Monday, December 30, 2019

How to Make Homemade Vinegar

You can make your own vinegar at home. Many people believe homemade vinegar tastes better than bottles from the store, plus you can customize the flavor with herbs and spices. What Is Vinegar? Vinegar is a product of the fermentation of alcohol by bacteria to produce acetic acid. The acetic acid is what gives vinegar its tangy flavor and also the ingredient that makes vinegar useful for household cleaning. Although you can use any alcohol for fermentation, you want to use ethanol to make vinegar you can drink and use in recipes. The ethanol can come from any number of sources, such as apple cider, wine, rice wine, fermented sugar cane, beer, honey and water, whiskey and water, or vegetable juice. Mother of Vinegar Vinegar can be produced slowly from fruit juice or fermented juice or quickly by adding a culture called Mother of Vinegar to alcoholic liquid. Mother of Vinegar is a slimy, harmless substance consisting mostly of acetic acid bacteria (Mycoderma aceti) and cellulose. You can purchase vinegar (e.g., unfiltered cider vinegar) that contains it if you want to make homemade vinegar very quickly. Otherwise, its easy to make vinegar more slowly without the culture. Any vinegar you make will contain Mother of Vinegar going forward and can be used to produce subsequent batches of vinegar more quickly. Slow Method Homemade Vinegar Recipe If youre starting from scratch and not using a culture to speed the fermentation of alcohol into vinegar, your best bet is to start with an ingredient that contains a low level of alcohol (no more than 5–10%) and no added sugar. Apple cider, wine, fermented fruit juice, or stale beer make a perfect starting material. Regarding cider, you can start with fresh apple cider or hard cider. Fresh cider takes a few weeks to convert to vinegar because it first ferments into hard cider before becoming vinegar. Pour the starting liquid into a glass or stoneware jar or bottle. If you are using glass, try to select a dark bottle. Fermentation occurs in the dark, so you either need a dark container or else need to keep the liquid in a dark place. The advantage of a clear bottle is that you can see what is happening when you check the vinegar, but you need to keep it darkened the rest of the time.The fermentation process requires air, yet you dont want insects and dust getting into your recipe. Cover the mouth of the bottle with a few layers of cheesecloth and secure them with a rubber band.Place the container in a dark, warm place. You want a temperature of 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit (15-27 degrees Celcius). Fermentation occurs more quickly at a warmer temperature. The length of time needed to convert the alcohol to acetic acid depends on the temperature, composition of the starting material, and availability of acetic acid bacteria. The slow process takes anywhere from three weeks to six months . Initially, the bacteria will cloud the liquid, eventually forming a gelatinous layer on the top of the starting material—thats the Mother of Vinegar.The bacteria need air to remain active, so its best to avoid disturbing or stirring the mixture. After 3-4 weeks, test a small amount of the liquid to see if it has converted to vinegar. First, smell the covered bottle. If the vinegar is ready, it should smell like strong vinegar. If the bottle passes this initial test, unwrap the cheesecloth, draw off a little liquid, and taste it. If the vinegar passes the taste test, its ready to be filtered and bottled. If you dont like the taste, replace the cheesecloth and allow the solution to sit longer. You can check it weekly or monthly if its not ready. Note: a bottle with a spigot at the bottom makes the taste test much easier since you can remove a little liquid without disturbing the Mother of Vinegar forming at the top of the container.Now youre ready to filter and bottle your ho memade vinegar. Filter the liquid through a coffee filter or cheesecloth. If you plan to make more vinegar, keep some of the slimy material on the filter. This new Mother of Vinegar can be used to speed the production of future batches. The liquid you collect is the vinegar.Since homemade vinegar typically contains a small amount of residual alcohol, you may wish to boil the liquid to drive off the alcohol. Also, boiling the vinegar kills any undesirable microorganisms. Its also perfectly acceptable to use the freshly filtered, unpasteurized vinegar. Unpasteurized vinegar will have a shorter shelf life and should be refrigerated.Unpasteurized (fresh) vinegar may be stored in sterilized, sealed jars in a refrigerator for a few months.To pasteurize vinegar, heat it to 170 degrees (77 degrees Celcius) and maintain the temperature for 10 minutes. This can be achieved easily in a crockpot if you dont want to babysit a pot on the stove and monitor its temperature. Pasteurized vinegar may be stored in sealed, sterilized containers for several months at room temperature. Fast Method Using Mother of Vinegar The fast method is much like the slow method, except you have a culture of bacteria to speed the process. Simply add some Mother of Vinegar to the jug or bottle with the fermented liquid. Proceed as before, and expect the vinegar to be ready in days to weeks. Vinegar With Herbs Before bottling your vinegar, you can add herbs and spices to add flavor and visual appeal. Add a packed cup of dry herbs to a pint of vinegar. Pour the herbs and vinegar into a clear bottle or jar. Cover the container and place it in a sunny window. Shake the bottle once a day. When the flavor is sufficiently strong, you can use the vinegar as it is or else strain it and place it into fresh bottles. Fresh ingredients, such as garlic, chives, and celery, may be used to flavor vinegar. Garlic cloves typically are too big to be fully preserved by the vinegar, so remove them after allowing 24 hours for it to flavor the vinegar. You can dry fresh herbs to add to vinegar. Dill, basil, tarragon, mint, and/or chives are popular choices. Rinse the herbs and hang them to dry or else place them on a sheet of waxed paper onto a cookie sheet to dry in the sun or a warm oven. Remove the herbs from heat once the leaves start to curl.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

The Declaration Of The Rights Of Man And Citizen By...

We live in a world that is based around freedom and rights. As citizens, we expect to have a say in how we live everyday life, whether it involves employment, owning a house, or who we elect as president of the United States. Either way, our world is based around our natural rights. After the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was written, this caused a wave of revolution. This Declaration had an impact on populations such as Haiti, but also had a major impact on countless other slave populations. For the basis of slavery, we read through Abina and the Important men and saw how different characters in the story defined the term slavery. Another view came from a former slave Frederick Douglas who was a leading abolitionist. For†¦show more content†¦Even though there were a large number of African Americans on the plantation, the whites still owned them, being merchants, slave masters, etc. This land was a major target for sugar, everybody wanted this land. Following the revolution, the meaning of â€Å"rights† was different for the whites and blacks. As Strayer quotes on page 793 in the textbook, â€Å"To the slaves, the promise of the French Revolution was a personal freedom that challenged the entire slave labor system. Slaves burned 1,000 plantations and killed hundreds of whites.† As a part of the African American race, there was a former slave who led the blacks to a victory over the French rule. This former slaves name was Toussaint Louverture. Following the revolt, many British people realized that slavery was going against human rights. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen outlined the rights that humans were supposed to be given. Some of these rights included â€Å"natural rights, political and civic rights†, according to (Strayer, 812). So as a result of the revolt and abolition, people were now agreeing that slavery violated the African American human rights. In the story of Abina and the Important Men, we take a look at a West African woman who was enslaved and had brought her case to court with the Important Men. A majority of this story takes place in the court room, where Abina brings her former master to court. The beginning of this story takes

Friday, December 13, 2019

China Development Industrial Bank Free Essays

China Development Industrial Bank Integrated Case Risk and Return Assume that you recently graduated with a major in finance. You just landed a job as a financial planner with China Development Industrial bank (CDIB), a large financial services corporation. Your first assignment is to invest $100,000 for a client. We will write a custom essay sample on China Development Industrial Bank or any similar topic only for you Order Now Because the funds to be invested in a business at the end of 1 year, you have been instructed to plan a 1-year holding period. Further, your boss has restricted you to the investment alternatives in the following table, shown ith their probabilities and associated outcomes. RETURNS ON ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS ESTIMATED RATE OF RETURN State Of the Economy Probability T-bills High Tech Collections U. S. Rubber Market Portfolio 2-stock-portfolio Recession 0. 1 5. 5% -27. 0% 27% 6% -17% 0% Below Average 0. 2 5. 5% -7% 13% -14% -3% Average 0. 4 5. 5% 15% 0 3% 10% 7. 50% Above Average 0. 2 5. 5% 30% -11% 41% 25% Boom 0. 1 5. 5% 45% -21% 26% 38% 12% r(hat) – expected return 1. 00% 9. 80% 10. 50% ? (std deviation) 0. 0% 13. 20% 18. 80% 15. 20% 3. 40% CV 13. 20% 1. 90% 1. 4% 0. 50% beta -0. 87% 88. 00% CDIB’s economic forecasting staff has developed probability estimates for the state of the economy; and its security analysts have developed a sophisticated computer program, which as used to estimate the rate of return on each alternative under each state of the economy. High Tech Inc. is an electronics firm, collection Inc. collects past due debts, and U. S. Rubber manufactures tires and various other rubber and plastic products. a. (1)Why is the T-bill’s return independent of the state of the economy? Do T-bills promise a completely risk-free return? Explain. The estimated rate of return on T-bill which is 5. 5% does not depend on How to cite China Development Industrial Bank, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Business Ethics Corporate Social Responsibility

