Hybrid Cars Essay Example for Free

Hybrid Cars Essay Americans today do not realize that hybrid cars are not cost efficient to buy. This is caused by many factors, many having to do with price of production and gas prices. The cost of production for many hybrid cars is too high causing the car to be to expensive for consumers to buy. They end up paying so much more for a car that promises to save them money. These cars turn end up not fulfilling that promise and leaving people short on cash. It is true that a hybrid car will save money at the pump, but not enough to cover the cost of buying and maintaining the car itself. Gas prices are another reason why these cars arent worth it. The prices of gas today are around 3 dollars which is nearing a record high. Even with prices this high, people will not save enough money with less gas consumption to cover the extra costs of owning such a high maintenance and highly complex car. The math works out that spending more on a hybrid car over a similar small car will end up costing the owner more money. The only way to make the car cost efficient would be to own it for an abnormally long period of time, which most people do not do. Many people are not willing to pay this extra money on a car that is supposed to be good for the environment, but some people do. Hybrid cars are better for the environment because they produce less greenhouse gasses. These are the emissions that specifically hurt the layers of the atmosphere and are among other emissions that are bad for our earth. Hybrid cars burn less fuel and they burn it cleaner, so they produce less exhaust that can potentially cause smog in cities like Chicago, or that can hurt the atmospheric layers such as the ozone layer that so many people talk about being in danger. To some people, the extra cost of owning one of these vehicles is worth helping the environment, but to most it is not. People want fast cars that are fun to drive and that get decent gas mileage. Or a mom might want a van that can haul a lot of people and weight and still get decent gas mileage. A dad would want a truck that can pull a heavy load and do the heavy duty work and wouldnt care about gas mileage. All of these are reasons why people dont want a small, meek, gas sipping hybrid. The first thing that makes most people shy away from buying a hybrid car is the price tag. They see that extra five or six thousand dollars and they say, NO! People want a durable car that gets good gas mileage and has room for a family and that is safe. All of these features can be purchased on a regular car that costs much less than a hybrid. The perfect example for this is the Honda Civic. This car comes in many trim levels, one for each type of consumer, minus the person looking for the truck. The Civic Sedan, a four door car with room for five people, starts at 15k and is the perfect car for a small family. This car gets 30mpg city and 40mpg highway which is very good by todays standards. The Civic Hybrid, the same size as the Civic Sedan, costs 22k, thats 7 thousand more, and gets an increase of only 19mpg city and 11mpg highway. This means that they would not save enough money on gas to cover the 7k increase in price in under 10 years. Since the car gets better gas mileage, one would go to the pump less, but not enough to save that much money. The third is the Civic Si, this is the sporty version of the Civic that only comes with a manual transmission and is very quick. This car costs 21k, one thousand less than the hybrid. It is much faster is only has two doors. This car gets 23mpg city and 32mpg highway, not much worse than the Civic Sedan or hybrid, and is much faster and more fun. Why would a student pay one thousand dollars more for a car that is slower and more boring when the mileage increase isnt that much, they wouldnt. People want fun cars that get the job done and the Civic does that with great gas mileage and a low price, without having to be a hybrid car. Another example of this concept is the Toyota Camry. This is the best selling family sized sedan in the United States. This car comes in many trim levels but the ones we will look at are the base Camry and the base Camry Hybrid. For 2007 this car got a gorgeous remodel as well as a new engine in the base Camry and they added the Hybrid model. The base Toyota Camry costs 18k and has many features needed for a small family to fit in the car along with a lot of luggage. Do not be confused though, this car can be seen driving down the road pimped out with 20 (thats really big) rims and banging sound systems by college guys. It can also be seen with pick stickers and fuzzy dice in the window being driven by a couple college girls on the way to the beach. This is a very pretty, versatile car. The base Camry gets 24mpg city and 34 mpg highway. This is very good for a full sized car and will get the owner a long distance before having to refill the tank. The Camry Hybrid costs a pretty penny, but some say its worth it. This car gets 16mpg more city and 4mpg more highway than the base Camry. The huge gain in city mileage is due to the way Toyota makes their hybrid cars. They have the ability to switch fully from electric to gas power whereas the Honda Hybrid drive train can only go from minimal usage of each, but never fully switches. Toyotas is called Hybrid Synergy Drive and uses the electric engine most when accelerating and charges the batter when braking. The braking actually charges the battery more than the gas engine, so the car is able to shine when driving around the city because of the constant starting and stopping, the car uses almost fully the electric engine. This is why the Toyota Camry Hybrid gets such good gas mileage in the city. Lets face it though, a car that big wont be found driving around the city, most people will be office executives taking long drives from offices to home or to customers and they will not benefit as much. The Camry Hybrid only gains 4mpg over the base Camry on the highway so many people do not agree with spending eight thousand dollars more for the hybrid. This is definitely not cost efficient for the owner. People will like the 18k price of the base Camry because it comes with so many standard options and is ready to fulfill any soccer moms fantasy. When talking about Hybrid cars, there is one that stands above the rest in durability, functionality, style, price, and ability to save gas. That car is the Toyota Prius. This car could be the only argument one could make against this paper. It costs 22k and it does not come with a non hybrid counterpart. This car does cost more than say, a Corolla, but it has more room than a Corolla, and slightly less room than a Camry. It is in a class of its own and its only close competitor is the Honda Insight. The Prius is able to get 60mpg city and 51mpg highway. This is the best mpg rating of any production car and it actually is selling. You can see a Toyota Prius on just about any trip that you take and it does have unique styling that always turns heads. Although it costs more, the mpg rating of this car are almost double that of the nearest non hybrid competitor making it almost worth the extra price tag. However, the cost of maintaining such a highly complex car is greater than that of the base Civic or Corolla and will end up