When One Takes A Look At The World In Which He Currently Essays

When one takes a look at the world in which he currently lives, he sees it as being normal since it is so slow in changing. When an historian looks at the present, he sees the effects of many events and many wise people. Benjamin Franklin is one of these people. His participation in so many different fields changed the world immensely. He was a noted politician as well as respected scholar. He was an important inventor and scientist. Particularly interesting is the impact on the scientific world. Benjamin Franklin was a modest man who had had many jobs in his lifetime. This may help explain his large array of inventions and new methods of working various jobs. He did everything from making cabbage-growing more efficient to making political decisions to being the first person to study and chart the Gulf Stream movement in the Atlantic Ocean. Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. He was the fifteenth child in a family of seventeen kids. His parents, Josiah and Abiah Franklin, were hard working devout Puritan/Calvinist people. Josiah Franklin made candles for a living. Since the Franklins were so poor, little Benjamin couldn't afford to go to school for longer than two years. In those two years, however, Franklin learned to read which opened the door to further education for him. Since he was only a fair writer and had very poor mathematical skills, he worked to tutor himself at home. Benjamin Franklin was a determined young man. As a boy, he taught himself to be a very good writer. He also learned basic algebra and geometry, navigation, grammar, logic, and natural and physical science. He partially mastered French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Latin. He was soon to be named the best educated man in the country. When he was 12-years-old, he was apprentice to his brother in printing. Benjamin's brother founded the second newspaper in America. Many people told him that one newspaper was enough for America and that the paper would soon collapse. On the contrary, it became very popular. Occasionally, young Benjamin would write an article to be printed and slip it under the printing room's door signed as "Anonymous". The following is a direct quote from Franklin's Autobiography. It describes his writing the articles as a boy. "He (Benjamin's older brother) had some ingenious men among his friends, who amus'd themselves by writing little pieces for this paper, which gain'd it credit and made it more in demand, and these gentlemen often visited us. Hearing their conversations, and their accounts of the approbation their papers were received with, I was excited to try my hand among them; but, being still a boy, and suspecting that my brother would object to printing anything of mine in his paper if he knew it to be mine, I contrived to disguise my hand, and, writing an anonymous paper, I put it in at night under the door of the printing-house. It was found in the morning, and communicated to his writing friends when they call'd in as usual. They read it, commented on it in my hearing, and I had the exquisite pleasure of finding it met with their approbation, and that, in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of some character among us for learning and ingenuity. I suppose n! ow that I was rather lucky in my judges, and that perhaps they were not really so very good ones as I then esteem'd them." Benjamin liked the printer's job but couldn't stand being told what to do all of the time. He desperately felt the need to be his own boss. That day would come. In 1730, Franklin married Deborah Read, who was the daughter of the first Philadelphia landlady. Read was not nearly so well educated as her husband. In old letters that she had written to him, there are many misspellings and improper punctuation marks. They were a very happy couple despite their differences. They eventually had two boys and one girl. One of the boys, William, became governor of New Jersey. When Franklin was 21-years-old, he began his career as a civic leader by organizing a club of aspiring tradesmen called the Junto, which met each week for discussion and planning. They hoped to build their own businesses, insure the growth of Philadelphia, and improve the quality of its life. Franklin led the University of Junto in founding a library in 1731, the first ever American fire company in 1736, a learned society in 1743, a college (the University of Pennsylvania) in 1749, and an insurance