Question: Discuss about theBusiness Ethicsfor Corporate Social Responsibility. Answer: Introduction Business ethics are considered as the essence of moral judgements regarding the justified conscience. The maintenance of the ethical business practices ensures benefits for bringing the more professionalism in a corporate setting. It is to be indicated that the ethical conduct is essential for building the strengthened public image of the organisations. The organisations require allocating the resources properly in order to conduct the effective business process. The business ethics is necessary for understanding the better allocation of the resources to maintain the professionalism. However, in this current world, the companies may lack the proper business ethics. Many of the larger enterprises lack of the sound corporate social responsibility, which may affect the business functionality and the future sustainability. McCorry (2011) explained that different organisations apply diversified codes of ethics for maintaining the professionalism. Moreover, in this current advanced world, it is important to undertake the relevant strategic decision for the organisational welfare. The maintenance of the proper business ethics provides the fruitful insights to understand what is right and what is wrong for the company. The study will also focus on the business ethics applied by New Belgium Brewing Company in Colorado. At the initial stage, the company was just a family owned business. It began with a bicycling trip through Belgium and distributed beers. The experimental business soon grew up to the well-established entity that ensures profitability. However, the business owners faced several environmental issues while applying the business ethics. The study will discuss those significant environmental issues that the company faces. This segment will provide the ideas of the probable approaches that can be undertaken for addressing such situational consequences. Accordingly, the idea about the corporate social responsibility will be initiated in this study. Environmental Issues and the Strategies Undertaken for Justified Approaches New Belgium Brewing has been frequently trying to minimise the business impact on the environment. In order to address the recognisable issues, NBB endowed the capital resources in a wind turbine and made the company as the first wind powered brewery all over the United States. Apart from such initiative, the company even utilised a steam condenser, which is helpful for reusing the hot water that requires for boiling hops and barley. The emission of the steam is then recycled to provide the heat the tiles and loading the docks in time of winter. Moreover, NBB started using the sun tubes that are useful for brewing the house with the solar light. In addition to this, the company has even undertaken the energy saving processes as well. The owner of the company tends to work in outdoor places that made the company undertaken such environmental welfare processes. Hence, it can be interpreted that the core values and major aim of the company is to establish an environmentally concerned br ewer. However, in order to execute such planning, the company has paid attention on following initiatives. NBB has concentrated on producing world-class quality beer. The innovations and improvisation in the technicalities are brought to the manufacturing house. NBB is also focusing on promoting the beer culture across the country. It is one of the most fruitful initiatives of the company to transcend the expectations of the customers. In order to maintain the environmental stewardship, NBB is minimising the resource consumptions and maximising the energy savings by recycling the utilised materials. The business role model has been focusing on the environmental, social, and cultural changes. In order to increase the potentiality, NBB has undertaken several learning and development process. Soon it started to pursuit the upcoming opportunities. NBB has been establishing the authentic communication, relationship, and the reliability among its customer base. The company has been even paying the attention towards the work-life balance of the associated employees. Reviewing such statements, the employees generated the sense of authentication and reliability among the customers. The customers will receive the proper opportunity to communicate transparently in order to express their needs and demands. Addressing the Environmental Issues If concentrated on the on the current marketing strategy undertaken by NBB, it has been seen that the company is mainly focusing on enhancing the product quality. Apart from increasing the quality parameter, NBB is also paying attention towards the brand promotional process. The major philosophy of the company is to provide the environment highly advanced technical industry in this globalised world. In such regards, the employee ownership program is also playing one of the significant roles. It strengthens the trustworthiness and ensures strong beliefs offered to the community. NBB has the string desire to create a fruitful living and learning community. NBB is much focused on reducing the effects on the environment and conducting the business without harming the planet. Therefore, it tends to utilise the cost-efficient energy saving process as the alternative solutions (Rupp et al. 2012). However, it is needless to mention that the company is much loyal towards the core business values and beliefs. Hence, the owner decided to invest on wind turbine, which is required for preparing the fully wind-powered brewery, which was launched for the first time in United States. Switching to the coal power, NBB could reduce the CO2 emissions by almost 1,800 metric tons in a year. In fact, the involvement of the steam condenser is also reusing the hot water. However, apart from all such initiatives, the most promising program undertaken by NBB was the recycling of the wastes. In order to bring much innovation in the product manufacturing process, the company has been using the wastages by recycling them to prepare new products. Starting from car dboard boxes, the company utilises office materials, amber glasses, and keg camps for the recycling process (Carroll and Buchholtz 2014). The brewery distributes the spent the hop grains and barley among the local farmers to feed their pigs. The employees are encouraged to reduce the air pollution by using the pollution free transportations. NBB rewards the employees by providing cruiser bikes as the incentives. It encourages the employees for ensuring the ride to work. It is important to mention that New Belgium is significantly participating on the green-building techniques. NBB associated many of the advanced technologies by expanding the facilities. During such journey, the associated people were able to generate much knowledge. In the year of 2002, NBB participated in two different organisational programmes. One is Energy and Environment Design for Existing Buildings programme and another is United States Green Building Councils Leadership. In order to conserve the existing resources, NBB has undertaken enormous initiatives. Starting from utilisation of the daylight, solar powers, and sun tubes, it ensures the use of the regenerated heat on the loop. The maintenance of the environmental stewardship is generally base d on three Rs, such as Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle. The recycling of the wastages is one of the most appreciable processes, which determines the organisational welfare (Martin and Johnson 2015). Hence, it can be interpreted that the company is paying the fruitful attention towards mitigating the negative impacts on the environment. Maintenance of the Social Responsibility helps in Achieving Competitive Advantage The globalised world has been introducing the advancements of the business processes and technicalities (Bundy, Shropshire and Buchholtz 2013). The organisations across the globe are also providing their best efforts to adopt such advanced level of techniques for managing the innovative business procedure. It is to be noted that such advancements in this business functionalities are inviting more competition in a significant manner. Different organisations structure their internal functionalities in order to adopt such current trends and achieve the competitive advantage. It enhances the scope of maintaining the organisational sustainability for a long run (Pandey, Rupp and Thornton 2013). Hence, it is important to follow up the effective corporate social responsibility at the first place. However, in case of NBB, it has been seen that the company has undertaken many of the initiatives that have been serving to participate in a competitive environment (Wells 2016). The review of the entire case study is indicating that the focus of the company on social responsibility is mainly signified for achieving the competitive advantage in this current business world. It is noted that NBB has become much attentive towards the utilisation of the environment friendly technologies. The company is even aware of the fact that the implementation of such technologies is much cost effective. However, if concentrated on the environmental benefits, it is seen that the impact of such advanced technologies on social welfare is much significant (Kolodinsky and Bierly 2013). However, the fact should not be ignored that the company started the business with just a bicycling trip through Belgium. Starting from a basement setup, the company started growing in a significant way. Focusing on such perspectives, it would be irrelevant to comment that the company is using the social responsibility as a weapon to achieve the competitive advantage. However, it still can be predicted that the use of the innovative functionalities are beneficial for the company to strengthen the competitive position. The company is even concerned about the cost effectiveness of the materials, which have been used in preparing the products. Therefore, the reuse and recycling process is adopted for minimising the investment costs (Bumblauskas 2015). It is needless to mention that the maintenance of the social welfare is much helpful for strengthening the organisational reputation. Similarly, NBB also utilised such opportunity in order to facilitate the future growth of the company. It is noted that the associated employees are encouraged to use pollution free vehicles for the transportation purposes. Using the sun heat and daylight is another source of saving the energy, which creates a significant impact on social environment (Grunde 2014). New Belgium has been maintaining the community bulletin to ensure the participation of the society in promoting their businesses. The community based board provides a diversified insight to the people associated with the community (Martinuzzi and Krumay 2013). In fact, the non-profit organisations can sometimes receive several benefits during the execution of such initiatives. While the society is availing many of the beneficial treatments from the company, it automatically creates the positive word of mouth. Another strategic movement of NBB is to provide the sponsors to many of the organisations for the promotional purposes. One of the major focuses on the social responsibility initiative undertaken by NBB is indicating the method of recycling the wastages. The wastages for the industrial business are much harmful for the environment. Even though people in the society are fond of using the innovative products for their sophisticated life, they are awfully affected by the wastages emitted from the industrial factories (Ferrell and Fraedrich 2015). In such regards, NBB used the innovative ideas to reducing such pollution in the environment. The company decided to recycle the products that have been emitted from the product manufacturing process. It is seen that the company had been benefitted from two different ways. Firstly, the company could minimise the environmental pollution, which served as the social responsibility. On the other hand, the company could reduce the material costs, which can be further invested for preparing or gathering more resources. Hence, it brought much profitability of the compa ny as well. The improvisation in different social functionalities is also taken into account as the proof of considering the initiatives undertaken for determining the achievement of the competitive advantages. Hence, it can be clearly stated that the company has undertaken the social responsibility in order to achieve the competitive advantage in this current world. Actions Undertaken by NBB for Maintaining Ethical and Social Responsibilities It is true that people often purchase the alcohols without being concerned about the manufacturers. The manufacturer of the alcoholic products needs to maintain the social responsibilities as well. However, in many times, it has been noted that the consumers behave in an irresponsible manner. If any alcohol manufacturer company promotes the safe drinking and eliminating the minors from consuming alcohol, it would be considered as the ethical practices. Similarly, while preparing the products, the company can maintain the ethical behaviour and consider the social stipulation, it will be taken as the ethically responsible entity. The companies, which do not maintain such social responsibilities while selling the alcohol products, are needed to be eliminated from the market. However, it should be applauded if any company is positively providing the efforts to determine the social responsibility. In fact, the rating of the ethical parameter of these companies should always be higher. It was notified that NBB has been promoting the ethical responsibility in a commendable manner considering every code of conducts. Each of the organisations tries to facilitate profits by applying different methods. In case of NBB, it was stated that the company has established a good organisational reputation in the market. The smart decision making process is much appreciable in such cases. In order to facilitate the ethical programme, the company has provided its best effort to make a choice for the public to drink responsibly. The contribution of the company to promote social ethics is genuinely remarkable. The initiative of promoting connoisseurship of beer has led towards designing the innovative worthy glass. The glass is painted by different colours and the shape is intending to retain the foam. The enhancement of the visual presentation by designing such glass decorations along with the attractive aroma was actually promoting the beer culture in the sophisticated society. Al ong with this, NBB has participated in support of culinary arts, like hosting the New Belgium Beer dinners. It even offers the complimentary drink as the culinary treat. In spite of undertaking many initiatives related to the promotions of beers and ethical responsibilities, the company is still left with several works to be done. The company needs to keep the frequent practices on promoting the social responsibilities by examining the functionalities, reviewing the performance parameter, and measuring the progress report. In addition to this, the regular feedback extracted from the customers is also necessary for the company to measure the success of maintaining social responsibilities (Ferrell and Fraedrich 2015). In spite of focusing on the positive sides, it is noted that the company requires improvising many other corporate ethics. It is important to mention that NBB was honoured with the regional Environment Achievement Award from Environmental Protection Agency. Coming the improvement part, it has been seen that the company is still need to produce the organic beer. It is previously mentioned that the company has undertaken the ethical functio nalities to recycle the wastes and reuse them for preparing the products (Stack, Gartland and Keane 2016). However, in this current era, the technicalities have become much advanced. Hence, NBB needs to focus on assimilating the ideas of preparing beer with low emission or emission free materials (Liss and Loomis 2013). Accordingly, the company needs to concentrate on the zero wastage of the products as well. It is true; the list of improvement is never ending. However, in order to overcome the challenges, the company has to undertake the different initiatives and frequent improvisation. Otherwise, it would be difficult enough for the company to survive in this huge competitive scenario. NBB needs to acknowledge the increasing level of the sales ratio much prominently. The maintenance of the authenticity to promote the brand among the human scale is also much necessary for business sustainability. It can be suggested that if NBB would be able to promote the human powered sports that may cause at least minimal damages to the environment, it would be effective for the business growth. However, in such cases, the company needs to pay closer attention towards the demographic segmentation of the customers (Stack, Gartland and Keane 2016). Apparently, it has been seen that children are much attracted towards such sports since drinking is legal to that age of the children. The consumption of the alcohol by the children is needed to be banned. The company has been trying to give back several effective facilities to the community that promotes the ethical responsibilities. However, reviewing the different initiatives undertaken by the company, it is clearly portrayed in this case study. It is noted that if the company can promote the campaign against excessive consumption of alcohol. The company mainly concentrated on promoting the social responsibilities in order to achieve the competitive advantage. Usually, the consumers prefer the good product or the services that is purchasable and higher in quality. Along with the effective quality parameter, if the customers receive the sense of authenticity, it becomes the driving force for the organisational success. The maintenance of the corporate social responsibility, higher quality, and customer stipulation is the key to achieve the competitive advantages. Hence, NBB is suggested to utilise the advanced technologies that can be used for offering the high quality products to the customers. Moreover, the maintenance of the effective corporate social responsibilities would also be beneficial for establishing the organisational reputation. Conclusion The study is focusing on the business ethical practices undertaken by New Belgium Brewing in Colorado. The current global market is much fascinated with the advancements of the technologies. It is noted that each of the organisations give their best effort to strengthen the organisational reputation in a competitive market. Therefore, it is important to recognise the justified process of promoting the corporate social responsibility. NBB has been maintaining the effective way of promoting the social responsibilities. The use of the waste materials is reducing the environmental pollution. Moreover, reusing the materials is also helpful for energy and resource conservation. Following the effective process of maintaining social responsibilities, the company will be able to achieve the competitive position. In fact, it is necessary to implement the proper strategy to facilitate the effective corporate social responsibilities. Another most important aspect is to determine the maintenance of the business ethics. NBB has provided the genuine efforts to promote the ethical business practices. The company was even applauded by presenting an honourable award. However, the frequent examining and continuous improvement would ensure the better ethical practices. References Bumblauskas, D.P., 2015. Sustainable Operations Management and Benchmarking in Brewing at New Belgium.Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship,27(1), p.155. Bundy, J., Shropshire, C. and Buchholtz, A.K., 2013. Strategic cognition and issue salience: Toward an explanation of firm responsiveness to stakeholder concerns.Academy of Management Review,38(3), pp.352-376. Carroll, A.B. and Buchholtz, A.K., 2014.Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Nelson Education. Ferrell, O.C. and Fraedrich, J., 2015.Business ethics: Ethical decision making cases. Nelson Education. Grunde, J., 2014.Craft Breweries and Sustainability: Challenges, Solutions, and Positive Impacts(Doctoral dissertation, Blekinge Institute of Technology). Kolodinsky, R.W. and Bierly, P.E., 2013. Understanding the elements and outcomes of executive wisdom: A strategic approach.Journal of Management Organization,19(01), pp.1-24. Liss, G. and Loomis, C.A., 2013. Zero Waste Communities.Zero Waste International Alliance. Martin, K.D. and Johnson, J.L., 2015. Marketing ethics and differentiation: implications for normalized deviance.Handbook on Ethics and Marketing, p.150. Martinuzzi, A. and Krumay, B., 2013. The good, the bad, and the successfulhow corporate social responsibility leads to competitive advantage and organizational transformation.Journal of change management,13(4), pp.424-443. McCorry, K.J., 2011. New Belgium Brewery.A Simple Path to Sustainability: Green Business Strategies for Small and Medium-sized Businesses: Green Business Strategies for Small and Medium-sized Businesses, p.137. Pandey, N., Rupp, D.E. and Thornton, M.A., 2013. The morality of corporate environmental sustainability: A psychological and philosophical perspective.Green organizations: Driving change with IO psychology, pp.69-92. Rupp, D.E., Ganapathi, J., Aguilera, R.V. and Williams, C.A., 2012. Employee reactions to corporate social responsibility: An organizational justice framework.Journal of organizational Behavior,27(4), pp.537-543. Stack, M., Gartland, M. and Keane, T., 2016. Path Dependency, Behavioral Lock-in and the International Market for Beer. InBrewing, Beer and Pubs(pp. 54-73). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Wells, P., 2016. Economies of Scale Versus Small Is Beautiful A Business Model Approach Based on Architecture, Principles and Components in the Beer Industry.Organization Environment,29(1), pp.36-52.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Diversity Essays - Human Resource Management,

