Ford Motor Co. Case Report

r [Type the company name]| Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy | [Type the document subtitle]| NICOLE | Table of Contents Page 3. Executive Summary Page 4. Identification Issues Page 5. Identification Issues, Environmental and Root Cause Analysis Page 6. Alternatives Page 7. Recommendation, Implementation, Control Page 8. Conclusions, References Executive Summary This case report addresses the challenges to implement virtual integration in Ford Motor Company, one of the largest automobile manufacturing companies in the world. It focuses on the viability of implementing a supply chain strategy following Dell’s â€Å"Direct Business model† Dell’s direct business model used information and technology to revolutionize the PC industry; it focused on developing effective supplier partnerships and JIT manufacturing becoming a highly horizontal or â€Å"virtual integrated† company. Dell skipped the intermediate retailers, selling to customers directly eliminating the reseller’s markup and the cost and risk associated with carrying large inventories. All this combined gave Dell a leading position in a very competitive market in only a 13 year period time. In 1970’s Ford’s main competition was with General Motors and Chrysler. However with the entry of Japanese companies like Honda, Toyota and Nissan the American firm faced a harder competition. In order to maintain its leading position, in 1995 Ford initiated the Ford 2000 plan; aimed to restructure many of their key processes like Order to Delivery (OTD) and Ford Production System (FPS). They wanted to reduce the OTD from 60 or more to 15 or less days. FPS was created to convert the supply chain from a push type to a pull type basing their forecast, production and inventory decisions on real market demands. The decision to radically redesign Ford’s supply chain infrastructure may significantly affect in a positive way the growth and competitiveness of Ford Motor Company in a short, mid and long term period. I strongly support the implementation of virtual integration and a pulled based system in Ford’s supply chain. It has been proven by Dell’s KPI’s that producing based on actual customer requirements using information technologies for the efficient information flow from the consumers all the way down to suppliers will directly improve the supply chain by reducing inventory levels and the related cost, reducing lead times, making your suppliers, the production systems and the overall SC more responsive and efficient. This new strategy will include the creation of an IT platform which its objective is to support an online operation, it will establish procedures to enable customization and ordering by customers via advanced EDI, this platform will be integrated to the physical dealerships as well so they can transmit in real time customer’s requirements. All customer orders would be taken either via Ford's web site or by phone and then produce. A pull system would be implemented completely. This Platform will also virtually integrated Ford’s supply chain where Ford and all its suppliers would share information by an intranet and Internet to coordinate in real time the flow of materials and production. Issues Identification Industries Differences One major issue is the differences between the auto business and the computer business were compared to Dell’s; Ford’s supplier network had many more layers and many more companies making Ford’s supply chain more complex than Dell’s. Change Management (short term issue) For the reasons above some Ford’s SC staff thought that the Dell’s direct business model will not deliver the same results for Ford. Ford’s staff never faced with the challenge of modifying work flow processes and standard operating procedures, this can result in employees being uncomfortable, dissatisfied and challenged by this new system, therefore they may fall back to their original habits. The adaptation of this new initiative at staff level will be a major challenge for Ford. Purchasing (short term issue, potentially long term issue) Different from Dell’s were purchasing activities reported to product development, Ford’s purchasing division is separate from product development, this is another source of disconnect in the supply chain. The efficient roll-out of new products may be impacted negatively due to lack of communication between these two key departments. Also suppliers were picked based on cost, and little regard was given to the overall supply chain cost. At this level of the supply chain restructuring may be difficult due to corporate history and politics. Information Technologies (short term issue, potentially long term issue) An important issue is the lack of technological knowledge and application throughout Ford’s supply chain, were first tier suppliers well developed IT capabilities interacting with Ford via EDI, but they were not able to invest in new technologies at the same rate as Ford did. The understanding of modernity technology rapidly decreased in the lower tiers of the supply chain. This situation was different to Dell’s supply chain, were by using new technologies Dell shared information in a real time fashion with its suppliers, helping them know Dell’s daily production requirements making the supplier more responsive to Dell’s needs. Also Dell only kept suppliers that maintained their leadership in technology and quality making the overall supply chain more competitive. Lead Times/Production Process (short term issue, potentially long term issue) The production at Ford is based on a predetermined schedule making its production system push based, creating high inventory levels with low turnover, in addition to this; bottlenecks were an issue in the material planning and vehicle production processes. So far this production system created a lead time of 65 days from the time a customer placed an order until the product was delivered, making the overall supply chain inefficient. Environmental and Root Cause Analysis Ford, as any other corporation is looking to achieve the ultimate goal; increase profit margins. The OTD and FPS initiatives established an aggressive goal to reduce lead times from over forty five days to fifteen days. To do this, it is necessary to improve the flow of information throughout the supplier network and reduce manufacturing time. The challenges faced include the unavailability of accurate demand information, poor supplier communication at every level, lack of interaction between product development and purchasing, and resistance to change within the organization. Ford’s current OTD time requires production to guess the real demands. Consumer demand is therefore met through a push rather than a pull manufacturing process. To move to a pull system and to improve demand forecasting, Ford must implement a process that will provide earlier demand notification to the supplier network. They must also be able to immediately link the actual orders to the manufacturing schedule at any of their almost two hundred manufacturing locations. Purchasing must also play an integral role in this process to insure the correct suppliers are receiving the information. Another important step for Ford is to coordinate thousands dealerships to transmit data sales efficiently, Dell’s business model involves direct manufacturer contact with the consumer, this greatly reduces order time by removing middle-man interference and inventory requirements. But for the automobile industry without the distribution channels will be impossible for a potential customer to decide to buy a car without testing it, seeing it and feeling it. For this reason the auto industry lacks this ability. Considering all the issues above and their associated challenges, would be fair to say that Ford’s multi-layered supply chain is in great need of a technological solution to its information sharing and communication needs. Alternatives 1. Keep Ford’s existing supply chain and initiatives of improvement without investing in a new IT platform: The existing initiatives such as FPS and OTD and their overall objectives and their supply management goals are a step in the right direction for providing the necessary data sharing with suppliers and therefore achieve the goals of Ford’s initiatives. Ford will have to rely on the actual technology (EDI) such as phone or email in some cases depending if it is a tier 1 suppliers can depend in a more sophisticated tools such as the FRN or the extranet created to connect ford with its suppliers in the B2B initiative. The advantage of this is that there will not be major changes and additional cost involved besides the ones related to the overall SC efficiency, the disadvantages of this is that it has been proven that any enterprise which is not up to date with the newest information technologies will not stay competitive and in a leadership position within mid and long terms, facing the chance of getting behind in a such competitive market. 2. Support Ford’s FPS and OTD initiatives by creating a specialized IT frame that will help to achieve the virtual integration in Ford’s SC. The initiatives above must now incorporate an advanced IT solution to be linked to the outside groups, tier-2 suppliers and upstream to the distribution network. The IT system will focus on developing the open sharing of real time demand information between the distribution network and the supplier pool. Further development of long-term supply contracts with key vendors and a continued focus on the sub-systems supply format will improve confidence while simplifying and speeding the entire process. Building linkages from the dealerships (Also is necessary to invest in the E-business infrastructure) all the way down to the lowest tiers, so the right people get the necessary data in the fashion and time that is needed to improve the SC. The disadvantage of this will be in the short term and probably midterm period, due to all the effort and extraordinary monetary investment that an initiative like this requires. If the system is poorly chosen, the entire initiative will fail. Technology costs, if not monitored and controlled, can escalate uncontrollably. Also while the platform is operational there may be unexpected issues which the staff and suppliers will not be able to solve causing inefficiencies in the supply chain, affecting Ford’s and its suppliers revenue directly. The advantage is that with an infrastructure like this Ford will virtually have automated its supply chain translating in achieving Ford’s initiatives and therefore their ultimate goal â€Å"Be more profitable and a leader automobile manufacturing company† Recommendation I strongly support the implementation of alternative number 2. Dell’s direct business model will be the guideline to follow when applying this model in Ford’s organization. Although there are several major differences between the companies, Dell’s direct business approach can be applied to every facet of Ford’s operation. The decision to support virtual integration will help redefine Ford as a competitive, cost effective and profitable company. Instead of remaining static, Ford must pursue continually evolve along with the new technologies trends, failure to incorporate the latest information technologies will result in continued inefficiencies and eventually Ford will be displaced from the automobile manufacturing leading positions. Implementation Stage 1 Accurate and timely information should be the primary focus of the IT implementation. For this stage, the existing FPS initiative should be combined more extensively with the existing intranet and extranet. Ford should leverage the B2B capabilities to incorporate upstream ordering information from the distribution network. To minimize risk, stage 1 should be applied on a specific product line and only with key suppliers (pilot projects). Initially, the information sharing may be a simple as providing real time demand to suppliers on a secured web site. Stage 2 Once this first stage has achieved quantitative results the IT objective will be to automate the order-to-scheduling process to adapt processes that would notify suppliers of orders and their manufacturing locations based upon every day orders from the dealerships. The objective is to develop information flow upstream from the suppliers. Ford will need to know on an accurate and real time fashion the suppliers individual daily capacities, only then Ford will be able to effectively allocate orders. Control Understanding this challenge, implementation plans will require phasing and adequate training, with follow through at all levels to ensure a predictable and comfortable transition. This stage should be split into manageable groups, action plans should be in place for addressing specific challenge areas, such as technically issues. The control will focus in monitoring the KPI’s within Ford and its suppliers, by this stage the refined IT solution will help to achieve FPS goals such as lower inventories, faster inventory turnovers, leaner manufacturing process, making the overall supply chain more cost effective and responsive, achieving the 15 days lead-time established by ODT. Conclusion Ford is an example of a company who can evolve at any stage of its existence; it is committed to be leader in the automobile market. They decision to implement major changes within the organization shows the determination to do anything to stay competitive, Ford knows that if they don’t keep up with the new trends, they will lose ground easily over the time. Once again I realize how the â€Å"information† plays the most important role within any organization, the effective and efficient manage of it will smooth any operation helping to achieve the expected results. Whether your company is vertical, horizontal or virtual integrated a key issue is to build based on real requirements delivered in real time. If everything starts with the right step, all of the following levels of the SC will enjoy a more organized and efficient process. Supporting these basic ideas with and efficient IT infrastructure will give the ultimate competitive advantage to any company it is applied. In conclusion if the recommended strategy is implemented successfully and in a timely manner, Ford will be positioned to become a dominant player in the automotive market enjoying great growth and larger profit margins. References Ford Motor Company: SC Strategy Case Study Harvard Business School by Robert D. Austin The Power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with Dell Computer’s Michael Dell by Joan Magretta.