Free Essays on Italian Culture

. In research on interpersonal distance, body orientation, and touch in correlation with culture, it was found that Italians represent contact cultures. Italian dyads used touch during their interactions more than did the English, French, and Dutch dyads (Remland, Jones, & Brinkman, 1995... Free Essays on Italian Culture Free Essays on Italian Culture History and Demographics: In the United States today, there are currently 26 million Italian-Americans. According to the US Census Bureau, they are the nation’s fifth largest ethnic group. Italian-American’s are mainly middle class republicans living in industrial cities primarily in northeastern states. I chose to study this group because my mother’s side of the family is one hundred percent Italian. I have grown up with certain Italian customs and traditions, so it was interesting for me to research Italian-American families more in depth. In 1850, there were less than 4,000 Italians in America. Between 1876 and 1976 there was mass emigration from Italy to the United States. They were met with hatred and discrimination when first arriving to America mainly because their customs and their strong Catholic religious faith was feared. Physical Characteristics, Last Names, Language: Italian-Americans can be recognized by their physical characteristics as well as their last names. Physical characteristics usually consist of dark hair, dark features, and tan skin. The majority of Italians are shorter than average and have more body hair than average. It is also common that Italians are overweight due to their love of food. Italian last names always end in a vowel such as Fiorda, Trizzino, and Torricelli. The majority of Italian-Americans speak English and have a sense of the Italian language. There are some Italian-American families who still speak Italian in their homes in order to maintain their cultural roots. Italians and Italian-Americans are also recognized for using hand gestures while speaking to emphasize their words. In research on interpersonal distance, body orientation, and touch in correlation with culture, it was found that Italians represent contact cultures. Italian dyads used touch during their interactions more than did the English, French, and Dutch dyads (Remland, Jones, & Brinkman, 1995...

Claude Monet Painting The Regatta at Sainte-Adresse Research Paper

Claude Monet Painting The Regatta at Sainte-Adresse - Research Paper Example Monet was raised in Normandy and Eugene Boudin introduced him to painting. He joined Charles Gleyre’s Paris studio where he was the academic history painter; Monet was twenty-two at that time and he studied with other painters who became impressionists later. He got limited success in his early career and had just a few landscapes, portraits, and seascapes which were accepted at the annual Salons for exhibition in 1860s. He faced rejection and a lot of criticism that he took as a motivation to move forward. The subjects for Monet’s paintings were found in his surroundings such as people and places that he knew the best. His models were his first and second wife frequently. The landscapes he painted were the north of France to London which covered his journeys of moving. He often painted his home gardens and gathering places. His paintings had a unique objective that would always catch the eye such as signs of domestic relations. Monet followed the path of the Barbizon p ainters and adopted their commitment towards naturalistic representation and close observation. He extended that commitment and created his own style which included painting on large-scale canvases outdoors then completing the work in studio. He captured nature accurately and rejected the European conventions that governed composition, perspective, and colour. He enhances his work using vibrant brightness and unmediated colours; he adds a variety of colour tones for shadows and for traditional landscapes he uses light coloured primers.

Theories of causation of crime Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Theories of causation of crime - Term Paper Example According to this theory, people engage to crime to avoid or end harassment from their friends. In other instances, they may steal so that they can end or reduce financial problems that make them feel embarrassed. In another dimension, such people may commit crime as a way of revenging against those who have done them wrong. Engagement in illegal drug use is also a way of making them feel better especially when they engage in criminal activities. According to Vito & Maahs (2012), different challenges have been found to cause individuals from committing crime. Poor families have different challenges that make them feel disadvantaged in life. Due to lack of finances, poor families end up having different health problems since they cannot afford medication. In some of the developing countries, poor families suffer from malnutrition and other dietary related diseases. Such diseases are preventable especially when people have good meals, but this is different when it comes to people from poor background. They find it difficult to have three meals in a day. In this regard, people from such families try to find ways of placing meals on their tables. Since very little means are available to do so, they end up engaging in criminal activities such as stealing. They may feel that their supremacy is on the ability to steal from rich people. They mostly blame the forces of nature for their misfortunes and believe that since life is all about survival for the fittest, their ability to steal is their strength and they count is as their own adventure or as a means of earning a living. However, Kelso (1994) noted that such people develop a culture of stealing and find it difficult to engage in positive work to make money. They do not engage in any positive development activity as long as they believe they can survive by stealing. Studies have documented that people from poor backgrounds have little

