How Proper Tire Inflation Can Help the Environment

When tires are not inflated to the pounds per square inch (PSI) rating recommended by manufacturers, they are less â€Å"round† and require more energy to begin moving and to maintain speed. As such, under-inflated tires do indeed contribute to pollution and increase fuel costs. Get Better Mileage An informal study by students at Carnegie Mellon University found that the majority of cars on U.S. roads are operating on tires inflated to only 80 percent of capacity. According to the website, fueleconomy.gov, inflating tires to their proper pressure can improve mileage by about 3.3 percent, whereas leaving them under-inflated can lower mileage by 0.4 percent for every one PSI drop in pressure of all four tires. Fuel Costs and Emissions That may not sound like much, but it means that the average person who drives 12,000 miles yearly on under-inflated tires uses about 144 extra gallons of gas, at a cost of $300-$500 a year. And each time one of those gallons of gas is burned, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere as the carbons in the gas are released and combine with the oxygen in the air. As such, any vehicle running on soft tires is contributing as much as 1.5 extra tons (2,880 pounds) of greenhouse gases to the environment annually. Safety Besides saving fuel and money and minimizing emissions, properly inflated tires are safer and less likely to fail at high speeds. Under-inflated tires make for longer stopping distances and will skid longer on wet surfaces. Analysts point to under-inflated tires as a likely cause of many SUV rollover accidents. Properly inflated tires also wear more evenly and will last longer accordingly. Check Pressure Frequently and When Tires Are Cold Mechanics advise drivers to check their tire pressure monthly, if not more frequently. The correct air pressure for tires that come with new vehicles can be found either in the owner’s manual or inside the driver-side door. Beware, though, that replacement tires may carry a different PSI rating than the originals that came with the car. Most new replacement tires display their PSI rating on their sidewalls. Also, tire pressure should be checked when tires are cold, as internal pressure increases when the car has been on the road for a while, but then drops when the tires cool back down. It is best to check tire pressure before heading out on the road to avoid inaccurate readings. Congress Mandates Technology to Warn Drivers As part of the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act of 2000, Congress has mandated that automakers install tire pressure monitoring systems on all new cars, pickups, and SUVs beginning in 2008. To comply with the regulation, automakers are required to attach small sensors to each wheel that will signal if a tire falls 25 percent below its recommended PSI rating. Car makers spend as much as $70 per vehicle to install these sensors, a cost that is passed along to consumers. However, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, some 120 lives a year are saved now that all new vehicles are equipped with such systems. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

Outline the Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God...

Outline the cosmological argument for the existence of God (21 marks) The cosmological argument aims to prove the existence of God whilst also providing an explanation for the beginning of the universe, with different views coming from various scholars. It is an a posteriori argument, meaning we can draw conclusions from experiences based on what we see around us, although it is not a fact. Despite the separate interpretations, the cosmological argument revolves around a first cause which started the universe. This cause is what we come to know as God, and the scholars mainly focus on different ways of proving his existence by looking at the world around us. When looking at the argument, Thomas Aquinas is the driving force behind most†¦show more content†¦Contingent beings such as humans either exist or don’t exist, and there must have been a time where nothing existed. But contingent beings cannot come from nowhere and if a necessary being did not exist, then we would not have existed at all. Because we have not existed infinitely, God has to exist to explain why we are here. This view was also taken by F.C. Copleston, who believed contingent beings were dependant on something else for their existence, in this case the necessary being which is God. His views were widely publicised as a result of his radio debate in 1947 with Bertrand Russell, as Copleston could not see any other logical explanation for contingency. The cosmological argument operates under the principle of sufficient reason, something identified by Gottfried Leibniz. He avoided the problem of infinite regression by reinterpreting the endless series of explanations. Even if the universe has always existed, there is nothing within it that suggests why it exists. So this principle states that everything has a reason whether it is unknown or not. Sufficient reason refers to a complete explanation, for example saying your parents caused you is only partial and not enough. The existence of God fully explains it as it starts the whole chain of humans and family, therefore fulfilling the sufficient reason. To conclude, various suggestions are apparent when trying to prove God’s existence. Our human demand for an explanation is satisfied, and fits withShow MoreRelatedThe Design Argument - as Level Essay examples3128 Words   |  13 Pagesa. Outline the Key Concepts of the Design Argument [21 marks] The design argument is also referred to at the Teleological Argument stemmed from the Greek work ‘Telos’ meaning end or purpose. It is an ‘A posterior’ argument (from experience) based on our empirical senses and it is synthetic meaning that it is from observation. The argument is also inductive meaning there a number of possible conclusions. The main basis of the Teleological argument is based on a designer commonly known as ‘the

