High performance Essay Example for Free

High performance Essay Conclusion: There are 3 different component dyes in the mix including blue dye, yellow dye and red dye. The blue dye has the highest Rf in chromatography ( Rf=1 in water and ethanol and isoprophy alcohol). The yellow dye has the lowest Rf in chromatography in ethanol and isoprophy alcohol and middle Rf in water (Rf=0.17 and isoprophy alcohol and lowest Rf in water (Rf=0.816 in ethanol, Rf= 0.678 in water and Rf=0.680 in isoprophy alcohol). Real World Connection HPLC-MS stands for High performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. HPLC-MS shares the same principle with paper chromatography. They both separate mixture using the difference in different affinities to mobile/stationary phase of different components. However, HPLC-MC is far different from paper chromatography. Firstly, HPLC-MC is composed of a liquid chromatography and a mass spectrometer. This instrumentation enables HPLC-MC to analyze a much wider range of components. While paper chromatography only qualitatively separate different component in a liquid mixture, HPLC-MS can quantitatively examine each component, including Compounds that are thermally labile, exhibit high polarity or have a high molecular mass. Secondly, paper chromatography use solvent as mobile phase and paper as stationary phase, but in HPLC-MS the mobile phase is the mixture of liquid and the stationary phase is the solid through which liquid flow. Thirdly, paper chromatography can be carried out at normal temperature and pressure, but HPLC-MS sometimes needs to be done under high pressure and certain temperature to successfully drive the liquid through the solid and best demonstrate the difference in affinities of different liquid compound.

Taiwan: Business Environment and Investment Opportunities

Taiwan: Business Environment and Investment Opportunities AN ANALYSIS OF THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN TAIWAN HISTORY Pre 20th Century History Little archaeological evidence remains from Taiwans early history. People probably from Austronesia are though to have inhabited the island since 10,000 BC with migration from China in the 15th century. In 1517 Portuguese sailors reached Taiwan and named it Ilha Formosa (Beautiful Island). The Dutch invaded in 1624 and built a capital at Tainan two years later they lost the island to a Spanish invasion but returned the favour by booting the Spanish out in 1641. During the 1660s the Ming and Manchu (Qing) dynasties arrived on the scene, kicking out the Dutch and wrestling one another for control of the island. The Manchus eventually won, making Taiwan a county of Fujian province and triggering a flood of Chinese immigration. At the end of the 19th century, the Japanese decided to weigh in as well: Taiwan was ceded to them in 1895 following Chinas defeat in the Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese quashed a republican rebellion organised by the local Chinese population and went on to establish a military base on the island and to promote education and economic development. After Japans defeat in at the end of WWII, Taiwan was handed back to China. Modern History When Communist forces took control of China in 1949, the president, General Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang (KMT), fled to Taiwan to plan their reconquest of the mainland. Theyre still planning. One and a half million Chinese also left the mainland for Taiwan when Mao took control. The leaders of both Communist mainland China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) claim to be the voice of all China, but the international community has, almost without exception, chosen the mainland. In 1971 the KMT lost the Chinese United Nations seat, and in 1979 the USA withdrew its recognition of the Republic. When Chiang Kai-shek died in 1975 and was replaced by his son Ching-kuo, Taiwanese started muttering the word dynasty, and criticism of the one-party system rose. In 1986, those opposed to Chiang formed the Democratic Progressive Party and were granted seats in the legislature. Two years later Chiang died and was replaced by the first native-born president, Lee Teng-hui. Taiwanese politics is divided among those who want reunification with China (the KMT line), those who want Taiwanese independence, and those who want the status quo preserved. In 1995 relations between the two Chinas, always chilly, plummetted to a new low. Lee Teng-huis high-profile visit to the United States brought mainland China out in a rash of nervous jealousy. Determined to isolate Taiwan and sway the minds of its voters, China held intense military exercises near the Taiwanese coast. In response, the United States donned its global cop hat and sent a couple of warships to monitor the situation. Despite the regions sudden high concentration of itchy trigger fingers, the first direct presidential election was held without incident, and Lee Teng-hui was returned to office. Taiwans fortunes took a turn for the worse in September 1999 when a massive earthquake hit the island, the largest in its history, leaving over 2000 islanders dead and a rubble-strewn country. Even in this time of crisis, however, the snippy relationship between mainland China and the wannabe republic continued. A defiantly sulky China demanded that any country entering Taiwan to offer earthquake relief get permission from the Chinese government first: a demand that was met with less-than-hearty agreement from humanitarian organisations and other countries around the world. Recent History In March 2000, Taiwan elected its next president Chen Shui-bian, the candidate of Taiwans Democratic Progressive Party, who believe in a formal declaration of independence for the island. The upset ended 55 years of Nationalist rule and alarmed China, which regards Taiwan as a rebel province. In 2004, Chen Shui-bian was re-elected by a narrow margin following a possibly-dubious assassination attempt on him only hours before the election. In a concession to political opponents and a country fearful over its constant Chinese threat, Chen Shui-bian vowed to forge closer relations with China and leave the volatile issue of Taiwans sovereignty off the political reform agenda. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN TAIWAN To adjudge whether or not a country is suitable for investment opportunities we must use certain parameters these can range from descriptive tools like reports available from various established organizations like The World Bank or The IMF. Else we can make use of diagnostic tools like PEST analysis which we will employ to analyse the business environment of Taiwan and look at the possibility of investment opportunities. PEST ANALYSIS (P)OLITICAL SCENARIO The political status of Taiwan is a controversy over whether Taiwan, including the Pescadores (Penghu), should remain the effective territory of the Republic of China (ROC), become unified with the territories now governed by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), or become the Republic of Taiwan. Taiwans political status is complicated by the controversy over the Republic of Chinas existence as a state. Currently, Taiwan, Kinmen (Quemoy), Wuchiu (Wuciou) and Matsu off the coast of mainland Fukien, and Taiping (Itu Aba) and Pratas in the South China Sea effectively make up the entire state known as the Republic of China. The ROC government has in the past considered itself to be the sole legitimate government over Taiwan, as well as its former territories on the continent that include mainland China, Outer Mongolia and Tannu Uriankhai (part of which is present day Tuva). This position started to be largely ignored in the early 1990s, changing to one that does not challenge the legitimacy of PRC rule over mainland China, although the ROCs claims have never been renounced through a constitutional amendment. Different groups have different concepts of what the current formal political situation of Taiwan is. In addition, the situation can be confusing because of the different parties and the effort by many groups to deal with the controversy through a policy of deliberate ambiguity. The political solution that is accepted by many of the current groups is the following perspective of the status quo: that is, to unofficially treat Taiwan as a state and at a minimum, to officially declare no support for the government of this state making a formal declaration of independence. What a formal declaration of independence would consist of is not clear and can be confusing given the fact that the Peoples Republic of China has never controlled Taiwan since its founding and the fact that the Republic of China, whose government controls Taiwan, considers itself a de jure sovereign state. The status quo is accepted in large part because it does not define the legal status or future status of Taiwan, leaving each group to interpret the situation in a way that is politically acceptable to its members. At the same time, a policy of status quo has been criticized as being dangerous precisely because different sides have different interpretations of what the status quo is, leading to the possibility of war through brinkmanship or miscalculation. Hence we can say that Taiwan has a volatile political situation but is stable currently. (E)CONOMIC SCENARIO Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the worlds third largest. Agriculture contributes less than 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. Taiwan is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia. China has overtaken the US to become Taiwans largest export market. Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998. The global economic downturn, combined with problems in policy coordination by the administration and bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first year of negative growth ever recorded. Unemployment al so reached record levels. Output recovered moderately in 2002 in the face of continued global slowdown, fragile consumer confidence, and bad bank loans; and the essentially vibrant economy pushed ahead in 2003-04. Growing economic ties with China are a dominant long-term factor, e.g., exports to China of parts and equipment for the assembly of goods for export to developed countries. A FEW RELEVANT STATISTICS GDP purchasing power parity $576.2 billion (2004 est.) GDP real growth rate 6% (2004 est.) GDP per capita purchasing power parity $25,300 (2004 est.) GDP composition by sector agriculture: 1.7% industry: 30.9% services: 67.4% (2004 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1.7% (2004 est.) Labor force by occupation agriculture 8%, industry 35%, services 57% (2001 est.) Unemployment rate 4.5% (2004 est.) Budget revenues: $67.41 billion expenditures: $76.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $14.4 billion (2004 est.) Industries electronics, petroleum refining, armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals Industrial production growth rate 12.2% (2004 est.) Oil consumption 988,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) Agriculture products rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish Exports $170.5 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) Exports commodities computer products and electrical equipment, metals, textiles, plastics and rubber products, chemicals (2002) Exports partners China, including Hong Kong 37%, US 16%, Japan 7.7% (2003) Imports $165.4 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) Imports commodities machinery and electrical equipment 44.5%, minerals, precision instruments (2002) Imports partners Japan 26%, US 13%, China, including Hong Kong 11%, South Korea 6.9% (2003) Debt external $55.5 billion (2004 est.) Investment (gross fixed) 18% of GDP (2004 est.) Public debt 32.4% of GDP (2004 est.) Current account balance $21.16 billion (2004 est.) Reserves of foreign exchange gold $246.5 billion (2004 est.) Hence after having a look at the economic structure we can say that a few indicators like the availability of labour forces, growth rates, inflation rates point to the fact that Taiwan is a stable economy and hence suitable for investment opportunities. (S)OCIAL SCENARIO Although the majority of the people residing in Taiwan (84%) are descended from 17th century migrants from China, the political power (and a substantial part of the economic power) of the island has been, until recently, almost exclusively held by less than one-fifth of the population. A population who fled to Taiwan in 1949 after the communist takeover of the