Lean Operations Essay

Task 1: To what extent could or should Deane expect to apply the philosophies and techniques of JIT/Lean to the running of a staircase cell? Staircases Production Company (SPC) is a small, successful, privately owned timber and building materials company based in a small city in the UK. The company offers a wide variety of timber products, from regular doors, windows and staircases to special products such as non-standard sections or special profiles (i.e. old designs of skirting board). Its products stand out from its main competitors (small joinery businesses) with high levels of quality. Due to the quality of its products as well as the huge demand of special stairs in the region, sales has been increasing steady year by year particularly special stairs. However, the business is not as profitable as it was expected and some important customers have been complained recently due to late deliveries. Because of the loss of profitability, Dean Hammond, the new appointed General Manager of SPC, is thinking about carrying out some changes in the organisation in order to cope with the current problems. Precisely, he thinks Lean and Just-in-Time principles and techniques might help SPC increase its profitability as well as improve the performance of the whole organisation. However, although this philosophy has been applied successfully to manufacturing and operations environment (Chowdary and George 2012), Mr. Hammond unknowns if the application of Lean principles in a company that produces a high variety and low volume of products would make sense. The Lean management approach, developed by Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990) at Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, forms the basis for the Toyota Production System. The term Lean was first introduced in 1990 in the book entitled The Machine that Changed the World by Womack, Jones and Roos. In â€Å"Lean thinking†, 5 principles were put forward an implementation framework to be used by an organisation (Womack et al. 1990): †¢Specify value from the customer’s perspective, †¢Identify and understand the value stream, †¢Improve work flow (minimize interruptions during processing), †¢Let value flow only through the customer’s pull (all work is initiated by customer demand), and †¢Pursue perfection continuously (the goal is zero waste) The core idea of Lean philosophy is to maximize customer value while minimizing waste. From a production perspective, Lean manufacturing uses Just-in-Time (JIT) approach as its production strategy for minimizing waste and improving quality (MindTool 2013). JIT provides for the cost-effective production and delivery of only the necessary quality parts, in the right quantity at the right time and place, while using a minimum of facilities, equipment, materials and human resources. JIT is accomplished through the application of specific techniques which require total employee involvement and teamwork (Lee and Ebrahimpour 1984). The application of these principles in the manufacturing and assembling processes characterized by a high variety and high volume (HVHV) of activity has been widely proven a great success. However, the difficulties associated with applying Lean principles within HVLV organization have been identified and analysed by Jina et. al (1997). The analysis of the applica bility of Lean principles in SPC has been carried out taking into consideration some aspects analysed by Jina et al. (1997): †¢Product and product demand. The manufacturing and assembling process of SPC begins with a customer’s order (simple dimensioned sketches of the required product) what is called â€Å"pull system†. Customer’s pull demand is one of the principles of Lean and it enables a company to produce only what is required, in the correct quantity and at the correct time. However, the nature of the orders (called â€Å"make to order†) makes the application of the Lean principles a huge challenge for SPC due to small changes of the inputs (changes in the schedule, differences of product mix between one period and the next one, volume changes between periods and the frequency of product changes within time-frame of customer lead time expectations) generates a large impact on the performance of the manufacturing system (Jina et. al 1997). Nevertheless, the result can be levelled within a set of well-defined flexibility parameters (Jina et. al 1997), to give some examples: commonizing raw material and finished parts and organizing for high and low level demand. †¢Process. It can be said that processes currently do not follows any flow structure: production is planned without any solid criteria and there is no single flow route for either materials or machinery. This unstructured work floor causes: joinery department job shops are untidy and congested (joiners are working on several part-finished items at once, single pieces of equipment are shared  by 10 or more joiners, joiners try to fit in with each other over the use of machinery, etc.) and big allowance of waste and timbers defects are found around the workshop. Despite of this chaos, it has been identified that the specific case of the manufacturing and assembling staircases follows a repeatable process steps (although staircases are different): cutting ti mber, sanding, machining and tenoning, which makes this process potentially standardised. Therefore, it can be said that Lean principles can be applied to this process. However, in order to identify the applicability of Lean principles to the rest of the processes, more information should be provided. †¢Workers. The processes disorder is supported by the fact that, on one hand, SPC’s joiners are capable of making any product and, on the other hand, because they enjoy the wide variety of challenging work. Despite of this, workers’ flexibility to carry out a wide range of tasks is considered as a factor that would help the implementation of Lean. To sum up, it can be said that the application of Lean principles is possible but it will be a great challenge for SPC. Task 2: What are likely to be the main categories of costs and benefits in establishing the cell? Are there any non-financial benefits which should be taken into account? Listed below, there is an analysis of the benefits (financial and non-financial benefits) and the costs (financial costs) expected to be achieved with the implementation of Lean principles in SPC: -Benefits. The company will gain financial and non-financial benefits which will affect the revenue stream of SPC and the level of satisfaction of both customers and employees. †¢The financial benefit of Lean for the company expected is an increase in its revenues as a consequence of increasing the productivity by finding and eliminating the waste within the process. This is achieved through reorganising and tidying the manufacturing floor (using 5S/CANDO or visual management), improving work flow to eliminate motion and transportation between stages of production (workshop layout) (Page 2004), and increasing employee efficiency by specialising and standardising the work and cutting out wasteful work; †¢Non-financial benefits are shown by the level of customer and employee satisfaction. On one hand, customer satisfaction increases by meeting requirements and on-time delivery; improving customer retention and attracting new customers by, for example, word of mouth (Cudney, Furterer and Dietrich 2013). And on the other hand, employee  satisfaction increases by empowering them and taking into consideration their opinion. -Costs. There are two aspects that would affect the cost stream: cost reduction within the process and cost of lean implementation. †¢Cost reduction can be located from different attributes of the manufacturing process: inventory, defects, maintenance, labour cost, compensation, etc. (Ross 2002; Stegall 2012). Each task in the process gets specialised and standardised, the employee can stop the production line if they detect defects, thereby reducing the number of defects and work-in-process; production line productivity is improved to deliver products on time, helping the company to avoid compensation and discount, and reducing over-time working. Specialised jobs require particular machines or tools, to be handled with care and regularly maintained by the employees using it, reducing risk of break-downs and repair/replacement costs. And also, a reduction of raw materials inventory (waste) is expected. †¢Cost of Lean implementation can be located from: training for employees for redefinition and re-assignment, production line stoppage, workshop layout re-organising, information technology systems and management cost for implementing new system. These costs might be quite high when the company implement the whole system, therefore in the short-term it could overcome the profit of the company. However, because Lean is a long-term commitment, it will help transform the company and enhance the profit for the long term.â€Æ' Task 3: At what stage, and how, should Deane sell his idea to the Joinery Manager and the workers? To sell the idea of Lean implementation and cellular manufacturing to the Joinery Department, Dean should have a strategy to approach first the Joinery Manager (JM) and a its employees (once the manager is already convinced). Frist, Dean needs to sell the idea to the JM because he is the one who will decide whether this plan will be done or not because his commitment and leadership are essential to achieve a successful implementation (Wrye 2013). To convince and engage the Manager with the idea, Dean needs to conduct and present a business report of the company: an analysis of the current status of SPC (covering both quantitative and qualitative aspects), with the pros and cons of Lean implementation in a HVLV organisation. A strategy and implementation pl an which shows the roadmap, methodology, goals, and objectives to be introduced. Dean can then work with the JM to customise the implementation  of the plan to suit with SPC current situation. After gaining the approval of the JM, Dean needs to prepare actions to sell the idea to employees, to create an organisational understanding of the philosophy, methodology, implementation process, in order to take full advantage of the significant changes. The JM and Dean need to explain to the workers the current situation of the company, an overview of Lean and its benefits for the whole company and for each employee’s job. The workers also need to be acknowledged for the value of their work, their power over the production line and their responsibility of product’s quality. Some training and information about the new system might also need to be provided before actual implementation. Some details should be taken into account when the department start implementing Lean: †¢Because SPC is a HVLV manufacturer should adapt Lean principles to the reality of the organiation: product design geared to logistics and manufacture; organising manufacturing along Lean principles; and integrative supplier relationships (Jina et al. 1997); †¢The manager should have a clear goal for implementing Lean for the worker to follow (Womack and Jones 2003); †¢Lean is a new concept so it should be explained without technical terms or phrases to avoid confusion or resistance (Wrye 2013). The strategy of implementation should contain small steps to give the workers time, and help them gain their confidence a nd build momentum to continue with Lean.â€Æ' Task 4: How different would the cell work be from that in the main Joinery Department? Traditionally, each worker has their own zone and working on different product or order. Each worker goes through the same process, uses the same tools so they have to wait for the tools and their turn to use the machine. Lean cell manufacturing is a common workplace that has become an integral part of Lean manufacturing because it seeks to take full advantage of the similarity between parts, through standardisation and common processing. Its implementation in the work floor implies the specialisation of each step so that one person is in charge for one activity, using one particular tool or machine to eliminate delay time (Lean Enterprise Institute 2009). The worker will have space to move for their job but the movement and motion will be minimised by eliminating the gap between their tools and each other so that they can pass the finished part to the next stage immediately. Julian Page (2004) suggested the outward facing U-shape cells which taking up the same amount  of space and give the worker more options to communicate with each other with the least movement required. For the staircases, the workshop new layout will have 5 major cells: cutting timber, sanding, machining, tenoning and assembling: †¢Each cell have its own tools and machine that only that cell uses. The machine which will be used for different purpose will be placed at machining cell; †¢Machining cell will be placed near the middle of the whole workshop so that if any other cell needed to use the machines, they can access them with the least movement; †¢Cutting timber cell: after the order was placed, timber will be delivered by vendor on to the fir st station. Here timber will be cut to required shape. Off-cuts will be at the same place and the workers at this cell know how many and what shape there are, so they can be used for future occasions; †¢Assembling cell can be spilt into 3 smaller cells: glue, wedges and treated. After this cell, the product will be finished and transported straight to packing or delivery; †¢Workers can rotate within or between the cells if they want flexible jobs, since they can all do every stage of the manufacturing line. †¢Kanban card can be used between part manufacturing cells and assembly cells to limit the level of work-in-process (Jina, Bhattacharya and Walton 1997). Further information should be needed in order to assure if this layout can also be apply to the rest of the products of SPC. Another technique to be taken in is CANDO (clean-up, arranging, neatness, discipline and on-going improvement) to help maintain the Lean workshop, control obsolescence and inventory, preserv e working tools (Page 2004). The cells and workshop is presented below: Figure 1. SPC AS-IS workshop layout Figure 2. SPC TO-BE Lean cellular workshop layout Task 5: What risks are associated with Deane’s proposal? The main risks associated with Mr. Hammond’s proposal are listed below: †¢People. Behaviours exhibited by people in the workplace such as the lack of trust and commitment is the main risk identify in Mr. Hammond’s proposal. It is also one of the main reasons for unsuccessful implementation of Lean. oJoiners’ procedures to manufacture and assemble products might experience  changes with the implementation of Lean and, therefore, it may cause stress and rejection to them. Lean manufacturing requires constant employee input on quality control, which some employees may feel disinclined or unqualified to do (ÄÅ'iarnienÄâ€" and VienaÃ… ¾indienÄâ€" 2012). oDifficulties in finding managers with sufficient leadership and persuasion skills to overcome this can be also another risk to bear in mind (ÄÅ'iarnienÄâ€" and VienaÃ… ¾indienÄâ€" 2012). †¢Investment. Inability to make invest properly in the change. oDue to the unstructured work flow, SPC will need to make significant upfront investment in achieving a level of standardized processing. oImplementing Lean manufacturing often means completely dismantling previous physical plant setups and systems. The re-location of the machinery as well as training employees can increase considerably companies’ expenses. †¢Duration. The implementation of Lean philosophy and principles is a long journey process and not easy implemented. Bibliography and references CHOWDARY, B. and GEORGE, D. (2012). Improvement of manufacturing operations at a pharmaceutical company: A Lean manufacturing approach. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 23 (1), 56-75. ÄÅ'IARNIENÄâ€", R. and VIENAÃ… ½INDIENÄâ€", M. (2012). Lean Manufacturing: Theory and Practice. Economics and management, 17, 732-738. CUDNEY, E.A., FURTERER, S.L. and DIETRICH, D. (2013). Lean Systems: Applications and Case Studies in Manufacturing, Service, and Healthcare. 1st ed., CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. JINA, J., BHATTACHARYA, A. and WALTON, A. (1997). Applying Lean Principles for High Product Variety and Low Volumes: Some Issues and Propositions. Logistics Information Management, 10 (1), 5-13. LEAN ENTERPRISE RESEARCH CENTRE (2013). What is Lean thinking?. [online]. Last accessed 28 November 2013 at: http://www.Leanenterprise.org.uk/what-is-Lean-thinking/what-is-Lean-thinking-and-key-Lean-thinking-principles.html LEAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE (2009). What is Lean?. [online] . Last accessed 28 November 2013 at: http://www.Lean.org/whatsLean/ LEE, S.M. and EEBRAHIMPOUR, M. (1984). Just-In-Time Production System: Some Requirements for Implementation. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 4 (4), 3 – 15. MELTON, T. (2005). The Benefits of Lean Manufacturing: What Lean Thinking

”Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen Essay

Pride and Prejudice is a 19th century novel written by Jane Austen. As it is a popular novel it has been remade for television and film several times. In this essay two media adaptations are being analysed. The 1995 BBC classic drama of pride and Prejudice and a 2004 Bollywood version renamed Bride and Prejudice. The BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is a period drama and has been made using the books storyline and text very closely whereas the Bollywood adaptation has only faithfully adhered to the storyline and parts have been changed to attract a modern audience. In addition to storyline, and text not changed in the BBC adaptation, costume, props and language are all in keeping with the 19th century way of life. However the Bollywood adaptation uses costume, props and language from the Indian culture, this has up dated the film and also keeps with the storyline of the book. Both adaptations have very different audiences they are trying to attract. Pride and Prejudice aims for older and more mature people, an audience who are interested in period dramas and may have read the book. The Bollywood film, however is aimed at younger audiences who may have not heard of Pride and Prejudice nor read the book. It has been changed into a romantic comedy; â€Å"romcom† rather than a more serious look at the book. The use of the Indian culture and view on marriages is a contrast to the views in the 19th century. In both productions the main theme is marriage but they use different methods to represent it. The BBC version shows how relationships and marriage were in the 19th century, in contrast to this how many of the restrictions placed in the 19th century are still in practise in the Indian culture today, however, modernizes the story. In this essay the two media adaptations, (Pride and Prejudice and Bride and Prejudice), are going to be compared to show how they have been adapted for screen. Three key scenes from both productions are going to be discussed and a number of factors to show how they have changes. The three scenes are: * The Netherfield Ball * Mr Collins/Kholi Arrival * Lydia/Lucky and Wickham relationship The Netherfield ball is the place in both adaptations where Darcy and Elizabeth/Lalita meet for the first time the two settings however are very different. In the Bollywood version the setting very much reflects the Indian culture, it is colourful and brash. The atmosphere is hectic with lots of people talking, dancing, laughing and partying. On the other hand the BBC version is more formal with talking kept to minimum and the mood is soft, this is to show what an occasion in 19th century would have been like. The BBC also has kept to tradition and there are different rooms for occasions throughout, Bollywood have used an open plan room to show the change in time and fashion. The camera shots in the scene change a lot. The BBC adaptation uses a birdseye view of the dancing and uses long shot, medium shot, close ups and point of view shot. This is to give a wide variation of the view of the ballroom and closer shots to see the actors’ facial expressions. In the Bollywood adaptation however they use only a few birdseye views of the dancing and more medium shots and point of view shots especially with Darcy and Lalita’s conversation, this shows us what the other person is feeling as they talk to one another and identify with the character. When Darcy is looking up at Lalita on the balcony and Lalita to Darcy on the ground the camera angle is pointed up and down, this gives the film a more dramatic look. Lighting also varies considerably in the two adaptations. In the Bollywood adaptation top lighting is used to brighten the room and give a party atmosphere, this changes in the scene with Darcy and Lalita on the balcony however and backlighting is mainly used. As the BBC adaptation is a period drama lighting is not as bright as the Bollywood effect, there is more under lighting used from lamps and chandeliers. The sound in both adaptations is also clearly different, the BBC use classical sounds and people play instruments for music, and the music they dance to is soft and quite compared to the Bollywood sound. Instruments again produce the music but everyone sings which gives it more volume, they also use words to reflect their feelings. Both scenes have dancing involved but they are clearly different. The BBC has again stuck with traditional dance, which has very repetitive dance moves and is slow. Also shown is how social etiquette is set out with the men only allowed to ask women to dance and how it was very rude for them to refuse. Bollywood has changed this in its adaptation; the dancing is traditional for Bollywood style, fast and very enthusiastic. The men start the dance with the women following later, the women all walk down the balcony and tighten their saris before they dance to show they are ready. Another difference between dances in Bollywood is the man and women dance towards each other rather than with each other, both of these points show how women now have more power than in the 19th century. The songs in Bollywood films offer meaning and feelings of the characters which the film hasn’t got time to express, this is something used in Bollywood and has been included to reflect this. The conversations that take place between Darcy and Lalita and Darcy and Elizabeth are very different. In the BBC version Darcy and Elizabeth do not actually have a face-to-face conversation, he makes a very rude and cutting remark about her which she later makes light of with her friends. The conversation in the BBC adaptation is also very polite and minimal but important, the conversation has not been changed from the book. However, in the Bollywood version Darcy tells Lalita how he thinks it is simpler to have an arranged marriage, she takes this the wrong way and thinks he means Indian women are simple. Lalita is very defensive towards him and tells him otherwise. This change made in the film is to display thoughts on Indian marriage and show the similarities it has with the original 19th century tradition. There is also a conversation which is both in the BBC and Bollywood adaptations of the novel, that of Mrs Bennet/Bakshi. In the scenes she talks about marriage and wealth to f riends, this conversation gives an insight into the character already and has been included in the Bollywood adaptation because the characters are the same. The costumes in both productions are exactly the same for the time. The costumes also represent the characters. Darcy is uncomfortable but more so in the Bollywood version because he cannot speak the language, cannot join in with the dancing and is a different nationality. The Bingley sister wears modern and expansive clothes, in the BBC version she wears feathers and gold jewellery. This has been changed in the Bollywood adaptation to the sister wearing designer labels, this equally shows the wealth but also the change in time. The Bennet/Bakshi sisters in both productions are not as wealthy as the Bingley sisters and this is visible in their clothes. In the BBC adaptation they do not wear feathers and the accessories are very simple likewise in the Bollywood adaptation they do not wear designer labels. In the scene the personalities of the characters are seen and they are quite similar in both adaptations. In the Bollywood adaptation Darcy is uncomfortable, however he also very rude in the BBC version. Elizabeth is lively, strong and defensive in both scenes, she also shows in the BBC adaptation when she makes light of Darcy’s comment about her. Bingley in both versions is charming and in Bollywood takes part in the dance unlike Darcy. Mrs Bennet and Bakshi both talk about marriage and don’t differ at all in the adaptations, as do the younger Bennet sisters they are flirtatious and playful. The key personality of the characters has not been changed at all and this is one way in which the Bollywood adaptation has stuck to the novel. The scene of Mr Collins/Kholi’s arrival in both adoptions is changed in many ways. Transport that Mr Collins/Kholi arrives in is very different, in the Bollywood adaptation Mr Kholi arrives in a taxi whereas in the BBC adaptation Mr Collins arrives in a carriage. This change shows the change in times and the change of country. The setting is also different and reflects the change in times and country, Mr Collins arrives out side the Bennets house in the Bennets estate which has gardens and gravel walkways, Mr Kholi however, arrives on a dusty Indian street and the Bakshis do not own any estate around them. This to show how the Bakshis live compared to the Bennets. In terms of camera shots Mr Collins/Kholi’s arrival is quite the same, the camera use medium and long shots to show both characters arriving and point of view shots from the families and Mr Collins/Bakshi’s view. Both adaptations also use close up shots of the sisters smirking at Mr Collins/Kholi, this involves the audience in the amusement they find in Mr Collins/Kholi. Lighting is different in the scenes though, Mr Collins arrives in daylight at the Bennets and toplighting is used to give a pleasant atmosphere. In the Bollywood adaptation they are inside and the lighting is darker but again toplighting is used. There are no songs or music in the scenes of Mr Collins/Kholi arriving there is only he and the families talking, however in both films sound effects are used. In the BBC adaptation the carriage arriving and in the Bollywood adaptation the Indian street, these sound effects add to the atmosphere and setting of the arrival. Another adaptation that has been made is the costume. Mr Collins wears formal dress which is the clothes which would be worn in the 19th century. The style of his clothes are also a representation of him, he is a clergyman and a very plain man. Mr Kholi’s clothes are stylish, bold and very up to date, and this represents his character very well. Mr Kholi is self-confident, loud man and does not realise often what he is saying or how he offends people, the clothes also represent his break away from the Indian culture and living in America. As well as the costumes reflecting their characters the audience can also see what the characters are like. In the BBC adaptation Mr Collins is a religious and traditional man, Mr Kholi however has turned his back on his Indian culture and moved to America for a better life. There are some parts of the Mr Collins character that are the same in the Bollywood adaptation in the same way as the BBC adaptation. Both Mr Collins and Mr Kholi