External Failure and Internal Failure Cost

Definition and Explanation of Quality Costs: The concept of Cost Of Quality (COQ) has been around for many years. Dr. Joseph M. Juran in 1951 in his Quality Control Handbook included a section on COQ. The Quality Cost Committee under the Quality Management Division was established by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) in 1961. However it was Philip B. Crosby who popularized the use of COQ because of his book Quality is Fre in 1979. Several current quality system standards, ISO 9000, QS-9000, AS-9000, reference the use of COQ for quality improvement. The concept of Cost of Quality is confusing.It does not refer to costs such as using a higher grade leather to make a wallet or using 14K gold instead of gold plating in jewelry. Instead the term quality cost refers to all of the costs that are incurred to prevent defects or that result from defects in products. What is being referenced are the costs due to the lack of quality or costs to ensure quality is produced. We understand them as the costs that are associated with preventing, detecting, and correcting defective work. Some authors refer to these costs as â€Å"Cost of Poor Quality†. Sometimes poor quality costs refer only to the â€Å"failure† costs.Crosby refers to the COQ costs as â€Å"Price of conformance† (the prevention and appraisal costs) and the â€Å"Price of non-conformance† (the failure costs). These are divided into conformance and non-conformance costs, also called control costs and failure of control costs. Figure 1 Quality costs can be broken down into four broad groups. These four groups are also termed as four (4) types of quality costs. Two of these groups are known as prevention costs and appraisal costs. These are incurred in an effort to keep defective products from falling into the hands of customers.The other two groups of costs are known as internal failure and external failure. Internal and external failure costs are incurred because defects are produc ed despite efforts to prevent them therefore these costs are also known as costs of poor quality. However, we will be focussing on the internal costs failure and the external costs failure for this assignment. The non-conformance costs come into play when the software does not conform to the quality requirements. These costs are divided into internal failure costs and external failure costs. Types of quality costs are explained below : Internal Costs Failure:Failure costs are incurred when a product fails to conform to its design specifications. Failure costs can be either internal or external. Internal failure costs result from identification of defects before they are shipped to customers. These costs include scrap, rejected products, reworking of defective units, and downtime caused by quality problem. The more effective a company's appraisal activities the greater the chance of catching defects internally and the greater the level of internal failure costs. This is the price tha t is paid to avoid incurring external failure costs, which can be devastating.On the non-conformance side, we have fault removal costs that can be attributed to the internal failure costs as well as the external failure costs. This is because if we found a fault and want to remove it, it would always result in costs no matter whether costs in an internal or external failure. Actually, there does not have to be a failure at all. Considering code inspections, faults are found and removed that have never caused a failure during testing. It is also a good example that the removal costs can be quite different due to the different techniques.When a test identifies a failure, there needs to be considerable effort spent to find the corresponding fault. During an inspection, faults are found directly. Fault removal costs also contain the costs for necessary re-testing and re-inspections. External Cost Failure: When a defective product is delivered to customer, external failure cost is the re sult. External failure costs include warranty, repairs and replacements, product recalls, liability arising from legal actions against a company, and lost sales arising from a reputation for poor quality. Such costs can decimate profits.In the past, some managers have taken the attitude, â€Å"Let's go ahead and ship everything to customers, and we'll take care of any problems under the warranty. † This attitude generally results in high external failure costs, customer ill will, and declining market share and profits. External failure costs usually give rise to another intangible cost. These intangible costs are hidden costs that involve the company's image. They can be three or four times greater than tangible costs. Missing a deadline or other quality problems can be intangible costs of quality.Internal failure costs, costs and intangible costs that impair the goodwill of the company occur due to a poor quality so these costs are also known as costs of poor quality by some persons. External failure also cause support costs. These are all costs connected to customer care, especially the effort from service workers identifying the problem. Finally, compensation costs could be part of external failure costs, if the failure caused some kind of damage at the customer site. We might also include loss of sales because of bad reputation in the external failure costs but do not look at it in this paper because it is out of scope.Costs of quality assurance (Compiled from Gavett 1968, Adam and Evertt-1998) Prevention Costs| Appraisal Costs| Internal Failure Costs| External Failure Costs| †¢ Quality planning†¢ QC administration and systems planning†¢ Quality related training†¢ Inspection of incoming in process and final product†¢ Processes planning†¢ Design review†¢ Quality data analysis†¢ Procurement planning†¢ Market research†¢ Vendor surveys†¢ Reliability studies†¢ System development†¢ Quality m easurement and control equipment†¢ Product Qualification†¢ Qualification of material| †¢ Incoming Inspection†¢ Testing†¢ Inspection in process†¢ Quality audits†¢ Incoming test and laboratory tests†¢ Checking labor†¢ Laboratory or other measurement service†¢ Setup for test and inspection†¢ Test and inspection material†¢ Outside endorsements for certification†¢ Maintenance and calibration work†¢ Product reengineering review and shipping release†¢ Field testing†¢ Final testing| †¢ Rejections†¢ Scrap at full shop cost†¢ Failure analysis†¢ Scrap and rework, fault of vendor†¢ Material procurement†¢ Factory contact engineering†¢ Machine down†¢ QC investigations of failures†¢ Material review activity†¢ Repair and troubleshooting†¢ Excess inventory| †¢ Recall†¢ Complaints handling†¢ Goodwill loss†¢ Warranty costs†¢ Bad publicity†¢ Field maintenance and product service†¢ Returned material processing and repair†¢ Fall in market share†¢ Replacement inventories†¢ Low employees morale†¢ Strained distributor relation| References 1. Jones, Capers, Patterns of Software Systems Failure and Success, International Thompsom Computer Press, Boston, Mass. , 1996. 2. Crosby, P. , Quality Improvement Through Defect Prevention, Philip Crosby Assosiates, 1985. 3. Beecroft, G. Dennis, What is Your Quality Costing You? IIQP Newsletter, Winter 2000. 4. Campanella, Jack (Ed. ). Principles of Quality Costs (Third Edition). ASQ Quality Press: Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 1999. 219pp. 5. Harrington, H. J. , Poor Quality Costs, Mercel Dekker, Inc. , 1987. 6. Morse, Roth, and Poston, Measuring, Planning, and Controlling Quality Costs, National Association of Accountant, 1987.

Economics: Portfolio Theory Essay

Sometime during the 1980s, investors on the whole concluded that internationally diversified portfolios produced the best risk-adjusted returns, and that it was possible to identify and trade in a sufficient number of international stocks to make this conclusion a reality. Indeed, performance could also be enhanced by investing in a well-selected mix of stocks from other economies. The lasting benefit of all of international investing, however, depended on a key tenant of modern portfolio theory-that overall portfolio risk was lowered through diversification into noncorrelated investments-which has been shown especially to apply to international investments. The key (to the theory) is the lack of correlation between most foreign markets and one’s own. In a perfectly integrated market, on the other hand, the correlation between markets would be quite high and there could be no gain from diversification per se. Harry Markowitz, along with Merton Miller and William Sharpe, won the economics Nobel Prize in 1990 for his â€Å"pioneering work in the theory of financial economics. † Markowitz has applied computer and mathematical techniques to various practical decision-making areas. He is often referred to as the father of modern portfolio theory (MPT). This is based on his contributions to portfolio theory first in the article â€Å"Portfolio Selection, † published in the Journal of Finance in 1952, and then in his book, Portfolio Selection: Efficient Diversification of Investments, first published in 1959. Between these two publications and since the publication of the book, Markowitz has made many other contributions using mathematical programming and computer modeling techniques to address realworld problems to aid in decisionmaking. He got the Nobel Prize for the development of the theory of portfolio choice and contributions to the theory of price formation for financial assets, the so-called Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAMP). Becoming an economist was not a childhood dream of Harry Markowitz. His first two years at the University of Chicago were spent emphasizing the reading of original material where possible. Here again, he was especially interested in the philosophers. When it was time to choose his upper-division major at the University of Chicago, after some consideration. He first went through the basics of macroeconomics, which is the big picture of the economy of a country and its governance. Then he went through microeconomics, which is the economics of individual economic units of business. After going through these basics, he found his true love, the economics of uncertainty. The concepts of expected utility, personal probability, efficiency, and efficient sets, as taught by the outstanding faculty at Chicago, inspired him to pursue his later works. Harry Markowitz tells the story of how he stumbled up on his dissertation topic in the Personal Notes section of the third printing of his first book, The Portfolio Selection: Efficient Diversification of Investments. He was a student in the economics department of the University of Chicago and a research fellow of the Cowles Commission. He was sitting outside Jacob Marschak’s office waiting for the opportunity to discuss suggestions for his Ph. D. dissertation topic. An older man also was waiting outside the Marschak’s office and they began talking. The other man identified himself as a stockbroker and suggested that Markowitz should consider doing a dissertation on the stock market. When he later spoke to Marschak about the idea, he agreed that it was reasonable. Markowitz recalled that Alfred Cowles, the founder of the Cowles Commission, had done work in that area. Markowitz was sent to Marshall Ketchum in the Business School to get a reading list so that he could understand the theories on stock investments as revealed in the literature. The basic concepts of portfolio theory came to him one afternoon in the library while reading John Burr Williams’ The Theory of Investment Value. The dissertation that resulted provided the underpinnings of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT). In reviewing Williams’ work, as referred to above, Markowitz noted that he recommended that a stock be valued by finding the present value of its future dividends. His treatment of risk involved finding a large number of securities with maximum present value and divide funds among them. This treatment provided no measure of individual securities nor of the resulting portfolio. Markowitz provided the methodology for eliminating that shortcoming. His approach was to use expected return as the positive attribute of a security and the variability of the possible returns around its expected return as a measure of risk or uncertainty, the negative attribute of the security. This provided the missing risk measure for individual securities. However, the problem of the portfolio of securities also needed to be addressed. The question was, when securities are mixed into a portfolio, how will the expected return and the risk measure of the portfolio be determined? This is the next contribution that Markowitz provided in his portfolio theory. The third ingredient needed to put the securities together in a portfolio was a methodology for handling the interaction of the respective variabilities of individual securities when mixed together in a portfolio. Quantification of this key element had been missing in investment theory up to this point. A couple of simple examples to help understand this problem follow. First, visualize taking two securities that have identical variability of returns over time. If we mix these together in a portfolio, the portfolio will look just like the two individual securities looked separately. The result is that we have not diversified away any rise by building that portfolio. Now, think about taking two securities that move in opposite directions in their variability of returns over time. As time passes, the portfolio variability of return will be less than the individual securities variability of returns because of the canceling out of the variability of one security’s deviations by an opposite deviation from the other security. These are two extreme examples to illustrate the concept of diversification. In the real world, we usually have something in between these two extreme examples, but some risk reduction can be achieved by diversification. Accordingly, the portfolio’s risk could be less than any of the individual securities included in the portfolio. A measure of this interaction between securities’ variability is called the correlation of returns variability. The next large contribution provided by Markowitz was that he was able to demonstrate mathematically that given a group of individual securities with their measures of expected returns, individual variabilities, and the correlations of their variability with the variability of each of the other securities, one could determine an efficient set of portfolios of those securities. This efficient set is the set of portfolios that have the highest expected return for any level of portfolio risk. Alternatively, it can be said that this efficient set is the set of portfolios that have the lowest portfolio risk for any level of expected return feasible with those securities. This is the cornerstone of Modern Portfolio Theory. Every textbook on investments used by colleges and universities all over the world includes the Markowitz MPT concepts. In his book, Portfolio Selection: Efficient Diversification of Investments, he also introduced the concept of a one-factor model. This model would reduce greatly the number of measures of correlations needed to determine portfolio risk. During the 1950s, Markowitz, along with others, decided that many practical business problems were beyond analytic solution. This implied that simulation techniques were required. One of the problems with simulation models is the amount of time required to program a detailed simulator. This is the problem that he attacked in his work on SIMSCRIPT. It allowed the programmer to describe the system to be simulated rather than describing the detailed steps the computer must take to accomplish the simulation. SIMSCRIPT, would then take the system description provided by the programmer and translate it into detailed computer actions necessary. This provided a very large time savings in putting together simulation models for many kinds of business situations. Between the two books on SIMSCRIPT Markowitz, with others, published another book on economy-wide production capabilities in 1963. This book is Studies in Process Analysis: Economy-wide Production Capabilities. Later, in 1967, this book was published in Russian.