Bush Meat: African Apes Essay

The African people, particularly those who live in and near forest areas, have been eating meat of wild animals or bushmeat for centuries. They hunted for subsistence, as bushmeat was a main source of protein in the forest. But as Africa’s forests increasingly become more accessible through urbanization, the hunting for bushmeat in West and Central Africa is now developing into an enormous and extremely profitable commercial trade. In fact, bushmeat is now being exported to and sold in underground markets in the United States and Europe, where bushmeat is treated as a luxury food item like caviar or shark meat. With the increasing demand for bushmeat in and out of Africa and the growing trade that supplies it, bushmeat hunting is now the greatest threat to Africa’s great ape population. Meats from chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos may only be a small proportion in the bushmeat trade, but because these great apes reproduce more slowly than other mammals the hunting puts them in danger of extinction. The absence of parent apes to nurture their young also poses a risk to the great ape population. Young orphaned apes, because they still don’t have much meat in them to eat, are being sold as pets. Conservationists argue that unless the bushmeat trade is stopped there would be no more viable great ape population within 50 years. There are three African great apes: bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas. All three are now endangered species. The subsequent ape population estimates provided here, unless otherwise stated, are from 1996 figures. Bonobos can only be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo and were estimated to be 10,000-25,000 in numbers. Western chimpanzees, estimated to be 12,000, could still be found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Ghana and Senegal. This sub-species of chimpanzees are now extinct in Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin. The central chimpanzee population was estimated to be 80,000. They can still be found in Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Angola (Cabinda enclave only). The last sub-species of the chimpanzee is the eastern chimpanzee and could be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Sudan. Their population was estimated to be 13,000. There are also three sub-species of the gorilla: the western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla. The western lowland gorilla, with an estimated population of 110,000, live in the states of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo (Brazzaville), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria and Angola. The eastern lowland gorilla, meanwhile, could only be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its population is estimated to range from 8,700-25,500 in 1998. Lastly, the mountain gorilla is the fewest of all the great apes. There are only about 600 of them and they could be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. Rose (1998) had cited various studies on bushmeat trade across West and Central Africa. The bushmeat commerce around the Congolese city of Ouesso done by Hennessey found that 64% of the bushmeat in the area came from just one village and that a single hunter could have supplied more than 80 gorillas annually. He also estimated that 19 chimpanzees are killed every year in the city. In the Sangha region, many hunters prefer to trade their bushmeat at Ouesso rather than sell them at logging concessions because in Ouesso they can sell it for a higher price. As cited by Rose, Stromayer & Ekobo had reported that Ouesso and Brazzaville are the â€Å"ultimate sources of demand† for bushmeat. There is also an intense hunting of gorillas and chimpanzees in southeastern Cameroon. Most of the meats hunted here are shipped to the provincial capital of Bertoua and to Yaounde and Douala where hunters could make more profits. Bushmeat trade is also present in villages near Lope, Ndoki and Dja Reserves, and in city markets at Bangui, Kinshasa, Pt Noire and Libreville. Based on the studies on bushmeat commerce, Rose extrapolates that â€Å"the bushmeat trade across equatorial Africa could be more than a two billion-dollar annual business. If logging and hunting continue to expand unchecked, the numbers of monkeys and apes killed for the cooking pot will increase. † A good payoff is a great motivation for hunters of bushmeat. Bowen-Jones (1998) said chimpanzee carcasses in Cameroon could pay as much as $US20 to $25 each. The increase in bushmeat hunting has been fueled by general improvements in infrastructure, which makes road access to forests and transportation to urban markets easier. The growing timber industry, dominated by European-owned companies and increasingly joined by Asian industries, also increased demand and helped facilitate the supply end. The forestry employees hunt so they could provide for their own needs. Commercial hunters abound to provide for the needs of forestry workers and other consumers outside the forested region. Buyers of bushmeat are not just the logging camp families, but also restaurateurs and private feasts in wealthy national capitals. Bushmeat is sold at prices ranging from two to six times that of beef or pork, both of which are readily available to consumers in larger towns and cities. The increasing availability of guns also adds to the pervasiveness of the bushmeat trade. The expansion of commerce in Africa also threatens the cultural heritage of African communities. As cited by Rose (1998), Mordi’s study of attitudes toward wildlife in Botswana found that â€Å"contemporary Africans have lost their traditional ‘theistic’ reverence for wildlife and many have taken on the harshest utilitarian view. † Rose further explained that â€Å"tribal values of conserving and protecting non-human life are rendered spiritually inoperable, while new ecological and ethical foundations for sustaining nature have not emerged. † He also cited Ammann’s talk in Washington DC to report that African tribes that had before forbidden the consumption of primates are now beginning to eat their meat. Rose further says that, in Africa, â€Å"A ‘live for today’ attitude prevails. This holds for people struggling to survive, as well as for wealthy Africans. † Citing Hart’s 1978 study, Bowen-Jones (1998) reported that the change from subsistence to commercial hunting began half a century ago. Hart’s study of the Mbuti Pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo found that the pygmies had began making contact with meat traders in the 1950s. These meat traders went with them to their forest camps to promote â€Å"intensification of traditional hunting methods such as communal net drives. † Meat, then, was a means for barter. They exchanged it for iron tools, tobacco or agriculturally produced food. In many other places in Central Africa, indigenous forest dwellers have also been trading meat for other commodities for a long time. Bowen-Jones suggested that â€Å"This trading ethos, accompanied in some cases by varying degrees of coercion, has led to an often hierarchical structure in the newly prospering commercial trade in meat from the forest, where Bantu patrons [who are agriculturalists] make use of Pygmy hunters. In other cases, the hunting is carried out by immigrants attracted by work or the prospect of making money by poaching and hunting. However, the common denominator is that, increasingly, animals are hunted not for local consumption but for the urban population centres, where demand keeps prices high and inspires others in the forest to hunt. † Another problem posed by bushmeat hunting is the risk of transmitting dangerous diseases to humans. This is because apes, being the closest living kin to humans, harbor pathogens that also affect humans. The Ebola virus, which is epidemic in chimps and gorillas, has been found to come from dead carcasses of primates and could spread during butchering. Scientists have reported in an Independent Online article by Fox (2004) that the virus breaks out when people slaughter chimpanzees, gorillas and small antelopes. The Ebola virus had killed 29 people in the Congo Republic in January 2004. And always increased animal mortality always comes before the first human cases. HIV, which causes AIDS, is also said to have been transmitted to humans from apes. Hunting and butchering produces blood splatters which can easily create infective aerosols. Rose (1998) reported that medical scientists have discovered evidence that points to western African chimpanzees as the original source of the viruses that causes AIDS. Bushmeat hunting â€Å"could transmit new forms of SIV that could further expand the AIDS epidemic. The illegal bushmeat commerce had before been viewed as a wildlife crisis. But now, with evidence supporting the transfer of epidemic diseases from apes to humans, the bushmeat crisis extends from a problem of ape extinction to a threat to human civilization. To sum up, the illegal bushmeat trade is fueled by: the increasing demand in and out of Africa; the diminishing cultural reverence for wildlife; the rapidly growing timber industry: the improvement of forestry infrastructure like roads, vehicles and camps; and the increasing availability of guns. Some of the consequences of an unregulated bushmeat commerce are as follows: vulnerable and endangered species, including all three African great apes, face extinction; unprotected and unstudied species are put in danger; the ancient culture of African indigenous communities are imperiled; and there is an increased risk of transmitting dangerous diseases to humans. Bibliography: Rose, A. (1998). Growing Commerce In Bushmeat Destroys Great Apes And Threatens Humanity. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://bushmeat. net/afprimates98. htm Bowen-Jones, E. (1998). A Review of the Commercial Bushmeat Trade with Emphasis on Central/West Africa and the Great Apes. In The African Bushmeat Trade – A Recipe For Extinction. Ape Alliance. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://www. 4apes. com/bushmeat/report/bushmeat. pdf Fox, M. (2004, January 15). Ebola may come from ‘bush meat’ – study. Independent Online. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://www. iol. co. za/index. php? click_id=117&art_id=qw1074190685813B243&set_id=1

