Teenage Pregnancy Prevalence - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 972 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/04/05 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Teenage Pregnancy Essay Did you like this example? Teenagers are young people between the ages of 10 and 19 years. Around 1.2 billion people ,or 1 in 6 of worlds population ,are adolescents A (WHO,2018). Most teenagers are healthy, but there is still significant premature injury, illness, and death among them. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Teenage Pregnancy Prevalence" essay for you Create order the main cause of this problems is the unhealthy practice during this period, such alcohol or tobacco use, lack of physical activity, unprotected sex, exposure to violence, and early pregnancy. All of this problems can affect their ability to grow and develop to their full potential, and can threaten not only their current health but also their health as adults, and even the health of their future children, for this they are one of the vulnerable group. Adolescent pregnancy is defined as a teenage girl, usually between the ages of 13-19, becoming pregnant (Akella, Jordan, 2014). Early pregnancy and its complication considered as the second cause of death for 15-19-year-old girls (WHO,2014). Although they face as other women the same pregnancy-related issues. they become at higher risk, because they are one of the vulnerable group and their body is not fully developed to sustain a healthy pregnancy or to give birth. In addition, the critical social issues which they are faces. Teenage pregnancies are a global problem, that occurs all over the world in high, middle and low income countries. But most of the time its occurs in marginalized communities, where the poverty, lack of education and lack of opportunity of employment are widespread (WHO,2018). Teenage pregnancy prevalence Around 1 million girls under 15 years give birth yearly mostly in low- and middle-income countries(WHO,2018). In 2010, public spending for teenage births results around $9.4 billion (National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2014). The occurrence of teenage pregnancy differs dramatically between different countries. depending on cultural factors, female education, religion, and access to contraceptives. The teenage birth rate according to WHO estimation is 11% of total birth around world, and the majority of these are from low- and middle- income. According to The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report between 2006-2015, The adolescent birth rate in the world per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19, is 51 birth, 18 birth in more developed region ,56 birth in less developed region, and 109 at the least developed region, around 20,000 girls under age 18 give birth daily in developing countries, which equal to 7.3 million births a year (UNFPA,2017) In the US, at 2015, a whole of 229,715 babies was born for adolescents women, and at 2016 the number of adolescent birth decreased to 209,480 births (National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2016). In 2017 the birth rate was 22.3 per 1,000 women in 10-19 years age group(CDC,2017). It was estimated that the rates of teen pregnancy are 20 times higher in developing countries than the ones reported in developed countries (UNFPA,2017). In Egypt the rate of teenage pregnancy ranges from 4.1% in urban societies to 11.3% in rural areas (Abbas, Ali, Ali, Fouly, Altraigey, 2017). In Jordan, the rate of teenage marriage was 10.6% in 1990 and dropped to 6.3% in 2012 (Khader, Batieha, Al-Hader, Saad,2017). And in 2015 the percent was raised again to reach 18,1%, which equal 414353 case of early marriage. The percent of teenage marriage before the 18 year between 2010 and 2015 was 15.1%, the highest percent was in al-Mafraa 24.5%, followed by Al-Zarqa with 18.8% and then Irbid with 17.7%. T he remaining nine governorates did not exceed the national level, with rates for the rest of the governorates ranging from 13.3% (HPC,2017). One of the causes of this rising in adolescent birth was related to Syrian refuges entrance to Jordan. Among the cases of early marriage in 2015 which mentioned before there were 11.6% Jordanian case, and 43.7 % were Syrian (JNCW,2015). The rate of teenage marriage among the Syrian women were 33.2% in 2010, and this percent increased to 43.7% in 2015. The highest percent was in Al-Balqaa 51.7%, followed by Al-Tafela 50% (DOS,2015). Teenage pregnancy factors High incidence of teenagers pregnancy related to a myriad of factors, that are closely linked to culture and norms. In addition to the main factors which are mutual between most countries regardless to the cultures, such as, early sex and marriage, low contraceptive use, low educational levels, low socio-economic status, lack of knowledge of reproductive and sexual health, gender inequity, and physical/sexual violence(Kaphagawani, Kalipeni, 2017). According to systematic review conducted in 2014 over seven countries in south Asia, the main risk factors of teenage pregnancy in this area are socioeconomic factors, low education attainment, culture and family structure (Acharya, Bhattarai, Poobalan, Teijlingen Chapman. 2014). The low education level lead to increase the teenage pregnancy, Conversely, teenage pregnancy increases the school dropout (De Witte, Cabus, Thyssen, Groot, van den Brink, 2013). Thirty percent of teenage girls who dropout of high school cite pregnancy or parent hood as a primary reason(NCSL,2017). By increasing of the birth rate the school dropout percent will increase too (Marcotte, 2013). In Jordan around 66.7% of Jordanian teenage women and 69.3% of Syrian teenage women are in primary education. And this mean there opportunity to have good job with high income will decrease. 1.3% of teenage women have job, and 45.3% of their husband have job, 32.9% dont have job, and 10.1% dont have fixed job (DOS,2015). That mean these families will enter the poverty cycle And by decrease the socioeconomic status ,monthly income, the incidence of adolescent pregnancy increases (Penman-Aguilar, Carter, Snead, Kourtis, 2013). In Jordan and according to HPC survey, the main causes for early marriage among Jordanian and Syrian families, and Palestinian and Syrian refugee, were poverty and the elimination of the girls economical liability, frequent study failure, the girls honor protection, TV programs and the social media (HPC,2017) There is a lot of factor increase the incidence of teenage pregnancy among the Syrian refugees in the al-Zaatari camp, such as the inability of the women a nd girls to make a decision about their reproductive health. Because the parents percept they have the right to marry off their daughters against their will, and the husband decides when to have children on behalf of his wife (Sahbani, Al-Khateeb, Hikmat, 2016).

Accounting Essay - 2662 Words

1. A brief history of the two organisations, and their objectives, in as far as they relate to accounting practices regionally and/or internationally, as necessary. 1.1 European Union (EU) 1958 - EU was formed following by the Treaty of Rome Global trading has impacted the treaty to develop standards that support unrestricted market activities internationally. Uniformed accounting standards are required regionally to encourage the capital flow, enhance stakeholders’ protection, and increase the comparability and reliability of companies’ financial information (Donnelly, 2007). 1970 and 1980- EU establishes the foundation of Accounting Harmonisation through company law The purpose of EU is to construct the common business†¦show more content†¦The comparability will remove the general confusion about the reliability of international financial reports. Van de Tas (1988) pointed up that it would be beneficial for Stakeholders who are loaded with tremendous business information. Comparability in the international accounting harmonisation will contribute more relevant information that may promote the productiveness of the financial markets, which will enhance the quality of Fair Value Accounting figures (Barlev and Haddad, 2007). As emphasised by Nair and Frank (1970) that the distinctiveness of the accounting practices could constitute barriers to the international publication of accurate financial data. Comparability of international and national standards could improve the credibility of the financial information provided by the entities of the public sector worldwide (Otavova, 2011). 4 2.3 Increase the confidence of stakeholders In harmonisation, the preparation of financial statements is presented and directed toward a wide range of users with the common financial information. Therefore, it could reduce the complications for stakeholders in comparisons of the annual reports and cost of capital will ultimately decrease. 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The Political Effects of the Vietnam War on 1960’s Pop Culture Free Essays

