International Business and Economics Assignment

International Business and Economics - Assignment Example Franchising is very similar to licensing except in the degree of control by the licensor in that a franchise has to adhere strictly to a set of standards such as in marketing strategy and in its sales promotions (Welch, Benito, and Petersen, 2007, p. 53). Example of licensing would be a Mickey Mouse logo licensed to a kids shoe manufacturer while franchising is a McDonald's. Turnkey operations are a type of business entry mode in which one company contracts with another company to build, construct and complete ready-to-use facilities (Paul, 1966, p. 162). Most turnkey projects are usually in the construction and industrial-equipment sectors which require big capital and specialized expertise (Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan, 2008, p. 45). Management contracts pertain to agreements between investor groups of a big project and the management company hired for their expertise to manage, coordinate and oversee the project. The company is hired provides its management, administrative and organizational talents in return for a management fee such as those quite common in global hotel chains like Hilton. A direct investment is an investment made with a view to acquiring a lasting or long-term part or interest in an existing operational business enterprise in order to have an effective voice in the management of the said enterprise. In practice, this translates to buying the equity of 10% or more in the foreign firm as a form of market entry when other modes are not very assured of success. In this regard, foreign direct investment (FDI) is a way for capital to move from the low-return environment to a higher-profit market (Moosa, 2002, p. 24). Portfolio investment is an investment in stocks and securities for profits only and is called â€Å"hot money.† Attitudes to Foreign Cultures – the managers and employees of multinational firms try to adapt to foreign cultures sometimes based on their home culture. In most instances, the managers who are very democ ratic in their attitudes at their home country also extend these same traits of democratic practices such as sharing of vital information with the employees in a foreign country where they operate in (Toyne, 1980, p. 135). In some situations, the contrast of country managers is very vast such as imposing their home country's practices, beliefs and values on the host country's employees (Hofstede, 2003, p. 440) as a frame of reference while others take a more tolerant attitude and try to learn more and understand the foreign culture in a much better and deeper way (Ajami et al., 2006, p. 215). The success of a manager in the foreign country depends to a big extent on his or her cultural intelligence quotient (CQ) level similar to intelligence quotient (IQ) or emotional quotient (EQ) by being able to sufficiently read and analyze individual behaviors, attitudes, group dynamics and the unique situations in the context of the foreign culture (Kreitner, 2006, p. 97) beyond just learning the language. Key Means of Economic Transition – a command economy is an economy that is being managed centrally by the government bureaucrats. In other words, the demand and also the supply of certain products, goods, and services are determined by government planners. It is these people who decide which goods and services are to be produced, how they are priced and how these are to be distributed instead of allowing free market forces to do so.

Department of Maritime and Logistics Management Essay

Department of Maritime and Logistics Management - Essay Example The industry has become saturated due to several negative external environmental impacts. Therefore, it is important for the new comers to understand the appropriate demand for the air service before developing a new business. Discussion This part of the essay will determine the key factors that need to understand before deciding the demand for a new airline business. Moreover, the study will identify the implications for the operation of an airline regarding the mixed passenger and freight model. Answer 1 It is important for a newly developed organization to do a market survey to understand several business factors. Knowledge about market competition will help the organization to develop an effective business plan. Moreover, the organization needs to review effective internal resources and capability of the organization. Defining Idea, gathering information about market competition, effective resources, customer demand and feasibility assessment will help the organization to move fo rward. Global airline industry has become highly saturated due to intense competition and several political and economical challenges. Recent financial crisis and global economic recession affected the global economic environment. Low purchasing power, limited disposable income of people and negative economic growth rate are the major consequences of this economic slowdown. People are trying to save more rather than consuming products and services due to this economic distress. Therefore, it is important for the organization to utilize the resources in such a way that can reduce the business operation cost. Effective operation cost reduction can help the organization to implement competitive pricing strategy. Effective competitive pricing strategy will help the organization to achieve potential competitive advantages. Airline industry is considered as the service industry. People always expect better service against their air ticket fare. Now-a-day, the global airlines are trying to implement CRM strategies in order to satisfy the needs of customer. Slowly and gradually, effective customer relationship management will help the organization to develop a potential target customer base (Winsveen, 2012, p.13). Therefore, the major objective of the organization would be providing effective in-flight customer service against low competitive ticket price. Employees are considered as the strongest asset in a service providing organization. Skilled and trained pilots, flight attainders and air hostesses are considered as the major competitive strength of an airline organization. Effective organizational and work place culture need to be adopted by the organization to develop an effective workforce. The organization should focus on employment benefits of the employees in order to increase the motivation level of the employees (Bowhill, 2008, p.333). Highly motivated employees will try to perform more effectively. Low turn around time and high frequency of flights increa se the core competency of the airlines. The organization needs to provide effective training and development programme to increase the skills of the employees. Effective turnaround time management will enhance effective customer relationship management. Therefore, the organization needs to treat their employees and vendors as their own family members. Then only they can achieve effective competiti

Portfolio Diversification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Portfolio Diversification - Essay Example client of Bill Guru’s and was â€Å"very happy† with Bill’s advice and professionalism, in helping here rebalance and reallocate her portfolio that resulted in its increasing value over the years without much volatility. Bill wanted to diversify her portfolio and reduce its beta, thereby minimising the risk inherent in her portfolio. The case presumes that the individual betas of the 5 stocks are greater than the market index beta of 1. It is the task of Bill Guru to explain to Mrs. Jones what diversification meant and what the advantages were of having a diversified portfolio. He also needed to explain why at her stage in life she would need her portfolio to be rebalanced and her assets reallocated to meet her needs both for capital appreciation and for steady income. At the same time, Bill would have to discuss with Mrs. Jones the possibility of putting part or all of her assets in other forms of investments such as money market funds or fixed income securities such as Treasury bills or Treasury bonds. The possibility of transferring all of her investments to fixed income securities would preclude the question of a beta coefficient as the latter applies only to stocks in relation to the main market index such as the FTSE. On the other hand, if a significant part of her assets continues to be invested in stocks, the beta would be a relevant concept. He will need to explain the impact of the overall market on her stock portfolio as the market is subject to systematic risks. Also he has to explain that there are factors that affect a particular stock and a particular industry, factors that are unique or specific to the stock in question. The rebalancing of Mrs. Jones’ portfolio may take any form that is tailored to the particular situation and needs. Some kind of distribution among different types of securities would have to be discussed with her that would take into account the need for steady income in the form of interest and dividends as well as

Operations Management in Daimond Manufacturing Essay Example for Free

