response to marketing elements Differences in trends and products Differences in the legal environment Differences in marketing institutions Differences in administration procedures 6. Explain the impact of e-commerce on the marketing functions. Information more rapidly available Direct customer relationship easier to develop Economies of scale by leveraging advertising coll aterals 7. Describe the new product development process Idea generation ScreeningIdea evaluation Development Commercialization 8. The adoption curve Innovators Early adopters Early majority Late majority Laggards or nonadopters 9. The consultative selling process Develop an understanding of needs Provide general benefit statement Ask questions Listen carefully Agree on needs Discuss how to meet needs Close sale Sometimes called the need-satisfaction approach 10. One price and flexible price policies One price: Same price to all customers Flexible price: Offering the same product and quantities to different customers at different prices.

EU communication strategy and the euro implementation Essay

EU communication strategy and the euro implementation - Essay Example f Sweden, this came in the form of a referendum that declined adoption of the unified currency, choosing instead to maintain its national identity and sovereignty and viewing adoption as a barrier to the country’s continued progress and prosperity. In the case of Slovakia, however, adoption was openly embraced, and the process undertaken as flawlessly as possible, supported by the national perception that the adoption of the euro will bring about economic stability and prosperity made possible by a single European market. The difference between the two countries is borne by the discrepancies in public perception about the prospects of euro adoption. This study examines the circumstances which circumscribed each case, the nature, strategies, and activities of the information campaign undertaken by the EC in each country. In comparing the communication campaigns in these two Member States, insights are gathered on the importance of an organized and well implemented information programme in forming favourable public perception and preparation of the citizenry for the transition, for the overall successful adoption of the euro. Chapter 1 introduces the topic of research and the context within which it shall be addressed. It presents the thesis statement sought to be substantiated, and explains the general methodology of arriving at the solution. The Chapter describes the approach that this dissertation takes in the course of arriving at a solution that leads to either the confirmation or negation of the thesis statement. The analysis is conducted according to the Integrative Framework for Effective Communication by Van den Putte, the particulars of which are explained in this Chapter. The topic of the dissertation is on the EU communication strategy and the euro implementation. The main research topic is approached through a comparative examination of the communication strategies employed in two countries, namely Sweden and Slovakia, in order to determine

HOW DOES INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS SUCH AS WORLD TRADE Research Paper

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IT Manager Perspective Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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The CPAs in the Accounting Profession Research Proposal

The CPAs in the Accounting Profession - Research Proposal Example In smaller organizations, there is less specialization and more combining of responsibility for the various accounting functions. Larger business enterprise typically employs internal auditors who review the work done by accountants and others within the enterprise and report their findings to management. In addition to auditing financial reports generated by the accounting system, they review the operational policies of the company and make recommendations for improving efficiency and effectiveness. Although internal auditors are employees of the enterprise, they must be independent with respect to the employees whose work they review. Some accountant known as Certified Public Accountants or simply known as CPAs, do not work for a single business enterprise. Rather, they provide a variety of services for many different individuals and business clients, which is categorized as external financial reporting.Certified Public Accountants perform public accounting and independent auditing . CPAs practice either individually or in firms. Due to the important of personal liability for professional conduct, public accounting firms are generally organized as professional corporations. These corporations provide many of the benefits of the corporate structure, but retain personal liability for the professionals involved. Almost all big and publicly held corporations are audited by a few large CPA firms; and numerous small businesses and non-public entities are serviced by regional and local CPA firms, including a large number of sole practitioners. In these firms, the role of auditing is often less important than the areas of tax reporting and planning and systems consulting. A CPA in a smaller firm is expected to be something of an accounting generalist, as opposed to the more specialized positions of CPAs in large regional and national firms. With respect to external financial reporting, the most important service provided by the CPAs is the independent audit of financial statements. As independent auditors, Certified Public Accountants play a critical role in the reporting of financial information to external users who make their decisions concerning their relationship to the enterprise, such as: creditors and potential creditors, investors and potential investors, financial analysts, government agencies, and other interested parties. In performing an independent audit, the CPAs responsibility is to examine the financial statements to be furnished to external users and to express an opinion as to the fairness of the statements in adhering to the generally accepted accounting principles (Nikolai and Bazely, p.10). The auditor's opinion is communicated in a report that accompanies the financial statements. The opinion is based on evidence gathered by the auditor from the detailed records and documents maintained by the com pany and from a review of the controls over the accounting system. The need for independent audits resulted from the emergence of the corporate form of business and the resulting separation of ownership and management. A significant proportion of the productive activity in the United States is conducted by publicly held corporations; that is, by corporations whose securities are sold to the general public. The stockholders who own the corporations are primarily investors and are generally not involved in the operations of the business. These investor-owners rely on management to operate the business and report periodically on the performance and financial

