The Knot

The Knot Case Study i. Opportunity analysis of People, Opportunity, Context and Deals. a. People: i. David Liu, Chief Executive Officer 1. Nine years of digital production and management experience 2. Managed staff of forty at video production company 3. Founded CD-ROM development firm ii. Rob Fassino, VP of Marketing 4. Eight years of advertising experience 5. Founded digital division of advertising company 6. Produced TV commercials iii. Carley Roney, VP of Creative Development 7. President of RunTime, Inc. 8. Six years as creative director and editor 9. M. A. in Cultural Studies v. Michael Wolfson, VP of New Business Development 10. Founded production company 11. Co-founded digital media division with Fassino v. Russ Casenhiser, Director of Operations 12. Co-founded Bridal Search, Inc 13. Developed industry’s largest searchable database of bridal gowns 14. Co-owned La Galleria – women’s apparel store 15. M. B. A. vi. Becky Casenhiser, Director of Merchandising 16. Co-founded Bridal Search 17. Maintained relationships with bridal gown manufacturers 18. Co-owned La Galleria – managed buying, sales, customer service 19.M. B. A. vii. Erik Herz, Director of Advertising Sales 20. Six years of sales experience in publishing industry 21. Helped launch Marie Claire in the American Market viii. Partnerships: 22. Online: a. Excite i. Features partner/ lifestyle channel b. AOL ii. Featured wedding resource iii. Exclusive honeymoon resource iv. Featured wedding content partner c. Yahoo! v. Developing Yahoo â€Å"I do† weddings 23. Marketing partnerships: d. Bloomingdale’s vi. Online and in-store marketing e. 1-800 Flowers vii. Marketing and promotion partner f. Atlantic Records viii. Marketing and promotion partner . Great Bridal Expo ix. Featured online wedding resource h. Museum of the City of New York x. *The Future of Weddings* i. Harley Davidson Cafe xi. Special promotions, live events j. WEDCOM ‘97 xii. Keynote speake r/online partner b. Opportunity: ix. What is The Knot selling? 24. Online content dealing with various issues in the early parts marriage k. Second marriages, elopement, same-sex marriages, premarital pregnancy 25. Provide convenience l. Wedding-planning m. Fashion n. Beauty advice o. Grooms p. Travel q. Gifts r. Home 26. Gift shop 27. Gift registry x. Customer: 28.People looking to get (re)married. 29. People looking for wedding gifts 30. Wedding-related services xi. Is this service/product a compelling purchase? 31. Yes. People don’t skimp on weddings 32. Recession-proof: 2. 4 million weddings a year/ 34 billion in annual sales and services 33. xii. Can The Knot grow? 34. Yes. Its online well established base will allow it continue growing at a faster rate than any of its competitors xiii. How fast? 35. xiv. How will The Knot reach more customer segments? 36. Not by magazines high cost of infrastructure and development 37.Continue to adapt to technological changes and trend s in the industry 38. Venture into wedding related markets (pregnancy, planning resources for people without money for huge weddings, etc) 39. Offer evolving and compelling information 40. Create new strategic alliances 41. Strengthen user loyalty 42. xv. What are The Knot’s economics? 43. P20 xvi. What stands in the way of success? 44. Competitors 45. Wedding planners 46. c. Context (factors that inevitably changed, but can’t be controlled by The Knot): xvii. Regulatory environment xviii. Interest rates xix.Demographic trends xx. Inflation d. Deals: ii. How much money should they raise? For what purpose? e. Money: f. Purpose: xxi. Increase investment to further develop the brand xxii. Maintaining relationships with advertisers xxiii. Build technological infrastructure xxiv. Launch sites in other countries xxv. Develop gift registry business (p7) xxvi. Develop technology xxvii. Protect trademark/trade names iii. From whom should they raise money? On what terms? g. Whom : xxviii. Venture capitalists 47. Well known team 48. Wedding market has a high growth potential 49. xxix. Strategic partners . Terms: xxx. Provide limited strategic decisions xxxi. Unlimited cash flow iv. What should David Liu and Carla Roney do? Why? i. What to do: xxxii. Continue to provide a wide range of products that keep the customers’ interest xxxiii. Broaden customer base launch sites in other countries j. Why: xxxiv. Maintain/develop technology xxxv. Keep current relationships with advertisers, customers, and retailers xxxvi. Maintain position above competition xxxvii. Respond effectively to competitive pressures xxxviii. Attract advertising from various industries

Revolutionizing a Better Era of Technology in the Future of Medicine Essay

Alan Kay states, â€Å"The best way to predict the future is to invent it yourself† (qtd. in Garreau 88). Many Americans ponder what the future might hold. Will technology bring a new era to mankind or will it be the end to all eternity? Ray Kurzweil, inventor of the year by MIT, argues â€Å"he is convinced that medicine is moving sufficiently fast; therefore, any person who can stay healthy for the next 20 years may so benefit from the explosion in biological technology as to be immortal† (Garreau 90-91). With the advancements of medical technology continuing to climb, this quote illustrates that the future will make for a better world. Organizations such as The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency known as DARPA, The Continuous Assisted Performance known as CAP, and The National Science Foundation fund studies that demonstrate how genetic engineering will impact America’s future by developing a bigger, better, stronger individual (Garreau 19-35). Each day as the advancements of technology doubles, the world will soon not worry about diseases and health; everyday gene technology will better our minds, bodies, and most future generations, thus making the â€Å"Heaven Scenario†. In the Article â€Å"Gene Technology and Tissue Engineering† Andree, department of Plastic and Surgery, Freiburg University Hospital, states â€Å"Gene therapy is based on the concept for certain proteins or polypeptides into a cell and, thus, may be used for potential modulation of tissue. Genes can be delivered using either an in vitro approach, and with viral or non-viral vectors. Genes may therefore be stable, or transiently expressed by the cells† (93). This fact illustrates the concept of genetic manipulation and how each cell is expressed. Both Rob DeSalle, Ph.D. in Division of Invertebrates, and Michael Yudell, MPH in Molecular Laboratories, summarize that the study of Genomics will have a major impact in medical services. If doctors knew how to discover someone’s exact diseases, then they can transform and improve those cells to stop in in its act (117-118). With the help from DARPA and CAP and the study and treatments  of Gene therapy, Americans’ will soon find themselves living longer and healthier lives. DARPA funded by Michael Goldbatt, is one of the world’s foremost drivers of human enhancement (Garreau 19). Their vision is to â€Å"accelerate the future into being† (Garreau 21). DARPA help fund the computer mouse, graphics, weather satellites, and many other technologies (Garreau 25). One independent agency that works strongly with DARPA is CAP managed by John Carney (Garreau 28). CAPs advanta ge over DARPA is the laboratory. One idea that they are studying is â€Å"finding an enzyme that appears only in bacteria but not in us. It might exist only for a brief time in the bacteria, but without it, that life form cannot exist. Then you attack it† (Garreau 28-30). Organizations such as DARPA and CAP strive to make unstoppable human beings. For instance, take the well-developed movie Gattaca which came to theaters in 2010 and was about a man that manipulates his DNA to hide his identity to be a more advanced, genetically engineered, human being. No one is capable of stopping him from becoming a better meaningful species to society. Most Americans strive to build themselves up to become the best they can be. Americans’ study the use of DNA manipulation in bodies and cells to help fight off diseases and illnesses such as the common cold or flu. Goldblatt proclaims, â€Å"We do not fear the unknown, and we relish exploring the unknowable† (Garreau 19). Americans should be more like this quote and strive to become the best species that has ever existed. DARPA is studying a vaccine that will help in pain management. Such vaccines will make milestones in terms of medicine. If someone is hurt they will feel the first trigger of pain but the pain will soon subside (Garreau 19-28). This pain vaccine will have many benefits to Americans dealing with diseases and to society. The National Science Foundation believed in the â€Å"Heaven Scenario†: They predicted in 10-20 years the world will evolve much better. Wearable sensors will enhance every person’s awareness of his or her health condition, environment, chemical pollutants, potential hazards, and information of interest about local business, natural resources, and the like. The human body will be more durable, healthy, energetic, easier to repair, and resistant to many kinds of stress, biological threats, and aging process, and technologies will compensated for many physical and mental disabilities and will eradicate altogether some handicaps that have plagues the lives of millions of people. (qtd. in Garreau 112-113) This statement  unveiled a world where technology advancements will mature in a way that Americans are capable of being healthier and happier individuals. The effects of genetic engineering impacts the future by manipulating genes to help Americans live longer. Enzo Russo and David Cove, authors of Genetic Engineering: Dreams and Nightmares, tell a brief story about a little girl that was suffering from a disease called Severe Combined Immune Deficiency. â€Å"She was the first known human being to be treated using gene therapy†¦After two years of therapy, this young girl was able to attend school normally, to swim, dance, ice skate with her family and friends† (117-118). With this example it substantially shows the achievements of Gene Therapy and how Americans greatly benefit from them. Children will have the privilege to go out and play or do whatever else their little imagination wants to do so they can be just like every other child. If doctors had a way to catch or see a disease before it overtakes someone’s body then they would be able to do something about it. Jacobs, consultant genetic counsellor Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, believes â€Å"Early identification of individuals with, or at risk of, hereditary disease can make a difference to patients and families in terms of accessing genetic services, early detection and risk-reducing measures. Several clinical guidelines recomm end undertaking family history assessment in clinical setting† (Jacobs, Chris, Christine 38). Jacobs also states that â€Å"Recognizing when off spring may be at risk of genetic condition such as cystic fibrosis, Duschenne muscular dystrophy or Huntington’s disease, can help couples to make choices about prenatal testing and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. These procedures increase the possibility of a healthy baby and reduce the risk of passing the mutation to future generations† (Jacobs, Chris, Christine 38). With this possibility, think of how it will make a new era to mankind. Parents no longer have to worry about unborn babies and whether they will have the same disease as their ancestors. Another person that was influenced by Gene Therapy is Gregory Stock. Stock, director on Medicine, Technology, and society at the school of medicine of California, proclaims â€Å"In the future Americans will benefit from using ‘Artificial Chromosomes’. Future generations will be able to switch out one or two chromosomes that may be transferring diseases with a stronger chromosome† (qtd. in Garreau 116-117). There are many believers of the â€Å"Heaven Scenario† although all the outcomes  might not be the same. Ray Kurzweil, who was granted the national medal of technology, was the inventor of the â€Å"Heaven Scenario.† He stated â€Å"is there is no problem or challenge that there [is not] an idea to overcome that problem† (qtd. in Garreau 115). This statement argues that no matter how difficult something might proclaim to be, there will always be a new improved way to get thru. In terms of medicine, there will always be new inventions of t echnology and drugs that will make a better advancement then the former. No matter what the statistics say technology will always have an astonishing outcome. If Americans’ had the opportunity to formulate themselves at a higher level of humanity then why not go for it? (Garreau 115) Most Americans’ dream that one day the world will be a heavenly place for all humanity. With the advancements of new medical technology doubling and continuing to climb up this progressive ladder, Americans’ soon will be bigger, stronger, and healthier individuals. The inventions of new drugs, either injected or manipulated into genes, will influence making the outcome of the â€Å"Heaven Scenario† true. If more organizations like previously stated DARPA and CAP continue to find new ways of implementing and then attacking infections and disease: Americans’ will live much longer non-stressful lives. Imagine the outcome of waking up clear headed and pain free with no worries in sight. Future generations will have the knowledge and ability to know when a bad enzyme links on and attacks cells; furthermore, being able to stop the infection before it explodes and travels thru DNA. It will be a new era to mankind. Americans’ will be able to determine and c hoose how their children turn out. Children will be healthier and live longer lambent lives. Like my opening quote â€Å"the best way to predict the future is to invent it yourself.† Negative controversies about technology being the end of mankind should not influence Americans’ into not believing in the â€Å"Heaven Scenario,† thus sit back and watch the never ending achievements and outcomes of Gene therapy transmute the world into a better brighter norm. Works Cited Andree, C., et al. â€Å"Gene Technology and Tissue Engineering.† Minimally Therapy & Allied Technologies 11.3 (2002): 93-99. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 March 2014. DeSalle and Michael Yudell. Welcome To The Genome: A User’s Guide to Genetic Past, Present, and Future. Canada: John Wiley & Sons. Inc., 2005. Print. Garreau, Joel. Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies- and What It Means to Be Human. New York: Random House, 2005. Print. Jacobs, Chris, and Christine Patch. â€Å"Identifying Individuals Who Might Benefit From Genetic Services And Information.† Nursing Standard. 28.9 (2013): 37-42. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 March 2014. Russo and David Cove. Genetic Engineering: Dreams and Nightmares. Oxford New York Tokyo: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print.