string(56) " role in the evolution of the 1960’s pop culture\." Tie Die, JFK, The Beatles, Drugs, Peace, Love, Dr. Martin Luther King, Woodstock, Go-Go Boots, Civil Rights, and Vietnam. When we say any of these words we think of the 1960’s. We will write a custom essay sample on The Political Effects of the Vietnam War on 1960’s Pop Culture or any similar topic only for you Order Now The 1960’s were a landmark in history remembered for effecting pop culture. What lead to such a dramatic change? In the 1950’s the style was scarves, poodle skirts, and letter sweaters. The popular music was about teenage boyfriends and girlfriends. Then there was the 1960’s. Could we have foreseen that people would wear mini skirts? Could we have foreseen that women would burn their bras in protest? Could we have foreseen that music would take a huge turn toward lyrics of peace, drugs, and mainly rock and roll? Probably not. What could have happened that would change American pop culture so much? There were many events that took place in the 1960’s that had an affect on American citizens. The death of John F. Kennedy surprised and upset many Americans. However, the Vietnam War had the most profound effect on American pop culture. The Vietnam War changed music, fashion, and overall attitudes. Because of the Vietnam War and the undertones of the civil rights movement, 1960’s pop culture significantly impacted our nation in a way that will be remembered for many years to come. 2Szymanski The Vietnam War still effects many people. Today, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is commonly associated with veterans of the Vietnam War. (Berk 346) During the 1960’s there was an Anti-War movement that evolved from the Freedom of Speech Movement. This movement began on college campuses and spread cross-country. (Radical Times) The Antiwar Movement took place because people didn’t understand why American soldiers were in Vietnam. People wanted the soldiers brought home. The Freedom of Speech Movement easily converted to the Antiwar Movement because of the similarity. People felt that this was not right and the issue was of such great importance that it needed to be addressed. I feel that the Antiwar Movement was successful and important because it did bring a lot of change to the nation. This change was both political and pop cultural. The Freedom of Speech Movement had limited success. In fact, the Antiwar Movement as well as the protests had a large effect on the endi ng of the Vietnam war. (Radical Times) In conjunction with the Antiwar Movement was the Civil Rights Movement. This event is commonly associated with Dr. Martin Luther King. However, the movement initially began with Rosa Parks and her ability to stand up for what she wanted, a seat toward the front of the bus. (Radical Times) At the time of the Black Civil Rights Movement a group called the Black Panthers evolved. This group arose as a militant group of young black men led by H. Rap Brown who risked his life to register blacks to vote in 1966. (USA Today) The difference between these civil rights groups is that Martin Luther advocated power through non-violence, whereas the Black Panthers promoted violence as a means to gain political footholds. (USA Today) For the African 3Szymanski American race there was a lot of momentum gained in the 1960’s and there was a lot of ground made politically. The impact of these movements was phenomenal. The Antiwar Movement changed the dress, the music, and the style of nearly all college campuses in the United States. When a person would walk past a college dormitory there would be peace signs hung in windows. (Radical Times) The statement made was seen across America. A wonderful example of the effects of the Antiwar Movement on society is shown in Forrest Gump. There is a scene in which the audience sees an anti protest. The people there epitomize the effect that this had on pop culture. The clothes they wore and the music they listened to exemplifies the profound influence this had on the nation. The Civil Rights Movement is one that also made a lot of headway during the 1960’s. The assassination of Martin Luther King had a profound effect on the American Society. This event impacted all races. Martin Luther King stood for the feeling of that time. His emphasis on peace was one that effected the entire nation. (Carroll 173) Martin Luther King Jr. is a symbol of harmony, human understanding, tolerance, unity, justice and brotherhood-for every generation. (Albright) Now that we have explored some of the political events that took place in the 1960’s, we will explore some major changes in pop culture and how those relate to the political events in depth.The Antiwar Movement had a significant influence on the pop culture of the 1960’s. This effect was shown through both music and fashion. The term â€Å"flower children† emerged from the anti war protesters. (Radical Times) They stood for peace love and harmony. They were the first to make tie die and hip huggers extremely 4Szymanski popular. They also had a large influence on the â€Å"natural look†. Women without bras or makeup and men with long hair and grown out facial hair. Prior to the antiwar movement, appearance was valued when one was neat and cleanly. (Walley) The pop culture of the 1960’s was changed through the antiwar movement and one of the facets of pop culture changed was music. The following lyrics are from a popular song about the antiwar movement. â€Å"Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another right now.† (Forrest Gump) Popular artists such as the Beatles, Cat Stevens, and even the Righteous Brothers wrote music that inspired antiwar protesters and became associated with them. Further in this paper there will be information on Woodstock, a musical and historical event associated with the Anti War movement. The Antiwar Movement was not the only political event to have an effect on pop culture. Although the impact from the Antiwar Movement is seen the most the civil rights movement did have an important role in the evolution of the 1960’s pop culture. You read "The Political Effects of the Vietnam War on 1960’s Pop Culture" in category "Papers" The Black Civil Rights Movement did have an effect on American Society. The effect of this was not seen as much on pop culture, but it was there. The true effect is shown in the dramatic increase of popularity in rhythm and blues. Prior to rhythm and blues, jazz music was associated as â€Å"black music.† It wasn’t played very much on the radio. However, in the 1960’s more black artists emerged. The Black Civil Rights Movement heavily effected music. Toward the end of the 1960’s African American 5Szymanski styles emerged as popular. â€Å"Afros† were a common and popular hairstyle. (NetFirst) The music styles of Jimmy Hendrix as well as many other African American artists became known as legendary. (SixtiesMusic.com) Albeit, the civil rights movement and the political ground it gained, put African American styles of fashion and of music in the American pop culture arena. As touched on before, the effect of politics (namely the Vietnam War ) had a significant influence on the fashion of that time. A feeling of the need for freedom†¦of expression and speech swept over the nation. Because of this feeling, people expressed themselves not only through words of protest and actions of protest, but through their clothing. This was the countries way of expressing themselves without saying a word, but through what they wore. As shown in an analytic pop culture web site, â€Å"Fashion is never just about clothes, but attitude and expression as well. Up until about 1967, fashion had reflected a period of discover for youth; fun-loving, outrageous and colorful.†(Sixtiespopdiary. -fashion) So, what were these fashions that were about â€Å"attitude and expression?† Miniskirts (and even later micro skirts), caused moral outrage and were one of the first dramatic styles to come out in the 1960’s. Later, a sloppy look became popular with T-shirts and sandals. Skintight pants also became popular, even so as a unisex article. (Sixtiespopdiary-fashion) The world was changing as fast as the fashions. In a personal opinion, looking back on this time of a political whirlwind, fashion was just as confusing as the world was. In this subject having to with politics and society, Woodstock is able to show the political influence on pop culture in one single event. In a mere 3 days, 6Szymanski thousands of people and influential artists were able to almost spontaneously put on one of the most historically significant pop culture events ever. The hippie look was dominant. Rock and roll and music of expression were the dominant sounds. A feeling of freedom was dominant. In one event, the world expressed the feeling of an era. (Interview) Today, the world of pop culture hails this event by trying to repeat it. Much to the dismay of many, the event cannot be repeated. The later generation looks at the event and realizes that this event was one of expression without even knowing the political events of that time. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair in August of 1969 remain a legend even today. The spontaneous event captured a generation’s good feelings. Ironically, there were nearly as many Americans at Woodstock as there were in Vietnam. (Interview) Woodstock took place for 3 short days and there was a lot of rain. People didn’t care about the rain, food, or bathrooms. â€Å"No one wanted to let the essence or the aura go. Halfway through an era of bad news, in the middle of a horrible war, barely a year after the wrenching, terrifying assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, an entire, desperately wished -for era of good feeling was compressed into a single place and time. That compression produced a corresponding intensity of wonder and delight.† (Interview) The reason for Woodstock is well understood. However, it amazes me that such a spontaneous event could have such an unbelievable turnout. 7Szymanski Jimi Hendrix was one of the most influential musicians associated with Woodstock. It was there that he played his rendition of the â€Å"Star Spangled Banner.† Jimi’s rendition was considered a brutal insult in its time. It was said that it sounded like a â€Å"blasted seizure of the national anthem.† (Interview) However, today Hendrix’s national anthem is popular. When Hendrix performed this there were approximately 30,000 people left at Woodstock. His performance was spontaneous. It was described as â€Å"†¦his great No to the war, to racism, to whatever you or he might think of and want gone. But then that discord shattered, and for more than four and half long, complex minutes Hendrix pursued each invisible crack in a vessel that had one been whole, feeling out and exploring and testing himself and the music against anguish, rage, fear, hate, love offered, and love refused. When he finished he had created an anthem that could never be summed up and that would never come to rest.† (Interview) In summary, because of the Vietnam War and the undertones of the civil rights movement, 1960’s pop culture significantly impacted our nation in a way that will be remembered for many years to come. Throughout the nineties, the hippie look became a popular style as a way of expressing ourselves. Popular artists have redone music from the sixties. For example, Natalie Merchant has recently redone the popular sixties hit â€Å"Peace Train.† The movie Forrest Gump, which is a summary of both the political and pop culture America in the sixties, won best picture in 1994. Even today, the sixties are a political and pop cultural landmark for the nation. Does this say that the sixties were a period of more turmoil and more change than other decades? Does this say that the fashion change more dramatically and rapidly than 8Szymanski other decades? Personally, I feel this decade did. From an outlook of a person who did not live during that time or during the time of many other decades, that decade stands out far above many others. Many political and pop culture figures are remembered and recognized by all ages today. In this era, the politics and pop culture overlap. To think that politics affected Americans so much that politics changed people’s perspectives is remarkable, even profound. The death of Kennedy and Martin Luther King had a devastating influence over an entire nation. Yet, everyone soon focused on that feeling of freedom and love. This roller coaster of emotions had a roller coaster of an affect. Has any other decade changed a nation so much and so fast? How to cite The Political Effects of the Vietnam War on 1960’s Pop Culture, Essays

