Challenges of Knowing Yourself and the Quesr for Happiness

CHALLENGES OF KNOWING YOURSELF AND THE QUEST FOR HAPPINESS R. Priyadarshini (MBA FINAL year) [email  protected] com Contact no. 9677216300 Dept. of Management Studies, University of Madras INTRODUCTION: â€Å"The world is so unhappy because it is ignorant of the true self. Man’s real nature is happiness. Happiness is inborn in the true self. Man’s search for happiness is an unconscious search for his true self. The true self is imperishable; therefore, when a man finds it, he finds a happiness which does not come to an end. † Mankind is united in conviction that happiness is a very desirable state. Every person, consciously or unconsciously, are motivated in all we do by our need for happiness. Being happy and peaceful is considered the ultimate aspect of a successful life, but it is really the most fundamental aspect of life. The level of happiness may vary from person to person, but what all people are aiming for is to feel happy. We chase money, health, growth, fame, power, property and relationships, not for their own sake but for the satisfaction they promise. The creation of empires and civilizations, the discovery of continents, the waging of wars, the whole ebb and flow of history is a graphic portrait of man's ceaseless quest for happiness. QUEST FOR HAPPINESS: The quest for happiness is endless and bounds no place and time. The level of man’s longing for happiness becomes higher and higher as the standard of living also increases. The first step towards happiness leads to another step, and then to another until a progression of steps is made transgressing the three dimensions of time – the past, the present, and the future. Happiness is parallel to contentment based on dictionary. Man has never been content all his life. His success for having attained a particular end always paves way to the urge to meet a higher end. Epicurus, an Athenian philosopher, suggested that in order for man to achieve happiness, he should give up all the complexities of life, like wealth, desire, fame and power, and go back to basics when the things that only matter are those necessary for pure biological subsistence, friends, freedom and analyzed life. It is hard to persuade a common man to renounce life’s worldly pleasures. If man will relinquish his desire to aspire for the better, progress will be hampered and everything will be doomed in complete stagnation. The nature of desire makes the acquisition of happiness impossible. Man desires, he obtains and get satisfied, then he desires something else and begin a new pursuit. This is a cycle to which every man is subjected. For every man to remain healthy, productive and sane, he must continue the never ending quest of happiness. KNOWING ONESELF: â€Å"Know thyself means this, that you get acquainted with what you know, and what you can do† Says meander. When a person knows who they are, and clearly understands what they want, then they have a much better chance of discovering how to reach their own success, happiness and personal fulfillment. To be successful one need to deeply know what he really likes, what he genuinely does not like, what he is good at and what he is not good at. If these questions are answered about oneself and decisions are made then naturally success is followed by happiness. This fills everyone with much bliss, calmness and also improves people mindset, as well as their relationships and connections with others. Knowing oneself will enable them to develop their full potential and be happy, contented and fulfilled. Whether their idea and understanding of success is fulfillment in business, friendship, love, sports, a blend of all these or another thing altogether, knowing oneself and working on change for the better will enable them to achieve their goals. Then indeed, when they reach their goals, they will turn out to be a much happier person. And that is real success in its truest sense. The only way to bring your best self to work and life is to know oneself well. CHALLENGES IN KNOWING ONESELF: â€Å"Knowing the other and knowing oneself, in one hundred battles no danger. Not knowing the other and knowing oneself, one victory for one loss. Not knowing the other and not knowing oneself, in every battle certain defeat. † Man tends to be blind to his own faults and weaknesses and so never fix the problems that keep him from greater success. He should begin by identifying the barriers. If one knows oneself, barriers can be overcome. Bror Carlson says, â€Å"A problem that is located and identified is already half solved. By understanding the nature of the problem, we are well on the way to greater self-mastery and personal success. IGNORANCE: Seventy-five percent of the high school students who will enter the workforce have no idea what the term ‘inflation' means. Sixty-six percent cannot tell you what profits are. And 55% of our young people have no understanding of what a ‘government budget deficit' is. This is due to the lack of devoting time to gain knowledge though the person is very much capable. There are many internal and external causes for ignorance; Lack of self interest, motivation, and wrong assessment of oneself. All these contribute towards internal causes and external causes are due to family pressure, lack of time management or even financial barriers. PERSONALITY TRAITS: Personality traits are fixed at a young age, Hence external factors like upbringing environment plays a major role in determining the personality. Since most organizational leaders are not on a rigorous program of self-mastery, they exhibit these same traits throughout their life. If one is strong on self-esteem and self-improvement, these traits would support the drive toward self-mastery. But other traits such as self-destruction, elf-indulgence and self-pity would have the opposite effect. It is beauty that captures your attention and personality which captures your heart. EGO DEFENSE MECHANISMS: â€Å"The nice thing about egotists is that they don't talk about other people. † Lucille S. Harper The Ego is subject to a number of self-deceptions preventing self-mastery. Sigmund Freud many years ago observed that t he Ego is a fragile entity requiring protection from anxiety. Typically it manifests as some type of stressful emotional state such as fear, guilt, embarrassment, anger, frustration. Even the little things in life can activate an Ego defense mechanism. A frown from a superior, criticism from the colleague, getting angry at the person who bumped into you is a few examples. Sadly, once these mechanisms are engaged, the mind does not properly process the information it receives. NEGATIVE SELF-TALK: Thoughts have a great impact on the emotions, feelings or states of mind that operate at any given moment of time. For example, the person who thinks, â€Å"I'm not happy,† typically feels that way. Studies say those who have emotional problems engage in negative self-talk about 50 percent of the time. For some reason, few people admit that they talk to themselves or understand the critical nature of this internal dialogue. HABITUATION AND HABIT FORMATION: Habituated thinking patterns develop like certain streets in Boston. In the older parts of the city, the streets follow the paths used by long dead cows to get between barn and pasture. The issue here is that we tend to get â€Å"stuck† in a set of behaviors and patterns of thought that do not support our pursuit of worldly success or self-mastery. Habits start developing at a young age, and continue to build on them as a person become older. Sometime negative habits are recognised, but the person may feel like they are a part of who they are, so they hold on to them. There are also some individuals who seem to be in denial and do not seem to recognize their negative habits at all. If one pay close attention to oneself as it relates to our everyday lives and our dealings with others, we will likely find habits that we need to change. HOMEOSTASIS: â€Å"The mind acts like a rubber band that when stretched, tends to snap back to the way it was. † It's hard to build new mental or behavioral habits–and extremely difficult to stop an old habit and substitute a new one. This means that one-time bursts of motivation tend to produce little lasting effect. It's safe to assume that new changes will be resisted by the motivational forces supporting the status quo (homeostasis). ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT: Many powerful leaders have immature Egos. Arrested development essentially means that Ego growth has stopped prematurely. There are many symptoms one can experience. One symptom of this immaturity is the leader who cannot control their emotions. Another is a boss who blames others while failing to look at their own personal contribution to the problem. A third symptom is someone with high IQ but low emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is said to be a ladder comprising self awareness, self management, social awareness and relationship management at each level. EMOTIONS: The study found that 26% of new hires fail because they can't accept feedback, 23% because they're unable to understand and manage emotions, 17% because they lack the necessary motivation to excel, 15% because they have the wrong temperament for the job, and only 11% because they lack the necessary technical skills. This aspect deals with people who fail on managing their emotions. There is another aspect to these emotions where on the journey of discovering the real self many fail to trust their emotions. These people have very high chances of failing at a job in the long run. At a particular point of time they lose their passion for the job and business. The intensity which they once had is lost. They do not think through their heart, hence in the long run they lose passion for what they work or do. Analysis and logic are part of decision making process but what ignites an individual to take action is said to be emotions. COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: John Tierney, International Herald Tribune says that for half a century, social psychologists have been trying to figure out the human gift for rationalizing irrational behavior. Why did we evolve with brains that salute our shrewdness for buying the neon yellow car with bad gas mileage? Cognitive dissonance commonly operates as an unconscious mechanism and so it is difficult to detect. It is associated with buyers remorse and purchasers regret when it comes to making important purchases. More importantly, it provides insight into why man takes pride in his stupid decisions. OVERCOMING BARRIERS / CREATING A CHANGE: Recognizing is the first step to making changes. Then an action plan is required to overcome these barriers. Each of these action plans are clearly explained as follows. †¢ Being a creature of habit and automatic thinking is dangerous in a world of constant change. Identify the bad habits. Notice the patterns. Listening to the things other people say to about oneself. They may say the same negative things. These feedbacks can be used as a fuel to work on becoming a better person. A journal of the behaviors can be maintained that a person desire to change. Write down the efforts made and results obtained. This would motivate the person to continue to work on changing other things. †¢ By discovering oneself, personal interests and what the person is capable of ignorance can be eliminated. This self discovery can be followed by the following action plan. ? Expanding knowledge ? Killing ego ? Never say die attitude †¢ Analyzing one’s personality over the entire lifetime is necessary to determine the personality trait they belong to. A common mistake people make is analyzing oneself based on the present and this can be down right misleading. In Myer Brigg’s a person may type himself according to his inferior function. A normally calm person would see himself anxious and reactive under high degree of stress. This can be overcome by looking at oneself throughout his life and notice what it has in common. [pic] †¢ Negative self talk can be overcome by developing positive thinking and attitude. The following action plan would overcome negative attitude overtime. ? Stop talking, start writing- Instead of talking about one’s problems write it down and make a note of the cause for the problem. ? Commit oneself to thinking about the life they actually want and start visualizing it. ? Savor each moment Exercise gratitude ? Do not waste time dwelling on the past ? Keep a sense of humor. ? Belief that can change one’s life †¢ In order to overcome ego of oneself, the person must be brutally honest to himself, willingness to accept change. A self monitor must be installed in their mind that constantly analysis their activities. They can also ask their friends to monitor them and provide feedback. CONCLUSION: â€Å"I am what I am† To know oneself, will be an invitation as well as a challenge. It is an invitation to look deeply into oneself and to learn how gifted they are. It is a challenge to make a personal decision to enhance these gifts and do something about the short comings. Love, understand and appreciate the real self rather than seeking for the ideal self and thus true happiness is obtained. True happiness is a spontaneous feeling of inner peace, joy and contentment which is the result of introspection a person turn within and establish contact with inner nature. REFERENCES: 1. â€Å"Twelve Psychological Barriers To Self-Actualization and Personal Success† By Murray Johannsen. 2. â€Å"Positive Thinking – Your 7 Step Action Plan By Jinger Jarrett 3. â€Å"Knowing yourself well† by Donna P. Lendzyk

