Bank of America Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bank of America - Assignment Example MBNA is the largest player in the credit industry worldwide. By acquiring MBNA, the Board of Bank of America would be able o acquire a majority market share of 20.2% in the $1.2 trillion credit card business. For this reason, the Board of America has taken a strategic decision to buy out MBNA for $35 billion. The advantages of the acquisition include access to a large share of the worldwide credit card markets (Kumar, 2012, p.37). The Bank of America could make use of its large network of 5800 branches in the US for providing financial services. The customer portfolio of MBNA also comprises of low risk borrowers which would be advantageous for the bank of America. The buyout also involves certain disadvantages. The buy out decision of MBNA has come at a time when the credit card market is saturated and there is a turn-around in the consumer behavior in the credit cards industry. Thus the growth prospects of venturing into the credit card business are likely to be decided with time. . .. Considering the slow down of the credit card business, the shareholders would still expect the bank to leverage on the resources of MBNA. The shareholders view this buyout to have been taken place at a higher value than the market price. The acquisition of MBNA by the Bank of America would tend to kill the competition in the market and the Bank of America would increase its market share. The vigorous strategies of American Express by persuading banks to advise customers to use their credit cards could also be challenged and the Bank of America is likely to move to the higher position in terms of market capitalization (WetFeet, 2008, p.46). An increase in the gamut of financial services would make the shareholders believe that the company is looking to expand its operations and the volume of revenues and earnings would also tend to increase. A high earning for the Bank of America after the buyout and exploring the potentials of the credit card business would mean that the earnings per share for the shareholders would increase. The dividend payout of the bank is also likely to increase and it is viewed positively by the shareholders. The shareholders also foresee a rise in valuation of the shares due to the strategic buyout of MBNA by the Bank of America (Kunitzky, 2010, p.78). Perspective of the shareholders of MBNA The shareholders of MBNA were supposed to be skeptical about the future of business of credit cards of MBNA. This is due to the facts that the credit market has saturated at this point of time and there is change in the consumer behavior in the credit card industry. Due to huge competition in the credit card market, the consumers expect a term of

Refusal for Eating Disorders Essay Example for Free

Refusal for Eating Disorders Essay The controversial issue of insurance companies and mental health cost is an ongoing battle. Initially, I would like to say that eating disorders are emotionally based rather than physically. Emotions are from the mind where there are thoughts, perceptions, motivations, and imaginations. Emotions are what we feel inside of us that cause us to act in a certain manner, although some people’s emotions are so powerful that their actions are uncontrollable. This is the case with eating disorders. Therefore, how could anyone choose to ignore a victim with an emotional problem like eating disorders, and refuse 100 percent medical coverage for this ailment? The insurance company’s logic or ability to manipulate this refusal of medical coverage for eating disorders is due to the unregulated controls; by federal regulations that gives insurance companies all the administrative, and authority to refuse medical coverage for eating disorders. Over the years eating disorders have been misunderstood and poorly explained by insurance companies. It is included in the list of mental heath diseases, along with perceptions and distinguishing features that can be identified by medical personnel. However, today I sense eating disorders are renowned mental illnesses that affect all walks-of-lives, and should receive entire medical coverage. The National Organization for Women, 2007 stated that typically, insurance companies cover the cost of treating the physical symptoms such as heart failure, kidney failure, rupture of the esophagus, ulcers and high blood pressure. Yet, the treatments that address the mental health of the patient, and the root causes of the disorder, are not generally covered, or are only partially covered. However, I feel that the treatment to an illness is cured through its roots and perhaps there should be more financial support in the root of this illness. I thought the intent for health care was designed to make people healthier in opposition to extracting money from the faithful customers. It is obvious that â€Å"ten million Americans suffer from eating disorders† (Kramer, 2007) according to estimates from several known health groups. Moreover, nearly all of those victims felt powerless because of something they were feeling inside themselves. But what happened to the genuine care of others? Medical insurance companies have networks of physicians, and facilities with a wealth of knowledge that have served loyal families, companies, and athletes for years. Those physicians are also well trained within their particular field, and certainly know what is best for their patients. Some medical insurance companies do provide treatments to their members, however they are normally limited. Perhaps, this is the reason why â€Å"the effectiveness of a full recover after treatment for eating disorder is only 60 percent†. (Kramer, 2007). At one time eating disorders were rarely talked about, kept hidden from others and very poorly understood. Although, today medical experts now know that eating disorders are mental heath diseases since they have recognizable causes, clear symptoms, and predictable out comes; but Insurance companies consider an eating disorder â€Å"severe based on the number of times that it recurs† (Kramer Others, 2007), and I believe this is ridiculous. Surprisingly, there are â€Å"only 43 percent of the American population that are fully aware of the different types of eating disorders, and the resulting health complications that can occur with them. (NEDA. 2007). However, the other 57 percent could be the insurance companies, or even friends that could provide a strong shoulder with understanding during difficult times â€Å"An eating disorder occurs when a person ties his or her self-esteem, personality, and happiness, and their way of life with food† (Strada, 2001). Individuals who demonstrate those types of traits are known as having an eating disorder and distressing as it may sound, most victims and none victims are not fully mindful of this disease. A model of this unaware mindset of eating disorders is witness daily during a group discussion among friends. A group of acquaintances or insurance agents may have expressed their opinion of a friend by wording â€Å"John is obese because he always stays home and watches TV shows, he has no desire to lose any weight†. Another opinion from the group may be â€Å"Mary is a very tiny women, she probably wears a size two†. In both instances, John, Mary, and their acquaintances lack the knowledge of this life threatening illness; perhaps this is just one more reason why those illnesses should be covered via insurance. This well-known psychology has clearly demonstrated a concrete motive for eating; however insurance companies â€Å"continue to ignore the systematic symptoms of this dreadful illness in spite of its increases since the mid 1950s†. (Whelan, 2002). Eating disorders are not one particular illness; instead it is made-up of four different types of illnesses that consist of anorexia, bulimia nervosas, compulsive overeating, and binge eating. This constitutes the need to identity them separately, each one should be looked upon differently in order to gain a better understanding of them, and at this same hopefully this issue on insurance coverage should raise the level of unease and stress the need for more coverage and education regarding these disorders. †¢ â€Å"Anorexia nervosas, is a an illness which someone deliberately keeps their weight below a healthy level, often see themselves as fat and may look like a person of starvation. †¢ Bulimia nervosas is an illness in which people eat large amount of food in short time and get rid of it by purging themselves. Purging is usually by vomiting and/or taking laxatives. †¢ Compulsive overeating, it is driven by an urge that the person cannot control. It can be triggered by hunger but is often a response to negative thoughts or feeling. †¢ Binge eating disorder (BED), the binges involve at least three of the following, eating very quickly, eating until uncomfortable full, eating when not physically hungry, eating alone because of embarrassment about the amount eaten, felling disgusted, depressed, or very guilty afterwards (Whelan, 2001).† Eating disorders don’t discriminate, instead, affecting everyone from females to males, wrestlers, insurance agents, and celebrities. They have affected lightweight boxers, family and friends, even affecting Diana, Princess of Wales. She â€Å"suffered from bulimia and spoke to the public about the emotional aspects of her illness† (Whelan Others 2001). It was once believed that eating disorders begin in the teenage years to due to physical, emotion, and social changes that youth experience, and it was once known that women suffering from eating disorders did not speak out, and older women in their 40s and 50s rarely experienced symptoms of eating disorders although now circumstances have changed. There are still more reported cases of females suffering from eating disorders then men, however, there are now reported cases were a nine-year-old boy was diagnosed with eating order, and other boys and men are now stepping forward for help. Additionally, â€Å"older women in their mid 40s to 50s are also now experiencing relapse and new cases are surfacing within the same age groups for having eating disorders†. (Kramer Others, 2007). Accept as the truth, or not but ‘eating disorders are four mental illnesses’, and the American people including myself are unhappy with insurance company’s lack of support. Furthermore, there are insurance companies in this era that have been sued for millions of dollars, all for refusing to pay for treatment of 21-years-old anorexic [a type of eating disorder],a women who committed suicide because of her emotional shortfalls, and ignored cry for help.

Ugliness and Beauty in Alice Walkers Color Purple Essay -- Color Purp

Ugliness and Beauty in Walker's The Color Purple  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   When I finished The Color Purple, I cried. I was deeply touched by the story and all of the issues that it addressed. One interrelated theme that reiterates throughout the novel is that of ugliness and beauty. Celie represents ugliness, and Shug Avery illustrates beauty. The most prominent way that the struggle between ugliness and beauty presents itself in the novel is through Albert, Celie's forced husband, and Shug's long-time lover.    The characters of Celie and Shug are compared and contrasted throughout the novel, and the reason why Albert, for the majority of the novel, treats the two of them so differently is because of the way they look. Albert not only hates, but beats Celie because she is ugly and she is not Shug. "He beat me [Celie] when you not here, I say. Who do, she [Shug] say, Albert? Mr. _____, I say. . . . What he beat you for? she ast. For being me and not you" (79). Albert loves Shug because she is beautiful. In addition, Alice Walker "views Albert's love of Shug, in spite of her color and his father's protestations, as a sign of psychic health and, more specifically, a sign of self-love" (Winchell 98). However, this "self-love" that Albert supposedly possesses is only extended to Shug, not to Celie. This is because Shug is the epitome of society's patriarchal definition of a feminine woman. She has perfect flawless skin, hair that is never out of place, a voluptuous and sensuous (non-fat) body, a nd the fashionable clothes and accessories of a model. On first meeting Shug Celie describes, "and she dress to kill. She got on a red wool dress and chestful of black beads. A shiny black hat with what look like chickinhawk feathers curve down... ...Louis Gates, Jr. and K. A. Appiah. New York: Amistad Press, Inc., 1993. Johnson, Yvonne. The Voices of African American Women. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1998. Smith, Pamela A. "Green Lap, Brown Embrace, Blue Body: The Ecospirituality of Alice Walker." April Cross Currents 2000 (1999): 18 p. Online. Internet. 30 Nov. 1999. Available: http://www.aril.org.smith2.htm. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Pocket Books, 1982. Walker, Alice. "A South Without Myths." Sojourners Magazine Online (Dec. 1994 - Jan. 1995): 2 p. Online. Internet. 30 Nov. 1999. Available: http://www.sojourners.com/soj9412/ 941213.html. Waxman, Barbara Frey. "Dancing out of form, dancing into self: genre and metaphor in Marshall, Shange, and Walker." Melus 19.3 (Fall 1994): 1-16. Winchell, Donna Haisty. Alice Walker. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992.

