Abercrombie and Fitch – Essay

. Abercrombie and Fitch Researched: a. Brands & Corporate Image Abercrombie & Fitch – Rooted in East Coast traditions and Ivy League heritage, Abercrombie & Fitch is the essence of privilege and casual luxury. The Adirondacks supply a clean and rugged inspiration to this youthful All-American lifestyle. A combination of classic and sexy creates a charged atmosphere that is confident and just a bit provocative. Idolized and respected, Abercrombie & Fitch is timeless and always cool. Hollister – Hollister is the fantasy of Southern California. It is the feeling of chilling on the beach with your friends.Young, spirited, and with a sense of humor, Hollister never takes itself too seriously. The laidback lifestyle and wholesome image combine to give Hollister an energy that’s effortlessly cool. Hollister brings Southern California to the world. Gilly Hicks. Gilly Hicks is the cheeky cousin of Abercrombie & Fitch. Inspired by the free spirit of Sydney, Australia, Gill y Hicks makes cute Push ‘Em Up bras and Down Undies for the young, naturally beautiful and always confident girl; flirty and carefree, with a little tomboy sexiness. Gilly Hicks is the All-American brand with a Sydney sensibility. a.Sales On the next page is a Chart that has sates Abercrombie and Fitch sales for fiscal years 2007-2011: Abercrombie and Fitch has stated the objective of increasing their operating margin back to historical levels of around 15% by Fiscal 2012. They created a roadmap that outlines the factors they need to be aware of in order to achieve this goal. 1. )Originally intended to increase gross margin to 67% by 2012; due to sourcing costs they no longer believe this to be possible. By increasing the ticket price on items and hoping that international growth continues, they hope to offset the costs.Though they worry that the increase in price may affect sales, they do not intend to sacrifice quality to achieve their gross margin goal. 2. )Improve average domestic store quality by increasing store sales growth and closing underperforming stores. They expect at least 7% increase in sales store growth for 2011 and 2012. They expect to close 50 stores at the end of 2011. 3. )Achieve significantly profitable international growth by opening up to 40 international mall-based Hollister stores, including the first stores in mainland China & Hong Kong. 4. Sustain strong growth rates in direct-to-consumer business from multiple investments they are making in the business and from their growing international presence. 5. ) Improve the productivity of the Gilly Hicks brand by expanding the store count for the brand and having a path to profitability. 6. )Maintain tight control over expenses and seeking greater efficiencies, an example of which is their plan to consolidate is expected to be completed by mid-2012 and is expected to facilitate the sale of the second distribution center and result in reduced operational costs. . )During Fiscal 2011, based on new store opening plans and other capital expenditures, Abercrombie expects total capital expenditures to be approximately $300 million to $350 million, with the upper end of the range being subject to Abercrombie achieving the higher end of its range of potential new store openings. b. Product Mix: Abercrombie and Fitch has a wide variety of products in all of their stores. Some of the items are: apparel, outerwear, fragrance, jewelry, swimwear, and lingerie (A&F and Gilly Hicks).They specialize in product categories such as, knit and woven shirts, graphic t-shirts, fleece, jeans and woven pants. The pricing strategy that Abercrombie and Fitch has a rather simple pricing strategy in comparison to many other specialty retailers. By staying ahead of the curve with fashion trends, Abercrombie has granted themselves the ability to price their products at a premium without a drop in demand from consumers. Their goal is to inspire consumers to strive for the Abercrombie & Fitch â€Å"lifestyle. Sales Associates are cast as Models to Illustrate the execution of the Abercrombie Lifestyle in stores. There is not a strong focus on selling/service model in stores. They focus more on visual merchandising and associate appearance than in selling structure, and behaviors. c. Target Market: The Target market for Abercrombie and Fitch is 18-22 year old high school/college students. Thy typically have an active lifestyle that involves locations such as the beach, woods, or mountains. Tbe customer usually has a medium to high income.Gilly Hicks is only for women. Hollister Co. is a chain targeted at boys and girls in high school, based in California. Abercrombie Kids is targeted to boys and girls ages 7-14. The Psychographic Segmentation is a very important part of Abercrombie and Fitch’s marketing as well. The â€Å"feel† of the store is something that Abercrombie and Fitch focuses on. It is a fun-loving, care free, sexy, and independent. d. Opportuni ties and Risks Like every other corporation and company, Abercrombie and Fitch has it’s opportunities and its risks.One opportunity would be market share leadership, expanding international presence. Also, new store openings would enhance top-line. Lastly, online retail sales have taken off. Social media is also growing and the growth is an opportunity for Abercrombie and Fitch to be more involved in it. A big risk that Abercrombie and Fitch faces and almost all retail companies is economic recession would decrease sales. Also, dependence on third party manufacturers is a big risk. The price of raw materials and commodity prices rising is also a big risk. . Past Campaigns Abercrombie and Fitch’s clothing is racy and casual at the same time, leaving many wondering what exactly phrases, such as â€Å"Flirt like crazy, Wake up sandy†, on many of their simple cotton t-shirts are insinuating. Abercrombie’s marketing campaign rivals, if no surpasses, the sexine ss of its clothing line by using photos of barely-clothed young men and women to sell its merchandise. Their advertising becomes sexier with every year, as more and more models in their advertisements wear less clothing.Every quarter, Abercrombie puts out for sale a magazine called the A&F Quarterly, which has over the years become so scandalous that it is now necessary to be 18 years of age in order to purchase . With many pictures of topless girls and young men, it is considered by many to qualify as soft pornography. Employees of Abercrombie are also used as part of their selling strategy. On the sales floor, employees must be wearing an outfit comprised of current Abercrombie and Fitch stock, and it’s not a coincidence that all employees are thin and naturally good-looking.Despite having what many people might call an offensive marketing and advertising campaign, every weekend, Abercrombie and Fitch stores are filled with kids and young adults waiting for dressing rooms a nd checkout services in obscenely long lines to purchase even more of their clothing. Long lines and over-crowded stores are a small price to pay for many kids trying to look â€Å"cool† by what they see in Abercrombie and Fitch stores and its advertising. C. Proposals for Advertising campaign 2012

