Compare and Contrast 2 Movies with Platos Allegory Essay Example for Free

Compare and Contrast 2 Movies with Platos Allegory Essay Humans depend on their five senses to confirm the authenticity of the reality that surrounds them, but how would they react when their comfort zone they call â€Å"the truth† is wrong? In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Plato answers that question with a series of symbols. The same symbolic meanings can be found in the 1999 film of The Matrix (directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski) where the protagonist Thomas A. Anderson is a man living two lives. Thomas is an average computer programmer by day but hacker Neo by night. Thomas is an obedient citizen; on the other hand, Neo has never been satisfied with the reality that has been spoon fed to him since he was born and has been searching for the truth through computers. When Neo is targeted by the police, Morpheus (a legendary computer hacker) contacts Neo and awakens him to the real world. Because of the obvious similarities, the dimensions present in The Matrix could be compared with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. In The Matrix, Morpheus makes a perplexing point of â€Å"If real is what you feel, smell, taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain† (The Matrix) and continues to question â€Å"what is real? † (The Matrix). This argument then leads to Morpheus revealing the real post-apocalyptic world where machines who call themselves the â€Å"Sentinels† rule over humans. Morpheus explains that the Sentinels created a reality stimulator (the â€Å"Matrix†) to control humans. The Matrix is built to feed humans a false world and is manipulated by artificial knowledge. This make-belief world befits Plato’s representation of the ignorant world â€Å"the cave†. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the cave is to symbolize the warped world that the everyday people would perceive as the one and only â€Å"reality†. Not forgetting the ultimate truth, Plato symbolizes it with the â€Å"world above the cave†. In The Matrix, the dark, machine-ruled world is The Matrix[’s] rendition of the world above the cave. Wanting to share the truth, Morpheus opens the door of the ultimate truth to Neo by giving him the choice between the blue and the red pill. If Neo was to choose the blue pill, it was a choice to continue living in the Matrix’s blissful ignorant illusion whereas if he chose the red pill, he will be able to embrace the hidden truth. Morpheus’ red pill is a portrayal of â€Å"the tunnel† in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. The red pill and â€Å"the tunnel† are to symbolize the path to more information and to become more open-minded. After choosing the red pill, this path awakens Neo to the new world and Morpheus trains and teaches Neos mind to be strong enough to comprehend and differentiate the truth from the Matrix. Neo’s training of the truth is a depiction of Socrates the freed prisoner being pulled to the light because both dimensions are to symbolize the education the one has to go through to further understand the world and its surroundings. In Plato’s allegory, Socrates journey suggests that without the assistance of education and with the little knowledge one has, one is incapable of comprehending new information which makes the â€Å"tunnel† essential for enlightenment. After learning the ultimate truth through Morpheus’ education process, Neo realizes that the spoon that fed him information his whole life was a lie and that â€Å"there is no spoon† (The Matrix). Eventually Neo reacts to the world’s reality with acceptance and he believes that he lives in â€Å"a world where anything is possible† (The Matrix). Neo acknowledges and stomachs the actuality of the Matrix; however, Cypher (another â€Å"disciple of the truth† Morpheus had trained) loathes the truth and would much rather revert back to an ignorant Matrix citizen. As a portrayal of Plato’s allegory’s â€Å"rejection of the truth†, Cypher teams up with Agent Smith (the antagonist of the film) to catch Morpheus and prevent the spread of knowledge. The reasoning behind Agent Smith rejection of the truth and role to silence Morpheus is because the Sentinels (the robots that rule earth) believe that if the humans realize the false world that surrounds them, the humans might revolt which will inevitably lead to the dethroning of the Sentinels. Agent Smith’s role is The Matrix[’s] representation of Plato’s â€Å"guards†, because â€Å"the guards† are responsible for keeping the ignorant prisoners (which, in The Matrix[’s] terms, are the humans) from learning about the real world. Agent Smith’s hatred towards the real world is evident when he says â€Å"I hate this place, this zoo, this prison, this reality†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (The Matrix). Both Agent Smith’s and Cypher’s â€Å"rejection of the truth† leads to Cypher’s betrayal to Morpheus’ trust and consequently leads to several valued â€Å"disciples of the truth† deaths. Cypher’s double-crossing unfaithfulness progresses the plot and the flow of The Matrix[’s] and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave[’s] story leads to the â€Å"execution of Socrates† (ie. Neo’s death). The â€Å"execution of Socrates† is Plato’s metaphor of the information censorship when the ultimate truth is not accepted by the general public. Although Neo is revived in The Matrix, his death is essential because it is the a representation of the general public’s rejection to the one and only hope to understanding the ultimate truth and it also shows the consequences of the general public’s lack of better judgment. Neo was not revived until Trinity and the other â€Å"disciples of the truth† portrayed their hope and acceptance for Neo. When Neo was revived, Neo was able to defeat Agent Smith (â€Å"the guard†) and is now able to spread the legitimacy of the Matrix. Even though Plato ended his allegory with the â€Å"execution of Socrates† to better convince his audience that any information censorship will lead to no progression, The Matrix revived Neo to depict what could of happened to Socrates if the truth was accepted (which eventually be the general public’s acceptance of the truth). After analyzing and comparing The Matrix and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, one can see that the two are very similar and are trying to get the same messages across. Through character development, themes, and symbolism both allegories were able to demonstrate the path to knowledge is often concealed by the faulty ideology the complacent majority desperately cling unto. Without the willingness to evolve and buildup of what we, as humans, know to further understand the misinterpreted world (ie. The reality), no positive progression will occur.