Personal Ethical View Point

Even though I do not always speak up when I know something is wrong, I have a strong code of personal ethics because I believe loyalty, honesty, and above all, respect for others will guide me to make me the proper ethical decisions throughout my life. I feel that I am a very loyal person. I believe that I am easy to get along with and can make friends without effort. Once I make friends, I have them for life. I have always prided myself on supporting decisions that my friends and family make, even if I know they are a mistake. Who am I to correct anyone’s actions?I understand the importance of making mistakes, so we can learn from them. Along with loyalty, I pride myself on having great fortitude. I am not easily swayed in my beliefs. I will listen to other view points and understand the importance of different beliefs, but I stand strong with the facts that I have discovered in which I developed my beliefs. Although I say that I respect other people’s opinion, I will fight for a cause I believe in, and I will back it up with every bit of energy I have if I feel something needs to be done to correct an action.I have noticed that I will tell people the truth, even if it may hurt them, but I will only do so when asked for an opinion. I know that telling a lie will only hurt me in the long run, so I am thankful that I am an extremely honest person. Lies will always come back to haunt me, and I am aware of that fact. I prefer to go through life without the stress of being caught in a lie. Honesty always pays off in the long run, even if it may cause feelings to be hurt. Working hard is a trait I value in my life. Not just physical labor, but mental work as well.I am tenacious in working through a problem until it is solved. I generally work hard on everything I set out to accomplish. I also believe that it takes a great sense of critical thinking to achieve successful hard work. I recognize that working hard comes with a set of rewards unattainable a ny other way. Along with all the great qualities I have, I would not be human if I said I did not have some negative qualities as well. To me, having some negative qualities does not necessarily mean it is a shame, but instead, I believe having negative points only helps balance out the positive.For instance, I have been known to be overly quiet when I should have spoken up on someone’s behalf. In other words, I do not always stick up for others when they are being treated poorly. I do get an overwhelming feeling that I should be strong and say something, but the quiet person inside me feels more comfortable and I weigh the options of making a situation worse, rather than better. When I notice something is wrong, I have a tendency to ignore the situation unless it involves me. I believe this goes back to deciding if my opinion will make a situation worse.I know this is a quality that I must work on in order to continue to become a better person. If more people spoke up, maybe this world could become better? This is what I consider to be my biggest character flaw. Additionally, I also have been known to give into peer pressure. Not when it comes to drugs or other unhealthy activities, but I will often follow others actions when participating in activities that make me feel uncomfortable. Also, I often take advice from people, even if I know it is not the best advice. Perhaps this is a way of showing respect to others.As I have stated, I pride myself on being a strong person, but sometimes this conflicts with the desire to make others feel valued around me. When I speak of value, there is only one thing that I value the most, and that is my family that I have created. The best gift I was given was my children and my loving husband in which I would do anything for. They are the reason I try to be successful. I have worked very hard at teaching them a great sense of personal ethics of their own, and I support my family’s decisions whether I feel them to be right or wrong.If a member of my family does make a decision that could have had a better outcome, I let them figure out the issue, and I always suggest new ideas in order to still give a structured solution, while that individual still learns from their mistakes. Again, even though I do not always speak up when I know something is wrong, I have a strong code of personal ethics because I believe loyalty, honesty, and above all, respect for others will guide me to make me the proper ethical decisions throughout my life. How might you use your personal ethics to determine a course of action?I have an example in which my personal ethics were greatly tested. When I was still working as an Assistant Security Director, the head Security Director was a very harsh, uncaring, pushy type of a person. He often treated all of his employees very poorly. He called everyone awful names. Once an employee had made a mistake within their job duties, my boss would forever hold that over their h eads and often referred to those employees as â€Å"his retards. † He would even introduce them to other people that were hired into our department as retard # 1, 2, & 3.On a daily basis, I would watch our most manly men come into the security office with their head held high, only to watch them leave feeling less of a man, and their heads hung low. My boss would also make sexual remarks to all the female security officers and I know it made them feel very uncomfortable. The Security Director knew that what he was doing was terribly wrong, because he threatened everyone’s jobs if they went to his boss. Most of the employees felt helpless. I believe this is where the quiet part of me stood in the way, because I did not say anything to him or anyone else even though I was just under his rank.I would often go home and reflect what the Security Director had done for the day and watched how people’s feelings were affected, including mine. After much embarrassment, hu rt feelings and lack of pride, I finally let my personal ethics shine through. After a lot of intense reflection, as well as begging from the rest of the staff, I decided it was time to do what I could to stop my boss’s behavior. I stood up for all my employees knowing I could lose my job. I was tired of knowing in my heart that what he was doing was wrong on so many levels. I went above his head and secured a meeting with his boss. I spoke up and evealed all of my boss’s behaviors. I was completely uncomfortable doing so, but I knew it was the right decision that I had made. In the end, the Security Director was given a choice to leave or be publicly dismissed of his duties. I believe the result of me adhering to my strong code of personal ethics was the catalyst for this situation. All the employees who were harassed and bullied by my boss were so thankful and appreciative. My company had hired an investigator and every single employee was interviewed on the topic. A lmost everyone stood behind me and showed their support. I guess they just needed someone stand up and be heard.

Mendel Vs. Darwin

Dear Mr.. Mendel, I am very Interested In your study of genetics. I also am a Naturalist and we share the same passion for Gods creation. I have known, from your studies of genetics, organisms may only pass down traits to their offspring that they were born with. This proved Lamarckism theory to be incorrect. Your studies show many helpful genetic facts. One of which is all members of a species are all different in some way. This ties together part of my own theory called Natural Selection.I too believe that all organisms are born with different variations. Variations that help to get food or escape from predators will help that animal survive. Then, those animals will reproduce offspring with the helpful variation. Your genetic studies reinforce my theory of Natural Selection. One of our few differences is that you conduct controlled experiments, while I simply observe nature. Much of my work took place while sailing on the Beagle around South America and Africa. I observed the natu ral life and took notes.You seem to Like working In a laboratory while I Like to explore the world and see nature as It happens. Our methods of study are almost opposite, but both reveal much information. Every organism's difference is a variation. While I traveled to the Galapagos, I noticed many variations in the finch species. From island to island, each finch bird has a different type of beak. I hypothesize this is because each island has different food sources so each bird adapted to their environment.Some have sharp, thin beaks to separate insects while others on different islands have shorter beaks to pick seed off the ground. I understand that in your research with peas you have found out that offspring inherit only traits that the parents were born with. I formed similar thoughts about the finches. As you may be thinking, my theory Is very controversial within the church. Most people think low upon me for believing my theory. Some say Natural Selection Is going against the churches belief of the Genesis written In the Bible.Fortunately for you, you are part of the monastery. You have your colleagues to support your ideas and thoughts. I am in the process of writing book to express my ideas to the people. I hope my ideas will be revolutionary and change the thoughts of evolution. My wish is that society will someday find value in my research, even if it is rejected by the church in present. Sincerely, Charles Darwin Mendel Vs.. Darwin By resourcefulness I am very interested in your study of genetics. I also am a Naturalist and we share the same passion for God's creation.I have known, from your studies of genetics, One of our few differences is that you conduct controlled experiments, while I seem to like working in a laboratory while I like to explore the world and see nature as it happens. Our methods of study are almost opposite, but both reveal much As you may be thinking, my theory is very controversial within the church. Most people think low upo n me for believing my theory. Some say Natural Selection is going against the churches belief.

