Aligning Action and Values Article Critique Essay

In the article ‘Aligning Action and Values’ article by Jim Collins, a very pertinent point is made that is applicable in today’s business environment. Organizations spend very little time aligning daily work with the overall vision and core values set by the organization. Collins’ article was written 10 years ago, but the content currently still has merit. Organizations are constantly changing and adapting to industry and environmental trends. With the explosion of the Internet and rapid global expansion, company’s need to have efficient change management programs and vision to keep the organization on track. Too often, companies are sidelined by managers that are self-promoting and not working for the overall vision of the company. Yet, this is not necessarily a middle manager problem, but a problem of the company not identifying and pursuing the grand vision the company was founded to achieve. Mr. Collins points out the often company’s are either to busy trying to repeatedly craft the perfect vision statement or the organization has not spent any time aligning the organization with the values that have been determined. Truly visionary organizations are able to use core values become efficient in management and operations to keep the company moving forward. Organizations that do not align goals with values spend more time evaluating past problems and too little time focusing on the future. Jim Collins is correct in that one must first identify the internal dialogue to identify organizational misalignments. There is typically mistrust between senior leaders and employees in terms of who is doing the right things. Senior leaders need to listen to lower level managers and employees and take into consideration the perspective of those that directly link to the customer. Senior leaders also need to determine what is said in the organization’s undercurrent internal dialogue. What often drives employees to perform is what is felt unconsciously, not what is stated in official forums. Company’s that have alignment of goals with vision are able to determine the internal dialogue and keep the dialogue positive. Identifying the difference between core values and strategies is essential for organizational alignment. Mr. Collins points out that core values should be timeless and never change. What should change are operational practices and strategies. Many companies too often are constantly identifying new core values, and this makes focus difficult. By identifying permanent core value, employees are able to always rely on what the greater purpose of the company should represent in all daily operations. Without this concrete focus, employees become disgruntled and unable to focus on any one thing, increasing inefficiencies. Mr. Collins also posits that organizations cannot â€Å". . . nstall new core values into people. . . † but that people are predisposed to holding them. Therefore, the key is to find people that are already predisposed to holding the company’s particular values. This concept is especially hard for organizations that are attempting to align actions to values. People are inherently resistant to change and any change in an organization’s core values will be difficult for all employees to embrace. Therefore, it is crucial that organizations identify core values at inception so that all employees will identify with the goals and vision when hired. Otherwise it is exceptionally difficult to implement change management strategies to get employees to ‘buy in’ to new values. In all, Jim Collins is accurate on his assessment of aligning action and values in organizations. Although this article was written 10 years ago, companies still struggle with these concepts today. Mr. Collins is correct that organizations need to have permanent core values, identify internal dialogues and act on inconsistencies, and hire people that are predisposed to a particular organizations core values, instead of attempting to gain ‘buy in’ from current employees.

Health Promotion Essay

This essay will begin by discussing the different definitions of health that have been put forward, and will also discuss the necessity of health promoters to be able to understand why there are differing definitions of health and the importance of the difference in our understanding of what health means to the individual. There have been many definitions of health, which include phrases such as ‘absence of disease’, and ‘ability to cope’. The World Health Organisation (WHO) (1946) gave its definition of health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. However, it is very difficult to define health due to its complexity and broadness. Health and well-being can be described as the absence of physical illness, disease and mental distress. This is a negative definition of health and well-being, as it is impossible for a person to free from illness or disease. Health and well-being can also be described as the achievement and maintenance of physical fitness and mental stability. This is a positive definition of health and well-being or health and well-being as being a result of a combination of physical, social, intellectual and emotional factors. Stimson and Webb (1975) carried out research which suggested that people have their own private comments on their own ill health, compared to what they chose to tell their doctors. The research indicated that people did not always believe or accept the medical explanation given for their illness. The study suggests people hold their own views and hold their own explanations for ill health. (Doyal. L. at el. (1991) A Theory of Human Need. London. Macmillan) Health promoters have to collect a significant amount of information before they can put out a campaign on a particular disease. They have to look at health models and their approaches and even statistical information from CENSUS reports, death certificates, survey’s, and even General Practitioner (GP) records and so on. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health promotion as ‘enabling people to gain control over their lives’ (WHO 1986). There are four approaches to take in to consideration before putting together a health promotion campaign, and they are: The medical approach: this focuses on activity which aims to reduce morbidity and premature morbidity. Activity is targeted towards whole populations of high-risk groups. This kind of health promotion seeks to increase medical interventions which will prevent ill health and premature death. The medical approach is conceptualised around the absence of disease. It does not seek to promote positive health, for example ‘Smoking advertisement’, smoking adverts only advertise damage the body will develop through regular inhalation of tobacco. This kind of promotion can be criticised for ignoring the social and environmental dimensions of health. In addition, the medical approach encourages dependency on medical knowledge and removes health decisions from people concerned. The medical approach also relies on having an infrastructure capable of delivering screening or an immunisation programme. This includes trained personnel, equipment, laboratory facilities, and information systems which determine who is eligible for the procedure and record uptake rates. And in the case of immunisation, a vaccine which is effective and safe. The educational approach: the purpose of this approach is to provide knowledge and information, and to develop the necessary skills so that people can make their own informed choice regarding their health behaviour. The educational approach should be distinguished from a behaviour change approach, and that it does not set out to persuade or motivate change in a particular direction. However, this will be the service user’s voluntary choice, and it may not be the one the health promoter would prefer. The educational approach is based on a set of assumptions about the relationship between knowledge and behaviour: that by increasing knowledge, there will be a change in attitudes which may lead to a change in behaviour towards a healthier lifestyle. To provide educational information to clients regarding health and well-being, provisions would have to be put in place, through the following resources: leaflets, booklets, visual displays or one-to-one advice with their own GP. By providing these sources this may provide opportunities for people to share and explore their own attitudes towards health education. Empowerment: This approach helps people to identify their own concerns and gain the skills and confidence and for the person to act upon them. Social change: this approach recognises the importance of social-economic environment’s in determining health. Its focus is at the policy or environmental level, and the aim is to bring about changes in the physical, social and economic environment which will have the effect of promoting health. This approach will also look at social class, the promoter will take in to consideration people’s gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, working, unemployed and so on. Basically the social approach will look at theories that are linked to social class and determine whether or not, that poverty and low social class are the reasons for high mortality rates linked to a specific disease. This is when the promoter will now go away and put together his/her campaign. The Acheson Report (1998) shows that there is an existence of health inequalities and their association to social class, in this report there is data, even though there is a down fall in mortality, the superior classes take in to account more rapid mortality deterioration. Also The Black Report (1980) shows that there are higher levels of poverty in the lower class and higher death rates due to ill health, the higher social class live in a more advanced area which is much more suitable for living conditions, but in contrast to that, people who live in a higher class seem to live in the centre of a city which is much more prone to pollution. LO2 Whether we come from poverty, working class or a higher class background, there are many health influences all around us, for example the environment we live in can influence our health; for instance, living with a partner who is controlling can impact on the stability of mental health, living in a city centre can influence poor health due to pollution (inhalation of fumes from motor vehicles and fuel plants). Although living in a higher class society can have a positive effect on better healthcare, there are still factors of negative influences on health and well-being. Smoking, eating the wrong types of food, lack of exercise, no socialisation, alcohol, misuse of drugs, all these things can have an enormous negative effect on our health and well-being. However eating the correct foods (5 ADAY) and consuming the correct portion size as well as combining at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day can have a great deal of positive’s upon our lifestyle. For instance exercise is good for the brain as well as the body. According to NHS Choices (2013) ‘by eating five portions of fruit or vegetables and just 30 minutes of activity a day, will increase the secretion of Serotonin within our brains’. Serotonin is a hormone found in the brain, it influences our mood, sexual function, appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature regulation, and some social behaviour. So we could say the more Serotonin we produce the healthier the brain becomes, which results in a happier you. LO3 For the third and final part of this essay I am going to talk about the political side of health promotion within the UK and take a look across the globe at other parts of the world. Health Promotion is everywhere we look, especially in the media. We see it every day in the news whether it be on the television or in the newspapers. Health Promoters plan and develop ways to help people to change their eating and exercise habits to improve their way of life. There are lots of Health Promoters today that campaign against unhealthy living. Health Promoters give you guidance to a healthier lifestyle whether it is help with eating habits, smoking, alcohol intake, oral health, physical activity and mental health. Each and every one of us will indulge ourselves in to a habit and put ourselves at risk of chronic diseases at some point in our lives. According to Dr Robert Beaglehole (2011) â€Å"The real tragedy is that more hasn’t been done to avoid this epidemic, as overweight and obesity, and their related chronic diseases, are largely preventable†. Approximately 80% of heart disease, stroke, type 2 Diabetes, and 40% of cancer could be avoided through healthy diet, regular physical activity and avoidance of tobacco use. † This is why Health Promotional campaigns are important, as it gives us a better outlook on life and can also expand our lives too (Huffington Post) 2011. Health promotion is an important element of the government’s health agenda. On forming a new government, the new labour set public health policies in line with its health agenda. Out of this rose a new white paper Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation, which sets ambitious targets for life expectancy to be increased, and inequalities in health to be reduced. The Labour Government plan to achieve this through its public health policy in a â€Å"third way† (Connelly 1999). ‘Labour’s policies are aimed at strengthening communities, and encouraging individuals to seize opportunities and take responsibility for their action’. The Government hopes to improve the health of individuals by reducing health inequalities through health promotion. By doing so the Government will look at a range of different sources of information before they decide the need of a health promotion campaign. The Government have their own facilities to obtain information such as up to date statistical evidence via the website www. direct. gov/statistics . They can also obtain information from Registry Offices, such as marriage certificates, death certificates and birth certificates. By doing so, the Government will acquire accurate results to continue lobbying the new health promotion campaign needed to address the UK to improve quality of life. Before the campaign can be given the go ahead to become a final document, the Government have to look for ethical errors. For instance is the health promotion campaign fair to all people who are involved, meaning, does the campaign aim its information at all service users or is it aimed at a particular generation, gender, culture and so on. For a health care promotion to be respected it has to be aimed at everyone regardless of the persons background. By involving all service users, promoters can eliminate discrimination and visually display that equality and diversity are no longer an issue within our society especially in the health care sector.

