Marvin

Use Case Narratives (UCN) I. Identification Summary Title: Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Account in Metro Bank Summary: This use case narrates the steps to acquire a new ATM account in service of Metro Bank. Actors: 1. Customer – Person to acquire an ATM account. 2. Teller – Verify and approve the requirements of the Customer 3. Metro Bank Banking System – register Customers Information to the data base Creation Date: March 14 2013Date of Update: Version: v1. 0Person in Charge: Elias Maglalang & Marvin Luzon II. Flow of Events Preconditions: 1.The Teller is Identified by the Metro Bank Banking System and gaining authorization to register a new Customer Data into the data base 2. The Customer must have the required documents (2 government issued IDs, Proof of Billing and Depository Money) to apply for a new ATM account. PostConditions: 1. Customer Information recorded in the Metro Bank Banking System’s Data Base. 2. Monetary Assets acquired by the teller. 3. Customer Receives the ATM card including a piece of paper containing instruction regarding changing of pin number. 4. Customer signs the logbook for proof of receiving the ATM. Main Success Scenario: 1.Customer arrives at the bank and approaches the new account section. 2. Teller provides customer with documents to be filled up. 3. Customer submits filled up documents along with requirements. 4. Teller accesses the Metro Bank banking system. 5. Teller records documents and piles up all the requirements. 6. Teller processes the filing of the documents. 7. Teller receives the Monetary Assets of the customer. 8. Customer receives ATM including the instruction regarding changing of pin number. 9. Customer signs the logbook for proof of receiving the ATM. 10. Use case successfully ends III. Alternative Sequences IV. Error Sequences

Business & Administration Essay

1.1 Describe the main types of electronic message systems An electronic messaging system (EMS) allows users to send and receive messages electronically. Two of the main types of electronic message systems are as follows: E-mails, these work by the message leaving your inbox, it is then transferred to a number of servers before it reaches the other persons inbox. During this time it passes through a few servers, some of which save the email for future reference, faxes are another type of electrical message system, this works by drawing the documents through it, scanning them and saving digital images into memory. The machine dials the number, waits for acknowledgment from the fax machine on the other end then transfers the images using different frequency tones to translate varying shades of dark and light. 1.2 Describe the different features of electronic message systems There are different types of electronic message systems and therefore they have different features for example, a telephone allows for instant voice communication and has a feature known as ‘call forwarding’ this allows you to transfer any incoming or current calls to a different telephone. They also have a feature known as ‘voicemail’ this is a feature which allows you to receive messages even when you are away from the telephone, the machine records the voice message and enables you to play it back with the option to save the message, pass it to another user or to discard of it. Portable telephones also have extensive features e.g. Internet access. Email is another electronic message system which has various different features such as the ‘address book’ this feature allows users to add contacts email addresses etc. Recipients can then be attached to an email quickly through typing their name into the address book. The internet is yet another form of electronic messaging system it has become a replacement for notice boards with features such as forums, bulletins and news feeds it can be used as a quicker method of updating and viewing information e.g. newsletters and events. 1.3 Explain the purpose of keeping an electronic message system up  to date The purpose of keeping an electronic message system up to date is that we know which messages we dealt with also to avoid miscommunication. It also allows you to have a clearer overlook as to what messages you still need to preview. For example I check my emails every day when I come into work and as soon as I reply or finish reading an email I decide whether it is important or not, if it is not important l remove it from my inbox so that it is free from any unwanted messages. This will then be filed away into the appropriate subfolder (the deleted folder). This is then held on file just in case it needs to be looked at in the future for some reason. Another reason for keeping electronic message systems up to date is to ensure that no important messages are missed, if a message system is kept up to date and an important message is received it can then be dealt with quickly and efficiently as possible which will have a positive impact on your reputation as an employee as well as the company’s. 1.4 Describe how to use an electronic message system to check and delete or discard messages This is how to check, delete or discard of messages using email as a form of electronic communication. To check your email first you will be required to log in to your account. After you sign in (put your username or email address and password) you will be able to view your inbox. All new messages are shown in bold font, so it is easy to notice them. To delete or discard messages in most cases you can left click the square box next to the message(s) you want to discard of, then you will need to left click the icon with a picture of bin once you have done this the selected message(s) will be put in the â€Å"bin† folder. To remove message from bin you can either chose one message or multiple messages which you want to permanently discard of you will then need to left click on the square box and click icon â€Å"Delete forever†. If you want to remove all messages from the bin folder you will need to left click the square box on top of the screen, which will then tick all messages. After that you need to click â€Å"Delete forever† icon and that will remove all messages from the bin folder. 1.5 Explain the purpose of leaving clear messages for others The purpose of leaving clear messages for others is to ensure that the point we want to get across is received and understood thoroughly, leaving a clear message can save you valuable time in the work space as it helps get the  information across quicker if the person on the other line does not need to translate and interpret what you are saying. This can also minimize potential conflict that could come from any misunderstanding.

Reactivity of Metals with Water and Acid Essay

Introduction This report discusses an experiment to study the relationship of the physical and chemical properties of elements in groups and periods to the atomic structure of the elements. The objective of the experiment is to observe what happens when seven metals (magnesium, calcium, iron, lead, copper, aluminum, and zinc) are placed in water and/or hydrochloric acid. The hypothesis is that not all metals will react with the water and/or hydrochloric acid. This report presents the experiment’s procedures, results, analysis and questions. Purpose To observe relationships between the reactivity of elements and their location on the periodic table. Materials Part A: Reactivity of Metals in Water 1. 2. chemical safety goggles 3. 250 mL beaker 4. test tube (18 mm x 150 mm) 5. test-tube rack 6. scoopula 7. spark lighter 8. Bunsen burner clamped to a retort stand 9. test-tube clamp 10. pH paper 11. paper towel 12. small samples of 1. calcium, Ca(s) 2. magnesium, Mg(s) 3. copper, Cu(s) 1. wooden splint Part B: Reactivity of Metals in Hydrochloric Acid 1. 2. chemical safety goggles 3. 20 mL graduated cylinder 4. 4 test tubes (18 mm x 150 mm) 5. test-tube rack 6. scoopula 7. small samples of 1. magnesium, Mg(s) 2. iron, Fe(s) 3. zinc, Zn(s) 4. aluminum, AI(s) 1. dilute hydrochloric acid (0.5 mol/L) 2. spark lighter 3. Bunsen burner clamped to a retort stand 4. paper towel 5. wooden splint 6. masking tape or test-tube stopper Procedure Part A: Reactivity of Metals in Water The materials were selected and brought to the station. Safety protocol was followed and safety glasses were worn throughout the experiment. The appropriate data tables were drawn in which to record the data observations. The beaker was filled with approximately 250 mL of tap water. The water was tested with pH paper and the results were recorded. On a folded piece of paper towel, the professor placed a small piece of calcium (Ca). Observations of physical properties were recorded. A test tube filled with tap water was placed, mouth down, into the beaker (figure 1) and the calcium was placed in the beaker(amendment: the original procedure asked to select a metal that produced a gas to collect the gas after first attempting the procedure. To avoid wasting time, the gas [if there was] was collected on the first and only attempt). The reaction was observed and recorded. After the reaction was complete, the water was tested with pH paper. This procedure was repeated using samples of magnesium and copper. All results were recorded. The test tube was extracted from the beaker and without flipping it, was placed mouth down in the test tube rack. Using a spark lighter, the Bunsen burner was lit and a wooden splint was lit from the flame. The burner was turned off. Using a test tube clamp, the test tube was lifted and with it’s opening at the bottom; the burning splint was inserted into the mouth. Observations were recorded. The splint was extinguished with water from the tap and all waste was disposed of. Part B: Reactivity of Metals in Hydrochloric Acid The materials were selected and brought to the station. Safety protocol was followed and safety glasses were worn throughout the experiment. The appropriate data tables were drawn in which to record the data observations. A graduated cylinder was filled with approximately 20.0 mL of dilute hydrochloric acid. 5.0 mL were poured into four clean test tubes, which were then placed on the test tube rack. On a folded piece of paper towel, the professor placed small quantities of magnesium, iron, zinc, and aluminum. The physical properties of each of the metals were recorded. One at a time, each of the metals was carefully dropped into a different test tube of hydrochloric acid. Reactions were observed for a 20 minute period (amendment: because of the lack of time, reactions were only observed for five minutes) and observations were recorded. Masking tape was used to lightly cover the test tube in order to collect gas from the elements that bubbled in the acid. After the reactions were complete, a wooden splint was lit using a Bunsen burner and the masking tape was removed. The glowing splint was held just inside the mouth of the test tube. Observations were recorded and the waste was disposed of. Observations Part A: Reactivity of Metals in Water Element Calcium Magnesium Copper Physical properties Solid, silver, metallic, soft Long, thin, solid, smooth, malleable, silver, shiny Thin, solid, malleable, bronze in colour, shiny Reaction Upon putting the calcium in water, it bubbled and released gas. The water in the test tube was displaced when it was held above the calcium while it was reacting pH before reaction: 7 pH after reaction: 8/9 There was no reaction when the magnesium was placed in the water, therefore no gas. There was no reaction when the copper was placed in the water, therefore no gas. Part B: Reactivity of Metals in Hydrochloric Acid Element Zinc Iron Aluminum Magnesium Physical properties Solid, shiny, silver in colour Rusty, small individual solid flakes, dull Powder, grey/silver Long, thin, solid, smooth, malleable, silver, shiny Reaction Slow reaction, but it eventually started to bubble. Very slow reaction. Few bubbles were produced. Though there was no observed reaction from the aluminum and the hydrochloric acid, further research shows that it does react. It releases heat and the water evaporates. Upon putting the magnesium in the hydrochloric acid, it quickly started to bubble and fizz. Throughout the observation, it also releasedlots of heat. Analysis The objective of the experiment was to observe what happens when seven metals are placed in water and/or hydrochloric acid. Calcium, magnesium, and copper were all placed in water and of the three, only the calcium reacted. Zinc, iron, aluminum, and magnesium were placed in the hydrochloric acid. There was a reaction in every test tube, but the magnesium showed the greatest reaction with iron being the least reactive to the acid. Even though the metals may be in the same period, how it reacts to the water or hydrochloric acid depends on the type of metal. Error(s) When the lit splint was held just above the mouth of the test tube with the magnesium, there was no reaction, unlike the high-pitched popping sounds emitted by other groups’ experiments. Perhaps this is because the masking tape was removed from the mouth of the test tube minutes before the wooden splint was lit, giving the collected gas enough time to diffuse. A reason for the zinc and aluminum not reacting with the hydrochloric acid could have involved dirty glassware or the lack of time allowed for observation. Conclusion The purpose of this lab was to explore the patterns in reactivity in the periodic table. Through careful observation and planning during this experiment, the hypothesiswas deemed successful. Not all metals react with water and hydrochloric acid. Questions 1. Rank the elements tested in Part A from least reactive to most reactive. 1. From the elements tested in Part A, calcium reacted the most with water (it produced hydrogen), while both copper and magnesium did not have a reaction. 1. Sort the elements that you tested into groups. State the apparent order of reactivity as one proceeds down a group. Does reactivity increase or decrease? 1. Group 2 (alkaline earth metal): magnesium, calcium Group 8: iron Group 11 (coinage metal?): copper Group 12: zinc Group 13: aluminum For the metals, the reactivity increases as one proceeds down the group. This is because it is easier for electrons to be given farther down the periodic table. 1. Sort the elements that you tested into periods. State the apparent order of reactivity as one proceeds across a period. Does reactivity increase or decrease? 1. Period 3: magnesium, aluminum Period 4: calcium, iron, copper, zinc For the metals, the reactivity decreased as one moves from left to right across periods, because it is easier for electrons to be taken away farther to the left of the periodic table. 1. Is the solution that is produced when a metal reacts with water acidic or basic? 1. The solution that is produced when a metal reacts with water is basic, because the pH increased. 1. Based on your gas test observation in Step 16, what gas is produced? 1. Based on the gas test observation in Step 16, hydrogen gas is produced. This can be determined by the ‘squeaky pop’ sound that is heard when the lit wooden splint is placed at the mouth of the test tube. 1. Rank the elements tested in Part B from least reactive to most reactive. 1. In part B, copper would be the least reactive, because there was little-to-no reaction with it and the hydrochloric acid. Iron is the second least reactive, as its reaction was slow but there were a few observed bubbles. Zinc would be the second most reactive and magnesium the most reactive, with a quick reaction and the plenty of heat that was released. 1. Does the reactivity increase or decrease as one moves across a period of elements? 1. As one moves across the periodic table from left to right, for the metals, the reactivity decreases, this is because the farther to the left, the easier it is for electrons to be given or taken away. But for the non-metals, the reactivity increases(excluding the nobles gases), because the farther right, the higher the electronegativity, resulting in a greater exchange of electron. 1. Based on your gas test results, what is the gas produced in these reactions (Steps 16 and 25)? 1. Based on the gas test results and the similar ‘squeaky pop’ sound the elements emitted, the gas produced from the magnesium and hydrochloric acid reaction and also the calcium and water reaction is hydrogen gas. 1. Does the reactivity increase or decrease as one moves down a group of elements? 1. As one moves down a group of elements on the periodic table, for the metals, the reactivity increases, this is because the farther down, the easier it is for electrons to be given or taken away. But for the non-metals the reactivity decreases as one goes down because the farther up, the higher the electronegativity, resulting in a greater exchange of electron. 1. Evaluate this investigation. Did the design enable you to collect enough evidence to answer the questions? How could it have been improved? Would your suggested improvements raise any safety concerns? 1. The design was decent, but it did provide all the evidence needed to answer all the questions; a few of the questions required further research. I think the investigation could have been improved by writing clearer instructions and being more descriptive to avoid confusion. Also, students should be able to experiment with different metals to help them expand their understanding of the reactivity of metals in water and hydrochloric acid (this may raise a few safety concerns). 1. Predict what might happen if you were to drop a piece of potassium (or lithium) into a beaker of water. 1. Because potassium is an alkaline metal (lithium as well), it is extremely reactive. I predict that dropping it in water would cause it to react quickly and intensely, and produce hydrogen gas. 1. Connect the trends observed in Parts A and B to atomic radius, ionization energy, and electron affinity. Write a paragraph to explain the trends. 1. The elements moving from left to right across a period, the atomic radius decreases, as does the ionization energy(the nucleus of the atom gains protons).The atomic radius increases moving down a group, but the ionization energy decreases moving down a group (gains protons and new energy shells of electrons).And opposite to the ionization energy, electron affinities increase from left to right across a period. Electron affinities change little moving down a group, becoming slightly more positive.