Free Essays on Nursing Shortage

The Nursing Shortage In order for clients to receive quality care, there must be sufficient amounts available to provide care for them. Nurses play an important role in delivering and coordinating client care in both acute and non-acute settings. Not every hospital facility is experiencing a nursing shortage, however the numbers are growing across the country. The shortages of nurses are causing staffing problems in many of our facilities. It is constantly being exploited in the media, and there are many known contributing factors; however, the problem remains to be solved. What are the causes and effects of the nursing shortage? What can be done to solve this problem? Nursing shortages have occurred in the health care profession since the 1940's. Since then, the nursing shortage have been cyclical and economy based. According to Publications (2001, para. 1) â€Å"When the economy is thriving, a nursing shortage is likely to follow.† It is thought that the nursing shortage of the 1980's never really ended, but it was hidden by an increase in managed care, health care corporations unifying, and the dynamics of health care organizations. The nursing shortage today is much more severe than that of the past because in this is a sort of two-way shortage. The nursing supply is low and the demands are equally low. Experts reveal that this problem may not improve, even if there were to be a drop in both the economy and employment levels (Publications, 2001, para. 4) Managed care has had its influences on the nursing shortage. Since the early 90's, insurance companies and government agencies began to clamp down health care industries. They wanted the health care industries to lower the costs and reduce the prices of their services and treatments. Because of this, hospitals began to reduce the usage of their nurses. For states with high HMO enrollment, there was a notice in a reduction of RN employment. Most... Free Essays on Nursing Shortage Free Essays on Nursing Shortage The Nursing Shortage In order for clients to receive quality care, there must be sufficient amounts available to provide care for them. Nurses play an important role in delivering and coordinating client care in both acute and non-acute settings. Not every hospital facility is experiencing a nursing shortage, however the numbers are growing across the country. The shortages of nurses are causing staffing problems in many of our facilities. It is constantly being exploited in the media, and there are many known contributing factors; however, the problem remains to be solved. What are the causes and effects of the nursing shortage? What can be done to solve this problem? Nursing shortages have occurred in the health care profession since the 1940's. Since then, the nursing shortage have been cyclical and economy based. According to Publications (2001, para. 1) â€Å"When the economy is thriving, a nursing shortage is likely to follow.† It is thought that the nursing shortage of the 1980's never really ended, but it was hidden by an increase in managed care, health care corporations unifying, and the dynamics of health care organizations. The nursing shortage today is much more severe than that of the past because in this is a sort of two-way shortage. The nursing supply is low and the demands are equally low. Experts reveal that this problem may not improve, even if there were to be a drop in both the economy and employment levels (Publications, 2001, para. 4) Managed care has had its influences on the nursing shortage. Since the early 90's, insurance companies and government agencies began to clamp down health care industries. They wanted the health care industries to lower the costs and reduce the prices of their services and treatments. Because of this, hospitals began to reduce the usage of their nurses. For states with high HMO enrollment, there was a notice in a reduction of RN employment. Most...

Production management quality management systems. Case study of IDT Australia limited.