Sustainable Energy Development, Transportation and Gas Flaring in the Research Paper

Sustainable Energy Development, Transportation and Gas Flaring in the Niger Delta, Nigeria - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that Nigeria is ranked among the top 10 countries globally with the largest deposits of natural gas. However, much of this gas is flared off, and the volume of the gas flared in a single day is more than the combined energy needs of entire sub-Saharan Africa. This phenomenon has resulted in socioeconomic losses and health problems to the Niger- Delta region, its people and entire Nigeria. Estimates from the World Bank reveal that each year, Nigeria burns natural gas amounting to more than 100 billion cubic meters. Although the world is shifting towards green technologies, there is still a high need for natural gas both for domestic and industrial use. In addition, energy prices are escalating every now and then indicating a global energy shortage. The burning of gas is, therefore, a colossal waste of resources, and especially, in Nigeria where there are huge energy shortages. The main types of energy that Nigeria develops both for its local and export markets are gas oil and gas. Estimates by the US United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) suggest that Nigeria’s oil reserves are about 16-22 billion barrels (3.5Ãâ€"109 m3) but other sources suggest a higher figure of 35.3 billion barrels (5.61Ãâ€"109 m3). These oil reserves make Nigeria the 10th largest petroleum-rich country and the leading in Africa. This oil is located in 159 oil fields and 1481 wells are already in operation. The most productive oil producing region in Nigeria is the southern region or the Niger Delta, specifically the Niger Delta basin. Khan states that this region has 78 of the 159 oil fields.

The Comparisons and Contrasts of the Operations Value Chains in Manage Assignment

The Comparisons and Contrasts of the Operations Value Chains in Management of Bicycles - Assignment Example Extreme damages warrant the disposal of such bikes in the low- cost student rental business. On the other hand, for the high-cost rental services, there is the wide range of bicycles to rent suiting the required preferences and that are in good conditions. Those who rent the bikes are cautious in maintaining them. Briefly, the business procedure undergone while maintaining a bicycle in both business packages is straightforward. The low- cost student rental business has maintenance initiated only when a customer objects to a certain fault whereas the bicycle would have been left for okay. The high- cost rental business ensures that bicycle maintenance is on a checklist and that this is done once every bicycle is returned before releasing it to the next customer. ` Both businesses have their process of acquiring their bicycles. Generally, there is a distinct difference. The low- cost rental business lend their bicycles at cheap prices as they also acquired them at considerably low prices as compared to the high- cost rental business who purchase new and from recognized bicycle manufacturer brands. Disposal is inescapable for both options, the low- cost student rental business rarely disposes of their bicycles unless they are totally faulty unlike their counterparts in the high- cost rental business whole sell them once the onset of tear and wear is unbearable and this way they continue to offer only the best of services. E) What roles do you see for information systems in your answers to the earlier questions? The information systems can be those you develop within your company or they can be those developed by others, such as Craig’s List. Introducing information systems for the low- cost student rental business would be relatively easier as it would only require and most probably an index card mapped to each bicycle in their inventory. However, the high- cost rental business is certain to be more sophisticated holding the entire documentation of each bicycle’s maintenance or acquisition records.  Ã‚  

Marketing Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 3

Marketing Research - Essay Example According to McNamara, C (2008), marketing analysis is carried out by an organization or business venture in order to gauge the market niche. To Hunt, N & Tyrrell S (2004), marketing is all about advertising the products one has, enhancing public relations and efficient customer service. Effective marketing of products generally depends on many aspects ranging from security, trust, usability of the product, its appearance and its ability to satisfy customer requirements. The kind of business one is doing does not matter, the first thing to consider is the nature of products and services which you plan to offer your targeted customers and the best way to market it to them (Field, A 2009). Each and every business needs a marketing plan which is reliable and attainable. Customer trust is built through; Products need to be test-retested to ensure security of the consumers. Side effects and other negative perceptions by customers drive them away (James, T.F Et al. 2001). Again, if a product is not easy to use, then continuity is impossible. According to Morris, C (2008), gender is an important aspect in marketing since some forms of marketing suits females while others are meant for males. In order to ascertain this, a random sample will be selected from the database given and a new one will be developed based on the selected sample. Random sampling, stratified sampling and cluster sampling are some of the methods used to sample data. Random sampling is used in case the database to be used is made up of homogenous data; data with same character traits and the elements are selected randomly from the entire database. On the other hand, stratified sampling is used when the database is heterogeneous. In this case, elements with the same character traits are put together and then a random sample is selected. The different data groups are then combined to for the stratified sample. This sampling technique will be used in this case. Lastly, cluster sampling is the

The Medicinal Role of Different Foods as Held by Different Communities Literature review

The Medicinal Role of Different Foods as Held by Different Communities from Different Regions in the World - Literature review Example Food plays an integral role in the part of any human being in the sense that people cannot live without food. However, the choice of food matters for every individual because it determines whether a person is healthy or killing themselves with foods that are toxic to their bodies. Therefore, the food that people eat gives them information and materials to help the body in functioning appropriately. The amount of food that a person consumes also matter because when the body gets too much food it becomes undernourished, overweight and develops the risk of conditions and diseases that are a risk to the body such as heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis.   Therefore, what people eat is central to their health; food, on the other hand, can play a medicinal role where it maintains the health of the body by alleviating or curing diseases. However, there are other underlying benefits of foods, especially medicinal benefits, which most people do not forget to explore. Therefore, it is vita l for readers to understand how different foods they consume or ignore play an important role in their bodies. The research question in the essay is what are the medicinal role of various foods that are consumed by citizens every day? Many people have a clear understanding of the importance of eating healthy, in the United States cases of obesity and chronic diseases have been on the rise due to foods that are served in restaurants and in school where most school going children are obese. The five sources in the essay were selected after intensive research where I concluded on them because they have the content of information that is needed to explain the literature review in the essay. The sources have the basis of my discussion hence appropriate for the essay. Ensiyeh Seyedrezazadeh, Masoud Pour Moghaddam & Fariba Kolahdooz et al (2011) â€Å"Fruit and vegetable intake and risk of wheezing and asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.† In this article, the author discusses the relationship between asthma and wheezing and the intake of fruits and vegetables.        

