Turnaround at the Portland Plant

Introduction The difference between a successful business investment and an ordinary one depends on how their managers develop and execute their operation designs (Schroeder and Goldstein 2010).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Turnaround at the Portland Plant specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There is the need for aligning all the aspects of an organization with the needs of its customers to ensure an investor gets reasonable returns on his capital. This discussion presents various operation management issues at the Portland Plant. Operations Design, Planning and Control The operational management crisis facing this company stems from its design and functions that are assigned to different departments. Nobody is responsible for poor quality produced in various occasions. This explains why Hewlett Packard played the role of checking the quality of this company’s products. The existing quality assurance depa rtment was ornamental and its role has been to inspect the company’s products instead of testing its features (Slack, Chambers and Johnston 2009). The Quality Manager of this plant Admits that nobody cared to look beyond the data presented to the production meeting. In addition, the department was neither used to nor prepared to manage a crisis and when this one occurred it was not prepared to control it. Paper curling became a serious problem in the company’s ink jet products, but this did not arouse the need for immediate action by the company (Slack, Chambers and Johnston 2009). In addition, it approaches its problems from the customer’s point of view; therefore, it concentrated on satisfying the needs of one customer and ignored the importance of improving the quality of its products for other clients. This explains why the plant made losses of about $1 million in 1998 even though HP regarded its products as acceptable (Slack, Chambers and Johnston 2009). Mo reover, the plant took a wrong approach in managing the problems witnessed in 1998.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It registered poor quality in productivity, scrap and re-work and instead of focusing on improving these issues it shifted its attention to increasing productivity. Tom Bickford admits that there was no discipline in making changes and real concepts were ignored by the plant; therefore, the company worsened its problems by ignoring the need to meet customers’ demand and concentrating on product specifications (Slack, Chambers and Johnston 2009). As a result, jumbo rolls were thrown away as the staff at the operations department became rude and ignored the demands of the plant’s chief client. The Need for Changes The Portland Plant needs to make urgent changes to ensure it satisfies the needs of its clients. First, it is necessary to explain that clients demand quality products from producers and when they notice some weaknesses they communicate with the relevant departments to ensure the problems are fixed (Schroeder and Goldstein 2010). The Quality Management Department focuses on supervision of other sectors yet this is not sufficient to guarantee the plant the production of quality services. Its responsibilities have not been outlined clearly and this explains why it is not keen on looking beyond the data presented to it from the quality sector. The staffs of this company will contribute to its collapse if they continue arguing and denying that their products do not meet the required standards. HP presented its queries, but the staffs at the quality department were rude and denied that there were weaknesses in its products. This is an unprofessional approach to issues that are central in determining the future and relationship of a company and its clients.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Turnaroun d at the Portland Plant specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More New Operation Design, Planning and Control There is the need for this company to adopt new operation designs, plans and control approaches if it wants to retain its clients. First, the roles of all departments, including the production and quality assurance should be outlined to ensure everybody knows his responsibilities. The plant should strengthen the functions of its departments to ensure they do not sit and look at figures without understanding their meanings (Schroeder and Goldstein 2010). This will help the company to understand its performance and make necessary changes to satisfy the needs of its clients. Secondly, this plant should outsource the quality assurance department to ensure it gets quality services by identifying weaknesses in its products. This will help the company to get an objective understanding of its production processes and quality. Thirdly, the human resource department should train its workers on how to respond to negative feedback from clients (Stevenson 2011). This will reduce instances of making negative remarks when clients complain about the quality of products supplied to them. Lastly, the plant should focus on producing products that meet the needs of all customers and avoid concentration on HP alone. HP is focusing on introducing new generation ink-jet printers depending on its customers’ needs and changes in trends and Portland Plant should follow suit. There is the need to ensure the tastes and preferences of all clients are put into consideration and no client should be given special treatment at the expense of the objectives of this company (Stevenson 2011). Conclusion Portland Plant lacks robust, active and dedicated departments that can look beyond operation statistics and develop strategies for improving production and quality.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It has rude staffs and uncaring managers that do not have time to evaluate clients’ comments about the quality of its products. There is the need for this company to adopt a new operation design, plan and control measures to ensure it maintains its clients. References Schroeder, R. and Goldstein, S. (2010). Operations Management: ContemporaryConcepts and Cases. New York: McGraw-Hill. Slack, N., Chambers, S. and Johnston, R. (2009). Operations Management and  MyOMLab. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Stevenson, W. (2011). Operations Management (Operations and Decision Sciences).  New York: McGraw-Hill. This report on Turnaround at the Portland Plant was written and submitted by user Giselle 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.