Human Resource Management Roles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource Management Roles - Essay Example It should be noted that the needs of the diverse workforce are often contrasting in nature and hence HRM has a major role to play in managing such diverse workforce in healthcare industry. This paper briefly analyses the role of HRM in healthcare industry. The importance of communication between employees in healthcare industry is more than that in any other industry. Since healthcare professionals are dealing with human life, any error or mistake in communication may cost valuable lives. HR managers are responsible for providing ample training to the diverse workforce for the enhancement of communication. â€Å"A properly trained and competent workforce is essential to any successful health care system† (Kabene et al., 2006). â€Å"It is essential to maintain an appropriate mix between the different types of health promoters and caregivers to ensure the systems success† (Kabene et al., 2006). HR is responsible for maintaining sound relationships between different health promoters and care givers. For example, videoconferencing techniques are widely used in healthcare sector while doctors conduct complex surgeries. This modern technique helps doctors to get expert advice from distant parts at the time of conducting surgery. HR is responsible for coordinating such things. â€Å"Better use of the spectrum of health care providers and better coordination of patient services through interdisciplinary teamwork have been recommended as part of health sector reform† (Kabene et al., 2006). HR is responsible for implementing reforms in a healthcare organization. It should be noted that the needs of patient in one locality may not be the same in another locality. HR is responsible for identifying the needs of both the patients and that of the healthcare professionals and take necessary actions to satisfy both. â€Å"A healthcare manager must be familiar with different federal and state laws