Review of health news article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Review of health news article - Essay Example This article is very relevant to our course for many reasons. One, it is not enough that we gain sound knowledge of diseases and finding ways to cure them; moreover, we must see how these diseases afflict the mindset of society. Although media has its own noble intentions to inform the public, it must not declare ahead before public health officials have properly disseminated such information. Dr. Colfax was valid in his argument that protocols should not change in treating people with AIDS. It can be inferred from his statement that medical professionals have different attitudes in treatment especially when resistance has developed. For one, training for doctors and other health professionals are not yet adequately prepared by the government for this kind of scenario. Assuming it becomes a mini-epidemic, government officials would start blaming those responsible for this issue while patients suffer in the midst of the controversy. In short, the government’s health agency should immediately prepare programs that can arrest the growing problem. Training and funding must be given importance so that the situation would not go out of hand. Although training and research does not seem much of a concern to America, we cannot deny the financial burden this problem can add to the growing health insurance concerns. Indeed, the AIDS problem has become complicated. The article also noted that this kind of situation is a challenge for developing countries which is an obvious statement. However, we must realize that many migrants from developing countries have also settled in this country. In fact, San Francisco has a high rate of migrant population which makes their problem our problem too. Lastly, I am hopeful that advances in the field of research would be able to arrest this problem. The only unfortunate thing is the affordability of these new drugs so that poor people with drug-resistant strain of AIDS would be able to access medication

Answer three essay questions from the text Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answer three questions from the text - Essay Example of labor, and systems of distribution; in order to prove these theses, let us cite specific examples to illustrate the most relevant points of the paper. Thus, technology in the Euro-American world is a crucial concept, because it signifies a set of instruments for classifying things. Furthermore, division of labor could be applied properly in terms of technology, as a main factor of its developing, according to Marx (Lenkeit, p. 96). Moreover, systems of distribution differ from West to East, because in the West market goods are widely produced and distributed, whereas in the East only some religious and moral ideas and principle are reproduced predominantly. Unlikely, subsistence is the ground for both division of labor and systems of distribution in the scientific philosophy and cultural anthropology. Illustrating the most relevant points of the sub-chapter, it can be said that technology, subsistence, division of labor, and systems of distribution are extremely vital regarding compare and contrast foragers in two different parts of the world. In this sub-chapter we will critically discuss the problems associated with using Euro-American constructs about sexual orientation to describe the behaviors and attitudes of the other cultures; accordingly, we will point out areas where problems could arise, offering solutions towards understanding. Thus, there are some Euro-American constructs about sexual orientation, especially in psychoanalysis: drive; passion, and compensation (Lenkeit, p. 95). Initially, Freudian theory of sexual drives is extremely important in terms of sexual orientation, because it is relevant for describing why sexes are so significant for each other. Then, passion is a way of how drives realize each other. Moreover, compensation or sublimation is a most vital scientific method in psychoanalysis which suggests why sexual orientation occurred and why sometimes it is converted into creative activities (Lenkeit, p. 38). In this sub-chapter we

Observational Research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Observational Research - Assignment Example Nordstrom Incorporation and Bloomingdale’s are key players in the US’s upscale retail market of fashion industry. The two actors have maintained successful business both online and in their respective physical outlets in different states across the country. This paper is a report about an observational research of the two retailers’ business activities on their official websites and at their physical business locations. The researcher intended to secretly seek answers to unclear marketing issues by disguising as a curious shopper. First, following its founding by Nordstrom John W. and Wallin Carl F. in the early 20th century, Nordstrom’s mission was to serve the upscale market with fashionable items from its head offices in Seattle, Washington. The organization has since grown its business to include stocks of shoes, clothing, handbags, jewelry, and beauty products such as cosmetics and perfumes. In Nordstrom, there were wedding and home decoration products for would-be couples. I realized that the company’s website is stocked with a variety of the goods, but a visit at the physical location of the business revealed much more of the goods available for consumers than could be updated on the online store. On the other hand, I realized that Bloomingdales is also a significant player in the American high-end market. The company was set up in 1861 by Macys, Inc. For more than a century, Nordstrom has been one of its main market rivals in the country. And following the advent of the Internet in the second half of the 20th century, it is clear that Bloomingdales took its products to the online store; a platform upon which it seeks to expand its market share. The performance of the online stores is therefore rated as follows: best (1), better (2), good, (3); bad (4); and worse (5) as written in table 1. The rating is based on the quality of stock and client

Race and Criminal Justice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Race and Criminal Justice - Research Paper Example The types of crimes that are in the spotlight when racial discrimination is discussed within these quarters matter (Neugebauer, 2000). Researchers have also placed a higher barrier when racism is discussed with the focus of their studies mainly being the black population rather than the reasons why they have been incarcerated. Furthermore, this paper has been researched on the backdrop of the fact that within the past two decades, racism, conscious and unconscious, individual and institutional, has been uncovered in all major criminal justice agencies and more so within the prisons and the police (Bhui, 2008). The purpose of this paper is to conduct a research on how the two, race and the criminal justice system interact and whether there are any undertones that require being addressed from a policy-making point of view. The main method of research will be the use of surveys where ten participants have been identified to participate in this research. The main method used to conduct the survey will dwell both on the oral and the electronic forms to allow for greater elaboration of any unclear sentiments. Confidentiality will be maintained with each participant assured of their privacy. America is one of the most racially diverse nations in the world. However, despite the fact that people feel that racism was fought against and won over after the civil rights movements took issue with the apparent discrimination, many still believe that racism is one of the most rife topics in the country. More so, people have taken an offensive against the criminal justice system where they believe that the American criminal justice system has become a racially biased institution whose main targets are African-Americans (Quigley, 2010). According to the Political Research Associates (2006), roughly 70% of the nearly 2.1 million adult men and women in prison are persons of color. This has led to the conclusion by many that the