Developing a technology model for a social entrepreneur case that you Research Paper

Developing a technology model for a social entrepreneur case that you can pick - Research Paper Example First factor addresses the social problems or needs by approaching some innovative ideas and techniques. Second factor addresses significant awareness and efforts towards balancing responsibility in the best interest of stakeholders. The main aim of social entrepreneurship is to achieve social and environmental goals by working for the welfare of society. On the other hand, the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship is based on entrepreneurs. The term â€Å"social entrepreneurs† is accredited to the class of people who recognise the social difficulties and try to solve them with the help of primary entrepreneurship approaches. In present world, there are many organizations that are using social entrepreneurship models for the welfare of human being. Social entrepreneurs come in many types ranging from large non-profits to single-person causes. They also come in differing orientations such as non-profit or profit making organizations. (examples) The essence of any social entrepreneurial venture is to solve a problem or cater to a need in the society. Social entrepreneurs all over the world use different ways to solve the problems that concern our society such as poverty, illiteracy, and pollution. The use of technology in this cause has been able to develop some excellent business models and social development ventures. Technology entrepreneurship (or Technopreneurship, as commonly called today) and social innovation make an excellent combination for the development of the world. Many small, medium or large social ventures have sprouted up which use technology to solve the problems. With the help of PCs, notebooks, PDA, mobile phone devices, GPS, and wireless technologies, entrepreneurs find it easy to come up with innovative and cost effective solutions. One such venture is â€Å"Engineers without borders† which we will study in this paper to see how they add value through technology to their target market and society in general. â€Å"Engineers without

Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Othello - Essay Example In his final words, Othello confesses that he has â€Å"loved not wisely, but too well† (V, ii, 353). This insight goes a long way toward explaining Othello’s character. It is because of where he’s placed his love that he behaves the way he does. He is a hero because of his ability to act according to what love dictates and is brought to his ruin because of where that love had been placed. Generally, heroism refers to a character that embodies our concepts of what is good and noble in the human race (Vest, 2002). Othello is a good example of this as he has risen, through his own hard effort, from the pits of slavery to the General of the Venetian ships. â€Å"I fetch my life and being / From men of royal siege [rank]; and my demerits [deserts] / May speak unbonneted to as proud a fortune / As this that I have reached [are equal to]† (21-23). In addition, the Duke himself calls upon Othello at times of great need as in â€Å"Valiant Othello, we must straight employ you / Against the general enemy Ottoman† (48-49). However, Othello’s nobility lies not just on the surface level of his position in society, but in his own moral judgment as when he is faced with an angry father and his warlike supporters: â€Å"Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them / Good signior, you shall more command with years / Than with your weapons† (59-61 ). It is thus in his love for Desdemona that his nobility shines through. In this statement, his nobility shines through as he defends his wife’s honor, acknowledges the respect owed to his elders and refuses to cross swords with them. All classic heroes also have an element of excessive pride, which contributes to their downfall as they become unable to discern truth from reality (McAlindon, 2002). Although it is harder to see in Othello because he is working to keep his speech humble, this same pride is

The Adoption of Electrically Powered Vehicles Essay Example for Free

The Adoption of Electrically Powered Vehicles Essay The non-internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles consists of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), single-fuel all electric vehicles (EV), and fuel cell vehicles (FCV). Earlier attempts at non-ICE vehicles were faced with many challenges resulting in abandonment of research and development. General Motors (GM) discontinued the EV1 electric vehicle after investing about $1 billion in the development. The Toyota RAV 4-EV, which was popular among environmentalist, was discontinued based on sales not high enough to justify production costs. The attention that non-ICE vehicles are receiving is driven by environmental concerns, scarcity of fossil fuel, high gasoline prices and others. The environmental concerns stems from the pollution from carbon dioxide emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels. In 2009, the United States used 19. 6% of the world primary energy consumption and 17. 7% of world carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption ranking first and second respectively. There is a correlation between the carbon dioxide concentration and the earth’s surface temperature. There is a general increase in global temperature with increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. The high initial cost of the non-ICE vehicles as compared to ICE versions is also an issue. The cost differential is mainly due to the technology, with battery being a major cost driver. For example, in 2009 the cost of Toyota Camry HEV was $26,160 whiles the cost of a comparable ICE version was $20,445. The price of gasoline in the U. S. is relatively cheap, thus affecting the adoption of the non-ICE vehicles. In 2008, the average retail price of gasoline in the U. S. was $3. 25 per gallon, with 14% as tax component. In the same year, the average price of gasoline in the UK, Germany, and France were $7. 53, $7. 72, and $7. 53 with tax components of 161%, 170%, and 154% respectively. The movement from ICE powered vehicles to the non-ICE powered vehicles was due to signs of oil shortages and air quality concerns. The government responded with the Clean Air Act in 1970 requiring cars to have catalytic converters to reduce pollutants. Other government intervention placing restriction on vehicle emission standards forced the industry to launch research and development projects in battery powered electric vehicles. There are four major non- ICE design concepts, which are as follows: ? ? ? ? HEV, the use of on board electricity and gasoline to move the vehicle PHEV, the use of on board electricity and gasoline to move the vehicle and also ability to plug into an external power outlet to recharge the battery. EV, the use of only electricity to move the vehicle and also ability to plug into an external power outlet to recharge the battery. FCV, the use stacks of electrodes and electrolytes that generates electricity to move vehicle Page 1 of 2 The non-ICE vehicle market has gone through rough times in shaping the current, HEV, PHEV, EV, and FCVs. The HEV, PHEV, and EV are different products but share some commonality by way of infrastructural needs. However, FCVs appear to have a lower rate for adoption due to cost involved in providing the necessary infrastructure. The approximate cost of providing installed fuel station for the FCV is $50,000. The comparable cost for the electric plug-in station is $3,000 to $6,000. Automobile companies need to continue investing in research and development in the non-ICE vehicles. It is their interest to improve fuel efficiency well above the standards set by government imposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. A particular attention to improving the range of the vehicle is required. The range of the vehicle is the distance of travel per charge and or full tank of gas. The miles per gallon (MPG) is another attribute which is interrelated to the range. The sales figures provided shows that in November 2009, Toyota Prius had 49. 7% of the total 19,334 HEVs sold in the US. Toyota Prius also happen to be the HEV with the highest miles per gallon (MPG) rating at 50. This clearly indicates that the mileage rating is an important attribute of the HEV. Consider reducing the cost premium on the vehicles and articulating the long-term savings in non-ICE vehicle ownership. The survey response regarding the likelihood of buying a PHEV with fuel savings of 75% shows a steep decline in chances of buying with increasing cost premium. Develop vehicle for specific driving need by providing different cost options, guided by customer segmentation by driving mission. The high cost of the initial purchase will be addressed by focusing on providing options due to driving needs of the customer. This can be addressed by having different range points which will typically imply reducing the battery packs in the vehicle. Therefore, the price per vehicle can be reduced per specific need. The FCV appears to have a very low possibility of success, hence its research and investment funds will be reallocated. Partner with government, competitors, and other stakeholders to develop the infrastructure to support main stream adoption. The major cost driver to the non-ICE vehicles is the battery. Therefore by scaling down the cost by driving needs, a prospect with a shorter commute distance can opt for a less costly version of a model with just the right mix. With 2. 28 vehicles per household in the US, it expected that household will consider having a non-ICE vehicle in the mix for shorter commute and errands. To discontinue non-promising project will free up human resource and money to be used to improve other investments. The freed up resource will support an increase in marketing related plan and implementation. Together with other government and other stakeholders, incentives will be sought to encourage non-ICE adoption by citing environmental challenges to the country in specific and the earth in general. These strategies overall will improve early the adoption of Electrically Powered Vehicles in the U. S.

Intelligence led policing Essay Example for Free

Intelligence led policing Essay The terrorist attacks of September 2001 had several governments taken aback of their incapacity to detect and prevent crimes of such magnitude. The United State’s Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, for example, have been working extra hard to detect and thwart such mishaps now and in the future. In order to realize this, most aspects of national security have been reviewed by various governments around the world (Wisler and Onwudiwe, 2009). One of these aspects is intelligence improvement and use for both internal and international security. Of most importance is internal security, given the fact that crimes such as international terror are planned and carried out by deterrents that are already living among us. Because the police have the mandate to provide internal security, they require effective intelligence to enable them to collect and act on any information related to looming attacks and dangers. Apart from intelligence led policing, there are numerous other types of policing. However, the main ones are: knowledge-based policing, problem based policing and community policing. For any crime type to be bunged, the intelligence used by police ought to be based on all possibly available information and data, collected and thoroughly evaluated. Intelligence has been defined in multiple ways. For the sake of this discussion, we will settle on a single definition: it is collecting data and information precisely touching on crime, analyzing and drawing conclusions on it. Therefore, intelligence is not any kind of information but that which has been studied and quality conclusions made on it. Intelligence can then be used to inform any concerned decision maker of the several available choices. The security personnel of any department, either the police or the military, can then draw on the analyzed findings to carry out their duties of preventing and stopping crimes by strategizing and laying good plans on how to achieve their set objectives. Intelligence led policing is a structured method of collecting, analyzing and evaluating data and information related to crime. The analyzed information is then used to guide the institutions which enforce law in determining their actions. It was first used in the United Kingdom in 1990 and later received a huge acceptance in the United States after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The Kent police in the UK used this kind of policing on car stealing, home breaks and certain types of crimes which were then considered high priority. The world’s governments later decided to use this method alongside others to curb international crime especially terrorism and to react effectively to simpler crimes at the domestic front (Wisler and Onwudiwe, 2009). The problem based policing is broad in its coverage bearing its stand on the notion that other types of policing are not committed to solving the basic criminal acts. While it concentrates on crimes that need the attention of the police and that it handles other issues other than implementing crime prevention programs, is not able to cover all sorts of crimes. On the other hand Public policing usually focus on a single type of crime for example street gangs only. It is normally used when certain crimes occur and their area of operation is the streets. It is also effective in the sense that the time, when the required information is obtained and when action is taken on it, is relatively short. Its mainstay is to deter and disable unlawful trends. Criminals are also profiled to help in analysis. Finally, its approach involves the use of tour of duty personnel, strategic divisions and detectives.

