Monday, September 30, 2019

Handbook of Interpersonal Communication Essay

Interpersonal communication in the work area, which is argued to be created and recreated by means narrative and as well as discourse, is an integral part of organizational change and the organization itself. For this reason, many organizations set their attentions fro researches on interpersonal communication. The article by Mark Knapp and John Daly is one article that will interest those who seek to now more about interpersonal communication not only in the work place but interpersonal communication as a whole. The article of Phyl Johnson takes the readers to the important and highlighted aspects that can be found in the text written by Mark Knapp and John Daly about interpersonal communication between peoples in organizations. This article offers the reader a glimpse of what the book is along with the different topics that the book offers by reviewing chosen chapter from the books and introducing its concepts to the readers. Also, Johnson illustrates the five main divisions of Knapp and Daly’s article which are namely â€Å"introduction, perspective on inquiry, fundamental units, processes and functions and contexts† (Johnson 989). The introduction part of the article gives the reader an overview of what the article was all about as well as the side that the author will take. They also introduce the issues that they find important in the field of interpersonal communication both in the present time and the time to come. Such issues include â€Å"behavior as well as cognition, consciousness and intent, and meaning created in the text† (Johnson 990). The next section of the text, perspective on inquiry, focuses on the different methods of inquiry that exist in communication research in which Johnson chose Bochner’s chapter, The Moral Stories, from the three chapters in the section. The chapter shows how the study of organizations and other fields rise in the usage of narrative analysis. The third section which is fundamental units, takes the readers in to the basics of communication that serves as a starting point for readers that are newly interested in the field. Johnson takes into account the works of Burgoon and Hoobler’s text that tackles nonverbal signals that are either consciously or unconsciously sent within organizations. The section helps in introducing the readers to nonverbal communication within organizations such as the use of visual bodily movement as well as the biases incorporated in nonverbal communications. The importance of verbal and as well as nonverbal communication is also highlighted in this chapter of the article by Knapp and Daly. The fourth chapter, the processes and functions, has six chapters discussing â€Å"supportive communication, interpersonal conflict, interpersonal skills and†¦emotional communication† (Johnson 990). Johnson reviewed emotional communication from Metts nd Planalp’s dealing with emotions within the organizations that looks at motions in the context of expression as well as writing and gender roles. Then it moves through different fields such as anthropology, philosophy and others (i. e. art, business, history, psychology and sociology). The last chapter, contexts, focuses on interpersonal communication as seen in different contexts which include the work place, health care as well as family relationships and romantic relationships in which the author chose to review the chapter by Sias, Krone and Jablin regarding workplace relationships from an ecological point of view. The chapter focuses on the different status relationship in the workplace as well as some ways in balancing the power and as well as maintaining the distance and dominance within the persons in the organization. As a final remark, the author recommends the text by Knapp and Daly stating that it is a â€Å"good accessible starting point† (Johnson 993) for those who are interested in the micro level of organizations such as the communication (interpersonal communication) within organizations. Work Cited Johnson, Phyl. â€Å"Handbook of Interpersonal Communication. (Book Reviews). † Organization Studies 24. 6 (July 2003): 989(4). InfoTrac Communication & Mass Media eCollection. Gale. CCLA, Miami Dade Comm College. 28 June 2008 .

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Was king henry an innovator?

Henry the VII was born on the 28th of January 1457 and had a very interesting life. He became king In the well-known Battle of Bowwow's where he killed the king at that time, who was Richard Ill with the assistance of the Stanley brothers. At that point In history, England was a very weak culturally, economically and militarily. England was also torn in half for years by a civil war which is also known as the Wars of the Roses. This meant that king Henry VII had not only inherited the crown but several major robbers, which Henry intended to solve these issues.Some of these problems were that the British Isles needed unification, as both Ireland and Scotland were both hostile and separate, or the English Just didn't have control over them. Another problem was the military development. The army Henry inherited with his crown relied on the bow, while other nations were moving on to fire arms. Above all else, though, King Henry VII planned to create a new dynasty; the Tudor dynasty. He w ent about solving these Issues In a very clever and unique style which proved to be effective.Some believed, though, that Henry merely adopted these ideas from previous monarchs and It just proved more effective In his rule. That's why there Is not an agreement on whether or not King Henry was an Innovator. Some historians argue that King Henry the VII was an innovator, and have many arguments to support them. Most, if not all, of these arguments revolved around three main areas which were finance, foreign policies and his relationship with the nobles. On the first area, Henry held money very close to his heart. He had adoptedEdward Avis use of the chamber (which can also show that he wasn't an innovator) but had ended up creating more than 3 times the revenue that Edward had made, which was due partly to the fact that Henry supervised his accounts more closely than Edward. Henry also TLD spoil his family. He was assisted greatly by the fact that the only relative In his family was his uncle who had passed away a decade after his reign. Further proof can be seen by â€Å"He was careful not to give away much to his wife's relatives, the Woodpile connection, to whom Edward had been more generous†.Henry also developed to a fine are his recognizes, which were basically a way of ensuring that henrys more important subjects obeyed the law and lived in peace. The way these recognizes worked were that if a nobleman or gentleman offended the king, or that their conduct was a threat to the public order, they would be obliged to pay specified sums of money if they broke the conditions laid down by the recognizes. It is shown that out of the 62 peers that existed between years 1485 and 1 509, 46 of them were under recognizes at one point or another.This as henrys method of holding the upper class to ransom for their good behavior. At the start of Henrys reign, he had inherited a considerable debt, but ended up becoming solvent In the beginning of his reign. Henry n ot only became solvent but ended up securing a surplus In his later years. He also had a very strong relationship with the nobles. During The Wars of the Roses, many nobles had taken advantage of relationship to the nobility than his predecessor did.Henry, unlike Edward who made nine new earls, only made two new earls who were his stepfather Lord Stanley and Edward Courtesan. Another difference between Henry and Edward were that there were no â€Å"super-nobles†, while in Edwards reign; he had made his mother's brother more powerful by showering him with land. Henry was very cautious not to reward too generously, even to the nobles who were most useful to him. Retaining, which was that lords could retain servants or followers to serve him in war or peace, was a major problem for Henry.Both Henry and his predecessor knew that they shouldn't end it all together, as they recognized a nobles right to retinue, due to the fact that these ties of loyalty between lords and their foll owers were important for the smooth functioning of society'. Henrys aim, though, was to attempt to end the lawlessness and corruption which could result if retaining remained unchecked. That is when he created the rule in 1504, which stated that every lord had to obtain a license for his retinue from the king equipped with a list of named retainers. The main difference between Henry and Edward was that Henry enforced his laws in a more resolute way.Foreign policies were another one of his specialties. Both Edward and his successor .NET about similarly taking claim to the French throne, both led invasions of France and both achieved treaties by which the French king agreed to pay them annually. They were also very similar with Scotland, as both of them concluded long truces with their neighbors which were eventually broken up by open war. Differences between the two kings were even clearer. King Edward was the renaissance prince, and sought out to gain land by attempting to invade Fr ance and Scotland, which were both serious attempts to gain some of the land that England had lost.Henry on the other hand was quite the opposite. He was â€Å"more inclined to peace than war†. Henry had signed a treaty with Spain to ensure security. The treaty of friendship opened the way to marriage between Catherine of Argon, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and Henrys eldest son, Prince Arthur. He had also strengthened his connections with Scotland by marrying his daughter Margaret and James IV of Scotland, and also ensured that Henry VIII should marry Catherine of Argon, after the death of Prince Arthur.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Biophysical Processess and Health Assessment

