Decision Support and Business Intelligence Systems 9th...

Decision Support and Business Intelligence Systems, 9th Edition Decision Support System - HW #1 - Chapter 1. Exercise 2 amp; 3 Chapter 1. Internet Exercise 4 amp; 8 Chapter 2. Exercise 5 amp; 9 Chapter 2. Exercise 3 amp; 4 lt; Chap 1. Exercises 2 gt; Enter the TUN site and select â€Å"cases, projects and assignments.† Then select the case study: â€Å"Harrah’s High Payoff from Customer Information.† Answer the following questions about this case: a. What information does the data mining generate? Answer) Customer behavior and preference related data. It is needed to analyze customer behavior and preference data. To generate the necessary data and understand customers’ preferences, Harrah’s had to mine the data. From†¦show more content†¦* Developed strategies to retain the top high value customers. * Developed strategies to move unprofitable customers to lower cost distribution channels, different products, or pricing structures that boost profitability, while still focusing on customer needs and preferences; developed strategies to expand relationships with all customers. * Redesigned products and distribution channels to increase profitability and better meet customers needs and preferences. * Redesigned information flows, work processes, and jobs in order to meet customers’ needs and increase their use of profitable products. 3. What operational and tactical advantages were achieved? They are: * Client Information: customer Preferences and Profiles. This information is used in many ways, including targeting marketing efforts and in designing the best mix of distribution channels. By better understanding the preferences of high value customers, FAC was able to design marketing programs that increased revenues by 15% in this market segment. * Flexible Product Lines: Product Profitability Analysis for Seniors Accounts. It helps FAC to know the profitability of its various products. FAC was able to improve its risk-adjusted returns on equity from less than 20% to over 50%, while experiencing no overall loss in account balances. * Consistent Service: Contact ManagementShow MoreRelatedDecision Support and Business Intelligence Systems 9th Edition Ch12 Exercise5913 Words   |  24 PagesDecision Support and Business Intelligence Systems, 9th Edition Decision Support System - HW #1 - Chapter 1. Exercise 2 amp; 3 Chapter 1. Internet Exercise 4 amp; 8 Chapter 2. Exercise 5 amp; 9 Chapter 2. Exercise 3 amp; 4 lt; Chap 1. Exercises 2 gt; Enter the TUN site and select â€Å"cases, projects and assignments.† Then select the case study: â€Å"Harrah’s High Payoff from Customer Information.† Answer the following questions about this case: a. What information does the data mining generate

When Disaster Strikes Bp s Risk Management Failure Essay

When Disaster Strikes: BP’s Risk Management Failure Risk is a concept that many organizations deal with on an everyday basis. In fact, risk is an integral facet of operating an organization. Risk has negative connotations, but that is a misnomer, because many organizations make use of it for positive gain. One way of looking at risk is that it is what an organization lays on the line so that they can gain something in return. Risk is not inherently bad; it is how an organization manages it that matters. If an organization fails to manage risk properly then that is when problems ensue. In this paper, we will take a look at an example of a company that failed to manage risk properly and explain how it could have been averted. The company that we are going to focus on is British Petroleum (BP) and how their failure to manage risk has resulted in the largest marine oil spill in history. It is through examining and understanding what went wrong that we will be able to find out that risk is always present, it is managing it that matters. In the case of BP, the risks piled up without any safeguards. The disaster that would highlight BP’s failure to manage risk properly is the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The disaster barely needs an introduction because it is known as one of the most devastating manmade disasters in history. The problem that is the culmination of failed risk management happened on April 20, 2010 in the BP operated Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of MexicoShow MoreRelatedDisaster Disasters Of The Gulf Of Mexico2711 Words   |  11 Pageshistory there have been many disasters that have plagued humanity. These disasters have caused an untold amount of damages and an untold number of lives lost. Each disaster is different from each other and each can leave their own impact on human civilization. Many of these disasters are of the nature variety, these typically include your hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, and many others that can impact humani ty. We can’t control these types of disasters, any many of them can strike at any time with littleRead MoreThe Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Essay2353 Words   |  10 PagesThe e Deepwater Horizon oil spill at the Macondo well began on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on 20 April 2010 killed 11 people and caused almost 5 million barrels of oil to flow into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill covered 68,000 square miles of land and sea and triggered a response effort involving the use of nearly 2 million gallons of dispersant chemicals (Pallardy). Considered the largest accidentalRead MoreNegligence Of Social Contract And Its Breaching2467 Words   |  10 Pages Introduction: BP oil spill which is also called the deep water horizon spill have become one of the largest oil spill in the history that began on 20 April 2014. There was discharged of 4.9 million barrels of oil i.e. in the floor of the gulf of Mexico which caused the death of 11 lives, 6104 birds and also the sea turtles as well as the 100 dolphin .likewise, it also affect several wildlife’s .This disaster have wiped nearly about $40 million from the market value of BP’s and also in may 2010Read MoreBusiness Continuity Plans And The Disaster Recovery Plan1580 Words   |  7 Pages(BCP) and the Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) are twin resources derived to preserve vital organization operations when facing an unsuspecting disaster. A disaster can be either natural or man-made. Natural disasters include floods, fires, earthquakes, and lightning strikes. Some of the more common man-made disasters are acts of terrorism, thefts, office violence, and sabotage. However, for business any a ction that stops or reduces productivity, it is conceived as being a disaster. For example ifRead MoreComprehensive Security Management Plan8534 Words   |  35 PagesColorado Technical University Comprehensive Security Management Plan for Colorado History Individual Project 5 By Roy A. Kelly II Colorado Springs, Colorado December 22, 2012 Table of Contents Project Outline 4 Security Requirements 5 Organizational Chart (Colorado Historical Society, 2012) 5 Proposed Security Working Group 6 Security Business Requirements 9 Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) 9 Capability Levels 11 Base Practices 11 ProceduresRead MoreBp 7s Analysis10010 Words   |  41 PagesBP plc[3][4]  (LSE:  BP,  NYSE:  BP) is a British  multinational  oil  and  gas  company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and  fourth-largest company in the world  measured by 2011 revenues and is one of the six oil and gas supermajors.[5][6]  It is  vertically integrated  and operates in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including  exploration  and  production,refining,  distribution and marketing,  petrochemicals,  power generation  and  trading. It also has  renewableRead MoreBp 7s Analysis10000 Words   |  40 PagesBP plc[3][4]  (LSE:  BP,  NYSE:  BP) is a British  multinational  oil  and  gas  company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and  fourth-largest company in the world  measured by 2011 revenues and is one of the six oil and gas supermajors.[5][6 ]  It is  vertically integrated  and operates in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including  exploration  and  production,refining,  distribution and marketing,  petrochemicals,  power generation  and  trading. It also has  renewableRead MoreTata Steel Strategy7930 Words   |  32 Pagesindustry 5 Strategic Capabilities 7 Tata Steel’s strategic purpose: 10 Shareholder or stakeholder values perspective? 10 Corporate values, mission and vision as expression of the strategic purpose. 11 Cultural influences. 13 Strategic Drift risk 13 Paradigm 14 Conclusion 15 Appendix n °1 17 1.1) Analysis of PESTEL framework. 17 1.2) Analysis of the Five Forces Framework. 17 1.3) Different perspectives to strategy: Outside in perspective/Inside out perspective. 18 2.1) StrategicRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 PagesPROJECT MANAGEMENT CASE STUDIES, SECOND EDITION - PROJECT MANAGEMENT CASE STUDIES, SECOND EDITION HAROLD KERZNER, Ph.D. Division of Business Administration Baldwin-Wallace College Berea, Ohio John Wiley Sons, Inc. This book is printed on acid-free paper. @ Copyright O 2006 by John Wiley Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored inRead MoreInternational Management67196 Words   |  269 PagesThis page intentionally left blank International Management Culture, Strategy, and Behavior Eighth Edition Fred Luthans University of Nebraska–Lincoln Jonathan P. Doh Villanova University INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT: CULTURE, STRATEGY, AND BEHAVIOR, EIGHTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright  © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions  © 2009

From Oil to Renewable Energy Essay - 1870 Words

The world is depended on oil and soon oil will become more valuable than gold and could lead to a worldwide war. Price for oil could soar to above two hundred fifty dollars per barrel. Oil and other fuel cell also cause green house gases which contribute to global warming. China is consuming two times more petroleum than 1996 and India is projected to consume three times the oil it currently does by 2050. Global house gas emission has increased by twenty percent from 2003 to 2006. Energy consumption has increased exponentially throughout the globe. The U.S. department of energy projects energy consumption will increase seventy percent from 2003 to 2030. The world has agreed to reduce emission by twenty five percent before 2020 and by over†¦show more content†¦Unlike gasoline or diesel, biofuels release little pollution. It can also be used to produce electricity by heating water using biofuels and using the steam produced to rotate a turbine. Another method is to allow the biofuel to decay and produce methane. Methane is commonly used as fuel for car, heating, cooking, and producing electricity. Many including Rothkopf, Grunwalf, and Ruiz-Marrero claim that biofuel is not the solution but rather will become a problem. They claim that if biofuel was produced in large quantity then agriculture would convert from food to fuel. According to the World Bank, over seventy five percent of the rises in food prices is directly caused by biofuel. Indonesia is the leading producer of palm oil, a major biofuel. In order to increase productivity, the people destroyed thousands of trees to plant palm tree. The destruction led to an increase in carbon production. Indonesia moved from the 21st most carbon producer to the third. Another major producer of biofuel is Brazil. If Brazilian farmers were to deforest the Amazon rainforest, it could cause a fifty percent increase in global warming. Through the world, deforestation accounts for over twenty percent of carbon emission. A gallon of biofuel requires the same amount of grain as a person would eat in a year. The switch from food to fuel wou ld cause a worldwide food shortage and an increase in world hunger. Another major issue with biofuel isShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Drilling On Offshore Drilling1667 Words   |  7 Pagesconversation as well as legislation for change. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which began on April 20, 2010 and raged on for months caused tremendous devastation and pollution to the ecosystem. Discussion about offshore oil drilling and regulations was inevitable after the spill. In President Obama’s Oval Office speech after the spill, he makes a claim that offshore drilling must be more strictly regulated, and a shift towards clean, renewable energy must be made. In light of this disaster this isRead MoreOil Shortage During The United States1544 Words   |  7 PagesOil Shortage in the United States In the modern day, technology alters our life better. That technology, such as cell-phones, cars, washing machines, microwaves make our life more efficient and comfortable. We can call or text our friends and family immediately or drive to their house whenever we want. Moreover, we do not need to wash cloths with our hands. Technology helps us to save a lot of time to do other things. On the other hand, these advantages make us more and more rely on technology. ActuallyRead MoreRenewable Energy Sector : Saudi Arabia1557 Words   |  7 Pagesnew sources of energy in Saudi Arabia led the Saudi authorities to consider investing in the renewable energy sector. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil producer and exporter, but its dominance in oil production threatens the country’s environment. Therefore, Investing in the renewable energy sector would be a good substitute of a polluting source of energy; moreover, it would lesser the expensive costs of oil-based energy. How ever, turning Saudi Arabia into the renewable energy sector would requireRead MoreEssay on Renewable Energy: The Switch is Now1504 Words   |  7 Pagesshortage. Oil reserves are almost completely consumed and it is becoming impossible to find new fossil fuel sources. Not prepared for this event to occur, The United States, has no alternative options. As a result of the oil shortage, the standard of living deteriorates. Heat in homes, supermarkets full of food, and transportation, all basic necessities taken for granted, will be depleted because fossil fuels are used to power almost everything. The key to the prevention of this future is renewable energyRead MoreEthanol Essay782 Words   |  4 Pagesof a barrel of oil this summer reached a record high of nearly $100. How has this happened and how much higher could oil go? The United States dependence on foreign oil is at an all time high. Nations supplying this oil are pumping at a record pace and maximum capacity. If any of thes e nations fail to supply the U.S. because of a terror attack or bad relations, the economy would be negatively impacted. How can the U.S. reduce dependence on imported fuels and diversify our energy supply? In recentRead MoreSustainability And Construction Practices : Department Of Civil Engineering1256 Words   |  6 Pages 3 Scope of renewable energy 3 Types of renewable energy i. Solar power 3 ii. Wind power 5 iii. Biomass 6 iv. Geothermal energy 7 v. hydropower 8 Conclusion 8 References 9â€Æ' RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY IN SUSTAINABILITY INTRODUCTION: It is the energy comes from natural resources like sun light, wind, rain water and geothermal heat. As we all know that coal, oil, gas are limited in nature they might run out some day renewable energy is the best wayRead MoreThe Global Consumption Of Oil904 Words   |  4 PagesThe global consumption of oil has been deliberately rising for past two decades. The use of energy resources all over the world has raised concerns over the consumption of energy resources and its environmental impacts. In this essay, an attempt is made to picture the geographies of energy consumption that increased attention to carbon emissions in the G7 and BRICs and countries like India, China, Brazil, U.S.A and Canada and its implications for human society, climate and political or economic dimensionsRead MoreAddicted to Oil1208 Words   |  5 PagesAddicted To Oil The United States uses nearly a quarter of the world’s oil. This would not be a problem if the U.S. had a large oil reserve but it only has 3% of the world’s reserves for 4% of the population (Pickens). This huge dependence on oil is costing us economically and also threatens our dreams. The United States needs to become more energy independent by using sources other than oil. Many alternative sources are available but renewable sources provide the brightest future. Read MoreThe Environmental Movement Of North Dakota1429 Words   |  6 Pagesspring of 2016, an environmental movement began in North Dakota that today, is making history. In Cannonball, North Dakota, Native Americans have gathered to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline; resulting in one the largest gatherings of Native Americans from multiple tribes the United States has witnessed in over a century (Northcott, 2016). One tribe in particular, the North Dakota Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, have been leading and organizing the protest against the construction of the Dakota Access PipelineRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Renewable Energy Essay1579 Words   |  7 Pagesfuel based economy to provide energy sources for transportation, electronics, heat, and many other products. Gasoline and diesel are two products that are used to fuel our automobiles, trains, and airplanes. Also, resources such as oil, coal, and natural gas are used by power plants for fuel. If the supply of the se fossil fuels ever become depleted, the country would completely collapse and we would have no source of energy. People rely on these fossil fuels for energy and once they become a limited