Competitive sport Essay

1. Write a summary of text 1 â€Å"competitive sport for children at the heart of Olympics legacy† in about 150 words. The text examines the notion and opinion of the current English prime minister regarding the necessity for Parliament to incorporate compulsory initiatives aimed at ensuring that competitive team sports is directly added to the current English primary school curriculum. As argued, David Cameron emphasizes that the government should nurture the development of a competitive sports culture as to adhere to the competitive ethos advanced by the recent London Olympics. The prime minister pointed out that the current period right after the Olympic Games could mark a point of inspiration for young children to play sports more regularly in their free time. Accordingly, a new national PE curriculum draft had been published in the autumn of 2012 that aimed at introducing an academic scheme which would enable sustained pupil physical activity, competence and physique deve lopment and the provision of opportunities for pupil sports engagement. The text also denotes an estimate budget cost of approximately one billion pounds Sterling for a period of five years to be distributed accordingly for the competitive sports initiative. The text concludes in the prime minister emphasising that the Olympic Game can be used as a clear example for competitive sports, as to revitalise and revive the competitive ethos of English schools. 2. Give an outline of the various attitudes to competitive sport in the three texts. The three texts all share a common theme of competitive sports and the revitalisation of physical education and activities as to encourage healthy conditions from the youth of the United Kingdom. Text one pointed out that there is clear positive re-enforcement deriving from both the prime minister and the government to pass legislation aiming to amend the current PE curriculum. Having said that, text 2 attempts to identify that although such reasoning can be deemed optimistically, it is also necessary to establish that sports is not simply a game involving a loser and a winner and that competitive sports and the Olympic games aim to promote the ideologies of ‘be the best you can be’ and that the aim of such physical activities is to send the message of working hard and moving forward. Text two accentuates the necessity to shy away from the ‘competitive’ attitude from governm ent perspective and to emphasize more on achieving a platform of  increased coordination skills for people who struggle with such skills and to promote the legacy of women to perform better in sports altogether. In contrast, however, text three identifies scepticism related to the initiative of incorporating mandatory competitive sports in the new PE curriculum draft. The text argues that competitive sports are in their very nature, elitist and that such activities would aim to identify the winners from the losers. It is also argued that some people would find it more beneficial to refrain from potential harm or physical strain, as well as, embarrassment derived from losing. The author of text three also perceives that the majority of coaches will aim to better the prospects of potential future athletes and this may therefore result in the negligence of less promising pupils, hence creating an immediate division of pupils into groups. This, in itself, would undermine the entire pr ospect and notion of creating a cultural ethos related to increasing physical activity and to better the overall health conditions of pupils all around the UK. Hence, the attitudes from all texts have all identified the pros and cons of such initiatives, in which one must consider as to whether such activities should be left to be voluntary or to be made compulsory. 3. Comment on the following statement from text 3: â€Å"If the alleged health benefits of sports are to be realised, then it needs to be voluntary and enjoyable.† It is of common knowledge to assume that sports can have outstanding results on an individual’s physical form and well being. Doctors and physical practitioners all attempt to entice their patients of the several positive benefits from increased physical activity. Having said that, it is also true, in my opinion, that sports should not solely be aimed at being the winner of a game, but rather an opportunity to enjoy the riveting activities that also aims in establishing and developing key future skills such as discipline, teamwork and aiding those who are less physically or mentally inept to accomplish a common goal. The statement acknowledges my opinion in which sports should not be of a compulsory nature as to be impeding on the factor of enjoying and fun, which in my personal perspective is the more primar y aim of sports. In conclusion, the statement simply emphasises the necessity to concentrate not simply on making competitive sports compulsory in primary school, but to leave in the hands of the youth to voluntarily enjoy and join in such activities. 4 Because of new rules, the local school has to introduce competitive sport from the age of seven. Write an article (150-200 words) for the school magazine in which you discuss the positive and negative consequences of this decision. According to recent news, our local school will be promptly introducing a new rule, making it compulsory to play competitive sports from the age of seven. Although many scientists and physical experts share the common opinion that such a move would incur an immediate reduction in the onset obesity of the United Kingdom, as well as, the possibility of the development a cultural ethos in which individuals are more conscious involving their health and physical ability, I aim to identify otherwise. Even though I may agree with what most of us have been taught in PE and biology class involving the aims of physical activity in ensuring a better life style altogether, I feel a bit sceptic. In sports, the outcome always acknowledges a winner and a loser, and per sonally I prefer not to be titled a loser; competitive sports are not for everyone, so to speak. Making such activities compulsory would not only garnish a new wave of winning attitudes but also, as a bi-product, develop a group of ‘losers’ whose only aim is to find a way to survive or get through a physically demanding competitive sports. There is also the onset likelihood of risk to your physical well being. In conclusion, there are both pros and cons for such a rule to be imposed and that, in my opinion, it should be something which the students and parents also have a say in.

Bridge of San Luis Rey’s Tone Essay

In the last two pages of his novel, Bridge of San Luis Rey, Thornton Wilder creates a tone unparalleled throughout the rest of the book. The tone of these last few pages, as I perceive, is that of the authors praising and adoration of the Abbess’s saintliness and selflessness. This tone is indisputably found underlying these pages. This tone is explained with the use of the three major quotes, found within these pages, as presented next in the following. â€Å"Madre Marà ­a dared not say aloud how great her astonishment was†¦ ‘Now learn, ‘she commanded herself, â€Å"learn at last that anywhere you may expect grace.’†. This self-rebuke occurs after the Abbess has witnessed herself being judgmental. She is horrified by her sinfulness. She is shocked that she had unconsciously prejudged the Marquesa and had submissively thought her to not be smart enough to conjure such great works of writing. The Abbess criticizes herself for having been so evil, and thus unknowingly makes herself even saintlier than before! The author is making the Abbess even more righteous by having her criticize herself when she is already so. As the Abbess is walking by the sick and blind, she has a sudden prophetic thought. â€Å"I can’t help thinking that something could be done for the deaf-and dumb. It seems to me that some patient person could,†¦could study out a language for them.† The Abbess cares so much for them to have thought of such a language for them to communicate with the healthy (later this language is made and called sign language). Her saintliness partly derives from her loving of everyone, even those not as fortunate as others. She is, as the author portrays, so saintly, that she is prophetic, prophetic like Jesus, Mohammad, and other famous prophets. Wilder gives this prophetic attribute to show how devout he imagines her to be. He wants to present her to be so saintly to be comparable to those other religious figures. â€Å"Within all was light and warmth, and without was the darkness they would not exchange even for a relief from pain and from dying† The dying people near the Abbess are willing to spend one more moment with her, than die immediately and be relieved of their pains. There is no other reason for these people to feel such a way besides the Abbess’s love and care for them. Her saintliness is shown through her works with the people and the all real love she pours upon them. These people are dying and feeling the worst of pain and yet they will not let go because they want to be with her longer. The author’s third exhibition of the Abbess’s saintly qualities is another reiteration of his ever lifting of her towards heaven. These three quotes, as presented, have reinforced the tone of the last few pages as being that of the authors praise and adoration for the Abbess’s saintliness and selflessness. Though it may seem redundant and exhaustive – the use of the word ‘saintly†- it is in order to wholly stress and prioritize the importance of the Abbess’s saintliness. The tone created by the author is largely based on the Abbess’s saintliness and not much more, if not anything else at all! The sole, clear message found in these few pages, from the author, is primarily based on the fact that the Abbess is a saint and that Wilder absolutely admires her piousness.

