Evolution And Evolution Of Evolution - 1337 Words

Anthropologists study mankind, a better understanding of humanity as a whole species is the ultimate goal. Humans, however, are always adapting and changing to the world and environment around, which creates a unique perspective for Anthropologists. Physically and culturally, Anthropologists work to gather data through various subfields within Anthropology to adapt to the human species. Evolution would be defined as when â€Å"something† can develop from something that is simplistic to something that can adapt to the world around it and is more complex. All human beings in past and present as well as all living organisms have been part of a process of Evolution. Evolution can be viewed as adaptations, as well as growing to better advancment, evolution has taken ahold of all species throughout history. It is human nature to want to better oneself, however, the entire species adapting to overcome obstacles is a nature part of evolution. Biologically, evolution affects ev ery living organism, from the smallest atom to the largest mammal, every species on the planet benefits from the complexity of evolution. However, Anthropology and its subfields define evolution more than natural selection. Not to be mistaken with the â€Å"survival of the fittest† method that comes with natural selection. Evolution can take a complex or simple route in the ways to change the cultures and physical world around. Physical Anthropology is also known as Biological Anthropology, however, bothShow MoreRelatedEvolution And Evolution Of Evolution957 Words   |  4 Pagesthe theory of evolution. To understand why the teaching of evolution in school is important, it’s important to understand what it is, how it works, and how we benefit from its evolutionary history. Evolution is the steady development of different kinds of living organisms that have diversified from earlier forms throughout the generations. Without evolution, biology wouldn’t make sense because evolution is its key principle that connects and explains many facets of life. Evolution is a very importantRead MoreEvolution And Evolution Of Evolution1333 Words   |  6 PagesWhat is Evolution? Evolution is the modification of characteristics of living organisms over generations (StrangeScience.net, 2015); it is the gradual process of development by which the present diversity of living organisms arose from the earliest forms of life, which is believed to have been ongoing for at least the past 3000 million years (Hine, 2004). Common ancestry are groups of living organisms that share the most recent common ancestor, by which scientific evidence proves that all life onRead MoreEvolution And Evolution Of Evolution1054 Words   |  5 Pages Evolution is something that can be taken into different meanings, from the way you live. Some people can accept evolution and some can’t. The meaning of evolution is the way a different animal or species came to be, and how they are linked to a different of species that all share a common ancestor (an introduction to evolution). There is a lot of evidence to shows that evolution is can be proven like DNA Sequences, Fossil Records, Cladograms, and analogous/homologous structures, because there areRead MoreEvolution And Evolution Of Evolution1328 Words   |  6 PagesWhat is the theory of evolution? Many people who don’t understand science or Biology don’t know how to answer this question. â€Å"Evolution is the process of biological change by which descendants come to differ from their ancestors.† In our society today, there is many conflicts that exist between creationism which is the belief that a higher power created the Earth and made living things and the theory of evolution. Some people are debating whether to teach evolution in schools because theRead MoreEvolution And Evolution Of Evolution884 Words   |  4 Pages Evolution Evolution, a change in the genetic makeup of a subgroup, or population, of a species (Nowicki 10). Every living thing in the world is capable of evolving into something. Cells evolve to perform different tasks and to become stronger. Charles Darwin is the founder of evolution, he realized that species change over time to ensure survival. The future of evolution can not be predicted. Everything in our universe starts out as a single celled organism. All life traces back to three billionRead MoreEvolution And Evolution Of Evolution1079 Words   |  5 PagesEver wondered when the course of humans began or better yet if people started the way that they are? Modern humans started 200,000 years ago, but were not alway like this. The process of evolution brought us to humans. According to Evolution: The Human Story, evolution is the process by which organisms change over the course of generations. It is also compelling because ancestors can give rise to other relatives or descendants. Archeologists now know that not only humans evolved because paleontologistsRead MoreEvolution Of Evolution And Evolution2000 Words   |  8 Pages Title: Evolution Author: Annette Gonzalez December 9, 2014 Abstract: This paper will cover the topic of evolution of organisms. Evolution is the process of constant change from a lower, more simple to better, complex state (Merriam-Webster, 2014). In this essay, there are different philosophies that support the idea of evolution. For instance, there is anatomical, homology, natural selection evidence. This ideas will be explained in more detail in the body of the paperRead MoreEvolution And Evolution Of Evolution2356 Words   |  10 Pagesideology, people have started to think logically and science has come a long way. It is now believed that evolution has resulted in the changes on planet Earth and human kind was not just simply created by a ‘God’. What is evolution? What was Charles Darwin’s contribution to ideas about evolution? Biological evolution is the descent of organisms with modifications. Simply, the central idea of evolution is that all life forms which exist as of now or had existed share a common ancestor. This theory firstRead MoreEvolution And Evolution Of Evolution983 Words   |  4 PagesMost things in science all eventually lead back to one thing, evolution. Evolution has been an interesting topic since mankind could wrap its mind around the concept. Whether one believes in it or not, it is hard to deny the cold hard facts that back up how every being has changed from its original form of life. From plants to humans, everything has adapted and evolved to be able to adjust to climate changes, habitats disappearing, and new predators. All it takes is for one mutated gene to get aRead MoreEvolution And Evolution Of Evolution1154 Words   |  5 Pages EVOLUTION Evolution is a scientific theory that was first introduced in the mid 1800’s and it refers to the biological changes that take place within a population of a specific species over the course of many generations. This theory was one of the most scientifically groundbreaking discoveries of our time, and since its discovery, scientists have been working hard to find more and more evidence on the subject. Although there is much controversy on the subject of evolution, it is hard to ignore

Englands Economy A Part Of The United Kingdom - 1404 Words

ENGLAND’S ECONOMY TODAY England is a part of the United Kingdom and is border countries with Scotland and Wales. England is surrounded by many oceans which help with trade including the Irish Sea to the North West, the Celtic Sea to the South East, and the North Sea to the East. England is also home to over 100 small islands which also aide in trade and development of the economy. England and its economy also benefit from a land area of over 13,300 KM and a population of about 51,446,000 people which helps to make it one of the largest countries in the United Kingdom. England’s economy also benefits greatly from its terrain which is comprised of plains and low hills. This terrain helps make certain natural resources plentiful, including coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, and silica. England’s large amount of natural resources steadily available benefits the economy by providing materials for trade, as well as selling to other regions and co untries that do not have those resources steadily available. England’s abundance of natural resources is one of the primary reasons that the country has been so easily able to adopt and adapt to the industrial revolution easier, thus, resulting in the country prospering. England is called the â€Å"British Empire† for a very well reason; the country is home to one of the largest and most powerful economies in the world. England houses a mixed economy that has active participation andShow MoreRelatedNew Englander s Opposition Of The War Of 18121132 Words   |  5 PagesEnglander’s Opposition to the War of 1812 The War of 1812 was predominantly fought between the United States and the United Kingdom for a variety of complex reasons but most notably was caused by Britain’s inability to treat the newly-freed America as anything but a colonial body. Americans were overall outraged into war by their own government’s sanctioned trade embargoes, the impressments of seamen by the United Kingdom, and interpersonal negative sentiments that greatly restricted America’s trade with EuropeanRead MoreThe French Economy Essay1086 Words   |  5 Pagesone of the most consistently stable and developed economies in the world. France takes membership among the G8 group which is comprised of the worlds most industrialized countries. In the Fortune Global 500 which ranks countries by revenue, France places 1st in Europe and 4th in the world. The French economy is the 5th most expansive in the world and the second most expansive among European countries. France implements the system of a mi xed economy which combines privately owned businesses with aRead MoreCulture Is The Arts And Other Manifestations Of Human Intellectual Achievement Essay869 Words   |  4 Pageshistorical monuments, geographical plains and cultural activities are said to be idiosyncratic. England have had a long history settling back to the pre-historic times. It became a unified region in 927 C.E. England was an independent Kingdom until 1707 when the Kingdom of Great Britain was established. It has a cultural mix of invaders, settlers, hunter-gatherers and migrants over 700,000 years ago. In 43 AD, The Romans invaded the tribal-based culture created by the Belgae, Celts and Gaul’s. 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These Scandinavians would go on to change the British Isles in many ways. Despite the violent and negative impacts of Viking raids on the British Isles, once the Vikings settledRead MoreGlobal Financing and Exchange Rate Mechanisms Paper1465 Words   |  6 Page sprinting, minting, and distribution of the coins and banknotes to all participants and in the management the Eurozone payment system operations. The evolution of the euro began in 1946 when Winston Churchill, then Englands Prime Minister, and several other European leaders foresaw a United States of Europe. This eventually resulted in the formation of the 15-nation EU, which launched the euro. Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, France, and Italy signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and formed the EuropeanRead MoreEssay on Scotland and England1186 Words   |  5 PagesEnglish to form the United Kingdom, and the Darien Venture and why it put Scotland in near-collapse and total economic devastation. 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The rest were employed harvesting coffee, cotton, and tobacco, and in some cases in miningRead MoreAnalysis Of The Davis Service Group Case Study1405 Words   |  6 Pagesreached a pinnacle in their domestic market, a business may require expansion to new international markets. In the case of England’s Davis Service Group, such expansion limits in the mature markets had led the firm to explore international expansion options (The Times 100, 2008). Through the acquisition, Davis Service Group was able to expand their business into other parts of Europe successfully. Within this repo rt, the case study of Davis Service Group will be analyzed to understand internationalRead MoreDifferences Between Sierra Leone And Ghana1580 Words   |  7 Pagesfifteenth century, kingdoms in that region had already developed among various Akan-speaking and neighboring groups and were in the process of expanding their wealth, size, and power (â€Å"World Culture†). 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Economic Changes of the Ju/’Hoansi Free Essays