mainland. Almost a half-century of co-residence has seen an integration of these two populations to some degree, with both pride in Chinese heritage and culture and national pride in being a resident of Taiwan, combining successfully to date. Taiwan is a society that supports strong Confucian values, reflecting the islands predominantly Chinese heritage (the native aborigines of Taiwan make up only 2% of the population). European influences have also made their mark, in the form of trading links (and some colonial aspirations) from the Spanish and Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries. Japan has also had a more recent influence over the character of Taiwan: the island was occupied by Japan from 1895 to 1946, but this occupation although repressive at times was also a period of prosperity for Taiwan. Taiwan today is a vibrant and prosperous patriarchal society, which maintains the family as its basic foundation. Multi-generational households are the norm, with age being respected and children prized. The people are reserved, respectful and humble, although individual achievement and a hearty entrepreneurial attitude is found throughout the Taiwanese society. The practice of religious tenets, more so than pure belief alone, influences the Taiwanese character. Approximately 24% of the population is Buddhist, 16% is Taoist (Confucian) and 3% Christian. Much like other Chinese societies, respect and formality mark social relationships, and guanxi (guanji) is quite strong in Taiwan. Open conflict or direct criticism is avoided, as is any other action which could create embarrassment. Boasting or loud behaviour is to be avoided, although compliments are appreciated but usually denied. While many educated Taiwanese speak English, the national (and commercial) language is Mandarin Chinese, with many also speaking the local Taiwanese (Chinese) language. Varying degrees of English is spoken by many of the younger generation and the internationally educated. Taiwan is one of the most urbanised nations in Asia with over 60% of the population living in cities. Taipei, the capital, houses nearly 13% of the population, or approximately 2.75 million. Other major cities include Kaohsiung and Keelung. The people of Taiwan are well educated and have relevant knowledge of subjects like English and science. The society is a peaceful one and not very different from other South East Asian countries. The cities are well developed and the working conditions are conducive to conducting business. Hence investments with respect to the social structure will be a safe bet. (T)ECHNOLOGICAL SCENARIO Measures accompanying Science Technology (ST) development include the four main aspects of educating, training, recruiting, and rewarding ST manpower; the ST research environment; technology diffusion, intellectual property rights, and standards; and international ST cooperation. The goal of manpower training is to establish superior ST research and development manpower, which may be considered a RD software input. The goal of common research facilities is to provide the infrastructure needed for research, and this infrastructure may be considered a RD hardware input. Superior RD outputs can be obtained only after these two inputs are appropriately matched with funding. 1. Manpower education and training The education and training of ST development manpower includes the three aspects: (1) education in colleges and universities, (2) advanced studies in Taiwanese institutions and overseas for personnel selected by government agencies, and (3) training by vocational and professional training institutions. In addition, the Executive Yuans Implementation Regulations for Commendation of Outstanding Scientific and Technological Personnel, Executive Yuan and the Academia Sinicas Topical Research and High-level Manpower Training Program both serve to actively promote key ST research and train ST manpower. Apart from education in universities and colleges, the government also promotes the training of ST manpower via advanced studies or research in Taiwan and overseas for personnel selected by government agencies, and training by vocational and professional training institutions. A total of 37,945 students received Ph.D. or masters degrees in the natural sciences, engineering, medicine, agriculture, or the humanities and social sciences from domestic universities during the 2003 academic year. This number represented an increase of 16.3% over the 2002 academic year from this total 35,981 persons, or 94.8%, received masters degrees. See Table VI-1 for an overview of the various advanced ST manpower training and technical skills education training systems and their results in 2004. 2. Manpower recruiting In order to meet shortages of ST manpower, the government has implemented a number of policies and programs to train domestic high-tech manpower and recruit outstanding overseas manpower to work in Taiwan. It has established long-term targets for ST manpower recruiting, training, and utilization. The government has adopted simultaneous long- and short-term approaches to the recruiting of ST manpower. The Academia Sinica recruits overseas post-doctoral research personnel, foreign consultants, specialists, and scholars, and the NSC funds the recruiting of ST manpower, the hiring of post-doctoral researchers, the recruiting of research scholars, and the invitation of scientific and technological figures from China to participate in research in Taiwan 3. Rewarding Personnel The government offers a variety of grants and awards aimed at encouraging ST personnel to engage in academic research, technology development, and invention. Relevant honors include the Outstanding Achievement in Science and Technology Award, Academic Award, National Lectureship, Outstanding Research Award, and the Ta You Wu Memorial Award. Hence we can say that technologically also Taiwan is very superior and backed by Government. Technologically there should be no problems with investments in Taiwan. Therefore after doing a PEST analysis we can conclude that weighing all options Taiwan is a relatively safe place to invest resources. Now let us have a look at the various industries in Taiwan and try to zero in on an industry or a sector where a investments are a possibility.