Population control in China

In 1950's China, under the government weakened by its countries opium dependence to westerners, the idea still existed that, â€Å"A large population gives a strong nation† This lead to China's population growing very rapidly, so rapidly in fact that this phrase was beginning to prove in correct. As china's population struggled to feed it's self, as well as extreme overcrowding especially in its cities. The death rate in china dropped (except for a blip in the natural decrease caused by a minor famine in the 1960's) and its birth rate continued to grow rapidly. Even after the government implemented tolerant population control policies, for example the â€Å"later longer fewer policy†. The hope was that if people were encouraged to wait longer before marrying, they would have children later in life and therefore is much more likely to have fewer children. However this did not produce dramatic enough results to help slow China's rapidly growing population and end its pending famine crisis. This is probably due to: a) People were still living in a very traditional way. This meant that people, especially those living in rural areas, they had big families. To make up for what was ah high infant mortality rate, during famine years. b) Women were not educated, and were considered the inferior sex whose job was in the home. They had no career so their only job was in the home. c) Being a developing country, and at that time very anti- western ideas, and almost fearful of the western world, Chinese people had little or no access to contraception, and even less education on birth control and family planning. d) No state pension meant that elderly people had to rely on their children to provide for them in their old age. So to be insured of safe elderly years they had to have at least one child who survived childhood and grew up to make an income. In this case boys were preferred, as they could have a paid job, not one in the home. e) A Cultural Revolution made the population increase by 55million every three years; this is nearly the same as the entire population of the UK. In the 1959 to 1961, a famine caused but an Industrial Revolution triggered the government to launch its first population control policies. People moved away from rural areas and their traditional work as farmers to towns and cities, to work in factories, often owned by western countries brought to china by cheap labour costs compared to the western world. This influx of western ideas thwarted the government's campaign, as the later longer fewer Policy was not considered attractive by the Chinese population who moved towards a western ideal. But the government continued and by 1970, State Family Programmes had been introduced. This lowered the population growth rate. In 1978 3 children per family was average but the government persisted, as this was still too many. This was in the form of various advertising campaigns, however their effect was not dramatic enough, and in 1979, the government wished to stamp out population growth completely. So they introduced a strict population policy. The policy used a â€Å"carrot and stick† method to encourage families who participated, and punish those who did not. Encouragement was in the form of great incentives from the government. These included free education for the child, priority housing, family benefit and a state pension for the family. There were also high penalties for having a second child. Including loss of all incentives, and benefits and fines of up to 15% of the family's annual income. This more than halved the birth rate per thousand from 40 per thousand to 17 per thousand. But the government continued further, the legal age for marriage was raised to 22 for men and 20 for women, to marry couples also had to apply to the state for permission. State permission was also required to have a child. Abortions became compulsory for the second pregnancy. Chinas population policy had been very successful at reducing population growth, it met targets set for 2000 in 1994. However the population policy had serious implications for the natural balance of population. The Chinese population has an entire generation of â€Å"little emperors† the title given to the supposedly spoiled, greedy, bad-tempered, lazy children of male only children. More seriously as young men this generation has difficulty finding a wife. This is a result of Chinese ideal of male supremacy. Families would try and find out the gender of the child before it was born, with the option to terminate if it was a girl. If a families first born child was female, it was at times abandoned so that the couple could try again for a boy. The Chinese government also commissioned teams to go from village to village providing a sterilisation service. This at times was a very unfair method and often breached human rights. As the teams were paid by the number of operations they carried out. So often women were sterilised against their will. In Chinas anti-feminist society it was almost always that women were sterilised instead of men. The government would defend their actions saying that there was a serious need for rapid population control or there would have been further suffering to the people. Credit can be given that the scheme worked and met target before time. Today regulations on population control have been relaxed mainly due to the fact that all targets have been met. But also because of pressure from the west. This is mainly in rural areas of china where children are still a useful form of labour on farms, so two children is permitted. But in industrial regions one child is still most likely. Sterilisation is now provided in a manner that is less likely to be damaging and in breach of human rights.

Financial Statement Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Financial Statement Analysis - Essay Example The company’s revenue was up and down during period. A clearer picture of these changes is provided in the charts labelled Figure 1. The information in Figure 1 shows that Dixon Retail experience higher levels of turnover in nominal terms than Home Retail during the five year period. The trend was similar up to 2012. However, Home Retail’s revenue continued to decline in 2013 while Dixon Retail’s Revenue increased. When the figures are adjusted for inflation the picture is somewhat different. (See Table 2 in the Appendix.) Figure 2 illustrates the trend for both companies in real terms. The information in Figure 2 shows similar trends for both companies for both companies over the first four years – a slight decline in revenue in real terms between 2009 and 2010; a significant decline between 2010 and 2011; and a moderate decline and increase between 2012 and 2013 for Home Retail and Dixon Retail respectively. A companies cost of sales is the cost of raw materials and other costs necessary to get the goods to the customer. The common size cost of sales for Home Retail group shows a continuous increase from 65.69% of turnover in 2009 to 68.37 in 2013. This is an indication of rising costs of goods without a similar increase in price. The information for Dixon Retail was somewhat different as the common size cost of sales ranged from 92.48% to 94.86%. These two percentages were recorded in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Figure 3 shows the information for both companies. Figure 3 shows a bar graph of common size costs. The graph shows that the common size costs for Home Retail showed an upward trend while that for Dixon Retail remained fairly stable with an obvious slight decline in 2010. A company’s gross profit represents the difference between its sales revenue (turnover) and its cost of sales. The gross profit as a percentage of sales was much higher for Home Retail – above 30% than for

Integrating Source Materials Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Integrating Source Materials - Coursework Example 96) explains, though he did not offer an explanation as to why. Quotation: â€Å"Involving our senses at every level, the re-perception of experiences can keep us from encountering physical phenomenon as they occur in time; in other words, watching what we do can sometimes prevent us from actually doing it." People perceive ideas differently. It has been said that there are those who watch and those who act. With reference to Roger (1995), when we indulge our sense at almost everything around us, reviewing our daily occurrence will help us encountering physical occurrence as they appear. That is reflecting on what we do can a times save us from taking part in the actual action (Rogers, 1995, p. 45). Summarize and paraphrase the contents of the two sources, with the intention of using them in your rough draft. Include at least one direct quotation from each source, and include in-text citations for all sources to avoid potential plagiarism. Set policies have been advocating for the participation of disabled children in general classrooms. As this stands, there has been another group favouring regular classroom---something that has not gone down well with other parents. For instance, Ms. Travis described Valarie’s case as, "She did not learn anything that year," referring to Valarie who was put in regular classroom against her wish. Reacting to the challenge of putting children in general classroom, Tomsho (200) said, â€Å"In 2005, more than half of all special-education students were considered mainstreamed, or "fully included," nationally. These students spent 80% or more of the school day in regular classrooms, up from about a third in 1990, according to the U.S. Department of Education.† He concluded by saying that the biggest challenge however was lack of clear policy. Referring particularly to Ms. Travis who said,

''The Odyssey'' and ''The Iliad'' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

''The Odyssey'' and ''The Iliad'' - Essay Example It is a tale of a brave warrior Odysseus, King of Ithaca, who gets lost after winning the famous Trojan war of Troy. This war is of historical significance because the Greek soldiers entered Troy by hiding in a huge horse made up of wood and then took their enemies by surprise. The story encompasses twenty or more years that he spent away from his family which are filled with his encounters with people and various exotic elements of the nature including God of Sea, Goddess Calypso, Circe, King of God, Zeus, his daughter Athena and many more interesting characters. Homer starts the adventures of Odysseus with the Trojan war of Troy which starts as a revenge against the people of troy for kidnapping Paris who was a cousin of the wife of Odysseus. The ten years of the war which bring untold miseries and grief to people of Troy are equally devastating for the soldiers of Odysseus who are killed. The war is also significant because the warriors of Odysseus rape Cassandra, the priestess of the temple of Goddess Athena. This invoked the anger of the Goddess Athena who asked Poseidon, the God of Sea to avenge Cassandra’s rape by drowning the fleet of Odysseus. Meanwhile Zeus, father of Athena also gets angry at the fact that Odysseus and his soldiers had killed innocent people and unnecessarily went on pillaging the city of Troy. So he uses his divine powers so that Odysseus is not able to return to his kingdom but is waylaid by various elements which prevent his return to Ithaca. Homer has superbly interwoven the great epic with elements of nature and characters, both human and super human that play important roles to carry forward the story in the most amazing and interesting narration. Despite the intervention of the elements, Odysseus again escapes the death but becomes a prisoner of sea nymph Calypso who is much enamoured by him. After one year with Calypso, he is released at the bequest of Zeus, who is the King of Gods. Homer

