Operations Management in Daimond Manufacturing Essay

Definition Operation Management is the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver goods and services (Slack et al, 2010). These activities commences from the very initial production stage of information gathering right up to the final stage of consumer consumption of the product. Every organization does operation management even if they do not notice it. All organizations produce goods and/or services and to create goods and/or services, the organization must perform a number of operations which must be effectively and efficiently managed. 1. 2 Role of Operations Management Operations Management is of prime importance in all sectors, cells, functions, units and groups within the organization. An organization is a system and according to the business dictionary, (http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/system. html) a system is ‘An organized, purposeful structure that consists of interrelated and interdependent elements (components, entities, factors, members, parts etc. ). These elements continually influence one another (directly or indirectly) to maintain their activity and the existence of the system, in order to achieve the goal of the system’. Read more: http://www. usinessdictionary. com/definition/system. html#ixzz2QSyXAP1f . All employees are part of this system and have a common interest in making the consumer to receive goods and/or services in the best way possible. So I will say every manager in every part of the organization is to some extent an operational manager. According to James (2011), the role of operations manag ement is to manage the transformation of an organization’s inputs into finished goods and services using processes. Processes are actually present in all areas of the organization from Human Resource to Finance to Marketing to Procurement etc. 1. The ‘Input – Transformation – Output’ process Resources can either be transforming resources or transformed resources. After the transformation process is complete, transforming resources give rise to transformed resources. According to James (2011), there are 2 main types of transforming resources: * Facility which comprises of land, building, plant and equipment. * Staff which comprises of everyone involved in the operation process. There are 3 main types of transformed resources: * Material. Transformation can be physical (manufacturing), by location (transportation), by storage (warehousing), or by ownership (retail). Information. Transformation can be by property (accountant’s information), by p ossession (market research), by storage (libraries) or by location (telecommunication). * Customer. Transformation can either be physical (plastic surgery), by storage (hotel accommodation), by location (airline transport), by physiological state (hospital), or by psychological state (entertainment). Input Output Input that will be transformed * Material * Information * Customer Input that will transform * People * Facility * Goods * Services Transformation Input Output Input that will be transformed * Material * Information * Customer Input that will transform * People * Facility * Goods * Services Transformation Figure 1: The ‘Input-Transformation-Output’ process 2 Operations Strategy 2. 1 Definition Strategy is defined by Johnson et al, (2008) as ‘the direction and scope of an organization over the long term: ideally, which matches its resources to its changing environment and in particular its markets, customers or clients so as to meet stakeholder expectations. ’ 3. 2 Levels of Strategy Strategy can be viewed from 3 levels which are: The Corporate level: This level looks at the long term position of the company. It answers questions like ‘where will the organization be in 10 years? Or are we going to launch a new product in a new market? ’ The Business level: This level looks at the market and is concerned with the goods and services which the organization has to offer. It answers questions like ‘how do we compete? ’ The Functional level: This level deals with the functional aspect of the organization like finance, marketing, human resource etc. It answers questions like ‘how do we manage our financial resources’. . 3 Operations Strategy Operations strategy is the total pattern of decisions which shape the long-term capabilities of any operation and their contribution to overall strategy, through the reconciliation of market requirements with operations resources (Slack and Lewis, 2011). A 5 step structure has been designed by Hill (2005) so as to design and understand a goo d operation strategy. The steps are as follows: 1. Define Corporate Objectives Here, long term objectives are set-up so as to give the company balance and a good direction. At this stage, Sparkle does environmental scanning and the company also looks at its core competences, core processes and its global objectives. Performance Indicators (KPIs) are also established here so as monitor the accomplishment of these objectives. Top management uses a number of models which includes PESTEL, SWOT and Porter’s 5 forces. See appendix A. 2. Set Marketing Strategies Here Sparkle identifies the market it wants to compete in and then it looks on how to compete in these markets. Ansoff’s matrix is used. | New Product| Existing Product| NewMarket| Diversification| Market Development| Existing Market| Product Development| Market Penetration/ Market Growth| Figure 5: Ansoff Matrix. Source: Kaplan Financial Ltd, 2008. Sparkle uses the market penetration/market growth pathway for now. With time, they will start manufacturing out of the UK thus implementing the market development strategy. It is yet not known if they are thinking of one day starting up the production of a new product. 3. How do we gain competitive advantage? At this stage of Hill’s structure, the organization is to find ways to make its product win other products in the market. For this to happen, the organization must have a base to make its competition and this base is usually one or more of the following performance objectives: speed, quality, cost, dependability and flexibility. See chapter 3. Sparkle uses the above performance objectives to gain competitive advantage but it must be noted that, competitive advantage must: * Be real * Add value (to the consumer) and * Be difficult to imitate. 4. Choose a delivery system Here, the organization has to choose an appropriate delivery system so as to meet up with speed and maybe dependability. In Sparkle, most orders are icked up by the customer but if not, Sparkle uses their vans which have a high level of security for close distances or they post the jewelry for faraway distances. 5. Choose your Infrastructure The company at this phase has to choose all necessary infrastructures that it has to obtain so as to gain an edge over its competitors in the market. Different organizations in different industries wi ll need different types of infrastructures. But in the diamond manufacture industry, the infrastructures are almost the same and can hardly give competitive advantage. 3 Performance Objectives In the present congested and very competitive business environment, companies must do something extra so as to stand out of the crowd. For them to do this, they must react to what customers value and these fall into the following category. They are called performance objectives. 1. Cost 2. Quality 3. Dependability 4. Reliability 5. Speed Sparkle is aware of the tight competition in the diamond market and it takes its performance objectives very seriously so as to gain competitive advantage. Before achieving the above performance objectives, they must achieve the 4 Cs (see appendix B). * Cost. The principle of cost is doing things cheaply. Sparkle changes its processes, its materials and its suppliers every now and then so as to operate on a lower cost scale. They buy rough diamonds directly from the companies who buy them from the mine and sometimes the make orders directly from the mine so as to reduce cost because the more intermediaries there are, the higher the final price. They sometimes buy more rough diamonds than what the actually need so as to gain discount for bulk buying. They automate most of their processes to reduce the number of hours worked by human beings thus reducing total wages. Quality. This involves producing durable high standard error-free goods that consumers perceived to the good. In the fashion business, quality is king because consumers are becoming more conscious of what they wear. One can say that everything in the diamond industry is of good quality so in this kind of high standard industry, quality is not the issue but superb quality. Spark le buys the best of the rough stones which are hand-picked one after the other so that their final product will be of the best quality and they will have very little waste during production. * Dependability. This is doing everything on time so as to keep commitments and promises made to customers. Sparkle has a track record and reputation of never keeping its customers waiting. Customers’ diamonds are always fully processed before the pick-up date. Customers love coming to this organization because they know they can rely on them when it comes to delivery. There was a scandal in March 2008 in Real Diamonds where a couple arrange for their wedding rings costing thousands of pounds to be manufactured but the company was unable to meet up with the due date so the couple had to use different rings for the wedding. Flexibility. This is being able to change what you produce or how you produce it. Sparkle is very flexible in regards to their products because they produce apparently anything requested by the customer. We pride ourselves on being different, you won’t find our jewelry just anywhere, we appreciate that you want something special to you (Source: sparlediamonds. com/abo ut). They manufacture dressing rings, marriage rings, engagement rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, bangles and designers jewelry out of diamond. Over the years, they have come up with different diamond designs thought by others as impossible and have now gained a name as being the company that uses diamond to manufacture anything and everything. On the other hand, their production process is flexible too but not very flexible. They change little bits of their production process all the time to cut down cost and to increase the quality of the diamonds but this change is never a big change (process improvement). Figure 5: Different items made out of diamond. Source: * Speed. This can be described as how responsive an organization is to the customers’ demands and complain. It is a measure of the time between a customer’s order or complain to the time when that customer’s order or complain is sorted out fully. Sparkle is very fast in dealing with complains. Any customer who comes to the company with a complaint is not allowed to leave when the matter concerned has not been resolved. Complains made online take a maximum of 2 working days to be dealt with and those by post takes a little more time. Figure 5: Different colors of diamond. Source: 4 Product Design . 1 Definition Product/service design is the process of defining the specification of products and/or services in order for them to fulfill a specific market need (Slack et al, 2009). According to Russell and Taylor (2009), new product designs can provide a competitive edge by bringing new ideas to the market quickly, doing a better job of satisfying customers’ needs, or be ing easier to manufacture, use and repair. Product design is of great importance in any organization because consumers are becoming more and more conscious of the products they consume and their contents. Almost everybody in the organization is involved in product design because bringing in a new product design is not just about the market requirement but it is also about anticipating future demand and this needs imagination and creativity. In coming out with a good product design, market requirements, technical issues, cost, quality, investment information and the target market must be considered and dealt with appropriately. Diamond design ‘step by step’ Various steps are followed when coming out with a good diamond design. 