Analysis of a Media Source’s Coverage on a Research

The Wall Street Journal published an article regarding a recent psychopharmacology study on depression done by Dr. Hunter that investigated whether pre-medication brain activity corresponded with treatment outcome. In addition, the article discusses the interesting results garnered from the placebo group v. medicated group analysis. While the news piece does a fair job in representing the study’s findings, the author does delve into extrapolations not statistically supported in the actual study. Fifty-one adults who were diagnosed with major depression were used in the study, and this was accurately reported by the news article (Wang, 2006). Hunter et al. investigated whether there were significant differences in â€Å"demographic characteristics, illness history, baseline illness severity, [and] final response[s],† and finding none, pooled the subjects for analysis (2006, p. 1427). This does give the Journal, who must condense the findings for the public, good reason to fail in reporting this. The study is experimental in nature, also using double-blind and randomized assignment to help rid the results of confounding variable input. All of the subjects were given a placebo anti-depressant for a one-week lead-in; after this, half of the individuals were continued on the placebo while the others were given one of two anti-depressants. Electroencephalograph (EEG) readings were taken at the time of enrollment, after the lead-in period, and several times later (over an eight week period). The Wall Street Journal condenses this explanation down, and while the article abandons the jargon of an experimenter, it does give the impression of an experimental method being followed. When the news article explains how the researchers defined their variables they leave out valuable information. The author states that patients with certain brain-patterns â€Å"ended up responding better to antidepressant treatment[s],† but fails to mention how this was evaluated (Wang, 2006, p. 1). A Hamilton depression scale was given to judge improvement, giving reliability to the study’s findings. However, the news piece does accurately report that EEG was also used, in an attempt to find a decrease in prefrontal lobe activity. This study uses a control group, those maintained on the placebo, and compares their EEGs to those of the medicated group, but the main focus of the research was the search for experimental evidence supporting that the commonly used one-week lead-in can predict treatment outcome via brain imaging. The Wall Street Journal article focuses on only a facet of the study, and one that the researcher’s claim to have nonsignificant support for. Wang states that, â€Å"patients who developed this brain-pattern change ended up responding better †¦ than patients who didn’t,† which is misleading to an audience that has not read the actual research (2006, p. 1). While Hunter et al. do find that their EEG scans were a good indicator of treatment success, they also caution that: Although the placebo and medication group analyses yielded different brain regional predictors of outcomes, because of the absence of statistical group interaction we cannot conclude that changes in †¦ [the differing brain regions] †¦ differentially predicted outcomes (2006, p. 430). The news article wrongly insinuates that the study provided evidence for a brain-pattern that is linked to a good treatment outcome in depression. It is certainly true that this study offered outcomes that encourage research in this direction, and that the author also seems to believe that the EEG-pattern found is â€Å"a good indicator† for success, but after reading the actual experiment, Wang seems to have inflated the actual findings. Having critiqued the insinuations of the news piece, the extrapolations made by the author do have some merit. The researchers discovered that both the medicated and the placebo groups had a similar variance â€Å"predicted by the neurophysiological changes occurring during the placebo lead-in phase† (Hunter et al. , 2006, p. 1429). They offered some possible causal factors such as â€Å"pharmacotherapeutic alliance and pretreatment expectations,† these results seem to demonstrate a placebo-treatment effect, which offers even more reason to further investigate how a patient’s treatment induction affects his/her progress (Hunter et al. , 2006, p. 1429). Though not mentioned or referenced in the Wall Street Journal item, the ethical issues surrounding this experiment are noted by Hunter et al. Providing individuals suffering from major depression placebos for eight weeks is risky, using a double-blind procedure makes it even more dangerous. While the IRB board of UCLA did require a 15-25 minute counseling session during each patient’s visit, this is a massive step down from the psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutic support offered at the recruitment area (a psychiatric outpatient hospital) (Hunter et al. 2006). Conversely though, this ethical â€Å"patch† does raise an interesting question for further research, lightly touched on by the study’s authors; if this psychotherapy (however minute) was responsible for a pre-treatment neurophysiological shift, and the shifts that were indicatory of better treatment outcomes could be identified, research could be done to more effectively meld psychotherapy and medic al psychiatry. It is understandable why media reports often leave out details of a research study, often the conclusions and discussion by the author/s of the study are of more interest to the public. However, when a media piece merely latches onto a nonsignificant observation or a suggestion for future research found in the study, the true findings of the experiment are overshadowed by the speculation of the piece’s author. When a media source offers information about a study, it is vital to maintain a skeptical and critical mindset towards the findings until they are corroborated by the primary source. It is important to look for information that supports the generalizability of the study’s findings. In the piece presented above, it is worth noting that the study was done on depressed individuals, other psychopathologies may not have any correlation to the results or conclusions provided. The media also commonly jumps from correlation to causation, whether directly or implicitly. While scientific information is the goal of research, sensitization by the media will usually occur to some degree.

REFLECTIVE WRITTING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

REFLECTIVE WRITTING - Essay Example This organization was called â€Å"The Black & White Team Theatre†. Because of my eagerness in making friends with other people in school, I ended up mixing with self-centered young individuals who eventually betrayed me behind my back. As a result, the traumatic experience that I went through during my high school days made me lose my self-confidence. Now that I am married, it is the same traumatic experience that made me able to become successful in my chosen career. It also enabled me to able to effectively handle some of the most challenging situations in my marriage life. When I was in high school, I treated each student in school as a friend. Because of the fact that I grew up without siblings or close even relatives, I came to a point that I never bothered to questioning the quality of friendship people in school shared with me. At first, life in school was good for me. Life in school was very peaceful and fun. Everything changed when I had decided to join one of the school’s organization which focuses on theatric arts. Because of my desire to be a part of the best group in school, I ended up leaving some of my real friends in exchange with a group of self-centered people. Even though there were times I caught some of them giggling behind my back, I never maliciously thought that they were talking negatively about me. As days passed by, the number of instances wherein this group of people would tease me in public increased. It was really a shameful situation but I really ended up becoming the group’s favorite game. The worst experience that happened to me occurred during the night of our performance at the Madison Square Garden. After we finished the Black & White performance, the group decided to spend some time at one of the group’s leader’s house. For some reason, they kindly invited me to join them for some drinking

ICT Resources for project mgt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ICT Resources for project mgt - Essay Example This paper suggests the use of new information technology techniques such as computerised traffic management system on the roads with weather detection systems (Doyle 2001, p. 47).   The ICT project will involve the use of computerised traffic engineering systems and regulations that will aim at reducing traffic jams through the installation of certain restrictions where possible. One of the ways may include computerised parking systems and restrictions as recent studies have shown that one of the major causes of traffic delays is the snarl-up resulting from vehicles parking in and out of buildings. The use of ICT will boost this process in such a way that there will be efficient flow throughout. Likewise, the government can liaise with road construction companies to incorporate ICT monitoring and control systems at various points such as bypasses and roundabouts in order to enhance the smooth flow of traffic at corners in major cities (Jain 2009, p. 106).   In order to increase efficiency in major towns, some crucial steps have to be taken in the information communication sector. These steps may take time to implement depending on the complexity and extent of the procedure involved. The first phase would be the modification and improvement of the existing infrastructural developments in the ICT sector with a view of increasing the efficiency. This involves the modification of the traffic lights and expansion of the number and functionality of these items by the introduction of modern software (Murthy & Mohle 2001, p. 57).   The second step would be the introduction of new technology on the roads and streets of major towns. A classic example of this process may involve the incorporation of public transportation lanes that are real time and controlled from the central traffic department. One of the best technological tools that a firm or organization can use is

Classic Airlines Marketing Solution Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Classic Airlines Marketing Solution - Term Paper Example 102). The nine step problem solving model is described as an ideal framework that enables leaders of business organizations and companies with guidelines of understanding problems and how they can deal with them through making the right decisions (Petrolini & Walden, 2000, p. 1). Classic Airlines is faced with a marketing problem which has resulted in the loss of customer confidence and decreased share prices. This problem is worsened by the fact that fuel costs have increased and labor force has become more expensive to acquire and maintain. The airline’s board of directors has thus decided to employ strategies of cutting costs. This has led to reduced motivation to the employees whose morale and attitude towards work has become significantly low. These challenges have had a major impact on the marketing function of the airline which is faced with a problem of increasing the satisfaction of its customers and maintaining their loyalty at the same time decreasing the airlineâ⠂¬â„¢s expenditure. This paper gives a critical analysis and discussion of Classic airline’s marketing problem while using the nine step problem solving model in order to provide the most appropriate marketing solution for the airline. In the nine step problem solving model, the initial step involves describing the situation or the problem that needs an immediate solution (Petrolini & Walden, 2000, p. 7). ... The situation that the airline is in illustrates the need to put more effort in promoting its services through improving quality, efficiency and reducing the costs associated with traveling. Since this contradicts with the Airline’s need to reduce costs, then it is evident that a serious problem exits and thus an amicable solution is required so that the airline’s reputation and success is maintained. Classic airline’s marketing function is involved in trying to help the airline to come out of the problem that it is facing. The board of directors has engaged the marketing department in conjunction with finance and customer services so that a solution is reached. The shareholders of the airline have also shown interest in providing a solution for the company so that they could safeguard their investment. The best solution for the situation that Classic Airlines is facing is to involve the marketing strategies which will lead to enhancing the satisfaction of the co nsumers and in return, this will help the airline to improve its sales. The increased income would be used to compensate the staff and hence motivate them which will further improve the satisfaction of the customers and eventually win their loyalty on the airline. The management of the airline should thus set priorities in coming up with the solution for the marketing problem faced by the airline so that appropriate strategies are devised that would lead it into a lasting solution to the problem. Additionally, it is recommended the management of the airline evaluate the current situation in relation to the desired situation in order to determine how the solution would be reached with efficiency and

To what extent was the final solution planned Essay

To what extent was the final solution planned - Essay Example While some people believe that this was a spontaneous decision made by Hitler, others believe that the process was systematically planned. The aim of this paper is to find out how far the Final Solution was planned. The investigation will cover what the Final Solution was, the debate of the decision, the extermination camps, and to what extent it was planned. It was right around 1942 when the plans of the Final Solution fully took hold, but over one million Jews had already been murdered. â€Å"It was only with the decision to eradicate the entire Jewish population that the extermination camps were built and industrialized mass slaughter of Jews began in earnest. This decision to systematically kill the Jews of Europe was made by the time of or at the Wannsee Conference, which took place in Berlin, in the Wannsee Villa on January 20, 1942. During the conference, there was a discussion held by a group of German Nazi officials to decide on the ‘Final Solution of the Jewish Question’† (Wikipedia 2008, p. 1). The extent to which the Final Solution was planned can be proven by documents that contain the minutes and other records of the Wannsee Conference. The Allies located these documents at the end of World War II and used them as evidence in the Nuremberg Trials. â€Å"The records and minutes of this meeting were found intact by the Allies at the end of the war and served as valuable evidence during the Nuremberg Trials. â€Å"By spring of 1942, Operation Reinhard began the systematic extermination of the Jews, although hundreds of thousands already had been killed by death squads and in mass pogroms. In Heinrich Himmlers speech at the Posen Conference of October 6, 1943, Himmler, for the first time, clearly elucidated to all assembled leaders of the Reich, in frank and brutal terms, what the "Final Solution" referred to† (Wikipedia, 2008, p. 1). The Final Solution was the Nazi’s plan to