costing more. The Honda Insight, the other close competitor, costs 21k and gets 60mpg city and 66mpg highway. Those numbers were only the estimated numbers and consumers found them to be too high and actually got less mileage than that. Also, Honda doesnt make this car anymore so a customer would only be able to buy it used. These cars all shown, people will not save money on buying a hybrid car. The gas prices right now are not high enough to allow people to save money at the pump if they own a hybrid car. They will get better gas mileage and they will go to the pump less but they are only saving a small amount of money each year. If somebody spends 30 dollars every two weeks on gas in a regular car, that would cost them about 780 dollars a year. A hybrid car could probably go an extra week without needing gas so that would cost them 520 dollars a year on gas. They would be saving a mere 260 dollars a year on gas. If the hybrid car costs 7k more, then they would need to have the car for about 26 years to cover the extra cost of the car. No way would somebody own a car for that long this day and age. That is only covering the cost of the actually sticker price and not the extra costs of owning the vehicle, like fixing it and stuff, which would have to be done since the car would need to get fixed in the 26 year period. Many websites do a calculation of the cars which would be the lowest true cost to own. One website listed the Prius and the Camry Hybrid under their list of cars costing around 25k that would be the lowest true cost to own. This is excluding how long one would own the car for and how high the gas prices are. Also they did not list any hybrid under the coupes which are lowest cost to own and they dont say customer reviews on how fun these cars are to drive. The fact is that most people do no see it necessary to buy a car that costs so much more when they could get a car for less money that will cost them less money in the long run. People also want fun cars that will cost the same, but be much more fun to drive, even though they arent amazing at gas mileage, they still succeed in getting decent gas mileage, so people buy them. Also the hybrid drive train is not good for hauling heavy loads that is why there arent many pickup truck hybrids out there if any. Hybrid cars may cost more causing people to shy away from buying them, but they are better for the environment. People dont realize that driving a car can be the largest form of pollution. We drive by a paper mill and see all the smoke coming out of the stacks and say to ourselves how bad that must be for the air. Meanwhile we are sitting in a car, that when grouped up with many cars, is much worse than the thing we are complaining about. Pollution from cars causes smog, which deteriorates the ozone layers closest to us. This can cause for major extremes of hot and cold in the seasons. The atmosphere helps moderate the temperatures on earth by holding in heat during the winter and shielding out heat during the summer. Big cities have problems with smog which is a constant haze in the air caused by so many cars in one place emitting gasses bad for the environment. Cars also have toxins in their exhaust that can cause acid rain or global warming, and even cause cancer in some people. The water supply on earth is never growing or shrinking, the water we have is all that we get. When there is acid rain, that water has to go somewhere and may sometimes end up in drinking water or people who have wells might take showers in it. This is how it can cause cancer in as many as 1,500 people a year. There are many bad gasses that come from motor vehicles, but the three main ones are hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. Hydrocarbons react with nitrogen. The best times for this to happen are in the summer when there is lots of sunlight and really high temperatures. This reaction causes something called ground level ozone. This is a type of gas that is supposed to be in the atmosphere but is in our breathing air. This can cause many things such as eye irritation, wheezing, and even permanent lung damage. Nitrogen Oxides also cause the formation of ground level ozone and are major factors in causing acid rain and water pollution. Finally, carbon monoxide, which is an odorless and invisible gas, causes a slowing of oxygen in the bloodstream which can impair ones senses and cause permanent mental damage. Cars are responsible for around 90 percent of the carbon monoxide in the air in most urban areas. All of these gasses can be reduced by driving a hybrid car, but the best way to reduce them is public transportation. Studies show that a person who uses mass transit, such as buses or subways, for a year, instead of driving to work, can keep about 9.1 lbs of hydrocarbons, 62.5 lbs or carbon monoxides, and 4.9 lbs of nitrogen oxides from being put into the air (Emissions). Other ways of reducing pollution from cars in the air are things such as driving at steady speeds, buying newer cars that have fewer bad emissions, keeping your car in good running condition, or even not topping off at the pump. People can help the environment by buying a hybrid car, but that isnt the best way. Using public transportation or even riding a bike if possible, would do a lot more good, and save somebody a lot of money. By using public transportation and by carpooling, people can save an estimated three thousand dollars a year (Emissions). Other numbers show that idling and stop and go traffic alone use 753 millions of gallons of gasoline per year (Emissions). People dont realize how much better it would be to just use public transportation. Instead, we want to go on our own schedules and have the freedom to go where we want when we want, and that costs money and causes pollution. The cost of a hybrid car over a regular car is too much. People will not buy a hybrid car when they can get a vehicle with very good gas mileage for much less money. They can get all the bells and whistles of a hybrid but spend around seven thousand less. Teenagers dont want a slow gas sipping car, they want a fast car with a loud exhaust. They cant get this from a hybrid car so they wouldnt spend the money to buy a slow hybrid when they could have a fast sports car. A dad needs his truck to haul stuff around and hybrid cars dont offer that. The mom needs the van to have a safe car for her family that can fit them and their luggage. The cost of gas prices right now is not nearly high enough to benefit the consumer who owns a hybrid car. There is some small benefit, about 300 dollars a year, but that would take 20 years to equal just the increased price of owning a hybrid, not to mention the added costs of the upkeep of such a complex car. People want the lowest price with the best package, and hybrid cars dont offer that. While they do offer benefits to the environment, people dont realize how important the environment is and they wont spend the extra money for benefits they wont see in their lifetime. Overall the hybrid car is not worth buying because the cost is just too great. Not only is it not worth it, but people are not buying them enough to make a difference to the environment anyways, further diminishing their value. Hybrid cars are not worth buying right now and will not be for many years to come.