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Company Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Company - Essay Example It is for this reason that the company has stated emphatically that â€Å"over the past year, our company has delivered on my challenge to "broaden and accelerate" our commitment to sustainability† (Duke, 2011). As a matter of fact, corporate social responsibility cuts across several sectors of society and of a company though it has mostly been mistaken to be the benefit that society alone gets from a company. To a large extent, â€Å"Corporate social responsibility is about how businesses align their values and behavior with the expectations and needs of stakeholders including suppliers, communities, regulators, special interest groups and society as a whole† (CSR Network, 2011). Wal-Mart has been guided by this realization to ensure that social satisfaction is created not only for customers and investors but also to all other leading stakeholders. Specific mention can be made of some of milestones reached in the corporate responsibility business for Wal-Mart. To show integration of the social responsibility commitment, Wal-Mart has matured from a stage where corporate social responsibility was seen as a philanthropic add-on to a level where its corporate social responsibility pivots around â€Å"responsible consumption" and creation of "shared value†. ... This report seeks to elaborate on the Wal-Mart's Sustainability 360 approach. Wal-Mart's Sustainability 360 approach (The Slow Greening of Wal-Mart) Carbon emission has been identified to have adverse effect on humans and other living organisms. It also has unfavorable effects on other non-living components of the environment and threatens an ill-resourced future. In a report by PwC in advance of the Stern Review report published in the UK on 30 October 2006, it was documented that the effect and result of carbon emission could be more than doubling by 2050 (PwC, 2006). In most cases, when calls for carbon emission reduction are made, accusing fingers are quickly pointed to manufacturers and industrialists. One may therefore think that Wal-Mart has taken up carbon emission campaign because the company is a retailer and not directly involved in carbon production. This argument is however not justified because as a retailer, Wal-Mart deals directly with manufacturers and producers and therefore has every moral authority to campaign for a greening environment. Wal-Mart therefore targeted carbon emission as one of the component aspects of the Wal-Mart Sustainability 360 project in a program dubbed Slow Greening. In the Slow Greening Project, the company’s target is its suppliers as Roner (2007) notes that â€Å"the company’s suppliers will now be asked to measure and report the energy used to make and distribute its products.† This means that the Slow Greening Project is dedicated to both carbon emission reduction and energy efficiency and therefore very suitable for the Sustainability 360 Project. In championing the campaign, the symbol has been associated with the Slow Greening. The symbolism here is that

Ackermann's Function Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ackermann's Function - Research Paper Example After Ackermann made a publication of his particular function (having only three non-integer functions) a lot of efforts have been done by other authors in the process of modifying the function to apply to various situations, so that at present, this particular function can apply effectively to the numerous variants that comprise the very original function. One of the common versions of the Ackermann’s function is the Ackermann-Peter function, which is a two-argument, is often defined using the non-negative integers m and n as shown (Hazewinkel 2001). From the function below, one can easily deduce that the values are growing and expanding rapidly, even for the tiny inputs (Monin 2003). For instance, take A (4,2), and one can easily see that it is an integer comprising of about 19, 729 decimal digits. Inasmuch as this function has been used widely with success, it has been termed as quite ineffective especially when it comes to computing complex numbers, making the process very slow. The complexity associated with this function often grows quite fast, especially when it comes to its memory and run-time. For this reason, it is often the best and widely used in the process of teaching learners some of the complex types of various recursions. Additionally, it is also used as a test case especially when it comes to compiler development used in optimizing recursions. The numbers used in the illustration for the issue of A (4, n) seem to be quite large, such that one can describe the Ackermann’s function as being extremely slow especially when it comes to computing very large numbers (Sundblad 2003). Inasmuch as the numbers tend to grow very quickly, this function is often concerned with making recursions and subtractions. Following this realization, one can therefore devise some other shortcuts that can bring about another function deemed efficient and effective as shown. The sequence of numbers

The Effect Of An Independent Exercise Program Essay

The Effect Of An Independent Exercise Program - Essay Example In the development of various exercise programs for treating the patients with bronchiectasis it is important to have enough knowledge as for the means of airway clearance methods, their effectiveness and outcomes. There has been made profound research a for the effects and effectiveness of such methods, and it is necessary to discuss them in general and especially concentrate on the PEP method. Abundant research has supported the central role and importance of the retained secretions in initiating the bronchiectatic process. Bronchiectasis is characterized by the effect of mucus hypersecretion, and it is the display of the disease destructive effect. If the secretions are not cleared from the airways, they will nurture the organisms, which in their turn become the reason of chronic inflammation, and support the high level of various toxic byproducts in the lungs of patients. Mucus also serves the means of transporting the chemical products, which seriously damage the lung defense system. In case the patient is diagnosed having excessive amount of mucus in his lungs, there is a threat that the clearance mechanism will be destroyed as well as further promotion of bronchiectasis will be promoted. However, certain researches have been devoted to the evaluation of effectiveness in relation to different airway clearance methods. It is necessary to understand that with the development of new approaches to the bronchiectasis treatment the central role will be devoted to prevention or earlier intervention of the disease, and the excessive use of antibiotics should become the means of emergency rescue means in the most serious cases. The airway clearance therapy should be thoroughly developed and should carry aggressive character, no matter which method exactly is chosen. Any method of airway clearance will enhance the clearance of thick mucus. Airway clearance techniques are divided into several methods and are represented as follows: Mechanical percussion; Positive expiratory pressure; Vibratory positive expiratory pressure; Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation; Etc. Positive expiratory pressure (PEP) or expiratory resistance for COPD promotes the clearance of mucus and the collateral ventilation disease. PEP works through pushing air into the lungs, keeping them open all the time. Through the use of PEP the person breathes in normally, but breathing out is made as if through resistance. The PEP device is usually used with a mask; it is noted that it can also adapted for the delivery of bronchodilators. Shelton (2004) notes, that it is effective without the need for using the postiral drainage, and of course in case it is performed incorrectly, it proves itself to be absolutely ineffective, though this may be said in relation to any other airway clearance techniques. The systematic review of the literature, related with the use and various researches in the area of PEP devices, has been made by Elkins et al. (2004), however, the bigger portion of the studies, found by author, have been considered by him to e of low quality. He has used twenty stu dies in his research, which included 430 participants. According to the literary research, it has been indicated that forced expiratory volume in 1 second was the most common

