Article Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 30

Article Review - Essay Example The six styles of authority quantitatively affect each climatic viewpoint. Basically, the coercive pioneers will in general interest prompt consistence, legitimate pioneers assembles the laborers towards the company’s objective, affiliative pioneers makes that amicability and concocts an enthusiastic bond, vote based pioneers thinks of accord through the specialty of cooperation, pacesetting pioneers sets elevated level of execution, while the training chiefs builds up the representative for what's to come. Hence, from the article, the more styles a pioneer actualizes the better the exhibition of an association; driving with in excess of four administration styles have the best business and atmosphere execution. A portion of the six successful initiative styles that ought to be utilized by pioneers at the work environment incorporate; legitimate pioneers who can assemble people towards a dream, coercive pioneers who request prompt consistence, popularity based pioneers who fabricate accord, affiliative pioneers who makes congruity and passionate securities, training pioneers who create individuals for the future just as Pacesetting pioneers who anticipate self-bearing and greatness. The recorded six authority styles are frequently determined by passionate insight abilities, for example, social aptitudes, social mindfulness, self-administration and mindfulness (Goleman, 2). Administrators who neglected to use passionate knowledge enlisted less execution and were once in a while evaluated as extraordinary. Compelling authority and passionate insight are entwined. Pioneers will in general impact the hierarchical condition in different manners. There are six factors that influence the workplace of the association. The variables incorporate; awareness of other's expectations, the degree of gauges, the clearness of the individuals, level of responsibility, inclination of remunerations and its adaptability. For successful

Synthetic Marijuana: the Legal Way to the Grave

Engineered Narcotics-Georgia’s Growing Epidemic As if showing our childhood the perils of medications isn’t sufficiently hard, presently we have company’s fabricating a manufactured type of Marijuana, ordinarily alluded to as â€Å"Spice† or â€Å"K-2†. These company’s focus on our childhood by bundling it brilliant, gleaming parcels and giving â€Å"cool† names like â€Å"magic monkey† or â€Å"purple passion†. They mark these bundles â€Å"herbal incense† and â€Å"not for human consumption† trying to shroud its expected utilize and keep away from FDA guidelines, yet for one bundle containing 5 grams it costs on normal $15. 9-$21. 99. That’s entirely costly for a â€Å"air freshener†. In 2011, 14. 4 percent of 12 graders confessed to trying different things with manufactured maryjane. Simply last March, multi year old respect understudy, and star soccer player from Fayette County, Ga. Pursue Burnett kicked the bucket not long after trying different things with this medication. This had administrators act speedy and establish â€Å"Chases Law† , Georgia House Bill 370, which made this medication a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance and a lawful offense to buy, have and appropriate any type of this substance. When this bill was marked by Gov.Nathan Deal, it took around 24 hours for police organizations, mine being one, to direct court orders all over metro Atlanta to get this lethal medication off the racks. Albeit now unlawful, and which is all well and good, there are many retail locations, smoke shops and service stations that despite everything sell the medication all over Georgia and around the Metro Atlanta region. As speedy as officials take it off the racks, it’s being supplanted similarly as quick. Retailers feel it’s an infringement of their social liberties and use pardons like â€Å"we can’t control what clients do with what they buyà ¢â‚¬  or they tell officials they didn’t realize it was illicit, â€Å"it’s just incense†.If they didn’t realize it was unlawful and didn’t think they were doing anything incorrectly, for what reason do they keep it holed up behind the counter, far out and bolted up? For what reason would they say they are charging such a lot of cash for something that regularly would cost about $2, if truly utilized as a deodorizer? These, just as a lot more inquiries have been raised by Law Enforcement, yet guardians too. As shoppers, the most ideal approach to stop these shops and corner stores from offering this to our childhood is quit purchasing your gas or some other things at these areas. It’s now and consistently will be about the money.Once they see clients going over the road to get gas, they will get the indication. Another way organizations are being advised is telling them that their permit to operate will be repudiated whenever found selling these and some other illicit substances from their stores. With the new laws established and guardians cooperating with Law Enforcement, we are beginning to get a more tightly hold on this quickly developing scourge that is tormenting are kids. References Whitehouse. gov/ondcp http://georgia. gov/blog/2012-08-20/restricting engineered weed

See me, feel me, milq me, heal me

See me, feel me, milq me, heal me I have a lot of free time tonight after finishing my 21F.401: German I listening assignments, courtesy of the LLARC. Im still not very good at it; I transcribed one line of dictation as Wen essen Sie? which I think is a grammatically proper question, but not a socially proper one. So, you get two blog entries tonight, one of them all text and one of them all pictures. Smile, you buggers. Pretend its Christmas. Also, remember in the summer when you used to get nice, well-cropped color pictures in immaculately-high resolution? Thats all over now. Theres an official MITblogs digital camera that I was babysitting this summer, but Laura is gonna be taking care of it for a while. Its way too long of a walk across the floor to ask her to borrow it. Pretty much, the majority of what youre going to get is going to be camera-phone pictures. I think itll give my blog a homemade, Blair-Witch-esque feel. If you have a dialup connection and your computer is powered by, like, a hamster with a little wheel or your little brother peddling an exercise bike, please dont read any further. Just enjoy my witty repartee in the September 20 entry. There arent any pictures there, but I promise it will still be real good time. On Saturday, I went to the Taste of Boston. It was kind of not good; the food was mostly catering, not fancy restaurants, and the prices were a little high. Still, this establishment did sell us an excellent slice of chocolate moose cake (homonym for chocolate mousse cake) for a mere two dollars. Really, Im just posting this picture to embarass Mitra. I have no other excuse. Saturday night, Ruth 07 and I went out to dinner at the Porter Exchange in Cambridge with a bunch of 08s. Despite being three T stops away from campus, Porter Square still used to be a pretty popular hangout when it was home to the Annas Taqueria closest to MIT. Now that theres an Annas in the student center, nobody goes there anymore. Anyway, its still a pretty cool placethe mall itself has kind of been taken over by Japanese restaurants and is home to this strange little market, which sells Japanese snack items and sushi-grade seafood, as seen above. We did not eat the octopus tentacle for dinner. Nor did we drinq this Milq. Rather, we waited for reservations at a sushi restaurant for 15 minutes before Gloria talked to some people working at the mall in Mandarin and discovered that the chef was the same as at a cafeteria fifty feet away, which had prices that were about one-third in magnitude. So, we went over there. Sushi makes me throw up in my mouth a little, but luckily theres a full Japanese food court there, so I was able to get a lovely chicken and egg dish, much like the one that inspired the Paul Simon song Mother and Child Reunion. Sunday I dragged Joe 08 over to the List Visual Arts Center (LVAC!) to enter the Student Loan Art Program (SLAP!), which Matt eloquently described in an earlier entry. The key to winning art in this program is to select things that are really creepy that nobody else will want. This extra-creepy print by Nara, Ocean Child, has found a comfortable home in my room. Monday, a most resplendent day, I walked over to the BSO with Mitra and Gabe 08 to pick up our college cards. These puppies are fully subsidized by MIT and let you get into about 20 concerts every year totally free. Unfortunately, they dont go on sale until tomorrow. How disappointing. Then we got lost in the woods, I found a bloody knapsack with some of Gabes teeth in it, and I ran and ran around with my handheld camera and then cried for a while while snot came out of my nose, as seen above. Just playin. The falafel truck at 77 Massachusetts Avenue makes a decent-tasting, unbelievably large sandwich for only $3 and has a buy 7, get 1 free deal where you get this cool card that they stamp. Its a good price for lunch, and you can get a baklava and a diet SODA for a dollar extra. Anyway, Tuesday I was very excited because I had finally earned my free falafel after a month of hard work. I wondered how the truck possibly make money, since falafel is pretty expensive to make, but then I realized that I would probably never patronize this truck if not for the buy 7, get 1 free promotion. Well, Im not Course XIV. Tomorrow I will go back over to get my third card of the year. Wednesday, Burton-Conner had a bake sale to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. I baked this Jewish Apple Cake based on a recipe that my across-the-street neighbor Dot gave me (or as Mitra calls her, my Aunt Dottie). It turned out incredibly well. I may have to try it again sometime. I think Ill cover it with apples foster and homemade whipped cream and serve it in our dorms apple bake competition. Wednesday night I joined the MIT Marching Band. Now, in high school I was kind of an accomplished mellophonist in my school band. However, I never owned my own instrument, and all they had for me to borrow at MIT was this old, disused trumpet with a mouthpiece that cant be removed. So, Ill learn trumpet. Turns out I suck eggs at trumpet. Its the same fingerings, but you get different pitches when you play them. Very confusing! Oh well. We only rehearse once a week (really!) and the first rehearsal was a ton of fun. The director is always very positive. I wanted to practice for the game on Saturday but they didnt give me any music to take home. I really missed playing an instrument. Well see where this leads me. Isnt this an artistic photograph? This is a pecan pie that Ruth baked. It was also excellent. It was also excellent when she helped resolve a budget crisis this evening. The dorm has an IFAF, which is basically a $3000 fund to sponsor different floors in the dorm to hang out together. Can you guess what it stands for? Well, we had originally requested over 150% of the IFAF money, but with a little common sense an a lot of free Bertuccis pizza, we were able to reach a great compromise that worked out spendidly for all parties involved. Except Burton Third, whos paying a lot more for a cabin in Maine than they had originally expected. Sorry, guys. At least you got pizza. Today I fell in love with Pamela Wood and Jean-Francois Hamel. I want to marry both of them. Better yet, I want them to marry each other and become my adoptive aunt and uncle. They are both so amazing. Professor Wood speaks in a whisper, says it matters not non-ironically and yet never sounds pretentious at all. Professor Hamel, speaking in his adorable French lisp, his one gray streak shining against his unkempt brown hair, today asked me as I was watching glassware, Are you enjoying yourself? Are you leaning a lot and at the same time uh, uh, having fun? Sigh And tomorrow youll hear all about the life of a chemical engineer, at the request of an anonymous commenter. Wow, a week in the life.