1. Generating Ideas Ideas to bring up a new diamond designs can come from anywhere and comes from everywhere. Some organizations look only within the organization and come up with a diamond design but this approach is very dangerous because it can easily back fire leading to a poor design. Ideas in Sparkle usually come from: * The customers who will use the product. Most at times, the customer comes to the organization with a design in mind. The design team in the organization then sits with the customer and adds ideas to perfect the customer’s request. * The employees who serve the customers. These groups of persons know exactly what customers wants because they are the people who take customers specifications, demands and complaints. They play an important role in the creation of a new design. * Competitors and any new technology. Sparkle sometimes looks at the designs of its competitors like Avi Paz and tries to modify it so as to create something better than theirs. * Research and Development (R&D) Department. One of their major roles in the organization is to look for new possible designs which will entice customers. It is at this stage that the diamond color, size, weight, cut grade, clarity grade, carat weight, laser inscription and shape is decided. Figure 4: Computer simulated diamond designing in progress. Source: www. sparklediamonds. com 2. Product Screening According to Slack et al (2009), not all concepts and ideas generated will be capable of being developed into products and/or services. Each idea generated is taken and examined to see whether or not they are acceptable, feasible and vulnerable. Fig 5 illustrates. Figure 5| Some typical evaluation questions for marketing, operations and finance. | Evaluation Criteria| Marketing| Operations| Finance| Feasibility| Is the market likely to be big enough? | Do we have capabilities to produce it? Do we have access to sufficient finance to develop and launch it? | Acceptability| How much market share could it gain? | How much will we have to reorganize our activities to produce it? | How much financial return will there be on our investment? | Vulnerability| What is the risk of it failing in the market place? | What is the risk of us being able to produce it acceptable? | How much money could we lose if things do not go as planned? | Fi g 5: Slack et al (2009) Some typical evaluation questions for marketing, operations and finance [e-book] p. 89 3. Preliminary Design At this stage, the design is reviewed by the cutters and polishers to see if the can really produce the diamond and any unnecessary complexity in the diamond’s design is eliminated because such complexities can build cost. For example; there are some unnecessary and unnoticed cuts in a diamond’s design but these cuts could split the whole diamond if not done carefully. Because customers will not even notice the additional cuts and even if they do, they will not be willing to pay an addition for it so the cuts are eliminated. Figure 4: Different diamond designs (drawing). Source: Figure 4: Different diamond designs. Source: 4. Final Design After all the above has been done, a prototype is then created out of glass and tested to see if it meets market requirements, technical requirements and the financial limit. Tangible prototypes are created and virtual (computer simulations) model too to properly assess the diamond before production goes any further. Sometimes, customers are called in to see the prototype and give their feedback from which some adjustments may be made on the product’s design. An after acceptance, diamond cutting commences. Figure 5: Prototype diamond made out of fine glass. Source: 5 Process Design 5. 1 Definition Process design is Sequence of interdependent and linked procedures which, at every stage, consume one or more resources (employee time, energy, machines, money) to convert inputs (data, material, parts, etc. ) into outputs. These outputs then serve as inputs for the next stage until a known goal or end result is reached (www. businessdictionary. com). Read more: http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/process. tml#ixzz2QTQAtoBi When deciding a product design, it is advisable to simultaneously come up with a matching process design. This will entail the flow of the process and Barnes (2008) said that the design of processes is different in all organizations and these designs will be based on the volume and variety of the demand for the product in the market. He further categorized the processes under project, jobbing, batch, line and conti nuous. Types of Processes There are different production processes namely project, jobbing, batch, line and continuous. See Appendix C. Sparkle is in a business of very expensive products which are very small in size so they do jobbing. Customers usually give orders which are produced by the company (make to order). They usually hold little or no fully-processed inventory. The Production Process Diamond ore is sorted by density using X-rays. Before that technology became available, grease belts were used to separate diamonds from the rest of the ore, due to the diamonds’ greater tendency than other minerals to stick to grease. Rough diamonds are then set to be cut as gemstones in the cutting laboratory. A diamond has different cuts and different professional specialize on different cuts. This is the most daunting task of diamond production because a bad cut will cost the company a fortune. Figure 5: Diamond plan before cutting. Source Cutting produces the facets associated with a diamond. The angles of the facets maximize light, giving the diamond its greatest possible luster (dispersion of white light). The cutting process can take as much as 50% of a rough diamond’s weight. Figure 5: Illustration of diamond facets. Source: A number of factors come into play when deciding how a diamond should be cut. X-rays are employed to analyze the stone’s crystallographic structure, its hardness and ability to cleave. The diamond’s flaws are considered, and the cutter decides which to remove and which can remain. Either a hammer or a diamond saw can be used to split the diamond – the hammer is quicker, but the saw is surer. Figure 5: Diamond cutting. Source: A number of institutes in the diamond industry offer courses for diamond cutters, but the bulk and most crucial part of the training for this delicate trade take place during the cutter’s apprenticeship. A diamond may get its final cut from many skilled hands: the diamond marker or designer; the diamond sawyer; the diamond cutter or brute; the cross-worker; and the brillianteer. After the initial cutting, diamonds undergo the polishing stages, usually performed by a technician as the process is a standard one. Polished diamonds are reexamined for flaws, which can be addressed through enhancement techniques or disguised when set in jewelry. Figure 5: Diamond Polishing. Source: Finally, the polished diamonds are sold to individuals, retailers, wholesalers and jewelry shops. Figure 5: Diamond quality check. Source 6 Planning, Control ;amp; Innovation In any good type of project or manufacture to be successful, it must be planned at the very beginning and at the end, it has to be controlled to make sure that the planned processes and cost is not very different from the actual. Businesses must also continuously innovate so as to move line to line with the changing tastes of consumers and to beat numerous designs from competitors. 6. 1 Planning Eur says this about planning â€Å"It lists the phases and encapsulates all the main parameters, standards and requirements of the project in terms of time, cost and quality/performance by setting out the ‘Why’, ‘What’, ‘When’, ‘Who’, ‘Where’, and ‘How’, of the project. † Planning therefore looks at the entire process, product and project but in an imaginary form which has not yet happened but it is wished that it should happen that way. 6. 1. 1 Advantages of Planning 1. It gives direction of what has to be done and how it has to be done. 2. It assigns responsibilities on every person thus answering â€Å"Who does what? 3. A good plan will see problems a project, product or process will encounter before the problem strikes. 4. A plan helps us to manage cost, quality and design side by side with the profit we will want to make on the product. 5. Plans are used to assess how well a product, process, p roject or person has done. 6. 1. 2 Disadvantages of Planning 1. It is usually made up by top management and given to the employees down the management ladder who just follow it. 2. Plans are usually followed to the latter. Even when some changes have to done, it is not because a plan is being followed. 3. Plans are usually just estimates and it has no use in turbulent economic environments as the plan and the actual are usually very different. 6. 2 Control Control involves measuring the actual results against the plan and then taking action to adjust actual performance so that it moves in line with the plan. So in other words, control is only possible when we have a plan. Control has a feedback phase and this involves adjusting the actual to move in line with the plan or reporting differences between actual and budget so that there may be no such discrepancies in the future. 6. 3 Innovation Innovation is defined by the oxford dictionary as â€Å"changing something established by introducing new methods, ideas or products. † Just like there is no control where there is no plan, there is no innovation where there is no control. They all rely on one another. After control has been done, feedback is sent back and improvement or innovation is made. But in the complex business environment operating now, innovation just not just come from within the company but from outside the company like from competitors and especially from the consumers due to the rapid change in customers taste, design and fashion. In the diamond manufacture industry, there are many different innovative ways manufacturing diamonds and Sparkle has had the following innovations: 1. The Supercut design Sparkle has introduced the innovative supercut design into the industry: a patented ideal emerald cut, with more than twice the facets of a traditional Emerald – providing unparalleled brilliance and fire. The culmination of three years of research, the supercut gives extraordinary brilliance and reflection and this innovation gives Sparkle competitive advantage in terms of having good designs with extraordinary glittering. 2. Precision cutting Since 2010, Sparkle has brought in a technology of cutting the diamonds using computer software and this cut is so exact that less than 0. 000002% waste is created from diamond cutting. Waste use to be about 0. 5% during diamond cutting and this innovation has caused drastic cost saving making Sparkle to be more competitive in terms of cost. 3. Sparkle offers a wide range of jewelry manufacturing processes, including design, modeling, prototyping, grooving, setting, finishing and meticulous quality control; all featuring our own fine diamonds, and designed for clients’ to sell under their private labels. . 4 The ‘Planning – Control – Innovation’ Cycle. From the above notes, it can be seen that planning, control and innovation work together. Sparkle’s cycle looks like this. Plan Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Actual Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Control Looks at the difference between what was planned and what actually happened. External Information Customer specific design New tastes and fashion Design from competitors Market Research (R&D) Feedback and Innovation Plan Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Actual Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Control Looks at the difference between what was planned and what actually happened. External Information Customer specific design New tastes and fashion Design from competitors Market Research (R&D) Feedback and Innovation Figure 7. The ‘planning-control-innovation’ cycle. 6. Changes happening in the diamond industry. * Researchers are on the verge of bringing in new materials which reflect light better than diamond and these materials are stronger and more durable than diamond. But, they will be far cheaper than diamonds and this is going to be a big problem to diamond manufacturers as the demand for diamond will surely drop. An example is synthetic stones. * In response to growing concern over illic it trade in conflict or â€Å"blood† diamonds, the United Nations General Assembly established the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in 2003. This scheme is going to make sure of the source of every single diamond so as to ensure that they are from a genuine source. This happening will increase the price of diamond because more than 55% of diamonds are from Africa and the mines there are operated by very cheap labor and sometimes by slaves, women and children. The UN will come in and stop this practice thus increasing the cost of labor, working conditions and ultimately the price for diamonds. 