Analysis Of Pat Solitano ( Bradley Cooper ) - 1501 Words

After eight months in a mental health facility, Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) is released back home with his parents. Pat realizes that he must have a new outlook on life to reconcile and be back together with his wife Nikki. He attempts to see the good (the silver linings) in all that he experiences. At dinner with his friends, Pat meets Veronica s sister Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). It’s evident that sparks fly between Pat and Tiffany and she tries to connect with him but Pat’s only focus is getting back together with Nikki. Tiffany tries to get closer to Pat and even offers to deliver a letter to Nikki, but only if he will be her dance partner in an upcoming dance competition. He agrees to this as he believes the competition will be a good way to show Nikki that he has changed. The two begin a rigorous practice regimen over the following weeks. Pat starts to become uninterested in continuing with the dance competition, which makes Tiffany upset as she was looking for ward to it. In order for Pat to dance in the competition, Tiffany and Pat’s parents lie and tell him that Nikki will be there. Soon after, Pat notices that the letters from â€Å"Nikki† were actually written by Tiffany, making him angry and confused as he was doing this all for her. A few days after, at the competition, to everyone’s surprise, Nikki did in fact attend the dance competition and Pat is excited to see her. Tiffany is upset that Nikki is there and is not sure if she wants to preform but Pat dragsShow MoreRelatedBipolar Disorder, Signs, Symptoms And Therapies Essay2855 Words   |  12 Pages Abstract This paper is a complete critical film analysis about one of the psychological disorders depicted in the film, Silver Linings Playbook. Although there are three important characters portraying three different psychological disorders, the focus will be on the main character (Pat Salitano Jr.) played by Bradley Cooper. Cooper’s character is diagnosed with the psychological disorder known as bipolar disorder. Thus, throughout the analysis there will be a discussion and breakdown of this disorder

An Article About Child Pageants - 913 Words

A Wiehe Analysis In the Lexington Herald-Leader Vernon R. Wiehe wrote an article about child pageants. He is a reliable source when it comes to the subject of child psychology because he is a professor from the College of Social Works University in Kentucky. In this article the author argues that child pageants are not age appropriate, and would harm the child’s wellbeing. Wiehe gives many reason as to why these pageants are wrong by refuting common arguments that people would give to justify the pageants. When addressing the topic of beauty pageants, he starts by describing the TV show Toddlers and Tiaras. He gives the websites description then gives his own description of the show for instance he quotes from toddlers and tiaras website â€Å"On any given weekend, on stages across the country little and boys parade around wearing makeup, false eyelashes†¦ this paints the show in a more positive light however Wiehe describes the show as a â€Å"feeble attempt at Las Vegas glamour and glitz† (Wiehe). By doing this he is comparing and contracting his ideas of child pageants and the way the show describes how these pageants are run. He exposes the pageants in a negative light so that it can connect with his points creating a better flow in the article, and making it more comprehendible. Wiehe appeals to parents by playing on some parents worst fears, for instances he mentions that children get sexualized because they are wearing clothes that are not age appropriate, and thatShow MoreRelatedBeauty Pageants Has A Negative Impact On Female Adolescents1400 Words   |  6 Pageswas competing in a beauty pageant, she was wearing a crop top with a short skirt doing a Miley Cyrus performance. The judges were amazed by her performance even though it was provocative. In the pageant world that is known as the ideal dance for a glitz beauty pageant. A beauty pageant is a competition against girls ages from two to eighteen, doing activities such as walking across the stage showing off their beauty. In higher competitions such as The Miss America Pageants, and Miss Universe they areRead MoreBeauty Pageants Are Impacting Our Children1575 Words   |  7 Pagesbecause they are learning to act like adults. Most of the time this is forceful and mainly done for the parents affection. People are then arguing about whether beauty pageants are negatively affecting our children. Some people claim that beauty pageants do not negatively affect our children but boosts their self esteem and confidence. However, beauty pageants definitely affect a child’s development negatively since it does in fact make children think that physical beauty is all that matters, takes awayRead MoreChild Beauty Peageants Essay1311 Words   |  6 Pages1.1 Background of Issue In this 21st century, it is not odd to see beauty pageant competitions all around the world. Atlantic City was the first to introduce beauty pageant in the 1920s. The world of pageantry was introduced when the business owner need a source of attraction for tourists after Labor Day. This business started with swimming suit competition and later added as the years passed by. In the 1950s, pageantry became famous when it was aired on television. However, in the 1970s, this competitionRead MoreAre Child Beauty Pageants Too Much?1479 Words   |  6 PagesAre Child Beauty Pageants Too Much? Pageants with beautiful little girls that look as if they could be in their twenties can catch the eye of anyone. Dating back to the 1960’s when beauty pageants first started out, young girls have been participating in them, showing off their looks and talents to the world. Ever since the beginning, pageants have been very popular and the popularity is always growing. Most people watch the movies and tv shows about it and even attend these pageants and do not seeRead MoreAnalysis Of Skip Hollandsworth s Toddlers 856 Words   |  4 PagesThe article â€Å"Toddlers in Tiaras† by Skip Hollandsworth discusses the beauty pageant industry and its harmful effects in the young girls who participate. He gives many examples of beauty pageant contestants. He describes their appearances and attitudes which seem to match those of adult women. Specifically, he refers to 6-year-old Eden Wood who is commonly known from the reality television show Toddlers Tiaras. The author describe s how Eden’s personal stylist does her hair, makeup, and touches upRead MoreAre Child Beauty Pageants Exploitative?1236 Words   |  5 PagesAre Child Beauty Pageants Exploitive: The world of tiaras and crowns is a world worth looking into. Sporting events are just like beauty pageants in terms that they â€Å"encourage competition and emphasize winning†. But looking deeper, however, in world of child beauty pageants, make-up, hair, and dresses matter more. â€Å"Looks are the only thing that matters.† Thus, Children are getting early lessons on â€Å"selling themselves† (The High Cost of Beauty). Often child beauty pageants consist of talent, personalityRead MoreEssay on The Advantages and Disadvantages of Child Beauty Pageants1345 Words   |  6 PagesDisadvantages of Child Beauty Pageants In today’s world, there are quite a few things that bother us Americans. One controversial topic at-hand would be child beauty pageants. The article, â€Å"Playing at Sexy† written by Peggy Orenstein, goes into detail of the negative effects of showcasing one’s child in a pageant. Hilary Levey takes a different approach to child beauty pageants. She finds them to be just as helpful as children who take after school lessons in her scholarly article, â€Å"Pageant PrincessesRead MoreImportance Of Beauty Pageants1487 Words   |  6 PagesAre Beauty Pageants Necessary in Society? Have any of you girls ever been interested in participating in a beauty pageant? For those who don’t, you probably asked yourself â€Å"What is the point of these events?† I chose this topic because I use to watch the show â€Å"Toddlers and Tiara’s† and I was really intrigued by how much money parents would spend for their children to look like Barbie dolls. Everything I learned about pageants was from this TLC show. I remember seeing how they would spend money onRead MorePositives And Positives Of Beauty Pageants Essay1489 Words   |  6 Pagesinclude beauty pageants. But do you think they would still allow their kids to compete in them if they knew that there was a possibility of long lasting negative effects on them. These children are being taught to idolize physical beauty and they have become obsessed with their appearance; which can harm a child’s views of body image and self -worth. Through these pageants, you are teaching and showing th em that they must be perfect to succeed. However, there are positives to beauty pageants, some contestantsRead MoreBeauty Pageants: Why They Are Good for Children1156 Words   |  5 PagesBeauty Pageants: Why they are good for children Beauty Pageants have a positive impact on children because they will boost children’s self-esteem up. Ms Ng Siau Hwei, a senior psychologist from departments of pediatrics at National University Hospital in Singapore says, â€Å"Getting involved with dressing and make-up may be a novel experience for kids and showing their talents in front of a crowd can boost their confidence† (Yap 1). By children being able to express their talents in front of a group