Operations Management in Daimond Manufacturing Essay Definition Operation Management is the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver goods and services (Slack et al, 2010). These activities commences from the very initial production stage of information gathering right up to the final stage of consumer consumption of the product. Every organization does operation management even if they do not notice it. All organizations produce goods and/or services and to create goods and/or services, the organization must perform a number of operations which must be effectively and efficiently managed. 1. 2 Role of Operations Management Operations Management is of prime importance in all sectors, cells, functions, units and groups within the organization. An organization is a system and according to the business dictionary, (http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/system. html) a system is ‘An organized, purposeful structure that consists of interrelated and interdependent elements (components, entities, factors, members, parts etc. ). These elements continually influence one another (directly or indirectly) to maintain their activity and the existence of the system, in order to achieve the goal of the system’. Read more: http://www. usinessdictionary. com/definition/system. html#ixzz2QSyXAP1f . All employees are part of this system and have a common interest in making the consumer to receive goods and/or services in the best way possible. So I will say every manager in every part of the organization is to some extent an operational manager. According to James (2011), the role of operations manag ement is to manage the transformation of an organization’s inputs into finished goods and services using processes. Processes are actually present in all areas of the organization from Human Resource to Finance to Marketing to Procurement etc. 1. The ‘Input – Transformation – Output’ process Resources can either be transforming resources or transformed resources. After the transformation process is complete, transforming resources give rise to transformed resources. According to James (2011), there are 2 main types of transforming resources: * Facility which comprises of land, building, plant and equipment. * Staff which comprises of everyone involved in the operation process. There are 3 main types of transformed resources: * Material. Transformation can be physical (manufacturing), by location (transportation), by storage (warehousing), or by ownership (retail). Information. Transformation can be by property (accountant’s information), by p ossession (market research), by storage (libraries) or by location (telecommunication). * Customer. Transformation can either be physical (plastic surgery), by storage (hotel accommodation), by location (airline transport), by physiological state (hospital), or by psychological state (entertainment). Input Output Input that will be transformed * Material * Information * Customer Input that will transform * People * Facility * Goods * Services Transformation Input Output Input that will be transformed * Material * Information * Customer Input that will transform * People * Facility * Goods * Services Transformation Figure 1: The ‘Input-Transformation-Output’ process 2 Operations Strategy 2. 1 Definition Strategy is defined by Johnson et al, (2008) as ‘the direction and scope of an organization over the long term: ideally, which matches its resources to its changing environment and in particular its markets, customers or clients so as to meet stakeholder expectations. ’ 3. 2 Levels of Strategy Strategy can be viewed from 3 levels which are: The Corporate level: This level looks at the long term position of the company. It answers questions like ‘where will the organization be in 10 years? Or are we going to launch a new product in a new market? ’ The Business level: This level looks at the market and is concerned with the goods and services which the organization has to offer. It answers questions like ‘how do we compete? ’ The Functional level: This level deals with the functional aspect of the organization like finance, marketing, human resource etc. It answers questions like ‘how do we manage our financial resources’. . 3 Operations Strategy Operations strategy is the total pattern of decisions which shape the long-term capabilities of any operation and their contribution to overall strategy, through the reconciliation of market requirements with operations resources (Slack and Lewis, 2011). A 5 step structure has been designed by Hill (2005) so as to design and understand a goo d operation strategy. The steps are as follows: 1. Define Corporate Objectives Here, long term objectives are set-up so as to give the company balance and a good direction. At this stage, Sparkle does environmental scanning and the company also looks at its core competences, core processes and its global objectives. Performance Indicators (KPIs) are also established here so as monitor the accomplishment of these objectives. Top management uses a number of models which includes PESTEL, SWOT and Porter’s 5 forces. See appendix A. 2. Set Marketing Strategies Here Sparkle identifies the market it wants to compete in and then it looks on how to compete in these markets. Ansoff’s matrix is used. | New Product| Existing Product| NewMarket| Diversification| Market Development| Existing Market| Product Development| Market Penetration/ Market Growth| Figure 5: Ansoff Matrix. Source: Kaplan Financial Ltd, 2008. Sparkle uses the market penetration/market growth pathway for now. With time, they will start manufacturing out of the UK thus implementing the market development strategy. It is yet not known if they are thinking of one day starting up the production of a new product. 3. How do we gain competitive advantage? At this stage of Hill’s structure, the organization is to find ways to make its product win other products in the market. For this to happen, the organization must have a base to make its competition and this base is usually one or more of the following performance objectives: speed, quality, cost, dependability and flexibility. See chapter 3. Sparkle uses the above performance objectives to gain competitive advantage but it must be noted that, competitive advantage must: * Be real * Add value (to the consumer) and * Be difficult to imitate. 4. Choose a delivery system Here, the organization has to choose an appropriate delivery system so as to meet up with speed and maybe dependability. In Sparkle, most orders are icked up by the customer but if not, Sparkle uses their vans which have a high level of security for close distances or they post the jewelry for faraway distances. 5. Choose your Infrastructure The company at this phase has to choose all necessary infrastructures that it has to obtain so as to gain an edge over its competitors in the market. Different organizations in different industries wi ll need different types of infrastructures. But in the diamond manufacture industry, the infrastructures are almost the same and can hardly give competitive advantage. 3 Performance Objectives In the present congested and very competitive business environment, companies must do something extra so as to stand out of the crowd. For them to do this, they must react to what customers value and these fall into the following category. They are called performance objectives. 1. Cost 2. Quality 3. Dependability 4. Reliability 5. Speed Sparkle is aware of the tight competition in the diamond market and it takes its performance objectives very seriously so as to gain competitive advantage. Before achieving the above performance objectives, they must achieve the 4 Cs (see appendix B). * Cost. The principle of cost is doing things cheaply. Sparkle changes its processes, its materials and its suppliers every now and then so as to operate on a lower cost scale. They buy rough diamonds directly from the companies who buy them from the mine and sometimes the make orders directly from the mine so as to reduce cost because the more intermediaries there are, the higher the final price. They sometimes buy more rough diamonds than what the actually need so as to gain discount for bulk buying. They automate most of their processes to reduce the number of hours worked by human beings thus reducing total wages. Quality. This involves producing durable high standard error-free goods that consumers perceived to the good. In the fashion business, quality is king because consumers are becoming more conscious of what they wear. One can say that everything in the diamond industry is of good quality so in this kind of high standard industry, quality is not the issue but superb quality. Spark le buys the best of the rough stones which are hand-picked one after the other so that their final product will be of the best quality and they will have very little waste during production. * Dependability. This is doing everything on time so as to keep commitments and promises made to customers. Sparkle has a track record and reputation of never keeping its customers waiting. Customers’ diamonds are always fully processed before the pick-up date. Customers love coming to this organization because they know they can rely on them when it comes to delivery. There was a scandal in March 2008 in Real Diamonds where a couple arrange for their wedding rings costing thousands of pounds to be manufactured but the company was unable to meet up with the due date so the couple had to use different rings for the wedding. Flexibility. This is being able to change what you produce or how you produce it. Sparkle is very flexible in regards to their products because they produce apparently anything requested by the customer. We pride ourselves on being different, you won’t find our jewelry just anywhere, we appreciate that you want something special to you (Source: sparlediamonds. com/abo ut). They manufacture dressing rings, marriage rings, engagement rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, bangles and designers jewelry out of diamond. Over the years, they have come up with different diamond designs thought by others as impossible and have now gained a name as being the company that uses diamond to manufacture anything and everything. On the other hand, their production process is flexible too but not very flexible. They change little bits of their production process all the time to cut down cost and to increase the quality of the diamonds but this change is never a big change (process improvement). Figure 5: Different items made out of diamond. Source: * Speed. This can be described as how responsive an organization is to the customers’ demands and complain. It is a measure of the time between a customer’s order or complain to the time when that customer’s order or complain is sorted out fully. Sparkle is very fast in dealing with complains. Any customer who comes to the company with a complaint is not allowed to leave when the matter concerned has not been resolved. Complains made online take a maximum of 2 working days to be dealt with and those by post takes a little more time. Figure 5: Different colors of diamond. Source: 4 Product Design . 