Heraldic shield Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Heraldic shield - Research Paper Example The very shield in question has several constituents. The eagle can be used as a symbol of representing power authority and the sun. The eagle is the king of the birds; this shows authority it has over other creatures. Rarely do eagles lose in combat; this shows they have strength and power to rule. Therefore, they symbolize strong and powerful leadership. Indian herbalists and wizards use the feathers of eagles in their treatment of the sick. This shows that the eagle has a medicinal value and this can be used to symbolize the gift to give life to the hopeless. Eagles have been known to have a clear vision and soaring spirit. These are best qualities a leader can have; a clear vision means that the leader can make wise and just decisions. A soaring spirit means the leader is always aiming for more. This symbolizes the initiative and ambitions that an exemplary leader should have in order to lead his or people to greater prosperity (Bentley et al, 54). This is the main reason why eag les are connected with wealth and prosperity. The most outstanding character that distinguishes the eagle from other living creatures is the ability to take responsibility. The eagle is monogamous in nature; interestingly, the male and female eagles both share the responsibility of taking care of their young ones. This is not only symbolic but also enlightening. This shows responsibility as the leader should be responsible enough in order to lead people. This as well helps to advice people who tend to run away from responsibilities like taking care of their young ones. The eagles can be used to represent freedom. This observation is ttained by the size of their territories; an eagle can have a home ranging in thousands of acres this shows that the eagles are not afraid of conquering new territories in the bid of enjoying their freedom (Bohl & Rynn 85). In most mythical beliefs, it is said that the spirits of the eagles are free and independent creatures that roam alone. Through this aid in educating people on the significance of being free, we are able to make choices alone without relying on others every time because, in life, some decisions are made alone as they are personal. This symbolizes the rights and freedom of an individual to choose their own paths in life that seem suitable to them. The picture of the eagle in heraldic shield demonstrates exceptional leadership, power, authority and vision in a group organization or country (Connell et al, 156). An acorn is small seed from an oak tree. Normally, it is green and most fall of the tree when matured. When they fall off from the mother tree, another oak tree can emerge from the fallen seeds. The procedure is normally performed thoroughly over and over until a whole forest emerges from a single acorn. This helps to symbolize the process of achieving greatness by starting out from scratch. This concept is applied to encourage people whose lives or worlds have fallen that they can still achieve greatness l ife. It encourages people to realize their full potential (Cornwell et al, 78). If an acorn with no brains can become a forest, what can a person with brains and senses achieve if he puts his minds to it? This is a symbol of hope to those who feel their destined fail due to a single fall or slip at one point in their lives or careers. Imagine an acorn that has fallen down - it has no survival techniques and yet a forest can emerge from it. This has been

ARGUMENTATIVE RESEARCH PAPER Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ARGUMENTATIVE - Research Paper Example However, while everyone acknowledges that initiatives need to be taken to significantly decrease gun violence, the methods of doing so have caused a rift between Americans. Narration The concept of gun control, which â€Å"refers to any action taken by federal and state governments to regulate the purchase, safety, and use of firearms† (Saxton & Skinner 1), has been a political debate for many decades. Politicians have been trying to determine if citizens are obtaining guns in ways that could be considered reckless toward the safety of society. In the past two decades, though, with more people than ever being affected by gun violence, and gun violence going from an occasional terrible event to daily headlines on various news channels throughout the United States (Hunt 1), the debate of gun control has moved into the public. With the ease at which it seems people are able to purchase handguns and assault weapons, there has been a rush to create rigorous regulations to ensure th at these objects do not end up in the wrong hands. Unfortunately, the attempts to decrease gun violence by proposing the moderation and control of firearms have caused more controversy than beneficial solutions to this issue. There are potentially three sides to the gun control debate: the neutral, the proponents, and the opponents. Those that have taken a neutral stance concede that gun violence has increased significantly due to the overwhelming ease at which people can purchase handguns and assault weapons, and while certain measures should be taken to prevent the wrong people from purchasing guns, these individuals do not feel that citizens should be completely disarmed. Proponents of gun control feel that guns do not belong at all in the hands of private citizens, and that only police officers and military men and women should have access to firearms. The opponents of gun control, also acknowledging that measures need to be laid out to decrease gun violence, believe that gun ow nership is not just â€Å"our right as per the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution† (Burton 1), but a requirement to guarantee our own safety against criminals. Partition There is no question that gun violence needs to be deterred in America. Very seldom does a day go by anymore that does not end in multiple gun-related deaths. However, placing extreme restrictions on guns will only prove to be more dangerous as doing so would prevent citizens from protecting themselves and their families should they ever be confronted with a dangerous individual or group (Worsnop 507). Strict gun control is not the answer to putting an end to gun violence, but making sure that obedient citizens have the means to protect themselves against those on the other side of the law. By restricting and controlling firearms, honest citizens are being punished, the ability to self-protect is being taken away, and the restrictions will not prevent criminals from purchasing firearms to use as weapons. Argument and Refutation Those that are opposed to gun control make the argument that they are being punished as a result of the dangerous actions of criminals. The criminals are the ones who are misusing and taking advantage of our Constitutional right to own firearms, using them for robbing businesses and individuals, and for causing harm to their enemies and, more often than not, to innocent bystanders. Many criminals do not even

Jus 201Milestone 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jus 201Milestone 1 - Essay Example In solving such a case, it calls for conduction on the thorough investigations on the matter which will not only investigators make progress towards arresting perpetrators, but also for the purpose of aiding victims and preparing for prosecution. Hence, it is important to keep a comprehensive and systematized case files to make sure that it is possible later to tell a comprehensive and logical story about the crime and the suspect’s engrossment (Haines, 1980). First, I would conduct an interview with the victims by asking the most basic questions about the bombing, recording all the first-hand reactions. This will include obtaining confession from eyewitnesses at the scene. Also, it will call for reviewing street cameras or security camera footage of cameras installed in the near premises facing the scene. After that, I would review details provided in the initial interview with the victims familiarizing myself with the facts reported. This will also help determine that the facts meet the features of the crime classification and help resolve what information is required from the victim in the next interview (Geberth, 1986) Conducting a follow up interview will determine whether the facts have changed, or new facts have been learned by the victim. This will also present an opportunity for the victim to clarify any information in the initial report that is not clear. At this point, I will be able to determine the true nature of the bombing and whether there are other incidences involved before setting out on analyzing the information at hand. Based upon the known facts obtained from the site of the bombing, analysis will include examining photographs from the traffic cameras, running fingerprint match from fingerprints collected from the scene, examining photographs of taken from the scene trying to figure out the motive of the perpetrator who can be identified through eyewitness testimony, through circumstantial evidence or