Telstra Australian Telecommunication information organization and McKi

Question: Compare and critically review two business reports of Telstra Australian Telecommunication information organization and McKinsey Quarterly. Answer: Introduction The business report are evaluated for breaking the information provided on the basis of rationale, important key aspects, techniques and further findings or conclusion of the proposed report. Moreover, any un-discussed facts can be identified that are mentioned in the report. In the current report, sustainability aspects of Telstra which is an Australian Telecommunication information organization will be discussed. On the other hand, business strategy will be highlighted which is proposed by McKinsey Quarterly. Therefore, all the relevant aspects will be reviewed in order to understand the feasibility of the report published by the organizations to know whether it is fulfilling its purpose or not. Summary and Analysis of the Report Content Analytical Summary of main findings The main purpose of the report of Telstra was to bequeath with the information relating to issue of sustainability towards the industry which will be effective for the business to make investment decision. The report has been developed following the standards of industry and sustainability such as Global Reporting Initiative G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, UN Global Compact Communication on Progress and Account Abilitys AA100 Principles Standard 2008 and Telecommunications Sector Supplement. On the other hand, sustainability scorecard section discusses about the major performance indicators score gained in 2012-2013. Therefore, the scores have been compared with last two period performances. Further, the sustainability section explained the steps adopted for performing the business in ethical way in order to develop more effective work environment and provide more efficient service to customers. Moreover, the company made commitments to majorly focus on the aspects of sustainability. Therefore, in commitment and approach part, all the important commitments formulated at start of 2012-2013 were outlined in lieu with the approaches adopted to attain it. On the other hand, it has been understood that environmental leadership, employee involvement and linking each strategy are the major center which will help in developing a value for the company and for stakeholders too. Moreover, the engagement of shareholders explains about the major stakeholders associated with Telstra. The stakeholders are customers, government, employees, Australian Communities, industry, suppliers, union and media. Further, the key issue part discusses about process for prioritizing aspect of sustaina bility and challenges possessed by organization. The initiative relating to voluntary assurance and sustainability policy has been mentioned in transparency and accountability part. In the case of McKinsey Quarterly, the first heading of the report discuss about the changes in the business strategy that has been studied over the years. Moreover, the framework of strategy has been mentioned and the way the industries are diversifying their strategy to match up the environmental or market changes. On the other hand, what are the expectations of the industries from the strategy has been outlined so that it can provide large benefit to the business and personally. Apart from that, social side relating to strategy has been outlined which focus on the importance of non-rational issues in planning the strategy. Therefore, this particular report revolves around the strategies in order to align and organize the business and gain higher benefit from the market and getting competitive advantage over other business. Strengths and usefulness of report A sustainability report will turn effective if the report comprises sustainability performances in regards to negative and positive inputs of the reporting institution over the specific period (Bovee and Thill, 2013). Therefore, in case of Telstra report provides all relevant information about their commitments and approach adopted by them to attain commitments. Moreover, they also mentioned the top priorities and problems they faced last year. Therefore, it can be mentioned that report provides balanced information which be taken as strengths of report. Further, the report included all the materiality aspects along with environmental sustainability, innovation and product use, community involvement, stakeholder engagement, etc. On the other hand, in context to priorities, involvement of employee in report was one top priority of Telstra. Moreover, the environmental leadership and building connection with other individual Australian is other priority to be sustainable. The report of Telstra has included the major industry standard and sustainability standard to meet their goals. Therefore, all the above mentioned points are strength of the sustainability report presented by the Telstra. Apart from that, the building a strategy report requires mentioning all the relevant information to largely benefit the company or individual. The report of McKinsey Quarterly effectively mentioned the phases of changes in the strategies that took place over the years. Moreover, the report discussed the importance of tools and frameworks for the leaders to formulate the winning strategies. The different industries example has been outlined to provide understanding of the adopted strategy and changes in the followed up strategy. Therefore, it helps in clear insight of the strategies and understanding the importance of building strong strategies for future as well as current benefit (Kaufman, 2012). On the other hand, the number of professor has pointed their thoughts regarding strategy frameworks for meeting the environment changes by adopting advanced tools and frameworks. The importance of Michael Porters five forces has been mentioned in the report so that readers can focus on it b efore formulating strategies. Apart from that, role of globalization, urbanization, technologies, etc has significant impact on strategy change. Therefore, it has been clearly outlined in the report. Thus, the all above discussed points are major strengths of the report and need for strategy and development of new framework is valuable for the business growth. Weakness or limitations of the report The sustainability report issued by Telstra includes certain strengths but there are some limitations which arise in the report. The sustainability report that is published by Telstra involved the aspects of stakeholder engagement but the report only mentioned the stakeholders that are associated with the organization. The report fails in explaining the procedure for engaging the different stakeholders within the activities of the company. On the other hand, the report did not provided sufficient information to have a clear understanding regarding the perspective of the each stakeholder within the operation of organization. Therefore, it can be discussed that from the viewpoint of the external individual that sustainability report is less feasible for them (Harzing et al. 2013). Apart from that, the sustainability report did not supply enough information in context to distribution channel and in utilization by the end consumers. Furthermore, the Telstra sustainability report did not highlighted effectively on the issues relating to social responsibility. Therefore, it can be considered that due to such limitation the report lacks some feasibility. Apart from the report of Telstra, the report of McKinsey Quarterly holds strengths along with some weaknesses which limit the acceptability of the report to some extent. The report mentioned about the strategy practice but it did not explained in brief manner to have clear understanding that what strategy practice should be adopted to gain higher benefit (Farley and Smith, 2012). On the other hand, the report is not arranged effectively which is difficult to have effective insight of the report. Apart from that the view from the different professors are not aligned which makes difficult to understand what they are saying. The report mentioned about the frameworks and core concepts of strategy but it did not provide any example so that better view or knowledge can be gained from it. Moreover, the report talks about the business strategy but there is no mentioned about the process of developing an effective strategy. Therefore, the above mentioned points are some limitations that are a ssociated with the report of McKinsey Quarterly. Conclusion From the whole report, it can be understood that preparing a report is critical task. The sustainability report of Telstra has been prepared by following the standard of industry along with the standard of sustainability. On the other hand, the different components have been outlined in the particular report in order to explore the sustainability aspect of the company in long term. Apart from that, report of McKinsey Quarterly discuss about the business strategy and its transformation over the time in the organizations. The report involved number of professors to present their viewpoint about the strategy and frameworks for the strategy. Both the provided report includes strength as well as some limitations which tell about their feasibility. Apart from that, overall material in both the reports provided effective information whether it is related to sustainable practice or business strategy practice. The report provided valuable information to the users of report and they can make d ecision on the basis of report. Moreover, the limitation associated in the both the report can be addressed easily as they are not a great issue. Therefore, the report publishing organizations has to provide all the complete details so that it can be well accepted by the readers. The sustainability report of Telstra will be beneficial for other organizations to improve their performance and engage large number of stakeholders with their service. Further, the report of McKinsey Quarterly will be effective large number of business houses to build effective business strategy and get help from the points mentioned by the professors. Therefore, it can be concluded that both the report consider on their limitation then a perfect report can be gained. References Bloor, M., and Bloor, T. (2013). The practice of critical discourse analysis: An introduction. Routledge. Bovee, C. V., and Thill, J. V. (2013). Business Communication Essentials 6th edition. Prentice Hall. Brutus, S., Aguinis, H., and Wassmer, U. (2013). Self-Reported Limitations and Future Directions in Scholarly Reports Analysis and Recommendations. Journal of Management, 39(1), 48-75. Dandira, M. (2012). Dysfunctional leadership: organizational cancer. Business Strategy Series, 13(4), pp.187-192. Farley, H. and Smith, Z. (2012). PERSPECTIVES FROM THE FIELD: Sustainability: Guiding Principle or Broken Compass?. Env Prac, 14(01), pp.85-86. Gibb, A., Haskins, G., and Robertson, I. (2013). Leading the entrepreneurial university: Meeting the entrepreneurial development needs of higher education institutions. In Universities in Change (pp. 9-45). Springer New York. Hahn, R., and Khnen, M. (2013). Determinants of sustainability reporting: A review of results, trends, theory, and opportunities in an expanding field of research. Journal of cleaner production, 59, 5-21. Harzing, A. W., Reiche, B. S., and Pudelko, M. (2013). Challenges in international survey research: a review with illustrations and suggested solutions for best practice. European Journal of International Management,7(1), 112-134. Kaufman, B. (2012). Anatomy of dysfunctional working relationships. Business Strategy Series, 13(2), pp.102-106. Keyton, J., Caputo, J. M., Ford, E. A., Fu, R., Leibowitz, S. A., Liu, T., ... and Wu, C. (2013). Investigating verbal workplace communication behaviors.Journal of Business Communication, 0021943612474990. Lang, D., Wiek, A., Bergmann, M., Stauffacher, M., Martens, P., Moll, P., Swilling, M. and Thomas, C. (2012). Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: practice, principles, and challenges. Sustainability Science, 7(S1), pp.25-43. Lazo-Flores, T. (2012). Grading Green: Strands of Sustainability Theory and Practice in Interior Design Courses. Sustainability: The Journal of Record, 5(5), pp.323-330. Marren, P. (2012). The devil's dictionary of business strategy, volume II. Journal of Business Strategy, 33(6), pp.47-49. Mingers, J., and Willmott, H. (2013). Taylorizing business school research: On the one best wayperformative effects of journal ranking lists. Human Relations, 66(8), 1051-1073. MUROS, J. (2012). Going After the Green: Expanding Industrial-Organizational Practice to Include Environmental Sustainability. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(4), pp.467-472. Schmitz, C., Matyk, T., Sloan, L. and James, C. (2011). The relationship between social work and environmental sustainability: Implications for interdisciplinary practice. International Journal of Social Welfare, 21(3), pp.278-286. Servaes, J., Polk, E., Shi, S., Reilly, D. and Yakupitijage, T. (2012). Sustainability testing for development projects. Development in Practice, 22(1), pp.18-30. Slawinska, K., and Villani, C. S. (2014). Gaining and strengthening'soft skills' for employment. Thill, J. V., and Bove, C. L. (2013). Excellence in business communication. R. B. Chatterjee, and K. Subramanian (Eds.). Pearson.