Critical Reflection On Corporate Social Responsibility Projects Accounting Essay

Critical Reflection On Corporate Social Responsibility Projects Accounting Essay The aim of this paper is to provide a critical reflection considering the ethical point of view of the CSR projects which companies are increasingly launching with the global emerging trend of corporate social responsibility in the business world today. The purpose is to evaluate the objectives of these campaigns, comparing if they are rather actions targeting profits or/and better corporate image or if they are truly altruistic actions driven by the increase of the concern involving the global issues nowadays. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A CORPORATION? Indubitably, this question has been widely discussed for many years, as great theorists show different point of views, arguing that either the primary objective of an organization is to maximize value or to be devoted to its mission and essentially satisfy the stakeholders needs. Basically there are two main theories: shareholder value theory and stakeholder theory. The first one argues that the only objective of a company is to maximize profit and generate value to its shareholders. At the other extreme is the stakeholder theory, which suggests that the organization not only should make profits and create value to the shareholders but also please their stakeholders, such as customers, employees, suppliers, local communities, and society at large. (Morgan Stanley, 2008) One of the earliest precursors of the shareholder value theory is Milton Friedman that emphasized once: So the question is, do corporate executives, provided they stay within the law, have responsibilities in their business activities other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible? And my answer to that is, no they do not. (Friedman, 1974) On the other hand, Dave Packard the co-founder of the Hewlett Packard proposed a distinctive cause for company existence: I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. While this is an important result of a companys existence, we have to go deeper and find the real reason for our being. As we investigate this, we inevitably come to the conclusion that a group of people get together and exist as an institution that we call a company so that they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separatelythey make a contribution to society, a phrase which sounds trite but is fundamental. (Packard, 2002) The ground of the stakeholder theory is not far from the corporate responsibility concept or trend, which undeniably attract much attention in the last years. As the theory, CSR objective is to determine all the stakeholders and pursue a balance between the main concerns and goals of each one of those (Morgan Stanley, 2008). While Friedmans and Packards points of views represent extremes opinions, others have promoted a mid-term approach. Peter Drucker, for example argued that a middle ground is essential for one business to be considered successful as illustrated on the statement bellow: A business that does not show a profit at least equal to its cost of capital is socially irresponsible; it wastes societys resources. Economic profit performance is the base without which business cannot discharge any other responsibilities, cannot be a good employer, a good citizen, a good neighbor. But economic performance is not the only responsibility of a business Every organization must assume responsibility for its impact on employees, the environment, customers, and whomever and whatever it touches. That is social responsibility. (Drucker, 1954) All in all, the fact is that there are many diverse opinions among specialists and executives. Therefore, in my opinion the CSR of one company is influenced mainly according to the beliefs and values of its leaders, especially the CEO, rather than the mission statements of the organization. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IS INCREASING AS A TREND BUT DECREASING WITHIN COMPANIES Before analyzing more extensively the corporate social responsibility as a trend within the companies, I truly believed that the CSR practices were substantially increasing. However after reading the 2008 Morgan Stanley publication about the topic, I was surprised with the results. Considering the methodology utilized by Morgan Stanley, It seems that the overall real concern of CSR is decreasing over the last 15 years. Although the organizations might be investing more in CSR projects, the damage/harmfulness caused by the companies is increasing on larger scale. So, this means that the negative actions are not being covered by CSR practices. Instead, the careless with CSR is increasing much more than the projects as could be analyzed in the table below. KLD defines a set of potential strengths (for example, charitable giving) and a set of potential concerns (e.g., hazardous waste). For each company, KLD assigns a value of 1 if the strength or concern exists and a 0 otherwise. (Morgan Stanley, 2008) In conclusion, besides the strengths are increasing, the concerns are rising more rapidly and the net value of the strengths minus concerns is decreasing each year. Evidently, that the result presented could be argued and probably other studies with different methodologies could show diverse outcomes. However, I personally like the methodology because not only shows what companies are doing well but also consider what they are doing wrong. Nevertheless, in my opinion does not matter if they are investing more if they are depreciating even more. Even though, companies are not emphasizing CSR as I would expected so, unquestionably the trend is increasing within the society, followed by the pressure for new management practices and concerns with the environment. A good evidence to illustrate that hypothesis is the rise of the relevance and coverage of this topic at the universities. One study conducted by Lisa Jones Christensen in 2007, aimed to further investigate the importance of CSR, Ethics and Sustainability at the top 50 global MBA programs. The results showed that 84% of the schools that responded oblige students to take courses of one or all of these subjects. Even more 25% represented a stand-alone course. Comparing with The Ethics Resource Center study conducted in 1988, when 75% of Ethics, CSR, and Sustainability Education were a required part of the program and only 5% of the MBA programs required a separate course on ethics. (Christensen, Peirce, Hartman, Hoffman, Carrier, 2007) Summarizing, in my point of view CSR is a relevant subject and it is an increasing trend among the society, however companies are not giving the importance they should to these practices. Moreover, as will be presented on the next section, companies could gain more profits with a different approach of CSR. COMPANIES INVEST IN CSR AS MEANS TO MAXIMIZING VALUE OR TO DO THE RIGHT THING AS AN END ITSELF? As Michael Jensen discuss in the article Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function, published by the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance in 2001, there are two alternative reasons for organizations to finance CSR initiatives. The first one is known as the moral theory, which CSR considers organizations as good corporate citizens by losing profits when necessary to serve other stakeholders, including society at large (Jensen, 2001). Above all, corporations have