On the Road Jack Kerouacs Rejection of the Middle Class...

Jack Kerouac was one of a group of young men who, immediately after the Second World War, protested against what they saw as the blandness, conformity and lack of cultural purpose of middle-class life in America. The priorities of people of their age, in the mainstream of society, were to get married, to move the suburbs, to have children and to accumulate wealth and possessions. Jack Kerouac and his friends consciously rejected this pursuit of stability and instead looked elsewhere for personal fulfillment. They were the Beats, the pioneers of a counterculture that came to be known as the Beat Generation. The Beats saw mainstream life as a prison. They wanted freedom, the freedom to pick up and go at a moments notice. This search for†¦show more content†¦I had just gotten over a serious illness that I wont bother to talk about, except that it had something to do with a miserably weary split-up and my feeling that everything was dead (Kerouac 1). Thus begins Sals life on the road and his search for a more meaningful, authentic life. He has failed to find authenticity in mainstream society but hopes to find it on societys fringes. In the novel, Sals search for authenticity begins and ends with his association with Dean Moriarty. His highly charged friendship with Dean Moriarty continues throughout the novel but finally ends with a denouement in Mexico City. In his frenetic search for authenticity, Sal encounters a continuous progression of marginalized people that include not only Deans friends and sexual partners but also hobos, migratory farm workers and black jazz musicians. Sal feels that all these people have authenticity because they all value the immediate over the traditional expectations of mainstream society. Kerouac defines the intense moment or It as the culmination of the immediate. It is well illustrated when Sal and Dean, together with a group of their Beat friends, go to a wild party at the house of Rollo Greb on Long Island, and Dean e nthuses about Rollo saying, if you go like him all the time youll finally get it. Get what? It! It! Ill tell you - now no time, we have no time now (127). Later inShow MoreRelated Importance of Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road Essay3039 Words   |  13 PagesMoriarty in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road It is Dean Moriarty, in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, who represents the eternal flame of youth that was adopted by the rebellious youth culture of the Beat Generation. He is free from responsibility, â€Å"simply a youth tremendously excited with life†¦want[ing] so much to live and to get involved with people who would otherwise pay no attention to him† (Kerouac 4). Just as the Greek of the Olympics, â€Å"with [the] torch†¦[that] ignites the pagan dream of immortality†