The Use Of Nanomedicine - 741 Words

The essence of pharmaceutical treatment is for the administered drug to be present at the site of action in a concentration that exceeds the minimum effective concentration. This is not always the case most times because of some unchallengeable properties of the drug. As a matter of fact, there have been several effective therapies made available for many disease conditions that have failed in their effectiveness because of their inability to reach the site of action. The possible reasons for the poor bioavailability of these drugs at the required site of action include; their inability to permeate biological membranes, poor solubility in water as well as the drugs been rapidly broken down through metabolism and cleared from the body†¦show more content†¦Nanocellulose are an excellent choice material because they are obtained from cellulose which is abundantly available in nature, renewable, biodegradable, with low cost, low density, low ecological toxicity risk, low cytotox icity to a range of animals and human cells and unique mechanical properties. It is an evolving renewable polymeric nanomaterial that holds promise in diverse applications including food and pharmaceuticals. Interest in the production and utilization of nanocellulose have in recent times attracted a lot of attention from both academic and industrial researchers resulting from their mechanical strength, transparency and proven biocompatibility. This attention is mirrored in the flow of publications in scientific literature in recent years. Exceptional discussions on the chemistry, preparation, and the general properties of nanocellulose are obtainable from numerous literatures.The surface chemistry of nanocellulose materials makes them an interesting podium for ready and easy functionalization because they are almost entirely made of hydroxyl groups. This tendency coupled with their biocompatibility is propelling their use within different (bio)materials. Nanocellulose materials are in three categories depending on whether the cellulose is of bacterial origin or derived from theShow MoreRelatedThe Synthesis Of Nannomaterials1734 Words   |  7 PagesChemical synthesis of nanomaterials for drug delivery most commonly involves the synthesis of nanometal compounds, polymer nanocomposites and quantum dots. The original synthesis techniques for these nanomedicine applications involve toxic reagents and waste products. Green che mistry initiatives are attempting to produce nanometals, composites and quantum dots without the toxicity and waste associated with early methods. Nanometals are an area of high interest in for drug delivery due to their magneticRead MoreEssay on Use of Nanotechnology in Medecine2565 Words   |  11 Pagesnavigated to his brain to mechanically destroy the clot and save the spy along with his secret information. This idea has evolved from science fiction into what is today the branch of science and technology that is known as Nanomedicine. The potential benefits of Nanomedicine are to possibly develop a cure for cancer, cure diabetes, suppress genetic defects, and even cure mental illness. Nanorobots could be injected into the blood stream where they could wipe out viruses, bacteria, and other harmfulRead MoreNanomedicine: A Tiny World Essay2111 Words   |  9 PagesNanomedicine: A Tiny World Medical technology is advancing faster today than ever before allowing for easier, faster, simpler and advances in medical devices, procedures and diagnosis’. Medical devices also keep getting smaller; very, very small – the size of a nanometre. Nanotechnology is technology that controls matter at a molecular level. Nano means one billionth of a metre which is the range of an atom. (Appendix 1, Figure 1) From its beginning, nanotechnology has been more of a dream thanRead MoreNanotechnology Case Study813 Words   |  4 PagesBiotechnological solutions to a variety of illnesses, surgical procedures, genetic exploits and a myriad of other things are now in the form of nanotechnology. Big pharmaceutical companies now refer to many of their medications, in fact, as nanomedicines, which alludes to the nanotechnological inputs in pills that improve delivery methods and even deploy nanoparticles for specific purposes on occasion. A new study actually illustrates how attaching RNA nanoparticles that masquerade as antibodiesRead MoreBreast Cancer Treatment And Therapy With Nanomedicine1054 Words   |  5 PagesBreast cancer treatment and therapy with nanomedicine is a fad nowadays and rightfully so, it is the need of the minute. The incidence rate of breast cancer has witnessed a minimum 10-fold increase in the past few decades. The mortality rate in women is rising and breast cancer is a m ajor contributing factor. Due to several changes in the hormonal, nutritional and environmental factors over the years, there is a shift observed in the rise of breast cancer. At a point, conventional mammography forRead MoreApplication Of Nanotechnology : Diagnosis And Treatment Of Tumors Essay1080 Words   |  5 Pageshas emerged recently as one of the most propitious fields in cancer treatment [10]. Nanomedicine (the medical application of nanotechnology) has incredible potential for revolutionizing cancer therapeutics and diagnostics by developing ingenious biocompatible nano- composites for drug delivery purposes, which represent the most pertinent application of nanoparticles [6]. Recent years have witnessed unprecedented use of nanocarriers (particularly in the size range from 10 nm to 100 nm) as an emergingRead MoreA Study On The Gecko Adhesive System1909 Words   |  8 Pagesobjects measured in nanometers. To give a better perspective of size, one nanometer is one-billion th of a meter, or about eighty thousand times smaller than the diameter of a single human hair. A particular application of nano-materials in nature is the use of nano-finger tips which allow geckos to walk on walls. The gecko adhesive system incorporates one million foot hairs or setae in on each finger. One hair or seta contains a thousand of spatula tips which allow the geckos to attach to the wall. SyntheticRead MoreIs Gold Isn t Just For Olympics? Essay1802 Words   |  8 Pagescancer patients we have still not found a 100% cure to cancer. One such innovation that is providing hope to cancer patients is nanomedicine. Nanomedicine is a non-invasive cancer treatment that kills cancer cells without hurting surrounding healthy tissue and relatively fewer harmful side effects. Nanomedicine is an emerging field and today there are more than 1500 nanomedicine cancer therapies that are registered for clinical trials. While it’s still in early stages of research, gold (Au) nanop articlesRead MoreTargeting Liposomes For Liver Fibrosis1680 Words   |  7 Pagesdepending on the underlying form of liver disease, before it progresses to liver cancer. Some of these methods include lifestyle changes (maintaining a well-balanced low fat diet, exercising more, abstaining from alcohol consumption and recreation drug use), immediately treating viral infections and taking medications which delay the progression of fibrosis and cirrhosis. However, for more severe cases of liver cirrhosis more radical and profound treatment is necessary. The Need for Alternative TreatmentsRead MoreNanotechnology : Science, Engineering, And Medicine1728 Words   |  7 Pagestreatment methods. Nanotechnology has the potential to create radically new developments due to its high strength and chemical reactivity properties. Two particular products that have shown to create promising results for cancer prevention are the use of nanoparticles in sunscreen and in medication. Nanotechnology has allowed for the development of therapy reformulations such as nanotech sun protection as well as Abraxane and Doxil, which are essential for healthier cancer treatment. Nanotechnology-based

Analysis Of The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath - 1385 Words

Altering information and data has been, and will always be practiced by authors for the simple fact that they too, would like to have some sort of control over their what their readers know about them. In â€Å"The Bell Jar† by Sylvia Plath, the main character, Esther, a girl who is based on Plath herself, finds herself struggling with depression and anxiety and plans to take her own life several times but can never follow through. Plath modified biographical details because she wanted to simplify the material to make it easier to understand, to emphasize any points she wanted to come across to the reader more strongly, and to protect the privacy of not only herself, but other real people whom she might have characterized in the book. To†¦show more content†¦However, in real life, the true origin of her depression stemmed from the unexpected death of her father when she was eight years old (Wagner 6). This alteration was significant because many readers are not able to relate to the death of a father at a young age and the subsequent depression and sadness that would stem from an experience like that. However, everyone can relate to having moments of sadness and detachment as a result of seeing or hearing of something traumatic that has happened in society. These alterations also allowed Plath to elevate certain messages in the book when necessary. Along with increasing understanding, Plath also altered material to greater emphasize points she was trying to show. In the story, Esther’s initial suicide attempt is when she decides she will cut herself and bleed out, but first gives herself a small cut on the ankle just to see what might happen (Plath 148). The point Plath was trying to emphasize was how Esther’s rationality and judgement was beginning to be affected by her condition. Esther’s mental health had declined to a level where she thought that committing suicide by bleeding herself out was a feasible and intelligent plan. In reality though, Plath’s first suicide attempt was at the age of nineteen when she swallowed a large quantity of sleeping pills (Sylvia). This alteration is important because her changingShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Sylvia Plath s The Bell Jar 1573 Words   |  7 Pages How Sylvia Plath represent madness in the Bell Jar The book shows us a young girl who wants to be totally in charge of her own life where females were expected to be interesting and educated but only marry and be a good wife for ambitious men. She wants to enjoy life and experience every bit of it as she wants it to be. This would never work and in some ways she is born early. She would have been better in the ‘women s lib’ age ready for independence and happy of going places. Always able toRead MoreAnalysis Of Sylvia Plath s The Bell Jar 2248 Words   |  9 PagesTara Cameron Ms. Frega English 2.1 May 8, 2015 Sylvia Plath and Depression Sylvia Plath was a young and talented writer with the potential to exceed literary expectations. She was able to write a semi-autobiographical book about her struggle with depression and suicide, putting her personal story into the character of Esther Greenwood. The Bell Jar is the story of the hardships of a young woman named Esther who is clinically depressed and who struggles to keep up with the world around her. EstherRead MoreAnalysis Of The Opening Line Of The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath2088 Words   |  9 PagesGirl in the Bell Jar It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn t know what I was doing in New York (1; ch. 1), the opening line of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, effectively sets the tone for both the life of Plath and the remainder of the novel. Plath s depression and cynical outlook on life fueled the creation of many of her poems and novels, and particularly The Bell Jar in its autobiographical fictional genre. In this way, Sylvia Plath is able toRead MoreThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1211 Words   |  5 PagesSylvia Plath Research Paper Title The Bell Jar place[s] [the] turbulent months[of an adolescent’s life] in[to] mature perspective (Hall, 30). In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath uses parallelism, stream of consciousness, the motif of renewal and rebirth, symbolism of the boundary-driven entrapped mentally ill, and auto-biographical details to epitomize the mental downfall of protagonist, Esther Greenwood. Plath also explores the idea of how grave these timeless and poignant issues can affect a fragileRead MoreRole of Food in Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar610 Words   |  3 PagesThe Bell Jar Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar is rich with an array of motifs, all which serve to sustain the novel’s primary themes. A motif particularly prevalent within the first half of the novel involves food, specifically Esther Greenwood’s relationship with food. This peculiar relationship corroborates the book’s themes of Esther’s continuous rebirthing rituals, and of her extreme dissatisfaction. The interrelation with food functions in two distinct manners: literally and figuratively. ThisRead MoreSymbolism In The Bell Jar1548 Words   |  7 PagesSylvia Plath uses many literary devices to convey her purpose in The Bell Jar such as symbolism. The Bell Jar itself is used as symbolic representation of the emotional state Esther is in. The glass jar distorts her image of the world as she feels trapped under the glass. It represents mental illness , a confining jar that descends over her mind and doesn’t allow her to live and think freely. Symbols and im ages of life and death pervade The Bell Jar. Esther experiences psychological distress whichRead MoreThe Bell Jar : Literary Analysis2261 Words   |  10 Pages2014 The Bell Jar: Literary Analysis With Author Biography Sylvia Plath is a renowned poet and author. She fantasied the world with her powerful writings. Beloved to the world, she truly changed women s status. She wrote distinctively from her own life experiences. This is cleared showed in her book, The Bell Jar. This book offers a theme of rebirth and a theme of feminism. The 27th of October in 1932, Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father, Otto Plath, was a collegeRead MoreBiography of Sylvia Plath1452 Words   |  6 PagesCritical Analysis Sylvia Plath, a great American author, focuses mostly on actual experiences. Plath’s poetry displays feelings and emotions. Plath had the ability to transform everyday happenings into poems or diary entries. Plath had a passion for poetry and her work was valued. She was inspired by novelists and her own skills. Her poetry was also very important to readers and critics. Sylvia Plath’s work shows change throughout her lifetime, relates to feelings and emotions, and focuses on dayRead More Weaknesses of Esther and Plath Exposed in Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar1174 Words   |  5 PagesWeaknesses of Esther and Plath Exposed in The Bell Jar   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The glass of which a bell jar is constructed is thick and suffocating, intending to preserve its ornamental contents but instead traps in it stale air.   The thickness of the bell jar glass prevents the prisoner from clearly seeing through distortion.   Sylvia Plath writes with extreme conviction, as The Bell Jar is essentially her autobiography.   The fitting title symbolizes not only her suffocation and mental illness, but also theRead MoreThe Bell Jar2368 Words   |  10 PagesResearch Paper: The Bell Jar, By: Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar is a work of fiction that spans a six month time period in the life of the protagonist and narrator, Esther Greenwood. The novel tells of Esther’s battle against her oppressive surroundings and her ever building madness, this is the central conflict throughout the narrative. After coming home from a month in New York as a guest editor for a magazine, Esther begins to have trouble with everyday activities such as reading,