Production management quality management systems. Case study of IDT Australia limited. Introduction Historically, manufacturing management concept was coined by Adam Smith in eighteenth century in his contribution to specialization of labor in manufacturing. Adam Smith indicated that industrial jobs can be broken into smaller jobs and laborers were recommended to specialize in areas that they deem perfect, skilled and efficient (Anon, 1998).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Production management: quality management systems. Case study of IDT Australia limited. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Accordingly, Fredrick Taylor coined the scientific management theory and implemented Adam Smith’s recommendation to manufacturing set up. In this respect, organizations in the service and manufacturing industries have a production or an operation department. The departments are significant in that they provide the services or the goods that translates to organizations’ revenues. Production or operati ons management is the process through which inputs resources are combined and transformed in production synergies of the organization, to provide value added outputs in a planned and controlled criteria, utilizing organizations’ policies and procedures (Anon, 1998). Essentially, production is that part of organization concerned with bringing inputs together and transforming them into a range of quality output product. Production entails a set of interconnected activities to create a product. Production management refers to activities of manufacturing of goods while operations management involves activities in the delivery of services. Applying the scientific management theory, managers in the contemporary industries have adopted to techniques and procedures, concentrating on increased quality and economic efficiency in manufacturing products. According to Llopis Josà © (nd), research shows that laborers in organizations are focused in waste reduction and realizing high leve l of efficiency and quality. The paper focuses on the production management in a case study of IDT Australia limited. Importantly, the case study provides a detailed analysis of quality management in organizations. In addition, a recommendation or suggested strategies to improve current situation is also provided. Research objectives The objectives of the study include: To establish quality management process and the vital quality management activities in organizations To elaborate the concept of standards, assurance and control to organization quality management To explain organizations quality measurement and limitations in total quality management To bring forth suggestion on the improvement of the current situation in quality management in IDT Australia limited IDT Australia limited Institute of drug technology Australia Ltd (IDT) operates in a highly monitored and specialized field of manufacturing pharmaceutical drugs and substances. Based in Melbourne, Australia, IDT is Aus tralian pharmaceutical contract manufacturing organization for over 25 years of experience in production for local and international markets.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The company possesses international recognized pharmaceutical producing facilities. According to company profile, the company is primarily committed to supply of drugs and provision of research and development and other technical services. The company commits its resources in four activities that include; new drug development and scale up, clinical research services, API manufacture and pharmacy services. According to the AusBiotech (2009), the company’s â€Å"state of art† facilities are developed and designed to conform to the international regulations and standards GLP/GMP requirements. The company’s 15 manufacturing suites have been purposely constructed as contained s uites, enabling the production of highly potent and cytotoxic drug in a human health conducive environment (AusBiotech, 2009). IDT has employed approximately over 100 employees where around 65 staffs are engaged in manufacturing and the other 35 staffs employed at the clinical facility. The company does not face stiff competitions since it has a distinct competitive advantage. Among its competitive advantage include; confidentiality in drug development and manufacture, access to the most prominent clinical facility nationally and overseas, access to large database of clinical trials volunteers and experience of over 25 years in drugs manufacture and research contract (AusBiotech, 2009). Production management Anon (nd) defines production as â€Å"the step by step conversion of one form of materials into another form through chemical or mechanical process to create or enhance utility of the products to the user†. Ideally, production can be seen as a function in organizations th at convert inputs into outputs that are of high quality level (Bagad, 2008). Similarly, production is a process of adding value to inputs. The figure below shows an example of production process adopted by most of manufacturing industries including IDT Company. Figure one: production process diagram, source (anon, nd)Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Production management: quality management systems. Case study of IDT Australia limited. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As the above diagram indicates, manufacturing is a system that comprises transforming inputs into outputs through a certain process and management of the system to produce high quality products economically and efficiently. The continuous monitoring of the production process is one of the most important function of management (Hakes 1991). Ideally, management team concentrates on Demand Forecasting, Aggregate planning, Inventory management, material Requirement Planning (MRP), Constraints and bottleneck managemen,t and Quality management. Quality management The term quality is frequently used in production processes. Departments of trade and industry define this term as â€Å"delighting the customers by fully meeting their want, needs and expectations† (Anon 1998, p.12). Radziwill (2005), argues that quality is an indicator of high and improved performances, whether in relation to the individual performance, teams, products or the whole company. Quality can also refer to free from deficiencies or abnormality of products, or leading to total satisfaction to the expectation of the end user. Organizations evaluate or measure quality through their performances, costs, prices, supply time, consistency, accessibility, and upkeep of customer relationship. Thus, organizations must first recognize customers’ expectations and need to deliver quality to the market. Market research becomes significant process of establishing products features and the customers’ expectations. Quality management entails the process of planning. Organizing, staffing, directing and controlling quality system s in organizations to meet products requirements and customers’ expectations. Radziwill (2005) defines quality management as to involve developing and applying quality management and control systems in production, operations or delivering substantial satisfaction to the customer. In other words, quality management system can be viewed as tailored tender of principles into a collection of standards, policies, procedures, tools and methodology implemented to achieve quality goals of all industrial participants (Radziwill, 2005). Markets acts as interface between customers and organizations and grounds of evaluating quality of products offered by different organizations. Market environments are ever dynamic and organizations must be vigilant in supplying and maintaining quality on their products. Competitions in the market have changed directions and quality provision is now a competitive strategy. Macro-economic factors are still changing and enforced through rules, requirements and procedures. International standards of organizations have brought forth another approach to enforce quality in organizations. In this regards, organizations qualifying to promote and maintain quality are recognized as ISO quality certified.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, there exists interconnectedness between all participants in a production process to ensure total quality control. Various interfaces exist in the process such as customer-organization interface and supplier-organization interface (Hakes, 1991). Thus, cooperation of all is vital to enhance a total control system. Therefore supply chain management becomes a significant approach to managing total quality. Customers and suppliers in quality management Basically, organizations must understand who their customers are, what are their needs and expectations and how the organization can find out these. Again, the firm must know how to evaluate the ability to meet these wants and expectations, is the organization capable to meet these?, can the company continue to meet these needs and expectations in long run?, and how the organization can control and evaluate the performance in meeting customers’ needs and expectations (Hill et al., 2001). Similarly, organizations are custom ers of a certain suppliers. Therefore, for organization to improve the supply chain and achieve quality management objectives there is a need to understand it’s internal and external suppliers. Organizations must know who their external and internal suppliers are, and what are the organizations needs and expectations from suppliers, and how to effectively communicate these needs. In additions, organizations must evaluate whether potential suppliers are capable of achieving their needs and expectations and strategize on the effective approach to communicate any change in expectations. As noted by Bagad (2008), the realistic perfect situation is an open partnership relationship between all parties where share and benefit concept exist. This means that as the organization is aware of the customers’ benefits they must conversely appreciate the expectations of their suppliers. Quality planning Managers frequently argue with their counterparts on how essential quality manage ment is vital as competitive edge, yet relatively a very small percentage know how to implement it in their organizations (Bagad, 2008). By committing organization to quality management, staffs must also understand systems necessary to upgrade the production process. In his research on quality management in organization, Anon (nd) indicated that quality is synonymous of integrity, standardization in production process and the customer trustworthiness towards company’s products. To achieve organization goals, mission and realize vision, planning is the first function of management and unto which all other functions depend on. In this regard, as Bagad (2008) suggests, without adequate planning for quality management, control and assurance becomes problematic to organizations. Proper total quality planning provide avenue to quality control and assurance translating to objectives accomplishment. Quality control A proper quality management system enhances firms to accomplish objec tives targeted and sustain the strategy. As Bagad (2008) states, it is imperative for organization leaders and managers are responsible in monitoring the quality journey. Once the quality management strategy is implemented, it needs performance evaluation to control the policy. Through monitoring and controlling, the desired level of performance is realized and also sustainable in long run. Quality Control should be established in all levels of organization’s management. Ideal control is undertaken by quality control team via activities of performance evaluation and monitoring (Bagad, 2008). Quality assurance and standards pqcassist, (nd) indicated that, companies committed to inspiring confidence to customers and staffs, break barriers between organization departments and achieve business goals must have quality assurance and standards systems. According to Bagad (2008), standards are requirements, frameworks or procedures that must be adhered by the individual, government, firms, and industries and are usually enforced to achieve specific targets. Policies in organizations enforce standards for either operating business activities or implementing certain managerial plans. Standards can only change under a formal framework and passed by key stakeholders of framework. As argued by Radziwill (2005), organization quality systems are focused to attain conformity, reduce variation, eliminate non adding value activities, waste reduction, minimize/prevent workers error and increase integrity thereby improving productivity and customer satisfaction. All organization objectives are attainable by implementing a dynamic, up to standards and assured quality management system (Bagad, 2008). International organization for standardization is the reputed standard body for quality assurance to partners in all industries across the world. Another is the fair trade partnership agreement. Quality management system certified to ISO 9001 or 9000 refers to organization benef its in achieving consistency business processes and ambitious measurement/evaluation, and cost leaders or performance perfection. IDT Australia is among over one million companies certified for ISO 9001 and 9000 certification across the globe. For quality assurance the company must be ISO 9001: 2008 certified. The certification is the world’s leading quality management system for assurance and standards. This certification refers to company assurance in quality standards in areas such as customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, and continuous improvement in quality systems (pqcassist, nd). In addition, the company either small or large must poses realistic approach to decision making, improve in process method, system approach to management and shared beneficial supplier relation must exist (pqcassist, nd). Current situation in the company Emphasize on innovation has increased in Australia for the past and recent years. Understanding the quality management concept o n managers and employees is much emphasized under industrial research and development. IDT Australia managers are well conversant with the quality management in production and all other areas. The company has employed over 25 PHD doctors and researchers to facilitate the creation and development of effective quality management in assurances and control. As an international competitive organization, adherence to different quality management standards and policies is pivotal to its success. The company measures its total quality management by a basis on analyzing customer requirement, defining its processes that bring out products and services to the customers and provisions implemented in retaining a quality control system. IDT organization structure and its functional units are accorded quality control manual and assurance department is instituted in all key quality adherence units. Quality assurance unit in the company concentrates primarily on the customer handling, proper books k eeping, products quality and handling and the safety of organization physical and non-physical assets. Current total quality management system implemented by the organization is comprehensive process of stakeholders’ satisfaction. Stakeholders include the customers, shareholders, suppliers, the government, and the employees. The quality control starts with implementing supply chain effective to meeting both the needs of customers and the suppliers. The company manuals indicate total quality management process comprises of quality assurance to the manufacturing activities and the customer service delivery at the clinic unit. Basically, IDT Australia limited assurance and control systems ensures that the process prevent problems or issues that may arise, detecting them in advance, identifying accurately their causes, providing remedies immediately, prevent future occurrence and enhance quality progress. As the objective of the company total quality is providing products of high quality that provide value and meets customers expectation, its system is derived from ISO 9001 certification and framework supplemented by the customer specification requirement (Hill et al., 2001). Currently, the company upholds its ability to provide continuous improvement in quality and increase individual goal accomplishment. The quality manuals state that, â€Å"Quality management system shall promote guidance for the continued efforts including customer satisfaction, quality and reliability of products, process and all attached services† (MarketPublishers, 2011). Data analysis The above literature review on production and quality management systems, and the current IDT Australia limited situation has left very many questions unanswered relating to the company’s quality management. The literature brings unclear contribution of quality issues in the organization achievement. Fundamentally, it is important to understand the various factors that influence the quali ty of firm’s products and the satisfaction of the customers. The influence of either internal or external factors and the unanswered question persuade the study to carry out more research and conduct a data analysis. Specific objectives of the study are; a) To establish quality management process b) To elaborate the concept of standards, assurance and control c) To evaluate organizations quality measurement and limitations d) To assess and provide suggestion on the improvement. In general, the concept quality is a multidimensional term which can be measured and evaluated by many factors and indicators that are associated with customer satisfaction and the supply chain quality. In this study, the analysis on the quality management in IDT Australia limited focuses on customer needs fulfillment and satisfaction. Investigating the impact and the quality level of IDT limited by applying customer response is more acceptable than taking the whole supply chain fulfillment. In this re gard, to identify and analyses customer related issues and complaints in the study, freely and accessible information or data is utilized. As Radziwill (2005) supports, Critical Incident Technic (CIT) is the appropriate methodology employed to categorize and systematically analyze customer related issues and complaints from the standpoint of IDT Corporation. The following table provides categories of quality delivered by the company and the associated group of benefit. Table 1: quality categories and the benefit group Quality category Service issue and complaint Quality benefit group Service or staffs competence Staffs are well qualified and can solve problems. Over 25 staffs are PHD qualified Customers Research partners Service and product availability High customers response Experience of over 25 year Customer loyalty. Less competition Customers Government Research partners Other suppliers Product fulfillment No over production Customer complaints handled by professionals Retailers End users International clients Delivery No delay in delivery No wrong product and service delivery Drug distributors Contractors Government Patients-customers Product quality(goods and services) Performance is consistent Control mechanisms are excellent ISO quality on drugs certified Manufacturer Employees customers Source: MarketPublishers (2011). The analysis done identifies that there are certain reasons that make companies become ISO certified. These factors include the relationship with customers, and include internal factors and the external factors. Among all the factors, internal factors are the most preferred. In addition, the relationship with customers may neither be influenced by the quality control, nor quality system be influenced by customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction and requirement fulfilling may be influenced by the internal marketing strategies. Furthermore, quality management literatures show that external factors and internal factors lead to companies’ certification. From the table the analysis concludes that, it is imperative for the organization to provide continuous quality improvement criteria where controls and assurance can be benchmarked with their competitors in the global arena. As presented in the literatures, the issue of identifying, assessing quality based on customers’ satisfactions is not adequate. In this respect the research require full primary data collection consideration. Recommendation Generally, the adoption and application of ISO 9001 and 9000 in health services and drugs, and the utilization of customer specification is justified by the organization quality management manuals, issues may arise in quality control and assurance. This way organization is driven by many factors in seeking for certification from either ISO, trade fair or from the government. In certain circumstances, internal factors are largely depended on when seeking certification. Internal factors include th e level of employees performance, level of company performance financially and quality of the management. As argued by Llopis and Josà © (nd), successful implementation of quality management system to organization may reveal benefit of low cost and also differentiation. Therefore, adapting to ISO 9000 is much fair in terms of environmental factors. Essentially, internal factors contribute positively to internal organization improvement, while external factors contribute into good relationship with the external environments. Llopis and Josà © (nd) indicate external benefits as increasing market share, improved customer satisfaction, attracting new customers and retaining the relationship with customers and suppliers. Internal factors positively lead to increased staffs motivation and productivity, true and fair books of accounts presentation, efficiency achievement and lowering production costs. The motive of organizations is to make profits and increase shareholders wealth. Based on this, companies that are certified due to internal factors makes higher profits that those certified due to external factors. Therefore, IDT Australia limited should be more focused on internal factors rather than external factors. Essentially, the reason why firms seek certification depends on the amount of internal managers’ dedication to the internal factors. Therefore, internal factors are vital and most recognized influences of certification and quality management systems. Conclusions All organizations consist of departments, customers, suppliers, and customer supplier system. Supply chains are exhibited by the suppliers, departments and customers’ interfaces. The objectives of a supply chain monitoring are achieving just in time delivery and meet customers’ expectations through quality products. Poorly established supply chain translates to poor quality and customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, to achieve total quality throughout the company operations, every participant in the supply quality chain must be focused and trained on customer- supplier relationship. Fundamentally, quality management system can be implemented through a supply chain system. In this perspectives, internal factors, external factors and the customer relationship with the organization is taken into consideration. The fact that IDT Australia limited has been certified for a long period of time and it has experience of over 25 years does not have an impact of the profits. The firm size qualification quality management is far much influenced by its internal functioning and other internal factors that accelerate quality control and quality assurance to internal and external observers. List of References Anon (1998) Production and operations management: An international journal of the Production and Operations Management Society, Volume 7. Production and Operations Management Society, University of California. Anon (nd) Introduction to production and operations ma nagement. Web. Available from: masterproductionscheduling.com/int-production-management.pdf . AusBiotech (2009) IDT Australia Limited Contract cGMP manufacturer of high-potency and cytotoxic active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished solid dosage forms. Web. Available from: ausbiotech.org/directory/details.asp?companyid={9E71A623-89B9-4168-BF64-688A3E279E72}returntourl=%2Fdirectory%2Fsearch.asp%3Fpg%3D22 . Bagad, V.S. (2008) Total Quality Management. Vienna, Austria, Technical Publications. Hakes, C. (1991) Total quality management: the key to business improvement: A Pera International executive briefing. Canada, Springer. Hill, N., Self, B., Roche, G. (2001) Customer satisfaction measurement for ISO 9000:2000. Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann. Llopis, J. and Josà ©, T. J. (nd) The Importance of Internal Aspects in Quality Improvement. Web. Department of Business Management, University of Alicante. Available from: http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/1673/4/The_importance_of_i nternal_aspects_in_quality_improvement.pdf . MarketPublishers (2011) IDT Australia Limited Fundamental Company Report Including Financial, SWOT, Competitors and Industry Analysis. London, Business Analytic Center (BAC). Pqcassist (nd) Standards Australia – Quality Management Systems: Industry News. Web. Available from: http://pqcassist.com/pqc/docs/QMS%20Standards.pdf . Radziwill, N. M. (2005) Quality Management in Astronomical Software and Data Systems. National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Rd., Charlottesville VA 22903. Available from: gb.nrao.edu/~nradziwi/v8adass.pdf .