Compare and Contrast the different quality philosophy, systems and approaches

Compare and Contrast the different quality philosophy, systems and approaches The various quality approaches and systems are the Deming philosophy, the Juran approach, the Crosby system, six sigma and other approaches. These are the various philosophies that are available to an operations manager in assessing the quality and suitability of systems in an organization that can be applied for increasing efficiency and gains .The various quality approaches are briefly explained as under: Deming Philosophy: Based in improving the products and services by reducing uncertainty and variability in the design and manufacturing processes. Variation is considered the only reason for poor quality. Variations in parts of pieces in manufacturing leads to wear and premature failure. Better quality leads to less rework, fewer delays and better use of factor inputs. It includes profound knowledge consisting of four stages -appreciation for a system, some knowledge of theory of variation, theory of knowledge and psychology. Based on these four aspects Deming had devised 14 points of quality management. (Chambers, Johnston, Slack, 2007) Juran philosophy: The Juran philosophy is based upon the companys current strategic planning and minimum risk in rejections. He states in his quality management program that different employees at different levels of the organization hold different factors as priority top management holds money as important and speaks in money terms, workers hold things as important and mid management holds both the things and money as important and can speak for in money as well as things terms. His method of quality management focuses on the interdependencies of functions of manufacturing, process control, testing and feedbacks and that the quality system needs to be continuous and never ending. The three aspects of quality called quality trilogy are important -quality planning, quality control and quality improvement. (Greasley, 2007) Crosby philosophy: Crosby philosophy on quality management is based upon the absolutes of quality management and basic elements of improvement .The absolutes of quality management are: quality is conformance to requirements not elegance, there is no such thing as a quality problem, no such thing as economics of quality, the only performance measure is cost of quality, the only performance standard is zero defects , and the basic elements of improvement include determination, education and implementation. Six Sigma: It is a quality improvement approach which is a statistical tool and stands for the six standard deviations from the mean .It provides the techniques and tools for improving capability and reducing defects in the industry. Benchmarking: It is a process of measurement of internal processes and then the identification, understanding and adaptation of outstanding practices from the best companies in the industry. ISO 9000:US based quality standards called the Q9000-1994 series were recognized by about 100 countries and also by Japan .These standards were to define quality system that guide a companys performance of specified requirements in areas of design, development, production, installation and service. Continuous improvement: implies that the organization and its efforts are directed in a incremental and breakthrough improvement which is continuous at the sametime. These activities should be a part of daily regular part of daily work, seek to eliminate problems at their source and be driven by opportunities to do better and rectify problems that are needed to be corrected. (Krajewski, Malhotra, Ritzman, 2006) Thus when the regular cycles of planning, execution and evaluation are being conducted a quantifiable measure of continuous improvement needs to be assessed. Kaizen system: It is a system for quality improvement from internal sources and within the firm rather than from outside sources. It means in Japanese change for better. It is also continuous and ongoing improvement. TQM: Total quality management is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of the company that requires quality in all aspects of the operations with things being done right the first time and defects eliminated or eradicated from operations completely. Comparison and Contrast: The various quality philosophies and approaches determine quality to be achieved by the organization in respect of various aspects of quality in an organization and not necessarily dependent on any one approach or philosophy. The philosophy of Deming is a 14 point programme for evaluating and implementing quality and philosophy of Juran emphasizes the importance of quality training for reduction in failure costs, higher productivity and emphasizes data collection and analysis. Whereas the Crosby philosophy implies the behavioral aspects in quality, more emphasis is on management processes for changing culture and attitudes than relying on statistical techniques. But it does not provide finer details on quality management and bases itself on management thinking instead. Thus Crosby approach is more easily fit into the company and does not have implementation problems faced in implementing Deming philosophy but it has issues of being not acceptable worldwide or being that popular. Many issues exist in being able to interpret what ISO 9000 exactly is and its definition whereas few others suggest that its usefulness is questionable considering the high implementation costs in many small and medium sized companies. Although it is being implemented in successful companies by majority and is hugely popular measure/approach. (Shim et al., 1999) In Kaizen approach the human processes are important, processes evolve by gradual changes; improvement is based on statistical and quantitative performance measurement, requires trust between managers and employees. In Six Sigma approach the process of measuring variation is important .It is a statistical tool, quite effective and hugely popular. Benchmarking as a quality approach is a one off exercise not necessarily continuous helps the organization strategically and is outward looking into the industry and market the company serves. Continuous improvement is a learning paradigm which involves learning enhancement by continuous changes in the organization. TQM is an integrated approach to quality, with total resource deployment and no exceptions to quality as a standard. Thus in contrast whereas one of the approaches is a statistical tool other approaches are basic principles on effective management and whereby they take advantage in being specific and distinct from the others at the sametime they lose more on grounds of effectiveness .But many of such approaches do implement successful quality improvements in organizations leading to becoming more popular. For example six sigma was applied in Motorola, benchmarking was started by Xerox etc. (Reid Sanders, 2004) Whereas the kaizen approach involves greater trust from managers and employees alike the stress from TQM is on integration and involvement .On the other hand the continuous improvement is a management paradigm for continuously implementing changes the