Thursday, October 31, 2019

Describe the impact of a risk event on business relationships Assignment

Describe the impact of a risk event on business relationships - Assignment Example They are strategic risks that are inadvertently linked with the nature of operations and administrative procedures of any particular industry. Other multilateral dependencies that can impact business partners or link in a business chain include accidents between cars in the importing procedures, fire, theft, and vandalism and water damages (Jolly, 2003). Being a transporter with a reputation of delivering on time and within budget, traffic can be a considerable hindrance to the performance of duties. Such a reputation is highly dependent on the status of traffic unless the transporter has a dedicated means of business that is not shared by others in the same business. Depending on the embedded culture of business continuity, a business organization can be categorized as risk taking or having zero tolerance. It is from such cultures that a business’ continuity is ensured and the impacts of accidents, such as those arising from transport procedures, can be

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Integrated Service Digital Network Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Integrated Service Digital Network - Assignment Example Moreover, it revolutionized the use of the internet. Much similar to its precursor, the service of dial-up internet, ISDN uses a phone line. In addition, it put the standard for the telephone data service (Dean, 2010). Â  It enables the hook up of the local cable TV line to a PC and receives data close to 1.5 Mbps. This device is addable to or can be integrated with a set-top box, which provides a TV set with Internet access channels. Commonly, they are provided as part of the service of cable access. Furthermore, they are not bought directly and set up by the subscriber (Sobh, Elleithy, & Mahmood, 2010). Â  As the Sr. System Administrator of Minnesota Consulting Group, I would recommend RFID (radio frequency identification), portable cell phones and handheld inventory scanners to Star Clothing. This is because the company can use RFID in reducing theft. Moreover, the company can also use handheld inventory scanners in the control of inventories. In addition, the portable cell phones are cost-effective ways of communications between different departments.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Activities of Living Model Case Study

Activities of Living Model Case Study Assessment -> diagnosis -> plan -> intervention -> evaluation Section 1: Brief introduction to the person: (max 200 words) Anna is a 42 year old lady who has Rett syndrome and severe learning disability. Anna was born after a normal pregnancy. Anna has one brother and a sister who does not have learning disability or any specific health problems. Anna has been in the care for the last 11 years. Anna lived with her parents until 2001. Her mother used to be her primary carer. Currently Anna lives in a 4 bedroom bungalow with two other ladies, who also have learning disabilities. Part of social life she goes to the day service three days a week. She seems to enjoy up there. Anna enjoys listening to the radio while she is resting in her room. She can give an good eye contact when talk to her. To avoid a breach of confidentiality service user will be referred to as â€Å"Anna†, a pseudonym (NMC, 2008) Due to Anna’s severe learning disability and extremely limited communication skills she is unable to understand, retain or communicate an informed decision regarding consent to the contents of this assessment. In accordance with Mental Capacity Act (2005), following discussion with support staff, family and relevant health and social care professionals, this care plan is deemed to be in Anna’s best interests given the potential risks to her health and well-being. Section 2: 1000 WORDS Assessment based on Roper, Logan Tierney’s Activities of Living Model (1980). Some headings can be very brief if there are no specific issues for the person in that area of their life. Please also consider the age of the person and their level of independence / dependence for each area. Activities of Living The activities of living listed in the Roper-Logan-Tierney Model of Nursing are: 1. Maintaining Safe Environment Anna is dependent on staff to keep her safe. She exhibits bodily movements which interfere with normal safe eating and drinking. On occasions these erratic movements are so extreme as to put her at increased risk of physical injury. She can cause small wounds to her face, limbs and torso due to her repetitive stereotypical hand and arm movements. During the period of her erratic and uncontrolled movements put her at risk of aspiration and chocking. The uncontrolled movement can also cause lose some of her medication which is very essential for her physical wellbeing. When she settle after a seizure she is more likely to sleepy. During this time excessive production of saliva can affect her breathing / blocking the airway. Both Anna and staff are at risk of injury due to her flailing arms and legs. Also it is not safe to do the manual handling. When she displaying extreme body movements it not safe to transport her which can affect her attendance at day services. Anna’s dysphasia can increase the risk of aspiration and may can cause chest infection. Communicating Anna has no formalised system of communication through which to make her need/wishes known and is totally reliant on others to anticipate her needs. Even though she has very good eye contact. She has no active say regarding any aspect of her life. She is open to speech and Language Therapy services but this mainly for dysphasia. Communication and sensory integration assessment have been done in the past with very limited success (2011-12) Breathing Anna has abnormal breathing patterns which is common in Rett syndrome. Anna will show signs of shortness of breath which is causing her distress and/ or pain. Shortness of breath can lead to cyanosis. This most likely to occur after a prolonged seizure or when she has chest infection. If her oxygen saturation levels are reading below the usual baseline ie 93% or less Her range is 94-97%) oxygen is administrated as per prescribed. Eating and Drinking Anna has no functional use of her hand and she is fully depending on others to assist with her eating and drinking. She does eat and drink well, it seems she enjoy her meal. She has been assessed by the Speech and Language Therapy to be at the risk of aspiration. Anna has liquidised food and thickened drink. Anna has dysphasia which can contribute to an increased risk of coughing , chocking, aspiration and recurring respiratory tract infections Elimination Anna is unable to take herself to the toilet and has no formalised system of communication to alert others of her need to go to the toilet. Anna is incontinent of both urine and faeces with an associated potential for skin breakdown. Anna is prone to constipation. Personal Cleansing and Dressing Anna is unable to do her personal hygiene independently due to her complex health needs. Due to her erratic movements she cannot be bathed conventionally. She has had recent urinary tract infection, which may have been the result of faecal contamination of the vaginal area. At present Anna has the bed bath everyday with Aqueous cream (soap substitute) to help with her dry skin. Diprobase moisturiser is available as PRN for dry skin to prevent the risk of skin breakdown. Anna is unable to independently manage her oral hygiene needs and requires full support in this aspect of her care in order to maintain healthy teeth gums. Anna’s oral hygiene is maintained daily. Her positioning during and after oral hygiene procedures are important in order to minimise the risk of aspiration including silent aspiration. Controlling Body Temperature Anna’s normal temperature range for observations is 36-37.5*C. Anna can experience difficulty in maintaining an even body temperature and it is prone to becoming suddenly cold or hot. She prefers moderations in temperature. Staff need to be able to recognise when Anna is becoming too hot. Staff recognise breathing difficulties and cyanosis during prolonged seizures and use the prescribed oxygen via a face mask if necessary. Mobilising Anna is non-ambulant. She is unable to stand or support her own weight but she can hold head up when alert. She requires a back rest and bilateral support to be able to maintain an upright seated position. She has a full range of movement in all her limbs. Anna’s preferred positioning of her legs is to hold her knees tightly in flexion. Anna has apraxia and is unable to perform controlled motor movements. Working and Playing Anna attends day services for three full days a week. Attendance at day service is depending on her health and safety in transporting (i.e. when displaying extreme body movements it is not safe to transport her). Expressing Sexuality Anna’s physical / sexual body development is normal. Anna does not appear to show any interest of a sexual nature with the same or opposite sex. Sleeping Anna has several opportunities to rest in her day chair or in her bed. However, she is likely to drop off to sleep. She can take longer time go to sleep at night and normally has several interruptions in sleep throughout the night. Dying As Anna is stable at the movement her parents are not mentally ready to talk about her end of life. It will be done in the future when required. Section 3: A nursing diagnosis is â€Å"a clinical judgement about an individual’s health needs which provided a basis for selecting nursing interventions, to achieve health gains or maintain health† (NANDA, 1992). For this section you are asked to consider what may be causing or contributing to the health care need what signs and symptoms led you to this diagnosis. Possible aetiology (cause): Anna is a 41 year old lady who has Rett syndrome and severe epilepsy. Anna is totally dependent on others for all aspects of her care and has complex health needs that fluctuate and greatly impact on her day to day activities. These health issues are likely to affect the quality of her life. The most possible cause of Anna’s self injury caused of her extreme erratic body movement can be because of severe epilepsy. She suffers tonic-clonic seizures. Occasionally, post-seizure. She will present with peripheral cyanosis and this most noticeable around her lips, earlobes, and mouth and figure tips. Defining characteristics (signs symptoms): Epilepsy Anna displays an unusually high tolerance to external pain. When Anna sustains a trauma type injury (bruising / abrasions / shear injuries) there is no discernible visible reaction. Staff working with Anna require the ability to make visual assessments of her injuries and have understanding of the implications if the visual symptoms of injuries. There is a risk that the severity of physical injuries may under assessed resulting in treatment mismanagement. It is believed that Anna does react to internal type pain such as menstrual pain, constipation or stomach pain. Anna experiences seizures of varying length and intensity. She used to experience on average 10-15 seizures each month but this had increased to daily seizures. Seizures can occur at any time during the day and night, but there is evidence to suggest that she prone to epileptic activity when asleep. Therefore, she has an alarm monitor which is under trial, whereby noises which accompany seizures activated a pager which the nurse can carry. She remains under the out-patient care of her consultant Neurologist (seen every 6-8 months). Video analysis is available to help diagnose exact seizure presentation and appropriate medical intervention. The use of rescue medication has also increased. She requires rectally administered diazepam for the treatment of status epilepticus. Suction may be required to control oral excretions and administration of oxygen via face mask may be necessary in the event of cyanosis. Buccal Midazzolam has been trialled in the past and although effective in halting the seizure activity, Anna went into status within hours (2006) or her clinical signs dipped significantly (2012). This was found to not be the case with Rectal Diazepam. Anna’s behaviour can be changed after a seizure activity. She will have very uncontrolled body movements mainly with hands and legs. The medication she have to control her seizure can make her depressed. Anna is on medication that required serum blood testing to ensure safe therapeutic levels and prevention of toxicity. This is believed to have occurred as recently as 2011 when Levetiracetam was believed to have caused her dangerous agitation (dose was 1500mg BD at that time). The following factors are known to reduce Anna’s seizure threshold: Menstruation Overheating Over-excitement When she is not well Constipation Anna has regular menstrual cycle. She can experiencedysmenorrhoea. She will have a loose bowl motions during her menstrual cycle. Anna also exhibits other events that may be mistaken for seizure activity: Hyperekpexia Eye – rolling Rett syndrome characteristics (jerks, tics) Section 4: People with complex health care needs often have a number of other non-nursing professionals working to help restore or maintain their health. Please discuss the contribution another profession has made to the assessment and their therapeutic interventions with the individual. Due to Anna’s difficulty in eating and drinking ( mainly during her extreme erratic body movements) she was referred to the speech and Language Theraphist ( SALT ). Anna has been assessed by Speech and Language Therapy to reduce the risk of aspiration / silent aspiration when eating and drinking. According to the SALT Anna has been diagnosed with dysphasia (SALT report, 2011). She is at risk of aspiration of food and fluids, as these do not always clear from her oropharyngeal cavity during meals. The SALT visited Anna at home and gathered all the information about her eating and drinking difficulties from the staff. Assessment has consisted of observation of mealtimes, discussed with staff and monitor at meal times by staff. Speech Language therapist made referral for videofluoroscopy assessment in 2012. After the videofluoroscopy SALT advised to give mouthful of drink in-between her meal. Coughing charts were implemented for both eating and drinking between initial assessment and review. The charts indicated that Anna was coughing when eating and drinking. The recommendations made by Speech and Language Therapy was to avoid mixed textures i.e. soup and stews with bits or high risk of lumpy food. And replace these with a soft alternative, or liquidised soups. It can help her to prevent the risk of aspiration pneumonia. When Anna has liquidised food it is very important to make sure there are no lumps. For example, mashed potato is very likely to have lumps which may cause chocking. Speech and Language therapy also recommended Anna must have a drink with any meal, and mouthfuls of drink must be given during the meal. It is helping her to clear her airway and to enjoy the meal. Anna should not to be fed when she is sleepy or drowsy as fatigue can result in an increased risk of aspiration. If Anna showing extreme bodily movement when the meal or drink is to take place, the second carer is to place themselves at the side of her, and using their forearm, palm facing downwards. Use a blocking technique to lower Anna’s arms down to her lap and gently rest their palm and dingers together on her further chest long bone. While feeding Anna it is very essential the staff to sit on a chair and make sure she is able to give an eye contact. Anna must be seated in her day chair when having meal. Staff need to ensure that Anna is in an upright position. After the assessment done by SALT has also noted the aspiration can also because of the remaining food / drink in her mouth. To rid of that SALT recommended giving her an oral care after food fluid intake. By using a very soft toothbrush to clean the mouth can minimise risk or aspiration due to food fluid residue. And also it is important to maintain upright position for at least 30 minutes after having mouth care to reduce t he possibility of reflux. The recommendations from SALT is likely to help Anna to enjoy her meal. Her dysphasia techniques are continuing as it is recommended this will help to maintain the swallowing difficulty. Staff can contact the SALT if there is any new difficulty in eating and drinking and SALT will do the follow up / regular visits. Nancy Jimmi