Think Twice about Texting and Driving Essay Example for Free

Think Twice about Texting and Driving Essay â€Å"In 2010, 3,092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver† (Distracted Driving). Many people do not realize that texting and driving causes so many injuries and deaths. People believe that looking down at a phone for three seconds is okay and will not cause harm. They are wrong; texting while driving causes more accidents than other distractions while driving. There are also laws that forbid the use of a cell phone while operating a vehicle. Texting and driving is an action that kills more people than expected. Due to the lack of concentration on the first-hand action; a slowed reaction is brought upon the driver. Texting and driving is a problem because of the delayed reaction time of someone who is driving a car. â€Å"Using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s handheld or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent† (2009, University of Utah). Driving while texting is similar to driving while intoxicated because of the delayed reaction time, but texting while driving is much worse. When a person is driving under the influence of alcohol, they are, for the most part, still focusing on the road; whereas a person who is texting is paying more attention to their phone than on the road. Therefore, most accidents are caused from texting while driving. When going through Drivers Education, or a driving school, drivers are taught to keep their hands at the †ten and two position† on the steering wheel and their eyes on the road. With texting being more common, now people try to multi-task texting while they are driving. â€Å"49% of drivers with cell phones under the age of thirty-five send or read text messages while driving† (2011, Harris Poll). Accidents from distraction can be caused by any person who owns a cell phone and drives. Everyone who owns a cell phone and has used it while driving is at fault. There is not just one age group that uses their phones more than the next. Newspaper articles are showing more frequently, accidents are being caused from texting while operating a vehicle. In a newspaper article ¸ New York Daily News, written by Charlie Wells stated that: Chance Bothe is a twenty-one year old man who spent six months in recovery from a horrific car accident that was caused by texting while driving. The last text he sent to his friend was, â€Å"If we keep doing this I’m going to wreck my truck, going to  get in a car crash.† That is exactly what happened after he pressed send. Chance Bothe broke nearly every bone in his body. Bothe argues that texting while driving is not worth losing your life over. People need to be more informed of the harm texting and driving can cause. Chance knew that he could possibly be harmed by texting and driving, and he actually did. â€Å"But, because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention fro m the driver, it is by far the most alarming distraction† (Distraction.gov). Drinking and driving is an act that is highly frowned upon and multiple consequences are given if a person gets caught. Texting and driving is also an illegal act, but it is not enforced as much as it should be. Since it requires quite amount of attention from the driver, more consequences should be issued to individuals who get caught. Ten states throughout the United States, D.C., Guam, and the Virgin Islands ban all drivers from using handheld cell phones while operating a vehicle. An officer can actually cite a driver without any other citation present. Thirty-nine states, D.C., Guam, and the Virgin Islands all ban text messaging from all drivers, but allow talking on the phone. In Indiana and multiple other states, they have a â€Å"Crash Data Collection† rule where they can include cell phone equipment distraction in accident reports (Ghsa.org). Even though many citizens are for the ban of cell phone use while operating a vehicle, some people are against it. Why a person would be against a law that would higher the safety of drivers and the people around them, is unknown. If police officers were more strict with the laws against cell phone use while driving, and giving citations, texting and driving may decrease; therefore, it would driving more safe. The risks of texting and driving are rising each year and the amount of deaths is also rising. In 2011, at least 23% of automobile accidents were caused from texting and driving. That is an equivalent to 1.3 million crashes. While a person is texting and driving, they are twenty-three times more likely to get in an accident than if they were not using their phone. A lot of the time, teenagers get in an accident while texting, but they are not the only people that cause the accidents. Thirteen percent of drivers between the age of eighteen and twenty-one admitted to using their mobile device during the time they got in an accident. Eighty-two percent of  drivers between the age of sixteen and eighteen have cell phones, fifty-two percent said they have talked on their phone while driving, and thirty-two percent have admitted to texting while driving. The numbers of young drivers are rising, and it needs to end (DWI: Driving while Intexticated). â€Å"Stop the texts. Stop the wrecks,† is a webpage to show what can happen in result from texting and driving. It states that in the five second time frame that a person is driving fifty-five miles per hour, and their eyes are off the road while texting, a car can travel the length of a football field. Five seconds and even less, is all it can take to end a person’s life. Car accidents are four times more likely to happen if the person operating the vehicle is using their cell phone. The webpage also provides ways to get a person to break the habit of texting while driving. More people could receive awareness about texting and driving, and the harms it can cause by simply looking information up on the internet. Ways to eliminate texting and driving from happening is the driver could put the device in the backseat so that it out of sight. â€Å"Out of sight, out of mind,† is a quote that could stop texting and driving. Also, a person could simply turn the volume of their phone to silent so that they do not hear it and then they will not think about it. There are multiple applications on smart phones that parents can use to lock the child’s phone while the vehicle is in motion. If the text is really important and the driver has a passenger in the car, designate that person to be the â€Å"texter† while the driver is operating the vehicle. (Stop the Texts, Stop the Wrecks). People cannot help the urge to pick up their phone when they hear the beep or vibration when they get a new text message or Facebook notification. It is a bad habit that needs to be broken, and it can be with a little effort. In a Chicago newspaper, was a campaign that showed teenagers the real harms from texting and driving. Students at Taft High School got to witness the difficulty of texting and driving while driving with AAA’s distracted driving simulator, and most of the students crashed. â€Å"It’s taking your hands off the wheel so that you can hold the phone and text. It’s taking your eyes off of the road, and it’s taking your mind off the road,† said Nick Jarmunsz of AAA. (Chicago.Cbslocal.com). â€Å"â€Å"We have nothing left now,† said Teresa  Breen† (Chicago.Cbslocal.com). Teresa Breen is the mother of a teenager, John, who crashed his car and killed himself while texting and driving. â€Å"He thought he was invincible, and these kids also think that,† Breen said. â€Å"They think they can do anything and it’s not going to catch up with them† (Teresa Breen on Chicago.Cbslocal.com). Michael Inbar wrote a news article about a young woman who passed away from result of texting while driving. Taylor Sauer was driving home to visit her family, a four hour drive away. That drive fell short when she crashed into the back of a tanker truck. Her last text was, â€Å"I can’t discuss this right now. Driving and facebooking is not safe! Haha.† She was discussing the Denver Broncos football team with a friend. Just seconds after sending that last text message, traveling over than 80 mph, she crashed into the back of the truck. When her phone records were checked later on for the accident report and investigation, it showed that she was posting to Facebook every 90 seconds while driving (Msn.com). People really need make second thoughts before they pick of their phone while driving. A person may be sending a one word text message or a paragraph long message, and the result could be the same either way. A crash can happen, and it will. There was a story about a teenage girl who had recently been broken up with by her boyfriend. She was overly depressed and became suicidal. The girl would always tell her ex-boyfriend that she wants to kill herself, but never actually did it. One afternoon she was texting her ex-boyfriend while driving down the interstate. She had been extremely upset that afternoon and told him that she was going to kill herself, and actually follow through with it. While sending that text, she drove over the middle of the road, not knowing, and crashed into an oncoming vehicle killing a mother and her two children. The girl texting survived. Police retrieved her phone records from the time of the accident and are now attempting to charge her with manslaughter saying she crashed into the other vehicle to kill herself. When a person reaches for their phone while they are driving, what is going through their head is not the harms of texting and driving, they are thinking of what the text message will say, or what they will respond.  People need to pause a second before they grab their phone while driving. They need to think twice before they do an action that could change their life forever. A person could be having an argument over text messaging and that could possibly cause an increase to getting in an accident. Not one text message is so important that a person should risk their life reading and replying to it. It can wait, and it should wait, but it does not always work that way. Cell phone use while driving is becoming more and more common each day. It is a factor that is rising in injuries and deaths each year. One small text that takes a person’s eyes away from the road can result in a huge accident in under a minute. The outcome will not only affect the driver that is texting, but also others around them. The drivers’ reaction time is lowered if they using their phone while driving. Multiple laws forbid the use of texting and driving, and some laws prohibit cell phone use all together. Many people do not realize the outcome that texting while driving can happen. Lives have been taken because of texting and driving.

