Chemistrt Lab Report Sample

Chemistrt Lab Report Paper The determination of water hardness is a useful est.. That provides a measure of the quality of water for household and industrial uses. Hard water has no obvious health effects, but these ions form insoluble compounds with soap. Results are unsightly scum on clothing and so-called bath-tub ring. Water hardness is important to industry because hard water, upon being heated, precipitates Cacao, which then clogs boilers and pipes. It results in the equipment malfunction or damage and expensive cleaning. Elimination of water hardness is referred to as water softening. Hardness due to bicarbonate (HOCK-) can be eliminated by boiling, to expel CO. Thus, carbonate hardness is classified as temporary hardness. Hardness arising due to the presence of Ca+, MGM+, Fee+, and SASS-, cannot be eliminated in the same way as temporary hardness. Water containing these ions is said to be permanently hard. Permanent hardness is usually determined by titration with a standard solution of ethylene damming attracted acid, EDIT. EDIT is a aligned that has more than one point of attachment and complexes most metal ions in aqueous solution. It is weak acid that loses protons. They react in 1:1 ratio, so the titration reach the end point when all the metal ions reacted. Ricochet Black-T (Erie-T) indicator will be used, since both DE TA and Ca+2 colorless. This is a molecule that has a color change from pink, corresponding to Ca -calico complex, to blue corresponding to uncompleted indicator. Methods A 50 ml burette was rinsed with few ml of EDIT solution, and filled with prepared EDIT solution. We will write a custom essay sample on Chemistrt Lab Report specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Chemistrt Lab Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Chemistrt Lab Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Then 25 ml of distilled water and 5 ml of the pH 10 buffer were added to 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask. 5 drops of indicator and 15 drops 0. 03 M Magic were added to the flask step by step. Color changes were recorded. The solution was titrated against EDIT to determine a blank. Then sample of water was analyzed for its hardness. Above procedure was repeated using sample water instead of distilled water. Results We could determine blank titrating prepared solution against 1. 5 ml of EDIT solution. Throughout titration color changed from red wine to blue. However experiment part determining hardness of sample water failed, no end point was determined. We used up to 100 ml of EDIT solution for titration and no effect, while only few drops should be enough. Discussion could not find actual reason of failing this lab. There should be no problem with indicator or other part of the practical, since we got reliable results with the blank elution. The problem may be in the heating part of preparation of unknowns, which was prepared by instructor or TASK. We heat the water to make sure all the calcium ions and other metal ions are dissolved in the water. If they are not dissolved in the water, the indicator cannot form a complex with them and your end point will not be the true end point of the titration. This answer to the problem sounds legit to me. Conclusion We could not get useful knowledge from this experiment, since we did not succeed in the practical, and no calculations was done based on results. However, we should learn to analyze what was done wrong.

Eight Best First Chainsaws For The Beginner

Eight Best First Chainsaws For The Beginner Ive just updated a very popular article on choosing a first chainsaw. This feature was developed for a new chain saw buyer/user who is just preparing to purchase his or her first saw. I provide you with links to saw sites Ive picked to make a great first purchase. I go on the premise that most folks dont want nor need a professional woodcutters saw which could provide too much power with backbreaking weight. You can always upgrade if your jobs and tree sizes increase. Learn how to cut on a smaller dependable saw. You will be very surprised how these smaller power tools can take on larger projects in a pinch. Buying a saw too big for your needs is simply an accident waiting to happen. Use this review and try to stick with a companys 14 to 16 guide bar and a saw with not much more than 50 cubic centimeters of displacement. Chainsaw companies have developed balanced, slim, small saws with power enough for commercial arborists. These saws are also perfect for someone who does light work in the yard and on the farm. Consider my eight reviewed chainsaws for your first purchase.

Verizon Wireless Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Verizon Wireless Marketing - Case Study Example Verizon Business provides communications and information technology (IT) services to global business and government clients. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., Verizon Wireless has the largest number of retail customers in the industry and is the most profitable wireless company in the U.S. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). (Verizon Wireless, 2008) Since wireless is the way of the future, the wireless divisions of these companies is the most hotly contested, and the focus of this "Battle of the Brands." It is important to note that despite Verizon Wireless bearing solely Verizon's name, it is not owned by just them, it is a 55%-45% joint venture between Verizon and Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD). It is also important to note that AT&T Mobility is the service formerly known as Cingular, which was acquired by AT&T in 2006 when it bought BellSouth for $86B. Verizon Wireless lives up to its tagline as "America's Most Reliable Wireless Network". By doing so, it is the only major wireless company that offers a test-drive pledge that pays calls if a customer isn't satisfied and switches to another carrier. This marketing strategy is believed to have been backed upon by a broad marketing research. Verizon Wireless have focused on strengthening its customer loyalty, making it their edge from their competitors. It is believed to have the highest customer loyalty in the industry based on lowest-in-industry churn. -- footnote Compared to AT&T which is their serious challenger in wireless network, Verizon Wireless' products are almost the same with its competitor. Thus, the need to identify an area where they can perform better. Based on marketing research conducted, in order to increase customers of an industry, you need to increase a customer's trust in your products. Launching the Verizon Wireless Test Driver's Manual is a very strategic tactic that has been very effective for the company. It definitely achieved their objective to increase their trial rate. When a product if of high quality performance, a very vital percent, if not 100%, will lead to purchase rate and will then lead to re-purchase rate of customers until customer loyalty is established. By reading the mind of their consumers, Verizon Wireless knew exactly that their products are of high quality standards, leaving a little, if not zero, room for shifting to competition. None of this will be achieved if no marketing research has been intr icately done to its market. Competitive intelligence plays a vital role in analyzing competition of AT&T and Verizon Wireless. To analyze each of the company's stregths and weaknesses is important in order to come up with strategies to counter each other's marketing points. In detail, the present market of AT&T is composed of 71 million users againt 65 million users of Verizon Wireless. Looking first at Verizon Wireless, its strategy is simple. It focuses on the strength of its network as its main selling point. From the company's "Can you hear me now" ads, to the current "It's the network" ads, the point the company conveys is that if you have Verizon, you are covered by the biggest and most reliable network. AT&T's most memorable recent ads may be Martin Scorsese "We won't interrupt your phone calls, please don't interrupt our movies" ads that play at the cinema, but the company also runs television ads that focus on "more bars in more

