Case study on kerry group Essay

Introduction As part of my business management assignment I have been asked to investigate and evaluate the internal and external environment of an organization and the impact of change on an organization I intend on outlining the purpose, mission, vision , objectives and structure of this organization, explain the relevance of the type of structure. Do a pest and swot analysis and evaluate the impact of change on the organization , I will be completing this assignment with the aid of the website , Kerryfoodgroup.com the internet and my class notes. Aims The aims of this assignment are to ensue I cover the following aspects: Relevant information appropriately presented  Understanding and knowledge of chosen topic clearly demonstrated Present relevant data and statistics that support my work  Comprehensive evaluation of topic clearly demonstrated  Conclusions and recommendations bibliography Organisation types I am going to explore the following organisation types: Sole Trader Private limited Company Public limited Company Co-Operative Sole trader A sole trader is a type of business entity that allows one person to be solely responsible for the financial dealings of the business. The benefits and disadvantages of being a sole trader Advantages You are your own boss . Set your own working hours. Pick your rate of pay. Easy to set up. This form of business ownership has fewer regulations than other systems of ownership do. And another major benefit of operating as a sole trader is the ability to exert full control over the business Disadvantages Unlimited liability No sick pay. All pressure and responsibility is on you. No one o cover you if something happens Income tax 20-41% No one to share decision’s Suffer all losses Private Limited Company Private limited companies are viewed as corporations under the law and share several common characteristics with all corporations. However, private corporations are owned and operated by a small group of people. Because of their structure, private limited corporations operate under a set of limitations not imposed on public corporations. Advantages A private limited company is run by a small group, Many of them members of a single family, that wishes to limit the influence of outsiders on its company. Because private limited companies are run by a small group, they are usually not subject to takeovers and other challenges faced by public companies. The minmum required to set one upis 1 person and the max is 99. Disadvantages Profit Sharing Taxes Lack of privacy, information concerning the company is made public. Public limited company A company whose shares are traded on a stock exchange and can be bought and sold by anyone. Public companies are strictly regulated, and are required by law to publish their complete and true financial position so that investors can determine the true worth of its stock . Also called a plc Facebook is a reality formed plc . Advantages There is limited liability for the shareholders. The business has separate legal entity. There is continuity even if any of the shareholders die. These businesses can raise large capital sum as there is no limit to the number of shareholders. The shares of the business are freely transferable providing more liquidity to its shareholders . Disadvantages There are lot of legal bits and pieces required for forming a public limited company. It is costly and time consuming. In order to protect the interest of the ordinary investor there are strict controls and regulations to comply. These companies have to publish their accounts. The original owners may lose control. Public Limited companies are huge in size and may face management problems such as slow decision making and industrial relations problems. Co-Operative  A co-operative is a group of people acting together to meet the common needs and aspirations of its members e.g the Credit union, sharing ownership and making decisions democratically. Co-operatives are not about making big profits for shareholders, but creating value for customers this is what gives co operatives a unique character, and influences our values and principles. Advantages It is usually inexpensive to register a cooperative. All members and shareholders must be active in the cooperative. Shareholders have an equal vote at general meetings regardless of their shareholding or involvement in the cooperative. Members, other than directors, can be under  18, though these members cannot stand for office and do not have the right to vote. Shareholders, directors, managers and employees have no responsibility for debts of the cooperative unless those debts are caused recklessly, negligently or fraudulently. A cooperative is owned and controlled by its members, rather than its investors. Disadvantages There must be a minimum of five members. There is a usually a limited distribution of surplus (profits) to members/shareholders and some cooperatives may prohibit the distribution of any surplus to members/shareholders. Even though some shareholders may have a greater involvement or investment than others, they still only get one vote. Active and direct involvement of members/shareholders in the cooperative. These bullet points and definitions where all found in my class notes and I also used www.cro.ie Kerry Foods Group The company I am going to focus on will be Kerry foods group the history of the organisation traces the evolution and growth of Kerry Group from its modest beginnings in the south west of Ireland some 30 years ago into a successful, publicly traded, multinational corporation and leading player in the global food industry. Having commenced operation from a green field site in Listowel, Co. Kerry in 1972, the Kerry organisation has realised sustained profitable growth with current annualised sales of approximately â‚ ¬5.8 billion, Kerry Group today is a world leader in food ingredients and flavours serving the food and beverage industry, and a leading supplier of added value brands and customer branded foods to the Irish and UK markets. Kerry has grown to become one of the largest and most technologically advanced manufacturers of ingredients and flavours in the world. Spanning all major food categories, Kerry’s core technologies and global resources in culinary, dairy, lipid, meat, cereal, sweet and beverage systems and flavours provide innovative, practical product solutions to food manufacturers and food service companies. Purpose Kerry Foods operates in Ireland and the UK. they market there own brands across a wide range of categories and supply supermarket private labels in selected areas. they also have become one of the leading chilled foods companies in the geography through: A strong portfolio of brands, in which they continue to invest and grow Close working relationships with retail customers to develop mutually successful, private label business An unrivalled national service to the independent convenience sector, in both the UK and Ireland Mission statement Kerry Group will be: – the world leader in food ingredients and flavours serving the food and beverage industry, and – a leading supplier of added value brands and customer branded foods to the Irish and UK markets Through the skills and wholehearted commitment of ther employees, we will be leaders in our selected markets – excelling in product quality, technical and marketing creativity and service to our customers We are committed to the highest standards of business and ethical behavior, to fulfilling our responsibilities to the communities which we serve and to the creation of long-term value for all stakeholders on a socially and environmentally sustainable basis. Vision Group Goals & Long Term Targets †¢ Group revenue: +2% to +4% (LFL) volume growth †¢ Margin: 10% Group margin in 5 years †¢ Adjusted EPS* 10%+ †¢ ROAE* 15%+ and CFROI 12%+ Objectives Kerry’s Sustainability Programme represents a journey of continuous improvement – an ongoing process and strategy to secure sustainable growth. Sustainability is at the heart of our business strategy and enshrined in our corporate mission statement.As a world leader in ingredients & flavors and as a major consumer foods organization in Europe, Kerry aims to conduct its business in a responsible and sustainable manner. This demands a holistic approach to Group activities involving close liaison with our customers, suppliers, regulatory authorities, employees and other relevant stakeholders.Our Kerry Group Sustainability Council appraises, directs and provides leadership in promoting industry best practice sustainability program throughout the Group. Its membership includes Directors of Group functions with responsibility for all pillars of Kerry’s Sustainability Programme. Structure of the organization Business structure The Group is divided into several divisions: â€Å"Kerry Ingredients & Flavours† is the largest division producing over 15,000 ingredients, flavours and integrated solutions from more than 125 manufacturing sites worldwide. It claims to have become the largest and most technologically advanced provider of technology-based ingredients, flavours and integrated systems. â€Å"Kerry Foods† supplies added-value branded and customer branded food products to supermarket chains, convenience stores and independent retailers across the UK and Ireland. It has 15 manufacturing facilities all in Ireland and the UK. Products include sausage, sliced bacon, sliced meats, pastry products, ready meals, ready-to-cook products, savoury snacks, cheese, cheese snacks, dairy spreads, low-fat spreads, UHT products, home-baking products, salads, sandwiches and fruit juices. Consumer branded products include – in Ireland: Denny, Galtee, LowLow, Dairygold, Cheestrings, Charleville Cheese, Shaws, Coleraine, Golden Cow, EasiSingles, Dawn, Roscrea, Kerrymaid, Golden Olive, Mitchelstown, Calvita, Ballyfree, Move over Butter and Freshways – in the UK: Richmond, Wall’s,  Mattessons, LowLow, Cheestrings, Pure, Mr. Brain’s, Porkinsons, Bowyers, Lawsons, Green’s and Homepride. â€Å"Kerry Agribusiness† is headquartered in Charleville, Co. Cork, and works with the Group’s 4,000 milk suppliers in Ireland, to produce milk and related dairy products. Why have structures? Because it allows each sector to oranise itself. All businesses have to know what to do A clear structure makes it easier to understand the organisations objectives Organization chart What is a organisation chart? Companies use the organizational chart to pictorially depict their prevailing hierarchies, work flow and authority-responsibility diagrams. Small companies use flat organizational charts and large companies use tall organizational charts. Function The main purpose in drawing an organizational chart is to visually represent employee structures of the organization. One glance at the chart tells the viewer of all reporting to a particular employee and to whom he is answerable for work-related matters. Features A tall organizational chart is one that is shaped like a pyramid. There are several layers and tiers of employees. This structure is narrow and the top and broad at the bottom. A flat organizational chart is wide and expansive all throughout. More often than not, the employees report directly to the top management. This is pictorially depicted by a flat organizational chart. Considerations The type of organizational chart that the company draws must be based on the type of trade it is into. It is not practical and feasible for large  companies to have a flat organizational structure and chart. Large companies tend to centralize authority and departmentalize their strategic functions. Likewise, when small companies use the tall organizational structure and chart, they have to deal with greater bureaucracy and middlemen’s salaries. Is Kerry food group a flat or tall organisation? Swot Analysis of Kerry Group Kerry Group, Plc. Category Food Processing Sector Food and Beverages Tagline/ Slogan Brands that deliver USP Its worldwide facilities and unrivalled technical support network guarantees that its highly acclaimed ingredient systems and technologies are available to food processor or foodservice companies in all markets. STP Segment Business segments: Ingredients incorporating Culinary, Flavours and Bio-Science, Consumer Foods, Agribusiness and Dairies Target Group Agribusiness: Food sector, Animal feed sector, Drinks sector Consumer Foods & Dairies Consumers of branded & private labeled food products Positioning Committed to evolving food and developing brands that deliver, time and time again SWOT Analysis Strength 1. Established global processing and technical network with an ingredients portfolio extending to some nine thousand products to food processor and foodservice markets in over 120 different countries 2. Core technological strengths in savory ingredients, sweet ingredients, food coating systems, nutritional systems and specialty protein applications 3. An unrivalled national service to the independent convenience sector, in both the UK and Ireland 4. Close working relationships with retail customers to develop mutually successful, private label business 5. One of the leading consumer brands in Ireland and Europe Weakness 1.Input cost volatility due to raw material pricing being impacted by adverse crop production conditions 2. Limited market share and Pressure from competitive markets 3.Ingredients and Flavours market is highly fragmented Opportunity 1.Growth in demand for convenient ‘ready-to-use’ foods to match modern lifestyles and for fresh natural food products 2.Growing Ingredients and Flavours market 3. Tapping global capability via emerging markets & global customers Threats 1.Food industry supply and demand issues 2.Commodity cost inflationary momentum 3.Impact of foreign exchange fluctuations Competition Competitors 1.Associated British Foods Plc. 2.Greencore Group Plc. 3. Westbury Dairies Limited Pest analysis

