Hip Hop & Crisis in African American Commnity Research Paper

Hip Hop & Crisis in African American Commnity - Research Paper Example Its story is at once imbedded in time/history, geography, culture, technology, industry, politics, and aesthetic frames. In its short history from the mid 1970s to present, numerous critical, socio-cultural, and empirical studies have sought to dissect and explain away its reality. However, this paper attempts to review the literature through historical perspectives. Body Hip-hop was born out of a number of social, political, and artistic occurrences. George (1998) starts hip-hop's story at the end of the 1960s, a period of hopes for total racial integration-Martin Luther King's dream. However, as the 1970s progressed, the reality of inequalities was reiterated. In terms of what was reflected in art, the expression of the people, most obvious and mobile with the music, segregation continued. Rock and roll was predominantly for White artists and audiences, whereas rhythm and blues was African-American (Kitwana, 2006). In the 1970s, profits from the rock music revolution helped to crea te, develop, and further consolidate a corporate musical industry that was evidenced by mergers such as Warner-Reprise, Elektra-Asylum, and Atlantic. These corporations recognized the potential profits available from the Black performers who could access not only the Black community, but also "cross-over" to White teens. The major record labels created "Black music" divisions, encouraging commercial-cultural crossover. This potential for broad audience access is one reason that "disco" came into being in the 1970s. As with many popular music forms of the era, it had African  ­American roots. Scholars and those in the musical recording industry have consistently argued about the influential nature of Black culture and music, and evidence exists to support its apparent relationship to White, or mainstream music and culture. Garofalo (1993) posits the links between genres, and notes that the history of popular music in America "can be described in terms of Black innovation and popula rization" (p. 57). Disco was an example, coming as it did at the end of the civil rights/Black power era, it was at once an accumulation of African-American and American popular music experience. The musical genre was short for discotheque, a place where people could go to dance, drink, and listen to this form of music. George (1998) and Werner (1999) note the rise of disco from the underground clubs of New York and Los Angeles, during the mid to late 1970s, that paved the way for initial elements of break dancing and future samples for rap. Werner (1999) notes disco's musical roots in Black dance music (p. 205). Disco was at first "high-quality Black dance music, with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huffs elegantly funky Philly Sound productions and the lush sounds surrounding Barry White's bass voice the artistic benchmarks" (George, 1998, p. 7). Whereas the club provided the place and the music industry provided the means for increased musical crossing over, the advent of synthesizer allow ed for the ability to manipulate prerecorded sound for smoother transitions between songs. This inaugurated the cult of the club OJ who did the "mixing." As disco became mainstream around 1975, it lost much of its freshness and was further stigmatized by an association with the gay rights movement (Werner, 1999, p. 205). To chants of "Disco sucks!"

Ketones in insulin resistant state Essay Example for Free

Ketones in insulin resistant state Essay 1. How is glucose normally maintained in the post absorptive state? 2. Why is muscle glycogen not useful for blood glucose 3. Why may this situation have evolved 4. Under what circumstances do you think substantial gluconeogenesis will occur 5. What is necessary for the production of ketones 6. What will reduce acetyl CoA oxidation 7. When is oxaloacetate availability impaired 8. When is the regulation of gluconeogenesis disrupted Glycolysis and gluconeogenesis are reciprocally regulated by eachother. What promotes the activity of one inhibits the other. Lack of insulin leads to high levels of glucose in the blood, gluc levels exceed renal threshold. . this causes excess water to excreted in urine (polyuria) Ketones are formed when there is not enough sugar or glucose to supply the body’s fuel needs. This occurs overnight, and during dieting or fasting. During these periods, insulin levels are low, but glucagon and epinephrine levels are relatively normal. This combination of low insulin, and relatively normal glucagon and epinephrine levels causes fat to be released from the fat cells. The fats travel through the blood circulation to reach the liver where they are processed into ketone units. The ketone units then circulate back into the blood stream and are picked up by the muscle and other tissues to fuel your body’s metabolism. In a person without diabetes, ketone production is the body’s normal adaptation to starvation. Blood sugar levels never get too high, because the production is regulated by just the right balance of insulin, glucagon and other hormones.However, in an individual with diabetes, dangerous and life-threatening levels of ketones can develop. When there is not enough insulin, the fat cells keep releasing fat into the circulation, and the liver keeps making more and more ketones and ketoacids. The rising ketoacid levels make the blood pH too low (acidotic/Diabetic Keto-Acidosis), which is an emergency medical situation and requires immediate medical attention. Oxidation reaction†¦ leads to release of h+ ions Lipogenesis: Since carbohydrates are the major part of the diet, they must be immediately converted into energy, stored as glycogen, or converted into fats. The introduction has already presented the facts about the necessity of storing energy as fat. A total of 55% of the carbohydrates are involved in the synthesis of fats. The total energy content of the diet must be balanced with the energy requirements of the human body. If excess foods (calories) are ingested beyond the bodys energy needs, the excess foods (energy) are converted into fat. If insufficient calories are ingested, the energy deficit is made up by oxidizing fat reserves. These simple facts provide the key to weight control although it is probably more easily understood than carried out in practice. Excessive deposits of lipids lead to an obese condition. Extensive blood capillary networks in these deposits mean that they are quite active metabolically. Obesity puts a strain on the heart by causing it to pump blood through extra c apillaries. Generally, obesity results from overeating, but a few people have malfunctioning endocrine glands. Lipid metabolism is in a constant state of dynamic equilibrium. This means that some lipids are constantly being oxidized to meet energy needs, while others are being synthesized and stored. In rats, the average life-time of a single lipid molecule ranges from 2 to 10 days. A similar figure probably applies to human lipid metabolism. The sequence of reactions involved in the formation of lipids is known as Lipogenesis. Lipogenesis is not simply the reverse of the fatty acid spiral, but does start with acetyl CoA and does build up by the addition of two carbons units. The synthesis occurs in the cytoplasm in contrast to the degradation (oxidation) which occurs in the mitochondria. Many of the enzymes for the fatty acid synthesis are organized into a multienzyme complex called fatty acid synthetase. The major points in the overall lipogenesis reactions are: Starvation and Diabetes Synthesis of Ketone Bodies: When the body is deprived of food whether by voluntary or involuntary fasting, starvation is the net result. During starvation, glycogen reserves are rapidly depleted and the body begins to metabolize reserves of fat and protein. The entry of acetyl CoA into the citric acid cycle depends on the availability of oxaloacetic acid for the formation of citric acid. In starvation or uncontrolled diabetes situations, oxaloacetic acid is used to synthesize glucose and is then not available for use with acetyl CoA. Under these conditions, acetyl CoA is diverted from the citric acid cycle to the formation of acetoacetic and 3-hydroxybutanoic acids. In three steps, two acetyl CoA react to make acetoacetic acid. The acetoacetic acid may be changed into either acetone or 3-hydroxybutanoic acid. All three compounds are collectively known as ketone bodies even though one is not a ketone. The odor of acetone may be detected on the breath of a person with excess ketone bodies in the blood. The overall accumulation of ketone bodies in blood and urine is known as ketosis. The acids also upset buffers in the blood to cause acidosis. Both acetoacetic acid and 3-hydroxybutanoic acid can be used by the heart, kidneys, and brain for metabolism to produce energy. The heart and kidneys actually prefer these to glucose. In contrast, the brain prefers glucose, but will adapt if necessary in starvation or diabetic conditions. Link to: Ketone Bodies (move cursor over arrows)

