Deforestation and Malaria

Stephanie Saperstein ISB 201L 9. 24. 11 Deforestation and Malaria The changes in global environments is expected to affect the rate of malaria cases in humans. Malaria is a serious and at times fatal disease caused by an infectious parasite that can live within a mosquito that feeds on humans. These mosquitos breed in numerous areas and have affected many populations causing many people to suffer from its painful symptoms and effects of the disease. Researchers have been conducting tests on whether deforestation does in fact increase cases of malaria in hopes to increase the ability to control malaria’s outbreaks in certain areas.The increase in population in many areas is causing there to be an increase in deforestation due to the needs for land for settlement, cultivating agriculture and extracting resources. Research has shown that deforestation does increase the rate of malaria because of the environmental changes of breeding sites and humans moving to and from forested ar eas. Malaria’s parasites most commonly and successfully infects the female Anopheles mosquitoes and those humans that are bitten by these mosquitos, however they are both affected by the parasite differently.In humans the parasite begins by infecting the liver where it matures and begins to breed and multiply. After multiplying they begin infecting the blood stream and attacking the host’s red blood cells. These parasites continue this cycle by consistently infecting more and more red blood cells. Unlike humans the mosquito is not harmed when infected by the parasite. When a Anopheles female mosquito feeds on a human carrying this parasite a new cycle of growth and multiplication takes place in the mosquito. The parasite begins in the mosquitos stomach and then travels to the midgut wall of the mosquito where they breed and multiply.After 10-18 days, the parasites are found as â€Å"sporozoites† in the mosquito's salivary glands. (The Malaria Lifecycle 2006) Whe n the Anopheles mosquito feeds on another human, the sporozoites are injected with the mosquito's saliva and start another human infection. The mosquito transfers the parasites to multiple people by biting them and therefore acts as a vector for the disease. In one study it is said that deforestation is the largest contributing factor to malaria out of the many environmental changes and its rates are expected to increase. Where malaria is found depends mainly on factors such as temperature, humidity, and rainfall.Malaria is transmitted in tropical and subtropical areas, where Anopheles mosquitos can survive and multiply and where malaria parasites can complete their growth cycle in the mosquito. Research has recognized that deforestation increases malaria risk in Africa and the Americas and lessens it in South-east Asia. (Guerra, Snow, and Hay 2006) Malaria in the Amazon has been caused by ecosystem changes which were caused by human migration and opening of land for agricultural re asons, cattle, and natural resource extraction as well as deforestation and reforestation.The change in the ecosystems relates to the promotion or suppression of Anopheles darlingi, or the number one malaria vector in the Amazon, is ultimately the most important factor. An. darlingi is the most important malaria vector in the Amazon region. The vector breeds in partly shaded pools found in flooded areas of forests, forest creeks, river edges and pools left after river-level recession during the dry season. When humans colonize forests or near-forest areas in the Amazon it causes an increase of An. arlingi populations by increasing human exposure to this species’ natural breeding habitats and by generating new breeding habitats on the forest fringes. When deforestation takes place there are less trees to shade the given area of land and the acidity and chemical composition of the soil changes. This environmental change often creates favorable conditions for the breeding of An. darlingi and therefore increases the local risk of human malaria. Government sponsored colonization projects and significant migration, which took place with the help of deforestation, have resulted in malaria outbreaks.The â€Å"frontier malaria† phenomenon is exhibited in the Brazilian Amazon, among many other places, which increases the rate of malaria among humans. Frontier malaria is defined as a phenomenon operating at three spatial scales and with a distinctive time path. First at a micro/individual level, vector densities are high because of changes in the ecosystem that promote habitats for A. darlingi. This also occurs when human exposure is intense, such as at dusk or dawn. The second is at the community level where weak institutions, minimal community cohesion, and high rates of in and out migration characterize the frontier malaria.Third, at the state and national level, there is unplanned development of new settlement areas where agriculture had failed and peop le avoided malaria. However, this only elevates the rate of transmission. This frontier malaria has a time path where at the opening of a settlement area malaria rates rise rapidly and after 6-8 years the unstable in and out human migration and the high level of ecosystem transformations such as land clearing is replaced by urbanization and community cohesion. This frontier malaria then consists of more stable and low rates of transmission of malaria. Singer and Caldas De Castro 2006) Malaria has recently struck in the Peruvian Amazon region and research has shown that deforestation was the main cause. This research states that the risk of being bitten by the primary malaria-carrying mosquito, A. darlingi, is nearly 300 times higher in cleared areas than in those that are largely undisturbed. (Meadows 2006) A study reported in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene shows how deforestation is a contributing factor to the increase in malaria outbreaks.The study was cond ucted in the Loreto district of northeastern Peru, where malaria has risen from 600 cases in 1992 to 120,000 in 1997. Loreto’s population is increasing causing there to be increase is deforestation in order for more settlements such as roads for plantain, cassava, and other subsistence crops. As stated earlier, clearing forest for cropland also often creates better or more breeding sites for the A. darlingi mosquito by providing deep water and short vegetation. Researchers in Loreto experimented by measuring the rate of An. arlingi bites to test whether the population was the primary factor in the increase in malaria cases or whether deforestation was. They found that population size had no effect on the An. darlingi bite rate, but that deforestation had an enormous impact on it. The rate was 278 times higher in areas with the least forest and the most grass/crop land than in areas that were undisturbed. This study proves that areas of slash-and-burn agriculture provides a be tter environment for An. darlingi mosquitos to breed and increase in population, therefore causing more people to be at risk or in contact with the mosquitos that carry the disease.As exhibited in the previous studies and research, deforestation is definitely a contributing factor to the rise of malaria infection. The increase of population and globalization increases the need for land to raise cattle, extract resources, cultivate agriculture, and areas to migrate to. This increase then leads to a need for deforestation which has proven to be a main factor in raising the cases of malaria. In these studies deforestation increased malaria in numerous ways. By destroying forests the climatic factors in areas affecting vector and parasite reproduction and development were significantly changed.Deforestation changed ecological and landscape factors by increasing the amount of sunlight which in turn increases the temperatures of bodies of water, thereby changing the habitats for breeding areas. Overall deforestation is indeed one of the highest contributing factors to the rise in the insect vectored disease around the world. References Guerra, C. A. , R. W. Snow, and S. I. Hay. â€Å"A Global Assessment of Closed Forests, Deforestation and Malaria Risk. † American Journals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 100. 3 (2006): 189-204. Pub Med Central. U. S.National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, Apr. 2006. Web. 24 Jan. 2011. . Meadows, Robin. â€Å"Malaria Linked to Deforestation. † Conservation Magazine. 2006. Web. Sept. 2011. . Singer, Burton, and Marcia Caldas De Castro. â€Å"ENHANCEMENT AND SUPPRESSION OF MALARIA IN THE AMAZON — SINGER and DE CASTRO 74 (1): 1. † ENHANCEMENT AND SUPPRESSION OF MALARIA IN THE AMAZON 74. 1 (2006): 1-2. American Journal of Tropical Medicine â€Å"The Malaria Lifecycle. †Ã‚  TravelHealth. co. uk — the UK Independent Travel Health Site. Travel Health Co, 21 Nov. 2006. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. .