Quocirca Insight Report Operations Management in UK Financial Services Free Essays

string(175) " that any attempt to apply technology to improve operations management should take account of the way in which the system impacts on the staff dealing with customer business\." QUOCIRCA INSIGHT REPORT November 2007 Contacts: Sharon Crawford Quocirca Ltd Tel +44 7989 243830 sharon/crawford@quocirca. com Operations Management in UK Financial Services How effectively is technology being applied to help to monitor and improve operations performance? The extremely competitive nature of the financial services industry today and the changing landscape of customer expectations and their approach to investing in financial products, puts an onus on suppliers to consider how well they are dealing with new and existing customers’ business transactions. Much is written about the frontline call centre operations, but this report focuses on the back office activities, the operational area where complex applications and enquiries are processed. We will write a custom essay sample on Quocirca Insight Report: Operations Management in UK Financial Services or any similar topic only for you Order Now This research investigates how technology is being applied to manage and improve operations. ? Operations management is a critical business task contributing significantly to the overall performance of financial services companies Over 90% of UK financial services companies set and publish operational targets. Reducing processing times and costs are targeted alongside measuring the quality of work done. Production Management methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma are being applied extensively to manage work throughput. The UK has embraced the use of specific operations management systems 85% of UK financial services companies report having specific systems in place to support operations management. Reporting, document and process management tools and to a lesser extent, staff forecasting and scheduling applications are all components of such systems. Such systems have had an impact on improved operations The survey shows that introducing operations management systems has led to improved customer service, reduced costs and better staff utilisation. However, despite a reasonable degree of satisfaction with such systems, there is room for improvement. Also, although staff attitudes should be important, motivation and staff satisfaction levels have shown lower levels of improvement. Real ime visibility of work is vital Visibility of who is doing what at any point in time, with the ability to reallocate work during the day, is stated as being very important to effective operations management but this is not always an integral part of the operations management system. Although continuous improvement to operations management performance is desired, obstacles do exist. The survey found that staff resistance to change and to being monitored, competing demands of other revenue generating priorities and dealing with legislation, were all di fficulties faced when trying to introduce initiatives to improve operations. Against this, establishing a return on investment (ROI) for operations management improvements can be difficult. Many systems in place today are based on client/server technologies but there is desire to move toward pure web applications This opens the door for Software as a Service offerings (SaaS). However, SaaS is not perceived as a way to support operations management systems. Is this because there are genuine doubts about SaaS or due to a lack of understanding of the potential benefits of the SaaS model? Bob Tarzey Quocirca Ltd Tel +44 1753 855794 ob. tarzey@quocirca. com ? ? REPORT NOTE: This report has been written independently by Quocirca Ltd to address certain issues found in today’s organisations. The report draws on Quocirca’s extensive knowledge of the technology and business arenas, and provides advice on the approach that organisations should take to create a more effective and efficient environment for future growth. During the preparation of this report , Quocirca has spoken to a number of suppliers and customers involved in the areas covered. We are grateful for their time and insights. ? ? ? Conclusions Operations management is a complex area to which to apply technology. Control and continuous improvement require effective matching of a variety of tasks and timing with resource and skills. The investment needed to put detailed applications in place is significant but has been found to be effective in many organisations that have done so. There is potential to improve further by using systems that allow real-time visibility of the progress of dealing with customers’ business. An independent study by Quocirca Ltd. www. quocirca. com Operations Management in Financial Services Page 2 Introduction Performance Management in the financial services industry is vital and well supported by the suites of Corporate Performance Management software that enable these companies to budget, plan and report in an accurate and timely fashion. Underpinning successful performance management is the need for predictable and controllable day to day operations management, both front and back office. Much has been written in the media about the use of tools to achieve this in call centres in businesses today. This report is based on research was carried out to investigate the extent to which software applications are used to monitor and measure the effectiveness of handling customer business – focusing on the back office operations and specifically addressing organisations in the UK. attempting to include some measurements of the costs of rework, (figure 2). Figure – 2 Do organisations attempt to quantify and measure business value of perational measures? 0% Reduced Costs Number of complaints Customer Response times Staff utilisation Staff satisfaction Re-work Detailed quantifiable measures None, but plan to Other Some measures Not directly related 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Operations Management is a critical business task All the organisations that were interviewed set and publish achievement metrics against customer service level agreements, with 93% setting different targets for different types of customers. 5% of organisations interviewed set and publish performance levels against targets for operational staff and use both team and individual measurements although monitoring individual performance is more difficult and given a lower degree of importance. It is interesting to note the types of measures that are used and the research found that there is an increasing focus on measuring the quality of work alongside the expected measures of costs and speed of processing work (figure 1). Figure – 1 There is some weight given to measuring staff satisfaction and linking this to financial returns for the business. Quocirca believes that it is important to consider the impact of systems on staff satisfaction and that any attempt to apply technology to improve operations management should take account of the way in which the system impacts on the staff dealing with customer business. You read "Quocirca Insight Report: Operations Management in UK Financial Services" in category "Management" Production control and continuous improvement Operations management is often associated with production of physical goods and methodologies such as lean and six sigma are used to address quality and efficiency improvements. These approaches study the work stations, the efficiencies of moving work from one to the other, space and time improvements and so on. The philosophies can arguably be applied to moving paperwork through an office, each work station being a person with specific skills. Quocirca tested this with the Operations Managers in the survey and a surprising 100% say they operate a philosophy of continuous improvement, with 66% using either lean or six sigma approaches. Use of these methodologies has changed since they were first introduced by Frederick Taylor, when employees were often considered to be a liability, with organisations applying streamlining and lean manufacturing principles to keep employee costs down. The approach to increasing productivity was based on a carrot and stick approach reward success, punish failure – together with making the tasks quite granular so that individuals could become extremely quick and skilled at a limited set of tasks. Today employees are considered to be assets – the only appreciating asset in many organisations. Organisations use words like engagement, empowerment and job satisfaction when talking about their approach to employee productivity. And in general, although it is easy to forget that this is not true of all employees, staff do like to feel that they can add value and participate in decisions that may affect them. Gaining the buy-in of employees is an important factor when introducing