Chinese Foreign Policy & National Security Essay Example for Free

Chinese Foreign Policy National Security Essay The China-South Korea axis is perhaps the most overlooked variable in the strategic environment of Northeast Asia. For nearly five decades their relationship was characterized by war, lack of dialogue and non-recognition; then, over a period of some three years, this situation gave away to fully normalized and amiable relations in 1992. Rapprochement between Seoul and Beijing in 1992 opened one of the first frontiers of the post-Cold War thaw in the region, and future security will hinge at least partly on this core relationship. In this context, Cha analyzes the evolution of Sino-South Korean reconciliation, and argues that the South Koreas engagement policy from the late 1980s in the political, economic, and cultural arenas played a major part in eliciting unprecedented cooperation from Beijing, however, its initiatives alone were not a sufficient condition to prompt this cooperation. A prior and necessary condition was a change in the strategic context surrounding China and the Korean Peninsula that raised both the benefits of cooperation and the costs of non-cooperation; the end of Cold War . In the context of security environment in Northeast Asia, South Koreas success in engaging China has implications for future security on the Korean Peninsula. On balance, the axis is a stabilizing factor but not without its share of future challenges. With this in mind, the key questions of the article include: (1) How does one explain the growth of cooperation between China and South Korea? (2) To what extent has Sino-ROK rapprochement been the result of successful strategies on the part of South Korea to engage China? (3) What are the implications on North Korea? For a quarter-century after the Korean War, Sino-South Korean relations sat at the intersection of the global East-West conflict and the Sino-Soviet split, making any hint of cooperation impossible.1 However, since the middle 1980s, Sino-South Korean relationship has moved from being sworn enemies and opposed combatants in the Korean War, to being potential economic partners (but still strategic adversaries), and fully normalized diplomatic relations in 1992. Three key drivers propelled the change in the relationship: (1) the transformation of strategic environment concomitant to the end of Cold War, which established the baseline for post-war interaction. In this context, Sino-Soviet reconciliation was a significant factor in Chinese calculations to normalize with Seoul. In particular, the end of Sino-Soviet rivalry reduced in Chinese minds the strategic consequences of losing North Korea to Moscow, and made opening to South Korea more feasible. Furthermore, in South Koreas view, China had evolved from being a revisionist power to being a status quo one, in the degree to which Beijing emphasized unification or peace maintenance as the security priority for the Peninsula. Unification was associated with Chinas revolutionary power and support for North Korea to overthrow the South the essence of Chinas one Korea policy of the Cold War. On the other hand, peace maintenance implied stability outcome for Korea by recognizing South Korea and opposing provocative acts by the North which might upset the unstable peace on the Peninsula. (2) Domestic change in China concomitant to Deng Xiaopings modernization reforms, and subsequent separation of politics from economics. The initial economic trade was largely indirect, transacted through third-party intermediaries or South Korean trading firms in Hong Kong. By 1985, however, total Chinese-South Korea trade surpassed that between China and North Korea. During the 1980s, while the two sides still viewed one another as military adversaries, they increasingly recognized each other as economic opportunities. The beginnings of a diplomatic relationship also emerged in the 1990s with the establishment of trade offices between the Korea Trade Promotion Association (KOTRA) and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1990, which facilitated shift from indirect trade to open and direct transactions, and subsequently in establishing formal diplomatic relations in August 1992. (3) South Koreas conscious policy of engagement to elicit cooperation from China, in particular using non-punitive, non-coercive diplomacy and seeking mutual accommodation. South Koreas engagement strategy contained the following tiers: first, economic linkages, investment and trade ties to increase the benefits to China of cooperation, and the costs of non-cooperation, providing foreign capital and technology, separating political cooperation with economics, but gradually produce cooperative behavior in other arenas. The growth of trade ties in the 1980s was a major reason why China chose to participate in the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympics hosted by South Korea, which served as key event to normalize relations. Second tenet of South Koreas engagement strategy was to treat the opposing states perspectives as legitimate per se. This meant engaging Chinas divergent position into official dialogues on the proposals for enhancing peace and stability in the region such as the Four-Party talks, and more importantly South Koreas recognition of One China Policy, acknowledging Beijing as the only legal government in China. These initiatives at the diplomatic front were followed by general increase in communication flows on the business, educational, and cultural levels to cultivate goodwill. In this context, South Koreas engagement strategy included the following goals: (1) cultivate Beijings cooperation by tying Chinese national interests to stability on the Peninsula; (2) improve South Koreas credibility in the international arena by enhancing its image as a regional player willing to reduce tensions and foster dialogue; and (3) engage North Korea through alternative channels. In order to pursue these goals, South Korea utilized the following means: in the macro-political perspective, the strategy of engagement of China was pursued through the policy of Nordpolitik and Globalization (segyehwa) which implied mutual economic prosperity as a means of expanding diplomatic ties with former adversaries as well as assuming a leading role for South Korea in international organizations and the continued expansion of program multi-directional diplomacy (i.e. using meetings of multilateral bodies such as APEC, ASEAN, non-governmental track-two diplomacy, high-level military excha nges). The second method of engagement has been sports diplomacy participating in athletic competitions hosted by each country provided a useful means by to express good will and interest in expanding the economic cooperation (Seoul 1988 Olympics, Beijing Asian Games 1990). What was the benchmark of success of South Koreas engagement strategy? The key was not only engaging China, but also the terms of policy toward North Korea. The following measure could be used: (A) Failure Chinese support of North Korea (B) Minimal Success 1.5 Korea policy; formal support of North Korea and de-facto recognition of South Korea (C) Moderate Success equidistance between North and South Korea (D) Very Successful discourage North Korean provocation and aggression (E) Most Successful China supports only South Korea Cha argues that the outcome of South Koreas engagement falls in the middle range (B to D). For example, Chinese behavior on the North Korean nuclear issue in 1993-94, when Beijing sided with the US and South Korea on many aspects (such as opposing North Korea to renege Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and abide to non-nuclear Peninsula), however, at the same time Beijing expressed strong opposition against any acts of coercion against the North. It persistently pressed for dialogue and negotiona as the only acceptable means of settling the dispute, and opposed any U.S. led sanctions thought the UN Security Council. A more successful outcome was the redefined Chinese behavior on UN admission of the two Koreas in 1991, in which Chinese accepted dual membership of the two Koreas in the UN. Arguing that South Korean engagement of China has been sustained, comprehensive and moderately successful, the next question is how this new relationship will affect security on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the broader region? Salient issues include the impact of the Asian financial crisis, the dynamics of second U.S.-North Korea nuclear crisis, the effect of Bejing-Seoul dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente on South Koreas alliance with Washington, and the future challenges that could be posed by Korean unification. (1) The impact of the Asian Financial Crisis didnt affect China-South Korean relations thus far. In-fact, in 2003 China has surpassed the U.S. as South Koreas largest trading partner (2) Sino-South Korean relations have important implications in understanding current relations between North and South Korea. Under Kim Dae Jung, South Korea initiated Sunshine Policy that rests on Seouls assurances of no-isolation, no destabilization, and no absorption. The Sunshine Policy is in many ways similar to the engagement strategy toward China, both in form and potential success. In particular, it is consistent (despite Norths provocations) and designed to elicit cooperation from the opposing state. However, there are also differences- regarding intentions; for cooperation to emerge, the opposing state has to be engageable. North Koreas behavior does not suggest she is open to an improvement of relations. Second, there are differences in South Koreas capabilities of early 1990s and late 1990s, in particular, in the early 1990s South Korea that engaged China did so from a position of relative strength and prosperity; however, in the late 1990s, the Asian financial crisis put South Korean position to a relative weakness., because conciliatory gestures are more likely to be interpreted as appeasement rather than engagement. Hence success to engagement of North Korea is not likely. (3) Looking beyond the immediate North Korean nuclear problem, Korean unification raises a plethora of new factors that would test the resilience of China-South Korea engagement. The absence of the North Korean buffer would give rise to a situation in which two powers with different regimes share a contiguous border. Another future challenges is on the economic front the rising China may hange its trade needs and increase competition with Korea. A final potential conflict between a united Korea and China centers on nationalism, and the two-million ethnic Korean living in Chinese Jilin province, which a unified Korea might claim. In the final analysis, the dramatic transformation of Chin-South Korean relations in the 1990s represents the most successful case of engaging China in East Asia. The lessons stemming from this engagement include: (1) consistency- a policy can only be successful if it is applied consistently and deliberately, (2) engagement requires will and domestic political support to sustain the policy even in the face of little reciprocity by the other state; (3) engagement applied from a position of strength conveys credibility, but applied from a position of weakness connotes appeasement. For the foreseeable future, the burden of managing the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula falls even more on the new China-South Korea dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente and the continuing U.S.-South Korea Alliance. My Observation: Victor Cha offers a plausible analysis of the South Koreas engagement strategy and the factors that have significantly improved Sino-South Korean relations, nonetheless, I would argue that he underestimated the historical factors that bind China and South Korea together, which might have accelerated the rapprochement on both sides. Traditionally, Korea has fallen under the Chinese sphere of influence, with Korea belonging to the first-tier state of the Sino-centered worldview. In this context, another traditional binding element is the continuing anti-Japanese sentiments and mistrust in both Koreas and China that target Japanese sense of irresponsibility and demand apology for its war atrocities. Taken together, I would argue that these factors also facilitated the relatively rapid transformation of the relations, on a personal level between Korean and Chinese officials. In the context of enhancing peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, positive Sino-South Korean relations certainly play an important role. Both states are aware of this factor, and share similar interests. However, Beijing seems to be in a dilemma, it desperately does not want to face a collapse of North Korea nor does it want to see a nuclear North Korea. Hence, Chinas actions in the foreign policy arena are still bound to the minimum necessary level to ensure stability. Ironically, while the Chinese officials have been claiming that they are making efforts to persuade North Korea to enter multilateral dialogue and negotiation, they also claim that North Korea doesnt listen as it used to. In this regard, my question is: How much leverage does China have over North Korea? 🙂 1 From the ROK perspective, during the Cold War China was part of the communist bloc, a patron of revolutionary regimes in Asia, and thus one of the primary threats to South Koreas survival. Chinas intervention in the Korean War in 1950, in conjunction with the July 1961 Friendship Treaty between China and North Korea with its automatic intervention clause cemented South Koreas perceptions of China as a threat. At the same time, Chinas hostility toward South Korea was equally intense. South Korea was the fascist axis of the iron triangle that included U.S. imperialism, and Japanese militarism.