Orthopedic Physical Therapy

The history of orthopedic physical therapy originated in Egypt as far back as 2830 B. C. Splints have been found on mummies made from bamboo, reeds, wood and bark, padded with linen (). Orthopedic physical therapy has also been recognized in ancient Greece around 430 and 330 B. C. Hippocrates had developed special splints for fractures and focused on aspects of the knee during this era (). Modern orthopaedics, with particular focus on the year 1741, shows Nicholas Andry as being the father of orthopaedics.Andry coined the word, which derived from the Greek words for â€Å"correct† or â€Å"straight† (orthos) and â€Å"child† (paidion). Orthopedic physical therapy specialized in the US in 1974. The Orthopedic Section of the APTA was formed for physical therapists that specialized in Orthopedics. Orthopedic physical therapy includes treatment of the musculoskeletal system that has been subject to injury or trauma. This includes sprains, strains, post fracture, post -surgery and repetitive injuries (Orthopedic Physical Therapy).Orthopedic physical therapy focuses primarily on treating post-operative joints, acute injuries, arthritis, and amputations. This therapy is essential to reestablish the patient’s strength, activity or motion after injury or surgery. Some approaches to orthopedic therapy are stretching, strength training, cold/hot packs, joint mobilizations, and electrical stimulators. Also used sometimes are ultrasounds when dealing with muscle retraining. Stretching is good if the patient has a stiff joint. It is extremely crucial to perform proper stretching techniques.Strength training exercises can be closed chain workouts or proprioceptive workouts. Closed chain workouts are meant to assist and balance the strength of muscles whereas proprioceptive workouts assist patients who lost the sense of knowing where a body part is in space. The heat and ice therapy contributes to the circulation of blood which decreases swelling. It is also used as a warm up or cool off of the muscles being treated. With the use of sonogram, deep tissues are stimulated and warmed (Physical Therapy).Just like in any physical therapy, it is important to keep the concept of function in mind. If the patient presents complaints in the musculoskeletal system or if any abnormality has been observed, it is important to do a detailed Orthopedic Physical Therapy examination. To perform an orthopedic physical therapy examination of the muscles, bones and joints, start by dividing the musculoskeletal system into functional parts. Use the opposite side for comparisons. Upon examination, one should note areas of enlargement while palpating the joints and surrounding structures.By noting carefully the stability of the enlargement and its boundaries, one can decide whether this is due to bony widening, thickening of the synovial lining of the joint, soft tissue swelling of the structure surrounding the joint, an effusion into the joint capsul e, or nodule formation, which might be located in a tendon sheath, subcutaneous tissue, or other structures about the joint. While palpating the joints, the therapist should note areas of increased warmth (Orthopedic Physical Therapy). There are two types of equipment used in orthopedic therapy.The first are items that are worn and used to support and stabilize weak or traumatized body parts. Back braces; cervical collars; wrist, hand and elbow splints; and knee and ankle braces are a few examples. An injured body part requires stabilization to heal and prevent additional injury. These braces are often made from a mold taken of the affected body part for a perfect fit to insure complete support. The second type of equipment is meant to assist with activities of daily living and enable one to complete difficult tasks.These items are often referred to as durable medical equipment. The most common DME items include canes; crutches; walkers; adaptive strollers; manual and power wheelcha irs. Other forms of DME include specialized spoons, dishes, extended straws, and raised commode seats, mechanical lifts, transfer boards and disks, bolsters, and arm troughs. Even though these items are not worn, one will still need to be measured for walkers, wheelchairs and supportive seating. Many of these items are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies (Munson, 2010).An orthopedic therapist must have in depth knowledge of disorders and injuries of the musculoskeletal system which includes muscles, bones, joints, bursa, ligaments and tendons. The orthopedic therapist must also be trained in the treatment of post-operative joints; sports injuries, such as sprains, fractures, and tears; arthritis, and amputations. One must also be proficient in the use of hot packs, cold packs, and the use of electrical stimulation that is often used to speed recovery. (Inverarity, Laura D. O. , 2010). Physical therapy assistants held about 63,800 jobs in 2008.Employment op portunities are expected to rise due to the increasing demand for physical therapy services. Employment is expected to rise 35% through 2018, which is much faster than most occupations! Baby boomers are entering the elderly stage making the demand for physical therapy services rise. The elderly are more vulnerable to chronic and debilitating conditions that require therapeutic services. Technology developments will also increase the survival rate of trauma victims and babies with birth defects creating another demand for rehab services. Opportunities for physical therapy assistants are expected to be very good.Physical therapists are able to manage a much bigger clientele with the help of the assistant. Job opportunities are to be particularly good in acute hospitals, skilled nursing and orthopedic settings, where the elderly are most often treated. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). The healthcare reform has been a big factor in patients receiving care from a physical therapist. T he American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) strongly supports efforts to reform the United States health care delivery system to improve coverage, access, and quality of care and reduce unnecessary costs. APTA stands ready to work with the U.S. Congress and President Obama’s administration to meet this policy challenge in 2009. APTA supports the following policy principles for health care reform: †¢ Enact systematic health care reform that provides patient guarantee issue, renewal, and choice and access to affordable health care for all individuals from the health care provider of their choice. – Guarantee issue ensures that patients would not be denied meaningful coverage due to pre-existing conditions. – Guarantee renewal would ensure patients would not have their coverage terminated due to a change in health status. Guarantee choice would ensure that patients have a choice in their health care insurance.†¢ Reduce health care disparities across r ace, gender, geographic area, setting, and health status. †¢ Ensure that rehabilitation services, provided by licensed health care professionals, are an essential element of a standard benefits package in any proposal to reform the insurance delivery system. Rehabilitation is a critical part of the health care continuum and ensures that individuals can return to the highest function possible in their homes and communities. †¢ Enact insurance reforms that: eliminate arbitrary limits on annual or lifetime benefits; -prohibit cost shifting by increased co-payments, deductibles, and/or premiums; and – ensure non-discrimination on benefits or providers. †¢ Eliminate existing Medicare payment policies that impede patient access to cost-effective outpatient rehabilitation services provided by physical therapists including: – permanently repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula in the Medicare physician fee schedule and replace it with inflationary indic es to accurately reflect costs in delivering health care services; permanently repeal arbitrary outpatient therapy caps on services; and – eliminate the unnecessary referral requirement or certification of the plan of care for patients to access outpatient physical therapy services.This barrier to patient access delays care and adds additional costs for patients and the health care system. †¢ Ensure that all models of care delivery, such as medical homes and accountable care organizations, enhance patient access to rehabilitation services. Ensure that any policy set forth regarding bundling payments for post-acute care services meet the following criteria: – Bundled payments should not be implemented into law or regulation without full evaluation of its feasibility and advisability as a payment model for post-acute care services. APTA recommends demonstration projects to further evaluate this payment methodology and for the gradual phase in of policies that change the payment system from post-acute care. Patient safeguards should be established to ensure patient choice and access to the full range and continuum of post-acute and outpatient care. -Post-acute care should be defined as Part A services within the first 30 days post discharge from an acute care hospital stay delivered by inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and/or long-term acute care hospitals. †¢ Enhance initiatives to develop a national strategy that will ensure that an adequate health care workforce exists to meet the needs of patients. Enable physical therapists to fully participate in current initiatives, such as the National Health Services Corp, as well as any new programs established to provide workforce incentives to recruit and retain qualified health care professionals in underserved areas. – Expand federal funding for clinical education, fellowships, and faculty development in physical therapy. †¢ Red uce unnecessary regulatory burdens on physical therapists to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in delivering health care to their patients at the right time and place.†¢ Eliminate referral for profit arrangements in health care. Include prevention and chronic care management programs and services to reduce health care costs or to manage those costs in an efficient and effective fashion. †¢ Expand health information technology incentives to all health care professionals to ensure greater efficiency, improve patient care, facilitate outcomes measurement, and enhance collaboration and integration between all members of the health care team across patient settings Payment incentives, training and education should be phased in over a period of time to enhance compliance and effectiveness. (APTA 2009)The anatomical structures involved in an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear are the three different bands that make up the anterior cruciate ligament. These are; the anteromed ial, intermediate and posterolateral bands. Along with the thigh muscles the ACL works to stabilize the knee joint, it prevents the femur from moving posteriorly while bearing weight and stabilizes the tibia from excessive internal rotation. Other structures that may be involved in an ACL injury are other supporting structures such as the anterolateral or anteromedial joint capsules, the LCL and MCL and the PCL (Arnheim-Prentice-Ch19, 1997).There are three bones that meet to form your knee joint: your thighbone (femur), shinbone (tibia), and kneecap (patella). Your kneecap sits in front of the joint to provide protection. The meniscus is on either side of the joint and offers a layer of articular surface for weight bearing and shock absorption purposes. The bones are connected by ligaments to provide stability to the joint. The anterior cruciate ligament runs diagonally in the middle of the knee to prevent the tibia from sliding out in front of the femur, as well as providing rotati onal stability to the knee (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2009).The ligament most vulnerable to injury is the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The major mechanism involved in an ACL tear occurs when a running athlete suddenly decelerates and makes a sharp â€Å"cutting motion†. This is called a single plane injury and occurs when the lower leg is rotated while the foot is in a fixed position. A direct blow to the knee can cause hyperextension and also cause an ACL tear. An athlete that experiences a tear feels or hears a ‘pop’ with immediate instability, pain and swelling and may complain that it feels as if the knee is coming apart (Arnheim-Prentice-Ch19, 1997).Other symptoms associated with ACL tears include joint swelling or stiffness, knee instability (or â€Å"giving away† symptom), loss of full range of motion, discomfort with walking, or tenderness along the joint line (Journal of Neurophysiology, 2006; American Academy of Orthopaedic S urgeons, 2009). The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the most commonly injured ligament generally among persons who participate in high risk sports. Actions such as pivoting, sidestepping maneuvers, direct contact, slowing down by running or awkward landings have caused this type of injury.Females have a higher risk of ACL injury than males in certain sports due to differences in conditioning of the body, muscular strength, and neuromuscular control (American Orthopeadic Surgeons, 2009). Treatment for a partially torn ACL is far more favorable than a complete ACL rupture. Partial ACL tears typically have a recovery and rehabilitation period of three months; however, if a patient continues to have instability symptoms, patients are advised to participate in a complete course of physical therapy with clinical follow-ups.Complete ACL ruptures leave a patient unable to participate in pivoting type sports or other various activities, such as walking. Patient treatment also varies on t hat person’s individual needs, which allows the patient to choose between non-surgical or surgical treatment options. ACL tears typically do not heal without surgery; therefore this option is best for those persons with a low activity level or quiet lifestyle. Patients may recommend bracing and/or physical therapy.If a patient would prefer to return to their high activity lifestyle, then the surgery treatment option would be recommended. Opting for surgery would require the doctor to rebuild the torn ligament by replacing the ligament with a tissue graft. The healing process could take up to 6 months or more (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2009). Physical therapy plays an important role in rehabilitation whether there is surgery or not. It helps reduce swelling, increase mobility and build strength and stability by using various methods.A physical therapy program should focus on returning motion to the joint and surrounding muscles. Followed by strengthening the su rrounding muscles to protect the new ligament and give it stability. After the athlete is able to get back to normal activities then the program should focus on gaining strength that will pertain to the athlete’s sport.Works Cited â€Å"ACL Injury: Does It Require Surgery?. † 30 Nov. 2010. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. March 2009 . â€Å"A List of Durable Medical Equipment Needed for Orthopedics. † livestrong. com. 20 Nov. 010. . â€Å"Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries. † 30 Nov. 2010. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. March 2009 . APTA. 1 Dec. 2010. . Arnheim, Daniel, and William Prentice. Principles of Athletic Training, Ninth Edition. New York City: WCB McGraw-Hill/Mosby, 1997. Claes, L. , Faist, M. , Friemert, B. , Gothner, M. , & Melnyk, M. â€Å"Changes in Stretch Reflex Excitability Are Related to â€Å"Giving Way† Symptoms in Patients With Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture. † Journal of Neurophysiology. 28 Nov. 2010. . â€Å"Frequently Asked Questions About Physical Therapy. Orthopedic Physical Therapy. 30 Nov. 2010. . Lippert, Lynn S. Clinical Kinesiology and Anatomy. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company, 1994. Lunsford, Denise. PT. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2010 Orthopedic Physical Therapy. n. d. 23 November 2010 . Physical Therapy. 8 September 2010. 23 November 2010 . â€Å"Physical Therapist Assistants and Aides. † Bureau of Labor Statistics. 20 Nov. 2010. . â€Å"Types of Physical Therapy. † about. com. 20 Nov. 2010. http://physicaltherapy. about. com/od/typesofphysicaltherapy/a/typesofpt. htm? p=1 World Ortho. 2 Dec. 2010. .