Human Resources Management And Persistent Approaches Commerce Essay

Human Resources Management And Persistent Approaches Commerce Essay Human resource management has become a persistent and prominent approach to the management of employment in an extensive range of market economies. In concern of management theorists and for many managers, HRM is the imperative to the survival and success of organisations in the twenty first century. According to Peter Drucker (1993), defines one single, simple idea: that people their skills, knowledge and creativity- are the key resource for economic and organisational success i.e. the knowledge- based economy. Despite the popularity of the term HRM, there is still no universally agreed definition of its meaning. According to Watson (2002:369) suggests that a rather messy situation currently exists whereby the term HRM is used in a confusing variety of ways. In its broadest sense HRM can be defined as a generic term to describe any approach to managing people; whereas Boxall and Purcell (2003:1) described HRM as all those activities associated with the management of employment relationships in the firm. Though, HRM comprises a new approach to managing people that is extensively different to more conventional practices. Even there are number of perspectives which make HRM distinctive. However Storey (1995:5) defines HRM as a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce, using an array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques. Whereas related to strategic nature o f HRM, Buchanan and Huczynski (2004:679) approaches HRM as a managerial prospective, which argues the need to establish an integrated series of personnel policies to support organisational strategy. Two main modification of HRM were acknowledged early in scholastic discussions of HRM: According to (Guest, 1987; storey, 1992) Hard HRM with an emphasis on the Strategies of cost minimisation (e.g. low wages, minimal training, close supervision), Quantitative aspects of managing human resource as an economic factor in production (e.g. in lean production- downsizing, work intensification). Soft HRM approaches aimed at enhancing the Commitment, Communication, Motivation, Quality, Leadership and flexibility of employees. Strategic HRM:- A strategic approach to Human Resource management has great appeal, According to Johnson and scholes (1997); describe strategic HRM in concern of business and management as the direction and scope of an organisational over the longer term, which ideally matches its resources to its changing environment, and in particular to its markets, customers and clients to meet stakeholders expectations. Strategic decisions in management are likely to be concerned with: Enduring direction of the organisation Extent of the organisations deeds Identical organisations deeds to its environment (i.e. PESTLE) Identical organisational deeds to its resources The Harvard model of HRM:- Source: Beer et al (1984; p.16 Map of the HRM territory) Long term consequences Individual well -being Organizational Effectiveness Social well- being HRM Policy choices Employee influences Human resource flow Reward systems Work systems HR Outcomes Commitment Competence Congruence Cost effectiveness Situational factors Workforce characteristics Business strategy and conditions Management philosophy Labour market Unions Task technology Laws and societal values Laws and Ideal types of Human Resource Management:- Characteristics Human resource management Strategic nature Dealing with day to day issues; but proactive in nature and integrated with other management functions. A deliberately long-term strategic view of Human resources Psychological Contract Based on seeking willing commitment of the employee Job design Typically team-based Organisational structure Flexible with core of key employees surrounded by peripheral cells High degree of outsourcing Remuneration Market based Individual and/or team performance Pay for contribution Recruitment Sophisticated recruitment for all employees Strong internal labour market for core employees. Greater reliance on external labour market for non-core Training/development Transformed into a learning and development philosophy transcending job related training. Strong emphasis on management and leadership development A learning organisation culture Employee relations perspective Individualistic; high trust Organisations of the function Largely integrated into line management for day to day HR issues Specialist HR group to advise and create HR policy Welfare role No explicit welfare role Criteria for success of the function Control of HR costs, maximum utilisation of HRM over long term Source: adapted and developed from Guest (1987) Recession:- Organisations have been focus to enormous stress over the past few years, with foremost principal structural changes in industry sometimes obscured behind the short or long-term issues of recession which in other words can be described as the circumstances of the economy turn down; a extensive cut in the GDP, Employment and Trade (Business). In numerous ways, recessions are a motivating natural experiment to examine. According to Paul Geroski Paul Gregg (1997) describes recession involve a major reduction in demand sustained over a substantial period of time, it affect some organisation far more than others and they are exogenous to the actions of individual organisations. The reduction in demand is most important and sustained means that those organisations that are deficiently affected by a recession are expected to be rethinking the essential premises of their competitive strategy. The evaluation between the strategy and composition of organisations who are exceedingly harshly affected by a recession with those less harshly affected endow with indication on what composes a few organisations more susceptible to surprises them others, and on the toughness of diverse strategy choices and diverse organisational constitution to changes in market conditions. As a consequences recession also throw at least some useful luminosity on how organisations counter to unpredicted changes in demand. Additionally the effects of recessionary demand surprises are unavoidably reassigned reverse to labour markets. Current scenario of Recession:- According to Mike Schraeder and David J. Hoover (2010) the global economy has experienced massive confront in the previous two years as businesses have struggled with apparently insoluble financial crises which disclose a shocking compilation of industries that have closed a business, economize, or occupied in other strategic indispensable in the expedition for survival. Providentially, there is a number of substantiation that the influence of the global crises possibly will be deteriorating. Moreover, organization and their leaders are now faced with the harsh certainty of demanding to recuperate from the shock of these crises, whereas concurrently creating divisions that are proficient for competing effectively in a decrepit global environment. Cost-effective aspect Peak to through so far Real GDP decrease 3.7% real decline from December 2007 until June 2009 totalling $500 billion Personal Income individual wages declined by $339 billion from mid-2008 to the 1st Qtr of 2009 Investment Fixed investment has declined by $543 billion, or 24%, since December 2007 Unemployment There are  8.1 million less people employed today than in 2007 Industrial Production Has fallen 12% since 2007 Bankruptcies National bankruptcies have risen from 800,000 in 2007 to 1.4 million in 2009, a 75% increase Trade Exports and imports declined by 22% and 31%, respectively, between July 2008 and June 2009 Currency The USD has fallen 17% in the last year versus a basket of world currencies Bank Failures 140  banks   failed in 2009, with  700 banks in danger of failing, according to the FDIC Source: Economic Recession, Depression, or Systematic breakdown (Economics/ Recession 2008-2010) by James Quinn, (March 4th, 2010) available from Internet URL http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article17665.html http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/images/2010/Mar/recession-4-1.jpg Source: Economic Recession, Depression, or Systematic breakdown (Economics/ Recession 2008-2010) by James Quinn, (March 4th, 2010) available from Internet URL http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article17665.html http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/images/2010/Mar/recession-4-2.jpg Source: Economic Recession, Depression, or Systematic breakdown (Economics/ Recession 2008-2010) by James Quinn, (March 4th, 2010) available from Internet URL http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article17665.html Impacts of recession on top of global/ domestic organizations:- As per given data in graphs of above mentioned, the major area to focus in concern of HRM is unemployment, during ending phase of 2007 employer were recruiting employees without forecasting the demand of prospective which results into redundancies/ unemployment, job insecurity, demotivation, stress , depression, reduced flexible working hours and increase in responsibilities on working employee in the organisations also. Whereas James Quinn (2010) describes a depression is categorized by irregular enhance in unemployment, a decrease in the accessibility of credit, extract productivity and venture, frequent liquidation, condensed sum of business and exchange, as well as extremely explosive comparative currency price variation, mostly depreciation. Price devaluation, economic crisis, and the stock market/ bank collapse are also universal fundamentals of a depression. According to Sally Walters (2009); International national Downsize/ recession related issues: Business environment Business closures Redundancies Modification in terms and conditions of employment Cash flow complications Deficiency of credit Reduction in the value of authentic Consolidation Condensed margins Public overheads Recover costs and competences Recruitment Employee revenue Recruitment complications Aged employees Skill development Understanding future complications when economy start to rise Facing difficulty to invest in skill development Training Compact training obligation Emphasize the specific needs of business Lack of apprentices in young employees in concern of employment prospects HRM Strategic perspective in concern of recession (issues):- According to David Hussey (2002), during recession there are no simple solutions and, success will depend, as always, on the soundness of the strategic decisions taken by top management, and ability of the organisation to implement those strategies. This would push the Human resource phase of the business to the forefront, even without the additional difficulties of sustained revolutionize and the demands. HRM, which is already very proficient in many organisations, requires to be obsessed by the business requirements of the organisation, but without losing prospect of the decisive value and significance of people in making strategies turn out to be reality. While attempt to come out from the recession, companies perspective in concern of HRM; (issues which has been taken by companies/ organisations to survive in time of recession) Redundancy/ Job cuts Cost retrenchment and downsizing Hiring freezes Modification in terms and conditions of employment Laying off temporary/ part time employees Condensed training dedication Freezes in previously planned Pay, Incentives and Bonus policies Enhance the use of premature retirement Restructure Reduction in employee hours Affecting employees offshore Employee revenue HR department should obtain into depiction barely the liable effectiveness of their deeds but also their apparent impact on employee commitment. HRM activities in relation to HRM outcomes and performance (under perspective of recession):- Issues Impacts Solutions Positive Implications Negative Implications Redundancy Cost retrenchment and downsizing, Demotivation Stress Depression Rejoin the employee in state of increase in demand, Contract based employee Employee might perform well compare to previous performance Fluctuation in employee working hours Employee might not have commitment and loyality towards organisation or might lose trust Less work commitment, Insecurity in aspects of full time employees Reduce pay, incentives and change in bonus policies Freeze on promotions Low motivation Low motivation Less employee engagement and commitment, trust Offering rewards by increasing pay/ incentive/ bonus Performance appraisal for highly skilled employee and core employee of the organisation to keep them in trust and motivated It might have significant affect on employee performance Motivation Dedication towards work Employee engagement and commitment It might only motivate few employee in organisation, as money is always solution of short term situations, Appraisals are sometime demotivated expensive Might also affect on cost cutting strategy of organisation Reduction in training commitment Decline in