Why African Metallurgy Is Important History Essay

Why African Metallurgy Is Important History Essay Metallurgy is the study of metalworking from all of its aspects. In other words, it is the art of working metals (Darvill 2008, 278). Geologically, Africa is known for its promising supplies of metals. Various kinds of metals, such as copper, iron, gold, tin, uranium, manganese, cobalt, bauxite, and the likes are found almost everywhere throughout the African continent in many different settings geographically (Holl 2000,1). Generally, the study of African metallurgy is important as metalworking has brought about the greatest significance that some of the African continents have ever experienced in terms of their cultural and social development. African metallurgy was said to have later given life to the Industrial Revolution around 1,500 to 2,000 years ago when the Africans living on the Western shores of Lake Victoria, in Tanzania, produced carbon steel (http://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/african-metallurgy-by-nordine-aka-storm/). In the past, some of the metals in Africa were exploited which then resulted in the rise of some of the most impressive indigenous African states, while others have been utilized only recently, as participants in the modernization and industrialization of a handful of countries at the southern end of the continent (Holl 2000, 1). An example of exploitation in metals found during the pre-colonial times in Africa can be seen in the Shaba province of the Congo where copper belt was intensively worked, and also in the adjacent district of Zambia, along with the gold fields of South Africa and Zimbabwe (Holl 2000, 1). In eastern Cameroon and the western Centr al African Republic as well as in the Poura region in Burkina-Faso (Kiethega 1983), traditional gold mining was carried out. On the Bauchi plateau, tin mining was set up. Eventually, the renowned Nok Culture was discovered as a result of the reopening of these mines (Holl 2000, 1). During the periods of Pharaonic, Kushite and later, exploitations were seen at the gold mines from the Red Sea hills and Nubia. In the west at Bure, Galam, Sanakalan, and Bambuk, the gold mines were the key to prosperity of the Ghana and Mali kings. The rise of the Zambezian states in the early second millennium A.D was the result of the early gold mining and trade as well as the changing patterns of production in Zimbabwe (Holl 2000, 1). Both iron and copper working provided a more widespread evidence of African metallurgy. These particular types of metalworking is suggested to be found almost everywhere in the western, central, eastern and southern parts of the continents. Archaeological, historical and ethno-historical information all suggest that the exploitation of these metals was an integral part of the fabric of African societies in the past (Holl 2000, 1-2). Archaeological investigations was carried out throughout inter-tropical Africa over the past three decades and it has resulted in the unearthing of a varied and extensive evidence of early iron production (Holl 2000, 2). The introduction of iron working was said to be an important turning point in Old World history, and this applies specifically in sub-Saharan Africa (Barros 2000, 147). The reason for this was because, in sub-Saharan Africa, iron working (as well as copper working) technology or tools obtained through trade (Miller and van der Merwe 1994, 1) had brought many stone-using cultures directly into the Metal Age (Barros 2000, 147). As scholars have suggested, this had led to the increase in food production through more efficient bush clearance, weeding and harvesting, causing higher population densities; larger and more stable village communities; increased specialization, trade, and social differentiation; and the appearance of a settlement hierarchy and more complex forms of political organization (Barros 2000, 147). The origins of African iron metallurgy have always been an issue that is often a dispute amongst archaeologists. It was known that the vast scale of the African continents as well as the barriers in the politics and cultures had aroused difficulties in the findings of a good evidence database to dissolve the dispute. Iron was believed to have been the first metal to appear in the archaeological records (Childs and Killick 1993, 320). Radiocarbon dates has shown that the iron smelting furnaces dated to the interval 500-1000 cal. BC in Nigeria, Niger, Tanzania and Rwanda (Childs and Killick 1993, 320). However, these dates were known to have created a further debate on the origins of African ironworking. A few oppositional voices had argued that ironworking has been invented independently in sub-Saharan Africa (Andah 1979; Schmidt and Avery 1983) (Childs et al. 2005, 278). It might be possible as the process had originated from the smelting methods which are already in used in Africa to make copper. Iron oxides were said to have been used as a soldering aid in the process of smelting copper and with some experimentation, the process then accidentally resulted in iron production, which then developed into iron smelting. In some regions, copper was found to have been smelted first but evidence of it appears to be relatively low, where only the remaining slag was found. This may be due to the inefficient methods of production. Some archaeologists had argued that the iron working techniques might have been brought by the surrounding countries into the continent through diffusion (Okafor 1993, 432). The routes used for this process was suggested to be either running south to west from Meroe on the Nubian Isle (Childs et al. 2005, 278). There are also some which was believed to have come from Egypt and then the methods scattered from the north to the sub-Saharan Africa. Iron production took quite a period of time to spread due to the massive size of the African continent which has an extreme geographical context. This resulted in the suggestions that iron had a various place of birth. The wide distribution of iron ores geologically had meant that the raw materials were readily available resulting in great potential for multiple origins of production. Archaeological evidence, including production methods used in present Africa, it seemed unlikely that the traditions and techniques could be so diversified for i t has all began from one place and one technique (Holl 2000, 9). An example can be seen from a site called the Termit Mountains, in eastern Niger. Copper and iron artefacts were found and they dated back to as far as ca. 1500 BC and the smelting furnaces dated to ca. 800 BC (Childs et al. 2005, 278). There is still an ongoing debate on whether these evidences had suggested that the community had imported these objects before producing it themselves, or, it was simply because the earlier furnaces did not survive the archaeological record instead the artefacts did (Childs et al. 2005, 278). It is also important to bring into consideration that iron working techniques were kept closely guarded secrets as this factor may influence the period it took for the Africans to be able to require the technique. Iron artefacts found in the field are often the basic evidence of iron production in the archaeological records. These artefacts are often in a corroded condition and at times could be unidentifiable. It is often unreliable to base the origin of the context to that of the artefact as where it has been made might be completely different from where it was made, a possibility that it might be imported. Concrete evidence which are often found for iron production are the used bowl of furnaces, and tuyeres and slag from the furnace or forging processes. Bloom and bellows are rare finds. Traces of mining and beneficiation of iron ore can also be used as archaeological evidence. However, these evidence could only be used if after the beneficiation, the ore has proceed to the next production level; and mining evidence are often lost as a result of recent iron ore mining. Slag analysis and radiocarbon dating the charcoal which were used to fire up the furnace was used for dating. Metallography and petrographic analysis are carried out on slag and charcoal samples in order to help understand the processes within the furnace (Kense and Okoro 1993, 449-450). Reconstruction of the iron smelting technology has been made by archaeologists as part of an important process in understanding the running of the ancient technology and to stimulate confidence that their impression of the methods used are correct. Apart from iron, copper and brass were the other metals which were widely utilized in Africa. The more widespread of iron over both copper and brass must have meant that iron had more favourable properties for different uses. The durability of iron over copper had meant that it was used to make various tools for farming pieces to weaponry. It was also used for enhancement in jewelleries, instruments and impressive pieces of artwork. Coins and currencies of multiple forms were made out of iron, such as the Kisi pennies, a traditional form of iron currency used in West Africa for trading. Kisi pennies are twisted iron rods which range from 30cm to 2m in length. They are suggested to be used in various forms of either marital transactions or simply conveniently shaped for transportation, melting down and reshaping it into another desired object. Africa has many different kinds of iron currencies, often regionally with varying shapes and values. In terms of quantity of use and production , iron had achieved a significantly high figure by comparison to other metals, but, it did not replace other materials such as stone and wooden tools. Figure 1 shows a 20th century iron West African Kisi Penny excavated from Kenema, Sierra Leone (Source: http://www.bmagic.org.uk/objects/1995C107) Iron production was recognized as having a great influence over Africa in great regional variation both culturally in trade and expansion, and socially in beliefs and rituals. Evidence for the cultural significance can be seen today as it is still carried out by the present varying African cultures. Ethnographical information has been most useful in the reconstruction of the past events surrounding iron production, but these reconstructions maybe become altered overtime and further influenced by anthropology. In Africa, the Iron Age was mainly based around the agricultural revolution which was driven by the use of iron tools. These iron tools had resulted in high efficient productions on a much larger scales. Fishing hooks, arrow heads and spears were used for hunting. Iron weapons also post effects on warfare. The productions of these items in line with the other iron goods had helped in stimulating economic activities, and led to the rise of both chiefdoms and states. The processes of producing iron were often controlled by the ironworkers personally, or a central power in larger societies such as states or kingdoms (Barros 2000, 154). Individuals in some societies had resulted as smelters or smiths, who specialize in just one particular skill from the many necessary to the production processes as a result of the demands for iron trade. This may also be possible to have resulted in some tradesmen specializing in iron transportation and trade (Barros 2000, 152). However, the iron product ion industries did not benefited every African region as some have suffered from environmental problems due to the massive deforestation needed for supplying charcoal for fuelling the smelting furnaces (Muhammed 1993, 466). An example of this can be seen from the ecological crisis of the Mema Region (Holl 2000, 48). Different social status distributes amongst iron smelters and smiths depending on their culture (Radimilahy 1993, 478-483). Some were having low status in the society as a result of the aspects of manual labour and associations with witchcrafts. These can be seen in the Maasai and Tuareg (Childs et al. 2005, 288). Whereas in other cultures, the skills are often hierarchical in the families and these individuals often held higher social status in the community. The communities often depended on these produced materials due to their powerful knowledge of iron working. They were believed to have strong supernatural powers in some communities as they were seen as highly as the king of chief. An example can be seen from the excavation in Great Lakes, Eastern Africa at the royal tomb of King Rugira, where two iron anvils were place at his head, suggesting importance and powerful significance (Childs et al. 2005, 288). According to some cultures, there are myths built up around the iron sme lter who emphasized their god like significance. As iron production developed widely across the African continent, it had significantly influenced the social rites in terms of beliefs and, particularly, rituals. The process of smelting was often done in isolation, away from the rest of the community. Ironworkers were ritually experts in encouraging good productions and to warn off bad spirits with songs and prayers, giving medicines as well as making sacrifices. The latter are often put in or buried underneath the furnace. An example of this can be seen during the early Iron Age in Tanzania and Rwanda (Schmidt 1997). Some cultures had used iron production as sexual symbolism. Smelting is suggested to be integrated with the fertility of the society, similar to the natural reproduction, production of bloom represented birth and conception. Many strict taboos were known to surround the process. Smelting processes were entirely carried out away from the village by the men. As for the women, any activities of touching of the materials or simply just being present could risk successful production. Having the men away from the fertile women had been suggested to have reduced the temptations which could otherwise depreciate the smelts productivity. The furnaces are often exaggeratedly decorated to represent an image of a woman, or the mother of the bloom (Collett 1993, 507). According to the late C. S. Smith (Smith 1981), the founder of historical metallurgy, has always insisted on the fact that metallurgy is above all an intellectual and social activity (Childs and Killick 1993, 33). The African community had used metals and various other materials such as glass, cloth and wood to express their views of the structure of nature and society, in ways as complex and diverse as the beliefs themselves; even the technology of smelting, constrained as it is by the invariant laws of thermodynamics, offers ample scope for the expression of beliefs about the order of things (Childs and Killick 1993, 33). Numerous African metallurgy scholars have been at the forefront of viewing technology as social process. Technology is not a monolithic force that is somehow separate from people, but is the product of complex ideology, careful negotiations and manipulations, and the vagaries of local resources (Childs and Killick 1993, 33). As a conclusion, African metallurgy, maybe considered to be of important to study because, not only does it include a comprehensive range of study of iron production across the African continent, but it also gives an understanding of how it influenced the aspects of archaeology in Africa. Iron production had given birth to extraordinary diversity in Africa which then had created advanced farming methods through tools, deadly warfare and trading of valuable items; and then on influenced the life of the Africans socially, culturally and politically. (2, 791 words)

Lincoln :: essays research papers

Abraham Lincoln (pronounced linken) (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th President of the United States (1861–1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. Lincoln staunchly opposed the expansion of slavery into federal territories, and his victory in the 1860 presidential election further polarized the nation. Before his inauguration in March of 1861, seven Southern slave states seceded1 from the United States, formed the Confederate States of America, and took control of U.S. forts and other properties within their boundaries. These events soon led to the American Civil War. Lincoln was a master politician who emerged as a wartime leader skilled at balancing competing considerations and at getting rival groups to work together toward a common goal. He personally directed the war effort, which ultimately led the Union forces to victory over the seceding Confederacy. His leadership qualities were evident in his diplomatic handling of the border slave states at the beginning of the fighting, in his defeat of a congressional attempt to reorganize his cabinet in 1862, in his many speeches and writings which helped mobilize and inspire the North, and in his defusing of the peace issue in the 1864 presidential campaign. He is criticised by some for issuing executive orders suspending habeas corpus, imprisoning opposing government officials, and ordering the arrest of several publishers. Lincoln had a lasting influence on U.S. political and social institutions. The most important may have been setting the precedent for greater centralization of powers in the federal government and a weakening of the powers of the individual state governments, although this is disputed as the federal government reverted to its customary weakness after Reconstruction and the modern administrative state would only emerge with the New Deal some seventy years later. Lincoln was also the president who declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday, established the U.S. Department of Agriculture (though not as a Cabinet-level department), revived national banking and banks, and admitted West Virginia and Nevada as states. He also encouraged efforts to expand white settlement in western North America, signing the Homestead Act (1862).

Trouble Aboard The Titanic - A Personal Account (fiction) :: essays research papers

It all started when I was enjoying a late-night game of poker with some friends of mine, including by best friend, Joe Allen. There was a small rumble and my noticed that my glass of fine wine was disturbed a bit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"What was that?† Joe said curiously.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Oh, it was probably just the firemen throwing in more coal to speed this thing up overnight.† I replied. The game continued normally until I was out of cash on hand; I wasn’t very good at poker in the first place. The end of the game was interrupted by three stewards bursting into the large room and yelling, â€Å"Everyone on deck! Secure life belts immediately!†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joe and I sprung up to see what was the matter. â€Å"What’s the big idea here?† Joe yelled to one of the stewards.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"We have a small emergency situation and everyone needs to be moved to the deck with their life belts with them.† He retorted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I kept my cool because I knew that the first-class passengers like us were always helped first. After finding two life belts, we were herded along with many others up to the deck.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The deck was alive with movement all over. It was total pandemonium as everyone was trying to get aboard a lifeboat. â€Å"I have a feeling that the unsinkable Titanic is sinking,† Joe said.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Sinking or not, we have to get on one of these boats. It looks like they’re letting first-class on first, so we’re in luck.† I said to Joe. On the deck below us, I could see masses of people that looked like herds of sheep being rushed in one direction. I noticed myself a little more seasick than I was before, and that the deck seemed slanted. It was obvious the ship was sinking now. A guard nearby was calling for first-class passengers so we went there and climbed aboard.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Any ideas on what’s going on?† I yelled to the guard.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Yeah, we hit a huge berg and we’re taking on water fast down below.† He replied. Before I had time to think, the lifeboat was lowered into the water slowly. I felt sorry for the people on that lower deck because the ship was only half full of us rich first-class folk. The same guard had hopped onto the ship to lead it away from the dying giant. After seeing the Titanic from a distance, I could see that its long rows of deck lights weren’t perpendicular to the ocean anymore, but slanted way up.