In the Future Schoolteachers Will Be Replaced by Computers Free Essays

With the present wide use of computers, in the course of teaching, more and more teachers are in favour of using computers as an aid in teaching their students or in appropriating the latest information from the Internet. However, I am not a believer in the argument that computers may in the future take the place of teachers in teaching students. Firstly, the creators of any education program and software need to be teachers or workers in the education system, or programmers who had previously worked in education. We will write a custom essay sample on In the Future Schoolteachers Will Be Replaced by Computers or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore, although students may learn knowledge by computer, the skills and ideas ultimately emanate from the teaching staff. Secondly, while the computer may offer a correct answer or explanation to students, the comprehension capability of every student varies from student to student, making it is impossible for the computer to offer an explanation catered to a student’s particular level of understanding. However, the teacher is able to undertake this task, as he or she possesses expertise in teaching. For example, when a teacher discovers that many students cannot understand professional knowledge, he or she may offer explanatory examples. The computer, however, may only analyze a question in terms of a simple right or wrong response. Finally, the teachers are invariably responsible for carrying a dual role. Most teachers act as not only an educator, but also a kind of father or mother-figure in taking care of students in school. The teacher is able to assist parents in solving a child’s mental problems other than imparting daily knowledge. The computer, which is purely an algorithmic electronic device, cannot hope to assist in this regard. In summary, the computer may not play a major role in education in comparison to the benefits of a teacher bestows. However, it is critical that teachers improve their old teaching modes by using computers at some level of educational teaching. How to cite In the Future Schoolteachers Will Be Replaced by Computers, Papers