systems to monitor staff productivity and the quality of work being done. Prioritisation of operational factors measured 0% Quality/error rates Time taken for a process Cost of processing No of complaints Speed of response 5 – Most important 4 3 2 1 – Least important 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Although quality of work is ranked as being of the highest priority, the performance targets set for both team and individual measurement still put productivity above measurements of quality and good customer service. This could be because productivity is easier to monitor or because, in reality, cost measurements are associated with the level of work throughput. Measuring staff satisfaction is given a much lower priority in general, with only 24% of organisations stating that this measurement is very important for teams, 11% for individuals. There is evidence however, that organisations are aware of the costs of re-work and of handling customer complaints. When asked about establishing a return on investment for operations management systems, many organisations are  © 2007 Quocirca Ltd www. quocirca. com September 2007 Operations Management in Financial Services Page 3 Use of software applications 85% of those interviewed have specific applications to measure and monitor operations with over 80% expressing that these systems are satisfactory or very satisfactory. Some shortfalls were noted which included the difficulties in monitoring individual performance and in measuring the qualitative aspects of work. Those that have these specific applications report significant improvements (figure 3) but it is surprising that the use of an application does not have a more far reaching impact, despite being considered to be successful. Figure – 3 Figure – 5 How important is it to: 0% Know, at any point in time, who is doing what? Reallocate work during the day? 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 5 – Very important 4 3 2 – Not important at all Impact of operations management system on: 0% Improved customer service Reduced operational costs Enhanced quality of applications Improved staff utilisation Improved staff motivation Major Impact Some Impact No Impact 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% This is likely to require specific systems focused on defining the steps involved in a process and then measuring throughput, over and above the use of standard BI (business intelligence) tools to measure the overall metrics of work throughput. Obstacles to improving operations Despite the high level of importance that this survey found was attributed to operations management improvements, and to investing in specific systems to enable this, obstacles do exist, notably: ? staff resistance to change and to being monitored ? other priorities in the organisation which included dealing with legislation and responding to introduction of new revenue generating products ? establishing an ROI. Figure – 6 It is perhaps the complexity of what actually comprises such an application – which includes management information systems (MIS), document and process management as well as scheduling and forecasting capabilities. Quocirca believes that it is complex to bring such technologies together into a comprehensive application supporting the full requirements of operations and there is room for those vendors that focus on specific elements to develop a purpose built product to support operations management. Figure – 4 What are the main obstacles to improving operations management? 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Essential components of an operations management solution 0% Management information system Document management Workload scheduling Staff forecasting Process management 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Staff resistance to being monitored/measured Staff resistance to change Establishing an ROI Other priorities in organisation Major problem Somewhat of a problem Minor problem Not a problem Technology usage 4 3 2 1 – Not important 5 – Very important Real-time visibility of work Applying production management techniques to work throughput should mean that it is possible to know exactly where a piece of work is at any time. The key issue is whether this would apply to tracking a piece of customer business, be that an application for a new product or a query or claim against a product. The survey found that having real-time visibility of work and being able to re-allocate to the appropriate person was important. This may mean an overhead of logging individual actions on an operations management system, but it is clear that this is perceived as beneficial.  © 2007 Quocirca Ltd The operations management systems in use today are predominantly client/server (61%) but when asked what technology would be expected to be in use in two years’ time, there was a shift to pure web technology (91%). Respondents were also asked about hosted offerings either as pure hosted or as software as a service (SaaS). Neither of these was perceived to be important to operations management delivery today or in two years’ time. Technically there is nothing to prevent the move to SaaS applications and it could be a lack of awareness of what the benefits of SaaS are, that produced this response. However, it is likely that operations is perceived as very specific to each financial services organisation and that this would put it behind other areas of the business in the move to SaaS technologies. September 2007 www. quocirca. com Operations Management in Financial Services Page 4 Interview Sample Distribution The information presented in this report was derived from 75 interviews with senior IT influencers and Operations Managers completed in May 2007. It was important to get an even balance of views so 46% of the respondents were directly involved in operations management with 54% representing the IT function. The sizes of the organisations contacted, selected by the number of employees to be a representative sample of UK Financial Services organisations, were 5000+ employees, 57% ; 1000 – 5000 employees, 43%. The Financial Services organisations were spread over Insurance and Assurance, Retail and Investment Banking, Pensions and Building Societies. About eg eg is the leading provider of Operations Management solutions that form a rapid performance improvement programme to Improve Customer Service Delivery. Operations Management improvements are made through the deployment of two core products/services: ? ? Proprietary operational intelligence software packages Training and development for Managers and Team Leaders in Production management methodology g’s proprietary software package eg operational intelligence ® including eg work manager ® has been developed and refined over the last 15 years and form a comprehensive work, resource and performance reporting tool. It enables clients to gather information about the key factors affecting performance and, using eg’s operational management techniques identify appropriate decisions and actions that improve efficiency and redu ce costs within weeks. When implemented with the eg principles of operational management ® methodology, eg operational intelligence ® provides the opportunity for eg’s clients to double their productivity and dramatically improve customer service levels almost immediately. It also forms a foundation for continuous improvements in subsequent years. For more information, please contact: Sophie Goodwin Spreckley Partners Ltd T: +44 (0)20 7388 9988 E: goodwin@spreckley. co. uk About Quocirca Quocirca is a primary research and analysis company specialising in the business impact of information technology and communications (ITC). With world-wide, native language reach, Quocirca provides in-depth insights into the views of buyers and influencers in large, mid-sized and small organisations. Through researching perceptions, Quocirca uncovers the real hurdles to technology adoption – the personal and political aspects of an organisation’s environment and the pressures of the need for demonstrable business value in any implementation. This capability to uncover and report back on the end-user perceptions in the market enables Quocirca to advise on the realities of technology adoption, not the promises. Sponsorship of specific studies by such organisations allows much of Quocirca’s research to be placed into the public domain at no cost. Quocirca’s independent culture and the real-world experience of Quocirca’s analysts ensure that our research and analysis is always objective, accurate and challenging. Quocirca reports are freely available to everyone and may be requested via www. quocirca. com. Contact: Quocirca Ltd Mountbatten House Fairacres Windsor Berkshire SL4 4LE United Kingdom Tel +44 1753 754 838  © 2007 Quocirca Ltd www. quocirca. com September 2007 How to cite Quocirca Insight Report: Operations Management in UK Financial Services, Essays