benchmarking is a standalone exercise in quality assessment and improvement. Thus similar comparisons can be drawn from the quality approaches and philosophies and further analysis can be made. Analyze the differences and evaluate the impact of these differences on innovation, change and competitiveness. The differences of various quality approaches and philosophies indicate that the quality can be measurable from various standpoints and tools of statistics, from various aspects of processes in organization, from output and inputs and from productivity of factor inputs .There is a wide manner of employing quality in an organization and many concepts in management can be applicable here. The most important differences are in being either traditional method, in being a one off measure, an integrated approach, statistical tool, based on manager relations and trust, continuous change and a standard acceptable by the authorities. The impact of these differences on change, innovation and competitiveness can be gauged from various standpoints. The impacts for various change management techniques can be assessed and Realized on these aspects as enumerated below: (Schroeder, 2005) The impact on change of the differences among the quality approaches and philosophies: Change The change in an organization due to quality approaches is evident from the fact that without continuous change and improvement the quality programme would be rendered ineffective. The quality programmes are initiated and lead to changes in organization because of following reasons: I. The change in customer perceptions is ongoing and therefore when an organization accepts the product design and development the first year the changes in preference and buying behavior the next year might suggest that there would indeed be more than the demand for the specific product or service. Therefore the change in demand pattern requires that the company be involved in redesigning of the product afresh and this is costly and time consuming. Hence due to changes in customer perceptions the changes in product design from quality perspective becomes apparent .The various approaches and their differences impact the assurance and reliability of specific approaches for quality programme selection in that the benchmarking approach which is one off is reliable since it can be initiated in few days and can be carried out any time of the year. An integrated approach like TQM on the other hand can address most of changes in demand by being able to be integrated from before the percepti ons of consumer start changing. Kaizen can be applicable but trust and interpersonal relations effectiveness cannot be built in a year and therefore the quality programme and its impact on change in organizations effectiveness might lead to further issues .The statistical tool of Six Sigma is a healthier alternative by being cost effective and easy to implement although both six sigma and ISO 9000 have problems in being interpreted and understood properly. (Schroeder, 1993) II Competition is continuous in the environment or market place implying that for the organization to keep ahead it needs to change implement continuously .Although the market is dynamic the organization faces constraints in time and cost .The impact of various quality programmes is effective for few approaches only like the approach of TQM which is integrative of all the factors in management and organization ,also the approach of Crosby is effective since it is based on the quality standards and thinking style which needs to be effective for management thinking in an organization facing highly competitive market. The approach of Deming and Juran impact if applied only when the organization is ready to implement such programmes due to their traditional nature and the impact takes longer time to predict as both the philosophies have implementation problems. The approach of six sigma, continuous improvement is more applicable and worthwhile when the change becomes highly impacted in s hort period of time and in lesser costs than for other approaches. (Stevenson, 2001) III The change in organizations is also impacted specifically when it is acknowledged that the change in systems and processes however sensibly designed would become obsolete after a time period and the complicacy involved adds to further changes being impacted. The philosophy of Juran and Crosby if implemented have lesser impacts since by then a change managed mindset has evolved as also in TQM and continuous improvement approaches. Whereas for implementing the Deming programme in quality the implementation and successful change management might take few years but once set there could be huge successes .The processes and management thinking if are accepting six sigma and ISO9000 standards then the quality philosophy would impact greatly the change in the structure, processes, culture of the organization and bring simplified answers to complex measurement and qualitative aspects. Competitiveness The differences in philosophies also impact greatly the competitiveness of the organization in different ways .The various philosophies and their impact on the organization with regard to competitiveness is in the following ways: Cost reduction :The Deming, Juran and Crosby approaches imply greater reduction in costs and lead to higher cost efficiencies and scale of operations if applied for few years and having overcome the initial implementation issues. The continuous improvement, Six sigma and ISO9000 standards of quality also improve the effectiveness in costs if applied and interpreted correctly .The kaizen philosophy does not indicate costs reduction that easily since it takes time for trust and long term effectiveness to materialize .The benchmarking process indicates the slack areas pretty quickly and if applied continuously the results can be successful in bringing more competitiveness. Productivity :Out of the given approaches the Crosby and Juran approach lead to greater increase in productivity than the Deming philosophy in short term only whereas the continuous improvement philosophy implies that the competitiveness increases in much lesser time duration and lesser costs .Six sigma and ISO9000 would tend to be better in estimating the level of competitiveness and productivity for the organization .The benchmarking and Continuous improvement approach are also highly recommended for enhancing the productivity and competitiveness in the company. Kaizen philosophy has more than required impact on enhancing competitiveness and productivity as it involves each and every manager and as well as employee. Differentiation: The effect of these quality approaches on product design differentiation is more marked .The product can be classified as custom, option oriented and standard in designs. The design differentiation is applicable for Juran and Crosby philosophy which indicate better results when their impact on implementation for changing custom and option oriented product designs are better than the standard products. Also the Continuous improvement, Kaizen and benchmarking are highly effective in determining the best changes in design for the market is ever changing and the