7 Quality Management Quality is one of the performance objectives and it is taken very seriously by all organizations because if achieved, may give them competitive advantage. Some organizations rely on quality more than others and the fashion and health industry takes quality as primary considering the fact that people want to look good and in good health. Quality is a matter of perception so what can be called quality for A might not necessarily be called quality for B. According to Garvin (1984), the attributes in quality for a product are: * Performance * Features * Reliability * Conformance * Durability * Serviceability * Aesthetics * Other perceptions Parasuraman et al. (1985), on the other hand listed 5 attributes in defining what is quality of a service? nd they are: * Reliability – Are we always going to get on time delivery? * Responsiveness – Are the always going to respond quickly to our demands and complaints? * Assurance – Are we assured of their competence? * Empathy – Does the organization feel and understand customers’ needs and concerns? * Tangibles – Is the physical surrounding conducive? 7. 1 Qu ality in the Organization But in relation to Sparkle, the best definition of quality is that as per Slack et al. (2009) â€Å"quality is consistent conformance to customers’ expectation† and I will say and even surpassing those expectations. Sparkle uses total quality management as their quality management technique. They look for means and ways to maintain and continuously improve quality at each stage of the production process. All employees meet once a month to discuss on how to improve the organization’s present performance. Books by Deming, Crosby, Juran, Hill and other total quality management gurus are in the company’s library and research department for employees to read and be motivated to contribute into the organization’s performance. All employees are made to know that quality and customer’s requirements being met comes before any other thing. The organization has a suggestion box where employees can write any inspiring idea that comes in mind and this box is emptied every day and read by the research staff and it is summarized and sent to the manager examine. 7. 2 The Cost of Quality Quality has a cost which is like a double-edged sword meaning that good quality will have a cost and bad quality will also have a cost. 7. 2. 1 The Cost of Good Quality This is also known as the cost of quality assurance. Sparkle has a lot of this cost because they are continuously always trying to get better in quality all over the organization so as to better serve customers’ needs. The cost of quality assurance is further divided into prevention cost and appraisal cost. * Prevention cost is the cost of trying to make everything right on first attempt and some of this cost are: * Sparkle does not give a command for precious stones and wait for the stones to come. They go to the supplier’s premises and pick the stones one after the other and not in groups to ensure the best stones are taken. The supplier charges more for this. * The cost of designing the jewelry in a computer automated system and running several checks with other very expensive bespoke software before the design is confirmed. Sparkle trains its employees every 6 months and buys books to update them on new technologies and to keep their skills up and awake. * All employees are taught a wide variety of skills so that if a certain employee is not available to do a specific thing, there will always be another to do it. * Appraisal cost is concerned with controlling quality and this is achieved by testing the process before the product is manufactured and testing the product before it gets to the customer. Some of these costs are: * The cost incurred in testing all equipment, machines and ensuring staffs are fit and able before any diamond is processed. The cost of checking the diamond after manufacture by employees and with the use of a computer aided personalized software which is very expensive to make sure that the diamonds are flawless. * The time spent in testing the diamonds ensuring the pass all the set of test before and after manufacture. 7. 2. 2 The Cost of Bad Quality All organizations including Sparkle wants to evade this cost because it is very dangerous and it can even bring down the entire organization in a blink of an eye. The cost of bad quality is divied into internal failure cost and external failure cost. Internal failure cost is cost incurred before the product reaches the customer. Some of this cost are: * The cost of scrap. Diamonds are very expens ive so any little scrap of badly shaped diamond is worth a whole lot. So Sparkle makes sure the best quality diamond is procured and diamond cutting should be not less than perfect. * The cost of reshaping ill-shaped diamonds and gluing broken once. * The resources lost in repairing diamonds. Labor, machine time, and electricity are used which should have if the diamonds were made right the first time. External failure cost arises after the product has been received by the customer and some of this cost include: * The cost listening to customer complaints and responding to them. * The cost of replacing a defective diamond which a customer has rejected. This can cause the organization a fortune. * The customer might have to take the company to court and the organization will pay a huge sum if the lost the lawsuit. Some compensation may run to millions of pounds and could bring the organization to its end. * One of the most dangerous costs is that which we don’t see. An example is the lost sale and contribution. When a customer is dissatisfied, he will most at times not want to come back and he will discourage a potential customer who will discourage another customer to come to us. Saying all this, quality should be treated like an egg in the midst of rocks. 8 Supply Chain Management 8. 1 Definition Supply Chain is the management of the interconnection of organizations that relate to each other through upstream and downstream linkages between the processes that produce value to the ultimate consumer in the form of products and services (Slack et al. 2010). A supply chain is a holistic network starting from the sourcing of material, through its transportation to the organization’s premises, to manufacturing, to storage and warehousing and finally to consumers. So it is a whole system and it works as one therefore is one part of the chain is broken, the whole system will fall apart and consumers’ will not be satisfied. 8. 2 Sparkleâ⠂¬â„¢s Supple Chain Stage 1 Sparkle’s supply chain starts from the diamond mines in Africa which produce more than 50% of total diamonds to mines in India, Russia, Canada and Australia. The mines usually dug very deep but the deepest diamond mine runs for about 160km passing through sand, rocks, and gravel to be blasted drilled, crushed and processed. It should be noted that only 20% of diamonds from mines can be polised and used for jewelry; the rest is used for industrial use. The stones picked here are very rough still with no beauty (see figure 10). Stage 2 Companies and independent buyers go to these mines and buy the rough stones from the mine owners and take them to their premises for processing. These stones are then processed to make them a little bit more presentable so that diamond manufacturers can then buy them and further process them into diamonds. Diamonds at this stage looks like that in figure 11. Figure 8: Trapping stones to look for diamonds in an African mine. Source: Figure 9: A typical unprocessed diamond. Source: Figure 10: Unprocessed diamonds directly from the mine. Source Figure 11: Diamonds which have been slightly processed. Source: Stage 3 Sparkle buys the diamonds in fig. 11 and examines them with the use of a computer aided personalized software. After a series of checks, rejected diamonds will be sent back to the suppliers and the good ones will be cut into different shapes so as to give the greatest value. After cutting, the diamond goes through computer aided software to confirm its perfection and after this, it is polished and cleaned. Sparkle will also buy what the diamonds are going to be fitted on because people will scarcely buy a chunk of diamond. Diamonds are usually fitted on rings, pens, earrings, belts and many more (see figure 14). These things are usually bought from top manufacturers with good design and quality and they are usually very expensive. Figure12: Diamond cutting in Sparkle. Source: Figure 13: Diamond polishing in Sparkle Source: Stage 4 After polishing and the diamond have an unblemished shine, shape and color, it is then taken by the customers. Some of the customers ordered just a few and sometimes even just one special diamond while other big customers like jewelry shops order bigger quantities at ones. It is either Sparkle delivers the diamond to the place agreed by the customer or the customer comes to the organization’s site on an agreed date and after a phone call to pick up the diamond. The supply chain ends after the diamond has reached the customer. Figure 14: Finished diamond ready for the customer. Source: Figure 15: Diamonds bought by jewelry shops. Source: The Mine The Cutting Company Polishing Customers Jewelry Shops Manufacturing The Mine The Cutting Company Polishing Customers Jewelry Shops Manufacturing The supply chain of Sparkle is a good and effective. Its success can sometimes be attributed to the information technology they use. They use the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which brings in data from all sources and this is used to know when suppliers have diamonds and the variouse categories, to know when jewelry shops are running short of iamonds, and many more (all discussed in chapter 9). Figure 16: Sparkle’s Supply Chain 9 Information Systems As seen in chapter 1, â€Å"Operation Management is the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver goods and services† (Slack et al, 2010). For these activities to be properly managed, it needs the help of automated process and compu ter aided techniques. Information systems are found throughout an organization and if used well reduce costs and can be a source of gaining competitive advantage. 9. 1 Computer Aided Techniques Sparkle uses information systems in many ways in its business. Listed below are some specialized computer aided programs used. 1. They use Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) which gives an optimum layout of the cutting steps and their sequence (this is different for different diamonds). There are many diamond cutting machines and they all have different cutting styles and they are operated by specialist in the different cutting sectors. So the CAPP examines a diamond and gives different possible steps on which machine to use first and which not to use so as to minimize waste and give the diamond the best possible cuts so as reflect light in an optimal way. 2. They use Computer Aided Designs (CAD) to design the shape of diamonds on a computer and finished diamonds can actually be seen even before processing starts. If an error is made in the design, it can be corrected but this could have been impossible without CAD. 3. The also use Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) which takes the drawings and designs from the CAD and test them for perfection. Different test are administered and the flawlessness of a diamond can be confirmed even before manufacture. 4. Automated Material Handling (AMH) system is also used. Diamonds are very expensive and so care must be taken at each step. The AMH system improves efficiency in diamond movement, storage and retrieval. 