Palm Beach Community College Environmental Sustainability Essay Example for Free

Palm Beach Community College Environmental Sustainability Essay One of the biggest issues nowadays is environmental sustainability. Sustainability came from the root word ‘sustain’. â€Å"To sustain means to support, bear the weight of, to keep going and to keep alive† (Petry 2). In College Reading 4, Cheryl Benz and Cynthia Shuemann defined environmental sustainability as: â€Å"the ability of the environment to function indefinitely without going into a decline from the stresses imposed by human society on natural systems (such as soil, water, and air) that maintain life† (129). Here is another definition of environmental sustainability by Kelsey and Becker: â€Å"The general concept of ‘environmental sustainability’ refers to the necessary balance between human wants and needs and the capacity of the natural systems of the earth† (31). As stated in the website of Environmental Protection Agency, the term â€Å"sustainability† was first used in 1987 when World Commission on Environment and Development report: Our Common Future was published. The concept of sustainability is still in used nowadays and it is of great help for the human race. The whole world is currently experiencing one of the most serious problems regarding the environment which is global warming. We, the human beings are taking for granted the world we are living in. Instead of protecting the world from degradation, we serve as the agents of world’s deterioration through our selfish activities and behaviors. Pollution, fast population growth, non-conservation of energy and exploitation of natural sources are some of the human activities that cause environmental problems. Here now comes the issue on environmental sustainability. Can we still say that the environment is capable of sustaining or giving the needs of the present generation as well as the needs of the future generation? Environmental science and the concept of environmental sustainability can be used to help the nations, organizations or even the single individuals in resolving the problems we are facing right now. In opening the minds of individuals about the environmental issues and sustainability, higher education can be used as medium or means. Higher education specifically college level can be used in making the individuals, especially the youth, aware of the environmental degradation the earth is experiencing right now. The universities are one of the best channels in providing the individuals with knowledge and awareness about sustainable development. What is sustainable development? According to Environmental Protection Agency, sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development is very beneficial not only to the environment but also to economic growth, technological advancement and improvement of quality of life. According to Roger Petry, the university plays as a key contributor to sustainable development. The following are the reasons why Petry considers the university as mediator for sustainable development: a) The university can contribute breadth of knowledge, particularly of human and ecological systems; (b) it has the capacity to integrate knowledge regarding ecological, economic, and social issues, including local knowledge; (c) it has the capacity for global and local sharing of knowledge; (d) it provides knowledge to the poor and marginalized groups; (e) it has the capacity for long-term research; (f) it has academic freedom and institutional autonomy and (g) it is subjected to public accountabilities. 11) In order for higher education to become more sustainable, national and international sustainability declarations were developed. The sustainability declarations for higher education, which are stated according to chronological orders, are as follow: The Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment (1972), Tbilisi Declaration (1977), University Presidents for a Sustainable Future: The Talloires Declaration (1990), The Halifax Declaration (1991), Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development Chapter 36: Promoting Education, Public Awareness and Training (1992), Ninth International Association of Universities Round Table: The Kyoto Declaration (1993), Association of Commonwealth Universities Fifteenth Quinquennial Conference: Swansea Declaration (1993), CRE Copernicus Charter (1994) and International Conference on Environment and Society – Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability: Declaration of Thessaloniki (1997) (Wright 1). The Stockholm Declaration of 1972 was the first declaration ever made for the sustainability of higher education. Its focus is on the relationship of humanity and environment. The declaration failed to protect the right of natures and it is clearly centered on human (Wright 2). The Tibilisi Declaration was created during the conference by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on 1977. The Tbilisi Conference echoed the sentiments of the Stockholm Declaration by stating that environmental education should be provided to people of all ages, all levels of academic aptitude and must be delivered in both formal and non formal environments. † (Wright 2) â€Å"The Talloires Declaration was the first statement made by university administrators of a commitment to sustainability in higher education. It stated that university heads must provide leadership and support to mobilize internal and external resources so that their institutions respond to this urgent challenge. † (Wright 2-3) The Kyoto Declaration of 1990 was created during the Ninth International Association of Universities Round Table with the attendance of 90 international university leaders. Agenda 21 and the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development Conference in Rio de Janeiro are two important conferences in environmental sustainability and biodiversity. The Kyoto Declaration is closely related to these two significant conferences (Wright 5). Almost 400 universities from 47 countries attended the ratification of the Swansea Declaration. One of its important contributions is the prioritization of the third world or the less developed countries. The wealthy countries must support those less developed countries regarding sustainable development among universities (Wright 5-6). The Thessaloniki Declaration of 1997 was ratified during the UNESCO Conference on Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness For Sustainability that was held in Thessaloniki, Greece. The declaration argued that the concept of environmental sustainability must be clearly linked with poverty, population, food security, democracy, human rights, peace and health and a respect for traditional cultural and ecological knowledge. † (Wright 7) Palm Beach Community College is one of those universities that includes sustainability in their curriculum. â€Å"Palm Beach Community College is committed to providing the best educational opportunity for our current students while ensuring that the same opportunity for success is available to our future students as well. Therefore our entire educational organization has dedicated itself to focusing on improving the three areas of