1 Definition Product/service design is the process of defining the specification of products and/or services in order for them to fulfill a specific market need (Slack et al, 2009). According to Russell and Taylor (2009), new product designs can provide a competitive edge by bringing new ideas to the market quickly, doing a better job of satisfying customers’ needs, or be ing easier to manufacture, use and repair. Product design is of great importance in any organization because consumers are becoming more and more conscious of the products they consume and their contents. Almost everybody in the organization is involved in product design because bringing in a new product design is not just about the market requirement but it is also about anticipating future demand and this needs imagination and creativity. In coming out with a good product design, market requirements, technical issues, cost, quality, investment information and the target market must be considered and dealt with appropriately. Diamond design ‘step by step’ Various steps are followed when coming out with a good diamond design. 1. Generating Ideas Ideas to bring up a new diamond designs can come from anywhere and comes from everywhere. Some organizations look only within the organization and come up with a diamond design but this approach is very dangerous because it can easily back fire leading to a poor design. Ideas in Sparkle usually come from: * The customers who will use the product. Most at times, the customer comes to the organization with a design in mind. The design team in the organization then sits with the customer and adds ideas to perfect the customer’s request. * The employees who serve the customers. These groups of persons know exactly what customers wants because they are the people who take customers specifications, demands and complaints. They play an important role in the creation of a new design. * Competitors and any new technology. Sparkle sometimes looks at the designs of its competitors like Avi Paz and tries to modify it so as to create something better than theirs. * Research and Development (Ramp;D) Department. One of their major roles in the organization is to look for new possible designs which will entice customers. It is at this stage that the diamond color, size, weight, cut grade, clarity grade, carat weight, laser inscription and shape is decided. Figure 4: Computer simulated diamond designing in progress. Source: www. sparklediamonds. com 2. Product Screening According to Slack et al (2009), not all concepts and ideas generated will be capable of being developed into products and/or services. Each idea generated is taken and examined to see whether or not they are acceptable, feasible and vulnerable. Fig 5 illustrates. Figure 5| Some typical evaluation questions for marketing, operations and finance. | Evaluation Criteria| Marketing| Operations| Finance| Feasibility| Is the market likely to be big enough? | Do we have capabilities to produce it? Do we have access to sufficient finance to develop and launch it? | Acceptability| How much market share could it gain? | How much will we have to reorganize our activities to produce it? | How much financial return will there be on our investment? | Vulnerability| What is the risk of it failing in the market place? | What is the risk of us being able to produce it acceptable? | How much money could we lose if things do not go as planned? | Fi g 5: Slack et al (2009) Some typical evaluation questions for marketing, operations and finance [e-book] p. 89 3. Preliminary Design At this stage, the design is reviewed by the cutters and polishers to see if the can really produce the diamond and any unnecessary complexity in the diamond’s design is eliminated because such complexities can build cost. For example; there are some unnecessary and unnoticed cuts in a diamond’s design but these cuts could split the whole diamond if not done carefully. Because customers will not even notice the additional cuts and even if they do, they will not be willing to pay an addition for it so the cuts are eliminated. Figure 4: Different diamond designs (drawing). Source: Figure 4: Different diamond designs. Source: 4. Final Design After all the above has been done, a prototype is then created out of glass and tested to see if it meets market requirements, technical requirements and the financial limit. Tangible prototypes are created and virtual (computer simulations) model too to properly assess the diamond before production goes any further. Sometimes, customers are called in to see the prototype and give their feedback from which some adjustments may be made on the product’s design. An after acceptance, diamond cutting commences. Figure 5: Prototype diamond made out of fine glass. Source: 5 Process Design 5. 1 Definition Process design is Sequence of interdependent and linked procedures which, at every stage, consume one or more resources (employee time, energy, machines, money) to convert inputs (data, material, parts, etc. ) into outputs. These outputs then serve as inputs for the next stage until a known goal or end result is reached (www. businessdictionary. com). Read more: http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/process. tml#ixzz2QTQAtoBi When deciding a product design, it is advisable to simultaneously come up with a matching process design. This will entail the flow of the process and Barnes (2008) said that the design of processes is different in all organizations and these designs will be based on the volume and variety of the demand for the product in the market. He further categorized the processes under project, jobbing, batch, line and conti nuous. Types of Processes There are different production processes namely project, jobbing, batch, line and continuous. See Appendix C. Sparkle is in a business of very expensive products which are very small in size so they do jobbing. Customers usually give orders which are produced by the company (make to order). They usually hold little or no fully-processed inventory. The Production Process Diamond ore is sorted by density using X-rays. Before that technology became available, grease belts were used to separate diamonds from the rest of the ore, due to the diamonds greater tendency than other minerals to stick to grease. Rough diamonds are then set to be cut as gemstones in the cutting laboratory. A diamond has different cuts and different professional specialize on different cuts. This is the most daunting task of diamond production because a bad cut will cost the company a fortune. Figure 5: Diamond plan before cutting. Source Cutting produces the facets associated with a diamond. The angles of the facets maximize light, giving the diamond its greatest possible luster (dispersion of white light). The cutting process can take as much as 50% of a rough diamonds weight. Figure 5: Illustration of diamond facets. Source: A number of factors come into play when deciding how a diamond should be cut. X-rays are employed to analyze the stones crystallographic structure, its hardness and ability to cleave. The diamonds flaws are considered, and the cutter decides which to remove and which can remain. Either a hammer or a diamond saw can be used to split the diamond – the hammer is quicker, but the saw is surer. Figure 5: Diamond cutting. Source: A number of institutes in the diamond industry offer courses for diamond cutters, but the bulk and most crucial part of the training for this delicate trade take place during the cutters apprenticeship. A diamond may get its final cut from many skilled hands: the diamond marker or designer; the diamond sawyer; the diamond cutter or brute; the cross-worker; and the brillianteer. After the initial cutting, diamonds undergo the polishing stages, usually performed by a technician as the process is a standard one. Polished diamonds are reexamined for flaws, which can be addressed through enhancement techniques or disguised when set in jewelry. Figure 5: Diamond Polishing. Source: Finally, the polished diamonds are sold to individuals, retailers, wholesalers and jewelry shops. Figure 5: Diamond quality check. Source 6 Planning, Control ;amp; Innovation In any good type of project or manufacture to be successful, it must be planned at the very beginning and at the end, it has to be controlled to make sure that the planned processes and cost is not very different from the actual. Businesses must also continuously innovate so as to move line to line with the changing tastes of consumers and to beat numerous designs from competitors. 6. 1 Planning Eur says this about planning â€Å"It lists the phases and encapsulates all the main parameters, standards and requirements of the project in terms of time, cost and quality/performance by setting out the ‘Why’, ‘What’, ‘When’, ‘Who’, ‘Where’, and ‘How’, of the project. † Planning therefore looks at the entire process, product and project but in an imaginary form which has not yet happened but it is wished that it should happen that way. 6. 1. 