Friday, October 25, 2019

Free Essay on Homers Odyssey: Hospitality :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Hospitality in Homer's Odyssey      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hospitality: Greek philoxenia; literally â€Å"love of strangers.†Ã‚   Homer might have had such a definition in mind when he introduced the theme of hospitality to his epic poem the Odyssey.   A multitude of reasons for the prominent position this theme plays, both in the Odyssey and perhaps in Homer’s own society, are hinted at in the introductory books, often referred to as the Telemachy.   Just two of these, namely the hunger for news and the belief in divinity, are illustrated by the words and actions of the hosts Telemakhos and Nestor.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first words the reader hears from young Telemakhos are those of greeting to an unknown visitor.   Seating the stranger in an elaborate throne to one side, providing finely worked implements, and acquiring generous portions of food and drink, Telemakhos displays the very soul of hospitality.   Why?   The poet states in Book 1, line 167 â€Å"†¦he wished privacy to ask for news/about his father, gone for years.†Ã‚   The island of Ithaka and indeed the whole of Greece were composed of isolated pockets of civilization.   Travel on the unpredictable sea and over the mainland’s mountainous terrain was no easy feat;   therefore news of the world by any means, even at the mouth of strangers, was welcomed and well-rewarded with hospitality.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nestor’s case is somewhat more entertaining.   Arriving amidst a sacrificial feast to the god Posidon, Telemakhos and Athena-as-Mentor are greeted by a crowd of celebrants and invited by one son of Nestor to recline in comfort close to the lord himself, honored further by being given the opportunity to make libations to the sea god from a precious golden cup.   Did Nestor believe these two were emissaries of or one even the great earth shaker himself?   Probably not, but one can never be too certain in a society in which Gods are purported to walk among men.   Greek culture of the time relied heavily on divination and searched constantly for omens as seen in the repeated motif of â€Å"bird signs.†Ã‚   The auspicious arrival of the pair likely suggested something of importance to the aged lord.   As it happens, Poseidon was â€Å"far off among the sunburnt races† being â€Å"regaled by smoke of thighbones burning† at the mome nt and Nestor had to make due with a disguised, grey-eyed goddess of wisdom and war (Book 1, lines 36 and 39).   Perhaps such cases of visiting deities were not as common in Homer’s Ionian Asia-Monor;   however, there are numerous tales of prominent dignitaries, often viewed with god-like awe, traveling incognito.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Leadership Qualities of Martin Luther King

I. IntroductionMartin Luther King Jr. was a United States clergyman and civil rights leader. King became the nation’s most prominent spokesman for equal justice for black Americans. He was a charismatic leader and an eloquent speaker, who preached nonviolent resistance to unjust laws and practices, a tactic he adopted from Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi. His civil rights efforts helped to bring about passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. In 1983, the U.S. Congress voted to make his birthday, January 15, a national holiday (celebrated on the third Monday of the month).King began his involvement in the modern civil rights movement in 1955 with leadership of the Montgomery (Alabama) bus boycott, which ended segregated seating on that city’s public buses. He then urged black Americans to follow the Montgomery example and win their rights through nonviolent protest. As head of the Southern C hristian Leadership Conference, which he helped to found in 1957, King led demonstrations, marches, sit-ins, and boycotts in many cities in both the South and the North, often meeting hostility and sometimes violence (Haskins, 2000). He was jailed several times in the South for his activities. In 1967, he also became a leader of the peace movement, seeking an end to the Vietnamese War.This paper scrutinizes the leadership qualities of Martin Luther King.II. BackgroundA. EARLY LIFEMartin Luther King was born in Atlanta, the capital of the US state of Georgia, on January 15, 1929. His father, also called Martin, was a minister of the Christian religion and he passed on his faith to his son.When Martin was very young, his family was able to protect him from the injustices that black people suffered on a daily basis. Later, as he grew older, he realized the truth. His first school was for black children only, and in the streets and shops of Atlanta, all black people were treated as seco nd-class citizens (Lincoln, 2000).B. A COLLEGE EDUCATIONMartin Luther King was an excellent pupil, and at 15 years old he moved on to Morehouse College in Atlanta. There he decided that he wanted to be a preacher like his father. In 1948 he took up a place at Crozer Seminary in the state of Pennsylvania, far to the north.While at Crozer, Martin became interested in the ideas of the Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi. In particular, he began to share Gandhi’s view that people should not use violence to fight injustice. Martin also met Coretta Scott, a black woman from the Southern state of Alabama. The couple married in 1953, after Martin had left the seminary to study for a postgraduate degree at Boston University in Massachusetts (Haskins, 2000).III. DiscussionA. THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTTIn May 1954, Martin became preacher at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, and moved to the city with his wife. In the same year, the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated educ ation was wrong. This was a great leap forward for black civil rights, but it was only the beginning.In Martin’s new home of Montgomery, all the buses had separate seats for black and white people. If there were no free seats when a white person got on a bus, the law said that a black person had to give up his or her seat. On December 1, 1955, a black passenger called Rosa Parks refused to stand up so that a white man could sit down. She was quickly arrested (Oates, 2002).Martin and other local black leaders were angry at this injustice, so organized a bus boycott. They asked all the black people of Montgomery to stop traveling by bus and, for over a year, most did. Finally, on December 20, 1956, the US Supreme Court ruled that the bus segregation laws were against the constitution and so illegal.B. ORGANIZING THE FIGHTIn 1957, Martin Luther King and other leaders set up an organization called the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Its main aims were to end segr egation, and to make it easier for black people to vote. The Constitution of the United States gave them this right, but the governments of many individual states, especially in the South, tried to stop them from voting. Over the next few years, Martin organized many strikes, marches and other protests. At the same time, he enjoyed a happy family life and by 1963 he had four children (Oates, 2002).C. A NEW ROLE?Martin did not give up his work. Instead, he began to think more about the injustice faced by black people in the northern states of the United States, and by other groups of people across the country, particularly the poor of all races. He also began to campaign against the war the Americans were fighting in Vietnam. Martin’s last great plan was to lead a Poor People’s March to Washington, D.C. On April 4, 1968, while he was visiting the city of Memphis in Tennessee, he was shot dead by an escaped criminal called James Earl Ray. Four days later, he was buried i n Atlanta, Georgia (Lincoln, 2000).IV. ConclusionMartin Luther King Jr. has left a very notable reputation that even his own race cannot compare with his notable record as a man who brought changed in America’s society.  Ã‚   Martin Luther King, Jr. has truly contributed to the history of United States of America. His upright deeds will not be forgotten for every individual especially for those who experienced racism. He was a type of a leader that was able to lead a mass writhe for racial equality that doomed separation and brought changed to the United States of America. His assassination was not the end of the â€Å"black people society† to keep fighting for their rights but it was only the beginning that motivated their hearts to continue fighting for its principles and rights.Reference:1. Haskins, J. The Life and Death of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Lothrop, Lee & Shephard, 2000).2. Lincoln, C.E. Martin Luther King, Jr.: a Profile (Hill & Wang, 2000).3. Oates, S.B. Let the Trumpet Sound: the Life of Martin Luhter King, Jr. (Harper & Row, 2002).