competitiveness based on differentiation strategy could be the marked presence for competing companies. The six sigma and ISO9000 can deliver better if they are combined with a strategic perspective rather being utilized in a standalone environment. Innovation The competitiveness and increase in number of industries competing for market share has increased in the past decade. This has been leading the companies fighting in the market place scenario for developing innovative products and inventions through rigorous research and development programs .The innovations and inventions enhance credibility in a fast changing environment .The philosophy of Juran and Crosby are highly effective whereas Deming philosophy takes time to implement .The six sigma and ISO 9000 have been highly appreciated as being successful programs in delivering innovations and building needs for greater enhancement in quality from new products and services. Whereas the Kaizen philosophy has impacted innovations to a great extent yet the problem of long term applicability from human relations perspective has lessened its applicability. The continuous improvement and benchmarking have found to be effective in developing the new products directly rather than approaching i ssue from other standpoints. (Stevenson, 2008) Recommend actions that organizations might take to improve its existing quality approach with respect to their impact on innovation, change and competitiveness, and identify any areas that need further analysis. The various approaches and quality programmes have been able to deliver their impact on change, competitiveness and innovation .The Company and organizations ability to enhance the quality is stemming from the various issues and situations that the company would necessarily be facing in the real time. Thus for the company and organization to evaluate the different approaches impact and selecting the right combination of strategies would be important. The varied approaches and scenarios would then be based upon following factors: culture, life cycle study of organization, size of organization, money budget, Time period for implementation. Quality programme will be implemented that best suites the organization and its level of management culture and involvement. Thus the Kaizen philosophy which is highly cost effective and has a thinking style would be appreciated if it is applied in an organization which is small to medium size, with sensible budget, has time for evaluating quality responses internally, has an independent and welcoming culture .The programme for Deming philosophy would be best applicable in a large organization with higher budget, greater requirement for innovations and change management and greater time for application .If the culture is appreciable then the quality programme would also be greatly and easily applicable. The benchmarking can be effective along with continuous improvement in the organizations where budgets are limited, highly competitive environment and change is crucial for survival. The Juran and Crosby philosophies are applicable for those companies and organizations where the need for implementing change as cultural factor is important, which have bigger budgets with medium time and conflicts in culture are more marked. The approach of ISO9000 and six sigma are also applicable to firms which have innovation and change management in highly competitive environment, whose budgets are smaller and need for growth is large .The application of TQM is only applicable when it is started early on in an organization since the total quality approach requires greater integration and applicability of the respective quality approach in an organization which is facing budget costs, need for innovation continuously and requires change management as well. It could be a large or small company with limited or unlimited budget. The areas needing further analysis and work in quality improvement in organizations are huge and great in number. One can enumerate few aspects which need to be cleared in the meantime like benchmarking with respect to innovation and cost reduction ,reengineering processes ,measurement of quality from better scales, quality team building and management, quality circles in different organizations, evaluations of quality programmes with respect to availability of data on sales and revenues from including change management and other strategies. This area of research where the availability of multitude of factors impinge upon the given quality level therefore is a growing area of management and developing work in this area would lead to further benefits. (Waters, 1999) Conclusion Due to the nature of quality management as being a latest phenomenon of the 20th century it is a highly unorthodox concept which needs to be evaluated in the light of current changes and improvements in market behavior of suppliers and buyers both at the same time as also the increase in competitiveness and innovativeness in organizations along with increases in change management styles .therefore the study has been important in highlighting the need for quality approach for a particular company from the required abilities and situations .The realization of benefits of the quality programme have been therefore been found as applicable to the organizations operations management which have been able to implement such programmes with success. Success in implementation further depends upon the quality of selection of programme with respect to situation and scenario analysis.Expert advice and comments with the organizations is not available in easy way and has high costs and fees. Thus it is expected that the firm or organization which would be intending to have quality programme for effectiveness in operations would ascertain the applicability of the programme and then buy the programme from a suitable expert or develop one internally. The learning from the quality approaches and philosophies has been greater in recognizing the worth of quality in managing organizations and that is started early onwards quality improvement and correct estimation could lead to better results in long term and strategically positioning the company. The ability of the company in being able to ascertain competitiveness, change management and innovations is highly likely to grow with the years to come as research gathers pace in this area. At the moment the respective situation analysis and proper utilization of correct quality programme is the only actionable criteria. From the above quality study I have gathered that as a manager for a given organization the quality improvement guidelines that I have come across are highly important in making me discover the respective ability and impact on the organization and management. The level of quality improvements and future work that would be applicable would be the concern areas which I would be intending to study as part of my efforts in gaining further knowledge and learning in other disciplines. Although the study has been highly informative and guided through the process I would be of opinion that a larger study on quality management and its imperatives for operations management is further possible.