Internship as Front Desk Operator-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Explain the learning experiences that you gained during your Internship. Answer: Introduction Front office is the area at which the visitors arrive and come across a staff at the area of business. The staffs at the front office have to deal with the questions of the visitor and they are put into contact with an important person coming from the company. Speaking in a broad manner, the role of front office is inclusive of different roles which has a great impact on the revenue of business. Front office is different from that of the back office because a back office mainly deals with the operations and payroll of the company (KneÃ… ¾evi? et al., 2015). The front office is the department that gets information regarding the customers. It then passes on the information to the other relevant department in the company. Front office also contacts the marketing department if the customers have any question. Internships help in making the candidates more competitive within the job market. It helps one to gain exposure in ones field and provides one with the opportunity to find out wheth er this career is the right one. The theoretical knowledge is provided to a person during the course and the practical aspects are taught to a person with the help of internships. They prepare the candidates for the job and help the person to adjust to the professional world. People are prepared for the real world with the help of this kind of training (Lesser et al., 2015). It also helps the students to mentally prepare themselves for the job. Learning Experience Communication Skills A front desk receptionist serves as the face of her organization. A person working in the front office should serve both as an excellent communicator along with that of the strong administrator. I learnt how to greet the visitors and the code of conduct that should be followed. I have learnt how to welcome the visitors and provide refreshments to the newly arriving guests. I learnt the way customers should be provided with relevant information so that they do not panic and are relieved (Liechti et al., 2016). Pacifying the customers and knowing how to keep them calm is an important part of the job role of a front desk officer. I learnt how to provide friendly service to the clients that is in accordance with the vision of customer satisfaction. I learnt how to respond courteously with the request of guests and in helping the General Manager to maintain a booking service that is smooth. I learnt how to answer the incoming calls of the different people who were asking for information. Knowing the tone of voice and learning the way things should be communicated is an important part of this position and I learnt these essential skills. My course had taught me about the skills but I learnt about the practical aspects with the help of this internship. Art of Co-ordination Handling the telephone system is an important part of this job role and I learnt the nuances of telephone system. I learnt how to screen calls and learnt how they can be routed to the proper recipients. I learnt how to take and relay the messages. Learning how to distribute incoming along with outgoing mails is an important part of this task and I learnt this thing well with the help of my internship. I learnt how mails should be sorted in the order of their importance. Identifying and keeping the mails that are important is an important part of this profession and I learnt how to accomplish this task. I learnt how to distribute the mails on the basis of the prescription of my manager. I learnt when to deliver the mail to the right recipient and how to place parcels in the right interoffice mail slot. I learnt how to attend to the need of guests and ensuring a customer experience that is of supreme quality. I learnt how to build good rapport with my guests and how to stay calm in the middle of an emergency. I learnt how to deal with the clients so that they can have a comfortable stay. I learnt how to instruct the staffs working at the lower level so that they keep the reception area clean (Zampoukos Ioannides, 2014). Administrative Duties I learnt a large number of clerical tasks by pursuing this internship course. I learnt how to draft correspondence and how to prepare the financial spreadsheets with a lot of efficiency. I learnt how to make perfect presentations. I also learnt how to manage the calendar of the senior members of the team and how to organize and arrange business travel. I learnt how to order the office supplies and the file documents. I learnt how to make photocopies and perform bookkeeping tasks. Document Processing Document Processing refers to the transformation of text that is hand-written on paper along with that of electronic document into that of electronic information. I learnt the art intelligent character recognition with the help of my internship. Documents help in the communication of information. I learnt how to co-ordinate the business transaction with the help of document processing. I learnt how to make profile of the guests. In modern times, terrorism is on the rise and keeping a record of the guests is extremely essential for the safety of the hotel. I learnt that the identity cards of the guests should be checked thoroughly and a copy of a photo-identity card should be kept with the workers of the hotel so that any problem does not arise later on (Martinez et al., 2014). I learnt how crucial this thing is for the safety for the organization along with that of the guests. It is a mandatory job responsibility of the front desk operation and should be practiced with a lot of since rity. Training a new trainee After the completion of two months in the hotel, I was offered the opportunity to train a new trainee. Teaching someone who is new to the industry helped me in filling the gaps in my knowledge. I learnt how co-operation proves to be crucial for a profession and how important it is to communicate things effectively for the successful carrying out a job responsibility. I taught him the general office duties in relation to correspondence and e-mail. I taught him how to make the bookings of the room and how to note everything down so that any problem does not arise later on. They should be recorded in the electronic format so that an evidence can be kept in case of any later discrepancy. I taught him that the cancellations have to be processed in an efficient manner. I taught him that the prices of the room should be kept up to date and to remember the special offers so that he will be able to communicate about it over the phone. Outcome I learnt about the different components that are necessary for maintaining a professional image-patience, hard work and application of smart skills. I came to know about the personal behaviours that prevented in the projection of a good professional image. I learnt that telephone communication should be handled with a lot of clarity and courtesy should be revealed in the course of my professional dealings. I learnt the intricacies of verbal communication and how to maintain perfect communicational decorum in the professional realm (Grobelna Marciszewska, 2016). I learnt that body language was important for ones profession and maintaining a good body language is crucial for the carrying out of ones duty perfectly. The listening skills also have to be improved so that it does not lead to any problem later on. The outward signs has to be examined that would lead to great help in creating a professional image that would add to the credibility of their organization. Mannerism and appearance can play a large role in enhancing or destroying the credibility in relation to an organization. Physical appearance in relation to the environment can help to a large extent in creating a positive first impression in relation to an organization. Projecting professionalism over phone is also essential and the employees should be able to create a positive image over telephone. Greetings should be warm and welcoming for the clients (Mansour Tremblay, 2016). I learnt how to devise strategies so that the callers can be put on hold in a polite manner. The alternatives should be learnt that would help in keeping the customers on hold. I learnt how to take the messages quickly and transferring of the calls with a lot of ease. I also learnt how to end the call without seeming to be rude. I learnt the way calls can be transferred with a lot of ease. I learnt how communication skills should be developed and about different communication techniques. Posture and hand gesture reveal important aspects of ones personality and the body signals can reveal important facts about the character of a person and in the same line about the reputation of the organization. I learnt how to deal with the problematic customers and the amount of patience that will be required for dealing with them (Boella, 2017). Self-control is essential at this stage and the safe way of handling this kind of visitor has to be learnt for carrying out the ones job perfectly. There are some who with their harsh and rude behaviour pose a threat for the reputation of the company and they should be dealt with in the right manner for the growth of the organization. Challenges Initially, I found it extremely difficult to follow the new pattern as the environment was completely new and I had to learn about their method of work. The duty managers and colleagues each had their different method of working which made it difficult for me to learn at the initial stage. I was confused regarding which instruction is to be followed and which one would benefit me in the long run. Everyone had opinion regarding how work is to be done and that their method was the best (Nuromahidah, Noer Rusmana, 2016). Since I had just joined as an intern, I had to some of the workers tried to take advantage of this and provided me with dull, repetitive work. Keeping in mind my career goal, helped me to rise over the hurdles and I learnt that one should always stay focussed in order to prosper in life. At the outset, I felt shy and embarrassed to ask questions to my superiors and the management that made things a bit difficult for me. I felt hesitant to clear my doubts which sometimes increased the difficulty for me. The uncertainties not being cleared led to problems with my superiors later on (Swanberg, Watson Eastman, 2014). Supervisors instructed me regarding the maintenance of documents and document processing but I did not clearly comprehend the directions that created trouble later on. They have a tendency to forget that I am new in this domain and that sometimes it is difficult for me to see the big picture. I wanted to clear the doubts but sometimes the supervisors are not available and e-mail is convenient for using but it does not always help in eliminating doubts (Willie et al., 2017). I was hesitant to call up my supervisor in the initial stage and that gave rise to complications. Communication gap hence proved to be a major hindrance during my initial stage. I had to work within a group structure and all the interns had to work in the collaborative manner. We had to team up on projects and some of the new interns wanted to engage themselves in competition with their peers. This made it difficult for me as they wanted to gain an edge over me in the eyes of my superiors (Khiat Montargot, 2017). Some of the other interns were lazy and did not want to work and we had to do their share of work at times that made it extremely difficult for me. I was trying to accommodate myself in the new environment and on top of this, I had to face stiff competition from that of the other interns. The staff in the hotel was short as a new building was being built and cutting of staff was underway. The staff was less in number and as a result the interns had to multi-task. Many works like handling calls from guests, document processing and preparing financial spread sheets within a very short duration of time that made it immensely difficult for me to handle everything together (Jayawardena et al., 2013). While making the reservations in the online made there are some areas that had to be filled but some of the colleagues had ignored things and had asked me not to bother about those things. They told me that filling all the details was not necessary so I went ahead with their idea (Knilans, 2014). Later on, when the operations manager came along and I showed him the documents and financial sheets, he was furious. He rebuked me for dereliction of duty and told me to go about my job in the proper manner. This kind of miscommunication occurred and I had to bear the brunt on account of the advice of my superiors (Andrews, 2013). Educational and Professional support My university coordinator supported me all throughout the internship program. He was always there for me, whenever I needed any kind of help and answered to my work related questions. An intern should have a designated supervisor, whose core responsibility is to provide with full support as well as supervision. Even, my guide was so supportive; he was always available and helped me on a regular basis. At times, when I was sent to different departments to gain more experiences, my supervisor was there for me. He possessed great leadership qualities, patience and strong communication skills. On starting the internship, I was provided with full training programs. Training sessions are important just as supervision. Training programs were established, which helped me gain a clear idea of the whole internship program. It included the information of the duties and responsibilities of the interns. Orientation programs were conducted, which was also beneficial for me. It helped in establishing the objectives and goals as well as clarifying the mission and vision of the organization. Some interns require more help and guidance from the supervisors (Gerken et al., 2012). However, I was completely new to the organization and required full support. I got all kinds of professional help from my supervisor. Interns always appreciate any kind of opportunity, in order to increase the knowledge or learn new skills or gain experience. In my opinion, developing new and innovative plans for training purposes, all throughout the internship project will help in keeping the students interested and engaged in their position. It will also make them capable for handling new kind of challenges (Tocco et al., 2013). Hence, the internship program helped in developing my skills. There was a need for making reservations and cancellation, handling calls, creating and replying to general emails and more. My supervisor helped me with all these, handling office equipments and more. Without his help it wouldnt have been possible for me to complete my internship program successfully. Even bright students, who have great potential, struggle in this phase, if they are not being supervised well by their supervisors (Southgate, Reynolds Howley, 2013). I am lucky enough to get such professional support and help f rom my supervisors. Moreover, while interning with the company, I was given the opportunity to participate in all kinds of meetings and activities. This helped me in gaining leadership skills and qualities. In addition to this, I was also able to understand clearly the organizational culture and policies (Johnson Kaslow, 2014). My supervisor was always there to educate me. Initially, I was a bit scared as I did not know when and where to speak as well as how to ask questions. However, my supervisor assisted me in this completely. He always encouraged and motivated me to speak and ask questions. He explained and clarified each and everything. He suggested me to ask questions in appropriate times. It helped me in gaining useful insights and clarified my doubts. At times, I was offered with the opportunities of attending the networking events as well as professional conferences. It helped me understand the overall mission and vision of the organization. At the same time, it made me feel special and understand my value for the organization. Valuable experiences are not only about effective supervision, it also includes the mentoring component. Most of the interns seek