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Gerry Conway – American Entrepreneur

Gerry Conway was the classic American entrepreneur – visionary, charismatic, driven, impatient, and impending. Born in Cleveland in 1931, Conway was the ninth of 13 children. His love of the retail environment, his strong interdependence, and his deep appreciation of people appreciation of people stemmed from his childhood experience: claiming that he has been in retail for over 60 years, working at some of his fathers 200 food stores. After college, Conway and his wife, Marty, returned to Cleveland. He began working for an industrial firm and quickly learned that, while sales attracted him, working in a large corporation did not.After working at some small firms, Conway decided to found his own company, Gerald A. Conway & Associates, being display-printing broker. One day, a colleague suggested that he sell the plastic parts that retailers used to display signs as part of his printing broker business. The advantage of selling accessories was that he could sell the same produc t to many companies simultaneously, which was not possible in display printing, for which each printing job was customized. An early product idea was the Arrowhead fastener, which was designed to hold coupons and signs on store shelves.It was a best seller from the start. During this time though, Conway had struggles with alcohol, stating that it was a problem, but through a self-help program he chose sobriety and regained focus in his life. The following year, his first year sober, his income shot up by about 35 percent-a direct correlation. He celebrated the event saying that was a significant event in the business and for his family. In the mid 1970s, now sober, Gerald Conway and Associates was renamed Fasteners for Retail (FFr) to acknowledge its exclusive focus on display accessories and fasteners within the point-of-purchase industry.The P-O-P product includes signs, displays, devices, and structures that are used to merchandise services or products in retail stores. The acces sory hardware segment was highly fragmented. No single supplier had more than 10 percent of the sub supplier market, and many competed in only a few product categories. FFr was the largest company in this niche, with a market share of approximately 7. 5 percent. The company distinguished itself from its competitors in several important ways. It offered a broad and innovative product line, free samples, quick turnaround on orders, and a liberal sales return policy.The willingness to emphasize new products also became a defining characteristic for the business. While the company’s early expansion began with imported Swedish design accessories, the product line grew because of Conway’s creativity and dissatisfaction with status quo. Two products in particular, the Shipflat literature holder and SuperGrip sign holders, were critical to FFr’s success in the early 1980’s. In the 1980s, FFr grew consistently and at a steady pace, having five employees and sales of $3 million. As stated above, business began to boom as a result of a expanding product line and larger sales force.The company grew steadily, adding employees in accounting, customer service, product design, and marketing. Its opportunistic philosophy supported the company’s growth. The business was always profitable, there was no debt, and the company never got tied up in long-term commitments. Production and most warehousing were subcontracted, and office space was leased. The company made quick decisions, and arrangements with vendors were frequently based on handshakes. The flipside of FFr’s opportunism and speed was that it lacked a business plan and strategic discipline.To keep the company growing, Conway realized that he needed to hire a president with managerial expertise. Although he understood the value of management, he was an entrepreneur, not a traditional manager. The company went through several presidents. FFr, for a time, was a company with an organ izational chart but not a lot of organization. That changed in the late 1990’s. In the early 1990’s, Conway and his wife, Marty, joined Case Western Reserve University’s Partnership for Family Business. This led to Conway realizing the importance for such things as an advisory board, which was made up of four independent current and former company CEOs.It also led Conway to begin thinking of the furture of the company, and the possibility of passing it down to one of his sons. Family involvement in the company began in the 1970s, when the Conway children earned extra money by putting adhesive on the back of Arrowhead fasteners. They had all done odd jobs for FFr, but of the seven children only three worked in the business as adults. Kevin, the eldest, joined in the early 1980s and became an outstanding salesman, Paul, the youngest, eventually became the international sales manager, and Neil, the fourth son, was diagnosed with schizophrenia in college and found w ork in the warehouse.Out of the three sons, Paul was seen as the most serious contender, but after some time in the company and deliberation, he decided that being CEO was not for him and went on to become a teacher. Now Gerry was left with a huge predicament. Kevin was out of the picture, his son Stuart had, long ago; decided that he didn’t want the responsibility. None of the kids were interested. Gerry’s problem was not only his lack of succession planning, but also his lack of retirement planning. He had done some retirement planning but the demands of running a business didn’t leave him time to establish an actual plan.So where does this leave Gerry, his company, and his family’s future? (Source: Poza PG 141-155) My first step of advice for Mr. Conway would be to take step a back. Even though he is experiencing a very rough time right now with his succession planning, it is very important to note what he has done for the company and his family. He ha s managed to start up a successful business in which his family is involved and with net sales in the millions. He also made sure that he set up certain things like an advisory board for the company, which was made up of his son, brother, and two independent CEO owners.He and his wife also made family meetings a regular event for everyone to gather at. They even went so far to go over their estate plan to make sure that their children gained a substantial amount of value from FFr over their lifetime. These are all great things that Gerry and Marty did for the family business and they should be recognized. After taking some time to admire their contributions to the company, its time to move on to the next step and tackle the problems head on. Gerry needs someone to take over the company, and his kids were not an option.After reading the case several times though, I determined that there was someone that Gerry could entrust with the company, his chief advisor and wife Marty. Marty pla yed a very pivotal role in the company, being a person who signed the checks and overlooked the company’s finances. She also had a public role at company functions and was a people booster. She played a more significant role behind the scenes, supporting Gerry as he considered important business changes, such as handling over administrative reins or making personal changes.Both family members and outsiders described Marty as the glue that worked behind the scenes to hold the family together through the predictable challenges that families who work together faced. (Source Poza PG 154) Marty seems more than qualified to take control of business, which would also give Gerry time to iron out his retirement plan. This would also give Gerry the opportunity to have another talk with his son Paul about running the company. The text states that Gerry was a loner in the way that he ran his business.Paul may not have realized that he could do the job differently- probably in a more dece ntralized and collaborative way. (Source: Poza PG 154) I feel that it is crucial that Gerry makes Paul realize that if he decided to be CEO he can take a different approach to running the company, his own. He could run the company and instill the values that he thinks is important into it. After realizing this and the possible opportunity that he his passing up, not only for himself but also his future family, he will have to at least reconsider his father’s offer and most likely come back to work for the company.If this still does not work, Gerry is left with the option of finding someone else in the family to run the company, find a trusted family friend to run the company, or sell it all together. In conclusion, Gerry Conway has managed to take his company Fasteners for Retail and turn it into a huge family company. He had been with so much with the company and realized that it was coming to the time to pass it on. He tried passing it on to his children, but he failed in a ll his attempts. Now left with little time and money, Gerry needed someone to run his company. I felt that the answer came in his wife, Marty.She was his chief advisor at the company and new how to read all the financial data associated with it. Family members and outsiders alike referred to her as the glue that held the company together. With her running the company, it would allow for Gerry to manage all his retirement issues and give his talk with son Paul another shot. After making Paul realize the opportunities that he is passing up, I am sure he will come back to the company and began work. References Poza, Ernesto J. , 2007. Famly Business Third Edition. South Western Cengage Learning 5191 Natorp Boulevard. Mason, Ohio 45040, USA.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Sinking of the Lusitania - World War I

Sinking of the Lusitania - World War I Sinking of the Lusitania - Conflict Dates: RMS Lusitania was torpedoed on May 7, 1915, during World War I (1914-1918). Sinking of the Lusitania - Background: Launched in 1906, by John Brown Co. Ltd. of Clydebank, RMS Lusitania was a luxury liner built for the famed Cunard Line. Sailing on the trans-Atlantic route, the ship gained a reputation for speed and won the Blue Riband for the fastest eastbound crossing in October 1907. As with many ships of its type, Lusitania was partially funded by a government subsidy scheme which called for the ship to be converted for use as an armed cruiser during wartime. While the structural requirements for such a conversion were incorporated into Lusitanias design, gun mounts were added to the ships bow during an overhaul in 1913. To hide these from passengers, the mounts were covered with coils of heavy docking lines during voyages. With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Cunard was permitted to retain Lusitania in commercial service as the Royal Navy decided that large liners consumed too much coal and required crews too large to be effective raiders. Other Cunard ships were not as lucky as Mauritania and Aquitania were drafted into military service. Though it remained in passenger service, Lusitania underwent several wartime modifications including the addition of several additional compass platforms and cranes, as well as the painting black of its distinctive red funnels. In an effort to reduce costs, Lusitania began operating on a monthly sailing schedule and Boiler Room #4 was shut down. This latter move reduced the ships top speed to around 21 knots, which still made it the fastest liner operating in the Atlantic. It also allowed Lusitania to be ten knots faster than German u-boats. Sinking of Lusitania - Warnings: On February 4, 1915, the German government declared the seas around the British Isles to be a war zone and that beginning February 18, Allied ships in the area would be sunk without warning. As Lusitania was scheduled to reach Liverpool on March 6, the Admiralty provided Captain Daniel Dow with instructions on how to avoid submarines. With the liner approaching, two destroyers were dispatched to escort Lusitania into port. Unsure whether the approaching warships were British or German, Dow eluded them and reached Liverpool on his own. The following month, Lusitania departed for New York on April 17, with Captain William Thomas Turner in command. The commodore of the Cunard fleet, Turner was an experienced mariner and reached New York on the 24th. During this time, several concerned German-American citizens approached the German embassy in an effort to avoid controversy should the liner be attacked by a u-boat. Taking their concerns to heart, the embassy placed ads in fifty American newspapers on April 22 warning that neutral travelers aboard British-flagged vessels en route to the war zone sailed at their own risk. Usually printed next to Lusitanias sailing announcement, the German warning caused some agitation in the press and concern among the ships passengers. Citing that the ships speed made it nearly invulnerable to attack, Turner and his officers worked to calm those aboard. Sailing on May 1 as scheduled, Lusitania departed Pier 54 and began its return voyage. While the liner was crossing the Atlantic, U-20, commanded by Captain Lieutenant Walther Schwieger, was operating off the west and south coasts of Ireland. Between May 5 and 6, Schwieger sank three merchant vessels. Sinking of the Lusitania - Loss: His activity led the Admiralty, who was tracking his movements via intercepts, to issue submarine warnings for the south coast of Ireland. Turner twice received this message on May 6 and took several precautions including closing watertight doors, swinging out the lifeboats, doubling the lookouts, and blacking out the ship. Trusting the ships speed, he did not begin following a zi-zag course as recommended by the Admiralty. Upon receiving another warning around 11:00 AM on May 7, he turned northeast towards the coast, incorrectly believing that submarines would likely keep to the open sea. Possessing only three torpedoes and low on fuel, Schwieger had decided to return to base when a vessel was spotted around 1:00 PM. Diving, U-20 moved to investigate. Encountering fog, Turner slowed to 18 knots as the liner steered for Queenstown (Cosh), Ireland. As Lusitania crossed his bow, Schwieger opened fire at 2:10 PM. His torpedo hit the liner below the bridge on the starboard side. It was quickly followed by a second explosion in the starboard bow. While many theories have been put forward, the second was most likely caused by an internal steam explosion. Immediately sending an SOS, Turner tried steering the ship towards the coast with the goal of beaching it, but the steering failed to respond. Listing at 15 degrees, the engines pushed the ship forward, driving more water into the hull. Six minutes after the hit, the bow slipped under the water, which along with the increasingly list, severely hampered efforts to launch the lifeboats. As chaos swept the liners decks, many lifeboats were lost due to the ships speed or spilled their passengers as they were lowered. Around 2:28, eighteen minutes after the torpedo hit, Lusitania slipped beneath the waves approximately eight miles off the Old Head of Kinsale. Sinking of the Lusitania - Aftermath: The sinking claimed the lives of 1,198 of Lusitanias passengers and crew, with only 761 surviving. Among the dead were 128 American citizens. Immediately inciting international outrage, the sinking quickly turned public opinion against Germany and its allies. The German government attempted to justify the sinking by stating that Lusitania was classified as an auxiliary cruiser and was carrying military cargo. They were technically correct on both counts, as Lusitania was under orders to ram u-boats and its cargo included a shipment of bullets, 3-inch shells, and fuses. Outraged at the death of American citizens, many in the United States called for President Woodrow Wilson to declare war on Germany. While encouraged by the British, Wilson refused and urged restraint. Issuing three diplomatic notes in May, June, and July, Wilson affirmed the rights of US citizens to travel safely at sea and warned that future sinkings would be viewed as deliberately unfriendly. Following the sinking of the liner SS Arabic in August, American pressure bore fruit as the Germans offered an indemnity and issued orders prohibiting their commanders from surprise attacks on merchant vessels. That September, the Germans halted their campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare. Its resumption, along with other provocative acts such as the Zimmermann Telegram, would ultimately pull the United States into the conflict. Selected Sources PBS: Lost Liners - LusitaniaFirst World War: Sinking of the LusitaniaThe Lusitania