The Ju’/hoansi started as a food foraging society, a mode of subsistence involving some combination of hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plant foods. During the early days, these people would travel long distances within a restricted territory and make seasonal moves to tap into naturally available food sources. Men and women were both equally important in work as well as necessary for survival. We will write a custom essay sample on Economic Changes of the Ju/’Hoansi or any similar topic only for you Order Now Although the men were usually the hunters and women the gatherers, it was not out of character for both sexes to do both jobs. Women were able to share the food they collected with whomever they wanted. Men on the other hand had different rules and constraints they had to go by in distribution of meat. The sharing was done in units of 25 people rather than just one family, they didn’t have to share with everyone but no one went hungry within the unit. One way of preserving large amounts of meat was to make jerky. When hunting and killing an elephant would bring many pounds of meat, it would be stored by drying it out in long strips and could be packed easily as they moved to the next camp. In the 1970’s the Ju’/hoansi were taken from their homeland, which caused a social change in their people. Jobs were given and paid for with monies. Men were given more jobs then women, which caused a significant change in the economy. Women were given welfare by the government and were isolated at their homes with nothing to do. Their purpose was diminished and they had too much time on their hands. Disease hit the people causing many deaths and tragedy. The South African Government came bringing liquor and many men fought each other, killing off their own people. The change brought to the Ju’/hoansi was a tragedy, they were not accustomed to this new way of life, nor had they been brought up by this kind of culture to be able to adjust. Some of the people went back to their homeland, never to be the same as the early days of foraging for food. They tried to shift to agriculture which called for a different understanding than what they were used to. Pre-planning and organization was needed for agriculture. The people had been hunting and gathering, which they did while traveling without planning. It was a different way of life, although some success came for a few, it was not common. Like many others of their kind, they were edged out of their traditional habitats and the foraging cultures have nearly disappeared. How to cite Economic Changes of the Ju/’Hoansi, Papers