NOGO Railroad Case Analysys Form Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

NOGO Railroad Case Analysys Form - Essay Example Dave is wary of Allen’s intentions and is torn between making the required changes and not making those changes. However, the situation is not new to NOGO Railways as it has struggled with the same issues (highlighted later) since its inception. It is only that Dave has now been promoted to such a position where he must address the problems encountered. 2. Problem NOGO Railways faces a myriad of problems which can best be separated as surface-level problems and deeper or micro problems. At the macro level, the company faces an outdated and ill designed system of organizational policies and practices, thereby reflecting a poor HR system. This is the backbone of all other problems such as high debt and resistance to change. Owing to faulty (and biased) recruitment practices, productivity has been low and unnecessary positions have been created for the sake of compensating family and relatives. One such example is that of Fireman’s position whose only task was to take char ge of the engine in the event of assistance required by the engineer (Brown). The major problems facing Dave (and the company) are that employee expenses have been on a rise and that there was friction amongst NOGO’s employees with respect to change management. Next, it is important to analyze the micro level issues that NOGO is faced with. One of these is featherbedding which is defined as the practice of restricting output of work so as to create more jobs and reduce the chances of unemployment. Another problem pertained to the absence of a formal, structured recruitment process that objectively selected candidates with the right ‘fit’ for the job. These faulty hiring procedures gave way to favoritism. This meant that employees whom Dave worked with were related to each other in some way as spouses, children, brothers or cousins. This practice tends to create a disconnected workforce with ties based on their relations and not work. 3. Causes The presence of a u nionized workforce meant that the union acted as a resistance to any changes implemented by the management. This was clearly causing resistance to change which was one of the macro-level problems confronting NOGO. The union terms were guaranteeing complacency and minimizing worker efficiency owing to a contract that workers would get pay for 40 hours of work even if there was no availability of such work (Brown). These contract terms (as settled by the unions) meant that NOGO was covering the living expenses of their away-from-home, overtime employees as well as duplication of tasks such that clerks would have no task to carry out in the presence of telegraph operators. Furthermore, the union as well as improperly crafted contracts provided workers unnecessary cushion of refusing to do a task just because it wasn’t part of their job description. This was directly contributing to the high employee expenses which, again, was one of the major problems facing NOGO. Furthermore, t he lack of HR planning and strategy was at the backbone of a host of problems encountered by the company. For one thing, the lack of HR planning led to overstaffing leading to greater number of employees being hired than was necessary. This bred â€Å"featherbedding†. The employee contract was not designed appropriately with conditions such as prohibition of women clerks to work directly with train and radio communication personnel reducing the

The Home Depot SWOT Analysis Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Home Depot SWOT Analysis - Article Example This paper seeks to do a SWOT analysis of this giant specialty retailer by evaluating its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in order to make suggestions on how to keep the company growing and profitable. Home Depot has ensured continued success and lead in the home improvement industry due to various strengths which include: The home depot’s continued growth is as a result of continuously renewing and working on its culture aimed at producing good products, sustaining its employees and customers thus effectively maintaining its competitive edge in the retail industry. The Home Depot culture is focused on taking care of its employees by paying those modest wages and benefits, providing them with excellent and superior training and granting them opportunities for advancement. The employees are regarded as the most important people after the customers due to their role in interfacing with the customers (Marcus and Blank, 271) Home depot also provides their customers with value, loyalty and low pricing. Through the company’s focus in customer satisfaction, the company’s NPS, (Net Promoter Scores) has improved significantly allowing it to wrest a further market share from rival companies. Home Depot’s success is also attributed to its ability to form alliances with strategic partners. Through its partnerships with the industry’s leading manufactures it is able to deliver exclusive and innovative assortments such as to do-it-yourselfers and professional contractors alike, with combination of other brands like LG appliances. Home depot’s continued upgrading of its computerized systems and implementation of satellite communication increased its operational efficiency. This was evident as significant reduction in operational costs were realized thus supporting the overall growth of the company and better