Benefits of Training Needs Analysis (TNA)

Benefits of Training Needs Analysis (TNA) Improve the process which results in spending less time to fix the employees mistake and the information cab be accessed faster than before Reduce the cost which is used to pay for staff turn over and recruitment. In addition, when the staffs work more efficient, it will increase the productivity as well as the money paid for maintenance. Enhance the profit by increasing the sales and improving customer satisfaction Increase staff satisfaction because when the staff knows that the employer is investing in them, they will be happier and stay longer in the organisation. Furthermore, during the training, the staff can develop their leadership and communication skills which can be applied in the job. According to Blanchard et al. (2010:para. 1), there are two approaches to TNA which are called: proactive and reactive. The proactive TNA focuses on foreseeing the performance problems which may occur in the future in the company. Therefore, the strategic plan can be created and applied to help the employees handle these changes (Blanchard et al. 2010: para. 2). For example Heinz, a food manufacturer, when they decided to use a higher technology to produce the ketchup, they did the training before the new machine was bought. In the proactive TNA, the manager will need to conduct three analysis (Blanchard et al. 2010: para 5), they include: The organisation analysis: the proactive begins with the plan in order to help the organisation adapt the expected changes and new objectives. Operational analysis: by collecting information on the current and future tasks to identify the KSAs required to perform effectively in different areas. Person analysis: the evaluation can be identical for the proactive and reactive, and the provided information must be applicable. The reactive TNA (leopard learning.com n.d : online) focuses on identifying the current problems in the job performance and determine if the training is needed. Example may include new technology, high staff turnover, high accident rate, increasing customer complaints, and poor management practices. In the reactive TNA, the organisation analysis, operational analysis, and person analysis are also conducted, however it only focuses on one particular department or the issue on a particular part of the job (Blanchard et al. 2010: para 16). Employers do not necessarily need well-trained employees. I know that may sound like heresy coming from someone employed in higher education, but what employers truly need is employees who perform well. Training is one way to attain desired performance, but its not the only way ( Stetar, 2005, online) The TNA can be conducted by the following steps (Flinders University, n.d.: online): Step 1: Analyse the job Before the TNA is conducted, it is important to understand the job by collecting the information which can be based on the job description. All these resources will provide information about the job responsibilities, knowledge and skill required to perform efficiently. Step 2: Identify the gap There are many methods which can be used to identify the gap. However, the managers have to choose which method will be used and how. Moreover, they need to ensure that the information is useful, correct and complete. Three main methods can be utilised by the managers in the organisation (Anthony et. lc 2002 p. 210-211); include: Observation: in this method, the managers will observe the employees performance to see if they are doing their jobs well. In order to ensure this method is productive, the check list should be used. Interviewing: by using this method, it allows the managers to meet their employees face to face, therefore they can have a chance to understand the companys situation as well as the employees themselves. Questionnaires: if this method is used, all possible tasks that are presently performed must be listed. The advantage of this method is that the managers can include everyone and does not need to travel or spend time with each of them. Each of the method has its usefulness; however the manager should never be dependent on one method. Therefore, they should be combined and use together. Step 3: Decide the training solutions Once the gap is identified, the training solutions should be undertaken to find the best way which can close the knowledge or skill gaps. The training can be done by using different options such as: On the job training, one on one training during the work time The managers or senior employees becoming a mentor to any employees Improve the skill and knowledge through college, university or technical school education Job rotation Complete online training The training can happen in a short term or long term course. However, the time and cost will always need to be considered. Step 4: Evaluating the result after training After training the result has to be checked to see if the gap has been closed and if it was accomplished by: Asking the staff member to perform on the task which they are trained on Looking at the product line to determine if there is still neglected skills or knowledge Conclusion and Recommendation In conclusion, the TNA is a process which can be used to identify the skills and knowledge gap in order to close it (Drummond 1991, p. 4). In addition, it can happen within a short term period or over a long term plan by using the proactive and reactive TNA on the level of organisation, operation and individual (Blanchard et al. 2010:para. 2). However, according to Bill Stetar (2005, para. 4), training is not always the only solution because the employers may need the employees who can perform competently. My goal is to become a hotel manager. Hotel managers (Baxter 2010, para 1) are people whom run the room rental businesses and manage staffs within the hotel. The duties can be varied depending on the size and type of the business. However, the following requirement is normally compulsory to be met. Know how to manage and maintain the facilities Ability to observe and supervise the employees performance Understand and work efficiently in different areas in the hotel Have a strong leadership skill to allocate the staff Be able to solve and anticipate the problems Have good communication skill which can be used to handle the customer as well as the employees Have four years experience in the hotel industry Graduate from a university with a recognised qualification Plan in advance to maximize the profit and monitor the expenses Deal with suppliers to get products with good quality Know how to deal with people who are from different backgrounds, race and belief. Good computer skill The skills and qualification which I currently possessed are: Certificate IV in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery), therefore I have a knowledge about food and services in the restaurant Higher Diploma in Accounting, which can be useful for budgeting and financial management Be able to monitor and maintain the facilities in the premises Computer skill