Precis: the Death of English (Lol)

Precis: The Death of English (LOL) Andrew Chan Language changes as a result of advancement in society, especially today, with the advances due to technology. Technology gives us new ways to communicate, which in turn changes the way we use language. Controversy has arisen with this topic. Some people say that the development of technological advances is in fact deteriorating the English language. Others, though, say that new technology promotes beneficial changes To an extent the English language is suffering because of technology.Technology is not all the fault though. I feel that it is the fault of the society too because they have indulged text language in more than one setting. Whereas it should be kept in the phone realm it has drifted into homework and essays that are handed in for a grade in schools. I do not think that text language or any other short hand is bad if it is kept in an appropriate setting and not used as a substitute for spelling words in the English language. T ext language is like hanging out with friends.In that setting you are comfortable and may not use proper English all of the time but the minute you step foot into a situation with someone of prestige (i. e. a professor) you began to utilize your knowledge for grammar and other important factors that help make up the English language. We just have to remedy the fact that people feel that text language or anything similar can be used anywhere by providing guidelines as to the appropriate use and the appropriate settings this short hand can be used.

Ground Chocolate & Co. Marketing Plan Research Paper

Ground Chocolate & Co. Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example The paper describes the main strategies of "Ground Chocolate & Co." GROUND Chocolate & Company considers diverse promotional channels that would foresee the marketing and promotional efforts outreach the maximum number of individual from the market segments. Since the company practices premium pricing, most of the people from the target market are aged between 20-40 and mainly middle class educated individuals with knowledge on the global health concerns. Both vegans and diabetics, who make a crucial market segment, can safely consume our products. Therefore, they are considered in our promotional strategy. Various quality chocolates we produce require different raw products and expertise. Due to this aspect, it is only relevant and fair to price differently in order to meet the incurred costs of production. Our profit margins are fair. Therefore, our consumers receive fair prices according to their tastes and preferences. All our products are of high quality. Prices vary from the purest grounded chocolate to the raw bars. Our fair prices are exhibited on the wraps to enable our consumers make choices appropriately and according to their preferences. In any case, the cost incurred will surely worth the taste of our quality chocolate bars. Be ready for a completely new chocolate experience with GROUND Chocolate & Company products. We have the most flexible and considerate pricing plan that is concerned with the equity needs of our target markets. Given the high quality of our products, we do not price cheaply, but affordable.

Why is the term recruitment often used incorrectly What is the correct Assignment

Why is the term recruitment often used incorrectly What is the correct term and expand on the whole process for filling a job vacancy - Assignment Example It seems that the correct use of the term recruitment is a prerequisite for the development of effective recruitment plans. On the other hand, problems in filling a job vacancy are difficult to be avoided. If the term ‘recruitment’ is used in its correct meaning it can ensure the limitation of severe failures in the recruitment process. There are many reasons for the incorrect use of the term recruitment. According to D’Annunzio-Green, managers tend to use incorrectly the term ‘recruitment’ when they are not aware of their organization’s culture (107). It is further explained that managers who are new in the organization and who have the responsibility for designing or developing the recruitment process can make severe mistakes mostly because they are not aware of their organization’s culture and goals (D’Annunzio-Green 107). The above risk can be avoided by offering to managers a period of time for understanding the organization’s culture. Foot and Hook give a different explanation for the appearance of wrong use of the term recruitment in organizations. According to the above researchers, in many organizations tasks related to recruitment are assigned to managers who are not appropriately specialized (Foot and Hook 40). Reference is made, for example, to the line managers who are often asked to take part in the design or the development of the recruitment process without having relevant experience (Foot and Hook 40). The fact that line managers may be aware of their organization’s culture (D’Annunzio-Green 107) does not give them the competency for being involved in the recruitment process. The responsibility of managers for the wrong use of the term ‘recruitment’ in modern organizations is also highlighted in the study of Taylor, Doherty and McGraw. In the above study it is made clear that mistakes during the recruitment process are quite common in firms

MBA 510 Problem Set I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MBA 510 Problem Set I - Essay Example b. Compute the mean deviation. 3.24 square root ((N-Mean)^2+(N1-Mean)^2.../n)= Square root (42/4)= 3.74 c. Compute the standard deviation. 3.74 square root ((N-Mean)^2+(N1-Mean)^2.../n-1)= Square root (42/3)= 3.74 b. Lind Chapter 5: Exercises 8, 66 8. A sample of 2,000 licensed drivers revealed the following number of speeding violations. Number of Violations Number of Drivers 0 1,910 1 46 2 18 3 12 4 9 5 or more 5 Total 2,000 a. What is the experiment The experiment is the gathering of the data set b. List one possible eventA driver has less than two speeding violations c. What is the probability that a particular driver had exactly two speeding violations 18/2000 = .009 d. What concept of probability does this illustrate Relative frequency 66. A survey of undergraduate students in the School of Business at Northern University revealed the following regarding gender and majors of the students: Major Gender Accounting Management Finance Total Male 100 150 50 300 Female 100 50 50 200 Total 200 200 100 500 a. What is the probability of selecting a female student 200/500 = .4 b. What is the probability of selecting finance or accounting major 300/500 = .6 c. What is the probability of selecting a female or an accounting major Which rule of addition did you apply 250/500 = .5 The addition rule of independent events d. Are gender and major independent Why No, the data is dependent upon gender e. What is the probability of selecting an accounting major, given that the person selected is male 100/300 = .33 f. Suppose two students are selected randomly to attend a lunch with the president of the university. What is the probability that both of those selected are accounting majors Acct major = .4 Both acct major = .4*.4 =... 68. The American Automobile Association checks the price of gasoline before many holiday weekends. Listed below are the self-service prices for a sample of 15 retail outlets during the May 2003 Memorial Day weekend in the Detroit, Michigan, area. 70. A recent article suggested that if you earn , 25, 000 a year today and the inflation rate continues at 3 percent per year, you'll need to make 33,598 in 10 years to have the same buying power. You would need to make 44,771 if the inflation rate jumped to 6 percent. Confirm that these statements are accurate by finding the geometric mean rate of increase. 38. The accounting department at Weston Materials, Inc., a national manufacturer of unattached garages, reports that it takes two construction workers a mean of 32 hours and a standard deviation of 2 hours to erect the Red Barn model. Assume the assembly times follow the normal distribution. 44. The number of passengers on the Carnival Sensation during one-week cruises in the Caribbean follows the normal distribution. The mean number of passengers per cruise is 1,820 and the standard deviation is 120. 60. In establishing warranties on HDTV sets, the manufacturer wants to set the limits so that few will need repair at manufacturer expense. On the other hand, the warranty period must be long enough to make the purchase attractive to the buyer.

Can socialism be achieved within a capitalist society Essay

Can socialism be achieved within a capitalist society - Essay Example The forces of demand, supply and availability of goods determine prices. As a result, there exists a huge gap between individuals in possession of capital and the ones without. Under capitalism, the government has little control over labour forces (Wu, 2002, p. 56; Yunker, 2009, p. 56). Although socialism idea was noble, its enforcement in a modern capitalist society can prove to be retrogressive rather that progressive (Hancke?, Martin, and Mark, 2007, p. 34). The introduction of socialist elements would prove inefficient and wasteful in a capitalist economy. This owes to the difficulties that arise in the organization of production by socialists. Moreover, socialists remain vague on the manner in which the system should be effectively integrated without harming the more stable capitalist form of governance. Gross misconceptions and indolence of the masses about the intentions of socialism also threaten its practicality (Hancke? et al., 2007, p. 58). In effect, this would challenge the scientific thought of rational conduct over life, which promotes rational economic calculations. Socialism would fail to address scarcity, an economic problem, if introduced in a capitalist society. Scarcity stems from the unlimited wants versus limited resources to meet them. Capitalism solves this problem through the theory of value, which asserts that an individual can only chose a good whose value is appeasing. Preference therefore sets the platform for monetary valuations and prices. Socialists do not value pricing or the determination of prices by economic agents. Without prices, valuations of goods and services would not adequately support satisfaction of wants through expending acquired incomes from specialized division of labour (Watson, and Hassett, 2008, p. 121). Socialism, through its limitation of the absence of fluctuating prices and free markets, would undermine proper use of resources in a capitalist society. It is nearly impossible to imagine a successful societ y that prevents free expression of preferences through a pool of prices. Random and frequent valuations of a resource through the forces of supply and demand are the only sure way of determining whether it is being used effectively to meet human wants. It would be impossible for socialist ideas like these to thrive in a highly competitive capitalist society where only the strong survive (Yunker, 2009, p. 112). While competitiveness in a capitalist society drives civilization, socialist ideas would lead to slow growth. This is because decision making and planning become centralized with bureaucracy standing in the way of development and growth. There is also the aspect of collective effort rather than personal challenge that leaves the society exposed to inefficiency and laxity. There is no place for laxity in a capitalist society as everyone is encouraged to work hard to attain personal development, which often reflects in the overall performance of the economy. Socialists cannot gu arantee adequate service to consumers while maximizing profits compared to capitalists. This efficiency arises from the promotion of private ownership of factors of production, which socialists oppose (Lawler III, 2009, p. 6). Freedom by private owners like proprietors and entrepreneurs to acquire and dispose property sets them on the path to determining true prices that reflect market forces of demand and supply. Through such freedom to calculate and