Research Proposal On Us Agricultural Crisis

I intend to write my paper about the persisting agricultural problems that United States farmers are facing today, and how these problems are deeply rooted to the lack of radical, government-initiated change despite legislations which are publicized as farmer-friendly government initiatives and how the past and present problems compounded into a dilemma that presents the probability of large scale farm business collapse and agricultural apocalypse, what Ikerd describes as â€Å"the end of agriculture, as we remember it, in America† (2002).Thesis Farmers working in US farms like John Reifsteck are providing very encouraging assessment of the year's yields, ‘It’s been a good harvest on my farm, and my neighbors have also done well' (2007). Others may provide the same identical appraisal when asked the same question.But contrary to the sporadic and random claims of stabilized and/or improving farming revenues across the country and promising turnout of both crops and sales in the market, the US agriculture as a whole has been consistently barraged by economic and financial concerns which are cause primarily by the lack of government action that can protect the farmers, their farms and their general business interests from external factors beyond their control.At the end of 2007, the 2007 United States Farm Bill, which proposes among others the continued subsidizing of local farmers and their business ventures, faced many critics and criticisms over what seems to be protracted impact that eventually leads away from the general interests of farmers because of internal politics and the subsidy dispensing nature of the bill which is similar to previously legislated bills.With critics on one side and influential power players on the other side, ordinary farmers are left unaffected and unaided by the US government, abandoned to suffer the same set of farming-related problems that middle-class farmers are burdened with for nearly a century now.The veh icle that is designed to funnel government resources towards the needs of farmers in the US should be re-evaluated to see if real actions are being done to answer farm and farming-related problems and at the same time if the channels go straight towards its intended target or pour in somewhere else so that the government can have a full assessment of the scope of the problem and from there take constructive actions to repair the deteriorating US agricultural pipe line. Supporting Arguments I. Failure of farmers to experience economic improvement during the 20th century A.The economic depression of American farmers occurring from 1920 to 1940 and repeating on 1952 until 1972. B. The end of the Golden Age of Agriculture in 1900. C. The food boycotts during 1973 II. Limited Government action on agricultural and farm-related problems A. Slow enactment of agriculture-related legislation B. Huge gaps in years to amend existing agriculture laws C. Limited resources allotted by the governme nt for food and agriculture III. Controversies surrounding the 2002 US Farm Bill A. Perceived characteristics that go against World Trade Organization agreements. B.Threat of overproduction as a result of the enactment of the legislation into law. C. Impact of Subsidy on market prices D. Role of overproduced corn in the spread of e coli IV. Roadblocks of 2007 US Farm Bill A. Alleged by WTO as preventing fair competition B. Impact results to billions worth of trade sanctions from other countries C. Under threat of veto from the US president D. Entails high costs Bibliography Bjerga, Alan. Senate Approves Farm Bill Over Bush Veto Threat. Bloomberg. com. December 14, 2007. http://www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601103&sid=aWIfSjtJmPgE&refer=us Farm Economic and Financial Crisis.The Economic Crisis: Finances on the Farm. World Crisis in Agriculture. Ambassador Agricultural Research Department. Serf Publishing, Inc. 2001 http://cgca. net/serf-publishing/economiccrisis. htm Funding f or Farmers. EconSouth, 2003 http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0KXG/is_1_5/ai_100962424 Hedges, Stephen J. Panel OKs farm bill that keeps subsidies. Chicago Tribune. October 26, 2007 http://www. chicagotribune. com/news/nationworld/chifarm_frioct26,1,3300139. story? ctrack=1&cset=true Ikerd, John. Why Farming is Important in America. Fourth Annual Rural Development Conference.North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, Mandan, North Dakota, February 5-7, 2002. http://web. missouri. edu/~ikerdj/papers/WhyFarming. html#_ftnref1 Panares, JOyce Pangco. UN pushes abolition of farm trade subsidies. Manila Standard Today. http://www. manilastandardtoday. com/? page=politics2_oct19_2007 Reifsteck, John. Food and Fuel Truth About Trade and Technology Board Commentary, November 9, 2007. http://www. truthabouttrade. org/article. asp? id=8489 USDA Budget Summary 2006. Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services. http://www. usda. gov/agency/obpa/Budget-Summary/2006/06. FFAS. htm

International Oil and Gas Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

International Oil and Gas Law - Research Paper Example ..5 4.2 Importance of risk management †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 4.3 Classic concession †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 4.4 Territorial jurisdiction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..7 4.5 Guarantee schemes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 4.6 Collaborative agreements†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.9 5. Ways in which Urbania should proceed with the proposed oil development in the Amazia Forest region and ways in which should it decide which oil company to work with †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..................................................................................................................................10 5.1 Tackling the ethical issue †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..10 6. ... Introduction Oil is one of the most precious natural resources utilized by countries in business arena rigorously reaping enormous revenues and adds to the growth and development of an economy. The omnipotence of oil utility is also magnificent as we all know. But oil is not a renewable resource and thus its importance against its tremendous usage becomes much more pronounced. The developing countries in the world are mainly instilled with vast resources of oil and gas and their increase in demand is also increasing in rapid scale in the recent years. Multinational oil companies, investors, suppliers, contractors as well as consulting firms are considerably shifting their attention towards these developing nations for carrying on their business operations (Razavi, 1996, p.2). The escalation in global oil production also carries along with it an urge of unparalleled risk management. With the rise in peaking of oil production, the liquid fuel prices and price volatility has been rampan t subjected to dramatic influence on economic, social and political forefronts of the countries. Strategies are devised by the organizations engaged in the oil industry for risk mitigation. The risk management paradigm is indeed of great significance for mammoth investments in the oil industry projects which are time consuming. Apart from that, running business in an ethical manner is a definite necessity. Oil companies working in a country be it national or international must comply with the proper legal environment so that business operations are done in a suitable way and oil productions are carried on in a sustainable manner. The countries are required to maintain a strong legal environment which is an utmost necessity (Razavi, 1996,

A Trench Fill Foundation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

A Trench Fill Foundation - Assignment Example Since the ground condition has firm clay, therefore there is a need to consider the depth of foundations. Clay exhibits the property to shrink or contract depending on the moisture content present in it (Kenneth, 1993:25). At the same time, if the surrounding area has trees, there is a possibility that the trees would absorb the moisture from the clay and hence, the foundation may experience settlement to a significant level. For this case, it is essential to consider the depth of the foundation. A trench fill foundation is thus ideal for this type of site condition. Research suggests that â€Å"trench fill foundations are quicker to prepare than deep strip foundations. This means that there is less disruption once the building work starts and not as much labour time will be needed. It is less likely that subsidence will occur in cases where there may be changes in the soil's substrata† (Mosley & Bungey, 2000, 48).   The site has different ground conditions and has different soils. Thus, it has a weak bearing capacity. For this purpose, the ideal foundation would be strip, grid or mat foundation. In this case, the suggested foundation is mat foundation. Because of varying ground conditions, majority of the isolated footings would have large areas and thus, it would become uneconomical (Terzaghi et.al, 2006, 256)l. According to the British Code, â€Å"Where the subsoil is very weak the load needs to be spread over a greater area. This is achieved by casting a slab of concrete over the whole ground area and thickening the slab where walls are to be placed†(Perry & Perry, 2009, 118). The design of any reinforced concrete structure aims at a suitable and economical design and for this purpose, mat foundation is ideal. A mat foundation is often used by designers when isolated footings may overlap with one another (Fleming et.al, 2005: 198). A mat foundation is considered to be that type of foundation, which is placed over the entire area. It comprises of reinforced concrete slab, which would be laid over the uneven ground and thus, it would bear the load of the entire structure.   Mat foundation is also ideal for this type of ground condition because of differential settlement. The aim of the mat foundation is to minimize differential settlement (Coduto, 2001, 289). The massive loading of the structure can cause the soil to compress and thus, the structure may experience settlement. For this purpose, the mat is used as an option in order to distribute the entire loads of the buildings and to remove differential settlement.   