Hence, the skill, knowledge and qualification that I need to achieve in order to become a hotel manager are: Complete a Bachelor in Hospitality Management course at university or college Good communication skill will be required Develop the leadership skill Have experience in the hotel industry Problem solving skills to help the business run smoothly and deal with customers Interaction skills to manage and deal with the staff Decision making and planning skills When the gap is identified, the solution must be carried out. To obtain the qualification for hospitality management, it can be done in The Hotel School Sydney which is located at 117 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000. They offer a new course in February, 2011 with a tuition fee of 18,000 Australian dollars (The Hotel School Sydney 2010: online). In the course, they provide the knowledge about food and beverage operation, tourism and hospitality management, problem solving, decision making, leadership skill, and room operation. In addition, during the course, the student will have a real life experience by studying and working in the hotel. As a result, it will be an opportunity for me to obtain the qualification as well as improve my communication, problem solving and leadership skill. Moreover, by undertaking the conflict management course at ACS Distance Education, they teach skills that deal with conflict which is very useful for a hotel manager. The fee is 726 Australian dollars for 100 hours (ACS Distance Education 2010: online) and I can study this course online. Furthermore, in order to gain more experience in hotel industry, I need to work for a small hotel first because in a small hotel I will learn how to operate a hotel and then move on to a bigger hotel.

Same Sex Marriage Essay -- Ethical Issues, Lesbian or Gay Parents

Same sex marriage is already taboo, but same sex couples raising children is mostly not considered acceptable by the public because of the misconception that they are not qualified to bring up children in accordance with proper social values. The public is not certain if children will receive proper education about society and behavior to fit in as responsible members. However, several recent movements, such as Feminism and Post-modernism, argue about equal rights for everybody. Feminism is mainly concerned about the equality of men and women in society while Post-modernism is mainly concerned with ending all forms of discrimination in society. Feminism is actually a subdivision of Post-modernism because Post-modernism is against all discriminations while Feminism specializes in pointing out women's rights in the society and the equal status of women and men. Among other things, both ideologies re-evaluate the meaning of love and marriage in modern society. Besides the social movemen ts, several scientific research was made regarding children who grow up in same sex marriages. Children raised in a same sex marriage share the same core values with the society, maybe even higher because they never learned about sexual discrimination in their home, and the only reason why they are restrained is because of the public opinion on these situations. In accordance with scientific research, the American Psychological Association (APA) claims that there are should be no concerns with same sex marriages. It is not just a violation of privacy and an act of discrimination against other people, but there are also no scientific basis which prove that it contributes to an improper development of children. Fears about children of lesbian or gay p... ...ation because same sex marriage is something people are used to and they will retain their opinion that it is the only way to provide a person with a normal childhood, even though this marriage might not be happy or might not last. On the other hand, a child will feel better growing up with a same sex couple instead of growing up alone. The main things Post-modernism and Feminism are re-questioning in the modern society, love and marriage, are the most important things a child can look up to when growing up. If there is no love in a regular marriage, this marriage cannot provide a decent environment for a child's upbringing. However, if a same sex marriage provides a loving environment for the child, it should not be discriminated against, but rather encouraged to contribute to the harmonious development of a child without sexual or any other forms of prejudice.

Lean Management

LEAN IN PRODUCTION AND SERVICE The word term ‘’LEAN’’ was put together to describe and personalize Toyota’s business activity during the 1980’s by a research team headed by one Jim Womack, Ph. D. , at MIT’s international Motor vehicle programme. According to them, the concept of ‘LEAN’ was fathered by Taiichi Ohno of Toyota. Ohno developed a contrasting approach to the mass production methods of US car firms through necessity. Later, in 1996, Jim Womack’s team espoused the five lean principles and also lean tools that they believed were the secret for Toyota’s success. According to Oxford dictionaries, Lean means efficient and with no wastage. The core idea of lean is to minimize wastage and at the same time maximize customer value. Customer value is of utmost importance to a lean organization and the organization will focus on its key processes to continue increasing the value. Ultimately, the goal is to provide the perfect value creation process that has no wastage. To accomplish this value creation and zero wastage goal, lean thinking changes the focus of a management from optimizing separate technologies, assets and vertical departments to optimize the flow of products and services through entire value streams that flow horizontally across technologies, assets and department customers. By reducing or eliminating waste along the entire stream of value, we will be able to come up with processes that would need less effort, less space, reduced capitals and reduced time in order to make products and services at prices far less than normal and with fewer defects. Organizations will be able to be responsive towards changing customer needs and wants with a lot of variety, higher quality, reduced costs and with less throughput times. Information management will also be much simpler and much more accurate. Lean management is a concept which can be applied in every business and every process. It should not be compared with a cost reduction program or tactic because it is a way of thinking and acting that applies to the whole organization. Nowadays, it is common that businesses across all industries and services, including the health care and even governments around the world are applying the concept of lean as the way they think and operate their business. Many of these organizations does not use the word lean out of choice and tend to label their practices as their own system, such as the Toyota Production System or the Danaher Business System. It is done to instill a point that lean is not a simple programme or a short term ost reduction solutions, but the way the company operates. the term ‘Transformation’ or ‘lean Transformation’ are usually used to characterize a company that is moving from an old way to a lean thinking way. this transformation requires a complete transformation on how a company usually conducts their business, thus, requiring long term perspective and perseverance through the changing time. It is also interesting to note that the concept of lean in production and servic e has the touch of one of the greater management thinkers, W. Edwards Deming who had great influence in Japanese manufacturing. He believed that the present manufacturing scenario is a prison of interacting people and stressed the importance of re-inventing the management processes in order to achieve higher efficiency and value. In implementing lean in production or services, I will be following the concept espoused by Womack’s team that stressed on three important business issues that will be able to guide the transformation process of an entire organization into a lean organization. In order to achieve lean objectives in an organization, it is important first of all to note that the organization and the people leading the transformation need to have a lean vision. In order to develop this lean vision, we can concentrate on three fundamental business issues which are Purpose, Process and People. By thinking deeply into these three aspects, a lean implementer can try to answer critical questions on the vision of the organization. If we are able to answer the key questions that I have associated with each of the aspects, I believe that we can develop a vision for lean implementation in our organization. The questions would be:- 1. purpose what are the customer problems will the organization try to solve in order to achieve their own purpose of prospering? 