Compile an Annotated Bibliography Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Compile an Annotated Bibliography - Coursework Example He developed the questionnaire, which focused on measuring the different that exist between these two generation regarding the above motivational factors. The participants were from three different departments of a Turkey bank. The findings of Acar’s study demonstrated that the two motivational factors had the same importance for the respondents. Acar, thus, argues that same factors can be motivational to the Generation Y as similar levels as Generation X. However, Acar’s study did not consider the educational structure of the participants. This is essential in investigating the relationship between these generations and other variables including the organizational procedures, culture, values, and management style. Costanza, D., Badger, J., Fraser, R., Severt, J., & Gade, P. (2012). Generational Differences in Work-Related Attitudes: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Business & Psychology, 27(4), 375-394. doi:10.1007/s10869-012-9259-4 Costanza et al. (2012) argue that researchers, organizations, and practitioners are interested in the variations that exist among generations on a number of outcomes. Thus, their study focuses on quantitatively assessing the research on generational variations in work-related attitudes as well as providing a guidance into the future practice and research. Costanza and colleagues performed a meta-analysis of the generational variation on three work-related criteria. These included organizational commitment, job satisfaction and intent to turnover. In addition, they reviewed research studies, both published and unpublished. They found that twenty of the studies allowed for eighteen generational pairwise comparisons through the four generations including Generation X, Baby Boomers, Traditional, and Millennial. Their findings demonstrated a relationship, which is moderate to small that exist between the work-related outcomes and generational membership. Sparks (2012) reports the differences existing in generational psychological job

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 22

Discussion - Assignment Example Therefore in conducting nursing research socioeconomic factors affecting individuals in a particular environment The health of an individual is the utmost priority undertaken by professions in the nursing sector. Cleanliness is the significant risk that can lead to diseases. Poor families often live in areas where the levels of pollution are usually high. Contamination of drinking water is likely to cause waterborne diseases. Therefore, provision of clean drinking would increase chances of good health. Vaccination of the children ensures that the immunity of their health is strengthened. The nurse family partnership an approach established in the nursing sector would assist poor through provision of counseling facilities and free medical camps for the poor families. Nurses can help the poor families by providing in which individuals can sustain themselves. Based on the safe at home checklist various observations were made concerning the environmental safety of the home. The home has fire extinguisher strategically placed to counter sudden fires. In addition, the sprinkler system within was well maintained and functioning. The smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors were present within the home and were working based on the numerous detections within the home.  In the case of the care of frail, dependent member rumps, need to be established  in homes  to ensure mobility. Supportive poles can also assist such individual support themselves during mobility. Toilets for the disabled should be part of the nursing homes to cater for those unable to walk. Success in recruiting and maintaining the right staff is vital in improving the quality of healthcare. Therefore, proper care should be taken that qualified staff are hired. Nurses are critical in disbursement of health care services. There are significant factors to note in

Are Gmos Good for Our Health Essay Example for Free

Are Gmos Good for Our Health Essay So, its been a long day, your exhausted, really hungry, and dont think too much about what you want to eat. You just know that you will go for anything tasty that is fast and easy to make. Choosing what we we want to eat in this way should be familiar to all of us, its the American way: We want it and we want it now, and it always has to be better, faster, and last longer. Due to our forever growing population this demand only gets stronger and stronger; alas our creation of genetically modified organisms. The dominating corporate in charge called Monsanto promised to create this miracle food that will feed countries around the world, last longer, and make our diets healthier. After finding out that these genetically modified foods can cause health problems and arent provided enough for the malnourished, third world countries, can we really say that the creation of GMOs are living up to what Monsanto is telling us? One of the main defenses for GMOs is to help out third world countries; places where starvation and malnutrition hit the hardest. An article for Times magazine titled Grains of Hope illustrates all the excitement and hope that GMOs will solve world hunger. Reporting that the new GM strain in rice creates a new species of rice called Golden Rice. â€Å"This new rice produces beta-carotene, which the human body converts into Vitamin A. † â€Å" Nearly a million children die every year because they are weakened by Vitamin A deficiency and an additional 350,000 go blind† (Robbins, 2012, pg 1). You would think that this golden rice would be the answer to all malnutrition problems, but unfortunately it is not. According to a New York Times article titled Can GMOs Help End world Hunger? , â€Å"golden rice will not grow in the kinds of soil that it must to feed the hungry. To grow properly, it requires heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides. For the poor, developing countries it is unaffordable. Plus the heavy amounts of pesticides could travel into the bloodstreams of people and make them resistant to essential antibiotics. Research shows that â€Å"an eleven year old boy would have to eat twenty-seven bowls of golden rice a day in order to satisfy his minimum requirement for the vitamin† (Robbins, 2012, pg 2). The Monsanto Corporation and other biotechnology companies have invested billions of dollars to gain control over what we eat. Their main goal is not to feed the world but to retrieve maximum profit. Part of how their doing so is by monopolizing farmers. They do so by creating a Technology Protection System. This system creates â€Å"terminator seeds. †These seeds are altered so that they are sterile. Meaning that after the crop grows, it will not produce more seeds for farmers to harvest and grow next season. Instead, they have to buy more seeds over and over again. Due to the corporate patenting and monopolization of GM seeds, farmers also have to use excessive amounts of chemicals on their crops. â€Å"It is frequently argued that the high debt incurred by Indian farmers and resultant farmer suicides (over 250,000 since 1997) have largely resulted from the need to purchase costly pesticides and expensive seeds each year because they contain a terminator gene† (Todhunter,2012). In the earlier times of GMOs, many farmers couldnt wait to try out these products because the World Health Organization came out and said that they benefited agriculture productivity, human health and revived infertile crops. The World Health Organization stated in their article, Weighing in the GMO Arguments: For, â€Å"Genetically engineered resistance to pests and diseases could greatly reduce the chemicals needed for crop protection. Farmers are already growing maize cotton and potatoes that no longer have to be sprayed with bacterial insecticide. They also included that removing lignin found in trees will get rid of toxic chemicals in paper and wood made products, being healthier for people and the environment. WHO also goes on to add that â€Å"Genetic modification to become more tolerant of salt [found in infertile soil] and drought. † An article I found to support these findings called GM crops aid plant neighbours talks about a study done in china where they modified strains of cotton DNA so that the crops could make their own insecticide and solve pest problems. The results were positive, the insecticide Bacillus Thuringiensis, caused a reduction in the use of insecticide because it got rid of the cotton bollworm, a major pest to cotton. The newly engineered cotton also created greater biodiversity by attracting more lady bugs, causing the population of aphids, another cotton pest, to decrease. In the article, an advocate for organic farming shares that she agrees with the modified cotton because â€Å"organic farmers avoid pesticides by using natural processes to encourage beneficial predators. Getting rid of pests by introducing predators and reducing the use of pesticides is very similar to organic processes. † The new pest resistant crop may have been beneficial for a little while but as time went on they are began to build up in our bloodstreams. A recent study done by researchers from the University of Sherbrooke Hospital Centre in Quebec, Canada found that ninety-three percent of maternal blood and eighty percent of fetal cord blood test positive for the Bt toxin Cry1ab, Proving that transgenic materials are not effectively broken down and eliminated during digestion. Another harmful chemical 3-MMPA, showed up in 100 percent of pregnant womens bloodstreams. The chemical 3-MMPA is produced when our bodies metabolize gluphosinate, also found in GMOs. A study done in Europe found that gluphosinate can cause cancer, DNA damaged, and reproductive toxicity. Another recent study done by European researchers found that after feeding rats a diet of GM corn through out their lifetime have developed tumors all over their body and died prematurely. One thing Monsanto might try to tell you is that there are no long term affects to genetically modified products. Truth is, over years and years of Americans eating meat been changed overtime so that it is plumper and lasts longer has caused a growing epidemic that especially effects children. The additives we have been consuming were designed to have longer shelf lives, but the chemicals added also mimic human hormones that have estrogenic qualities and anabolic steroids. Because of these increased uses in poultry production children are starting puberty earlier and earlier. The article, Additives and Hormones in Our Food: A Growing Epidemic that effects Our Children, Includes a table showing how the trend of the onset age for puberty decreasing; showing that in 1970 the onset age for puberty was 12. 6 years old. In 2000, that number decreased to 9. 8 years old. Another growing the epidemic that is not only effecting Americas children but America as a whole is obesity. And guess what, chemicals added to our food are linked to that too. Based off of what Stephen Perrine, author of New American Diet, â€Å"We have all sorts of chemicals put into our newly, genetically engineered foods. † The Pesticides, antibiotics and growth hormones that make our food more resistant to diseases and environmental stress contain obesogens. According to Perrine, â€Å"obesogens can cause heart disease,diabetes,obesity and high cholesterol. Most of the obesogens come from pesticides, non-organic produce, and GM corn-fed beef and chicken. For many years, GMOs seemed to be a great idea because they benefited agriculture productivity, human health and revived infertile crops. The whole intention for the creation of GMOs are great, they have proven to last longer and get rid of major pests and all but the fact that these modified organisms have caused major health problems to our people and havent benefited our poorer countries as they were suppose to, the invention of genetically modified organisms have done more bad than good. With that, people should be more careful about what they choose to eat. So, the next time you head out to go grocery shopping, look for labels for 100 percent organic foods, or go to the farmers market where everything is locally grown.