internships for developing the career goals (Parveen Mirza, 2012). Same was my case and without mentors guide, it wouldnt have been possible. I was always allowed and encouraged as well, to participate in all kinds of events, like staff meetings, work related events and client consultations. However, these jobs were not directly linked to the specific job duties of the intern. It benefitted me on a broad scale and helped me gain an overview of the organization or business. I got all kinds of support from my university coordinator and professional guide. However, I was a bit disappointed with my universitys department of the internship provider. This is because, I was unable to intern at the company where I was supposed to do. This happened due to the last minute cancellation, which left me no choice and I had to work extra hours in order to complete the program on time. Improvements and suggestions regarding the internship The internship experience is regarded as one of the most integral part of laying a successful career. According to my experience, the professional world is different from the university life. It is very necessary to have a clear idea of the differences. However, because of the cancellations made, my internship got delayed and started late. The length of the internship was not too much, although, I managed to gain much experience from the internship. There are still some improvements and suggestions which the organization can make. The internships are the valuable experience, which a student can have. However, there are several ways the whole process can be improved and made better for the organization as well as the intern (Matthew, Taylor Ellis, 2012). There are some interns who have the mindset of getting into a specific practice and think that they know enough about that subject. It is the duty of the supervisors to be open to the interns and train them in each and every field. My supervisor was supportive and told me to learn every single thing. However, due to less span of time, the experiences which I gained were limited. I got trained in each and every field, but not with much detail. In my opinion, if the length was a bit more, I could have learnt more things related to my field. A good experience is one of the most priceless assets for the future career (Lee Chao, 2013). There are certain improvements which the organization can make in their internship procedure. In my opinion, they can extend their internship tenure and be selective in the interview process. This is from the experience I gained while I was training a new trainee. The internship program is an investment for the companys talent of next generation. One needs to be very selective during the interview procedure. This stage must be viewed as an investment to the business (Kim, Kim Bzullak, 2012). Moreover, a communication plan must be conducted among the interns, which go beyond the daily tasks. The interns who are new to the city must be provided with housing allowance and proper insights regarding the company, including tips of transportation, advices regarding city navigation, weekend events and more. This will make them feel special and valued (Scicluna et al., 2014). Moreover, the company should extend their internships time period, which would benefit them on a long run. In addition to this, the interns must be offered with remote and flexible work arrangement, which should be a part of internship programs. They must be provided with right and clear expectations, the technology for accomplishing the tasks as well as the framework in order to succeed (Chinomona Surujlal, 2012). The organization must work with the managers for establishing a consistent communication checkpoint and processes among the interns. All the interns are accountable for the results. Encouraging and motivating the interns are the major tasks an organization should perform (Hon, Chan Lu, 2013). However, I was completely encouraged by my supervisor, in this whole internship project, thus I have no issues regarding this. In addition to this, the interns should be encouraged to refer their classmates and friend. It is to be kept in mind that future candidates are more likely to trust the reviews and experiences of their friends. Therefore, the companies should create such referral programs which will further help in encouraging the interns and refer to their friends. It is better to avoid handing off the interns to the hiring managers, in the beginning of the internship. Regular check-ins must be scheduled during the duration. Many companies still lack this facility for the interns. However, this must be taken care as it provides the interns with complete guidance as they are expected to succeed in their current roles as well as future endeavors (Pereira-Moliner et al., 2012). My overall internship experience was good, but there are still some segments where the organization can improve their performance. Moreover, the organization can conduct exit interviews and make it as a part of their internship program. This will further help the organization to gain feedback from the interns. It will benefit the organization in gaining the interns experience with the company. This feedback gathering process helps the organization to gain an idea of the interns expectations from the company, which will benefit them in future. In addition to this, it also helps in getting a clear idea whether the intern is interested in working with the company in the future or not. Suggestions for the organization The Comfort Inn Bel Eyre offers its customers with a wide variety of accommodations, which are affordable and designed for meeting most of the consumer requirements. Most of the rooms are located at the ground floor with parking facilities. It also provides each and every customer with a feeling of privacy and space. However, the hotel needs to improve its services for attracting more and more customers. The company should look out for innovative and new methods for hiring, training and developing their workers as well as interns. The company has gained much appreciation from their customers and media acclamation. In addition to this, it can implement further strategies as well as policies for their improvement (Raub Robert, 2013). The employees must receive at least fifteen minutes training everyday for checking their efficiency and effectiveness. During their training sessions, each employee must be specified with a common goal for the improvement of the organization. In addition to this, a categorical developmental program must be introduced amongst the workers, who are eligible for moving into the upcoming stages. Customers should be provided with feedback forms, which will help the organization to know their merits and demerits. In order to reach a wider section of the market, the company can also introduce and implement new strategies as well as services for different segments of the society (Kapiki, 2012). Moreover, the company needs to change its old equipments and renovate their rooms as most of the rooms are old with less equipments and commodities. Customers love surprises; hence, the hotel industry can implement new ideas and strategies for surprising their customers. Proper equipments must be available at all the hotel rooms, to meet the customers desires and demands. Trainings must be given to the staff members in accordance with that. However, employee satisfaction is also a major factor in running a hotel business. They must have a perfect and balanced work life as well personal life. The workers must be paid extra if they serve the organization for extra hours, with proper home drop services (Kang et al., 2012). Furthermore, in this era of digital marketing, promotional activities have become easier. The company should make full use of it and market their services. However, the company still has no social media presence. Therefore, the company should have a page on every social networking site and promote their events. It would benefit the company on the long run. By posting their updated events, they will gain brand recognition in the international market and more target customers. Many people will become aware of the hotel industry, which will prove advantageous for them. The industry should also focus on their business conduct, employee policies, supply chain practices, manpower planning and environmental programs as well as practices (Raub Robert, 2013). Furthermore, the hotel services must also be taken care. It has prepared its extension plans in the future. New hotels are being built, therefore, the food is served in the bar section. As a result, most of the families do not prefer to dine in. This must be taken care in the future. Additionally, vocational training as well as education must be given to the employees and staff members. Staff meetings must be conducted on a regular basis for communicating the existing issues and problems. However, the industry should also make commitments regarding the human rights and social responsibility factors. It must focus on global issues such as, community workforce development, global diversity as well as its inclusion, childrens well being, environmental development and lastly, poverty alleviation (Pereira-Moliner et al., 2012). Conclusion To conclude, this internship program has helped me gain a variety of experiences. I am really grateful to my university coordinator and professional guide, for providing me with all kinds of help throughout the program. The internship helped me to explore my career field, hence, developing my communication as well as leadership skills. In my opinion, it is an experience which enhances the students career, academic as well as personal development. I have learnt different skills and gained experiences. Moreover, I have also gained confidence in my abilities, learnt coordination among team members and also the industry knowledge in which I am going to work in future. There were several challenges, which I managed to overcome and accomplish the given tasks. In addition to this, I got to meet new people, which in turn, established a strong network of many professional contacts, references and mentors. The overall experience was great and I would recommend my friends to take part in this w onderful journey References: Andrews, S. (2013).Hotel front office: A training manual. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Boella, M. J. (2017).Human resource management in the hotel and catering industry. Taylor Francis. Chinomona, R., Surujlal, J. (2012). The influence of student internship work experience on their self-improvement and professionalism in Sport Management: sport management.African Journal for Physical Health Education, Recreation and Dance,18(Issue-4_2), 885-899. Gerken, M., Rienties, B., Giesbers, B., Knings, K. D. (2012). Enhancing the academic internship learning experience for business educationa critical review and future directions. InLearning at the Crossroads of Theory and Practice(pp. 7-22). Springer Netherlands. Grobelna, A., Marciszewska, B. (2016, April). Undergraduate students attitudes towards their future jobs in the tourism sector: challenges facing educators and business. InProceedings of the 4th International Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance(pp. 138-145). Hon, A. H., Chan, W. W., Lu, L. (2013). Overcoming work-related stress and promoting employee creativity in hotel industry: The role of task feedback from supervisor.International Journal of Hospitality Management,33, 416-424. Jayawardena, C., Lawlor, F., Grieco, J. C., Savard, M., Tarnowski, M. (2013). Challenges and innovations in hotel operations in Canada.Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes,5(2), 177-189. Johnson, W. B., Kaslow, N. J. (Eds.). (2014).The Oxford handbook of education and training in professional psychology. Oxford Library of Psychology. Kang, K. H., Stein, L., Heo, C. Y., Lee, S. (2012). Consumers willingness to pay for green initiatives of the hotel industry.International Journal of Hospitality Management,31(2), 564-572. Kapiki, S. T. (2012). Quality management in tourism and hospitality: An exploratory study among tourism stakeholders. Khiat, A., Montargot, N. (2017). The construction of an emerging tourist destination and its related human capital challenges. InTourism in the City(pp. 123-136). Springer International Publishing. Kim, E. B., Kim, K., Bzullak, M. (2012). A survey of internship programs for management undergraduates in AACSB-accredited institutions.International Journal of Educational Management,26(7), 696-709. KneÃ… ¾evi?, M., Tomka, D., Bizjak, B., Fabjan, D., Kukulj, S. (2015). The physical appearance of hotel guests: The impact on service providers communication and quality of service.International Journal of Hospitality Management,51, 8-14. Knilans, G. (2014). First impressions make lasting impressions.Employment Relations Today,41(3), 39-45. Lee, C. S., Chao, C. W. (2013). Intention to leave or staythe role of internship organization in the improvement of hospitality students industry employment intentions.Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research,18(7), 749-765. Lesser, D., Jaeger, J., Bowman, J., Ruggie, G., Lanz, L. H., Carmichael, M., ... Oshins, M. (2015). Boston Hospitality Review: Fall 2015. Liechti, F., Fossati, F., Bonoli, G., Auer, D. (2016). The signaling value of labor market programs. Mansour, S., Tremblay, D. G. (2016). How the need for leisure benefit systems as a resource passageways moderates the effect of work-leisure conflict on job burnout and intention to leave: A study in the hotel industry in Quebec.Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management,27, 4-11. Martinez, W., Hickson, G. B., Miller, B. M., Doukas, D. J., Buckley, J. D., Song, J., ... Lehmann, L. S. (2014). Role-modeling and medical error disclosure: a national survey of trainees.Academic Medicine,89(3), 482-489. Matthew, S. M., Taylor, R. M., Ellis, R. A. (2012). Relationships between students experiences of learning in an undergraduate internship programme and new graduates experiences of professional practice.Higher Education,64(4), 529-542. Nuromahidah, S., Noer, H. A. S., Rusmana, E. (2016).The Analysis of Receptionist in Improving Services Quality in Fave Hotel Premier Cihampelas Bandung. Siska Nuromahidah 117010016(Doctoral dissertation, Sastra Inggris). Parveen, S., Mirza, N. (2012). Internship program in education: effectiveness, problems and prospects.International Journal of Learning and Development,2(1), 487-498. Pereira-Moliner, J., Claver-Corts, E., Molina-Azorn, J. F., Tar, J. J. (2012). Quality management, environmental management and firm performance: direct and mediating effects in the hotel industry.Journal of Cleaner Production,37, 82-92. Raub, S., Robert, C. (2013). Empowerment, organizational commitment, and voice behavior in the hospitality industry: Evidence from a multinational sample.Cornell Hospitality Quarterly,54(2), 136-148. Scicluna, H. A., Grimm, M. C., Jones, P. D., Pilotto, L. S., McNeil, H. P. (2014). Improving the transition from medical school to internshipevaluation of a preparation for internship course. education,14(1), 23. Southgate, E., Reynolds, R., Howley, P. (2013). Professional experience as a wicked problem in initial teacher education.Teaching and Teacher Education,31, 13-22. Swanberg, J. E., Watson, E., Eastman, M. (2014). Scheduling challenges among workers in low-wage hourly jobs: similarities and differences among workers in standard-and nonstandard-hour jobs.Community, Work Family,17(4), 409-435. Tocco, N., Brunsvold, M., Kabbani, L., Lin, J., Stansfield, B., Mueller, D., Minter, R. M. (2013). Innovation in internship preparation: an operative anatomy course increases senior medical students' knowledge and confidence.The American Journal of Surgery,206(2), 269-279. Willie, P. A., Willie, P. A., Connor, D., Connor, D., Sole, J., Sole, J., ... Mueller, J. (2017). Human capital challenges in the hotel industry of Canada: finding innovative solutions.Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes,9(4), 402-410. Zampoukos, K., Ioannides, D. (2014). 2 Making difference within the hotel.A Hospitable World?: Organising Work and Workers in Hotels and Tourist Resorts, 11