Aligning Operations and SCM with Other Functional Strategies

Aligning Operations and SCM with Other Functional Strategies 1. Discuss the importance of aligning operations and SCM with other functional strategies (e.g. Design, Marketing and Finance) in creating a viable business strategy. Skinner gives us a broad picture of how we look at the business as a whole moving away from sub optimization which he has criticised it and making choices that are sensible and how will compete on the market. Skinners work introduced the importance of the concept of trade-offs and the need to align the delivery systems to what market really require therefore the sub-functional trade-off choices are strategically aligned with key manufacturing tasks. Hill come with the concept of OWC and qualifying criteria and highlights the fact that focus should be on what important to the customer and a system require a common objective and everyone on the system is focus on common objective. Rumack Pharmaceuticals is an example of marketing strategy where they produce lots of variants of that ingredient, different pills, different potions, different bottle sizes, different packages because they little way of exploiting market opportunity. The cost of manufacturing is small compare to the value of the product because of the paten and the manufacturing was bottlenecked in this situation. In this case manufacturing means to be subordinate to the opportunity of the business and the nature of the product should be supporting the market opportunity. They end up with capacity problems and long setup times as they did not understood the implications of higher variety on that capacity. Higher variety means to go either for large batches but also inventory or smaller batches and where capacity is more absorbed thru setup. Tyndall B is another example where marketing influenced where company went. Manufacturing invested a lot of effort in chair and their process choice was to go for standard high volume but the demand was more than they would coop with. So marketing made them look at case goods but case goods would not give them so much return. They were not good in manufacturing producing case goods so the profits was declining. But why they did not invested more in tables and chairs rather than spending on galleries where marketing driven to produce a full range of products causing variety to go up and profits down. They was not paying attention of what manufacturing is capable of delivering. They werent aligned. Compare to Rumack there is no paten but there is capability which can be exploited. For both companies idea of alignment strategy was to be for volume and variety. Referring to Babcock Wilcox case study they mix up trade-offs choices because what is good for high volume is not good for low v olume and choices needs to be aligned. Regarding Finance operation strategy from Skinner point of view was all about avoiding local cost and local efficiency. Focus operations on delivery, speed, price and everyone work together to align themselves. Also he argue that quite often in factories every department try to optimise local cost and efficiency which encourage push and pull thinking. Local optimisation is not aligning with the system and we can see evidence of that at Rumack Pharmaceutical where basically in manufacturing you need to be align with the strategy thats being adopted which is all introducing new products resulting in new product capacity which should not happen as will require more capacity in the system. Going for higher variety will put more pressure on capacity because of the setups. Tyndall they had really good arrangements in terms of producing tables and chair colonial style lots of demand for them but they wont exploit it because they said that there is no capacity for that so they went for case goods. Problem was that case goods was providing throughput but no revenue. They were doing everything rather then bringing throughput per bottleneck/minute. There was no alignment to improve throughput per limiting factor or to understand what constraints are and if is a market or resource constraint. Coming to Design from an operation point of view we would like standardisation. From market point of view they want customization. So product have to be standardised as much as we can and have the ability to customise later in other words to postpone it and reduce variability and introduce the buffering options as late as possible. Postponement is used to achieve customisation and efficiency within one operating system. 2 Critically discuss how developing operational excellence can support and lead a business strategy. Porter argue that operational effectiveness is not a strategy and also Lean and TOC are not strategies because they can be copied. Lean, TQM, TOC are all about managing flow in organisation with the idea of cost, push and pull. The main question is how can we improve performance and rid away of trade-offs or how can we break them. Slack et al. (2004) argue that there are five operations performance objectives: cost, quality, speed, dependability and flexibility. The law of trade-offs states that no single plant can provide high performance in all dimensions simultaneously. We would expect to find support for this law if all competitors use similar technologies and are operating near the asset frontier. If all plants are far from the asset frontier, however, one plant can simultaneously provide higher levels of product quality, flexibility, and delivery at a lower manufactured cost if, through betterment, its management approaches create an operating frontier which is superior to its competitors. The theory of performance frontiers clarifies the impacts that assets and operating practices have on competitive advantage. However, the resource-based view took this thinking a step further through positing that competitive advantage can be sustained only if the capabilities creating the advantage are supported by re sources that are not easily duplicated by competitors. Both the asset and the operating frontier can be the source of competitive advantage but they are based on resources of different nature. Armed with an understanding of a firms operating position relative to both competitors and the performance frontiers, strategic planners are better equipped to evaluate and plan manufacturing initiatives. For example, a quality improvement initiative may well be more attractive than a new technology initiative to a firm that considers itself far from its asset frontier. Can operation not just follow business strategy and lead business strategy? Hayes and Wheelwright stage 4 evidence that.In 80s quality and lean was a paradigm shift. Operation capability can actually win the orders. Porter(96) argue that Japanese dont have a strategy as they have operational effectiveness which wins on short term but actually Toyota production system is still difficult to