You Suck A Love Story Chapter 7 Free Essays

Chapter Seven The List While Jody showered, Tommy made a list. Feed Laundry New Apartment Toothpaste Sweet Monkey Love Windex Dispose of Vampire Minion â€Å"What do we need an onion for?† Jody asked. She was having a little trouble getting her vision to focus. We will write a custom essay sample on You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 7 or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"Minion, minion,† Tommy said. â€Å"Mint-flavored onion? Why do we need that?† â€Å"A minion! Someone who can move around during the day who can help us out. Like I was for you.† â€Å"Oh, my bitch.† Tommy dropped his list. â€Å"Nuh-uh.† Jody picked it up and walked over to the kitchen counter where the coffee machine stood. â€Å"I would sell my soul for a big cup of joe.† â€Å"I was not your bitch,† Tommy said. â€Å"Right, right, right. Whatever. So how long do we have to do this list?† â€Å"I checked the almanac. Sunrise is at six fifty-three, so we have about twelve hours. It’s almost the solstice, so we get a lot of darkness.† â€Å"Solstice? Oh my God, it’s almost Christmas.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"Hello? Shopping?† â€Å"Hello? We have an excuse. We’re dead.† â€Å"My mother doesn’t know that. I have to find something for her that she’ll disapprove of. And your family – â€Å" â€Å"Oh my God! Christmas. I was supposed to go home to Indiana for Christmas. We need to redo the list.† â€Å"You do it. I’m going to dry my hair,† Jody said. The new list read: Christmas Presents Call Home Feed Minion (not our Bitch) Hot Monkey Love Windex Write Literature Dispose of Creepy Old Vampire New Apartment Laundry Toothpaste â€Å"I think you should take monkey love off of the list,† Jody said. â€Å"What if we lose the list and someone finds it?† â€Å"Well I think ‘dispose of Creepy Old Vampire’ would be a little more embarrassing, don’t you?† â€Å"You’re right, cut monkey love and change ‘vampire’ to ‘Elijah. † Jody tapped the list with a pen. â€Å"And take off Windex and put in ‘buy coffee. â€Å" â€Å"We can’t drink coffee.† â€Å"We can smell it. Tommy, I desperately need coffee. It’s like the blood hunger, only, you know, more civilized.† â€Å"Speaking of blood hunger – â€Å" â€Å"Yeah, you’d better move that up the list.† â€Å"And add a bottle of whiskey. You’re going to have to buy it.† â€Å"Sorry, writer boy, but we’re doing this stupid list together.† â€Å"I’m not old enough to buy liquor.† Jody stepped away from him and shuddered. â€Å"That’s right. Isn’t it?† â€Å"Yep,† Tommy said, nodding – trying to look wide-eyed and innocent. â€Å"Well, okay then. I should have checked IDs before picking my bitch.† â€Å"Hey!† â€Å"Kidding. What are you going to do with a bottle of whiskey anyway?† â€Å"Check something else off the list,† Tommy said. â€Å"I have an idea. Get your purse.† â€Å"What did the Animals want, anyway?† â€Å"Twenty grand.† â€Å"I hope you told them to fuck themselves.† â€Å"They did that already.† â€Å"Did they suspect, you know, about what you are now?† â€Å"Not yet. Lash said I looked a little pale. I sent them to the store. If Clint knows, well – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, good move. Maybe we should just take out an ad. ‘Young vampire couple seeks angry village people to hunt them down and kill them. ; â€Å"Ha. Village people. Funny. Put self-tanning lotion on the list. I think the pale thing is giving me away.† At seven in the evening, three days before Christmas, Union Square was awash in shoppers. There was a Santa’s Village set up in the raised square, with a line of children and parents that wound five hundred deep through a labyrinth of red velvet cattle gates. Around the square, the street performers, who would normally have knocked off around five, lined the granite steps up to the square. A juggler here, a sleight-of-hand guy there, a half-dozen â€Å"robots† – people painted silver and gold who would move in machine-jerk rhythm for the drop of a coin or a bill – and even a couple of human statues. Jody’s favorite was a gold guy in a business suit, who stood motionless for hours on end, as if he’d been frozen in midstep on the way to work. There was a small hole in his briefcase into which people stuffed bills and dropped coins after photographing him or trying to make him flinch. â€Å"This guy used to freak me out,† Tommy whispered. â€Å"But now I can see him breathing and the aura thing.† â€Å"I watched him for a whole lunch hour one time and he never moved,† Jody said. â€Å"In the summer, you know he has to be suffering in that painted suit.† Suddenly she shuddered at the thought of Elijah, the old vampire, still encased in bronze back at the loft. Yes, he had killed her, technically, but in a way he’d just opened a door for her, a door that, no matter how bizarre, was immediate, vital, and passionate. And yes, he’d done it for his amusement, he’d said, but also because he was lonely. She wound her arm into Tommy’s and kissed him on the cheek. â€Å"What was that for?† â€Å"Because you’re here,† she said. â€Å"What’s first on the list?† â€Å"Christmas presents.† â€Å"Skip down.† â€Å"Sweet monkey love.† â€Å"Yeah, we’ll do it in the Santa’s Workshop window at Macy’s.† â€Å"Really?† â€Å"No, not really.† â€Å"Okay, then we need liquor.† Jody snatched the list out of his hand so quickly that most people wouldn’t have even seen her move. â€Å"You are no longer in charge of the list. We’re getting me a new leather jacket.† I AM HOMELESS AND SOMEONE SHAVED MY HUGE CAT. William had changed his sign. Chet the huge cat was still wearing Jody’s sweater. He eyed the two vampires suspiciously as they approached. Tommy held the bottle of Johnny Walker out to William. â€Å"Merry Christmas.† William took the liquor and squirreled it away in his coat. â€Å"Most people just give money,† he said. â€Å"We’re cutting out the middleman,† Jody said. â€Å"How are you feeling today?† â€Å"Great, why? Really good, you know, considering that I’m homeless and you guys shaved my cat.† â€Å"You were pretty hammered last night.† â€Å"Yeah, but I feel great today.† â€Å"That’s how it used to affect me,† Tommy said. â€Å"Remember. Kind of energizing.† Jody waved Tommy away. â€Å"You didn’t get light-headed or anything?† Jody asked. â€Å"I was a little hungover when I woke up, but I was fine after a couple of cups of coffee.† â€Å"Fuck!† Jody spat. Then she held her head. â€Å"Calm,† Tommy said, patting her shoulder. â€Å"Dr. Flood will make it all better. Maybe.† Jody growled, just loud enough for Tommy to hear. â€Å"Ya know,† said William, when there was a break in the pedestrian traffic and he didn’t have to concentrate on looking pathetic, â€Å"I’m flush for cash, but since you’re in the Christmas spirit, I’d still go for a look at Red’s hooters.† â€Å"Bite me, dirtbag,† Jody said as she rolled up on William. â€Å"Honey.† Tommy caught the back of her newly purchased red leather jacket, just in case. They’d never know if his idea was going to work if Jody snapped the bum’s neck. â€Å"I will not be sexually harassed by the entree.† â€Å"Something you ate isn’t agreeing with you?† Tommy grinned at her when she looked back at him, but the fire went out of her eyes. â€Å"You can just cross sweet monkey love right off your list,† Jody said. â€Å"Jeez, what a bitch,† said William. â€Å"Her time of the month?† Tommy quickly wrapped his arms around Jody, lifted her off her feet, and carried her a few steps around the corner, even as she squirmed. â€Å"Let me go, I’m not going to hurt him.† â€Å"Good.† â€Å"Much.† â€Å"That’s what I thought,† Tommy said, still holding her tight. â€Å"Why don’t you head over to the Walgreens and I’ll finish up with the huge cat guy?† A family of Christmas shoppers smiled as they passed them, thinking they were young lovers indulging in a public display of affection. The father whispered â€Å"Get a room† under his breath to his wife, which a normal person wouldn’t have heard. â€Å"Count your lucky stars, buddy, we almost did it in the Santa’s Workshop window. Hot, sweaty elf sex – in front of the kids. The kids would have liked that, huh?† The father hurried his family on down the street. â€Å"Nice,† Jody said. â€Å"Way to stay under the radar.† â€Å"Well, you know, I like to stay sharp,† Tommy said. Because he was nineteen and had only started having sex regularly since he met Jody, he still thought he had some sort of secret knowledge that was unavailable to other people. How can they possibly be thinking about anything else? he thought in the private part of his mind. â€Å"I’ll bet it smells like peppermint,† Tommy said. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Elf sex.† â€Å"Would you please put me down.† â€Å"Okay, but don’t hurt the huge cat guy.† â€Å"I’m fine. I’ll meet you at the drugstore in five minutes. This had better work.† â€Å"Five minutes,† Tommy said. â€Å"Cinnamon. Maybe it smells like cinnamon.† The pale couple stalked the aisles of the Walgreens, having a great time dismissing the crass accoutrements of bourgeois American life, and generally scoffing at all the conventions of traditional culture. They were elite, after all. Special. Chosen – if you will – if only by the nature of their heightened sensitivities and superior sensibilities. They both claimed the ability to look past the faà §ade put on by most people, and see the very depths of the human soul. Strange, then, that they didn’t see it coming when the skinny guy in a flannel shirt popped around the corner in front of them. â€Å"Let’s ask these guys,† Flannel said. â€Å"They look like heroin addicts.† Jared White Wolf and Abby Normal backpedaled from the eyeliner display where they’d been looking for something hypoallergenic. Abby’s eyes had been watering all night, causing her makeup to run and giving her more of a sad-clown-of-life look than she was going for. Jared hid behind Abby, just a little, which was awkward, since he was nearly a foot taller than she. The guy in flannel was joined by a beautiful, pale redhead, carrying an armload of toiletries. What amazing hair, Abby thought, looking at the long red tresses. I’d give anything for hair like that. â€Å"Tommy, leave these poor people alone,† said the redhead. â€Å"No, wait.† Flannel turned to Abby and smiled. â€Å"Do you guys know where they keep the syringes?† Abby looked at Jared, who looked at the guy in flannel. â€Å"Well, you can’t just buy them,† Jared said. He was fiddling with the leather straps on his bondage pants, looking coy. Abby slapped his hand. â€Å"You need a prescription to buy syringes,† Abby said. â€Å"Do you really think I look like a heroin addict?† Jared threw his bangs out of his face dramatically. His head was shaved except for his bangs, which reached to his chin, specifically so he could throw them out of his face dramatically. â€Å"I was, like, thinking that maybe I should bulk up. You know, eat and stuff, but – â€Å" â€Å"Well, thanks,† said Flannel Shirt. The redhead moved off down the aisle. â€Å"I was going to try some heroin, but if you can’t buy needles, well, there you go. See you guys. Nice shirt, by the way.