Philips Vs Matsushita Case Study Essay

CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT: Philips vs Matsushita Philips and Matsushita are two principal consumer electronics companies that adopted two different strategies that lead them to some success, and later losses. Philips, as a multinational company, was more into a global organizational portfolio; whereas, Matsushita was focusing its operations in Japan. Unfortunately, both companies face loss of profitability even if their top managers were putting a lot of effort into the success of their respective business. Philips employed seven CEOs, and each used different strategy to reach the company success. Matsushita strategy was to turn the company into a cost containment mode, but the losing trend appeared by then. While Philips pursued its path into innovation and entrepreneurship by using their local resources to create new products, Matsushita was more focusing on a strategy based on standard products. Philips began closing useless plants and identifying businesses as either core or non-core. Purchasing the North American Philips Corp was to regain control and spending on basic research was to make the R&D the direct reasonability of the business. However, the spending was wasted; NOs were unwilling to use the new technologies developed. Matsushita, on the other hand, was more focusing on its subsidiaries; for instance, it implemented the operations localization that gave more power to the subsidiaries and more choice to their managers. After collapsing, the latest CEO decided to consolidate manufacturing facilities. However, it did not focus on innovation and did not develop new products. Nevertheless, both companies had many disadvantages in their strategies. For instance, Philips lacked the ability to deal with a changing international environment, exceeded by the competition in terms of price since it was offering the most expensive products in the market, and also, faced many problems internally like disputes between its NOs and its product divisions. On the other hand, Matsushita has a centralized production which led to losses throughout the years. Also, their cultural values were not adaptive enough to let the firm cope with the changing environment. Even by adopting strong strategies, Philips and Matsushita continue to lose profitability and now for sure, they need to restructure their businesses and risk should be spread in order to mitigate unforeseeable disasters.