Concepts and modes of expression in human imagination, values, and Essay

Concepts and modes of expression in human imagination, values, and emotions - Essay Example Notably, different periods of the art may appear dissimilar under general view; however, critical examination of the correspondent periods presents some degrees of relationships. Indeed, new styles tend to emerge from subsequent ones mainly as critics or advancements. Therefore, this paper compares the Dadaism and Surrealism periods with the central aim of identifying their correlations. Dadaism style appeared at an earlier date than Surrealism. Dadaism initiated at Switzerland and became popular in the period 1919-1922. The style mainly entailed visual art, poetry and graphics. Historically, the emergence of the movement is associated with periods of Word War I. The society had witnessed the wrath of exploitive leaders during the period hence was searching for a tactical way of communicating their concerns (Elger & Grosenick, 2006). Therefore, the movement’s prime aim was to critic the brutality of the war. Additionally, Dadaists focused on challenging an idea of exploitive s cholar rigidity presented in the earlier Art-works. The movement hence participated actively in purposeful irrationality and dismissal of the customary values of the art. The society had considered some virtues meaningless hence; the movement contradicted the idea using tactical artistic skills (Elger & Grosenick, 2006). Their settings embraced public gatherings and social backgrounds and emphasized on political issues. Consequently, the scheme developed artistic pieces that presented sensitive concealed messages. Surrealism movements started at France and peaked in the period 1924-40. Apparently, this was a considerable time after the era of the Dadaism. Surrealism presented a concept of unorganized pattern in art (Levy, 1997). The style was inspired by psychoanalytical ideologies hence artists thought of engaging imaginary and illusion world in developing Art pieces. Indeed, the style exploits involuntary mind in developing Art without a precise intention of creating logical clari ty (Levy, 1997). Initially, the Surrealist declined asserting visual work since they considered procedures of painting and sculpting to be obscene and unnecessary. As such, these practices failed to promote spontaneity, a central trait of the style. Relationship between the historical Art periods The historical periods associated with the Dadaism and Surrealism can provide us with crucial information about the Art. As indicated, Dadaism was characterized with planned expressions that scorned unacceptable attributes in the society. This developed a notion were Art was viewed as a political tool hence lost its entertainment taste. This diversion challenged the Art hence there was the need of redesigning the field (Levy, 1997). Surrealists considered developing a style that could introduce unrestricted creativity. Surrealist concurred with the Dadaism ideologies of criticizing exploitative governance; however, they observed that Art should develop works that can give the society peace of mind instead of concentrating on bad memories. Therefore, surrealism was a celebratory style that was somewhat to relive the pressures in the society. Exploitations were apparent as Dadaism advocated; however, people needed not remain in such situation hence a change was necessary (Levy, 1997). Additionally, in daily endeavors people encounter with challenges that occasionally demands a relaxed mind. Surrealist observed that driving people to an imaginary world could effectively provide people with suitable relaxed

Choose, research and describe an existing company you would like to Essay

Choose, research and describe an existing company you would like to work for - Essay Example The corporation avails its beverage products all over the world through its network of bottling and distribution operations and independent bottling partners. Coca-Cola gets net revenues by selling concentrates and syrups to certified bottling partners. The bottling partners may combine the concentrates with sweeteners, still or sparkling water, or mix the syrups with sparkling water to make final products. The company sells concentrates for fountain beverages to bottling partners across the world (Coca-Cola Company 2014). The company has a Separate International Division Structure since its international employees operate independently from the headquarters. Coca-Cola’s segments consist of Eurasia and Africa, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America, Bottling Investments and Corporate. Every division has vice presidents who control sub-divisions based on countries or regions (Pendergrast 2013). The structure below works very well because Coca-Cola since it is a colossal corporation. The aim of Coca-Cola Company is to be known around the world as an organization that conducts its business responsibly and ethically and step up sustainable growth. The mission of the company focuses on its impact on the customers around the world. Coca-Cola’s mission statement is â€Å"To refresh the world... to inspire moments of optimism and happiness...to create value and make a difference." Coca-Cola Company has a vision that will help it achieve sustainable growth; it consists of six visions: People, Portfolio, Partners, Planet, Profit, and Productivity (Coca-Cola Company 2014). The six winning behaviors of the company include a focus on the market, work smart, act like owners, be the brand, and live out the values. The company’s six behaviors define the attitude it expects its employees to embrace as they perform their duties. The values of the

Sacagawea-the greatest souls so easily forgotten Essay

Sacagawea-the greatest souls so easily forgotten - Essay Example There had been only scare legitimate information on the life and times of Sacagawea, but the reality which remains quite clear is that the lady deserved to be adorned as a crucial part in the American history. Sacagawea was only 16 years of age when she joined the Lewis and Clarke expedition (National Park Service, 2007). There is difference of opinion on the early years of her life. The year of birth of Sacagawea is supposed to be 1790 (National Park Service, 2007). One of the argument about her life history is that the girl which born as the daughter Shoshone chief, was kidnapped by Hidatsa and was taken to their village in Missouri at an age of ten. She was married there by a French trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau (PBS, 2008). When Lewis and Clarke engaged Toussaint Charbonneau in the team of expedition as an interpreter with exposure to the local people and conditions, his wife Sacagawea also joined the team. Her expertise in the Shoshone language prompted the team leaders to engage her so that she may be of help to them in taking help from Shoshone tribes in exploring and fighting over the naturally complex terrains and water heads (Clark & Edmonds, 1983). The factor of sacrifice and hardship that Sacagawea had made is confirmed while considering the fact she was pregnant when joining the tedious Lewis and Clarke expedition as an interpreter. Sacagawea proved to be a real heroine while being with the team. In 1805, she rescued quite crucial documents which included journal of the expedition from the river as it fell down from the boat. In recognition of her timely action, the leaders of the team named the river after her as Sacagawea River (Clark & Edmonds, 1983). In this context, it must be remembered with honor that without the help and service of Sacagawea the evidence of the so crucial periods in the history of American land would have been lost. Later the role Sacagawea as a

Research Paper - Sexual Assault - Part One Essay

Research Paper - Sexual Assault - Part One - Essay Example Sexual assault, which is a general term encompassing rape, sexual battery and sexual harassment, is the forcible, non-consensual subjection of a person into an unwanted sexual activity by the use of physical or emotional violence. It can be physical, verbal or visual (e.g voyeurism). Sexual assault statutes vary from state to state but basically it is based on the precept that no one has the right or the privilege to coerce sexual contact and that a person has the right to determine who may touch hiss/her body and â€Å"when and under what circumstances†. Moreover, â€Å"each person has the right not only to decide whether to engage in sexual contact with another, but also to control the circumstances and character of that contact† (Brody et al 2000, p.426). The act of sexual assault is consummated when the assailant has intended to perform forcible nonconsensual sexual contact but fails to actually complete the act (Lindemann & Kadue 1999, p. 373). Herein, a demarcation line is drawn between rape and sexual assault because on the basis of this definition, sexual assault is tantamount to attempted rape and sexual battery. One author kept one step ahead by suggesting that sexual assault has been institutionalized since time immemorial and that the culprit is patriarchy, which propagates male gender domination favoring man’s power to exploit without legal restraint women and children â€Å"whose consent is mainly taken for granted unless actively withheld and whose communications are consistently devalued or misinterpreted because of patriarchal values and assumptions† (Pickard et al 2002, p.542). Many state laws are also one in affirming that to convict the sexual assailant, it must be proven beyond reasonable doubt that â€Å"there was sexual penetration and that it was accomplished without the affirmative and freely-given permission of the alleged victim† (Brody 2000,

AALC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

AALC - Essay Example This has resulted to mistrust among the people in the country and community at large (Robert, 09) the vice has been rocking the community at an alarming rate. Many people are losing their lives, and critical injuries are being encountered since the inception of this dreadful act. To curb this menace, proper mitigation has to put in place. By providing viable information in agency board or committee, can lead to the arrest of these terrorists. Through well establish networking within the committees in the community, monitoring all suspicious movements within the community can be must easier. Through participation in community organization and agencies, gathering intelligence information and alerts for the police can aide to curb the problem. Voguish all terrorist occurrences the police are more concerned with the Big Fish. It is obligatory to come down hard on the supporters of the assassins. These personalities must be punished quickly and made to pay the price. The rationale behind this logic is to bring to a halt the terrorists from their followers owing to fear of retribution by the state this can only be done efficiently through community

Twentieth Century Fiction Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Twentieth Century Fiction - Assignment Example Under ordinary circumstances, petite narrative happens to be less intricate than work of fictions. In most cases petite narrative is oriented towards a common incident; it has a distinct background, a small numeral of attributes, and stretches for a very minimal interlude. In protracted forms of fiction, stories happen to contain various core elements of dramatic configurations. These include explanation (backdrop preamble, scenario as well as central characters); impediment (this is when the conflict is introduced); mounting accomplishment, crisis (this is a critical moment when interest in terms of the conflict as well as the point with the most accomplishment); climax (this is the point of elevated interest with regards to the conflict and the point with most action); declaration (this is when the conflict is resolved) as well as ethical, DiMaggio R. S (1976). Additional emblematic, nevertheless, is an immediate establishment, with the story that begins in the hub of the accomplishment. In the case of longer stories, plots of stumpy stories do have climax, conflict, or turning point. Nonetheless, the conclusions of most short stories are abrupt and open and might or might not have an ethical or pragmatic lesson. Petite narrative fall under fastidious subordinate-grouping referred to as parables especially when conveying particular moral as well as ethical point of view. This form of stumpy narrative has been employed by spiritual as well as religious cream of the crop globally to instigate, inform, consider, and also in refining their admirers, DiMaggio R. S (1976). Length Establishing what exactly differentiates a diminutive story from longer fictional shapes is anomalous. Standard description of a petite narrative is based on the fact that it should be read in a given session. An allusion of reference for the science fiction genus author; the methodological fiction as well as Fantasy authors of America illustrates dumpy chronicle span in its Nebula Awards for methodological literature. The terminology dumpy narrative in modern application refers to a work of fiction that does not stretch beyond 20,000 words and not less than one thousand words. Accounts that are less than 1,000 words are normally known as petite dumpy fiction or diminutive, The post-war era The interlude subsequent to World War II witnessed an enormous blossoming of fictitious dumpy fiction in the history of the United States of America. The New Yorker continuously distributed to bring out the works of the form's leading mid-century practitioners, in addition to Shirely Jackson, with the story, The sweepstake, published in 1948, elicited the strongest rejoinder in the magazine's chronology to that moment. When life magazine published Ernest Hemingway's elongated petite chronicle (otherwise novella) the elderly chap and the aquatic in 1952, the subject that constitutes this narrative, the issue restricted in this chronicle sold over five million copies in 24 hours. Literary as well as communal uniqueness played an extensive function in much of the diminutive narrative in the sixties in the previous century. Phillip Roth in addition Grace Paley cultured idiosyncratic