Beethovens 9th Symphony Movement 1 Analysis - 799 Words

To assign the first movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony the sonata form would truly be a subjective judgment. I will first explain how this movement fits thesonata form; then I will discuss how it diverges from this form in rather fascinating ways. Broadly speaking, the first movement can be divided in to three pieces, each beginning with a version of what I have denoted A_0, the introduction to the piece inwhich motifs float around in a constant void, gaining energy, and morphing into musicalthemes. If we were to impose the sonata structure onto the piece, we would say that the three pieces are the exposition, development, and recapitulation. The exposition introduces two large thematic blocks separated by a transition that†¦show more content†¦Sometimes, these two voices will overlap, creating a sense of a fugue, where two melodic lines flow at different times along the same stream. Although he breaks up the soft legato sequences with loud, harsh staccato chords for contrast, Beethoven generally preserves a milddynamic in part B which also helps obscure the switch from the transition to part B. Infact, a loud dynamic actually seems to signal a transition out of part B; in B_2’, the B_2 theme is repeated in seq uence, getting louder, faster, and higher pitched until it climaxes.We expect this to become the cadence that will resolve the exposition and allow us tomove on to the development. However, it is a false ending; B_5 again resumes a moderate tempo and is played primarily by the woodwinds; the strings enter in littlespurts with loud, crisp notes until they join the woodwinds and the entire orchestra plays together to conclude the exposition. It is truly difficult to isolate a dominating theme or melody from part B. In fact, italmost sounds as if Beethoven is wordpainting the act of composing music, of throughrecycling rhythmic, melodic, and contrapuntal ideas. For example, the rhythm in this section is composed of sets of patterns of long and short notes. B_1 starts of with ‘- ‘-,where ‘ represents a short note and – a long note. B_2 becomes -‘’ -‘’, and then

Ultimate Goal free essay sample

You may also want to explain unique aspects of your academic background or allude experiences you may have had that relate to your academic discipline. The statement of purpose is not meant to be a listing of accomplishments in high school or a record of your participation in school-related activities. Rather, this is your opportunity to address the admission committee directly and to let us know more about you as an individual, in a manner that your transcripts and the other application information cannot convey Essay: As a 1 7 year old freshman in college still had my doubts as to what I wanted out of life. I had no clue as to what my passion was. Persuaded by my fathers reams and my love for mathematics, I decided to choose the challenging major of Biomedical Engineering. I was determined to fulfill this profession with the thought of helping people and making the life of patients, doctors, and heath professionals much easier with new machinery. As freshman SEE BELOW know it is a bit lengthy but do not know what to omit and what to keep. If there is anything you have to say about it or you think i should completely change my direction do not feel afraid to say so.Thanking for your feedback. Karl Terrazzo microdensitometer: 4 posts: 15 seep 14, 2010, 09:pm #2 o want your essay to be as concise as possible. So cut down words such as as to and just make it IL had no clue what my passions were also you can replace as to with regarding in your opening sentence. Many may ask why so many changes this clause is awkward. Make it Many may question the reasons behind my numerous field changes. or something along those lines. Be more specific.My ultimate goal is to save lives, teach the community Of preventive health, watch life happen, help those women who are single mothers, those who do not know how to take care of themselves when pregnant. elaborate on this. Scribe dont tell and list and flat out give away the objective of your essay. l will like to make a difference in the world by working with the most it should be l would like hope helped! Just remember to be specific, refrain from telling your story and rather describe it in vivid detail. Also cut down on redundant words to make your essay as concise as possible Nicole Montanan Posts: 12 Edited by: Carlsbad seep 16, 2010, 08:pm #3 Success has infinite definitions; it all comes down to who is defining the term. In my case, success accounts for reaching that point of satisfaction in what I do and being my best at it. After an indecisive first year of college I found what I wanted to do with my life. I achieved my freshman year of college switching from engineering to biology to nursing, searching for the subject of my best interest.Throughout my search, found the health science road to be the one to follow in order to achieve success. Am eager to start achieving my long term goals as a physician. As get closer to graduating and entering the work field I find myself reading and researching for such things as diseases, people, health, science, viruses, and more. Am most interested in the formation of a fetus and the womans productive system ever since saw it in my Anatomy class. I wish to know about prenatal problems, AIDS, the breast, infections, viruses, genealogy in its totality. Mound my passion. I cannot wait to treat patients and find more about their conditions. My long-term goal is to become a gynecologist and presence the birth of many children. Am not in it for the money. My desire is to help the most needed. Wish to work with those women who do not have the resources to take care of their health. Those who lack the education necessary to treat them, prevent AIDS and SST ADS, and unwanted pregnancies. Ant to exercise preventive health and inform women about the consequences of unprotected sex and other situations.My job will not only consist of medical abilities but communication between my patients and me. I hope to treat as many women as I can and save their lives from long-term diseases and walk them through their pregnancies. I dream for my own clinic, one such as the Planned Parenthood clinic Laredo counts with. I believe In giving to receive and that is exactly what am aiming for. I want to help my patients with their most important asset, their health, in order to obtain arsenal satisfaction by doing what I love and helping others. Besides my love for science and medicine also enjoy reading, writing, and thinking. Eve mathematics which defines me as a person who is always willing to think outside the fox. My desire to become a physician goes way further then just accomplishing a goal. Becoming a doctor for me is reaching the top of the ice berg. It is proving me that can use my critical thinking skills, intelligence, and passion to obtain the farthest academic and professional reach for me. Being dedicated, hard-working, outspoken, and concentrated at al times will lead me to not only accomplish what I set my mind to but give the university an outstanding student. Have managed to work part-time, maintain a 3. GAP and exercise my hobbies such as ballet and soccer until this point. Yet, if going into the biological science school of UT and giving it my all to succeed means abandoning my extracurricular activities then by all means. I am willing to give the university, the school, and myself the outstanding student I am. Finding the best way to obtain your goals is not an easy task. After hard work and a long search, I found my perfect match: The University of Texas at Austin. Find this university to be of my best interest. It counts with great advising and mentoring for medical school.The variety of majors within the biology fields is amazing. Neurology, microbiology, human biology, they all sound perfect. With the universities abilities to create great students, professionals, and members of society and my hard work and dedication I know I will get the basis to achieve graduation, medical school, and genealogy specialization. Hello. I just went to the writing center at my university and they collaborated with me to changed my essay to the point where it had to be changed completely. Please give me your feedback on this, really appreciate it!IF Seventeenths: 33 Posts: 14,300 [Moderator] Seep 17, 2010, 09:AMA #4 doubts as to what I wanted out of life. I had no clue as to- like the revised version without this!!! Great improvements.. . Throughout my search, I found the health science road to be the one to follow in order to achieve success. is success the right word here? Maybe you mean my ideal of success. Or maybe you can think of another word that is much better than success Use a comma for a compound sentence: believe in giving to receive, and that is exactly what am aiming for.

