Thursday, August 15, 2019

Huckleberry Finn Should Be Banned

Huckleberry Finn should be banned from schools. There are several issues in the novel that schools should not permit their students to learn about and study. These issues are extreme racism, Huck questioning the rules of society, and teaching bad morals. Huckleberry Finn contains several racist comments. In today’s society, there are people who will take these comments very offensively Huck says, â€Å"according to the old saying, ‘Give a nigger an inch and he’ll take an ell. † Huck is stating that other people believe the African American slaves were to have strict rules to abide by because if you let them get away with something once, they will take advantage of that opportunity and try to get away with something else later on in the future. During the time that Huckleberry Finn was written, African Americans did not have the freedom that they do today. They were considered property, not citizens, which people would buy, trade, and own. Throughout Huckleb erry Finn, Huck is constantly questioning the rules of his society.One example is when Huck says, â€Å"The widow rung a bell for supper, and you had to come to time. When you got to the table you couldn't go right to eating, but you had to wait for the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, though there warn't really anything the matter with them. † When he is stating this, he believes that the rules in the society he lives in are petty and useless. If students are allowed to read this, they may begin to think that it is okay to question the rules that our government have set and possibly not follow them because they think they are petty or useless.The final reason that Huckleberry Finn should be banned from schools is that Huck teaches bad morals for the students who have to read this novel. Instead of following the rules of the society he has grown up with, he uses made up rules of Tom Sawyer and doesn’t question them. â€Å"So Tom got out a sheet of paper that he had wrote the oath on, and read it. It swore every boy to stick to the band, and never tell any of the secrets,† This quote gives an example of the rules that Tom Sawyer set that Huck began to adopt.This band was set up in a way that it seemed like a club or a gang. Students may read this and begin to think that because they do not believe what the rules of society are, that it is okay to join a club to rebel and have their own set of rules. Therefore, Huckleberry Finn should be banned from all schools. The issues that just have been discussed should be taken into consideration. With the extreme racism, the questioning of the society by Huck, and the teaching bad morals should be enough to ban this novel.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Capacity Strategy at Alden Products

Capacity strategy should embody a mental model of how a firm works in a given industry and geographic region. There are a series of assumptions and predictions about the log-term behaviour of markets, technologies, costs and competitor’s behaviour. Such a model would include the following factors: * Predicted growth and variability of demand for the firm’s products and services * Costs of building and operating different sized-facilities * Likely rate and direction of technological evolution Expected behaviour of competitors * Anticipated availability, capabilities and costs of external suppliers The European organization of Alden Products, Inc. is contemplating a doubling of unit sales over the next ten years. Their largest plant, located in Holland, was set up 25 years earlier to supply all demands of the EEC countries on the continent. It has since expanded six times. The question in mind pertaining to the case is that: * Should it expand again? * Should it build a new plant in Southern Europe? Or should it expand its use of contract fillers? As of 1988, 75% of Alden-Europe’s sales took place on the continent and 25% came from UK. Out of 75% of the continent, * 25% came from France, * 12. 5% came from Italy, * 37. 5% came from Spain and Germany Alden-Europe’s overall growth was expected to average over 40% per year but this varied across various countries. Thus, there was a high degree of uncertainty about the growth rate in several countries. The capacity strategy adopted by API was Policy C: Add Capacity Only after Demand Exceeds It. This policy implies that the company’s capacity plan will contain a negative cushion so that the likelihood of running short is greater than the likelihood of having excess capacity. As per my analysis of the scenario, I feel that API should expand at Uniplant based upon the following factors: How capacity and operations management will interact in case of expansion? An operation’s actual capacity is affected by some important factors. They are as follows: 1. Capacity is technology based: A number of Uniplant’s products used proprietary formulations and ingredients. Opening up a plant in new location would make the management get reluctant to risk the secrecy of these formulations. The same would be applicable if they would go ahead with contract fillers. 2. Capacity depends on the interaction of multiple resource constraints: Uniplant attains the following advantage over Southern Europe in matters like: * No additional land needed * Availability of labour * Fewer additional employees * Cost Advantage in terms of production of own plastic bottles Availability and long-term relationship with suppliers * Speed up the processing time . Capacity is location specific: Holland is a desirable place in terms of access to raw materials, proximity to markets via existing rail lines and highways, labour costs, tax rates and political and social stability. 4. Capacity is mix dependent: The capacity of the plant which was under 90% was greatly dependent on the production mix which included both the product mix and size mix. Different products/services consume different amounts of various resources, so a change in location could affect the product mix as the availability of the various resources could also differ. Capacity depends on management policies: The management was clear about the fact the product quality should be clearly distinguishable as superior to the competition in terms of performance, packaging and design finish. Hence by subcontracting, the company would increase the risk of reduction in quality and customer service and increase in indirect costs. 6. Capacity is affected by the degree of variability of demand: Sales in different countries were expected to grow at different rates. There were also changes predicted to occur in wage and exchange rates. Hence, an increase in the number of plants would just complicate the entire issue. In terms of sizing of capacity increments taking into account scale considerations, the company should attain long term economies of scale. This scale refers to the economies that arise from using one large facility rather than a number of smaller ones. This often results in savings because the processing capacity is roughly proportional to its interior volume and its cost is more closely related to the surface area in terms of where the materials and labour hours are concentrated. We also know that though there is a growth in demand, variability exists across different countries. Greater the variability, there are chances that there would be a greater amount of underutilized capacity and at this stage opening a new plant in a different location altogether could make the entire scenario vulnerable. Drawbacks of not opening a new plant in Southern Europe are as follows: * Loose an opportunity to tap a lower cost labour market * Reduction in transportation costs had a new plant come up in Southern Europe * Would not be able to offset the protectionist sentiment in both France and Italy. Thus we see that by adopting the option of expansion at Uniplant, the company would be in a better state as compared to the other options. However a few recommendations in terms of changes to be mad in the expansion plan are provided below: Uniplant’s mark-up price should be reduced from 10% to 5% initially and then become nil in mere future. This would increase the number of sales from the customer point of view and would also help other countries to price their products competitively even during times when there is any kind of fluctuation in exchange rates. They should equalize the unit transportation costs to all subsidiaries which would make the entire process less complex and fair. This would help in maintaining long term relationships with them. Standardized products could be subcontracted but products involving high-technology shouldn’t be under contract filling as this could increase the risk of quality deterioration and increase in indirect costs.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Quality Management Assignment on the ISO9001 Essay