Adjectives and Word Order in Spanish

Adjectives and Word Order in Spanish It is often said that adjectives come after nouns in Spanish. But this isnt entirely true - some types of adjectives frequently or always come before the nouns they modify, and some can be placed either before or after nouns. Often, the determining factor in an adjectives placement is its purpose in the sentence. Beginners usually dont have much difficulty with the placement of numbers, indefinite adjectives (words like /each and algunos/some) and adjectives of quantity (such as mucho/much and pocos/few), which precede nouns in both languages. The main difficulty facing beginners is with descriptive adjectives. Students often learn that they are placed after the noun (which they usually are), but then they are surprised to find when theyre reading real Spanish outside their textbooks that adjectives are often used before the nouns they modify. Tip for beginners: Most of the material in this lesson is more appropriate for intermediate students than for beginners. If youre new to learning Spanish, it isnt important at this point to memorize the rules. What is important to remember is that while descriptive adjectives usually follow the nouns they modify, if one appears before the noun in something written or said by a native speaker its probably not a mistake, and there is probably a reason why the adjective is where it is. Most of the words we think of as adjectives are descriptive adjectives, words that impart a quality of some sort to the noun. Most of them can appear either before or after a noun, and here is the general rule for where: After the noun: If an adjective classifies a noun, that is, if it is used to distinguish that particular person or object from others that could be represented by the same noun, it is placed after the noun. Adjectives of color, nationality, and affiliation (such as of religion or political party) usually fit in this category, as do many others. A grammarian might say in these cases that the adjective restricts the noun. Before the noun: If the main purpose of the adjective is to reinforce the meaning of the noun, to impart emotional effect on the noun, or to convey appreciation of some sort for the noun, then the adjective often is placed before the noun. A grammarian might say these are adjectives used nonrestrictively. Another way of looking at it is that placement before the noun often indicates a subjective quality (one dependent on the view of the person speaking) rather than an objective (demonstrable) one. Keep in mind that this is a general rule only, and sometimes there is no discernible reason for a speakers choice of word order. But you can see some of the common differences in usage in the following examples: la luz fluorescente (the fluorescent light) - Fluorescente is a category or classification of light, so it follows luz. un hombre mexicano (a Mexican man) - Mexicano serves to classify un hombre, in this case by nationality. La blanca nieve estaba por todas partes. (The white snow was everywhere.) - Blanca (white) reinforces the meaning of nieve (snow) and could also impart an emotional effect. Es ladrà ³n condenado. (He is a convicted thief.) - Condenado (convicted) distinguishes the ladrà ³n (thief) from others and is an objective quality.  ¡Condenada computadora! (Blasted computer!) - Condenada is used for emotional effect, making it emphatically subjective. For this reason, most vulgar adjectives of disparagement precede the nouns they describe. To see how word order could make a difference, examine the following two sentences: Me gusta tener un cà ©sped verde. (I like having a green lawn.) Me gusta tener un verde cà ©sped. (I like having a green lawn.) The difference between these two sentences is subtle and not readily translated. Depending on the context, the first might be translated as I like having a green lawn (as opposed to a brown one), while the second might be translated as I like having a green lawn (as opposed to not having a lawn) or I like having a beautiful lawn. In the first sentence, the placement of verde (green) after cà ©sped (lawn) indicates a classification. In the second sentence verde, by being placed first, reinforces the meaning of cà ©sped and indicates some aesthetic appreciation. The effects of word order indicate why some adjectives are translated into English differently depending on their location. For example, un amigo viejo usually is translated as a friend who is old, while un viejo amigo is usually translated as a longtime friend, indicating some emotional appreciation. Similarly, un hombre grande is usually translated as a big man, while un gran hombre is a great man, indicating a subjective quality rather than an objective one. (Grande, when it precedes a singular noun, is shorted to gran.) As you continue your studies, you will come across about another dozen adjectives that are similar. Final note: If an adjective is modified by an adverb, it follows the noun. Compro un coche muy caro.  (I am buying a very expensive car.)