Monday, October 21, 2019

Copyright and Democracy

Copyright and Democracy Chapter four of Neil Weinstock Netanel’s essay discusses the democratic paradigm of copyright and democracy. Netanel attempts to find the link between democratic governance and civil society. The first part of the chapter discusses the role of civil society and its association with democratic governance. Shared purposes and norms identify various civil societies. Civil society plays an active role in bolstering democratic governance.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Copyright and Democracy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Civil societies are participatory. They help in fostering a democratic culture. In addition, civil societies provide avenues for self-rule that are outside the control of the government. Civil societies facilitate debate and determination of various policies and social norms. However, civil societies are not completely autonomous. Government intervention helps in sustaining the acti vities of civil societies. In addition, government intervention ensures that civil societies engage in activities that provide opportunities for democratic governance. The market may be a barrier to the advancement of the democratic character of civil societies. It may facilitate the development of disparities of power. In addition, it may provide people with uneven opportunities to engage in civil life. However, the market may also play a critical role in enhancing democratic governance. It may facilitate the development of centers of power that are not under the control of the government. This helps in reducing citizen’s dependency on the state. It is a fact that democratic governance should also be a critical component of the governance of civil societies. It would be contradictory to claim that civil societies foster democratic governance when it is clear that they do not have democratic governance in their management. The author did not provide insights on civil societie s and democratic governance using this perspective. The government uses copyright as a tool that enables government institutions to support democratic civil societies. Copyright’s production and structural functions help in supporting a democratic civil society. Copyright laws have various incentives that encourage free communication. Electronic communication is one of the fastest developing communication mediums. It facilitates the broadcast, distribution, and transmission of millions of works of original authors. Democracy enables people who have high rhetorical skills to acquire the greatest share of political power. Therefore, free communication is an essential component of a democratic culture. In some instances, free communication may violate copyright laws. The author did not explain how free communication may pose a serious threat to copyright.Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 1 5% OFF Learn More Copyright enables authors to have a proprietary entitlement to their works. This facilitates the development of an autonomous sector that encourages the formation and distribution of novel expressions. Copyright enables creators and publishers of the novel expressions to earn financial support for their undertakings in the sector. This enables them to cease from depending on the government or the assistance of the elite. The paying audience is the source of funds. Copyright imposes certain restrictions on the exclusive control of cultural works. This enables the government to diversify the communicative power structures without unwarranted interference on the expressive content. However, the restrictions of copyright law do not provide a neutral endpoint. The endpoint of copyright law may signify the beginning of another proprietary right. Therefore, the restrictions may portray the ability of copyrights to enhance democracy. They enhance the democr atic notion that expressions and ideas should be free for all people. The limits on the duration and scope of copyrights act as a boundary on the private control of publicly distributed expressions.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Eotyrannus - Facts and Figures

Eotyrannus - Facts and Figures Name: Eotyrannus (Greek for dawn tyrant); pronounced EE-oh-tih-RAN-us Habitat: Woodlands of Western Europe Historical Period: Early Cretaceous (125-120 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 15 feet long and 300-500 pounds Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; relatively long arms with grasping hands About Eotyrannus The tiny tyrannosaur Eotyrannus lived during the early Cretaceous period, about 50 million years before more famous relatives like Tyrannosaurus Rexand, following a common theme in evolution, this dinosaur was much smaller than its giant descendant (the same way the first, mouse-sized mammals of the Mesozoic Era were much smaller than the whales and elephants that evolved from them). In fact, the 300- to 500-pound Eotyrannus was so slender and wiry, with relatively long arms and legs and grasping hands, that to the untrained eye it might look more like a raptor; the giveaway is the lack of single, giant claws on each of its hind feet, as sported by the likes of Velociraptor and Deinonychus. (One paleontologist speculates that Eoraptor was actually a non-tyrannosaur theropod closely related to Megaraptor, but this idea is still being digested by the scientific community.) One of the most remarkable things about Eotyrannus is that its remains were discovered on Englands Isle of Wightwestern Europe isnt exactly famous for its tyrannosaurs! From an evolutionary point of view, however, this makes sense: we know that the earliest tyrannosaurs (like the 25-pound, feathered Dilong) lived a few million years before Eotyrannus in eastern Asia, while the largest tyrannosaurs (like the multi-ton T. Rex and Albertosaurus) were indigenous to late Cretaceous North America. One possible scenario is that the very first tyrannosaurs migrated west from Asia, quickly evolving to Eotyrannus-like sizes, and then reached the culmination of their development in North America. (A similar pattern held with horned, frilled dinosaurs, the tiny progenitors of which originated in Asia and then made their way westwards to North America, spawning multi-ton genera like Triceratops.)

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Putting In the Hours Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Putting In the Hours - Essay Example The reader is likely to be hooked into reading this article because it gives insight into certain things that are often overlooked by many people when they look at the work of the professors. The author is an expert in this field because he vividly describes different types of professors and how they schedule their office hours when they are not delivering lectures in classrooms. The author’s main idea in this particular article is that work schedules for the professors depend on how they wish to spend their office hours in a productive manner. Some prefer to schedule their office hours early in the morning while others like to use their time during the day. Different professors display attitudes that differ from person to person depending on how they wish to conduct their office business. The author’s main purpose of writing is to enlighten the readers about different types of professors found in North America. He wishes to emphasize the point that a work schedule is e ssential when one is to successfully carry out tasks related to teaching and dealing with students during office hours. It may not be possible to simply approach the professor during his office hour since he or she may be somehow committed with other tasks. The author tries to portray a professor in North America as someone operates according to a schedule which ought to be maintained in order for him or her to achieve the desired goals. The author uses descriptive vocabulary in the article and the tone is intended to compel the readers to share the same ideas and opinions with him. For instance, the author describes different types of professors using descriptive terms and these make it quite simple for the reader to imagine what he is trying to say. Lang (207) describes the professor who prefers to use their office hours in consultation with the students as â€Å"Early bird† while those who do not want to be disturbed as â€Å"Door closer.† This type of vocabulary ma kes the reader imagine how this person looks like and the way he or she is likely to behave. Some of the terms used to describe the different types of professors by the author are self explanatory and they are quite simple to understand. For example, the Early bird derives from the adage: â€Å"The early bird catches a fat worm.† This implies that he who performs his work early is likely to achieve the desired goals on time. On the other hand, Lang (208) uses the phrase, â€Å"Door closer† to describe a person who closes the door when he or she does not want to be disturbed. Through this phrase, the reader is compelled to imagine the behaviour of such kind of person and how she or he is likely to impact on the students’ perception about them. The author’s presentation is valid in the sense that he uses information that was derived using the observation method. This method is reliable in that first hand information is obtained when one observes the action of a particular person. Lang (207) says, â€Å"Working our way up and down the halls of one faculty office building, checking out the office hour schedules posted below the nameplates and observing the work and leisure of these specimens...† and this statement reveals that the article is based on real observation of how the professors schedule their work. In presenting his argument, the author tries to convince the reader that this article is

Friday, October 18, 2019

Contemporary Entrepreneurial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contemporary Entrepreneurial - Essay Example Information was also sourced from reliable online sources such as newspaper articles of major media houses such as CNN, and reports posted on websites of international financial and economic organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation-operation and Development. These online reports were used because they obtain their information from official government sources and thus this information is valid. In addition, online articles of peer-reviewed economic and business journals were used because in some, cases hard copies were not available. The Greek small and medium enterprise (SME) sector plays a very crucial role in the country’s economic development. The SME sector employs the majority of Greece’s labor force and accounts for two thirds of the non-primary sector sales volume. The SME sector has particularly been important in the wake of the debt and economic crises that have been facing Greece for a couple of years now. As numerous companies went bankrupt and retrenched thousands of workers, the SME sector proved to be a valuable source of employment as it absorbed many of the employees who lost their jobs (Markatou, 2012, 56 – 65). Although many SMEs also went bankrupt because of the crisis, majority of them survived, and many start-ups are still coming up as a result of entrepreneurship driven by innovation. The general decrease in demand for goods due to falling income levels led to fierce competition among SMEs forcing businesses to initiate value-driven innovations in a bid to obtain an ed ge over competitors. Through the PESTLE analysis, this report evaluated the competitiveness of Greek SMEs by analyzing the factors that affect the ability of businesses to become or remain competitive. Factors that this report analyzes are the PESTLE factors which include political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors. The political factors that affect the ability of