† Abby looked down at her T-shirt, black, of course, with the image of a poet taken from a nineteenth-century etching. â€Å"Like you even know who it is.† † ‘She walks in beauty, like the night, † quoted the flannel-shirt guy. He winked at her, then grinned. â€Å"Byron’s a hero of mine. See ya.† He turned and started to walk away. Abby reached out and snagged his sleeve. â€Å"Hey, there are needle exchange programs all over town. They’re listed in the Bay Guardian.† â€Å"Thanks,† said flannel. He turned and Abby grabbed him again. â€Å"We’re going to be at the Glas Kat. There’s a Goth club tonight. Five-hundred block of Fourth Street. I know a dealer there. You know, for your heroin.† The flannel-shirt guy nodded, and looked at Byron’s picture on her shirt again, then at her face. Fucksocks. He’s so looking at my streaking eye makeup. â€Å"Thanks, milady,† said Flannel Shirt. And he was gone, off over the dark moors of the tampon aisle. â€Å"What was that about?† whined Jared. â€Å"He’s so, so Happy Days.† Jared White Wolf spent a lot of time watching Nick at Nite when he wasn’t brooding or fussing with his appearance. Abby walked into the flap of Jared’s black duster and pounded his slight chest with her palms. â€Å"Didn’t you see. Didn’t you see?† â€Å"What, you acting like a complete ho?† â€Å"He had fangs,† Abby said. â€Å"Well, so do I,† Jared said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pair of perfect, dentistry-quality vampire fangs. â€Å"Duh, everybody does.† â€Å"Yeah, but his grew! I saw them. Let’s go,† Abby said, pulling Jared White Wolf by his great bat-wing lapels. â€Å"I have to change into something hot before we go to the club.† â€Å"Wait, I want to get some Halls. My throat is raw from all the cloves we smoked last night.† â€Å"Hurry.† The buckles of Abby’s black platform boots jangled as she dragged her friend past the lipsticks and hair products before he could get interested. â€Å"Okay,† said Jared, â€Å"but if I don’t meet a cute guy tonight, you have to stay up all night and hold me while I cry.† â€Å"You should try black lipstick sometime,† Tommy said to Jody as they approached their building, their arms loaded with packages. He was still thinking about the kids at the drugstore. It was the first time since tenth grade that he’d used his knowledge of Romantic poetry. For a while he’d tried molding himself into the tragic Romantic hero, brooding and staring clench-jawed off into space as he composed dark verse in his head. But it turned out that trying to appear tragic in Incontinence, Indiana, was redundant, and his mother kept shouting at him and making him forget his rhymes. â€Å"Tommy, if you keep grinding your teeth like that, they’ll wear away and you’ll have to have dentures like Aunt Ester.† Tommy only wished his beard was as heavy as Aunt Ester’s – then he could stare out over the moors while he stroked it pensively. â€Å"Yeah,† Jody said, â€Å"because I need to make it more obvious that I’m an undead creature that feeds on the blood of the living.† â€Å"You make it sound so sordid.† â€Å"No, I meant it in a nice way.† â€Å"Oh.† â€Å"Because it’s not like people wouldn’t understand if they found out we were vampires, because we slipped up and, oh, I don’t know, UNSHEATHED OUR FANGS IN THE FUCKING DRUGSTORE!† Tommy almost dropped his packages. She hadn’t said a word about that all night. He’d hoped she hadn’t noticed. â€Å"It was an accident.† â€Å"You called that girl ‘milady. â€Å" â€Å"She was impressed with my Byron.† â€Å"Yeah, well, your Byron was probably sticking out a little, too, wasn’t he?† â€Å"It wasn’t like that.† â€Å"You drooled.† Jody paused at their security door and dug into her jacket for her key. Tommy stepped around her. â€Å"I’m still new at this. I think I’m doing pretty well. My ghastly pallor obviously impressed the lady at the needle exchange.† He reached into his bag and fanned out a handful of sterile-wrapped and capped syringes. â€Å"Congratulations, you can now pass as an HIV-positive heroin addict.† â€Å"Trs chic.† He grinned like he imagined a sexy Italian man-whore might. â€Å"Who drools in public,† Jody said. Damn, she’s immune to my sexy Italian man-whore grin, Tommy thought. He said, â€Å"Be nice, I’m new. My lips don’t fit together right when my fangs are out.† She turned the key and swung the door open. There, passed out on the landing, was William the huge cat guy and sleeping on his chest, Chet the huge cat. â€Å"I told you it would work,† Tommy said. Jody stepped into the stairwell and closed the door behind her. â€Å"You go first.† Fifteen minutes later, as he placed five syringes full of blood in their refrigerator, Tommy said, â€Å"This vampire thing is going to be great.† He’d had a moment when he’d bitten William – not just getting over the idea of being that close someone who smelled that nasty, but also being close to another man period. But after cleaning William’s neck with an alcohol swab they’d gotten from the drugstore, and consoling himself that most literary vampires seemed sexually ambivalent anyway, the blood hunger pushed him through. He was feeling more relaxed, now that they had the food problem solved – for a while, anyway. If his friends didn’t kill them in the next couple of days, he might even enjoy life as a vampire. Then he turned to Jody and frowned. â€Å"But I can’t help but think that it may be wrong, taking advantage of a homeless alcoholic.† â€Å"We could just hunt and kill people,† Jody said cheerfully. She had a little crust of William’s blood in the corner of her mouth. Tommy licked his thumb and wiped it away. â€Å"We did give him a nice sweater for his huge shaved cat,† Tommy said. â€Å"I loved that sweater,† Jody said. â€Å"And we are giving him a warm landing to sleep on,† she added, diving onto Tommy’s rationalization dog pile. â€Å"And if we only take a little bit each day, he’ll actually feel better. I know I did.† â€Å"And we won’t become alcoholics ourselves.† â€Å"How are you feeling, by the way?† Tommy said. â€Å"Better. Hair of the dog. You?† â€Å"Two-beer buzz, max. I’ll be fine. You want to try the experiment?† Jody checked her watch. â€Å"No time. We’ll do it tomorrow night.† â€Å"Right. So, on to the list. Looks like hot monkey love.† â€Å"Tommy, we need to find a daytime person to help us. We have to move out of this place.† â€Å"I’ve been thinking about Alaska.† â€Å"Okay, good for you, but we still need to find a place to live where the Animals and Inspector Rivera can’t find us.† â€Å"No, I’m thinking we should move to Alaska. For one thing, in the winter, it’s dark for like twenty hours a day, so we’d have plenty of time. And I read somewhere that Eskimos put their old people out on the ice when they are ready to die. It would be like people were leaving snacks out for us.† â€Å"You’re kidding.† â€Å"Eskimo Pies?† He grinned. Jody put her hand on her hip and looked at him, her mouth hanging open a little, as if she was waiting for something more. When it didn’t come, she said, â€Å"Okay then, I’m going to change.† â€Å"Into a wolf?† â€Å"Clothes, cadaver breath.† â€Å"I didn’t know. I thought maybe you’d learned.† Tommy thought Alaska was a great idea. Just because she was a few years older, she always acted like his ideas were stupid. â€Å"The thing with William worked,† he said defensively as he put away the supplies they’d bought at the drugstore. â€Å"That was a good idea,† Jody said from inside the closet. Now what? â€Å"Well, Alaska isn’t a bad idea.† â€Å"Tommy, there’s like nine people in all of Alaska. We’ll stand out, don’t you think?† â€Å"No, everyone is pale there. They don’t have sun for most of the year.† She came out of the closet wearing her little black cocktail dress and her strappy come-fuck-me pumps. â€Å"I’m ready,† she said. â€Å"Wow,† Tommy said. He’d forgotten what they were talking about. â€Å"You think the Ferrari-red lipstick would be too much?† â€Å"No, I love the Ferrari-red lipstick on you.† Hot, sweet monkey love, he thought. This was exactly why he loved her. In the midst of all of the pressure, the danger, really – she still took time to think of his feelings. She lifted her breasts until they threatened to spill out of the plunging neckline of the dress. â€Å"Too much?† â€Å"Perfect,† Tommy said, walking toward her with his hands out. â€Å"Gimme.† She breezed past him into the bathroom. â€Å"Not for you. I need to get going.† â€Å"No, no, no,† Tommy said. â€Å"Hot monkey love.† While Tommy watched from the doorway, Jody applied the Ferrari-red lipstick, checked it, then frowned and wiped it off, then grabbed a different tube off the vanity. â€Å"When I get back.† â€Å"Where?† Tommy said. Sexual frustration had reduced him to single syllables. She turned to him with the new coat of maroon lipstick. â€Å"To get your minion.† â€Å"Not like that, you’re not,† Tommy said. â€Å"This is how it works, Tommy. This is how I got you.† â€Å"Nuh-uh, you weren’t wearing that when I met you.† â€Å"No, but the reason you pursued me is because you were interested in me sexually, wasn’t it?† â€Å"Well, that’s how it started, but it’s more than that now.† And it was more, but that was no reason to leave him here all aroused and stuff. She walked over to him and put her arms around him. He let his hands slip inside the low back of her dress. His pants were getting tight and he could feel the pressure of his fangs coming out. â€Å"When I get back,† she said. â€Å"I promise. You’re my guy, Tommy. I picked you as my guy, forever. I’m going to find someone to help us move and do things for us in the daytime.† â€Å"They’re just going to want to bone you, and when you don’t do them, they’ll turn on you.† â€Å"Not necessarily.† â€Å"Of course they will. Look at you.† â€Å"I’ll figure it out, okay. I don’t know how else to go about it.† â€Å"We could put an ad on Craig’s List.† (Craig’s List was a classified Web site that had started in the Bay Area and was now the first place people checked for jobs, apartments, or nearly everything.) â€Å"We’re not putting an ad on Craig’s List. Look, Tommy, we have more things to do than we have time. You can clean the loft and go get the laundry done and I’ll get us an onion.† â€Å"Minion,† he corrected. â€Å"Whatever. I love you,† she said. Bitch! He was vanquished. Unfair. â€Å"I love you, too.† â€Å"I’ll take one of the disposable cell phones you bought. You can call me anytime.† â€Å"They’re not even activated yet.† â€Å"Well, get on that, buddy. The sooner I get out there and find someone, the sooner I can get back here for some hot monkey love.† She has absolutely no sense of ethics, he thought. She’s a monster. And yet, there she is, only a few dress straps from being naked. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"Don’t step on the huge cat on the way out.† Jody had only been gone twenty minutes before Tommy decided that cleaning and laundry sucked and that he could find a minion as well as she could, even if he didn’t look as hot in a little black dress. He was careful not to wake Chet and William on his way out. How to cite You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 7, Essay examples