Historical contributions of a Sigmund Frued to the field of psychology Term Paper

Historical contributions of a Sigmund Frued to the field of psychology - Term Paper Example As such, Freudian concepts, which were widely debated among his followers and scholars, were deemed to be controversial yet remained to be worthy of our examination and understanding. This paper will look back at the historical contributions of a Sigmund Freud to the field of psychology. By examining his early life, one can explore his childhood and its influence on his understanding of human behavior. Also, his theories on dream interpretation, psychosexual development, the id and the ego, psychological repression, and transference will be explored to know more about his controversial theories in psychology. Moreover, by taking a look at three of Freud’s notable followers, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and his daughter Dr. Anna Freud, one can explore on how Freud’s ideas have influenced his followers to develop their own theory of the mind. Finally, discussion of Freud’s legacy and contribution to psychology will seal his achievements as one of the most important thi nkers in the 20th century. Early Life On May 6, 1856, Sigismund Schlomo Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia - a small town which was then part of the Austrian Empire, now known as the Czech Republic. His father, Jacob was a textile dealer and had two children by previous marriage. His mother Amala, who was 20 years younger than his father, gave birth to his first son Sigmund at age 21. Being the first child of eight siblings and in accordance to Jewish tradition, young Sigmund became the favorite in the family. He grew up "partially assimilated, mostly secular Jew†. Soon, Freud would become loyal follower of 19th century positivists in which he pointed the distinction between religious faith (which is not checkable or correctable) and scientific inquiry (which is both). For himself, this meant the denial of truth-value to any religion whatever, including Judaism.   A. Life & Education in Vienna When he was four years old, his father met a business failure and this made his f amily to move from the mountains of Moravia to a cosmopolitan metropolis in Vienna. A bright boy, Freud was admitted to a gymnasium in Leopoldstadt a year ahead of his time in 1865. By the time he graduated in 1873, he was awarded with honors. Initially, Freud intended to study law, but then decided to enter Medical School after having attended a lecture on Goethe's essay On Nature. He then joined the medical faculty at the University of Vienna where he obtained his doctorate in medicine. As early as from  1876  to  1882, Freud worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Physiology under Ernst Brucke, with neurology as his main focus.    In 1885 Freud received a one-year scholarship with Charcot at the "Salpetriere" in Paris. In 1886 Freud opened his first neurologist's office in Vienna, Rathausstrasse 7. Under Jean-Martin Charcot, Freud practiced and observed hypnosis as a clinical technique, and began to formulate the beginnings of his theory on the mind. Freud went on to make nervous ailments his specialty, concentrating on hysteria. B. Published Works By 1895, the year he published  Studies on Hysteria  with Josef Breuer, he had made significant progress in mapping out and defining his own theory of the mind. A period of intense work and self-analysis, further inspired by the death of his father, led Freud to his publication of  The Interpretation of Dreams  in 1900 and of  Psychopathology of Everyday Life  in 1901. The latter work, offering amusing and easily applicable anecdotes of Freudian slips, found a wide audience for his theories of the mind. By 1902 he finally gained the position of associate professor at the University of Vienna. In 1908 Freud established a Psychoanalytic society in Vienna, and thus his

Walmart Foreign Expansion Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Walmart Foreign Expansion Case Study - Essay Example The company adapted practices to fit the nature of Mexico market before transforming the market culture of American practices. However, the company has been criticized for bribery cases in the establishment of outlets in Mexico involving the executives. The company has fought these allegations through internal investigations as well as inviting other authorities not only for Mexico but also other markets which promote Walmart’s reputation. The company faced difficulties in penetrating the Japan market due to strong government protection for the local firms. The company has adopted some local practices that have promoted growth through acquired local firms. The same is observed in the China’s market that where company has adopted labor practices and considerations for customer tastes and preferences. The company has however failed in the Germany and Korea markets due to failure of adapting practices in accordance to the nature of markets in these countries. For instance, in Germany, the company disregarded labor practices and failed to hire locals to enhance management. The company also failed to improve the quality of the products and items offered. Walmart could not succeed in other countries by adopting its wholesome merchandising strategy. This is because the global markets present different factors that are not observed in the American market. Different countries have varied cultures, economic conditions and other factors that shape tastes and preferences of the locals. Firms that would succeed in these markets should satisfy the customer needs and therefore a flexible merchandising strategy is appropriate for use to promote success. Following this, Walmart would apply part of its marketing strategy that is valid for to a country and adopt other local practices to the company’s strategy. Failure to apply flexible marketing strategy, the company would experience

Religion Or Mythology In Greek Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religion Or Mythology In Greek Culture - Essay Example There are two main types of myths in Greek culture; the divine myths that deals with the gods, their origins as well as actions, and heroic myths that are based on human actions. From these myths, one can affirm that Greeks valued life. They also believed in living their life to the fullest since they disregarded death as part of life (Sailors 7). Greeks also value specific people in the society. This is evidenced by their carving of imperishable legends that did magnificent things while they were alive. In other words, they carved their legends as one way of pursuing fame. In connection with this, it is apparent that some of the Greek myths influenced the lifestyle of youths. The myths were models of human excellence, and as a result of this, Greek youths emulates them. Greeks greatly admire strength, beauty as well as intelligence. The value of these elements is evidenced by their myth that grants men the power of measuring all things. In tandem with this, it is the nature of the G reeks to have a man deciding on almost all things in life. In conclusion, religion and mythology play a significant role in the Greek society. Religion enabled Greeks to communicate their experiences despite being made up of different religious practices. Apart from acting as self-representation of the Greek community, Greek religion served as a unifying factor. Greek myths show that Greeks valued life as well as specific people in the society. The involvement of religion in everything done in Greece led to the unification of the Greek’s religious culture.