Strategic Management in Halliburton - Oil and Gas Service Industry

Question: Discuss about the Oil and Gas Service Industry for Strategic Management in Halliburton? Answer: Introduction Purpose of this report is to discuss management of strategic decisions within the organization. In this, influence of internal and external factors on the objectives and strategies of firm along with the need of flexible strategic management is discussed. Halliburton, a United States of America (USA) based company that offers field services to the oil and gas corporations is selected to access strategic management. The existing position of this company is analysed in this report to suggest possible strategic options. Thus, this report includes environmental analysis of Halliburton with the application of strategic management tools to understand potential changes and to recommend strategic option. Environmental or Situational Analysis In order to analyse position of a firm for strategic management purpose, it is critical to analyse internal and external environment. An analysis of business environment helps to understand situation of a business in an informed manner (Simerson, 2011). The current state of Halliburton is analysed below with the application of three models namely PESTEL, Porters five forces and SWOT: PESTLE Analysis: This model is used to understand the influence of external environment on the strategies and objectives of Halliburton. Political: The government of USA supports oil field service companies as it contributes in providing jobs to the large population and generating national income. This creates favorable environment for Halliburton to expand business in the other countries and to undertake several oil reserves. But at the same time, government has taken several actions to resolve concern of people related to the pipeline accidents (Hill and Jones, 2014). Environmental sustainability becomes one of the major corporative objectives of Halliburton. In 2014, this has reduced environmental accidents by 10 percent that helped it to make favorable political landscape for conducting business. This also becomes a member of several trade associations to participate in legislation activity (Halliburton, 2014). Political interventions in the operations of oil field services are increasing continuously that may create sustainability issues for Halliburton. Economic: The economic condition of US shows signs of slow economic growth. GDP of this country is increased by 1.9 percent in 2015 from the previous year. In 2014, GPP growth rate was 2.5 percent that indicates slow rate of economic growth (BEA, 2016). This economic slowdown has an adverse impact on the demand of commodities and goods. It influences demand of oils and gas in this country. Frequent currency fluctuations and taxation also are likely to increase that may affect operations of Halliburton. Net income of this company declined in 2015 than 2014 that also indicates negative effect of economic slowdown on the performance of this company. Halliburton has also taken job cutting strategy by dismissing 6,620 employees in 2015 for managing effects of slowdown on the operations (Helman, 2015). This strategy has affected its ability to attract and retain employees and to manage operational cost. Social: Social aspect of this country creates operational challenges for this firm. Lack of availability of skilled and proficient workers creates considerable challenges for Halliburton to reduce operational cost. In order to develop required skills and to educate employees for safety concerns, it conducts Code of Business Conduct (COBC) training. In 2014, 63,000 employees completed training that incurred huge cost for this company. Similarly, well-being of employees and their families becomes an important concern (Halliburton, 2014). Due to decline in oil price, Halliburton faced considerable difficulties to maintain job security and to satisfy employees. Several laws and regulations are developed by the government to introduce minimum standards of workplace health and safety (Annual Report, 2014). Halliburton spent invest considerable time and money to fulfill legislation requirements. It also creates issue of high operational cost. Technological: The demand of advanced drilling technogies has increased due to strict laws and regulations for oil drilling activities. Due to the oil spill in Gulf of Mexico, oil and gas companies face strict regulations that enhance cost of drilling activities. Oil and gas companies are tended to use more efficient rigs. The demand of innovation and technological advances provides a source of creating competitive advantage (Ronald Berger, 2015). Halliburton invests significant amount of money in the research and dveloplement activities for introducing highly efficient rigs to the firms that also influences operational cost. In order to maintain innovations, Halliburton has acquired Europump Systems Inc. and Neftex Petroleum Consultants Ltd as they allowed this firm to provide more efficient oil field services to the companies (Annual Report, 2014). Volatility in price of raw material including steel, titanium, copper, etc. has affected this firms ability to invent low-cost drilling equipments. Environmental: Natural disaster and abnormal weather conditions has significant influence on the drilling activities of Halliburton. This affects ability to carry out activities as per the schedule that reduces output and enhances overall project cost. Climate change becomes major global issues due to which this company is accountable to follow environmental laws and regulations (Flaharty and Waheed, 2015). Due to this, Halliburton has initiated several efforts to ensure environmental safety. In 2014, frequency of environmental incidents is reduced by 10 percent at Halliburton. The increase in environmental concerns may create risk of increasing cost and reducing profitability (Halliburton, 2014). Legal: Halliburton is accountable to follow several local and international laws and regulations. Employment law, environmental safety, corporate governance, etc. related laws influence business activities. In order to follow these laws, Halliburton makes several changes in operational processes and practices that require huge investment (Halliburton, 2014). It may also increase operational cost for the firm. Porters Five Forces Analysis This model is used to understand influence of competitive forces on the present and future performance of Halliburton Threat of New Entrants: In US, high level of entry barriers exists that reduces threat of new entrants in the oil field services. High capital requirements and complex regulatory obligations make this industry inaccessible for the new entrants. In order to offer oil field services, fixed up-front investments are required to acquire drill equipments, skilled labor, energy, materials, etc. that creates entry barriers for new entrants. But at the same time, attractiveness of industry persuades upstream oil and gas companies to acquire oilfield service companies for reducing operational cost (Davila et al., 2013). It may reduce demand of oil field services that can affect Halliburton to manage growth. Access over distribution channel and economies of scales also create entry barriers. Bargaining Power of Buyers: In the oil field service industry, large buyers have potential to influence the profitability of the companies. Oil and gas companies purchase high volume and due to this they influence firms ability to charge high prices for the services. But, the demand of experienced service providers has increased due to increase in safety and health concerns. Increase in demand of fossil oil and high switching cost may allow Halliburton to increase service charges (Doshi et al., 2015). In this way, buyers bargaining power is moderate in this industry. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Suppliers of the oil field service industry can influence profitability of Halliburton by increasing oil prices or reducing quality of their products and services. In this industry, operations of firm mainly depend on the quality and efficiency of drilling equipments to save cost and to improve customer satisfaction. Increase in prices of raw material such as different metals including copper, steel, titanium, etc. affect ability to plan cost that create significant issues for Halliburton in maintaining profits (Gold, 2014). But at the same time, oil field service firms make bulk purchase that reduces bargaining power of suppliers in significant manner. Threat of Substitute Products and Services: This affects ability of operating firms to enhance market and to create source of value creation. In the oil field service industry of UK, substitutions threats occur indirectly from the different source of energy. Due to decline in oil reserves, oil and gas companies plans to focus on producing energy from the different means including coal, natural gas, nuclear and renewable sources. It may reduce demand of oil field services that could affect consumer base of Halliburton (Davila et al., 2013). Government also supports production of renewable energy due to environmental concerns that could create issues for this company. Intensity of Rivalry among Competitors in the Industry: In the oil field services, major players include Transocean, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Weatherford, etc. Oil field service industry in UK includes few but large players that create intense competition among operating firms. These firms engage in corporate restructuring activities including merger, acquisition, alliances, etc. to limit influence of competition. Similarly, slow industry growth rate also increases competition among firms that may exert high pressure on Halliburton to reduce prices (Doshi et al., 2015). High exist barrier in this industry also forces firms to operate despite of negative returns. In addition to this, high fixed cost and absence of differentiation also intensify competition in the oil field service industry. In this way, competition level is quite high in this industry (Beyazay, 2015). In conclusion, competitive situation of this industry shows trend of decline in sustainable profit. Halliburton may face issues in maintaining position and profitability. SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis This framework is used to analyse current state and future business environment for Halliburton. Below is the SWOT analysis for Halliburton: Strengths: Strong reputation and brand value Higher sales margin Field expertise and experience Market leader Largest share in the market of North America Strong RD Weaknesses: Low share in international markets such as Middle East, Asia, Africa than the competitors Increase in operational cost Negative image due to environmental controversies Legal cost Currency fluctuations Opportunities Increase in oil and gas consumption Expansion opportunities in international markets Increase in demand of natural gas Acquisition of small companies Threats Economic slowdown Strict and complex regulations Environmental disasters Volatility in oil prices On the basis of above analysis, it can be depicted that Halliburton has immense opportunities to maintain leadership in the market by addressing potential challenges effectively. Halliburton has strong reputation, field expertise, domestic presence and RD that provides an effective floor to maintain dominate place in the market. For example: Halliburton announced acquisition of rival Baker Hughe, which was the major rival of it. Due to this, it becomes a largest company in terms of market share. This company lacks significant share in the international marks that increases dependency on the revenue of national market (Doshi et al., 2015). It affects Halliburton to manage profitability due to decline in demand of energy in US market. Similarly, pipeline accidents also affect reputation of Halliburton in the market that reduces scope of charging high prices. Loss of reputation allows buyers to bargain for service charges that reduces profitability of Halliburton (Kaiser, 2015). In addition to this, it is also determined that demand of other energy sources such as natural gas, solar power, wind power, etc. creates opportunities for Halliburton to make effective presence in the international and national market. For example: people in Asia pay huge prices for natural gas. US become a major exporter of natural gas. Halliburton has opportunity to increase market presence in the market and to sustain profitability. Beside this, this firm can face challenges due to strict regulations and to volatile oil prices (Beyazay, 2015). Government of US and other countries of the world are likely to increase strictness in regulations for oil field services industry. It can demand changes in different operational protocols and standards that may increases business cost for Halliburton. Unfavorable economic environment leads delay in drilling activities, which reduces productivity and increases operational cost (Kaiser, 2015). Thus, Halliburton has enough strength to capital ise opportunities and to limit weaknesses and challenges. Suggestions for Strategic Options An analysis of business environment provides an effective floor to determine existing and potential state of Halliburton. On the basis of this, different strategic options can be suggested for this company (Harrison and John, 2013). Porters generic strategies and Ansoff matrix are strategic management tools used to suggest strategies: Porters Generic Strategies This model provides three strategic options such as cost leadership, differentiation and focus for businesses to gain competitive advantage and to increase market share. Cost leadership strategy helps firms to increase competitiveness by reducing cost and offering right quality at the lower prices to the customers. Differentiation strategy includes making offerings different from the competitors and to induce customers to pay more for the similar goods and services. By making innovative and high quality offerings, firm can attract customers more effectively (Ginter, 2013). Focus strategy allows firm to target niche market by reducing offerings price or improving quality. Differentiation strategy can be used by Halliburton to improve profitability. With the use of strong expertise and RD, this firm can improve quality and efficiency of drilling equipments. Through this, it can fulfill demand of highly efficient and safe pipelines. By this, it can limit legal issues and financial losses in the significant manner. Differentiation strategy requires huge investment in RD, but this can be recovered by offering value added drilling equipments to the customers. This strategy could help Halliburton to improve reputation and customer satisfaction (Smith, 2012). It would be effective for enhancing market share and competitiveness of Halliburton in the highly competitive business environment. Ansoff Matrix This model presents four strategic options for the customers, which depicts in below figure: The above figure indicates that market penetration, product development, market development and diversification can be used by firms. Halliburton can use product development strategy as it would be more effective to capitalise opportunities from increase in demand of natural gas and oil in the international countries. Halliburton needs to develop machinery and equipments to develop new energy sources including natural gas, wind energy, solar energy, etc (Triantis, 2013). By using strong reputation and expertise, it can offer more reliable products and services in the field of energy production. This may help Halliburton to increase presence in the international markets. There is a huge demand of natural gas in the Asian market (Bouchentouf, 2011). By establishing plants for natural gas production, it can reduce dependency over the oil products and revenue of national market. Apart from this, improvements in the operational efficiency can also be useful for Halliburton to improve offerings in the existing market. Through this, it can offer efficient equipments to the companies of Middle East and Africa (Piercy, 2012). This could also be helpful to address concerns of pipeline accidents and to reduce legal cost. By indentifying and acquiring assets with effective net worth, it can enhance profitability (Kaiser, 2015). It can acquire similar firms to enhance offerings and to boost production level. Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be concluded that volatile oil price, strict regulations, demand of efficient rig, volatile price of raw material, etc. are some issued faced by Halliburton. It creates difficulties in sustaining profits. This could create major problems for this company. Differentiation and product development strategy can be used by Halliburton to convert existing issues into the opportunities. Through these strategies, it can apply existing sources of strengths in capitalising opportunities and limiting challenges. This would help to generate profits from the operations despite of competitive business environment. References Annual Report (2014) Halliburton. [Online]. Available at: https://www.halliburton.com/public/pubsdata/sd/sustainability-report-2014.pdf [Accessed: 19 March 2016]. Beyazay, B. (2015) The Nature of the Firm in the Oil Industry: International Oil Companies in Global Business. UK: Routledge. Bouchentouf, A. (2011) Commodities for dummies. USA: John Wiley Sons. Bureau of Economic Analysis (2016) National Income and Product Accounts. [Online]. Available at: https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm [Accessed: 19 March 2016]. Davila, T., Epstein, M., Shelton, R., Cagan, J., Vogel, C. M. (2013) How to Become Innovative. FT Press. Doshi, V., Corrigan, J., Maxson, S. and Maestro, A. D. (2015) Its time for oil services to address shortcomings and find strategic solutions. [Online]. Available at: https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Surviving-the-worst.pdf [Accessed: 19 March 2016]. Flaharty, G., and Waheed, N. (2015) Customer-Anchored Supply Chains: An Executives Guide to Building Competitive Advantage in the Oil Patch. Archway Publishing. Ginter, P.M. (2013) The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations. USA: John Wiley Sons. Gold, R. (2014). The boom: How fracking ignited the American energy revolution and changed the world. USA: Simon and Schuster. Halliburton (2014) Sustainability Report. [Online]. Available at: https://www.halliburton.com/public/pubsdata/sd/sustainability-report-2014.pdf [Accessed: 19 March 2016]. Harrison, J. and John, C. (2013) Foundations in Strategic Management. 6th ed. USA: Cengage Learning. Helman, C (2015) Itemizing The Oil Bust: 75,000 Layoffs And Counting. [Online]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2015/03/16/oil-layoffs-itemized-75000-and-counting/#91fd4ae41b89 [Accessed: 19 March 2016]. Hill, C.W.L. and Jones, G.R. (2012) Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach, 10th ed.: An Integrated Approach. USA: Cengage Learning. Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D. and Hoskisson, R.E. (2012) Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization. 10th ed. USA: Cengage Learning. Kaiser, M. J. (2015) Offshore Service Industry and Logistics Modeling in the Gulf of Mexico. Germany: Springer. Piercy, N.F. (2012) Market-Led Strategic Change. UK: Routledge. Ronald Berger (2015) A new Age Dawns for oilfield services: Halliburton-Baker Hughes and the oil price downturn. [Online]. Available at: https://www.rolandberger.us/media/pdf/Roland_Berger_TAB-Oilfield-Services_20150303.pdf [Accessed: 19 March 2016]. Simerson, B.K. (2011) Strategic Planning: A Practical Guide to Strategy Formulation and Execution.USA: ABC-CLIO. Smith, R.D. (2012) Strategic planning for public relations. UK: Routledge. Triantis, J. E. (2013) Navigating Strategic Decisions: The Power of Sound Analysis and Forecasting. Australia: CRC Press.