Dehydration of Methylcyclohexanol Essay

A common Sophomore Organic Chemistry laboratory experiment that has great potential for further research is the acid catalyzed dehydration of simple alcohols. The classic dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol experiment that was introduced in Journal of Chemical Education in 1967 Taber(1967)JCE:44,p620. The rather simple procedure of distilling an alcohol with an aqueous acid has spawned several investigations that have resulted in formal journal articles. At the same time, the experiment has retained its popularity in the Sophomore Organic Chemistry laboratory curriculum. In one line of inquiry it has been observed that a mixture of 2-methylcyclohexanol diastereomers gives rise to a mixture of three isomeric alkenes Todd(1994)JCE:71,p440; Feigenbaum(1987) JCE:64, p273; Cawley (1997) JCE:74l, p102. Explaining the presence of the three alkene products requires an intense synthesis of information communicated in a typical SOC textbook. The continued popularity of this experiment is corroborated by the observation that Googling the phrase â€Å"Dehydration of 2-Methylcyclohexanol† on January 13th, 2008 returned no less than 20 hits for online student handouts and/or guides for this SOC laboratory experiment. Moreover, this experiment provides fertile ground for experimentation and innovation that has not yet been fully explored. At Dominican University, the SOC students performed this experiment during the Fall 2007 semester with not only the dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 153087) but also the 4-methyl (Aldrich 153095) and 3-methyl (Aldrich 139734) positional isomers. The reaction products were submitted to GC-FID analysis. As predicted from the Journal of Chemical Education articles, three methylcyclohexene products were observed. Their relative abundance measured by peak height was 80, 16, and 4%. The alkene products represented by these peaks apparently correspond to 1-methycyclehexene, 3-methycyclehexene, and methylenecyclohexane respectively. [pic] The dehydration of 4-methylcyclohexanol produce two products, that can be distinguished by our current GC column, at 90 and 10% with retention times that match 3-methycyclehexene and 1-methycyclehexene respectively. My current theory is that the retention times 3 and 4-methycyclohexene could not be distinguished with GC column and temperature program. However, there is still the issue of how 1-methycyclehexene is produced from 4-methylcyclohexanol. [pic] The dehydration of 3-methylcyclohexanol yields two products, that can be distinguished by our current GC column, at 80 and 20% with retention times that match 3-methylcyclohexene and 1-methycyclehexene respectively. [pic] Samples of 1-methyl and 3-methyl cyclohexenes purchased from Aldrich chemical confirmed two of compound assignments for the dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol. Obviously, it remains to separate the 3 and 4-methylcyclohexene by GC. There are several advantages of studying the dehydration of methylcyclohexanols in the first semester of Organic Chemistry: 1) The experiment involves reactions that are typically studied during first semester: E1, E2, and the 1,2-hydride shift. It is a time-tested protocol that has been run in hundreds of labs by thousands of students. 2) Analysis of the experiment involves the understanding of all three mechanisms mentioned previously and how they may compete with each other. In other words, it is a simple experiment that demands a rather involved interpretation of results. 3) It shows that textbooks â€Å"rules† such as the Zaitzev’s rule in this case, are not necessarily rules as such, but rather astute observations of general trends that can vary experimentally depending on the reactant and the reaction conditions. 4) Analytically, we are observing/measuring the presence of 3 known methylcyclohexene and methylenecyclohexane products that can be separated and detected by Gas Chromatography. I believe that the product mixtures can also be analyzed by NMR. 5) The reaction lends itself to an inquiry format that involves the study different reactants and reaction conditions on the ratio of products. In fact, this experiment, in my opinion, is an ideal candidate for a multi-institution collaborative study that combines and interprets student data. want to pursue point #5 further by first grappling with the current literature concerning the â€Å"Evelyn Effect.† The JCE article by David Todd, â€Å"The Dehydration of 2-Methylcyclohexanol Revisited: The Evelyn Effect† observes a kinetic effect that can be explained by proposing that in a mixture of cis/trans 2-Methylcyclohexanol the cis isomer reacts much faster than the trans isomer to give predominately 1-methylcyclohexene. The formation of 1-methylcyclohexene from cis-2-methylcyclohexanol would involve an â€Å"E2-like† anti-elimination of proton and the protonated alcohol. The dehydration of the trans isomer would go through a E1 mechanism that requires the formation of a carbocation before elimination of a proton. A follow-up study by Cawley and Linder: â€Å"The Acid Catalyzed Dehydration of an Isomeric 2-Methylcyclohexanol Mixture† involves a detailed kinetic study. Students began with a 36.6/63.4 cis/trans mixture of 2-methylcyclohexanol with a cyclohexanol impurity (% impurity was not reported). They performed thy typical reaction+distillation and collected fractions at 4, 8, 16, 24, and 28 minutes. They also collected a 0.1 mL volume of the sample of the reaction mixture at each of these time intervals. These fractions were analyzed by 1H NMR and GC for composition. The cis/trans rate constants for the dehydration of reaction were determined to be 8.4/1.0 – much less than 30/1 ratio reported in 1931 by Vavon and Barbier. An intriguing study! It would be very interesting to have the raw (student) data on this one. Very little is said about the product ratios in the distillate fractions, they just report that they obtained 2.1% methylenecyclohexane and not the 4% previously reported. The dehydration of methylcyclohexanols provides a fecund problem to explore. The key is to develop methods to determine the distribution of alkene products in terms of % total alkenes. There are four possible positional isomers: I. methylenecyclohexane (Aldrich, Acros, 1192-37-6); II. racemic 3-methyl-1-cyclohexene (Acros, 591-48-0); III. 1-methyl-1-cyclohexene (Aldrich, Acros 591-49-1) IV. racemic 4-methyl-1-cyclohexene (Aldrich, Acros 591-47-9). Two of the alkene positional isomers contain an asymmetric carbon. The obvious place to start is by studying how the alcohol structure affects the product distribution of alkenes. There are 5 positional isomers of methylcyclohexanol: I. cyclohexanemethanol (Aldrich 100-49-2); II. 1-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 590-67-0); III. racemic cis&trans 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 583-59-5) IV. racemic cis&trans 3-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 591-23-1) V. cis&trans 4-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 589-91-3). Three of the alcohols are present in cis and trans diastereomer pairs: cis 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7445-70-1) trans 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7445-52-9) cis 3-methylcyclohexanol (5454-79-5) trans 3-methylcyclohexanol (7443-55-2) cis 4-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7731-28-4) trans 4-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7731-28-4). In addition there are 4 entaniomer pairs among the alcohol starting materials. Most of them are commercially available, for a price. [pic] Besides the structure of the alcohol, what other variables may be explored? 1) One variable for this reaction that could be investigated is the nature of the catalytic acid. Aqueous acids, such as the 85% H3PO4 typically used for this experiment, contain some water which is also product of the reaction. I may also add that, the amount of acid is not always in catalytic proportion to the substrate. In my current protocol 0.075 moles of acid is used to dehydrate 0.2 moles of alcohol. Non-aqueous acids may give different results. Acidic resins are an interesting substitute for aqueous acids. For example, John Ludeman and Kurt Field of Bradley University presented a poster at the 2006 ACS Great Lakes Regional Meeting on the use of Dowex 50WX2-100, Amberlite IRC-50S, and Amberlyst 15, for the dehydration of alcohols. 2) Another variable would be the reaction conditions. In the current paradigm, the alkene is distilled away from the reaction mixture. Presumably, it is being distilled away as it is formed. An ad-hoc observation is that students seem to get somewhat different product ratios if they distill is carefully or if they â€Å"crank up the heat† and distill it quicker. What if the reaction mixture was refluxed to equilibrium before distillation? Would we see more thermodynamic products? 3) Reaction conditions could be changed in other ways too. Microwave irradiation is currently being explored as an alternative to heating reactions. Possibly, sonication could also be performed on the alcohol. 4) Another avenue to explore may be different strategies to push the reaction towards the products other than distilling off the alkene. For example, removing water with molecular sieves may be tried. The last installment of this series will explore the logistics of â€Å"dehydration of methylcycohexanols† as a collaborative experiments. The most straightforward collaboration would be to perform the â€Å"dehydration of methylcycohexanols† experiment in the same way and compare the relative yield of alkenes as measured by GC from different starting alcohols. Comparisons could be made with past data or concurrently collected data from different institutions. This may be seem fairly straightforward, but there will most likely be discrepancies that could will need to be explored. One aspect to make note of would be the source and composition of the methylcyclohexanols used a starting materials. Sigma-Aldrich has †¢ 1-methylcyclohexanol #M38214; †¢ 2-methylcyclohexanol #66320, #215295, #178829, #24113, & #153087, †¢ 3-methylcyclohexanol #139734; †¢ 4-methylcyclohexanol #66360, #104183, #104191, & #153095; †¢ as well as just plain methylcyclohexanol #66370. An experimental variable that is hard to control is rate of heating. Students who crank up the hot plate to get done quickly (even though they were told not to) may get different results than those students who go slowly and maintain an even temperature. Different GC columns and methods may also give results that need to be corroborated.