Engineering Health and Safety Principles

Engineering Health and Safety Principles 1. What are the main responsibilities of the employer and the employee under Health and Safety Act 1992? Answer : Duties of employers: Every employer shall take all practicable steps to ensure that no action or inaction of any employee while at work harms any other person. Duties of employees Every employee shall take all practicable steps to ensure- (a) the employees safety while at work (including by using suitable protective clothing and suitable protective equipment provided by the employer (b) that no action or inaction of the employee while at work causes harm to any other person. (health and sefatey in employment act 1992, 2014) 2. In marking the choice of which type of cutting fluid to use, many factors have to be considered. Name two of the important factors? Answer: selection of the cutting fluid generally depends on the types of machining process whether coolant, lubricant or both are required. Though selection for the effective cutting fluid depends the various factors which are type of machining , tool and workpiece materials, cutting speed, and the method of application. For example: machining process with slower cutting operation and where tools are exposed to high pressure in such cases fluid with good lubricating characteristics is required. Whereas, selection for the fluid is changed in high speed operation as in high speed operation temperature rises significantly so that fluid which has good cooling capacity and with some lubricity is required. (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, p. 617) 3. What is the purpose of chip breakers in the Turning Process? Answer: purpose of chip breaker in turning process: chip breaker controls the flow of the chip during machining. Eliminates the long chips as it can be hazard. Also reduce the heat. Reduce the intendancy of the vibration. (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, p. 607) 4. What effect would decrease the cutting speed have on tool life of a milling cutter? Answer: Because high cutting speed increases the temperature which results into the shorting of the tool. (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, p. 585) 5. Name two ways work can be held on a cylindrical grinder? Answer: Universal grinding: In universal grinding, both the workpiece and the wheel axes can be moved and swivelled around a horizontal plane, thus permitting the grinding of tapers and other shapes Thread grinding: thread grinding is done cylindrical grinders, using specially dressed wheels matching the shape of the thread. (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, p. 748) 6. how is feed specified on a drilling machine? Answer: Diameter of Drill Inches Feed Inches per Revolution Under 1/8 .001 to .003 1/8 to 1/4 .002 to .006 1/4 to 1/2 .004 to .010 1/2 to 1 inch .007 to .015 1 inch and over .015 to .025 (drill feeds and speeds, n.d.) 7. What is the difference between truing and dressing a grinding wheel? Answer: dressing is the process of a conditioning, producing sharp new edges on worn grains on the grinding surface of a wheel Truing: truing is the process of producing a true circle on a wheel that has become out of round. (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, p. 744) 8. In wire cut EDM, why does electrode wear not affect the accuracy of the cut? Answer: Because electrode doesnt touches the workpiece. (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, p. 781) 9. What is concurrent engineering? Answer: Concurrent engineering also known as integrated product development (IPD) its methodology is based on the parallelisation of task which means preforming the task concurrently. Concurrent engineering prefers to an approach to new product development in which all other engineering functions like design engineering, manufacturing engineering and other functions are integrated together in order to reduce the elapsed time required to bring new product to the market. (concurrent engineering , 2017) 10. In welding, what do the letters GTAW stand for? Answer: Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW, 2017) 11. Define break-even point when comparing two types of machines making the same part? Answer: Break-even perspective are the purpose which offers precisely disguise its costs. Therefore these methods not lead to any benefit or reduction. When two different machines are making same part, the purpose of which is to offers disguise costs. 12. In machining operations, how does forming differ from generating? Answer: generating: generating machining operations of the workpiece are dependent on the feed or the movement of the cutting tool which involves different turning operations such as straight cutting, taper turning, peripheral milling and profile milling. Whereas forming machining operations is based workpiece geometry dependent on the tool geometry. Cutting edge of the tool and surface of the work part has the reverse shape example: form turning, broaching, drilling. (Forming and Generating Method in Lathe Machine Operations, 2016) 13. What are the two forms of broaching and what types of machine is used for each form? Answer: surface broaches: surface broches which generally used for cutting flat surface. Broches includes slab, slot, contour, dovetail, pot ( for precision external shapes) and straddle. Internal broaches: internal broaches which is generally used for close-tolerance hole. Broches includes hole keyway, internal gear, rifling (for gun barrels). (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, p. 684) 14. What is difference between a CNC machining centre and a universal milling machine? Answer: cnc machining centre is computer controlled program, which takes the instruction from the computer to select and control tools that used for cutting or shaping the metal to new product. Whereas universal milling machine is fitted with table so that it can have motion in all direction and also diving head which has ability to change gears so they can perform milling operation in all the direction. (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, pp. 703,705,669) 15. State an essential requirement for a lathe, which is intended to be used with diamond tooling Answer: diamond tooling is done when we have to give good surface finish and critical dimension for example: for polishing granite (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, p. 614) 16. What type of machining process would be used to cut an external keyway in a shaft? Answer: machining process used to cut keyways in a shaft is keyway broaching also known as spline broaching (coupling answers, 2014) 17. Define what is meant by CAD CAM? Answer: CAD: computer aided design CAD, which basically based on the principle of creating a technical drawing using different software like AUTOCAD, SOLIDWORKS, and PRO-E CAM: computer aided manufacturing Whereas CAM is referred as