“Is Reengineering and Strategy Implementation Just Another Management Fad or Does It Offer Something of Lasting Value?”

1. 0 Introduction Implementation is the challenge that comes at the end of all new (and old) methods for improving organizations. Strategic planning, architecture development, change management, total quality management, new information systems technologies, and re-engineering, are some of the concepts that are being advocated to effect a radical improvement organizational performance. Advocates of each concept, however, struggle when questioned about successful implementation (Deshpande and Parasuraman, 1986). Strategic planning literature abounds on how to develop a plan, but there is comparatively little said about how to implement a strategic plan once it is developed. Reengineering is a radical rethinking of an organization and its cross-functional, end-to-end processes (Hammer, 1993). After it’s introduction reengineering had taken corporations by storm. In a survey of over 500 chief information officers (CIOs), the average CIO is involved in 4. 4 re-engineering projects (Moad, 1993). Walmart (example 1) is seen as one of the successful executers of reengineering. Despite the excitement over reengineering, however, the rate of failure for re-engineered projects is over 50 per cent (Stewart, 1993). Hammer and Champy (1993) estimate as much as a 70 per cent failure rate. Luthfansa AG (example 2) is one such company. Such is the position that reengineering is labelled as a â€Å"management fad†. This paper looks to explore the facets of strategy implementation, reegineering that and analyze the label of â€Å"fad† is a worthy one or does the two offer a lasting value. 2. 0 Literature Review 2. The evolution of reengineering The concept of reengineering was first presented in two articles published simultaneously by Hammer (1990) and Davenport and Short (1990). Reengineering is a totally new approach with regard to the ideas and models used for improving business Hammer and Champy (1993). The reengineering approach is a result of the combination of concepts from different schools, including strategic IT systems, quality, systems thin king, industrial engineering, and technological innovation. The increasing power of ustomers, competitors and today’s constantly changing business environment, forced many organisations to recognise the need to move away from focusing on individual tasks and functions to focusing on more communicated, integrated and co-ordinated ways of work by looking at operations in terms of business processes (Davenport, 1993). 2. 2 Defining reengineering Several researchers and practitioners have defined reengineering in different ways with different emphases. The following are some of those definitions: the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service and speed (Hammer and Champy, 1993, p. 32). †¦ a methodical process that uses information technology to radically overhaul business process and thereby attain major business goals (Alter, 1990, p. 32) . The fundamental rethinking and redesign of operating processes and organisational structure, focused on the organisation’s core competencies, to achieve dramatic improvements in organisational performance (Lowenthal, 1994, p. 2). During the last decade, many authors have produced ideas regarding what reengineering really is. And thus, to conclude that there is only a single theoretical proposition underpinning reengineering remains debatable. The following table shows that there are three recognisable perspectives to reengineering as suggested by Tinnila (1995), i. e. strategic, operational and organisational perspectives. [pic] Figure 1: Summary of definition of reengineering (Khong and Richardson, 2003) Despite the differences in definitions, and terminology, the emphasis in all hese definitions and in the reengineering -related literature, is on redesigning business processes using a radical IT-enabled approach to organisational change. 2. 3 The need for reengineering Re engineering is motivated by external drivers, internal drivers, or both. External drivers are related mainly to the increased level of competition, the changes in customers’ needs, IT changes, and changes in regulations (Grover etal. , 1993). Internal drivers are mainly related to changes in both organisational strategies and structures. External drivers The increasing level of competition in the global market has emphasised the need for organisational innovation to cope with global standards of products and services. reengineering is approached as a tool to improve dramatically business performance and provide competitive position (Schnitt, 1993). First National Bank of Chicago (example 3), reengineered in order to keep up with the stiff global competition Davenport (1993a), also believe that re-engineering is driven by the never-ending needs of customers to look for better services and products. IBM Credit Corp (example 4) reengineered primarily for satisfying the customer or providing superior customer service. Owing to the unsettled changes in the global business environment, social life, technological and organisational practices, and economical situations, new rules and regulations are introduced to reflect these changes (Plowman, 1995). Yellow Freight (example 5) decided to reengineer because of external factors related to governmental or political pressure. Internal drivers Many organisational strategic and structural changes are centred on IT-enabled reengineering (Venkatraman, 1993). Parcel Service (example 6), found that they had to improve their technology in order to survive in the competitive shipping business. Changes in organisational strategy may involve some reengineering efforts to bring about the new business desires (Keen, 1991). The desire to reduce cost was one major reason that led First National Bank of Chicago (example 7) to reengineer. Changes of capability in terms of processes, methods, skills competencies, attitudes and behaviours can also be considered as internal drivers (Plowman, 1995). Arco Chemical (example 8) is one such company who reengineered to achieve dramatic company-wide improvements, increase organizational efficiencies, and reduce throughput time. Plowman (1995) views business transformation as a journey driven by a strategy that links short-term changes to capability in terms of processes, skills and style, with long-term changes to position the business among its competitors and customers. Ryder System Inc (example 9). reengineering efforts began with a rethink of its view of the market and a readjustment of the company‘s strategic focus. The following is a figure showing the result of survey (example 10) on the factors that trigger reengineering in the UK [pic] Figure 2: Factors driving reengineering (Tennant and Yi-Chieh, 2005) The following is a figure showing the result of survey (example 11) on the goal and objectives meant to be achieved through reengineering in the UK [pic] Figure 3: Goals and objectives of reengineering (Tennant and Yi-Chieh, 2005) 2. 4 What characterises reengineering Focus on business processes Reengineering focuses on the core concept of business process rather than on function, product or service. As business processes are the manner in which work gets done within an organisation, they are a distinguishing characteristic among organisations (Venkatraman, 1994), and thus a significant factor leading to competitive edge (Hinterhuber, 1995). In addition, the elimination of functional bias can only be best done by adopting process orientation to gain substantial business improvement (Andreu etal. , 1997). By focusing on core activities, Singapore Airlines (example 12) reengineered efforts are expected to help Singapore grow 8-10 er cent per year until the end of the decade. Notion of radicalness Reengineering involves radical and fundamental changes, and it evolves from the need to recognise that long-established ways emphasising on control and cost cutting are being replaced by organisational focus towards improving quality, the customer, and innovation, rather than (Hammer, 1990). Honeywell Inc (example 13) in order to keep up with the global competition reenginerined their proc ess from being focused on efficiency to being focued on quality Use of IT Hammer (1990) considers IT as a major tool and a fundamental enabler of reengineering efforts and emphasises the need to use modern IT to support for its implementation. IT reshapes and creates new effective business processes in that it has the potential to facilitate the flow of information between globally-distributed processes, and ensures the availability of instantaneous and consistent information across the business (Tapscott and Caston, 1993). Western Provident (example 14) is a company which is spotted for extensive of technology. Need for organisational change Reengineering results in change, and successful reengineering implementation requires fundamental organisational change in terms of organisational structure, culture and management processes (Davenport, 1993a). CIGNA Technology (example 15) Services went through a cultural change, from a focus on technology to one on processes and business performance. Change management is a tool used to manage such a change. 2. 5 Reengineering approaches, methodologies, techniques and tools Reengineering approaches Reengineering approaches can be viewed based on the different focuses that reengineering efforts may emphasise: IT, strategy, quality management, operations, and human resources (Edwards and Peppard, 1994a). According to Klein (1994), Reengineering is contextual and believes that having a structured approach to it is impossible. Reengineering methodologies Caterpillar (example 16) tied much of its cost saving success to its reengineering methodology (Paper and Dickinson, 1997). Its methodology is systematic as it provides a disciplined problem-solving approach and acts as a rallying point for everyone involved along the process path. Many structure-based methodologies have been proposed for reengineering implementation. However, most have common elements and view reengineering efforts as a top-down implementation project (Earl and Khan, 1994). Figure 4 summarises the major stages of eight representative reengineering methodologies. Figure 4: Reengineering methodologies [pic] (Kettinger et al. , 1997) Despite the differences among these methodologies, they all confirm that some essential components must exist, such as: †¢ strategies and goals setting; feasibility analysis of a reengineering project; †¢ process analysis and visioning; †¢ top management commitment and sponsorship; †¢ understanding of customer requirements and performance measurement; †¢ integration with TQM and benchmarking; †¢ recognition of IT capabilities; †¢ cross-functional teams and communication; †¢ prototyping and process mapping techniques; and †¢ organisational change to re-engineer management s ystems and organisation. Reengineering techniques Kettinger etal. (1997) show that at least 72 techniques are used to carry out ctivities related to reengineering projects. These techniques were almost all developed in other contexts and imported to the reengineering field. Each technique is mapped to their associated stages in the reengineering framework. and describe some as representative of each stage in the framework. [pic] Figure 5: Framework for Reengineering (Kettinger et al. , 1997) Kettinger etal. (1997) also suggest an approach of selecting techniques for a specific reengineering project. This approach, however, presumes that a customised methodology has been developed in advance. Based on the objective of their application, he identify 11 groups under which a number of techniques are identified. [pic] Figure 6: Groups of reengineering technique (Kettinger et al. , 1997) 2. 6 Strategy implementation Bartlett and Ghoshal (1987, p. 12) noted that in all the companies they studied â€Å"the issue was not a poor understanding of environmental forces or inappropriate strategic intent. Without exception, they knew what they had to do; their difficulties lay in how to achieve the necessary changes†. Supporting this, Miller (2002) reports that organizations fail to implement more than 70 percent of their new strategic initiatives. Given the significance of this area, the focus in the field of strategic management has now shifted from the formulation of strategy to its implementation (Hussey, 1998). There is no agreed-upon and dominant framework in strategy implementation. Concerning this, Alexander (1991, p. 74) has stated that: One key reason why implementation fails is that practicing executives, managers and supervisors do not have practical, yet theoretically sound, models to guide their actions during implementation. Without adequate models, they try to implement strategies without a good understanding of the multiple factors that must be addressed, often simultaneously, to make implementation work. Warid Telecom (example 17) precisely fail to their process for this reason when they started operation in Bangladesh According to Alexander (1985), the ten most frequently occurring strategy implementation problems include underestimating the time needed for implementation and major problems surfacing that had not been anticipated, in addition uncontrollable factors in the external environment had an adverse impact. Beer and Eisenstat, (2000) states that top-down/laissez-faire senior management style; unclear strategic intentions and conflicting priorities; an ineffective senior management team; poor vertical communication; weak co-ordination across functions, businesses or borders; and inadequate down-the-line leadership skills development are also important reasons for implementation failure . It is recognised that such change requires a shared vision and consensus and â€Å"failures of strategy implementation are inevitable† if competence, coordination and commitment are lacking (Eisenstat, 1993). Biman Bangladesh Airlines (example 18) has been in totters for the last decade due to its poor strategy implementation which can be credited to the above reasons. Noble (1999b, p. 132) has further noted that: There is a significant need for detailed and comprehensive conceptual models related to strategy implementation. To date, implementation research has been fairly fragmented due to a lack of clear models on which to build. There are important similarities between the previous frameworks in terms of the key factors forwarded and the assumptions made. Similarities between frameworks that previous researchers have grouped the implementation factors into a number of categories as follows: †¢ context, process and outcomes (Bryson and Bromiley, 1993); †¢ planning and design (Hrebiniak and Joyce, 1984); †¢ realizers and enablers (Miller, 1997); †¢ content, context and operation (Dawson, 1994); †¢ content, context, process and outcome (Pettigrew, 1987; Okumus, 2001); †¢ framework and process components (Skivington and Daft, 1991); †¢ context and process (Schmelzer and Olsen, 1994); †¢ contextual, system and action levers (Miller and Dess, 1996). Four areas of groupings emerge from an analysis of the above categories. Considering the role and characteristics of each implementation factor, those 11 implementation factors identified earlier can further be grouped into four categories: strategic content, strategic context, process and outcome. †¢ Strategic content includes the development of strategy. †¢ Strategic context is further divided into external and internal context. The former includes environmental uncertainty and the internal context includes organizational structure, culture and leadership. Operational process includes operational planning, resource allocation, people, communication and control. †¢ Outcome includes results of the implementation process. [pic] Figure 7: Framework for strategy implementation (Okumus, 2001) 2. 