A Substantive Editor Is a Writers Coach

A Substantive Editor Is a Writers Coach A Substantive Editor Is a Writer’s Coach A Substantive Editor Is a Writer’s Coach By Mark Nichol Various editorial job titles abound editorial director, managing editor, senior editor, for starters but one you probably won’t see on a business card is â€Å"substantive editor.† Yet it’s the most important responsibility in the editorial process. Why, then, is it so obscure? The answer is simple: Substantive editing is a function undertaken by people identified by any of an array of other job titles (including senior editor). The substantive editor is often the first point of contact for a writer seeking to be published. At a periodical, the person assigning or accepting articles or essays known as a senior editor, a features editor, or the like does the substantive editing. In a book-publishing company, an acquisitions editor may negotiate a book deal with the writer and/or the writer’s literary agent, but it is the substantive editor often, in that environment, called a developmental editor who actually helps the writer polish the manuscript that earned them the publishing contract. (Sometimes the acquisitions editor is also the substantive editor.) This significant step in the editorial process involves at least one intensive reading of the content, followed by correspondence and an exchange of drafts that is more or less extensive depending on the publication, the timeline, and the condition of each successive draft. The substantive editor helps the writer tighten a manuscript’s scope, helping them focus on what works and what doesn’t by either revising or directing revisions of, or deleting or suggesting deletion of, passages or even entire chapters. The editor recommends reordering of chapters in nonfiction, or adding of scenes or dropping of subplots in fiction, and asks questions and makes comments that help clarify the writer’s objective or express their message. Substantive editing includes ensuring that writing is well organized and flows easily, and coaching the writer on sentence structure and word choice. For a fiction manuscript, the substantive editor works with the writer on plot, tone, character, setting, and other components of a novel or short story. Moreover, the editor helps the writer express a thesis or set the stage for a story, and reach a conclusion or bring a tale to a close and everything in between. The editor will make sure that nonfiction conveys authority and fiction supports character motivation. In sum, the substantive editor is the writer’s collaborator and their greatest ally. The editor shares the writer’s desire to succeed in crafting the best possible content. Writers even talented, established writers must remind themselves that whenever an editor suggests a course contrary to the writer’s wishes, the advice is generally sound. Some self-publishers essay writers, for the most part can get away without participating in this type of relationship, but the work of authors who produce a print or online book without such collaboration almost invariably suffer. Call me biased, but if something is worth publishing, it’s worth publishing well. Make sure a substantive editor is part of your team. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:16 Substitutes for â€Å"Because† or â€Å"Because Of†How to Punctuate Descriptions of ColorsPassed vs Past

Assignment taxation law Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Taxation law - Assignment Example Applying taxation law in the case of Concrete and Transport Ltd, analysis of the implications of the company decision on its activities is necessary. In deciding on whether to carry out repairs, the company needs to consider taxation on the materials required for carrying out the work. In the second option of building new production plant, more capital is necessary to cater for direct taxation, that is, to cater for new premises, and taxation on the materials needed in the construction (Jonathan & Bowen, 2008). Taxation law differs with operations in business. According to Erdős (2011), for a company to venture into railway transport services, it must be a corporation. For corporations, there is double taxation on all the profits including money for company expenses such as expansion. The management of corporations is a different lawful body and not the owners. Therefore, expanding the railway line means increased taxation to the company. In mechanization, taxation law differs with countries. In developed countries, for example, there is no over taxation. In developing countries, there is over taxation of the equipment used to encourage the creation of more job opportunities (Jonathan & Bowen, 2008). According to Schanz (2011), taxes have a significant factor in decision-making. This is because investment decisions are prone to distortion by taxation. In any business, the owners of the business they do undergo taxation or sail through without taxation. Therefore, it is necessary for the Concrete and Transport management to do analysis of their proposed company expansion to determine the after tax returns on the capital expected in the new idea. Expanded business does not guarantee increased returns due to taxes levied. As the business grows, there is a high chance of increased taxes, and in some cases, double taxation occurs, for example, in corporations (Schanz, 2011). Tax research is