Continuous Improvement as a Business Strategy

Continuous Improvement as a Business Strategy The case study focuses on Corus, Europes second largest steel manufacturing company and their efforts in following the path of Continuous Improvement to produce quality product in a timely manner by streamlining their processes and reducing the wastage of resources. Corus is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, one of worlds top ten steelmakers. In their own words, Corus aspires to be the worlds steel industry benchmark for value creation and corporate citizenship. Corus is a leading supplier to most of the demanding markets around the world including construction, automotives, packaging, mechanical and electrical engineering, metal goods, and oil gas. With innovation and continuous improvement at the heart of its business performance, Corus aims to create value by offering a differentiated product range supported by unrivalled customer service. 1 The challenge that Corus faces in differentiating its products from that of its rivals is that, steel is a relatively inexpensive product and in major building projects, the cost of steel can be as little as 5% of the overall cost of the project. It is also a challenging task to meet the rising demand for steel, at increasing levels of quality and to comply with challenging delivery requirements. While it would be an easy task to meet these challenges using brand-new facilities, an investment of more than 300 million Pounds to build a ‘Greenfield Site steel mill is an impediment. Therefore, Corus decided to focus on the path of Continuous Improvement, commonly known as CI, at its steel plate manufacturing mill in Scunthorpe, to achieve process efficiency, quality and delivery improvements with its existing manufacturing setup. What is Continuous Improvement? Continuous improvement, with respect to organizational quality and performance, focuses on improving customer satisfaction through continuous and incremental improvement processes, removing or minimizing unnecessary activities and delays in product delivery and also minimizing defects in the products being delivered. Several organizations have gained a competitive edge by implementing Kaizen, commonly known as continuous improvement (CI). The philosophy of Kaizen was spearheaded by Masaaki Imai, and is constituted of two words, kai which means ‘change and zen which means ‘good as well as ‘wisdom. Hence we can conclude that Kaizen implies ‘changes for the better and covers all processes in an organization like Engineering, Information Technology, Finance, Procurement and Supply, Customer Service and Manufacturing. CI can be initiated either at Top Management level or at Process level based on effective feedback system. The most important factor is that, all employees should be responsible to make improvements and must work together to identify the steps needed to improve the efficiency of the overall process, in an iterative manner. This requires thorough supervision, flexible work force and technology to improve business efficiency. When an established organization like Corus attempts to differentiate its products or services from its competitors in the industry, CI can be the â€Å"Differentiation† or â€Å"Focus† competitive strategies which can help the organization grow. Corus has implemented CI of ‘flow where the products are pulled through a carefully planned production process from the supply of raw steel to the finished steel plate. The process is paced and scheduled to control the amount of product in each stage of the process, to keep bottlenecks to a minimum and to maintain high quality. A part of the CI process involves the measurement of improvements to gauge, whether the improvements have resulted in benefits. These results can be reducing waste time, saving money and efforts, or better utilization of available resources. These are the tangible benefits of the implementation of a CI process. The intangible benefits will include greater staff motivation and increased job satisfaction3. In Corus, improvement is gauged with the help of a set of new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) focused on meeting customer deadlines, such as zero backlog of customer orders and meeting targets for rolling steel plate in its allotted week. Thus benchmark level can be set and attempts can be made to better that level in an iterative manner. When Why CI need to be implemented? It is human nature to feel secure in ones comfortable environment of a â€Å"CASH COW† organization and therefore people are hesitant towards big changes. Some of the most common excuses that people give to avoid changes at workplace are: 1) Its been done in this way for a long time2) We know theres a better way but theres not enough time to fix things3) I dont get paid extra to think4) Its not my problem but someone elses problem However, a key aspect of implementing CI is the fact that it does not deal with big changes, but with smaller ones that take less time to implement at minimal cost. Also, an interesting aspect would be that it gradually transforms and brings about what one can call a big change without people being hesitant and overcoming their apprehensions. The objective is to minimize cost by leveraging the existing knowledge pool and gradually implementing changes. The key of effectively implementing CI is that it has to become a part of the organizations culture and gain consensus from the work force and stake holders. Like in the Corus case, moving from Tonnage, the traditional key measure of productivity to the smooth paced process of CI involved a significant work culture change for the employees. Initiation and integration of CI 1. Collect feedback from the horses mouth It is imperative to understand the operations at the ground level from the people who perform the tasks on a regular basis. By asking for ideas and by listening to those that know how the job is currently performed you will achieve a much greater buy-in from your teams 2. Place checks and implement improvement process cycle Not jumping to conclusions is the key here. Put into practice the steps of Plan, Do, Check and Act known as PDCA Model PDCA a simple model for CI implementation Plan the plan phase constitutes of setting objectives and goals that would form the guiding path for the entire process of improvement.Do the Do phase requires the testing of possible alternatives and arriving at a solution that would comply with best practices and industry benchmarksCheck In this phase, the effectiveness of the action phase is evaluated to ascertain the success of the plans and also to see if any negative consequences have arisen.Act The act phase is to implement the tried and tested processes and form the new standards. If the processes are unsuccessful, then the cycle is repeated till the time desirable results are attained. Even after the process has been established, the implementation of CI is not over. The goal of CI is to set newer and more efficient benchmarks. This philosophy has to become a part of the organizations culture. For example, in the Scunthorpe plant of Corus, a CI manager co-ordinates the process and 40 CI coaches chosen from the workforce received training to facilitate improvements. A toolbox of techniques has been put together to help managers, employees and operators understand where and how they can improve their work and come up with new ideas to change processes for better. Scunthorpe plate mill has set out a 5-year vision improvement plan which will help in the process of developing a CI culture for the business and has held workshops for employees to understand the vision and change since it was recognized that people might be resistant and cling to old ways of working. The 5 year-plan, established a timeline for the thorough acceptance and implementation of the CI culture among employees so that by the end of the 5-year period, the team and individuals are empowered to take responsibility and make decisions for themselves. Tradeoffs in implementing Continuous Improvement: Although several companies have benefitted from implementing CI, its quite interesting to see that something this innovative and cost effective could also derail the organization from its path to success or even create a new bottleneck in the entire process. At times CI may lead to a trade-off between self-management and discipline 5. Over engagement and a lack of prioritization in implementing new wave CI manufacturing strategies by front line managers and operations staff has actually led to a tradeoff between their core operations related work and CI related activities. Often, CI strategies led by an over-enthusiastic HR has caused them to over strategize which is a new bottle neck in itself and often goes unnoticed. Thus it is quite important to make sure that less than 7% of the total work time may be spent by such key operational personnel on CI oriented strategy development so that their core operational responsibilities may not be diluted beyond an acceptable limit. Another very interesting drawback that has been noticed is the invert effect of over emphasis on the implementation of CI Practices on the price v/s quality competitive strategy model 6. In her study, Barbara Flynn has very effectively shown that an uninterrupted iteration of CI programs for the reduction of cost price would ultimately result in increasing price since perfection always comes at a premium. Secondly it was also observed that in the quest to achieve the goal of CI within its designated time period, the complex untested assumptions about the relation between process and outcome are often deliberately not studied in depth. Managers prematurely conclude that any detrimental effects of implementing the new plan would be taken care of in subsequent CI programs 7. Thus such complacency could result in mission failure at the nth hour. But still, careful and well planned implementation of CI strategy is effective because it keeps production processes under control, rapidly trains production personnel to effectively manage production and possesses the flexibility to slot improvements into production schedules with minimum disruptions and at least effective cost. 8 Continuous Improvement in action at FORD India (A firsthand account) 9: Cost Reduction activity has become one of the major activities in any industry especially in Automobile field with ever increasing competition. The following is a firsthand account of Continuous Improvement initiate undertaken at Ford India for Cost Reduction. The Front End Module of the car is a plastic molded steel reinforced part, supplied to Ford by a Vendor X. The Input weight of the steel portion in that is 4.0 Kg and its output weight is 1.0 Kg. With 25% yield, Ford saw the scope for cost reduction in the above module. Normally for any steel part, yield of at least 40 to 50% is expected. Hence, the only way to reduce the cost would by reducing the input weight. After several discussions with technical department, Ford decided to optimize the design to reduce the input weight and proposed the modified design to the vendor. Various trials were conducted and accordingly the design was altered without compromising on the quality of the final part. After several iterations, the new design was approved by the quality team. Minor modifications were made to existing tools in order to work with new design. This Continuous Improvement initiative not only reduced cost but also reduced the scrap content and process time. Suggestions for Corus Corus has implemented lean manufacturing method of CI, which has really improved its deliveries and quality but only in an internal manner. Yet another dimension which can be facilitated through external feedback is available in the form of â€Å"WOWing the customer†. What we feel is that, Corus should start to simultaneously work upon gaining better customer feedback to facilitate continued product design improvement. This combined effort will enable them to suggest improvements in the product demanded by the customers which may exceed the customers expectation and will make them feel that they are getting a value for money preposition. Thus this would add to their customer satisfaction, retention and self sustainable associations which would be mutually beneficial. References and Bibliography http://www.corusgroup.com/en/company/about_corus/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaizen http://www.helium.com/items/558484-what-is-a-continuous-improvement-plan?page=3 http://www.helium.com/items/558484-what-is-a-continuous-improvement-plan?page=2 Continuous improvement: the trade-off between self-management and discipline Author(s):Alan Harrison Journal:Integrated Manufacturing Systems 6, 7, 8- Achieving simultaneous cost and differentiation competitive advantages through continuous Publication: Journal of Managerial Issues by Flynn, Barbara B. 9. From actual work experience of Santhosh Srinivasan