Final Project Report Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Final Project Report - Dissertation Example The rFinder is a mapping application, which after judicious analysis has been designed and developed to solve the same problem in the most stimulating fashion and customized for Reading and its environs. Given that the designed solution was built using one of the most powerful API that is Matthias Tretters (MTDirectionsKit) and powerful programming language, Objective C, the system offers a potential to scale appropriately with the increasing number of users the system’s performance. The application was developed for Apple iOS, which means that the software application will run on any Apple operating system such as on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and all other apple products. The software was integrated with other technologies to enhance usability and facilitate access to other APIs. These technologies were; MapQuest Maps, Google Maps and Bing Maps which provided more efficient navigation APIs for the application. This application offers a variety of direction solutions to the us ers. They assist the users find alternative directions to their intended destinations, find intermediate locations and find popular destinations. Other features includes the tracking feature and the interactive feature or module. In general the system provides solutions to the issues regarding navigation specifically in Reading, and also has unique features that were designed with the interest of the users. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to acknowledge my sincere thanks and gratitude to the almighty God for taking care of me and granting me good health in the course of undertaking this project. I sincerely thank my supervisors, Professor Shirley Williams and Matthias Tretter, without whose help and support, this project would not have been a success. I am also grateful to [xxx, xxx, xxx] and all those who have directly or indirectly helped me in completion of the project. I would also like to acknowledge my sincere thanks towards our department, and its faculty for their valuable guid ance and suggestions that have resulted in the successful completion of the project. Their inspiration during the difficult times during the development of this project is invaluable and inestimable to me. DECLARATION I hereby declare that the project work entitled â€Å"rFinder: FINDING MY WAY ROUND READING† submitted to University of Reading, is a record of an original work done by me under the guidance and mentorship of my project supervisors, Professor Shirley Williams and Matthias Tretter, and submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. The results embodied in this report have not been submitted to any other University or Institute for the award of any degree or diploma. STUDENT: [name] Signature †¦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‚¬ ¦ Date †¦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‚¬ ¦ SUPERVISOR: Prof. Shirley Williams Signature †¦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‚¬ ¦ Date †¦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‚¬ ¦ TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION 1 ABSTRACT 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3 DECLARATION 4 LIST OF TABLES 8 LIST OF

We Are All Madoffs, We Are All Human Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 27

We Are All Madoffs, We Are All Human - Essay Example The crucial argument against the article written by professor Barash, entitled â€Å"We are all Madoffs†, is that it puts greater importance on the environment as the end, whereas true economists place human life as the end to all his endeavors. There is a critical error in the assumption of the writer that we are all Madoffs simply because of â€Å"modern civilization’s exploitation of the natural environment† (Barash): The difference lies in the fact that Madoff has been exploiting other men for his own benefit. By the very mode of operation of Ponzi schemes, Madoff has no responsibility for the people under him including if they fail in their investments in the company. He also cannot be held accountable by the government because the extent of his operations depends on people getting more people, nor is he taxed for all his earnings. We, as an economic force, utilize, and perhaps to some extent, exploit the environment and its resources. Madoff, on the other h and, exploited people for his own profit and he has completely ignored the dignity of human life. The use of resources as means to an end is justifiable because resources are there precisely to improve human conditions. Madoff and his Ponzi scheme used people as means to his own end, to improve his own condition. According to Adam Smith, we as individuals are â€Å"led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of (our) intention† (Barash). That end is the improvement of human life- and fulfilling this end makes us nothing like Madoff. This argument about â€Å"our fundamental relationship to the natural world† can swing both ways, just as the argument of population growth can have its advantages and disadvantages. One can view population growth in a purely detrimental outlook: more needs and wants to satisfy means more produce required means more carbon emissions and pollution.

Exploring the Allegorical Nature of the Faerie Queen Essay Example for Free

Exploring the Allegorical Nature of the Faerie Queen Essay An allegory – a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons and actions in a narrative, in this case, The Faerie Queen, are equated with meanings lying outside the narrative itself – represent an abstraction in the guise of a concrete image, with characters often personifying abstract qualities. One way of looking at The Faerie Queen is that it is allegorical in a complex manner. As a mode of writing in a still largely religious society (15th century England), viewing The Faerie Queen as an allegory allows the reader to perceive nature and history as in possession of hidden divine meanings capable of being revealed to the diligent, worthy seeker. Similar to the concept of a â€Å"sugar-coated pill† The Faerie Queen’s allegorical nature allows the author (Edmund Spenser) to conceal (largely moral) ideas from his readers and reveals them only to a deserving few who are able to go beyond appearances and recognize the truth for what it is. One needs to work hard in unlocking the hidden meanings for comprehension brought about by diligence would be valued more by the human mind than one that is easily understood, i. e. Una had veiled herself until the Red Cross Knight had proven himself worthy of seeing her face at their betrothal. In the case of Duessa, the name itself seems to represent duality, duplicity in contrast to the one (Una) truth, as her role varies from one book to another. In Book I she embodies religious falsehood while in Book V it is political falsehood, appearing in the guise of fair creatures until the facts of her foulness are uncovered much like literature’s Circe the witch and her cup of poison capable of altering her shape in her aim to entice and imprison her lovers. Spenser’s Duessa is distinctly English as she appears to be the fusion of the enchantress Circe with the biblical Whore of Babylon, i. e. Catholicism in the eyes of Protestant (Elizabethan) England. Her role is largely limited to deceiving appearances and seducing the Red Cross Knight, supposedly representing the â€Å"false† religion of the Roman Catholic Church. As for Una, her identity is clarified with vices parodying â€Å"true† religion as she appears to represent the one, noble truth among the wilderness, a ‘woman clothed with the sun’ and whose beauty is a manifestation of Christ’s alluring grace. As the personification of the â€Å"true† Church (the Church of England), she travels with the Red Cross Knight (supposedly representing England as its patron Saint George was said to have been a dragon slayer) in order to save her parents from a dragon. In keeping with the work’s religious tone, Una’s wanderings in the wilderness could be viewed in the biblical tradition as the Church fleeing the antichrist. Upon meeting her, the character of Abessa flees in terror of Una and her lion, which likely represents the justice wielded by Christ through the earthly executors of His will. Una plays the role of the romantic heroine in need of a brave knight to rescue her from a moral and fickle fortune. She is the â€Å"truth† to the Red Cross Knight’s â€Å"nobility† yet they are separated, until such a time when they overcome their respective obstacles and prove themselves worthy of a blessed union. Her character is made to wander, and in Cantos 3 and 6 it is made clear that her progress through the natural world is upward. Her encounter with Arthur helps her better understand her plight and what needs to be done for her to be able to transcend her suffering and misery. In a way, one could argue that Arthur represents divine intervention or simply providence lending a hand to strengthen our moral resolve at the time of darkest human frailty. Whereas Una represents the one truth, Duessa is the living, breathing duplicity in Faerie Queen. The Red Cross Knight as he descends the world of society (Cantos 4 and 5) in the company of Duessa is capable of seeing only surfaces. She is deceptive, but does that make her necessarily evil? There is no doubt that Una personifies the good yet though Duessa might be her antithesis, it is harder to ascertain whether she is out rightly evil or merely duplicitous. After all, human beings certainly err from time to time, we are both deceived and deceivers in our own way, yet we are not condemned so easily as evil personified or offspring of Satan. But since we are talking of allegories in The Faerie Queen written to glorify the reign of Elizabeth I of England, one has to note the seeming need to vilify Catholicism, symbolized by Duessa, as the deceptive enemy to England’s Anglican Church symbolized by Una. Representing truth, Una remains veiled for most of the poem, uncovering herself only when the Red Cross Knight is finally betrothed to her (Canto 12) and when she is all by herself ‘farre from all mens sight’ (3:4). In the same way as that of the House of Holiness, her ‘gates’ remain closed for fear of being raped for her beauty. The rationale for this is that truth as a prize of great worth remains vulnerable to exploitation, epitomized in the image of Una’s virginity, ‘that stubborn forte’ (6:3) which needs to be safeguarded until such time when she is ready to relinquish it to someone worthy of her. When she is finally unveiled, her beauty is described as blinding – ‘The blazing brightness of her beauties beame’ (12:23) – to lend credence that truth is not for the faint-hearted, and in the occasion that it appears to the common people is needs to wear a veil as truth cannot be conveyed directly for it tends to blind its audience. Finally, for all its power truth is clothed in simplicity and naturalness. In contrast to Duessa’s garb of garments ‘gilt and gorgeous gold arayd’ (5: 26), Una enters ‘under a vele, that wimpled was full low. ’ Duplicity is fond of shows and of parading itself – Duessa is set upon a seven-headed beast – yet truth does not need fancy outer garments to conceal its natural splendor. She is able to tame the lion, which recognizes Una’s beauty and goodness and responds to her overtures accordingly, while it seems to be able to discern Duessa’s true nature despite her lovely appearance. 15th century Elizabethan England placed great value on a woman’s virtues, e. g. chastity, fidelity, etc. and this is appropriately manifested by Una who steadfastly safeguards her virginity, in contrast to Duessa who takes great pleasure in seducing men with her feminine wiles. Una represents chaste love which waits for the right time, that is, in the context of marriage, before engaging in sexual liaisons. Duessa is an entirely different matter she takes pleasure in her power over men through her sexuality. Of course for the conservative sexual mores of the time this was despicable in a woman – she would easily be labeled as a whore. A woman during those times was viewed slightly better than property, first as belonging to her father, then to her husband, and her worth in the marriage market was often viewed in relation to her maidenhood, aside from the size of her dowry. Nowadays though, society has a more liberal view on the roles of women, their functions in society and how they are expected to act, and it would be harder to categorically generalize women as simply being the marriageable kind or those whom men should only dally with. Also, the influence of religion has significantly waned – it no longer plays such a central role in the lives of most people. Thus, modern-day interpretations of The Faerie Queen would not necessarily take a kind view of Spencer’s illustration of women, particularly if one utilizes the feminist perspective in critically analyzing the said work. Work Cited: Spencer, Edmund. The Faerie Queen. London: Penguin Classics, 1979.