Management of a World Class Company Toyota

Content I. Introduction of Toyota Motor Company II. Management of Toyota Motor Company 1. Coprporate Governance of Toyota Motor Company 2. The Toyota Way 3. Toyota managerial problems III. Conclusion Management of World Class Company – Toyota Motor Company I. Introduction of Toyota Motor Company Toyota Motor Company or TMC is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and it is stationed in the city of Toyota in the Aichi prefecture. The relationship between the city and the company gave the name of the city which was previously known as Koromo.Toyota is the largest automobile manufacturer in Japan[1] and it is also the largest worldwide as of the first half of 2012[2] by volume of sold cars ahead of General Motors and Volkswagen AG. The company was created in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda as a spinoff to Toyota Industries to create automobiles. As of 2012, Toyota own several different brands as Lexus – luxury cars, Scion – brand only for North America, aimed towards the Gener ation Y and 51% in Daihatsu – the oldest car manufacturer in Japan. Akio Toyoda is the current CEO of Toyota, he is grandson of the creator Kiichiro Toyoda[3].Toyota have produced more than 200 million cars all over the world with their biggest market in North America – 32%, followed by their home country Japan – 25%, Europe – 14% and Asia – 11%[4]. Toyota is publicly traded company of three of the major Stock Exchanges: New York Stock Exchange(NYSE), London Stock Exchange(LSE) and Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). In the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, Toyota recalled 9 million cars on various technical faults[5]. 5. 3 million of them was over a faulty â€Å"all-weather† floor mat, additional 2. 3 mil. For a faulty accelerator pedal and 1. 7 for both problems.On 14th of November 2012, Toyota announced that it will recall additional 2. 7 mil. cars over problems with the steering wheel and water pump system. This comes four weeks( 10th Octob er) after another 7 mil. cars recalled over faulty electric windows mechanisms[6]. The 2010 recalls hit the company hard with huge financial loses, because of the recalls and stop of production for some time of the affected vehicles. Severe damage to the brand in the eyes of the public. An estimate of 1. 93 billion dollars were lost, because of missed sales, output and another recall related costs[7].A 15% drop in shares was experienced by the company. Toyota is one of the leading manufacturers in pushing the hybrid electric vehicles. Their hybrid technologies make them the first company to mass produce such an automobile with the Toyota Prius in 1997. As of October 2012 the Prius around 3 mil. units[8] . 19 other Toyota branded vehicles are also available with the hybrid technology. So are models from the Lexus sub-brand. II. Management of Toyota Motor Company 1. Coprporate Governance of Toyota Motor Company Toyota Motor Company(TMC) is a public listed company, which means everybod y can buy shares in it.This mean that the is a specific corporate structure and management operations. Toyota is with top-down centralized way of management. The company is headed by Fujio Cho, he is the chairman which in the Japanese system, that puts him in charge of the country's and world's largest automaker. He is only the second person to head Toyota and to not be from the Toyoda family after they stepped out in 1995. He joined Toyota in 1960 and previous titles include: Managing Director, Senior Managing Director, Vice President, President and Vice Chairman of the Board. He stepped in as a chairman in September 2006[9]. 960–1966, apprentice and training employee; 1966–1974, Production Control Division; 1974–1984, manager in Production Control Division; 1984–1986, manager in Logistics Administration and project manager in Production Control Division; 1986–1987, manager in Administration; 1987–1988, manager of Toyota North America Proje ct and executive vice president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA; 1988–1994, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA; 1994–1996, managing director; 1996–1998, senior managing director; 1998–1999, executive vice president; 1999–, CEO and president[10].The Vice Chairman of the Board is Takeshi Uchiyamada since April 2012 and also serve as Vice President of the Company. Mr. Uchiyamada served as Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corp. since June 2005, as the Chief Production Control & Logistics Officer of Toyota Motor Corp. since 2004, as Senior Managing Director of Toyota Motor Corp. from 2003 to June 2005. He served as the Chief Vehicle Engineering Officer of Toyota since 2003 and joined Toyota in 1969[11]. Akio Toyoda is the President and Chief executive officer of the company.He is also President of Toyota Finance Australia Ltd. , Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and Toyota Motor Credit Corporation since June 2009. Mr. Toyoda serves as Senior Adviser of Toyota Media Service Corporation. He has been the President of Hitachi Ltd and Honda Motor Co. since March 2009. He served as an Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corp. from January 21, 2005 to June 2009, Senior Managing Director and Chief of Asia & China Operations Officer since 2003 and also served as its Division General Manager of Taiwan & China Offices. He joined Toyota in 1984[12].The company also have 7 Executive Vice Presidents,63 Directors, 7 Corporate Auditors, 18 Senior Managing Officers and 35 Managing Officers[13]. The company’s top management priority is to steadily increase corporate value over the long term. In order to achieve that, Toyota builds favorable relationships with all of its stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, business partners, local communities and employees. In house committees and councils are used for monitoring and discussing management of the company from the viewpoint of the stakeholders.In 2003 was int roduced the current system of management in which Chief Officers, who are directors, serve as the highest authorities of their specific operational functions across the entire company, while non-board Managing Officers implement the actual operations[14]. Toyota's philosophy of emphasizing developments on the site, the Chief Officers serve as the link between management and on-site operations, instead of focusing exclusively on management. The company have different divisions all over the world, United States of America, The United Kingdom.In the UK the division is headed by a General Manager – John Burton. He is responsible for two branches of the company, the office and shop floor. In the office part there is Assistant General Manager, Senior Manager, Section Manager, Specialist Engeneer – Senior, Specialist Engeneer, Lead Administrator and Administrator. For the Shopfloor we have the same structure till Section Manager with the adition of Group Leader- Senior, Grouo Leader, Team Leader and Team Member. As a publicly traded company Toyota have issued 3,447,997,492 shares and have 668,186 shareholders. 2. The Toyota WayThe most important created in the managerial sphere by Toyota is the Toyota Way. The Toyota Way is a set of principles and behaviors that underline the Toyota Motor Corporation's managerial approach and production system. Toyota first explained and summed up those philosophy, values and manufacturing ideals in 2001, calling it â€Å"The Toyota Way 2001. † It consists of principles in two key areas: continuous improvement, and respect for people[15]. The principles for a continuous improvement include establishing a long-term vision, working on challenges, continual innovation, and going to the source of the issues or problems.The rules relating to respect for people include ways of building it and teamwork. Toyota's management philosophy has evolved from the company's origins and has been used in the terms â€Å"Lean Manuf acturing† and Just In Time Production, which it was very important in developing[16] Toyota's managerial values and business methods which are known collectively as the Toyota Way. Toyota uses five principles for their operations: †¢ Challenge †¢ Kaizen (improvement) †¢ Genchi Genbutsu (go and see) †¢ Respect †¢ Teamwork[17] Another part of the Toyota Way is the Toyota Production System.The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an integrated socio-technical system, developed by Toyota, that Cover its management philosophy and practices. The TPS organizes manufacturing and logistics for the company, how it interacts with suppliers and customers. The system is a major predecessor of the â€Å"lean manufacturing. † Taiichi Ohno, Shigeo Shingo and Eiji Toyoda developed the system between 1948 and 1975. [18] Originally called â€Å"just-in-time production,† it develops on the approach created by the founder of Toyota, Sakichi Toyoda, his son Kiich iro Toyoda, and the engineer Taiichi Ohno.The principles of TPS are embodied in The Toyota Way. The main objectives of the TPS are to design out overburden (muri) and inconsistency (mura), and to eliminate waste (muda). The most significant effects on process value delivery are achieved by designing a process capable of delivering the required results smoothly; by designing out â€Å"mura† (inconsistency). It is also crucial to ensure that the process is as flexible as necessary without stress or â€Å"muri† (overburden) since this generates â€Å"muda† (waste).Finally the tactical improvements of waste reduction or the elimination of muda are very valuable. There are seven kinds of muda that are addressed in the TPS[19]: 1. Waste of over production (largest waste) 2. Waste of time on hand (waiting) 3. Waste of transportation 4. Waste of processing itself 5. Waste of stock at hand 6. Waste of movement 7. Waste of making defective products The system, is one of t he biggest aspect of the company, it is responsible for having made Toyota the company it is today.For long time Toyota has been recognized as a leader in the automotive manufacturing. [20] It is a myth that â€Å"Toyota received their inspiration for the system, not from the American automotive industry (at that time the world's largest by far), but from visiting a supermarket. † The idea of Just-in-time production was originated by Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of Toyota. [21] The question was how to implement TPS. When reading descriptions of American supermarkets, Ohno saw how the supermarket operated with the model he was trying to accomplish in the factory.A customer in a supermarket takes the desired amount of products off the shelf and buys them. The store restocks the given products with enough new ones to fill up the empty shelf spaces. Similarly, a work-center that needed parts would go to a ‘store shelf' (the inventory storage point) for the particular part and à ¢â‚¬Ëœbuy' (withdraw) the quantity it needed, and the ‘shelf' would be ‘restocked' by the work-center that manufactured the part, making only enough to replace the inventory that had been withdrawn. 