responsibilities to their customers, employees, and communities that should be given at least equal priority with their economic goals for their shareholders. On the other hand, the economic theory for CSR suggests it as a positive-NPV investment. More simply, presume CSR as the same as any business investment decision: Invest in all essential stakeholders if there are expected returns, at least equivalent to the cost of capital. (Morgan Stanley, 2008) Nevertheless, the main question to address is why companies are investing in CSR? For economic reasons, expecting returns, or they are really concerned and are investing with moral arguments? To answer that question, once again I will reference the Morgan Stanley study. The article states the premise that corporations that are more disposed to reduce shareholder returns for stakeholders would probably invest not only to increase their CSR strengths but also to decrease their CSR concerns. In other words, those organizations would adopt the idea of First, do not harm. Therefore, such companies would make efforts both to increase their CSR strengths and reduce their CSR concerns. In contrast, companies concerned with the returns of the investment in CSR would give priority on building their strengths, as many of them do it to make a public demonstration of ones progress, instead of focusing their efforts to address the weaknesses. Especially because usually is very costly to eliminate many CSR concerns. As I predicted, the results shows that companies invest on CSR projects primarily to maximize value rather than endorse stakeholder commitments as an end in itself. This means that businesses are financing CSR to strengthen their attributes instead of eliminating the CSR concerns. However, the most interesting factor is that the same research found that companies with more CSR strengths or fewer CSR weaknesses presented higher returns. This suggests that financing CSR initiatives generates profit and long-term value maximization, as could be observed in the graph below. Even more, companies which focus on reducing the concerns and thinks primarily on the stakeholders rather than profits, in a long run makes better results that corporations which allocate resources on strengthen their CSR attributes and have the economic approach. In other words, being ethic and altruistic considering the investments is more profitable! (Morgan Stanley, 2008) (Morgan Stanley, 2008)

Siddhartha - symbolism of the river :: essays research papers

Throughout the pilgrimage of Siddhartha’s life, he went through many different stages. In the beginning, we meet Siddhartha, The Brahmin’s Son. Siddhartha was very intelligent, but wanted to learn more. His mind was not full, and his soul was not at peace. He decided to become a Samana in order to fill his mind and set his soul at peace. He had a goal to become completely empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow. He had the idea that if he could completely lose Self, he would be content. During his time with the Samanas, Siddhartha heard about Gotama, the Buddha, and became distrustful of teachings and decided to leave the Samanas with the belief that what they could teach him was not good enough. He had to learn things for himself by experiencing them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After listening to Gotama’s teachings, Siddhartha had an awakening. He thought, â€Å"The reason why I do not know anythng about myself, the reason why Siddhartha has remained alien and unknown to myself is due to one thing, to one single thing—I was afraid of myself, I was fleeing from myself.† He realized that he was seeking Brahman and wished to destroy himself rather than finding and getting to know himself. This awakening set Siddhartha onto another stage in his journey. During the beginning of this stage, Siddhartha saw things in a completely new way. He saw the sun rise and the stars for the first time. Siddhartha came upon a beautiful young woman, who very much helped lead him into the next step of his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Siddhartha believed that he loved her and that she loved him. She led him into thinking that he would be happy if he had money, nice clothes, and her. Siddhartha became a successful merchant and loved money. He believed that with money, he could have what he wanted. After all, was it not money that got him Kamala in the first place? The money that had gotten Siddhartha what he wanted began to destroy him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Siddhartha began to think that this world of the riches he had become accustomed to was nothing but a game, as was the love he felt for Kamala. This belief led him into the next stage of his pilgrimage. Siddhartha believed that there was nothing left for him in life, and he wanted to end it, but from somewhere in his soul he heard the holy word Om and his soul suddenly, once again, was awakened.

New England Vs Chesapeake :: essays papers

New England Vs Chesapeake Early English colonies in America hardly resembled the union of men and women that would later fight against England and build a new country. In fact, until the mid-eighteenth century, most English colonists had very little, if anything to do with the settlers in neighboring colonies. They heard news of Indian wars and other noteworthy events, not from the colony itself, but from England. The colonies in the New World appeared completely different and the prospect of any unity between them seemed impossible. The colonies in New England and the Chesapeake exemplify the many differences in the culture and lifestyles of the settlers, created mainly because of the fact that their founding fathers had held separate intentions when they came to the New World. The New England and Chesapeake colonies were both settled by immigrants from England, the New England colonies being founded by the English from East Anglia, an area in eastern England. Though this was an area thriving with small towns that they had generally liked, they decided to flee England due to religious persecution. Hundreds of families, men, women and their children, came in search of a New World where they could practice their beliefs freely. They founded colonies such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island as model Christian societies. Their cities upon the hills were guides, the lanterns, for those lost in the darkness of humanity, as John Winthrop meant by his famous statement. They formed a society of strict religious participation, actually very much resembling their homeland. In the beginning, many called themselves Puritans, and kept things very simple and plain, concentrating on what was important to them. They used the community to achieve t heir goals, building new towns and enjoying the social aspect of their religion. At the same time, they were committed to remain working hard to keep their community productive. They believed the â€Å"idle hands† were the devil’s workshops. An issue that really defined a split between the societies was the slavery conflict. The northerners in New England held true to their belief that every man shall be equal and no one should be enslaved, while the southerners in the Chesapeake area strongly believed in the use of slavery. At the same time the New Englanders worked to help end slavery by preaching to others about the injustices, they worked diligently to make education in their society strong.