National Nursing shortage and Patient Advocacy Act Essay

National Nursing shortage and Patient Advocacy Act - Essay Example o in the hospitals as currently there is a severe shortage in the nursing professionals and some hospitals had nurses which were attending to numerous patients (Buerhaus, 191-198). This paper will assess and document the pros and con that are accompanied with this act. It will mainly focus on the impact in the patients, hospital as well as financial burden that is incurred by the health care institution. Firstly there are obvious financial implications that are accompanied with this act as hospitals are required to hire extra staff members. The financial burden in this instance is incurred by Medicare which is required to adjust its payments to hospitals in order to facilitate for this staff increment. Hospitals however also have some increased financial responsibility as the staff members will be in the hospital facility and incur other expenses besides the wages. In addition, the Secretary only implemented that the hospitals will be compensate only for expenses that are incurred when care is provided to Medicare users. Hence it will remain uncompensated for the other patients and will have to devise new plans to cover these extra costs. This may include a reduction in salaries which will obviously have a negative effect financially on the nursing staff. Another approach which the hospital could take is an increment in the service costs which will affect the patients as healthcare is expensive. The United States Census Bureau documented that approximately 50 million individuals were uninsured which is approximately 15% of the population (Buerhaus, 191-198). There are also advantages that are derived from this act and these include the improvement in the quality of healthcare. Reducing the ratio of patients that are attended by one nurse will result in better services and detection of certain issues that might have been missed due to the nurse’s busy schedule. This also improves the nurse-patient relationship which is essential in the prognosis of the patient

The 2008 US Election Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The 2008 US Election - Assignment Example The United States of America usually carry out elections after every 5 years. However, during the process, there are a series of campaign strategies that must be undertaken to convincingly elect the ideal candidate with leadership capabilities. There are two main political factions within the US, mainly the Republicans and Democrats (Newport, P. 250). Before each faction selects their flag bearer there are preliminary elections where each faction select their party flag bearer whom would battle it out with the other candidates from the contesting parties (Census Bureau, 2009, P. 201). In the 2008 elections, the Democrats had a number of aspirants who included Barrack Hussein Obama, Joe Bidden, and Hillary Clinton, the wife of the former US president Bill Clinton among others. On the other hand, the Republicans who were siding with the former president George Bush junior also carried out their preliminary nominations prior to the 2008 elections and selected Senator McCain as their fla g bearer among Senator Palin just to mention (McKinney, 2010, P. 248). After the preliminaries, both the presidential candidates had to choose their running mates who were to the vice president’s should their faction win election respectively (Piano, 2009, P. 107). The Democrats chose Joe Bidden as the running mate of their presidential candidate, Obama while the Republicans chose Palin as their presidential running mate under the leadership of Senator McCain. Below is the picture of the preferred presidential running mates of Obama- Democrats- Joe Bidden and Sarah Palin of Republican’s, the Senator McCain's running mate (Census Bureau, 2009, P. 206). Fig. 1, Accessed from http://dalje.com/en-world/top-10-moments-of-us-pre-election-campaign/200091on Nov 13th, 2011. Election On the election date, both the Democrats and Republicans prepared to their best with an aim of winning then the election. However, as poll results tickled the tallying centers it was evident that th e Democrats were to carry the day with an overwhelming win over their counterparts’ republicans (Campbell, 2008, P. 39). When McCain, the Republican presidential candidate realized that all was not in accordance with his expectations as the presidential aspirant he decided to concede elections prior to the announcement of the overall presidential votes creating a conducive atmosphere for the celebration to the Democrats with their flag bearer President Barrack Hussein Obama a shoulder high (Newport, P. 252). During the celebration, Obama victory was celebrated by both the electorates and family members from both the US and Kenya where it is believed that Obama Senior who was a husband to Sarah Obama from Kogello village in Siaya district, Kenya where present. However, Kenyans too celebrated as they watched the incidents through telecast media. It was another history in the global politics being that a black American carried the day unlike the times of Martin Luther Kings†™ both senior and Junior which was full of opposition and assassination. â€Å"I have a dream† by Martin Luther King junior in 1968 (McKinney, 2010, P. 251). Obama Health Scheme During the Obama campaign, the key issues which convinced the electorates were a proposal of a broad health scheme that would take care of all ages from children to the old (Panagopoulos, 2008, P. 09).

Paper on Achebe's Things Fall Apart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Paper on Achebe's Things Fall Apart - Essay Example Achebe’s novel seems to digress to understand the Okonkwo’s with the arrival of western missionaries’ gravity therefore; the viewer should see Okonkwo within his world’s context. Set in both the colonial and pre-colonial era, Things Fall Apart highlights differences between traditional African and Christian belief system. It depicts the lifestyle of the past traditional culture among the Nigerians and its clashes with the introduction of colonialism. It stars Okonkwo, a resilient who strived to renounce his unsuccessful father in character and way of living. Unoka who is the father of Okonkwo offered no attention to his family and he finally died poor leaving many debts to be paid while Okonkwo toiled to become a wealthy and powerful man among the people of his village as a leader, warrior and a wealthy and courageous traditionalist with three wives and had many children1. Due to these, qualities Okonkwo was elected to become the guardian of Ikemefuna. Ike mefuna is a boy given to Okonkwo by a neighbouring village, he lives in the hut of Okonkwo’s first wife, and he developed a close relationship with Okonkwo’s oldest son. ... When Okonkwo came back to Umofia, he revolted against destroying a local church. They were held prisoner by the white administration for a while and released after payment of a ransom. The native leaders felt humiliated and greatly insulted and brought up a great uprising. Well known as an adamant warrior, Okonkwo advocated for war against the whites killing a native messenger from the colonial administration2. Realising with despair that his community will not fight to protect themselves, he ultimately committed suicide rather than be tried in a foreign colonial court. It is against the traditions for an individual to commit suicide, thus in death, he ruined his reputation and legacy. This clearly shows how the political structure of the white men and the Africans vary as the white men had court system through which they ensured justice was done by having the grieved compensated by the trouble maker and did not allow the tit for tat approach used by the Africans. Mr Brown and Revere nd Smith are white missionaries who greatly affected Christianity to the people of Umuofia. Mr Brown was a western missionary who was succeeded by Reverend Smith in Umuofia. This happened as Okonkwo was away on exile, an exile that was brought unto his due to misfiring of his gun killing the son of the elder Ezendu during the Ezendu’s funeral. The exile was meted upon the Okonkwo family to appease the gods that were irritated by the death. Brown and Smith were marvelled at the acceptance of Christianity in the village. This was due to the equality gospel they preached. Among the traditions he was against were blatant killing of some of the villagers regarded them as outcasts. Smith was a critic of

Marketing Mix & Marketing Mix Planning with Nutritional Supplements Assignment

Marketing Mix & Marketing Mix Planning with Nutritional Supplements - Assignment Example All in all, in marketing their products and services, business people should develop marketing strategies that are based on crucial and effective marketing considerations and decisions. 1.) Identify the type of product/service (convenience, shopping, specialty, unsought), and explain in your own words what marketing considerations need to be made for my product/service (Nutritional Supplements) based on this product classification. Based on the criteria of how consumers go about in purchasing them and how they are marketed, consumer products can be classified into four main types. To start with, we have shopping products which involve products that are bought by consumers less frequently (Doole & Lowe, 2005). Secondly, there exist convenience products which entail those that are frequently purchased by customers (Evans & Wurster, 1997). Thirdly, we have specialty products. These include products with unique features or brands and those that catch the attention of a particular class of customers who are willing to make a special buying effort (Taylor, 2009). Finally, we have unsought products which involve products that are not known to the consumer or if known, the consumer has never thought of purchasing them (Evans & Wurster, 1997). Using this classification, nutritional supplements can be said to belong to the category of specialty products. There are four main marketing considerations that can be made by nutritional supplements marketers and marketers of specialty products in general. The first consideration is the customer’s buying behavior. Here, buyers go in for strong and appealing brands. These consumers are normally loyal to specific brands and they are usually less sensitive to prices (Doole & Lowe, 2005). The second consideration is the price. According to Taylor, like in the case of most specialty products, the pricing of nutritional supplements can

