Aloha Products

Aloha Products is a United States-based coffee-processor company that has been providing non-specialty and low-priced coffee for over a hundred years. It purchases the raw materials or what buyers and sellers refer to as â€Å"green coffee† from brokers and trade firms then processes the coffee and sells the final product to customers. Large companies such as Nestle and P&G directly import the unprocessed or green coffee beans from coffee plantations in tropical countries such as Brazil and Colombia while companies with smaller levels of business such as such as Aloha buy the green coffee beans from brokers or trade firms.Aloha Products is managed by the owners and its headquarters is located in Ohio, United States. It has three plants located in Midwestern United States, each plant being responsible for its own profit and loss. Each plants performance is measured by each plant managers gross margin generated per plant. The raw materials or green coffee beans are handled by th e company’s purchasing unit that is located in New York City. Each plant receives a production schedule that is determined from the center and receives raw materials as well as pay in accordance with the production requirements of each plant.Aloha’s Top management is regulated by the members of the founding family. Company uses centralized control system where all main decisions regarding purchases, production, sales, marketing and promotion are made on corporate level while plant managers are only responsible for their profit and loss. Also there is centralized preparation of overall financial statement at home offices. This organization has led plant managers to a lack of adequate control over the activities of the managed plant; however, they are still assessed on the performance.This method has been done until in the 1990s, when the plant managers started to speak out on their dissatisfaction on the computation of their bonuses since they do not have authority to d etermine the prices of raw materials, production schedules and output prices from the manufacturer. External factors such as the steady decline in Americans consumption of coffee from 1965 to 1990 affected the sales and profits of coffee processors as well.Because of this, the company president hired a consulting firm to evaluate the current control systems in the three major departments: Plant Operations, Sales and Marketing and the Purchasing groups. 2. Case Question No-1: Evaluate the current control systems for the manufacturing, marketing, and purchasing departments of Aloha Products Answer is: From the case we can see that Aloha products have a centralized control system. What this means is that the main office or headquarters handled the purchasing, marketing and sales activities of each of the three plants.Based on the current control system evaluating three major departments of Aloha Products are described as follows†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Evaluation of Manufacturing Departments: Th ere are three production plants within AP’s manufacturing department; each plant is responsible for their own profits and losses. Unfortunately, the managers have no control over the any of the major activities in their respective production facilities. the vice president of manufacturing oversees all of the roasting, grinding, and packaging processes. Production schedules are provided to each plant manager for the current and following month.The plant managers also have no control over the green beans purchase, production schedule, production mix, or the costs of their inputs, as the purchasing department assigns the costs based on the specific contract for that shipment. If the inputs exceed the plant’s requirements, they are sold at the spot rate in the market, and could very well result in a loss. Evaluation of Purchasing Departments: The purchasing department is responsible for obtaining the required quantities and types of green coffee to be roasted in the produc tion plants.The level of sophistication and expertise needed makes this department a necessity; proper staffing is vital based on the complexity of the green coffee market. This department relies on relationships with growers and brokers; for smaller firms, an important feature of this department is their ability to foresee demand and required inventory and subsequently enter into forward contracts with brokers, anywhere from three to twelvemonths in advance. The costs of each shipment are based on the specific contracts for those green coffee beans, which can vary based on the various price drivers previously mentioned.This can create a diversified and volatile cost of inventory. Required inventory demand is based on communication between marketing (sales) and the purchasing department, any discrepancies at the current date is met by purchases through the spot market, which incurs significantly higher costs. The costs associated with running this purchasing department are charged t o the headquarters of AP. Currently, there is no communication between the purchasing and manufacturing department. Furthermore, purchasing department does not need to report to head office or meet any performance measurement standard.Ultimately, the power resides with upper management of the purchasing unit. Evaluation of Marketing (SALES) Departments: Under the current structure, this department is centralized. The president of AP and vice president of sales are in charge of advertising and promotion of the final products. The marketing department also determines the budgeted sales, which are then passed onto the purchasing department. Case Question No-2: Considering the company’s competitive strategy, what changes, if any, would you make to the control systems of the three departments?Answer is: The changes to the current control systems involve establishing accountability and effective communication among the three departments and providing key measures to evaluate the ma nagers’ performance objectively. Recommendations for the current management control system of Aloha Products are as follows†¦. Recommendation for Manufacturing Departments: The manufacturing department is currently a profit center. However, the plants do not have control over the costs of the green coffee.Thus, the main concern of this department as a whole should be efficiency; how well they can control the costs to roast green coffee. As such, were commend that the manufacturing department’s plants be accountable for the costs incurred to roast and package the green coffee. The performance measure for the manufacturing department at AP should be evaluated based solely on the roasting, grinding, and packaging of AP’s coffees. Conceptually, it’s unfair to evaluate manufacturing as a profit center, when in reality it has little to no control over product costs or sales.Since control over purchasing and selling will not be transferred to the manufactur ing department in this proposal, it is logical to assess based on controllable factors such as cost/pound only. This is in contrast to a measure such as using manufacturing costs as a percentage of net sales. Instead of being assessed for the performance of the purchasing and marketing departments, plant managers will now have an incentive to ensure their costs do not vary from the standard. It would still be possible to evaluate roasting plants based on gross margin as well.However, to ensure that plant managers are not penalized for fluctuations in the cost of green coffee contracts, a standard cost for green coffee would have to be established and used in the computation of gross margin. Recommendation for Purchasing Department: The purchasing department’s costs are being charged to central office. Due to this, the purchasing department is not being held accountable for the contracts it is entering into. The purchasing department’s main concern should be actual cont ract costs.Thus, we recommend that the purchasing department be accountable for the difference between the actual costs per signed contracts and the standard cost of green coffee raw materials. The actual costs should be measured in a similar manner to the current practice. Contract costs related to buying and selling in the spot market should not be included in the computed price per bag. A reasonable standard cost for green coffee contracts will have to be established based on discussions between management and executives in the purchasing department.The standard cost could potentially be based on the average of the spot price over the past 6 months. We recommend that this standard cost be updated every quarter, in order to provide accurate standard costs of green coffee raw materials. Recommendation for Marketing Departments: The marketing department focuses its efforts on advertising and promotion, however, it is not held responsible for the costs it incurs or how accurate their sales forecasts/budgets are. There is a large cost associated with differences between the forecasted requirements and actual requirements.The difference results in purchases or sales at the spot price for green coffee, which tends to cost more than forward contract prices. It is not reasonable for the marketing department to perfectly forecast sales and therefore there should be leniency in developing a method of accountability for this department. We must keep in mind that our goal is not only to hold each group accountable, but also to make sure managers feel they are being evaluated fairly and motivated to improve performance. In keeping with this, actual sales volume should be compared to forecasted sales volume.This will not only help to keep the marketing department accountable for their activities, but will also allow for forecast methodology to be reviewed and continuously improved. Overall, we believe that we also need to establish goal congruence between the three depart ments. This can be achieved through emphasizing communication between departments; this would encourage the forecasts of purchases/sales to be more accurate. In order to increase goal congruence and communication we recommend that the departments also beevaluated based on an overall measure for the firm. This measure would be economic value added (EVA), as when it is applied, managers will not just be focused on their own department profitability, but also that of the company as a whole. The EVA approach promotes the same profit objectives across the different departments. Thus, by keeping the same structural organization and only changing the way each department is evaluated, the incentive plan for each department more accurately reflects what each department can control.

Resolving The Pure Enantiomers Of Phenylethylamine Environmental Sciences Essay

The intent of this research lab was to decide the pure enantiomorphs of (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine ( racemic ) mixture, by dividing their diasteriomeric derived functions utilizing ( + ) -tartaric acid. The differing enantiomorphs form different salts with acids. Two molecules that are enantiomorphs have about indistinguishable physical and chemical belongingss although this may be true, the salts that are formed after the reaction with acid have distinguishable belongingss. Some salts are less soluble [ ( + ) ( – ) ] than others, and hence crystallize from the mixture in a about pure stereoisomeric signifier. When utilizing NaOH as a strong base to handle the salt, it allows for the isolation of the enantiomorph ( Lab Manual, 2007 ) . Polarimetry is a common method used to separate between enantiomorphs, based on their ability to revolve the plane of polarized visible radiation in opposite waies ( + and – ) . This allows the perceiver to find the enantiomeric purenes s, and hence the composing of the mixture ( Wade, 2007 Chemical Chemical reaction: ( – ) -amine ( + ) -amine less soluble salt [ ( – ) ( + ) ] : crystallizes more soluble salt [ ( + ) ( + ) ] remains in solution 2NaOH+ 2H2O( – ) -?-phenylethylamine ( Lab Manual, 2007 ) Procedure: Alternatively of utilizing a 50 milliliter beaker to boil the amine solution in, we used a 50 milliliter Erlenmyer flask For the remainder of the proceduce refer to pg. 18, 22-24 ( Lab Manual, 2007 ) Observations: The crystals were given a 4 hebdomad crystallisation period and afterward, the ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate salt was observed to be a white crystalline solid, and the methyl alcohol was a crystalline liquid. Two really distinguishable beds were seeable following the reaction with the NaOH ( strong base ) and add-on of the methylene chloride ( CH2Cl2 ) . The top bed was translucent in some topographic points and opaque in others, really cloudy, white liquid, while the bottom bed was crystalline and besides liquid. The attendant mixture following the three separate extractions was close to transparent Consequences: Table 1: Experimental Datas: Multitudes and Optical Rotations Mass Filter Paper 0.58 g Filter Paper + Initial Crystal Sample 8.25 g Recovered Crystal Sample 7.67 g 50 milliliters Erlenmeyer Flask with 2 boiling rocks 39.75 g 50 milliliters Erlenmeyer Flask with Amine merchandise and 2 boiling rocks 42.63 g Amine merchandise 2.88 g Optical Rotation Specific Rotation of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine -31.8o Table 2: Experimental Raw Given Data Volume of (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine 10.0 milliliter Density of (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine 0.9395 g/mL Molecular Weight of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine 121.8 g/mol Molecular Weight of ( + ) -tartaric acid 150.09 g/mol [ ? ] D ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine -40.4o  ± 0.2o Table 3: Multitudes, Moles, Optical Purity, and % Output Mass (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine 9.40 g Gram molecules (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine 0.0776 mol Gram molecules ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine 0.0388 mol Gram molecules of tartaric acid: 0.0388 mol Percentage Output of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate 73.1 % Percentage Output of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine 61.3 % Optical Purity 83.7 % Calculations: % Output of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate: Mass (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine Gram molecules (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine m (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine = denseness ten volume = 0.9395 g/mL X 10 milliliter = 9.40 g N (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine = mass/molecular weight = 9.40 g/ 121.18 g/mol = 0.0776 mol Gram molecules ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine and tartaric acid: N ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine = 0.0776 mol/ 2 = 0.0388 mol *Racemic mixture so divided by 2* ( half of entire moles ) N ( + ) -tartaric acerb = N ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine = 0.0388 mol Theoretical Output of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate: Actual Output of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate: m ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate = n x M = 0.0388 mol X ( 121.18 g/mol + 150.09 g/mol ) = 10.5 g m ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate = Mass filter paper + initial crystal sample – Mass filter paper = 8.25 g – 0.58 g = 7.67 g Percentage Output of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate: % Output = ( Actual Yield / Theoretical Yield ) X 100 % i? Actual ( what was obtained after experiment ) = ( 7.67 g / 10.5 g ) X 100 % i? Theoretical ( the mass that should hold been = 73.1 % obtained if all aminoalkane was extracted ) % Output of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine: Theoretical Output of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine Actual Output of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine Since the initial mixture was racemic: m ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine = m (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine / 2 = 9.40 g / 2 = 4.70 g m ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine = mflask w/ amine+ rocks -mflask w/ rocks = 39.75 g – 42. 63 g = 2.88 g Percentage Output of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine % Output = ( Actual Yield / Theoretical Yield ) X 100 % i? Actual ( what was obtained after experiment ) = ( 2.88 g / 4.70 g ) X 100 % i? Theoretical ( the mass that should hold been = 61.3 % obtained if all aminoalkane was extracted Optical Purity of Sample: Theoretical Optical Purity: Actual Optical Purity: Optical Purity = -40.4o  ± 0.2o Specific Rotation ( [ ? ] D ) : =Optical Rotation [ ? ( observed ) ] / c * 1 = -31.8o / ( 1.0 diabetes mellitus x 0.94 g/mL ) = -33.8o Optical Purity: = ( Actual optical pureness obtained/ theoretical optical pureness ) X 100 % = -33.8o / -40.4o x 100 % = 83.7 % Discussion: When the ( + ) -tartaric acid was added to the racemic mixture, (  ± ) -?-phenylethylamine, ( – ) -amine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate, and ( + ) -amine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate salts were formed. The ( – ) -amine- ( + ) -hydrogen tartrate was much less soluble in methyl alcohol, and hence crystallized out of the solution ( Lab Manual, 2007 ) . This method of separation was proven to be rather successful, as the per centum output of this crystallisation was 73.1 % , which is comparatively high. The presence of drosss, every bit good as the inability to wholly crystallise the salt from methyl alcohol most probably attributed to any disagreements. It is besides possible that although the ( – ) ( + ) salt is less soluble than the other salts, it still has some kind of solubility, and hence crystallizes instead easy ( hence the compulsory 2 hebdomad waiting period, in our instance it was 4 hebdomads ) . As good, the other salts, despite their high solubility in methyl alcohol, may hold still crystallized really somewhat over the long waiting period, adding to drosss Addition of NaOH resulted in the formation of two distinguishable beds: a white, cloudy aqueous bed ( top ) , and a clear aminoalkane bed ( underside ) , and allowed for the isolation of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine ( Lab Manual, 2007 ) . The add-on of 5 milliliter of H2O to the flask confirm that the top bed was the aqueous bed, since it increased comparative to the bottom bed and the H2O was absorbed here ( Lab Manual, 2007 ) . The aqueous bed consisted of the ( – ) -amine, along with Na tartrate, and H2O, while the aminoalkane bed included any drosss. The Na tartrate readily dissolved in H2O, while methylene chloride ( CH2Cl2 ) was added to fade out ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine ( boiling point ~ 186oC ) , since it had a lower boiling point ( 40oC ) , and could easy be removed through warming ( Synthesis and declaration of alpha-phenyethylamine. After a filtration procedure, including a series of extractions, there was per centum output of 61.3 % for the ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine, which is a lower output than the original 73.1 % , bespeaking that there was a loss of aminoalkane during the 2nd portion of the experimental process. The chief cause of this mistake was the inadvertent disposal of much of the aminoalkane bed, in which a little sum of ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine was still present. The presence of some drosss may hold besides affected consequences, nevertheless, they would hold alternatively increased the output and lead to deceptive consequences. Another possible cause of mistake is the little escape out of the glass stopper on the separatory funnel when the solution was shaken. There was a spot of solution that leaked out the underside or squirted out the top when let go ofing the force per unit area in the funnel. Subsequently, the mistake that well lowered the output of the merchandise greatly increa ses the optical pureness of the mixture. The ascertained rotary motion of the concluding sample was -31. 8o ( levorotatory, left manus rotary motion ) and the specific rotary motion was -33.8o compared with the empirical specific rotary motion of -40.4o  ± 0.2o ( Lab Manual, 2007 ) . The attendant optical pureness was 83.7 % , which is well high. Aside from the antecedently mentioned disposal of the organic bed, legion other mistakes, such as the presence of drosss may hold contributed to divergences in the optical pureness. The negative ( antagonistic clockwise ) rotary motion basically confirmed that the enantiomorph being isolated was the ( – ) -?-phenylethylamine, and the high optical pureness demonstrated that the extraction was accomplished with much success and considerable truth, since the concluding merchandise was chiefly ( – ) -amine, despite the comparatively low output.

No topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

No topic - Essay Example Thereafter, the local municipal council issued Mrs. Watkin with a notice requiring that the extension be demolished and be replaced to make it comply with the by-laws. Mrs. Watkin filed a case in court for damages and the judge ruled in her favor by declaring that extension was constructed without a building permit, non-compliance with the municipal by-laws and the extension was not in a fit and habitable condition. The plaintiff’s counsel anchored the claim based two cases anchored on the fact that the susceptibility of a building to a local authority requisition constituted a defect in title. (2) The lawsuit for damages was filed in court by Mrs. Watkin as the plaintiff, while the defendant is Mr. Black, and the judge in this case is Judge Henry. (3) The cause of action is not one based on a contract of sale, but on a breach of the duty of care imposed by the common law on a builder in favor of a subsequent owner, to make good title to the estate or property he has contracte d to sell. The issue in this case is whether or not the plaintiff is entitled to claim damages for the breach of the implied term and duty on the part of the defendant that good title would pass on settlement. (4) The case was decided on the basis of common law rule which puts a vendor under a duty to make good title to the estate or property he has contracted to sell. (5) The relevant question of law refers whether or not there was a defect in the title for failure of Mr. Black to comply with the building permit and non-compliance with municipal laws before constructing the extension. (6) Plaintiff’s counsel quoted Australian cases in order support of his argument and justify the claim of damages. One of the sources of the Court in resolving disputes is by using judicially developed principles laid down in previously decided cases based on the Doctrine of Precedent. (7) The four cases were distinguished namely: Vukelic v Sadil1 and Maxwell v Pinheiro2, by relating the mere d efect in quality, as is usually the position in respect of a town planning restriction as discussed in the case of Dell v. Beasley3 and a building line restriction enunciated in the case of Harris v. Weaver4, where the ownership of the land could be vested in the purchaser although its use was restricted. The case of Moss v PTA Company Ltd5 was also quoted at arriving with a decision where it was ruled that a frontage set-back requirement was held to be a defect in title because the vendor was obliged to dedicate a strip of land in question. According to the ruling, the susceptibility of part of the building to a demolition order was not something known to the plaintiff nor was there anything that required her to make enquiry of the local authority and ascertain the existence of the defect. Thus, there has been a breach of the implied term that good title would pass on settlement. The case of Moss v PTA Company Ltd6 was followed by the court in deciding the case. (8) The ‘rati o decidendi’ of this case laid the legal principle that an owner/builder has a duty of care to a subsequent purchase by making sure that good title will pass on settlement, otherwise, failure to comply with the duty makes the owner/builder liable for negligence. The court held in favor of the plaintiff, Mrs. Watkin by finding that there was a breach of duty on the part of Mr. Black. This cause of action is not one based on a

Natural disasters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Natural disasters - Essay Example In the light of this, we shall assess the discrepancies in heads like frequency of these various disasters in two regions of the US, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City and deaths caused by these disasters. Moreover we shall look upon the measures taken by the respective governments for the natural disasters and how it differs. Comparison of rehabilitation process and Insurance coverage aftermath of these disasters in these regions shall also be discussed. The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.7, but the ground acceleration was the highest ever instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America.(1) Seventy-two people died as a result of the earthquake and over 11,000 were injured. In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $12.5 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. An earthquake emerged in Sylmar, a surrounding region of Los Angeles and hit the Greater Los Angeles and California caused the fatalities of 67 and overall damage of $ 5, 000, 00,000.(2) About a dozen earthquakes have been felt in Oklahoma City. ... The most notable and largest of these occurred on 1952 April 09. This earthquake was centered between El Reno and Minco in Canadian Co.Its magnitude was 5.50. Moreover an earthquake of a ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Northridge Earthquake Southern California Earthquake Data Center, October 6, 2006 2. abc7. com Anniversary of Deadly Northridge Quake.. 2007-07-08. 2 magnitude 2.2 was felt in scattered locations in Oklahoma City and Edmond and surrounding area. Oklahoma City has faced another earthquake (Oklahoma Earthquake) on 16 December 2001 whose origin time was 08:21:42 UTC/GMT and Latitude and Longitude were 35.643degrees N, 95.571degrees W respectively had its depth 5.0 km. and its magnitude was 2.2 m3HZ (3) Tornado Okalahoma city It's generally defined as the area of the United States in which tornadoes are most frequent. When high frequency of strong and violent tornadoes (F2 or stronger on the Fujita scale) and relative consistency of the season from year to year are used as criteria, tornado alley would include northern Texas, most of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, as well as eastern portions of Colorado and South Dakota.The tornadoes that hit Oklahoma City and the surrounding area on May 3, 1999, had the fastest winds ever recorded on the planet: 318 miles per hour. The number of people who died from this disaster, were 44.The overall damage was $1, 500, 000,000.(4) Los Angeles With 42 tornadoes, Los Angeles County ranks as the tornado capital of the state, five of which was ranked as

Communication in business assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Communication in business assignment - Essay Example There has been an accepted shift from the stand that marketers show no significant interest in the culture of the countries they have started operations in (Holden, 2004, 563). Organizations have realized that it has become necessary to be knowledgeable about the traditions of the native country. The present scenario calls for the organizations to endorse localization – for which they need to understand ethics at a much minute degree. The coming to age of the world economy has opened up new paradigm in the aspect of business communication – as different communities are set to interact with each other with absolutely no prior history of interaction (McPherson and Szul, 2008, 39). Before dwelling further in the topic, let us discuss how the business fraternity in India is gearing up towards the new global economy. India, as part of BRIC (acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China), symbolizes the highest growth rate markets in the present world. This is due to the fact that the country has access to a highly skilled, yet cost effective, labor pool and a growing consumer class. This consumer class has a rising disposable income and thus India is the place to be for all the aspiring businesses in the world. Moreover the country, after years of Government control, is finally opening up to the world economy. This, along with a trend that will transform the economy from agrarian to service oriented, indicates a good prospect for a food processing company. However, India has its own typical rules and regulations when it comes to business. Further workplace culture is heavily influenced by demographic factors – like religion and age. Global corporations have to take cultural implications into consideration when they open shop here (Roberts and Tuleja 2008, 474). One of the first things that one notices in India is the pace at which business negotiations take place. It is quite common for meetings to get delayed, postponed and even

Contraception Mandate in ACA , American policy Essay

Contraception Mandate in ACA , American policy - Essay Example alue issues that these interest groups have against the contraception mandate and consider the best way to reconcile the mandate with those value issues (Persily, 2013). Using a problem framing approach, I would start by identifying the problem through gathering data on the different views of people who support, and who do not support the mandate and from those who have expert knowledge on the issue. In this first step of problem framing, I would seek to establish the conditions created by the problem such as fear that the government is overstepping its constitutional rights and mandate. Additionally, my coverage would assess whether the problem is drawing from the statement of the mandate. I would determine the goals of the initiative and how well these goals have been understood by the opposing groups. I would determine the urgency of the problem for example by looking at stipulated timeline of the mandate and the potential benefits that those opposed to it could miss. I would close my problem framing with both short-term and long-term objectives of viable solutions (Persily, 2013). Using the domains approach, I would cover the way different dimensions interplay in the occurrence of the contention on contraception mandate. In the legal domain, I would consider how the mandate touches on areas such as reproductive health rights, the bill of human rights, and freedom of religion. In the religious domain, I would consider the doctrinal elements of different religious and denominations that are opposed to the mandate. The economic domain is also coming in as an integral domain because some of those opposed to the mandate are employers. I would cover the role of the medical domain to the issue of contraception mandate (Persily, 2013). After covering the story from the aforementioned approaches, I would conclude by looking the viable solutions to the opposition faced by the contraception mandate. One of the solutions that resolve the opposition against the

Continued Global Population Growth Seriously Limits the Prospects for Essay - 1

Continued Global Population Growth Seriously Limits the Prospects for Development - Essay Example Many economists have conventionally tried to explore this relationship, and have found alarming consequences of population growth on development, though some economists tend to adopt a more optimistic view about the benefits of increased workforce resulting from the population growth considering the â€Å"economies of scale and specialization, the possible spur to favorable motivation caused by increased dependency, and the more favorable attitudes, capacities, and motivations of younger populations compared with older ones† (Easterlin, 1967). Analysis of the long-cultivated debate about the consequences of population growth, the central question that appears in the limelight is; do the positive effects of population growth on the economic development of a nation outweigh the consequential negativities? This paper tends to evaluate the effect of population growth on the development by comparing the merits and demerits of increase in population. The first English economist who estimated the effects of population growth upon economy was Thomas Robert Malthus In 1798, Malthus presented a theory stating that rate of increase of population causes underdevelopment (Cobridge, 1986, p. 82). In the long run, this trend can cause such problems as starvation, famine and wars over possession of water, land and natural resources. It was because of the very gloomy forecast of the effects of population growth on development made by Malthus that people began to refer to Economics as â€Å"the dismal science† (Hall, 2011). It can be observed in general that a vast majority of industrialized nations have extremely low birth rates whereas a lot of developing and underdeveloped countries have very high birth rates. The birth rate is one potential factor that tells an underdeveloped country from an advanced country since many if not all advanced countries have very low birth rates and the trend is on the other pole of the scale for the underdeveloped countries generally. This was also confirmed in 1958 by the findings of the research conducted by Edgar Hoover and Ansley Coale (Hall, 2011).  These researchers found an inverse relationship between economic and population growth.  Ã‚  

Early Childhood Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Early Childhood Education - Essay Example This report stresses that money is available through local authorities to fund free early education especially for children in great social need. This is the same as the system used in Norway where grants from the state and local authorities are channeled through general-purpose grants scheme. Barnehager are funded by the state in conjunction with the local authorities and the parents. In Canada, funding for early childhood system covers only children in the kindergarten (5 year olds). Unlike other countries like Italy, Spain, Norway, Belgium, England, Scotland and so forth where 4 year olds are provided for. In England, Early years teaching qualifications are nationally recognized thereby providing career advancement. The Qualification and Curriculum Authority as well as the NSTO are charged with the responsibility of training and the responsibilities for training and qualifications for early years. This paper makes a conclusion that the development of the early childhood education in England has come a long way. Great progress has been achieved in terms of creating an affordable form of education and childcare to children and families. Much effort has gone into making these services accessible, and of high quality. Many years of dedication to research in this sector are now bearing fruit in terms of quality output. The state has responded positively and has provided resources and leadership in ensuring that the work started many years ago by men and women of vision benefits entire communities.

Liberal arts in our life Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Liberal arts in our life - Research Paper Example Another branch of the liberal arts is known as the humanities which cover literature, languages, history, and philosophy. The third branch is the creative arts – theater, fine art, creative writing and others. All these broad subjects are what are known as the liberal arts and they are, as you can see, quite wide and varied. They are usually available to students at an undergraduate level right at the beginning and at more advanced levels as we move up the higher education chain (Sigurdson 14). II. What I know about the topic 1. The main task of liberal arts Liberal arts are not designed to equip you or enable you to specialize in a specific profession. Rather, they are there to prepare the students for life in the working world. Liberal arts equip you with the ability, first and foremost, to have lifelong learning. Learning does not just end in the classroom or after graduation. It is a process through which we acquire knowledge skills and expertise throughout our life. It is , therefore, necessary for one to have courses that equip you to do exactly that – essentially be a student for life, learning and adapting to new knowledge, new aspects of life and learning how to adapt, live and even thrive with change. 2. The main capacities of liberal arts The liberal arts also give one the ability and capacity for free thinking. It teaches the student how to think, how to question and how to expand your horizons. The liberal arts also enable one to communicate effectively (Schall 7). It is not just a matter of learning how to speak a foreign language or two – though that is also covered in liberal arts – but how to interpret nonverbal communications, how to communicate in cultures other than your own, and how to express yourself in contexts that are different from your traditional ones (Sigurdson 18). The liberal arts give students a chance to not only explore and get their head round a large variety of subjects but also an ability to look at the world, themselves and others in a totally new light. It gives students an appreciation of different points of view and different modes of thought. It is an opportunity to learn about the evolution of human society, how it started out, how it came through civilization, what civilization is all about and what in the world has changed and how it has changed since this civilization came about. In liberal arts one learns what previous generations have learned, thought and experienced (Schall 11). III. Research 1. The main questions of liberal arts What questions did they ask? What answers did the great philosophers seek? Liberal arts give you an opportunity to wrestle with abstract concepts and ideas. There arose questions such as: What is beauty and how does one decide that something is beautiful and the other one is not? Does this color or make-up look good on me? How did our history shape us and our thinking? How did we interact with the environment and what impact has it had o n us and us about it? What acts constitute sexual harassment in the workplace and why and how should they be reported? Thus, liberal arts result in a person who has a more rounded appreciation of himself, others and his environment. A classic story is told to explain the importance of the liberal arts. Three blind men who were told to touch an elephant and then describe what it looked like. The first one touched the elephant’s main body and decided because it was so big, this creature must be like a wall. The second blind man touched the elephant’s tusk and after racing it all the way to the tip, decided that the elephant must be shaped like a spear, like some

Decision Making Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Decision Making Management - Assignment Example ronment and surrounding in which it operates its business operations and also to continue to retain its customers by ensuring them that the company is effectively fulfilling its corporate social responsibility. Developing business ethics is one of the key issues for an organization and implant of such issues is extremely vital. Governments frequently focus on sustainability issue, which is associated with ethical issues and ethical standards as well. According to Hemmingway (2009), companies need to capitalize such business opportunities for the purpose of avoiding the negative outcomes for the company and also to further enhance the overall influence of its business operations on the economic life of the region, in which it operates its business operations. By fulfilling its social, environmental and economic duties towards the society, a company can enable itself to ensure the society and its people that the company is doing a productive job for society and environment as well. Often it happens that organizations are compelled to extend their capacity regarding corporate social responsibility by its stakeholders and organizations are well aware regarding the fact that if they do not fulfill the expectations of their stakeholders on timely basis, then they may have to face some severe consequences of it. Gray (2006) states that organization must ensure that they effectively communicate with its stakeholders all the major social issues, such as, pollution, employment, plant closures and other various major social issues and also the measures which the organization plans to adapt for the purpose of resolving such issues. In the recent times, companies have become extremely cautious and aggravated regarding to improve their business operations from the social point of view, that is understand and address the social issues on regular intervals, because the stakeholders of the company expects from it to do so on constant basis. Stakeholders include all the

Developing A Performance Appraisal System Essay Example for Free

Developing A Performance Appraisal System Essay All organizations utilize some sort of system that periodically reviews the performance of every staff member. As the director of human resources, you are responsible for developing such a system. Write a 750- to 1,050-word paper in APA format that details an original performance appraisal system for a human service organization. Address the following: Determine the elements that should be present in an appraisal system. What is the purpose of a performance appraisal system and how does it benefit the organization? Outline the elements of good appraisal systems. Determine the criteria for each element that should be present in an appraisal system. Cite at least two sources. Determine the elements that should be present in an appraisal system The elements that should be present in an appraisal system are thorough goal-setting process, which decide what you want from employees and agree these objectives with them. The key component of the people element is the manager, who give your employees the tools, resources and training they need to perform well. The manager drives the system by setting expectations, communicating plans, encouraging development, and giving and receiving feedback. Carrying out the appraisal allow managers to monitor and assess employees performance, discuss those assessments with them and agree on future objectives .It also identifies employees developmental needs and includes robust reward and recognition practices. Consider pay awards and/or promotion based on the appraisal and decides how to tackle poor performance. However, there can be dangers as well as benefits of linking rewards to performance. What is the purpose of a performance appraisal system and how does it benefit the organization? The purpose of a performance appraisal system is the two basic systems operating in conjunction: an evaluation system and a feedback system. The main goal of the evaluation system is to recognize the performance  gap (if any). This gap is the deficit that occurs when performance does not meet the standard set by the organization as adequate. The central aim of the feedback system is to notify the employee about the quality of his or her performance. Nonetheless, the information flow is not entirely one way. The appraisers also receive feedback from the employee about job problems, etc.) One of the best ways to appreciate the purposes of performance appraisal is to look at it from the different viewpoints of the main stakeholders: the employee and the organization. Outline the elements of good appraisal systems 1. Measurement vs. Management the performance measurement aspect of the performance appraisal system is a useful tool for measuring current productivity levels and determining the gap between those current levels and desired productivity levels. 2. Employee Input Employee input is a vital element of the effective performance appraisal system. It is essential for supervisors and managers to include the employee in the performance management process to ensure that the employee feels a sense of engagement in the process. 3. Clarification of Expectations Before a manager or supervisor can expect an employee to meet expectations, it is essential to ensure that the employees perception of what is expected is in alignment with the managers perceptions 4. Employee Development Perhaps the most essential element of an effective performance appraisal system is employee development. While the performance appraisal itself may identify areas where improvement is necessary, the employee development portion of the overall performance management system is used to determine the best way to bring this improvement to fruition. Determine the criteria for each element that should be present in an appraisal system There are four key elements in a good performance and appraisal system: Set objectives decide what you want from employees and agree these objectives with them. [ If appropriate, set timescales for  achieving them. – Manage performance give your employees the tools, resources and training they need to perform well. If appropriate, set timescales for achieving objectives. – Carry out the appraisal monitor and assess your employees performance, discuss those assessments with them and agree on future objectives. Provide rewards/remedies consider pay awards and/or promotion based on the appraisal and decide how to tackle poor performance. However, there can be dangers as well as benefits of linking rewards to performance.

Strategic Operational And Tactical Level Information Technology Essay

Strategic Operational And Tactical Level Information Technology Essay It is the combination of Information Technology and people using it to carry out operations and management. In a large sense it is frequently used with in people to process data and technology. It is also refer to Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which is used in organization, where people work with this to support business processes. There is a clear different between information system, ICT and business process. IT is completely different from information system, information system consist of ICT component. Information system helps to control the performance of business process. Information system is a special type of work system, which produces products or services for customer, where human and machines perform work using ICT and resources. Information system purpose is to process information. Information system is a system which represents data and process as a form of social memory. Information system supports human decision making and action. What is the role of Information Systems in todays competitive business environment on Strategic, Operational and Tactical level? Strategic Level: IS (Information system) supports business processes and operations: IS helps managers to execute their daily activities and functions properly, for example, in bank, creation of accounts, statement generation etc take place; and IS helps managers control such activities with greater accuracy and in a timely manner with the help of software. IS supports decision making for managers and employees: IS takes data as input and then processes it to generate information; simply defined as Input Æ’Â ¨ Process Æ’Â ¨ Information. This information is used by the managers for the improvement of their organizations, for example, existing historical data about customers in bank can be analyzed by IS and important information can be generated like bad customers and good customers, etc. This information can be used by managers while deciding whether to approve loan for new customers or not IS supports in making strategic decision for competitive advantage: By analyzing data collected from different sources, IS can provide valuable information such as which items to launch in which location; so that the company can have advantage over their competitors using this information. IS can also help business houses; in carrying out their business processes differently than their competitors. Operational Level: IS promises Operational excellence: In order to achieve higher profitability, businesses improve their operations efficiency. Managers make use of IS in business operations to achieve higher levels of productivity and efficiency. An excellent example is the use of the RetailLink system at Wal-Mart; this system digitally links every one of the Wal-Marts stores with its suppliers; the supplier is monitoring the items and as soon as an item is purchased, the supplier knows that a replacement must be shipped to the shelf. IS helps create new products, business models and services: In firms, Information system is a crucial tool in creating new services and products and new business models. Business models describe how the companies produce, deliver and sells a product or service to be successful. An example is Apple Inc; it transformed an old business model which was based on its iPod technology platform that included iPod, iPhone and the iTunes music service. IS helps monitor increase Supplier/Customer intimacy: When a customer is served well by a business, he usually responds by returning and purchasing more from the business; this raises the profits and revenues of the business. The more the business engages its suppliers, the better the suppliers are able to provide vital inputs; which in turn lowers costs. An example is the high-end hotel, Manhattans The Mandarin Oriental and other such high-end hotels; they illustrate the use of IS and technology to achieve better customer intimacy. They track guests preferences using computers, such as their preferred television programs, check-in times and room temperatures. Tactical Level: IS helps making better decisions: Many managers operate in an information bank and they never have the relevant information at the right moment to make a learned decision; poor outcomes like these loose customers and raise costs. Managers can use real time data while making decisions; IS allow managers to use real-time data from the marketplace while making decisions. An example is the Verizon Corporation, which uses a Web-based digital dashboard that gives managers accurate real-time information on customer complains and network performances. By using this information, managers can rapidly inform customers of the repair work, assign repair resources to the involved areas, and restore service promptly. Competitive advantage: When the firms achieve the business objectives, for example, customer intimacy, operational excellence, improved decision making, new services, products and business models, than it is most like that they have achieved a competitive advantage already. Accomplishing these things finer than their objects, responding to suppliers and customers in real time, charging less for premium products all add up to higher sales and profits. An example is the Toyota Production System which mainly focuses on organizing work to make continuous improvements, eliminating waste; Toyota Production System is based on what the customers actually ordered. How are Information Systems transforming the functional areas of organizations? Computers are used for almost any task. We check email with it, watch media, bank and more. Information is the life of organization, damaged or lost data can cause financial loss, law suits, etc. Information system contains hardware, software, data, applications, communication and people. It helps an organization to manage and secure its critical corporate, customer and employee data. Information system improves work process and gives lot of other benefits. An example is the Transaction Processing System (TPS) which is used in one functional area of a business; it process routine transactions more accurately and efficiently. TPS has many sub-species which are directly linked to their respective functional areas, for example, there is Finance and Accounting Systems for the functional areas of accounts and finance, Human Resource System for the Human Resource area, etc. Information System is different form other system because its purpose is to monitor and document the operations of other systems, we can also call it target system. For example, production activities would be the target system for a production scheduling information system, human resources would be the target system of a human resource information system. Every reactive system has a sub system called Information system, whose purpose is to monitor and control system. Task 2 There are many, many types of Information systems, but the most common ones are these: Transaction Processing System (TPS); Decision Support System (DSS); Management Information System (MIS); Office Automation System (OAS); Executive Information System (EIS) and Data Warehouses (DW). Transaction Processing System (TPS): TPS is a basic business system and it handles the tracking and processing of transactions. A transaction is simply an event which is of interest to the organization, for example, a railway booking system in which Booking, Cancellation, etc are all transactions; or a sale at a store. TPS is very useful and has many functions and it Serves the most elementary day-to-day activities of an organization. Is very often crucial to the survival of the organization Usually has high volumes of output and input Needs to be fault-tolerant Supports the operational level of the business Supplies data for higher-level management decisions Can have strategic consequences, for example, airline reservation system Deals with well-structured processes. A Transaction processing system has many sub-species, some of which are: Sales and Marketing Systems: These are systems that support the sales and marketing functions by easing the movement of services and goods from producers to customers. For example, a Stores sale system would automatically record and total purchase transactions and print out a packing list; this would improve customer service and maintain customer data. Manufacturing and Production systems: These systems supply data to operate, control and monitor the production processes, such as shipping, receiving, purchasing, scheduling, engineering, resource management, quality control, etc. For example, a system in factory that measures samples of products and gets information from that; then statistically analyses the samples and shows when the operators should take corrective action. Human Resource System: These systems deal with performance evaluation, compensation, placement, career development and recruitment of the firms employees. Examples of HRS include training and skills, applicant tracking, personnel record keeping, positions, benefits. Finance Accounting System: These systems maintain records which concern the flow of funds in the firm and they also produce financial statements, such as income statements and balance sheets. E.g for General Ledger; Budgeting, Billing: Cost Accounting, Accounts Payable/ Receivable; Funds management systems, payroll. These systems were among the earliest to be computerized. Examples of Financial systems are loan management, cash management, securities trading and check processing. Management Information Systems (MIS): They assist lower management in problem solving and making decisions. MIS usually takes data from the transaction processing system and summarizes it into a series of management reports which are to be used by the middle management and operational supervisors. MIS is a set of information processing functions and queries should be handled by it as quickly as they arrive. Database is an important element of MIS. MIS simply provides managers with feedback on daily operations; it also provides information and support for effective decision making. An example of MIS is an annual budgeting system. Decision Support System (DSS): DSS provides information, models or analysis tools to the senior managers and strategic management staff to help them make decisions. DSS are used for support of unstructured decisions and they are for analytical work mainly, for example, creating of what-if models using spreadsheets databases. An example job for a Decision Support System would be a 6 year operating plan. Office Automation Systems (OAS): They are used to improve the productivity of employees who need to process data information for reducing paper warfare. For example, Microsoft Office XP improves the productivity of employees working in an office or system that allow employees to work from home or whilst on the move. OAS software tools are often integrated and are designed for easy operations (for example, a graph from a spreadsheet can be imported in the Word Processor). Executive Information System (EIS): Also known as Executive Support System (ESS) and it provides information to the executives in a readily accessible, interactive format. EIS (or ESS) usually allow summary of the entire organization and also allows drilling down to specific levels of detail. EIS also use data which is produced by ground level Transaction Processing System so the executives can gain an overview of the entire organization. EIS require extensive staff to operate and are very expensive to run and are used by top level (strategic) management. Data Warehouses System: A Data Warehouse is a place where data is stored analysis, security and archival purposes. A data warehouse is usually either a single computer or a giant computer system formed by tying many computers together. Besides storing large amount of data, they must also possess the systems in place that would make it easy to access the data and use in day-to-day operations. It is also sometimes referred to be a major role player in DSS, or Decision Support System. How you identify the major support systems, and relate them to managerial functions? Support systems are Office Automation, Decisions Support Systems, Management Information system and TPS. Management Information system (MIS) generally takes the data from TPS (Transaction processing system) and summarizes it into a series of management reports, which are used by operational supervisors and also by the middle management. Decision-Support Systems are designed to help management make decisions, when there is uncertainty about the possible outcome. DSS gather relevant information with the help of tools and techniques and analyze the options and alternatives. DSS often create what-if models with the use of databases and spreadsheets. Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) helps business create and share information. This helps employees who creates and shares knowledge and expertise, which is shared in organization to create further commercial opportunities. KMS allows efficient categorization and distribution of knowledge. For example knowledge might be in word documents, spreadsheets, power point or internet etc, to share KMS would use collaboration system like intranet. Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) process routine transaction accurately and efficiently; and businesses may have many TPS, for example Invoices are sent to customers using the Billing systems Systems that calculate monthly and weekly payroll and tax payments Calculations of raw materials using Production and purchasing systems Using Stock control systems to process of all movement within the businesses Office Automation Systems (OAP) improves the productivity of the employees that process data information. For example, Microsoft Office XP improves productivity of employees that work in an office or system that enable employees to work on the move or from home. Task 3 Describe the tools and techniques provided by the Information Systems department and its relationship with end-users to solve the specific problems? The Information system department provides many different tools and techniques to solve problems and the main ones are: Data Warehouses: Their main purpose is to establish a data storehouse that makes operational data accessible in a form which is readily acceptable for analytical processing activities like Decision Support or EIS. Data Warehouses have many different characteristics such as Organization (data are organized), Time Variant (data kept for 5-10 years so it can be used for forecasting and comparisons), Non-Volatility (data are not updated once it has been entered in the warehouse), Consistency (data are coded in a consistent manner) and Client/Server (the data warehouse provides the end user an easy access to the data by using the clients/servers). How it solves problems: The Data in the warehouses is organized for less confusion; The Data is stored for a long time, allows for forecasts and comparisons; Takes raw data and codes it in a consistent matter for easy analysis Provides the end user an easy access to its data The data warehouse uses a relational structure The data are located in one place, allows data to be reached quickly Web browsers can be used to allow end users to reach data easily Data Mining: the process of analyzing data from different views and then summarizing it into useful information. Such information could be used to cut costs, raise revenue or both. For years, companies have used very powerful computers to sift through large volumes of supermarket scanner data and analyze market research reports. Data Mining is currently being used in areas like Retailing and Sales, Banking, Insurance, Airlines, Health Care, Computer Software Hardware, etc. How it solves problems: Data mining automates the process of discovering predictive information in very large databases; Data mining tools identify previous hidden patterns in just one step Can operate on unprocessed or even unstructured information. Text Web Mining: Text mining is the application of data mining to less structured text files. Web Mining are mining tools which can be used to analyze large amounts of data on the Web (like what customers are doing on the Internet). How it solves problems: Groups documents by common themes, making them easier to locate sort Finds the hidden content of documents and also additional useful relationships Geographic Information System (GIS): this is a computer-based system which is used for capturing, checking, storing, manipulating, integrating and displaying data using digitalized maps. How it solves problems: Every digital object or record has an identified geographical location Branch performances can be monitored, analyzed and compared Volume and traffic patterns of business activities can be monitored Geographical area served by each Bank branch can be observed, to plan if new banks are needed or not. Data Visualization: This is the presentation of data by technologies like digital images, graphical user interface, 3-d presentations and animations, geographical information systems, virtual reality, multidimensional graphs tables. How it solves problems: Presents many different kinds of data into a common, understandable way for better more accurate analysis; reduces errors too. On-Line Analytic Processing: this is the technology that allows users of multidimensional databases to generate on-line comparative summaries of data and other analytical enquiries; OLAP can also be integrated into corporate databases systems. How it solves problems: OLAP facilities allow managers and analysts to monitor the performance of the business or market. The end-results of OLAP technologies can be very simple (frequency tables, etc) to make the data much easier to understand and analyze. How the Executives may use any alternative data/ information processing techniques to support the decision making This is a crucial step in making an effective decision. The more good options that you consider, the more inclusive your final decision will be. You force yourself to reach deeper and you look at problems via different angles, when you generate alternatives. By using the mindset there must be other solutions out there, you have more chance to make the best possible decision. If you havent got other reasonable alternatives, then theres not much of a decision to make! Below is a summary of some of the important techniques and tools to help teams develop good alternatives. Generating Ideas Brainstorming is possibly the most well known method for generating ideas. Reverse Brainstorming works in the same manner. But, it works by asking people to brainstorm of how to achieve the opposite result from the one required, and then simply reversing those actions. The Charette Procedure is a systematic process and it gathers and develops ideas from many stakeholders. Crawford Slip Writing Technique generates ideas from a large number of people. This method is extremely effective and ensures that ideas from everyone are heard and weighed equally irrespective of the persons power in the organization. Explore the Alternatives You need to evaluate the risks and implications of each choice once you are completely satisfied that you have a good selection of realistic alternatives. Risk Theres almost always some degree of uncertainty in decision making process that may lead to risks, inevitably. You can determine if the risk is manageable of not simply by evaluating the risks involved with the options. Risk Analysis allows you to look at risks impartially. It assess threats and evaluates the probability of events taking place using a structured approach their management costs. Implications You can consider the potential consequences of each of your options Six Thinking Hats, after viewing the alternatives from 6 different perspectives, you can assess the consequences of a decision. Impact Analysis, useful technique for brainstorming the unexpected outcomes that could mount from a decision. Choose the Best Alternative After assessing the different alternatives, the following step is choosing between them. The choice could be very obvious, but if it is not, then the tools below will help: Grid Analysis (or decision matrix), is a very useful tool for this type of evaluation. It helps bring different factors in the process of decision making in a reliable way, therefore this tool is invaluable. Paired Comparison Analysis help decide the importance of differing factors and helps you compare factors that are unlike and decide which ones should influence your decision the most. Decision Trees are useful in deciding between options. These bring the probability of project failure/success in the decision making process and help you lay out the various options available to you. Task 4 Information systems are made out of components that can be assembled in many different con ¬Ã‚ gurations resulting in a variety of information systems and applications, much as construction materials can be assembled to build different homes. The size and cost of a home depend on the purpose of the building, the availability of money, and constraints such as ecological and environmental legal requirements. Just as there are many different types of houses, so there are many different types of information systems. We classify houses as single-family homes, apartments, townhouses, and cottages. Similarly, it is useful to classify information systems into groups that share similar characteristics. A classi ¬Ã‚ cation such as this may help in identifying systems, analyzing them, planning new Information Systems Con ¬Ã‚ gurations Organizations are made up of components such as divisions, departments, and work units, organized in hierarchical levels. For example, most organizations have functional departments, such as production and accounting, which report to plant management, which report to a division head. The divisions report to the corporate headquarters. Although some organizations have restructured themselves in innovative ways, such as those based on cross-functional teams, today the vast majority of organizations still have a traditional hierarchical structure. Thus, we can  ¬Ã‚ nd information systems built for headquarters, for divisions, for the functional departments, for operating units, and even for individual employees. Such systems can stand alone, but usually they are interconnected. Typical information systems that follow the organizational structure are functional (departmental), enterprise-wide, and inter-organizational. These systems are organized in a hierarchy in which each higher-le vel system consists of several (even many) systems from the level below it. A departmental system supports the functional areas in each company. At a higher level, the enterprise-wide system supports the entire company, and inter-organizational systems connect different companies. The major functional information systems are organized around the traditional departments- Finance IS Finance IS Accounting IS Accounting IS Human Resources Human Resources Corporate a System Electronic Market Electronic Market Corporate B System Marketing IS Marketing IS Production IS Production IS Administrative IS Administrative IS Corporate C System

Supply Chain Strategy Of Colgate Palmolive Commerce Essay

Supply Chain Strategy Of Colgate Palmolive Commerce Essay An organization strives to be the leader in its industry by following a well-designed strategy that incorporates the company mission, vision, values, goals and objectives so that it can attain its long-term competitive position in the market. One of the vital elements of any business organization is its supply chain strategy and it needs to be properly aligned with the business strategy (Bhardwaj Mitra, 2010). Any company that does not have a well-integrated Supply Chain Management (SCM) strategy is unable to successfully meet the demands of its target market. The SCM strategy ensures that the logistics of the company are planned out in advance so that there is adequate supply of raw materials, minimum level of inventory is maintained and the supply chain operations cost is reduced; all of these measures ensure that an organization is able to generate an appropriate amount of profit and maintain its strong position in the industry (Cho et al., 2011). Every strategy in the SCM comprises of the plan that the company will implement for achieving its goal of capturing the target market and enhancing the satisfaction level of consumers. According to Sehgal (2011), the success of a supply chain strategy mandates the adoption of SCM strategy that is properly aligned with the organizations business strategy and ensures that its resources and capabilities are utilized in highly effective manner. The business strategy of a company is defined as the key element that guides the organization in making decisions that are compatible with the requirements of its objectives so that it can make successful progression and improve its profitability effectively. It is believed that SCM strategy is highly dependent on the business strategy as it is the basis on which most of the companies want to compete in the market and gain competitive edge for long period (Elgazaar et al., 2012). For instance, if a company is offering customized products like Dell, then it will have to ensure that it has an efficient and coordinated SCM strategy which will assist it in fulfilling the demands of the customers perfectly and on time. If Dell faces shortage of key parts or prices of its raw materials rise significantly, then it will be unable to offer the products at reasonable prices. However, the success of Dell is largely dependent on the development of an effective SCM strategy that is compatible with its business objective of offering customized products to the consumers at cheap rates with the fastest delivery process (Green, Whitten Inman, 2011). As the raw material issues are being faced by the companies worldwide, it has become important for every organization to enter into contractual agreements with the suppliers so that it can minimize its risk of facing any raw material shortage in its business tenure (). With the help of variable cost agreement, both the buyer and seller will have a win-win situation; each party will get exposure to the advantages of changes in the price. The seller is protected from the increase in price that could have eroded the margins and the buyer can avail the low priced product if the price of commodity declines during the period of a contract (Business for Social Responsibility, 2008). Hence, an SCM strategy should be developed in accordance with the organizations vision, mission and goals so that it is compatible with its business strategy and provide support to the company for fulfilling its promise of delivering the products and services within agreed time period (Elmeziane, Chuanmin, Elmeziane, 2011). It is vital for every firm to realize that if the supply chain strategy lacks alignment with the business strategy then there are huge chances that its business operations get severely impacted; in some extreme cases, the companies have undergone bankruptcy as well. Introduction of Colgate-Palmolive Colgate-Palmolive is among the leading Multinational Corporations that has been give top ranking in the consumer products category. It has its headquarters in New York and it is believed to have an asset of $94 billion that comprises of all its products that it is selling in more than two hundred countries. Colgate-Palmolive is involved in the business of manufacturing and selling of various consumer products that comprise of cleaning products, soaps, toothpastes and pet supplies; it has broadly classified its products into two categories i.e. Oral, Personal and Home Care and Pet Nutrition (Supply Chain Management, 2012). Since the company has its operations in various regions across the globe, it is of immense importance to have a well-integrated system that will help in efficient and quick exchange of valuable data and information. Initially, Colgate-Palmolive had a decentralized structure that was creating many issues in its business operations especially in Supply Chain Management (SCM). In November 1999, the management team of the company decided to revamp its IT infrastructure by implementing a unique and innovative system that ensured integration of every function throughout the organization across all its operational activities on international level (Bolstroff, Rosenbaum, 2011). The global SCM system of Colgate-Palmolive has been replaced with SAP R/3 solution so that it can capitalize on its resources along with enhancement of the global SCM management so that the retailers, customers and management were provided service of superior quality, inventory cost was controlled to a great extent and revenue stream started to increase at a good pace (Blanchard, 2010). Colgate-Palmolive vision and core values The vision statement of Colgate-Palmolive is To offer products on the basis of three core values i.e. global teamwork, caring attitude and improvement on continuous basis. The core values of the company are as follows: To offer growth opportunities to the companys employees both on professional and personal levels. To fulfill all Corporate Social Responsibilities as a key member of the community on global level. To enhance the value of shareholders. To develop processes and policies that will ensure that the company is able to strengthen its position in the market and respective industry. To explore all latest initiatives and opportunities that are existing in the market. Supply Chain Structure of Colgate-Palmolive In order to solve the main issue of Colgate-Palmolive, Colgates global supply chain system was developed; the three key supply chain strategies that formed the basis of this system. The first one was the introduction of the Vendor Inventory Control (VMI) product so that there was a decline in the inventory channel and timing of the cycle as well. The second strategy was the implementation of a resource planning system at cross-border level so that regional models were developed for the international patterns; it ensured that the company had adequate pool of assets so that there was a balance with the companys business strategy. The last and final strategy was implementation of a collaborative program that ensured there was a well-balanced downstream business system for effective management of the market demand of supply chain along with effective coordination of the systems activities. With the help of new system, everyone in the organization is well-aware of the supply chain statistics; the IT system has enhanced the companys SCM system which has helped in utilizing the supply chain information with accuracy so that the consumers always had easy access to the products and the shortage problems was reduced by 50% in the first three months of the SAP R/3 implementation. Global Resource Utilization in Colgate-Palmolive When new and innovative systems were installed in the company that comprised of SAP R/3 ERP software along with Oracle related DBMS (Database Management System) and Solaris Operating System developed by the Sun hardware platform, the company was able to take advantage of a well-integrated system. Colgate-Palmolive was able to integrate with its cross-regional resource use systems (CBS) demand and resource information about the international demand effectively. Since the input was rapid, there was an increase in the number of shipments, reduction in the number of improper or incomplete orders and a significant decline in the number of inventory. With the help of the latest SCM system, the suppliers had developed direct links with the companys production unit and they were responsible for effective management of resources at the distribution centers for supplementing Colgate-Palmolive business operations. This new system is based on the order flow of the customers and driven by the distribution centers of Colgate around the globe as the suppliers are now directly supplying the products. The business control procedures in CBS are supported by SCM system of SAP that is heavily dependent on the signals of daily demand along with the replenishment orders of inventory which are determined by the calculation. With the help of this system, the supply and demand level is maintained at a consistent level that helps the company in being more responsive to the fulfillment of special orders. It has been observed by the company that there is a significant reduction in the forecast inaccuracy, product inventory level is reduced, increase in the number of orders fulfillment, reduction in cycle time and the completed orders rate is further enhanced. The SCM strategy has three main elements for real-time integration model i.e. SAP support system for stock, orders and other indices of market, real information about the customer order demands and effective integration of ERP, SCM and CRM systems. The company is aiming that the SCM strategy is effectively implemented in all its firms across the globe; VMI, collaborative engine and CBS are applied to all shopping malls and brands so that effectiveness of SCM can be managed effectively. As the supply chain information is more visible, there are high chances that the company has access to timely, consistent and accurate data that will ensure that the planning decisions are made efficiently so that the company is able to achieve its goals successfully. In order to ensure that there is an effective decision-making process throughout the enterprise, Business Intelligence System will allow Colgate-Palmolive to have quick access to precise and consistent data. With the help of SCM system, the company will be able to enhance its market competitiveness along with strengthening its position in the global business development, gaining competitive edge in the price war and marketing its products in a strategic way. In order to enhance its business operations, Colgate has integrated its e-enterprise by developing cordial and closer relations with its partners and customers. Conclusion For every organization, it is important to have a well-integrated SCM system that will ensure that its supply chain strategy is complementing the business strategy. With the help of an effective SCM system, Colgate and its consumers and partners can have quicker and on-time orders, production planning and inventory management is effective done, order fulfillment rate increases at a higher level, forecasting is efficiently completed and performance of the company can be easily monitored. Hence, Colgate-Palmolive has completely revamped its SCM structure so that it can maintain its image as a global leader in the consumer products market by fulfilling all orders on time and controlling the costs that will help it to make investment in other alternatives for further expansion decisions. Therefore, an effective SCM system is one that is aligned with the business strategy which will ensure that the company is able to achieve its objectives effectively, productively and profitability.

Shamanism and the Indigenous Peoples of Siberia Essays -- Cultural Ant

Shamanism and the Indigenous Peoples of Siberia Shamanism plays a role within most tribal communities of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. Within the community the shaman has many roles; one of his[1][1] main roles is that of a healer. The function of the shaman is closely related to the spirit world (Eliade 71). A shaman uses ecstatic trance to communicate with spirits. Spirits are integral to a shaman’s ability to heal within his community. â€Å"Shamanic activity is generally a public function† (Grim 11-12). Shamans are highly respected members of the community. â€Å"Shamans are of the ‘elect’;† recognition of a shaman can only be bestowed by the entire community (Eliade 7, 17). Without the community, a shaman is not a shaman and cannot function as such. An example of this situation would be vocational or self-made shamans, who are not chosen by the community, ancestry, or the underlying ‘numinous encounter’ to shamanize. The entire community does usually not recognize vocational shamans; they are not as effective as shamans and even viewed as frauds (Grim 45).[2][2] Therefore not anyone can be a shaman. â€Å"It is to the . . . shaman that tribal peoples turn for aid in dealing with the urgencies of life† (Grim 8). Due to the harsh Arctic environment, the shamanism of the indigenous peoples of Siberia is closely related to the struggle for existence in their world. The shaman is sought to aid the community in surviving by curing the sick and attacking or destroying evil spirits, among other roles (Hinnells 293-294). Within the community, the shaman has multiple roles including priest, magician, medicine man, mystic, poet and psychopomp (Eliade 4). One of his main roles is that of medicine man or healer. Accordin... ...d A Serpent’s Skin and A Bears Fur.† The Sun Maiden and the Crescent Moon: Siberian Folk Tales. Interlink Books. New York: 1991. 88-91. Waida, Manabu. â€Å"Problems of Central Asian and Siberian Shamanism.† Numen 30.2 (1983): 213-239. Notes: [1] ( The masculine pronoun is used throughout to describe the shaman. It is noted that not all shamans were males; in some tribes the majority of shamans (shamanesses) were female. However the masculine case is used from simplicity, since the gender role of the shaman is not being discussed in this case.) [2] For further discussion of numinous, see page 3 of this paper. [3] a main aspect of a shaman’s entrance into ecstatic trance [4] Most of this source covers the Ojibway Indians of the Great Lakes Region. However, Siberian Shamanism is used as a classical model from which Ojibway shamanism is derivied (56).

Compare the presentation of the Duke and Porphyrias lover in My Last E

Compare the presentation of the Duke and Porphyria's lover in My Last Duchess and Porphyria's lover Browning has presented The Duke and Porphyria's lover as obsessive and controlling in the two poems. Telling the stories from the characters point of view makes it clear that they both feel threatened by their partners, and wish to regain the lead role they should have as the men in their relationships. Rather than confronting their significant others, they kill them because of their obsessive nature and lack of communication. The Duke on one hand feels that he can only possess the Duchess in a painting because he can control who looks upon her, where as Porphyria's lover wants to capture Porphyria when he finally feels in control. The characters of both the Duke and Porphyria's lover are noticeable through the relationships they have with their partners. It is clear that they both have very similar intents, although for different reasons. They are portrayed as jealous and untrusting of their partners because of obvious insecurities they have in their relationships. The Duke suspected that The Duchess was having an affair with "Fra Pandalf": " 't'was not/Her husband's presence only, called that spot of joy into the Duchess' cheek' " This implies that the Duchess blushed for others and therefore was adulterous. He also suggests his wife gave sexual favours in return to politeness when he says; "She thanked men - good!". Instead of being concerned about losing her he was only worried that she would make a fool of him and hurt his pride, as their relationship was not based on love or passion but was merely a way for the Duke to show off. The Duke only saw his wife as and object and not as a person a... ...shows he has little in his life accept Porphyria. The Duke has many objects and pieces his art, showing his love for things not people. It also reminds us of the Renaissance setting and shows that his is wealthy. Comparing the two poems shows that Browning has a very pessimistic view of relationships. It seems he feels that relationships without love and admiration can never work and will end in disaster as is apparent from "My Last Duchess". Ironically he also feels that a relationship with love cannot be sustained either, which is evident from "Porphyria's Lover". In "My Last Duchess" she dies because she did not give the Duke the admiration he desired, but when in "Porphyria's lover" Porphyria made her love for her lover clear, he kills her anyway. This perhaps shows the aggressive nature of men and how at the time they were very dominant in society.

School Nutrition: When Capitalism Causes Obesity Essay -- Nutrition

A dollop of tomato paste - that is all that this is required for an other-wise high-sodium, high-fat, and high-grease food product to be labeled as a vegetable as voted by a lobbyist-controlled congress in November of 2011. Pizza, as it turns out, is now considered a vegetable by school nutrition standards (â€Å"A Veggie Pizza†). It is obvious, then, that such as decision was not perpetuated nor endorsed by activists campaigning for proper nutrition within in the school cafeteria. It was lobbyists, most likely independent or large business caterers, who gave the decision the political and monetary boost it needed. But by allowing congress to make decisions based on lobbyist endorsement, pressure, and financial supports such as this one, America is simultaneously over-feeding its children, depriving its children of key nutrients, and establishing an epidemic of obesity. The blame, however, lies not just within the schools, parents, congress, or society, but upon a conglomerat ion of these things. Surely, it would be folly to believe otherwise. One thing is clear: America’s nutritional standards for school children must change. With this need for change in mind, citizens must no longer ignore the pressing empirical data of the detrimental state of America’s contemporary nutritional standards. Currently, most school cafeterias provide students nutritional needs by relying on processed foods (sugar, white flour, oil, artificial ingredients) and animal products whilst barely delivering any whole produce. In fact, most of the fruit-and-vegetable nutrition comes from byproducts such as juice concentrates or stocks. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends decreasing saturated fats, sugar and sodium, while increasing whole grains, ... ...tion and to be consistent with what they are teaching to avoid hypocrisy. Students, when faced with nutrition education, will observe the hypocrisy, and conclude that nutrition is not important when everything they see around them contradicts the message their teachers are trying to send. School administrators cannot, and most likely will not, be willing to endorse this message if it is not cost-efficient. It is then up to society, congress, and the people of the U.S. to see nutrition and their children not as another business expense, but as the methods to create a standard of healthy children, regardless of the financial impact. Works Cited "School Meals Need to Get Healthier: Report." Healthday. 29 OCT 2009: n. page. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. Shah, Nirvi. "School-Meals Makeover Stirs The Pot." Education Week 30.27 (2011): 1,. ERIC. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.

Venezuela

There have been many current events that have violated human rights, one of them is that Venezuela is suffering from lack of food and medicine they are given and their leader isn't doing anything about this but other leaders are trying to help out Venezuela , there are many things that are being done in order to Prevent future events like this, because this can't start happening around the world, Colombia, Cuba, and Argentina are already starting to have problems like this and this could get out of control. Venezuela use to be one the the wealthiest countries until the 19th century, that's when they started to have economic and political crisis. Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro is denying the fact that Venezuela people are staring and not having access to good health care. Many people are starving and others are in the hospital, and not having enough medicine for everyone because the hospitals are getting filled with injured people. Since the hospital doesn't have enough supplies for everyone they ask patients to bring their own medicine and which most patients can't afford. According to † Venezuela's health care crisis † the video states that even when their own patients bring in their own medicine, they are stolen inside the hospital.This Hospital use to have staff 24/7 working on surgerys and helping other patients while now there are people that have been waiting to have surgery for days. The Violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is Article 7 which is â€Å"You have the right to be treated by the law in the same way as everyone else.Everyone has the right protection against violation of their human rights† and Article 8 â€Å"If your rights under law are violated , you have the right to see justice done in court or tribunal.† This is saying that every person in Venezuela should be treated the same and have the same health care. People in venezuela are dying and starving because of the lack of food and medicine and health care they are given. According to CNN, this crisis that is happening in Venezuela had started around 2015 where people were having less than one meal a day. It's sad to see that newborns are being put in cardboard boxes after their mother give birth. According to FP people have been use to having one meal a day while others are hunting for dogs pigeons and cats. People In Latin America would feel rich with just one dollar or maybe some clean water while people here in America are wasting food and aren't grateful for one dollar. This rich Country is suffering because of one person which is their leader Nicolas Maduro. We can start helping Venezuela by just donating one dollar, because that would mean a lot to them. Donald Trump is also helping out with this situation.According to U.S.NEWS president Donald Trump he states that he promises â€Å"strong and swift economic actions† to counter Maduro's antidemocratic measures.† What Donald Trump is doing is he is restricting the revenue that Nicolas Maduro planned and benefit from oils form the United States. In Conclusion, Venezuela is struggling in food and health care because of their bad Leader Nicolas Maduro. People are dying faster and families are starving because they don't have food. This is a huge crisis, this was one of the wealthiest countries but now is the one leaving in poverty, people are eating pets and birds which is not usual. President Donald Trump and other leaders in Latin America for example Mexico they are trying their best to help out venezuela because everyone is supposed to be treated the same way, and in a way people in America can be helping out by donating one dollar which to them means a lot .

History of Cocaine

One of the most widely used illegal drugs in the United States is cocaine, and like many other drugs, it comes from a plant that has been used for thousands of years in other parts of the world. Cocaine comes from the coca leaf, a plant that has a long history in spiritual rituals. It used to be that in the Andean Indian culture, the coca plant was linked to a sacred goddess. These cultures believed that they had to please the coca goddess in order to have a successful harvest.The leaves of the coca plant were chewed or smoked to help these natives connect with spiritual beings, as well as provide magical protection and powers. Coca leaves were chewed only by the leaders or royalty. Over time lower classes were encouraged to chew the leaves to experience the benefits. Over the course of the next several years the American majority became more and more aware of the dangers of cocaine. As this problem got eventually so bad it came to no choice but to ban the social use of cocaine. This public pressure forced Pemberton to remove cocaine from Coca Cola in 1903.Eventually the public pressure became so great as to place a national prohibition on cocaine and in 1920 cocaine was added to the list of narcotics to be outlawed by the passing of The Dangerous Drug Act of 1920. Unfortunately with other drugs like heroin, the dangers of cocaine abuse were recognized by law makers after the fact. The market for cocaine had already been established into American history and culture and is with us today. Cocaine has had a rocky history in the United States. There has been much controversy about the connection between the United States government and cocaine dealers.There have been articles and books written about the CIA working with cocaine dealers to help win the war on communism. Others argue that the aggressive role the U. S. government played in banning the drug actually led to the smuggling of it into our country. In fact, it was the negative side effects of cocaine use t hat was responsible for the phrase, â€Å"dope fiend†. This came about because of the behavior of a person abusing cocaine for prolonged periods of time. Because cocaine is such a powerful stimulant, prolonged daily use of the drug creates severe sleep deprivation and loss of appetite.A person might go days or sometimes weeks without sleeping or eating properly. The user often experiences psychotic behavior. Coming down from the drug causes a state of depression for the person in withdrawal. This person can then become so desperate for more of the drug that they will do just about anything to get more of it, including murder. If the drug is not readily available the depression experience in withdrawal can become so great the user will sometimes become suicidal. It is because of this effect on the user that the word â€Å"fiend† became associated with cocaine addiction.

Plastic Bags Should Be Banned Essay

Plastic bags are one of the most dangerous substances to our environment. It seems silly that plastic bags could do so much harm. You never would have guessed, right? Well, believe it or not, these bags contribute to environmental issues in several ways. For one, plastic bags litter the environment. Forests, rivers, lakes, and oceans are littered all over the world. Wind carries these bags everywhere. We are destroying our own planet and most people don’t even realize the harmful effects of these bags. They also overfill landfills, taking up room that can be used by other trash. Americans use over 380 billion plastic bags a year. For two, these bags kill our wildlife. They kill not only marine animals, but also animals on land. Many species are already becoming endangered as it is. These bags are adding to the death toll of animals, and it could increase their chances of being endangered, or even extinct. About one million mammals and sea birds die per year due to ingesting plastic bags. They are mistaken as food. The animals die a slow and painful death, usually by choking. 100,000 marine mammals die per year by eating these plastic bags. Lastly, these bags are made out of a substance that is called polyethylene. Polyethylene is a type of petroleum. Petroleum is a major source of our energy, such as heating, electricity, lighting, etc. About four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured each year. We’re wasting all of this petroleum on plastic bags when it could be used for more important things, like automobile gas. The sad thing is, out of 100 trillion plastic bags, only 1% are recycled. It takes 1,000 years for plastic bags to break down, making them non-biodegradable. Burning these bags will not help either; it will only make things worse. When these bags are burned, it releases toxic fumes into the soil and the air. You may be asking, â€Å"What can I do to help?† Try switching to paper bags instead of plastic ones when you go grocery shopping. Paper bags are much better for the environment, and can be recycled more easily. If you are an animal lover, these actions that you could be taking would be saving animals around the world. Surprisingly, plastic bags have been one of the most lethal inventions of mankind. They have a major negative impact on humanity, animals, and our environment. We only have one world to live in, so more precautions should be enforced in taking care of it.

Happiness in China

Introduction This paper mainly focuses on Chinese happiness index and its influencing factors analysis. There are many things we are eager to get, such as freedom, money, promising job, reputation, etc. However, we do not pursuit these things themselves, what we want is the improvement of happiness. Those things have value only when they directly or indirectly promote the feeling of happiness. Gross national happiness (GNH) is an indicator that measures quality of life or social development in a scientific term. In the 1970s, the king of Bhutan proposed the concept of Gross National Happiness.He believed that government should aim to create happiness. The national happiness index should be improved including the factors both in the material and in the spiritual. The GNH index identifies four aspect of national happiness development: good governance, economic growth, cultural development and environmental protection (Hu, 2011). With the rapid development in China, the government takes the index to measure the national happiness. However, there is no exact quantitative definition about how many factors influence the GNH.The paper therefore will analyze the factors that impact China’s gross national happiness from social, economic and politic perspective. Social Factors The education system Education in China does not focus on the students’ practical ability and interests in studying. These schools focus on students’ test scores instead of the students’ potential. Teachers desire to have the top students rather than â€Å"bad students†. A student’s scores represent his or her personality. From elementary to high school, students have no elective courses. The teachers’ task is to teach students how to get high scores on the exams.The students are over stressed. They go to school about 6 o’clock in the morning, they stay up studying at night (Hu, 2011). It is impossible to become relax under such pressure. If s tudents want to be admitted to top universities, they have to study hard. Studying is the only thing they need to do. The universities just require students’ outstanding scores from the college entrance exam. Therefore, a special group of students called returning students who re-attend classes after failing the college entrance exam. Many students re-attend high schools classes year after year until hey are admitted to a top university (Hu, 2011). The only scale to measure one's capacity is the diploma. Furthermore, students would prepare the postgraduate examination in order to find a better job. From elementary to the college, students care for nothing except studying. The situation leads to a decreasing unhappiness index for China’s student and their parents (Hu, 2011). Quality of marriage In China, marriage is based on one's family background, which is a significant factor that affects many couples of all ages. Even in modern times, a great number of young people in China will obey family arrangement.Oftentimes, if one's family live in poor conditions, the party will be rejected by the other party’s family with an excuse ( Luo, 2009). Even in marriage, the couples have to struggle for their future, such as house, car, money. If the couple fails, they may divorce each other. Sometimes, the marriage may only be decided by the money not affection. This is the reason that the Chinese couple have a low happiness index in marriage( Luo, 2009). Social security system China’s social security system is not perfect and in the process of reformation. What is worse, the aging of society is the new pressure added on society security system.China’s population continues to grow. The expert predicted the total population will reach 1. 5 billion by the middle of the 21th century, and the elderly population will exceed 300 million. Due to the one-child policy, the common families have only one child. As a result, the number of retirees wi ll continue to work to reduce the burden on their family (Hu, 2011). Furthermore, the ensure pension and medical insurance system is still incomplete in China. The members of family save money for the older family member not for traveling or entertaining. If someone is sick in family, it could make the whole family in dilemma (Hu, 2011).These situations place a heavy burden on younger generations. The young people have the responsibility to take care of the parents and to rise the next generation. The problem also increases the unhappiness index for Chinese life. There are so many social factors that influence the Chinese happiness index. China’s government should take measures to provide the people a higher quality environment for life to increase happiness index. Economic Factors The price of commodities In China, the price of commodities has risen significantly. It has gone beyond the income level of many common people.Housing price, especially, has gone too high in recent years (Orlik, 2013). Many people in China make every effort to earn money to buy a house. They work day and night. They give up the opportunity to travel. They dare not to have dinners in restaurants. They consider that whether they should buy clothes or not. All efforts are made to buy a house. Especially, people who borrow money from the banks are under a lot of pressure for repayment. Their mortgage payments are most part of their monthly salary so they do not have enough money to spend on other things.Even if they are not satisfied with the current work, they dare not to resign. Due to high housing prices, many people have become slaves to their houses and live under tremendous pressure in all aspects. To their surprise, the prices of houses have become much higher! It is awkward that a common person cannot afford a common house in China (Orlik, 2013). There is no doubt that the high commodities price is not good for the physical and mental health of the people. In order to hav e better living, the people pay the high cost.This situation is not beneficial for the improvement of happiness index in China (Orlik, 2013). Income Inequality China has great economic growth in the past few decades. However, the average incomes are higher in urban areas than in rural areas. The phenomenon of income inequality is obvious in China(Finance and economics,2012). The income of the famers is mainly depended on the land, but the agricultural output is limited. They cannot become rich just by a few acres of land. A lot of rural residents abandoned their land and go into cites with nothing, these peasants are called migrant laborers.They can do are limited occupation due to the lack of professional skill. Women worked in labor-intensive goods and services with the minimum wages. Men worked as builders risking their lives. More badly, they may not be paid after the work is finished. Even through migrant laborers live in the same city with urban residents, their living conditi ons are totally different(Finance and economics,2012). The inequality income make the labors live in the bottom in the cities. However, migrant laborers still do not want to go home due to the worse living condition.These situations make migrant laborers have low happiness index(Finance and economics,2012). Opportunity of job The imbalance of employment between supply and demand exists in China. China is in the peak of the population, there are a lot of workers need jobs. For the rural laborers, they would like to go to urban for better life environment. The urban has an increasing pressure on employment because the surplus rural laborers move to urban. The rapid growth of new workers is far more than the growth of job creation. The situation is also confronted by the college graduates.The continuous development of Chinese higher education has produced hundreds and thousands of college graduates annually. Unemployed college graduates become a common phenomenon (Economy Watch, 2010). The unemployment problem influences the happiness index on Chinese people. More badly, it could lead to the social unstability. To solve this social problem, the government should make efforts for better employ environment (Economy Watch, 2010). Political factors Democracy Democracy is defined as the rule that manages state affairs according to the principle of equality, the minority is subordinate to the majority.The United States and European countries have very mature democracy. However, China is a developing country,much of the system is not perfect and it does not achieve a complete democracy. (Pei, 2013) In western countries, the separation of the powers is a political doctrine. It is divided into executive power, judicial power and legislative power. Even if the president commits crime, judicial independence can prosecute his action. For example, the former president of Taiwan who broke the law, an independent judiciary made trial for him (Kelly, 2013).While China implements the system of people's congress and the Communist Party commands all the system, it produces the law privileges. They use the privilege to corrupt and the subordinate officials provide shelter for them. Furthermore, the phenomenon of bribery is very severe. Clerks pay bribes to get the ideal position. These situations result in people low happiness index (China daily, 2010). Freedom The political freedom involves many aspects including freedom of speech, freedom of assemble and freedom of vote and so on. These freedoms can regard as the sign of human right.The political freedom should be treated as the ultimate goal of Chinese political reform and development. Freedom of speech is the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas. While Chinese people almost have no rights, the speech against party or government is prohibited by the reality of media and the internet; Freedom of assembly is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests. Due to the rule of one-party monopoly, the Communist Party of China do not allow to make other the parties or groups.In this way, the power is not restricted. The individual without organization’s management have no power to oppose it; Freedom of vote refer to every citizen has the freedom right to vote for a leader. As long as you have ability and ambitions, everyone has the opportunity to be leader. The candidates can introduce policies to get votes so that people will benefit. Unlike China, official is appointed behind the relationship or money (political right and freedom, 2013) The system of organization in China leads to those problems, which is the reason that the Chinese have less political freedom.The government should try to implement the multiple party coexist structure so that Chinese people can have real freedom. People could have a high happiness index in China. Equality The equality is a social state in which all people within a specif ic society have the same status in certain respects. The social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, property rights, and equal access to education, health care and other social securities. It also includes equal opportunities and obligations. (Gay, 2013) In China, all kind of reasons cause to the inequality in many aspects.Such as, there are inequality relationships between superior and subordinate in official circle because of the lack of the voting system. It has the inequality of education distribution because the imbalance development of district economic. These situations lead to a decreasing unhappiness index in China’s community. Conclusion Based on the researches, this paper mainly carried on a study in Chinese happiness index via analyzing the influenced factors. The social, economic and politic factors were considered as the factors that have great influence on happiness index.In support of the basic result, this paper unde rtook a systematic analysis from these aspects. Ultimately, there is conclusion that all kinds of factors have a significant impact on happiness. Furthermore, considering the actual situation in China, the majority of population are middle and lower income workers, farmers, and unemployed. Their living standard determines the overall level of happiness in society. Therefore, it is very urgent and important to design proper policies to enhance these people’s happiness level. Several policy recommendations are put forward to the government to increase the citizen’s happiness index.First, it could be suggested to build a sound social system. The government should remain a primary priority to make Chinese residents get better education and satisfy their needs. And building a social security system protects the middle and lower income residents. In addition, the government should guide sustainable and stable development of economics. It is important to regulate wealth gap b etween rich and poor and control the excessive imbalance of income distribution. The government should also adjust economic structure and improve the demand capacity for labor to reduce unemployment.Finally, the politic factors have the lowest feeling of happiness in society. The government can reform and establish multi-party democratic constitutional system instead of one-party monopoly in china. The rights, free press, freedom of assembly and open elections, is the basic need of human beings for high happiness (Hu, 2012). Because of the constraint of time, this paper ignored some other factors when doing research. Furthermore, many countries have a higher level of happiness, such as some Nordic countries. We can compare Chinese economical, social and political data with those countries.Through comparison, we can detect some deeper reasons to guide our new research. References Centre For Bhutan Studies. (2013). Bhutan GNH index. Retrieved from http://www. grossnationalhappiness. c om/articles/ CSR. (1998, October). The development research center of the state council of the People’s Republic of China. Retrieved from http://www. chinacsrmap. org/Org_Show_EN. asp? ID=133 China Daily. (2010, February). Retrieved from http://www. chinadaily. com. cn/china/2010npc/2010-02/09/content_9449872. htm Finance and economics. (2012). 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