Sport Obermeyer Case

Obermeyer Sport A Strategic Direction in Forecasting Introduction & Summary Klaus Obermeyer is an innovator in the high-end skiwear industry. The company began with down filled jackets and slowly began to diversify its product line with high-altitude suntan lotion, turtlenecks, nylon wind-shirts, mirrored sunglasses and more. In 1961, the first Sport Obermeyer factory warehouse opened in Aspen, and the innovations continued with â€Å"soft-shell† jackets, double lens goggles, and the first waterproof-breathable fabrics to be used in clothing. Sport Obermeyer is a high-end fashion skiwear design and merchandising company with its headquarters located in Aspen, Colorado. The company specializes in selling its products in U. S. department stores and ski shops. Although the company has a global supply network, most of its outerwear products are channeled through Obersport. [1] In the fashion skiwear industry – demand is very dependent on several factors that are difficult to predict. The inconsistent nature of the economy, fashion trends and weather create a significant challenge for a firm such as Sport Obermeyer. By actively applying a selection of appropriate forecasting methods and continuing to adapt to this fast-paced industry, Obersport would be able to remain competitive and retain or increase its 1992 high market share entering into the 1993/94 season. Analysis A joint venture was established between Klaus Obermeyer and Raymond Tse in 1985. This company gained the title of Obersport Ltd. This joint venture allowed Obermeyer to manage supply and production operations in Hong Kong and China. [2] Until the mid-1980s, Obermeyer followed a simple design-and-sales cycle: The first stage was to design the product, then fabricate and showcase samples to retailers in March usually at fairs/shows ? The second stage was to place production orders with suppliers in March and April after receiving retail orders from the fairs/shows. ? The third stage was to receive goods at Sport Obermeyer’s distribution center in September and October; and ship product immediately to retail outlets. During the mid-1980s, several factors rendered this approach obsolete: ? As sales volume grew, the company hit manufacturing ceilings during the peak ski wear-production period. Being unable to order sufficient quantities during critical summer months reduced the supply for ongoing demanded volume, to be produced after it has received retail orders. Therefore, the company begins booking production the previous November, or about a year before goods would be sold, based on speculation about what retailers would order. Processes and Strategies A ski jacket being distributed in the U. S. could be asembled in China from fabrics and findings (zippers, snaps, buckles, and thread) sourced from Japan, South Korea, and Germany. This global supply chain (Exhibit 1. 0) created more product variety and improved production efficiency, but at the same time greatly increased lead times. Reaction to the lengthening supply chains, limited supplier capacity, and retailers’ demands for earlier delivery were all prominent obstacles. Obersport began developing a variety of quick-response initiatives such as to shorten lead times to overcome them. First introduced were computerized systems to slash time in processing orders and computing raw-material requirements. This technology would anticipate what raw materials it would require and pre-position them in warehouses in the Far East because lead time for obtaining raw materials proved difficult to shorten. To shorten this time Obersport used air freight for delivery from the Far East to the Denver distribution centre as delivery due dates quickly approached. In the 1990s, these changes had reduced delivery times by more than one month. [3] Along with these changes, the Sport Obermeyer applied some other tactics in the 1990s. Obermeyer persuaded some of its important retail customers to place their orders sooner, providing the company with valuable foreword information such as the popularity of certain styles. Invited were 25 of the company’s largest retailer customers to Aspen each February offering them a preview of the new annual line and solicit early orders. This was called an â€Å"Early Write† which accounted for about 20 percent of the total sales. About half of production requests depended highly on demand forecasts still. An in-house buying committee approach was allocated to generate these forecasts. 4] Short life cycle Issues There are three topics in today’s business environment that are especially relevant to this case: ? Production planning for short-life-cycle fashion products ? Operational changes that reduce the cost of mismatched supply and demand ? Coordination issues in a global supply chain. The Bullwhip Effect (or Whiplash Effect) is an observed phenomenon in fo recast-driven distribution channels. Since the oscillating demand magnification upstream a supply chain reminds someone of a cracking whip it became famous as the Bullwhip Effect. For seasonal goods such as winter sportswear, which has a short selling season and long lead times, a firm can do several things to better match supply and demand: †¢ Additional events can be held before large trade fairs in order to secure orders further in advance. †¢ Supplier capacity can be reserved without specifying the exact product mix. This postponement of the final mix has benefits similar to those of postponing product customization until the distribution center. †¢ Common parts can be used in designs in order to pool some of the variation between individual demands. [5] Demand Forecasting The different types of forecasting include: †¢ Economic forecasts address the business cycle. Ie inflation rate, money supply, and housing starts †¢ Technological forecasts predict the rate of technology progress and impact the development of new products †¢ Demand Forecasts predicts sales of existing products and services. This is the type of forecasting relevant to the Obermeyer case. [6] The Importance of Forecasting [pic] Forecasts are based on statistics, and they are rarely perfectly accurate. Because forecast errors are a given, companies often carry an inventory buffer called â€Å"safety stock†. Moving up the supply chain from end-consumer to raw materials supplier, each supply chain participant has greater observed variation in demand and thus greater need for safety stock. In periods of rising demand, down-stream participants increase orders. In periods of falling demand, orders fall or stop to reduce inventory. The effect is that variations are amplified as one moves upstream in the supply chain (further from the customer). The causes can further be divided into behavioral and operational causes: Behavioral causes to forecasting Misuse of base-stock policies †¢ Misperceptions of feedback and time delays †¢ Panic ordering reactions after unmet demand †¢ Perceived risk of other players' bounded rationality Operational causes †¢ Dependent demand processing †¢ Forecast Errors †¢ Adjustment of inventory control parameters with each demand observation †¢ Lead Time Variability (forecast error during replenishment lead time) †¢ Lot-sizing/o rder synchronization †¢ Consolidation of demands †¢ Transaction motive †¢ Quantity discount †¢ Trade promotion and forward buying Anticipation of shortages †¢ allocation rule of suppliers †¢ shortage gaming †¢ Lean and JIT style management of inventories and a chase production strategy The information above (Importance of Forecasting) was provided by Wikipedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Bullwhip_effect Objectives Despite current forecasting strategies being used at Sport Obermeyer to satisfy the constantly changing consumer demands, goals and targets must be set in order to improve weak areas allowing the company to remain competitive for the upcoming season. The following objectives are used to further develop the company’s forecasting strategies for the 1993/94 season. 1. Find new ways to accurately estimate the quantity of each style required in the initial phase of production. 2. Implement operational changes that will improve overall performance. 3. Properly align current supply chain sources subject to supply channels in Hong Kong and Greater China. Recommendations The following recommendations have been created to ensure the company meets its required objectives. 1. Wally Obermeyer reflects the results from the buying committee meeting that is held in November, annually. This year Wally strayed away from the usual system of having six key managers make production commitments based on the group’s consensus, to having each member give a personal forecast retailer demand for each of the products sold at Sport Obermeyer. We recommend that he takes each manager’s forecasts and makes one forecast based on the other manager’s predictions. A good formula to use in order to accomplish this is ? i-k? i= 10,000 units. (refer to exhibit 3. 0)This formula takes both the mean of all of the other manager’s forecasts and the distribution of everyone’s forecast into consideration. By improving the internal forecasts by applying this forecasting model with the data used from past sales instead of a simple average made by the buying committee. [7] 2. The main operational changes that Wally should focus on in order to increase pro ductivity is to initially focus on splitting the seasonal orders into two lots: Speculative Order The first lot should be an order of 10,000 units placed approximately 10 months before the selling season. This order will be made through China, considering that they are less expensive and need more time for production. This order will consist of the quantities produced from the data attained through a weighted average method as identified above. Reactive Order The second lot should be ordered closer to the selling season, approximately six months, and should also be 10,000 units. The quantities in this order should be decided based on which items are popular in the Las Vegas fashion show. The Vegas fashion show should offer a better prediction of popular trends in the season. This order should be produced by Hong Kong manufacturers considering that they are faster, more efficient and more flexible. Although, it would be much less expensive to order through China, given the short time line for this second order it is essential to use Hong Kong. [8] 3. Due to lower costs, but longer lead times, Sport Obermeyer should make a majority of its speculative order to China. With strict quota restrictions limiting the number of units that can be imported from China into the United States, it is necessary to ensure the orders brought into the US before the quota has hit a maximum. Sport Obermeyer forecasts an annual demand for its product and as a result supply channel partners need to undergo change to develop and deliver new product lines annually. Therefore, Obermeyer retroactive order should be manufactured in Hong Kong to avoid the risk of declined imports (Exhibit 2. 0). The Hong Kong manufacturer also provides higher quality and quicker production times, but at a higher price. Conclusion [pic] Obermeyer did employ all of the recommended strategies (to some degree) to satisfy the three outlined objectives entering into the 1993/94 season. Although Obermeyer did increase their quality control functions to position themselves as one of the highest quality brands in the market, they continued to use essentially the same supply chain. The company has since evolved from its operations in the early 1990’s to investing highly in research and development as this is the only way to remain competitive as a premium brand supplier in the 21st century. Sport Obermeyer now follows the following strategy: â€Å"Obermeyer Product Technology defines our commitment to the demand of function and performance. Today, more than ever, we are designing garments that are pushing the boundaries of outerwear technologies. Introducing new systems of integrated synergistic components which create exceptional, high-performance winter gear: The Advanced Technology Series is way of the future. † Despite their fundamental changes in corporate strategy, effective operations management remains a critical part of the ongoing success of Sport Obermeyer Ltd. Exhibits Exhibit 1. 