Tanglewood Stores Free Essays

1. Answering this question demonstrates that processes underlie all of our jobs. What might be surprising is how many students would put their job in the category of â€Å"other,† suggesting that many jobs do not fall neatly into any one functional area. We will write a custom essay sample on Tanglewood Stores or any similar topic only for you Order Now Perhaps many in the â€Å"other† category might best be called â€Å"operations† on further reflection. Customers, both internal and external, are part of each process, and the goal is to manage the processes to add the most value for them. 2. Amazon. com offers a very broad range of services and products at competitive prices. Its competitive priorities would include fast delivery time, on-time delivery, customization, variety and low-cost operations. As a business, Amazon. com is actually assembling a customized basket of goods that must be delivered in a short window of time in a dependable fashion. Low-cost operations are needed to remain competitive. To remain in business, Amazon. com needs to maintain high volumes of traffic. Operations strategy must focus on stock availability and quick, economical, and dependable delivery. 3. The hospital’s commitment to provide attention to patients arriving to the emergency unit in less than 15 minutes and never to turn away patients who need to be hospitalized implies that the facility must be designed to have extra capacity in both beds and emergency room facilities. It must plan on having extra personnel in the emergency room and also plan on having additional emergency personnel on call to take care of unprecedented heavy loads. In line with the mission statement, maximum utilization of the facilities (i. e. beds and emergency room personnel) would not be one of the performance objectives for the hospital. 4. FedEx traditionally has competed on the basis of fast, dependable delivery. Before the boom in Internet applications, many businesses relied on FedEx to get things to other businesses overnight. Now, this need is beginning to diminish as sophisticated systems are being installed to assist companies in planning operations better. And, the internet based companies are adding more demands for low cost ground deliveries to specific customer doors. FedEx, in order to remain competitive with companies such as UPS, has moved into the door-to-door delivery business, perhaps through acquisition. Nonetheless, it will require changes to this company’s competitive priorities. 5. Technology Management. To identify a market segment, we need to determine answers to questions such as: Which colleges and departments currently offer the subject? What do instructors desire in the way of textbook support? Is there a trend toward Technology Management courses? Are there other Technology Management texts? Some needs assessment can be accomplished by survey, but the response rate may be low. A high-investment strategy would be to ask or hire instructors to review and critique a list of topics, then an outline, then a draft. Explicit services include supplying information about the subject in the form of a textbook and instructor support in the form of ancillary publications. 6. It is often not a good idea for a company to try to excel in all of the competitive priorities because it is generally impossible to do so. Mediocrity is a predictable result. The choice and the minimum level of one or more of the competitive priorities are set by the order qualifiers for the particular product or service. The choice of the competitive priorities that the company should emphasize is usually governed by the company’s strategy driven by its mission statement and the core competencies that the company wants to harness to seek the best competitive advantage. 7. Core processes should link to a firm’s core competencies. Core processes are those processes that provide the firm the best competitive advantage. Essential to the definition a firm’s core processes is the concept of â€Å"interaction costs. † These costs include the time and money that are expended whenever people and companies exchange services, products, or ideas. If the transaction costs are higher to retain a process within the firm’s organization than to outsource the process, the process should be outsourced. 8. Wendy’s assembles hamburgers to order. When materials are held at the stage just before final assembly, they can be used to complete a wide variety of different sandwiches. Because no finished-goods stock exists, when customers say, â€Å"Hold the sauce,† there is no delay or waste of materials. Service clerks specialize. One clerk takes orders and payment. Others fill portions of the order. Orders are processed in single file. Throughput is normally restricted by transactions at the cash register. At busy times, throughput is increased by splitting the bottleneck operation. One clerk takes customer orders, another receives payment. The Wendy’s operation has some characteristics of assembly. Therefore, the impact of new menu items on the production operations must be carefully considered. 9. Grandmother’s Chicken. a. Kathryn Shoemaker’s strategic plans include the following: Product and service plans: Should the new location offer a new mix? Competitive priorities: If the product mix and service mix are different at the new location, the thrust could be on low volumes and high quality. Quality management: Should the goal be reliability or top quality? Process strategy: What processes will be needed to make chicken dinners in the addition or new facility? New technologies: Is it time to automate? Is this why there is a problem in service times? Capacity: How large should the addition or new facility be? Location: Should we locate in Uniontown or expand in Middlesburg? b. Attitudes toward nutrition could change the demand for chicken. Competitors such as Boston Market may be planning to move to Uniontown or even Middlesburg. There may be a trend toward demands for ever-faster service, which cannot be supported by the processes specified in the â€Å"unique recipe. † The economy of Uniontown might not be supportive of restaurant services. Shoemaker should also consider the availability of key resources, such as servers, whole chickens, spices, and cooking oil. Will Uniontown labor organize? c. The possible distinctive competencies at Grandmother’s Chicken Restaurant include the â€Å"unique recipe,† the homey atmosphere, and friendly, prompt service. 0. Wild West, is recognizable as US WEST, which was bought out by Qwest in a hostile takeover in June, 2000. But many other â€Å"Baby Bells† are in a similar position. a. Strategic plans include reducing overhead, reengineering operations, and investing in new technologies to meet competition. The â€Å"do-nothing† option of remaining a local monopoly telephone company is not viable because of competition from cable systems and wireless systems that are capable of business and personal communication. If the mission is too broad, Wild West should sell its financial services and commercial real-estate businesses. Those businesses do not match their distinctive competencies. b. One environmental issue is whether communication, like health care, will be viewed as a â€Å"right† and therefore should be free. A significant portion of Wild West’s business is governed by regulatory agencies. Customer service in their core business is essential to maintaining a favorable regulatory environment. Other business opportunities, such as manufacturing and providing information services, are prohibited by the same court order that formed the â€Å"Baby Bells† from ATT. c. Wild West’s distinctive competency is in connecting people (or machines) for the purpose of communication. A weakness is high overhead inherited from the era of telecommunication monopoly. 11. Although the answers may vary depending on the â€Å"niche† elements of the business, the competitive priorities would include on-time delivery, low-cost operations, and customization. The latter competitive priority comes from the capability to assemble unique â€Å"baskets† of food items for each customer. There may be a need to coordinate a given basket between two different stores. Capabilities to develop would include information systems and Web page design, efficient scheduling of delivery trucks (which must first collect the items in the basket and then deliver them to the customer’s door), and an adequate fleet of trucks with drivers. PROBLEMS 1. Boehring University a. Value of output: [pic] Value of input: labor + material + overhead [pic] Multifactor Productivity ratio: Productivity [pic] Compared to Solved problem 1, multifactor productivity has increased from 1. 25 to 1. 76. b. Value of output is the same as in part a: [pic] Labor-hours of input: pic] Productivity ratio: Labor Productivity [pic] The $192 season ticket price is not used in this calculation. It is a â€Å"red herring. † 2. Suds and Duds Laundry a. Labor productivity | |Number of |Input |Output |Output/Input | |Week |Workers |(Labor-hours) |(Shirts) |Ratio | |1 |2 |24 |68 |2. 83 shirts/hour | |2 |2 |46 |130 |2. 83 shirts/hour | |3 |3 |62 |152 |2. 45 shirts/hour | |4 |3 |51 |1 25 |2. 45 shirts/hour | |5 |2 |45 |131 |2. 91 shirts/hour | b. Output per person does not vary much whether it is Sud, Dud, or Jud working. Productivity declines when all three are present. Perhaps there isn’t enough work to keep three persons occupied, or perhaps there is not enough work space or equipment to accommodate three workers. 3. Compact disc players Value of Output: $300 Value of Input: Labor + Materials + Overhead Productivity [pic] 10% productivity improvement [pic] Given productivity[pic], and the value of output [pic] we solve for the cost of inputs: Productivity [pic] Input [pic] or $136 The cost of inputs must decrease by[pic]. a. A $14 reduction in material costs is [pic] b. A $14 reduction in labor costs is [pic] c. A $14 reduction in overhead is $14/$50 = 28. 00% . The output of a process is valued at $100 per unit. The cost of labor is $50 per hour including benefits. The accounting department provided the following information about the process for the past four weeks: | |Week 1 |Week 2 |Week 3 |Week 4 | |Units Produced |1124 |1310 |1092 |981 | |Total Value |112,400 |131,000 |109,200 |98,100 | |Labor ($) |12,735 |14,842 |10,603 |9526 | |Labor (hrs) |254. 7 |296. 8 |212. 1 |190. 5 | |Material ($) |21,041 |24,523 |20,442 |18,364 | |Overhead ($) |8,992 |10,480 |8,736 |7,848 | |Multifactor Productivity |2. 63 |2. 63 |2. 75 |2. 75 | |Labor Productivity |4. 1 units/hr |4. 41units/hr |5. 15 units/hr |5. 15 units/hr | a. Use the multifactor productivity ratio to see whether recent process improvements had any effect and, if so, when the effect was noticeable. Value of output [pic] Value of input: labor + material + overhead $12,735 + $21,041 + $8,992 = $42,768 Productivity ratio: Labor Productivity [pic] Week 1Productivity [pic] Week 2Productivity [pic] Week 3Productivity [pic] Week 4Productivity [pic] [pic] Improved 4. 45% – noticeable in Week 3 b. Has labor productivity changed? Use the labor productivity ratio to support your answer. Labor-hours of input: Labor $50/hour Labor costs Week 1 = $12,735/$50 = 254. 7 Week 2 = $14,842/$50 = 296. 84 Week 3 = $10,603/$50 = 212. 06 Week 4 = $9,526/$50 = 190. 52 Productivity ratio: Labor Productivity [pic] Week 1 = Labor Productivity [pic] Week 2 = Labor Productivity [pic] Week 3 = Labor Productivity [pic] Week 4 = Labor Productivity [pic] [pic] Improved 16. 68% 5. Alyssa’s Custom Cakes a. [pic] [pic] Solve for x = $850/1. 25 = $680 Total costs = $680 Average cost per cake = $680/10 = $68/cake b. Labor productivity Birthday cake = $50/ 1. 5 hours = $33. 30/hour Wedding Cake = $150/ 4 hours = $37. 50/hour Specialty Cake = $100/1 hours = $100/hour c. Based on labor productivity, Alyssa should try to sell specialty cakes the most. d. Yes, Alyssa should stop selling birthday cakes. Based on answer a, she loses $68 – $50 = $18 everytime she sells a birthday cake. advanced PROBLEMS 6. Big Black Bird Company The Big Black Bird Company problem is based on a product made by Raven Industries. None of the numbers are representative of actual costs or volume. a. Multifactor Productivity Original Situation: Value of output: [pic] Value of input: [pic] Productivity ratio: Productivity [pic] Overtime Situation: Value of output: [pic] Value of input: [pic] Productivity ratio: Productivity [pic] Productivity decreases by: [pic] b. Labor Productivity Original Situation: Value of output (from part a) is: $500,000 Labor-hours of input: [pic] Labor productivity [pic] Overtime Situation: Value of output (from part a) is: $800,000 Labor-hours of input: [pic] Labor productivity =$800,000 / 7200 hours = $111. 11/hours Labor productivity decreases by: (125/111. 11) / 125 x 100% = 11. 1% c. Gross profits Original Situation:[pic] Overtime Situation:[pic] Weekly profits increased. 7. Mack’s Guitar Company a. Labor productivity = output/input Output = 100 guitars x 80% completion rate x price/guitar = 80 guitars/ month x $250/guitar = $20,000 Input Labor = 10/hours per guitar x 100 guitars = 1000 hours Labor productivity is $20,000/1000 = $20/hour Multifactor productivity ratio = output/input Output = 100 guitars x 80% completion rate x price/guitar = 80 guitars/ month x $250/guitar = $20,000 Input Labor = $10/hour x 10/hours per guitar x 100 guitars = $10, 000 Material = $40/guitar x 100 guitars = $4, 000 Overhead = $4,000 Multifactor productivity ratio = $20, 000/$18, 000 = 1. 11 b. Option 1. Increase sales price by 10% Output = 100 guitars x 80% completion rate x ($250 x 1. 1) = $22,000 Input Labor is same as in part (a) = $10,000 Material is same as in part (a). = $4,000 Overhead is same as in part (a) = $4,000 Multifactor productivity ratio = $22,000/$18,000 = 1. 22 Option 2. Improve Quality Output = 100 guitars x 90% completion rate x $250/guitar = $22,500 Input Labor is same as in part (a) = $10,000 Material is same as in part (a). = $4,000 Overhead is same as in part (a) = $4,000 Multifactor productivity ratio = $22,500/$18,000 = 1. 25 Option 3. Reduce costs by 10% Output = same as in part (a) = $20,000 Input Reduce costs by 10% yields 90% of the input costs from part (a). = $18,000 x 0. 90 = $16,200 Multifactor productivity ratio = $20,000/$16,200 = 1. 