sustainability on our campuses and in our community: environmental protection, economic growth and social responsibility. (Palm Beach Community College Sustainability) The above passage is the mission statement of Palm Beach Community College as stated in their website. Palm Beach Community College promotes environmental sustainability by teaching their students about it. They also enhance the awareness of their students regarding sustainability. Palm Beach Community College is a very good example on how higher education can promote sustainability. Palm Beach Community College has many activities that practice sustainable development not only for their students but also for the whole community. Palm Beach Community College is indeed a very great model for promoting sustainability. A good example for this is the use of green buildings in their university. Green buildings are buildings made of materials that are environment friendly. They also made renovations of existing buildings in order to attain greater sustainability (Building and Renovation). Also through energy conservation, sustainability is attained. In order to conserve energy, the lighting in the campus is composed of bulbs that consume less energy. Air conditioning consumes large amount of energy. In order to lessen energy consumption, the university introduced technological innovations to their air conditioners and also the university implemented the greater temperature in their classrooms (Energy Management). Palm Beach Community College also improves their landscaping and grounds. Improvement on landscape and grounds that were mentioned in the website are reducing pesticide use, planting native vegetation, minimizing lawn space, removing pavement, or designing wildlife habitat areas. These activities not only promote environmental sustainability but also display aesthetic value of the campus (Grounds / Landscaping). Palm Beach Community College believes that wildlife must be saved so that the next generation will be able to see those endangered species. One good example of wildlife conservation is the protection of owls inside the campus. The owls give the campus with lesser rodent population in return (Wildlife). Services in Palm Beach Community also prop up environmental sustainability. They encourage their students to eat foods from plants like vegetables and fruits. They also discourage students to use non-environment friendly packaging of food like Styrofoam and plastics (Food Service). Green Cleaning is an approach to janitorial services that offers better environmental performance and improved worker health and safety, while retaining the same sanitation quality as traditional, more chemical-intensive methods. † (Housekeeping) The university also pushes the use of environment-friendly cleaning products. Recycling is the best way for waste management. All wastes that can be still used must be reused or recycled in order to lessen the wastes that are being thrown away. By this, pollution can be avoided (Waste Management). Sustainable procurement involves making conscious purchasing choices to conserve resources, mitigate pollution and waste, and promote a healthy economy. † (Procurement) Toxic chemicals and substances are used in printing but Palm Beach Community College promotes another way of printing which is ‘green printing’. The university encourages their students to use recycled papers, double-sided printing, and soy-based inks that are not toxic and less harmful in the environment (Printing). â€Å"PBCC defines service-learning as a teaching method that increases student engagement and success through community involvement to apply theories or skills being taught in a course. (Service Learning) Through service learning, the students are exposed to real life social issues and by that the students can learn how to apply sustainability in order to improve the environment, economy and quality of life. PBCC encourages students to join Ecology clubs in order for them to join co-curricular activities regarding the environment. â€Å"Palm Beach Community College offers students the opportunity to become actively involved with award winning clubs and organizations, by promoting the development of leadership skills, challenging special interests and encouraging interaction with other students. † (Mission Statement Student Clubs Organizations at the Boca Raton Campus) Some of the events sponsored by Palm Beach Community College are Earth Day, Coastal Cleanup, Transportation transformation and Green Expo. These events are very important to the environment since it is when environmental sustainability is practiced. It is also a very good time for PBCC to educate other people about sustainable development of the environment. As an individual, what can we do to our environment? Palm Beach Community College suggests some ways that we can do for the welfare of the environment. Some of these ways are conservation of energy and water, waste management at home and at work and living a ‘green’ lifestyle (What Can I Do). Not only the youth and the adults can serve as stewards of environmental rehabilitation, the kids can also help. Palm Beach Community College offers activities for kids that can enhance their awareness on environmental sustainability and at the same time they are enjoying and learning. Some of these activities are Gorilla in the green house, Fish in the lake and National geographic kids (Green for Kids). Smoke emission and the use of non-renewable resources like fossil fuels are some of the problems that are being encountered in transportation. Since transportation is a necessity inside the campus, Palm Beach Community College implements ways and means in minimizing environmental degradation due to waste by-products of transport vehicles. Alternative fuels, such as ethanol and electricity, carpooling incentives, increased bike accessibility, and other solutions are being explored on campuses across the country and as a result, these campuses are saving money, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, decreasing water runoff, and realizing myriad other benefits. † (Transportation) In the world we are living right now, we can say that the environment is not that sustainable and it has now less capacity to support life. The people nowadays are destroying the nature that God had given us. It is not only the environment that we are not taking care of but also the lives of the future generations. We are leaving then but problems on environment and low quality of life. What we need right now are stewards of environments who will restore its beauty and sustainability. Through higher education, agents of environmental sustainability were being created. One example of the universities that produces individuals that are concerned to the environment is the Palm Beach Community College. It not only opens the eyes of students on current issues regarding the environment but it also brings-up the awareness and sense of responsibilities of students. By that, environmental sustainability is attained. Also, in our own little ways we can bring back what we have lost. If only each and every individual will help on the restoration of the environment, attaining sustainability will be faster.