Violent Media Content Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Violent Media Content - Assignment Example This kind of violence provokes emotions that could lead to aggression. The first scene under description concerns where â€Å"Tom makes a dangerous deal†. It takes place at an unoccupied house. Elias, who is the leader of three criminals, wants to know where Red is and they are using Tom who is the husband to Elizabeth Keen. To their surprise, they find out that she is an FBI agent who complicates things as Elias and his crew doesn’t want the FBI involved in their search. Tom, in turn, voluntarily offers to help them and in turn his partner is killed so as not to leak out that Tom had made a dangerous deal. Tom portrays the character of a traitor where he voluntarily decides to help Elias and his crew to get Mr. Red. He ignores that his wife Liz is always near Mr. Red thus endangering her too. All this transpire amid a lot of violence, threats and vulgar language. On the second encounter in the episode â€Å"Red Buries the Lead†, Mr. Demarcus hires Mr. Verger to kill Red at an abandoned house so as to take the full deal on investment with the Indonesian government to contract their company to run the port of Tranquillo. Mr. Verger turns out to mislead Demarcus. Here, Red tells his life story of how he worked at a carpet shop through the summer and in turn one day his boss gave him a forty dollar bonus which he considered the most valuable money he ever made, the most priceless and says â€Å"value loyalty above all other things† . He tells Mr. Damarcus that the former deputy minister died when his arrangements to secure a donors heart did not go as planned but he says that the new deputy minister views things his way. He picks the gun and shoots Mr. Darmacus in the chest. Mr. Red is a corrupt, selfish and heartless man and he finds pleasure in the former minister’s death so as to get what he wants. In view of this, the mo ral lesson learned is to embrace royalty wisely, not necessarily in the wrongdoing but also in the right. There are

Great Patriotic War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Great Patriotic War - Essay Example The Soviet Union (Filtzer, 2002) soldiers in the front lines were caught by surprise. In fact, the German army's blitzkrieg (lightning) attack easily toppled the Soviet Union soldiers in the first few months of the attack because they were surrounded, cut off from supplies, backup troops, and war materials and thereby forced to surrender to the advancing mighty German Army. German forces reached the gates of Leningrad in the North in September 1941. Germany had already overrun Smolensk in the center of Leningrad and took control of Dnepropetrovsk in the South of Leningrad. German Soldiers have reached the vicinity of Moscow, which is the Seat of Government of the Soviet Union in December of 1941. However, after months of fighting inside the big expanse of the Soviet Union territory, the German army realized that they were just humans. They had reached their maximum stamina, finally grew tired, and out of breath because the cold winter months had finally arrived. The German soldiers were not supplied with much needed food and other war supplies to fight in a winter war arena. The German army had been cut off from their supply lines because they had gone too far and deep into Soviet Union territory because Moscow is almost a thousand miles away from Berlin.It was in the autumn of 1941 that the German invading army made attempts to capture Moscow. The battle occurred between October 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942 which is one of the greatest battle wins that the Soviet Union will forever be remembered.During the autumn of 1941, around twenty eight soldiers from the 316th rifle company led by General Panfilov built a foxhole on a hill between the village of Nelidovo and Dubosekovo t o hold the German Advance to Moscow. With the use only of sub machine guns, rifles, incendiary bottles and grenades, they fought an uphill battle against twenty German tanks and infantry. Fourteen German tanks were destroyed which made the Germans retreat. The Germans then made a second attack with thirty tanks but the Moscow defenders destroyed eighteen thanks and killed and maimed many Germans. The Germans retreated for good. The Soviet Union professor Vasily Klochkov-Diev tied a rope of grenades around his waist and jumped while shouting "Russia is large, but there is no place to retreat. Moscow is behind us." under the German tanks destroying them. Other soldiers followed his example and only five Soviet soldiers survived to tell the tale of their Great Patriotic War.From October to December of 1941, thousands of residents of Moscow constructed many leveled fortifications around Moscow and also mined the roads and bridges to

Mary Shelley vs. Frankenstein Essay Example for Free

Mary Shelley vs. Frankenstein Essay In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the author relates her life to the events that happened in the book. Certain events in her life led her to write the horror story that eerie, rainy night at Lord Byrons mansion in London. Mary Shelley experienced many tragedies and losses. Writing a novel like Frankenstein was her way of mourning and dealing with her grief. Her environment also had an effect on her for it inspired her to write the way she did, why she did, and why she wrote it in the first place. Mary Shelley had a desire, a wish, a craving for something she hasnt experienced and probably never will motherhood. Writing Frankenstein made her feel the power of creation and that she can take care of others. She spreads the lesson that if we dont take care of something that needs that attention, it can lead to things we dont like. From the beginning, it was a failure. When Mary Shelley was born, her mother, Mary Wollestonecraft the well-known woman who wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman died during labor. Mary Shelley never really had a mother figure around. Her father, William Godwin, on the other hand, was always busy with business and writings that all she would do is sit around whenever her father had meetings with his fellow writers. Mary Shelley grew up in the dawn of the British Industrial Age. Britain was one of the first nations to industrialize. It was a time for the advance in technology and new things. This era could have had an effect on Mary Shelley by influencing her to use electricity and water to create the monster that Frankenstein created. It wasnt only technology that was affected during the Industrial Revolution. Social patterns started changing too. The population boomed and new social classes appeared. There were gaps between levels of society and the upper class usually looked down on everyone else. Reading Wollenstonecrafts Maria and The Rights of Woman, Godwins Memoirs of her mother or his Political Justice, undoubtedly provided intellectual justification for Mary Shelleys defiance of social values. 1 Mary Shelley was surrounded by workers for reforms, philosophers, a changing social climate, and even the feminist movements that her own mother started, and this caused her to write the social gaps between characters in her novel, Frankenstein. Women werent allowed to write before either. Her mother and other feminists who worked to be as equal as the men in society had influenced her and made her try to show the world that she, too, like any other men, can write a good novel. Mary Shelley ran away with a married man, Percy B. Shelley, to France when she was only 19 years old. Percy B. Shelley was one of her fathers friends and doing this caused her father to refuse to communicate with her for the next two and a half years. She traveled all around Europe, seeing many people and things. Percy B. Shelley impregnated her, and there was times that he left her all alone since had business to do. Mary Shelley wrote many journals. She was excited to have a baby. In February of 1815, she finally gave birth to her first child, Clara. She was two months premature and soon died early the following month. Later on after that, Mary Shelley kept attempting to have children but they kept dying. She longed to be a mother but all her attempts failed. She became depressed because of this. One summer night in 1816, Mary Shelley and many other philosophers and writers came to Lord Byrons house in London. They couldnt go outside because of the heavy rain so Lord Byron decided to have a contest on who can write the best horror story. Later that night, Mary Shelley had a dream. She wrote in her journal, I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away hope that this thing would subside into dead matter he opens his eyes; behold the horrid thing stands at his bedside, opening his curtains 2 This of course, is the main concept of her novel which she called, Frankenstein. There are many events in Frankenstein that are related to Mary Shelleys own life. For example, she named the first child to die in the novel William. Mary Shelley had a son who died from malaria when he was only three years old. His name was also William. Coincidence? Maybe. But there were more of these relations. During inclement weather on a family vacation, Frankenstein happens upon the writings of Cornelius Agrippa, and is immediately fired with the longing to penetrate the secrets of life and death. Similarly it was during a wet, ungenial summer in Switzerland that Mary, Shelley, Byron and several others picked up a volume of ghost stories and decided to write [ ]3 It took Victor Frankenstein a while and first researched about how to create a life. He gathered many materials and received information from many of his professors. His mother was dying and he couldnt accept the fact that one day life just passes someone by. He wanted to create life and this was what Mary Shelley desired also. She had suffered many losses and tragedies; first and foremost she lost her mother, then all those babies she lost. She wanted to create life also play God. Mary Shelley had radical views and strict outlooks on society. She saw that leaving a person alone just because they were different was wrong. Mary Shelley was a caring person and she wanted to show love to all. When she eloped with Percy B. Shelley, she was misunderstood and became an outcast for she was seen as one of those. She understood how the monster in her novel felt and she could relate a lot to it. The monster in the novel says that all he wanted was some love and he would have been better. It seemed as if Mary Shelley spoke through the monster in the novel. Frankenstein, in other words, can be read as the story of the experience of writing Frankenstein. What is at stake in Marys introduction as well as in the novel is the description of a primal sense of creation. 4 Writing Frankenstein was more like writing an autobiography of Mary Shelleys life. She put so many evens in her life into the novel that it could have been her own life story, except that she made it more interesting and more horrific. She expressed her grief and pain through the words of the novel. Citations Page 1. Poovey, Mary. My Hideous Progeny: The Lady and the Monster. Page 81 2. http://www. kimwoodbirdge. com/maryshel/summer. shtml 3. Johnson, Barbara. My Monster / My Self. Page 62 4. Johnson, Barbara. My Monster / My Self. Page 63Â   Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