23 Darren should choose Option 2 and improve quality because it yields the greatest improvement in multifactor productivity. CASE: CHAD’S CREATIVE CONCEPTS* A. Synopsis This case describes a small furniture manufacturing company that has gained a reputation for creative designs and quality by focusing on producing custom-designed furniture. As its reputation grew it began to sell some standard furniture pieces to retail outlets. The overall growth in sales volume and the diversification into the production of standard furniture pieces have caused a number of issues to arise concerning both the internal manufacturing operations and its relationship to the other functional areas of the company. B. Purpose This case is designed to be used as either a â€Å"cold-call† case for class discussion or an assigned homework reading. Major points to be brought out in the discussion include: 1. The range of decisions that are made in designing and operating processes 2. The impact that these operating decisions have on the organization as a whole, such as on marketing and finance 3. The impact that decisions made in other functional areas of the organization have on the operating function 4. The need to go beyond the â€Å"functional silo† mentality and manage in an integrative manner C. Analysis Question 1: What types of decisions must Chad Thomas make daily for his company’s operations to run effectively? Over the long run? The students should be able to discuss a number of short-term-oriented decisions that are facing Chad Thomas. These should include: a. How to set priorities and schedule different orders. Chad is receiving orders for both custom-made, low-volume furniture pieces and higher-volume, standard pieces. Sales have increased, but the amount of equipment and the production capacity of the company have not. Different orders with different manufacturing requirements are now competing for the same productive capacity. b. What orders to accept and how long of a lead time to plan for in promising a delivery date. c. What type of work policies should be maintained for his employees? Decisions such as the number and type of employees to employ, the number of hours to work per day, and the amount of overtime to allow are all work policy decisions that impact the available capacity level. d. The allocation of resources, equipment, labor, and money to each product line. e. The level of inventory to maintain at various stages of the production process for both the custom and standard furniture lines (i. e. , raw material, WIP, finished goods). These decisions are linked to the longer-term, total inventory-investment decision. Examples of longer-term decisions that face Chad Thomas include: . Amount of money to tie up in the total inventory investment. b. The type of equipment to invest in to support efficient production. At what point should more specialized equipment be purchased to manufacture high-volume, standard furniture pieces more efficiently? c. What should be the overall workforce level to maintain, and what should be the proper mix of skills and capabilities? d. How should the facilities be laid out to accommodate the two different product lines? This gets the students into a whole range of capacity and equipment allocation decisions including size, type, and configuration. In these decisions it is important that the students see the significance of consistency of both strategic and operating decisions across functional areas. Question 2: How did sales and marketing affect operations when they began to sell standard pieces to retail outlets? Standard furniture pieces compete on a different set of competitive priorities than custom-designed pieces. Timely delivery and low costs are much more important than product flexibility. Quality may also be defined differently. The existing facilities are set up to provide flexibility with its job-shop orientation and general-purpose equipment. By introducing a standard line that should be manufactured on a flow line with some dedicated, more specialized equipment, a conflict has developed, and scheduling problems have resulted. Question 3: How has the move to producing standard furniture pieces affected the financial structure of the company? Inventory investment and operating costs are rising because of the frequent changeovers to accommodate the two different product lines and their scheduling conflicts. Profit margins for the standard line are smaller, which puts pressure on manufacturing to increase productivity and reduce costs. There may also be an issue concerning the assignment of overhead costs to each product line. Finally, the potential need to rent warehouse space to store either WIP or finished-goods inventory cuts into the profit margin for the standard furniture line. Question 4: What might Chad Thomas have done differently to help avoid some of these problems? Chad needs to address issues relating to functional areas. Make sure the student is able to identify decisions that relate to more than one functional area. Examples include the following: Operations Function 1. Monitoring capacity and utilization of facilities 2. Formulating inventory policies—dollars, items, and unit levels 3. Setting scheduling policies and priorities 4. Maintaining product line quality Marketing and Sales 1. Accurately forecasting orders for standard pieces 2. Defining market segments and customer needs 3. Determining what delivery schedules can be promised to customers Finance 1. Deciding level and type of investment 2. Investigating the effect of capacity investment decisions on ROI Distribution/Logistics 1. Managing distribution and pipeline inventory 2. Comparing cost and advantages of various transportation modes 3. Meeting delivery lead times Three possible avenues that students may focus on are: Thomas might have a. Established a plan for a more controlled growth. Part of this plan would be the development of the appropriate infrastructure to manage a controlled growth as to what markets to enter, what product lines to develop, and how to develop the proper manufacturing capabilities. b. Maintained the company focus on custom-designed furniture only. This alternative presents a whole different set of issues and decisions pertaining to future growth, but it would have avoided the issues of mixed competitive priorities and scheduling conflicts. . Realized the different requirements for each product line and focused the manufacturing facilities into two separate sets of production facilities designed to cater to each product line’s specific needs. D. Recommendations This case is not designed to be a decision-making case per se but rather a vehicle to get students thinking about the types and the integrated nature of decisions that operations managers face. The students may, indeed, have suggestions as to what should be done to help out Chad Thomas. These recommendations will more than likely follow the alternatives already discussed. As recommendations are provided by students, make sure you push them to understand the implications of their recommendations with respect to the company as a whole and the other functional areas. E. Teaching Strategy This case can be effectively discussed in 20 to 30 minutes by following the discussion questions provided at the end. The questions are interconnected and somewhat redundant on purpose to reinforce the interrelatedness of decisions made in various functional areas of the company. The intent is to have the students understand the range of decisions that face managers in the operating function and to realize that different types of products competing in different markets place different demands on the operating function. Therefore, productive systems will take on a variety of configurations. Exhibit TN. 1 lays out a sample table to be written on the board displaying important issues in the class discussion. Each column can be used to compare and contrast the differences in the requirements imposed by custom versus standard furniture for each area. |EXHIBIT TN. 1 |Board Plan | |Important Issues |Custom Furniture |Standard Furniture | | | | | |Marketing | | | | | | | |Quality level and quality control | | | | | | | |Process equipment | | | | | | | |Process flow | | | | | | | |Production scheduling system | | | | | | | |Purchasing | | | | | | | |Type of inventory and inventory control system| | | | | | | |Type of engineering | | | | | | | |Type of labor and supervision needed | | | | | | | |Wage/reward system | | | | | | | |Layout | | | CASE: BSB, INC. : Pizza Wars Come to Campus * A. Synopsis BSB, Inc. resents the situation where launching a pizza service at a food service operation on a college campus turns out to be very successful. As the manager of the food service operation is contemplating an expansion of the service, an announcement by the university that a new food court will soon be opening in the new student union causes some concern. The new food court will contain, for the first time on campus, other food service com panies, including a new Pizza Hut kiosk. This causes the manager of BSB, Inc. to reevaluate the competitive environment and her own competitive priorities. B. Purpose BSB, Inc. provides the students an opportunity to discuss a number of strategically focused issues to include the following: 1. Mission statements: Mission statements describe the fundamental purpose for which the organization exists. The university decided that a focus on food service operations was not part of its primary mission, so it contracted the service out to BSB, Inc. Students should be able to describe a mission statement for BSB, Inc. This statement will help in discussing the second major focus of this case. 2. Comparison of competitive priorities: When the pizza service was launched a year ago, the competitive priorities were to expand the product line to offer pizza that could be delivered quickly at a reasonable price. Costs were kept low, and turnaround time was short due to the limited combination of toppings available. With the addition of the food court and Pizza Hut on campus, competitive priorities may change. Delivery may still be a differentiating competitive priority, but product flexibility (variety) and volume flexibility (large order sizes) may become more important. BSB, Inc. ay not be able to compete on low cost when compared to Pizza Hut’s operations. 3. The impact changing competitive priorities has on operating decisions: Students need to discuss the potential impact that different competitive priorities have on process design and operating systems. If product flexibility and volume flexibility become more important, then there are implications for: a. Equipment n eeds—conventional oven versus continuous chain drive b. Capacity requirements—order size and delivery cycle c. Inventory issues—inventory needed to support product flexibility 4. Product life cycles: Demand for pizza on campus has leveled off. Why? Has it reached its mature, steady state? What will be the impact of new competition? What can be done to reposition pizza into a growth stage? These are questions that should be asked of students to get them to think about pizza’s product life cycle. C. Analysis A good analysis of the situation can be performed by going through the five questions at the end of the case. The following is what you can expect from a first-year MBA student given the case as a take-home assignment to read and to respond to the questions at the end. Question 1: Does BSB, Inc. enjoy any competitive advantages or distinctive competencies? BSB’s competitive advantage is close proximity to the customers. Though 43 percent of meals are eaten off campus, 57 percent of meals are still eaten at BSB’s facilities. For pizza delivery the close proximity is critical, as it allows for quicker delivery. In addition, delivery can be done at a lower cost because bikes can be used. BSB’s distinctive competencies are the location of facilities and market know-how. Being on campus, BSB can provide delivery service quicker and at a lower cost. In addition, by being on campus, BSB is closer to the customer base, which allows Kershaw, the manager, to be more knowledgeable of her customer’s needs. She employs environmental scanning, such as the customer surveys, to keep abreast of her market. Question 2: Initially, how did Renee Kershaw choose to compete with her pizza operations? What were her competitive priorities? Initially, Kershaw chose to compete on delivery service and price. She used quick delivery as a key selling point. In addition, without a reasonable price, she could not compete with the off-campus pizza companies. In effect, her order qualifier was price, and her order winner was service. Her initial competitive priorities for pizza were delivery speed and price. Her on-campus location and limited standard toppings make these priorities possible. Unfortunately, this policy limits the variety of pizzas available. The increased requests for additional topping combinations and the leveling of sales suggest this policy may be hurting BSB. Question 3: What impact will the new food court have on Kershaw’s pizza operations? What competitive priorities might she choose to focus on now? The new food court introduces new competition that has the same on-campus advantage as BSB. In addition, these companies can also provide products at reasonable prices, but unlike BSB, they have brand names. Her direct competitor, Pizza Hut, can probably provide a similar price. Most likely Pizza Hut will also have limited varieties; however, BSB still maintains its delivery advantage. The most likely new competitive priorities for BSB will be expanded product variety and longer service hours. The increased requests for alternate toppings show a customer interest in variety, and the expanded hours will enable BSB to offer service when the Pizza Hut is closed or when students are in their dorm rooms. Question 4: If Kershaw were to change the competitive priorities for the pizza operation, what are the gaps between the priorities and capabilities of her process? How might this impact her operating processes and capacity decisions? An increase in product variety will affect both service and cost. Kershaw probably cannot have as many premade pizzas ready to throw into the oven. She will also need to stock additional toppings. If she wants to maintain service, she will need to hire additional workers. She will inevitably have some trade-off between service and price if she adds product variety. Kershaw will also need to add capacity. At present, she is near capacity with her pizza ovens. She may even have to consider a new location, as there seems to be limited space at the grill location. Clearly she will need to determine the viability of pizza service before she takes this step. Question 5: Can you outline a service strategy for Kershaw’s operation on campus? If she chooses to stay in the pizza business, delivery will remain important. Food, most likely pizza, delivered from off campus, is a significant competitor. These competitive companies likely offer many pizza combinations. Therefore, BSB will need to increase variety to remain competitive. The key to this strategy is to maintain quality and to innovate on product offerings. Kershaw must use her proximity to the customer to maintain her competitive advantage in determining their pizza delivery needs. The other strategy would be total price competition. This would require her to keep the limited menu and to push to keep costs at a bare minimum. Unfortunately this means maintaining the same basic strategy she has now. However, this strategy will most likely lead to an inevitable decline in market share. This strategy seems best if she decides to exit the market, but it gives her the opportunity to milk the market before exiting. In reviewing the student responses the instructor should note the following: 1. On question three, the student overlooks the continued importance of convenient, quick delivery. The other food services do not provide this service. 2. Students tend to hedge on question five. They should be pressured into putting together a service strategy as opposed to describing alternative choices only. There are a number of positions Kershaw may take. What is important, however, is to look for consistency in the strategies that students provide. D. Teaching Strategy This case is best assigned as a take-home assignment. Have the students focus on responding to the questions at the end of the case. Tell them to pay particular attention to the last question. The first four questions all lead up to the last one where students should describe a service strategy for pizza operations of BSB, Inc. Tell students you want them to settle on a specific strategy they can support. In class, start with the first question and cycle through to the final question, which describes their service strategies. It is helpful to try to get two or three different strategies on the board to compare and contrast approaches. It is important that students see that there are a number of good alternative strategies and not just one best one. A thorough discussion of this case will take 45 minutes to an hour, especially if alternative strategies are discussed. *This case was prepared by Dr. Brooke Saladin, Wake Forest University, as a basis for classroom discussion. *This case was prepared by Dr. Brooke Saladin, Wake Forest University, as a basis for classroom discussion. How to cite Tanglewood Stores, Papers