Discuss about the Biophysical Processess and Health Assessment. Mr. A (70 yrs) is from the Srilanka. He is living alone in his home on the outskirt of city alone as his wife was expired two years before. He is not interested to stay with his son who is staying in the same city. His is financially weak as he don’t have any i e source and he is having very little pension. Hence, he can’t offer to have helper to assist in his activities of daily living. munity from which Mr. A belongs is traditionalist in character, as people from this munity are not interested to share their health problems with healthcare professional. 15 years before he was diagnosed with peptic ulcer, diabetes, obesity, ostoporosis, fatty liver cirrhosis and hypertension and till date he is having these disease conditions. Mr. A was consuming bisoprolol, atenolol, esomeprazole, metformin, frusemide, spironolactone and orlistat since some time. He was on alcohol consumption and chronic smoking since few years. Milk products and eggs are allergic to him. He is not ea ting nutritious food and as result his nutritional balance is impaired. In recent times, his vital systems were tested and below are the observations. He has breathing problem, stomach pain, vomiting, insomnia and he has feeling of loss of appetite and lethargy. It is evident that he wishes to keep isolated from society and family members and pletely depressed. Mr. A feels that society and family members are not going to accept him in this condition. Society and family members are unhappy with his lifestyle since long time and his presenting condition is due to his lifestyle. As he is depressed, he is forgetting routine things and he disoriented to time, however he is oriented to the people. Liver function tests are performed for Mr. A because he has liver cirrhosis. Liver function test generally estimates proteins such as alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), albumin, and bilirubin. Atypical level of these proteins exhibit degree of liver damage or scarring. Full blood examination (FBE) exhibit plete examination of health of the Mr.A. Diagnosis of acute inflammation can be performed by C-reactive protein (CRP) estimation. Test for the inflammation was performed because Mr. A has peripheral oedema (cirrhosis).   MBI test is generally performed as metabolic panel test essentially for diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease and hypertension. MBI test was performed because Mr. A is having multiple diseases.   CT scan of the left hip of Mr. A was performed as Mr. A has pain in hip. With the help of CT scan degree of pression of fracture can be determined and it is also useful for the evaluation of severity of osteoporosis. X-ray of spine pelvis ri ght hip was carried out in the patient for the assessment of   dislocation of three bones of the pelvis like illiun, ischium and pubis (Fischbach and Barnett, 2009; Novelline and Squire, 2004). Mr. A has cardiovascular plications since some time and he taking medicines for the same. To assess his current cardiovascular plications his blood pressure should be assessed. He is also having breathing problem and to assess his current lung function pulmonary function test should be performed. He is also having liver cirrhosis, hence his liver function test should be performed. In these evaluations it has been observed that his cardiovascular system, respiratory system and liver are normal (Jensen, 2010). Head, ears, eyes, nose and throat (HEENT) Observations   : Eyes : No problem in vision, No blurred vision and there are no spots in the eye. Cardiovascular: Occasional mild chest pain, occasional very little palpitations. Pulmonary : No shortness of breath and no cough. Gastointestinal : There is epigastric pain since long time, diarrhea and bloody stools and loss of appetitie. Genitourinary : No urgency in urination Neurologic : No numbness, tingling and paresthesias. Mukosleletal : Abdominal pain after lifting little heavy bag. Vital signs   : B.P. – Systolic 120 mmHg and diastolic 80 mmHg, Blood sugar level – 110 mg/dl, Body weight – 75 kg, Live function test – AST - 70 IU, ALT -   50 IU Forced expiratory volume (FEV1) – 75 % Conclusion : From the above physical examination and vital signs and other tests, it is evident that disease of Mr. A like hypertension, diabetes, cirrhosis are in control now. However from symptoms like stomach pain, bloody diarrhea and loss of appetite is predicted that he is suffering from Inflammatory bowel disease and decided to go for diffential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease. Possible diffential diagnosis : Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are types of inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the inflammatory disease of the GI tract and these two disease share few mon factors like symptoms. Also, these two disease share mon etiological factors like environmental, genetic and an abnormal immune response. These two diseases can occur equally in men and women. Crohn’s disease is spread intermittently in the large and small intestines with few areas are inflamed and few areas are normal. Ulcerative colitis can be continuous inflammation particularly in the small intestine. . Crohn’s disease occurs throughout every layer of the intestinal wall, on the other side ulcerative colitis occur particularly in the inner lining of the colon (Targan et al., 2013; Cohen, 2005). Conclusion:   Ã‚  Out of total cases of inflammatory bowel disease around 10 % cases exhibit characteristics of both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and moreover severity and occurrence of these diseases is similar in all age groups. This together occurrence of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis is called as intermittent colitis. Out of these two diseases, one particular disease is not age related and both disease occur at any stage of life. Hence, in few cases it is very difficult to differentiate between these two diseases. Nevertheless, a careful medical history, physical examination, use of screening tools, and correct diagnostic tests can precisely differentiate between these two inflammatory bowel disease conditions in most patients, allowing disease-specific management (Tontini et al., 2015).  Ã‚   Physical examination of the patient should be performed along with asking questions to the patient. There is the possibility of fever due to intestinal inflammation and dehydration due to diarrhea. Hence, temperature should be noted and about dehydration Mr. A should be asked about his fatigue and lethargy. This fatigue and lethargy also would be helpful in evaluating anemia because bloody diarrhea, there is the possibility of anemia in Mr.A. There is also possibility of weight loss in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Hence,   weight of Mr. A, also should be noted.  Ã‚  Ã‚      Stomach pain in particular area should be evaluated by slight pressing of the stomach area and inquiring Mr. A about the pain sensation. Inflammatory bowel disease is generally associated with extra intestinal plications like arthritis, iritis and dermatitis. These plications also should be evaluated by observation of the particular part and asking Mr. A about any abnormal feeling in that part like pain in limb in arthritis.  Ã‚   Rectal examination should be performed to assess bloody stool because in inflammatory bowel disease, there is occurrence of bloody diarrhea (Targan et al., 2013; Cohen, 2005). Biomarker analysis: As IBD is inflammatory bowel disease further prediction of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis can be performed by inflammatory biomarker analysis like CRP, IL-6, INF gamma and IL-13. Immunologically Crohn’s disease is TH1 mediated inflammatory disease INF gamma predict about the occurrence of   Crohn’s disease. On the other side, ulcerative colitis is TH2 medicated disease, IL13 predict about ulcerative colitis. Even tough, CRP doesn’t give clear differentiation between Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, it has been found that CRP levels are slightly higher in Crohn’s disease than ulcerative colitis. Serum IL6 levels are also slightly higher in Crohn’s disease than ulcerative colitis. Serum biomarker as diagnostic test should be performed initially because it is simple test and it give good prediction without much plication to the patient. From biomarker analysis, it is evident that Mr. A has ulcerative c olitis (Lewis, 2011; Iskandar et al., 2012). Cross-sectional imaging can be helpful in the identification of the stage of the inflammatory bowel disease. This includes tools like ultrasonography, puted tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and barium contrast radiology. Decision on the selction of the tool for cross-sectional imaging depends on the patient condition, severity of the symptoms in the patient, availability of expertise and instrument. Along with the identification of   location of the lession, cross-sectional imaging is also helpful in the evaluation of the thickness of the colonic wall and examination of the different layers of the colonic wall. This analysis of each wall of the colonic wall helps in the differential diagnosis of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis because Crohn’s disease occurs throughout all the layers of colonic wall and ulcerative colitis occurs in the inner layer of the colonic wall. These imaging techniques also helpful in the assessment of presence or absence of colonic lymph nodes From cross sectional imaging, it is evident that Mr. has ulcerative colitis (Braveman et al., 2004; Tekkis et al., 2005).      Ileo-colonoscopy : Ileo-colonoscopy helpful in the differential diagnosis in the inflammatory bowel disease because in this examination patient with Crohn’s disease exhibits discontinuous inflammation of colonic wall, lesions and cobblestoning of the mucosa. On the other side, ulcerative colitis exhibits erosions,continuous inflammation, microulcers and granularity in the mucosa. From Ileo-colonoscopy it is evident that Mr. A has ulcerative colitis (Dignass et al., 2012).   Ã‚   Histopathology : For the differential diagnosis of the inflammatory bowel disease, histopathology was performed from the two specimens from the five sites of the colon of the colon, rectum and terminal ileum. In histopatological analysis, Crohn’s disease exhibits architectural and inflammatory changes which depicts discontinuous alterations throughout the colon, focal cryptitis, inflammation of the lamina propria and mucin deposition. Ulceratice colitis exhibits paneth cell metaplasiain the distal part of the colon, depletion of mucin, inflammatory cell infiltration throughout the mucosa, distorted crypts and surface erosions. From histopathological analysis it is evident that Mr. A has ulcerative colitis (Magro et al., 2013). Upper endoscopy: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy is helpful in the patients with suspected Crohn’s disease because this particular disease of the inflammatory bowel disease is related to the upper gastrointestinal tract. This diagnostic tool is not valid exclusivity for Crohn’s disease because upper endoscopy is also useful for the diagnosis of the Helicobacter pylori infection, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis and gastric adenocarcinoma. This diagnostic test was rejected in Mr. A because other above performed tests clerly indicated occurrence of ulcerative colitis in Mr. A (Annese et al., 2013). Small-bowel endoscopy:   Small-bowel endoscopy is also specifically useful for the examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Hnece, this test was also not considered for the diffential diagnosis of Mr. A, because in other diagnostic tests it was confirmed that Mr. A has ulcerative colitis (Flamant et al., 2013). In the health assessment of Mr. A, stepwise approach was followed starting from the collection of the history of Mr. A in terms of family history and medical history. In this it was identified that Mr. A has very unhealthy lifestyle which was responsible for the multiple disease in M. A like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, liver disease and his condition was like a patient with metabolic syndrome. As, he was consuming medications for these conditions, his most of the health issues in the past are in control now. It is evident from the tests performed for diabetes, blood pressure and liver function test. Recently he was suffering from the intense stomach pain and bloody diarrhea. Hence, it was predicted that Mr. was suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. Inflammatory bowel disease prised of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, specific diagnosis was performed for Mr. A by applying differential diagnosis. In the diffential diagnosis it is evident that Mr.A is s uffering from the ulcerative colitis. Annese, V., Daperno, M., Rutter, M.D., Amiot, A., Bossuyt, P., & East, J. (2013). European evidence based consensus for endoscopy in inflammatory bowel disease. Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, 7(12), 982-1018. Braveman, J.M., Schoetz, D.J., Marcello, P.W., Roberts, P.L., et al. (2004). The fate of the ileal pouch in patients developing Crohn’s disease. Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, 47, 1613–1619. Cohen, R. D. (2003). Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Diagnosis and Therapeutics. Springer Science & Business Media. Dignass, A., Eliakim, R., Magro, F., Maaser, C., Chowers, Y., et al. (2012). Second European evidence-based consensus on the diagnosis and management of ulcerative colitis part 1: definitions and diagnosis. Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, 6, 965–990. Fischbach, F.T., & Barnett, M. (2009). A Manual of Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests. (8 th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Flamant, M., Trang, C., Maillard, O., Sacher-Huvelin, S., Le Rhun, M., Galmiche, J.P., & Bourreille, A. (2013). The prevalence and ou e of jejunal lesions visualized by small bowel capsule endoscopy in Crohn's disease. Inflammatory Bowel Disease, 19(7), 1390-6. Iskandar, H.N., & Ciorba, M.A. (2012). Biomarkers in inflammatory bowel disease: current practices and recent advances. Translational Research, 159, 313–325. Jensen, S. (2010). Pocket Guide for Nursing Health Assessment: A Best Practice Approach. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Lewis, J, D. (2011). The utility of biomarkers in the diagnosis and therapy of inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology, 140:1817–1826.e2. Magro, F., Langner, C., Driessen, A., Ensari, A., Geboes, K., et al. (2013). European consensus on the histopathology of inflammatory bowel disease. Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, 7(10), 827-51. Novelline, R. A., & Squire, L. F. (2004). Squire's Fundamentals of Radiology. (6 th ed.). Harvard University Press.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Targan, S.R., Shanahan, F. Karp, LC. (2007). Inflammatory Bowel Disease: From Bench to Bedside. Springer Science & Business Media. Tekkis, P.P, Heriot, A.G., Smith, O., Smith, J.J., Windsor, A.C., & Nicholls, R.J. (2007). Long-term ou es of restorative proctocolectomy for Crohn’s disease and indeterminate colitis. Colorectal Disease, 7, 218–223. Tontini, G.E., Vecchi, M., Pastorelli, L., Neurath, M.F., & Neumann, H. (2015). Differential diagnosis in inflammatory bowel disease colitis: state of the art and future perspectives. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 21(1), 21-46.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Global Economic Perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Global Economic Perspectives - Essay Example The major principles around which GATT / WHO function are:The major principles around which GATT / WHO function are: Non-discrimination: All member countries are treated at par and on the merits of the trade issue at hand and even the smallest members have the opportunity to present their case against any other member irrespective of size or global clout to protect its international trade interests.Transparency: Members of WTO can review and debate issues of international trade and agreements in an open forum, and due to its functioning being similar to that of a tribunal, absolute transparency is assured in the search for their resolution in a timely manner.Member-driven organisation: The WTO is run by and for its members, and all decisions are taken with the complete knowledge of all members after consultation in an open forum.The WTO contributes to international trade in many different ways.†¢ Assisting developing and transition economies: Out of a total of 148 members, about three-fourths are developing countries, and in addition to economies that are transitioning to the open market, play an ever-increasing role in the functioning of the WTO. With the increasing influence of these countries in the functioning of the WTO, as also their increasing influence in world affairs, the WTO assists these nations in meeting their needs and solving their problems. The WTO Secretariat’s Training and Technical Cooperation Institute organizes training programmes and workshops for officials of such governments.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Environmental Regulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environmental Regulation - Essay Example Preference to other dealings in addition to customary enforcement responses stems from a conviction that community standards and values have undergone a basic change. People are indicative of steady support for environmental safety, and industry leaders more and more see environmental protection as an imperative value. Present industry managers grew up through years while their civilization maintained protection of the environment as an innately optimistic target. Therefore they bring a basically diverse approach to environmental regulations, and their responsibility to accomplish them. The standard basis usually offered for a broader compliance strategy to environmental regulation is therefore eventually based on the conviction that regulators and the public now share the same objectives and value systems. Non-compliance today may be considered as a communication gap or lack of knowledge and not an implicit challenge to the fundamental regulatory ideas. Environmental consciousness a mong citizens came down in the later 1990s. For example, in the United States, environmental regulation came down to a mid-level political concern and graded below other issues such as education, health care, crime etc. (Demmke, 2001) The Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1970, to strengthen the federal government’s environmental responsibilities. This was a clear detection that the problems of air and water pollution, solid waste clearance, water supply, and pesticide and radiation control were interconnected and needed a combined approach. On January 1st 1970, The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was signed into regulation. The act necessitate that an environmental impact statement be organized for all recommendation or report on legislation and for each major federal action considerably affecting the feature of the environment. The environmental impact report must: explain the environmental impact of the planned action, talk about