PUBLIC RELATIONS APPROACH TO UTILITIES TO WIN MONDALE 2022 Essay

PUBLIC RELATIONS APPROACH TO UTILITIES TO WIN MONDALE 2022 - Essay Example Public relations deals with people, organizations and companies. Public relations includes activities like giving holding press conferences, speaking in various fora and communicating with employees in the company. The role of public relations is to create awareness and a positive public image (Rubel 2007, p10). Public relations helps in deciding what information will reach the employees, and how it will reach them so that the company’s image is maintained. Stockholders, potential investors and other interested people would be interested in a company’s financial information all of which is availed by public relations. Crises such as bankruptcy and product failures in any business are communicated using the same means. It is in the interest of public relations to make sure that the community is aware of anything going on around them and how it will affect them. It is quite clear that this is the epitome of awareness and communication in any field. It has been seen that public relations companies in Qatar use the available utilities in order to win Mondale 2022. There are many ways with which this is done among them press releases, blogs and media. The most modern means of doing this include the use of the four models of public relations suggested by James Grunig. At this point however, it should be noted that the perception of public relations in Qatar is very different from that applied in other countries. Before any operations are done in this field, companies have the role of understanding the way people view public relations as a whole. Because the targeted population in most cases is not a single entity or tribe, it is important to put all their needs together. This is one of the factors that make public relations a very complicated sector in this growing economy. Qatar is a conservative country whose economic growth is described as astounding with one of the highest growing gross domestic products (GDP) in the world. In 2010, the

Managing operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing operations - Essay Example The notion includes the process of delivering the services to the customers with the products. With the changing time the aspects covered are increasing, the process now also includes R&D, value creation, marketing management, sales activities, accounting and finance. Most of the physical assets remain unchanged. These include buildings, land, manufacturing plants, warehouses etc. Planning, operating and controlling are the important constituents of transformation process. The improvement in the system is also an important aim of the model. Outputs consist of products and services and may even be information, such as that provided by a consulting organisation. (Koontz and Weihrich, 1994; p 633, 634) Time network analysis is a logical extension of the famous Gantt chart. Often referred to as the program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) an in its essentials as the Critical Path Method (CPM), this technique of planning and control has wide potential use in many applications. But PERT and its various refinements, like PERT/COST, have considerable potential for use in many aspects of planning and controlling operations. (Koontz and Weihrich, 1994; p.648) A product can be improved and its cost lowered through value engineering, which consists of analysing the operations of the product or service, estimating the value of each operation, and attempting to improve that operation by trying to keep costs low at each step or part. The following specific steps are suggested: Work methods can be improved through work simplification, which is the process of obtaining the participation of workers in simplifying their work. Training sessions are conducted to teach concepts and principles of techniques such as time and motion studies, workflow analyses, and the layout of the work situation. (Koontz and Weihrich, 1994; p.648) A quality control circle, or simply quality circle (QC); is a group of people from the same organisational area who meet regularly

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Implementing Strategy and Leadership Ethics Assignment

Implementing Strategy and Leadership Ethics - Assignment Example Culture is considered as a core element in the overall vision of any organization (Schein, 2010). The first way of embedding culture into the organization is through avoiding cultural drift. Even though it is easier to follow some cultural practices, there is a tendency of ignoring them with time. A drift comes in and the main culture is supported by several gestures. There is a tendency to overlook the important cultures of the organization. Therefore, leadership should recognized and reward those who are consistent with following the core organization’s culture. In talking about organizational midlife, it means that the organizations have been in existence for a period of between 35 to 75 years. Such organizations are complex in terms or character of the employees and a fascinating folklore. They tend to be a bit resistant to change than the younger entities. Things tend to be more stabilized for these types of organizations and they have their own way of carrying out their daily duties. Additionally, they have a culture that drives their success or failure in all their initiatives. This type of organizational soul-searching in most cases is triggered by a number of factors (Schein, 2010). Ethical leadership basically needs ethical leaders. If an organization has ethical leaders, they will find it easy to ensure ethical practices are followed in the organization, right from the management to the subordinates. Naturally, leaders are in a position of power, either on or off-duty. Therefore, ethical leadership focuses on how leaders leverage their power in the decisions they make and ways they influence others (Schein, 2010). By demonstrating ethics in leadership, leaders promote a high level of integrity. The integrity they promote stimulates trustworthiness and equally encourages the subordinates to accept and follow the organization’s vision. Basically, integrity and character

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

News Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

News - Research Paper Example While marketing to teenagers has been predominant, reporting of marketing practices via social media has substantially exacerbated in today’s world. Social media has provided business enterprises with a platform where they can directly interact with potential consumers, and subsequently lure them into buying. As a result, social media has redesigned the mode of doing business for many enterprises. Businesses identify their targets and implement strategies to influence these targets. In so doing, a relationship is established based on how convinced the targets are. For instance, marketing that targets teenagers has been reported to assess and evaluate the factors that influence teenage buying behaviors (Bax, 2012). Social media has emerged as a substantial influencing factor in determining teenage consumption trends for differentiated products and services, ranging from edibles to clothing or even luxury

Implementing Strategy and Leadership Ethics Assignment

Implementing Strategy and Leadership Ethics - Assignment Example Culture is considered as a core element in the overall vision of any organization (Schein, 2010). The first way of embedding culture into the organization is through avoiding cultural drift. Even though it is easier to follow some cultural practices, there is a tendency of ignoring them with time. A drift comes in and the main culture is supported by several gestures. There is a tendency to overlook the important cultures of the organization. Therefore, leadership should recognized and reward those who are consistent with following the core organization’s culture. In talking about organizational midlife, it means that the organizations have been in existence for a period of between 35 to 75 years. Such organizations are complex in terms or character of the employees and a fascinating folklore. They tend to be a bit resistant to change than the younger entities. Things tend to be more stabilized for these types of organizations and they have their own way of carrying out their daily duties. Additionally, they have a culture that drives their success or failure in all their initiatives. This type of organizational soul-searching in most cases is triggered by a number of factors (Schein, 2010). Ethical leadership basically needs ethical leaders. If an organization has ethical leaders, they will find it easy to ensure ethical practices are followed in the organization, right from the management to the subordinates. Naturally, leaders are in a position of power, either on or off-duty. Therefore, ethical leadership focuses on how leaders leverage their power in the decisions they make and ways they influence others (Schein, 2010). By demonstrating ethics in leadership, leaders promote a high level of integrity. The integrity they promote stimulates trustworthiness and equally encourages the subordinates to accept and follow the organization’s vision. Basically, integrity and character

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Positive and Negative Effects of Technology Essay Example for Free

The Positive and Negative Effects of Technology Essay The use of technology has both positive and negative consequences. It is amazing how someone can find a long-lost friend through a social networking site, enabling them to reconnect. In a society where people have become quite mobile and family and friends are often geographically separated, it is convenient to keep in touch through technology. The positive side of technology is that you can use social networking to stay in touch with friends and family. Mobile phones are convenient for calling and texting those close to you as well as a useful tool for some online schools, playing games, taking and sharing pictures, searching the internet, accessing email and using your calendar to set appointments, reminders or events coming up. Some people believe that technology has a negative impact on others. One, social networking sites can be distracting, and could cause anxiety for the drama that is posted. Two, people use their mobile phones by texting others during working hours and get on the internet that is not related to their jobs and could be fired. Three, some parents and teachers think watching television can influence a child in a bad way which may cause their behavior to change. And finally, gaming presents linking to poor social skills and behavior.It is apparent that technology has the potential to harm or enhance your social skills and social life. In conclusion, technology today has come a long way. I believe, if used correctly, children and teens are monitored regularly, techonology can be very useful, entertaining and educational. The key is to analyze how technology affects you.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Necessity of Parental Spiritual Leadership