7 Factors related to implementing reengineering The following analyses the reengineering implementation process by reviewing the relevant literature on reengineering efforts. They are categorised into a number of subgroups representing various dimensions of change related to reengineering implementation. These dimensions are: Factors relating to change management systems and culture Change management, which involves all human- and social-related changes and cultural adjustment techniques needed by management to facilitate the insertion of newly-designed processes and structures into working practice and to deal effectively with resistance, is considered by many researchers to be a crucial component of any reengineering efforts (Carr, 1993). Effective communication throughout the change process at all levels and for all audiences, is considered a major key to successful reengineering -related change efforts (Davenport, 1993). Discontinues in leadership, and lack of communication contributed the reengineering failure at Teleco (Example 19) As reengineering results in decisions being pushed down to lower levels, empowerment of staff and teams to establish a culture in which staff at all levels feel more responsible and accountable and it promotes a self-management and collaborative teamwork culture is critical for successful reengineering (Mumford, 1995). Empowerment was at the heart of reengineering Honeywell (example 20) when they reengineered. Training and education in reengineering -related concept, skills, and techniques as well as interpersonal and IT skills, are an important component of successful reengineering implementation (Zairi and Sinclair, 1995). FixCo (example 21) carried out a number of workshops for training the staff about their reengineering process. Factors relating to management competence Sound management processes ensure that reengineering efforts will be implemented in the most effective manner (Bashein et al. , 1994). The most oticeable managerial practices that directly influence the success of reengineering implementation are top management support and commitment, championship and sponsorship, and effective management of risks. Organisational culture influences the organisation’s ability to adapt to change (Hammer and Champy, 1993). It helps in understanding and conforming to the new values, management processes, and the communication styles (Bruss and Roos, 1993).. Corporation ABC (example 22) needed to create an organizational culture ready to change as they had to redesign their quality systems. Commitment and leadership in the upper echelons of management are often cited as the most important factors of a successful reengineering project (Rastogi, 1994). Sufficient authority and knowledge, and proper communication with all parts in the change process, are important in dealing with organisational resistance during reengineering implementation (Hammer and Champy, 1993). Top level commitment was the key for successful implementation of reengineering in Blue Shield California (example 23) Factors relating to organisational structure As reengineering creates new processes that define jobs and responsibilities across the existing organisational functions (Davenport and Short, 1990), there is a clear need to create a new organisational structure which determines how reengineering teams are going to look, how human resources are integrated, and how the new jobs and responsibilities are going to be formalised. Mobil Oil (example 24) had a rethink of there organizational structure in their reengineering. Cross-functional reengineering teams are a critical component of successful reengineering implementation (Johansson et al. , 1993). Teams should be adequately composed (Hagel, 1993). Team members should be experienced in variety of techniques (Carr and Johansson, 1995). Teams should be made up of people from both inside and outside the organisation (Hammer and Champy, 1993). Liberty Mutual (Example 25) used cross-functional teams and loss prevention expert to implement the reengineering process Factors related to reengineering project management Successful reengineering implementation is highly dependent on an effective reengineering programme management which includes adequate strategic alignment, effective planning and project management techniques, identification of performance measures, adequate resources, appropriate use of methodology, external orientation and learning, effective use of consultants, building process vision, effective process redesign, integrating reengineering with other improvement techniques (Zairi and Sinclair, 1995), and adequate identification of the reengineering value (Guha et al. 1993). Honeywell (example 26) would be a prime example in their execution of redesigning their quality measures. As corporate strategy determines objectives and guidance on how organisational capabilities can be best utilised to gain competitive position, reengineering strategy (Hammer, 1990). Therefore, a consideration of the strategic context of growth and expansion (Bashein et al. 1994), creating a top-level strateg y to guide change (Carr, 1993), and careful alignment of corporate strategy with reengineering strategy (Jackson, 1997) are crucial to the success of reengineering efforts. Mitsibushi Electric Corp (example 27) took immense heed in this factor. Factors related to IT infrastructure Factors related to IT infrastructure have been increasingly considered by many researchers and practitioners as a vital component of successful reengineering efforts (Brancheau et al. 1996). Effective alignment of IT infrastructure and reengineering strategy, building an effective IT infrastructure, adequate IT infrastructure investment decision, adequate measurement of IT infrastructure effectiveness, proper IS integration, effective re-engineering of legacy IS, increasing IT function competency, and effective use of software tools are the most important factors that contribute to the success of reengineering projects. Connecticut Mutual Life (example 28), reengineered their complete IT infrastructure in order to increase productivity. Figure 8: Factors related to the implementation of reengineering (Al-Mashari and Mohamed, 1999) 2. 8 Definition of fad Management fads are defined as â€Å"managerial interventions which appear to be innovative, rational, and functional and are aimed at encouraging better organizational performance. † 2. 9 Characteristics of fads Cost/benefit analysis: One moderator of fad evolution is the cost/benefit of the intervention, although these two variables may significantly differ depending upon whether the organization adopts a short-term or a long-term perspective (Laverty, 1996) as with a long-term perspective may be more likely to sustain and give a fad sufficient time to reap positive benefits, propelling it to trend or collective wisdom status. But short-term gains should also be evident to encourage the resilience needed for long-term rewards to be realized (Chaudron, 1996). Degree of difficulty in implementation: Differences between expected ease of implementation and actual ease of implementation will contribute to an organization’s desire to persist in the courses of action required by the fad. If a fad’s implementation process is no more difficult than expected, it is more likely to evolve into a trend. Effectiveness of the fad: Effectiveness is measured in terms of realized improvement in operational performance. Following adoption of a fad, firms may find themselves â€Å"incapable†, â€Å"effective†, â€Å"efficient†, â€Å"best-in-class†, or â€Å"world class†. Fads which assist organizations in moving upward on this continuum will likely become institutionalized and mature into a trend or collective wisdom. 2. 10 Life cycle of a fad A significant predictor of whether firms will likely adopt fads is the stage at which the intervention is located in the life-cycle of fads. Fads typically progress through an established life-cycle (Ettorre, 1997), although the length of time required for progression to each of these stages varies (Crainer, 1996). offers significant benefits, in terms of both number and strength; †¢ is adaptable to the specific needs of an organization; †¢ addresses the underlying cause of a problem rather than a symptom; †¢ fits with other common interventions and programs in place (for example 29, TQM and MBO programs are antithetical in that their basic tenets are contradictory); and †¢ is supported by key users and proponents, as well as by objective assessments of effectiveness 3. 0 Strategy implementa tion and reengineering in practice The case of Honeywell’s TotalPlantTM paradigm† 3. 1 TotalPlantTM at Honeywell The Honeywell industrial automation and control (IAC) plant designs world-class systems that enable process-control capability. In 1999, senior management decided to implement a solid ISO 9000-certified quality program in order to unify business and control information to enable global customer satisfaction. This program was named TotalPlantTM. Four critical principles The TotalPlantTM paradigm is based on four critical principles of success: (1) Process mapping. Process mapping is crucial for employees to see the â€Å"big picture† as opposed to focusing solely on their role within the procedure. It also creates a common language for dealing with changes to business processes. (2) Fail-safing. While process mapping diagrams the entire flow of a business process, fail-safing is done to diagnose a defect within the process. (3) Teamwork. Teamwork does not occur naturally. Honeywell encouraged teaming through special workshops, by creating a manufacturing vision that fostered teamwork and by endorsing cross-training. 4) Effective communication skills. Communication of the TotalPlantTM vision is paramount to success. Honeywell provided conflict resolution training to teams to help them deal with conflict in a positive way. (Paper et. al, 2001) 3. 2 Application of literature Honeywell learned a number of lessons as a result of their TotalPlantTM program, all of which have implications for any future initiatives. They discovered that: †¢ people are the key enablers of change; †¢ you must question everything; †¢ people need a systematic methodology to map processes; †¢ creating eam ownership and a culture of dissatisfaction ensures more employee involvement; †¢ management attitude and behavior can squash projects; †¢ bottom-up or empowered implementation is most effective; †¢ reengineering must be business-driven and continuous; †¢ setting stretch goals can facilitate greater employee effort; †¢ implementation is the real difference between success and failure. Change is a fundamental aspect of reengineering. Top management needs to communicate to its people why the change is necessary and how it will impact everyone’s current job and future with the company. Sufficient time and resources is dedicated to ensuring that the organization as a whole understood, wanted and supported change. 4. 0 Conclusion and recommendation Implying the term â€Å"fad† with reengineering is apparently a disputable issue. If taken into context of the definition and characteristics a fad has, reengineering does hold a number of features that creates an aura which surrounds a fad. Its pledge of being strategy which improves performance by improving productivity and efficiency and its disguised nature of the ease of implementation does engender staggering semblance to that of a fad. Moreover, there are issues where reengineering would probably fall short when it comes to its exploitation as a trend. Reengineering normally wouldn’t fit into an organization culture, in contrary the management is forced to create new culture where in order to adopt reengineering. Conversely, reengineering does also contain features that are a requisite for being a trend or wisdom. If implemented aptly, reengineering does provide significant benefits that simply can’t be ignored. Its association with improvement in efficiency, productivity, and quality of product or service, is an asset that any company would desire to attain. Furthermore, reengineering does address the underlying cause of the problem and with the support and commitment of top management in its implementation process it can provide a lasting value to a business. Hallmarks, Hewlett-Packard (example 30) are to name a couple of companies who have benefited from reengineering. What really made the difference is proper implementation. 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(1994), â€Å"Re-engineering methodologies and tools: a prescription for enhancing success†, Information Systems Management, pp. 30-5 51. Letscher, M. G. (1994), â€Å"How to tell fads from trends†, American Demographics, Vol. 16 No. 12, pp. 38-45 52. Miller, A. , Dess, G. (1996), Strategic Management, International ed. , McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 53. Miller, D. (2002), â€Å"Successful change leaders: what makes them? What do they do that is different? â€Å", Journal of Change Management, Vol. No. 4, pp. 359-68 54. Moad, J. (1993), â€Å"Does Re-engineering Really Work? â€Å", Datamation, Vol. 39 No. 15, pp. 22-8. 55. Mumford, E. (1995), â€Å"Creative chaos or constructive change: business process re-engineering versus socio-technical design†, in Burke, G. , Peppard, J. (Eds),Examining Business Process Re-engineering: Current Perspectives and Research Directions, Kogan Page, New York, NY, pp. 192-216.. 56. Okumus, F. (2001), â€Å"Towards a strategy implementation framework†, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 13 No. 7, pp. 327-38 57. Paper, David J. , Rodger, James A. and Pendharkar, Parag C. (2001). â€Å"A BPR case study at Honeywell† Business Process Mana gement Journal. Volume: 7 Number: 2, pp: 85-99. 58. Pettigrew, A. M. (1987), â€Å"Context and action in the transformation of the firm†, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 24 No. 6, pp. 649-70. 59. Plowman, B. (1995), â€Å"Corporate transformation means re-engineering plus†, The Strategic Planning Society NEWS, pp. 8-10. 60. Rastogi, P (1994), â€Å"Nature, significance and rationale of business process reengineering†, Productivity, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 467-76 61. Schnitt, D. (1993), â€Å"Re-engineering the organisation using information echnology†, Journal of Systems Management, pp. 14-20, 41-2 62. Schmelzer, C. , Olsen, M. 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European Commission´s actions against The Coca Cola Company Essay