22] While low inventory levels are a key outcome of the Toyota Production System, an important element of the philosophy behind its system is to work intelligently and eliminate waste so that only minimal inventory is needed. Many American businesses, having observed Toyota's factories, set out to attack high inventory levels directly without understanding what made these reductions possible. The act of imitating without understanding the underlying concept or motivation may have led to the failure of those projects. In 2004 a professor from University of Michigan, Dr.Jeffrey Liker published a book â€Å"The Toyota Way† in which he called Toyota way â€Å"a system designed to provide the tools for people to continually improve their work†. [23] â€Å"Since Toyo ta’s founding we have adhered to the core principle of contributing to society through the practice of manufacturing high-quality products and services. Our business practices and activities based on this core principle created values, beliefs and business methods that over the years have become a source of competitive advantage. These are the managerial values and business methods that are known collectively as the Toyota Way. —Fujio Cho, President Toyota (from the Toyota Way document, 2001)[24] According to Liker in the Toyota Way the people are what bring the system to life, working, communicating, resolving issues, and growing together. The Toyota Way encourages, supports, and in fact demands employee involvement. It is a system designed to provide the tools for people to continually improve their work. Toyota Way means more dependence on people, not less. It is a culture, even more than a set of efficiency and improvement techniques.You depend upon the workers to reduce inventory, identify hidden problems, and fix them. The workers have a sense of urgency, purpose, and teamwork because if they don’t fix it there will be an inventory outage. On a daily basis, engineers, skilled workers, quality specialist, vendors, team leaders, and—most importantly—operators are all involved in continuous problem solving and improvement, which over time trains everyone to become better problem solvers. In it Liker summarized it in 14 principles. The principles are organized in four broad categories: 1)Long-Term Philosophy, 2) The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results (this utilizes many of the TPS tools), 3) Add Value to the Organization by Developing Your People, and 4) Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning. [25] 1)Long-Term Philosophy 1. Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals. It is needed to replace the short term decision making wi th philosophical thinking of purpose. Understanding that the organization is bigger than money and that long term value for the customers and be responsible. )The Right Process Will Produce The Right Results 2. Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface. Time management is very important, it must not be wasted. Creating good flow of the work with materials and people. 3. Use â€Å"pull† systems to avoid overproduction. Providing customers with everything they want when they wanted it. There is no need for costly overstocking. There need to be flexibility with the day-by-day shifts in customer demand not convoluted forecasts. [26] 4. Level out the workload (heijunka). (Work like the tortoise, not the hare. )People and machines must not be overused. There must be leveled out workload. 5. Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time. Quality for the customer drives the value proposition. Building equipment capable of det ecting problems and stopping itself. Developing a visual system to alert team or project leaders that a machine or process needs assistance. Jidoka (machines with human intelligence) is the foundation for â€Å"building in† quality. Problems must be solved quickly. 6. Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous mprovement and employee empowerment. Capturing the accumulated learning about a process up to a point in time by standardizing today’s best practices. Allowing creative and individual expression to improve upon the standard; then using it into the new standard so that when a person moves on, to easily hand off the learning to the next person. 7. Use visual control so no problems are hidden. Use simple visual indicators to help people determine immediately whether there are problems. [27] 8. Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes.Technology must be used for supporting the people not replacing t hem and it can lead to slow implementation. Tests can determine if it is viable to use new technologies. 3) Add Value to the Organization by Developing Your People 9. Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others. Creating leaders inside the company and not sourcing them outside of the company. Such leaders must be role-models. 10. Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy. Creating a strong, stable culture in which company values and beliefs are widely shared and used over a period of many years.Corporate culture and teamwork must be adhered by the employees for exceptional results. [28] 11. Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve. 4) Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning 12. Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (genchi genbutsu). Personal observation and data gathering for the proble ms that are encountered. Verification of information first hand. 13. Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly (nemawashi).Straightforwardness must not be accepted, alternative solutions must be taken into account. Also using other people for gathering information and helping with the decision is needed. 14. Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement (kaizen). Using improvement tools to determine the cause of inefficiencies and apply effective countermeasures. Once waste is exposed, having employees use a continuous improvement process (kaizen) to eliminate it. Using hansei (reflection) at key milestones and after you finish a project to openly identify all the shortcomings of the project.Develop countermeasures to avoid the same mistakes again. [29] By using TPS Toyota reduced time consumption and money, while it improved quality. This helped the company become the bigges t company by 2007 and be very profitable. But in recent years it looks that the TPS is not working so well or it is abandoned altogether. The recent technical problems of Toyota showed to some that maybe the TPS is not so good, but if it wasn’t good or it can’t be used anymore, Toyota would have not be able to go back to the top in such short time. The problems maybe are not part of the TPS, but rather other factors.Too big growth of the company in the 21st century. The central lead management don’t allow flexibility in tackling problems. Another issue it that problems become much more obvious with the increase of quantity and this will result in much more negative situation which can’t be handled or will be exploited by competitors. The complexity of cars is attributing factor to have more problems and this can’t be solved by the managers. Of course TPS can be blamed in some way. It support standardization in task and processes and when there is p roblem with one thing, that problem translate everywhere where standardization is used.And finally a problem experienced by almost all big companies all over the world – slow response to problems, because of the amount of bureaucracy that comes with complex management in big organizations. 3. Toyota managerial problems The management of Toyota today are not very successful, after the big vehicle recalls there was a serious lack of admittance by Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda that something is wrong at that was most prominently seen in his press conference about that matter where he stated: â€Å"Believe me, Toyota’s car is safety.But we will try to make our product better. † Another big problem for the management is the dysfunctional organization structure and a secretive culture. After a problem experienced in Europe and this problem could have affected North America there was absolute no communication between the different branches of the company. [30] Instead of admi tting that there is a problem Toyota denied that there are any problems with their cars. III. Conclusion As of mid 2012 Toyota is once again the leader in the automotive world.Although the problems that plagued the company for 2 years reduced their output, profits decreased substantially and the company image was severely damaged which led to the company losing a big sum of money and trust with their consumers, they managed to get out of the problem with relative ease. The company also realized some important things from all this: 1. They could not want to be a global leader and keep all the power in the hands of the headquarters in Japan. Even though they claimed that they are delegating management to other parts of the company around the world the crisis showed something different.When a lot of the production is happening outside Japan they couldn’t afford to still maintain all the power in Japan. 2. They must create friends in order to advance even if they have millions of customers. The crisis left them with no real allies and protection. 3. Toyota learned that it must maintain its reputation every minute. Claiming that they are the best don’t help. Consumers want to see and experience that in the real world not just through ads and statistics. ———————– [1] Wikipedia, Toyota [2] Tim Higgins – Jul 26, 2012, Bloomberg, http://www. bloomberg. om/news/2012-07-25/toyota-extends-global-sales-lead-over-general-motors-vw. html [3] Wikipedia, Akio Toyoda [4] Wikipedia, Toyota [5] Christian Science Monitor, http://www. csmonitor. com/USA/2010/0129/Toyota-recall-update-dealers-face-full-lots-anxious-customers [6] BBC, http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-20321594 [7] BBC, http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/business/8493414. stm [8] Mike Milikin 8 Nov. 2012, Green Car Congress, http://www. greencarcongress. com/2012/11/tmchybrids-20121108. html [9] Wikipedia, Fujio Cho [10] Reference for business , http://www. referenceforbusiness. om/biography/A-E/Cho-Fujio-1937. html [11] Bloomberg Business Week, http://investing. businessweek. com/research/stocks/people/person. asp? personId=646436&ticker=TM [12] Bloomberg Business Week, http://investing. businessweek. com/research/stocks/people/person. asp? personId=1828739&ticker=TM [13] Toyota Global [14] Toyota Global [15] â€Å"Environmental & Social Report 2003†. Toyota Motor. p. 80. [16] Strategos-International. Toyota Production System and Lean Manufacturing. [17] Toyota internal document, â€Å"The Toyota Way 2001,† April 2001 [18] Strategos-International.Toyota Production System and Lean Manufacturing. [19] Ohno, Taiichi (March 1998), Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production, Productivity Press [20] Brian Bremner, B. and C. Dawson (November 17, 2003). â€Å"Can Anything Stop Toyota? : An inside look at how it's reinventing the auto industry† [21] Ohno, Taiichi (March 1988), Just-In-Time For To day and Tommorrow, Productivity Press, [22] Magee, David (November 2007), How Toyota Became #1 – Leadership Lessons from the World's Greatest Car Company, Portfolio Hardcover, [23] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 36 [24] Liker, Jeffrey(2004). The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 35 [25] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). â€Å"The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 36 [26] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). â€Å"The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 7 [27] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). â€Å"The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 38 [28] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). â€Å"The 14 Pri nciples of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 39 [29] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). â€Å"The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 40 [30] Wall Street Journal, http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424052748704820904575055733096312238. html