The Evolution Of The Operations Management Commerce Essay

The Evolution Of The Operations Management Commerce Essay Life would be much easier if the world would stand still, but of course it doesnt. As the world evolves, so must the disciplines whose mission includes helping managers deal with it? Operations Management is no exception. Operations Management is the function of managing the operating core of an organisation: the activities associated with creation, production, distribution and delivery of the organizations goods and services. (HAYES, R.) The operations function comprises a significant percentage of the employees and physical assets in most organizations. Operations managers are concerned with each step in providing a service or product. They determine what should go into an operating system such as equipment, labor, tools, facilities, materials, energy, and information and how these inputs can best be obtained and used to satisfy the requirements of the market place. Managers are also responsible for critical activities such as quality management and control, capacity planning, mate rials management, purchasing, and scheduling. (Russell, Roberta S. and Bernard W. Taylor III, 2000) This essay is going to discuss about the relationship between strategy and operation management and further explaining about how the capacity, location, TQM, flexibility and process can add value to the delivery of goods and services. There are many definitions put forward for the business processes. Business processes can be defined as structured measured set of activities designed to produce a specified output for a particular customer or market (Davenport 1993, P 5). Rosemann (2001, P 18) defines business processes as self-contained, temporal and logical order (parallel and/or serial) of those activities, that are executed for the transformation of a business object with a goal of accomplishing a given task. Business processes is a collection of interrelated work tasks, initiated in response to an event that achieve a specific result for the customer of the process (Portugal and Sundaram, 2005). Processes in the business under taken to achieve particular task that for example producing a particular goods or service for the customer. The result must be countable and identifiable. The business processes is a set of clearly identifiable tasks, executed by one or more actors (person, or organisation, or machine, or department (Portugal and Sundaram, 2005). The business processes helps us to identify various tasks involved in delivering results by the organisation. Business process may be generic or particular to given industry or organisation. Processes are the methods used to convert raw materials and components into products (Hall, 2004). Processes may include, designing, cutting, bending, soldering and polishing. These types of processes are mainly performed using machines and tools Business today is set in a global environment. This global environment is forcing companies, regardless to their location or primary market base, to consider the rest of the world in their competitive strategy analysis. Firms cannot ignore external factors such as economic trends, competitive situations or technology innovation in other countries if some of their competitors are competing or are located in these countries. Nowadays, it is uncommon for a company to develop a new product in the United States, manufacture it in Asia and sell it in Europe. (Gourdin, 2006 P 140) Argos offers its customers with wide range of products at reasonable prices so thatmore and more people can afford them. Argos is the number one retailer for toys and small electric appliances, and a leading player in many other markets including D.I.Y, gardening, consumer electronics and furniture. Argos also have a significant market share in jewellery, sports equipment, D.I.Y products and furniture and it is popular organisation with approximately 60 employees in each branch Argos is successfully doing so, as its branches have gone up from 500 stores into 800 stores in the past year. Argos aims to offer best service to its costumers. They hope their costumers gain maximum choice in their shopping, and have maximum access to Argos. Offering Internet shopping as an option does this. Another of their objective is to expand enough and become market leader with a good reputation. They have a service where you can phone up and reserve your chosen item and find out if they have it in stock, you can even find what day they will be getting it in the store. Argos is to grow capacity and improve customer service in Argos direct, the delivery to home operation. Sales via Argos grew by 50% compared to last year. It accounted for 16% of Argos sales up from 12% last year. Preparation for the construction of new Argos direct warehouse has started, with completion planned before the end of the current financial year. They serve over 130 million customers a year though their stores and take 26% of sales through the internet channel alone and 4 million customer orders either online or over the phone. On average18 million UK households or around two thirds of the population, have Argos catalogue at home at any time. They intend to open approximately 20 stores this financial year. OPERATIONS STRATEGY Operations strategy is related with matching the characteristics of the operations function with the requirements of the market in order to carry out the needs of the business. A proper understanding of this process requires not just an understanding of the beliefs and methods used to develop an operations strategy but also knowledge of the techniques and principles involved in its implementation. Implementation requires knowledge of operations systems and polices including those that relate to resource planning and activity control, quality, plant management, motivation and organization of people, performance metrics and continuous improvement. The decision taken as part of a companys operation strategy are considered strategic because they are widespread in their effect and so are significant in the part of the organization to which the strategy refers and define the position of the organization relative to its environment. Components of the Operations Strategy Structural decision categories: Capacity  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Growth as needed through additional stores but capacity added carefully  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Well-utilized franchisees well-being depends on it being used heavily Facilities  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Distributed facilities, each facility being very similar to the