The results of writing contest!

The results of writing contest! The results of writing contest! Thanks everyone for the participation in the writing contest by Essay Supply! We are happy to have received each separate work and congratulate  Viktor Farkaz  with the prize of $1500 for writing the best essay!    Also, special prize to  Hope Dickson  for the unique writing and specific approach to it, and congrats with the prize of $25 Amazon Certificate!    Thanks again, together we will change the world! Yours, Essay Supply team!

Business Resources Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Business Resources - Assignment Example In corporate and large organizations, well defined resource management teams are appointed to ensure optimum allocation of all resources and to avoid over or under allocation of same resources in multiple projects at a time. In this paper, allocation and management of human, technical, physical and financial resources will be evaluated. For the purpose of the study, the resource management techniques of Waitrose will be analysed for getting an insight of the company’s resource management. Waitrose is a UK based supermarket chain and retail division of Britain’s largest employee owned retailer John Lewis Partnership with headquarter in Berkshire. As per the reports of 2014, Waitrose currently has 317 stores across the UK including 30 Little Waitrose, making the retail based grocery superstore the sixth largest in the United Kingdom. The company also have the warrant of supplying groceries, wine and spirits to the royal family of Queen Elizabeth (Waitrose.com, 2015). Duri ng the course of study, how Waitrose has been successful in identifying and managing its critical resources to ascertain smooth running of such well expanded business will be examined in details. Recruitment documentation may be defined as the system of filling up information related to personal, educational and working qualifications, required at the time of applying for a job. The process consists of collecting copies of application forms and all supporting document of the information provided from all individuals present in the panel and interested in applying for the particular job opening. Recruitment documentation ensures consistency, standardization and streamlining the recruitment process for the HR and administrative personnel of a company (Armstrong, 2006). Requirement for recruitment documentation varies according to companies and job profiles. For instance, for a job profile of Supermarket Assistance in Waitrose, the requirements specified by the company show

Models of Competition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Models of Competition - Essay Example e are just a few sellers in collusion (strategically interactive) with the main aim of minimizing competition to provide products and/or services to a large number of customers. A perfect example is the OPEC which controls the price of oil internationally. Perfect (pure) market is broadly an assumption that describes structures in which no player is so enormous as to wield those powers to set the price of a homogenous commodity (Brakman, pg 13). It is always used as a benchmark. In the ideal world, the market is in between the monopolies and perfect market structure. Monopolies do exist especially in the provision of very sensitive public utilities like in the provision of medical services, and public utilities such as gas, electricity, sports e.g. Super sport etc while perfect markets are rather theoretical. The stock markets are near perfect markets due to their composition but not very perfect as it is (Brakman, pg 106). The overarching issue is that competition in most if not all markets are imperfect and even though the goods and services may be differentiated, the firms would still face a down ward sloping curve trend. Markets assuming perfect competition do provide insufficient insight on how markets behave and respond to various factors. Even though the perfect market assumption provides a benchmark, the assumption is that they are pareto efficient. They are assumed to be controlled by such forces that even the government has no control over. This m arket has some limitations among the most crucial being the fact that all people are similar or identical for that matter. But through such models as the Dixit-Stiglitz model the element of the people’s welfare can clearly be examined. The result however gives us a false view of how the market is but for that reason, policies affecting the degree of diversity of merchandise differentiation are having markedly diverse effects on diverse individuals. This to a great extent complicates the analysis of the

Case Study - Consulting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Study - Consulting - Essay Example The physician in this site should ensure that he assesses every client’s motor skills and record them down electronically. Since assessing the motor skills is mandatory, the centre should employ elaborate programs that will ensure the physicians follow the correct procedures. This policy may be ensured by the introduction of the Electronic Health Records system. This system will advocate for the recording of relevant report and charts regarding the patient. This system allows patients to create and maintain their own portal accounts(AHA & CHME, 1981). These portal accounts give patients control about information regarding their health and the different evaluations being done by the physicians. The portal also allows the patients to share various diagnosis materials, schedule hospital appointments, as well as update patient information. The update of the patient’s progress is important and it is carried out on a secure platform. By introducing a patient portal into the s ystem, the patient ensures that the physician carries out every activity that is required of him or her. The Residential Chemical Dependency Program for Adult Women is governed by the Joint Commission and the State standards. The policies found therein require that treatments plan be completed in two weeks of admissions. However, this site does not maintain any treatment plans for the patients. It is important that the site maintain create treatment plans for the adult women in order to help them with their recovery process. The site needs to employ physicians that will carry out the processing of relevant information to be used in the treatment plan. These physicians should also identify the various needs and problems that each specific patient requires. Every patient has different requirements. The site should also employ clerks in order to ensure the information given by the patients is fed online where

Crime Rate in Hillsborough County Florida 2000-2012 Research Paper

Crime Rate in Hillsborough County Florida 2000-2012 - Research Paper Example These statistics only represent the crimes reported to the police. Under normal circumstances, so many crimes never reach the police desk. Hence, the police reports though correct, are not inclusive. In the US, violent crime includes aggravated assault, murder, homicide, rape, robbery with violence, violent crime between intimate partners, hate crime, fraud and impersonation, truancy, financial crimes, and killing of law enforcement officers. In the US, security agents that deal with crime include the police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Criminal investigation Agency. However, despite the huge amount of resources that the US federal government spends on crime prevention and management, the US records approximately 12 million crimes annually which is the worst criminal record in the world. Nevertheless, crime does not occur universally in the US with some states recording higher crime rates while others record low crime rates (Sperling et al 97-101). Indeed, the New En gland records the lowest crime rates of violence, property, and homicide in the US. Louisiana ranked first every year from 1989 to 2010 on per capita homicide rate. On the other hand, Detroit city has the most thriving crime rates of violent crime. Florida has one of the highest crime rates in US (Thuma et al 5-6). One is either a crime victim or a criminal. Ideally, the chance of one becoming a crime victim in the US depends on location and other demographics. Nevertheless, men, the financially unstable, minorities, and the young are more likely to commit crime or fall victim to crime in the US. However, women of any race are more prone to rape and violence against women than men. In average, 20 % of American citizens become victims of crime every year, which is the highest rate in the world. With the recent economic depression, skyrocketing unemployment, and increasing population crime rate in the US may upsurge due to the hard times and desperation among the citizens (Pearce Web) . However, according to the FBI, US were safer in 2010 than in any other year for the last 40 years (Jonsson Web). In comparing US crime rate with other countries, the FBI considers the nation’s wealth, development, and the nature of the crime. This paper will consider the Crime Rate in Hillsborough County Florida and specifically in Tampa area. It will include the crime rates from 2000-2012 and show what things have been done to combat the level of crime to get the levels lower. The paper will equally highlight some of the major crime events that featured in local and national news. Crime rate in Florida closely compares to that of Louisiana. The crime rate in Florida hit its lowest in 40 years this year (Thuma et al 5-6). However, it is arguably true that where man exists, crime exists. Hence, crime is still present in Hillsborough County Tampa area. Tampa area is a city in Florida and the county headquarters of Hillsborough County situated in the west coast of Florida. Tam pa city offers tourists attraction sites, historical sites, suburb life, and city life. The crime rate of Tampa city is favorable compared to that of other cities. Though there are no serious crimes here, thieves still open car doors and steal personal belongings. In addition, there are cases of shoplifting (Tampa Bay’s News Leader Web), credit card fraud, sex offences, prostitution, and liquor violations. However, these crimes are not on large scale and the security

Answers the question Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Answers the question - Coursework Example All but Kelvin follows him) (Minutes later) (Kelvin opens his car and as he ignites his car, a brown slender woman comes towards him and he stops the engine for a moment) LADY: Hello Kelvin? Do you mind giving me a ride to town? (Kelvin perplexed this beautiful woman knows his name but still happy that he may have got a woman to move around with since he loved having sex with many women) Kelvin. No! No! No! Not at all, I...I will be honoured to give such a pretty lady like u a ride (He opens his car door and goes ahead to hug the woman as he opens for her the passenger’s seat). Lady: My name is Risper from the school of medicine Kelvin: what a lovely name! Am Kelvin from faculty of arts and I live with my parents in Beverly Hills, My father is a branch director of one of the leading technology firms in Silicon valley and my mother is the medical superintendent in the district hospital. Lady: (impressed by what Kelvin had told her) I come from California and I stay in the colle ge’s halls of residence (she pauses a little and looks at Kelvin). Kelvin, can I trust you to keep a secret? Kelvin: (with a heavy American accent) Of course you can dear, am all ears. Lady: I am actually not a student at the college, I run away from home a year ago when I felt I could not handle the pressure from my parents. They always insisted that I should join college to study medicine despite my efforts to convince them I did not like that idea and I was more comfortable being an artist Kelvin: did they really have to do that? Look at what they have done, caused pain and suffering to such an innocent beautiful woman as you (He pulls the car by the roadside) tell me more Lady: I have been living with my cousin in her room for the past one year and she is the one who has been feeding me, I... i... (She starts crying and Kelvin moves closer to her and allows her to lean on his bosom) I have nowhere to go and I cannot go back home now. (Torn on what to do, Kelvin decides to take her to his friend’s house who was a devout Christian and who had been trying to bring Kelvin to church) The character cannot not be said to have strong moral and sexual standards as he loved having sex with different women especially those from college, he would lure them with money and promise of a flashy lifestyle for them to give in to his advances. He was driven by his desire to become a businessperson who was respected all over the country and it was the main reason he came to college, however, the reluctance of his parents to introduce him to the prominent people as he would have wanted always frustrated him. His extroverted nature and his intelligent mind always made him a leader among his peers and endeared him to many of his age mates Kelvin was born in Beverly Hills’ in California by James Studd and wife Sylvia Clinton and was brought up in the same neighbourhood. As a child, he was nicknamed ‘Bullfighter’ as he was a bully in school and he loved teasing other pupils who seemed weaker than he did. As he was growing up, he was adored and loved by his parents as he was the only son and the lastborn in the family, and although his parents loved him, he spent very little time with them and he seemed to be more amused by his play station than his family. Efforts by his parents to create a strong relationship with him bore no