0 – Supply Chain [pic] Exhibit 2. 0 – Comparative Analysis |Hong Kong |Greater China | |Advantages |Disadvantages |Advantages |Disadvantages | |Workers 50% faster than Chinese |Shorter hours worked, less |Significantly lower wage/hour |Workers not as efficient | |counterparts |overtime allowance |(US$0. 6/hr) |Narrower range of tasks | |Higher weekly output/worker |Higher labour costs |Ample supply of manufacturing |Long production lines | |Trained in broader range of |Shortage of younger workers |human resources |Much higher minimum order | |tasks |Insufficient number of workers |Lower landed cost |quantity for same style | |Lower minimum order quantity for|Higher landed costs | |Slow repair rate (10%) | |same style | | | | |Fast repair rate (1-2%) | | | | Exhibit 3. 0 – Speculative Production Quantities Assumptions ? All ten styles are made in Hong Kong, and Obermeyer's initial production commitment is at least 10,000 units. Different unit costs of production are inapplicable |Style |Average Forecast ( µ)|Standard |2x Standard Deviation |Product Quantity | | | |Deviation |(? i) | | |   |   | |Isis |357. 24 | |Entice |832. 24 | |Assault |1804. 2 | |Teri |292. 28 | |Electra |1293. 52 | |Stephanie |2. 12 | |Seduced |2838. 28 | |Anita |1076. 36 | Daphne |905. 36 | Exhibit 4. 0- Product Life Cycle [pic][9] Project Management Group Three: Craig Brown, Evan Farquhar , Jay Maynard, Sarah-May Kilpatrick, Sean Vrooman The first step taken was to appoint a Project Manager for our group. We decided to appoint Sean Vrooman due to his background in Human Resources and having a strong understanding of Project Management. The first thing put into place was we created a plan for how we would structure this assignment. First we analyzed what the objectives were and how we could meet them over a timeline. We then devolved a work break-down schedule to split up certain tasks to individuals in the group. Our first meeting was Tuesday November 3rd, 2009. We decided to meet every Tuesday but with limited resources we decided to start meeting twice a week for the last three weeks to help us move at a faster pace through the project. In total we met seven times with emails back and forth discussing and analyzing each other’s work. After implementing a schedule based on our working methods we had a very strong and competent order of who was doing what part of the paper and how we were going to present our material to the class. No methods were required In genereal this group functioned very well together. Everyone contributed in a very equal and professional manor. We completed this project on time and did not need the assistance of any extra materials like Gannt charts or critical paths. ———————– [1] Janice H. Hammond, Ananth Raman, Harvard Business School, Sport Obermeyer, Ltd. [2] Janice H. Hammond, Ananth Raman, Harvard Business School, Sport Obermeyer, Ltd. [3] www. personal. umd. umich. edu/~drossin/class/gommo4 [4] courses. washington. edu/smartman/Ass3. htm [5] http://www. quickmba. com/ops/scm/ [6] Heizer_9_ch4 [7] [pic]678GOP’? E? †¢Ã‚ ±- = O f o iU?  §Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ¢â‚¬ ¦tcRcRcRcAcAc! hâ‚ ¬Uhz B*OJQJaJphy! hâ‚ ¬UhI? www2. isye. gatech. edu/~jvandeva/Classes/6203/†¦ /12Obermeyer. ppt [8] www. utdallas. edu/~metin/Or6366/Folios/scnewproduct. ppt [9] Heizer_9_ch4

Keystone XL pipeline Essay

Keystone XL pipeline will be great for United States economy because it will bring more taxes to government from oil companies and public. However, the effect on the environment, economy and residents of America are destructive. The things through which people and environment will be affected are: Water, forest destruction, disease. First, the Keystone XL pipeline would travel through rivers such as Missouri river, Yellowstone, and Red rivers. Two million of population is depended on these rivers for drinking water. If somehow oil spill into these river, it would be a great disaster because people will be out of water until is completely clean again. Also, there marine life will die because of oil which will affect the business of the marine industry. In short, Keystone Xl pipeline will become expense for government. The expenses would be greater than the taxes gathered by the Keystone Xl pipeline Second, In the process of digging up tar sands oil, the forests are destroyed. As fores t plays an important role to protect environment by consuming Carbon dioxide and providing oxygen for human and animals. The more oil means more emission of Carbon dioxide and less forest to make clean environment. In addition, Animals will die or will travel to different areas which will impact the environment of that area. Because all animals play part in the environment: some help to provide food for humans, some help in the cycle of different nutrients throughout the ecosystem, and others help to speed up decomposition. Third, the location where tars sands oil is extracted has increased the rates of Cancer in surrounding areas. For example, â€Å"In the lakeside village of Fort Chipewyan[..] 100 of the town’s 1,200 residents have died from cancer.†(Foe) If spoil spill in American communities it will also increase cancer in American population. Country’s biggest asset is its people. If citizens are not healthy then they are unable to work which ultimately will have negative impact on the country’s economy. All in all, United States will have disastrous impact on its environment, economy, and residents.