Operations Management Arnold Palmer Hospital and Hard Rock Cafe

Introduction Operations in Hard Rock Cafà © and Arnold Palmer Hospital are â€Å"the activities performed repetitively to create value in products and services by transforming inputs into outputs.† This paper seeks to compare the operations management practices of Arnold Palmer Hospital and those of Hard Rock Cafà ©.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Operations Management: Arnold Palmer Hospital and Hard Rock Cafe specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This paper seeks to carry out an analysis of the two organizations with the main theoretical concepts of operations management. Hard Rock cafà © has an international presence in approximately forty different countries with about a hundred and ten outlets. Operation process In terms of operations management, Arnold Palmer Hospital is one of the largest hospitals in terms of capacity in the United States. The hospital cares for women and children and is equipped wi th about four hundred and thirty beds in two major facilities. The hospital covers about 676 thousand square feet in downtown Orlando, Florida. The hospital has employed over two thousand staff and serves entire central Florida. The hospital offers a wide range of medical services. The hospital has a history of caring for risky pregnancies and maternal intensive care to patients from all parts of the United States. The new facility of Arnold Palmer Hospital is designed with a circular layout. This layout is unique and gives the hospital a maximally efficient layout. The layout provides a patient focused surrounding to offer effective services to patients (Aloysius 2011, p.17). APH is a level one trauma hospital and a regional leader in specialized baby treatment. Being a regional leader, the massive facility accommodates a lot of expectant mothers and consequently, a lot of babies are born in the facility. The hospital’s intentions are to hire and maintain a dedicated and sin cere staff offering the highest quality care. The staff ensures there is a patient focused flow and function; this is one of the guiding principles (Schilling 2008, p.76). Arnold Palmer Hospital has managed to improve the service levels of its patients. This has been packaged with reduced costs of operations. The hospital has enhanced innovation and has employed the latest technologies in its facilities.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Arnold Palmer has managed to further reduce the operational costs by redesigning the procedures and by use of technological applications. Among this was the project of building a multiyear project for the new facility which was successfully achieved. This was a development from preceding years when Arnold Palmer used to operate in one facility. The design and construction of the new center have indeed improved the strength of Arnold Palmerâ₠¬â„¢s supply chain. The hospital has benefited from economies of labor sharing and capital investment; some of the physicians serve in both facilities although more support staff had to be hired. The expansion strategy also turned out to be effective in terms of additional expenses. In addition, Arnold Palmer Hospital initiated a project with the intention of cutting down operational expenses. Arnold Palmer Hospital has also established a plan to advance the efficiency of its support staff; this is aimed at giving patients unique services when they are waiting for services from the doctors. This plan ensures that patients are comfortable and are not suffering from any pain. The hospital has established a file management staff to ensure there is improved management of patient’s information (Schilling 2008,p.188). Comparatively, Hard Rock Cafe provides unparalleled services which are reasonably priced to its clients. Unparalleled services include the delivery of quality service . For instance, the immortal rock and roll music identifies Hard Rock as a unique organization (Martin 1992,p.78). The music is played with an exceptional level of sensibility. Hard Rock Cafà © has a reputation and a history of being successful in the music industry. The notion of an American dinner started in England and has then become a lifestyle (Heizer and Render 2005, p.45). The development strategy for the organization started in 1982 when Hard Rock Cafà © decided to come up with its own outlets internationally. Hard Rock outlets were established in various parts of the United States including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Washington, Dallas, and in Orlando Florida. In 1988, Hard Rock Cafà © t relocated its headquarters to Orlando, Florida.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Operations Management: Arnold Palmer Hospital and Hard Rock Cafe specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Other outlets were established in France and Germany at Paris and Berlin respectively. The pioneers of the organization ultimately sold its interests in Hard Rock UK to Mecca Leisure. This was later purchased by The Rank Group which continued expanding the organization in the UK. Later, it acquired the American and Canadian branches to strengthen its global presence. Presently, the organization is significantly established with approximately 138 outlets in over 42 nations in the world. Hard Rock Cafà © is currently a well felt global brand and has established its brand in Asia including China and Malaysia in Shanghai, and Kuala Lumpur respectively (Hal Corp 2010, p.12). Comparing Operations Management Strategies of the Two Organizations In Arnold Palmer Hospital and at Hard Rock Cafà © end customers are people. The only difference is the nature of services sought from the two organizations. In Arnold Palmer Hospital, people seek to get medical care which is a necessity; at Hard Ro ck Cafà ©, people seek to get hospitality and entertainment services. The hospital fits in a unique group of six hospitals in the US which specialize in children and women. Due to its unique services and specialized treatments, the hospital has earned a reputation of being one of the best among the six. Hard Rock Cafà © benefits from international brand recognition due to its versatile operation management strategy. The company has derived a lot of success due to its reputation for quality ( Barrows and Powers 2008, p.16). Hard Rock Cafà © stands for quality in production and through superior product design. Product design is based on the euphoria that revolutionized the world about thirty years ago. By mentioning Hard Rock, customers able to associate it with Rock ‘n’ Roll and its fans get extremely excited (Martin 1992, p.3). The organizations headquarter in Orlando employs approximately four hundred employees. More than 3500 meals are served daily; the outlet†™s menu is modified occasionally due to changes in market trends and consumer’s preferences. Arnold Palmer Hospital receives patients from all over the fifty states in the US. The hospital has also admitted and cared for international patients from over a hundred countries. Surveys indicate that the hospital has achieved patient satisfaction scores to be ranked among the top 10% of the best hospitals in the US. Ninety-five percent of patients would recommend others to Arnold Palmer Hospital.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More One of the main tasks handled by the hospital is the delivery of babies. Initially, the hospital was constructed with 281 beds and an annual capacity of about six thousand births. The population of the locals was rising steadily and the hospital was serving both local and international patients. In essence, the hospital needed to expand to cater for its developing market. However, the expansion achieved an annual capacity of over ten thousand births. The expansion plan included eleven story building opposite the main facility. Expansion strategy was one of the most successful achievements made by the hospitals’ operations management. A team was established with a mandate to study all the boundary conditions surrounding the expansion plan. To come up with an implementation plan, various factors were assessed. Some of these factors included the specific forecasts, services to be retained in the original facility and services to be transferred to the new facility. Other importan t factors included staff requirements, machines and equipment requirements, accounts and legal requirements. The budget was estimated at $100 million and the project was to be implemented in stages. Ultimately, the hospital managed to achieve a facility that can handle an annual birth of 13500 babies. The ultimate objective of the hospital is to offer high quality and special services to its patients. The hospital has established an all inclusive and technical way of getting feed back from patients. The patients are given an opportunity to judge the services offered by the company. The most distinguishable feature of the hospital is its ability to satisfy its patients. The hospital values the views of its patients and their families; this information is used to strategize improvement plans. The hospital allows its workers to reward any patient (about $200) who complains about any form of dissatisfaction from the hospital’s services. The hospital offers high quality and clean food to its patients; other services include good responsiveness and courtesy. Quality Management The quality of services at Arnold Palmer Hospital is the biggest source of pride for the hospital. The management team is also a major contributor to the good reputation of the hospital. The hospital currently faces a high number of patients visiting the hospital. Quality in management could is enhanced by increasing the number of staff per patients requirements (Ajami and Marca 2007,p.2). The hospital’s staff undergoes periodic training to improve their skills. The hospital is considered one of the best centers for traumatic cases; the hospital’s staff is trained occasionally to improve its skills in dealing with traumatic cases (Heizer and Render 2005, p.67). The Fish-Bone Diagram The ultimate objective of the hospital is to offer high quality and special services to its patients. The hospital has established an all-inclusive and technical way of getting feed back from p atients. The patients are given an opportunity to judge the services offered by the company. The most distinguishable feature of the hospital is its ability to satisfy its patients. The hospital values the views of its patients and their families; this information is used to strategize improvement plans. The hospital allows its workers to reward any patient (about $200) who complains about any form of dissatisfaction from the hospital’s services. The hospital offers high quality and clean food to its patients; other services include good responsiveness and courtesy. The hospital has adopted a technique dubbed â€Å"just in time.† Medicines are given at nurses’ quarters using dispensing equipment. This machine monitors the patient’s utilization and after related charge of every patient. Relatively, the staff at Hard Rock is composed of Rock ‘n’ Roll enthusiasts; it has an exceptional understanding of music. This improves their relationship wit h their clients; the clientele can identify with the company’s employees. Employees undergo periodic training to enhance their engaging personalities. The organization’s motto of loving all and serving all ensures all customers are given the necessary courtesy. Hard Rock Cafà © is not an ordinary food joint; it prides itself for specialized services and unique high-quality offerings ( Barrows and Powers 2008,p.6). Operations Strategy Both Arnold Palmer Hospital and Hard Rock Cafà © apply logical decision-making  tools plan for their operations. Both Arnold Palmer Hospital expanded its facility to handle more patients and to cater for the increased demand of its services. The hospital has also bought and installed new automatic equipment in its new facilities. The hospital’s major assets are its human resource and the hospital equipment. The hospital has an opportunity of lowering the costs of its services by improving the operations strategies. A lot of oper ation strategies have changed since Hard Rock established its operations in UK. The company has applied global expansion strategies to cover more than forty nations. Major employees at Hard Rock Cafe include chefs, hostesses, waitresses and bartenders. The organization is constantly increasing its live music business and is improving its outlets to keep in pace with the dynamic preferences and tastes of customers. Hard Rock earned the title of the best in collecting and showing rock ’n’ roll memorabilia. Hard Rock earned this championship after Eric Clapton hung his guitar on Hard Rock’s wall. The organization has accumulated over a thousand pieces with an estimated market value of 40 million USD. At present, Hard Rock maintains a website on which over 100 thousand hits are recorded every week. As part of its operation strategies, Hard Rock Cafà © operates a weekly television program to update, inform and entertain its fans (Hard Rock 1998,p.1). SWOT Analysis H ard Rock Cafà © Strengths: the organization has a reputation of producing high quality products. Products are prepared in London in a unique, conventional and English style. Weaknesses: the organization sells high priced products that can only be afforded by financially capable individuals. This has reduced the scope of the market for the organization’s products. Opportunities: the organization produces unique products and offers unique services. The services offered by the organization are not available elsewhere; this is a good opportunity for the company. Threats: negative developments, changes and trends in the music industry may affect the market already dominated by the organization. Arnold Palmer Hospital Strengths: the hospital is widely acknowledged for its high quality medical care. The hospital is well equipped with powerful equipments and talented doctors and support staff. The success of the expansion plan was marked by the eventful completion of the new facilit y; this has strengthened the hospital. Weaknesses: the hospital experiences a high turnover of staff; this affects the provision of medical services. Sometimes, the hospital suffers from inadequate funding; this is worsened by poor economic conditions. Opportunities: the hospital’s new facility has added more opportunities since the hospital is able to handle more patients. Conducive working environment and availability of committed staff enable the hospital to perform well nationally. Threats: financial challenges threaten operations at Arnold Palmer Hospital. Forecasting at Arnold Palmer Hospital and Hard Rock Cafà © The contemporary world of business has experienced an advent of Information Technology (IT); this has drastically transformed the global business arena. Both organizations have success accounts attributed to the adoption and implementation of IT technologies. IT technology emphasizes on automation of processes and procedures that were traditionally performed m anually. One of the most outstanding elements that have accelerated to the growth of Arnold Palmer Hospital is its forecasting competence. It is now possible to predict failure or success in operations at the hospital facility. The hospital has employed experts who are responsible for optimizing all procedures in the hospital. The team of experts is responsible for the implementation of forecasting techniques to get rid of drudgery on the hospital’s floor. The experts assist the hospital staff to utilize IT technologies to optimize their file storage capacities in IT systems. The IT system captures most of the information, stores it and retrieves it for forecasting purposes. The captured information is analyzed using statistical tools and predictions can easily be made about the future or the expectations of the hospital ( Byers 2004, p.13). Comparatively, Hard Rock uses ‘Point of Sales Terminals’ (POS) established at all its outlets. In Hard rock Cafà ©, foreca sting is employed by several means; first, a considerable number of transactions are detected and stored by the POS machines in all the organization’s outlets. Information detected and stored in POS is assessed to ascertain its application and to project the sales for the upcoming periods. Forecasting is employed in managers’ assessment; this is achieved by studying the amount of sales in outlets under the jurisdiction of the specific managers. The performance of specific managers can be easily detected; top performers are rewarded accordingly. The method is used by the top managers to make informed decisions about the performance of Hard Rock Cafà ©. Operations and Productivity Both organizations exhibit a high degree of performance; this implies their operations have important effects on day to day, short term and long term performance. Arnold Palmer Hospital is operated under one brand and offers its services to women and children. The hospital enjoys economies of scale and scope with improved marketing benefits. The hospital has adopted IT technologies and improved hospital designs (Heizer and Render 2005, p.76). A flow chart of APH process APH can improve its operation process by use of hospital operation software that is able to maintain an effective hospital database. Volume and variety affect the hospital due to occasional occurrences like accidents; the hospital is forced to handle a lot of casualties unexpectedly. However, there are customized services and facilities for handling multiple fatalities. Location strategy Hard Rock cafà © enjoys a good international presence in about forty nations with over a hundred and ten outlets. The company uses inventory management methods to keep a wide and high priced collection of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia. Both organizations have benefits of location; they have a customer focused strategy. The hospital is located at Orlando, Florida in a 431 beds capacity in two facilities. The hos pital employs approximately two thousand workers. The hospital is only level one trauma facility in Florida (Barrows and Powers 2008,p.86). Layout strategy Hard Rock Company uses the layout planning methods to create the inside of its outlets. The company emphasizes on the retail outlook of every outlets; this where the company generates most of its income. Hard Rock Company is able to collect data using the POS machines. This data is evaluated using statistical tools to determine how resources should be distributed. The new facility of Arnold Palmer Hospital is designed with a circular layout. This layout is unique and gives the hospital a maximally efficient layout. The layout provides a patient focused surrounding to offer effective services to patients. The traditional layout was highly ineffective; the nurses spent most of their time trekking to the hospital facility. The current design includes a nursing quarters at the middle of a ten bed round pod. All patients’ rooms are within fourteen feet from the center of the pod. The neonatal rooms have also been redesigned to improve the comfort. The new layout consists of semiprivate rooms which are very quiet. A good layout design is imperative for a successful patients’ care (Aloysius 2011, p.15). Inventory management Arnold Palmer Hospital inspects its equipment and facilities two times annually. In comparison, Hard Rock Cafà © is able to benefit from quantity discounts when customers purchase goods in bulk. The hospital has adopted a technique dubbed â€Å"just in time.† In the hospital, medicines are given at nurses’ quarters using dispensing equipment. This machine monitors the patient’s utilization and after the related charge of every patient. The drugs’ dispensing equipment is refilled every night depending on the demand and instructions given by doctors (Aloysius 2011,p.188). The Just in Time strategy has also been employed in the section of custom surgical packs. These are sterilized covers, throwaway plastic trays and gauzes; these are specified in every operational procedure. The JIT technique is used to deliver and to pack the packs. This implies that they are packed in converse order. The packs are also huge in size, costly and must be kept sterilized. Decreasing the inventory and handling while keeping them clean from infection is a huge challenge to the hospital. Hard Rock uses inventory management practices in keeping a wide and a costly collection of rock and roll memorabilia (Hard Rock 1998,p.25). Various methods of inventory scheduling and management are applied to establish the best possible amount of food to keep at the stores. By using such techniques, the organization is able to take advantage of quantity discounts and the purchased products shelf lives (Ajami and Marca 2007,p.32). Conclusion After looking at the operations of Hard Rock and Arnold Palmer Hospital, it is evident that the operations management procedures h ave an important effect on every day, temporary and permanent operations and scheduling of both organizations. The managers in charge of operations at both organizations employed logical decision-making tools to choose, the locations of the organizations both qualitatively and quantitatively. Both HRC and APH have a production feature and a service feature in their operations. Both organizations offer specialized services; APH targets women and children, HRC targets rock fanatics. Both are successful organizations with unique offerings; HRC is a global market leader while APH is a regional market leader. I have learned that offering unique products and services distinguishes an organization and contributes to its success. APH receives patients from outside its locality; I would suggest the hospital to consider expanding nationally. References Ajami, R Marca , M 2007, The Global Enterprise: Entrepreneurship and Value Creation, Routledge Press. London, UK. Aloysius, S E 2011, Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Commun, Orlando, FL. Barrows, C Powers, T 2008, Introduction to the Hospitality Industry, John Wiley Sons, Hoboken, NJ. Byers, J F 2004, Patient Safety: Principles and Practice, Springer Publishing Company, New York. Heizer, J Render, B 2005, Operations management, Pearson/Prentice Hall, New York. Hal. Corp. 2010, Hard Rock: Boss Eband Guitar Play-Along, Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, London, UK. Hard Rock 1997, Hard Rock Cafe: Marketing Research Study, Brigham Young University, Marriott School of Management, Brigham. Hard Rock 1998, November 18, Hard Rock Cafe Cranks Up the Volume By Launching Its Music-Oriented Internet Site, . Martin, R 1992, March 16, Hard Rock Hits Planet Hollywood with Copycat Suit, Nation’s Restaurant News, pp. 1-3. Schilling, L 2008, Implementing and Sustaining Improvement in Health Care, Joint Commission Resources, Washington, DC. This essay on Operations Management: Arnold Palmer Hospital and Hard Rock Cafe was written and submitted by user Allison H. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Being Poor †Theology Informal Essay