Telstra Australian Telecommunication information organization and McKi

Question: Compare and critically review two business reports of Telstra Australian Telecommunication information organization and McKinsey Quarterly. Answer: Introduction The business report are evaluated for breaking the information provided on the basis of rationale, important key aspects, techniques and further findings or conclusion of the proposed report. Moreover, any un-discussed facts can be identified that are mentioned in the report. In the current report, sustainability aspects of Telstra which is an Australian Telecommunication information organization will be discussed. On the other hand, business strategy will be highlighted which is proposed by McKinsey Quarterly. Therefore, all the relevant aspects will be reviewed in order to understand the feasibility of the report published by the organizations to know whether it is fulfilling its purpose or not. Summary and Analysis of the Report Content Analytical Summary of main findings The main purpose of the report of Telstra was to bequeath with the information relating to issue of sustainability towards the industry which will be effective for the business to make investment decision. The report has been developed following the standards of industry and sustainability such as Global Reporting Initiative G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, UN Global Compact Communication on Progress and Account Abilitys AA100 Principles Standard 2008 and Telecommunications Sector Supplement. On the other hand, sustainability scorecard section discusses about the major performance indicators score gained in 2012-2013. Therefore, the scores have been compared with last two period performances. Further, the sustainability section explained the steps adopted for performing the business in ethical way in order to develop more effective work environment and provide more efficient service to customers. Moreover, the company made commitments to majorly focus on the aspects of sustainability. Therefore, in commitment and approach part, all the important commitments formulated at start of 2012-2013 were outlined in lieu with the approaches adopted to attain it. On the other hand, it has been understood that environmental leadership, employee involvement and linking each strategy are the major center which will help in developing a value for the company and for stakeholders too. Moreover, the engagement of shareholders explains about the major stakeholders associated with Telstra. The stakeholders are customers, government, employees, Australian Communities, industry, suppliers, union and media. Further, the key issue part discusses about process for prioritizing aspect of sustaina bility and challenges possessed by organization. The initiative relating to voluntary assurance and sustainability policy has been mentioned in transparency and accountability part. In the case of McKinsey Quarterly, the first heading of the report discuss about the changes in the business strategy that has been studied over the years. Moreover, the framework of strategy has been mentioned and the way the industries are diversifying their strategy to match up the environmental or market changes. On the other hand, what are the expectations of the industries from the strategy has been outlined so that it can provide large benefit to the business and personally. Apart from that, social side relating to strategy has been outlined which focus on the importance of non-rational issues in planning the strategy. Therefore, this particular report revolves around the strategies in order to align and organize the business and gain higher benefit from the market and getting competitive advantage over other business. Strengths and usefulness of report A sustainability report will turn effective if the report comprises sustainability performances in regards to negative and positive inputs of the reporting institution over the specific period (Bovee and Thill, 2013). Therefore, in case of Telstra report provides all relevant information about their commitments and approach adopted by them to attain commitments. Moreover, they also mentioned the top priorities and problems they faced last year. Therefore, it can be mentioned that report provides balanced information which be taken as strengths of report. Further, the report included all the materiality aspects along with environmental sustainability, innovation and product use, community involvement, stakeholder engagement, etc. On the other hand, in context to priorities, involvement of employee in report was one top priority of Telstra. Moreover, the environmental leadership and building connection with other individual Australian is other priority to be sustainable. The report of Telstra has included the major industry standard and sustainability standard to meet their goals. Therefore, all the above mentioned points are strength of the sustainability report presented by the Telstra. Apart from that, the building a strategy report requires mentioning all the relevant information to largely benefit the company or individual. The report of McKinsey Quarterly effectively mentioned the phases of changes in the strategies that took place over the years. Moreover, the report discussed the importance of tools and frameworks for the leaders to formulate the winning strategies. The different industries example has been outlined to provide understanding of the adopted strategy and changes in the followed up strategy. Therefore, it helps in clear insight of the strategies and understanding the importance of building strong strategies for future as well as current benefit (Kaufman, 2012). On the other hand, the number of professor has pointed their thoughts regarding strategy frameworks for meeting the environment changes by adopting advanced tools and frameworks. The importance of Michael Porters five forces has been mentioned in the report so that readers can focus on it b efore formulating strategies. Apart from that, role of globalization, urbanization, technologies, etc has significant impact on strategy change. Therefore, it has been clearly outlined in the report. Thus, the all above discussed points are major strengths of the report and need for strategy and development of new framework is valuable for the business growth. Weakness or limitations of the report The sustainability report issued by Telstra includes certain strengths but there are some limitations which arise in the report. The sustainability report that is published by Telstra involved the aspects of stakeholder engagement but the report only mentioned the stakeholders that are associated with the organization. The report fails in explaining the procedure for engaging the different stakeholders within the activities of the company. On the other hand, the report did not provided sufficient information to have a clear understanding regarding the perspective of the each stakeholder within the operation of organization. Therefore, it can be discussed that from the viewpoint of the external individual that sustainability report is less feasible for them (Harzing et al. 2013). Apart from that, the sustainability report did not supply enough information in context to distribution channel and in utilization by the end consumers. Furthermore, the Telstra sustainability report did not highlighted effectively on the issues relating to social responsibility. Therefore, it can be considered that due to such limitation the report lacks some feasibility. Apart from the report of Telstra, the report of McKinsey Quarterly holds strengths along with some weaknesses which limit the acceptability of the report to some extent. The report mentioned about the strategy practice but it did not explained in brief manner to have clear understanding that what strategy practice should be adopted to gain higher benefit (Farley and Smith, 2012). On the other hand, the report is not arranged effectively which is difficult to have effective insight of the report. Apart from that the view from the different professors are not aligned which makes difficult to understand what they are saying. The report mentioned about the frameworks and core concepts of strategy but it did not provide any example so that better view or knowledge can be gained from it. Moreover, the report talks about the business strategy but there is no mentioned about the process of developing an effective strategy. Therefore, the above mentioned points are some limitations that are a ssociated with the report of McKinsey Quarterly. Conclusion From the whole report, it can be understood that preparing a report is critical task. The sustainability report of Telstra has been prepared by following the standard of industry along with the standard of sustainability. On the other hand, the different components have been outlined in the particular report in order to explore the sustainability aspect of the company in long term. Apart from that, report of McKinsey Quarterly discuss about the business strategy and its transformation over the time in the organizations. The report involved number of professors to present their viewpoint about the strategy and frameworks for the strategy. Both the provided report includes strength as well as some limitations which tell about their feasibility. Apart from that, overall material in both the reports provided effective information whether it is related to sustainable practice or business strategy practice. The report provided valuable information to the users of report and they can make d ecision on the basis of report. Moreover, the limitation associated in the both the report can be addressed easily as they are not a great issue. Therefore, the report publishing organizations has to provide all the complete details so that it can be well accepted by the readers. The sustainability report of Telstra will be beneficial for other organizations to improve their performance and engage large number of stakeholders with their service. Further, the report of McKinsey Quarterly will be effective large number of business houses to build effective business strategy and get help from the points mentioned by the professors. Therefore, it can be concluded that both the report consider on their limitation then a perfect report can be gained. References Bloor, M., and Bloor, T. (2013). The practice of critical discourse analysis: An introduction. Routledge. Bovee, C. V., and Thill, J. V. (2013). Business Communication Essentials 6th edition. Prentice Hall. Brutus, S., Aguinis, H., and Wassmer, U. (2013). Self-Reported Limitations and Future Directions in Scholarly Reports Analysis and Recommendations. Journal of Management, 39(1), 48-75. Dandira, M. (2012). Dysfunctional leadership: organizational cancer. Business Strategy Series, 13(4), pp.187-192. Farley, H. and Smith, Z. (2012). PERSPECTIVES FROM THE FIELD: Sustainability: Guiding Principle or Broken Compass?. Env Prac, 14(01), pp.85-86. Gibb, A., Haskins, G., and Robertson, I. (2013). Leading the entrepreneurial university: Meeting the entrepreneurial development needs of higher education institutions. In Universities in Change (pp. 9-45). Springer New York. Hahn, R., and Khnen, M. (2013). Determinants of sustainability reporting: A review of results, trends, theory, and opportunities in an expanding field of research. Journal of cleaner production, 59, 5-21. Harzing, A. W., Reiche, B. S., and Pudelko, M. (2013). Challenges in international survey research: a review with illustrations and suggested solutions for best practice. European Journal of International Management,7(1), 112-134. Kaufman, B. (2012). Anatomy of dysfunctional working relationships. Business Strategy Series, 13(2), pp.102-106. Keyton, J., Caputo, J. M., Ford, E. A., Fu, R., Leibowitz, S. A., Liu, T., ... and Wu, C. (2013). Investigating verbal workplace communication behaviors.Journal of Business Communication, 0021943612474990. Lang, D., Wiek, A., Bergmann, M., Stauffacher, M., Martens, P., Moll, P., Swilling, M. and Thomas, C. (2012). Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: practice, principles, and challenges. Sustainability Science, 7(S1), pp.25-43. Lazo-Flores, T. (2012). Grading Green: Strands of Sustainability Theory and Practice in Interior Design Courses. Sustainability: The Journal of Record, 5(5), pp.323-330. Marren, P. (2012). The devil's dictionary of business strategy, volume II. Journal of Business Strategy, 33(6), pp.47-49. Mingers, J., and Willmott, H. (2013). Taylorizing business school research: On the one best wayperformative effects of journal ranking lists. Human Relations, 66(8), 1051-1073. MUROS, J. (2012). Going After the Green: Expanding Industrial-Organizational Practice to Include Environmental Sustainability. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(4), pp.467-472. Schmitz, C., Matyk, T., Sloan, L. and James, C. (2011). The relationship between social work and environmental sustainability: Implications for interdisciplinary practice. International Journal of Social Welfare, 21(3), pp.278-286. Servaes, J., Polk, E., Shi, S., Reilly, D. and Yakupitijage, T. (2012). Sustainability testing for development projects. Development in Practice, 22(1), pp.18-30. Slawinska, K., and Villani, C. S. (2014). Gaining and strengthening'soft skills' for employment. Thill, J. V., and Bove, C. L. (2013). Excellence in business communication. R. B. Chatterjee, and K. Subramanian (Eds.). Pearson.

Edgar Allan Poe Essays (1992 words) - Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe

Edgar Allan Poe In the Valley of the Shodows Edgar Allan Poe was born at 33 Hollis Street, Boston, Mass., on January 19, 1809, the son of poverty stricken actors, David, and Elizabeth (born Arnold) Poe. His parents were then filling an engagement in a Boston theatre, and the appearances of both, together with their sojourns in various places during their wandering careers, are to be plainly traced in the play bills of the time. Paternal Ancestry The father of the poet was one David Poe of Baltimore, Maryland, who had left the study of the law in that city to take up a stage career contrary to the desire of his family. The Poes had settled in America some two or three generations prior to the birth of Edgar. Their line is distinctly traced back to Dring in the Parish of Kildallen, County Cavan, Ireland, and thence into the Parish of Fenwick in Ayrshire, Scotland. Hence they derived from Scotch-Irish stock, with what trace of the Celtic is doubtful. The first Poes came to America about 1739. The immediate paternal ancestors of the poet landed at Newcastle, Delaware, in 1748 or a little earlier. These were John Poe and his wife Jane McBride Poe who went to settle in eastern Pennsylvania. This couple had ten children in their family, among them one David who was the grandfather of the poet. David Poe married Elizabeth Cairnes, also of Scotch-Irish ancestry, then living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, whence, sometime prior to the ou tbreak of the American Revolution they moved to Baltimore, Maryland. David Poe and his wife, Elizabeth Cairnes Poe, took the patriot side in the Revolution. David was active in driving the Tories out of Baltimore and was appointed Assistant Deputy Quartermaster, which meant that he was a local purchasing agent of military supplies for the Revolutionary Army. He is said to have been of considerable aid to Lafayette during the Virginia and Southern campaigns, and for this patriotic activity he received the courtesy title of General. His wife Elizabeth took an active part in making clothes for the Continental Army. David and Elizabeth Poe (Sr.) had seven children David, the eldest son, becoming the father of the poet. Two sisters of David, Eliza Poe (afterward Mrs. Henry Herring) and Maria Poe (later Mrs. William Clemm) enter into the story of the poet's life, the latter particularly, as she became his mother-in-law in addition to being his aunt. With her he lived from 1835 to 1849. Young David Poe was destined for the law, but as previously mentioned, he finally left his native city to go on the stage. His first professional appearance took place at Charleston, S. C., in December, 1803. A dramatic notice of this performance in a local paper describes David Poe as being extremely diffident while . . .His voice seems to be clear, melodious and variable; what its compass may be can only be shown when he acts unrestrained by timidity. His enunciation seemed to be very distinct and articulate; and his face and person are much in his favor. His size is of that pitch well fitted for general action if his talents should be suited to sock and buskin. . . . This is perhaps the only direct evidence extant of the physical appearance of the poet's father. No pictures of him are known to exist. His histrionic powers were at best very limited. He continued to play in minor parts in various Southern cities and in January, 1806, married Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins, a young childless widow, also an actress, whose husband had died but a few months before. Elizabeth Arnold Poe became mother of Edgar Allan Poe. Maternal Ancestry The young widow whom David Poe married in 1806 had been born in England in the spring of 1787. She was the daughter of Henry Arnold, and Elizabeth Arnold (born Smith) both actors at the Covent Garden Theatre Royal, London. Henry Arnold died apparently about 1773. His widow continued to support herself and her child by acting and singing, and in 1796, taking her young daughter with her, she came to America and landed in Boston. Mrs. Arnold continued her professional career in America at first with considerable minor success. Either

September 11 essays

September 11 essays One day in a persons life is not supposed to change anything, but on September 11, 2001, the whole world changed. Now, people dont look through just one eye, they open both eyes and look through both, not knowing when a horrific event like this will happen again. I know that I will never be the same person that I was now that something so terrible happened. I know, the world wont be the same after something like this happening, and the people who did this to us wont be the same either because there will be a lot of changes for them in the long run. There are a few reasons why this time affected me and bothered me; one reason is that I knew two people who were victims of this horrible event. One of the men I knew lived on my block and I will never forget the first Christmas that we spent on the block. He came to our front door in a Santa Claus outfit and gave us presents, and since that day we would become great friends with their family. My brother became very good friends with his son. Once we found out that the boys father was missing, I was in shock and my family was in shock. We just couldnt believe that something like this would happen to him or any of the people that were there and in those two buildings. We spoke with the wife a couple times and tried to help out as much as we could, but we couldnt help bring her husband back and our good friend. Mr. McGinley will be remembered for always having a smile on his face and for always trying to make you laugh when you were down. He was the true meaning of an Americ an. The second man I knew was a father of one of the kids on the Freshman Football Team. I knew the boy only from school and some classes that I had with him. He is a great kid with a great personality, and nothing like this should have ever affected him and his family. I only met his Dad a couple times but both of the times that I met him, he was a real gentleman ...

