Thursday, January 30, 2020

Production And Operation Essay Example for Free

Production And Operation Essay 1(a). The word measure is defined as the process of approximating or estimating the magnitude of an object in relation with some units of measurement. I t usually involves the assignment of nun-negative real numbers to the subsets The term productivity is also defined as the measure of the production process output divided by the number of unit of input. For instant, labor productivity is usually measured as the ratio of the labor output per hour and input. Therefore, the quantitative aspects of the input and output are put into consideration (Christopher Voss (1984). Generally, productivity of higher education is defined in terms of how much individuals and the society as a whole are gaining from the educational sector, considering the resources that they employ. It also shows whether the system is wasteful in any way as well. The issue of productivity is looked at in two dimensions. That is, the efficiency perspective and the effectiveness perspective. Efficiency looks at the level as well as the quality of the education services obtained from the available resources. A sector that produces higher quality or greater quantity of outputs using the same resources, then it said to have improved efficiency. On the other hand, effectiveness focuses on the extent which the needs and demands of the customers are met by the providers. The stakeholders in this case include the students, local communities, faculty, the state governments and the nation at large. Therefore, it’s clear that productivity improvement is a multidimensional process which depends on the goals and missions of the particular system at hand. Under measure productivity, the general approach that is employed mostly is the development of measures of both the effectiveness and efficiency. These measures are then employed together so that productivity improvement is measured. Through the use of input and output measures, there could be either the technical efficiency ratios used to measure the physical output per unit input, or the use of economical efficiency ratios that compare and contrast the outcomes to the inputs. However, the present problems that hinder the measure of the input and the output do not make easy for the creation of these measures. Therefore, it is necessary to rely on direct measures where the resources employed by the industry are put across together with the outcome and the quality of the services. In situations where the industry produces multiple outputs, these outputs are always weighted using some criterion and then summed. b). Looking at the relationship between strategy and operations management, we first define the terms. The word strategy refers to the long term plan of actions that is designed to meet the set aims and goals. On the other hand, operations management refers to the process of ensuring that all the activities that are meant to be carried on in the industry are carried on in to achieve the set up goals and regulations. For the operation management process to be successful there has to be the long term goals that must be strategically set. These goals are the key drives of all the processes that take place in the entire industry. Therefore, the strategy used should be the one that is achievable and relevant to the operations at hand. The production management process should also be in line with the long term action plans that are set so that it will be easier to meet the set goals. The process should be handled in a formal manner in order to promote or make the whole production process easier. These set goals as well as the long term actions should be made known to the employees of the company and the public as well so that they can contribute towards the achievement of the same. For instant, in a higher education industry, they should set long term actions to produce the best students or to be the best research institutions. The goals set should be those that are achievable and the community as well as the students, the lecturers and the non teaching staff should all be informed about all these. c). The terms Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) refers to the costs that are generated due to the production of defective materials. These include those costs that are used in bridging the gap between the desired and actual service quality and products. It also consists of the costs of losses in terms of the opportunities caused by the loss of recourses that are later used to correct the defects. COPQ includes all the labor costs, the rework costs, material costs and the disposition costs. However, it does not include the detection as well as the prevention cost. For instant, in the tourism industry can have the COPQ whereby the services offered to the tourists are not to the standard due to lack of enough accommodation or workers. Hence, to rectify this, they employ more workers and build up or renovate their buildings in order to improve there services. On the other hand the term cost of quality is widely used but mostly misunderstood. It is defined as the cost of not creating a quality product or services. This cost increases every time work is redone. For instant, in the tourism industry, they incur this cost when their workers fail to offer perfect services to the tourists as they may end up being discouraged from visiting the country again. d). A toy market that is ready to sell its new products has to follow different procedures in order to reduce the time that it will re quire to sell these products. First, there will be need for a