Necessity of Parental Spiritual Leadership In this paper, I will show why I believe the parents are to be the primary spiritual caregivers of their children. I believe that there is more than just personal preference deciding who should train children spiritually. This has been a topic of much discussion and one that needs to be brought to the attention of parents. Parents in North America have largely left the spiritual raising of their children up to the church. This is why there are many children and family pastors. I believe that the churchs role is to support the parents in raising children spiritually. It would help to begin by defining some terms. When talking about spiritual leadership, what then is meant? Spiritual leadership is quite simply leadership that is spiritual. Leadership is the act of leading a group of people. This can be by taking somebody from one place and moving them to another by being an example and correcting should the need arise. Spiritual leadership takes the idea of leadership one step further by making it about leading somebody spiritually. What then isÂÂ   meant by spiritual in spiritual leadership?ÂÂ   Spiritual pertains to the realm of religion. In this paper, spiritual will refer to the leading and following of Jesus Christ. Now that spiritual leadership has been defined who can be spiritual leaders? Spiritual leaders can be anybody who is farther along on the faith journey than the one theyre leading. This might include pastors, teachers, leaders, parents, older siblings, or older individuals in the church. In some cases, the spiritual lead er is younger than whom he is leading. Why do children need spiritual leadership? George Barna in his book on transforming children[K1], says that in order to have a proper relationship with God, children must be taught to obey Him.[1] Children need someone to guide them along this journey of life to becoming more like Christ. They need someone to teach them the things of God. They will not and cannot do that on their own. They are in dire need of someone to guide them who is more spiritually mature than they are. What does spiritual leadership have to do with families? Moses wrote in Deuteronomy chapter 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.[2] These verses give a clear indication that children are to be taught the things of God by their parents. These words were spoken by Moses as a direct command from God. God was to be taught about by the parents all the time. There is a clear indication of this by the words when you sit, when you walk, when you lie down and when you rise up. One can infer that this is to be an every day, every week, every month, and every year occurrence. The Bible is clear where talks about parents teaching their children. Does spiritual leadership need to come from the family or can it come from somewhere else? The two locations that spiritual leadership can come from is the family or the church. The church is a great place for Spiritual leadership come from because of the amount of knowledge that most leaders in the church have. On the other hand, a family is also a great place for it to come from because; there is the sheer amount of time that they are with their children and the built in trust the children have for their parents. The question is, is the church and the family equal in terms of training or is one better than the other? When the church leads spiritually, there can be much benefit to the children. Reggie Joiner believes that, The church is a critical part of Gods divine strategy to demonstrate His redemptive story to the world.[3] Over the years, since its inception, the church has perfected the art of teaching. It has designed strategies to guide children into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The church has specific vacation strategies called VBS, Vacation Bible School, to get the gospel into the hearts of the boys and girls. Many boys and girls give their life to Christ at the VBS. These take place all around the world. George Barna said that, Most church-going parents are neither spiritually mature nor spiritually inclined and therefore they do not have the sense of urgency or necessity about raising their kids to be spiritual champions.[4] The church has picked up the slack of parents. This is why there are becoming more and more children and youth directors. Churches are realizing that parents are not doing their God-given responsibility to lead their children spiritually. Putting it quite simply when he said, while more than four out of five parents believe they have the primary responsibility for the moral and spiritual development of their children, more than two-thirds of them abdicate that responsibility to their church. Their virtual abandonment of spiritual leadership for their children is evident in how infrequently they engage in faith-oriented activities with their young ones.[5], George Barna identified the key problem in the lives of parents today. When children come to church they are taught by educators who have spent all week learning a lesson that they will teach to the children. This lesson has been specifically planned to aid in the spiritual development of the child.ÂÂ   The Sunday school teachers, many who have done this for many years, are teaching out of the experience and other things that they have learned. This teaching becomes concentrated in i ts Biblical content. A former childrens director Michelle Anthony stated what most workers in childrens ministry feel when she said, We desire that those in our care will have been spiritually formed by the time they leave our ministry.[6] It is this desire that drives the many childrens workers at churches around the world. All this so far seems well and good, but[K2] Barna figured out the problem with this church predominant teaching. He said, So, parents are happy, children receive some religious instruction and experiences, and the churches are serving people. This sounds like a wonderful win-win situation except for one issue: the approach is completely unbiblical.[7]ÂÂ   This leads to an improper view that the church should be the primary spiritual caregivers of children. They can have an influence, but[K3] should not be the primary. When parents make the decision to lead spiritually it can have the largest impact on their children.ÂÂ   Parents have the unique,opportunity to help them (kids) discover, access, and strengthen their (kids) trust and faith in Jesus Christ[8] as authors Powell and Clark correctly identified. Children are born into this world completely helpless. They cannot do anything on their own. As they begin to grow, they become attached to their parents. They look to the parents for guidance, support, and encouragement. Through this relationship that has been God-given, the parents can use this relationship to begin guiding their children to follow Jesus Christ. As George Barna specified, Spiritual development is a lifelong continual process. It is not to be practiced as a once a week routine[K4], but a 24/7 habit.[9] This is attainable by the parents and not the church. There are 168 hours in a week. 56 of those are designated as sleeping hours. Children spend approximately 40 hours in sch ool. This leaves 78 hours of the week that the children are neither sleeping nor at school. These 78 hours can be intentional hours that parents can use to guide their children spiritually. The church only gets probably 1 to 2 hours a week of spiritual influence over the children. Powell and Clark also stated so well that parents, model an unconditional, nonjudgmental, and ever embracing love in which our kids can do nothing that jeopardizes or even lessen that love.[10] Through this parents can show pragmatically to their children that nothing can drive the kids out of the family. The parents are modeling the same that is true in Gods family. Once they are a part of Gods family, nothing they can do is able to snatch them out of the Fathers hand.[11] Parents must not wait until children are in school to begin the spiritual training of their children. They can begin as early as when they bring them home from the hospital. By simply singing the song Jesus Loves Me, parents can begin the spiritual training of their children. This song speaks great theological truths. Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. The children can know first off that Jesus loves them. Second, they can learn to trust the Bible. It is the Bible that accurately tells them the truth that Jesus loves them.ÂÂ   The parents are teaching[K5] though the song even before the child can speak. Children can know these truths from a very young age and all it begins with is the parent singing the song to them and they are imparting deep theological truth. The authors of Losing Your Marbles plainly state, If kids dont feel loved when theyre young, they may never love themselves in a healthy way.[12] This is very easily done by parents who can model the u nconditional love that God has for us. Parents can teach their children the love of the Father with the love that they have for their kids. It is kind of ironic that God describes himself as a Father. That is what sets parenting apart from anything else. God has allowed parents to take those young individuals and be able to mold them in accordance with His Word. Jesus welcomed the little children onto His knee. He still wants kids to be with him. In their book Sticky Faith Drs. Powell and Clark say that when kids come to the conclusion through failure or pain that theyre not in control of their faith and they lose interest in their faith, they are going to set that faith aside. Parents must help the kids discover the faith that doesnt fade by staying true to the words of Jesus. They wrote the children need to learn to trust in the one the Father has sent and live convinced that the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.[13] Again, Michelle Anthony brought the important truth out when she said, As ministers of Christ, I believe our job is to simply hoist our sail far and as wide as we can and catch the wind of God. That sail is important, but not as important as the wind.[14] As parents deal with children day after day they will be able to see these areas where the Holy Spirit is moving and use that prompting to speak the truth of God into the kids lives. Even a simple thing like walking down the stree t, there are areas that parents can use to teach about Gods greatness. As the children hear about news articles, parents can use that as a jumping point to speak the truth. As the parents listen for Gods direction, they will be able to use random things that can happen every single day as teaching points. Its no accident that God directly told the parents in Deuteronomy to teach the things of God, when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.[15] These words are very strong proof that it must be the parents that lead spiritually. The church is simply not in the kids lives often enough. In conclusion, there is nothing wrong with the church teaching children spiritually[K6], but they must not be the primary. The primary spiritual leadership needs to come from the parents. They have been called by God to fulfill this role. Often parents dont know where to start[K7], but, even just reading the Bible with their kids is a great place to start. Its no coincidence that God has placed children in a family and when someone receives Jesus as their Savior they become part of Gods family. The family is very important to God and that is why the parents can reach their children best. The book Think Orange underlying theme is that the parents are red; signifying their love for the children and the church is yellow, signifying it as a light in the world. It is only when both come together, red and yellow that you get orange. Rather than the church doing one thing and the parents doing another thing, if they work together they can attack two fronts. When you combine two influences, you amplify whats important[16] The best, and most ideal situation, is the family providing the primary spiritual leadership[K8], and the church coming alongside and augmenting the parents teaching with their own teaching. The churchs role is to evangelize the world. The parents role is to disciple and train their children as spiritual leaders. This is not a task that parents can approach half-heartedly, theyÂÂ   must daily rely on the Holy Spirit to guide them in this rewarding task. Annotated Bibliography Anthony, Michelle Dreaming of More For The Next Generation Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C. Cook, 2012 Boys and girls come to Sunday School every single week and every single week, sadly, boys and girls stop coming to Sunday School. This book explores the ideas of what could happen if boys and girls, entire families, learned about got together. Imagine what could happen to our world if this generation of Christians altered their mindset about the importance of disciple in children. If an entire generation continued to practice the things that they learned in Sunday school as kids. The change can happen and it starts with parents to taking their role of spiritual leaders seriously. Anthony, Michelle; Marshman, Megan 7 Family Ministry Essentials Colorado Springs, Colorado; David C. Cook, 2015 Ministry to families has become something of an important aspect in many churches today. No longer are specific leaders just ministering to kids but, there is a gradual shift towards the church providing something for the entire family. This book looks at 7 essential aspects related to ministering to families. The first aspect is essential to this report with its title being Empowering Family as Primary. The authors suggest that in one generation there could be a shift in the primacy of parents being the primary spiritual caregivers for kids. Recycling, seatbelts, and sunscreen have changed from obscurity to necessity in only one generation. Think what could happen if we made this the prime thing we were teaching parents. Barna, George Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions Ventura, California: Barna Research Group, Ltd., 2003 When it comes to raising boys and girls according to the word of God, George Barna leads the pack on championing this cause. He has done extensive research into reasons why children need to the number one priority in the church. He says that children need to be an investment by the church. With all the research that has been done, children are still influenced primarily by their parents. Even though churches do have an influence on children, the church is on the lowest tier of influence. Parents must rise up and take their place in leading their family spiritually. Joiner, Reggie Think Orange Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C. Cook, 2012 With the church averaging only 40 hours of a year to influence a child, compared to the 3000 that parents get, it only makes sense to have parents use that time to spiritually raise their children. The think orange philosophy is that when parents and the church work together, the spiritual training can be attacked on both fronts. Families being red, representing love and church being yellow, representing light, it is when those two combine you get orange. The author stresses that the parents voice needs to be the strongest in a kids life. The parents need to matter more than their friends, more than a coach, and more than the world. This book, if properly utilized, could change the church today, because it changes families. Joiner, Reggie; Hansen, Elizabeth; Ivy, Kristen Losing Your Marbles Cumming, Georgia: The reThink Group, Inc., 2013 Reggie Joiner weaves the tale of a boy named Simon and his quest to do the right thing at school. This book takes a look at one week out of out of Simons life and the massive changes that can take place in strictly one week. Flipping the book over, Joiner stresses that kids need six things repeatedly in their lives to make a difference. When these six things are done by parents, they can make lasting changes in their childrens lives. The six things are time over time, love over time, words over time, stories over time, tribes over time, and fun over time. These six things done over time, show children that they matter and in these parents can speak spiritually into their kids lives. Newheiser, Jim Parenting is More Than a Formula Philipsburg, New Jersey: PR Publishing Company, 2015 This book is written as an encouragement to parents that sometimes the best parenting doesnt follow strict rules. A key portion of the book is on the parental duties as directed from scripture, with the following section on responsibilities of the child for the choices that he makes. This book hits the nail on the head when it points out the very important high point that its only by Gods grace our kids can be saved. Powell, Kara E.; Clark, Chap Sticky Faith Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011 This book explores the relationship between children who are raised in the church who is that walk away from it as they get older. The numbers speak of 50% of kids walking away from their faith, their faith does not stick. The essential leading factor with the decision to stay or leave the faith is the influence that parents have on the kids. The authors write that as children get older they need to have developed faith for themselves otherwise, it will not stick and they will walk away. In order to make Faith stick, parents must have conversations with their children about spiritual things throughout the week and not only on Sundays. [1] George Barna, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions (Ventura, California: Barna Research Group, Ltd., 2003), 61 [2] Deut. 6:6-7 (NASB) [3] Reggie Joiner, Think Orange (Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C. Cook, 2012), 36 [4] George Barna, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions (Ventura, California: Barna Research Group, Ltd., 2003), 111 [5] George Barna, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions (Ventura, California: Barna Research Group, Ltd., 2003), 109 [6] Michelle Anthony, Dreaming of More For The Next Generation (Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C. Cook, 2012), 29 [7] George Barna, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions (Ventura, California: Barna Research Group, Ltd., 2003), 114 [8] Kara E. Powell and Chap Clark, Sticky Faith (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011), 37 [9] George Barna, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions (Ventura, California: Barna Research Group, Ltd., 2003), 116 [10] Ibid. [11] John 10:29 (NASB) [12] Reggie Joiner, Elizabeth Hansen, Kristen, Losing Your Marbles (Cumming, Georgia: The reThink Group, Inc., 2013), 47 [13] Kara E. Powell and Chap Clark, Sticky Faith (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011), 36 [14] Michelle Anthony, Megan Marshman, 7 Family Ministry Essentials )Colorado Springs, Colorado; David C. Cook, 2015), 121 [15] Deut. 6:6-7 (NASB) [16] Reggie Joiner, Think Orange (Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C. Cook, 2012), 134 [K1]comma [K2]comma [K3]comma [K4]comma [K5]awkward sentence [K6]comma [K7]comma here instead [K8]comma

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Imperfect Conscience in Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment Essay

Crime and Punishment:   Imperfect Conscience  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A highly educated individual, avoiding the hardships of society while pondering the possibility of great wealth, Raskolnikov, in Fyodor Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment," frustrated with his immoral actions, suffers from an abrupt physical and mental breakdown after brutally mutilating a wicked pawnbroker. After this soul-scarring incident, the initial feelings of success in completing his mission quickly changes once he realizes possible flaws in his, otherwise considered, perfect murder. Raskolnikov's imperfect conscience finally comes to an emotional awakening once his saint, Sonya, an unintelligent prostitute, brings him the love, sensitivity, and inner serenity to help him confess to the murder he so coldly commits. After ruminating on the pessimistic consequences of this crude and selfish murder, a change in conscience comes over Raskolnikov. Once he understands the reality of the matter does he actually suffer a breakdown. Though he commits a very serious crime, Raskolnikov still refuses to believe its contin...