Taxing and E-Commerce Essay -- Internet Tax Sales Papers

Taxing and E-Commerce With the advent of the Internet, e-commerce exploded, and in 2003, the estimated value of online sales was 95.7 billion dollars (epaynews). It also is estimated that 30% of online users buy online (epaynews). As e-commerce and the revenues from e-commerce increase, so do the questions and problems concerning taxes. Because of the global nature of the World Wide Web, and more than 30,000 tax jurisdictions in the United States (US), (Internet Taxation) it is easy to see the complications that exist in the taxation of e-commerce. Who do you tax? How is it collected? Can taxes be collected from a sale that was made in another state, and what is considered a substantial â€Å"nexus† in the buyers state. Because 75% of the American population have access and use the Internet (Don’t Tax the Internet) this is an issue that affects the majority of Americans. According to an article published by the Citizens For a Sound Economy, â€Å"State and local access fees could add 20-25 % to the average Internet consumer’s bill †¦ that may not sound like much in Washington, but it could strand millions of low-income Americans on the wrong side of the digital divide† (Don’t tax the internet). Because taxation is an issue that affects most Americans, it is important to understand what types of taxes that there are and that could be levied, the past and current internet taxation policies, and finally the challenges and benefits of internet taxation. There are many different taxes that are being considered at this time, and that could be levied on the Internet and its users. The first type, which is being considered, affects all Internet users, as it is a tax on Internet access. In some states where this type of tax does exist it is ... ...d affect global consumers, I think that it is fair that the consumer be subject to the vendor’s country’s tax. I learned a lot from the research that I did. I learned that those in the government are considering Internet taxation, and whether we agree or disagree, it is important that we get involved. Otherwise, we may end up with an outcome that we disagree with. Work Cited Epaynews: http://www.epaynews.com/statistics/purchases.html Internet Taxation: http://www.pubpol.duke.edu/centers/dewitt/course/internetandsociety/taxation/ Don’t Tax the Internet: http://www.cse.org/informed/issues_template.php?issue_id=1748 Internet Taxation: Which side are you on?: http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol4/internet-taxation.htm E-Commerce and Internet Taxation: Issues, Organizations, and Findings: http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/jun00/gordon-murnane.htm

Athena in the Odyssey vs. Virgil in the Inferno Essay

Two of the greatest works ever written, The Odyssey by Homer and The Inferno by Dante, are detailed, multi-sectioned poems about the journey’s of two men. In each story, the main character is given some sort of guidance by another character in order to aid them in their travels. In The Odyssey, Athena is portrayed as the protector to Odysseus on his journey back home from the Trojan War to his family in Ithaca. In The Inferno, Virgil is requested to lead Dante through the depths of Hell in order to save his soul. Many similarities can be seen between the two characters as they both served as advice givers, protectors, and guides for the main character. While the two guides seem very alike in the way’s they help, it turns out that many differences can be observed between their ways. Athena and Virgil can both be perceived as escorts in the main characters’ journey, but they both are leading their pupils towards different endings and these endings can be representa tive of a much larger purpose that describes the two authors’ views on life at the time each poem was written. In Greek mythology, Athena is regarded as the goddess of Wisdom. She uses her wisdom to aid Odysseus on his journey back home to his family, through various trials and tribulations. Athena’s guidance can be seen when Odysseus is finally being allowed to leave Calypso’s island, which outraged Poseidon. Poseidon sends a great wave to wreck Odysseus’s ship and possibly drown him in the vast ocean but instead Athena helps him survive. â€Å"But Zeus’s daughter Athena countered him at once./ The rest of the winds she stopped right in their tracks,/commanding them all to hush now, go to sleep./ All but the boisterous North-she whipped him up/ and the goddess beat the breakers flat before Odysseus,/ dear to Zeus, so he could reach the Phaeacians,/ mingle with men who love their long oars/ and escape his death at last.† (Ody. 5. 421-427). Another example of Athena protecting Odysseus is during the great battle in the hall when Odysseus finally confronts his wife’s suitors. Athena appears to Odysseus in the form of Mentor and tries to motivate Odysseus to kill all the suitors off with threats and accusations. She even commands the suitors to through their spears at Odysseus all at once. â€Å"At his command,/ concentrating their shots, all six hurled as one/ but Athena sent to whole salvo wide of the mark†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Ody. 22. 267-269). Odysseus sees that all of his men are untouched by the suitor’s spears, and this action propels him to take charge and lead an attack on the suitors. Each time Athena guides or protects Odysseus, it’s in order to save his life. She desperately wants Odysseus to get home because Odysseus is a war hero and a King, very much deserving of a safe return home. Athena thinks very highly of Odysseus because he is such a great warrior and she feels he exemplifies the virtue of excellence. It’s easy to see how the ideals of society on life and death in Homer’s 7th Century BC times are portrayed through Athena’s help. The people of this time were most concerned on how you lived your life during the time you had. For them there was no glorious afterlife, so there was no need to try and save your soul to reap the prize of a great time after death. Homer uses Athena as Odysseus’s guide to get back home and live out the rest of his life the way he pleases. He’s spent his time as a warrior and won his most important battles before the beginning of the poem, so now he deserves to live out the rest of his l ife in peace with those he loves the most. Once he arrives home and fights off his wife’s suitors (with the help of Athena of course) he will finally be free in a sense to enjoy his life. In Dante’s The Inferno, Virgil serves as a guide for Dante through the depths of Hell. Virgil is widely considered an allegory for human reason. Reason is needed in a Christian worldview in order to control emotion and desire from taking control allowing for acts of sin. Reason is God’s gift to mankind, a way of staying on the right path and avoiding the dark side of life, if it is used properly. Virgil was requested to help a lost Dante save his soul by Dante’s departed love, Beatrice, who represents God’s grace. Virgil leads Dante through Hell in order for him to learn the descriptions of sins and their consequences. Virgil is with Dante through out his entire journey, unlike Athena who only appears to Odysseus in The Odyssey every once in a while. One example of how Virgil is always there to lead Dante is when Dante faints before entering the First Circle of Hell. Dante faints at the shine of a bright light and awakens already in the next circle. â€Å"With rested eyes, I stood/ and looked about me, then fixed my gaze/ to make out where I was./ I found myself upon the brink/ of an abyss of suffering/ filled with the roar of endless woe.† (Inf. 4. 4-9). This type of situation occurs many times throughout the poem, as Dante proves many times too weak to carry on, and Virgil takes care of him, protects him, and moves them along on their journey. Another situation is when Dante and Virgil arrive at the center of Circle 9 of Hell. They come to the great body of Lucifer, and Virgil throws Dante on his back to continue their upward climb out of Hell. â€Å"At his request I clasped him round the neck./ When the wings had opened wide enough/ he chose the proper time and place/ and took a handhold on those hairy flanks./ Then from hank to hank he clambered down between the thick pelt and the crusted ice.† (Inf. 34. 