IT Evolution in Global Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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State Court System In Indiana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

State Court System In Indiana - Essay Example The trial courts consists of (from the lowest to the highest level) city or town courts, it is county courts, superior courts and circuit courts (Indianacourts, 2009). City or town courts can be created by local ordinances meaning local law. They handle minor offenses, namely infractions, misdemeanors and city ordinances. Most commonly, this is where traffic matters are handled (Court Reference. 2009). Since city or town courts are not courts of record, their proceedings are not recorded. Hence any appeal from these courts to superior or circuit courts, they are trialed as if they are appearing for the first time at these higher courts. At present, there are 48 city courts and 27 town courts in Indiana with Avon, Carmel, Jamestown, and Plainfield as a few examples (Indianacourts, 2009). County courts handle contract (disagreements over written and oral agreements), tort (such as personal injury cases, perhaps from a car accident), and landlord/tenant cases where the damages do not ex ceed $10,000. Class D felonies, misdemeanor and infraction cases and violations of local ordinances are cases county courts hear. A small claims division is also available in county courts (Court Reference. 2009). Floyd, Madison, and Montgomery counties are the only Indiana counties that still have a county court system while the rest are upgraded to superior courts. Superior courts have general jurisdiction, and so all civil and criminal cases can be heard. Where no county court system exists minor offences and small claims are heard. The General Assembly divided Indiana into circuits, or areas based on county lines. Indiana has 92 counties, and 88 of these counties have their own circuit with their own circuit court. The remaining four small counties in southeastern Indiana (Dearborn, Jefferson, Ohio, and Switzerland counties) have been combined to form two circuits with two counties in each circuit. Circuit courts heard all civil and