an software use to control manufacturing process like controlling machining tool which gives high precision. Machine used on the principle of CAM is known as CNC computer numerical control machine. (wikipedia , 2017) 18. Name two materials used to produce EDM electrodes for a sink type machine Answer: The materials which are commonly used for the making sinker EDM electrode are graphite, brass or copper tungsten. Graphite is used because of its superior machining capabilities and wearability, and copper is used because of its fine finish requirements. (qualitty EDM, 2008) 19. What feature controls the cutting speed of a milling centre? Answer: As we know the cutting speed V in peripheral milling is the surface speed of the cutter V = à Ã¢â€š ¬DN Where D is the cutter diameter and N is the rotational speed of the cutter. Thus cutting speed is directly dependent on the diameter and as well as the rotational speed of the cutter. (serope kalpakjian, 2014) 20. What is the main difference in the type of materials that can be machined when using either EDM or Water Jet cutting process? Answer: water jet cutting process: non-conductive material such as glass. Wood, plastic, ceramic EDM: material needs to be electrical conductive as EDM cuts through sparks such as graphite and metal (advanced manufractruring , 2005) 21. Compare 2 of the following casting processes on surface finish, accuracy, type of pattern and cost a. Sand moulding b. Shell moulding c. Gravity die casting d. Pressure die casting Answer: Sand moulding Shell moulding Surface finish Not good machining, forging, may required to obtain the required shape followed by the quality control Good surface finish Accuracy Dimensionally accurate High precision Type of pattern Match plate pattern Many pattern Cost Low cost Low cost (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, pp. 705,711) 22. Explain the purpose for which the investment casting process is used. Indicate the type of material that can be cast and some general estimate of the finish and accuracy obtained Answer: Purpose: knee replacement Type of material: ferrous and non-ferrous metal alloys. Surface finish: good surface finish Accuracy: high precision (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, pp. 271-272) 23. Explain clearly the difference between the HOT and COLD chamber die casting processes, giving the types of material casting in each process Answer: Hot-chamber process use a piston to forces a certain volume of metal into the die cavity through a gooseneck and nozzle 2.Cold-chamber process is where molten metal is poured into the injection cylinder (shot chamber) (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, pp. 278-279) 24. Giving examples of each show the difference between injection moulded and compression moulded plastic parts Answer: Injection moulded plastic Compression moulded plastic in injection moulded is used with thermoplastic polymers Compression moulding is used with thermosetting plastics for example: injection moulding is used for making chair. machine has three main parts i.e. injection unit, mould and clamp. process starts when plastic is poured into hopper from where plastic pallet moves to the barrel of injection unit inside, a screw transports the pallets forward t. heater bands wrapped around the barrel warms up the plastic pallets. as the pellets are moved forward by the screw, they gradually melt, and are entirely molten by the time they reaches the front of the barrel. once enough molten plastic is in the front of the screw it rams forward like the plunger of a syringe. in a matter of seconds, the screw injects the molten plastic into the empty part of the mould called the cavity image. the plastic solidifies in under a minute the mould opens and the part is ejected. for example: compression moulding is used to make rubber boots for which plastic is pre heated and then poured into the mould and held there for few minutes at fixed temperature and then finished product is then removed from the mould and then can be machined for further better finish or removal of the waste (plastic injection molding , 2015) (manufacturing engineering and technology, 2014, pp. 512,520) 25. What is the main difference between Hot Rolling and Cold Rolling, Giving examples of each process? Answer: Hot rolling Cold rolling Low tolerance High tolerance More Malleable Increase strength of material through strain Harding as much as 20% High temperature up to 1000F Low temperature equal to room temperature Sink when cooled down More precise dimensions Hot rolled steel is used in situations where precise shapes and tolerances are not required For example: used in welding and I-beam cold rolled steel is used in situations where precise shapes and tolerances are required. For example: used in production of metal furniture or desks. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/difference-between-hot-rolled-steel-and-cold-rolled-steel/ administration, n. z. (2014, april 4). health and sefatey in employment act 1992. Retrieved from new zealand legislation: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1992/0096/latest/DLM278829.html concurrent engineering . (2017, march 7). Retrieved from wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrent_engineering coupling answers. (2014, december 2). Cutting Keyways Broaching, Keyseating, Wire-Cut EDM, Shaping, Milling . Retrieved from coupling answer: http://www.couplinganswers.com/2014/12/cutting-keyways-broaching-keyseating.html crayons, s. (Director). (2015). plastic injection molding [Motion Picture]. drill feeds and speeds. (n.d.). Retrieved from viking drill and tool : http://www.vikingdrill.com/viking-Drill-FeedandSpeed.php Forming and Generating Method in Lathe Machine Operations. (2016, februray 17). Retrieved from mechaenical engineering: https://basicmechanicalengineering.com/forming-and-generating-method-in-lathe-machine-operations/ government, n. z. (1992, jan 1). health and safety employment act 1993. Retrieved from New Zealand legislation : http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1992/0096/latest/DLM279232.html GTAW. (2017, march 11). Retrieved from wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_tungsten_arc_welding metalsupermaket. (2014, septemeber 14). difference between hot rolled and cold rolled steel . Retrieved from metal supermarket : https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/difference-between-hot-rolled-steel-and-cold-rolled-steel/ qualitty EDM. (2008). Electrical discharge machining (EDM). Retrieved from qualitty EDM: http://www.qualityedm.com/sinkeredm.html serope kalpakjian, s. R. (2014). manufacturing engineering and technology. new york: pearson. sme. (2005, october 1). Retrieved from advanced manufractruring : http://advancedmanufacturing.org/waterjet-vs-edm/ wikipedia . (2017, march 24). cad/cam. Retrieved from wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_manufacturing