The analysis of Shangri-La hotels and resorts in the UK Essay

The analysis of Shangri-La hotels and resorts in the UK - Essay Example A flow of activities is involved in the communications strategy that enables a company to ultimately reach its customers. The important elements of this communication flow include the â€Å"source†, â€Å"message†, â€Å"medium† and the â€Å"receiver†. Also communications may be specific, selective or it may be mass communication. The various elements of the IMC are integrated in the communications mix and includes ‘advertising, sales activities, promotion, direct marketing, and public relations’. Integrating through all these measures, the main emphasis of the IMC is to influence its target customers (Anderson & Vincze, 2006: 372-377). As the case study of Shangri-La Hotels reflects, although several travel and tourism businesses were impacted owing to the terrorists’ attacks of the September 11, 2001 and other terrorist activities, yet Shangri-La Hotels which is an Asian based hotel group and based in Hong Kong, managed to survive an d maintain its growth and expansion plans thus achieving greater reputation, particularly for the high quality service that they provide. As can be realized from the success of Shangri-La Hotels, a proper strategic integrated communications mix is highly necessary to keep the demands of the customers rising and to attract newer customers as well. This report would mainly focus on determination of an integrated marketing communications strategy that may be applied for the Shangri-La group of hotels with an overview of the entire market, the internal analysis of the company, the media and creative strategy, the communications mix, and the timing and budgets required for the plan. Situation Analysis: Considering a nation like the United Kingdom, the travel and tourism industry seems to be continuously developing. The statistics of British Tourist Authority says that the expenditure level of tourist has risen from ? 12 billion in 1998 to more than ?18 billion in 2003. Around 1.7 million jobs are provided by the tourism industry in Britain. The number of visitors is increasing overtime. The major countries from where these visitors come include USA, France, Germany, and Italy (Rodgers, 2001:38-39). The travel and tourism industry in the twentieth century started growing rapidly with greater participation in tourism activities (Marvell & Hayward, 2005:21). The holiday resorts in UK are popular for their food, entertainment and other facilities. Costa Brava, Costa Dorada, Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca are some of the major players being very popular among tourists. Technology has brought about several changes in the industry with increasing use of computers posing threats to traditional values; internet facilities making tourists less dependent on travel agents, floating hotel being encouraged, and so on. Social and economic changes have also arisen with working classes getting greater access to tourisms, affordability has also increased among individuals, better pay p ackages being available for workers, and so on (Marvell & Hayward, 2005:23-24). Thus these factors affect the Shangri-La hotels as well. Internal Analysis of Shangri-La Hotels: The major strength of the company is in its possessing high standards of service that is supported by the operational, human and financial resources. The company experiences lower turnover in comparison to the whole industry. The reputation of the company with a strong brand name makes the position of the hotel group stronger in the market thus increasing its strength in the industry. The weaknesses of the company lie in its losing market share to its competitor like UK based Intercontinental Hotel Group, UK based Marriot Chain, or Hilton. The compensation

The sanctity of life

The sanctity of life The Christian response to abortion in our western culture has been a matter of preserving the sanctity of life. Although it would seem to be cut and dry to a Christian that abortion violates that sanctity of life, it continues to face constitutional evolvement, differing worldviews, the scrutiny of the medical profession, and with respect to school text books. All of these concerns illustrate a wayward compass, lacking the ability to find true north. Society continues to weigh the simple yet complex definitions of personhood. Abortion is purported to be morally justified by pro-choice advocates in the postmodern culture. The question of what is right or wrong is argued within both sides of the issue. For instance the religious community cannot reach agreement cites Rothstein and Williams, (1983) what a person consists of or when a person begins life. This paper will contend that the postmodern attitude towards abortion has been characterized as ambivalent, and in a postmodern theistic society which has been exposed to liberal schools of thought changing Christian and family values to err on the side of science and convenience. Further, decision makers on the pro-choice side have used their agenda to further their secular beliefs through education, giving rise to sexual promiscuity. Additionally, there have been declines in moral thresholds, in theological literacy, and in