Role of Ancient Greek women in society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Role of Ancient Greek women in society - Essay Example the household. They were not to be seen in public. The only time it was appropriate for a woman to leave the home was if she was visiting a female neighbor. If a divorce were to occur, it was by the man's choosing. He could select to divorce his wife by rejecting her in front of witnesses or by sending her back to her family home. If children were present, he would automatically receive custody and would return the dowry. However, if a woman committed adultery, he did not have to return the dowry. The only way a woman might seek a divorce would be to find an archon (an Athenian official) and provide excellent reasons for this request to be granted. Even then, it was not very common for them to be allowed to divorce. Not only did women have few rights, they certainly did not have any legal rights. They could not vote or have any say in the operation of the state. The participants who competed in the Olympic Games did not wear clothing so women were not allowed to watch. Women were allowed to participate in Chariot racing but only those who owned horses would be included in that group. The only activities they could participate in out in public were in weddings, funerals, and religious festivals. There were certain religious events that women were required to attend. At these events women prepared sacrifices and offerings to the goddesses. All women were expected to attend and to perform at these religious festivals. There has even been some archaeological proof that women had the most significant role over men as it pertained to religious life in ancient Greek society. Excavations at an ancient burial site in Athens have proven they also played very... The role of ancient Greek women in society was not a coveted one. Ancient Egypt saw very little distinction between men and women as far as free rights. Athens drew a sharp discernment between; citizen and alien, legitimate born and illegitimate born, and between a woman who was a wife and one who was not a wife. Men dictated the ins and outs of their daily life; fathers would control them before they were married and husbands controlled them once they were married. Women had no choice as to whom they would marry. The marriage was usually arranged at a young age by the girls father once the dowry (her portion of her father’s estate) was agreed upon. All archaeological evidence that has been found tells a story of women who were hidden away from the rest of society and treated unfairly. They were seen as nothing more than bearers of children but this could have been a feather in their cap as far as their lack of power was concerned. In Aristophanes’ â€Å"Lysistrataâ₠¬  the main power women had was from withholding their biological capabilities. If the husband did something the wife did not like she could retaliate using domestic retribution. Then there is the underlying question of how the goddesses - whom were strong female figures - were worshipped by men but ordinary women were treated as second-class citizens. Apparently men did not look down upon all women because they clearly celebrated the Greek goddesses that were fixtures in their society.

How has the sociology of education helped you understand gendered Essay

How has the sociology of education helped you understand gendered issues in education - Essay Example Unfortunately, all these social progress appear void when we hear reports of gender bias, and gender discrimination within the educational institutes. The educational institutions and academicians are the beacon of social reforms, the forum and its owners kindle progressive and visionary principles to sustain and developed society. It is discouraging to observe these vocalists of social and human rights, negating these principles in their professional attributes (Praechter, 1998, pp. 178). The article has elaborated the contributing factors which have caused gender split among the young generation. The faculty of the academic institutions are involved in certain measures which provoke differences between males and females; the steps are although deliberate but such offensive measures are so common in our schools that no one bothers to challenge or restrict such offensive statements. The sociologists have complained against the curriculum being taught to the young generations; and alleged that the basic differences between female and male society are exaggerated and highlighted in these schools. Such teachings in later stages develop a sharp edge between the students and professionals from both the genders. It is suspected that educational institutions establish primary differences between masculine and feminine in their teachings, which eventually translate into social inequality (Maher, 2001, pp. 78). It is alleged that "traditional gender ideologies and present changing gender norms affect the way gender is taught through the hidden curriculum found within every classroom today" (Lloyd, 1992, pp. 86). The schools are accused of teaching gender norms, which is source of intensifying the gender inequalities, "education is one of the leading institutions that teaches and bolsters the gender inequalities". The research reveals that the

Operations Management The increasing amount of Mass Customization in Essay

Operations Management The increasing amount of Mass Customization in the Automobile industry - Essay Example At that time, it is fair to say that consumers were more interested in the function of the product, and in the case of Henry Ford, his market domination prevented other manufacturers from offering personalization as a unique selling point. However, as automobiles became more affordable, consumers began to seek ways with which they could customize their possessions with a view differentiating themselves from other consumers, and to create their own sense of identity. The growing need to establish this identity led to the gradual customization in the automobile industry where automobiles could be produced to match individual consumer needs (Mayland and Heiland 2005). Mass customization requires a significant amount of input from all suppliers and producers involved in the operations management process. Each of these suppliers and producers will be part of other industries as well, which have their own technological advances and business strategies. For mass customization to be efficien t the automobile industry will have to look at changing its supplier relationships, but in doing so has to ensure that its relationship is not affect its suppliers relationship with producers. The automobile industry will therefore need to adopt a few examples of good practice from the service industry, as mass customization has introduced the consumer into its processes. Mass customization is likely to create a network of suppliers and a supply chain that is unique to traditional ones, but this may also involve adopting totally radical business strategies to maintain the inefficiencies. This may involve forming business alliances and partnerships that will enable the automobile industry to working closely with its suppliers by sharing more information and being involved in planning and forecasting as a group, as opposed to individually Table of Contents I. 1.0 History & Background of the Automobile industry The automobile industry is one which has its roots in America following the mass production of cars by Henry Ford in 1912 (Mozian et al 2007). The mass production of automobiles has now become a global phenomenon with other countries such as Germany, Brazil and Japan being key players in the industry. As a result of this global reach the automobile industry is experiencing influences which have forced the industry to re-assess the way they work. For instance, manufacturers are having changing relationships with their customers, as more demand high levels of personalization; manufacturers are having to form new partnerships with suppliers in order to meet their customer demands in terms of quality and cost; and these two influences have led to the need to re-invent the factory floor to accommodate the numbers and degrees of personalization demanded by the customer (Benko and McFarlane 2003). When Henry Ford mass produced the automobile in 1912, he introduced the concept of mass production which made it possible for industries to manufacture standard products in large quantities at low unit costs (Mayland and Heiland 2005). This meant that the automobile industry at that time, could manufacture automobiles that were identical, and this was largely possible due to consumer attitudes. At that time, it is fair to say that consumers

Local Community by Volunteering Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Local Community by Volunteering - Lab Report Example These goals and objectives can only be achieved when a company is able to take appropriate decisions to cope with unexpected situations. Moreover, good image among people also plays a key role in the success of a company. A good company or organization is one which not only seeks profits through providing quality products and services to the customers but also stands by their side in case of natural disasters. In this report, we will discuss how Toyota, a Japanese car manufacturing company, can work towards bringing improvement to the lives of people affected due to recent earthquake and tsunami. 2. Importance of the Event The 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused severe damages to Japan’s economy. The earthquake not only affected lives of the people living near the focal point of the earthquake but also adversely affected the car manufacturing industry and Japan’s nuclear system. Being nationals of Japan, it is one of our main responsibilities to work towards bringing imp rovement to the lives of people and to the overall economy of Japan. For this reason, we can plan to organize a function or event that will provide an opportunity for internal clients and community members to network while also raising money. As the community is badly hit by the natural disaster, the funds can go towards disaster relief center of Japan. It will also provide us with the opportunity to raise our company’s profile among the local community. 3. Overview of the Idea Being the advisor to the head of division, I have planned an event which can help us accomplish the above-mentioned tasks. The plan is to organize a car racing event in 10 main cities of Japan, which include Nagoya, Toyohashi, Ichinomiya, Okazaki, Toyota, Inazawa, Inuyama, Kariya, Setyo, and Handa. The event will be organized in December. In the car racing event, we will not use hybrid cars, rather we will introduce our latest electric cars in order to make people aware of our latest developments. We w ill specially invite our internal clients along with the community members in the event. For the collection of funds, we will use the following ways: 1. Funds collected through sale of tickets 2. Funds collected through company’s net profits 3. Funds collected through participation of rich internal clients 3.1 Usage of Funds The main intent of the plan is to collect a good amount of funds through the event in order to use those funds to bring relief to the lives of the affected people. Some part of the collected funds will be given to the Japan disaster management center in order to make our contribution in providing relief to the economy of the county. Our main is to use the collected funds in the benefits of our society. We will help our people stand on their toes once again. The event will be organized in those cities which are not affected by the disaster and where people have strong financial backgrounds. We will educate people regarding the need of their participation i n bringing improvement to the nation’s economy. The event will not only help us collect a high amount of funds but also it will help our company maintain a good image among the local community. 3.2 External Consultant The event will include all those activities which are critically important for the success of any specific event. Along with car racing, some other attractive features of the event will incl

Sustainable Resources Are the Only Way forward Essay

Sustainable Resources Are the Only Way forward - Essay Example The Island was a landmark of God's magnificence but due to large deforestation by local inhabitants and changes in climatic patterns causing rains to stop resulted in forests being wiped off from the island's face. The inhabitants thus had nothing to feed on and in the end, they started feeding on other humans. Thus man became an animal. The present deforestation in the Amazon is leading a path to a similar future because at the current rate it is predicted that in a couple of decades the forest will reduce by 40% in size. This will cause a dramatic shift in the carbon-absorbing pattern of the area and consequently, the temperatures there will rise to make it harder for the rest of the 60% of the remaining forest to survive (Wright & Nebel, 2007). The decline will, therefore, be at an exponential rate consequently resulting in the elimination of the Amazon from the face of the earth. The fact that government laws allow such developments to take place is most alarming. It is legally allowed to clear the forest by any means if the intention is to grow crops (soybeans in this case) and this results in the ownership of the land furthermore, cleared land is worth more and forested land so owners who wish to keep their property in good value, do not let the forest reclaim ‘their’ place naturally. This shows a sense of heightened selfishness in the local population of Brazil. Clearly, the concept of alternative resources is not a very popular practice and the locals are bent upon destroying the forest without being aware of the disastrous consequences just like the old tribes of Easter Island.