Carbon Capture Technology Not Ready to Limit Carbon Emissions Essay

Carbon Capture Technology Not Ready to Limit Carbon Emissions - Essay Example ective system is needed for the proper and flawless storage of Carbon Dioxide if this technology is to be used globally on large scale (Al-Fattah & Duncan, 2011). Storage Issues The storage of CO2, along with the capture, on the other hand, is a relatively a new concept and hence not very effective as yet. This makes CCS inefficient because there is no point of capture if there is no storage mechanism available for the technology. More recently, Carbon capture tanks have been developed and they are employed for storage but they are very expensive and not easy to develop, use and maintain (Hester et al, 2010). Energy consumption Issues Another reason for CCS’s not being ready for usage yet is the energy that it requires to run. The capture and compression of CO2 requires a lot of energy, and this result in raising the running costs of CCS-equipped power plants. The process results in the increase energy needs of a plant by about 10-40%. This extra consumption of energy has rais ed many eyebrows in industrial world because with this new technology, instead of improvement in their produce, they have to invest even more in this extra consumption of fuel. This is a very important obstacle that has kept industrialists from employing this technology in their systems (Hester et al, 2010). Cost related issues of the technology CCS is a very expensive technology and this is also a reason why it is not ready for usage on large scale. As this technology is in its experimental stages, it is not very economical. The equipment and plants made for CCS are very expensive both in building and in later usage. With the passage of time, this obstacle may be removed by employing cheaper techniques and materials for building and running CCS equipments but so far it is not possible and this... In a nutshell, CCS is a very novel technology and as yet it is not flawless. There are many flaws in the system and operation of CCS and that is why it is not ready for use on large scale. With high fuel and energy consumption it becomes a very expensive technology. This makes it inefficient for large scale usage. Concerns regarding its role in promoting pollution have contributed towards making this development a controversial issue. For this reason, more effective and cost-friendly equipment should be developed aimed at reducing pollution in the environment. When effective technology is available, legislation to enforce application of this technology at industrial level may increase its demand on international level, so much so that the cost of equipment may get reduced. This will allow greater acceptability of the technology by industrial sector; thus contributing towards a healthier and green environment globally. It should be kept in mind that any technology in its nascent stage s is far from perfect; as human knowledge evolves, the technology becomes a masterpiece.

Personal Statement - Edit and Improve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Statement - Edit and Improve - Essay Example At the moment, I am studying international foundation programme at the University of Bristol. Besides, I take selected courses in English Literature and Communication Studies as the two main units. The foundation programme that I am enrolled to has provided me with ample chance to shape personal career goals based on clear understanding of contemporary issues. Therefore, it progressively nurtures my desire and attraction in media and communication facilitating a restructure of studies towards this field. An opportunity for studies in your university will empower and set me apart in my professionalism. Particularly, it will compliment my understanding of human relationship and new media products. The skills will enhance my relevance and further advance interests in media production and information dissemination. Apart from the academic life, I exhibit excellent leadership skills as I am currently the elected public relations official of the Chinese Society. The post provides me with a platform for interaction and enhances my communication skills. The roles also provide new insights about future occupation. Besides that, previous experiences show that I became adept in this sphere long before making this choice. In the past, I worked as a radio host at Only One Radio (Hong Kong) on a program about professional wrestling. It was particularly interesting, and I liked how music and lightning effect impacted on audience and stimulated their reactions from storylines. During this period, observation of crowd behaviors became valuable for as I learned how to influence public in subtle ways. In addition, I am a shareholder artist manager at WOW Entertainment (Hong Kong). The position has enabled me to perfect interpersonal relations with artists whom I helped in audition when the company started. The imperative lesson from the role is that everyone has his or her talent and sometimes individuals need to do talent

THTR 201 Production Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

THTR 201 Production Response - Essay Example Mr. Darcy is not an easy man to love and at first is graceless and stiff making Elizabeth to be prejudicially inclined to make unwarranted observations towards him. The development of this love and attraction between Darcy and Elizabeth commences with the refusal by Darcy to have a dance with Elizabeth, which would be followed, later by Elizabeth’s passionate refusal to his initial proposal at a wonderfully wet rainy scene. Though female characters dominate the play, there are strong performances by males as shown by the sycophantic Mr. Collins and the commanding and all-powerful Mr. Bennet. Mr. Collins shows in the play that all the six women from Bennet’s household will be under his command and mercy as he stands to inherit the entire estate which makes the senior Mrs. Bennet to try and find means of safely marrying off their other daughters. My three favorite characters are Elizabeth, Darcy and Mrs. Bennet as they clearly give credence to the name of the play, which is pride and prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy are very quick to judge someone else and are proud emphasizing the human natural instinct to judge quickly on the first impression. Both the eventual two lovers have strong negative first impressions of each other and people in general and it becomes more fun when they get over their pride and come together at the end of the play. Mrs. Bennet is equally my favorite character as having known the character of Mr. Collins; she endeavors to ensure that her remaining five daughters have the best in life and would want them to be safely married off. These characters of being proud and prejudicial to others also apply to me as in most instances, I have always been proud and make perception of people even before knowing them. The major theme in the story â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† is love as it is a courtship between Elizabeth and Darcy and these two have to overcome numerous

The Vietnam War that made 1968 a Unique Year Essay

The Vietnam War that made 1968 a Unique Year - Essay Example Relevant information about the war is also recorded by Barbara Ehrenreich and John Ehrenreich, in the book, The International. This essay borrows most of the information from the two authors plus others and shows what they had in common. This will clearly bring out the full information regarding this horrific war in the rest of this essay. Vietnam War contributed to 1968 being a unique year in world history. It was on January 31, 1968, when the Tet Offensive was launched by the North Vietnamese together with Viet Cong forces which caused mass destruction and heavy losses to the U.S. and the South Vietnamese (Ehrenreich & John, 121). This was the lunar New Year holiday which was called Tet when attacks were made in the South Vietnam, out of which more than 100 towns were fiercely attacked. North Vietnam which is actually a communist society was in fight with their allies South Vietnam, a communist society and which obtained a back-up from the US army troops to fight the North Vietnamese (Kurlansky, 106). It was General Vo Nguyen Giap who came up with the plan of carrying out offensive attacks to South Vietnamese. The fight was so fierce and despite the fact that the U.S and the South Vietnamese were able to hold off the attacks made by the communists, they lost the battle to the North Vietnam (Ehrenreich & John, 122). However, North Vietnam suffered many casualties but victoriously pushe d out America from the region and this was regarded as the first phase of the battle which became to be the most famous. Thus, Vietnam War contributed to 1968 being a unique year in world history.