Hrm Pqhrm free essay sample

Link is a leading pharmaceutical company which has the head office in Colombo and also there are 7 branches all over the island. Over 200 workers are employed and Mr. Ravi Fernando is the training manager who has over 10 years experience in this field. He handles all the product training and also for training ,the company is known to spend heavily. These training included overseas training amp; other out sourced training programs. However , when new CEO Mr. Dylan Perera Joined the company Ravi Fernando had to justify this big amount of training cost and he was asked to provide a detailed report. He tried his best but he was failed in the same. CEO Dylan Perera wasnt satisfies as Mr. Ravi was not able to prove worthiness of his training programs at all. He has no any written records or at least the members couldnt explain what therere gained from the training. It was totally failure. Anyway Dylan is prompted to the forthcoming training schedule for 2009. My role as a consultant would be to identify * The key issues in the case that could have caused this situation * What has Ravi missed in his role as training manager and how that has led to the current problem * Suggestions and strategies which could be implemented In my report from here on it can be found recommendations and suggestions which can be implemented. 1) The key issues in the case that could have caused this situation Care-Link is a leading pharmaceutical company and Mr. Ravi Fernando is the training Manager of Care-Link. Ravi has done a great job in training and development of the company but it failed. The training outcome was not up to expectations. That is the biggest question. Issues in the case that could have caused this situation is as follows, * Spend a lot of money In this case Mr. Ravi spend a lot of money on training programs without onsidering whether those trainings are useful for the employees and effective for the success of the organization or not. Even though some aspects might not be measurable, there are measurable ways to determine if the money was spent wisely. Organizations have traditionally treated training as a cost and expense. When training has a sufficient payback, it can be viewed as an investment, not an expense. We have to identify the training need well and then to design the training program because it’s a huge waste if we spend a lot on unnecessary training programs. Before spending time and money, its better to follow a systematic process to first determine if training is a potential solution – and if it is, then we should develop a training program. Company should spend money on training wisely and that means making sure that there is a real need, that there are training objectives in place and that the learners will actually use what they have learned, immediately, back on the job. Then, your investment in training can actually pay huge dividends. That’s why in this case CEO Dylan Perera prompted to request a total plan for training initiatives before he approves any money for training during the year. * Objectives (training goals) set by the trainer, rather than the trainees Training objectives should set by both trainers and trainees up to their expectations. Here in this case Mr. Ravi decides on his own who are to send outsourced training and who are handling by himself. Effective trainers should be good communicators. He should have discuss with the employees before he sets the training objectives. Care Link’s practice was just to be nominated by the training division for training program actual need of the training should come up in the employees end due to gain a new knowledge or to fill a gap of required competence. Here the employees don’t have any opportunity to rise up with their own requirement of trainings. If the employees too have that opportunity it would be much easy to training division to build up training calendar and the budget on that to fulfill the real requirement of the raining. * A failure to identify the specific needs of employees and for employees to own their own development needs. Training is not the panacea to what ails every worker or every company. It is incorrect to assume that the problems facing every organization can be cured by â€Å"providing training. † In fact, only continuous learning, not training alone, can have an impact upon workforce productivity, but for a company to be successful in its learning interventions, it must know what it wishes to accomplish, give the proposed intervention time, energy and resources it needs to succeed, and ensure that there is a strategy into which the intervention will fit. Finally, there must be reinforcement, performance monitoring and evaluation. An identified training need pinpoints an area where change is required. Learning objectives specify what a person will be able to do differently as a result of training. The clearer the picture of what you want to achieve in a training session, the easier it becomes to plan the means and the greater the prospect of achieving success. Ineffective training adopts a scattergun approach, rather than pinpointing the target. Effective training designs are characterized by objectives which state clearly what the trained person will be able to do when back in the workplace. No accurate method to evaluate the training program In this case there was no specific method to evaluate the training program. When CEO asked the training manager Ravi, to justify the high training expenditure during the year and show more accurate proof other than a verbal explanation, he was failed to prove it because he never know an accurate method to evaluate the training program. Because companies have made large d ollar investments in training and education and view training as a strategy to be successful, they expect the outcomes or benefits related to training to be measurable. Therefore * To identify the program’s strengths and weaknesses. * To assess whether content, organization, and administration of the program contribute to learning and the use of training content on the job. * To identify which trainees benefited most or least from the program To gather data to assist in marketing training programs. * To determine the financial benefits and costs of the programs. * To compare the costs and benefits of training versus non-training investments. * To compare the costs and benefits of different training programs to choose the best program. Training programs should be evaluated. (see Attachment 01 for Evaluation Process) * Little or no support is given from upper management. The essence of a training need, then, is a gap between what exists and what is needed in order to meet or exceed the customer’s demands. One of the best payoffs from needs analysis is management involvement in training. Managers must play an active role in the diagnostic process and have a sense of ownership of the training event which results. When training is conducted at arm’s length from management, little can change. * No record on expenditure. There should be a record on overall expenditure of the training programmes. It should refer to the overall administration of the program. Cost could be classified in two areas, fixed cost like Trainer’s salary and accommodation cost and the variable costs like Training Material, venue and the necessary arrangements at the venue, food or snacks, transport and installation of training r equipments even though the variable cost is hard to measure it’s a must to measure the cost for the training to maintain the balance of the expenditure. Here the training Manager has failed to justify the high expenditure during the year 2008. That is due to the poor cost managing and not budget the training needs for the year ahead. Training budged which is setting in the beginning of the year should be accurate and well defined. 2) What has Ravi missed in his role as training manager and how that has led to the current problem Training managers have the primary responsibility of working with line managers to identify and meet personnel training needs. The training manager should establish training and entry-level requirements for key training positions and implement programs to select and develop training personnel. The training organization should exhibit a strong desire to meet the training needs of the line organization in both its approach to day-to-day activities and its long-term strategic planning. The training organization should help line managers, supervisors, and personnel recognize that training strengthens personnel and facility performance. A training managers supporting responsibilities may include the following, * Maintain training programs current. * Monitor instructor performance to verify training is conducted as outlined in approved training materials and in a manner that motivates personnel to learn. Verify that the training staff has obtained and is maintaining their technical and instructional knowledge and skills. * Develop training programs according to approved methodology. * Track training commitments to outside organizations such as the state and federal regulators, and assist line management in meeting these commitments. * Develop training program and trainee status reports for line managers, and assist line managers in identifying and resolving human performance issues. * Track current industry training issues. * Solicit line managers involvement when training commitments or needs are not being fulfilled. Work to establish mutual trust and cooperation between the training organization and all facility personnel. * Develop improved methods to meet training and facility objectives and goals as required. * Develop training policies that establish guidelines for all training functions. * Assist line management in identifying potential training needs based on facility and industry operating experiences. * Initiate and help prepare long-range objectives for the training organization that are consistent with corporate, facility, and training policies, and develop a system for verifying implementation of the actions needed to meet the objectives. Training managers should verify that employees participate in training and that training meets the employees needs. Here in this case there was no proper policy of training and development it’s the training managers duty to suggest a training policy for the organization. Mr. Ravi should have discuss with the top management about to make a good policy of training on behalf of the employees who needed the training. Training policies and procedures should support the accomplishment of the training mission, goals, and objectives by providing general guidance and detailed directions. Policies typically describe the conditions that guide the decision making process (i. e. , thoroughness, prudence, openness, and responsiveness). Procedures describe how specific tasks will be accomplished. And also The training manager of Care-Link Had no confidence with his training programs. When the CEO Dylan Perera was not satisfied with just verbal remarks and pushed Ravi to show more accurate proof on what he says, this was pressurizing Ravi to an extent that he was even thinking of leaving the company. This is because of his lack of confidence. Effective Training Manager should have good Confidence on what they train. Managing a training department offers a variety of roles that uncovers natural abilities and potential, while offering specific areas for development. Mr. Ravi Fernando as a experienced person in the pharmaceutical field , might be assuming him as a excellent facilitator of Training programs ,that why he himself handled all the products trainings but he should have understand as per the changing marketing requirement everything has to be changed by and by to meet up the market requirement. Should have seek opportunities to advance somewhere, and develop the strategic plan in accordance to that and then it should be linked the Training plan. Training Manger should be open minded to improve his skills or knowledge in areas which is related to the business and to the training requirement. Training Manger should be Responsible, reliable and accountable, ethical and able to instil a clear sense of purpose in others, Here in the Care Link people doesn’t get a chance to request trainings to fill their competency gaps, and the accountability wasn’t there as the case study views that Mr. Ravi himself failed to explain on what he has done in last year. If Mr. Ravi’s Character has heighted as a Problem solver, dealing with practical, people and problems, they would meet up best results than this. And of cause excellent consultancy skills should be there in his character as a training manager but case study not view any of the situation he has conducted due to understanding the internal customer requirements.. 3) Suggestions and strategies which could be implemented Care-Link company faced a lot of problems due to Ravis misconduct in his training programs. To make training and development more effective within your organization. Following suggestions and approaches will make companys employee training more effective and transferable; their application will result in measurable differences to organizations bottom line performance. * Make sure the need is a training and development opportunity. Do thorough needs and skills analysis to determine the real need for employee training and development. Make sure the opportunity you are pursuing or the problem you are solving is a training issue. Create a context for the employee training and development. Provide information for the employee about why the new skills, skill enhancement, or information is necessary. Make certain the employee understands the link between the training and his job. You can enhance the impact of the training even further if the employee sees the link between the training and his ability to contribute to the accomplishment of the organizations business plan and goals. Its also important to provide rewards and recognition as a result of successful completion and application of the training. Provide training and development that is really relevant to the skill you want the employee to attain or the information he needs to expand his work horizons. You may need to design an employee training session internally if nothing from training providers exactly meets your needs. Or, seek out providers who are willing to customize their offerings to match your specific needs. It is ineffective to ask an employee to attend a training session on general communication when his immediate need is to learn how to provide feedback in a way that minimizes defensive behavior. The employee will regard the training session as mostly a waste of time or too basic; his complaints will invalidate potential learning. * Favor employee training and development that has measurable objectives and specified outcomes that will transfer back to the job. Design or obtain employee training that has clearly stated objectives with measurable outcomes. Ascertain that the content leads the employee to attaining the skill or information promised in the objectives. With this information in hand, the employee knows exactly what he can expect from the training session and is less likely to be disappointed. He will also have ways to apply the training to the accomplishment of real workplace objectives. * Provide information for the employee about exactly what the training session will involve, prior to the training. Explain what is expected of the employee at the training session. This will help reduce the persons normal anxiety about trying something new. If she knows what to expect, she can focus on the learning and training transfer rather than her potential discomfort with the unknown. * Make clear to the employee that the  training is his/her responsibility and he/she needs to take the employee training seriously. She/he is expected to apply herself/himself to the employee training and development process before, during, and after the session. This includes completing pre-training assignments, actively participating in the session, and applying new ideas and skills upon returning to work. * Make sure that internal or external training providers supply pre-training assignments. Reading or thought-provoking exercises in advance of the session promote thoughtful consideration of the training content. Exercises or self-assessments, provided and scored in advance of the session, save precious training time for interaction and new information. These ideas will engage the employee in thinking about the subject of the session prior to the training day. This supplies important paybacks in terms of his interest, commitment, and involvement. As the Care link in a serious situation in having a proper Training and development policy, better to have climate survey among the employees of the company, which will provide all the information on the expectations and thoughts of the employees, then as per the requirement of internal and external customers the training division can buildup training policy. Policy statements and procedures should be developed on topics such as the following, * Analyzing tasks, designing and developing training materials, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of training activities. * Identifying personnel qualification and training needs according to position descriptions, job assignments, previous education, training, and experience * Assessing the level of expertise of subcontract personnel and temporary employees performing work at the facility. * Pursuing job-related education activities. * Handling of individuals whose performance is marginal or unsatisfactory during training (i. . , remedial training) * Describing training department and line organization responsibilities for the training and qualification of facility employees. * Incorporating into training lessons learned from facility and industry operating experiences. * Conducting consistent training and evaluation in the classroom, laboratory, simulator, and on-the-job training. * Co mmunicating between training and line managers (e. g. , curriculum committees, peer review groups) * Maintaining training records of personnel training and performance. * Controlling and administering tests to maintain evaluation integrity. Training and qualifying instructors. * Scheduling of training activities and determining makeup requirements. * Maintaining control of training equipment. * Exceptions. * Facility evaluation criteria. * Vendor short courses or use of vendors for training. Training procedures should describe the types of training and training programs to be conducted, training program prerequisites, and the training audience. The procedures should clearly indicate the training needed for each job position and the sequence in which it is to be completed. The procedures also may reflect the facilitys division of labor policies, position descriptions, and work assignment practices. CONCLUTION It is incorrect to assume that the problems facing every organization can be cured by â€Å"providing training. † In fact, only continuous learning, not training alone, can have an impact upon workforce productivity, but for a company to be successful in its learning interventions, it must know what it wishes to accomplish, give the proposed intervention time, energy and resources it needs to succeed, and ensure that there is a strategy into which the intervention will fit. Finally, there must be reinforcement, performance monitoring and evaluation. Company should spend money on training wisely and that means making sure that there is a real need, that there are training objectives in place and that the learners will actually use what they have learned, immediately, back on the job. Then, your investment in training can actually pay huge dividends. Effective training and development helps employees to reach their full potential whilst providing the organization with the skills and capabilities it needs for the long term.