Women language Essay Example for Free

Women language Essay One of the debates which is of long standing within the study of linguistics is concerned with whether women speak in a language and perceive situations in a manner significantly different from that of men. Many theorists both feminists and anti-feminists have attempted to prove that women do indeed speak in a different way from men; and that there is such a thing as the â€Å"women language†. The debate attempts to place in context matters such as sex differences in linguistic behavior at the level of phonology and to a lesser extent grammar. The concepts upon which the debate has been built however reflect, to a greater or lesser extent, the influence of feminism over the past two decades. Feminism has fore grounded issues of gender differences and male domination in society; it has prompted a concern with putting women ‘on the map’ and a critical reappraisal of feminist and non-feminist research. The discussions on gender linguistics therefore focus on the feminist projects of ‘redressing the balance’, as manifested in the academic field of languages. Phonology Cognitive research on gender differences has drawn interest from linguistic experts and language scholars. Holmes and Meyeroff (2003, p. 144), the research more often than not directs itself to the hypothesis that women posses much better verbal skills than men. Most of the studies have drawn the conclusion that there are in fact differences based on gender, in verbal performance and verbal cognitive processing. It is often believed that females are far better in reading and posses much stronger language acquisition skills than males. Many scholars equate this probability to the phonological superiority possessed by women, (Christie 2002, p. 102). The difference in phonological ability is often attributed by some researchers and scholars to the structure of the brain which in this case favors the female. Studies suggest that the left hemisphere of the brain which is much more developed in males is superior in mathematical and scientific processing and analysis (direct speech). On the other hand the right hemisphere (much highly developed) in females is much more superior in word structure, grammar recognition and verbalization (indirect speech), (Christie 2002, p. 104). However the evidence provided to support this theory has often drawn inconsistent results making it much difficult to prove. Another school of researchers in linguistics suggests that culture is the main foundation for any form of language processing and development. For this school of scholars the role of women as caregivers in society makes them much more sensitive in their speech structure and verbalization. They know that they must be more knowledgeable in the different aspects of language and speech, (Holmes and Meyerhoff 2003, p. 142). The women are the first teachers for the child and therefore they take much more time to understand the speech techniques and pronunciation so they can be able to direct the children much easily. The men’s social role as providers on the other hand, pre-disposes them to poor performance in reading, sounds and sentence structure. This means that women easily develop direct and indirect speech much easily than men. Men are much better at direct speech. Use of Slang In historical society and the study of linguistics, women have been given the conservative linguistic role while men are often considered much more creative, and innovative in their language use. In traditional societies, subordination of women denied them the chance to use creative, innovative language that violated the speech protocol. It is from this perspective that many scholars develop the notion that women are less likely to develop â€Å"slang† or terms considered as â€Å"slang† in their speech. Medieval society put in place taboos and regulations that denied women the chance to distort conventional language regulations. Women had to use respectable language, refrain from swearing and insults; and use properly structured words and sentences. Grammatical errors and poor pronunciations were frowned upon, a woman’s speech was considered a reflection of her character and conduct, (Christie, 2000, p. 154). Surprisingly this practice is still present in today’s modernized society. We all have a tendency to judge and draw conclusions regarding an individual’s character from their command of conventional language, moreso women. Although there is no evidence that the use of ‘slang’ is more predominant in a specific gender than the other; it is found that men revert to the use of ‘slang’ terminologies much more easily than women. Even when women are influenced by the use of ‘slang’ and they incorporate ‘slang’ terminologies in their speech, the difference can be seen from the choice of terminologies. Women tend to use more euphemistic terminologies, while men apply complete use of ‘slang’ vocabulary. Use of Polite Speech In any form of communication, the speaker often hopes to get respect from his audience or the people he is speaking to. The difference in language and speech comes from how the women and men perceive respect. While the men view fear and admirations as forms of respect, women view agreement, generosity and sympathy as the measures of respect. Socio-linguists use this reason to explain why women are much more pre-disposed to the use of polite language than men. The mutual agreement is that women find polite language to be much more productive than men who prefer aggressive terms. Men are socialized by society to use rougher and more commanding language than women. Women on the hand are required to â€Å"act like ladies†, be respectable and meek. Coates (1998, p. 87) women are much more likely to use polite words such as please, excuse me and thank you than men. Women identify with the lesser classes and the abused or misused, and find it natural to appreciate others. Men on the other hand are socialized to demand action, appreciation and praise especially from women. Though being male does not necessarily mean that one is rude and arrogant, it does mean that the person is less likely to say please or thank you. In written literature, feminist scholars have often insinuated that female writers have developed what is known as the â€Å"female sentence†, which is structured to appeal to the polite nature of the female reader as well as the writer. Women are socialized to be much more submissive, as young girls for example sharing use of polite language and general respect to others is applauded. On the other hand boys are encouraged to be much more aggressive and demanding. It is this form of socialization rather than the biological composition of gender that linguists believe conditions women to be much more polite than men. Conversation Dominance A study conducted in 1975 by psychologist and linguist Zimmerman and West, based on a turn taking conversation model revealed that men are much more likely to dominate a conversation through interruption than females, (as quoted in Coates 1998,p. 161). Men feel the need to be dominant in all areas of their life, always commanding the full attention of others. They employ strategies such as interruption, questions in the middle of sentences and change of topics to maintain the dominance of the conversation. Men are well versed in strategies such as ‘no response’, interrupting, poor and inadequate responses and silence employed to change the path of the conversation to what suits them best. Eckert and McConnell- Ginnet (2003, p. 121) state that women may resort to arguments and shouting much easily when ignored, but they also tend to calm and compromise easily. However men are much more adamant, they can become completely uncooperative when ignored. While women have a tendency to imply what they would like to address or their wants and needs, men just tend to come out and directly demand what they want. Men are more confident with voicing their own needs even when they are infringing on some one else’s needs and time. As children parents and the society in general socializes the young girl to be more compromising allowing the male to get the attention they seem to thrive on. The male on the other hand is socialized to fight for and demand this attention. Conclusion The analysis of language and speech in gender provides a reflection of the cultural roles and status in society. The biological composition of each sex is less important in the development of language as compared to the socialization patterns utilized by different cultures. In general women are much more likely to develop subjective language and speech, easily influenced by the people they are speaking to. Men however are much more technical and object oriented in their language and speech, incorporating as little emotion as they can. To understand the difference in speech and language between men and women, one must first understand the gender roles and status defined by specific cultures. Works Cited 1. Christie Christine. Gender and Language: Towards Feminist Pragmatics. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press . 2000. 2. Coates Jennifer. Language and Gender: A Reader. Massachusetts. Blackwell Publishing 1998. 3. Eckert Penelope and McConnell -Ginet Sally. Language and Gender. United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press. 2003 4. Holmes Janet and Meyerhoff Miriam. Handbook of Language and Gender. Massachusetts. Blackwell Publishers. 2003.