2. Process: how will the organization assess each major value stream devised to make sure each step in the value stream is valuable, capable, available, adequate and flexible? 3. People: how will the organization ensure that every important process in the value stream has someone responsible for continually evaluating it in terms of business purpose and also lean process? How will everyone involved in the value stream be engaged actively in the process of operating it correctly and continually improving it? As for the next step that I would take, it would be on the possible implementation of the core lean principle into my organization. This, I believe would involve the core of lean which is basically waste reduction. Usually, in an organization including production and service oriented organizations, we can find seven basic types of waste, which I am listing below. ? Producing goods and services beyond the immediate need of the customers. Unnecessary movement of products due to poor layout planning. ? Wasted motions when working. ? Time idling and wastage. ? Implementing processes that are unimportant to finish a product. ? Poor inventory management. ? Many defects in the finished product or output. Usually, waste will be present in any activity that does not add any value to the finished product or services. By trying to eliminate waste, the materia l velocity will be increase drastically. This means products will reach the customers hand in a very quick manner. This is an advantage because it delivers high strategic advantages beyond the obvious cost savings. Bad quality will be eliminated and lead times are shortened effectively. Eliminating waste can be considered as a strategic goal in service oriented and manufacturing oriented organizations. As I have mentioned before, elimination of waste will ensure increase in strategic advantages such as increased income and increased customer satisfaction. In adapting lean processes and services, we may be confronted by some constrains and challenges. The adaptability of lean depends on the nature of our business. We have to remember that there is a vast difference in between the service and production industries, and it lies in the source that creates the variation that causes waste to happen. Logically, manufacturing operations are far more controllable compared to service industry, because of its laboratory like settings compared to the service industry. Uncertainty usually does result from material and labor inputs, but we can still anticipate those uncertainties and take steps to control it to a great extent. For example, Toyota, pioneer in lean management is production/manufacturing based organization, and the employees, product esign and the production tools are usually under the control of the operations to a great extent, rendering it easier for implementers to anticipate uncertainty and implement the efficient lean management. In contrast, service organizations operate in a vast sea of uncertainty and risks and when uncertainty is present, it is much harder to anticipate and control variability that will be present together with it, For example, a project management company. We know that each project that the company will receive or implement will be different in nature. The volatility of the service industry, in particular a project management company, requires that lean management principles is implemented on a case by case method, i. e. different implementation and methods for different projects. This nature of the service industry is contributed by a few causes. Let's look at these causes one by one:- ? Uncertainty in task times. It is the nature of service products that the execution of each and every service delivery has some uniqueness. Taking the example of the project management company, each project taken may not be similar to each other, thus making it difficult to judge the task time needed. This variability in the service industry leads to a negative exponential distribution of task times. This simply means to say that most of the tasks execution will fall within a tight range, and some execution will take a longer time. Considering airplane boarding as another example, there is uncertainty present in the sense that it will take different amount of time among different groups of customers to board the plane. ? Uncertainty in demand. While there are ways to forecast demand in service industry, we can’t claim that it is 100% perfect. Usually, manufacturers buffer this forecast uncertainty with some finished goods inventory, but this is not the case in the service industry for example, we can forecast that reservations for a hotel will increase during peak seasons but it depends on many other fluctuating factors. Sometimes it is very hard to predict the demand of individual customer. As an example, a wedding planner essentially does planning job for customers wedding, but this lanning differs based on customer preferences, budget and also other factors. This uncertainty renders each wedding and the process that the organization goes through to put together the wedding, a unique one. ? Customers' production roles. As we can see from both the uncertainties above, we can summarize that it has much to do with customers. This is because typically, customers have some role to play in the production of a service, w e introduce variability based on how well we perform our roles. Customers almost always have to provide some information to the service agents to initiate service, and we usually have some tangible tasks to perform. So, as I have already stated it before, this condition create unique situations that needs personal implementations of lean in order to make sure wastage is reduced and value is delivered to each individual customers. Lean implementation involves finding solutions that will be able to offset the challenges and difficulties that we may face in our organization to achieve a successful outcome that will support a competitive operations strategy. Professors Kent Bowen and Steven Spear (HBS DBA '99), drew on a framework of 4 principles of the Toyota Production System that they believed will reduce the constrains, difficulties and challenges to a minimum in order to enjoy leaner productions and service. The framework contains 4 easily implement able rules:- Rule no. 1: all work should be highly specific as to content, sequence, timing and outcome. Rule no. 2: every customer-supplier connections must be direct, and there must be an unambiguous yes or no ways to send request and receive responses. Rule no. 3: the pathway for every products and services must be simple and direct. Rule no. 4: any improvements must be made in accordance with the specific method, under the guidance of a teacher, at the lowest possible level in the organization. Basically, my plan for a successful implementation of lean depends on the 4 rules given above, but I am going to give it some twist with adding some additional techniques that I feel would encourage faster and easier ways to overcome challenges faced by organizations implementing lean. I am going to add a three step initiative taken by Wipro, an Indian software developer, which can boost the implementation of lean, which are:- †¢ Abolish Hierarchies. Devise a bottom-up organization that allows many people