Summary of Continuous and Stage CMMI

The history of CMMI is based on CMM that originated from a study by the Air Force, which was meant for software subcontractors (Kasse 12). The primary intention was to measure the development of software applied in the maturity of the process.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Summary of Continuous and Stage CMMI specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The CMMI model identifies the levels of the process maturity of the organization (Land and Walz 12). These levels include the initial level which entails the starting use of the process, repeatable where the process is repeated, defined and involve the definition of the process and the confirmation of the standard business process, managed which entails the management and the measurement and optimizing level which includes the deliberate process improvement. CMMI as process-improvement model is meant to provide the best practices that address the issue of productivity, perf ormance, and cost besides ensuring that stakeholders are satisfied. What is CMMI CMMI is an acronym for Capability Maturity Model, which is a process development approach whose aim is to assist organizations advance their performance. As a process, it provides organizations with basic elements of efficient processes that are aimed at improving their performance. CMMI helps incorporate traditionally detached organizational roles as it helps improve the targets besides providing direction in quality processes (Kasse 47). The CMMI project was developed with an aim of improving the use of maturity models by way of integrating diverse model framework (diagram 9). Currently, there are two representations; that is, the continuous and the stage, and the deference.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Between the two representations, the continuous representation allows users to focus the specific course, which is considered critical for the organizations immediate objectives as well as those objectives that the organization considers being at a higher risk (Land and Walz 32). On the other hand, the staged representation allows straightforward movement from the SW-SMM to CMMI. Therefore, CMMI model varies depending on the area of interest. Usually, there are three major areas of interest, including Acquisition, Services and Development. A Brief Critical Summary of the Continuous and Staged CMMI The critical summary of staged and Continuous Representation requires a proper understanding of each of these representations and being in a position to clearly point out the advantages and the disadvantage of each representation. The stage and the continuous representation are the same in terms of the content. However, they are organized differently (Chrissis and Shrum13). The representation permits the individual organization to practice different development objectives, th erefore, presenting model components differently (Dogru and Bicar 39). The capability levels apply to an organization’s process improvement achievement in every Process Area (P.A). The improvement areas are characterized relative to the Process Area Individual (Kasse 67). It is worth noting that in both representations, the substance is nearly identical. This raises the question of why there are two different representations yet the representation of each model was different. The CMM software is staged while the SE-CMM, SECM is continuous (Land and Walz 78). The continuous representation has a maximum flexibility for prioritizing process improvements and aligning them with the business objectives (Siviy and Stoddard 47). The Staged representation on the other hand proves the path and uses the case study and ROI Data, thus, it reduces the guesswork (Dogru and Bicar 27).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Summary of Continuous and Stage CMMI specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is explained by the mechanism of having the Quick Wins being easily defined to increase Buy-In. It also increases the focus on risks specific for each process area. The Staged representation on its part focuses on the organizational improvement (Ahern and Turner 14). The Continuous representation is also known for improving the process area at different rates, which in circumstances may require less upfront investment (Dogru and Bicar 12). The staged representation on its part summarizes the overall results in a maturity level and also provides the familiar benchmarking capability where it uses qualified bidders. The continuous representation on its part upgrades from SE-CMM and SECM, while the staged representation upgrades from SW-CMM. In both cases, the upgrading process is usually easier (Catlin and Jana 20). A Discussion of Criteria of Choice There are values that one should consider while adopting either a continuous or staged system. The formal appraisal should give an organization an idea of the maturity of the processes and help to create a roadmap for improvement. The organization should, therefore, adapt a model that suits their needs and the objectives of the organization. A good model should, therefore, help improve the efforts of the organization and should also creation and achievement of development objectives (Ahern and Turner 45). In addition, it helps the company create a common idiom that facilitates cross-organization operation and communication. Thus, one should consider a model that best integrates the framework of the organization (Land and Walz 89). The model can also help the organization understand the specific performance practices and, therefore, improve its capability and the future practices. How an Organization Might Best Select an Appropriate Model for its Use Both the staged and continuous representations provide the same content. However, each is shown in its unique way. For this reason, an organization should choose a representation is best fit for its business objectives, cultural practices and heritage (Catlin and Jana 35).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In certain cases, it may be necessary for a company to adopt a mix and match. Usually it comes with a continuous implementation of the staged process, staged implementation and continuous appraisal. The staged representation represents an excellent path for companies that are transitioning from SW-CMM to CMMI, also an organization that is doing business with government organizations that require maturity level for procurements (Ahern and Turner 72). An organization is not familiar with the dependencies among process areas, which means that the guess-work in the process improvement is reduced by the predefined set of the process area at every maturity level (Catlin and Jana 41). The equivalence staging is meant to allow comparison of the results from both representations. Small companies should also embrace the CMMI and focus on improving their areas of known business analysis. Implementation of the specific process area without overriding aim level makes the use of the model more me aningful for the small business. Therefore, CMMI can be used in areas of an organization that adds much value to the organization and its products by improving activity of services where they are needed most (Land and Walz 21). The Role of System Integration in the CMMI System integration of the CMMI is useful to the organization as it helps the company understands how the CMMI address the Business Objectives. The integration also helps the organization to identify the specific areas of the company that needs improvement. The CMMI integration also helps a company that may have limited budget as it does not require much for the improvement of the CMMI process. The CMMI is also critical as it helps the organization to appreciate the process area relationships. The organization also stands to benefit from quick wins as the procurement process favors an organization with CMMI (Catlin and Jana 52). How Integration Issues are Dealt With at The Selection Level, Product Level, Process Level , and at The System Management Level Affecting Organizations and Humans. At the product level, product integration assembles the product mechanism and ensures that the same performs and delivers the product (Mutafelija and Strongberg 15). The process management takes place at level 3. It has organized training that develops the skills and knowledge of the human beings so that they can perform their individual roles effectively (Chrissis and Shrum71). The project control gives a clear understanding of the progress. This informs the appropriation of the right actions that should be affected should the performance of the project deviate from the path. Process management areas quantitatively manage the project and ensure that it performs its objectives as specified. The project management requires the product and product components to be aligned with the requirements of the project plan (Catlin and Jana 67). Speculation on what a Lead Systems Integrator that CMMI Might look like The que stion of what a lead system integrator on how CMMI might look like is a difficult one as the issue of determining how deeply the CMMI adoption within an organization is still not clear. However, with the increasing usage, the degree of visibility within the social subsystem increases. With time, the members of the organization should engage in the activities of CMMI. Works Cited Ahern, Dennis and Richards Turne. CMMI Distilled: A Practical Introduction to Integrated Process Improvement. New York: Addison-Wesley Professional, 2008. Print. Catlin, Katherine and Mathews Jana. Leading at the Speed of Growth: Journey from Entrepreneur to CEO. New York: Wiley Publishers, 2001. Print. Chrissis, Mary and Sanday Shrum. CMMI: Guidelines for process integration and product improvement. California: Addison-Wesley Professional, 2003. Print Dogru, Ali and Veli Bicar. Modern Software Engineering Concepts and Practices: Advance Approaches. Washington, GI Global, 2001. Print. Kasse, Tim. Practical I nsight into CMMI. New York: Artech House, 2008. Print. Land, Susan and John Walz. Practical Support for CMMI-SW Software Project Documentation uses IEEE Software Engineering. New York: Wily-IEEE Publishers, 2005. Print. Mutafelija, Boris and Harvey Strongberg. Systematic Process Improvement Using ISO 9001:2000 and CMMI. New York: Artech House, 2003. Print. Siviy, Joe and Robert Stoddard. CMMI and Six Sigma: Partners in Process Improvement. New York: Addison-Wesley, 2008. Print. This essay on Summary of Continuous and Stage CMMI was written and submitted by user Kinsey Q. 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.