Being Poor – Theology Informal Essay Free Online Research Papers Being Poor Theology Informal Essay My daughter had a startling revelation. It happened in her freshman year of high school. One day she came home in tears. After supper she tearfully asked, â€Å"Dad, why didn’t you tell me we were poor?† The question momentarily shocked me and grieved my heart. All normal fathers want to adequately provide for their families. I asked her, â€Å"Who said that we were poor?† classmates,†she answered while wiping a â€Å"Some of my friends and tear from her eye. â€Å"We are not rich but we are not poor,† I replied. â€Å"Have you ever gone hungry? Do you lack clothes to wear? Don’t we have a house to live in with running water, indoor plumbing, and electricity? It’s true, we are not rich, but we are not poor.† A couple of years later my daughter was blessed to go on a youth mission’s trip to an Indian reservation in Arizona. There she saw stark, grinding poverty. She is now preparing to be involved in medical missions and hopes to someday serve in some capacity in Africa. Perhaps the word poor is a relative term. When one is really poor, they don’t need to be told, they know it, feel it, and live it. A young man became addicted to drugs. He lost his friends, family, and dignity. One night he climbed into a dumpster for the first time. He suddenly realized that he was poor, destitute, bound, and friendless. Jesus loves the poor. He came â€Å"to preach the gospel to the poor† (Matthew 11:5). A rich, religious young man came to Jesus. Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give to the poor. â€Å"And you will have treasure in heaven and follow me.† The young man went away sad because he had much riches. Jesus told a parable in which the master told his servant to go out into the highways, hedges, streets, and lanes of the city and bring in the poor, maimed, lame, and the blind to a great feast, because the rich had spurned the master’s invitation. (Luke 14:16-24) David tells us to praise the Lord because, â€Å"He raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy out of the ash heap† (Psalm 113:7). God doesn’t condemn the poor. His ears are open to their cry. God’s people are commanded to â€Å"Open your mouth for the speechless . . . and plead the cause of the poor and needy† (Proverbs 31:8-9). God blesses those who deal out their bread to the poor. (Isaiah 58) â€Å"Pure religion and undefiled is to visit the widows and orphans and minister to their needs† (James 1:27). James reminds us that God shows no favoritism nor should we. â€Å"Listen, my beloved brethren, has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?† (James 2:1-8). Why does God love and care about the poor? Consider how God demonstrated His love towards us. (Romans 5:8) We hear a lot of rags to riches stories, but few riches to rags stories. Jesus left the glories and riches of heaven to be born in a stable and become one with us. (Philippians 2) The Apostle Paul focuses on this mind-boggling revelation in his epistles. â€Å"For you know, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich† (II Corinthians 8:9). If you have Jesus you are rich in God’s grace, mercy, blessings, and eternal life. Is every believer to be rich in this world’s goods? Is the American Dream the promise of the gospel? Are material goods the proof of faith and Christian maturity? Paul knew the secret one contentment in all things. â€Å"Rejoicing as poor, yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things† (II Corinthians 6:10). Jesus taught us to pray and trust God to supply our daily needs. He told us that our heavenly Father takes care of the birds of the air and we are more valuable to Him than they. (Matthew 6:1-4, 19-21) God promises to supply our every need â€Å"according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus† (Philippians 4:19). We must only trust and obey Him. Jesus gave us a key to the kingdom of heaven. â€Å"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven† (Matthew 5:3). It is the poor in spirit who realize that they need Jesus and God’s grace and mercy. To them belong the riches of God’s kingdom. Jesus rebuked the church of Laodicia who thought that they were â€Å"rich, increased with goods, and in need of nothing . . . and do not know you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked† (Revelation 3:17). That’s really being poor! If you have Jesus you are never poor. You are rich indeed! But we must always be â€Å"poor in spirit† and see our need of Jesus as Savior and Lord. Jesus invites you to come to Him for true riches. â€Å"Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and opens unto me, I will come into him and sup with him and he with me† (Revelation 3:20). Research Papers on Being Poor - Theology Informal Essay19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseHip-Hop is ArtComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionPETSTEL analysis of IndiaTrailblazing by Eric Anderson