Dynamics of Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dynamics of Terrorism - Essay Example Nassar presents an in depth picture on the real and historic causes behind terrorism. For him, as it were, every global citizen and leader in Parliament are, among others, responsible for the current and widespread menace of terrorism. That is why Nassar says: Recently, a former student of mine wrote me one of those rare but special notes that teachers occasionally receive. Lynn Weddle of the class of 1985 wrote, "I often am reminded of the many things I learned while in your class and how some of the things you mentioned became truly prophetic." My former student went on to remind me of a statement I had made in class arguing that the Soviet Union was not the enemy we needed to fear but rather "a Third World country that we would never expect to wreak havoc on the US." The events of September 11, 2001, reminded her of that statement. While the events of that dreadful day were a wake-up call to most Americans, terror has been a normal way of life for a long time to many people around the world. It certainly has been a part of my life since birth (Nassar i-iv). Terrorism is and terrorist incidents are on the increase in Asia and Middle-East and West Asia while they are on a decreasing trend in Europe and America. Terrorist violence and incidents have led to thousands of death every year from 700 to about 6000 in the world (Sengupta and Cockburn 27 March 2007). International Terrorist Incidences 1968 to 2004 Source: Graph from MIPT database, http://www.tkb.org/Home.jsp This menace of terrorists' violent and fatal incidents is beyond human description and definition. Various dictionaries and encyclopedias define terrorism mainly in terms of acts of fatal violence and attacks against established and recognized institutions of State and its citizens and forces. Academics and experts do not fully agree with such simplistic meanings and definitions. For Jimmy Carter, Palestinian people have always suffered at the hands of the Israel's policy of "Apartheid" against them (Carter 176). If this so then what about Palestine's' sustained terrorists attacks not only aimed at Israel but also the different countries of the entire world. For Nassar Jamal, terrorism is use of excessive force, fatal attacks with the intention to create terror and panic in order to secure calculated political demands. He, however, finds - quite like Bjorgo (First Chapter) - institution of State more responsible for present-day terrorism. Gurr and Cole believe that there are different levels of terrorist attacks and violence - the conventional and non-conventional. Terrorist groups are not gun-trotting armatures. They have there aims and purposes. As such there main objective is to accomplish their political aims through effective means of massive violence. They even use weapons of mass destruction especially nuclear, biological and chemical weapons [NBCs] (1-22). Defining terrorism leads also to a major question. Are terrorists normal human beings Are they primarily pathological cases Yes, even terrorists of today are normal beings and their global system and networking is

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Diversity at work - organisational politics to employees Essay

Diversity at work - organisational politics to employees - Essay Example As the case study shows, Isobela intelligently participates in the organizational politics at TopNotch and eventually gets a promotion after the retirement of James, their CEO. Alternatively, participating in organizational politics can have adverse effects on the careers of various individuals as happened to Alexis and George in the case study under consideration. The main issue that Alexis, George and Chetan are facing is their participation in organizational politics in an effort of seeing their efforts at the organization recognized and in turn get promotions. Their participation takes place when Alexis discovers that a former minister in New Zealand plans on hosting celebrations for his seventieth birthday. Alexis sees this as an opportunity of advancing her own agenda through playing politics to assist the company in achieving their objective of attracting latent clients while strengthening their status (Schermerhorn, Osborne, Uhl-Bien & Hunt, 2011). Alexis relies on rumors tha t are circulating within the organization concerning their relationship with their competitors. This enables her to obtain vital information concerning their organization of the various parties they have contracted (Martin, 2005). On the other hand, the company’s CEO also utilizes organizational politics in eliminating his competition in the attainment of contracts. He is able to threaten the management of ExcelEvent with the possibility of cutting ties with their major catering organization that is run by his relative. It is this move that enables him to eliminate part of their competition leaving one company vying for the same contract as his company (Sievers, Long & Lawrence, 2006). This therefore implies that the organizational politics utilized by the CEO of TopNotch were beneficial for his company (Case Study 2, 2012). Isobella is also perceived to have begun the steady rise in her career through the use of organizational politics. She reportedly manages to get the prom otions through having dinners with the company’s CEO and her family’s background. Isobella is said to be incompetent and leaves most of her duties to her assistant, a Mr. George. She utilizes the time she would have been performing beneficial duties for the company in blackmailing, gossiping and making negative reports concerning her subordinates to the CEO. This strategy enables her to propel her career to levels which other employees within her company only dream about. She additionally utilizes threats to damage the image of her subordinates who have not been complying with the organizations regulations (Champoux, 2010). For instance, she utilizes the pictures she had taken of George dating a colleague since the company has strict regulations concerning the relationships that exist between their workers. The types of organizational politics that are utilized by Isobella are meant to help her in pursuing her self-interests through the promotions she will get (Daft & Willmott, 2010). Alexis on the other hand uses her skills of negotiating directly with officials from other organizations in the pursuit of excellence for the company (Samuel, 2005). She uses her influence through positive organizational politics that would greatly have helped the company in achieving their desired objectives (Schermerhorn, Osborne,