1 Advantages of Planning 1. It gives direction of what has to be done and how it has to be done. 2. It assigns responsibilities on every person thus answering â€Å"Who does what? 3. A good plan will see problems a project, product or process will encounter before the problem strikes. 4. A plan helps us to manage cost, quality and design side by side with the profit we will want to make on the product. 5. Plans are used to assess how well a product, process, p roject or person has done. 6. 1. 2 Disadvantages of Planning 1. It is usually made up by top management and given to the employees down the management ladder who just follow it. 2. Plans are usually followed to the latter. Even when some changes have to done, it is not because a plan is being followed. 3. Plans are usually just estimates and it has no use in turbulent economic environments as the plan and the actual are usually very different. 6. 2 Control Control involves measuring the actual results against the plan and then taking action to adjust actual performance so that it moves in line with the plan. So in other words, control is only possible when we have a plan. Control has a feedback phase and this involves adjusting the actual to move in line with the plan or reporting differences between actual and budget so that there may be no such discrepancies in the future. 6. 3 Innovation Innovation is defined by the oxford dictionary as â€Å"changing something established by introducing new methods, ideas or products. † Just like there is no control where there is no plan, there is no innovation where there is no control. They all rely on one another. After control has been done, feedback is sent back and improvement or innovation is made. But in the complex business environment operating now, innovation just not just come from within the company but from outside the company like from competitors and especially from the consumers due to the rapid change in customers taste, design and fashion. In the diamond manufacture industry, there are many different innovative ways manufacturing diamonds and Sparkle has had the following innovations: 1. The Supercut design Sparkle has introduced the innovative supercut design into the industry: a patented ideal emerald cut, with more than twice the facets of a traditional Emerald – providing unparalleled brilliance and fire. The culmination of three years of research, the supercut gives extraordinary brilliance and reflection and this innovation gives Sparkle competitive advantage in terms of having good designs with extraordinary glittering. 2. Precision cutting Since 2010, Sparkle has brought in a technology of cutting the diamonds using computer software and this cut is so exact that less than 0. 000002% waste is created from diamond cutting. Waste use to be about 0. 5% during diamond cutting and this innovation has caused drastic cost saving making Sparkle to be more competitive in terms of cost. 3. Sparkle offers a wide range of jewelry manufacturing processes, including design, modeling, prototyping, grooving, setting, finishing and meticulous quality control; all featuring our own fine diamonds, and designed for clients to sell under their private labels. . 4 The ‘Planning – Control – Innovation’ Cycle. From the above notes, it can be seen that planning, control and innovation work together. Sparkle’s cycle looks like this. Plan Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Actual Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine dia mond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Control Looks at the difference between what was planned and what actually happened. External Information Customer specific design New tastes and fashion Design from competitors Market Research (Ramp;D) Feedback and Innovation Plan Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Actual Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Control Looks at the difference between what was planned and what actually happened. External Information Customer specific design New tastes and fashion Design from competitors Market Research (Ramp;D) Feedback and Innovation Figure 7. The ‘planning-control-innovation’ cycle. 6. Changes happening in the diamond industry. * Researchers are on the verge of bringing in new materials which reflect light better than diamond and these materials are stronger and more durable than diamond. But, they will be far cheaper than diamonds and this is going to be a big problem to diamond manufacturers as the demand for diamond will surely drop. An example is synthetic stones. * In response to growing concern over illicit trade in conflict or blood diamonds, the United Nations General Assembly established the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in 2003. This scheme is going to make sure of the source of every single diamond so as to ensure that they are from a genuine source. This happening will increase the price of diamond because more than 55% of diamonds are from Africa and the mines there are operated by very cheap labor and sometimes by slaves, women and children. The UN will come in and stop this practice thus increasing the cost of labor, working conditions and ultimately the price for diamonds. 7 Quality Management Quality is one of the performance objectives and it is taken very seriously by all organizations because if achieved, may give them competitive advantage. Some organizations rely on quality more than others and the fashion and health industry takes quality as primary considering the fact that people want to look good and in good health. Quality is a matter of perception so what can be called quality for A might not necessarily be called quality for B. According to Garvin (1984), the attributes in quality for a product are: * Performance * Features * Reliability * Conformance * Durability * Serviceability * Aesthetics * Other perceptions Parasuraman et al. (1985), on the other hand listed 5 attributes in defining what is quality of a service? nd they are: * Reliability – Are we always going to get on time delivery? * Responsiveness – Are the always going to respond quickly to our demands and complaints? * Assurance – Are we assured of their competence? * Empathy – Does the organization feel and understand customers’ needs and concerns? * Tangibles – Is the physical surrounding conducive? 7. 1 Qu ality in the Organization But in relation to Sparkle, the best definition of quality is that as per Slack et al. (2009) â€Å"quality is consistent conformance to customers’ expectation† and I will say and even surpassing those expectations. Sparkle uses total quality management as their quality management technique. They look for means and ways to maintain and continuously improve quality at each stage of the production process. All employees meet once a month to discuss on how to improve the organization’s present performance. Books by Deming, Crosby, Juran, Hill and other total quality management gurus are in the company’s library and research department for employees to read and be motivated to contribute into the organization’s performance. All employees are made to know that quality and customer’s requirements being met comes before any other thing. The organization has a suggestion box where employees can write any inspiring idea that comes in mind and this box is emptied every day and read by the research staff and it is summarized and sent to the manager examine. 7. 2 The Cost of Quality Quality has a cost which is like a double-edged sword meaning that good quality will have a cost and bad quality will also have a cost. 7. 2. 1 The Cost of Good Quality This is also known as the cost of quality assurance. Sparkle has a lot of this cost because they are continuously always trying to get better in quality all over the organization so as to better serve customers’ needs. The cost of quality assurance is further divided into prevention cost and appraisal cost. * Prevention cost is the cost of trying to make everything right on first attempt and some of this cost are: * Sparkle does not give a command for precious stones and wait for the stones to come. They go to the supplier’s premises and pick the stones one after the other and not in groups to ensure the best stones are taken. The supplier charges more for this. * The cost of designing the jewelry in a computer automated system and running several checks with other very expensive bespoke software before the design is confirmed. Sparkle trains its employees every 6 months and buys books to update them on new technologies and to keep their skills up and awake. * All employees are taught a wide variety of skills so that if a certain employee is not available to do a specific thing, there will always be another to do it. * Appraisal cost is concerned with controlling quality and this is achieved by testing the process before the product is manufactured and testing the product before it gets to the customer. Some of these costs are: * The cost incurred in testing all equipment, machines and ensuring staffs are fit and able before any diamond is processed. The cost of checking the diamond after manufacture by employees and with the use of a computer aided personalized software which is very expensive to make sure that the diamonds are flawless. * The time spent in testing the diamonds ensuring the pass all the set of test before and after manufacture. 7. 2. 