70-75). While Virgil leads Dante physically in many ways, he also serves as a voice of reason and leads through his words. An example of this is back as they are entering the First Circle. Dante says, â€Å"My master (Virgil) began: ‘You do not ask about/ the souls you see? I want you to know,/ before you venture farther,/ ‘they did not sin. Though they have merit,/ that is not enough, for they were unbaptized,/ denied the gateway to the faith that you profess./ ‘And if they lived before the Christians lived,/ they did not worship God aright./ And among these I am one.† (Inf. 4. 31-39). In this situation, Virgil not only instructs Dante on what he needs to do, but also reveals a little more information about himself as well. Although Virgil seems to guide Dante in almost the exact same way Athena guides Odysseus, Virgil is working towards an all-together different purpose. In Dante’s 14th century AD Christian society, it was imperative to ensure that you lived a good life on earth and repented for all your sins so that you would be in God’s presence in the after-life. Dante uses Virgil as a way for his audience to see that the most important thing is to save one’s soul, even if a little guidance is required to do so. Dante needed to travel through the depths of Hell to be able to wake up and realize how reason should control emotions and desires so that life can be lived in God’s name allowing for a magnificent afterlife. By showing Dante the different circles of Hell, Dante learns the nature of sin and it’s consequences. Virgil teaches Dante a most important lesson; when reason is not in control, it is more likely to commit harsh sins, sins worthy of an afterlife in Hell and not in God’s good grace. Virgil steers Dante toward the light of God once again, saving him from his impending doom, had he not been able to save his wandering soul. Athena and Virgil are considered to be a form of guidance to their poem’s main characters. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Athena helps to ensure Odysseus’s safe return home, but also allows him to live out the rest of his wonderful life on earth by saving him from various dangers including Poseidon and his wife’s suitors. In Dante’s The Inferno, Virgil serves as Dante’s escort through the circles of Hell, but also pilots Dante back into God’s grace by saving his soul. Each can be seen as not only a physical chaperon but also a spiritual one that illustrates society’s point of view on life or afterlife at the time each poem was written. Works Cited Alighieri, Dante. Inferno. Trans. Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander. New York: Anchor, 2002. Print. Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1997. Print.

Portfolio Essay

Portfolio Reflection Essay The beginning of high school I was a seed in English class. I was not particularly good at English and had doubts on whether I should ask the teacher to move me down to the college prep class. Just like a seed, I was a plain little student sitting in an honors class. Maybe from last year’s English class, I was fully aware my writing was not anything special. That was what I thought because I compared myself to my friends, but for sure, one thing I was positive was that writing was my strength in English rather than vocabulary and reading comprehension.With a portfolio with all my past essays in front of me on my desk, I flipped through it. I noticed that my essays were not well-organized, and I had trouble with structuring my essays. However, at the same time, I saw that I had a variety of transitions, and clear topic sentences. The topic sentences were not creative because it was in a basic format, but I knew she could work on that the upcoming year .Thanks to the portfolio that my teacher handed out at the start of the school year, I was able to realize that my writing can change and believed that if I put time and effort through the year, my writing may become a flower one day and bloom beautifully. I sat down in that classroom, day after day, learning new ways to improve. Eventually, almost a year of 9th grade passed. Now that almost a year has gone by and I compare my current self to myself in the beginning of the school year, I definitely see an improvement.I started the year off well, with many A’s in my timed writing and my annotations. But as the year progressed, my grades were dropping. At first, I thought it was because I was putting less effort or my English teacher was grading hard on me. Although my grades did not show improvement, I feel my grades are unimportant. What really matters to me is that I grew and improved mentally through the year despite what my low grades. Of course, if I improved then my grad es would rise, but compared to the beginning of the school year, I feel that I am able to write more fluently.Response to literature essays seem more familiar to me, and I do not struggle with concrete details anymore. Due to the timed constant timed writings I had to take, I can brainstorm essays faster and finish essays within the given time limit. Paying attention to details was a major problem for me in the beginning of the school year, but now I know that I should read the text more than once and constantly write notes in the book with post-its so that I do not forget what happened.In addition, just like I wanted to improve on my topic sentences, I was able to learn to make a variety of topic sentences instead of the basic topic sentence formats. Discussions, homework, lectures, and tests, were not the most interesting things, but through these, I was able to change. Throughout the year, I was given many on-demand writings reflecting upon each book that I read in class. I alway s had trouble with brainstorming because I took too much time on it. I was not able to organize my paragraphs well with pressure of time.The results of this were shown through my basic formatted paragraphs because I could not think of varieties of sentences. However, as time passed, my brainstorming time got faster and I was able to have enough time to edit my essay afterwards. As I looked through my portfolio toward the end of the year, I saw all the on-demand writings I took over the course of the year. My favorite one turned out to be the Fahrenheit 451 in class essay. The essay was well written according to the comments from the teacher.It had an interesting opening sentence, organized thesis, and clear topic sentences. I am proud that I showed changes in my TS especially since I wrote the Fahrenheit 451 ICE toward the beginning of the school year. I would probably say that this essay is far the best on-demand writing I have ever written. In addition, I wrote a couple other ICEs on Oedipus Rex and Romeo and Juliet. From these two essays, I learned that I need to work on my commentaries and my introduction paragraph. I look forward to seeing new growth in myself next year. Process essays were my worst essays.It took up lots of time to brainstorm and research, especially since they are worth a lot of points and important. However, I found that the fact that we had only a limited amount of sentences for commentary was invaluable. I should have the freedom to write as much as I want in the commentary especially since that part is one the most important parts to each body paragraph. A couple essays I wrote were a persuasive essay and a career report. Typically, people would favor the essay that received a higher grade, but I prefer my persuasive essay. It had an attractive hook, but needed work on unity and depth.Persuasive essays are my worst type of essay especially because I have to do research and I am terrible at looking up concrete details for these essay s. I usually tend to blow off my commentaries because I do not have enough detail. But while flipping through my last year’s essay, I found a persuasive essay, and it brought a smile to my face. There was a huge improvement with the flow of the essay. My other essay, the career report, was definitely better than my persuasive because it had a good introduction and integrations, but the improvement touched me more than just a grade.I never knew an essay with the worst grade I ever received could make me smile. At the moment, I am a seed with a small, barely noticeable sprout. I feel that I am still not a great writer, but I learned many valuable lessons this school year. Through those lessons and small improvements I noticed, I hope my writing will grow and bloom like flowers in the spring. Next year, I wish to create stronger commentaries, introductions, and conclusion paragraphs. My weaknesses will become my strengths to improve throughout my high school years.