Midwifery Care for Social and Psychological- MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theMidwifery Carefor Social, Physical and Psychological. Answer: Midwifery care refers to the healthcare and support provided by midwives to the expectant mothers. It entails care during the pregnancy period, which is just before birth, the postpartum period and the care for the newborn babies. The process monitors the mothers holistic wellbeing in terms of social, physical and psychological during the childbearing cycle. The mother is provided with prenatal care, counseling, and education individually all with the aim of preventing health problems (Iserin, 2013). Midwifery care is important as it helps to detect any abnormal condition in the expectant mother hence preventing health complications during pregnancy. It also helps the expectant mother to seek medical assistance if necessary and setting up of emergency measures in instances whereby medical help is absent. Therefore, the essay will discuss the role midwives play to improve the health outcome for women with the cardiac disease during their pregnancy. Cardiac disease refers to the conditions which affect the heart whereby there are fatty deposits in the blood vessels; arteries leading to the patient being exposed to high chances of having blood clots. Pregnant mothers who have such a condition may be very sickly during the pregnancy period and their emotional requirements will be high, their needs may also be diverse showing potential complications. In this case, the midwifery care should entail aspects of cardiology and the midwives should be sensitive to the expectant mothers emotions to provide them with the emotional care needed due to their health conditions, this is imperative in order to improve their health condition Expectant mothers with cardiac disease should be taken care of by a multidisciplinary team comprising of a cardiac nurse, neonatologist, cardiologist, hematologist, and a specialized midwife and if pre-conception counseling has not been done, the wide wife should get a referral. The expectant mothers cardiac health should undergo frequent check, assessing the heart rhythm and the auscultation of both the heart and lungs. Midwifery assessment is important such as evaluating of drugs and their dosage during the antenatal period (Reimold Rutherford, 2014). During labor here should be the careful administration of the drugs that stop premature labor, this drugs should be friendly to the health condition and proper timing and mode of delivery should be taken into consideration. A close level of midwifery care is also important after birth. In conclusion, women with the heart conditions must get good preconception health care before getting pregnant as it may help prevent the death of some of them who may not be fit to give birth. Surgical correction of any problem discovered before pregnancy may also be helpful in terms of better outcome. It is also important for pregnant women with heart conditions to undergo auscultation of the lungs and heart because such conditions worsen during pregnancy and a referral to a more specialized practitioner may be helpful. These mothers are also advised to get pregnant at an early age. However, women to get pregnant at a later age should consider psychological support and midwifery that is evidenced-based. References Iserin L (2011) Management of pregnancy in women with congenital heart disease. Heart 85(5):493-494 Lee R (2015) Thromboembolism in pregnancy: a continuing conundrum. Annals of Internal Medicine 43(10):749-750 Reimold S, Rutherford J (2013) Valvular heart disease in pregnancy. The New England Journal of Medicine 349(1):52-60 Weiss B, Hess O (2010) Pulmosry vascular disease and pregnancy: current controversies, management and perspectives. European Heart journal 21,104-05

Phoenix Jackson By Eudora Welty Essays - Eudora Welty,

Phoenix Jackson By Eudora Welty Phoenix Rises From the Ashes When asked by a white hunter " Doesn't the gun scare you?" while having it pointed at her, Phoenix Jackson, of Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path", replies "No, sir. I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done," This is an example of how the protagonist deals with another of her travails. Phoenix's conflicts only hone the thrust of Welty's tale of triumph over adversity. The irrelevancy of these tortures to this person's purpose is made all the more poignant by their staggering weight. From the first line of the narrative you learn the setting is December. A "frozen day", and yet Phoenix does ought but rejoice that it is not the "season" for bulls and snakes. Given the numerous references to her advanced age: a delusion of a small boy handing her a slice of cake after navigating a log bridge, to "Her eyes blue with age." She travels from the deep wood though the dangers of both terrain and prejudice. Throughout the story she encounters obstacles that would deter stalwart heroes of epics. While traveling through the country Phoenix encounters a white hunter who helps her up after being knocked to the ground. Despite his threatening manner, pointing his gun at her, he tries to deter her from her task. He points out the distance she had to travel even to reach the point at which they had met. He callously explains that "I know you old colored people! Wouldn't miss going to town to see Santa Claus!". Lastly to add further injury to insult, after losing a nickel and not being aware of it, he claims to not have a penny to give her. All Phoenix does is apologize to "God" for having stolen it. What fear grips a person who knows what they were doing was incredibly important, and yet they cannot recall what they were about? The attendant repeatedly attempted to communicate (in a condescending tone) with Phoenix, yet she had to ignore the questions, for she was unsure why she had made the journey. The nurse came to her rescue, and in so doing gave an explanation why "grandma" had made this arduous voyage. She was caring for her grandson who was suffering from the result of having swallowed lye; consequently at that level of medical and social evolution meant being an invalid without any other sociological resources than his grandmother. Despite these travails Phoenix Jackson retains her composure, and more. Each of these incidents, although difficult to fully grasp within context of modern society, is still painful. Once she manages to reach town she manages to get a woman, busy with packages to assist her with one of her difficulties, her untied shoe. At the clinic she manages to push the attendant to 500% of her original offering. Subsequently she resolves to purchase her grandson a paper windmill with the two nickel profit she made entering town. These conflicts she faces only reflect the spirit shining from the character of Phoenix Jackson. Bibliography Welty, Eudora . "A Worn Path." Literature an Introduction to reading and Writing . Ed. Edgar V. Roberts, Henry E, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1998. 132-37.

Trifles A Play in One Act

By showing how oblivious the men are to the challenges and accomplishments of women’s lives and women’s work, Trifles forces us to question how we perceive the world. The male characters enter a house filled with clues to a desperately unhappy situation, and do not even notice. If this is possible in the setting of the play, what important hints to the truth are we, the viewers, missing and overlooking in everyday life?Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Trifles: A Play in One Act specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The male characters assume that anything that the women do or think is trifling compared to the work of men. They assume, simultaneously, that the maintenance of domestic comfort is women’s responsibility, no matter what the obstacles. For example, they expect a clean towel, but ignore the difficulty of effective laundry in a house so cold it freezes jam. They mock the women over quilti ng versus knotting, or the state of the preserves, but undoubtedly expect a warm bed and sweet spread for their own flapjacks (Glaspell). The sheriff’s wife is said to be â€Å"married to the law† , and to need no supervision, as though she does lacks an independent mind and will (Glaspell). On the other hand, the women defer to the men, suggesting that their judgment is more valid somehow, at least in their own minds. When the two women find the canary with its neck broken, Mrs. Peters says, â€Å"My, it’s a good thing the men couldn’t hear us. Wouldn’t they just laugh!† (Glaspell). She recognizes that their feminine inferences might seem ridiculous to the men, but also could potentially send Mrs. Wright to her execution. Their concealment of the evidence they find is thus a brave act of solidarity with Mrs. Wright’s rebellion against loneliness and abuse. The Hairy Ape‘s naturalistic dialogue is mild in comparison with what th e viewing public hears regularly in reality TV shows, but it must have seemed shocking when it premiered. The cruelty of the other laborers after Yank is insulted by Mildred as a â€Å"filthy creature†, seems a bit artificially extreme, but is perhaps accurate for the era (O’Neill). The play aims to make political points about class boundaries. Thus, the conflicts, for example, between Yank and the Gentleman walking on 5th Avenue, are heightened for dramatic effect. If the viewer accepts this premise, as I do, then these artificialities work.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The social and spiritual distance that Yank perceives, between himself and his fellow laborers, Mildred, the wealthy New Yorkers, the other prisoners, and finally, the Wobblies, all makes Yank feel totally alienated. His sense of isolation leads him to take a hideous risk that ends with him being crushed and thrown by a gorilla in the zoo. While possibly unrealistic – a gorilla might more likely bite and pull limbs off – this makes a powerful visual pun. Yank is embraced by a hairy ape, exactly what Mildred visualized when she watched him lose his temper. He has found his soul mate, he imagines. Yank’s death is presented as resulting inevitably from his not fitting in anywhere. He is too thoughtful and proud for the drunken stokehold laborers. His speech is too shamelessly uncensored for the refined, hypocritical Mildred. He impulsively roughs up a socialite. He is too violent for the I.W.W.. Even the gorilla rejects his companionship, dispatching him forever, in irritation with his tone of voice. Works Cited Glaspell, Susan. Trifles: A Play in One Act. Ed. Frank Shay. New York: Washington Square Players, 1916. Web. https://books.google.com/books?id=wxZaAAAAMAAJprintsec=frontcoverredir_esc=y#v=onepageqf=false. O’Neill, Eugene. The Hairy Ape. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1922. Web. https://www.questia.com/library/7232005/the-hairy-ape-anna-christie-the-first-man. This essay on Trifles: A Play in One Act was written and submitted by user Zariyah Kane to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