Diversity With today's workforce becoming increasingly diverse and organizations doing more to maximize the benefits of the differences in employees, Human Resource managers are evolving from the old school sideline player to the front-line fighters. Organizations are relying on managers to get the people who get the job done, and of course, make the company money. People have always been central to organizations, but their strategic importance is growing in today's knowledge-based business world like never before. An organization's success increasingly depends on the knowledge, skills, and abilities of its employees. Particularly as they help establish a set of core competencies which distinguish one organization from its competitors. When employees' talents are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate and organized, an organization can achieve a sustained competitive advantage. In order to compete through people, an organization has to be able to do a good job of managing their human capital: the knowledge, skills, and capabilities that add value to the organizations. Managers must develop strategies for identifying, recruiting, and hiring the best talent available. Develop these individuals in ways that are specific to the needs the firms, encourage them to generate new ideas while familiarizing them with the company strategies, invite information sharing, and rewarding collaboration and team work. The basis on which compensation payments are determined, and the way they are administered, can significantly affect employee productivity and the achievement of organizational goals. Establishing compensation programs require both large and small organizations to consider specific goals. Employee retention, compensation distribution and adherence to the budget must be carefully weighted against the overall organizational goals and expectations. Compensation must reward employees for past performance while serving as a motivation tool for future performances. Internal and external equity of the pay program will affect employees' concepts of fairness. O rganizations must balance each of the concerns while still remaining competitive. For internal equity an organization can use one of the basic job evaluation techniques to determine relative worth of job. The most common are the ranking and classification methods. The job ranking system arranges jobs in numerical order on the basis of the importance of the job's duties and responsibilities to the organization. Job classification slots jobs into pre-established grades with higher rated grades requiring more responsibilities, working conditions, and job duties. External equity can be determined by a wage survey. Data obtained from the surveys will facilitate establishing the organization's wage policy while ensuring that the employer does not pay more, or less, than needed for jobs in the relevant labor market. Base salary is only one aspect of a retention plan for important employees. Benefits and incentive plans are valuable perks in recruiting and retaining essential employees. Benefits are an established and integral part of the total compensation package. In order to have a sound benefits package there are certain basic considerations. It is essential that a program be based on specific objectives that are compatible with the organizational philosophy and policies as well as affordable to the company. By utilizing a flexible benefits package, employees are able to choose those benefits that are best suited to their individual needs. Incentive pay plans can be advantageous to both the employer as well as the employee. The success of an incentive pay plan depends on the organizational cli mate in which it must operate, employee confidence in it, and its suitability to employee and organizational needs. Importantly, employees must view the incentive plan to be equitable and related to their performance. Performance measures should be quantifiable, easily understood, and bear a demonstrated relationship to organizational performance. Performance appraisal programs serve many purposes, but in general those purposes can be clustered into two categories: administrative and developmental. The administrative purposes include decisions about who will be promoted, transferred, or laid-off. They can also include compensation decisions. Developmental decisions include those related to improving and enhancing an individual's capabilities. These include identifying a person's strength and weaknesses, eliminating external performance obstacles, and establishing training needs. Within many organizations, performance appraisals are seen as a necessary evil. Managers frequently avoid conducting appraisals because they dislike playing the role of judge. As a result appraisals are conduct annually, for good or evil, and forgot about. Largely the success of