Effects of Exchange Rate on Financial Assets Prices free essay sample

Exchange rate refers to the price of one currency in terms another (Fourie and Burger, 2009) for example $US 1= R 7,81. Financial assets price is the value of commodities such as oil, gold and platinum. We will write a custom essay sample on Effects of Exchange Rate on Financial Assets Prices or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In addition, macroeconomic fundamentals refer the macroeconomic objectives always pursued by the government to control and stabilise the economy for instance they include employment and inflation among others. The essay is going to give a discourse expounding the casual relationship between the exchange rate and financial assets prices and the macroeconomic fundamentals. On the other hand, in the case of a depreciation or devaluation the price of oil (import commodity) increases while those ones of platinum and gold (export commodities) decrease in the foreign market thereby increase its demand. In addition, there seem to be a contrary relationship between the external value of the rand and the price oil and at the same time a positive relationship is seen between the exchange rate and gold and platinum. These relationships tend to inflict positive and negative effects on the economy if not well stabilised. ii) Local and foreign stock prices.Considering the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) market if the South African rand depreciates or loses value against other currencies, the price for local stock tends decrease and becomes inexpensive to holders of foreign currency for example US dollar. In this regard foreign stock prices become relatively expensive as one would need more of the South African rand to purchase these shares on the stock market. On the contrary, in the case of an appreciation or revaluation local stock prices increase whereas foreign stock prices decrease as one would need few Rands to buy these stocks. ii) Bond prices Bond refers to a promise to pay a specified amount at a specified future date (Fourie and Burger, 2009). If the price of bonds decrease influenced by interest rate this tends to appreciate the external value of the Rand as investors would want to ke ep their wealth in monetary form. As the price of bonds take a surge this forces the exchange rate to decrease as more and more people would find it safe to invest in bonds rather than holding money in the form of hoard.The relationship between bond prices and exchange rate is an indirect one as the two opposes each other. The association of the exchange rate and bond prices affect both locally and foreign investors. In this respect, when the rand appreciates foreign investors find it difficult to acquire local wealth in the form of bonds. iv) Housing prices The exchange rate and housing prices association is highly influenced by the movements in the exchange rate. In this regard, when exchange rate increases housing prices tend to fall as this makes the price cheap to buy.

Miss Caroline Letter Essay Example

Miss Caroline Letter Essay Miss Caroline Letter Hey Dairy, Youll be happy to find out your little sister got to teach her first class! Today, I taught grade ones at Macomb down in Southern Alabama. Things are deferent around here Very different. This one little gal named Scout already knew how to read! Can you believe that? Her parents are teaching her the wrong way! The poor little girl knows nothing about real education. But luckily Ill be here to gulled her In the right direction. Also, you wouldnt believe how poor these kids are! I lent one of the boys, Walter, a quarter so the starving kid could have some lunch. He couldnt pay me back ICC! These kids will eventually clean out my wallet. I knew thing were different In the south but I had no Idea how different their lifestyles were. I had a rough start on my first day, but with my teaching skills, I can mold them Into proper children. Im missing you and everyone back home terribly, but the longer Im In the south the longer Im fixing a childs life. Hope to see all of you soon! Lots of love, your little sis We will write a custom essay sample on Miss Caroline Letter specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Miss Caroline Letter specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Miss Caroline Letter specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Shifts in The Flea Essay Example

Shifts in The Flea Essay Example Shifts in The Flea Paper Shifts in The Flea Paper In the poem The Flea by John Done, the speaker swings between the fantasy and reality. The speaker who left himself down find strength in fantasy, and satisfies and imagination. However, when he comes bake to reality, he is mad at himself for this daydream. There are 4 shifts in poem. First, the shift is after line 4. At the beginning, the speaker is in reality, so speakers mood is normal. Then, based on A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead (6), the mood of the speaker changes into guilty. The beaker immerses himself in the fantasy: having sex with that lady. It is the shame at the time, so the speaker turns to be a little bit guilty. Secondly, the shift is between line 8 and line 9, speaker comes back to reality. The attitudes of the speaker change. The speaker realizes their relationship can not be more than a flea. Therefore, he comes back to imagination again immediately. The third shift is after stanza one. The speaker comes back to his fantasy. As his desired lady has made a move to kill the flea, the speaker stays her in hand. Regardless she dad to kill (16), the speaker says she would be guilty of sacrilege, three sins in killing three (18). All of these reflects that the speaker is angry at the flea that it destroyed his life. However, he suddenly realizes all of these are Just fantasy; how can he ban someone for destroying something he doesnt even have? Finally, the tone shifts in the last stanza. The speaker can not find love in reality, so he falls himself Into fantasy to delight himself. When his Imagination Is gone, he gets back his lonely, sad, single life.