Managing External Influences on Local Bus Company Essay

Managing External Influences on Local Bus Company - Essay Example Empirical and theoretical studies have found evidence that the organization has an estimated seven thousand buses inside the United Kingdom alone. Arriva enjoys thirty percent share of London’s public transportation services. It provides efficient and effective services inside the city. It also connects London with other major cities like Liverpool and Manchester. Arriva even provides passenger services from London to remote areas in Wales. The success of the organization has been due to its focus on customer satisfaction and operational excellence. It seeks to provide an exhilarating experience for passengers. Customer desires and aspirations are at the forefront of Arriva’s business and marketing strategy. The overall aim of the organization is to transform the public transportation industry to serve customer interests. Finally the organization seeks to become the catalyst for revolution in the public transportation industry. External factors have been defined as the rapid changes in the business environment that impact organizational performance (Kotler, 2001: Pg 73). These factors can either have a positive or negative impact on the performance of business organizations. Firms need to carry out extensive audit and analysis of the business environment. They need to utilize a goal oriented approach in order to respond to external challenges. Arriva plc has been influenced by a number of external factors. The Transport Act passed in 1985 ensured the deregulation of the British transport industry. Deregulation has been a major external factor on the performance of Arriva plc. The benefits of deregulation have been the transformation of the organization into the fifth largest bus operator in the United Kingdom. It has also provided efficiency and effectiveness in bus services. The organization registered â€Å"contract mileage in London up 5%† in the year 2008 (Arriva, 2009: Pg 12). Also fuel

Study of East vs Western Germany following WWII, Specifically, the Essay

Study of East vs Western Germany following WWII, Specifically, the effects of the Marshall Plan vs Communism and its effects on - Essay Example German was affected by the communism. The communist controlled everything in the country and the economic growth depended on them. These also led to the war. If the economy of the country would have grown, there would be an occurrence of the war again. The continued existence of communism would cause this. This war led to the drop in the economy in Europe and many people died. As a result, there was a need to revive its economical strength in this continent. This was to involve a well structured plan and if need be get financial support. This was also to end soviet communism that was widespread in the most parts of the continent, especially in the Eastern German. These on the other hand had an effect on various aspects. These include: Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P), per capita income, infrastructure and national strength. Marshall Plan was involved a program that would provide a solution for German’s downfall. This plan was a reconstruction program that was borrowed from the U nited State of America and aimed at providing financial support to the dying economy of Europe. The Marshall plan was brought about by George Catlett Marshall. It was a plan the European countries were to accept to so that the economy that had died during the WWII. Its major aim was to finance the Europeans scheme to revive the economy among its nations. It was to ensure that various uncertainties in those schemes were brought to an end. The plan was also trusted on the side of military support to the continent ( Albrecht 2008). Four years after the end of the Second World War, the continent had experienced tremendous success in its states, Germany for this matter. Therefore European states became part of the American organizations to ensure that they were economically stable. The plan had a lot of concern on regaining what was lost during the war. As a matter of fact, the advanced American models that were highly effective were employed. The major concern of this was to make the bu siness practices and industrial sector advanced. Analysis (Descriptive) The incorporation of the plan had a number of effects the stability of the countries of the continent. Firstly, German became well financially and this was even better than the before the start of the war, seven years after the war. The war left the country with its relation with countries being minimal. These caused it to have less access of the products in those nations. Fortunately, the county’s financial capability was raised by zero-point-three-five six years later after the war. The national industrial production went down drastically. This caused the state to incur a lot on expenditure despite the taxes being reduced. On applying the recovery plan, the industrial production went up abruptly. This was better as compared to the production in the Agricultural sector. Germany depended on coal production, which immediately after the war grows slowly, but later on picked up and boosted the economy in the state. This production in this country was better as compared with other states. The production was low because the European countries had difficulties with obtaining raw materials from other countries worldwide for their industries. European culture demanded that Agricultural items were to be obtained from the eastern and in turn industrial items were sold to their partners from western side. This business between states was interfered with since there was no good trade relation amongst them. The labor division was also hard to be brought back to

Oceans and climate change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Oceans and climate change - Essay Example However, these changes are not taking place uniformly. In fact, the poles have already experienced the greatest warming, and are expected to continue to warm more intensely as compared to other areas. This has resulted to loss of ice in the arctic regions. Consequently, this has resulted to increase of ocean volume and thus affecting the entire planet. The ocean has experienced an increase in temperatures due to climate change and this has affected the already existing conditions of the living things negatively. On the other hand, El Nià ±o and La Nina have contributed to changes in the oceans. The ocean is an essential aspect of understanding how climate change is affecting the planet. This is due to frequent fluctuation of the climate from cold to warm weather. This paper seeks to focus on the effects of climate changes and how this will affects or has affected the oceans and the people. Firstly, it is essential to note that about 71% of the land surface is covered with the oceans (New England Aquarium 1). These include Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern oceans. An ocean acts as the planet largest heat absorber (New England Aquarium 1). This means that as the ocean absorb, store and deliver large quantities of heat, the ocean buffer the climate of the planet (New England Aquarium 1). This means the change in the ocean has irreversible outcomes in future. The first impact of climate change on the ocean is the increase in the oceans levels. This is due to warming of water that in turn results to increased water volume. This is commonly known as thermal expansion. This expansion and warm temperature have resulted to sea rise due to extra water generated from the melting glaciers. Moreover, increased melting has been reported at the ice caps in Greenland and west Antarctica (New England Aquarium 1). This is projected to change one to two feet by 2100 (New England Aquarium 1). The

Advance practice role Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Advance practice role - Essay Example 49); while according to Roussel, (2013), a nurse administrator is a qualified nurse who is registered and participates in management of health care delivery services and is a representative of nursing service. A nurse administrator works in different settings with entrepreneurial chances accessible in health care all over the health care area. Nurse administrator serves in the following settings: hospitals, home health care, skilled care, community health services, residential care and adult day care (p.29). On the other hand, a nurse executive is a registered nurse whose aim is to give leadership within the workplace (American Organization of Nurse Executive, 2005). Their role is in the ability and capacity to lead organizations based on leadership ability (American Nurses Credentialing Center, 2014). The nurse executive has the chance of molding the future of professional practice in a working place by providing opportunities where staff nurses and managers to have best input into organizational decision making in regards to the future. According to Yoder-wise (2014), the nurse executive facilitates making of an objective and goals of the future

Managing Activities to Achieve Results Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Activities to Achieve Results - Essay Example The retailing services include online shopping channels, Tesco Direct, tesco.com and Telecoms; Tesco Personal Finance (TPF) (Reuters, 2011). Organisational Structure- Terry Leahy is the CEO of this supermarket chain. David Reid presides as the Chairman of the Board. The business heads in Asia and other global regions report directly to the CEO. Tesco has a multi-divisional organisational structure commonly referred as ‘M-form’. This form suits large firms. Here the firm is divided into a number of divisions with each division in charge of a specific product or a market (Pearson, n.d.). Source: (Pearson, n.d.). Culture- Tesco Plc operates with the primary purpose of value creation for the customers with the aim of earning their lifetime loyalty. The employees of the company work towards creating customer satisfaction by meeting their needs. All the employees work as a single unit i.e. team work forms as essential part of the functioning. There is a sense of respect and tr ust amongst them. The management takes the extra initiative to make it a better work place. The respective managers act as a guide to the workers and render all possible help in making the company a better place to work (Tesco Plc-a, 2011). Mission, Aims & Objectives As already said the aim of the company is â€Å"to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty†. Tesco follows a consistent and well-established strategy of growth that has enabled it to strengthen itself in its core businesses and expand its businesses in the new markets. The diversification strategy of the company was formulated in the year 1997 and it has served as the basis of its success. They key objectives guiding the strategy of the company are- Establish itself as a successful retailer in the international market. To grow its core businesses in UK. To strengthen itself in the non-food segment. To strengthen its retailing services like Tesco Personal Finance, Tesco.com and Telecoms. To keep community at the centre of all its activities (Tesco Plc-b, 2011). The strategy of the company encompasses six key elements- Be Flexible- The operations of the company are adjusted to suit the unique requirement of the varying regions. Act Local- The operations of the company are tailored by a local staff to conform to the local cultures and local regulations. Focused approach- The company recognises the fact that establishing itself in the local markets is a long term proposition. Use of multi-formats- Tesco’s experience of running a â€Å"mix of stores† can facilitate its entry into multi-formats. The company recognises the fact that it cannot reach the whole market by way of a single format. A complete spectrum ranging from convenience stores to hypermarkets is necessary. Develop capability- Tesco makes sure that it has adequate capabilities in the form of skilled workers and effective & efficient processes and systems. Building brands- The working of the company is guided by the concept of brand building as it feels that brands help in establishing a long lasting relationship with the clients (Tesco Plc-c,