Companies in south africa that produce fertilizers Essay Example

Companies in south africa that produce fertilizers Essay Example Companies in south africa that produce fertilizers Essay Companies in south africa that produce fertilizers Essay FOSKOR Foskor Richards Bay is one of the biggest manufacturers of fertilisers in South Africa. It was founded in 1951 as a individual phosphate excavation operation in order to forestall us organize depending on imports of phosphate stones, which are one of the most indispensable natural stuffs needed in the production of fertilizers. It has now expanded to holding three chief excavation and production sites in Richards Bay and Phalaborwa. The installations in Richards Bay are more focussed on bring forthing phosphorous acid and phosphate-based fertilizers and besides locally administer some sulfuric acid. Foskor Phalaborwa is a part celebrated for the sum of Cu and phosphates available at that place and hence concentrate more on the excavation and mineral extraction of these substances. Foskor is nowadays one of the premier international bargainers of phosphorous acid with a 12 % portion in the market, importing to states such as India, Japan and Brazil. It does non merely bring forth phosphorous acid, but besides magnetite, fused zirconium oxide, sulfuric acid and fertilizer granules. YARA/KYNOCH Fertilizers Kynoch fertilizer was founded in 1919 at Umbogintwini. It started out an explosives manufacturer but shortly began bring forthing chemical fertilizers as a consequence of the byproduct of explosives, sulfuric acid. In 1924 it combined with Capex to organize AE A ; CI ( African Explosives and Chemical Industries ) , and was more late taken over by Yara Norsk Hydro. The purpose of Yara is to turn and prolong the fertilizer industry by working their prima place in the markets of ammonium hydroxide, nitrates fertilizers. Yara purposes to germinate from being a taking participant into the maker of the nitrogen-based chemical industry , quoted from the Yara web site ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.yara.com/about/vision/index.aspx ) OMNIA FERTILISERS Omnia is considered one of the most environmentally witting fertilizer bring forthing companies in South Africa ; it has won the 2008 Mail A ; Guardian/Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Greening the hereafter award for Envinox works. Its slogan Turning nutrient security, Turning profitableness clearly illustrates the company s purpose, which is to promote husbandmans to utilize fertilizers as to give more harvests while continuing the Earth s natural or enriched province as non to harm it. Omnia produces farinaceous, liquid and forte fertilizers which are manufactured at different workss throughout the state. Its biggest research lab, Chemtech Agri, is situated at Sasolburg, which supplies the merchandise straight to husbandmans and jobbers. Other than providing locally, it besides exports from its Johannesburg division to Omnia concern in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Angola, and to jobbers in east and southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand. They are besides exporting more and more forte merchandises to Europe, South America and Asia. SASOL NITRO Sasol started fabricating fertilizers and providing to other companies in the early 1950 s. They finally decided to supply straight to husbandmans in 1984 by making Sasol Fertilisers, now known as Sasol Nitro, which is one of the leaders in the South African fertilizer industry. It chiefly manufactures LAN ( Limestone Ammonium Sulphate ) and ammonium sulfate, and azotic in Secunda where some of its installations are located. It besides produces farinaceous fertilizer blends in Durbanville and Bellville, and liquid fertilizers in Potchefstroom, Kimberley and Endicott. These fertilizers are either sold for retail and on a sweeping footing, and are besides exported to a few selected parts. Sasol besides offers a particular agronomical back-up system through its agronomists and agents throughout the state, with the purpose to assist and fulfill its clients. THE FERTILISER INDUSTRY IN SOUTH AFRICA AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY Africa is utilizing the least sum of fertilizer in the universe harmonizing to John Pender, a senior research worker at the International Food Policy Research Institute In South Africa the fertilizer industry is indispensable as much of population relies on farming in order to prolong themselves. If the harvests have small output, the husbandmans will non be able to bring forth much nutrient to eat and sell, which will in bend average small income and finally less money to pass on seeds and fertilizer which would heighten the growing of their harvests. Therefore, conveying down the cost of fertilizers is the key to increasing its entree to rural communities ; and with South Africa being conspicuously hapless, approximately 40 % of the population, this cost decrease is indispensable, whether it is the monetary value of the merchandises used to fabricate the fertilizer or the existent retail monetary value. Africa s rich dirt has been one of its biggest beginnings of wealth throughout the old ages as it contains diamonds, U and crude oil every bit good as coal sedimentations, oil and natural gas which are all beginnings of energy used to bring forth Ns based fertilizers. Therefore, there is ample chance for international investings to be made to the South African fertilizer industry which would finally heighten our economic system. However, it is of import to hold a balance between the private and public investings to guarantee that the chase of net income does non overshadow the continent s demand to feed itself as said by Jomo Kwame Sundaram, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development. The estimated gross value of South Africa s agricultural end product in 2003/04 is of R72 000 million. The demand of fertilizers comes from the demand for nutrient, which is rather important in South Africa. This demand is expected to lift in the foreseeable hereafter, which implies that there will be a more intensive nutrient production which will increase the demand for fertilizers. The monetary value of fertilizers is largely affected by the international monetary values, the currency exchange rate and cargo costs. In 2004 the monetary values were as follow: Urea R2 464/tonne MAP R2 075/tonne MOP R2 110/tonne CAN R1 691/tonne The fertiliser industry of today is to the full exposed to the universe market forces and operates in a wholly deregulated environment with no import duties or authorities sponsored support steps harmonizing to fertusouthafrica.pdf ( see mention page ) . South Africa, holding no local K salt sedimentations has to trust on imports. This affects the remainder of the fertiliser industry as K is an indispensable component in the fabrication of chemical fertilisers, and the cost of imports are higher than if it had been found locally. We do import quite a batch of phosphorous acid from Foskor ( about 725 000 metric tons every twelvemonth ) every bit good as approximately 400 000 metric tons of farinaceous NPK to the Sub-Saharan Africa.

TV Programs (or Magazines) -Marketing Behavior Class- Essay

TV Programs (or Magazines) -Marketing Behavior Class- - Essay Example This allowed one to analyze their specific behaviors and relationships to others within society. The two magazines which I was familiar with were compared to Entertainment Weekly and Life and Style. I wasn’t familiar with these two particular magazines and had rarely identified with them. When reading both magazines, it could be seen that they were based on the â€Å"Yuppie† lifestyle, as well as one which was interested in being an experiencer. This was from an individual who was looking at concepts that were created from self – expression and the ability to identify with the fashions and latest trends as a form of the expression. The belief with the experience is created from the fashions and trends also leading to the latest growth in society and holding a specific social status (Linquist, Sirgy, 2003: p. 133). It could also be noted that these two magazines targeted women that were younger, living in cosmopolitan areas and which were interested in the enterta inment and leisure which were a part of both of these areas. The extreme differences between both of the magazines are one which is important to note, specifically because it shows how the attitudes and behaviors constitute the main demographics which one has.

Analyze formation of Canada's trade policy or environmental policies Essay

Analyze formation of Canada's trade policy or environmental policies with respect to domestic political and economic forces. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages - Essay Example The main advantage of environment regulation through command-and-control intervention is political support despite its inefficient features. It has high symbolic value for public that identifies prohibition with higher efficiency than taxing pollution discharge. It favors existing industries with political leverage and acts a barrier for new firms. Most importantly it identifies it as cost effective measures that would not pose charges directly to the public. It gives discretionary powers to the bureaucracy which is politically motivated. The exemptions from strict laws are used as tools for negotiation for political gains. The major disadvantage of the command-and-control measure is that it promotes inequality and inefficiency in the garb of perceived costs. It is also a short term policy that deters new firms to be innovative in effluent discharge. From the economists’ perspectives, effluent charges would remove disparity and would act as discouragement for high discharge of pollutants by industries at large. Its results could only be seen on long term basis, hence, it is not favored by political forces. (words:

BangChak and Esso Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

BangChak and Esso - Essay Example Both companies have prepared their financial statements in accordance with Thai Financial Reporting Standards (Bangchak Annual Report 2013, 2014; Esso Annual Report 2013, 2014). Furthermore, the company’s disclosures are prepared using guidelines provided by the Federation of Accounting Professions and the Thai Securities Exchange Commission. Both companies prepare its financial statements on a consolidated basis. The company adopted changes in TFRS related to Income taxes, Foreign Currency Translation and Operating Segments for preparing its financial statements for the year 2013 (Bangchak Annual Report 2013, 2014; Esso Annual Report 2013, 2014). The company uses historical cost accounting method for recording values of its assets, and transactions. Interest bearing liabilities are recorded at their fair value. For assets/liabilities classes, where it is not possible to ascertain historical values the company uses judgments. The company calculated depreciation of its assets u sing a straight-line method over the useful lives of assets based on their costs less residual value, which are subject to scrutiny every year. In some asset classes, both companies recognize impairment in their value on the basis of their recoverable amounts. It also amortized capital leasehold rights on a straight-line method and recognized operating lease payments in the income statement. The accounting strategy of both companies seemed to be appropriate that is to provide true and fair financial information and supporting data.