Cultural communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cultural communication - Essay Example iously, the politician was attempting to tap into the cultural code of the working class, less educated sort of people that regularly use the term â€Å"redd up.† Since he was running for local government, he was able to use this very regional term, whereas a politician running for state senate or any higher position wouldn’t dare use this term, especially considering that people outside of this region would have no idea what this term meant. By using this term, the politician was saying, â€Å"hey, look at me, I’m just an ordinary person, not like the typical fancy pants politician that you can’t trust as far as you can throw.† One of my friends told me that he tried very hard to lose his â€Å"eh† that he was used to employ in his speech. His family had just moved from Canada, and one of the first things that the kids in his school noticed was his tendency to end sentences with the word â€Å"eh.† It identified him as an outsider, somebody that did not belong to where he currently was. Being a new comer at a new place was difficult enough for him and he worked very hard on assimilating to the local dialect. Beyond dropping â€Å"eh†, he also worked to reduce the drastically different vowel sounds, he used for words like â€Å"coach.† Especially considering the clique-ish nature of schoolchildren, my friend was trying to fit into the cultural code of his new school and country. The author notices acutely the extent to which his parents struggle with English, when speaking with white people. They seem very strained whenever they have to speak English and hypersensitive to any mistakes they might be making, at least to the five-year-old author. Their inability to speak English fluently places them in a different cultural code form their neighbors. The author has a hard time thinking of Spanish as a language as anything other than what is spoken at home. He refers to it as a â€Å"private† language, a language that is only spoken at home and never in public

Answers the question Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Answers the question - Coursework Example All but Kelvin follows him) (Minutes later) (Kelvin opens his car and as he ignites his car, a brown slender woman comes towards him and he stops the engine for a moment) LADY: Hello Kelvin? Do you mind giving me a ride to town? (Kelvin perplexed this beautiful woman knows his name but still happy that he may have got a woman to move around with since he loved having sex with many women) Kelvin. No! No! No! Not at all, I...I will be honoured to give such a pretty lady like u a ride (He opens his car door and goes ahead to hug the woman as he opens for her the passenger’s seat). Lady: My name is Risper from the school of medicine Kelvin: what a lovely name! Am Kelvin from faculty of arts and I live with my parents in Beverly Hills, My father is a branch director of one of the leading technology firms in Silicon valley and my mother is the medical superintendent in the district hospital. Lady: (impressed by what Kelvin had told her) I come from California and I stay in the colle ge’s halls of residence (she pauses a little and looks at Kelvin). Kelvin, can I trust you to keep a secret? Kelvin: (with a heavy American accent) Of course you can dear, am all ears. Lady: I am actually not a student at the college, I run away from home a year ago when I felt I could not handle the pressure from my parents. They always insisted that I should join college to study medicine despite my efforts to convince them I did not like that idea and I was more comfortable being an artist Kelvin: did they really have to do that? Look at what they have done, caused pain and suffering to such an innocent beautiful woman as you (He pulls the car by the roadside) tell me more Lady: I have been living with my cousin in her room for the past one year and she is the one who has been feeding me, I... i... (She starts crying and Kelvin moves closer to her and allows her to lean on his bosom) I have nowhere to go and I cannot go back home now. (Torn on what to do, Kelvin decides to take her to his friend’s house who was a devout Christian and who had been trying to bring Kelvin to church) The character cannot not be said to have strong moral and sexual standards as he loved having sex with different women especially those from college, he would lure them with money and promise of a flashy lifestyle for them to give in to his advances. He was driven by his desire to become a businessperson who was respected all over the country and it was the main reason he came to college, however, the reluctance of his parents to introduce him to the prominent people as he would have wanted always frustrated him. His extroverted nature and his intelligent mind always made him a leader among his peers and endeared him to many of his age mates Kelvin was born in Beverly Hills’ in California by James Studd and wife Sylvia Clinton and was brought up in the same neighbourhood. As a child, he was nicknamed ‘Bullfighter’ as he was a bully in school and he loved teasing other pupils who seemed weaker than he did. As he was growing up, he was adored and loved by his parents as he was the only son and the lastborn in the family, and although his parents loved him, he spent very little time with them and he seemed to be more amused by his play station than his family. Efforts by his parents to create a strong relationship with him bore no

The Coca-Cola Company Financial Results Analysis Research Paper

The Coca-Cola Company Financial Results Analysis - Research Paper Example There are various interesting issues about the North American market for The Coca-Cola Company in terms of its volume growth or declines for the period. For instance, in the second quarter of 2012, there was a volume growth of 4% at the global level. In the same aspect, in the quarter it turned to 5% in accordance with the year-to-date ratings. Therefore, this suggests that there was a growth of volume by 1% for North America in the succeeding quarter and year-to-date affecting even the international volume that leapt to 5%. Alternatively, in the following second quarter, there was a growth of 3% of net revenues with another 7% of net revenues in the comparable currency (Onkvisit, 2004). This means there were significant growths in the quarters and the net revenues of comparable currency. There was also the operating income standing at 7% with the net revenue of 6%. However, the met revenues have a possibility of decline if there are no checks in the growth of the operating income. It is also essential to note there are varying drivers of profitability during the quarter at The Coca Cola Company. This has also led to, interesting long-term, impact in terms of profits and eventual success. For example, there is the maximization of returns through close monitoring of profits and minimization of losses. In the prospect of maximization of returns, the company ensures that it gives its shareholders a large portion of their volume sales. (Hannaford, 2007). Alternatively, another driving factor is marketing in the context of distribution and donation of both macro and micro profits. In distribution channels, there is the direct and indirect selling type that gives the beverage company an edge of its competitors such as Pepsi and Nestle among others. Therefore, the long term effect of these profits is expansion and increased production in new markets across the world. The Earning per Share results for the quarter in comparison to historic results and long-term growth t argets have interesting information. For instance, in the third quarter, the EPS was a headwind of 5% with comparable net revenue of 7%. This eventually deflated to $ 0.50% in the same third quarter from net revenue of 4%. Similarly, there is also the comparable EPS that stands at 2% from the normal $0.51 in the year-to-date financial analysis (Rich et al 2009). However, if compared to the historic results and the long-term targets, there are various disparities. The historic results posted an EPS of $1.65 from comparable net revenue of 2% and 5% respectively in the third quarter. This means that there will be an increase of volume growth in the context of net revenue and comparable operating income. Furthermore, it would also reflect on the currency neutral of net revenues that affect the financial analysis of Earning per Share. The Coca Cola Company has made tremendous achievements of growth leading to acquisition of other feasible emerging markets. On that account, the emerging m arkets include Thailand, South Africa, India and China that have displayed a notable consumption of the company’s products (Pacek & Thorniley, 2007). This has led the beverage company to make heavy investments in terms of marketing expansion and distribution network. Similarly, there will be an establishment of new bottling plants that generate profits to equal to the net value of the company. Alternatively, the Coca Cola Compa