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Paper on Drug Courts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paper on Drug Courts - Essay Example However, effectiveness of this decision in fighting the growing crime rates left much to be desired. Prison overcrowding and abnormal growth of expenditures needed to enforce the new legislation were the most noticeable outcomes of the attempts to fight drug crimes within the framework of existing criminal system (USDJ, 1995). Drug courts were taken up as an alternative to resolve the problem of growing drug-related crime rates and decrease the expenditures to acceptable level. Although opinions on what constitutes a drug court may vary, the most typical definition of drug courts describes them as: "Courts specifically designated to administer cases referred for judicially supervised drug treatment and rehabilitation within a jurisdiction or court-enforced drug treatment program." (Inciardi, 1996: 25). The history of drug courts goes back to 1989 when the first drug court was established in the Dade County (Miami, FL). Since those days, drug courts have established a substantial presence in the criminal court system of the U.S. While the criminal court systems is concerned with law enforcement based primarily upon penalties, drug courts represent the coordinated efforts of several institutions. The prosecution, defense bar, law enforcement, judiciary, probation, mental health, social and nursing institutions join together in the drug court to fight the cycle of drug-related crime and substance abuse. High effectiveness of drug courts in fighting this segment of crimes is due to a specific approach that differs from the one implemented by criminal courts. The U.S. drug courts do not stick to the same model. Some of them simply facilitate and foster the process of shuffling offenders through the traditional criminal justice system; others pay more attention to rehabilitation, treatment and long-term monitoring of individuals. The key elements that define efficiency of a drug court are partnership and intensive cooperation of multiple agencies and institutions, early actions to prevent re-offending, education, close monitoring of the offenders, consistent and on-going judicial involvement and effective assessment/evaluation procedures in place (DCSC, 1997). Drug courts featuring all of these components are the most effective and vice versa. Philosophy of the drug court system implies that appropriate treatment and education is more effective tool to fight drug-related crimes than penalties and punishment. Therefore, offenders whose cases are brought to the drug court undergo an intensive course of substance abuse and psychological treatment. Frequent drug testing and probation supervision coupled with close judicial monitoring carried out by a judge with deep knowledge of drug-related issues reinforces the treatment results. Besides, some drug courts utilize additional techniques - such as family counseling or job skill training - to make this reinforcement even more effective (Fox and Huddleston, 2003). Drug court is the best instrument within the criminal justice system to shorten the period between arrest of the offender and beginning of his treatment and ensure the appropriate structure to evaluate whether the treatment long enough to achieve the targeted outcomes or no. Effectiveness of dr

Sunday, September 22, 2019

HR-Faculty of Business Environment and Society Essay

HR-Faculty of Business Environment and Society - Essay Example The multinational corporations operate from their branches and headquarters spread all over the world to expand and enlarge their reach worldwide. And all these initiatives by the business firms have been supported and encouraged by the gifts of modern technology. This global presence of companies is essentially accompanied by the global presence of their human resource or rather the presence of a workforce that comprises people from different parts of the world. The functions of human resource management become more varied and complex when employees are located around the world. Apart from the factors such as technology, economic systems, legal frameworks and industrial relations, the cultural factors also assume great importance in the managing of a global workforce. And the most prominent manifestation of the cultural challenge is the diversity of modern workforce. The US workforce, for instance, has been increasing day by day in terms of its diversity. More and more women are joi ning the workforce. The majority of the existing workforce is gradually nearing old age. The number of immigrants has increased manifold over the past few years. People from different racial and religious background have come to form a part of the ever-increasing workforce of the USA, thus adding to its ethnic diversity. Thus the human resource in all transnational business endeavors has become increasingly diverse in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, culture, political views, physical abilities and psychological orientation. This paper aims to explore the different styles of managing and leading such a diverse workforce in the light of international human resource management. The term diversity used with respect to a workforce simply implies that the working population at the workplace is a heterogeneous mix of people in terms of age, gender, race, religion, culture, education, physical abilities and psychological make-up.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Patterns and trends in health and illness Essay Example for Free

Patterns and trends in health and illness Essay Women are more likely to become ill than men for many reasons. Men are likely to have strong immune systems than women as they tend to put themselves first, whereas a woman has different priorities. Another reason why women may become ill opposed to men is the fact that a lot more women have to work the double day than men. The double day consist of the individual going out to work on a day to day basis and then returning home to start chores. These chores can be anything from looking after the children to cleaning the house. A person who works the double day are more likely to become ill as they are more likely to become stressed or exhausted, both of which can lead to the individual becoming ill at a later stage. Men are seen to have more physical or dangerous jobs than women, which should mean they become ill on a more regular basis. However this is not the case because a lot of men return home from work and then relax, whereas the women go to work and then come home to situations such as sorting the children making sure all the washing and things are complete. This is not always the case as it could be the male that has to work the double day but it is usually the women. On the other hand women take better care of themselves, which is shown by the fact that women seem to live longer. Elderly and Youth Elderly people are more likely to become ill than a young person as things such as their immune system are no longer as strong. This means that it takes and elderly person longer to recover from an injury or illness than someone who is a lot younger than them. If an elderly person’s immune system is weaker it means that they are likely to catch the illnesses quicker and they could catch more than one illness a time. The youth of today are also a lot less likely to break a bone than the elderly, as the elderly’s bones are a lot weaker than those of a youth. If a youth is ill they usually recover by themselves and only occasionally rely on the help of medication, usually when the illness is strong or aggressive. Whereas an elderly person can take weeks to recover and often rely on medication for support. Rich and Poor Poor people are more likely to become ill than richer people as their life style is not to the same standard. The poor are more likely to live in cold conditions and have a poor diet whereas the rich are more likely to have good healthy diets and live in homes with central heating and that are clean. Rich people are also at an advantage when it comes to being ill as they can afford treatment and medication. This means that they are likely to recover quicker and don’t have to worry about still being able to pay for other necessities such as food and water. The poor however have other priorities to spend their money on such as providing a shelter for their children, food and clothes. This means that medication is one of the things that is given less thought. They would rather the child be fed than them paying for medication for themselves. On the other hand poor people are likely to smoke and drink than those who have more money