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Exterior of the Crystal Palace Essay -- Architecture

Crystal Palace, Exterior The Crystal Palace was dismantled and rebuilt in Sydenham after the closing of the Fair and stood there until 1936 when it was destroyed by fire. Although it is no longer standing today, this structure is documented in photographs such as this one, through which it can continue to influence the worlds of architecture and engineering. The Great Exhibition of 1851 was the first event of its kind, bringing together people from all over the earth in an environment of peace and intellectual stimulation. Conceived as an "Exhibition of the Works of all Nations", the Great Exhibition was the brainchild of Prince Albert and Henry Cole of England. Queen Victoria's husband, his mind always "bent towards the artistic", was easily convinced by Cole to take on this event of massive proportions (Beaver, 11). As President of the Society of Arts, the Prince had played a large role in the exhibitions of 1847, 1848, and 1849. When a Royal Commission was formed in 1850, he was again chosen as President. Consequently, when Cole proposed a larger British Exhibition for the year 1851, he looked to the Prince for approval (Beaver, 11). The idea of a National Exhibition did not originate with the British, but with the French, who had organized the first exhibition of national products as early as 1798 and had held an exposition every five years since the beginning of the century. The fair in 1849 was particularly well organized and Cole hastily took leave to Paris to observe this event. He found that the initial plans for the 1851 Exposition in London were far too naà ¯ve, and if the British wanted to surpass the French, they must set their sights higher. The original site for the Great Exposition was to be the courtyard of... ...in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, 1851. London: Victoria and Albert Museum. 1972. Hitchcock, Henry Russell. The Crystal Palace: the structure, its antecedents and its immediate progeny: and exhibition. Northampton, Mass.: Smith College Museum of Art, 1952. Hobhouse, Christopher. 1851 and the Crystal Palace; being an account of the Great Exhibition and its contents; of Sir Joseph Paxton; and the erection, the subsequent history and the destruction of his masterpiece. London, Murray, 1950. Hyman, Isabelle; Trachtenberg, Marvin. Architecture. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. 1986. Newhall, Beaumont. The History of Photography: from 1839 to the present. New York: Museum of Modern Art. 1982. Smithsonian. India Trough the Lens: Photography 1840-1911. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. February 2001.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Comparison of Indirect Cost Multipliers for Vehicle Manufacturing Essay