5. The Laser Security System (LSS) is used where diamonds are kept be it rough stones, semi-processed diamonds and fully processed diamonds. Invisible laser rays crisscross the diamonds and it needs a password to be deactivated. Only top managers have the password and the password of each of them is different making it easy to know who accessed the diamond safe. If someone tries to pass through the laser rays, it can kill or paralyze them and the security alarm is automatically triggered and an automated call goes to the nearest police station. . Security Camera Systems (SCS) make use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) at all times to monitor the whole building especially where inventory is held. 7. The Inventory Control System (ICS) gives detail information about each diamond rough, semi-processed or fully processed held in inventory at any point in time. Management must no go into the safe to see what t hey have in stock because the ICS does it all. This system is also used online to make customers see the diamonds, its specification and all other relevant information. Figure 16: The CAD system used to design a blue diamond. Source: Figure 17: The virtual version of the diamond in fig 16. Source: 9. 2 Pros and Cons of Information Technology (IT) IT is a very necessary tool in any organization be it a big or a small one. IT has advantages and disadvantages. They are listed in Appendix D including ‘Why IT cannot replace Human Beings’. 9. 3 Information Systems ‘Information system can be defined as a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization’ (Laundon & Laundon, 2006). Most organizations use some form of computer-based technology to accumulate, organize and distribute information’ (Ted, 2011) and Sparkle is not an exception. They use a set of interrelated information systems. 9. 3. 1 Transaction Processing System (TPS) This system is used to account for day by day transactions of Sparkle. It records all sales, purchases, expenses, income, tax, bills paid, equipment bough t and all other transactions performed by organization. This system is also used to account for employee’s attendance, absences, pay, overtime, bonuses, remuneration, and all other things concerning the employees. . 3. 2 Supply Chain System (SCS) This system deals with customers and suppliers. It monitors the stock in the jewelry shops so as to know when to give the shops an offer. It monitors the stocks which are demanded more and those demanded less so as to know when to produce. It tracks frequent and valuable customers and grades them into groups so as know how to give discounts. This system also monitors the stock in the cutting companies. It looks at the new stocks and compares price side by side quality so as to know which supplier to order rough diamonds from. 9. 3. 3 Knowledge Management System (KMS) In Sparkle, all manufacturing processes are recorded and stored in the KMS. Any ideas gotten either by inspiration, customer’s requirement, employees’ suggestions or business intelligence are stored in the KMS for future use. Sparkle is said to be very innovative and has this edge over its rivals because of its mastery of the KMS. When a new employees is recruited, he has 2 weeks probation where he is taught how to operate in the organization and how processes function. Before the implementation and use of the KMS, probation was 3 months so this system has greatly reduces learning time. 9. 3. Management Information System (MIS) This system takes all the information from the above systems and summarizes them into financial statements and reports. It is used by management to make decisions on how to run and control the business. 9. 3. 5 Decision Support System (DSS) This system looks like an advance of the MIS. It takes data from all sources (internal and external) and su mmarizes them for top management to make decisions on the long term plans of the organization. Information from this system appears as statements, reports, charts, graphs, ratios, statistics and trend analysis. . 3. 6 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) This can be called the overall system. It takes information from all sources of the organization and brings them together in one large database. From there, required information is taken out and implemented or used to make decisions in Sparkle. It should be noted that all other systems deposit their information in ERP. Figure 18: Example of ERP. Source: LSBF MBA Intake 14, SOM Lecture 3, Session 9, Slide 34. 9. 6 Intranet and Extranet Sparkle uses intranets to deal with its employees and management. Staffs all have a particular passcode which the use and your code depends on your position within the company. Some passcodes can access some areas which other codes can’t. They also use extranets to communicate and share information with customers, suppliers, some competitors and the government. This system is more secured and less vulnerable to attacks as compared to the internet. 10 Job Design It is said that the blood stream of any organization is money and I will say the skeleton holding an organization and making it stand up straight is its workforce. An organization manages resources so as to be able to deliver acceptable goods and services to its customers and one of these resources is its workforce. An organization’s workforce is its most valuable and the most complicated of all its resources because unlike other resources, humans have a mind of their own. To be able to deal with human beings, you must know what they like and this is different for different people but these needs though different are similar. In providing this, it motivates the employees and when motivated, they produce better output eventually yielding higher profits, quality and flexibility. 0. 1 Motivation Motivation is the urge to take action to achieve something or to avoid something (BPP, 2010). Motivation can either be intrinsic (wanting to satisfy an internal urge like being happy to be able to help others) or extrinsic (reliant on tangible rewards like money, fame and power). Continues in Appendix E. 10. 2 Empowerment This is the act of delegati ng work to employees making them feel more superior because of the added responsibility and new accountability. This is good motivation for many employees. ‘Job design is about how people carry out their tasks within a process. It defines the way they go about their working lives. It positions the expectations of what is required of them, and it influences their perceptions of how they contribute to the organization. It also defines their activities in relation to their work colleagues and it channels the flows of communication between different parts of the operation. But, of most importance, it helps to develop the culture of the organization – its shared values, beliefs and assumptions’ (Slack, 2009). In designing any job, the following have to be put into consideration. * Safety. Jobs should be design in a way that it will bring no harm to the employee be it physical, psychological, mental or emotional harm. Workers in the mines especially those in Africa are exposed to a lot of risk and still earn less than the minimum wage. The mine owners wanting to make more profits cut down on cost by reducing expenditure on employees’ safety. The employees of Sparkle all have safety equipment like hats and new ideas are being implemented to make the process safer. The organization has also fully insured its entire staff. * Legal and Ethical Issues. Jobs should be design in such a manner that those doing the job will not go against the law or their code of ethics. * Own time. Job design should create time for the employees to catch up on something other than work. For example visiting new places, being with their families or performing other social activities. Employees working in the mines have little of this, but Sparkle’s employees all have right to a paid holiday and taking permission to be out of work if the need arises. * Employee’s Ability. An employee’s ability to do the job or a range of task should be considered before designing the job. For example; only heavy built men carry cargo from the trucks into the warehouse because of their physical ability to carry heavy weight unlike their colleagues. * Wage and Benefits: In designing any job, the wage and benefits to be paid for the job should be considered if not the employee can be over-paid or under-paid for the job. 10. 3 Division of Labor Unlike traditional production approaches that stipulated that one person should know everything in the company so that he can serve any function, Henry Ford came in with the idea that one man should only know one thing and should be an expert in that thing. He suggested that with specializing in a particular function, the whole organization will be specialized and will give the best quality goods and services. So jobs should be broken down into smaller portions and given to different individuals who will specialize and bring forth quality cost-effective products. 10. 3. 1 Advantages of Division of Labor (Slack, 2009) * It is easier to learn. Short and simple tasks are easier to learn compared with long and complex tasks. This will be very advantageous when training new recruits because training will take a shorter time and it will be better mastered. Automating. Short and simple task are easily automated as compared to long and complex task. * Time. More time is spent on one long task compare to time if that task was broken down. This extra time is as a result of picking different tools up and putting them down, looking for equipment, thinking of what to do next etc. 10. 3. 2 Disadvantages of Division of Labor (Slack, 2009) * Monotony. The same small task will be repeated every hour, week, month and year. This will make the job boring and less fulfilling thus resulting to absenteeism, staff turnover and errors. Over-reliance. If one employee is absent, no other will be able to perform his duty and this may bring the whole production process to a halt. * No flexibility. Employees let to do one particular thing over the years turn to lose the skill of being able to learn another thing. So if the production process was to change, many employees will not be able to cope with learning how to perform a new task. * Physical Injury. The repetitive use of one part of your body let’s say arm or wrist will in the long run cause pain to that part. This is known as Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). Sparkle teaches their employees a wide range of task during their probation but the employees are assigned to do just one thing when they fully start work. Teaching them a wide range of task is to expose them to the processes of the whole organization so that they can contribute ideas in the development of a department or process which does not involve them. Another reason for giving employees holistic training is to make an employee being able to do an absent employee’s work. This tactic was also implemented because the organization did not want an employee to feel indispensable. 0. 4 Job Design Approaches In coming out with a good job designing, the following approaches should be implemented:- 1. Job Simplification: The organization tries to the range of task and their complexities. Polishing diamond use to be a very complex task at Sparkle but with the introduction of DiamondShines TM a specialized software where diamond polishing is programmed with exact details. 2. Job Ro tation: This is periodically interchanging employees performing different task to do the task of the other. Sparkle does a lot of job rotation and this makes the employees’ job more exciting. Job rotation is successful in this organization because they train their employees to perform a number of task but if division of labor was strictly implemented, this approach could have been impossible because employee A will not have a clue of employees B’s task. 3. Job Enlargement: This involves integrating same level tasks to the ones already performed by the employees to make the job more exciting. This is not practiced in Sparkle. 4. Job Enrichment: This involves integrating different level tasks to the ones performed by the employees. The new tasks are usually higher level tasks giving employees more responsibility and decision making power. Sparkle once a week picks an employee randomly and gives him the power of a supervisory manager so as to see the changes and innovations he is going to bring to the organization. Sparkle also makes employees work in small teams and the organization creates a competitive strain amongst the teams. The competition amongst the teams brings a lot of hard work, efficiency and effectiveness.