Management and leadership styles

Management and leadership styles Introduction Nike has been finding it difficult to find a replacement for Philip Knight, the founder and long time CEO of the organization. The purpose of this report is to explore possible management and leadership styles in relation to William Perezs role as the new CEO of Nike. This report identifies the processes related to change management and guides Perez through organizational transformation processes in order for him to be able to fulfil his role as CEO of Nike. This report stresses the importance of organizational development and transformation. Issues addressed in this report include the culture of the organization, different leadership styles, the structure of the organization, the processes of organizational development and future recommendations. Organizational Transformations primary goal is to help an organisation become more healthy and effective, especially during change. The key custodians of organisation health are not the internal or external HR or OD specialist; they are the organisations leaders and managers. Holbeche, L (08-09). Organizational Development Organizational development is a planned approach to organizational change designed to enable an organization to respond and adapt to changing market conditions and to set a new agenda. Organizational development is frequently linked to organization structure, which can act either as an enabling or restrictive mechanism for change. For organizational development to succeed, any policies or strategies introduced must fit with the corporate culture. In practice, Organizational Development can take on many forms, and typical OD activities can include some of the following: Team-building Organizational assessments Career development Training e-Learning Coaching Innovation Leadership development Talent management Change management Organizational Culture Culture is comprised of the assumptions, values, norms of organization members and their behaviours. Members of an organization soon come to sense the particular culture of an organization. Edgar H. Schein stresses that, When one brings culture to the level of the organization and even down to groups within the organization, one can see clearly how culture is created, embedded, evolved, and ultimately manipulated, at the same time, how culture constrains, stabilizes, and provides structure and meaning to the group members. These dynamic processes of culture creation and management are the essence of leadership and make one realize that leadership and culture are two sides of the same coin. Organizational change has a low success rate and it is critically important to get it right, this is support by Cameron who states that, The failure rate of most planned organizational change initiatives is dramatic. It is well known, for example, that as many as three-quarters of reengineering, total quality management, strategic planning and downsizing efforts have failed entirely or have created problems serious enough that the survival of the organization was threatened. According to Edgard Schein, Organizational learning, development and planned change cannot be understood without considering culture as the primary source of resistance to change. Culture can be broken down in to three levels, artifacts, espoused values and basic assumptions and values. Artifacts are the surface, the aspects which can be easily identified but hard to understand. Artifacts include the manners of address, the type of language used, the dress code. It is vital not to judge solely by the Artifacts, one may see Google staff as laid back, enjoying their time at work, having fun and jump to the conclusion that they are inefficient, this being far from the truth. Artifacts also include buildings, furnishings, settings, PR, rituals, Mission, stated values and technology. Beneath artifacts are the Espoused Values, these are the conscious strategies, goals and philosophies and ideology of the organization. The essence of culture is represented by the basic underlying assumptions and values which are difficult to discern because they are largely at an unconscious level. This is also known as the hidden beliefs and assumptions or shared tacit assumptions. Nike has had an evolutionary culture as opposed to a revolutionary culture. It has developed over many years without great intervention or change. Most of the key employees have been with Nike for many years and outsides sense they have their way of doing things. Nike is based on authenticity. Perez must ensure Nike is prepared for organizational change and that this is correctly implemented. As Drucker argues, a good organization structure might not always bring about a good performance, but a bad organization structure makes a good performance impossible no matter how good the workforce is. Perez must understand Nikes core values and maintain them, things like the association of Nike with key sportsmen from around the world and targeting the athletics segment of the clothing industry. Leadership Styles Leadership plays an important role in any organizations development. The personality of the leader and his style of leadership can determine the extent to which the organization will develop. Perez needs to be visionary and have the ability to influence others in order to bring about the required change to Nike. The leader can either reduce resistance to change, or increase the pressures for change, or be a pressure for change. Knight would have helped shape the organizational culture; he has his own effect on Nikes culture based on experiences and personality. In order for employees to be more efficient Perez must provide staff with a spirit of involvement, motivate them through co-operation and be willing to learn from the organization. Analysing different styles of leadership will help improve understanding and recommend which style Perez must adopt. Different leadership styles include: Authoritarian, Participative, Laissez fair also known as Delegative or Genuine. Authoritarian This style is where leaders tell their employees what to do and how to do it without consulting or negotiating with employees. This is often found within the army on the battlefield or by a chef in a kitchen. It is not to be confused with bossing people around, the leaders that adopt this style often need to and it can be the best style in particular situations. If the leader has time and wants to increase moral, motivate the employees and gain more commitment then they should use the participative style. Participative The participative leadership style, also known as democratic, involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process. Despite the fact that the leader consults with employees or managers to determine what to do and how to do it the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Leaders that adopt this style gain the respect of their employees. Laissez-fair Laissez fair or the management style of delegation style is often seen as giving a free reign to employees. The leader allows the employees to make decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions made. Employees are able to analyse the situation they are confronted with and decide what needs to be done and how to accomplish it. The leader cannot do everything therefore delegates tasks and prioritization responsibilities. This style is frequently used where the leader knows and trusts his managers. A good leader uses all three styles, dependent upon the situations requirements. For example Perez could adopt the authoritarian style of leadership with new employees, in order to form them to fit their job role and develop/settle in more rapidly. He may use the participative style with a team of workers, though he knows the problem he may not have all the information, the employees have faced this situation before and can be left to handle it. Perez can adopt the delegative approach when confronted with a situation where the employees know more than him. For example with a team of workers that have a highly specialized tasks, such as those in the RD department. They know their job and are best left to do it, provided they have proved their efficiency together and have previously made correct decisions, acting responsibly. The leadership style adopted by Philip Knight was mostly the genuine/laissez-fair style of leadership. Many of the employees had matured by his side through the years, he had given his managers the freedom to make their own decisions and this had been proved efficient for Nike. The structure of the Organization The organizational structure is the formal system of task and reporting relationships that controls, coordinates and motivates employees so that they can cooperate to achieve the organizations goals. Structure enables the organization to apply the process of management and creates a hierarchy of command which makes it clear for employees to identify their roles and tasks they are responsible for within each department. In small organizations there is less complexity than in larger ones, therefore the need for a structure increases with the size of the organization. Drucker argues that good organizational structures do not always lead to good performance but a bad organizational structure makes good performance an impossibility, regardless of how good the employees are. The managers obligation is to create an organizational structure and culture that motivates employees to work hard and develop themselves and allows groups to cooperate effectively. Large organizations are increasingly marginalizing the role of their founders. The founders of both Yahoo Dell have been replaced by professional managers at the shareholders demand. An organization can be split into several divisions such as production, marketing, finance, RD etc. According to Wall (2004) there are five organizational structures, these include: international division structure, international geographic/regional structure, international product structure, international functional structure, matrix or mixed structure. Philip Knight used the Matrix structure. This brings together the functional, geographical and product structures and combines them in an attempt to meet the needs of a specific activity or project. Once that activity or project is completed, the team is often disbanded and return to their original position within the divisional or other structures of the organization. Employees report to different bosses in different departments to accomplish the different tasks. Change Management Management of change theories have been conceptualized to answer how successful change can happen within an organization. It refers to changes in the work environment that necessitates the workforce to make certain adaptations to way they are used to working. The ability of an organization to adapt to change is crucial for successful organizations such as Nike, if not properly implemented the company could face huge difficulties. In order to implement change effectively, barriers such as resistance to change must be successfully removed. The need for organizations to adapt has become vital to their survival, however individuals or groups in different departments have different opinions of how tasks should be carried out therefore a common vision must be shared by all in order for the change to be successful, this can be very time consuming. Organisational Change Management issues are often under-estimated or ignored entirely. In fact, people issues collectively account for the majority of project failures. This survey by KPMG looked at disastrous projects. One of the questions asked for the prime cause of the failure of change implementation. Although the result did not state people as the cause, it is interesting to note that many of the causes were to do with the behaviour and skills of the participants. Arguably all but the technical issues were related to the capabilities, attitudes and behaviour of people. Lewins Three Step Model Lewin (1951) introduced the three step model for successful change management. The first step in the process is called unfreezing the situation. Unfreezing Unfreezing is necessary to overcome individual resistance and group conformity. This can be achieved in three ways. Firstly by increasing the driving forces that direct behaviour away from the situation. Secondly, by decreasing the restraining forces that negatively affect the change. Lastly by finding a combination of the first two methods. These steps can include activities such as motivating the employees by preparing them for the change, encouraging and reassuring them of the need for change and make the employees contribute to the change process by helping identify problems and brainstorming solutions. Movement The second step of Lewins model for change is movement. This transformational process is made up of convincing the employees to agree that the current situation is not beneficial to them and encourage them to look at the problem from another perspective. The employees should know what the change is actually for, most resist because they are not aware why the change is taking place or needed. Refreezing The third step is refreezing, this must take place after the change has been implemented in order for it to