Argument against the case an accounting standard to regulate the way in which complex financial instruments are reported in the financial statements of quoted companies essays

Argument against the case an accounting standard to regulate the way in which complex financial instruments are reported in the financial statements of quoted companies essays In this essay, I would like to start with a brief explanation about the accounting regulation and standards set for various treatments consists of gaps where the rules are vague or even incomplete. Then, I would like to give a brief introduction about the development of standards set for capital instrument, such as TR677 (ICAEW), FRED 3 and FRS 4. Next, I will go into details examining the problems found in these proposals and standard, especially FRS 4. Coming to this stage, I will divide the problems into two parts. Firstly, I will point out the inconsistency found in FRS 4 in relation to FRS 5. Secondly, I will try to deal with the practical point of view, pointing out that the FRS 4 consist of practical problems in accounting treatments for shares and debt. Finally, I will conclude that the current standard for complex capital instruments is not sufficient to solve the problems found in its accounting treatments. Hence, a more effective standard must be put forward to regulate the accounting treatment for capital instruments as it is becoming increasingly more complex. In many countries, accounting regulation is based on a system of detailed rules prescribed in standards and the law. However, rule-based systems can rarely be water-tight. There may be gaps in the rules, and places where the rules are vague or even incomplete. Of equal, if not greater significance is the fact that regulatees may develop schemes which fulfil the letter of the rules, but undermine their spirit. Regulators may find themselves constantly lagging behind the avoidance activities of the regulatees (McBarnet, 1988). In such circumstances, effective regulation breaks down. For the past ten years, the financial instruments issued by companies have become more and more complex. This has been particularly so since October 1987 which has been a period where equity issues have been difficult and companies have not wanted to increase their capital gearing. ...

Great Expectations vs the Kite Runner Essays

Great Expectations vs the Kite Runner Essays Great Expectations vs the Kite Runner Essay Great Expectations vs the Kite Runner Essay Essay Topic: Great Expectations The Kite Runner Respect is something that should be withheld until it is earned. For instance, Pip in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and Amir in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner exemplified individuals who earned respect and honor through their dedication and hard work. In Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, Pip is a young orphan who lives with his sister and brother in law. They lead an impoverished lifestyle off of bits of bread so when Pip is introduced to the lavish lifestyles of Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella, Pip is intrigued. Soon after, Pip falls in love with Estella and decided to abandon his old lifestyle in order to become educated in London. After many years old hard work and dedication,Pip not only leans how to read and write, but he has also gained respect and honor from his peers and fellow friends. Pip is no longer a pauper begging to scraps of food on the streets but an honorable and highly educated man who is now worthy of the beautiful Estella Havisham. Until Pip was able to endure years of hard work did he earn the respect that was withheld from him from the rest of the world. Similar to Pip in Great Expectations, Amir in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, is another individual that exemplifies respect is solely earned. After allowing his childhood best friend and half brother to be raped by three boys, amir suffers from a lifetime of guilt and is known as a coward even after he fled from Afghanistan to California. : After a strange call from the motherland that heralded that his half brother had died and his son was still alive, Amir makes a life- threatening choice to go back to Afghanistan to save his nephew. Amir risked his life to save his nephew who had been under the control of the Taliban and the three rapists of his half brother. After saving the boy, Amir is finally able to free himself from guilt and he also gained respect from his wife, nephew, and other family members that had been essentially been withheld from him originally. Through Amir’s determination and courage to save his nephew, Amir finally earned respect and honor. Respect is always something that should be withheld until it is earned. Pip in Great Expectations and Amir in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner both exemplify individuals who earned respect through hard work and determination that was originally withheld from them.

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The Ku Klux Klan in the City 1915-1930 by Kenneth Jackson Essay

The Ku Klux Klan in the City 1915-1930 by Kenneth Jackson - Essay Example The rise of the Ku Klux Klan is urban areas in the 1915 was one of the most astonishing events that occurred in the American history post World War I. Kenneth Jackson, in his work discusses the many aspects regarding the second Klan. Jackson insists that many Americans joined the second Klan genuinely joined with the intention of being a true patriot. However, many Americans were unaware of the extreme prejudices that were hidden. The re-enlightenment of the second era had many different views than its predecessors. Post 1920, the Klan grew a strong membership of 4 to 5 million. Unlike the first Klan movement in the reconstruction era, it extended beyond the traditional motives. The second wave of the Klan continued to focus national agendas at hand that went beyond the agrarian economy. Since the Klan compromised majority of white and Protestant, it was vital that they elaborated on array of social and political issues. The macro focus was on civil issues such as Prohibition, employment, immigration restriction. One might even insist that it was a reformation movement. However, this movement did have many ramifications as it propagated violence and publicly humiliated the status of minorities. The Klan’s supreme strength was unpredictable as it held strong ground in Indiana, Oregon, and Colorado. The Klan played a huge role in politics according to Jackson as it affected the Democratic convention in 19 24. The Klan was fed up from the fact that black workers on the domestic front earned decent wages and were being accepted in this new America. According to Jackson, the Klan made its moral duty to halt this new type of African American growth in society. Jackson reiterates the fact the Klan rose due to many factors. First and foremost was the fact that it possessed great numbers outside the South and half of the followers lived in the cities. The Klan in essence was so engrossed in its own agenda that it embedded prejudice and racism in their ideology. Often times, it crossed the legal boundaries and infringed on basic human rights as killings became common. Secondly, the Klan rose in an era where depression plagued society. The Klan was fed up with not only economic conditions but also due to the fear of the growth of communism. Since the south at that time was majority, the Klan made it their priority to attack that particular region. Jackson argues that the Klan that rose in tho se cities had different agendas, which was to enforce a moral code according to their perspective. Interestingly enough, states such as Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma did not face as much hostility from the Klan as expected. According to many historians, Texas should have the main target for the Klan. However, that was not the case as El Paso was never the home for target violence. Hence, it became common that the appeal of the Klan spread to North and West. The Klan had so much influence that its members served in the congress. The second wave of KKK was much stronger, organized, and confident that the emergence of the first KKK. As mentioned, this organization not only propagated for â€Å"white supremacy,† an intense attachment to anti-Semitic and anti-Catholicism. One of the