Friday, September 20, 2019

A History Of Flexible Manufacturing Systems

A History Of Flexible Manufacturing Systems Now once you have a Flexible Manufacturing System in place, it cannot function in isolation. The department has to make its other processes and work conditions conducive enough to take full advantage of FMS. There are a lot of other design variables involved in the decision making process. It is very important for every manager in charge of FMS to address the question What are the activities an FMS adopter has to carry out in order not only to implement an FMS but also to realize the requisite organizational conditions; and what are the possibilities for the adopter to organize this manufacturing innovation process effectively? Stating a few examples of the extraneous factors: Maintenance Department Process planning, Production planning, and quality control processes The people carrying out these processes and production resources used to make these processes feasible The organizational arrangements used to divide and coordinate the processes Introduction A Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) is a manufacturing system in which there is a certain degree of flexibility that allows the system to react in the case of changes, whether predicted or unpredicted. According to Maleki  [1]  , flexibility is the speed at which a system can react to and accommodate change. To be considered flexible, the flexibility must exist during the entire life cycle of a product, from design to manufacturing to distribution. Flexible Manufacturing System is a computer-controlled system that can produce a variety of parts or products in any order, without the time-consuming task of changing machine setups. The flexibility being talked about is generally considered to fall into two categories, which both contain numerous subcategories  [2]  . The first category, Machine Flexibility, covers the systems ability to be changed to produce new product types, and ability to change the order of operations executed on a part. The second category is called Routing Flexibility, which consists of the ability to use multiple machines to perform the same operation on a part, as well as the systems ability to absorb large-scale changes, such as in volume, capacity, or capability. The main advantage of an FMS is its high flexibility in managing manufacturing resources like time and effort in order to manufacture a new product. The best application of an FMS is found in the production of small sets of products like those from a mass production. FM systems are supposed to provide the manufacturer with efficient flexible machines that increase productivity and produce quality parts. However, FM systems are not the answer to all manufacturers problems. The level of flexibility is limited to the technological abilities of the FM systems. FM systems are being used all over the manufacturing world and though out industries. A basic knowledge of this kind of technology is very important because FM systems are involved in almost everything that you come in contact with in todays world. From the coffee maker to your remote control FM systems are used all over. History of Flexible Manufacturing Systems At the turn of the twentieth century, FMS did not exist. There was no pressing need for efficiency because the markets were national and there was no foreign competition. Manufacturers could tell the consumers what to buy. During that period, Henry Ford had been quoted as saying People can order any colour of car as long as it is black. All the power remained in the hands of the manufacturer and the consumers hardly had any choices. However, after the Second World War a new era in manufacturing was to come. The discovery of new materials and production techniques increased quality and productivity. The war led to the emergence of open foreign markets and new competition. The focus of the market shifted from manufacturer to consumer. According to Maleki, the first FM system was patented in 1965 by Theo Williamson who made numerically controlled equipment. Examples of numerically controlled equipment are like CNC lathes or mills which Kusiak says are varying types of FM systems. 1980s 1970s 1960sDuring the 1970s, with the ever-growing developments in the field of technology, manufacturers started facing difficulties and hence, FM systems became main-stream in manufacturing to accommodate new changes whenever required. During the 1980s for the first time manufacturers had to take in consideration efficiency, quality, and flexibility to stay in business. According to Hoeffer, the change in manufacturing over time was due to several factors. (Hoeffer, 1986) Increased international competition, The need to reduce manufacturing cycle time, and Pressure to cut the production cost. Everyday new technologies are being developed and even FM systems are evolving. However, overtime FM systems have worked for many manufacturers and hence will be around for the time to come. The Process of Flexible Manufacturing Systems As has been discussed above the flexible manufacturing system can be broadly classified into two types, depending on the nature of flexibility present in the process, Machine Flexibility and Routing Flexibility FMS systems essentially comprise of three main systems.  [3]   The processing stations: These are essentially automated CNC machines. The automated material handling and storage system: These connect the work machines to optimize the flow of parts. Central control computer: This controls the movement of materials and machine flow. The FMS as a system stands out because it does not follow a fixed set of process steps. The process sequence changes according to requirement to allow maximum efficiency. Sequence of material flow from one tool to another is not fixed nor is the sequence of operations at each tool fixed. Key Features of the Process  [4]   Some characteristics that differentiate FMS from conventional manufacturing systems are their technical flexibility, i.e., the ability to quickly change mix, routing, and sequence of operations within the parts envelope and also complexity resulting from the integration, mechanization, and reprogrammable control of operations i.e., parts machining, material handling, and tool change. Some key features of the process are discussed below. Cell: It consists of several groupings of two or more automated machines within a company. Each grouping is called a cell. All the machines present are controlled by a computer. They are programmed to change quickly from one production run to another. A key feature is the automated flow of materials to the cell and the automated removal of the finish item. Several cells are linked together by means of an automated materials-handling system, and the flow of goods is controlled by a computer. In this manner a computer-integrated manufacturing process is initiated. Random bypass capability: The material handling system has a random bypass capability, i.e. a part can be moved from any tool in the interconnected system to another because the transport system can bypass any tool along the path, on demand. This implies: Each part can traverse a variable route through the system. Again, this flexibility in material handling, in combination with multipurpose tools, makes it possible for a flexible manufacturing system to process a great diversity of parts. Automation: Computers are the heart of automation. They provide the framework for the information systems which direct action and monitor feedback from machine activities. As FMS involve a wide variety of components, each with their own type of computer control, many of these computer components are installed as islands of automation, each with a computer control capable of monitoring and directing the action. Each of the computer controls has its own communication protocol based on the amount of data needed to control the component. Thus, the task of computer integration is to establish interfaces and information flow between a wide range of computer types and models. Computer software provides the ability to transmit timely and accurate status information and to utilize information which has been communicated from other computers in FMS. Component redundancy: In FMS as the equipment is highly integrated, the interruptions of one component affect other components. This results in a greater time to trace the problem when compared with isolated components. In some cases, the interruption might be due to some other integration effect, and greater downtime may result before the actual cause of the problem is found. In this situation, component redundancy provides flexibility with the opportunity for choice, which exists when there are at least two available options. Flexible manufacturing contains functionally equivalent machinery. So in case of failure of one machine the process flow is directed towards a functionally equivalent machine. Multiple Paths: A path in flexible manufacturing represents a part sequence and requisite fixtures to complete its required operations. In a conventional machine environment, only one path exists for a part because a single fixture remains at a single machine. However, this is not the case within flexible manufacturing systems, where there are multiple paths. The number of paths which are present within flexible manufacturing is a measure of the degree of flexibility. Obviously, the higher the number of paths, higher is the degree of flexibility. Flexibility ranks high in Japanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²s manufacturing strategy but not in Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²s. A true flexible factory will not only build different versions of the same car, like a coupà © or a station wagon, on the same production line, but also a completely different car. This is what the Japanese factories are setting out to do. The cost of one factory can be spread across five or ten cars. Apart from lower fixed cost, it is also less painful to stop making one of those cars if it fails to sell. Stand Alone Machine Flexible Manufacturing System Transfer Lines High Medium Low Low Medium High Productivity Volume Part VariationsFMS as a system of manufacturing process can be compared to other processes in terms of the product volume it generates and its capacity for creating part variations. The figure above depicts the position of FMS vis-à  -vis that of stand-alone machine and transfer lines. The horizontal axis represents production volume level and the vertical axis shows the variability of parts. Transfer lines are very efficient when producing parts at a large volume at high output rate, whereas stand-alone machines are ideally suited for variation in workplace configuration and low production rate. In terms of manufacturing efficiency and productivity, a gap exists between the high production rate transfer machines and the highly flexible machines. FMS, has been regarded as a viable solution to bridge the gap and as a gateway to the automated factory of the future. The Process: With Reference to particular companies  [5]   Though the features of this manufacturing innovation process are similar across all types of firms, the manner in which they are adopted and implemented depends on product type, manufacturing, maintenance, process planning and quality control processes. It is also contingent upon the people carrying out these processes; the productive resources being used and the organizational arrangements used to divide and coordinate the processes distinguished. The description of the layout of a company that has adopted the flexible manufacturing system gives a clear idea of how the system works in practical life. It has all the features as mentioned before of a typical FMS. Flexible Manufacturing System at The Hattersley Newman Hender (H.N.H.) This company, located in U.K. manufactures high and low pressure bodies and caps for water, gas and oil valves. These components require a total of 2750 parts for their manufacture. That is why they decided to go for the system of F.M.S. to fulfill their machining requirements in a single system. The process described below shows how FMS is used for efficient production for this company. Their FMS consists of primary and secondary facilities. The primary facilities include 5 universal machining centres and 2 special machining centres. The secondary facilities consist of tool settings and manual workstations. System layout and facilities: Primary facilities: Machining centres: The FMS contains two 5-axis horizontal out-facing machines and five 4-axis machining centres under the host control. All the machines have a rotating pallet changer each with two pallet buffer stations. These stations transfer pallets to and from the transport system which consist of 8 automated guided vehicles. The 5 universal machining centres have 2 magazines with capacity of 40 tools in each magazine. The special purpose out-facing machines (OFM) each have one magazine having a capacity of 40 tools. The tool magazines can be loaded by sending instructions to the tool setting room either from the host computer or the machines numerical controller. Processing centres: The system contains two processing centres a wash machine and two manual workstations. Wash machines: It contains two conveyor belts where one is for input and one for output of pallets, each with a capacity of three pallets to transfer the pallets. The wash booth has a capacity of three pallets. The pallets are washed in the booth and turned upside-down to drain out the water. Then they are dried with blown air. Manual workstations (ring fitting area): The operator fits metal sealing rings into the valve bodies at the manual workstations. He receives work instructions via computer interface with the host. Secondary facilities: Auxiliary stations: Load/unload stations: The FMS has four-piece-part load and unload stations. Loading and unloading is performed at these stations with the instructions again received via computer interface with the host. Fixture-setting station: At these stations the fixtures are readjusted to accommodate different piece parts. Administration of tools: Tools are assembled manually. The tool-setting machine checks the dimensional offsets of the tools and generates a bar code for further identification of the tool that has been set. Auxiliary facilities: Transport system: The transport system consists of a controller and 8 automated guided vehicles (AGV). The system also contains an A.G.V. battery charging area. Buffer stores: The FMS has 20 buffer stores in order to store the empty and loaded pallets while they are waiting to be taken to another transfer station (i.e. a load/unload station or a machine tool etc.). Maintenance Area: This facility caters to pallets that may be damaged or need servicing or for storing scrapped piece-parts. Raw Material Stores: These stores are located in front of the load / unload stations and are used to store the raw materials (like forged valve bodies etc). The store is served by two fork-lift-stacker cranes and motor roller conveyors. It has a capacity of 80 containers. Fixture store: The fixtures that are not stored in FMS are stored here. It has a capacity of storing 120 fixtures. The store is served by a stacker crane and motor roller conveyors. Flexible Manufacturing System at TAMCAM Computer Aided Manufacturing (TAMCAM) Lab. This is an example of flexible manufacturing system that is used to describe the TAMCAM Simulation-Based Control System (TSCS)  [6]  . This system is located within the TAMCAM Computer Aided Manufacturing (TAMCAM) lab. The system consists of three CNC milling machines, one CNC turning centre, two industrial robots, and an automated cart based conveyor system. In addition to the automated equipment, human operators are used to load and unload some machines and perform assembly and inspection tasks. Advantages of Flexible Manufacturing System Why would firms embrace flexible manufacturing systems? What benefits does FMS provide? Answers to these two questions are important to the success of flexible manufacturing systems. It is important to understand the impacts on product life cycle, direct labour input and market characteristics. Various advantages arise from using flexible manufacturing systems.  [7]  Users of these systems enlist many benefits: Less scrap Fewer workstations Quicker changes of tools, dies, and stamping machinery Reduced downtime Improved quality through better control over it Reduced labour costs due to increase in labour productivity Increase in machine efficiency Reduced work-in-process inventories Increased capacity Increased production flexibility Faster production Lower- cost/unit Increased system reliability Adaptability to CAD/CAM operations Since savings from these benefits are sizeable, a plethora of examples from the manufacturing industry are available to illustrate these benefits. A major Japanese manufacturer, by installing a flexible manufacturing system, has reduced the number of machines in one facility from 68 to 18, the number of employees from 215 to 12, space requirements from 103000 square feet to 30000 and processing time from 35 days to a 1.5 days Ford has poured $4,400,000 into overhauling its Torrence Avenue plant in Chicago, giving it flexible manufacturing capability. This will allow the factory to add new models in as little as two weeks instead of two months or longer. The flexible manufacturing systems used in five of Ford Motor Companys plants will yield a $2.5 billion savings. By the year 2010, Ford will have converted 80 percent of its plants to flexible manufacturing. The benefits enlisted above are the operational benefits.  [8]  Flexible Manufacturing Systems also give rise to benefits in terms of strategy for the firm. Operational Benefits Strategic Benefits Lower Costs per unit A source of competitive advantage in present and future. Lesser workstations Less space in plant required. Reduced Inventories Less of Storage Space. Plant Layout gets simplified. The space is freed up for other activities. Increase in labour productivity Lesser workforce required. Operational Flexibility Ability to meet varying customer demands in terms of numbers (seasonality) and choices. Improved Quality Increased customer satisfaction Less inspection costs Lesser lead time Increased Machine Efficiency Less technical workforce for handling maintenance and repair Less Scrap and Rework Consistent Production Process On a macro level, these advantages reduce the risk of investing in the flexible manufacturing system as well as in ongoing projects in such a firm. Let us look at how flexibility helps firms. To maximize production for a given amount of gross capacity, one should minimize the interruptions due to machine breakdowns and the resource should be fully utilized. FMS permits the minimization of stationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ² unavailability, and shorter repair times when stations fail. Preventive maintenance is done to reduce number of breakdowns. Maintenance is done during off hours. This helps to maximize production time. Cost of maintaining spare part inventories is also reduced due to the fact that similar equipment can share components. Hence we can see that higher the degree of flexibility of the workstation, the lower the potential cost of production capacity due to station unavailability. To make a product every day, the trade off between inventory cost and setup cost becomes important. However, each time the workstation changes its function, it incurs a set-up delay. Through flexibility one can reduce this set-up cost.  [9]   CAD/CAM aids in computerized tracking of work flow which is helpful in positioning inspection throughout the process. This helps to minimize the number of parts which require rework or which must be scrapped. FMS changes the outlook of inspection from a post-position to an in-process position. Hence, feedback is available in real time which improves quality and helps product to be within the tolerance level.  [10]   Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) are virtually always used in conjunction with just-in-time (JIT) order systems. This combination increases the throughput and reduces throughput time and the length of time required to turn materials into products. Flexible Manufacturing Systems have a made a huge impact on activity-based costing.  [11]  Using these systems helps firms to switch to process costing instead of job costing. This switching is made possible because of the reduced setup delays. With set-up time only a small fraction of previous levels, companies are able to move between products and jobs with about the same speed as if they were working in continuous, process type environment. To look at another aspect of strategic benefits, enterprise integration can be facilitated by FMS. An agile manufacturer is one who is the fastest to the market, operates with the lowest total cost and has the greatest ability to delight its customers. FMS is simply one way that manufacturers are able to achieve this agility.  [12]  This has also been reported in many studies that FMS makes the transition to agility faster and easier. Over time, FMS use creates a positive attitude towards quality. The quality management practices in organizations using FMS differs from those not using it. The adoption of flexible manufacturing confers advantages that are primarily based upon economies of scope. As a result of aiming simultaneously at flexibility, quality and efficiency, the future manufacturing industry will strive towards: producing to order, virtually no stock, very high quality levels, and high productivity.  [13]   Disadvantages of Flexible Manufacturing System  [14]   Now that we have looked at the multiple advantages flexible manufacturing systems offer, the next obvious question is, if they are so good and so useful then why are they not ubiquitous by now? It is essential to look at the other side, especially the impact these systems have on costing, product mixes decided by the company and the inevitable trade- off between production rates and flexibility. Following are the major disadvantages that have been observed Complexity These sophisticated manufacturing systems are extremely complex and involve a lot of substantial pre planning activity before the jobs are actually processed. A lot of detail has to go into the processing. Often users face technological problems of exact component positioning. Moreover, precise timing is necessary to process a component. Cost of equipment  [15]   Equipment for a flexible manufacturing system will usually initially be more expensive than traditional equipment and the prices normally run into millions of dollars. This cost is popularly known as the Risk of Installation. Maintenance costs are usually higher than traditional manufacturing systems because FMS employs intensive use of preventive maintenance, which by itself is very expensive to implement. Energy costs are likely to be higher despite more efficient use of energy. Increased machine utilization can result in faster deterioration of equipment, providing a shorter than average economic life. Also, personnel training costs may prove to be relatively high. Moreover there is the additional problem of selecting system size, hardware and software tailor made for the FMS. Cost of automation in the form of computer integration is the most significant cost in a flexible manufacturing system. The components require extensive computer control. Also, the costs of operation are high since a machine of this complexity requires equally skilled employees to work or run it. Adaptation Issues There is limited ability to adapt to changes in product or product mix. For example, machines are of limited capacity and the tooling necessary for products, even of the same family, is not always feasible in a given FMS. Moreover, one should keep in mind that these systems do not reduce variability, just enable more effective handling of the variability. Equipment Utilization Equipment utilization for flexible manufacturing systems is sometimes not as high as expected. Example, in USA, the average is ten types of parts per machine. Other latent problems may arise due to lack of technical literacy, management incompetence, and poor implementation of the FMS process. It is very important to differentiate between scenarios where FMS would be beneficial (ex, where fast adaptation is the key) and those where it wouldnt (ex where a firms competency is based on minimizing cost). Product/Job Costing  [16]   Arguably the biggest disadvantage of flexible manufacturing systems is the difficulty faced by the company in allocating overhead costs to jobs. Usually, several products share the same resources with different consumption characteristics. Ideally, the overhead allocation should be directly proportional to the resource consumption. But this becomes complicated in the case of flexible manufacturing systems since it is very difficult to estimate which product used which machine for which purpose and for how long. Often this leads to under costing of some products and consequently over costing of others. In systems that use FMS, usually the fixed costs are quite high due to the following reasons: The machines are costly, material handling is more expensive and the computer controls are state of the art, thereby leading to a higher depreciation than seen in traditional manufacturing systems. A lot of items which are otherwise usually treated as direct costs are counted under indirect costs in case of flexible manufacturing systems. For example, labour is normally attributed to the job directly done, but in FMS, the same workers work on machines that usually run two jobs simultaneously. Hence even labour costs are to be treated as overhead or indirect costs. In order to ensure smooth running of the flexible manufacturing systems, a lot of support activities carried out by engineers and technicians. Keeping the above points in mind, we can infer that in order to cater to these scenarios, Activity Based Costing techniques are used with FMS to reduce distortion of product costs. FMS Adoption in Automobile Industry The Flexible manufacturing system has been adopted extensively in the manufacturing industry in this day and age. It addresses the issue of automation and process technology which is a key area for concern of manufacturing management along with inventory production planning and scheduling and quality. One industry which has extensively adopted this system is the Automobile Industry. Almost all global giants now follow the Flexible Manufacturing system and many have developed their own manufacturing system keeping FMS as an integral part of it. The Big Three of the American Automotive Industry namely General Motors, Ford Motors and Chrysler Motors enjoyed a monopolistic environment for a very long time. This in some way inhibited their innovation capabilities as there was no competition in the market which could drive them to innovate. These companies, therefore, maintained production facilities that were suitable for mass production of any single model, which ensured economies of scale and plant profitability. But gradually as Asian car makers gained prominence in the automotive market, the Big Three of the United States faced huge challenges across all product lines. The main Asian competitors that came into picture were Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi from Japan and Hyundai from South Korea. With these Asian countries exporting vehicles to the United States of America, competition heightened and the profitability of the Big Three decreased. To improve its profitability and maintain its market share Chrysler Corporat ion, General Motors and Ford Motor Company employed Flexible Manufacturing System in their production lines following what had been started in Japan. The essential driving force for adoption of FMS in Automobile industry is The emphasis on increasing product variety and individualization has created a strong need to develop a flexible manufacturing system to respond to small batches of customer demand. Cost savings were required to be more competitive. Newer varieties needed to be introduced in lesser time and at lesser cost. Given below are examples of some companies and their motive for adopting FMS as well as the benefits that they have achieved through it Japanese Companies and Latest FMS Toyota Toyota has been at the forefront of adopting flexible manufacturing system which has been in place since 1985. In 2002, Toyota unveiled its Global Body Line (GBL), a radical, company-wide overhaul of its already much-envied FMS.  [