Find a Book Idea That Sells 3 Things You Must Check Before You Write Your Book

Find a Book Idea That Sells 3 Things You Must Check Before You Write Your Book Find a Book Idea That Sells: 3 Things You Must Check Before You Write Your Book If you’re about to write a book, and you want a book idea that sells,  there are three things you absolutely must check before you spend a minute writing your book.Researching these three things will help you write your book more confidently because you’ll have firm reason to believe readers will love and buy your book.Once you have your book idea, and before you begin writing, you need to check that there’s:People looking for your book ideaPeople willing to pay for your book ideaCompetition you can beatThere are two ways to complete each of the following steps: an easy, low-cost way and a time-consuming, free way. I’ll explain both. No matter which method you choose, just choose one of them so you can embark on your book writing journey with confidence. 1. Are there people looking for your book idea?Before you spend weeks, months, or years laboring to create your book, smart authors validate that there are people searching for your book idea on the inte rnet first.The free method is to type in www.KWFinder.com and use their free tool that currently allows you 3 searches per day, and type in your book idea. One piece of information this site gives you is the average times per month people type and search for your term. The higher the number, the more people actively are looking for the information you’re thinking of writing about.This tool does not tell you how many people are searching for your idea on Amazon, however, which can make your results a little dicey. Sometimes people are just looking to learn free or quick information, and not actually looking to read an entire book.When people search for a topic on Amazon, however, they are there to buy something. That’s why doing this research using a software that specifically gives you Amazon data is the best option. Enter KDP Rocket. When you search for a book idea using KDP Rocket, it gives you the estimated number of times people search for your idea on Google and o n Amazon each month. And there’s no limit to how many ideas you can search per day.Here’s the results for my fictitious book idea about ‘habits’:Once you’ve verified people are searching for your book idea, the next step is to make sure they’re willing to pay for the information.2. Are there people willing to pay for your book idea?Unless you’re planning to give your book away for free, this step is crucial. If you don’t have KDP Rocket, you’ll want to head over to Amazon.com and search in the Kindle Store for your writing idea. Look at the search results that appear on the first page. For each book, scroll down to find the Amazon Best Seller Rank. You’ll probably want to create a spreadsheet now if you haven’t already to keep track of the numbers. Once you have the Best Seller Rank for each, you should put each number into the Amazon Best Seller Rank Calculator. The calculator will tell you how many books a re selling each day. If you multiply this number by 30, you’ll get the estimated money per month that book makes.If you do this for all 14 of the books that show up on the first page of your search, you can find the average your book idea makes per month. This will give you an idea if it’s profitable enough for you to pursue.   If you’re looking for the fast and easy way, you’d already have this information right at your fingertips from doing step 1 (verifying people are looking for your book). By clicking ‘Analyze’ on KDP Rocket, you can immediately learn the average earnings per month. Wow, habits is a money-maker! Look at that second column!So people are looking for your idea and they are willing to pay for your idea, but can you compete with the big dogs? 3. Can you beat the competition for your book idea?Terms like ‘habits’ are popular and profitable, but the competition is intense. You may have noticed the column called à ¢â‚¬Å"Competitive Score.† This gives you a score between 1-100 on how hard it would be to get your book to appear when people search for your term. A 1 is easy-peasy and 100 is near-impossible. I’m guessing like me, you’re not a famous author, so you’ll want to find book ideas that have lower competition. Scores in the 20s or below are my usual target. This doesn’t mean you can’t write a book about habits. This just means you might have to keep searching to refine your idea to be more specific so you can better compete. When you search in the Kindle Store for your idea, you’ll want to take note of the number of results that appear. This tells us there are 8,055 other books that rank for the term â€Å"habits† on Amazon.Next, click on the top 3 results and write down their Amazon Best Seller Rank. Find the average of these 3 numbers to find the average Best Seller Rank of the top 3 books. You should aim to get your book to rank # 1 since it gets the most clicks, and definitely be able to compete with the top 3.Then, look at the book covers, book descriptions, and reviews. Give each book a score 1-100 based on your opinion of its professionalism, design, clarity, and happiness of reviewers. If it looks like a book you could easily beat, it’s a 1. If it’s perfect and virtually unbeatable, give it 100. Having all these numbers in an excel spreadsheet will help you analyze the competition of your book idea.If that seems like a lot of work, or you don’t know how to score the competition, you’ll love what KDP Rocket can do for you. When you click on the ‘Analyze’ button to discover how much money the book idea makes, a Competitive Score was also automatically generated. For ‘habits,’ the competition is 73pretty tough. Rocket will also give you a bunch of other recommended terms to consider, so by simply scrolling down, I found ‘healthy eating habits.†™ Lower competitionbut people aren’t paying for that idea. How about ‘how to break bad habits’: See how you can still write about what you’re interested in, but simply checking the popularity, profitability, and competition can help you refine your idea from an â€Å"I hope this works idea† to â€Å"Let’s write this book already idea!†Book Idea ValidatedOnce your book idea passes these three checkpoints, then you’re on your way to confidently writing your book. Now you have reason to believe it won’t be a waste of your time and you can proceed with more assurance that you’re writing a book that will sell.To learn more about how this product  can help you profitably launch your book to success, check out KDP Rocket here!

Homosexuality should be socially accepted in China Essay

Homosexuality should be socially accepted in China - Essay Example 1. Lots discrimination to homosexuals is also the main reason why most of them get married to the opposite sex, this is usually not out of love but because they want to camouflage (Der Spiegel). Such marriages normally result to break ups. 2. Another reason why homosexuals get married to the opposite sex is due to fear of stigmatization. According to Chinese culture, bearing children is a sign of prestige and honor. Therefore, same sex marriages, apart from being seen as a taboo, it is also against the Chinese religion (Der Spiegel). 1. According to China’s ministry of health, the rate of homosexuals contracting Aids is becoming an issue of national concern. This is because statistics show that the rate of Aids in homosexuals is above average and keeps rising annually. This rate is almost 88% higher than the general population (Der Spiegel). 2. Apart from the ministry of health, part of the Chinese government is against the legalization of homosexuality. The government through the civil affairs department, human province, firmly stated that homosexuality was not only a violation of morals but also the spiritual civil construction (Tatlow). Although homosexuals need to be recognized and granted their civil rights, the rate at which gays and lesbians are contracting Aids is appalling and need to be given much consideration. Sine many homosexuals are married to partners of the opposite sex for fear of victimization and discrimination, the government ought to realize that those opposite sex partners are at a high risk of contracting the disease. Therefore, by legalizing homosexuality, the government will have helped minimize the rate of aids in married couples. Since foundation of the People’s Republic in 1949, homosexuals in china have undergone many horrific situations such as victimization, torture and stigmatization. Legalizing

Irony in the drama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Irony in the drama - Essay Example Sophocles makes use of both of the mentioned ironies in order to present the story of Oedipus while on the other hand, Shakespeare also takes support of both of the mentioned ironies in the lieu of literary techniques. Both the protagonists of the plays are destined to their downfall. Even if they make decisions, they make it in order to support the prophecies made. In addition, the playwrights were interested to take their heroes towards tragic endings due to which, they enabled them to make their decisions that were in the interest of the tragic ending. If they had decided differently, still they were to meet their prophecies as structured by both the playwrights. In Oedipus the king, dramatic irony is employed at various locations such as the prophecy about Oedipus that he will murder his own father and marry his own mother is revealed at the beginning of the play and the audiences of the play are aware of the prophecy and the ending of the play. On the other hand, Oedipus is quite ignorant about the prophecy and its implications. Even, when he gains knowledge about this prophecy, he tries to change the prediction by moving away from the parents who adopted him (Knox 1998). Oedipus thinks that he will change the prediction by means of getting away from his parents and by leaving his state but in actuality, he moves towards his real parents and kills his father ignorantly. Later on in the play, Oedipus tries to find the murderer of Laios, his real father, unknowingly that he, himself is the murderer (Knox 1998). Oedipus ironically announces that he will avenge the murderer by saying: The example of verbal irony can be seen when Oedipus promises that he will avenge Laios like his own father and will take his murderer in chains. Here, Oedipus is not aware that he is the murderer for whom he is searching. Also in the above mentioned quotation, Oedipus not knowingly announces that he will avenge the murdered king as he would have avenged his father, which is a