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Seagate Technologies: Operation Hedging The Seagate Technologies as a group assignment in our Production Logistics course. The purpose and aim of this case it to learn the impact of each assets (location) capacity on the overall profitability of the processing network. In addition, investigate how the entire capacity portfolio can be designed to provide an optimal hedge against uncertainty. We have been following six questions: i) what is Seagates corporate strategy? Describe and evaluate how its operational strategy and processes support the corporate strategy. Critically evaluate Seagates product and process development strategy, which calls for development in its respective product / process centre in U.S. and then exporting the developed process to site in the Far-East for high-volume production. ii) What are Seagates major risks? How does it manage those risks? iii) How would you describe the capacity of the processing network if the current CAR capacity proposal were implemented? What is the expected profit and ROI under this investment? (Given the short product life, assume the firm is making its decision for a single time period of length one year, at the end of which manufacturing capacity will zero salvage value). iv) The case states that the true demand forecast contains uncertainty. Given this forecast, recommend a capacity portfolio that maximizes expected NPV. (Recall, capacity investment must be performed before you observe actual market demand). Verify financial attractiveness of your recommendation. What is the expected profit and ROI now? v) Interpret your recommended capacity portfolio in intuitive terms: in what sense does your capacity configuration prepare you to hedging and why is your plan to be preferred? vi) In broad conceptual terms, what are the advantages of sales-plan driven capacity planning? What is wrong with that practice end how would you improve on it? LITERATURE REVIEW Operations Management: In operations management, there are two streams of research originating from two separate, but conceptually similar, definitions of operational hedging. The first definition, as introduced by Huchzermeier (1991) and quoted in Ding and Kouvelis (2001, p.2), states that Operational hedging strategies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ can be viewed as real (compound) options that are exercised in response to demand, price and exchange rate contingencies faced by firms in a global supply chain context. Real options might have value-enhancing capabilities under uncertainty. The value-enhancing feature of real options under uncertainty is called exploiting uncertainty. Huchzermeier and Cohen (1996) analyze operational flexibility, which they define as the ability to switch among different global manufacturing strategy options. Cohen and Huchzemeier (1999) illustrate how the deployment of excess capacity can be a source of operational flexibility in global supply chains. They argue that investing in capacity in excess of the aggregate demand forecast provides flexibility in coping with demand uncertainties. Additionally, excess capacity enables the firm to produce more in that location, providing a value-enhancing opportunity in addition to reducing its downside risks. The second definition of operational hedging is found in Van Mieghem (2003). Without referring to real options, but making an analogy with its financial counterpart, financial hedging, Van Mieghem defines operational hedging as mitigating risk by counterbalancing actions in a processing network that do not involve financial instruments. He lists dual-sourcing, component commonality, having the option to run overtime, dynamic substitution, routing, transshipping, or shifting processing among different types of capital, locations or subcontractors, holding safety stocks and purchasing warranty guarantees as operational hedging strategies. One of the main contributions of this definition is the observation that operational hedging can be employed in the absence of tradable risks, particularly exchange rate risk, as all the other academic fields mostly consider operational hedging in an exchange rate framework. Again departing from the literature, Van Mieghem does not consider any particular risk measure to formalize the effect of operational hedging in terms of risk mitigation. In addition, the term counterbalancing actions is not formalized: criteria to determine whether given actions are counterbalancing are not developed, this term corresponds to investing in more than one resource, or betting on two horses that is, investing in operational flexibility, similar to the former definition of operational hedging. Finally, as with real options, counterbalancing actions described by Van Mieghem have a value-enhancing capability and increase expected profit in a risk-neutral setting. This is demonstrated on a two-product, two-stage production system where capacity imbalance is the operational hedging strategy (Harrison and Van Mieghem 1999, Van Mieghem 2003). By purposely unbalancing the capacity vector, i.e. having safety capacity (in excess of the capacity that would be optimal in the deterministic case), firms can hedge against demand uncertainty and increase expected profit. Counterbalancing actions, taken in such a way as to maximize expected profit for a risk-neutral decision maker, are called operational hedges. Finance In the finance literature, operational hedging is the course of action that hedges the firms risk exposure by means of non-financial instruments, particularly through operational activities. Similar to the operations management literature, operational flexibility is the major operational hedging strategy discussed in the finance literature. In addition to operational flexibility, geographical diversification is another operational hedging strategy in a multinational context. Geographical diversification is aligning the costs and revenues of a firm so that they are exposed to the same risks. Domestic firms selling to foreign markets can ensure that their production costs and sales revenues are exposed to the same exchange rate uncertainties by opening a production facility in these markets. Therefore, geographical diversification reduces the total variability of cash flows. Chowdry and Howe (1999) argue that the facility location decision is considered to be an operational hedging strategy only when firms are concerned with the variability of their operating profits. Hommel (2003) argues that operational flexibility is employed as a hedging device when the exchange rate and demand volatility are sufficiently large (in that case the minimum profit constraint is violated); otherwise it serves as a value driver to enhance expected profits. It is emphasized that because operational flexibility can be used for a purely value-enhancement motive, it is considered to be an operational hedging strategy only when there is a risk hedging motive for employing it. Generally speaking, operational actions are considered to be operational hedges if they are taken in order to reduce a risk measure of concern. In particular, if firms care about downside risk (e.g. having a minimum profit constraint), then operational hedges mitigate risk through a reduction in the downside exposure. In summary, the finance literature defines operational hedging as mitigating firms risks by operational means. Operational flexibility achieved through various operational means (ability to shift production, transferring technologies, product differentiation etc.) and geographical diversification is the operational hedges of firms utilized in conjunction with financial hedges. Compared to their financial counterparts, operational hedges require higher levels of capital investment (opening a production facility), but create longer term hedges against risk exposures including risks that are not contingent on asset prices (e.g. demand risks, political risks). Strategy and International Business Diversification is defined as having different lines of business through mergers and joint ventures (Wang and Lim 2003), of which geographical diversification is one type. Kogut (1985) analyzes diversification and operational flexibility as risk management tools of multinationals. He argues that an operational decision (the sourcing policy in this case) can create three different types of risk profile: speculative, hedged and flexible. The speculative profile is betting on one site mainly to benefit from economies of scale in operations. By matching the exchange rate exposure on the cost side with that on the profit side, the firm can create a hedged risk profile. This approach corresponds to the geographical diversification strategy. Finally, a flexible risk profile created through operational flexibility permits the firm to exploit uncertainties by creating real options. In the international business literature, Pantzalis et al. (2001) define operational hedging as the firms operational decisions (related to marketing, production, sourcing, plant location, and treasury) that are best suited to managing the exchange rate exposure on the firms competitive position across markets. In summary, the strategy literature focuses on operational flexibility and diversification as risk management tools without defining them as operational hedges. Operational flexibility achieved through several operational means (developing in-house capacity, product differentiation, keeping excess capacity etc.) creates both arbitrage and leverage opportunities for multinational firms. In addition to aligning costs and revenues, real option benefits of geographical diversification in the form of growth options are discussed. The international business research, similar to the finance literature, focuses on operational flexibility and geographical diversification as long-term operational hedges of multinationals against exchange rate exposures. Analysis of Seagate Technologies: Question 1: What is Seagates corporate strategy? Describe and evaluate how its operational strategy and processes support the corporate strategy. Critically evaluate Seagates product and process development strategy, which calls for development in its respective product / process centre in U.S. and then exporting the developed process to site in the Far-East for high-volume production. Answer: Seagate Technologies Corporate Strategy: The Barracuda The Cheetah are two new Seagates high-end disk-drive products families that are scheduled to go into volume production in the first calendar quarter of 1998. The capital appropriation request called for $ 103 million capital investment in two final assembly facilities, one for the Barracuda and one for the Cheetah and one for joint test facility. The companys establishment and ongoing expansion of production facilities in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, China and Ireland are directed toward cost reduction. Describe and evaluate how its operational strategy and processes support the corporate strategy. Operational Strategy and Processes: Manufacturing Strategy: Process Choice Establishment and maintenance of key vendor relationships. Produce and sell its disc drives in significant volume, continue to lower manufacturing costs and carefully monitor inventory levels. Transfer volume production of disc drives and related components between facilities, including transfer overseas to countries where labor costs and other manufacturing costs are significantly lower than in the U.S. Infrastructure The key element if the Seagates manufacturing strategy is high volume, low cost assembly and test; vertical integration in the manufacturing of selected components. Seagate continually evaluates its components and manufacturing processes. Seagate rapidly achieve high manufacturing yields in new production processes and obtain uninterrupted access to high quality components in required volumes at competitive prices. Marketing Strategy: Seagates ability to compete successfully depends on its ability to provide timely product introductions and to combine to reduce production costs. The companys establishment and ongoing expansion of production facilities in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, China and Ireland are directed toward such cost reductions. The two new products were planned to be in volume production only for the four quarters of 1998. The capital investment to build production capacity was significant and had two components. First, there were significant fixed costs estimated at about $ 40 million associated with designing, commissioning, and starting up the three new facilities. The second component was that the capital expense of building new capacity increased with the amount of capacity: larger production capacity required larger space requirements and tooling costs, leading to an linear increase in the capital expense. Seagate products include over 50 rigid disc drive models with from factors 2.5 to 5.25 inches and capacities from 1GB 10 23 GB. Seagate believes it offers the broadest range from of disc storage products available. It provides more than one product at some capacity points and differentiates products on a price / performance and form factor basis. Seagate typically devotes its resource to developing products with industries leading performance characteristics and to being among the first to introduce such products to market. The company continuously seeks to enhance its market presence in emerging segments of the rigid disc drive market by drawing on its established capabilities in high volume, low cost productions. The Marathon and Medalist disk drive product lines are targeted for the personal mobile and desktop computing market, respectively, while the high end workstation and server/multi user systems market is served with the Barracuda, Cheetah, and Elite product families. The Barracuda family of 3.5 inch drives was first introduced in 1992. At 7,200 rpm the Barracuda had the highest rotation speed of any drives produced at that time. In fiscal year 1997, Seagate introduced two new products in the Barracuda family, the Barracuda 4LP and the Barracuda 4XL, with 4GB and 4.5GB respectively. The Barracuda 4XL, which began volume production during the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997, was designed to provide a balance of price and performance for the workstation market as it matures. In August 1996, the company announced the 3.5 inch Cheetah family the worlds first drives to offer rotation speeds of 10,000 rpm for increased data throughout and lower latency times. The Cheetah drive is focused at the very high performance segment of the market. Volume production of the Cheetah 4LP and the Cheetah 9 began in the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 1997, respectively. Seagate is going to announce the fifth generation Barracuda 9LP and the second generation