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Beloved Essay -- miscellaneous

Beloved Everyday, people are faced with choices. Some of life’s choices are simple, such as deciding what to wear to school or choosing a television station to watch. Other choices, however, are much more serious and have life-altering consequences. Sethe, the protagonist of Beloved, and Sophie, the main focus in Sophie’s Choice, are mothers that are faced with choices that change their entire lives. While the time period and characters involved differ, the choices of Sethe and Sophie can easily be compared. First and foremost, Sethe and Sophie both make choices that lead to the killing of their children. In both pieces, the actions of the mothers cause the audience to think twice about the limits of maternal love. Sethe tries to kill her children to save them from a life of slavery. Sethe’s plot was unsuccessful, for only one daughter was murdered. To fully understand Sethe’s actions, the reader must realize that on that August afternoon in 1855, Sethe reaches for the handsaw to protect her children from Schoolteacher. Sethe wants to murder her other children, but they escape before she can harm them. Sethe truly believes that she is saving her family from the pain of slavery, and, as a result, her choice alienates her from the rest of her community. Nobody in the area wants anything to do with Sethe after the death of her daughter. Like Sethe, Sophie also attempts to spare her family from pain. She is also faced with a gruesome choice that ends up affecting the res...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

A Comparison of the Scop in Beowulf and Widsith Essays -- comparison c

The Scop in Beowulf and Widsith.      Ã‚  Ã‚   The scop in Anglo-Saxon times had a very defined role. A comparison between the scop in Beowulf and the scop in Widsith will more clearly define for us what that role was.    The 142 verses of Widsith are the oldest in the English language, and form the earliest output in verse of any Germanic people. Widsith contains a huge catalog of 70 tribes and   69 important people, many of whom are proven to have lived in the third, fourth and fifth centuries. The vast knowledge of history which was required of a good scop, just amazes the reader. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature(v1,ch3,s6,n30) states that so many princes and peoples are mentioned in the course of the poem that its importance for the history of the migration period can hardly be overestimated.   This Old English poem was transcribed by a monk around the year 1000. Widsith tells the story of   the scop Widsith, who accompanies Ealhhild, a Lombard princess, on her journey eastward from Angel to the court of Eormanric the Goth. Ealhhild, the sister of Aelfwine, King of the Lombards, is made to marry Eormanric. In this poem the geography and the chronology are not precise or accurate.    â€Å"At an early date Germanic kings began to keep professional poets, with functions not wholly unlike those of the poet laureate or official poet of later times† (Malone 75). This pretty well expresses the life of Widsith, except that he was not located at any one court, rather he travelled from the country of Egypt, India and Israel to Britain and to northern Europe, going from court to court. His home court, if it can be called such, was with King Eadgils. But Widsith travelled to all the â€Å"heathen† and non-heathen k... ...st was the theme of sacrifice. . . .† ( Malone 77).    It’s obvious from our brief comparison between the scop in Beowulf and the scop in Widsith that the scop in Anglo-Saxon times had a very defined role: He was singer, storyteller, public relations man, recipient of gifts, traveller, linguist, historian, and servant of the audience.    BIBLIOGRAPHY Chickering, Howell D.. Beowulf A dual-Language Edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977. Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 Malone, Kemp. â€Å"The Old English Scop and Widsith.† In Beowulf: The Donaldson Translation, edited by Joseph F. Tuso. New York, W.W.Norton and Co.: 1975. The Earliest English Poems, translated by Michael Alexander. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.