Organisational studies The effective of Team work and problems faced

Organisational studies The effective of Team work and problems faced 1- Introduction Groups and teams form a key part of life in work organization, coordination and cooperation are the most activities taking place within organizations which is only achieved by people working together. We always work as groups in our families, communities and educational systems, neighborhoods. There is no suspicion that the success of organization depends on the performance of its groups and teams. And by mobilizing groups and team the organization can meet its competitive demand in the challenging environment In the last years competitive environment have lead to the managers to concern and ensure more on the groups and teams performance very well. By implementation teamwork in the organization its lead to reduce the costs and to increase the profits which are the key in any competitive market in todays economic climate. Managing groups is the most important aspect because most of the organization work done within group so to manage this group its requires Planning- Organizing- Leading- Controlling (P-O-L-C) functions. This paper illustrate understanding the meaning of teamwork and groups and identifying the varied types of team and the three level of structure which are influencing teams and its importance in the organization behavior, understanding of tools and techniques that increasing the effectiveness of teamwork in organization. Extend analysis of group and team working. And critically important to understand how groups and teams contribute to organization effectiveness. While their effect is potentially positive. 2- Teams in Organization At the beginning of 1990s the use of teams within organization has been raised dramatic, such as the Miller Brewing Company increasing productivity 30% by using teams comparing with traditional organization. And also many organization they obtained benefits by using teams, Instruments in Malaysia to reduce defects from 100 parts per million to 20 parts per million. Furthermore, Westinghouse reduced its cycle time from 12 weeks to 2 weeks, and Harris Electronics was able to achieve an 18% reduction in costs.(  [1]  ) Many companies switch to use teams and they did good job like Square D, they changed to self-directed teams and found that overtime on machines, than the production increased because the setup operators were able to control the work in much more effective ways than a manager could say.(  [2]  ) 2.1. Definitions of Effective Teams One of the most popular definitions by Schein defines a group in psychological terms as any number of people who interact with one another; are psychologically aware of one another; and perceive themselves to be a group (  [3]  ) Handy confirms this more simple-mind as any collection of people who perceive themselves as a group (  [4]  ) however both of this two definition doesnt summarize why people work as a group, maybe this definition is better a group is a collection of two or more people who interact with one another regularly to achieve common goals. In the a group within this definition, members Are mutually dependent on one another to achieve common goals and Interact regularly with one another to pursue those goals over a sustained period of time. (  [5]  ) Effective group is a group achieves high level of task performance and human resource performance in the standers sense of quantity, quality and timeline of work tasks. And a group whose members believe that their participation and experiences are positive and meet important personal needs. (  [6]  ) 2.2. Types of groups (Formal and Informal groups) In organization, the groups can classify by two basic types Formal and Informal Groups. Formal Group: Its an official group of people who designed to serve specific organizational purpose, and its contain of managers, subordinates, or both close relations among group members that influence the behavior of individuals in the group. The head of the formal group is responsible for the groups performance, but all members contribute the required work. Managers are typically seen as playing a key linchpin role that ties group horizontally and vertically with the rest of the organization.(  [7]  ) Informal group: Informal groups are groups that appear unofficially and are not formally designed as parts of the organization, and contain of two or more individuals who are related with one another in ways not prescribed by the formal organization. And they occur through spontaneous personal relationships and specific interest. Not by organization support. Friendship group contains of a group of people which they have a good relation with natural affinities to each other. And they prefer to do work together and even smoking, eating lunch and also socialize together. 3- Stages of Group Development There is a robust model in 1965 which is still widely used today presented by American organizational psychologist Bruce Tuckman. He proposed a four stages map of group evaluation known as Forming- Storming- Norming- Performing Model.(  [8]  ) and then he enhance his model by adding the fifth stage called Adjourning. Figure 1.1. Stages of a Group Development Model Forming Stage In the forming stage the group members maybe know each other for the first time or maybe there some members know each other, and the group come to gather for the first time so initial of this stage the group member start thinking about the future and the next stage, and member ask some question as he begin to identify with other group members and with the group itself, because the high level of uncertainty, and the member tend to act more polite and avoid conflict and observant. Storming Stage In the storming stage of group development is a period when the member feel save and feel included in the group, then the storming stage start becoming more genuine and more confrontational. In this stage conflict arise, hostility and infighting it may happen. And some members feel the tasks are unfair some harder and easier, and now the leader should identify the problems and work out for the solutions and looking to satisfied everyones goals. But in this stage the members become more authentic as they state their deeper thoughts and feelings, and start to understand interpersonal styles and effort made by each member to find the method to achieve group goals and in the same way satisfied groups needs. Norming Stage The norming stage at group development, at this stage the group start to come together as a group, and the group members feel more committed to the each other and for the group goals and tasks, and they start to establish their own norms and rules and their goals and operating procedures. Hopefully in this stage the team starts to come together and members tends to be more open, helpful, and respect to each other and they may to share their personal information. At this point need to be carefully managed and the leader should become more of a facilitator by letting the group presume more responsibility for its goals and tasks. Performing stage The performing stage at group development, in this stage the team members should be more mature and willing to solve any complex tasks. In this stage group develop, well functional group, organized, mutual assistant, creativity, understanding goals and roles, and independence, primary challenges should contain to improve relationships and performance. Now the group members are motivated and generally satisfied. Adjourning stage Its an important stage for temporary groups, and its an well integration group which able to disband when its work finished and willing to work together in the future. And in this stage the group closure, symbolism, and they do some ceremonies, and emotional support. Figure 1.2. Stages of a Group Development Model Forming Adjourning Storming Norming Performing Uncertainty about groups, structure and leadership Conflict confrontation among group members Members settle into Team Fully functional and accepted End of team {in case of task} 4- Nature of the group Task There are many tasks that the group asks to perform it but also demand different things on them. The social demands contain relationships; members identify how to achieve the task and agreement. When the group faces a complex and technical task it will require a lot of information processing and solution. And the more the task complex the harder the group to perform more effective. (  [9]  ) However if the group want to achieve goals they have to distribute their efforts broadly and actively, by this the group members will be highly satisfied with each other and accomplishments. 5- Membership characteristics The characteristics of group members its an important inputs which may affect the way the group operates and achievements. The group must have high skills and competencies to solve and perform the problem and talents alone cannot assure good results. In Homogeneous groups, are groups whose members have similar backgrounds, interests, values, and attitude etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. but they still facing the limitation of their collective skills. In Heterogeneous groups, are groups whose members have diverse age, gender, experience, backgrounds, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and there is a wide range of talent and viewpoints for solving problem. But because of this diversity the group members will face difficulties in the short run or early stages of group development by defining problem, share information and deal with interpersonal conflicts .however, research confirms that diversity can be turned into enhanced performance potential. (  [10]  ) The Diversity consensus dilemma refers to a tendency for diversity in group membership to make it harder for people to work together even though diversity itself expands a group problem solving capacity.(  [11]  ) 6- Group Size Group size can also have an influence the on group effectiveness. By having large group members which will help increasing the performance and satisfaction by dividing up the work and accomplish tasks. Anyway, when the group continues growing in size a lots of problems will occur, communication and coordination problems set in, turnover, absenteeism and dissatisfaction. Even logistical matters, like to find a place to meet and also time, the large group will hurt the performance.(  [12]  ) the most effective number of members of group is between five to seven members, the group with less than five its might be so small to share the sufficient responsible. And with group members more than seven it might be hard to participate and offer ideas. And in big group it might be some members tend to act aggressive and to split into coalitions or subgroups.(  [13]  ) groups with odd number it might be more effective and efficient because speed of decision and using majority to resolve disagreements. But when careful discussions are necessary and the emphasis is more on agreement. 7- The Effective management and leadership systems According to the Dr.Rensis Likert whichs did lots of research on human behavior within organization, especially in Industry sector, by establish a effective climate and a system of management that the key of good leadership and he confirmed that to reach the maximum profitability, high productivity and good relationships between the labors the organization have got to make the most advantageous use of their human assets. After he did a research for many years he identified four systems of management: System 1- Exploitive Authoritative System 2- Benevolent Authoritative System 3- Consultative System 4- Participative Exploitive Authoritative In this system the responsible are the high levels of managements and the lower have almost nothing, and the decisions are on subordinates and the communication is very a little and no teamwork. Benevolent Authoritative Leadership is by a condescending form of master-servant trust, Where motivation is primarily rewards, and just the managerial level feels responsible and lower levels do not, and also there is a small communication and teamwork, Consultative leadership is by superiors who have substantial but not complete trust of their subordinates ,where a big amount of workers, especially those at high levels take responsible to accomplishing a organization goals, and some vertical and horizontal communication and a some of teamwork. Participative In this system where Likert found that it is the optimum solution, where the leadership is by superiors which they have full confidence in their subordinates and there are a economics rewards based on achieving the specific goals and high level on communication and significant amount of cooperative teamwork. 8- Characteristics of participative management system Groups work high effectively and linked together by other similar effective groups. High level of confidence between superiors and subordinates by depending and using on them. Superiors always attempt to tap ideas on subordinates and use them to achieve it. Workers feel responsible for organizations goals. High level of communications between groups and individuals to achieve organizations goals. The subordinates feel fully involved the decision making process.(  [14]  ) (  [15]  ) Role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload/ underload its a common problem in groups when the team members feel unclear about their roles or experience conflicting role, and it can be managed when the leaders and team members identifies conflicts and ambiguities role and take procedures to explain role expectations. Role ambiguity arise when the worker feel uncertain or dont know exactly about his or her role. To do jobs perfectly, members should know what is expected from them, and in many new teams because the role ambiguity it create problem like some members work efforts are wasted or unappreciated by others in the team. Even in the mature group the fail to share expectation and listen to each other it may make similar lack of understanding. Role overload Arise when the worker has a lot of work to and too much expected, role under load arise when worker dont work too much, feels underutilized and too little expected. By having clear and realistic expectations about their expected tasks and responsibilities typically the group members will benefit from that. Role conflict Arise when worker cannot meet the expectations of others. The worker understands what tasks and needs to be done but for some reason cannot fulfill, and can also reduce and effect satisfaction and relationships with group members. There are four common forms of the role conflict: Intra-sender role conflict occurs when the same person sends conflicting expectations. Inter-sender role conflict occurs when different people signal conflicting and mutually exclusive expectations. Person-role conflict occurs when ones personal values and needs come into conflict with role expectations. Inter-role conflict occurs when the expectations of two or more roles held by the same individual become incompatible, such as the conflict between work and family demands. (  [16]  ) Lists of References Likert,R.(1961), New Patterns of management, McGrawHill. Likert, R. (1967), The Human Organization: Its Management and Value, McGrawHill.