How does the poet convey the sadness of death in Mid-Term Break Essay Example

How does the poet convey the sadness of death in Mid How does the poet convey the sadness of death in Mid-Term Break Paper How does the poet convey the sadness of death in Mid-Term Break Paper Essay Topic: Poetry The concepts of death and grief are often interlinked. This is demonstrated in Seamus Heaneys poem, Mid-Term Break, where he conveys the sadness of death after his own brother, Christopher, dies. Heaney uses various language techniques, sound devices, symbolizations and contrasts to achieve this sense of sorrow. In the first stanza, Heaneys clever use of the phrase counting bells knelling classes to a close illustrates the similarity of school bells to funeral bells. The use of assonance and alliteration in this phrase emphasizes the funereal sounds of the bells. Also, the hard consonant sounds in counting, classes, and close foreshadow some form of cruel finality, providing a feeling of melancholy, as well as apprehension. After such subtleties, we can finally see blatant evidence to the presence of death. In the second stanza, when Heaney arrives home, he sees his father crying, even though he had always taken funerals in his stride. Because of the line he had always taken funerals in his stride, we learn that someone has died. Also, Heaneys father can be seen to be strong and unyielding. Yet, this image of him crying and grieving so openly demonstrates how distressing this death really is. Looking at Heaneys other parent; in her we do not see a soft or idealistic image of a woman sobbing gently, but rather a rough, realistic image of a mother who is saddened beyond tears. Instead of crying, she coughed out angry, tearless sighs, indicative of her anger and harsh feelings of loss. Her extreme sorrow at the death of Christopher shows that the grief brought on by death is always immeasurable. Thus, Heaney uses both his parents to compare the varying expressions of sadness after death. It is in the sixth stanza where symbolism is first used. Snowdrops represent life and innocence, while candles symbolize funeral rites, and death. Heaney contrasts the concepts of life and death in this stanza to emphasize death with subtle symbolism. He has achieved this whilst showing that there has been a loss of innocence, that being Christophers, as well as his own. This loss of innocence leaves behind regret in the reader and a sudden feeling of loss and misery. In this sixth stanza, the words, Paler now, seem to hang at the end of the verse and implies the contrast of a living Christopher to a dead one. This simple description once again stresses Heaneys sadness for his death and his longing for his brother back. The sentence then carries on to the seventh stanza, which sets up for the final line: A four foot box, a foot for every year It is this line where Heaney has concentrated most of his anger, sadness, and grief. This makes the reader finally understand the tragedy that has taken place, as well as emphasizing each and every word of the sentence. This also stuns the reader as this is where the reader first realizes how young Heaneys brother really is, and allows them to fully comprehend the shock and grief the family, and Heaney, must have felt. However, despite his feelings, throughout the poem, Heaney manages to imply, but not explicitly state, his own feelings. Rather, he sustains an impersonal sense of sorrow and grief, while describing the scenes and atmosphere of that event. This presents the audience with a sense of Heaneys numbness, a lack of any strong emotions, due to the initial shock of the tragedy. To emphasize this shock, Heaney has used a very simple free verse with little rhyme and rhythm. This allows the poem to deliver a very simple, yet effective story, and so is definite in its meaning. Phrases such as Next morning I went into the room get straight to the point and are not excessively fancy. Heaneys lack of concern for unnecessary waffle allows him to convey the sadness of death clearly and concisely. Heaney manages to convey to the reader the feeling of sadness after death. His use of various contrasts of life and death emphasize the death, and the remorse resulting from it. Also, his use of simple, impersonal language and effective sounds allows the reader to fully grasp the severity of this death. In turn, this helps Heaney to implicitly present his own feelings of sadness and sorrow. Also, the final line has been built-up so that the full impact of this event finally hits the reader. His brother is dead and his life fixed in a perpetual Mid-Term Break.

Grafftiti essays

Grafftiti essays Graffiti comes from the verb "graffiare", which means to engrave or design on solid surfaces. Some artists believe that graffiti started in an ancient time when people had no formal way of communicating verbally and drew pictures on the wall representing actions. Other then that most graffiti artists believe that graffiti had first started around the 60's. In the sixties people tagged there names on building walls, tunnels, and any place were a lot of people will see it. People also used graffiti to mark territorial spots for gangs and cultural groups. As years went by more people were following the bad example of others and more people were getting into it. Instead of most tags relating to gangs or cultural groups more individuals were tagging for a rush. As more people were tagging towns and cities were becoming filled with graffiti. Individuals usually had a specific word or term in which that they tagged every time. The individual would try to get that tag in as many places as possible to In todays style there are many different terms that are for all The most usually seen tags are called scribbles and they are a form of writing a your tag in a very cool looking style. Another common type of tagging is called a throwup and it is usually done with a couple colors and some highlights and background. it usually takes people around ten to twenty minutes to The last type of tagging is called a "peice" short for masterpeice. This type of tagging are beatiful peices with many colors and backgounds and all types of shading and coloring. WAYS COPS ARE TRYING TO REDUCE GRAFFIT ...

How the Dow Jones Industrial Average Is Calculated

How the Dow Jones Industrial Average Is Calculated If you read the newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch the nightly news on television, you have probably heard about what happened in the market today. Its all fine and good that the Dow Jones finished up 35 points to close at 8738, but what does that really mean? What Is  the Dow? The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), commonly just referred to as simply The Dow, is an average of the price of 30 different stocks. The stocks represent 30 of the largest and most widely publicly traded stocks in the United States. The index measures how these companies stocks have traded over the course of a standard trading session in the stock market. It is the second-oldest and one of the most referenced stock market index in the United States.  The Dow Jones Corporation, the administrators of the index, modifies the stocks being tracked in the index from time to time to best reflect the largest and most widely traded stocks of the day. The Stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average As of April 2019, the following 30 stocks were constituents of the Dow Jones Industrial Average index: Company Symbol Industry 3M MMM Conglomerate American Express AXP Consumer Finance Apple AAPL Consumer Electronics Boeing BA Aerospace and Defense Caterpillar CAT Construction and Mining Equipment Chevron CVX Oil and Gas Cisco Systems CSCO Computer Networking Coca-Cola KO Beverages Dow Inc. DOW Chemical Industry ExxonMobil XOM Oil and Gas Goldman Sachs GS Banking and Financial Services The Home Depot HD Home Improvement Retailer IBM IBM Computers and Technology Intel INTC Semiconductors Johnson Johnson JNJ Pharmaceuticals JPMorgan Chase JPM Banking McDonald's MCD Fast Food Merck MRK Pharmaceuticals Microsoft MSFT Consumer Electronics Nike NKE Apparel Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Procter Gamble PG Consumer Goods Travelers TRV Insurance UnitedHealth Group UNH Managed Healthcare United Technologies UTX Conglomerate Verizon VZ Telecommunication Visa V Consumer Banking Walmart WMT Retail Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA Retail Walt Disney DIS Broadcasting and Entertainment How the Dow Is Calculated The Dow Jones Industrial Average is price-averaged meaning that it is computed by taking the average price of the 30 stocks that comprise the index and dividing that figure by a number called the divisor. The divisor is there to take into account stock splits and mergers which also makes the Dow a scaled average. If the Dow werent calculated as a scaled average, the index would decrease whenever a stock split took place. To illustrate this, suppose a stock on the index worth $100 splits is split or divided into two stocks each worth $50. If the administrators did not take into account that there are twice as many shares in that company as before, the DJI would be $50 lower than before the stock split because one share is now worth $50 instead of $100. The Dow Divisor The divisor is determined by weights placed on all the stocks (due to these mergers and acquisitions) and as a result, it changes quite often. For example, on November 22, 2002, the divisor was equal to 0.14585278, but as of September 22, 2015, the divisor is equal to 0.14967727343149.   What this means is that if you took the average cost of each of these 30 stocks on September 22, 2015, and divided this number by the divisor 0.14967727343149, youd get the closing value of the DJI on that date, which was 16330.47. You can also use this divisor to see how an individual stock influences the average. Because of the formula used by the Dow, a one point increase or decrease by any stock will have the same effect, which is not the case for all indices. Dow Jones Industrial Average Summary So the Dow Jones number you hear on the news each night is simply this weighted average of stock prices. Because of this, the Dow Jones Industrial Average should just be considered a price in itself. When you hear that the Dow Jones went up 35 points, it just means that to buy these stocks (taking into account the divisor) at 4:00 p.m. EST that day (the closing time of the market), it would have cost $35 more than it would have cost to buy the stocks the day before at the same time.

What do international students need to know before they come to UK Essay

What do international students need to know before they come to UK Challenges an International Student Likely to Encounter - Essay Example In my case study, I will explore potential threats to the comfort and academic excellence of an international student. My views, encounter, and success in the new environment will be shaped by Maslow hierarchy of needs which outlines various needs and preparedness one ought to have towards attaining excellence in all spheres of life. Further, some of my ideas and facts will be drawn from diverse academic resources presented by specialist in the light of the case study. Finally, other ideas will be corroborated by interviews I conducted with students and lecturers. Background Located strategically at the centre of England, the University boasts a total student population of â€Å"23,207 inclusive of 2,500 international students† (University of Wolverhmpton, 2013). According to factual information presented in the university official web site, University of Wolverhampton traces its way back in the mid- 1800s as Wolveharmpton Mechanics Institute and college of Arts. It later gain ed the current status 1969 as the University of Wolverhampton. It offers over six international courses such as international foundation, undergraduate courses, postgraduate courses, pre master’s program, English pre-sessional course, just to mention a few. Also, the university has three campuses located in Telfoord, Walsall and the city campus. It has modern and well-equipped accommodation facilities with different options to suit the needs and privacy of every student. The university offers over one hundred courses in its various academic programs. Food and Accommodation Burnapp (2009, p.13) points out that â€Å"what a body needs to survive such as food, water and somewhere to sleep . . .† aid in excellent physiological development. The university has taken this into great consideration with spacious and fully functional hall of residence. However, this is enjoyable for those who had been accommodated. As an international student, accommodation becomes a major chall enge and if not addressed before taking that flight you may be unlucky and forced to spend some few days under someone’s roof, your â€Å"good Samaritan† and it can be a hell of experience without a friend who has settled there or a relative to turn to at such hour of need. Many students are often misguided and fail to prioritise accommodation. All they do is to firmly fix their eyes on the academic part of it. This is absolutely wrong for an international student. Nelson (2012) in an interview mentioned the importance of accommodation for an international student, but for him all had been done by his parents prior to his coming. This clearly shows how accommodation is so valuable for an international student. We didn’t stop at importance of accommodation and further talked about food. â€Å"I managed to find my local food† (Nelson, 2012) something we shared in common as I managed to find my local favourite dish with much ease. Undoubtedly, it will be abs olutely right to authoritatively say food and accommodation play major role which an international must consider before taking a flight. Security Every student needs to feel safe each. The university authority does not take students security lightly. Every student is required to flush out their issued ID to pass the security guards on the ground. This is unlike my country institutions which indeed, each student is issued with student identification card but hardly used at the entrances making it