Challenges for Construction Project Planning

Challenges for Construction Project Planning 2.1 Introduction This chapter will review the literature which has been used for this dissertation. A number of important aspects will be covered , including an overview of Construction Planning as well as determining what challenges are faced on a daily basis by construction planners. This chapter will also review research relating to Planning techniques used and software packages available within the Construction industry. 2.2 Construction Project Planning Project Management can be seen as the application of tools and techniques utilised to guide the use of resources towards achieving a n intricate task within the const raint s of time, cost and quality. From conception to completion, a mixture of these tools techniques is necessary to fit the task environment and project life cycle. The British Standard for project management (BS6079 1996) defined project management as, â€Å"The planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to the specified cost, quality and performance.† The UK association of Project Management (APM) have produced a UK body of knowledge UK (BoK) which also provides a definition for project management as â€Å"The planning, organisation, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all involved to achieve the project objectives safely and within agreed time, cost and performance criteria. The project manager is the single point of responsibility for achieving this.† Project Management as we know today has evolved in order to plan, coordinate and control the complex and diverse activities of modern industrial, commercial and management change projects. (Lock 2007) To allow for effective planning and control of projects, a requirement for systematic and logical methods should be applied along with proven techniques, thus ensuring a successful project outcome for all concerned parties, particularly the client. Without planning it is difficult to envisage the successful conclusion of any project or the effective control of time, money or resources. Planning is also essential in order to deal with construction risks and devise safe working methods. (Cooke 2008) Project Planning is defined as the establishment of a set of directions in sufficient detail to tell the project team exactly what must be done, when it must be done and what resources to use in order to produce the deliverables of the project successfully. (Zwikael 2008). Construction planning is an essential and challenging activity in the management and implementation of construction projects. It occupies the choice of technology, the description of work tasks, the estimation of the necessary resources and durations for individual tasks, and the identification of any interactions among the different work tasks. Hendrickson (1998) believes a good construction plan is the basis for developing the budget and the schedule for work. It is therefore common to adopt a conspicuous importance on either cost control or on schedule control as illustrated in Figure 2.1. Walker (2007) considers that by having a project schedule to work to and sticking to it, you will well be on your way to delivering successful projects. This would be dependant on effective communic ation and efficiency at all stages of the project and with an aim to reducing risk, time and cost. 2.3 The Construction Planner Construction project planning is receiving growing attention as the limitations of formal deterministic planning are becoming more widely recognised. (Winch, Kelsey 2004). There is growing concern over the failure of construction planning to achieve its goals in spite of the considerable resources allocated to it. Deficient planning techniques are commonly blamed for this state. (Laufer, Tucker, 1987) There has been considerable debate over the last decade or so on the effectiveness of construction project planning. However, there is remarkably little research into what construction project planners actually do. Laufer and Tucker provide a critique of construction planning. They protest that:- the planning and evaluation of planning processes are non-existent there is over-emphasis on critical path methods planners lack construction experience planners have poor information gathering methods planning is control-oriented instead of action-oriented Plans are been poorly presented with overly-complex information. In a subsequent paper (1994) Laufer and his colleagues look at the definition and allocation of planning work. They found that there was no clear system at work and planning was done in a multiplicity of ways. They call for the process to be properly co-ordinated by a single individual who will own the planning process and improve communication. Winch and Kelsey (2005) believe the specialist planner has the time to do the work but incomplete practical knowledge. The line manager has the practical knowledge but does not have the quality time to carry out the task. The specialist planner has better strategic decision-making skills than the short-term decision-making focus of the line manager. They then go on to say â€Å"Line managers see the delegation of key decision-making to another as a threat to their position†. These problems are confirmed in Laufer (1992) wider project management study and can result in: The planner preparing a plan which has incomplete information and in-adequate decision making authority. The line manager treating such plans as merely an irrelevant forecast prepared by another. Allen Smallwood (2008) believe Construction planners and the role they perform are little understood both within the construction industry and the wider environment where construction has a daily impact. Planning occupies a central position in the functions of the manager. His responsibilities may vary with organisational philosophy and contingency but planning invariably remains an essential ingredient of his duties. (Steiner, 1979). Much Research and Development effort has been made during the last three decades but progress with techniques has not removed the dissatisfaction with the application and results of construction planning (Choudhury 1981, Mason 1984, Morton 1983). Effective construction planning demands that it is carried out by competent and experienced personnel. While the estimator must remain in charge or pricing the work, most contracts, today, are too complex for the estimator to handle the technical content of pre-tender appraisal. It is here that the construction planner has a major function. 2.4 Planning Techniques Most planning techniques aim to express the work to be done, to a time-scale; some also include resources, and perhaps cost and value. In simple terms, they intend to help control time and cost. The other major factor in project control, quality, is controlled by its own family of control techniques; and quality is related to time and cost through the skill and judgement of the project management team. Neale (1989) believes the major components of planning techniques are: Activities: literally, being busy, expending energy, consuming resources, taking time; in construction planning, this means a job to be done; for example preparing a drawing, an order to be places, a hole to be dug, bricks to be laid in a wall, a flow of water to be diverted. Activity durations: the time required for the completion of each activity Project time-scale: the time structure of the project; it is usual to give each week in the project a number (this makes calculation easier), and these then have to be related to calendar dates, holidays, etc. Event: an occurrence at a specific point in time; for example, the granting of planning consent, of the start or end of a traffic diversion. Work method: the plan must be expressed in some logical way, indicating the sequence of operations, and which activities and events are interrelated; this may be implicit (as with bar charts) or exlicit (in network analysis, where work method is usually called logic.) Resources: often called the four Ms (men, machines, materials and money) but can include overheads (for example, site accommodation), and even such essentials as managerial skill. Costs: what the work has or will cost, often derived directly from the unit costs of the individual resources. Value: what has or can be earned by payment for work done derived from the bill of quantities, the estimate or an internal budget. The calculation of value-to-date can be used as an overall measure of project progress. 2.5 Four techniques are often used in construction planning Bar charts, Network analysis, Line-of-balance Linear programmes. 2.5.1 The bar chart/ Gantt Chart Drafting of a bar chart is popular because it produces results which are easy to understand and not too searching of the planner. Its use is limited to planning straightforward work with simple relationships between the activities. This graphical technique still forms the foundation for most resource scheduling. Its major drawback is that even minor deviations from it require extensive redrafting as a result making it more difficult to having to hand a contemporaneous bar chart that is a reliable indicator of future events. The main features of the bar chart are as follows: The activities are listed on the vertical axis Time is shown on the horizontal axis. This may be an appropriate time unit, such as months or days. Each bar is divided horizontally into two, with the top half representing when the activity is planned to take place, and the bottom shared in, as proportions of the activity are completed. A vertical movable marker line indicates the current time, thus enabling the observer to note if any activities are behind programme, and to what extent. Refer to Figure 2.2 for additional information. The format of the bar chart presumes that the end user (client) can involve the same judgment that was in the mind of the planner when he was compiling it. In highly repetitive or simple work it can be implied that the users will better understand the thought process of the planner. However as project complexity increases the user’s ability to monitor the project in relation to the programme is reduced unless it is understood: What work is important to progress? Of the activities currently behind programme what, if any, effect do they have on overall progress? On the contrary, if most of the actual work is ahead of programme, does this mean that the current prediction is that the project will be complete in advance of the targeted completion date? The answer is definitely not an automatic yes. To provide an informed response, an understanding of the relationships between programme activities is crucial. Neale (1989) consider these deceivingly simple questions contradict issues which are at the heart of many construction disputes, namely considerations for extension of time. 2.5.2 Network Analysis Unlike a bar chart, activities are not shown on an axis of time. What the network portrays is the logical relationship between activities. Network analysis is a powerful, logical and analytical technique. It is most effective when used for complicated projects, especially those with external constraints and complex interrelationships. The technique is based on drawing the logical relationships between construction operations, and from an analysis of the relative durations, establishing which operations have the most crucial effect on the project duration. It can be drawn in a number of ways, the most well-known in the UK being the arrow diagram. The technique is sometimes known as the critical path method (CPM), and critical path analysis (CPA). A version which incorporates a statistical method for calculating the probability that a project will be completed on a specific date is called the programme evaluation and review technique. (PERT) The identification of a â€Å"critical path† focuses the attention of the individuals managing the project and highlights to clients and their advisors the tasks that require to be particularly well managed with regard to time. The duration of critical path represents the shortest duration in which the project can be completed. Delays to activities on the critical path transmit directly through to extend the project completion date. This provides advanced warning of the pending delay to completion and enables the contractor (or employer) to invoke recovery action at a useful point in time rather than waiting until it is manifestly obvious that the completion date is threatened. If the employer or his Architect/Engineer (A/E) instructs additional work which affects the activities on the critical path then the contractor has grounds for a claim for an extension of time. The term critical path is widely used in the construction industry; what is not fully appreciated is how easily the critical path can change. Network analysis has a good and inclusive logical basis, lends itself easily to computer processing, and can be used as an effective control tool. These exceptional characteristics are also known to be its principal weakness as it is easier for the planner to be drawn into a level of planning and analysis that is much to detailed and advanced for most construction projects. 2.5.3 Line of Balance Line of balance is a specialised technique used for repetitive work. It derived from the manufacturing industry and has been found to be effective in planning work truly repetitive. Examples of success applications include planning the construction of identical floors in high rise construction, and large housing developments. Line of balance has been found to be difficult to use on projects which have a high demand for trades or operations to construct each identical unit. The problems arise not from the technique itself, but from the difficult of showing all the information on one chart, particularly when using the technique to monitor progress. When used to plan, it can be an excellent means of relating resources, activity durations and the general pace of work on site. Neale (1989). Illingworth (1993) considers the line of balance approach has largely fallen out of use in today’s industry due to the fact it was designed primarily for housing and did not readily provide clear visual appreciation of the situation at a glance. 