Workplace Safety Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Workplace Safety - Research Paper Example However, the cases of hazardous workplace injuries are still caching the attention of public. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is the American employee safety act which also deals with workplace safety issues. In this paper we will discuss whether OSHA is proving successful in dealing with workplace safety issues or not. Problem Statement The problem statement for the research paper is, ‘Is OSHA Proving Successful in Ensuring Workplace Safety for Construction Related Occupations and Other Dangerous Occupations’. Literature Review There are various kinds of occupations that an individual chooses to earn his/her living. Some of those occupations are considered dangerous from the perspective of personal heath, whereas some occupations are somewhat less dangerous and are considered harmless. Workplace safety is the biggest concern for any individual while adopting any occupation. People prefer to adopt such occupations that are considered less dangerous. The reason is that health is the most precious asset for a person. Employees’ level of productivity is linked directly with the level of protection that they feel while at work (Hayes, Perander, Smecko, & Trask, 1998). If employees feel safe at work, their level of productivity increases as they can focus on their work properly. On the other hand, concerns over safety adversely affect their levels of concentration and productivity. However, sometimes people have to adopt such occupations that are most vulnerable to personal safety. Construction related occupations fall into the category of those occupations that are considered dangerous. The reason is that construction related occupations have many concerns regarding workers’ safety. As Cullen (2002) states, â€Å"most jobs have expected, known hazards† (p. 7). For example, many laborers and even engineers while working lose their lives falling accidentally from high roofs of multistory buildings. In the same way, sometime s electricians suffer deadly electric shocks when they forget to apply appropriate security measures regarding electric current while doing electric work in new buildings. These are just some of those risks that make construction related occupations unsafe and dangerous for health. However, the fact is that construction related occupations are not the only type of occupations that are hazardous; there also exist some other occupations that are even more dangerous as compared to construction related occupations. Some of those occupations include firefighting, fishing, criminal justice system related occupations, farming, and aircraft pilot. OSHA guidelines are there to protect most of these occupations. The guidelines are proving very effective as they have reduced the number of per year causalities associated with these occupations up to some extent (Lanoie, 1992). However, workers are still suffering workplace injuries because management officials of most of these occupations are n ot skilled enough to implement OSHA safety mechanisms properly. Therefore, a lot more still needs to be done by the management officials in order to overcome the issue of workplace safety properly. Workplace safety is the main factor that plays its part in making people consider some occupations dangerous and risky for personal health and safety. People are usually not aware of OSHA guidelines regarding workplace safety nor they have in their minds that whether the companies for which they are going to work follow OSHA safety guidelines or not. Therefore, they consider

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

Biol - Essay Example (Lipstadt 27) Lipstadt is a well-known researcher and historian with a Ph.D. and the professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University. (Alumni, Lipstadt Ph.D.) What Dawkins is discussing is the inevitable progression of people from belief to disbelief to outright lies in the attempt to ignore what we know is true. He later makes the statement that evolution is fact not a theory and that there is a difference between the fact that is evolution and the theory of its journey (Dawkins, Ph.D. FRS, FRSL) Clearly the purpose of this book is to first discredit attempts to disprove evolutionary theory while providing a basis for his approach. It is my opinion that he does a credible job in his approach In continued reading it becomes apparent to me that he has done his research and his proofs abound. His clear delineations between the â€Å"fact† as he calls it and the â€Å"theory† of what drives it tend to be very convincing.

In Burmese Days George Orwell vividly describes life in a British Essay

In Burmese Days George Orwell vividly describes life in a British overseas colony in the waning days of imperialism - Essay Example Though the Europeans do little work, they complain about the prick heat and the possible acceptance of the locals into their exclusively European club. An overwhelming majority of British holds themselves superior to the Burmese and feel they should rule over the less intelligent niggers. In the story Elizabeth, the orphaned niece of Lackersteen’s, is surprised by Flory soft nature towards the locals. Elizabeth also learns from Mrs. Lackersteen’s that Flory keeps a native Mistress while she detests the locals and views them as ‘beastly’. The relationship between the Europeans and the natives can be further described as discriminative. European men have intimate relationships with the natives, but the natives are strictly prohibited from marrying Europeans. A child born of a native and a European is regarded as an outcast and denied a job by the government until they denounce their European blood (Orwell 98). Further cruelty between the native Burmese and th e Europeans is shown when Maxwell, the acting Divisional forests officer shots a local rebel. Maxwell is brought back to the town dead a few days after that. A tense situation occurs between the locals and the Europeans, and the situation deteriorates after Ellis launches a spiteful attack on the local native children. Ellis decision to punish the children instead of the culprits responsible for Maxwell’s death proves that the relationship between the natives and the Europeans is that of a slave to a master (Orwell 84). Though the British do not despise the Asians as much as they detest the local Burmese natives, the relationship between the two is not hospitable. The European community is highly against the acceptance of Dr. Veraswami an Asian into the exclusive European club. Based on Dr. Veraswami’s thinking, the British also views their position as superior to the Asians. Dr. Veraswami views his Asian kind as lesser humans compared to the Europeans (Orwell 59).This view can be presented as the same view possessed by the Europeans as majority of them are against acceptance of Dr. Veraswami into the all inclusive European club. Finally, Dr. Veraswami is demoted after the death of Flory, his only European supporter. U Po Kyin a corrupt magistrate plots the escape of a prisoner, causing a rebellion which is blamed on Dr. Veraswami. Magistrate U Po Kyin plans to deny the doctor a position in the European club and claim the membership instead as he feels a non European is not deserving of a position in the club. The Asians view the Europeans as superior, and the gulf between them is widely divided by race and classifications of the inhabitants of the small town. The race composition is divided into: Europeans, Chinese, Asians and at last Burmese natives. In the story we find that Dr. Veraswami wants to be part of the exclusive European Club although he doesn’t plan to attend any of the sessions (Orwell 101). Dr. Veraswami only wants to be pa rt of the club because of the social prestige and respect that is given to members of the European club, particularly because he would be the only Asian member of the club. Dr. Veraswami also views his kind as lesser human beings, stressing the fact that the Asians considered the Europeans superior. The British view their main mission as economic exploitation and colonization of the