copy on long term. Thus, the process of strategy development should be based on a sound understanding of current operational capabilities and an analysis of how these could be developed in the future. This can then provide the basis for decisions about which markets are likely to be the best in which to deploy current and future capabilities, which competitors are likely to be most vulnerable and how attacks from competitors might best be countered (Hayes et al., 2005). organization fits with the resource-based view (RBV) .toc lean etc 3 Practically evaluate the means of enabling pull (e.g. production, project and distribution) referring to the design of a specific planning and control system. Lead time requirements of the customers tend to drive the OPP towards the customer whereas product variability and demand uncertainty drive it away from customer. The more product variables, less likely it is economically sustainable to keep every variable in stock. Therefore, often large and steady volume products are kept in stock whereas products with a lot of variance are either assembled- or made-to order. Thus, companies have often multiple OPPs depending on the product characteristics. MTS method of production reduces before demand is realise or before orders come in.This are some goods or builds based on capacity or forecast which more often are greater than current demand. This is the reason that stocks are made only to be stored or sold at some future date. MTO builds according to actual demand. This system wont produce stock as all outputs are consumed or sold immediately. MTO is a pull system since every station doesnt start processing unless pull by demand or next process. Therefore we can talk about a pull line or JIT line. This is a type of MTO system in which all working stations are strictly produce according to the takt time. JIT is also known as a lean system or Kanban system. Kanban system control the flow thru a form of electronic or physical signal which tell to start producing or deliver the next part. In the case of MTO the overall approach is termed Drum Buffer Rope (DBR). Pull means small batches and we try get as required by the system. JLR is a pull system because everyone is working at the pace of the system. They relishing car or raw material into the system at the plant rate and everyone is working at the management prescribed rate called takt time. Ohno didnt had physical restriction of space but he had this rule to do something only if you have a Kanban instruction, the signal. Fords moving assembly line physical space was the control, the signal. Kanban was the idea of inventory in the system and TOC BM was another signal: what do I do next? When do I expedite? When do I interfere with the process? Ford had pretty much a lean system that why Ohno quoted from fords book. There is a more complex environment but the principles are the same. planning of stock or raw materials or finished stock in excess is a waste(ford 1926,p99).Ford understood the importance of the flow. He forced everyone to work on the same pace and had the idea of flow line. Ford was applying principles of flow to an environment where it was not so much variety. Ohno had variety and apply principles of flow thru JIT and C.I. linked to law of variability and variability buffering and theory Theory of Swift and Even Flow. He put a lot of effort in minimizing the fluctuations, stabilizing the demand and reduce variability. Ford didnt had Jidoka but he had teams which responded fast. C. I. challenged the traditional trade-offs model. Batch size reduction was the key for lean (Schronburger 1982).Right from the beginning was all about how to reduce batch quantities and setup time which is interpreted like a source of variability in the process. Batches will be reduced till will create a bottleneck again. Reducing setup times will reduce variability. Kanban represents inventory but also time and they are interrelated. In JLR they have a fast response and they doing first order which is coming compare to buffer management. In the case of MTO the overall approach is termed Drum Buffer Rope (DBR) introduced by Goldratt(1990) to reduce variation and improve activity. In the next case study SDBR was used with time being the rope and drum the market demand. The drum previously was the roasting and char grill departments which were considered constraints. In the case of Freshcut Foods when it was to manage the flow they was releasing work in the system to early and cause quality issues and wastages. They had late demands but they were uncertain if they have the capacity to produce. So they needed a system to tell them if they have capacity to take the orders. Finally a system which can tell them how to prioritise what they should produce next and when to release the working to the system was put in practice. If is in the red zone they need to expedite if the red zone is growing means that they have a problem and they need to escalate it.. So Kanban is like an automatic system where everyone knows how to use it. 4 Critically evaluate the circumstances best suited to Kanban and Buffer Management pull systems. Benton (2014, 2) describe that the main objective of manufacturing planning and control function: is to ensure that the desired products are manufactured at the right time, in the right quantities, and meeting quality specifications in the most cost-effective manner. To illustrate the significance of BM in TOC, the functions of BM in TOC is compared with Kanban in TPS. Firstly, both BM and Kanban prioritise work orders albeit with different assumptions and mechanisms. For Kanban, there is a pre-planned quantity or WIP in buffers designed in between every work center. In addition, there is also a specific routing sequences or dedicated production line required for each product, which results in rigidity in responding to market requirements. In BM however, the priority of work is triggered by the percentage buffer penetration of completion time. As it is time-based, it allows each work center to have flexibility to react (or catch-up with time) to disruptions when Murphy strikes. Other than the function of prioritisation, both BM and Kanban have their own mechanism to monitor and control their production throughput. In Kanban, the deployment of distributed buffers in between work centers enables problems to be immediately surfaced and dealt without passing the problem to the subsequent work centers (Ohno, 1989:30). In TOC, aggregated buffer is deployed and thus has a certain delay as problems are only escalated and expedited for attention after entering into the Red zone of BM. However, as highlighted by Stratton and Knight (2010), though Kanban is more sensitive, the problems highlighted are mainly related to quality and process, whereas in BM, it also includes issues such as product volume and mix changes. In spite of these differences, both BM and Kanban advocates continuous improvement. This is seen in the final steps of both TPS: Pursue Perfection (Womack and Jones, 1996:90) and TOC: not to allow inertia to cause a systems constraint (Goldratt and Cox, 2004:307). In Kanban, continuous improvement is encouraged through reducing inventory to expose problems which then can be targeted; whereas in BM, causes of delay (Red zone penetration) are being targeted. 