Communication system in an organisation

Communication system in an organisation INTRODUCTION In the current scenario, the process of change is so important in a business organisation. The competitive business market makes it inevitable. To achieve a good market for an organisation, the system or modes of business have to be got changed. It helps an organisation to compete with contemporary organisations. The change process is become a crisis sometimes. How a manager deals with it makes the difference. The real weapon of a manager is the method he adopt to communicate the change within the organisation. The organisations are forced to adapt with changes because of some reasons. Advance in technology, globalisation are some factors which force an organisation to adapt with change. The role of governments gets reduced with new policies. This is another factor which affect the change in an organisation (ChampyNohria, 1996). The market strategy of each organisation differs. So it is important for an organisation to make drastic changes according to the needs. Those changes make their firm unique. So a manager should be updated with new ideas and theories. When a change occurs or plans to occur, there will be chances of resistance from the employees part. Usually they resist because of the basic intent to resist change in every human being. Rumours and misconceptions will be surrounded within the business environment. There comes the importance of a manager. Nowadays companies have distinct groups to deal with change management. Sometimes they might have a tough task of changing the behavioural patterns of employees. It is a real crisis. So let us discuss how they deal with the change management with good communication skills. INTERNAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM The communication system in an organisation is differentiated in to two. They are internal as well as external communication system. Internal communication deals with the communications within the organisation. External communications deal with the communication with the external factors affecting the business. Our matter of concern, which is communication in the context of change is being dealt with internal communication system. The internal communication is so important in the organisations to cop up with the needs. It is the way through which the business people within the organisation communicate. The people in the different organs of an organisation are connected through internal communication system. Internal communication can be defined as follows, Internal communication is a form of corporate communication and can be formal or informal, upward, downward, or horizontal (dictionary.bnet.). It is to be identified that who is communicating and to whom the communication is made according to the situation. Appropriate tools or supports for communication should be used as well. COMMUNICATION SUPPORTS Team briefing, newsletters, electronic mails, mails, intranet, interviewing, memos, meetings, employee councils or work councils, mobile phones and reports are some supports use for communication. The communication support should be selected according to the situation, the communicator and the listener (sdcn.). Identifying audience is an essential and important step to be taken for the pertinent communication. CHANGE AND REASONS It is important for an organisation to get adopted their own in the business globe to survive (KebapciErkal, 2009). When the reasons for change are collected, the ultimate reason is none other than the need for survival. The globalisation made a large market and it forced the companies to change their field and strategies. The companies widen their area of business because of globalisation. The advance in technology in recent era is another factor which accelerated the chances for change. The introduction of internet and its popularity increased the chances for business with the support of it and ultimately companies are forced to change because of this also. The advancement in every aspect of technology needs changes and organisation adopt with it as well. The companies are getting changed with these liberal policies of governments and other international organisations. It makes the organisations role bigger, and widen the business market of them. Change becomes a necessity for organisations here. ChampyNohria mentioned these three reasons in the book FAST FORWARD in 1996. In the research it is felt that financial slowdown is another factor in the recent period which altered the strategies and plans of companies. The recession hit companies altered their whole strategies and other firms which did not hit by crisis altered their strategies not to hit by the recession. A lot of companies went for job cuts and other ways to decrease their expenses and to increase their profits. Infosys in India, Barclays in UK, and Wall Mart in USA are examples. TYPES OF CHANGES There are four types of organisational changes. They are strategic changes, structural changes, process oriented changes and people centred changes (Sudan Kumar, 2004) 1-Strategic changes Strategic changes are the changes altering the basic strategies of an organisation to attain the goals of it. The strategies are changed according to the needs of the market. The strategy of legal firms in USA an UK to outsource their works to third world countries made a big change in the business world. 2-Structural changes Structural changes deal with the alteration of structural characteristics of an organisation. The changes in the hierarchy of authority come under this type of change. Alteration in the administrative procedures and management are also structural changes. According to the needs companies like GM changed their structure of management to flat structure and it resulted in a huge impact in profit. 3-Process oriented changes Companies alter the process of their system with the advancement of technology or other factors. This is process oriented change. The introduction of robotics in production methods in companies are example of process oriented change. 4-People oriented changes People oriented changes are changes which alters the behavioural patterns of people within an organisation. It involves the changes in attitudes, Performance and behaviours of people within an organisation. CHALLENGES IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGE Kubler- Rose model explains five stages of grief (Hingley Cooper, 1986). The stages include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. These stages are part of the change program also. It is human tendency to deny a change at its starting stage. There will be ambiguous mentality in those whom will be affected by the process of change. There will be rumours and diverse interpretation about the impact of change. Some personal interests direct changes in the environment as a resistance of change. Misunderstanding and low tolerance is the main challenge caused by the process of change. Each type of challenges are to be dealt with different approaches to tackle the situation. Increased stress and additional work for the workers are another challenge faced by the change process. Uncertainty, difference in perceptions and evaluation are other challenges. Motivation is the positive measure to overcome these challenges (Kebapci Erkal, 2009) STEPS INVOLVED IN CHANGE Levins three step model says Refreeze, Move and Unfreeze are the three steps of change process (Cameron and Green, 2004). The first step involves the current state, the describing the necessity of change, the second step move is the implementation of change and forcing the employees to participate in the change process. The final step unfreeze deals with the stabilization of the changed environment and make of the changed system permanent. There are 8 steps which are necessary for the successful execution of change process according to Kotter (Wickam, 2004). Establishing Sense of urgency. It must be felt by the top level managers that the status quo should change. A sense of urgency should be created and established within the organisation as the first step of change process. Creating a powerful coalition. A team should be set up for the change process. The team must be a powerful one to create a sense of importance for the process. The position of the team is important. It should include main line managers to overcome the blocks from the left outs. Good expertise should be included by experience, discipline and nationality etc. The team must contain members having high reputation for the credibility of the team. The team should contain enough leaders whose skills are proven. If such leaders are not available within the organisation, they should be brought for the easy going of the process of change. Developing a vision. According to Kotter, a vision of change will make the process easier. The vision must be imaginable to show the future. The vision must be desirable and feasible to show the long term interests and realistic, attainable goals. And the vision must be focused, communicable and flexible. Such a vision will help to make a decision and it will help to communicate the idea easily to the members of the organisation. Communication of the change Communication is an important matter of concern in the process of change. It is really important in the change process to identify the audience. The knowledge of audience, their culture, the nationality, their attitude, the tradition etc should be taken into consideration. Their custom may not allow the change process in to action. Then the tactical moves of the team of communication only can make them convince them with clear vision of the change. Two way communication system is always adopted than one way communication in the context of change. It will help to reduce the rumours and misconceptions of employees. Key messages can be passed to the audience at the pertinent timings. The messages must be transferred through the medium which can hit the audience with the clear idea of change. The communication should be made often. The messages must be passed several times to avoid the misconceptions of the employees. And it will help to make an impact of the necessity of the process in the organisation. The messages passed must avoid technical and tough words which make the employees confused. The idea must be passed to them in a crystal clear format. Determining the delivery method, frequency methods and trends are so important in the progression of the change process. It is important to structure the efforts of the communication team to make the process easier. The communication process must start in an easier format. It will help to avoid the tough and technical difficulties of communication. It will be an advantage to pre assesses the questions which have more probability to be raised by the employees earlier and find out the apt answers for them. It will help the management team to clarify the doubts and rumours of the employees. Preferred senders should be selected earlier to communicate different classes of employees. The official messages can be communicated by the CEO or president of the organisation for the reliability. At the same time personal messages in the context of change can be communicated by the supervisor of the employees for the emotional reliability. Following graph shows the bench mark study of 2007 on preferred senders. (change-management.) Empowering employees to act on the vision On completion of the successful communication of vision to the employees, the team should concentrate on building structures compatible to the vision communicated. The failure of some customer focused changes is the result of non adaptation of organisational structures. The employees must be given the pertinent training program for the successful execution of the vision. The training of new skills, attitudes and behaviour make the employees empowered and ultimately to the success of the change vision. For a major change, it is necessary to implement such cost effective, meaningful training programs in an organisation. Generating short- term wins In a major change, the ultimate success may be attained in a long time period. Then short term wins for the process of change is good for the program. It will help to increase the pressure on the employees. It is good to have visible, unambiguous, related short term changes are useful ways to keeping up the urgency of the change program, especially when the change is a long process. Consolidation of improvements and production of more changes It is important to celebrate the short term wins and it will increase the momentum of the program as it makes an impact that the process is half done and the ultimate aim is near. When the process is on progress, new people should be added to the management of the project to deal with the new changes. At the same time, the senior managers should have a clear supervision over the progress of the project. Avoidance of more interdependencies is as important as the above said proposals. Anchor the new approaches in the culture The clear over look over the embedded culture within the organisation according to the changing nature is an essential thing and it is the critical point in the change process. To embed the new culture within the organisation, an impact should be created that the new approach is better than the old one. The need of an alteration of habits and thinking pattern in a culture may be implemented before even the process of progress. It is necessary to have global understanding and responsibility for that. The team of change need to be trained themselves with more situational details to encounter with the change (Van Riel Fombrun, 2007). There are positive ways to handle the stress of intercultural situation, whether there be one time encounters or frequent dialogues in multi cultural settings(M J Bennet,1998). Only with good verbal support, training and supports from the management, the workers will be able to work up to the expectation of the vision of change. The hardest task in the process may be the implementation of cultural differences within the organisation. To overcome this difficulty, the human resources should be compatible according to the new culture, otherwise with the old ways of human resource, the old culture of the employees may revive. These difficulties make the importance of communication process more vital. CONCLUSION It is understood that change is a necessity and with change, challenges against it also created. In the thorough study about change, the importance of a communication process in the process of change is come to known in present environment. The two major changes made in the organisational structure in Tata Tea was a huge success. The separation of companys branded and plantation operations into independent value added centres made greater value in both the operations. Secondly, the integration of sales and marketing operations made much needed marketplace synergy to the firm. These are executed within the organisation with a special team of change in 2002-03 periods (tata.). This is a good example for the success of a change process with a special team of communication. It can be said that for a better process of change, a special management team is essential and they should have special managerial techniques and processes. A good communication among the top layer, middle layer and the working class makes the whole process an easy one. The leadership of the organisation must have a clear vision about the change, process of change and the communication method they are about to execute before the implementation of the change process. The success of the process of change depends upon the level of communication that exists in the organisation. The special team made to overcome the difficulties must have the ability to go to all layers with their communication skills.