Of what use are management ideas and concepts in the practice of Coursework

Of what use are management ideas and concepts in the practice of management - Coursework Example Henri Fayol described his 14 principles of management that, when used in conjunction with other principles, build an effective team and develop a strong manager. Fayol’s 11th principle, equity, determines how to best motivate employees, creating fairness whilst blending authority and kindness. Equity is often determined by the justness of rewards, ensuring that all high-performing employees receive equal opportunities for additional remuneration or other appropriate rewards. Equity is important as a manager in the real-world business environment as it provides employees with a sense of affiliation. This is linked with Fayol’s 13th principle, initiative, that provides more autonomous working environments and opportunities to express employee innovations as become active in the decision-making process. Motivational theories indicate that employees must receive esteem and recognition from others in the organisation. Affiliation establishes perceptions of prestige, control and self-esteem (Gambrel and Cianci). Wal-Mart, a major multi-national retailer, recognises the importance of Fayol’s guidelines for management, providing employees with stock options, incentive bonuses and even profit sharing as a means to build commitment, ownership and equity. Wal-Mart is world-renowned for its high-commitment employees that are team-focused and therefore able to carry out strategic goals. These remuneration packages provide equity by establishing rewards for all employees throughout the organisation and inspires a sense of affiliation as valued contributors to the business model. Fayol’s theories, especially equity and initiative, are important concepts in the real-world. Managers establish strategic goals that determine the future position of the organisation related to profit, competitive advantage or other elements related to its market position. Multi-national companies, especially, require team-focused employees in order to achieve these goals. According to Reis and Pena (2008, p.674), â€Å"If the business is still using vertical hierarchies instead of self-directed teams, truly empowered to make changes, it is not ready for change†. This means that there will likely be resistance to change from different employees if the manager does not provide initiative in his or her efforts whilst promoting a sense of equity that there will be balanced rewards for achievement for all employees. Fayol’s concepts are h ighly relevant as the business will not be able to achieve without employee cooperation when teamwork is required to create new strategies and innovations. Mintzberg is another management guru who has established multiple theories of management that are classical in design. Mintzberg describes ten different management roles required to establish a successful management system, these being informational, interpersonal and decisional (LMC, 2008). Of most relevance is the interpersonal dynamic of the manager who takes on the role of a leader, or one who inspires others rather than establishing routine control systems to gain productivity and motivation. The difference between managers and leaders is in their approach to establishing interpersonal relationships. For example, a

Gender differences in the effects of divorce Essay Example for Free

Gender differences in the effects of divorce Essay Besides behaviour differences among children of divorced and intact families, there are also gender differences to consider. Hyatt suggests that boys and girls react differently to parental divorce. Boys tend to create more behavioural problems in school than girls do. Boys’ self-esteem tends to decline as a result of divorce and they seek constant attention from the teacher and disturb class with irrelevant talks. Their effort in school work also decline. Hyatt mentions that boys are more prone to difficulty of losing contact to their father hence regular communication with the father can help these adjustment problems. Girls’ behaviour in school after parental divorce is not as noticeable as boys because they do not manifest their difficulties by acting out in class. Rather, they tend to become more anxious or unhappy or showing over controlled good behaviour. Another findings concerning gender difference in the effects of divorce is that girls do accept help from their teachers unlike boys. This is because girls see their school as a place where they can be supported during divorce while boys conduct socially unacceptable behaviour. School Behaviour of Children of Divorced Families Human beings grow by constantly adapting to new environment therefore adapting to an environment is part of life cycle. Children’s educational place can be divided into home, school and the society. The child and environment continuously interact and the school takes over large part of a child’s life. Therefore as well as having a settled family life, school period is also important in determining how children might turn out in the future. School is a place where children enjoy, and gain sense of satisfaction by experiencing various activities and maintain harmonized relationships with the teachers and other students. Similarly, school adjustment is defines as taking interest in school environment and feel comfortable being in school with other children. This adjustment reflects on their school achievement and development. For instance, children who enjoy being in school and participate in school activities are likely to gain more educational experiences than those who have adjustment disorder. Liebman defines school adjustment disorder as excessive reaction where individuals are unable to harmonize with the school environment and other students which will prohibit individual development. Children of divorced families are likely to have more difficulties in school adjustment than those of children from intact families. Berbe suggests that children with adjustment disorder tend to attract teacher’s attention by inappropriate questions in class, distract other children and find it hard to pay attention in class. They also refuse teacher’s request and are often disobedient. And if they continue to show irresponsible academic behaviour, it leads to serious adjustment disorder. Heck’s idea is also similar to Berbe’s suggestion that children with adjustment disorder problems are frequently absent and tend to be oppositional in class. However, it is difficult to judge the cause of maladjustment solely on divorce. How children respond to above stress can vary from a child to child. It can differ according to their age, gender or disposition and the environment includes economic stature of parents, social approval rating of parents and family conflict. Variables are categorized as they may affect children’s school adjustment into demographic differences and family variables. Demographic differences include race, gender, and parental socioeconomic status and family variables include relationships, organisation, control, social support, mother rejection and father rejection. Behaviour of children of divorced in school As mentioned earlier, children from divorced families appear to have difficulty in academic achievement and relationship with other children at school than children from intact families. The cause of this should not be looked at solely on the primary factor which is divorce. Secondary factors are to be considered as well, such as the change in socioeconomic structure and resources after divorce. For example, as mentioned earlier, economic loss, poor parental adjustment, lack of parental competence and parental loss can cause behavioural problems. As mentioned in the section of ‘Comparison between children of divorce and intact families’, women’s standard of living is reduced by 29 % after divorce and absence of father can have negative influence on children more on boys than girls. Regarding studies on children’s maladjustment behaviour, Liner categorizes disorder behaviour as: ? action-out behaviour like hitting someone and being aggressive ? withdrawing behaviour: very quiet, sucking fingers, restricted behaviour ? defensive behaviour: lying, ignoring ? disorganised behaviour: escaping from reality Similarly, Wickman describes behaviour of children with adjustment disorder as: ? immoral, dishonest, in resistance to authority, stealer, cheater, disobedient, rude and rebellious ? often violates regulation of class, careless, loses interest in study, negligent and trustless ? exaggerated and offensive personality ? unsociable, overly sensitive, and liar Based on experience, as a teacher of young children, those from divorced families have lower academic achievement, are socially isolated, overly sensitive, either humiliate themselves or boast and show negative behaviour in class. Specifically, their academic grade is poorer than it used to be and they do not try to socialize with others in class. Further, they often seem absent-minded and tend to change their mood easily. If they are scolded for not doing their homework or asked to answer something they do not know, they use violent language in response. They also suffer from headache and easily get tired. This behaviour of children can also be explained by Rotter’s theory of locus of control. Locus of control refers to how individuals attribute the cause of their behaviour to internal or external forces. In applying to children of divorced families, children who have internal locus of control believe that if their parents are divorced, it is their fate. Therefore these children are able to handle any difficulties and feel less psychological distress. In contrast, children who have external locus of control believe that if they do not perform well in school, they tend to blame external factors such as parental divorce rather than blame themselves. Hence, these children are likely to suffer from severe distress than those who have internal locus of control. When elementary school children experience parents’ divorce, they can become aggressive and develop sense fear and sorrow. Some children also imagine reunion of their parents. And they also explain that children’s school behaviour depend on how they are treated at home. As per experience, the relationship between custodial parent and the child seem to have a large impact. Prior research says that the relationship between the behaviour of custodial parents and children’s school adjustment illustrate that the attitude of custodial parents has large influence on children’s school achievement. Mothers’ affection can influence enormously on developing children’s social skills. From mother-child relationship, children learn responsibility, self-control and social skills, hence, hostile attitude towards children can act as hindrance in developing social skills. Therefore one can learn that the attitude of custodial parent becomes important factor which influence children’s school adjustment.