Applications Of Management Information System Information Technology Essay

Applications Of Management Information System Information Technology Essay Here is analysis of the MIS in food services and marketing company Sainsbury. In this report there is information about the managing system of Sainsbury that how they manage their information system to run the organisation. This report is discussion of the importance of managing information system in the Sainsbury focusing gat the three main aspects of study information system. These aspects covers that how to provide information across the various departments of an organisation, how information system facilitates the decision making process and how its applications serves as the efficient means to run the various business processes. It also concludes that how an organisation related to management information system and to improve this system in order to make the organisation more efficient with the mentioned recommendations. Managing information is a process which provides required information used to mange an organisation. This system use to analyse the information regarded to various parts of the organisation in operational activities. This term is used to explain the group of information management methods which are tied to support the human decision making the examples of these are Decision Support System, Expert System and executive information System. MIS is described as the planed system used to collect process, sort and disseminate the data in the form of information used to run the functions of management. A marketing information system is consisting of people, equipment and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate distributive needed and accurate information to marketing decision maker (Philip Kotler, 2000) For understanding the Managing Information System ( Prof. Allen Lee. ,1999) states that the various researches in the information system is more than the technological system or social system or even both simultaneously. Instead of this it also investigates the procedure that happens when these two features interact with each other. Process of MIS User Processes Managing Information Process Data I Information Flows Flows Decisions Managing information process Mainly managing information is a computer based system which provides the various tools for organising, evaluating, decision making and running the various departments of a company. This system work effectively to provide present past and predictive information. MIS work with the software system which help to facilitate the decision making, used database to store data resources, Decision support system, management for people and project application and the computerised process which help the departments to run effectively. Importance of MIS Managing information system is used to collect the information regarding the following areas: Recording the data related to the support function. Data regarding sales and orders Information of purchased Payroll information. Account information Information related to the various business plans and risk management. Information related to customer relationship management. In monitoring the performance of production. In decision making process. Applications of Management Information System What is an Information system? Information system Information system is that area which is concerned with the strategic, managerial includes and operational activities. Which the processing, gathering, storing, distribution and use of information and the technology related to the situation in an organisation. In information system there is people, data, procedures, hardware and software system which are used to collect and analyse the digital. According to Silver Et.al (2004) an information system is implemented within an organisation for the means of improving the effectiveness and efficiently of the company. There are capabilities of information system and characteristics of the organisation, its work system, its people, and its development and implementation methodology gets together to determine the extent by which the desired purpose is achieved. Importance of information system Following are the main features which indicate the importance of the managing information system. Operational excellence New product, services and business models Survival day to day Competitive advantage Improved decision making Information systems regarded as the base of running the business. Every industry incorporate with the information system as it plays a vital role in increasing the productivity. Is usually providing the bas e for new production, ways to run the business, providing services that provide lots of strategic advantages to the company. An information system is that professional system which related to the strategically, managerial and operational level activities and used to collect the information, store it and use that information and the technologies used in it. Source: Project Management for Information 3rd Ed. Prentice hall ( Cadle, J., and Donald, Y., 2001) In business each and every area is depend on the successful collection, storage and application of the information. Clearly information is a collection of data which includes fact and statics. This data collected is always relevant to the particular problem and decisions. T systems are mainly computer based here we can make the example of data about the different products in account department. The data remain data until this data is use to solve the problem, make decision and answer a question. An information system is used to 1. Increase the organisational efficiency. 2. Helping in staying ahead to the competitors. 3. Finding new customers 4. Planning organising leading and controlling the organisation. As there is a continuous development in the technology large scale. Information management are mainly computer based system which are use to access the consumer product and data. now days ecommerce technology carry on the various business processes using electronic formats, internets, software developed by the companies of their own as the internet become widely used.( McKenna, 2002, 142).an effective information system depend upon the interconnection of the various systems . the system even influence the customer loyalty as it gives the pathway to provide good and improved services to them .According to (Mckeena,2002)that if these various systems are interconnected e.g. there is interconnection of Kiosks, cell phones , computers, laptops, car systems this results that the customer become more loyal dependent on them. Sainsbury having an attempt to use this system manually. The relationship between an organisational structure and IT system I snot a simple as one think (Eral,1998) there is always a need of new tools and innovation techniques which are used to manage , interpret and comprehend the existing environment( Beard, 1999). BACKGROUND of company J. Sainsbury plc J Sainsbury plc is a traditional food retailing company. This company is the 3rd largest company in the chain of supermarket of UK. Sainsbury serves in these areas of supermarket, convince stores and Sainsbury bank etc The Sainsbury was founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury and his wife Marry Ann. They have the stagey of great products at fair prices and customer services at heart. As this company was traditional its Information System is also traditional. In 2002 when Sir Peter Davis took the charge of CEO of the company, the information system of the company was at mess. There was still use of window 3.1 at the pc of the company and the provider of emails was that old green screen mainframe based system. Then the IT system of Sainsbury was under invested and its ability to respond quickly is impacted by this e.g. the main rival for Sainsbury i.e. Tesco who launched successful club card loyalty scheme , but for this Sainsbury took 16 months to respond . Instead for this they are o n the way to improving and developing in order to give the customers good and quick services. According to the (Annual Report, 2005) it is the major food retailing chain in the Britain. At present there is approximately153, 000employes work there which of them 32% rate full time and for their recovery plan they are going to recruit 3000 extra staff for their recovery plan mainly focus at the customer services (Philip Hampton, Annual Report, 2005). For the further improvement the It system of the company needed to be updated. In order to achieve this task the company decide to update the entire. IT system has giant deal with Accenture for seven tears for 1.8 Billion. The business transformation director and CIO Margreta Miller took charge for managing relationship with the Accenture can have an eagle eye over the whole process. In his interview with Information Age she tells that how they are going to manage their information system in coming