next, all focused around the same menu although the uniformity is beginning to change Vertical integration  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Partnership arrangement  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Long-term relationship with suppliers to promote innovation and quality improvement Technology  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   High degree of process understanding, emphasis on fool-proof processes  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A leader in the technology of product keeping fresh Infrastructural decision categories: Workforce Organization  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Franchisees: well-trained, carefully selected, entrepreneurs  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Operators: high-turnover, cheap  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Guidelines provided by corporation  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shareholders  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   shareholders Information/control systems  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Centralized buying Competitive priorities: Cost  ·Ã‚   pricing is extremely competitive  ·Ã‚   Turnover is now over  £4 billion and pre-tax margins are still amongst the best in the industry Quality High-performance design  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   origins of store sites and the town and locality in which the store was built and how they integrated this into the overall structural design of the site.   Development speed  ·Ã‚   a leader in retail management information systems. Flexibility  ·Ã‚  Argos did not regard their stores as one stop shops, although with over 27,000 lines in every store they were approaching it Customization  ·Ã‚  Ã‚   It has been estimated that over 50,000 stores strolleys go astray every year in the UK.   Argos has developed a unique operations strategy which many have tried to follow. The companys motto is: We offer the best customer service through the most convenient shopping experience The key elements of the Argos operations strategy include design, store layout, distribution network, market segmentation. Argoss strategy achieves differentiation and cost leadership. The differentiation is in the quality of the design stylish, modern and well-presented in the store and on the website. Argos strives in offering the best quality products for it customers, at a price up to 30% cheaper than any other UK retailer. Home delivery service and Argos additions (clothes) has improved getting customers into the store and spending their money. The home delivery service has grown for Argos from TVs being delivered to a whole delivery network and Argos Direct warehouses set up thought out the UK. You can get delivery to any were in the UK free on items over 100 pound. OPERATION COMPETIVE DIMENSION There are seven major competitive dimensions that form the competitive position of a firm, they are as follow: cost or price, quality, delivery speed, delivery reliability, coping with changes in demand, flexibility new product introduction speed, and other product-specific criteria. A strategic position is not sustainable unless there are compromises with other positions. Trade-offs occurs when activities are incompatible so that more of one thing necessitates less of another. Order winners and order qualifiers describe marketing-oriented dimensions that are keys to competitive success. Order winners are the criteria that differentiate the products and services of one firm from another, where as order qualifiers are the criteria that permit the firms products to be considered as candidates for purchase by customers. CAPASITY PLANNING Capacity planning is the process of determining the production capacity needed by an organization to meet changing demands for its products. In the context of capacity planning, capacity is the maximum amount of work that an organization is capable of completing in a given period of time. A discrepancy between the capacity of an organization and the demands of its customers results in an inefficiency, either in under-utilized resources or unfulfilled customers. The goal of capacity planning is to minimize this discrepancy. Demand for an organizations capacity varies based on changes in production output, such as increasing or decreasing the production quantity of an existing product, or producing new products. Capacity can be increased through introducing new techniques, equipment and materials, increasing the number of workers or machines, increasing the number of shifts, or acquiring additional production facilities. By definition, design capacity is the maximum output that can pos sibly be attained (Stevenson 1999). Many organizations operate at below their maximum processing capacity, either because there is insufficient demand completely to fill their capacity or as a deliberate policy so that the operation can respond quickly to every new order. It is quite often that organizations find themselves with some parts of their operation operating below their capacity while other parts are at their capacity ceiling. It is the parts of the operation that are operating at their capacity ceiling which are the capacity constraint for whole operation. For example a retail super store offers gift wrap service which at normal times can cope with all requests for its services. (Slack,ChambersJohnston1995 P 322) Argos has selected the Retek supply chain planning solution to improve to capacity and sales while reducing total inventory levels in 2003. With sales of over GBP 3 billion, multi-channel giant Argos was named UKs Retailer of the Year in 2003. With Retek AIP, Argos will optimize its supply chain through improved planning of stock moving into the warehouse and then out to the stores. With supply chain they can take more stock out and achieve better stock turns and improve their buying processes. Argos also uses Merchandise Planner for its annual sales and stock planning process, as well as for planning its catalogue and promotional activities. The solution, which has been developed for retailers, helps companies plan their product assortments, pricing and store an allocation which sets targets across the retailers different seasons. Argos also plans by range for each week over the course of a years sales and stock. That data flows through to fulfilments planning, ensuring that Argos does not exceed the available capacity. Argos is also following the 21st century brand concepts and products suitable. The important characteristic of capacity planning and control, as we are discussing it here, is that it is concerned with setting