The Effects of Violent Video Games on Children Essay

The Effects of Violent Video Games on Children - Essay Example This has many negative effects on the individual which is exposed; regardless of age. One of the aspects of the negative effect large amounts of time spent playing violent video games has been shown to effect negatively upon a range of health issues within such groups. Although the negative health affects have been a topic of much recent discussion, the expressed purpose of this research analysis will be to draw a level of inference upon the way in which violence represented within video games affects the minds, outlook, psychology, and world-view interpretation of the adolescent viewing audience. Accordingly, it will be the express purpose of this brief analysis to take a stand with regards to the impacts that video game violence has upon the youth of the current era as well as seek to derive a level of culpability with regards to the actions taken by adolescents that have been influenced by violence in video games. It is the hope of this author that by presenting an argumentative e ssay with key elements of research from a variety of different sources that the reader will be able to come to a more informed conclusion with regards to the overall impacts that video game violence affords upon adolescents and upon society as a whole. Although violence has always been a discernable and visible part of the human experience, the proliferation of violence in video games has provided a paradigm shift in the way that the shareholder, namely adolescents, engage with an understanding of this representation within the reality of culture and entertainment that such a medium represents. Ultimately, the scope and level of the violence that is represented along with the increased total viewing/playing hours that adolescents within society are engaging with means that the level and extent to which this violence is represented has increased exponentially over time. However, before delving further into the nature of violence and its effect as represented within video games, it is important to qualify that regardless of the effect that violence within media could have on the individual, it cannot and should not be blamed for all extant violence that exists due to the fact that violence and its representation within human society has far predated the first exhibition of television or video games in general. In short, this exponential growth creates a unique dynamic with regards to overall impact and demand that whatever theory which is used to define this is fully cognizant and aware of the exponential scale of violence which is under discussion. One of the most important aspects of the effects of the media on the adolescent mind is the way in which it causes a degree of exposure and acceptance of violent actions as a reasonable and expected means of conflict resolution. Many studies have looked into the explosion of anger and aggression issues that have been represented lately and made convincing links and parallels to the extent to which the representation of violence within media, and specifically video games, have contributed to the rise in the prevalence of these issues. However, regardless of the particular study that has been analyzed, most authors and researchers have agreed that children and adolescent exposure to violence plays an integral part in the ultimate expression of violent behavior; or at the very least integrates an understanding among the shareholder that violent expression is an acceptable means of conflict

Culture,power,globalisation and inequality Essay

Culture,power,globalisation and inequality - Essay Example Power relates to which classes, groups, organisations, parties as well as individuals have the greatest influence over what happens within their own respective countries, and sometimes upon an international or even global basis. Power can be cultural, military, naval, political, religious, or social in its origins and actual usage.2 Globalisation is the way in which cultural, economic, political, religious, and social factors interact with each other in order to increase the power of non-state actors at the expense of nation states and also individuals. Inequality is a result of the ways in which the process of globalisation and the capitalist economic system operate and make some countries, organisations, or businesses richer whilst making others poorer.3 The United States was mightier than a superpower, and the term ‘uberpower’ was developed to describe American dominance over the international system. In other words the United States is the mightiest nation upon the earth and no single nation can hope to overturn its dominance of the global economy or the spreading of its liberal culture and values throughout the world. It is the capitalist economic system encouraged by Britain and then the United States that has done much to shape culture, power, globalisation, and inequality within the modern world.4 Conversely the sheer apparent might, economic and cultural influence of the United States meant Al-Qaeda saw it as their greatest enemy in a bipolar military contest between the militantly Islamic and un-Islamic. Al-Qaeda had made increasingly daring attacks on American targets and interests during the 1990s that meant they wished to carry out bolder attacks. The United States maybe an uberpower or the global hegemon, that is the greatest power within the international system but all Al-Qaeda has to do is survive and the war continues. The Americans are left with the

Business ratios and formulas a comprehensive guide Essay Example for Free

Business ratios and formulas a comprehensive guide Essay Net profit margin of the company shows how much the profit after-tax profit made by a business for every $1 generated in revenue or sales (Bragg, 2008). A higher net profit margin is better in comparison to that of its competitors. In 2011 and 2012, Tesco was more profitable followed by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC. However, in 2013, Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC was more profitable followed by Sainsbury.Roce This financial ratio measures the profitability and efficiency of a company with which its capital is employed (Bragg, 2008). In 2011, Tesco was more profitable than Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury. The following year, it was overtaken by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC while Sainsbury remained the least profitable. In year 2013, Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC was the most profitable company followed by Sainsbury. Return on Equity – ROE             Return on equity shows how much profit a firm earned compared to the total amount of shareholder equity as contained in the balance sheet (Horrigan, 2010). In 2011, Tesco made a higher profit than Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury. It was Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC . in year 2012 Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury reported a higher profit compared to the previous year while Tesco reduced it profitability. However, the three companies reported lower profit in 2013 than in 2011 and 2012. Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC was more profitable followed by Sainsbury in 2013. Gross Profit Margin             It is used to assess company’s financial health by showing the proportion of money that is left over from sales revenue after deducting the cost of goods sold. It shows the financial health of a company (Jenkinson, 2011). In 2011, Tesco had the highest financial health followed by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC. In year 2012, all the three companies reported lower gross profit margin. Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury have had a stable gross profit margin.Net asset turnover This is a financial measurement intended to measure how a company turns its assets into revenue (Horrigan, 2010). In 2011, Sainsbury was the most efficient company in turning assets into revenue compared to Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Tesco. Tesco was performed the least in turning assets into revenue. In 2012, all the three companies had a lower net asset turnover with Sainsbury having the higher ratio followed by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC. In 2013, Tesco and Sainsbury increased their ratio while Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC’s ratio decreased. Sainsbury still had the highest ratio followed by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC.Efficiency and effectiveness Ratios Asset turnover ratio             This is a ratio of a firms sales to its assets. It is an efficiency ratio that shows how successfully a company uses its assets to generate revenue. A comparison of asset turnover ratio for the three companies shows that in 2011 Sainsbury was the most efficient company followed by Tesco in turning assets into revenue. In 2012, Tesco showed a decrease in efficiency which the other two companies increased theyre efficient. All the three companies increased their efficiency in using assets to generate sales with Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC having the highest ratio followed by Sainsbury (Jenkinson, 2011). The debtor’s day’s ratio             It is a measure of how quickly cash is collected from debtors. Different periods are compared for the same company since it is less meaningful since results largely depend on the nature of the business. Tesco is the most efficient company in collecting cash. Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury have also been decreasing the number of days with Tesco having a lower collection period (Novak, 2009). Supplier credit days This shows the number of days that a company takes to pay its suppliers (Novack, 2009). In 2011 and 2012, the numbers of days for Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury has been increasing which can be a sign of financial hardship or increase confidence of suppliers on the company. Tesco has a high ratio which could be a sign of a financial crisis. Stock holding period             It refers to the period between the purchase of a product and its sale. There is a general decrease in the stock holding period for the three companies indicating an improvement in investment performance. Sainsbury have the highest holding period followed by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC (Palmer, 2013). Liquidity and capital ratiosQuick Ratio             This determines if the company has resources to pay its short term liabilities with its liquid assets. The analysis shows that Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC has the highest ability to pay its short-term debt followed by Sainsbury (Peles, 2008). Quick ratio             It measures how a company can use its near cash or quick assets to retire its current liabilities immediately. Analysis shows that Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC has the highest ability to convert its near cash items into cash in order to pay the debt followed by Sainsbury.Gearing ratiosDebt/equity ratio It shows how a company finances its growth. Sainsbury has the highest debt in its capital structure compared to Tesco and Morrison. Tesco has the least debt ratio (Peles, 2008). Times interest covered             This ratio is a measure of number of times a business can make the interest payments with its earnings on its debt before interest and taxes. Morrison has the lowest possibility of bankruptcy followed by Sainsbury. Capital gearing ratio             It measures financial strength of a company. Tesco is a high risky investment to investors. In 2013, Morrison was second after Tesco in terms of riskiness. Investors expect a high return in the future in Sainsbury compared to Morrison and in Tesco. Dividend yield             It shows how much a company pays out the shareholders in divided relative to share price. Sainsbury have the highest dividend yield showing that investors get a lot of funds for investing in Sainsbury. When share price increases, shares with high dividend yield earn more cash. Investors who need cash prefer investing in shares that have high dividend yield. Dividend cover             This shows the number of times dividends of a company paid to shareholders can be paid out of annual profits after tax. It is an indication of the probability which shows that dividends can be maintained in the future. In 2013, Morrison had the highest divide cover followed by Sainsbury (Shimerda, 2011).Corporate strategy Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC can increase its profitability by using Tesco as a benchmark for its operations. This is because Tesco has a higher net profit margin and Return on capital employed. Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC has not been effectively in efficiently utilizing their assets in generating more revenue. It should ensure that acquisitions are attractive and that they help the company increase its return. It should also ensure that they produce better products and services in order to combat competition. Some assets should also be sold. Morrisons Supermarkets PLC should also reduce the amount of debt from their capital structure. This is because it ranks second after Tesco in terms of capital gearing ratio. Debtor’s collection period should be reduced to a minimum. References Bragg, S. M. (2008). Business ratios and formulas a comprehensive guide. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Horrigan, J. O. (2010). Financial ratio analysis: an historical perspective. New York: Arno Press. Jenkinson, N. H. (2011). Investment, profitability and the valuation ratio. London: Economics Division, Bank of England. Novack, D. E. (2009). Liquidity Ratios And Recent British Monetary Experience. The Journal of Finance, 13(4), 510-526. Palmer, J. E. (2013). Financial ratio analysis. New York, N.Y.: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Peles, Y. C., Schneller, M. I. (2008). Liquidity Ratios and Industry Averages-New Evidence. Abacus, 15(1), 13-22. Schmidgall, R. S., Defranco, A. L. (2009). Ratio Analysis: Financial Benchmarks for the Club Industry. The Journal of Hospitality Financial Management , 12(1), 1-14. Shimerda, T. A. (2011). Financial ratios as predictors of profitability. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International. Source document