massive advertisement either in the papers, televisions and live shows so that they can inform the consumers on the products. This in tern will keep the potential customers aware of the products in a manner that they will be encouraged to purchase these products that they will need to purchase. Another main point that the toy manufacturing company should take into consideration is the quality of the toys that they produce and sell to the customers. The toys that of good quality will definitely take less time as compared to the toys of bad quality. The price of the products, that is the price which the toys are disposed at will also affect the time that the products will take in the market. Cheap or affordable products will take short time in the market as compared to the expensive products or unaffordable products. When the company that is manufacturing the toys plans the type of toys that they produce, they should take into consideration the technology at hand and the age that they are targeting. For instant, toys are basically meaningful to the young children hence should be designed in a manner that they will be attractive to the children and can be handled by them as well. This will definitely reduce the marketing time for the new products. 2). The three basic capacity expansion strategies include the process focused strategy, the repetitive focused strategy, and the product focused strategy. These are all aimed at improving the production management and control systems as a whole. Under the process focused strategy, the available facilities are organized by the process itself and all the similar processes are put together. There is also the presence of a low volume, but high variety products, as well as the presence of a jumbled flow. This strategy has its merits and demerits in general. The advantages of this strategy are: Availability of great product flexibility that ensures that the products are modified incase of any need. Availability of more general equipment that are used to handle many tasks at a time. And there is room for low capital investment thus even the poor can afford to invest in the business. The disadvantages are: Need for very highly trained personnel which expensive to higher and fire. Availability of more difficulty production planning control process that needs a lot of money to run and consumes a lot of time. And poor equipment control process hence more expense to organization since these equipments may spoil any time or get lost. Under the repetitive focused strategy, the facilities are often organized by the use of assembly lines. It is mainly characterized by the use modules which are combined for many output options (Philip E. Hicks (1919). The advantages of this strategy are that it is seen to be more structured than the process focused strategy and enables Quasi-customization. It also enjoys economical advantage of a continuous process since it makes maximum use of modules. The product focused strategy has facilities that are organized by the products (Jay Hezier (1996). There is also room for high volume, low variety products and is usually found in the discrete unit manufacturing company and the continuous process of manufacturing.The advantages of this strategy include: Lower variable costs per unit which reduce the production costs in general leading to reduction in selling prices. Availability of lower but more specialized labor skills hence production is efficient and meets the demands of the consumer. Possibility of easier production planning and control hence saves time and reduces production cost as well. And the presence of equipment utilization and maintenance. The disadvantages are: High probability of lower product flexibility Need for more specialized equipments that are expensive And need for a very high capital investment thus closes doors for the poor in the society. 3). It is not easy for the jobs to be designed as well as be incorporated in order to meet all the characteristics in the principles. However, it is important to note that jobs should form a coherent whole independently or through involving the related jobs. The whole performance of the job should ensure that there is a significant contribution to the completion the services and the products (Meric S. Gertler (2004). It should also ensure that there is provision of a variety of pace, location, method and skills that are necessary. It should also provide feedback of the performance to the other people directly. Discretion and time control should be given chance as well as the sequence and the pace of work efforts. The job should also ensure that some responsibility for outcomes is included; there is room for learning and problem solving within the competence of the individual. It should also be done in a way that it leads towards a desirable future. The individuals should be free to develop in a way that they find relevant. Job specialization is defined as the process of separation of the organizational activities into tasks that are distinct and involves the process of assigning different tasks to different people. On the other hand, job enrichment is seen as the motivation of employees by giving opportunities to them in order to range heir abilities. For instant, in an institution that deals with learning, there are different departments that deal with different things at a time. Each department has its heads that are the key decision makers. A job that is enriched has a variety of tasks as well as varying challenges in difficulties, a meaningful work, has a feedback, encouragement and good communication. Â  Job enrichment includes the process