Supplier Relationship Management In Todays Increasing Economic Environment Business Essay

Supplier Relationship Management In Todays Increasing Economic Environment Business Essay Abstract In todays increasing economic environment, organisations are looking for new techniques to improve their competitive advantage. The focus of my research is in the area of purchasing which have now become a strategic function and a key reason in positioning competitively among all other competitors. The paper discusses that in recent years, the relationships between buyers and suppliers have been continuously receiving a considerable attention for effective operations within organisations. Traditionally, supplier-buyer relationships were regarded as adversarial, arms length transactions. However, the approach towards managing this relationship is changing and moving towards a more collaborative approach due to the fact that now suppliers are important sources to gain competitive advantage to operate in global markets in terms of their expertise, knowledge and ability of sharing risks. [Research paper Journal] The research aims to provide an understanding of supplier relationship management, factors of supplier evaluation and selection process, and the elements that contribute to the establishment of a productive customer/vendor relationships. Such a study is important for buyers to build and maintain effective relationships with their suppliers for consistent cost reductions while working together to mutually create revenues and other benefits. The paper recommends that this information may work as a reference guideline for buyers when initiating cooperative relationships with their supply sources resulting in advanced purchasing and strategic supply chain management in their organisation. The research method adopted in this dissertation is secondary exploring various business journals, business websites, textbooks and articles. Due to continuous new product developments, product innovations and increase in costs, managing supplier relationships will further become crucial in the near future. Due to this reason, therefore, this paper discusses the requirement of supplier relationships and how this shift in organisational strategy towards building relations has and will going to change the employees role, companys processes and organisational goals. The findings from this research provides an evidence of how companies have improved their supply chain operations through understanding the importance to develop effective supplier relationships as part of their core business activity for not only to achieve success within procurement department but also to successfully complete other supply chain cycle such as maintaining production flow at all times, planning accurately, inventory handling, logistical issues and achieving financial benefits. Examples included findings from large organisations of Hong Kong, Rolls Royce, GE, and Japanese firm Toyota. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this research is that every organisation must emphasise the need to actually develop world class suppliers that helps in building long-term relationships, reduction in costs, improved QCDS (quality, cost, delivery and service) criteria, improved customer service, mutual information sharing, reducing the NPI (new product inspection) costs and becoming world class organisation in the market. Introduction Nowadays, the majority of Organisations believe that their companys real assets are embedded in the quality of the relationships shared between the business and their stakeholders such as clients or customers, employees and suppliers. Developing and managing supplier relationship will be the main subject throughout this project. The objective of this research is to investigate the importance of the need to focus more on building collaborative relationships with their strategic suppliers by large manufacturing companies. With increase in globalisation and restructuring of several organisations, procurements role has changed focusing more towards costs, quality, flexibility and technology. [Herbig and OHara, 1995; Goh and Lau, 1999] In the previous years (traditionally), purchasing was considered as a secretarial function in which the buyer-supplier relationships were viewed as being adversarial and unsurprisingly results in a win/lose outcome. Before, business operations from manufacturing to assembling the finished goods were prepared in-house but now many organisations have moved towards a more combined approach where manufacturing firms have started concentrating more on their core competencies only and rest outsourcing nationally and internationally to satisfy their customer expectations. Organisations are going lean i.e. working towards continuous improvement, adopting just-in time and total quality management and eliminating wastes. This highlighted the requirement for most of the lean organisations to grow cooperative supplier-buyer relationships to achieve real productivity, improved design and quality that are unattainable unless the supplying partners assist in product innovation. Hence, several manufacturers have recognized their ability to become world class competitors based on establishing high levels of trust and cooperation among their suppliers. [They and Briggs (1994)] For example, highlighting the case of Rolls Royce, the engine manufacturer, that outsources 70% of their material from external supply chain and thats the reason Rolls Royce try to encourage their suppliers to work openly and jointly contributing to their performance. Rolls Royce belief in building good supplier relationships assures quality and competitiveness to their product offerings and helps to achieve customer standards. The growing face of domestic and global competition has led to understand the manufacturing companies to practise global sourcing which is a strategy to improve companies competitiveness in the international market through reducing costs, improving quality, increased exposure to universal technology, and improving delivery and reliability. A connection or association is known as a relationship. Relationships are said to be when individuals, organisations and internal or external groups to an enterprise interact. At recent times, relationship marketing describes long-term marketing strategy that emphasise on building and maintaining long-term relationships with customers rather than just focusing on one-time sale approach. At business level, relationship marketing is applied to variety of purchasing supplier relationships in the context of a broader network of interconnected purchasing, supplier and competitor organisations. Supplier relationship is defined as a systematic approach to supplier evaluation, selection and ongoing relationship management with the goal of cutting the costs of goods and services boosting profits. Supplier relationship management is a proactive approach of an ongoing business links to secure a competitive advantage within the organisation, focusing more on overall relationships between the supplier and the customer (buying organisation) rather than focusing on specific contracts. The idea is to develop trust and understanding of each others requirements and interests while providing assistance to each other. For example, Rolls Royce sends their experts to their sub-contract suppliers to improve their technology and performance standards. Such relationships bring profit and provide competitive advantage. [http://www.ogc.gov.uk/process_supplier_performance_and_contract_management_6368.asp] Today, most of the companies have realised that doing business jointly with their strategic suppliers will enhance their organisational ability to respond quickly to demand changes, focus on core business only and hence, results in implementing best practises. For example, Rolls Royce believes their supplier make very essential contribution to their business performance as over 70% of their manufacturing costs comes from external supply sources. focus more on their core competencies such as encouraging suppliers to work with transparency, openly and together to enhance continuous improvements. rather than Small to Medium size Enterprises and many local businesses use Transactional Purchasing whereas Large Enterprises use Relationship Purchasing to compete strongly in this economic climate. Transactional Purchasing Relationship purchasing Focus on short, discrete purchasing Focus on supplier retention Short-term orientation Long-term orientation Arms length Closeness Simple buyer-seller relationship Complicated, including internal relationships Emphasis on price, quality and delivery in the offered product No Innovation Emphasis on price, quality, delivery other factors, like innovative design as a collaborative exercise b/w purchaser and supplier Moderate supplier contacts High level of supplier contact with each contact being used to gain information strengthen the relationship Little sharing of information Significant sharing of information, including cost information and transparency Introducing Supply chain management The project is focused on process for choosing world class suppliers, importance of building supplier relationships, various supplier development approaches and process of negotiation required in purchasing that plays a vital role in todays supply chain management. Explaining what is supply chain management and its various elements that are necessary for the movement of goods and services within the business. Supply chain management consists of the intra and inter-organisational co-ordination of business functions that act as both transformative and support functions. This emphasises managing supply chain effectively must be a key activity within the businesses. [Mentzer et al. (2001)] Supply chain combines flow of materials, goods, and information (includes money) that floats within and between organisations linking with a variety of tangible and intangible facilitators, e.g. relationships, processes, activities and integrated information systems. Different views of supply chains are implemented in terms of a process when operations are emphasised, a logistical channel when emphasises marketing, a value chain whey looking at value added activities, and a demand chain when considering customer satisfaction. [Peck H. (2006)] Key elements of supply chain The key elements of supply chain are that links with each other by the movement of products. The following explains that supply chain starts and ends with the customer: [http://logistics.about.com/od/supplychainintroduction/a/into_scm.htm] Customer This is the customer that starts the value chain by deciding to make a purchase of a particular product for example, in an aviation industry procuring turbine blades or a fan shaft which is offered for sale by an organisation. At this stage, the customer contacts the sales team and places purchase order with a right quantity and delivered on a right date. If in case, this product needs manufacturing then the purchase order includes a requirement that must be fulfilling by the production facility. Planning The requirement for planning occurs when customers purchase order is received and processed with other existing orders. Production plans are created by the planning department to generate products to accomplish the customers order. If manufacturing requires, then raw materials are purchased to complete the process. Purchasing The list of materials e.g. raw materials and services is obtained which is required by the production department to complete the purchase order. Then purchasing team issues purchase orders to procure raw material from selected suppliers on their manufacturing site on a requisite date. Inventory The raw materials that are received from suppliers are checked for quality and moved into the warehouse. The invoice is received for the parts that are delivered by the supplier and then materials are stored until there is a demand from a production area. Production According to the production plan, the raw materials from the inventory are moved into the production area where product manufacturing takes place and creates the finished product. Once the parts are completed, they are again sent back to the warehouse and stored prior to delivery to the ultimate customer. Transportation Logistics department then finds the most efficient shipping method in order to achieve on-time delivery at the right date mentioned by the customer. After goods are received by the customer, an invoice is sent by the organisation (supplier) for delivered products. Outlining Case study: GE-Aviation In this project, there will be discussion on relationship purchasing within aviation industry considering GE Aviation as a case study. Suggesting methods of procurement and ways of maintaining GEs existing and new relationships with suppliers. On-line procurement is one of the major processes that I will be focusing in my project which GE adopts within their business that not only reduces the cost and saves time but also provides the right amount of communication with its suppliers at the right time. For example, GE-Aviation has its own department for RB211 jumbo jet engine where there are teams responsible for engineering, operations, purchasing and billing. The engine gets repaired and maintained on site. For RB211 engine type, GEs biggest supplier is Rolls Royce who is the OEMs and can provide material many times. Using SAP software within the whole organisation saves a huge amount of time for purchasing transactions and also makes easy for GE purchasing team to analyse demand raised and provide forecasting to their suppliers for each product by just looking into the system and working through its historical past. GE uses Relationship Purchasing in which they believe to maximise their revenue it is very important to have good supplier relationships. Some of the key approaches/strategies required before working towards building relationships are as follows: Selecting a world class supplier Companies that outsources internationally their materials opens the opportunity to identify potential suppliers, evaluate and reasonably short list them that result with the best supplier. This is considered as one of the most important process to perform by the procurement team that aims to choose the best supplier that ensures reliable supplies with low risk involved and maximises the overall value to the buyer. The following are the seven key steps involved in supplier evaluation and selection process: (Fig 7.5 Supplier evaluation and selection process [pg 163]) Recognise the need for supplier selection The first step is to recognise the actual need for selection of supplier. Purchasing team must work with new product development department in order to recognise future buying behaviours. Purchasing groups proactively select suppliers and anticipate demands rather than wait until a demand rises. The process to start this evaluation arises due to the following scenarios: Through new product development Poor performance received from existing internal and external suppliers Closure of the contract Procuring new tools and equipments Thinking to expand business into new markets or products Due to inadequate capacity of existing suppliers Throughout outsourcing and re-engineering analyses