Monday, November 25, 2019

NMR essays

NMR essays Instrument: JEOL 270 MHZ Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer Nuclear magnetic resonance is a phenomenon, which occurs when the nuclei of certain atoms are immersed in a static magnetic field and exposed to a second oscillating magnetic field. Some nuclei experience this phenomenon, and others do not, dependent upon whether they possess a property called spin. Most of the matter you can examine with NMR is composed of molecules. Molecules are composed of atoms .Not all nuclei possess the property called spin Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is the use of the NMR phenomenon to study physical, chemical, and biological properties of matter. As a consequence, NMR spectroscopy finds applications in several areas of science. NMR spectroscopy is used to study chemical structure using simple one-dimensional techniques. Two-dimensional techniques are used to determine the structure of more complicated molecules. Units of time are seconds (s). Angles are reported in degrees (o) and in radians (rad). There are 2 radians in 360o. The absolute temperature scale in Kelvin (K) is used in NMR. The Kelvin temperature scale is equal to the Celsius scale reading plus 273.15. 0 K is characterized by the absence of molecular motion. There are no degrees in the Kelvin temperature unit. Magnetic field strength (B) is measured in Tesla (T). The unit of energy (E) is the Joule (J Spin is a fundamental property of nature like electrical charge or mass. Spin comes in multiples of 1/2 and can be + or -. Protons, electrons, and neutrons possess spin. Individual unpaired electrons, protons, and neutrons each possess a spin of 1/2. In the deuterium atom ( 2H ), with one unpaired electron, one unpaired proton, and one unpaired neutron, the total electronic spin = 1/2 and the total nuclear ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Power, authority, and influence in the workplace Essay

Power, authority, and influence in the workplace - Essay Example Power and influence theories are linked with how individuals use power and influence to manipulate others and consequently achieve organizational objectives in the workplace. In reference to French and Raven's theory of power, I take advantage of my personal power and strive on advancing my professional skills and knowledge as this is considered the most reasonable basis or foundation of power and influence. According to Lunenburg, power and influence theories also focus on transactional form of leadership. According to this form of leadership, individuals or workers strive to achieve their goals in the hope of getting a reward. Therefore, I use rewards to inspire and encourage workers and hence ensure that duties or tasks are completed in a timely manner.   Lunenburg additionally states that contingency theories focus on different leadership styles according to existing situations. Organizations are faced by numerous challenges that require effective decisions to be made. Therefor e, I employ different leadership styles depending on existing organizational problems. This is important as it ensures employees are supported at all times. An effective leadership style ensures the creation of effective relationships among workers and also between workers and the management. This type of leadership theory is referred to as path-goal leadership theory. In other words, the path-goal theory states that employees enjoying a good relationship with their leaders are pleased by their accommodating nature.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Federalism Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Federalism Paper - Essay Example People have different and varied opinions about federalism but for United States it completely make sense to be a federalist country. This is because US is spreaded over a large geographical area and it is near to impossible to run and control the whole country by just having one government. Federalism might look as an incomprehensible idealistic expression, but it has a substantial meaning. It basically reflects the choice of the people and gives them a say in deciding as how the state or even people living in the state should be governed. When votes are being casted, an individual say will only matter when there will be a small number of people casting votes for their state rather than a million people voting for the whole country. People take more interest in the local elections rather than the country election when they are living in a federalist country (Longley, 2013). When all the activities are being handled by the state, the accountability of the state government as well as the people living in that state increases. If someone is not working in the right manner or if they are not being ethical with their work, it is easier to figure out what is wrong and can be corrected there and then. Federalism also makes people more concerned about the state and the people living in the state which is considered to be the best part of it (Magazu, 2013). Different states have different laws which are to the convenience of the people living there. The law of education, health, marriage and divorce, drinking age limit and driving license are major laws which are made and implemented by the state government. The state government does not need permission from the central government to make changes in these laws when and where required hence giving people a more close say in running the place they live in. Secondly the issues that are related to the people directly are heard and solved more quickly and

Monday, November 18, 2019

Marketing Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Planning - Essay Example 256). In an effective way to overcome, this particular barrier, the top management should be actively involved in the process of marketing planning. Continuous update of the planning process also needs to be provided to them at regular intervals. Lack of line Support Hostility and non co operation on the part of the functional as well as divisional managers and personnel of the organization regarding the implementation of the newly designed marketing planning process is another factor that has to be taken into account in this case. It can be said that in order to overcome this particular barrier, the managers of the respective functions and division has to be increasingly convinced about how the effectiveness of the new process of marketing planning will lead to the process of better value proposition for the customers and thereby will promote significant growth of the company. Failure of in depth analysis The failure to conduct an in-depth analysis of the capability of the resources available to the company is another reason that can lead to the process of failure of marketing planning. To overcome this particular barrier, an internal audit has to be carried out by the company which will increasingly focus on the process of highlighting the resource capability and its probable effective utilization by the company. Lack of Synchronization The lack of proper co-ordination and synchronization between the departments of marketing and production of the company can also emerge as a barrier to effective marketing planning. In an attempt to overcome this particular barrier, it can be said that the application of an information system throughout the organization will be highly relevant. The application of the information system throughout the company will lead to the process of eradication of this particular barrier by significantly promoting a common platform which will promote synchronization of the marketing and production department. Regard Marketing Consultant. 4b . Strategic Planning process is a very important activity for any business organization (Simerson, 2011, p.1). It is a key factor in the business in regards to strategic management, which enables the company to provide directions, guidelines and boundaries to the functional and operational processes of an organization (Steiner, 1997, p.4). It can be increasingly said that the entire process of strategic planning is intended to focus on the forward progress of the business through the process of market development, product development as well as achieving significant share of the market and growth in revenue. The presence of a large number of macro factors that can bring a significant range of impact in the firm’s area of business environment leads to the process of providing a significant level of importance to the strategic planning process of the firm. It can be said that the strategic planning process undertaken by various business organizations helps them to prepare for t he impending uncertainties lingering in the business environment and thereby prepare backup plans and options, which will empower them to avoid complete disruption of the firms’ business processes. On the other side, it can be said that the marketing planning process enables the marketing teams of organization to focus on the processes of generation, communication, distribution and capture of values from the target audience, while