Human Resource Management Essential Perspectives

Question: Discuss about the Human Resource Management for Essential Perspectives. Answer: Introduction The roles of HR professionals are described in the classic form by David Ulrich. These five roles play a vital character to act as the representatives of the company. The roles of HR professionals comprises of the strategic partner, change agent, administrative expert, employee champion and employee advocate. In the coming sections of the paper, these five roles and the way these add value to the strategic and operational work of the organization are to be worked out. In addition to this, an equally important part of the description is to underpin the need for HR managers so as to have a hold at the executive table. It would lead to help and boost the human capital of the organization as well. On the basis of this, the broadness of the HR role in the professional setting could be made understand heading to the development of the positive relation amongst the employers and workforce. The five of these roles are said to be equally important to form the linkage with the organizational members be it employees, the board of the management, and the directors of the company. Five of these roles to explain in a detailed manner to gain understanding with it and the way it contributes more towards strategic and operational work of the organization. (Sparrow, Hird, Hesketh Cooper 2016, pp 1). From Operational to Strategic Focus: Five Roles for HR Professionals The five of these roles are designed with the intention to make an organization more effective and to become more of amicable with the workers. This would automatically serve the best interests of the company and allow it to grow and develop in an incessant manner. Davids view towards human resources model is to concentrate on the roles rather focus on the functions. At first, the ultimate aim is to form concentration with this role just to have a better start and to make an organization the best place to work. Human resources are the supporting pillars of an organization and their presence is very much inevitable just to carry on with strategic and operational activities. Strategic Partner: The Human Resources act as a Business Partner for an organization. As a Business Partner is assigned with a task to have communication with the clients of the company such as creditors, investors, stakeholders, customers, and suppliers. All these come under contact of the Human Resource Professional. As a strategic partner, the role is to figure out the weak areas and to rectify it. To locate the need of the human resources and to recruit and place them at requisite positions. As a business partner, used to share goals with his team members. On an overall basis, the environment is made highly productive just to raise harmony in between the workers. Along with this, the diversity management is also carried out (Becker, Ulrich Huselid 2013, pp 1). In all, strategic partners act as a contact point in between the customers and the employees. Due to this, the qualities within the team members get communicated to the concerning people and feedbacks drawn result in managing the talent at the workplace as well. Strategic partner plays different roles at the same time and also work well with the changing needs and requirements. It moves forth with the cross-functional project that aims at supporting the innovation aspects, and to develop the talent levels in a simultaneous manner (Hunter 2006, pp 4). Change Agent: The term is very much clear and explains the roles and accountabilities to be performed on the part of the Human Resources Professional. The change is very much necessary on the part of the company. It supports and allows an organization grow and excel at an incessant basis. At some or the other times, there is a great need for a company to move forth with certain decisions. These can be related to evolution, expansion, and or to amend the goals or objectives. This is the time when there is a great need to communicate about these changes and also to make it take place in an internal manner. The vital part is to play the role with due effect and to plan for the things needed to make the change take place in a successful way (Gilley Gilley 2009, pp 9). For doing the same, the employees are to offer with the training sessions just to accommodate as per the new situations and become well-versed with the set of new skills. At the same time, the change to bring in the business goals, job descriptions, and to justify about these altered roles. The ultimate task carried upon at the part of the change agent is to allow an organization acclimatize for its next stage of development or fruition. As a change agent, an immense level of support provided to the workers is also highly admirable. It leads to bring forth best possible initiatives and to make it easy for the employees to move with these changes (Ulrich, Younger, Brockbank Ulrich 2012, pp 61). Administrative Expert: Administrative Expert is the most transactional role. In absence of this, it becomes very much difficult to draw in trust and to play the strategic roles. For this role, the need is to be well-versed with the changes in legislation, ruling, occupational health and safety standards, and other types of labor or trade law. Deep knowledge of the law is very much essential just to deal with the difficult attitude of the workers, bargaining with the unions, and to have accurate details of the employees. Along with this, it is equally important to possess check on the way an organization complies well with respect to these laws. Employees information and particulars are to be perfect and made up to date (Wilczek 2008, pp 4). The most effective use of the Human Resources Information System is also an important step to safeguard and secure the employees details and records. This role is the most noteworthy one as it helps an organization to have the most advanced mode to work on, and also to work on paperless policies. Additionally, to have such a system that could help in securing them for the organizations betterment. This acts as the most requisite aspect to make an organization work in a smooth and effortless manner. Employee Champion: Employe Champion is the task that looks from the side of the workers betterment. It is an important area to look on and to take a stand for the workers goodness. This takes place to give importance to the workers and make them appear to talk about their issues. Human resources professional has to listen to them regarding their problems. It seems to be the best possible area in order to form the better relationship with them. Most importantly, the workers would feel part and parcel of the organization. Regular communication sessions are to organize and to develop know-how with their areas of problem. It can take place with regards to surveys, suggestion programs (Ulrich 2013, pp 123). Not only this, the workers are to ensure about the fair hearing from the part of the concerned official. It is the most necessary part to make workers feel happy and please enough. In a similar way, the control can also be made formed on the ongoing circumstances and could help in having the most strong and skilled workforce. It seems to be very much necessary to maintain the growth and productivity levels at its best (Gordon 2009, pp 3). Employee Advocate: As the term represents itself, the HR Professional to act as a supporter for his team of workers. In this, the requirement is to safeguard their interests and to ascertain balance of the strategic initiatives. For this, it is mandatory to maintain regular touch with the workers just to help them put their points and to figure out any imbalance with the culture of the company. In an organization, the employees should have the reasonable opportunity to apply for the respective job positions. It is equally important to have an effective compliance and grievance procedure that does not make employees receive any kind of unfair and unjust experience from the part of the company. Talent and career management are to be taken care of just to helping workers grow at its largest. On the whole, it would strengthen the roots of the business and be of great assistance in enjoying the long-term presence at the market level (Robinson 2009, pp 3). The above stated are said to be very much important from the standpoint of maintaining better and favorable working conditions. In turn, the employees would provide the best possible input just to have better output. This seems to be an ideal position for an organization and it looks forward to the same as well. It means a lot for an organization to have an enhanced and improved organizational culture that leads to an immense level of growth and progress. With this, it could be made out effectively stated that the results drawn could be of great significance and add value to the organizational effectiveness. The Strategic and operational focus could go on successfully leading to the most desirable outcomes. These five roles have their relative significance and contribute value to the strategic and operational work of the organization. Actually, these characters are specific in nature and make sure that the assigned tasks go on smoothly and effortlessly. By having clarity in roles, the human resources would definitely be able to reveal skill and expertise at their part. In all, it results in having better strategic and operational activities. The human resources would be capable enough to take in active part with the formation of the strategies that could result in a better tomorrow and a bright future (Storey 2009, pp 125). The next possible step would be an operational focus. It comes out to be the most important step as it involves the implementation of the developed strategies. This seems to be very much important from the perspective to support an organization grow and excel at an incessant manner (Marciano Wingrove 2014, pp 2). The Power of Strategic Partnering After discussing the roles of HR Professionals, next possible move is towards the power of strategic partnering. In the respective section, the aim is to concentrate as to how HR professionals can take up a seat at the Executive table and become strategic partners in the senior management team, leading the effort to enhance the human capital of the organization. The HR Professionals placed in the higher position need to be responsible and active just to participate as the strategic partners of the company. Strategies formation are the most chief part for an organizational success in the long-run. When the HR Professionals duly understand its significance and join hands as strategic partners, it would lead to exemplary resultants. The Strategic partnership is said to be very much important just to come forth with the most well-developed strategies leading to successful outcomes. Human resource professional placed at this position should take an initiative to bring forth likely changes to the way human capital enhancement could shape up. It is highly mandatory to look upon human capital as it is the most precious asset for an organization. There have to be relevant changes that could put in having such a culture that supports workforce to raise their performance levels. Along with this, the organizational culture should be motivating enough to obtain far better performances on the part of the organizational members. In this way, the human capital and its enrichment would move on to the positive side. It seems to be very much important looking on the areas that demand more improvement and amelioration. Motivation and leadership have to move together in the most hopeful manner. Job descriptions, training and development sessions, and employees surveys are to go on a regular basis. On doing the same, it is very much sure that the results obtained would be far better and remarkable enough. In a similar way, the need is just to make sure that the initiatives are to be taken up at the part of the HR professionals (Savitz 2013, pp 16). There should not be any scope left that could work for the betterment of the human capital. The power of strategic partnering could be made out effectively stated in a way that the results drawn in would be money-spinning at the part of the organization. The accomplishment of the goals and objectives can also be executed in the most likely manner leading to more of advancement and progression in the near future. There rests great necessity going for making sure that the best and sought-after returns are received. The human capital enhancement is the most necessary and indispensable part of an organization. In doing the same, the strategic partnering needs to be very much powerful and well-built. By means of strategic partnership, the initiatives could be fastened on and it helps in considering a step ahead for a better tomorrow (Wilkins Carolin 2012, pp 3). Human capital safety and security at the workplace is the crucial requirement just to deal with the ongoing situations and to draw in the most promising returns. The power of strategic partnership need not deny at any possible cost. This would demand to work for fostering and strengthening of the human capital at respective designations. Along with this, the decisions taken for the same would help in meeting the so-called expectations. As a result, the human workforces would be able to have the better association with the companys members and would play their role willfully and honestly (Boroughs Rickard 2009, pp 67). Most importantly, it would offer happiness and delight to the workers and make them motivated enough to do the job in the most requisite manner. This shows the power of strategic partnership and as to how it underpins human capital position in the most hopeful manner (Ulrich Brockbank 2005, pp 9). There rests great necessity to allow the HR Professionals take a seat on the respective executive positions and to take such decisions going to favor the workers and their presence. Consequently, they would show their caliber and potential in meeting the strategic and operational goals and to allow the firm have far better growth and success at the industry level (Schawbel 2012). The strategic partnership holds great power and influence on the human resources of the organization. It would definitely influence them in the most positive manner. Most importantly, it would motivate them to play their role with due diligence. Employee turnover and absenteeism would surely go low turning to the most brighter side for the company. The Employee would have positive relations with their bosses and it is the most positive signal. Employees would also feel that the company is fulfilling all the promises made at the time of recruitment and it maintains their trust and faith also. Recommendations After going through the whole explanation, it is important to direct recommendations to take care of future practices at an organizational level (Williams 2007, pp 22). The final focus is toward enhancing the strategic role of HR professionals and gaining a seat in senior decision-making forums. This could be done by giving this much importance to the HR professionals and to widen up their roles. Strategic roles are to be made enlarged to have a say at the executive and management level (Martin 2008, pp 8). There has to be scope for the HR professionals in order to gain a seat with regards to the senior decision-making forums. On doing the same, it could be made out effectively stated that the best possible presence to be offered to the concerning people just to realize far better growth and evolution. Senior decision-making forums need to have place reserve for the HR professionals so that they could also take in active part in arriving at the most productive decisions (Kster 2007, pp 6). It mainly looks forward to giving an opportunity to the HR professionals have the platform to talk about the betterment of the workers and to make the organization recognize about core role of the human resources (Sims 2007, pp 70). The Strategic role needs to raise just for the sake of allowing the firms grow and progress at a long perspective. It becomes very much requisite going for managing tasks and activities to receive the best possible outcomes (Armstrong 2010, pp 37). By enhancing the strategic role of HR professionals and gaining a seat in senior decision-making forums, the support to the human capital is rendered. It turns out to be the most positive aspect of acting well on the crafted strategies and to move forth with the operations (Mathis Jackson 2011, pp 2). Moreover, it would lead to receiving of the far-sighted results and to carry upon duties with due efficacy (Amos, Ristow, Pearse Ristow 2009, pp 8). Conclusion At the end, it could be stated that the role of HR professionals can be very much successful with respect to consideration of an effective HR Model. It is the most anticipated position and would add on great growth and worth to the company. Its reputation and standing would raise in front of the concerning people. Human resources would serve well to the companys best interests and would form the better relationship with each other. All these key ingredients are very much necessary for a bright future and for the fulfillment of the mission and vision statement. This is the reason that the roles to be taken care of and the strategic partnership to move on successfully by considering human capital betterment as a priority. References Amos, LT Ristow, A Pearse, JN Ristow, L 2009, Human Resource Management, 3rd ed., Juta and Company Ltd., Cape Town, pp 8. Armstrong, M 2010, Armstrong's Essential Human Resource Management Practice: A Guide to People Management, Kogan Page Publishers, Pentonville Road, pp 37. Becker, BE Ulrich, D Huselid, MA 2013, The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance, Harvard Business Press, Boston, pp 1. Boroughs, A Rickard, C 2009, Using Technology to Create Value: Designing the Tools for the New HR Function, Gower Publishing, Ltd., Burlington, pp 67. Gilley, JW Gilley, AM 2009, Strategically Integrated HRD: A Six- Step Approach to Creating Results-Driven Programs Performance, Basic Books, Cambridge, pp 9. Gordon, EE 2009, Winning the Global Talent Showdown: How Businesses and Communities Can Partner to Rebuild the Jobs Pipeline, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco, pp 3. Hunter, I 2006, HR Business Partners, Gower Publishing, Ltd., Burlington, pp 4. Kster, M 2007, Human Resource Management Versus Personnel Management, GRIN Verlag, Norderstedt, pp 6. Marciano, P Wingrove, C 2014, SuperTeams: Using the Principles of RESPECTTM to Unleash Explosive Business Performance, McGraw Hill Professional, New York, pp 2. Martin, J 2008, Human Resource Management, SAGE, City Road, pp 8. Mathis, RL Jackson, HJ 2011, Human Resource Management: Essential Perspectives, 6th ed., Cengage Learning, Mason, pp 2. People Solutions n.d., viewed 29 September 2016, https://paulkeijzer.com/engageco/people-solutions/. Robinson, DG 2009, Strategic Business Partner: Aligning People Strategies With Business Goals, ReadHowYouWant.com, San Francisco, pp 3. Savitz, A 2013, Talent, Transformation, and the Triple Bottom Line: How Companies Can Leverage Human Resources to Achieve Sustainable Growth, John Wiley Sons, San Francisco, pp 16. Schawbel, D 2012, Dave Ulrich on the Future of Human Resources, viewed 29 September 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2012/07/18/dave-ulrich-on-the-future-of-human-resources/#558ea9163b0a. Sims, RR 2007, Human Resource Management: Contemporary Issues, Challenges And Opportunities, IAP, Charlotte, pp 70. Sparrow, P Hird, M Hesketh, A Cooper, C 2016, Leading HR, Springer, New York, pp 1. Storey, J 2009, The Routledge Companion to Strategic Human Resource Management, Taylor Francis, Abingdon, Oxon, pp 125. Ulrich, D 2013, Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results, Harvard Business Press, Boston, pp 123. Ulrich, D Brockbank, W 2005, The HR Value Proposition, Harvard Business Press, Boston, pp 9. Ulrich, D Younger, J Brockbank W Ulrich, M 2012, HR from the Outside In: Six Competencies for the Future of Human Resources, McGraw Hill Professional, New York, pp 61. Wilczek, T 2008, The Classical Model for Practising Human Resource Management, GRIN Verlag, Norderstedt, pp 4. Wilkins, D Carolin, G 2012, Leadership Pure and Simple: How Transformative Leaders Create Winning Organizations, McGraw Hill Professional, New York, pp 3. Williams, AC 2007, A Concise Summary of Human Ressource Management, IUniverse, Lincoln, pp 22.