be sustainable, otherwise employees can revert back to their old behaviours. This step stabilizes both the driving and the restraining forces. This can be accomplished through the introduction of procedures for the employees. This would also help new employees will find it easier to fit in with the organization. Lippitts Phases of Change Theory Lippitt, Watson and Westley (1958) extended Lewins three step model to include seven steps. This focused more on the role and responsibility of the change agent than on the evolution of the change itself. Lippitts seven steps Diagnosis of the problem Assessing the motivation and capacity for change Assessing the resources and motivation of the change agent. This includes the change agents commitment to change, power and stamina. Choosing progressive change objects. Action plans and developed and strategies established. The roles of the change agents should be chosen and clearly understood by all employees so that the outcomes and expectations are clear. Maintaining the change. Communication, feedback and group coordination are necessary elements. Gradually terminate from the helping relationship. The change agent should gradually withdraw from their role over time. This will happen when the change becomes part of the organizational culture (Lippitt, Watson and Westley 1958-1959). Lewins model is rational and goal oriented. It is however limited because it does not take into account personal factors such as human feelings that can affect the change process. Lippitts Phases of Change is an extension of Lewins Three-Step Theory. The focus is on the change agent rather than the change itself. Lewin analyses the forces that impacts change. Activities Contributing to Effective Change Management. Cummings and Worley (2008) have identified the following activities contributing to effective change management. Motivating change is the phase in the successful implementation of change. Motivation is vital because changing from the norm is regarded as a daunting experience. Employees feel their future in the organization is uncertain. They must feel that the change is necessary, this way they will understand they are part of the change process and help this occur. Creating a vision is the second phase. This is done by the leader and provides a common goal for all employees, allowing them to understand what the change is for and how it will benefit the entire organization. Develop political support. Organizations are made up of powerful individuals and groups that can either block or promote change. Individuals within the organization have different interests, opinions and concerns about how the change may affect their positions and levels of authority within their groups. Leaders and change agents need to gain their support to implement changes. The fourth phase is managing the transition, this is moving from the current state to the future state. This is not an instant process, it needs the organization to discover how to proceed with the implementation of change in to reach the goal. This is done through the planning of special management structures for operating the organization during the transition. Sustaining the momentum is the final stage. When the changes are implemented there must be a continued focus in maintaining them. This phase is the equivalent of Lewins refreezing. The employees might return to their previous behaviours if the changes are not sustained. Resistance to Change Resistance to change is what individuals or groups do when they perceive that a change that might occur is a threat. The risk of change is seen as greater than the risk of standing still. Employees resist change because they have to learn something new. In many case there is not a disagreement with the benefits of the new process, but rather a fear of the unknown future and about their ability to adapt to it. People are reluctant to leave the familiar behind. We are all suspicious about the unfamiliar, we are naturally concerned about how we will get from the old to the new, especially if it involves learning something new and risking failure. Resistance to change is defined as the fear that one will not be able to develop new skills and behaviours that are required in the new working environment. According to Kotter Schlesinger (1979), if an employee has a low tolerance for change, the increased uncertainty that arises as a result of having to perform their job differently would likely cause a resistance to the new way of doing things. An employee may understand that a change is needed, but may be emotionally unable to make the transition and resist for reasons they may not consciously understand. Resistance can be positive in certain situations. Managers see resistance as negative and the employees who resist are regarded as disobedient and obstacles the organization must overcome in order to implement the changes. However, employee resistance can play a positive role in organizational change. Constructive criticism and debate can produce better understanding as well as additional options and solutions. de Jager (2001) claims, the idea that anyone who questions the need for change has an attitude problem is simply wrong, not only because it discounts past achievements, but also because it makes us vulnerable to indiscriminate and ill-advised change. Overcoming Resistance to Change Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) set out six approaches to deal with resistance to change. Education and Communication are essential. One of the best ways to overcome resistance to change is to educate people about the change effort beforehand. Up-front, honest communication and education helps employees see the logic in the change effort, this reduces unfounded and incorrect assumptions and rumours concerning the effects of change in the organization. Participation and Involvement of employees. Where the initiators do not have all the information they need to design the change and where others have considerable power to resist. When employees are involved in the change effort they are more likely to approve change than resist it. Facilitation and Support is important as employees may have adjustment problems, by the managers being supportive at difficult times they can avoid potential resistance. Managerial support helps employees deal with fear and anxiety during a transition period. Special training or counselling can help ensure the staff do not perceive the change as detrimental. Negotiation and Agreements help managers combat resistance through incentives to employees not to resist change. This can be done by allowing change resistors to veto elements of change that are threatening, or change resistors can be offered incentives to leave the company through early buyouts or retirements in order to avoid having to experience the change effort. This approach is appropriate if all else fails and those resisting change are in a position of power. Manipulation and Co-option can be used when other strategies do not work or are too expensive. Kotter and Schlesinger $date$page number- suggest that: an effective manipulation technique is to co-opt with resisters. Co-option involves the patronizing gesture in bringing a person into a change management planning group for appearances rather than their actual contribution. This often involves selecting leaders of the resisters to participate in the change effort. These leaders can be given a symbolic role in decision making without threatening the change effort. Still, if these leaders feel they are being tricked they are likely to push resistance even further than if they were never included in the change effort leadership. Lastly Jotter and Schlesinger argue Explicit and Implicit Coercion can be used. Where circumstances arise that speed is absolutely essential and to be used only as last resort. Managers can explicitly or implicitly force employees into accepting change by making clear that resisting change can lead to losing jobs, firing, transferring or not promoting employees. Conclusion In todays fast paced world the ability to change and innovate is key to survival, the strategic recommendations have been made after thoroughly analysing Nike together with different approaches and strategies from several reputable academics. Change is unavoidable and it is human to resist unknown, however this research shows that with the right preparation and strategic systems in place it is possible to overcome and successfully implement changes which will lead to the organization developing in line with its vision and mission. The recommendations below will support the conclusions drawn from the above analysis and research. Recommendations: On the basis of the above analysis I recommend Perez proceeds with the transformational strategy, while monitoring and revising it periodically. The change must start at the top. Philip Knight had his methods of running the business which have proved successful as received the backing of the employees. Though Perez is experienced he has a very different way of functioning, he cannot expect the employees to follow his lead from day one, he must also adapt to fit into the organization and gain the acceptance of the employees. Perez should familiarize himself with the organization; he must understand the current culture in order to devise a plan to change this. If he tries to bring about change too quickly this will most probably fail as Nike is an organization with a well founded pop culture which developed over decades under Knight. An operations team should be formed and meetings organized in which the requirements should be set-out to enable the employees to be involved, this increasing motivation and provide all stake holders with a sense of ownership of the transformational process. A feedback system needs to be created to help the employees feel more comfortable and know their views are taken into consideration. The transformation process must be transparent with the employees understanding and being involved in the transformation strategy. Adapting the culture successfully will be difficult as many of the employees have spent most of their careers working within Nike, it has become part of who they are, but getting all the employees on board will lessen the resistance to change. The feedback must be monitored, staff confidence levels should be monitored. When they show the first signs of losing faith their problems must rapidly be addressed. Training employees is essential; to encourage motivation, increase self awareness and productivity surrounding their new roles and responsibilities. This will also help sustain the transformation. Perez must agree with Knight exactly what his role in the organization is. This will avoid any problems in the future running of the organization. The responsibilities of both, and the levels of authority must be clear and not overlapping. Founders are often difficult to replace, they see the organization as something they can intervene in whenever they want. This however has proven to be bad for business and has caused some catastrophic events. This has been done to many founders of huge organizations such as Michael Dell within the Dell organization. The founders of Yahoo, Jerry Yang and David Filo are no longer directly involved in the management of the organization. Jerry Yany the ex-CEO has now been given the title of Chief Yahoo and sits on the board. They were replaced by professional managers that the investors saw as more appropriate for the evolution of their organization. Removing Knight from the organization completely may be a difficult task however a clear agreement und erstood by both parties must be reached in order for Perez to be able to successfully take lead of Nike. References Linda Holbeche, CIPD, Director of research and policy http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/35F49ABC-0436-40D3-B02B-5B6838CCEEF2/0/Impact_28_org_develop_qanda.pdf [Accessed 08/09]. Wall, S. 2004. International Business. p283. Lipptitt, R, Watson, J and Westley. 1958. The Dynamics of Planned Change. Kotter, J. P., Schlesinger, L.A. 1979. Choosing strategies for change. Harvard Business Review de Jager, P. 2001. Resistance to change: a new view of an old problem. The Futurist, Bloisi, W., 2003. Management and organisational Behaviour. McGraw-Hill. Cummings. G, Worley.G,. 1996. Organisation development change. 6th edition, south western college publishing, Cincinnati. Mcshane Von Glinov., 2003. Organisational behaviour. McGraw-Hill Morgan, G., 1997. Images of organisation. Sage. Mullins, L.J., 2007. Management and organisational behaviour. 8th ed. Prentice hall/ Financial times. Rollinson, D. Broadfield, A., 2002. Organisational behaviour and analysis. 2nd ed. Financial times/Prentice hall. Wilson Rosenfield., (1999. Managing organisations. McGraw-Hill. Mullins, L. J., (2007. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 8th ed. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Martin, J., 2005. Organisational Behaviour and Management. 3rd ed. London: Thomson. Cummings, T. G. Worley, C.G., 2005. Organization Development and Change. 8th ed. London: Thomson. Schein, E.H., 2004. Organizational culture and Leadership. 3rd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Sales and planning activities