Supply chain initiatives at Apple Inc

Supply chain initiatives at Apple Inc For reasons as various as its philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic design to its distinctive advertising campaigns, Apple has established a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry. This includes a customer base that is devoted to the company and its brand, particularly in the United States.[10] Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world in 2008, 2009, and 2010.[11][12][13] The company has also received widespread criticism for its contractors labour, environmental, and business practices, 4 COMPETITIVE PRIORITIES AT APPLE INC. APPLE has managed to increase its market price by introducing new products to attract the customers. The recent products are APPLE Ipod and APPLE IPHONE 4G. Usability and Product design are the main key trends and competitive priorities of apple. The key element in manufacturing strategy are to identifying competitors manufacturing strategy research. In this study, Im gonna find which competitive priorities that APPLE used and which one helped APPLE the most in the areas of supply chain, quality and peformances. 1.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW APPLE INC. (NASDAQ: AAPL; previously APPLE COMPUTER, INC.) is an American multinational corporation, which produces consumer electronics, pc softwares and laptops. STEVE JOBS, STEVE WOZNIAK and RONALD WAYNE are the founder of APPLE INC, established in Cupertino, California on april1, 1976 and incorporated January 3 1977, and then the company was known by APPLE COMPUTER, INC. It leads the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, ILife and its range of professional applications. Apple also spearheads the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online music store. The company recorded revenues of 65.07 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2010, an increase of 34.06% over 2009. The companys operating profit was 18.27 billion in fiscal 2010, an increase of 35.74% over 2009. Its net profit was 14.01 billion in fiscal 2010, an increase of 41.23% over 2009. 1.2 OPERATIONS STRATEGY OF APPLE INC. The Operations Strategy of APPLE INC. Limited has changed as their business has evolved over time. The section below tracks the various key operations strategy such as the Manufacturing ( processes involved and locations), the Supply chain initiatives over the years, Inventory Management, Quality Management, Research and Development Initiatives, Procurement procedure, Vendor Management etc . The section highlights the key defining operational strategies adopted by the company during this period. 1.2.1 MANUFACTURING: When Steve Jobs launched the iMac in 1998, he was quoted as saying, these new product lines give people what they want most, a lightning fast laptop and a striking new consumer Macintosh. Is Jobs correct in this assessment? Is speed, look, and brand really the main drivers for consumers? Did Jobs strategy to capture market share in the personal computer industry focus on the right aspects? This paper will venture to say no and suggest the following alternative strategy: Apple should build a new business in Wintel PCs, while continuing to sell Macs to the design and publishing segment of the market. In order to support this conclusion, Apples competitive advantages and industry forces must be analysed. Apple has been in business since 1976, and released a number of new brands in competitive way. The four key tactis and differentiations are branding, new innovation in hardware design, high expectation in market shares and user friendly. In 1998, the consumers didnt want a MACHINTOSH. APPLES branding to the market is strong and has been since the1970s when APPLES customers waiting for their new innovations. The main component of apple is user friendly to the customers. Adding extra hardware and software to a Mac was almost easy as plugging speakers to the mobile phone. Because of this loyalty, apple was able to form a close relationship with its customers, particularly with the education and design publishing industries, which felt as 80% of APPLEs market position in 1998(Exhibit A). Furthermore, the 1998 Think Different campaign propagated Apples image as inventive and trendy. It enabled Apple to become a substitute based on design alone, giving it a particular edge over its khaki-clad competitors. Albeit these advantages, Apple still managed to lose a large amount of profit, and its market share dwindled from 8% to 3.4% from 1995 1998 (Exhibit B). The company also slipped in the education sector during this time by as much as 14% per year. In order to understand why Apple was losing so much ground, we must look into the power of suppliers and buyers in the industry. Most notably on the suppliers side are microprocessors and operating systems, where Intel and Microsoft are the dominant names. Because of their quasi-monopolies, which enable them to control commodities and manipulate pricing, these two suppliers have tremendous influence. Buyers, who also have strong influence because of the wide array of products available, were drawn to the Intel/Windows package (Wintel) because of the brand names, lower costs, and the wide proliferation of the products. Apple, however, chose to implement a PowerPC/MAC OS combination over the standard Wintel package. The main fallacy in Jobs o utlook was following this proprietary strategy. As a result, Apples reach to customers diminished. In 1998, Macintoshs operating system market share was at 5% compared to Microsofts dominance of almost 90%. Furthermore, this strategy can aid in the foreign arena, where Apple has the recognizable brand name and Wintel is the dominant platform. With analysts predicting the largest increases in growth rates through 2005 to be in the Asia/Pacific and the rest of the world , Apple will have a greater outlook for global success. Overall this strategy calls for Apple to focus on their competencies and move away from inefficient practices of the past. Allowing themselves to think outside of their proprietary boxes will no doubt increase their abilities to see ahead on the road to profitability. 1.2.2 Supply Chain Initiatives at APPLE INC. For reasons as various as its philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic design to its distinctive advertising campaigns, Apple has established a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry. This includes a customer base that is devoted to the company and its brand, particularly in the United States.[10] Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world in 2008, 2009, and 2010.[11][12][13] The company has also received widespread criticism for its contractors labour, environmental, and business practices, The supply chain of the new Apple iPhone and, at some point, the supply chain of the Apple TV, hoping that this might help to demonstrate the complexity involved in manufacturing the Apple iPhone a feature-rich product I wish I could have, if I could afford it (update: Ive had several iPhones now). 1.2.3 Linking the supply chain to the business strategy The supply chain improvements described indicate that supply chain management has the potential to improve a firms competitiveness. Supply chain capability is as important to a companys overall strategy as overall product strategy. Supply chain management encourages management of processes across departments. By linking supply chain objectives to company strategy, decisions can be made between competing demands on the supply chain. Improvements in performance are driven by externally-based targets rather than by internal department objectives. Managing the supply chain means managing across traditional functional areas in the company and managing interactions external to the company with both suppliers and customers. This cross-boundary nature of management supports incorporating supply chain goals and capabilities in the strategic plan of the company. This focus on integration can then lead to using the supply chain to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage over competitors. The impact of managing overall product demand and the supply of product will impact the profitability of the company. The supply chain strategy can be viewed as the pattern of decisions related to sourcing product, capacity planning, conversion of finished product, deployment of finished product, demand management and communication, and delivery. Linking supply chain strategy to the business strategy involves defining the key business processes involved in producing a companys product or service. 1.2.4 Procurement Apple is known for its innovative thinking. They have developed a product line that is both functional and attractive. Their product line has recently expanded to another level. Their iPods will soon be able to communicate with specially designed Nike running shoes where you could receive data such as calories burned and distance ran. This project can benefit both companies and boost the demand for iPods. Apples iPod line will have a clear advantage over all the other mp3 players in the market. In addition to Apples integration with other products, many cars models from all major automakers have equipped their new models with iPod connectivity. In regards to their desktop and notebook sectors, Apple has developed new lines that are less expensive while maintaining its high quality standards. These less-expensive computers should help increase sales in the future. Apple has also changed its chip supplier from IBM to Intel. This change would make Apple more compatible with other systems. It enables Apple to run the Windows operating system, which gives the user more flexibility. 1.2.5 Quality Apple Computer Inc. is one of the oldest hardware manufacturers that control over the product by manufacturing both computers and their operation system. It is known that Apple has a high Quality product which makes Apple different than its competitors. Apple creates its product with unique designs to attract the consumers eyes and increase its market share because Apple success is based on fulfilling customers desires. Apple has one of the top brand names within the technology industry all over the world, and 54% of their profits are from foreign markets. Apple is dedicated to develop new products which will make the use of technology easier and more efficient. Apple always provides easy-use product to the hand of the consumers. Most of its products are light, small, and easy to carry around which make them more competitive. One of the great things about Apple is product diversification; Apple has a large number of product lines to target everyone in the world. In addition, there ar e a huge number of consumers who are loyal to Apple even though the prices of Apple products are higher comparing to its competitors. 1.2.6 Research and Development Apple can definitely expect a prosperous future especially in the near future. Over the past five years, net sales have been steadily increasing with almost a 200% increase from 2004 and 2005. Correspondingly, net earnings have been increasing as well. Apple owns over 80% of the market share with its iPod product. With such favorable trends, it is reasonable to assume that Apple will continue to increase in its sales, earnings, and market share just as long as it keeps developing and acquiring new strengths. For example, Apple has established its name as one of the leading, innovative forces in the computer industry that has a much diversified, high quality products that appeal to many markets. Competitors will find it difficult to compete against the company if Apple continues to strive for innovation, as it is its mission, continuing its well-developed marketing plan, further developing more high quality products, and taking advantage of its opportunities. Thus, the threat of produ ct substitution and high levels of competition would be decreased. However, although it seems that Apple is not in a position where its favorable future outlook is threatened, it is best that Apple works on its weaknesses so as to further increase its sales and decrease the possibility of losing its customers to its competitors. For example, Apple is known for its high quality products, which puts them into a competitive advantage. However some components of its products such as the iPod batteries and the iPod Nano screens are of lesser quality. Apple must increase its RD efforts to really minimize the number of products with faulty components. Thus, customers would not be lost and customer loyalty would be maintained. Another weakness that must be addressed is the high prices of its products. For example, the iPod nano ranges from $150 to $250 depending on the size, the iPod ranges from $300 to $400, and a Mac desktop is at least $1300. Such high prices discourage potential customers from purchasing Apples products. The solution to this weakness is to decrease the prices to the point where profits are still increasing. Likewise, the cost of sales should be decreased but only to the point where the quality of the products is not sacrificed. 1.3 CONCLUSION: With its already well-established name brand and its positive sales/market share growth, Apple will without a doubt continue to increase their earnings and market share. However, by working on at least some of its weaknesses through minimizing the number of faulty components in its products, decreasing its prices, and paying dividends, Apple can tremendously gain a competitive advantage over its competitors II CORPORATE STRATEGY AT RELIANCE RETAIL LIMITED 2.1 INTRODUCTION The Reliance group is founded by DHIRUBHAI H. AMBANI(1932-2001), is Indias one of the largest private sector enterprise, with businesses in energy and materials of value chains. Reliance Retail Limited (RRL) is one of the business sectors in retail chain division of RELIANCE INDUSTRIES OF INDIA, which is headed by MUKESH D. AMBANI. The company is strongly focused on future growth in Indian economy and planned to invest Rs. 25000 crores in the next 4 years in the retail divisions and plans to begin retail stores in 784 cities across the country. RRL launched its first store in November 2006 through its convenience store format Reliance Fresh. Since then RRL has rapidly grown to operate 590 stores across 13 states at the end of FY 2007-08. In each of these store formats, RRL is offering a unique set of products and services at a value price point. Overall, RRL is well positioned to rapidly expand its existing network which operates in 57 cities. 2.2 Corporate strategy CORPORATE STRATEGY is the direction an organization takes with the objective of achieving business success in the long term. Recent approaches have focused on the need for companies to adapt to and anticipate changes in the business environment, i.e. a flexible strategy. The development of a corporate strategy involves establishing the purpose and scope of the organizations activities and the nature of the business it is in, taking the environment in which it operates, its position in the marketplace, and the competition it faces into consideration; most times analyzed through a SWOT analysis. 2.2.1Operation Support Systems: 2.2.2.1 ERP System Various ERP vendors have developed retail-specific systems which help in integrating all the functions from warehousing to distribution, front and back office store systems and merchandising. An integrated supply chain helps the retailer in maintaining his stocks, getting his supplies on time, preventing stock-outs and thus reducing his costs, while servicing the customer better. 2.2.2.2 Advanced Planning and Scheduling Systems APS systems can provide improved control across the supply chain, all the way from raw material suppliers right through to the retail shelf. These APS packages complement existing (but often limited) ERP packages. They enable consolidation of activities such as long term budgeting, monthly forecasting, weekly factory scheduling and daily distribution scheduling into one overall planning process using a single set of data The major reasons behind the development of new trends are:  Ã‚ ¶ Scalable and profitable Retail models are well established for most of the categories  Ã‚ ¶ Rapid Evolution of New-age Young Indian Consumers  Ã‚ ¶ Retail Space is no more a constraint for growth  Ã‚ ¶ Partnering among Brands, retailers, franchisees, investors and malls  Ã‚ ¶ India is on the radar of Global Retailer Suppliers 2.3 Proposed Supply Chain Strategies for Retail Industry 2.3.1 Supply Chain Strategies in Retail 2.3.1.1 Breaking Bulk-: can be done in smaller lots with a good understanding with the supplier. This can be achieved by following ways: Spatial Convenience: Strategically locating the outlet with distribution networks and warehouses located proximally. Supplier holds inventory. 2.3.1.2 Vendor Managed Inventory: In this case, the vendor himself is given the responsibility to handle the inventory. A space for the vendor is rented in the outlet, and he takes care of the shelves and the space. It is a 2-way agreement wherein the vendor gets the space to market his product by interacting one-to-one with the customers. 2.3.1.3 Point of Sale Information System: As soon as one stock keeping unit moves out of the store when purchased by a customer, the information readily flows to the supplier. He is given access to the inventory database. A re-order point can be imposed based on consumption pattern and the supplier is asked to fill the shelf upon inventory reaching the re-order point. 2.3.1.4 SRM Supplier Relationship Management: Relationship with supplier should not be a marriage of convenience. Supplier has to act in ways more than what is required. By providing special offers, discounts and incentives, the supplier savors the relationship. This also serves as a promotion strategy for the outlet. 2.4 Competitive Areas of Importance 2.4.1 Fulfillment: Stock filling is taken care of at both customer end (end product) and at the end of shelves at the shop. Reaching the customer at the right time and constant check on stocks and making sure right quantity is ordered at the right time. 2.4.2 Logistics: Safe and reliable transport at as much low price as possible. Constant contact with distribution teams (trucks, trains, etc.) and track where material is. Partnership with transportation firms so that cost and transport can be shared if the shipment does not occupy the whole truck space. 2.4.3Procurement:  (Vendors side points to take care) Strong Relationship Information sharing and updating plan change Combine vendors by minimizing transportation cost Choose vendors in proximity Optimum lot size taking vendors into confidence 2.4.4Production: Line should run smoothly without delays due to ordering and transportation (fulfillment and logistics have to be met first). 2.5 7 PS OF SERVICES 1st P: PRODUCT Product- refers to the merchandise i.e. the range of clothes. Supplementary services -include a component of fashion, life style and Ambient shopping as an addition to the core product. Today, customers buy experiences and not brands or products. 2nd P : PRICING Cost plus price and Percentage method pricing: Most widely used technique to price apparels. Ex:- COLOR PLUS and IN-HOUSE brands like those of SHOPPERS STOP or WESTSIDE use this technique. 3rd P : PLACE Apparel Retailing Business is driven by one crucial factor: Location Approachable Parking 4th P: PROMOTION Print medium. Loyalty programs In-store Visual merchandising 5th P: PEOPLE Every second a customer spends inside the store has to be viewed as Moment of Truth People is that aspect of the marketing mix which adds tangibility to the service of creating an experience 6th P: PROCESSES 7th P : PHYSICAL EVIDENCE Managing Appearance of the building Location Maintaining Temperature , Music, Lighting and Fragrance inside the store Availability of services like Prams, Wheel Chair, Valet Parking etc Stylish Stocking of Merchandise 2.6 CONCLUSION: The benefits of time-phased inventory planning are numerous. The bulk of benefits contribute to improved gross margins by minimizing inventory carrying costs, reducing lost sales through improved in-stock, reducing markdowns and store-to-store transfers with more timely product availability, and improved productivity at the distribution centers and stores. It is not uncommon for retailers to experience double-digit percentage reductions in inventory while sustaining or improving service levels. Additional benefits are increased sales and customer service as the inventory plan more readily responds to changes in the demand forecast.