The Effectiveness of Chili and Kamias as Natural Insect Repellant Essay Example For Students

The Effectiveness of Chili and Kamias as Natural Insect Repellant Essay I had to take a few moments to settle my emotions before deciding to sit myself down to write about the remarkable movie that I have Just watched. A movie that got me from smiles to tears to laughter and back to tears; a movie that carried so much value that it is Just priceless. For those who have not watch it, Ill do my best in laying out the lessons and morales rather than spoiling the story for you. Shah Rukh Khan plays the role of Rizvan Khan, a Muslim who was born with Aspergers syndrome, a ondition that was discovered only after his mother passed and when he had moved to the US. We will write a custom essay on The Effectiveness of Chili and Kamias as Natural Insect Repellant specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The lesson in this movie isnt about the discrimination, nor is it of the vast differences in religions, but of love. The one thing that Rizvan had in him, was not the syndrome, nor was it any form of anger or hatred; he carried an abundance of love in him. When he was ill-treated, he did not complain. When he was released, he did not despise. When his wife has asked him to leave, he did not question. Instead, he merely asked in innocence, when was he to return. This story shows a child falling victim to the atrocities committed by a microscopic minority of extremists. I say in confidence that not all of humanity feels the same way. It took the bombing of 9/1 1 in the United States of America to show the world, to reflect to humanity their own hatred that they had held in them. It was a wake up call. It was uncalled for. It was a lesson. A lesson of hatred to every human being in the world; Just how easily human nature sips into the darkness and chooses to remain there. This movie showed how n individual, with a health condition did not deter from his goal. This movie showed just how selfless one can be, if only he or she chooses to be. I stand true in saying that the feeling of anger, resentment and hatred did pop up during the movie. It was the priceless gift of selflessness that made me let it go. To have sat in my seat and watched as Rizvan, a Muslim, rushes to Georgia splat in the middle of a hurricane just so he could lend a helping hand toa lady who once sheltered him. It was moving to have seen Just how one mans act of kindness could move the world. It brought me to tears to have seen more volunteers coming to aid the victims of the hurricane, all of varying religions. The movie repeats again and again, that there is only two kinds of people in the world, the good who does good deeds, and the bad who does bad deeds; nothing else varies. To put it theoretically, there really isnt good or bad, because every deed that is done by a person is done based on their past experience. No, it does not Justify ones mistakes. It merely explains the misinterpretation of many. When one understands another better, we would learn to empathise with them. Then, when one empathises, we will all understand why we are who we are today. Why was Rizvan so able to love? It was for a simple reason that he was brought up in love, by love. Rizvan had a mother who taught him that nothing differs human beings. His mother had taught him that she was at peace in his arms with a hug. Rizvan was taught never to give up, and he lived with in it with it. This movie shows that love knows no boundary, religion or time. .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 , .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 .postImageUrl , .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 , .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7:hover , .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7:visited , .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7:active { border:0!important; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7:active , .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7 .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4a88fa8431d5698fa154c191a85e17c7:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: How Bill Gates Changed The WorldIf it takes 10 hurdles to get to where Muslim to rejoice in love, it will happen. If it takes six months to get a chance to tell the President, My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist, love will get you there. The character, Rizvan taught me a whole lot, but this one lesson prevailed. It taught me that when all seem to fail, love prevails. Whenever I am being put in a situation, I always have a choice, and one of them is always love. Love never leaves, love never hates; love shines the light on the darkness of hate. This movie portrays Just it.

The Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

The Regents of the University of California v. Bakke The Regents of the University of California v. Allan Bakke (1978), was a landmark case decided by the United States Supreme Court. The decision had historical and legal significance because it upheld affirmative action, declaring that race could be one of several determining factors in college admission policies, but rejected the use of racial quotas. Fast Facts: Regents of the University of California v. Bakke Case Argued: Oct. 12, 1977Decision Issued: June 26, 1978Petitioner: Regents of the University of CaliforniaRespondent: Allan Bakke, a 35-year-old white man who had applied twice for admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis and was rejected both timesKey Question: Did the University of California violate the 14th Amendments Equal Protection Clause, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by practicing an affirmative action policy that resulted in the repeated rejection of Bakkes application for admission to its medical school?Majority Decision: Justices Burger, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackman, Powell, Rehnquist, StevensDissenting: Justice WhiteRuling: The Supreme Court upheld affirmative action, ruling that race could be one of several determining factors in college admission policies, but it rejected the use of racial quotas as unconstitutional. Case History In the early 1970s, many colleges and universities across America were in the beginning stages of making major changes to their admissions programs in an effort to diversify the student body by increasing the number of minority students on campus. This effort was particularly challenging due to the 1970s massive increase of students applying to medical and law schools. It increased the competition and negatively impacted the efforts to create campus environments that promoted equality and diversity. Admission policies that relied predominantly on candidates grades and test scores was an unrealistic approach for the schools that wanted to increase the minority population on campus.   Dual Admission Programs In 1970, the University of California Davis School of Medicine (UCD) was receiving 3,700 applicants for a mere 100 openings. At the same time, UCD administrators were committed to working with an affirmative action plan often referred to as a quota or set-aside program. It was set up with two admissions programs in order to increase the number of disadvantaged students admitted to the school.  There was the regular admissions program and the special admissions program.Each year 16 out of 100 places were reserved for disadvantaged students and minorities including (as stated by the university), blacks, Chicanos, Asians, and American Indians. Regular Admissions Program Candidates who quailed for the regular admissions program had to have an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) above 2.5. Some of the qualifying candidates were then interviewed. Those who passed were given a score based on their performance on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), science grades, extracurricular activities, recommendations, awards and other criteria that made up their benchmark scores. An admissions committee would then make a decision on which candidates would be accepted into the school. Special Admissions Program Candidates accepted into the special admissions programs were minorities or those who were economically or educationally disadvantaged. The special admissions candidates did not have to have a grade point average above 2.5 and they did not compete with the benchmark scores of the regular admission applicants.   From the time that the dual admissions program was implemented the 16 reserved spots were filled by minorities, despite the fact that many white applicants applied for the special disadvantaged program. Allan Bakke In 1972, Allan Bakke was a 32-year-old white male working as an engineer at NASA, when he decided to pursue his interest in medicine. Ten years earlier, Bakke had graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in mechanical engineering and a grade-point average of 3.51 out of 4.0 and was asked to join the national mechanical engineering honor society. He then joined the U.S. Marine Corps for four years which included a seven-month combat tour of duty in Vietnam. In 1967, he became a captain and was given an honorable discharge. After leaving the Marines he went to work for National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) as a research engineer.   Bakke continued going to school and in June 1970, he earned his masters degree in mechanical engineering, but despite this, his interest in medicine continued to grow. He was missing some of chemistry and biology courses required for admission into medical school so he attended night classes at San Jose State University and Stanford University. He completed all the prerequisites and had an overall GPA of 3.46. During this time he worked part-time as a volunteer in the emergency room at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California. He scored an overall 72 on the MCAT, which was three points higher than the average applicant to UCD and 39 points higher than the average special program applicant. In 1972, Bakke applied to UCD. His biggest concern was being rejected due to his age. He had surveyed 11 medical schools; all who said that he was over their their age limit. Age discrimination was not an issue in the 1970s. In March he was invited to interview with Dr. Theodore West who described Bakke as a very desirable applicant who he recommended.  Two months later, Bakke received his rejection letter. Angered by how the special admissions program was being managed, Bakke contacted his lawyer, Reynold H. Colvin, who prepared a letter for Bakke to give to the medical schools chairman of the admissions committee, Dr. George Lowrey. The letter, which was sent in late May, included a request that Bakke was placed on the wait-list and that he could register during the fall of 1973 and take courses until an opening became available. When Lowrey failed to reply, Covin prepared a second letter in which he asked the chairman if the special admissions program was an illegal racial quota. Bakke was then invited to meet with Lowreys assistant, 34-year-old Peter Storandt so that the two could discuss why he was rejected from the program and to advise him to apply again. He suggested that if he was rejected again he may want to take UCD to court; Storandt had a few names of lawyers that could possibly help him if he decided to go in that direction. Storandt was later disciplined and demoted for displaying unprofessional behavior when meeting with Bakke. In August 1973, Bakke applied for early admission into UCD. During the interview process, Lowery was the second interviewer. He gave Bakke an 86 which was the lowest score Lowery had given out that year. Bakke received his second rejection letter from UCD at the end of September 1973. The following month, Colvin filed a complaint on Bakkes behalf with HEWs Office of Civil Rights, but when HEW failed to send a timely response, Bakke decided to move forward. On June 20, 1974, Colvin brought suit on behalf of Bakke in Yolo County Superior Court. The complaint included a request that UCD admit Bakke into its program because the special admissions program rejected him because of his race. Bakke alleged that the special admissions process violated the U.S. Constitutions Fourteenth Amendment, the California Constitutions article I, section 21, and Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.   UCDs counsel filed a cross-declaration and asked the judge to find that the special program was constitutional and legal. They argued that Bakke would not have been admitted even if there had been no seats set aside for minorities.   On November 20, 1974, Judge Manker found the program unconstitutional and in violation of Title VI, no race or ethnic group should ever be granted privileges or immunities not given to every other race. Manker did not order to admit Bakke to UCD, but rather that the school reconsiders his application under a system that did not make determinations based on race. Both Bakke and the university appealed the judges ruling. Bakke because it was not ordered that he be admitted to UCD and the university because the special admissions program was ruled unconstitutional.   Supreme Court of California Due to the seriousness of the case, the Supreme Court of California ordered that the appeals be transferred to it. Having gained a reputation as being one of the most liberal appellate courts, it was assumed by many that it would rule on the side of the university. Surprisingly, the court upheld the lower-court ruling in a six to one vote. Justice Stanley Mosk wrote, No applicant may be rejected because of his race, in favor of another who is less qualified, as measured by standards applied without regard to race.   The lone dissenter, Justice Matthew O. Tobriner wrote, It is anomalous that the Fourteenth Amendment that served as the basis for the requirement that elementary and secondary schools be compelled to integrate should now be turned around to forbid graduate schools from voluntarily seeking that very objective. The court ruled that the university could no longer use race in the admissions process. It ordered that the university provide proof that Bakkes application would have been rejected under a program that was not based on race. When the university admitted that it would be unable to provide the proof, the ruling was amended to order Bakkes admission into the medical school.   That order, however, was stayed by U.S. Supreme Court in November 1976, pending the outcome of the petition for a writ of certiorari to be filed by the Regents of the University of California to the U.S. Supreme Court. The university filed a petition for writ of certiorari the following month.

5 Appositive Phrases with Punctuation Problems

5 Appositive Phrases with Punctuation Problems 5 Appositive Phrases with Punctuation Problems 5 Appositive Phrases with Punctuation Problems By Mark Nichol An appositive is a noun or a noun phrase that appears in proximity to another noun or noun phrase to define or modify it. When writers employ nonrestrictive appositions, which consist of optional additional information, they sometimes fail to punctuate the sentence correctly to indicate that the phrase is parenthetical, leading to confusion. Here are five sentences in which insertion of a single comma repairs the damage. 1. â€Å"John Smith, Jones’s rival and number four on the FBI’s most-wanted list is caught.† If this sentence began with â€Å"Jones’s rival . . .,† it would be correctly punctuated. But â€Å"John Smith† is the subject, â€Å"is caught† is the object, and the phrase beginning â€Å"Jones’s rival† and ending â€Å"most-wanted list† is an appositive, and must be punctuated as a parenthetical phrase: â€Å"John Smith, Jones’s rival and number four on the FBI’s most-wanted list, is caught.† 2. â€Å"John Doe, who once led the company was indicted on eighty-five counts in a huge federal case.† The basic facts are that John Doe was indicted; the phrase â€Å"who once led the company† is an appositive parenthetical and must, like the descriptive phrase in the preceding example, be framed by commas: â€Å"John Doe, who once led the company, was indicted on eighty-five counts in a huge federal case.† 3. â€Å"Life has been rough for Jane Roe, the governor’s chief of staff ever since her controversial remark went public.† â€Å"The governor’s chief of staff† is the appositive here; without a comma following the phrase to complement the preceding comma, the statement implies that she gained her position when she made the remark: â€Å"Life has been rough for Jane Roe, the governor’s chief of staff, ever since her controversial remark went public.† 4. General Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman who just wrapped up a visit to Afghanistan, was asked whether he foresees North Korea taking military action soon. By combining the general’s title with the reference to his recent visit to Afghanistan, the sentence implies that more than one Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman exists; Dempsey is the one who had just returned from Afghanistan. The phrase â€Å"the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman† must be bracketed by a pair of commas to show that it is the first of two parenthetical phrases dividing the subject from the object: â€Å"General Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, who just wrapped up a visit to Afghanistan, was asked whether he foresees North Korea taking military action soon.† (Sometimes, one of two consecutive appositives that follow another noun or noun phrase can be separated by relocating one before the noun or noun phrase it refers to, but here, Dempsey’s title would compete with his military rank; however, the reference to the Afghanistan visit could be moved to a subsequent sentence, or even deleted because it is irrelevant to the sentence.) 5. â€Å"The next antiwar demonstration scheduled to take place on April 7 may take aim at companies outside San Francisco.† This sentence’s lack of internal punctuation will likely lead readers to assume that more than one demonstration is scheduled to take place on April 7, which is a distracting error. The reference to the date is in apposition, identifying the date of the event (it is appositive because, as a truncated version of â€Å"the one scheduled to take place on April 7,† it is another way of referring to â€Å"the next antiwar demonstration†), and could be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence: â€Å"The next antiwar demonstration, scheduled to take place on April 7, may take aim at companies outside San Francisco.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" Connotations of 35 Words for Funny PeopleOppose and Opposed To