2.5.4 Linear Programme (or time-chainage chart) Linear programming is a specialised technique for linear work. This is a basic tool of UK road contractors. Other successful applications include the construction of a large canal in a developing country, and it is especially useful in tunnelling. Illingworth (1993). Similar to line of balance, this is a simple two- dimensional graphical technique and can show clearly only a limited amount of information and limited degree of complexity. Figure 2.6 – Linear Programme (Neale 1989) Linear Programme Activities (Neale 1989) 2.6 Which technique? The experienced planner in construction needs to be aware of the techniques available, together with the value of each, both in the planning analysis role and how then can be applied to give effective control and communication to management on site. Illingworth (1993). Like any other professional, the planner has to select the right tool for the job. To make the correct decision, it is therefore a requirement to examine what is wanted in a particular situation programme. Illingworth (1993) believes the main points of this choice are as follows: Does the method aid initial analysis of the situation and especially in establishing the best sequence of events? Are deficiencies in progress shown up as the work proceeds? Can visiting management obtain and immediate view of the contract situation on arrival on site? With the preponderance of subcontractors on site today, does the programme method give assistance in cash flow control? According to Illingworth, from these questions it is unlikely to be the answer to all desires. Therefore it is said to be better to consider the situation in two stages – tender planning on the one hand and the operational planning after the contract has been won, on the other. 2.7 Planning Practice In order to explore further the reality of construction project planning semi-structured interviews were conducted between July and December 2000 with 18 experienced planners from five leading UK construction firms. Most of the planners interviewed were currently involved in planning at the tender stage including assembly and presentation of the tender documentation. About half of those were also involved at the tender/ pre-construction stage. Only a few were further involved during the site works. (Refer to figure 2.7). Generally, although a number of the interviewed planners had on-site experience the typical pattern is that a planner works either at the pre-tender, pre-execution stages or on site but not simultaneously. The exceptions tend to be where planners work for some time on a single large project. In such cases it may make sense (from the employer’s point of view) for their work to carry on to the execution stage. 2.8 Programming Considerations at the Tender Stage Upon receipt of tender documentation, the contractor will appoint human resources tasked with compiling a tender submission based upon the tender enquiry. One of the main individual in this team is the person accountable for producing the tender programme, the construction planner. Whether or not the contractual terms require a programme to be produced or not should be irrelevant at this stage. The tender programme is an important document produced by the contractor which is used for measuring many risk and cost related issues. In particular, the assessment of cost of the contractor’s time related preliminary items as drawn off the content of the tender programme. For example, the anticipated on site durations for different members of staff, periods of scaffold hire and duration for site accommodation are items that cannot be priced by the estimator without reference to the tender programme. When compiling the tender programme, the construction planner must incorporate the information supplied with the enquiry noting any specified constraints contained in either the contract bills, specification or drawings. Conflict between documents often exists and a view had to be taken on how to proceed. Clarification may be sought from the employer or his agents, assumptions made and stated along with the submission or the conflict may be ignored and the information that best suits the contractor is assumed without qualification or statement. It is accepted in the industry that many bids are won or lost on the programme duration alone. This happens frequently where a bill of quantities is being priced and the experienced contractors tend towards similar prime cost for similar items. On completion of reviewing tender documents, drawings, specification and bills, which may be typically done over a period of one or two weeks, the construction planner will establish the work scope which will be addressed in the creation of a tender programme. The main objective is to be aware of the specified period for construction. Additional to the completed programme should be a schedule of resources which corresponds with the programme and a series of method statements signifying construction techniques and equipment to be employed in carrying out the work. 2.9 Programming on Site When the contract is won, the site planning is equally important. It is usually at this point that the site manager will have his first chance to examine the methods on which the job was priced. What is important to recognise, at this point, is that planning must be seen as an addition to management. Thus the site manager must have the right to question the planning methods on which the contract was priced. To do so, site manager’s require the technical expertise to assess what has been put forward. In so doing, the manager concerned must, for his part, accept that if he wants to change the method from that in the priced tender, he must demonstrate that his alternative is obviously cheaper, or at least as cheap, as that priced in the tender submission. When final agreement has been reached, the planning function can be established on site and develop the final method to be adopted. This, in turn, will lead to the contract master programme and such subsidiary programmes as may be necessary. On completion of all methods being confirmed the construction planner continues to have a significant role on site. First, in developing control and short-term programmes for all organisations contributing to the contract under the main or managing contractor. Second, the construction planner’s cherished knowledge of how the work was originally planned makes him uniquely placed to examine the potential consequences of alterations to what has to be built. In this area he is a valuable source of information to the site quantity surveyor when assessing where possible contractural claims may arise. Today, with the ever increasing use of trade sub-contractors as well as specialist service contractors, the experienced construction planner has the option of either seeing the role as satisfying its own right, or as an essential ingredient of experience for becoming a successful site manager. Illingworth (1993). 2.10 Purpose of a Programme The values applicable to the mechanics of construction planning are similar whether you are a main contractor submitting a quotation to an employer, a sub-contractor quoting to the main contractor, or even a construction manager providing programme assist to an employer. Common principles apply when compiling a construction programme, that of methodical analysis. The contractor’s construction programme is an important common reference. It shows how the planner they have interpreted the contract documents and other information from which the statement of intent for construction is issued. As the key programme for the construction work, its content is of the utmost significance to all parties charged with handing over to the employer a building fit for purpose within the contract time stated. A well prepared programme is vital to every construction project. Many activities have to be cautiously defined and given a time scale, and it necessary not only to assemble and list the information but also to display it visually in terms of the contract’s objectives and the calendar. The working sequences and the relationships between individual activities must be clearly conveyed in this visual presentation.† The Chartered Institute of Building (2001). They consider the construction programme to be a statement of intended actions, which when properly used provides management with its plan of campaign. It should communicate with ease, providing the common reference for the timing of all activities related to the project. 2.11 Construction Planning Software An expert planner faced with the task of producing and analysing a network for a project containing only few activities will undoubtedly produce the fastest results by drawing a freehand arrow diagram and analysing it mentally. Lock (2007). He believes it is likely to take longer when using a computer because of the formalities needed to set up the new project files in the system and enter the data. David Arditi and Ann Rackas compiled a short report in May of 1986 with an aim in ascertaining the need for computer software to assist is construction planning and scheduling. This report concluded, the individual needs of a given construction company are the primary reasons for choosing a particular software package. For example, one of the participating general contractor’s basic requirements was to have a 40-character activity description field: â€Å"a particularly individual need†. They continued to suggest if a program is to survive the inevitable shakeout that occurs after the initial development and interest have peaked; it must offer the features and capacities that are required by the user. In addition, every effort should be made to make computers less mysterious and confusing as they will be dealing with the construction market. Today there are many planning software packages available to the construction industry. Asta Powerproject, Microsoft Project, Primavera, PERT Master to name a few. Each package is commonly suited to the individual needs of the planner. Some programs present a blank Gantt chart on the screen as soon as they are booted up, and it is apparent to the user that task data can be typed in immediately. Most programs allow the user/ planner to establish project durations, critical path network, allocate resources, assign costs to tasks and monitor progress throughout the project. As a result, most construction planning professionals use such packages daily. 2.12 Construction Planning Challenges Lock (2007) considers anyone planning a project of significant size will soon find out that there are a number of factors, both inside and outside the project organisation that can have an effect on the planner’s intentions. These are as follows: 2.12.1 External Factors All projects are subject to risk, many of which can have an enormous impact on plans. Lock (2007) deems the following are just four from the long catalogue of happenings that can be categorised as Acts of God: An earthquake devastates a project organisations headquarters. A hurricane and flood put a project site under a metre of water and delay the start or ruin the work in progress. An influenza epidemic puts half the project workforce out of action. (Swine flu outbreak 2008 recorded thousands of people off work for over 5 days.) The project manager (a keen golfer) is struck by lightning. The national government can play an important part on the smooth running of a project. E.g. the project could be government-funded and is cancelled or abandoned through a political decision. Lock (2007) also considers less immediate concerns which are the wider and longer-term economic consequences of government policy leading to downscaling of projects, delays and cancellations in all sectors of industry. Decisions made outside the project team can also have an affect on many characteristics of planning. E.g. a decision is made at directorate level to carry out a project in a different company within the group from that initially anticipated or a strategic decision is made to cut short all new staff recruitment resulting in a lower number of available resources formerly expected to be available for projects. 2.12.2 Working Factors Lock (2007) These are items which are likely to affect the project team on a daily basis. Examples include availability of resources, materials etc. People are believed to be a construction organisations greatest resource. â€Å"Construction operations depend on the knowledge and skills of people planning and executing the work†. Muir (2005.) Research has been carried out to reveal that the construction industry is typically viewed as being one of the least attractive industries in which to work. Safety plays an important part in the running of a project. Construction by nature is unsurprisingly dangerous with a high degree of hazard and risk. The Health Safety Executive believe each year: Over 1 million injuries and 2.3 million cases of ill-health are experienced by workers; Around 40 million working days are to lost; and Over 25000 individuals are forced to give up work because of injury or ill health. These cost British employers on average  £3.3 to  £6.5 billion each year. Most organisations are oblivious of these figures and are often astonished to find out what the actual costs are. Recent HSE Examples (2009) An injury to a worker using an unguarded drill cost a small engineering company  £45,000. And that was not all. The managing director was prosecuted from which two employees had to be made redundant to  keep the company afloat. At the other end of the scale the Piper Alpha explosion killed 167  people and incurred estimated costs of over  £2 billion. Accidents in construction can account for 3 6 % of total project costs. 2.12.3 Contribution of effective Planning Effective Planning and scheduling influences the results of a project as is promotes well-organised working. Personnel who are not trying continually to overcome crises caused by bad planning can dedicate more time to achieving high quality standards. A well-planned project stands more chance of being completed on time and on budget. 2.13 Chapter Summary Description Author Source To allow for effective planning and control of projects, a requirement for systematic and logical methods should be applied along with proven techniques. Cooke 2008 Improving Construction planning through 4d Planning Project Planning is defined as the establishment of a set of directions Zwikael 2008 Critical Planning Processes in Construction Projects A good Construction plan is the basis for developing the budget and the schedule for work Henrickson 1998 Construction Planning Techniques Having a project schedule to work to and sticking to it, you will be well on your way to delivering successful projects Walker 2007 Project Management in Construction, (5th edition) Construction Planners and the olr they perform are little understood both within the Construction industry and the wider environment Allan Smallwood 2008 Improving Construction planning through 4d Planning Major Components of planning techniques are: Activities, Activity durations, Project time-scale, Event, Work method, Resources, Costs Value Neale 1989 Engineering Management. Construction Planning Four techniques often used; Bar chart, Network analysis, Line-of-balance, Linear programmes Neale 1989 Engineering Management. Construction Planning Experienced planner in construction needs to be aware of the techniques available Illingworth 1993 Construction Methods and Planning Likely to take longer when using construction planning software Lock 2007 Project Management, 9th edition, Planning a project of significant size will soon find that there a number