Memo 3 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Memo 3 - Article Example This is supposed to have an ending that leans on either a positive, negative or neutral side of the issues being addressed. This defines the scope and focus of the piece of publication. In the article as written, a look at the language used brings a collection of language misfits in its presentation. Though most of the errors appear in relatively less defined areas of the piece of writing, they are well defined as per the English laws of language. For instance, the author states that ‘Her husband, who was an alcoholic, verbally and emotionally abused her’. In this sentence, there is a missing subject. The proposition for this correction is as simple as a consideration to remove the verb â€Å"was† or simply inserting a subject. Secondly on the issue of language, there are so many contractions that have been used. In an academic writing, and for the sake of the public that is to enjoy reading the article, contractions are supposed to be highly minimized. For instance, ‘†¦and she’s been threatened with death.’ These contractions have been used a lot and they fall short of the seriousness the article is supposed to express. The theme has been chosen right and expressed efficiently. However, there are some changes that need to be done especially on the balance of the addressed issues. The theme is purely domestic violence. It has also expressed violence against women and in particular, Byars is the greatest subject. The blame for all her misfortunes has been put on the men in her lives. Notwithstanding, the psychological analysis of the issue would practically have some blame put on her as well. If we look at her earlier life, she is seen to get married at the tender age of just 18 years. This is an age too tender to even think about having deep commitments in relationships leave alone marriage. Secondly, she is seen to get married to men who are purely alcoholic. This would perhaps be used to define her social setting where she would be taken to

Standardization and Adaptation Marketing Strategies Essay

Standardization and Adaptation Marketing Strategies - Essay Example The first strategy is standardization, commonly referred to as â€Å"standardization when necessary†. This is a marketing policy that involves the use of the same product, distribution networks, promotion and prices in all markets. This marketing strategy is employed to increase the quality of products and to streamline the distribution channels. It also uses same product promotion tactics and prices in virtually all environments. Brands such as Coca-cola, Nike, and Levis have used this marketing strategy in their global markets. Coca-cola, for example, sells the same product in all countries throughout the world. Standardization is normally embraced by companies who view the world as a global village where the consumers have same tastes, needs and desires and hence they use same product and strategy in all the markets. Adaptation strategy is the other approach that is has been used in marketing. This strategy entails adjusting products, distribution channels, promotion tactics as well as prices to every kind of market that a company operates in. This line of attack does not view the market as homogenous. It takes into consideration differences in culture, taste, consumer behaviour, government policies and infrastructure in every market. The users of this strategy, therefore, adjust their products, brands, design and labels to conform to a different environment, consumer behaviour and competitiveness. Factors such as national identity, language and climate are also considered in this approach. An illustration of a product that has clinched the adaptation strategy in its global market is cell phone manufacturer Nokia. The firm has over the years established its handsets to conform to the market needs. This has enabled Nokia to fully satisfy the needs of each of its local markets that could have otherwise remained unsatisfied had the company not used this approach. Adaptation strategy helps fully respond to the needs of the local consumers by using specific prices, distribution channels and promotion tactics based on the characteristics of the market.     

Purpose and Importance of Induction, Training and Appraisal in a Assignment

Purpose and Importance of Induction, Training and Appraisal in a Business Today To Ensure an Effective Workforce - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that staff induction programs are designed with the intention to provide an overview of the working conditions along with core values and ethics of the business to the new joiners. It is vital for the companies in the sense that it ensures the new employees to get quickly acquainted with the working process of the business along with performing as per their skills and competencies as early as possible. This aspect is also deemed to be quite relevant in the hospitality sector where effective and proactive operations of the employees further set the overall image of the company in front of the potential customers. It can be stated for the managers in the hospitality sector including the management of the Hilton hotels group that effective induction programs include certain specific points. These aspects encompass stating the policies and working procedures of the company to the employees, having an introduction with the existing team members al ong with introducing the infrastructure of the company among others. Similar to induction program, training and development is also another vital approach to the managers in building an effective workforce. Training and development accelerate the performance of the employees as they are able to enhance and develop their skills and competencies. Training and development also enable employees to get acquainted with the working process of the company. For example, when a candidate joins a company as a full-time employee, he/she has little knowledge about the type and the standards of work performed in the workplace. Consequently, the role of proper and systematic training and development came into existence.

Experimental economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Experimental economics - Essay Example Loss aversion states that the disadvantage in losing an object is considered greater than the advantage of acquiring an object. The research paper explores the relation between endowment affect and status quo bias with loss aversion. Findings of the Article The researchers conducted various studies to establish the endowment act. An experiment on a certain group of people involved endowment of either lottery tickets or money. It was found in the study that nobody would willingly part with the lottery ticket for money. It was believed that in a market setting, the discrepancies between the Willingness to Pay (WTP) and Willingness to Acquire (WTA) would reduce. A series of experiments were conducted to understand the endowment affect. The first experiment revealed that the market clearing price coincided with the point of intersection of induced demand and supply curves and transaction costs were low. Since the income effects are insignificant and transaction cost is low thus when mark et clearing occurs objects are owned by people who value it the most. The volume of trade was low due to the price reservation of the buyers and sellers and was attributed to the lack of willingness on the part of the owner to part with his belonging. Indifference curves are reversible and they do not intersect. In the presence of loss aversion, the reversibility concept is not applicable. The primary affect of endowment does not lie in increasing the attraction towards the goods one owns. Rather, it enhances the pain in giving up the good.

Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports Essay Example for Free

Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports Essay Athletes use performance enhancing drugs to boost their game. The professionals who use these drugs are ruining the integrity of the game. Many people don’t understand why professional athletes would go to such extreme measures to be better when they have already proven themselves. Athletes are just taking away from their natural ability by using these dangerous drugs. The risk of using performance enhancing drugs is a lot greater than the reward, because an athlete’s reputation could be tarnished and their career ruined. Money is one of the major reasons why players use them; if they perform at levels higher than what their natural abilities could do they will be offered a large sum of money. Athletes are also putting their long term health in danger. These drugs have many dangerous side effects that are going unnoticed by the players. Even kids are starting to use performance enhancing drugs. Young kids look up to professional athletes and they watch everything they do. Kids want to be just like the pros so they will do exactly what they do to become better and unfortunately that is using drugs. Professional athletes who use performance enhancing drugs are setting bad examples for young athletes trying to follow their dreams. Performance Enhancing Drugs have been available in the United States for a long time, but they have only been starting to become a topic of discussion in the last fifteen to twenty years. Almost all of these drugs are manufactured outside of the United States, so that makes them more dangerous to take. Due to the fact that the drugs were not manufactured here they have not been evaluated by the U.S Food and Drug Administration. Some of these substances are naturally occurring, easily available and completely legal, while others are manufactured illegally, or banned by many sporting organizations. One form called HGH is the most commonly used substance; it increases an athlete’s muscle mass and performance. Athletes can be suspended for using performance enhancing drugs, but some people think that the organizations are not doing enough to stop pla yers from using them. For example if a player in major league baseball is found to have been using an illegal substance they would end up receiving a fifty game suspension, but they can still come back and play once the suspension has been fully served. The punishment should be a lot greater so athletes will not even think about using them. Professional athletes are paid by how well they perform, so by taking steroids to boost their ability they will receive more money. It’s not fair for the athletes who play the game fairly, because other players will have a competitive advantage over them. Every athlete should have an equal opportunity when playing professionally, because if they see other players taking illegal drugs to do better they will start doing the same. Using performance enhancing drugs will just cheat an athlete out of their true talent; they will not be respected for what they had accomplished during their careers. For example, there was a professional baseball player named Barry Bonds who took a great risk in using these illegal drugs. He was an excellent player throughout his career, but over the years his body had become significantly stronger. He broke numerous homerun records while in the Major Leagues including the most homeruns ever hit during a single career. He was later proven to have been using performance enhancing drugs. This caused him to jeopardize all of his records that most players would have to work really hard to get. A couple of years later Barry Bonds was sent to court over this issue and was later convicted of obstruction of justice. This is just one of many examples on how such a foolish mistake could ruin such a promising life forever. Many world records and Olympic medals have been taken back because the athlete used performance enhancing drugs. Another example of an athlete that took performance enhancing drugs is Ben Johnson during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. He set a world record in the 100m dash. He ran a 9.79, which at the time was a new world record. A few weeks later his medal was taken away from him, because he tested positive for human growth hormones. Even though this was a great feet in the history of track and field, nobody will be able to say he did it with natural talent and athleticism. He would end up not being able to compete ever again. The senseless decision to take performance enhancing drugs could ruin an athlete’s entire career. Many High School students have started to use these dangerous drugs; this is starting to become a major problem because athletes are just cheating themselves and are not becoming better. Professional athletes are setting very bad examples for high school students. Something every student has to deal with no matter if you play a varsity sport or is just a normal student is the pressure to do well and succeed. Some school districts have even been contemplating to add drug testing to high school athletes. This will eventually stop people from cheating to become professional athletes. Students also need to know what they are doing is wrong and could dangerously affect their long term health and could possibly lead to death. One statistic that may not seem extreme is that 2.3 percent of all high school students have used some type of performance enhancing drug. This is a dangerous statistic that no one is really addressing. If a young student wants to become pro they need to work hard and not give in to the temptation of using drugs to boost their athletic abilities. If they were to get caught using these drugs they could be suspended from school and their future and dreams could be ruined by one irresponsible decision. If professional athletes didn’t use these terrible drugs less high school students would use them. It’s very important for professionals to make sure they are setting good examples for young aspiring athletes. Professional athletes are slowly starting to raise awareness about this topic and are traveling to schools across the country informing students about the consequences that could perhaps present themselves. The use of performance enhancing drugs greatly affects the idea of the American dream. The American dream is the vision of growing up and being able to do whatever you desire The USA is built on the id ea of the meritocracy, and that is the impression that only the best is good enough. Kids have dreams becoming professional and making a lot of money. An athlete who would cheat themselves to reach these goals is ruining this entire concept. If kids start to think it is okay to cheat in order to achieve lifelong goals they will end up just hurting themselves, and will grow up to think that it is ok. Athletes who cheat in order to be successful may think they are living the American dream, but in reality there not. Cheating your way to get to the top is not the right thing to do. People who work hard and put in a lot of effort have an unfair disadvantage when it comes to being successful. Using illegal drugs in order to make large amounts of money is not right and unfair. If more people start doing this the concept of living up to these expectations could be tarnished forever. On the other hand athletes who have worked and trained hard their entire life have the right to be proud of themselves for what they had achieved. They can live life knowing that they did things the right way and that is all that matters. When it comes to living up to the American dream one should be happy and feel accomplished of everything they have done. The use of performance enhancing drugs in sports is a growing problem here in the United States. Athletes are taking away from their natural ability and are cheating themselves. They take these drugs in order to perform better and gain a competitive advantage. If players are caught using these drugs the player’s integrity could possibly be ruined forever. In today’s world it is becoming more and more difficult to get away with drug use in professional sports, the testing is much more advanced and the consequences are even greater. In situations like these the risk is a lot greater than the reward. Athletes need to live up to their true potential and not worry about being better than humanly possible. If an athlete just works hard every day he or she could reach goals that they didn’t think they would be able to reach. These dangerous drugs have much more negative effects on one’s body than positive ones. Some people may think that athletes are pushed to us e these dangerous substances when in reality they are just putting pressure on themselves to be better. Many of the modern day athletes are not aware of what kind of harm they are doing to their bodies; most think that they are making their bodies so strong so they will be able to handle long term side effects much more easily. This topic should receive a lot more attention that it is receiving, and there should be more programs developed to raise awareness and discuss the dangerous side effects of choosing to participate in athletic events in this matter. It must be difficult for athletes who don’t get caught using these drugs to live their life knowing that they not only cheated themselves but the nature of professional sports. These athletes are setting a terrible example for young athletes and are only caring about their own careers and not how their actions reflect the entire world. Athletes should end their careers asking one question and that is: Do we want to hurt our bodies and ruin the integrity of sports in order to be successful.

Fact Finding Techniques In System Investigation

Fact Finding Techniques In System Investigation Fact-finding is an important activity in system investigation. In this stage, the functioning of the system is to be understood by the system analyst to design the proposed system. Various methods are used for this and these are known as fact-finding techniques. The analyst needs to fully understand the current system. The analyst needs data about the requirements and demands of the project undertaken and the techniques employed to gather this data are known as fact-finding techniques. Various kinds of techniques are used and the most popular among them are interviews, questionnaires, record reviews, case tools and also the personal observations made by the analyst himself. Each of these techniques is further dealt in next pages. Two people can go into the same area to gather facts and experience entirely different results. One spends weeks and gets incomplete and misleading data. The other is finished in a few hours and has complete and solid facts. This session outlines some of the things a person can do to achieve the latter. Requirements analysis encompasses all of the tasks that go into the investigation, scoping and definition of a new or altered system. The first activity in analysis phase is to do the preliminary investigation. During the preliminary investigation data collecting is a very important and for this we can use the fact finding techniques. The following fact finding techniques can be used for collecting the data: Interviews Analysts can use interviews to collect information about the current system form the potential users. Here the analysts discover the areas of misunderstanding, unrealistic exception and descriptions of activities and problems along with resistance to the new proposed system. Interviews are time consuming. Questionnaires Here the analysts can collect data from large groups. Questionnaires could be Open-ended or Close questionnaires. Open-ended questionnaires are used to learn feelings, opinions, general experiences on process detail or problem. In it, questions are answered in their own words. Where as in closed questionnaires a set of prescribed answers are used and specific response have to be selected. This is a costly affair as the questions should be printed out. *Getting Cooperation in Fact Finding: The cooperation of operating people is crucial to fact gathering. However, if the operating people believe that the purpose of the fact gathering is to make changes in the work with the object of reducing staff, it is naÃÆ' ¯ve to expect them to help. The key to obtaining cooperation is two-way loyalty and trust. We get this by commitment to developing improvements that simultaneously serve the interests of employees while they serve the interests of owners, managers and customers. Process improvement projects should be undertaken with the object of making the company as good as it can be, not reducing staff. Of course process improvements will change the work, often eliminating tasks. This is obvious. Not quite so obvious is the fact that eliminating tasks does not have to mean reducing staff. It can mean having resources available at no additional cost to do any number of things needed by the organization, not the least of which could be further improvement work. And, no one is in a better position to improve the work than the people who know it firsthand. When organizations are truly committed to their people and their people know this, their people can relax and enthusiastically commit themselves to continuous improvement. This article is written for companies that want to capture the enormous potential of enthusiastic employees embracing new technology. They cannot accomplish this with lip service. The employees of an organization are its most valuable resource. When executives say this sort of thing publicly but then treat their people as expenses to be gotten rid of at the first opportunity, that is lip service. Resources should be maintained and utilized, not dumped. When they are dumped, trust dissolves. Meanwhile the people and their society have changed significantly in the last few decades. The popularization of computers stands high among the factors that have contributed to recent social change. Young people are being exposed to computers early in their education. A sizeable portion of the work force is comfortable working with computers. This was certainly not so a generation ago. Another social change that is very important to process improvement is the increasing acceptance of involving operating level employees in the improvement process. It has become rather commonplace to form teams of operating people. Along with the increasing acceptance of employee involvement has come a dramatic change in the role of the internal consultant who is learning new skills for working with teams. This article addresses the role of the facilitator who gathers facts about work processes to use with an improvement team. The facilitator follows a work process as it passes through departmental boundaries and prepares an as-is Chart. Then an improvement team made up of people from the departments involved in the process studies the as-is Chart and develops a To-be Chart. Facilitators learn how to study work processes. Facilitators are a great help as they gather and organizing the facts of work processes and guide the study of those facts by improvement teams. *What Facts to Gather? Knowing what facts you want to gather is crucial to effective fact gathering. When a people do not know what they are looking for but attempt to learn everything they can, in effect to gather all of the facts, they embark on endless and often fruitless effort. Knowing what facts not to gather is just as important as knowing the facts that are needed. There is a pattern to fact gathering that is particularly helpful during process improvement. It makes use of the standard journalism questions: what, where, when, why, who and how. This pattern focuses on the information that is relevant for process improvement and avoids that which is not. How it accomplishes this is not completely obvious. It goes like this. *Distinguishing Between Facts and Skill: No matter how carefully facts are gathered, they will never match the understandings of people who have experienced the work first hand for years. Those people possess the organizational memory. They have accumulated detailed knowledge that is available to them alone. They access this knowledge intuitively, as they need it, in a fashion that has the feel of common sense. But, they cannot simply explain it to someone else. For instance, we could ask an experienced medical doctor what he does when he visits a patient and expect a general answer like, I examine the patient and enter a diagnosis on the patient record form. However, if we then asked How do you do that? How do you know what to write as the diagnosis? we would be asking for detail that took years to accumulate. During those years this detail has been transformed from myriads of individual facts to intuitively available skill. We simply cannot gather it. The information that the doctor and for that matter all employees can readily provide answers the question, What? The information that cannot be provided because it resides in the realm of skill answers the question, How? Rather than attempt to gather the skill and settling for simplistic/superficial data we acknowledge that that information is not accessible to the fact gatherer. However, this information is critical to effective improvement. In order to get at it, we must invite the people who have it to join in the improvement development activity. This is the fundamental strength of employee teams. They provide the organizational memory. And, dont think for a moment that medical doctors have skill but clerks dont. In all lines of work there are differences of skill levels. Our object in process improvement should be to incorporate into our changes the finest skills available. So we use teams of the best experienced employees we have. To do otherwise invites superficiality. *Using the Description Pattern: The description pattern provides facts, not skills. We organize these facts on charts as effective reminders of the steps in a process. When these charts are used by people who are skilled at performing those steps, we have the knowledge we need for improvement. Therefore: What Answer this question at every step. This tells us what the step is and provides the necessary reminder for the team. Where This question deals specifically with location. Answer it for the very first step of the process and then every time the location changes and you will always know location. When When dealing with processes, this question generally means how long. Ask it throughout the fact gathering, making note of all delays and particularly time-consuming steps. Who This question deals specifically with who is performing each step. The easiest way to collect and display this information is to note every time a new person takes over. How This question is important but it changes the fact gathering to skill gathering. We should rarely get into it. Instead we leave this information to be provided by the team, as needed. Why This question is different. It is evaluative rather than descriptive. It becomes most important when we study the process for improvement but while we are fact gathering, it is premature. Just gather facts. Later as a team we will question the why of each of them. http://www.freetutes.com/systemanalysis/images/decriptivepattern.gif Follow this pattern and: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You will always show what is happening. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You will always show where the work is happening. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You will show who is doing the work whenever a person is involved. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You will show when most of the processing time is occurring. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You wont bog your readers down with how the individual steps are done, non flow detail. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You wont bog your readers down with how the individual steps are done, non flow detail. *How to Initiate Fact Gathering Public Announcement: A public announcement can go a long way towards inspiring cooperation. It can also provide an opportunity to forestall the anxieties just discussed. The people working in the areas affected by the project are informed that a five or ten minute meeting will be held at the end of a work shift and that a senior executive has an important announcement. (This senior executive should be a person whose authority spans the entire project.) The meeting includes an announcement of the project, its objective, who is involved in it, a request for the support of all employees and an invitation for questions. It is conducted by the executive mentioned above because it is important that statements about the intent of the project be made by someone who has the authority to stand behind his or her words. It is also helpful for the executive to introduce the analyst and the team members who have been assigned to the project. The issue of staff cuts may be introduced by the executive or may surface as a question. (Or, it may not arise at all in organizations where loss of employment is a non-issue.) If it is addressed, it should be answered directly and forcefully. I guarantee there will be no loss of employment because of work improvement. This is not a difficult guarantee for executives who genuinely believe that their people are their most valuable resource. (Note, this is not a guarantee that there will be no loss of employment. If we fail to improve our work, there is a pretty certain guarantee that there will be loss of employment.) This meeting can also have constructive side effects. One is that the analyst gets a public introduction to the people from whom he or she will be gathering data. Simultaneously, everyone is informed of the reason for the project, making it unnecessary for the analyst to explain this at each interview. And, the explanation carries the assurances of the boss rather than an analyst. *Common Sense Protocol Where to Get the Facts? It is critical that the analyst go where the facts are to learn about them. This means going where the work is done and learning from the people who are doing it. If there are a number of people doing the same work, one who is particularly knowledgeable should be selected or several may be interviewed. Unfortunately, analysts often try to collect data in indirect ways. Occasionally this may be for no better reason than that the analyst is too lazy to go where the work is done. Or, the analyst may have been instructed to keep the project a secret because management wants to avoid stirring up concern about job loss. Unfortunately, when employees learn (and they will) that secret projects are underway in their areas, their anxiety levels will rise all the higher, encouraging more non-cooperation. Introverts tend to be attracted to research type work and they also tend to find excuses to avoid meeting people. They are often tempted to use written procedures as their source of data rather than going directly to the operating people. Or, they may simply assume data to avoid having to go after it. Sometimes an analyst arrives in the supervisors office (a proper practice when visiting a department for the first time) and the supervisor wants to provide the information rather than having the analyst bother the employee who does the work. This could be motivated by a sincere desire to help. The supervisor may also want to slant the data. Regardless of the motive, it separates the analyst from the work place and the person doing the work. Whatever the reasons, each time an analyst settles for collecting data at a distance from reality, the quality of the analysis suffers. Guesses replace facts. Fantasy replaces reality. Where the differences are small the analyst may slide by, but professionals should not try to slide by. Where the differences are large the analyst may be seriously embarrassed. Meanwhile, the quality of the work suffers and, in the worst cases, major commitments to work methods are made based on faulty premises. Introduction to the Employee at the Work Place When we are gathering data, everywhere you go people are accommodating you, interrupting their work to help you do your work. The least you can do is show that you are willing to return the favor. When the time is not convenient, agree to come back later. Occasionally an employee will suggest that it is an inconvenient time and ask that you come back later. Sometimes, however, the employee is seriously inconvenienced but for some reason does not speak up about it. A sensitive analyst may notice this. However, to be on the safe side it helps to ask, Is this a convenient time? Coming back later is usually a minor problem. Typically you have a number of places to visit. Pick a more convenient time and return. Dont be surprised if the employee appreciates it and is waiting for you with materials set out when you return. Whatever you do, dont start suspecting that every time a person puts you off that person is trying to scuttle your work or is a difficult employee. Assume the person is honestly inconvenienced and simply come back later. If someone puts you off repeatedly, it is still a minor inconvenience as long as you have data to collect elsewhere. Give the employees the benefit of the doubt, knowing that every time you accommodate them their debt to you grows. If you do in fact run into a genuinely uncooperative and