Art Is Lie That Brings Truth Nearer

Art Is Lie That Brings Truth Nearer I decided to evaluate the quotation by Pablo Picasso: Art is a lie that brings us nearer to the truth because the claim contains several issues that, depending on the definition, may lead to further difficulties in interpretation. What do we mean by truth?; What is a lie; What do we mean by arts?; Who do we consider when saying us? A piece of art, as a separate subject, is hermetically understood by every individual. It inspires us all, both creators and receivers of the art leading to specific, personal, conclusions. Therefore, not only the main assumption but also the main outcome of the arts is relativism; that is why we cannot state any absolute values in it. As Pablo Picasso once said: You will not understand arts as long as you wont understand that in arts 1+1 may give any result but 2  [1]  . This underlines, I believe, that art is never able to give an absolute answer, therefore is a lie in absolute terms. Hence, art outlines only the artists personal impression, his tru th, and cannot be a measure of any unambiguous distinction between the absolute and impression itself. Since it is the quotation of Pablo Picasso that is evaluated in this essay, it can be explained in relation to cubist theory of truth. The theory claims the total truth is a sum of all perspectives. So the more personal truths, in relativistic terms, or various lies (not hole truths), in absolute terms, are added, the closer one gets to knowing the real truth. That is how the art is a lie that helps us realise the truth. I will prove my thesis by analysing what kind of truth do paintings of Johannes Vermeer, a realist, Pierre Auguste Renoir, an impressionist, Edward Munch, an expressionist, and Rij Rousseau, a cubist, tell me separately and altogether about women. These artists, and specific movements they represent, were chosen because of the underlying contrast in both perceiving the truth and expressing it. They represent varied approaches which will allow to present flaws in ea ch view and draw moderate conclusion, which falls into the thesis of the investigation. The painting The Milkmaid , by Vermeer, shows a woman standing in a kitchen, preparing a meal. Her face is calm and it can be judged from her clothes and the content of the room that she lives in relative luxury. The painting presents somehow the reality of the 17th century social situation in Netherlands which gives me a social and historical truth concerning woman. Additionally, Vermeers truth about women is that they are the guardians of the households. His view falls into correspondence theory of truth, which claims that something is true if it corresponds to a fact. Despite recent XXth centurys social changes concerning womans position, they have always played a major role in taking care of home. The movement itself is an example of realism that comprises in the mimetic theory of art. The concept of mimesis assumes that the purpose of the art is to copy reality. Therefore the problem arises when evaluating realism- is it false because it deals with imitation, or it is true throu gh paradox of fiction- that the model presents some regularities of human behavior? I believe that by taking from the character her personal identity in exchange for creating a generalized model, Vermeer in fact hinders the personal truth about this woman. He effectively presents the social order and historical truth, however generalization is always concerned only with average, not with all possibilities. The painting Woman with a dog of Renoir presents a woman with a dog sitting in the grass. The blurry curves are used in order to show movement of the grass. By looking at the bloom and the reddish shade on a girl it can be judged it is a late afternoon. Renoirs truth in this painting applies only to womans look in a specific place at a specific time. Additionally, the painting says something personal about her- that she probably enjoyed spending her time close to the nature, since her face expresses joy, and that she probably enjoyed watching sunsets. The painting is an ideal example of impressionism. As Childe Hassam  [4]  once noticed: The true impressionism is realism that so many people do not observe. The crucial difference, however, between these two concepts is that impressionism tries to prove that truth is not a generalisation, like in realism. Instead, it uncovers the truth about certain objects in relation to very specific time and place. Therefore, impressionism also falls into correspondence theory of truth since Renoirs painting corresponds to a fact- girls look during a sunset. However, since impressionists tried to immortalise the very glance we must ask ourselves how good truth is that? Following Monets thoughts I assume that the truth about everything would be hindered in a series of glances. Thus, showing just one of the uncountable in their number glances gives us only an insignificantly small part of the truth about women in general and the girl in particular. The painting Madonna by Edvard Munch presents a woman with sunken orbits and slender posture which makes her look like a demon. The foetus in the left corner symbolises fertility and therefore depicts woman as a source of life. Her face expresses experiencing ecstasy and by linking this image with the title of a piece, Madonna, which is the Christian perception of a Holy mother, Munch degraded the value of woman. The artist was a misogynist and his truth is that a woman is a source of all suffering, the mother of heresy and the incarnation of pure evil.  [6]  Expressionists, like Munch, disregarded mimetic approach to arts; instead they wanted to show the world through the prism of their own perception. Thus, the basic idea in this movement was not to imitate reality (so they were not interested in absolutes), but to present the very subjective and very personal opinions- just as in the coherence theory of truth. The theory claims that a proposition is true if it fits in with our overall set of beliefs. Although the concept of woman being a demon could be true for Munch, for majority of people it would be perceived as extremist and prejudiced view. However, expressionism, because of its fundamental assumptions, speaks more of the painter than of the world. Munchs perception derives from fear of woman that is why it is so narrow. Nevertheless, this narrowness is a deliberate action. Author, as an expressionist, through his works tells me: This is MY truth, what is yours? The painting of Rij-Rousseau does not describe, as the title could suggested, the outer look. In Portrait she depicted three different bodies which shows the complexity and diversity of womens nature. It can be cheerful and warm (orange), or impassive and cold (green), and there is also the person between them, poorly visible, brown- imitating the whole uncertainty and mystery of other womans embodiments. Rousseaus truth about woman is hidden in symbols: the green face resembles a mask, so the outer look, which would mean that the blithe person represents the inner nature of woman. Therefore, the painting represents the very essence of the cubist theory of truth-to present the object in the widest context possible by considering it from multiple viewpoints. In other words cubism assumes that we are getting closer to the truth the more perspectives we get to know. But now again, how good truth is that? I now realize that the absolute truth about woman means summing up all the personal truths about each woman separately, yet it is an impossible task. Furthermore, any attempt to draw a mathematically moderate view about woman would mean going back to the very beginning, so the concepts of generalization and mimesis. Therefore, what is gained through dealing with arts is not only finding out how great is our own ignorance, but also how unattainable to comprehend, and impossible to depict, the absolute truth is. What have I gained through dealing with the paintings of Vermeer, Renoir, Munch and Rousseau? The Milkmaid told me what the social status in Netherlands was in XVIIth century. Renoir immortalised some girls look at the time of a sunset, the emotions that her face expressed and the move of the grass around her. Munch told me of his greatest despise and fear of women. Rousseau showed not to trust the first impression because a woman is a very complex being. Therefore, I am wiser with the views of these four paintings, bur now I realise I am poorer with the lack of the perceptions depicted in another thousands paintings. Thus, I know that I know nothing  [8]  of the absolute truth about woman, since I just grasped only an idea of the truths complexity. When Picasso said that art is a lie that helps us realise the truth I believe he didnt mean any specific style, i.e. he didnt mean that realism is a lie, but that all the achievements in arts, in all styles and assumptions, are just n ot complete. Having in mind that Picasso actually created cubism, I cant resist evaluating his claim in relation to cubist theory of truth. According to this idea the absolute truth is a mosaic composed of various elements individual approaches. In other words, what Picasso meant is that arts is closed in specific boundaries of different styles and cannot present the whole picture, therefore is a lie. However, as new forms and concepts are created the more perspectives are added and, piece by piece, the mosaic is being completed.

Chernobyl, Ukraine - Nuclear Power Plant Meltdown :: essays research papers

Chernobyl, Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant Meltdown   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukrainian produced a plume of radioactive debris that drifted over parts of the western USSR, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. The accident, which occurred on April 26, 1986, was the worst nuclear power accident in history. Large areas of the Ukrainian, Belorussian, and Russian republics of the USSR were contaminated, resulting in the evacuation of roughly 200,000 people. The accident raised concerns about the safety of the Soviet nuclear power industry, slowing its expansion for a number of years, while forcing the Soviet government to become less secretive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Chernobyl’ Nuclear Power Plant was one of the largest in the USSR. It was located just outside of the town of Pripyat’, about 18 km northwest of the town of Chernobyl’. The plant was only 16 km from the border between the Ukrainian and Belorussian republics and roughly 110 km north of Kiev, the capital and largest city of Ukraine. Construction of the plant began in the 1970s, with reactor No. 1 commissioned in 1977, followed by No. 2 (1978), No. 3 (1981), and No. 4 (1983). Each reactor had an electricity-generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts, and the four together produced about 10 percent of Ukraine's electricity at the time of the accident. Two more reactors (No. 5 and No. 6, also capable of producing 1,000 megawatts each) were under construction at the time of the accident. On the morning of April 26, 1986, reactor No. 4 was operating at very low capacity (6 to 7 percent) during a planned shutdown. Plant personnel intended to monitor t he performance of turbine generators, which supplied electric power for the plant’s own operation, during a changeover from standard to a backup source of power. The reactor’s design made it unstable at low power, and the operators were careless about safety precautions during the test. After a sudden power surge, two explosions destroyed the reactor core and blasted a large hole in the roof of the reactor building. Radioactive debris moved up through this hole to heights of 1 km.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An estimated 100 to 150 million curies of radiation (primarily radioactive isotopes of iodine and cesium) escaped into the atmosphere before cleanup crews were able to bring the fires under control and stabilize the situation two weeks later. Prevailing winds carried the radioactivity northwest from the plant across Belorussia and into Poland and Sweden, where heightened radiation levels detected on April 28 first brought the accident to the world's attention.