Issues in the Textile Industry

Issues in the Textile Industry The Textile Industry An overview of the textile industry The textile industry is regarded a major and largest industry around the world in terms of its output, production and employment. It brings a large contribution to various national economies including both global small and large-scale operations (Parvathi, et al., 2009). The textile manufacturing is based on the conversion of three types of fibre, the most one being yarn then fabric and finally textile. The fibres are then manufactured into clothes and others. However, the textile manufacturing originated from hand craft practices by spinners, weavers and some skilled craftsmen. The first textile companies surfaced in the United Kingdom and the Western European countries. This came with the new technological developments that were being introduced (Warshaw Leon, 2011). According to Warshaw and Leon (2011), the term textile industry was initially concerned only with the weaving of fibres, but today it involves a variety of processes. Therefore, as illustrated by Greenberg (2003), the production of textiles involve processes like; spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing and finishing of different natural and synthetic fibres. Today, wet processing is used in the finishing treatment of textiles. It is further categorised into 3 more processes, which is the; preparation process, coloration process and finishing process. Hazards present in the textile industry There are various hazards to which the textile workers are exposed. These hazards are categorised as; (i) exposure to chemical substances, (ii) exposure to physical agents, (iii) exposure to biological agents, (iv) exposure to dusts and fibres, and also (v) psychosocial hazards (European Agency for Safety and Health at work, 2008). Exposure to chemicals The spinning, weaving and knitting process do not involve high use of chemicals. The most substantial chemicals used in these operations are sizing agents like starch and other polymers such as lubricants to prevent yarns from being entangled. There is a wide variety of chemical substances used processes such as dyeing, printing, finishing, bleaching, washing, dry cleaning, sizing and spinning. The most commonly found chemicals are dyes, solvents, optical brighteners, crease resistance agents, flame retardants, heavy metals and anti-microbic agents. Textile fibres, reactive dyes, synthetic fibres and formaldehyde are the respiratory and skin sensitisers that can be identified in textile industries (European Agency for Safety and Health at work, 2008). The dyes that are used for cotton are usually classified into three groups; firstly is the water soluble dyes, secondly are dyes soluble by alkaline reduction and lastly are the dyes formed on fibre. In addition, workers may be also exp osed to aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as mineral spirits and kerosene, which are used for cleaning of equipments and parts of the plants (Greenberg, 2003) Exposure to physical agents From the European Agency for Safety and Health at work (2008), it has been concluded that textile workers are exposed to various physical agents such as noise and vibrations during the weaving, spinning, sewing, twisting and cutting process. As such, being exposed to very high noise level can result in permanent hearing damage while exposure to vibration along with other risk factors for Musculoskeletal Diseases can cause long term harm. It has been noticed that workers are also exposed to electromagnetic fields. Exposure to biological agents Biological agents are also present in the textile industry, in processes like carding and willowing. The workers are exposed to anthrax, clostridium tetani and coxiella burnetti. These can cause allergies and respiratory disorders. Normally, work areas having air conditioning systems and high humidity, the workers tend to have allergies and respiratory problems caused by moulds or yeasts. Exposure to dusts and fibres People working in the textile industry are usually exposed to airborne particles formed from both the natural and synthetic fibres in their work environment (Oldenburg et al., 2007). Studies have shown that workers in the textile industry are more prone to respiratory symptoms caused by cotton dust (Wang et al., 2003). In UK, the Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) for inhalable cotton dust has been fixed at 2.5 mg/m3 for an 8 hour time weighted average (HSE, 2005). Psychosocial hazards in the textile industry Employees experience work-related stress when they are unable to cope with the work demands. The WHO (2003) define work-related stress as â€Å"the response people may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not matched to their knowledge and abilities and which challenge their ability to cope†. As such, psychosocial risks have been considered as being an integral factor of the process of stress. On the one hand, these can be in relation to the job content, the organisation and management of work, environmental and planning conditions while on the other hand it can be in terms of the competence and needs of employees. The interaction between all these factors can be dangerous to the health of employees through their perceptions and experience (Cox et al., 2002). According to the WHO (2010), psychosocial risks and work-related stress are closely associated. However, textile workers are faced to psychosocial risks since they have to perform repetitive and fa st paced tasks and they cannot take any decision by themselves. The textile industry and green technology The textile industry has experienced a lot of changes and there has been the introduction of many new technologies. Today, it has been seen that there is a shift to more eco-friendly processes and chemicals used in the textile industry. These include the use of novel biopolymers along with some enzymes. The use of greener dyes forms part of the essential constituents of green technology. The other constituents of green technology in the textile industry encompass systems which include waste water reduction by recycling, automatic process control and other filtration techniques (Sekar, 1999). In the dyeing process, the usage of water accounts to approximately 30-60 litres of water for 1 kilogram of cloth, thus new technologies to minimise the use of water is being adopted (Deo Wassif , 1999). The new technologies that have been introduced in the textile dyeing and finishing process are as follows: Plasma Treatment Technology Plasma is the state of a gas when its kinetic energy increases to such an extent that the energy is equal to the ionisation energy of the gas. At this stage, the rapid cascading of ionisation caused by the collisions of the gas particles result in plasma. Plasma is the 4th state of matter. In addition, the plasma technology is applicable to the textile industries. It alters the chemical structure and surface properties of fabrics, chemical matters are deposited for better functionality and substances are removed from the fabrics to improve the applicability. The plasma technology is used mainly in the processes like pre-treatment, dyeing and finishing (Shah Shah, 2013). It is a green and simple process. Super Critical Dyeing Fluid A substance which is under a pressure above its critical temperature is known as a super critical fluid. There is no distinction between gases and liquids under these specific conditions and the substance is then characterised as a fluid. As such, super critical fluids possesses the same solvent power as light hydrocarbons used for most solutes. Super critical fluids is advantageous to the textile processing because of their ability to combine the properties of gases and liquids. Also, their solvating power is equivalent to their density while when referring to their viscosity, the normal gas possesses a similar one. However, it is this particular combination which gives it such impressive penetration properties. The dyeing process favour this increase in density along with the increased power of solvation because of the positive effect that it has on the dissolution of disperse dye in the super critical carbon dioxide medium (Kannan Nithyanandan, n.d.). Ultrasound The use of ultrasound in the textile industry started only after synthetic materials and their blends were introduced. It is applied mainly in mechanical processes (weaving, knitting and finishing) and wet processes (sizing, scouring, bleaching and dyeing). Ultrasound has a lot of benefits such as; the processing time and energy consumption is decreased, it enhances the quality of products and the use of auxiliary chemicals are reduced. For instance, using ultrasound in the dyeing process will replace expensive thermal energy and chemicals by electricity. Various experiments were carried out to show the effectiveness of ultrasound on textile and it has been shown that the adsorption power of disperse dyes on cellulose acetate is influenced greatly by ultrasound compared to the dyeing rate when using direct dyes ( (Prince, 2009). Electrochemical Process Technology Traditionally, electrochemical techniques were used only for compounds synthesis and treatment for metal recovery but today its use has been expanded to the textile industry. In order to obtain functionalised fabrics, electrochemistry is applied for the production of smart textiles. However this technique is used mainly in the bleaching of cotton fibres and finished denim fabrics. Electrochemical process is also applied in sulfur and vat dyeing processes to reduce the amount of dyes used making the process eco-friendly since it will not involve the addition of chemical reagents like sodium dithionite (Mireia Carmen, 2012). Electrochemical dyeing process has advantages like; product saving, less chemicals used, incomparable environmental compatibility and better quicker properties is achieved. Good reproducibility also is set by using electrochemical dyeing. (Das, et al., 2012) Nanotechnology Nanotechnology is concerned with materials which are 1 to 100 nm long. The use of nanotechnology in the textile industry increase the durability of fabrics. This is because nano-particles possesses large surface area-to-volume ratio and high surface energy which means that they have better affinity for fabrics, thus increasing the durability of the function. The sporting industry, skincare, space technology and clothing are some examples where the nanotech enhanced textiles are being applied. It ensures that the wearer is better protected when exposed to extreme environments. Therefore, to treat textiles with nanotechnology materials is a way to enhance the properties of the fabric by making it more durable and have nicer colours (Kiron, 2013). Impacts of textile industry on environment The textile industry is a diversified industry being from the raw materials used to the various techniques adopted. At each steps involved in manufacturing fabrics, there are a number of environmental impacts associated with them which are also varied. For instance, the spinning, weaving and industrial manufacture of garments affects the air quality while the dyeing and printing processes use up large amount of water and chemicals. Also, there is the emission of several volatile agents into the atmosphere which have harmful effects on the human health (Challa, n.d.). In addition, each stages of the textile processing generates innumerable wastes streams which are of liquid, gaseous, solid or hazardous nature. The type of textile processes, technologies used, chemicals used and types of fibres will determine the nature of wastes generated. However, the most prevailing environmental impact is the water body pollution which arises due to the disposal of untreated effluents. The second greatest environmental problems caused by the industry are air pollution caused by Volatile Organic compounds (VOC) and other air pollutants. The VOC does not only affects the environment but also the workers and public health. The noise level emitted by textile machineries can also harm the environment by disturbing the natural habitats of various species in the area (C Parvathi, T Maruthavanan, C Prakash, 2009). The role of textile industry in the Mauritian economy The textile industry was set up and appeared in the government agenda of Mauritius in the 1960s. The industry then experienced a drastic expansion during the year 1980 to 2000. Mauritius was faced with a series of positive conditions for the past 30 years. These conditions helped the country in achieving a solid textile industry along with foreign and local investment. The industry was regarded as the main employer of Mauritius and contributed to 12 % of the GDP. However, the textile industry has not only brought a lot of improvements and developments to the economy of the country, but it can be said that its success also coincides with the social changes that came along. The first change is that it has encouraged the emancipation of women. Many women were employed when the textile industry developed. In fact the number of women being employed today also is increasing. The women, who were once viewed as housewives and who did not have the opportunity to study, were regarded as an important pool of labour. Working women started to bring income in the family and this eventually changed their role; they were no longer considered as docile housewife but an independent income earner. The second change is that the status of families has increased from the past years since a working woman helped in increasing the family income (Joomun, 2006). Today, the textile industry of Mauritius has achieved a very high status among other countries and there is currently about 174 textile entreprises employing approximately 55000 people. The industry has invested continuously on innovation and greener production to satisfy the demand of the global market which is emphasising more on eco-friendly practices and products.1http://www.gov.mu/portal/sites/nsp/industry/greenertex.htm In 2009, Mauritius was ranked as the second largest buyer of machineries, accounting to 2300 machines and 9 % of the global sales. Mauritian manufacturers have also invested in latest cleaner technologies and reorganised their activities so as to combat against the low-cost competition of Asian countries. As such the Mauritian and Indian Governments have collaborated together and signed a contract for the transfer of new technologies along with deciding on ways of improving the performance of the textile sector in Mauritius2http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/text ile-news/mauritius/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=119742