Benjamin Britten Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Benjamin Britten - Essay Example Benjamin Britten was an opera composer of the modern age. Because he lived in the modern age, there has been a range of interpretations that musicologists have taken towards his work. The range of interpretations depend mainly upon whether the musicologist who analyzing his work is an example of a new musicologist or an old musicologist. New musicologists essentially are focused upon the meaning of the work (Eyerman & McCormick, 2006, p. 2). New musicologists may derive meaning from examining the composer himself, discerning what a particular composer may have meant by his work by examining the life of the composer in search of clues (Seymour, 2004, p. 1). They may also derive meaning by applying other disciplines to the work, such as literature, religion, philosophy and psychology (Zolberg, 1990, p. 8). They may derive meaning by associating the work with a body of studies, such as gender studies or queer studies. They may apply sociology to the work in an effort to discern the work’s meaning (Brett & Britten, 1993, p. 633). Or, they may use a combination of the above to arrive at what the meaning is. New musicologists may be compared with old musicologists. For them, new musicology is a corrupting influence in that, by applying other disciplines, the inherent musicality of a particular piece is lost (Miles, 1995, p. 12). Old musicologists analyze work by using musical theory, and may be formalistic or positivistic in their approach to composer’s work (Agawu, 1997, p. 299). What they do not do is attempt to discern hidden meanings behind the composer’s work. The shift from old musicology to new musicology can be traced to Joseph Kerman (1985), whose book Contemplating Music: Challenges to Musicology, was the first instance where a musicologist proposed analyzing music by bringing in history, communication, the existence of other works of art, affects, texts and programmes (Kerman, 1985, p. 18). Since then, prominent musicologists such as Susan McClary and Philip Brett have analyzed music from the perspective of gender and queer studies, respectively (McClary, 1993; Brett, 1993). These scholars represent the tip of the iceberg for new musicologists, but they are examples of how new musicology approaches music. This paper will consist of an examination of new musicology and compare it to old musicology. Then, the next section will examine how new musicologists see the works of Britten by examining some of the themes that are inherent in his work, themes that have been teased out by prominent new musicologists. The next section will handle how old musicologists examine Britten’s work. Finally, the last section will be a conclusion which ties together the concepts and analyzes what it all means. New Musicologists Approach to Britten’s Work A new musicologist would not analyze Britten’s operas in a superficial way – such stating the innocent themes of a certain opera, without going into subtext – but would also go beyond what is on the surface and delve not only into Britten’s psyche but also the sociological mores of the times to determine what the true meaning is behind the operas that he has written. For instance, Seymour (2004) state that if one examines a Britten opera, there are a number of superficial theme s, but that, if one looks closer at Britten’s operas one can see that he is trying to find a voice that â€Å"might embody, communicate, and perhaps resolve, his private concerns and anxieties† (Seymour, 2004, p. 1). Seymour was a definitive new musicologist, as she attempted to examine several operas written by Britten – Paul Bunyon, Death in Venice, three of his church parables and several of his children’s operas – and analyzed these creatively by linking them to psychological factors and biographical events that were occurring with Britten during this period of time (Seymour, 2004, p. 1). It was Seymour’s theory that Britten, through his music, was able to express ideas about his sexuality and identity that were difficult for him to come to terms with and

Taxation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Taxation - Assignment Example 129). The anti-abuse rule introduced by HMRC strikes down the tax avoidance schemes, regardless of whether they are technically sound. It is possible to implement the law correctly if the avoidance scheme is abusive. HMRC could view the situation as a violation in case the gain was not disclosed. One of the professional requirements of a member would be to ensure that he does not assist a client to arrange or commit an offence since it is unlawful (Chartered Institute of Taxation, 2011, p. 20). From an ethical viewpoint, the most appropriate thing to do would be to advise Henry to avoid such a consideration since it is not legal. It would be vital to give Henry appropriate advice since he continues to act for him as a client. After the expiry of an initial period of an official enquiry, the Tax Management Act (section 29) provided a mechanism that would assist in the assessment of an individual’s income tax. The mechanism also assists in the assessment of capital gains in the following four years. Such assessments might take place regardless of whether they are in support or whether they are the consequences of an enquiry. The power to make the assessment is triggered when an HMRC officer makes a discovery that complies with the rules specified in Section 29. In Henry’s case, the discovery relates to the development of an insufficiency in an assessment. The self-assessment process provides HMRC with a straightforward system that assists in the mitigation of uncertainty. HMRC has the power to correct the glaring omissions, which is one of the ways through which the revenue can require additional tax liabilities. Conversely, the corrections can impose excessive reliefs under section 29. If the tax agent fails to provide information requested by HMRC, the body will investigate the agency to determine the possibility of dishonest conduct. In the case of a failure to supply information required, HMRC will charge the agent with civil penalties. Subsequently,