leadership and learning development, Poor performance Provide continuous improvement training programs Development in knowledge Skill enhancement Expensive might not be effective for all employees Issues Impacts Solutions Positive Implications Negative Implications Relocate/Redeploy transfer of employee (domestic as well as globally depend upon organisation Low morale, insecurity in concern of job, Cultural dispute Provide social network, Provide comfortable zone by management , Provide facilities and benefits Depend upon individual behaviour of employee; it might goes well as employee will get exposure and it might help to learn different cultural/ countrywide organisation strategies and guiding principle Expensive but sometime it is not possible in real world to do so. Depend upon employee individual personality to have capability to cope up with different culture Laying off part time/ temporary working Workload, Less employee engagement towards work and commitment Provide a more flexible alternative to full time employee, Cover temporary peaks in demand Cost effective To protect the job security of core employees To cover for holidays and sickness absence Might not be effective for all industry expertise Depend upon contextualities of the situation HRM strategic planning and sustainable implementation for current market conditions prospect economy crisis:- Indicates in accomplishment plan Description Strategic planning Strategic personnel forecast Link employees scheduling with business strategy by establishing demand and supply circumstances by employment category Productivity controlling Launch a innovative efficiency metric such as worth additional per individual to administer productivity programs Work force adaptation Employees flexibility Exploit working-time implements like generation work accounts, vacation programs, and engagement with unions Employees reduction Amend employees size to the new economic environment with respect to job category forecasts Human resources Cost management Optimize workforce cost programs by converting cash inducements to noncash ones Persistent recruiting of key workforce Employ top applicants for assignment- decisive jobs HR and performance improvements Restructuring the HR organisations Measures all HR actions to certify superiority throughout bunching procedure optimization, and ascendancy process Performance management Support performance process to the new environment by discarding interim observations and implementing enduring philosophy Sustainable implementations Employee Engagement Focus on such values as honesty and trust and start an initiative to bring discipline and motivation into balance Leadership Competences Coach leaders to evolution from intensification to crisis with workshops, communication process, and support from top management Modify management Establish best-in-class support by illuminating accountabilities, enforcing transparency, and soliciting employee feedback Internal and external communication Organize a comprehensible communication strategy and methods that target decisive stakeholders Source: Rainer Strack , Pieter Haen et al. (March 2009) Creating people in advantage in times of crisis; how to address HR challenges in the recession. Boston consulting group; European association for people management For visionary companies who wants to develop state-of-the art nation development in the existing environment:- In todays impulsive environment, the HR department is frequently dragged in numerous directions. According to Rainer Strack), Pieter Haen et al. for illustration, specialist recruiters who usually focus on hiring may need to take on other HR tasks, such as managing the introduction of shortened working hours. Strategic personnel forecast: predict future scarcity to reorganize capabilities Performance management: shift from diminutive to extensive term approaches Employee engagement: attention on motivation and accountabilities Leadership competences: endow leaders for turbulent conditions Modify management: espouse a methodical, cascading approach Internal and external communication: talk the walk Strategic planning:- Strategic personnel forecast: predict future scarcity to reorganize capabilities Generally organisations do not fully comprehend how downsize will influence their demands for individuals and how layoffs will influence their prospect. Even if the economy prolongs to depreciate, the majority of companies will still features lack in precise jobs. To overcome from this Rainer Strack), Pieter Haen et al. suggests that companies have to evaluate their employees by generating job categories with comparable expertise requirements. While in dispensation these companies will capable to categorize probable scarcity in skills as well as pockets of competence where retraining opportunities exist. Once companies will recognize their requirements for job category, companies might discover smarter and longer term preference about their employees. productivity controlling: progress from input to output On the whole HR departments do a high-quality job of determining headcount, human resources costs and relative inputs. Work force adaptation:- Employee flexibility: generate reversible circumstances Companies expecting to recuperate from the current downsize should attempt to establishment headcounts method with built in flexibility; moderately than layoff employees particularly in those marketplace where employees diminution are expensive and time intense. Employees reduction: be suspicious to engrave in the accurate places Companies whose businesses are in extensive decline require, thinking the steps that are additional enduring, like laying-off full time employees. Companies have to identify the core employees who should be engaged. Human resources cost management: produce inventive reimbursement model Whereas companies may espouse a flexible or restructure strategy, the action might be in several ways like relating to wages, deferring bonuses etc. Persistent recruiting of key workforce: promote talent In this consumers marketplace, elegant corporations are discerning fortitude key employees from competitors or the marketplace. HR and performance improvements:- Restructuring the HR organisations: be lean HR department requires being highly effective and efficient in scenario of downturn, otherwise it will affect on trustworthiness while HR will endeavour to lead individuals proposal elsewhere in company. Performance management: shift from diminutive to extensive term approaches Presently Companies have a major chance to standardize their performance management and incentive methods to extensive term business objectives that might expand new significance, such as growth and sustainable business traditions Sustainable implementation:- Employee engagement: attention on motivation and accountabilities Employees are most essential and effective assets of company when they are motivated while working in well-organized system. In downsize, it is tough to achieve balance between motivation and well organized system due to unavailability of promotion and high wages. Leadership competences: endow leaders for turbulent conditions Leadership is motivating the corporation to modify its commencement of superlative performance. In time of crisis organizations are arranging training for their mangers to coach them how to lead in tough times. Modify management: espouse a methodical, cascading approach Companies requires clear agenda and sustained and meticulous program management. HRM needs to create schedules, metrics and clear accountabilities to mobilize the establishment. Internal and external communication: talk the walk In organisation working environment; one to one communication, an open door policy and active listening skills all are significant. Conclusion:- Though it is complicated for HR to recognize techniques and HR practice that promotes a environment of modernization in support of the organisation objectives. Present scenario of downturn has immense impact and creates challenges for all departments, production units and workforce within organisation. HRM top management is itself in crucial situation; they have to rethink about their previous strategies before recession and compare it to the present scenario of crisis, then need to implement in concern of present situation. There is enormous requirement of critically analysing the strategies and necessitate to structure the new strategies undertaking consideration of employees supply and demand, maintaining employee engagement, developing forefront for leaders to assist for survival in crisis for companies and employees in tough time and restructuring the organisation and HR as per obligation of businesses. Work force might respond to the complicated situation like downsize positive ly if their leaders are truthful, straight and compassionate about the complications and generate enthusiasm about the prospects. Recommendations for Managing Human Resource Management in downsize/recession in addition to foremost prospective:- In present scenario of global as well as domestic organisations, many of countries are coming out of recession, not fully because there are still uncertainties how stable the global market is however nobody has firm scenario when will the next recession occur, since still companies are trying to cope up with economy crisis in few aspects. According to Rainer Strack , Pieter Haen et al. (2009) the first casualty of a downturn is people; the employees, on whom the fortunes of a company rest. Companies do whatever they can to get costs under control, and they often act swiftly by cutting employee hours, imposing a hiring freeze, and taking other steps that affect their employees. In perspective of HRM; there are hazards for corporations that engrave their employees too swiftly. While individuals may emerge to be in immense contribute today, the demographic wave will soon twist. Whereas Rainer Strack , Pieter Haen et al. (2009) elaborate further their point by saying the talent pool is poised to shrink, as the baby boom generation retreats into retirement and as younger and similar generations enter their prime working years. Look for ways for cost effectiveness without laying off work force Reallocate employees wherever probable Keep on fostering and emergent employee talent/ capabilities All decisions must have taken under consideration of suspicious personnel planning Ensure that company pursue the legislative dismissal course of action to the correspondence if company necessitate doing redundancies. Let remaining employees know that they are valued, essential and essence of company. References:- Beer, M., Spector, B.,Lawerce, P.R., Mills, D. And Walton, R.E. (1984), p.16; Managing Human Assets, New York: Free Press Boxall, P. and Purcell, J. (2003), p.1; Strategy and Human Resources Management, Houndmills:Palgrave Macmillan Buchanan, D. and Huczynski, A. (2004), p.679; Oraganizational Behaviour, 5th edn. Harlow:FT/Prentice Hall Drucker, P. (1993), Post Capitalist Society, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Geroski, P. A. Gregg, P. (1997), p. 2-3; Coping with Recession: UK Company Performance in adversity, United Kingdom: Cambridge University press (eBook resource : available from internet URL: http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=enlr=id=neo3ZneOXp8Coi=fndpg=PP16dq=business+coping+strategies+to+avoid+the+effects+of+recessionots=TEB2ESH_5asig=zaVSjowL5UBTTSpZa0FhWzeUp1w#v=onepageq=f=false Guest, D. (1987), Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, Journal of management studies, 24, 5: 503-521 Hussey, D. (2002), p.5; Business Driven HRM, New York: Wiley Sons ltd. Jhonson, G. and Scholes, K. (1997), Exploring Corporate Strategy, London: Prentice Hall Quinn, J. (2010), Economic Recession, Depression, or Systematic Breakdown, E- Resource Article published on Mar, 4th 2010 available from internet URL: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article17665.html Rainer, S. Haen, P. et al. (2009), Creating People Advantage in Time of Crisis: How to address HR challenges in the recession, Journal of Mangerial psychology, Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, E-Resource available from Emerald. Schraedar, M. and Hoover, D. (2010), vol.24, 2: p.11-13, Enhancing Organisational Recovery in Tough Times: a pragmatic perspective, Development and Learning in Organisations, Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, E-Resource available from Emerald; http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0810240203.pdf Storey, J. (1992), Developments in the Management of Human Resources: An Analytical Review, London: Blackwell Storey, J. (1995), p.5; Human Resources Management: A Critical Text, London: Routledge Walters, S. (2009), p.5-8; The Impact of the Economic Downturn on business and skills in England, Journal of Social Economics, Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, E-Resource available from Emerald. Watson, T. (2002), p.369; Organising and Managing Work, Harlow: FT/Prentice Hall