Teen Sexual Activity Causes Sexually Transmitted Diseases, AIDS, Pregnancy, and Emotional Trauma :: Expository Cause Effect Essays

Teen Sexual Activity Causes Sexually Transmitted Diseases, AIDS, Pregnancy, and Emotional Trauma Set aside the moral imperatives, the screams and shouts of the conservative masses, the legislators on Capitol Hill who know what's best, and religious scripture that denounces physical pleasure and there exists a very basic premise: Human beings have a preoccupation with sex. It was once stated that "our concern with sex is innate, as much a part of is as the blood and bone with which we were born." An absolutely truthful statement, the subject of sex has become prevalent in today's society. Prevalent, because every aspect, voice, form of communication, law passed, and free thought, expresses the opinion on the subject. Maybe centuries of society's need for "sexual oppression" which led to the "sexual revolution" of the twentieth century, is the cause for the entrance of human sexuality into the mainstream. Regardless of the when's, why's, and how's, the bottom line is that sex and the issues revolving, affect every human life, from pornography and abortion, teen pregnancy and laws concerning sexual violence. These heavily weighted issues that plague the minds of parents, lawmakers, teenagers, and religious leaders, often operate under the premise that everyone is having sex, and that no one believes in abstaining until marriage. So where is the lost voice that cries out and defends the small minority of young people that want to wait, and further doesn't anyone believe there are benefits to waiting to have sex? Those who condemn teenage sex and support abstinence are the same people who answer "yes" to the question. Unfortunately, that voice is not the voice that represents the teenage population. Young people who chose to wait have many different reasons why, and believe that there do exist positive effects of abstaining from sex until marriage. One of the most important reasons young people wait, is to avoid the risk of poor or unfavorable physical health. Sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and AIDS are all factors that claim the lives of millions of people every year. Avoidance of these health risks is an incentive to young people and probably the most positive effect of abstaining. No one doubts that sexual desire and needs do not exist, but there are alternatives to sexual intercourse. Teenagers can have a very healthy and active physical relationship with their partner and not have sex. These activities, which can be just as satisfying, carry a 100% less risk factor that sexual intercourse. Teen Sexual Activity Causes Sexually Transmitted Diseases, AIDS, Pregnancy, and Emotional Trauma :: Expository Cause Effect Essays Teen Sexual Activity Causes Sexually Transmitted Diseases, AIDS, Pregnancy, and Emotional Trauma Set aside the moral imperatives, the screams and shouts of the conservative masses, the legislators on Capitol Hill who know what's best, and religious scripture that denounces physical pleasure and there exists a very basic premise: Human beings have a preoccupation with sex. It was once stated that "our concern with sex is innate, as much a part of is as the blood and bone with which we were born." An absolutely truthful statement, the subject of sex has become prevalent in today's society. Prevalent, because every aspect, voice, form of communication, law passed, and free thought, expresses the opinion on the subject. Maybe centuries of society's need for "sexual oppression" which led to the "sexual revolution" of the twentieth century, is the cause for the entrance of human sexuality into the mainstream. Regardless of the when's, why's, and how's, the bottom line is that sex and the issues revolving, affect every human life, from pornography and abortion, teen pregnancy and laws concerning sexual violence. These heavily weighted issues that plague the minds of parents, lawmakers, teenagers, and religious leaders, often operate under the premise that everyone is having sex, and that no one believes in abstaining until marriage. So where is the lost voice that cries out and defends the small minority of young people that want to wait, and further doesn't anyone believe there are benefits to waiting to have sex? Those who condemn teenage sex and support abstinence are the same people who answer "yes" to the question. Unfortunately, that voice is not the voice that represents the teenage population. Young people who chose to wait have many different reasons why, and believe that there do exist positive effects of abstaining from sex until marriage. One of the most important reasons young people wait, is to avoid the risk of poor or unfavorable physical health. Sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and AIDS are all factors that claim the lives of millions of people every year. Avoidance of these health risks is an incentive to young people and probably the most positive effect of abstaining. No one doubts that sexual desire and needs do not exist, but there are alternatives to sexual intercourse. Teenagers can have a very healthy and active physical relationship with their partner and not have sex. These activities, which can be just as satisfying, carry a 100% less risk factor that sexual intercourse.

Euthanasia of Pretamture Babies :: Free Euthanasia Essay

Amy gave birth to a baby boy after only 24 weeks gestation. The premature child weighed only 1 1/4 lbs and was only 13 inches. Statistically, the child has between a 5% and a 20% chance of survival and over a 50% chance of growing up with intellegence disabilities, cerebral palsy, blindness, and deafness. Should money be continually spent on medical treatment or should the parents and/ or doctor be given the rigt to take away the life support? What is euthanasia? Is it just a murder, or is it a helpful procedure to end people's suffering? It is the "act of helping a person end his or her life in a painless fashion to relieve unbearable suffering". It is the taking of a human life by another person to prevent further pain and misery. There are four types of euthanasia: Active, Passive, Voluntary and Involuntary. Active Euthanasia is when a second party, whether is be a doctor or someone else, discretely introduces a lethal amount of medication into the sick or dying person. Passive Euthanasia involves the removal of medical treatment from the suffering individual. Voluntary Euthanasia is when the patient asks his or her doctor to assist in the procedures to ensure the end of the patient's life. Involuntary Euthanasia is present in Amy's case, along with Passive Euthanasia. It is when the individual who is suffering is either in a coma, incompitent, or a premature child that cannot speak for itself, and instea d of the patient making the decision, the family and/ or doctor does. Prematurity is when a child is born within less than 36 weeks gestation. The child is usually born with low birth weight, some type of physical deformity and / or any kind of mental problems that can all lead to a future of being outcatsed. Around half the babies born at 24 weeks are at risk of growing up with severe disabilities. Minor disabilities dont usually occur until further in the child's life, approximately once the child begins attending school. Reading and learning problems may occur. Obviously, the earlier the child is born the less chance of survival and health there is. This is because the babies have not yet fully developed the lungs, causing sudden collapses with every breath the child takes. "Matters involving the most intimate and personal choices a person may take in a lifetime...are central to the liberty protected by the 14th amendment.