The Phoenix hospital Essay Example for Free

The Phoenix hospital Essay The Phoenix Hospital has asked me to create a computer application to replace the existing manual one. In this system patient details have to be kept and information about borrowing of equipment. Records must be kept of what equipment has been borrowed, by whom and when, and also if any equipment is not available because it is being repaired. Aim My aim is to successfully create a database for the hospital, which they can4 use on an everyday basis. The database will need to: Ability to store details of equipment. Item code to identify the item and the type of equipment.   For each piece of equipment it must find:- whether it is available, being repaired or out on loan if on loan, to whom and at what address or ward number if on loan, when is it due to be returned or the loan renewed if being repaired, when was it sent for repair   Produce a hard copy of the above information for any piece of equipment.   Equipment is lent out for a 6- week period, this can be renewed for periods of 6 weeks.   Patients may have more than one piece of equipment on loan at a particular time.   At any one time, about half the equipment will be out on loan and 1 or 2 pieces will be in for repair. Names and addresses of patients are to be invented. Ward numbers are W1- W10. At the end of each week, a full report of the location of all equipment is to be produced. If equipment is due for return or renewal during the following week, that patient will be contacted. There is a standard letter for this purpose. Design Definition of Data Requirements I need to design tables, forms and queries which will enable me to meet the above aims. Record Structure Patient Table Field Name Data Type Field Length/ Format Validation Rule Input Mask Patient id AutoNumber Long Integer Title Text 5   Forname Text 50- Surname Text 50   gender Text Loan ID Number Long Integer   Item ID Text 50 Returned Yes/No   Figure 6 Loan Table Record Structure Design of Forms Patient Form Figure 7 Design of Patient Form Equipment Details Form Figure 8 Design of Equipment Details Form Welcome Screen Form Figure 9 Design of Welcome Screen Repair Form Figure 10 Design of Repair Table Design of Reports Locations Report Figure 11 design of Locations Report Equipment on Loan at End of Week Report Figure 12 Design of Equipment on Loan at End of Week Report Security and Integrity of Data Security and integrity are very important aspects of a database. I have made sure the database is secure from hackers, thieves and from general mistakes messing up the system. Security can be done using passwords to keep out people who shouldnt access areas. There are different levels of access rights these are read-only, Read/Write and No Access. Backup can help keep hold of important data in the event of the system being destroyed. Therefore the more frequently that backups are done the better. Integrity will minimize the amount of errors going into the system. Validating data in the database will help keep it in good working order and make it easy to search for data when needed.

Zara Case Analysis Essay Example for Free

Zara Case Analysis Essay Focused on manufacturing affordable yet high fashion concept apparels for women, men and child, Zara is one of the most popular fashion brands in the world now. It is also one of my most frequently visited boutiques. The success of Zara is not a miracle; it is the result of successful operation management. First of all, Zara has a special planning and design cycle. Zara hires 200 designers and make 11,000 styles of apparels every year, which is about 5 times as many as comparable retailers produce each year. Zara’s production is based on small batches, and this reduces the throughput time. Zara’s timeline began one year in advance of the start of the corresponding year, which means designers start working on the initial ideas for 2013 Spring/Summer collection since 2012. After finishing the initial design collection, the company produced only 50-60% of in-season apparels in advance, with the rest being manufactured on a continuous basis after they are available to the public. Competitors like HM and Gap, on the other hand, has 80% of its apparels produced in advance, which lead to great amount of inventory in warehouse and high probability of leftovers. This will hurt the companies’ bottom line as the leftovers are usually heavily marked down at the end of the season. Because of its continuous manufacturing method, Zara does not have high amount of inventory and has significantly less leftovers that need to be discounted and would result in loss. Zara can focus on manufacturing only popular collections and thus maximize its profit. However, this does not mean that Zara will satisfy all consumer needs on popular apparels and Zara actually does this on purpose. I think many of us have the experience of being disappointed because we cannot get some amazingly designed Zara apparels as it is sold out and it is never available again. Zara actually does this to make its customers think that they should get it now before it’s gone forever. The believe of no second chance makes customers buy what they like immediately without second thought. Also, as Zara launch new collection of clothes every two weeks, customers tend to go back to the shop frequently to check out for new collections. This will increase their revenue as well as the more customers come, the more they spent. Last but not least, its distribution is effective. All finished apparels are gathered in a distribution center in Arteixo, this distribution center is carefully selected, as it is nearest to ll manufacturing plants. Besides shipping cost, Zara also saves inventory cost by doing frequent shipment (two times a week). In order to make the sorting process more efficient, Zara made uniform price tag that includes prices in all currency for apparels shipped to different destination, so that shipping staffs will not need to sort the products when they ship. In conclusion, Zara’s success is one of the best examples of successful supply chain management and it is worth study by everyone who is interested in business.