Middle-Class Homelessness in America Essay Example for Free

Middle-Class Homelessness in America Essay Can you imagine yourself standing in line in hope for a cot at a shelter to share with your family, or waiting for a warm meal in a soup kitchen? This is what many middle-class American citizens have succumbed to. Has the American dream been lost, has the middle-class lost its position in the American economy, and has the inequality of income cause the demise of the middle-class? By focusing on the health care reform and record low unemployment rate we overlook the underlying problem; the dwindling middle-class, the backbone of our country. Many studies have been conducted to define middle-class without much success. It has been attempted to relate it to annual income. One study states that yearly incomes between $32,900 and $64,000, another between $50,800 and $122,000, and the U. S. census bureau middle 60% of incomes is the largest range of all lies between$ 20600, and $102,000 as what defines middle-class. Dan Horn notes in the Cincinnati Enquirer â€Å"Psychologist Ken Eisold, a contributor to Psychology today, said, though, that the way people describe their social status has more to do with what’s going on in their heads than their wallets. † Eisold goes on to say that â€Å"it’s really more about identity†. Horn adds that Julie Heath, director of the University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center agrees with Eisold that saying, â€Å"We’re a middle-class family has more than a financial connotations to it, it has a salt-of the earth to it. That’s the bed rock. Essentially this shows that Americans do not base their social status on their income alone, but also on their personal accomplishments and views of where they have come from and where they are going. That being said, the bed rock of the middle-class comes from one of the most common descriptions what living in America is all about; the great American Dream. History tells us that this emotion connected with being middle-class started showing up in the 1830’s. In these times people came to America hoping for the best, and they clung to ideas of how they would make it. They believed that if those ideas and values were kept, that they were middle-class, even if they were not financially. This is how the idea of the Leave it to Beaver life style came into being. In the 1950’s men took white collar jobs while women stayed home and maintained their house and families. They bought homes in the suburbs, nice family cars, and made safe investments. This provided them a sense of stability and many believed this is what the American dream is all about. Today, in pursuit of the dream, to maintain their middle-class status many Americans have higher incomes than their parents did but both parents are working. Yet while doing the best that they that they can possibly do, many are watching their dreams shatter. Erin Currier, director of the Pew Economic Mobility Project, said â€Å"stability is one of the biggest threats to the middle class today. † She goes on to say, â€Å"Though born into middle-class, many fall out by adulthood. † This is due to inflation of basic needs such as health care, day care, college funding, and the rise of the inequality of income. One term often referred to when relating to the middle-class crisis is Income Gap. As defined on the internet by investapedia. om, the income gap is the unequal distribution of household and individual income across the various participants in an economy. A sociology and political science professor at the University of Arizona who studies income inequality and poverty, says that over the past three decades â€Å"is slow income growth compared to general economic growth†¦ a bigger and bigger portion of economic growth has occurred to the wealthiest 1 %, whether the measure is basic wages or total compensation,† says Lane Kenworthy. (CQ researcher 3) There is political risk involved with this shift that is greater than economics and family finances. A large middle class, especially one that is politically active, tends to be a kind of anchor that keeps our country from swinging back and forth. There are typical values that middle-class families acquire and pass on to their children and those values tend to be good for democracy,† states Teresa Sullivan, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan, and the co-author of The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt. (CQ Researche r 2) The new millennium looked very hopeful for the war on poverty in America. The federal poverty rate was the lowest it had been since 1974 according to CQ Researcher. The next 4 years even better with Housing prices doubling in many cities and increase in home equity loans that brought the Home-ownership rate up to an all time high of 69 percent. In 2008 we would not only see the sand shift out from the false growth of the economy led by the banks and lending companies but our government bail the banks out with $700 billion rescue bill, They did not however bail out the borrower and many lost their homes. Leading to the current middle class crisis. These issues, the rise of the inequality of income and the shattering of the American dream, have led us to the downfall of the middle class. In more recent years the middle-class are finding themselves not only having a decrease in their income due to layoffs and downsizing, but while not able to maintain their dream are losing their homes due to foreclosures. They are now finding themselves sleeping in their cars, if fortunate to still have one. They are waiting in lines for food and shelter, and bathing in gas station rest rooms, standing on street corners and highway exit’s begging for money or work. I have a personal interest in this research because I consider myself a middleclass American who lived through these years of the housing crisis and recession, I have lost a business, I am dealing with the short sale of my home and a threat of foreclosure, I have suffered through divorce and currently I am a struggling single mother. In conclusion the decline of the middle-class has hit very close to home. Although the hope of the American dream dies a slow death in my own heart, because of the continual economic status and burden of the cost of living rising, many like me are losing hope.

A Melting Planet Essay -- Glaciers Ecology Essays

A Melting Planet Although most glaciers and ice sheets reside in areas that man does not inhabit, they are nevertheless important for society and the global environment. Due to anthropogenic activities over the past two centuries, the temperature of the earth is rising at an alarming rate. This rise in temperatures has resulted in an overall loss of ice mass worldwide, including a rapid depletion in mountain glaciers. The effects of glacial melt will have a significant impact on the future of the human race, so it is therefore important to have a firm understanding of glaciers. In order for a glacier to form, all of three conditions must be met. Firstly, the climate of the area must be cold enough so that snow that falls during the previous winter does not melt away entirely before the next winter begins. Next, the region must get enough precipitation in the form of snow for a sufficient amount of accumulation. Finally, the slope of the ground must be gradual enough so that the accumulating snow does not avalanche away. As more and more snow accumulates over many years, it puts a great deal of pressure on the underlying layers. The upper layer of loose snow is 90% air and gives the surface of the glacier its white appearance. The next layer of snow is more granular and is roughly 50% air, while the final layer of snow is firm with only 25% air. Below these three layers, roughly at a depth of 250 meters, the pressure is so great that the snow forms into glacial ice, which gives glaciers their characteristic blue color. This ice has less than 20% air and it t akes at least 10,000 years to form(Marshak 670-2). The great pressure on the bottom layers of ice also lowers the melting point of the ice. The pressure at the base of... ...el. Despite this fear of rising seas, society continues to abuse fossil fuels. Works Cited Cyrosphere. http://www.panda.org/resources/publications/climate/climate_change/page4-5.htm Greenpeace: Ka Roimato – New Zealand. http://archive.greenpeace.org/~climate/docs/franz.pdf Marshak, Stephen. Earth: Portrait of a Planet. W.W. Norton & Company; New York, 2001. National Science Foundation – Ice Sheets. http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/support/icesheet.htm Nesje, Alte. Glaciers and Environmental Change. Oxford University Press; New York, 2000. Oerlemans, Johannes. Glaciers and Climate Change. A.A. Balkema Publishers; Lisse, 2001. USGS: Glacier Monitoring in Glacier National Park. http://nrmsc.usgs.gov/research/glaciers.htm Warrick, R.A. Climate and Sea Level Change: Observations, Projections, and Implications. Cambridge University Press; New York, 1993.

jesus, the business man :: essays research papers

Purpose/Vision: To restore salvation to a lost world. Background Information: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). The earth was His vision, His company. He invented everything in the earth and the placed a man and a woman in charge of the business. Their duties, at the time, included naming the animals and multiplying the population with their seed. Although God had a plan for the way he wanted His company run, the people He put in charge had their own agendas. They rebelled against the owner and tried to take over the business. Due to the insubordinate nature of His employees, He terminated their positions and hired other workers. From then on, under the supervision of different men, the fate of the company went down hill. Money and agricultural profits were at a loss, and the values that the employees once had, decreased with each successor. After seeing His business gradually decline from it's original standpoint, God took up a partnership with His Son, Jesus. He sent Jesus into the world to restore the company back to it's original purpose. Knowing the He needed a qualified staff under Him, Jesus employed twelve men to work with him. Chain of Command: Level 1-Owners: God, Jesus, (Holy Ghost-Silent Partner) Level 2-Supervisors: Peter, Paul, John Level 3-Employees: James, Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, Lebbaeus, Simon, Judas Employee Qualifications: 1. Must already be employed * Matthew- tax collector (2:14) * Simon- fisherman (1:16) * Andrew- fisherman (1:16) * James- fisherman (1:19) * John- fisherman (1:19) 2. Must be willing to leave everything and relocate * "And immediately He called them and they left their father, Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after Him" (1:20). Services: Healing Ministries: * Sickness and Fevers: "Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up and immediately the fever left her" (1:31). * Leprosy: "As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed" (1:42). * Withered Hands: "He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out and his hand was restored whole as the other" (3:5). * Demon Possession: "Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind" (5:15). * Issues of Blood: "And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction" (5:34). jesus, the business man :: essays research papers Purpose/Vision: To restore salvation to a lost world. Background Information: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). The earth was His vision, His company. He invented everything in the earth and the placed a man and a woman in charge of the business. Their duties, at the time, included naming the animals and multiplying the population with their seed. Although God had a plan for the way he wanted His company run, the people He put in charge had their own agendas. They rebelled against the owner and tried to take over the business. Due to the insubordinate nature of His employees, He terminated their positions and hired other workers. From then on, under the supervision of different men, the fate of the company went down hill. Money and agricultural profits were at a loss, and the values that the employees once had, decreased with each successor. After seeing His business gradually decline from it's original standpoint, God took up a partnership with His Son, Jesus. He sent Jesus into the world to restore the company back to it's original purpose. Knowing the He needed a qualified staff under Him, Jesus employed twelve men to work with him. Chain of Command: Level 1-Owners: God, Jesus, (Holy Ghost-Silent Partner) Level 2-Supervisors: Peter, Paul, John Level 3-Employees: James, Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, Lebbaeus, Simon, Judas Employee Qualifications: 1. Must already be employed * Matthew- tax collector (2:14) * Simon- fisherman (1:16) * Andrew- fisherman (1:16) * James- fisherman (1:19) * John- fisherman (1:19) 2. Must be willing to leave everything and relocate * "And immediately He called them and they left their father, Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after Him" (1:20). Services: Healing Ministries: * Sickness and Fevers: "Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up and immediately the fever left her" (1:31). * Leprosy: "As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed" (1:42). * Withered Hands: "He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out and his hand was restored whole as the other" (3:5). * Demon Possession: "Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind" (5:15). * Issues of Blood: "And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction" (5:34).