2 The Cost of Bad Quality All organizations including Sparkle wants to evade this cost because it is very dangerous and it can even bring down the entire organization in a blink of an eye. The cost of bad quality is divied into internal failure cost and external failure cost. Internal failure cost is cost incurred before the product reaches the customer. Some of this cost are: * The cost of scrap. Diamonds are very expens ive so any little scrap of badly shaped diamond is worth a whole lot. So Sparkle makes sure the best quality diamond is procured and diamond cutting should be not less than perfect. * The cost of reshaping ill-shaped diamonds and gluing broken once. * The resources lost in repairing diamonds. Labor, machine time, and electricity are used which should have if the diamonds were made right the first time. External failure cost arises after the product has been received by the customer and some of this cost include: * The cost listening to customer complaints and responding to them. * The cost of replacing a defective diamond which a customer has rejected. This can cause the organization a fortune. * The customer might have to take the company to court and the organization will pay a huge sum if the lost the lawsuit. Some compensation may run to millions of pounds and could bring the organization to its end. * One of the most dangerous costs is that which we don’t see. An example is the lost sale and contribution. When a customer is dissatisfied, he will most at times not want to come back and he will discourage a potential customer who will discourage another customer to come to us. Saying all this, quality should be treated like an egg in the midst of rocks. 8 Supply Chain Management 8. 1 Definition Supply Chain is the management of the interconnection of organizations that relate to each other through upstream and downstream linkages between the processes that produce value to the ultimate consumer in the form of products and services (Slack et al. 2010). A supply chain is a holistic network starting from the sourcing of material, through its transportation to the organization’s premises, to manufacturing, to storage and warehousing and finally to consumers. So it is a whole system and it works as one therefore is one part of the chain is broken, the whole system will fall apart and consumers’ will not be satisfied. 8. 2 Sparkleâ⠂¬â„¢s Supple Chain Stage 1 Sparkle’s supply chain starts from the diamond mines in Africa which produce more than 50% of total diamonds to mines in India, Russia, Canada and Australia. The mines usually dug very deep but the deepest diamond mine runs for about 160km passing through sand, rocks, and gravel to be blasted drilled, crushed and processed. It should be noted that only 20% of diamonds from mines can be polised and used for jewelry; the rest is used for industrial use. The stones picked here are very rough still with no beauty (see figure 10). Stage 2 Companies and independent buyers go to these mines and buy the rough stones from the mine owners and take them to their premises for processing. These stones are then processed to make them a little bit more presentable so that diamond manufacturers can then buy them and further process them into diamonds. Diamonds at this stage looks like that in figure 11. Figure 8: Trapping stones to look for diamonds in an African mine. Source: Figure 9: A typical unprocessed diamond. Source: Figure 10: Unprocessed diamonds directly from the mine. Source Figure 11: Diamonds which have been slightly processed. Source: Stage 3 Sparkle buys the diamonds in fig. 11 and examines them with the use of a computer aided personalized software. After a series of checks, rejected diamonds will be sent back to the suppliers and the good ones will be cut into different shapes so as to give the greatest value. After cutting, the diamond goes through computer aided software to confirm its perfection and after this, it is polished and cleaned. Sparkle will also buy what the diamonds are going to be fitted on because people will scarcely buy a chunk of diamond. Diamonds are usually fitted on rings, pens, earrings, belts and many more (see figure 14). These things are usually bought from top manufacturers with good design and quality and they are usually very expensive. Figure12: Diamond cutting in Sparkle. Source: Figure 13: Diamond polishing in Sparkle Source: Stage 4 After polishing and the diamond have an unblemished shine, shape and color, it is then taken by the customers. Some of the customers ordered just a few and sometimes even just one special diamond while other big customers like jewelry shops order bigger quantities at ones. It is either Sparkle delivers the diamond to the place agreed by the customer or the customer comes to the organization’s site on an agreed date and after a phone call to pick up the diamond. The supply chain ends after the diamond has reached the customer. Figure 14: Finished diamond ready for the customer. Source: Figure 15: Diamonds bought by jewelry shops. Source: The Mine The Cutting Company Polishing Customers Jewelry Shops Manufacturing The Mine The Cutting Company Polishing Customers Jewelry Shops Manufacturing The supply chain of Sparkle is a good and effective. Its success can sometimes be attributed to the information technology they use. They use the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which brings in data from all sources and this is used to know when suppliers have diamonds and the variouse categories, to know when jewelry shops are running short of iamonds, and many more (all discussed in chapter 9). Figure 16: Sparkle’s Supply Chain 9 Information Systems As seen in chapter 1, â€Å"Operation Management is the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver goods and services† (Slack et al, 2010). For these activities to be properly managed, it needs the help of automated process and compu ter aided techniques. Information systems are found throughout an organization and if used well reduce costs and can be a source of gaining competitive advantage. 9. 1 Computer Aided Techniques Sparkle uses information systems in many ways in its business. Listed below are some specialized computer aided programs used. 1. They use Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) which gives an optimum layout of the cutting steps and their sequence (this is different for different diamonds). There are many diamond cutting machines and they all have different cutting styles and they are operated by specialist in the different cutting sectors. So the CAPP examines a diamond and gives different possible steps on which machine to use first and which not to use so as to minimize waste and give the diamond the best possible cuts so as reflect light in an optimal way. 2. They use Computer Aided Designs (CAD) to design the shape of diamonds on a computer and finished diamonds can actually be seen even before processing starts. If an error is made in the design, it can be corrected but this could have been impossible without CAD. 3. The also use Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) which takes the drawings and designs from the CAD and test them for perfection. Different test are administered and the flawlessness of a diamond can be confirmed even before manufacture. 4. Automated Material Handling (AMH) system is also used. Diamonds are very expensive and so care must be taken at each step. The AMH system improves efficiency in diamond movement, storage and retrieval. 5. The Laser Security System (LSS) is used where diamonds are kept be it rough stones, semi-processed diamonds and fully processed diamonds. Invisible laser rays crisscross the diamonds and it needs a password to be deactivated. Only top managers have the password and the password of each of them is different making it easy to know who accessed the diamond safe. If someone tries to pass through the laser rays, it can kill or paralyze them and the security alarm is automatically triggered and an automated call goes to the nearest police station. . Security Camera Systems (SCS) make use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) at all times to monitor the whole building especially where inventory is held. 7. The Inventory Control System (ICS) gives detail information about each diamond rough, semi-processed or fully processed held in inventory at any point in time. Management must no go into the safe to see what t hey have in stock because the ICS does it all. This system is also used online to make customers see the diamonds, its specification and all other relevant information. Figure 16: The CAD system used to design a blue diamond. Source: Figure 17: The virtual version of the diamond in fig 16. Source: 9. 2 Pros and Cons of Information Technology (IT) IT is a very necessary tool in any organization be it a big or a small one. IT has advantages and disadvantages. They are listed in Appendix D including ‘Why IT cannot replace Human Beings’. 9. 3 Information Systems ‘Information system can be defined as a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization’ (Laundon amp; Laundon, 2006). Most organizations use some form of computer-based technology to accumulate, organize and distribute information’ (Ted, 2011) and Sparkle is not an exception. They use a set of interrelated information systems. 9. 3. 1 Transaction Processing System (TPS) This system is used to account for day by day transactions of Sparkle. It records all sales, purchases, expenses, income, tax, bills paid, equipment bought and all other transactions performed by organization. This system is also used to account for employee’s attendance, absences, pay, overtime, bonuses, remuneration, and all other things concerning the employees. . 3. 2 Supply Chain System (SCS) This system deals with customers and suppliers. It monitors the stock in the jewelry shops so as to know when to give the shops an offer. It monitors the stocks which are demanded more and those demanded less so as to know when to produce. It tracks frequent and valuable customers and grades them into groups so as know how to give discounts. This system also monitors the stock in the cutting companies. It looks at the new stocks and compares price side by side quality so as to know which supplier to order rough diamonds from. 9. 3. 