Eudora Weltys A Worn Path Essay -- Eudora Welty Worn Path Essays

Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" Throughout time, people have traveled the trodden course of life, overcoming obstacles along the way and grasping onto hope to strengthen their steps. In her short story â€Å"A Worn Path†, Eudora Welty communicates this timeless theme through the protagonist, Phoenix, who has traveled this path many times. Through her usage of dialogue and symbolism, Welty illustrates the lasting concept that people conquer hardships in life and ultimately prevail. Welty utilizes dialogue to portray how others belittle Phoenix and attempt to destroy her dignity in vain. Along her journey, Phoenix meets several people with look down on her for her old age. First, the Satan figure, the hunter calls her â€Å"Granny† and encourages her to return home. He also mocks her race when he claims he â€Å"know[s] you old colored people.† However, Phoenix is not discouraged by the hunter as evident in her fearlessness when the hunter carelessly points his gun at her. This is also obvious when she refuses to return home in the face of the hunter’s persuasion. Welty uses the hunte...

The Dot.Com Bubble Phenomenon: The rise and fall of the first e-stock

When the internet first made an appearance in the business world, outside of government and military use, the term dot.com was introduced. The technical term â€Å".com† is defined as a suffix used to describe a company that uses the internet as a primary or only marketplace for transfer of goods and services. It was being used as a suffix to the several existing web addresses. It only took a few months for .com websites to become the dominant form of business transaction (Simpson & Simons, 1998). The phenomenon behind this story lies in the rapid rise and fall of the dot.com companies and the players, events, and mindsets that accompanied the bubble boom and bust (Simpson & Simons, 1998). In 1995 Netscape was one of the first dot.com businesses to enter the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, an automated exchange which has, since the Dot.com power struggle, become associated primarily with technology shares. At that time the NASDAQ was still not considered a technology exchange and Netscape entered the exchange. In 2000 the NASDAQ 100 Composite index peaked at 5,132 points at more than 500% from its original level in 1995. America was in the grip of dot.com hysteria and anybody with little more than an idea could launch a web-based company and become â€Å"paper millionaires† almost overnight. It is important to note that the NASDAQ 100 Composite Index only started out at 100 points (Morrison & White, 2000). The overall mentality of the business approach of investors dramatically changed from investing through business models and principles to a â€Å"gold rush† (Senn, 2000) similar to the way things occur before the stock market closes today. Many people believed that the â€Å"new economy† businesses would become the blue-chips of the future. It is note-wor... ...orrison, M., & White, C. (August, 2000). Super.Com: An analysis of message strategies utilized in super bowl ads for dot.Com companies. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Phoenix, AZ. Mougayar, W. (1998, November 2). E-commerce? E-business? Who e-cares? Computerworld Parker, R. P., & Grove, C. B. (2000, July). Census bureau moves ahead on measuring e-business. Business Economics, 35, 63-65. Senn, J. A. (2000). Electronic commerce: Beyond the â€Å"dot com† boom. National Tax Journal, 53(3), 373-383. Simpson, G. R., & Simons, J. (1998, October 8). The dotted line: A little Internet firm got a big monopoly. The Wall Street Journal, pp. A1. White, C., & Scheb, J. (2000). The impact of media message about the Internet: Internet anxiety as a factor in the adoption process in the U.S. New Media and Society, 2(2), 181-194.

Alcohol And Brine Shrimps

Abstract Alcohol catches the interest of many scientists because of its different effects on human, especially during pregnancy. These effects can also be seen in lower forms of organisms, such as that of the crustacean brine shrimp. By studying these, the scientists can get a better understanding on the mechanisms underlying the alcohol’s effects. When other conditions are held constant, a very high amount of alcohol should inhibit the growth or hatching of these brine shrimp eggs.By growing brine shrimp eggs exposed to different concentrations of alcohol and observing the larvae afterwards, the effects of alcohol on these organisms can be revealed in a quantified manner. To do so, volumes of 0. 0 mL. 0. 1 mL, 0. 25 mL and 0. 5 mL of a 100% alcohol were placed in different Petri dishes containing 10 mL of brine solution each. Brine shrimp eggs were then placed and left for a week before the eggs and larvae were obtained and counted. Results show that there are more eggs hatch ed on the system with no alcohol in it.Though the plate with higher alcohol content showed a relatively large number of hatched eggs, it has a higher amount of dead larvae compared to the dishes having lower alcohol content. This shows that alcohol works in two ways, preventing the hatching of brine shrimp eggs and causing deaths to the larvae. I. Introduction Brine shrimps (Artemia) are small crustaceans, and not closely related to the common shrimp. They are usually termed as â€Å"sea-monkeys† and sold in pet stores as fish food.They are very resistant in adverse conditions, and their eggs are able to stay dormant until the right environment induces their birth. Many of these are seen in large bodies of water, for they serve as food for the larger fish and other organisms present in the ecosystem. One interesting fact of these crustaceans is the ability of their eggs to undergo cryptobiosis, a characteristic where they exhibit a â€Å"hidden life† by maintaining a m etabolically inactive state. This happens during adverse conditions that inhibit the growth of the organism.In this case, brine shrimp eggs stay dormant as long as there are large fluctuations in the environment caused by factors such as temperature, oxygen content, and acidity. Because of this, brine shrimps are excellent to be test subjects for this experiment regarding the effects of alcohol on early development. Brine shrimp eggs can also hatch at a short span of time, and grow into larvae capable of swimming by themselves in just a matter of days. Furthermore, there are no known ethical issues regarding the use of these organisms. In fact, a number of studies using this genus have been performed throughout history.One of these is the research of Antonio Marquez’s group, where they tested the effects of bacteria on Artemia franciscana. They cultivated the organism in 10 different strains of bacteria together with some major feeds. The treatment resulted to the Artemis sur vivors having a longer length. The bacteria added played an important role in providing direct feed for the Artemia. They provided essential proteins, vitamins, amino acids, and inorganic nutrients (Marques, 2005). These results can be taken into consideration when designing this experiment.Since the experiment aims to determine the effects of alcohol only, the medium on which the brine shrimp are to be grown must be free of other substances, especially bacteria that might contribute additional nutrients for the organism to grow. The experiment by Marquez also shows the versatility of these brine shrimps in data gathering experiments done on the lab. They are easy to cultivate and grow. Another research, which can complement the purpose of this experiment, is the one tackling about the toxicity of the chemical diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) when exposed to Aremtia salina The group of S.Sanchez-Fortun and M. V. Barahona found out that on high concentrations of DFP, a longer develo pment time is evident on Artemia larvae. A more concentrated solution even showed death on some of the larvae. Several treatments were tested, including addition of the compounds atropine, physostigmine pyridostignime. But only the compound 2-pyridine aldoxime methoiodide (2-PAM) proved to be effective in preventing intoxication due to DFP (Sanchez-Fortum, 2007). These results show the lethal effects of some chemicals to the larvae of some organisms.Aside from DFP, alcohol is another substance that is believed to have bad effects on organisms during their pre-birth stage. In higher animals, such as humans, alcohol is usually blamed for miscarriages, prematurity, and many other defects on birth. This alarming substance caught the attention of many, and efforts have been made to make the public aware of the dangers posed by alcohol. Such effects of alcohol are made notice by Brimacombre and his team. Sometime before the year 2007 ended, they conducted a study to asses the knowledge of health professionals regarding fetal alcohol spectrum disorders or FASD.They conducted several presentations, lectures and demos to health professionals across New Jersey over a four-month period. The groups were then asked to answer a series of 20 questions to determine the depth of their understanding regarding FASD. The results showed that though they are well versed with the basics of FASD, these health group professionals reveal weaknesses in some important areas. One of these is the lack of knowledge on some core diagnosis and treatment of FASD. It was then concluded that more efforts must be done to further increase the awareness of the public to the facts of alcoholism (Brimacombe, 2008).If alcohol has a severe effect on humans, then it is safe to assume that it would also have a devastating impact on lower creatures such as the brine shrimps. This experiment is designed to illustrate the possible threats of varying concentration of alcohol to Artemia. The alcohol’s effects will be determined by adding varying amounts of it to the culture of unhatched brine shrimp eggs. The eggs and possible young hatchlings from the different treatments will then be manually counted and compared with each other.Taking into consideration prior knowledge and previous studies made, high alcohol content would not be optimum for the brine shrimps to live. The treatment containing the most alcohol would then probably have less or no brine shrimp larvae present compared to those cultures with little or no alcohol in it. II. Methodology Prior to the experiment, the solutions and equipments to be used were prepared. Four Petri dishes, brine solution, 100% alcohol, some toothpicks and a brine shrimp egg solution were placed close by for easy access.The Petri dishes were then marked with numbers â€Å"1†, â€Å"2†, â€Å"3† and â€Å"4†. A volume of 10 mL of brine solution was then added to each Petri dish. In the Petri dish labeled â€Å"1â € , 0. 1 mL of alcohol was added and mixed. In the same manner, 0. 25 mL of alcohol was added to Petri dish â€Å"2† and 0. 5 mL of it to Petri dish â€Å"3†. No alcohol was added to Petri dish â€Å"4†, as this is be used as the control system. A clean toothpick was then taken, wetting it by dipping it in a brine solution first, and then in the container with brine shrimp eggs.The eggs were then transferred to Petri dish â€Å"1† by slowly stirring the toothpick in the brine solution contained in the Petri dish until all eggs are dislodged from the toothpick. A new toothpick is then used to transfer eggs in the same manner to Petri dishes â€Å"2†, â€Å"3† and â€Å"4†, using a fresh toothpick for each Petri dish. The eggs were allowed to sit for a week and then they were observed. The eggs and larvae were counted using a toothpick and viewed with a microscope. The data were then recorded and compared.