Huanted House :: essays research papers

I could not sleep that night, for I was not given the chance to. For numerous times I had been yelling at my cousin to lower down the volume of the Compact Disc player. He insisted on testing out every single disc of my brother’s heavy-metal music collection at a certain volume that made my heart jump too fast or choke my mind with angry thoughts. My tired eyes shifted to the alarm clock, which stood, on my computer. Eleven, another hour to a brand new day. The next day, I will be bringing my cousin to have a view of the things we have in stall for him in the small neighborhood of mine, but before that can be possible, I will require my beauty sleep! â€Å"Hey, you moron! Are you finished with those trashy sounds?† I yelled, throwing the blanket over my head. I then grabbed my soft-toy dog, and threw it at him, aiming for his head. He responded, launching the toy back at me, hard at the bum. â€Å"Self-defence,† he reasoned out, reaching for the power switch of the player, finally. I heaved a sigh of relief, dropping dead on the pillow. As soon as I was about to enter the dream world, someone tapping at my shoulder awakened me. â€Å"I cannot sleep,† my cousin explained. I felt like strangling him. Thinking of what the family might say for destroying or killing a potential family name-bearer, I guessed it was not a very healthy idea after all. I sat on my bed, rubbing my eyes as I looked at my cousin through blurred eyes. â€Å" I remembered the last time you stayed overnight when you were around eight, you slept like a pig,† I muttered, reaching out for my spectacles. It hurts to be shortsighted. â€Å"I am thirteen now,† he reminded his ‘meet-once-a-year-during-Chinese-New-Year’ cousin. â€Å"So? Can’t thirteen-year-old don’t act like nocturnal animals?† I gave up, and soon the both of us were in the living room, with freshly brewed cups of coffee in our hands. It reminded me of how I drowned myself in caffine in order to stay awake for last minute examination preparations. My cousin strolled his way over to the television. â€Å"Don’t switch on that. The rest of the them are sleeping, mind you,† I warned him, recalling the time when my father threw down my radio on the ground, for blasting it during his sleep.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Vitasoy †Sparkling Soy Milk