3 Knowledge Management System (KMS) In Sparkle, all manufacturing processes are recorded and stored in the KMS. Any ideas gotten either by inspiration, customer’s requirement, employees’ suggestions or business intelligence are stored in the KMS for future use. Sparkle is said to be very innovative and has this edge over its rivals because of its mastery of the KMS. When a new employees is recruited, he has 2 weeks probation where he is taught how to operate in the organization and how processes function. Before the implementation and use of the KMS, probation was 3 months so this system has greatly reduces learning time. 9. 3. Management Information System (MIS) This system takes all the information from the above systems and summarizes them into financial statements and reports. It is used by management to make decisions on how to run and control the business. 9. 3. 5 Decision Support System (DSS) This system looks like an advance of the MIS. It takes data from all sources (internal and external) and su mmarizes them for top management to make decisions on the long term plans of the organization. Information from this system appears as statements, reports, charts, graphs, ratios, statistics and trend analysis. . 3. 6 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) This can be called the overall system. It takes information from all sources of the organization and brings them together in one large database. From there, required information is taken out and implemented or used to make decisions in Sparkle. It should be noted that all other systems deposit their information in ERP. Figure 18: Example of ERP. Source: LSBF MBA Intake 14, SOM Lecture 3, Session 9, Slide 34. 9. 6 Intranet and Extranet Sparkle uses intranets to deal with its employees and management. Staffs all have a particular passcode which the use and your code depends on your position within the company. Some passcodes can access some areas which other codes can’t. They also use extranets to communicate and share information with customers, suppliers, some competitors and the government. This system is more secured and less vulnerable to attacks as compared to the internet. 10 Job Design It is said that the blood stream of any organization is money and I will say the skeleton holding an organization and making it stand up straight is its workforce. An organization manages resources so as to be able to deliver acceptable goods and services to its customers and one of these resources is its workforce. An organization’s workforce is its most valuable and the most complicated of all its resources because unlike other resources, humans have a mind of their own. To be able to deal with human beings, you must know what they like and this is different for different people but these needs though different are similar. In providing this, it motivates the employees and when motivated, they produce better output eventually yielding higher profits, quality and flexibility. 0. 1 Motivation Motivation is the urge to take action to achieve something or to avoid something (BPP, 2010). Motivation can either be intrinsic (wanting to satisfy an internal urge like being happy to be able to help others) or extrinsic (reliant on tangible rewards like money, fame and power). Continues in Appendix E. 10. 2 Empowerment This is the act of delegati ng work to employees making them feel more superior because of the added responsibility and new accountability. This is good motivation for many employees. ‘Job design is about how people carry out their tasks within a process. It defines the way they go about their working lives. It positions the expectations of what is required of them, and it influences their perceptions of how they contribute to the organization. It also defines their activities in relation to their work colleagues and it channels the flows of communication between different parts of the operation. But, of most importance, it helps to develop the culture of the organization – its shared values, beliefs and assumptions’ (Slack, 2009). In designing any job, the following have to be put into consideration. * Safety. Jobs should be design in a way that it will bring no harm to the employee be it physical, psychological, mental or emotional harm. Workers in the mines especially those in Africa are exposed to a lot of risk and still earn less than the minimum wage. The mine owners wanting to make more profits cut down on cost by reducing expenditure on employees’ safety. The employees of Sparkle all have safety equipment like hats and new ideas are being implemented to make the process safer. The organization has also fully insured its entire staff. * Legal and Ethical Issues. Jobs should be design in such a manner that those doing the job will not go against the law or their code of ethics. * Own time. Job design should create time for the employees to catch up on something other than work. For example visiting new places, being with their families or performing other social activities. Employees working in the mines have little of this, but Sparkle’s employees all have right to a paid holiday and taking permission to be out of work if the need arises. * Employee’s Ability. An employee’s ability to do the job or a range of task should be considered before designing the job. For example; only heavy built men carry cargo from the trucks into the warehouse because of their physical ability to carry heavy weight unlike their colleagues. * Wage and Benefits: In designing any job, the wage and benefits to be paid for the job should be considered if not the employee can be over-paid or under-paid for the job. 10. 3 Division of Labor Unlike traditional production approaches that stipulated that one person should know everything in the company so that he can serve any function, Henry Ford came in with the idea that one man should only know one thing and should be an expert in that thing. He suggested that with specializing in a particular function, the whole organization will be specialized and will give the best quality goods and services. So jobs should be broken down into smaller portions and given to different individuals who will specialize and bring forth quality cost-effective products. 10. 3. 1 Advantages of Division of Labor (Slack, 2009) * It is easier to learn. Short and simple tasks are easier to learn compared with long and complex tasks. This will be very advantageous when training new recruits because training will take a shorter time and it will be better mastered. Automating. Short and simple task are easily automated as compared to long and complex task. * Time. More time is spent on one long task compare to time if that task was broken down. This extra time is as a result of picking different tools up and putting them down, looking for equipment, thinking of what to do next etc. 10. 3. 2 Disadvantages of Division of Labor (Slack, 2009) * Monotony. The same small task will be repeated every hour, week, month and year. This will make the job boring and less fulfilling thus resulting to absenteeism, staff turnover and errors. Over-reliance. If one employee is absent, no other will be able to perform his duty and this may bring the whole production process to a halt. * No flexibility. Employees let to do one particular thing over the years turn to lose the skill of being able to learn another thing. So if the production process was to change, many employees will not be able to cope with learning how to perform a new task. * Physical Injury. The repetitive use of one part of your body let’s say arm or wrist will in the long run cause pain to that part. This is known as Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). Sparkle teaches their employees a wide range of task during their probation but the employees are assigned to do just one thing when they fully start work. Teaching them a wide range of task is to expose them to the processes of the whole organization so that they can contribute ideas in the development of a department or process which does not involve them. Another reason for giving employees holistic training is to make an employee being able to do an absent employee’s work. This tactic was also implemented because the organization did not want an employee to feel indispensable. 0. 4 Job Design Approaches In coming out with a good job designing, the following approaches should be implemented:- 1. Job Simplification: The organization tries to the range of task and their complexities. Polishing diamond use to be a very complex task at Sparkle but with the introduction of DiamondShines TM a specialized software where diamond polishing is programmed with exact details. 2. Job Ro tation: This is periodically interchanging employees performing different task to do the task of the other. Sparkle does a lot of job rotation and this makes the employees’ job more exciting. Job rotation is successful in this organization because they train their employees to perform a number of task but if division of labor was strictly implemented, this approach could have been impossible because employee A will not have a clue of employees B’s task. 3. Job Enlargement: This involves integrating same level tasks to the ones already performed by the employees to make the job more exciting. This is not practiced in Sparkle. 4. Job Enrichment: This involves integrating different level tasks to the ones performed by the employees. The new tasks are usually higher level tasks giving employees more responsibility and decision making power. Sparkle once a week picks an employee randomly and gives him the power of a supervisory manager so as to see the changes and innovations he is going to bring to the organization. Sparkle also makes employees work in small teams and the organization creates a competitive strain amongst the teams. The competition amongst the teams brings a lot of hard work, efficiency and effectiveness.