Humorist Essay

Humor is all about a person making an amusing observation that in result creates laughter and provides entertainment for the audience. In the book titled Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton, the author makes a statement that the role of humor in society is to allow people to say things that other people cannot or will not say because of their role in the community.I agree with de Botton’s statement because humor secretly allows people to get a message across without having to worry about others looking down upon you because of what you said, as well as providing people with more awareness of the wrongdoing in society by making them easier to understand through the use of humor. In basic comedy, humor is effectively used to bring forth a message that is possibly serious or controversial by making it amusing and easier to understand.De Botton clearly makes a stand that humorists are not only here to amuse and amaze, but are here â€Å"to convey with impunity messages that might b e dangerous or impossible to state directly†. In this quotation, de Botton states that comedy can and is frequently used as a secret method to give thoughts and observations that may be thought of as insulting if brought up in a serious manner. Steven Colbert for example, uses humor to make serious comments about our country. He states his opinions about the government and major news stories however does so with comedy to back him up.When talking about the war in Syria, Colbert said that â€Å"Only 29% of Americans want the U. S. to attack Syria — which on the plus side means that 29% of Americans know there is a place called Syria†. Colbert uses humor to convey a message about how ill-informed people in our country are. He says this with a tone that also implies that the vast majority of people who are â€Å"ill-informed† simply don’t care at all. The basic component of what makes humor and comedy an essential factor in a society is that although t he presentation is not necessarily taken seriously, the message and ideas behind the material are always easy to recognize.In regards to humor, humorists don’t have to worry about being polite or caring for their audience. They are allowed and accepted as being funny for having quality material that contains offensive and explicit language. Their notable reputation for being indiscreet to its own audience is what makes humor an effective tool in society. For one, humorists have the ability and responsibility of making its audience laugh. But it also has the capability to allow the audience to relate the humorist's material to their own thoughts, thus allowing them to openly express themselves through laughter and enjoyment.It also has the potential to inspire people to think in a different sense. Through comedy, a humorist can quickly change one's views or opinions of a certain subject or argument by making that argument more entertaining and funny. By making an underlying me ssage laughable, it makes it easier for the audience to understand what the message of the material is actually conveying. De Botton's opinion of the vitality of humor in a society is true in that it is necessary, because it helps not only fulfill people's entertainment and expressive needs, but it also serves a purpose as an instrument of spreading a message to its audience.

Bikers, Emo, Graffiti

Very often young people refuse to recognize the official culture. Instead, they become the supporters of the so called youth subculture. A youth subculture is a youth-based subculture with distinct styles, behaviors, and interests. Youth subcultures offer participants an identity outside of that ascribed by social institutions such as family, work, home and school. It is generally known that subculture is the culture of people, who are dissatisfied with their place in society. One of the first forms of protesting against the society of grown-ups was the HIPPIE movement.The hippie subculture was originally youth movement that began In the united states during the early asses and spread around the world. These people inherited the counterculture values of the Beat Generation, created their own communities, listened to psychedelic rock, embraced the sexual revolution, and used drugs such as marijuana and LSI to explore alternative states of consciousness. Hippies led a primitive life and the slogans of were Life is love and Children are the flower of life. Their idol was J.Tolkien, whose epic trilogy. The Lord of the Rings became the guidelines for Hippies. Hippies were not aggressive and wanted freedom. Hippie fashions and values had a major effect on culture, influencing popular music, television, film, literature, and the arts. One of the first forms of protesting against the society of grown-ups was the Hippies movement. The young Americans, protesting against the war In Vietnam, organized their communes. Another famous forms of subcultures are Bodybuilding, Memo, straight edger, Graffiti. Hip hopper.One of the newest subcultures is STRAIGHTEDGES. Roll;anally being a Straight edge meant that you didnt drink, smoke or take drugs. These days straight edger also participate in animal rights retests, follow a vegetarian diet and are involved In environmental and political issues and protest. Music also plays an important role. Straight edge bands originally grew out of the punk rock movement In the asses. Over the years straight edge popularity has increased, but attention has also been focused on the narrow- mindedness of some straight edger.Straight edge kids make a statement with their fashion as well as with their philosophy. A tidy appearance is popular, with baggy trousers and T-shirts. Tattoos are a popular statement of straight edge membership, s are pierced ear lobes with large holes. Bags taken from students at a high school In Utah contained chains and heavy chain necklaces. Perhaps it is the lack of any 1 OFF philosophy. Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy; an individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of Judges, who assign points based on their appearance. The muscles are revealed through a combination of fat loss, oils, and tanning (or tanning lotions) Inch combined with lighting make the definition of the muscle group more distinct. Rhea most well-known for being a bodybuilder is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Memo is a style of rock music typically characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional lyrics. Today memo is commonly tied to both music and fashion as Nell as the memo subculture.Usually among teens, the term memo is stereotyped with Nearing skinny Jeans, sometimes in bright colors, and tight t-shirts (usually short- sleeved) which often bear the names of memo bands. Bright colors, such as blue, pink, De, or bleached blond, are also typical as highlights in memo hairstyles. Memo has been associated with a stereotype that includes being particularly emotional, sensitive, shy, Introverted, or angst-ridden. It has also been associated with depression, self-injury, and suicide. The Goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries.It began in the United Kingdom during the early asses in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The Goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify. The Goth picture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics, and fashion. Gothic music encompasses a number of different styles. Styles of dress within the subculture range from death rock, punk, androgynous, Victorian, some Renaissance and Medieval style attire, or combinations of the above, most often with black attire, makeup and hair.Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. In modern times, spray paint, normal paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. Sometimes graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages. To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions; to others it is merely vandalism.Hip hop as a cultural movement manifest in B-boning :breakfasting), graffiti writing, Digging and emceeing is an artistic commitment to seize freedom from oppressive social conditions. This artistic commitment inherent in hip hop culture expresses a reality of human transcendence which was originally born UT of the creative impulse and cultural improvisation of the oppressed African American, Afro-Caribbean and Latino American communities of New York City(with the South Bronx as the center) in the late asses.It was DC Africa Bumboat that outlined the five pillars of hip-hop culture: Mincing, Digging, breaking, graffiti writing, and knowledge. Other elements include beat boxing, hip hop fashion, and slang. Since first emerging in the Bronx, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has spread around the Nor. Sometimes the representatives of other different youth subcultures take their beliefs to different extremes. Such groups as Skinheads or Heavy Mentalists are intolerant to the other people.Heavy bots, short hair-does braces frighten for many [ears the representatives of the decent society. Metadata (or headband) is a Interchangeably with the term hasher. However, the metal culture expands across the globe and is not limited to this. Metatheses affirm their membership in the subculture or scene by attending metal concerts, buying albums, and most recently, by contributing to metal websites and by growing their hair. The long hair, leather jackets and band patches of heavy metal fashion help to encourage a sense of Identification within the subculture.Like the music at its cultural core, these fashions have changed over the decades, from tight blue Jeans, motorcycle boots and black t- shirts in the late asses and early asses to black Jeans and army fatigue pants, military-style coats, and shaven or short-clipped hairstyles in the asses and asses. Rhea punk subculture is a subculture based around punk rock. It includes music, ideologies, fashion, visual art, dance, literature and film. The punk subculture is centered around listening to recordings or live concerts of a loud, aggressive genre of sock music called punk rock, usually shortened to punk.Although punks are frequently categorized as having left-wing or progressive views, punk politics cover the entire political spectrum. Punk-related ideologies are mostly concerned with individual freedom and anti-establishment views. A Nazi punk is a neo-Nazi who is part of the punk subculture. Nazi punks often wear clothing and hairstyles typically associated with the majority of the punk subculture, such as: liberty spike or Mohawk hairstyles, leather Jackets, boots, chains, and metal studs or spikes.However, Nazi inks are different from early punks, such as Side Vicious and Sioux Sioux, who are thought to have incorporated Nazi imagery such as Swastikas for shock or comedy alee. A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class {Touts in the United Kingdom in the asses, and then spread to oth er parts of the Nor. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian (specifically Jamaican) rude boys and British moods, in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle.Originally, the skinhead subculture was armorial based on those elements, not politics or race. In addition to short hair, skinheads are identified by their specific clothing styles. Its necessary to say, that all the subcultures are not so frightening, as it may seem. It is interesting to note, that every subculture follow a cycle. At first it magnetized youth. Many adopt it for fun. Then, it stops to express serious idea. In the end, it becomes a colorful part of urban culture. Dear parents , dont worry! Your dear Kids will grow -up soon and hell forget about his games/ Im sure Hell become a normal member of the society!