Sales and planning activities Introduction Sales and planning activities are type of sales and operation planning processes. These activities are type of integrated management process of business according to which it is a responsibility of leaders and the managers to continuously see various objectives to focus on. There is a proper alignment of the processes or the activities included under such plans. It is very much important formally align all the process of these activities in a routine because it keeps synchronization among all the people of the organization. Sales and planning activities are about forecasting the capabilities of various department of an organization. Planning is required for every department whether it is technical department, software building or software selling department. These kinds of activities provide an exact view of information flowing in the company. Sales plan is entirely a different thing. Sales activities are related to selling any thing from the company. There are planning phases for sa les activities as well. Sales activities require a proper research about the market that what type of market, people and up to which extent the sale will be profitable. There should be an appropriate analysis about each and every aspect for performing sales activities. There are several challenges that organizations face in case of performing sales activities. These business challenges are as follows: (Sales Planning Forecasting) Ø There has to have limited view of the sales and various programs related to marketing of the product or the company itself Ø There are situation in which it becomes difficult for the company to manage sales cycles in order to neglect surprises or various drawbacks that come because of the sales cycle Ø There is no idea to the company that what is the reason behind breakdown of sale in the industry Ø It is difficult for the company to prepare an excess inventory because there is no accurate forecast with the company which basically is an effect of manufacturing various products for the people which in actual they do not want Ø It is very important for any organization to take care of the sales plan because manufacturing, scheduling and planning activities Ø Effectiveness of various activities required for this purpose Body The Aggregate Operations Plan Aggregate operation planning basically works for converting a business plan which is made for annual quarterly basis into a form of border labor plan or output plan of around six months to eighteen months. Main objective of this aggregate plan is to meet various demands required to that respective period of time. It is very much required to convert a long term plan into an operational plan because it gives a view that how come operations of the company goes around. This is done in order to ensure that all the supplies made are done in the lowest cost possible. Hence it is necessary to make an aggregate operational plan. There are different types of plans used for this aggregate operational planning, like one year plans; they are called long range plans. With long range plans there are short range plan as well which talk about short period of time. There are some middle range plans as well which are of a period of six month to eighteen months depending about the requirement of the pla n. Purpose (how it seeks optimal combination of production elements) This part will discuss various purpose of aggregate operational plan. Purpose of the plan means that how can we make different combinations of different elements of production. This is an important issue because at the starting it is very much necessary that we require an exact knowledge about what is required in the plan and what do we have to do. The main purpose of the aggregate operational plan is to convert various long range plans into middle range plans and middle range plans into shorter range plans. Aggregate operational plans are important in solving various purposes because it talks about all the operations going on in the company or the organization. The main purpose of aggregate operational plan is that it links various strategic activities like strategic plan of the company and also activity and the capacity plan with bigger categories that come into planning activities like workforce in the organization, labor force, size of the organization and also the level of produ ction in the company. As the purpose of aggregate operational plan is important, as decision rule for making plans of various activities are selected then it is an important role of the aggregate demand plan for managing the things and this how inventory of all the activities in the company are maintained. (Aggregated Sales and Operations Planning) There are other purposes of aggregate operational plan as well. Aggregate operational plan will talk about how the management in the company is organized. It gives a proper scheduling of all the activities to be done in the company. There are various projects that are run in the companies for which there are different techniques to follow; there would be different number of work force required for the particular operation. Hence it becomes obligatory for the company to make operation plan in order to get the exact view of what are the requirements of each plan. Production Planning Environment Product planning environment talks about planning to done for the company in any kind of environment. We can talk about two different kinds of environments in this. They are product planning under dynamic environment and product planning under fixed environment. In both the cases, we are doing product planning but the environment under planning to be done is absolutely different. Situation under which plans are to be made for the company are of different types. First we will talk about production planning to be done in dynamic environment. There are various productions planning that we can see in the day to day life. An example of production planning in dynamic environment is done. We can take an example of any electronic product. When we talk about product planning activities, there are two steps that take most important place like fabrication and equipment assembly. These are the two important process of production planning. It is very important to have different environmental scanning of production planning environment because demands of the customers are really uncertain. None of the companies can expect what they can want. Only they know about that. High level of services has to be provided to the customers in order to get success in the market and for this purpose it is important to have production planning activities. Production planning environment is a significant thing of operation plan. A production planning environment gives suggestion to the planning of any activity about what needs to be done in order to get success. Planning is very important because without planning any thing would not be that easy because the numbers of activities to be running in a company at a time are infinite and it would be really difficult to carry on all the activities simultaneously without making operational plans or aggregate operational plans. (Stephen C. Graves, 1985) For production planning, there are various techniques that are used in any company. It is important to use techniques for planning activities because these techniques make work very easy for the company and it can spend more time in thing about these plans are orally making the plans so that plans are made with an efficiency. Production planning environment help in making this plan more efficient because these are reason behind changing plans for the same activities for different situations. There might be possible that for example company has to product a product in a city with a particular population. Let us suppose that population of the company does not increase in six months. After six months, there may be possible that the company is manufacturing lesser number of quantities of the product for same population. Reason could be Season Change. Hence we can not predict the environment so easily hence production planning is required according to the environment of the company. Relevant Costs Relevant costs of the aggregate planning vary according to the range of the plan or we can say bigger the plan higher would be the cost. Aggregate Planning Techniques There are various types of aggregate planning techniques that a company can adopt. They are as follows: Intuitive Aggregate Planning technique: In case of Intuitive aggregate planning technique we always use intuitive management, experience of various official of the company and thumb rules in order to get successful planning in the company. In case of intuitive planning technique, there are graphical methods and spreadsheets analysis is used for the planning activity. There are various advantages as well as disadvantages of this technique. The biggest advantage that we can see of intuitive aggregate planning is that it is very much easy to explain and there would not any difficulty to the higher management in order to explain planning phases of any activity. With easy in explanation, it is easier in use as well. Any one can use this technique and make the required plans. If we talk of the disadvantages of intuitive aggregate planning technique as well, main disadvantage we see is that there are various solutions which mean more than one solutions possible for the strategy or strategic planning not just one. Hence it become very much difficult to search for the optimal solution required for making the best plan. LEVEL PRODUCTION STRATEGY: Another strategy that we can talk of that is other technique is level production strategy. In this level product strategy, it is necessary to find various requirements about time that plan would take it always will keep a track on the schedule of the plan. With this it will give average time that will be required to make any plan. According to level product technique of aggregate operational planning Avg. requirements = total requirements opening inv. + closing inv. Number of periods Steps which is used in the level production aggregate planning technique are as follows: Entry of production data is done Determination of the production level at an instant. For this, firing or hiring needs to be done Inventory level is updated then If inventory level is out of the expected then recalculate the average level production which will be needed and again go to step no. 1. This acts as a recursive process For each of the categories on which we are working, calculate total for each requirement, inventory, hiring and firing and finally we get entire total In the last step we calculate the final cost Intuitive Mixed Technique: Under this technique, hit and try method is used for getting the solution for the planning activity. In this technique Excel is used in order to model the problem and in order to investigate which solution is most effective. An appropriate structure is used in order to find optimal solution. Excel Solver technique is used. Chase Technique: Chase technique is said to be one of the best techniques of aggregate planning. In this technique capacity of the company is adjusted according to the demand of the customers. Planning horizon is set so that work force and production schedule is adjusted according to the plans that are made. There are various advantages as well as disadvantages of this technique. Advantage of chase technique of aggregate planning is that in this kind of planning anticipation inventory is not necessary for the company while planning and investment in the inventory has a lower range. With this advantage there is another advantage that full utilization of resources and labor takes place in this technique If we talk about the disadvantages of chase technique of aggregate planning, money spent on adjusting various capacities like work force and others is very high which is not affordable by all the companies. Hence they try to avoid this technique. Another disadvantage is that it goes for a proper disaffection of the workforce. These are the two main disadvantages of chase technique of aggregate planning Level Approach: Level approach of aggregate planning is again the second best approach of aggregate planning. Under this technique, capacities like workforce, schedule of production and rate of outputs are constant for the entire period of the planning horizon. There are various advantages and disadvantages of this technique Advantage of level approach of aggregate planning is that there is an absolute stability in the rates of output and level of workforce Disadvantages are that investment for the inventory management is more than other techniques. Overtime for any job or idle time for nay work is more than normal techniques. There is variability in the resource utilization which means that there are times when resources are maximum utilized by the company but there are several situations when resources are not utilized by the company up to a mark able extent (AGGREGATE PLANNING) The necessity to balance between the Aggregate Demand the aggregate production capacity) This is necessary that there has to be a proper balance to be maintained between aggregate demand and aggregate production capacity. We will explain these terms of two different scenarios as examples. First we can give an example, let us suppose that aggregate demand in the market is more than what is produced by the company. In this scenario, it is true that company will not be able to satisfy the needs of the customers. Hence there will be fight for the products or services. Problems that occur because of this situation would be black marketing. Company will take an advantage of this scenario and will sell the product or services are a higher cost. Company will take more money for the same product which it used to take earlier. And problem would be that customer will have to pay the amount if it would not have the alternatives for the same. In the other scenario, we take an example where aggregate production is more than what ever is expected by the customers or what is needed by the customers. In this situation, company will produce more and market or the customers will require less because of which company has to stop the production or there may be possibility that product that has already been used by the customers and rest of the product will get wasted. This will give loss to the company. Hence it is necessary that aggregate demand and aggregate production should be same for best possible result of the aggregate planning The difference in aggregates sales and operation planning in different industries An aggregate sale is the term that is associated with the factor of aggregate planning in different possible modes. This can either be defined in long-range planning, intermediate-range planning, or short-range planning. This process is entirely dependent on the type of organization that is being taken into consideration. This is due to the fact that its predecessor, i.e. operations planning will be highly influenced by the type of organization and the industry it is operating. Also the fact that aggregate sales is the final outcome that is dependent on a number of variables and can be maximized by improving the efficiency of all the operating units in a well coordinated manner. Operations planning and sales are the two aspects that are related with each other to a core extent. Thus various facets of operations like MPS (Master Production Schedule), MRP (Material Requirements Planning), Rough cut Capacity Planning, Capacity Requirements Planning, and Ordering Scheduling can be held responsible for enhancing