Strategic Drift

Identify four organisations that, in your view, are in the different phases of strategic drift (see Exhibit 5. 2). Justify your selection. Strategic drift, as defined by Gerry Johnson in Exploring Corporate Strategy, is the tendency to develop strategies incrementally on the basis of historical and cultural influences, while failing to keep pace with a changing environment. In such circumstances the strategy of the organization gradually drifts away from the realities of its environment and towards an internally determined view of the world of management. Strategic drift occurs when a company, especially one that has enjoyed considerable success, responds far too slowly to changes in the external environment and continues with the strategy that once served it very well. There are four phases in strategic drift; incremental change (phase 1), strategic drift (phase 2), flux (phase 3) and transformational change or death (phase 4). Phase 1 is characterized by relatively long periods during which strategies are either unchanged or change incrementally. This change is generally in keeping with the environment or may have slight variations around a successful theme as the company avoids drifting too far from some past successes. In phase 2 the environment grows at a faster rate than the firm’s strategies. This may occur for several reasons, that is ; while one may be aware that changes are happening, the extent may not be so easily appreciated except in hindsight or as reflected through the financials; it could also be that while the changes are observed they are interpreted in terms of the familiar thus resulting in the wrong conclusion being drawn. There is also the situation where although the firm may see the environmental drift, it refuses to align as it binds itself to the successful strategies of the past. These strategies become the company’s core around which it revolves and has its competitive advantage. Another contributory factor can also be unwillingness of the firm to alter the current relationships with suppliers, customer base or the internal skills to align with the market. Phase 3 may be a period of flux as management pressured to alter the firm’s strategies in response to downturn in profit does so but not in any clear direction. Internal rivalry may be high as solutions are sought to determine which strategy to follow. There may also be loss of confidence in the company resulting in lowering share prices. As the situation worsens there are three options in phase 4. The firm can die, be taken over by another organization or simply go through a period of transformational change. Motorola found itself in phase 4 of the strategic drift in the late 90’s as in response to depressed profits it was forced to conduct a series of layoffs, restructures and restrategising before transforming. According to Sydney Finkelstein article on â€Å"Why smart executives fail†, Motorola which was founded in 1928 has had a long tradition of technological innovations. It solidified its reputation as a world leader in this area through innovation with the television, pager, microprocessor, analogue phone among other things. Motorola’s first cellular system began commercial operation in 1983 with them becoming the world top cellular phone supplier shortly thereafter. They claimed 60 per cent of the US mobile market, revenues growing at an average of 27 percent to $27 billion in 1994, while net income surged 58 per cent a year to $1. billion. During this period, although digital mobile technology was introduced, it was not embraced by Motorola even after receiving several signals from the market. The market signals included – direct prodding by their customers requesting that they provide the new technology especially based on the benefits offered; increase in royal ty income from digital patent it licensed to Nokia and Erikson and finally the falling market shares and profit. Motorola’s shares dip to 34 percent in the early 1998’s, while Nokia’s share went from 11 per cent to 34 per cent during the same time period. That same year Motorola laid off 20,000 employees. Motorola was fully poised with the potential to maintaining their position as market leader using digital technology however they chose to rely on internal forecasting models that predicted carriers would be better off with analogue phones rather than digital. Sony whose mission statement was ‘a clever company that would make new high technology products in ingenious ways’ aggressively marketed its hardware entering the big league when it formed a joint venture with CBS Records in 1975 with the launch of the new technology – the Betamax home videocassette recorder. Within two years a new videocassette recorder (VCR) made by it arch-rival Matsushita using the VHS standard became the product of choice for consumers. This happened as Sony was too busy defending the hardware than marketing and creating customers. Matsushita, on the other hand, aggressively aligned electronics firms to their brand so that when motion picture studios began to release a larger number of their library titles VHS was the format of choice. ‘We didn’t put enough effort into making a family. The other side, coming later, made a family’, founder Akio Morita later stated. Sony also concluded that the compelling reason for the purchase of hardware is software. Resulting from lessons learnt from competition with arch rival Matsushita, Sony adjusted their strategy. Consequently, convinced that its record library had helped guarantee the success of the Compact Disc, Sony looked to CBS Records to provide the software necessary to ensure the success of its new Digital Audio Tape. In the years that followed Sony acquired expensive movie studios to showcase their impressive arsenal of hardware. As much attention was not paid to the American management team and the lavish spending spree on renovation production, management, and television ballooned. Overheads increased by 50 per cent to $300 million by 1991, some $60 million greater than other major studios, and its $700 million production budget were nearly twice that of its competitors. The average Sony motion picture cost $40 million versus the industry average of $28 million. In November 1994 Sony announced a $3. 2 billion write-off related to Columbia Pictures which wiped out nearly 25 per cent of Sony’s shareholders’ equity. It was not until Sony found itself here in phase 3 of the strategic, drift having major decline in shareholder values, that it restructured its management team and strategies. Wang Labs based on strategies created in an attempt to avoid the mistakes of the past found itself in phase 4 of the strategic drift as it filed for bankruptcy in 1992. An Wang, an inventor and innovator, sold several of his creations to companies who used them to make products for commercial uses. Resulting from one such deal with IBM in 1956, Wang’s feeling of being cheated by the computer giant biased his future decisions towards them. Starting from the late 80’s Wang Labs lost out when the world shifted from using word processors to PC, however they were blinded by their love for the word processors and made major losses as IBM took the PC to the market. Wang could have raise capital by issuing shares however because he felt that he had given up too much of the company in a similar past transaction he refused and instead opted to seek loans According to Paul Golding, prior to 1999 the Jamaican telecommunications sector was dominated by Cable and Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ), which changed its name in 2008 to LIME (Landline Internet Mobile, Entertainment). In 1988 the company was granted five exclusive licenses each for 25 years, which would be valid until 2013, with options for extensions for a further 25 years. The licenses made C&WJ the sole provider of the island’s domestic and international telephone service and guaranteed an after-tax rate of return of 17. 5% – 20%. C&WJ was quite comfortable with the strategies they employed especially as they were a monopoly in these early years. This resulted in the organization being stuck in phase 1 as they became complacent, relying on the same old strategies as technology boomed globally. They were â€Å"out of touch† with customer demand and the untapped potential of the market. Liberalization of the telecommunications market commenced with the granting of two new carrier licenses for the provision of domestic mobile voice, data, and information services. In April 2001 Digicel launched its mobile telecommunication company in Jamaica. Rates rose from 4 per cent in 2001 (Digicel’s launch year) to close to 100 per cent today – making it one of the most highly penetrated countries in the world and driving a grassroots level ICT development across Jamaica. Of the less than 2. million local population, Digicel Jamaica has 2 million customers, representing a 75% market share. Additionally, scores of small entrepreneurs owe their successes to a reliance on their Digicel phones, especially in areas where there were no previous mobile signals by the competition. On October 27th, Digicel announced its intention to move its Jamaica and Group offices to a bra nd new facility on the waterfront in downtown Kingston, demonstrating its commitment to spearhead the rejuvenation of this area of the capital city of the first country in which Digicel launched back in 2001. In April 2001, when Digicel launched its GSM mobile service in Jamaica, the company anticipated reaching the 100,000 customer plateau by the end of its first year in operation. Instead, it hit the 100,000 mark a mere 100 days after launch. Never before in the country’s history of mobile telecommunications had such tremendous growth been seen in a network, as Digicel broke record after record on its way to surpassing its major competitor as the mobile provider with the largest customer base in the island. It took LIME, its major competitor approximately 10 years to reach the 400,000 customer mark. In comparison, it took Digicel about 13 months to reach the same figure. Digicel's customer base in 2010 was over 2. 1 million customers in a population of 2. 8 million. Digicel raised the bar where an acceptable level of network coverage was concerned. Jamaicans living in rural parishes finally had a genuine option for mobile communications. With an island-wide network of over 1,000 cellular towers spread across all 14 parishes, Digicel firmly established itself as the mobile provider with the premier network coverage across the country. Digicel currently appears to be in Phase 2 of the strategic drift as its strategy of providing islandwide service has materialised and it continues to be poised towards supplying any further required hardware. However there is growing concern that Digicel needs to review its customer service as well as its rates. If you really want to understand a company, you need to understand its history and culture. In analyzing an organization one of the most common flaws is to disregard the past in trying to make sense of the present. Culture is also a major component of history, as is highlighted with Motorola that is known as an engineering-driven company. It is likened in its mindset to an ‘internal think-tank’, focused on the market while customers are secondary. Digicel is also similar in this regards as its main focus appears to be on the hardware and to a lesser extent the customer. Motorola’s had an insular culture where its workforce had a ‘fortress mentality, cut off from reality, in-bred, with tremendous self-confidence, and a lack of concern with the outside world’. One former CEO stated, ‘every time we stumble significantly it is because we have been so successful in one generation of the technology that we don’t focus on replacing ourselves with the next technology quick enough’ People make sense of new issues in the context of past issues; they are likely to address a problem in much the same way as they dealt with a previous similar one. Moreover, they are likely to search for evidence that supports those inclinations. So some data will be seen as more important than other data, and some may not be taken on board at all. The important points are: * The interpretation of events and issues in terms of prior experience is inevitable. The idea that managers approach strategic problems and issues entirely dispassionately and objectively is unrealistic. * Such interpretation and bias arise from experience of the past, not least with regard to what is seen to have worked or given rise to problems. So the future is likely to be made sense of in terms of the past. As with individuals, so also with groups – managers do not operate purely as individuals; they work and interact with others, and at the collective level, too, there are reasons to expect experience to count. This is reflected in the taken-for-granted assumptions and ingrained organizational routines that are collectively referred to as ‘organizational culture’. Such taken-for-granted assumptions and routines can be especially important as an influence on the development of organizational strategy. For a group or organization to operate effectively, there has to be a generally accepted set of assumptions which in effect, represents the collective experience without which people would have to ‘reinvent their world’ for different circumstances. As with individual experience, this shared understanding allows the collective experience gathered over years to be brought to bear to make sense of a given situation, to inform a likely course of action, and to gauge the likelihood of the latter’s success. Such collective thinking typically stretches even beyond the organization. Managers may assume that they can manage the environment, but the evidence is that the environment largely determines managerial action. If managers sensitize themselves to the influence of the history of their organisation they stand a better chance of better appreciating their current strategy and may be able to detect and avoid strategic drift. Managers would more likely to be able to question the extent to which the strategy they are seeking to develop is usefully informed by that history as distinct from being driven or captured by it.