5. Critically evaluate the use of MTA and dynamic buffer management as a means of practically enabling a pull distribution system. VMI say communicate demand and stock levels thru the system and replenish them on the regular basis. Replenish on the stock target MTA is similar with VMI but give a priority code in terms of buffer penetration. DBM is less common as the buffer status signals whether the target level is too large or too small and this can be used to signal automatic adjustments. By monitoring how we are performing in terms of green,yellow and red we can determine whether we need to increase or decrease the stock target For example if we are in the green zone reduce stock target and if is in the red zone increase the stock target. It is the means of getting the system to work at the pace of the consumption where drum is the consumer so is signalling down to distribution system what we need to replenish and how fast which resulting in an idea of pull. In the case of Frozen Meals they replenish based on consumption on the 3rd party distributer so is very straight forward till the stock time. MTA will say if there are multiple orders in the system will give an indication what the priority is. If the consumption was high and replenishing the full quantity in the distribution depot will be less stock. This stock will have to be replenish very quickly so VMI will communicate consumption across the whole supply normally replenishing it within a day or couple of days. So all the demand in the distribution depot will go in the red zone. So VMI says communicate demand and stock level always thru the system and replenishing to the stock target. The problem come when Frozen Meals tried to replenish and couldnt because the warehouse was full. Analysing demands and orders there is obviously that demands are pretty stable and orders are more volatile in demand represented by the consumption of consumer in Weatherspoon. This difference was caused by 3rd party distributer which has his own warehouse and has more stock that he needed and fluctuating and planning orders ad hoc. Because placing order in ad hoc manors caused Frozen Meals to ask for 7 days delay of supply. The ordering system from 3rd party distributer was ad hoc. There was a stock target so why not just replenish this stock automatically communicate down the supply chain whats required. The solution was to go for VMI rather than 3rd party distributer placing orders on Frozen Meals. A pull system was created when the supplier is responsible for maintaining agreed target stock levels. 6 Discuss the strategic importance of postponement through configuration, packaging and distribution, making reference to the concept of an Order Penetration Point (OPP). In the first part I was discussing about focus factory and separating different orders. This can be also separate by postponing which means that will be 2 strategies. one at the first part of the supply chain which is looking to stabilise and standardise and a different strategy at the later stages with a decupling point. How can we design the supply chain to postpone the impact of variation and uncertainty? This can be done in the manufacturing process but distribution side as well. Skinner strategy is about how we take the system perspective and how we meet the needs of the market reducing variability in the process. With TQM the reason why ends up with variability in the process is that no-one consider how to reduce variation. This is what SPC done: to focus on variation which will bring the cost down. Unless will do that then the variability tend to be there which make the trade-off choices about quality and cost. So all of them are about reducing variability. Agility is about dealing with demand uncertainty and demand variability. Stability is associated with lean and uncertainty demand with agility. This table is similar with line vs jobbing looking for two extremes such as delivery speed and low cost. Skinner will argue that this should be two different factories because the owc are different Fisher model talking in the idea of Skinner operation trade-offs in terms of a supply chain. If we have variability in demand we need to buffer like any variation. The ideal efficient model will have flow, minimum variation in demand and process, minimum buffering. In contrast the responsive model demand varies and also product changes in the same time and we got demand uncertainty and we ll buffer with inventory capacity. Talking about lean and agile supply viewed in terms of dependency, fluctuation, buffer capacity and buffer inventory we can refer to law of variability, law of variability buffering, law of variability pooling. Talking about service it represents the customer input which can be put on MTS which can be a date, a forecast. MTA say that the priority of the order all depends on what stock level is, if the stock level goes down rapidly the priority goes up, if the stock level is not priority (demand is low) the priority goes down. In Lego case they was doing bad because they grow over the years resulting in too much variety as increasing number of elements, to many colours and they diversified to do other things(low of focus) As a start-up they cut the number of colours and elements (no elements to be unique to one product stated by the law of variability pooling).In manufacturing they segmented some of the machines as all machines should be able to do everything. They organised and streamlined how they going to manufacture elements. They rationalized the suppliers which is a lean thing. The distribution changed to a pull system and the they supply to one distribution centre in Europe in 3-4 days which is consider closer to the customer. In terms of packaging machines and capacity. By reducing the range of colours and elements setup process variability all this helped to reduce variation and uncertainty. Buffering packaging they postponed rather than holding stock in packets they opted for a centralized distribution centre and more frequent distributions. All this system was about flow. Production is lean if is accomplished with minimal waste due to unneeded operations, inefficient operations, or excessive buffering in operations. Production is agile if it efficiently changes operating states in response to uncertain and changing demands placed upon it ( Narasimban et al..,2006) References Benton, W. C. Jr. 2014. Supply Chain Focused Manufacturing Planning and Control. Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning

Problems Of Modernization In Developing Nations Essays -- essays resea

Problems of Modernization in Developing Nations The economic situation which exists in the developing world today, is the result of the relationship between the modern, and developing nations of the world. Modernized nations benefited from this relationship because it gave them access to natural resources. However, because of this relationship, many developing nations now suffer from severe problems. These nations are attempting to change the situation in which they struggle. A political cartoon I have recently seen illustrated the economic relationship between the industrialized world and the developing world. It shows that the industrial nations, The United States and Europe, are located in the northern hemisphere. On the other hand most of the developing world, Central and South America and Africa, are found in the southern hemisphere. The "well fed", well dressed individual holding the industrialized world indicates that the modernized nations of the world are prosperous, and have a high standard of living. The skinny, poorly dressed individual holding the developing world indicates that the developing nations of the world are not prosperous, and have a lower standard of living than do industrialized nations. Both individuals are supporting each other in such a way that if one is removed, the other will fall. Without resources to use, industry would not be able to maintain its existence. Likewise, without a market for their resources, or the products of indus...

Mexico’s largest cement manufacturer

Cemex, has become a global powerhouse In the cement and construction Industry. It currently controls 60 percent of the cement industry in Mexico (Hill 2009). Cemexs success is a result of a combination of efficient technology such as radio transmitters, satellites, and computer hardware that allow the company to anticipate changes in supply and demand and reduce waste. Cemex's success is also a result of an attempt to dominate the industry by acquiring and buying out competitors worldwide In order to expand. . Which heoretical explanation, or explanations, of FDI best explains Cemex's FDI? I believe that Internalization theory best explains Cemex's FDI because Cemex has taken the initiative to enter into many countries and instead of licensing; they bought domestic cement businesses and have grown into a worldwide powerhouse. According to the textbook, internalization theory explains why firms often prefer foreign direct investment over licensing as a strategy for entering foreign ma rkets (Hill 2009).With the advanced technology that Cemex uses, so licensing would not be the greatest venue for the company to take In order to protect It's â€Å"technological know-how' (Hill 2009). b. What Is the value that Cemex brings to the host economy? Can you see any potential drawbacks of inward investment by Cemex in an economy? Cemex is the third largest cement company in the world, and a powerhouse in Mexico where it controls 60 percent of the market. Cemex is highly focused on efficient manufacturing and customer service. Distributors are rewarded for their sales, as are users.The primary benefit Cemex brings to host countries Involves these competltlve advantages. Cemex acquires companies and then transfers technological, management, and marketing know-how to the new units. Improving their performance. The company has brought several acquired companies back to full production, increasing employment opportunities in the host country as well. c. Cemex has a strong pref erence for acquisitions over greenfield ventures as an entry mode. Why? Cemex has successfully acquired established cement makers in many countries.By acquiring companies rather than establishing them from the ground up, Cemex can avoid some of the delays that could occur in the start-up phase, while t the same time, capitalize on the benefits of an established market presence. Acquiring other businesses is effective because the host economy already knows the demographics and the market. Cemex would be able to make the business better with their technology and research. A Greenfield venture would be risky and not cost effective. d. Why is majority control so important to Cemex?Majority control is important to Cemex because of the ability to Implement its policy of transferring resources. When It does not have majority control It may not be able to transfer its own managing resources to newly acquired companies. Also, Cemex ight want to take advantage of differences in factor costs a cross countries, so it will be allowed to import parts from other places to reduce costs. References Hill, C. W. L. , Richardson, T. , ; McKaig, T. (2009). Global business today. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.BUSN 427 WEEK 3 Case study By Jihadmalley Mexico's largest cement manufacturer, Cemex, has become a global powerhouse in the cement and construction industry. It currently controls 60 percent of the cement industry in Mexico (Hill 2009). Cemex's success is a result of a combination of acquiring and buying out competitors worldwide in order to expand. a. Which hat internalization theory best explains Cemex's FDI because Cemex has taken the avenue for the company to take in order to protect it's â€Å"technological know-how' (Hill 2009). . What is the value that Cemex brings to the host economy? Can you see any are users. The primary benefit Cemex brings to host countries involves these competitive advantages. Cemex acquires companies and then transfers technological, management, and marketing know-how to the new units, improving Majority control is important to Cemex because of the ability to implement its policy of transferring resources. When it does not have majority control it may not be able