Financial Manager Career Data Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

As the economy expands and employment opportunities increase, the need for workers with financial expertise will go up. I will enter the workforce at an excellent time to pursue a career as a financial manager. The information I have acquired concerning this field including opportunities, salary, and working conditions will justify my decision to obtain a position as a financial manager for a major corporation. The opportunities available to someone with a degree in finance are limited to only a few facets of the business world, but according to Job Outlook 2004, a finance degree is one of the top ten degrees in highest demand. Employers are starting to seek graduates with a master’s degree as well as a bachelor’s degree, which makes competition tough among applicants. Technology plays a major role in the financial world and applicants that possess strong computer skills will have a better chance of being hired in their desired field. In the Occupational Outlook Handbook, it says that financial managers must possess critical thinking skills and work well in a team environment. We are part of a global economy, which means that it is essential for applicants to have knowledge of international finance, and be willing to travel to other business markets around the world. In addition to business travel, financial managers are expected to work between 50-60 hours a week as an entry-level associate, and are required to attend office meetings. Up to date information is critical, th...

Earnest Hemingway :: essays research papers fc

Earnest Hemingway Earnest Miller Hemingway was born in Oak Park Illinois. After graduating from high school, he got a job at a paper called "Kansas City Star". Hemingway continually tried to enter the military, but his messed up eye, hindered this task. Hemingway had managed to get a job driving an American Red Cross ambulance. During this expedition, he was injured and hospitalized. Hemingway had an crush for a particular nurse at that hospital, her name was Agnes von Kurowsky. Hemingway continually proposed to her, and she continually denied. When Hemingway healed his injuries, he moved back to Michigan, and had wanted to write again. When he married Hadley Richardson and was working in France, as a foreign correspondent, for the "Toronto Star". In 1925, he wrote a book called "In Our Time", which was marketed in New York. The next year he published a book called "The Sun Also Rises", a novel where he had his first success. "The Sun Also Rises", deals with a group of desultory people in exile from France and Spain-members of the "lost generation", a phrase made famous by Hemingway himself. In post-war years, Hemingway spent most of his time writing books. But, when his first marriage failed, and had a son, John, he had married Pauline Pfeiffer, who had his next 2 children. Based in Paris, he had traveled for skiing, bullfighting, fishing, or hunting that by then had become what most of his work was all about. Hemingway, started writing short stories, among them was "Men Without Women" in 1927, and "A Farewell to Arms" in 1929. This story shows a love story within a war time setting. Many people believe that Hemingway, did his writing at this period of his life. He once confessed "If I had not been hunting and fishing, I would have probably been writing." Hemingway's stories were based on adventure, and different aspects of it. His love of Spain, and his love of bullfighting, led him to write a book called "Death in the Afternoon". During the 1930's, Spain was in a civil war, still having ties in Spain, Hemingway made 4 trips their. He raised money, for a party called the "Loyalists". He wrote a book about it called "The Fifth Column". In this book, the narrator is the protagonist. From more experience in Spain, he wrote a book called "Whom the Bell Tolls" in 1940. This book was the most successful writing, based on sales of the book. All of Hemingway's life, has been fascinated by wars. For example, in "A Farewell to Arms", he focused on how war had