to have a field-wide view of the process to spot problems and identify efficiencies. †¢ Continuous Improvement. Using â€Å"kaizen† initiative. Encouraging organizational level knowledge sharing through effective and efficient work improvement. †¢ Lean Tools. Use of tools specific to the process based on lean principles which can be utilized to pinpoint wasted time and effort. A combination of both these initiatives, I believe can lead to a lean flow which will be the tool that I would utilize to mitigate the challenges that can be faced during lean implementation. Drawing up a process flow chart that represents each step that a product/service would go through is essential. It is advisable to represent these sequential processes graphically in a flow chart. This is the first step towards an error and waste free production. For each and every products or processes that are present in the process flow charts, another level of details is required. This involves the task-level work with associated , with associated work-content times, with associated work-content times, quality verifications and worker qualifications. We can also produce a product/process matrix with products on the vertical axis and processes on the horizontal axis. At every intersection of product and process, this matrix, or spreadsheet should be recording the total reasonable validated work times that has been devised. We must also be able to calculate Takt. Takt is a German word which basically mean beat, pace or rhythm. Businesses, especially service oriented business must march to the beat of the customers and we must keep up with our customers pace.. Takt, can be calculated as, work time per day divided by customer requirements per day. This calculation represents how often each process must be performed, and at what capacity level, to take care of your customer’s needs and demands and be able to meet it as soon as possible. In order to have sustainable lean benefits, the implementation of lean must bridge the gap from project to project and also business practices. Quality documents procedures, policies and measures must reflect and drive Lean as a way of life. This will ensure success in reducing waste. Planning and procurement drives daily lean execution. Lean manufacturing is more responsive, with shorter lead time and greater mix and volume flexibility. We must be able to change our planning to take full advantage of lean. Bibliography Womack. J. P, Lean Enterprise Institute Inc. 2009, What Is Lean (Online) Available at: http://www. lean. rg/WhatsLean/ (Accessed 20th October 2009) Ahlstrom, P (2004) ‘Lean service operations: translating lean production principles to service operations’ International Journal of Services Technology and Management, Vol 5, nos 5-6 pp545-564 Spear and Bowen 1999 ‘Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System’ Harvard Business Review Sept-Oct Womack, J. P. and D. T. Jones 1996 ‘Lean Thinking’ New York, Simon & Schuster. Taylor: FW 1998 ‘The Principles of Scientific Management’ Dover Publications: New York. First published in 1911 Ohno, T 1988 ‘Toyota Production System’ Productivity Press: Portland, Oregon. Translated from Japanese original, first published 1978 David McPhetrige, 2009, An industry consultant provides guidance on implementing a basic Lean plan. MPO magazine. (Online) Available at: http://www. mpo-mag. com/articles/2009/09/meeting-the-challenges-of-lean-flow (Accessed on 21st October 2009) Hanna. J, 2007, Bringing ‘Lean’ Principles to Service Industry. Harvard Business School (Online) Available at: http://hbswk. hbs. edu/item/5741. html (Accessed on 21st October 2009)

Free Essays on Globalization

In 1992, Thomas Friedman took a tour of a Lexus factory in Japan and was amazed at the machines and how they assembled the luxury cars. While eating dinner that night while on a Japanese train he read a story about another confrontation in the Middle East. It was the Israelis and the Palestinians. He concluded that half the world was after the Lexuses and the other half was fighting over who owned the olive tree. His analogy was that the Lexuses were a symbol of brilliant technology because of how they are assembled. Mr. Friedman is a foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and has a Pulitzer Prize as a foreign correspondent to his resume. Friedman has degrees in an Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies. He has very few academic qualifications as an expert in globalization. Although he said â€Å" I am an inveterate traveler having crisscrossed the globe numerous times in my work for the Times. â€Å"Globalization† he writes â€Å"is driven by enormously powerful technologies which are integrating us more and more everyday whether we like it or not. Theoretically, these aspirations and technologies can be choked off, but only at a huge price to society’s development and only by building even higher and even thicker walls.† I believe that Globalization is not just a phenomenon and not just a passing trend. The international system replaced the Cold War system. It is also the integration of capitol technology, and information across national borders, ins way that is creating a single global market and to some degree, a global village. Globalization- the Lexus_ is the central organizing principle of the post Cold War world, even though many individuals and nations resist by holding onto what has traditionally mattered them to them- the Olive Tree. At first glance, the concept is all about American hegemony, about Disneyification of all corners of the earth. But the reality, thank goodness, is far more complex than that, involvin... Free Essays on Globalization Free Essays on Globalization In 1992, Thomas Friedman took a tour of a Lexus factory in Japan and was amazed at the machines and how they assembled the luxury cars. While eating dinner that night while on a Japanese train he read a story about another confrontation in the Middle East. It was the Israelis and the Palestinians. He concluded that half the world was after the Lexuses and the other half was fighting over who owned the olive tree. His analogy was that the Lexuses were a symbol of brilliant technology because of how they are assembled. Mr. Friedman is a foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and has a Pulitzer Prize as a foreign correspondent to his resume. Friedman has degrees in an Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies. He has very few academic qualifications as an expert in globalization. Although he said â€Å" I am an inveterate traveler having crisscrossed the globe numerous times in my work for the Times. â€Å"Globalization† he writes â€Å"is driven by enormously powerful technologies which are integrating us more and more everyday whether we like it or not. Theoretically, these aspirations and technologies can be choked off, but only at a huge price to society’s development and only by building even higher and even thicker walls.