Top Glove Business Case Study: Manufacturing Processes

Top Glove Business Case Study: Manufacturing Processes Introduction: Top Glove (TG) is the largest rubber glove manufacturer in the world and it started to operate in Malaysia since 1991. Initially, there is only one factory in 1991 with three production lines, but the company has expanded and grown dramatically to become the worlds largest rubber glove manufacturer where is it today with the following position: The Worlds Largest Rubber Glove Manufacturer Top Glove is a listed company in year 2001 in Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur, and on a short span of slightly more than a year Top Glove Corporation Berhad listing has promoted successfully from the second Board to the Main Market of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange on May 16, 2002. The company now has a shareholder fund of RM846 million or USD247 million with an annual turnover of about RM1.53 billion or USD447 billion as at 31 August 2009. It is also one of the component stocks of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) Mid 70 index, FBM Top 100 index and FBM Emas Index. Philosophy The Business Philosophies of Top Gloves are they work for their Customers; Their take care of the interest of their Shareholders; They ensure that their Employees continue to contribute positively to the company and their take good care of the welfare of their employees and lastly, they work closely with their Bankers, Suppliers, Business Associates, and Government Authorities and Friends. The corporate Mission of Top Glove is to be a World Class Glove Manufacturer Providing Top Quality Products with Excellent Services through Continuous Improvement and Innovation. While the Slogan We strive to be the worlds Leading Manufacturer with Excellent Quality Glove Products and Services That Enrich and Protect Human Lives is the guide for Top Glove Moving toward their Vision. Top Gloves Business Directions is to Approach to produce consistently high quality gloves with efficient low cost and to earn two healthy dollars by spend one efficient dollar. In Top Glove Quality Policy, The way they doing business is emphasis on Quality and Productivity, with the duties to Continuously Improvement and Innovation, and the target towards Zero Defective in their production. Top Glove Corporate emphasis the value of increasing Global Customer Satisfaction, as they are doing the thing right at the first time and on every time; with Integrity and Total Commitment to their corporate, customers, and the community around the worlds. Besides that, Top Glove desired to produces the products that are Excellence in Quality and Competitiveness nevertheless, without ignoring the environment and keeps doing their corporate social responsibility. Addition, Honesty, Integrity and Transparency are Top Glove business Ethics. Lastly from the words by Top Glove Chairman-Tan Sri Dato Sri Lim Wee Chai: Our business rules are, We do not lose our Shareholders money; do not lose our health; do not lose our temper; and do not lose our customers. Principal activities Top Gloves Principal Activities are base on manufacturing and trading of High Quality Latex made Gloves. In depth, their companys Principal Activities are from producing and selling concentrate latex, manufacturing of gloves, trading of glove, provision of management, Property investment, investment holding and trading of machinery. Addition, the country of incorporation is majority wherein Malaysia and the others are in the Peoples Republic of China, United States of America, Thailand and Singapore. In Top Gloves Annual-report stated in Directors Report. The principal activities of the company are investment holding and the provision of management services. Besides, the principal activities had described in Note 12 to the financial statement. Where, there have been no significant changes in the nature of the principal activities during the financial year. Strategy to compete Customers satisfaction is the focus of Top Glove and it had placed a lot of emphasis in Research and Development to produce a wide and diversified range of high quality and value-added glove products in order to fulfill the expectation of their customers. The company also collaborates closely with the government agencies and Ministries to keep itself abreast of the latest development in rubber research technology. The company also uses state-of-art high technology and efficient automatic glove manufacturing machine to obtain the most products manufacturing yield and to remain as one of the most cost-effective and highest quality producer in the industry. With all these advantages and strategies, the company is able to compete with the competitors and stand out in the industry. Production Processes of Top Glove(TG) Company: One of the successful reasons that TG Company can succeed in their business is because they have a strong and good production process in their latex glove making. They believe that they must have the most modern and advanced glove manufacturing machineries if they wished to be continuing as a world-class cost effective glove manufacturer. They have invested substantially in the machineries that are needed to ensure that they can fully adopt the latest manufacturing techniques for all their production lines. Other than that, they to ensure that they can consistently produce high quality latex gloves are also using a continuous engineering process. Competent and experienced personnel also contribute in smooth production line and consistency in quality of the latex gloves even though they have modern machineries. In addition, an on-line quality control measures have been instituted throughout the manufacturing processes to ensure the highest quality products. The latex is a white, milky liquid that comes from rubber trees, which is either from native or hybrid trees. Mostly, TG gets its latex from buying through the rubber market while the remaining latex is from their own rubber plantation. The latex will be harvested from rubber trees when the trees trunk is swollen and also every day, after the rain has stopped during the rainy season. The latex is a natural product and it will coagulate easily, therefore it needs to be harvests from the rubber trees as soon as possible and then send to TG factory to be manufactured. When the latex is sent to the TG factory, the latex will be manufactured with a standardized method that is set by the company itself. The flow of the production process of latex glove in TG Company is former cleaning, coagulant dipping, drying, latex dipping, leaching, beading, vulcanizing, post leaching, slurry dipping, stripping, tumbling, and quality control. Former Cleaning Before the latex can be process to the coagulant dipping process into hand-shaped, the glove formers need to be cleaned before it can be used to form hand-shaped latex gloves. A quality production of exam gloves includes the environment of latex glove factory is clean. This also means glove formers must be cleaned to ensure there is no dirt or debris anywhere because it will affect the final product to possibly have defects like holes. Firstly, glove former must be dipping into an acid bath and then rinse with clean water. Secondly, an alkaline bath is used by dipping the glove formers in them to neutralize the acid and again rinsed in clean water. Lastly, an important step that is the glove formers are brushed to ensure the surface of the glove formers is consistent and eliminate pinholes on the latex gloves after it form. TG factory have multiple production lines that produce batches of disposable gloves. If there is any dirt or debris on the glove former, it can result in the manufacturer being forced to trash the entire batch of latex gloves. This reason shows the importance of glove formers that must be regularly inspected and cleaned before the molds are dipped into coagulant tanks. Coagulant Dipping After the glove former is cleaned, it will be coated with coagulant (eg. calcium nitrate) and be dipped into the coagulant bath to help the latex mixture adhere to the formers and to help ensure the latex is distributed evenly. The glove formers are dipped into the coagulant tank under TG workers control to extract the protein from the previous glove dipping and this dipping is done once for every production cycle. Drying Drying is one of the stations in production process of latex gloves manufacturing whereby the coagulant converts the liquid latex film into a wet-gel on the glove formers and will eventually travel through a series of ovens to dry the gloves and end the coagulation process. In brief, it is a process of drying the gloves from wet to readymade gloves. Latex Dipping Latex dipping is one of the stations in the production process of latex gloves manufacturing and the tank is filled with compounded latex. A latex layer will be formed on the glove former after it goes through this tank. The thickness of the latex glove is determined at the coagulating and dipping stage. The longer the time the glove former travels in the coagulant tank, the thicker the latex gloves will be formed. TG Company will ensure that the latex gloves that produce is high quality and safe to be use. Leaching This leaching stage can called as the pre-vulcanization leaching. It also known as wet gel leaching. Residual chemicals and proteins on the surface of the gloves are put into the leaching process to be removed after the drying of latex mixture. A longer leaching line can wash out latex proteins more effectively. Besides that, the water must be hot and fresh enough to make the proteins dissolve better. This step is a critical step to minimize the occurrence of latex sensitivity. The water temperature, process duration, and water exchange rate will affect the effectiveness of the process. Good leaching line can result in a good and quality latex glove. Beading Beading is a process whereby up to a dozen chemicals are added to help in next manufacturing process of latex gloves. The chemicals added are antioxidant that prevents deterioration of the rubber molecules in the final product by heat, moisture, and ozone. Chemical accelerators are also added to help control the next vulcanization process. Vulcanization One of the discovery key in manufacturing rubber is the vulcanization process. It is a curing process in the production process of latex gloves whereby the latex particles are modified by adding in accelerator chemicals to it. When all the materials are heated, sulfur atoms are chained with the rubber molecules to form a cross-link that gives strengths and elasticity to the physical properties of the rubber. This process ensures the rubber will not be torn and melt easily. Post Leaching This process is similar to the wet-film leaching previously, but it is a little different whereby it is carried out on the dry/vulcanized latex film. Therefore, it is also known as dry-film leaching. Time and temperature is the most important element to ensure effectiveness in the process of water extractives reduction. Latex gloves may be leached up to 24 hours to ensure its effectiveness. Slurry Dipping This stage is also known as wet even powdering. The slurry tank containing the cornstarch solution can prevent latex gloves from sticking in the tank. The slurry is also referred to as wet powder. The benefit of this powder is acting as preservation of the latex gloves and to assist in the latex gloves donning process. TG Company has followed the international method in the specific stage whereby the latex gloves will go through more ovens for further drying and additional rinsing cycles where the powder will be removed. The process of removing the powder is to avoid latex allergic reaction. Stripping At this stage, the latex gloves are stripping from the glove formers. There are two types of methods, which are manually or automatically stripping the latex gloves from the glove formers. TGs latex examination gloves are stripped by fully automated stripping machine. By using this fully automated stripping machine, TG can increase the quality and safety of the latex gloves they produced. The latex gloves will be sent to the next phase of the latex glove manufacturing process for final drying. Tumbling The tumbling process at latex gloves manufacturing process is to remove excessive powder on the gloves. The latex gloves are putting into the commercial dryers to ensure that the powder is more evenly distributed and excess powder can be removed. Powder-Free Gloves Powder-free gloves stage is a technology to prevent stickiness of gloves by avoiding powder usage completely by going through chlorination or polymer coating process. This is one of the important technology processes in manufacturing latex glove nowadays because most of the glove makers are producing the latex gloves with powder-free. Top Glove produces latex powder and powder-free gloves. Basically, the powder-free latex gloves are transformed from powdered gloves when the powder is removed. Before the latex gloves dried, the powder helps the latex gloves give uniformity as well as to prevent the latex gloves from molding together. The tackiness on the glove surface can be removed by rinsing the latex gloves in water. Then it is placed into a chlorine bath to transform the powdered latex gloves to powder-free latex gloves. The glove is turned inside out and the process is repeated. The powder-free gloves are placed back into the dryers when the bathing process is completed. Quality Control TG carries out its quality control in total quality management system. In total quality management system, the process includes regular testing of raw materials, close monitoring the manufacturing process, continuous improvement on quality control, maintain regular quality control, complying with stringent quality standard, target for zero defects, good instructional labeling, efficient work standardization, continuous improvements in packing and loading, close monitoring of production process, tensile strength machine, innovative auto-stripping system, visual air pump test, water tight test, physical dimension test, protein test and powder test in their manufacturing process of latex gloves. The visual air pump test, water tight test and physical dimension test will be carried out in this quality control stage while the other test will be carry out during each manufacturing process of the latex gloves. The air pump test serves to check for holes and visual defects in gloves while th e watertight test serves to check for pinholes rate on the latex gloves. Each country will have their own acceptable quality level (AQL) in allowing the company to export product to their country. For example, the companies that want export their gloves to United States, a 2.5 AQL in the watertight test or better. The physical dimension test is used to measure the dimension of the gloves whether to know the measurement does meet the inspection level of 4.0 that set in AQL. Packing Packing is the final stage in the manufacturing process of latex gloves. TG packs their latex gloves in flat and efficient layer-by-layer to ease the dispensing of gloves in order to avoid latex gloves difficult to dispense from each gloves later. This type of packing method can reduces waste and makes latex gloves easier to take out from the box. For example, we can dispense tissue from a tissue box easily and the idea is applied to the latex gloves box dispensers. This layered technique is often use by all glove manufacturers. Lastly, when all production processes are completely carried, the latex gloves will be keep in TG warehouse for labeling and then send to their particular customers. In addition, the latex gloves are also being exported to other