Our Hike up Poly Canyon :: Descriptive Essays Observation

Our Hike up Poly Canyon If I had known what lay before me Monday morning on our hike up Poly Canyon, I would not have been so hesitant. After many attempts, my alarm finally woke me up at 6:30 am. As I stumbled into the shower and got ready, I was dreading our impending hike. I struggled to put on my shoes as my feet still ached with blisters from my last ascent of a local mountain. Less than two weeks earlier my WOW group traveled up Bishop’s Peak; an unpleasant adventure I was not eager to repeat. An hour later, still fighting to keep my eyes open, I met my class in the lobby and together we ascended to the gate of Poly Canyon to greet our Professor. By the time we stopped for our first rest, I had experienced a whirlwind of impressions. The cold, bitter air snapped at my skin. The sounds of campus life faded as we made our way to the back side of the mountain. In their place was the chirping of birds, crackling of leaves falling off trees and the bellows of nearby cows. In place of the redbrick dorms and Cerro Vista apartments of campus stood the shabby sheds and arenas of the Campus Farm. We passed dry, fruitless Serpentine rock on our way, and cactus grew opposite a barren river. Soon after passing an ancient oak tree, we discovered a group of deer staring back at us. We stopped to gaze at the assembly on a nearby hill, and once they scurried to the top we continued on our way. The novel sights, sounds and smells we experienced in the first twenty minutes of our adventure elevated my spirits and increased my anticipation for what was to come. After our break, we crossed a narrow bridge, passed through a grove of sweet-smelling trees, and began our ascent up the back side of the mountain. My sentiments quickly shifted back to ones of pain and regret. The wounds on my feet reopened and I was bleeding through my socks. My breath grew shorter and my face became redder from exhaustion. The views were just as disheartening, given that the dense fog hid the beauty of the hills. The only natural features visible were small, sharp rocks which further made my feet ache more, and yucca bushes, slightly more pleasant to the eye, but painful to the touch. Our Hike up Poly Canyon :: Descriptive Essays Observation Our Hike up Poly Canyon If I had known what lay before me Monday morning on our hike up Poly Canyon, I would not have been so hesitant. After many attempts, my alarm finally woke me up at 6:30 am. As I stumbled into the shower and got ready, I was dreading our impending hike. I struggled to put on my shoes as my feet still ached with blisters from my last ascent of a local mountain. Less than two weeks earlier my WOW group traveled up Bishop’s Peak; an unpleasant adventure I was not eager to repeat. An hour later, still fighting to keep my eyes open, I met my class in the lobby and together we ascended to the gate of Poly Canyon to greet our Professor. By the time we stopped for our first rest, I had experienced a whirlwind of impressions. The cold, bitter air snapped at my skin. The sounds of campus life faded as we made our way to the back side of the mountain. In their place was the chirping of birds, crackling of leaves falling off trees and the bellows of nearby cows. In place of the redbrick dorms and Cerro Vista apartments of campus stood the shabby sheds and arenas of the Campus Farm. We passed dry, fruitless Serpentine rock on our way, and cactus grew opposite a barren river. Soon after passing an ancient oak tree, we discovered a group of deer staring back at us. We stopped to gaze at the assembly on a nearby hill, and once they scurried to the top we continued on our way. The novel sights, sounds and smells we experienced in the first twenty minutes of our adventure elevated my spirits and increased my anticipation for what was to come. After our break, we crossed a narrow bridge, passed through a grove of sweet-smelling trees, and began our ascent up the back side of the mountain. My sentiments quickly shifted back to ones of pain and regret. The wounds on my feet reopened and I was bleeding through my socks. My breath grew shorter and my face became redder from exhaustion. The views were just as disheartening, given that the dense fog hid the beauty of the hills. The only natural features visible were small, sharp rocks which further made my feet ache more, and yucca bushes, slightly more pleasant to the eye, but painful to the touch.

Space – Should the costing be spent?

I have chosen to write a report entitled, â€Å"Space – Can the expense be justified?†. I chose this as I had a keen interest in the matter; once we had discussed this as a class. Another reason in which why I have selected this topic is because as the world of media is advancing, this subject has been under debate for many years now, but with no final conclusion. Humans are said to have landed on the moon in 1969, however again through media many accusations have been made against this. This proves media manipulates decisions made; therefore the public should be more aware of the situation. Sources of information For this assignment, my main source of information will be the BBC news archive, due to the fact this is a government based company. Therefore the information will be very much factual and reliable, rather than opinion based data from other sources of media. Further on, I will use the British National Space Centre (BNSC) as this is Britain's main space exploration organisation. Following on, I will be using â€Å"Encarta Encyclopedia† which is a screen-based archive of various facts and figures including extended explanations of various topics. This proves I will be using a vast range of sources which I have selected, however most are screen-based as these are constantly being updated throughout key advancements. Space The universe contains everything – all of space and time and all the matter and energy within it. The universe is unknowably vast, and ever since it formed, it has been expanding, carrying some of its most distant regions forever beyond the naked eye. The universe contains everything from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy cluster and yet it seems they all have the same laws. [1] For many years, space was out of reach for humans on our planet. People thought day and night on how to make space exploration a reality. Everyone at some time in their life asks questions similar to: â€Å"Where does space begin? Where does it end? What is the difference between space and the universe?† Space is built of so little matter that we cannot consider it as empty. However on Earth, there is matter everywhere, in the form of liquid/solid/ and gas. In space there is no night or day, this is due to the fact our atmosphere scatters the sun's rays, ultimately giving the blue colour in our sky. [2] A crucial property of the universe is that it is expanding. [3] It must be growing, because distant galaxies are quickly withdrawing from Earth. Assuming that the universe has always been growing, it once must have had to be smaller and denser; this is the face which strongly supports the Big Bang theory. [4] Benefits of space exploration Space exploration has many benefits for us, which could eventually save mankind from extinction if the time came. The following examples are a handful of positive effects if we did invest more into space exploration. Population increase/Colonization Since history has been written, our population has grown rapidly with 6.5 billion people today. It is said that the world's population has quadrupled in the last one hundred years. If the population carries on dramatically increasing we will have many problems including housing issues, for the number of people. By the year 2050, from predictions, it shows that there will be eventually ten billion people living on Earth, this is a growth around 75 million people per year. [5] The graph on the left shows the predicted population grown for the next 50 years, as well as the â€Å"population boom† which has occurred earlier. The key shows different areas of the world and the population increase there. Asia seems to be increasing the most; this clearly is a developing region of the world. On the other hand a developed region such as Northern America seems to have a steady increase. For this issue to be rectified, space exploration can be extremely helpful. If we can locate a suitable area beyond the Earth then we can â€Å"Colonize†. We have determined that many materials can be available in space, however human space flight advancements and engineering is vital for this to occur. The moon seems to be a viable location for us to â€Å"Colonize†, due to the fact, it is extremely close to us compared to other planets therefore easy to transport goods and supplies. The only issue is that there seems to be low amounts of Hydrogen and Carbon. The low gravity is also a major concern. Lack of resources As above, if the population carries on increasing as predicted, Earth's resources will eventually start to run out. This will have a dramatic effect on the habitants on Earth, as many necessities we take for granted will be depleted. These items include: * Clean water * Natural resources such as Fossil fuels Experts say that seas will become emptied of fish while forests – which absorb Carbon Dioxide emissions – are completely destroyed and fresh water supplies become scarce and polluted. For example since 1970 forests have been reduced by twelve percent. This proves that if space exploration improves and is funded, we can get numerous materials from out of space. For example, on the Moon there seems to be a great deal of silicon and metals such as iron, aluminium and titanium. [6] Counter-benefits of space exploration On the other hand of this debate, there are many disadvantages against investing in space exploration. This topic has been under debate for many years now, many people feel that the money is better spent elsewhere, ultimately spent on this planet prior to exploring others. NHS and Healthcare The amount of money spent on space exploration may have better uses, as the NHS are currently in debt, this should be rectified. Spending for example à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½150m on a certain probe could instead cut the NHS's debt by a fifth. Also, there are many people who are fighting disease, however some which aren't currently curable, as the research hasn't been paid for; there is always scientist's salaries to fund. Helping cure disease ultimately seems imperative. Space exploration can't bring people's health therefore as healthcare is vital, exploration should be halted until many basic lives saving problems are treated for. The diagram on the right shows how much per year the NHS is spending, this is also projected for up till 2008.[7] They seem to be spending currently around 90 million per year. This proves to me that developing a space instrument which tends to cost 100 million plus is not needed, as this can be fund the NHS for the year (the entire nation's treatment). Human space flight Unlike robotic space exploration, human space flight costs much more however with little benefit and outcome. Additionally, sending a robotic device to space can increase the scientific knowledge attained. Robots are clearly more efficient than humans, the speed and technology is much faster. The majority of astronauts sent to space also unfortunately pass away due to the tasks being extremely difficult regardless of how much training they have completed. Conclusion After completing this report, I have clearly shown the benefits and counter-benefits of space exploration, and wherever it should be funded. I believe my main benefit is how we can search for resources elsewhere, therefore not having to worry greatly on the amount we are using, (within reason). We evidently have two sides of the debate, which can become extremely ethical; â€Å"For, or against, science†. However this would be political of me to discuss. I have used evidence from both sides of the argument, the scientific aspect as well as the ethical reasons, which have been shown mainly within the health care section. It is also debateable that why isn't the UK investing in human space flight, even though the UK holds the world's fourth largest economy however they have no presence in manned space flight, or any interest in such activities. On the other hand they have invested largely into unmanned space flight, which have been a helping hand to improve the quality of life. From this report, evidence shows that the positives unmistakably outweigh the negatives for the title â€Å"Space – Can the expense be justified?†. Personally I am supporting space exploration due to the fact I am intrigued into the question many people ask, â€Å"What is out there?† I also believe with the advancements of the modern world, during my life time I will be able to maybe benefit from space exploration in one way or another.