† I believe that Globalization is not just a phenomenon and not just a passing trend. The international system replaced the Cold War system. It is also the integration of capitol technology, and information across national borders, ins way that is creating a single global market and to some degree, a global village. Globalization- the Lexus_ is the central organizing principle of the post Cold War world, even though many individuals and nations resist by holding onto what has traditionally mattered them to them- the Olive Tree. At first glance, the concept is all about American hegemony, about Disneyification of all corners of the earth. But the reality, thank goodness, is far more complex than that, involvin... Free Essays on Globalization Globalization is a word we are hearing more often these days. It is described as a movement that enables individuals, corporations, and countries to reach around the globe farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before. It is the spread of free market capitalism to virtually every country in the world. With current technological advancements, globalization has become more accessible. Businesses can now manage overseas operations with more control through the use of the Internet and improved telecommunications. Globalization has many characteristics that can benefit some countries while undermining others. To some, globalization is bringing choices and opportunities, while to others it is a disruptive force that threatens lives, jobs, and traditions. In a global economy, markets are without boundaries. Free market capitalism is the driving idea behind globalization. As a result, countries that are willing to participate in the global marketplace are encouraged to open their economy to free trade, privatization, and competition. Every issue has positive and negative points. Despite the promising progress that the global economy promotes, it is surprising that millions of people do not look at globalization in a positive light. Some organizations, such as human rights activists strongly oppose globalization. Why would so many groups oppose something that can be beneficial to every nation? Human rights advocates argue that multinational corporations erode human rights in poorer countries by establishing sweatshops to benefit their business, such as was the incident with Kathie Lee Gifford and her clothes line. Human rights and student groups claim that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank prop up regimes that condone sweatshops and pursue policies that bail out foreign leaders at the expense of local economies. In addition, globalization would bring massive population shifts from rural to urban ... Free Essays on Globalization GLOBALIZATION AND CULTURAL IDENTITY In the review of 'The Clash of civilazation and the remaking of world order', Stephen M. Walt concedes to the fact that, while Samuel P. Huntington's book may "enjoy a longer shelf life" than other works in its league, he ultimatly dismisses it as a "potentially dangerous blueprint for policy." Samuel Huntington says that 'the great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural' which in turn constitutes a 'Clash of Civilazations' because of differing norms and values. In an interview following the 9/11 attacks, Mr. Huntington was featured an a PBS series where he was asked to explain how his theory has held up over the years. Here he speaks of his "Clash of Civilization", a prelude to his in-depth explanation of the lessons we learned from the World Trade Center incident; "Well I think the essence of the argument is that during the Twentieth Century and the Cold War, ideology was a key factor in international relations. The wars were between fascists, communists and liberal democratic countries. Ideology has faded from the scene and people no longer identify with ideologies; they identify with their cultures and cultures may exist at a very local level, but there are also broader cultural entities, and the broadest cultural entities are civilizations. And the argument of the book is that the most dangerous conflicts in the future will be between states and groups from different civilizations because these have a potential to escalate." And when asked about the 9/11 tragedy, he affirms his point with this: "Following September eleventh, how did the world divide in terms of cultures and civilizations? The countries that are closest to us culturallyBritain, Canada, Australiaimmediately came forward, sent military forces to work with ours. The reaction in Europe, part of Western civilization as we are, was again enthusiastic sympathy and expressions of sup... Free Essays on Globalization Globalization Globalization refers to the widening and deepening of the international flows of trade, capital, technology, and information within a single integrated global market (Petras 11). This has been considered to be the basis for global expansionism; the illusion of domestic economic stability has supplemented this process with a strong supportive public opinion. However, the true nature of Globalization continues to be the search for lower waged workers through geographic expansion by means of economic superiority and political manipulation often involving military force (Tabb 25). The reduction of cost due to cheaper labor and an increase in the speed of communication and transportation has continually deepened this process (Tabb 13). Historically, international flows of capital and commodity trade have taken three routes, through imperialist and colonial conquest, trade and investment among advanced capitalist countries and recently through exchanges among Third World countries (Petras 27). These methods share the common goal of exploiting vulnerable areas of the world in order to benefit core countries and more importantly international corporations. However, each route has produced different consequences in global society. Imperialism created an unequal accumulation of capital among the world via the extraction of raw materials in vulnerable colonial regions. This promoted economic growth in the core countries while the periphery was exposed to cheap labor and declining standards of living, basically unable to compete with major world powers. Trade among world powers invited regulated foreign capital in order to complement internal capitalist development. Lastly, the influence of international corporations over Third World regions has led to a large debt crisis in the periphery, which has been used as a tool to manipulate foreign policies in these areas to benefit corporate interests. In the processes of globalizatio... Free Essays on Globalization Thomas L. Friedman is known for writing his interpretations of world affairs. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes as a foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times. In his book, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Friedman talks about his extensive travels and experiences with people around the globe and how globalization has affected all types of people from all walks of life. He shows how the Lexus represents advancements in technologies and the pursuit of a higher standard of living while the Olive Tree represents a peoples’ roots. Friedman is a supporter of globalization and describes thoroughly how the best course for the world to take is to nurture this new system. Friedman looks at globalization as the system to take over after the collapse of the â€Å"Cold War system.† He describes the Cold War system as a focus on division and with the collapse of the Berlin Wall came the collapse of the Cold War system. Globalization, with a theme of integration, quickly too k its place. Friedman portrays three fundamental changes as the initial steps towards globalization; changes in how we communicate, how we invest and how we attain information about the world. The â€Å"democratization of technology† was the initial step. Innovations in the 1980’s and 1990’s such as computerization, Internet tools and telecommunications are the driving forces behind the democratization of technology. The ability to communicate with anyone around the world easily and cheaply allowed the potential for wealth distribution to be evenly distributed geographically. The â€Å"commercial paper† market actually started the â€Å"democratization of finance.† These were bonds issued by corporations directly to the public to raise capital. Bonds stopped the monopoly that banks held over people, which allowed for credit to flow freely. The third and final change was the â€Å"democratization of information.