Quality Management Assignment on the ISO9001 - Essay Example In a nutshell, it can be described as a system that facilitates the setting of rules to maximize opportunity while at the same time minimizing the risks for organizations or businesses. The standards are universally relevant and can potentially be applied to any business irrespective of size, scope or the field in which it operates. Background/Origins Contrary to popular assumption, ISO is not an acronym for international standards organization but a Greek word for equality signifying that all the standardized services and products are equal. ISO was initially formed in 1926 as the, International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations and by then it’s purpose was to provide, regulate and maintain standards in mechanical engineering. It disintegrated because of the World War 2, but regrouped in 1946 and assumed the name ISO, the origin of the ISO 9000 series is presumed to have been the US Navy Polaris Admiral, Hymen Rickover. He came up with the idea of investig ating and analyzing the operations of perspective subcontractors and tabulating the data to get a list of the most suitable candidates as well as collectively considering their weakness. Initially the standards were used exclusively for military supplies, however they later came to be used by NASA as well as the first NATO AQAP (1968) and the DEF British standards of the early 1970’s. However it became apparent that a similar civil standard were needed and the BS5750 was developed, this was replaced by the ISO 9000 series which has been continually upgrades to ensure it remains dynamic and relevant. Requirements When a firm decides to get an ISO certification, it needs to fulfill certain requirements in order to satisfy the standards body of their eligibility; on average, ISO certification for most firms takes anything between 3 to six months depending on size and complexity. For successful application and auditing it is important for the organization to have an insider who i s aware of what it takes to achieve the accreditation so they may work closely with management and lias with internal and external auditors to help carry out the groundwork (9001 Counsil, nd). The ISO 9001 manual provides a set of clauses that companies need to follow if they are desirous of attaining the certification by the accreditation body; the following are some of the major requirements: The organizations management system must be robust and effective such that the managers, employees and auditors can easily tell what parts of the overall system relate to specific clauses in the ISO- 9001 manual. This in not however to say that it should use the exact wording or structures as the manual, the firm is free to employ any format it choses as long as it can be clearly be understood in reference to ISO manuals. The firm needs to have a quality policy, which should be clearly documented, and detailing a commitment by the firm to comply with ISO through the operations of its manageme nt systems and a further commitment to quality service provision for its clients (Valeria and Waldomiro 2006, p.524). The ISO auditors will expect that key areas such as quality service provision, personnel training and methods of dealing with non-conformity should explicitly translate into measurable goals and objectives and be closely monitored. The ISO 9001 standards requires that organizations comply with 6 mandatory procedures, to this end,

Monday, August 12, 2019

Services Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Services Marketing - Essay Example As a result of this investigation I would like to address number of reasons for mistakes†. This does not look well for the company because it generalizes that all staffs are incompetent due to the lack of initiative. Second, Qantas should have assumed responsibility of the inconvenience instead of passing it to someone else. Doing so would make Qantas appear professional and responsible. . Acknowledged of such lapse in policy and its action to look for ways to address customer’s complaint in the future sounds professional. This acknowledges the problem without blaming anyone and more importantly, that Qantas will be doing something about it. This is a better approach than passing the blame to regulatory agencies or by citing company policies. The mention of the need of training for employees makes the employees look incompetent, insensitive and invites more complaint from the customer and this should have been avoided in the letter. This is present in the phrase â€Å"To prevent re-occurrences we have set a verification procedure and we also implemented a regular training to all crewmembers, which will ensure they have accessible to responsibilities and improving their customer’s service skills†. Qantas should have responded that â€Å"we will step up our capabilities to satisfy customer expectations†. This implies training without making the employees look incompetent. In the third paragraph, Qantas should have been completed by citing concrete acts by the company that will pacify the customer. For example, in can be written as â€Å"To show the good will â€Å"probably provide rebate† or even a free ticket to the customer’s destination† as an act to maintain the goodwill of the customer and to compensate for all the trouble caused. This would also serve as compensatory measures to the any inconveniences caused to the