Friday, November 15, 2019

Lean Manufacturing | Literature Review

Lean Manufacturing | Literature Review Since the 1980s, numerous businesses in various sectors of industry have continually been introducing programs intended to improve both productivity and quality. Several authors have posited lean manufacturing or lean production as the best possible production system and one that can be implemented in any industry and any process (Bonavia and Marin, 2006 and Lee-Mortimer, 2006). Doolen and Hacker (2005) mentioned that different researchers have explored the portability of lean practices both within and between different manufacturing sectors. In accordance, a variety of surveys conducted in different types of industry (Soriano-Meier and Forrester, 2002, Bonavia and Marin, 2006, Doolen and Hacker, 2005, Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001 and Taj, 2008) proved that lean is widely successful in a variety of industrial sectors. However, there are two problematic issues regarding lean manufacturing have been addressed in several studies. First, Shah and Ward (2007) claimed that any discussion of lean production points to an absence of common definition of the concept. Likewise, Pettersen (2009) alleged that there is no agreed upon definition of lean that could be found in the literature. Papadopoulou and ÃÆ'-zbayrak (2005) declared that there is no consensus in different researchers perceptions to the concept of lean which leads to conflicting results in identifying and classifying its practices and techniques. Second, there is conflict in using terms such as elements, principles, constructs, techniques and practices. Papadopoulou and ÃÆ'-zbayrak (2005) mentioned that some of the elements of lean are actually referring to the goals and objectives rather than techniques or tools (e.g. elimination of waste, lead time reduction) and, in addition, a number of other best manufacturing practices (such as agile manufacturing) were used in literature as lean practices. Moreover, Shah and Ward (2007) underscored that identical items are used to operationalize vastly different concepts and different items are used to operationalize the same construct. Thus, Shah and Ward (2007) argued that a great source of confusion and inconsistency associated with lean is the more substantive disagreement about what comprises lean production and how it can be measured operationally. Statement of the problem The above mentioned issues revealed three confusions surrounding the lean concept in literature, which are (1) the lack of a consistent definition of lean, (2) the disagreement about the elements that comprise lean manufacturing and (3) the lack of a measurement tool for assessing changes towards lean implementation. With the aim to clarify and resolve these confusions, this chapter has three main objectives; (1) to propose a conceptual definition of the term lean manufacturing that captures all its main facets, (2) to provide a framework that identifies its major elements and practices, and (3) to develop an operationalized model to assess changes towards lean manufacturing implementation. To achieve these objectives, an in-depth literature review is conducted regarding the topic of lean manufacturing. At first, the concept of Lean and its main principles are introduced. Next, the elements of lean manufacturing and the practices for lean implementation will be investigated. Finally, different indicators that measure the progress achieved towards lean are explored. The concept of Lean Lean was associated with the practice of deciphering the value added activities from those that are waste in an organization and its supply chain (Comm and Mathaisel, 2005). Motwani (2003) declared that companies need to focus on each product and its value stream in order to distinguish between wasted activities and that actually create value. Moreover, Papadopoulou and ÃÆ'-zbayrak (2005) stated that leanness was introduced as an approach to manufacturing that was aiming at the elimination of waste while stressing the need for continuous improvement. However, lean manufacturing is much more than a technique, it is, in addition, a way of thinking (Taj, 2008). The issue of lean thinking was widely discussed in different researches. Comm and Mathaisel (2005) believed that lean thinking removes the traditional way people think about roles and responsibilities through remaining focused on the customer and the core competencies that the customer values from an organization. Therefore, Bhasin and Burcher (2006) claimed that for a successful implementation, numerous cultural changes are required for embracing empowerment and disseminating the lean principles through-out the value chain. Similarly, Taj (2008) confirmed that lean as a way of thinking creates a culture in which everyone in the organization continuously improve operations. In accordance, Comm and Mathaisel (2000) introduced leanness as a philosophy that intended to significantly reduce cost and cycle time throughout the entire value chain while continuing to improve product performance. Hence, lean should be described from two points of view; the philosophical perspective and the practical perspective (Shah and Ward, 2007). From the philosophical perspective, lean is viewed as an overall organizational philosophy that should affect the people way of thinking and behaving (Papadopoulou and ÃÆ'-zbayrak, 2005 and Bhasin and Burcher, 2006). This philosophy drives the guiding principles and the overarching goals of lean (Shah and Ward, 2007). On the other hand, the practical perspective see lean as a set of management practices, tools and techniques (Shah and Ward, 2007) that are used to apply the philosophy and to achieve the goals (Bhasin and Burcher, 2006). This two-perspective view of lean is supported by the definition of lean as a socio-technical system. Such system combines both technical system; i.e. technology and social system; i.e. people and organizational structure (Bhasin and Burcher, 2006). In the same context, Shah and Ward (2007) asserted that to pursue lean production, firms have to effectively manage their social and technical systems simultaneously. Moreover, Cua et al. (2001) proved that joint optimization of both socially- and technically-oriented policies or practices is necessary for achieving good results. Regarding its implementation, Panizzolo (1998) demonstrated that the wide range of lean practices are related to interventions in the manufacturing area, actions taken in other areas of the firm (design, HR, strategy, etc.) and relationships with both suppliers and customers. Likewise, Shah and Ward (2003) stated that lean should be seen as a multi-dimensional approach that encompasses a wide variety of management practices. This conceptualization of lean as multidimensional strategy is supported by a wide range of researchers (Doolen and Hacker, 2005, Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996, Shah and Ward, 2007 and Papadopoulou and ÃÆ'-zbayrak, 2005). However, it is well accepted among researchers that lean should be implemented as an integrated system (Shah and Ward, 2007, Bhasin and Burcher, 2006, Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996 and Papadopoulou and ÃÆ'-zbayrak, 2005). Shah and Ward (2007) suggested that a well-developed lean strategy implementation will require firms to exert considerable effort along several dimensions simultaneously. Bonavia and Marin (2006) concluded that there are only few relationships between the degree of use of lean production practices individually and operational performance (in terms of productivity, quality, lead time and inventory). In the same vein, Shah and Ward (2003) provide unambiguous evidence that the synergistic effects of all lean practices are associated with better manufacturing performance. Another feature of lean manufacturing that was emphasized in literature is its time-frame of implementation. Bhasin and Burcher (2006) and Doolen and Hacker (2005) believed that lean is a long-term multidimensional organizational strategy. Papadopoulou and ÃÆ'-zbayrak (2005) affirmed that transformation to lean requires a lot of effort, time and participation of all organization levels in addition to make changes in company culture and organizational structure. Thus, lean enterprises should continuously find ways to eliminate consumption of resources in their struggle to deliver value to their customers. In correspondence, the implementation of the lean program in the case study discussed in (Lee-Mortimer, 2006) proved that lean is not just a project, it is a long-term continuous journey which is implemented as a sequence of stages or projects. In conclusion, lean manufacturing embraces different features that should be taken into consideration when defining this concept. Lean should be viewed as a philosophy, affecting company culture, rather than a set of tools/techniques. This, in turn, reveals the importance of managing social system as well as technical system simultaneously. Moreover, lean implementation scope is not confined to the manufacturing function of a company, rather it relates to all functions ranging from product development, procurement and manufacturing over to distribution. Since lean companies seek to deliver value to their customers, this value should be predefined and delivered, while waste, which customers are not willing to pay for, should continuously be eliminated. All the aforementioned features of lean manufacturing can be captured in the following proposed conceptual definition. Lean manufacturing is a philosophy and a long-term strategy that is applied through a socio-technical system integrating all functions within the organization with the aim of continuous waste elimination while delivering outcomes that meet continuously predefined customer value. Lean principles Lean philosophy is mainly based on the principle of eliminating waste. Waste is anything other than the minimum amount of equipment, materials, parts, and working time that are essential to add value (Taj, 2008, Bonavia and Marin, 2006 and Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez (2001) cited that the main goal of lean is to eliminate all activities that do not add value to the product. Value should be specified as it is perceived by customers (Andersson et al., 2006 and Dahlgaard and Dahlgaard-Park, 2006). If the task does not add value from the customers point of view, it should be modified or eliminated from the process (Andersson et al., 2006). It is believed that by minimizing waste and zero-value added activities, companies can reduce production costs and the overall production system will be more efficient (Comm and Mathaisel, 2005 and Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). Since inventory is considered one of the critical sources of waste (Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001 and Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996), Dahlgaard and Dahlgaard-Park (2006) declared that the traditional way of producing in batches is inefficient as it requires goods to wait in inventories before the next production step is started up. Thus, Motwani (2003) mentioned that the value must flow to the customer without interruptions. Andersson et al. (2006) confirmed that focus should be on organizing a continuous flow through the production or supply chain rather than moving commodities in large batches. Closely related to the continuous flow is the principle of just-in-time (JIT), since the ultimate goal that every process should be provided with only one part at a time, exactly when that part is needed (Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). Moreover, if continuous flow is not possible (Lummus et al., 2006), the way of scheduling the flow of material should be pull instead of push (Motwani, 2003 and Dahlgaard and Dahlgaard-Park, 2006). This means that customer demand should pull finished products through the system with the aim of not carrying out any work unless the result of it is required downstream (Andersson et al., 2006). It is obvious that to succeed in the implementation of any modern system, everyone from top management to any lower level should make sincere efforts, and set their goals jointly through active participation and understanding (Ahmed et al., 2004). According to (McKone et al., 1999), employees can contribute significantly to the organization when they are allowed to participate in decisions that impact their area of responsibility. As a result, involvement from all employees allows companies to better use of its available resources (McKone et al., 1999). This principle reflects the conceptualization of lean manufacturing as a socio-technical system, since it highlights the importance of managing social system as well as technical system. Since lean is viewed as a long-term strategy, lean philosophy emphasizes continuous improvement. Several researchers (Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996, Comm and Mathaisel, 2005 and Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001) affirmed that one of the most fundamental principles of lean is the search for continuous improvement in products and processes. Lummus et al. (2006) mentioned that processes should be managed towards perfection to continuously reduce the time needed to serve the customer. Likewise, Andersson et al. (2006) underscored that the elimination of non-value-adding elements (waste) is a process of continuous improvement. In this context, Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez (2001) highlighted the importance of employees involvement and top management support to create and train improvement teams that lead the organization to move toward zero defects. Based on the analysis of lean previous studies, it is concluded that there are five key principles / overarching goals which can be considered the bases for the lean philosophy. These principles are; (1) waste elimination, (2) customer value identification, (3) continuous production flow, (4) employees involvement and (5) continuous improvement. Furthermore, the aforesaid lean principles confirm some issues in the proposed conceptual definition. The unambiguous believe that elimination of waste is the fundamental goal is affirmed since lean is regularly defined as manufacturing without waste. Likewise, identifying value as perceived by customer is asserted in the proposed definition. Moreover, seeking continuous improvement as a principle of lean philosophy reflects the long-term nature of lean implementation. Thus, the proposed definition stresses the aim of continuous waste elimination and highlighted the need to continuously predefine customer value. Also, the importance of employ ees involvement emphasizes the social phase of the lean system as a socio-technical system. Finally, holding in mind these principles / goals underscores the view of lean as a philosophy that affects the people way of thinking. Lean implementation framework Previous studies concerning lean manufacturing revealed a number of manufacturing practices that are commonly associated with lean implementation. The initial step towards developing a framework for lean implementation is to capture different practices and combine them into inter-related groups in