respect for the importance of gender roles, resulting in societys ambivalence and a reduction in regard for the sanctity of life. Disputes over abortion are usually very heated due to the involvement of conflicting world views. Abortion is going to have difficulty attempting to reside within a Christian worldview, based purely on their opposing logic. Furthermore, abortion cannot maintain itself within the worldview of liberal postmodernism. Challengers of abortion are aware they are supporting unborn babies; although they may not be cognizant they are also supporting the Christian worldview. Also supporters of legal abortions identify that they are securing a womans right to choose even though they may not be completely aware of their support to the postmodern worldview. A worldview adds perspective and helps us identify with the world around us, and how we deduce and appraise not only what we see, but how we compare ourselves to our understanding of life. Religion has the ability to hone a persons worldview, which starts to develop and institute a moral awareness which tends to give form and shape our moral perspectives. (Durkheim 1954), Religion serves as a main source for determining right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust.(p. 43). In order to have a suitable understanding of the postmodern view of abortion, both opposing worldviews must be examined in order to balance our understanding as to why a person in a theistic society embraces a pro-abortion stance. This comparison will also show why there is difficulty in finding a common ground, and why a postmodern worldview conversion or construction is not practical at this point, leading to the rise in secular decision making. Comparative analysis of two opposing worldviews: Man is a created being and has a composition pre-determined by an intelligent and purposeful design, as opposed to mans indiscriminate evolvement and has no fixed nature or design. Man is an immortal spirit being which indwells a mortal body, and in contrast, man is wholly a physical animal and or machine. Moral law governs universally through marriage, sexual activity, and family, and in contrast morality is culturally and or individually determined. (Luker, 1984) Argues that pro-choice activist women share almost no common premises and very little common language with antiabortion activist women; in particular, the worldviews and conceptions of motherhood held by the two different groups of women are antithetical. (p.2). The culture war on abortion has many fronts, and those who adhere to liberal postmodernism or answer to liberal postmodern ideology are likely to frame lawful abortion as a set of rights or privileges. Professor Stanley Hauerwas author of Theologically Understood goes on to say that Christians in America are tempted to think of issues like abortion primarily in legal terms such as rights. He explains rights as an agreement between members in a society, who have nothing in common. Professor Hauerwas states that within a liberal society such as ours, the law functions as a mediator of such agreements. He gives an example of our system of law by saying lawyers are to America what priests were to the medieval world. In other words according to professor Hauerwas, Is abortion right or wrong? Or is this abortion right or wrong? rather, the first question is, Why do Christians call abortion, abortion and with the first question goes a second, Why do Christians think that abortion is a morally problematic term? (p. 5). Professor Hauerwas demystifies years of elusions by calling abortion, abortion which is already an achievement based on principles. Lets call a spade a spade, pro-choice is really pro-abortion isnt it, or what about termination of pregnancy, and with the use of this terminology the postmodernist have reduced the churchs involvement, and reallocated the moral responsibility onto the medical profession. (Emerson, 1996) For most of the twentieth century, abortion was removed from public scrutiny by defining it as a question of medical judgment. (p. 44). Well by circumventing the church we can easily foretell any future decision making within a postmodern society towards abortion by defining that mistake as take God out of anything and it dies as pointed out here by Friedrich Nietzsche, parable of a madman Do we smell anything yet of Gods decomposition? Isnt this the crux of postmodern wisdom which is inserting Gods insignificance into the minds of our youth like a Botox injection giving off the same expression of emotion? As pointed out by (Sire, 2004) A culture cannot lose its philosophic center without the most serious of consequences, not just to the philosophy on which it was based but to the whole superstructure of culture and even each persons notion of who he or she is. When God dies, both the substance and the value of everything else die too. (p. 211). This leads me to my next point on Postmodernisms thinking on the sanctity of life, which has created a pro-abortion crisis in America. In the United States alone the abortion rates had increased, in 1974 898,000 to 1,533,000 in 1980. These figures tell us that on an average day in Washington D.C., our nations capital 4,257 abortions are outnumbering live births. Twenty-five percent of all pregnancies are terminated in this manner and forty percent