countries. The production processes of Top Glove are repeated for all the production lines and to ensure the latex gloves that are produced are in high quality and safe for use. Strength of the Production Process: The machine technologies that TG used to make their production processes of latex gloves are result in superior quality and it is safe to use by all consumers. The production process in TG adopts the latest manufacturing techniques by using the modern machineries. Other than that, the production processes in TG helps their company to increase precision and productivity in their latex gloves production. This is due to the advanced and modern technology that applied in the production processes. In addition, the production processes also increase the flexibility in producing latex gloves. The production processes will also increase the process stability during the manufacturing process of latex gloves. It is because the production processes are carried under a systematic production processes. The products will be produced gradually by following specific production processes and to ensure the product is high quality produced. The efficient production processes is able to help TG in saving a lot of production cost. It is because the efficient production processes can ensure that they can produce latex gloves effectively and efficiently. Then, the production processes also helps TG in reducing the number of workers. This is due to most of production processes are fully operated by the machine technology. This helps TG to save cost in the workers. Weaknesses of the Production Process: TG needs to invest heavily in buying the modern machineries and need to hire more experienced personnel in their production process. TG uses modern technology in carrying out their production processes to make latex gloves. The machineries that bought were extremely expensive. Thus, the maintenance of the machineries is expensive and if there had any minor or major accessories spoiled; it will be costly to the company to repair it back. It is because the accessories that are used in the machines are not for common use by other manufacturers within the same field area or other field areas and it is difficult to look for substitutes for that specific accessories. TG always checks and maintains the effectiveness of their machineries to prevent it from being spoiled. In addition, TG also needs to hire more experienced and skilled personnel with higher salary to operate the specific machineries and carry researches. Some machinery needs special skilled and experienced personnel to take charge and TG does not simply hire a worker to operate the manufacturing machineries. The experts for such operations in the latex industry are much fewer in other fields. Thus, TG needs to spend more money to hire those experts that operate their operations. Facility Layout: The layout of a company is very important because it establishes an organizations competitive priorities in regard to capacity, process, flexibility, cost, as well as quality of work life, customer contact, and image. An effective layout can help an organization achieve a strategy that supports differentiation, low cost, or response. The objective of layout strategy is to develop an effective and efficient layout that will meet the firms competitive requirements. Layout design has the following purpose:- Higher utilization of space, equipment, and people Improved flow of information, materials, or people Improved employees morale and safer working conditions Improved customer/ client interaction Flexibility (layout need to be change from time to time) TG is a company that used work cell layout to produce its products. Work cell layout means an arrangement of machines and personnel that focuses on making a single product or family of related products. A work cell reorganizes people and machines that would ordinarily be dispersed in various departments into a group so that they can focus on making a single product or a group of related products. Once the work cell has the appropriate equipment located in proper sequence, the next task will be staff and balance the cell. Normally it involves two steps. First, determine the takt time, which is the pace (frequency) of production units necessary to meet customer orders: Takt time = Total work time available/ Units required Second, determine the number of operators required: Workers required = Total operation time required/ Takt time By doing so, the company can increased equipment and machinery utilization due to better scheduling and faster material flow. Diagram below shows the layout of Top Glove company and the description of the components inside the layout:- http://turnkey.taiwantrade.com.tw/En/DB/layout%284%29.jpg The space of the layout is 80m (length) x 50m (width) x 8m (height) which can be categorize as a big company. Waste water- All the unwanted or wastewater will stored in this area. Latex storage- This is the place to store latex that use to produce latex gloves. It place near to the dipping line and chemical dispensing compounding ball mills because it easy for mixing work which need to combine other raw material and chemical substances with latex to produce the latex gloves. WC- This is the place for workers to refresh themselves. Tools/Maintenance- Places that put or keep the tools and equipments that used to produce the glove and for maintenance purpose. All the tools and equipments will be keeping in a specific place that easy the workers to find it. Chemical storage- All the chemical substances, which are dangerous, will keep here to avoid any accident happen and make sure the workplace is safety. This room is just nearby of the chemical dispensing compounding ball mills to make sure that the compounding work can be carry out smoothly. Dipping line- This is the place where machine is design for examination and surgical latex gloves, which include the process of auto washing, coagulants agents dipping, latex dipping, drying, and beading, fore leaching, vulcanizing, post-leaching, wet powdering, cooling, and stripping. Chemical Dispensing Compounding Ball Mills- The place that carry out the work of compounding or mixing of the raw materials, chemical substances, latex and many other to produce the gloves. Chlorination- A process of producing powder free gloves by treating these gloves with chlorine. It also removes the first layer of protein to an acceptable level. Tumbler Dryer- It is a machine that tries to dry up the gloves after all the compound mixed together. Sterilization- The place that sterilizes the gloves using Gamma irradiation to eliminate all microbial life, including highly resistant bacteria spores. Worker Canteen- Places for workers to have their meals. Plant Officer- This is the office for plant officer who supervise the production work of the company. Q.C Room- All the finished gloves will send to this room for checking before send to customer. The workers will checked the gloves one by one and see whether there are any rejected glove that do not meet the quality standard of the company. Lap Testing- Lap for chemist to test for new formula or compound that can improve the existing glove or testing for new products. This is good for the company to fight with his competitors however; some cost may be incurred for the research and development work. Packaging Area/Material- All the gloves that have go through Q.C checking will send here for packaging before sell to the customers. There are sufficient machine and material prepared for packaging work so that the glove will be pack nicely and keep in a good condition. Show Room- Room to display the products of the company. Customers who interested in the products of the company can take a look on the sample that show in this room. Company Office- Main office of the company where all the admin work of the company will carry out here. Finished Product Storage- The finished products will be stored here and waiting to send to the customers by the trucks. Strength of the Facility Layout: Top Glove used work cell layout as their strategy to produce their products to utilize the capacity of the company, which may bring a lot of advantages to the company. First, it can reduced work-in- process inventory which means there is less inventories or equipments needed to link up the work that is in different process because the work cell is set up to provide one piece flow from machine to machine. Second, less floor space required because less space is needed between machines to accommodate work-in-process inventory. For example, the tumbler dryer is place closely with the process of sterilization that uses to sterilize the gloves bacteria. Thus, it saves a lot of space between these two processes. Next, when the employees work in this kind of layout, it will heightened the sense of employees participation in the organization and the product which will encourage them to add responsibility toward the product quality because they directly associated with the products in their ow n work cell. For example, the employees who work as an operator in dipping line will feel motivated and carry out his work carefully when the manager empowered him to look after the machine or participate in any work that related to the dipping process. Lastly, increased equipment and machinery utilization is also one of the advantages because of better scheduling and faster material flow. When the glove is being chlorinate immediately it will proceed to the process of drying and after this it will go through the process of sterilization immediately as well. The fast material flow show that it utilize the machinery and equipment effectively. Weaknesses of the Facility Layout: However, there are still some weaknesses in this layout, which is the straight-line work cell layout as we can see in the dipping line. The workers in the dipping line are arrange in such way that sometime they will find that it is hard to divided their work evenly and more worker is needed compare to the U-shape work cell layout. This may cause social loafing in the workplace, which means some worker may work less as compare to his colleague. This is not good to happen in the workplace because it will lower down the morale of other worker who works hard but he just gets the same pay as his colleague who is lazy. Next, from the layout of the company, we also notice that there is only one main gate for exist and entry but no other emergency or back door in the layout. This is also a weakness of the company because there is no other emergency door for workers to escape if any accident happens. Goods and Service Design: The other strategic of this company is goods and service design. Top Gloves main productions are rubber gloves, synthetic gloves and surgical gloves. Top glove producing more latex glove as compare others glove, since latex gloves is a better choice of protection. The reasons are the latex is the main material in rubber gloves manufacture where it is the gold standard for durability. Where latex is referring to a milky, usually whitish, fluid obtained from over 1,000 species of trees and plants. It is the most important raw material used for the production of latex gloves, natural rubber latex, which derived from the Hevea Brasiliensis tree species found mainly in South East Asia though they originated from Brazil. It demonstrates superior elasticity, strength and barrier protection. It outperforms vinyl as well as any synthetic rubber in terms of maintaining barrier integrity in routine and high risks procedures. Based on the researches, the latex gloves provide up to 9 times more p rotection during normal use than non-latex gloves. The glove size is determined by measuring the circumference of the hand around the palm area with a tape measure. The usual size standard for examination gloves are of XS XL, while surgical gloves are of 6.5 8.5. The gloves thickness measured by depth protecting skin from exposure to elements. It was measured on a single wall using a micrometer over several parts of the glove, typically at the cuff, the mid-palm and the finger sections. The types of gloves are latex gloves, nitrile gloves, vinyl gloves, medical gloves, surgical gloves, disposable gloves, clean room gloves, household gloves, general-purpose gloves, and polyethylene gloves (PE glove). For example, the nitrile glove is one of the synthetic gloves that are produced from the synthetic latex of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Copolymer type, which is resistance to oil and exhibiting rubber-like characteristics. Its elasticity is good but less superior as compared to natural rub ber. It is generally more costly than natural latex gloves. Strengths of the Goods and Service design: The strengths of using this strategic which is the goods and service design are Top Gloves gloves are protect to lives and the price of it are low compare to other glove brands. When they manufacture the gloves, the gloves will test in the elongation or stretching test, to measure the strengths of the gloves. During extended surgeries, the practice of changing to a new pair of gloves prior to a critical procedure has been noted to reduce bacterial contamination. Weakness of the Goods and Service design: The weaknesses are poor donning techniques, which is can result in glove rips and tears. Healthcare personnel should take care to don gloves correctly and avoid excessive stretching. Thoroughly dry hands before sliding them into gloves. Quality Management: Quality is refers to the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. Every organization should manage and control of their products quality. It is important to help the organization to build a well reputation in the industry. By doing this, customer will more reliability on such product and finally help to gain the market share. Top Glove is a manufacturer company that pays much attention on the products quality. Top Glove committed and believes in top quality products, they are responsibility to ensure quality consistency and product reliability to all their customers and users. Before the products go into the packaging process and sell to the market, Top Glove has implemented the quality inspection process to make sure that their products are producing at the expected quality level. Top Glove is strongly stresses on Total Quality Management (TQM) and the Quality Control tests are conducted from the point we receive our raw materials straight through the production processes and the finished products points. Compulsory pre-shipment inspections are carried out before the delivery of each order. Top Glove is emphasis on stringent quality control procedures in line with ISO 9001 and in strict compliance with ASTM and EN 455 standards. Top Glove has using the tensile strength machine as the measurement of the stretch required to break the glove material. Glove without good vulcanized process tend to have higher tensile strength. Top Glove also has using the innovative auto-stripping system to removing the gloves from the formers, where they are turn inside out. By doing this, the productivity can be increase because it is faster than by using manual stripping. Air pump test has been used to check for holes and visual defects in gloves. Furthermore, water tight test also using by Top Glove to check on the quality of products which is a test that use to determine the AQL level of an examination gloves by checking on the pinholes of the particular gloves after filling up the gloves with 1000ml water and then check for any leakage in 2 minutes time. To ensure the quality of products, Top Glove has been conducted the protein test of the rubber. All natural rubber latex products contain protein. For latex gloves, it is t he measurement o