Research Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research Ethics - Essay Example The paper tells that another characteristic of qualitative research manifested in this scenario is the involvement of the researcher in the subject matter as it is evident in the involvement of Alisha Shah in the research by observing gamblers gamble. Subjective interpretation of results is another characteristic of qualitative research that manifests itself in this research scenario. From the first instance of observing the gamblers, she objectively analyzes the data and comes to the conclusion that gambling is a due to social factors as opposed to the need for more money. Objective analysis and interpretation of data is one of the requirements for a good research report and is encouraged as one of the important practices in research ethics. Further, qualitative research is richer in terms of results and takes more time to come up with tangible results. This is evident in the analysis of the fractured communities in order to conclude that one of the driving forces of the gambling addiction is socially related. The characteristic of the detailed description of scenarios in qualitative research is also manifested in the use of open questions in the research tool. This is so because detailed description cannot be gotten from closed questions mostly associated with quantitative research. The decisions to allow the participants fill the questionnaires and mail them back confirms this aspect since in this case, it means the participants may give more details which can only be gotten if he/she is given the necessary time to answer and mail back.

Relationship between Sound and Space in I am Seating in a Room by Essay

Relationship between Sound and Space in I am Seating in a Room by Alvin Lucier - Essay Example Instead, the artists who firmly occupy one discipline – composers who compose music, artists who create visual art, and architects who fashion functional space – find themselves more readily embraced by critics and audiences. Artists whose work combines all of these disciplines however often encounter a chilly, if not confused, critical and audience response. Susan Philipsz, who won the Turner Prize in 2010, has been called the â€Å"first artist working with sound to have won the prize,† and some sound artists view this development as a positive harbinger for the discipline as a whole (Searle n.p.) Searle describes Philipsz as â€Å"just a singer, with the sort of voice you might feel lucky to come across at a folk club. But there is much more to Philipsz than a good voice. All singers, of course, are aware of the space their voice occupies, of the difference between one hall and another...But the way Philipsz sites recordings of her voice is as much to do with place as with sound† (Searle n.p.). True, Philipsz’s use of sound is extraordinary. However, Philipsz is still â€Å"singing† in the traditional sense of the word. ... Sound artists define the term polymath; they straddle multiple disciplines, including art, music, performance art, and architecture, and become masters in each. However, the critical community has not caught up to the speed at which these artists process the physical world. Aside from the occasional Burning Man performance, for the most part sound artists remain in obscurity. This reality exists because sound art by nature occupies a fractious, shadowy space between two critical perspectives that harbor two powerful biases: the visual bias of the so-called â€Å"visual† art school of criticism, and the â€Å"music† bias of the music school of criticism. Both biases persist and effectively hamstring critics to discuss one or the other, but never both. Is it art, or is it music? Is it sound, or is it art? As Cox argues, â€Å"the broader field of sound art has been ignored by musicologists, art historians, and aesthetic theorists. The open-ended sonic forms and often sit e-specific location of sound installations thwart artists musicological analysis, which remains oriented to the formal examination of discrete sound structures and performances, while the purely visual purview of art history allows its practitioners not only to disregard sound art but also to gloss over the sonic strategies of Postminimalism and Conceptualism† (Cox 146). Never mind that music itself is a form of sound – in fact, all noise that the human ear processes can be conceived of as such – yet the polarizing critical perspectives persist, to the detriment of scholars and audiences alike. As Cox explains, â€Å"sound art remains so profoundly undertheorized, and†¦has failed to generate a rich and compelling critical literature†¦because the prevailing theoretical models are inadequate to it.

Is it sometimes necessary to sacrafice a few freedoms to protect Essay

Is it sometimes necessary to sacrafice a few freedoms to protect national security and to ensure the long-term viability of civil liberty - Essay Example Internal security involves protecting the United States citizens against internal threats like organized crimes. This involves with issues which are domestic (Watson, 2008). Civil liberty is the right for the United State citizens to enjoy their rights. These rights include the right for privacy, right to speech, protection and to be treated fairly. It is the right of every citizen in the United States to enjoy their civil liberty. This paper looks at the issue of sacrificing a few freedoms to protect national security, both the internal and external security and to ensure the long term viability of civil rights. It looks at which freedom can be sacrificed and to what extent the government should affect civil rights. It also looks at the importance of making these sacrifices. The paper also looks at instances where the civil rights are violated so to emphasis on the importance of the government to ensure that it does not cross the limit. These instances include unlawful detentions and torture. National security consist of a number of elements, it consist of the social and political stability which ensures that there harmony in a state. It also consist of territorial security of a state where in protects its borders against external invasion. This also consists of economic freedom where there is a free market for investors to operate in freely. Finally, this should consist of peace with externals. This is where a state ensures that it good relations with other countries. This is to be able to protect the state’s interests in those countries. The national security ensures the safety of citizens from threats. The national security includes the internal security which protects citizens from internal threats and the external security which protects citizens. Internal threats include things to do with economic sabotage through activities like smuggling, money laundering and counterfeiting. Issue concerned with organized crimes can also be a major

Analysis the case Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Analysis the case - Assignment Example Getting new workers requires the company to advertise for positions, interview candidates and also train successful candidates in the business of the organization. It would be less costly to the organization if a manager talked to the incumbent workers about what deliverables the company expects and how to improve their performance to meet the targets. Shaer explains that reprimanding employees regarding their performance may erode their morale and ego (27). Managers must thus navigate these scenarios in a professional manner. Counselling is one of the ways that managers can â€Å"fix† underperforming workers. However, they have to consider several issues so as to maintain the integrity of the results of the exercise. While counselling workers, managers must assure employees that they are an important part of the organization and that their performance is acceptable. The point means that managers should approach the issue as a mere act of enabling an employee reach the optimal performance to avoid demoralizing workers. Managers must be willing to go extra miles to ensure that employees benefit from counselling (28). They must also offer support and understanding as the employees try to adjust to the changes. The workers need to know the importance of the exercise and an assurance of support in the process. The managers should explain to the employee the nature of the exercise, the areas they need to improve, and the period that they are required to make the changes. The workers need to understand the consequences of not adapting to the new conditions. All these aspects must be outlined with absolute clarity (27). Acceptance with a â€Å"but† is a common response. Employees admit that they may not be performing in one area, but claim to contribute more in other sectors in the organization (Shaer 23). The claims are often unsubstantiated and may not be measurable. Thus, they cannot be used to show the performance of

Conservation managment Plan for Lancaster University grassland Essay - 1

Conservation managment Plan for Lancaster University grassland - Essay Example The institution is known for its extremely catchy setting and environment. The biodiversity of the campus is breathtaking (Cameron & White, 5). This enhances the quality of education since the image of high quality environment enhances good education outcomes to the lecturers, students and staff of Lancaster University. This article is going to survey the Conservation management plan for Lancaster University. The site that is chosen as topic is the universities grassland. Therefore, the article is going to name factors affecting the grassland at Lancaster University, features involved in the grassland, management objectives and rationale for features and/or factors and management action plan and order of priority. Grassland can be described as places where most of the vegetation is grass. Grassland is generally found in all continents since it grows by itself. The only place where there is no grassland is the Antarctica because of the chilly conditions, and mostly the ground is covered with snow thus hindering grass growth (Rich, 28). The University of Lancaster however, has very good climate which encourages the growth of a vast grassland area. Lancaster University sits on a large 264 acre piece of land. The land tenure is slightly above 50m elevation (Cameron & White, 10). The soil that encourages grassland growth at the institution is clay soil. The clay soil is good since it is rich in nutrients however, the soil is impermeable thus water is retained at the surface (Cook, 11). This means that plants that do well are ones that do not have long searching roots like plants. This is the reason why grass does well in this region. In addition, clay soils are heavily saturated in rainy climate w hich means shallow water tables thus water bodies can be easily made through craters. A well known crater is Lake Crater (Rich, 40). Grassland at the University of Lancaster can be said to be improved that is, it has been taken care of unlike

Healing Process Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Healing Process Nursing - Essay Example However, the overall diversity of the spiritual beliefs may make it relatively difficult for the healthcare service providers to critical evaluate and understand all the different aspects. In consideration of this, this paper will therefore discuss the results of interviews taken from Sikh, Jain and Baha’i patients to understand their perspective on healing and healthcare. Spiritual Perspective on healing According to our Sikh patient, the divine name is considered as the healing medium through which healing could occur. According to their belief, those ailments which cannot be vanished can vanish with the name of the divine. As such the spiritual perspective of this patient regarding healing is entirely based upon connecting the divine name and heals through that. Jain religion is considered as similar to the Buddhism as teachings of both are relatively similar. According to our Jain patient, her spiritual perspective is rather based upon the meditation and adapting a holisti c approach towards life. This therefore ensures healing because extracting stress out of the body can heal according to Jain spiritual practices. Baha’I perspective on healing is based upon the use of relaxation as well as adequate nutrition to achieve health. Our patient suggests that she believes that good relaxation as well as stress free living actually allows our souls to heal our bodies. Critical Components of Healing According to Sikh spiritual practices, meditation of the name of the divine is the most important component of achieving health. This therefore requires the person to actually focus on the name and allow the frequencies of that name to merge with the person to get healed. Apart from this, there is also a degree of faith involved because every person is required to have that faith before they can actually use the divine name to achieve the healing. Further, according to Jain religion, it is meditation which is most important to achieve the health benefits a nd connect the healing process. It is believed that meditation is the starting point in Jain traditions to actually start the healing process. Apart from this, focus on a typical diet is also another critical component of healing as it is believed that different foods have the healing powers and can expedite this process. According to Baha’I traditions, focus on good diet is the starting component to achieve the healing besides focusing on the prayer as the essential component of healing. Prayer has also been discussed in different literature to have an impact on the healing. (Ameling., 2000). Another important component is achieving gradual relaxation and how to overcome the stress from the body. It is therefore critical for a person to ensure that gradual and short bursts of relaxation are achieved either through meditation or other means to actually get the stress out of the body. This would ensure that the body develops its own fighting mechanism to deal with different ai lments. Different Spiritual Beliefs In a multi-cultural as well as multi-faith society it is relatively difficult for the Nurses and healthcare services providers to offer complete spiritual support to the patients to get healed. The diversity of the spiritual practices therefore makes it relatively difficult for the healthcare providers to accommodate or deal with. (MacLaren, 2004) However, all three patients believe that what is important is whether the healthcare service provider can actually understand their spiritual needs. This is therefore regardless of the fact that whether the belief system of the healthcare service provider is relatively different from their own. This suggests that patients are relatively more interested in whether the nurses and other staff can actually unde