among teenagers, and approximately twenty percent of all women in the United States have had a legal abortion. Sixty percent were under twenty five years of age, and eighty two percent were unmarried at the time of their abortions, and sixty nine percent of these individuals were white. This is the latest available information provided to us by researchers at the (Henshaw, Koonin Smith institute, 1991). The above information shows the influential state and the wide acceptance of abortion and its use as a solution rather than as a last resort. Another way we see secular conditioning, is through what we read, which raises the question are we neglecting to effectively teach any alternatives to abortions such as adoption? For a number of generations we have been stealth fully preconditioning society by removing God from public education. Here for example a member of the Texas board of education is reported saying (Castro, 2010)There seems to be a misinformed view of religion in American history, that America is somehow founded on Christianity, Mize said. We just ask that things be historically accurate.(Â ¶7). The following message certainly points to a valid concern held by many Christians, and alludes to a valid misrepresentation on prolife options within our school textbooks. The following independent study is brought to us by (Kathy Shepherd Elaine Hall, 1994) from 1988 through 1993 sampling 27 textbooks representing 16 publishers covering a period of 6 years.(p. 267). They referenced topics such as, abortion and legal cases such as Roe v. Wade, pro-life, birth control, teen pregnancy, and reproduction. Citations for abortion were indexed more than 60 times and adoption citations were indexed under 13 headings. Also with this study acknowledgement to abortion was tendered 4 times more page space than adoption. That study certainly lessens the burden of understanding a postmodern view towards the ultimate decision to dismiss life, since a form of preconditioning has shown a dismissive slide of pen towards alternatives methods of abortion. (Geersten, 1977) The textbook often provides the central focus and organizing framework for courses, and students, in turn rely on textbooks as their most readily available source of information about the course topics. (p. 102). Postmodern theists are also finding difficulty with the abortion issue when it comes to their education as pointed out here, (Schmalzbauer, 1993) contends that Evangelicals for the most part tend to adhere to their education group rather than their religion with regards to their abortion attitudes. (p. 6). Education will no doubt reconstruct the minds of our youth as pointed out by (Evans, 2002) when he commented on Wuthnow, 1988 education is a more powerful opinion structuring force than religious discourse itself, and most studies find that the more education a respondent has, the more liberal his or her abortion attitudes. (p. 418). This adds to why a postmodern theistic society raises and nurtures its most influential citizens into embracing such secular ideas as Humanism, Naturalism, and Theistic Existentialism? (Bruce Steve, 1996) Postmodernism is here to stay and to evolve. It is a major paradigm shift that has vast and deep impact on the world. When modernity hits hard on Christianity, many sociologists predict the inevitable demise and even eradication of Christianity by secularism. (p. Â ¶5). Also having the wrong personalities controlling how textbooks are studied can only point to the trickling down effect of God within the hearts of man. (Strickler and Danigelis, 1999) Point out that education is shaping the very future of Christendom. By the mid-1990s abortion had been legal for two decades, the population had become more educated and more secular, and other sociodemographic trends found abortion increasingly acceptable. (p. 188). Another reason our postmodern society leans towards abortion as a first consideration rather than as a last resort rests within their understanding of God. The postmodern cultures knowledge of the bible clearly illustrates the ease of which abortion decisions are made. According to the attitudes in society, the concept of God has not changed, and Americans declare their attitudes outline their public disposition. Timothy Renick, (2007) mentions a vast many Americans purport their own religious institutions take part in public strategy issues, and the majority of Congress members consult their individual religious values when voting on legislation. He further notes that America is still very Christian minded, more so than Israel is Jewish or Utah is Mormon. (Timothy Renick, 2007) Yet surveys show that the majority of [postmodern] Americans cannot name even one of the four Gospels, only one-third know that it was Jesus who delivered the Sermon on the Mount, and 10 percent think that Joan of Arc was Noahs wife. (Hey, at least they know that Noah was associated with an ark-or is that Arc?) (p. 26). (Timothy Renick, 2007) continues to paint a solemn picture of postmodern Christianitys understanding of the bible by saying, Many high school seniors think that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. Renick also claims that devout Christians are, on average, at least as ignorant about the facts of Christianity as are other Americans. Sixty percent of evangelicals think Jesus was born in Jerusalem; only 51 percent of the Jews surveyed made the same mistake. And things are not getting any better. (p. 26-27). (Renick, quotes Prothero, 2007) comments on America which has become a nation deeply religious and profoundly ignorant about religion.