Understanding Division Of Labor

Understanding Division Of Labor Division of labor refers to the range of tasks within a social system. This can vary from everyone doing the same thing to each person having a specialized role. It is theorized that humans have divided labor since as far back as our time as hunters and gatherers  when tasks were divided based mainly on age and gender.  Division of labor became an important part of society after the Agricultural Revolution when humans had a food surplus for the first time. When humans werent spending all of their time acquiring food they were allowed to specialize and perform other tasks. During the Industrial Revolution, labor that was once specialized was broken down for the assembly line. However, the assembly line itself can also be seen as a division of labor.   Theories About Division of Labor   Adam Smith, a Scottish social philosopher and economist, theorized that humans practicing division of labor allows humans to be more productive and excel faster. Emile Durkheim, a French scholar in the 1700s, theorized  that specialization was a way for people to compete in larger societies. Criticisms of Gendered Divisions of Labor Historically, labor, whether inside the home or outside of it, was highly gendered. It was thought that tasks were meant for either men or women, and that doing the work of the opposite gender went against nature. Women were thought to be more nurturing and therefore jobs which required  caring for others, like nursing or teaching, were held by women. Men were seen as stronger and given more physically  demanding jobs. This kind of labor divide was oppressive to both men and women in different ways. Men were assumed incapable of tasks like raising children and women had little economic freedom. While lower class women generally always had to have jobs the same as their husbands in order to survive, middle-class and upper-class women were not allowed to work outside the home. It wasnt until WWII that American women were encouraged to work outside the home. When the war ended, women didnt want to leave the workforce. Women liked being independent,  many of them also enjoyed their jobs far more than household chores. Unfortunately for those women who liked working more than chores, even now that its normal for men and women in relationships to both work outside the home, the lion share of household  chores are still performed by women. Men are still viewed by many to be the less capable parent. Men who are interested in jobs like preschool teacher are often viewed with suspicion because of how American society still genders labor. Whether its women being expected to hold down a job and clean the house or men being seen as the less important parent, each is an example of how sexism in the  division of labor hurts everyone.

Ethical Issues in an Organization- Bribery Essays

Ethical Issues in an Organization- Bribery Essays Ethical Issues in an Organization- Bribery Essay Ethical Issues in an Organization- Bribery Essay Ethical Issues – Bribery In this paper on ethical issues, I will be presenting my perspective on the issue of Bribery in doing business. I will be summarizing three distinct articles from different sources, namely, Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg Businessweek and The Wall Street Journal, respectively. Later in this paper, I will provide some insight on how this aspect of corruption could potentially affect my business project for this course. The three articles that I have used in this paper are varied in their content. I have tried to use each article to portray an example of a potential bribe, the thin lines of definition for bribery, and how there are laws existing in this country to prevent the occurrence of bribery in doing business. The Harvard Business Review, for a brief time handled a forum in its blog titled ‘Good Decisions’ and in which I came across an article where an IT consultant wants to know if the sales commission that he was offered from a vendor he selected for a client is legitimate. This example is important because the vendor has already benefited from an impartial selection process that consultant did for his client. The controller of this forum, Clinton Krover lists out three reasons why it may not be right for the consultant to accept the ‘Commission’. As he points out, legally, the consultant represents his employer and so any ‘commission’ actually belongs to his employer and not him personally. It is another thing that the ‘commission’ itself may â€Å"violate bribery and kickback laws† notwithstanding the fact that the consultant may also violate his contractual obligations to his employers by a potential acceptance of the ‘commission’. The more obvious judgment with relation to this paper is with regards to ethics. An acceptance of the ‘commission’ would mean that the consultant would keep this vendor in his good books for future selection processes for his clients. Mr. Clinton provides an easy self questioning test to satisfy ethical guidelines with questions on how you may feel if â€Å"your employer and client found out about your commission? † and if one is â€Å"willing to ask your employer and client upfront if they object to you taking it? The author also points out the prudential reasons wherein the concerned person is at risk of a conflict of interest for indulging in such an act. Overall, it shows that bribery, in its forms of kickbacks or commissions can jeopardize an individual or a firm’s reputation and damage its business. In my next article in study from Bloomberg Businessweek, the author stresses on the need for a global standard on ethical practices and denounces the use of â€Å"Situation Ethics† in dealing with businesses abroad where standards of ethics in business are different than in the US. The author mentions the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) which makes it unlawful for American firms to indulge in bribery or kickbacks or any form of payment to secure or retain a business abroad. While American multinationals complain of losing competition to companies from other countries, maintenance of such ethical standards is required across all fronts in all parts of the world. The author lists out a few repercussions due to failure of maintaining such standards globally. As stated above, the reputation of a company is at stake each time an employee of the company or its subsidiary involves in corruption to win contracts abroad. The examples of Siemens and BAE systems is shocking and yet, as the author says, something company executives do not shy from to win large contracts. The author also stresses on the need for the CEO to fully spread through his chain of command, the importance of engaging in corruption free practices everywhere in the world. I see the need because an employee in a remote subsidiary abroad may not be aware of the strictness of the guidelines by which his company operates and a mistake by him costs the entire company a lot in reputation and in fines imposed by institutions of justice. As in the course textbook â€Å"10 day MBA†, wherein the author discourages the view of Milton Friedman’s â€Å"Businesses are in the business of maximizing shareholder’s value†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and that â€Å"Corporations pay the taxes that supports government’s social action†, this author also stresses on the importance of ethical business practice before a crude capitalistic view of profit making at any cost. In fact, the author endorses the idea that â€Å"good ethics create shareholder value†. My third article, from the Wall Street Journal showcases the stringent rules surrounding the conduct of businesses abroad enforced by the US Dept. of Justice. And while this article focuses on the foreign business aspect of corporations, I wanted to bring this up because of the nature of the bribes that involves â€Å"lavish dinners† and â€Å"holiday gifts† that also come under corrupt practices. The penalties imposed upon corporations regardless of their nationality, so long as they are registered in the US stock markets is also something that educates. The repercussion, beyond the multimillion dollar fines, is the loss of reputations and even the stepping down of CEO and board members because of the shareholder backlash because of such events. In conclusion, these articles do not differ on their opinion that bribery and similar corrupt acts demolish the reputation of an individual or a firm, and the reuslting loss of trust and business in the future. They do not differ in their examples from a legal microscope. Where they may differ is in their geographies but never in their belief in good ethical practices. And while foreign corrupt practices do not affect my business, the possibility of bribe in a business such is mine is highly possible because of our efforts to obtain customers to sell low cost authentic food to corporate workforce. Even to the extent of obtaining favoritism within corporations for marketing our services. It may also come in the form of biased contracts for our resources such as vegetables, meat and grains. These are the two major areas where I see a possibility of bribery as a corrupt act. The importance of ethics in business practices notwithstanding, I would like to quote from the first article â€Å"we judge ourselves by our motivations, but we judge others by their actions†. I would like to have my business be judged solely in terms of its quality of service and value. Abirami Rajendran [emailprotected] edu [ 1 ]. http://blogs. hbr. org/korver/2008/10/sales-commission-or-bribe-1. html [ 2 ]. businessweek. com/managing/content/feb2008/ca20080212_394828. htm? chan=careers_managing+index+page_top+stories [ 3 ]. http://online. wsj. com/article/SB124329477230952689. html