Order Management Reengineering At Heatway

Order Management Reengineering At Heatway Heatway Systems lost a lengthy legal battle when a federal jury in Cleveland held Goodyear Tire Rubber Co. blameless for its role in manufacturing the rubber hose the radiant company marketed as Entran II. The jury reached its decision February 3 after three days of deliberation and after three weeks of testimony. Frankly, the outcome of this trial was a surprise to everyone-including Goodyear, if they were honest, Heatway president Mike Chiles said the day after the verdict. Chiles had high praise for the evidence presented by his Cleveland legal team. During three days of testimony, for example, an expert witness from the Naval Research Laboratory pointed out that Goodyear used inadequate antioxidants, inappropriate volatile plasticizers and cheap clay fillers in making the hose. A second expert witness testified that Goodyears failure to properly test the Entran II product for radiant heat purposes led to the problems. Meanwhile, mechanical contractors from Colorado and Alaska testified that they had employed exactly the same installation methods when installing Heatways other radiant brands-yet only experienced problems with Entran II hose. Goodyear argued that the failures were due to Heatways radiant system design, as well as problems with installation and maintenance by contractors. It said that field inspections showed that leaks were caused by the wrong type of hose connectors and that the hose was damaged by highly acidic fluid. In addition, Goodyear said it had been using the same 20-year-old formula to make hose for other applications, such as air and water hose, without any problems. In a statement about the jurys decision, Goodyear says it is obviously very gratified by the verdict. We always have believed that the Entran II hose was appropriate for use in radiant home heating systems when it was sold. Chiles said the numbers just didnt add up for his side. The jury looked at the fact that there had only been 658 cases of failure out of 10,000 installations, he said, and didnt think that was a high enough failure rate. After the verdict, Chiles said his lawyers interviewed the jury and many expressed the sentiment that if there had been two or three times as many cases of failure, we would have won. While Heatway lost this case, Goodyears win may be far from solid. Theyre not out of the woods at all, Chiles said. We have unearthed some ugly internal memos as a result of our discovery process. Its our firm belief that Goodyear will pay for this problem-its just going to take a couple of more years and more litigation. Chiles added that the courtroom was packed with plaintiff attorneys from across the country who are in line to sue Goodyear next. Heatway failed on its claim of a breach of implied warranty of merchantability. However, Goodyear still faces a growing number of homeowner claims and will have to fight other legal theories of liability. Heatway bought 25 million feet of the hose between 1989 and 1993. But the hose soon began to crack and leak, causing extensive damages. Entran II tubes started out orange and flexible, like garden hoses. Over time, the tube released plasticizers that hardened the tube, effectively dissolving in hot water, according to expert testimony. The first phase of the problem begins with leaks where the hose connects to the manifold, and continues until the tube spontaneously cracks and leaks elsewhere. There are about 10,000 radiant heating systems in the Unites States that contain Entran II tubes, and Heatway has spent more than $6.5 million to settle more than 100 claims since 1992. Despite the verdict against Heatway, Denver attorney William Maywhort has advised clients that the Ohio jury verdict for Goodyear does not prevent Colorado residents who have Entran II hose in their homes from suing Goodyear. In fact, suing Goodyear and Heatway directly now may be the homeowners only option for recovering for the damage caused by Entran II, said Maywhort, who represents more than a dozen Colorado homeowners who have experienced problems with the Entran II hose What is BPR? Business process re-engineering is a business management strategy, originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and processes within an organization. BPR aimed to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors. In the mid-1990s, as many as 60% of the Fortune 500 companies claimed to either have initiated reengineering efforts, or to have plans to do so. BPR seeks to help companies radically restructure their organizations by focusing on the ground-up design of their business processes. According to Davenport (1990) a business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. Re-engineering emphasized a holistic focus on business objectives and how processes related to them, encouraging full-scale recreation of processes rather than iterative optimization of subprocesses. Business process re-engineering is also known as business process redesign, business transformation, or business process change management. The role of information technology Information technology (IT) has historically played an important role in the reengineering concept. It is considered by some as a major enabler for new forms of working and collaborating within an organization and across organizational borders[citation needed]. Early BPR literature identified several so called disruptive technologies that were supposed to challenge traditional wisdom about how work should be performed. Shared databases, making information available at many places Expert systems, allowing generalists to perform specialist tasks Telecommunication networks, allowing organizations to be centralized and decentralized at the same time Decision-support tools, allowing decision-making to be a part of everybodys job Wireless data communication and portable computers, allowing field personnel to work office independent Interactive videodisk, to get in immediate contact with potential buyers Automatic identification and tracking, allowing things to tell where they are, instead of requiring to be found High performance computing, allowing on-the-fly planning and revisioning In the mid-1990s, especially workflow management systems were considered as a significant contributor to improved process efficiency. Also ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) vendors, such as SAP, JD Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft, positioned their solutions as vehicles for business process redesign and improvement. BPR Success Failure Factors Critique Many companies used reengineering as an pretext to downsize their companies dramatically, though this was not the intent of reengineerings proponents; consequently, reengineering earned a reputation for being synonymous with downsizing and layoffs. In many circumstances, reengineering has not