* 1 Introduction The Coca Cola Company (TCCC) is an American corporation and manufacturer especially known for its soft drinks like Coca Cola or Fanta. It sells over 3500 products, is available in over 200 countries and has revenues of nearly 50 billion us-dollars (Coca Cola Company, 2011). After Coca Cola was accused by the European commission (EC) to have abused its market power, Coca Cola gave in and set up commitments to prove that it does not abuse its power. They promised no exclusivity arrangements, no target or growth rebates, no  use of its stronger brands to sell other less strong brands and finally a 20 percent free space in their coolers for other products and brands. These commitments were accepted by the EC. This essay explains why the EC is concerned about the abuse of market power and analyzes the commitments stated by the coca cola company in its economic terms and how they affect the market competition. Finally it will evaluate if the EC was correct in accepting these commitments. Background to the Case The EC tries to establish a free competitive market and a fair competition between businesses in setting up competition policies like state aid, merger control rules and antitrust also known as the European competition law (Report European Comission, 2010). It does so to ensure the maximization of social welfare which will be further explained in section 2. In September 2004, the EC started to proceed against the Coca Cola Company relying on their antitrust regulation. In October, 2004 Coca Cola was sent a â€Å"preliminary assessment† which stated the EC ´s concerns about their abuse of market power. One month later Coca Cola submitted commitments in response to these Claims (European Comission, 2006). The four commitments are as followed: 1. Coca cola promised that at all time their customers are free to buy or sell carbonated soft drinks from any supplier of their choice and therefore no more exclusivity arrangements; 2. No target or growth rates are allowed. Coca Cola no longer offers rebates that reward in purely purchasing the same amount or more of Coca Cola products than in the past. Hence it is easier for customers to purchase from other suppliers; 3. Coca Cola is not allowed to use its strong brand to push other products which are not that popular goods; 4. If Coca Cola provides free coolers to retailers, the retailers are allowed to use 20 per cent of its space for other brands and goods. If Coca Cola should break these commitments the EC could demand a fine of ten per cent of Coca Cola ´s total worldwide turnover (European Comission, 2006). Loss of Welfare due to Market Power But why is the EC actually concerned about the abuse of market power, the ability of a firm to charge a price above marginal cost and earn a positive profit (Perloff, 2012), of big firms like TCCC? The main answer to this question is that the EC tries to ensure social welfare and to maximize it. But before answering this question social welfare needs to be elucidated. Social welfare itself is difficult to measure. One way to measure it is to define it as the sum of the consumer and producer surplus. Perloff describes the consumer surplus as: â€Å"The monetary difference between what a consumer is willing to pay for the quantity of the good purchased and what the good actually costs† (Perloff, 2012). In other words the consumer surplus is used to measure and compare consumer welfare, the benefit of a certain product a person gets consuming that product less the money he or she paid for the good. In contrast the producer surplus is described by Perloff as followed: â€Å"The d ifference between the amount for which a good sells and the minimum amount necessary for the seller to be willing to produce the good† (Perloff, 2012). It is the gain of trade and thus equal to the profit from trade minus the profit from not trading. The EC tries to maximize the social welfare. This is only possible in a competitive market because in such a market environment the price equals the marginal costs (Perloff, 2012) which results in an equilibrium price, an economic term for a balance between the wants of producers and consumers and no loss of welfare. However, the converse argument is that in a non-competitive market social welfare is not maximized. The biggest counterpart to a free competitive market is a monopolistic market. Although TCCC is not a real monopoly it has big market power and can therefore be compared to a monopoly. The loss of social welfare, the deadweight loss, which occurs if a monopoly (or a company with a big market power) arises, is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 Deadweight Loss of Monopoly 1 (Barnett, 2007) Figure 1 shows that at the competitive equilibrium the price (Pc) is lower than the monopoly price (Pm) and the quantity (Qc) is bigger than the quantity (Qm) which the monopoly supplies. Hence a deadweight loss arises. This deadweight loss develops only due to missing competition. This scenario could appear due to an abuse of market power. By definition, market power is  the ability to charge a price above marginal cost and therefore earn a positive profit (Perloff, 2012). Compared to a competitive market the demand curve is not horizontal but downwards sloping. This means that although the quantity decreases if a monopoly raises its price there are still buyers for the product. In a competitive market this is not true because the demand curve is horizontal and only the slightest increase in price will result in zero demand. As we can see in Figure 1: The monopoly is able to set its price not at the equilibrium (the intersection of marginal cost and the market price) but at a poin t at which it maximizes its own profit (a point where the price is higher than marginal costs). This results in a welfare loss for the consumers which the EC tries to prevent. Furthermore the market power is related to the shape of the demand curve and tells a monopoly how much it can raise its price above the competitive equilibrium (the interception with the marginal cost) at the profit maximizing quantity. The more elastic the demand curve becomes, graphically this would means a nearly flat curve, the more sales are lost even if the price is only slightly increased. Conversely, if the demand curve is a steep curve (not very elastic) it would lose fewer sales by the same increase of price (Perloff, 2012). However a firm with a big market power or a monopoly benefit from large economies of scale. They can produce their products cheaper than any number of other firms together and for this reason not challengeable (Perloff, 2012). Economic Effect of the Commitments on Market Competition Concerned of the big market power TCCC had, the EC decided to intervene and requested Coca Cola to come up with solutions to allow the free competition to grow. Coca Cola then set up four commitments which were accepted by the EC. Although all four head to the same economic effect of lowering entry barriers for competitors and accordingly make consumers more aware of substitutes for Coca Cola products, all four are described separately. The first commitment assured that TCCC would not accept any exclusivity arrangements. It allows customers of Coca Cola to sell any soft drinks from any supplier next to Coca Cola. This means more suppliers which results in more products similar to Coca Cola ´s products, substitutes. Although these  substitutes existed also before the commitment it is now much easier for consumers to be aware of these and accordingly buy these. The economic effect of more substitutes was already explained in section 2: The market power is related to the demand curv e. The flatter the demand curve is the more elastic it is and therefore a small increase in price leads to a big loss in sales. If we now take the substitutes into account the demand curve of TCCC becomes more elastic because consumers can choose between products of different suppliers. Hence Coca Cola cannot set its price per unit as high as before. In other words the demand curve gets closer to a competitive demand curve and if TCCC sets its prices too high consumers will buy a substitute. In addition as prices of Coca Cola ´s products gets lower it becomes easier for other firms to enter the market. The second commitment prevented Coca Cola to set up target or growth rates. Hence Coca Cola was not able to reward customers for purchasing the same amount or more of Coca Cola products than in the past. Again this makes it easier for customers to buy from other soft drink suppliers or a less amount of Coca Cola products plus different products. Economically this has the same effect as the first commitment and concentrates the overall effect: The demand curve becomes even more elastic and the market becomes more competitive. The third commitment states that TCCC is not allowed to use the strongest brands to sell less popular brands. Again consumer can choose more easily between different suppliers and the competition in the market is further increased. Next to this economic effect it is now harder for Coca Cola to sell its less popular products and weakens its market power and brings TCCC even closer to sell at the competitive equilibrium. Secondary to the economic effect of the more elastic demand curve the decrease of entry barriers and the gain of substitutes increase the supply of the market. As more suppliers enter the market, supply increases which lowers the price of products in the market. The last commitment allows retailers to use 20 percent of the space in the Coca Cola coolers although they were provided by TCCC for free. Therefore Retailers who want to benefit of a free cooler are not forced to use it only for Coca Cola products anymore. This makes it easy for consumers to be aware of substitutes of Coca Cola ´s products as well as comparing prices. All in all the four commitments are heading to decrease TCCC ´s market power and to increase the competition in the market. They do so allowing substitutes gain  more attention by customers which results in a more elastic demand curve for Coca Cola. The more elastic it becomes the more competition increases in the market. Moreover the market ´s supply increases and prices decrease. Conclusion Finally it can be said that firms with too much market power can reduce the social welfare. In order to protect this social welfare the EC accepted the four commitments. The closer analysis of the four commitments and their economic effect on the market shows that due to lower entry barriers the market ´s supply is increased and more substitutes are easier available for consumers. In addition, Coca Cola ´s demand decreases and it cannot benefit from its economies of scales as it could before. Furthermore, it cannot set its price as high as it could before. Although Coca Cola does not lose all of its market power and is still one of the biggest companies and soft drink suppliers worldwide its market power is reduced by the EC ´s actions and this results in an increase of market competition and a reduction of Coca Cola ´s market power. If it was actually maximized to its fullest cannot be said because the information of actual demand or marginal cost curves is always limited, nor are the theoretical assumptions of a market environment given in real life. Nevertheless, the social welfare was definitely increased by the EC and therefore it was right to accept the four commitments. References Barnett, T. (31. October 2007). Maximizing Welfare through technological Innovation. From www.justice.gov: http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/speeches/227291.htm Coca Cola Company, C. C. (31. December 2011). Anuual Report of Exchange. Von www.sec.gov: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/21344/000002134412000007/a2011123110-k.htm Comission, E. (2006). Competition in Practice – Coca Cola. European Comission, E. (2006). Coca Cola. Perloff. (2012). Microeconomics. England: Pearson. Report European Comission, C. (2010). Report on competition policy . Brussels.