Purchasing from local farmers can be beneficial to the environment Essay

Purchasing from local farmers can be beneficial to the environment - Essay Example It has been estimated that food travels 1800 miles on the average (Jackson, 2008) when it is being delivered from the farms to the market. These farms are usually located in other countries that grow certain kinds of food. This 1800 mile travel can give at least 800 kgs of CO2 emissions per travel (Webber and Matthews, 2008). If the food is sourced from a local farm, which is nearer to the market and it would not be imported, it would not contribute much to the CO2 emissions of the food, because less transportation would be involved. Because of this, local farmers can be a great help in providing a sustainable alternative when it comes to marketing farm produce, and at the same time, prove beneficial to the environment. As said before, most foods in the market these days are imported from different countries. According to an article by Andy Jerardo, almost 15% of foods in the markets of the United States are imported. This rate rises continually (Brooks, et al). This means that the i mported food travel at least a thousand miles to get to the consumers’ tables. Because of that mileage, transportation takes a huge part in the marketing of foods. At the same time, the impact of transportation is big when it comes to computing a food’s carbon emissions. It is known that the carbon emission of food starts in farms, especially if livestock is the one being farmed. Since the CO2 emissions from beef and poultry are already big, adding CO2 emissions from the transportation needed from the farm to the market route is already a big factor when considering the impact of food in the environment. Therefore, if the farms are locally available, it is more logical for the people to buy there if they are actually conscious of their environment. This is because nearer farms mean low transportation costs and low carbon emissions. Low transportation costs and emissions mean cheaper food and less environmental stress. Local farming also ensures sustainable economy for farming. Since local farmers are, nearer, with figures playing within 100-150 miles from the food source to the table, the taxes that consumers pay when they buy the produce would ultimately go back to the consumers. Helping the local farms is also a good way to support the local economy since it helps in keeping the money within the market. It does not go out from the local territory, unlike in importation where the consumer pays the farmers from other countries from which the food is imported. Having a healthy local economy is good since it lessens our nation’s dependence to other countries, making the nation stronger. Another point to ponder is that local farming is also beneficial to the health of consumers, not only to the environment. It is logical: since the farms are near, the food is delivered fresh because the food does not spend days, even weeks, in a boat or truck to get transported from point A to point B. It is basically like picking foods right from your own ba ckyard. The sellers also get a reduced packaging costs and storing time because these foods have a great turnover. Having local farms are also a good way in preserving a region’s distinct culture. Since food is an extension of culture, it is inevitable for a local place not to have their own food that gives them their own unique identity. Importation with their foreign flavors, generally overtake the local culture when it comes to food. Having local far

Conservation vs. Preservation Essay Example for Free

Conservation vs. Preservation Essay To whom it may concern My name is Michelle lane I am writing this letter to share my thoughts about preserving the Bridger Teton. This big stretch of land has not been affected by human technology. It has been preserved in its natural state. It is important to us as human beings. This stretch of land has a lot of trees, wild animals, and wild vegetation that call this stretch of land home. We cannot disturb it in the name of progress. We need to make sure we preserve this land so it can flourish and remain the same, untouched by technology and humans who want to mine it for resources. I agree that we need resources to sustain our lives and how we live it, but there are other ways to do so. Understandably we do not want to rely on other countries to supply us with the resources that we need but if we need to understand that we cannot deplete all the land that we have available to us. We have to think of the future and what we are going to leave for the growing generation. Eventually we will use up all the resources that we have and we would have to rely on other countries to help us. Wouldn’t it be better that while we have available resource we find a better way of getting what we need without destroying valuable land? What we need to do is find other ways to make sure we sustain our life style. For now I believe we need to rely on other countries to meet our needs and while we are doing that we need to develop other ways or find other resources. Saving the Bridger Teton will ensure that the wild life, trees and vegetation that live there will continue to flourish, they will continue to grow hopefully our children and future generations will be able to benefit and be able to appreciate the land that we try so hard to protect. Maybe in the future there will be more lands like the Bridger Teton that was protected and saved so the future generations can benefit from it. Conservation versus Preservation: To whom it may concern, My name is Michelle lane I am writing this letter to share my thought about the Bridger Teton area. I think it is a big piece of land that can be put in  to use to help our nation. I believe that we need to make sure these lands are saved but I also believe that we can use some of this land to mine, plant on, or see if we can find oil. This will lessen our dependence from other countries. Imagine an America that does not rely on other countries for their oil or any other resources that we would need to live. Not only would we get it for a cheaper price but we can supply other countries with resources and we can be financialy indipendant as well. We can still save a part of the land for preservation for the wild life and vegetation, but we will benefit more by putting the land to use. We can first research the land to see if we can use the resources found in it for human use. The four steps that we are going to use for this hazard assessment is Hazard Identification, Dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. We need to test the soil, vegetation, animals and water to make sure it is safe and there are no harmful bacteria living in the area that could harm humans. This kind of assessment will help us asses which areas are safe for human use and resource mining. The areas that we find that are not as safe or would not be beneficial should be preserved and let it stay the way it is for the future generations to enjoy. This a good way to have both world we have the lands we can use for gathering resources so we can be a more independent country and the lands we want to save for the future generations to enjoy. In the end I believe we will run out of resources and we will have to still rely on other countries to supply us with what we will need to sustain our daily lives and keep it the way it is. While we can we should try to supply our own resources. America is a big place there is room to preserve and also land that we can use to help us live independently.

Analysisng the Print Media Coverage of Birtish Football Players Essay Example for Free