of turning the employees’ efforts into performance, links the employee’s performance to the rewards directly, and makes sure that the employees are interested in the reward. For instant, in an organization, employees who have performed well in their work are given promotions at the end of a certain period of time in order to motivate them. On the other hand, job specialization ensures that the employees are good in a particular section as compared to the other sections hence can work best when given the chance of working there. In most cases, it does not involve rewards but takes into consideration the ability of the employee and the experiences at hand (Richard B. Chase (1998). Job specialization also ensures that there is decentralization of activities and powers. Decisions here are made at the different levels depending on who is in charge of the area affected. This does not apply to the case of job enrichment since the main aim here is to motivate the employees References Richard B. Chase (1998). Production and Operation Management. McGraw-Hill College, ISBN007517102 Jay Hezier (1996). Production and Operation Management. Prentice Hall PTR, ISBN0132444844. Meric S. Gertler (2004). Manufacturing Culture: The Institutional Geography of Industrial Practice. Oxford University Press, ISBN0198233825. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge, page 484. Philip E. Hicks (1919). Industrial Engineering and Management. McGraw-Hill, ISBN0070288070. Christopher Voss (1984). Research in Production/Operations Management. Gower Pub. Co., U.S.A, ISBN 0566007592

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Globalization and Human Trafficking Essay -- Human Trafficking

Trafficking in human beings is now the fastest-growing business of organized crime. Men, women and children are trafficked within their own countries and across international borders. More than one person is smuggled across a border every minute which is the equivalent to ten jumbo jets every single day. And the trade earns twice as much as the Coca Cola brand. (STOP THE TRAFFIK 2014) According to estimates, more than 700,000 people are trafficked every year for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. They are transported across borders and sold into modern-day slavery. Over the past decade, trafficking in human beings has reached epidemic proportions. No country is immune. Clawson (2009) discusses how the search for work abroad has been fueled by economic disparity, high unemployment and disruption of traditional livelihoods. It recognizes neither boundaries nor borders. Consequently profits from trafficking feed into the casket of organized crime. Trafficking is fueled by other criminal activities such as document fraud, money laundering and migrant smuggling. Because trafficking cases are expansive in reach, they are among the most important matters. (Clawson 2009) Human Trafficking Trafficking in Persons Report (2007) discusses many different tiers in relation to a counties response to human trafficking. Tier one consists of countries whose government fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards, for example Australia, Uk, Germany and Norway. In tier two the countries whose government do not fully comply with TVPA’s minimum standards but making efforts to bring themselves up such as Japan, Romania, Peru and Rwanda. And finally tier three are governments that do not full... ...itner, H., Peck, J. and Sheppard, E.S. (2007) Contesting Neoliberalism Urban Frontiers, New York: Guilford press. Maiska, R., eds. (2007) Gender trafficking and slavery,UK: Oxfam Publishers Mensah, J. (2008) Neoliberalism and Globalization in Africa, UK: Palgrave Macmillan Ruggiero, V. (2000) Crime and Markets: Essays in Anti-Criminology, UK: Oxford University Press. Salt, J. and Stein, J. (1997) ‘Migration as a Business’, The case of Trafficking, 35 (4) 467-494. Shelley, L. (2010) Human Trafficking a Global Perspective, London: Cambridge Printing Press. STOP THE TRAFFIK (2014) What is Human Trafficking? Web 17 May 2015. http://www.stopthetraffik.org/usa U.S. Department of State Publication (2007) Trafficking in Persons Report,11407, United States of America: Office of Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs and bureau of public affairs.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Literary Analysis †Importance of Being Earnest Essay

PICKERING: [rising and standing over him gravely] Come, Higgins! You know what I mean. If I’m to be in this business I shall feel responsible for that girl. I hope it’s understood that no advantage is to be taken of her position. HIGGINS. What! That thing! Sacred, I assure you. [Rising to explain] You see, she’ll be a pupil; and teaching would be impossible unless pupils were sacred. I’ve taught scores of American millionairesses how to speak English: the best looking women in the world. I’m seasoned. They might as well be blocks of wood. I might as well be a block of wood. It’s- (38). I’m very curious about how Henry Higgins, in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, feels about his profession and how this translates to his interpretation of society. Higgins, a professor of phonetics, ultimately enters into a bet in which he is assigned the task of teaching a poor, uneducated yet determined girl from the streets proper grammar, with the hope of transforming her into a duchess in a few months time. It’s clear from the beginning that Higgins, a man full of contradictions and no filter, is the protagonist. At first, Higgins is clearly opposed to the idea of teaching Eliza; this is evident through his blatant insults and