Behaviour Modification and Cognitive Processes of Learning

Behaviour Modification and Cognitive Processes of Learning Pillay Sheryl Amanda Ballen I will be discussing some important procedures which enable learning. Each and every human being learns any kind of behavior during their life span. There is no human being on earth who does not undergo the process of learning. There are various learning methods through which we obtain beliefs, approaches and skills (Skinner, 1971, cited in Ryckman,2013, p. 361) Here we shall discuss the principles of learning and their uses in daily life. I would like to also demonstrate how behavior modification compares with cognitive processes of learning. Learning What we mean when we say the word â€Å"learning†, we normally mean â€Å"thinking using the brain†. These concepts of learning are the central perspective in the Cognitive Learning Theory (CLT). Mental processes can be explained, as they are predisposed by both internal and external factors, which gradually bring about learning. Cognitive Learning Theory suggests that the different procedures regarding learning can be described by examining the mental processes first. It suggests that with actual cognitive processes, learning is simpler and new material can be placed in the memory for a long time. However, ineffective cognitive processes affect learning complications which can be seen in a person. Social Cognitive Theory (SLT) There are three variables in social cognitive theory, which are interconnected with each other, for learning to happen, which consist of: Personal factors Environmental factors Behavior factors An individual’s environmental interaction, beliefs, ideas and mental skills are influenced by outside factors such as a caring or uncaring parent, disturbing or healthy environment or a very hot or humid climate. The mental process in a person is affected by his behavior, and environmental interaction, which can also alter the way he thinks. One’s behavior can disturb and change the environment in which he or she lives in. Basic concepts of social learning are: Observational Learning Is a form of learning from other people, by means of observing their behavior in an effective way in order to gain knowledge and change behavior. Reproduction Is the method wherein there is a goal to successfully escalate the repeating of a behavior by means of changing the environment to a safer and more comfortable on , within reachable proximate, and to encourage him to remember the new information and behavior learned and to exercise them. Self-efficacy Is the way a person uses the newly learnt knowledge or behavior which he has learnt. Emotional coping is a good coping devices used against demanding environments and negative personal appearances can lead to operational learning, especially in adults Self – regulatory capability is the capability to regulator the behavior even within a negative environment. Classical and operant conditioning are two vital perceptions significant to behavioral psychology. While both result in learning, the procedure is quite different. To understand how each of these behavior modification methods can be used, it is also important to understand how classic conditioning and operant conditioning differ from one another. Classic Conditioning Was developed by the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov, classic conditioning is the first type of learning wherein an organism responds to an environmental stimulus. Pavlov (1927) observed that in classic conditioning, the stimulus (S) triggers the response (R) of an organism. Within the exposure of the organism to the stimulus, reflex(Hermans et.al., 2006, cited in Weiten, 2014, p. 232). The unconditioned stimulus (US) is the stimulus which leads to an observable response without training. The unconditioned response (UR) is the response brought about by the unconditioned stimulus. It is an automatic and normal behavior. The conditioned stimulus (CR) is a stimulus that is original and has no meaning to the subject. Through learning it is paired with the unconditioned stimulus (US) and brings about the conditioned response. The conditioned response (CR) is the behavior caused by the condition stimulus in response to the (CS). It is usually anticipation of the (US). General Observation My brother was in matric and my little sister was two years old when I observed my brother’s behavior. He would often get very frustrated with my little sister when he tried to study (US) in order for him to study he use to give her a chocolate (UR) and she would smile and leave him to study. The chocolate is a positive reinforcement. Now six months later he has completed his matric and when she goes into his room she expects chocolate (CR). Now that my brother do not give her chocolate, when she goes into his room she begins to cry, and mom would get angry at my brother for making her cry. Mom do not realize that my brother has created a (CR) in my little sister behavior, since mom does not allow her to eat chocolate. Operant Conditioning known as Instrumental Conditioning: Was established by B.F.Skinner . However Skinner was also greatly influenced by the works of Ivan Pavlov on the conditioning reflux. (Skinner, 1970, cited in Ryckman, 2013, p. 360). Operant conditioning tries to contradict the belief that internal thoughts and mere inspirations which brings about learning in a behavior. Skinner thought that only exterior causes of behavior must be considered (Skinner, 1953, p. 65)) The term â€Å"operant† was used by Skinner in order to give us a good suggestion of his theory and how he used it: (Skinner, 1953, cited in Ryckman, 2013, p. 365). Reinforcement: Is a procedure of increasing the frequency rate of a behavior by means of awarding a stimulus soon after the demonstration of the behavior. The event that strengthens the probability of the behavior to be recurring is called a reinforcer. According to Skinner, reinforcement can take two forms, which are called positive and negative reinforcement (Skinner, 1953, cited in Ryckman, 2013, p. 367). Positive Reinforcement: When my mom wanted me to do the dishes, she would say to me â€Å"if you do the dishes for me, for the week than I will take you out shopping on Saturday†. Naturally we would spend the day shopping and she would spoil me, but eventually without her asking me to do the dishes for her. I realized that she was tired after work and the least I could do was help her with the dishes. Negative reinforcement occurs when a reply is reinforced because it is followed by the elimination of an unfriendly stimulus. Example cleaning the house to get rid of the mess or wearing a safety belt whist driving to prevent an annoying sound (Skinner, 1953, cited in Ryckman, 2013, p. 367). Negative Reinforcement: I hated the fact that I needed to drive with my safety belt on, and I found that the annoying noise of the seatbelt would not stop until I buckled up which is an aversive stimulus since it encourage me to fasten my seat belt. Until I fasten the seatbelt, the annoying sound persisted I could not get rid of the aversive stimuli. Now days when I get into the car, the first thing I do is put my safety belt on. In both positive and negative reinforcement, behavior is increased, however negative reinforcement plays a key role in both escaping learning and avoidance learning (Skinner, 1953, cited in Ryckman, 2013, p. 367). In escape learning, a being obtain a response that decrease or ends some aversive stimulation example: my little sister wearing her shoes before going outside to play, this leads to: Avoidance learning in which an entity obtains a response that stops some aversive stimulation from happening example putting on shoes before you get an ammonia. Avoidance learning is a good way to see how classical conditioning and operant conditioning work together to regulate behavior. An example, shoes my sister needs to put on before she goes outside and play might become a classical conditioning (CS) that elicits a fear of wearing shoes in her. However the response of putting on her shoes is an operant behavior. This response is strengthened through negative reinforcement, because it reduces the person’s fear of getting sick. Thus in avoidance learning a fear response is acquired through classical conditioning and an avoidance response is maintained by operant conditioning. Punishment Is a process whereby a stimulus is used after the presentation of behavior and cause the decline in the possibility of the behavior to reoccur. In contrast to reinforcement there are also consequences that decrease a being’s leaning to make a specific response. Positive punishment: Is the accumulation of something which affects the decrease in repeating the behavior that was displayed? Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs when a favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs (Skinner, 1953, cited inRyckman, 2013, p. 368). When I was younger my sister and I slept in the same room and we often fought with each other about who slept on the top of the double bunk. Until my father got angry one day and sent us both to the naughty corner for two whole hours, and whilst sitting alone it decreased our behavior and we never fought again with each other about sleeping arrangements. Negative Punishment: Decreases the behavior from occurring, it is removing pleasant stimulus when someone is not doing the appropriate behavior. Eating food was one of my difficulties, since I rather looked forward to the deserts during super time, so I use to waste my food. Dad took away my spending and said I needed to learn to appreciate and feel what poor kids are going through. He even took me to the orphanage and I felt so bad, now I know not to waste food since there are so many kids out there who do not have food. My view on wasting food has changed. OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING Is based on the work of Albert Bandura (1977). Bandura and his associates were able to exhibit through a variation of experimentations that the request of concerns was not necessary for learning to take place. Instead learning could happen through the simple procedure of observing someone else’s actions or behavior. This effort provided the basis for Bandura’s future work in social cognition ( Ohman Mineka, 2001, cited in Weiten, 2014, p. 252). Bandura expressed his findings in a four step design which includes a cognitive and an operant view of learning. Attention- to learn observation, you must pay attention to another person’s behavior and its environment. Retention- you may not have times to observe response for a long time. Hence the individual remembers what was noticed and must store a mental image of what he has witnessed in his memory. Reproduction- the action that the individual produces that is a replica of what was noticed. Motivation your motivation depends on whether you encounter the situation in which you believe that the response is likely to pay off for you (Weiten, 2013, p. 252). My eldest brother (fifteen years old) use to skip school and smoke cigarettes. Whilst my younger brother who was (twelve years old) at the time observed what he was doing. When my younger brother turned (fourteen) he stated smoking cigarettes too. Thereafter he started modelling my eldest brother’s behavior and he too started skipping school. Now both of them are addicted to smoking. I often hear both my brother’s saying that smoking is not good, yet they keep smoking. And when their friends come over, they smoke even worst. I cannot fully understand the need for their smoking. However I do know that it is not good for their health, it clogs their lungs and some people also dies of lung cancer, besides I hate the bad odor in there breathe. My eldest brother was a good athlete at college but these days he complains that he cannot run like he used to, because he suffers of short breath and he coughs a lot to. I constantly tell him to quit smoking and he would stop for a day or two, and he would become very frustrated and annoying to be around. Eventually I would say to him â€Å"you know, you should rather smoke because you are so annoying, your attitude really stinks† And he would say you know I cannot function without cigarettes it feels like my nerves are finished, I cannot even concentrate, I am trying to leave this addiction but it is not easy. Behavior Modification Is a therapeutic technique created by Skinner, a psychologist who is the â€Å"Father of Behaviorism.† Skinner established a theory of operant conditioning, whereby he states that all behavior is ruled by reinforcing and punishing stimuli. Behavior modification practices a planned approach that rewards wanted behavior and â€Å"punishes† unwanted behavior. This technique is used in therapy and is used in psychological settings. Behavior modification is now known as Applied behavior analysis (ABA) which is more logical (Kransner, 1970, cited in Ryckman, 2013, p. 375). How Behavior Modification is applied: Psychologists use behavior modification to treat disorders such as attention deficit disorder, autism etc. The basics of behavior modification are used to increase the desired behaviors in any specific person, regardless of functional level (Tanaka- Matsumi et al., 2002 cited in Corey2014, p. 254). For example, a person wants to quit smoking cigarettes; he may use behavioral methods to help attain those goals. Another example is, an individual who sees a shark and swims for his life, and he is not swimming fast because he is â€Å"scared.† Instead, he is swimming fast because he saw what happened to other’s who did not swim and who was eaten by the shark. The impulse to swim fast is a result of those that swam and did not live. In addition, the particular feeling of being â€Å"scared† is measured as a flight reflex, not a feeling. The heart races and adrenaline rises as the nervous system responds to the situation at hand. Hence, anything a person does can be directed to behavior modification. Reinforcement and Punishment The idea of reinforcement and punishment is often used in different ways, in behavior modification than in everyday linguistic. Whatever increases a behavior is a reflected reinforcement and whatever decreases the behavior is punishment. The complex part is that both reinforcement and punishment can have either a positive or negative outcome. Positive refers to whatever is added to the situation and negative is whatever is taken away from the situation (Watson Tharp, 1997, cited in Weiten, 2014, p. 260). Positive Reinforcement: When I was in school my mom would give me a huge hug and when I got really good marks she would reward me with presents for passing. Negative Reinforcement: My brother often did not do well at school, and he did not get any praises from my parents, instead my parents were disappointment and would often ground him. This is a negative reinforcement, because although he was not an academic student I feel my parents would still praise him and motivated him in whatever field he is good at. Punishment: Often my brother had to do the gardening for the duration of the school term in order for his grades to go up. This was dad’s way of punishing him positively. Mom use to take away his play station and his bicycle until his grades picked up. This was mom’s way of punishing him negatively (Weiten, 2014, p. 260). Behavior Modification in Everyday Life: According to Lazaras (1989) behavior modification may seem complicated, but in fact it is actually quite simple. If an individual is reinforced every single time he or she does something good, sooner or later the reinforcement will lose its power. When using this technique with general people, one should reinforce the desired outcome, with a consistency. Then as they start to respond, change your schedule of reinforcement to every third time, and they will do what you want. After a while, change it again to every fifth time until they do it automatically (Lazaras 1989 cited in Corey, 2014). Mom wanted dad to open the car door for her. When they went out shopping she carried all the bags and when she got to the car, dad noticed that her hands were filled and he opened the door for her. Once he opened the door, she looked at him in the eye and told him what an amazing person he is. After several times of her encouraging him to open the door, eventually he started opening the car door for her regularly. And once she noticed that he was opening the door for her she did not compliment him every time. However once in a while she would complement him. Conclusion Both cognitive processes and behavior modification has been used with good outcomes to help people with a wide variety of problems. These approaches makes use of tangible, involvements, because of the way problems are recognized .The major methods are logical and straightforward. References Corey, G. (2014). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (SA ed.). USA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning, Inc. Ryckman,R. M. (2013). Theories of Personality (10th, ed.). USA: International Edition, Cengage Learning. Corey, G. (1986).Theory and practice of group counselling and psychotherapy(3rd ed.). Monterey, CA Brooks/Cole. Weiten, W. (2014). Psychology Themes and Variations (SA. Ed.). Las Vegas, USA: Cengage Learning.