Analysisng the Print Media Coverage of Birtish Football Players Essay Analysing the print media coverage of professional football players: British magazines and newspaper coverage of female players and officials in the women’s super league and females in football. Introduction The following research analyses coverage of women’s football and women involved in football in both nationally and locally distributed magazines and newspapers. The focus of the research looks at how the journalists refer and describe the women’s performance through interviews, writer’s columns and match reports, it is a long term study looking at data from October 1995 until the present day. With the recent introduction of a women’s super league and the existing premier league, most of the data revolves around these leagues, although there are also interviews with officials involved in overseeing the men’s game. The investigation found an extremely unequal balance in coverage between men and women’s sport, particularly football. When it was featured in a more general audience magazine such as Four Four Two or You magazine, there was often reference to the women’s appearance, partners and family life, as well as the man’s game. Alternatively in match reports featured in team specific publications such as programmes and fanzines there was much fewer references to the male game and a greater focus on skill and performance. Methodology Data collection The magazines and newspaper articles collected came from widely circulated publications including the Liverpool football club magazine, Four Four Two magazine and You magazine a supplement publication from the Mail on Sunday. The audience for these magazines are generic and not aimed particularly at one gender, although that is not to say both genders are equally likely to read it. The sport specific magazines are mainly focused on men’s football and representatively more men take an interest in football and are likely to buy the magazine. However it does feature articles about women’s sport. With the recent introduction of the women’s super league the focus of much of the in the more contemporary articles has been on this, however there are articles from 1995 until the present day. Sampling The data was chosen from a selection of publications that had been collected from 1995 until 2011, the articles that featured women’s football were found and the ones that had sufficient information about the team and the games they were involved in rather than just mentioned or the fixtures were used. The articles predominantly contained Liverpool ladies, although England, Everton and Chelsea teams were looked at along with an interview with a female official. The limitations of the sample are that most of the coverage comes from Liverpool’s match day programme and given the late start of the women’s season there has only been recent coverage of the current season. Also there are only relatively few articles in the publications and the collection was not exhaustive so some articles may have been missing from the archive, particularly away games and several months issues of Four Four Two. Data analysis After the data was collected it was read over and a content analysis was carried out, looking at lexis choices, tone and attitude of the writer towards the female athletes and officials. Points of interest and themes were highlighted in the articles, particularly the address of the female athletes, reference to the men’s game, and any sexual references. In articles containing interviews the questions put to the footballers were looked at for interviewer bias looking at any agenda the writer may have for presenting the woman’s game. The articles are in the appendices. Analysis Looking at the names of the teams involved in women’s premier league and super league is perhaps the most obvious form of subjugation within football. Names such as ‘Millwall Lionesses’, ‘Doncaster Rover Belles’ (LFC programme 11th April) and ‘Leeds City Vixens’ are part of the women’s football league even the national team are known as the ‘three Lionesses’ (You magazine 11th March) or the Australian national team ‘the Matildas’ (Four Four Two Oct 07). Other teams who just have the names of male football team names such as Everton are known ‘Everton ladies’, the name of the teams, although some may just be nicknames rather than official league names, put women in a lower position than men. Given that the game of football is not naturally gendered, it is not a male game, the idea that there is a need to differentiate they are female teams is quite surprising. In articles such as the Echo article from the 21st April, there is only an initial reference to gender in the headline ‘Dowie rescues a point for dominant ladies’ to prevent any confusion with the male team but throughout the rest of the interview, it is unbiased and simply refers to the players as members of the team, with references such as ‘the Toffees’ or simply just ‘Everton’. In other magazines such as LFC weekly from the 12th April when talking about the start of the new season in women’s football, the writer refers to the teams gender 60 times, 24 references to ‘ladies’ and ‘women’ 33 times. If the gender had been stated at the beginning of the article then there would be little reason to continue referencing the gender repeatedly throughout. The Everton programme from 11th December 2004 (LFC VS EFC) the women’s team is referred to as ‘the Girls in Blue’, the word girls is usually used to describe a young female which conjures up ideas of inexperience and immaturity. However in this instance it does not appear that is the writers intention to imply the women are any less than the best, after all Everton are one of the consistently best performing women’s team and it is in fact the only reference in the article about gender. It is more likely in this case, just a play on words adapting the slang reference to police as the boys in blue, McLoughlin (2000) looked at how magazines the writers expectations of women come through the text about what is accepted behaviour for women to do, football is still fairly off limits to women. Ultimately this will have some power over the reader who may feel pressure to conform to norms in the media. Throughout almost all of the articles the female players are referred to as ladies, although the competitions are the women’s super league and women’s premier league when the specific teams are mentioned they are called the ‘ladies’ for example ‘Liverpool ladies’ (LFC programme 10th Jan 98). This is an example of asymmetry not purely because of the use of diminutive ladies but also the need to differentiate from the male game. It would seem that it is normalising football as a male game as Liverpool men or any other team would not be referred to as Liverpool gentlemen, Janet Holmes also looked at the loaded meanings of the word ladies in her 2000 study. Gentlemen is the antonym of ladies which conjures up the images of gallantry and traditional ideas of gender, male ootball players would never be referred to as this as these are not the images that are desired for playing football, there will be evidence of respect and sportsmanship but it is a competition and a contact sport that has some level of controlled aggression and fierce competitiveness. Yet the women are referred to as ladies, this conjures up images of a reserved, gentle fairer sex, however they are just as capable of playing a hard tactile game. Therefore the programme from October 1995 ‘ladies fight back’, title is almost an oxymoron as ladies and fighting are not compatible images. While a feminist may take offence at the reference to women’s football as ladies, given the context it would seem that writers are not trying to demean women by using it and it would appear the women they are referring to are happy to be known as that, or surely by now the strong women in the game would have done something to have this changed. Later in the same programme the divide is further noted when the journalist writes ‘first-ever women’s derby match to be played at our famous stadium’, it is a common feature that youth teams play big games at Anfield even testimonials with male celebrities, yet it is made to be an honour at the thought of a women’s game occurring there, what is made worse is the description of the ground ‘our famous stadium’, this gives the impression it is solely for the men’s team, the fan’s, the writer, almost everyone except the women’s team, who should feel privileged to play at the ground. Messner and Duncan (1993) believe that sport media are wary of changing the coverage of women’s sport as it would challenge the male hegemony, this is also supported by Hardin, Lynn and Walsdorf (2005) and Curry, Arriagada and Cornwell (2002). With the recognition of women’s football by FIFA only happening in 1991 according to the October 2007 Four Four Two interview with the England team, the female game is still very much emerging. However women have been playing football and taking part in sport for centuries. By highlighting this is only ‘the second world cup England have qualified for’. He is raising the issue that the sport was only recently recognised yet taking away from the women’s achievements by bringing up the point that they hadn’t qualified many times before. As it is stated further in the magazine they have to balance ‘having full time jobs and preparing for the biggest tournament of your lives’, it is hardly surprising that they do not qualify as often as the men do as most of the players must remain amateur and the two games annot realistically be compared. The emergence of sports such as football has derived from local games that took part in villages as looked at in work by Reiley (2005) and Gerhadt (1993); mob games where two neighbouring villages would compete to get an object over the boundary into their village in order to win the game. These were very violent and thought of as no place for ladies to be, as the governing bodies developed from the public school systems like Rugby and Eton where the boys would take the village games and refine them, it was still very much a boys world as at that time girls schools would not have encouraged these type of games. It was once thought that if women took part in sport it would impact on their child baring abilities. Eventually women were introduced to non contact sports such as tennis but it took many more years before they began to play more aggressive sports. Many of the male teams that are in existence today such as Everton and Arsenal were developed from churches and factories for social reasons around the time of the industrial revolution, there is evidence of women’s teams developing slightly later during the times of war as the men went to fight and women were left behind to run industries, at the same time they started up their own teams, however it is only within the last 20 years that FIFA recognised the women in the sport. With the introduction of many modern women’s football leagues and competitions and the use of female officials in the male game, it would appear that women’s teams are receiving a much greater coverage in the media. In mainstream football magazines such as Four Four Two and LFC magazine women’s football has featured over the last 16 years, however it appears only now that it has become somewhat of a regular feature. While the men’s team, the reserve and youth teams have always had a weekly place in the Liverpool programme, with its own section women’s sport seemed confined to the occasional feature in the ‘community’ section. Stories from 1995 until more recently have covered the occasional trivial story such as the women’s team working with a school tournament shown in the October 1995 ‘girls shoot it out’ extract. Little emphasis was put on the team’s performance, rather the feeling that by covering this story Liverpool are showing what a caring club they are. Other features within the community section have been the clubs charity work internationally and with children with disabilities, by clumping the women’s team in with these stories it suggests that they are not on the same level as the men’s game and it is almost a privilege to be featured along with the ‘main team’, that the coverage of the women’s game is almost charitable. While some may argue that the programme is reporting on the events of the men’s first team and this may be why the women do not feature frequently, then surely the features of the reserves and youth team games should be only covered occasionally. Slowly this does appear to be changing, although the women’s leagues only start the season after the male counterparts, in the hope that the male game does not over shadow the women’s game, women’s football has featured in the recent Liverpool programme every home game recently and it has also moved from being covered in the community section to the ‘news’ (see Liverpool vs. Manchester city April 2011). However when it does feature in the publications however it is rarely a full page, often less than a quarter of a page as in the Liverpool programme (October 2008 LFC vs. Portsmouth) within a 82 page magazine, although the LFC weekly featured a 4 page article in a 50 page magazine. It would appear female footballers are finally gaining more acceptance in the media. Sexualisation of females within men’s magazines such as nuts and zoo is a common feature, the main reader of football specific magazines are men, so it may be expected that women are also portrayed as sexual objects in them. However this does not appear to be the case for much of the features found in the media, although there are still some examples of it. The interview with the England team in Four Four Two from 2007 talks to the women about their chances in the world cup, the interview asks questions such as ‘the Australian women’s team ‘the matildas’ posed nude for a calendar. Would you ever consider doing likewise? , another example of this is the interview in you magazine when the writer refers to the team as ‘the group of leggy and enviably toned young women’, women may be viewed as sexual objects in some of the male dominated readership magazines as a way of gender commodifcation an idea supported by work by Whannel (2000), a way of conforming to male ideals that in buying the magazine about football and sexualised women they are becoming more manly, that it ok to view women as objects men are the dominant gender, magazines and the media have some part to pl ay in the socialisation of today’s youth according to Wilemsen (1998), he even believes magazines widen the gap and differences between the genders. It is good then that the female athletes and officials are being covered about their roles in the mass media, but there is still some way to go to completely remove the gender stereotypes and bias. Although saying that, there are many interviews featured in magazines with male sports stars that objectify images of them and pass judgement on their physique, for some this may seem a positive move that women have the same powers over men but it may be better to feature women in the female magazines that other women can look up to and aspire to be like. It would also appear that coverage in a magazine that is aimed more at women but a more generic audience, You a supplement with The Mail, recently did a feature of the England team also discussing their chances at the world cup. Throughout the interview with the individual players they were given a small character description such as ‘the captain’ or ‘the veteran’ which are acceptable as they describe their role and dedication to the sport, however others were described as the ‘young mum’ or ‘the Beyonce fan’, while this style of reporting may be to normalise the girls and create a bond between the player and the reader who may have similar attributes, it also implies that they are doing something out of the ordinary and taking away from the girls sporting achievements by feminising and trivialising them.