† This change began with the globaliz ation of televi... Free Essays on Globalization Globalization: Is it worth it? Given today’s economy does it make sense for a small company to go global? According to Charles Hill, author of International Business, he seems to think that it is a good thing along with many other businessmen, influential economists, and even politicians. Yet that is not the answer for every industry, take for example the family entertainment center industry; going global is not always the wisest choice for expansion. This became evident in a recent interview which was held with Richard Beckert, (personal communication, October 20, 2003); the former CEO and President of Malibu Entertainment Worldwide, Incorporated. Malibu Entertainment Worldwide, Inc. (MEWI) at one time owned and operated approximately 40 family entertainment centers across the United States, Japan, and Spain. Malibu Entertainment is now no longer in existence as it sold its last park in January of this year. This sprawling global company was a publicly traded company in its prime with shares trading at over $30 per share, today the defunct company’s outstanding shares are trading at a staggering $0.0010 per share. This drastic change in the company happened almost overnight after the global expansion according to Mr. Beckert. After opening the first two locations overseas within weeks of each other the company entered into huge financial difficulties, which forced the sale of the two oversea operations within months of their opening. The sale of the locations came at a huge lose to the company that resulted in a loss of over $10 million. With the huge loss in operating capital and equity in the company its shares literally went for $30 per share to $10 per share overnight. From there on out the company was unable to recover and kept the downward spiral. It was being faced with huge loan repayment notes and investors were pulling funding left and right. The company was forced to slowly sell off assets and parks one by one in ... Free Essays on Globalization Globalization is a confusing concept. For some it conjures up images of electronic communications: an email, global media, and popularization of mobile phones. For others it is about trade: the ability to buy coca-cola in rural villages in Africa. For yet others it is about misappropriation and greed: the suicide of Indian peasant farmers ruined by agri-business and genetically modified seeds. From now on, I will present the negative effects of globalization.  gGlobalization h is a very uneven process, with unequal distribution of benefits and losses. The problem is that of who gains and loses from the potential benefits. This imbalance leads to polarization or separation between the few rich countries or individuals that gain benefits, and the many other countries that lose out or are marginalized. Globalization, polarization, wealth concentration and marginalization are therefore linked through the same process. In this process, investment resources, growth and modern technology are focused on a few countries (mainly in North America, Europe, Japan and East Asian NICs). The basic facts are known: 20% of the world fs population live in absolute poverty, with an income of less than $1 per day. Surviving on less than $2 a day is a reality for almost half the people on the planet.  iA majority of developing countries are excluded from the process, or are participating in it in marginal ways that are often detrimental to their interests; for example, import liberalization may harm their domestic producers and financial liberalization may cause instability. j  @ iThe uneven and unequal nature of the present globalization is manifested in the fast growing gap between the world fs rich and poor people and between developed and developing countries; and by the large differences among nations in the distribution of gains and losses. j As a result, the number of hungry people around the @world keeps rising every year and... Free Essays on Globalization Domestic small-and medium-sized technology companies (SMTC) that are currently plotting their strategic direction are faced with a daunting competitive environment today. On the one hand, SMTCs are struggling to survive in the lull of a once-booming and competitive US technology market. On the other hand, should they look outside the US market, they are faced with the prospect of competing head-on with large multinational corporations that have already established a global presence. The pervasive belief surrounding international expansion of any scale is that it is not an initiative to be launched by a company with limited resources-a belief that would eradicate the entire SMTC segment from the global technology marketplace if taken seriously. The result is that SMTCs hold off on any non-domestic activities until financial and human resources are comfortably able to accommodate a new market entry. Niko Partners, an international business consultancy for small- and medium-sized technology companies, believes that waiting for a high comfort-level would be too late for SMTCs, and in fact could mean the loss of critical competitive ground in the long term. The true first hurdle to globalization is not a resource issue but is the achievement of the strategic global awareness of how the SMTC fits into the global marketplace. Niko believes, regardless of when international expansion actually begins, all SMTCs should at least be actively incorporating an international v ista into their strategic roadmaps now. For critical social theory, globalization involves both capitalist markets and sets of social relations and flows of commodities, capital, technology, ideas, forms of culture, and people across national boundaries via a global networked society (see Castells 1996, 1997, and 1998 and Held, et al 1999). The transmutations of technology and capital work together to create a new globalized and interconnected world. A technological revolution ... Free Essays on Globalization The phenomenon known as globalisation Introduction To begin with, tell them that they will need to look at the essay questions today Later we will be doing a trial reflective exercise Let’s look at Globalisation My story When my colleagues and I were faced with redundancy we were placed in a unique position. Or perhaps it wasn’t quite so unique, just unspoken; ‘experts’ are not renowned for publicly applying their own theories to themselves. After years working as labour researchers or workplace change consultants we found ourselves in the position of having the stories we told other workers and their managements about why change was happening being reflected back to us by our managers and the people employed to facilitate our departures. We shifted from being purveyors of the discourses and narratives about why change was necessary to sitting in judgement of whether these very discourses and narratives applied to us, made sense to us, or were believable. Armed with more information than the average potentially redundant worker, we gathered around photocopiers, water coolers, staff room dining tables, coffee shop booths, each others desks - and discussed, argued, complained, questioned. As labour researchers we turned on labour theories, as change consultants we turned on theories of workplace change, and asked ourselves and each other, â€Å"Is what I’ve been saying for the last ten years really the case in my case? Now that I’m down there amongst it all instead of looking at it from the safety of an analyst’s lofty heights, does the story look and sound the same?† The Globalisation Story The stories we told the workers went generally like this: Globalisation led to economic and industry restructuring which leads to organisational change which means jobs change which means you have to do things differently to how you did them before and if you do not change, you won’t be able to give your customer... Free Essays on Globalization McGlobalization â€Å"We must use terministic screens, since we can’t really say anything without the use of terms; whatever terms we use, they necessarily constitute a corresponding kind of screen; and any such screen necessarily directs the attention to one field rather than the other. Within that field there can be different screens, each with its ways of directing the attention and shaping the range of observations implicit in the given terminology. All terminologies must implicitly and explicitly embody choices between the principle of continuity and the discontinuity.