capacity levels over the medium and short terms in aggregated terms. That is making overall, broad capacity decisions, but not concerned with all of the details of the individual products and the services offered. This is what aggregated means different products and services are bundled together in order to get a broad view of demand and capacity. LOCATION Location is a key factor for every business including Argos and many aspects of a location must be analysed before it can be chosen. This includes the competition in the area, the reputation and the population of the area. The major factors affecting location decisions are;  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Labour  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Premise costs  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Financial assist and local government charges  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Transport links  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Near Customers  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   History and tradition  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sales techniques  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Business activity  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Number and location of competitors  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reliance on personal visits by customers  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reliance on local supplies  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reliance on specialised labour skills  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Methods used to contact customers Finding an ideal location is a decision that requires a lot of reconsideration and investigation particularly as Argos is such a huge company with such big stores. Firstly all Argos stores require a large area for the stores, as they will be accommodating such a huge variety of products. Secondly they will need a huge car park space for their customers, as the store can have hundreds of customers at any given time as well as providing disabled parking and family car parks. They also require a substantial area for a warehouse to stock their goods as well as loading bays where they receive their deliveries of stock. TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT In todays globalized market, with interdependent economies of scale and cross-cultural product initiatives, businesses strive to maintain their profit margins and market shares by providing the best possible products and services to their customers. Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your people (Blanchard, 2007, p. 4). According to John Stark Associates, total quality management (TQM) is a management strategy used today in business, manufacturing, education, government, and the service industries to maximize efficiencies in all organizational processes (John Stark Associates, 1998). Although organizations differ in their operational definitions of TQM, common threads exist which span the breadth of business and private enterprise. Ponzi and Koenig describe total quality as the culture, attitude, and organization of a company that aims to provide, and continue to provide, its customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. In their definition, the organizational culture requires quality in all aspects of the companys operations, with things done right first time, and defects and waste eradicated from operations (Ponzi Koenig, 2002). TQM is an integrated management system for creating and implementing a continuous improvement process. Such process will lead to producing results that exceed customer expectations. TQM places the responsibilities related to quality problems with upper management levels rather than on the workers. The objective of TQM is to have a continuous improvement in the processes. TQM achieves its objective through data collection and analysis, flow charts, cause and effect diagrams, and other tools which are used to understand and improve processes of any organization. Customers entering an Argos for the first time know immediately that something is different. You have to choose your item from catalogue, order and pay to cash till. The different thing is you dont have to wait too long and if they dont have that item you can check another Argos stores. Argos has a Matrix structure. People within the organisation mix with employees from other departments which means there is little possibility of departments becoming very defensive about their territories. This creates a comfortable workforce, which will lead to motivated employees who will achieve their best efforts to produce a satisfying service to costumers. When costumers gain the service they aim to, they will shop more often in Argos, which will result in Argos expanding and becoming more popular. The management style used in Argos stores is consultative. The manager of the store tends to seek other employees within the company for advice before making decisions. This means the employees get involved more sharing their new ideas and past experiences. This will help Argos make sure that they are pleasing their costumers by using a variety of ideas they share. Costumer satisfaction implies the likeliness of the costumer to shop at Argos. If they are satisfied, which is linked to having a consultative management style, and then they would shop more often at Argos. More costumers result in a higher profit. Argos management sees its role as assisting in this value-creation process, not only by scripting the customers new role but also by making it easier for the customer to assume the role. Catalogue and in-store assistants carefully detail the assembly process and free car-top racks are available at every Argos location. As a result, customer receives a level of quality that in no t available elsewhere . FLEXIBILITY Flexibility is a characteristic of a firms process that enables them to react to customers needs quickly and efficiently. Some processes require one or more of the following types of flexibility: customization, variety and volume flexibility. A concept of strategic flexibility in product competition is developed in which flexibility depends jointly on ; -The resource flexibility of the product creation resources available to a firm and -The coordination flexibility of the firm in using its available resources in product markets. Strategic flexibility, then, is the capability of the firm to preach or respond quickly to changing competitive conditions and thereby develop and/or maintain competitive advantage. The rest of this work explains the actions that individually or in combination help firms to achieve strategic flexibility and competitive advantage. There are a number of actions that help firms navigate in the new competitive landscape. In specific, these actions directly or indirectly contribute to the achievement of strategic flexibility and competitive advantage. Among those is exercising strategic leadership which has direct effects on a firms strategic flexibility and competitive advantage. Strategic leadership also affects these outcomes indirectly through the other major actions of Developing dynamic core competences Focusing and building human capital Effectively using new technology Engaging in valuable strategies Building new organization structures and culture. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the operation and strategic management is the process of developing plans, policies and allocating resources to achieve organizational objectives. So in reality operation management is combining the various activities of business to achieve organizational objectives. Therefore it can be said that it is the highest level of managerial activity. In this case it is understood that, Argos had several problems in managing their operational and strategic management, but later they overcame it by realizing the importance of operational management in a business. Now Argos is one of the successful companies in the world in managing their operational management. In order to continue this success the company needs the right people and best tools available to ensure a seamless transition and has to be able to resolve any problems as quickly as possible, especially when it is the worlds leading home furnishing retailer

Canterbury Tales - Downfall of the Church in Chaucer’s General Prologue :: Canterbury Tales

Canterbury Tales - Downfall of the Church in Chaucer’s General Prologue Light-hearted yet bitingly satirical, Chaucer’s â€Å"General Prologue† to his Canterbury Tales is a commentary on the corruptions of the Church at the time. Chaucer, being of noble estate, retains his witticism in his narrator. The narrator devotes many a line to the vivid portrayals of the Prioress and the Frere. Through the actions of these two members of the clergy, it is seen that the lust for material goods, the need for flaunting one’s estate, and the development of hypocrisy all contribute to the shaking of the Church’s foundations. Enfolded in the coils of luxury, the Prioress and the Frere can hardly recall their missions as part of the clergy. Is not gluttony evil in the eyes of the Church? Although not allowing any â€Å"morsel from hir lippes falle† (Chaucer, l. 128) can be viewed as a sign of â€Å"wasting not† in the Prioress, Chaucer’s narrator’s detailed and realistic descriptions of the Prioress’s table manners impress upon one that food and drink is the quintessence of this woman’s faith in the Church. The Frere, too, delights in merry living. Not only does he know the taverns in every town, he also knows â€Å"every hostiler and tappestere,/Bet than a lazar or a beggestere† (ll. 240-242). The Frere spends most of his time playing the rote and singing ballads (ll. 236-237); he also showers â€Å"faire wives† with gifts such as â€Å"knives† and â€Å"pinnes† (ll. 233-234). How is it then that the Frere needs to be g? He is the â€Å"beste beggere in his hous† (l. 252), and he can coax a â€Å"widwe [who] hadde nought a sho† (l. 255) to give him money. Is this not ridiculous when, during love-dayes, the Frere can - like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon - shed his begging clothes and wear ceremonial gowns as rich and as fine as a maister’s or a pope’s? Contrary to the Church’s belief in not hoarding material goods, the Prioress delights in dressing fashionably in a neat cloak, with coral around her arms, and a gold brooch about her neck (ll. 157-162). As feasting and dressing shrewdly seem to occupy the bulk of these religious’ time, it must be that the Church is now based on hedonism instead of faith and humility!

Machines: Are They Helpful Or Too Much Trouble? :: essays research papers

Machines: Are They Helpful Or Too Much Trouble? The historiography and various phases of the Industrial Revolution were very important. Population increase and the expansion of capital, credit and commerce were one of the phases. The role of entrepreneurs, workers and inventions in boosting production were another phase. Textiles, coal, transport and public services started becoming of value to people. The social consequences included women and children working in factories and mines. Hard living conditions, crowded rooms, and many diseases.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were many positive effects, new inventions, that helped made living comfortable, and saved many lives. A vaccination was created saving many lives, telephones helped people to communicate, light bulbs gave light at night and when rain was falling. As people needed employment, they traveled to London to find work, which caused the population to increase. Developers built multi story building(apartments), and row houses making streets less crowded, and gave the people a newfound wealth and security. Steam engines made it easy to transport goods, the cotton gin made it easier to clean cotton, and made more money. Then technical schools began to develop, helping young people finish grammar school. Women also started working, they were very obedient and men started giving them more respect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Along with positive, were also negative. Most people worked twelve to fourteen hours a day, six days a week, they had to pay constant attention to the machines and risked losing limbs in the machines. Child labor was another problem, they usually worked from 6 am to 7 p.m., getting paid only 10 percent wages of men to children. They would be severely beaten, and usually was deformed from machines. Many working-class children were not able to attend schools, because they couldn't afford clothes. Women usually spent long hours away from home and were unable to take care of children. They usually had a deformed chest or rib from the machines, and sometimes their hair and long skirt were caught in the machines. Some people had to work in mines, the mines were damp and ark, workers risked suffocation from the dust and drowning from underground floods. As population grew, people moved into urban areas. This was a very big problem, crimes and diseases increased, sometimes twenty families had to share the same toilets and water pumps.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The industrial revolution had many problems, but here are some solutions I would propose.