(26). References Schmalzbauer, John 1993 Evangelicals in the new class: Class versus subculture predictors of Ideology. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 32(4):330-342. Wuthnow, Robert 1988 the Restructuring of American Religion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Geersten, R. (1977). The textbook: An ACIDS test. Teaching Sociology, 5, 101-120. Henshaw, S. K., Koonin, L. M., Smith, J. C. (1991). Characteristics of U.S. women having Abortions. Family Planning Perspectives, 23, 75-81. Bruce, (1996). Religion in the Modern World. Oxford. Oxford University Press. Emerson M. (1996). Through Tinted Glasses: Religion, Worldviews, and Abortion Attitudes. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1996, vol. 35, No. 1. P. 41-55. April Castro, (2010) Texas Ed Board Set to Take 1st Vote since Primary. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wirestory?id=10058603page=1. Retrieved on April 9, 2010. Lokensgard, K. (AP 2009). Religious literacy, the First Amendment, and public education. Council of Societies for the Study of Religion Bulletin. 38(2), 41-45. Renick, T. M. (S 4 2007). Dumbed down: what Americans dont know about religion. Christian Century. 124(18), 26-29. Once again here we are asking how a Christian in a postmodern society can consider abortion as a viable solution to a complex moral issue. The abortion debate has polarized Americans like no other national problem since 9/11 or Watergate. The abortion issue has created a vast partitioning across Americas cultural, and religious lines, which is also evident at the individual, political, and ecclesiastical levels. (New International Version, 1984) You may say I am allowed to do anything. But I reply, Not everything is good for you. And even through I am allowed to do anything, I must not become a slave to anythingBut our bodies were not made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. (1 Cor. 6:12-13). Thomas Jefferson is regularly addressed as one of the finest proponents of religious freedom in the nineteenth century. In a letter dated 1816 he writes about moral decisions which he acknowledges the individual is heir to his own decision and no one else, (Lokensgard, 2009) But I have ever thought religion a concern purely between our God and our consciences, for which we were accountable to Him, and not to the priests (p. 43).

Banking Industry Essay

The Banking Industry was once a simple and reliable business that took deposits from investors at a lower interest rate and loaned it out to borrowers at a higher rate. However deregulation and technology led to a revolution in the Banking Industry that saw it transformed. Banks have become global industrial powerhouses that have created ever more complex products that use risk and securitisation in models that only PhD students can understand. Through technology development, banking services have become available 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, through ATMs, at online bankings, and in electronically enabled exchanges where everything from stocks to currency futures contracts can be traded . The Banking Industry at its core provides access to credit. In the lenders case, this includes access to their own savings and investments, and interest payments on those amounts. In the case of borrowers, it includes access to loans for the creditworthy, at a competitive interest rate. Banking services include transactional services, such as verification of account details, account balance details and the transfer of funds, as well as advisory services, that help individuals and institutions to properly plan and manage their finances. Online banking channels have become key in the last 10 years. The collapse of the Banking Industry in the Financial Crisis, however, means that some of the more extreme risk-taking and complex securitisation activities that banks increasingly engaged in since 2000 will be limited and carefully watched, to ensure that there is not another banking system meltdown in the future. Mortgage banking has been encompassing for the publicity or promotion of the various mortgage loans to investors as well as individuals in the mortgage business. Online banking services has developed the banking practices easier worldwide. Banking in the small business sector plays an important role. Find various banking services available for small businesses. Management Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals andobjectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal.Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, andnatural resources. Since organizations can be viewed as systems, management can also be defined as human action, including design, to facilitate the production of useful outcomes from a system. This view opens the opportunity to ‘manage’ oneself, a prerequisite to attempting to manage others. Basic functions Management operates through various functions, often classified as planning, organizing, staffing, leading/directing, controlling/monitoring and motivation. * Planning: Deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week, next month, next year, over the next five years, etc.) and generating plans for action. * Organizing: (Implementation)pattern of relationships among workers, making optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful carrying out of plans. * Staffing: Job analysis, recruitment and hiring for appropriate jobs. * Leading/directing: Determining what must be done in a situation and getting people to do it. * Controlling/monitoring: Checking progress against plans. * Motivation: Motivation is also a kind of basic function of management, because without motivation, employees cannot work effectively. If motivation does not take place in an organization, then employees may not contribute to the other functions (which are usually set by top-level management). Basic roles * Interpersonal: roles that involve coordination and interaction with employees. * Informational: roles that involve handling, sharing, and analyzing information. * Decisional: roles that require decision-making. Management skills * Political: used to build a power base and establish connections. * Conceptual: used to analyze complex situations. * Interpersonal: used to communicate, motivate, mentor and delegate. * Diagnostic: ability to visualize most appropriate response to a situation. * Technical: Expertise in one’s particular functional area.. Business Ethics Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Business ethics has both normative and descriptive dimensions. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. Academics attempting to understand business behavior employ descriptive methods. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns. Interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporations promote their commitment to non-economic values under headings such as ethics codes and social responsibility charters. Adam Smith said, â€Å"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.†[1] Governments use laws and regulations to point business behavior in what they perceive to be beneficial directions. Ethics implicitly regulates areas and details of behavior that lie beyond Business ethics reflects the philosophy of business, one of whose aims is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. If a company’s purpose is to maximize shareholder returns, then sacrificing profits to other concerns is a violation of its fiduciary responsibility. Corporate entities are legally considered as persons in USA and in most nations. The ‘corporate persons’ are legally entitled to the rights and liabilities due to citizens as persons. Economist Milton Friedman writes that corporate executives’ â€Å"responsibility†¦ generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to their basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom† Friedman also said, â€Å"the only entities who can have responsibilities are individuals †¦ A business cannot have responsibilities. So the question is, do corporate executives, provided they stay within the law, have responsibilities in their business activities other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible? And my answer to that is, no, they do not. A multi-country 2011 survey found support for this view among the â€Å"informed public† ranging from 30 to 80%. Duska views Friedman’s argument as consequentialistrather than pragmatic, implying that unrestrained corporate freedom would benefit the most in long term. [ Similarly author business consultant Peter Drucker observed, â€Å"There is neither a separate ethics of business nor is one needed†, implying that standards of personal ethics cover all business situations. However, Peter Drucker in another instance observed that the ultimate responsibility of company directors is not to harm—primum non nocere. Another view of business is that it must exhibit corporate social responsibility (CSR): an umbrella term indicating that an ethical business must act as a responsible citizen of the communities in which it operates even at the cost of profits or other goals.In the US and most other nations corporate entities are legally treated as persons in some respects. For example, they can hold title to property, sue and be sued and are subject to taxation, although their free speech rights are limited. This can be interpreted to imply that they have independent ethical responsibilities. Duska argues that stakeholders have the right to expect a business to be ethical; if business has no ethical obligations, other institutions could make the same claim which would be counterproductive to the corporation. Ethical issues include the rights and duties between a company and its employees, suppliers, customers and neighbors, its fiduciaryresponsibility to its shareholders. Issues concerning relations between different companies include hostile take-overs and industrial espionage. Related issues include corporate governance;corporate social entrepreneurship; political contributions; legal issues such as the ethical debate over introducing a crime of corporate manslaughter; and the marketing of corporations’ ethics policies.According to IBE/ Ipsos MORI research published in late 2012, the three major areas of public concern regarding business ethics in Britain are executive pay, corporate tax avoidance and bribery and corruption.