Orthodox Christianity Essay Example for Free

Orthodox Christianity Essay For centuries, the two major Christian sects of Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism have been a center of comparison because of the resemblance in both religions’ beliefs and practices. But in my recent visit to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Miami, I have discovered the stark contrasts to what popular notions hold. Particularly, what befell upon me was a revelation that Orthodox Catholicism differs from Roman Catholicism and other conventional Christian churches as far as relevant doctrines, laws, standards for morality, organizational leadership, church services, and religious ceremonies are concerned. While Orthodox Christianity is generally being compared as similar to Roman Catholicism, its basic and complex theologies both concur to and diverge from that of the Roman Catholic faith. Orthodox Christians generally regard their religious system as a direct continuance of Christ’s ministry; they believe that their very sect is part of a long continuing tradition, otherwise called the Holy Tradition, which started during the first century and remained pure and intact despite the drastic changes that occurred across the world over the centuries (Ware 7-8). Orthodox Christian belief likewise holds that the Bible is the life giving tome of the church because it contains and uncovers the will of God, reveals the relationship between God and the early Israelites, narrates the events that happened during the ministry of Jesus, as well as Christ’s foundation of the first church (Ware 194-196). Apart from the sacred readable contents of the Bible, Christian Orthodoxy also considers it as the sole living witness to the centuries old tradition the sect continues to practice. And with blessing from the early church leaders with guidance from the Holy Spirit, the books of the Bible were expressed as the apostles’ way of handing down the tradition from one generation to another. Christian Orthodoxy merits the Nicene Creed with the highest of regard and considers it as a basis of its beliefs (Ware 202). As such, in its belief in the nature of God, Orthodox Christianity employs a Trinitarian concept or one God with three different personas: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. The Orthodox doctrine furthers that God is an omnipotent being that constitutes no physical form, and is therefore a transcendent being (Ware 210-211). A Distinct Orthodox Catholic belief is in the concept that man is an image and likeness of God. This belief is stressed in extreme senses that Orthodox Christianity’s adherents consider humankind’s resemblance to God as a means of carrying the icon of God within the self (Benz 18). Because of the central idea that man is the image and likeness of God, Orthodox Catholicism’s notion of the original sin differs from most Christian traditions in such a way that the sin committed by Adam and Eve is not morally and spiritually inherited by humans. Instead, original sin is the separation from God’s grace and acquisition of physical and spiritual mortality (Benz 19). And humankind’s separation from God is an action out of free will, particularly when Adam and Eve chose to listen to the serpent’s word and their give in to their urge. Furthermore, Christian Orthodox belief suggests that the fall of man stained all of God’s creation with sin, and corruption while implying that Adam and Eve’s eviction from paradise is God’s way of avoiding man’s sin, wickedness, and corruption from lasting endlessly (Ware 218-219). The Orthodox Christians’ general concept of sin and corruption meanwhile is milder than any other Christian sect or any other religious system for that matter. Sin, as Orthodox Christian doctrine holds, encompasses a contamination, deformation, and infliction of damage on God’s image. However despite sin’s vile nature and humanity’s vulnerability to it, man remains as noble beings because of the simple fact that humans are created in the image of God (Benz 19). As much as the beliefs and practices have renewed my perspective of Orthodox Catholicism, the church service I became part of was a very overwhelming experience. I thought my religion was already rich in traditions and customs, but what I saw and experienced in the ceremony brought my knowledge of Orthodox Christianity to new heights as I have seen and distinguished the difference of the ceremony from conventional Christian sects. Before going to the church, I thought to myself that it is simply going to be a typical service in a Christian place of worship similar to the ones documented in Christian television networks. However, set my eyes on the church, the distinctive style of the structure surprised me as I have observed a slight difference in the church’s architecture. I expected the church to have a dome-shaped top which is a recognizable design of most Christian churches. Except for the cross on the tip of the church’s roof, the external appearance of the church resembles a mosque. The color scheme, the golden plates on the roof all appear to me as elements of Islamic design. As I entered the church, I have received a warm welcome from the church’s senior warden Gary Popovich. He mentioned that every part of the cathedral was a sanctuary for everyone, even to non-orthodox Christians. As Mr. Popovich gave me a mini tour of the church, the interiors further made me notice the distinction of Orthodox Church structures from that of most Roman Catholic structures. While both churches are known to have long, wide aisles leading to the altar, Cathedral of Christ the Savior’s hallway leading to the altar was a little compact despite the conventionality of its length. However, the lobby area of the church, or the narthex as it is properly called, was similar to lobbies of other churches in such a way that it has a board which posts announcements of the church’s activities for the week. Mr. Popovich however added that apart from the usual acknowledging of guests, the narthex is also significant in that tables are set up there during Easter to bless food that would be taken home by adherents after days of fasting and abstinence in the Lenten season. And in days of divine service and obligation, candles and offerings are sold in the narthex. As I was to be part of the Eastern Orthodox Communion for a day, Mr. Popovich toured me to the inner areas of the church. We then proceeded to the main area of the church, which, Mr. Popovich regarded as the nave. This area is where the people stay during divine services, and is thus considered sacred ground. Along the walls and the ceiling of the nave of the cathedral, I noticed numerous portraits of individuals considered holy by Orthodox Catholics including a large portrait of Christ in the ceiling. Mr. Popovich was about to give me a guided tour of what he calls an iconostasis or the room where all of the religious figures and paintings were placed, when he told me to be prepared because the service was about to start. So I proceeded to the nave to participate in the upcoming service. Although I did not clarify if there was any appropriate attire for adherents, I wore the conventional clothing reserved for church attendance. As the service started, everyone gathered in the nave of the cathedral. I first noticed that no one among the people in attendance was wearing casual clothing. The people around me had conservative clothing; the males wore formal attire with collared shirts and sleeves with cuffs. The females were all wearing mid-length and long skirts as well as blouses with sleeves. In addition, most of the women, though not all of them, sported head scarves during the service. Furthermore, apart from the clothing, I also noticed the cathedral’s segregation scheme. All the males were on the right hand side of the nave, while the females were on the right wing of the nave. While I was fascinated by the formality of the people in the church, I never asked them the relevance of wearing such clothing. I simply thought that the sanctity of their church together with the value they uphold for their tradition includes dressing well during services. Mr. Popovich informed me prior to the service that what I am going to be part of was the evening services otherwise the Vespers. I recall senior warden Popovich previously discussed that the Vespers begins at 9 in the evening, an hour which was actually based on the exact time of Christ’s death: 3:00 pm or the 9th hour in antiquated time. The service starts with the priest’s ceremonial blessing and continued with the usual beginnings, which, is basically a sequence of prayers that include the trisagion or the common hymn in almost every Orthodox liturgical service (Perry Melling 190). The service then proceeded with the recital of the Lord’s Prayer before the actual scripture reading of psalms took place. The reader read about three psalms before reciting another short hymn called the troparion (Perry Melling 37). Another hymn called the theotokion followed the troparion, the hymn was sung in honor of the mother of God. Particularly, the hymn honors the virgin mother of God for the incarnation of Christ through her. The singing of the hymn also coincided with the entrance of the clergy; the clergy coming from the Holy Doors signified that the creation of the world also marks man’s selection to live in paradise (Perry Melling 295). As the service was progressing, I took a small window of time to look around and observe what was happening around me. In doing so, I noticed that most people get distracted at what they do knowing that an unfamiliar person is present to witness what they do, but I felt their utmost dedication to their obligations to God because my very presence did not even cause them to be distracted at what they do. Similarly, as much as it was a rare occasion for me to be part of their usual service, they must have felt that it was also a rare occasion to have an outsider among them, yet their dedication remained pure and untainted. A series of readings soon followed, after the clergy’s entrance, another series of hymns, the Phos Hilaron and the Prokeimenon marked a transition of the service to epistle reading. During the epistle reading, the adherents hear the words of God for enlightenment. For the first part, the reader read a passage from the Bible’s Old Testament. At the time, the reading was taken from the book of Elijah which announced what message God’s promised messiah would bring. After the reading of the scriptures, the Vespers was concluded by the Litany of Fervent Supplication and the final blessing of the presiding clergy. During the Litany of Fervent Supplication, the adherents pray that God may grant all Christians mercy. The litany is a responsorial prayer wherein the reader asks for mercy in every aspect and the people respond with the words â€Å"Grant it, O Lord. † After the final blessing has been given, the crowds of people are dismissed accordingly. Based on what I have seen in the liturgical service I attended, Orthodox Catholicism is a religion filled with tradition, symbolisms and customary ceremonies. But true service to God is not really measured by the traditions, the customs, and other rituals of sacrifice and praise; the true essence of serving God lies in a person’s obedient and relentless faith. Ultimately, the sacrifices and the customs do not matter if a person has little or weak faith. Works Cited Benz, Ernst. â€Å"The Eastern Orthodox Church: Its Thought and Life† New Jersey: Aldine Transaction, 2008 Parry, Ken David Melling. â€Å"The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity† Malden, MA. : Blackwell Publishing, 1999. Ware, Timothy. â€Å"The Orthodox Church: New Edition†. New York: Penguin Books, 1997