always lived up to its expectations. Some prominent reasons include: Reengineering assumes that the factor that limits an organizations performance is the ineffectiveness of its processes (which may or may not be true) and offers no means of validating that assumption. Reengineering assumes the need to start the process of performance improvement with a clean slate, i.e. totally disregard the status quo. According to Eliyahu M. Goldratt (and his Theory of Constraints) reengineering does not provide an effective way to focus improvement efforts on the organizations constraint[citation needed]. Others have claimed that reengineering was a recycled buzzword for commonly-held ideas. Abrahamson (1996) argued that fashionable management terms tend to follow a lifecycle, which for Reengineering peaked between 1993 and 1996 (Ponzi and Koenig 2002). They argue that Reengineering was in fact nothing new (as e.g. when Henry Ford implemented the assembly line in 1908, he was in fact reengineering, radically changing the way of thinking in an organization). The most frequent critique against BPR concerns the strict focus on efficiency and technology and the disregard of people in the organization that is subjected to a reengineering initiative. Very often, the label BPR was used for major workforce reductions. Thomas Davenport, an early BPR proponent, stated that: When I wrote about business process redesign in 1990, I explicitly said that using it for cost reduction alone was not a sensible goal. And consultants Michael Hammer and James Champy, the two names most closely associated with reengineering, have insisted all along that layoffs shouldnt be the point. But the fact is, once out of the bottle, the reengineering genie quickly turned ugly. Introduction to Case Problem before Allan Firestone, president of Heatway Cooperationà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s Industrial Products Division and Bob Hemphill, a VP charged with designing and implementing a new process. Design and implementation of a new process, named Proposal to payment (PTP) for selling and delivering Heatway products. Change in organizational structure as well as IT architecture, and even a new philosophy of business. Trouble between Hemphill and Firestone over the spending budget, where Hemphill demanded $35 million and Firestone was ready to spend only $15 million. Funding Considerations before Firestone: How money could be arranged for PTP without sacrificing the profit objectives? Could corporate pay for the rest of amount? Could some of the other international divisions that had expressed interest contribute? Firestone himself believed that PTP was necessary and design for the new process, organization, and technology environment were very exciting. But, the VP had doubts about the urgency to implement PTP. So, firestone resolved to take one more look at the numbers, in hope to find some source of additional savings had been overlooked. Background-Industrial Products Industrial and consumer markets in 27 countries throughout the world. Activities involved heating, ventilation, air conditioning(HVAC) products and services. business heavily dependent on New Construction. IPD sold to medium % large sized businesses. Systems configured to suit the size, location and design of the businesses. Had its own direct-sales engineering groups. Heatway engg worked with architects, contractors and tenants to configure an HVAC solution. Reengineering at heatway An early adopter of new approaches to business improvements Quality based management approaches had been accepted in Manufacturing engineering but lacking in Sales Service In late 1980à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s radical changes to improvement in contrast to incremental changes using IT. Sought order-of-magnitude improvements in Time Cost Quality Designing First phase Assess current state of order management Create vision of new process Work divided into two teams Team A 8 members Analyze current state of the processes Understand the costs time of doing business Recommend short term improvements Team B 10 internal managers consultants Create vision for future state of process. Both teams were jointly responsible for managing the organizational changerequired for the initiative to succeed Implications of New Process Team created a large financial model to analyze the costs, benefits, and financial risks of implementing the new PTP process. The new process was very expensive (around $150million) Cost for prototype process efforts Cost of SAP Implementation Cost of fully implementing and operating the new workstations, networks, and SAP software Cost for retaining, relocating, and removing employees Return on the PTP investment appeared very high. Prototypes and pilots was planned in the middle Atlantic states region. Changes in Information technology Mobile data network necessary SAP installation Sales force workstation Not only the designà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s adoption has to be justified in financial terms, but also the long process of changing had to be started. Implications for Employees Adoption of the new process. Management, evaluation and compensation of their day to day work. Communicated the nature of these changes through written communication. Mixed Reaction Performers loved the new process because of more freedom and less bureaucracy. Less capable performers were worried about how they would fare Dramatic change not only in how the field personnel did their work bt also how they were managed, evaluated and implemented Reorganization at Heatway Change in the management Salada remain as chairman Kacher would leave Heatway Information systems function would be outsourced to an external firm with substantial SAP experience. Reorganization could have been problematic for PTP European groups would have less incentive to adopt the PTP design. Want of new system provider to implement SAP without concern of PTP process vision Concerns Firestone concern Difficulty in assessing how rapidly the construction and rollout of PTP capabilities should take place. Other memebers of the operations committee were neither worried nor committed to PTP. Change in the commitment by the key managers after t He reorganization. These are those managers whose functional areas would shrink with the adoption of PTP despite being offered important role at Heatway. Financing for PTP If all the resources are devoted then both revenue and profitability goals would not meet. Decisions Everyone understood that PTP implementation is a good investment. Head of international said she wanted to wait to see how PTP worked in the U.S. before transferring resources from her budget. Friestone tried unsucessfully at one one meeting to make PTP corporate initiative. Its upto firestone and other executives to decide how quickly to roll out the new process and how to fund it