† Where would the world be in this day and age if everyone had the exact same experiences, exact same thoughts, and the exact same dreams? To think of such things is ridiculous. Humans would be nothing more than robots, all programmed to think and function in the exact same way. Each individual in the world has their own experiences, none of which that are identical. Not one person was raised identical to another. For every person there comes a screen, and for every experience an individual encounters comes another screen. Think of screens like this. A photographer has many different lenses. Each lens comes with their own unique qualities. So when the photographer switches his lens he is switching the entire picture. In regards to humans we are the Johnson 2 photographer and each experience gives us a different view on things. The result of this gives us another screen. Writers and theorist are no exception to this. Newspapers and publications would not have such an impact on the world if every person had the same view on things. We take in information from one and another and twist it all around in our heads to come up with our own individual ideas. Real life examples of this our seen everywhere. An issue I wish to address is how different people interpret the phenomenon, globalization. To help support this paper I will give examples from d... Free Essays on Globalization Conflict Resolution in Organizations Conflict comes about from differences – differences of opinion, differences in thinking, differences in needs and differences in values. Sometimes these differences can complement each other, as in diversity. Everyone encounters situations on a regular basis that affect how one works and relates with other people. But sometimes we will encounter conflict and in dealing with conflict comes about resolution. One key element in building effective organizational partnerships is the creation of conflict resolution processes and systems that encourage people to work through conflicts and to use them to build better partnerships. As leaders encourage high performance organizations they also need to design conflict resolution systems that encourage that can be an effective tool in dealing with day-to-day situations. Conflict resolution in organizations builds stronger and more cohesive organizations and more rewarding relationships. When we fear conflict or perceive it as a nega tive experience, we harm our chances of dealing with it effectively. Moreover, conflict is neither a positive or negative in situation. Conflict is a natural occurrence. Conflict is a by-product of the diversity that challenges our thoughts, our attitudes, our beliefs, and our perceptions. Each of us has influence and power over whether or not conflict becomes negative and that influence and power is found in the way we handle it. In my organization, (your company), conflict is a way of life and is something that must be dealt with accordingly. Being skillful in resolving conflict is an important managerial tool. Senior and middle level management typically utilize a Win-Win approach in dealing with conflict at (your company). Win-Win conflict is achieved by a blend of both high cooperativeness and high assertiveness (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2000, p.383). The Win-Win Approach is about changing the conflict fr... Free Essays on Globalization In the ever-present debates about globalization, the experience has often been identified with late twentieth-century forms of political market - notably market liberalization - and the associated changes in political thought. Important as these forms have been, however they are hardly the core of global transformation. Globalization is not simply or mainly either an economic or a recent historical occurrence, indeed not a single process at all, and requires a much deeper and broader understanding. Only when this is understood can the significance of the global for the social sciences be acheived.Globalization can be defined as a multifaceted set of distinct but related processes - economic, cultural, social but also political and military - through which economic relations have developed global reach and significance. In this sense globalization includes the development of relations of many kinds as well as particularly global forms. It can be coupled, as Anthony Giddens among other s has argued, to reflective changes in the relations of time and space in the development of progress. Globalization has been developing for six centuries, in the processes through which the ‘multi-power actor civilization’ of the West, as Michael Mann calls it, starting in Europe, has come to take over more or less the entire world. Every 10 years or more accurately each historical period (obviously these do not match precisely with the chronology of centuries) - has made its own contribution to global transformation. From the European exploration of the ‘Indies’ and discovery of ‘America’, in the fifteenth century, through the old days of the Spanish and Portuguese empires to the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century domination of Britain and France, a Western new world order came into existence. At the beginning of this process of global change was the new standard of Western economic and cultural life, which by the end of the nineteenth centur y ... Free Essays on Globalization Introduction We are in the midst of a global information revolution driven by the convergence and proliferation of information and communication technologies. The telecommunications sector is changing at warp speed, driven by technological innovation that results in new equipment and services, and also by new entrants and alliances between companies with experience in a wide range of information industries from telecommunications to broadcasting to computer hardware and software to publishing. Three major trends are driving these changes:  · the rapid introduction of new technologies and services;  · the restructuring of the telecommunications sector; and  · globalization of economies and of communications. Together these developments are not only changing the world of telecommunications, but the ways people work, learn, and interact. The Death of Distance "The death of distance as a determinant of the cost of communications will probably be the single most important economic force shaping society in the first half of the next century." The death of distance could have profound implications for both individuals and organizations. The ability to work "anytime, anywhere" allows "road warriors" to work without offices on planes, in hotels, and at client sites, and enables information workers to telecommute from their homes rather than traveling to work. This flexibility can be two-edged for individuals, who can work wherever they choose but may never escape the "virtual workplace." Organizations may reduce their overhead costs and improve their productivity, but they must also learn how to manage their decentralized work force. One major technological trend is the extension of "information superhighways" in the form of broadband networks; another is the increasing ubiquity of communications using wireless technologies (that will, however, initially provide access to squirts rather than floods of information). Personal c...

Essay On Richard Wright And Frederick Douglas

Essay On Richard Wright And Frederick Douglas Have u ever been wanted something so bad that u would never let a thing get in your way Well I have a story that will make your day.In the mist of adversity, two Black men overcame the odds and learned to read and write during a time when they could have been killed for it. The first man is the legendary Fredrick Douglas, who was born a slave and defied the odds of his time. The other Richard Wright, though in a time no as oppressed as Fredrick, he was a man who would not settle for less. These two men have amazing stories of how they overcame the odds and learned to read and write in a time when it was considered illegal for a Black man to have these skills. I was lucky enough to read their stories and will share my thoughts and experiences with you.English: Rush Rhees library and the Fredrick Dougl...