Shale gas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Shale gas - Essay Example the middle of crisis; an economy struggling with a huge debt problems in the wake of a deadly financial meltdown as well as the damages caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to the U.S. Gulf natural gas supply infrastructure adding fodder to the skyrocketing crude oil prices in the world market. That although the recession that began with the global financial crisis, fine-tuned by the catastrophic events mentioned, had their effects in lowering the demand for natural gas, the supply of shale gas production, which increased tenfold between 2005 and 2010, tremendously slashed the natural gas prices, in effect boosting/repairing demand in almost all sectors damaged by the unfortunate events above. To be specific, the wellhead prices for US natural gas currently trading at approximately 4 USD/Mbtu was as high as 8 USD/Mbtu and above prior to 2008; a tremendous improvement of the affordability of the commodity irrespective of the final consumer (Spencer, et al. 16). More generally, shale gas has displaced the more expensive and costly sources of energy such as coal, in effect, spurring investments in energy intensive sectors of the economy. Accordingly, hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been created either directly or indirectly by â€Å"reshoring† plants established abroad due to escalating costs on the same and substantially lowering the cost of capital and/or operational costs for fresh businesses; the ready availability of a cheap energy source, massively reducing the US net imports of oil and gas, has more than assured investments of a steady flow of energy with stable prices, thus, ensuring a steady rebounding of employments levels that suffered heavy blows after the events already mentioned (Spencer, et al. 16-17). There are currently more than 20 major facilities for the production of shale gas either under construction or on their final planning phases, all in efforts to use natural gas as fuel; a fact that has boosted inve stors confidence to the effect

Petroleum supply in the usa Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Petroleum supply in the usa - Term Paper Example According to the energy sector of the United States, petroleum products meets about 40 % of the Americans needs and wants. Most of the American citizens worry about the harzoudous effects of oil on the environment and they would like the nation to keep moving and acquiring more sustainable oil sources. Additionally, there is controversy over the political stage management and the sources of the American oil, which is vital in meeting the demands of oil in the American state (Wisegeek.com, 1). In more than 200 million years, formation of oil beneath the surface of the earth occurs continuously. However, in 200 years time, the rate of consumption of the oil formed beneath the surface of the earth is high. Research done shows that in 40 years to come, depletion of the oil resources remaining would occur. The United States would still have other fossil oil like shale, oil, coal, tar, sands and natural gas. This means that even if depletion of all the oil resources occurs in the United States, they would still have other fossil fuels that would earn them capital. United States do not only depend on the sale of oil as their only source of income but they have other sources. However, most of these energy resources are too expensive and the process of converting them to transportable fuels for use would cause harm to the environment as they produce harmful emissions to the surroundings (Glass, 5). Between the year 1950 and 1970, the world demand for oil has increased from 11 million barrels to 57 barrel respectively. The United States consumes almost 20.7 barrels of oil, which is the most compared to other countries, which are the five next largest consumers of oil, which Germany, Japan, Russia, China and India. The United States remains the largest consumer of oil even though the world demand for oil has increased as the economies of China and India has developed (Wright, 1). In the year 2009, refineries used an