Shakespeares Hamlet Essay: Comparison of Gertrude and Ophelia :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparison of Gertrude and Ophelia within Hamlet      Ã‚   Shakespeare developed 126 female characters in his dramas. In his tragedy Hamlet there are Ophelia and Gertrude. This essay will explore the similarities or commonality of these two characters.    One obvious feature which both Ophelia and Gertrude have in common is that they are both recipients of Hamlet’s ill-will. T.S. Elliot in his essay, â€Å"Hamlet and His Problems† explains how Gertrude is the object of the protagonist’s disgust:    Hamlet is up against the difficulty that his disgust is occasioned by his mother, but that his mother is not an adequate equivalent for it; his disgust envelops and exceeds her. (25)    L.C. Knight in â€Å"An Approach to Hamlet,† agreeing with T. S. Eliot, comments on the â€Å"obsessive passion† which the prince exercises in his chastisement of Gertrude:    I am of course aware that what Hamlet says to his mother in the Closet scene may be regarded as part of a necessary and proper attempt to break the alliance between her and the smiling murderer; but through it all runs the impure streak of the indulgence of an obsessive passion.[. . .] If with genuine, even with passionate, concern, you want to help someone in great need, someone in desperate ignorance of his true condition, do you, I wonder, say, â€Å"This is what you are: see how ugly you look†? Well, perhaps you may; but certainly not in such a way that you seem about to make an aggressive attack. (70)    In similar fashion, Ophelia is verbally abused by the hero; and this episode is elaborated on in detail later. In the Introduction to Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet, David Bevington enlightens the reader regarding the similarities between Gertrude and Ophelia as the hero sees them:    Yet to Hamlet, Ophelia is no better than another Gertrude: both are tender of heart but submissive to the will of importunate men, and so are forced into uncharacteristic vices. Both would be other than what they are, and both receive Hamlet’s exhortations to begin repentance by abstaining from pleasure. â€Å"Get thee to a nunnery†; â€Å"Assume a virtue if you have it not.† (9)    As Bevington says, both Gertrude and Ophelia are â€Å"tender of heart,† motivated by love and a desire for quiet familial harmony among the members of their courtly society in Elsinore. At the first social function in the play, Gertrude is motivated out of love for her son to advise:

ARCO arena :: essays research papers

Even though the friendly confines of ARCO Arena hasn't equated into NBA championships (yet) for the Sacramento Kings, ARCO stands as one of the toughest - if not the toughest - places to play in the entire league. The Kings sported a 36-5 home mark in 2003, the best home record in the NBA. All five losses came at the hands of eventual playoff teams, including two of them against the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. The Kings record in ARCO over the last three seasons is an amazing 104-19, another NBA best. The Pistons are 75-48 over that same span at the Palace at Auburn Hills, a full 29 games worse. ARCO Arena was built on 105 acres of undeveloped land just outside the Sacramento city limits. The arena cost 40 million dollars to build, and none of the cost came by way of taxpayer money. ARCO was built primalrily for basketball, so all 17, 317 seats have great sight lines for watching a game. The outside of the building is in no way what someone would call attractive. Basically, it is a tan square in the middle of nowhere. However, it dosen't seem that the repulsive outside looks of ARCO affect Kings fans from coming to the games. Every Kings' game has sold out since ARCO was opened in 1988. What really makes ARCO the best venue in the NBA is the Sacramento fans. The combination of the stadium seating having a "right on top of the court" feel along with ARCO dubbed as the loudest stadium in the NBA causes havoc for visiting teams. Just ask the Lakers. As fans enter ARCO, they see many television screens showing the Kings' in-house pre-game show. The Kings are one of very few teams with that perk. The convenience dosen't end when the game is over, either. ARCO has over 12,000 spaces in close proximity to the arena, and the waiting time to leave the lot is always kept to a minimum. The Palace at Auburn Hills seats 4,000 more fans than ARCO, yet has two-thirds the parking. Combine that with two different interstates that weave around the Palace, and you have a parking nightmare. Another thing that makes ARCO a better arena is having better comfort in the fact that you won't be attacked by a hobo on the way to the car. Criminals in Detroit and Los Angeles probably make six figures annually by ruthlessley mugging some 12-year-old of his only 14 dollars that he made by opening a lemonade stand.