Amazon Case study Essay

As seen from 2014, Amazon.com is a no brainer of a business proposition. Today you can buy most things from Amazon.com – books, movies, health and beauty products, appliances, sporting goods†¦..online and the company will ship these purchases to your home the same day and often at little or no cost to you. The typical 2014 university student has grown up with the World Wide Web and eCommerce and takes these services for granted. For its part Amazon recorded revenues of $17.09 billion dollars in 2013 but for all that activity, the company did not yield a profit. According to its founder and CEO Jeffrey P. Bezos, Amazon strives to be the retailer of choice for all things and for all people globally. To this end, Amazon’s profit margins on most products are razor thin and its business practices regarding free shipping and generous return policies erode earnings. Still there is no question that Amazon.com is one of the darlings of the new millennium’s Internet e conomy and a trend-setting retailer in the era of online retailing. In contrast, Amazon’s early history was marked by startling losses and lots of red ink. Why was this so? To understand Amazon’s origins, we must go back to 1994 when Bezos worked for the Shaw grocery store chain and read a study that predicted the Internet would explode in popularity. He figured that before long people would be making money selling over the Web. After considering any number of products to sell online, he settled on books, a standardized product already electronically cataloged, that could be easily managed through an automated supply chain system. Most notably, the typical book store typically managed an inventory of two to three thousand books whereas his imagined online service that would carry them all. In Bezo’s business model, he would disintermediate the retail process, eliminating stores and warehouses. Instead his customers would purchase their books from catalogs on his company’s Web site. Orders would be filled from a new kind of facility, a fulfillment center. In implementing this business model, Bezos quickly discovered that the only way to ensure a positive customer experience was for Amazon to operate their own fulfillment centers, controlling the transaction from start to finish. All of this may sound quite straightforward today but Bezo and his backers were treading in totally unchartered waters in 1995. To compete in this space, Amazon.com required a huge infusion of capital. Those fulfillment centers cost about $50 million apiece. The first of these in Fernley Nevada housed three  million books, CDs, toys, and housewares in a building a quarter-mile long by 200 yards wide. What distinguished this facility from the typical retail warehouse was that it was completely computerized. The associated business processes were largely automated and information intensive. Once customer orders were placed via Amazon.com’s Web site, the company’s information systems would send these orders to fulfillment center â€Å"pickers† who would in turn roam the shelves in a systematic manner assembling customer orders. Along the way, these information systems would capture detailed information on the time and steps involved in filling individual orders, w orker error rates, the flow and turnover of inventory and of course associated cost of operations data. Amazon managers employ this information to squeeze every last drop of productivity out of their processes. For example, as reported by Fred Vogelstein: †¦. by redesigning a bottleneck where workers transfer orders arriving in green plastic bins to a conveyor belt that automatically drops them into the appropriate chutes, Amazon has been able to increase the capacity of the Fernley warehouse by 40%. [In 2003], Amazon’s warehouses handle three times the volume they could in 1999, and in the past three years the cost of operating them has fallen from nearly 20% of Amazon’s revenues to less than 10% percent. The company doesn’t believe it will even have to think about building a new warehouse for another year. The warehouses are so efficient that Amazon turns over its inventory 20 times a year. Virtually every other retailer’s turnover rate is under 15. Indeed, one of the fastest-growing and most profitable parts of Amazon’s business today is its use of its supply chain management processes to service the eCommerce business needs of other retailers, suc h as Toys â€Å"R† Us and Target. All of this helps explain Bezos’s larger point, one he’s been making since he started Amazon but that people are only now starting to believe: â€Å"In the physical world it’s the old saw: location, location, location,† †¦.. â€Å"The three most important things for us are technology, technology, technology.† [But technology is actually the means by which Amazon manages its most valuable asset, its data. Data about products, data about customers, data about supply chain management, data about suppliers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.] â€Å"There just aren’t other companies that let a consumer order two out of what are millions of products in a warehouse and then quickly and efficiently, at low cost, get those two things into a single box.†. But success was not a  forgone conclusion. Amazon faced a lot of red ink in its first five years. Ultimately its devotion to data paid off. As its competitors disappeared from the scene, Amazon leveraged its data management capabilities to drive error out of operations, personalize the Web experience for its customers, and add value to its relations with suppliers by providing them with deep business intelligence concerning the public’s interest in their various products. To achieve these results, Amazon developed its own methods and built its own Web-enabled information systems from scratch. Fortunately, the company could take advantage of established supply-chain management (SCM) systems for the backend of the business. In the final analysis, it was Am azon’s dedication to collecting and using information to run its business, an effort spearheaded by the company’s Chief Technology Officer Werner Vogels and his MIS team that turned the enterprise profitable. Now that Amazon has mastered both the fulfillment side of eCommerce and the data and information management side of global business management, two major profit centers at Amazon that help feed its bottom line include: back-end fulfillment services for other global retailers and cloud computing services for the likes of iTunes and Netflix.