Balance Scorecard for Air India

Balance Scorecard for Air India Introduction Air India is the prime and oldest Airline of India. It is the State carrier which currently connects to rest of the world such as the Americas, Asia, Europe, etc. It is headquartered at Nariman Point, Mumbai in the Air India Building. It is the 16th largest Airline in Asia serves out of two major Domestic hubs in India at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi CST Terminal, Mumbai. The airline started its journey with the Maiden flight from Karachi Airport to Mumbai Airport via Ahmedabad in July 1932. It was founded by JRD Tata and later on acquired by the State. Air India has two subsidiaries and two affiliated carries. Together Air India, Air India Cargo, Air India Express, Indian and Air India Regional form the National Aviation Company of India Limited. It currently serves 11 countries across the globe apart from the various domestic destinations. Air India Cargo It serves as the cargo operator for the airline serving in conjunction with on ground truck-transportation systems and achieving synergies to increase returns. The carrier also is allowed to carry dangerous (hazardous cargo) animals under IATA rules. Air India Regional The airline previously known as alliance air serves the interior small airports domestically to serve the needs of such regions with smaller aircrafts. The hub for this is at the IGI airport in Delhi. Indian It focuses on the domestic touch points for the airline. It serves various destinations in the country with two major hubs at Delhi Mumbai. Air India Express The airline subsidiary was formed in 2005 to serve the low cost space in the South east Asia and the Gulf region. This is a no frills airline which focuses on the low cost travel mind space for its consumers. Tangible Assets Fleet and Material Resources Air India has continuously being trying to improve its Aircraft fleets. It has recently added 17 new aircrafts which include B777s- Long range aircrafts and it has also procured some 15 new airbus aircrafts to serve its domestic destinations. Currently the Air India fleet stands at a strong 136 aircrafts. Air India serves various international destinations such as in the USA which includes Newark, JFK Chicago with its non-stop Boeing Long range aircrafts. The detailed aircraft distribution is as given in the table below: Network Air India operates from various cities across India like Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Jaipur, Varanasi, Tiruchirapalli, Gaya and Thiruvananthapuram in totality 16 cities for its international location flights. The need of boarding flights from metros for international locations has thus ceased thus providing better opportunities to other cities to develop economically and aid in the countrys growth story. The various requirements in terms of customs, etc. are directly done in these cities. Air India also has code sharing agreements with various airlines across the world providing better accessibility to other locations. International Hub: Air India has established its international hub at Frankfurt for better transfers and code shares across the world. It has forged partnerships with Lufthansa and is currently vying for being a part of the Star Alliance. These alliances has strengthened AIs network in the US and Europe to a large extent. Indian Hub: Air India has its domestic hubs in Delhi IGI Airport and Mumbai CST Airport. The firm services 64 Indian cities domestically from these locations. Out of these locations seventeen service to International flights too thereby providing seamless connectivity. The domestic locations are service by Airbus A321 aircrafts with all world class services. Star Alliance Air India is currently in the process for vying to become a part of the International Alliance which will connect it to 916 cities in the world and have code share agreements with 17000 daily routes across the world. Air India club members can enjoy the benefits of International lounges, code shares, loyalty programmes, etc across all the 21 top airlines across the world increasing the service levels to a new height. The alliance is pending at March, 2011. Human Resources Air India has a large base of human resources which makes it one of the poorest in terms of the Human resources quality and performance. The airline pays around 17 per cent of its expenditures as salaries which is much higher than the global average of around 10 per cent. There are around 31000 employees which are serviced by around 14 unions in Air India which creates a huge scope of non-improvement of its current strength of employees. Post the merger the unions have introduced their intent of cooperating with NACIL towards achieving a better way ahead for the airline however issues pertaining to retrenchment and privatization are still serious concerns which the unions take very seriously and are averse to compromise on. The SBU structure which has been brought about in the organization further increases the woes of the Airline as well as the management. The organization has been split into smaller units which are responsible for better management of resources. However the reporting structure is a big catch. A Mumbai Airport Manager is reviewed by the ED of west zone but reports to his SBU head which is in no way related to his performance appraisals. The award of International postings is carried out by a third party who in no way is related to the current chain of reporting and is a commercial director who sits in the HO at Mumbai. Such an organizational structure calls for low performance and lack of accountability from the employees which will lead to non-performance from the organization in the long term. IT Technology resources IT is one of the most critical resources for the success of organizations in the modern times. The merger synergies would have IT as a critical input. One of the major exercises is to have a common airline code which would also help in the eligibility to the Star Alliance. As a measure the airline has contracted the IT serviceability to SITA (Society International Telecommunications Aeronautics) which has had more than 50 years of experience with the airline systems in Air India. The deal worth 845 crores is for a period of 10 years and is aimed at establishing network connectivity at all domestic and international locations for Air India, fare management, baggage tracing and reconciliation system, online booking engines, automated boarding control systems, check-in, air to ground communications, etc. SITA will also provide its horizontal passenger service system. Currently SITA provides its facilities to 140 airlines all over the world serving over 120 million passengers across the world to provide seamless connectivity to Air India to International routes and carriers. It would help to strengthen strategic partnerships for AI across the globe. Air India has also been invited to participate in the SITAs horizon board in India which is a partnership between SITA and airlines to develop the next generation passenger service systems across the globe. All these developments would help AI to establish itself as a brand in the PSS system delivery across the globe. SITA in India works with its strategic partners Mindtree NIIT to implement its technological systems and has a workforce of more than one lac employees. Low Cost Resources Livery The new livery which was launched after the merger has characteristics of both the descendants namely AI and IA both. The livery consists of the flying swan and the Konark chakra placed inside it. The Air India brand is mentioned on the tail of the Aircraft in hindi proudly depicting Indias national language. The aircraft colour is ivory with streaks of red retaining Air Indias colour. Also the red and orange streaks presence on doors signifies the merger of the two giants into one single entity. Maharajah Maharaja is the most reminiscent figure which is associated with the airline. It was designed by the duo of Bobby Kooka, AIs Commercial Director and Umesh Rao, J.Walter Thompson Ltd. Way back in 1946 primarily as a memo symbol; however it has translated into much more than that over the years. The maharajah has won various awards around the globe for its uniqueness and antics. The first word customers associate with AI is the puns and antics of the Maharajah. The maharajah is a unique brand proposition created by the Airline which has served it as a brand ambassador across the world. In- Flight Entertainment Air India has a variety of channels which cater to both the audio and video entertainment of its passengers. The customers have a variety of Indian channels such as popular music, ghazals, bhajans, etc. There is also a variety of English music channels having various genres like rock, pop, jazz, alternative rock , classical , etc. There are also a variety of regional channels available in Indian regional languages such as Malayalam, Tamil, etc. and also movies in similar languages are available for flights connecting the South Indian regions to the Gulf and South East Asia. On Ground Facilities Air India has its own exclusive lounges at Delhi, London, Hong Kong and New York in addition to the one in Mumbai. At other international airports, Air India has tie-ups with other international airlines or local Airports Authorities for lounge facility. There is a lounge for unaccompanied minors as well. Online Booking The quick, easy and convenient way to book AI tickets online through the Air India website. An e ticket will be generated and the details with the e ticket link will be emailed to the passenger. Air India has extensive facilities for Web check in and Tele check in for its passengers to provide ease of facilities. Dining Air India has a variety of menus to cater to a variety of tastes for its passengers. There is a choice of Indian, Continental, Western and Asian cuisines. There are certain special cuisines available on some routes like Japanese cuisine on the Tokyo route, etc. The special requirements of certain passengers also met with a variety of more than twenty six dishes available. There is a large assortment of wines and drinks to choose from giving the passenger a world class dining experience. Balance Scorecard at Air India The balanced scorecard is a holistic design of looking at an organization. It helps align the activities of the business to the vision, mission and the strategy of the organization. It helps improve communication, both internally and externally as well as measure the performance against said goals using proper metrics. Balanced Scorecard concept was started by Dr. Kaplan and David Norton as a means of measuring performances of organization. It was a measurement framework, which for the first time added non-financial metrics along with the traditional metrics that gave managers a better view of the performance of the organization. Over the years, balanced scorecards were refined to become a complete planning and management system for strategy. It helps operationalize vision and mission documents; progress on which can be monitored daily. The airline industry is cyclical in nature. Demand fluctuates seasonally; while planning for capacity and investments have to be done long term. This means that airlines usually go through sessions when they are operating in the red financially. Hence, it makes perfect sense to use a Balanced Scorecard to evaluate the performance of the organization. It gives a better indication of the health of the organization as well as helps create proper milestones for evaluating the progress towards strategic goals. Air India has been facing turbulent times recently. A lot of reorganization, restructuring with regards to the organization, finances and fleet have taken place. The company is deep in the red and there have been calls to divest this white elephant. As Air India struggles through this mess, using a balanced scorecard will give clarity to their goals and help them focus their efforts in achieving the said goals. Balanced scorecard has been implemented in several airlines, the most documented one being the Balanced scorecard implementation at Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airline is a USA based low-cost airline company and is also the worlds largest no-frills airline. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Southwest has among the largest fleet of passenger aircraft among all of the worlds commercial airlines, operating more than 3200 flights daily. Southwest is also a very profitable airline, having posted profits for 37 consecutive years. The balanced scorecard implementation at Southwest airlines has gone through a series of iterations and they are currently in their 3rd generation. We suggest a similar balanced scorecard for Air India. For the balanced scorecard we must have: Vision Mission Core Goal Activities and Outcomes Vision statement is the picture of your company in the future. It forms the lynchpin around which strategy formation takes place. Mission statement is the fundamental purpose of the existence of the company. It clarifies Why do we exist? Core Goal is the goal that is to be achieved by the balanced scorecard. Activities refer to processes that take place inside the organization, that lead to desired outcomes. Activities consists of Internal Processes Learning and Development Outcomes consists of Financial Performance Customer Satisfaction Activities are internal to the organization, while the outcomes in terms of financial outcomes and customer outcomes are visible outside the organization. Also internal processes, Learning and Development are long-term goals while financial and customer outcomes are more short-term goals. However they act as leading indicators of the changes happening in internal processes and Learning and Development. These show that the activities that were internal to the organization has reached a point of maturity that they have started impacting the customer and financial outcomes. As shown in the balanced scorecard given below, activities and outcomes interact with other activities and outcomes and hence no item can be looked at in isolation. The interactions between the strategic goals in each of these four divisions (2 activities and 2 outcomes) have been identified and dwelled upon in the balanced scorecard. The internal processes which must be measured for the scorecard that we identified were: Faster Turnaround of flights Increased Utilization of fleet Adherence to Schedule These will help rationalize workforce, fleets and bring in incremental improvements in operational efficiencies, bringing down costs and making Air India more competitive vis-Ã  -vis low cost carriers. Adherence to Schedule will help Air India rebuild customer confidence in the ability of the Airline to perform. The Learning and Development initiatives that need to