Michael Jordan :: essays research papers

Michael Jordan is the Chicago Bulls superstar who beat Charles Barkley and Akeem Olajuwon for Rookie of the Year Honors in 1985. Perhaps, he is the greatest player to ever play the game....he even has six championship rings to back up his claim, including 3 straight from 1991-1993, and 3 more in 1996-1998. Michael was named the NBA Finals MVP in all of those titles. He's won them all with Scottie Pippen. In 1991, Jordan's Bulls finally overcame the greatest impediment to their team's success, Isiah Thomas' Detroit Pistons, who had regularly eliminated the Bulls from the playoffs. In 1993 he averaged 41.0 ppg in the finals, for a record. This 6-6 superstar guard is a perennial NBA first teamer (10 times from 1987-1993 and 1996 and again as a unanimous selection in 1997 and 1998). He was once again an All-NBA First Team member in 1996 after making his return from baseball. You can always pencil Mike in as the starting guard for the all-star game (13 appearances in 1985 and from 1987-1 993, 1997-1998 and again in 2002). He started for the ninth time in 1997, as the first player EVER to receive more that 2 million votes. In the 1997 Game he became the first player ever to record a triple double in the all-star game with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 asssists. Jordan was not named MVP that year (Glen Rice received that honor), but he did win the Game's MVP award in 1988 after scoring 40 points and again in 1996. Jordan was once again elected to start (10th time in 12 appearances) in 1998 after leading the eastern conference in voting. After coming out of retirement, Jordan was elected to start again for the eastern all-stars in 2002. Jordan holds the record for most career scoring titles with eight, including 7 straight, also a record. He scores so many points that it is almost unfair to compare him with other players. On November 6, 1996 Michael scored 50 points for the 36th time in his career! Jordan eclipsed the 25,000 career points total, and he continues to dominate in that statistical category. He was the tenth player to score that many points, accomplishing the feat against San Antonio on November 30, 1996, with his 35th point of the game. On January 4, 2001 Michael Jordan scored his 30,000 career point, becoming the fourth player in NBA history to reach the 30,000 point milestone.