Deciding to reduce the size of the supply base Identifying the main sourcing requirements All the way through evaluation process, procurement team must keep an eye on what they are intended to do. Acquiring materials is not just important but also focus to meet specific requirements set by the other internal customer and indirectly by other supply chain members. For example, an aviation company like GE that makes engines has to buy all the machinery and spare parts along with buyers taking care to ensure a perfect quality products are delivered on time. Establishing sourcing strategy Developing purchasing strategies results in long term alliances that buyers look each time to compete in todays growing competition. Several vital strategic decisions that affect the selection of suppliers are: Picking single or multiple suppliers Creating short-term or long-term contracts Suppliers wish to develop working partnerships rather than arms length relations Working with suppliers that can provide support with product designs rather than those who cannot modify designs Having choice of local, domestic, foreign or global suppliers Therefore, sourcing strategies and policies must be carefully re-evaluated during supplier selection as requirements changes frequently in shorter times because of changing market conditions, changing consumer preferences and accustomed corporate goals. Identifying potential suppliers This stage identifies a list of suppliers that can actually have the capability to deliver of what is required by the customer. Buyers can use various numbers of sources to develop the preliminary list of supply sources by a quick search of company websites as well as long and detailed search for companies that can support with design and make specialised products. A rule of thumb must take place to determine the effort to be used into supplier selection by comparing the existing suppliers efficiency and strategic importance of an item because too much effort and expensive resources are wasted; too little effort and potential suppliers might be missed in this initial search criteria. Following are the sources of information widely-used to identify potential suppliers: Current suppliers Using existing suppliers who are already on the preferred list which are consistently meeting buyers requirements that reduces the purchasers time and effort in evaluation of supplier capabilities. But at the same time, existing supplier may not always provide the world class long term results and that is the reason why organisations scan information continuously to recognize potential new sources. Sales representatives and agents Marketing information received from these individuals can become a valuable source of information for new product offerings. Buyers keep this information in their file for future reference even if there is no urgent requirement for a supplier service. Internet searches Nowadays suppliers launch customer websites as part of their marketing approach and help the buyers with detailed information from a simple search of possible suppliers. Various other websites can also help in discovering and assessing important information like reviews, comparisons, comments, analyses and case studies of potential suppliers. Experience Experienced individuals working within purchasing team generally carries a wide knowledge about various capable suppliers as experienced buyers have already worked in a particular industry for many years and familiar with the main suppliers and their features. Internal sources Operating different business units within large organisations, each may have their own procurement department. Therefore, other units in the same organisation becomes a valuable source of information exchange to buyers through informal meetings, formal team sessions, an internal database, purchasing newsletters, etc. Limit suppliers in the selection pool At this stage, the procurement team must consolidate and analyse the information gathered on potential supply sources that helps them to make informed decisions. Getting a long list of suppliers is just the initial task but buyers then have to eliminate the weakest suppliers until they attain the strong shortlist. Therefore, the final supplier is then selected from this list. The following are the entry qualifiers features that influence buyers final decision [Howard (1998)]: Financial strength Appropriate business strategy Strong supportive management Proven manufacturing capability Design capability There are also many reasons that influence buyers decision to procure material on the following basis: Buying directly from the original manufacturer or distributor Original equipment manufacturers mostly offer lower prices that avoid the costs of wholesalers and retailers along with profit margins. The final choice must be considered on the basis of four factors including the size of the purchase, the manufacturers policies of direct sales, availability of storage at buyers facility, and the required additional services. Local, national, international and global suppliers Choosing international suppliers are more favourable as they usually offers the best price along with technical support but these have to be balanced by higher shipping costs, stocks, communication problems and common risks involved. Also, choosing local suppliers are considered more responsive to fluctuating demands, small deliveries and regular changes in purchase orders using Just-in-time method that not only supports local suppliers and allows the buyers to enhance local economy but also helps in building community goodwill. Large or small suppliers Usually buyers focus on suppliers capability to do the work rather than selecting on the basis of its size. But a buyer must keep in mind the unexpected increase in demands that can only be dealt by larger firms providing extra capacity to overcome these fluctuations. At the same time, in order to create a diversified supply base, buyers intentionally deal with smaller suppliers. Multiple or single sourcing When there are numerous different suppliers available then it becomes very difficult to make a decision of how many to use? Most of the organisations have chosen a trend to reduce the supply base that will benefit them accordingly. Determining method to select supplier This is the last stage where buyers are left with four to five suppliers in their shortlist and decide to evaluate these remaining organisations by looking at the alternatives in more detail for example, using supplier-provided information, supplier/customer visits, preferred list of suppliers and third-party information. Supplier-provided information Detailed information can be acquired through requesting price quotations. Information received from quotations are then used to understand the product description and supply which is then followed by another requests of a detailed cost breakdown of the price quoted by suppliers initially that must include the costs of labour, materials, overheads and profit as buyers also require operational details to finally evaluate them. Supplier visits One of the most efficient ways of getting an overall view of suppliers capabilities and performance is to visit suppliers facilities by a cross-functional team. Generally, these visits are expensive and time consuming so a buyer must balance their desire to gather as much information as possible confidentially. The following table shows important information points that a buyer must collect during its visit: Management capability Quality management Technology levels Planning and scheduling effectiveness Financial strength Personnel relations E-business capabilities Sophistication and efficiency of operations ISO certifications Skills, knowledge and experience of workforce Evidence of good management and housekeeping Types of inventory Nature of the goods inwards, stores and outwards areas Environmental practices Employee employment contracts Any significant changes planned or expected Contact details of key decision makers Use of preferred suppliers This is a list of suppliers created by the purchasers to reward their best suppliers that consistently meets their strict performance criteria. The list can also be used as an incentive to improve the existing suppliers performance and assessed accordingly. External or third-party information This consists of all the other information available about a potential supplier. For example, Total quality management is a system that insists suppliers to meet the quality standards as similar to buyers and generates a flow of related information throughout the supply chain. Selecting supplier and signing agreement This is the final step to choose the supplier followed by signing a contract. This includes different purchasing orders required for routine and major items, i.e. using standard purchase orders for routine items whereas, detailed negotiation is required to agree on specific details for major items that increases the complexity in the purchase order. Supplier evaluation criteria After considering various steps in selecting suppliers, the buying organisation must analyse the following questions with the supply organisation in order to progress outside their traditional purchasing relationships and possibilities for long term relationships with them: [Spekman (1988)] Has the supplier signified a dedication or willingness for a longer term relationship? Is the supplier enthusiastic to perform resources to develop this relationship? Is the supplier willing or able to participate at the early stage or throughout the stage of product design? Has supplier brought any unique service to the business? Is the supplier showed their interests or commitment towards customers problems and effectively solving them together? Is the supplier is interested in improvements and innovations in the operations? Is there any openness of sharing and exchanging information between both companies? How much knowledgeable is the supplier about the customers industry and business? Is the need for confidentially exchanged information taken seriously? Supplier management and development In todays time, the need to improve supplier performance is open in large or small organisations and for this reason; the purchasing teams must introduce a supplier relationship management (SRM) approach to achieve their organisational goals and success in global purchases of technology. Therefore, this calls for managing resources efficiently throughout supply chain collaborations, dedication required from supply managers, creating standardised best practices effectively and tools required for tracking and evaluating the results. The process must begin with effective supplier performance measures required to undertake strategic supply or procurement decisions for the organisation. [Minahan T. And Vigorose M. (2002)] Effective supplier performance measurements What to measure The factors important to assess the performance includes: Delivery performance The purchase orders that are sent to suppliers involves all the appropriate information on deliveries, with quantities, lead times and due dates. Therefore, it is buyers responsibility to check regularly that how well a supplier actually meets their expected conditions. Cost performance There are many ways that can measure cost performances for example, monitoring real price delivered by the supplier after adjusting increase in the prices (inflation). Quality performance In order to measure quality, the best criteria for buyers is to check that products are delivered in 100% perfect condition with no defects. This also includes comparing previous performances, latest performance with mutually agreed standards and various other figures. Other qualitative factors in supplier performance Factor Explanation Problem solving Suppliers attention to provide solutions to the problem Technical skills Comparing suppliers manufacturing capacity with other business suppliers Reporting progress Suppliers incomplete reporting of existing problems and identifying and communicating other potential problems Corrective action Suppliers timely response to requests for corrective actions and requests for changes Cost-reduction plans Suppliers enthusiasm to find techniques that helps to reduce the total purchase cost New-product development support Suppliers capability to reduce time and cost required for new product development Buyer/seller compatibility Rating subjectively how well a purchasing firm and a supplier work together Therefore, the above are various other factors that help the buyers to measure the suppliers technical ability and closeness of both parties relationships. Reporting frequency This includes preparing reports to provide a clear feedback to supplier on their performance. Purchasing management must communicate with their buyers to send these reports by reviewing them weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually which is then followed with more face-to-face team meeting that reviews their actual performance, discussion on targets, identify potential improvements, examine changes, and so on. Any problems (for example, supplier fails to meet the required standard) occurred during crucial time must be addressed with special reports and meetings to avoid any financial and operational problems. Use of measurement data Procurement staff can make use of data collected from its measurement systems in many ways including: Identifying suppliers which are not meeting the performance goals and highlighting areas that calls for improvements, followed by corrective actions taken to raise the performance to acceptable levels or else finding new suppliers. It helps in discovering excellent performances achieved from supplier which then helps identify preferred suppliers that qualify for long term alliances. It also recognises the worst performing suppliers that are continuously not improving and needs to be removed from supply base whereas offering more work to superior suppliers. Supplier measurement techniques There are three techniques discussed for evaluating performance of suppliers, each differs in their use, level of subjectivity, resources required and implementing cost. Categorical techniques These techniques considers a particular aspect of performance, for example lead time and classifies a set of categories for performance rating as excellent, good, fair or poor and therefore, helps buyers in deciding which supplier is good or bad. This is an easiest system of measurement, easy to use, comparatively inexpensive and also the most subjective. There are some drawbacks of using this technique as they do not provide a clear analysis of performance, slower than automated systems and regarded as the lowest of the three techniques in terms of reliability. Scoring model This method overcomes the subjectivity of categorical technique by calculating a weighted score for different performance categories. This is more reliable and requires reasonable implementation cost providing flexibility for buyers to change the categories included as well as weights allocated to each. Cost-based techniques -This technique is the most comprehensive that can help the buying organisation to look for the total cost required for doing business with a particular supplier by identifying the lowest purchase price is no