The rise of freeters and their relationship to the Japanese workforce Essay

The rise of freeters and their relationship to the Japanese workforce and economy - Essay Example The culture of becoming a freeter reached its apex during the economic recession that the country underwent in the 1990s. Japanese companies have always valued their senior workers and prefer them over young graduates. During the mid 1990s, recession was at its peak and as a result, the companies started to become more selective in their recruitment procedures. In the past graduates were trained and promised good employment prospects but after recession, only a few lucky ones ended up with a job while the rest had to face unemployment. The consequence of this was that even though the youth wanted to pursue long-term jobs, they did not get adequate opportunities and a large number of freeters were created. The government also relaxed the company laws allowing large companies to hire part-time employees. This created a huge gap between permanent employees, who enjoyed high pays, promotions and job security and the freeters who worked at relatively low pay scales (Nathan). Freeters have become a growing concern for the companies and the government.

Film review communication 240 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Film review communication 240 - Essay Example This makes the 112 minute film a must watch for everyone as it teaches about mobs, loan sharks, crime and above all the value of friendship. The main actors are Charlie (Harvey Keitel) and Johnny boy (Robert De Niro). A review of this film will reveal the integration of mafia in the society and their influence on individuals, the value of friendship and love and how the three can get intertwined even in the simplest of society members. The story surrounds the lives of Johnny boy who is a gambler and owes a lot of money to the loan sharks all of which has been used in his small time gambling problem and Charlie who is involved with the New York Mafia and also collects debts for his uncle Giovanni (Cesare Danova) who is in the mafia. The friendship between the two prevents Charlie from moving to join the New York Mafia because he feels responsible over the reckless Johnny boy and also because he is secretly having an affair with Johnny’s cousin Teresa. Charlie and Johnny are sho t at by Michael (Richard Romanus) who is a local loan shark who Johnny owes money to while trying to get out of town but they survive though Charlie’s shot hand causes them to have a crash. ... Teresa, for example, looks and acts like a weakling and there is no doubt that she is epileptic. The same can be said of Charlie who is composed, businesslike and suits the role of a debt collector and also friend. Johnny boy just seems lost and out of touch and it therefore does not come as a surprise to the viewer when he insults the loan arks instead of humbling himself. The cinematography of the film cannot be any better. When it comes to the lighting for example it is a bit dark in the gambling houses where Johnny boy visits and full of noise. When Charlie and Johnny are shot at and crash, the same cinematography effects displayed make it appear real, the movement during the crash and the mood when the ambulance arrives together with the lighting all makes it perfect. Compared to the other films and works of the director Martin Scorsese, mean streets is just the best and most enjoyed and positively rated film. This may be attributed to the fact that it is based on real life expe riences and the settings of the film are from the vivid memories of the director. The fact is that in this film, Scorsese wrote the script while on the streets of Little Italy and even acted in it himself may also be a cause of such a captivating movie. Conclusion Based on the above positive review of this film, it is evident that it paved way for the modern dramas involving crime. The viewer cannot regret the decision to sit for over an hour deeply engrossed in this exemplary literary work and hence can be recommended to all. All these positive reviews are in addition to the fact that with a budget of $500,000, the movie was not expensive to

Good Manners Essay Example for Free

Good Manners Essay Good manners are important because we live in a community. Good manners are the way we make social connections run smoothly. They give us a formula to deal with the unexpected, the awkward and an easy opening and closing ritual to meeting people. They can help us to mask our dislike of another merely by obeying the traditional courtesies of our culture. By treating others with respect and demonstrating good manners, we show that we expect the same respect in return. It is possible to disagree with someone very strongly, but if the argument is conducted with politeness and good manners, both sides come out of the situation well. The dispute might not have been settled to the satisfaction of either, but an agreement to disagree, reached amicably, means the relationship is not lost and further work can be done. There is always the hope that you can convince the other of your ideas in a future discussion. Quite often, long lasting friendships emerge from such well run conflicts because with the good manners comes respect for the person, even if not for the ideas. Human beings are complex, the product of their experiences and circumstances. Basic drives in each is strong and could make individuals self centered unpleasantly. Good manners give us the boundaries to behavior which are acceptable to our society, and these vary with each community, often in subtle ways. The elemental part of good manners is that you do not embarrass another person. It’s a simple as that. With these guidelines we can deal with many unexpected situations with aplomb. Good manners are a protection as well as a way of easing communication. It is much more comfortable to be with those who are polite. The language is more agreeable, the behavior is inclusive and it helps everyone concerned to feel good about themselves. Those who are feeling relaxed, safe and comfortable are more likely to be productive in their enterprises and good company. Even if this is only because they can concentrate on what they are doing. They are not worrying about what other people think of them or having to remembering that they are in a feud and are ‘not speaking’ to certain people. All that takes energy and is a waste of time as well. While it is possible to be very rude to someone else with subtly, within a framework of good manners, this is not the aim of the rules by which communities abide. It is also rather pointless, but it happens. Simply, good manners are important because they ease communication between people.

The Marxist Ideal Cannot Work Essay -- essays research papers

The Marxist ideal, a highly appealing, almost Utopian society, is impossible to achieve due to the fact that it demands that the human mind be almost without flaws. It asks of society and its members to be absolutely without ranks, without greed or leadership. This has been clearly impossible for society. Each step to achieving a communist establishment has been, continues to be, and will be, in actuality, a step towards the totalitarian societies of past and current so-called communist countries. Communism became popular solely in under-developed countries, contrary to Marx's beliefs as to what should happen, and its rise in these countries was the beginning of its fall. Marx believed that the only way to overthrow capitalism was to create a revolution of the proletariat and in essence this revolution carries the cause even farther away from true communism. Equality is the next issue that Marx tackled, and in the communist ideal, it is absolutely crucial. In the real world of distorted ideologies, it hovers in the background. The ultimate in communist ideologies, however, is that eventually there will be no need for government. This essay will illustrate how, as communist societies in the real world progress, nothing could be further from the truth. Currently, communism, as exercised in the few Communist countries left in the world, is far from the Marxist ideal. From its beginnings to the present day and into the future, communism has become distorted into something that would be Marx's worst nightmare. Due to "quirks" in the human mind that just can't seem to be worked out, the Marxist ideal simply cannot work. Marx's prediction was that communism would prevail in the highly industrialized countries of Western Europe. Instead, it took place in Russia, a country troubled by its corrupt head of state. By definition a Communist revolt demanded an industrialized country as its focus, where a militant and organized proletariat had had a chance to develop. The revolution of 1917, however, exploded in Czarist Russia, one of the most backward countries in Europe.i Russia in the early 20th century was mainly agricultural, rather than industrial, but through their exasperation and strong leadership, the Communists prevailed. The head of stat... ...the ideal. However, Marx underestimated the way in which the human mind works. Without a doubt, the flaws in the minds of the leaders of the communist states that have existed, and continue to exist, have ensured that this ideal will never be realized. From the very beginnings of a communist state's existence, to the revolution that brings it about, to the equality that it lacks, and the impossibility of the ultimate ideal, Marx's vision is being distorted the whole way through the process. In theory, communism is a good idea. However, it fails to anticipate the flaws of the human mind. It is a good idea that doesn't work out well in practice. i Ellis, Harry B. (1972). Ideals and Ideologies: Communism, Socialism, and Capitalism. Nelson, Foster and Scott Ltd. Pg. 31 ii Marx, Karl and Engels, Friedrich. (1964). The Communist Manifesto. Monthly Review Press. Pg. 25. iii Ellis, Harry B. (1972). Ideals and Ideologies: Communism, Socialism, and Capitalism. Nelson, Foster and Scott Ltd. Pg. 31 iv Ellis, Harry B. (1972). Ideals and Ideologies: Communism, Socialism, and Capitalism. Nelson, Foster and Scott Ltd. Pg. 36

Morton Salt Essay

1. Briefly describe salt production, from brine production to finished round cans. Salt is obtained by introducing water into salt caverns which in turn dissolves the salt deposits within the caverns, allowing the salt solution (brine) to be brought to the surface for further processing. The brine is boiled in order to remove most of the liquid, resulting in salt crystal deposits. The salt crystal deposits are then further dried to remove all residual moisture to produce the final product; salt. The finished product is stored within a silo awaiting production. The round cans used for packaging salt are produced on-site. The cans are produced by gluing two sheets of chip board and rolled into a continuous tube. The tube is then cut into long sections and then cut again into can-size pieces. The finished pieces are moved on conveyor to where the various parts can be assembled into cans and glued. Once the cans are formed, they are filled with salt and the pour spout is added to the can . Once completed, the finished cans containing salt are loaded onto pallets and placed into inventory awaiting shipping to distributors. 2. Briefly describe quality assurance efforts in round can production. Quality is checked primarily by visual inspection including verifying the assembly was done correctly, checking the filled cans for correct weight, inspecting cans to ensure labels are correctly aligned, and checking to see whether metal pour spouts are correctly attached. 3. What are some of the possible reasons why the company continues to use the old processing equipment instead of buying new, more modern equipment? The company may not have updated its equipment because of the high cost of investment in new machinery. 4. Where would you place salt production in the product-process spectrum? Salt production would be a low variety, high volume operation which would place it as a repetitive production or continuous flow in the product-process matrix. 5. Determine the approximate number of tons of salt produced annually. (3,800,000 cans per year) x (26 ounces of salt per can) = 98,800,000 ounces per year. (98,800,000 ounces per year) / (16 ounces per pound) = 6,175,000 pounds per year. (6,175,000 pounds per year) / (2000 pounds per ton) = 3,087.5 tons of salt per year. 6. What improvements can you suggest for the plant? a.Application of Statistical Process Control (SPC) to reduce the cost of quality. b.Develop a plan to overhaul the existing equipment and to purchase new equipment as a joint effort among finance, purchasing and manufacturing areas. c.Synchronize production, distribution and capacity planning to make sure that there is sufficient capacity in the silos to handle the incoming salt from brine production. Reduce operating expense by introducing computerized QA for round can production for the following processes: electronically measure filled can weight, use a computerized laser to measure and ensure labels are properly aligned, use a mechanical stress test to ensure metal spouts are correctly attached

Inspirational Stories Essay

Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows’ skin, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, â€Å"Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet? † The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a â€Å"shoe† for himself. There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story: to make this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself – your heart; and not the world. Once there was a king who told some of his workers to dig a pond.  Once the pond was dug, the king made an announcement to his people saying that one person from each household has to bring a glass of milk during the night and pour it into the pond. So, the pond should be full of milk by the morning. After receiving the order, everyone went home. One man prepared to take the milk during the night. He thought that since everyone will bring milk, he could just hide a glass of water and pour inside the pond. Because it will be dark at night, no one will notice. So he quickly went and poured the water in the pond and came back. In the morning, the king came to visit the pond and to his surprise the pond was only filled with water! What has happened is that everyone was thinking like the other man that â€Å"I don’t have to put the milk, someone else will do it. † Dear friends, when it comes to help the Religion of Allah, do not think that others will take care of it. Rather, it starts from you, if you don’t do it, no one else will do it. So, change yourself to the way of Allah to serve Him and that will make the difference.