Internal Control Essay

4. Organisation background Inkwell Limited is a manufacturer of re-cycle inkjet and laser toner printer cartridges. Inkwell Limited printer cartridge is widely applicable. The main commercial focus is on strong retail market that demand cheaper and greener products Inkwell Ltd has a couple of small main suppliers that produce 4.1 Inkwell Limited is a limited company, established in 2003. The head office and Warehouse is based in Birmingham West Midland. 4.2 Their business model is to offer a part exchange facility whereby customer either post used cartridge to the company’s on the line shop or physically take them onto one of over 60 shops in the company’s chain that are situated in all major UK cities, and many large towns. If customers do bring their old cartridge in they are then given a 10% discount against the cost of a replacement cartridge. 4.3 Its mains mission is to save customers money by not compromising quality and at the same time help ensure a greener environmental future by better use of inkjet and toner cartridge. 4.3 Inkwell is a company, mainly owned by shareholders. The managing director own the most numbers of share, while both the sale director and the finance director own equal shares. 4.4 The three directors and the company accountant are the main decision makers in the company with the help of managers and supervisors. 4.5 The shop managers are responsible for their own staff by preparing rotas and ensuring adequate staff coverage for all of the opening hours of their shop. 4.6 Finance, Marketing and Sales are the main departments In Appendix a there are a organisation Chart. 5. Structure and Function of the accounting System at Inkwell See Appendix a for Organisation Chart 5.1 Inkwell is a ‘tall’ structure company. They are different levels of people, each level is control by the level above. This very common of such a big organisation where each level is centralised. 5.2 The accounting function is a small section of Inkwell Limited. It consist of Anil Gupta as the Finance Director who his fully responsible for all finance, legal and accounting procedures and systems. This in tail producing the company annual report, dealing with all banking and finance issues. Michael O’Panye the Company Accountant, who’s duties are producing the monthly management report, approving all payments to suppliers. However his main role is to manage the work of the accounting technicians and clerks. 5.3 Alex Fox, account technician compiling this report, have worked for Inkwell for the past 6 months reviewing the company’s systems and procedures pin pointing any recommend charges where needed. The main duties that’s covered within the account department by others consist of sales and purchase ledger entries, preparing supplier’s payment, payment allocation, cash book entry, petty cash summary, cost analyst, bank reconciliation, payroll run and personal data up keep. 6. Weakness and finding of the current system 6.1 A SWOT analysis has been carried out on the current accounting function in Inkwell showing the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat (Appendix – ) From the SWOT analysis it can be seen that there are the following key weaknesses in the payroll process. 6.2 System Integration – Whiles the payroll is integrated with the personnel data system, allowing them to talk to one another, information could be sent from one application to the other, it is not been used to its full potential due to time consuming caused by lack of experience and knowledge 6.3 Hourly paid – The weekly hourly paid staff pay is calculated manually from a weekly rota prepared by the shop manager’s. This situation is not ideal its open to mistakes and potential to fraud. By simply installing online time clock terminals lets managers control where employees clock in/out from by setting up specific time clock locations and shift planning’s web-based time clock software gets rid of the need for expensive stand-alone equipment while streamlining the process of time sheet management allowing the payroll clerk to take work data direct to payroll. 6.4 Time Management – The payroll clerk is responsible for managing a weekly payroll Including calculating overtime worked and sales commission for over 60 shops, two separate monthly payrolls (the total employee is around 180) issues all statutory forms required by HMRC, and the annual tax returns, updating and maintaining the personnel database. Managing a vast work load is very difficult and any possible ways of improving the processes to make them more efficient should be taken advantage of. By installing an online time clock terminal can allow mangers to plan shifts automatically. It reduce the time spent calculating individual time sheets and allow the payroll clerk the information direct to payroll. 6.5 Knowledge – The payroll clerk is responsible for the both the payroll and the personnel database which is integrated. As the payroll clerk only had one-day in house intensive training course on the system therefore the payroll found it difficult to get to grips with both the payroll and the personnel data system after just one day’s of training. By the company supplying training, the payroll clerk can perform more efficient and feel more confident. 6.6 Commission – All sales staff and shop managers earn a commission of 2% each on the first  £4000.00 of sales per month, and 5% on any sales over that figure, this is based on for each shop rather than the individual. Inkwell Ltd have over 60 shops, with 3 or 4 employee per shop with annual turnover of 16 million pound would suggest the average amount per shop per week is  £5,128.00. Every shop staff including managers would be paid commission each month 6.7 These four factors outline the main problems affecting the accounting function payroll. The commission to all shop staff is one of most obvious cost effective that could be saved each month, due to weekly intake’s from each shop over  £5,000.00. Not only would Inkwell save a great deal of money which in turn could be sent on other things such as improving the performance of the accounting system. 6.8 Cutting the commission to just individual per shop would mean also the Less time spent preparing the figures for bonuses, more hours gain to do other Things

Research Hypothesis Essay

Null Hypothesis: The new developed drug has no considerable difference from the standard multi-drug regimen used by most cancer patients (Â µ1 = Â µ2). Alternative Hypothesis: The new developed drug is considerably better from the standard multi-drug regimen used by most cancer patients (Â µ1 > Â µ2). The dependent variable in the study is the so-called ‘level of efficacy’ (or in simple term, the level of effectiveness of the drug). This independent variable may be measured by: 1) T-cell counts among AIDS patients, 2) improved blood circulation (measured by blood pumped per ounce per second), and 3) rate of antibody formation. For the sake of simplicity, we shall only consider the first measure of ‘efficacy’ (T-cell counts among AIDS patients). The independent variable in the study is the ‘type of drug’ used to treat patients with AIDS. Method For the purpose of theoretical efficiency, we can assume the existence of two groups. Group A is a population sample treated with the ‘new developed drug.’ Group B is a population sample treated with the standard multi-drug regimen. Note that both drugs are assumed to have a general effect on the mitigation of AIDS among patients. A higher population mean (measured by T-cell counts) would indicate a higher ‘level of efficacy.’ Biases Experimenter bias may be exhibited in the study as: 1) error in the specification of experimental maneuver, 2) error in the measurement of outcomes, and 3) faulty interpretation of data. Because of the complexity of the study, it is very likely for the researcher to commit the second error. Selection bias is not present in the study. Ethical Issues There are two pressing ethical issues in the study. First, it is generally unethical to use an untested drug (medical) to a group of AIDS patients (although it may be argued that the drug has been tested many times in the laboratory). Second, it is dangerous to test the efficacy of two sets of drugs to ‘actual’ patients.