Cheetah 0LP in early fall 1997, with volume production schedule to begin in the first calendar quarter of 1998. Finally, the Elite product line covers the high end 5.25 inch market. In the third quarter of fiscal year 1997, production commenced on the Elite 23, a high performance, 5.25 inch disc drive with 23 GB of formatted capacity, a rotation speed of 5,400 rpm and mean time between failures of 500,000 hours. Critically evaluate Seagates product and process development strategy, which calls for development in its respective product / process centre in U.S. and then exporting the developed process to site in the Far-East for high-volume production. Product and Process Development: The content of the Seagate product/ process strategy: Seagate has the superior strategy, i.e. business strategy or corporate strategy, requirements on the product portfolio. It is described in the case the present state of the product portfolio. It is also described in the case what would be the future state of the product portfolio. A plan of action, i.e. how Seagate wanted product portfolio can be reached in practice. The five steps/activities are described below: Requirements on the product portfolio: The most central activity in the process is the identification of the requirements on the product portfolio. The requirements should be found both in the superior strategy, i.e. business strategy or corporate strategy, and also in other functional strategies. Requirements put on the product portfolio consist of among other range, mix and volumes of products. Seagate has number of segments which is introduced in the market. New product proposals: Ideas for new products can arise in different ways; customer, market analysis etc. The new product proposal capture, visualize and preserve the ideas that are found within and outside the company. The aim of the new product proposals is to attain a more distinct product development funnel as shown in Figure 12, where several ideas are evaluated in parallel. Seagates strategy for new products emphasizes developing and introducing on timely and cost effective basis products that offer functionality an d performance equal to or better than competitive product offering. Product development process: The product development process should fit the actual company, its products and its manufacturing. The product development process should also state which design method to use when and why. Seagate devotes significant resources to product engineering aimed at improving manufacturing processes, lowering manufacturing cost and increasing volume production. Seagates process engineering groups are located with the disc drive development groups and the reliability engineering groups in many cities of U.S. and also in Singapore. Product portfolio: When making decisions within the product development process it is important to have the product portfolio in mind and vice versa. Therefore it is emphasized that the same group of managers handles both the product development process and the product portfolio. Reengineering or product deleting: All products have a limited life span. Not unusual at companies aimed at in this research is some kind of facelifts of products during their lifetime. New requirements like new features, manufacturing processes, customer needs etc. on a product or product family require a reengineering or the product will be obsolete. Seagates product life cycles of disc drives are short (high volume products introduced and sold for about 6 to 7 quarters. Due to fast changing in technology in computer industries the product deleting is very short and re-engineering might cost extra money to Seagate due to rapid development. Question 2: What are Seagates major risks? How does it manage those risks? Answer: Competitive differentiation: (e.g., price, quality, time or customization) Market: Fundamental change in supply and demand functions or global prices for commodities. The rigid disc drive industry is intensely competitive, with manufactures competing for a limited number of major customers. In addition to the product performance dimension, the principal competitive factors in the rigid disc drive market include product quality and reliability, form factor, price per unit, price per megabyte, production volume capability and responsiveness to customers. The relative importance of these factors varies with different customers and for different products. Competitors offer new and existing products at prices necessary to gain or retain market share and customers. To remain competitive, Seagate believes it will be necessary to continue to reduce its price and aggressively enhance its product offering. Technological capabilities (lead or follow in technology innovation) With the proliferation of multimedia applications, the demand for increased drive capacities has and continues to increase at an accelerating rate since sound and moving pictures require many times the storage capacity of simple text. Economic: Ability to attract and retain staff in the labour market; exchange rates affect costs of international transactions; effect of global economy. Given the high demand uncertainty of the two product families, the current capital appropriation request moves Seagate towards financial risk in terms of expenditure. Socio-cultural: Demographic change affects demand for services; stakeholder expectations change. Operational: Relating to existing operations both current delivery and building and maintaining. A pessimistic scenario with likelihood estimated at 25%, would demand only 150,000 Cheetahs and 350,000 Barracudas. Mitigating Risk with Financial Hedging: If the counterbalancing actions involve trading financial instruments, including short selling, futures, and options, this is financial hedging. Financial hedging yields an elegant approach to incorporating risk without having to resort to utility functions and price its present value using risk-neutral discounting. The basic idea is to construct a perfect hedge, which is a portfolio that provides a constant future value in any state of nature and therefore can be priced using risk-free discounting. Financial hedging requires writing an unambiguous contract that specifies capacity usages in a form that is divisible, trade able, and enforceable. Mitigating Risk with Operational Hedging: Processing flexibility such as dual or multi-sourcing, using component commonality, having the option to run overtime or to dynamically reroute or shift production (among different types of capital, locations, or subcontractors); holding safety stocks; having warranty guarantees, etc. A variety of these actions can be grouped as counterbalancing capacities to mitigate risk, often by inducing some form of resource pooling. Question 3 How would you describe capacity of processing network if current CAR capacity proposal were implemented? What is the expected profit and ROI under this investment? (Given the short product life, assume the firm is making the decisions for a single time period of length one year, at the end of which manufacturing capacity will have zero salvage value) Answer: Expected Capacity Scenario (Capacity both for Cheetah and Barracuda is 300000) There are 2 different profit and cost structure PS=Profit of solved product C=Cost of unused capacity Contribution Margins Cheetah=$400 Barracuda=$300 Demands Pessimistic (25%) Expected (50%) Optimistic (25%) Cheetah 150 000 300 000 450 000 Barracuda 350 000 300 000 250 000 Demand for Cheetah in Pessimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS-C)*(0.25) PS= $400*150000 ($30000*(150) +$80000*(150)) =$43.500.000 C= $30000*(150) + $80000(50) (The spare capacity cost is shared in Cheetah and Barracuda) =$8.500.000 Profit= $35.000.000 * 0.25 Demand for Cheetah in Expected Scenario (0.50) Profit= (PS)*(0.50) PS= $400*300000 ($30000*(300) +$80000*(300)) =$87.000.000 Demand for Cheetah in Optimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS)*(0.25) PS= $400*300000 ($30000*(300) +$80000*(300)) =$87.000.000 Total profit for cheetah = (PS-C)*(0.25) + PS*(0.50) +PS*(0.25) =$35.000.000 * 0.25+$87.000.000 * 0.50+$87.000.000 * 0.25 =$74.000.000 Demand for Barracuda in Optimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS-C)*(0.25) PS= $300*250000 ($20000*(250) +$80000*(250)) =$50.000.000 C= $30000*(150) =$4.500.000 Profit= $45.500.000 * 0.25 Demand for Barracuda in Expected Scenario (0.50) Profit= (PS)*(0.50) PS= $300*300000 ($20000*(300) +$80000*(300)) =$60.000.000 Demand for Cheetah in Pessimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS)*(0.25) PS= $300*350000 ($20000*(300) +$80000*(300)) =$60.000.000 Total profit for barracuda = (PS-C)*(0.25) + PS*(0.50) +PS*(0.25) =$45.500.000 * 0.25+$60.000.000 * 0.50+$60.000.000 * 0.25 =$56.375.000 Total Profit for the System= Total profit for cheetah+ Total profit for barracuda -Fixed Cost = $74.000.000+$56.375.000- $40.000.000 = $90.375.000 Question 4: The case states that true demand forecast contains uncertainty. Given this forecast contains recommend a capacity portfolio that maximizes expected NPV. (Recall, capacity investment must be performed before you observe actual market demand).Verify financial attractiveness of your recommendation: What is the expected profit and ROI now? Answer: As mentioned above; we calculated the total profit according to the expected capacity scenario. In uncertainty situations we also calculate total profit pessimistic and optimistic scenarios as well Pessimistic Capacity Scenario (Capacity for Cheetah 150000 and Barracuda is 350000) Demand for Cheetah in Pessimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS-C)*(0.25) PS= $400*150000 ($30000*(150) +$80000*(150)) =$43.500.000 C= $80000(50) (The spare capacity cost is shared in Cheetah and Barracuda) =$4.000.000 Profit= $47.500.000 * 0.25 Demand for Cheetah in Expected Scenario (0.50) Profit= (PS)*(0.50) PS= $400*150000 ($30000*(150) +$80000*(150)) =$43.500.000 Demand for Cheetah in Optimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS)*(0.50) PS= $400*150000 ($20000*(150) +$80000*(150)) =$43.500.000 Total profit for cheetah = (PS-C)*(0.25) + PS*(0.50) +PS*(0.25) =$47.500.000 * 0.25+$43.500.000 * 0.50+$43.500.000 * 0.25 =$44.500.000 Demand for Barracuda in Pessimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS-C)*(0.25) PS= $300*350000 ($20000*(350) +$80000*(350)) =$70.000.000 C= $80000(50) (The spare capacity cost is shared in Cheetah and Barracuda) =$4.000.000 Profit= $66.000.000 * 0.25 Demand for Barracuda in Expected Scenario (0.50) Profit= (PS)*(0.50) PS= $300*300000 ($20000*(300) +$80000*(300)) =$60.000.000 Demand for Barracuda in Optimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS)*(0.50) PS= $300*300000 ($20000*(300) +$80000*(300)) =$60.000.000 Total profit for barracuda = (PS-C)*(0.25) + PS*(0.50) +PS*(0.25) =$66.000.000 * 0.25+$60.000.000 * 0.50+$60.000.000 * 0.25 =$61.500.000 Total Profit for the System= Total profit for cheetah+ Total profit for barracuda -Fixed Cost = 44.500.000+$61.500.000- $40.000.000 = $66.000.000 Optimistic Capacity Scenario (Capacity for Cheetah 450000 and Barracuda is 250000) Demand for Cheetah in Pessimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS-C)*(0.25) PS= $400*150000 ($30000*(150) +$80000*(150)) =$43.500.000 C= $30000*(300) + $80000(50) (The spare capacity cost is shared in Cheetah and Barracuda) =$13.000.000 Profit= $30.500.000 * 0.25 Demand for Cheetah in Expected Scenario (0.50) Profit= (PS-C)*(0.50) PS= $400*300000 ($30000*(300) +$80000*(300)) =$87.000.000 C= $30000*(150) (The spare capacity cost 450-300=150) =$4.500.000 Profit= $82.500.000 * 0.50 Demand for Cheetah in Optimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS)*(0.50) PS= $400*450000 ($30000*(450) +$80000*(450)) =$142.500.000 Total profit for cheetah = (PS-C)*(0.25) + (PS-C)*(0.50) +PS*(0.25) =$30.500.000 * 0.25+$82.500.000 * 0.50+$142.500.000 * 0.25 =$84.500.000 Demand for Barracuda in Pessimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS-C)*(0.25) PS= $300*250000 ($20000*(250) +$80000*(250)) =$50.000.000 C= $80000(50) (The spare capacity cost is shared in Cheetah and Barracuda) =$4.000.000 Profit= $46.000.000 * 0.25 Demand for Barracuda in Expected Scenario (0.50) Profit= (PS)*(0.50) PS= $300*250000 ($20000*(250) +$80000*(250)) =$50.000.000 Demand for Barracuda in Optimistic Scenario (0.25) Profit= (PS)*(0.50) PS= $300*250000 ($20000*(250) +$80000*(250)) =$50.000.000 Total profit for barracuda = (PS-C)*(0.25) + PS*(0.50) +PS*(0.25) =$46.000.000 * 0.25+$50.000.000 * 0.50+$50.000.000 * 0.25 =$49.000.000 Total Profit For The System= Total profit for cheetah+ Total profit for barracuda -Fixed Cost = 84.500.000+$49.000.000- $40.000.000 = $93.500.000 Therefore according to the capacity scenarios profits are formed; Total Profit for Cheetah Total Profit for Barracuda Pessimistic Capacity Scenario $44.500.000 $61.500.000 Expected Capacity Scenario $74.000.000 $56.375.000 Optimistic Capacity Scenario $84.500.000 $49.000.000 Question 5: Interpret your recommended capacity portfolio in intuitive terms: in what sense does your capacity configuration prepare you to hedging and why is your plan to be preferred? Answer: Newsvendor: The newsvendor (or newsboy) model is a mathematical model in operations management and applied economics used to determine optimal inventory levels. It is (typically) characterized by fixed prices and uncertain demand. If the inventory level is q, each unit of demand above q is lost. This model is also known as the Newsvendor Problem or Newsboy Problem. In the case of Seagate Technologies, let K1 is the capacity for The Cheetah and K2 is the capacity for The Barracuda, K3 is the capacity of for The Final Test and D is the demand for each product family. The sales plan is 300 thousand units of The Barracuda and an equal amount of The Cheetah i.e. the sales plan corresponds to a demand vector (in thousands) D = (300, 300). The associated capacity investment vector for the three resources that makes this sales plan feasible is Kb = (300, 300, 600). The capacity portfolio Kb is balanced in the sense that all three resources are fully utilized at the sales plan. Capacity balance means that K1 + K2 = K3. Another capacity plan that may show up in practice is a plan that minimizes lost sales. In some settings, marketing managers may state that a customer lost once is lost forever and advocate ample capacity to prevent that. We refer to such plan as a total coverage capacity plan Kc. Obviously, a centralized, expected profit maximizing planner with knowledge of the probabilistic demand forecast can do better. Maximization of expected profit leads to increasing the investment in resources with high marginal return compared to marginal investment costs. This generalized typical newsvendor logic works in a coupled, multi-dimensional setting and show the risk-neutral or newsvendor network solution in Seagate case to be K* = (350, 35

Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown †Poverty in the Tale and Author’s Lif

â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† – Poverty in the Tale and Author’s Life  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Roy Harvey Pearce in â€Å"Twice-Told Tales: A Blend of Stories† makes reference to the widely-known poverty of the aspiring writer,Nathaniel Hawthorne: â€Å"True enough, Hawthorne planned more than once to write groups of tales and sketches somehow linked into a whole; but he could not get a publisher for them. When he did get a publisher in 1837, it had to be through the help of the hack-editor, Samuel Goodrich. . . .† (107) Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† includes traits of the modest lifestyle which the author was forced to endure in his personal life. Besides this, there was also an artisitc-resources impoverishment because of the tiny town in which he lived.    Henry Seidel Canby in â€Å"A Skeptic Incompatible with His Time and His Past† mentions of Hawthorne that â€Å"human failures and their causes were more interesting to him than prophecies of success, one might truly say than success itself. †¦He was not, I think, really interested in escape, except in moods of financial discouragement. . . . (57). Such moods of financial discouragement were to plague the author for nearly his entire lifetime.    Hawthorne’s financial impoverishment probably began with the untimely death of his father, and continued for most of his life. Gloria C. Erlich in â€Å"The Divided Artist and His Uncles† states that â€Å"Robert Manning made the essential decisions in the lives of the Hawthorne children and is well known as the uncle who sent Hawthorne to college† (35). After graduation from Bowdoin College, Hawthorne spent twelve years in his room at home in an intense effort to make something of himself literarily. The Norton Anthology: American Literature state... ...6.    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† 1835. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~daniel/amlit/goodman/goodmantext.html    James, Henry. Hawthorne. http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/nhhj1.html    Lewis, R. W. B. â€Å"The Return into Time: Hawthorne.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.      Ã¢â‚¬Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne.† The Norton Anthology: American Literature, edited by Baym et al.   New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.    Pearce, Roy Harvey. â€Å"Twice-Told Tales: A Blend of Stories.† In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.    Swisher, Clarice. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography.† In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.