Analysis of Employee Benefits within an Organisation The WritePass Journal

Analysis of Employee Benefits within an Organisation Introduction Analysis of Employee Benefits within an Organisation Introduction Types of Employee Benefits2.1 Disadvantages of employee benefits2.2 Advantage of employee benefits   Compensation Management Influence Over Employees and CompaniesConclusions References Bibliography   Related Introduction The purpose of this essay is to open the discussion about one of the most relevant features for the human beings these days, the payment schemes such as salaries, wages and benefits that employees receive in retribution of their work. On this paper work it will be developed the next question â€Å"If employees undervalue the cost of benefits, why should a company not drop benefits and simply add more direct compensation?† On first instance, is precisely to say that the direct compensation is the monetary benefits that employees receive in return of the service they provide to the company, such as basic salary, rent allowance, travel allowances and medical reimbursements among others; on the other hand indirect compensation is the non monetary benefits that the employees receive such as life insurance, health security, pension, vacations and flexible timings among others. Thus, the payment programs have become one of the most important issues on the human life nowadays, that ´s because they define the opportunities and choices that one person has to provide wellness, security and a future to their families or their loved ones, and in the same way feel recognition for their capabilities and efforts. Consequently, there have always been different systems of pay and compensations to suit the employees and employers requirements, for this reason there are wages with non monetary and monetary benefits. Employees typically depend on salaries and wages to get a stable income and on benefits to provide health and security. For employers, compensation decisions influence their cost of doing business and thus, their ability to sell at a competitive price in the goods and/or service markets. Far beyond that, compensation decisions determinate the employers ability to compete for qualified employees in the labour market. (Ferris, et. al, p.528) Employee compensation practices differ across employment units (e.g., organizations, business units, and facilities) on several dimensions. Dimension like Form (cash or benefits), Level (How much do people disserve to earn for their job), Structure (hierarchies and pay differential within an employee unit), Mix (how and when cash compensation is disbursed) and finally Pay Administration (pay policies and who is in charge of that process) (Ferris, et. al, p.528).The central point of the employee compensation discussion has been on defining these dimensions, researching why organizations differ on them, and considering whether such differences have consequences on employee behaviours and attitude; Along this work this topic will be developed deeply and it will be shown examples of how it can vary and how this contribute to the question above. Now then, as it was mentioned before indirect compensation refers to benefits, is essential to understand that this benefits are forms of value (non monetary) that are provided to the employee in return for his/her job. That ´s why when it refers to employee benefits the most common are: vacations-holidays, employee stock ownership plans, retirement plans, health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, pension, leisure bonuses, etc. Benefits are increasingly expensive for businesses to provide to employees, so the range and options of benefits are changing rapidly to include, for example, flexible benefit plans and timings. Despite that some employees undervalue the benefits, it ´s important to say that companies cannot drop benefits that easy because two essential reasons. The first reason is because of the law; the benefits must be given to the employees as part of the remuneration of their job or services, that ´s legal issue and must be part of the pay policies of the company. The second reason is because employees like parents or elder people prefer benefits as they find them important for their families, their retirement or their pension schemes. Other aspects that companies find important are that the indirect compensation can encourage the employee to do a better job, creates a sense of trust and loyalty between the employee and the employer. This way compensation plays such a key role because it is at the heart of the employment relationship, being of critical importance to both employees and employers; also that ´s a reason why organizations are becoming more concerned with positioning employee compensation as a strategic human resource management function in order to obtain competitive advantage. Types of Employee Benefits Each country has different forms of salaries, wages and benefits. In the UK, employee benefits are categorised by three terms: Flexible Benefits, Voluntary Benefits and Core Benefits. (Price, 2007, p.467) The first term is Flexible Benefits, also called Flex Scheme, is where employees are allowed to choose how a proportion of their remuneration is paid. This is normally delivered by allowing employees to sacrifice part of their pre-tax pay in exchange for a car, additional holiday, a shorter working week or other similar benefits, or give up benefits for additional cash remuneration. The second is Voluntary Benefits; these are the collection of benefits that employees choose to receive. These tend to be schemes such as the government-backed, Bike2Work and Childcare Vouchers (Accor Services, Busybees, Sodexho, KiddiVouchers, Early Years Vouchers Ltd). Employee Discount schemes are often setup by employers as a perk of working at the organization. (www.cipd.co.uk) Finally, Core Benefits is the term given to benefits which all staff enjoys, such as holiday, sick pay and flexible schedule. In recent years, many UK companies have used the tax and national insurance savings gained through the implementation of salary sacrifice system, to fund the implementation of flexible benefits. In a salary sacrifice arrangement, an employee gives up the right to part of the cash remuneration due under their contract of employment. Usually, the sacrifice is made in return for the employers agreement to provide them with some form of non-cash benefit. The most popular types of salary sacrifice benefits include childcare vouchers and pensions, that’s a reason why indirect compensation still being important for some workers like those who are parents or those who are close to retirement. 2.1 Disadvantages of employee benefits In the UK these benefits are often taxed at the individual’s normal tax rate,which can be expensive if there is no financial advantage to the individual from the benefit. The UK system of state pension provision is dependent upon the payment of National Insurance Contributions NIC. Salary exchange schemes will result in reduced NIC payments and so are also liable to reduce the state benefits, most notably the state second pension. (www.cipd.co.uk) 2.2 Advantage of employee benefits   The benefits are an important component of a companys remuneration package for attracting and retaining its employees. The benefits serve as incentives to the employees and encourage them to work hard for the organisation, instead of give up part of their salaries. These also help in building up job satisfaction. In the same way, there can be advantages for employers; one of the major advantages is an easing of their own cash flow. Another advantage is the option to negotiate discounts with benefit providers, this could represent savings for the company when the personnel is large, so the provision of non cash benefits can consequently be cheaper than the part of the salary that the employee is giving up. Some benefits are attractive even for young workers such as a company car or mobile phones, which can be provided by the employer and without having to make these arrangements by the employee. On the other hand, tax advantages are extended to employees as well as employers. Some benefits package provides a tax advantage; for example, if the employer pays for the mobile phone, this is treated as a non-taxable benefit, so this can represent a significant tax saving over the course of a year, for both parts. Compensation Management Influence Over Employees and Companies (Example 1) On this case, AVIVA an insurance company has proposed closing its final-salary pension scheme, because is considered inequitable and unsustainable. On this case, the reason of the closure of the final-salary pension was because it took two-thirds of Avivas contributions to UK staff pension arrangements, but only one-third of UK staff had the final-salary benefit. This proposal come after a string of businesses announced their intentions to close final-salary schemes to current members. Construction firm Taylor Wimpey, Trinity Mirror, Pirelli, Fujitsu, Barclays, Morrisons, Vodafone, BMI, Dairy Crest, IBM and Costain all said they planned to do so in the last year. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/) Now this could be a problem, as it means the typical worker will lose a third of expected pension payments, but also it can proved the high costs of indirect compensation for organizations. On the other hand, incentives and motivation programs can reduce the cost of the benefits expenses for the companies; on the following two examples it can be proved. (Example 2) The company name is Rim Hospitality, which is a hotel, resort and boutique property management company. With rising workers compensation expenses, Rim Hospitality needed to find a cost effective solution that would motivate employees to help reduce these costs, and also maximize efficiencies with employee productivity and scheduling. The plan developed by this company consisted in implementing a prepaid MasterCard card as the award to the employees, which provided the employee the freedom to choose what they want, when they want it. With this plan, Rim Hospitality experienced positive results almost immediately which have steadily increased. Thus, over two years, they reduced workers compensation claims by 29% and therefore this meant more productivity to compensate the cost of benefits and savings of $634,000 during that time. (www.hrmreport.com) (Example 3) There is another case where incentives and motivation programs can reduce the cost of the benefits expenses. This example is referred to Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) which is the worlds largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages. In 2005, PBG was working on a better way to manage the rising cost of health care for its employees. They did that by educating their employees on various health related issues. First of all, PBG implemented an employee survey to get feedback on the interest of their employees. Thus, all the employees who had participated in the survey were rewarded with a prepaid card as an incentive; following the survey period, employees were offered a variety of healthcare educational classes to attend. When the class was completed, the employee received an additional prepaid Card as a reward for completing the class. Time after the implementation of that program, PBG has noticed that expenses generated by health disease, absence, emot ional conflicts, and health insurance costs were lowered in 47%. (www.hrmreport.com)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Now then, sometimes a bad healthcare can drive up the cost of the benefits for employees and employers. (Example 4) Similar to the previous, this example shows that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, as of 2009, trucking had an injury rate 30 percent higher than other U.S. industries. This coupled with higher average medical and indemnity costs, makes employer costs will go higher; therefore this will lead to higher workers compensation costs and any savings employers thought they were accruing will be lost when injuries go up. So, the higher rates can be attributed in part to several factors. Because of the nature of their work many drivers are out of shape, eat badly, smoke too much, dont do exercise and hardly ever get enough sleep. As a result of this, they found themselves susceptible to heart attacks and diabetes, as well as a myriad of strains, sprains and various other muscular-skeletal injuries. This makes truckers a danger on the road but also a danger to themselves, and by the way driving up employers costs. (http://web.ebscohost.com) (Example 5) Sometimes working in a non traditional way like working from home is a benefit that workers value, especially if they have families. This example shows that an AIM survey made in 2006, indicated that 40% of companies in Massachusetts were looking at ways to decrease the compensation budget, which meant that workers wouldn’t have been happy with that news, for that reason employers found the way to offset the dissatisfaction that will cause. They proposed to give flexible hours of work, telecommuting, and other lifestyle benefits; but perhaps, one of the most important benefits was the opportunity to work from home or 50/50 (half in the office and half in home), that was a differential factor and was used even as a recruiting tool. (http://web.ebscohost.com) That is an important benefit that more and more companies have put in practice, because they can trust and rely on people, this is a management new thinking and change of attitude, where people find that they work hard when no one is looking at them, that they don’t need a supervisor all the time or someone just watching if theyre working. This aspect was very important for families and parents who wanted to expend more time with their sons and relatives. (Example 6) Another option growing in popularity is flexible time and banks system, which consist on time off available to use at any time, instead of the typical, two weeks of vacation, five sick day permission, and 10 holidays. That way, employers are not asking to the workers if are they sick today, or if do they want the day off; because with the banks system and flexible times they can make some long weekends or take some time off in the middle of the week. That type of flexibility is definitely attractive to employees. (www.businesswest.com) By