Persian Proverb Doubt Is The Key To Knowledge Philosophy Essay

Persian Proverb Doubt Is The Key To Knowledge Philosophy Essay I have been quite fascinated by the many changes that keep happening to what seems to be a certainty and realized that doubt has traditionally played a significant part in the philosophy of knowledge. The ancient Greek philosophers debated the issue of knowledge and the relevance of doubt. Plato described knowledge as justified true belief1 the key word being belief which in itself is subject to interpretations by individuals. The famous French philosopher Renee Descartes tried to define knowledge in terms of certainty and in his arguments the path to certainty begins with doubt. In his book Meditation 1 What can be called Doubt, he says I realised that it was necessary, once in the course of my life, to demolish everything completely and start again right from the foundations if I wanted to establish anything at all in the sciences that was stable and likely to last.2 So is there any truth in the Persian saying Doubt is the Key to Knowledge? Is this purely an epistemological rhetoric or will it hold true in areas of knowledge as diverse as science and arts? Nobel laureate and leading physicist, Richard Feynman described doubt in relation to science as follows: Scientific knowledge is a body of statements of varying degrees of certainty -some most unsure, some nearly sure, none absolutely certain. A strong parallel can be drawn between his statement and space research. What made man land on the moon or explore the possibility of life on Mars? As a knower, I know that if we would not have doubted the probability that man could live on the moon, space expeditions to the moon would have stopped after the near life and death drama of Apollo 13. The Apollo3 series of expeditions seemed to have established that the moon was completely uninhabitable because of its inability to sustain water. The desire to know and doubting what was already known, led to the Indian unmanned space expedition to the moon. The Indian space craft Chandrayaan discovered traces of ice on the moons surface. So, can man really live on the moon? Science generally relies on a set of deductive logic to prove their hypothesis. Euclids two dimensional geometry is a classic case of using modus ponens or deductive logic to prove assumptions or hypothesis. Going by this, one could easily argue as follows: Man needs oxygen and water to live. Water contains oxygen. Ice is formed from water. Ice has been found on the moon therefore, man can live on the moon. www.plato.stanford.edu/entries/knowledge-analysis/à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ modus ponens xenodochy.org/article/popper.html www.rep.routeledge.com/article/DA026SECT4 www.space.com/8193-caused-apoll-13-accient.html Popper doubted this process of deductive truism and said it cannot prove a theory true every time. In his theory of falsification he argued that modus ponens is purely truth preserving and therefore a better alternative is modus tollens which uses the conditions of denying to falsify the assumption e.g. if P implies Q and Q is false, then P must also be false. Poppers falsification theory pointed out no scientific theory is ever conclusively verified, no matter how many tests it has survived4 For example, Schizophrenia has all along been seen as a chronic relapsing psychotic disorder that primarily affects thought and behaviour.5 A recent study by the University College of London has established by means of an experiment that in some cases, the perceptions of schizophrenic people is more accurate than those without schizophrenia. Therefore a doubt is created whether schizophrenia is really a psychotic condition or are there other dimensions to it. Going by the argument that deductive knowledge doesnt always hold good, I can safely surmise that we do not have adequate information to conclude that man can live on the moon and therefore more questions need to be asked. On the other hand doubting every scientific fact leading to unnecessary research and information overload could lead to a situation of complete paralysis in our normal day to day life. For example, if we were to doubt that oxygen is a life giving substance, then it could lead to critical situations in medical emergencies. Similarly while dealing with society at large and friends and relatives in particular, if we were to doubt everything to seek more knowledge, we are most likely to find ourselves with very little knowledge and even fewer friends! Peoples emotions, intentions and their behavioural traits like honesty, integrity, sincerity etc. should not be doubted. There will be rare cases where people may want to deceive, but that by itself cannot lead to a doubt about people in general. _____________________ science.martinsewell.com/falsification.html priory.com/schizo.htm. Shakespeare said If music be the food of love, play on6.Wonderful as it sounds and probably not argued too much, yet people have researched