Employment relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Employment relations - Essay Example Trade unions are institutions which are constituted for the welfare and protection of employees. Such unions are needed to first identify the major issues faced by the workers and then they should work to find remedies for those problems. Women and minority groups have demands for transformation of unions so that unions incorporate their current issues and raise voice for them. Trade unions or labor unions are special organizations formed by individuals that represent people at work to strengthen the protection of their existing rights, and to raise their voice against any uncivil act. It is also constituted as the union’s duty to protect and improve upon the payment and working conditions of the employees. In addition to that, the unions also campaign for laws and policies for the betterment of the working population. The ideology of union formation is basically rooted in the concept that an individual worker has very little power to influence decisions that are made about hi s or her job. Hence, in order to make the workers have more control of their working conditions, the unions attempt to join them all together so that there is more chance of them having a voice (Sofia-Roth, I. 2010, p.3). Labor unions are criticized in many aspects like the ineffectiveness of their existence, raising unnecessary aggression against employers, provoking employees for unjustified demands and so on. Research has been conducted about the usability of unions and their impacts in addition to checking out the argument that unions have outlived their existence. The global environment, the diversity in the workforce, decentralized structures, flattened organizations and increased employee autonomy suggest that unions are no more required. On the other hand, the cases of labor injustices and uncivil practices are still in practice. Employees still have to face the challenge of getting justifiable wages for their skill and effort, suitable working conditions and social benefits . Therefore, it can be easily assumed that labor unions are still required and are needed to play an effective role in setting up standards and regulations fro working class. Although the unions have not become obsolete altogether, yet they require transformation and modification in many ways. Due to globalization, technological advancements and diverse, multicultural workforce the role of unions should be improved and modified according to new requirements. They need to work on building their image as organizations supportive to both the employees and employers, rather than being taken as bodies with their main focus being on strikes and riots. Women and ethnic minority groups are always being discriminated and undervalued since their introduction into employee market. Even their introduction and entry into the workforce is an issue to be considered in this modern and civilized world. These issues require consideration from legislative bodies, labor rights institutions, social welf are groups, non governmental organizations and the most relevant institution that is ‘the union’. Unions need transformation to adjust and accommodate the needs of women and minority groups in an effective way. It can be done by taking into consideration all those issues which are currently being faced by the members of minority groups and then making policies and strategies to process these issues along with the general labor policies. Although the issue is been discussed and resolved in many ways until now, but its complexity suggests that it requires further consideration in various dimensions and by different institutions. To start with the unions, they must recruit the women and minority group members. It will give a moral support and deeper penetration into the problem to be solved. When the union involves such individuals, only then they can argue that they are working in the best interests of all the stakeholders. Furthermore, it will erase the unnecessary

MBA Operation Management Problemsolving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MBA Operation Management Problemsolving - Essay Example b) The lower capital intensity of the mentioned type of firms is explained by the stability of working processes when serving a focus customer. Crews do not need retraining because they do the same thing, for the same customer, all of the time. The machinery factor is also to be regarded: for example, the folding and gluing machine at Focus Packaging handles only one size box, so it never has to be reset. The press stops only to install a new roll of the thin cardboard on which it prints [12]. a) The necessity of the firms with a product focus to plan production and inventory levels further into the future is explained by the vitality of the production plan and inventories for successful supply chain management. It is necessary to plan thoroughly the production basing on the demand forecasts and according to this to make up the corresponding inventories. For the firms with focused production it is especially essential, because their performance depends on demands of particular customers, or one major customer [12]. b) All the above mentioned relates also to the necessity to have more formalized supplier relationships. ... b) All the above mentioned relates also to the necessity to have more formalized supplier relationships. In order for the firm to secure the manufactured product's future sale it is essential to develop clear terms of supplier/customer relationship and validate it formally. c) The low level of inventory accumulation at the work-in-process stage is explained by the simplified scheme of supply chain affording to avoid the overloading of the warehouses by unsold goods (the firm knows more or less precisely what number of goods it should produce). Describe four multi-plant location strategies The four principal location approaches are as follows: Land Use - optimal agricultural land uses based on transport costs to market; optimal distances of residential and commercial land uses from CBD; Industrial Location / Production Orientation - transport-cost minimizing location, profit maximization, optimal combination of inputs & optimal level of production at optimal location (allowing for scale economies and substitutability at any one level of production); Central Places / Market Areas - optimal market areas choosing; Spatial Competition - optimal response in the face of locational competition [11]. Why Colgate Palmolive, and not Campbell Soup be concerned about NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement, known usually as NAFTA, is a free trade agreement among Canada, the United States, and Mexico [7]. Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) is a multinational corporation in the business of the provision of products such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products such as toothpaste and toothbrushes. Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of veterinary products [3]. Campbell Soup Company

Role of Nurse Educators in Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Role of Nurse Educators in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example To become one means to have the competence to inculcate the ideologies and values of nursing care provision among students, ability to determine new roles brought about by socio-professional changes and has the conceptual knowledge and experience to provide a holistic academic and clinical educational experience to the learner. With all this responsibility, one is bound to ask 'How do nurse educators define, perceive and construct their own teaching professionalism especially in light of the changes in health care provision' It is in this spirit that I conduct this study. I seek to determine the roles of a professional nurse educator and their work strategy to know how they deal with the responsibility and at the same time determine how they gauge their efficiency. The focus of the study is mainly on their teaching strategies, how they assess the development of nurses and their action plan for academic and practical sessions. Results from this data is hoped to provide a reference for understanding and improving the nursing educator profession and professionalism. Literature Review Many researchers and scholars have made several contributions towards the various aspects surrounding the profession of nurse educators. Research regarding the core competencies expected of a nurse educator is particularly popular and has led to interesting results. Heath, Potter and Perry (1995) focused on the academic qualification and work setting of nurse educators as they state that nurse educators are primarily those who are working in the academic arena and have attained their master's or doctoral degree. They add they can also be those who work in the staff development department of health care agencies... This essay stresses that nurse educators are those in the academia and clinical settings who persevere to educate future nurses and at the same time produce scholarship that will advance the field. They are the force that design, evaluate, implement and revise the current content and pedagogies of the academic and continuing curriculum for nurse education. To become one means to have the competence to inculcate the ideologies and values of nursing care provision among students, ability to determine new roles brought about by socio-professional changes and has the conceptual knowledge and experience to provide a holistic academic and clinical educational experience to the learner. This study uses Grounded Theory proposed by Glaser and Strauss in order to study the role of nurse educators in Saudi Arabia. The method involves obtaining data on their daily activities and generates theories or explanations of human behavior and social processes. Some nurse educators are expected to find it hard to answer some questions posed during the interview. Grounded theory is deemed to be effective and appropriate in collecting the data from the nurse educators from both clinical and academic background in the form of codes or key points derived and interpreted during the conversation with the participants. The analytical tool will facilitate in exploring the setting of human action at the time of interview with the nurse educators, nurses and managers.