Theory of Social Darwinism and the Impacts on Indigenous Australians

Theory of Social Darwinism and the Impacts on Indigenous Australians Social Darwinism is a social theory that Natural Selection in Darwins Theory is used to human society. Social Darwinism is evaluated from Darwins Theory. However, Social Darwinism is a belief and it is popular in the late Victorian ear in England, America and elsewhere. The purpose of this essay is to analyze the theory of Social Darwinism and its impacts on indigenous Australians. This essay will firstly have a brief introduction. Following it, it will discuss the theory of Social Darwinism. After that, it will explain the impact of Social Darwinism on indigenous Australians. Finally, it will be a conclusion of the essay. Theory of Social Darwinism The theory of Social Darwinism was put forward by Herbert Spencer in 19th century. Social Darwinism is the general term which applies to several different ways in which people (not biologists) tried to apply a distorted and narrow interpretation of the concept of natural selection to human cultural systems. (Peter, 2003) The popularity of Social Darwinism lasted from 19th century to World War II. Some people even think modern biology can be classified into Social Darwinism. The concept of Social Darwinism firstly appeared in American Historian Richard Hofstadters book in 1944> (Thomas, 2009) Social Darwinism is a kind of concept. This concept thinks that the core of Darwinism-natural selection is a common phenomenon in the human society. Theory of Social Darwinism thinks that natural selection plays an important role in the human evolution and development. Social Darwinism has ever been used by its supporters to name on the social inequality, racism and imperialism. Social Darwinism itself is not a political tendency.Some Social Darwinists use this concept to illustrate the social progress and inevitable change. Some Social Darwinists think that human degradation is inevitable. As the same as Theory of Evolution, Social Darwinism is usually involved in the debate on Eugenics. Social Darwinism also derived some concepts, including competition, eugenics and racism. Competition A simplified view of Social Darwinism is that people, especially for men, have to compete to survive in the future. They can not give any assistance to the poor because they must feed themselves. Most of Social Darwinism in 21st century supports the improvement of working conditions and higher wages in order to give the poor the opportunity to feed themselves, so that self-sufficiency is better than those who are lazy, weak or poor. Eugenics Another social interpretation of Social Darwinism is Eugenics. This theory is developed by Darwins cousin, Francis Galton. Galton believes that peoples physical characteristics are significantly from generation to generation. Therefore, the human brain qualities (genius and talent) have the same principle. Then the community should have a clear genetic decision to improve eugenics. Racism The racial superiority and competition ideology in the end of 19 century and early of 20 century are associated with Social Darwinism. The basic race concept of Social Darwinism is that white race should educate other races of people in the world by a civilized way. Darwins Evolution Theory divides the race on the basis of Genetic Bifurcation and Natural Selection Theory. Genetic Bifurcation is a group of genetic material which isolated with each other, so they can develop its own unique genetic characteristics. This theory is applies to all living organisms. Because of gene bifurcation, people have different races and ethnic groups. Impacts on of Social Darwinism on indigenous Australians Theories of Social Darwinism brought the disaster to indigenous Australians. Australian continent appeared before 60, 000 years ago. Most of the indigenous Australians were isolated from the rest of world before Europe settled in Australia. After the settlement of British, population of indigenous Australians reduced by 90%, which is also influenced by Social Darwinism. In the early of the twentieth century, Social Darwinism was also popular in Australia. The Racial Theories of Social Darwinism were used to justify settler treatment of the indigenous Australians, as subhuman, primitive and an inferior race. Social Darwinism accelerated the death of indigenous Australians. As the skin color of indigenous Australians is similar to black, people are easy to link them to Blacks. Racism discrimination emerged with the popularity of Social Darwinism. The Aborigines Protection Act 1909 established camps to provide a place for the doomed race to die off as indigenous Australian would inevitably become extinct. (Eleanor, 2002) Even cruel is that indigenous Australians were treated like experimental animals, which were allowed by settle policy. Between 1920 and 1930, thousands of indigenous Australians were used to scientific investigation into brain capacity and cranium size. Australian fascination with eugenics is similar to the obsession of Nazi Germany so ciety in relation to the Jews in the 1930s and early 1940s. (Geoffrey, 2004) Eugenics Theory of Social Darwinism also impacted on indigenous Australians. Children of mixed indigenous Australians and Europeans descent were called half-castes and a threat to so-called racial purity. (Dickens, 2000) According to the Eugenics Theory, the policy took these children far away from their parents to breed the blackness out of them. Based on Eugenics Theory, about 100,000 children with indigenous blood were taken away from their families. Parents did not know where they children were and were not allowed to trace them. At the same time, these children did not know who were their parents and thought they were orphans. The racist government thought the problem could be solved if indigenous Australians were dying out. As a result, these children were called Stolen Generations. Settler policy believed that white, Christian families and boarding schools was the best environment in which to raise Aboriginal children. They believed they were doing what was protecting them and was best for them, whether the children or their parents liked it or not. (Read, 2001) Conclusion Conclusively, Social Darwinism is a popular social evolution theory in 19 century. The theory itself did not contain any political position and it has ever been linked with politics. Influenced by the theories of Social Darwinism, many indigenous Australians were treated cruel and populations of indigenous Australians were reduced very much. Today, indigenous Australians share equal rights with other racial people in spite of existence of racial discrimination. It is wished that the world could eliminate the racial discrimination in future and every person could be treated equally.

Apple Inc Marketing Case Study Marketing Essay

Apple Inc Marketing Case Study Marketing Essay Apple was founded by Steven Wozniak and Steven Jobs in 1976. The company was founded by releasing the first successful mass-produced personal computer. Steve Wozniak designed the Apple I design was his addition to the success of Apple. Steve Jobs recognized the potential market for the personal computer. Their combined talents created the successful start of the company. The technology market is fast paced and Apple has shown growth and innovation to stay at the forefront of this market. The company has expanded from the Apple I and desktop computers to mobile computers, PDAs, MP3 players, and most recently the mobile phone market. Innovation has been a key role in the success of Apple As a business strategy, Apple leverages its ability, through the design and development of its own operating system, hardware, and many software applications and technologies, to bring to its customers around the world compelling new products and solutions with superior ease-of-use, seamless integration, and innovative industrial design. This strategy has worked well for the company since it first opened. Apple has been able to create brand strength by focusing on a limited number of products ensuring that they are high quality. They have focused on their innovative strength playing up the release of their product by keeping them behind closed doors and when ready Steve Jobs announces and demonstrates the product which creates an excitement in consumers waiting to see what the latest and greatest technology will be. Apple has also built a customer loyalty not seen in its competition. With the recent releasing of the i products, iMac, iPod, iTouch, and iPhone loyal consumers have been referred to as icustomers due to their loyalty to the brand. Apple has used the i product to create a Halo effect for its other products. Using the lower cost products like iPods to show the ease-of-use and high quality of products that Apple produces to create a selling point for higher end products like their desktops. The Apple Company has also created partnerships with their competitors which has strengthened the company. Rather than use time researching and developing some products like Google maps and YouTube, Apple has incorporated the already market saturated applications in their products. The time and funds are better served researching and developing the next product that will wow the market. Apples overall financial standing is forward moving and shows good growth. Net income has constantly increased each year with an average 38.1% growth over the past three years. In 2004 Apple eliminated the $300 million of long-term debt it had outstanding resulting in no long-term debt reported from 2003 to 2007. This debt was eliminated without funding reduction in other areas of the company. Strategic Weaknesses Apple is the market share leader for MP3 players and smart phones, but is far below the market shares of its competitors in computers. Apple held only 8.5% of the market share in the second quarter of 2008 compared to Dell Inc at 31.9% and Hewlett-Packard at 25.3%. In 2007 Apple held only 6.4% of the market compared to Dell Inc at 27.9% and Hewlett-Packard at 25.8%. Apples sales have been made up of an average of 46% of their total net sales from 2004 to 2007. When the market share dropped in 2007 sales still increase for the overall but was due to increases in iPod sales and other music-related products and services that had significant increases that year. The low market share in 2007 can be explained by the economic recession. Consumers in a weak economy look towards the less expensive options available which shifts the market towards Apples competitors Dell and Hewlett-Packard. Apples products do have some degree of cannibalization. Each product line has offering for different cost based markets and the differentiation of products has started to blur. iPods serve a low price market, iTouch serve a midrange market and the computers represent a high price market. The technology market fluctuates very strongly with the economy, so with a down turning economy iPods would cannibalize the sales of the iTouch product. iPhones also incorporate a music player eliminating the need for both the mobile phone and music player. Still sales of each item have shown an overall growth each year in the market with exception to computers. Below is a table representing the percent increase of sales that Apple has in desktops and laptops. The overall growth percentage of sales has fluctuated but comparing years with similar percentages of growth, 2005 and 2007 show that laptops have cannibalized desktops. In 2005 desktop sales had a 35.5% growth by units from the prior year and laptops only increase by 7.3%. In 2007 desktops growth per units sold was only 10.3% and laptops increased 33.8% from the prior year. Apple will see a common trend for iPods in relationship to iPhones and other products that incorporate music players in future years. % Unit Sale Increase from Prior Year 2007 2006 2005 2004 Desktops 10.3% -3.5% 35.5% -8.1% Laptops 33.8% 29.8% 7.3% 24.8% Total Macintosh 24.7% 4.5% 27.4% 8.4% Another weakness Apple has is issues that have surrounded new product releases. In 2001 when the first iPod was released it was criticized for its short battery life which lead to lawsuit filed for misrepresenting the battery life. Again in 2005 with the release of the Nano customers complained about the devices reporting that they would freeze up, stop functioning, and that the products casing was very susceptible to scratches. Despite the poor product releases the iPods consumers still found the product to be a quality product and iPods still held the top market share of MP3s. In 2007 the second generation of iPhone was released and the price was lowered to $399. This was described as larger-than-normal price drop in a short period of time and had consumers speculating that Apple had unfair pricing. These issues that Apple has faced with product releases show that there is a flaw in Apples research and development process. If Apple was to experience a recall on its products or cont inues to have issues like these for its new products their products will no longer be seen as high quality and will create a fear in consumers to wait to purchase Apple products until they know that it doesnt have any issues. The final weakness that Apple has is its reliance on Steve Jobs as CEO. It wasnt until Steve Jobs returned with his expanded role with Apple that it started showing consistency in the forward successful movement to achieve the companys strategic objectives. Between 1981 and 1997 Apple was under the direction of six different chief executive officers. In 1997 Steve Jobs was given an expanded role and in 2000 became the official CEO. Starting in 1997 Steve Jobs made many changes including, a new board of directors, initiated aggressive advertising campaign, created an alliance with Microsoft ending their legal dispute, start an e-commerce for consumer direct sales, and releasing the iMAC a product for the lower-end consumer market. After 2000 and the official announcement that Steve Jobs would be Apples CEO he continued to expand on the successes releasing the iPod which opened up the music industry to the company and many additional opportunities over the next years. Apple needs a lea der like Steve Jobs to keep the company on a forward moving path using its strategic plan. The other CEOs that Apple has had have not been able implement the strategic plan like Steve Jobs who co-founded the company. Recommendations Apples low market share exists due to its higher price and software compatibility. In 1997 Steve Jobs started to close the software compatibility gap by creating an alliance with Microsoft who agreed to make Windows available to Mac users. Apple will not reduce its price, at least not enough to compete with Dell or Hewlett-Packard, the products price is part of the brand image as a quality and innovative product. I would recommend Apple attempt to keep their market share at 8% or higher for the computer market. To achieve this Apple should use smaller price reductions that would not effect product perception. Other than price reduction the only way for Apple to increase market share would be to create a new innovative product related to the computer market. Pretty much, Apple and Dell are the only ones in this industry making money. They make it by being Wal-Mart. We make it by innovation. Steve Jobs In relation to Apples products and the potential for cannibalization between them I would recommend research and development of a software product that can allow you to share files, music, and applications between the products. Currently Apple offers MobileMe for a $99/year fee for a service that can be accessed through applications on a consumers iPhone, iTouch, or Mac that provides 20 GB of off site storage. Verse this option that is competing with free versions like DropBox I am recommending a wireless sync between products so files can be moved quickly and conveniently between the products with a simple touch. Moving music, presentations, or pictures between the devices with easy would help build value in owning multiple products in similar markets. My next recommendation would be to assess Apples research and development process. The release problems that Apple has experienced show an effect on sales and effect the high quality brand name that Apple has worked hard at maintaining. Currently Apple only uses 3% of net sales for research and development. I would suggest taking more time and using more funds in necessary to ensure that the products they release will not continue to this trend of negative product releases. My last recommendation would be to lay the ground work for Steve Jobs replacement. I would recommended using someone already working for Apple that understands the strategic plan and foster a mentorship for this person for a few years to create a smooth transition. I would recommend if a all possible for Steve Jobs to not just exit the company but remain in an advisor position as part of the companys board to ensure that his successor remains on track to achieve the strategic objectives that have make Apple a successful company. Comments/Observations/Questions Amazon opening Droid application store Apple announced a few days ago, Bertrand Serlet, a senior software engineer at the company since the return of Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs in 1997 and a main architect of the Mac operating system was leaving Apple 2007 around the same year of the iPod release and iTV Apple dropped Computers from company name.