look do wn to the Bennets/Bakshis, they think they are better than them. In Mr Collins’ case this is because he will inherit the Bennets estate and Mr Kholi’s because he has more money and a better life than the Bakshi’s, they are both unpleasant characters. The Bollywood adaptation has also changed the conversation of Mr Kholi compared to Mr Collins. When Mr Collins arrives he uses his language to make himself look smart, he uses substantial and intelligent words, which are incorrect. Alternatively Mr Kholi brags about his wealth and lifestyle, he also has inappropriate conversations and is very out spoken. Greetings in the two adaptations are also different too, Mr Collins greets people formally and there is no touching or hugging, this reflects the social etiquette of the 19th century instead of the informal hugs Mr Kholi gives. In both adaptations there are similarities and differences in the mannerisms of Mr Collins and Mr Kholi. Mr Collins uses formal language and, as mentioned before, incorrect in the context intelligent words. This is unlike Mr Kholi who uses casual language and does not realise what he says sometimes offends people. In the same way Mr Collins eats using social etiquette and Mr Kholi eats with his hands and mouth open, Mr Kholi also uses his hands when he talks. These changes show equally how the character is offensive but in different ways and in different circumstances. A similarity however, is that Mr Collins/Kholi feel they are more important than certain people and this shows when they both sit at the head of the table at the meal with the Bennets/Bakshis. As well as the mannerisms of Mr Collins/Kholi presenting similarities and differences, people’s reactions to Mr Collins/Kholi do too. Both of the eldest sisters in the Bennets/Bakshis smirk at each other when he says things and tries to boast about his life, this shows they are sensitive and intelligent enough to realise how stupid Mr Collins/Kholi is. Mr Bennet/Bakshi realises this too but expresses his amusement in different ways. Mr Bennet makes sarcastic comments towards Mr Collins to show him up but Mr Collins does not understand, Mr Bakshi however uses facial expressions to make fun of him. This reflects the characters of Mr Bennet and Mr Bakshi, Mr Bennet takes a more serious approach where Mr Bakshi uses childish gestures. Furthermore Bollywood has also made a change with the reaction of Darcy when he meets Mr Kholi. In the BBC adaptation Mr Collins introduces himself to Darcy and talks about his self, Darcy walks away and ignores him in contrast, Darcy is introduced t o Mr Kholi and does not ignore him. As shown by Mr Bennet and Mr Bakshi this is a reflection of Darcy’s characters, Darcy in the BBC adaptation is confident enough to be able to walk away but Darcy in the Bollywood adaptation is not, as he is a country he does not know he is polite to everyone. The reaction of people towards Mr Collins/Kholi reveals a lot about his character; he is someone who tries to be popular by knowing everyone and likes to be well thought of. One relationship, which has been adapted and changed considerably, is the Lydia/Lucky relationship. Adapted for Bollywood are a number of scenes where the main action takes place. In the BBC adaptation the scenes take place after Wickham and Lydia have eloped and are living in a grotty bedsit, this has changed for Bollywood and is replaced by scenes in public places e.g. fairground, cinema and the main scene where Lucky and Wickham go out for the day in London. The scene has been changed for Bollywood because Lucky and Wickham are not actually together yet and it is the lead up for Lucky finding out eventually who Wickham really is after pursuit by Darcy and Lalita. This change has been made for the viewer to look at their relationship in two different ways, in the BBC adaptation Lydia and Wickham have to stay in bedsit which is far form luxury, this shows how their relationship is very shameful in the 19th century. In contrast to this Lucky and Wickham meet at very public places, th eir relationship seems very open and would not be seen wrong in the public nor the viewer’s eye, but the viewer understands Wickham is a bad man. The use of media effects in both adaptations is strong. The camera effects in both adaptations are similar, in the BBC adaptation medium shots and close ups are used to give the viewer a more intimate view of Lydia and Wickham. It shows shots of Lydia running around the bedsit and close ups of Wickham’s facial expressions to the viewer to tell them he is not happy about the situation. In the Bollywood adaptation the camera plays a very important part in the chase that occurs between Wickham, Lucky, Lalita and Darcy. The camera use close ups and medium shots of the couples, and glances between the two parties. It also uses close ups of Wickham glancing back to see if they are still being chased. The camera follows Lucky and Wickham but blurs out the background to give the viewer an impression of how easily it would be to lose them in a crowd. The lighting effect in the BBC adaptation gives the atmosphere of a dark room and uses underlighting, the only available light source the viewer can see is the daylight coming through the window. Two different types of lighting is used in the Bollywood adaptation however, the first toplighting used in the chase to create a bright, modern setting for the viewer. This contrast however when Lucky and Wickham go into the cinema, the lighting is backlighting from the cinema screen and also presents to the audience that Wickham is trying to hide. Costume has also been changed considerably, the BBC adaptation use typical dress for the 19th century but change it from formal wear to very inappropriate wear in the bedsit. Lydia wears a nightdress and Wickham stays in his uniform but un-tucked his shirt and his boots are undone, this is to represent the seediness of their relationship and how wrong it was in the 19th century. Lucky and Wickham are the same in that Lucky tries to rebel against her Indian culture, like the rules set out in the 19th century, in the scene where Lucky and Lydia meet in London she wears tight jeans and a cropped top and makes no effort to show her Indian roots. Wickham also wears clothes that are very casual and he looks like a traveller, this is in contrast to Darcy’s clothes which are smart, and reveals that Wickham may not be the good character as seen by Lalita and Lucky. The costumes in both adaptations have been translated to represent the character in the same way but to show the change in different cultures and times. Lydia and Lucky wear clothes seen as normal and traditional but try to show their flirty ways by tighter clothes but in other scenes they rebel completely. In Lydia’s case she wears a very inappropriate nightdress and Lucky wears modern, tight clothes. It is the same for Wickham too; Wickham is always put in as the opposite of Darcy who is very formal unlike Wickham who wears an officer uniform or traveller’s clothes, this is also to show Wickham is not like Darcy and a bad character. Bollywood have adapted Wickham to become a traveller to be a modern representation of the BBC Wickham who becomes an officer because he has no money. In the scenes of Lydia/Lucky and Wickham the audience can see a lot about their character. Lydia and Lucky both are flirtatious, young girls who are unaware of consequences of their actions; this is displayed through Lydia’s obsession of the officers and her elopement and Lydia through her constant attention seeking of Wickham. Wickham also plays the handsome man well in both adaptations, his rough look in contrast to Darcy should also tell the viewer he is not as he seems. There are many things left out of the Bollywood adaptation that are in the BBC one. In the Bollywood adaptation we see Lucky and Wickham develop a relationship and meet up on occasions, this does not happen with the BBC as Lydia and Wickham, by chance, meet in Brighton and make a quick decision. This is to show the change in times and controversy of what Lydia and Wickham did, also it is not believable that Lucky and Wickham would have gone to London on just one meeting. The chase of lucky and Wickham also adds to the tension and thrill for the audience, this makes the viewer think, will they be caught? There is also one major difference between the BBC and Bollywood adaptation, the ending. In the BBC adaptation Darcy pays Wickham to Marry Lydia and therefore not bringing shame on the Bennets, in the Bollywood adaptation Wickham and Lydia are caught by Darcy and Lalita and Wickham is seen for the real man he is. This has been changed for the Bollywood adaptation for the happy ending that happens in Bollywood films, it would not be entirely like a Bollywood film if Lucky ended up with the bad man and not be happy. In conclusion the BBC and Bollywood adaptations of Pride and Prejudice have been made very differently. The title of the Bollywood adaptation has been changed to Bride and Prejudice to reflect the difference in the Indian culture, the main personality of the characters have stayed the same in both adaptations, costumes have been changed to reflect the difference in cultures and times yet kept so the characters traits can be seen, the contrast in settings shows the different countries and a different way in life and the change in the storyline reflects the difference in times, countries and culture. The setting of the story has been changed as the film wants to show the restrictions on 19th century marriage still coincide with the Indian view on marriages today, the characters traits were kept the same to show how they could be brought into the present day but changed slightly in their costumes, mannerisms and they way people see them. As the characters are represented through their costumes, the wealth of the families is too, the costumes have been changed in the Bollywood adaptation to traditional Indian costumes but they show the contrast to the expensive clothes of the Balraj sister compared to the Bakshi sisters. This is also the same for the Bingley sister and Bennet sisters in the BBC adaptation. I preferred the Bollywood adaptation. This is because it is not as serious as the BBC adaptation; it is more vibrant, colourful and loud. The singing and dancing breaks up the film and the comedy also puts more life into the story. The BBC adaptation is too long and does not keep my attention as much as the other. Another reason why I preferred the Bollywood adaptation was the costumes and new surroundings, the Indian culture is very bold and this made it more enjoyable to watch.

Fast Food Globalization

Fast Food Globalization Some people get confused when they hear the word, globalization. What is it? Globalization is a modern term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and cultural exchange. That means the world is slowly becoming one by producing goods and services in one part of the world, only to share it on an international level. This is a deeply controversial issue, however. Proponents of globalization argue that it allows poor countries and their citizens to develop economically and raise their standards of living. Whereas, opponents of globalization claim that the creation of a free international market has benefited multinational corporations in the Western world at the expense of local cultures and common people. Clearly, fast food is a representative of this globalization process. In this essay, I will discuss the globalization of fast food in other countries and the negative effects it has made on traditional diets, eating habits, and culture as a whole. A major challenge of doing business internationally is to adapt effectively to different cultures. Several fast food companies have shown the willingness to adapt to local customs. Some examples of how international fast food chains have attempted to accommodate local tastes include: the Teriyaki McBurger at a McDonald’s in Japan, consisting of a sausage patty in a bun with teriyaki sauce; a curry potato pie and a red bean ice cream sundae in Hong Kong; a broiled salmon sandwich at a Burger King in Chile; even a pizza from Pizza Hut was â€Å"delivered† to the International Space Station in 2001, a collaboration between the company and Russian scientists. But no matter where fast food restaurants are located or what type of food they sell, their most fundamental operating principle is standardization. This means selling the exact same food everywhere, limiting the number of food choices. For some people, it is comforting when there aren’t very many choices, knowing in advance what they will be eating and how it will taste. Ironically, there are some people who dislike fast food, yet a hungry person in a hurry or someone who is far away from home would often find it convenient. In 1921, the first business to be called a fast food restaurant was White Castle, located in Wichita, Kansas. It sold hamburgers for five cents each. The idea caught on and by the late 1930’s, a California restaurant called Bob’s introduced a hamburger with two patties of meat and named it the Big Boy. After World War II, the number of restaurants specializing in fast food grew tremendously. Therefore, each company needed a special feature to survive in the competitive marketplace. But how can one stand out from the rest when selling the same types of fast food? The innovators at White Castle developed a solution to this problem: aggressive advertising. By featuring commercials with cheerful music and catchy jingles on the radio or television, fast food companies were able to rely on their marketing strategies to convince consumers that their food offered the best taste and value money could buy. Changes in lifestyles and eating habits, such as the consumption of fast food and the dependence of food imports has led to the decline of traditional foods and cultures. With that being said, nutritional related chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases and stroke are on the rise and accounts for more than fifty percent of the deaths in the region. Americans traditionally eat a mixture of some of the best and some of the worst foods you can find for breakfast. Among the worst: fatty sweets, like doughnuts and cinnamon rolls; salty meats, such as sausage and bacon; and eggs, whose yolks add more cholesterol to the average American’s diet than any other single food. Among the best: fresh fruit or juice; dairy foods that are low in fat, like yogurt and milk; and whole grains found in hot or cold cereals. The problem is that the food industry keeps tempting us with an abundance of less nutritious foods that cater to our fast paced lifestyles. For Americans, their biggest challenge is rushing to get dinner on the table, leading many people to rely on take-out, fast food or easy-to-fix convenience foods. Fast food is convenient because you get it fast, it fills you up and you don’t have to worry about sanitary issues. Globalization is primarily about speed and this is why the world has taken up American eating habits. People are so pressed for time that they resort to fast food. But because people are consuming more food these days, it theoretically, should take longer. As a result, poor eating habits means more eating disorders and health issues. This is a growing crisis and the only way to fix this, is to make it easier for people to eat healthier without having to take a lot of time worrying about it and actually doing it. After four decades, our obsession with fast, cheap food has transformed our towns and flooded the labor market with low-paying, dead-end jobs. Americans now spend more money on fast food than they do on higher education, personal computers, software or new cars. In fact, they spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music – combined. These are just a few facts about the negative effect globalization has made on traditional culture here in America. Today, the only Americans who earn lower wages than fast-food workers are migrant farm workers. It now employs some of the poorest, most disadvantaged members of American society. Fast food companies often teach basic job skills to people who can barely read, whose lives have been chaotic or shut off from the mainstream. According to an article found in the Rolling Stones magazine, a survey of American schoolchildren found that ninety-six percent could identify Ronald McDonald. The only fictional character with a higher degree of recognition was Santa Claus. Its corporate symbol, the Golden Arches, is now more widely recognized than the Christian cross. It’s devastating to see how the impact of McDonald's on the nation's culture alone, has forced our economy and diet into a state of despair that it is in. I have discussed how the fast food industry has played a crucial role in the globalization process, as well as how it has affected the poor eating habits of traditional diets in America. The globalization of fast food has made such a negative impact on today’s society, that there is no denying what our future holds. Right now is the best time to make fast food less unhealthy and make healthier food more rapidly available. In conclusion, the world as we know it is heading towards a never-ending battle of complicated health issues and an onset of shortened life spans. I’m sure we can all agree that America loves value. But in the end, if you know it can cause obesity, it’s a pretty poor value. Not only are you going to end up with expensive health-care costs, but you’ll also end up earning less money. If we don’t take the proper precautions now, we could end up with all kinds of economic consequences on a worldwide scale. Works Cited Ancker, William P. â€Å"Fast Food and Globalization. † English Teaching Forum. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 11 Mar. 2008 . —. â€Å"Fast Food World: The Hamburger Comes of Age. † English Teaching Forum. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 11 Mar. 2008 . â€Å"The Best & Worst Breakfasts. † FindArticles. com. Nov. 1999. Nutritional Action Health letter. 11 Mar. 2008 . Schlosser, Eric. â€Å"Fast-Food Nation: The True Cost Of America's Diet. † Rolling Stones 3 Sept. 1998. 11 Mar. 2008 . Stein, Joel. â€Å"A New Fast-Food Invasion. † Time. com 29 Mar. 2007. 11 Mar. 2008 . Williams, David E. â€Å"A Nation’s Eating Habits. † CNN. com 8 Dec. 2006. Healthy Bodies. 11 Mar. 2008 .

Urban Un-sustainability Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Urban Un-sustainability - Research Paper Example One of the important options is the immigration of people to big cities from the rural areas and from the surrounding suburbs in search of livelihood. This immigration and other factors are initiating urbanization process all over the world. â€Å"Whereas by turn of century almost half of the world’s population is lived in urban areas; it is expected that this figure will reach to 8.1 billion -60.5% of world population- by year 2030.† (Masnavi, 2007). This unavoidable urbanization brings out both benefits and challenges. The phenomenon of urbanization has been making quite a good ‘impression’ on the skylines of many cities all over the world, and on the lives of people living there as well as on the ones who are migrating to there. However, on the other hand, unstable immigration and the resultant urbanization are negatively affecting the migrating people and importantly the natural environment of that urban area. That is, in the urban areas, there are heig htened industrial developments and other developments including the maximal use of automobiles and other energy driven tools. All these ‘developments’ can play a destructive role as well, with various emissions and other byproducts making the urban areas ecologically unsustainable. So, this paper will discuss how today's urban regions are becoming un-sustainable ecologically, focusing on the principal causes of this urban un-sustainability. Urbanization and Sustainability As urbanization involves development of industries and other career options for the people, and also various social and entertainment options, it entices sizable population. It results in immigration of large scale population to the developing or existing urban areas causing 'physical' growth or expansion of natural land into urban areas. This immigration develops those urban areas and positively impacts the people living there including their standard of living, economic status, etc. â€Å"Cities hav e traditionally provided more jobs than rural areas because cities are the sites of industry, economic development, and educational and cultural opportunities.† (Berg, 2006). However, during this process of urbanization, the urban areas kind of becomes ‘hot spots’, as heightened immigration is leading to the establishment of more industries, more vehicles on the road, in total it leads to the establishment of more environment destructive entities and processes. Ironically, the above mentioned destructive or development activities cannot be avoided or stopped, as it has been providing many developments and comforts to all sections of the society particularly in the urban areas. In that case, the most feasible option is carrying out those developmental activities in a sustainable way. Sustainable way or sustainability in the sense, if those developmental activities are carried out taking into consideration various social aspects and importantly environmental aspects for not only the current times but also the future, then it constitutes sustainable way. â€Å"Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations.† (â€Å"What is sustainability?†

Communication organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Communication organization - Essay Example There are diverse motivational theories that have been closely evaluated in terms of their effectiveness in influencing people. Most of the studies initially establish the rationale for motivating people. Researchers and business practitioners have regarded that when managers motivate the personnel, they should be able to structure the work environment in such a way that the drives and needs of the employees are brought into play, instead of being neglected. The work environment should be made conducive to the satisfaction of those drives and needs so that workers may act in desired ways. In the need-based theories, it was revealed that â€Å"the manager’s job is to identify what people need and then to make sure that the work environment becomes a means of satisfying these needs† (Chapter 14. Motivating Employees 11). Concurrently, process-based theories were noted to â€Å"use the mental processes of employees as the key to understanding employee motivation† (Chapter 14. Motivating Employees 28). Therefore, the managers must be able to discern diverse factors that could apparently influence employees towards achieving the organization’s goals. Through training, application of motivational theories, examination of the needs and drives of the subordinates, and awareness of the situation, managers should be able to apply the needed motivational theories that would facilitate influencing followers towards defined goals. It was emphasized that â€Å"motivation energizes behavior and gives it direction. A motivated person will work harder and preserver longer than an unmotivated one† (Martires and Fule, Management of Human Behavior in Organizations 2). Therefore, organizations would be better off maintaining motivated personnel to ensure that a high quality of job is sustained; as well as high productivity and performance would be manifested, as required. Likewise, Martires and Fule also disclosed that culture

Covering the measurement and calculation of Real GDP Assignment

Covering the measurement and calculation of Real GDP - Assignment Example The goods as well as the services produced in a certain country and brought to the market have some price. Some experts regard GDP as the price of the total output. The GDP can be calculated in the following ways. Cumulative figure of all income within an economy or the total spending made by all the participating agents within the same economy is referred to as GDP. Both the spending and the income will roughly be the same. It should be kept in king that Gross Domestic product and Gross National product is not the same thing. The market value of the goods as well as services produced within a particular time period by the residents of a particular country is regarded as the GNP. It allocates the production based on the ownership. Three approaches can be used in order to determine the GDP. They are- the income approach, the expenditure approach and the product approach. The product also called as the output approach sums the total produced within the economy in order to attain the va lue of GDP. The expenditure approach assumes that the products produced must be bought by someone and so the total value of the product must be matched by the total expenditure of the people in purchasing things. The last approach takes into consideration that the value of the products must be equal to the incomes of the factors of production. It determines the value of GDP by calculating the sum of the income of the producers. The expenditure method: Where, C= Consumption, I=investment, G=government expenditure, X=exports, M=imports. The reciprocal circulation of income between the producers as well as the consumers is referred as the circular flow of income. From the circular flow of income the following equation is derived: Leakages=Injections (Tucker, 2010, p.429). i.e. S+T+M=I+G+X where, S= net savings, T=net taxes, M= import expenditure, I=Investment, G=government expenditure, X=export expenditure. It following equation can also be derived from the above: (S-I) + (T-G) = (X-M) . If the value of the left hand side of the equation is negative, then it must have been financed from somewhere. The right hand side of the equation denotes the current account balance. Therefore, (S-I) + (T-G) = (X-M) + foreign savings The production method consists of three stages. In the first step the gross value of the output produced domestically is estimated. The second step involves determination of the value of intermediate consumption while in the third step the value of the intermediate consumption is subtracted from the gross value in order to arrive at the net value. The total of the gross added value in various activities related to the economy is referred to as GDP at factor cost. The sum of the indirect taxes and GDP at factor cost subtracted from subsidies will give GDP at producers’ price. There are two methods to determine the gross output of any sector. The gross output can be determined by multiplying the products of each sector with the respective price s prevailing in the market and add them up. It can also be determined by manipulating data on sales as well as inventories from companies records and again add them up. According to the income approach, GDP is calculated by summing up the incomes that firms are required to pay to the households for providing the production factors namely wages, interest, rents as well as profits.

My Nursing Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

My Nursing Philosophy - Essay Example For me to develop my nursing practice, I contemplated on what nursing means to me as well as factors that guide my nursing practice. In the course of my nursing studies, I have encountered different situations, which have enabled me develop my personal nursing philosophy. Additionally they have changed and molded my assumptions regarding nursing practices. However, they have at times challenged my assumption and personal value but for the better. Developing a personal nursing philosophy required me to reflect on my assumptions about nursing and compare them with the facts I had learned, particularly from the different philosophers accredited for developing different concepts that shaped nursing practices. Nursing practices entails giving patient-centered care and maintaining the different ethics that guide nurses in their practice. My nursing philosophy is based on my experiences, nursing education, principles, and theories that guide nursing, as well as my goals as a nurse. It addresses the aspects surrounding nursing practice, which include the society, environment, the patient of recipient of nursing care, health, and nursing care. I have always been compassionate about giving professional caring towards patients. For me, nursing is not just about me as the nurse and the patient, it comprise the patients family and the society. This is because of the roles that may pray in preventing occurrence of certain diseases as well as their contribution in enhancing healing of patients. Additionally, they are an important source of information regarding patients and other health related problems. The American Nurses Association definition of nursing (2004, p. 7) as â€Å"Protection, promoti ng, and Abilities, prevention of illnesses and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations† clearly describes what nursing entails. I find this definition very comprehensive since it clearly defines the roles of a nurse. Additionally, it demonstrates the need for continuous knowledge acquisition as key to proficient nursing. For quite some time the issue on whether nursing is, an art or a science has been debated. Being a nurse entail taking care of the patients, this is considered as an art. Therefore, the definition of nursing is a clear depiction of the components of nursing. Being a successful nurse requires one to seek knowledge, which is then applied in the daily activities. This necessitates clear understanding of diseases, their causes, diagnosis, and treatment. This makes nursing a science since it involves seeking knowledge. According to Philips, science is â€Å"an original body of knowledge concerning human beings and their world,† (2006, p.43). Nursing is thus multidimensional, and involves acquiring knowledge in addition applying the theory of behavioral and natural sciences in defining the skills and professional values used in care giving (Warms & Schroeder, 2009; Phillips, 2006).  However, nursing goes beyond understanding the disease progression and treatment. It entails enhancing the healing process through giving care. When Nightingale (1820-1910) and Nissen (1834-1892) wrote a about nursing, they metaphorically compared it to art. They were considering the quality of care given by nurses (Austgard, 2006, 16). The aspect of care giving requires nurses to connect with the patient and their family and is thus an art. Nursing is thus both a science and an art. That is why I consider knowledge crucial for successful nursing. Additionally, applying the knowledge learnt in class is crucial since it enables one to understand different diseases and disease processes. Knowledge acquisition is the scientific component of nursing. It entails learning how to use

Management . book Hidden value Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management . book Hidden value - Assignment Example Starting employees are usually young, immigrants, or those with the difficulty obtaining work. 66% of those people are usually female. Low wages and low skill indexes are expected, turnover is endemic. Mens Warehouse, however, chose to do things a little differently, which has maintain them as a profitable industry during a time when most of the industry is failing. Mens Warehouse targets the middle income and the fact that men do not like to shop. Their prices are below average and they use a" everyday low pricing strategy". Their philosophy is one of the worldview. They believe they are in the people business and that their companys job is to help people understand others, listen better, and develop excellent skills in order to help themselves and their teammates. In other words they attempt to help each person achieve their potential. Potential include such things as being a better spouse being a better parent and fulfilling their desires at work. With the kind of philosophy that Mens Warehouse has, the training also has to be somewhat different. In this case they have very little training budget. They do however believe in the power of untapped human potential. When they ranked the importance of stakeholders and their company, employees are ranked first. Following employees come customers, vendors, and shareholders. The company believes in promotion from within and all of the senior executives have been with the company a long time. The average tenure is 10 to 15 years. Management development is done through a two layer system. District managers are also trainers. The company has many training and on-site meetings throughout the year, they seldom if ever use any outside training people. They also provide to learning Universities for their employees. In interesting factor is that much of the training is also done by senior executives. Performance management is important to them. They did this through a number of constructive

Healthcare in the US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Healthcare in the US - Essay Example Policy issues, adverse economic conditions, and other trends and practices have been cited as some of the fundamental causes of the rise in healthcare costs both in the state, federal, and local governments. The sharp increases in healthcare expenditure have had various negative consequences to other sectors of the economy and the average livelihood of the American citizens. Financial pressure on families, challenges on the part of the employers, and a reduction in spending on other important sectors of the economy are some of the negative consequences of increased healthcare spending. Recent figures show that the rate of healthcare spending is significantly higher than average economic growth. The implication, according to economists, is that the rate of spending on healthcare is much faster than the rate of economic activities in other sectors of the economy. The imbalance in economic activities and healthcare expenditure shows that the levels may not be sustainable in the end (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Web). Usually, economic activities are determined by the manner in which countries devote significant amounts of money to certain sectors with the intention of improving the conditions of trade and the balance of economic systems. The statistics show that healthcare spending has grown by over 3.0 percentage points higher than the nominal GDP. It is necessary to establish some of the intervention measures that the federal, state, and local governments have undertaken in order to reduce the adverse impact of expenditure on the economy. The impact of negative economic growth manifests itself in terms of the various issues that connect with the specifics of economic growth. The question regarding the need to control the healthcare industry continues to polarize the health debate in the United States due to various factors that connect with costs, protection of the citizens, affordability, and quality. Among the objectives raised by the proponents of in creased government regulation of the sector is the matter of checking of rising costs of healthcare and the laxity of employers to meet the costs of employees’ medical insurance premium (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Web). A related concern is the adverse impact of increased spending on healthcare on other important sectors of the economy. Projected increase in healthcare expenditure implies that the government would not be able to cater appropriately for other matters of priority. Proponents of control argue that the general intention of controlling government expenditure aligns with the need to stabilize economic growth. On the other hand, those opposed to the government’s regulatory practices argue that increased regulation would slacken private initiative and discourage investment into the healthcare industry. In line with this argument, critics of government regulation contend that the practice contravenes the letter and spirit of a free market economy for which the United States is famed (Boscheck 75). Those who hold onto this view argue in favor of uncontrolled regulation point towards the need to develop alternative structures of stability as one of the ways through which stability of the healthcare industry and other related aspects of the economy can be controlled. The common impression in the perspectives of critics who challenge the free market healthcare model is that the system has failed. Exorbitant costs of healthca

International Business Entity of Gap Inc Assignment

International Business Entity of Gap Inc - Assignment Example Almost 12.4 % of all business establishments in US are involved in the retail industry and the gross margin of the industry is between 31% and 33%. There is stiff competition in the retail industry and this has seen the sales of Gap Inc drop significantly. Apart from the drop in sales, the company has also been experiencing a decrease in the number of customers. This prompted the company to explore strategies of improving on their sales. The company adopted some measures such as markdowns, aggressive promotion and product campaigns among others. This has caused a recent improvement in the sales of the company though slight. A financial analysis of Gap Inc is critical at this time to determine the financial soundness of the company. Financial analysis is the process of selecting, evaluating and interpreting information from the financial statements of a company in order to obtain information for decision-making. Financial statements have to be interpreted in order to make sense to dec ision makers in the firm. Financial analysis makes sense out of the financial statements and this enables decision-making. Financial statement analysis is therefore a very important tool for the success and growth of an organization. It provides information for decision making either outside or inside the organization. The main tool used to carry out financial analysis is the ratio analysis. ...data include the press releases about the economy or industry performance and economic data such as the gross domestic product (Block & Geoffrey, 2009). It is important for the financial analyst to make a careful selection of relevant data for analysis. All data must be obtained before beginning the process. There are numerous financial ratios. A ratio is an expression of quantitative relationship between elements (Helfert, 2001). Financial ratios are classified into various categories such as liquidity ratios, profitability ratios and activity ratios among others. These ratios are classified based on the information they provide for decision makers of the company. Gap Inc. Mission The mission statement of Gap Inc. is that the firm never stops moving. The firm takes many talented, passionate and dedicated workers across the world to deliver the products of the firm and enable customers have their expected and wonderful shopping experience. Financial Ratio Analysis 1. Ratios measuring the Liquidity of Gap Inc. The ratios are vital for the operations of the firm since they help in determination of the ability of the corporation from meeting its daily operations. Gap Inc. is expected to have high liquidity in order to assure its stakeholders of continued operations. Therefore, high liquidity ratios are favorable for the corporation. These assets are also known as liquid assets and they include cash, bank deposits, stock, and notes receivable among others (Vance, 2002). a) Current ratio Current ratio is the ratio of current assets to current liabilities and it is an indicat or of the ability of a company to meet current liabilities using current assets.

Marketing Mix Recommendations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Mix Recommendations - Essay Example Hygiene is one of the important factors within the food industry and consumers give highest priority to it. Therefore it is highly recommended that the company should only sell hygienic and fresh foods. The pricing should be done on the basis of cost plus pricing method and market penetration strategy can be followed to grab more market share. Regarding the promotional aspect, the company can effectively use television and newspaper advertisement as both the media have mass reach. Finally regarding the distribution, the company can appoint distributors and target food marts to distribute and sell their products. Memorandum Date: 18th October, 2012. Subject: Organic Food for the family Unit To: The Big Boss From: Consumer Research Department To maintain sustainability of a business, it is extremely important to keep hold on the present market share. However after a certain point of time it becomes essential to focus on the ways by which market share can be increased. Greater market sh are helps in increasing the brand recognition. There are some interesting facts about increasing market share. Increasing market share is important only when the company is earning more profits. However it does not have any importance when the market share has increased but the company is losing money. Now in the context of project, Mintel can increase the market share for organic foods and drinks market by considering modifications in their marketing mix. Hence following are the recommendations to Mintel for the primary rationale of attaining more market share. Product Recommendation For an organization to get success in the market place it is imperative to give highest priority to its product stagey (Mcgrath 1-5). Similarly for food industry product is the ultimate element for which a customer pays to the company. Study reveals that among 2000 people, 30 % of the respondents are highly concerned about the safety of foods. Hence for Mintel product strategy should be considered as t he central business strategy. Also the product strategy of an organic food company plays an important role in managing and handling the competition. Furthermore a sound product strategy will be responsible for exemplifying the path of success for Mintel. Now in the context of the study the target group of the company is the family unit, thus in order to cater to that segment the product strategy is vital. The study also reveals that among 181 people, who are living with a partner, 33 % respondents are highly aware of food security. Similarly among the married people 31% of them have high concerns and 47 % have average concern over the food hygiene. Therefore based on the available data, it is highly recommended that the company should only sell hygiene and fresh foods, which will also help them to build an unique selling proposition (USP). Price Recommendation In simple words price is the amount paid by the customer for gaining the ownership of a product from the seller (Kotler and Armstrong 282). Although the concept of price is very simple, but when it comes to actually value a product or service the notion does not exactly remain the same. A pricing strategy is defined as a course of action or an approach in order to achieve the marketing objectives of the company (Pride and Ferrell 318). Hence pricing strategy is crucial towards the acceptance of the product or service in the market plac

Rooms Division Operation Plan Essay Example for Free

Rooms Division Operation Plan Essay The rooms division comprises the front office, reservations, bell service, concierge, housekeeping, laundry including health and recreation. (NZQA 2005) Since the resort operates as a full-fledged 4-star category, the reservations, bell service and concierge are made separate sections from the front office and the laundry is made separate from the housekeeping. As a resort, the rooms division extends its scope to the facilities of surfing, spa, swimming pool, maintenance and gardens which are specialized functions are under the Health and Recreation department. The next 12-month operation strategies for the Rooms Division will aim to overcome the weaknesses as determined in the SWOT analysis which are lack of conference facilities and meeting rooms, high employee turn-over, shortfalls in planned maintenance activities and will focus on full blast redesigning and refurbishment, upgrading the service quality, augmenting market research, enhancing service capacity and upgrading management competencies. Refurbishment Any service company, particularly hotels and resorts will always have to consider sufficiency of infrastructure and facilities. The quality of service will always rely on these factors. (Gray 1992) Refurbishment will be necessary to achieve the resort’s major strategies especially in the expansion of conference rooms and meeting rooms. The refurbishment program for the rooms division includes expansion of the ballroom which now becomes a grand ballroom that is breakable into 4 mini ballrooms to accommodate 100 to 150 persons per ballroom, additional 8 function rooms that can accommodate 50 persons and 10 meeting rooms with a capacity of 20 persons. This will encourage local markets to book more parties, meetings and conferences and the resort will be able to accommodate to as much as 600 persons in one sitting at the same time be flexible enough to accommodate small groups. Because of this major move of the resort, some guestrooms will have to be refurbished which are those to be included in the packaging of the conferences and meetings. The 214 guestroom are in resort motifs and there will have to be at least 40 guestrooms that will be redesigned to match the conference package of the resort. It is expected that the conference and meetings engagement will generate the intended occupancy rate increase of 15% in the next year and the targeted increase in sales from the New Zealand and Asian markets. Aside from these more amenities will be supplied to the guestrooms as add-ons to increase occupancy rates particularly during off peak seasons along with refurbishments undergone in for the conference halls and meeting rooms. There will be two (2) business centers to be set up beside the ballroom areas to facilitate easy access to communication and printing requirements of the guests that are booked for the conferences and meetings. These business centers will be equipped with the latest IT facilities and state of the art communication systems that will answer to all types of needs of customers at all levels. These facilities are also expected to contribute to the income generated by the resort. Service Quality Since the resort saturate efforts to increase occupancy rates through massive promotional campaigns to be led by the resort Marketing Department. The rooms division will have its share of strategies and complementary efforts to upgrade the quality of service provided by the rooms division, particularly in the front desk, concierge, bell service and health and recreation departments which are the front liners of the resort. All staff at the front line would be required to learn Japanese Nippongo, Chinese Mandarin and Italian which are the most common language barriers as determined in the previous years. Aside from those, the staff had to improve their English communication skills. All staff of the division will have to undergo re-training and series of seminars on improving service quality. Butlers will be hired to provide special service to the guests at the VVIP suites. Flowers, chocolates, fruit baskets, beach bags, bathing suits and rubber sandals will be provided for the guests as promotional amenities. The image of the resort will depend on the excellent quality of service that the rooms division staff will provide the guests, as they enter the resort and reach the comforts of their rooms. (Branson 1998) Correspondingly, as a move to control the movement of customers, particularly those who will attend meetings, functions and parties, a separate route will be allocated for them, to protect the in-house guests from losing their privacy particularly those staying at the pool area. It is important to consider always, the privacy and comfort of the guests in the resort. This is what customers look for in hotels and resorts and that they are willing to pay much for that. (Gray 1992) Entrance to the pool area will therefore be limited to in-house guests although other restaurant and party patrons may be allowed discretely. Market Research  While there is a Marketing Department that specially focuses on finding the clients and developing strategies to attract guests and bookings (Gray 1992), the Rooms Division provides its counterpart move to market research. The early operations stage of the hotel will need the support of all the staff especially the expertise of the key people, like the Front Office Manager, the Executive Housekeeper and the different managers of the other departments in the rooms division to help determine the hotel’s target customers, their profile and their needs as well as determine how the rooms division services can satisfy them. The division will hold a strategic planning session to give inputs to market research. Here, the staff will give their expert ideas as to who the targeted clients are, where to find them, how the hotel can get them to book and most especially, how the hotel can satisfy them when they finally try the hotel services. The integrated inputs will be submitted to the Marketing Department for integration to the marketing plan. (Lane 1998) Production Development A major weakness identified in the plan is the deficiencies in providing maintenance services especially in the guestrooms. Guest complaints received in the previous year mostly were pointing to unserviceable facilities like the hot and cold water, busted bulbs, defective appliances, and even clogged bathtubs. In any service company, maintenance is as important as the other services provided. (Branson 1998) The division’s response to solve the problem would be to develop a maintenance preventive system that will require regular monitoring of facilities and assure that all is working well. Additional employees will be hired in the housekeeping department, those who already possess technical skills in maintenance and engineering so that housekeeping department can immediately solve minor technical problems without waiting for the engineering team to respond. Management Competencies The resort has been affected by fast employee turn-over and this will be answered by package incentives programmed by the Human Resource Department. Aside from the capability building programs being conducted for the staff skills upgrading including teambuilding and values development, the rooms division will institutionalize a regular learning session among management, which includes supervisors, assistant managers, managers and the division manager to improve the management competencies and benchmark on best practices. Food and Beverage Operation Plan The Food and Beverage Division comprises the FB Service and FB Production departments. FB Service will cover all restaurants, bars and the banquet; FB Production will cover the cold and hot kitchens, pastry and stewarding. Each of these departments is most critical and will contribute significantly to the total make-over of the resort. . The next 12-month operation strategies will aim to overcome the weaknesses as determined in the SWOT analysis which are lack of conference facilities and meeting rooms, high employee turn-over and the resignation of the Head Chef, shortfalls in planned maintenance activities and will focus on full blast refurbishment, upgrading the service quality, augmenting market research, enhancing service capacity and upgrading management competencies. Refurbishment In determining the courses of action to take, it is the SWOT that provides information on the focal concerns. (Branson 2002) Major problems identified in the SWOT were the lack of conference and meeting function areas. Management has decided to answer these needs and provide additional function areas. The focus of the Food and Beverage division on the refurbishment will be on the additional kitchen and storage facilities including kitchen fixtures, tools and equipment that will be put up specifically for the banquet areas. This will cater to the clients of the ballroom, conferences and meetings. The setting up of the banquet kitchen and storage beside the ballroom area will facilitate smooth and speedy transport of food for the specific banquet clients. The kitchen and storage must be able to provide food for at most 1,200 persons, which is the maximum capacity of the ballroom, conference rooms and meeting rooms all together. The expansion of the banquet will encourage local markets to book more parties, meetings and conferences and the resort will be able to accommodate big groups at the same time be flexible enough to accommodate small groups. Likewise for the food and beverage service, additional facilities, glassware, chinaware and silverware and other service tools and equipment will have to be procured for this purpose. Market Research The contribution of the food and beverage division to the over-all marketing strategy is the detailed identification of the targeted clients and how the resort will be able to satisfy them. (Cousins 2002) The general strategy of the resort for the next year is to improve food and beverage revenues through expansion of banquet services. The division will organize a special team of chefs and other banquet experts to study the preferred tastes of the target clients for the banquet and develop special menus that will appeal to prospective engagers. Series of food tasting sessions will be done and this will be coordinated with the resort PR department to invite media personalities and other influential people to promote the food and the service styles that are in store for the new resort image. Surveys may also be conducted to prospective companies and target groups to get their preferences in terms of service, food and the price. The team of FB leaders will have to find ways of developing menus that have lower cost so corresponding, lower prices will be offered to customers. This strategy intends to attract a wider margin of the market including those who would prefer practically priced menus and food and beverage package. Service Quality One of the possible causes of the fast turn-over of employees is the inability to cope with the demands of their jobs. Hotel work is not easy especially for those hired without skills. Employee involvement is very important in every move that the food and beverage division will undertake. (Gray 1992) The division will augment the activities conducted by the Human Resource department through coaching, mentoring and job rotation. This move will prepare next-in-line subordinates as alternates. The division will establish safety nets to protect the operation from being affected by employee absences or resignations. FB Managers and Chefs will work closely with the Human Resource Department to get the best and skilled people. Kitchen staff, particularly Chefs and other key positions like the Maitre-d’Hotel, Ice/Butter Carvers (Cousins 2002), will require special qualifications and ample experience. All staff will be trained on the company standard of values and service including the health aspect of food handling, aside from the specific skills training they will undergo. Simulation exercises and food and beverage tasting will have to be conducted to perfect the quality of food and beverages that will be served to guests. Special effort will have to be made to source for the Head Chef who will have to be provided special package incentives. Precautionary efforts will have to be made to retain hard to find skilled employees, which will be of utmost concern, not only by the Human Resource Department but also the FB Manager who oversees the work of the Head Chef and down the line chefs. Special commitment will have to be made by the Head Chef to be hired, whose role is very crucial to the success of the resort business. Production Development The expansion of the division particularly in the additional function areas will need complementing augmentation in terms of resort warm bodies and systems to equally make the service satisfying to the customers. The division will be expecting customers who are not â€Å"in house guests† for the parties, conferences and other meeting, therefore extra caution will have to be made by the staff, especially in billing guests to avoid losses for the restaurants. Procurement of supplies is critical in the production aspect. (Gray 1992) The key officers from the FB will have to be involved in the procurement as well as the design of the different kitchens and outlets. Their expertise will be needed for the sourcing and selection. All items to be procured will have to suit the standards set by the resort and the varying motifs of the FB outlets particularly the banquet functions. The resort will have will have to scan resources within reach and establish suppliers of hard to find facilities, supplies and ingredients. New technology on order taking and billing will be installed in all the food and beverage outlets. This is an on-line system that will centralize the billing and order taking to the computer which directly will generate summaries in the cashier. This computerization intends to systematize the process and prevent errors in the manual communication of orders and computation of bills. It is noted that this problem has caused stress to many staff in the restaurants, specifically for the waiters and order takers who made significant errors in orders and billings. The computerization intends to minimize these problems. Enhanced Management Competencies The rate of turn-over is highest among the chefs for the past years. Chefs have varying expertise that is crucial to the resort and hard to find. The resort will have to create special package of incentives for the chefs to assure that they are satisfied with the jobs. Chefs as well as the other supervisors and managers of the food and beverage division are relied on in terms of their expertise as well as their management capabilities. Many of the supervisors and managers have technical skills but lack the necessary management competencies. (Cousins et. al. 2002) Stephen Covey emphasized in his â€Å"Seven Habits of Highly Effective People† his seventh habit, which is most important is the â€Å"sharpening of the saw†, which means, every person no matter how effective and efficient will need to improve himself continuously to stay relevant. The food and beverage division will coordinate with the Human Resource department to prepare and package capability programs for the division management staff particularly on people handling, time management and stress management. They will also have series of IT enhancement particularly in Microsoft Office programs so that they will be able to cope up with the computer-based reporting systems being installed in the resort. These moves hope to improve the relations within the division and improve employee relations.

Characteristics of the Clothing Industry

Characteristics of the Clothing Industry The high quality fashion market is based on modern technology which has a relatively well paid labour force and designers with various degrees of flexibility. Many firms within this industry try to capture the market through various designs which is targeted at meeting the taste and preference of consumers. Most of the firms under the high quality fashion markets are in the developed and industrialized countries. The mass production low-quality/standard products markets are found in the developing countries. These categories are basically involved in the production of uniforms, under wears, t-shirts and many more. They are found in exporting zones working with major importers if the industrialized countries. Outsourcing in this market is basically to household productions, (Nordas, 2004). The Clothing industries operate under free import quotas. This means that both clothing and textile industries do not have to pay import tariffs when importing raw materials connected to clothing and textiles. These tariffs are made possible by the World Trade Organisation, to improve the importation of varied clothing among producing countries. As a result of the protectionism, many developing countries producing clothing were able to survive the industry. This however did not go well with the developed countries since there were great competition between the developing countries like China and the developed countries. On the part of employment, the industry has engaged the services of millions of people worldwide and also with other individuals who are not registered but work in their homes and factories. The industry was the first to trade on a global dimension, simply because of the low barriers in entering the production of clothing. The industry is governed by the international labour laws, employing the most sensitive part of the labour force with females and ethnic minority as the leading employees. Most of the employees are immigrants. The European community, and the US and UK also have blacks as the major employees of the industry. Most of the producing countries in the developing world have females as the majority of employees in the industry. As indicated above, the total labour force of the clothing industry is made up of 80% of women. This is largely due to the fact that women are immobile and therefore are able to take care of domestic chores. A greater number of the female workforce is also unskilled or semi-skilled. In the developing countries, many of the workers spend up to 12-14 hours per day and are paid with very low wages, THE PRODUCTION CIRCUIT The clothing industry is part of a large circuit which involves the production of textiles. The industry is more fragmented organisationally and less technological in nature. The industry outsource most of it components and products. The garment industry therefore produces to unpredicted consumer markets. The industry serves as a distribution point for all garments. Through retailer efforts, the organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s geography has been shaped accordingly. The industry is also known as a buyer driven industry, in the sense that they purchase most of the raw materials from producing countries worldwide. There are six stages that individual producing countries have passed through, that is from the embryonic stage to the maturity and decline stage of the development process of the clothing industry. This can be seen in (Figure 1 below). The stages indicate how raw materials flow within the industry, from the fabric production stage, design, preparation, production, distribution and consumption stage. In the reverse state is the information flow from customer orders down to the fabric production stage. There is no much technological change since inception of the clothing industry. The majority still uses the manual operations due to the complex nature of the production process. The clothing industry can be related to a supply chain function, where activities flow from raw materials to textile designs, apparel plants through distribution centers and other retail stores to consumers. The chain is seen as an integrated network of marketing from production stage to the finish product to consumers. The various activities are located where each can be able to make a contribution to the value of the finished product. The various variables considered in the industry include quality, cost, reliability, access to quality inputs and transportation cost. From the figure 2 above, the black lines represents the flow of goods whereas the white lines represent the flow of information. The arrows indicate Demand-Pull System, where the design of a product is made from customer orders, (Nordas, 2004). The supply chain indicates the interplay of several companies, where logistics and other services are coordinated. In the industrialized countries, most companies engage the ser vices of consultants or independent service providers in the provision of logistics. PRODUCTION COST AND TECHNOLOGY The clothing industry is characterized by low intensity of capital and high intensity of labour. The plant size is very small with simple technology. Figure 4 represent percentage of leading exporters of Clothing worldwide. The figure compares percentage of 2000 and 2011. Asia dominates the clothing industry in-terms of exports with over 50% of world market. China has doubled their share within 11years of operation, with approx. 37% of the total exports worldwide. Closely followed is the European Union and Euro extra with a combined total of 35% of world export share, which I a combination of intra regional exports. Figure 5 represents share in value for exporters for 2011. China leads with 38% representing 154 billion Dollars in 2011, (www.wto.org) European union closely follows with 36% of Share in value representing 144billion US Dollars including intra regional trade. Bangladesh also did better in 2011 with a share in value of 5%, representing an amount of 20billion US Dollars, www.wto.org). LEADING IMPORTERS ( SHARE IN VALUE AND PERCENTAGE) The EU is the leading importer of clothing worldwide, with combined percentage of 67.2% of total imports. The EU imports much of its clothing from China. Available records indicates that EU imports about 39% if Clothing from China, 14% from Turkey, 7.7% from India, 6.3% from Bangladesh and 3.6% from Tunisia, ( www.ec.europa.eu). It is also evidenced that China exports clothing more than imports. Whereas China leads in exporting clothing, in-terms of imports, they only imports about 0.90% of world clothing. The US is the second largest importer of clothing as evidenced on figure 4 above. The US imports about 20.5% of clothing in the country, followed by Japan with 7.6%. The remaining countries imports less than 3% worldwide respectively, (WTO 2011 chart II.69) The share in value for the leading importer of clothing (EU) is 60%, representing an amount of 290Billion Dollars. The EU is therefore the largest importer of clothing worldwide. The US is the second largest importer of clothing with about 18% share in value, representing 89 Billion US Dollars TOP TEN SUPPLIERS The clothing industry has about ten major suppliers. China plays a leading role with about 29.45million Euros in 2011 as compared to 2007 where it made a supply of approximately 21.9million Euros. Bangladesh also improved in their supply in 2011 with 7.5million Euros as compared with 2007 with a supply of 4.4million Euros. India also had a slight increase in supply for 2011 with approximately 4.5million Euros as compared to 2007 where the supply was approx. 3.8million Euros. However, Turkey had a decline in supply in 2011 with an amount of 8.2million Euros as compared with 2007 with approx. 8.9million Euros. Other countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Vietnam had their supply below 2million Euros as evidenced on figure 2. Top 10 suppliers in clothing (million Euros) Basic characteristics of the industry (share in value added and employment, structure and  characteristics of the production process) The role of trade policy (multilateral tariffs and quotas, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“grey area protectionism, trade conflicts, preferential trade, etc.) Trade policies are rules and regulations governing the operations of international trade among countries worldwide. Trade policies play a major role in the industrialization of the clothing and textiles market. Regarding market access, trade policies TEXTILES AND CLOTHING AGREEMENT The textiles and clothing industry has long history in-terms of agreement for protection in trade across the US and Europe. Voluntary export restraints were agreed upon by China, Japan, Hong Kong, and India to enable them export cotton products to the US in the 1950s. The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs were incorporated in the agreement with the Long Term Agreement (LTA) on Cotton. This agreement was later replaced by the Multi-Fibre Agreement in 1974, (Nordas, 2004). The main purpose of the MFA was to open up the restricted markets so to limit the disruptions of markets. The MFA was also extended to cover all man-made fibres in-terms of restrictions. However, according to Nordas 2004, the MFA violated the multilateral system principles as follows: The most favoured principle was not adhered to Instead applying tariffs, it rather applied quantitative restrictions Developing countries were discriminated against It was not also very transparent for easy understanding By 1st January, 2005, the Textiles and Clothing were fully integrated in GATT which also gave way for quotas to be fully integrated making it easy for member countries to trade without trade barriers. In the views of Nordas, the eliminating quotas lead to welfare economic gains of about 42% of the Uruguay round liberation, and about 65% for dynamic models. In her view, Nordas indicated that much of the Welfare gains went to the importing countries where as the exporting countries made welfare loss through the static version of the model and welfare gain through the dynamic model. A tripartite committee report on promoting fair globalization in textiles and clothing indicates that phasing out quotas will benefit China, being the leader in exporting of clothing in the industry, where as the importing countries will lose market share, (www.ilo.org) . The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) ended in 2004, which led to an increase in competition in the clothing market. Some countries were affected as a result of the new entrants of the Asian countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, and other competitors like India and Bangladesh which are traditional exporters. This led to a decline in the importation of clothing from the affected countries by the US at an annual rate of 13.4%. With the implementation of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) which were imposed by the US and EU on the importation of textiles and clothing from China, inroads were created for some developing countries to experience marginal growth in their exports. The PTAs also made it possible for small countries like Madagascar and Haiti to increase their exports by 26% and 15% respectively, (www.ito.org). THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT The US Free Trade Agreements has given the textiles and apparel industry the opportunity to enter in the world market and compete freely. The agreement enables the reduction of tariffs rates and improves the intellectual property rules and regulations, (Web.ita.doc.gov). The US has therefore signed agreements with the following countries and Institutions on textile and clothing industry. Notable among them are; Australia, Bahrain, CAFTA-DR, Chile, Colombia, Israel, Korea, Morocco, NAFTA, Oman, Panama, Peru and Singapore, (www.otexa.ita.doc). These agreements assist foreign governments to ensure that non-discriminating laws and regulations are enforced to streamline trade relations between the US and member countries, (www.otexa.ita.doc). The FTA provides that transparent measures be put in place for effective rules to be enforced. The FTA also ensures that all non-tariff barriers are removed completely, which opens the markets of the member countries to the US products. Under this ag reement, all goods that qualify are said to be duty free the US markets.