4-Mat Review System: Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity

4-MAT Review System: Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity Keyanna Hawkins Liberty University A 4-MAT Review System: Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity Summary In the book Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity, David N. Entwistle explores the relationship between theology and psychology. Throughout time, intellectuals have supported or dismissed the idea of integrating both perspectives. In his book, Entwistle states that during the past century, the relationship of faith and science has been a topic of intense debate (Entwistle, 2010, p8).He references to Athens and Jerusalem to help the reader to grasp the theme of the book. Athens represents knowledge through human reason and Jerusalem represents faith. The idea of secular thinking and Christian thinking by Harry Blamers are also examined (Entwistle, 2010). The text defines secular thinking as restricted limits within earth; however Christian thinking is an eternal perspective. En twistle states that â€Å"all truth is God’s truth† and no matter how the truth is discovered the author is God (Entwistle, 2010, pp13). Entwistle noted that it is important to understand the history of Christianity and science.Galileo made great scientific discoveries, however he was heavily criticized for his findings. The Roman Catholic Church had a hard time understanding scientific method. Overall the Roman Catholic Church deserted the fact Christianity had a part in the development of scientific understanding. Our worldview or life perspective affects how we understand and relate to our experiences and the world (Entwistle, pp56). The experience that a person has impacts their life and the way that perceive truth. Entwistle also discusses questions that where posed by Walsh and Middleton these include, what does mean to be human? What is the nature of the world? , What’s wrong with world, why do things go wrong? and how what can is wrong with my life, be f ixed? These questions answer life’s most fundamental questions. Every worldview frames how one understands the world and how one acts in the world (Entwistle, pp61). The author also addresses four themes to help the reader gain an understanding of the Christian world view which include creation, fall, redemption and consummation. Creation addresses the understanding of who humans are and how it relates to the world that we live in.The fall deals rebellion against God in the garden. Redemption speaks about the forgiveness of our sins that came through the savior of Jesus Christ. Finally Consummation pulls all three previous topics together and is the start of the integration at its core. The pursuit of truth: Epistemology provides understanding for the reader to gain insight to the way that humans process and react to truth. Epistemology is the pursuit of intellectual virtue. It wants to provide an evidentiary basis for belief, rather than one of just opinion. Entwistle then b rings up another important topic which is Metaphysics.Metaphysics can be defined as the philosophical investigation of the nature, constitution and stature of reality. Philosophical anthropology attempts to validate assumptions made by theologians and psychologists about human nature and behavior (Entwistle, pp119). The author provides five models for relating to psychology and theology. These models seek to provide the reader with a clear understanding of the various perspectives about book of God’s word, which reveals the will of God and the book of God’s works which is his expressed power that was first described by Francis Bacon (Entwistle, pp136).The first model is enemies, which is a commitment to a worldview that disregards either religious belief or the insight of human reason. Secondly he speaks, about spies within this model pragmatic desire to use any means help a person’s wellbeing and also those apart of this model have very little connection to any religious views. The next model is the colonialists whose main allegiance is to a religious system. The neutral parties have gained knowledge from various perspectives. Lastly the allies model states that people find their purpose when they see there selves in right relationship to God.As Entwistle concludes his work he helps the reader find the road to integration. He also states in order to integrate psychology and Christianity it is necessary to define the contours of psychology and the contours of Christian orthodoxy (Entwistle, pp136). Finally the reader is given insight to the road ahead as it relates to psychology and Christianity. Concrete Response During the reading of this book a story that kept playing in my head was being back in my grandmother’s church in Louisiana.I can remember being in church and the pastor would often preach that as Christians we should never add or take away anything from the word of God. He would often state that when we do that, we are si nning against God. I remember being in church for what felt like was all day. I would fall asleep and mother or grandmother would pinch me so that I would wake up. The pain was so extreme and I often would think that God was mad at me because I was falling asleep in church. Another memory that comes to mind is whenever the members of my grandmother’s church did not understand something it would often be deemed as the devil.For example when I was reading the story of what happened to Galileo, could see the members at my grandmother’s church condemning him, because they did not understand the theories that he discovered. My mother told me when she became pregnant with me at age 18; the leaders at church asked her to sit the back of the church because of her sin. Growing as a child I thought we say in the back because the was my mother favorite sit in church. I am so blessed that my mother moved away from Louisianan and we longer attended my grandmother’s church.If I would have still attended my grandmother’s church it would have impacted my worldview negatively. This memory helped me to gain a better understanding about the impact that our worldview has on life and the ways in we relate to God. Reflection While reading Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity, many questions arose for this author. I understand that the book was written to help professionals use the Christian faith and psychology while at the same to help their clients overcome the barriers they face in life. However whether iris okay to add faith into the counseling session in the secular worldview?A question I have for the author is how to help counseling professionals know how, and when to integrate with clients. What I enjoyed most about the book is the way Entwistle takes his reader on a journey to discover their feelings and thoughts about integration. While reading this book I was encouraged to think outside of my perspectives. Most importantly I le arned that we must allow ourselves the room to grow and change as we receive new knowledge. A strength that the book has was the ability to challenge me personally. Many times while reading the book I found myself questioning many of my thought patterns and beliefs.I would like to know if there will ever be a common agreement between psychologists and topologists. Action As result of reading this book I am going to implement the Allies model to my career. I would like to help my clients see themselves in proper relationship to God. I will use the model to integrate psychology and theology to gain a more holistic view of my clients. I am also going to keep in mind that a person’s worldview affects how he or she receives and processes truth. Therefore while working with my clients I am going to make an effort to understand their worldview so that I can help them to overcome their trials.Overall as result of reading this book I would like to be an example of love and grace to my clients. When working with other professionals I am going help them to develop and understand why seeing the clients a holistic perspective is important. I will also stress to my colleagues that when we fail to see our clients from a holistic point of view, we miss out on an opportunity to provide them with tools for success. Reference Entwistle, D. (2010). Integrative approaches to psychology and Christianity: An introduction to worldview issues, philosophical foundations and models of integration. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.