The Racial Struggle of Afro-Cubans Essays -- Race Ethnicity Discrimina

The Racial Struggle of Afro-Cubans Introduction Afro-Cubans struggled to no avail for racial equality between the years 1886-1912. The slaughter of protesting blacks in 1912 shows that the battle cries for equality of Antonio Maceo and Josà © Martà © during the war for independence had dissolved. What was left was a unequal Cuban society, divided racially and fearing a black revolution. Aline Helg speaks directly to this issue in her book Our Rightful Share: The Afro-Cuban Struggle for Equality, 1886-1912. The aforementioned period was one in which the nation’s formation was taking place, thus the unsuccessful attempt at equality has left difficult remnants of racial inequality buried deeply in the fabric of the nation. The Unique Cuban Situation According to Aline Helg In discussing the experience of blacks in Cuba between 1886-1912, Helg gives six "Cuban particularities" which made the experience what it was. She first mentions how Cuba’s racial construct strayed from the norm in Latin America and the Caribbean. Cuba had a two-tier racial system where the group of "others" did not differentiate between mulattoes and blacks. In the other Latin American and Caribbean societies, multi-tier racial systems existed where the stratifications were numerous. Helg suggests that the joining of all blacks and mulattoes into one group may have stemmed from the Conspiracy of La Escalera in 1844, in which both free blacks and slaves were accused of plotting an insurrection against the white Spanish domination. Helg is also quick to point out the differences between the two-tier racial system in the United States, and that of Cuba. In Cuba, the distinction is made by visible physical differences, whereas the United States racial line is... ...from el Oriente initiated everything with their rebellion. It is an important distinction to make I think, because it not only places the blame where the blame belongs, but it also highlights the idea that racial myths put Afro-Cubans in a no-win situation. The lack of further open protest after the massacre of 1912 showed the sense that more protest would only lead to more extensive repression. Similar to the punishment of slave resistance before abolition, the punishment inflicted upon the Afro-Cubans in 1912 showed the Afro-Cubans were still to be considered lesser and somehow less human (Helg 1995, p. 241). These inequalities have reached as far as today, with remnants of racial inequality easily visible in the disproportionate number of Afro-Cubans in high ranking positions in society. Afro-Cubans yearned and continue to yearn to attain their "rightful share".

Socratic Citizenship as Salve to the Antinomy of Rules and Values :: Plato Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Socratic Citizenship as Salve to the Antinomy of Rules and Values It is not inconceivable that Plato would view the enforcement of rigid laws as a â€Å"noble lie† (Rep112)—noble as a guarantor of order in a just city, but misleading in its pretense of infallibility. The Crito, the Apology, and the Republic capture the tension in Plato’s work between a commitment to substantive justice and to formalist legal justice. In a system of substantive justice, rules are flexible and act as â€Å"maxims of efficiency† (Unger 90), proxies of justice and virtue. The system of formalist legal justice secures order and stability with rigid rules while risking miscarriages of particularity. This paper, then, is about Plato’s noble lie. Roberto Unger’s Knowledge and Politics provides an invaluable lens for examining Plato’s discussion of law and justice in the Republic, the Apology and the Crito. In the Republic, Plato sketches the outlines of a just, ordered city-state. The Apology presents Socrates’ defense against an unjust accusation before the court of law. The Crito sees Socrates accept his unjust sentencing to death and defend the rule of law. Unger’s work helps distill from these Platonic works a coherent platform of substantive justice and a critique of a formalist theory of adjudication. Moreover, while Unger’s arguments arrive in the context of a critique of liberal political theory, Plato nevertheless offers a response to Unger’s main critique of substantive justice, the â€Å"antinomy of rules and values† (91). The idea of Socratic citizenship, gleaned from the Apology and the Crito, seeks to resolve this antinomy. Roberto Unger examines substantive justice in Knowledge and Politics in the context of legislation and adjudication. Unger defines substantive justice as a mode of ordering human relations which determines goals and, independently of rules, decides â€Å"particular cases by a judgment of what decision is most likely to contribute to the predetermined goals, a judgment of instrumental rationality† (89). In the Republic, Socrates evokes the principles of substantive justice in his verbal creation of the ideal Greek city-state. In book IV, Socrates locates the ends of the ideal city-state in the four virtues: courage, temperance, wisdom and justice. Books I and II of the Republic deliver a scathing indictment against a formalist theory of adjudication. Formalist legal justice assumes that it is â€Å"possible to deduce correct judgments from the laws by an automatic process† (92) without reference to the purpose or end of the law.