The Heroes Living Among Us Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Heroes Living Among Us - Essay Example In a broader term, anyone who puts his or her life in danger to save the lives of others can be considered as a hero. The heroes exist around us. They are from us and are not supernatural beings, but they try to do what others get afraid of. Now let us analyze what qualities are possessed by a hero. To my mind, someone who goes over and above what is expected of him, beyond his determined duty in order to help those who are in need can be categorized as a hero. The police officers can also be regarded as heroes, who take significant risk of their lives to fight against the outlaws and capture them to disarm and safeguard other people and their lives. Take the example of a police officer who dives into the deep sea just to save the inmates of a sinking car or who fights bravely against the terrorists. We may always find heroic police officers passionate, loving and helpful to others who are in need. There are certainly risks involved with being a police officer as he has to do many jobs that help society, but are dangerous (such as roofers and fishers) (Bargainnier & Dove 39). With the benefits that so many cops get and the obvious reasons to go into law enforcement (there is very high competition right now), there are also many risks involved. There are numerous examples of courage that are shown by the police personnel who sacrifice their lives to save the lives of others at the debacle of World Trade Center. The name of Benjamin Clark was very famous due to his courage that saved hundreds of lives in the South Tower. We rightly admire the people who are Marines, firefighters and cops as they rush to various scenes in emergency to save the lives and property of the victims (Bargainnier & Dove 47). It is right to honor the courage of people of the mentioned services who showed their bravery at gory incident of 9/11. The act of government to confer them with highest award of the country would definitely encourage others to follow their suit. Their

The Process of Protein Purification Literature review

The Process of Protein Purification - Literature review Example Vaccines, gene therapy and replacement (such as that in insulin-deficiency) all have helped in improving health conditions, and have been based on good elucidation of structures, research on structure-function relationships, and establishment of protein purification specific to the amino acid sequence present. With this in mind, this particular study designed a protocol to purify and characterize the a synthesis of cytochrome oxidase (SCO)-1-like protein 3966 in Streptomyces lividans. As will be seen later, better understanding of SCO proteins is still warranted, as many potential functions of these types of proteins are unclear. Moreover, SCO is a vital enzyme as the cytochrome oxidase c, and in essence the electron chain transport of the mitochondrial respiration mechanism, depends on it. Initial studies of homologues in bacteria have been the usual first step in protein characterization. Many proteins in the eukaryotic cells have been proven to have functional and structural counterparts in bacterial cells. Because of the relative ease of bacterial replication and protein purification, it is thus a method of choice in conducting in depth studies of proteins. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE I. Protein Purification There are factors to consider in doing protein purification. ... There are many kinds of column chromatography, ion-exchange, affinity, and size exclusion are just some of the more usual protein purification procedures that may be done. Affinity chromatography uses antibodies for a specific protein as part of the column through which the protein solution passes. Although it is highly specific, it is more expensive and much harder to prepare. Size exclusion, on the other hand, depends on the differences of molecular weights of the proteins that are present in the solution. In general, proteins with high molecular weight are eluted fastest as they are not able to get into the small spaces of the column, making their path down the column less impeded. On the other hand, low molecular weight proteins still pass through the tiny spaces within the column, thus slowing down their descent. Although much easier to prepare than an affinity column, a size exclusion chromatography column is less specific, as different proteins of similar weigh are eluted out at the same time, despite them having differences in characteristics, such as the isoelectric point (Burgess, 2008).. For ion exchange chromatography, these beads are charged, thus attracting the oppositely-charged proteins present in the solution to be passed through the column. Depending on the objective of the experiment, the eluent or the bound proteins are collected for further processing such as concentrating. To get the proteins bound on the beads, salt solutions of graded concentrations are passed onto the column. As the concentration of the salt increases, the beads will more likely bind to the salt than to the proteins. Thus, weak ionic proteins are bound weakly

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words - 2

Project management - Essay Example it is not always the case that these projects are successful and achieve the desired objectives, but usually most of them do fail, either in terms of cost, quality, deliverables or time (Meredith & Mantel, 2012). Any project’s success is inherited in the timely ending of the project, attainment of the required objectives or deliverables are delivered, and within the project limitations or constraints. In order to execute the project successfully, it is imperative for the project team or managers to consider some crucial elements of the project, which may be the project cost, time, or resources (Oisen, 1971; Lock, 1994; Atkinson, 1999). Among these aspects, there are three central issues, such as the time, cost and quality, which are the key intentions of any project and hardly be achieved and make the project a successful one (Iqbal, Azam, & Qureshi, 2011). However, the secret of success can be understood by analyzing the executed projects, where the success factors or failure factors can be identified by a careful analysis. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the two real-life projects related to the adoption of Information Technology in the organization by identifying the success factors of these projects, and also to identify the risk factors with the help of risk map as well as provide suggestions for mitigating or managing the risks. ECourier is a well-known UK based organization, where it provides 24/7 and same day courier services to the customers throughout UK. It was started in 2003 and the main objective of the company was to deliver courier service with accurate delivery information or transparency in this information, along with the highest customer relationships through automation. It collects and delivers the packages from all the areas in London, as per customer’s instructions. In the beginning, it was involved in delivering the packages only in London, but now it has developed a huge customer base across the world, and have built many

Case studies (local private college ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case studies (local private college ) - Essay Example The college does not receive any direct financial assistance from the federal government, but many of its students receive financial assistance in the form of Pell Grants, Direct Student Loans, and other federal student loans. Enrollment at the college is approximately 52% male and 48% female. Women's athletics teams at the college first reached varsity status in the early 1970s and continued to expand in number throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Women's softball was elevated from club to varsity status in 1985. Currently, women comprise approximately 39% of the athletes participating in varsity sports. After the budget cuts take effect, it is expected that women will comprise 38% of the college's participating varsity athletes. Since the announcement of the college's budget cuts, five of the thirteen members of this year's women's softball team have announced that they intend to transfer to other colleges. Although the men's swim team is among those teams that the college intends to el iminate, the women's varsity swim team, which has over 25 members, will be retained. 1. 1. Is the college subject to the requirements of Title IX (does it receive federal financial assistance) If so, is its athletic program subject to the requirements of Title IX Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. Title IX states "No person in the United States shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." Title IX, in relevant part, prohibits all public and private colleges and universities that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of sex in their intercollegiate athletics programs. Since most colleges and universities receive federal funds-most commonly through financial aid to students-nearly all must comply with Title IX (Education, 2007). Thus here, the athletic program subject to the requirements of Ti tle IX. 2. Has the college complied with Title IX's requirement that it effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of women students Title IX does not require identical athletics programs for males and females. Under Title IX, one team is not compared to the same team in each sport. OCR examines the total program afforded to male student-athletes and the total program afforded to female student-athletes and determines whether each program meets the standards of equal treatment. Title IX does not require that each team receive exactly the same services and supplies. Rather, Title IX requires that the men and women's program receive the similar/comparable level of service, facilities, supplies and etc. Variations within the men and women's program are allowed, as long as the variations are justified on a nondiscriminatory basis. Here, based upon the percentages presented in the Problem, 18, there appears to be no violation of Title IX. 3. On which of OCR's three "benchmarks" for measuring effective accommodation of student athletes' interests and abilities might the college base its defense What arguments could the college raise under each The issue here is a relatively simple one to wit:

Marketing Communication Plan of Ryanair Case Study

Marketing Communication Plan of Ryanair - Case Study Example There is no doubt that this unpalatable media propaganda about the lapses in the operations of Ryanair is threaten to exacerbate the dwindling fortunes of a potentially successful company in the wake of stifling competition in the low cost industry. It is against this background that management have committed themselves to the goal of reversing the tide of negative publication against Ryanair through a comprehensive media communication plan to be implemented in the 2009 business year. Ryanair understands that the process of realizing the comprehensive goals enshrined in the communication plan must of necessity reverberate amongst our global clientele base. We risk being pushed out of business by the contemporary challenges of the twenty first century. As an outcome of a broad based consultation exercise, Ryanair's immediate formal marketing quest is to target low and medium income earners, civil servants, students and seasonally unemployed people. For good reasons the current recession in the global economy as predicted by the World Bank is expected to run into the whole of 2009 into the early parts of 2010; the effects of the economic slowdown is definitely a fall in income levels which will compel people to opt for low flights to serve their traveling needs. The primary mission of the communication plan is to genera... The primary mission of the communication plan is to generate and sustain awareness about the innovative ingredients contained in the customer service package for the medium to long term framework. Aggressive promotional materials that will purposefully address the customer's needs as an integral component of the operations of the company. The plan will also allow for the efficient location of relevant customer information. For the 2009 marketing year, there will be considerable attention on such vital issues policy decisions, facilities, the introduction of new services, online platform for the discussion of enhancing marketing programs. Whilst pursuing these provisions, the communication plan will encourage continuity in the current list of workable marketing strategies that have served customers well in the last few years. It is expected that by so doing, the platform will be created to usher in the communication plan using a workable coordination of marketing activities. Objectives of the Marketing Communication Plan The strength of the communication plan lies in its ability to explicitly identify and recognize the following foundational objectives as the key to the success of the marketing policies of Ryanair. To positively impact on the attitude of our discontented customers with the view of attracting new customers; To be able to reach out to approximately 80% of air travelers within and outside Europe with the message of innovation in our transforming company; To create the enabling environment through incentives in the marketing strategy to boost the attractiveness of Ryanair to customers across the world. Message Strategy The increasing demands of the business climate in the twenty first century are characterized by tough competition

CASE STUDY ON ETHICAL ISSUES Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

CASE STUDY ON ETHICAL ISSUES - Term Paper Example He is seen to be making decisions that may put the police in question, but such actions often led to successful gathering of evidence against drug traffickers. In this case, the general ethical dilemma is choosing to behave ethically in the police force and lose evidence or behave unethically in order to gather evidence. The police usually face a lot of dilemmas, and if they do not have the courage to face such dilemmas and make quick decisions, their efforts may not be fruitful. The ethical codes of the police usually go beyond their individual moral values (Sharps, 2010). The police need to develop an appropriate mechanism of apprehending criminals and obtaining evidence to be used in court while at the same time adhering to the police code of conduct. Some of the ethical issues that pose ethical dilemma to the police include: seduction and entrapment, deception, and issues related to selective enforcement, privacy and discretion. In order to identify and overcome ethical dilemmas, there are certain steps that need to be taken. First, it is important to understand the issues raised by the situation. Secondly, it is important to identify the ethical principle that is being violated in the situation. The third step is to identify the steps that need to be taken in order to correct the situation. Lastly, the police should identify what they could have done in order to avoid the situation. When discharging their duties, police officers should avoid ethical dilemmas by performing their primary responsibility which is to act an official government representative trusted to work according to the law. Ethically, police officers are required to perform their duties without favor or ill will. They should not discriminate people in terms of status, sex, religion, political inclination or aspiration while serving them. The police should also treat people equally with a lot of consideration and dignity. Furthermore, officers should not let

Movie Response Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Response - Movie Review Example I agree with movie’s director that most of these topics are a taboo in the Egyptian culture. As cited by Mattin, in the movie: while Zaki lives in vanishing luxury and loves women, Bothayna is a victim of sexual harassment while working as a shop assistant in order to fend for her family after her father’s demise, Bothyana’s boyfriend, Taha (Mohamed Imam), is not wanted in the police and joins a radical Islamic group, and gay newspaper editor who seduces a young soldier (Bassem Samra). The Egyptian board of censors gave the movie an adults-only rating. As a consequence, the movie has sparked a lot controversy in Egypt. For example, the legislators denounced the film on the floor of the House, and a subsequent television series of similar name cut out the homosexuality part. However, the movie still became one of the highest-grossing movies Egypt has ever produced. Marwan Hamed is able to balance these story lines with skill, bring out credible performances from the cast, and expertly handles the variations in tone and scale. To me, the movie is an epic in scope. To others, it may be tender and intimate. According to Mahajan (2), the film, The Yacoubian Building is one of the bravest movies that have been produced in Egypt. Now a former shadow of its former, the Building is a metaphor for Egypt where the country was faced with poverty and corruption under the leadership of President Hosni Mubarak. On the other hand, the movie’s weakness is that the more than 2 hrs 30 minutes duration makes The Yacoubian Building tiresome to watch. The other weakness is that by using the most expensive building of; Yocoubian apartment. The movie is the most expensive in Egypt making it inaccessible to the majority of the audience. The divergent plot lines imply that the opening scenes of this movie lack the narrative zap. However, in general, I am of the opinion that in spite of the

A Biographical Approach to the Poem The Whipping by Robert Hayden Essay Example for Free

A Biographical Approach to the Poem The Whipping by Robert Hayden Essay Robert Hayden is one of the best-known American poets of his time. However, he is also one of the most underrated poets of all time, arguably not as much accolades as other poets of the same era. His poems exude admirable sincerity and tremendous grasp of poetic devices. His beautiful poem â€Å"The Whipping† is regarded as one of his finest work. A biographical approach to the poem would reveal to us that Hayden transforms his bitter memories to a sumptuous work of art. The poem is basically about a woman whipping a boy, for some reason that is not explicitly stated in the poem. The second line â€Å"is whipping the boy again† tells us that violent act is being carried on regularly. The reader immediately would assume that the woman is the mother of the boy, regardless if the woman is the boy’s biological or foster parent. The picture that Hayden had painted is vividly painful. The lines â€Å"she strikes and strikes the shrilly circling / boy till the stick breaks† suggests the level of anger of the woman and the fear and pain of the boy. The woman stopped whipping the boy only when the stick was already broken. Halfway through the poem, the author shifts from third to first person â€Å"words could bring the face that I / no longer knew or loved†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Those first person lines suggest to the readers that the speaking persona could have undergone the same kind of treatment. The line â€Å"well, it is over now, it is over† is a potent hint that the narrator is recalling his past. He is able to forgive the one that whipped him. However, he is unable to shake off the memories of being whipped as a boy. A peek to Hayden’s biography is likely to lead us to clues that had led him to conceive this poem. Hayden was born and grew up in a Detroit ghetto which the people there called Paradise Valley. During that time, violence, in the form of corporal punishment, was not uncommon. Hayden also had an irregular family life as a child. His biological parents were separated even before his birth. A couple who also exhibited a volatile relationship took him in. As a child, Hayden had witnessed domestic violence from both his biological and foster parents (Greasely 251-252). Hayden had shown us admirable honesty through his poem â€Å"The Whipping. Corporal punishment is not much talked about by adults, probably because they are now currently the ones guilty of whipping their children. Hayden had shared his memories to us to convey a message that would be vital for any community. He is suggesting to us that corporal punishment is more likely to generate childhood trauma than discipline. Moreover, he is also arguing that violence to a child is injustice. Parents blaming their child for their â€Å"lifelong hidings† are the primary reason why this vicious cycle of violence is still ongoing.

Was the American civil inevitable Essay Example for Free

Was the American civil inevitable Essay Among all the historical events that have taken place in the history of the United States, the civil is ranked as the most important. From the day when the first gun shot was fired at Fort Sumter in 1861, the civil war changed the history of the United States forever. A lot of books have been written on this important topic with different authors giving different opinions (Guelzo, 2012). Based on this, there has never been consensus among Americans on whether the civil war was inevitable or not. Although there had been years of tension between the northern and southern states, the war erupted after a number of southern states made public their desire to break away from the union. The breakaway states formed what was known as the Confederacy while those that remained loyal in the union were known as the union. The first reason why the American civil war was inevitable was slavery. For a long time, the main economic activity in the southern states was agriculture. The demand for increased cotton production came in1793 after when Eli Whitney discovered the first mechanical gin. Although there were slaves in the united even before the eruption of the civil war, the number of slaves in the country grew by large proportions after the gin was discovered. On their part, the northern states were not agricultural and very few of them had slaves. These states were opposed to slavery and were pushing for abolition (Wagner et al, 2002). This ideological difference on the topic of slavery among the northern and southern states made the civil inevitable. The southern states were not ready to abolish slavery because that would have a huge impact on their economy. In addition, they felt that the northern states were infringing on their right to economic growth. None of the two states was ready to soften o n their as far as the issue of slavery was concerned and this made the civil war inevitable. The second factor that made the American civil war inevitable was the increased sectionalism among different states. As noted earlier, there were major ideological differences between the northern and southern states on a number of issues. Although sectionalism had existed in the country for a long time, it reached dangerous heights between 1800 and 1860. The northern states that were more industrialized than the southern ones became more economically powerful and built better cities. This made the southern states whose economy was agriculture based envious (Wagner et al, 2002). However, the fortunes of the southern states changed after the discovery of gin which created more demand for cotton. As abolition gained widespread attention, the southern states were living in constant fear of revolts by the slaves. In support of their stand, the southerners argued that they were preserving the culture passed down to them from the founding fathers of the country many of whom owned slaves. T hese differences caused a major rift in the largest denominations in the country namely Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodists. In addition, it resulted in a mass movement of whites from the south to the north making the south adopt a hard-line political position. The third factor that made the American civil war inevitable was the increasing protectionism between the northern and southern states. As noted earlier, there were huge economic differences between the northern and southern states. Whereas agriculture was the main economic activity in the southern states, the economy of the northern states was based on industries. Despite the increasing campaign against slavery in the northern states, the southern states were not ready to abolish. This was because the slaves offered cheap labor therefore eliminating any need to incur costs on mechanization. In addition, the southerners did not see any need for industrialization and were comfortable with buying manufactured products from other parts of the country instead of building industries (Guelzo, 2012). Although the economy of the northern states was doing well, their industries were faced increased completion from the full fledged European industries. More importantly, this made it hard for t hem to compete for cotton with Europeans who were offering very high prices for cotton from the south. Based on this, the northern states were in favor of trade tariffs and protectionism while the southerners were opposed to it. On their part, the southerners were in favor of free trade. These differences created negative competition between the two sides culminating in the civil war (Fuller, 2008). The years preceding the civil witnessed a territorial expansion of the country through acquisition of new lands. Many of the new territories entered the union as slave states and the southerners wanted to acquire more slaves to work on these new lands. On their part, the northerners wanted to stop any further acquisition of slave territories (Stampp, 1990). This resulted in bitter disputes between the two sides making the civil war inevitable. In conclusion, there were major ideological differences between the northern and southern states prior to the outbreak of the war. These differences were difficult to resolve amicably due to the hard-line stances adopted by both sides. The major central issue that caused the tensions between the northern and southern states was slavery. The northerners were opposed to slavery while the southerners believed it part of cultural inheritance. References Bestor, Arthur (1964). The American Civil War as a Constitutional Crisis. American Historical Review Edward Pessen (1980). How Different from Each Other Were the Antebellum North and South .The American Historical Review, Vol. 85, No. 5. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1853242 Fuller, Howard J (2008). Clad in Iron – The American Civil War and the Challenge of British Naval Power. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press Guelzo, Allen C. (2012). Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Covers Holt, Michael F. (2004). The fate of their country: politicians, slavery extension, and the coming of the Civil War Hill and Wang, New York. Krannawitter, Thomas L. (2008). Vindicating Lincoln: Defending the Politics of Our Greatest President. Rowman Littlefield, London. Miller, William L. (2009). Abraham Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman Vintage Books. Quarstein, John V. (1999). The Battle of the Ironclads. Arcadia Publishing Stampp, Kenneth M. (1990). America in 1857: a nation on the brink. Oxford University Press, New York. Wagner, Margaret E. Gary W. Gallagher, and Paul Finkelman (2002). The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference . Source document

Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM)

Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) Robert Konstandelos Operation A sample is made to oscillate using a vibrational unit extended on a rod. The sample is placed between two electromagnetic pieces which are used as the applied field for this this experiment. With the sample oscillating induces a voltage between the search coils which creates a signal to determine the magnetic properties of the sample. Reference coils are used to create a reference signal such that noise generated from the signal can be filtered using a lock-in amplifier [1]. Because the signal and the reference signal are directly related through its voltage and amplitude means that precise measurements can be recorded using a voltmeter. Calibration methods are important to determine the relation between the voltages induced by the magnetic field and the sample and their magnetic properties. Calibrating the applied field is done by increasing the voltage in steps measuring the field until reaching a maximum. The system is calibrated using a nickel standard normally as a number of vo lts per unit of magnetic moment. Many materials such as types of barium ferrite or alnico materials can be placed inside to determine properties. These properties include remanence, coercivity, intrinsic coercivity and operating points once the system has been calibrated. Advantages and Disadvantages in terms of experimental facets The key advantage is the precision and accuracy of VSMs. Taking measurements at a range of angles once detection arrangements for the coils have been devised can be done. The advantage of sample vibration perpendicularly to the applied field can be found once the detection coils have been arranged appropriately. This means that there is the ability to test the sample at different angles. The positioning of the coils are done in a way to reduce the effects of sample position variation and external field variation- essentially deep into the applied field shown in figure 1. Disadvantages are that they are not well suited for determining the magnetisation loop or the hysteresis curve due to the demagnetising effects of the sample. Another problem is that, particularly for the VSM used in the third year laboratory is that temperature dependence cannot be controlled. Figure 1. A schematic layout of the VSM 2. B-H Hysteresis Loop Tracer Operation The B-H hysteresis loop tracer is essentially two coils, one with a sample and the other which is empty for comparison. The insertion of a sample into the pickup coils causes a voltage proportional to the rate of change of the vector field to occur across the difference amplifier. After passing through an integrator, a voltage proportional to the intrinsic induction is passed to the Y-amp of the oscilloscope. This voltage combined with an X-voltage representing the magnetising field generated from the solenoid without the sample results in the generation of a hysteresis loop on the oscilloscope. Calibration is through a balance and phase adjustment to establish a trace on the oscilloscope. They are done to make sure that the magnetising field is linear and that every vector corresponds to the applied field. Measurements for the magnetic properties can then be made. Advantages and disadvantages in terms of experimental facets The coils have the ability to heat the sample such that temperature variance can be observed in the way that the material behaves when influenced by a magnetic field. On the other hand, this could cause overheating of the system which could result in a failure. Using a BH-looper can give the user a more improved visualisation compared to a VSM of the way a material behaves. The values plotted on the scope are only proportional to the absolute values, therefore display yields qualitative not quantitative information about a material magnetic properties. The precision is generally low compared to a VSM. Because a hysteresis loop is viewed using an oscilloscope means that observations of whether the material is a soft or hard magnetic material. And this is why it is used in quality control testing industries like the control of ferromagnetic oxides in a magnetic tape factory. Figure 2. A schematic layout of a BH loop tracer [2]. 3(I) Difference between concepts of Vector Field B, Magnetisation M and the magnetising field H The vector field B represents the magnetic induction. Magnetisation M is the magnetic moment per unit volume of a solid. Magnetising H field is the magnetic field strength. These three quantities are related by the equation. With ÃŽ ¼0 being the permittivity of free space. To show the difference between these quantities, hysteresis loops for a magnetic material shown in figure 4 are used. One of the key differences shown is that the magnetisation saturates whereas the B field increases at a constant rate for certain values for H. The magnetisation is generated by the spin and the orbital angular momentum of electrons in the solid. H is generated outside the material by electrical currents[3]. Therefore, from the equation above, the B field is the combination of H and M which shows the difference between the quantities with the inclusion of the permittivity of free space. A way to show the difference between the 3 parameters is through the representation of a bar magnet in a magnetic field shown in figure 3. Unfortunately, due to the age of the diagram, the labels are a bit old. Hence the ‘True’ field denotes the vector field B and the Applied field represents the magnetisation M. However, the arrows represent the direction and strength of each parameter. It is clear from figure 3 that the Magnetisation is much stronger than the demagnetising field. Figure 3 An example of a magnet being demagnetised in an applied field From figure 4, the two sketches representing of B and M against H can give an understanding of other magnetic properties of the material. The curve on the left can show the saturation of the magnetic material as well as the remanence Mr the remaining magnetisation after the applied field has been turned off. The right hand diagram can show the remanent induction Br and the saturation point of the applied field. In terms of the difference between the parameters, M, B and H, they yield different properties of the material in question. Figure 4 Hysteresis loops showing (a) M and (b) B field against H 3(II) The difference between the susceptibility and relative permeability The relative permeability ÃŽ ¼r and susceptibility χ are very closely related as shown by the equation below: The relative permeability represents a characterisation of magnetic materials. Paramagnetic or diamagnetic materials have permeabilities close to the permeability of free space. However for ferromagnetic materials, the permeability is large in comparison. It represents a multiplication factor. For example, the use of an iron core with a relative permeability is 200 times greater than just an air coil used. So this is a measure of the actual magnetic field within a ferromagnetic material. Susceptibility is a measure to an extent to which a material may be magnetised in a magnetic field. It represents a ratio of how much a material is magnetised compared to the applied field on that material [4]. So the susceptibility specifies how much the relative permeability differs from one as shown in the equation above. References [1] Foner S 1959 Versatile and Sensitive Vibrating-Sample Magnetometer* Rev. Sci. Instrum. 30 548–57 [2] Howling D H 1956 Simple 60-cps Hysteresis Loop Tracer for Magnetic Materials of High or Low Permeability Rev. Sci. Instrum. 27 952 [3] Jiles D 1990 Introduction to Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (Chapman and Hall) [4] Magnetic Susceptibilty http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/357313/magnetic-susceptibility