be taken up and measured are: Alignment of employees with company goals Cross Functional Training Team work Cross functional Training and teams will increase the efficiency of the organization allowing it to make decisions faster and hence respond more quickly to changes. This is very important for Air-India as the general perception is that the company is slow to change and lethargic in decision making. The financial outcomes from these activities are: Profitability Lower Costs Increased Revenue Fewer Planes The customer outcomes are: Lower Prices On-Time flights Frequent flights Friendly Service Given below is the pictorial depiction of the balanced scorecard for Air India. Resource Based Turnaround Strategy for Air India This part of the report deals with understanding the reasons for the near collapse of Air India and proposing a turnaround strategy for the airline. Since its establishment by the Tata Group and the subsequent takeover by the Indian Government, Air India has seen a lot of issues emerging and changes in the competitive environment in which it operates. These issues and changes have been intensified by uncertain economic conditions, various crises and subsequent recoveries in the European and Asian economies, and a general lack of confidence in professional fields. This has led to a general reduction in the average time available to the organization which seeks to affect a successful turnaround. Also, the rising competition in the field it operates has compounded the problems by making Air India fight for limited resources with players which quite often have people with greater conviction at the top and therefore can allocate a greater part of important resources to the firms operation s. This challenge is primarily faced by organizations which operate in industries that have high technology orientation and companies which typically have high gestation periods where an investment made in any particular area or domain impacts the companys bottom line for a long period. Airlines business being one that is fairly high technology is characterized by factors that include product and/or process sophistication, research and development (RD) intensity, and a large population of technical employees. High-tech firms often encounter rapid changes in technology, demand, and a competition which is overlaid by sharp and unpredictable change. Thus, the AI management must be equipped for change management in line with the changes in the airlines industry environment. Unless this happens it will continue to struggle to remain profitable. This is precisely what has been encountered in the case of Air India. Within this high-velocity context, any turnaround strategy is faced with unique challenges. These have been depicted in the figure below. Business Decline The framework that the group uses in analysing the reasons for Air Indias failure and proposing the turnaround takes a new view of turnarounds by integrating constructs drawn from existing turnaround literature with others from the resource-based view of the firm. It proposes that efficient business operations are based on a combination of factors like key resource availability, germane strategy, and appropriate implementation of that strategy through adequate resource leveraging. In this case the financial and human resource would be the resources AI must look to leverage. Important resources within an enterprise can also act as the base for a turnaround strategy which would foster sustainable competitive advantage. Such resources are often the products of historical strategy and environmental action and are invariably capable to withstand rigorous tests of quality. A list of the key attributes of these resources is provided below: (Refer High-Velocity Environment Trims Time to Act Creating a Framework for High-Tech Turnarounds by Rolph N.S. Balgobin, Naresh Pandit; Nov 1, 2002) Turnaround Strategy Turnaround attempts are often the result of existence-threatening decline, there exists a lot of uncertainty with the origin of the points of change intervention and the role of the new top management. Frequently, a turnaround attempt is initiated after pressure from a significant stakeholder, such as a parent company or strong shareholder group. Air India has witnessed this quite a few times as with the ascent of every new government at the center of Power in New Delhi, the attitude towards the airline has changed. Hence pressure often came from the private players whose bids to take over the airline provided the fillip to the management of the airline to change the scheme of things at Air India. In most cases, the need for the change happens internally, usually started by the management who sees the signals of an impending decline. Also in new age high-technology firms, turnaround need not always be a management driven effort. However, the attitude of managers is just as necessary as having new leadership in getting the turnaround efforts going. The success of turnaround recovery plans are different from the unsuccessful ones in many ways (refer to the points mentioned below). In the cases of turnarounds that are successful, analysis-led understanding of the dynamics of the business is done using a diagnostic review. This provides a clear indication of the turnaround opportunities that are available. These opportunities have to be pursued with the goal of creating a sustainable competitive position in the market. Successful turnaround Plan characteristics Result from a diagnostic review (inductive rather than prescriptive) Profitability is explicitly set as an objective A single turnaround plan rather than competing initiatives or no plan at all Communication with stakeholders to ensure alignment A turnaround team develops and implements the plan Causes of decline are appropriately addressed The Process of Turnaround The frameworks used to portray turnaround are often depicted as a sequential process, which starts with the management initiating the attempt, then retrenchment, consolidating and then returning to a growth stage. But in high tech turnaround process there are four distinct stages crisis development, management change, transformation and stabilization, and return to growth. In the case of Air India, the Crisis Development phase started in the year 2008-2009 when the airline reported financial losses of 5000 crores. Due to this, the airline couldnt pay the salaries of its employees leading to a massive announced by the employees in the summer of 2009. This was one of the biggest human resource crises in the history of Indian business with nearly 30000 Air India employees going on strike. Immediately following this, the disastrous incident of the crash of Air India Express Flight 812 leading to the death of 158 people, happened. The change phase, unlike in the more traditional sectors, change happens not at the top as turnaround starts happening. There is often a change of problematic management, mostly purporting the point of view that a CEOs knowledge and relationships are crucial to a successful recovery. The same happened in the case of Air India. The entire top management of Air India was recast in a period of 30 days by the then aviation minister Mr. Praful Patel. As part of the shakeup, several old time directors were asked to leave and a Professional Chief Operating Officer was appointed under the CMD, Mr. Arvind Jadhav. In the third phase, a lot of actions happen simultaneously; these include cost rationalization, asset rationalization, revenue creation and product and market reorganization. In turnarounds that are successful, organizations should be careful not to lose resources that may be useful to recovery. This happens when they concentrate on surviving rather than on competitive leadership. Reflex cutbacks should not result in loss of key resources in firms successful in turning around their organizations. Instead, the focus should be on reducing costs. Also Air India disinvested some of the less efficient parts of its operations, while retaining the more important and useful ones. After an early emphasis on cost reduction, the focus of Air India then shifted to Structural alterations, joint-venture participation, investment, and the introduction of new products. There is a significant deviation in the experience of firms operations in more stable industries, which suggests that it is the high-competitive environment that demand that the changes occur simultaneously rather than sequentially. But as the transformation takes place, the turnaround of the firm goes through an inflection point that causes a shift in focus from cost and asset reduction to growth of the firm. In the case of Air India this has been characterized by the commitment of the top management to the growth of top line and sales and a conscious effort on the part of the airline to drive up volumes and occupancies of the airlines. The airline plans to reduce its price up to 23% by the end of this year. Industry experts see this as a clear sign of conscious effort on the part of the airline to drive up its volumes and occupancy rates. The last phase of the turnaround is punctuated by the assumption that for survival the focus has to be on growth and acquisition. In high competitive industries, this phase does not usually require that the CEO change or that the management change. Our group expects the same to happen by the end of the nest fiscal year when the economy would have recovered and new opportunities would arrive at the horizon for the troubled airline. Influencing Factors Literature study says that significant differences exist between successful and not so successful cases when they are compared in terms of their contextual and situational factors of turnaround attempts. Factors related to macroeconomic improvement and market growth appear to be assisting turnaround attempts. Though, it also has been seen that these environmental changes are not deterministic. With each organization being a unique collection of resources, external events do not seem to be having a uniform impact. Thus, a rising tide seems to lift only the seaworthy boats. External influencing factors include: Macroeconomic Improvement Market Growth Stakeholders attitude. Interaction of an organization with stakeholders such buyers, employees, suppliers, unions, bankers, the government and the community play a major role in determining the success of the turnaround efforts. When important stakeholders hold an active interest in the business viability of the firm, the chances of success appear to be greater. Internal Influencing factors include: Mission institutionalization Availability of financial resources Power concentration, and Perception of the permanence and controllability of decline. Mission institutionalization, primarily driven by the internal and external expectations of the businesses the firm should be in, can be a major abettor or inhibitor of positive change demanded by an intended turnaround. In cases where the changes required put the firm in a new strategic domain (say that of the low cost carriers), mission institutionalization can often hinder efforts of a swift shift in strategy if a firms constituents instinctively negate or refute out courses of action that are seen to be inconsistent with the vision and mission of the firm or its founders. This in Air Indias case can be explained by the reluctance of the airlines part to move into low cost carriers strategic domain. While this remains a possible strategic domain for the future, the airline showed remarkable reluctance in adopting this as a possible strategy. Maybe the Maharaja cant fly cheap after all. Available financial resources are one of the important requirements for a turnaround attempt, especially if the firm has considerable cash demands. Even then, availability of funds has still not been found to be one of the deciding factors in the outcome of a full-fledged turnaround effort. This is a significant finding as it often is suggested that firms in stress require only a steady input of cash until their products or services regain market acceptance. Also in the case of Air India with the airline being heavily government funded, the opportunity to save money and possible publicize it makes a great political success story and a PR opportunity. Of greater impact on the success of a turnaround attempt is the concentration of power within the organization. Firms with higher levels of power concentration are a lot freer to strategize, develop and also implement successful turnaround plans, while the cases that fail are often constrained or reined in by parent companies, powerful stakeholders like political parties, or internal politics. In non-turnaround cases, the management appears to have far less power relative to that owned by the stakeholders. In the case of Air India, with the creation of a new position of power of CEO, can potentially dilute the power vested in the top management. Yet considerations of operational efficiencies far outweigh the concern for power dilution. Similarly, with the entire airline industry showing signs of recovery with the economy firmly on the path of recovery, the perception of the permanence and controllability of decline is that of impermanent and one that can be managed by suitable strategy implementation. Strategy Implementation Successful firms reduce their resource base in those areas which are no longer core activities. Failed firms are more far likely to dispose or sell off on otherwise lose valuable resources than those that might support a recovery attempt. In the successful cases, the remaining resources are often realigned and augmented with the resources which are borrowed through joint ventures, development agreements, or outright acquisitions. This is depicted in the diagram as shown below. Resource Leveraging diagram As a rule, the successful turnaround cases concentrate a majority of their critical resources on a single and consistent turnaround plan, emphasize on a few improvement areas at a time, and focus on a few critical performance levers. They have a strong feedback mechanism to instill new learning deep into the organization. In the case of Air India it would be taking the voice of customers very seriously and trying to create a culture which cares for the people the firm serves. Firms which go through very successful turnarounds are also in a position to blend and balance resources to bring in products and services into the market, while unsuccessful firms often have seem to have an imbalance of skills, which neutralizes capabilities that exist elsewhere in the organization. Finally, parsimonious and frugal resource use and the useful ability to implement turnaround plans quickly also form one of the chief characteristics of successful recoveries. Thus, this is the comprehensive resource based turnaround strategy that we propose for Air India.