Thoroughly Modern Millie :: essays research papers

Thoroughly Modern Millie   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thoroughly Modern Millie takes place in the year 1922 in New York. At this point in history all the women wanted equal rites and wanted to have fun. The main characters in this film are Millie Dillmount, Miss Dorothy Brown, Trevor Graydon, Jimmy Smith, and Muzzy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Millie Dillmount is a totally modern woman. She’s come to the cite from the country in search of a husband. She strives to become a successful business woman and to marry well and be rich. She has every intention of marrying her boss.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Miss Dorothy Brown is an orphan new to the city from California. She’s very naive and has no friends or family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trevor Graydon is Millie’s new boss. He is a single business man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jimmy Smith is a man in the paper clip industry. He is madly in love with Millie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The major theme of this movie is that love doesn’t always have to include money and materialistic things. Also that not everything has to happen like they do in the movies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Millie Dillmount lives in a hotel and Miss Dorothy Brown from California moves in. They automatically become friends. The house mother, Ms. Meers, is a middle aged Chinese woman who runs an illegal work ran by kidnapped white female orphans. Miss Dorothy is a target because she doesn’t know a soul. Millie meets Jimmy Smith and he falls in love with her. She feels the same only she wants to marry her future boss whom she hasn’t met quite yet. She’s looking for love and money. When Millie finally gets a job her boss, Trevor Graydon, is a handsome, charming man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One day for an outing Jimmy takes Miss Dorothy and Millie to his friend Muzzy`s house. Muzzy is a multi millionaire who becomes close friends with Dorothy and Millie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Miss Dorothy meets Trevor Graydon and its love at first sight. Later that night Miss Dorothy is kidnapped by the Ms. Meers and taken to slave with the other white women. Jimmy, Millie, and Trevor figure out what’s going on and come up with a plan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jimmy dresses up as a woman and gets a hotel room at the hotel and he makes it quite clear that he is an orphan and all alone in the world. He gets kidnapped and Millie follows as he leads the way to the others. Their plan works and everyone gets set free and Millie realizes she loves Jimmy.

How Is Discrimination Different from Prejudice and Stereotyping? Essay

Part I Define the following terms: |Term |Definition | |Discrimination |The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice | | |or for other arbitrary reasons | |Institutional discrimination |A denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals or groups, resulting from the | | |normal operations of a society | | | | |Political correctness |Language or behaviors that does not offend particular groups of people | Part II Write a 150- to 250-word response to each of the following questions: †¢ How is discrimination different from prejudice and stereotyping? Discrimination differs from prejudice and stereotyping in a way that discrimination isn’t just an negative attitude that rejects an entire group, as prejudice is defined. Discrimination is the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons. Prejudice does not necessarily end with wealth. Discrimination also has cumulative effect so that people today are victims of past and current differential practices. As whereas stereotyping is unreliable generalizations about all members of a particular group without considering a individuals differences. I feel that discrimination has many forms aside from race, also age, sexual orientation or wealth. Discrimination can hinder a person from advancing in their life, which will affect their generations. I feel that a person can beat a stereotype, at times it may not be as severe, but when you deny someone or a group equal rights, it because a legal process. Stereotyping can be proved to be wrong, but with discrimination you can not prove it otherwise false, if your denied rights. †¢ What are the causes of discrimination? The causes of discrimination are having a certain preference for different groups of people. In example, preferring a man over a woman to be a president of a company, even though they are both qualified the same. Being misinformed also causes discrimination. Often, racism and prejudice cause discrimination. When an negative attitude is formed over a certain group of people, mainly the minority group. They face a social challenge, which leads to adding a denial of certain rights to a person. Although, discrimination is illegal, it happens often. Family type business, who can hire freely can cause a type of discrimination. They have the choice to hire family, verses someone who is an outsider. Often discrimination is from our ancestors. If they had a certain way of living, it is passed on through generation. Often, we feel like we are better than a certain group, or that a certain group may owe us something because of our ancestors. †¢ How is discrimination faced by one identity group (race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability) the same as discrimination faced by another? How are they different? Discrimination towards a certain race, is the same as being discriminated by you gender. We cannot change the color of our skin, nor can we change our gender. Being discriminated by your race, and by religious beliefs can be different is many ways. If a person was applying for a job, and was denied the job because being discriminated by their race, or religious beliefs, a person’s skin color is obvious. But, a person could change their religious beliefs to bend for whatever position they are applying for. Discrimination can begin at birth. Identity groups can change, which changes the discrimination factors. You can change your hair color, or have a surgery to change your appearance to differ ante your age. Someone with a disability cannot just make a disability disappear. A certain sexual orientation can change around to date the opposite sex to be more socially accepted. I think it can differ greatly. Reference: Racial and Ethnic Groups, Thirteenth edition, by Richard T. Schaefer. Published by Merrill Prentice Hall. Copyright  © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc.