Civil Procedures Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Civil Procedures - Thesis Example 22). See the Appendix for a summary of the different parts of FRCP. The American legal system used to be a part of the British Empire in North America, which was loosely organized in the terms of national coherence simply because of the colonial rule. After independence, the lack of coherence in the legal system of the country became more conspicuous. The different district courts and regional bodies spread across the United States had formulated their own procedural systems that varied widely from one court to another. According to Wright and Miller (2002), the Process Act of 1792 was one of the first important and concrete attempts to bring about a uniform civil procedural paradigm throughout the federation. With the expansion of the United States throughout the early 19th century, legal issues surfaced time and again regarding the member states that were joining the initial thirteen colonies. US Congress took effective measures to overcome this problem and avoid confusions due to simultaneous application of both the common and civil laws. By the Tariff Act of 1828, US Congress provided a roadmap for the different states to follow a standard civil procedural system (Wright and Miller, 2002). However, debate and lack of legal coordination at the federal level continued. Major political and military developments during the Civil War and the World War I necessitated a federally recognized legal system all across the United States so that the union could be strengthened and harmonized. Finally in 1935, the Federal Supreme Court compiled the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) that became the backbone of the bijuridical legal framework of the United States (Spencer, 2010; Wright and Miller, 2002). Despite the successful implementation of FRCP, each state in the United States has considerable autonomy regarding the

Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs

Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Objectives 1. Introduction In todays consumer driven world, companies are forced to offer quality products and at the same time also keep the pricing competitive to fight the competition. Todays consumer is not only aware but also smart to evaluate similar products for its quality. This smart and knowledgeable consumer is pushing the companies to the edge in providing quality products at competitive prices. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when many large Japanese companies set up manufacturing operations in North America they suffered from a competitive environment that caused people to think that North American goods were better in quality than Japanese goods. To fight this general consumer perception, Japanese companies sought manufacturing methods to produce goods with a high level of quality so they could penetrate the market at a competitive price. The Japanese management gurus come up with a concept that integrates all functions of an organisation such as finance, marketing, engineering and production so that the company can meet the customer requirements and achieve their desired goals. This was termed as Total Quality Management and till date widely practised by organisation across the globe [TQM, 2007]. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? TQM is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility throughout the company; it is essentially a way of planning and understanding each activity, depends on each individual at each level (Oakland, John 2005). TQM helps in improving the organisational efficiency. As we all know most of the companies in the small business sector act as a source of raw-material to large organisations so its important to adopt TQM approach in their company, it is extremely difficult for SMEs to accept TQM as whole in their company as compared to large organisation as they always have the problem of finance resources, lack of technical expertise, manpower and some other related issues so it is important for them to revised the TQM approach adopted by large organisations which will help them to be more flexible and move quickly with a change so that they can meet the needs of their customers with good quality products with effective cost. 1.1 Aim of the investigation: This research paper aims to locate the effectiveness of TQM practices in SMEs-specially in manufacturing sector and to discuss the benefits of TQM practices to SMEs. 1.2 Research Objectives Rationale: This research will look into TQM and its practices and its involvement in SMEs industry. Nowadays, competitiveness is based on quality for many organisations; hence it will look into ways of integrating organisation activities with TQM practices in SMEs-working within manufacturing sector. On the other hand, this study will explore the link between the SMEs and TQM practice and evaluating the benefits of TQM to SMEs with special reference to the TMD technologies Ltd UK. 1.3 Structure of the Study: The entire research is designed in five distinct chapters. The following are the key ingredients of each chapter providing a birds eye view of the research: Chapter 1: Firstly, as outlined above, the research objectives and the rationale of the research are outlaid. Chapter 2: The literature surrounding total quality management is discussed and related with the real examples focusing on works carried out by Deming, Juran, and the models of ISO-9001 and Six Sigma. Chapter 3: The Research Methodologies are studied in this chapter concluding with the qualitative research process carrying out through semi-structured interviews. Chapter 4: The data collected from interviews in the manufacturing company TMD Technologies Ltd is discussed in relation to the concepts and literature of TQM. Chapter 5: Researcher has discussed about his Personal Development Plan. Chapter 6: The project is concluded in this chapter with recommendations and the scope of further research being discussed. In addition, the research limitations and data analysis are outlaid. 1.4 Chapter Summary: The research objectives along with the rationale for the research are presented at the outset followed by the structure in which the entire dissertation is constructed. After going through customer requirements, company can focus on producing better quality products within the budget so the improvement in business can be achieved. CHAPTER 2 Total Quality Management Small Medium-Sized Enterprises 2. Literature Review: Quality is vital for organisation success; specially require for SMEs to compete with large competitors. It has become inevitable for SMEs to work on enhancing quality within their functions, product and services and the way they manage their organisations. Manufacturing industry within SMEs framework is the main area of this research where the importance of TQM is needed and has been highlighted by many authors and practitioners. Quality has been defined differently by different authors and professionals; Crosby (Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) defines it as conformance to requirement; whereas (Sadgrove In Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) comments on quality as the product which should be fit for its intended purpose. Quality is the term which drives productivity of the company in the manufacturing sector, if there is an increase in productivity of the organization then it will lead to the increase in revenues and job opportunities. It is a continuous process, which helps the employees to learn from their past and using it to develop the organisation so that they can satisfy their customers. In some manufacturing firms quality used to indicate that a piece of material conforms to certain physical dimensional characteristics often set down in the form of particularly tight specification. (Oakland, S. John, 2005) To be more specific and clear about the different concepts i.e. Quality, Total Quality Management and others which I will be looking at this chapter, I am using an example of Dadoos Foodstore based in South East London who are engaged in retail business i.e. buying few products like bread, fruit drinks, juices, milk, butter, crisps and some other various products in wholesale from suppliers and manufacturing few products like lentils, rice and spices and selling them in this competitive market to earn profit. Their views is to render their services in the most effective manner and customer satisfaction is their main propriety and I am using this example just to explain my knowledge and understanding of different concepts which I have laid down in this part of my research paper and I will use some more real examples but they do not have any link with Chapter 4 later. In Dadoos Foodstore their quality lies in their work as well as their location, which adds to their quality of service as it on the main road i.e. easy to access. They believe they rendering their service in the right way, their quality of work shows when a person walks out happily. They also believe this a continuous process, as they have to change with the latest demands in the market and keep on assessing the change in customer requirements, as customer satisfaction is most important factor in any business. (Appendix A- Case Study of Dadoos Foodstore) 2.1 Total Quality Management (TQM): What is TQM? Word itself gave you the answer; total quality management i.e. quality of the product and successful running of this system lies throughout the company. Total quality management is a structured system for satisfying internal and external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture'(Legge, K. 1994). Small businesses like Dadoos Foodstore; they have to monitor external suppliers quality. Obviously if the quality is not good they are likely to change their supplier until they find a supplier which can meet their needs and a relationship is likely to form. In this quality process the issues are therefore cleanliness and control of the shop, efficiency and friendly staff, competence and storage in warehouse, understanding the customer demands and management commitment which altogether can satisfy their customers and enables them in achievement of the organisational goals. In the figure below we can see that TQM system is divided in three stages i.e. planning, implementing and then results. It is the process that moves around all over the business internally as well as externally, from top to lower level. It seeks to develop and manage organisational culture in line with organisations strategic objectives. It is an approach that includes several contents or aspects that may or may not exist in the business. American Federal Office of Management Budget Circular (Milakovich, 1995), TQM is a total organizational approach for meeting customer needs and expectations that involves all managers and employees in using quantitative methods to improve continuously the organizations processes, products and services. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore lets take a look on one of their business activity for which TQM is important. In their manufacturing unit, they produce different kinds of products like rice, lentils and spices e.g. if they producing 100 bags of rice of 20 kg, now its very important for the quality department to make sure that the quality of the rice should be of the required standards and all the bags produced should exactly be in same shape, colour, weight and size. After the production of these rice bags, quality manager was assessing the results and he finds that there was no difference between the bags, all the bags look exactly same, nobody can see the difference, equa l in size, same colour, in short manager was happy and satisfied. How did the production team manage such consistency, they know their job, they got right vision, everything was strategically planned, they know what they are doing, by using right tools and system, right temperament and same procedure so that they can get the same result. This shows an existence of good quality system where employees working are properly trained and know what they are doing, working to the required level of standards and customer satisfaction makes them happy, which will leads to growth and attaining the required goals. In the manufacturing sector TQM has taken by nearly each kind of organization like hotels, government, military and education (Jurow Barnard, 1993). It is an ongoing process which helps in improving all business activities, from top to bottom at all levels doesnt matter its from high level strategic planning and decision-making, to detailed execution of work elements on the shop floor. Continuous improvements with TQM not only deal with improving results but also more importantly with improving capabilities to produce better result in the future. TQM follows a rule that people make mistakes but changing the process can prevent most of the times the causes of such mistakes are faulty systems and processes so it believes that the root cause of such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition. It is a combination of quality and management tools that aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. Some of the companies who have implemented TQM i nclude Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company. According to Ho and Fung (1994), TQM is a way of managing to improve the effectiveness, flexibility, and competitiveness of a business as a whole. It is also a method of removing waste; by involving everyone in improving the way things are done. Dean and Bowen (1994) defined TQM as a philosophy or approach to management that can be characterized by its principles, practices, and techniques. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore there can be some quality issues like cleanliness and control of shop, efficiency and friendly shop staff, stock control and communication with the suppliers. TQM helps the store manager in getting better in their day-to-day business activities, which in return not only helps them in surviving in this competitive market but also helps them in moving towards their desired goals. After discussing about TQM lets go further towards its principles i.e. customer focus, continuous improvement, and management commitment: These are the one of the most important principles that a company should follow in terms of total quality management. TQM ensures the management to lead the organisation in strategic overview of quality. To be successful in todays world each and every person of the company should contribute, it must start from the top to bottom. TQM focuses on prevention not detention of problems. Its the duty at the top level management to show their seriousness and commitment towards the quality of the products and then middle management should demonstrate and communicate the principle and strategies to the people under their authority, then only there will be right attitude of work throughout the company, which will lead to continuous improvement. Management should take the responsibility for preparing and monitoring all the policies of the company for continuous improvement and to make sure each employee of all the departments should understand all the required information. For example, a small business firm named Paperco started in 1971 and engaged in the supplying and distribution of all kinds of paper to public and specialist printers. This firm has 14 employees with the annual turnover of 500,000. Paperco judges the quality in terms of giving the customers what it wants. According to the Director of the company, he strongly believes in supplying the right quality of goods to the customer without compromising on anything if that is related to meeting the customer needs i.e. the correct paper, paper size, colour, delivery of goods, customer feedback in short follow up until the customer is satisfied. As we can see there is strong management commitment in this company (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J.1998). Hashmi (2007) comments on combining TQM with effective commitment from senior management with a clear goal, followed by a strategic plan, which is spread as an action plan throughout the company results in good quality products and services with satisfied customers. TQM always focuses on improving the effectiveness of the company that in turn leads to the benefits for their stakeholders. TQM is an ongoing process and aims in continuous improvement so it is an activity which involves planning and organising of all the activities and tasks in advance and to make sure that all the actual activities are matched with the planned ones and to concentrate on not to waste any effort and energy that is routinely spent in the company For continuous improvement a leader should make sure to develop the values and objectives of the company as its mission statement and to act as a role model for others by personal involvement for quality of the products. Senior management is a continuous process for them to develop the strategic plans and keep on reviewing and improving the management system and should always motivate their subordinates and encourage them for effective employee participation [Introduction and Implementation of Quality Management Systems, 2007] In Paperco company, they do not have formal system for maintaining quality then one of the directors suggested to implement a total quality system which enable them to take advantage over their competitors and improve their quality of products and service. For implementation process they decided to hire a specialist, as it would be difficult to interpret the initial stages of the quality process and cost was the least issue as the problem was related to quality of the product that is important. Company director believes in continuous improvement worked with the specialist to develop the plans and procedure and finally the quality manual and was eager to engage all the employees and staff in this process so they can also learn about the change in business activities and suggested them to get rid of all those things which are useless for the company and squeeze all the plans and procedure in the best possible manner, this helps in motivating employees and they were happy as they were i nvolved in such a important procedure. By implementing proper quality system and all the changes are made according to the needs of the customers with strong top-level commitment and training the employees at the same time, Paperco gain an advantage over its competitors and enjoys a reasonable market share (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J. 1998). 2.2 Small Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs): In todays European market SMEs plays a vital role as they got the large source of employment and entrepreneur skills. There was a rapid growth in the numbers of SMEs in UK in early 90s and their performance was outstanding, this small business sector becomes one of the important factors for the performance of the UK economy as they also create large number of job opportunities. In the enlarged European Union of 25 countries, Around 23 million SMEs provide around 75 million jobs, which shows that the SMEs provides 99% of the total jobs of all the enterprises. UK government and EU programmes has always supported SMEs and they create various opportunities for these businesses as they account 56% of the total workforce in the country. As many SMEs runs their business processes at the 2 to 3 quality level and any improvement of even 1 represents a vital step in satisfying their customers within the cost budget (Spanyi and Wurtzel, 2004). SMEs can be distinguished with regards to the number of people working in the company, depending upon the market share and most of the times small businesses are run by their owners or partners, for example; a firm producing utensils employs less than 50 people in their company and enjoys small share of market and run by two partners then this firm will come under the category of small business sector. In the UK, sections 247 and 249 of the Companies Act 1985 define a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements. These sections have been amended a number of times, most recently by Statutory Instrument 2004/16. According to this a small company is one that has a turnover of not more than  £5.6 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £2.8 million and not more than 50 employees. A medium-sized company has a turnover of not more than  £22.8 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £11.4 million and not more than 250 employees. It is worth no ting that even within the UK this definition is not universally applied. (Strathclyde Library Resources, 2007) 2.3 SMEs in Manufacturing: SMEs in the manufacturing sector in earlier days used to follow the path where the chances of growth are very low. In SMEs the owner of the company enjoys with a source of income and employment and they have to operate most of the activities in the company. SMEs are gaining attention and support from the government but they often have to face the problem of resources especially in finance and growth of the company is depending on the allocation of funds that can be arranged by the owner externally. The migrants and unskilled labour dominate the manufacturing industry. (The Economists, Jan 2006). So there is a need to upgrade the training standards in the organisation so that the quality of the product can be maintained up to the prescribed level. In the production department, it is necessary to recognize the issues, which affect the efficiency of the successfulness of this sector, and to take corrective actions. Thus, a system of certification of such skills will be required to give recognition to their skills acquired in an informal manner, which will help in improving the efficiency of the workforce in this sector. For example TVR Company, a small and medium-sized enterprise in the manufacturing sector in UK engage in producing cars, the first car was built by Trevor Wilkinson the owner of the company himself in 1947 and it took around 10 years for the company to be famous in the car market, company was started by one man who join his hands with Ray Saidel, who become the first TVR dealer and after a long struggle TVR finally becomes the 3rd largest producer of cars in the world. They have employed 450 peoples out of 200 works in the production department, 50 are involved in financial, 85 are busy in marketing, packing and distribution section, 30 are involved in administrative department, 25 are busy in research and development department, 35 are working in maintaining the quality of the product i.e. quality department and rest in other various departments [TVR, 2007]. 2.4 Quality in SMEs: In the case of TVR there are likely to be many quality issues. Indeed Quality has been described by many people as a multi-dimensional entity; for example some have described it as an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"umbrella protecting the business from the harsh weather of competition, globalisation etc (Preston, 1996). In particular TVR has product quality issues and process quality issues. The produce quality issues include the reliability and performance of its vehicles; the process quality issues include the after sales service and even whether the sales staffs are professional or ill mannered. One of the problems facing TVR is retention of its customers; they seem to enjoy the car but once they have used it for a number of years they switch to a mass-build vehicle such as Toyota or Mercedes. The reason is likely to be that TVR has a young 0and male image and is seen as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"edgy and the company service is similarly not conveniently ordered as many manufacturers recommend. Essentially the quality process is not what it could be; even young women are somewhat frightened off by the brash salesmanship of TVR staff. This is a quality issue. It is believed by TVR that if they could change this quality factor they would improve retention, bring new markets (e.g. UK women) and hence improve the performance of the company. Indeed much research says techniques of total quality management that can be adopted by the SMEs to improve the performance of the company through effective quality system doesnt matter if its related to managerial, financial or operational activities. Among so many model of quality, we have seen that the most effective model is Quality Assurance and TQM. Quality assurance refers to the evaluation and certification by a customer or by an independent certification bodies of an organizations quality system, to demonstrate that a specific quality system standard has been met (Husband Mandal, 1999). 2.5 TQM APPROACHES: 2.5.1 Demings Approach to Total Quality Management: Its processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle. The theoretical essence of Deming approach to TQM concerns the creation of organisational system that fosters cooperation and learning for facilitating the implementation of process management practices, which, in turn, lead to continuous improvement of processes, products, and services as well as to employee fulfilment, both of which are critical to customer satisfaction, and ultimately to firms survival (Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. 1994). Deming (1986) describes organizations as composites of systems designed to meet customer needs. He focuses more on the top management and explained that its their responsibility to go forward and lead the organisation in changing processes and systems that leads to continuous improvement. Top management has to create and communicate a vision and be a leader that is the most important factor in ensuring the success of quality management in any organisation. He also focuses towards the importance of identification of customer needs and requirements from the products and services which they are buying and the use of functional tools and teams to solve quality problems, which require participation of employees and pursuit of continuous improvement. According to Deming (1986) leadership must come from top-management and leaders must be trained and have full knowledge of systems, variations (statistical thinking), knowledge of theory, and knowledge of psychology so that they can lead in a more effective way. This means to improve quality lies in the ability to control and manage systems and processes properly so therefore the role of management responsibilities in achieving the desired goals is critical. For example, Hitachi-rail, one of the Japanese leading companies was founded in 1915 and since then they are producing products like Steam locomotive, First Electric locomotive, Tokyo Monorail, Suica contact-less smart card ticketing system which are famous for their quality and used worldwide by most of the companies. How did they manage to meet the customer requirements and maintaining the required quality standards? They also follow Demings PDCA Model, they believe in continuous improvement just like a circle has no end and fo r non-stop development and growth they use this cycle on regular intervals. Plan: After the research for a long period of time and taking into consideration all the aspects in their field of manufacturing loconotives and rolling stocks the managers in Hitachi had laid out the strategic plan i.e first they manufacture Japenese elctric locomotive then the bullet train and presently as well as manufacturing they are also engage in supplying the important components of the service administration for the bullet train. Hitachi concentrates most on their after sale services, they planned everything from the feedbak which they gained from their customers and evaluate the present and future market conditions and therefore they make their maintainence plan as well as plans for their new their new products. Hitachi makes their customers comfortable and solve their problems makes them feel happy so that they can relia on the company as any other successful company Hitachi also beieves in customers satisfation. Hitachi provides the satisfactory level of maintenance management planning and support equipment i.e. on-board inspection tools and depot integrated management system. PDCA Cycle-Japanese style of maintenance Do: This is the stage where all the planned activities have to be transformed into actual activities i.e. this is the time for action. Hitachis aims to achieve high level of maintenance for which they used various systems: Depot integrated management system Ground based automatic inspection system, On-board self-diagnostic system, Material control system Vehicle utilization system. Hitachi used all thses system in order to achive their desired goals, total depot management system that combines the maintenance management system, the vehicle utilization system and the parts/material control system. With the help of this process company can contribute in labour saving [Hitachi maintenance system, 2007]. Check: This step is basically in which you go thru your experiment, analyse the outcomes and identify the knowledge what you have gained. Hitachi with the help of the depot integrated management system data and effective staff allocation keeps an eye on the progress and functioning of its business activities. Hitachi is producing railway products for a long period of time and its obvious that they have good and effective knowledge about their manufacturing system, in this step Hitachi can check its formal and informal assessment constantly for a longer period of time. Act: As we know Hitachi produced first electric locomotive in 1924 and they used their local technology system and they have majorly contributed in the manufacturing of bullet train. With the product like these, Hitachi is not only dominating the market but also maintianing their quality standards andtheir technology which help in continuous improvement. Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. (1994) developed a theory of quality management underlying Deming management method. They proposed that: the effectiveness of Deming management method arises from leadership efforts and at the same time creating a cooperative and learning organisation to facilitate the implementation of management practices, which will lead to support customer satisfaction and help in organisational survival as well as in the long run. 2.5.2 Jurans Approach to Total Quality Management: Jurans, J.M. (1993) approach is laid through emphasis on teamwork and project work, which can promote and improve quality as well as improve communication between management and employees. According to Juran TQM is the system of activities directed towards achieving delighted customers, empowered employees, and focuses towards higher revenues with lower costs. According to Juran, it is very important to understand customer needs and requirements and each and every department like marketing design, manufacturing, and services should apply this requirement. Identifying customer needs requires more vigorous analysis and understanding to ensure the product meets customers needs. 2.6 Implementation of TQM practices by SMEs in U.K.: TVR being a small firm are proud of having detailed knowledge of their small band of customers; they even have a social club that is very well attended, the TVR Car Club [TVR Car Club, 2007]. Consequently they know before any competitor who their customers are, what they think and how they live. So there are many advantages to being small. This customer focus of TVR one of the major claims of the TQM methodology for as we know TQM is a customer-focus system, which is very important for large business organisations in the same way, it is vital for small business also. Government and EU market are beginning to see SME sector as an important engine of growth, (Carter, K., (1993) pp. 16-18.) When a particular SME organisation move towards setting effective quality system in the company, sometimes they have to face few problems or difficulties which obstructs them in setting the standards for total quality management. Some of the problems like lack of financial resources and expertise for quality issues, poor delivery service, lack of Benchmarking, low morale among the employees and less ways of incentives and sometimes there is a bad impression among the public regarding the quality image of the organisation. Following are some of the optimal solutions for these difficulties, which enable the SMEs to implement effective TQM: Most of the times arranging financial resources is the major issues for SMEs while implementing effective TQM. SMEs can obtain funds from external resources such as Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) that support quality initiatives and help the companies in the arrangement of funds. SMEs should learn from the success and failures of the organisations that has already developed TQM. In 1957 Ray Saidel (First TVR Dealer) helps in the manufacturing process of TVR cars, he built a new design with better quality system and the car was named Jomar which becomes very popular and large amount of orders were coming and company had some financial issues thats why they were struggling in keeping up the quality of the product, for this they transformed the company in 1958 under the name of Layton Sports Car Ltd and with the help of some financial institution there problem of finance was solved[TVR, 2007]. SMEs has to make sure that through proper training and development there should be a cultur Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Objectives 1. Introduction In todays consumer driven world, companies are forced to offer quality products and at the same time also keep the pricing competitive to fight the competition. Todays consumer is not only aware but also smart to evaluate similar products for its quality. This smart and knowledgeable consumer is pushing the companies to the edge in providing quality products at competitive prices. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when many large Japanese companies set up manufacturing operations in North America they suffered from a competitive environment that caused people to think that North American goods were better in quality than Japanese goods. To fight this general consumer perception, Japanese companies sought manufacturing methods to produce goods with a high level of quality so they could penetrate the market at a competitive price. The Japanese management gurus come up with a concept that integrates all functions of an organisation such as finance, marketing, engineering and production so that the company can meet the customer requirements and achieve their desired goals. This was termed as Total Quality Management and till date widely practised by organisation across the globe [TQM, 2007]. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? TQM is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility throughout the company; it is essentially a way of planning and understanding each activity, depends on each individual at each level (Oakland, John 2005). TQM helps in improving the organisational efficiency. As we all know most of the companies in the small business sector act as a source of raw-material to large organisations so its important to adopt TQM approach in their company, it is extremely difficult for SMEs to accept TQM as whole in their company as compared to large organisation as they always have the problem of finance resources, lack of technical expertise, manpower and some other related issues so it is important for them to revised the TQM approach adopted by large organisations which will help them to be more flexible and move quickly with a change so that they can meet the needs of their customers with good quality products with effective cost. 1.1 Aim of the investigation: This research paper aims to locate the effectiveness of TQM practices in SMEs-specially in manufacturing sector and to discuss the benefits of TQM practices to SMEs. 1.2 Research Objectives Rationale: This research will look into TQM and its practices and its involvement in SMEs industry. Nowadays, competitiveness is based on quality for many organisations; hence it will look into ways of integrating organisation activities with TQM practices in SMEs-working within manufacturing sector. On the other hand, this study will explore the link between the SMEs and TQM practice and evaluating the benefits of TQM to SMEs with special reference to the TMD technologies Ltd UK. 1.3 Structure of the Study: The entire research is designed in five distinct chapters. The following are the key ingredients of each chapter providing a birds eye view of the research: Chapter 1: Firstly, as outlined above, the research objectives and the rationale of the research are outlaid. Chapter 2: The literature surrounding total quality management is discussed and related with the real examples focusing on works carried out by Deming, Juran, and the models of ISO-9001 and Six Sigma. Chapter 3: The Research Methodologies are studied in this chapter concluding with the qualitative research process carrying out through semi-structured interviews. Chapter 4: The data collected from interviews in the manufacturing company TMD Technologies Ltd is discussed in relation to the concepts and literature of TQM. Chapter 5: Researcher has discussed about his Personal Development Plan. Chapter 6: The project is concluded in this chapter with recommendations and the scope of further research being discussed. In addition, the research limitations and data analysis are outlaid. 1.4 Chapter Summary: The research objectives along with the rationale for the research are presented at the outset followed by the structure in which the entire dissertation is constructed. After going through customer requirements, company can focus on producing better quality products within the budget so the improvement in business can be achieved. CHAPTER 2 Total Quality Management Small Medium-Sized Enterprises 2. Literature Review: Quality is vital for organisation success; specially require for SMEs to compete with large competitors. It has become inevitable for SMEs to work on enhancing quality within their functions, product and services and the way they manage their organisations. Manufacturing industry within SMEs framework is the main area of this research where the importance of TQM is needed and has been highlighted by many authors and practitioners. Quality has been defined differently by different authors and professionals; Crosby (Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) defines it as conformance to requirement; whereas (Sadgrove In Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) comments on quality as the product which should be fit for its intended purpose. Quality is the term which drives productivity of the company in the manufacturing sector, if there is an increase in productivity of the organization then it will lead to the increase in revenues and job opportunities. It is a continuous process, which helps the employees to learn from their past and using it to develop the organisation so that they can satisfy their customers. In some manufacturing firms quality used to indicate that a piece of material conforms to certain physical dimensional characteristics often set down in the form of particularly tight specification. (Oakland, S. John, 2005) To be more specific and clear about the different concepts i.e. Quality, Total Quality Management and others which I will be looking at this chapter, I am using an example of Dadoos Foodstore based in South East London who are engaged in retail business i.e. buying few products like bread, fruit drinks, juices, milk, butter, crisps and some other various products in wholesale from suppliers and manufacturing few products like lentils, rice and spices and selling them in this competitive market to earn profit. Their views is to render their services in the most effective manner and customer satisfaction is their main propriety and I am using this example just to explain my knowledge and understanding of different concepts which I have laid down in this part of my research paper and I will use some more real examples but they do not have any link with Chapter 4 later. In Dadoos Foodstore their quality lies in their work as well as their location, which adds to their quality of service as it on the main road i.e. easy to access. They believe they rendering their service in the right way, their quality of work shows when a person walks out happily. They also believe this a continuous process, as they have to change with the latest demands in the market and keep on assessing the change in customer requirements, as customer satisfaction is most important factor in any business. (Appendix A- Case Study of Dadoos Foodstore) 2.1 Total Quality Management (TQM): What is TQM? Word itself gave you the answer; total quality management i.e. quality of the product and successful running of this system lies throughout the company. Total quality management is a structured system for satisfying internal and external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture'(Legge, K. 1994). Small businesses like Dadoos Foodstore; they have to monitor external suppliers quality. Obviously if the quality is not good they are likely to change their supplier until they find a supplier which can meet their needs and a relationship is likely to form. In this quality process the issues are therefore cleanliness and control of the shop, efficiency and friendly staff, competence and storage in warehouse, understanding the customer demands and management commitment which altogether can satisfy their customers and enables them in achievement of the organisational goals. In the figure below we can see that TQM system is divided in three stages i.e. planning, implementing and then results. It is the process that moves around all over the business internally as well as externally, from top to lower level. It seeks to develop and manage organisational culture in line with organisations strategic objectives. It is an approach that includes several contents or aspects that may or may not exist in the business. American Federal Office of Management Budget Circular (Milakovich, 1995), TQM is a total organizational approach for meeting customer needs and expectations that involves all managers and employees in using quantitative methods to improve continuously the organizations processes, products and services. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore lets take a look on one of their business activity for which TQM is important. In their manufacturing unit, they produce different kinds of products like rice, lentils and spices e.g. if they producing 100 bags of rice of 20 kg, now its very important for the quality department to make sure that the quality of the rice should be of the required standards and all the bags produced should exactly be in same shape, colour, weight and size. After the production of these rice bags, quality manager was assessing the results and he finds that there was no difference between the bags, all the bags look exactly same, nobody can see the difference, equa l in size, same colour, in short manager was happy and satisfied. How did the production team manage such consistency, they know their job, they got right vision, everything was strategically planned, they know what they are doing, by using right tools and system, right temperament and same procedure so that they can get the same result. This shows an existence of good quality system where employees working are properly trained and know what they are doing, working to the required level of standards and customer satisfaction makes them happy, which will leads to growth and attaining the required goals. In the manufacturing sector TQM has taken by nearly each kind of organization like hotels, government, military and education (Jurow Barnard, 1993). It is an ongoing process which helps in improving all business activities, from top to bottom at all levels doesnt matter its from high level strategic planning and decision-making, to detailed execution of work elements on the shop floor. Continuous improvements with TQM not only deal with improving results but also more importantly with improving capabilities to produce better result in the future. TQM follows a rule that people make mistakes but changing the process can prevent most of the times the causes of such mistakes are faulty systems and processes so it believes that the root cause of such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition. It is a combination of quality and management tools that aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. Some of the companies who have implemented TQM i nclude Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company. According to Ho and Fung (1994), TQM is a way of managing to improve the effectiveness, flexibility, and competitiveness of a business as a whole. It is also a method of removing waste; by involving everyone in improving the way things are done. Dean and Bowen (1994) defined TQM as a philosophy or approach to management that can be characterized by its principles, practices, and techniques. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore there can be some quality issues like cleanliness and control of shop, efficiency and friendly shop staff, stock control and communication with the suppliers. TQM helps the store manager in getting better in their day-to-day business activities, which in return not only helps them in surviving in this competitive market but also helps them in moving towards their desired goals. After discussing about TQM lets go further towards its principles i.e. customer focus, continuous improvement, and management commitment: These are the one of the most important principles that a company should follow in terms of total quality management. TQM ensures the management to lead the organisation in strategic overview of quality. To be successful in todays world each and every person of the company should contribute, it must start from the top to bottom. TQM focuses on prevention not detention of problems. Its the duty at the top level management to show their seriousness and commitment towards the quality of the products and then middle management should demonstrate and communicate the principle and strategies to the people under their authority, then only there will be right attitude of work throughout the company, which will lead to continuous improvement. Management should take the responsibility for preparing and monitoring all the policies of the company for continuous improvement and to make sure each employee of all the departments should understand all the required information. For example, a small business firm named Paperco started in 1971 and engaged in the supplying and distribution of all kinds of paper to public and specialist printers. This firm has 14 employees with the annual turnover of 500,000. Paperco judges the quality in terms of giving the customers what it wants. According to the Director of the company, he strongly believes in supplying the right quality of goods to the customer without compromising on anything if that is related to meeting the customer needs i.e. the correct paper, paper size, colour, delivery of goods, customer feedback in short follow up until the customer is satisfied. As we can see there is strong management commitment in this company (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J.1998). Hashmi (2007) comments on combining TQM with effective commitment from senior management with a clear goal, followed by a strategic plan, which is spread as an action plan throughout the company results in good quality products and services with satisfied customers. TQM always focuses on improving the effectiveness of the company that in turn leads to the benefits for their stakeholders. TQM is an ongoing process and aims in continuous improvement so it is an activity which involves planning and organising of all the activities and tasks in advance and to make sure that all the actual activities are matched with the planned ones and to concentrate on not to waste any effort and energy that is routinely spent in the company For continuous improvement a leader should make sure to develop the values and objectives of the company as its mission statement and to act as a role model for others by personal involvement for quality of the products. Senior management is a continuous process for them to develop the strategic plans and keep on reviewing and improving the management system and should always motivate their subordinates and encourage them for effective employee participation [Introduction and Implementation of Quality Management Systems, 2007] In Paperco company, they do not have formal system for maintaining quality then one of the directors suggested to implement a total quality system which enable them to take advantage over their competitors and improve their quality of products and service. For implementation process they decided to hire a specialist, as it would be difficult to interpret the initial stages of the quality process and cost was the least issue as the problem was related to quality of the product that is important. Company director believes in continuous improvement worked with the specialist to develop the plans and procedure and finally the quality manual and was eager to engage all the employees and staff in this process so they can also learn about the change in business activities and suggested them to get rid of all those things which are useless for the company and squeeze all the plans and procedure in the best possible manner, this helps in motivating employees and they were happy as they were i nvolved in such a important procedure. By implementing proper quality system and all the changes are made according to the needs of the customers with strong top-level commitment and training the employees at the same time, Paperco gain an advantage over its competitors and enjoys a reasonable market share (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J. 1998). 2.2 Small Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs): In todays European market SMEs plays a vital role as they got the large source of employment and entrepreneur skills. There was a rapid growth in the numbers of SMEs in UK in early 90s and their performance was outstanding, this small business sector becomes one of the important factors for the performance of the UK economy as they also create large number of job opportunities. In the enlarged European Union of 25 countries, Around 23 million SMEs provide around 75 million jobs, which shows that the SMEs provides 99% of the total jobs of all the enterprises. UK government and EU programmes has always supported SMEs and they create various opportunities for these businesses as they account 56% of the total workforce in the country. As many SMEs runs their business processes at the 2 to 3 quality level and any improvement of even 1 represents a vital step in satisfying their customers within the cost budget (Spanyi and Wurtzel, 2004). SMEs can be distinguished with regards to the number of people working in the company, depending upon the market share and most of the times small businesses are run by their owners or partners, for example; a firm producing utensils employs less than 50 people in their company and enjoys small share of market and run by two partners then this firm will come under the category of small business sector. In the UK, sections 247 and 249 of the Companies Act 1985 define a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements. These sections have been amended a number of times, most recently by Statutory Instrument 2004/16. According to this a small company is one that has a turnover of not more than  £5.6 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £2.8 million and not more than 50 employees. A medium-sized company has a turnover of not more than  £22.8 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £11.4 million and not more than 250 employees. It is worth no ting that even within the UK this definition is not universally applied. (Strathclyde Library Resources, 2007) 2.3 SMEs in Manufacturing: SMEs in the manufacturing sector in earlier days used to follow the path where the chances of growth are very low. In SMEs the owner of the company enjoys with a source of income and employment and they have to operate most of the activities in the company. SMEs are gaining attention and support from the government but they often have to face the problem of resources especially in finance and growth of the company is depending on the allocation of funds that can be arranged by the owner externally. The migrants and unskilled labour dominate the manufacturing industry. (The Economists, Jan 2006). So there is a need to upgrade the training standards in the organisation so that the quality of the product can be maintained up to the prescribed level. In the production department, it is necessary to recognize the issues, which affect the efficiency of the successfulness of this sector, and to take corrective actions. Thus, a system of certification of such skills will be required to give recognition to their skills acquired in an informal manner, which will help in improving the efficiency of the workforce in this sector. For example TVR Company, a small and medium-sized enterprise in the manufacturing sector in UK engage in producing cars, the first car was built by Trevor Wilkinson the owner of the company himself in 1947 and it took around 10 years for the company to be famous in the car market, company was started by one man who join his hands with Ray Saidel, who become the first TVR dealer and after a long struggle TVR finally becomes the 3rd largest producer of cars in the world. They have employed 450 peoples out of 200 works in the production department, 50 are involved in financial, 85 are busy in marketing, packing and distribution section, 30 are involved in administrative department, 25 are busy in research and development department, 35 are working in maintaining the quality of the product i.e. quality department and rest in other various departments [TVR, 2007]. 2.4 Quality in SMEs: In the case of TVR there are likely to be many quality issues. Indeed Quality has been described by many people as a multi-dimensional entity; for example some have described it as an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"umbrella protecting the business from the harsh weather of competition, globalisation etc (Preston, 1996). In particular TVR has product quality issues and process quality issues. The produce quality issues include the reliability and performance of its vehicles; the process quality issues include the after sales service and even whether the sales staffs are professional or ill mannered. One of the problems facing TVR is retention of its customers; they seem to enjoy the car but once they have used it for a number of years they switch to a mass-build vehicle such as Toyota or Mercedes. The reason is likely to be that TVR has a young 0and male image and is seen as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"edgy and the company service is similarly not conveniently ordered as many manufacturers recommend. Essentially the quality process is not what it could be; even young women are somewhat frightened off by the brash salesmanship of TVR staff. This is a quality issue. It is believed by TVR that if they could change this quality factor they would improve retention, bring new markets (e.g. UK women) and hence improve the performance of the company. Indeed much research says techniques of total quality management that can be adopted by the SMEs to improve the performance of the company through effective quality system doesnt matter if its related to managerial, financial or operational activities. Among so many model of quality, we have seen that the most effective model is Quality Assurance and TQM. Quality assurance refers to the evaluation and certification by a customer or by an independent certification bodies of an organizations quality system, to demonstrate that a specific quality system standard has been met (Husband Mandal, 1999). 2.5 TQM APPROACHES: 2.5.1 Demings Approach to Total Quality Management: Its processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle. The theoretical essence of Deming approach to TQM concerns the creation of organisational system that fosters cooperation and learning for facilitating the implementation of process management practices, which, in turn, lead to continuous improvement of processes, products, and services as well as to employee fulfilment, both of which are critical to customer satisfaction, and ultimately to firms survival (Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. 1994). Deming (1986) describes organizations as composites of systems designed to meet customer needs. He focuses more on the top management and explained that its their responsibility to go forward and lead the organisation in changing processes and systems that leads to continuous improvement. Top management has to create and communicate a vision and be a leader that is the most important factor in ensuring the success of quality management in any organisation. He also focuses towards the importance of identification of customer needs and requirements from the products and services which they are buying and the use of functional tools and teams to solve quality problems, which require participation of employees and pursuit of continuous improvement. According to Deming (1986) leadership must come from top-management and leaders must be trained and have full knowledge of systems, variations (statistical thinking), knowledge of theory, and knowledge of psychology so that they can lead in a more effective way. This means to improve quality lies in the ability to control and manage systems and processes properly so therefore the role of management responsibilities in achieving the desired goals is critical. For example, Hitachi-rail, one of the Japanese leading companies was founded in 1915 and since then they are producing products like Steam locomotive, First Electric locomotive, Tokyo Monorail, Suica contact-less smart card ticketing system which are famous for their quality and used worldwide by most of the companies. How did they manage to meet the customer requirements and maintaining the required quality standards? They also follow Demings PDCA Model, they believe in continuous improvement just like a circle has no end and fo r non-stop development and growth they use this cycle on regular intervals. Plan: After the research for a long period of time and taking into consideration all the aspects in their field of manufacturing loconotives and rolling stocks the managers in Hitachi had laid out the strategic plan i.e first they manufacture Japenese elctric locomotive then the bullet train and presently as well as manufacturing they are also engage in supplying the important components of the service administration for the bullet train. Hitachi concentrates most on their after sale services, they planned everything from the feedbak which they gained from their customers and evaluate the present and future market conditions and therefore they make their maintainence plan as well as plans for their new their new products. Hitachi makes their customers comfortable and solve their problems makes them feel happy so that they can relia on the company as any other successful company Hitachi also beieves in customers satisfation. Hitachi provides the satisfactory level of maintenance management planning and support equipment i.e. on-board inspection tools and depot integrated management system. PDCA Cycle-Japanese style of maintenance Do: This is the stage where all the planned activities have to be transformed into actual activities i.e. this is the time for action. Hitachis aims to achieve high level of maintenance for which they used various systems: Depot integrated management system Ground based automatic inspection system, On-board self-diagnostic system, Material control system Vehicle utilization system. Hitachi used all thses system in order to achive their desired goals, total depot management system that combines the maintenance management system, the vehicle utilization system and the parts/material control system. With the help of this process company can contribute in labour saving [Hitachi maintenance system, 2007]. Check: This step is basically in which you go thru your experiment, analyse the outcomes and identify the knowledge what you have gained. Hitachi with the help of the depot integrated management system data and effective staff allocation keeps an eye on the progress and functioning of its business activities. Hitachi is producing railway products for a long period of time and its obvious that they have good and effective knowledge about their manufacturing system, in this step Hitachi can check its formal and informal assessment constantly for a longer period of time. Act: As we know Hitachi produced first electric locomotive in 1924 and they used their local technology system and they have majorly contributed in the manufacturing of bullet train. With the product like these, Hitachi is not only dominating the market but also maintianing their quality standards andtheir technology which help in continuous improvement. Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. (1994) developed a theory of quality management underlying Deming management method. They proposed that: the effectiveness of Deming management method arises from leadership efforts and at the same time creating a cooperative and learning organisation to facilitate the implementation of management practices, which will lead to support customer satisfaction and help in organisational survival as well as in the long run. 2.5.2 Jurans Approach to Total Quality Management: Jurans, J.M. (1993) approach is laid through emphasis on teamwork and project work, which can promote and improve quality as well as improve communication between management and employees. According to Juran TQM is the system of activities directed towards achieving delighted customers, empowered employees, and focuses towards higher revenues with lower costs. According to Juran, it is very important to understand customer needs and requirements and each and every department like marketing design, manufacturing, and services should apply this requirement. Identifying customer needs requires more vigorous analysis and understanding to ensure the product meets customers needs. 2.6 Implementation of TQM practices by SMEs in U.K.: TVR being a small firm are proud of having detailed knowledge of their small band of customers; they even have a social club that is very well attended, the TVR Car Club [TVR Car Club, 2007]. Consequently they know before any competitor who their customers are, what they think and how they live. So there are many advantages to being small. This customer focus of TVR one of the major claims of the TQM methodology for as we know TQM is a customer-focus system, which is very important for large business organisations in the same way, it is vital for small business also. Government and EU market are beginning to see SME sector as an important engine of growth, (Carter, K., (1993) pp. 16-18.) When a particular SME organisation move towards setting effective quality system in the company, sometimes they have to face few problems or difficulties which obstructs them in setting the standards for total quality management. Some of the problems like lack of financial resources and expertise for quality issues, poor delivery service, lack of Benchmarking, low morale among the employees and less ways of incentives and sometimes there is a bad impression among the public regarding the quality image of the organisation. Following are some of the optimal solutions for these difficulties, which enable the SMEs to implement effective TQM: Most of the times arranging financial resources is the major issues for SMEs while implementing effective TQM. SMEs can obtain funds from external resources such as Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) that support quality initiatives and help the companies in the arrangement of funds. SMEs should learn from the success and failures of the organisations that has already developed TQM. In 1957 Ray Saidel (First TVR Dealer) helps in the manufacturing process of TVR cars, he built a new design with better quality system and the car was named Jomar which becomes very popular and large amount of orders were coming and company had some financial issues thats why they were struggling in keeping up the quality of the product, for this they transformed the company in 1958 under the name of Layton Sports Car Ltd and with the help of some financial institution there problem of finance was solved[TVR, 2007]. SMEs has to make sure that through proper training and development there should be a cultur

Blueprints of My Classroom and Management Essay -- Education Teaching

Blueprints of My Classroom and Management Some people know what they want to do all their lives, others work an entire life before they realize what it is they enjoy doing and some know what they would enjoy doing, but are too stubborn to admit it. I admire those people who have always known what they want to do and stood by it. I was one of those people who knew in a way what I wanted, but was not real confident if it was the job for me. I have always loved school and the learning process. I would play school with my sisters and I was the teacher. What I have really always liked to do is help people in any way that I could. I always thought to improve life and society I had to be in the health care profession. Now, I know that is not always true. I feel teaching is an awesome way to improve society and to help people succeed in life. Teaching is the career I have chosen to fulfill my dreams of helping people live better lives. I have taught at vacation bible school and enjoyed every minute. I taught children of all ages mixed together and the challenge was rewarding. My husband and family support the career choice I have made. When we started learning about the philosophies of education, I did not agree with just one philosophy so I took the philosophies that are important to me and showed how I will use them to expand learning in my classroom. I am a believer in the mixing of the philosophies of progressivism, behaviorism, essentialism, and social reconstructivism. Progressivism will work well in my science classroom since experiments will be conducted and most likely every student would not have enough materials to conduct the experiments alone. With progressivism, children will learn social skills... ...ties that I feel are needed to teach the different needs of students. I feel that organization is the key to a great learning environment. I want my students to be able to count on me to get papers and assignments back in an orderly fashion without losing their work. I feel with organization a teacher knows and plans accordingly with the activity he or she plans to do giving the students enough time to plan and prepare. In my classroom, I want my students to learn to their full potential. I feel that all students are exceptional learners because every child has their weaknesses and their strengths whether physical, mental, behavioral, emotional, or just that subject they have to work really hard to understand. Taking this into account, I want to provide differentiated instruction for these students to learn and grow as an active part of the society in which we live.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

This paper compares two works – that of Jack London’s `To Build A Fire` and Robert Frost’s ‘An Old Man`s Winter Night. ’ Obviously common to the two literary works is the winter backdrop from which the story progresses. The two authors employ the winter season and use it to help move the story and create memorable images. For instance in Robert Frost’s `An Old Man`s Winter Night,’ the author creates a cozy image of an old man who is able to keep the household fires burning.In fact readers find it especially warm as the Frost describes the man and the elements inside his home as almost contrasting to the one outside it. There is frost gathering outside the home as contrasting the lamp that tilt near his hand. There is a warm glow that one feels as he reads these lines. The poem speaks of this old man who has lived his life and now muses and relaxes in the comfort of his home. A reader can best get hold of this poem by establishing where the person is and what he is doing there.Right off the start, we find that the author’s feelings are an expository progression of an old man and his â€Å"creaking room† that creaks just like him. From the elements described by the author, the reader is presented with a house that has barrels all around him but he seems to be in control of these things. In fact, he is described as â€Å"having scared the cellar under him. † This does not happen just once because we read that the author pens as scaring it â€Å"once again. † Yet, that is not the only thing which the old man is in control of.He also clomps off and â€Å"scared the outer night. † The old man is completely in control of his environment even if he is old, for the author writes that in â€Å"clomping off†, he also is able to scare the outer night, which by now must be completely dark since the poem begins with a description that â€Å"all out of doors are looking darkly in† on him. The sounds are also known well to the old man as the author states that these are familiar sounds including the roar of the trees as well as the crack of the branches.Cracking of branches already connote strangers or unfamiliar people and possibly wild animals, yet the old man is not afraid of that at all. He is just seated there, contemplating on simple, mundane things that comfort him and give him the warm glow despite the fierce winter outside his house. It can be quite a puzzle for readers because an old man ought to be afraid of being alone in such a time of the year. Yet, he is perfectly comfortable, tending to his home and being satisfied that he is happy in whatever time of the day it was.Even if it was very cold outside, he is able to sleep comfortably. He does not mind the icicles along the wall nor the snow upon his roof. The house is old and may not even be fit for any man to live in, much more an old man, for the log that makes it up moves and shifts with a jol t or any movement. The picture of an old man in his own house, keeping the house warm on a cold winter night may be inconceivable to any sane person because of the dangers that are linked to this. But this old man is able to do it on his own, without any help from anyone.Meanwhile, Jack London’s ‘To Build a Fire’ tells the story of a man and his dog as they travel through the Klondike region in Canada. They are returning to the camp where they envision to have a warm meal but they took the longer route to the camp since the man had to check if there were logs from Yukon. But the winter in Yukon was so strong with frigid temperatures. The author writes that this kind of winter â€Å"was not merely colder than fifty below zero; it was colder than sixty below, than seventy below. It was seventy-five below zero. † Thus, this was going to be a long and arduous journey back to the camp.Unlike Frost’s old man in winter who had a cozy and warm place inside his home despite the harsh winter, the man in â€Å"To Build a Fire† had to think ahead so that he could avoid pools of freezing cold water hidden under the thin ice. These were hazardous spots along the way and the man had to order his dog to test the area since the weather was too harsh for the man to make it back to the camp. Along the way, we read how the man struggled to keep warm and to go back to the camp. It was a difficult way to travel and even his dog knew that it was not wise to travel in that condition at all.We read this man who lacks the wisdom not to travel in that kind of weather as compared to the old man, this man was not aware of how to respond to his environment. He had not mastered nature at all. This was so unlike the old man who remained unperturbed. The man with the dog acted desperately amidst the winter. He was not sure that he would make it through. The two authors made use of the winter in different ways. Frost made winter the character’s a lly, because the old man was able to sleep despite the cold winter.But London uses winter as the adversary of the man with the dog. They fight off nature and the dangers that lurk in every step they take. Readers become engrossed with the plight of the man. Readers are almost sure that the man cannot make it because he does not even have control of his legs and fingers and arms as he walks, flailing them in desperation. While the old man in the poem is in complete control of his surroundings, feeling cozy and warm all over, the other man no longer is in control of anything, not even his own dog.His dog senses the danger from his master’s voice and does not beckon to his calls and commands. There would be a completely different story if the element of the winter season was changed to the weather in the tropics. The old man would probably feel warm and go for a walk outside, where it might be hazardous as he is alone with no one to help him in time of need. The man with the dog would simply breeze through the journey back to the camp, finding his friends and family waiting eagerly for him. It would be a fast and easy journey.But Jack London wanted to illustrate how a desperate man responds in times of crisis. Readers get the exact feeling that the author wants to send out to his readers because for a second, one goes back to the text at the end when the author pens, â€Å"Then the man drowsed off into what seemed to him the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known. † How very contrasting the sleep of the old man in Frost’s poem when we read, â€Å"Once in the stove, disturbed him and he shifted, And eased his heavy breathing, but still slept. †

Subculture

Cortland Bolling Branham SOCI 1301 In the article â€Å"Authenticity in the Skateboarding World†, subculture is described as a completely separate culture with its own set of values and norms outside those of the world’s society. Skaters can be described as one of these subcultures because of their unique values, norms, and sanctions that differ from most sports. Unlike sports such as basketball the norm for skaters is their lack of interest in competition and trying to out due each other.According to Beal and Weidman the skateboarding community follows two central values, participant control and the devaluing of competition; many skaters explain that they chose to skate, and that they choose individually what’s acceptable. After interviewing more skaters the authors discover that like other cultures they also have their own sanctions. One example is that many of the skaters that are in it to look cool, or to be better than everyone else are looked down upon as n ot being â€Å"real skaters†, but instead conformist.While sports are a common spot for subcultures, they are not the only place they can be found and in fact most people belong to one. For example I am a member of a Baptist church. While it is true that Baptist are Christians just like Methodist and Catholics, we have our own sub subculture or set of values, norms, and sanctions that somewhat differ from the other Christian churches. In a Baptist church praise and worship is often very loud and up beat while at a Lutheran church they remain quiet unless spoken too and sing old hymns, so being loud would be considered rude and vulgar.

The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 and the Seven Years War

The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 and the Seven Years War A system of alliances between the Great Powers of Europe had survived the wars of the Spanish and Austrian succession in the first half of the eighteenth century, but the French-Indian War forced a change. In the old system, Britain was allied with Austria, who was allied with Russia, while France was allied with Prussia. However, Austria was chaffing at this alliance after the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle had ended the War of the Austrian Succession in 1748, because Austria had wanted to recover the rich region of Silesia, which Prussia retained. Austria, therefore, began slowly, tentatively, talking with France. Emerging Tensions As tensions between England and France mounted in North America in the 1750s, and as a war in the colonies seemed certain, Britain signed an alliance with Russia  and upped the subsidies it was sending into mainland Europe to encourage other loosely allied, but smaller, nations to recruit troops. Russia was paid to keep an army on standby near Prussia. However, these payments were criticized in the British parliament, who disliked spending so much on defending Hanover, from where the current royal house of Britain had come, and which they wanted to protect. Alliances Change Then, a curious thing happened. Frederick II of Prussia, later to earn the nickname ‘the Great,’ was afraid of Russia and the British aid to her and decided that his current alliances weren’t good enough. He thus entered into discussion with Britain, and on January 16, 1756, they signed the Convention of Westminster, pledging aid to each other should ‘Germany’- which included Hanover and Prussia- be attacked or â€Å"distressed.† There were to be no subsidies, a most agreeable situation for Britain. Austria, angry at Britain for allying with an enemy, followed up its initial talks with France by entering into a full alliance, and France dropped its links with Prussia. This was codified in the Convention of Versailles on May 1st, 1756. Both Prussia and Austria were to remain neutral if Britain and France warred, as politicians in both nations feared would happen. This sudden change of alliances has been called the ‘Diplomatic Revolution.’ Consequences: War The system- and peace- looked secure to some: Prussia could not attack Austria now that the latter was allied with the greatest land power on the continent, and while Austria did not have Silesia, she was safe from further Prussian landgrabs. Meanwhile, Britain and France could engage in the colonial war which had already started without any engagements in Europe, and certainly not in Hanover. But the system reckoned without the ambitions of Frederick II of Prussia, and by the end of 1756, the continent was plunged into the Seven Years War.

Rivera Surname Meaning and Origin

Rivera Surname Meaning and Origin Rivera is a common Hispanic surname bestowed on a person who lived on a riverbank, from ribera, the Spanish word for riverbank. The name may also be a habitational name for someone from any one of the places named Rivera. Rivera is also a northern Italian variation of the surname Ribera, which also means river bank or shore, from the  Italian ribera  (Late Latin riparia), meaning bank, shore. The Rivera surname can be traced back to Gonzalo Là ³pez de Rivera, Lord of the Castle of Rivera in Galicia in the 1200s, according to Instituto Genealà ³gico e Histà ³rico Latinoamericano. Some sources, however, claim that the Riveras are direct descendants of Sancho Belloso, natural-born son of the King of Leà ³n, Ramiro III. Others, that the name dates back to ancient Roman times. Rivera is the 9th most common Hispanic surname. Surname Origin:  Spanish Alternate Surname Spellings:  RIBERA, RIVA, RIVERO, RIVIERE, RIBA Famous People With the Surname Rivera Chita Rivera - American dancer, singer, and actressDiego Rivera - Mexican painter and muralistGeraldo Rivera - American talk show host and journalistJenni Rivera - Mexican American singer Where Do People With the Rivera Surname Live? Rivera is the 260th most common surname in the world, according to surname distribution data from  Forebears, found in greatest numbers  in Mexico and with the highest density in Puerto Rico where it is the most common surname. The Rivera surname is also very common in Honduras and El Salvador, where it ranks 8th, as well as Nicaragua (19th), Panama (24th), Mexico (29th) and Guatemala (30th). Within Europe, Rivera is most frequently found in Spain, according to  WorldNames PublicProfiler, especially in the Extremadura and Galicia regions. The surname is also very common in the United States, especially in the states of New Mexico and New York. Genealogy Resources for the Surname Rivera 100 Common Hispanic Surnames Their MeaningsGarcia, Martinez, Rodriguez, Lopez, Hernandez... Are you one of the millions of people sporting one of these top 100 common Hispanic last names? How to Research Hispanic HeritageLearn how to get started researching  your Hispanic ancestors, including the basics of family tree research and country-specific organizations, genealogical records, and resources for Spain, Latin America, Mexico, Brazil, the Caribbean, and other Spanish speaking countries. Rivera Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Rivera family crest or coat of arms for the Rivera surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.   Rivera Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Rivera surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Rivera query. FamilySearch - Rivera GenealogyAccess over 4.8 million free historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Rivera surname and its variations on this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. GeneaNet - Rivera RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Rivera surname, with a concentration on records and families from France, Spain, and other European countries. RIVERA Surname Family Mailing ListsThis free mailing list for researchers of the Rivera surname and its variations includes subscription details and searchable archives of past messages. DistantCousin.com - RIVERA Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Rivera. The Rivera Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse family trees and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the last name Rivera from the website of Genealogy Today. References Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Healthy vs Healthful

Healthy vs Healthful Healthy vs Healthful Healthy vs Healthful By Maeve Maddox A reader wonders about the use of the adjectives healthy and healthful: Would you please do a segment explaining how, when, and why healthy and healthful should be used correctly. My tentative belief is that people are healthy or not so; and that foods are healthful or not so. Am I correct? Many speakers like to draw a strict difference between these two adjectives, but it’s not necessary. The argument Some speakers insist that healthy must be applied only to someone or something that enjoys good health: The healthy children ran and played in the sunshine. Every country desires a healthy economy. Healthful, on the other hand, is to be used only to describe something that promotes or contributes to bodily health: The parents petitioned the school authorities to provide more healthful school lunches. The healthful ingredients include broccoli and cabbage. The reality When it comes to standard usage, healthy is used with both meanings by the majority of speakers and writers. In The New York Times, for example, one may read about both â€Å"healthy children† and â€Å"healthy breakfasts.† Both adjectives have been in the language for a very long time. The first OED citation for healthful with the meaning â€Å"wholesome, health-giving† is dated 1398. The first example of healthy with the same meaning is dated 1577. If making a distinction between healthy and healthful gives speakers a sense of satisfaction, then they should do so. However, they needn’t criticize the majority of speakers who use healthy with both meanings. The usage that pains my grammar nerve is this: How to Eat Healthy New Year’s Resolution to Eat Healthy A few speakers may say, â€Å"Eat healthfully,† but the online evidence suggests that healthy is about to morph into an adverb. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Meaning of "To a T"Excited ABOUT, not "for" Parataxis and Hypotaxis

Darwin Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Darwin Assignment - Essay Example Evolution is more an educated guess work where we try to find evidences and answers for questions that are related to what could have taken place. The drawback in the evolutionary theories is that it is not able to provide the evidence of how the organisms were formed or how the different species came into being. Scientists till date find it impossible to generate the amino acids which make up the proteins needed in the cells to be formed. Even if a certain theory comes close it falls short in relation to the time period. There are plenty of flaws in evolutionary theories which does not answer or give a solution in entirety. Moreover it has been proved that the entire system must be there for making a start. This has been very clearly explained in Michael Behe’s book Darwin’s Black Box, where he with examples he proves that just one cell cannot reproduce without the components that are required for its growth. When all these interpreted theories are studied it seems absurd. The only answer that settles all debates is a Creator. Schools must encourage the students to analyze on their own and do some critical thinking by providing information for and against evolution. This would certainly encourage both teachers and students to collect, analyze and interpret data. This would make them understand better that science is still in the process of finding an answer to evolution. Putting forward every aspect can in fact be a better option in helping the children come to their own conclusion. Education is to stimulate mental growth and not force down thoughts. This open minded approach would be the intelligent design which zeroes in on a creator of an intelligent nature. â€Å"The intelligent design (ID) movement claims that life as we know it could not have developed through random natural processes -- which only the guidance of an intelligent power can explain