What is Sleep and the Effects of Sleep Deprivation Essays -- Biology E

What is Sleep and the Effects of Sleep Deprivation Sleep is one of the things that most students can say they do not get enough of. It is a time for us to rest and for a few blissful hours hopefully forget about the stress and worries of school and life. Unfortunately, due to too much work or too much studying to do, often enough, we do not get the amount we need each night to be fully rested the next day. But we have learned to cope with the sleep deprivation by drinking coffee in the morning to wake us up. Even though we are awake, how well can we function throughout the day when we have only had less than five hours of sleep? How much does our behavior change without enough sleep? Before we get to what the effects of sleep deprivation are, let us first look at what sleep is. Sleep is controlled by neurotransmitters, which act on different neurons in the brain. Some of these neurotransmitters produced, such as serotonin and norephinephrine keep the brain active while we are awake. Researchers think that adenosine builds up in our blood while we are awake and the gradual breakdown of it causes drowsiness. There are five stages of sleep: stage 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM or rapid eye movement sleep. During stage 1-4 of sleep, our brain waves become slower and slower until we switch to REM sleep. At that point, our breathing is more rapid and irregular and our eyes move rapidly under our eyelids. (1). Circadian sleep rhythm is the internal body clock that is controlled by the hypothalamus. Every twenty-four to twenty-five hours, the cycle repeats itself, which can be effected by light exposure. It is thought that light will reset the clock of your body. The low-point of the rhythm is in the morning, which is thought to help you stay... ...ent because without it, how can you study, do well on an exam or participate in discussions? The only effect of sleep deprivation that you can slightly counteract is drowsiness, which can be reduced by drinking coffee or anything that may have caffeine. Napping in the afternoon can help reduce some of the effects, but it is better to keep those naps short or else, you may end up more tired and groggy than before. So, without enough sleep our behavior will change making us worse students. Therefore, we can conclude that we all need more sleep! WWW Sources 1)http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/pubs/understanding_sleep_brain_basic_.htm, 2)http://www.emedicine.com/neuro/topic444.htm, 3)http://www.nature.com/cgi taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v403/n6770/full/403655a0_fs.html, 4)http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/hu/groups/sleep/wellcome.htm,

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Essay example -- Biographies Presidents Papers

John Fitzgerald Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy 35th president of the United States, the youngest person ever to be elected president. He was also the first Roman Catholic president and the first president to be born in the 20th century. Kennedy was assassinated before he completed his third year as president. Therefore his achievements were limited. Nevertheless, his influence was worldwide, and his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis may have prevented war. Young people especially liked him. No other president was so popular. He brought to the presidency an awareness of the cultural and historical traditions of the United States. Because Kennedy expressed the values of 20th-century America, his presidency was important beyond its political achievements. John Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second of nine children. Kennedy announced his candidacy early in 1960. By the time the Democratic National Convention opened in July, he had won seven primary victories. His most important had been in West Virginia, where he proved that a Roman Catholic could win in a predominantly Protestant state. When the convention opened, it appeared that Kennedy’s only serious challenge for the nomination would come from the Senate majority leader, Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. However, Johnson was strong only among Southern delegates. Kennedy won the nomination on the first ballot and then persuaded Johnson to become his running mate. Two weeks later the Republicans nominated Vice President Richard Nixon for president and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., who was ambassador to the United Nations and whom Kennedy had defeated for the Senate in 1952, for vice president. In the fast-paced campaign th... ...approached an underpass, two shots were fired in rapid succession. One bullet passed through the president’s neck and struck Governor Connally in the back. The other bullet struck the president in the head. Kennedy fell forward, and his car sped to Parkland Hospital. At 1:00 PM, he was pronounced dead. He had never regained consciousness. Less than two hours after the shooting, aboard the presidential plane at the Dallas airport, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States. That afternoon, Lee Harvey Oswald, who was employed in the warehouse, was arrested in a Dallas movie theater and charged with the murder. On November 24 the body of President Kennedy was carried on a horse-drawn carriage from the White House to the Rotunda of the Capitol. Hundreds of thousands of people filed past the coffin of the slain president.