Frequent Shopper Program For Kudler Fine Foods Essay

For this type of endeavor there are a few items that need to be considered before moving ahead with the project. The first and most important is how the points are going to be earned and tracked. Next is how are the customers going to check the balance of their points, and lastly how are they going to redeem those points once they are earned. In this proposal I intend to outline a couple of different options along with the benefits of each option. For your customers you need to have in place a way to differentiate who is making the purchase. This is best handled with a loyalty card. This is like a credit card that stores your customer’s information and is not accessible by anyone outside of the store. This card will keep track of the purchases made by the customer in order to offer them the best coupons as well as notify them when items they frequently purchase go on sale, or come in stock. This is a great way to market to your customers. If we expand on this idea we can integrate a point system as well for the customer using the loyalty card. Customers can opt out of the loyalty card and still shop but they run the risk of not earning the point and may miss out on specials. This allows you to reward customers without restricting your customers. Since this card would contain the customers’ personal information such as address, E-Mail, phone, and demographic information you can use it for a variety of other applic ations as well. The best feature of this would be  that by creating an online account the customer could get a digital receipt rather than a paper one, they could track and view their past purchases, and monitor their earned points as well as redeem them online. Now that we have a way to track the purchase and issue the points we need to develop the point system for the customers. For this there are a number of options that are available. Each has advantages and disadvantages. I will cover most of them in the section that follows. Option 1 You can base the points off the amount spent by the customer on each order. This would give you a wide range of flexibility while maintaining a ridged system. This type of program would need to have a minimum start point that could potentially cause some purchases not to be considered valid. There would also need to be a maximum cut off point so the points do continue to increase. A example is listed in the table below. This method would keep the points uniform and easy to track. Option 2 This option is centered on the actual items purchased not the value of the items. For this one to work you would have to set a point value for every item in the store this would net be a uniform system but it would be a more exact and specific point system for the customers. By setting the points this way you are rewarding the customers for not only spending money in your  store but you are also rewarding them for what they are purchasing. In this plan you can set up special buys for the customer like double point on certain items during certain peak times of the year. This will actually help to increase sales on those items along with allow the customer to purchase other items as well. Option 3 This final option is focused more on the frequency of shipping not the value of the items or even the items themselves. In this option you are awarded points for frequency of shopping. You are given so many points each time you shop up to a set value each day. This would keep customers shopping but may lead to lower value purchases spread over longer period of time. By using this option you do run a risk of having customers stop in multiple times and purchase only a couple of items each time in order to maximize the points earned. For each of the options listed above there would be a focus group set up of 10 – 15 customers they would be the beta group for each option at the end of the test period we would request their input based on their experience with  the program, how the point added up, and how easy it was to understand the process. If an option is not met with successful feedback then it would be retest after making adjustment to the option. In this type of situation there is often time a lot of trial and error to get a process that works for both the customer and the store. Once the perfect plan has been found the implementation of the plan would be fairly quick. Bibliography Kudler Fine Foods Intranet. (2007, 2010, 2011). Retrieved 07 22, 2012, from Kudler Fine Foods : https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler2/intranet/index.asp

BioPharma Case Study Essay

BioPharma Case Questions 1. How should BioPharma have used its production network in 2009? Should any of the plants have been idled? What is the annual cost of your proposal, including import duties? This solution was obtained using the tables displayed below. Note that Germany and Japan produced none of the Relax product and that side of their plants has been idled. The annual cost of this solution is: $24.85Total Transportation Cost (millions) $1,268.31Total Production Cost (millions) $195.15Total Tariffs (millions) $1,488,315,983TOTAL COST Highcal Production Plant Latin America Europe Asia w/o Japan Japan Mexico U.S. Brazil 7 0 0 1.23 0 0 Germany 0 15 0 0 0 0 India 0 0 5 3.77 0 0.35 Japan 0 0 0 2 0 0 Mexico 0 0 0 0 3 12.65 U.S. 0 0 0 0 0 5 Total 7 15 5 7 3 18 Relax Production Plant Latin America Europe Asia w/o Japan Japan Mexico U.S. Brazil 7 0 0 2.77 0 0 Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 India 0 0.65 3 5.23 0 0 Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mexico 0 11.35 0 0 3 0 U.S. 0 0 0 0 0 17 Total 7 12 3 8 3 17 Total Plant Output Plant Total Brazil 18 Germany 15 India 18 Japan 2 Mexico 30 U.S. 22 2. How should Phil structure his global production network? Assume that the past is a reasonable indicator of the future in terms of exchange rates. Phil should note that the Dollar and Peso have been getting killed by the Euro, Real and the Yen the last three years. Over the five year period, the net movement has not been a disaster, and recognition of business cycles would suggest that it would be wise to retain capacity and capabilities throughout the entire supply chain so that production can be diverted as currencies move against each other. 3. Is there any plant for which it may be worth adding a million kilograms of additional capacity at a fixed cost of $3 million per year? It doesn’t appear this improves the solution shown in question 1. The plants that are at capacity in part 1 are Brazil, India, Mexico, and the U.S.; adding a million kilograms of capacity to those plants does not result in a lower overall cost for the entire supply chain. 4. How are your recommendations affected by the reduction of duties? A reduction in duties to 0% across the board results in the following costs: $38.25Total Transportation Cost (millions) $1,325.40Total Production Cost (millions) $0.00Total Tariffs (millions) $1,363,650,824TOTAL COST The solution matrix is far less sparse; virtually every market receives imports from every other market with the exception of Mexico and Asia without Japan. Production increases in Germany and Japan at the expense of India, Mexico, and the U.S. Highcal Production Plant Latin America Europe Asia w/o Japan Japan Mexico U.S. Brazil 1.20 2.28 0.62 1.20 0.00 4.90 Germany 1.52 2.90 1.23 1.52 0.95 2.98 India 1.12 2.50 .83 1.12 0.55 2.58 Japan 0.53 1.91 0.25 0.53 0.00 1.99 Mexico 1.52 2.90 1.23 1.52 0.95 2.98 U.S. 1.12 2.50 0.83 1.12 0.55 2.58 Total 7 15 5 7 3 18 Relax Production Plant Latin America Europe Asia w/o Japan Japan Mexico U.S. Brazil 1.20 1.48 0.00 1.48 0.00 3.65 Germany 1.52 2.46 0.95 1.66 0.95 3.03 India 1.12 2.06 0.55 1.26 0.55 2.63 Japan 0.53 1.47 0.00 0.67 0.00 2.04 Mexico 1.52 2.46 0.95 1.66 0.95 3.03 U.S. 1.12 2.06 0.55 1.26 0.55 2.63 Total 7 12 3 8 3 17 Total Plant Output Plant Total Brazil 18.00 Germany 21.67 India 16.87 Japan 9.93 Mexico 21.67 U.S. 16.87 5. The analysis has assumed that each plant has a100 percent yield (percent output of acceptable quality). How would you modify your analysis to account for yield differences across plants? To adjust for yields less than 100%, the capacity of each plant could be adjusted down by the loss percentage. Another approach would be to leave capacity as stated but adjust the amount shipped down by the scrap percentage. 6. What other factors should be accounted for when making your recommendations? This global supply chain is exposed to a variety of risks as enumerated below. Supply chain decisions should be made after careful assessment of the likelihood of these events and the effectiveness of possible mitigation plans. Disruptions – disasters, war, terrorism, labor disputes Delays – inflexibility or poor yield of supply, insufficient supply Systems – IS breakdown, system integration issues Forecast – inaccurate forecasting Intellectual property – vertical integration and global sourcing Procurement – exchange rate movement, industry-wide capacity issues Receivables – number and financial strength of customers Inventory – rate of obsolescence, holding costs, uncertainty of demand Capacity – cost and flexibility of capacit

Non Parametric and Chi-Square Distribution

Individual Paper #3: Non parametric and Chi-square distribution Brief Summary: I worked for a logistic company. My major responsibility was in charge of the storage and transportation of parts of cars between two areas, which are about 1400 miles apart. One of my jobs is collecting the goods from suppliers and arranging the trucks to deliver them. There are five truck drivers, and each of them is assigned to deliver on each weekday throughout a whole year. Before the delivery, we will check the quality of the goods and Make sure that there are no damaged goods.When arriving at the destination, the staff will check the goods again and record the damaged goods that occurred in transit. At the end of every month, we will pay for the compensation according to the number of the defective goods. In order to reduce the number of the damaged goods during the delivery, I want to identify the reasons why they are damaged. In this study, I want to find out that whether some drivers are more pro ne to make the goods damaged during their delivery.Variable to be measured: Two variables are to be measured. The first variable is just the five truck drivers, and the second one is the quality of the goods after the delivery. Determination of Population: Population in this case is defined as the all goods delivered from Tianjin area to Guangzhou area. Statistical method: To analyze relationship between the two variables above which are both nominal in terms of data type, I decide to use Chi-squared test of a contingency table. Sample Selection:The information about delivery is recorded in our computer system, including the delivery date, name of the driver, the number of damaged goods and so on. I take out the data about 52 weeks during the previous year and record them into the following table: | Quality| | Truck Driver| Passed| Damaged| Total| Driver A| | | | Driver B| | | | Driver C| | | | Driver D| | | | Driver E| | | | Total| | | | Hypothesis: The objective is to describe whe ther there is a relationship between the five drivers and the number of damaged goods.The null hypothesis will specify that there is no relationship between the two variables: H0 : The two variables are independent The alternative hypothesis specifies one variable affects the other, expressed as: H1 : The two variables are dependent Use the formula: ?2=i=1k(fi-ei)2ei ? =(r-1) (c-1) which calculates the test statistic. Or use the Excel by importing the data into the function of Data Analysis Plus, Contingency Table. Then I could acquire chi-squared Stat, p-value. The number of degrees of freedom v=(r-1)(c-1)=(5-1)(2-1)=4.If I employ a 5% significance level, the rejection region is X2> X2 a, v = X2 . 05, 4 = 9. 49 Comparing the results, if the p-value is greater than 9. 49, there is not enough evidence to infer that there is a relationship between the five drivers and the number of damaged goods; if the p-value is not greater than 9. 49, I can reject the null hypothesis in favor of th e alternative, which means there is a relationship between the five drivers and the number of damaged goods. So I can reduce the number of damaged goods through improving the drivers’ conditions.