the effect that music has on plants. There is one school of thought that believes and claims to have empirical data to prove that plants respond well to sedentary classical and similar genre of music but they wilt under the influence of hard rock and similar music. Drawing a parallel with human life they argue that hard rock, metal etc is actually detrimental for human growth and therefore should be banned. Traditional botanists however argue that the so called empirical data based on research is purely coincidental and there is no correlation between music and growth of plants. They resort to another set of evidence which shows that growth of plants is related to a number of factors that are not related to music such as condition of soil, temp, moisture content etc. On a third dimension, music itself has different genres enjoyed by different people. Therefore is music also subject to perception or is it absolute? Does it really impact plant detrimentally or otherwise? If we doubt the basis of the claims and counterclaims and pursue with investigation from all angles, then, knowledge will progress and facts can be established. Science notwithstanding, art is abstract enough to create its own set of debates which normally focuses on the likes and dislikes of the perceiver. This leads me to wonder, if art and aesthetics are synonymous then to what extent is beauty a necessary ingredient for something to be considered art? Platos theory of forms claimed that It is by beauty that beautiful things are beautiful. Immanuel Kant, an 18th century German philosopher on the other hand claimed that aesthetic experience is not a matter of understanding or reason, (and hence not true knowledge), but is a matter of judgment [Critique of Judgment].7 Taking this argument further, the painting by Eduord Manet8, Luncheon on the Grass, was hotly debated when it was first exhibited in 1863. Most of all it was not viewed as an art, but as an affront to society. The painting, depicting a naked woman sitting amidst two fully clad men, all of whose images were contemporary and almost identifiable as one among the viewers, earned the painter the wrath of the critiques and masses. Yet an earlier painting by Thomas Coutre in 18479, Romans in The Decadence of the Empire depicted a scene with Romans lying about with many naked women in various poses of sensuality. It appears to me, that a nude in classical settings such as the ancient Greek or Roman empires was considered acceptable but a nude in contemporary setting was not. Either way, the painting, known for its controversy today hangs as a masterpiece in the Musee D Oray in Paris. 6. www.enotes.com/shaespeare-quotes/music-food-love-play 7 www.creatorix.com.au/philosophy/t03/g010.html 8 http://blog.photos2view.com/2008/05/27/art-and-controversy.htm 9 http://www.essentialart.com/acatalog/Edouard_Manet_prints_Luncheon_on_the_Grass.html As a student of visual arts in IB, I was told that there are three basic colours red, yellow and blue. While using the computer, trangely I found that the primary colours were red, green and blue, otherwise called the RGB format. So, what are the basic colours? The answer lay in the different mediums where they are used. Red, yellow and blue are primary colours which are used in while mixing dyes to achieve other shades and colours on a painting canvas. Red, green and blue are used where there are overlapping shades to be used while projecting on screens such as in LCD panels or monitors for computer screen. My doubt about the basic colours led me to seek additional information. The key to knowledge in this area of art was learning how to mix primary dyes in painting and this learning has been both experimental and experiential. Taking the Platonist view that knowledge is justified true belief, I can now reasonably claim to have knowledge that red and yellow if mixed in equal proportions would give the colour orange or shades of orange. Whether the area of knowledge is science or arts, doubts and questions remain. Some answered with a reasonable amount of justification which points to a probable definitive answer based on information available at that point in time and others remain unresolved leading to further doubts. Therefore the question is knowledge absolute or is it infinite? We can never know unless we doubt all knowledge leading us to seek more and more information. The downside do we doubt everything in life or should we accept some events as empirical realities. The answer? It is situational. At the end, as a knower, when I look at the word doubt I can safely say that the Persian saying Doubt is the Key to Knowledge is not just an epistemological rhetoric; it is indeed a means to gain more knowledge. In the words of H L Mencken an influential writer and critic of the 20th century, Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to their readiness to doubt.9 ___________________________ www.leopoldsegedin.com/essay_detail_mona_lisas_smile.cfm www.notable-quotes.com/d/doubt_quotes.html