the aggregate sales of an organization, thus making it possible to gain an upper edge over its competitors. This can be explained with the help of IT industry and Telecommunication sector. An organization operating in Information Technology sector mainly considers human resource as its most important asset. Thus most of the aspects of operation are related to this particular factor only without taking any other feature into consideration. This makes Human Resource Manager as one of the highly influential authority in operations management and planning procedure that in turn is liable to raise aggregate sales of the company while in case telecommunication sector there are certain changes. In this case employees working in the organization plays an important role, but not as crucial as in previous case. In this particular industry, technological perspective that is a part of inventory is one major part required in this sector from operations point of view. This can also be understood from the fact that aggregate sale is the outcome that is generated by offering a specific or diversified service or product to its customers by an organization. Thus it has to be understood that it is just acting as a front end and should possess high end coordination with its source that is operational units and it entirely responsible for taking care of the production associated with the service or product of the company. (Frequently Asked Questions About Sales and Operations Planning) This can further be clarified by taking into account textile industry. Textile industry is one of its kind as for this particular industry it is highly inevitable to maintain quality standards at different sections of production. Various sources of raw material act as an elementary part for the operations management to be taken appropriate care. Its aggregate sales are quite difficult to retain as compared to many other industries as it is highly prone to external problems which may result in loosing fate in the competitive scenario. Due to this extremely high inter-dependency, aggregate sales and operations planning seems to be same but they are highly different from each other that have to be taken proper care in best possible manner for overall development of the organization. In this particular case factors like production rate, workforce level, inventory on hand, and production planning will be the factors that will be acting as prime contributors in making operational part to b e a successful implementation for the organization operating in this domain. It will further be taking supply of raw material sources like polyester, etc for making it possible that operations are carried out in best possible manner without creating any ambiguity in the vicinity. While aggregate sales will take relevant costs associated with all the above mentioned parameters into account so as to maximize this particular feature and define proficiency of the company among its rivals. This can be explained further with the help of a characteristic adopted by certain companies following JIT (Just in Time) approach. This approach laid its prime focus over inventory management in order to make sure that operational aspects of the company are handled in best possible manner and minimum possible time. This saves a number of expenses of the company which otherwise it has to carry like warehousing, etc. This approach can be applied in any organization working in any domain but it will be s uccessful only when different departments working together are present in highly close vicinity. This has to be made sure that this meticulous prerequisite is satisfied in every possible manner otherwise this approach will fail deliberately. This approach is generally followed Japanese companies because of readily available material in the market and will probably fail in case it is applied in UAE because of completely different scenario. This define difference in the operation planning and aggregate sales in an explicit manner as aim to maximize aggregate sales remains same for all the companies while operations planning depends on a number of factors. As for example, region in which that particular organization is operating makes an intense affect on the type of market and clientele it is serving. There is also a possibility that different industries are entirely reliant over its operational part while rest of them makes very minute dependency over its operational aspects, which d emonstrate main difference between these characteristics in a well defined manner and cannot be ignored. Echelon of difference may vary from low to high extent and should be taken care appositely as it is one of the most important features for an organization regardless of its industry. The importance of choosing the right strategy to plan operations The function of operations plan or strategy is to provide a map for the operations task so that it can build the most excellent use of its assets and resources. Operations strategy states the plans and policies for utilizing the firms resources to hold its long-standing competitive strategy. The figure provided below shows this association. It is to keep in brain that the operations task is accountable for managing the resources required to create the companys services and goods. Operations strategy is the map that specifies the plan and use of assets to bear the business strategy. This comprises the location, dimension, and type of facilities obtainable; employee skills and talents necessary; utilization of technology, special equipment, special processes needed; and quality control techniques. It is necessary that the operations strategy of the firm must be associated with the firms business strategy and facilitate the firm to attain its long-term goals. Now as different companies has different values to parameters like size, location, skill requirement of workers, types of facility for production and goals to be achieved, it is clear that both the appropriate selection of operation strategy and industry specific selection of operation strategy is necessary for the firm. For instance, the business strategy of a company called FedEx, the globes largest provider of accelerated delivery services, is to fight on time and reliability of deliveries. Talking about the operations strategy of the company, the operation strategy of FedEx formed a plan for resources to hold its business plan or strategy. To provide pace of delivery, the company acquired its personal convoy of airplanes. To provide reliability of deliveries, the company invested in complicated bar code machinery to footpath all packages. The significance of choosing right Operations Strategies: Operations plan did not come to the vanguard until the early 1970s. Till that time, companies in United States highlighted mass manufacturing of standard product intends. Till that time, there were absence of any grave international rivals, and companies in United States were pretty much free to sell anything they created. Yet, that altered in the year 1970s and 1980s. Japanese firms entered the market and began presenting products of better quality at lesser cost, and U.S. firms lost market capture to their Asian counterparts. In an effort to stay alive, many U.S. firms copied Japanese techniques. Unluckily, just copying these techniques often proved ineffective; it took time to actually understand Japanese techniques. It became obvious that Japanese companies were extra aggressive since of their operations strategy; which is, all their assets and resources were exclusively designed to openly support the firms general strategic plan. In a review, Michael Porter, a professor at Harva rd Business School says that firms often do not recognize the dissimilarity between strategy and operational efficiency. Operational efficiency is doing operations tasks fine, even superior than opponents. On the other hand, Strategy is a map for staying in the marketplace. A likeness might be that of organizing a race capably, but it might be the incorrect race. Strategy is crucial in kind of race you will triumph. Strategy and Operational efficiency must be united; otherwise one may be very competently performing the incorrect task. The function of operations plan or say strategy is to make certain that all the odd jobs performed by the process function are the correct tasks. Think about a software business that freshly invested thousands of dollars in budding software with features or services not provided by opponents, only to determine that these were services customers did not predominantly desire. Now that we recognize the sense of operations strategy and business strategy and their significance, it is clear that the software firm introduced here has performed the operation of developing new features very professionally but is not the correct task as people are not very interest ed in the new features developed. Inputs required to the production planning process: The production planning process is an aggregate process which depends on a number of factors internal and external to the organization. If we define these factors, they are basically the manpower, technical planning like engineering and maintenance planning, information of marketing, quality control, investment planning and distribution planning, These factors can be categorized into two parts: internal and external to the organization. Talking about the internal inputs to the production planning process, it may include manpower availability, machinery, and technology. Talking about the external requirements of the planning process, this includes factors like financial availability, demand/marketing estimation, distributors, customer expectation of quality and distributors. The correlation between these variables and production planning process can be shown by the following diagram. It is clear form the diagram that both internal and external factors and say internal and external inputs defined above are essential parameters of production planning process. Strategies to meet demand Cut and Try Method: Cut and try method can be seen as one of the popular and easy to handle methods for the aggregate planning. This strategy helps the company to analyze the status of the project planning under different consideration. The basic structure of the plans assists the analysts to come to a conclusion to what plan could be successful under which circumstances. The various aspects of the project planning are highlighted and it becomes more effective for the management to take decision regarding the planning. The working of the cut and try method can be studied as four different strategies deployed in the aggregate plan work sheet. These are as follows: Production Plan 1 or The Chase strategy: This particular section of the method employs two very significant parameters namely, workforce and production. It analyses the situation under the condition when the exact production is given but the workforce is varying. It checks the ratio between rate of production and the order rate. In other ways, it could be said that it studies the effect which could be caused on this ratio by hiring employees and by laying them off as per requirement varies. Production Plan 2 or the Stable Workforce strategy: This method of the cut and try involves the constant workforce. In this the case the factor which varies includes inventories and stock-outs. The variation in output is caused because of variation in the working hours the employees due to the non-rigidity in the time schedules allowing overtimes and an altering number of hours of work. Production Plan 3 or the Level strategy: This technique employs low workforce which is constant in nature. This is realized with the help of Subcontracting. In this strategy, output rate or the production rate is constant and the workforce is also invariant. All the shortages or excess or in other words surpluses are absorbed by the fluctuations caused in the various levels of the inventory, backlog in the order and the sales which were lost. Production Plan 4 or the mixed strategy: Overall objective of this method is to optimize cost which it does by employing multiple strategies mentioned previously, two or more, together. It schedules overtime and also the workforce is kept constant. Now let us consider the example of The CA J Company. Generally a company which has a pronounced seasonal variation plans its production for whole one year. This is so that the extreme demands of the busiest and slowest months can be captured altogether. In this, companys plan for six months has been illustrated. Similarly data[i] for remaining parameters is taken as: Materials: Rs. 100.00/unit Inventory holding cost: Rs. 1.50/unit/month Marginal cost of stock-out: Rs. 5.00/unit/month And so on. Software like, Microsoft excel make the calculation more convenient. However, it should always be taken care that cut and try method might not always give optimum solution Software available nowadays can give more optimized results as they are more sophisticated. Aggregate Planning Applied to Services: Tucson Parks and Recreation Department Aggregate planning can be applied to various services so as to get the optimum and the most beneficiary solution. These can be implemented using charted techniques or methods involving the graphical representations of the plans. Such techniques are employed by the Tucson parks and recreation department. The main objective of this firm is to demonstrate the citys department of parks and recreation can be involve alternatives of the employees working full-time as well as the part time employees and also utilizing benefits of the subcontracting techniques in order to fulfill its commitment to provide a useful service to the city. This institution is required to maintain and produce open spaces, gardens, tennis courts, pools, all recreational centers and so on. The data used in the example is as follows: The total budget is allocated of Rs. 9,760,000. The number of the full time employees is 336. Among these 336, 216 employees are such that they are full time permanent personnel who involved with working of maintenance all the year round and are responsible for the administration. The remaining 120 full time employees are divided into two sections. They are staffed with part timers. About three-quarters of these are deployed in summers and the remaining one-quarter work in spring, fall, and winters seasons. The three fourth or 90 full time employees turn up about 800 part time jobs of summers like those of lifeguards, instructors in some children schools or training programs and baseball umpires, etc. Part time jobs last for a month or two while full time employers last for whole one year. Hence considering many other factors and the data, we can conclude that the department is open to the following three options regarding the development: The present method is continued. According to which, they have to maintain full time employees at a medium level and hence schedule work in the off seasons ( such reconstructing baseball fields in the months of winters) and then use them as a part time assistance during peak seasons. Second option is to maintain a low level of the staff around the year. Whenever there is a requirement of more staff, technique of subcontracting could be used. All additional works currently done by full time employees with the assistance of part time employees. Third option is to hire only administrative staff and subcontract all the remaining work with the help of the part time staff people. This technique will consequently result in contracts to various landscaping firms and companies responsible for maintaining pools and will also give