The Role Of The Management Accountant Accounting Essay

The Role Of The Management Accountant Accounting Essay At present, there is an argument about whether the role of the management accountant in organisations has changed when the business environment changed at the same time. The role of management accountants in organisations was measured by: (a) their skills requirements, and (b) the way other managers perceive them in their organisations (Tsamenyi and Yazfifar, 2005).In this essay, the author referred to a great number of literatures about this topic, and finally came to a conclusion that the role of management accountant in organisations has changed significantly accompanied by the changes of business environment over these years. Recently, management accountants in organisations did not just execute the traditional functions such as accumulation, analysis and preparation, and play the role like the bean counter and gathers of information that is useful and necessary for decision-makers (Choi, 2002). With the developments and changes of the business environment in some decades, the ro le of management accountant has changed into business partner and strategic partner, and taken the charge of interpretation, evaluation, control and involvement in decision-making (Choi, 2002). The analysis Background The status of the role of management accountant in organisations has been paid enough attentions in these years. Not only academic and professional staff made a huge number of accounting literatures, but also many related people that are not in accounting subject provided increasingly number of research evidences of this area. They all finally came to a point that the changing business environment caused the change of the role of management accountant in organisations. So the first aspect to research the topic is to evaluate the changes of the business environment. Further more, the second aspect is to find the changes of the role of management accountant in organisations. At last, the conclusion of this essay is to build a bridge between the changing business environment and the changes of the role of management accountant in organisations. The changing business environment If people tend to make a clear view of the change, they should get a specific understand of the business and business environment. As a sequence, this survey initially concentrated on the changing business environment. According to the management accounting professionals declared, the principle issue that caused the change of the role of management accountant in corporation is the increasingly fierce competition (Hoque et al., 2001; Krishnan et al., 2002).The new business environment just reflected this kind of competition. In the new business environment, it gave the expression to escalating globalization, fresh regulations that focused on corporate governance, changeable markets, new organizational structures, mergers and acquisitions, new management practices, rapid reaction speed, increasingly intelligent information technology and a potential trend of a more elastic corporation structure because of the need to deal with market requisition and more (Askary et al ,2008). In some s urveys, people see the changes of information technology and organizational restructuring as the most two important issues caused the change of the role of management accountants in organizations. And new accounting software and new management style are other two significant change drivers (Tsamenyi and Yazfifar, 2005). For example, a significant change of the business environment is the change of management accounting practices. There are so many new management accounting techniques had been innovated and implied in business these years. Some experts claimed that the changes of management accounting practices are administrative innovations (Hart and Roslender, 2002). Whether these changes could be successful or not, they are depended on how well behavioral and organizational implications are dealt with. So the process of these changes meets a huge organizational stress, clash and revolt. And these negative issues may cause failure of the innovation (Hart and Roslender, 2002). In this area, the most important issue is the innovation of Strategic Management Accounting (SMA). SMA was considered as the common-sense approach to the matters emerged in a changing business environment (Hart and Roslender, 2002). Some experts claimed accountants did a large number of benefits by using SMA to strategy formul ation and implementation. Some researchers suggested accountants to change their views from traditional accounting issues to concern more business factors. Some persons seen SMA was a tool to help accountants promote their status in organizations (Hart and Roslender, 2002). As a so hot topic, there is no a common conceptual framework about SMA. One definition (Hart and Roslender, 2002) accepted by some people is: The provision and analysis of management accounting data about a business and its competitors for use in developing and monitoring the business strategy, particularly relative levels and trends in real costs and prices, volume, market share, cash flow and the proportion demanded of a firms total resources. In 1981 that SMA was found, Simmonds set a view that the role of management accountants were changed from a pure financial worker to a more important position that need to gain a business opinion and hold the ability of the understand of business environment and represent changes in competitive position to senior management (Hart and Roslender, 2002). To illustrate, intelligent information development is a more important reason that caused the change not only in the past, but also it is going to influence the role of management accountant in companies in the future even for ever (Management Accounting, 1998). Meanwhile, the development of intelligent information occurred in every industry, business aspect and country. It is an obvious trend that computers deal with more daily work (Management Accounting, 1998). People who can hold the ability to learn and master IT and apply advantages of IT to daily works fully, they will gain benefits of a broader and more flexible role, with bigger management responsibilities, and maybe more rewards, and more frequently join in business strategy (Management Accounting, 1998). The application of IT into business work impacted not only on the role of management accountant in organizations, but also on the relationship between management accounting and other function (Management Accounting, 1998). There is another specific example that could be seen as the impact of the changing business environment caused on the role of management accountant. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are the chief innovation in the business world as an information technology for companies to get information in 1990 (Kholeif and Jack, 2007). As a result, there are a good many of researches to investigate how the ERP systems to influence management accountant on work. One finding in researches of this topic is the role of management accountants in ERP environments seems to be subject to hybridisation, that means the role broadens to include other business and information movement or other people broaden their roles to take charges that accountant do (Kholeif and Jack, 2007). Consequently, the role of management accountants is changing from those traditional functions towards business partner and strategic partner. In spite of this, the use of ERP system yet may hurt the role of management acco untant as information suppliers because the chief managers can gain information they need directly without through accountant report (Kholeif and Jack, 2007). In recent years, there is another vitally important development concept in management accounting called Balanced Scorecard. It contains two aspects of changes compared with old accounting system. At one hand, it introduced an incorporation of non-financial measures. At the other hand, it joined these measures with organisational strategy (Choi and Latshaw, 2002). This means the top management of corporations could use Balanced Scorecard to strengthen strategies, introduce these strategies to all of the company, and assess the organisations process that pursues the goals of the strategies. At the same time, management accountants also adopt this concept in their works. This helps them enhance their status in companies as important management team partners. The changes of the role of management accountant in organizations It is a well known statement that management accounting practices that mainly include management accounting techniques, information and/or systems have nearly kept been stable in the greater part of a century (Johansson, 1990; Kaplan, 1986b). As a result, it can be concluded that traditional management accounting practices lost the ability of gaining useful information and giving full play in management decision-making in the changing business environment. With the changing business environment, the role of management accountants in organizations also changed obviously. One obvious example of the changes of t management accountants caused by the innovation of Balanced Scorecard could be found in the article Counting More, Counting Less: Transformations in the Management Accounting Profession.