Catcher In The Rye :: essays papers

Catcher In The Rye Holden Caulfield is teen angst bull-crap with a pickax. He's sarcastic, nasty, and completely unlikeable. He also doesn't give a crap. He is every teenager caught between the crapy little games of high school ("you're supposed to kill yourself if the football team loses or something") and the fear of adulthood ("going to get an office job and make a lot of money like the rest of the phonies"). The greatness in Holden Caulfield is that what he has to say is better than a million Celestine Prophecies or anything said by Jonathan Livingston Seagull (save for the squawks after you shoot him) or Jesus (save for the apocryphal "hey Peter I can see your house from here"). Holden Caulfield says that life sucks, everyone is a phony, and you'll be inevitably disappointed by everyone that you hold in awe. If you think that this sounds awful, ask yourself one question. When was the last time you found any joy in watching Barney or the Care Bears? It isn't just what he says but the way he says it. He goes through life making dead-on observations that completely shoot the kneecaps out from under the terminally self-righteous. When a successful mortician tells the school to follow his example and pray when things go bad, it is Holden Caulfield who points out that the guy is praying for more people to die. He's depressed by nuns and annoyed by shallow girlfriends, while in love with his platonic friend. Even more interesting is the fact that Caulfield's general pissed off attitude and his hormones are inextricably linked. He practically wants to kill his roommate, Stradlatter, because Stradlatter might have screwed a girl he desires. He guiltily admits to making out with phonies, and in a major confession he confesses to being a virgin. He gets the crap beat out of him by a disgruntled pimp after deciding that he doesn't want a to have sex with a prostitute for the silliest of reasons.(he just found it disconcerting to see her take her clothes off without fanfare.)The fact that his little brother has just died and that he's being kicked out of yet another school takes second place to the whole sex question. In other words, Holden Caulfield is a guy; stereotype away. What is also interesting is how closely Caulfield captures the attitude and culture of adolescence. There is the caste system in which Caulfield hates and wishes to be his roommate Stradlatter. Meanwhile zit-encrusted Ackley, whom he maybe should feel sympathy for, is an annoying guy that

Comparing Sexuality in Alls Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure,

Female Sexuality in All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, and Troilus and Cressida      Ã‚   Although strict chronology is a problematic proposition, most scholars believe that the problem plays - All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, and Troilus and Cressida - were composed in the period between Hamlet and Othello (Mabillard), a period in which Shakespeare was focusing his energies on his great tragedies.   This fact, some believe, may help to account for the darker mood of these ostensible comedies.   In fact, Boas, the critic who coined the term "problem play," originally included Hamlet in this grouping, since he found a similarity of theme and irresolution between that play and Troilus and Cressida (Thomas 2-3).   Thankfully for modern students, critics have escaped that preconception and recognized Hamlet as a tragedy, plain and simple.    Any generalization of these three plays - even a necessarily broad category like "problem plays" - is inherently . . . well, problematic.   The three plays are very dissimilar in tone, plot, and characterization.   It is possible, however, to identify a few key commonalities between the three plays, and, more generally, in the cycle of work that includes Hamlet and Othello.   The sheer carnality of each of these plays is difficult to ignore.   Taken as a whole, whether or not one accepts the canonical chronology, these plays represent the evolution of a coherent view of female sexuality that contributes not only to the dramatic action of each play, but to a larger underlying thematic concern.   Thus book-ended by two great tragedies, with which they share some common ideology, the problem plays offer an unparalleled opportunity to explore the concept of female sexualit... ...speare Online. 1999-2001.   <http://www.shakespeare-online.com/keydates/playchron.asp>. Neely, Carol Thomas.   "Shakespeare's Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations."   In Holland, Norman N., Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris, eds.   Shakespeare's Personality.   Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. Shakespeare, William.   All's Well That Ends Well.   Bevington 362-403. ---.   Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.   Bevington 1060-1116. ---.   Measure for Measure.   Bevington 404-443. ---.   Othello, the Moor of Venice.   Bevington 1117-1166. ---.   Troilus and Cressida.   Bevington 444-493. Thomas, Vivian.   The Moral Universe of Shakespeare's Problem Plays.   London: Croom Helm, 1987. Wilders, John.   "The Problem Comedies."   In Wells, Stanley, ed.   Shakespeare: Select Bibliographical Guides.   London: Oxford UP, 1973.