future. (www.sainsburys.co.uk) Management Information system in Sainsbury Almost at present all companies have their own Information systems or management. For the various purposes like accounting, stock control and marketing monitor are very common in all. Due to the transfer of power of technology the information system become necessary for the business firms. Information is regarded as the heart beat of an organisation. Without information system a company cannot survive (Papow, 1998). The management information system in Sainsbury was traditional but now there are lots of new innovations regarding this. As the management information system perform main function of the organisation like data collection, data storage, and retrieval of data. The key aspect of a company in only depend upon the technology used by them (Hugo 2006, P.103, 104).due to this Sainsbury come forward to update its information system in advance way. Following are the main aspects of managing information in the Sainsbury. Beside all the things an information system is such that it can be enable to create the website of the company as in these days for online stores it is necessary to have a website of their own (Boyson Harrington 2004) management information system is useful in three main areas as: Â · As a provider for information across the various departments of the company. Â · Facilitates the decision making process at the three tiers of management. Â · Serve as the efficient means for managing business processes. As the name implies the information system provide the information regarding the various departments of the Sainsbury. Following systems are used to provide this information Supply chain strategy of Sainsbury In the supply chain strategy the Sainsbury plc replaces the existing system with new sot wares in order to make the supply chain process more defined there is innovation of Ware House management in the company. The company has the project of 4.5 Euro Billion projects for this. It is bigger step towards the latest technology implementation. Â  Sainsbury Information Direct (SID) according to the present situation all the Sainsburys SCSs are updated with new hardware and software system all these works are handled by the SID. SID an outcome of integrating the principles of the company into easy and smart web portal which is very useful for the customers as well as for the company. PDS It is performance data site which runs to provide the every useful information about the stocks in control, supplier services, customer availability, sales and forecast etc. PDS is used in order to gather all the information regarding these areas. Emptorious It is an integrated system which has the password control system that ensure that only suppliers and haulers and see their own data is this. Emptorium has all the information about the transport management of the company. This system is even used to calculate all the expenses which have to be paid to the suppliers and to the haulers. Ware house management Sainsbury has the integrated and top ranked WHM (ware house management). In to work faster they have to consider at the supply chain management system and fro the supply chain management system is implemented. RFID system The earlier use of this technology was in US Military to locate the position of the enemy. (Mayfield, 2002) From the year 1980 the use of RFID becomes commercial. (Jones, 2004) This is technology which is used the radio frequency to identify the items. (Jones et.2004). RFID is consisting of a small chip which is inserted into the small tags which are attached to the products. And these have the ability to respond the various frequencies that stored in the tag system then through the computer all data processed is then collected, (Attaran, 2007). Use of RFID in retailing process As the bar code system is quite common in the retail industry for last 25 years. By this the product can be scanned easily. But if the bar code is damaged or tampered in cant be possible to read that bar code. On the other hand in RFID there e is no such situation. It can identify multiple items at one time. So the RFID is very effective in the retailing process for the company. Information System in the decision making process at three tiers of management level Decision making process is very important part of the company but this part is purely depend upon the information system of the company information regarding the various departments and financial areas used to make the decisions. Decision making at three levels of management Alerts and Resolution Management System (ARS) This is web based system used by the Sainsbury. This system enables the company to know the is he the position of the company. It helps to locate the top position for any business issue that can be arise, affect the relationship at work and to increase the supply chain management. There is indirect relation regarding the performance management. As an organisation Sainsbury is aware of that the importance of communication is the key to supply chain management. ARM feature to provide the performance data which includes reports and alerts and this information then manages the problems by sending the alerts to Sainsbury. These Informational alerts are very useful to get the results regarding the various departments. by the collection these results a management resolution cycle and the recipients work together to solve problems(Supply Chain Management Review, 2004) certain level, the Sainsburys buyer and supplier are informed why there is a problems and where it stems from. So if there is a problem Sainsburys can work through that problem with the supplier with all parties having the same base information (Mike Quinn, CEO Epos; 2005). EDI Cost File Exchange (CFE) CFE is the process in which there is regular check of cost price of the product in their RMS. If these prices are not same then that organisation will not paid to their suppliers. This supplier CFE information is transmitted every weekly through EDI. Benefits In addition to all the financial information is also very important in the decision making process as the data or information collected give the clear idea about the growth, expenditure , sales , profit/ loss etc. Profitability Ratios According to Maclaney and Atrill (2002) the profitability ratio clearly gives the idea that success of the company the profitability ratios of Sainsbury: Profitability Ratios 2004 2003 Return on Capital Employed 8.53% 9.29% Return on Equity 7.64% 8.95% Gross Profit Margin 8.65% 8.14% Net Profit Margin 3.91% 4.25% Information system in business process For the business process the importance of the information system cant be defined. It is base for all the processes as each and every process can be handled with the information provided. For a successful business information technology should be efficient and must be up-to-date as it provides the data to the managerial process through the tactical and operational level. Management information system is an effective tool for process the business. Conclusion From the above matter it is concluded that the managing information system is the heart of the business. A business cant live without it and even its condition also affects the condition of the company. In Sainsbury plc there is new updated m information system which includes the new technological innovations. The acquisition if IT system is remarkable steps towards the making of organisation strong and give path to position in the competition. This is the IT system that covers all the areas like information of various departments, decision making process and to run the business process in an effective way. There is some fluctuation due to supply chain management. The thing is that supply chain become more difficult for the retailing food. Recommendations The company has to apply the information technology for the improvement to its relationship and connection with different area in the supply chain management. Mega portal can be used as it is online and internet based information and services which can easily accessed by using the different devices like personal computers and cell phones. It can help the manger handle all the information in better way. The company has to make the unified data picture regarding the various transaction of the company. As the manager has the responsibility to see the customer value they must provide the enough products on the shelves and the arrangement of the short queues. The Sainsbury should have the stock in back warehouse so that when the product is out of stock the customer should not wait until this information pass though the whole system and May takes days for it. They must emphasise over to boost their sales to meet their objectives. They have to be focused on more marketing of the products. They have the option to add the bio products or fair trading products to seek the first choice of the customers.