(Choi and Latshaw, 2002) In the essay, the authors compared differences of management accounting professions between 1995 and 1999 about accountants in IMA (Institute of Management Accountants). They found some aspects of the changes. First, there are more people considered management accountants gain more benefits for corporations in 1999 than the number in 1995 (Choi and Latshaw, 2002). Second, more workers were aware that management accountants were not only worked for accounting department, they also worked in operating sections as part of business team (Choi and Latshaw, 2002). Third, professors searched that management accountants used more time in internal consulting and the most important action for them is the strategic planning (Choi and Latshaw, 2002) . At last, people claimed that management accountants in companies took charges of both business partner and strategic partner. The vital reason of these changes is that management accountants in organisations take use of Balance Scorecard as a powerful tool to show their abilities to senior managers and strengthen their role as strategic partners (Choi and Latshaw, 2002). With the emergence of a specific accounting practice called Strategic Management Accounting (SMA), the role of management accountants also greeted clear changes. From the research of Bhimani and Bromwich, there two major ways of strategic management accounting: One tends to cost the product attributes provided by a companys products; the other is to cost the functions in the value chain which provide value to the consumer (Bromwich Bhimani, 1994). According to findings of Inman (1999), there are some points of differences between traditional and strategic management accounting: The first significant difference is the way that how cost should be cost; the second difference is the cost analysis goals; the last difference is the cost behavior. SMA put emphasis on the relative cost position; the approach a corporate may keep a continual cost advantages and costs of differentiation. As a result, the new kind of accounting practice requires management accountants to gain more abilities an d broaden their horizon from their usual work, put more eyes on general management, strategies making and implement, marketing and product development (Hart and Roslender, 2002). In modern society, intelligent information development is a common driver caused changes in many areas. The role of management accountants in organizations also changed with this trend. If management accountants want to be competent at their positions, they should possess the ability to stay ahead of change. They need to know well the latest information technology software, as the same time get a comprehensive comprehension of the business (Anastas, 1997). Consequently, there are some changes and trends happened for management accountants. The first trend was more and more management accountants became senior managers such as chief executive officers or chief operating officers, and the responsibility of accountants also changed from just analysis of past to strategic planning (Anastas, 1997). The reason of this phenomenon was because of the ability of accountants that they can translate financial data and results to strategic planning word. The second change was under the pressure o f the development of information technology, management accountants became advisors or internal consultants (Anastas, 1997). Accountants now join in the activities such as creating strategies and recommendations to influence management decisions. Management accountants play the role as a pivot among different departments. Heading accountants are the centre point to ensure companies on track. The third change is management accountants increasingly involved in decision-making activities (Anastas, 1997). They no longer just do book-keeping; they also make decisions for the whole company strategies. The forth change is management accountants became information managers because they are always the first consumers of new technology (Anastas, 1997). As a result, accountants usually adjusted more quickly and smoothly to new information technology than other departments in organizations. Accountants used the new technology to transform their eyes from looking backward to looking forward. So accountants could use new technology to calculate and forecast future environment the corporation will meet. Even sometimes accountants became sellers rather that reporters as the reason that they can sell the suggestions they got from the new information about what to do in the future (Anastas, 1997). Conclusion As been found the changes of business environment and the changes of the role of management accountants in organizations and the relationship between two kinds of changes, the conclusion could be gained. As a clear research finding, the major changes in business environment are these aspects: communications and information technology, organisational restructuring, globalisation and internationalisation and improvements and new innovations of management accounting practices (Management Accounting, 1998). And the major functions of management accountants these years focused on: design and improve the information systems of companies (especially understand and make use of IT system), give suggestions for business projects, join in strategic planning (plan and operate business and marketing objectives), deal with customers demands and taxation matters (Management Accounting, 1998). To summarise these aspects in some common and incisive points, the changes of the role of management accoun tants in organisations are chiefly as these respects: Firstly, the role of management accountants has been changed to business partners in corporations. They joined in more and more activities in functional departments, and they also participated in the plan and renew of information. Secondly, management accountants increasingly move their location from offices towards more near to plants. Thus they can get more specifically understanding of the business. This is also a clear point about accountants now play the role as business partners and they usually joined in a project from the just beginning and decision of results, and take charge of all outcomes. Thirdly, management accountants now naturally are seen as members of management team and business managers because their unique knowledge of finance and accounting can take huge benefits for management actions (ODea and Pierce, 2003). In one sentence, the role of the management accountant has changed in recent years from traditional accounting functions to that of a strategic planner and a business partner in the changing business environment. Bibliography Anastas.M. (1997) The changing world of management accounting and financial management. Journal of Management accounting. .48-51. Askarany.D et al. (2008) Management Accountants Role in Dependent and Independent Companies: Does Ownership Matter? Journal of Accounting Business Management. 15(2), .1-21. Bhimani, A. and Keshtvarz, M. H. (1999). British management accountants: strategically oriented. Journal of Cost Management. 13(2), .25-31. Cable.R.J et al. (2009) Teaching future management accountants. Journal of Management accounting quarterly. 10(4), .44-50. Choi.Y and Latshaw.C.A. (2002) The Balanced Scorecard and the Accountant as a Valued Strategic Partner. Journal of Review of Business. .27-29. Hart.S.J and Roslender.R. (2002) Integrating Management accounting and marketing in the pursuit of competitive advantage: the case for strategic management accounting. Journal of Critical Perspectives on Accounting. 13, .255-277. Johansson, H. (1990). Accounting System Changes. Journal of Management Accounting. .37-41. Hoque, Z., Mia, L. and Manzurul, A. (2001). Market competition, computer-aided manufacturing and use of multiple performance measures: an empirical study. Journal of British Accounting Review. 33(1), .23-45. Kaplan, R. S. (1986b) The Role for Empirical Research in Management Accounting. Journal of Accounting, Organizations and Society. 11(4), .429-452. Kholeif.A and Jack.L. (2008) Enterprise Resource Planning and a contest to limit the role of management accountants: A strong structuration perspective. Journal of Accounting Forum. 32, .30-45. Management Accounting. (1998) The changing role of the management accountant and its implications for qualification development. Journal of Management Accounting: Magazine for Chartered Management Accountants. 76(8), .68. ODEA.T and Pierce.B. (2001) Management accounting information and the needs of managers Perceptions of managers and accountants compared. Journal of The British Accounting Review. 35, .257-290. Tayles.M and Ma.Y. (2009) On the emergence of strategic management accounting: an institutional perspective. Journal of Accounting and Business Research. 39(5),.473-495. Tsamenyi.M and Yazdifar.H. (2005) Management accounting changes and the changing roles of management accountants: a comparative analysis between dependent and independent organizations. Journal of Accounting Organizational. 1(2), .180-198. Yazdifar. H Askarany. D Askary. S. (2008), Management Accountants Role in Dependent and Independent Companies: Does Ownership Matter? Journal of Accounting Business Management, 15(2), .1-21.

computers :: essays research papers

Computers In Our Lives   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the 21st century rolling right along the technology world is becoming highly advanced every year. School in America must teach the basics of computers before computers become too advanced for students to even learn the basics. Once the basics of computers are taught in school, then students will be able to complete a large percentage of assignments over the computer. There are three basic functions that computers will do to help education. Computers will help students to receive learning material in an efficient way. Computers will allow students to accomplish more work using quick research and will allow for increased learning during the students’ education. Computers will allow students to prepare for the new way of life in which computers will be used in every profession.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The computer has an endless supply of possible education aids. Students will be able to research any topic over the computer and the Internet. With all assignments given, all work can be done over the computers. Students can take tests over the computer, they can complete math problems and, of course, students can complete writing assignments. The more students use computers, the quicker work will be completed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Students will be able to do all the research they need without leaving their seat. Students can learn about anything they want using the computer, which will lead to for an advanced education. The more a student researches, the more the student will learn about computers. With education switching to computers, students will learn at an efficient rate and will learn more material. Computers are used for research, writing out ideas, and then typing the paper, which makes writing papers easier for the students and more assignments can be given.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the new way of life quickly changing, computers are going to be needed for everything. In America computers will be the basis of every profession. Computer will be used to write up information, to check background information for police officers, and will be used to even issue fishing licenses at fishing stores. If computers are not used daily in school, then the process for the future of the student will not be completed.