sarcastic taunts. He makes fun of her poor grammar and the fact that she is clearly uneducated. Higgins infers that Eliza’s success will help her move up the social hierarchy and even though Eliza’s transformation is unequivocal, Higgins initial perception of her never changes – his general attitude towards her is c onsistent throughout the play. In contrast, when Higgins first meets Pickering, an educated scholar, his demeanor is quite the opposite. The difference between his demeanors leads me to believe that language does affect Higgins’ perception of society. This is shown further due to his rude indifference of Eliza’s drastic transformation. I intend to prove that Higgins’ views language as a tool for social advancement and this understanding is what ultimately causes him to treat people more as objects than human beings. Higgins considers teaching Eliza as more of a social service due to her economic and social disadvantage. Higgins asserts that, â€Å"teaching would be impossible unless pupils were sacred† (38). At first glance I presumed that sacred meant holy or special, yet he assigns another meaning to the word. Higgins regards the English language as an exclusive privilege; speech should be regarded with reverence and entitlement. He associates proper language with societal and spiritual implications and holds that it is what separates class from class and soul from soul. This suggests that Higgins believes the English language should be respected. In addition, he asserts that education and the ability to effectively communicate is paramount to the functionality of society; it’s important because without language, society would crumble. Therefore, in teaching Eliza proper grammar, Higgins gains a sense of power due to the belief he is changing her for the better, and ultimately into a different human being. Although its obvious that Higgins thoroughly enjoys the subject of language and is seemingly enthusiastic about his profession, he tends to brag about his accomplishments and often belittles other people’s intellectual abilities. He treats people, Eliza in particular, with a rude indifference and no regard for feelings or emotions. It’s clear that Pickering is trying to look out for Eliza’s best interest when he argues, â€Å"If I’m to be in this business I shall feel responsible for that girl. I hope it’s understood that no advantage is to be taken of her position† (38.) Higgins bluntly responds â€Å"What! That thing!† and the difference in demeanor is candid. In comparison to Pickering, it’s clear that Higgins lacks decent manners. His cockiness is further exemplified through his boasting; â€Å"I’ve taught scores of American millionairesses how to speak English: the best looking women in the world. I’m seasone d† (38). Finally, Higgins displays a sort of ambivalence towards language. He treats this knowledge of language is powerful and serves as a tool for social advancement. In addition, he believes that language is and should be a suitable subject for scientific studies. His ultimate view is that language should be utilized as a medium for artistic expression. Furthermore, it’s apparent that Higgins views his pupils as objects rather than human beings when he concedes, â€Å"They might as well be blocks of wood† (38). This exemplifies how language could be seen as artistic. Theoretically, a block of wood could be interpreted as a blank canvas – it symbolizes how he utilizes language to shape and transform his students into something else, something more. Higgins seems to be unsure of his own identity as well because he suggests, â€Å"I too might as well be a block of wood† (38). Ultimately, Higgins shows that proper speech should be regarded as a fundamental necessity of society; the inability to communicate prohibits success. This assertion is exemplified through how he treats those around him and how he views those that he teaches. He clearly believes that language is of paramount importance especially in discerning social class. His assertion that he too â€Å"might as well be a block of wood,† is a fundamental example of his belief in the power of language as a tool for social advancement. â€Å"The writing in this essay is my own work. If I have used outside sources, I have acknowledged them through correct documentation.† eading Pygmalion, we come to learn that communication is about more than words, and everything from clothing to accents to physical bearing can affect the way people interact with each other. Higgins considers his teaching to be a kind of social work – the inability to communicate he suggests is at the bottom of mans social issue Not only has Higgins come to view his clients as objects rather than human beings, he even seems to have lost something of his own identity in the process. There is another interesting interpretation howver. A block of wood, like a canvas is a medium for artistic expression. He of course, is [aid to shape his clients but this suggests that he himself could aslo be subject to the same process In claiming he cant change his own nature, Higgins complicates his own claims about change and transformation: if he cant change his nature, we have to wonder how he can really under stand to change someone else’s Even the things we do to establish a connection with unfamiliar people and things – like using slang or nicknames – can end up causing confusion and cases of mistaken identity Higgins. About you, not about me. If you come back I shall treat you just as I have always treated you. I cant change my nature; and I don’t intend to change my manners. My manners are exactly the same as colonel pickering’s. Liza. That’s not true. He treats a flower girl as if she was a duchess. Higgins. And I treat a duchess as if she was a flower girl. Liza. I see. [She turns away composedly, and sits on the ottoman, facing the window]. The same to everybody. Higgins. Just so. Liza. Like father. Higgins. [grinning, a little taken down] without accepting the comparison at all points, eliza, its quite true that your father is not a snob, and that he will be quite at home in any station of life to which his eccentric destiny my call him. [Seriously] The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another.