Conceptual Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Conceptual Framework - Essay Example This helps a myriad of users in making crucial economic decisions. Financial statements are needed to be prepared by keeping in view that the needs of the users of financial statements are fulfilled. They must contain all the information that is necessary for the general users’ financial information. However, some users require non-financial information about an entity which cannot be found in financial statements. The word ‘user’ mostly involves the current and prospective investors whose decisions are greatly influenced by financial statements. Financial statements show the ability of an entity to generate cash and cash equivalents in a timely manner. This helps in the determination of the fact whether an entity can pay its employees, other obligations and can settle its liabilities in time and still generate good profits. The information about the changes in the financial position of an entity helps in the evaluation of an entity’s performance over time and the current trend i.e. whether the profits are increasing or decreasing with the passage of time. Financial statements also present the financial structure of an entity which helps in understanding the future borrowing needs, solvency and liquidity. These are the critical pieces of information that an investor requires. Literature Review IASB requires that the financial statements must have four qualitative characteristics namely understandability, relevance, reliability and comparability. The attribute of relevance requires that the information provided in the financial statements must be relevant to the needs of the users. Irrelevant information cannot influence the decision making of a user. Paragraph 26 of framework says that the predictive and confirmatory roles of information are interrelated. For instance, information about asset holding enables a user to predict an entity’s ability to capitalize on the opportunities and to cope with adverse situations. For users w ho had made such predictions in a preceding period, the same information would play a confirmatory role as an entity’s structure and the outcome of previous predictions would be evident. Users use the financial statements to make a lot of predictions and they can make that foresight effectively if the relevant information is disclosed properly. For example, some items of income or expense are not conventionally seen in financial statements as they are unusual. Proper and separate disclosure must be made for such items so that their relevance becomes significant. For a piece of information to be reliable, it must be material. Information is material if its omission or misstatement could influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of financial statements. In statistical terms, information is regarded as material if it is more than 5% of the total profits. It depends on the size and nature of the item or adjudged error whether it is material or not. Materiality provides a threshold or cut-off point rather than being a primary qualitative characteristic which information must have if it is to be useful (Para 30). However, in some cases, the nature of information alone proves to be significant in the determination of its relevance. For example, when a new segment is reported, it affects the decisions of users as their assessment of risks and opportunities is affected. The future

Workplace technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Workplace technology - Essay Example However, he fully supports the use of this software. In the clinical software decision-making process for the organization, the input of all the directors of nursing was acknowledged. On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law a plan for economic recovery designed to pull the United States out of a deep recession. Encompassing $789 billion in funding for stimulus programs, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) included $19 billion to promote the adoption of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) technology, which allows individual doctors and eligible medical providers to receive $44,000 or more for â€Å"meaningful use† of an EHR system starting in 2011 (reference). Nevertheless, the use of technology is still limited in LTC settings because of funding issues. Although a government incentive is being given to help in the transition to new technology, long-term care providers such as nursing homes are not eligible for incentive payments under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program (https://questions.cms.gov/). In my workplace, the software system Matrix is used. This system was introduced to the organization in 1998 for billing purposes. It is a web-based clinical EHR and financial software system designed specifically as a form of eldercare technology. Clinical, financial and corporate processes can be managed through this single system. Matrix also allows access from a web-enabled device at any time, and can be used for billing and clinical applications. This model supports the multiple locations of this organization, which has a single company database. Matrix is HIPAA and HI-TECH compliant. Access is based on user-defined roles, encrypted over a 128-bit secure socket layer, and is guaranteed secure. Individual passwords and screen savers are used for privacy and security. For my specific practice, coding and emailing is used. Email is used mainly between the managerial staff, while coding is

Developing Professional Practice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Developing Professional Practice - Assignment Example From this paper it is clear that   there is a need to focus on the financial position of an individual. The two options have varying costs. Therefore, the financial position will be vital in making a decision. There is a need to focus on the time taken for each option. For instance, a course that will take long before completion may have dire effect on career development. Similarly, there is a need to focus on the time schedule. For instance, some curses offer evening and distance learning. This may be a prudent course. Taking a diploma in human resource is a prudent approach especially when in the human resource department. This will increase chances of getting a promotion. On the other hand, the course may be expensive when compared to the certificate in human resource management. Two aspects of group dynamics are group ideology and group cohesion. Research these two and briefly discuss them in around 100 words each in the space provided. Remember to reference your work. How does an understanding of group dynamics, including Tuckman’s model allow HR professionals to be able to perform efficiently as part of a working group? Illustrate your answer with work examples in no more than 150 words in the space provided.  

Smart Fabric Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Smart Fabric - Research Paper Example These fabrics are created in such a way that they can control heating and cooling. These fabrics can be used in medicine, sports, military uniforms among others. The technology in these fabrics is such that it can react to sounds, actions and movement. These textiles have been applied in healthcare, communication, music and in recent research it could be used in military. Smart fabrics are a promise of revolution for lifestyle, commerce and physical conditions of individuals (Nugent, 2006). While smart clothes offer a wide range of advantages if incorporated in the textile industry, it faces two major setbacks: unpredictability and unobtrusiveness. After years of research, finally a wearable clothing electronic system is coming up (Surhone,2010). This will provide a stable setting for commercial applications. Currently, the available solutions are mostly focused on the fitness sector and also heartbeat rate supervision through clothing electrodes. There is research working on developing a fabric or belt that will help monitor a baby’s heart rate before they are born. This will fit more in a lifestyle aspect of smart fabric application than in a medical one since monitoring the heartbeat may not be a medical requirement. In turn, it could lead to a fabric or belt that helps monitor difficult pregnancies (Plunkett, 2008). Truth is, fabrics envelop every aspect of our lives be it security, fashion, trends, sports, or health and hence, it should be convenient and accessible at all times. There is touch sensitive fabric that has been created (Lymberis, 2004). It has all qualities of ordinary fabrics, but the inclusion of to uch sensors makes it more versatile, innovative and desirable. These effects transform the fabric from a simple product to a high-tech interaction device which can be applied in many sectors in life (Surhone,2010). D3O, a non-Newtonian fluid, has been incorporated in some smart fabrics over time. Smart fabrics with this fluid embedded in them help protect the individual wearing it during impacts such as collisions, car accident and falls. This is because the fluid has properties that make it safe and reliable during impact. It moves slowly, but on shock, it locks itself together and absorbs shock to disband energy. This aspect of the fluid has seen it sawn on seams and linings of sporting gears that are dangerous and are prone to falls such as skiing (Plunkett, 2008). The energy produced during the fall is spread throughout the polymer, and through the chemical process, the energy is distributed throughout the matrix of the gears and thus reduces the expected impact. Smart fabrics a re textiles that have embedded sensors to create exceptional products that help individuals not only monitor their health, but also stay in touch with technology. It is important to understand the types of sensors available (Lymberis, 2004). Sensors are devices that react and give responses to physical stimuli such as magnetic fields, noise, defined movement, light and heat and, in turn, send out a resultant impulse to measure or manage a control. There are three types of sensors: Extrinsic Fabry-Perot (EFPI), Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG), and Ling Period Grating Sensor (LPG). These sensors are embedded into the fabrics in many different ways such as weaving them with other fabric yarn also known as battery fabric, crimpling them into fabric and weave designing. The EFPI and FBG sensors have the best qualities as at now to embed in fabrics, to make smart materials (Nambisan, 2007). The EFPI sensor helps measure temperature,

Educational Leadership Scenario Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Educational Leadership Scenario - Essay Example (2001). Management pertains to the effort of utilizing resources towards the fulfillment of the organizational mission in an efficient, effective, and ethical manner. In contrast, school leadership is focused on the mission and the vision of the organization rather than its goal. The emphasis of management is on the management and accountability of school resources. In a sense, Effective leaders identify and understand their preferred and natural leadership style. These leaders have command of a variety of leadership styles and aptly match the correct style to the needs of a particular situation. In addition, effective leaders know that a high level of input and participation is sometimes necessary for decision-making and understand the skills, talents and styles of those who work for them. There are four main leadership models: Peters and Waterman's In Search of Excellence; Covey's-The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; Wheatley's Leadership and the New Science and Deming's, Out of the Crisis. Peters and Waterman stated that leaders must focus on people and on the tasks of an organization. Peters and Waterman also feature the attributes of effective leaders: bias for action, staying close to the customer or the clientele, autonomy and entrepreneurship, productivity through people and hands-on and value driven. (Peters and Waterman, 1982). Covey (1989) posits that the success of an organization depends on the development of and commitment to a shared vision of the organization at its best. He stated seven principles of effective living: responsibility, integrity, respect, mutual understanding, patience and purpose. Proactivity, the first habit, refers to the ability to take charge of situations. The second habit is to begin with the end in mind. This means that one fulfills the goal. The third is putting "first things first". The fourth is that leaders think, "win-win." The fifth is that leaders seek first to understand. The sixth is that leaders create new alternatives to old and to static ways of knowing. The seventh is that leaders seek self-improvement consistently. (Covey, 1989) Wheatley (1989) believed that leaders should focus on order rather than control in organizations. He stated that leaders should recognize the ebb and flow or to the order and chaos in an organization. According to him, chaos in an organization is useful in that it stimulates growth and evolution. Leaders then should allow disequilibrium and discomfort in an organization to stimulate growth and evolution rather than exerting control to bring the organization back into equilibrium. Wheatley posits that order and chaos are both natural states of an organization, each with its own purpose. It is natural for organizations to have periods of chaos and periods of order.Deming (1984) had emphasized collaboration and teamwork among workers and managers. Each worker is focused on their appropriate role in the organization with productivity in mind. All the members of the organization have quality improvement as a goal. The Total Quality Management organization (TQM) improves quality, serves a nd satisfies the customer, encourages innovation, communicates information freely, addresses problems in the system, not the employees, takes pride in quality work, promotes