How much more is Jane Eyre than just a piece of romantic fiction? :: Free Essay Writer

How much more is Jane Eyre than just a piece of romantic fiction? All the qualities of a typical romantic fiction are certainly found in ‘Jane Eyre’. The usual qualities found in romances are a Hero and Heroine. They can have some tension between them before finally falling in love but something gets in their way, eventually they over come all odds and get to be together in the end. Obviously Jane is the Heroine and Mr. Rochester is the Hero, and as in most romances, the story is told through the eyes of the Heroine. ‘Jane Eyre’ starts off with Jane’s childhood to allow the reader to get to know Jane and sympathize with all her views and feelings. When Jane first moves to Thornfield Hall the romance starts. To build up the tension for the reader Jane is at first denying her feeling. â€Å"it was rather a trial to appear thus formally summoned in Mr. Rochester’s presence† It is obvious to the reader what is going to happen and frustrating that Jane will not admit that she likes him this is very typical of a romance. It follows on conforming to the romance stereotype when Jane admits her feelings but something gets in the way. At first this is Blanche Ingram, Jane is convinced by things people have said that she is going to Marry Mr. Rochester. â€Å"And did I now think Miss Ingram such a choice as Mr. Rochester would be likely to make?† This is providing a barrier against them getting together in the straight forward way of just Blanche Ingram but she also stands to represent looks and class. She is a lot prettier than Jane and this tests Mr. Rochester to see if he is the deep thinking man Jane thinks he is. Also Jane is of a lot lower class than Blanche Ingram and it would have seemed strange at the time ‘Jane Eyre’ was written for Mr. Rochester to chose Jane. This is pushed aside and it seems like everything has started to go right for Jane. Then follows the clichà ©d romantic twist. Jane discovers Mr. Rochester’s wife. â€Å"this gentleman’s wife is still living† Everything falls apart for Jane. She runs away and begins to start a new life till the end of the novel when Jane finds out Mr. Rochester’s wife has died and they get married. â€Å"My Edward and I then are happy† As in all romances it comes to the happy ending to make the reader feel happy and satisfied. These were the ways in which ‘Jane Eyre’ followed the typical romance patterns for general romances. But there is much more to this novel.

My Conversation With Death :: essays research papers

He did not steal into my room like a common thief, though that was his nature. He was sitting there as if he was always there, taking little heed to his surroundings. His presence in the room was an assault to my sense of security, yet his smile never portrayed this intention. Like a child he did not really comprehend the repercussions of his actions. His physical features, clothing, even his demeanor was one of neutrality. This left me with the feeling that no matter what type of surroundings he was placed into he would blend in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I have often wondered why people fear me so.† He spoke softly breaking the silence. â€Å"We rejoice the beginning of ones lives with celebration, yet on the same hand mourn there passing, and by doing so we lose sight of all of their accomplishments. If a person has lived his life honestly, successfully or even completely, should not the correct response to his death be a smile? Why do people find the need to focus on the negative aspect of death? Death is an unavoidable aspect of life, and no matter how much you wish, it will never go away. Do we ponder why the sun will rise every morning? The answer to this is no because you have accepted it as a necessary reality of life. I say treat death in the same manner, do not pay it any heed and focus on the living of life not the dying.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I admitted to myself that his words did have a ring of truth to them. I was now forced to consider what it was about death that I feared so. I responded with â€Å"It is not the aspect of dying that we morn but rather that of a loss. We do not cry over the memories we have with the deceased but rather those that we cannot have with them. We can no longer enjoy the comfort of their presence, spend time with them, laugh with them, or cry with them. They are gone, and by their passing, we are forced to remember who and what we are. No matter how many advances we make in life we cannot avoid the fact that we are mortals. Just as we were brought into this world we must one day leave it too. We cannot overlook the negative aspect of death for it is a constant reminder of our own mortality.

Philosophy Essay -- Socrates

There are three different parts of elements in one’s soul called: Reason, physical appetites and spirit due to the inner conflict. Each part of the soul is doing its own job. A man can have two different responses from his inner world when he has a conflict to decide. For example, a man was thirsty. He wants to drink some water because his appetite is telling him that he needs to quench. While his reason part will list out all the rational reasons for avoiding him from drinking, such as the water can make you sick. When the man’s desire was higher than reason then the sprite will appear to support with appetite (138). However there is another situation when the spirit will help reason out. â€Å"When the soul is divided into factions, it is far more ready to be up in arms on the side of reason† (138). Reason can consider as wisdom because it is the leader of the soul. It gives rational orders for spirit to follow, so they could work together to hold the appetite s. Then spirit can symbolize courage because the spirit is not afraid of against enemies in order to carry out its mission for holding the appetites in all circumstances because appetite is like the many-headed of the monster as it mentions in Chapter XXXIV. The many-headed symbolized the divided mind of the monster. It needs the lion to help the man to control the many-headed monster since the power of the man will be weak when there are many desires of the monster. Hence, the man symbolized the reason and the lion symbolized the spirit. Moreover, there shouldn’t be any internal conflict between these three since they are all doing a great job. This phenomenon of performing good cooperation is called temperance. According to Socrates â€Å"the reason for all this is that each part ... ... careful since once people had chosen for the character they want to be such as be an animal or human being, and then it’s their duty to be responsible for their decision. At the end of the story it tells the part when people pass through the River of Unmindfulness. That all the people â€Å"Required to drink a certain measure of this water, and some have not the wisdom to save them from drinking more. Every man as he drinks forgets everything† (359). Which means if a person drinks too much water then he will not remember that there always has penalty for being unjust, thus his moral will not going to be increased because he will keep doing unjust thing and thinks there is no punish for it. In conclusion because of immortality, people understand the concept of being unjust need to bear the punishment, which helps a person, can have better moral understanding. Philosophy Essay -- Socrates There are three different parts of elements in one’s soul called: Reason, physical appetites and spirit due to the inner conflict. Each part of the soul is doing its own job. A man can have two different responses from his inner world when he has a conflict to decide. For example, a man was thirsty. He wants to drink some water because his appetite is telling him that he needs to quench. While his reason part will list out all the rational reasons for avoiding him from drinking, such as the water can make you sick. When the man’s desire was higher than reason then the sprite will appear to support with appetite (138). However there is another situation when the spirit will help reason out. â€Å"When the soul is divided into factions, it is far more ready to be up in arms on the side of reason† (138). Reason can consider as wisdom because it is the leader of the soul. It gives rational orders for spirit to follow, so they could work together to hold the appetite s. Then spirit can symbolize courage because the spirit is not afraid of against enemies in order to carry out its mission for holding the appetites in all circumstances because appetite is like the many-headed of the monster as it mentions in Chapter XXXIV. The many-headed symbolized the divided mind of the monster. It needs the lion to help the man to control the many-headed monster since the power of the man will be weak when there are many desires of the monster. Hence, the man symbolized the reason and the lion symbolized the spirit. Moreover, there shouldn’t be any internal conflict between these three since they are all doing a great job. This phenomenon of performing good cooperation is called temperance. According to Socrates â€Å"the reason for all this is that each part ... ... careful since once people had chosen for the character they want to be such as be an animal or human being, and then it’s their duty to be responsible for their decision. At the end of the story it tells the part when people pass through the River of Unmindfulness. That all the people â€Å"Required to drink a certain measure of this water, and some have not the wisdom to save them from drinking more. Every man as he drinks forgets everything† (359). Which means if a person drinks too much water then he will not remember that there always has penalty for being unjust, thus his moral will not going to be increased because he will keep doing unjust thing and thinks there is no punish for it. In conclusion because of immortality, people understand the concept of being unjust need to bear the punishment, which helps a person, can have better moral understanding.