VITASOY – Sparkling soy milk †¢ Executive summary †¢ Background of Studies †¢ Environmental scanning †¢ Advertising and Promotion strategies/ tactics †¢ Conclusion †¢ Reference †¢ Appendices †¢ Executive summary †¢ Background of Studies In 1940, Vitasoy was established by Dr K. S. Lo in Hong Kong. Soya bean is the main source of protein for Chinese people for 4,000 years. Mr. Lo brought this big idea to Hong Kong market, he began to sell his Soya bean milk from delivery in fresh to customers’ homes on bicycle, expanded his business to retail outlets after the World War. Nowadays, VITASOY group’s products sell in over 40 markets around the world and become the international organization which is standards in quality and innovative products. Vitasoy’s key product is soybean drink and tofu, which is nutritious and high-protein healthy for people. Vitasoy was built-up nearly 70 years, it is still the one of the most famous local trademark beyond Hong Kong, through the high quality, the great tasting, healthy and sold at affordable price, those are the factors why Vitasoy is successful its unique selling proposition. The industry uniqueness: 1. Brand loyalty Through nearly 70 years, Vitasoy is still a leader in the industry in Hong Kong 2. 3 main competitors HI-C Ribena Yeo’s 3. Affordable price For wide customer segment (e. g. student, adult, elders) †¢ Environmental scanning 1. Conduct Situation Analysis Vitasoy is the biggest supplier of the soymilk market in Hong Kong. According to Mingpao Finance (2008/08/04), she has 75% of the market share of the soymilk in HK, 50% of Shenzhen & Guangzhou, 35% of Australia & New Zealand. The most traditional & strong brand the soymilk product in Hong Kong which is Vitasoy, because she is carrying out her business 69 years in Hong Kong, so everyone knows as her. Although she is much advantage for business in HK, she still needs to care a few points, quality of the soymilk. In 1996, after the incident of soymilk taste deterioration, Vitasoy had a bad reputation for her branding and lost HKD 60,000,000 profit. Nowadays, customers advocate the health food, soy bean of soymilk is an organic food without artificial preservatives, genetically-modified (GM) foods. This is the biggest business opportunity for Vitasoy, so she begins the overseas business, like Australia and New Zealand, that she has a good return. On the other through, when the similar product like milk occur problems, soymilk will get the extra profit. It’s a fact, when last year, the main land China happen the poison milk, at the same time, the soymilk get the great sales, it increase 56% for the total sales. However, the opportunity brought a threat of competitors, like Yeo’s and Coca Cola. The largest competitor, Coca Cola has much capital to attack the soymilk market. Vitasoy cannot bear this risk, so she needs to be a pioneer for the overseas and the Mainland China market, to make the strong subtraction for the future expansion 2. ) Conduct a customer analysis Up to 31 March 2009, the major sales market of Vitasoy is Hong Kong and Macau, which carries 53% of total sale amount. The second market is Mainland China, which is 20%. Other markets are Australia, Zealand, North America and Singapore. All these markets are growing gradually. In the recent years, Vitasoy is keen on launching different varieties and promoting benefits of soy to customers who concern their health. Such strategies widen the customer groups to all ages as well as both genders. It raised Vitasoy’s sales growth and market share. Besides, the Group’s tuck shop business and catering business also recorded a healthy contribution growth. From the Vitasoy products, most of our customers (44%) choose soymilk while 20% select Lemon tea products. In September 2008, mass alertness to the safety of dairy milk was awakened by the outbreak of the melamine issue. Because of similarity between dairy milk and soymilk, soymilk of Vitasoy became a popular alternative for customers. Vitasoy is enjoying good reputation and good quality image among Hong Kong people. Apart from Vitasoy’s existing customer, we have to explore more potient customers to increase the market share. Further to the information from the Census and Statistics Department in Hong Kong 2008, there are more females (52. 7%) than males (47. 3%). In the demographic characteristics, the largest age group is 35-64 year old (64. 6%) The second large age group is 0-14 year old (12. 2%). We will base on these statistics for product development. 3. ) Conduct a product analysis Vitasoy is a kind of well-known soymilk in Hong Kong. Despite it is a traditional product among people, new product is required to release in order to sustain the market share. The new product is called â€Å"Sparkling soy milk† which will be one of the beverages in line with Vitasoy series that will be released in mid-November 2009. This exclusive product is limited to be sold during this Christmas season. Overview the product: ? Using soymilk as basis ? Nutrient healthy product that is featured with the most low saturated fat and abundant protein ? Using a plastic bottle as a container ? Selling it for both cool and hot option ? Adding â€Å"Konjac† inside the soymilk Shake it at least 10 times before drinking ? Not only can drink it, even can chew it ? Printed with dark in glow snow pattern that will glow white at night ? A heat sensitive feature. After holding it for a while, it will then change into other color. It is created by using thermal color ink This product is especially suitable for children, teenager. Tradit ionally, adult and elder has been chronically drinking soymilk that they are treated as basic advantage. 4. Conduct a competitor analysis Even Vitasoy is the one of the largest soymilk companies, but there are many companies intend to replace its position. After our observation, we can divide their competitors in three parts: Direct competitor, indirect competitor and Potential competitor. HI-C is the main direct competitor. HI-C has developed several soymilk products to against Vitasoy, HI-C is the second line of Coca-Cola in Hong Kong, which enjoys a huge resource backup against Vitasoy. Melon Flavored Soymilk is the most favorable product of HI-C. As Vitasoy has already existed in this market for 50 years, and became a household brand, so HI-C is still hard to replace Vitasoy’s position in Hong Kong. Ribena is one of the indirect competitors for Vitasoy. Nowadays, Hong Kong people always care their health as the first priority and Ribena provided a high quality drink which offers delicious blackcurrant taste and it provides with a rich Vitamin C, it is very powerful for the customer to choose their product according to the healthiness. Although Vitasoy’s soymilk also provides a health drink to people, but as customers haven’t the brand loyalty for every product, so Ribena should be the big challenge for Vitasoy. Yeo’s should be the potential competitor for Vitasoy. Although their sales amount still cannot threaten in the market, but Yeo’s always develop new product like black soymilk, green bean soymilk etc. And their main product is organic soymilk, this can attract more and more people to buy their products, so we list them to the potential competitor with Vitasoy. 5. ) Justify the customer segment, targeting and positioning strategies In accordance with the data of customer analysis, we target the group of children, teenagers and family for our new product as they are in the large popluation. Our new product is named as â€Å"sparkling soy milk†. It is Vitasoy soybean milk with Konjac, which increases the elements of nutrient. And will shake it before consumption. Customers can make fun with such drink into the boring life. As we know, in Hong Kong, females are in the majority. The product appearance will increase their purchasing interest. In order to catch the attention of female customers, the drink will be dressed up with glow-in-dark snow pattern and heat sensitive feature on the packaging, which will have festival atmosphere and romantic feeling. In fact, the drink packaging is also giving the warm and cheerful outlook to attract family group for purchase. The drink consists of two sizes, 330ml and 500ml in volumes, which provide options to different consumers. During the promotion, we will use both â€Å"above the line† and â€Å"below the line† strategies. For the â€Å"above the line† strategies, Road Show and MTR advertisement are our first launch. We will also introduce the drink to customers via internet, for instance, Facebook and Yahoo website, together with advertisements on teenagers’ magazine. For the â€Å"below the line† strategies, we will put the promotional materials such as store banner and promotional corner on the store to draw the ustomers’ attention. Besides, we will distribute the free sample at the density of crowd districts, Causeway Bay, Mong Kok, to let the popular taste our product. We will contact primary and secondary schools to offer the promotional purchase of our new product with special discount. Compared with our other products and other similar drinks in the m arket, we will suggest selling the new drink at HKD 4. 50 per bottle (for small one) and HKD 6. 50 per bottle (for large one). Consumers can get the drinks from supermarkets, 7-Eleven, Circle K and other self consumption machine. These places can let our products to get reach of consumers at anytime and anywhere. It is much suitable for busy people in Hong Kong. †¢ Advertising and Promotion strategies/ tactics 1. Identify the overall branding strategies Base on the result of the environmental scanning, we find that our target customers will be children and teenagers. And our product is a funny health drink. For the overall branding strategies, we will keep the original and add a little factor for the brand, Creative and Funny. Vitasoy the brand is very strong in HK, so we don’t need promo the brand with great exertion. On the other hand, the other factor make Vitasoy success is creative, but we haven’t used the promo before. So this time, we will use a great exertion for the creative and remind the customers the soymilk is the health drinks. Our new product will show how funny of the brand. Therefore, there are three main points for current branding strategies, Health, Funny and Creative. First, Health – we will through the about the line thematic to remind customers, when you drink Vitasoy soymilk, the how many advantages for you health that you will get. Second, Funny – we will through the about the line tactical (dispatch sample) and below the line thematic (POS display) to education the consumer how to use and how to have fun from the product. Third, Creative – we will through the new product to stick out Vitasoy always is a creative brand. It will bring a message to the consumers, that’s soymilk not only for health, it’s can be fun, an ornament and the order usage when you make more creative. 2. The system approach of communication strategies The concept of marketing communication planning which recognizes the value of an all-inclusive plan that measures the strategic roles of variety of communication disciplines (general advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and public relations) and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication impact. Clarity means clearness of appearance. Our product has a clear message to all customer which is â€Å"Health†, â€Å"Warm† & â€Å"Have Fun†. In all advertising, we will base on these three messages to promote to the customer how the drink is healthy, why you will feel warm and how you can have fun in this. Consistency means being in conformity with a set of rules, guidelines or policies. Since Vitasoy was born, their name, logo, mission was keep for 50 years. Because of these consistency factors, Vitasoy can keep their name in every people mind. On the other hand, the drink will promote to a limited period product in the last season, but we will still promote this drink which without the dressed up with glow-in-dark snow pattern and heat sensitive feature on the packaging after this period. We will promote this drink which base on the healthy when the soymilk plus Konjac. Therefore, the package will different, very normal. Maximum communication impact which gives the customer a profound impact by the products or advertising. As our product will be dressed up with glow-in-dark snow pattern and heat sensitive feature on the packaging, which does not have any other similar product in the market and it is a limited product in the last season, so we think this is most impactful to the customer. Through the advertising, we can achieve to attract the consumer to buy our product. â€Å"Pull† & â€Å"Push† are the two promotional strategies in our advertising. Pull is the promotional strategy which a new product is heavily advertised before its retail and boost up the demand which draws customers attention into the retail stores. As one of our target groups is teenagers, we will hire some model and send them to Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Causeway Bay etc which the teenagers always go shopping and dining in these places. The models will present them a present which include a sample of our new product and a leaflet to introduce. In addition, we also promote our product in Road Show and MTR advertisements are our first launch. The advertising agency can always broadcasts the advertising in the golden hour which the most audience watch the television or listening the radio. We will make a 20 second advertising and play it in Roadshow and posters in every MTR station because there are more than million people travel bus and MTR every day. We will also introduce the drink to customers via internet such as Facebook and Yahoo website, together with advertisements on teenagers’ magazine. Because there are over million people watch these media every day, so the message can always recall. On the other hand, we will setup promotional counters in the mainly supermarket, because many housewives go to the supermarket everyday and they always go with their children, so they can taste and feel our product together. Also, we will promote the drink in primary school and give free samples to the students. This strategy calls â€Å"Point of Sell†. According to these promotions, we can also call this as â€Å"Above the line† which is a promotional method, included all media, and is under controlled by the client. This can have a long term effective to boost up the customers’ attention. Push strategy which is through the difference channels with a product that customer will be attracted by the advertising and other factors such as rebates. Push strategy also like â€Å"Below the line† strategy which is through the media like sales promotion, banner etc. We will setup some banner and promotional corner in the stores to attract the customers’ attention. 3. The advertising and promotion program elements It divides into 3 major communication objectives to customers: – Health – Warm – Have fun Health It is aimed to present a health image to customers that it is more benefit than they are expecting. Obviously, soy product has been widely introducing into Asian market that can bring health to the customers. In the western, Soymilk is the top soy products by awareness in the United State. It benefits people to prevent Heart Disease, Cancer, Osteoporosis and Menopausal symptoms (Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition (2008) Online PDF). Macronutrient Composition of Soybeans (% Kcal) [pic] Complete protein, providing all 9 essential amino acids As Soymilk is mainly made from soybean, so it has abundant nutrient drink for children, teenager and elder. Thus, it is regarded as healthy and emphasize on low saturated fat (not Trans fats) and high protein. Since more and more people have concerned about their food whether it is harm to their health, and received a knowledge of trans fats product were being used from Macdonald and KFC widely in the market. Recently, such components are going to be removed and refused. In other words, Market is seeking a product who is selling along with health features. All in all, Vitasoy, sparkling soybean milk which is high protein and low saturated fat that can prevent heart disease. Protein can be supplying children’s need of their growing. By releasing this new product, additionally it is added with â€Å"Konjac† which is including a high proportion of fiber to help the digestive system. It is what the parent are looking for. Warm Sparkling soybean milk is positioning at giving delighting and warm to people, such as children, teenager and couple. Children could drink it whenever they have a breakfast, lunch time in daily lives. It accompanies with their childhood. For teenager, it is also appropriate for a party beverage when holding a party. People can keep in connection with their community with drinking together. Couple feels harmony and romantic by drinking hot soymilk with glow in dark plastic bottle during winter and Christmas season. Have Fun It can be playful. First of all, sparkling soymilk with adding â€Å"Konjac† inside. So, it is not only a drink but also can be masticable. Before drinking it, people have to shake it at least 10 times to make sure â€Å"Konjac† are well mixed. Second, it can glow. The container is printed by dark in glow ink to let the bottle glowing in darkness. It is awesome when drinking it at party, birthday celebration and dating. Apart from that, the bottle can be changing its color when holding it by hands. Yet, Couple holds the bottle each other to feel warm and make it colour changing. All above gimmicks can bring people to have a romantic, fantasy and the warmest Christmas festival that they have not experienced ever. By the above 3 objectives, customer should get a feeling and perspective of the new product featured in healthy, warm & harmony and even funny thing. Our key message is â€Å"Warmest Christmas, Sparkling Health† Marcom Tactics: Advertising Creative strategies Story Board: 1. [pic] 2. [pic] . [pic] 4. [pic] 5. [pic] 6. [pic] Media planning For the new product â€Å"Sparkling soy milk†, we design to make above the line & below the line promotion. Above the line active: |Roadshow Advertising – it will be a two parts advertising. First a whole shelter poster in the |[pic] | |densely populated districts, Causeway Bay, Admiralty, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok. The promotion wil l| | |contain the high level of the line of vision. The poster will show 3 images of our communication | | |objectives. Second, it will be a 30 sec advertising for Warm, Have fun and Health. | | |MTR Station Promotion – it will be a 4-Sheet Panel poster in all line of the MTR. The promotion will|[pic] | |be watch by 3,500,000 passengers for every day. The poster will as same as the bus stop promotion. | | |Radio Advertising – it will be a 3 part of 5 sec advertising. The voice will be record form a famous| | |DJ Sammy. It will produce the audience three images of our communication objectives. | |Print Advertising – it will be advertising on the Eat & Travel Weekly. It’s a page of the new |[pic] | |product usage and key message. | | |Online Web Site – it will be advertising on our main homepage to describe the new product feature. |[pic] | |And open an account on the Facebook to promotion the whole brand and communicate with the consumers. | | |Also we will advertising on yahoo too. | |Dispatch Sample – it will be make people keep an eye on the new product. We will engage some models |[pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] | |to dispatch the sample in densely populated districts, Causeway Bay, Admiralty, Tsim Sha Tsui and |[pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] | |Mong Kok. | | |Cooperative Advertising – it will be advertising with supermarket, Welcome & Parkn shop. We will | | |make a discount for the new product and the cost will be share with each other. It will also affect | | |the consumer buy more. | | Below the line active: |POS Display – it will be me people attention for the new products in the shop. It will carry out on |[pic][pic][pic] [pic] | |Mannings, Watson’s, 7-Eleven and Circle K. | | Sale Promotions activities Beyond the advertising, we will carry out some promotions activities: Coupons – we will provide coupons in the newspaper, Apple daily, The sun. Consumer can use the coupons to buy our new product for save 1. 5 dollars. Premiums – we will provide a small key chain (a small soymilk finger) for buying two of soymilk, it will produce two types. †¢ Conclusions †¢ Appendices †¢ Reference 1. Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition (2008) [Online PDF] Available from: http://www. soyconnection. com/health_nutrition/pdf/ConsumerAttitudes2008. pdf [Accessed 9/11/2009] 2. Product Vitasoy http://www. vitasoy. com. hk/eng/product/soya001. html 3. Annual report of Vitasoy http://www. vitasoy. com/download. php? id=105&lang=en 4. Mingpaonews, Finance http://finance. sina. com. hk/cgi-bin/nw/show. cgi/2880/2/1/1642787/1. html ———————– [pic]