† (99) In this excerpt from George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, I am not sure (what Shaw is trying to convey through Higgins’ justification of his unruly behavior). if Higgins is attempting to justify his unruly behavior or if (Shaw is using him to voice his criticism of class distinctions) he is simply preaching about his concept of class distinctions (im not sure what exactly Higgins belives or is trying to convey? He does, however, have a penchant for talking about the soul of man, about the importance of language, and social equality). Higgins, a professor of phonetics, ultimately enters into a bet in which he is assigned the task of transforming a poor, uneducated yet determined girl from the streets, into a duchess in a few months time. It’s clear from the beginning that Higgins, a man full of contradictions and no filter, is the protagonist. It’s ironic that throughout eliza’s transformation, she is the one who is blatantly manipulated and mistreated, meanwhile the other characters seem to receive less cynicism. On the other hand, Higgins’ actions and mannerisms never change – his general attitude is consistent throughout the play. His rude indifference to her drastic transformation leads me to believe that Higgins doesn’t believe in class distinctions. That said, (Higgins embodies the theme of I believe that Shaw uses Higgins as a patsy for his criticism of class distinctions – all classes should be treated the same. Shaw develops Higgins’ belief in equality very clearly: â€Å"If you come back I shall treat you just as I have always treated you. I can’t change my nature; and I don’t intend to change my manners.† That said, it’s very clear that Higgins perception of those around him, and society in general, are concrete. Throughout the play, Higgins character never evolves Higgins life revolves around Eliza for practically the whole play. All his time is spent transforming her and inventing a new Eliza meanwhile he seems to forget that she’s a human being with feelings. His unchanging perception and treatment of those around him is further reiterated when eliza claims colonel pickering â€Å"treats a flower girl as if she was a duchess† and Higgins simply retorts â€Å"And I treat a duchess as if she was a flower girl.†

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Cigarette Taxes, Smoking, and Exercise - 500 Words

Cigarette Taxes, Smoking, and Exercise The primary purpose of this study is to analyze whether cigarette taxes have an effect on exercise behavior. The authors creates a conceptual framework that describes how cigarette taxes could effects exercising habits and test its implications empirically using survey data from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Preliminary results indicates cigarette taxes are negatively correlated with exercise behavior. Past studies on cigarette taxes have primarily been focused on its effect on reducing smoking. Some studies have also found a relationship between cigarette taxes and obesity rates. However this is the first study that is aimed at analyzing the effects of cigarette taxes on†¦show more content†¦The magnitude of the off-set would determine the overall impact of the cigarette taxes on the health outcome. However, if a person’s only concern is weight management, then a reduction in exercises due to reduced cigarette consumption would both have negative effects on weight management and hence reduce person’s health. One shortcoming of the theoretical framework is, its assumption that exercises yield disutility to the person. In other words, it is assumed that persons dislike exercising and only exercises for its beneficial effects on health. This assumption seems unrealistic since it is very probable that people gain utility from exercising itself. If this assumptio n is relaxed, it is possible that people will not off-set the reduction in cigarette consumption by a reduction in exercise, which would then have a positive effect on the overall health function. The authors test the validity theoretical framework by conduction a regression analysis using data from the BRFSS, where a measure of exercise for an individual is regressed on state cigarette taxes along with other explanatory variables. The preliminary results indicate that cigarette taxes reduces exercise. However, results from some falsification test suggest that the results may not be credible. In my opinion this study successfully creates a theoretical model that could explain the ways in which cigarette taxes could exercise behavior. However, limitations in the empiricalShow MoreRelatedBans, Laws, And Taxes On Smoking Essay1020 Words   |  5 PagesBans, Laws, and Taxes on smoking With the changing of times, many places over the years have gone smoke free. Some of these places include: hospitals, airplanes, restaurants, bars, universities, schools, hotels and many others. One of the places in Anchorage that has recently gone smoke free is the University of Anchorage Alaska. 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