An enquiry into the use of Assessment for Learning

An enquiry into the use of Assessment for Learning Since the Education Reform Act (1988), introduced national testing to monitor school standards of education assessment has continued to play a major part in the educational delivery in schools. Assessment encompasses all aspects of teaching that measure the level of teaching through students understanding and achievement. Assessment is not just end of year examinations but an on-going process that should be present in teaching at all times in order for lessons to be effective. Through several studies (Assessment Reform Group (ARG), 2002; Black et al, 2003; Clark, 2005) it has become evident that through careful planning of assessment it is possible to promote students learning and motivation, by using a more formative approach as opposed to high stakes testing of summative assessment. It is often noted that teachers ask questions to check students understanding of the lesson but take a simple acknowledgement as a valid indication that learning has occurred. Students are often not confident or willing to identify themselves as not understanding. It is therefore important for teachers to carefully plan strategies for assessment both formative and summative to identify what students have learnt to plan for future lessons (Capel, Leask Turner, 2009). It is important to consider different formative assessment methods and their suitability to the learning objectives or particular learning styles of students. Kyriacou (1998) suggested that supporting learning activities with assessment should be of a more subtle approach. This enquiry will focus on various methods of AfL that can be employed by a teacher in order to raise students attainment, motivation towards learning and engagement throughout lessons. AfL plays a key role in teaching and pupils learning, providing continual feedback to students on their level of attainment, where they are succeeding and where they need to improve, giving them information on how to progress further. Through AfL, we as teachers provide continual advice and feedback in the forms of positive reinforcement to constructive dialogue through questioning, to enable students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the subject promoting cognitive development. This study will focus on the use of AfL within the chosen unit of work as the Office for Standards and education (Ofsted) (2005, 2008a) identified, AfL as the weakest part of teaching and learning, in particular a weak area for student physical education teachers (Ofsted, 2003). It is of key Importance as a student teac her to understand the application of AfL, as several studies have identified that the use of assessment is key in developing future learning opportunities having an impact not just on their attainment but also their attitude to learning, their engagement with the school subjects and their motivation to do well (Black and William, 2001; Black et al., 2003). This enquiry will focus on the delivery of a year 7 boys dance scheme of work delivered over six lessons. When planning the unit of work several factors including knowledge of the learners ability, my knowledge of the subject, curriculum knowledge and pedagogical knowledge were all identified as aspects of a teachers personal subject construct. It is important as a teacher to not allow your personal constructs and views of a subject to exclude pupils with different views, (Banks et al., 1999 cited in Capel, Leask Turner 2009). A framework was provided by the school indicating the learning objectives for each lesson and progression over the unit of work. Through discussion with members of staff with previous experience of delivering the unit of work it helped to increase my subject knowledge and ideas for possible learning activities to incorporate into my lessons. The study school had a well-structured pupil assessment strategy modelled from the national curriculum level descriptors (appendix 1), which was key in designing learning objectives and provided a clear indication of what the students should be working towards. With this information and a brief overview of the classes ability it was possible to start designing the learning objectives for the unit of work. It was important to ensure that my learning objectives were varied across the key processes of physical education to ensure students could demonstrate and develop a variety of skills not merely there physical ability as Ofsted (2002 cited in Cap el) raised concern over the weakness in pupils skills of observation and evaluation due to limited opportunity to develop these skills.. The study school had a big focus on incorporating learning objectives into normal lessons based on Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) to develop these skills as well as a focus on PLTS in year 7. They clearly understand the importance of raising students abilities as team workers, independent enquirers, reflective learners, independent enquirers, creative thinkers, self-managers and effective participants in order for students to access the curriculum and progress with greater success as laid out by the PLTS National Curriculum Framework (QCDA 2011). When planning to integrate AfL into lessons it is key to acknowledge the ten research based principles of AfL identified by the ARG (2002) into classroom based practice (Appendix 2). As suggested by Black et al (2003) the implementation of specific assessment strategies can increase students learning, increase motivation and enthusiasm towards a subject. Spackman (2002 cited in Capel and Whitehead 2010) identified four characteristics of AfL in relation to physical education as shared learning objectives, questioning, feedback and pupil peer and self-assessment. The sequence of lessons were planned to incorporate an aspect of all four assessment strategies to ensure all students were provided with an opportunity to gain a further understanding of their learning and to provide a wider spectrum of tools to identify students level of ability. Each lesson was structured in three phases, the initial being the identification of a new skill or recall of previously learnt skills providing o pportunity for sharing learning objectives and questioning, the second phase would be a performance where students would practice ad rehearse the newly learnt skill under the teachers guidance which provided opportunity for feedback, questioning and self/ peer assessment and finally the third phase of appreciation where students would focus on peer assessment providing feedback to each other. The lessons focused on the key processes identified in the Key stage 3 National Curriculum for Physical Education. Throughout the delivery of lessons it was not always possible to follow the unit of work as students had not always made sufficient progress to move onto the next learning phase. Therefore lessons were modified based on the previous learning that had occurred to continue the progression smoothly and to ensure learning objectives were not too demanding for the learners. The importance of AfL in forming objectives for learning was emphasised in a report by Ofsted where the chief inspector wrote: Accurate assessment is used to identify focused objectives for learning and is a basis for choosing suitably challenging tasks and resources (Ofsted, 2007). Through the delivery and observation of the first lesson it was clearly identified that effective questioning was used to recap on learning from previous lessons, to ensure student understanding of learning tasks, and to assess students understanding and accomplishment of learning objectives. It is important to question a variety of students not always the ones with hands up as several studies have suggested adopting a no hands up policy in which all students are then required to formulate an answer as to the teacher will pick randomly and to ensure students understand that the an incorrect answer is part of learning and they should not be afraid to ask questions themselves to gain clarity. This also provided opportunity for students to discuss with their peers to formulate a possible answer which is beneficial for learning to occur (DfES, 2007). Other research identified that questions needed to be related back to the learning objectives, and to use more open ended questions as sugg ested by Clarke (2005). Although there was opportunity for peer assessment in the appreciation phase of the lesson this needed to be refined with the use of assessment criteria as identified by Latham (1992 cited in Mawer 1999, pp 242) who noted that in order for peer assessment to work pupils need help in focusing on the specific areas of a skill or process to be assessed. This was later supported by Loose Abrahams (1993 cited in Mawer 1999, pp 242) who identified that pupils need clear instruction on what to focus on when assessing as shown in the example assessment sheet, (Appendix 3). Over the course of the following lessons the use of questioning significantly improved combining the use of open ended and directed questioning to recall prior learnt information and assess the students level of understanding as suggested by Clarke (2005). Learning Objectives were shared with students and discussed at the beginning of the lesson, however the use of questioning could be improved to re-iterate the learning objectives throughout the lesson. Several strategies were used to promote self/peer assessment. One involved students completing a self-assessment sheet (Appendix 4) to identify what they had learnt in prior lessons and also to evaluate what they learnt by the end of the lesson, using a traffic light system for each question as an alternative questioning method to allow greater classroom involvement (Clarke, 2005). Although the content of this assessment has the potential to be a valuable tool it needed to be pitched at a more suitable level to work. Due to the stude nts lack of understanding as to why they were doing it, their ability level and learning style the teaching strategy did not match the leaners personality or information processing level as suggested by Harvey, Hunt and Schroders (1961 cited in Mawer 1999, pp 143) Conceptual systems theory. Based on this research it was noted that maybe due to their low conceptual complexity in terms of information processing they required a simplified system supported by a more structured approach from the teacher as they had not yet developed the capability to generate ideas in a low structured environment (Joyce and Weil, 1986 cited in Mawer 1999, pp 144). This is supported by further research that identified that formative assessment can only work if students are trained in the skills of self-assessment and questioning so they understand why they are doing it and what they need to do to achieve (Black William 2001). As the National Curriculum key stage 3 (assessment pack) states it is at KS3 wh ere students start to take initiative and make decisions for themselves and PLTS are introduced, therefore a careful balance between more structured direct and non-direct teaching styles is needed until these skills are embedded. The use of the traffic light system also provide the teacher with the opportunity to level the class and split the students into groups of differing ability and work on differentiated tasks (Appendix 5). Students were provided with opportunity to assess and provide feedback with the use of video cameras to record and analyse their performance. It was important to provide instruction on what the students should be looking for with reference to the learning objectives when peer assessing as suggested by Loose Abrahams (1993 cited in Mawer 1999, pp. ). The study later identified through observations that when lesson objectives were shared with the class it was important to consider students learning styles, when providing information and guidance on what they might be looking to observe and demonstrate in order for students to achieve the desired learning outcomes. The teacher adopted the Visual, Auditory or Kinaesthetic (VAK) construct (Dryden Vos, 2001 cited in Capel, Leask and Turner, 2009 , pp.262), to implement when planning and delivering (Appendix 5). Throughout lessons various stimuli were used including visual aids by displaying learning objectives, posters and using video footage (Appendix 5). The teacher incorporated practical demonstrations to explain what they were looking for as opposed to the earlier descriptively heavy verbal instructions, providing students with more time to actually rehearse and practise the new skills and more time working collaboratively in groups. Through observation it was evident that the use of video footage and practical demonstration had a large impact on the students understanding when used to identify learning goals (appendix 5). As research suggests it is of particular help when learning outcomes are shared in a format that the pupils can understand (ARG, 2002; Black et al; 2003; Clarke, 2005). The use of video recording and ICT was also used to provide students with the chance to watch their own performances allowing opportunity for peer self-assessment. It is important for students to be able to assess themselves and others in order to have a clear picture of how to move forward and achieve (Black Williams 2001). For effective learning to take place teachers must carefully plan structured opportunities for students to develop the skills needed to comprehend a task, analyse feedback, self-assess their performance and be creative in solving problems through the use of AfL. As often as possible learning opportunities should be delivered with consideration of the students learning style for the greatest level of understanding to occur. The implementation of visual aids especially the use of ICT had a big impact on the students comprehension of tasks and motivation towards learning new skills, developing their ability to analyse a performance and provide structured feedback to their peers. It is clear that Spackmans (2002) four characteristics of AfL provide a basis for planning and implementing AfL strategies but further planning needs to go into how each characteristic is delivered within a lesson to cater for various academic abilities and learning styles. By including an aspect of all the char ateristics in a lesson you are able to motivate, enthuse and help drive students forward. The key to successful teaching comes from the use of AfL on a daily basis to ensure students know what they are trying to learn by sharing learning objectives, helping students recognise success by sharing learning outcomes, providing a success criteria and identify the reasoning as to why they are learning it (DfES, 2007). It is also important to consider that this must be communicated in a way that is understood by the student (ARG, 2002; Black et al; 2003; Clarke,2005). In future planning the use of questioning needs to be carefully evaluated and planned to provide opportunity for higher order thinking in line with Blooms Taxonomy. Learning Objectives, outcomes and feedback all need to be provided in a language and format that the learners can access, whether it be verbal through use of pictures or video analysis. It is of utmost importance to ensure students are developing the learning and thinking skills in lessons to allow them to access their education alongside the academic objectives of lessons. Word Count: 2448 Reference List Assessment Reform Group (ARG) (2002) Testing, motivation and learning [online] Cambridge: University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. Available from: http://www.assessment-reform-group.org/TML%20BOOKLET%20complete.pdf [Accessed 5th January 2011] Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B. and Wiliam, D (2003) Assessment for Learning: Putting it into Practice, Maidenhead: Open University Press. Black, P., and Wiliam, D. (2001). Inside the Black Box, [online] London: Kings College. Available from: http://weaeducation.typepad.co.uk/files/blackbox-1.pdf Clarke, S., (2005) Formative Assessment in Action: Weaving the Elements Together. Lon don: Hodder and Stoughton. Department for Education Skills (DfES) (2007) Assessment for Learning 8 Schools Project Report. [online] London: DfES Available from: http://c97.e2bn.net/e2bn/leas/c99/schools/c97/accounts/english/homepage/Assessment/documents/AfL/8%20schools.pdf Ofsted (2003) Quality and Standards in Secondary Initial Teacher Training (HMI 546) [online] London: GreenShires Print Group. Available from: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Education/Teachers-and-teacher-training/Routes-into-teaching/Quality-and-standards-in-secondary-initial-teacher-training [Accessed February 2011] Ofsted (2005) The Secondary National Strategy: An Evaluation of the Fifth Year (HMI 2612) [online] Available from: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Education/Providers/Secondary-schools/The-Secondary-National-Strategy [Accessed February 2011] Ofsted (2008) Evaluation of the Primary and Secondary National Strategies 2005-2007 (HMI 070033) [online] Available from: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Documents-by-type/Thematic-reports/Evaluation-of-the-Primary-and-Secondary-National-Strategies Ofsted (2007) The Annual Report of Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Education, Childrens Services and Skills 2006/07, (HMI 20070035) [online] Available from: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Annual-Report/2006-07/The-Annual-Report-of-Her-Majesty-s-Chief-Inspector-2006-07 [Accessed February 2011] http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/skills/personal-learning-and-thinking-skills/index.aspx).

Aquarius :: essays research papers

Aquarius Aquarius can be found in the SE sky in autumn, especially October. A dark night is especially helpful because many faint stars make up Aquarius. This will help to make the fainter stars stand out because its hard enough to see a shape in Aquarius. Up and to the west of aquarius, pegasus can be found. Down and to the east of aquarius, capricorn can be found. Aquarius portrays a man or boy spilling water from an urn. Aquarius is identified with Ganymede, a beautiful young shepherd who was abducted by Zeus and taken to Mount Olympus to be the cup bearer for the gods. Stars: Sadalmelik: Arabic for "lucky one of the king". It lies just off the celestial equator. Sudalsud: It means "luckiest of the lucky" in Arabic. It is the brightest star in the constellation Sadachbia: Arabic for "lucky star of hidden things" or " lucky star of the tents." This makes up part of the asterism sometimes called the tent, but is usually called the urn referring to Aquarius. Skat or Scheat: It comes from the Arabic word for shin and it dates back to the translation of Ptolemy's Almagest. Albali: The name comes from the Arabic, which means "swallower"; no one really knows why the star got this name Situla: This name comes from Latin and means "well bucket". Situla was the original Arabic name for the entire constellation Aquarius. There are three star clusters contained in Aquarius. M2, which was discovered in 1764, is one that can be seen with a small telescope. A larger telescope is needed to make out the individual stars. M72 is another cluster that is located southeast of Albali and isn't far from the Saturn Nebula. NGC 7492 is the third cluster and is located east of Skat. Aquarius also has two nebulae in it. It is called the Saturn Nebula because it resembles the rings on Saturn. A very large telescope is needed to see its rings. It was discovered in 1782 by William Herschel. In a small telescopes it will appear as faint disks of fuzzy light.

Logistics costs

Logistics cost form an important part of the overall cost structure in any organization. Focus needs to be on renegotiating freight and shipping rates, reduction in overall freight costs and streamlining operations. The following are the measures (ways) that can be used to reduce cost in logistics New carriers: The use of Constant market rate check is a best practice. Usually, logistics managers get into a comfort zone with the existing carriers. The organization should look on other carriers which offers lowest cost of transportation. Market rate check will bring to light other more economical perations.New carriers may be more flexible in their price. Freight costs: There are several options to optimize freight costs. Renegotiation of minimum billing to a minimum for a zone needs to be explored. Product delivery coordination is another useful tool to streamline freight costs. Arrangements with a number of smaller carriers also provide the best rate/best service combination. Interne t offers excellent tools for comparing and optimizing freight costs. Improve shipping and receiving: Streamlining shipping and receiving practices will offer savings. This can happen hrough reduction of long time for receiving.Starting point should be mandating delivery appointments. A flow chart needs to be made of all the operations to determine wasteful processes and combining existing processes. Technology: Internet tools enable substantial reduction in paperwork. Documents are scanned and emailed to customs, ports etc. In case of cross border trade, documents needs to reach at least twenty four hours in advance to avoid delays at the border. Technology also allows coordination of all shipments to optimize loading. This minimize delays in delivery. Managing returns: Reverse logistics is an important element of freight costs.Most companies offer a liberal returns policy. If the customer is not satisfied with the product, it can be returned in a certain period depending on the sel ler. At times, the seller also arranges to pick it up. There should be streamlined processes so as to minimize costs associated with reverse logistics. Audit of freight costs: Use specialized agencies that provide post payment audit of freight bills. These agencies are usually paid on a profit sharing basis. These audits also provide valuable insight nto patterns and other cost reduction opportunities.Deborah Catalano Ruriani explained other ways (measures) of Cost reduction as: 1 . Eliminate supply chain bottlenecks. By periodically reviewing and analyzing their supply chain networks, companies can be able to pinpoint issues and proactively address them. Strategies to reduce or eliminate bottlenecks include addressing vessel schedule planning, ensuring proper documentation and regulatory compliance for imports and exports, and revamping network design. 2. Reduce inventory at the port, manufacturing sites, and warehouses. Companies often stock excess inventory because they lack supp ly chain visibility.To effectively reduce excess inventory, you have to gain reliable information on future orders. Visibility software can help. 3. Cut demurrage and detention tines. While an occasional tine may not seem like much, these costs can add up. Auditing carrier bills and tracking where issues occur in the supply chain can substantially cut fine payments. 4. Identify opportunities to shift modes. Without adequate visibility into logistics operations, a company may not realize that an air shipment could move by sea at a much lower cost. Companies that use technology to evaluate modal options typically see a five- to eight-percent cost reduction. . Use postponement strategies to divert inventory at an international gateway. A successful postponement strategy can dramatically lower forecasting errors as well as improve customer service by reducing out-of-stocks. Companies also can cut transport costs by reducing inventory misallocations and shipping more items in bulk. 6. Us e preferential trade agreements. Companies that take advantage of preferential status can save millions in duties and taxes. A software system that automates the ualification process can save time and effort, as well as improve compliance and data accuracy. . Rebalance supply and fulfillment networks by determining tax- efficient sourcing and distribution strategies. Companies must periodically review their supply chain networks to assess duties and logistics costs, labor costs, regulatory controls, and global political climates. By comparing geographic options, taking into account the costs and regulations of each option, companies can optimize their supply chain. 8. Become a self-filer. Using technology to connect electronically ith brokers lowers entry filing costs and reduces manual entry errors.It also can enable pre-clearance of goods at borders and reduce the number of staff needed internally to manage logistics operations while boosting productivity hence reduce cost. 9. Con trol your procurement process. By implementing a process-based workflow that includes tracking and managing order acceptance, consolidating invoices, creating shipments and generating documents† and by extending that process to trading partners† companies can reduce cycle times, cut supply chain execution costs, and better support compliance initiatives. 10. Implement performance management metrics and tools.Companies need a system, data, and tools to benchmark actions and make informed decisions. Developing a performance management process allows companies to manage service providers and critical cycle times to lower costs and continually improve performance 1 1 . Understand the true costs of sourcing overseas. Calculate freight, duty, brokerage, and inventory carrying costs to support these lengthened supply chains. Also factor in such items as the costs of engineers flying overseas. Once you understand the true total landed cost and total impact to the business 12. Fo cus on eliminating the variability out of transit times.The more variable the transit times are, the more likely it is that the receiving party is using more premium freight, building buffers of inventory, or ordering more often and more quantity than necessary to compensate for the uncertainty. Understanding these dynamics can lead to the conclusion that paying higher freight costs to insure higher variability actually saves your company in total costs. 13. Control your express shipping costs. Typically when a company runs into a supply chain issue, it will have an entire shipment sent on an express/expedited highest cost) service level basis.Panicking often results in higher costs. If the company would Just do a little bit of calculating it can determine the amount of goods that are needed immediately and have that amount sent using express/expedited service level, while the balance ot the shipment can be sent using a standard (lower cost) service level. 14. Informed decision-maki ng. Provide to the decision-makers/ customers of your logistics network the cost of freight for each service level, the reliability of each lane for each service level, and the true cost of carrying inventory so they can make informed decisions.People generally want to be good corporate citizens and will select the less expensive option that still meets their needs CHARACTERISTICS OF COST REDUCTION (HARD COST SAVINGS) The following are the characteristics of â€Å"Hard† cost savings, which is understood as tangible bottom line reductions are: year-on-year saving over the constant volume of purchased product/service, actions that can be traced directly to the Profit and Loss Account, direct reduction of expense or a change in process/technology/policy that directly reduces expenses, process improvements that result in real and measurable ost or asset reductions, examination of existing products or services, contractual agreements, or processes to determine potential changes th at reduce cost, and net reductions in prices paid for items procured when compared to prices in place for the prior 12 months or a change to lower cost alternatives. COST AVOIDANCE (SOFT COST SAVINGS) â€Å"Soft† cost avoidance is much more difficult to define.The following are Suggested definitions, which includes: Cost avoidance is a cost reduction that does not lower the cost of products/services when compared against historical results, but rather inimizes or avoids entirely the negative impact to the bottom line that a price increase would have caused, when there is an increase in output or capacity without increasing resource expenditure, in general, the cost avoidance savings are the amount that would have been spent to handle the increased volume or output, and Cost avoidances include process improvements that do not immediately reduce cost or assets but provide benefits through improved process efficiency, employee productivity, improved customer satisfaction, improv ed competitiveness, over time to mention the few, cost avoidance often becomes cost savings. N. B: Cost avoidance is a cost reduction that results from a spend that is lower than the spend that would have otherwise been required if the cost avoidance exercise had not been undertaken.This accounts for the situations where spend is higher due to higher demand but overall cost per unit is lower, where up-front investments reduce overall spend in one or more categories over a multi-year initiative, and where a process improvement or product replacement resulted in a lower operating cost or cost per unit compared to what the company would have spent had the company not improved the process or replaced the product. To Sum up, if the organization adopts this open definition of cost avoidance, and maintains a document of common examples and their associated metrics, which is updated each time a new type of project is encountered that could result in a cost avoidance, the organization can fu lly quantify the â€Å"hard† and â€Å"soft† savings delivered by the sourcing team to the management team.Measures of Cost Avoidance: Resisting or delaying a supplier's price increase, this is one of the ways of cost avoidance whereby the organization use techniques to resist or delay supplier price increase in avoiding cost. Use of purchase price that is lower than the original quoted price, The organization purchases its requirements at a lower price than what was initially quoted by the supplier so as to avoid cost. Value of additional services at no cost, the firm makes sure it avoid or prevent cost by making sure after sale services are obtained for free for instance installation, free training. Long-term contracts with price-protection provisions,the firm enters into long term contracts with the aim of cost sharing with the supplier. Introduction of a new product or part number requiring a new material purchases and spend is lower.COST REDUCTION CHALLENGES Some of the challenges faced by a company as they seek to assess cost reduction include: Cancellation of net savings due to an increase in the business unit's cost structure, Supply management's role in the cost savings allocation decision, Chronology of supply management's involvement and the need for budget cuts, Visibility, in terms of systems, people, and metrics, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) concept for purchases items/services, Multi-year issues in cost savings, and Creating a proper incentive structure for supply management personnel. TYPES OF COST REDUCTION AND AVOIDANCE The following are types of cost reduction and avoidance that need to be recognized as valid cost savings. This section presents some types of cost reduction and cost avoidance that can contribute significantly to the organization's bottom line.Negotiated Discounts against Material Cost Increases If the products being sourced are primarily made from a commodity whose average market price or index has increased si gnificantly since the last sourcing cycle, and a buyer manages to negotiate a price that increases less than the increase in underlying material costs since the last sourcing event, this is a valid cost avoidance. Substitution If a buyer manages to find another product that performs the same function, or is able to collaborate with a supplier to produce a functionally equivalent specification that is more economical to produce, then the buyer has obtained a cost reduction on behalf of the organization.. Waived Fees This form of cost avoidance is quite self-explanatory.For example, if a supplier normally charges an installation fee for a new piece of equipment, but the buyer is able to negotiate free installation, than this would be an example of cost avoidance of the waived fee variety. Another example would be free training or services. However, this is one example where the cost avoidance is not equal to what the vendor quotes, but what the market average for the service is.. Inve ntory Reduction This occurs when the buyer comes up with a strategy to reduce the inventory that the organization needs to hold at any given time. Since all inventories is associated with a carrying cost, inventory reduction often represents significant cost savings to an organization over time.Inventory can be reduced when a buyer finds a supplier who can handle a snorter lead time or when inventory is turned over to a vendor who pecializes in inventory management (Vendor Managed Inventory). Process Improvement Processes consume overhead, and overhead costs money. Thus, any significant process improvement could represent a significant cost avoidance to an organization. However, unlike the other types of cost avoidance, process improvement cost reductions can be a bit tricky to evaluate. The key is to look at the average number of units of product or work produced per day, week, or month prior to the improvement and the number of units of product or work produced per day, week, or m onth after the improvement and calculate a percentage improvement N.B: By doing this, the organization will have clearly defined cost reduction efforts, tied them to savings, defined their relative importance, and defined the share of the credit that will go to supply management in a cross-functional initiative. The organization will also have avoided the problem where the team over concentrates on finding â€Å"hard† dollar savings, which is a serious problem if raw material and energy costs keep rising significantly and the largest savings potential is in the â€Å"soft† savings realized by long- term process and product improvements. Transloading to Maximize Cost Savings By Deborah Catalano Ruriani Tags: Transportation Management Transloading offers a cost-effective way to bring ocean containers inland to distribution centers.By transferring cargo without sorting the contents for shipment to a single destination, transloading services can reduce total landed costs, and† when combined with value-added services such as palletizing and shrink-wrapping† reduce handling at the destination. Jeff McCorstin, senior vice president of air and ocean products for UPS Global Freight Forwarding, offers these tips for maximizing savings with transloading services. 1 . Understand general transloading rules. Transloading offers the greatest cost savings when ocean containers can be consolidated into fewer, larger domestic trailers. The cargo in three 40-foot ocean containers typically fits into two 53-foot domestic trailers. . Ensure overall transportation savings outweigh additional handling costs. Sometimes the savings are negated for destinations located farther east from the U. S. West Coast discharge port. 3. Consider palletizing cargo during transloading. To best use space in ocean containers, cargo is rarely palletized at the point of origin. Palletize during the ransloading process to improve distribution center (DC) handling efficiency. 4. Factor transloading into transit time estimates. Unloading, handling, and reloading ocean container cargo near the port of discharge takes time. Allow up to three days to ensure customer delivery commitments are met. 5.Ensure your cargo fits the bill. Transload operators charge additional fees for containers with more than a certain number of cartons. The additional costs for containers with several thousand small cartons could offset any transportation savings. 6. Ensure handling flexibility by making Customs entry at the port. While it is a common practice to clear ocean containers at their tinal inland destinations, it is better to make entry at the port ot discharge. This ensures maximum flexibility in handling cargo, and eliminates the need to move the shipment in-bond, saving additional costs. 7. Increase supply chain efficiency with merge-in-transit offerings.This type of deconsolidation allows importers to combine products arriving in containers from different origins/shipp ers by transloading near the port of arrival into domestic trailers. And if importers source from domestic suppliers†who may also have product arriving via container†this argo can be merged in transit to arrive together at the designated DC. 8. Use transloading to expedite delivery to final destination. Transloading near the port of discharge provides the flexibility to bypass DCs and speed delivery to the end customer. The reduced DC handling charges and improved time in transit can help trim supply chain costs. 9. Avoid costly containers.Instead of shipping less-than- containerload, 20-foot, or light-loaded 40-foot containers from multiple overseas vendors to your inland DC, ship fully loaded/optimized containers to a single container freight station near the port of discharge. From there, they can be transloaded, merged in transit with other inbound cargo, and shipped to the final destination using the transport mode that best fits the importer's needs. 10. Set up tra nsloading programs in advance. Having your service provider involved in coordinating with the origin forwarder translates into better service levels and reliability. Flexible Structure Flexible operations are preplanned contingency strategies to prevent logistical failures.A typical emergency occurs when an assigned shipping facility is out of stock or for some other reason cannot complete a customer's order. For example, a warehouse may be out of an item with no replenishment inventory scheduled to arrive until after the customer's specified order delivery date. To prevent back- ordering or delivery cancellation, a contingency operating policy may assign the total order, or at least those items not available, for shipment from an alternative warehouse. The use of flexible operations is typically based on the importance of meeting the needs of a specific customer or the critical nature of the product being ordered.A flexible logistics capability that has gained popularity as a resul t of mproved communications involves procedures for serving predetermined situations as part of the basic logistical strategy. The flexible logistics rule and decision scenarios specify alternative ways to meet specific service requirements, such as assignment of the order to different shipping facilities or changing methods of delivery. A strategy that utilizes flexible operations is common practice in four different situations. First, the customer designated delivery facility might be near a point of equal logistics cost or equal delivery time from two different logistics facilities. Customers located at such points offer the supplying firm an opportunity to fully utilize available inventory and logistical capacity.Orders can be serviced from the facility having the best inventory position or the available transportation capacity to achieve timely delivery. This form of flexible logistics offers a way to fully utilize system capacity by balancing workloads between facilities while protecting customer service commitments. The benefit is operating efficiency, which is transparent to the customer, who experiences no service deterioration. A second situation Justitying lexible distribution is when the size of a customer's order creates an opportunity to improve logistical efficiency if serviced through an alternative channel arrangement. For example, the lowest-total-cost method to provide small shipment delivery may be through a distributor.In contrast, larger shipments may have the lowest total logistical cost when shipped factory direct to customers. Provided that alternative methods of shipment meet customer delivery expectations, total logistical cost may be reduced by implementing flexible policies. A third type of flexible operation may result from a selective inventory stocking strategy. The cost and risk associated with stocking inventory require careful analysis to determine which items and how much to place in each warehouse. With replacement parts, a common strategy mentioned earlier is to stock selected items in specific warehouses with the total line being stocked only at a central facility.In general-merchandise retailing, a store or distribution center located in a small community may stock only a limited or restricted version of a firm's total line. When customers desire nonstocked items, orders must be satisfied from an alternative facility. The term master facilities is ften used to describe inventory strategies that designate larger facilities for backup support of smaller restricted facilities. Selective inventory stocking by echelon level is a common strategy used to reduce overall inventory risk. The reasons for selective stocking range from low product profit contribution to high per-unit cost of inventory maintenance.One way to operationalize a fine-line inventory classification strategy is to differentiate stocking policy by system echelons. In situations following such classified stocking strategies, it may be ne cessary to obtain advanced customer approval for split-order delivery. However, in some situations firms that use differentiated inventory stocking strategies are able to consolidate customer orders while intransit for same-time delivery, thereby making the arrangement customer transparent. The fourth type of flexible operations results from agreements between firms to move selected shipments outside the established echeloned or direct logistics arrangements.Two special arrangements gaining popularity are flow through cross-docks and service supplier arrangements. A cross-dock operation involves shipments from multiple suppliers arriving at a designated time at the handling facility. Inventory receipts are sorted by destination across the dock and consolidated into outbound trailers for direct delivery. Cross-dock operations are growing in popularity in the retail industry for building store-specific assortments and are common methods of continuous inventory replenishment for mass m erchants. Cross-docking of merchandise direct from manufacture to a customer's retail store eliminates the work and cost associated with utilizing distribution warehouses.Another form of flexible operations is to use integrated service providers to consolidate products for delivery. This is similar to consolidation for ransportation purposes discussed in the previous section of this chapter. However, as a form of flexible logistics, specialists are used to avoid storage and handling of slow-moving products through the mainstream of the echeloned logistics structure. Such service providers can also provide important value-added services. For example, Starbucks Coffee Company has a long standing relationship with OHL, a logistics service provider. Starbucks has approximately 17,000 company-owned and licensed retail outlets.O L provides logistical support to Starbucks by ottering the typical range of 3PL services plus technology support. This operating relationship has existed for over a decade. Figure 2. 5 introduces flexibility to the logistical operating structures previously illustrated. A prerequisite to effective flexible operations is the use of information technology to monitor inventory status throughout the logistical network and provide the capability to rapidly switch methods for servicing customer orders. The use of flexible operations in emergency situations has a well-established track record. The overall improvement in information technology is resulting in flexible operations becoming an increasingly important part of basic logistics trategy.Cutting Costs From Your Logistics Budget Tags: Supply Chain Management If you want to reduce logistics costs, you have to take the time to review your processes. Nathan Pieri, senior vice president of marketing and product management for Rutherford, N. J. -based Management Dynamics, offers these tips for trimming your logistics budget. 10 tips for reducing supply chain logistics costs Aug. 9, 2005 Berme Hart EMAIL Tweet Comments O As companies continue to manufacture and source materials from overseas, controlling costs remains a top priority for those involved in international trade. One ey factor that should be monitored more closely is logistics management, which covers all activities relating to the procurement, transport, transshipment and storage of goods.Depending on the industry sector, supply chain logistics costs account from 5% to 50% of a product's total landed cost. Some issues effecting logistics costs: Fuel prices remain high and ports continue to experience delays, resulting in higher transportation fees. Increasingly complex international trade laws and security measurements threaten to lengthen delivery times and increase warehousing costs. According to a recent report by TechnologyEvaluation. om, a typical air-freight shipment takes eight to twelve days. Of this, the cargo is en route only 5% of the time. The rest is spent sitting in warehouses waiting for the require d documents and compliance checks.Following are 10 Tips on Reducing Supply Chain Logistics Costs: 1 that domestic buy may look a lot better. Sourcing from Ohio to your U. S. plant, distribution center or customer may, in the long run, be more cost effective than sourcing from China. Taritt engineering. Strategically source and manutacture products to take advantage of classification duty rates and eligibility for special trade programs such s NAFTA. 4. Consolidate. If you have multiple suppliers in one country, consolidate their goods into one shipment. In addition, if you always have LCL (less than container load) shipments out of one country, try to find another LCL importer of goods from that country.You may be able to partner and consolidate to a more cost-effective FCL (full container load) shipment. 5.. 6. Sometimes insurance doesn't pay. Often when a company has a shipment of premium goods they tend to use the Carrier's Insurance. Carriers Insurance is very expensive. If the company is self insured, which most companies are, they should heck their insurance policy to see if it covers shipment of goods. If it does, then they do not need to add the extra cost of Carrier's Insurance. 7. Automate compliance processes. Companies that implement software solutions to automate trade compliance are able to speed the cycle times associated with tasks being performed manually, such as document preparation, and eliminate the associated errors.Automated compliance procedures also bring fewer delays at border crossings, resulting in on-time delivery, adequate inventory levels, increased customer satisfaction, and the avoidance of fines. 8.. 9. Planes, trains and automobiles. Which is cheapest? In general, rail is more cost- effective than trucking or air. Water is cheaper than air shipment. No matter the mode of delivery, always try to get three quotes for movements. 10. Be aware of non-tariff trade barriers. Companies need to be more aware of the increasing level of non-tariff trade barriers that are in force to reduce sweat shop labor and support human rights and animal welfare issues. These restrictions can bring importers increased liability and compliance costs.