accordance to the multi-dimensional nature of lean manufacturing. The term practices in this context refers to the predominant methodologies that may include many techniques and tools. Shah and Ward (2003) identified and empirically validated combining lean practices into four specific lean bundles: namely Total Quality Management (TQM), Just In Time (JIT), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Human Resources Management (HRM). Bonavia and Marin (2006) found enough agreement in literature to identify the first three bundles; TQM, JIT and TPM, while Cua et al. (2001) are of the opinion that human and strategic-oriented practices are common practices that support all other three bundles. Although there is general agreement within operations management literature that JIT, TPM, TQM and HRM are conceptually, theoretically, and empirically well established (Shah and Ward, 2003), there is no unanimous classification of the lean manufacturing practices that make up each of the four bundles (Bonavia and Marin, 2006). Therefore, in an attempt to provide a framework for lean implementation comprises the actual practices that represent each of the four mentioned bundles, the basic theme of these bundles are identified. Then, different lean practices are combined into each of these bundles based on reviewing different research papers regarding lean implementation practices, in addition to articles that were focused mainly on one of these bundles. TQM bundle Lack of quality is a major source of waste, since the defective parts and products that need to be reworked or scrapped do not add any value to the customer and should be eliminated in order to attain high productivity (Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). Sà ¶derquist and Motwani (1999) underscored that quality should be a top management issue and continuous improvement efforts together with the zero error objective should be company-wide and extended over company limits in production chains. Cua et al. (2001) defined total quality management (TQM) as a manufacturing program aimed at continuously improving and sustaining quality products and processes by capitalizing on the involvement of management, workforce, suppliers, and customers, in order to meet or exceed customer expectations. Sà ¶derquist and Motwani (1999) emphasized that TQM approach is the philosophy that should underpin the quality project in a lean company. The practices combined to form the TQM bundle include; product quality control, visual management (Cua et al., 2001, McKone et al., 1999 and Sà ¶derquist and Motwani, 1999), process management (Shah and Ward, 2003, Cua et al., 2001 and McKone et al., 1999), product design and development (Cua et al., 2001 and Sà ¶derquist and Motwani, 1999), standardization (Sà ¶derquist and Motwani, 1999), suppliers quality management and customers involvement (Cua et al., 2001 and McKone et al., 1999). JIT bundle Just-in-time philosophy means to deliver the right part in the necessary quantity and at the right time (Canel et al., 2000, Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001 and Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). Ahmed et al. (2004) defined JIT as a philosophy and system concept of doing, maintaining and producing what is value adding or what is just needed, be it raw materials, components, parts, WIP, employees, or finished products. Cua et al. (2001) asserted that the primary goal of JIT, as a manufacturing program, is continuously reducing and ultimately eliminating all forms of waste through JIT production and involvement of the work force. JIT basic techniques include set-up time and lot size reduction, pull production systems (Shah and Ward, 2003, Cua et al., 2001 and McKone et al., 1999), equipment layout and cellular manufacturing (Shah and Ward, 2003 and Cua et al., 2001), production leveling and scheduling and JIT delivery by suppliers (Cua et al., 2001 and McKone et al., 1999). TPM bundle It has been accepted beyond any doubt that maintenance, as a support function in businesses, plays an important role in backing up many emerging business and operation strategies like lean manufacturing (Ahuja and Khamba, 2008b). Without having a productive maintenance system, lean production, just-in-time (JIT) or total quality management (TQM) environment cannot be attained (Ahmed et al., 2004). TPM is a proven and successful procedure for introducing maintenance considerations into organizational activities (Eti et al., 2004). Ahuja and Khamba (2008b) stated that TPM is a methodology originating from Japan to support its lean manufacturing system, since dependable and effective equipment are essential pre-requisite for implementing lean manufacturing initiatives in the organizations. Cua et al. (2001) and Shah and Ward (2003) defined TPM as a manufacturing program designed primarily to maximize equipment effectiveness throughout its entire life through the participation and motivation of the entire work force for performing planned predictive and preventive maintenance of the equipment and using maintenance optimization techniques. TPM, according to McKone et al. (1999), provides a comprehensive company-wide approach to maintenance management which is usually divided into short-term and long-term elements. In the short-term, TPM basic practices include; industrial housekeeping, autonomous maintenance (Cua et al., 2001, Eti et al., 2004 and McKone et al., 1999), and planned preventive and predictive maintenance (Shah and Ward, 2003, Cua et al., 2001, Eti et al., 2004 and McKone et al., 1999). In the long-term, TPM efforts focus on new equipment and technology acquisition (Shah and Ward, 2003, Cua et al., 2001 and McKone et al., 1999). HRM bundle Human resources have a critical role in carrying out the continuous improvement plans which are the basis for success in lean implementation (Panizzolo, 1998). Eti et al. (2004) claimed that the degree of employees eagerness to embrace change determines the rate of progress towards that goal. Moreover, McKone et al. (1999) declared that employees are the greatest sources of information for companies to improve their performance. Shah and Ward (2003) affirmed that the HRM bundle has significant theoretical and empirical support. The most commonly cited HRM practices are employees involvement (Shah and Ward, 2003, Cua et al., 2001 and McKone et al., 1999), multi-skilled workforce, multi-functional work teams (Shah and Ward, 2003), education and training (Shah and Ward, 2003, Cua et al., 2001 and McKone et al., 1999), performance-based compensation system (McKone et al., 1999) and information and feedback (Cua et al., 2001 and McKone et al., 1999). Lean operationalized model Traditionally, managers have relied heavily on accounting metrics to determine efficiency, such metrics reflect the final state achieved as the result of a long chain of decisions (Taj, 2008), while lean should be seen as a direction rather than a state to be reached after a certain time (Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). Therefore, managing a lean factory requires key information to assess the changes taking place in the effort to introduce lean (Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001 and Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). Consequently, in order to develop an operationalized model for lean manufacturing, the aforementioned bundles and practices will be discussed with focus on identifying the indicators that can be used in assessing changes towards lean implementation. It is important here to note that the focus lies on the changes in these indicators, not on their actual values. So, the desired direction of each indicator, if moving in a lean direction, will be also specified. Measurement of TQM basic practices Since the ultimate goal of TQM practices is to achieve zero defects, Motwani (2001) mentioned that the percentage of defects (TQM1) and the percentage of products needing rework (TQM2) are among the common quality outcome indicators employed by several researchers. Product quality can be controlled through the involvement of production line workers for identification and adjustment of defective parts and their authority to stop lines when defective parts are found in order to avoid any defective parts moving to the next production stage (Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). Thus, Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez (2001) used the percentage of defective parts adjusted by production line workers (TQM3) as an indicator of transferring the responsibility for products quality from the quality control department to the line workers. In addition, Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m (1996) alleged that the number of quality control personnel (TQM4) and the size of repair area (TQM5) can be reduced as a consequence. Furthermore, Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m (1996) declared the use of autonomous defect control (poka yoke) as inexpensive means to help conducting inspection of all units with the ultimate goal of zero defects. Therefore, the percentage of inspection carried out by autonomous defect control (TQM6) is a common measure (Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001 and Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). Visible graphs and panels are used to gather performance data, to plot different measurements and to identify specific problems and causes of delay in order to take efforts for resolution (Lee-Mortimer, 2006 and Bonavia and Marin, 2006). For this, Bonavia and Marin (2006) measured the percentage of work areas where visible graphs panels are used (TQM7) as an indicator for visual management. In addition to controlling products quality, process management is essential to obtain fault free parts and products from the very beginning (Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). Cua et al. (2001) emphasized the use of Statistical Process Control (SPC) techniques in monitoring processes to ensure that each process will supply defect free units to subsequent process. Shah and Ward (2007) and Bonavia and Marin (2006) measured the percentage of equipment / processes under SPC (TQM8) as an indicator to represent the expansion of using SPC. Panizzolo (1998) emphasized the attention that has been devoted to the relationships between product development and manufacturing activities. Sà ¶derquist and Motwani (1999) claimed that design for manufacturing through integrating product and process engineering is one of the core features of quality management within the lean production framework. Thus, the percentage of parts designed by cross-functional teams (TQM9) can be used as a measure for this practice. In addition, Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez (2001) mentioned the use of common parts (TQM10) to manufacture different products as a technique used to reduce inventory and lead times as well. Moreover, participation of suppliers in the design stage (TQM11) facilitates manufacturing of components they have designed. Standardization is an essential principle of lean manufacturing that involves establishing the sequence of tasks to be done by each worker and how those tasks are done (Olivella et al, 2008), measuring and comparing the cycle time against the required takt time (Motwani, 2003) and specifying procedures, tools and materials (Bonavia and Marin, 2006). The percentage of procedures which are written recorded (TQM12) is the measure used by Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez (2001) and Bonavia and Marin (2006) to quantify the extent to which the company standardize its operations. Several researches emphasized the significant role that suppliers can play when involved in quality improvement programs (Panizzolo, 1998, Shah and Ward, 2007, Papadopoulou and ÃÆ'-zbayrak, 2005 and Motwani, 2003). In order to enhance suppliers involvement, Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez (2001) stressed the importance of information exchange with suppliers through conducting visits by engineers and technicians from both sides and interchanging documents. This will help to reduce inefficiencies and eliminate activities that are not value added (Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001). This practice is measured by two indicators; the frequency of visits between companys and suppliers technicians (TQM13) and the number of suggestions made to suppliers (TQM14) (Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001). With the focus on customers and their needs, Motwani (2001) declared that customer service programs should include quick responsiveness to complaints and maintaining a corporate goal to reduce the quantity of complaints (TQM15). Furthermore, Panizzolo (1998) affirmed that customer-driven enterprises dedicated much attention to organize customer participation in design, manufacturing and delivery activities. Thus, Bhasin and Burcher (2006) considered the percentage of projects in which the customer was involved (TQM16) as a signal of the systematically and continuously focus on the customer. In conclusion, table 3.1 summarizes the indicators developed to assess changes towards implementing the previously discussed TQM practices. Measurement of JIT basic practices Several authors (Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001, Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996, Lee-Mortimer, 2006 and Salaheldin, 2005) have proposed the value of WIP (JIT1) and the lead time to customer order (JIT2) as common indicators of JIT implementation. Moreover, Motwani (2003) and Bhasin (2008) affirmed that total product cycle time (total time that material spends in the production system) (JIT3) is the best measure for tracking lean progress. Reducing set-up times simultaneously with reducing lot sizes is a technique used to reduce inventories and also it contributes to the reduction of lead times (Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001) and increasing flexibility (Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996). The progress in this practice can be directly measured by two indicators; set-up times (JIT4) and production and delivery lot sizes (JIT5). Firms use pull production systems to facilitate JIT production with the aim to produce the kind of units needed, at the time needed, and in the quantities needed (Shah and Ward, 2007). Bonavia and Marin (2006), Cua et al. (2001), McKone et al. (1999) and Shah and Ward (2007) highlighted the use of kanban squares, containers or signals as a means to pull material from an upstream station and manage product flow. Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m (1996) argued that as the work with implementing pull system proceeded, the number of manufacturing stages producing against customer orders should extend. Accordingly, they considered the percentage of stages in the material flow that uses pull (JIT6) as a determinant of the change towards this practice. Cua et al. (2001) and McKone et al. (1999) emphasized the importance of equipment layout to facilitate low inventories (JIT1) and fast throughput (i.e. shorten lead time (JIT3)). Grouping machines together in a cell-based layout (Cellular manufacturing) is one technique that is developed to facilitate line balancing with the ultimate goal of creating single piece flow (Lee-Mortimer, 2006 and Motwani, 2003). Implementing cellular manufacturing technique helps to eliminate the frequency (JIT7) and physical distances (JIT8) of parts transportation (Karlsson and Ã…hlstrà ¶m, 1996) and to reduce the investments (JIT9) in handling systems (Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001). Panizzolo (1998) considered production leveling as a practice, in addition to small lots and pull control that is adopted to synchronize production and market demand. Thus, this practice contributes in achieving reductions in the value of WIP (JIT1) and the lead times to customer order (JIT2). Moreover, the synchronization between production output and market demand helps company to minimize finished goods inventory (JIT10). Suppliers are required to deliver the right quantity, at the right time, and at the right quality (Shah and Ward, 2007) in order to facilitate JIT production. Many researches agreed on the importance of reducing the number of key suppliers (JIT11) for the main components and engaging with them in long term contracts (JIT12) (Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001, McKone et al., 1999, Shah and Ward, 2007, Doolen and Hacker, 2005, Bhasin and Burcher, 2006 and Papadopoulou and ÃÆ'-zbayrak, 2005). Furthermore, the case study of (Comm and Mathaisel, 2005) highlighted how maintaining good relationships with suppliers helped to keep minimum raw material inventories (JIT13). In general, McKone et al. (1999) highlighted the importance of on-time delivery (JIT14) to customers as an indicator of the JIT concept implementation. Likewise, Bhasin (2008) mentioned measuring on-time delivery as one of the customer / market indicators of lean implementation. In the same vein, Motwani (2001) recommended monitoring the amount of lateness in orders delivery as a tool in measuring the spread of delivery time. Furthermore, since the change towards JIT production and delivery is made gradually (Sà ¡nchez and Pà ©rez, 2001), the proportion of products transferred just-in-time between production stages (JIT15) and that delivered just-in-time by suppliers (JIT16) should be measured. Table 3.2 summarizes the indicators developed to assess changes towards implementing the previously discussed JIT practices. Measurement of TPM basic practices It is agreed upon in literature that overall equipment effectiveness OEE ( Adaptive Immune Response: Case Study Adaptive Immune Response: Case Study Adaptive Response Abstract Adaptive immunity is an important part of the immune system. It is the third line of defense in the human body, which includes highly specialized systemic cells and processes that eliminate or prevent pathogenic growth. Once external barriers have been compromised and inflammation (innate immunity) has been activated, the adaptive response is called into action (Huether McCance, 2012). It develops slower than the innate inflammatory response and is specific—unlike inflammation, which is non-specific—and has immunological memory that recognizes each pathogen by a signature antibody (Huether McCance, 2012). In addition, the activated B cells and T cells can develop to memory cells that respond rapidly and efficiently to a subsequent encounter with a pathogen. Adaptive immunity response primary obligation is destroying infectious agents that are resistant to inflammation and provides long-term protection against future exposure to the same agents (Huether McCance, 2012) . Adaptive Response The adaptive response consists of an antibody response and cell-medicated response, which are carried out by different lymphocytes cells, B cells and T cells respectively. B cells (B indicates bone marrow) are the major cells involved in the creation of antibodies that circulate in blood plasma and lymph, where they have capacity bind to almost any foreign antigen found in the environment (Huether McCance, 2012). Binding of antibody inactivates virus and microbial toxins by blocking their ability to bind to receptors on host cells. Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulin, are large Y shaped proteins, which are typically composed of two large heavy pair chains and two small light chains (Huether McCance, 2012). There are five types of immunoglobulin: IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM, which are characterized by differences in structure and function, each has evolved to handle particular antigens (Huether McCance, 2012). The antibody responses are also called humoral immunity. Another ad aptive response is known as cell-medicated immunity responses that activate T cells to combat against a foreign antigen presented on the surface of a host cell. Also, T cells produce signal molecules that trigger macrophages, natural killers (NK), antigen specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, and release of various cytokines in responses to an antigen (Huether McCance, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to explain pathophysiology of disorders presented in the scenarios, including associated alterations, and adaptive responses to the alteration as well as construct a mind map for the selected disorder. Furthermore, consider the epidemiology, pathophysiology, risks factors, clinical presentation, and diagnosis of the disorder and any adaptive responses to alteration. Scenario 1: The first scenario the patient’s mother mentioned that Jennifer is usually healthy and has no significant medical history. However, physical examination revealed clinical manifestations, which include fever; tympanic membranes slightly redden on the periphery, throat erythematous with 4+ tonsils and diffuse exudate; anterior cervical nodes palpable and tender to touch. The child indicated throat hurts and painful to swallow. Vital signs reveal increased temperature, pulse and respiratory rate that suggested tonsillitis disorder. Pathophysiology Tonsillitis is an inflammatory condition of the tonsils due to bacteria, allergies or respiratory problems (Tonsillitis, 2014). When inflamed, tonsils become swollen and red with a grayish or yellowish coating on its surface. Tonsillitis usually begins with a sudden sore throat and painful swallowing. Tonsillitis causes tonsils and throat tissues to swell obstructing air from passing in and out of the respiratory system (Huether McCance, 2012). The tonsils infection is common in children under age six and teenagers but rare in adults. The adaptive response activates the different B cells and T cells lymphocytes to eliminate the alteration, so body can return back to hemostasis. Scenario 2: Pathophysiology Irritant contact dermatitis is a common nonimmunologically mediated inflammation arising from the release of proinflammatory cytokines from skin cells (principally keratinocytes), usually in responses to chemical stimuli such as cleansers, soap detergent, and various chemical agents (Hogan Elson, 2013). The main pathophysiological changes are skin barrier disruption, epidermal cellular changes and cytokine release. Irritant contact dermatitis is a major occupational disease; skin disorders comprise up to 40% of occupational illness (Hogan Elson, 2013). Patient work history is crucial in making diagnoses, and appearance of the skin. It may be treated with topical agents such as corticosteroid skin creams, emollients or moisturizers to prevent further irritation (Hogan Elson, 2013). Scenario 2: The patient presented with redness and irritation of his hands. The history revealed no allergies or significant medical history except for recurrent ear infections as a child. He denied any unknown exposure to irritants. Also, patient admits to working in maintenance and often working with abrasive solvent and chemical. Normally he wears gloves, but this particular time the patient did not wear gloves. He exposed his hands to some cleaning solutions. The patient’s detailed history and clinical manifestations led the student to a diagnosis of irritant contact dermatitis. Pathophysiology Stress is any situation that results in a reaction of the human body called the stress response (Huether McCance, 2012). The stress response is a set of adaptations that are mobilized throughout the body to correct state of allostatic imbalance. This involves a fairly stereotyped set neural an endocrine changes. A critical one is the secretion of catecholamines-epinephrine and norepinephrine from the nerve endings of the sympathetic nervous system projecting throughout the body (Huether McCance, 2012). Catecholamine induces vasoconstriction and increases in heart rate and blood pressure. It also increases the amount of nutrient and oxygen that is available to the muscle’s reaction during a stress response (Huether McCance, 2012). Another is secretion by the adrenal glands of a class of steroid hormones called glucocorticoids (GCs) ((Huether McCance, 2012). While there is an array of additional changes in levels of various hormones during stress (generally an increase in ci rculating levels of glucagon, prolactin, and beta-endorphin, decreases in insulin and reproductive hormones), secretion of GCs and the activation of the sympathetic nervous system constitute workhorses of the stress response (Huether McCance, 2012). Some common symptoms can include: increase heart rate, chest pain, poor appetite, depression, and insomnia. Usually, coping strategies are beneficial in helping individuals manage stress physical and psychological (Huether McCance, 2012). Adaptive responses help prepare the body for fight or flight by activating adaptive immunity response to correct imbalance. Scenario 3: The patient in this case study recently retired from her job as an administrative assistance at a local hospital. She does have a history of hypertensive, but controlled for years with medication. Patient reported having problem sleeping, occasionally rapid heart rate, and decrease appetite. She also mentioned her 87-year old mother moved in a few years ago after falling down a flight of stairs and broken her hip. Martha is taking care of her mother who requires enormous amount assistance with activities of daily living. She is worried about her own health at her age and sleep habits therefore clinical manifestations suggested stress disorder. Mind Map for Tonsillitis Disorder Epidemiology Irritant contact dermatitis is common in occupations that involve repeated hand washing or repeated exposure of the skin to water, food materials, and other irritants. High-risk occupations include maintenance, health care workers food preparation, and hairstylists (Hogan Elson, 2013). The prevalence of occupational hand dermatitis was found to be 55.6% in 2 intensive care units and was 69.7% in the most highly exposed workers. Irritant contact dermatitis is significantly more common in women than men. The high frequency of hand eczema in women in comparison with men is caused by environmental factors, not genetic factors. Pathophysiology Irritant Contact Dermatitis (ICD) is a common nonimmunologically mediated inflammation arising from the release of proinflammatory cytokines from skin cells (principally keratinocytes), usually in responses to chemical stimuli such as cleansers, soap detergent, and various chemical agents (Hogan Elson, 2013). The main pathophysiological changes are skin barrier disruption, epidermal cellular changes and cytokine release hones naà ¯ve T- lymphocytes to the skin. Patients with altered barrier function are more prone to ICD. Risk factors People who work in occupational hazard environment and handles irritant such as cleaners, nurses, construction workers, mechanics, and agricultural workers are at risk for developing irritant contact dermatitis (Mayo Clinic, 2012). Another risk factor is younger workers often less experienced than their older colleagues or may have a more careless attitude about safety measures causing them to develop the disorder (Mayo Clinic, 2012). Clinical presentation Clinically, irritant contact dermatitis presents with scaly erythematous plaques, cracking of the skin, inflammation, dryness, and fissuring. It commonly involves web spaces that extend to the dorsal and ventral surface of the hand and fingers (Mayo Clinic, 2012). Vesicles do not typically form. Pruritus can be mild; however, stinging, burning and pain are frequently reported symptoms. Diagnosis Irritant contact dermatitis does not need a specific test because ICD can be diagnosed through clinical examination and a careful history. A clinical examination must include a careful look at the distribution of the dermatitis (palmar, dorsal, face, abdomen, web spaces, and fingernails) as well as the extension of dermatitis to wrists or forearms (Mayo Clinic, 2012). The history should include a questionnaire that addresses the individual name and address of the employer; the worker’s job’s title and a description of functions. The worker should provide a list of all chemicals handled and supply information about them, such as found on the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) in order to provide an appropriate diagnosis (Mayo Clinic, 2012). Adaptive responses to alteration Harding or accommodation has been defined as the adaptation of the skin from altered local expression of multiple cytokines and inflammatory mediators with repeated irritation from skin irritants. Accommodated skin has a relatively thicker layer of stratum granulosum versus normal skin. Accommodated skin may exhibit a slight sheen and glossy appearance with a mild scale. On manipulation, there may also be a slight loss of elasticity (Huether McCance, 2012). Conclusion When successful, an adaptive immune response terminates infection and provides long-lasting protective immunity against the pathogen that provoked response. Adaptive immunity is an evolving process within a person’s lifetime, in which each infection changes the make-up of that individual’s lymphocyte population. Adaptive immunity is an evolving process within a person’s lifetime, in which each infection changes the make-up of that individual’s lymphocyte population (Huether McCance, 2012). These changes are neither inherited nor passed on but, during the course of a lifetime, they determine a person’s fitness and their susceptibility to disease. Failures to develop a successful adaptive response can arise from inherited deficiencies in the immune system or from the pathogen’s ability to escape, avoid, or subvert the immune response. Such failures can lead to debilitating chronic infections or death (Huether McCance, 2012). References Golden, S. Shaw, T. (2013). Hand dermatitis: Review of clinical features and treatment options. Retrieved from www.cutis.com/fileadmin/content†¦/SCMS_vol32_No3_Golden.pdf Hogan, D., Elston, D. M. (2013). Irritant contact dermatitis. Medscape. Retrieved from emedicine.medscape.com/article/1049353-overview Huether, S. E., McCance, K. L. (2012). Understanding pathophysiology (Laureate custom ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby. Mayo Clinic. (2012). Tonsillitis. Retrieved from www.mayoclinic.org/diseases†¦/tonsillitis/†¦/con-20023538 Tonsillitis. (2014). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://wwe.britannica.com/Ebchecked/topic/599370/tonsillitis