Physical Abuse Letter

Shondra Gant 91-1413 Halahua St. Kapolei, HI 96707 (123)456-7890 [email  protected] com October 7, 2012 Theo Bark Writer TheBoomBox. com 770 Broadway New York, NY 10003 Dear Mr. Bark, Your article written on October 5, 2012 concerning the Chris Brown and Rihanna matter, writing how her father approves of their reconciliation is not a subject that should just be taken lightly.Abusive relationships are a serious matter and stating that it is okay to continue a relationship with your abuser is the wrong message to be sending to people, including those that are in abusive relationships and won't speak up about what they go through. Considering that 80% of girls in abusive relationships continue to be in the relationship with their abuser( Bhatti paragraph 7, statistic 2), ending a relationship and starting it back up again is the same circumstance. Writing this article IS NOT the correct message that you should be sending.That ultimately the people that hurt you once can change and won 't hurt you again, â€Å"He used to hit her†¦. He swore that it wouldn't happen again but it only got worse;†( Sparks, P. 64). 33% of teenagers do not speak up if they are being abused( Bhatti paragraph 6, statistic 3), 24% of women ages 18-35 haven't said if they were being harmed in an abusive relationship( Glamour magazine). When Rihanna spoke up about he matter, they said goodbye, there was a hearing, and they stopped speaking.Now these rumors of a reconciliation are bringing up memories and making this a hot topic again. And now coming out, saying her father approves of this, that this event between them is just a ‘mistake, and everyone should be forgiven once'( Bark, paragraph 3). People who continue to forgive abusers realize they shouldn't have, and by writing this article this is what you are saying: Just go ahead and forgive! Abusive relationships are a major issue, but seeing how these are music professionals that people listen to and look up to, this hi ts home much more.The children that look up to these individuals will think, â€Å"well she took him back! I can too!!! † Do you have kids Mr. Bark? I don't, but I have 6 younger siblings, seeing your article that a family member approves of an abuser getting back together with the abused, and every other article stating they are back together IS NOT something I want my siblings thinking is acceptable in society. Thank you for your time in reading my letter on what I thought of your article. Sincerely yours, Shondra Gant

The Arts A Fundamental Element Of Ones Human Condition...

The arts are a fundamental element of ones human condition as it provides a medium for the freedom of self-expression such as thoughts, ideas, beliefs and culture. Through this, worldviews are communicated and reflected. There is a natural necessity to create as it shares an insight into identity and culture (Wright, 2002).One who contributes, participates and views art, experience and demonstrate imagination, creativity, self-achievement, pride and pleasure. Through implementing arts into early childhood, it can foster and support a child’s mean making, self- expression and holistic development (Wright, 2002). The arts play an immense role in a child’s holistic development as it supports the links between body, cognition, spirit and culture. It is evident the arts have multiple benefits to a child’s visual, spatial, aural and bodily-kinaesthetic modes or multimodal leaning (Wright, 2002). 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Evaluating Globshop s Management Of Outsourcing And The...

Critically analyse Globshop’s management of outsourcing and the future challenges. Will they be successful? Why or why not? 8150842 Digital Transformation of Business and Society Case 3: Global Software Outsourcing Brian Nicholson 30 April, 2015 1. Introduction Globshop, a global travel-retail company chose to offshore a large portion of its ICT work to India, initially as an effort to centralize and standardise ICT infrastructure and business processes across separate countries but eventually as a strategy of cost reduction because they were faced with environmental shocks that impacted their business. It was a successful arrangement owing to the effort made in managing the relationship between the company and the partner handling major parts of their ICT infrastructure. In the long run Globshop must balance the cost/benefits gained by offshoring elements of its informatics provision against the long term need to control those provisions especially when considering the future of ICT developments. 1.0 Globshop’s Management of Outsourcing 2.1 Top Management Support 2.2 Outsourcing Successes 2.3 Outsourcing Challenges 2.4 Outsourcing Problems 2.5 Key Management Issues 2.0 The Future of Outsourcing for Globshop 4. Why Globshop may not be Successful 4.1 The Side Effects that may Negate the Future Benefits of Outsourcing to Globshop Outsourcing Globshop’s IT functions because the economy had hit them hard and it appeared to make good sense but it had certain