eventually have to impose a time, it is nice to be able to remind that person of how many times you have rescheduled for his or her benefit. At such times you will also appreciate the project-announcement meeting when the senior executive brought everyone together, described the importance of the project and asked for support. As you are about to start the interview the employee may bring up a subject for idle conversation such as the weather, a sports event, a new building renovation, etc. People often do this when they first meet in order to size up one another (on a subject that doesnt matter) before opening up on subjects that are important. Since the purpose, on the part of the employee, is to find out what you are like you will do well to join in the conversation politely and respectfully. Then when it has continued for an appropriate amount of time, shift to the subject of the interview, perhaps with a comment about not wanting to take up too much of the employees time. *Respect: Most of the time analysts gather data from people at the operating levels who happen to be junior in status (i.e. file clerks, messengers, data entry clerks). Be careful not to act superior. One thing you can do to help with this is to set in your mind that wherever you gather data you are talking to the top authority in the organization. After all, if the top authority on filing in the organization is the CEO, the organization has serious trouble. Dont treat this subject lightly. We all receive a good deal of conditioning to treat people in superior positions with special respect. Unfortunately, the flip side of this conditioning leads to treating people in lesser positions with limited respect. Unintentionally, analysts frequently show disrespect for operating employees by implying that the way they do their work is foolish. The analyst is usually eager to discover opportunities for improvement. When something appears awkward or unnecessarily time-consuming the analyst is likely to frown, smile, act surprised, etc. In various ways, an analyst can suggest criticism or even ridicule of the way the work is being done. The bottom line is that the analyst, with only a few minutes observing the work, is implying that he or she knows how to do it better than a person who has been doing it for years. This is unacceptable behavior. Dont do it! Go to people to find out what is happening, not to judge what is happening. First get the facts. Later we can search out better ways and invite knowledgeable operating people to join us in that effort. *A Caution about Instant Improvements: While the analyst cannot match the employees detailed knowledge of what happens at their workplaces, it is not at all difficult to discover some things that those people are unaware of, things that involve multiple workplaces. During data collection, opportunities for improvement of a certain type surface immediately. Some of them are outstanding. The analyst discovers, for instance, that records and reports are being maintained that are destroyed without ever being used. Time-consuming duplication of unneeded records is found. Information is delivered through roundabout channels creating costly delays. The only reason these opportunities were not discovered earlier by the employees is that the records had never been followed through the several work areas. These instant improvements simply werent visible from the limited perspective of one office. The people preparing the reports had no idea that the people receiving them had no use for them and were destroying them. The people proc essing redundant records had no idea that other people were doing the same thing. These discoveries can be clearly beneficial to the organization. However, they can be devastating for the relationship between the analyst and the operating employees. The problem lies in the fact that the analyst discovers them. This may delude the analyst into believing that he or she is really capable of redesigning the procedure without the help of the employees. After all, they have been doing this work all these years and never made these discoveries. I found them so quickly. I must be very bright. Most people spend a great deal of their lives seeking confirmation of their worth. When something like this presents itself, an analyst is likely to treasure it. It becomes a personal accomplishment. It is perceived as support for two judgments, I am a lot better at this than those employees. and Employees in general are not capable of seeing these kinds of things. Both of these judgments are wrong. The credit goes to the fact that the analyst was the first person with the opportunity to follow the records through their flow. If any one of those employees had done the same thing, the odds are that the results would have been the same. The analyst is apt to alienate the employees if he or she grabs the credit for these discoveries. If this prompts the analyst to proceed with the entire redesign of the procedure without the help of the employees, he or she will be cut off from hundreds of finer details, any one of which could seriously compromise the effort. Taking credit for these early discoveries can also alienate employees even if they are invited into the improvement activity. For instance, it is not uncommon for an analyst who is about to go over a new process chart with a group of users to start by telling them about the discoveries made while preparing the chart. This can appear very innocent, but the fact is, the analyst does this in order to get the credit for the discoveries before the team members spot them. Instinctively, the analyst knows that as soon as the employees see the chart those discoveries will be obvious to them as well. An analyst who realizes that the enthusiastic involvement of the team members is much more important than the credit for one idea or another will want to keep quiet about early discoveries until after the employees get a chance to study the chart. In doing this the analyst positions himself or herself to provide professional support to knowledgeable employees. Soon they make these obvious discoveries for themselves and this encourages them to become involved and excited about the project. It makes it theirs. In the end the analyst shares the credit for a successful project, rather than grabbing the credit for the first few ideas in a project that fails for lack of support. *Recording Technique: Recording Data The keys to effective data recording are a reverence for facts and knowing how to look for them. You do not go into data collection with a preconceived notion of the design of the final procedure. You let the facts tell you what shape the procedure should take. But, you must be able to find facts and know how to record them. This is done by breaking down the procedure into steps and listing them in proper sequence, without leaving things out. The analyst keeps his or her attention on the subject being charted, follows its flow, step by step, and is not distracted by other subjects that could easily lead off onto tangents. The analyst becomes immersed in the data collection, one flow at a time. Record what is actually happening, not what should happen or could happen. Record without a preference. Wash the wishes from your eyes and let the facts speak for themselves. When later you have them neatly organized and present them for study the facts will assert their authority as they tell their story. *The Authority of the Facts: There are two authority systems in every organization. One is a social authority set up for the convenience of arranging people and desks and telephones, dividing up the work and making decisions. The other authority system is reality itself. Too often the former is revered and feared and attended to constantly, while the latter is attended to when time permits. Yet, whether we come to grips with the facts or not, they enforce themselves with an unyielding will of steel. Reality is whether we are in touch with it or not. And, it is indifferent to us. It is not hurt when we ignore it. It is not pleased or flattered or thankful when we discover it. Reality simply does not care, but it enforces its will continuously. We are the ones who care. We care when reality rewards us. We care when reality crushes us. The better we are able to organize our methods of work in harmony with reality, the more we prosper. When we are unable to discover reality, or deny reality we are hurt. Period! So we enter into data collection with respect for reality. We demonstrate respect for the people who are closest to reality. And, we do our best to carefully record the unvarnished truth. *Observation: A person who has been doing a job for years will have an understanding of the work that goes well beyond his or her ability to describe it. Dont expect operating people to describe perfectly and dont credit yourself with hearing perfectly. Sometimes it is a lot easier for a person to show you what he or she does than to describe it. A demonstration may save a good deal of time. A person might be able to show you how the task is done in minutes but could talk about it for hours. Most people are able to speak more comfortably to a human being than to a machine. Furthermore, a tape recorder doesnt capture what is seen. If you are going to use a tape recorder, use it after you have left the interview site. It can help you capture a lot of detail while it is fresh in your mind without causing the employee to be ill at ease. *Level of Detail: As covered earlier while explaining the Description Pattern, you can gather facts but not skill. If you attempt to gather enough information to redesign a procedure without the help of experienced employees, your data collection will be interminably delayed. For instance, if you are studying a procedure that crosses five desks, and the five people who do the work each have five years of experience, together they have a quarter of a century of first-hand experience. There is no way to match that experience by interviewing. No matter how many times you go back, there will still be new things coming up. Then, if you redesign the procedure based solely on your scanty information, your results will be deficient in the eyes of these more experienced people. It doesnt do any good to complain that they didnt tell you about that after you have designed a defective procedure. Save yourself a lot of time and grief by not bothering to record the details of the individual steps and concentrate on the flow of the work. It goes here. They do this. It sits. It is copied. This part goes there. That one goes to them. Never mind the detail of how they do the different steps. Just note the steps in their proper sequence. Then, when it comes time to analyze and you invite in those five people, they bring with them their twenty-five years of detailed experience. Voila! You have the big picture and you have the detail. You have all that you need to discover the opportunities that are there. *Defused resentment: When people who have been doing work for years are ignored while their work is being improved, there is a clear statement that their experience is not considered of value. These people tend to feel slighted. When the organization then pays consultants who have never done the work to develop improvements, this slight becomes an insult. When the consultants arrive at the workplace trying to glean information from the employees so that they can use it to develop their own answers, how do you expect the employees to react? Do you think they will be enthusiastic about providing the best of their inside knowledge to these consultants? Here, let me help you show my boss how much better you can figure out my work than I can? Really! We dont have to get into this kind of disagreeable competition. Instead we honestly accept the cardinal principle of employee empowerment which is, The person doing the job knows far more than anyone else about the best way of doing that job and therefore is the one person best fitted to improve it. Allan H. Mogensen, 1901-1989, the father of Work Simplification. By involving operating people in the improvement process, you also reduce the risk of getting distorted or misleading data. Their experience is brought into improvement meetings, unaltered. If they get excited about helping to develop the best possible process they will have little reason to distort or withhold the data. *How to Keep the Data Organized: One important characteristic of professional performance is the ability to work effectively on many assignments simultaneously. Professionals have to be able to leave a project frequently and pick it up again without losing ground. The keys to doing this well are: 1. Knowing the tools of the profession and using them in a disciplined manner. 2. Working quickly. 3. Capturing data the same day that it is gathered *Using the Tools of the Profession with Discipline: In this respect, there is more professionalism in a well conceived set of file names and directories than there is in a wall full of certificates belonging to a disorganized person. For that matter, a three-ring binder may do more good than another certificate. A professional simply keeps track of the information that he or she gathers. Perhaps the worst enemy of data organization is the tendency on the part of intelligent people, who are for the moment intensely involved in some activity, to assume that the clear picture of it that they have today will be available to them tomorrow or a week later or months later. One way of avoiding this is to label and assemble data as if it will be worked on by someone who has never seen it before. Believe it or not, that person may turn out to be you. A word about absentmindedness may be appropriate. When people are goal-oriented and extremely busy they frequently find themselves looking for something they had just moments before. The reason is that when they put it down their mind was on something else and they did not make a record of where they put it. To find it again they must think back to the last time they used it and then look around where they were at that time. Two things we can do to avoid this are: 1. Develop the discipline of closure so that activities are wrapped up. 2. Select certain places to put tools and materials and do so consistently. *Working Quickly: An analyst should take notes quickly. Speed in recording is important in order to keep up with the flow of information as the employee describes the work. It also shortens the interview, making the interruption less burdensome to the employee, and it reduces the probability that something will come up those forces the interview to be terminated prematurely. At the close of the interview it is a good idea to review the notes with the employee, holding them in clear view for the employee to see and then, of course, thank the employee for his or her help. Skill in rapid note-taking can be developed over time. This does not mean that you rush the interview. Quite the contrary. Address the person from whom you are gathering information calmly and patiently. But, when you are actually recording data you do it quickly and keep your attention on the person. For process analysis data gathering, you dont have to write tedious sentences. The charting technique provides you with specialized shorthand (using the symbols and conventions of process charting in rough form). See the rough notes following. *Same Day Capture of Data: The analyst then returns to his or her office with sketchy notes, hastily written. These notes serve as reminders of what has been seen and heard. Their value as reminders deteriorates rapidly. While the interview is fresh in mind these notes can bring forth vivid recall. As time passes they lose this power