Aflac

Table of Contents I. Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 II. Company History†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3-4 III. Company Financials†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 IV. Internal Factors & External Industry Analysis. 6-11 V. House of Quality & DMAIC†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11-19 VI. Tree Diagram & PDPC†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 19-22 VII. Flowchart & Check Sheet†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦22-26 VIII. Consultants Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 26 IX. Works Cited†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 27 ? I. Executive Summary AFLAC, incorporated offers all different types of insurance including life, health, and accident insurance as being their top sellers. The insurance industry can often be a competitive one. There are many insurance companies, in the past few years, that have been greatly effected by the current recession in the United States. Some insurance companies needed government intervention to help them through this. AFLAC, just like other big companies out there, have gone through many problems. Building the House of Quality and using Deming’s five points will help this company succeed and train their employees better. Using flow charts, check sheets, and tree diagrams will show the employees the right way to do their work and can continuously improve at their work. Consultants will be overall most satisfied with these types of practices. II. Company History Aflac, also known as American Family Life Assurance Company, was founded in Columbus, Georgia in the year 1955. It was discovered by brothers John, Paul, and William Amos to sell life, health, and accident insurance (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † Competition was very fierce back then and the little company did poorly. In the 1940s and 1950s, there were many cases of polio scares and had spawned insurance coverage written specifically for this disease. It was then that Aflac decided to sell cancer insurance (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † In the year 1958, they introduced the world’s first cancer insurance policy. This wound up being a big hit for this company and had written over a million dollars in premiums and had expanded over state lines. This company grew very quickly. It grew very quickly in the decade of the 1960s. They developed a selling approach that was much clustered. This approach worked as employees were willing to make payroll deduction for premiums (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † By the year 1971, this company was booming in over 42 states. In the 1970s, John Amos then decided to expand his company outside the United States. This started by Amos visiting the World Fair in Osaka and he then decided to market this idea to the Japanese (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † The Japanese healthcare plan left them exposed to considerable expense from cancer treatments. After four years, the company finally got approved to sell health insurance overseas to the Japanese (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † It was basically approved because after research, it would have not threatened existing markets and the Amos’s found notable backers in the insurance and medical industries. Aflac became one of the first insurance companies to enter the Japanese market, and it had an eight year monopoly with the Japanese (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † Aflac has sought to supplement its cancer insurance by introducing new products and improving old ones to encourage the policyholders to add on or trade up (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † The company boosted its name recognition in the United States from two percent to fifty six percent primarily through advertising, including the slots throughout the 1998 Winter Olympic Games and NASCAR races (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). Accident and disability premiums surpassed cancer premiums in the United States for the first time in the company’s history in the year 2000. The popular Aflac duck made its first appearance on television in the year 2001 for a commercial for accident insurance (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † III. Company Financials With every company, the financial po rtion of the company will vary from year to year. AFLAC, which is one of the most trusted insurance companies and has the most popular commercials, has been doing very well over the years as an insurance company. This company has annual sales presently at over eighteen million dollars (â€Å"Aflac Financial Reports†). Ten million dollars of the eighteen million dollars in revenues were solely from the sales of the employees that worked for this company. This company is a publicly traded company located on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Over the years, this stock price has gone up and up every single year. It is now priced at fifty five dollars per share, which shows how successful this company has been over the years. Below, is a chart that shows Aflac’s stock price from June of 2009 to April of 2010 (Business Source Complete). It shows that in June of 2009, it was price at thirty three dollars per share. It had a significant setback right before September where it dropped under thirty dollars per share (Aflac’s Financial Reports. )† It has since resurged in the past ten months to be up to fifty five dollars per share. It shows that Aflac has not been affected by the recession, which is ongoing in the United States. IV. Internal Factors & External Industry Analysis The insurance industry is a very competitive industry. AFLAC’s main concern is the customer service problems and that the agents are not trained enough to help out the various customers the company deals with. AFLAC specializes in accident and health insurance mostly, with the option of life insurance as well (Business Wire). The industry as a whole is very successful. The most popular aspect that most people will recognize about this company is their memorable commercials featuring the AFLAC duck (Price 1). The duck’s familiar quack and voiceover by Gilbert Godfrey immediately shows that it provides worker’s compensation to its employees (Price 1). There are definitely way more strengths than weaknesses in this particular company. The strengths of this advertisement are its catchiness and cleverness of the advertisements design rather than its theme. The main theme of the advertisement should have gone in a more interesting way of the necessity of the worker’s compensation as part of one’s health insurance package (Price 1). However, the nature of the duck in AFLAC’s commercials makes the surface theme of the duck recognizable and that’s why AFLAC’s commercials with the duck are so popular and has been a big reason why AFLAC has been a solid company over the years. Moreover, in the strengths of this company, it also has to do with the sole person that the customer is dealing with (Wiki wealth). The main strength of this company is the agents that are hired to work with the various customers. If a customer has a great representative, it has come apparent that they would recommend the company to all their friends and family. Personally, having a good representative will keep the customer more calm and know that their insurance claims will be paid in a more efficient time period. In addition, having an agent that can answer all of the customer’s questions and concerns is a big thing as well. If the agent is intelligent enough to answer all of the inquiries the customer may have, the customer will overall have a great experience and would feel that dealing with a company like this would be overall a great experience for that individual. Many believe that the insurance industry can be a profitable one. The industry in itself can be a very successful one, but also can be risky at times. As many might already know, insurance involves pooling different funds from many uninsured entities in order to pay for relatively uncommon, but severely devastating losses which can occur to these entities (â€Å"Industry Handbook). In the United States, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 was put into legislation. It stated that banks, brokerages, and insurance firms can come together to offer the customers a range of services (â€Å"Industry Handbook. )† In the insurance industry, this had led to an outrage of â€Å"Merger and Acquisition† activity. In addition, a majority o f liability insurance companies underwritten in the United States has been through big firms, which has been scooping up all different insurance industries (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). Insurance can also have some positive and negative effects on society and the economy as well. These are effects that are important and have to be monitored closely (â€Å"Insurance†). One negative about it is that it can increase fraudulent acts by individuals (â€Å"Insurance†). People will try to use insurance companies to try to get money out of them even if nothing extraordinary happens when they need money. On the other hand, it can help many families and individuals prepare for catastrophes and the effects of this on households and societies (â€Å"Insurance†). As one can see, the risk of insurance companies is that there can be access to fraud by individuals trying to exploit these companies for money. On the other end, this is a great way just in case a catastrophe happens in a family such as a deadly car accident, untimely death, or anything of that circumstance. Other factors need to be considered as well when talking about the internal and external aspects of this industry. Demographics is an important factor that needs to be considered. It can affect the sales for insurance, particularly the life insurance aspect (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). As people become older, they tend to rely more on life insurance products for their retirement. In more recent years, the insurance industry has made great headway in offering investments and savings type insurance products for their benefit (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). The Global Insurance Industry is also an important factor when it comes to insurance companies. The industry has to deal with the many fluctuations of the interest rates established. Global insurance premiums grew by 3. 4% to reach 4. 3 trillion dollars (â€Å"Reuters†). Insurance companies do invest in much of the collected premiums, so the income generated through these premiums is highly dependent on these interest rates (â€Å"Reuters†). For the first time in the past three decades, premium income has declined in inflation adjusted terms, with non life premiums falling by 0. 8% and life premiums falling near 3. 5% (â€Å"Reuters†). It has become apparent that this industry (insurance) is exposed to the global economic turndown on the assets side by the decline in return on investments and on the liabilities side by a rise in insurance claims (â€Å"Insurance†). It shows that AIG, a similar insurance company just likes AFLAC, was bailed out in September of 2008 and has had an enormous effect on AFLAC’s business and the insurance industry as a whole. The recession and the financial crisis that has gone on throughout the United States the past few years have shown that the insurance industry is sufficiently capitalized (â€Å"Insurance†). The vast majority of the insurance companies have had enough capital to survive, with only a few insurance companies asking the government for help. AFLAC was one of the companies that did not to have the government intervene into their company. The Five Forces Model, which originated from Michael E. Porter’s book, â€Å"Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors,† has become a frequently used tool for analyzing a company industry structure and corporate strategy (â€Å"Porter’s Five Forces Analysis†). These five aspects include Threat of New Entrants, Power of Suppliers, Power of Buyers, Availability of Substitutes, and Competitive Rivalry. First, the threat of new entrants is the first aspect in Porter’s Five Forces Model. In explaining this, it most nearly means that the easier it is for new companies to enter the industry, the more cutthroat the competition will be (â€Å"Porter’s Five Forces Analysis†). Barriers to entry can limit the threat of new entrants. When it comes to the insurance industry, it is not like any type of person or entrepreneur cannot come along and start an insurance company. The threat of new entrants lies within the insurance industry itself. AFLAC has been fearful in the past of being squeezed out by the big players (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). Another threat for AFLAC may be the other financial services companies entering the market (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). This might cause a direct threat to AFLAC and often hurt them in the long run. If a bank or investment company offered insurance products, it would directly hurt the success of AFLAC. The second aspect of this model is the Power of Suppliers. This most nearly means how much pressure suppliers can place on a business (â€Å"Porters Five Forces Analysis†). In the insurance industry, there can be an immense amount of pressure. The suppliers of capital might not pose a big threat initially, but the threat of suppliers luring away human capital does pose a big threat (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). In AFLAC’s case, they do not want suppliers luring away their human capital because they would lose a lot of business. Also, if this had happened, government intervention might have to happen if they were not doing well financially. For example, if a talented insurance agent is working for a smaller insurance company, there is a legitimate chance that they will be enticed away from the smaller company moving to a larger one. In AFLAC’s case, there have been a few individuals that have gone from smaller insurance companies to the more, popular large ones to move into a particular market that they are comfortable in. The power of suppliers has a huge effect on AFLAC and needs to be monitored closely. The third aspect of this model is the Power of Buyers. This is just the opposite of the Power of Suppliers. In this case, this most nearly means how much pressure customers place on a business (â€Å"Porter’s Five Forces Analysis†). The customer can hold substantial power when it comes to insurance companies such as AFLAC. A regular individual does not pose a threat to AFLAC when it comes to the power of customers. But, what do pose a threat to AFLAC, is the large corporate clients that have more bargaining power than AFLAC (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). Just like airlines and pharmaceutical companies pay lots of money in premiums every year and insurance companies try hard to get high corporate clients (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). AFLAC tries this approach so they can get more for their dollar and be successful in different ways of the insurance industry. The fourth aspect of this model is the availability of substitutes. If someone who uses AFLAC as an insurance possibility and the cost of switching is low, this could cause a potential serious threat to AFLAC (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). This aspect is a pretty straightforward one as there are various substitutes in the insurance industry. Most large insurance companies, such as AFLAC being one of them, offer similar services. Whether it be automobile, life, home, and health insurance, chances are that the competitors can offer similar services. Companies focusing on niche areas usually have a competitive advantage, but this advantage depends on the size and whether there are barriers of entry available (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). AFLAC is one of these companies that do focus on the niche areas of the industry and have the competitive advantage. It seems that they are going to be fine when it comes to other companies offering substitutes. The fifth and final aspect of this model is the competitive rivalry. This is the most important part of the model. This describes the intensity of the various companies in the insurance industry (â€Å"Porter’s Five Forces Analysis†). It is becoming a very highly competitive industry. The difference between one insurance company and another is not all that different (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). As a result, it seems that insurance has become a commodity, which means an area in which the insurance company with a low cost structure, greater efficiency, and good customer service will beat out the competitors (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). AFLAC has the historical characteristics of having a low cost structure and good efficiency, but the customer service is still â€Å"Up