Hpv Controversy

Whitney Sienko McInnis December 6, 2007 â€Å"HPV Vaccine Controversy† The recent news of a vaccine that could prevent a large percent of cancer deaths in the United States alone would generally be considered a reason to celebrate. However, the current attempts of many states, including the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, to pass an ordinance making it mandatory for preteen girls to have the Gardasil vaccine to protect them from some of the forms of cervical cancer caused by HPV has met a great deal of opposition. The objections to this legislation getting passed are primarily voiced by concerned parents who believe that the vaccination is too new to the market and that the long term effects are still too unknown.. This essay will discuss what genital HPV is and how it causes cancer in women, will describe the Gardasil shot and the attempts to make it a mandatory vaccine inoculation for schools in the United States and will detail both sides of the controversy surrounding it. Though the benefits of this vaccine could greatly outweigh the risks, the governor attempting to force a mandate requiring the vaccine to be given to all sixth grade girls could be considered an imposition on parents’ right to choose what is best for their children. Genital HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that is caused by the human papillomavirus (â€Å"Genital HPV Infectionâ€Å"), a group of viruses that contains more than 100 strains, 30 of which are sexually transmitted. This disease is spread by genital contact, and the carrier generally has no signs or symptoms of the infection. The only way to fully protect oneself from contracting HPV is to have no genital contact with another person. That is why it is no surprise that more than 20 million people currently have this infection and that 50 percent of sexually active persons will contract it at some point in their life. There is no cure for HPV, but it is possible for the infection to go away on its own. Though it is usually an asymptomatic infection, it occasionally causes genital warts and mild discomfort, but the greatest danger of this infection is in the ten identified strains that have been linked to cervical cancer in women. Most of the deaths caused by cervical cancer are in women who did not undergo routine pap smears to check for abnormalities. Since persons infected with HPV rarely show any signs or symptoms of an infection, it is often detected too late if at all. It is estimated by the American Cancer Society that in 2007, approximately 11,150 cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, and, though the death rate is declining every year because of an increase in pap smear testing, cervical cancer will still kill about 3,670 women this year (â€Å"What is cervical cancer? †). Development of a vaccine to protect against HPV began in 1993, and the trials for the Gardasil vaccine itself began in 1997. After only nine years of testing, Merck submitted an application to the FDA for fast-track approval (CQ Researcher 419). It took only four clinical trials before the FDA approved Gardasil (Mendenhall), and the drug was approved by the FDA for only eight months before it was first mandated. Gardasil is used to prevent HPV and the cervical cancers that are caused by certain strains of the virus, such as types 16 and 18 which are responsible for about 70 percent of all cervical cancers diagnosed in the United States (McClain). It also protects against two of the strains that are known to cause genital warts. Gardasil was licensed in June 2006, and within a month states such as Michigan were already proposing to mandate the vaccine for girls as young as eleven. In February 2007, Texas governor Rick Perry ordered the vaccine for sixth-grade girls (â€Å"Texas Plans for Mandatory HPV Vaccine Fuel Controversy† ), only to have more than two-thirds of the Texas House of Representatives vote to rescind the executive order (Lang). In response to the twenty two states that were proposing to mandate this vaccine, Representative Paul Gingrey from Georgia reintroduced the Parental Right to Decide Protection Act (CQ Researcher 419). There are many reasons that this vaccine could be beneficial, not only to our society, but to many of the underdeveloped nations of the world in which HPV and cervical cancer are still considered to be an epidemic (MacDonald). It could save the young women who get the vaccine from the future trouble of ealing with a highly invasive cancer, as well as protect them from the embarrassment that comes with contracting a venereal disease. However, the controversy of this topic is not in whether the vaccine is a benefit to women’s health, which many, including the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control, believe that it is; but in the debate over whether it is the parents’ right, not the states’, to choose what is best for their child. The question of mandatory vaccination raises medical, moral and legal issues that are not easily reconcilable (Lovinger). Many parents are opposed to the mandating of this vaccine for three reasons. First, HPV is not spread by casual contact, as are the other diseases that children are vaccinated against for the safety of the classrooms. Second, the vaccine has only been approved for a short while, thus not all of the side effects and long term effects are known. Last, parents are afraid that by getting their child vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease they will be encouraging promiscuity. Gardasil would become the first vaccine mandated for school-aged children that targets a microbe spread primarily through sex. (Wallis) Many have questioned whether an STD vaccine should be required for school attendance, since genital HPV is sexually transmitted as opposed to being spread by casual contact. Whooping cough, polio, Hepatitis and measles are just a few of the vaccines that children must already have in order to attend many public schools, and all of these infections are easily spread either by being in contact or close proximity of someone who is infected (CQ Researcher 415). These infections are all rapidly spread and have the possibility of becoming an epidemic at a school, which is the reason that it is necessary for children to have them. You cannot get genital HPV by shaking hands or sitting next to another child in class, so there is insufficient reason for the vaccine to be mandatory for school attendance (CQ Researcher 416). If parents’ would like to willingly give their daughter the shot, then it is a family choice. Also, there is still much uncertainty about the inoculation’s long-term safety and the possibility of dangerous side effects. While the most common complaint by girls that have received the shot is pain at the site of injection, a national watchdog group using the Freedom of Information Act has uncovered more than 1,600 reports to the FDA of â€Å"adverse events† linked to Gardasil, with 371 of those events being ranked as â€Å"serious†. These â€Å"effects† included three deaths from blood clots and heart problems, which Merck was quick to explain away by blaming birth control pills and pre-existing conditions. Other reactions included paralysis, seizures and fainting (McClain). There has also been some debate on the means in which the trials to test the drug were conducted. The clinical studies done only included 1,200 girls under the age of 16. Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center is concerned about these studies as well and she stated, â€Å"That is just not enough information. What is the scientific evidence that it is safe and effective to use in the age group for which it is recommended? If you look at it on balance, it has not been proven. † Diane Harper, director of the Gynecological Cancer Prevention Researcher Group at Dartmouth Medical School called the inoculations â€Å"a great big public health experiment. Many parents are upset at the thought of their children becoming the â€Å"guinea pigs† for this vaccine and are concerned about the many stories that they have heard or read in the news about the possible long-term effects and the side effects that may not be mentioned on the pamphlets at the doctor’s offices (Gulli, George and Intini). Finally, many parents are con cerned that they will be sending the wrong message to their children by giving them a shot to protect against an STD. Some people have raised the issue that we could be sending teenagers the message that we expect them to be sexually active. A study done by the University of North Carolina showed that one in ten parents was concerned that the vaccination would encourage their children to have more sex (â€Å"Will Teenage Girls Have More Sex? †). Though the abstinence based teaching of sexual education in our country falls many times on the deaf ears of the hormone-run youth of society, forcing every student, even those who may not be at risk, to have the Gardasil shot is somewhat extreme. Overall, this is a decision that needs to be made in the home, not in the courtroom. In conclusion, the controversy surrounding this topic is more a battle of family right to choose verses the state government’s level of involvement in the health of our children. Once the vaccine’s long term effects have been more studied and the vaccine has earned a more respected reputation, I believe that people will grow to accept that it is simply another way to protect those that we love from a devastating disease. However, it should be the decision of the parents in cooperation with their child’s physician of when and how to protect our children from such obstacles in life. Though the Gardasil vaccine is a victory in protecting the lives and bodies of women all around the world, forcing nine year old girls to have the Gardasil shot as an obligation to school attendance is overstepping the boundaries between a family’s choice and the will of an unacceptably paternalistic government. Word Count: 1678 Sienko

Queuing Up

Long Queuing Time Pepper lunch restaurant is famous for providing hot, fast and delicious food to customers. It attracts many people to visit, no matter in peak hours or off peak hours. However Pepper Lunch Restaurant have a poor queuing for customers to buy their wanted dishes. According a servey, a customers said that when he buying a meal, he counted from queuing to get a meal on the get dishes area, it takes around 45minutes in peak hour while it takes at least 15 minutes in off peak hours.Customers have to spend much time when they visit Pepper Lunch Restaurant. The picture at the right hand side showed Pepper lunch restaurant had made a notice for customers which listed about the queuing time is around 20 minutes and apologize for that non-convenience issue. Therefore, the following part is focus on this problem and also suggests some improvements for long queuing time. There are several reasons in causing this problem. One of the reasons is the pepper lunch restaurant in Festi val Walk lack a smart, fast and effective payment system.Only cash is accepted. Octopus card is not accepted as a payment method in the payment system. As all known, nowadays Octopus card is a well-known and very convenience payment method for people to use in buying things and pay transportation fare. Apart from the payment method, Pepper Lunch Restaurant only has one cashier for people to buy their meal. In peak hours, there are at least 20 people in the queue. In off peak hours, there are still 10 people in the queue.A survey interviewed 10 customers who standing outside the Pepper Lunch restaurant, asking whether they would give up if they saw a long queue outside the restaurant. Not surprisingly, 5 people said yes and they would choose other restaurant. The result showed that long queuing time is a serious problem to pepper lunch restaurant. Base on the above problems, we suggest the following improvements. Pepper Lunch Restaurant should install the Octopus card payment system for people to purchase the meal.The Octopus card payment system is a convenience system for payment. It is already widely used in buying food in some specific store or restaurant which installed the Octopus card payment system. Therefore, pepper lunch restaurant should install the Octopus card payment system for people to purchase the meal in order to reduce the time during the payment process and also to save time for change. Apart from installing the Octopus card payment system in the cashier counter, pepper lunch restaurant can set an auto-machine near the cashier counter.This auto-machine is quite like the auto-machine used in cinema. People can order their food by using this auto-machine with their octopus card. It will save much time in queuing. Although setting one more cashier counter, a self-purchase machine and the Octopus card payment system might slightly increase the cost, it can highly reduce the queuing time and attract more people to visit the restaurant. It definite ly would be the best long-term plan for its business and helps to increase profits.Beside, pepper lunch restaurant should set one more cashier in the counter to shorter the waiting time for buying meal. If there are two cashiers in the counter, one cashier could be used for cash while the other could be used for octopus. It would be a great payment system and could shorter the queuing time effectively. The below picture is the orginal layout design of Pepper Lunch Restaurant in Festival Walk The fowlloing picture is our suggested layout design for Pepper Lunch Restaurant.