Mending Wall by Robert Frost Essay -- Mending Wall Robert Frost Poem E

â€Å"Mending Wall† by Robert Frost   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mending Wall† by Robert Frost is a poem in which the characteristics of vocabulary, rhythm and other aspects of poetic technique combine in a fashion that articulates, in detail, the experience and the opposing convictions that the poem describes and discusses. The ordinariness of the rural activity is presented in specific description, and as so often is found in Frost’s poems, the unprepossessing undertaking has much larger implications. Yet his consideration of these does not disturb the qualities of accessible language and technique, which give the poem its unique flavor and persuasiveness. The poem works on two levels of realism and metaphor, with a balance as poised as the act of mending the all itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (themes) Perhaps one of the reasons that Frost remains one the best known and best loved American poets is that his themes are universal and attractive. They offer the reader affirmative resolutions for the conflicts dramatized in his life and his poetry. Readers, whether young or old, waging their own struggles against the constant threat of chaos in their life, find comfort and encouragement in many of Frost’s lines which are so cherished that they have become familiar quotations: â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors†, â€Å"Miles to go before I sleep.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (theme) â€Å"Mending Wall† is about boundaries. Frost, in a personal evaluation of this poem stated, â€Å"Nationality is something I couldn’t live without. I played exactly fair in it. Twice I say ‘Good fences’, twice I say ‘Something there is—‘. While giving a reading of his poetry in Santa Fe, Frost called the â€Å"Mending Wall† ‘too New Englandish’ and that mending wall is an occupation he used to follow. The neighbor in the poem is not a Yankee as represented, but is actually A French-Canadian who was very particular every spring about setting up the wall.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (theme/subject) Frost often stated that he felt ‘spoken to’ by nature. He called these incidents ‘nature favors’ and these favors served as inceptors of his poems. Many people refer to him as a nature poet, however there is always a person, a character in his nature poetry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (subject/setting) Frost always claimed he wasn’t a nature poet and that there is almost always a person in the poem and that the poem is about the person, not about nature, which is usually beautifully described. Nature se... ...ngs). Something refers to a big, unknown unspeakable force – God? (expand on this). Or it could refer to the fact that in New England the frost heaves the ground in the winter, much as ice cubes swell up. Anything made of stone or brick suffers because of the upward pressure. Also: In actuality, stone walls were never built between properties. As farmers would plow their fields the stone were unearthed and carried to the property line and dumped. I’m sure Frost was aware of these facts but didn’t really care about how the physical wall came about, for he uses this wall only in the metaphoric sense to describe the way we wall ourselves in, while not knowing what we might be walling out. In Mending Wall Frost has recognized the existence of a force that sends a powerful emotion, a groundswell under the barriers that human beings create around themselves in an attempt to break these barriers down.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mending Wall has a man who both builds and repairs the wall, as well as works to topple the wall. He makes boundaries while at the same time trying to break them. That’s part of what makes this poem universally acceptable and enjoyable. Frost has described all of mankind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