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Bibliography - Essay Example The approach is described in non-technical terms for risk communicators to help them serve the public in making informed decisions. The author follows the evolution of the research on risk communication over the years, the mistakes made and the lessons learnt. This essay provides a brief history of risk communication organized around certain developmental stages, with each stage characterized by a focal communication strategy. The essay, however, has not provided comprehensive illustrations or examples. Communication is like an insurance policy in that it is a fixed cost that can keep a larger damage at bay. Receiving relevant information on environment and health risks and on the safety of modern technologies is a very important need of modern man, but he seldom receives it. The authors, making use of case studies, give an overview of the critical role of risk management in dealing with public controversies and an insight into the risk communication practices and malpractices. The book leaves scope for the concerned authorities to devise ways to check the malpractices and inadequacies in risk communication. The failure of institutions in adequately communicating about risks result in inadequate management of risks leading to heavy financial loss. The study examines a very important and subtle aspect of risk communication, which is trust and credibility. ... Peters, R. G., Covello, V. T., McCallum, D. B. (1997). The determinants of trust and credibility in environmental risk communication: An empirical study. Risk Analysis 17(1). Retreived October 20, 2008, from http://www.centerforriskcommunication.org/pubs/crc-p2.pdf The study examines a very important and subtle aspect of risk communication, which is trust and credibility. An important hypothesis tested in this study regarding perceptions and determinants of trust and credibility is that they are dependent on three factors, namely perceptions of knowledge and expertise, perceptions of openness and honesty, and perceptions of concern and care. The responses to surveys are mostly in the predictable lines in that they mostly reflect general perceptions. A significant finding is that defying a negative stereotype leads to improved perceptions of trust and credibility. O'Connor, A.M., Legare, F., & Stacey, D. (2003). Risk communication in practice: the contribution of decision aids. BMJ 327(7417) 736-740. doi: 10.1136/bmj.327.7417.736. The authors examine the effectiveness of the communication of risks, benefits and options by clinicians in helping patients make an informed decision regarding their healthcare. Different decisions require different strategies for communication. Effective services are those in which benefits/harm ratio is large, and those in which the ratios are uncertain are preference sensitive services. The article does not explain how to equip the support service system to handle the diverse plans of diverse patients. The goal of decision-making is to choose options that are most beneficial and the least harmful. Decision support should take into account a patient's personal values, resources and determination. Croyle, R.T. & Lerman, C. (1999).

Saturday, August 10, 2019

Speech Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Speech - Personal Statement Example According to Coleman, this culture began back in 2007 when a group of enthusiastic computer programmers and hackers began organized internet attacks on organizations or individuals who acted contrary to the societal expectations. I particularly noted with interest how anonymous graduated from internet to street based protests. The culture developed from social to political activism and even went further to activism against individuals1. Pervasive anonymity is perhaps the most notable element of this cultural phenomenon. I concur with Coleman that, it is difficult to predict the future trends of anonymous since the culture propagates spontaneously by taking advantage of emerging technology. I however found it difficult to synthesize the ethical issues regarding this anonymous cultural phenomenon. This is because we need global whistleblowers that are always alert on objects of societal oppression. On the other hand, their actions may not be justified since there are diplomatic channels in which societal issues can be addressed. It is difficult to discern the ideological consistency of their actions. How such a culture functions ethically and logically is perplexing. However, it is at least obvious from Coleman that anonymous would heavily retaliate to anyone threatening their

Friday, August 9, 2019

American military tortures of prisoners of war Term Paper

American military tortures of prisoners of war - Term Paper Example Since soldiers do not usually divulge information, the military personnel who detain hostiles as prisoners of war use different methods of torture for extracting information. Similarly, during peace time also nations come under threat of terrorist attacks, which is a major problem in nations across the world. Thus, when the military or the law enforcement agencies arrest suspects, they torture them to obtain information. In the modern day the United States of America is one nation that has become the target of many countries due to political as well as religious reasons. Politically, the nation opposes communism and as a result, countries embracing the communist political ideology have become America’s enemies. On the other hand, in religious and political context, the nation is also being targeted by Muslim radical groups. Thus, the American military as well as law enforcement agencies are often forced to resort to torturing prisoners from other nations for extracting informa tion for the purpose of safeguarding the external and internal security of their nation. While there are often allegations about countries engaged in war torturing the prisoners of war and other suspects, the complaints against the US military have been mounting in recent years, especially in the context of their role in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the crackdowns against the Al Qaeda. The general perception is that torture is being meted out by low ranking soldiers but in many cases the evidence has suggested that high ranking officers in both the military and civil administration authorize such atrocities on detainees. It is also noted that while the US government promises to punish those responsible for such acts, only the people at bottom receive the punishment and top ranking leaders get away. One of the major instances of the exposure of US torture on prisoners of war in recent days is the episode in March 28, 2004 when pictures of US soldiers inflicting torture and humiliation on the