in the air. † In the long run, I believe we may see more consolidation in the insurance industry. Other companies may prefer to take over or merge with smaller companies, but AFLAC’s approach is to advertise and market with the AFLAC duck and so far it has been a success over the years these commercials have aired. V. Product or Service for Improvement (House of Quality, DMAIC) There is not one company out there in the world that cannot improve. Even if you are considered a â€Å"perfect company,† there will always be room for some type of improvement on a product or service. In AFLAC’s case, they have been a successful company, but at the same time, they have many concerns within their organization. Within AFLAC, there are multiple changes that could be made to their product or service. The most important thing to fix in their system is that it seems that the company does not pay the customers claims in an efficient amount of time. This can mean a certain wide of things, but more importantly needs to be fixed before this company loses more and more customers. Paying the claims on certain individuals and families have been delayed for as long as two years, which seems to be an unreasonable amount of time. Moreover in this, it seems the customer service is lackluster and needs to be improved as well. Building an improvement plan so this company can get better reviews and even improve financially is important. I believe the first aspect of this is to build what is called a House of Quality. The House of Quality is â€Å"A set of matrices used to relate the voice of the customer to technical features and production planning and control requirements (Evans, 294). The House of Quality relates the attributes of the customer to the technical features. This requires six basic steps needed to be successful. When it comes to AFLAC, building a House of Quality will be reliable in their organization. The first step of this model is to identify the customer attributes. The manager must apply Quality Functional Deployment, which is used to ensure custo mer requirements throughout the product or improvement design process (Evans, 293). It is vastly important to use the notion of â€Å"The voice of the Customer† so it is not misinterpreted by any type of designers or engineers. For AFLAC,I have developed three customer attributes that AFLAC deals with. The first one is the basic attribute, which also can be called the â€Å"Must haves†(â€Å"AFLAC Attributes†). These are expected by the various customers. The second attribute is the â€Å"Linear Satisfiers† (â€Å"AFLAC Attributes†). If this company uses this attribute more effectively, this will increase the customer satisfaction, which at some points, is lacking. The third customer attribute is the â€Å"Energizers† (â€Å"AFLAC Attributes†). This means that it is not expected or required, but creates high customer satisfaction when present and can make the difference in choices for the consumer. For AFLAC, the different type of customers might include single individuals, families, working unions, and government officials (Evans, 295). Therefore, there are many classes that need to be considered. The second step of this model is to identify the technical features that are necessary to meet the requirements of customers (Evans, 295). These technical features expressed the language of the designer and engineer. These are the people that form the basis for design and service activities in an organization. In AFLAC, these must be measurable to track the positive or negative results and the output will be compared to the goals of AFLAC. The roof of the House of Quality (Evans 297) shows the interrelationships between any pair of technical features. These technical features can include the premiums, fees, allocated income, less claims, and less operating expenses. They are classified into either a very strong relationship, strong relationship, and a weak relationship (Evans, 296). The third step of this model is to relate the customer attributes to the technical features. The customer attributes is applied to using Quality Functional Deployment. The customer attributes is to have a better â€Å"experience† than they have had in the past with AFLAC. As set up on the House of Quality chart, the customer attributes are listed down the left hand column with the technical features listed across the top (Evans, 296). Using a relationship matrix is the most effective way to show this. AFLAC’s customer attributes must show whether the final technical features adequately address the customer attributes. These technical features can affect several of the customer attributes. â€Å"The lack of a strong relationship between a customer attribute and any of the technical feature suggests that the attributes are not being addressed and that the final service will have difficulty meeting customer needs (Evans, 296). If the technical feature does not match customer attribute, then the designer might have missed something important. † For instance, in AFLAC the â€Å"Voice of the Customer,† all input is appreciated with expert experience, customer surveys or overviews, or any type of controlled experiments (Evans 296). AFLAC should implement customer surveys and overviews to see what the customers have to say about their experience. Within many companies, especially restaurant establishments, they give out survey cards and rate the service of the waiter and restaurant staff. AFLAC should implement this and read over these surveys so at each AFLAC branch, they can see what they are excelling in and what they are struggling in. This would be beneficial to the company as a whole and to the customers as well. The next step of the House of Quality is evaluating the competitive products or services. This evaluation helps highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the problem. In AFLAC’s instance, the strengths of this company is that they have a strong financial strength within the company, the coverage it provides, the portability, the cost, and the direct payment (Hartman 1). The weaknesses include delays on paying customer’s claims, poor customer service, and more concerned about processes than progresses (Hartman 1). This step enables the designers to seek the opportunities for improvement. This links Quality Functional Deployment to a company’s strategic vision and allows priorities to be set in the design process (Evans, 297). † Some customer attributes become key selling points and help establish promotional strategies. The next step is the evaluation of the technical features of competitive aspects and development of targets. This step is usually accomplished through internal testing and translated into measurable results (Evans, 297). With AFLA C, these evaluations are compared with the competitive evaluation of customer attributes to find inconsistencies. The inconsistencies with AFLAC is their customer service. Targets for each technical feature are set on the basis of customer importance ratings and the existing products strengths and weaknesses (Evans, 298). The final step in building the House of Quality is selecting the technical features to be deployed in the remainder of the process. This means â€Å"identifying the characteristics that have strong relationships to customer needs, have poor competitive performance, or are strong selling points (Evans, 297). † The cost and direct payments with AFLAC are the proper actions and controls to maintain the voice of the customer. Also, on the negative side, the poor customer service and the delay of paying customer claims are critical as well and do need the attention. The House of Quality shows the six steps and how they are to be evaluated in sequential order. They will either be a very strong relationship, strong relationship, or weak relationship. We have to focus to make sure AFLAC improves its processes. It is important AFLAC improves as a company as a whole or could face the financial crisis as AIG did in September of 2008. They need to improve on what they have been criticized for in the past. Using a six sigma approach would be beneficial to their improvement plan. This is an approach to measuring product and service quality (Evans, 93). â€Å"The late Bill Smith, a reliability engineer at Motorola, is credited with originating the concept during the mid 1980s and selling it to Motorola’s CEO, Robert Galvin (Evans, 94). † He wanted to improve product and service quality in his organization and wanted to achieve six sigma capability by 1992. The key concepts of this was think, focus, emphasize, ensure, provide, Create highly qualified improvement experts, and set stretch objectives for improvement (Evans, 94). Today, Six sigma is used as a quality framework and in service organizations. As part of the improvement plan, AFLAC needs to implement a six sigma approach called DMAIC methodology. â€Å"This is a standard problem solving approach used in Six Sigma (Evans, 264). The DMAIC stands for define, measure, analyze, improve, and control. AFLAC can use this methodology to help solve their problem of not dealing with the insurance claims in an efficient amount of time and the customer service that goes along with it. It is explained that the six sigma project selected is dealing with the insurance claims in a sufficient amount of time without any delays. Therefore, the first step is to define the process that needs to be solved or needs â€Å"help. † The problem must be described in operational terms. As an example for AFLAC, this company has history of poor customer service and not paying the claims in time. Therefore, this six sigma project is to improve customer service reliability. Along with this problem, shows that the various insurance agents that are employed with AFLAC seem to not be motivated enough to satisfy the customer. In most organizations including this one, the main job is to satisfy the customer and make sure he or she got the experience with the company and is walking away happy with the customer service. This drills down to a more specific process which is called project scoping (Evans, 264). The customers must be identified that have the most impact on this negative performance, errors or the customer complaints. This phase also needs to address project management issues. In a more timely effort, these AFLAC agents may need some motivation whether it be more of an incentive or extensive training practices to make sure every customer walks out happy. The next phase is the measuring phase. This phase main focus is on how to measure the internal practices of the problems (Evans, 265). It does require an understanding of relationships between process performance and the value of the customer. In AFLAC, every customer is important. Once this is understood, collecting good data, observation, and careful listening should be implemented (Evans, 265). With AFLAC, the high managers and CEO should be doing this type of aspect of this cycle. They should be doing the observation part of every AFLAC branch. Hiring a team of auditors would most likely be the smartest idea. The careful listening part should be by the various AFLAC agents. The auditors and CEO should be giving the individual feedback and the agents should listen on how they can improve their working practices. The third phase is the analyze phase. A huge flaw that happens in problem solving teams and approaches is a lack of emphasis on the analysis portion (Evans, 266). A lot of the time, companies just want to jump into a solution and miss the step of understanding how serious the problem is and identifying where it is coming from. This phase focuses on why defects and errors occur in the organization. The AFLAC auditors need to conduct experiments to be one hundred percent sure that the scope of the problem is accurate. These experiments generally consist of formulating some type of hypothesis and then collecting data and analyzing it (Evans, 266). AFLAC needs to implement a statistical thinking tool. This tool is a philosophy of learning and action based on three principles. These principles include all work occurring in a system of interconnected processes, variation exists in all processes, and understanding and reducing variations are keys to success (Evans, 323). Analyzing statistical thinking in AFLAC would be an immense of help regarding not paying the claims in a timely manner. Variation must exist in this process and AFLAC does not have variation in this type of process. This is why statistics is an important part of the Six Sigma training. Also, what also needs to be analyzed in AFLAC is to see if their also is a computer problem regarding the claims not going through their system. AFLAC pays all their claims online and doing a computer simulation of all computers in the offices would scope out if there is a possible problem with the computer. Once the cause is determined, the analyst, auditors, and teams needs to generate ideas for removing or resolving the problem and improve the performance measures (Evans, 266). One of the difficulties in this section of the DMAIC phase is the natural instinct to prejudge ideas before thoroughly evaluating them in full detail. â€Å"Effective problem solvers must learn to defer judgment and develop the ability to generate a large number of ideas at this stage of the process, whether they are practical ideas or not (Evans, 266). AFLAC needs to improve their customer service and paying their claims in a timely fashion. One idea that needs to be implemented is to have an online website to file the claims to AFLAC. This would be a big convenience to all AFLAC’s clients. On the website, it should also have a spot where you can track the status of your claim. This would save AFLAC lots of money and it would cause less hassle on the customer service line of all the customers asking if their claim has been paid or not. Switching it to online would be more efficient, save money and also would be easier to keep track of every claim. It is way more efficient being on the computer and being well organized than searching through a person’s file looking for it. Implementing the websites to file claims will make the turnover be lower of the amount of complaints regarding the customer service, but there still needs to be improvements. As for the poor customer service, their needs to be extensive training for the many insurance agents that are employed with AFLAC. It has become apparent that these agents were not trained fully on the job when they were originally hired. Implementing a plan where training must exist upon hiring an agent and it should be done every two years to ensure quality in these individuals. The final phase of DMAIC is the control phase. This focuses on how to maintain the improvements AFLAC has implemented. This means putting tools in place to ensure the key variables remain within the maximum acceptable ranges under the modified process (Evans, 266-267). Controlling these plans are vastly important. AFLAC should hire an individual outside of the organization to solely work and monitor the website where claims are filed and to see the status of the claims that are filed. The company will be paying the individual, but in the end, it will save them money and turnover will have gone down significantly. The individual will control these websites and make sure there are no downturns or technical difficulties in the operation of this website. As for the training process improvement, the individual will be trained by top management on an individual basis once every two years. This might seem to be a lot of training by retraining them every two years. Technology changes from year to year and different programs will most likely be established in the near future and it is very important that the agents learn the new development in technology to help them do their jobs on the computer. Training the individual might seem like a hassle to the co-worker, but in the end they will become a more positive individual because they will know that they are doing their job in the most efficient and successful way possible. VI. Identify Management Planning Tools (Tree Diagram, Process Decision Program Chart) Planning is one of the basic functions of every manager out there. The complexity of the business environment today means that planning is not always the easiest thing to do (Evans, 302). However, many different types of tools have been developed by several Japanese companies over the last half century as part of their planning processes (Evans, 302). These tools can be used to address problems typically faced by managers in an everyday role. There are all different types of management tools that can be used to show the improvement in a chart or just explaining it in words. These help the manager understand what exactly needs to be done to improve the process it is struggling or needs â€Å"help† in. With AFLAC, showing these different management tools to management and the lower level employees will help them understand what AFLAC is trying to do as a company and is finding many ways to improve themselves in the