Applications of Information Technology Essay

ABSTRACT Restaurants are built of complex systems for buying, storing, preparing and selling food. Cuban Pete’s is a popular independently owned restaurant located in Montclair, New Jersey. The restaurant offers a dynamic menu of Cuban ethnic items and has received renowned recognition. The restaurant has 285 seats — 195 of them in three sprawling dining rooms and 90 on an outdoor patio decked; takes reservations only for groups of six or more; and boasts that two-hour waits not uncommon; employs 40 PTE’s and 15 FTE’s; serves 500 patrons on average a day; and generates $400K in revenue monthly. Over the past 16 months, there has been a decrease in revenue and repeat customers. Cuban Pete’s needs to improve operation efficiencies, reduce cost, decrease customer wait and sit times, increase customer satisfaction, and improve marketing. With no current automated systems, this paper will discuss how  the strategic, managerial, and operational control of a small restaurant business can improve with the implementation of management information systems which coordinates everything from scheduling personnel to customer service. Systems to be discussed include Point of Sale Systems, Customer Service Management (CSM) systems, and social media for marketing and promotion. BRIEF COMPANY HISTORY Cuban Pete’s is an independently owned restaurant located in Montclair, New Jersey. It was established in 2006 and is owned by Dominick Restaino. With a history as a restaurateur and in honor of his Cuban heritage, Mr. Restaino named the restaurant after the hit 1946 Desi Arnaz films and as an establishment that would evoke the fevered, anything-goes 24-hour fiesta that was pre-Castro Havana, Cuba. Mr. Restaino hired a staff of affable waiters and dressed them in bright Cuban sport shirts and narrow-brim Panama hats. He brought in a designer, Tony Ortiz, who had the exposed-brick and distressed-plaster walls painted in tropical yellows and reds and aquas. The menu consists of tapas and entrees that top out at $16.95. Although well sought for its dynamic list of sangria offerings, Cuban Pete’s does not have an alcohol license. BUSINESS PROBLEM Restaurants are built of complex systems for buying, storing, preparing and selling food. The business problems to be solved will include a restaurants need to improve operation efficiencies, reduce cost, decrease customer wait and sit times, increase customer satisfaction, and have real-time performance monitoring. Although Cuban Pete’s has received press accolades, there business issues that need to be addressed immediately. In 2006, Mr. Restaino was arrested, pleaded guilty, and paid a fine for serving alcohol in sangria without a license. Then, the original and well-known chef, Carl Ruiz, left the in 2008 and since the team of cooks have yet to achieve the same level of customer accolades. In addition, over the past 16 months, although there has been a recessional recovery, Cuban Pete’s has not experienced an increase in business revenue and has experienced a decrease in repeat customers. Wait times are long and all reservations, seating, order processing, and reconciliations are done manually and payments are not reconciled to orders. Although the business has a website with a widget that  allows visitors to be added to the company’s mailing list, there is no in-house practice of obtaining customer information, request of online customer satisfaction participation or web follow-up. Finally, most marketing and business promotion is done mostly via word of mouth and in local newspapers. Cuban Pete’s needs to improve operation efficiencies, reduce cost, decrease customer wait and sit times, increase customer satisfaction, and improve marketing. Major business problems to be resolved are: * Increase in revenue * Attract new customers * Retain and engage repeat customers * Establish practices to streamline and automate business practices With no current automated systems, Cuban Pete’s to implementation of Point of Sale Systems, Customer Service Management (CSM) systems, and social media for marketing and promotion to demonstrate better strategic, managerial, and operational control. HIGH LEVEL SOLUTION Strategic decisions are characterized by uncertainty and unstructured decision. These areas will include budgets, target markets, policies, and business objectives. Cuban Pete’s needs to implement automated systems that provide data in real-time on food items ordered and comparisons of weekly sales totals versus food costs, allowing planning for tighter cost controls. The management also needs to implement automated operational controls of specific tasks through appropriate technology such streamlining the customer transaction process including order tracking, order processing, machine control, scheduling, and compensation. Further, to experience a return on investment, increase customer satisfaction, improve the financial reporting process, and enhance strategic planning and performance monitoring efficiencies, Cuban Pete’s needs to implement a Point of Sales System and utilize social media for marketing and promotion. BENEFITS OF SOLVING THE PROBLEM Automation has its advantages. By implementing MIS, Cuban Pete’s will experience a reduction in manual labor and human error, an increase customer feedback to help waiters service the customers, and improved   capabilities for view of sales figures, menu planning, and cost accounting details. By implementing the following systems, Cuban Pete’s will attract more customers, improve wait times, streamline processes, and ultimately experience an increase in revenue and customer satisfaction. TECHNICAL APPROACH Innovation continues to improve the way companies do business. As a relatively small establishment, Cuban Pete’s needs a low-cost solution   improve business. The best way to improve business would be the implement a Point of Sales System (POS) and utilize social media channels. * POS This team suggests Revel iPad POS. Considered the cash register for the 21st century, this mobile POS software provides up-to-the-minute reporting to track the sales, orders, payments, staff and patrons in real time. There is no back-of-the-house server needed, no mandatory contracts, and no hidden fees or charges. Revel Systems’ POS System provides: * Employee Login. Each employee has a secure login that is different from managers. This allows owners to track not only when employees clock in and out but also what they do in the system. * Order Taking. The order taking process is simple; just choose your items from the categorized list and build the customer’s order. * Order Details. Details about the order, such as item voids, deletions, special requests, discounts, holds, etc. are always available. * Payment Processing. Customers can pay using all major credit cards or gift cards and choose if they want receipts e-mailed or printed. * Cook View / Expedite View. If you want to go completely paperless, orders can show up on the iPad in the Cook View rather than printed in the kitchen. An Expedite View is also available so servers can see what has been cooked and ready to be served. This POS also provides Back Office support that will improve business as well. Some of the features include: * Flexible Menu and System Configuration. Cuban Pete’s will have the ability to customize the categories and items of their menu to suit their needs. As well as tailor the layout of receipts, specify tax rates to meet local requirements, set surcharges, set discounts and much more. * Real-time Inventory Control. As items and ingredients are sold, Cuban   inventory levels will automatically be deducted and available for inventory count comparisons to quickly detect theft, loss or waste. * Employee Scheduling and Reporting. With high employee turnover and seasonal doldrums, Revel Systems provides the capability to view metrics on employee data, such as work scheduled versus work performed number of voids, discounts by employee, and employee productivity and sales volume. * Real-time Reporting and Analytics. Revel Systems provides a variety of reports to help Cuban Pete’s run business, including sales summaries, transaction details, ingredients sold, and much more. Cuban Pete’s also needs to improve and manage customer satisfaction. Revel Systems POS also provides Customer Relationship Management (CSM). This system will allow the business to acquire your customer’s e-mail addresses from e-mailed receipts and export these addresses to a spreadsheet. Other necessary technical features that this POS provides include: * Real-time Reporting. Revel Systems provides a host of reports that are instantly available and accessible from anywhere, with the ability to grant access to managers, accountants or other professionals. * Centralized Management. With an established website, Revel Systems will allow Cuban Pete’s to centrally manage and monitor business from one website. All information is captured in real-time, and will get instant visibility to track sales volume, staff productivity, and help manage business effectively and efficiently. * Cloud Computing. Data management and storage can be expensive for a small business. The Revel System POS also provides secure Cloud Computing. This System reduces the information technology burden on Cuban Pete’s business in both time and money. There is no longer a need for a back office server to store data or to worry about software upgrades and maintenance. * Payment Card Industry Compliant. But security is also a major issue of business and customers. Revel Systems is Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliant. Revel Systems built security and compliance into its products from the onset to ensure that everything from the hardware, software, and network were all PCI compliant. * SOCIAL MEDIA Social Media allows businesses to engage timely and direct end-consumer contact at relatively low cost and higher levels of efficiency than achieved with more traditional communication tools. Thus, this team suggests   Cuban Pete’s utilize standard social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, but also implement mobile social media (MSM). According to Juniper Research, the market for mobile web 2.0 evolutions will grow from $5.5B to $22.4B by 2013. MSM applications are expected to be the main driver of this evolution and are estimated to account for over 50% of the market. Further, Pew Research, a Washington, DC based think tank, estimates that by 202, a mobile device will be the primary internet connection for most people in the world. Therefore, this team suggests that Cuban Pete’s, combined with the Revel System POS, adopt a MSM application. This permit opens standards (e.g. a transition to the TCP/IP protocol) and flat-rate systems. It also allows for upgrades to Radio Frequency Identification (PFID) tags that will be able to automatically connect to mobile phones and send URLS to them, similar to text messages. BUSINESS PROCESS CHANGES Cuban Pete’s is a manual business. Although they have a website, the business relies on manpower for all of its business transactions. Customers are checked in manually – wait times are long. Waiting staff takes orders manually, paper orders are handed off to cooking staff, credit card payments are entered manually – none are aligned or reconciled to management, distributors or protect the privacy and security of customers. The business needs to improve operation efficiencies, reduce cost, decrease customer wait and sit times, increase customer satisfaction, and have real-time performance monitoring. OVERALL RECOMMENDATION Today everything is about the ability to provide business effectively and efficiently. Over Cuban Pete’s boast about long wait times as an indication of the high great the business performs, most customers want good food, access and great service as well. To do this proficiently, effectively, and in the most cost efficient manner, Cuban Pete’s needs to secure a POS and utilize social media channels. Some industry specialists claim that if business is not participating in Facebook, YouTube, and Second Life, it is not part of cyberspace anymore. Social Media allows firms to engage in timely and direct end-consumer contact at relatively low cost and higher levels of efficiency than achieved with more traditional communication tools. HIGH-LEVEL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN The technical approach involves management information software designed by POS Professionals. Revel Systems is a user friendly point of sale designed by hospitality professionals. This software was designed by end users who have worked in the bar and restaurant industry. This particular software is designed specifically with the end user in my mind. Expectations are an easy and transparent transition to the new software system. New POS system will have the following features: * HostHostess functions including reservations, waiting listguest paging * Online food ordering * One touch order split and combine * Multiple check tender Support * Visual Floor Management * Advanced CRM such as gift card, house account and frequent buyers * 100% Touch Operated Point of Sale Communication Systems and Mobile Devices. * Key Inventory system that is visible to you and suppliers. This will increase order shipment efficiency, ensure better decision making regarding scheduling, purchase orders, shipments and invoices. * Transportation tracking will give the location of shipments as they are en-route and send out alert messages when shipments are late. * Invoice visibility will allow invoices, payments, and credit arrangements and limits to be viewed with a single touch. Social Media. Sites such as Facebook Places, Four Square and Latitude give Cuban Pete’s a great opportunity to take advantage of social media. By uploading photos of the live entertainment, atmosphere and videos of satisfied customers, potential customers can gain a â€Å"live†, up and close perspective of the restaurant. We can offer customers a small discount for â€Å"checking in† at Cuban Pete’s. Just â€Å"check in† on your Facebook Page and you get $4 off your bill and or 5% off your next visit if made within 30 days. This additional exposure is marketing the restaurant without spending large sums of money on advertising. SUMMARY Cuban Pete’s needs to improve operation efficiencies, reduce cost, decrease customer wait and sit times, increase customer satisfaction, and improve marketing. With no current automated systems, by implementing strategic, managerial, and operational control this small restaurant business can improve with the implementation of management information systems which coordinates everything from scheduling personnel to customer service. Two primary systems to immediately improve business includes of a Point of Sale Systems that will automate business and include Customer Service Management (CSM), cloud computing, real-time reporting, and secure Customer Payment Industry (CPI) payments. Another means to greatly improve business would be to utilize social media for marketing and promotion. REFERENCES Corcoran, D. (2006). Crowds in Search of a Fiesta. New York Times. Retrieved from http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/travel/13njdine.html?_r=0 Draft, R.L. & Legel, R.H. (1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness, and structural design. Management Science, 32(5), 554-571 Kaplan, A. (2010). Users of the World Unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons. 53, 59-68 Toffler, A. (1980). The third wave: The Classic Study of Tomorrow. New York, Bantam Books. www.cubanpetes.com