Its Time for Uniforms in American Schools Essay -- School Uniforms Ed

It's Time for Uniforms in American Schools Works Cited Missing School uniforms have been debated in the public school system for what seem like fifty years. Understand the constructive views that most administrations envision, you start to recognize the goals associated with having students wear them; however, there is a flip side. The unenthusiastic views that are associated with school uniforms present an equally intriguing question. Should schools incorporate them into the curriculum or not? Who opposes it and why it may be used to insure our children’s future. All views will be presented for you to make the decision. Why is this an issue? Well it seems that clothes have become the status maker and not grades, attendance and behavior. They say never judge a book by its cover; however, it seems that in today’s society looks mean everything. A child’s mental demeanor can change with what he/she is wearing. The age-old problem of â€Å" mom I have nothing to wear† has become a burden, even when there is a wardrobe stuffed behind over sprung closet doors. This is the issue. Fashion and the status of a student should not coincide. If anything a student’s statues should be reflected by the grades they receive from class. That should be the only determinant; unfortunately, this is not the case. So what role does various clothes and fashion portray, according to Swain (2002) cloths are used to portray individualism (p53). Individualism is an important feature for a student to possess. But again it seems that individualism can be achieve through other venues. From a teacher†™s stand point the main issue with student wearing uniforms is the impact uniforms can have on behavior and grades. Student’s behaviors can be influenced from a uni... ...mes to there children’s future. With television and the media promoting a way of life that is out of reach for most of the populous, parents need to help there children realize that school is important in obtaining a grasp and gaining that desired future? A proper education and the desire to sacrifice time and the superficial individuality needs to be completed now at a young age. Sacrifices must be made to gain the, now required high school diploma to insure their place in the middle ground of society. The more sacrifices the student learns to make at a young age the better prepared he/she will be for hurtles that one faces in everyday life. With the rise of tabloid television it seems that the â€Å"dumbing of America† has begun. This uniform policy is the first step that needs to be taken to insure the success of our children. Education is the issue here not fashion. It's Time for Uniforms in American Schools Essay -- School Uniforms Ed It's Time for Uniforms in American Schools Works Cited Missing School uniforms have been debated in the public school system for what seem like fifty years. Understand the constructive views that most administrations envision, you start to recognize the goals associated with having students wear them; however, there is a flip side. The unenthusiastic views that are associated with school uniforms present an equally intriguing question. Should schools incorporate them into the curriculum or not? Who opposes it and why it may be used to insure our children’s future. All views will be presented for you to make the decision. Why is this an issue? Well it seems that clothes have become the status maker and not grades, attendance and behavior. They say never judge a book by its cover; however, it seems that in today’s society looks mean everything. A child’s mental demeanor can change with what he/she is wearing. The age-old problem of â€Å" mom I have nothing to wear† has become a burden, even when there is a wardrobe stuffed behind over sprung closet doors. This is the issue. Fashion and the status of a student should not coincide. If anything a student’s statues should be reflected by the grades they receive from class. That should be the only determinant; unfortunately, this is not the case. So what role does various clothes and fashion portray, according to Swain (2002) cloths are used to portray individualism (p53). Individualism is an important feature for a student to possess. But again it seems that individualism can be achieve through other venues. From a teacher†™s stand point the main issue with student wearing uniforms is the impact uniforms can have on behavior and grades. Student’s behaviors can be influenced from a uni... ...mes to there children’s future. With television and the media promoting a way of life that is out of reach for most of the populous, parents need to help there children realize that school is important in obtaining a grasp and gaining that desired future? A proper education and the desire to sacrifice time and the superficial individuality needs to be completed now at a young age. Sacrifices must be made to gain the, now required high school diploma to insure their place in the middle ground of society. The more sacrifices the student learns to make at a young age the better prepared he/she will be for hurtles that one faces in everyday life. With the rise of tabloid television it seems that the â€Å"dumbing of America† has begun. This uniform policy is the first step that needs to be taken to insure the success of our children. Education is the issue here not fashion.