Shoplifting and Its Effect on Society

Shoplifting and its effect on society. Shoplifting seems like a victimless crime, but the damages caused are far from minor. I myself was recently caught shoplifting, and now I need to pay for the consequences of my crime. There are many reasons why people shoplift, it can be a obsessive compulsion disorder (OCD) all the way to a dare from a friend, either way Shoplifting does not only affect the individual, but it also affects the community, the retailer, and the consumer.Shoplifting affects not only me but my family as well. I feel embarrassed and worthless yet if I felt like that. â€Å"Why did I do it in the first place? † Because shoplifting is tempting, the shoplifter thinks they’re getting the product for free. But the truth is that someone has to pay for our mistake, thus price rises and the community has to pay. And some stores could even go bankrupt because of shoplifting. It is unfair to people who do not shoplift to pay for the mistakes that shoplifters make .People in the community who are not as wealthy as others have a harder time paying for their food and needs, and when they feel they can’t afford spending too much money at a certain retail store they will have to go to another destination to shop, causing a great inconvience to them and also the retail store will be losing money and might even close down in the future. We also suffer on a personal level, when an employee who realizes an item has been stolen from their store. They often feel violated, and when they feel violated it causes them to lose trust in others.So store employee follow potential merchants, watching their every move, making potential merchants uneasy and guilty when they are innocent. As there is no ‘look’ of a shoplifter, there is no way to identify whether a person is going to shoplift or not. And thus trust is lost between the merchant and the retailer. Resulting in an uncomfortable environment to shop in. Only about three percent of sho plifters are professionals. The rest of the shoplifters, shoplift as a response to experiencing stress in their personal lives.I myself am an immigrant from Singapore I just moved to Canada last year and a lot has happened since then. I survived being poor and unsatisfying for a year, so â€Å"why did I shoplift? † part of me believes that it is because I’m poor and I just wanted something, but part of me believes that it also because of what I’m going through a lot of stress and I feel depressed at times. Its like I need to fill up a hole in me. I thought shoplifting would make me feel better but the truth is you will lose all self-confidence in yourself.You become even more depressed and emotional you start to feel as if you don’t deserve a lot of things, or that others are better than you. Shoplifting has broken up many families and friends, the distrust and the disappointment they have when they look at you will consume you and soon you yourself will change. I was fortunate that my mother was very understanding and offered to help me out of my depression. She did admitted her disappointment in me but she told me I am still a good person.That made me realized that as a individual we belong to a community, and we make up what the community will become, each of us play a role to become someone bigger than themselves. When someone does well another will also want to do well. We could start by doing community work and volunteering at places that need our help. Helping others can without a doubt make you feel better about yourself, shoplifting will only make that empty feeling deeper as you start to feel guilty and worthless that others are better than you for not shoplifting. You’ll feel like the bad guy.Nowadays people not only shoplift, but steal and con others of their money this is because people who becomes thieves usually starts as shoplifters at a young age. Shoplifting when young can often lead to becoming thieves and robbers in the future. In fact ninety percent of convicts admitted that they have shoplifted before in their teenage years or younger. Statistics shows that there is an average of twenty-seven million shoplifters in the United States of America alone, which equates to one person in eleven, and only ten million have been caught within the past five years.Kids make up twenty-five percent of shoplifter; adults, seventy-five percent. People have been doing this for a long time because fifty-five percent of adults claim they began to shoplift as teenagers, and when asked, seventy-three percent of adults and seventy-two percent of juveniles do not plan to shoplift, it just an act of impulse. And also, an astonishing eighty-nine percent of kids say they know of other kids who shoplift and sixty-six percent say they associate with them. And only three percent of shoplifters are professionals, but they make up 10 percent of the item they sell.Some even after being caught in the act, fifty-se ven percent of adults and thirty-three percent of juveniles say it is difficult to stop even after being caught. Habits are hard to break, shoplifting becomes an addiction and you try to stop but you just can’t. And when you reach that point statistics show that habitual shoplifters steal at least two times a week. So when I got caught on my first time I’m grateful for it, for without it I might have become addicted to shoplifting or worse wanted to make it my professional career. Shoplifting is illegal and is a punishable crime by law.It is not a small crime whether you stole fifty dollars worth of items or ten dollars worth of items. The crime is the same you have shoplifted from the store, and stolen something that doesn’t belong to you. For example, you can be arrested and paraded through a store in handcuffs, banned from stores or malls, and you may even end up with a criminal record. If you get a criminal record especially when you are young people will tr eat you like an ex-convict, it’ll be harder to get a job, get into college, or anything else that need a criminal background check. Which is mostly everything.Shoplifting can ruin your life but remember even without getting caught can shoplifting also ruin your life, as I have already stated that shoplifting affects you emotionally the same thing applies here you lose your self-respect and your respect for others. Small crime doesn’t mean no crime. Responsibilty for your family, friends and the people surrounding you, there are people that look up, like you’re their role model. I myself have siblings and I hope very much they don’t follow in my footsteps; I have never done anything that would cause people to lose their faith and respect in me.It is my responsibilty to set a good role model for my younger siblings. Also you as an individual have a responsibility as a civilent to be a good role model to the community. Never think that there is no one watchi ng you, there is always someone watching and looking up to you in respect if you’ve done the right things. Respect is something you earn not given. By shoplifting you are openly disrespecting the community and although you may not notice now, but you are also disrespecting yourself. When you shoplift you are disrespecting the community by

Asylum seekers

The word Asylum seekers is not an unknown topic to Australia. The Asylum seekers or ‘boat people’ have been contentious issue in Australian politics for many years. According to Google dictionary an Asylum seeker is: â€Å"a person who has left their home country as a political refugee and is seeking asylum in another.†The big debate surrounding the area of asylum seekers is how to moderate the amount of boat people coming into Australia. The Malaysian Solution was one of the approaches to reduce the amount of asylum seekers arriving to Australia by boat. The Solution was this: If Malaysia accepted 800 of Australia’s next ‘boat people’ then Australia would accept 4000 of Malaysia’s ‘genuine refugees’ and integrate them into Australia. This so called solution from the Labour government however was ruled against by the high court of Australia due to legal and ethical issues The High court ruled that the scheme was unlawful. One of the reasons is because Australia could not send asylum seekers to Malaysia because it is not legally bound by international or domestic law to provide access for asylum seekers to effective procedures for assessing their need for protection (Alison Rourke, 2010). It would be unethical to send asylum seekers to a country in which their basic human rights were to be at risk. Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention as well so there is no guarantee that the asylum seekers processed there would be safe. Many Australian governments are trying to introduce offshore processing as a deterrent to the ‘boat people’. By introducing the offshore processing ‘boat people’ will be faced with having to be processed as a ‘genuine refugee’ in another country rather than within Australia. With introducing Offshore processing it decreases moderation of the amount of people risking their lives by traveling by boat into Australian waters. Australians are also known to be against the idea of granting citizenship to refugees. By keeping the flow of refugees into Australia at a minimum it is less likely to cause a big uprising and attention to the area. Offshore processing however also has its flaws such as the excessive expense costs of transporting the asylum seekers to the offshore locations. It can be  estimated that to process 1 person in Malaysia would cost the government and tax payers up to $500 000 dollars per person. The Rejection of the governments Malaysian Solution by the High Court of Australia was for numerous reasons. The Scheme in many ways was illegal and did not improve the safety and human rights of the asylum seekers. Head of the Department of Immigration, Andrew Metcalfe, holds a firm view that offshore processing was ineffective and should not be reintroduced to process asylum seekers

Management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Management accounting - Essay Example It includes a proper comparison of the roles that are performed by management accounting with those that are performed by financial accounting. An appropriate definition of ‘management accounting’ is provided by Institute of Management Accountants. According to this institute, management accounting is the process through which financial information is identified, measured, accumulated, analyzed, prepared, interpreted and communicated to the management who then use these information for the purpose of planning, evaluating and controlling the operations of the firm (Siegel and Shim, Accounting handbook). Management accounting helps in preparing financial reports for various non-management groups like tax authorities and regulatory agencies. In simple words management accounting is such an accounting system that helps an organization and its management to plan, control and make effective decisions. Financial accounting, on the other side, is all about maintenance of record, classification and summarization of financial transactions. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has clearly defined the term ‘financial accounting’. As per this definition, financial accounting is referred to the art of recording, categorizing as well as summarizing the events and transactions that includes at least one financial character. Three of the basic functions of financial accounting are recording, categorizing and summarizing (Kesavan et al. Engineering Economics and Financial Accounting). According to Vijayakumar, financial accounting and management accounting are the two important branches of accounting and as a consequence they are interrelated. He also opined that management accounting, to a great extent, is the rearrangement of data that arise out of the practice of financial accounting. However, there are several points or aspects where significant differences can be found between these two branches of accounting. Each of these

Communications Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communications - Assignment Example As such, the person has to be always right: politically, socially, diplomatically and morally. No tainted stories or backgrounds will be entertained where the reputation of this highly coveted position is considered. Clean past, with an ideological bent of mind and innovative ideas to resolve burning issues of the present are the requirements of this position. Thus, I have chosen to delve into the probable thinking and working of the mind of the most powerful man on earth, that is the President of the United States.I will be analyzing pictures of him that had appeared in papers before he was elected the President of the U.S and pictures that appeared in the media after he was elected the President of the U.S. There have been Presidents of the U.S: Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Carter, George Washington, Kennedy and some more who left their imprints on the sands of time. These Presidents were either elected during global crisis of some kind or the other or worked with the sole aim of alleviating the masses form their miseries. There have also been Presidents like Clinton and George Bush who were in the news for the wrong reasons. Then, there have been Presidents who were neither newsmakers nor harbingers of change. The question here is to examine the possibility of the current President in creating a place for himself in world history by undertaking something extraordinary. Does the president have this kind of charisma and dedication? As Bakhtin suggests that even in the most free, the most unconstrained conversation, we cast our speech in definite generic forms, sometimes rigid and tight ones and sometimes more flexible, plastic and creative ones. In the first caricature, posted on 26-10-06, by Mike Keefe in The Denver Post, President Obama is seen as a potential candidate for the 2008 Presidential elections. The cartoon shows him delivering the keynote