Disclaimer This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor The University of Chicago, nor any of their employees or officers, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of document authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof, Argonne National Laboratory, or The University of Chicago. COMPARISON OF INDIRECT COST MULTIPLIERS FOR VEHICLE MANUFACTURING INTRODUCTION In the process of manufacturing and selling vehicles, a manufacturer incurs certain costs. Among these costs are those incurred directly as a part of manufacturing operations and those incurred indirectly in the processes of manufacturing and selling. The indirect costs may be productionrelated, such as R&D and engineering; business-related, such as corporate staff salaries and pensions; or retail-sales-related, such as dealer support and marketing. These indirect costs are recovered by allocating them to each vehicle. Under a stable, high-volume production process, the allocation of these indirect costs can be approximated as multipliers (or factors) applied to the direct cost of manufacturing. A manufacturer usually allocates indirect costs to finished vehicles according to a corporation-specific pricing strategy. Because the volumes of sales and production vary widely by model within a corporation, the internal corporate percent allocation of various accounting categories (such as profit or corporate overhead) can vary widely among individual models. Approaches also vary across corporations. For our purposes, an average value is constructed, by means of a generic representative method, for vehicle models produced at high volume. To accomplish this, staff at Argonne National Laboratory’s (ANL’s) Center for Transportation Research analyzed the conventional vehicle cost structure and developed indirect cost multipliers for passenger vehicles. This memorandum summarizes the results of an effort to compare and put on a common basis the cost multipliers used in ANL’s electric and hybrid electric vehicle cost estimation procedures with those resulting from two other methodologies. One of the two compared methodologies is derived from a 1996 presentation by Dr. Chris Borroni-Bird of Chrysler Corporation, the other is by Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc. (EEA), as described in a 1995 report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), Congress of the United States. The cost multipliers are used for scaling the component costs to retail prices. ANL METHODOLOGY The ANL methodology described here is based on an analysis concerned with electric vehicle production and operating costs (Cuenca et al. 2000; Vyas et al. 1998). The analysis evaluated the cost structure for conventional vehicle manufacturing and retailing and assigned shares of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) to various cost contributors. Multipliers developed from the ANL methodology are applied to the manufacturing cost of an individual component in order to scale the component cost to the retail price. Several cost contributors are included in the methodology, as summarized in Table 1. Some of the vehicle components for electric and hybrid electric vehicles would be procured from outside suppliers. This assumption is applied to electric drive components, excluding the battery; the vehicle manufacturer would produce the rest. Thus, two cost multipliers, one for the components manufactured internally and the other for outsourced components, are necessary to estimate the price of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Outside suppliers would incur some of the costs normally borne by the vehicle manufacturer. In the ANL methodology, we assume that the costs of â€Å"Warranty,† â€Å"R&D/Engineering,† and â€Å"Depreciation and Amortization† are borne by the Page 1 suppliers of outsourced components. The outside suppliers would include these costs in their prices. The following two cost multipliers are computed by using â€Å"Cost of Manufacture† as the base: Cost multiplier for components manufactured internally = 100/50 = 2. 00. Cost multiplier for outsourced components = 100/(50 + 6. 5 + 5. 5 + 5) = 1. 50. Table 1 Contributors to Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price in ANL Methodology Cost Category Cost Contributor Relative to Share of Cost of Vehicle MSRP Manufacturing (%) Vehicle Manufacturing Cost of Manufacture 1. 00 50. 0 Production Overhead Warranty 0. 10 5. 0 R&D/Engineering 0. 13 6. 5 Depreciation and Amortization 0. 11 5. 5 Corporate Overhead Corporate Overhead, Retirement and 0. 14 7. 0 Health Selling Distribution, Marketing, Dealer 0. 47 23. 5 Support, and Dealer Discount Sum of Costs 1. 95 97. 5 Profit Profit 0. 05 2. 5 Total Contribution to 2. 00 100. 0 MSRP METHODOLOGY DERIVED FROM BORRONI-BIRD PRESENTATION In his presentation, entitled â€Å"Automotive Fuel Cell Requirements,† at the 1996 Automotive Technology Development Customers’ Coordination Meeting, Borroni-Bird included charts on the â€Å"Typical American Automobile: Price/Cost Breakdown. † The charts provided a graphical breakdown of vehicle price, showing cost contributors and profit. We used the charts to arrive at percentage shares of vehicle price by various contributors. Table 2 shows the resulting allocation. Page 2 Table 2 Price/Cost Breakdown Based on Borroni-Bird Presentation Cost Category Cost Contributor a Vehicle Manufacturing Fixed Cost Selling Sum of Costs Profit MSRP a Material Cost Assembly Labor and Other Manufacturing a Costs Transportation/Warranty Amortization and Depreciation, Engineering R&D, Pension and Health Care, Advertising, and Overhead Price Discounts Dealer Markup Automobile Profit. Relative to Cost of Vehicle Manufacturing 0. 87 0. 13 0. 09 0. 44 Share of MSRP (%) 42. 5 6. 5 4. 5 21. 5 0. 10 0. 36 1. 99 0. 06 2. 05 5. 0 17. 5 97. 5 2. 5 100. 0 These two contributors are scaled to sum to 1 in the third column, as in Table 1. In his presentation, Borroni-Bird did not evaluate the treatment of in-house or outsourced components. His methodology does not lend itself to easy computation of cost multipliers comparable with those in the ANL methodology, unless we make a few assumptions. We have assumed that â€Å"Material Cost,† taken together with â€Å"Assembly Labor and Other Manufacturing Costs,† would form the â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† base for the in-house components. The costs of â€Å"Transportation/Warranty,† â€Å"Amortization and Depreciation,† and â€Å"Engineering R&D† would be borne by the suppliers of outsourced components. However, â€Å"Amortization and Depreciation† and â€Å"Engineering R&D† costs were merged with â€Å"Pension and Health Care,† â€Å"Advertising,† and â€Å"Overhead† costs by Borroni-Bird. We assumed that half of the costs under this category would be borne by the suppliers of outsourced components. Our assumptions led to the following cost multipliers: Cost multiplier for components manufactured internally = 100/(42. 5 + 6. 5) = 2. 05. Cost multiplier for outsourced components = 100/(42. 5 + 6. 5 + 4. 5 + 10. 75) = 1. 56. These cost multipliers are very similar to those computed with the ANL methodology. Comparison of ANL and Borroni-Bird Methodologies The information from Tables 1 and 2 is shown in terms of cost categories in Table 3. Both methodologies use vehicle manufacturing cost as the base and add other costs to it. The share of MSRP attributable to â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† is 50% in the ANL methodology, compared with 49% in the Borroni-Bird Methodology. Borroni-Bird combined several cost contributors under â€Å"Fixed Cost. † These contributors include (see Table 2) â€Å"Amortization and Depreciation,† â€Å"Engineering R&D,† â€Å"Pension and Health Care,† â€Å"Advertising,† and â€Å"Overhead. † Except for the inclusion of â€Å"Advertising,† â€Å"Production Overhead† and â€Å"Corporate Overhead† in the ANL methodology can be combined to form an equivalent category. ANL’s total of 24% by production Page 3 and corporate overheads is slightly lower than the total of 26% by Borroni-Bird. The ANL category of â€Å"Selling,† which includes â€Å"Distribution,† â€Å"Marketing,† â€Å"Dealer Support,† and â€Å"Dealer Discount,† is broader than that of â€Å"Price Discounts† and â€Å"Dealer Markup† specified by BorroniBird, and this category’s contribution is understandably slightly higher in the ANL methodology. The share of MSRP by â€Å"Profit† is the same in both methodologies. The absolute differences, computed as ANL value minus Borroni-Bird value, are 1% for â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing,† –2% for â€Å"Fixed Cost,† and 1% for â€Å"Selling† cost. Table 3 Comparison of Vehicle Price/Cost Allocation by ANL and Borroni-Bird Methodologies ANL Methodology Cost Contributor or Category Vehicle Manufacturing Production Overhead Corporate Overhead Selling Sum of Costs Profit MSRP EEA METHODOLOGY The methodology of Energy and Environmental Analysis is summarized in the OTA report OTAETI-638, entitled Advanced Automotive Technology: Visions of a Super-Efficient Family Car, published in September 1995. The values of some cost contributors are not listed in the report. Moreover, depreciation, amortization, and tooling expenses are assumed to be case-specific and therefore must be computed for each case. In order to make the EEA and ANL methodologies comparable, some assumptions were necessary. These assumptions are described in the summary below. The EEA cost equations can be simplified as follows: Cost of Manufacture = Division Cost ? [1 + Division Overhead] Manufacturer Cost = [Cost of Manufacture + Assembly Labor + Assembly Overhead] ? [1 + Manufacturing Overhead + Manufacturing Profit] + Engineering Expense + Tooling Expense + Facilities Expense Retail Price Equivalent = Manufacturer Cost ? [1 + Dealer Margin] Borroni-Bird Methodology Share of Cost Contributor or Category Share of MSRP (%) MSRP (%) 50. 0 Vehicle Manufacturing 49. 0 17. 0 Fixed Cost 26. 0 7. 0 23. 5 Selling 22. 5 97. 5 Sum of Costs 97. 5 2. 5 Automobile Profit 2. 5 100. 0 MSRP 100. 0 Page 4 The report lists the following values for overhead, profit, and dealer margin: Division Overhead = Supplier Overhead = 0. 20 (We assume that division and supplier overheads are equal; only the supplier overhead is given in the report. ) Manufacturing Overhead = 0. 25 Manufacturing Profit = 0. 20 Dealer Margin = 0. 25 Because the documentation in the OTA report does not provide values for â€Å"Assembly Labor,† â€Å"Assembly Overhead,† â€Å"Engineering Expense,† â€Å"Tooling Expense,† and â€Å"Facilities Expense,† cost multipliers cannot be computed directly from these data. The â€Å"Assembly Labor† and â€Å"Assembly Overhead† share of MSRP is 6. 5% in Borroni-Bird’s presentation. The engineering, tooling, and facilities expenses can be taken as the sum of â€Å"R&D/Engineering† and â€Å"Depreciation and Amortization† from the ANL methodology, at 12% of the MSRP. In deriving the division cost and price relationship below, we use the term Retail Price Equivalent (RPE) from the OTA report instead of MSRP. The RPE can be computed as follows: RPE = = = {[Division Cost ? 1. 2 + 0. 065 RPE] ? 1. 45 + 0. 12 RPE} ? 1. 25 Division Cost ? 2. 175 + 0. 268 RPE Division Cost ? 2. 175/(1 – 0. 268) = Division Cost ? 2. 97 Putting ANL and EEA Methodologies on a Common Basis As it was described in the OTA report, the EEA methodology did not provide enough data to compute the cost multipliers. We assumed some cost shares to be the same between the EEA, Borroni-Bird, and ANL methodologies while developing the above relationship between Division Cost and RPE. The EEA methodology is based on the material and labor costs of a division of the vehicle manufacturer, with other costs added on. The ANL methodology evaluates an assembled vehicle, using the vehicle manufacturing cost as the base cost. The ANL methodology also assigns additional costs to the outsourced components, whereas the treatment of such components is not clear in the EEA methodology. We have attempted to develop a common basis for the ANL and EEA methodologies by assigning shares of the final vehicle price, RPE in the EEA methodology, to individual cost categories similar to those listed in Table 1. Table 4 presents such a summary for the EEA methodology. Three cost contributors, â€Å"Division Cost,† â€Å"Division Overhead,† and â€Å"Assembly Labor and Overhead,† are combined under the â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† category. Two cost contributors, â€Å"Manufacturing Overhead† and â€Å"Engineering, Tooling, and Facilities Expenses,† combine to form the â€Å"Overhead† category. The â€Å"Dealer Margin† in the EEA methodology represents a factor applied to all manufacturer costs and profit. We assumed that this factor represents all costs of selling the vehicle. Although the profit is computed at the manufacturing level by EEA, we moved the profit to the bottom of the table to be consistent with prior tables. The cost allocation in Table 4 allows us to compute the in-house components cost multiplier as follows: Cost multiplier for in-house components = 100/(33. 7 + 6. 7 + 6. 5) = 2. 14 Page 5 To compute the cost multiplier for an outsourced component, one more assumption is necessary. In the ANL methodology, we assumed that the supplier will bear the costs of â€Å"Warranty,† â€Å"R&D Engineering,† and â€Å"Depreciation and Amortization. † However, the EEA methodology does not identify the warranty cost separately. We assumed it to be half of â€Å"Manufacturing Overhead† at 5. 05%. This, with the earlier assumption related to â€Å"Engineering, Tooling, and Facilities Expenses,† led to the following computation: Cost multiplier for outsourced components = 100/(33. 7 + 6. 7 + 6. 5 + 5. 05 + 12) = 1. 56. These multipliers, adapted from our extension of theE EA information on vehicle costs, are very close to those derived from the ANL and Borroni-Bird methodologies. Table 4 Contributors to Retail Price Equivalent in EEA Methodology Cost Category Cost Contributor a Vehicle Manufacturing Overhead Selling Sum of Costs Profit Manufacturing Profit Total Contribution to RPE a Division Cost a Division Overhead Assembly Labor and a Overhead Manufacturing Overhead Engineering, Tooling, and Facilities Expenses Dealer Margin Relative to Cost of Vehicle Manufacturing 0. 72 0. 14 0. 14 0. 22 0. 26 0. 49 1. 97 0. 17 2. 14 Share of RPE (%) 33. 7 6. 7 6. 5 10. 1 12. 0 22. 9 91. 9 8. 1 100. 0 These three cost contributors are scaled to sum to 1 in the third column, as in Table 1. Comparison of ANL and EEA Methodologies The information from Tables 1 and 4 is presented in terms of cost categories in Table 5 for easy comparison. The â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† cost share is 46. 9% in the EEA methodology, compared with 50% in the ANL methodology. EEA’s RPE share of 22. 1% by overhead is lower than the ANL value of 24%. The cost of selling is 22. 9% in the EEA methodology, which is close to the ANL value of 23. 5%. The largest difference is in the RPE share by profit, which is 8. 1% in the EEA methodology, more than three times the ANL value of 2. 5%. According to Economic Indicators: The Motor Vehicle’s Role in the U. S. Economy (American Automobile Manufacturers Association 1998), the average net income before taxes for the three domestic manufacturers was 3. 9% during 1994-1997. Aside from vehicle sales, this value (3. 9%) includes income from spare parts sales and vehicle financing. Thus, the profit share appears very high in the EEA methodology. The absolute differences – computed as ANL value minus EEA value – are 3. 1% for component/material cost, 1. 9% for overhead, 0. 6% for selling, and –5. 6% for profit. Page 6 Table 5 Comparison of Price Allocation by ANL and EEA Methodologies ANL Methodology Cost Contributor or Category Vehicle Manufacturing Production Overhead Corporate Overhead Selling Sum of Costs Profit MSRP SUMMARY An attempt to put three methodologies for automobile cost allocation on a common basis is presented in this technical memorandum. This comparison was carried out to verify the reasonableness of the cost multipliers used in ANL’s cost models for electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. When put into a common format, by means of certain assumptions, the three approaches yielded the cost multipliers provided in Table 6. Table 6 Summary of Cost Multipliers Computed on a Common Basis Multiplier for In-House Components Outsourced Components ACKNOWLEDGMENT Funding for the analysis presented here was provided by the Planning and Assessment function of the Office of Transportation Technologies of the U. S. Department of Energy, managed by Dr. Philip Patterson. This technical memorandum is produced under U. S. Government contract No. W-31-109-Eng-38. REFERENCES American Automobile Manufacturers Association, 1998, Economic Indicators: The Motor Vehicle’s Role in the U. S. Economy, Detroit, Mich. Borroni-Bird, C. , 1996, â€Å"Automotive Fuel Cell Requirements,† Proceedings of the 1996 Automotive Technology Development Customers’ Coordination Meeting, U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Transportation Technologies, Washington, D. C. ANL 2. 00 1. 50 Borroni-Bird 2. 05 1. 56 EEA 2. 14 1. 56 EEA Methodology Share of Cost Contributor or Category MSRP (%) 50. 0 Vehicle Manufacturing 17. 0 Overhead 7. 0 23. 5 Selling 97. 5 Sum of Costs 2. 5 Profit 100. 0 RPE Share of RPE (%) 46. 9 22. 1 22. 9 91. 9 8. 1 100. 0 Page 7 Cuenca, R. M. , L. L. Gaines, and A. D. Vyas, 2000, Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Production and Operating Costs, Argonne National Laboratory Report ANL/ESD-41, Argonne, Ill. (to be published). Vyas, A. , R. Cuenca, and L. Gaines, 1998, â€Å"An Assessment of Electric Vehicle Life Cycle Costs to Consumers,† Proceedings of the 1998 Total Life Cycle Conference, SAE International Report P339, Warrendale, Penn. , pp. 161-172.