The Tower Pig Essay -- essays research papers

What happens when in spite of all odds, foe becomes friend? What happens, when an infinite and unending chasm between individuals is filled, and a void of mistrust, hatred and prejudice is replaced with more noble values, such as understanding and a sense of mutual respect? These are among the themes in the American short story, â€Å"The Tower Pig.† The story is set behind, and outside, the walls of the Thomaston Penitentiary in present day America. The story essentially revolves around a young man who suffers the hardships of imprisonment in an American correctional facility. The protagonist is throughout the tale addressed only by his surname, Caine. Caine expresses incomprehensible anger he feels for one of the wardens, an outcast despised by colleagues and inmates alike, and who is commonly known as â€Å"The Tower Pig† by all the prisoners at the facility. â€Å"Pain, joy, worry, are shielded away until the cell doors slam and we’re alone in our solitude. For ten days in the hole, I had nothing to do but hate Strazinsky, the Tower Pig, for putting me there, and to mourn my grandmother, finally to sick to visit.† When we are first introduced to Caine, he has just come out of â€Å"The Hole.† The Hole is presumably a slang expression for a non-corporal punishment, which implies the use of isolation for the involved offender. This sort of punishment is usually deployed as a reaction to a disciplinary offense; this is also the case with Caine. Caine put in the hole because of a verbal fight with Strazinsky. While Caine undoubtedly finds Strazinsky to be responsible for his punishment, it seems, looking back in retrospective, that he is fully aware that he himself was to blame; yet all Caine’s inner turmoil and anger is channelled into his hate for Strazinsky, and the fury towards his arch-enemy continues to blaze. Imprisonment tends to have a debilitating effect on both mind and body alike. Therefore in order to counter a mental breaking, one must deploy facades, facades that show strength and vitality, since any behaviour expressing the slightest trait of weakness will be preyed upon by both inmates and wardens. Caine seems fully aware of this, and prudently manages to keep all his fears and doubts to himself. Caine is greatly disturbed upon learning about the death of his beloved grandmother, the one person who, despite him being imprisoned, still managed to show him both... ... desired intimacy of mind is what we call friendship. But sadly, in this present world ruled by the divisive spirit of greed and corruption, it is not possible to achieve this intimacy of mind to any worth-while depth with just anyone. The minds of potential friends must from the outset already possess a mutual sense of affinity, not based on anything but an inexplicable sense of compatibillity. Although Strazinsky and Caine hardly fit the common definition of friendship, it seems that the two share more thoughts than either would care to admit, honest exposure of the inner self to another is not easy, yet this is exactly what Strazinsky does. Strazinsky opens himself in a sincere manner to a man, whom he knows despises him with all of his heart. This courageous act initially only serves to confuse Caine. It is, however, my impression that Caine, although reluctant to start a conversation with Strazinsky, suddenly begins to look at the warden in a different way. The gap between p risoner and warden is as self-evident as can be; nonetheless, it is my distinct belief that the chances of a friendship arising from the ashes of a past enmity, could in this case be very realistic indeed.