a short break, it has been found that the cost of the benefits could be a high risk when the PESTE factors (Political, Economical, Social, Technological and environmental) affect the organization. (Example 7) In Colombia for example, in the nineties when the government decided to open his economy to the neo liberal model of free trade and the invisible hand of Smith that in theory regulates the economy and the prices of buy and sale, a lot of Organizations in the textile industry suffered the consequences of that Governmental policy. There was a specific company that went to bankrupt in a short time after the economic opened, that company was Coltejer who had been one of the biggest companies in the textile industry in Colombia; the reason is that this company gave good benefits to their employees which made this one of the top organizations in where people desired to work, the benefits ranging from computers and household facilities provided by the company to cars that employees could acquire after have worked for some years in the company. So basically, when the Chinese and East Asia products got in the Colombian market, Coltejer could not compete with the bargaining and cheap prices of those products, that because of the high costs of benefits that Coltejer was holding with their employees, among other reasons, and the company could not bear and overcome the price difference, despite the fact that external products were low in quality; so in this case it can be seen that high costs of benefits could provide go od talents and satisfied employees, but also could be a high risk option for the organization if an external factor affect the business. (Example 8) In the same way in Chile, the shoes industry was affected by the PESTE factors; it was basically after signing the free trade agreement with China 4 years ago, and as a result of the undefeatable prices of Chinese shoes companies, many companies in Chile had to reduce staff and reduce both compensations direct and indirect, which brought turbulence and imbalance to the companies. (www.economiaynegocios.cl/) (Example 9) Although, external factors could be positive in a medium term perspective, like natural resources prices, especially the petroleum high prices; where in countries like Venezuela usually bring big wealthy to the people, such is the case of PDVSA, the Petroleum Public Company of Venezuela, which is one of the biggest companies in the petroleum industry over the world, and because the petroleum bonanza and the high prices of the barrel make that PDVSA could give spectacular and expensive benefits to their employees, such as car, housing, vacations, education (sons of PDVSA employees receive education allowances and scholarships to study abroad, and free education in Venezuela). So this shows the magnitude and the impact of the benefits on the employee’s life and in the company’s costs. (www.pdvsa.com) (Example 10) A survey made by Personnel Today found that, in half of 700 organisations who responded to the survey, take-up of childcare vouchers was less than 6%, and only 9% of organisations reported more than 30% staff take-up of the vouchers. So it means that poor communication of the benefits of the schemes is the result of the low take-up. However, the survey shows that there is growing awareness of the existence of childcare voucher schemes, which enable employers to offer working parents vouchers to pay for registered childcare without having to pay tax or National Insurance contributions. Most organisations (81%) said staff awareness of childcare vouchers had increased over the last five years, and that offering childcare vouchers could be a deciding factor in attracting working parents and retaining key staff. The final conclusion of the survey applied to the organizations, shown that 91% either agreeing or strongly agreeing that offering childcare vouchers improved an empl oyers reputation. The research also looked into employer interest in offering a similar scheme for staff that needed to look after elderly dependants and the results shown that 59% were interested in introducing them. (www.personneltoday.com) (Example 11) As it has been said along this work, good benefits are useful to attract and retain qualified staff for a company, now then, it also help the company to save money. That ´s because attractive benefits facilitate a companys bottom line on multiple levels, and one that shouldnt be ignored is the cost of replacing employees who become dissatisfied and leave. The cost to replace an employee can be anywhere from 30% to 40% of somebodys salary up to 150%, and is money that the employer is going to spend on recruiting and retraining. (web.ebscohost.com) (Example 12) On this order, employers might offer workers a motivating and attractive package that says, if you stay with me five years or 10 years, at the end of that time, Ill give you a raise that might be equal to 50% of the base salary. Because its on an individual basis, the employer cannot take a tax deduction for what he is spending, but if the employee got skills and talents that the organization needs to his optimal productivity, it would be more important to tie the employee to the organization for 5 or 10 years. That arrangement appeals to people at certain stages of life. For example, someone with two children is going to be staring to college costs in a little less than a decade. By offering to double his starting salary after 5 years, the employer can bring a little financial-planning reassurance to the worker, while not having to worry about losing the assets he brings to the company. Employees nearing retirement age might also find value in such an offer. (web.ebscoh ost.com) (Example 13) This is the case of Unisys (IT Services Company) which has had a flexible benefits scheme for 13 years. This has changed a lot over that time to reflect staff interests, and is split into three categories security, wellbeing and lifestyle. Unisys workers average salary is about  £50,000. Andrew White, reward manager, says We found high interest in security-type benefits rather than lifestyle, so tried to tailor as many as we can in the insurance sector. Security benefits include critical illness insurance, travel insurance and group income protection. The most popular benefits are critical illness, dental insurance, holiday-trading and income protection. (http://proquest.umi.com) (Example 14) In the case of retail giant Tesco, who offers its employees a wide selection of benefits, including a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme that is open to all staff, three all-employee share schemes, life assurance, childcare vouchers and discounts at theme parks. Tesco also offers all its employees a discount card (the Privilege card), which gives a 10% discount on shopping in all Tesco stores and online. Staff can save a maximum of  £730 a year. Staff feedback shows the Privilege card is top of the list of most valued benefits. The reason the Privilege card is so popular is because staff get immediate benefit from it, they get money off their shopping receipt. (http://proquest.umi.com) On the other hand, voluntary benefits include a staff tariff on the Tesco Mobile network and discounts at Tesco Bank. Each pay period, Tesco includes a new offer, for example extra deals on clothing, home ware or photo processing. With nearly 290,000 UK staff and from different nationalities, Tesco has a wide range of needs to consider. (Example 15) Telegraph Media Group is an organization who gives to their employees’ wide range of benefits, and that’s the cause of why more than 80% of the employees have declared to be satisfied with benefits. One of Telegraphs most popular benefits is the pension scheme, where the company pays a lot into that and employees don’t get charged for administration. In the same way there is a good website for the pension scheme. This is very important issue for employees therefore in the current situation, because they can save their pensions and don’t have to worry about the public pot. (http://proquest.umi.com) Another valued issue is the health and wellbeing services provided by Telegraph, such as its on-site gym, free and subsidised fitness classes, free corporate massage service, and on-site doctor with physiotherapy services. All this kind of smart compensation policies ease the life of the employees and also the productivity and work environment of the company. (Example 16) Another example is the one about the Oil and Gas Company Subsea 7, who employs 1,800 people in the UK and they consider that is essential to create a clever payment strategy to attract and retain the best people. Considering this the company first introduced tax-efficient perks offered via salary sacrifice arrangements, then built on this with a total reward statement and a flex scheme. To ensure the package is understood and appreciated by staff, it tracks a variety of measurements, including the number who has enrolled on the benefits website, the choices they make, how often they visit the site, and the take-up of different benefits. (http://proquest.umi.com) Conclusions During this essay, it has been tried to demonstrate what is better for both employees and companies in terms of compensation. As it has been shown the compensation could vary depending on the company policies and the HR strategies. As human beings we are looking always for the best choice for us, it must be a choice that satisfy the basic needs one person has and at the same time gave him/her wellbeing, comfort and happiness. In the same way companies are looking for the best way to attract and retain excellent staff, which brings quality, productivity, growth, status, competitiveness and profits to the company. Now then, compensation is just the manner in which the employees get some pay in return of the services they have given to the company. The main question of this essay put a hypothetical situation in which employees undervalue the cost of the benefits, and the company has to decide whether remove the benefits and add more direct compensation, which would means add more monetary value, more basic salary or just more allowances; now then, as it has been shown before, the needs of each employee differs depending on the age, personal aims, family type, lifestyle, culture, religion and even education level. So it’s essential that the employer knows perfectly well the characteristics and the staff behaviour, in order to offer the best compensation package for each group of workers, and also to save money and gain productivity and competitiveness. As it has been mentioned before, the company could gain productivity and competitiveness just by offering to their employees’ nice conditions, because the worker who feels that the company really care about him and give to him everything he needs could work the double in the half of time, giving better results and being committed with the business, so that’s how an employer can create loyal and good workers. On the other hand, when companies chose the right compensation packages for their employees, they will be saving money and the reason is because on one side they won’t waste money in benefits that employees don’t like or undervalue or even they are not going to use, and on the other side the save money because if they keep the employees satisfied they won’t be need to spend money on recruiting and training new staff. So, my answer to the main question is that, employers have to do everything necessary to keep employees satisfied, as they are the gears of the machine, so if in this case or in one specific company the employees undervalue the benefits and prefer more direct compensation, I must say that on first instance a general check in of the compensation program must be done, so it means to check the different dimension of payment such as form, level, structure, mix and the pay policies of the company. Is necessary to know that some benefits cannot be removed, as they must be given as a legal issue (e.g. social security or pensions), other flexible benefits could be removed or added according the characteristic of the employee, because I can’t offer a 25 years old person, whose marital status is single a childcare voucher or long term plans benefits, may be this person could be more attracted with travel allowances, or just have more cash to spend on leisure activities; on the other sid e a mother with little kids should be more interested in flexible timings, work from home, health care insurance and vacations, and in the same way an old person is probably thinking in pension schemes. Now then, for the company instead, the fact of add more direct compensation could represent a more complicated manage of the cash flow and at the same time could be more expensive, as employees are not giving up part of their salaries in exchange of the benefits, and some companies usually negotiate discounts with some benefit providers, instead it cannot be done with the employees salary; in addition, with indirect compensation employers get tax advantages, that could be relevant throughout of the year. In conclusion, if the employer adds more direct compensation he could lose money, because he won’t have tax advantages, there won’t be salary sacrifice system so there won’t be possibility to negotiate with benefit providers and as a result it will be also more complicated to manage the cash flow without those benefits. Now on the other hand, if the employees are not completely satisfied with the indirect compensation, it will mean that the work environment could be affected and as a result the productivity, competitiveness and loyalty of the staff which in a medium term could be expensive for the company. So it’s a complex situation, which I’m agree in part, because it require a smart strategy that permit the employer hold indirect compensation in order to benefit the company wealth, assets and resources, but at the same time is necessary offer good perks to employees in order to create incentives and wellbeing among them and thus boost each employ ee to get the best of them. References Books: Ferris, Gerald R., Rosen, Sherman D. And Barnum, Darold T. Handbook of Human Resources Management. (1995) Blackwell Publishers, first ed., Oxford,   pp. 528-570 Price, Alan. Human Resource Management in a Business Context. (2007) Cengage learning EMEA, third ed., London, p. 467-488. 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