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Nina Monroe :: essays research papers

Nina Monroe 16 April 2002 Philosophy: Ethics 6. What arguments are offered by Plato and Aristotle that the just life is happier that the unjust one? Do you find these convincing? Why or why not? The Happy Life â€Å"So don’t merely give us a theoretical argument that justice is stronger than injustice, but tell us what each itself does, because of its own powers, to someone who possesses it, and that makes injustice bad and justice good†.1 In this quote from Plato’s Republic, Adeimantus challenges Socrates to demonstrate that justice is good in itself, and ultimately, to prove that the just life is the happiest life for a human being. Both Plato and Aristotle, two of antiquity’s greatest philosophers, concern themselves with the issue of human happiness. Neither thinker considers fate to be the definitive factor for achieving happiness. Rather, Plato and Aristotle argue that our actions and thoughts play a significant role in creating a happy life. This argument, as presented in Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, also asserts that a life in accordance with justice is the happy, or good, life. Thus, tracing each philosopher’s theory of the happy life necessitates a discussion of their definitions of justice. Here too, the two philosophers show a great degree of agreement. Although the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle contain major differences in their fundamental principles, both thinkers take similar stances on the relationship between justice and happiness. Plato, through various Socratic dialogues, chooses to present his definition of justice in the context of a just state, later applying it to the case of a human. In the just state described by Socrates, each individual performs a certain function within society.2 It is in this principle of proper functioning of each part, from which Plato derives a definition of justice. It should not come as a surprise, therefore, that Plato was highly critical of Athenian democracy, which encouraged its citizens to try many different professions throughout each of their lives. Plato found that a certain element of conflict or turmoil arises from conditions that promote various parts of a system to meddle with the other parts. Plato’s notion of justice clearly echoes his overall theory of a highest goo d, or the good in itself. The highest good is constituted by something completely above the sensible world, and understood only within the realm of intelligibility. The truths of the intelligible realm are ordered and unchanging.