Leisure and Recreation in Action Essay

Unit 6: Leisure and Recreation in action is a mandatory part of my AVCE Leisure and Recreation Course. This unit includes planning, organising and hosting a leisure and recreation event. We found out at the end of July 2005 that we were going to have to hold an event for a certain customer group. We would have to decide on this customer group and then brainstorm some ideas for events that we could organise for them. Once we have done this we will have to make a business plan and present it to school officials. Then we would also have to think of advertising the event. Our first meeting included brainstorming different ideas for the event that we could organise. Below is a copy of this brainstorm. Once we had brainstormed the event we wrote down our ideas and put them into a tally table. Once we had done this we went round different classes around the school and asked which event they would prefer to go on. It turned out that the preferred event would be to go to an England football match. We thought that this event would be quite easy to organise, as there were 2 England World Cup qualifier matches coming up. We tried to order the tickets for both of the upcoming matches but found out that our request would be put into a ballot as there were many different groups of people who wanted to go to these matches. We wouldn’t find out if we had succeeded in getting the tickets until 6 weeks before each match. This was a problem, as we would have had to rush organising the rest of the event. E.g. Transport, Customers. We were unsuccessful in getting tickets to either of the matches. This was a blow to us because we had designed posters and already done some organising. We had to decide on another event that would be quite easy and quick to organise. Read more:  When Leisure is Defined as Recreational Activity We decided to organise and host a Senior Citizen Christmas Lunch, as it was near to Christmas. We decided on our customers because we decided that the senior citizens of Darlaston had done a lot for our community, and we wanted to give them something back for their help and support. Our customers would also be ex-employees of our school. This wasn’t even in our list of brainstormed ideas, but with a little help we thought of it. First we had to come up with aims and objectives for our event, and also all other details. We decided on the aims and objectives by thinking about the customers’ wants and needs and also our own. This included finding a venue for the event, finding out if the Senior Citizens would want to come to our event and other aspects such as our budget. We had to consider our budget as we would have to provide the Senior Citizens with a high standard of cuisine, and also provide them with entertainment and make their time with us enjoyable. We found out that the school wouldn’t be able to provide all of our funds for the event, so we had to find a way of making enough money to pay for it. We came up with a number of ideas such as bag packing at ASDA, Football Cards; Guess the number of sweets in a jar and to hold a football tournament. We decided to do the football card because the other ideas would take a while to conduct and also host. The football card was really successful. We had 48 teams and people paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 for a team name, a team name was then picked out of a hat by an unbiased volunteer, and the person who had the name of the team picked out won à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10. From this fund raiser we made à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½38. This was enough to pay for some of the shopping for the event. On our second meeting we had to decide on committee roles for each member of our group. We decided on these roles by looking at everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. These roles are listed below: * Chairperson – Mathew Bayley. As the chairperson Mathew would have to make sure that everyone was doing their jobs right, and if they weren’t then they would have to tell them to try harder. We selected Mathew for this role as he is a strong minded person who everyone listens to * Secretary – Krystle Larkin. As the secretary Krystle takes down notes from each of our meetings and turns them into minutes, then she gives them to us as soon as possible so we know what our weekly jobs are. We selected Krystle for this role as she is the most organised person of the group * Treasurer – Ben Hall. As the treasurer Ben looks after all of our funds and receipts. We selected Ben for this job as he is good with money and knows how to budget money * Marketing Person – Donna Hawkins. As the marketing person it is my job to market the event through invitations and/or posters. I was selected for this job as I have done marketing for 1 year in business and am also quite creative * Staffing/Human Resources – Leigh Griffiths. As the person in charge of staffing it is Leigh’s job to recruit more staff members if we need them. Leigh was selected for this job as he is quite persuasive and also good at deciding on good workers with good character * Health and Safety – Matthew Bray. As the health and Safety person it is Matthew’s job to do a risk assessment of the event. Matthew was selected for this job as he is good at finding out what problems could occur during events We had a good marketing structure which meant we were all on the same level as each other and we were all given fair shares of the jobs. Our management structure is below. I think that the group worked really well together, although there were a few problems along the way. We worked well throughout communication, although because of the stress of organising our event we did argue quite a lot. Mathew Bayley coped really well being our leader. He managed to keep us on track with all of our work and also our set tasks. We interacted well with each other, keeping each other informed on how well we were getting on with our jobs and tasks. There was some tension between myself and Krystle, because we kept getting in each others way and taking over each others jobs. But overall, we worked really well together. As a team we really enjoyed planning and organising the event. Until the day of the event we helped each other with our tasks and also with any problems that occurred with the tasks that we were set. We managed to keep out of each others way most of the time, although there were a few problems and hiccups during the planning and organising of the event. However, apart from the few problems that occurred we all worked well together. Moxhull Hall Hotel I think that our visit to Moxhull Hall Hotel went really well. We had to dress smart to make a good impression on Andreas, the manager, and the rest of his staff at the hotel. We learnt a lot off the chefs at the Hotel, than if we had of prepared meals ourselves. On 7th December 2005 at 11.30am we travelled to Moxhull Hall Hotel. This visit was to help us learn to set up covers and serve our guests properly and also how to prepare food properly. Our group was split up into two teams. These were the front of house team and the catering team. My team (the catering team) were taken into the kitchens and the front of house team was taken into one of the restaurants. First we had to get acquainted with the members of staff who would be helping us. There was John and Neil, the two chefs. They then split us up into two teams of four. One of the teams went with John, whilst my team stayed with Neil. We were allocated different jobs. I had to mix up the flour, butter and sugar to make the dough for the mince pies that we were going to cook. My group also had to make a salad, potato salad and also coleslaw. We had to chop up the vegetables from fresh and then mix them up with mayonnaise to make the coleslaw and potato salad. We had cooked this meal for our and the rest of the group’s lunch. Once we had finished cooking for the group we then had to clean the side units and table tops that we had gotten dirty whilst preparing the food. The day of the event We started the day of the event by meeting up at our school at 8.15 and collected all of the equipment and accessories that we needed. We then walked up to the venue of our event and started to set up our equipment. The front of house staff set up the main hall and the kitchen staff, which consisted of me, Matthew Bray, Leigh Griffiths and 2 other helpers from a year 11 leisure and tourism class, went into the kitchen to set up. We took all of the food into the kitchen and started to prepare the food. We all washed our hands first and also washed up the saucepans and cooking utensils that we would need. I had to prepare the parsnips, while Matthew and Leigh prepared the carrots. Reagan and Emily prepared the sprouts whilst Mrs Lavender prepared the potatoes. Below is a photograph of me peeling the parsnips After we had prepared the food and put it on the stoves to cook we had to tidy up and clean the sides. We also had to set out the small plates for the starter. We decided to do a prawn cocktail for the started and while the main course was cooking I prepared the prawns whilst the others tidied up and washed up any bowls and cutlery we had used. Below is a photograph of me preparing the prawns After preparing the prawns and setting them out on the plates the front of house staff came through to collect the starters and serve them to our guests. When our guests had finished eating the plates were brought back in and the main meal was served. It was my job to serve the sprouts, as the picture at the side shows. Once the plates had been taken out then we had to wash up the starter plates and prepare the desert. Because 2 of our guests were diabetic we couldn’t serve them the traditional dessert of Christmas pudding and custard, so we served them a variety of cheese and biscuits instead. Once all of the food had been served the washing up and clearing away had to be done. This was done whilst the front of house staff were setting up the entertainment equipment. The washing up and cleaning away was done by all of us in turn. Below is a photo of me cleaning the sides of the kitchen Once all of the cleaning and washing up had been completed we had to go and get changed into our front of house uniforms. We did this because we were going out the front to the guests to help with the entertainment. Below is a picture of me in my front of house uniform Our first lot of entertainment was a few games of bingo. Ben was the caller for the bingo, and the rest of us helped our guests with the games. After the games of bingo we had a few different quizzes that some of the group had composed. These were played in teams of two. After the quizzes had been completed we then played a game of catchphrase, which was performed by Leigh and Ben. The quizzes and the bingo went down really well with the senior citizens, as did the game of catchphrase. After the entertainment was finished it was time for the guests to go home. While Mathew Bayley and Leigh were seeing the guests out the rest of us started tidying away the tables and chairs and all of the equipment that we had used. This took about 20 minutes to do. Afterwards we had to take all of the equipment back to the school and pack it all away. Overall the day went extremely well. There were a few problems, such as 2 people turning up early and uninvited. Also the cooking utensils from the venue went missing, so I had to go home to get some from my house that we could use. All of the entertainment went down well and the meal was enjoyed by all of the senior citizens. The atmosphere of the venue was really good and Christmassy too, which made us and the guests feel good about ourselves, and also really happy with each other. This made us better people to be around and we worked better together because of this. Improvements If we were to do this event again then I would recommend making some improvements. We would have to make sure that people didn’t turn up uninvited. Because of this we had to make room for extra people and also share the food out more than we thought we would have to. I also think that we could have made more money from the fund raising. We could do two fund raising events to make double the amount of money so we don’t have to struggle so much keeping within our budget. I also think that we could improve the attitudes of the extra staff that we recruited. The year 11’s that worked in the kitchen didn’t pull their weight and they stopped working for a chat at anytime they could. We had to keep telling them to get back to work. I think that we could split them up and make them work with one of our group to keep them in check and stop them from slacking off. I also think that we could improve the running smoothness of the quizzes. We did have 4 quizzes, so we had to do them quickly. However, some of the guests thought that the quizzes were read out too slow and the others thought that the quizzes were read out too fast. We could improve this by practising how to read out loud to guests properly. I think that we could also use a bigger venue. Everyone did seem quite cramped up and there was not much room to move about in the kitchen area either. The kitchen was small and there were 6 people in there all together. This made it very cramped and quite uncomfortable for us to work in. I think that we should also only have 2 courses instead of 3 if we do the event again. Originally we had only planned to do two courses, but the manager of Moxhull Hall Hotel gave us some prawns to make a starter as he knew our budget was limited. We thought that this was a nice gesture, but we should have checked if any of our guests were allergic to seafood. It turned out that one of our guests was allergic to seafood, so she didn’t get to have starter. She did state on her invitation reply that she was allergic to seafood but they weren’t checked properly, so in future we would have to make sure that we checked the invitations more than once. I think that the project was successful. We kept to our objectives throughout the planning the event and also conducting it. We worked well as a team throughout the event, with only a few arguments occurring. We found solutions to possible problems, such as the arguments and also problems with decorating the venue. We provided our guests with a high standard of cuisine and entertainment. We know this from the witness statements that they produced for us. We all enjoyed the experience and we provided the elderly with a memorable event. We know that we enjoyed it from talking to each other and finding out what we thought went good and bad on the day. We know that our extra staff enjoyed themselves too, as we found out when we questioned them about it. We know that our guests enjoyed the experience from the positive comments we had, witness statements, our guests facial expressions on the video and also one of the guests took the time to write in to the local newspaper about how much she enjoyed the event. This statement was sent into the newspaper by Mrs Doris Robertson. These are all included in my work. We came in on budget, but we had to keep things to a minimum and also add a few extra pounds ourselves to buy the prizes for the quizzes. I think that if this event is done again then more fund raising could be done. This way products will be brought comfortably without any worry of not having enough money to buy the necessities for the meal. Customers were satisfied with the event and we have the proof of this from witness statements. Such quotes include ‘ very polite, willing and helpful. All cheerful and pleasant’ and also ‘ very good meal†¦ efficient service all round’. The ambience of the venue worked really well with event. We made the venue look Christmassy by putting up decorations and we also played Christmas music into the hall where the meal was to be served. All of the front of house staff were dressed professionally in black trousers, white blouse/shirt and a black bow tie. Once the kitchen staff came out, we also changed into smart, professional clothing. Good things of the event included: * Making the senior citizens happy and cheerful * Giving ourselves the satisfaction of making other people happy * Everything running quite smooth * Positive feedback from the guests and members of staff Bad things of the event included: * Venue being too small * Extra people turning up * One member of the kitchen team turned up late * I had to go home to get some cooking utensils as the ones from the venue were missing